cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cyanoacrylate home denture repair: The problem and a solution

Patients often attempt to repair denture fractures at home by using cyanoacrylate. Cyanoacrylate is difficult to remove and may prevent the fractured sections from being reassembled properly. This method permits aligning the fractured sections in the mouth before repairing the denture.
Preclinical Alzheimer disease: Brain oxidative stress, Aβ peptide and proteomics

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized clinically by progressive memory loss and subsequent dementia and neuropathologically by senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and synapse loss. Interestingly, a small percentage of individuals with normal antemortem psychometric scores meet the neuropathological criteria for AD (termed 'preclinical' AD (PCAD)). In this study, inferior parietal lobule (IPL) from PCAD and control subjects was compared for oxidative stress markers by immunochemistry, amyloid beta peptide by ELISA, and identification of protein expression differences by proteomics. We observed a significant increase in highly insoluble monomeric Abeta42, but no significant differences in oligomeric Abeta nor in oxidative stress measurements between controls and PCAD subjects. Expression proteomics identified proteins whose trends in PCAD are indicative of cellular protection, possibly correlating with previous studies showing no cell loss in PCAD. Our analyses may reveal processes involved in a period of protection from neurodegeneration that mimic the clinical phenotype of PCAD.
Remarks on the Topology of Gauge Fields

In contrast to the short distance behavior of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), which is within the scope of perturbation theory and thus can be subjected to quantitative tests, the large distance or strong coupling regime of QCD is not well understood yet even qualitatively. An overriding problem of interest in quark confinement, and various theoretical schemes have been put forward to show that the quarks can indeed be confined. These schemes, though varying from one to another in detail, rely on the idea that the growing coupling constant at large distances plays a key role. It is not clear yet, however, whether confinement is a natural consequence of QCD alone, or it requires some independent and extraneous assumptions.
Self-regulation among highly prejudiced people: a tool for the amelioration of racial bias

The source of motivation to respond without prejudice varies among individuals and is connected to their evaluations of biased materials. People who are highly internally motivated to respond without prejudice tend to be lower in prejudice than are people who are highly externally motivated. High internal motivation is typically associated with less biased responding, but when bias does occur feelings of self-directed negative emotions often result. For low prejudice people these self negative feelings can lead to a system of responses culminating in future self regulation. The same self-negative feelings do not function identically for people who are higher in prejudice. It was hypothesized that other directed negative affect might function in a similar regulatory capacity for participants higher in prejudice. This study investigated the relationship between other directed negative affect and biased responding, utilizing jokes as the bias measure. Participants were presented with biased jokes and asked to provide humor ratings. Affect was assessed following a confrontation manipulation after participants were given an opportunity for biased responding. Subsequently two other opportunities, one public and one private, were offered. It was expected that confronted participants would decrease their bias responding in public and potentially increase bias in private reports, when compared to the control condition. This backlash was not found. Confronted participants responded to the manipulation with a decrease in biased responding publicly, when compared to the control group which was not confronted. Self and other directed negative affect did not differ significantly between the two groups, although some gender interactions were significant.
Does Pyramid Create Access to Debt Financing for Entrepreneurs? Evidence from China

Pyramid has been regarded as a means to create internal financial market and tunnel asset by the ultimate controller, however, in a financial system dominated by banking sector and most of bank loans go to state controlled firms and public firms, entrepreneurs may also try to get access to bank loans through controlling public firms by pyramid. Entrepreneurs who want to over leverage the public firm and thus transfer more funding which would have been otherwise not available will find that it is easy to do so with more control over this public firm, but under the severe financial constraint, entrepreneurs might well not want to increase their ownership, the result being increase in leverage as increase in separation. The empirical study based on all public firms in China from 2004 to 2005 confirms that public firms with ultimate largest shareholder as individual(s) have more leverage or separation compared to their state controlled peers and within those firms, those in pyramid structure present a significant higher leverage. However, it is still unknown whether this development has increased financial risks for public firms and banking system as a whole.
Important preliminary findings on the potential role for nandrolone decanoate in the treatment of chronic rotator cuff tears.

Clinical and animal studies have shown that following chronic rotator cuff tendon tears, the muscle undergoes degeneration and profound architectural changes, including fatty infiltration and shortened muscle fibers, with an accompanying loss of contractility and elasticity1-6. These changes have been assumed to be irreversible and can lead to persistent disability despite technically successful tendon repair. Hence, there is an urgent need for reliable interventions to impede, and potentially reverse, these pathological changes after rotator cuff tears. In the current rabbit study, Gerber et al. investigated the capacity of anabolic steroid treatment to diminish muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration following supraspinatus tendon release from its osseous insertion. To prevent spontaneous healing, the tendon-bone chip complex was wrapped in a Penrose drain. The authors examined three experimental groups: (I) untreated muscle, (II) weekly systemic and local injections of nandrolone decanoate (into the quadriceps femoris and supraspinatus muscles, respectively), and (III) weekly systemic administration of nandrolone …
What Determines Incumbent Auditors Information Systems Design And Implementation Consulting Fees

This study examines determinants of demand for incumbent auditors information systems design and implementation consulting services. While there was no evidence on how the services may affect auditor independence, opponents of allowing the service argue that auditors who provide the financial information systems consulting services may lower audit quality, reducing investor confidence in markets. The results indicate that while R&D expenditures, auditors industry specialization, and auditor tenure are positively associated with demand for the information systems consulting, there is no evidence that accounting discretion and audit committee effectiveness are associated with demand for the information systems consulting.
Abstract A135: Uncovering tumor suppressive and oncogenic microRNAs in lung cancer

A135 MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding small RNAs that regulate gene expression. Expression profiles of miRNAs are useful to improve classification, diagnosis, and prognostic information of specific human malignancies, including lung cancer. We sought to uncover miRNAs preferentially repressed or over-expressed in pre-malignant and malignant lung lesions in recently described transgenic cyclin E mice. These transgenic mice expressed in the lung under control of the human surfactant C promoter wild-type or proteasome degradation-resistant cyclin E species. These mice developed pulmonary dysplasia and adenocarcinoma, recapitulating pre-malignant and malignant lung lesions frequently found in lung cancer patients. Comprehensive miRNA microarray analyses were conducted using independently harvested normal and malignant lung tissues from these transgenic mice. A cluster of miRNAs was preferentially repressed in transgenic lung cancers versus normal lung tissues including: miR-34c, miR-145, miR142-5p, and other miRNAs previously associated with lung carcinogenesis. Expression profiles were independently validated by semi-quantitative and real-time polymerase chain reaction assays. In transgenic mice, single cell expression profiles were studied in pre-malignant and malignant lung lesions by in situ hybridization assays. Concordant results were obtained after analyses of paired normal-malignant human lung tissues representing each histopathologic subtype of non-small cell lung cancer. To address functional roles of repressed miRNAs, novel lung cancer cell lines were derived from murine transgenic wild-type (ED-1 cells) or proteasome-degradation resistant (ED-2 cells) cyclin E expressing lung cancers. ED-1 and ED-2 cells each caused lung adenocarcinomas to form after tail-vein injections into syngeneic FVB mice. Engineered over-expression of each basally repressed miRNA in ED-1 as well as in ED-2 cells markedly (P Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):A135.
Reasons for Fighting among Violent Female Adolescents: A Qualitative Investigation from an Urban, Midwestern Community.

This qualitative study examines the self-reported reasons for fighting among female adolescents (N = 72). Data are drawn from brief intervention sessions addressing violent behavior and alcohol use. Young women age 14 to 18 (Mean = 16) were recruited in an urban emergency department (58.3% African American/Black, 31.9% White, and 9.7% other races/ethnicities). Participants identified multiple reasons that they engage in fights including self-protection/self-defense, enhancing social status and respect, safety (e.g., preventing future fights or sexual assaults), revenge/retaliation, social motivations (e.g., defending family or friends, fighting over romantic interests), coping, and enjoyment. Results provide insight into opportunities and challenges in developing interventions addressing aggression among female adolescents.
72 PROTEOME ANALYSIS OF SPHINGOSINE 1-PHOSPHATE-MEDIATED LIPID RAFTS IN HUMAN PULMONARY ENDOTHELIAL CELLS.

Rationale Lipid rafts are detergent-insoluble plasma membrane microdomains implicated in membrane signaling and trafficking. We have demonstrated that the lysophospholipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) plays a critical regulatory role in the maintenance and enhancement of pulmonary vascular barrier function, which is dependent on lipid raft-mediated signaling events (Singleton et al. FASEB J 2005). In this study, we used two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis to determine the protein profiles in S1P-challenged lipid rafts of human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAECs). Methods and Results HPAECs were treated with S1P (1 μM) for 5 minutes and solubilized with 1% Triton X-100 at 4°C. The Triton X-100 insoluble and light density fractions were collected after discontinuous OptiprepTM gradient centrifugation. The isolated lipid rafts pellets were resolubilized in 50 μL of isoelectric focusing (IEF) buffer (7 M urea/2 M thiourea, 4% CHAPS). IEF was carried out on a linear electrophoresis gel strip (pH 3-10, 7 cm), with the second dimension performed on 4 to 20% SDS-PAGE gel. Analytic gels were stained using Imperial blue (Pierce). We observed several novel protein bands in lipid rafts isolated from S1P versus control-treated cells (1 μM, 5 minutes). To identify these novel proteins, analytic gels were stained with Sypro Ruby and images were analyzed using PDQuest (Bio-Rad). Novel protein spots were sliced from the gel, and gel pieces were swelled in 20 ng/μL modified trypsin and incubated at 37°C overnight after protein reduction and alkylation. The digested peptides were extracted with 5% formic acid and 50% acetonitrile. Protein identification was performed on ABI 4700 Maldi TOF/TOF MS. Two-dimensional gel image analysis results indicated that about 50 protein spots (such as discoidin domain receptor tyrosine kinase, myosin light chain kinase, pp60src, phosphodiesterase 6C, etc.) have over a threefold change after S1P (1 μM, 5 minutes) treatment compared with control. Further, antiphosphotyrosine immunoblots of two-dimensional gels indicated that S1P increased tyrosine phosphorylation of over 20 proteins, including the actin regulatory protein cortactin. Conclusions Taken together, these results indicate that S1P induces recruitment of novel tyrosine kinases (ie, discoidin domain receptor tyrosine kinase, pp60src), with multiple tyrosine phosphorylation events in lipid rafts. These results suggest that recruitment of tyrosine kinases to lipid rafts may participate in S1P-induced signaling in HPAECs and could potentially play important roles in regulating S1P-induced pulmonary endothelial cells barrier function.
Patterns of Brain Injury in Hypoxic Encephalopathy

Researchers at Imperial College, Hammersmith, London, UK, studied patterns of brain injury in term neonates with hypoxic encephalopathy, risk factors, and the correlation between neuroimaging abnormalities and developmental outcomes at a minimum of 12 months.
Rare B Meson Decays: A Window to Physics Beyond the Standard Model

Rare K meson decays have played a crucial role in formulating the standard model. The B meson system is similar to the K meson system in that their major, uninteresting, decays are suppressed by small mixing angles. Thus rare B decays may place equally interesting constraints on the standard model. Cognizant of this possibility, many authors have studied: models with additional generations (we call this class of models fourth generation models (4G)) [1]; models with additional physical Higgs scalars (multi-Higgs (MH)) [2]; models with supersymmetric particles (SUSY) [3]; and L-R symmetric (LRS) models [4] to look for predictions which deviate from those of the standard model (SM). In this review, we shall study how B meson decays serve as a window to look beyond the standard model [5]. Since it is impossible to cover all grounds, we choose one interesting scenerio: We note that recently discovered B-B mixing requires mt>50GeV within the context of the standard model with reasonable value for its parameters.
Littrow spectrographs for moderate resolution infrared applications

The Littrow form of spectrograph has a long and storied history in astronomical spectroscopy since its presentation in 1862 by Otto von Littrow. Light from an input slit traverses the same optical elements in reaching the dispersing element (prism or grating) and returning to a focused, dispersed image at the focal plane. This 1:1 symmetry helps cancel aberrations in the reimaging optics while presenting the dispersing element with the geometry most favorable to dispersion, efficiency and anamorphic scale change. Historically, Littrow spectrographs have not been pushed to high throughputs (fast f/ratios). However in the short- and mid-wave infrared particularly, high index, low dispersion materials like silicon and germanium can be combined effectively into compact, high throughput (<f/2.5), well corrected 1:1 reimaging systems that economize volume and cooling resources and are well-suited for moderately high resolution spectrographic space missions such as atmospheric sounders. We present some high throughput Littrow spectrograph concepts designed for infrared atmospheric sounding missions and incorporating both plane and immersion gratings.
Theory Opening Talk

As a preview to the conference I first make a brief account of the methods that are used by theorists in the context of Kaon physics. I then make two modest observations. First, that looking at non-Kaon physics may shed light on Kaon physics. As a case in point I argue that one can empirically find analogues of the ΔI = 1/2 rule in both D and B decays to two pseudoscalars. And second, that while in tests of fundamental principles the scale of putative new physics is often unknown a priori, there are some cases where it is known. As an example I discuss tests of Lorentz invariance and argue that, in the context of Doubly Special Relativity, the K0 - K0 mass difference is already sensitive to Planck scale effects. © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike Licence.
A demonstration of the Circuit fix-it shoppe

The "Circuit Fix-it Shoppe" is a voice interactive dialog system which has been constructed in our laboratory. The mission of the system is to help people repair electronic circuits. The system contains a domain modeler, a reasoning system, a dialog controller, a user modeling system, an error-correcting natural language parser, and a natural language generator. A commercial speech recognizer and speech synthesizer are used for voice input and output. More detailed information about our dialog system can be found in [1] and [2]. This videotape records two live dialogs between the Circuit Fix-it Shoppe program and a user who has no special knowledge of computers, electronic repair, or our system. A brief description of the experimental setup and of the Circuit Fix-it Shoppe program precedes these dialogs. The Circuit Fix-it Shoppe program is capable of varying its level of initiative. It can be highly directive, in which case it controls the conversation, or it may be passive, in which case the user controls the dialog, or it may take some level of initiative between these two extremes. In the first videotape demonstration, the system is running in directive mode. In this second demonstration, the system is set to operate in declarative mode. In this mode, the user is free to take the initiative and to control the conversation. Declarative mode is appropriate for users who are much more familiar with the circuit and require only minimal help from the computer. Duration: 11 minutes 50 seconds. Tape format: VHS.
Helium Flow Through an Orifice in the Presence of an AC Sound Field

We report here an attempt to observe the ac Josephson effect in liquid helium. Previous investigators1–5 have reported positive observation of the effect by monitoring the level difference between two baths separated by a small orifice. Our experiment was designed so that a temperature difference could be introduced and measured as well.
Mechanics of the energy balance in large lowland rivers, and why the bed matters

Along many rivers, dams trap sediment and water released from the dams is clear. Downstream of the dam, temperature variability along the river is controlled by climate that warms or cools the water, the flow magnitude, and the spectral properties of water and the river's bed. Using field observations, a synoptic numerical model without calibration couples a full-spectrum radiation balance with turbulent heat fluxes, bed conduction, and a hydraulic model that estimates depth and velocity. We show that variations in the river's temperature are sensitive to the albedo of the sediment on the bed, especially at shallow depths and smaller discharges. However, about half the solar radiation lies in a spectral range where water is highly absorptive; in these wavelengths, absorption is independent of depth. In spring and summer with many hours of sunlight, releases of cold water will have limited influence on temperatures beyond tens of kilometers downstream of a dam.
SID-1 Domains Important for dsRNA Import in Caenorhabditis elegans.

In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans , RNA interference (RNAi) triggered by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) spreads systemically to cause gene silencing throughout the organism and its progeny. We confirm that Caenorhabditis nematode SID-1 orthologs have dsRNA transport activity and demonstrate that the SID-1 paralog CHUP-1 does not transport dsRNA. Sequence comparison of these similar proteins, in conjunction with analysis of loss-of-function missense alleles, identifies several conserved 2–7 amino acid microdomains within the extracellular domain (ECD) that are important for dsRNA transport. Among these missense alleles, we identify and characterize a sid-1 allele, qt95 , which causes tissue-specific silencing defects most easily explained as a systemic RNAi export defect. However, we conclude from genetic and biochemical analyses that sid-1(qt95) disrupts only import, and speculate that the apparent export defect is caused by the cumulative effect of sequentially impaired dsRNA import steps. Thus, consistent with previous studies, we fail to detect a requirement for sid-1 in dsRNA export, but demonstrate for the first time that SID-1 functions in the intestine to support environmental RNAi (eRNAi).
Mimetic Theory, Religion, and Literature as Secular Scripture

Girard favors those few writers already identified as literary masters and, early on, in periods of great creative power: Periclean Athens, the time of the great Greek tragedians, Elizabethan England, above all Shakespeare (to whom Girard solely devoted his only book written in English), and the modern novel inaugurated in Cervantes. Girard would scale up their qualifications as masters of mimesis, as he would add to Erich Auerbach’s discussion of the mimetic tradition of the great writers, by identifying their greatness in the way they understand, not simply the way they practice, imitation. If their method is imitation, it is first of all because they must carefully render the imitative behavior of their human subjects in order to reveal its bases and its consequences. Their genius and their powers of application are devoted to the accuracy that is required for their research in human behavior as much as their success in providing esthetic pleasure through precise and compelling rendering.
Clinical diagnosis and course of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease can be accurately diagnosed by clinical methods alone in about 90% of cases. The adoption of uniform diagnostic criteria and assessment procedures, such as those developed by the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD), will likely improve the characterization of the disease across a variety of clinical settings. In general, Alzheimer's disease is a relentlessly progressisve disorder; however, it also is clinically heterogeneous. This is underscored by its diverse cognitive deficits, neurologic features, behavioral pathology, and rates of progression.
Drag-Reduction Properties of Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyacrylamide and Related Polymers

The drag-reduction phenomenon has been the subject of intense interest and activity among scientists and engineers for the past decade. This phenomenon is observed when solutions of very small amounts of high-molecular-weight linear polymers are subjected to turbulent pipe flow. The resultant effect is that the pressure gradient required to move the fluid is substantially reduced at a given flow rate. Toms (1) gave the first clear description of this phenomenon in his study of the turbulent flow of poly(methyl methacrylate) in monochlorobenzene. Many investigators since then have confirmed such effects in aqueous solutions of guar gum, carboxy-methylcellulose, poly(acrylic acid), polyacrylamide, and poly(ethylene oxide). The bulk of the materials which have been tested to date are commercial samples, among which the poly(ethylene oxides) and polyacrylamides are the most widely used. These polymers are inexpensive, easy to handle and are extremely effective agents; for example, a 44 percent drag reduction is possible by the addition of 10 parts per million by weight (ppmw) of poly(ethylene oxide) of molecular weight 900,000 (2).
A 16-Element 2.4-GHz Digital Array Receiver using 2-D IIR Spatially-Bandpass Plane-Wave Filter

A receive-mode digital-RF beamformer based on spatially bandpass 2nd order 2-D IIR beam filters has been designed, built and tested. These 2-D IIR filters have been derived using multi-dimensional space-time network resonance, and consume less hardware resources compared to FIR filter based realizations leading to lower chip area and power consumption. For a similar performance/selectivity, implementing a 2nd order 2-D IIR SBP beam filter leads to 83.7 % reduction in computational hardware complexity when compared to an FIR filter implementation. The beamformer operates at 2.4 GHz, supporting 120 MHz of bandwidth. The microwave frontend consists of a 16-element patch antenna array feeding 16 direct conversion receiver chains. Downconverted signals from the chains are sampled at 240 MHz and processed using a ROACH-2 platform, which employs a Xilinx Virtex 6 FPGA. The filter was implemented on FPGA and the filter coefficients were used to set the beam directions to measure the resulting RF beam pattern of the beamformer. The measured beam patterns have been reported for beam directions of 15° and 30°. Measured beam patterns are in well accordance with the simulated beam patterns. Thus the real time performance of the 2-D IIR SBP beamfilters have been verified demostrating their low-complexity usage in beamforming applications for the first time.
Computed Tomography, Computed Tomography Angiography, and Perfusion Computed Tomography Evaluation of Acute Ischemic Stroke

This review outlines the current role of the individual components of multimodal computed tomography (computed tomography, computed tomography angiography, and perfusion computed tomography) in the evaluation of patients with acute ischemic stroke.
An irreversible inhibitor of peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase Pin1 and evaluation of cytotoxicity

Pin1 (protein interacting with never in mitosis A-1) is a member of the peptidyl prolyl isomerase (PPIase) family, and catalyzes cis-trans isomerization of pThr/Ser-Pro amide bonds. Because Pin1 is overexpressed in various cancer cell lines and promotes cell growth, it is considered a target for anticancer agents. Here, we designed and synthesized a covalently binding Pin1 inhibitor (S)-2 to target Pin1's active site. This compound inhibited Pin1 in protease-coupled assay, and formed a covalent bond with Cys113 of Pin1, as determined by ESI-MS. The acetoxymethyl ester of (S)-2, i.e., 6, suppressed cyclin D1 expression in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells, and exhibited cytotoxicity. Pin1-knockdown experiments indicated that a target for the cytotoxicity of 6 is Pin1.
Two new species of Haemocystidium Castellani & Willey (Apicomplexa: Plasmodiidae) from Pakistani lizards, and the support their meronts provide for the validity of the genus

Haemocystidium papernai n. sp., a parasite of Agama nupta fusca in Sind, Pakistan produces large halteridial gametocytes in active infections that do not differ in morphology by sex. In chronic phase macrogametocytes are larger than microgametocytes. In Baluchistan, Agama nupta nupta is parasitised by Haemocystidium quettaensis n. sp. Gametocytes are smaller than those of H. papernai n. sp., round or oval in shape and heavily pigmented. Macrogametocytes are larger than microgametocytes and more heavily pigmented. Merogony of H. papernai n. sp. occurs in endothelium and connective tissue of lungs, heart, liver, spleen and femoral muscles. Meronts form as oval or rounded bodies that apparently are not preceded by the formation of “pseudocytomeres” that appear in the merogony of Haemoproteus spp. in snakes, turtles and birds. Meronts of Haemocystidium kopki were found in the lungs of the Pakistani gecko Teratoscincus scincus that were similar to those of H. papernai n. sp. The meronts of both species closely resemble phanerozoic meronts of saurian Plasmodium spp., and provide adequate justification for recognition of the genus Haemocystidium Castellani & Willey, 1904. Haemocystidium is distinguished from Plasmodium by the absence of an asexual cycle in circulating blood cells, and from Haemoproteus by meronts that do not form as pseudocytomeres. Sex ratios of H. papernai n. sp. varied from 22–47% microgametocytes, with no evident correlation with parasitemia, infection stage or month of collection, and H. kopki infections were comprised of 61–74% microgametocytes.
Electronic cigarette liquid exposure induces flavor-dependent osteotoxicity and increases expression of a key bone marker, collagen type I.

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are nicotine delivery devices advertised as a healthier alternative to conventional tobacco products, but their rapid rise in popularity outpaces research on potential health consequences. As conventional tobacco use is a risk factor for osteoporosis, this study examines whether exposure to electronic liquid (e-liquid) used in e-cigarettes affects bone-forming osteoblasts. Human MG-63 and Saos-2 osteoblast-like cells were treated for 48 hours with 0.004%-4.0% dilutions of commercially available e-liquids of various flavors with or without nicotine. Changes in cell viability and key osteoblast markers, runt-related transcription factor 2 and Col1a1, were assessed. With all e-liquids tested, cell viability decreased in a dose-dependent manner, which was least pronounced in flavorless e-liquids, most pronounced in cinnamon-flavored e-liquids and occurred independently of nicotine. Col1a1, but not runt-related transcription factor 2, mRNA expression was upregulated in response to coffee-flavored and fruit-flavored e-liquids. Cells treated with a non-cytotoxic concentration of fruit-flavored Mango Blast e-liquid with or without nicotine showed significantly increased collagen type I protein expression compared to culture medium only. We conclude that the degree of osteotoxicity is flavor-dependent and occurs independently of nicotine and that flavored e-liquids reveal collagen type I as a potential target in osteoblasts. This study elucidates potential consequences of e-cigarette use in bone.
Rhombohedrally Distorted γ‐Au5‐xZn8+y Phases in the Au—Zn System.

The Au—Zn phase diagram encompassing γ-brass-type phases is studied over the range 45—85 at.% Zn.
Nonlinear Viscoelastic Behavior of Rubber-Toughened Carbon and Glass/Epoxy Composites

A previously-developed constitutive equation for nonlinear viscoelastic materials is first used to characterize mathematically the ply-level stress-strain behavior of a rubber-toughened carbon/epoxy composite. Emphasized are some practical aspects of carrying out such a characterization. Constant stress rate tests are used to derive first-loading material response in the dry state, at room temperature. It is found for a large portion of the loading curve that the shear and transverse compliances can be described by a quasi-elastic model expressed in terms of a single scalar function of stress state, a ratio of compliances, a time or rate exponent, and two elastic terms. This model offers a simple way to incorporate nonlinearity and time dependence in a material model for limited loading conditions. Results are then compared to those for a glass/epoxy composite with the same rubber-toughened resin system. Special considerations for using off-axis coupons are examined and unique tabbing is employed to derive material properties out to high stress levels. The consistency of the carbon/epoxy characterization is checked by comparing experimental stress-strain response to results not used in the characterization. Behavior of the two composite systems is compared and checked for consistency using a micromechanical model.
Developing reliable hourly electricity demand data through screening and imputation

Electricity usage (demand) data are used by utilities, governments, and academics to model electric grids for a variety of planning (e.g., capacity expansion and system operation) purposes. The U.S. Energy Information Administration collects hourly demand data from all balancing authorities (BAs) in the contiguous United States. As of September 2019, we find 2.2% of the demand data in their database are missing. Additionally, 0.5% of reported quantities are either negative values or are otherwise identified as outliers. With the goal of attaining non-missing, continuous, and physically plausible demand data to facilitate analysis, we developed a screening process to identify anomalous values. We then applied a Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations (MICE) technique to impute replacements for missing and anomalous values. We conduct cross-validation on the MICE technique by marking subsets of plausible data as missing, and using the remaining data to predict this “missing” data. The mean absolute percentage error of imputed values is 3.5% across all BAs. The cleaned data are published and available open access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3690240 . Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12044736
Hydrothermal synthesis of carbon nanotube–titania composites for enhanced photocatalytic performance

Nanosized, well-dispersed titania particles were synthesized via a hydrothermal method using multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as structural modifiers during the nucleation process to decrease aggregation. Synthesized TiO2/MWCNT composites containing different amounts of MWCNTs were characterized using N2 physisorption, XRD, spectroscopic techniques (Raman, UV-visible, and X-ray photoelectron), and electron microscopy to illuminate the morphology, crystal structure, and surface chemistry of the composites. Photocatalytic performance was evaluated by measuring the degradation of acetaldehyde in a batch reactor under UV illumination. Average rate constants decrease in the following order: TiO2/MWCNT-1% > TiO2 > TiO2/MWCNT-5%. Addition of MWCNTs beyond the optimum loading ratio of 1:100 (MWCNT:TiO2) diminishes the effectiveness of the photocatalyst and the synergistic effect between MWCNTs and TiO2. The primary mechanism for photocatalytic activity enhancement in TiO2/MWCNT-1% is thought to be due to increased porosity, hydroxyl enrichment on the surface, and high dispersion of TiO2 particles.
Combinatorial deployment of F-actin regulators to build complex 3D actin structures in vivo

SUMMARY Despite extensive studies on the actin regulators that direct microfilament dynamics, how these regulators are combinatorially utilized in organismal tissues to generate 3D structures is an unresolved question. Here, we present an in-depth characterization of cortical actin cap dynamics and their regulation in vivo. We identify rapid phases of initiation, expansion, duplication and disassembly and examine the functions of 7 different Actin and/or Nucleator Regulators (ANRPs) in guiding these behaviors. We find ANRPs provide distinct but cooperative activities in building actin cap morphologies – specifically, while DPod1 is a major regulator of actin intensities, Cortactin is required for continued cortical growth, while Coronin functions in both growth and intensity and is required for Cortactin localization to the cap periphery. Unexpectedly, cortical actin populations recover more rapidly after regulator disruption, suggestive of a potential deep competition for limited G-actin pools, and we measure in vivo Arp2/3 recruitment efficiencies through an ectopic relocalization strategy. Our results illustrate how the coordination of multiple actin regulators can orchestrate organized and dynamic actin structures in an in vivo system.
Clinical Variables Associated With Statural Growth in Pediatric Crohn's Disease Differ by Sex (The Growth Study).

Background Statural growth impairment is more common in male patients with Crohn's disease (CD). We identified clinical variables associated with height z score differences by sex in children participating in the Growth Study, a prospective multicenter longitudinal study examining sex differences in growth impairment in pediatric CD. Methods Patients with CD (female patients with bone age [BA] ≥4 years 2 months and ≤12 years; male patients with BA ≥5 years and ≤14 years at screening) who had completed study visit 1 qualified. The height z score difference was computed as height z score based on chronological age minus height z score based on BA. Results One hundred thirteen patients with CD (36% female) qualified. The mean chronological age was 12.0 ± 1.8 (SD) years. The magnitude of the mean height z score difference was significantly greater in female patients (-0.9 ± 0.8) than in male patients (-0.5 ± 0.9; P = 0.021). An initial classification of inflammatory bowel disease as CD (P = 0.038) and perianal disease behavior at diagnosis (P = 0.009) were associated with higher standardized height gain with BA progression, and arthralgia at symptom onset (P = 0.016), azathioprine/6-merpcaptopurine (P = 0.041), and probiotics (P ≤ 0.021) were associated with lower standardized height gain with BA progression in female patients. Patient-reported poor growth at symptom onset (P = 0.001), infliximab (P ≤ 0.025), biologics (P ≤ 0.015), methotrexate (P = 0.042), and vitamin D (P ≤ 0.010) were associated with higher standardized height gain with BA progression, and initial classification as CD (P = 0.025) and anorexia (P = 0.005) or mouth sores (P = 0.004) at symptom onset were associated with lower standardized height gain with BA progression in male patients. Conclusions Different clinical variables were associated with statural growth in male patients vs female patients, suggesting that sex-specific molecular pathways lead to statural growth impairment in CD.
Weathering and transport of chromium and nickel from serpentinite in the Coast Range ophiolite to the Sacramento Valley, California, USA

Abstract A soil geochemical study in northern California was done to investigate the role that weathering and transport play in the regional distribution and mobility of geogenic Cr and Ni, which are both potentially toxic and carcinogenic. These elements are enriched in ultramafic rocks (primarily serpentinite) and the soils derived from them (1700–10,000 mg Cr per kg soil and 1300–3900 mg Ni per kg soil) in the Coast Range ophiolite. Chromium and Ni have been transported eastward from the Coast Range into the western Sacramento Valley and as a result, valley soil is enriched in Cr (80–1420 mg kg−1) and Ni (65–224 mg kg−1) compared to median values of U.S. soils of 50 and 15 mg kg−1, respectively. Nickel in ultramafic source rocks and soils is present in serpentine minerals (lizardite, antigorite, and chrysotile) and is more easily weathered compared to Cr, which primarily resides in highly refractory chromite ([Mg,Fe2+][Cr3+,Al,Fe3+]2O4). Although the majority of Cr and Ni in soils are in refractory chromite and serpentine minerals, the etching and dissolution of these minerals, presence of Cr- and Ni-enriched clay minerals and development of nanocrystalline Fe (hydr)oxides is evidence that a significant fractions of these elements have been transferred to potentially more labile phases.
eccSOFA: SOFA illness severity score adapted to predict in-hospital mortality in emergency critical care patients.

Abstract Background Boarding of ICU patients in the ED is increasing. Illness severity scores may help emergency physicians stratify risk to guide earlier transfer to the ICU and assess pre-ICU interventions by adjusting for baseline mortality risk. Most existing illness severity scores are based on data that is not available at the time of the hospital admission decision or cannot be extracted from the electronic health record (EHR). We adapted the SOFA score to create a new illness severity score (eccSOFA) that can be calculated at the time of ICU admission order entry in the ED using EHR data. We evaluated this score in a cohort of emergency critical care (ECC) patients at a single academic center over a period of 3 years. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study using EHR data to assess predictive accuracy of eccSOFA for estimating in-hospital mortality risk. The patient population included all adult patients who had a critical care admission order entered while in the ED of an academic medical center between 10/24/2013 and 9/30/2016. eccSOFA's discriminatory ability for in-hospital mortality was assessed using ROC curves. Results Of the 3912 patients whose in-hospital mortality risk was estimated, 2260 (57.8%) were in the low-risk group (scores 0–3), 1203 (30.8%) in the intermediate-risk group (scores 4–7), and 449 (11.5%) in the high-risk group (scores 8+). In-hospital mortality for the low-, intermediate, and high-risk groups was 4.2% (95%CI: 3.4–5.1), 15.5% (95% CI 13.5–17.6), and 37.9% (95% CI 33.4–42.3) respectively. The AUROC was 0.78 (95%CI: 0.75–0.80) for the integer score and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.72–0.77) for the categorical eccSOFA. Conclusions As a predictor of in-hospital mortality, eccSOFA can be calculated based on variables that are commonly available at the time of critical care admission order entry in the ED and has discriminatory ability that is comparable to other commonly used illness severity scores. Future studies should assess the calibration of our absolute risk predictions.
MicroRNA‑34a‑5p serves as a tumor suppressor by regulating the cell motility of bladder cancer cells through matrix metalloproteinase‑2 silencing

Bladder cancer (BC), a common urologic cancer, is the fifth most frequently diagnosed tumor worldwide. hsa‑miR‑34a displays antitumor activity in several types of cancer. However, the functional mechanisms underlying hsa‑miR‑34a in BC remains largely unknown. We observed that hsa‑mir‑34a levels were significantly and negatively associated with clinical disease stage as well as regional lymph node metastasis in human BC. In a series of in vitro investigations, overexpression of hsa‑miR‑34a inhibited cell migration and invasion in BC cell lines 5637 and UMUC3 as detected by Transwell assays. We further found that hsa‑miR‑34a inhibited cell migration and invasion by silencing matrix metalloproteinase‑2 (MMP‑2) expression and thus interrupting MMP‑2‑mediated cell motility. Our analysis of BC datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas database revealed a negative correlation between hsa‑miR‑34a and MMP‑2. Moreover, higher MMP‑2 protein expression was observed in the BC tissues when compared with that noted in the normal tissue. MMP‑2 levels were also significantly associated with clinical disease stage and poor survival rate in human BC. These findings indicate that MMP‑2 plays a critical role in regulating BC progression. Therefore, hsa‑miR‑34a is a promising treatment to target MMP‑2 for the prevention and inhibition of cell migration and invasion in BC.
Reliability of an Automated Computerized Hematoma Volumetric Analysis Protocol in Patients with Chronic Subdural Hemorrhage

Background Hematoma volume in chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) may predict neurologic deterioration and need for surgical evacuation. Several computer software–assisted methods exist for accurate volume measurements of intracerebral hemorrhage, but no reliable method has been identified for measurement of CSDH volume. Methods A total of 30 consecutive patients with CSDH from 2018–2019 admitted to our institution were selected. The noncontrast computed tomography head studies were reviewed by 2 residents. The region of interest method on a Horos Open Source Medical Image Viewer (version 3.3.6) was utilized for volume measurement by each resident (resident-1 and resident-2) independently. Resident-1 repeated the protocol on the same studies 1 month later. We calculated the intra- and interobserver reliability of hematoma volume measurements using the Bland–Altman method. Results Mean age of the patients was 79 years (range, 50–92 years). For interobserver analysis, resident-1 mean hematoma volume was 85.46 cm3 (range, 6.40–178.63 cm3) and was 87.15 cm3 (range, 8.79–165.97 cm3) for resident-2. The Bland–Altman coefficient of variation was 13.15% (range, 0.07%–46.29%, 97% within the limits of acceptance). For intraobserver analysis, the initial average volume measured by resident-1 was 85.46 cm3 (range, 6.40–178.63 cm3) and subsequent was 95.26 cm3 (range, 10.48–182.99 cm3). The Bland–Altman coefficient of variation was 13.76% (range, 0.81%–48.34%, 97% within the limits of acceptance). Conclusions We are reporting inter- and intraobserver reliability for a novel volumetric analysis of CSDH volume using Horos Medical Image Viewer region of interest generated volume calculation. This method is accurate and efficient and could have important clinical and research implications for risk stratification.
A Lightweight Delay-based Authentication Scheme for DMA Attack Mitigation

With the extensive application of the Direct Memory Access (DMA) technique, the efficiency of data transfer between the peripheral and the host machine has been improved dramatically. However, these optimizations also introduce security vulnerabilities and expose the process of data transmission to DMA attacks that utilize the feature of direct access to steal the data stored in the live memory on the victim system. In this paper, we propose a lightweight scheme to provide resilience to DMA attacks without physical and protocol-level modification. The proposed scheme constructs a unique identifier for each DMA-supported PCIe device based on profiling time and builds a trusted database for authentication. The experimental result shows that the proposed methodology eliminates most of the noise produced in the measuring process for identifier construction and the success rate of authentication is 100% for all the devices.
Rhizobial adhesives enhance nodule formation in sunn hemp

ABSTRACT Inoculation of legume seed with rhizobacteria before planting is an efficient and convenient way of introducing effective rhizobacteria to soil vicinity of legume root and ensuring nitrogen fixation in cover cropped field. However, there are still challenges in identifying the proper seed coating technique to ensure microbial survival in adverse environmental conditions and maintaining the symbiotic relation with plants. The objectives of this study are firstly, to analyze the effectiveness of different sticking agents aiding inoculation of Bradyrhizobium japonicum L. in sunn hemp seeds to enhance root nodule formation. Secondly, to observe nodulation pattern over time as affected by the treatment and lastly to check if there is significant difference between main root and lateral root nodulation pattern due to the treatments. Two similar field studies were conducted in fall 2019 and summer 2020 using four sticking agents: water, peanut oil, 10% jaggery solution, and 40% gum arabic solution. The fall study showed no significant differences among total nodules across treatments, but percentage of active nodules was highest in the oil treatment and lowest in the water treatment. In the summer study, significantly higher total nodules were seen in the jaggery treatment and the lowest was in water treatment again, however, there were no differences in percentage of total active nodules across treatments. Interestingly, the trend across weeks showed gum arabic treatment exhibiting higher main root nodulation and jaggery treatment exhibiting higher lateral root nodulation. Overall, water as an adhesive was less effective in aiding nodulation compared to other treatments. Peanut oil and jaggery showed better performance as adhesives aiding active nodulation and could be more effective than gum arabic or water.
Hypothetical Recommendation: A Study of Interactive Profile Manipulation Behavior for Recommender Systems

Explanation and dynamic feedback given to a user during the recommendation process can influence user experience. Despite this, many real-world recommender systems separate profile updates and feedback, obfuscating the relationship between them. This paper studies the effects of what we call hypothetical recommendations. These are recommendations generated by low-cost, exploratory profile manipulations, or "what-if" scenarios. In particular, we evaluate the effects of dynamic feedback from the recommender system on profile manipulations, the resulting recommendations and the user's overall experience. Results from a user experiment (N=129) suggest that (i) dynamic feedback improves the effectiveness of profile updates, (ii) when dynamic feedback is present, users can identify and remove items that contribute to poor recommendations, (iii) profile update tasks improve perceived accuracy of recommendations and trust in the recommender, regardless of actual recommendation accuracy.