cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mining Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Patterns in Scientific Data

Data mining is the process of discovering hidden and meaningful knowledge in a data set. It has been successfully applied to many real-life problems, for instance, web personalization, network intrusion detection, and customized marketing. Recent advances in computational sciences have led to the application of data mining to various scientific domains, such as astronomy and bioinformatics, to facilitate the understanding of different scientific processes in the underlying domain. In this thesis work, we focus on designing and applying data mining techniques to analyze spatial and spatiotemporal data originated in scientific domains. Examples of spatial and spatio-temporal data in scientific domains include data describing protein structures and data produced from protein folding simulations, respectively. Specifically, we have proposed a generalized framework to effectively discover different types of spatial and spatio-temporal patterns in scientific data sets. Such patterns can be used to capture a variety of interactions among objects of interest and the evolutionary behavior of such interactions. We have applied the framework to analyze data originated in the following three application domains: bioinformatics, computational molecular dynamics, and computational fluid dynamics. Empirical results demonstrate that the discovered patterns are meaningful in the underlying domain and can provide important insights into various scientific phenomena.
North Korea in 2011: The Next Kim Takes the Helm

Abstract North Korea underwent a seemingly seamless leadership transition from father to son in the midst of a struggling economy and widespread hunger. The North drew even closer to China but also reached out to the United States and Russia for the first time in several years. Meanwhile, inter-Korean relations remained in a deep freeze.
A Comparison of Exhaust Condensation Trail Forecast Algorithms at Low Relative Humidity

Abstract The Schrader and Schumann contrail forecast algorithms and a third algorithm are evaluated under low relative humidity conditions using a dataset of asynoptic atmospheric soundings and 318 coincident ground-based aircraft and contrail observations collected near Dayton, Ohio. Aircraft were positively identified and their flight altitudes were determined using either Federal Aviation Administration flight logs or data collected with the Wright–Patterson Air Force Base air traffic control radar. The sounding data were used with assumed aircraft performance parameters to prepare nowcasts of contrail critical temperatures. The nowcasts were examined subjectively by comparing the distribution of correct and incorrect forecasts as a function of the difference between critical temperature and ambient temperature. Objective evaluation against the contrail observations also was done using several common statistical measures. The third algorithm produced critical temperatures that were systematically too c...
History of the HELP System

The HELP (for Health Evaluation through Logical Processing) system is the integrated computerized hospital information system in current clinical use at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition to assisting with administrative and financial hospital functions (as many hospital information systems do), the HELP system distinguishes itself by additionally storing a wide variety of clinical patient data. Having access to clinical patient data enables the HELP system to assist with hospital functions such as the management of clinical patient data, order communications, results review, and the production of comprehensive clinical reports. The HELP system is also able to interpret the clinical data for the purpose of computer-assisted decision making.
Fatigue Tests of Joints of High Strength Steels

Rivets and high strength bolts were used as fasteners for steel structures; clamping force was most important variable governing fatigue strength of joints; in riveted joints, variations of clamping force subordinated whatever superiority one steel had over another; joints with high strength bolts show much higher fatigue strength than riveted joints.
Declines in biodiversity and the abundance of pest species across land use gradients in Southeast Asia

Context Changes in land use have disruptive effects on community structure, causing many species to disappear, though a few thrive and become pests.
Improving the Photoelectrochemical Performance of Hematite by Employing a High Surface Area Scaffold and Engineering Solid–Solid Interfaces

Herein, a high surface area electrode (HSE) consisting of indium tin oxide (ITO) as a scaffold and ultrathin Ti-doped hematite (α-Fe2O3) as the absorber material is developed. The HSE exhibits sixfold improvement in photoactivity over an analogous photoelectrode with a flat morphology. Interfacial recombination due to dopant impurities and shunting resulting from a high pinhole density in the hematite layer limit the device performance. These limitations are mitigated by introducing a tin oxide barrier layer, which reduces recombination at the solid–solid interface and mitigates shunting. Employing the HSE with an appropriate barrier layer improves charge separation efficiency and catalytic activity compared to conventional planar devices. This strategy can potentially be extended to other light absorber materials whose performance is affected by charge transport limitations.
Differential expression of the UGT1A locus in human liver, biliary, and gastric tissue : identification of UGT1A7 and UGT1A10 transcripts in extrahepatic tissue

Family 1 UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) (UGT1A) are encoded by a locus that predicts the existence of at least nine individual proteins. The different proteins are generated by exon-sharing, which results in the production of a family of proteins that contain identical, 245-amino acid, carboxyl-terminal domains and an amino-terminal region of approximately 280 amino acids. The diversity of the UGT1A locus suggests the existence of complex regulation, most likely designed to account for the variable and specific glucuronidation requirements. However, the tissue-specific and extrahepatic regulation of the complete UGT1A locus has not been defined to date. In this study, quantitative duplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze UGT1A RNA expression in 16 hepatic, four biliary, and two gastric human tissue specimens. UGT1A3 and UGT1A6 were found to be expressed in the three tissues, whereas UGT1A5 and UGT1A8 were not expressed. Hepatocellular and biliary tissue expressed UGT1A1 and UGT1A4 but hepatocellular tissue uniquely expressed UGT1A9, whereas biliary tissue expressed UGT1A10. In contrast to hepatocellular tissue, gastric tissue expressed UGT1A7 in addition to UGT1A10. The expression of UGT1A9 in hepatic tissue, UGT1A7 in gastric tissue, and UGT1A10 in biliary and gastric tissue provides evidence for the selective regulation of the UGT1A locus in hepatic and extrahepatic tissues. The newly identified UGT1A7 and UGT1A10 transcripts were cloned and found to be 95.86% identical. Sequence analysis confirmed two proteins with divergent amino termini of 285 residues and identical carboxyl termini of 245 residues. This study provides evidence for hepatic and extrahepatic regulation of the human UGT1A locus and identifies two novel extrahepatic transcripts of the UGT1A family.
Generalized Baum-Welch Algorithm and Its Implication to a New Extended Baum-Welch Algorithm

This paper describes how we can use the generalized BaumWelch (GBW) algorithm to develop better extended BaumWelch (EBW) algorithms. Based on GBW, we show that the backoff term in the EBW algorithm comes from KL-divergence which is used as a regularization function. This finding allows us to develop a fast EBW algorithm, which can reduce the time of model space discriminative training by half, without incurring any degradation on recognition accuracy. We compare the performance of the new EBW algorithm with the original one on various large scale systems including Farsi, Iraqi and modern standard Arabic ASR systems. Index Terms: speech recognition, discriminative training
Somatic Cell Mapping of the Bovine Somatostatin Gene

DNAs from cow-hamster and cow-mouse hybrid somatic cells segregating cow chromosomes have been analyzed by Southern blotting and hybridization with a bovine somatostatin probe
Recent Amendments in Immigration Legislation

Public Law 95-412 combined the numerical ceilings for the Eastern and Western Hemispheres into one, unified worldwide system. The number of persons who can immigrate to the United States, subject to numerical limitations, will now remain constant at 290,000 (of course, approxi* mately 100,000 additional persons immigrate each year who are exempted from numerical constraints). The expressed purpose of this amendment was to abolish the final vestiges of unequal treatment of immigrants based on place of birth. The amendment was viewed as the final step in a lengthy process to make U.S. law equitable toward all peoples, a process which began in 1965 with the abolition of the national origins quota system. To state that discrimination or unequal treatment has ended is more controversial than it may appear. Severe colonial limitations restrict subquota areas to 600 persons per year subject to numerical population. Thus, natives of Hong Kong experience inconsiderable delays in their efforts to immigrate to the United States while numbers remain readily available for natives of independent countries which may have less population but far greater numerical ceilings. Moreover, one could argue that the entire immigration system has certain inherent biases favoring natives of certain countries which manifest patterns of migration re? warded under the system. For instance, the fifth preference, which allocates 24 percent of the numbers to brothers and sisters of United States
GENETIC VARIATION IN HAWAIIAN DROSOPHILA. V. CHROMOSOMAL AND ALLOZYMIC DIVERSITY IN DROSOPHILA SILVESTRIS AND ITS HOMOSEQUENTIAL SPECIES.

The evolutionary differentiation of populations and of species depends upon the existence of genetic variation in nature. How much of this variation contributes to the differentiation process at each level is questionable (Ayala, 1975), as is the precise nature of the genes involved, especially at the speciation step. In the final analysis, all new species derive from a divergent population of an ancestral species. Differentiation of populations can thus be considered as an early stage of species formation. Any analysis of the genetics of speciation must take into account the degree of differentiation achieved at the intraspecific level. Only then can we ascertain what proportion of the total interspecific differentiation is directly attributable to the actual speciation event. For studies of the speciation process, the Hawaiian Drosophila represent an ideal group of organisms, comprising some 700 endemic species which are well differentiated morphologically, ecologically and behaviorally (Carson et al., 1970). These species evolved in recent geological time via adaptive radiation throughout the several islands of the Hawaiian Archipelago. One important feature is that we can place upper limits on the ages of species (almost all are single-island endemics) on the basis of estimates of the time elapsed since the volcanic origin of
Effectiveness of 2-D Views for 6-D Robotics Simulation Maneuvers

This study examined operator performance on 6-D robotics simulation maneuvers using a single 2-D view of the robot arm. The BORIS simulator, developed by NASA to support Generic Robotics Training, was used to present four “fly-to” tasks with views representing combinations of good and poor control-display movement compatibility and perceptual quality. Translational (x, y, z) and rotational (pitch, yaw, roll) accuracies were used to assess performance. A significant interaction between movement compatibility and perceptual quality was found for both the overall translational and y accuracy measures (p = 0.0289 and p = 0.0155, respectively). This interaction appeared to indicate that performance was hindered only if both factors were poor. Perceptual quality significantly affected the z accuracy and pitch accuracy measures (p = 0.0461 and p = 0.0429, respectively) with the views identified as poor perceptual quality actually yielding better performance. These results suggest that performance on a 6-D roboti...
Using storytelling in culturally situated ways to persuade

This study examines how storytelling is manipulated in culturally meaningful ways for persuasive purposes by describing patterns of storytelling in Chinese criminal courts and analyzing ways in which the court manipulated the form and content of storytelling in order to accomplish multiple persuasive goals — to convince defendants of their guilt, to create an image of justice, and to educate the public about legal and moral conduct.
Abstract B20: Activin receptor-like kinase 1 complexes with endoglin in TGFß-mediated signaling in angiogenesis

Background: Activin Receptor-Like Kinase 1 (ALK1), a type I transforming growth factor (TGFs) family receptor, and endoglin, a type III receptor, are expressed in endothelial cells (EC) and involved in angiogenesis. Control of angiogenesis is critical in diseases such as cancer. Four ligands, TGFs, activin, bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP-9), and BMP-10, have been shown to bind ALK-1. Thus angiogenesis may be mediated by different combinations of ligands and receptors. Purpose: We investigated the role of TGFs and ALK-1 in tube formation. We also screened EC and also cancer cell lines for expression of various TGFs family receptors to begin to address which ligands and receptors are involved in angiogenesis and endothelial-tumor interactions,. Results: We also show that fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) + TGFs increase ALK-1 but not ALK 5 type I receptor expression in endothelial cells after tube formation. We show data that the type I receptor Activin-Like Kinase 1 and the co-receptor endoglin can signal in endothelial cells via the TGFs ligand. Antisense RNA that targets ALK 1 (and also ALK5) also disrupts tube formation. We further show that endogenous activin binds ALK 1 and can be displaced by exogenous TGFs. This suggests it may function to regulate control of ALK 1 activation. Further, ALK-1 and endoglin may also be involved in cell-cell interactions between endothelial and other cells. Thus we screened endothelial and cancer cells for TGFs family receptor expression by RT-PCR. Endothelial cells show similar expression of ALK-1, ALK-5, and endoglin and lower expression of BMP receptor II and TGFsRII. Cancer cells show much lower expression of type II receptors. Citation Format: James Hawker, Patricia Varacallo, Iain Duffy. Activin receptor-like kinase 1 complexes with endoglin in TGFs-mediated signaling in angiogenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Tumor Angiogenesis and Vascular Normalization: Bench to Bedside to Biomarkers; Mar 5-8, 2015; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl):Abstract nr B20.
Survey on the Situations of Sexual Education among Grade-one Junior Middle School Students in Xuhui District,Shanghai

ObjectiveTo explore the situation of sexual ed uc ation and the needs for sexual education among the first graders of junior middl e school MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted among 4 02 first graders from 9 classes,3 from 3 junior middle schools each in Xuhui District,Shanghai, 184 male and 218 female, aged 12～13, by two-stage, stratified cluster sampling Focus group di scu ssion was held among 9 groups of male students and 9 groups of female students Personal in-depth interview was held among 5 teachers Results 43 8% of the stud ents had received sexual education and the proportions receiving different kinds of contents were different Some had discussed sexual problems, most of which b elieved such discussions had little influence Teachers and parents were the mo s t predominant sources of sexual knowledge Most of the students believed it nec e ssary to receive sexual education and also believed that it would be better to r eceive it before adolescence About half of the students thought most of the co n tents in sexual education suitable to them The knowledge they most wanted was h ealth care of reproductive system, spermatorrhea/menstruation and relevant healt h care, etc The most favorite sexual educators included teachers, parents, exp e rts or professors, and friends or classmates ConclusionThe s i tuation of and needs for sexual education are different between male and female first graders of junior middle school
REVISED CHECKLIST OF THE VASCULAR PLANTS OF BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK, UTAH

Prior to 1960, when the senior author wrote a dissertation on the plant ecology of the Paunsaugunt Plateau forests of Bryce Canyon National Park, relatively little plant taxonomic work had been done in the area. A checklist was prepared in 1971 that included 218 species of higher plants. During the field seasons 1978, 1979, and 1980, additional plants were collected during a second plant community study of the forests. The junior author spent the summer of 1980 at the park collecting plants in additional plant communities and organizing the herbarium collection. This checklist includes the additional species collected and updates the nomenclature of the vascular plants presently known to occur within the boundaries of Bryce Canyon National Park.
Preparing the Dental Workforce for Oral Disease Prevention in an Aging Population

The growing proportion of older adults in the U.S. population, as well as escalating dental expenditures, is leading to major changes in the demands on oral health care delivery. Researchers over the years have clearly demonstrated the shortcomings of traditional restorative treatment and the cycle of repeat interventional care. Oral health care professionals are constantly seeking advances in technology, protocols, methodologies, and materials to meet the needs of the growing, diverse older population. Early stages of oral diseases such as caries and periodontal disease are vigorous, preventable, and reversible. Assessment of social, systemic, and oral risk factors that emphasize patient counseling to facilitate risk reduction, along with individualized evidence-based disease prevention planning, is more cost-effective than traditional restorative treatment and will improve overall outcome. The purposes of this article are to briefly describe current issues and challenges related to oral health promotion for older adults and to examine strategies for disease prevention and health promotion in health and dental care settings.
Ocular adverse effects of human chorionic gonadotropin

This is the first case report of blurred vision and scotomas associated with hCG injections. Similar visual disturbances have been caused by clomiphene, which is similar to hCG in enhancing LH activity and increasing testosterone levels.
Noncoding DNA Evolution: Junk DNA Revisited

A paradox of the molecular evolution of eukaryotes has been that number of protein-coding genes is no higher in mammals than in simpler organisms. However, genome size varies over five orders of magnitude. The lack of correspondence between the amount of noncoding DNA and protein-coding gene numbers has led to the hypothesis that nongenic DNA is useless ‘junk DNA.’ However, new genomic and genetic technologies have elucidated many essential noncoding DNA functions, especially regulation of gene expression. This article focuses on evolutionary forces that shape the structure and function of cis -regulatory elements, a component of noncoding DNA that regulates gene expression in eukaryotes.
Development of a Spanish-Language Hospice Video

The nation faces a persistent issue of delayed access to hospice care. Even though hospice enrollment is considered to be one of the most difficult medical decisions, physician clinics and hospitals lack tools for helping patients/families faced with making decisions about enrollment. Health-care literature lacks discussion of development of decision-making aids in the context of hospice decisions for minority ethnic groups, even though those groups have decisional needs that may differ from those of non-Hispanic whites. To fill the gap, we developed a video of a Latino hospice patient with footages showing how the patient was being taken care of by her family with support from a hospice disciplinary team. A primary objective of this article is to describe how focus groups, existing decision aids, and individual interviews were used to develop and improve a Spanish-language hospice educational video targeting Latino subgroups with linguistic, cultural, and educational barriers. These steps may provide guidelines for developing and revising health-related videos targeting other minority ethnic groups.
Du Romantisme à propos des débuts de Mlle Rachel

Rachel Felix, known as Mlle Rachel burst onto the stage in France in 1837 and reigned as its leading star until her death in 1858 at the age of 36. Despite the brevity of her career, she profoundly marked her era, occasioning a minor revival of classical theatre just at the moment when the Romantics seemed to dominate. In this essay, I analyse the way in which Rachel's celebrity inflected the debate about classic vs. romantic theatrical form in the 1840s and 50s. The influence of Rachel's celebrity can be discerned in this late evolution of romanticism, an evolution caused to a certain extent by commercial rather than artistic developments in the theatre and the press starting in the late 1830s.
A remote FPAA system for research and education

We present a novel remote test system, enabled by configurable analog-digital ICs to create a simple interface for a wide range of experiments, whether in research or educational directions. Our remote test system utilizes a nearly identical setup to the existing large-scale Field Programmable Analog Array (FPAA) toolset; a mixed-mode configurable system with a common digital interface (e.g. USB) enables a nearly seamless transition. The system overhead requirements are straightforward, requiring simple email handling, available over almost all network systems with no additional requirements. We present using the FPAA devices and baseline tool framework, present overview examples for the remote system.
Agile Methodologies: Organizational Adoption Motives, Tailoring, and Performance

Today, organizations tailor the practices from several agile methodologies to serve their particular environment. But are there situations that drive how an organization should tailor methodologies...
Medication-Induced Interstitial Nephritis in the 21st Century

Interstitial nephritis is an immune mediated form of tubulointerstitial kidney injury that may occur secondary to drugs, autoimmune disease, infections, and hematologic disorders or as a reactive process. Drug-induced acute interstitial nephritis (DI-AIN) occurs in 0.5%-3% of all kidney biopsies and in 5%-27% of biopsies performed for acute kidney injury. Drugs are implicated in 70%-90% of biopsy-proved IN with a prevalence of 50% in less developed to 78% in more developed countries. DI-AIN typically is idiosyncratic because of a delayed hypersensitivity reaction, although some chemotherapeutic agents are permissive for immune upregulation and injure the kidney in a dose-related manner. Antibiotics are the most implicated class of medication in DI-AIN, followed by proton pump inhibitors, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, and 5-aminosalicylates. Diuretics, allopurinol, phenytoin and other anti-seizure medications, and H2 receptor antagonists are known offenders while chemotherapeutic agents are an under-recognized cause. The symptoms of DI-AIN are variable and often not specific; thus, kidney biopsy is required to make a firm diagnosis. The incidence of DI-AIN appears to be increasing, particularly in the elderly in whom kidney biopsy is underused, and identification of the offending agent may be complicated by polypharmacy. As rapid drug discontinuation may improve prognosis, the possibility of DI-AIN should always be considered in a patient with acute kidney injury.
Design of a Cell-Based Refractometer with Small End-Effects

In cell-based laser refractometers, interferometer pathlength uncertainty introduced by deformation and stress in the windows through which the beams pass can be the chief factor limiting measurement accuracy. The fractional contribution of pathlength uncertainty to our recent determination of the Boltzmann constant was ${9.8\times 10}^{-6}$ , and more than two times larger than the next largest uncertainty component. We briefly describe the error, and propose a design in which cell window effects contribute less than $3\times 10^{-6}$ fractional error to the measurement of helium refractivity; performance that would be competitive with state-of-the-art primary thermometry and barometry.
Games for health research—past, present, and future

A substantial number of studies have been published on many games for diverse aspects of health. Despite the potential contributions of games for health (G4H), it has not been easy to obtain funding for research in this field. This paper attempts to identify why there has been difficulty in obtaining funding for G4H research, create an awareness of the importance of evidence-based research, and provide recommendations to enhance research and understanding in this area. This article describes the past and current state of research in G4H and identifies implications for the future. The current state of research in the field of games does not match the criteria for good standards of research. The poor quality of studies limits what can be concluded about the effectiveness of G4H. Outcomes research on G4H must make a quantum leap in quality to realistically assess the efficacy or effectiveness of G4H, and which aspects of G4H offer the most promise for change among which target groups. Research is also needed on the effectiveness of behavior change procedures and game mechanics within the context of games.
Engineered High Swelling Hydrogels

High swelling hydrogels (HSHs) are materials with the ability to swell to a large size in an aqueous medium. The swelling feature and mechanical properties of the HSH polymers depend on many factors. Therefore, the HSH properties can be engineered to tailor a hydrogels for a specific application. This chapter begins with the HSH anatomy and its engineering aspects, and continues with the purity of hydrogels and the sources of impurities in HSH polymers. The characterization of HSH polymers includes swelling determination, mechanical properties, and analytical issues, which will be discussed with a focus on both practical and theoretical aspects. Since final hydrogels properties are closely related to the level of its stability, this aspect is discussed by explaining the sources of instability, which potentially threaten the hydrogels properties. The chapter ends with two important groups of hydrogels that have been suggested and engineered for specific applications in pharmaceutical area.
Reperfusion strategies in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: a comprehensive review of contemporary management options.

There are an estimated 500,000 ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) events in the U.S. annually. Despite improvements in care, up to one-third of patients presenting with STEMI within 12 h of symptom onset still receive no reperfusion therapy acutely. Clinical studies indicate that speed of reperfusion after infarct onset may be more important than whether pharmacologic or mechanical intervention is used. Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), when performed rapidly at high-volume centers, generally has superior efficacy to fibrinolysis, although fibrinolysis may be more suitable for many patients as an initial reperfusion strategy. Because up to 70% of STEMI patients present to hospitals without on-site PCI facilities, and prolonged door-to-balloon times due to inevitable transport delays commonly limit the benefit of PCI, the continued role and importance of the prompt, early use of fibrinolytic therapy may be underappreciated. Logistical complexities such as triage or transportation delays must be considered when a reperfusion strategy is selected, because prompt fibrinolysis may achieve greater benefit, especially if the fibrinolytic-to-PCI time delay associated with transfer exceeds ∼1 h. Selection of a fibrinolytic requires consideration of several factors, including ease of dosing and combination with adjunctive therapies. Careful attention to these variables is critical to ensuring safe and rapid reperfusion, particularly in the prehospital setting. The emerging modality of pharmacoinvasive therapy, although controversial, seeks to combine the benefits of mechanical and pharmacologic reperfusion. Results from ongoing clinical trials will provide guidance regarding the utility of this strategy.
Opioid Prescribing Patterns Among American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Members in the Medicare Part D Database.

PURPOSE To assess opioid prescribing patterns among American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) members. METHODS An observational, retrospective, cohort study of ASOPRS members' prescribing patterns in the 2013-2016 Medicare Part D Prescriber database. These prescribers were stratified by years in practice, sex, and geography. The ASOPRS member cohort was compared with all ophthalmologists, as a group, and other surgeons. RESULTS The authors identified 617 surgeons in the 2017 ASOPRS directory. Members wrote an average of 45 opioid prescriptions/year. Almost half (45%) wrote 10 prescriptions averaged 78 annually. A minority wrote >100 prescriptions per year (14.8%). Overall, opioids comprised 16.5% of all prescriptions written by ASOPRS members. Despite seeing a similar number of beneficiaries (p = 0.20), male members prescribed a greater number (p < 0.05) and a higher rate (p < 0.05) of opioids than female members. Older members had a lower opioid prescription rate (p < 0.0001). Many heavy opioid prescribers practiced in states with high opioid overdose deaths. CONCLUSIONS American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery members prescribe moderate amounts of opioids at a rate (16.5%) higher than all of ophthalmology (4%), above the national mean (6.8%), but lower than other surgical services (36.5%). Male gender, younger age, and practice in states with high opioid-related deaths were correlated to number of prescriptions. Prescribing patterns may naturally relate to the type of surgical intervention and population. Further research is warranted to understand opioid prescriptions and their role in the opioid epidemic.
Psychotropic Medication Monitoring: A Review.

Objective To address a gap in the literature for concise recommendations on psychotropic medication monitoring geared to prescribers in primary care psychiatry. Data Sources Large institutional guidelines from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia/New Zealand combined with manual searches for psychiatric medication monitoring consensus and other recommendations up to January 31, 2018. Study Selection Any available guidelines and consensus statements making psychotropic medication monitoring recommendations for treatment of adults and published in English. Data Extraction Manual identification of all specific recommendations on psychotropic medication monitoring from the sources. Results Psychotropic medication monitoring recommendations vary by source, but there is considerable agreement among English-language sources, which can be readily summarized for teaching and everyday use. Conclusions For prescribers working in many disciplines, medication monitoring may be improved by having more ready access to recommendations.
Computational and experimental insights into the chemosensory navigation of Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae

Abstract Mosquitoes are prolific disease vectors that affect public health around the world. Although many studies have investigated search strategies used by host-seeking adult mosquitoes, little is known about larval search behavior. Larval behavior affects adult body size and fecundity, and thus the capacity of individual mosquitoes to find hosts and transmit disease. Understanding vector survival at all life stages is crucial for improving disease control. In this study we use experimental and computational methods to investigate the chemical ecology and search behavior of Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae. We show that larvae do not respond to several olfactory cues used by adult Ae. aegypti to assess larval habitat quality, but perceive microbial RNA as a potent foraging attractant. Second, we demonstrate that Ae. aegypti larvae use a strategy consistent with chemokinesis, rather than chemotaxis, to navigate chemical gradients. Using computational modeling, we further show that chemokinesis is more efficient than chemotaxis for avoiding repellents in ecologically relevant larval habitat sizes. Finally, we use experimental observations and computational analyses to demonstrate that larvae respond to starvation pressure by optimizing exploration behavior. Our results identify key characteristics of foraging behavior in a disease vector mosquito, including the identification of a surprising foraging attractant and an unusual behavioral mechanism for chemosensory preference. In addition to implications for better understanding and control of disease vectors, this work establishes mosquito larvae as a tractable model for chemosensory behavior and navigation.
Comparative effectiveness of allopurinol and febuxostat for the risk of atrial fibrillation in the elderly: a propensity-matched analysis of Medicare claims data.

AIMS Gout is associated with a higher risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Comparative effectiveness of allopurinol or febuxostat for reducing the AF risk is unknown, which was our study's main objective. METHODS AND RESULTS We used the 5% Medicare Beneficiary cohort (≥65 years) from 2006 to 2012 to identify people with a new filled prescription for allopurinol or febuxostat, with a baseline period of 365 days without respective medication and without AF. We used 5:1 propensity-matched Cox regression analyses to assess whether allopurinol use differed from febuxostat use regarding the hazard ratio (HR) of incident AF. We found 25 732 eligible episodes in 23 135 beneficiaries. Of these, 2311 incident allopurinol or febuxostat use episodes (9%) ended in incident AF with crude incidence rates of 8.0 and 10.5 per 100 person-years, respectively. In propensity-matched analyses, compared with allopurinol, febuxostat was associated with higher HR of AF, 1.25 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05-1.48]. Compared with allopurinol <200 mg/day, febuxostat 80 mg/day was associated with significantly higher HR of AF, 1.62 (95% CI 1.16-2.27), but not febuxostat 40 mg/day or higher allopurinol doses. Compared with 1-180 days of allopurinol use, febuxostat use for 1-180 days was associated with significantly higher HR of AF, 1.36 (95% CI 1.10-1.67), but longer durations were not. CONCLUSION Febuxostat was associated with a higher risk of AF compared with allopurinol in older adults. Increased AF risk was noted with febuxostat 80 mg/day dose and was most evident in the first 6 months of use. These findings need replication.
Altered reactivity of the rat adrenal medulla following periods of chronic stress.

The chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla are derived from embryonic neural tissues; specifically, the neural crest cells. These cells share many biochemical and functional properties with adrenergic neurons and are a useful model for studying many of the biochemical processes that occur in adrenergic neurons. These cells are known to be responsive to a variety of agonists and antagonists that also modulate sympathetic neuronal activity, contain the proteins necessary for the synthesis and release of the catecholamine neurotransmitters, and respond to growth factors that are known to regulate adrenergic growth. This tissue also contains several putative neurotransmitters and neurally active peptides. The primary physiological function of the chromaffin cells is to release epinephrine and norepinephrine in response to acetylcholine released from the preganglionic neuron.
Disrupting Fintech: Key Factors for Adopting Bitcoin

Bitcoin is one of the original cryptocurrencies. It was introduced by an anonymous author who goes by the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto (Nakamoto, n.d.). His genius proposal was based on the premise of user anonymity and decentralization (Barber, Boyen, Shi, Uzun, 2012). Bitcoin started out as a payment system among a small group of enthused users and was then mass-adopted. Most users employ it for legal activities such as investments and purchases, while some use it for illegal activities, products, and services like gambling, money laundering, tax evasion, kidnap ransoms, drugs, and prostitution (Kristoufek, 2015). In regard to reasons for using Bitcoin, studies have shown that the majority of Bitcoin owners view it as an investment rather than a currency for purchases or other financial transactions (Henry, Huynh, & Nicholls, 2018; Glaser, Zimmermann, Haferkorn, Weber & Siering, 2014). The purpose of this study was to determine what attracts and motivates consumers to own Bitcoin cryptocurrency and to fill a gap in the academic literature. The findings indicate that there is a strong relationship between owning Bitcoin and a desire for financial profit. This study concludes that the main motivation is of course profit which was driven by both finances and innovative technology led Bitcoin users to mining and installing Bitcoin clients, and then investing and trading afterwards.
In-home application (App) for 3D virtual garment fitting dressing room

This work introduces a novel method for the creation of an in-home virtual dressing room for garment fitting using an integrated system consisting of personalized 3D body model reconstruction and garment fitting simulation. Our method gives saliency to and establishes a relational interconnection between the massive scatter points on the 3D generic model. Starting with a small set of anthropometric interconnected ordered intrinsic control points residing on the silhouette of the projections of the generic model, corresponding control points on two canonical images of the person are automatically found – hence importing equivalent saliency between the two sets. Further equivalent saliencies between the projected points from the generic model and the canonical images are established through a loop subdivision process. Human shape mesh personalization is done through morphing the points on the generic model to follow and be consistent with their equivalent points on the canonical images. The 3D reconstruction yields sub resolution errors (high level accuracy) when compared to the average resolution of the original model using the CAESAR dataset. The reconstructed model is then fitted with garments sized to the 3D personalized model given at least one frontal image of the garment with no requirement for a full 3D view of the garment. Our method can also be applied to virtual fitting system for online stores and/or for clothing design and personalized garment simulation. The method is convenient, simple, efficient, and requires no intervention from the user aside from taking two images with a camera or smart phone.
Evidence for secondary thrombotic microangiopathy in COVID-19

The causes of coagulopathy associated with COVID-19 disease are poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the relationship between markers of endothelial activation, intravascular hemolysis, coagulation, and organ damage in COVID-19 patients and study their association with disease severity and mortality. We conducted a retrospective study of 181 hospitalized COVID-19 patients randomly selected with equal distribution of survivors and non-survivors. Patients who died had significantly lower ADAMTS13 activity, significantly higher LDH, schistocytes and von Willebrand Factor levels compared to patients discharged alive. Only 30% of patients with an initial ADAMTS13 activity <43% survived vs. 60% with ADAMTS13 ≥43% who survived. In conclusion, COVID-19 may manifest as a TMA-like illness in a subset of hospitalized patients. Presence of schistocytes on admission may warrant a work-up for TMA. These findings indicate the need for future investigation to study the relationship between endothelial and coagulation activation and the efficacy of TMA treatments in COVID-19.
Multimodal parameters of brain structure and function related to sex differences in cognitive performance.

Abstract Cognitive ability is a complex product of brain processes, yet it remains unknown how brain structure and function together lead to individual differences in developing cognitive skills. We performed multimodal neuroimaging in 1601 youths age 8-22 on the same 3-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner with contemporaneous neurocognitive assessment. Across age groups, high performers had larger volumes, greater gray matter density, lower mean diffusivity and lower cerebral blood flow, compared to low performers. These effects, which varied by region, were robust in males and females across age groups, but bigger in females for volume and in adult males for gray matter density and cerebral blood flow. Amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity values positively related to performance in males but not in adult females for most regions. Regions showing strongest associations with performance include baso-striatal (thalamus), limbic (hippocampus), frontal (orbital and midfrontal) temporal (midtemporal), Parietal (precuneus and superior parietal) and occipital cortex (fusiform and lingual). Cross-validated regularized regressions of brain parameters combined explained ∼20% of performance variance. Our cross-modal results indicate that abundance and integrity of neural tissue, as well as the maintenance of low energy metabolism while at rest, combine to optimize cognitive performance in humans.
Toward Continuous-Flow Hyperpolarisation of Metabolites via Heterogenous Catalysis, Side-Arm-Hydrogenation, and Membrane Dissolution of Parahydrogen.

Side-arm hydrogenation (SAH) by homogeneous catalysis has extended the reach of the parahydrogen enhanced NMR technique to key metabolites such as pyruvate. However, homogeneous hydrogenation requires rapid separation of the dissolved catalyst and purification of the hyperpolarised species with a purity sufficient for safe in-vivo use. An alternate approach is to employ heterogeneous hydrogenation in a continuous-flow reactor, where separation from the solid catalysts is straightforward. Using a TiO2 -nanorod supported Rh catalyst, we demonstrate continuous-flow parahydrogen enhanced NMR by heterogeneous hydrogenation of a model SAH precursor, propargyl acetate, at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. Parahydrogen gas was introduced into the flowing solution phase using a novel tube-in-tube membrane dissolution device. Without much optimization, proton NMR signal enhancements of up to 297 (relative to the thermal equilibrium signals) at 9.4 Tesla were shown to be feasible on allyl-acetate at a continuous total yield of 33 %. The results are compared to those obtained with the standard batch-mode technique of parahydrogen bubbling through a suspension of the same catalyst.
Incidence of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in Women with COVID-19.

Objective The study aimed to examine the incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in women diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, also known as COVID-19). Study Design This was a retrospective cohort study of all women who delivered at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC from April 8, 2020 to July 31, 2020. Starting April 8, 2020, universal testing for COVID-19 infection was initiated for all women admitted to labor and delivery. Women who declined universal testing were excluded. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were diagnosed based on American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Task Force definitions. 1 Maternal demographics, clinical characteristics, and labor and delivery outcomes were examined. Neonatal outcomes were also collected. Laboratory values from admission were evaluated. Our primary outcome was the incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy among women who tested positive for COVID-19. The incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy was compared between women who tested positive for COVID-19 and women who tested negative. Results Of the 1,008 women included in the analysis, 73 (7.2%) women tested positive for COVID-19, of which 12 (16.4%) were symptomatic at the time of admission. The incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy was 34.2% among women who tested positive for COVID-19 and 22.9% women who tested negative for COVID-19 (p = 0.03). After adjusting for race, antenatal aspirin use, chronic hypertension, and body mass index >30, the risk of developing any hypertensive disorder of pregnancy was not statistically significant (odds ratio: 1.58 [0.91–2.76]). Conclusion After adjusting for potential confounders, the risk of developing a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy in women who tested positive for COVID-19 compared with women who tested negative for COVID-19 was not significantly different. Key Points
Getting to the root of forest symbioses

The role of mutual aid in the history of life has been a persistent countertheme to the survival of the fittest—from the earliest studies of animal sociality to the discovery that key eukaryotic organelles descend from intracellular symbionts. In Finding the Mother Tree, forest ecologist Suzanne Simard recounts a career spent seeking out the practical implications of life9s interdependencies.
High-efficiency CRISPR gene editing in C. elegans using Cas9 integrated into the genome

Abstract Gene editing in C. elegans using plasmid-based CRISPR reagents requires microinjection of many animals to produce a single edit. Germline silencing of plasmid-borne Cas9 is a major cause of inefficient editing. Here, we present a set of C. elegans strains that constitutively express Cas9 in the germline from an integrated transgene. These strains markedly improve the success rate for plasmid-based CRISPR edits. For simple GFP insertions, 60 – 100% of injected animals typically produce edited progeny, depending on the target locus. Template-guided editing from an extrachromosomal array is maintained over multiple generations. We have built strains with the Cas9 transgene on multiple chromosomes. Additionally, each Cas9 locus also contains a heatshock-driven Cre recombinase for selectable marker removal and a bright fluorescence marker for easy outcrossing. These integrated Cas9 strains greatly reduce the workload for producing individual genome edits. Author Summary Germlines have evolved specialized mechanisms to protect themselves from invasions by transposons and viruses, which create barriers to genome editing techniques. For example, transgenes are silenced in the germline of the nematode C. elegans, thereby creating a barrier to CRISPR editing by Cas9. To facilitate gene editing, we built a collection of C. elegans strains in which Cas9 is never silenced. CRISPR is significantly more efficient in these animals, decreasing the effort researchers need to expend to get edited animals. The strains are available in multiple genetic backgrounds, and contain accessory transgenes to simplify downstream genetics. Together, these strains enable efficient, low-cost genome editing in C. elegans.