cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On Legislative Limitation and Improvement in Kidnapping Crime

There is legislative limitation in the article 239 of Criminal Law:"Kidnapping another person as a hostage" can cover "kidnapping another person or steal a baby or an infant for the purpose of extorting money or property";in order to show the special protection of babies and infants,whoever uses a baby or an infant as a hostage should be given a heavier punishment;fixed-term imprisonment of 10 years as the lightest punishment and the absolute death penalty are not in accordance with other articles of Criminal Law and also can not accord with the principle of suiting punishment to crime and criminal responsibility of Criminal Law.So the article 239 should be given modification for improvement.
Effects of hydrogen adsorption on the fracture properties of graphene

Abstract Adsorption of environment molecules to graphene alters the atomic structure of graphene and impacts fracture properties of graphene. In this paper, we use molecular dynamics (MD) modeling to study the effects of hydrogen adsorption on the fracture mechanics of graphene. Both armchair and zigzag cracks under mode I and II fracture loadings are considered. Our molecular dynamics simulations predict that adsorption of hydrogen atoms to the crack tip or surface leads to a reduction in graphene toughness and can alter the crack propagation paths. Based on our MD simulations, the location of carbon atoms at which hydrogen atoms are attached is a main factor in the level of impact that hydrogen atoms have on the fracture properties of graphene.
Induction of endothelial tissue factor by endotoxin and its precursors.

The structural determinants of lipopolysaccharide required for the induction of tissue factor in human umbilical vein endothelial cells were studied. Intact lipid A was essential for the induction of tissue factor whereas the incomplete lipid A precursors lipid IV A and lipid X, as well as monophosphoryl lipid A and acyloxyacyl hydrolase-treated lipopolysaccharide, were unable to induce tissue factor and tissue factor specific mRNA. However, the lipid A precursor, lipid IV A , was able to inhibit LPS-mediated induction of tissue factor; structural determinants distal to lipid A were found to be required for maximal induction of tissue factor activity and tissue factor mRNA. The presence of serum in the assay was found to amplify but was not obligate for tissue factor induction by LPS
Long Term Effects of Gastrocystoplasty in Rats

Twenty prepubescent rats underwent microsurgical gastrocystoplasty by a technique which is described. An equal number of control rats had their bladders opened and closed. Rats were sacrificed at 16 to 18 months postoperatively. There were no differences in final weight, serum electrolytes, or renal function between the two groups. Prominent histopathologic changes of the bladder occurred in the gastrocystoplasty group. These changes included papillomas present in five of the 15 rats surviving long term. No significant changes occurred in the bladders of the control group of rats. Possible etiologies and the significance of the rats. Possible etiologies and the significance of the gastrocystoplasty related lesions are discussed.
Choledochal Cyst Disease in a Western Center: A 30-Year Experience

The aim of this study was to report a Western experience in the diagnosis and management of choledochal cyst disease. Sixty-seven patients were identified including 15 children and 52 adults; 76.1 % were females. The median age at diagnosis was 3 [inter-quartile range (IQR) = 6.0–0.7] years for children, and 46 [IQR = 55.6–34.3] years for adults. Forty-eight patients (72 %) were symptomatic. Types of choledochal cyst included: I (n = 49, 73.1 %), II (n = 1, 1.5 %), IV (n = 9, 13.4 %), and V (n = 8, 12 %). The median diameter of the type I choledochal cyst was 35 [IQR = 47–25] mm. All 48 patients underwent excision of cyst with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy, and eight underwent resection with hepaticoduodenostomy. Six patients underwent liver resection, and five patients underwent orthotopic liver transplantation. Malignancy was concomitant in five adult patients, being identified on preoperative imaging in three cases; and atypia was seen in three additional patients. Early morbidity included Clavien–Dindo classification grades III (n = 7) and II (n = 5), while long-term complications consisted of Clavien–Dindo grades V (n = 5), IV (n = 2), III (n = 18), and II (n = 1). Presentation and management of choledochal cyst is varied. Malignant transformation is often detected incidentally, and so should be the driving source for resection when a choledochal cyst is diagnosed.
Bone Repair by Regeneration

New bone formation has always captured the imagination and attention of bone surgeons. First, closing a defect was studied, followed by creating a defect and closing it surgically. Regeneration of bone is scientifically sound and is achieved by distraction, stretching, or induction. Bone healing enhancers in the form of bioactive bone substitutes that can crystallize already have been used. Bone grafts continue to be the “workhorse” of all skeletal repairs.
Urban jungle, Ferguson: Rhetorical homology and institutional critique

ABSTRACTIn this article, I use the rhetorical homology of the urban jungle to conduct an institutional critique of law enforcement in Ferguson, MO, after Michael Brown was killed. Rhetorical homologies and institutions intersect where language and practice coalesce, which is to say where group consciousness takes material forms. I investigate how, in news coverage of Ferguson, a common form was present across verbal devices and nonverbal practices at macro and micro levels that constituted black neighborhoods as subterranean spaces that needed colonization or containment, as frontier scenes with a savage character logic imposed upon its residents. The homology inscribes particular meanings into black and white skin colors with Anglophile cultural codes, which establishes a savage/explorer binary and keeps black people and spaces invisible, impoverished, and susceptible to racialized policing. The tools of institutional critique—postmodern mapping, boundary interrogation, and micro/macro alignment—inform t...
Reinventing the STEAM Engine for Art + Design Education

If we work every day as K–12 art + design teachers, arts coordinators, museum professionals, or university teacher educators, why should science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) matter? STEAM matters because we are more than just instructors of art and art education. While most of our students year in and year out will not become professional artists, we are nevertheless arguably the primary teachers of creativity our students will ever have throughout their education. Fundamentally, our job is to instigate and foster arts practice and design thinking as a means for individual learning, social responsibility, and creative problem solving—mediating ideas and materials toward meaningful and enduring solutions. The art studio is one of the very few spaces in school or society where widely divergent outcomes are encouraged and never-before-imagined design solutions are valued. As an acronym for educational imagination, STEAM promises the enhancement of divergent outcomes emerging from the art +...
Value Capture Taxation as an Infrastructure Funding Technique

A legitimate argument is that the public sector must restore its contribution to the financing of the new infrastructure. However, for both political and economic reasons, an increase in broad-based taxes or debt seems to be off the table; new funding vehicles are clearly necessary. This essay identifies value capture taxation as a partial solution to this infrastructure funding problem. Value capture is a set of techniques that take advantage of the increase in property values to finance service and infrastructure improvements.
Door-to-Imaging Time for Acute Stroke Patients Is Adversely Affected by Emergency Department Crowding.

Background and Purpose— National guidelines call for door-to-imaging time (DIT) within 25 minutes for suspected acute stroke patients. Studies examining factors that affect DIT have focused primarily on stroke-specific care processes and patient-specific factors. We hypothesized that emergency department (ED) crowding is associated with longer DIT. Methods— We conducted a retrospective investigation of 1 year of consecutive patients in our prospective Code Stroke registry, which included all ED stroke team activations. The registry and electronic health records were abstracted for 27 potential predictors of DIT, including patient, stroke care process, and ED operational factors. We fit a multivariate logistic regression model and calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Second, we constructed a random forest recursive partitioning model to cross-validate our findings and explore the proportional importance of each category of predictor. Our primary outcome was the binary variable of DIT within the 25-minute goal. Results— A total of 463 patients met inclusion criteria. In the regression model, ED occupancy rate emerged as a predictor of DIT, with odds ratio of 0.83 (95% confidence interval, 0.75–0.91) of DIT within 25 minutes per 10% absolute increase in ED occupancy rate. The secondary analysis estimated that ED operational factors accounted for nearly 14% of the algorithm’s prediction of DIT. Conclusions— ED crowding is associated with reduced odds of meeting DIT goals for acute stroke. In addition to improving stroke-specific processes of care, efforts to reduce ED overcrowding should be considered central to optimizing the timeliness of acute stroke care.
Contextual Task Recognition to Assist Mobile Robot Teleoperation with Introspective Estimation Using Gaussian Process

To appropriately assist mobile robot teleoperation within a shared autonomy system for remote task executions, this paper reports a novel approach to recognize the contextual task the human operator performs, by employing Sparse Online Gaussian Process to learn and classify human motion patterns executing various task types from demonstrations, due to its superior introspective capability over other state-of-art classification methods, such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), which is probably the most widely used approach on this topic to date. Our approach is evaluated on real data and shown to outperform current methods both in classification accuracy and uncertainty estimation regarding the predictive class labels, while maintaining sparsity to scale with large datasets.
Tipping the Scale — The Norms Hypothesis and Primary Care Physician Behavior

The norms hypothesis suggests that physicians will develop a relatively uniform approach to care that’s consistent with their overall financial incentives. So physician behavior may not change until enough patients are covered by risk-based contracts to justify change.
Kinetic Machine Learning Unravels Ligand-Directed Conformational Change of μ Opioid Receptor

The μ Opioid Receptor (μOR) is a G-Protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR) that mediates pain and is a key target for clinically administered analgesics. The current generation of prescribed opiates -- drugs that bind to μOR -- engender dangerous side effects such as respiratory depression and addiction in part by stabilizing off-target conformations of the receptor. To determine both the key conformations of μOR to atomic resolution as well as the transitions between them, long timescale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted and analyzed. These simulations predict new and potentially druggable metastable states that have not been observed by crystallography. We applied cutting edge algorithms (e.g., tICA and Transfer Entropy) to guide our analysis and distill the key events and conformations from simulation, presenting a transferrable and systematic analysis scheme. Our approach provides a complete, predictive model of the dynamics, structure of states, and structure-ligand relationships of μOR with broad applicability to GPCR biophysics and medicinal chemistry.
Diagnosis and Management of Barrett-Related Neoplasia in the Modern Era

Whereas in the past, pathologists were hesitant to diagnose high-grade dysplasia in patients with Barrett esophagus, because this diagnosis prompted esophagectomy, current international consensus is that endoscopic treatment is the management for high-grade dysplasia and intramucosal carcinoma. Furthermore, many centers advocate endoscopic ablation for low-grade dysplasia. As such, establishing a diagnosis of dysplasia has become the key step; separation between the grades of dysplasia is less critical. This article offers some criteria for separating dysplasia from reactive changes, discusses pitfalls in interpreting endoscopic mucosal resection specimens, and outlines management strategies.
Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes: An Emerging Epidemic among Obese Youth

Publisher Summary The global increase in pediatric obesity has contributed to an increase in the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), which has now been reported worldwide. Diabetes is defined as fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥ 7.0 mmol/l (126 mg/dl)or 2-hourpost glucose challenge plasma glucose ≥ 11.1 mmol/l (200 mg/dl). Recently, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥ 6.5% has been recommended to diagnose diabetes in adults. Estimating prevalence of diabetes in youth is difficult because many studies report center-based results and may not report comparable information. Many large population-based studies included both type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 (T2DM). With T2DM clearly now a pediatric disease, providers of children are charged with screening at-risk youth for not only T2DM but dyslipidemias and NAFLD in addition to multiple other comorbidities of obesity. With a clearer understanding of risk factors for T2DM in youth, pediatric providers have in important role in identifying these young people in an attempt to modulate the long-term complications of this chronic disease.
Good Grades and a Bad Reputation: Gender, Academics, and Relational Aggression.

Relational aggression involves excluding peers from social activities and spreading harmful rumors about the victim. Assumptions that only girls are victimized in this way are largely debunked, yet...
Comparative analysis of AKT and the related biomarkers in uterine leiomyomas with MED12, HMGA2, and FH mutations.

Uterine leiomyomas (ULM) are histologically and molecularly heterogeneous and clinically they grow at vastly different rates. Several driver gene mutations have been identified in ULM, including MED12 mutations, HMGA2 overexpression, and biallelic FH inactivation. ULM with different driver mutant genes may use different molecular pathways, but currently no clear correlation between gene mutations and growth related pathways has been established. To better define this relationship, we collected ULM with MED12 (n = 25), HMGA2 (n = 15), and FH (n = 27) mutations and examined the sex steroid hormone, cell cycle, and AKT pathway genes by immunohistochemistry. While ER and PR were highly expressed in all types of ULM, FH ULM showed lower ER expression and higher PR expression. HMGA2 tumors had significantly higher levels of AKT signaling and mitogenic activity than other ULM types. HMGA2 activated AKT signaling through upregulation of IGF2BP2. Silencing HMGA2 in ULM cells resulted in downregulation of AKT and upregulation of p16 and p21, which eventually led to cell senescence. HMGA2 overexpression in ULM is not only related to tumor development but also plays a role in controlling cellular proliferation through the AKT pathway.
The Desperate Case of the Gambler’s Ruin

Suppose you are standing on the number line at O. With probability p you go one unit step to the right to 1 and with probability q = 1 - p you go one unit step to the left to -1. The procedure is then repeated: wherever you are after the first move, you go one step to the right with probability p and one step to the left with probability q. If you keep moving according to this rule, you execute what is called a random walk on the integers. Your position after move n (that is, the integer you are standing on after move n) is given by the random variable S n = X 1 + X2+ • • • + X n , where the X i are independent, taking the values +1 and -1 with probabilities p and q,respectively.
An integrated large- and small-group approach for conducting meetings that lead to social action.

ABSTRACTLarge meetings and small-group sessions each have advantages and deficiencies in dealing with social issues. The goals of conveying information, effectively changing attitudes, and encouraging action are often best achieved by integrating small-group sessions within the context of a large meeting. An approach involving three phases for a 2-hour meeting is described: (1) an initial plenary of all participants; (2) small-group sessions conducted by previously trained group facilitators drawn from the host organization; (3) a concluding plenary session centering around brief reports from the small groups. The application of some concepts of positive mental health, contracting, and empowerment to facilitate social action are discussed.
Is ctDNA the Road Map to the Landscape of the Clonal Mutational Evolution in Drug Resistance? Lessons from the PALOMA-3 Study and Implications for Precision Medicine.

Summary: The correlative circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) studies of the PALOMA-3 clinical trial showed that acquired resistance to fulvestrant and palbociclib is associated with clonal evolution and acquired mutations in RB1, PIK3CA, and ESR1, with the latter two related to fulvestrant resistance. These results highlight the potential of ctDNA as a tool to detect mechanisms of resistance and infer the next line of treatment. Cancer Discov; 8(11); 1352–4. ©2018 AACR. See related article by O9Leary et al., p. 1390.
Use of affinity allows anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial dual release that matches suture wound resolution.

Surgical sutures are vulnerable to bacterial infections and biofilm formation. At the suture site, pain and undesirable, excess inflammation are additionally detrimental to wound healing. The development of a polymerized cyclodextrin (pCD) coated surgical suture introduces the capability to locally deliver both anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial drugs throughout the phases of acute and chronic healing. Local delivery allows for the improvement of wound healing while reducing related systemic side effects and drug resistance. Through testing, it has been shown that the fabrication of our pCD coating minimally affects the suture's mechanical properties. In vitro studies show measurable and consistent drug delivery for nearly 5 weeks. The therapeutic level of this delivery is sufficient to show inhibition of bacterial growth for 4 weeks, and free-radical scavenging (an in vitro anti-inflammatory activity approximation) for 2 weeks. With this pCD coating technique, we maintain clinical performance standards while also introducing a long-term dual delivery system relevant to the wound healing timeframe. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2019.
Improving Outpatient Quality of Care for Children with Asthma by Adhering to National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (naepp) Guidelines

Introduction: Poorly controlled asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism and accounts for billions in medical costs annually for children. Public health goals outlined in Healthy People 2020 focus on mitigating the impact of asthma by attempting to reduce hospitalizations, emergency department visits and mortality. The aim of this project is to improve quality of care by increasing …
False Positive Cardiotoxicity Events in Cancer-Related Clinical Trials: Risks Related to Imperfect Noninvasive Parameters.

PURPOSE Cardiac ultrasound provides important structural and functional information that makes identification of cardiac abnormalities possible. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) provides the most commonly used parameter for recognition of treatment-related cardiac dysfunction. Random reading variance and physiologic factors influence LVEF and make the reported value imperfect. We attempt to quantitate the likelihood of false positive events by computer simulation. METHODS We simulated four visits on hypothetical trials. We assumed a baseline LVEF of 55% and normal distribution with regard to reading error and physiologic variation. 1,000 trials of sample size 1,500 were simulated. In a separate simulation, 1,000 patients entered with LVEFs of 45, 43, and 41% to estimate true positive incidence. RESULTS At each examination, less than 1.0% of false positives were noted. The cumulative false positive rate over four visits was 3.60%. True cardiotoxicity identification is satisfactory only when LVEF declines substantially. CONCLUSION A 3.60% false positive rate in trials where the expected level of toxicity is low suggests that false positives are troubling and may exceed true positive results. Strategies to reduce the number of false positive results include making confirmatory studies mandatory. Evaluating increases along with decreases obtains some estimation of variance.
Sub-mW optical parametric oscillation across visible and telecommunications bands using silicon nanophotonics

We demonstrate the first optical parametric oscillator (OPO) across visible and telecommunications bands using silicon nanophotonics. Its sub-mW threshold power is ≈ 50 to 400 times smaller than widely-separated OPOs demonstrated in other platforms.
Short communication: Reproduction outcomes in dairy heifers following a 14-d progesterone insert presynchronization protocol.

ABSTRACT The objectives were to evaluate pregnancy per artificial insemination (AI), days to first AI, and proportion pregnant within 7 d of AI eligibility in dairy heifers subjected to presynchronization compared with dairy heifers not presynchronized. Thirty days before AI eligibility, Holstein heifers were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 groups: 14-d controlled internal drug release (CIDR; containing progesterone) presynchronization, PGF2α presynchronization, or control (no presynchronization). Heifers in the 14-d CIDR presynchronization treatment (n = 119) received a CIDR on d −30, which was removed on d −16, followed by an injection of PGF2α upon entry to the breeding program (d 0). Heifers in the PGF2α presynchronization treatment (n = 118) received an injection of PGF2α on d −11 and d 0. Control heifers (n = 121) were not presynchronized and received an injection of PGF2α on d 0. All heifers received tail paint on d 0 to facilitate once-daily detection of estrus (based on paint removal). Heifers detected in estrus received AI with conventional semen on the same morning as detected estrus. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess mean treatment differences. Following PGF2α treatment on d 0, more heifers were detected in estrus in the first 7 d after eligibility in the 14-d CIDR group (95.8%) compared with the PGF2α (74.6%) and control (66.9%) groups. Days to first AI differed between treatments (14-d CIDR = 3.6 d vs. PGF2α = 5.0 d vs. control = 6.8 d). Pregnancy per AI for first AI within 7 d of eligibility was 71.9% (14-d CIDR), 58.0% (PGF2α), and 61.7% (control), and differed between 14-d CIDR and PGF2α heifers. Presynchronization with a 14-d CIDR increased the proportion of heifers pregnant in the first 7 d of eligibility (14-d CIDR = 68.9% vs. PGF2α = 43.2% vs. control = 41.3%). Projected days on feed (d 0 to projected calving date) were 295 (14-d CIDR), 302 (PGF2α), and 305 (control), and were different between the 14-d CIDR and control heifers. The potential economic benefit to the producer was $15.85 per heifer presynchronized with a 14-d CIDR protocol compared with the control group. Treatment of dairy heifers with a 14-d CIDR effectively presynchronized estrus, resulting in a greater proportion detected in estrus, reduced days to first AI, and an increased proportion of heifers pregnant within the first 7 d after breeding eligibility compared with heifers presynchronized with a single PGF2α injection and control heifers.
Investigating ammonia emissions in a coastal urban airshed using stable isotope techniques.

Abstract Increases in reactive nitrogen (N) production and consumption have caused ammonia (NH3) emissions to the atmosphere to increase up to five times since the industrial revolution, resulting in negative impacts on the environment and human health. Understanding regional NH3 emissions and atmospheric dynamics is essential for creating realistic mitigation strategies. This study utilized stable isotope techniques to quantify and characterize NH3 emissions in a coastal urban air shed (i.e., Corpus Christi, TX, U.S.A.). NH3 was then passively collected at eight sites from September 2016 through August 2017 and analyzed for isotopic composition. The average atmospheric NH3 concentration for the region was 1.24 ± 0.98 μg/m3 with mean and concentration-weighted mean δ15N-NH3 values of −19.1 ± 12.7‰ and −17.1‰ respectively. The mixing model IsoError was used for source attribution, indicating that ambient NH3 was equally influenced by non-agricultural (55 ± 6%) and agricultural (45 ± 6%) emission sources with some seasonal variation. Sites adjacent to large water bodies exhibited low [NH3] coupled with a significant influence from non-agriculture emissions indicating a possible influence from marine-sourced NH3 which was further investigated using a three endmember SIAR bayesian mixing model. This work also examined the effects that varying degrees of kinetic and equilibrium fractionation via PM2.5 formation may have had on the δ15N-NH3(g) values observed in this study. A practical scenario assuming competing equilibrium and kinetic effects was used to calculate the δ15N-NH3(g) value of the original NH3 gas before fractionation occurred and calculated mean and concentration-weighted mean δ15N-NH3 for the region were −21.5 ± 12.4‰ and –22.3‰ respectively with no significant changes in source attribution. This work has shown that agricultural and non-agricultural sources of NH3 can equally contribute to ambient NH3 in urban environments and that marine NH3 must be taken into consideration when performing emission inventories in coastal regions.
Online Undergraduate Laboratories in Electrical Engineering

This innovative practice paper describes the development of online undergraduate laboratories in electrical engineering as a work in progress. Our goal is to create electrical engineering labs for the online program that are equivalent to on-campus labs. Equivalence implies that labs support the same cognitive and affective learning outcomes for both on-campus and online students. We addressed this challenge by implementing labs that fall into three specific categories: (1) labs which have a hands-on component that was realized in the online program using student-owned hardware, (2) labs which involve a simulation experience or are supported by virtual reality environments and (3) virtual laboratories that allow remote access to high-value equipment using freely available web conferencing tools. Assessment data based on Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) student performance criteria and student course feedback confirm that the laboratories are effective and well-received by students.
Less Invasive Cervical Decompression via Unilateral Tubular Laminotomy Using 3-Dimensional Total Navigation: 2-Dimensional Operative Video.

This video demonstrates the step-by-step surgical technique for a less invasive cervical unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression (cervical ULBD). This technique allows surgeons to address bilateral cervical pathology while minimizing approach-related complications.1 In the video, we present the case of a 72-yr-old female patient with a past medical history of C3-C4 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion who presented in clinic with persistent posterior spinal cord compression and signal change. The patient had bilateral hand numbness, weakness, poor dexterity, and a positive Hoffman's sign. The patient was treated via a C3-C4 less invasive cervical ULBD using a mobile 3-dimensional (3D) C-arm (Ziehm Vision RFD 3D®, Nurnberg, Germany) combined with 3D computer navigation. Patient consent was obtained prior to performing the procedure. Contrary to anterior techniques, posterior cervical approaches avoid potential dysphasia, recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, and adjacent segment degeneration. Furthermore, the less invasive cervical ULBD results in decreased pain and postoperative narcotic usage, shorter hospital stays and fewer infections compared to open approaches, as well as a lower risk for postlaminectomy kyphosis and deformity, since it requires less muscle disruption and bony removal. Additionally, the use of total 3D navigation facilitates the workflow and minimizes radiation exposure.
Seasonal expressions of SPAG11A and androgen receptor in the epididymis of the wild ground squirrels ( Citellus dauricus Brandt).

Sperm-associated antigen 11A (SPAG11A) is expressed exclusively in the epididymis, which can specifically regulate sperm maturation. The aim of this study was to investigate the seasonal expressions of beta-defensin (SPAG11A) and androgen receptor (AR) in the epididymis of the wild ground squirrels (Citellus dauricus Brandt). Morphologically, the results showed that epididymis length and weight in the breeding season were significantly higher than those of the non-breeding season. Histologically, the results revealed that enlarged lumen diameters, thickened epithelial and abundant sperm in the breeding season while reduced lumen diameters and epithelial with no sperm in the non-breeding season. SPAG11A was intensely expressed in cytoplasm and nucleus of epithelial cells in the breeding season, and weaker staining in the non-breeding season. The immunostaining of AR was only presented in nucleus of smooth muscle cells and epithelial cells in the whole epididymis with stronger staining in the breeding season. The results of real-time quantitative PCR also showed that the mRNA levels of SPAG11A and AR in the epididymis during the breeding season were significantly higher than those of the non-breeding season. In addition, the levels of testosterone (T), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in the serum were higher during the breeding season. Taken together, these results suggested that SPAG11A might play an important role to regulate seasonal changes in epididymal function of the wild ground squirrels.
Early Effects of COVID-19 on Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Training-Results From a National Survey.

Purpose The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an immense impact on the healthcare industry. Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) clinical practice uniquely exposes providers to COVID-19. The purpose of the present study was to understand the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on OMS residency training programs (OMSRTPs): 1) training and education; 2) availability and use of personal protective equipment (PPE); 3) experience with, and use of, screening and viral testing; 4) resident experience; and 5) program director (PD) experience and observations of the immediate and future effects on OMSRTPs. Materials and Methods OMS residents and PDs in OMSRTPs in the United States were invited to participate in the present cross-sectional study from April 1, 2020 to May 1, 2020. A 51-question survey was used to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on OMSRTPs and to assess the 5 specific aims of the present study. Results A total of 160 residents and 13 PDs participated in the survey, representing 83% of US states or territories with OMSRTPs. Almost all residents (96.5%) reported modifications to their training program, and 14% had been reassigned to off-service clinical rotations (eg, medicine, intensive care unit). The use of an N95 respirator mask plus standard PPE precautions during aerosol-generating procedures varied by procedure location, with 36.8% reporting limited access to these respirators. Widespread screening practices were in use, with 83.6% using laboratory-based viral testing. Residents scheduled to graduate in 2022 were most concerned with the completion of the graduation requirements and with decreased operative experience. Most residents (94.2%) had moved to web-based didactics, and a plurality (47%) had found increased value in the didactics. Conclusions Sweeping alterations to OMS clinical practice have occurred for those in OMSRTPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the overall OMSRTP response has been favorable, residents' concerns regarding the ubiquitous availability of appropriate PPE, operative experience, and completion of graduation requirements requires further deliberation.
Data-driven Bus Crowding Prediction Models Using Context-specific Features

Public transit is one of the first things that come to mind when someone talks about “smart cities.” As a result, many technologies, applications, and infrastructure have already been deployed to bring the promise of the smart city to public transportation. Most of these have focused on answering the question, “When will my bus arrive?”; little has been done to answer the question, “How full will my next bus be?” which also dramatically affects commuters’ quality of life. In this article, we consider the bus fullness problem. In particular, we propose two different formulations of the problem, develop multiple predictive models, and evaluate their accuracy using data from the Pittsburgh region. Our predictive models consistently outperform the baselines (by up to 8 times).
Acute nicotine reinforcement requires ability to discriminate the stimulus effects of nicotine.

This review of research on behavioral discrimination of nicotine and how it informs public health policy for reducing risk of tobacco dependence is adapted from Kenneth A. Perkins's American Psychological Association Division 28 (Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse) 2020 Med Associates Brady/Schuster Award Lecture. The author's initial programmatic clinical research on nicotine is introduced, especially efforts to develop and validate a novel method of acute nicotine dosing. After the public health rationale for characterizing the discriminative stimulus effects of nicotine in humans are described, details from two separate programs of research on nicotine discrimination in humans are presented. The first, conducted with nicotine dosing by nasal spray, documented that humans could discriminate nicotine administered rapidly, examined nicotine's neuropharmacological specificity, identified discrimination threshold dose in smokers and nonsmokers, and explored other conditions that might alter ability to discriminate its effects. The second, more recent program focused on threshold doses for discrimination of nicotine by cigarette smoking, a program that was very difficult to do until the past decade, and how nicotine's self-reported "reward" and preference via choice behavior relate to its discriminability. Differences due to menthol and degree of tobacco dependence were also examined. For each of these two programs, the main findings of selected studies are noted, followed by very recent work on nicotine discrimination and choice that informs Food and Drug Administration's efforts to formulate public policy to improve health and reduce the nearly half million American deaths per year due to persistent tobacco use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Adaptive regulation for motion control of magnetic tape storage systems

Knowledge of the dynamics of the servo actuator can be used to estimate the disturbances present in a digital servo system of a magnetic tape storage system. It is shown how the actuator dynamics can be used to parametrize perturbations on the control algorithm to minimize the effects of periodic disturbance via adaptive regulation. The approach relies on a fractional representation of the actuator dynamic model and a parametrization of the servo controller that preserves convexity of the minimization of the effects of the disturbances. Motion control experiments of a servo actuator in a Linear Tape Open (LTO) drive operating under feedback with noisy and periodic components in the position error signal measurements will be used to illustrate the effectiveness of the adaptive regulation for the LTO drive under varying disturbance conditions. The results show the possibility to implement a motion control system with adaptive regulation that cancels periodic disturbances with multiple harmonic components.
Purification of soluble and mitochondrial glutamine transaminase K from rat kidney. Use of a sensitive assay involving transamination between L-phenylalanine and alpha-keto-gamma-methiolbutyrate.

Abstract A sensitive assay is described for glutamine transaminase K which makes use of the l -phenylalanine-α-keto-γ-methiolbutyrate transaminase reaction. The procedure is based upon the following observations: (1) Rat kidney l -phenylalanine-α-keto-γ-methiolbutyrate transaminase activity copurifies with l -glutamine-phenylpyruvate transaminase activity. The two activities cannot be separated by a slab gel polyacrylamide electrophoresis procedure. (2) Phenylpyruvate has a high extinction coefficient at 322 nm in 3 m KOH (ϵ = 24,000), whereas the absorption due to α-keto-γ-methiolbutyrate is negligible. The phenylalanine-α-keto-γ-methiolbutyrate transaminase reaction has several advantages over the previously utilized glutamine-phenylpyruvate transaminase reaction in that it is a more sensitive procedure and measures the appearance of product rather than the disappearance of substrate. A method is described that makes use of the new assay procedure for the isolation of highly purified mitochondrial and soluble forms of glutamine transaminase K. The soluble form of the enzyme appeared to be at least 90% pure as judged by the criterion of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in three separate systems, one of which contained sodium dodecyl sulfate. However, the mitochondrial enzyme preparation was shown to contain two proteins, only one of which was an active glutamine transaminase. The inactive protein made up about 80% of the total protein. Both isozymes appear to have a molecular weight of 100,000 and to be composed of two identical subunits with a molecular weight of 48,000. Histidine-pyruvate transaminase II of rat kidney was also found to copurify with glutamine-phenylpyruvate transaminase.
Campaign Finance Disclosure and the Information Tradeoff

Campaign finance law is in shambles, and many believe that wealthy, shadowy interests dominate American politics. Reformers have rested their hopes on disclosure — mandated, public disclosure of what individuals, corporations, super PACs, and others spend on politics. Reformers argue that disclosure provides valuable information to voters, and the Supreme Court agrees. Opponents, on the other hand, vilify disclosure for chilling speech and infringing the First Amendment rights of speakers. Both positions — disclosure informs voters, disclosure chills speech — have become conventional wisdom.This Article challenges that wisdom. First, it shows that disclosure does not necessarily inform voters. Rather, it creates an information tradeoff. Revealing sources of speech provides voters with information, but disclosure can also chill speech, and that takes information away — the information contained in the chilled speech. When the second effect outweighs the first, disclosure actually reduces voter information. Second, this Article argues that disclosure does not necessarily chill speech. It can thaw it. By providing potential speakers with information about the positions and credibility of candidates, disclosure can prompt actors to speak when they otherwise would not. When disclosure thaws speech, there is no information tradeoff. Voters gain information in two ways — source revelation and more speech acts — and lose it in none. When disclosure thaws speech, it promotes exactly those First Amendment values it is thought to undermine.
Optical and structural studies of relaxation in strained-layer superlattices

Abstract Asymmetrically and symmetrically strained Si SiGe superlattices were grown on Si(001) by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) and studied as a function of thermal treatments. X-ray diffraction was used to monitor the extent of interdiffusion with annealing time and temperature and results indicate that initially the interdiffusion is very rapid and non-linear, but later a steady-state regime is attained. Raman spectroscopy has shown that in the very early heating stages, strain relaxation occurs predominantly by interdiffusion, and Ge diffusion can be enhanced by strain. The results also indicate that a significant contribution to the interdiffusion occurs by an interstitial-type mechanism.
Indirect determination of aqueous ozone concentrations via oxidation of iron(II)

Abstract A method is described for determination of ozone in clean aqueous solutions from the extent of oxidation of excess of iron (II); the excess is quantified spectrophotometrically by using 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline disulfonate. With suitable reaction conditions, the ozone concentrations thus determined agree within 1% with those determined by ultraviolet absorption for ozone concentrations near 3×10−4 M and within 5% with those obtained by using the indigo dye bleaching method for ozone concentrations near 3×10−5 M.
Measurements of Accent and Attitude Toward Mexican-American Speech

Three linguists reliably judged the accentedness of 32 Mexican-Americans and four Anglo male readers using a 7-point Preliminary Accentedness Scale. Next, the judges provided reliable assessments of the relative frequency of 18 types of accented pronunciation for nine of the speakers. An Accentedness Index was developed by averaging the relative frequencies over the 18 pronunciations. Accentedness measures produced by the linguists for the nine test speakers were compared with ratings of status, solidarity, and accent given by naive raters in another experiment (Brennan and Brennan, 1978). The Accentedness Index was a significant predictor of the Preliminary Accentedness Scale, of accentedness assessments by the naive listeners, and of status judgments. Pronunciation types were significant predictors both of accent and of status. Results are discussed in terms of validation of the concept of accentedness. Future use of accentedness measures to investigate spontaneous speech and attitudes of listeners toward their own speech is suggested.
Molecular Addition Compounds. 12. Borane Adducts of Trialkylamines with Isopropyl and Isobutyl Groups of Intermediate Steric Requirements for Hydroboration

Borane adducts of selected trialkylamines with isopropyl and isobutyl groups of intermediate steric requirements have been prepared and examined as hydroborating agents. Their reactivity toward 1-o...
Reaction rate oscillations during CO oxidation over Pt/γ-Al2O3; Experimental observations and mechanistic causes

Abstract In this paper we present experimental observations of reaction rate oscillations during CO oxidation over Pt/γ-Al 2 O 3 at atmospheric pressures. Based on our experimental observations and prior experimental literature on this reaction we propose a mechanistic scheme, which we believe explains in qualitative terms the oscillatory behavior exhibited by this catalytic reaction system. This mechanistic scheme involves a Langmuir-Hinshelwood reaction between adsorbed CO and oxygen and a slow formation and reduction step of an inactive surface oxide species. Our experimental observations and mechanistic ideas, furthermore, support the existence of multiple time scale phenomena for this catalytic reaction system, an idea originally suggested by Chang and Aluko.
Parity Negatively Impacts Vaginal Mechanical Properties and Collagen Structure in Rhesus Macaques

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of parity on mechanical behavior of the vagina and to correlate these findings with alterations in collagen structure. Study Design Mechanical properties of 5 nulliparous and 6 parous rhesus macaques were derived from uniaxial tensile tests. Collagen ratios and alignment were quantified by quantitative fluorescent microscopy and picrosirius red staining. Outcomes were compared by the Student t test or Mann Whitney U test ( P Results Mechanical properties were inferior in a parous vs nulliparous vagina with decreased tangent modulus ( P = .03), tensile strength ( P P = .006). Although no difference in collagen ratios ( P = .26) were observed, collagen alignment decreased with parity ( P = .06). Worsening pelvic organ support negatively correlated with decreasing collagen alignment (r 2 = –0.66) and mechanical properties (r 2 = –0.67). Conclusion Vaginal parity is associated with inferior tissue mechanics and loss of collagen alignment. Such behavior likely predisposes to the development of pelvic organ prolapse.
Excitation band dependence of sulfur isotope mass-independent fractionation during photochemistry of sulfur dioxide using broadband light sources

Abstract Ultraviolet photolysis of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) is hypothesized to be the source of the sulfur isotope mass-independent fractionation (S-MIF) observed in Archean sulfate and sulfide minerals and modern stratospheric sulfate aerosols. A series of photochemical experiments were performed to examine the excitation band dependence of S-MIF during the photochemistry of SO 2 under broadband light sources (a xenon arc lamp and a deuterium arc lamp). Optical filters (200 ± 35 nm bandpass and 250 nm longpass filters) were used to separately access two different excitation bands of SO 2 in the 190–220 nm and the 250–330 nm absorption regions, respectively. UV irradiation of SO 2 in the 190–220 nm and 250–330 nm regions both produced elemental sulfur (S 0 ) and sulfur trioxide (SO 3 ) as end products but yielded very different sulfur isotope signatures. The elemental sulfur products from direct photolysis in the 190–220 nm region were characterized by high δ 34 S values (154.7–212.0‰), modest Δ 33 S anomalies of 21 ± 3‰, and relatively constant 33 λ (=ln(δ 33 S + 1)/ln(δ 34 S + 1)) values of 0.64 ± 0.3, all with respect to the initial SO 2 . Photoexcitation in the 250–330 nm region produced elemental sulfur with δ 34 S values of 7.7–29.1‰ and Δ 33 S values of 15.0 ± 1.6‰. In both excitation regions, the SO 3 products were mass dependently fractionated relative to the SO 2 reservoir. The two different absorption regions produced contrasting Δ 36 S/Δ 33 S signatures in the elemental sulfur products, with Δ 36 S/Δ 33 S = −1.9 ± 0.3 and 0.64 ± 0.3 for the 190–220 nm and 250–330 nm bands, respectively. Our results provide several critical constraints on the origin of the S-MIF signatures observed in modern stratospheric aerosols and in the Archean geological record. A lack of S-MIF in the sulfate product and positive Δ 36 S/Δ 33 S ratios for the elemental sulfur from SO 2 photo-oxidation demonstrate that photoexcitation in the 250–330 nm region is not a likely source for the S-MIF observed in modern stratospheric aerosols. Large δ 34 S fractionation, 33 λ values, and Δ 36 S/Δ 33 S ratios observed for the 190–220 nm band are qualitatively consistent with predictions from synthetic isotopologue-specific cross sections. These isotope patterns, however, are not compatible with the Archean rock record. We explore the possibility that S-MIF from both the 190 to 220 nm and the 250 to 330 nm absorption bands could have contributed to the Archean S-MIF signatures.