cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differing Effects of Mineralocorticoid Receptor–Dependent and –Independent Potassium-Sparing Diuretics on Fibrinolytic Balance

This study tests the hypothesis that spironolactone influences plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) concentrations through mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism rather than through changes in potassium. Effects of spironolactone (50 mg per day) and triamterene (50 mg per day) on fibrinolytic balance were compared in 18 normotensive and 20 hypertensive subjects pretreated with hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ; 12.5 mg per day). Blood pressure and serum potassium were similar in spironolactone and triamterene treatment groups. The effect of the 2 drugs on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system was also similar. In contrast, spironolactone and triamterene exerted opposing effects on PAI-1 antigen ( P =0.006 for drug effect). In normotensive subjects, triamterene (from 10.1±7.8 to 16.9±9.9 ng/mL at 9 am, P =0.019; from 7.6±5.4 to 11.5±7.3 ng/mL at 11 am, P =0.027; from 9.3±7.7 to 13.7±8.5 ng/mL for average of all time points, P =0.054) but not spironolactone significantly increased PAI-1 antigen. In hypertensive subjects, spironolactone significantly decreased PAI-1 antigen (from 22.0±23.4 to 16.7±19.0 ng/mL at 10 am, P =0.041; from 17.5±21.7 to 12.7±16.8 ng/mL at 11 am, P =0.043; from 20.3±22.6 to 16.6±19.7 ng/mL for average of all time points, P =0.014), whereas there was no effect of triamterene. Only spironolactone significantly decreased the molar ratio of PAI-1 to tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) in hypertensive subjects. By regression analysis, predictors of mean PAI-1 response were spironolactone versus triamterene ( P =0.014), hypertension ( P =0.002), and PAI-1 response to HCTZ ( P =0.019), with a trend for aldosterone ( P =0.061). Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism prevents the effect of activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system on PAI-1 antigen in normotensive subjects and improves fibrinolytic balance in hypertensive subjects through a potassium-independent mechanism.
Two microphone based direction of arrival estimation for multiple speech sources using spectral properties of speech

A two microphone direction of arrival (DOA) estimation technique for multiple speech sources is developed which exploits speech specific properties, namely sparsity in time-frequency (spectrum) domain. For robustness, we exploit the sparsity in the frequency domain by focusing on the spectral content concentrated in sinusoidal tracks obtained through sinusoidal modeling. When multiple speeches are mixed in the two microphone system, the inter-channel phase differences (IPD) between the dual channels on those sinusoidal tracks will be dominated by the spatial information of the most powerful source at that specific time-frequency point because of the spectrum sparsity and masking effects. Thereby, the source localization problem is turned into a clustering problem on the IPD versus frequency plot, and the generalized mixture decomposition algorithm (GMDA) is used to cluster the groups of points corresponding to multiple sources. The DOA of each source is derived from the parameters of each cluster. Experimental results conducted show the scheme to be very effective.
Achieving High-Performance On-Chip Networks With Shared-Buffer Routers

On-chip routers typically have buffers dedicated to their input or output ports for temporarily storing packets in case contention occurs on output physical channels. Buffers, unfortunately, consume significant portions of router area and power budgets. While running a traffic trace, however, not all input ports of routers have incoming packets needed to be transferred simultaneously. Therefore, a large number of buffer queues in the network are empty and other queues are mostly busy. This observation motivates us to design router architecture with shared queues (RoShaQ), router architecture that maximizes buffer utilization by allowing the sharing multiple buffer queues among input ports. Sharing queues, in fact, makes using buffers more efficient hence is able to achieve higher throughput when the network load becomes heavy. On the other side, at light traffic load, our router achieves low latency by allowing packets to effectively bypass these shared queues. Experimental results on a 65-nm CMOS standard-cell process show that over synthetic traffics RoShaQ has 17% less latency and 18% higher saturation throughput than a typical virtualchannel (VC) router. Because of its higher performance, RoShaQ consumes 9% less energy per transferred packet than VC router given the same buffer space capacity. Over real multitask applications and E3S embedded benchmarks using near-optimal NMAP mapping algorithm, RoShaQ has 32% lower latency than VC router and targeting the same application throughput with 30% lower energy per packet.
System support for adaptive real-time computing

Next generation distributed real-time embedded systems will have to satisfy an increasingly complex set of requirements. Among the most interesting will be the need for application programs to adapt to changing conditions, maximizing the amount of work they accomplish in the face of unpredictable demands. The work described in this paper implemented several new system services in support of such adaptive behavior in a dynamic target tracking testbed environment. The lessons learned were applicable to many emerging DRE applications, and can serve as guide for future development.
Focusing geophysical inversion images

A critical problem in inversion of geophysical data is developing a stable inverse problem solution that can simultaneously resolve complicated geological structures. The traditional way to obtain a stable solution is based on maximum smoothness criteria. This approach, however, provides smoothed unfocused images of real geoelectrical structures. Recently, a new approach to reconstruction of images has been developed based on a total variational stabilizing functional. However, in geophysical applications it still produces distorted images. In this paper we develop a new technique to solve this problem which we call focusing inversion images. It is based on specially selected stabilizing functionals, called minimum gradient support (MGS) functionals, which minimize the area where strong model parameter variations and discontinuity occur. We demonstrate that the MGS functional, in combination with the penalization function, helps to generate clearer and more focused images for geological structures than conventional maximum smoothness or total variation functionals. The method has been successfully tested on synthetic models and applied to real gravity data.
Sequence-based design of a peptide probe for the APC tumor suppressor protein

Abstract Background: Proteins form specific associations, but predictive rules for protein pairing are generally unknown. Here, we describe amino-acid sequence patterns capable of mediating specific pairing of a widespread protein motif: the parallel, dimeric, α -helical coiled coil. The pairing rules were tested by designing a 54-residue peptide (anti-APCp1) that is predicted to dimerize preferentially with a coiled-coil sequence from the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor protein. Results: As judged by circular dichroism, ultracentrifugation and native gel electrophoresis, anti-APCp1 formed a specific, helical, dimeric complex with the target APC coiled coil. On western blots of APC fragments expressed in Escherichia coli , the designed peptide detected a pattern of bands identical to the pattern detected by an antibody directed against the APC coiled coil. Peptide-mediated precipitation experiments showed that anti-APCp1 bound and sequestered wild-type and mutant APC proteins in extracts of human colon cancer cell lines. In addition, binding of the designed peptide preserved native APC– β -catenin complexes. Conclusions: These biochemical experiments demonstrate that the anti-APC peptide preferentially forms a heterodimeric coiled coil with mutant and full-length APC proteins. The specificity of the designed peptide is sufficient to support several applications that commonly use antibodies. The observed specificity of anti-APCp1 validates the pairing rules used as the basis for the probe design, and it suggests that residues in the core positions of coiled coils help impart pairing selectivity.
A Method for the Histochemical Differentiation of Cholesterol and Its Esters

Free cholesterol is demonstrated in formalin-fixed frozen sections when treated successively by digitonin, alcohol-ether, and the Schultz technique, in which circumstances cholesterol esters are not visualized. Cholesterol esters and free cholesterol are both demonstrated in comparable sections treated by the Schultz method alone, so that the difference between such sections indicates the sites at which cholesterol esters may be considered present.
EmoShapelets: Capturing local dynamics of audio-visual affective speech

Automatic recognition of emotion in speech is an active area of research. One of the important open challenges relates to how the emotional characteristics of speech change in time. Past research has demonstrated the importance of capturing global dynamics (across an entire utterance) and local dynamics (within segments of an utterance). In this paper, we propose a novel concept, EmoShapelets, to capture the local dynamics in speech. EmoShapelets capture changes in emotion that occur within utterances. We propose a framework to generate, update, and select EmoShapelets. We also demonstrate the discriminative power of EmoShapelets by using them with various classifiers to achieve comparable results with the state-of-the-art systems on the IEMOCAP dataset. EmoShapelets can serve as basic units of emotion expression and provide additional evidence supporting the existence of local patterns of emotion underlying human communication.
SYSTEM MODELING AND ANALYSIS USING COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

In this study, we approach systems from an information theoretical perspective. Specifically, we propose a framework to model systems by noisy communication channels and analyze them by this framework whose elements are commonly used analysis tools in science and engineering. A noisy communication channel model is a mechanism that accepts a set of inputs and yields a set of outputs. The formal mechanisms to exploit the relationships in the proposed framework include Fourier series, uniform polygons, roots of unity, special permutations and polynomials. These formal mechanisms make the framework more powerful by enabling it to connect common analysis tools provided in complex analysis and graph theory.
The Gulf Oil Spill: Lessons for Public Policy

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the ensuing political firestorm brought to the fore some longstanding problems associated with the regulation of commercial activities of all kinds on federal lands. Unfortunately, those problems are not resolvable as long as the lands are governed by federal agents. Populist outcries against the “giveaway” of oil on public lands and the industry’s refusal to drill even when leases are granted demonstrate the difficulty economists face when trying to construct a rational public lands management regime. The only promising avenue of reform is to privatize commercially attractive federal lands and institute a strict liability regime for damage to third parties in lieu of regulatory oversight. If privatization is too politically difficult to achieve, a second-best remedy would be to replace royalty payments for production with a one-time fee for use. Unfortunately, the Democratic reform proposals fail to address the underlying problems that have contributed to regulatory dysfunction. Worse, they veer off into tangential campaigns against foreign oil imports, oil consumption, and climate change. Examination of both President Obama’s reform proposals and the main piece of Democratic legislation designed to address the spill — the American Clean Energy and Security Act (the so-called Waxman–Markey Bill) — suggest that the spill is being used as a pretext to advance dubious policy agendas that have little to do with the spill itself.
A needs analysis for instructional support in LegSim

The primary research question we address in this paper is the extent to which participation within a well-established game-based learning environment for Civics instruction called LegSim (Legislative Simulation) supports the needed development of argumentation skills. Our analysis suggests that although environments like LegSim offer great potential for providing students with valuable opportunities to develop important skills, active support during participation is needed to ensure that students take these opportunities when they are presented (1).
Preloading Results in Tanks Foundation Economics

The details of a field investigation conducted in connection with the design and control of a site preloading program to permit the use of shallow foundation pads for an oil storage tank farm are described. The site in question is underlain with highly compressible glacial lake deposits of varying thickness. The initial phase of the preloading program was also used as a large field load test to afford a basis for an understanding of load-settlement relationships in the northern part of the site where a transitional area from weathered shale at shallow depths to the compressible glacial lake deposits occurs. Settlements resulting from the preload materials ranged from approximately 1.3 in. in the northern end of the site to as much as 20 in. in the southernmost tank location. These settlements occurred quite rapidly, with a maximum waiting period of less than three months required. Recorded post-construction settlements are shown to be well within tolerable limits. The site preload solution saved the owner approximately $160,000 in foundation costs under the cost of a short pile foundation.
Convergent architecture of the transcriptome of human cancer

Despite large-scale efforts to systematically map the cancer genome, little is known about how the interplay of genetic and epigenetic alternations shapes the architecture of the transcriptome of human cancer. With the goal of constructing a system-level view of the deregulated pathways in cancer cells, we systematically investigated the functional organization of the transcriptomes of 10 tumor types using data sets generated by The Cancer Genome Atlas project (TCGA). Our analysis indicates that the human cancer transcriptome is organized into well-conserved modules of co-expressed genes. In particular, our analysis identified a set of conserved gene modules with distinct cancer hallmark themes involving cell cycle regulation, angiogenesis, innate and adaptive immune response, differentiation, metabolism and regulation of protein phosphorylation. Our analysis provided global views of convergent transcriptome architecture of human cancer. The result of our analysis can serve as a foundation to link diverse genomic alternations to common transcriptomic features in human cancer.
Quantifying Crystallinity in High Molar Mass Poly(3-hexylthiophene)

We demonstrate a method to determine absolute crystallinity in high molar mass poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), as used in commercially relevant organic photovoltaic devices, using enthalpy of fusion and melting temperature values derived from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and 13C CPMAS NMR. By studying P3HT with molar masses ranging from 3.6 to 49 kg/mol and using recent work on oligomeric 3-hexylthiophene, we demonstrate several critical items. First, that proper extrapolation to infinite chain lengths, i.e., crystal size, yields values for the equilibrium melting temperature Tm0 of 272 ± 6 °C and the enthalpy of fusion per crystalline repeat unit ΔHu of 49 ± 2 J/g for Form I crystals of P3HT. Second, that a simple correction for crystal size using Tm0 is critical for determining an accurate degree of crystallinity from enthalpy measurements because of finite crystal size effects. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that the ordered fraction of P3HT measured from 13C NMR is indistinguishable fr...
MOSQUITOES OF THE SHIRE RIVER SYSTEM, NYASALAND

During the months of July, August, and early September, 1952, I was fortunate in being able to travel extensively through the southern half of Nyasaland, British Central Africa, collecting insects of medical importance, particularly mosquitoes. Little attention has been paid to the culicid fauna of Nyasaland in recent years, and these collections resulted in the addition of a number of species to those already recorded, in spite of the fact that they were made during the dry season.
Size-Selective Biocatalysis of Myoglobin Immobilized into a Mesoporous Metal–Organic Framework with Hierarchical Pore Sizes

The protein myoglobin has been successfully immobilized into a mesoporous metal–organic framework with hierarchical pore sizes, which demonstrates interesting size-selective biocatalysis as well as superior catalytic activities toward small substrate oxidation compared to its mesoporous silica material counterpart.
Construction a normalized full-length cDNA library of haemocytes from Haliotis diversicolor supertexta infected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus

A normalized full-length haemocytes cDNA library was constructed in order to clone genes involving in Vibrio parahaemolyticus defenses from Haliotis diversicolor supertexta.Total RNAs were prepared from haemocytes using TRZOL reagent.Oligotex(QIAGEN) was used to separate the mRNA from total RNA.The "anchor first-strand cDNA" containing a symmetrical sfiI restriction enzyme sites(AB) was synthesized by transcription of mRNA with the SMART technique.Double strand cDNA was normalized using Duplex-Specific Nuclease(DSN).The containing capacities of the unamplified cDNA library was 3.4×106 cfu/cm3 with a recombinant rate of 92.3% and that of amplified one was more than 1011 cfu/cm3.A total of 897 clones was random selected to be sequenced and 814 high quality expressed sequence tags were obtained.Among them,there were 23 Contigs and 762 Singlets,the redundancy was only 3.56%.The results indicated that a high quality library was meet the needs for the consequence gene clone and expressed sequence tag analysis.
Application Value of Modern Tuberculosis Control in Tuberculosis Control

Tuberculosis is one of the more common infectious lung disease, since the 1980 s, the incidence rate is always high, so it is necessary for TB prevention and control measures to be explored research. This paper describes the idea of modern TB control and the formation of the specific content of the background, and with specific examples of the application of the idea of the effect of modern TB control study designed to provide a reference for optimizing the effect of TB control.
Hodgkin's lymphoma in an adolescent previously treated with surgical resection of third ventricular juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma.

We present a case of a 19-year-old man with cervical lymphadenopathy diagnosed with classical Hodgkin9s lymphoma 9 years after gross total resection of a third ventricular juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma (JPA). Chemotherapy or radiation therapy was not a part of his initial JPA treatment. Owing to his two primary neoplasms, genetic testing was performed, which revealed heterozygous polymorphisms of unknown significance for CDH1 and p53, and negative BRAF mutation analysis. Our case reports development of classical Hodgkin9s lymphoma after JPA in the absence of antecedent radiation and/or chemotherapy, and identifiable genetic predisposition.
The expression of human MAO-A and B genes.

Northern analysis using 32P-labeled subfragments of human liver MAO-A and B cDNA clones detected 5Kb and 3Kb transcripts, respectively in fetal tissues and adult brains. The tissue distribution of these transcripts was determined. Small intestine and placenta express, in addition to the MAO-A 5Kb transcript, a 2Kb transcript determined to lack a 3′ flanking region. MAO-A appeared prior to MAO-B in the fetal brain, whereas both MAO-A and B were found in adult brain.
On Classical groups detected by the triple tensor product and the Littlewood–Richardson semigroup

Langlands’ beyond endoscopy proposal for establishing functoriality motivates the study of irreducible subgroups of \(\mathrm {GL}_n\) that stabilize a line in a given repesentation of \(\mathrm {GL}_n\). Such subgroups are said to be detected by the representation. In this paper we continue our study of the important special case where the representation of \(\mathrm {GL}_n\) is the triple tensor product representation \(\otimes ^3\). We prove a family of results describing when subgroups isomorphic to classical groups of type \(B_{n}\), \(C_n\), \(D_{2n}\) are detected.
Imaging of malignant rhabdoid tumor of brain

Malignant rhabdoid tumor is a very uncommon, highly malignant neoplasm that primarily affects infants and children. Its most common site of origin is the kidney. Primary origin in the brain, as in this case report of a 4year-old girl, is rare. The imaging characteristics on CT and MRI are those of a large, malignant mass, with hemorrhage, cystic or necrotic areas, irregular enhancement, and surrounding edema. This child’s tumor was highly vascular, and massive hemorrhage complicated the surgery. There may thus be a place for preoperative embolization. The tumor has a tendency for relapse at the primary site and rapidly progressive leptomeningeal metastases.
One Half of Patients with Waldenström Macroglobulinemia Have Large Deletions of Chromosome 6q.

Background: Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) is a plasma cell dyscrasia characterized by a monoclonal IgM paraproteinemia. The most common genomic abnormality in the clonal cells of WM is loss of portions of the long arm of chromosome 6 (6q-), however a minimal area of deletion has yet to be identified. We decided to further clarify the area of deletion on the 6q-arm in WM along with its prevalence. Methods: Patients (n=41) were required to have a serum IgM paraproteinemia of 1.5 g/dl or greater and a monoclonal lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate. We used interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) combined with cytoplasmic immunoglobulin (cIg) staining with an AMCA conjugated anti-IgM antibody along with cytomorphology for the detection of the clonal cells on cytospin slides. Ten probes were used including two commercial (CEP 6 and Telomere 6q) and eight Bacteria Artificial Chromosome (BAC). BAC clones were selected based on a specific gene encompassed in the insert and/or localization on the q arm. Genes of interest included BLIMP1, c-myb, BTF, SHPRH, LATS1 and FOP. BAC’s were grown in selective media; DNA was extracted and directly labeled with a SpectrumGreen or SpectrumOrange fluorophore by standard nick translation. Primers were designed to confirm the insert contained the gene of interest and probes were tested on normal metaphases to reaffirm localization to the correct area of the chromosome and rule out any cross hybridization. Results: Deletions of 6q were noted in 21 (51%) patients. Of the 19 abnormal patients with all probes tested 1 (5%) case had ten probes deleted, 7 (37%) cases had nine probes, 1 (5%) had eight, 4 (21%) had seven, 3 (16%) had six and 3 (16%) had four probes deleted. Only 3 cases retained the end of the q arm indicating an interstitial deletion while the remaining 16 cases indicate terminal deletions. Deletions of the BAC containing the gene SHPRH at 6q24 were seen in each of the 19 abnormal cases. The majority of patients exhibited little heterogeneity for any given deletion having greater than 80% involvement of the clone. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that large deletions of the long arm of chromosome 6 in WM are frequent and are usually terminal deletions rather than interstitial and have a common area of deletion of the q24 portion of the q arm. Using the given number of probes localizing along the q arm makes it highly unlikely of any areas of noncontiguous deletion. The presence of deletions in the majority of the clonal cells may suggest that clones with 6q- emerge early in the course of the disease and is selected because of growth advantage or apoptosis resistance. Whether 6q deletions are important for disease pathogenesis has yet to be determined. Clinical prognosis studies and microarray data analysis are pending.
E-cigarette Use Related to Demographic Factors in Hawai'i

E-cigarette use is rapidly expanding in the United States and is projected to be a $3 billion industry by the end of this year. E-cigarette use in Hawai'i is significantly higher than national averages. The goal of this study was to examine the relationship in Hawai'i between demographic characteristics and several aspects of e-cigarette use including percentage of residents trying e-cigarettes, reasons for use, and perceived effects on health. Survey data were collected from a random sample of Hawai'i residents via the telephone in the summer of 2015, using methodology similar to that of the Hawai'i Health Survey. Chi-squared tests found e-cigarette use to be significantly associated with age (P =.001), gender (P =.03), ethnicity (P <.001), and education (P <.001). Among e-cigarette users, 12% said they started smoking regular cigarettes after starting e-cigarettes, 21% said their use of regular cigarettes did not change, 6% said they reduced use of regular cigarettes, and 20% said they completely stopped smoking regular cigarettes. Multivariable logistic regression results suggest Native Hawaiians (OR=29.1, P =.01) and Filipinos (OR=24.3, P =.01) were significantly more likely to report perceived improved health due to e-cigarette use compared to Caucasians. Given existing health disparities for Native Hawaiians and Filipinos, the fact that these groups are significantly more likely than other ethnic/racial groups to report that e-cigarettes improved their health bears notice and highlights the need for additional research in this area.
Pattern Recognition Algorithms For Tissue Diagnosis By Near-infrared FT-Raman Spectroscopy

The newly developed technique of near-infrared laser excited Fourier transform (-)-Raman spectroscopy is capable of accurately detecting diseased and healthy tissues, because of its fingerprinting and in-vivo capabilities. This opens up the possibility that this near-IR FT-Raman technique may be developed into a powerful "smart" fiberoptic sensor for biomedical applications. The development of such an automated FT-Raman diagnostic system requires the obtained spectral data to be processed. By focusing on the FT-Raman data obtained for urinary calculi and normal kidney tissue, we demonstrate in this study the utility of pattern recognition algorithms in Raman diagnosis and classification of diseased tissues.
Impact of Conjugation and Hyperconjugation on the Radical Stability of Allylic and Benzylic Systems: A Theoretical Study

Resonantly stabilized radicals are some of the most investigated chemical species due to their preferential formation in a wide variety of chemical environments. Density functional theory and post-Hartree–Fock calculations were utilized to elucidate the chemical interactions that contribute to the stability of two ubiquitous, resonantly stabilized radicals, allyl and benzyl radicals. The relative stability of these radical species was quantified through bond dissociation energies and relative rotational energy barriers, with a difference of only 0.1 kcal/mol. To clarify and contextualize the energetic results, natural bond orbitals were used to evaluate the atomic spin density distribution in the given molecules. The benzyl radical was found to be ∼3 kcal/mol less stable than the allyl radical, which was attributed to the inability to efficiently delocalize the spin on a phenyl unit, starkly contrary to general chemistry knowledge. Increasing the degree of π-conjugation and hyperconjugation was shown to b...
Long-term consequences of youth volunteering: Voluntary versus involuntary service

Despite the renewed interest in youth volunteering in recent years, there remain major gaps in our knowledge of its consequences. Drawing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we examine the long-term effects of youth volunteering on the civic and personal aspects of volunteers’ lives. Our results suggest that youth volunteering has a positive return on adult volunteering only when it is voluntary, and that net of contextual factors neither voluntary nor involuntary youth service has a significant effect on adult voting. Regarding personal outcomes, our findings indicate that the psychological benefits of youth volunteering accrue only to voluntary participants, whereas both voluntary and involuntary youth service are positively associated with educational attainment and earnings in young adulthood. Taken together, these results lend support to the case for youth volunteer programs, though the civic benefits of these programs appear to be less dramatic than generally suggested.
Risk of Urolithiasis in Anorexia Nervosa: A Population-Based Cohort Study Using the Health Improvement Network.

This population-based retrospective cohort study sought to determine if anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with a higher risk of urolithiasis. Nine thousand three hundred two females with AN were compared to 92 959 randomly selected age-matched and practice-matched females. Cox regression was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for urolithiasis and evaluate effect modification by age. Twenty-three participants with AN (0.25%) developed urolithiasis compared with 154 unexposed participants (0.17%) over a median of 4 years of observation. The risk of urolithiasis varied significantly with age (interaction p = 0.02). AN was associated with a more than threefold higher risk of urolithiasis in females ≤25 years of age (HR 3.49, 95% CI: 1.56–7.81; p = 0.002), but not in females over 25 years (HR 1.18, 95% CI: 0.69–2.02; p = 0.54). The distribution of diagnosis codes for urolithiasis differed between groups (p = 0.04), with a higher proportion of codes for uric acid urolithiasis in the AN (16.2%) versus unexposed group (5.0%). Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Advances in Internet of Things (IoT) in Manufacturing

As a promising technology with increased adoption in recent years, Internet of Things (IoT) realizes ubiquitous interconnection of physical devices through internet, opening doors for building powerful industrial applications by leveraging the advances in sensor technology and wireless networks. IoT technologies can be viewed as enablers for smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0. This review paper focuses on applications of IoT in manufacturing, which is also known as Industrial Internet of Things IIoT. To that end, technologies relevant to the application of IoT in manufacturing, such as wireless sensor networks (WSNs), smart sensors, big data analytics, and cloud computing are discussed. A service oriented architecture (SOA) based four-layer model for realizing IoT applications in manufacturing is proposed. Finally, a review of the state of art of IoT applications in manufacturing including shop floor automation, predictive maintenance, energy aware manufacturing, and smart workers is presented with relevant industry use cases.
AI profiles: an interview with Maja Mataric

This column is the fourth in our series profiling senior AI researchers. This month we interview Maja Mataric.
Passing school building tax levies may increase teacher salary

Abstract We examine 4000 votes on school district tax levies for capital expenditures in Ohio over 24 years. We find that passing school building tax levies increases average teacher salaries by 1%. The effects are generally present one through three years after levy passage. Quantile regression shows that teachers already in the highest-paid districts receive even larger salary increases than teachers in lower-paid districts. This may be the first regression discontinuity capital expenditures study to look specifically at teacher salary or use quantile regression.
Identification of small non-coding RNA classes expressed in swine whole blood during HP-PRRSV infection.

Abstract It has been established that reduced susceptibility to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) has a genetic component. This genetic component may take the form of small non-coding RNAs (sncRNA), which are molecules that function as regulators of gene expression. Various sncRNAs have emerged as having an important role in the immune system in humans. The study uses transcriptomic read counts to profile the type and quantity of both well and lesser characterized sncRNAs, such as microRNAs and small nucleolar RNAs to identify and quantify the classes of sncRNA expressed in whole blood between healthy and highly pathogenic PRRSV-infected pigs. Our results returned evidence on nine classes of sncRNA, four of which were consistently statistically significantly different based on Fisher's Exact Test, that can be detected and possibly interrogated for their effect on host dysregulation during PRRSV infections.
Towards characterizing blockchain-based cryptocurrencies for highly-accurate predictions

In 2017, the Blockchain-based crypto currency market witnessed enormous growth. Bitcoin, the leading crypto currency, reached all-time highs many times over the year leading to speculations to explain the trend in its growth. In this paper, we study Bitcoin and explore features in its network that explain its price hikes. We gather data and analyze user and network activity that highly impact Bitcoin price. We monitor the change in the activities over time and relate them to economic theories. We identify key network features that determine the demand and supply dynamics of a crypto currency. Finally, we use machine learning methods to construct models that predict Bitcoin price. Our regression model predicts Bitcoin price with 99.4% accuracy and 0.0113 root mean squared error (RMSE).
High-Level Programming Support for Color/Graphics Reports

Color/graphics capabilities of interactive terminals vastly expand potential computer applications. However, programming to utilize them fully is much more complex and time-consuming than conventional report writers handling just numbers and texts.
Patient and Caregiver Perspectives on Managing Multiple Health Conditions

Objectives To explore patient and caregiver experiences, preferences, and attitudes toward the provision and receipt of caregiving assistance with medical tasks. Design Qualitative study consisting of in‐depth interviews with 20 patient–caregiver dyads. Setting Community and academic‐affiliated primary care clinics. Participants Individuals aged 65 or older with 2 or more health conditions and their family caregivers (n=20 patient–caregiver dyads). Measurements Open‐ended questions were asked about the tasks that the patient and caregiver performed to manage the patient's health conditions; questions were designed to elicit participant reactions and attitudes toward the help they provided or received. Transcripts were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Results Participant preferences and attitudes toward the receipt and provision of disease management tasks were highly personal. Participant responses clustered into 2 caregiving typologies: supportive caregiving relationships and conflicted caregiving relationships. Supportive relationships were characterized by patient–caregiver agreement about caregiver level of involvement, agreement about one another's competency to perform disease‐related tasks, mutual understanding, collaborative decision‐making and disease management, and use of family and formal caregiving. Conflicted relationships were characterized by disagreement about caregiver level of involvement, disagreement about one another's competency to perform disease management tasks, underappreciation of one another's experiences, disagreement over decision‐making and disease management, and use of formal caregiving. Conclusions The views that patient–caregiver dyads expressed in this study illustrate the varied preferences and attitudes toward caregiving assistance with multiple health conditions. These findings support a dyadic approach to evaluating and addressing patient and caregiver needs and attitudes toward provision of assistance.
Nonionic Surfactant Affects Dislodgeable 2,4-D Foliar Residue from Turfgrass

2,4-dimethylamine salt (2,4-D) is a synthetic auxin herbicide used extensively in turfgrass for selective broadleaf weed control. Previous research has shown that 2,4-D can dislodge from treated turf, notably in the presence of canopy moisture. Practitioners commonly apply 2,4-D in combination with various commercially available surfactants to increase efficacy. Field research was completed to evaluate the effect of surfactant inclusion and sample collection time within a day on dislodgeable 2,4-D residue from perennial ryegrass. Research was initiated May 24, 2016 in Raleigh, NC and repeated in time to quantify dislodgeable 2,4-D following application (2.1 kg ae ha-1) either alone or with a nonionic surfactant (0.5% vol/vol). Sample collection occurred 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 or 24 d after treatment (DAT) at AM [7:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST)] andPM(2:00PMEST) sample timings within a day. 2,4-D applied with surfactant (0.4% to 25.4% of applied) reduced dislodgeable foliar residue compared to 2,4-D applied alone (0.5% to 31.2%) from 1 through 6 DAT, whereas dislodgeable 2,4-D was not detected at 12 and 24 DAT. Regardless of surfactant inclusion or absence, samples collected in theAMresulted in a 5- to 10-fold increase in dislodgeable 2,4-D compared to samples collected in the PM from 1 through 6 DAT, suggesting that 2,4-D dislodgeability may be influenced by conditions favoring canopy moisture development. This research will improve turfgrass management practices and research designed to minimize human 2,4-D exposure.Nomenclature: 2,4-D; perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne L.
Doing better with less: Can a quality improvement intervention to increase adherence to evidence-based cancer screening guidelines reduce health care costs?

6590Background: The cost of cancer care in the U.S. is projected to reach $158 billion by 2020. The ASCO Value in Cancer Care Task Force recently released a framework assessing the value of new can...
The Effects of Bone Microstructure on Subsidence Risk for ALIF, LLIF, PLIF, and TLIF Spine Cages

Several approaches (anterior, posterior, lateral, and transforaminal) are used in lumbar fusion surgery. However, it is unclear whether one of these approaches has the greatest subsidence risk as published clinical rates of cage subsidence vary widely (7-70%). Specifically, there is limited data on how a patient's endplate morphometry and trabecular bone quality influences cage subsidence risk. Therefore, this study compared the subsidence between anterior (ALIF), lateral (LLIF), posterior (PLIF), and transforaminal (TLIF) lumbar interbody fusion cage designs to understand the impact of endplate and trabecular bone quality on subsidence. Forty-eight lumbar vertebrae were imaged with micro-CT to assess trabecular microarchitecture. Micro-CT images of each vertebra were then imported into image processing software to measure endplate thickness and maximum endplate concavity depth. Generic ALIF, LLIF, PLIF, and TLIF cages made of PEEK were implanted on the superior endplates of all vertebrae and subsidence testing was performed. The results indicated that TLIF cages had significantly lower (p<0.01) subsidence stiffness compared to ALIF and LLIF cages. Maximum subsidence force for TLIF cages was also significantly lower (p<0.01) than other cage groups. For all cage groups, trabecular BVF was better correlated with maximum subsidence force compared to endplate thickness and concavity depth. These findings highlight the importance of cage design (e.g. surface area), placement on the endplate, and trabecular bone quality on subsidence. These results may help surgeons during cage selection for lumbar fusion procedures to mitigate adverse events such as cage subsidence.
Transitioning to Civilian Life Scale (TCLS): Development, Reliability, and Validity

This article describes the development of a scale to measure how well U.S. military service members are transitioning to civilian life and reports an online survey of a sample of 197 veterans to as...
Evidence Matters: Summer 2016

This issue of Evidence Matters discusses issues related to public safety, crime, and inclusion. It considers the broader context of housing and community development for public safety as well as for those groups communities have historically struggled to include and support. This issue also examines what research tells us about factors that contribute to violent crime at the neighborhood level as well as violent crime’s impact on communities and their residents. These issues are important to understand as HUD works to ensure that all people can live in safe, supportive, and inclusive communities.
Abstract P286: Short-Term Repeatability of Electrocardiographic Criteria of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a marker of cardiac end-organ damage and a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Although electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most com...
Interstitial Lung Disease in Systemic Sclerosis: Lessons Learned from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) has the highest cause–specific mortality of all the connective tissue diseases, and interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the number one cause of death among patients with SSc. Historically, therapeutic agents with widespread immunosuppressive effects have been used to treat SSc-ILD. However, data from recent landmark clinical trials in SSc-ILD have affirmed the prior observation that SSc-ILD is a uniquely heterogenous disease with marked variations in rates of response to immunosuppressive therapy. In the last few years, innovative research studies have advanced our understanding of the pathophysiology of SSc-ILD and stimulated interest in the development of novel candidate therapeutics with potential disease–modifying properties for SSc-ILD. Anti-fibrotics are a new class of drugs that may change our approach to the treatment of SSc-ILD similar to the paradigm shift that occurred for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The present review describes the most recent advances in our understanding of SSc-ILD in the context of lessons learned from the study of IPF. The article concludes with an outline of the most important unanswered questions in SSc-ILD research that could help inform future research efforts in this area.
Effects of an Interprofessional Student-Led Sexual Education Program on Self-Efficacy and Attitudes About Sexual Violence in Youths in Juvenile Detention.

Abstract Study Objective We aim to explore the impact of an interprofessional graduate student−led sexual education curriculum on sexual self-efficacy, perceived importance of sexual consent, and willingness to intervene against sexual violence in the high-risk population of detained youths. Design, Setting, and Participants Medical, nursing, social work, and physician assistant students implemented a 3-session, comprehensive sexual health curriculum for detained youths (n = 253). Interventions and Main Outcome Measures The curriculum from Son et al (2017) was adapted to include a more targeted curriculum on consent and safe relationships. Youths completed pre- and postintervention assessments that evaluated their sexual self-efficacy and violence-related beliefs and behaviors. Results Detained youths completing the curriculum showed statistically significant increases in the sexual self-efficacy (P Conclusions The curriculum addressing topics of consent and sexual violence was effective in improving detained youths’ belief in their ability to safely navigate a sexual encounter and their attitudes toward sexual assault. Additional research on gender- and age-specific programming and the long-term impact on sexual health risk behaviors is needed.
Discover DaVinci – A Gamified Blockchain Learning App

Discover DaVinci is a novel augmented reality system that incorporates blockchain technology with experiential learning to engage participants in an interactive discovery of Leonardo da Vinci’s ouvre. In the true spirit of this "Renaissance man", Discover DaVinci explores new ideas and technologies "ahead of their time".
Effects of Reflective Practice on Baccalaureate Nursing Students’ Stress, Anxiety and Competency: An Integrative Review

Background Reflective practice affects all levels of nursing, including students, as well as practicing nurses. Self-reflective practice is a widespread concept in nursing; however, few empirical studies have demonstrated the possible effects of such a practice. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to identify evidence of the effects of self-reflective practice on baccalaureate-level nursing students, especially stress. Methods The literature search was conducted utilizing CINAHL and PubMed databases. The inclusion criteria were studies published between 2013 and 2018, articles that were peer-reviewed, written in English, and focused on nursing education of baccalaureate programs only. A total of 15 articles were reviewed. Results There is limited but growing evidence to suggest self-reflective practices have positive effects on baccalaureate-level nursing students. The self-reflective practices decreased stress and anxiety and increased learning, competency, and self-awareness of nursing practice. While written reflections were most commonly used in the studies, other forms of reflection, such as verbal and photography, were effective as well. Linking evidence to action Nursing students can benefit from incorporating reflection into the didactic and clinical settings. Nursing faculty are encouraged to integrate reflection into the nursing curriculum. Nurses within the first year of practice could benefit from using reflective practice as well. Experienced nurses and nurse managers can encourage and mentor novice nurses on the use and benefits of reflective practice.
“Inflation” of Human Rights. John Paul II and human rights

One of the central principles of modern political philosophy, dating from the time of John Locke, is that of human rights. Locke characterized a right as something pertaining to the individual human being as free and equal to every other human being. To this notion of inherent rights, John Stuart Mill added that a right must be something in virtue of which a person can make a claim on another or on the state. Third, the modern notion of right presupposes the concept of dignity. In contemporary societies, we are witnessing an inflation of rights, which raises two questions: 1) are new rights truly being discovered, and 2) how can we discern the legitimacy of these rights? J. S. Mill’s utilitarianism holds the touchstone of good and evil to be individual happiness, and that over his own self the individual is sovereign. From this it follows that only the individual can know what is his own true good. Therefore, he ought to expect that society will support or at least not interfere with his own attainment of his good as he conceives it. Therefore “my” rights must encompass that “I” recognize to be my own needs. Others are responsible to grant to the sovereign individual those rights that he claims. From such a principle follows the rights to personal sexual satisfaction, suicide, and to marry another of one’s own sex without public disapproval. Paradoxically, this inflation of rights is supported also by the quasi-Marxist notion that different classes of persons are inevitably opposed to each other and that for their protection the prerogatives of different groups must be recognized as rights.To avoid and correct this inflation it is necessary to develop a richer anthropology to found the concept of human dignity and, consequently, rights. Following the example and thinking of Pope John Paul II, we propose a reexamination of Mill’s claim that a right necessarily entails some well-defined claim on another personor entity, and that a right is not so much a legal claim as a claim upon conscience.