cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
NUCLEAR MEDICINE, CONTRAST ANGIOGRAPHY, AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING FOR EVALUATING VASCULAR PROBLEMS IN THE HAND

Techniques for imaging the vascular tree have undergone change and development. Nuclear imaging can lead to decisions concerning diagnoses of masses, while contrast angiography with digital subtraction gives a complete picture of the vessels. Magnetic resonance angiography is the most exciting advance. Completely noninvasive, it yields much the same information as conventional contrast angiography.
Circular Security Separations for Arbitrary Length Cycles from LWE

We describe a public key encryption that is IND-CPA secure under the Learning with Errors LWE assumption, but that is not circular secure for arbitrary length cycles. Previous separation results for cycle length greater than 2 require the use of indistinguishability obfuscation, which is not currently realizable under standard assumptions.
Acoustic Impedance Profiling—an Experimental Model and Analytical Study with Implications for Medical Diagnosis

Acoustic parameter characterization in a quantitative manner of soft tissues in the human body leading to tissue typing is a potentially powerful method for clinical medicine for the identification and differentiation of disease entities in a non-invasive manner. This study is concerned with the determination of acoustic impedance profiles in physical models, some of which have impedance values in the range of body soft tissues. The physical models used are of a plane parallel face multilayer type, and the sound beam is at normal incidence to the plane face. Materials used in the model have been lucite, silastic rubber of varying compositions (to produce acoustic impedance differences of a few percent at a boundary) and ρc rubber. The sound beams used mostly have been those produced by focused transceivers (fundamental frequency 1MHz-2MHz) delivering a damped oscillatory wave. A more nearly unipolar pulse unfocused beam has also been used (supplied by Bolt, Beranek and Newman of Cambridge, Massachusetts under a subcontractual arrangement). The algorithms used for the study involve the determination of the impulse response of the medium; and from this impulse response, the impedance profile is computed.
On the interpretation of multi-year estimates of the American Community Survey as period estimates

The rolling sample methodology of the American Community Survey leads to Multi-Year Estimates that measure aggregate activity over one, three, or five years. This paper introduces a novel, non-model-based method for quantifying the impact of viewing multi-year estimates as functions of single-year estimates belonging to the same time span. The method is based on examining the changes to confidence interval coverage. The interpretation of a multi-year estimate as the simple average of single-year estimates is a viewpoint that underpins the published estimates of sampling variability. Therefore, it is vital to ascertain the extent to which this viewpoint is valid. We apply our new methodology to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Multi-Year Estimates Study and demonstrate that viewing a multi-year estimate as the simple average of single-year estimates typically results in substantial distortions to coverage; therefore, multi-year estimates should not be interpreted as averages, but merely as period estimates.
A self-enhanced transport mechanism through long noncoding RNAs for X chromosome inactivation

X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) is the mammalian dosage compensation strategy for balancing sex chromosome content between females and males. While works exist on initiation of symmetric breaking, the underlying allelic choice mechanisms and dynamic regulation responsible for the asymmetric fate determination of XCI remain elusive. Here we combine mathematical modeling and experimental data to examine the mechanism of XCI fate decision by analyzing the signaling regulatory circuit associated with long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) involved in XCI. We describe three plausible gene network models that incorporate features of lncRNAs in their localized actions and rapid transcriptional turnovers. In particular, we show experimentally that Jpx (a lncRNA) is transcribed biallelically, escapes XCI, and is asymmetrically dispersed between two X's. Subjecting Jpx to our test of model predictions against previous experimental observations, we identify that a self-enhanced transport feedback mechanism is critical to XCI fate decision. In addition, the analysis indicates that an ultrasensitive response of Jpx signal on CTCF is important in this mechanism. Overall, our combined modeling and experimental data suggest that the self-enhanced transport regulation based on allele-specific nature of lncRNAs and their temporal dynamics provides a robust and novel mechanism for bi-directional fate decisions in critical developmental processes.
Competition and the Types of Individual Capitals

This chapter conceives how competition gives rise to industrial, commercial, and finance capitals, and how their interrelation is misconceived by Marx. It is shown how the circulation of finance capital exacerbates business cycles and crises.
Assessing Different Partner Notification Methods for Assuring Partner Treatment for Gonorrhea: Looking for the Best Mix of Options.

CONTEXT Partner notification for gonorrhea is intended to interrupt transmission and to bring people exposed to infection to care. Partner notification may be initiated through public health professionals (disease intervention specialist: DIS referral) or patients (patient referral). In some cases, patients may carry medications or prescriptions for partners (patient-delivered partner therapy: PDPT). OBJECTIVE To examine how patterns of notifying and treating partners of persons with gonorrhea differ by partner notification approach. DESIGN From published literature (2005-2012), we extracted 10 estimates of patient referral data from 7 studies (3853 patients, 7490 partners) and 5 estimates of PDPT data from 5 studies (1781 patients, 3125 partners). For DIS referral estimates, we obtained 2010-2012 data from 14 program settings (4581 patients interviewed, 8301 partners). For each approach, we calculated treatment cascades based on the proportion of partners who were notified and treated. We also calculated cascades based on partners notified and treated per patient diagnosed. RESULTS Proportions of partners notified and treated were, for patient referral, 56% and 34%; for PDPT, 57% and 46%; for DIS referral, 25% and 22%. Notification and treatment estimates for patient referral and PDPT were significantly higher than for DIS referral, but DIS referral was more efficacious than the other methods in assuring treatment among those notified (all Ps < .001). The notification and treatment ratios per patient seen were, for patient referral, 0.96 and 0.61; for PDPT, 0.90 and 0.73; for DIS referral, 0.45 and 0.40. CONCLUSION Patient-based methods had higher proportions of partners treated overall, but provider referral had the highest proportion treated among those notified. These data may assist programs to align the most efficacious strategies with the most epidemiologically or clinically important cases while assuring the best scalable standard of care for others.
CHAPTER 3 – Gamete and Zygote Transport

This chapter focuses on the sperm transport through the cervix. In some vaginal semen depositors, such as primates and dairy cattle, sperm presumably pass through the cervix by swimming through the cervical mucus. After deposition in the cranial vagina, sperm of humans and dairy cows enter the cervical canal rapidly, where they encounter large volumes of cervical mucus produced when systemic levels of estrogen are high. Cervical mucus presents a greater barrier to abnormal sperm that cannot swim properly or that present a poor hydrodynamic profile than it does to morphologically normal vigorously motile sperm and is thus thought to be one means of sperm selection. The chapter also discusses the oocyte transport. There are two steps involved in oocyte transport. The first is the picking up of the oocyte from the surface of the ovary or from the ovarian bursa by the fimbria. The second is transport of the oocyte through the oviductal ampulla.
Trainees as Agents of Change in the Opioid Epidemic: Optimizing the Opioid Prescription Practices of Surgical Residents.

Objective Opioid abuse has become an epidemic in the United States, causing nearly 50,000 deaths a year. Postoperative pain is an unavoidable consequence of most surgery, and surgeons must balance the need for sufficient analgesia with the risks of overprescribing. Prescribing narcotics is often the responsibility of surgical residents, yet little is known about their opioid-prescribing habits, influences, and training experience. Design Anonymous online survey that assessed the amounts of postoperative opioid prescribed by residents, including type of analgesia, dosage, and number of pills, for a series of common general surgery procedures. Additional questions investigated influences on opioid prescription, use of nonnarcotic analgesia, degree of engagement in patient education on opioids, and degree of training received on analgesia and opioid prescription. Setting Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited general surgery program at a university-based tertiary hospital. Participants Categorical and preliminary general surgery residents of all postgraduate years. Results The percentage of residents prescribing opioids postprocedure ranged from 75.5% for incision and drainage to 100% for open hernia repair. Residents report prescribing 166.3 morphine milligram equivalents of opioid for a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, yet believe patients will only need an average of 113.9 morphine milligram equivalents. The most commonly reported influences on opioid-prescribing habits include attending preference (95.2%), concern for patient satisfaction (59.5%), and fear of potential opioid abuse (59.5%). Only 35.8% of residents routinely perform a narcotic risk assessment before prescribing and 6.2% instruct patients how to properly dispose of excess opioids. More than 90% of residents have not had formal training in best practices of pain management or opioid prescription. Conclusion and Relevance Surgical trainees are relying almost exclusively on opioids for postoperative analgesia, often in excessive amounts. Residents are heavily influenced by their superiors, but are not receiving formal opioid-prescribing education, pointing to a great need for increased resident education on postoperative pain and opioid management to help change prescribing habits.
SparseIso: a novel Bayesian approach to identify alternatively spliced isoforms from RNA-seq data.

Motivation Recent advances in high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technologies have made it possible to reconstruct the full transcriptome of various types of cells. It is important to accurately assemble transcripts or identify isoforms for an improved understanding of molecular mechanisms in biological systems. Results We have developed a novel Bayesian method, SparseIso, to reliably identify spliced isoforms from RNA-seq data. A spike-and-slab prior is incorporated into the Bayesian model to enforce the sparsity for isoform identification, effectively alleviating the problem of overfitting. A Gibbs sampling procedure is further developed to simultaneously identify and quantify transcripts from RNA-seq data. With the sampling approach, SparseIso estimates the joint distribution of all candidate transcripts, resulting in a significantly improved performance in detecting lowly expressed transcripts and multiple expressed isoforms of genes. Both simulation study and real data analysis have demonstrated that the proposed SparseIso method significantly outperforms existing methods for improved transcript assembly and isoform identification. Availability and implementation The SparseIso package is available at http://github.com/henryxushi/SparseIso. Contact xuan@vt.edu. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Rare Occurrence of an Intraocular Choroidal Solitary Fibrous Tumor/Hemangiopericytoma.

Purpose: Tumors previously diagnosed as solitary fibrous tumors (SFT) and hemangiopericytomas (HPC) are characterized by the NAB2-STAT6 fusion gene, leading to nuclear STAT6 expression, and are now considered part of one SFT/HPC tumor entity by the 2016 World Health Organization Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System. We present the first primary choroidal SFT/HPC with the diagnosis confirmed by STAT6 expression. Procedures: A 51-year-old man underwent enucleation for a choroidal mass, which revealed a spindle cell neoplasm involving the optic nerve, without extrascleral extension. Immunohistochemical stains for S-100, melan-A, tyrosinase, and HMB45 were all negative; however, detection of monosomy 3 by FISH favored a choroidal spindle cell melanoma. Four years later, he presented with hepatic metastases of a spindle cell tumor, and a year later with an epithelioid malignancy involving the calvarium. Results: The calvarial tumor showed nuclear STAT6 immunoreactivity, supporting the diagnosis of SFT/HPC. Retrospectively, the choroidal and hepatic masses were also found to demonstrate nuclear STAT6 expression, supporting the diagnosis of a primary choroidal SFT/HPC with metachronous metastases to the liver and calvarium. Conclusions: This case highlights the significance of considering SFT/HPC in the diagnosis of intraocular spindle cell tumors and the importance of STAT6 immunohistochemistry in the evaluation of such tumors.
A Didática da Leitura nas primeiras séries do Ensino Fundamental I: Uma Reflexão Pedagógica

Sabe-se que muitas vezes o processo de leitura apresenta-se de forma fragmentada e descontextualizada da realidade social, sendo encarada, muitas vezes, como algo meramente artificial. Devido a isso, os professores encontram dificuldades em alcancar bons resultados nos seus trabalhos. Partindo entao do pressuposto, o estimulo a leitura tem sido objeto de preocupacao no âmbito escolar, pois na atualidade o maior desafio do professor e fazer com que a crianca ou jovem realmente queira aprender. E inegavel que o ato de ler e fundamental na formacao do aluno e que consideravel parcela ou toda a responsabilidade no desenvolvimento das habilidades de leitura recai sobre a escola. Nesse sentido, considera-se a leitura como algo essencial a qualquer ser humano, ainda mais percebendo sua importância no contexto atual, visto que, e atraves da mesma que tomamos conhecimentos dos nossos direitos e deveres enquanto cidadaos, para a existencia e a possibilidade de uma vida humana participativa, na qual os individuos sejam capazes de expressar seus diversos pontos de vista, sua liberdade de usufruir de valores e bens de um determinado contexto partilhando deveres e poderes que pressupoe a existencia de uma vida melhor em sociedade. E importante que se destaque a importância da interpretacao de textos como agentes de transformacao de jovens leitores e ate mesmo da propria sociedade. Ler e compreender sao uma forma de satisfazer muitas necessidades, ampliando e enriquecendo experiencias atraves da riqueza de vocabularios da mudanca de pontos de vista e da aquisicao de novos valores. Este artigo objetiva investigar na literatura as praticas da leitura como fator social e transformador.
How will climate novelty influence ecological forecasts? Using the Quaternary to assess future reliability

Future climates are projected to be highly novel relative to recent climates. Climate novelty challenges models that correlate ecological patterns to climate variables and then use these relationships to forecast ecological responses to future climate change. Here, we quantify the magnitude and ecological significance of future climate novelty by comparing it to novel climates over the past 21,000 years in North America. We then use relationships between model performance and climate novelty derived from the fossil pollen record from eastern North America to estimate the expected decrease in predictive skill of ecological forecasting models as future climate novelty increases. We show that, in the high emissions scenario (RCP 8.5) and by late 21st century, future climate novelty is similar to or higher than peak levels of climate novelty over the last 21,000 years. The accuracy of ecological forecasting models is projected to decline steadily over the coming decades in response to increasing climate novelty, although models that incorporate co-occurrences among species may retain somewhat higher predictive skill. In addition to quantifying future climate novelty in the context of late Quaternary climate change, this work underscores the challenges of making reliable forecasts to an increasingly novel future, while highlighting the need to assess potential avenues for improvement, such as increased reliance on geological analogs for future novel climates and improving existing models by pooling data through time and incorporating assemblage-level information.
Bat Activity Following Restoration Prescribed Burning in the Central Appalachian Upland and Riparian Habitats

After decades of fire suppression in eastern North America, land managers now are prioritizing prescribed fire as a management tool to restore or maintain fire-adapted vegetation communities. However, in long—fire-suppressed landscapes, such as the central and southern Appalachians, it is unknown how bats will respond to prescribed fire in both riparian and upland forest habitats. To address these concerns, we conducted zero-crossing acoustic surveys of bat activity in burned, unburned, riparian, and non-riparian areas in the central Appalachians, Virginia, USA. Burn and riparian variables had model support (ΔAICc < 4) to explain activity of all bat species. Nonetheless, parameter estimates for these conditions were small and confidence intervals overlapped zero for all species, indicating effect sizes were marginal. Our results suggest that bats respond to fire differently between upland and riparian forest habitats, but overall, large landscape-level prescribed fire has a slightly positive to neutral impact on all bats species identified at our study site post—fire application.
A Dialogue with C. West Churchman

In 1996, the author attended a seminar on ethics given by C. West Churchman at the University of California, Berkeley. During that year, the author also interviewed Churchman several times regarding the future direction of information sciences in general and the information systems research field in particular. This article is a compilation of the seminar and the interviews. It is set in the context of both Churchman's earlier and his current views of a global “god,” “good,” “kindness,” and “caring.” C. West Churchman holds that global ethics should lead to the study and design of information systems to solve large and difficult problems of the humankind such as poverty, crime and disease. His Global Ethical Management (GEM) of information sciences translates into abandoning the current goals and boundaries of the information sciences fields and changing what constitutes valid research to globally ethical endeavors.
Segmentation of Display Space Interferes with Multitasking.

Abstract: Peripheral displays are useful for organizing information and providing additional screen space for managing information. One design issue is whether peripheral displays should be part of a single large contiguous display space or segmented into many dedicated displays. To test this, an experiment was conducted comparing performance for on-screen versus off-screen displays and bordered (i.e., with a bezel) versus borderless displays. To measure multitask performance, participants were tested under dual-task (document editing and headline checking) and single-task (document editing alone) conditions. Distance between peripheral display and workstation display was also varied (near versus far). Results showed that off-screen peripheral displays reduce editing performance more than on-screen peripheral displays, independent of distance. Peripheral displays with borders were also found to reduce editing performance, but only at far distances. Performance on the headline-checking task was reduced by the far display but not by the bordered display. These results suggest that segmenting display space also segments information space.
Slavery, Emancipation, and Reconstruction in the Midwest: A Review Essay

Review of: "Slavery in the Upper Mississippi Valley, 1787–1865: A History of Human Bondage in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin," by Christopher P. Lehman and ""We Will Be Satisfied With Nothing Less”: The African American Struggle for Equal Rights in the North During Reconstruction," by Hugh Davis.
Tumor Cell Vasculogenic Mimicry: From Controversy to Therapeutic Promise

In 1999, The American Journal of Pathology published an article entitled “Vascular Channel Formation by Human Melanoma Cells in Vivo and in Vitro: Vasculogenic Mimicry,” by Maniotis and colleagues, which ignited a spirited debate for several years and earned distinction as a citation classic. Tumor cell vasculogenic mimicry (VM) refers to the plasticity of aggressive cancer cells forming de novo vascular networks, which thereby contribute to perfusion of rapidly growing tumors, transporting fluid from leaky vessels, and/or connecting with the constitutional endothelial-lined vasculature. The tumor cells capable of VM share a plastic, transendothelial phenotype, which may be induced by hypoxia. Since VM was introduced as a novel paradigm for melanoma tumor perfusion, many studies have contributed new findings illuminating the underlying molecular pathways supporting VM in a variety of tumors, including carcinomas, sarcomas, glioblastomas, astrocytomas, and melanomas. Facilitating the functional plasticity of tumor cell VM are key proteins associated with vascular, stem cell, and hypoxia-related signaling pathways, each deserving serious consideration as potential therapeutic targets and diagnostic indicators of the aggressive, metastatic phenotype.
Abstract 292: Mitochondrial CLIC4 and CLIC5B Mediate Cardio-protection From Ischemia/reperfusion Injury

Mitochondria are important for regulating myocardial physiology, cardiac function and cardio-protection from ischemia/reperfusion injury (IR). Cation channels like BKCa and KATPpresent in the cardi...
The interaction-induced dipole of H 2 -H: New ab initio results and spherical tensor analysis.

We present numerical results for the dipole induced by interactions between a hydrogen molecule and a hydrogen atom, obtained from finite-field calculations in an aug-cc-pV5Z basis at the unrestricted coupled-cluster level including all single and double excitations in the exponential operator applied to a restricted Hartree-Fock reference state, with the triple excitations treated perturbatively, i.e., UCCSD(T) level. The Cartesian components of the dipole have been computed for nine different bond lengths r of H2 ranging from 0.942 a.u. to 2.801 a.u., for 16 different separations R between the centers of mass of H2 and H between 3.0 a.u. and 10.0 a.u., and for 19 angles θ between the H2 bond vector r and the vector R from the H2 center of mass to the nucleus of the H atom, ranging from 0° to 90° in intervals of 5°. We have expanded the interaction-induced dipole as a series in the spherical harmonics of the orientation angles of the H2 bond axis and of the intermolecular vector, with coefficients DλL(r, R). For the geometrical configurations that we have studied in this work, the most important coefficients DλL(r, R) in the series expansion are D01(r, R), D21(r, R), D23(r, R), D43(r, R), and D45(r, R). We show that the ab initio results for D23(r, R) and D45(r, R) converge to the classical induction forms at large R. The convergence of D45(r, R) to the hexadecapolar induction form is demonstrated for the first time. Close agreement between the long-range ab initio values of D01(r0 = 1.449 a.u., R) and the known analytical values due to van der Waals dispersion and back induction is also demonstrated for the first time. At shorter range, D01(r, R) characterizes isotropic overlap and exchange effects, as well as dispersion. The coefficients D21(r, R) and D43(r, R) represent anisotropic overlap effects. Our results for the DλL(r, R) coefficients are useful for calculations of the line shapes for collision-induced absorption and collision-induced emission in the infrared and far-infrared by gas mixtures containing both H2 molecules and H atoms.
Competitors and Alternants in Linguistic Morphology

Complementary distribution is a consequence of a general principle of evolutionary biology, competitive exclusion, which further provides a uniform account of both allomorphic variation and the rivalry between affixes in terms of competition for distributional resources. The distribution of inflectional competitors is a type of spatial partitioning, restricted by the morphosyntactic system of a language, while derivational rivals benefit from having to name externally driven concepts. The English suffixes -ce, -cy, and -ntial are analyzed in detail as examples of competition for distribution.
Development and Validation of a Predictive Risk Score for Screening Frailty in Veteran Health Administration Hospitalized Patients

Background: The use of administrative data could provide an efficient method to identify hospitalized patients at risk of complications due to frailty. This is shown in a recent study which developed a frailty risk score using administrative data from United Kingdom hospital encounters. However, its applicability to United States (US) patients is unknown. We sought to develop a frailty risk score using healthcare administrative data from the Veterans Health Administration (VA), the largest integrated health care system in the US. Methods: We developed a frailty risk score using hierarchical clustering analysis to identify VA patients (n=127,350) with diagnostic codes associated with frailty and high resource use. The score was validated in two ways. First, we determined how well the score predicted adverse outcomes in 75,453 VA patients. Second, we determined frailty status based on clinical observations and assessed how well the frailty score predicted frailty status in 9,565 VA patients. Findings: In the developmental cohort, those with the highest frailty scores were older (mean=71*9 versus 67·3 years) and had higher mortality (22·7% versus 11·8%). Upon validation, patients in the highest frailty risk group had a higher adjusted odds of hospital stays lasting >10 days (odds ratio(OR) =2·39; 95%confidence interval(CI)=2·15-2·66), 30-day mortality (OR=2·14;95%CI=1·84-2·49), and readmission (OR=2·60;95%CI=2·34- 2·89), versus the lowest frailty group. Validation with clinician assessed frailty status revealed high predictability, as each unit increase in frailty score was associated with 20% higher odds of being clinically assessed as frail (95%CI=1·19-1·21,c-statistic=0·82). Interpretation: We produced a predictive model to identify frail hospitalized United States patients using administrative data. The score's performance was strong in predicting clinician-assessed frailty. Applications include use by clinicians to triage patients, by hospitals for resource allocation, and by health systems for risk adjustment. Funding Statement: This study was supported by a VHSR&D funded grant. Declaration of Interests: The authors report no potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article. Ethics Approval Statement: The study is approved by the institutional ethical review board of the Charleston and National VA.
A Test of Pre-Main Sequence Evolutionary Models Across the Stellar/Substellar Boundary Based on Spectra of the Young Quadruple GG Tau

We present spatially separated optical spectra of the components of the young hierarchical quadruple GG Tau. Spectra of GG Tau Aa and Ab (separation 0".25 ~ 35 AU) were obtained with the Faint Object Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Spectra of GG Tau Ba and Bb (separation 1".48 ~ 207 AU) were obtained with both the HIRES and the LRIS spectrographs on the W. M. Keck telescopes. The components of this mini-cluster, which span a wide range in spectral type (K7 - M7), are used to test both evolutionary models and the temperature scale for very young, low mass stars under the assumption of coeval formation. Of the evolutionary models tested, those of Baraffe et al. (1998, A&A, 337, 403) yield the most consistent ages when combined with a temperature scale intermediate between that of dwarfs and giants. The version of the Baraffe et al. models computed with a mixing length nearly twice the pressure scale height is of particular interest as it predicts masses for GG Tau Aa and Ab that are in agreement with their dynamical mass estimate. Using this evolutionary model and a coeval (at 1.5 Myrs) temperature scale, we find that the coldest component of the GG Tau system, GG Tau Bb, is substellar with a mass of 0.044 +/- 0.006 Msun. This brown dwarf companion is especially intriguing as it shows signatures of accretion, although this accretion is not likely to alter its mass significantly. GG Tau Bb is currently the lowest mass, spectroscopically confirmed companion to a T Tauri star, and is one of the coldest, lowest mass T Tauri objects in the Taurus-Auriga star forming region.
Decreased αGlobin mRNA in Nucleated Red Cell Precursors in αThalassemia

The α thalassemias are associated with a decrease in αchain synthesis. Hemoglobin H (HbH) disease is a moderately severe form of αthalassemia characterized by the production of 5%-20% of HbH, while αthalassemia trait is a milder form of αthalassemia. In two patients with HbH disease, the ratio of αchain synthesis to β chain synthesis (α/βratio) was decreased in both bone marrow cells and reticulocytes. When isolated mRNA from bone marrow cells and reticulocytes was translated in a heterologous cell-free system, the α/βratios were lower than the intact cell ratios. These findings were confirmed by hybridization of the mRNA of both marrow cells and reticulocytes using purified αand β cDNA probes. In the intact cells of two patients with αthalassemia trait, the α/βratios were also decreased and were similar in marrow cells and reticulocytes. Cell-free studies of translatable mRNA also demonstrated decreased α/βratios, but, unlike the HbH studies, the cell-free α/βratios were similar to the intact cell ratios. One hybridization study utilizing peripheral blood mRNA had an α/βratio consistent with the cell-free ratios. These results indicated that, in both HbH disease and αthalassemia trait, there was decreased αglobin mRNA present in both nucleated red cell precursors and reticulocytes. In addition, the data suggested that there may be translational mechanisms that operate in intact HbH cells which attempt to balance globin chain production. In αthalassemia trait cells, no such controls appeared to be active and globin chain synthesis was directly proportional to the amount of αand β globin mRNA in the cells.
Artificial intelligence based monitoring system for onsite septic systems failure

Abstract An onsite sewage system (OSS) is a complex system that takes advantage of nature's biological processes to remove harmful pathogens from wastewater and reintroduces clean water back into the natural water cycle. However, the failure of an OSS can contaminate drinking water, surface water and release hazardous pathogen and chemicals creating hazardous conditions within the local environment. This research aims to provide an artificial intelligence (AI) solution using machine learning (ML) algorithms such as logistic regression (LR), random forest classifier, and K-nearest neighbors (KNN) to understand and examine the underlying factors that could cause septic failures. Septic records from 1970 to 2019 were collected from five different counties across the State of Indiana and ML algorithms were applied to predict areas of possible septic failures. The algorithms demonstrated accuracy of approximately 80% in prediction of OSS failures. Such algorithms can assist state and county health departments in alerting homeowners of impending failures. Such an approach has the ability to not only prevent failures but also in the maintenance of a safe environment for communities reliant of OSSs. This approach was implemented and tested in the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH).
Distal Revascularization and Interval Ligation for the Management of Dialysis Access Steal Syndrome.

Background Treatment options for dialysis access steal syndrome (DASS) include distal revascularization with interval ligation (DRIL), proximalization of arterial inflow (PAI), access banding, and access ligation. This study examines the efficacy of DRIL in treating DASS and reports short-term bypass patency, access patency, and wound infection rates. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on adults diagnosed with DASS following hemo-dialysis access creation who underwent DRIL procedures between January 1, 2009 and May 11, 2017. Patients Results Eighty-nine DRIL procedures were performed for correction of DASS. Population included 59.6% female (n = 53), 47.2% current/former smokers (n = 42), 76.4% diabetic (n = 68), and 79.8% AVF (n = 71). Symptom resolution was complete for 69.7% (n = 62), and partial for 25.8% (n = 23), with no improvement in 4.5% (n = 4). Following DRIL, mean DBI improved from 0.43 to 0.67 (P= 0.002). Mean steal classification improved from 3.04 to 0.64 (P Conclusions DRIL is highly effective in relieving symptoms of DASS and has excellent rates of short-term access and bypass patency. However, consideration must be given to the high wound infection rate and the potential need for subsequent procedures.
Formulation and optimization of radiation-curable nonisocyanate polyurethane wood coatings by mixture experimental design

Radiation-curable urethane acrylates have been extensively used and successfully implemented in industrial wood coatings thanks to their capability to provide a balance of mechanical and chemical properties. However, isocyanates, one of the main building blocks in the conventional urethane acrylates, pose toxicity and health hazards both in the manufacturing and application, and therefore, are targeted for restricted use and limited occupational exposure in the impending environmental regulations. In this regard, this study presents the development of urethane acrylate oligomers using nonisocyanate approaches and their application in industrial wood coatings. Two acrylic-functional nonisocyanate polyurethane oligomers (NIPU-ACs), NIPU-AC-2 with longer urethane chains and higher flexibility and NIPU-AC-1 with shorter urethane chains, were synthesized as main building blocks of radiation-curable wood coatings. Next, a series of 20 wood coating systems were formulated using a D-optimal mixture experimental design methodology to find the optimized quaternary mixtures composed of the two synthetic NIPU-ACs, and trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) and dipropylene glycol diacrylate (DPGDA) as reactive diluents. The results of the study revealed that at a constant 5 wt% of TMPTA, formulations rich in NIPU-AC-2 showed higher impact resistance, scratch resistance, and pull-off adhesion, which was attributed to the flexible structure of this oligomer. On the other hand, coatings including higher contents of NIPU-AC-1, which induces higher crosslink density (XLD) to the system, demonstrated higher Tg and pendulum hardness. Evaluation of the optimal coatings not only validated the predictability of models, but also determined that the coatings have promising stain and abrasion resistance, and good thermal stability. The results show that NIPU-ACs developed in this study have excellent potential as an alternative to conventional urethane acrylates in the development of low-VOC and sustainable industrial wood coatings.
The Powerful Methods of Flicker Noise Improvement in 22nm Technology

How to reduce flicker noise is a public topic and expectable challenge as technique development. In this paper, we focus on four methods to improve flicker noise performance in 22nm technology. 50% ~ 80% flicker noise reduction benefits can be obtained by various FEoL process implementation and BEoL process optimization. The improvement is mainly attributed to the passivation of dielectric material and interface state, the reduction of process-induced-GOI degradation, and channel engineering to reduce scattering coefficient.
Mental health impact of covid on athletes

Introduction The coronavirus pandemic continues to impact all aspects of the daily life of the public worldwide. With decreased economic activity, the sports industry faces significant challenges of maintaining athletes’ mental health while seeking the best strategies for eventual return to sports competition. Objectives We aim to evaluate COVID-19 related factors impacting on the mental health of athletes and provide appropriate management steps. Methods We examined MeSH terms “Athletes,” “Sports,” “COVID-19,” in the context of “Mental Health,” “Mental Disorders,” “Behavioral Medicine,” “Risk Factors.” We identified seven studies for the qualitative synthesis per the PRISMA guidelines, searching Medline, PubMed, PubMed Central, and PsychInfo databases until July 2020. Results The pandemic has negatively impacted athletes’ mental wellbeing due to decreased physical activities, limited resources, fears, and delays or cancellations of the sporting event. The negative psychological impact on athletes is due to self-isolation measures leading to worries of less preparedness for the lockdown, reduced physical activity, loss of competitive advantages, fear of being infected, social isolation, and loneliness. During this period, athletes struggled to maintain baseline routine and engaged in excessive calorie intake, eating low-quality food, substance use, and sleep disruption. It has caused anxiety, depression, PTSD, and mood disorder at varying degrees of severity in athletes. Conclusions Limited resources during a pandemic have caused adverse mental impact on athletes. We recommend improving physical activity through confined or virtual training programs with colleagues. A collaborative approach is required by clinicians, psychologists, coaches, sports organizations, government bodies to limit the pandemic’s mental health impact.
All-Cause Unplanned Readmissions in the United States. Insights from the Nationwide Readmission Database.

Background There are few studies looking into adult, all-cause and age-group-specific unplanned readmissions. The predictors of such unplanned readmissions for all inpatient encounters remain obscure. Aims The aim of this study was to describe the incidence and factors associated with unplanned readmissions in all inpatient encounters in the United States. Methods U.S. Nationwide Readmission Database (NRD) is a representative sample of hospitalizations in the US (from about 28 states) accounting for about 60% of the US population. All inpatient encounters during Jan-Nov 2017 in the NRD were evaluated for the rates, predictors, and costs of unplanned 30 days readmissions for age groups 18-44 years; 45-64 years; 65-75 years and 75 and above. Elective readmissions and those patients who died on their index hospitalizations were excluded. Weighted analysis was performed to obtain nationally representative data. Results We identified 28,942,224 inpatients encounters with a total of 3051189 (10.5%) unplanned readmissions within 30 days. Age group 18-44 years, 45-64 years, 65 to 74 years and age over 75 years had 7.0%, 12.0%, 11.7%, and 12.3% readmissions respectively. Female gender, private insurance and elective admissions were negative predictors for readmissions. For age group 18-44 years schizophrenia and diabetes mellitus complications, while in all older age groups septicemia and heart failure were the most frequent primary diagnosis for readmissions. Conclusions Thirty-day unplanned readmissions are common in patients over age 45 years leading to significant morbidity. Effective strategies for reducing unplanned readmission may help to improve quality of care, outcomes, and higher value care. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Standing Out: A Commonsense Approach to Standing for False Advertising Suits Under Lanham Act Section 43(A)

This Note analyzes the benefits and shortcomings of the varying approaches federal circuit courts have taken when determining which plaintiffs have standing to sue for false advertising under section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. Some circuits have adopted a categorical approach, focusing on the relationship of the parties, and requiring the plaintiff to be a direct competitor of the defendant that has suffered a competitive injury to have standing. Other circuits implement a quasi-categorical approach that requires the plaintiff to have a reasonable interest in being protected by the Act and a reasonable belief that the alleged false advertising was damaging in order to have standing. Finally, other circuits have used a somewhat overlapping five-factor balancing test to determine whether the plaintiff has standing. After conducting a thorough analysis of each approach, the author reasons that each one has significant flaws, ultimately causing uncertainty for plaintiffs contemplating litigation under the Lanham Act. As a recent example, in Phoenix of Broward, Inc. v. McDonald's Corp., the Eleventh Circuit reached a puzzling result that would seemingly vanquish a plaintiff's right to sue for false advertising under the Lanham Act in any market with several competitors. The author determines that none of the approaches is satisfactory and explores an innovative three-prong brightline test designed to reconcile the legislative intent of the Lanham Act with the realities of the marketplace. The author concludes that this new test would be easier to apply than each approach currently in operation and would provide consistent and predictable results, which would also allow litigants to settle and relieve the burden on the federal court system.
The origin of intestinal stem cells in Drosophila

Renewing tissues in the adult organism such as the gastrointestinal (GI) epithelium depend on stem cells for epithelial maintenance and repair. Yet, little is known about the developmental origins of adult stem cells and their niches. Studies of Drosophila adult midgut precursors (AMPs), a population of endodermal progenitors, demonstrate that adult intestinal stem cells (ISCs) arise from the AMP lineage and provide insight into the stepwise process by which the adult midgut epithelium is established during development. Here, I review the current literature on AMPs, where local, inductive and long-range humoral signals have been found to control progenitor cell behavior. Future studies will be necessary to determine the precise mechanism by which adult intestinal stem cells are established in the endodermal lineage.
The I1-imidazoline receptor in PC12 pheochromocytoma cells activates protein kinases C, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)

We sought to further elucidate signal transduction pathways for the I1-imidazoline receptor in PC12 cells by testing involvement of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms (βII, e, ζ), and the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) ERK and JNK. Stimulation of I1-imidazoline receptor with moxonidine increased enzymatic activity of the classical βII isoform in membranes by about 75% and redistributed the atypical isoform into membranes (40% increase in membrane-bound activity), but the novel isoform of PKC was unaffected. Moxonidine and clonidine also increased by greater than two-fold the proportion of ERK-1 and ERK-2 in the phosphorylated active form. In addition, JNK enzymatic activity was increased by exposure to moxonidine. Activation of ERK and JNK followed similar time courses with peaks at 90 min. The action of moxonidine on ERK activation was blocked by the I1-receptor antagonist efaroxan and by D609, an inhibitor of phosphatidylcholine-selective phospholipase C (PC-PLC), previously implicated as the initial event in I1-receptor signaling. Inhibition or depletion of PKC blocked activation of ERK by moxonidine. Two-day treatment of PC12 cells with the I1/α2-agonist clonidine increased cell number by up to 50% in a dose related manner. These data suggest that ERK and JNK, along with PKC, are signaling components of the I1-receptor pathway, and that this receptor may play a role in cell growth.
H I Imaging of Cassiopeia I

We present H I maps of a recently discovered dwarf galaxy near the IC 342 Maffei 1–2 Group, Cassiopeia 1. Our data show that Cas 1 has a total H I mass of 1.5 × 108 M⊙, assuming a distance of 4.5 Mpc. The highest column density gas forms a ring around a central depression in the H I distribution and the peak of the H I gas is offset from the distribution of starlight. Isovelocity contours indicate that the galaxy is in solid-body rotation; a region of large velocity dispersion is approximately coincident with observed current star formation activity in Cas 1.
Correlation Effects and f-Values in the Sodium Sequence

The simplest atomic system in which nl electrons interact with a 1s22s22p6 core are the sodium iso-electronic sequences for states 1s22s22p6nl, n ≥ 3. The spectra for these atoms and ions are traditionally treated as one-electron spectra, implying little or no correlation with the core.
A multi-attribute model of prostate cancer patients' preferences for health states

Multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) provides a way to model decisions involving trade-offs among different aspects or goals of a problem. We used MAUT to model prostate cancer patients' preferences for their own health state and we compared this model to patients' global judgments of health state utility. 57 patients with prostate cancer (mean age = 70) at two Chicago Veterans Administration health clinics were asked to evaluate health states described in terms of five health attributes affected by prostate cancer: pain, mood, sexual function, bladder and bowel function, and fatigue and energy. Each attribute had three levels that were used to form three clinically realistic health state descriptions (A = high, B = moderate, C = low). A fourth personalized health description (P) matched the patient's current health. We first measured patients' preferences using time trade-off (TTO) judgments for the three health states (A, B, and C) and for their own current health state (P). The TTO for the patient's own health state (P) was standardized by comparing it to TTO judgments for states A and C. We next constructed a multi-attribute model using the relative importance of the five attributes. The MAU scores were moderately correlated with the TTO preference judgments for the personalized state (Pearson r = 0.38, N = 57, p < 0.01). Thus, patients' preference judgments are moderately consistent and systematic. MAUT appears to be a potentially feasible method for evaluating preferences of prostate cancer patients and may prove helpful in assisting with patient decision making.