cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
0014 Social media for injury and violence prevention. learning how to use social and digital communications to effectively reach and engage with your audiences

Statement of purpose In order to maximise injury and violence professionals’ collaboration potential in the digital space, the CDC National Centre for Injury Prevention and Control (Injury Centre) coached almost 300 attendees in a series of webinars, dedicated to the prospect of instruction in the utility and best use of social media for injury and violence prevention. Through September–December 2014, the webinars covered the topics of why social media for injury and violence prevention, getting started in social media, developing content and engagement, and metrics and evaluation. Methods/Approach By collaborating with the Safe States organisation, the CDC Injury Centre was able to tap directly into the audience, dedicated to the development and promotion of injury and violence prevention programs. By breaking up the webinars into social media topic-based segments, the trainings were able to reach professionals at any stage of development of their social media programs. At the end of each webinar, the presenter provided opportunities for the attendees to put their new education into practice through suggested homework assignments for their own individual or organisational social media development needs. Results The webinars have had good registration, attendee, and engagement rates, with unique questions posed by participants. Final assessments will include attendee data on years in the field, comfort level in using social media before and after the series, and overall satisfaction with the information provided in the webinar series. This data will be compiled through registration and post-webinar survey responses. Conclusions The growing field of injury and violence prevention needs support in social media program and content development. With support from larger organisations, state and local organisations may have the capacity to reach their own constituents though advanced digital and interactive communications. Significance and contribution to the field With a broader knowledge of how to implement, engage, and measure social media programs, injury and violence professionals will be able to not only reach their audiences with effective prevention messages, but also be able to collaborate across organisations and disciplines more effective prevention communications.
Explaining Feminization in the U.S. Banking Industry, 1940–1980: Human Capital, Dual Labor Markets or Gender Queuing?

This case study of the banking industry, 1940–1980, examines three competing theories of increases in women's labor force participation. Combining census and industry regulatory data, three models of the feminization process are compared: human capital, dual labor market, and gender queuing. The gender queuing model best explains empirical variation in industry-level feminization. Clerical intensity (the proportion of clerical jobs to all jobs in the industry), especially, makes the substitution of female labor a cost-cutting alternative. Theories of feminization must incorporate spatial and temporal variation in the causal strength of relevant social forces. Gender queuing theory is best equipped to do this, as it allows for better historical interpretation of how varied social forces, both economic and patriarchal, impinge on class and gendered actors. Gender queuing theory subsumes determinants of feminization found in other theories while rejecting both their untenable assumptions and their interpreta...
Currents Sensitive to Amiloride in Mouse Spermatogenic Cells

Objective To observe epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) currents in spermatogenic cells. Method Epithelial sodium channels were obtained in acutely dissociated mouse spermatogenic cells using whole-cell patch clamp. Results The currents were evoked by 200 ms test pulses between -100~+40 mV in 10 mV increments from a holding potential (HP) of -50 mV. Test pulses elicited rapidly activating and non-inactivating Na+ current. Na+ currents amplitude were significantly reduced by adding Amiloride (1 μmol/L) to the external solution, and displayed two kinds of inhibition effects (the ratio of 58.49%±9.82%, 31.44%±5.69%). Conclusion The characteristics of such currents and sensitive to Amiloride all approved that these currents recorded from mouse spermatogenic cells were produced through epithelial sodium channels.
Immunotherapy of renal cell carcinoma

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma remains a frustrating disease to treat. Although there is significant evidence that this tumor is responsive to alterations in the immune system, a complete understanding of the antitumor immune response is still elusive. The early trials have been aimed primarily at nonspecific methods for stimulation of the immune system, with the equal possibility that aside from stimulation of the effector cells responsible for tumor containment, there may be stimulation of other mechanisms that will inhibit this response. The better responses in some cases appear to be in the treatments that produce the most toxicities, though even these treatments only have a 20% to 30% response in most trials. Although the prior trials of immunotherapy have yielded modest results, they have provided a better understanding of the immune system in the oncologic setting. Newer trials are now being directed at combinations of lymphokines, which is the beginning of the application of basic science in the clinical setting. With a better appreciation of the basic science behind the immune response, the current factors available will be put into better therapeutic perspective, and newer factors, including various growth factors, may play an important role in future therapy. Also, the addition of antisuppressor regimens to stimulation trials is a sign of recognition of the complexity of the immune response. Aside from suppressor cells, investigators are beginning to realize that there are circulating proteins probably generated either by the tumor or in response to the tumor that are immunosuppressive (eg, circulating IL-2 receptors). Inhibition of these proteins by pheresis or other methods may provide increased immunoreactivity to the tumors, as has already been shown in a small series. Monoclonal antibodies offer the promise of the most specificity; however, the technology is still far from making this therapy imminently available. Only through additional laboratory and clinical investigation, will significant advances be made.
The cell biology of inflammasomes: Mechanisms of inflammasome activation and regulation

Over the past decade, numerous advances have been made in the role and regulation of inflammasomes during pathogenic and sterile insults. An inflammasome complex comprises a sensor, an adaptor, and a zymogen procaspase-1. The functional output of inflammasome activation includes secretion of cytokines, IL-1β and IL-18, and induction of an inflammatory form of cell death called pyroptosis. Recent studies have highlighted the intersection of this inflammatory response with fundamental cellular processes. Novel modulators and functions of inflammasome activation conventionally associated with the maintenance of homeostatic biological functions have been uncovered. In this review, we discuss the biological processes involved in the activation and regulation of the inflammasome.
Autoimmune Disease Is a Risk Factor for the Development of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and May Account in Part for Its Increase in Women.

The incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) has increased dramatically over the last several decades especially in people over 60 years of age. The reasons for this are likely to be multifactorial and may include a diminution of immune surveillance which occurs with aging. Patients with autoimmune disease may be at increased risk of developing NHL. Women have a higher incidence of autoimmune disease (AIMD). The use of immunosuppressive drugs to control autoimmune diseases decreases immune surveillance and may therefore increase the likelihood of developing lymphoma. We sought to determine if prior autoimmune disease increases the risk of developing NHL. Methods: All patients seen by JC & KT from 1993 to 2002 form the basis of this report. There were 278 patients with NHL and these were compared with 317 patients with other hematological disorders (controls) seen at the same time period. Findings: Thirty-six (13%) of NHL patients had an autoimmune disease prior to or at diagnosis of NHL compared to 5% of controls (p=.001). Sixty-nine percent of NHL patients with a prior AIMD were female compared to 43% without a prior AIMD and this was similar in control patients (69% and 48%) respectively. Twenty percent of all women with NHL had a prior history of autoimmune disease compared to 7% of women in the control group (p=.001). A logistic regression was performed to evaluate simultaneously the effects of gender, age and AIMD on disease status. Even adjusting for age and gender, autoimmune disease was significantly more likely to be associated with NHL, with an odds ratio of 2.6 and 95% confidence intervals of 1.4–4.9. Thus for patients of the same age and gender, patients with AIMD are 2.6 times more likely to have NHL than the control patients. The median time from AIMD to the diagnosis of NHL was 10 years. It was 14 years in the control group. The two most common autoimmune diseases in the NHL patients were rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune hypothyroidism. In the control group it was autoimmune hypothyroidism and inflammatory bowel disease. Conclusion: Autoimmune disease may account in part for the increase in NHL especially in women.
Uptake of and Factors Associated With Direct-acting Antiviral Therapy Among Patients in the Chronic Hepatitis Cohort Study, 2014 to 2015.

BACKGROUND Limited information is available describing the uptake of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among patients in general US health care settings. We determined the proportion of HCV-infected patients in the Chronic Hepatitis Cohort Study prescribed DAAs in 2014, who initiated treatment and identified characteristics associated with treatment initiation. METHODS Uptake was defined as the proportion of HCV-infected patients with at least 1 clinical encounter in 2013 who were prescribed a DAA regimen during 2014 and initiated the regimen by August 2015. Using multivariable analysis, we examined demographic and clinical characteristics associated with receipt of DAAs. RESULTS The cohort comprised 9508 patients; 544 (5.7%) started a DAA regimen. Higher annual income [adjusted odds ratios (aOR) 2.3 for income>$50K vs. 5.88, 3.25 to 5.88, 2.0 to 3.25, respectively, vs. <2.0), genotype 2 infection (aOR 2.2 vs. genotype 1), pre-2014 treatment failure (aOR 2.0 vs. treatment-naive), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection (aOR 1.8 vs. HCV monoinfection) were associated with DAA initiation. Black race/ethnicity (aOR 0.7 vs. whites) and Medicaid coverage (aOR 0.5 vs. private insurance) were associated with noninitiation. Sex, age, comorbidity, previous liver transplant, and duration of follow-up were not associated with receipt of DAAs. CONCLUSIONS Among patients in these general US health care settings, uptake of DAA therapy was low in 2014, and especially so among minority and Medicaid patients. Systemic efforts to improve access to DAAs for all patients are essential to reduce morbidity and mortality from HCV infection.
Puberty is an important developmental period for the establishment of adipose tissue mass and metabolic homeostasis.

ABSTRACTOver the past 2 decades, the incidence of childhood obesity has risen dramatically. This recent rise in childhood obesity is particularly concerning as adults who were obese during childhood develop type II diabetes that is intractable to current forms of treatment compared with individuals who develop obesity in adulthood. While the mechanisms responsible for the exacerbated diabetic phenotype associated with childhood obesity is not clear, it is well known that childhood is an important time period for the establishment of normal white adipose tissue in humans. This association suggests that exposure to obesogenic stimuli during adipose development may have detrimental effects on adipose function and metabolic homeostasis. In this study, we identify the period of development associated with puberty, postnatal days 18–34, as critical for the establishment of normal adipose mass in mice. Exposure of mice to high fat diet only during this time period results in metabolic dysfunction, increased lept...
LRO-LAMP failsafe door-open performance: improving FUV measurements of dayside lunar hydration

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s (LRO) Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) is a lightweight (6.1 kg), lowpower (4.5 W), ultraviolet spectrograph based on the Alice instruments aboard the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft and NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. Its primary job is to identify and localize exposed water frost in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the Moon’s poles, and to characterize landforms and albedos in PSRs. LRO launched on June 18, 2009 and reached lunar orbit four days later. LAMP operated with its failsafe door closed for its first seven years in flight. The failsafe door was opened in October 2016 to increase light throughput during dayside operations at the expense of no longer having the capacity to take further dark observations and slightly more operational complexity to avoid saturating the instrument. This one-time irreversible operation was approved after extensive review, and was conducted flawlessly. The increased throughput allows measurement of dayside hydration in one orbit, instead of averaging multiple orbits together to reach enough signal-to-noise. The new measurement mode allows greater time resolution of dayside water migration for improved investigations into the source and loss processes on the lunar surface. LAMP performance and optical characteristics after the failsafe door opening are described herein, including the new effective area, wavelength solution, and resolution.
Reflux in Pediatrics

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is the passage of gastric contents into the esophagus with or without regurgitation or vomiting. This process occurs multiple times a day in healthy infants and children and most episodes cause few or no symptoms. When the refluxate reaches the mouth, the reflux is caused regurgitation. GER becomes gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) when the passage of gastric contents into the esophagus is associated with troublesome symptoms and/or complications. However, deciding what symptoms are troublesome is often difficult in children who are non-verbal or who are unable to accurately convey symptoms [1, 2].
On the uses of contracted codes

If u = (ul,...,u n) and v : (vl,...,v n) the inner product of n u and v is u.v = [ uiv i if F : GF(2) or GF(3) and i=l n u.v = [ u.v. 2 if F = GF(4). If u.v = 0, we say that u and v i=l z 1 are orthogonal to each other. If C is a code, its dual code C ± = {v e F n I u.v = 0 for all u e C]. If C = C 1, C is called self-dual. If F : GF(2) and C = C ± and all weights in C are divisible by 4, we say that C is doubly even. Note that all weights in a self-orthogonal code over GF(2) or GF(4) must be even.
Re-Stating the Standard of Practice for Death Penalty Counsel: The Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty Cases

This is the Introduction to the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases, and summarizes its thirteen articles.A central - indeed, arguably the central - duty of defense counsel in a capital case is to humanize the client in the eyes of those who will decide his fate. The daunting task of imagining, collecting, and presenting such mitigation evidence pervades counsel's responsibilities from the moment of detention on potentially capital charges to the instant of execution.A truly multi-disciplinary team, with skills in eliciting and documenting sensitive personal information, evaluating mental health status, and pursuing the varied skeins of social, cultural, environmental, and other influences that may have shaped the client's life course is needed to collect the data for counsel and then to help shape its presentation into a narrative that will resonate with decisionmakers. In 2003, the American Bar Association embodied these standards in its updated Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases reprinted in 31 Hofstra L. Rev. 913 (2003), for which I served as Reporter.Recognizing the central role of the mitigation function to the duties of capital defense counsel - and hence to the justice of the outcomes that will be achieved in capital cases - a diverse group of experts and organizations like the one assembled by the ABA for its project subsequently joined to develop Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty Cases. This special issue of the Hofstra Law Review publishes the Supplementary Guidelines together with articles elaborating the standards of practice they embody. Distinguished judges, legal scholars and practitioners, psychologists, medical doctors, and other experts explicate the creative dynamics involved in developing a fully lifelike portrait of the human being that the state seeks to execute.
Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine--an initiative to increase physician workforce in rural Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine seeks candidates with an increased probability of practicing in rural Wisconsin, delivers the curriculum in collaboration with rural partners, and encourages students' interest in rural practice and living.
Investigating Generational Differences in e-WOM Behaviours: For Advertising Purposes, Does X = Y?

Marketers have generally assumed actionable differences exist between Gen X and Gen Y, particularly with regard to electronically mediated marketing. Using a mixedmethod approach, this study invest...
Surrogate-based Optimization-aided Design for Low Power Analog Circuits

Automatic and flexible analog integrated circuit design is still an open topic. Simulation-based optimization is accurate but relies on the efficacy of heuristics to find a solution. Equation-based optimization is faster, can work with both gradients and heuristic algorithms but the accuracy depends on the set of equations. We propose an equation-based surrogate model that combines physics-based transistor model, curve fitting approximations for device parameters, and circuit analysis describing the metrics of the circuit to optimize. Two design examples are provided as proof of concept of the proposed optimization framework, a 2nd-order active-RC Butterworth filter, and a Capless-LDO. The results prove this technique to be effective finding solutions for different processes technologies and flexible to the specifications. Multi-objective optimization is used to generate a Pareto front representing the design trade-off.
Law in American History (Chapter 8)

This is Chapter Eight of Law in American History: Volume One, From the Colonial Years Through the Civil War.The book’s purpose is to explore the relationship of law to some central themes of American history from the initial colonial settlements through the conclusion of the Civil War. The themes singled out in the book include the displacement of Amerindian tribes from land they occupied on the North American continent; the emergence of agricultural householding as the principal form of family life in colonial British America; the detachment of the American colonies from the British Empire and the theories of sovereignty and grievance that accompanied that development; the evolution of American forms of government from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution; the emergence of the Supreme Court of the United States as a major institution of American grievance; the westward movement of enterprise and population in the decades between the 1830’s and the 1850’s; the central role of slavery and westward expansion and the gradual dissolution of the Union during these decades; and the role of the Civil War as a culmination of the central themes of early American history and as a force in transforming the subsequent course of that history.
Potentially Avoidable Hospital Readmissions in Patients With Advanced Cancer.

PURPOSE:Patients with cancer often prefer to avoid time in the hospital; however, data are lacking on the prevalence and predictors of potentially avoidable readmissions (PARs) among those with adv...
Distribution and Dietary Predictors of Urinary Phthalate Metabolites among Pregnant Women in Shanghai, China

The exposure of pregnant women to phthalates is a major concern due to their adverse effect on developmental outcomes. Diet is an important pathway for exposure to phthalate compounds. Nevertheless, studies on dietary exposure of pregnant women to phthalates in China are limited. We aimed to assess the distribution and dietary predictors of phthalate exposure among pregnant women in China. We measured the levels of 10 urinary phthalate metabolites using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry in 210 pregnant women as part of the 2015 China National Chronic Disease and Nutrition Survey in Shanghai. We assessed the urinary specific gravity-adjusted phthalate metabolite levels along with potential demographic and dietary predictors. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between each potential demographic variable and dietary predictor and urinary phthalate metabolites. Seven urinary phthalate metabolites were detected in >95% of pregnant women. The geometric mean (GM) of urinary phthalate biomarker values were highest for monobutyl phthalate (GM: 25.29 ng/mL) and monoisobutyl phthalate (GM:11.18 ng/mL). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that a lower educational level was associated with elevated urinary phthalate metabolite levels. Edible seaweed consumption had a positive correlation with urinary monoethyl phthalate and monoisobutyl phthalate levels, and the total molar sum of Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites. These findings offer important data on the dietary exposure to phthalates in pregnant Chinese women and suggest interventions to improve food safety.
The Effect of an Arg/Trp Polymorphism in α2-Antiplasmin on Fibrinolysis.

α 2 -antiplasmin (α 2 AP) is a serine proteinase inhibitor with plasmin as its primary target. Plasmin plays a critical role in fibrin proteolysis and tissue remodeling and is highly regulated to prevent excessive proteolysis. α 2 AP is cleaved by antiplasmin-cleaving enzyme (APCE) between Pro12-Asn13 to yield a shortened version with Asn as the amino-terminus. Asn-α 2 AP is crosslinked into fibrin ~13 X faster than the full-length Met-α 2 AP. Clot lysis is slowed in direct proportion to the ratio of Asn-α 2 AP to Met-α 2 AP present during fibrin formation. The cloned gene for Met-α 2 AP contained either a CGG codon resulting in Arg as the sixth amino acid or TGG, resulting in Trp at that position. Both polymorphic forms of Met-α 2 AP, Arg6 and Trp6, have been found in human plasma. In the present study we determined the genotype frequency of the polymorphism and whether it affected cleavage of Met-α 2 AP to Asn-α 2 AP, and ultimately whether fibrinolytic rates were affected by one polymorphic form as opposed to the other. In our normal population, the genotype frequencies were found to be RR 60.9%; RW 35.8%; WW 3.4%. The R allele had a frequency of 78.8% and the W allele had a frequency of 21.2%. A primate DNA panel revealed that the polymorphism follows an evolutionary split with Old World monkeys having the WW genotype and Great Apes having the RR genotype. We found that the polymorphism affected the ratio of Asn-α 2 AP to Met-α 2 AP in plasma with WW having the highest percentage of Met-α 2 AP (56.4%), RR having the least (23.6%) and RW falling in between (40.6%). We examined whether this was due to Met-α 2 AP(Arg6) being a better substrate for APCE than Met-α 2 AP(Trp6). When purified α 2 AP(Arg6) or α 2 AP(Trp6) were digested with APCE, comparisons of reaction rates based on linear regression analysis of early time points revealed that APCE cleaved Met-α 2 AP(Arg6) ~8-fold faster that Met-α 2 AP(Trp6). This phenomenon was confirmed in whole plasma, by incubating plasma from subjects with either the RR, RW or WW genotype and determining the Asn-α 2 AP/Met-α 2 AP ratio at 0, 24 and 48 hours. When APCE was removed from the plasma by a specific antibody bound to chromatography beads, the ratio of Asn-α 2 AP to Met-α 2 AP did not change over the same time period. Since Asn-α 2 AP/Met-α 2 AP ratios are in direct proportion to clot lysis times, we determined whether the polymorphism also impacts and correlates with correspondent plasma clot lysis times. The first tertile of plasma clot lysis times contained all of the WW persons; the longer lysis times in the second and third tertiles contain only RR and RW persons. We conclude that the Arg6Trp polymorphism is functionally significant in that it clearly affects conversion of Met-α 2 AP to Asn-α 2 AP, and as a consequence, the rate of Asn-α 2 AP incorporation into fibrin. Based on these data, the Arg6Trp polymorphism may play a significant role in governing the long-term deposition/removal of intravascular fibrin.
Exercise and Cognitive Function

Cognitive function is associated with longevity and is of critical importance for optimal daily functioning[...].
Evaluation of the genomic alterations in the androgen receptor gene during treatment with high-dose testosterone for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

// Marcus Moses 1 , Ulkuhan Koksal 1 , Elisa Ledet 1 , Charlotte Manogue 1 , Patrick Cotogno 1 , Brian Lewis 1 , Jodi Layton 1 , A. Oliver Sartor 1 and Pedro Barata 1 1 Tulane Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA Correspondence to: Pedro Barata, email: pbarata@tulane.edu A. Oliver Sartor, email: osartor@tulane.edu Keywords: castration-resistant prostate cancer; high-dose testosterone; next-generation sequencing; androgen receptor Received: October 29, 2019 Accepted: December 16, 2019 Published: January 07, 2020 ABSTRACT Introduction: Castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) has been characterized by a reactivation of the androgen receptor (AR) signaling pathway via alterations in androgen metabolism and AR aberrations. High-dose testosterone (HDT) is emerging as an active treatment in metastatic CRPC, however, biomarkers of response are unknown. We hypothesized that responses to HDT might impact the genomic expression of AR alterations found in circulating-tumor DNA (ctDNA). Methods: Retrospective analysis of mCRPC patients treated with HDT (testosterone cypionate q 2–4 weeks) with available clinical and somatic genomic data using a commercially available assay (Guardant360, Redwood City, CA). Clinical outcomes included PSA response (PSA50), time to PSA progression (TPP) and safety. Results: A total of 33 mCRPC patients were treated with ≥2 testosterone cypionate injections. ctDNA testing revealed alterations in AR (39%), TP53 (48%), and DNA repair genes (12%). HDT was given for median of 4.0 months (95% CI, 2.6–5.3) with 24% of PSA50. Twenty patients were re-challenged with abiraterone ( n = 2) or enzalutamide ( n = 18) with 30% PSA50. Significant (grade ≥3) adverse events were observed in 5% of patients (grade 4 thrombocytopenia and asthenia). Patients with median baseline ctDNA% of ≥1.10 had numerically worse TPP outcomes and all patients with AR alterations exhibited decreased AR expression post-HDT ( n = 9), yet no association between clinical outcomes and ctDNA findings was observed. Conclusions: HDT led to a decrease in AR copy number and mutations which was independent from responses to therapy. Further understanding of the genomic alterations as potential predictor of response to HDT is needed.
Robust measurement of clinical improvement in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Objective The severity and disease course of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) are highly variable. Consequently, outcome measures for CLE clinical improvement are heterogeneous, complicating treatment decisions and therapeutic development. This study characterises CLE outcome measures and identifies the influence of clinical improvement thresholds on strengths of associations with patient demographic and clinical factors. Methods In this pilot cohort study, multivariable models identified factors associated with CLE activity and skin damage improvement, defined as relative decreases in Cutaneous Lupus Activity and Severity Index (CLASI) activity (CLASI-A) and damage (CLASI-D) scores, over ranges of response thresholds. Results 66 patients with 119 visit-pairs were included in the CLASI-A analysis. 74 patients with 177 visit-pairs were included in the CLASI-D analysis. Factors associated with CLE activity and damage improvement depended on the response threshold. Some associations were stronger at more stringent thresholds, including subacute CLE predominance with increased likelihood of CLASI-A improvement (R2=0.73; 50% reduction: OR 1.724 (95% CI 0.537 to 5.536); 75%: 5.67 (95% CI 1.56 to 20.5)) and African-American race with decreased likelihood of CLASI-D improvement (R2=0.80; 20%: 0.40 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.93); 40%: 0.25 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.82)). Other associations were stable across multiple thresholds, including older age of CLE development with increased likelihood of CLASI-A improvement (R2=0.25; 50%: 1.05 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.09]; 75%: 1.05 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.10)) and higher initial disease activity with decreased likelihood of CLASI-D improvement (R2=0.55; 20%: 0.91 (95% CI 0.84 to 0.98); 40%: 0.88 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.97)). Conclusions Examining a range of CLASI threshold outcomes can comprehensively characterise changes in disease course in patients with CLE. Insufficiently stringent thresholds may fail to distinguish meaningful clinical change from natural fluctuation in disease activity.
Impact of Forest Road Maintenance Policies on Log Transportation Cost, Routing, and Carbon-Emission Trade-Offs: Oregon Case Study

AbstractWood transportation costs have significant impacts on timber investment returns. To optimize transportation costs, a practical design of the route network is necessary for log trucks that s...
Revising Infant Mortality Rates for the Early 20th Century United States

Accurate vital statistics are required to understand the evolution of racial disparities in infant health and the causes of rapid secular decline in infant mortality during the early twentieth century. Unfortunately, infant mortality rates prior to 1950 suffer from an upward bias stemming from a severe underregistration of births. At one extreme, African-American births in Southern states went unregistered at the rate of 15 to 25 percent. In this paper, we construct improved estimates of births and infant mortality in the United States for the 1915-1940 period using recently released complete count decennial census microdata combined with the counts of infant deaths from published sources. We check the veracity of our estimates with a major birth registration study completed in conjunction with the 1940 Decennial Census, and that the largest adjustments occur in states with less complete birth registration systems. An additional advantage of our census-based estimation method is the extension back of the birth and infant mortality series for years prior to published estimates of registered births, enabling previously impossible comparisons and estimations. Finally, we show that underregistration can bias effect estimates even in a panel setting with specifications that include location fixed effects and place-specific linear time trends.
The (In)efficiency of the retail-minus rule

Abstract The Retail-Minus Rule (RMR) specifies that the rate for a mandated wholesale service is set by subtracting from the vertically integrated provider's (VIP's) retail price the costs it avoids by selling the wholesale service rather than the retail service. While the RMR offers regulators an expedient method for setting wholesale prices, we show that it is efficient only under restrictive conditions. The proper test for a price squeeze inquires whether the VIP's retail price is greater than or equal to the sum of the direct cost and the opportunity cost of supplying the retail service. The RMR passes this test only when the competing retail services are perfect substitutes.
The Federal Option: Delaware as a De Facto Agency

Despite over 200 years of deliberation and debate, the United States has not adopted a federal corporate chartering law. Instead, Delaware is the “Federal Option” for corporate law and adjudication. The contemporary federal corporate chartering debate is, in part, a referendum on its role. Although the federal government has regulated other aspects of interstate commerce and has the power to charter corporations and, pursuant to its Commerce Clause power, preempt Delaware, it has not done so. Despite the rich and robust scholarly discussion of Delaware’s jurisdictional dominance, its role as a de facto national regulator remains underdeveloped. This article addresses a vexing question: Can Delaware, a haven for incorporation and adjudication, serve as an effective national regulator? Following an analysis of federal chartering alternatives, such as the Nader Plan, the Warren Plan, the Sanders Plan, and other modes of regulation, the answer is yes, but with some caveats and qualifications. Delaware’s adequate, if imperfect, performance as a surrogate national regulator of corporate internal affairs argues against the upheaval of the existing corporate law framework federal chartering would bring. Even in the contemporary moment where longstanding concerns about corporate power, purpose, accountability, and the uneasy relationship between corporations and society are amplified, Delaware can continue to perform an important agency-like role in collaboration with federal regulators, and regulated firms. A deeper examination comparing the merits of federal corporate chartering with Delaware’s de facto agency function illuminates the potential of existing and future reforms. This article concludes that federal chartering proposals have an important impact despite not being adopted for centuries. First, federal chartering proposals encourage policymakers to look beyond the status quo toward greater hybridization in regulatory design. Second, elements of previous federal chartering proposals have historically become successful “a la carte” reforms or part of other successful reform measures. Third, federal chartering proposals provide value as a bargaining tool where the threat of more intrusive federal regulation makes other reform methods more palatable to diverse corporate constituencies.
RANE: An Open-Source Formal De-obfuscation Attack for Reverse Engineering of Logic Encrypted Circuits

To enable trust in the IC supply chain, logic locking as an IP protection technique received significant attention in recent years. Over the years, by utilizing Boolean satisfiability (SAT) solver and its derivations, many de-obfuscation attacks have undermined the security of logic locking. Nonetheless, all these attacks receive the inputs (locked circuits) in a very simplified format (Bench or remapped and translated Verilog) with many limitations. This raises the bar for the usage of the existing attacks for modeling and assessing new logic locking techniques, forcing the designers to undergo many troublesome translations and simplifications. This paper introduces the RANE Attack, an open-source CAD-based toolbox for evaluating the security of logic locking mechanisms that implement a unique interface to use formal verification tools without a need for any translation or simplification. The RANE attack not only performs better compared to the existing de-obfuscation attacks, but it can also receive the library-dependent logic-locked circuits with no limitation in written, elaborated, or synthesized standard HDL, such as Verilog. We evaluated the capability/performance of RANE on FOUR case studies, one is the first de-obfuscation attack model on FSM locking solutions (e.g., HARPOON) in which the key is not a static bit-vector but a sequence of input patterns.
Alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine use as predictors of impaired driving and riding with an impaired driver among college students who engage in polysubstance use

Abstract Objective While alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine are the most commonly used substances, there is limited research on the between- and within-person associations of their use and driving under the influence (DUI) and riding with an impaired driver (RWID). The current study utilized a burst design to assess how use and co-use of these substances is associated with DUI and RWID. Methods College student drinkers with past-year marijuana and/or nicotine use (N = 367) were assessed on two consecutive weekends for three semesters. Logistic regression compared students who only reported drinking to student drinkers who used marijuana, nicotine, or all three substances on likelihood to DUI and RWID. Multilevel logistic models assessed the associations of varied combinations of substances with the daily likelihood of DUI and RWID. Results Compared to students who only used alcohol, students who also reported marijuana use were more likely to DUI (OR = 5.44), and students who reported use of alcohol, nicotine and marijuana more likely to DUI (OR = 10.33) and RWID (OR = 10.22). Compared to occasions when only alcohol was used, DUI was more likely on marijuana only occasions (OR = 9.08), and RWID was more likely on alcohol and marijuana occasions (OR = 3.86). However, confidence intervals were wide for effects. Discussion Students reporting use of all 3 substances had higher overall risk of DUI and RWID indicating prevention efforts for DUI and RWID should include all substances. Implications for prevention and intervention strategies at the individual and environmental level are discussed.
Application of Conjoint Analysis in Assessing the U.S. Market for Electric Cars

This paper presents the results of a survey of 88 upper income drivers in Syracuse, New York to assess their views of cost/performance tradeoffs in viewing the purchase of an electric vehicle. Conjoint analysis is used to test part-utilities of different attributes of the car purchase decision. This survey of 88 upper income residents suggests that the current price range of marketed electric vehicles ($10,000 and above) makes the price/options package offered by current technology unattractive to a group which might otherwise be considered early adopters. This group would not rule out buying a limited performance EV for special purposes (commuting or shopping) but the price must be attractive by comparison with subcompact IC cars. Fear of prospective gasoline shortages does not appear to raise the demand price of the EV against IC substitutes.
Transposase Team Puts a Headlock on DNA

Transposable DNA elements jump from one location in the genome to another. But, the cut-and-paste molecular machinations that support this nomadic lifestyle are still being unraveled. In their Perspective, [Williams and Baker][1] at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology discuss new details of transposon relocation revealed through resolution of the structure of a transposase enzyme bound to DNA ([ Davies et al .][2]). [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/289/5476/73 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/289/5476/77
A Roman “implant” reconsidered

A supposed “wrought iron” dental implant1 was recently reported from a second century CE Gallo-Roman necropolis in Chantambre (Essonne, France), but in my view the data need to be re-evaluated in the light of what is known regarding ancient and modern dentistry2,4. The item is described as “severely corroded”, for example, but an X-ray reveals a perfectly formed tooth with a smooth, intact surface free from the pitting expected on a small iron object interred for nearly 2,000 years under less than ideal conditions. The archaeological context and data on finds of iron in this and other tombs are not provided.
Molecular sieve studies of interacting protein systems: VIII. Critical Evaluation of the Equilibrium Saturation Technique Using Stacked Gel Columns

Abstract Scanning chromatography provides a means for measuring the degree of solute partitioning at each level within a gel column which has been saturated with a solution containing molecular species of interest. By measuring partition coefficients at many points within the column it is possible to attain a high level of statistical precision, on the order of a few parts per thousand in the measured partition coefficient. Under favorable circumstances this level of precision would correspond to resolution of a few tenths of an Angstrom unit in molecular radius. When the equilibrium saturation experiment is performed on a column packed in segments of different gels it is possible to measure partition coefficients on several gels of different porosity in a single experiment. This stacked gel technique has been used to study the correlation of partition coefficients with molecular size as a function of gel porosity. It is found that a better correlation is obtained between partitioning properties of different gels than is afforded by relating partition coefficients to literature values of hydrodynamic radii (Stokes radius). The correlation of partitioning properties between different gels is used to define a new measure of protein size, the molecular “partition radius”. This parameter represents the molecular radius “seen” by the gels. The partition radius method of correlation is especially useful in the resolution of species distributions in systems of interacting solutes. Determination of stoichiometrics and equilibrium constants for such systems depends only on the relative sizes of the molecules, as “seen” by the gels, and not their absolute magnitudes. The partition radius method provides the most desirable determination of these relative molecular sizes. Inaccuracies resulting from introduction of independently determined molecular radii are climinated.
Mutual Fund Dilution from Market Timing Trades

This paper introduces a model to measure the dilution impact on an open-end fund due to market timing trades. When a timer buys shares of a fund just prior to positive returns, the extra cash in the fund dilutes the fund's return. While this impact can be directly measured on the day after a timer's purchase, the impact on subsequent days depends on whether the fund's cash balance remains distorted. Our model offers a framework that allows the timer's holding period and the portfolio manager's treatment of cash flows to inform an accurate calculation of the dilution impact.
MEMS fault model generation using CARAMEL

We have enhanced the process simulator CODEF (1996) into a tool called CARAMEL (Contamination And Reliability Analysis of MicroElectromechanical Layout) for analyzing the impact of contamination particles on the geometrical and material properties of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). CARAMEL accepts as input a microelectromechanical layout, a particulate description, and a process recipe. CARAMEL produces a mesh description of the defective layout that is completely compatible with the electromechanical simulator ABAQUS (1995). Analysis of CARAMEL's output indicates that a wide range of defective structures are possible due to the presence of contaminations. Moreover, electromechanical simulations of CARAMEL's mesh representations of defective layout has revealed that a wide variety of faulty behaviors are associated with these defects. In this paper, we describe CARAMEL and its application to the development of realistic fault models for MEMS.
Scalable synthesis of two-dimensional antimony telluride nanoplates down to a single quintuple layer

Scalable syntheses of two-dimensional topological insulators are critical to material exploration. We demonstrate a controlled assembly of a two-dimensional V–VI group compound, Sb2Te3 nanoplates (NPs), through a vapor–solid growth process. The physical thickness of Sb2Te3 NPs can be rationally controlled in a wide range, from hundreds of nm down to sub-10 nm. Single-quintuple-layer Sb2Te3 NPs were obtained, with a high domain density of ∼2.465 × 108 cm−2 over a large surface area (1 cm × 1 cm) of a SiO2/Si substrate, verifying a scalable synthesis method. Extensive material analyses were conducted to explore the basic properties of Sb2Te3 NPs using SEM and AFM, etc. HRTEM analysis confirms that the NP samples exhibit a highly crystalline structure and XPS analysis confirms the chemical composition and material stoichiometry. The growth of 2D topological insulator nanostructures may open up new opportunities in surface-state studies and potential applications in low-dissipative electronic systems.
Chemopreventive apigenin controls UVB-induced cutaneous proliferation and angiogenesis through HuR and thrombospondin-1

Plant flavonoid apigenin prevents and inhibits UVB-induced carcinogenesis in the skin and has strong anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic properties. Here we identify mechanisms, by which apigenin controls these oncogenic events. We show that apigenin acts, at least in part, via endogenous angiogenesis inhibitor, thrombospondin-1 (TSP1). TSP1 expression by the epidermal keratinocytes is potently inhibited by UVB. It inhibits cutaneous angiogenesis and UVB-induced carcinogenesis. We show that apigenin restores TSP1 in epidermal keratinocytes subjected to UVB and normalizes proliferation and angiogenesis in UVB-exposed skin. Importantly, reconstituting TSP1 anti-angiogenic function in UVB-irradiated skin with a short bioactive peptide mimetic representing exclusively its anti-angiogenic domain reproduced the anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic effects of apigenin. Cox-2 and HIF-1α are important mediators of angiogenesis. Both apigenin and TSP1 peptide mimetic attenuated their induction by UVB. Finally we identified the molecular mechanism, whereby apigenin did not affect TSP1 mRNA, but increased de novo protein synthesis. Knockdown studies implicated the RNA-binding protein HuR, which controls mRNA stability and translation. Apigenin increased HuR cytoplasmic localization and physical association with TSP1 mRNA causing de novo TSP1 synthesis. HuR cytoplasmic localization was, in turn, dependent on CHK2 kinase. Together, our data provide a new mechanism, by which apigenin controls UVB-induced carcinogenesis.