cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
157 Changes in the Levels of Adiponectin and MCP‐1 may be Responsible for Cigarette Smoke‐Induced Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerotic plaque formation involves recruitment and adhesion of circulating monocytes to sites of blood vessel wall injury followed by their migration into the subendothelial space stimulated by MCP-1 (monocyte-chemoattractant-protein1). Monocytes differentiate into macrophages, cells that release a variety of factors and take up oxidized LDL, becoming foam cells. Smooth muscle cells of the vessel wall differentiate and migrate to the subendothelial space, interact with foam cells and components of the ECM to form a “fatty streak,” the precursor of plaque. Adiponectin, a protein secreted by adipocytes, circulates in the blood, maintains blood vessel wall stability and inhibits foam cell formation. Cigarette smoke is a major risk factor of atherosclerosis, although the mechanisms remain unknown. We showed previously that both firsthand and secondhand cigarette smoke stimulate MCP-1 in endothelial cells and others have shown that adiponectin levels in smokers with cardiovascular disease are reduced. We hypothesized that a localized increase in MCP-1 and a decrease in adiponectin are critical for cigarette smoke-induced plaque formation. To test this possibility, we used mice transgenic for human ApoB100, a model system that closely mimics human conditions that lead to atherosclerosis, and a smoking machine that closely simulates human smoking. We found that, in smoking mice, the micro vessels in the heart tissue are often filled with lipids, the areas surrounding the plaque-prone regions have numerous neutrophils, that these cells express high levels of MCP-1, and that the plaques are larger than in control mice. In addition, the level of the adiponectin monomer in the blood of smoking mice is lower and the presence of this protein in the heart tissue is also decreased. In conclusion, the decrease in adiponectin and the increase in MCP-1 levels may be responsible for cigarette smoke-induced atherogenesis.
Effect of aragonite saturation state on settlement and post-settlement growth of Porites astreoides larvae

In response to the increases in pCO2 projected in the 21st century, adult coral growth and calcification are expected to decrease significantly. However, no published studies have investigated the effect of elevated pCO2 on earlier life history stages of corals. Porites astreoides larvae were collected from reefs in Key Largo, Florida, USA, settled and reared in controlled saturation state seawater. Three saturation states were obtained, using 1 M HCl additions, corresponding to present (380 ppm) and projected pCO2 scenarios for the years 2065 (560 ppm) and 2100 (720 ppm). The effect of saturation state on settlement and post-settlement growth was evaluated. Saturation state had no significant effect on percent settlement; however, skeletal extension rate was positively correlated with saturation state, with ~50% and 78% reductions in growth at the mid and high pCO2 treatments compared to controls, respectively.
Seasonal Variation of Surface Temperature Change during the Last Several Decades

AbstractUsing the historical surface temperature dataset compiled by Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia and the Hadley Centre of the United Kingdom, this study examines the seasonal and latitudinal profile of the surface temperature change observed during the last several decades. It reveals that the recent change in zonal-mean surface air temperature is positive at practically all latitudes. In the Northern Hemisphere, the warming increases with increasing latitude and is large in the Arctic Ocean during much of the year except in summer, when it is small. At the Antarctic coast and in the northern part of the circumpolar ocean (near 55°S), where limited data are available, the changes appear to be small during most seasons, though the warming is notable at the coast in winter. However, this warming is much less than the warming over the Arctic Ocean. The seasonal variation of the surface temperature change appears to be broadly consistent with the result from a global warming experi...
Optimization of organic photovoltaic devices using tuned mixed metal oxide contact layers

The use of oxide materials as a hole transport layers (HTL) offers the opportunity to optimize hole collection in a bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic (OPV) device. We discuss the use of NiO x deposited by three different methods, pulsed laser deposition, sputtering and a solution precursor as an alternative to the standard OPV HTL. We also examine the ability of the HTL to improve device performance in a bulk heterojunction device utilizing a donor that has a deeper highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level‥
Prevalence and incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in southern Sweden 2008 and their relation to prescribed biologics

Objectives. To gain updated estimates of prevalence and incidence of RA and proportion on biological treatment in southern Sweden. Methods. Inpatient and outpatient health care provided to residents in the southernmost county of Sweden (1.2 million inhabitants) is registered in the Skane Health Care Register (SHCR). We identified residents aged >/=20 years who had received a diagnosis of RA at least twice during 2003-08. Valid point prevalence estimates by 31 December 2008 were obtained by linkage to the Swedish population register, and information on biological treatment was obtained from the South Swedish Arthritis Treatment Group register. We also tested our estimates of RA occurrence in a series of sensitivity analyses to investigate the effect of altered case criteria and the uncertainty generated by clinical visits without diagnoses. Results. The prevalence of RA in adults was estimated to 0.66% (women = 0.94%, men = 0.37%). The prevalence peaked at age 70-79 years (women = 2.1%, men = 1.1%) before dropping in those aged >/=80 years. Of prevalent cases, 20% had ongoing biological treatment, a percentage that was highest in women aged 40-49 years (36%). The incidence of RA in 2008 was estimated as 50/100 000 (women = 68/100 000, men = 32/100 000). Conclusions. When compared with a previous report from southern Sweden, the prevalence of RA seems not to have declined in the last decade. The proportion of patients with ongoing biological treatment was slightly higher in women than men. SHCR data are promising additions to other methods to gain frequency estimates of clinically important disease in a timely and cost-efficient manner. (Less)
The SPIFFI scalable video-on-demand system

This paper presents a simulation study of a video-on-demand system. We present video server algorithms for real-time disk scheduling, prefetching, and buffer pool management. The performance of these algorithms is compared against the performance of simpler algorithms such as elevator and round-robin disk scheduling and global LRU buffer pool management. Finally, we show that the SPIFFI video-on-demand system scales nearly linearly as the number of disks, videos, and terminals is increased.
Effects of hormone replacement therapy on hemodynamic responses of postmenopausal women to passive heating

To examine the influence of chronic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the central and peripheral cardiovascular responses of postmenopausal women to direct passive heating, seven women taking estrogen replacement therapy, seven women taking estrogen and progesterone therapy, and seven women not taking HRT were passively heated with water-perfused suits to their individual limit of thermal tolerance. Measurements included heart rate (HR), cardiac output, blood pressure, skin blood flow, splanchnic blood flow, renal blood flow, esophageal temperature, and mean skin temperature. Cardiac output was higher in women taking estrogen and progesterone therapy than in women not taking HRT (7.12 ± 0.70 vs. 5.02 ± 0.57 l/min at the limit of thermal tolerance, respectively; P < 0.05) because of a higher HR. However, when the HR data were plotted as a percentage of the maximum HR or percentage of HR reserve, there were no differences among the three groups of women. Neither splanchnic nor renal blood flow differed among the groups of women. These data suggest that HRT has little effect on the cardiovascular responses to direct passive heating.
DERIVED IMPORTANCE-PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF CITIZEN SURVEY DATA

Importance-performance analysis has been advocated as a useful technique for understanding citizen satisfaction data. In this paper, we enhance this technique by incorporating derived, rather than stated, importance and by using benchmarked measures of performance. Using data from New York City, we demonstrate the use of this enhanced technique and compare its conclusions to the simpler version of importance-performance analysis. We then show that derived importance-performance analysis produces results that remain fairly stable over time and can offer insight into citizen satisfaction within subgroups of the population. We argue that derived importance-performance analysis deserves more widespread use because it provides a better framework for interpreting what citizens say about local government services for policy- and managerial decision-making.
Impact of changes in GRACE derived terrestrial water storage on vegetation growth in Eurasia

Author(s): A, G; Velicogna, I; Kimball, JS; Kim, Y | Abstract: We use GRACE-derived terrestrial water storage (TWS) and ERA-interim air temperature, as proxy for available water and temperature constraints on vegetation productivity, inferred from MODIS satellite normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), in Northern Eurasia during 2002-2011. We investigate how changes in TWS affect the correlation between NDVI and temperature during the non-frozen season. We find that vegetation growth exhibits significant spatial and temporal variability associated with varying trend in TWS and temperature. The largest NDVI gains occur over boreal forests associated with warming and wetting. The largest NDVI losses occur over grasslands in the Southwestern Ob associated with regional drying and cooling, with dominant constraint from TWS. Over grasslands and temperate forests in the Southeast Ob and South Yenisei, wetting and cooling lead to a dominant temperature constraint due to the relaxation of TWS constraints. Overall, we find significant monthly correlation of NDVI with TWS and temperature over 35% and 50% of the domain, respectively. These results indicate that water availability (TWS) plays a major role in modulating Eurasia vegetation response to temperature changes.
Editorial Prerogative and the Plant Genome.

In the coming decades,plant agriculture must produce the food needed to sustain the world’s burgeoning population.This challenge is made more daunting in light of a changing climate,scarcity of inputs such as water and fertilizer,and the need to grow more crops on increasingly marginal land.To achieve food security,we will need to fully exploit plant genetics to develop new crop varieties that produce higher yields of healthier food.Crop improvement through breeding has been the foundation of modern agriculture,resulting in steady
Robotic Assist for Lunar Surface Operations

Copyright © 2007 by United Space Alliance, LLC. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. with permission. These materials are sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contract NNJ06VA01C. The U.S. Government retains a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable worldwide license in such materials to reproduce, prepare, derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the U.S. Government. All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner. Robotic Assist for Lunar Surface Operations K. Peek United Space Alliance, LLC, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058-3607
Legal Risks of Ineffective Communication

Language barriers that affect medical care may have legal consequences. The areas of legal concern for doctors are medical malpractice, informed consent, duty to warn, and patients' privacy rights. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
The Triumph of Diplomacy and the Regaining of Independence

When in December, 1946, the British Prime Minister, Mr. Attlee, declaring that it was the Burmese themselves who would have to decide their political future, invited General Aung San to London for discussions with His Majesty’s Government, some of his followers and most of his opponents did not believe that Britain would ever agree to permit Burma to leave the British Empire. In 1945, when the Burmese demanded from the British full independence, and also decided to make their new State a republic, there was no question of Burma remaining on as a part of the British Empire, because neither a fully sovereign state nor a republic could then exist within an empire. However, by 1947, the conception and structure of the British Empire itself were changing, and it was being transformed into a Commonwealth of Nations, within which the Republic of India, when established, could and would remain. Therefore, the Burmese leaders had now to consider whether they would re-open the question of remaining within the Commonwealth. Burma had inherited from the war a full legacy of chaos and destruction, and was in sore need of outside wealth for her reconstruction and rehabilitation, and to remain within the Commonwealth would have assured that some aid at least would be received from Britain.
On robust association testing for quantitative traits and rare variants

With the advance of sequencing technologies, it has become a routine practice to test for association between a quantitative trait and a set of rare variants (RVs). While a number of RV association tests have been proposed, there is a dearth of studies on the robustness of RV association testing for nonnormal distributed traits, e.g., due to skewness, which is ubiquitous in cohort studies. By extensive simulations, we demonstrate that commonly used RV tests, including sequence kernel association test (SKAT) and optimal unified SKAT (SKAT-O), are not robust to heavy-tailed or right-skewed trait distributions with inflated type I error rates; in contrast, the adaptive sum of powered score (aSPU) test is much more robust. Here we further propose a robust version of the aSPU test, called aSPUr. We conduct extensive simulations to evaluate the power of the tests, finding that for a larger number of RVs, aSPU is often more powerful than SKAT and SKAT-O, owing to its high data-adaptivity. We also compare different tests by conducting association analysis of triglyceride levels using the NHLBI ESP whole-exome sequencing data. The QQ plots for SKAT and SKAT-O were severely inflated (λ = 1.89 and 1.78, respectively), while those for aSPU and aSPUr behaved normally. Due to its relatively high robustness to outliers and high power of the aSPU test, we recommend its use complementary to SKAT and SKAT-O. If there is evidence of inflated type I error rate from the aSPU test, we would recommend the use of the more robust, but less powerful, aSPUr test.
An Analysis of Factors That Influence the Purchasing Decision for Fresh Potoatoes: A Study of Consumers in a New England Market

Consumer interviews were held in Springfield, Massachusetts to gather information about how certain product and pack attributes influence the selection of fresh potatoes in the supermarket. Respond...
Fifty years of continuous precipitation and stream chemistry data from the Hubbard Brook ecosystem study (1963–2013)

The Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study officially began on 1 June 1963. This archive contains the results of 50 yr of collection and analysis of (at least) weekly stream water and precipitation samples obtained during the period 1963-2014 (from 1 June 1963 to 30 May 2013). Stream chemistry for the nine gauged watersheds and precipitation chemistry for precipitation gauges distributed throughout the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest are reported as concentrations in (mg/L).
A Socioscientific Issues Approach to Environmental Education

This chapter makes a case for applying a socioscientific issues (SSI) approach to environmental education (EE). We present a model for SSI-based teaching and learning that can be used for the development and implementation of EE learning experiences. The model highlights the significance of design elements, teacher attributes, learner experiences, classroom environment, and peripheral influences. We present a description of and results from an experiential environmental issues course as a means of showcasing an implementation example of the model for SSI-based for teaching and learning. The course features contentious environmental issues from the Greater Yellowstone Area with a particular focus on the reintroduction of wolves. The chapter also presents evidence related to how framing this EE course with an SSI approach led to student development of competencies including conceptualizing scientific claims, balancing ethical and cultural considerations, negotiating unintended consequences of proposed solutions, and engaging in socioscientific discourses.
The Ubiquity of Music and Sacramental Life

In this chapter, Cage’s proto-phenomenological hunches provide openings for key concepts from Marion. Givenness and freedom, the heuristic of the icon and the idol, and the saturated phenomenon conceptually assist a theological reading of the ubiquitous music celebrated in 4'33". This chapter also introduces sacramental dimensions for thinking about sonic ubiquity. The theological appeal to Marion does not entail a phenomenological revision of insights from Cage. Rather, phenomenological grammar approximates the charitable mystery that music provides—a constant sense of what Christians might call grace that permeates the world perceptibly and indeterminately, without regard for verification. Still, neither Cage’s musical invention nor Marion’s phenomenological concepts operate as normative tools. Instead, both indicate a generosity that needs no supporting musical or philosophical framework to announce its nearness or justify its existence.
Gene Expression Classifier vs Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing in the Management of Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules.

Context Molecular testing has reduced the need for diagnostic hemithyroidectomy for indeterminate thyroid nodules. No studies have directly compared molecular testing techniques. Objective Compare the diagnostic performance of Afirma Gene Expression Classifier (GEC) with that of ThyroSeq v2 next-generation sequencing assay. Design Parallel randomized trial, monthly block randomization of patients with Bethesda III/IV cytology to GEC or ThyroSeq v2. Setting University of California, Los Angeles. Participants Patients who underwent thyroid biopsy (April 2016 to June 2017). Intervention Testing with GEC or ThyroSeq v2. Main outcome measure Molecular test performance. Results Of 1372 thyroid nodules, 176 (13%) had indeterminate cytology and 149 of 157 eligible indeterminate nodules (95%) were included in the study. Of nodules tested with GEC, 49% were suspicious, 43% were benign, and 9% were insufficient. Of nodules tested with ThyroSeq v2, 19% were mutation positive, 77% were mutation negative, and 4% were insufficient. The specificities of GEC and ThyroSeq v2 were 66% and 91%, respectively (P = 0.002); the positive predictive values of GEC and ThyroSeq v2 were 39% and 57%, respectively. Diagnostic hemithyroidectomy was avoided in 28 patients tested with GEC (39%) and 49 patients tested with ThyroSeq v2 (62%). Surveillance ultrasonography was available for 46 nodules (45 remained stable). Conclusions ThyroSeq v2 had higher specificity than Afirma GEC and allowed more patients to avoid surgery. Long-term surveillance is necessary to assess the false-negative rate of these particular molecular tests. Further studies are required for comparison with other available molecular diagnostics and for newer tests as they are developed.
From Atoms to Cells: Using Mesoscale Landscapes to Construct Visual Narratives

Modeling and visualization of the cellular mesoscale, bridging the nanometer scale of molecules to the micrometer scale of cells, is being studied by an integrative approach. Data from structural biology, proteomics, and microscopy are combined to simulate the molecular structure of living cells. These cellular landscapes are used as research tools for hypothesis generation and testing, and to present visual narratives of the cellular context of molecular biology for dissemination, education, and outreach.
The efficiency of biological motion perception.

Humans can readily perceive biological motion from point-light (PL) animations, which create an image of a moving human figure by tracing the trajectories of a small number of light points affixed to a moving human body. We have applied ideal observer analysis to a standard biological motion discrimination task involving either full-figure or PL displays. Contrary to current dogma, we find that PL animations can be rich in potential stimulus information but that human observers are remarkably inefficient at exploiting this information. Although our findings do not discount the utility of PL animation, they do provide a realistic measure of the computational challenge posed by biological motion perception.
Comparing biofloc, clear-water, and hybrid recirculating nursery systems (Part II): Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) production and water quality dynamics

Abstract Indoor, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) can be used to nurse tilapia fry in a biosecure environment to support a variety of production systems; however, it is not understood what type of RAS may be most appropriate for this task. Clear-water and biofloc systems have advantages and disadvantages; hybrid systems combining positive features of both could optimize animal performance and minimize production costs. In this study, four replicate 160-L tanks were randomly assigned to clear-water (CW), biofloc (BF), or hybrid (HY) treatments. CW tanks had a settling chamber, foam fractionator, and external biofilter containing biomedia. BF tanks only had a settling chamber, and HY tanks used a settling chamber and external biofilter. Tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) were stocked at 55 per tank (305 fish/m3) at 0.17 g average weight. Total Ammonia Nitrogen (TAN) and nitrate were not significantly different between systems. Nitrite was significantly higher in BF compared to CW and HY systems during the last 4 weeks of the study. Turbidity was significantly higher in BF systems versus other treatments. Tilapia in HY systems had significantly higher average weight and specific growth rate compared to BF. Tilapia in BF systems had significantly higher feed conversion ratios and significantly lower harvest biomass versus other treatments. Diminished performance in BF systems likely resulted from inferior water quality conditions. The results indicate that CW or HY systems may be a better choice for tilapia nurseries than chemoautotrophic BF systems due to the short term periods in which nurseries operate and the volitility of nitrification in biofloc systems.
Development of a Generic Method to Metallize Plastics

A simple, generic method that does not require any specialized equipment has been developed to metallize plastics. The method takes advantage of the unusually strong affinity of poly (diaminequinone) polymers (PAQs) towards metals. It is based on the principle of interpenetrating polymer networks, which is realized by coating plastics with a PAQ solution in an appropriate solvent. The PAQ film is allowed to become tacky, metal or alloy powder - 20 цm to 100 mesh - is sprinkled over the tacky PAQ and the composite thus formed is allowed to dry completely, followed by heat cure. The metallic layer is held very firmly, it can be polished mechanically, withstands immersion in water for prolonged periods. All metallic films conduct electricity to some degree and conductance of the film can be increased by immersing the composite into a copper sulfate solution The method can be used with both regular and engineering plastics, the two plastics that could not be coated so far are Teflon and polypropylene.
An Invitation to Noncommutative Algebra

This is a brief introduction to the world of Noncommutative Algebra aimed at advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students.
Inchworm Locomotion Mechanism Inspired Self-Deformable Capsule-Like Robot: Design, Modeling, and Experimental Validation

Inspired by the inchworm locomotion mechanism, this paper presents our recently developed self-deformable capsule-like robot. The robot has the actuated deformation capability that relies on a novel rigid elements-based morphing structure (REMS) and its soft actuation mechanisms. When the robot deforms, it generates the crawling locomotion behavior and thus friction waves between the robot and contact surface to facilitate the inchworm-like crawling movement. The paper starts reviewing the deformable properties of natural biological entities like capsules, presents state of the art of the current capsule-like robots, and details the bio-inspired design of the self-deformable capsule-like robot by describing the model of robot kinematics and its locomotion mechanism. Both simulation and experimental results validate the excellent performance of this capsule-like robot. The developed self-deformable capsule-like robot has the advantage of crawling on varied surfaces and it also has the capabilities to crawl in a variety of narrow pipes based on the deformation elicited locomotion nature of the robot.
Action research through a collaborative structured teacher leader program to support mathematics instruction

This study examines teacher leaders who engaged in a professional development program focused on conducting action research related to mathematics instruction. More specifically the study focused o...
Identification and Characterization of Menadione and Benzethonium Chloride as Potential Treatments of Pierce's Disease of Grapevines.

Xylella fastidiosa infects a wide range of plant hosts and causes Pierce’s disease (PD) of grapevines. The type 1 multidrug resistance (MDR) efflux system is essential for pathogenicity and surviva...
Development of a non-destructive method to measure football facemask stiffness:

Despite heightened awareness of the need for more protective headgear in American football, facemask performance as an individual component of the helmet system has been overlooked. Current methods...
Microstencil-based spatial immobilization of individual cells for single cell analysis

Cells exhibit biologically heterogeneous phenotypes, particularly in pathogenic states. To study cell behavior at the single cell level, a variety of micropatterning techniques have been proposed that allow the spatial organization of cells with great control over cell volume, morphology, and intercellular interactions. Among these strategies, microstencil patterning has traditionally been eschewed due to fragility of membranes and lack of control over cell configurations within patterns. Here, we present a simple and reproducible strategy to create robust microstencils and achieve consistent and efficient cell patterns requiring less than 4 μl of cell solution. Polydimethylsiloxane microstencils fabricated with this technique can be used dozens of times over the course of several months with minimal wear or degradation. Characterization of pattern size, cell suspension density, and droplet volume allows on-demand configurations of singlets, doublets, triplets, or multiple cells per individual space. In addition, a novel technique to suppress evaporative convection provides precise and repeatable results, with a twofold increase in patterning efficacy. Selective dual surface modification to create hydrophilic islands on a hydrophobic substrate facilitates a significantly longer and healthier lifespan of cells without crossover of pattern boundaries. The ability to pattern individual cells with or without an extracellular matrix substrate and to control the magnitude of cell-cell contact as well as spread area provides a powerful approach to monitoring cell functions such as proliferation and intercellular signaling.
Crypto-currencies (Beyond Bitcoin, Chapter 4)

In this chapter, we discuss economic aspects of cryptocurrencies. 4.1. The double spending problem 4.2. How does Bitcoin work? Brief overview 4.3. Not the first one – predecessors of Bitcoin 4.4. Problems with Bitcoin (new challenges) 4.5. Competition against other crypto-currencies 4.6. Non-currency use of blockchain technology 4.7. Trading cryptocurrencies 4.8. How do crypto-currencies’s attributes compare to earlier money? For Chapter 1 (Introduction), see https://ssrn.com/abstract=3135021. For Chapter 2 (Means of Exchange: Ever-present Competition), see https://ssrn.com/abstract=3135028. For Chapter 3 (Platform-based Currencies), see https://ssrn.com/abstract=3135030. For Chapter 5 (Conclusions), see https://ssrn.com/abstract=3135057.
Pseudobulbar Affect in Parkinsonian Disorders: A Review

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a neurological symptom of inappropriate and uncontrollable laughter or crying that occurs secondary to a variety of neurological conditions, including parkinsonian disorders. PBA is a socially and emotionally debilitating symptom that has been estimated to affect 3.6% to 42.5% of the population with Parkinson’s disease. While indexing measures and treatment options for PBA have been extensively studied in neurological conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis, there has been considerably less attention given in the literature to PBA in parkinsonian disorders. The purpose of this review is to discuss the pathophysiology of PBA, its prevalence and impact on quality of life in parkinsonian disorders, and the treatment options currently available. Areas requiring further study, including the development of standardized, cross-culturally validated methods of symptom assessment, and evidence-based studies exploring the efficacy of current treatment options in parkinsonian disorders, are also highlighted.
Facilitating Tacit Collusion: A New Perspective on Common Ownership and Voluntary Disclosure

Investors increasingly hold stock in multiple firms that compete in the same product market (“common ownership”), and this ownership structure is positively associated with voluntary disclosure. We posit that common owners want managers to take coordinated anti-competitive actions (i.e., tacitly collude) across commonly owned firms to increase profits. Increased disclosure aids in coordinating and monitoring compliance with such strategies. Results show the common ownership-disclosure relation is diminished when tacit collusion is less feasible (industries with many firms, variable demand, and variable cost structures) and varies in the presence of alternative communication channels (overlapping directors, trade associations). This study broadens our understanding of the forces underlying the positive common ownership-disclosure relation, and expands the economics literature in this area by showing how managers facilitate anti-competitive outcomes in the presence of common ownership.
Non-MPM Mode Coding for Intra Prediction in Video Coding

In video coding, High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) introduced 35 intra prediction modes. It employed a three most probable modes (MPM) based method to improve intra mode coding. This method significantly improved the performance by extracting three MPMs out of the 35 intra modes. Joint Video Exploration Team (JVET) defines 67 intra prediction modes for a possible future video coding standard. In the latest JVET development, six MPMs are chosen, and the remaining sixty-one modes are divided into 16 "selected" and 45 "non-selected" modes. These non-MPM modes are coded using fixed length coding. This paper proposes a method to select and order these non-MPM modes based on probability statistics. The modes that fall into selected category are coded using shorter codes and non-selected modes are coded using larger codes. Experimental results show performance improvement when compared to that of JEM 7.0
Potential-Induced Degradation Depends on Leakage Current and Light/Electrical Bias in Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 Devices

Potential-induced degradation (PID) of encapsulated Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells was studied for different substrates: soda-lime glass (SLG), SLG with an Al2O3 diffusion barrier, and borosilicate glass (BSG). The Al2O3 and BSG samples increased the time to PID failure by 5x and 30x, respectively. The relationship between PID and coulombs transferred from the substrate to the device through leakage current differed depending on the sample type. When the (unrepresentative) dark PID stress test was interrupted to characterize devices with light/electrical bias, PID was partially reversed. In addition, applying high voltage stress to open-circuit devices was less damaging, relative to forward-biased and short-circuited cells. Light/electrical bias may therefore reduce PID by driving alkali metal cations away from the p-n junction to diminish their degrading effects. These results show that device light/electrical bias should be carefully controlled during CIGS PID testing, as it affects PID in addition to leakage current.
Shifting the Focus: Food Choice, Paternalism, and State Regulation

In this paper, I examine the question of whether there is justification for regulations that place limits on food choices. I begin by discussing Sarah Conly’s recent defense of paternalist limits on food choice. I argue that Conly’s argument is flawed because it assumes a particular conception of health that is not universally shared. I examine this conception of health in some detail, and I argue that we need to shift our focus from individual behaviors and lifestyle to the broader social and environmental context. Such a shift allows us to see the ways in which industry practices are negatively impacting our well-being (a broader concept than “health”). I argue that state regulatory activity surrounding the conditions under which food is grown, processed, marketed, and sold needs to be strengthened. As a result, there are likely to be some indirect limitations on food choice. These indirect limitations are justified, but regulations in which the goal is to change individual behavior or lifestyle are not.
Common Variants of Fetal and Maternal Complement Genes in Preeclampsia: Pregnancy Specific Complotype

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy specific hypertensive disorder. If untreated PE leads to life threatening condition, eclampsia. Systemic complement activation levels are increased during pregnancy compared to non-pregnant women of childbearing age. In PE, systemic complement levels are further increased, and higher complement deposition has been observed on placentas. We hypothesize that combinations of common SNPs in maternal and fetal complement genes constitute pregnancy specific complotypes and predispose women to PE. In this study, we sequenced two maternal (factor H and C3) and one fetal (CD46) complement genes and identified a total of 9 common SNPs. Minor allele frequencies of two fetal CD46 SNPs were significantly higher in PE. Further, complotypes consisting of fetal CD46 variants and maternal CFH/C3 variants were highly prevalent in PE patients compared to normotensive pregnancies. Placental complement deposition and maternal alternative pathway 50 (AP50) values were higher in PE pregnancies. Irrespective of disease status, two CD46 variants were associated with reduced placental CD46 expression and one CFH variant was associated with increased maternal AP50 values.
Performance, acceptability, and validation of a phone application bowel diary.

Author(s): Zyczynski, Halina M; Richter, Holly E; Sung, Vivian W; Arya, Lily A; Lukacz, Emily S; Visco, Anthony G; Rahn, David D; Carper, Benjamin; Mazloomdoost, Donna; Gantz, Marie G; NICHD Pelvic Floor Disorders Network | Abstract: AimsTo assess performance, acceptability, external validity, and reliability of a phone application electronic bowel diary (PFDN Bowel eDiary).MethodsWomen reporting refractory accidental bowel leakage (ABL) were enrolled in a randomized, crossover trial evaluating paper versus eDiary documentation of bowel movements (BM) and fecal incontinence episodes (FIE). Events were characterized by the presence or absence of urgency and Bristol stool scale consistency. The eDiary entries were date/time stamped and prompted by twice-daily phone notifications. Women were randomized to complete up to three consecutive 14-day diaries in two sequences. Diary events were compared between formats using the Pearson correlation. System usability scale (SUS) assessed eDiary usability. The eDiary test-retest reliability was assessed with intraclass correlations (ICCs).ResultsPaired diary data were available from 60/69 (87%) women 63.8 ± 9.8 years old with mean 13.2 BM per week and 6.5 FIE per week (nearly half with urgency). Among those providing diaries, adherence did not differ by paper or eDiary (93.3% vs. 95.0%). Notifications prompted 29.6% of eDiary entries, improving adherence from 70% to 95%. Paper and eDiaries were moderate to-strongly correlated for BMs per week (r = .61), urgency BMs per week (r = .76), FIE per week (r = .66), urgency FIE per week (r = .72). Test-retest reliability was good (ICC = .81 BMs per week, .79 urgency BMs per week, .74 FIE per week, and .62 urgency FIE per week). The mean SUS score was high, 82.3 ± 17.5 (range, 0-100) with 91.4% rating it easy to use, and 75.9% preferring the eDiary over paper.ConclusionThe PFDN Bowel eDiary correlated well with paper diary was considered easy to use, preferred to paper diaries, had high rates of confirmed real-time diary completion that obviated staff data entry.
Significant relaxation of SARS-CoV-2-targeted non-pharmaceutical interventions may result in profound mortality: A New York state modelling study

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the most significant global health crisis of the 21st century. The aim of this study was to develop a model to simulate the effect of undocumented infections, seasonal infectivity, immunity, and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on the transmission, morbidity, and mortality of SARS-CoV-2 in New York State (NYS) based on data collected between March 4 and April 28, 2020. Simulations predict that undocumented infections significantly contribute to infectivity, NPIs are effective in reducing morbidity and mortality, and relaxation >50% of NPIs from initial lock-down levels may result in tens-of-thousands more deaths. Endemic infection is likely to occur in the absence of sustained immunity. As a result, until an effective vaccine or other effective pharmaceutical intervention is developed, the risks of significantly reducing NPIs should be carefully considered. This study employs modelling to simulate fundamental characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, which can help policymakers navigate combating this virus in the coming years.
On bridging paired-end RNA-seq data

Abstract Motivation The widely-used high-throughput RNA-sequencing technologies (RNA-seq) usually produce paired-end reads. We explore if full fragments can be computationally reconstructed from the sequenced two ends—a problem here we refer to as bridging. Solving this problem provides longer, more informative RNA-seq reads, and hence benefits downstream RNA-seq analysis such as transcriptome assembly and expression quantification. However, bridging is a challenging and complicated task owing to alternative splicing, transcript noises, and sequencing errors. It remains unclear if the data itself provides sufficient information for accurate bridging, let alone proper models and efficient algorithms that characterize and determine the true bridges. Algorithmic Results We studied this problem in two settings: reference-based bridging, which assumes reads alignments are available and reconstructs the alignments of full fragments, and de novo bridging, which reconstructs sequences of entire fragments from sequences of the two ends. We proposed a novel mathematical formulation that works for both settings—to seek a path in an underlying graph data structure (i.e., splice graph for reference-based bridging, and compacted de Bruijn graph for de novo bridging) such that its bottleneck weight is maximized. This formulation characterizes true bridges and is efficient in filtering out false bridges. This formulation admits optimal substructure property, and hence efficient dynamic programming algorithms can be designed. For reference-based bridging, we designed such an algorithm to calculate the top N bridging paths, followed by a voting approach to select one using the distribution of fragment length. For de novo bridging, we designed a new truncated Dijkstra’s algorithm. To further speed up, we proposed a novel algorithm that reuses the shortest path tree to avoid running the truncated Dijkstra’s algorithm from scratch for all vertices. These innovations result in scalable algorithms that can bridge all paired-end reads in a compacted de Bruijn graph with millions of vertices. Experimental Results We showed that paired-end RNA-seq reads can be accurately bridged to a large extend. Our reference-based bridging tool could correctly bridge more than 79.6% of reads. For de novo bridging, high precision was observed with varied sensitivity. We also showed that bridging can improve reference-based transcript assembly: the improvement was significant (up to 14.4% measured with adjusted precision), and universal in all combinations with different aligners and assemblers. Availability Implementations of the algorithms for reference-based and de novo bridging are available at https://github.com/Shao-Group/rnabridge-align and https://github.com/Shao-Group/rnabridge-denovo, respectively. Scripts, datasets, and documentations that can reproduce the experimental results in this manuscript are available at https://github.com/Shao-Group/rnabridge-test.
Is osseous reattachment of the greater trochanter necessary compared to soft-tissue-only abductor repair in proximal femoral megaprosthesis reconstruction?

Background One of the challenges to surgical reconstruction following oncologic proximal femur resection is reliable re-establishment of the abductor mechanism. Surgical and functional outcomes following re-approximation of the abductor mechanism to a metallic endoprosthetic after tumor resection of the proximal femur have not been well established in the literature. Methods A retrospective review was performed, inclusive of patients who received a proximal femur replacement with a metallic endoprosthesis following tumor resection. Patients were divided into two groups: (1) those that received an abductor repair involving a trochanteric osteotomy and osseous fixation of the greater trochanter/abductor mechanism to the endoprosthesis, and (2) those that did not have a trochanteric osteotomy and therefore had an abductor repair consisting of only soft tissue reattachment to the endoprosthesis. The two groups were assessed for demographic characteristics, diagnosis, surgical outcomes including rates of complication and failure, radiographic evidence of trochanteric failure, and functional outcomes. Descriptive statistics, comparative statistics, and logistic regression analyses were performed to discern differences between the two study groups. Results Fifty-three patients were included in the analysis, 29 had abductor reconstructions involving reattachment of the greater trochanter to the metallic endoprosthesis and 24 had soft tissue reconstruction of the abductor mechanism without bony fixation. There were no differences between the two groups for demographic data, cancer diagnosis, follow up, or survivorship. Radiographic evidence of trochanteric dissociation from the endoprosthesis was observed in 45% of osteotomy cases. Only 10% of patients in the trochanter osteotomy group and 38% of the soft tissue only group were able to resume a normal, non-Trendelenburg gait at final postoperative visit (p = .024). Need for an assistive ambulatory device was seen in 83% and 67% of the osteotomy and soft-tissue-only patients, respectively (p = .21). Conclusion Re-establishing the abductor mechanism following proximal femur oncologic resection remains a challenge to orthopedic oncologists. Even when possible, salvage of the greater trochanter for reattachment to the endoprosthesis did not lead to improved function in this series, when compared to a similar cohort that received a soft-tissue-only abductor repair. Abductor mechanism reconstruction with a greater trochanteric osteotomy and subsequent fixation to the proximal femur endoprosthesis had a high rate of radiographic failure. Additionally, reattachment of the greater trochanter to the proximal femur endoprosthesis demonstrated no improvement in Trendelenburg gait or reliance on an assistive ambulatory device when compared to a soft-tissue-only abductor repair.
Health care expenditures of living with a disability: total expenditures, out-of-pocket expenses, and burden, 1996 to 2004.

Abstract Mitra S, Findley PA, Sambamoorthi U. Health care expenditures of living with a disability: total expenditures, out-of-pocket expenses, and burden, 1996 to 2004. Objective To estimate the health care expenditures associated with a disability and their recent trends. Design Retrospective analysis of survey data. Setting Not applicable. Participants Data from multiple years (1996–2004) of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) for a nationally representative sample of civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Health care expenditures consisted of total health care expenditures, total out-of-pocket (OOP) spending, and burden (the ratio of OOP to family income). All the analyses accounted for the complex survey design of the MEPS. Results Between 1996 and 2004, 6% to 9% of persons in the working-age group (21–61y) were identified as having a disability. Persons with disabilities consistently had higher total health expenditures, OOP spending, and burden compared with their counterparts without disabilities. In 2004, the average total expenditures were estimated at $10,508 for persons with disabilities and at $2256 for those without disabilities. In a multiple regression framework, persons with disabilities were consistently found to have higher expenditures, OOP spending, and burden between 1996 and 2004. Although expenditures, OOP spending, and burden increased over time, after controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and health status, these 3 health care costs were not found to change disproportionately for persons with disability. Conclusions During the 1996 to 2004 period, persons with disabilities were consistently found to have significantly higher health expenditures, OOP spending, and burden compared with their counterparts without disabilities, which may adversely affect their health and standard of living.
Tamper Detection and Continuous Non-malleable Codes

WeN consider a public and keyless code (Enc,Dec) which is used to encode a message m and derive a codeword c = Enc(m). The codeword can be adversarially tampered via a function \(f \in{\mathcal F}\) from some “tampering function family” \(\mathcal F\), resulting in a tampered value c′ = f(c). We study the different types of security guarantees that can be achieved in this scenario for different families \(\mathcal{F}\) of tampering attacks.