cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Agriculture's impact on microbial diversity and associated fluxes of carbon dioxide and methane

Agriculture has marked impacts on the production of carbon dioxide (CO2) and consumption of methane (CH4) by microbial communities in upland soils—Earth's largest biological sink for atmospheric CH4. To determine whether the diversity of microbes that catalyze the flux of these greenhouse gases is related to the magnitude and stability of these ecosystem-level processes, we conducted molecular surveys of CH4-oxidizing bacteria (methanotrophs) and total bacterial diversity across a range of land uses and measured the in situ flux of CH4 and CO2 at a site in the upper United States Midwest. Conversion of native lands to row-crop agriculture led to a sevenfold reduction in CH4 consumption and a proportionate decrease in methanotroph diversity. Sites with the greatest stability in CH4 consumption harbored the most methanotroph diversity. In fields abandoned from agriculture, the rate of CH4 consumption increased with time along with the diversity of methanotrophs. Conversely, estimates of total bacterial diversity in soil were not related to the rate or stability of CO2 emission. These combined results are consistent with the expectation that microbial diversity is a better predictor of the magnitude and stability of processes catalyzed by organisms with highly specialized metabolisms, like CH4 oxidation, as compared with processes driven by widely distributed metabolic processes, like CO2 production in heterotrophs. The data also suggest that managing lands to conserve or restore methanotroph diversity could mitigate the atmospheric concentrations of this potent greenhouse gas.
Prospective Comparison of Cisterna Chyli Ablation to Pericardectomy for Treatment of Spontaneously Occurring Idiopathic Chylothorax in the Dog

Objective Prospective comparison of cisterna chyli ablation (CCA) or pericardectomy (PC) for chylothorax. Study Design Randomized prospective study. Subject Population Dogs with idiopathic chylothorax (n= 23). Methods Dogs were treated by thoracic duct ligation (TDL) with either CCA (n = 12) or PC (n = 11). Long-term outcomes, intraoperative central venous pressures (CVPs) and pericardial histology were assessed. Dogs with persistent chylothorax were offered retreatment by the alternative procedure. Results Ten (83%) dogs treated by CCA-TDL and 6 (60%) treated by PC-TDL resolved their chylothorax. Retreatment in 4 dogs resulted in resolution in 2 dogs and 2 perioperative deaths. Four dogs developed nonchylous effusions; 2 of which resolved after initiating steroid therapy, 1 of which was unsuccessfully treated by PC, and 1 continues to be managed by thoracocentesis 6.5 years later. CVPs were normal in most dogs and unaffected by PC. On histology, pericardial tissues had extensive external surface fibrosis with mild inflammation. On follow-up (≤6.5 years), no recurrence of pleural effusions occurred after initial resolution. Conclusions CCA-TDL appears to offer improved outcomes over historical results with TDL. Results with PC-TDL were more variable for unknown reasons. Venous pressure measurements did not support the hypothesis that venous hypertension was involved in chylothorax or response to therapy in these dogs.
The use of a discharge tube for the transmission of speech

One of the chief defects of the “speaking arc” as used by H. Th. Simon in 1898, was its failure to reproduce in a satisfactory manner high-pitched tones. This failure was obviously due to the thermal inertia of the arc.The minuteness of the mass of the electron, and for that matter of the atom, suggested the substitution of an ordinary discharge tube for the electric arc. A tube of special construction containing a trace of a mixture of helium and neon was used and the substitution met with marked success, the high notes coming through much more clearly than in the case of the arc, sibilants like s and c being distinguishable from one another and voices being recognizable. Quantitative comparisons furthermore confirmed the superiority of the discharge tube over the arc.
Detection and Quantification of β2AR Internalization in Living Cells Using FAP-Based Biosensor Technology

Ligand-dependent receptor internalization is a feature of numerous signaling systems. In this article, the authors describe a new kind of live-cell biosensor of receptor internalization that takes advantage of fluorogen-activating protein (FAP) technology. Recombinant genes that express the human beta2 adrenergic receptor (beta2AR) with FAP domains at their extracellular N-termini were transduced into mammalian cells. Exposure of the cells to membrane-impermeant fluorogens led to a strong fluorescent signal from the cell surface. Agonist-dependent translocation of the receptor from the surface to the cell interior was readily observed and quantified by fluorescence microscopy or flow cytometry in a homogeneous format without wash or separation steps. The approach described here is generalizable to other receptors and cell surface proteins and is adaptable to a variety of fluorescence-based high-throughput screening platforms.
Physical modeling of spiral inductors on silicon

This paper presents a physical model for planar spiral inductors on silicon, which accounts for eddy current effect in the conductor, crossover capacitance between the spiral and center-tap, capacitance between the spiral and substrate, substrate ohmic loss, and substrate capacitance. The model has been confirmed with measured results of inductors having a wide range of layout and process parameters. This scalable inductor model enables the prediction and optimization of inductor performance.
Joint analysis of bivariate longitudinal ordinal outcomes and competing risks survival times with nonparametric distributions for random effects

We propose a semiparametric joint model for bivariate longitudinal ordinal outcomes and competing risks failure time data. The association between the longitudinal and survival endpoints is captured by latent random effects. This approach generalizes previous joint analysis that considers only one response variable at the longitudinal endpoint. One unique feature of the proposed model is that we relax the commonly used normality assumption for random effects and leave the distribution completely unspecified. We use a modified version of the vertex exchange method in conjunction with an expectation-maximization algorithm to estimate the random effects distribution and model parameters. We show via simulations that robust parameter estimates are obtained from the proposed method under various scenarios. We illustrate the approach using cough severity and frequency data from a scleroderma lung study.
REVIEW: Use of a web-based nutrient-requirement-calculation system to assess potential influences of various factors on nutrient needs of goats while grazing

Many factors affect the nutrition of goats while grazing, and their influences can be assessed with an interactive webbased nutrient-requirement-calculation system to determine the quantity and composition of supplement required for desired levels of performance. Among areas identified as being of special importance to goats in grazing settings are the activity energy cost and lack of methods to predict forage intake. Relatedly, goats can consume diets very different in nutritive value than the average of vegetation available, and there has been insufficient research to accurately predict the quality of the actual diet ingested. Equations to project associative effects between feedstuffs have been proposed but not evaluated. Previous nutritional plane can have a substantial effect on energy requirements, with greater fluctuations in the nutritional plane and maintenance energy need during the year for grazing relative to confinement settings. Likewise, based on some findings with sheep, internal parasitism influences both energy and protein requirements, the effect of which may increase as the problem of anthelmintic resistance worsens. There are many plant secondary metabolites consumed by goats in varying quantities that can affect feed intake, digestion, metabolism, and other physiological conditions, with the nature of changes influencing nutritional conditions most limiting to performance. In summary, special attention should be given in future research to conditions affecting nutrition that differ between grazing and confined goats, although factors important to both grazing and confined animals also should be considered.
Ceforanide vs Cefoxitin Antimicrobial Prophylaxis for Cesarean Section

AbstractIn a comparative double—blind trial patients with ruptured membranes prior to cesarean delivery were randomly assigned to prophylaxis with either a single 1-g dose of ceforanide or three 2-g doses of cefoxitin. Three (5%) of 59 patients treated with ceforanide developed operative site infections, as did 6 (21%) of 28 patients who received cefoxitin. None of the patients had non—operative site infections. One patient in each group experienced minor drug-related adverse effects. Both drugs were effective in preventing post—cesarean infections. The convenience of a single 1-g dose of ceforanide and the potential cost savings achievable with its use are factors that favor choosing ceforanide for cesarean section prophylaxis.
Growth as the Root of all Evil in Carcinomas: Synergy between pH Buffering and Anti-Angiogenesis Prevents Emergence of Hallmarks of Cancer

The term “cancef’ is applied to a wide variety of illnesses that stem from uncontrolled growth of cells originating within the host. Cancer leads to death when the tumor burden is sufficiently large to interfere with the normal physiological functions. Each tumor is itself, a heterogeneous collection of habitats, predominantly due to variability in blood flow and cellular populations that exploit multiple different survival mechanisms and adaptive strategies. The resulting spatial and temporal heterogeneity typically foils cancer treatment, so that complete eradication of the cancer cells is only rarely observed and, indeed, may simply be impossible. All cancers, however, retain several conserved traits, or hallmarks, which represent convergent evolution of cellular strategies that are indispensible for malignancy. In this article we study the evolution of different strategies during solid tumor growth and invasion of the stroma. Using spatial computational models, we simulated the growth of phe- notypically heterogeneous tumor populations within multiple microenvironmental habitats formed by variations inblood flow. The simulations demonstrate the dynamics by which hypoxia, pH and nutrient gradients formed during tumor growth, affect the choice among different cellular adaptive strategies: invasion/migration, proliferation, quiescence, and angiogenesis. We propose that the canonical hallmarks of cancer stem from the natural environmental pressures imposed by the tumor-host microenvironment during tumor growth, and that the use of treatments that remove or relieve these selective pressures, as opposed to exacerbating them or killing as many cancer cells as possible, may induce tumor dormancy, and lead to more benefits than aggressive therapy in cases of currently incurable cancers.
On the explicit formula related to Riemann's zeta-function

In 1940, Weil [Sur les fonctions algebriques a corps de constantes finis, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris210 (1940) 592–594] proved the Riemann hypothesis for curves over finite fields. It follows from the Castelnuovo–Severi defect inequality concerning correspondences between algebraic curves (see [A. Mattuck and J. Tate, On the inequality of Castelnuovo–Severi, Abh. Math. Sem. Univ. Hamburg22 (1958) 295–299]). An important step in the proof of Castelnuovo–Severi's defect inequality is the invariance of the Castelnuovo–Severi defect under trivial correspondences, so that the degree of divisors can be modified by adding multiples of trivial correspondences. In the number field case, the Weil distribution Δ(h) (see [A. Weil, Sur les formules explicites de la theorie des nombres, Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR Ser. Mat.36 (1972) 3–18]) corresponds to the Castelnuovo–Severi defect. Functions of the form ∑ξ∈K* f(ξx) with f in the Schwartz–Bruhat space S(&#x1d538;)0 correspond to trivial correspondences. In this paper, we show that the two terms and in the Weil distribution can be chosen to be zero by adding "trivial correspondences" to h while keeping the Weil distribution essentially unchanged. As an application of this result, the Weil distribution is expressed as the spectral trace of an operator on a Hilbert space.
Effect of Garlic, Onion, and their Combination on the Quality and Sensory Characteristics of Irradiated Raw Ground Beef

Irradiated raw ground beef had lower a*- and b*-valuesthan nonirradiated ones regardless of garlic or onion treatment at 0 d. Irradiation increased TBARS values of control ground beef, but addition of 0.5% onion or 0.1% garlic + 0.5% onion reduced oxidative changes during storage. Addition of garlic or onion greatly increased the amounts of sulfur compounds, but the increase was greater with garlic. With irradiation, the profiles and amounts of Svolatiles in raw ground beef changed significantly. However,the intensity of irradiation aroma in irradiated raw ground beef with garlic or onion was similar to that of the nonirradiated control. This indicated that some of the sulfur compounds unique to garlic or onion interacted with common sulfur compounds detected in irradiated meat and masked or changed the odor characteristics of irradiated raw ground beef. It was concluded that > 0.5% onion or < 0.01% garlic would be needed to mask or prevent irradiation aromain irradiated raw ground beef.
Growth of High Quality Fluorinated Silicon Dioxide for Thin Film Transistors

Thin film transistors(TFT) in microcrystalline and amorphous Si require high quality gate insulators that can be grown at low temperatures. In this paper, we show that one can oxidize Si wafers to produce high quality fluorinated silicon dioxide gate insulator using a low pressure remote plasma. The insulating film was grown on c-Si substrates using a low pressure ECR oxygen plasma, with small quantities of fluorine added to the mixture. Helium was used as the carrier gas for both oxygen and fluorine. The growth temperatures were in the range of 400–450 C. MOS type capacitors were made to judge the quality of the oxide/semiconductor interface, and interface defect densities were measured using capacitance-voltage techniques. It was found that when no fluorine was present in the oxide, the interface defect density was ∼1–2 × 1011/cm2 eV. The addition of F2 to oxygen immediately reduced the defect density by an order of magnitude, to ∼1.5 × 1010/cm2eV. The addition of more F2 slowly increased the defect density. Thermal cycling measurements showed that the semiconductor/oxide interface is very stable under cycling.
Waiter, There's an IRS Agent in My Soup

In the late 1960's, the IRS achieved an auditing breakthrough in discovering unreported tip income, using a method first developed at the Seattle Space Needle Restaurant. This technique was applied and expanded cross-country, notably at the Resorts International Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ. Later, in 1982, Congress entered the fray, mandating that aggregate tips of at least 8% of gross sales had to be reported, by someone, in those establishments at which tipping was customary. The promulgation of proposed regulations ignited angry protests from restaurant employees all across the country. As a result, many restaurants attempted to abolish tipping, substituting a mandatory "service charge" instead.This article tells the political story of the IRS, Congressional, and Treasury campaigns, and the protests that followed.
Detecting benzodiazepines: immunoassays compared with negative chemical ionization gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

We tested 231 urine samples by six immunoassay methods--EMIT d.a.u., EMIT II, Roche Abuscreen Online, Abbott TDx, Diagnostic Products Corp. (DPC) double-antibody radioimmunoassay (RIA), and Biosite Triage--and by negative chemical ionization gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to determine how the immunoassays performed on samples selected for suspected benzodiazepine use (n = 100) and in random urine drug screening (n = 131). In general, all of the assays were successful in detecting oxazepam and related metabolites, even at concentrations below the stated cutoffs. However, the negative predictive value of benzodiazepine immunoassays for samples selected for suspected benzodiazepine use ranged from 86% to 96%. A primary difference between the test kits was the ability of DPC RIA and Triage to detect lorazepam when other assays did not. Contrary to previous reports, pretreatment of specimens with glucuronidase was not necessary to detect oxazepam-related metabolites with these immunoassays.
Evaluation of Renal Function after Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy—Does the Number of Percutaneous Access Tracts Matter?

Purpose: Renal function following percutaneous nephrolithotomy has long been a concern to urologists, especially in the setting of multi-tract access. We determined whether the risk of renal injury after multi-tract percutaneous nephrolithotomy was greater than after a single access approach.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 307 consecutive patients treated with percutaneous nephrolithotomy from 2011 to 2012 at Wake Forest Health. Perioperative 99mTc-mercaptoacetyltriglycine nuclear renogram parameters along with serum creatinine values were assessed within 1 year of the procedure. Patients were stratified by single access vs multi-access (2 or more).Results: We identified 110 cases in which renography was done before and after percutaneous nephrolithotomy. A total of 74 patients (67.3%) underwent single access percutaneous nephrolithotomy while 36 (32.7%) underwent multi-access percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Serum creatinine did not significantly differ between the 2 cohort...
A phase II trial of isotretinoin and alpha interferon in patients with recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix: A Gynecologic Oncology Group study

From January 1993 through January 1996, 37 patients with unresectable squamous carcinoma of the cervix were entered on study and scheduled to receive oral isotretinoin I mg/kg per day with subcutaneous alpha interferon 6,000,000 units/ day. A course was defined as 4 continuous weeks of therapy. The mean number of four-course cycles delivered was 1.8. One patient was ineligible because of wrong cell type and two were never treated. Thus, 34 patients were evaluable for toxicity. Eight patients were inevaluable for response. Five did not receive a complete 4-week course and three did not have additional tumor measurements; thus 26 were evaluable for response. Prior radiotherapy had been given to 25 patients and prior chemotherapy to 23 patients. There was no grade 4 neutropenia. The incidence of Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) grade 3 granulocytopenia and thrombocytopenia was 8.8% and 5.8%, respectively. Six patients (17.6%) developed grade 3 or worse nausea and vomiting. Four (11.7%) patients developed grade 3 neurologic symptoms. There were no complete responses and one partial response. The overall response rate was 3.8% (95% confidence interval, 0.1-19.6%). In this pretreated population, isotretinoin and alpha interferon in the dose and schedule employed exhibit minimal activity.
South Africa Case Study: NGO Capacity Building and Sustainability

Worldwide more than 1 billion people lack a safe water supply. Social entrepreneurs, Non-Government Organization's (NGO) and multinational corporations conducting ventures serving the world's poor need more than financials and feel-good stories to measure success. They need to factor sustainability, local cultural respect, collaborative engagement and organization development principles. This case study provides organizational, technical and cultural events surrounding the provision of clean water in South Africa. The purpose of the case study is to identify capacity building opportunities and sustainability shortfalls by PlayPump International, a globally recognized NGO. Given the billions of dollars spent, available research material and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) suggested best practices. Specific shortfalls may be the result of from organizational mismanagement to resolve decades old problems. Another element to consider is the goodwill efforts of donor organization for more accountabilit...
Heroes, villains and fools, as agents of social control.

SOCIAL types comprise a relatively unappreciated field of popular culture. Though certain ones have been intensively studied from special points of view and the role of stereotypes has been long recognized, there has been little effort to catalog, classify, or even adequately consider the vast number of highly significant types to be found in common speech, jokes, comics, popular fiction, folklore and the like. These conceptions, appearing wherever the popular mind finds expression, are truly collective in nature rather than the property of individual authors, "coins" of thought as Sumner phrased it, serving to express group judgments, facilitate consensus, and define roles. This article is concerned with three especially significant generic figures, the hero, villain and fool, and aims to state a theory of their normative nature, role as
State of the Developing World: PPP Income, Catching-Up/Falling Behind, and No Growth

Short AbstractUsing the new PWT, that for the first time permit income comparisons overtime too, and defining growth for followers as catching-up, the developing world (excluding China and one or two countries) consisting of 99/100 countries with 3.9/4.0b. population has not shown any growth since either 1951 or 1971.Long AbstractThis paper takes the view country of residence matters. It distinguishes the catch up of a country’s income to the frontier from studies of absolute poverty and of global inter-personal distribution of income. It uses the real GDP estimates from the new generation of PWT that for the first time permit real GDP comparisons not only across countries but also over time. There has been no assessment of catch-up either in the past decade or using the new PWT. Following the neo-classical “advantage of backwardness,” i.e., the advantage followers have to simply bring in ideas to create value already in use in the leaders, it defines growth for developing countries as catching up. It defines a catch up index, and computes it for all developing countries since 1951; or since the country became independent - if it became independent after 1951. It suggests growth should be examined over a period longer than 20 years due to unusual events that may last a decade or more. More than half the developing countries have fallen behind since their base year. To assess catch-up of developing countries as a group, it prefers using the population weighted geometric mean (GM). It uses 1971 and 1991 as alternative base years. It shows the developing world (excluding China and one or two countries) consisting of 99/100 countries with 3.9/4.0b. population in 2010 has not achieved any growth since either 1951 or 1971. At the same time, divergence of their incomes has increased continuously. If usable data for 12 countries excluded due to lack of data were available, the developing world’s overall catch-up would decrease and their divergence of incomes would increase. Of the 30 best performers during 1991-2010, ten fell-behind and six did not catch-up faster than 0.5 annually when their performance is examined over either 1971-2010 or 1951-2010 periods. Fast catch-up for 20 years does not mean take-off to self-sustained growth over the long-term. Citing recent estimate of more than a trillion dollars of illicit capital outflows from developing and emerging markets each year, it suggests institutions and structural factors may matter the most.
Debunking the Librarian "Gene": Designing Online Information Literacy Instruction for Incoming Library Science Students.

Information workers are not born information fluent. Like other students, incoming library science students enter graduate programs with a broad range of information and technology skills. The aim of this study was to determine if systematically designed online tutorials would be effective in preparing university students with information literacy skills. A needs assessment was conducted to identify what information and technology skills faculty expected of entering library students. A series of 46 online tutorials were used to address the required competencies. Pre-tests were designed to determine whether a particular student needed to complete a given tutorial. Post-tests and proficiency projects were used to determine whether students reached mastery. The results of the study indicated that this type of individualized instruction was effective in preparing library science students with information literacy skills. While the study focused on the library science program, the results may have applications for other types of information literacy instruction. There is a need to expand this individualized, self-paced tutorial approach to other information literacy courses in other disciplines.
Biased signaling at neural melanocortin receptors in regulation of energy homeostasis

The global prevalence of obesity highlights the importance of understanding on regulation of energy homeostasis. The central melanocortin system is an important intersection connecting the neural pathways controlling satiety and energy expenditure to regulate energy homeostasis by sensing and integrating the signals of external stimuli. In this system, neural melanocortin receptors (MCRs), melanocortin-3 and -4 receptors (MC3R and MC4R), play crucial roles in the regulation of energy homeostasis. Recently, multiple intracellular signaling pathways and biased signaling at neural MCRs have been discovered, providing new insights into neural MCR signaling. This review attempts to summarize biased signaling including biased receptor mutants (both naturally occurring and lab-generated) and biased ligands at neural MCRs, and to provide a better understanding of obesity pathogenesis and new therapeutic implications for obesity treatment.
Use of the Pre-Post Method to Measure Cost Savings in Disease Management

The US disease management (DM) industry continues to endorse the use of the methodologically flawed pre-post design to evaluate financial outcomes, which regularly reports returns on investment of up to 8:1. This is in sharp contrast to the peer-reviewed literature and large Medicare demonstration projects that generally report little, if any, cost savings from DM. The industry defends the practice of using the pre-post evaluation design by suggesting that measuring total healthcare costs at the diseased-population level eliminates regression to the mean and accounts for indirect changes in physician behavior. The industry further argues that equivalent and concurrent control groups are not available and that instead, a cost trend of the non-diseased population should be used to provide equivalence. This article illustrates the fallacies of these arguments and demonstrates how the pre-post technique elicits financial results generally favoring the DM program. Given that the continued use and support of this methodology serves only to propagate the concerns over the financial value of DM, it is time that a collective decision be made as to whether maximizing short-term profits is worth jeopardizing the long-term viability of the entire industry. Additionally as important, other healthcare systems around the world are looking to the US DM industry for guidance as they ponder the introduction of DM in their own countries. The inability of DM to accurately measure and achieve financial savings may be inhibiting the widespread initiation of future DM programs.
Let's ask Jim In memory of James Michael Penman (1950–2016)

For the growing community of professionals who, as part of their routine work, make use of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidance on greenhouse gas inventories, it is hard to...
Gastric and Enteral Access for Feeding in Critically Ill Patients

The purpose of this study is to review recent advancements, trends, and recommendations in gastric and enteral feeding with a focus on critically ill patients. Enteral feeding continues to serve as the mainstay for nutritional support in critically ill patients and is favored over parenteral nutrition, though recent trials suggest no substantial difference in outcomes between the two methods. Radiologic and endoscopic guidance remain the most common methods for enteral access. Additionally, recent advancements in enteral access technique and trials on best practices for timing and composition of nutritional support in critically ill patients continue to reduce complications, improve outcomes, and reduce cost. Nutritional support improves outcomes in critically ill patients, and the safe and durable establishment of enteral access is an important component in the care of these patients.
Taking a Bite Out of the Crime Issue: Congressional Candidates and Partisan Benefits:

This article examines the common assertion that the Republican Party “owns” the issue of crime, which holds that the party has garnered electoral support when crime is a salient political issue. Competing explanations about the origins of the American public’s crime concern are tested in an electoral context. Utilizing data on races for the U.S. House of Representatives and races for the U.S. Senate held from 1974 to 2008, the analyses show that increased salience of crime has provided electoral benefits for Republican candidates. Furthermore, they show that Republicans have increased these gains by responsively catering their message to the issue at times of peak concern. Altogether, the results provide support for Republican issue ownership of crime.
Does Nutrition Education with Fruit and Vegetable Supplementation Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Improve Anthropometrics of Overweight or Obese People of Varying Socioeconomic Status

Fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake is inadequate and obesity is more prevalent among adults of lower socioeconomic status (SES) in the United States. The effect of nutrition education and F/V supplementation on F/V intake and anthropometrics of overweight or obese adults of varying SES was determined. F/V intake was not different between the nutrition education and F/V supplementation groups. Individuals with a graduate degree had significant improvements in fruit intake. Few of the improvements in anthropometrics seen were significant. Future research should focus on specific barriers to F/V intake and include information on total energy intake and expenditure.
HIV Care After Jail: Low Rates of Engagement in a Vulnerable Population.

The criminal justice system is a critical area of focus to improve HIV outcomes and reduce health disparities. We analyzed demographic, incarceration, socioeconomic, and clinical data for HIV-positive persons released to the community from the Dallas County Jail (1450 incarcerations, 1111 unique individuals) between January 2011 and November 2013. The study population was 68% black and 14% Hispanic; overall linkage to care within 90 days of release was 34%. In adjusted analyses, Hispanics were more likely to link than whites (aOR 2.33 [95% CI: 1.55–3.50]), and blacks were as likely to link as whites (aOR 1.14 [95% CI: 0.84–1.56]). The majority of HIV-positive jail releases did not re-engage in HIV care after release, though Hispanics were twice as likely as other groups to link to care. Further efforts are needed to improve the transition from jail to community HIV care with particular attention to issues of housing, mental illness, and substance use.
When it is not just DKA; diabetic ketoacidosis as a first presentation of pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer related-deaths in the United States. Early symptoms of pancreatic cancer are nonspecific, and most cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage. DKA as a first presentation of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a seldom reported condition. We present a case of a 59 year old female with type 2 diabetes, who presented to the emergency department with confusion, abdominal pain, polyuria and polydipsia. Laboratory workup showed a high anion gap metabolic acidosis and a blood glucose level of 419 mg/dl with positive serum ketones. She was diagnosed with DKA and admitted to the ICU. A CT abdomen/pelvis was performed to assess for pancreatic pathology as her DKA took longer time to resolve, it showed a pancreatic mass with multiple lesions in the liver. She had biopsies done which were positive for poorly differentiated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. DKA occurs less commonly in patients with type 2 diabetes. Common precipitating factors for DKA in type 2 diabetes include medication noncompliance, infection, or possibly treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors. DKA as a first presentation of pancreatic cancer has been reported more with endocrine islet cell tumors but rarely with adenocarcinoma of the exocrine pancreas. Studies have shown that diabetes is an independent risk factor for development of pancreatic cancer. Other studies suggested that diabetes might be a result of pancreatic cancer or a paraneoplastic effect. One study suggested that diabetes associated with pancreatic cancer occurs at a resectable stage of the disease.
The Course of Paul’s Career

Garroway reconstructs Paul’s career using Paul’s epistles alone. Crucial to this reconstruction is Garroway’s insistence on the so-called “early” mission to Macedonia and Achaea—that is, missions to Philippi, Thessaloniki, Corinth, and Athens before Paul’s return to Jerusalem for the apostolic conference. Only this reconstruction accounts for Paul’s formulation of the gospel midway through his career and for the tremendous controversy the gospel elicited.
Introducing Hierarchical Clustering with Real Time Stream Reasoning into Semantic-Enabled IoT

Today, most of the IoT platforms including the standardizations for them are encountering a new stage called "Semantic Interoperability" which is expected to promise the intensive analytics and high level cross-domain intelligence in future. Although multiple IoT platforms such as oneM2M and OPC UA developed the outline architectures for IoT semantic implementation, the large cost on manual semantic annotation, ontology construction and metadata transferring hinder the practical use of these architectures. Efficient data aggression and computing perception for automatic semantic annotation and ontology learning become urgent for solving this problem. This paper did an exploratory investigation into these present researches and the future of semantic-enabled IoT. Real time stream reasoning technology and hierarchical clustering technology for automatic semantic annotation and reducing the semantic meta-data traffic are analyzed. The potential ways these two kinds of technologies can be combined and the possible benefits are estimated. A software architecture for facilitating these technologies in IoT is designed with introducing the respectively analyzed related algorithms and methodologies.
Effect of Rosuvastatin on Acute Kidney Injury in Sepsis-Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Background:Acute kidney injury (AKI) commonly occurs in patients with sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).Objective:To investigate whether statin treatment is protective against A...
Reduced Free Energy Perturbation/Hamiltonian Replica Exchange Molecular Dynamics Method with Unbiased Alchemical Thermodynamic Axis.

Replica-exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) has been proven to efficiently improve the convergence of free-energy perturbation (FEP) calculations involving considerable reorganization of their surrounding. We previously introduced the FEP/(λ,H)-REMD algorithm for ligand binding, in which replicas along the alchemical thermodynamic coupling axis λ were expanded as a series of Hamiltonian boosted replicas along a second axis to form a two-dimensional replica-exchange exchange map [Jiang, W.; Roux, B., J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2010, 6 (9), 2559–2565]. Aiming to achieve a similar performance at a lower computational cost, we propose here a modified version of this algorithm in which only the end-states along the alchemical axis are augmented by boosted replicas. The reduced FEP/(λ,H)-REMD method with one-dimensional unbiased alchemical thermodynamic coupling axis λ is implemented on the basis of generic multiple copy algorithm (MCA) module of the biomolecular simulation program NAMD. The flexible MCA framework ...
Aortic root anatomy as a factor in the fluid mechanics of transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Aortic valve and root geometries influence sinus hemodynamic parameters after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
Transcriptomic Analysis of Histone Methyltransferase Setd7 Knockdown and Phenethyl Isothiocyanate in Human Prostate Cancer Cells.

Background/aim Transcriptomic analysis was performed to evaluate the differential gene expression profiles of Setd7 knockdown (KD) and the effects of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in human prostate cancer (PCa) LNCaP cells. Materials and methods RNA isolated from wild-type and Setd7-KD LNCaP cells in the presence or absence of PEITC was subjected to microarray analysis followed by Ingenuity® Pathway Analysis (IPA). Results Setd7 KD impacted a larger set of genes and caused a higher fold change compared to PEITC treatment. Several signaling pathways were altered particularly inflammation-related TNFR signaling and PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling by Setd7 KD and PEITC. Interestingly, PEITC and Setd7 KD at a small subset of genes that could be potential molecular targets. Conclusion This study offers new insights into the mechanisms of action of the epigenetic modifier Setd7 and the effects of PEITC treatment in PCa cells and enhances our understanding of the potential cancer preventive/treatment effects of isothiocyanate compounds such as PEITC in PCa.
A Soft Thermal Modulation and Physiological Sensing System for Neuro-Vascular Assessment

A non-invasive, soft, thermal modulation system was designed and evaluated for use in physiological experiments to assess neuro-vascular health. The system stimulates biomechanisms involved in thermoregulation by varying the temperature of the skin with a soft, fluidically-controlled thermal pad. The silicone-based thermal pad was strategically embedded with graphite particles to improve the base thermal conductivity. The temperature control mechanism was achieved by implementing a proportional-integral control loop with feedback from a thermistor in touch with the skin. To verify the system operation, physiological signals were collected from a human subject to monitor local blood volume changes and autonomic nervous system activity in response to temperature modulation. The mechanisms associated with thermoregulation were quantified by extracting features from the measured biosignals. This work compares the design of the soft, fluid-based system to a previous rigid design. The presented design reduces the mass of the on-body system and eliminates painful pressure on the skin, while inducing physiological modulation as shown by the bio-signal results. The system provides a wearable interface for a multitude of physiology experiments that could require temperature modulation.
Kinetic Analysis of Lesions Identified on a Rapid Abridged Multiphase (RAMP) Breast MRI Protocol.

Rationale and Objectives We implemented a rapid abridged multiphase (RAMP) breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol to reduce scan time and increase workflow efficiency. In this study, we compared delayed-phase kinetic analyses of benign and malignant lesions on the RAMP protocol versus a full dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI protocol. Materials and Methods Consecutive breast MRI examinations obtained from October 2015 to August 2016 with tissue diagnoses of suspicious MRI lesions were identified. RAMP MRI included one precontrast and two postcontrast phases. Full DCE MRI included one precontrast and at least three postcontrast phases. Lesion kinetic analyses including mean delayed-phase volume percentage of washout, predominant curve type, and worst curve type were assessed. Kinetic analyses assessed on RAMP and DCE MRI protocols were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Chi-Square test. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to discriminate benign and malignant lesions based on delayed-phase parameters. Results The study included 177 consecutive breast lesions (50 benign, 127 malignant) in 162 women. RAMP MRI (23 benign, 61 malignant) and DCE MRI examinations (27 benign, 66 malignant) demonstrated 8.4% vs 9.3% washout (p = 0.36) for benign lesions and 18.5% vs 17% washout (p = 0.66) for malignancies, respectively. There was no difference in the predominant and worst curve types for malignant and benign lesions or in area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for delayed-phased parameters between the two protocols (p > 0.05). Conclusion Lesion kinetic analyses from the RAMP MRI protocol can achieve the same discriminatory ability as the full DCE protocol. By reducing scan time, the RAMP MRI protocol improves patient comfort and enhances workflow efficiency and can be easily implemented in any clinical setting.
An Interfacial Sodium Ion is an Essential Structural Feature of Fluc Family Fluoride Channels.

Abstract Fluc family fluoride channels are assembled as primitive antiparallel homodimers. Crystallographic studies revealed a cation bound at the center of the protein, where it is coordinated at the dimer interface by main chain carbonyl oxygen atoms from the midmembrane breaks in two corresponding transmembrane helices. Here, we show that this cation is a stably bound sodium ion, and although it is not a transported substrate, its presence is required for the channel to adopt an open, fluoride-conducting conformation. The interfacial site is selective for sodium over other cations, except for Li+, which competes with Na+ for binding, but does not support channel activity. The strictly structural role fulfilled by this sodium provides new context to understand the structures, mechanisms, and evolutionary origins of widespread Na+-coupled transporters.
High-temperature low-pressure chemical vapor deposition of β-Ga2O3

Recent advancements in β-Ga2O3 materials’ growth and device developments are briefly reviewed with the focus on low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) of β-Ga2O3. β-Ga2O3 films are grown on off-axis c-sapphire and (010) β-Ga2O3 substrates via high-temperature LPCVD (HT-LPCVD) with growth temperatures ranging between 950 and 1050 °C. The effects of HT-LPCVD growth conditions on material properties are comprehensively studied. With relatively higher growth temperatures, an increased O2 flow rate is required to maintain β-Ga2O3 crystalline quality with high electron mobility. The growth rate of the HT-LPCVD β-Ga2O3 film scales with the increase of growth temperature and O2 flow rate. The film growth rate is strongly related to the sapphire substrate off-axis angle, which determines the preferred nucleation sites from the step edges. The transport properties of samples grown on substrates with different off-axis angles are compared. The optimized growth temperature for obtaining films with high electron mobility varies with the off-axis angle. From this comprehensive study, high-quality β-Ga2O3 films grown on c-sapphire are achieved with room temperature mobilities of 126 cm2/V s (6° off-axis c-sapphire), 116 cm2/V s (8° off-axis c-sapphire), and 119 cm2/V s (10° off-axis c-sapphire) at carrier concentrations of mid-1016 cm−3. β-Ga2O3 LPCVD homoepitaxy optimized at elevated growth temperatures is performed on Fe-doped semi-insulating (010) Ga2O3 substrates. With controllable Si doping, record-high room temperature mobilities of 156 cm2/V s (150 cm2/V s) are achieved with doping concentrations of 3 × 1016 cm−3 (1.5 × 1017 cm−3) at a growth temperature of 1050 °C. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy analysis shows more than an order of magnitude reduction of C and H impurity incorporation with increased growth temperature. Results from this work demonstrate that HT-LPCVD growth is a promising method to produce high-quality β-Ga2O3 films on both off-axis c-sapphire and native Ga2O3 substrates with a fast growth rate and superior transport properties critical for high power device applications.
Incoming Deaf College Students’ Sign Language Skills: Self-awareness and Intervention

There are over 135,000 deaf/hard of hearing students enrolled in postsecondary institutions in the U.S. However, deaf students who use sign language may not be aware of their sign language skills, ...
Persistent Disparities in Immunization Rates for the Seven-Vaccine Series Among Infants 19–35 Months in the United States

Objective: The seven-vaccine series protects infants from several preventable diseases, yet disparities in its use remain in the United States. Methods: We assessed the seven-vaccine immunization rate and its predictors in infants 19-35 months using the National Immunization Survey from 2009 to 2018. Results: The seven-vaccine series rate was 72.8%, well short of the healthy people 2020 target of 90%. African American infants, infants born to mothers with less than high school education, and infants in families with an income below poverty were less likely to get the complete series. Conclusion: Disparities still exist in protecting infants from preventable diseases in the United States.
Pairwise Difference Regression: A Machine Learning Meta-algorithm for Improved Prediction and Uncertainty Quantification in Chemical Search

Machine learning (ML) plays a growing role in the design and discovery of chemicals, aiming to reduce the need to perform expensive experiments and simulations. ML for such applications is promising but difficult, as models must generalize to vast chemical spaces from small training sets and must have reliable uncertainty quantification metrics to identify and prioritize unexplored regions. Ab initio computational chemistry and chemical intuition alike often take advantage of differences between chemical conditions, rather than their absolute structure or state, to generate more reliable results. We have developed an analogous comparison-based approach for ML regression, called pairwise difference regression (PADRE), which is applicable to arbitrary underlying learning models and operates on pairs of input data points. During training, the model learns to predict differences between all possible pairs of input points. During prediction, the test points are paired with all training set points, giving rise to a set of predictions that can be treated as a distribution of which the mean is treated as a final prediction and the dispersion is treated as an uncertainty measure. Pairwise difference regression was shown to reliably improve the performance of the random forest algorithm across five chemical ML tasks. Additionally, the pair-derived dispersion is both well correlated with model error and performs well in active learning. We also show that this method is competitive with state-of-the-art neural network techniques. Thus, pairwise difference regression is a promising tool for candidate selection algorithms used in chemical discovery.