cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Molecular Signatures of Natural Selection for Polymorphic Genes of the Human Dopaminergic and Serotonergic Systems: A Review

A large body of research has examined the behavioral and mental health consequences of polymorphisms in genes of the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems. Along with this, there has been considerable interest in the possibility that these polymorphisms have developed and/or been maintained due to the action of natural selection. Episodes of natural selection on a gene are expected to leave molecular “footprints” in the DNA sequences of the gene and adjacent genomic regions. Here we review the research literature investigating molecular signals of selection for genes of the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems. The gene SLC6A4, which codes for a serotonin transport protein, was the one gene for which there was consistent support from multiple studies for a selective episode. Positive selection on SLC6A4 appears to have been initiated ~ 20-25,000 years ago in east Asia and possibly in Europe. There are scattered reports of molecular signals of selection for other neurotransmitter genes, but these have generally failed at replication across studies. In spite of speculation in the literature about selection on these genes, current evidence from population genomic analyses supports selectively neutral processes, such as genetic drift and population dynamics, as the principal drivers of recent evolution in dopaminergic and serotonergic genes other than SLC6A4.
Improved patient quality of life following intradural extramedullary spinal tumor resection

OBJECTIVE Resection significantly improves the clinical symptoms and functional outcomes of patients with intradural extramedullary tumors. However, patient quality of life following resection has not been adequately investigated. The aim in this retrospective analysis of prospectively collected quality of life outcomes is to analyze the efficacy of resection of intradural extramedullary spinal tumors in terms of quality of life markers. METHODS A retrospective review of a single institutional neurosurgical administrative database was conducted to analyze clinical data. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, and the EQ-5D-3 L descriptive system were used to analyze quality of life preoperatively, less than 1 month postoperatively, 1-3 months postoperatively, 3-12 months postoperatively, and more than 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS The ODI scores increased perioperatively at the 12 months to 23, 17, and 20, respectively. VAS scores significantly decreased from 6.1 to 3.5, 2.4, 2.0, and 2.9 at the 12-month follow-ups, respectively. EQ-5D mobility significantly worsened at the 12-month follow-ups. EQ-5D self-care significantly worsened at the 12-month follow-ups. EQ-5D pain and discomfort significantly improved at all follow-up points. EQ-5D anxiety and depression significantly improved at 1- to 3-month and 3- to 12-month follow-ups. CONCLUSIONS Resection of intradural extramedullary spine tumors appears to significantly improve patient quality of life by decreasing patient disability and pain and by improving each of the EQ-5D domains.
Knowledge of Social Affiliations Biases Economic Decisions.

An individual’s reputation and group membership can produce automatic judgments and behaviors toward that individual. Whether an individual’s social reputation impacts interactions with affiliates has yet to be demonstrated. We tested the hypothesis that during initial encounters with others, existing knowledge of their social network guides behavior toward them. Participants learned reputations (cooperate, defect, or equal mix) for virtual players through an iterated economic game (EG). Then, participants learned one novel friend for each player. The critical question was how participants treated the friends in a single-shot EG after the friend-learning phase. Participants tended to cooperate with friends of cooperators and defect on friends of defectors, indicative of a decision making bias based on memory for social affiliations. Interestingly, participants’ explicit predictions of the friends’ future behavior showed no such bias. Moreover, the bias to defect on friends of defectors was enhanced when affiliations were learned in a social context; participants who learned to associate novel faces with player faces during reinforcement learning did not show reputation-based bias for associates of defectors during single-shot EG. These data indicate that when faced with risky social decisions, memories of social connections influence behavior implicitly.
Aristotle on Spoken Sound Significant by Convention

A few sentences near the beginning of De interpretatione (16a3–8) constitute the most influential text in the history of semantics. The text is highly compressed, and many translations, including the Latin translation in which it had its greatest influence, have obscured at least one interesting feature of it. In this paper I develop an interpretation that depends on taking seriously some details that have been neglected in the countless discussions of this text.
3.25 Fluorescent Nanoparticles for Biological Imaging

Nanoparticles have played important roles in biological detections and cellular imaging, both in vitro and in vivo . One of the driving forces for the use of nanoprobes is that nanoparticles have numerous advantages such as strong signal strength, resistance to photobleaching, and tunable fluorescence emissions. These physical properties make them the method of choice for tracking vesicle transportation, detecting biomolecular interactions, and imaging live cells. The second driving force for the use of nanoparticles is the fact that their fabrication and conjugation protocols can be customized, and thus, fluorescent nanoparticles are being used more and more frequently to replace the traditional organic dyes. This chapter summarizes recent advances in research devoted to nanoprobes that use fluorescence signals for detection. The nanoparticles discussed in this chapter include polymeric nanoparticles, silica-based particles, metal nanoparticles, and quantum dots. Finally, important areas for future research and improvement of various nanoprobes are highlighted.
The Stigma of Being Young on the Experience of Rate-Busting as Positive Deviance

ABSTRACTThis study compares younger and older librarians with regard to how they experience age-related stigma. The purpose was to show how youth, although a culturally valued attribute, can be experienced as stigmatizing (i.e., as a form of positive deviance known as rate-busting). We conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 librarians who ranged in age from 27 to 64. Although both younger and older librarians reported feeling stigmatized because of their age, only younger librarians reported instances of other people drawing unwanted attention to their age. Because librarians are an older demographic, the attention young librarians receive as rate-busters may be due to disconfirming expectations.
Biotic and abiotic factors influencing the distribution of Coleogyne communities in southern Nevada

Coleogyne ramosissima is a desert shrub that forms a nearly monospecific shrubland and occupies a well-defined elevational band between approximately 1050 and 2150 m on mountain ranges in southern Nevada. The Coleogyne shrubland shares relatively broad upper and lower ecotones with Pinus-Juniperus and Larrea-Ambrosia plant communites, respectively. We characterized the extent that environmental factors correlate with Coleogyne density and examined variation in biotic and abiotic factors along the lower elevational boundary of Coleogyne in Lucky Strike Canyon near Las Vegas, Nevada. Coleogyne stem and leaf phosphorus, and Coleogyne leaf biomass. However, Coleogyne density was negatively correlated with soil temperatures, soil compaction, and Coleogyne tem and leaf nitrogen. Coleogyne stem biomass and elongation were generally negatively correlated with Coleogyne density. Coleogyne density was weakly correlated with soil pH, soil depth, soil nitrogen, soil and leaf phosphorus; these variables did not exhibit a consistent pattern with increasing elevation. Edaphic factors, particularly soil moisture and soil organic matter, appear to play a major role in determining the distribution of Coleogyne shrublands in southern Nevada.
Designing a summative evaluation tool for the online class

Research has found that one of the biggest weaknesses of online education is the lack of consistent evaluation which provides input on the effectiveness of this methodology (McVay Lynch, 2002). The authors of this article developed and conducted pilot testing for a summative evaluation tool that can be used to provide such feedback. In the development of this instrument, the authors addressed issues that traditional class evaluation tools cannot address, such as course delivery, instructor's online input, and effectiveness of the medium.
Education 4.0: New Challenge of Learning

The dynamic fast changing world has led to transformation from agricultural society to industrial society, with more advancement in information technology and innovation that is named as the Economy 4.0 era. Therefore, it is vital for the youth to keep pace with changes in order to be competitive. The learner needs to have the skills and abilities to respond to the current social changes. This is a new challenge to re-define the new Education 4.0, to identify the intelligent people, who are creative and innovative. It is a challenge for the learner to seek the learning outcome with regard to the learning management by the teacher. Keywords: learning; challenges; Education 4.0
Network-oriented household activity pattern problem for system optimization

Abstract: The recently emerging trend of self-driving vehicles and information sharing technologies, made available by private technology vendors, starts creating a revolutionary paradigm shift in the coming years for traveler mobility applications. By considering a deterministic traveler decision making framework at the household level in congested transportation networks, this paper aims to address the challenges of how to optimally schedule individuals’ daily travel patterns under the complex activity constraints and interactions. We reformulate two special cases of household activity pattern problem (HAPP) through a high-dimensional network construct, and offer a systematic comparison with the classical mathematical programming models proposed by Recker (1995). Furthermore, we consider the tight road capacity constraint as another special case of HAPP to model complex interactions between multiple household activity scheduling decisions, and this attempt offers another household-based framework for linking activity-based model (ABM) and dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) tools. Through embedding temporal and spatial relations among household members, vehicles and mandatory/optional activities in an integrated space-time-state network, we develop two 0-1 integer linear programming models that can seamlessly incorporate constraints for a number of key decisions related to vehicle selection, activity performing and ridesharing patterns under congested networks. The well-structured network models can be directly solved by standard optimization solvers, and further converted to a set of time-dependent state-dependent least cost path-finding problems through Lagrangian relaxation, which permit the use of computationally efficient algorithms on large-scale high-fidelity transportation networks.
Differences in Auditor’s Materiality Assessments When Auditing Financial Statements and Sustainability Reports

With the current growth of the sustainability reporting assurance (SRA) market, understanding assurance provider behaviour is important. Given factors such as the combination of low SRA-specific pr...
Acetaminophen (APAP) hepatotoxicity—Isn’t it time for APAP to go away?

Acetaminophen (APAP) is the most commonly used drug for the treatment of pain and fever around the world. At the same time, APAP can cause dose-related hepatocellular necrosis, responsible for nearly 500 deaths annually in the United States (US) alone, as well as 100,000 calls to US Poison Control Centers, 50,000 emergency room visits and 10,000 hospitalisations per year. As an over-the-counter and prescription product (with opioids), APAP toxicity dwarfs all other prescription drugs as a cause of acute liver failure in the US and Europe, but it is not regulated in any significant way. In this review the ongoing controversy surrounding the proper role for this ubiquitous pain reliever: its history, pathogenesis, clinical challenges in recognition and management, and current regulatory status are highlighted. A new solution to a 50-year-old problem is proposed.
Fast and Deterministic Constant Factor Approximation Algorithms for LCS Imply New Circuit Lower Bounds

The Longest Common Subsequence (LCS) is one of the most basic similarity measures and it captures important applications in bioinformatics and text analysis. Following the SETH-based nearly-quadratic time lower bounds for LCS from recent years, it is a major open problem to understand the complexity of approximate LCS. In the last ITCS [AB17] drew an interesting connection between this problem and the area of circuit complexity: they proved that approximation algorithms for LCS in deterministic truly-subquadratic time imply new circuit lower bounds (E^NP does not have non-uniform linear-size Valiant Series Parallel circuits). In this work, we strengthen this connection between approximate LCS and circuit complexity by applying the Distributed PCP framework of [ARW17]. We obtain a reduction that holds against much larger approximation factors (super-constant versus 1+o(1)), yields a lower bound for a larger class of circuits (linear-size NC^1), and is also easier to analyze.
Visualizing Gene Expression in Real-Time

Gene expression has been visualized for a few decades, but in static forms such as blots and gene chips. Susan Janicki, Toshiro Tsukamoto, Sim one Salghetti, William Tansey, Ravi Sachidanandam, Kannanganattu Prasanth, Thomas Ried, Yaron Shav-Tal, Edouard Bertrand, Robert Singer, and David Spector have recently designed a cell line in which gene expression can be observed with stunningly accurate spatial and temporal resolution. Gene expression is a cascade of events beginning with transcription of RNA from the DNA template and ending with translation into a protein sequence. Janicki et al. were able to visualize the entire process at the levels of DNA, RNA, and proteins in living cells!
Laughing matters: humour as advocacy in education for the disabled

Humour is an advocacy tool used by women organisers in Sāmoa, an Independent State in the Pacific. Examining the use of humour (jokes, sarcasm, banter, and clowning) in social action research revea...
Two-stage repair for severe hypospadias.

AbstractIn 39 patients a 2-stage modified Belt-Fuqua repair was performed for severe hypospadias and chordee. Patient age at initial surgery averaged 2 years and stage 2 was done 7 months later. Testosterone was given before stage 1 to 22 patients (56%) and before both stages to 13 (33%). Of 5 patients with intersex 2 had mixed gonadal dysgenesis, 1 was a true hermaphrodite and 2 were 46 XX male subjects. The preoperative meatal location was subglanular in 9 cases, mid shaft in 8, proximal shaft in 2, penoscrotal in 15 and perineal in 5. Those with subglanular meatus had hypoplastic distal urethras and severe chordee. A dorsal Nesbit procedure for chordee correction was done in 24 cases (62%). Neourethral length ranged from 3 to 7cm. (average 4cm.) and average followup was 16 months. Neourethral diverticula developed in 8 cases (21%) and they were repaired uneventfully an average of 7 months (range 2 to 24) after stage 2. Minor urethral strictures (3 distal and 4 proximal) were treated with a single visua...
Toward an Integrative Theory of Psychological Change in Individuals and Organizations

The authors in this volume describe change processes both inside and outside therapy. Although reaching consensus on the change process in therapy is difficult enough, the present chapter will look at psychological change in general, including ideas from social and organizational psychology. Space does not allow for a full explication of this model, so I shall focus on the convergencies in cognitive-behavioral, social-organizational, and psychodynamic-developmental theories.
An introduction to the Boston medical police of 1808

Revisionists charge that professional codes of medical ethics amount to little more than trade union regulations wrapped in a fig-leaf of etiquette and puffed up with elevated rhetoric. No code lends itself more readily to this interpretation than the Boston Medical Police of 1808. Carleton Chapman, an eminent physician and historian of medicine, discounts the ethical significance of the Boston Medical Police in a single dismissive paragraph.
Bicuspid aortic valve and thoracic aortic aneurysm: toward a unified theory.

In this issue of the Journal , Biner et al. ([1][1]) report that a significant number of first-degree relatives of individuals with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) have more stiff, less distensible, and pathologically enlarged aortas despite their having completely normal aortic valves. That BAV is a
Norethindrone substituted for megestrol in the treatment of metastatic endometrial carcinoma: Three cases.

e17111Background: Megestrol (M) is an effective palliative treatment for endometrial carcinoma but causes weight gain via activity at the corticosteroid receptor. Norethindrone (N) is a progestin w...
Physical Examination - Still Relevant in Sjögren Syndrome.

These days every article requires disclosure of conflicts. And I have one for this editorial — I am a “physical examination” kind of doctor. Surely that is true of almost all rheumatologists because, despite the advances in ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, demonstration of the presence of inflammatory arthritis is still largely based on physical examination. And the usefulness of the physical examination is not limited to rheumatology. The techniques developed by Rene Laennec in part for his newly invented stethoscope (whispered pectoriloquy, egophony, and fremitus) along with the technique developed by Leopold Auenbrugger (percussion)1 are highly sensitive and specific for identifying lung infiltrates and effusions2. A seasoned examiner can diagnose aortic insufficiency more accurately than either M-mode or 2-dimensional echocardiogram3. Thus, the physical examination remains alive and well. Sjogren syndrome (SS) is a common problem, perhaps second only to rheumatoid arthritis among conditions that cause an inflammatory arthritis4. It can be considered an autoimmune epithelitis5, and predominately affects the exocrine organs. In fact, patients with primary SS can be conveniently divided … Address correspondence to Dr. H. Scofield, 825 NE 18th St., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104, USA. E-mail: hal-scofield{at}omrf.ouhsc.edu.
Optimizing Post-Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Outcomes for Lymphoma Using Ibrutinib: Early Safety Results of a Multicenter Study

Background Ibrutinib is approved for a variety of B-cell malignancies, including CLL and MCL, and for chronic GVHD (cGVHD), failing ≥ 1 line of systemic therapy. Allogeneic HCT is curative for CLL and MCL, but success is limited due to relapse or GVHD morbidity/mortality. We hypothesized that use of ibrutinib early post HCT would optimize outcomes by improving progression-free survival (primary outcome) and decrease incidence of moderate-severe cGVHD (secondary endpoint). We describe our findings regarding safety and feasibility in the first 16 patients (NCT02869633). Methods Adult patients (pts) undergoing T-replete HCT from related or unrelated donors (7/8 or 8/8) without post-transplant cyclophosphamide for CLL (>CR1, or after 1st line if 17p) or MCL (>CR1, or after 1st line if blastoid variant) were enrolled, along with an exploratory cohort of FL and HL (max 10 patients). Use of ibrutinib prior to HCT was permissible. Enrollment was prior to HCT, but pts had to meet secondary eligibility criteria to ensure no critical illness, adequacy of graft and organ function, prior to starting ibrutinib (420 mg daily) between day 60-90. Ibrutinib was continued until 12 m post HCT. Results Sixteen pts (CLL 44%, MCL 13%, FL 25%, HD 13%), median age 49.5 y, underwent HCT from unrelated (94%) or related donors (6%), that were 8/8 (88%) or 7/8 (12%) HLA matched, at a median of 30.2 m after diagnosis. Median follow up from HCT is 5.1 m and 1 y survival is 75%. Regimens included FCR-thymoglobulin (44%), TLI-ATG (31%), Flu Bu (13%) or Flu Mel (12%). GVHD prophylaxis was tacrolimus-MTX (69%) or CSA-MMF (31%). Of the 14 pts eligible to start ibrutinib (> 60 d post HCT), 9 started ibrutinib (64%), while 5 did not (4-not meet secondary eligibility criteria, 1-physician preference). The median starting dose was 140 mg (protocol specified due to drug interactions). Of the 9 pts who started ibrutinib, 2 (22%) had to stop it prematurely (cytopenias, confounded by concomitant medications), 3 (33%) completed therapy and 4 (45%) are on therapy. Table 1 outlines key ≥ grade 3 adverse events (AEs) at any time point after enrollment. In this group of 9 pts, aGVHD grade 0, 1, 3 and 4 was seen in 57%, 22%, 7% and 14%, and cGVHD was seen in 3 pts (7%-mild, 14%-severe). No pts had progression of disease (CR-67%, PR-11%, SD-22%); 2 pts are deceased (1-infection at 14 m post HCT in CR, and 1 from acute GVHD (onset prior to start of ibrutinib with SD). Conclusions Our data in this ongoing study shows that majority of patients could initiate early post HCT ibrutinib and most are expected to tolerate it until 1 y post HCT. No unexpected side effects have been seen with use of ibrutinib early post HCT, and there have been no relapses.
Efficacy and safety of a novel naltrexone treatment for dry eye in type 1 diabetes

Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent complication of diabetes and presents as reduced tear production and/or increased corneal surface sensitivity often with secondary ocular surface changes. This study examined the safety and efficacy of a proprietary new eye drop formulation for topical treatment of DED. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) was established in male Sprague-Dawley rats to study the efficacy and safety of the investigational compound that contained 20 μg/ml of naltrexone (NTX). Tear production was measured by the Schirmer’s 1 test, and ocular surface sensitivity was measured using an aesthesiometer. Diabetic rats received twice daily applications of a single drop (~ 0.02 ml) of the proprietary formulation (NTX-001) or vehicle onto one eye. For comparison, some diabetic rats received eye drops containing NTX in sterile Vigamox®. Safety was monitored by assessment of ocular histopathology in naive male rats and naive male rabbits receiving twice daily treatment of two drops for 30 days. Dry eye in T1D rats was reversed within hours of a single treatment of NTX-001, and over a period of 10 days NTX-001 restored corneal sensitivity and reversed dry eye relative to values measured in diabetic rats receiving vehicle. In comparison to NTX dissolved in Vigamox®, the proprietary NTX-001 was more effective at reversing dry eye. Safety studies in naive rats and rabbits revealed no visible ocular pathology after 30 days of treatment. An investigational new eye drop containing 20 μg/ml NTX effectively reversed tear film deficits and restored corneal surface sensitivity in diabetic animals without causing toxic side effects.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy for Couples Raising a Child with Autism: A Pilot Clinical Outcome Study

The increased diagnostic rates and awareness of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have led to more couples with children on the spectrum seeking professional services. Parents with a child with ASD h...
Decline in State Chartered Banks: Causes, Concerns, and Conclusions

This paper investigates the decline of state chartered banks in the rural states Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. We use bank capital as the dependent variable for the mixed model regression analysis. We analyze both state and bank specific variables to determine which factors have more influence on bank equity capital. The findings indicate that as bank equity capital increases, the number of state chartered banks decreases. We also find that small agriculture business loans increase as equity capital increases, showing that in our sample of rural states agriculture is significant in providing a capital buffer for state chartered banks. However, we find that loans secured by farmland do not statistically influence bank equity capital.
Review of Modgdf & PNCC Techniques for Features Extraction in Speech Recognition

In speech recognition system, voice is the main research object. By extracting the features and classifying the speech signal, it will easy to convert voice into text. There are some factors which are affected on accuracy of input signal namely noise, language variability, domain and signal processing as well as on person’s language. In this system, we use Arabic language data set because currently most of the research is going on this language. In this system, there are two important phases: feature extraction and classification. For feature extraction phase, we use different techniques like Power Normalized Cepstral Coefficient (PNCC) and Modified Group Delay Function (ModGDF) also for classification we use SVM algorithm. The goal of this paper is to give efficient feature extraction algorithm by comparing PNCC and ModGDF algorithms with SVM and find which technique gives higher accuracy.
NEW DATABASE PRODUCTS: SOCIAL SCIENCE, HUMANITIES, NEWS AND GENERAL (ISSUE 2)

This is the second article on Social Science, Humanities, News and General Databases in a continuing series of articles summarizing and commenting on new database products. Two companion articles, one covering science, technology and medicine (Online & CDROM Review vol. 17 issue 4) and the other covering business and law (Online & CDROM Review vol. 17 issue 6), complement this article. The articles are based on the newly appearing database products in the Gale Directory of Databases. The Gale Directory of Databases (GDD) was created in January 1993 by merging Computer‐Readable Databases: A Directory and Data Sourcebook (CRD) together with the Directory of Online Databases (DOD) and the Directory of Portable Databases (DPD).
Study design comparing written exposure therapy to cognitive processing therapy for PTSD among military service members: A noninferiority trial

Abstract Although there are a number of effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there is a need to develop more efficient evidence-based PTSD treatments to address barriers to seeking and receiving treatment. Written exposure therapy (WET) is a potential alternative that is a 5-session treatment without any between-session assignments. WET has demonstrated efficacy, and low treatment dropout rates. However, prior studies with WET have primarily focused on civilian samples. Identifying efficient PTSD treatments for military service members is critical given the high prevalence of PTSD in this population. The current ongoing randomized clinical trial builds upon the existing literature by investigating whether WET is equally efficacious as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) in a sample of 150 active duty military service members diagnosed with PTSD who are randomly assigned to either WET (n = 75) or CPT (n = 75). Participants are assessed at baseline and 10, 20, and 30 weeks after the first treatment session. The primary outcome measure is PTSD symptom severity assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5. Given the prevalence of PTSD and the aforementioned limitations of currently available first-line PTSD treatments, the identification of a brief, efficacious treatment that is associated with reduced patient dropout would represent a significant public health development.
Night-to-night fluctuations in sleep apnea severity: diagnostic and treatment implications

Study Objectives:Sleep apnea is a common disorder with serious consequences; however, effective treatments are available. Successful implementation of treatment strategies relies on accurate diagno...
Introduction to Nanomedicine in Drug Delivery

Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology have given a boost to the academic researchers, the pharmaceutical and biomedical industry, allowing its use in drug delivery and medical diagnosis. Nanotechnology allows the formulation of drug delivery carriers in the nanometer range that helps in overcoming disadvantages associated with conventional drug delivery systems by being small, target-specific, improved drug encapsulation, stable and less toxic at the same time. With nanotechnology, many drugs especially oncogenic molecules that are toxic or are difficult to deliver have been formulated and delivered successfully and are currently in the market, for example, Myocet® (2000) (Doxorubicin) and Marqibo® (2012) (Vincristine). Nanoparticle-based drug delivery carriers can be classified into two types; organic and inorganic. Organic nanoparticles are mostly used for drug delivery, while inorganic nanoparticles are majorly involved in diagnosis. Organic nanoparticles generally involve but are not limited to liposomes, dendrimers, polymeric micelles, polymeric nanoparticles, and solid lipid nanoparticles. Inorganic nanoparticles involve metals such as gold, silver, and iron oxide. In this chapter, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of nanoparticles and various materials that are used for making different types of nanoparticles with relevant examples. Further, we will discuss the recent developments in this field with some examples pertaining to each type of nanoparticles.
HIV risk behavior and HIV testing among rural and urban men who have sex with men in Zhejiang Province, China: A respondent-driven sampling study.

Background Currently, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) sentinel surveillance among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China conducted in large and medium-sized cities, and no HIV sentinel surveillance conducted in rural areas. HIV testing and intervention is predominantly conducted in urban areas, there have been a limited number of studies in rural areas MSM, it is necessary to conduct the investigation of HIV risk sexual behavior, HIV testing among rural and urban MSM. Method Between December 2013 and August 2015, a cross-sectional study was conducted in rural and urban areas in Zhejiang Province using respondent-driven sampling (RDS). Participants completed face-to-face interviewer-administered questionnaire surveys and were tested for HIV. Results A total of 710 MSM participants were recruited, of whom 36.1% were from rural areas. The overall HIV prevalence was 16.6%, and was considerably lower among MSM living in rural areas (3.9%) than those living in urban areas (24.2%). 61.1% participants had not condom use with male sexual behavior in the past 6 months (86.7% in rural areas and 46.7% in urban areas). The social demographic and behavioral characteristics had significance difference among rural and urban MSM. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that, compared to men living in urban areas, MSM living in rural areas MSM were more likely to use dating apps to find sexual partners, were more likely to engage in bisexual behavior, and had lower condom use. 43.0% participants had been tested for HIV in the past year (41.8% in rural areas and 43.6% in urban areas). Multivariate logistic regression also revealed that among participants living in rural areas, having rural health insurance and not accepting HIV intervention were associated with lower HIV testing rates, while a higher monthly income and through use of internet to find sexual partner were associated with higher rates of HIV testing. Conclusion High risk behavior was prevalent, and HIV testing rates were low among MSM living in rural areas compare to urban areas in Zhejiang Province, therefore, preventative intervention measures should be immediately among rural MSM urgently to reduce HIV transmission and to promote HIV testing.
Growth of Highly Stable and Luminescent CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, and I) Nanoplates via Ligand Mediated Anion Exchange of CsPbCl3 Nanocubes with AlX3

Two-dimensional metal halide perovskite nanocrystals are attractive for their blue-shifted absorption relative to their 3D counterparts, narrow emission line widths, high absorption cross sections,...
Chemoprotection with botulinum toxin following proximal hamstring-Ischial tuberosity avulsion fracture repair: Running title: Chemoprotection for hamstring avulsion fractures

Abstract Introduction Surgical treatment for avulsion injuries of the proximal hamstrings has gained increasing popularity over the past decade. Despite good outcomes, early failures have been noted and have been attributed to slipping and falling, postoperative muscle spasm, or early mobilization. In a recent review of hamstring repair rehabilitation protocols, it was shown that there is marked variability in post-operative management. Post-operative bracing with limiting knee extension and hip flexion is the standard of care in most early rehabilitation protocols. Braces with limitation of hip flexion and knee locked in 900 flexion can be awkward, cumbersome and create fall risk. Chemoprotection has more recently been proposed to be an alternative approach to prevent tendon repair failure and controlled mobilization which has been shown to be superior to complete immobilization. We present the first case series of the use of botulinum toxin for chemo-protection of the proximal hamstring ischial avulsion repair, demonstrating its safety and efficacy. Methods Retrospective case series at a tertiary children’s hospital which included patients Results Five male patients with mean age 14 years (12–17) were included in the study. All were sports related non-contact injuries. Radiographs showed displaced avulsion fractures in all 5 patients. All patients had failed conservative management initially; mean time to surgery from initial injury was 34.4 weeks. 4 patients underwent open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF), 1 patient with less displacement had bone marrow aspirate (BMA) injection; all had chemoprotection using botulinum toxin injected in the hamstrings. No patient required hip immobilization or knee immobilization locked to 90°. We elected to use a brace locked at 20° knee flexion in 2/5 patients. All patients underwent supervised physical therapy and achieved symmetric knee range of motion (ROM). Post-operative radiographs confirmed healing of the avulsion fracture in all 5 patients and they all returned to previous level of activity at mean 32 weeks (21–43) from surgery. None of the patients had a hamstring re-injury at mean follow up of 27 months (11–42). Conclusion Our case series is the first in literature that shows the safety and efficacy of chemoprotection with botulinum toxin for the post-operative management of avulsion injuries of proximal hamstrings, by minimizing the need for cumbersome bracing and allowing controlled motion during physical therapy.
Concerns About Information Regarding COVID-19 on the Internet: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese government and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention have released COVID-19–related information to the public through various channels to raise their concern level of the pandemic, increase their knowledge of disease prevention, and ensure the uptake of proper preventive practices. Objective: Our objectives were to determine Chinese netizens’ concerns related to COVID-19 and the relationship between their concerns and information on the internet. We also aimed to elucidate the association between individuals’ levels of concern, knowledge, and behaviors related to COVID-19. Methods: The questionnaire, which consisted of 15 closed-ended questions, was designed to investigate Chinese netizens’ knowledge about COVID-19. The self-selection online survey method of nonprobability sampling was used to recruit participants through Dingxiangyisheng WeChat (a public, medical, and health service platform in China) accounts. Standard descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to analyze the data. Results: In total, 10,304 respondents were surveyed on the internet (response rate=1.75%; 10,304/590,000). Nearly all (n=9803, 95.30%) participants were concerned about “confirmed cases” of COVID-19, and 87.70% (n=9036) received information about the outbreak through social media websites. There were significant differences in participants’ concerns by sex (P=.02), age (P<.001), educational attainment (P=.001), and occupation (P<.001). All knowledge questions and preventive practices were associated with concerns about COVID-19. The results of the multivariate logistic regression indicated that participants’ sex, educational attainment, occupation and employment status, knowledge acquisition, and concern level were significantly associated with the practice of proper preventive behaviors. Conclusions: This study elucidated Chinese netizens’ concerns, information sources, and preventive behaviors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sex, educational attainment, occupation and employment status, knowledge acquisition, and level of concern were key factors associated with proper preventive behaviors. This offers a theoretical basis for the government to provide targeted disease prevention and control information to the public.
Design and development of CoCrFeNiTa eutectic high entropy alloys

Abstract High entropy alloys (HEA) are an emerging class of metallic materials that have shown the potential to outsmart conventional alloy systems in terms of different physical and mechanical properties. Development of eutectic microstructure in high entropy alloys can help in obtaining even better combination of mechanical properties due to fine distribution of phases. Eutectic high entropy alloys have been developed in the present study by addition of tantalum to the CoCrFeNi system. Pseudo binary phase diagram of CoCrFeNi–Ta was calculated with the help of Thermocalc software. Different alloy compositions were prepared by arc melting under argon atmosphere. Development of lamellar microstructure consisting of FCC and Laves phase was confirmed by the microstructural and crystal structure characterization carried out with the help of SEM and XRD. Necessary changes in the calculated phase diagram, in the light of microstructure and crystal structure characterization results, has been proposed. To evaluate the effect of eutectic microstructure on the mechanical properties of developed alloys, mechanical characterization was carried out with the help of compression tests and hardness tests. Development of eutectic microstructure consisting of FCC and Laves has helped in significantly improving the yield strength of developed alloys without causing drastic decrease in ductility. Completely eutectic alloys have shown better combination of mechanical properties in comparison to the respective hypoeutectic and hypereutectic high entropy alloys. It is believed that development of complete eutectic microstructure in high entropy alloys can help in obtaining alloys with significantly improved combination of strength and ductility.
Perceived Decisional Control as a Mediator between Moving to Assisted Living Due to Caregiver Burden and Relocation Adjustment.

Objectives: The rapid growth of the older population in the United States has led to increased utilization of assisted living facilities (ALFs), and it is important to understand what factors may f...
Adaptive Data Acquisition for Personalized Recommender Systems with Optimality Guarantees on Short-Form Video Platforms

Short-firm video (SFV) has been exploding on digital platforms recently. The vast amount of videos and fast-evolving trends on digital platforms pose technical challenges in making personalized recommendations. In this paper, we introduce a new pure exploration problem on SFV platforms. We propose an adaptive data acquisition method, called Adaptive Acquisition Tree (AAT), to jointly account for heterogeneity in user preferences and high-dimensional product characteristics. We adaptively divide users based on preference similarity and then learn a personalized transductive bandit policy that can be used on partially or even unobserved arms to accommodate the fast-evolving and emerging trends on SFV platforms. We analytically characterize the prediction error, which is determined by both the size of samples and the impurity of parameters within a group. We further derive the sample complexity for identifying an optimal set for a single user and for all users. We evaluate the algorithm via numerical experiments on data collected from the NetEase platform. Our result demonstrates that the proposed policy, compared with several state-of-the-art benchmarks, performs significantly better in four transductive scenarios for both spotlight recommendation (i.e., best-arm identification) and top-K recommendations. With the potential to improve the expected view time by 20-25%, our method pertains to tremendous academic and practical values, given the increasing popularity of short-form videos and, more broadly, online user-content generation platforms.
Photodesorption and Negative Ion ESD

I would like to take this opportunity to discuss briefly two topics which I believe are relevant to this workshop. The first topic I would like to consider is that of photodesorption. I believe this is a process that is sufficiently different from that of photon-stimulated desorption that its characteristics should be understood and the nomenclature describing various experiments kept clear.
Individual Transition Plans

A descriptive analysis of transition plans for students with learning disabilities was conducted across 14 school divisions in Virginia. The results indicate that community representatives rarely participate in formal transition planning meetings for these individuals. In light of what is known about the postschool educational and employment outcomes of these students, it is essential that educators, family members, and students themselves receive training and technical assistance on how to use individual transition plans as planning tools for schools and community organizations to guide students with learning disabilities through the transition process.
Vertical Information Sharing in Distribution Channels

This paper examines the information-sharing behavior of firms in a distribution channel context. While information sharing among firms can occur in a horizontal (among competitors) or vertical (channel members) context, previous attempts at modeling information sharing has primarily been restricted to the horizontal context. For marketers, channel alliances are interesting in view of their growing popularity as witnessed by initiatives like ECR and category management. Such initiatives usually involve the pooling of, often complimentary, information available with manufacturers and retailers. It is argued that such pooling of information should lead to better decision-making and hence it is desirable. However, in practice, category management is often implemented with a somewhat interesting institution of category captain, which appears to be a restricted form of information pooling. It involves the retailer entering into an alliance with only one (of many) supplier in a category, who is accorded the role of category captain. We first analyze the information sharing incentives of the two industry participants, manufacturer and retailer, in a bilateral monopoly. We find that whether sharing will occur or not is crucially dependent on the baseline quality of information available with the firms and on the degree of complementarity of resources that in turn determine how effective information pooling is. Next, using a model of competing symmetric duopolists selling through a common retailer, we show that information sharing between the alliance partners can sometimes give rise to the emergence of the so-called category captain, i.e., an exclusive alliance. The total channel profits and those of the partners in alliance go up. This increased profit is due to higher average wholesale prices, which can be interpreted as reduction in price promotions, a key goal of the category management initiative. The model generates predictions about when information- sharing alliances are more likely and can also be extended to answer managerially relevant question for retailers, i.e., who to choose as category captain?
Peptidoglycan transformations during Bacillus subtilis sporulation

While vegetative Bacillus subtilis cells and mature spores are both surrounded by a thick layer of peptidoglycan (PG, a polymer of glycan strands cross-linked by peptide bridges), it has remained unclear whether PG surrounds prespores during engulfment. To clarify this issue, we generated a slender ΔponA mutant that enabled high-resolution electron cryotomographic imaging. Three-dimensional reconstructions of whole cells in near-native states revealed a thin PG-like layer extending from the lateral cell wall around the prespore throughout engulfment. Cryotomography of purified sacculi and fluorescent labelling of PG in live cells confirmed that PG surrounds the prespore. The presence of PG throughout engulfment suggests new roles for PG in sporulation, including a new model for how PG synthesis might drive engulfment, and obviates the need to synthesize a PG layer de novo during cortex formation. In addition, it reveals that B. subtilis can synthesize thin, Gram-negative-like PG layers as well as its thick, archetypal Gram-positive cell wall. The continuous transformations from thick to thin and back to thick during sporulation suggest that both forms of PG have the same basic architecture (circumferential). Endopeptidase activity may be the main switch that governs whether a thin or a thick PG layer is assembled.
A new model for the efficient channel utilization of wireless networks and applications

As a natural scarcity in wireless networks, radio spectrum becomes a major investment in network deployment. How to improve the channel utilization (CU) of the spectrum is a challenging topic in recent research. In network environment, the utilization of a channel is measured by the effective CU (ECU), ie., the effective time in transmission or being sensed busy over its total operation time. However, the existing work does not provide a valid model for ECU. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between ECU and interference. First, we propose a new concept of co-transmission ratio to describe the overlap time of a channel usage. Second, we find the issues of the existing models. Third, we propose a new model that is based on the channel occupations of the nodes in a network. The new model has been proved mathematically, and verified by extensive simulation results in WLANs. It significantly improves the precision of ECU modeling and can be widely used in network planning, routing protocol design, and channel allocations. We present some possible applications for the model.
Information Literacy 2011: A Selection of 2011's Literature on IL

Information literacy is near and dear to many librarians’ hearts. It forms the foundation of many of the services and programs that reference and instructional librarians develop. In order to meet the changing needs of users and adjust to rapidly progress technology, as well as the expectations of faculty and administrators, it is crucial to remain abreast of new and changing perspectives on IL. Furthermore, discovering novel and useful techniques, assignments, and approaches can help keep IL programming from becoming stagnant and outdated. This annotated bibliography looks at 16 articles from 2011 that purport to examine IL.