cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Determination of 20 phthalate acid esters in edible oil by UPLC-MS/MS

Objective: To establish a method for detection of 20 phthalate acid esters(PAEs) in edible oil by UPLC-MS/MS and evaluate the levels of PAEs in 30 edible oil samples from supermarkets in Hangzhou city.Methods: The PEAs were separated with ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column(1.7μm,2.1×100mm) and detected with MS/MS detector and quantified using D4-DEHP internal standard method.Results: The linear relationship of the 20 PAEs were good with the correlation coefficients of 0.9990 ~1.0000.The lowest detection level was 0.02~1.4μg/L,the spiking recoveries were 70.0%~117.3% with the RSDs of 2.2%~11.2%(n=6),the method detection limits were 0.15μg/kg ~14.4μg/kg.Conclusion: The recovery rate and precision of the method could meet the demand for PAEs detection in edible oil.
The Influence of Collagen Impregnation of a Knitted Dacron Patch Used in Carotid Endarterectomy.

Background In selected populations, carotid endarterectomy (CEA) reduces long-term stroke risk. Studies have shown increased risk of restenosis with use of a collagen-impregnated Dacron patch compared to a polytetrafluorethylene patch. There is concern that collagen impregnation may initiate thrombosis or promote restenosis due to platelet activation. We performed a retrospective analysis of our CEA experience with routine patching using knitted Dacron patches with (Hemashield) and without (Sauvage) collagen impregnation. Methods Our database was queried for all CEAs between January 2006 and December 2010. Seven surgeons performed 655 CEAs. Patients were excluded if no patch was used ( n = 1), a primary CEA was performed before study period or by other surgeons ( n = 11), or the patch type was indeterminable ( n = 38). Demographics, clinical data, and outcomes were compared between the collagen-impregnated (C, Hemashield) group and non–collagen-impregnated (NC, Sauvage) group. Results A total of 605 CEAs were analyzed (395 C and 210 NC). Demographics were similar except for coronary artery disease (C 54.3% vs. NC 41.6%, P = 0.003). There was no statistically significant difference in 30-day (C 99.7% vs. NC 99.5%, P > 0.99) or 5-year survival (C 80.0% vs. NC 83.7%, P = 0.26) or 30-day stroke rate (C 0.3% vs. NC 1.0%, P = 0.28). No late ipsilateral strokes occurred during 5-year follow-up. The 5-year freedom from restenosis >30% (C 85.3% vs. NC 86.4%, P = 0.33), restenosis >50% (C 94.5% vs. NC 95.5%, P = 0.44), and restenosis >70% (C 98.6% vs. NC 98.9%, P = 0.73) were similar. Two patients underwent carotid stenting for restenosis >70%. Two patients (both in the C group) developed occlusion of the carotid artery. Conclusions The thrombosis and restenosis rates in the 2 groups were similar. This suggests that collagen-impregnated patches do not initiate thrombosis or increase restenosis rates after CEA.
The Public Employment Relationship and the Supreme Court in the 1980S

During the 1980s, Supreme Court decisions on the public employment relationship tended to constitutionalize public personnel administration further and to promote adjudicatory processes within it. The Court has been highly divided on issues involving the public employment relationship and, for the most part, has not developed broad general doctrines that comprehensively define the scope of public employees' constitutional rights. Rather, it has opted frequently for balancing approaches that promote a case-by-case jurisprudence that may fail to afford public personnelists adequate guidance. This article reviews Supreme Court decisions in the areas of public employees' substantive constitutional rights, their constitutional rights to procedural due process and equal protection, and their qualified immunity/liability for breaches of others' constitutional and/or federally protected statutory civil rights.
“Stop sending your kids across our border:” Discursively constructing the unaccompanied youth migrant

ABSTRACTThe recent migration of 65,000 children across the southwestern border, coupled with allegations of abuse by the U.S. Border Patrol, enables the investigation of an overlooked immigrant category: the unaccompanied youth migrant. Analyzing audience responses to news reports of the abuse, we find that established disparaging immigrant tropes apply, describing the children as an economic burden, disease carriers, and offspring of irresponsible families. We uncover two new themes: Youth migrants are channels whereby criminals may infiltrate the U.S., and manipulate legal authorities to remain in the U.S. Finally, we demonstrate how global compassion is strategically deployed to qualify harsh retaliatory measures.
Football transfers and moral responsibility

The main goal of this paper is to analyse the concept of social responsibility in sport management. By drawing on Hans Jonas, I shall analyse the concept of ‘corporate social responsibility’ in order to analyse several ambivalent cases within contemporary soccer such as the transfer of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid or the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
War Metaphors in Health Care: What Are They Good For?

Protest singer Edwin Starr powerfully asked in the early 1970s: “War, what is it good for?” Apparently, it's good enough to use in a variety of metaphorical turns of phrase. The war on poverty. The...
Induction of apoptosis in MMTV/PyMT mammary gland tumors with oral zebularine

2611 Zebularine, a synthetic analog of cytidine and a potent inhibitor of cytidine deaminase, has recently been identified as a DNA methylation inhibitor. In addition, nude mice with EJ6 bladder cancer xenografts showed induction of p16 expression and reduction of tumor growth following oral zebularine as compared to untreated controls (Cheng et al JNCI 95 p399 2003). We studied the effect of zebularine on mammary tumor growth in MMTV-PyMT transgenic mice which develop mammary tumors within 60 days with 100 percent penetrance. The mice were randomized at 46 days of age into control (n=25) and zebularine treated (n=25) groups, which were given 5 mg/ml of zebularine in drinking water. Tumors were measured twice weekly and the median tumor weight was calculated for each group. We found a significant delay in the occurrence of tumors in both the axillary and inguinal mammary glands in zebularine treated mice as compared to untreated controls. We observed a statistically significant (p = 0.01) reduction in total tumor burden at 94 days of age when the mice were sacrificed. To determine the mechanism of the zebularine tumor effect we examined the histology of the treated and control tumors. After 48 days of drug treatment the tumors were predominantly necrotic compared to the untreated animals and a high apoptotic index was observed as early as 13 days by tunel assay. A negligible level of apoptotic cells was found in tumors from control animals. Although we did not observe induction of p16 levels after 13, 23 and 48 days of zebularine treatment, we did observe induction of p21 expression, suggesting a tissue specific effect on patterns of gene demethylation. Immunoblot analysis showed depletion of DNMT1 and partial depletion of DNMT3b after zebularine treatment. To investigate the effect of zebularine on global gene expression profiles, microarray analyses were performed on tumors that were excised at 13, 23 and 48 days from both treated and untreated mice. This analysis confirmed p21 induction and the absence of p16 induction. In addition, we identified upregulation of four additional methylation regulated genes (1.5 to 2.4 fold increase) as well as a set of candidate cancer genes that may play a role in cell growth and apoptosis. Our results suggest that the pattern of DNA demethylation following zebularine treatment is restricted to specific sets of genes and that cell death and necrosis contribute to the delay in tumor growth observed in mice continuously exposed to the oral intake of the drug.
Endocannabinoids: A Promising Impact for Traumatic Brain Injury

The endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) system regulates a diverse array of physiological processes and unsurprisingly possesses considerable potential targets for the potential treatment of numerous disease states, including two receptors (i.e., CB1 and CB2 receptors) and enzymes regulating their endogenous ligands N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide) and 2-arachidonyl glycerol (2-AG). Increases in brain levels of endocannabinoids to pathogenic events suggest this system plays a role in compensatory repair mechanisms. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) pathology remains mostly refractory to currently available drugs, perhaps due to its heterogeneous nature in etiology, clinical presentation, and severity. Here, we review pre-clinical studies assessing the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids and manipulations of the endocannabinoid system to ameliorate TBI pathology. Specifically, manipulations of endocannabinoid degradative enzymes (e.g, fatty acid amide hydrolase; FAAH, monoacylglycerol lipase; MAGL, and α/β-hydrolase domain-6; ABHD6), CB1 and CB2 receptors, and their endogenous ligands have shown promise in modulating cellular and molecular hallmarks of TBI pathology such as; cell death, excitotoxicity, neuroinflammation, cerebrovascular breakdown, and cell structure and remodeling. TBI-induced behavioral deficits, such as learning and memory, neurological motor impairments, post-traumatic convulsions or seizures, and anxiety also respond to manipulations of the endocannabinoid system. As such, the endocannabinoid system possesses potential drugable receptor and enzyme targets for the treatment of diverse TBI pathology. Yet, full characterization of TBI-induced changes in endocannabinoid ligands, enzymes, and receptor populations will be important to understand that role this system plays in TBI pathology. Promising classes of compounds, such as the plant-derived phytocannabinoids, synthetic cannabinoids, and endocannabinoids, as well as their non-cannabinoid receptor targets, such as TRPV1 receptors, represent important areas of basic research and potential therapeutic interest to treat TBI.
Expanding Global Liquidity Insurance: Myths and Realities of the IMF's Precautionary Credit Lines

Despite increasing volatility in the global economy, the uptake of the IMF’s two precautionary credit lines, the Flexible Credit Line (FCL) and the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL), has remained limited — currently to just four countries. The two new lending instruments were created in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008 to enable IMF member states to respond quickly and effectively to temporary balance of payment needs resulting from external shocks. Both credit lines offer immediate access to considerable sums — over 10 times a country’s IMF quota in some cases with no (FCL) or very limited (PLL) conditionality. This paper addresses four misconceptions (or ‘myths’) that have likely played a role in the limited utilization of the two precautionary credit lines: 1) too stringent qualification criteria that limit country eligibility; 2) insufficient IMF resources; 3) high costs of precautionary borrowing; and 4) the economic stigma associated with IMF assistance. We show, in fact, that the pool of eligible member states is likely to be seven to eight times larger than the number of current users; that with the 2016 quota reform IMF resources are more than adequate to support a larger precautionary portfolio; that the two IMF credit lines are among the least costly and most advantageous instruments for liquidity support countries have; and that there is no evidence of negative market developments for countries now participating in the precautionary lines.
Glucuronidation and its impact on the bioactivity of [6]-shogaol.

cope : 6-shogaol (6S) from ginger has been reported to have diverse bioactivities and can be widely metabolized in animals and humans; however, the impact of glucuronidation on its bioactivity is still largely unknown. This study investigates the glucuronidation of 6S and its effect on cell cytotoxicity and Nrf2-inducing activities of 6S. Methods and Results : The glucuronidated metabolite of 6S, 4-O-monoglucuronide 6S (6S-G), was synthesized and characterized for the first time. Glucuronidation of 6S in humans was studied using microsomes of the liver and intestine and recombinant UGTs. The kinetics of 6S glucuronidation by human liver and intestinal microsomes followed the substrate inhibition kinetics model. The intrinsic glucuronidation clearance (CLint) of 6S in human liver microsomes was higher than that in human intestine microsomes. Among the recombinant UGTs examined, UGT1A1, 1A3, 1A6, 1A8, 1A10, 2B7, 2B15, and 2B17 exhibited glucuronidation activity toward 6S, with UGT2B7 being the most potent one. Compared with 6S, the glucuronidation of 6S largely eliminated its cell cytotoxicity against human colon cancer cell lines HT-116 and HT-29, and its Nrf2-inducing activity. Conclusion : The findings from current study provide foundations for understanding the role of glucuronidation in biotransformation and biological activities of 6S. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Disease and Health Inequalities Attributable to Air Pollutant Exposure in Detroit, Michigan.

The environmental burden of disease is the mortality and morbidity attributable to exposures of air pollution and other stressors. The inequality metrics used in cumulative impact and environmental justice studies can be incorporated into environmental burden studies to better understand the health disparities of ambient air pollutant exposures. This study examines the diseases and health disparities attributable to air pollutants for the Detroit urban area. We apportion this burden to various groups of emission sources and pollutants, and show how the burden is distributed among demographic and socioeconomic subgroups. The analysis uses spatially-resolved estimates of exposures, baseline health rates, age-stratified populations, and demographic characteristics that serve as proxies for increased vulnerability, e.g., race/ethnicity and income. Based on current levels, exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are responsible for more than 10,000 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per year, causing an annual monetized health impact of $6.5 billion. This burden is mainly driven by PM2.5 and O3 exposures, which cause 660 premature deaths each year among the 945,000 individuals in the study area. NO2 exposures, largely from traffic, are important for respiratory outcomes among older adults and children with asthma, e.g., 46% of air-pollution related asthma hospitalizations are due to NO2 exposures. Based on quantitative inequality metrics, the greatest inequality of health burdens results from industrial and traffic emissions. These metrics also show disproportionate burdens among Hispanic/Latino populations due to industrial emissions, and among low income populations due to traffic emissions. Attributable health burdens are a function of exposures, susceptibility and vulnerability (e.g., baseline incidence rates), and population density. Because of these dependencies, inequality metrics should be calculated using the attributable health burden when feasible to avoid potentially underestimating inequality. Quantitative health impact and inequality analyses can inform health and environmental justice evaluations, providing important information to decision makers for prioritizing strategies to address exposures at the local level.
Optical cryoimaging for assessment of radiation-induced injury to rat kidney metabolic state

Objective: This study utilizes fluorescence cryoimaging to quantitatively assess the effect of a high dose of irradiation on rat renal metabolism through redox state. Introduction: Exposure to high doses of irradiation could lead to death, in part, due to renal dysfunction. The kidney is one of the most sensitive organs that exhibit delayed injuries in survivors of acute radiation syndrome. In this study, optical cryoimaging was utilized to examine the potential for renal mitochondrial dysfunction after partial-body irradiation (PBI) and the mitigating effect of lisinopril-treatment, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor that is FDA-approved for other indications. Materials and methods: Rats were exposed to a single dose of 13 Gy leg-out partial body irradiation (PBI, by X-rays). Rats (n = 5/group) received no further treatment, or lisinopril started one week after irradiation and continued at 24 mg/m 2 /day. The non-irradiated siblings were used as controls. After 150 days, the rats were sacrificed, and their kidneys harvested and snap frozen in liquid nitrogen for later cryoimaging. The 3D images of metabolic indices (NADH and FAD) were captured, and the redox ratio i.e. NADH/FAD was calculated. The mitochondrial redox state of three groups of rat kidneys were quantified by calculating the volumetric mean of redox ratio images (RR). Results: 3D cryoimaging revealed that in PBI only kidneys, the metabolic marker (RR) decreased significantly by 78% compared to non-irradiated controls. Treatment with lisinopril significantly improved the RR by 93% in groups exposed to PBI. Conclusion: This study aimed at quantifying the level of the mitochondrial redox state of irradiated rat kidneys compared to non-irradiated kidneys (controls) and the efficacy of lisinopril to preserve kidney metabolism after irradiation. PBI oxidized the metabolic state of kidneys and lisinopril mitigated the radiation-induced injury on renal mitochondria.
Increased time between diagnosis and surgery in slipped capital femoral epiphysis results in increased radiographic deformity.

Abstract Purpose Previous work has examined the impact of delay of diagnosis in slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) but not the impact of delay in treatment after radiographic diagnosis. Due t...
Inter-task action correlation for reinforcement learning tasks

Introduction Reinforcement learning (RL) problems (Sutton & Barto 1998) are characterized by agents making decisions attempting to maximize total reward, which may be time delayed. RL problems contrast with classical planning problems in that agents do not know a priori how their actions will affect the world. RL differs from supervised learning because agents are never given training examples with the correct action labeled. An RL agent operating successfully in an environment could have its available actions disabled, degraded, or even augmented. Instead of learning from scratch with its new action set, we would like the agent to identify which of the actions in the new set, A′, are most similar to the actions in the original set, A, and then leverage its existing knowledge. In the general problem of transfer learning, a learner trains in a source task and then utilizes its learned knowledge to speed up learning or increase performance in a target task. In this paper, we consider pairs of tasks with different action sets. We present Inter-Task Action Correlation (I-TAC), a method for identifying actions in the target task which are most similar to actions in the source task. This mapping can then be used to automate knowledge transfer by identifying similarities between pairs of RL tasks. We evaluate our algorithm by fully implementing and testing it in the RoboCupsoccer Keepaway domain.
THE STUDY OF PYRIDINIUM IODIDE CHARGE-TRANSFER BANDS

The general nature of pyridinium iodide light absorption is discussed. It is pointed out that the high sensitivity of this elctronic transition to internal and external influences makes detailed study very rewarding with respect to information on electrical, steric, and solvent effects.
Underutilization of surgical resection in patients with pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma.

Abstract Background Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (pACC) is a rare malignancy and surgical utilization has been historically low in these patients. Contemporary outcomes for this patient population remain unknown. Methods The 1998–2012 National Cancer Data Base was queried for baseline characteristics in patients with pACC. Patients with potentially operable disease (stage I/II) were grouped by surgical resection. Multivariable logistic regression was used to predict factors associated with resection. Survival was estimated using Kaplan–Meier analysis. A proportional hazards model identified factors associated with overall survival. Results 980 patients were identified. Mean age at diagnosis was 64 years. Tumors were more common in men (68%), white patients (88%), and within the pancreatic head (57%). Thirty-four percent of patients with localized disease failed to undergo resection. Five-year survival was higher among patients who underwent resection (42% vs. 9%, p Conclusion Patients with localized pACC have increased survival after resection. However, in this contemporary analysis, resection continues to be underutilized and new efforts to increase resection rates should be undertaken.
Simulation-based evaluation on integrating additive manufacturing capability in a deployed military environment

This article develops a data-driven forecast of repair parts for the M109A6 Paladin self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, and this forecast drives a discrete-event simulation to assess requirements for Additive Manufacturing (AM) to be a feasible part of the U.S. Army’s expeditionary supply chain. Actual part demand from the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) feeds a sample-path-based forecasting method to obtain part demand for each scenario. A simulation of a conceptualized deployed Army 3D-printing facility integrated into the supply chain evaluates the performance and feasibility of the different operational policies. Results indicate current technology could support one battery (or smaller unit) for parts below 100 cubic inches while keeping performance comparable with OIF. These results are incorporated in realistic recommendations for how the Army can potentially improve its supply chain practices with this progressive technology.
Gamification of Wearable Data Collection: A Tool for both Friend and Foe

Games are designed to build on certain inherently reward centered aspects of our psychology. This encourages the user to keep playing and engaging in the entertainment for just a bit longer. In this paper we explore the way in which gamification can be used to benefit researchers aiming to collect large amounts of data from sometimes less than enthusiastically motivated participants.We also investigate the risks associated with such mechanisms for data collection and how malicious entities could use these same methods to trick users into exposing private information. Across several experiments used to measure the cross-applicable nature of the data we collected, we demonstrate that a gamified version of a data collection tool could be used to predict the pattern used to unlock a phone.
Forgotten Children: Rethinking the Individuals with Disabilites Education Act Behavior Provisions

Research consistently demonstrates that males – beginning when they are just young boys – externalize oppositional behavior to a markedly higher degree than females. In a school setting, this typically translates to male students being disciplined for even marginally unacceptable behavior more frequently, including frequent loss of educational days due to out-of-school suspensions. Yet it is likely that many of these same male students have identified disabilities under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), with Individualized Education Programs that can be personalized with sound, peer-reviewed behavioral services that can make a real difference. Behavior – and its impact on educational outcomes and eventually society – remains the forgotten child in efforts to meet the needs of these most emotionally vulnerable students. A lack of specifics in the behavior provisions of IDEA create an unhealthy tension, too limited either to serve our students or to inform educational practice. While states could remedy this problem, most do not. In an era when the federal government is moving to deregulate many industries – education among them – it is critical for state legislatures to clarify and expand their own requirements. This paper examines current law and proposes constructive change to deal with inequities for students with behavior challenges. Part I examines the IDEA provisions. Part II of this paper reviews the behavior provisions in IDEA. Part III focuses on state statutes and rules, identifying which states have taken the lead and including a determination of where the fifty states and the District of Columbia fall. Part IV analyzes similarities and differences in appellate court decisions of the eleven federal circuits from 2011 through 2016, when a major issue included a factual or legal determination of the Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Program (BIP) requirements. Finally, Part V, Rethinking IDEA, summarizes the impact on these forgotten children of IDEA, and recommends an approach for a model provision for Congress to adopt when IDEA is reauthorized.
The Freiburg Encounter: Aron Gurwitsch and Edmund Husserl on Transformations of Consciousness

The “Freiburg Encounter” begins with a short history painting the picture of Aron Gurwitsch’s factual encounters during the time of his doctoral studies in 1920s Germany. These encounters included exposure to Gestalt theory as well as Husserlian phenomenology, both of which would make a major impact on him. The point is to show how such encounters can shape the thought of an individual who can then go on to shape regional movements. The bulk of the essay concentrates on Gurwitsch’s encounter with Edmund Husserl, the development of his field theory of consciousness, and the manner in which such can be understood as an advancement of Husserlian phenomenology through modifications of consciousness in particular. Close attention is paid to Husserl’s texts available to Gurwitsch at the time and the ways in which Husserl had anticipated such a theory. These approaches are closely compared and it is ultimately shown how Gurwitsch’s critique of the searchlight theory of attention marks his field theory as a genuine advancement. The essay finishes with Gurwitsch emigrating to the United States, describing the encounters he has there, and outlining his tremendous impact on North American phenomenology.
Autoregressive Models: What Are They Good For?

Autoregressive (AR) models have become a popular tool for unsupervised learning, achieving state-of-the-art log likelihood estimates. We investigate the use of AR models as density estimators in two settings -- as a learning signal for image translation, and as an outlier detector -- and find that these density estimates are much less reliable than previously thought. We examine the underlying optimization issues from both an empirical and theoretical perspective, and provide a toy example that illustrates the problem. Overwhelmingly, we find that density estimates do not correlate with perceptual quality and are unhelpful for downstream tasks.
Development of X-Band Metamaterial-Inspired Sensors for Dielectric Constant Detection

A metamaterial-inspired patch antenna sensor design is proposed for sensing applications to detect and classify different dielectric testing materials in the X-band regime using reflection coefficients. A multi-negative-refractive-index band MTM placed over a patch antenna is specifically designed to enhance the differentiation between several testing dielectric substrates with permittivity varying from 2.5 to 3.2.
Description of young children with idiopathic sensory processing disorder

Date Presented 04/05/19 A retrospective, nonexperimental design was conducted to explore and describe the characteristics of children ages two through seven years identified as having sensory processing deficits but no other specific neurodevelopmental or behavioral diagnoses. Relations among specific types of sensory processing disorder, adaptive behavior, and psychosocial-emotional functioning were also identified to increase our understanding of sensory processing disorder as its own diagnostic entity. Primary Author and Speaker: Shelley Mulligan Additional Authors and Speakers: Sarah Douglas
El uso de narraciones para estudiar la influencia interlingüística en la producción de aprendices noruegos de español como L3

La influencia interlinguistica (IIL) en la mente de los hablantes es una de las piezas fundamentales para comprender los procesos cognitivos de aprendizaje y produccion de una segunda o sucesiva lengua. En este articulo se exponen ciertos aspectos metodologicos y cognitivos del uso de narraciones escritas para investigar fenomenos de IIL en la produccion de lenguas extranjeras. La efectividad del metodo se ilustra en los casos de transferencia linguistica identificados en la produccion de textos escritos por estudiantes de espanol L3 en institutos de bachillerato noruegos. Los resultados del analisis apuntan a retos para superar conceptualizaciones altamente afianzadas por el uso de la L1 y la L2 que dificultan la expresion de ciertas representaciones mentales durante la produccion de la L3, en concreto las que involucran el uso de verbos de movimiento (ej. “ir”, “saltar”, “entrar”, etc.).
A Review of Interprofessional Variation in Education: Challenges and Considerations in the Growth of Advanced Practice Providers in Emergency Medicine

The employment and utilization of advanced practice providers (APPs) in the emergency department has been steadily increasing. Physicians, physician assistants (PAs), and nurse practitioners (NPs) have vastly different requirements for admission to graduate programs, clinical exposure, and postgraduate training. It is important that as supervisory physicians, patients, hospital administrators, and lawmakers, we understand the differences to best create a collaborative, supportive, and educational framework within which PAs/NPs can work effectively as part of a care team. This paper reviews the trends, considerations, and challenges of an evolving clinician workforce in the specialty of emergency medicine (EM). Subsequently, the following parameters of APP training are examined and discussed: the divergence in physician, PA, and NP education and training; requirements of PA and NP degree programs; variation in clinical contact hours; degree-specific licensing and postgraduate EM certification; opportunities for specialty training; and the evolution and availability of residency programs for APPs. The descriptive review is followed by a discussion of contemporary and timely issues that impact EM and considerations brought forth by the expansion of APPs in EM such as the current drive to independent practice and the push for reimbursement parity. We review current position statements from pertinent professional organizations regarding PA and NP capabilities, responsibilities, and physician oversight as well as billing implications, care outcomes and medicolegal implications.
Blood purification therapy in children with acute poisoning

Acute poisoning is one of the commonly acute disease and critical illness in PICU.However, along with the application of blood purification therapy, we′ve made remarkable progress in treating the poisoned children.Learning about common patterns and mechanism of blood purification in acute poisoning, being familiar with the indications and contraindications of blood purification, selecting appropriate treatment model combined with the features of toxicants and different patterns of blood purification, mastering the procedures, which all above can help us reduce the complications and upgrade the successful rescue rate of acute poisoning in children. Key words: Blood purification; Poisoning; Children
HiCAR: a robust and sensitive multi-omic co-assay for simultaneous measurement of transcriptome, chromatin accessibility, and cis-regulatory chromatin contacts

High-order chromatin organization plays a central role in regulating spatial-temporal gene expression by facilitating or constraining the interactions between cis-regulatory elements (cREs). cREs are often the accessible DNA sequences and can be identified at genome-wide scale with assays such as ATAC-seq, DHS-seq, and FAIRE-seq. However, it remains technically challenging to comprehensively identify the long-range interactions that occur between cREs, especially using low-input cells and in a cost effective manner. Here, we report HiCAR, Hi gh-throughput C hromosome conformation capture on A ccessible DNA with m R NA-seq co-assay, which enables simultaneous mapping of chromatin accessibility and cRE anchored chromatin contacts. Notably, using the same input material, HiCAR also yields high-quality transcriptome data that represents the functional outputs of chromatin accessibility and interaction. Unlike immunoprecipitation-based methods such as HiChIP, PLAC-seq, and ChIA-PET, HiCAR does not require target-specific antibodies and thus can capture cis-regulatory contacts anchored on the accessible DNA regions associated with multiple epigenetic modifications and transcription factor binding. We compared HiCAR to another technology designed to capture interactions between accessible chromatin regions, called Trac-looping, and found that HiCAR yielded much more informative long-range cis- reads at similar sequencing depth, and requires far fewer cells as input. We applied HiCAR to H1 human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and identified 46,792 open-chromatin anchored loops at 5Kb resolution. Interestingly, we found that the poised cREs form extensive and significant chromatin interactions comparable to the active cREs. We further showed that the spatial interactive activity of cREs do not correlate with their transcriptional activity, enhancer activity, and chromatin accessibility. Additionally, we identified 2,096 super interactive regulatory (SINTER) loci showing abnormally high levels of chromatin interactivity and associated with unique epigenetic features. In summary, HiCAR is a robust, sensitive, and cost effective multi-omics coassay that can be used to study chromatin structure and function as well as gene expression.
Efficacy and Safety of SGLT-2 Inhibitors for Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus among Kidney Transplant Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the efficacy and safety profiles of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors for treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM) among kidney transplant patients. Methods: We conducted electronic searches in Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane databases from inception through April 2020 to identify studies that investigated the efficacy and safety of SGLT-2 inhibitors in kidney transplant patients with DM. Study results were pooled and analyzed utilizing random-effects model. Results: Eight studies with 132 patients (baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 64.5 ± 19.9 mL/min/1.73 m2) treated with SGLT-2 inhibitors were included in our meta-analysis. SGLT-2 inhibitors demonstrated significantly lower hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (WMD = −0.56% [95%CI: −0.97, −0.16]; p = 0.007) and body weight (WMD = −2.16 kg [95%CI: −3.08, −1.24]; p < 0.001) at end of study compared to baseline level. There were no significant changes in eGFR, serum creatinine, urine protein creatinine ratio, and blood pressure. By subgroup analysis, empagliflozin demonstrated a significant reduction in body mass index (BMI) and body weight. Canagliflozin revealed a significant decrease in HbA1C and systolic blood pressure. In terms of safety profiles, fourteen patients had urinary tract infection. Only one had genital mycosis, one had acute kidney injury, and one had cellulitis. There were no reported cases of euglycemic ketoacidosis or acute rejection during the treatment. Conclusion: Among kidney transplant patients with excellent kidney function, SGLT-2 inhibitors for treatment of DM are effective in lowering HbA1C, reducing body weight, and preserving kidney function without reporting of serious adverse events, including euglycemic ketoacidosis and acute rejection.
A Matrix Bernstein Inequality for Strong Rayleigh Distributions

The Entropy method provides a powerful framework for proving scalar concentration inequalities by establishing functional inequalities like Poincare and log-Sobolev inequalities. These inequalities are especially useful for deriving concentration for dependent distributions coming from stationary distributions of Markov chains. In contrast to the scalar case, the study of matrix concentration inequalities is fairly recent and there does not seem to be a general framework for proving matrix concentration inequalities using the Entropy method. In this paper, we initiate the study of Matrix valued functional inequalities and show how matrix valued functional inequalities can be used to establish a kind of iterative variance comparison argument to prove Matrix Bernstein like inequalities. Strong Rayleigh distributions are a class of distributions which satisfy a strong form of negative dependence properties. We show that scalar Poincare inequalities recently established for a flip-swap markov chain considered in the work of Hermon and Salez [HS19] can be lifted to prove matrix valued Poincare inequalities. This can then be combined with the iterative variance argument to prove a version of matrix Bernstein inequality for Lipshitz matrix-valued functions for Strong Rayleigh measures.
The value of being precise

Abstract This study investigates how individuals assess imprecise information. We focus on two essential dimensions of decision under uncertainty, outcomes and probabilities, and their respective precision. We believe the precision of information is highly relevant in the investment setting, as reflected in the well-known “home (familiarity) bias”, and the outcome and probability dimensions, separately or jointly, may affect investors’ knowledge of uncertainty and perceived risk of the investment options, and subsequently affect investors’ choices. To test this conjecture, we conducted three experiments. Our results show that 1) participants demonstrate a pattern of preference for precision and aversion of extreme vagueness and associate vagueness with higher perceived risk and lower investment (experiments one and two); 2) participants prefer vague outcome information to vague probability information (experiment two); 3) familiarity indeed positively affects the precision of estimated values, but this association is stronger for the outcome dimension than for probabilities (experiment three). Our results confirm that precision in information, especially in the outcome dimension has an impact on investors’ resource allocation choices.
A Continuum Deformation Approach for Growth Analysis of COVID-19 in the United States.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has significantly impacted every aspect of life all over the world. The United States is reported to have suffered more than 20% of the global casualties from this pandemic. It is imperative to investigate the growth dynamics of the disease in the US based on varying geographical and governmental factors that best manifest itself in each State of the Country. This paper utilizes a hybrid machine learning and continuum deformation-based approach for analyzing the stability and growth rate of the pandemic. To this end, principal stress values of the pandemic continuum body are obtained using Mohr’s Circle method and overlapping, moving windows of data are analysed successively. This helps in finding the correlations between the growth rate and Governments’ action/Public’s reaction. Government actions include “state of emergency”, “shelter at place”, and “phase declarations”. We also consider the vaccination rate milestones, which shows us the coordinated Governments’ action/Public’s reaction. Finally, a number of recommendations are made to the Governments and people for better management of future pandemics.
Low-Wage Women’s Experiences of Workplace Incivilities:

Workplace incivility, also called bullying, mobbing, and harassment, is pervasive and takes a high toll on employees. This study draws on 18 in-depth interviews with women in the precarious, low-wa...
Drivers of Income and Economic Growth in Mixed Animal Veterinary Practices

Business management techniques, procedures, and services can impact the overall economic success of veterinary practices. Gross practice income and income growth rate are two important metrics for gauging practice economic well-being. Practices with higher economic growth rates have been associated with utilization of specific business management techniques, including the frequency of updating prices and the employment of a business manager. Every practice has a brand, or perceived value by the client base, and practices can generate a long-term plan to capitalize on competitive advantages. Providing convenient client services and actively communicating with clientele promotes economic success.
The blossoming of data communications and the thorns of computer crimes: An analysis of the use and abuse of network computing

The recent shift from mainframes to networking technologies has given business the ability to meet challenges in the competitive global markets with accurate, timely and efficient data management. The blossoming of data communications, meanwhile, has created the potential thorns of computer crimes. This paper discusses the use and the impact of technology on the business environment, identifies various types of computer rrusconduct, and presents ade­ quate systems measures for prevention. The paper concludes by enumerating various issues involved in effectively collaring the computer criminal.
AROMATIC DEHALOGENASES: INSIGHTS INTO STRUCTURES, MECHANISMS, AND EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS

Chlorinated aromatic compounds are among the most significant environmental contaminants introduced into the environment by human activities. Pesticides such as atrazine, 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), and pentachlorophenol are introduced intentionally, while compounds such as PCBs have been released accidentally or by poor disposal practices in the past. Many of these novel compounds are xenobiotic (foreign to life), and therefore microorganisms may not have enzymes capable of transforming them. As expected, many chlorinated aromatic xenobiotics are quite resistant to biodegradation. However, microorganisms capable of degrading such compounds have often been isolated from contaminated sites, suggesting that microorganisms can adapt to the presence of novel compounds by evolving new metabolic pathways that allow them either to take advantage of a new nutrient source or to destroy a toxin. The novel enzymes that participate in newly evolved pathways may be acquired by horizontal transfer from another organism, or by recruitment of a pre-existing cellular protein that has at least a modest ability to catalyze the newly needed reaction. Given sufficient time and selective pressure, genetic changes can occur that will improve the function of these recruited proteins. It is, of course, not clear what length of time is “sufficient”. However, anthropogenic chlorinated aromatics have been present in the environment for less than a century. That period, an eye-blink in the nearly 4 billion-year history of life on earth, is apparently enough to get the process started, but is unlikely to be long enough to generate enzymes of their usual level of sophistication in terms of regulation and catalytic proficiency. Biodegradation of chlorinated aromatic compounds requires removal of chlorine substituents either before or after the aromatic ring is cleaved, although for highly chlorinated compounds such as pentachlorophenol and some PCBs, at least some of the chlorines must be removed before ring cleavage. The aromatic dehalogenases that accomplish the difficult task of removing chlorines from aromatic rings are the subject
On learning similarity relations in fuzzy case-based reasoning

Case–based reasoning (CBR) is a problem solving technique that puts at work the general principle that similar problems have similar solutions. In particular, it has been proved effective for classification problems. Fuzzy set–based approaches to CBR rely on the existence of a fuzzy similarity functions on the problem description and problem solution domains. In this paper, we study the problem of learning a global similarity measure in the problem description domain as a weighted average of the attribute–based similarities and, therefore, the learning problem consists in finding the weighting vector that minimizes mis–classification. The approach is validated by comparing results with an application of case–based reasoning in a medical domain that uses a different model.
The undertreatment of pain: scientific, clinical, cultural, and philosophical factors.

This essay provides an explanation and interpretation of the undertreatment of pain by discussing some of the scientific, clinical, cultural, and philosophical aspects of this problem. One reason why pain continues to be a problem for medicine is that pain does not conform to the scientific approach to health and disease, a philosophy adopted by most health care professionals. Pain does not fit this philosophical perspective because (1) pain is subjective, not objective; (2) the causal basis of pain is often poorly understood; (3) pain is often regarded as a “mere” symptom, not as a disease; (4) there often are no “magic bullets” for pain; (5) pain does not fit the expert knowledge model. In order for health care professionals to do a better job of treating pain, some changes need to occur in medical philosophy, education, and practice.
A paradigm for commensalism: the role of a specific microbial polysaccharide in health and disease.

The human gastrointestinal tract is colonized by 100 trillion microorganisms, including both beneficial and potentially pathogenic species. A zwitterionic polysaccharide (PSA) from the gastrointestina
Crustal thickness variations along the Southeast Indian Ridge (100°–116°E) from 2‐D body wave tomography

[1] Axial morphology along the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR) systematically changes from an axial high to a deep rift valley at a nearly uniform intermediate spreading rate between 100°–116°E, west of the Australian-Antarctic Discordance (AAD). Basalt geochemistry has a consistent Indian–mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) type isotopic signature, so changes in axial topography are attributed to variations in both mantle temperature and melt supply. Wide-angle seismic refraction lines were shot to four ocean bottom hydrophones within SEIR segments P1, P2, S1, and T, where each segment is characterized by a different morphology. We constructed 2-D crustal velocity models by jointly inverting hand-picked P wave refraction (Pg) and Moho reflection (PmP) traveltime data using a top-down, minimum-structure methodology. The results show a 1.5 km eastward decrease in crustal thickness across the study area, with segment averages ranging from 6.1 km at P1 to 4.6 km at T. Melt generation models require a ∼30°C decrease in mantle temperature toward the AAD to account for the crustal thickness trend. Significant changes in axial morphology accompany small-scale variations in crustal thickness, consistent with models of crustal accretion where ridge topography is determined by a balance between mantle temperature, melt supply, and cooling from hydrothermal circulation. Layer 3 thins by 3.0 km as layer 2 thickens by 1.4 km between segments P1 and T, reflecting the eastward decrease in melt supply and increase in melt lens depth. The trade-off in seismic layers may be explained by models relating the increase in overburden pressure on a deepening melt lens to the volume of magma erupted into the upper crust rather than cooling at depth to form new lower crustal material.