cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interleukin-6: A promising cytokine to support liver regeneration and adaptive immunity in liver pathologies

Liver pathologies (fibrosis, cirrhosis, alcoholic, non-alcoholic diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma) represent one of the most common causes of death worldwide. A number of genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of liver diseases. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine, exerting variety of effects on inflammation, liver regeneration, and defence against infections by regulating adaptive immunity. Due to its high abundance in inflammatory settings, IL-6 is often viewed as a detrimental cytokine. However, accumulating evidence supports the view that IL-6 has a beneficial impact in numerous liver pathologies, due to its roles in liver regeneration and in promoting an anti-inflammatory response in certain conditions. IL-6 promotes proliferation, angiogenesis and metabolism, and downregulates apoptosis and oxidative stress; together these functions are critical for mediating hepatoprotection. IL-6 is also an important regulator of adaptive immunity where it induces T cell differentiation and regulates autoimmunity. It can augment antiviral adaptive immune responses and mitigate exhaustion of T cells during chronic infection. This review focuses on studies that present IL-6 as a key factor in regulating liver regeneration and in supporting effector immune functions and suggests that these functions of IL-6 can be exploited in treatment strategies for liver pathologies.
Effect of Sodium Ascorbate Concentration on the Stability of Samples for Determination of Serum Folate Levels

Sodium ascorbate can be used as a preservative of patient samples for folate assay when freezing of serum is impractical. To evaluate the effect of sodium ascorbate on folate levels in human serum, it was added to pooled human sera in 1 g/l increments from 0 to 10 g/l serum. Free folate levels remained constant when the sodium ascorbate concentration was 6 g or less per liter of serum. At more than 6 g/l serum, free folate levels decreased. Bound folate levels increased when sodium ascorbate levels were 4 g/l or less, but remained stable at more than 4 g/l. A sodium ascorbate concentration of 5.0 +/- 1 g/l serum provided optimal preservation of folate in patient samples, indicated by obtaining constant values for four days when serum was kept at room temperature.
Factors Associated With Patients' Perceived Importance of Opioid Prescribing Policies in an Orthopedic Hand Surgery Practice.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to survey the attitudes and beliefs about opioids and opioid prescribing policies among patients presenting to an orthopedic hand surgery practice. Methods Patients (n = 118; median age, 49 years) who presented to their regularly scheduled appointment at a major urban university medical center completed surveys assessing their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, beliefs about prescription opioids, beliefs about opioid prescribing policies, and perceived importance of opioid prescribing policies in the department. Results Many patients were aware of potential risks of opioids (eg, 80% are aware of addictive properties) and would support opioid prescribing policies that aim to decrease opioid misuse and diversion. However, a small but important number of patients have concerning beliefs about prescription opioids (eg, 28% believe opioids work well for long-term pain) or believe that doctors should prescribe “as much medication as the patient needs” (7%). The vast majority (98%) indicated that they would like more education on opioids and that information about prescription opioids should be provided to all patients in orthopedic practices. Patients with higher educational attainment reported a greater perceived importance of opioid prescribing policies. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that opioid prescribing strategies that promote safe and effective alleviation of pain and optimal opioid stewardship will be well received by patients. Clinical relevance Efforts to develop and test the effects of opioid prescribing policies and nonopioid pain relief strategies on opioid prescribing are merited.
Critical minerals: A review of elemental trends in comprehensive criticality studies

Abstract Mineral criticality is a subjective concept that has evolved throughout history. An abundance of literature on this topic has been published over the last decade, encompassing a variety of criteria and methodologies. To our knowledge, this work is the first large-scale effort to organize and analyze recent comprehensive criticality studies in order to determine if a consensus exists within the global community as to which elements are critical. Here, we set aside methodological differences and analyze the results of 32 comprehensive nonfuel mineral criticality studies that evaluate at least 10 elements. Of the 56 elements or elemental groups evaluated, the three most commonly identified as critical in these studies are the rare-earth elements (REE), the platinum-group metals (PGM), and indium. Most of the studies also identify tungsten, germanium, cobalt, niobium, tantalum, gallium, and antimony as critical. These results are consistent with the 11 most recent studies, published post-2014, which also identify bismuth as critical. Furthermore, the same elements identified in the complete dataset, except antimony, were designated as critical when normalized by geographic region. Magnesium was also deemed critical. Elements may be identified consistently as critical for several reasons; similarities in methodologies, which embody evolving perceptions of risk, or changing national and institutional priorities. This work compiles a large number of recent criticality studies in an effort to define a consensus of currently critical materials, essentially defining the modern criticality paradigm, which is valuable when interpreting an individual perspective in more global context.
Emerging Biomarker of Kidney Disease: suPAR or Subpar?

Kidney disease is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in the US, affecting 14% of the population. It is often referred to as a “silent epidemic” because the disease is often asymptomatic until the late stages and current clinical assays only detect it after a substantial portion of kidney capacity has been lost. As such, there is marked interest in kidney disease biomarkers that could identify the extent of kidney damage earlier in the pathological process. This may allow for interventions that could reduce or save the kidney from irreversible harm, thus reducing morbidity and mortality from this devastating disease. A clinically promising yet controversial biomarker for kidney disease, soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), was recently showcased in the journal Science (1). suPAR is the circulating form of a membrane protein …
Spectroscopic ellipsometry data analysis using penalized splines representation for the dielectric function

Abstract Accuracy of the spectroscopic ellipsometry data analysis strongly depends on appropriate modeling of the complex dielectric function e (or the complex index of refraction N) over required spectral range. In this paper, we outline penalized B-spline (P-spline) formulation for an arbitrary dielectric function e modeling in spectroscopic ellipsometry data analysis. The main idea is to first use a generous number of equally-spaced knots (up to the number of spectral points) to describe even highly complicated structure in the imaginary part e2 of the dielectric function and then provide a certain penalty on the coefficients of adjacent B-splines to tune the smoothness of the e curve. Two real-data applications have been provided to evaluate the practical performance and effectiveness of the proposed penalized formulation for dielectric function representation. A comparison of obtained results with the findings of our previous studies without penalization demonstrates a good agreement between the proposed method and ordinary B-spline representation in an equally-spaced fashion with optimal number of knots.
The UWHAM and SWHAM Software Package

We introduce the UWHAM (binless weighted histogram analysis method) and SWHAM (stochastic UWHAM) software package that can be used to estimate the density of states and free energy differences based on the data generated by multi-state simulations. The programs used to solve the UWHAM equations are written in the C++ language and operated via the command line interface. In this paper, first we review the theoretical bases of UWHAM, its stochastic solver RE-SWHAM (replica exchange-like SWHAM)and ST-SWHAM (serial tempering-like SWHAM). Then we provide a tutorial with examples that explains how to apply the UWHAM program package to analyze the data generated by different types of multi-state simulations: umbrella sampling, replica exchange, free energy perturbation simulations, etc. The tutorial examples also show that the UWHAM equations can be solved stochastically by applying the RE-SWHAM and ST-SWHAM programs when the data ensemble is large. If the simulations at some states are far from equilibrium, the Stratified RE-SWHAM program can be applied to obtain the equilibrium distribution of the state of interest. All the source codes and the tutorial examples are available from our group's web page: https://ronlevygroup.cst.temple.edu/software/UWHAM_and_SWHAM_webpage/index.html .
Landscape genetic evaluation of a tallgrass prairie corridor using the Greater Prairie-chicken ( Tympanuchus cupido )

We studied current functional connectivity along a developing grassland corridor in the Midwestern U.S. and focused on connectivity for Greater Prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido). Greater Prairie-chickens are an area-sensitive species that rely on grasslands and are an indicator species for the tallgrass prairie ecosystem in North America. The coordinated multi-agency Prairie Landscape Conservation Plan is one of the largest planned and implemented conservation corridors in the U.S., making this system ideal to examine factors associated with corridor functionality. We examined landscape functional connectivity and factors that impact genetic structure and gene flow of Greater Prairie-chickens to identify gaps in a planned prairie corridor that is currently being implemented. We collected feathers from 81 leks and obtained 31 hunter-harvested wings. We used a landscape genetic approach to evaluate eight hypotheses to explain functional connectivity and examine impacts of land cover and land use on isolation and genetic structure. Two populations were most supported based on 294 unique genotypes. Functional connectivity was influenced by land use, land cover, and anthropogenic development. Good connectivity exists within the Greater Prairie-chicken range, but improvements along the corridor in the northern portion of the extant range would be beneficial. We produced geographically specific recommendations as to where land management can potentially achieve the greatest impact. Our results help prioritize areas for ongoing conservation efforts, like prairie acquisition, restoration, and enhancement. Furthermore, identification of factors influencing connectivity in our study can be applied to improve conservation planning elsewhere in the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.
Epidemiology of Cardiac Amyloidosis-Associated Heart Failure Hospitalizations Among Fee-for-Service Medicare Beneficiaries in the United States.

Background: Cardiac amyloidosis is a substantially underdiagnosed disease, and contemporary estimates of the epidemiology of amyloidosis are lacking. This study aims to determine the incidence and ...
Pharmacologically active compounds from microbial origin.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the pharmacologically active compounds from microbial origin. As microorganisms provide such a wide variety of metabolic metabolites, it would seem reasonable to assume that microbial metabolites would be excellent sources of pharmacological compounds. Some of the aforementioned compounds reviewed were found to have pharmacological properties secondary to their antibiotic properties. Perhaps if greater emphasis were placed on seeking microbial products with pharmacological activities rather than antibiotic activities, a greater variety of compounds would be available for clinical use. The positive inotropic and chronotropic actions of a new antibiotic, adriamycin, isolated from cultures of Streptomyces peucetuis caesius, were reported. This drug is composed of a red-pigmented aglycon, adriamycinone, and a water-soluble aminosugar, daunosamine, connected by a glycoside linkage. The aglycon portion of the molecule is thought to be the active part, and contains an anthracycline nucleus. Both positive inotropic and chronotropic actions and the shortening of the action potential duration occurred with administration of this drug.
Multithreaded sparse matrix-matrix multiplication for many-core and GPU architectures

Abstract Sparse matrix-matrix multiplication is a key kernel that has applications in several domains such as scientific computing and graph analysis. Several algorithms have been studied in the past for this foundational kernel. In this paper, we develop parallel algorithms for sparse matrix-matrix multiplication with a focus on performance portability across different high performance computing architectures. The performance of these algorithms depend on the data structures used in them. We compare different types of accumulators in these algorithms and demonstrate the performance difference between these data structures. Furthermore, we develop a meta-algorithm, kkSpGEMM , to choose the right algorithm and data structure based on the characteristics of the problem. We show performance comparisons on three architectures and demonstrate the need for the community to develop two phase sparse matrix-matrix multiplication implementations for efficient reuse of the data structures involved.
“What’s So Great About Art, Anyway?” A Teacher’s Odyssey

“The book overall has a logical flow, building on ideas from the history of art education with a contemporary twist.”“What’s So Great About Art, Anyway?” A Teacher’s Odyssey is a refreshing, dynami...
Monosodium luminol reinstates redox homeostasis, improves cognition, mood and neurogenesis, and alleviates neuro- and systemic inflammation in a model of Gulf War Illness

Enduring brain dysfunction is amid the highly manifested symptoms in veterans with Gulf War Illness (GWI). Animal studies have established that lasting brain dysfunction in GWI is concomitant with augmented oxidative stress, inflammation, and declined neurogenesis in the brain, and systemic inflammation. We hypothesize that drugs capable of restoring redox homeostasis in GWI will improve cognitive and mood function with modulation of neuroinflammation and neurogenesis. We examined the efficacy of monosodium luminol-GVT (MSL), a drug that promotes redox homeostasis, for improving cognitive and mood function in GWI rats. Young rats were exposed to GWI-related chemicals and moderate restraint stress for four weeks. Four months later, GWI rats received different doses of MSL or vehicle for eight weeks. Behavioral analyses in the last three weeks of treatment revealed that GWI rats receiving higher doses of MSL displayed better cognitive and mood function associated with reinstatement of redox homeostasis. Such restoration was evident from the normalized expression of multiple genes encoding proteins involved in combating oxidative stress in the brain and the return of several oxidative stress markers to control levels in the brain and the circulating blood. Sustained redox homeostasis by MSL also resulted in antiinflammatory and pro-neurogenic effects, which were apparent from reduced densities of hypertrophied astrocytes and activated microglia, and increased neurogenesis with augmented neural stem cell proliferation. Moreover, MSL treatment normalized the concentration of multiple proinflammatory markers in the circulating blood. Thus, MSL treatment reinstated redox homeostasis in an animal model of GWI, which resulted in alleviation of both brain and systemic inflammation, improved neurogenesis, and better cognitive and mood function.
Breast cancer stem cells: A novel therapy for breast cancer.

e13030 Background: Simple BRCA screening is insufficient for ‘event-free survival’ as breast cancer is clinically and pathologically an extremely heterogeneous disease. Targeting Breast Cancer Stem...
Assessing Generalization in Single-Case Research Studies Teaching Core Academic Content to Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities:

One concern raised about teaching content from the general education curriculum to students with intellectual and developmental disabilities is whether they generalize the skills learned to typical...
Partner Abuse Among Treatment-Seeking Individuals with Chronic Pain: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Association with Pain-Related Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE This study assessed the prevalence of abusive partner relationships among individuals presenting for chronic pain treatment. In addition, this study examined the association between partner abuse histories and pain-relevant outcome variables. DESIGN Cross-sectional. SETTING This study took place at a specialty pain rehabilitation treatment center in the Midwestern United States. SUBJECTS Participants in this study (N = 108) included adults (Mage = 45.73 [15.95] years) presenting for chronic pain treatment who consented to participate in a research study on stress, relationships, and chronic pain. METHODS Participants completed self-report measures about relationship and abuse histories, physical and mental health, and demographic information. Participants were categorized into the following groups: no intimate partner violence (IPV), past IPV (>12 months ago), or current/recent IPV (≤12 months ago). RESULTS Results indicated that over half (56%) of the sample endorsed a history of partner abuse and around one-third (29%) of the sample had experienced abuse within the past year. Psychological/emotional abuse was the most common form of abuse reported. Those with current/recent abuse histories reported greater impairment in pain interference, post-traumatic stress symptoms, mental health functioning, and pain self-efficacy compared with those who had not experienced abuse in the past year. CONCLUSIONS Partner abuse appears common among individuals with chronic pain and is associated with pain-relevant outcomes, warranting additional clinical attention and research in this area.
Factors that Influence Mammography Use for Breast Cancer Screening among African American Women.

Abstract Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess factors that influence use of mammography screening among African American women, with a focus on social and cultural influences using Andersen's behavioral model (ABM), and to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Methods A literature review was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, PSYCINFO, and Web of Science. Search terms included a combination of the following words using Boolean operators: breast cancer screening, mammography, repeat mammography, and African American. Studies that met the following criteria were included in the review: 1) examined factors associated with mammography screening, 2) included African American women as a majority, 3) published in a peer-reviewed English language journal between 2005 and 2017, and 4) conducted in the United States. Literature reviews, commentaries and non-research studies were excluded. Cited references from identified studies were examined for additional, relevant articles. Associated factors were grouped into predisposing, enabling, and need factor domains of ABM. The reviewed studies were rated using a methodological quality score (MQS) ranging from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating higher methodological quality. Results Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Fifteen factors that affect breast cancer screening in African American women were identified: predisposing (age, education, knowledge, beliefs, mistrust, religiosity, fears and fatalism), enabling (health insurance, access to care, income, health utilization), and need (physician recommendation, family/personal history, pain/discomfort, family responsibilities) factors. The most common factor was insurance status, although cultural issues (e.g., mistrust) were evident. Most of the identified factors are modifiable. The mean MQS was 12.2, indicating that the studies were slightly above average in quality. Conclusions Financial and cultural issues were important hindrances to breast cancer screening in African American women. These findings highlight the importance of affordable health care for preventive health services as well as the relevance of culturally embedded issues to health, while the MQS accentuates the need for more rigorous research articles. Breast cancer screening interventions in this population should attend to barriers identified in this review.
Early learning differences between intra- and interpersonal interlimb coordination

Intrinsic coordination patterns exist between limbs such that 1) coordination at these states is inherently stable, 2) any other pattern requires learning to produce, and 3) this learning is subject to interference from a systemic bias towards intrinsic patterns. The dynamics that govern intrapersonal interlimb coordination also govern interpersonal coordination. However, intrapersonal coordination exhibits greater coupling strength and thus more stable intrinsic dynamics than interpersonal coordination. Because the strength of intrinsic coordination tendencies has consequences for learning coordination patterns, the differences in coupling strength between intra- and interpersonal coordination should impact the ability to perform new coordination patterns via greater or less interference from intrinsic dynamics. This was investigated by measuring participants' performance as they learned a new coordination pattern alone (intrapersonal) or in pairs (interpersonal). Participants were implicitly tasked with learning the pattern as they separately controlled the vertical and horizontal position of an on-screen cursor to trace a circling target. We observed better performance of dyads on first trial and steeper learning trajectories for individuals. Overall, these results indicate that individuals experienced greater interference from stronger intrinsic coordination dynamics during early learning but could overcome this interference and achieve similar performance to that of dyads with very little practice.
A Breath of Knowledge: Overview of Current Adolescent E-cigarette Prevention and Cessation Programs.

Adolescent use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has risen rapidly, which is concerning given the health effects of e-cigarettes and youth susceptibility to nicotine addiction. It is critical that efforts to educate, prevent, and reduce adolescent use of e-cigarettes are developed and evaluated. The purpose of this paper is to review available current prevention and cessation programs. A web-based search of currently available e-cigarette prevention and cessation/treatment programs was conducted using Google in May of 2020. Programs were then reviewed on whether they included theory- and evidence-based practices of effective adolescent prevention and cessation programs. Eight prevention programs, seven cessation programs, and one program that addressed both prevention and cessation were identified and included in this review. Most prevention programs included the importance of understanding flavored e-cigarette products, addressed industry-targeted marketing, included social learning activities to develop refusal skills, delivered free-of-cost, available online, and explicitly stated their incorporation of theory. Five prevention programs and two cessation programs had empirically evaluated their e-cigarette-related components. Although the programs reviewed largely incorporated theory and included key components known to be effective, there are some gaps in the programs’ overall ability to prevent and stop adolescents from using e-cigarettes, such as lack of dedicated e-cigarette materials. More evidence-based tools, resources, and evaluations are needed to best inform adolescent e-cigarette cessation. Addressing the gaps that existing prevention and cessation programs present requires intervening at multiple systematic levels, conducting more rigorous program evaluations, and bolstering the availability of cessation programs.
The end of currency manipulation? Global production networks and exchange rate outcomes

Between 2000 and 2017, eight major exporting countries engaged in currency manipulation in order to increase their trade surpluses with the rest of the world. As of 2018, however, no currency manipulators remained. This change in policy is puzzling given the past successes of this export‐led growth model. I argue that the state‐level decision to stop depreciating its exchange rate stems from the reduced benefits and increased costs of currency manipulation. As production becomes more global, an increase in tradable inputs decreases the traditional benefits of a depreciated currency, in particular an increase in exports. Utilizing panel data across 63 countries between 2000 and 2018, I demonstrate that global production networks moderate the traditional relationship between export dependence and currency manipulation. I further discuss how this relationship may reverse given the reshoring of production networks in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Imitação ou colaboração? Marlowe e o cânone shakespeareano inicial

Este artigo emprega estudos de atribuicao de autoria para propor que e possivel distinguir um dramaturgo trabalhando conjuntamente com outro (em colaboracao) de um que emprega recursos linguisticos reconheciveis de outro poeta (imitacao). Partindo do pressuposto de que a identidade e celular e sistemica enquanto a imitacao e seletiva e semiotica, verifica-se tres trechos de Henrique VI Parte I, na qual William Shakespeare e Christopher Marlowe trabalharam colaborativamente.
Climate change upsets agriculture

Raising agricultural productivity has been essential for global food security and conserving land. Now, research quantifies how climate change has slowed agricultural productivity growth around the world.
Improvement of renal and non-renal SLE outcome measures on sirolimus therapy - A 21-year follow-up study of 73 patients.

Abstract The safety, tolerance, and selected renal and non-renal outcome measures were evaluated in 73 SLE patients who received sirolimus therapy for more than 3 months in our institution over the past 21 years. In 12 patients who had lupus nephritis, proteinuria (p = 0.0287), hematuria (p = 0.0232), anti-DNA antibody levels (p = 0.0028) and steroid use were reduced (p = 0.0200). In the non-renal cohort of 61 patients, anti-DNA antibody levels (p = 0.0332) and steroid use were reduced (p = 0.0163). Both in the renal and non-renal cohorts, C3 (renal p = 0.0070; non-renal p = 0.0021) and C4 complement levels were increased (renal p = 0.0063; non-renal p = 0.0042) Adverse effects of mouth sores (2/73), headaches (1/73), and gastrointestinal discomfort were noted in a minority of patients (6/73). Sirolimus was only discontinued in two of 73 patients due to headache and recurrent infections, respectively. This study suggests that sirolimus is well tolerated and exerts long-term therapeutic efficacy in controlling renal and non-renal manifestations of SLE.
Diagnostic and Management Considerations in a Patient With Primary Pulmonary Meningioma With Associated Micro-Solid Nodules.

Primary pulmonary meningiomas (PPMs) are rare mesodermal tumors that arise in the lung and are most often incidentally identified as single pulmonary nodules. Most cases of PPM are benign, and surgical resection remains the primary curative treatment. We describe the case of a 65-year-old asymptomatic female who presented with an incidentally identified 2.5 x 1.7-cm lobulated, non-calcified mass in the right lower lobe of the lung, which was diagnosed as PPM that had low fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-avidity and associated sub-centimeter nodules present in the same lobe. The patient was closely monitored and the nodules showed essentially no interval enlargement over several months. Given the disparate locations and small sizes of the nodules, no surgical resection was planned. The patient remained clinically stable, and close medical monitoring was determined to be the best course of action. Our case highlights the viability of medical monitoring as an alternative to surgery in asymptomatic patients with benign PPMs that have associated micronodules.
Experimental Study of Direct Injection Diesel Engine Fueled with Two Types of Gas To Liquid (GTL)

In this study, the main properties of two types of gas-toliquid (GTL) fuels were investigated. Then, performance and emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine fueled with GTLs were investigated by comparison with diesel fuel. GTL1 was composed of 100% paraffin by volume, and GTL2 was composed of 99.8% paraffin and 0.2% aromatics by volume. Most GTL fuel properties were comparable to those of diesel fuel, while both fuels have a higher cetane number and lower sulphur. A diesel engine could be operated with GTL fueling without any special engine modifications. Our tests showed that with the high cetane number of GTLs, the ignition delay was shorter, and combustion started earlier than with diesel fuel. With GTL1 operation, THC and soot emissions were lower than with diesel fuel operation, and even lower with GTL2 fueling. The combustion duration with GTLs was longer as compared with diesel fuel at early injection timings, but became shorter than with diesel fuel operation with retarding injection timing. In case of GTL2, the combustion duration was shorter than that of GTL1 at retarded injection timings. The THC and soot emissions with GTLs were lower than those of diesel fuel at all injection timings, especially, THC and soot emissions with GTL2 were the lowest among all fuels tested here.
Mimickers, Misleads, and Confounders

Neurology is the only specialty where examiners should seriously worry about not getting the clinical examination right because something else is in play. Questions arise when parts of the examination do not fit with what has been traditionally known from the standards of localization. We must continually ask ourselves constantly whether our examination accurately reflects what is happening to the patient. Good clinical acumen may improve our intuition that something is not right. Misinterpretations may lead to overly pessimistic predictions that have serious consequences for outcome assessment.
The classical SIR model

The SIR model is the most popular compartment model with three populations, the susceptible, infectious, and recovered groups S, I, and R. It characterizes infectious diseases that provide immunity upon infection. While the SIR model does not have an analytical solution for the time course of its populations, it has explicit analytical solutions for its maximum infectious population and for the final sizes of its susceptible and recovered populations at endemic equilibrium. This makes it a widely used model to rapidly estimate the dimensions of an outbreak. The learning objectives of this chapter on classical SIR modeling are to
COVID-19 Fake News Detection Using Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers Based Models.

Nowadays, the development of social media allows people to access the latest news easily. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for people to access the news so that they can take corresponding protective measures. However, the fake news is flooding and is a serious issue especially under the global pandemic. The misleading fake news can cause significant loss in terms of the individuals and the society. COVID-19 fake news detection has become a novel and important task in the NLP field. However, fake news always contain the correct portion and the incorrect portion. This fact increases the difficulty of the classification task. In this paper, we fine tune the pre-trained Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) model as our base model. We add BiLSTM layers and CNN layers on the top of the finetuned BERT model with frozen parameters or not frozen parameters methods respectively. The model performance evaluation results showcase that our best model (BERT finetuned model with frozen parameters plus BiLSTM layers) achieves state-of-the-art results towards COVID-19 fake news detection task. We also explore keywords evaluation methods using our best model and evaluate the model performance after removing keywords.
rPAC: Route based pathway analysis for cohorts of gene expression data sets.

Abstract Pathway analysis is a popular method aiming to derive biological interpretation from high-throughput gene expression studies. However, existing methods focus mostly on identifying which pathway or pathways could have been perturbed, given differential gene expression patterns. In this paper, we present a novel pathway analysis framework, namely rPAC, which decomposes each signaling pathway route into two parts, the upstream portion of a transcription factor (TF) block and the downstream portion from the TF block and generates a pathway route perturbation analysis scheme examining disturbance scores assigned to both parts together. This rPAC scoring is further applied to a cohort of gene expression data sets which produces two summary metrics, “Proportion of Significance” (PS) and “Average Route Score” (ARS), as quantitative measures discerning perturbed pathway routes within and/or between cohorts. To demonstrate rPAC’s scoring competency, we first used a large amount of simulated data and compared the method’s performance against those by conventional methods in terms of power curve. Next, we performed a case study involving three epithelial cancer data sets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The rPAC method revealed specific pathway routes as potential cancer type signatures. A deeper pathway analysis of sub-groups (i.e., age groups in COAD or cancer sub-types in BRCA) resulted in pathway routes that are known to be associated with the sub-groups. In addition, multiple previously uncharacterized pathways routes were identified, potentially suggesting that rPAC is better in deciphering etiology of a disease than conventional methods particularly in isolating routes and sections of perturbed pathways in a finer granularity.
Cortical iron mediates age-related decline in fluid cognition.

Brain iron dyshomeostasis disrupts various critical cellular functions, and age-related iron accumulation may contribute to deficient neurotransmission and cell death. While recent studies have linked excessive brain iron to cognitive function in the context of neurodegenerative disease, little is known regarding the role of brain iron accumulation in cognitive aging in healthy adults. Further, previous studies have focused primarily on deep gray matter regions, where the level of iron deposition is highest. However, recent evidence suggests that cortical iron may also contribute to cognitive deficit and neurodegenerative disease. Here, we used quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) to measure brain iron in 67 healthy participants 18-78 years of age. Speed-dependent (fluid) cognition was assessed from a battery of 12 psychometric and computer-based tests. From voxelwise QSM analyses, we found that QSM susceptibility values were negatively associated with fluid cognition in the right inferior temporal gyrus, bilateral putamen, posterior cingulate gyrus, motor, and premotor cortices. Mediation analysis indicated that susceptibility in the right inferior temporal gyrus was a significant mediator of the relation between age and fluid cognition, and similar effects were evident for the left inferior temporal gyrus at a lower statistical threshold. Additionally, age and right inferior temporal gyrus susceptibility interacted to predict fluid cognition, such that brain iron was negatively associated with a cognitive decline for adults over 45 years of age. These findings suggest that iron may have a mediating role in cognitive decline and may be an early biomarker of neurodegenerative disease.
Experimental Characterization of Unimorph Shape Memory Polymer Actuators Incorporating Transverse Curvature in the Substrate

Shape memory polymers (SMP) have the potential to be utilized as a lightweight, solid state actuator in modern reconfigurable structures including as a deployment system for satellite solar panels or morphing aircraft wings. This paper is primarily concerned with the use of Veriflex-S® shape memory polymer and bi-directional carbon-fiber-reinforced-polymer (CFRP) in a flexural unimorph actuator configuration. One of the major deficiencies of SMP unimorphs is the permanent set (unrecovered shape) after a single or multiple temperature cycle(s). The novel concept of incorporating transverse curvature in the CFRP substrate, similar to that of an extendable tape measurer, is proposed to improve the shape recovery by increasing the bending stiffness of the unimorph actuator to compensate for the lack of recovery of the SMP. A set of experiments was designed to investigate the influence of transverse curvature, the relative widths of SMP and CFRP substrates, and shape memory polymer thickness on actuator recoverability after multiple thermo-mechanical cycles. The performance of SMP unimorph actuators with varying degrees of transverse curvature were evaluated versus that of traditional SMP unimorphs incorporating a flat substrate. Digital image correlation was implemented to quantify the out-of-plane deflection of the unimorph composite actuators (UCAs) during the actuation cycle. Experimental results indicate that an actuator with transverse curvature significantly reduces the residual deformation by at least two orders of magnitude which could be further tailored to enhance the performance of shape memory polymers in reconfigurable arrangements.
The arrangement of DNA in lambda phage heads. I. Biological consequences of micrococcal nuclease attack on a portion of the chromosome exposed in tailless heads.

Abstract If they lack tails, lambda heads are sensitive to inactivation by micrococcal DNase. Nuclease-treated heads still join with tails, producing phage which adsorb to host cells and inject their DNA normally. The injected chromosomes are defective since both lytic phage production and lysogeny are decreased 85 to 95%. The intracellular circularization of λ DNA is the first step in phage development altered by nuclease damage. When extracted from an infected cell, most parental molecules from nuclease-treated heads are of normal size but linear. The failure to cyclize in vivo suggests the cohesive ends are damaged.
Dissolved oxygen reduction in the DIII-D neutral beam ion source cooling system

Neutral beam ion sources (NBIS) are critical components for the neutral beam injection system supporting the DIII-D tokamak. The NBIS must be cooled with 3028 l/m (800 gpm) of de-ionized and de-oxygenated water to protect the sources from overheating and failure. These ion sources are currently irreplaceable. Since the water cooled molybdenum components will oxidize in water almost instantaneously in the presence of dissolved oxygen (DO), de-oxygenation is extremely important in the NBIS water system. Under normal beam operation the DO level is kept below 5 ppb. However, during weeknights and weekends when neutral beam is not in operation, the average DO level is maintained below 10 ppb by periodic circulation with a 74.6 kW (100 hp) pump, which consumes significant power. Experimental data indicated evidence of continuous oxygen diffusion through non-metallic hoses in the proximity of the NBIS. Because of the intermittent flow of the cooling water, the DO concentration at the ion source(s) could be even higher than measured downstream, and hence the concern of significant localized oxidation/corrosion. A new 3.73 kW (5 hp) auxiliary system, installed in the summer of 2003, is designed to significantly reduce the peak and the time-average DO levels in the water system and to consume only a fraction of the power.
Book Review: Gustavus Schmidt, the Civil Law of Spain and Mexico

This is a book review of a classic work on Hispanic comparative law by Gustavus Schmidt, which was originally published in 1851 in the city of New Orleans. The first part of the Book is a comprehensive study of Spanish legal history. It provides a rich and unique glossary for scholars today as it did then. The second part of the Book is a civil code project premised on the laws of Spain and Mexico. Because it was drafted in English but based on Spanish texts, the project was a monumental work at that time. The book illustrates the perception that scholars and practitioners had of the laws of Spain in the Hispanic American former colonies. The use of the book, together with related recent works, may help in discovering the evolution of Hispanic legal studies in the Americas. As important, the book proves Schmidt’s worth as a ground-breaking jurist on Hispanic comparative law.
Barack Obama 2.0: The Power of New Media in Achieving and Sustaining Presidential Charisma

Barack Obama enhanced the key attributes he possessed as a charismatic leader with the capabilities of new media in his successful bid for the presidency of the United States of America. Obama was an innovator in this regard, establishing clear goals and using the new media to deliver and achieve results. Obama made himself and his vision known to targeted and general audiences, creating connections, building networks and mobilizing supporters. Through the Five Cs (Friedman and Friedman 2008a; 2008b) which characterize new media, the construction and maintenance of Obama’s charisma is explored.
Membrane defects of the tolerant B cell. III. Defective receptor replacement.

Abstract When trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS), the reactive form of trinitrophenyl (TNP) hapten, is injected into a mouse, a brief intrinsic B-cell tolerance to TNP has been shown to result. Yet antigen-binding cells (ABC) with receptors for TNP persist in the TNBS-treated animal. After treatment with Pronase under conditions preserving cell recovery and viability, 80–90% of TNP-ABC failed to bind antigen. After 2 hr in vitro , Pronase-treated 4-day immune TNP-ABC displayed significant recovery of antigen binding, whereas nonimmune TNP-ABC performed the same feat by 18 hr. However, TNP-ABC tested 2 to 11 days after TNBS failed to replace digested receptors by 18 hr in vitro . Thirty days after TNBS, they had recovered this ability. This defective receptor replacement by TNP-ABC was not reversed by colchicine, and was not shared by the sheep-erythrocyte ABC of the same animals, which replaced receptors normally. When challenged with antigen (TNP-sheep erythrocytes) simultaneously with TNBS, recovery by 2 hr was evident on Day 11. When challenged with antigen 4 days after TNBS, receptor regeneration had returned to normal by the next day, and partial recovery of the anti-TNP plaque-forming cell response was evident 4 days later. Thus, the inability to replace receptors and immune unresponsiveness coincides in time, so that a causal relationship between these two defects may be hypothesized. This result contrasts with the membrane locking defect, previously described in the TNP-ABC of TNBS-treated animals, which far outlasted the unresponsive state.
Dorsal root entry zone procedures and other surgeries for pain

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses various pain pathways in the nervous system. It provides summary on different types of pain surgeries. The chapter also focuses on the neurophysiologic intraoperative monitoring (NIOM), as it relates to the pain surgeries with an emphasis on the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) procedure. Surgical treatment of pain has targeted all levels of the nervous system, from the peripheral nerves to the cortex. The chapter discusses that neurostimulation has been the preferred method of operative treatment of pain. Ablative therapies remain in the treatment algorithm, especially for those not responding to other types of therapies. New techniques are being introduced to better localize the targets. Recording of intracellular and extracellular potentials has been reported in surgeries on DREZ and may expand to other parts of the nervous system as well. Whether impedance measurements gain wider acceptance remains to be determined. The methods for selective assessment of various tracts in the spinal cord need to be developed so that complications can be minimized.
DNA Repair Polymerases

The nuclear and mitochondrial genomes are under constant attack from endogenous (metabolic) and exogenous genotoxins. The resulting genomic insults include damaged bases and nucleotides, deoxyribo- and ribonucleotide misincorporation, intra-strand and interstrand DNA cross-links, and single-strand and double-strand DNA breaks. As expected, efficient recognition and removal of these genotoxic lesions is critical to begin the repair process and restore genome integrity. With the exception of direct reversal mechanisms, repair of both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes requires DNA synthesis to replace the nucleotides or DNA strands removed during the repair process. Whereas some DNA repair pathways co-opt replicative DNA polymerases to synthesize the DNA in the “repair patch,” other DNA repair pathways have dedicated DNA polymerase enzymes. This chapter will detail the DNA polymerases central to the major mammalian DNA repair pathways and, where applicable, highlight the unique roles these DNA polymerases may play in protecting normal cells from mutagenic or genotoxic agents and in providing resistance to genotoxic chemotherapeutic treatments.
Cheating by men in the gale-shapley stable matching algorithm

This paper addresses strategies for the stable marriage problem. For the Gale-Shapley algorithm with men proposing, a classical theorem states that it is impossible for every cheating man to get a better partner than the one he gets if everyone is truthful. We study how to circumvent this theorem and incite men to cheat. First we devise coalitions in which a nonempty subset of the liars get better partners and no man is worse off than before. This strategy is limited in that not everyone in the coalition has the incentive to falsify his list. In an attempt to rectify this situation we introduce the element of randomness, but the theorem shows surprising robustness: it is impossible that every liar has a chance to improve the rank of his partner while no one gets hurt. To overcome the problem that some men lack the motivation to lie, we exhibit another randomized lying strategy in which every liar can expect to get a better partner on average, though with a chance of getting a worse one. Finally, we consider a variant scenario: instead of using the Gale-Shapley algorithm, suppose the stable matching is chosen at random. We present a modified form of the coalition strategy ensuring that every man in the coalition has a new probability distribution over partners which majorizes the original one.