cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Economical parallel protein expression screening and scale-up in Escherichia coli

A novel microfermentation and scale-up platform for parallel protein production in Escherichia coli is described. The vertical shaker device Vertiga, which generates low-volume high density (A(600) approximately 20) Escherichia coli cultures in 96-position deep-well plates without auxiliary oxygen supplementation, has been coupled to a new disposable shake flask design, the Ultra Yield flask, that allows for equally high cell culture densities to be obtained. The Ultra Yield flask, which accommodates up to 1 l in culture volume, has a baffled base and a more vertical wall construction compared to traditional shake flask designs. Experimental data is presented demonstrating that the Ultra Yield flask generates, on average, an equivalent amount of recombinant protein per unit cell culture density as do traditional shake flask designs but at a substantially greater amount per unit volume. The combination of Vertiga and the Ultra Yield flask provides a convenient and scalable low-cost solution to parallel protein production in Escherichia coli.
Amplicon Indel Hunter Is a Novel Bioinformatics Tool to Detect Large Somatic Insertion/Deletion Mutations in Amplicon-Based Next-Generation Sequencing Data.

Amplicon-based targeted next-generation sequencing assays are used widely to test for clinically relevant somatic mutations in cancer. However, accurate detection of large insertions and deletions (indels) via these assays remains challenging. Sequencing reads that cover these anomalies are, by definition, different from the reference sequence, and lead to variable performance of alignment algorithms. Reads with large indels may be aligned incorrectly, causing incorrect calls, or may remain unmapped and essentially ignored by downstream informatics pipeline sub-processes. Herein, we describe Amplicon Indel Hunter (AIH), a novel large (>5-bp) indel detection method that is reference genome independent and highly sensitive for the identification of somatic indels in amplicon-based, paired-end, next-generation sequencing data. We validated the algorithm for sensitivity and specificity using a set of clinical cancer samples with Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment–confirmed indels as well as in silico mutated data sets. The AIH detected 100% of tested large indels with relatively higher mutant allele frequencies compared with a variety of traditional aligners, which showed variably reduced sensitivity and specificity by comparison. The AIH especially outperformed alignment-based methods for detection of all tested FLT3 internal tandem duplications up to 102 bp. Because AIH runs in parallel to traditional alignment-based informatics pathways, it can be readily incorporated into nearly any analysis pipeline for somatic mutation detection in paired-end amplicon-based data.
Changes in inflammatory mediators in experimental periodontitis in the rhesus monkey

Ligature-induced periodontitis was monitored for 6 months in eight Macaca mulatta monkeys to examine clinical status, radiographic bone level, and crevicular fluid (CF) levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), thromboxane B2 (TxB2), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), tumor necrosis factor alpha, and leukotriene B4 (LTB4). A split-mouth design was used, with eight ligated teeth and eight contralateral nonligated teeth which develop soft-chow-promoted (spontaneous) disease. Ligated sites experienced an average attachment loss of 0.94 mm per site and linear bone loss of 0.88 mm per site, with spontaneous-periodontitis sites experiencing approximately half the loss of ligated sites. The CF mediator levels showed increased levels of PGE2 and TxB2 at the ligated sites, as compared with the spontaneous sites, with no significant contralateral differences in the IL-1 beta or LTB4 responses. The concentrations of LTB4 in CF reached an early threefold peak over the baseline level at 1 month. By 2 months there was a statistically significant threefold elevation in CF-PGE2 in the ligated sites and a twofold elevation in the spontaneous sites as compared to the baseline level (P = 0.041 and 0.008, respectively). The monocyte product IL-1 beta increased sharply at 2 months and returned to the baseline level by 6 months at both ligated and nonligated sites. Tumor necrosis factor alpha in CF was below the limit of detection at all sites throughout the experiment (i.e., < 2 ng/ml). The selective elevation of both PGE2 and TxB2 in ligated sites, compared with levels in spontaneous sites, in the presence of similar levels of LTB4 and IL-1 beta provides further evidence that these molecules regulate the magnitude of the tissue-destructive response in progressive periodontitis.
Bungee jumps: accelerating indirect branches through HW/SW co-design

Indirect branches have historically been a challenge for microarchitectures and code generators alike. The recent steady increase in indirect branch predictability has translated into continual performance improvements especially for Out-of-Order processors which benefit more readily from improvements in branch prediction. In contrast, in-order processors which rely on code generators for performance are still challenged by indirect branches; they are a frequent source of issue stalls and the large number of indirect branch targets and unbiased nature of indirect branches complicate the use of traditional branch handling techniques like assert conversion and predication. To address these limitations, we propose an ISA enhancement with associated code transformation and hardware support that collectively enable the current trend of improved indirect branch predictability to be directly leveraged by code-generators for in-orders. By separating the prediction point of an indirect branch from its resolution point, we enable code generators to emit schedules which more readily match those found by the Out-of-Order. Our technique is particularly beneficial to those processors which leverage dynamic binary translation and optimization such as Transmeta's Efficeon and more recently Nvidia's Project Denver. On a set of indirect branch intensive benchmarks from SPEC 2006, 2000 and 95, we achieve a Geomean speedup on a 4-wide of 11%. We further demonstrate speedups of 23% and 14% speedup on PHP and Python benchmarks.
How East Asians Understand Democracy

How East Asians Understand Democracy: From a Comparative Perspective Abstract Democracy is a political model with global appeal, but little is known about how contemporary publics understand it. Are East Asians capable of defining democracy in their own words? Are they also capable of prioritizing its properties? Do they tend to understand it procedurally or substantively? This paper addresses these questions by analyzing responses to the open-ended and closed-ended questions that the second round of the Asian Barometer surveys asked in nine countries in 2006 and 2007. Results of this analysis confirm that most people in East Asia are cognitively capable of defining democracy. Contrary to what is known in the literature, however, a majority of East Asians does not equate democracy exclusively with political freedom. This finding leads to the conclusion that the prevalence of substantive or communitarian conceptions of democracy is one important characteristic of the cultural democratization unfolding in East Asia.
Development of microfluidic-based cell collection devices for in vitro and in vivo use

The NANIVID – or Nano Intravital Device – is an implantable delivery tool designed to locally affect the tumor microenvironment in vivo. This technology is being redesigned and validated as a cell collection tool for the study of metastatic cancer cells. A methodology has been developed to facilitate this transition, consisting of microfluidic analysis of the device microchannels and a series of cell-related collection experiments building up to in vivo collection. Single-chamber designs were first used to qualitatively demonstrate the feasibility of cell collection ex vivo. This was followed by the development and implementation of devices containing a second, negative-control chamber for quantitative analysis. This work sets the foundation for in vivo cancer cell migration studies utilizing the NANIVID.
Feedback in clinical pharmacy education

Feedback has been identified as one of the crucial components of clinical training programs.[1][1],[2][2] Specifically within pharmacy education, feedback to improve clinical judgment is noted as one of the main purposes of residency training.[3][3] However, the bulk of feedback literature pertains
A New Model of Tail Diffusion of Phosphorus and Boron in Silicon

It is well known that high surface concentration phosphorus diffusion leads to deeply penetrating “tails” in its concentration profile. At 700 °C the tail diffusivity exceeds that of low concentration phosphorus by a factor of a thousand. Less spectacular, but very significant tailing also affects tioron, making the conventional models contained in commonly available process simulation programs quite inaccurate for boron diffusions with high surface concentrations. We show that the observed tailing can be accounted for by a model whose central assumption is the local equality of dopant and oppositely directed defect fluxes. As predicted by the model, the effect is greatest for normal processing at low temperatures for high surface concentrations. It is minimal for the high temperatures of rapid thermal annealing and unrelated to transient effects.
Neuroprotection of Acute Ischemic Stroke: Where are We?

Neuroprotective treatments for acute ischemic stroke are targeted at the large array of cellular biochemical and metabolic disturbances that occur after focal brain ischemia to prevent the evolution of injury toward irreversibility. Enhanced comprehension about the pathophysiology of focal brain ischemia has expanded the number of neuroprotective modalities under development and identification of the most likely target for these therapies. Many of the neuroprotective interventions are targeted at reducing calcium influx into ischemic cells and the downstream consequences of excessive intracellular calcium. Other neuroprotective strategies include: free radical scavengers, hyperpolarization of resting transmembrane potentials, and inhibition of the inflammatory response and growth factors. Some interventions potentially may enhance recovery and have neuroprotective effects (i.e., basic fibroblast growth factor [bFGF] and citicoline). Despite the lack of proven clinical efficacy with any neuroprotective int...
The Wonderful Use of Military Forces from the Bottom of Heart——Examining Yue Fei’s Resource and Astuteness of the Use of Military Forces from the History of the Song Dynasty

Wonderful use of military forces from the bottom of heart” is the real portrayal of Yue Fei’s use of military forces. In his lifetime he commanded more than ten battles. His resource and astuteness of the use of military forces lies in at least seven aspects, and the generalizaton and summary of his resource and astuteness of the use of military forces is helpful for us not only to know Yue Fei more comprehensively, but also to learn more wisdom and cream in the use of military forces.
Clinical evaluation of sublingual allergen specific immunotherapy in treatment to children with bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis

Objective T o explore the therapeutic effect and safety of sublingual allergen specific immunotherapy( SLIT) for the treatment of bronchial asthma with allergic rhinitis. Methods O ne hundred and twenty children from 5 to 14 years old with asthma and allergic rhinitis were selected and randomly divided into the SLIT treatment group( sublingual administration of the dermatophagoides farinae drop) and conventional treatment group. Each group had 60 patients. Scores of asthma control questionnaire( AC Q), rhinitis symptoms, monthly medication and adverse reactions were recorded. T he specific IgE( SIgE) value of serum dermatophagoides farinae was measured. Results After treatment for one year, the scores of AC Q, rhinitis symptom, and monthly asthmatic medicine and the SIgE value of serum dermatophagoides farinae of the SLIT treatment group and conventional treatment group were decreased. T he decrease of the SLIT treatment group was significantly more than that of the conventional treatment group. T he differences were statistically significant( P 0. 01). T he incidence of side effects( including skin rash, nasopharyngeal itch, and asthma attack) relevant to immunotherapy was 13. 3% and no serious side effects happened. Conclusion SLIT can safely and effectively treat children with bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis and is better than the conventional therapy.
Time series analysis of weather and hand,foot,and mouth disease in Rizhao,Shandong,2009-2012

Objective To examine the short-term effects of meteorological factors on occurrence of hand,foot,and mouth disease( HFMD) in children in Rizhao. Methods A generalized additive Poisson model was applied to estimate the effects of meteorological factors on occurrence of HFMD in children in2009- 2012. Results During the study period,there were 26 827 HFMD cases,among which 26 619were children under 10 years old,and the sex ratio was 1. 63∶ 1. A positive effect of temperature was observed on lag 4- 8 days( Excess risk[ER]= 1. 54%,95% CI: 0. 69% to 2. 40% for 1 ℃ increase on lag6 days). A positive effect of relative humidity was found on lag 5- 7 days with the ER being 0. 19%( 95% CI: 0.07%-0.31%) for 1% of increase in relative humidity on lag 7 days. An adverse effect was observed for sunshine on lag 4- 7 days( ER =- 0. 53%,95% CI:- 0. 93% to- 0. 13% on lag 4days). Conclusion This study suggests that meteorological factors might be important predictor of HFMD occurrence in children in Rizhao and should be considered in future disease control and prevention.
Promotion of Cell Viability and Histone Gene Expression by the Acetyltransferase Gcn5 and the Protein Phosphatase PP2A in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Histone modifications direct chromatin-templated events in the genome and regulate access to DNA sequence information. There are multiple types of modifications, and a common feature is their dynamic nature. An essential step for understanding their regulation, therefore, lies in characterizing the enzymes responsible for adding and removing histone modifications. Starting with a dosage-suppressor screen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we have discovered a functional interaction between the acetyltransferase Gcn5 and the protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) complex, two factors that regulate post-translational modifications. We find that RTS1, one of two genes encoding PP2A regulatory subunits, is a robust and specific high-copy suppressor of temperature sensitivity of gcn5∆ and a subset of other gcn5∆ phenotypes. Conversely, loss of both PP2A(Rts1) and Gcn5 function in the SAGA and SLIK/SALSA complexes is lethal. RTS1 does not restore global transcriptional defects in gcn5∆; however, histone gene expression is restored, suggesting that the mechanism of RTS1 rescue includes restoration of specific cell cycle transcripts. Pointing to new mechanisms of acetylation-phosphorylation cross-talk, RTS1 high-copy rescue of gcn5∆ growth requires two residues of H2B that are phosphorylated in human cells. These data highlight the potential significance of dynamic phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of these deeply conserved histone residues for cell viability.
Prisoner Participation in Psychiatric-related Research: Perceptions of Coercion and Exploitation

Introduction Worldwide, over 10.2 million people are incarcerated. In Europe and the United States, prisoners experience higher rates of psychiatric illness than the general population. Clinical research may help improve the range and quality of psychiatric services in prison. Yet given the history of research abuses against prisoners, and ongoing concern that prisoners may be coerced or exploited by researchers, U.S. and European regulations greatly restrict prisoner research. Scant data exists on whether prisoners view modern clinical research as coercive or exploitative. Aim/Objective To improve our understanding of how prisoners view their participation in psychiatric-related clinical research, we sought to identify whether prisoners perceive their research participation as coercive or exploitative. Methods 70 participants from six psychiatric-related clinical research studies in the U.S. were recruited and asked to rate their agreement with several statements regarding study participation. Results No prisoner felt threatened by someone to enroll, and only 1 felt pressured by someone to enroll. One felt taken advantage of by the study, and 2 felt exploited by the study. All but 1 agreed that prisoners should have more access to research in general. Conclusions On balance, prisoners from this group do not perceive their study participation as coerced or exploitative and desire greater research opportunities. Given the urgent need for research studies that can address the complex psychiatric problems prisoners face, a better understanding of prisoner views toward research elsewhere in the U.S. and Europe is needed. Such work could support the easing of restrictions on prisoner research.
Media, Meaning, and Context Loss in Ephemeral Communication Platforms: A Qualitative Investigation on Snapchat

Most social media platforms are persistent in nature, enabling users to re-visit content at their discretion. Platforms with design features that support ephemeral communications, such as Snapchat, have become increasingly popular. During the course of our empirical study, we interviewed 15 Snapchat users about their experiences and practices. Our data reveal that Snapchat users experienced different types of loss, including media, meaning, and context loss, and developed workarounds to deal with those losses, including preemptive action and collaborative saving practices. Our findings revealed a conflict between the user's expectation of the affordance the ephemeral platforms would provide, and the actions user's followed.
Mobilizing Decolonized Nursing Education at Aurora College: Historical and Current Considerations

Nursing education at Aurora College in the Northwest Territories, Canada has evolved from its beginnings as a diploma nursing program to today’s undergraduate degree program. The purpose of this report is to share the evolution of the program and the movement towards decolonized pedagogy and epistemology throughout its development. Since 51% of the territory’s population is Indigenous and the other 49% is diverse, traditional knowledge and different ways of knowing, along with cultural safety and competency, are important concepts for northern nursing. The concept-based curriculum lends itself to teaching and learning from a critical post-colonial perspective where students learn to critique and question colonial practices and dominant discourse. Focusing inquiry into colonial pedagogy of this nature will provide new insights and considerations of power and power relations within education. This report contributes to the topic of decolonizing nursing education at a time when there is little substantive effort in this direction. This report is part of a special collection from members of the University of the Arctic Thematic Network on Northern Nursing Education. The collection explores models of decentralized and distributed university-level nursing education across the Circumpolar North.
Noise-induced errors in geophysical parameter estimation from retarding potential analyzers in low Earth orbit

Retarding Potential Analyzers (RPA) have a rich flight heritage. Standard curve-fitting analysis techniques exist that can infer state variables in the ionospheric plasma environment from RPA data, but the estimation process is prone to errors arising from a number of sources. Previous work has focused on the effects of grid geometry on uncertainties in estimation; however, no prior study has quantified the estimation errors due to additive noise. In this study, we characterize the errors in estimation of thermal plasma parameters by adding noise to the simulated data derived from the existing ionospheric models. We concentrate on low-altitude, mid-inclination orbits since a number of nano-satellite missions are focused on this region of the ionosphere. The errors are quantified and cross-correlated for varying geomagnetic conditions.
Preconception and Prenatal Smoking among Maine Women: Defining Risk and Determining the Impact of Efforts by Care Providers to Promote Cessation

Introduction: Smoking before and during pregnancy is a risk for women and their babies, but encouraging tobacco abstinence challenges practitioners.Aims: We define correlates of tobacco use around pregnancy and determine the impact of providers’ efforts to encourage abstinence.Methods: We analysed responses (2000 – 2010) from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System questionnaire for Maine, United States, a state with higher than average smoking rates. We performed multivariable logistic regression analysis with demographic and behavioural independent variables, and smoking in the last 3 months before and in the last 3 months of pregnancy as dependent variables.Results: Of 12,409 questionnaire responders, 32% smoked before pregnancy; 60.5% of these women continued during pregnancy. Women were more likely to smoke before pregnancy and to continue during pregnancy if they had a previous birth, were unmarried, had ≤ a high school education, or had a household income ≤ $20,000/year. Pre-pregnancy smokers were more likely to continue smoking during pregnancy if their gestational weight gain was less than recommended and, surprisingly, if they recalled a provider discussion about smoking cessation.Conclusions: We identify women at risk for smoking before and during pregnancy and demonstrate that current tobacco abstinence interventions by providers may not always be effective.
Field experiments on food choice in grocery stores: A ‘how-to’ guide

Abstract Food choice is an important area of study, as habitual consumption of high sugar, high fat, and low nutrient foods has been shown to contribute to obesity and related chronic conditions. Grocery stores and supermarkets play a particularly important role in food choice, since they account for almost half of all retail food sales. We propose that conducting field experiments in grocery stores is an attractive methodology for learning about food purchasing behaviors and identifying policy levers that may be successful in shaping those behaviors. We summarize the challenges and barriers that researchers may face while carrying out field experiments in a retail grocery environment, and provide a simple ‘how-to’ guide that researchers can use to replicate field experiment best practices in this setting.
New 1,2,3-Triazole Containing Polyesters via Click Step-Growth Polymerization and Nanoparticles Made of Them

High-molecular-weight AA-BB-type aliphatic polyesters were synthesized via Cu(I)-catalyzed click step-growth polymerization (SGP) following a new synthetic strategy. The synthesis was performed between diyne and diazide monomers in an organic solvent as one pot process using three components and two stages. The dipropargyl esters of dicarboxylic acids (component 1) were used as diyne monomers, di-(bromoacetic acid)-alkylene diesters (component 2) were used as precursors of diazide monomers, and sodium azide (component 3) was used for generating diazide monomers. The SGP was carried out in two steps: at Step 1 dibromoacetates interacted with two moles of sodium azide resulting in diazide monomers which interacted in situ with diyne monomers at Step 2 in the presence of Cu(I) catalyst. A systematic study was done for optimizing the multiparameter click SGP in terms of the solvent, duration of both Step 1 and Step 2, solution concentration, catalyst concentration, catalyst and catalyst activator (ligand) nature, catalyst/ligand mole ratio, and temperature of both steps of the click SGP. As a result, high-molecular-weight ( up to 74 kDa) elastic film-forming click polyesters were obtained. The new polymers were found suitable for fabricating biodegradable nanoparticles, which are promising as drug delivery containers in nanotherapy.
Oral Administration of Insulin: Imitating the Natural Pathway

Before the discovery of insulin by Banting and Best in 1921, a diagnosis of diabetes, especially in a young child, was a sentence of death. Since then, insulin has given the patient with diabetes mellitus many years of life at the expense of daily injections. So far no practical alternative has been developed to the injection route for administration of insulin. As time passed and the initial gratitude for the life-preserving effect of insulin became commonplace, the drawbacks of insulin injections became apparent. First of all there is the discomfort of the injection, now lessened by the development of thinner needles and needle lubricants, the danger of infection, mitigated by convenient alcohol swabs and the disposable needle and syringe, the desire for privacy, decreased somewhat by the development of injection pens and external pumps, and the bother of carrying around and caring for supplies of insulin solutions. With prolonged life came the dilemma of running out of suitable injection sites, as old ones became pin cushioned and less receptive to the needle. But more important than all of these drawbacks of injected insulin, the insulin is delivered to the wrong place.
Obsessive Compulsive Tendencies as Predictors of Dangerous Mobile Phone Usage

Recent attention to dangerous mobile phone use (MPU) has drawn concerns on how we can reduce use in situations such as driving. The National Safety Council estimates 1.6 million, roughly 28%, of vehicle accidents a year are related to MPU while driving. Much of the research has investigated dangerous use through an addiction perspective; however, if the underlying motivation is more similar to obsessive compulsive checking then the resulting interventions may be different. We investigate the dangerous and compulsive MPU through the lens of obsessive compulsive checkers by examining responsibility and compulsive checking on dangerous MPU. We test and support our model with a PLS analysis of 432 respondents. Findings provide evidence of an emerging perspective of MPU as well as insights into the recent lack of success in legislation to reduce dangerous MPU while driving.
Alternatives in Assessing Mental Healthcare Disparities Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Abstract Purpose: Identification of mental healthcare disparities through scales or questionnaires is an initial step to improve mental healthcare equity. This study was designed to investigate the...
Accurate Estimation of the Induced Currents Within the Squirrel-Cage Induction Machine with Thermovision Analysis

The aim of the paper is the estimation of the induced currents within the rotor of an induction machine by means of the measurements of the mechanical power and the electromagnetic torque in connection with the analysis of the thermal spectrum of the rotor. Because the image of the thermal spectrum is affected by noise, the analysis of the image only provides an approximation of the true thermal spectrum. The increase of the accuracy of the estimations is made by means of the Radon method. The Radon method is robust especially for line detection within images. In this work, the implementation of the Radon method for the detection of the circular shape of the machine’s rotor is made by means of the polar transformation of the original image. The analysis in the Radon plane is made onto two perpendicular directions regarding the absolute maximum and the maximum difference of the projections intensities. The experimental results recommend the proposed method for the hardware-in-the-loop design of embedded systems related to the induction machine.
Humanitarian capital: how lawyers help immigrants use suffering to claim membership in the nation-state

This paper explores how humanitarianism operates within the nation-state, asking: what strategies do lawyers employ to help undocumented immigrants access membership rights in the United States tho...
Influence of Environmental Design on Team Interactions Across Three Family Medicine Clinics: Perceptions of Communication, Efficiency, and Privacy.

Objective:In this study, we explored how two different primary care clinic physical layouts (onstage/offstage and pod-based [PB] designs) influenced pre- and postvisit team experiences and percepti...
Surgical Reconstruction Technique of Two Patients With Tarsal Type Preaxial Polydactyly: Two True Prehalluces.

Abstract Polydactyly of the foot occurs in 1.7 cases per 1000 live births, comprising 45% of congenital abnormalities of the foot. Most reported cases of polydactyly of the foot are postaxial, and 15% are preaxial; of those, tarsal type preaxial polydactyly (a true prehallux) occurs in only 3% of cases. Because of this rarity, there is minimal literature available to guide management or surgical reconstruction. Two newborns presented with similar tarsal type preaxial polydactylies in the context of multiple congenital anomalies at a single institution. Patient 1 presented at birth with an accessory digit arising medially from the right foot at the medial malleolus. Two weeks later, genetically unrelated, patient 2 presented at birth with an accessory digit arising medially from the right foot at the talus. Both patients underwent resection of the extra digit and reconstruction including transfer of the accessory anterior tibial tendon arising from the preaxial extra digit to the remaining first ray. Two years after surgery, both patients are walking well with preserved dorsiflexion strength. Given the rarity of true prehallux cases, reported surgical treatment and outcomes are lacking. This case demonstrates the management of 2 patients to better guide future patient care. Although nonsurgical treatment with shoewear modification is an option, surgical reconstruction facilitated wearing typical shoes while preserving ambulatory ability. Both patients in this series had an accessory anterior tibial tendon. Surgical transfer of the tendon prevented loss of dorsiflexion strength and foot drop postoperatively.
High-Speed Atto-Joule per Bit Photonic Crystal Nanocavity Modulator

We quantitatively analyzed the determinant factors for energy efficiency of carrier-driven resonator-based electro-optic modulator and reported an ultra-compact transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) gated silicon photonic crystal nanocavity modulator design, demonstrating high E-O efficiency of 250pm/V, low energy consumption of 3fJ/bit and gigahertz operation speed,
Heteroleptic Tertiary Arsines, Me2AsR: Synthesis and an Nmr Study

Abstract Tertiary arsines of the type Me2AsR [R = Et, Prn, Pri, Bun, Bui, But, allyl, Me3SiCH2, Ph, Bzl, mesityf, and p-totyl] have been synthesized in excellent yields by alkylating Me2AsNMe2 with Grignard reagents. The utility of aluminum alkyls as alternative alkylating agents for certain arsines has also been demonstrated. All compounds have been characterized using IR, MS, and NMR spectroscopy. An NMR spectral analysis (1H, 13C, and 29Si) is given and these results are compared with those for the homoleptic arsines, R3AS.
Transnational entrepreneurship: An interview with Carlos Arevalo, CEO of Trilegis in el Salvador

Abstract. Interest in transnational entrepreneurship has expanded in recent years. However, there are limited qualitative surveys that shed light on the mindset of the contemporary transnational entrepreneur. This article contributes to academic and business literature by presenting the views of an El Salvador born executive Carlos Arevalo. Carlos Arevalo is CEO of Trilogis, a transportation company in El Salvador that is operating in several international locations. Through an interview conducted by Dr. J. Mark Munoz of Millikin University, with the assistance of business student Kimberly Tejada, Arevalo shares his viewpoints on transnational entrepreneurship and its business implications. Keywords. Transnational entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, International business. JEL. L26, M16.
Percutaneous spinal cord stimulation trial for cervical lead placement

Abstract A 55-year-old male presents in the clinic with chronic right upper extremity pain. He developed complex regional pain syndrome/causalgia after trauma to the right forearm in the several months after open reduction internal fixation. Ultimately, he came to have tried multiple neuropathic medications, multiple stellate ganglion blocks, physical therapy, acupuncture, and cognitive behavioral therapy in attempts to treat this disabling condition. However, he also had been unable to continue working in a physical warehouse job or in their administrative area at a desk job because of the significant pain with any activity. After further discussion regarding the limited options for him, the idea of a spinal cord stimulator in the cervical spine was raised. He expressed interest in trying almost anything and read literature and looked at websites provided to him. After another visit in clinic to discuss other aspects of the procedure, risks, benefits, and long-term aspects of potential programming, implantable pulse generator site problems, and potential tolerance of stimulation, he decided to proceed with a percutaneous cervical spinal cord stimulation trial. We scheduled this for him within approximately 4 weeks after obtaining psychological clearance and insurance approval.
The association between current maternal psychological control, anxiety symptoms, and emotional regulatory processes in emerging adults.

Abstract Background and objectives High levels of psychological control (PC), the (intentional or unintentional) attempt by parents to control their child's emotional experience, have been associated with increased risk for anxiety in youth. However, little is known regarding the association between PC and anxiety in emerging adulthood, a developmental period marked by various life transitions and high risk for the onset of internalizing symptoms, or about the relation between current parental PC and emotional regulatory processes during this stage. The current study examined whether perceived maternal PC was significantly associated with anxiety symptoms and both objective (psychophysiological; respiratory sinus arrhythmia) and subjective (self-reported) emotion regulatory processes. Methods Participants (N = 125; ages 18 to 25) completed self-reports on their anxiety symptoms, emotion regulation abilities, and perceptions of their mother’ behavior, and participated in a laboratory stressor, the Trier-Social Stress Test, while psychophysiological data were acquired. Results Emerging adults who reported higher maternal PC also reported higher anxiety symptoms and evidenced greater emotion regulation difficulties on both objective and subjective indices than those who reported lower maternal PC. Moreover, the association between PC and anxiety levels was statistically mediated by self-reported emotion regulation difficulties. Limitations Results of this study should be interpreted in light of its limitations, which include it being cross-sectional in nature with a primarily female sample. Further, perceptions of maternal, but not paternal, parenting were examined. Conclusions Findings might have implications for targeting both psychological control and emotion regulation difficulties in personalized anxiety interventions during this high-risk developmental period.
Adherence to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Criteria of Complete Circumferential Peripheral and Deep Margin Assessment in Treatment of High-Risk Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Background The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has established guidelines for the treatment of keratinocyte carcinomas (KCs). Complete circumferential peripheral and deep margin assessment (CCPDMA) is recommended for "high-risk" tumors that cannot be closed primarily. If flap or grafts are needed and CCPDMA was not used, it is recommended that reconstruction be delayed until achieving clear margins. Objective To measure provider utilization rates of the NCCN guidelines for high-risk KCs and assess barriers that are limiting adherence. Materials and methods A ten-item questionnaire was distributed to NCCN nonmelanoma skin cancer panel members and physicians participating in KC treatment at academic institutions. Results Response rate was 49% (57/116). Responses were categorized by practice area: Mohs surgery, pathology, and other specialties: General Dermatology, Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, Surgical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Mohs surgeons were most likely to use CCPDMA for tumors meeting NCCN criteria with 14/15 using this technique in a majority of their cases, versus 2/6 pathologists and 10/16 specialists from other fields. Reasons cited for not using CCPDMA included deference to pathologists to determine the appropriate method for margin assessment and logistical difficulty. Conclusion Further efforts are needed to increase adherence to NCCN's guidelines regarding CCPDMA in KCs.
Quantification of the Uncertainties in Extrapolating From In Vitro Androgen Receptor Antagonism to In Vivo Hershberger Assay Endpoints and Adverse Reproductive Development in Male Rats.

Multiple molecular initiating events exist that disrupt male sexual differentiation in utero including androgen receptor (AR) antagonism and inhibition of synthesis, and metabolism of fetal testosterone. Disruption of androgen signaling by AR antagonists in utero reduces anogenital distance (AGD) and induces malformations in F1 male rat offspring. We are developing a quantitative network of adverse outcome pathways that includes multiple molecular initiating events and key events linking anti-AR activities to permanent reproductive abnormalities. Here, our objective was to determine how accurately the EC50s for AR antagonism in vitro or ED50s for reduced tissue growth in the Hershberger assay (HA) (key events in the adverse outcome pathway) predict the ED50s for reduced AGD in male rats exposed in utero to AR antagonists. This effort included in-house data and published studies from the last 60 years on AR antagonism in vitro and in vivo effects in the HA and on AGD after in utero exposure. In total, more than 250 studies were selected and included in the analysis with data from about 60 potentially antiandrogenic chemicals. The ability to predict ED50s for key events and adverse developmental effects from the in vitro EC50s displays considerable uncertainty with R2 values for HA and AGD of < 6%. In contrast, there is considerably less uncertainty in extrapolating from the ED50s in the HA to the ED50s for AGD (R2 value of about 85%). In summary, the current results suggest that the key events measured in the HA can be extrapolated with reasonable certainty to predict the ED50s for the adverse in utero effects of antiandrogenic chemicals on male rat offspring.
SARS-CoV-2 Infection after Vaccination in Health Care Workers in California.

SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine and Infection in Health Workers After more than 36,500 health care workers at the University of California received at least one dose of vaccine, 71% of 379 workers with positive...
A Design Space for Privacy Choices: Towards Meaningful Privacy Control in the Internet of Things

“Notice and choice” is the predominant approach for data privacy protection today. There is considerable user-centered research on providing effective privacy notices but not enough guidance on designing privacy choices. Recent data privacy regulations worldwide established new requirements for privacy choices, but system practitioners struggle to implement legally compliant privacy choices that also provide users meaningful privacy control. We construct a design space for privacy choices based on a user-centered analysis of how people exercise privacy choices in real-world systems. This work contributes a conceptual framework that considers privacy choice as a user-centered process as well as a taxonomy for practitioners to design meaningful privacy choices in their systems. We also present a use case of how we leverage the design space to finalize the design decisions for a real-world privacy choice platform, the Internet of Things (IoT) Assistant, to provide meaningful privacy control in the IoT.
If “Ifs” and “Buts” Were Candy and Nuts: The Failure of Arguments Against Trans and Intersex Women's Full and Equal Inclusion in Women's Sport

It’s relatively easy to say that the debates about whether trans and intersex women athletes deserve full and equal inclusion in women’s sport is a contentious contemporary issue. I’ve already argued for the legal, ethical, and scientific basis for full and equal inclusion of trans and intersex women in women’s sport. In this paper, I want to analyze what I take to be a representative selection of recent arguments against full and equal inclusion of trans and intersex women in women’s sport. In short, these arguments tend to be based on mere assumption, unsupported “common sense,” straw arguments, fallacious question begging, and a number of hypotheticals and unsupported counterfactuals rather than established fact. Essentially, they’re based on a lot of “ifs.”
Abstract 2394: tRNA expression and tRFs in multiple myeloma: Progression from monoclonal gammopathies to relapsed/refractory disease

Introduction : tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) have been postulated to play a significant role in human disease and specifically cancer. tRFs can function as small non-coding RNAs, expressed more highly in conditions of oxidative stress and tissue damage, and are postulated to have a regulatory function. Previous work has identified overexpression of tRNAs in multiple myeloma (MM), but the expression of tRFs in MM has not yet been characterized. In this descriptive study, we set out to apply modern next-generation sequencing tools to describe tRNA and tRF expression in MM. Methods: Bone marrow aspirate samples from 24 patients, 8 with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) or smoldering MM (SMM), 8 with newly diagnosed MM (NDMM), and 8 with relapsed/refractory MM (RRMM) were selected. Total RNA fraction from mononuclear cell fractions was extracted and used to prepare tRNA sequencing libraries which generated data of different small RNA families such as tRNA, tRF, and 5S rRNA in one library. Results: We found a trend toward increased total expression of tRFs in NDMM and RRMM patient samples. Analysis of specific classes of tRFs revealed differential expression along the course of disease progression, with specific tRFs increasing in expression from MGUS/SMM to RRMM. Specifically, tRFs from tRNAHis showed a significant increase in expression from MGUS/SMM to NDMM (p Conclusions : These preliminary results indicate that tRNA fragment expression has the potential to serve as an objective, quantitative measure of clinical MM progression. While the function of these small RNA species remains unclear, specific cleavage patterns suggest that tRF expression in MM may be regulated during disease progression. Future work should explore potential for miRNA-like function of tRFs in MM, and ongoing work to be presented at the meeting will further explore tRF abundance as well as post-transcriptional modifications of tRNAs which may provide a mechanistic understanding of patterns of tRNA fragmentation. Citation Format: Alexandra E. Rojek, Christopher D. Katanski, Andrew Stefka, Benjamin A. Derman, Andrzej Jakubowiak, Tao Pan. tRNA expression and tRFs in multiple myeloma: Progression from monoclonal gammopathies to relapsed/refractory disease [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2394.
Deep Learning and Low-discrepancy Sampling for Surrogate Modeling with an Application to Urban Traffic Simulation

In this paper we investigate deep learning architectures combined with low-discrepancy sampling as surrogate models. The aim is to provide a quick estimate of the outcome of an expensive process when many evaluations are needed, e.g., for optimization purposes. The simulation of urban traffic, routinely employed for the design and performance evaluation of policies in urban mobility scenarios, is an example of procedure characterized by very complex dynamics, large dimensionality and intensive computational requirements. In this context, the need for a surrogate model arises in many forms, e.g., for origin-destination demand calibration, traffic light optimization, strategic planning. In order to cope with this complexity and large dimensionality we take advantage of the excellent approximating capabilities of deep neural networks as learning models. Then, we employ low-discrepancy sequences as sampling designs for the simulation runs required to create the training set for the deep surrogate model. This kind of sampling guarantees deterministically a good covering of the input space, and is able to exploit possible regularities of the simulation outcome. Extensive experimental tests are presented involving the popular SUMO microsimulator, showing the advantages of the proposed surrogate modeling solution under various performance measures.
Organophosphorus pesticides directly simulate macrophages to increase expression of growth factors and cytokines

A single s.c. injection of the organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) parathion, chlorpyrifos, or diazinon causes airway hyperreactivity and neuronal M2 muscarinic receptor dysfunction in guinea pigs 24 hr later. OP-induced airway hyperreactivity is dependent on tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) but independent of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) or inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) (Proskocil BJ et al., Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2013; 304:L519-29). We tested whether OPs and their oxon metabolites directly stimulate human macrophages to increase expression of factors that modulate neuronal M2 receptors. THP1 cells, a human monocyte cell line differentiated into macrophage-like cells, were treated with 1-100 μM parathion, chlorpyrifos, or diazinon or 1-100 nM paraoxon, chlorpyrifos oxon, or diazoxon for 24 hr. mRNA was measured by real-time PCR and released proteins were analyzed by ELISA. None of the OPs or oxons affected cell viability. Parathion, chlorpyrifos, and diazinon increased mRNA expression of TNFα, IL-1β, platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), and transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) in a concentration-dependent manner. TNFα protein was significantly increased at 100 μM, however IL-1β and PDGF proteins were not increased and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and TGFβ proteins were undetectable. No oxon metabolite increased mRNA or protein levels of these factors. Thus, the parent compounds, but not the oxon metabolites, directly stimulate THP-1 TNFα protein and RNA expression of factors known to modulate M2 muscarinic receptors. These data correlate with our in vivo data demonstrating that OP-induced airway hyperreactivity occurs independent of AChE inhibition.
Improving the Reliability of Music Genre Classification using Rejection and Verification.

This paper presents a novel approach for post-processing the music genre hypotheses generated by a baseline classifier. Given a music piece, the baseline classifier produces a ranked list of the N best hypotheses consisting of music genre labels and recognition scores. A rejection strategy is then applied to either reject or accept the output of the baseline classifier. Some of the rejected instances are handled by a verification stage which extracts visual features from the spectrogram of the music signal and employs binary support vector machine classifiers to disambiguate between confusing classes. The rejection and verification approach has improved the reliability in classifying music genres. Our approach is described in detail and the experimental results on a benchmark dataset are presented.