cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
279 THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF EARLY-ONSET VERSUS LATE-ONSET BLOODSTREAM INFECTIONS IN A NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT.

Bloodstream infections in neonates continue to be a significant ailment despite improvements in health care practice, most likely due to multiple risk factors affecting both early-onset and late-onset sepsis. Objective To compare the epidemiologic characteristics of early-onset and late-onset bloodstream infections in neonates treated at the University of California, Irvine neonatal intensive care unit (UCI-NICU) over a 7-year period. Methods All neonates with positive blood cultures treated at UCI-NICU between January 1998 and December 2004 were identified and their medical records were reviewed. Early-onset bacteremia was defined as an episode of bacteremia within the first 7 days of life. Results We identified 56 episodes of early onset and 160 episodes of late-onset bloodstream infections (see Table). Gram-negative bacteria caused bloodstream infections more frequently in early onset compared with late onset, whereas coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CONS) was more common in late-onset infections. Comparing risk factors for patients with early-onset and late-onset bloodstream infections, as expected, those with early-onset infections were less likely to have had surgeries (5.4% vs 38%), prior antibiotic therapy (37.5% vs 90%), shorter duration of intubation (2 days vs 13.7 days), and shorter duration of central lines (3.7 days vs 28.7 days). Conclusions The predominant bacterial causes of early-onset and late-onset bloodstream infections are different. Elucidation of epidemiologic trends and risk factors associated with early- and late-onset bloodstream infections will have significant implications in developing measures to control the occurrence of these infections.
Target genes prediction for miRNA in Alzheimer's disease

The research of miRNAs will help to further understand the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. In this paper,we use matching gene expression data and the miRNA expression data to estimate and analyze the miRNAs' target genes. First we estimate the target genes of the chosen differentially expressed miRNAs. Then we use HCTarget algorithm to validate the forecast target genes. At last we built regulation network of miRNAs and its target genes. The regulation network contains 11 identified miRNAs associated with AD and 6 AD disease- causing genes. By analyzing the network we found the miRNAs and its target genes' active trend in two cases of AD: normal and disease,biological analysis also confirmed their important role in the AD,this provided the basis for the research of the pathogenesis of AD.
Point of the cost-benefit balance study on Polio supplementary immunization in Shenzhen city

Objective To evaluate the costs and benefits of the supplementary immunization activities. Methods Every CDC repor-ted data and survey results on-site vaccination rate were used to estimate the average cost of effective vaccinate of polio vaccine,and the re-ducing number of polio vaccine on the point of the cost-benefit balance. Results The cost of the supplementary immunization is 4. 93 mil-lion yuan. The average cost of effective vaccinate of polio vaccine is 439. 68 yuan. Reducing polio cases 2.25 cases would achieve the cost-benefit balance. Conclusion The effective vaccination of polio vaccines is prohibitive,and the activities are unlikely to achieve the cost -benefit balance.
Co-management: Balancing Food Safety, the Environment, and the Bottom Line

Growers and distributors of fresh produce have long realized that reliably safe products and responsible use of resources inspire brand trust and consumer loyalty. Balancing food safety and resource conservation goals has become a vital element of produce industry management throughout the supply chain. Co-management is a process that seeks to balance food safety and sustainability goals in the context of maintaining a sound bottom line. The resources to develop effective co-management strategies lie within diverse communities of practice, including agricultural producers, food safety and wildlife professionals, conservation professionals, and academics with primary focus on any the above areas.The economic loss incurred from fields that must be abandoned before harvest due to fecal contamination can be significant. In addition, compliance with both food safety and conservation goals may generate additional operational costs. Key research questions remain, many defined during the critical conversations surrounding on-farm decisions regarding co-management. Additionally, responsibility lies with the research community for creating an open and integrated approach to interpretation, extension, and implementation of research results surrounding contamination, transport and survival of pathogens in the production environment.
Pharmacologic treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents.

Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents can be considered a silent epidemic. Their prevalence in this population has been reported to range between 6% and 18%. The pharmacologic treatment of these disorders is reviewed in this article. Studies regarding the use of tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, buspirone, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRis) and clinical considerations for the use of these medications are discussed. SSRis seem to be the most efficacious and safe agents for the pharmacologic treatment of pediatric anxiety disorders. This article emphasizes the need for additional studies.
Surgical treatment of valvular heart disease. VII. Prosthetic cardiac valves. Prognosis and management.

Abstract Prosthetic valve replacement may be performed in virtually any patient with valvular heart disease, regardless of the severity of his congestive failure. Despite a successful operation, there has been a late mortality rate, occurring one to two years after operation, in about 10 per cent of patients. This has been due to several factors reviewed in this article, including thromboembolism, prosthesis dysfunction, and persisting residual of cardiac disease. The importance of careful medical management following operation has been emphasized, for by precise management, the risk of these complications may be lessened. The critical question in the future is whether the striking decrease in thrombus formation with the new cloth-covered prostheses will be confirmed by future experience. A major question subsequently to be decided is whether the improved prosthetic valves will remain preferable over different types of homograft or heterograft valves.
Does Elevated Glucose Promote Atherosclerosis? Pros and Cons.

> Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence. > > Ovid The quote above, by the Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC to 17 AD), has been an inspiration to me since childhood. It reminds me that accumulating pieces of evidence to tackle difficult questions will in time make an impact. Of course, some discoveries happen suddenly and unexpectedly, whereas others take lifetimes. A question my laboratory has long examined is whether elevated glucose promotes atherosclerosis by acting directly on vascular cells in lesions of atherosclerosis in the setting of diabetes mellitus.1 This problem seems to belong to the category Ovid might have had in mind when he coined the quote above. The reason we keep tackling this question from different angles and by different methods is of course the increased risk of cardiovascular complications associated with type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). There is still no consensus on how diabetes mellitus promotes atherosclerosis and resulting cardiovascular events and whether glucose has a direct proatherosclerotic effect. Considerable time and resources have been devoted to studies of effects of glucose in isolated cultured vascular cells. In my opinion, for reasons described below, we now need to tackle the role of elevated glucose, hyperglycemia, and glucose fluctuations by using animal models and studies in humans. Studies in isolated vascular cells and animal models have begun to reveal that inhibition of glucose uptake and utilization in cells involved in atherosclerosis can prevent proatherosclerotic events in the absence of diabetes mellitus. This is not surprising because cellular activation often is associated with metabolic reprogramming. Thus, reducing expression of the glucose transporter GLUT1 in macrophages or hematopoietic cells limits inflammatory activation of macrophages, expansion of hematopoietic cells, and atherosclerosis in mice.2,3 Other studies demonstrate that …
Risk and benefits in a fracking boom: Evidence from Colorado

Abstract Unconventional oil and gas technology such as hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) has created a boom in production in the United States. In this paper we add to the growing literature on public perceptions of risk and benefits related to fracking using data from Colorado. We find that trust in the oil and gas industry is powerful predictor of a range of risk and benefit perceptions while other ostensibly important variables—such as the extent of local drilling or the perceived economic significance of the oil and gas industry—have little role in risk and benefit perceptions. The effect of trust is robust across several different types of risk and benefits perceptions and survives the inclusion of an array of control variables. Moving forward, we suggest researchers work to understand the factors which create public trust in the oil and gas industry.
Detection and functional analysis of highly dense, self-assembled nanoarrays of double helical nucleic acids

T inherent property of nucleic acids to self-assemble permits the spontaneous formation of highly dense nanoarrays of RNA and DNA in confined spatial locations. Such self-assembly provides the basis for development of programmable nanodevices with single-molecule detection capability. Moreover, highly-dense self-assembled nanoarrays allow the requisite confinement of single-cell amounts of DNA or RNA that can be recognized by proteins and other ligands. Detection also can be achieved in a label-free manner by using probes that directly alter the physical or chemical state of the nanoarrayed nucleic acid. Specifically, ribonucleases and deoxyribonucleases can act on laterallyconfined,self-assembled monolayers of double-stranded RNA or DNA, respectively. The change in height of the arrayed nucleic acid as a result of nuclease action can be detected using atomic force microscopy. The retained processing reactivity of nanoarrayed nucleic acids forms the basis of novel approaches to biomarker detection.
Getting Started with XML and JSON

The goal of this chapter is to provide a rapid introduction to a few high-level functions available to R users for parsing XML and JSON content. In many cases, these functions (read- HTMLTable(), xmlToList(), xmlToDataFrame(), and fromJSON()) are all that you will need to read XML- or JSON- formatted data directly into an R list or dataframe. One of the purposes of this chapter is to introduce many of the functions you need for common applications for scraping data from Web pages, reading data from files, and working with XML and JSON data from Web services. We also want to give you a sense of the possibilities and entice you to learn more about these data formats.
Inexact best-response schemes for stochastic Nash games: Linear convergence and Iteration complexity analysis

We consider a subclass of N-player stochastic Nash games in which each player solves a parametrized stochastic optimization problem. In deterministic regimes, best response schemes have been shown to be convergent under a suitable spectral property associated with the proximal-response map. However, a direct application of this scheme to stochastic settings requires obtaining exact solutions to stochastic optimization problems at every step. Instead, we propose an inexact generalization of this scheme in which an inexact solution to the best response problem is computed where the player-specific inexactness sequence is assumed to be separable. Notably, this scheme is an implementable single-loop scheme that requires a fixed (but increasing) number of stochastic gradient steps to compute an inexact solution to the best response problem. On the basis of this framework, we make several contributions: (i) The presented inexact best-response scheme produces iterates that converge to the unique equilibrium in mean; (ii) Surprisingly, we show that the iterates converge at a prescribed linear rate with a prescribed constant rather than a sub-linear rate; and (iii) Finally, by assuming that an inexact solution is computed by a stochastic approximation scheme, the overall iteration complexity for computing an ∊-Nash equilibrium less that O(√N/∊)2+δ where δ is a positive scalar. Additionally, we show that the upper bound of this effort is shown to be Ω(N=∊2).
On the nonoscillatory phase function for Legendre's differential equation

Abstract We express a certain complex-valued solution of Legendre's differential equation as the product of an oscillatory exponential function and an integral involving only nonoscillatory elementary functions. By calculating the logarithmic derivative of this solution, we show that Legendre's differential equation admits a nonoscillatory phase function. Moreover, we derive from our expression an asymptotic expansion useful for evaluating Legendre functions of the first and second kinds of large orders, as well as the derivative of the nonoscillatory phase function. Our asymptotic expansion is not as efficient as the well-known uniform asymptotic expansion of Olver; however, unlike Olver's expansion, it coefficients can be easily obtained. Numerical experiments demonstrating the properties of our asymptotic expansion are presented.
Collision‐induced dissociation processes of protonated benzoic acid and related compounds: competitive generation of protonated carbon dioxide or protonated benzene

Upon activation in the gas phase, protonated benzoic acid (m/z 123) undergoes fragmentation by several mechanisms. In addition to the predictable water loss followed by a CO loss, the m/z 123 ion more intriguingly eliminates a molecule of benzene to generate protonated carbon dioxide (H - O+ ═ C ≡ O, m/z 45), or a molecule of carbon dioxide to yield protonated benzene (m/z 79). Experimental evidence shows that the incipient proton ambulates during the fragmentation processes. For the CO2 or benzene loss, protonated benzoic acid transfers the charge-imparting proton initially to the ortho position and then to the ipso position to generate a transient species which dissociates to form an ion-neutral complex between benzene and protonated CO2 . The formation of the m/z 45 ion is not a phenomenon unique to benzoic acid: spectra from protonated isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, trans-cinnamic acid and some aliphatic acids also displayed a peak for m/z 45. However, the m/z 45 peak is structurally diagnostic only for certain benzene polycarboxylic acids because the spectra of compounds with two carboxyl groups on adjacent ring carbons do not produce a peak at m/z 45. For the m/z 79 ion to be formed, an intramolecular reaction should take place in which protonated CO2 within the ion-neutral complex acts as the attacking electrophile to transfer a proton to benzene. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The use of vascularized spheroids to evaluate the in vitro activity of antiangiogenic drugs.

5124 Angiogenesis is a key aspect of cancer progression and patient survival. We have produced three-dimensional spheroid co-cultures of breast cancer and melanoma cell lines with microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs). Numerous obstacles had to be overcome in the development of these models, which are homogeneous and reproducible in both size and shape. Different methods of producing spheroids were explored, ranging from a hanging drop model to methylcellulose to agar matrix models. Additionally, nutritional requirements for all co-cultured cell-types had to be satisfied, leading to a comparison of various media. In these models, lumen-like structures made up of MVECs penetrate the tumor spheroid, thereby creating a model of angiogenesis. Whereas numerous models for angiogenesis exist, few allow for the direct analysis of MVEC-cancer cell interactions. Our model of vascularized spheroids makes it possible to examine how cell lines of differing phenotypes modulate MVEC-mediated lumen formation. Another advantage of our model is based on its spherical shape, which leads to radial gradients in nutrient exposure, hypoxia, and drug concentrations. Such gradients produce hypoxic and non-hypoxic populations that mimic in vivo tumor growth. These models were developed in part to test our hypothesis that spheroids derived from tumor cell lines expressing low levels of Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) would have greater endothelial cell invasion than those with high TSP-1. TSP-1 is the natural inhibitor of neovascularization and tumorigenesis in healthy tissue. It activates the CD36 receptor on endothelial cells, which can induce apoptosis. TSP-1 expression by various tumor cell lines was characterized using western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Endothelial cell invasion was measured by staining MVECs with CD31 and CD105 reagents, and the cells were enumerated using light microscopy at a 200x field. The cytotoxic activities of anti-angiogenesis and chemotherapeutic agents on vascularized tumor spheroids are also evaluated to determine if TSP-1 levels modulated the apoptotic response of MVECs to therapy.
SOLIDIFICATION OF A BINARY MIXTURE IN A RECTANGULAR CAVITY

1. ABSTRACT An experimental study of solidification of aqueous sodium chloride solution on a vertical wall of a rectangular cavity is reported. The effects of buoyancy driven thermosolutal convection on the freezing process have been examined. The temperature distribution in the solid, mush and liquid regions has been recorded. Using a hypodermic needle, samples of solution were periodically withdrawn from predetermined locations and with a refractometer, the concentration was determined. The progress of freezing was recorded photographically. Volume fraction at different times has been determined. As the solution was frozen, solute was rejected establishing a concentration gradient. Along with the thermal gradient thermosolutal convective flow was established. In the bulk melt there were two regions, one where convective flow was present (convection region) and below it a region where the liquid was stagnant (stratified region). The two regions were separated by a thin visible zone. In the convection region, there was little variation in concentration and the temperature was vertically and stably stratified. However, near the thin separating zone, the temperature distribution indicated thermal instability (i.e. cold liquid above hot liquid), but the concentration distribution was stably stratified (i.e. dense liquid above light liquid). In the stratified region, the concentration increased significantly from the initial value and this relative increase was inversely proportional to the initial concentration. Also with increase in initial concentration, the rate of freezing was reduced. For experiments with initial concentrations of 5% and 20%, the maximum percent increases in concentration (t = 6 h), are 51.5% and 9.94%, which corresponds to actual concentrations of 7.6% and 21.9%, respectively. The respective total (solid + mush) volume fractions were 0.17 and 0.12 (at t=6 h).
Editorial Comment: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for Prioritization of Limited Public Health Resources - Tuberculosis Interventions in Texas

Public health departments have limited evidence to understand and analyze the costs and benefits of different health programs, including tuberculosis control and prevention programs. The study by Miller et. al addresses this challenge to estimate costs and benefits of tuberculosis prevention programs in Texas and identify cost-effective diagnostic and treatment combinations, thereby improving the evidence-based decision making power of the public health departments.
Renal Disease in Pregnancy

The renal system undergoes significant adaptations in pregnancy to meet the needs of both the pregnant woman and her growing fetus. These changes have important implications in the evaluation and management of gravidas with kidney disorders. Renal disease in pregnancy falls into several categories. It may be chronic and diagnosed prior to pregnancy, chronic but first recognized during pregnancy, or it may present for the first time as an acute disorder in pregnancy. While the majority of women with underlying renal disease in pregnancy will have good pregnancy outcomes, there is an increased risk for adverse maternal and fetal outcomes especially in pregnant women with moderate to severe renal disease. These risks include worsening renal function, increase of baseline proteinuria, worsening hypertension, and the development of superimposed preeclampsia. From the fetal perspective, there is an increased risk of fetal growth restriction, preterm delivery, and the complications of superimposed preeclampsia. Other common disorders during pregnancy include pyelonephritis and renal stones. This chapter will outline renal changes during pregnancy, discuss the impact of pregnancy on renal disease and the impact of renal disease on pregnancy in general, and review several common kidney disorders occurring in pregnancy.
Treatment of Endometriosis by Nasal Administration of Nafarelin

Endometriosis, the ectopic location of endometrial tissue, may have an incidence up to 6% of all women of reproductive age. Patients present with symptoms ranging from chronic pelvic pain, to dyspareunia to infertility. Up to 50% of infertile women may have associated endometriosis. The condition ameliorates during pregnancy and spontaneously resolves at the menopause and after oophorectomy. There is however no uniformly successful therapy for endometriosis when future fertility is desired. Treatment has included conservative surgery, combination high dose oral contraceptives taken continuously for 6 months (induced pseudopregnancy) and more recently, danazol, an androgenic isoxazole derivative of 17α-ethinyl testosterone. While daily doses of 400–800 mg for 6 months of this steroid lead to clinical and objective improvement in up to 70% of cases, approximately 85% of patients experience troublesome side effects including weight gain, reduced breast size, acne and hirsutism [1–4].
The physics of jamming for granular materials: a review

Granular materials consist of macroscopic grains, interacting via contact forces, and unaffected by thermal fluctuations. They are one of a class systems that undergo jamming, i.e. a transition between fluid-like and disordered solid-like states. Roughly twenty years ago, proposals by Cates et al for the shear response of colloidal systems and by Liu and Nagel, for a universal jamming diagram in a parameter space of packing fraction, ϕ, shear stress, τ, and temperature, T raised key questions. Contemporaneously, experiments by Howell et al and numerical simulations by Radjai et al and by Luding et al helped provide a starting point to explore key insights into jamming for dry, cohesionless, granular materials. A recent experimental observation by Bi et al is that frictional granular materials have a a re-entrant region in their jamming diagram. In a range of ϕ, applying shear strain, γ, from an initially force/stress free state leads to fragile (in the sense of Cates et al), then anisotropic shear jammed states. Shear jamming at fixed ϕ is presumably conjugate to Reynolds dilatancy, involving dilation under shear against deformable boundaries. Numerical studies by Radjai and Roux showed that Reynolds dilatancy does not occur for frictionless systems. Recent numerical studies by several groups show that shear jamming occurs for finite, but not infinite, systems of frictionless grains. Shear jamming does not lead to known ordering in position space, but Sarkar et al showed that ordering occurs in a space of force tiles. Experimental studies seeking to understand random loose and random close packings (rlp and rcp) and dating back to Bernal have probed granular packings and their response to shear and intruder motion. These studies suggest that rlp's are anisotropic and shear-jammed-like, whereas rcp's are likely isotropically jammed states. Jammed states are inherently static, but the jamming diagram may provide a context for understanding rheology, i.e. dynamic shear in a variety of systems that include granular materials and suspensions.
Interdisciplinary Treatment of Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Setting: A Case Report.

Inpatient rehabilitation (IR) units represent a unique opportunity to provide comprehensive, wraparound care for typically treatment resistant Functional Neurologic Symptom Disorder (FNSD) or conversion disorder. The case report presents one example of an IR program for a patient with FNSD-based cataplexia and paralysis symptoms. Orienting an FNSD-naive staff and an operant behavioral-based treatment approach are discussed. Included are recommendations for use in an IR setting.
Trend in Pulmonary Artery Pulsatility Index Pre- to Post-LVAD Implantation

Purpose The pre-operative pulmonary artery pulsatility index (PAPi) is associated with severe right ventricular failure (RVF) after LVAD implantation. We set out to assess how the PAPi trends pre- to post-operatively in patients with and without severe RVF. Methods A single-center retrospective study of 230 patients who received a continuous-flow durable LVAD between 1/2006 and 9/2016. PAPi was defined as: [(PA systolic - PA diastolic) ÷ RA pressure]. Severe RVF was defined as meeting criteria for clinical RVF and having inotropes > 14 days after implant, inotropes re-started after 14 days of implant, RVAD placement during implant admission, and death from RVF during implant admission. The hemodynamics pre-implant and post-operatively at 6, 24, and 72 hours were examined. Results In our 230-patient cohort, 62 patients (27%) were found to have severe RVF. Patients with severe RVF had a lower pre-operative (p-value = 0.04), 6-hour post-LVAD (p-value Conclusion The PAPi declines significantly post-operatively in patients with severe RVF and without severe RVF at 6 and 24 hours. For patients with severe RVF, the PAPi significantly improves from 6 to 72 hours post-operatively.
Low Albumin Levels, More Than Morbid Obesity, Are Associated With Complications After TKA.

Background Morbid obesity and malnutrition are thought to be associated with more frequent perioperative complications after TKA. However, morbid obesity and malnutrition often are co-occurring conditions. Therefore it is important to understand whether morbid obesity, malnutrition, or both are independently associated with more frequent perioperative complications. In addition, assessing the magnitude of an increase in complications and whether these complications are major or minor is important for both conditions.
Abstract TMP98: Increased Fractalkine and Decreased RANTES Concentrations Predict Progression of Carotid Stenosis Severity at Twenty Months

Introduction: Studies have demonstrated that progression of carotid stenosis severity in asymptomatic patients is associated with increased stroke risk. Identifying stenosis progression mechanisms ...
Binding studies of cucurbit[7]uril with gold nanoparticles bearing different surface functionalities

Abstract Host–guest interactions between a synthetic receptor, cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been quantified using isothermal titration calorimetry. AuNPs were functionalized with ligands containing tertiary or quaternary benzylamine derivatives, with electron donating or withdrawing groups at the para position of the benzene ring. Analysis of binding interactions reveals that functional groups at the para position have no significant effect on binding constant. However, headgroups bearing a permanent positive charge increased the binding of AuNPs to CB[7] ten-fold compared to monomethyl counterparts.
Factor Structure of the Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test Revised (CUDIT-R) for Men and Women

The Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test Revised (CUDIT-R) is an 8-item screening instrument designed to identify recent problematic cannabis use over the past 6 months. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the factor structure of the CUDIT-R separately for male and female college students. Participants included 1,390 male and female college students recruited from three state universities (61% female; Age: M = 19.8, SD = 1.3). We conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses followed by tests of measurement invariance including configural invariance, metric invariance and scalar invariance across men and women. Results confirmed a one-factor structure for the CUDIT-R. The number of factors and item loadings were invariant between men and women. However, intercepts were non-invariant for an item asking about consumption of cannabis use indicating that the endorsement of this item varied between men and women. Follow-up validation tests indicated that using a sum score for analyses is appropriate despite non-invariance. However, more research is needed to determine if the cut-off scores of the CUDIT-R should be reevaluated by gender.
‘Ytnahaw ga’!’: Algeria’s Cultural Revolution and the Role of Language in the Early Stages of the Spring 2019 Hirak

When Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced in February 2019 that he would seek a fifth term, the people took to the streets in protest. This sparked the Hirak, an ongoing popular moveme...
Modeling of fluid flow, carbohydrate digestion, and glucose absorption in human small intestine

Abstract The aim of this study was to develop a numerical model for simulating fluid flow, carbohydrate digestion, and glucose absorption in human small intestine. COMSOL Multiphysics® software was used to develop the numerical model. The intestinal geometry parameters, motility parameters, intestinal content properties, and digestion kinetics were obtained from the literature. The glucose absorption process was simulated by assuming that the intestinal tube is enclosed in an outer cylindrical tube with an intermediate diffusion wall. The properties of the intermediate diffusion wall were estimated by comparing numerical predictions with experimental results of in vitro digestion of 5 g glucose and 5 g maltodextrin in water-based food solutions. The jejunum numerical model with the intermediate diffusion wall of 2 mm thickness and the glucose diffusivity value of 5.25 × 10−9 m2/s, predicted the experimental cumulative jejunal glucose absorption values of 3.67 g (glucose feed) and 3.74 g (maltodextrin feed) with an average error of 0.07 g and 0.2 g, respectively.
The V471 Tauri System: A Multi-data-type Probe

V471 Tauri, a white dwarf–red dwarf eclipsing binary (EB) in the Hyades, is well known for stimulating development of common envelope theory, whereby novae and other cataclysmic variables form from much wider binaries by catastrophic orbit shrinkage. Our evaluation of a recent imaging search that reported negative results for a much postulated third body shows that the object could have escaped detection or may have actually been seen. The balance of evidence continues to favor a brown dwarf companion about 12 AU from the EB. A recently developed algorithm finds unified solutions from three data types. New radial velocities (RVs) of the red dwarf and BVR I C C light curves are solved simultaneously along with white dwarf and red dwarf RVs from the literature, uvby data, the Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars mission light curve, and 40 years of eclipse timings. Precisionbased weighting is the key to proper information balance among the various data sets. Timewise variation of modeled starspots allows unified solution of multiple data eras. Light-curve amplitudes strongly suggest decreasing spottedness from 1976 to about 1980, followed by approximately constant spot coverage from 1981 to 2005. An explanation is proposed for lack of noticeable variation in 1981 light curves, in terms of competition between spot and tidal variations. Photometric–spectroscopic distance is estimated. The red dwarf mass comes out larger than normal for a K2 V star, and even larger than adopted in several structure and evolution papers. An identified cause for this result is that much improved red dwarf RVcurves now exist.
Wage differential by disability status in an agrarian labour market in India.

This article is the first to estimate the magnitude and determinants of a wage differential by disability status in the context of an agrarian labour market through a wage decomposition method. In rural Uttar Pradesh, India, we find evidence of an unexplained wage gap in favour of nondisabled men of 8% after controlling for selection bias into employment and using different reference groups for wage decomposition.
Current progress in pharmacogenomics of Type 2 diabetes: A systemic overview.

Abstract Introduction Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a prevalent disease with incidences increasing globally at a rapid rate. The goal of T2DM treatment is to control glucose levels and prevent the aggravation of glycemic symptoms. Treatment options T2DM regimen include metformin as the first-line, with sulfonylurea, thiazolidinedione (TZD), GLP-1, DPP4I, and SGLT2 inhibitor as the second-line treatment options. However, even with a multitude of choices, patient-to-patient variability due to pharmacogenomic differences still prevail. Conclusion This review aims to discuss the responses of the major T2DM medications influenced by pharmacogenomics and investigate improved personalized therapy for T2DM patients.
Comments regarding “Solubility determination and crystallization thermodynamics of an intermediate in different organic Solvents”

Abstract A polemic is given regarding one of the mathematical equations used by Liu and Guo to describe the variation in the mole fraction solubility of 4-nitropyrazole with temperature. The published equation coefficients were not consistent with the authors’ calculated apparent thermodynamic properties of dissolution.
Influence of Platelet Count on Procedure-Related Outcomes After Mechanical Thrombectomy for Large Vessel Occlusion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective To compare outcomes between patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion based on platelet count: low versus normal. Methods Three studies were included with a pooled cohort of 1125 patients. Data points were collected and pooled by meta-analysis of proportions via a logit transformation to provide a summary statistic. Both fixed-effect and random-effects models were recruited for the analysis. In this meta-analysis, risk of developing symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, unfavorable clinical outcomes (modified Rankin Scale score >3), and mortality of patients with low platelet counts were compared with patients with normal platelet counts according to the criteria for inclusion used by each study. Results Of patients, 50 (4.7%) had low platelet count, and 1075 (95.3%) had normal platelet count. Patients in the low platelet count group had a substantially higher risk of mortality (risk ratio 1.93, 95% confidence interval 1.43–2.60, P Conclusions Patients with low platelet counts had increased mortality compared with patients with normal platelet counts following mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion.
A Review of Introduction to Forensic Engineering

Forensic Engineering is a burgeoning field in the United States and elsewhere with specialized courses appearing in the engineering curricula at several colleges and universities. Unfortunately, this short book of 200 text pages organized into 21 chapters, does not capture the essence of this exciting and rapidly expanding field. To be sure, the book does contain some useful information but it is not a general treatment where a novice could learn something without prior background or exposure. This reviewer also feels an incorrect impression is created by entirely focusing attention on after-the-fact investigations (Monday morning quarterbacking) of accidents or failures with no attention devoted to the very significant role of forensic engineering in accident and injury prevention through effective design. The book appears to be merely a soiree of the author's excursions into forensic engineering through his consulting company. Furthermore, only very few scientific references are given although the number of topics treated is large.
Technology mapping via transformations of function graphs

The authors address the problem of how to realize a given combinational circuit described by means of Boolean equations using the minimum number of blocks of the target TLU table lookup architecture. Their Boolean decomposition scheme works directly on a reduced ordered binary decision diagram (ROBDD) of a subject function, using two techniques. The first, referred to as cutting, is an efficient implementation of Roth-Karp decomposition. The second technique is referred to as a substitution. The idea is to replace subgraphs of ROBDD by new variables. The substitution process is accompanied by certain reductions of the resulting ROBDD graph, which further decreases its size. >
Physically Unclonable Digital ID

The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates the annual cost from cyber crime to be more than $400 billion. Most notable is the recent digital identity thefts that compromised millions of accounts. These attacks emphasize the security problems of using clonable static information. One possible solution is the use of a physical device known as a Physically Unclonable Function (PUF). PUFs can be used to create encryption keys, generate random numbers, or authenticate devices. While the concept shows promise, current PUF implementations are inherently problematic: inconsistent behavior, expensive, susceptible to modeling attacks, and permanent. Therefore, we propose a new solution by which an unclonable, dynamic digital identity is created between two communication endpoints such as mobile devices. This Physically Unclonable Digital ID (PUDID) is created by injecting a data scrambling PUF device at the data origin point that corresponds to a unique and matching descrambler/hardware authentication at the receiving end. This device is designed using macroscopic, intentional anomalies, making them inexpensive to produce. PUDID is resistant to cryptanalysis due to the separation of the challenge response pair and a series of hash functions. PUDID is also unique in that by combining the PUF device identity with a dynamic human identity, we can create true two-factor authentication. We also propose an alternative solution that eliminates the need for a PUF mechanism altogether by combining tamper resistant capabilities with a series of hash functions. This tamper resistant device, referred to as a Quasi-PUDID (Q-PUDID), modifies input data, using a black-box mechanism, in an unpredictable way. By mimicking PUF attributes, Q-PUDID is able to avoid traditional PUF challenges thereby providing high-performing physical identity assurance with or without a low performing PUF mechanism. Three different application scenarios with mobile devices for PUDID and Q-PUDID have been analyzed to show their unique advantages over traditional PUFs and outline the potential for placement in a host of applications.
Towards a Biologically-inspired Architecture for Self-Regulatory and Evolvable Network Applications

Summary The BEYOND architecture applies biological principles and mechanisms to design network applications that autonomously adapt to dynamic environmental changes in the network. In BEYOND, each network application consists of distributed software agents, analogous to a bee colony (application) consisting of multiple bees (agents). Each agent provides a particular functionality of a network application, and implements biological behaviors such as energy exchange, migration, reproduction and replication. This paper describes two key components in BEYOND: (1) a self-regulatory and evolutionary adaptation mechanism for agents, called iNet, and (2) an agent development environment, called BEYONDwork. iNet is designed after the mechanisms behind how the immune system detects antigens (e.g., viruses) and produces antibodies to eliminate them. It models a set of environment conditions (e.g., network traffic) as an antigen and an agent behavior (e.g., migration) as an antibody. iNet allows each agent to autonomously sense its surrounding environment conditions (i.e., antigens) and adaptively invoke a behavior (i.e., antibody) suitable for the conditions. In iNet, a configuration of antibodies is encoded as a gene. Agents evolve their antibodies so that they can adapt to unexpected environmental changes. iNet also allows each agent to detect its own deficiencies to detect antigen invasions (i.e., environmental changes) and regulate its policy for antigen detection. Simulation results show that agents adapt to changing network environments by self-regulating their antigen detection and evolving their antibodies through generations. BEYONDwork provides visual and textual languages to design agents in an intuitive manner.
Geometric Realizations of Hyperelliptic Curves

Every elliptic curve w 2 - z(z - 1)(z - y) = 0,y ≠ 0, 1 is a torus and, in particular, can be represented as an identification space of a parallelogram. The gluing maps are translations.
Optically active aromatic chromophores—IV : Circular dichroism studies of some open-chain systems☆☆☆

Abstract CD measurements in the spectral region from ca. 200 to 300-nm are reported for two α-substituted phenylacetic acids, two α-substituted 3-phenylpropionic acids, and some related compounds. The Ph substituted compounds exhibit two Cotton effects shown to be due to the 1 L b and 1 L a transitions of the Ph ring. Inversion of the sign of the 260-nm Cotton effect is observed when the aromatic chromophore is separated from the asymmetric center by a methylene group. For the aromatic carboxylic acids in the series, a positive 1 L a Cotton effect can be correlated with the S-configuration.
Mitochondrial Assembly in Respiration-deficient Mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae II. EFFECT OF NUCLEAR AND EXTRACHROMOSOMAL MUTATIONS ON THE FORMATION OF CYTOCHROME c OXIDASE

Abstract Earlier studies from this laboratory have shown that cytochrome c oxidase from bakers' yeast consists of seven polypeptides. The three largest ones (molecular weights 42,000, 34,500, and 23,000) are synthesized on mitochondrial ribosomes, whereas the four smallest ones (molecular weights 14,000, 12,500, 12,500, and 9,500) are synthesized on cytoplasmic ribosomes. In order to study the assembly of the functional oligomeric enzyme, four cytochrome c oxidase-less mutants of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain D273-10B were analyzed for residual cytochrome c oxidase polypeptides. Three were nuclear mutants specifically deficient in cytochrome c oxidase; the fourth mutant was an extrachromosomally inherited petite strain lacking not only cytochrome c oxidase but several other mitochondrial components as well. Cytochrome c oxidase polypeptides in the respiration-deficient mitochondria were identified by immunodiffusion and by electrophoretic analysis of radioactively labeled immunoprecipitates. Each of the three nuclear mutants lacked at least one cytochrome c oxidase component which, in the wild type, is synthesized on mitochondrial ribosomes. Mutant pet 494 was devoid of the 23,000-dalton polypeptide, whereas mutants pet E11 and pet 1030 were almost completely deficient in all three large cytochrome oxidase polypeptides. All nuclear mutants possessed near normal amounts of the cytoplasmically synthesized cytochrome c oxidase components. The extrachromosomal petite mutant lacked not only the three mitochondrially synthesized polypeptides, but also the 9,500-dalton polypeptide which is a product of cytoplasmic protein synthesis. The remaining cytochrome oxidase subunits were only loosely bound to the mitochondrial membrane, differing in this respect from the corresponding subunits in wild type mitochondria. These results permit the following conclusions. 1. The polypeptide of molecular weight 23,000 is apparently an essential component of cytochrome c oxidase, since its absence in mutant pet 494 is paralleled by a specific loss of the functional enzyme. 2. The mitochondrially synthesized cytochrome c oxidase subunits are necessary for the tight binding of the cytoplasmically synthesized cytochrome c oxidase subunits to the mitochondrial inner membrane. 3. The synthesis (or intregration) of mitochondrially synthesized cytochrome c oxidase subunits can be prevented by nuclear mutations. Conversely, extrachromosomal mutations can impair or completely prevent the integration of cytoplasmically synthesized cytochrome c oxidase subunits. These experiments also showed that, under our conditions, the three large subunits of cytochrome c oxidase account for 20 to 25% of the protein synthesized by mitochondria.
Structure–Activity Relationship of Formamides as Organocatalysts: The Significance of Formamide Structure and Conformation

The impact of the structure and conformation of formamides as organocatalysts was investigated and reported herein as a structure–activity relationship. Selected formamides and some amides were evaluated for their ability to activate allyltrichlorosilane in the allylation of benzaldehyde. The results suggest that the reactive conformation of secondary formamides is the less-favorable cis conformation, whereas tertiary formamides and most amides are less reactive or unreactive in the reaction. A trend is observed between the Charton value for the N-substituent on the secondary formamides and the amount of product formed, with an increase in yield as the substituent becomes larger. This work highlights the effects of sterics and solvent polarity on the reactivity of formamides.
Gonococci possessing only certain P.II outer membrane proteins interact with human neutrophils.

Abstract We investigated the role of the protein II (P.II) family of gonococcal outer membrane proteins in the interaction of seven single P.II variants of Neisseria gonorrhoeae FA1090 with human neutrophils in vitro. The abilities of nonpiliated gonococci to adhere to and be killed by neutrophils and to stimulate luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (CL) depended on the possession of at least one P.II. Gonococci lacking P.II (i.e., P.II-) adhered poorly to and were not killed by neutrophils and induced only minimal CL. Although most P.II-containing (i.e., P.II+) variants adhered to, stimulated, and were readily killed by neutrophils, one variant, containing P.IIa, possessed none of these characteristics; it acted just like a P.II- variant. No correlation was found between the colony opacity phenotype and the interaction of gonococci with neutrophils. Data from CL experiments suggest that the stimulatory effect of P.II was dominant over that of pili; i.e., piliated P.II+ gonococci were much more stimulatory than piliated P.II- gonococci. The results indicate that most but not all P.II proteins mediate, in part or in full, the interaction of N. gonorrhoeae with human neutrophils, including adherence, stimulation of the neutrophil respiratory burst, and phagocytic killing.
"Tightly Wound Rubber Bands": Exploring the College Experiences of Low-Income, First-Generation White Students.

This qualitative study explores how low-income, first-generation, White students experienced their social class during college. Particular attention was given to how students’ spent their time, energy, and resources during college. Overall, participants’ stories reflected students who felt overextended and overwhelmed during college mostly due to the necessity of work combined with the rigors of collegiate academics. Implications for higher education research and practice are discussed.