cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nano–Bio Interactions of Porous and Nonporous Silica Nanoparticles of Varied Surface Chemistry: A Structural, Kinetic, and Thermodynamic Study of Protein Adsorption from RPMI Culture Medium

Understanding complex chemical changes that take place at nano–bio interfaces is of great concern for being able to sustainably implement nanomaterials in key applications such as drug delivery, imaging, and environmental remediation. Typical in vitro assays use cell viability as a proxy to understanding nanotoxicity but often neglect how the nanomaterial surface can be altered by adsorption of solution-phase components in the medium. Protein coronas form on the nanomaterial surface when incubated in proteinaceous solutions. Herein, we apply a broad array of techniques to characterize and quantify protein corona formation on silica nanoparticle surfaces. The porosity and surface chemistry of the silica nanoparticles have been systematically varied. Using spectroscopic tools such as FTIR and circular dichroism, structural changes and kinetic processes involved in protein adsorption were evaluated. Additionally, by implementing thermogravimetric analysis, quantitative protein adsorption measurements allowed...
Congenital Missing Tibial Sesamoid in a Marathon Runner

The absence of the hallucal tibial sesamoid is seldom seen in the clinical setting. We present a case of a symptomatic missing tibial sesamoid in a female marathon runner.
Cardiac Regional Strain Evaluation for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Using 4d Echocardiography

Strain analysis is essential for evaluating the progress of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Four-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (4D-STE) has shown to be a superior method in strain evaluation when compared to tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and two-dimensional speckle-tracking
Invasive plant management must be driven by a holistic understanding of invader impacts

Understanding impacts of invasive plants is necessary to achieve conservation goals. In this issue of Applied Vegetation Science, Kelemen et al. identify that a widespread invader reduces native abundance, but not richness, by displacing weak competitors as invader cover increased. An enhanced understanding of the multitude of ecological impacts should be a primary element of invasive plant management.
Comparison of health knowledge of young adults and their parents.

Abstract The 1966 edition of the Kilander Health Knowledge test was administered at the beginning of a semester to all 49 students in a freshman health science course and again at the end of that semester. During the semester, the test was administered to the parent of the same sex as the student. A total of 45 sets of responses were obtained on 25 males and 20 females. A significant difference at the .01 level was obtained between the student pre-instruction and post-instruction scores with the use of a subjects × trials analysis of variance. A significant difference at the .01 level was also found between the mean scores of the student pre-instruction responses and the parent responses with a single classification analysis of variance for two population groups. The correlation coefficients of the student pre-instruction scores and the student post-instruction scores to the parent scores were .32 and .27 respectively. These results suggested the conclusion that little if any relationship existed between ...
Nutrition and immune function in the geriatric population

Aging in experimental animals and in man is associated with a significant defect of helper/inducer T-lymphocytes. This quantity deficiency is paralleled by a qualitative deficiency of T-lymphocyte number and function. Similar defects have been observed in protein calorie malnutrition and zinc deficiency, and there is evidence that both may exist in the aged ill and perhaps even in aged healthy individuals. Nutritional support improves the immune defect in aged ill patients and it may be of value in improving this deficiency, even when administered to aged healthy subjects.
Studies of serum and tissue maltases in the rat.

Rat serum, kidney, and small bowel maltases were partially purified and chromatographed on columns of Sephedex G-200. Serum and kidney maltases migrated as early prominent peaks, whereas small bowel maltase separated into at least two and probably three peaks. No sucrase activity was present in either the serum or kidney peaks or in the first peak of small bowel maltase. The first maltase peak from small bowel and serum maltases had an optimal range of activity from pH 5.8 to 6.2. Kidney maltase activity was optimal at a narrow pH of 6.2. Heat inactivation studies suggested that at least two maltases were present in the chromatographic peaks of serum and kidney and in the first peak from small bowel. However, the velocity of inactivation of serum maltase differed from both kidney and small bowel maltases. Although serum, kidney, and some small bowel maltases may have similar chromatographic characteristics, the origin of serum maltase in the rat remains unclear.
Homogeneous and heterogeneous face recognition: enhancing, encoding and matching for practical applications

Face Recognition is the automatic processing of face images with the purpose to recognize individuals. Recognition task becomes especially challenging in surveillance applications, where images are acquired from a long range in the presence of difficult environments. Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) is an emerging imaging modality that is able to produce clear long range images in difficult environments or during night time. Despite the benefits of the SWIR technology, matching SWIR images against a gallery of visible images presents a challenge, since the photometric properties of the images in the two spectral bands are highly distinct. In this dissertation, we describe a cross spectral matching method that encodes magnitude and phase of multi-spectral face images filtered with a bank of Gabor filters. The magnitude of filtered images is encoded with Simplified Weber Local Descriptor (SWLD) and Local Binary Pattern (LBP) operators. The phase is encoded with Generalized Local Binary Pattern (GLBP) operator. Encoded multi-spectral images are mapped into a histogram representation and cross matched by applying symmetric Kullback-Leibler distance. Performance of the developed algorithm is demonstrated on TINDERS database that contains long range SWIR and color images acquired at a distance of 2, 50, and 106 meters. Apart from long acquisition range, other variations and distortions such as pose variation, motion and out of focus blur, and uneven illumination may be observed in multispectral face images. Recognition performance of the face recognition matcher can be greatly affected by these distortions. It is important, therefore, to ensure that matching is performed on high quality images. Poor quality images have to be either enhanced or discarded. This dissertation addresses the problem of selecting good quality samples. The last chapters of the dissertation suggest a number of modifications applied to the cross spectral matching algorithm for matching low resolution color images in near-real time. We show that the method that encodes the magnitude of Gabor filtered images with the SWLD operator guarantees high recognition rates. The modified method (Gabor-SWLD) is adopted in a camera network set up where cameras acquire several views of the same individual. The designed algorithm and software are fully automated and optimized to perform recognition in near-real time. We evaluate the recognition performance and the processing time of the method on a small dataset collected at WVU.
Interval Appendectomy: Finding the Breaking Point for Cost-Effectiveness.

Background Patients with phlegmonous appendicitis can be managed nonoperatively, yet debate continues about the need for interval appendectomy (IA), given the low risk of recurrence or neoplasm. We sought to determine for which patient age interval appendectomy is cost-effective. Methods Using TreeAge software, a cost-effectiveness model was developed. Two strategies were compared, IA and no interval appendectomy (NIA). Interval appendectomy patients were modeled with probability of benign pathology, cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, and possible operative complications. Patients with NIA were modeled with the probability of recurrence. The probability of malignancy or inflammatory bowel disease developing, or death occurring during a lifetime, was modeled. Base case scenarios at 18, 35, and 50 years old were completed using a Monte Carlo microsimulation. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was completed using 2-dimensional sample as a Monte Carlo microsimulation to account for variability for patients 18 to 60 years old. Probabilities of complications developing, pathologic diagnosis requiring additional management, and state utility were extracted from published data. Costs were collected from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and utility was quality-adjusted life years (QALY). Results For an 18-year-old patient, IA costs $9,417.22 with a gain of 16.59 QALYs compared with NIA, which costs $11,613.57 with a gain of 16.52 QALYs. For a 35-year-old, IA costs $8,989.16 with 9.1 QALYs gained. No interval appendectomy costs $6,614.61 and 9.09 QALYs gained. For the 35-year-old patient, the interval cost-effectiveness ratio comparing NIA with IA is $237,455/QALY. As patient age increases, the interval cost-effectiveness ratio increases. Using a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50,000/QALY, IA remains cost-effective until the patient is 33 years old. Conclusions Interval appendectomy should be considered in patients younger than 34 years of age.
Abstract 2539: Cell cycle regulation influences the phenotype of breast and prostate cancer stem cellsin vitro

The dissemination of metastases from the primary tumor accounts for over 90% of cancer-associated mortality. Despite advances on treatment modalities involving chemotherapeutic drugs, radiotherapy, and surgery, metastasis almost invariably arises by persistence of unresolved cancer cells following initial treatment. One intriguing explanation for this resiliency is the cancer stem-cell (CSC) hypothesis. According to the CSC model, phenotypic heterogeneity exists within the tumor, and a minority fraction of cells are able to reconstitute the tumor following ablation by current treatments. In like manner to their “normal” stem-cell counterparts, CSCs are capable of unlimited self-renewal, and the ability to “differentiate” to reconstitute the phenotypic heterogeneity of the initial tumor. Recent studies have sought to identify cancer stem cells in numerous types of solid tumors, including breast and prostate. Among the cell surface antigens utilized to identify the CSC subpopulations are CD24, CD44, CD133, and other factors associated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In this study, we sought to investigate the phenotypic changes associated with cell-cycle in breast (BCa-SC) and prostate (PCa-SC) cancer. We characterized in vitro the malignant and osteolytic human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 and human prostate cancer cell line PC3, with the goal of identifying an optimal checkpoint where the CSC subpopulation would be most vulnerable to subsequent targeted chemotherapy. We found that common CSC markers are expressed in a time-dependent manner due to changes in the cell cycle. Our hypothesis is that temporal inhibition of the cell cycle when the CSC phenotype is least prominent will circumvent the chemo-resistance inherent to CSC. Citation Format: Joseph Feduska, Carnellia Lee, Selvarangan Ponnazhagan. Cell cycle regulation influences the phenotype of breast and prostate cancer stem cells in vitro . [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2539.
The ACRL publications program

Presentation du programme des publications de l'ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries). Une selection des periodiques, des livres, et des enquetes sont presentes et commentes
Post-deepwater horizon blowout seafood consumption patterns and community-specific levels of concern for selected chemicals among children in Mobile County, Alabama.

Abstract Purpose The goal of the study was to characterize risk pertaining to seafood consumption patterns following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, among school children (K to 4th grade) residing in close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico in Mobile County, Alabama. Methods Responses on seafood consumption pattern including the type of seafood and intake rate during the pre and post oil spill periods, from parents of 55 school children from three schools located Results The coastal group ate more seafood consisting primarily of crustaceans (62% vs. 42%, p = 0.04) and fin fish (78% vs. 58%, p = 0.02) from the Gulf of Mexico compared to the inland group, while the inland group ate more fin fish not found in the Gulf of Mexico (62% vs. 33%, p Conclusion In sum, the study found higher than average seafood consumption among children along the Mobile coastal area when compared to the inland children and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) estimates. Risk characterization based on the LOCs indicated no increase in risk of exposure despite higher seafood consumption rates among the study population compared to the general population.
La educación estética postmoderna

El presente articulo es una sintesis teorica de la Educacion Estetica Postmoderna basada en dos discursos: Por un lado, se describe el discurso televisivo predominantemente global, neoliberal y postmoderno, el cual proyecta una educacion estetica virtual mediatica. Por el otro, se describe el discurso de la Pedagogia Critica, como negacion de la educacion estetica virtual mediatica. El primer discurso justifica un tipo de educacion estetica virtual predominante, en nombre de la belleza y libertad sensible, pero que en la vida practica enajena al homo videns, a traves de la proyeccion de la imagen-mercancia electronica digital. El segundo discurso propone una educacion estetica real, racionalmente critica, de belleza liberadora de la realidad enajenante del homo videns.
‘They cannot choose but look’: Ruskin and Emotional Architecture

To mark the death of John Ruskin in 1900, the architect Robert Kerr wrote an article for the Royal Institute of British Architects Journal titled ‘Ruskin and Emotional Architecture’. Kerr, one of the founding members of the Architectural Association, credited Ruskin with creating an awareness of the emotional intensity of the architectural experience. Ruskin was, according to Kerr, ‘an emotional enjoyer of design achieved by others’. While Ruskin’s stance on architecture has been well acknowledged, how his ideas about emotions were addressed within architectural circles has been less studied. In a period of immense professional change in which architecture was becoming more formalized and intellectualized, Ruskin rejected and fought these changes. He recognized the shift in the profession towards prioritizing the mind, in its desire for professional standing through academic channels, and away from the spirit, the desire for architecture as a fine art. The architect George Aitchison echoed many of Ruskin’s thoughts in his own writings about emotion and architecture, but also acknowledged architecture’s increasing professionalism. Feelings and emotions in Aitchison’s and other architects’ writings reflected their passion for design and a desire for the public to truly engage architecture. Ruskin, at the forefront of this call to attention, knew that to engage, to remember, to create beauty, was to deal with the realm of emotion. While many architects rejected Ruskin’s other ideas about architecture, it was his passion for an emotional connection that they grasped and maintained.
Communication pitfalls of traditional history and physical write-up documentation.

BACKGROUND An unofficial standardized "write-up" outline is commonly used for documenting history and physical examinations, giving oral presentations, and teaching clinical skills. Despite general acceptance, there is an apparent discrepancy between the way clinical encounters are conducted and how they are documented. METHODS Fifteen medical school websites were randomly selected from search-engine generated lists. One example of a history and physical write-up from each of six sites, one teaching outline from each of nine additional sites, and recommendations for documentation made in two commonly used textbooks were compared for similarities and differences. RESULTS Except for minor variations in documenting background information, all sampled materials utilized the same standardized format. When the examiners' early perceptions of the patients' degree of illness or level of distress were described, they were categorized as "general appearance" within the physical findings. Contrary to clinical practice, none of the examples or recommendations documented these early perceptions before chief concerns and history were presented. DISCUSSION An examiner's initial perceptions of a patient's affect, degree of illness, and level of distress can influence the content of the history, triage decisions, and prioritization of likely diagnoses. When chief concerns and history are shared without benefit of this information, erroneous assumptions and miscommunications can result. CONCLUSION This survey confirms common use of a standardized outline for documenting, communicating, and teaching history-taking and physical examination protocol. The present outline shares early observations out of clinical sequence and may provide inadequate context for accurate interpretation of chief concerns and history. Corrective actions include modifying the documentation sequence to conform to clinical practice and teaching contextual methodology for sharing patient information.
Inflammatory Mechanisms in Ischemic Cerebrovascular Disease

Publisher Summary A significant reduction in cerebral blood flow (CBF) resulting from thrombosis, embolism, or relative hypoperfusion generally produces a characteristic infarct that can be divided into two regions that relate to the potential for cell survival. The center of the infarct has the least perfusion and is called the “ischemic core,” which is associated with rapid cell death caused by proteolysis, lipolysis, energy depletion, and a severe ionic imbalance After an ischemic insult, the combination of bioenergetic failure, excitotoxicity, and oxidative stress leads to microvascular dysfunction and injury. A functionally disabled but viable region of brain tissue called the “penumbra” surrounds the ischemic core, where blood flow is limited and the cells enjoy a partially preserved metabolism. Unless rescued, cells in the penumbra region will suffer from membrane damage mediated by a complex cascade of events, and this will progress and deteriorate over a period of several days. After an ischemic insult, the combination of bioenergetic failure, excitotoxicity, and oxidative stress leads to microvascular dysfunction and injury. The functionally failed neurons may transmit a danger signal to brain vessels. Alternatively, injured neurons or astrocytes can secrete certain cytokines, and these neuroglial–vascular interactions leads to vessel wall injury. Concurrently, with the development of vascular injury, an inflammatory response is initiated shortly after the ischemic insult, and it can last for several days. The inflammatory response appears to accelerate the progression of tissue injury even if tissue perfusion is restored hours after the ischemic attack.
Circulatory effects of tissue oxygen tension sensors.

There is no disagreement that in practically all tissues hypoxia results in vasodilation and in muscle such as the heart hypoxia is undoubtedly the most potent physiological vasodilator. The unresolved question, and one that has attracted the attention of investigators for many years is the mechanism whereby an inadequate oxygen supply for the tissue needs elicits relaxation of the smooth muscle of the resistance vessels. In 1925 Hilton and Eichholtz1 performed experiments with the dog heart-lung preparation in which they carried out a series of interventions such as reducing the oxygen content of the arterial blood, adding lactic acid, CO2 or cyanide to the arterial blood and changing to fresh blood after prolonged coronary perfusion that had resulted in progressive coronary vasodilation. On the basis of their findings they concluded that there were not significant amounts of “vasodilator metabolites” liberated from the myocardium and implied that the impressive inverse relationship between blood oxygen levels and coronary blood flow was due to a direct effect of oxygen lack.
Niacin Does Not Improve Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Vascular Disease

This large, adequately powered trial did not find any clinically meaningful benefit to the use of niacin in patients who are already taking a statin, even with several study design features that should bias the result in favor of niacin. Niacin should not be prescribed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, even in high-risk patients and in patients with known vascular disease. The combination of niacin and laropiprant, marketed as Tredaptive in the United States, has been removed from the market after the preliminary results of this study showed no benefit.
A 21st-Century Health IT System — Creating a Real-World Information Economy

The 21st Century Cures Act requires that certified health IT products have an application programming interface that allows health data to be accessed and exchanged. The provision could shape the way that physicians and patients experience health care for years to come.
Decision Making: Osteoplasty, Ablation, or Combined Therapy for Spinal Metastases

Metastatic disease involving the spine and pelvis is common, often resulting in significant pain and disability. Several percutaneous interventions have been described, including osteoplasty, ablation, and screw fixation, that when used alone or in combination can significantly reduce pain and disability from metastatic bone disease. Although it is possible to make a significant impact in patient care with basic principles and techniques, certain advanced techniques can extend the application of percutaneous interventions while minimizing morbidity.
PlGF enhances TLR-dependent inflammatory responses in human mononuclear phagocytes.

Problem Levels of placental growth factor (PlGF) peak during third trimester of pregnancy, a time when women are at increased risk of virus-induced morbidity. We hypothesized PlGF might contribute to an exaggerated inflammatory response to Toll-like receptor (TLR) activation. Method of study Primary human adult and cord blood CD14+ cells were cultured in the presence of TLR ligands and/or PlGF. Results PlGF significantly enhanced the magnitude and duration of TNF messenger RNA and protein production by TLR-7/8-activated monocytes, and increased subsequent production of TNF-independent inflammatory cytokines. This PlGF/TLR effect involved multiple inflammatory cytokines/chemokines and was seen with the majority of TLR agonists. PlGF enhanced phosphorylation of IkappaB kinase (IKK) in monocytes stimulated with the TLR-7/8 agonist R848, and IKK inhibition completely suppressed the PlGF effect. Conclusion PlGF enhances TLR-signaling upstream of IKK and contributes to an exaggerated pathologic pro-inflammatory state in response to activation of maternal and fetal mononuclear phagocytes by specific TLR agonists.
O09.1 Awareness and interest in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP) among young men attending a public sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic in a high prevalence urban setting

Introduction Multiple studies identify a high prevalence of STIs among men who have sex with men (MSM) in sub-Saharan Africa, though few have measured incidence and associated factors. We measured the incidence and associated factors of urethral and rectal N. gonorrhoeae (NG) and C. trachomatis (CT) among a Kenyan cohort of MSM. Methods Enrolled MSM underwent audio computer assisted self-interview for behaviour and socio-demographics, with medical examination every 6 months. Antibody testing detected HIV. NG and CT were diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction assay in urine and rectal swabs. We identified factors associated with incident urogenital infection using multivariable Cox regression and report adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results By September 2016, 713 participants were enrolled, with 20% completing 12 month follow-up at time of analysis: median age 23% and 11% with HIV. At baseline, 15.2% (107/702) of men were infected with CT and/or NG, 8.4% (33/392) at 6 months, and 15.6% (10/64) at 12 months. The incidence of anorectal and/or urogenital infection was 6.0 per 100 person-years (P-Y), and 4.6 per 100 P-Ys for urogenital infection alone. Increased risk of urogenital infection was associated drug use in the past year (aHR=2.44; 95% CI: 1.17–5.08), versatile (compared to insertive) usual sexual positioning (aHR=2.40; 95% CI: 1.01–5.71) or water-based lubricant use compared to no lubricant use (aHR=5.72; 95% CI: 1.28–25.5). Protective factors (p Conclusions NG and/or CT and incidence was high despite baseline testing and treatment, quarterly visits, and peer counselling and support for reducing HIV risk. Partner treatment and program exposure measures will be analysed as data accrual completes with follow-up continuing to September 2017.
Antibiotic treatment disrupts bacterial communities in the colon and rectum of simian immunodeficiency virus-infected macaques

Antibiotic therapies are known to disrupt gastrointestinal (GI) bacterial communities. HIV and pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infections have also been associated with disrupted GI bacterial communities. We administered a combination antibiotic therapy to six SIV-infected rhesus macaques and collected colon biopsies, stool samples and rectal swabs before and after antibiotics, and evaluated the bacterial communities at each sample site using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The colon mucosa and stool samples displayed different bacterial communities, while the rectal swabs showed a mixture of the mucosal and stool-associated bacteria. Antibiotics disrupted the native bacterial communities at each sample site. The colon mucosa showed depleted abundances of the dominant Helicobacteraceae, while we found depleted abundances of the dominant Ruminococcaceae sp. in the stool. The rectal swabs showed similar trends as the colon mucosa, but were more variable. After the antibiotic treatment, there were increased abundances of similar taxa of facultative anaerobic bacteria, including Lactobacillaceae and Enterobacteriaceae at each sample site.
“The types of kids we get are different”—The distinguishing characteristics of school choosers in Detroit, Michigan

Providing improved educational options for low-income African American families has been one of the primary objectives of the charter school movement. However, among demographically similar familie...
Lattice Formulation of {\cal N}=4 Super Yang-Mills Theory

We construct a lattice action for ${\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions which is local, gauge invariant, free of spectrum doubling and possesses a single exact supersymmetry. Our construction starts from the observation that the fermions of the continuum theory can be mapped into the component fields of a single real anticommuting Kahler-Dirac field. The original supersymmetry algebra then implies the existence of a nilpotent scalar supercharge $Q$ and a corresponding set of bosonic superpartners. Using this field content we write down a $Q$-exact action and show that, with an appropriate change of variables, it reduces to a well-known twist of ${\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory due to Marcus. Using the discretization prescription developed in an earlier paper on the ${\cal N}=2$ theory in two dimensions we are able to translate this geometrical action to the lattice.
Fatigue and fracture behavior of bulk metallic glasses and their composites

Abstract A fundamental understanding of the fatigue and fracture behavior of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) and their composites is of critical significance for designing new BMG systems and developing new manufacturing and processing techniques so as to broaden the scope of applications of BMGs and their composites. However, the fatigue and fracture studies on BMGs are limited so far, compared to other mechanical properties. The present work reviews the fatigue and fracture behavior of BMGs and their composites, as well as that of metallic-glass films, ribbons, and wires. The grand challenge for the fatigue and fracture performance of BMGs is: What produces a large difference among the fatigue and fracture results of BMGs? According to the fatigue and fracture investigations of crystalline alloys including recently invented high entropy alloys, many factors could be involved, such as the composition, material quality, specimen geometry, chemical environment, surface condition, temperature, cyclic frequency, mean stress, and residual stress, etc. Based on this challenge, the present work will review and address the factors affecting the fatigue and fracture behavior of BMGs and their composites. Furthermore, the mechanisms of fatigue-crack initiation, propagation, and fracture of BMGs and their composites in different loading conditions and environments will be outlined, analyzed, and discussed. Future research directions of fatigue and fracture of BMGs and their composites are provided for reference.
What War Does to Law

This is a paper given at the Military Industrial Complex at 50 National Conference which presents the international law and domestic law visions of what the United States has done since 9/11. It points out that international law is unchanged but that the domestic policy, practices and law of the United States have changed. The paper highlights the need to look for the dark matter: the assertion of precedents derived from somber experiences in the American past; the misinterpretation of international law, and the situations where state lethality is derived from state illegality. I suggest the important role of dissent in such parlous times.
Design, Implementation, and Analysis of a 3-D Magnetic Tweezer System With High Magnetic Field Gradient

This paper presents the design, modeling, and implementation of an innovative, high-power hexapole magnetic tweezer system for 3-D micromanipulations. The designed system has six sharp-tipped magnetic poles that are aligned in an inclined Cartesian coordinate system. The installation platform including yokes was made by a 3-D printer using the magnetized material. The magnetic field was generated through the tips after current was applied to individual electromagnetic coils located on each magnetic pole. The effective working space in the system is larger than other similar designs, so it is available to give a wide range of mobility for a microrobot. Strong magnetic fields of up to 6 mT can be generated in the center of the working space, which provides better performance on microscale robot operations. The numerical magnetic field profile was simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics, and the results were compared with the experimental measurement of a magnetic field in the designed system. We prove that the developed hexapole magnetic tweezer has enough power and controllability to guide microswimmers in Newtonian fluid environments and can follow 3-D trajectories. The system will be optimized further to be implemented into cell penetration research. Finally, the application will be deployed into in vivo based environments.
Pathological Gambling and the Family: Practice Implications:

Pathological gambling is a growing problem in the United States. The authors define and describe the problem as well as review the research literature concerning the personal and family effects of ...
Interference Channels with Confidential Messages: Scaling up the Secure Degrees of Freedom with No CSIT

We consider the K-user interference channel with confidential messages (IC-CM) with intersymbol interference (ISI). The main contribution of this paper is to show that sum-secure degrees of freedom (SDoF) can be made to linearly increase with the number of users K with no channel state information at the transmitters (CSIT). We demonstrate that this is true whenever the channel impulse response (CIR) lengths from the legitimate transmitters towards their respectively intended receivers are larger than those from the interfering transmitters towards the unintended receivers. To design this scheme, we use: a) the simple channel matrix structures of the received signal space to eliminate interference and allow decodability at the intended receivers. b) an injection of artificial noise into the transmitted signal from a strategically chosen small number of transmitters that act as cooperative jammers in order to preserve confidentiality of messages at unintended receivers. This is the first work showing that the SDoF of the K-user IC-CM with ISI can linearly increase with K, the number of users.
Wishful Thinking and IT Threat Avoidance: An Extension to the Technology Threat Avoidance Theory

In this research, we report the empirical findings of a vignette study designed to examine how volitional computer users cope with information technology (IT) threats based on the technology threat avoidance theory (TTAT). We incorporate the construct of wishful thinking, an important form of emotion-focused coping behavior that is rarely studied, along with problem-focused coping into a research model to examine the interaction between the two coping approaches. The results reveal that wishful thinking weakens the effect of perceived avoidability on avoidance motivation. In turn, wishful thinking is positively affected by perceived threat and this effect is stronger when a user has low risk tolerance. Although perceived avoidability can reduce wishful thinking, its effect is fully mediated by perceived threat. This study highlights the important role of wishful thinking in affecting users’ security behavior. It not only corroborates, but also extends the extant propositions of TTAT, thus making a significant contribution to IT security research and practice.
Ihsan: Classical and Contemporary Understanding

In this chapter I explore how the Islamic tradition has understood Ihsan in the past and in the recent past. I examine how Ihsan has been understood and explained by grand Sheikhs like Ibn Arabi, Al-Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyyah and many more classical philosophers, theologians and mystics. I also review the only two substantial books (both in Arabic language) on Ihsan published in the past 25 years, one by a Salafi-leaning scholar from Egypt and another one by a Sufi master from Morocco. The chapter also examines in depth how the Quran and the hadith literature present Ihsan. The goal is to show the depth and complexity of the concept of Ihsan in Islamic thought and sources.
The Advantaged Cause: Affect Control Theory and Social Movements:

The role of grievances in drawing public concern and activist support is a surprisingly understudied topic in modern social movement literature. This research is the first to parse issues into core...
Fungus Among Us: The Frenemies Within

A recent study shows that the commensal fungus Candida albicans is an inducer of differentiation of human CD4+ Th17 cells that harbor heterologous specificity for other fungi, which may explain evolutionary benefits of C. albicans as a commensal microbe (Bacher et al. Cell 2019;176;1340–1355). However, Th17 cells that are crossreactive to Aspergillus fumigatus antigens can also drive exaggerated airway inflammation in humans.
Cystitis-induced bladder pain is Toll-like receptor 4 dependent in a transgenic autoimmune cystitis murine model: a MAPP Research Network animal study.

Altered Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 activation has been identified in several chronic pain conditions but has not been well studied in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). Our previo...
The Impact of Low Socioeconomic Status in Adults With Chronic Pain: An Integrative Review.

Objective The objective of this study was to describe evidence about chronic pain (CP) in lower socioeconomic status (SES) adult populations. Design The study design was an integrative review.DATA SOURCES used were MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO, published from January 2008 to February 2018. Review/analysis method Whittemore and Kanfl's 5 staged methodology (problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis, and presentation) was used to guide the review. Results Disparities based on SES affect CP development and management. Childhood risk factors impact CP experience over the life course. Neighborhood SES affects pain-related outcomes, and those with lower SES in rural settings have a higher prevalence of prescription opioid use. Nursing implications Findings from this review will support nurses to interpret CP through the lens of SES.
The Quest for Peace: What Are We Learning?

I have long believed that we have learned much more about building peace in the Twentieth Century, through research and practice, than we normally tend to apply. As a result, on several occasions I have attempted to summarize this learning process and to produce an inventory of the peace tools that have emerged (Alger, 1987, 1989, 1996). This effort has had several purposes. The first is to illuminate a broad array of peace tools that should be examined while developing peace strategies and tactics. Too often we are inclined to employ first tools that are most readily available, ones that have been used successfully on other occasions, ones which require the knowledge of our personal profession or discipline, or even ones whose application make us feel good.
Doxycycline-induced exogenous Bmi-1 expression enhances tumor formation in a murine model of oral squamous cell carcinoma

B Cell-Specific Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus Integration Site 1 (Bmi-1, Bmi1), an epigenetic protein, is necessary for normal stem cell self-renewal in adult animals and for cancer stem cell (CSC)...
The Hagfeldt Donor and Use of Next-Generation Bulky Donor Designs in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

"The Hagfeldt donor" is a bulky triarylamine building block with four alkyl chains in a 3-dimensional arrangement that is used with organic dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) in over 140 publications. Many of the highest performing DSC devices in literature make use of this group due to exceptional TiO2 surface protection properties, which slows recombination of electrons in TiO2 with the electrolyte. Importantly, record-setting cobalt and copper redox shuttle-based DSCs require exceptional surface protection to slow a facile recombination of electrons to these positively charged redox shuttles. Several syntheses have emerged for the Hagfeldt donor due to the need for iterative aryl-halide cross- coupling reactions complicating a straightforward route. Six synthetic strategies found in literature are described along with the challenges of each route. A recent method that has been put forward in the literature as a scalable, regioisomerically pure route is highlighted.
Hide and uncover: the use of secrets in marketing

Amidst the forceful public demand for organisational transparency, there is an ambition to explore the limits of openness. What kind of information could and should firms keep secret and under whic...
Shedding of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacilli by colonized patients during procedures and patient care activities

Background Medical procedures and patient care activities may facilitate environmental shedding of health care-associated pathogens. Methods We conducted a cohort study of hospitalized patients in contact precautions for carriage of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing gram-negative bacilli (N = 38) or carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacilli (CR-GNB) (N = 22) to determine the frequency of environmental shedding during procedures and care activities. Perirectal, wound, and skin were cultured for ESBL-producing and CR-GNB. High-touch surfaces and portable equipment were disinfected before and cultured after procedures; control cultures were collected in the absence of procedures. Results Of 60 patients enrolled, 34 (57%) had positive perirectal and/or skin or wound cultures. For these 34 patients, 15 (44%) shed their colonizing organism to surfaces during 1 or more procedures. Patients with shedding had significantly higher concentrations of the pathogens recovered from perirectal swabs than those with no shedding (mean, 3.5 vs 2.2 log10 colony-forming units per swab; P Conclusions Environmental shedding of antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacilli occurs frequently during medical procedures and patient care activities. Decontamination of surfaces and equipment and approaches that reduce the burden of carriage could reduce the risk for dissemination.
Domain relaxation in Langmuir films

We report on theoretical studies of molecularly thin Langmuir films on the surface of a quiescent subfluid and qualitatively compare the results to both new and previous experiments. The film covers the entire fluid surface, but domains of different phases are observed. In the absence of external forcing, the compact domains tend to relax to circles, driven by a line tension at the phase boundaries. When stretched (by a transient applied stagnation-point flow or by stirring), a compact domain elongates, creating a bola consisting of two roughly circular reservoirs connected by a thin tether. This shape will then relax slowly to the minimum-energy configuration of a circular domain. The tether is never observed to rupture, even when it is more than a hundred times as long as it is wide. We model these experiments by taking previous descriptions of the full hydrodynamics, identifying the dominant effects via dimensional analysis, and reducing the system to a more tractable form. The result is a free boundary problem for an inviscid Langmuir film whose motion is driven by the line tension of the domain and damped by the viscosity of the subfluid. Using this model we derive relaxation rates for perturbations of a uniform strip and a circular patch. We also derive a boundary integral formulation which allows an efficient numerical solution of the problem. Numerically this model replicates the formation of a bola and the subsequent relaxation observed in the experiments. Finally, we suggest physical properties of the system (such as line tension) that can be deduced by comparison of the theory and numerical simulations to the experiment. Two movies are available with the online version of the paper.
Comparing contemporary biogeochemical archives from Mercenaria mercenaria and Crassostrea virginica: Insights on paleoenvironmental reconstructions

Abstract Reconstruction of past environmental conditions from modern and fossil organisms is predicated on predictable biological responses to environmental variation. Thus, understanding how different species record commonly experienced environmental conditions is critical. This is particularly important in settings where multiple biogeochemical archives are available for study (e.g., a species rich fossil assemblage). Previous work has documented species-specific thermal tolerances and growth rates, which suggests proxy-based reconstructions may reflect a combination of biological controls and environmental variation. To investigate this potential complication, we compared oxygen isotope (δ18O) profiles from shells of two contemporary marine bivalve mollusks (Mercenaria mercenaria and Crassostrea virginica) growing in the same locality (Cape Lookout region, North Carolina, USA). Carbonate oxygen isotope samples (δ18Oc) were collected from shell material deposited between August 2016 and April 2019. These data were calibrated with predicted δ18Oc profiles (aragonite and calcite) calculated from high resolution environmental records (hourly temperature records and weekly water samples). M. mercenaria specimens were periodically stained with calcein during the study interval, facilitating transformation of the δ18Oc profiles into the time domain. δ18Oc profiles from C. virginica were fit directly to the predicted δ18Oc profile. Our results suggest that M. mercenaria and C. virginica living in the Cape Lookout region are capable of depositing shell material throughout the year. Shell growth in both species slows significantly, or halts altogether, during short term large magnitude freshwater input events. M. mercenaria examined in this study show a strong preference for growth during the warmest hours of the day. This observation suggests optimal growth temperatures lie close to the upper limit of temperatures recorded at the study site. C. virginica does not show a preference for shell growth during the warm or cold hours of the day. Thus, a major conclusion of this study is that two different species living in the same place at the same time may record different aspects of commonly experienced environmental conditions. Nevertheless, our findings suggest the fossil record may contain more detailed archives of past environmental conditions than previously thought. Future studies should focus on high-resolution, short-duration calibrations where environmental data is recorded at the time, location, and resolution.
Coverage Analysis for Ground and Aerial Users in mmWave Cellular Networks in Urban Settings

The fifth generation (5G) mobile technology is being developed to meet the ever-increasing demands for cellular capacity. 5G is poised to be a critical enabler in various verticals. Millimeter waves (mmWaves), massive multi input multi output (MIMO) antenna arrays, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are three key components that are being investigated in the context of 5G, which can jointly be used to support applications such as cellular-connected drones. To support such use cases, it is essential to study the propagation characteristics of ground to air (GA) mmWave links, for which there are very limited studies in the existing literature. In this work, we perform ray tracing simulations using Remcomm Wireless Insite software to compare ground and aerial coverage using mmWave communication links. Two sets of sectored antennas were used at the base station (BS), both of which use the same frequency spectrum. One antenna set was tilted up to serve aerial users while the other was tilted down to serve ground users. Our findings indicate that coverage is determined by shadowing due to buildings, path loss, and the angular interference between the beams of the two antenna sets. It was also observed that the coverage for aerial users is approximately twice that for ground users. Further, using sharper beams, of width 10 or less, is desirable as it makes spectrum reuse between aerial and ground users more feasible, enables users to be placed closely to each other and also increases the range, particularly for ground users. Along with narrower beams, MIMO beamforming techniques may be used to increase network capacity in dense urban areas.