cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Do channel members value the multiple-cooperation strategy?

Abstract When the manufacturer distributes his products through online and traditional channels, what type of innovative marketing strategy can be utilized to solve the channel conflict and improve the performances of all channel members? Our research addresses this important question by initiating a triple cooperative strategy for channel members to employ in a manufacturer – retailer dual-channel supply chain. Our results show that when the product is less compatible with online channel than with traditional channel, channel members can utilize a triple cooperative strategy to improve channel coordination and their individual performances effectively and efficiently. First, the manufacturer can utilize supportive retail sales effort as a valuable coordination mechanism to improve the performances of all channel members in the dual-channel distribution. Second, a channel coordinative price strategy can be utilized to further improve the performance of whole channel. Finally, a profit sharing mechanism is needed to create a Pareto result for both the manufacturer and the retailer. Furthermore, we extend our model to study the value of triple cooperative strategy in a manufacturer – two competitive retailers supply chain and derive the optimum marketing strategy.
Financing social enterprises

In this Special Issue of the Entrepreneurship Research Journal, we examine emerging and evolving strategies and tools for financing social enterprises. This is a very young subfield of social entrepreneurship; one that has been dominated by practitioners and only recently has attracted scholarly interest. However, it is a vital topic because of the need for more and better resources to bring scale to the pursuit of social and/or environmental mission. It is an immensely fertile field for research. Dees, Emerson, and Economy (2001) remind us that financing for social entrepreneurship should be driven by the human and physical resources required to deliver on the social value proposition (SVP) of the enterprise, which, in turn, must be guided by the activities necessary to accomplish the mission. As SVPs become more ambitious and activities more sophisticated, more capital is required in forms that are appropriate to the organizational structure and life cycle stage of the enterprise. Traditional forms of financing for social entrepreneurship are no longer adequate to the task. They are often short-term, categorical, and transactional in nature (Wei-Skillern et al. 2007), when what is needed are financial resources that free the social entrepreneur to focus on mission achievement (not fundraising) at a scale that yields transformation. This has led to experimentation that has pushed the boundaries of traditional financing, such as Crowdfunding and program-related investments. However, even this has not proved to be enough. The newest idea in good currency in the social entrepreneurship financing arena is social impact investment, which combines financial investment and social and/or environmental impact. Social impact investors seek both financial
Some observations on pellicle formation

Bacillus subtilis characteristically produces a diffuse turbidity on broth, which usually clears toward the end of the first twelve hours, the organisms floating on the surface in small islands. These later grow together producing a heavy wrinkled pellicle. It seemed therefore that a study of possible factors influencing this spontaneous migration to the surface might illuminate the subject of pellicle-formation and surface growth in general.Equal amounts of a young diffuse culture of B. subtilis were introduced into tubes containing each 10 c.c. of ordinary broth. These were incubated and at hourly intervals for 36 hours observations were made of morphology, progress of growth, spore formation, buoyancy of the pellicle and surface tension of the medium. The surface patches appeared at 10 hours, and the pellicles were well formed at 15. The first positive heat test for spores was obtained at 20 hours, but the cultures were not consistently positive until after the 24th observation. At the 25th hour the fi...
Restructuring Religion in Our Nation's Capital? The Political Priorities of Washington Offices

Abstract Prior to World War II, religion in America was characterized by a tripartite system of Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish groups. More recently, Robert Wuthnow (1988), James Davison Hunter (1991), and others have argued that religion in America has been “restructured” into a two-party system, consisting of liberals within these religions on one side and conservatives on the other. Most empirical research examining the restructuring of religion in America focuses on the two-party division within Protestant religious advocacy groups, noting how some Protestant groups are politically more similar to Catholics than to other Protestants. Little work has examined the extent to which this phenomenon applies to Washington offices, which are formally tied to parent religious bodies, particularly Jewish groups. By conducting interviews with Washington office leaders and examining office materials and websites during the 108th Congress, this study seeks to answer the question: How does the thesis of the restr...
Management of Choledocholithiasis in the Cirrhotic Patient

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) or endoscopic papillary balloon dilation (EPBD) is the most commonly used approach for choledocholithiasis in patients with cirrhosis. If this approach fails or the patient has altered anatomy, other options include transgastric ERCP with ES or EPBD, expandable stents, and/or lithotripsy. Although cirrhotic patients have some increased risk of bleeding, there appears to be no increased risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis in these patients, and they generally do well with ERCP with ES or EPBD. Because there is some risk associated with these procedures, if suspicion is not high, it is important to confirm the presence of choledocholithiasis with imaging studies, including magnetic resonance cholangiography. Surgery is an option if endoscopic management is unsuccessful. Surgical options include laparoscopic cholecystectomy with choledochotomy, laparoscopic common bile duct exploration, and T-tube placement.
Occupational hazards and its preventive measures in physical and chemical laboratory of CDC

The aim of the paper is to investigate the occupational hazards and its preventive measures in physical and chemical laboratory of CDC. Combined with laboratory management,workflow and operational conditions,the occupational hazards were analyzed. To physicochemical inspection staff,physicochemical and psychological harms are potential health hazards. Strengthening self-protection,improving the laboratory conditions and improving the experimental methods are effective measures to reduce the occupational hazards. The protective measures should be formulated and the laboratory safety standards should be enhanced to reduce and eliminate the occupational hazards.
Designing and analyzing on shielding reconstruction project of radiotherapy simulator room

Objective: The relationship between the physical condition of radiotherapy simulator room and dosimetry parameters of the facility was analyzed to design and determine reasonable shielding reconstruction project of the room. Methods: A normal radiotherapy simulator and its room to be reconstructed were determined as the research object. Under the condition of debugging beam-on time, a 451 P high pressure ionization chamber survey meter and a SG-102 X-γenvironmental dose rate meter were used to measure radiation level of the interest point in the periphery of the room. Then, the shielding reconstruction project of the simulator room was framed on the basis of the actual ambient dose equivalent rate. Results: While the simulator was beaming under the maximum fluoroscope condition of 125 kV and 1.8 mA, the maximum ambient dose equivalent rate outside east wall, west wall and roof of the room from primary radiation were 14, 4 and 185μSv/h respectively. The preliminary shielding reconstruction project of the room was illustrated as: the shield thickness added on east wall. Conclusion: The ambient dose equivalent rate of interest point outside a radiotherapy simulator room can be adopted as a protective parameter, and it is practical and feasible that the shielding reconstruction project of the room is designed according to the actual measured values of radiation dose rate outside the original room.
Situated political innovation: explaining the historical emergence of new modes of political practice

Scholars have recognized that contentious political action typically draws on relatively stable scripts for the enactment of claims making. But if such repertoires of political practice are generally reproduced over time, why and how do new modes of practice emerge? Employing a pragmatist perspective on social action, this article argues that change in political repertoires can be usefully understood as a result of situated political innovation—i.e., of the creative recombination of existing practices, through experimentation over time, by interacting political agents for whom old repertoires were proving inadequate to the changing context of action. The utility of this approach is demonstrated by applying it to explain the historical emergence of a new set of populist mobilizing practices in early twentieth-century Peru. The results have implications for the study of political action and historical change.
Quantum cryptography takes to the air

Cryptography has had a long and distinguished history of military and diplomatic use dating back to the ancient Greeks. But secure communications are becoming increasingly important for commercial applications as well. In 1986, for instance, a satellite television broadcast in the US was interrupted by a message from a hacker known as "Captain Midnight". The incident highlighted how easy it was for an unauthorized party to gain control of a satellite system, and sparked a massive criminal investigation. It also motivated researchers to find new ways of ensuring that messages transmitted to and from satellites remain secret.
Comparative analysis of dynamic performance of four prominent Maximum Power Point Tracking algorithms in photovoltaic systems using realistic experimental implementation

This paper presents an experimental comparative analysis of four very well-known Maximum Power Point Tracking algorithms in terms of their response to dynamic environmental conditions. In this paper, first the lab setup for generating the results is introduced. Then the four algorithms are discussed briefly and the performed experiments are introduced. Finally, preliminary experimental results are provided with a brief analytical comparison of the methods based on the provided results.
Whey protein-derived exosomes increase protein synthesis and hypertrophy in C 2- C 12 myotubes

We sought to examine potential amino acid independent mechanisms whereby hydrolyzed whey protein (WP) affects muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and anabolism in vitro. Specifically, we tested (1) whether 3-h and 6-h treatments of WP, essential amino acids, or l-leucine (Leu) affected MPS, and whether 6-h treatments with low-, medium-, or high doses of WP versus Leu affected MPS; (2) whether knockdown of the primary Leu transporter affected WP- and Leu-mediated changes in MPS, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling responses, or both, following 6-h treatments; (3) whether exosomes isolated from WP (WP-EXO) affected MPS, mTOR signaling responses, or both, compared with untreated (control) myotubes, following 6-h, 12-h, and 24-h treatments, and whether they affected myotube diameter following 24-h and 48-h treatments. For all treatments, 7-d post-differentiated C2C12 myotubes were examined. In experiment 1, 6-h WP treatments increased MPS compared with control (+46%), Leu (+24%), and essential amino acids (+25%). Moreover, the 6-h low-, medium-, and high WP treatments increased MPS by approximately 40 to 50% more than corresponding Leu treatments. In experiment 2 (LAT short hairpin RNA-transfected myotubes), 6-h WP treatments increased MPS compared with control (+18%) and Leu (+19%). In experiment 3, WP-EXO treatments increased MPS over controls at 12h (+18%) and 24h (+45%), and myotube diameters increased with 24-h (+24%) and 48-h (+40%) WP-EXO treatments compared with controls. The WP-EXO treatments did not appear to operate through mTOR signaling; instead, they increased mRNA and protein levels o eukaryotic initiation factor 4A. Bovine-specific microRNA following 24-h WP-EXO treatments were enriched in myotubes (chiefly miR-149-3p, miR-2881), but were not related to hypertrophic gene targets. To summarize, hydrolyzed WP-EXO increased skeletal MPS and anabolism in vitro, and this may be related to an unknown mechanism that increases translation initiation factors rather than enhancing mTOR signaling or the involvement of bovine-specific microRNA.
Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT): II. Changes in Adult Cigarette Smoking Prevalence

Objectives. COMMIT (Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation) investigated whether a community-level multichannel intervention would decrease the prevalence of adult cigarette smoking and increase quitting with heavy smokers (≥25 cigarettes per day) receiving the highest priority. Methods. One community within each of 11 matched community pairs (10 in the United States, 1 in Canada) was randomly assigned to intervention. Baseline (1988) and final (1993) telephone surveys sampled households to determine prevalence of smoking behavior. Results. Among the target population aged 25 to 64 years, there was no intervention effect on heavy smoking prevalence, which decreased by 2.9 percentage points in both intervention and comparison communities. Overall smoking prevalence decreased by 3.5 in intervention communities vs 3.2 in comparison communities, a difference not statistically significant, while the mean quit ratios were 0.198 versus 0.185, respectively, a difference of 0.013 (90% test-based confidence interval = - 0.003, 0.028). Conditions. Results are consistent with the cohort analysis reported separately, although the more powerful cohort design showed a statistically significant intervention effect upon light-to-moderate smokers. This community-based intervention did not have a significant impact on smoking prevalence beyond the favorable secular trends. In future efforts, additional strategies should be incorporated and rigorously evaluated.
Early Postoperative Infection Following Open Reduction Internal Fixation Repair of Closed Malleolar Fractures

Background: Early postoperative infection (EPI) following hardware placement in patients with malleolar fractures is a serious complication. Identifying factors that place patients at risk for earl...
Caliber and fitness of the axillary artery as a conduit for large-bore cardiovascular procedures

OBJECTIVES We sought to describe the caliber and vascular health of the subclavian and axillary arteries as related to their potential utilization in complex cardiovascular procedures. BACKGROUND Patients referred for advanced catheter-based therapies frequently have lower extremity peripheral vascular disease that may prohibit the use of large bore arterial catheters. Utilization of the upper extremity peripheral vasculature is rarely considered as an alternative access strategy. This may be due in part to a lack of familiarity with the thoracic vasculature. METHODS AND RESULTS 208 consecutive patients undergoing routine CTA prior to transcatheter aortic valve replacement were retrospectively evaluated in a systematic analysis of upper and lower extremity vasculature. Minimal luminal diameters (MLDs) for the axillary arteries and iliofemoral arteries were 6.0 ± 1.1 mm and 6.6 ± 1.8 mm respectively. Compared to the iliofemoral arteries, the axillary arteries demonstrated substantially lower rates of significant stenosis (2% vs. 12%, p < 0.01) and significantly lower rates of moderate to severe calcification disease (9% vs. 64%, p < 0.01). Diabetes and tobacco use were independently associated with smaller axillary artery caliber by MLD (p < 0.01) but not with significant stenotic disease. CONCLUSIONS The axillary arteries are slightly smaller but less frequently diseased than the corresponding iliofemoral vessels.
Mentality Beyond Consciousness

Ted Honderich defines “mentality” as “conscious and unconscious states and events that are explanatory of at least behavior,” the latter both receptive and productive. I will explore the possibility that conscious and unconscious states interact so closely in explanation of behavior and thought that the elements of consciousness cannot be extricated without seriously misrepresenting mental life, in particular the nature of consciousness; and that unconscious processes and states that are inaccessible to introspection are interwoven inextricably in our mental acts. The use and understanding of language offer a rich territory to explore in this connection.
Supergravity spectrum on AdS2 ? S2

The Kaluza-Klein spectrum of = 2, D = 4 supergravity compactified on AdS2 × S2 is found and shown to consist of two infinite towers of SU(1,1|2) representations. In addition to `pure gauge' modes living on the boundary of AdS which are familiar from higher dimensional cases, in two dimensions there are modes (e.g. massive gravitons) which enjoy no gauge symmetry yet nevertheless have no on-shell degrees of freedom in the bulk. We discuss these two-dimensional subtleties in detail.
A model for a molecular cloning system in higher plants: isolation of plant viral promotors.

Several different technical approaches could be taken in the development of a genetic engineering system in higher plants. Our laboratory is planning to construct molecular cloning vehicles in E. coli which can be used in higher plant cells and in regenerated higher plants. By combining isolated transcriptional “promotors” from plant DNA and known bacterial genes, we hope to obtain selectable genetic markers for plant cells. Fragments of rDNA and other repeat sequence DNA from host plants are being isolated as a homologous sequence for recombination with the host genome. The rationale of our plan is outlined herein and our results on the isolation of promoter sequences from a plant DNA virus are summarized.
Fatty Acids and Cholesterol

Many new areas of research on fatty acids and less-polar Lipids have developed since the first edition of this handbook. Among these are the studies on α oxidation of very-long-chain fatty acids by Kishimoto’s group and on regulation of fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis by Volpe’s group. It is now recognized that cholesterol in the brain is not inert but exchanges with plasma cholesterol at a slow rate. The exchange of free fatty acids between plasma and brain seems to be a rapid process. Ketone bodies are major sources of the carbon atoms for lipogenesis during development. The rapid metabolism and possible role of triacylglycerols in supplying acyl groups for glycerophospholipid synthesis have been recognized. Cultures of individual cell types, particularly oligodendroglia, are becoming valuable for studies of lipid metabolism. Normal brain contains very low levels of free fatty acids, but they are liberated rapidly by ischemia and other injuries.
Calibrating Bond-Based Peridynamic Parameters Using a Novel Least Squares Approach

This work presents a novel procedure to calibrate bond micromoduli in a discrete bond-based peridynamics setting. Conventionally, an analytical expression has been used based on strain energy equivalence. In the present work, the micromoduli for individual bonds in a neighborhood are calibrated by equating the effective peridynamic stiffness to the reference material stiffness and posed as a set of linear system of equations. The solution to this is found by a least squares approach which aims to reduce the error in the components of the stiffness matrix. Results for an isotropic case in a local neighborhood of particles are shown to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach.
A Nationally Representative Study of Nonindex Hospital Readmissions following Radical Prostatectomy: Implications for Bundled Payment Models

Purpose:Implementing episode based payment models requires a detailed understanding of health care utilization throughout the 90-day postoperative episode. This includes nonindex hospital readmissi...
Comparison of post-marketing surveillance approaches regarding infections related to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi's) used in treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Objectives: To examine agreement between the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and observational studies in common infections for tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi’s).Methods: Using M...
Contribution of Neuron Dendrites to Extracellular Sustained Potential Shifts

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the contribution of neuron dendrites to extracellular sustained potential shifts. Mounting evidence suggests that extracellular sustained potential (SP) shifts are generated by depolarizations in glia cells in response to the rise in extracellular potassium activity that occurs when neighboring neurons are activated. Extracellular potassium activity increases have been shown to occur in the visual cortex in response to visual stimuli. This cortical response also occurs during barbiturate “spindle” activity and during epileptic seizures. In the spinal cord, though a close correlation exists between glial cell membrane potential and the extracellular SP, no such correlation is apparent for the neural cell membrane potential and the evoked SP. The event-related type of SP, such as the CNV in humans and its homolog in animals, differs from the potassium-glia cell type in two important aspects: (1) the event-related SP is evoked by the contextual significance of a natural or expected stimulus instead of electric activation of small afferent pathways, and (2) the event-related SP can be evoked only in the conscious brain and is always absent in the anesthetized brain.
Abstract 16042: Echocardiography Ramp Test in Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices and Aortic Regurgitation: Do Loading Conditions Matter?

INTRODUCTION: An echocardiographic ramp speed test (RST) is a novel approach to evaluate suspected device obstruction after continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) implant. Failure to reduce the left ventricular end diastolic dimension (LVEDD) with increasing CF-LVAD speeds has been shown to be highly predictive of pump obstruction. However, the presence of aortic regurgitation (AI) in patients with CF-LVAD imposes an increase on loading conditions that could alter the predictive power of RST. Hypotheses: In the presence of at least mild to moderate AI and no evidence of device obstruction, the LVEDD-speed slope is abnormal. Methods and Results: Ten RSTs were prospectively performed in patients with at least mild to moderate continuous AI (Group I) without clinical suspicion of obstruction and were compared to eighteen patients on CF- LVAD support with no or mild AI and no suspicion of obstruction (Group II). Echocardiography was performed to assess severity of AI and LVEDD. The results of the speed versus LVEDD, pulsatility index (PI) and power (PW) were plotted and linear function slopes were calculated. Eighty percent of the patients with at least mild to moderate AI had a flat LVEDD/speed slope > -0.16. In comparison, all the patients in Group II had a normal LVEDD/speed slope. CONCLUSION: RST is a useful diagnostic tool for diagnosing CF-LVAD device obstruction, but in the presence of at least mild to moderate AI, increasing pump speed does not lead to effective decompression of the left ventricle and results in an abnormal slope LVEDD/speed slope. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the diagnostic role of RST in the setting of increased loading conditions
Timing of Surgery and Internal Medicine Clerkships and Surgery Shelf Examination Scores.

Abstract Background Many medical students believe that third-year clerkship rotation sequence affects their success. We hypothesized that students who completed the internal medicine clerkship before the surgery clerkship received higher surgery shelf examination scores compared with the students who did not. Materials and methods Deidentified academic data including preclinical data and National Board of Medical Examiners shelf examination scores for surgery for all third-year medical students at a single institution from 2012 to 2017 were analyzed. Students who did not complete all six core clerkships during the standard third-year time frame were excluded. Data were analyzed using 2-tailed t-tests and Z-scores. Results Four hundred and twenty four students were included in the study. Average undergraduate grade point average, Medical College Admission Test scores, and United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 scores showed no significant differences between groups. In aggregate, average shelf examination scores of students who completed the internal medicine clerkship before the surgery clerkship were significantly higher than those of students who did not. When the average shelf examination scores for the two groups were analyzed by individual rotation slot, no significant difference was found between the two groups. Conclusions Initially, it appeared that students who completed the internal medicine clerkship before the surgery clerkship scored higher on their surgery shelf examinations. When the data were analyzed by individual rotation slot, we found no difference between the students who had already completed the internal medicine clerkship and those who had not. Experience over the year rather than completion of the internal medicine rotation was associated with higher surgery shelf examination scores.
Creating Laws for Economic Growth in a Hybrid Islamic Legal System

Modern hybrid Islamic legal systems that maintained Islamic law (IL) as a source of law while adopting a civil or common law legal system face a constant challenge: safeguarding compatibility of their laws with IL and adapting them to modern realities. In response, some states in Muslim countries with aspirations for economic growth secularize their legal systems in order to modernize it. However, such states should preserve compatibility of their laws with IL. Recent developments in the “legal transplants” theory show that if the original process of transplantation enables the transplanted laws to assimilate the local characteristics, then the laws will be more conducive to economic growth. This phenomenon occurs because individuals will be more likely to comply with these laws and will also be more likely to ask lawyers and courts to enforce and develop newly-introduced laws more efficiently. IL possesses the capacity to accommodate reforms; jurists have been aware of this need and have developed methodologies to welcome change. Additionally, “reasonable” interpretations of rules and legal process compliance with IL would make it possible for a state to stay Islamic while ensuring adaptability of its laws with modernity. In the process, consistency of laws, as introduced by Weberian theory of systematic lawmaking and common law precedent-based system, should be guaranteed: consistency in a pluralistic legal system makes it calculable for different actors. A prerequisite is to resolve the conflicts through adoption of an efficient and accountable conflict resolution system. This system must function timely and produce fair outcomes, accommodating the society’s diversity and changes in religiosity.
Adjunctive Host-Directed Therapy With Statins Improves Tuberculosis-Related Outcomes in Mice.

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) treatment is lengthy and complicated and patients often develop chronic lung disease. Recent attention has focused on host-directed therapies aimed at optimizing immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), as adjunctive treatment given with antitubercular drugs. In addition to their cholesterol-lowering properties, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) have broad anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. METHODS In the current study, we screened 8 commercially available statins for cytotoxic effect, anti-TB activity, synergy with first-line drugs in macrophages, pharmacokinetics and adjunctive bactericidal activity, and, in 2 different mouse models, as adjunctive therapy to first-line TB drugs. RESULTS Pravastatin showed the least toxicity in THP-1 and Vero cells. At nontoxic doses, atorvastatin and mevastatin were unable to inhibit Mtb growth in THP-1 cells. Simvastatin, fluvastatin, and pravastatin showed the most favorable therapeutic index and enhanced the antitubercular activity of the first-line drugs isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrazinamide in THP-1 cells. Pravastatin modulated phagosomal maturation characteristics in macrophages, phenocopying macrophage activation, and exhibited potent adjunctive activity in the standard mouse model of TB chemotherapy and in a mouse model of human-like necrotic TB lung granulomas. CONCLUSIONS These data provide compelling evidence for clinical evaluation of pravastatin as adjunctive, host-directed therapy for TB.
Reconstruction of Tip, Dorsum, Sidewalls, and Ala

The patient was a 62-year-old woman seen in consultation for basal cell carcinoma of the nose. Ten years earlier, she had undergone a trichophytic forehead lift and cervicofacial rhytidectomy. Physical examination revealed extremely thin nasal skin showing the outline of her delicate alar cartilages. A scaly lesion involved the skin covering the nasal tip and a portion of the left sidewall. The tumor extended inferiorly to the junction of the tip and columella and appeared to involve most of the skin of the right ala (Fig. 19.1). The patient had a relatively high forehead and a trichophytic scar that extended the full length of the anterior hairline.
Drinking tea type of endemic fluorosis in Xinjiang in 2014-2016.

Objective To understand the levels of water fluoride, tea fluorosis and the severity of drinking tea type of endemic fluorosis in Xinjiang from 2014 to 2016, and to provide a basis for making prevention and control measures. Methods In 2014-2016, a cross-sectional study was conducted to select six counties with serious fluorosis in Xinjiang as monitor counties, one diseased township was selected from five directions including east, south, west, north and center in each county, one village was selected in each township, and 10 families were selected to investigate the situation of brick tea drinking. Drinking water and brick tea samples were collected for detection of fluorine content, and epidemiological methods were used to analyze the prevalence of dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis. Results In 2014-2016, resident population per capita brick tea consumptions were 3.9-4.4 kg, per capita brick tea fluorine intakes were 4.6-6.1 mg, and the mean of tea fluorine was 433.1, 385.2, 432.7 mg/kg, respectively, the differences were not statistically significant (F= 0.33, P > 0.05); the means of water fluorine were 0.06-1.26 mg/L, and they were 0.38, 0.37, 0.33 mg/L, respectively, the differences were not statistically significant (F= 2.64, P > 0.05). The survey results showed that dental fluorosis of children aged 8-12 was 243 in three years, with a detection rate of 4.47% (243/5 442) and the range of 0.08-0.14, which was negative. The skeletal fluorosis of adults aged 36-45 was 25 in 2015, with a detection rate of 2.75% (25/910). Conclusions The fluorine content of some tea in drinking tea type of endemic fluorosis areas in Xinjiang is high, and the fluorine content of some water samples has exceed the standard of drinking water type disease area (1.2 mg/L). The prevalences of dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis are acceptable; it is recommended to maintain the previous prevention and control policies and to further monitor the tea market. Key words: Fluorine; Fluorosis, dental; Water; Tea
Improving Preventive Care for Women through a Provider Reminder Tool.

Objective To determine the association of utilization of health maintenance tables (HMTs) as a provider reminder tool within the electronic medical record with the completion of women's preventive health services. Methods Guidelines from the US Preventive Services Task Force and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices were used to create the HMT. The study sample consisted of female patients between 18 and 74 years of age who visited the University of Florida Internal Medicine Clinic at Medical Plaza between February 15, 2016 and June 24, 2016. We determined whether a reminder system was used for each visit and whether the following preventive health services were up to date: breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screening, and human papillomavirus vaccination. χ2 tests of independence were performed to compare the number of up-to-date preventive measures associated with each provider reminder type. Results We divided the visits into four groups based on the type of provider reminder used: the HMT, the computer-generated reminder .HM, simple annotation, and no reminder. Compared with .HM, no reminder, and all non-HMT, HMT utilization had a statistically significant positive association with the completion of breast and cervical cancer screening and human papillomavirus vaccination. The difference between the HMT and simple annotation groups did not achieve statistical difference, however. Conclusions Despite well-established, evidence-based guidelines for screening tests and immunizations effective in reducing cancer-related morbidity and mortality, significant gaps in routine preventive care remain. The HMT may be a provider-friendly and cost-effective reminder tool to enhance the preventive health care of women.
Gemfibrozil Protects Dopaminergic Neurons in a Mouse Model of Parkinson's Disease via PPARα-Dependent Astrocytic GDNF Pathway.

Parkinson9s disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder in humans. Despite intense investigations, effective therapies are not yet available to halt the progression of PD. Gemfibrozil, a Food and Drug Administration-approved lipid-lowering drug, is known to decrease the risk of coronary heart disease by increasing the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and decreasing the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. This study underlines the importance of gemfibrozil in protecting dopaminergic neurons in an animal model of PD. Oral administration of the human equivalent dose of gemfibrozil protected tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and TH fibers in the striatum of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-insulted mice of both sexes. Accordingly, gemfibrozil also normalized striatal neurotransmitters and improved locomotor activities in MPTP-intoxicated mice. Gemfibrozil-mediated protection of the nigrostriatal and locomotor activities in WT but not PPARα−/− mice from MPTP intoxication suggests that gemfibrozil needs the involvement of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) in protecting dopaminergic neurons. While investigating further mechanisms, we found that gemfibrozil stimulated the transcription of glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) gene in astrocytes via PPARα and that gemfibrozil protected nigral neurons, normalized striatal fibers and neurotransmitters, and improved locomotor activities in MPTP-intoxicated Gfafcre mice, but not GdnfΔastro mice lacking GDNF in astrocytes. These findings highlight the importance of the PPARα-dependent astroglial GDNF pathway in gemfibrozil-mediated protection of dopaminergic neurons in an animal model of PD and suggest the possible therapeutic use of gemfibrozil in PD patients. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Increasing the level of glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in the brain is important for the protection of dopamine neurons in Parkinson9s disease (PD). Although gene manipulation and GDNF protein infusion into the brain are available options, it seems from the therapeutic angle that the best option would be to stimulate/induce the production of GDNF in vivo in the brain of PD patients. Here, we delineate that gemfibrozil, a lipid-lowering drug, stimulates GDNF in astrocytes via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα). Moreover, gemfibrozil protected nigral neurons, normalized striatal fibers and neurotransmitters, and improved locomotor activities from MPTP toxicity via the PPARα-dependent astroglial GDNF pathway. These studies highlight a new property of gemfibrozil and suggest its possible therapeutic use in PD patients.
Rhythmic Change of Cortical Hemodynamic Signals Associated with Ongoing Nociception in Awake and Anesthetized Individuals: An Exploratory Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Study.

Background Patients undergoing surgical procedures are vulnerable to repetitive evoked or ongoing nociceptive barrage. Using functional near infrared spectroscopy, the authors aimed to evaluate the cortical hemodynamic signal power changes during ongoing nociception in healthy awake volunteers and in surgical patients under general anesthesia. The authors hypothesized that ongoing nociception to heat or surgical trauma would induce reductions in the power of cortical low-frequency hemodynamic oscillations in a similar manner as previously reported using functional magnetic resonance imaging for ongoing pain. Methods Cortical hemodynamic signals during noxious stimuli from the fontopolar cortex were evaluated in two groups: group 1, a healthy/conscious group (n = 15, all males) where ongoing noxious and innocuous heat stimulus was induced by a contact thermode to the dorsum of left hand; and group 2, a patient/unconscious group (n = 13, 3 males) receiving general anesthesia undergoing knee surgery. The fractional power of low-frequency hemodynamic signals was compared across stimulation conditions in the healthy awake group, and between patients who received standard anesthesia and those who received standard anesthesia with additional regional nerve block. Results A reduction of the total fractional power in both groups-specifically, a decrease in the slow-5 frequency band (0.01 to 0.027 Hz) of oxygenated hemoglobin concentration changes over the frontopolar cortex-was observed during ongoing noxious stimuli in the healthy awake group (paired t test, P = 0.017; effect size, 0.70), and during invasive procedures in the surgery group (paired t test, P = 0.003; effect size, 2.16). The reduction was partially reversed in patients who received a regional nerve block that likely diminished afferent nociceptive activity (two-sample t test, P = 0.002; effect size, 2.34). Conclusions These results suggest common power changes in slow-wave cortical hemodynamic oscillations during ongoing nociceptive processing in conscious and unconscious states. The observed signal may potentially promote future development of a surrogate signal to assess ongoing nociception under general anesthesia.
Association of Race With Postoperative Mortality Following Major Abdominopelvic Trauma in Children.

ABSTRACT Background The leading cause of mortality among children is trauma. Race and ethnicity are critical determinants of pediatric postsurgical outcomes, with minority children generally experiencing higher rates of postoperative morbidity and mortality than White children. This pattern of poorer outcomes for racial and/or ethnic minority children has also been demonstrated in children with head and limb traumas. While injuries to the abdomen and pelvis are not as common, they can be life-threatening. Racial and/or ethnic differences in outcomes of pediatric abdominopelvic operative traumas have not been examined. Our objective was to determine whether disparities exist in postoperative mortality among children with major abdominopelvic trauma. Materials and Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database for 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2012. Patients were included if they were Results We identified a weighted cohort of 13,955 children, of whom 6765 (48.5%) were White, 3614 (25.9%) Black, and 2647 (19.0%) Hispanic. After adjusting for covariates, Black children were 94% more likely to die than their White peers (3.3% versus 1.6%, adjusted-RR:1.94, 95%CI: 1.33-2.82, P = 0.001). Hispanic children (adjusted-RR:1.99, 95%CI: 1.36-2.91, P Conclusions Black and Hispanic children who require operative intervention following major abdominopelvic trauma have a higher risk of postoperative mortality compared with White children.
Autoantibodies targeting LINE-1-encoded ORF1p are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus diagnosis but not disease activity.

Objectives Long Interspersed Element 1 (LINE-1) is an endogenous retroelement that constitutes a significant portion of the human genome and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The LINE-1 RNA chaperone protein ORF1p was recently identified as an SLE autoantigen. Here we analyse ORF1p for qualities underlying SLE autoantigen status, compared anti-ORF1p antibodies to markers of SLE disease activity, and performed screening for antibodies against LINE-1 reverse transcriptase ORF2p. Methods ORF1p was examined in epithelial cell lines treated with cytotoxic lymphocyte granules and UV irradiation. Anti-ORF1p and anti-ORF2p antibodies were assayed by ELISA and analysed in two SLE cohorts. Results We found that ORF1p localises to cytoplasmic RNA-containing blebs in apoptotic cells, and is a substrate of the cytotoxic protease granzyme B (GrB). Anti-ORF1p antibodies were present in 4.2% of healthy controls, compared to 15.8% (p=0.0157) and 15.5% (p=0.036) of subjects in the two SLE cohorts. Anti-ORF1p antibodies were not associated with SLE disease activity nor peripheral blood markers of interferon (IFN) activation. Anti-ORF1p titres demonstrated stability over serial time points. Anti-ORF1p antibodies were not associated with anti-DNA, anti-RNP, or other SLE autoantibodies. There was no difference in anti-ORF2p ELISA results in controls versus SLE patients. Conclusions LINE-1 ORF1p is a component of apoptotic blebs and a substrate for GrB. Anti-ORF1p antibodies are enriched in SLE subjects but are not associated with dynamic markers of disease activity. These data support a potential role for LINE-1 dysregulation in SLE pathogenesis.
Validation of vocal prosody modifications to communicate emotion in robot speech

This research investigated the use of Mary, an open source speech synthesizer, to convey the emotional intent of a robot through the robot's vocal prosody. The robot's pitch, pitch range, speech rate, and volume were varied to convey anger, fear, happiness, and sadness. The results indicate participants recognized the intended emotions at a rate statistically higher than chance whether they provided their own free choice word or used a forced choice survey to describe the emotion presented by the robot. As expected, the participants correctly transcribed more of the words spoken by the robot when the vocal prosody modifications performed were small (sadness) than when the vocal prosody modifications were large (anger and fear).
Efficiently Realizing Weak Cell Aware DRAM Error Tolerance for Sub-20nm Technology Nodes

DRAM industry faces a grand challenge on continuing the scaling of storage node aspect ratio (A/R) to maintain the storage node storage capacitance. One viable option is to intentionally slow down the A/R scaling at the penalty of irreparable weak cells that cannot guarantee target data retention time under worst-case scenarios, and compensate the weak-cell- induced memory errors at the system level. Although the availability of weak cell location information can be leveraged to maximize the weak-cell-induced error tolerance, a straightforward realization of weak cell aware error tolerance tends to suffer from significant memory access latency overhead, especially in the presence of a large number of weak cells. This paper presents a design solution that can realize weak cell aware error tolerance at very small memory access latency overhead. The key is to use a hybrid error detection/correction process to eliminate unnecessary access to the weak cell location information. We carried out extensive simulations and evaluations to demonstrate the effectiveness of this design solution and the trade-offs. Beyond theoretical analysis on the latency overhead, we further performed full-system simulations based upon a cycle-accurate x86 simulator and DRAM simulation, and implemented our design solution using an FPGA development board with on-board DRAM chips. The results successfully show that our design solution can readily handle the weak-cell-induced memory error rate of upto 10−4∼ 10−3 at very small (even negligible) latency overhead.
Enantiomerically Pure β‐Amino Acids from 2‐tert‐Butyl‐1‐Carbomethoxy‐2,3‐Dihydro‐4(1H)‐Pyrimidinone: (R)‐3‐Amino‐3‐(p‐Methoxyphenyl)Propionic Acid

Enantiomerically pure β-amino acids from 2-tert-butyl-1-carbomethoxy-2,3-dihydro-4(1H)-pyrimidinone: (R)-3-amino-3-(p-methoxyphenyl)propionic acid intermediate: (S,S)-2-tert-Butyl-1-carbomethoxy-6-carboxy-2,3,5,6-tetrahydro-4(1H)-pyrimidinone, 1 intermediate: (S)-2-tert-Butyl-1-carbomethoxy-2,3-dihydro-4(1H)-pyrimidinone, 3 intermediate: 2 as a clear, colorless syrup intermediate: (R)-2-tert-Butyl-6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5,6-dihydro-4(1H)-pyrimidinone product: (R)-3-Amino-3-(p-methoxyphenyl)propionic acid intermediate: acyl aminal Keywords: acylation; annulation, heterocyclic-[6]; coupling; cyclization, condensation; decarboxylation; electrolytic reactions; elimination, miscellaneous; hydrolysis, aminals; metal-catalyzed reactions, palladium; oxidation, miscellaneous; reduction, CN CH2NH2; replacement reactions, miscellaneous; replacement reactions, miscellaneous; ring opening reactions; stereoselective reactions, enantioselective; stereoselective reactions, enantioselective; diethylamine; N,N-dimethylformamide, cancer suspect agent; electrolysis apparatus, for reductive decarboxylation
The collagenous domain of class A scavenger receptors is involved in macrophage adhesion to collagens

Class A macrophage scavenger receptors (MSRs) have a remarkably broad ligand specificity and are well-known for their roles in atherogenesis and host defense. Recently, we demonstrated that these receptors also recognize and mediate adhesion to denatured forms of type I collagen. In this study, the involvement of the collagenous domain of MSRs in binding to denatured type I collagen was investigated. Transient expression of full-length, native type II MSR in COS-1 cells conferred adhesion to denatured type I collagens, whereas expression of a truncated receptor lacking the distal portion of the collagenous domain did not. Further, a synthetic peptide derived from the collagenous domain was effective in abrogating Mphi adhesion to denatured forms of type I collagen. We also addressed collagen-type specificity by examining MSR affinity for type III and type IV collagens. As with type I collagen, Mphis adhered only to denatured forms of type III collagen. Moreover, the adhesion was mediated by MSRs. In contrast, adhesion to denatured type IV collagen was not shown to be MSR-dependent, but adhesion to the native form was. MSR-mediated adhesion to types III and IV collagens was also shown to be dependent on the collagenous domain. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that the collagenous domain is involved in MSR-mediated adhesion to denatured forms of types I and III collagens and native, but not denatured, type IV collagen.