cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Heme oxygenase-1 gene expression as a stress index to ocular irritation

PURPOSE. Predicting the toxic potential of compounds to the ocular surface has depended on the Draize test for the past half century. Alternatives to Draize testing have recently been sought for a number of reasons. Stress gene expression has emerged as a means of quantifying cellular reaction and, thus, the toxic potential of the compound in question. This study examines the expression of the major stress response gene heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in a human corneal epithelial cell line (HCE-T) following challenges with a number of known ocular irritants. METHODS. HCE-T was used to investigate the effect of ocular irritants on cell viability and HO-1 expression. Irritants tested included hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, sodium hydroxide and trichloroacetic acid. HCE-T cells were grown to 80% confluency and treated with the listed irritants at a concentration range of 10–100 µM. Cell viability and northern blot analysis were performed following a 24 and 48 hr incubation period. RESULTS. HCE-T cells expres...
Proptest: a property based test pattern generator for sequential circuits using test compaction

We describe a property based test generation procedure that uses static compaction to generate test sequences that achieve high fault coverages at a low computational complexity. A class of test compaction procedures are proposed and used in the property based test generator. Experimental results indicate that these compaction procedures can be used to implement the proposed test generator to achieve high fault coverage with relatively smaller run times.
A fuzzy similarity approach in text classification task

We present a fuzzy similarity approach to address a text classification problem. The effectiveness of several fuzzy conjunction and disjunction operators used in a fuzzy similarity formula and on several document representations were evaluated using test sets from three text document collections. Based on empirical results obtained from using these collections, a special case of the fuzzy similarity formula performs very well.
Chromaticity of a family of K 4 homeomorphs

Abstract A K 4 homeomorph can be described as a graph on n vertices having 4 vertices of degree 3 and n − 4 vertices of degree 2; each pair of degree 3 vertices is joined by a path. We study the chromatic uniqueness and chromatic equivalence of one family of K 4 homeomorphs. This family has exactly 3 paths of length one. The results of this study leads us to solve 3 of the problems posed by Koh and Teo in their 1990 survey paper which appeared in Graphs and Combinatorics.
High-temperature solution growth of Cr2` : CdSe for tunable mid-IR laser application

Solid-state tunable laser sources in the mid-IR region have been recently investigated for their potential in remote sensing applications. Room temperature lasers based on single crystals of chromium-doped CdSe are particularly interesting due to their broad band tunability beyond 2 lm spectral region. In this study, we have grown doped single crystals by the high-temperature gradient freezing solution technique, using selenium as the solvent. Crystals of 1.2 cm in diameter and up to 7 cm long, cracks and precipitates free could be obtained. The e!ective segregation coe$cient of Cr2‘ ions along the ingot was evaluated. Room temperature emission lifetime values of 3.0}4.5 ls were measured. ( 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Comparison of noninvasive measures of contractility in dilated cardiomyopathy.

Left ventricular performance is usually quantified by ejection phase indices such as ejection fraction, cardiac output, and fractional shortening. The load-dependence of these measures may result in inaccurate estimation of intrinsic myocardial contractility in states of chronic pressure or volume overload. End-systolic and stress-shortening relations have been proposed as measures of contractile state insofar as they are theoretically independent of preload and incorporate afterload. This article examines the behavior of these relations in response to changes in loading conditions and contractile state and reviews their application utilizing noninvasive methodology, particularly in the setting of dilated cardiomyopathy. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 8, March 1991)
A printable form of silicon for high performance thin film transistors on plastic substrates

Free-standing micro- and nanoscale objects of single crystal silicon can be fabricated from silicon-on-insulator wafers by lithographic patterning of resist, etching of the exposed top silicon, and removing the underlying SiO2 to lift-off the remaining silicon. A large collection of such objects constitutes a type of material that can be deposited and patterned, by dry transfer printing or solution casting, onto plastic substrates to yield mechanically flexible thin film transistors that have excellent electrical properties. Effective mobilities of devices built with this material, which we refer to as microstructured silicon (μs-Si), are demonstrated to be as high as 180cm2∕Vs on plastic substrates. This form of “top down” microtechnology might represent an attractive route to high performance flexible electronic systems.
A parsing: fast exact Viterbi parse selection

We present an extension of the classic A* search procedure to tabular PCFG parsing. The use of A* search can dramatically reduce the time required to find a best parse by conservatively estimating the probabilities of parse completions. We discuss various estimates and give efficient algorithms for computing them. On average-length Penn treebank sentences, our most detailed estimate reduces the total number of edges processed to less than 3% of that required by exhaustive parsing, and a simpler estimate, which requires less than a minute of pre-computation, reduces the work to less than 5%. Un-like best-first and finite-beam methods for achieving this kind of speed-up, an A* method is guaranteed to find the most likely parse, not just an approximation. Our parser, which is simpler to implement than an upward-propagating best-first parser, is correct for a wide range of parser control strategies and maintains worst-case cubic time.
The role of the endoplasmic reticulum in the mobilization of reserve macromolecules during seedling growth.

(1980). THE ROLE OF THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM IN THE MOBILIZATION OF RESERVE MACROMOLECULES DURING SEEDLING GROWTH. Israel Journal of Botany: Vol. 29, CONTROL MECHANISMS IN SEED GERMINATION, pp. 225-245.
24/7 Library Hours at an Urban Commuter College

Historically, academic libraries have not provided their users with any form of 24hour access. The evidence today is that many do. This article discusses the results of a survey of students using the library at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which in the Spring 2014 began offering 24/7 library access during the final exam period. The objective was to gather demographic information about the users and get a better understanding of the reason(s) for their visit. The data collected helps explain what might be driving the trend to extend hours, even as many library resources are available 24/7 electronically from anywhere you can access the Internet. In addition, as academic institutions increasingly struggle with retention, the survey results suggest another beneficial way that libraries, and in this case those at urban commuter colleges, might contribute to the creation of a connected community of learners as a means of improving retention rates and the success of their students.
Treatment of posttraumatic adhesive capsulitis of the ankle: a case series.

Background: Adhesive capsulitis of the ankle is a challenging diagnostic and therapeutic problem. Limited information concerning diagnosis and treatment is available in the musculoskeletal literatu...
A Break in the Darkness-Mid-centuary Reformation in Europe

After the geography discovery, theology of Christianityhas become a shackle thatchecked the progress and development of Europe society. Together with humanism movement, the Reformation, destined to plant seeds that would rupture itself,became one important part of "capitalismspirit" and the first sign of bourgeoisrevolution.
In vitro determination of ruminal protein degradability of alfalfa and prairie hay via a commercial protease in the presence or absence of cellulase or driselase

Ruminal protein degradation of alfalfa (2.62% N, 49.6% NDF, and in vivo undegradable intake protein [UIP] = 16.4% of CP) and prairie hay (.88% N, 69.4% NDF, and in vivo UIP = 44.5% of CP) was estimated using the Streptomyces griseus protease (SGP) in vitro method with or without pretreatment with two carbohydrases: cellulase from Penicillium funiculosum or driselase from Basidiomycetes. Driselase is a broad-spectrum carbohydrase. Incubating forage samples for 48 h with cellulase or driselase at a concentration of 800 mg/g per g of hay nearly maximized ADF and NDF disappearances. This concentration and incubation time then were used to pretreat hay samples. A 2-h pretreatment was included to evaluate the potential for reducing the analysis time. Other sets of samples were or were not pretreated with acetate buffer alone. Following pretreatment, samples were subjected to SGP for .25, .5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 h. Pretreatment altered the sizes of protein pools and their degradation rates. When the UIP contents of the forages were estimated using SGP and a single-pool, first-order, kinetic model, cellulase (48 h) or driselase pretreatments yielded UIP predictions that were more similar to in vivo values. Some carbohydrase and protease combinations also yielded single time-point estimates of UIP that were similar to in vivo values. Similarly, when sufficient time was permitted for protease incubation, single time-point estimates derived from protease alone were similar to in vivo values.
An Asymmetric Distributed Method for Sorting a Robot Swarm

We consider the problem of sorting a swarm of labeled robots in Euclidean space. Our goal is to organize the robots into a sorted and equally-spaced straight line between the robots with lowest and highest labels, while maintaining a connected communication network. We break the symmetry between the minimum and maximum, in order to keep time, travel distance, and communication costs low, without using central control. We run in parallel a set of functions, including leader election, tree formation, path formation, path modification, and geometric straightening. We show that our algorithm is safe, correct, efficient, and robust to changes in population and connectivity. We validate our theoretical results with simulations. Our implementation uses messages of fixed size and robots of constant memory, and is a practical solution for large populations of low-cost robots.
Adventitious organogenic regeneration from soybean genotypes representing nine maturity groups

In the US, soybean genotypes are classified into maturity groups (MG; total of 13) that represent areas of adaptation generally correlated with latitude bands. To determine if one regeneration procedure could regenerate representatives from diverse areas of adaptation, 18 soybean genotypes representing nine MG were compared for organogenic adventitious regeneration and plant formation from hypocotyl explants following the procedure previously tested on representatives from only three MG. Responding explants were those capable of producing shoots on the acropetal end of the explant from either the outer edge plus central region or the central region only. This enabled determination of the contribution of cotyledonary nodal tissue (outer edge) to shoot regeneration and by discounting those explants, it also enabled estimates of true adventitious regeneration. All 18 genotypes were capable of producing meristemoids/shoots solely from the central region with responses ranging from 28.5 to 64.3% after 4 weeks in culture. All genotypes were also capable of producing elongated shoots that could be successfully rooted. No morphological differences were noted among regenerants, or between them and seed-initiated plants. All regenerants produced viable seed which germinated and produced morphologically normal plants. This study confirmed the genotype- and MG-independent nature of this hypocotyl-based organogenic regeneration procedure and provided conservative estimates for responses that were truly/solely adventitious in nature.
The Inuit archaeology of the Quebec Lower North Shore

Cet article recapitule une decennie de recherches archeologiques qui demontrent l’occupation permanente de la Basse-Cote-Nord du Quebec par les Inuit a la fin du XVIIe et au debut du XVIIIe siecles. Les resultats des fouilles de plusieurs villages occupes l’hiver ont demontre des modes d’etablissement dans des maisons de tourbe similaires a ceux du centre du Labrador, incluant une continuation du mode de subsistance et de l’economie domestique inuit traditionnels incorporant des materiaux et artefacts europeens. A l’ile du Petit Mecatina, le site de Hare Harbour suggere une collaboration inuit avec une station europeenne (probablement basque) de chasse a la baleine et de peche. Le site de Hare Harbour constitue un exemple unique d’une des premieres entreprises socioeconomiques inuit-europeennes. Au debut des annees 1700, l’occupation inuit de la Basse-Cote-Nord s’arreta brusquement a la suite d’une concurrence economique et d’hostilites avec des Europeens et des groupes amerindiens. Les Inuit furent alors contraints d’abandonner la cote et de se retrancher vers le nord, leur territoire d’origine sur la cote centrale du Labrador.
Congenital Myasthenia and Facial Malformations

A new genetic syndrome of congenital myasthenia with distinctive ethnic clustering and associated facial malformations transmitted as an autosomal recessive disorder is reported from the Departments of Neurology and Medical Genetics, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashcmer, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
A Common Wind

In E. L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, the central character, a black musiciannamed Coalhouse Walker, Jr., is driven to rebellion against white society by the actions of members of a volunteer fire brigade. Walker is a successful, self-respecting black man. He is driving his Model T. Ford past the fire station when he is stopped and his car is dismantled as part of a racist practical joke. The firemen are saying, in effect, you may be successful but in America you are still black.2
Strain in GaAs quantum wells and layered composites detected by optically pumped NMR (Conference Presentation)

We present a methodology for characterizing lattice strain effects in crystalline semiconductors based on optically pumped NMR (OPNMR). Lattice strain is detected as an electric quadrupole splitting of the NMR transition. Since OPNMR is an optical technique, it selectively probes strain only in the volume within the optical penetration depth of the laser light. The methodology is demonstrated in (1) variably thinned bulk GaAs layered composites and (2) GaAs quantum well thin films. Thermally induced lattice strain was induced by epoxy-bonding to Si support wafers at 373 K followed by cooling to 1.5 K. The variation of the strain with GaAs layer thickness is shown to be consistent with an analytical model for mechanical bowing. In the GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs thin films, the strain measured from the quadrupole splitting of the 71Ga NMR transition was incorporated into electronic energy band structure calculations which yield the photon energy dependence of the optical absorption and conduction electron spin polarization. The nuclear spin polarization is calculated from the electron spin polarization using an appropriate electron-nuclear cross-relaxation model. Comparison of theory to the experimental data provides new insights into how the optically pumped nuclear spin polarization is affected by strain and quantum confinement. [1] M. Sturge, Phys. Rev. 127, 768 (1962) [2] Y. Sun, et. al., Strain Effects in Semiconductors: Theory and Device Applications (Springer, 2010). [3] P.L. Kuhns et al., Phys. Rev. B. 55, 7824-7830 (1997). [4] R.M. Wood et al., Phys. Rev. B. 90, 155317 (2014)
Pediatric traumatic gallbladder rupture

Blunt abdominal trauma causing gallbladder rupture is exceptionally rare in children. This injury is rare due to the size and anatomical location of the gallbladder, and a rapid diagnosis is often difficult to achieve due to delayed presentation. We report a ruptured gallbladder in an 11-year-old male as a result of blunt abdominal trauma from an all-terrain vehicle accident. Possible gallbladder injury was indicated on computed tomography and patient was successfully managed with cholecystectomy.
Extraction of Thermodynamic Parameters of Protein Unfolding Using Parallelized Differential Scanning Fluorimetry.

Thermodynamic properties of protein unfolding have been extensively studied; however, the methods used have typically required significant preparation time and high protein concentrations. Here we present a facile, simple, and parallelized differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) method that enables thermodynamic parameters of protein unfolding to be extracted. This method assumes a two-state, reversible protein unfolding mechanism and provides the capacity to quickly analyze the biophysical mechanisms of changes in protein stability and to more thoroughly characterize the effect of mutations, additives, inhibitors, or pH. We show the utility of the DSF method by analyzing the thermal denaturation of lysozyme, carbonic anhydrase, chymotrypsin, horseradish peroxidase, and cellulase enzymes. Compared with similar biophysical analyses by circular dichroism, DSF allows for determination of thermodynamic parameters of unfolding while providing greater than 24-fold reduction in experimental time. This study open...
Chronic Pancreatitis: Frey Procedure

Chronic pancreatitis is a multifactorial disease process associated with high morbidity. The workup and perioperative management of this disease can be challenging given its complex pathophysiology. Multidisciplinary lifestyle and medical management strategies should be utilized when feasible prior to invasive interventions, either endoscopic or surgical. Using a case presentation format, key perioperative assessment and management strategies for chronic pancreatitis are highlighted, in addition to technical pearls to guide intraoperative management using the Frey procedure (duodenal-preserving partial pancreatic head resection with lateral pancreaticojejunostomy). Patients with pancreatic ductal dilation greater than or equal to 7 mm, or dilated with multiple ductal strictures causing disabling or severe pain, should undergo a Frey procedure. Asymptomatic patients or those with an inflammatory mass/calcification in the pancreatic head associated with ductal dilation are also candidates.
THE LUTHER OF SHI’I ISLAM

This paper examines socio-historical roots of the emergence of the idea of “Islamic Protestantism” within Iranian Shi’i tradition. The central focus of this study is to present thoughts and activities of so-called “Iranian Luthers” as the agents, actors, and prime movers of the birth of Islamic reformation in Iran. These actors whose ideas of Islamic reformation have had great influences and reached broader audiences beyond Iranian territory include Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Ali Shari’ati, Mehdi Bazargan, Hashem Aghajari, and Abdul Karim Soroush. There are a number of Iranian reformers deserve credits for their thoughtful, controversial ideas of Islamic reformations. These Iranian reformers are considered “the Luthers of Islam” for their deep admiration of Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation, and their calls for Islamic reformation just like Luther did in the sixteenth century Europe. By the socio-historical and descriptive analysis, this paper is not intended to compare two religious reformations in Iran and Europe, but rather to study and analyze their notions with regard to Islamic reformation. *** Artikel ini membicarakan tentang akar sosio-historis muncul­­­nya gagasan “Protestanisme Islam” dalam tradisi Syi’ah Iran, dengan fokus kajian pemikiran dan gerakan yang disebut “Luther Iran” sebagai agen, aktor, dan peng­gerak utama lahirnya reformasi Islam di Iran. Ide-ide re­formasi Islam memiliki pengaruh besar dan mencapai khalayak yang lebih luas di luar wilayah Iran termasuk Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Ali Shari’ati, Mehdi Bazargan, Hashem Aghajari, dan Abdul Karim Soroush. Sejumlah reformis Iran layak mendapatkan perhatian karena pe­mikir­an, ide-ide kontroversial mereka dalam reformasi Islam. Para reformis Iran dianggap sebagai “Luther Islam” karena kekaguman mendalam mereka terhadap Martin Luther, dan mereka menghendaki reformasi Islam seperti yang terjadi pada masa Luther di Eropa abad keenam belas. Dengan analisis sosio-historis dan deskriptif, tulisan ini tidak di­maksud­kan untuk membandingkan dua reformasi ke­agamaan di Iran dan Eropa, melainkan untuk mem­pelajari dan meng­analisis gagasan-gagasan mereka mengenai refor­masi Islam.
Delineation of microwave ablated hepatocellular carcinoma tumor regions using electrode displacement elastography

An effective imaging modality to delineate the ablated region after microwave ablation (MWA) therapy is crucial to yield promising treatment outcomes. Ultrasound B mode imaging is widely used to guide the ablation needle. However, the image quality suffers from relatively low imaging contrast due to the similar echogenicity between the ablated and surrounding liver tissue. In this study, we applied a quasi-static ultrasound elastography technique, referred to as electrode displacement elastography (EDE), to delineate the thermally ablated regions for patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with MWA procedures.
On Abruptly-Changing and Slowly-Varying Multiarmed Bandit Problems

We study the non-stationary stochastic multi-armed bandit (MAB) problem and propose two generic algorithms, namely, Limited Memory Deterministic Sequencing of Exploration and Exploitation (LM-DSEE) and Sliding-Window Upper Confidence Bound# (SW-UCB#). We rigorously analyze these algorithms in abruptly-changing and slowly-varying environments and characterize their performance. We show that the expected cumulative regret for these algorithms in either of the environments is upper bounded by sublinear functions of time, i.e., the time average of the regret asymptotically converges to zero. We complement our analysis with numerical illustrations.
Devulcanization of Ground Tires by Different Strains of Bacteria: Optimization of Culture Condition by Taguchi Method

Biological devulcanization of ground tires (GTs) was evaluated by eleven different bacteria belonging to the genera Thiobacillus, Gordonia, Nocardia, Amycolaptopsis and Pseudomonas. The GTs were treated by each bacterium in a mineral medium and devulcanization was measured by increasing the sulfate of the medium and decreasing the sulfur of the GTs. The effects of incubation time (10 and 20 days) and the percent of ground tire in the medium (0.5 and 5 w/v %) on desulfurization were investigated. No significant changes were observed after 10 days of incubation. The total sulfur contents of all bio-treated GTs were decreased by 6–21% in 0.5% GTs after 20 days of incubation. While in 5% GTs, the total sulfur contents were mainly decreased using Thiobacillus ferroxidans DSMZ 583 and PTCC 1647 up to 27 and 15%, respectively. SEM photograph further indicated a good coherency interface between the bacteria and the GTs. Subsequently, Taguchi method was applied for the optimization of the culture condition of DSMZ 583. An L12 orthogonal array was performed by which the effects of eleven factors in two levels were evaluated. It was found that the amount and mesh size of GTs are the most important factors in biological devulcanization of ground tires.
Technology-Enhanced Simulation Improves Trainee Readiness Transitioning to Cardiothoracic Training

Abstract Objective Transitioning from medical school and general surgery training to cardiothoracic (CT) surgical training poses unique challenges for trainees and patient care. We hypothesized that participation in technology-enhanced simulation modules that provided early exposure to urgent/emergent CT patient problems would improve cognitive skills and readiness to manage common urgencies/emergencies. Design Traditional and integrated cardiothoracic residents at our institution participated in a technology-enhanced simulation curriculum. The course comprised of didactics, hands-on simulation, virtual models, and mock oral examinations. Residents also were given a validated pretest and post-test to evaluate knowledge retention and integration. Resident performance was graded using a previously validated objective structured clinical examination. Resident perception of course usefulness and relevance was determined through the completion of a perception survey. Setting This study occurred at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine with the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. The facility used was the Peter Winter Institute for Simulation, Education and Research. Participants From 2013 to 2015, 25 traditional and integrated cardiothoracic residents participated in these training modules who have completed all portions of the simulation were used for analysis. Results For our participants, knowledge base significantly increased by 7.9% (pretest = 76.0% vs. post-test = 83.9%, p Conclusions After completing a technology-enhanced course combining didactics, simulation, and real-time assessment, residents demonstrated objective improvements in cognitive skills and readiness in managing CT patients. Resident postcourse feedback indicated enhanced confidence, suggesting increased preparedness transitioning to CT surgery. This has strong implications for improved patient safety during these potentially labile transition periods.
The Correlation between the Dermatology Life Quality Index and the Psoriasis Area Severity Index

BackgroundPsoriasis patients experience a significant decrease in quality of life (QoL).ObjectivesThis study was conducted to prospectively measure changes in QoL of patients with moderate-to-sever...
Observations of Fair Weather

Although weather radar's principal function is to identify and track precipitating storms, these radars also detect echoes from scatterers in fair weather. Sometimes the spatial distribution of reflectivity in clear air can be associated with meteorological phenomena such as waves, turbulent layers, fronts, etc. Echoes from clear air have been seen almost from the inception of radar observations (e.g., Colwell and Friend, 1936). These “angel echoes” were at first mystifying and were often associated with birds and insects. Clear-air echoes not related to any visible object were conclusively proven to emanate from refractive index irregularities in experiments with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) multiwavelength radars at Wallops Island, Virginia ( Hardy et al., 1971). It is the purpose of this chapter to develop, from basic theory, a relation between the characteristics of the refractive index irregularities and the Doppler-shifted signals sensed by radar. Wind profilers and the Radio Acoustic Sounding Systems (RASS), which use Doppler radars, are also discussed.
Differential diagnostic aspects in malignant lymphomas involving the central nervous system.

Neoplastic cells were found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytograms in 57% of patients with lymphocytic leukemia and reticulum cell sarcoma. Tumor cells may be observ. d. in CSF specimens showing normal cell count and total proteins. Quantitative and/or qualitative changes in CSF proteins in absence of corresponding abnormalities in serum may indicate a malignant lymphoproliterative process involving the central nervous system even in absence of neoplastic cells.
Working women and stress

Occupational stress is a growing problem in US workplaces and may be a problem of particular magnitude for working women, in part because of sex-specific job stressors (sex discrimination and difficulties combining work and family). Although such stressors have received little research attention until recent years, new research indicates that these stressors may have a negative impact on health and well-being above and beyond the effects of general job stressors (work overload, skill underutilization, etc). A number of stress-reduction strategies have been shown to be useful for working women, ranging from the more common individual stress management techniques to higher-level interventions focused on removing the sources of occupational stress. This article provides a brief overview of occupational stress as it affects working women and presents research on approaches for reducing the negative effects of job stress.
Monitoring During Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Despite dramatic advances in myocardial preservation during cardiac surgery, brain injury remains a common and serious complication [1]. Although myocardial revascularization may be achieved on a beating heart, the majority of these surgeries, as well as all open-heart surgery, requires the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The brain injury may be either diffuse or regional, with sequelae ranging from encephalopathy or stroke to subtle cognitive decline or disruptive personality changes [1, 2]. The most common injury mechanisms are cerebral embolism and/or hypoperfusion [2]. Furthermore, the two mechanisms often coexist such that hypoperfusion exacerbates embolic injury by reducing the clearance of particulates or gas bubbles from the cerebral microcirculation [3].
Animal models of arthritis generated by gene transfer

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a crippling autoimmune disease whose primary symptom is chronic inflammation of the joints. Although considered to be a systemic disorder, the most commonly affected sites are the wrist, knees and metacarpophalangeal joints. The debilitating effects of the disease occur progressively over time. The synovium, normally a thin layer of tissue that lines the internal surfaces of the joint capsule, becomes dramatically thickened and hypercellular from infiltrating leukocytes and proliferating synovial cells. The cells within the synovium become activated, giving the hypertrophied tissue an aggressive phenotype. This activated tissue, called pannus, invades and erodes the articular cartilage and subchondral bone. The cumulative degradation of the joint structures often results in severe disfigurement and loss of function. Currently, there is no available treatment that can effectively halt the progression of RA.
Item Recommendation with Variational Autoencoders and Heterogeneous Priors

In recent years, Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) have been shown to be highly effective in both standard collaborative filtering applications and extensions such as incorporation of implicit feedback. We extend VAEs to collaborative filtering with side information, for instance when ratings are combined with explicit text feedback from the user. Instead of using a user-agnostic standard Gaussian prior, we incorporate user-dependent priors in the latent VAE space to encode users' preferences as functions of the review text. Taking into account both the rating and the text information to represent users in this multimodal latent space is promising to improve recommendation quality. Our proposed model is shown to outperform the existing VAE models for collaborative filtering (up to 29.41% relative improvement in ranking metric) along with other baselines that incorporate both user ratings and text for item recommendation.
Underage Drinking Diversion: Characterizing Severity With Latent Class Analysis

Substance misuse among young adults is associated with serious safety and risk factors that can lead to harmful consequences. Little is known about the heterogeneity among emerging adults (EAs) ent...
Pheochromocytoma Characteristics and Behavior Differ Depending on Method of Discovery.

CONTEXT Modern pheochromocytomas (PHEOs) are often discovered by incidental finding on cross-sectional imaging or mutation-based genetic case detection testing. Little is known about how these PHEOs behave. OBJECTIVE To describe the characteristics and behavior of PHEOs discovered incidentally on imaging or through mutation-based genetic case detection testing. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Referral center. PATIENTS Consecutive patients with pathology-confirmed PHEOs, treated from 2005 to 2016. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Tumor size, plasma/urine fractionated metanephrines and catecholamines, and preoperative management. RESULTS Two hundred seventy-one patients (52% women, median age 52.0 years) presented with 296 PHEOs. Discovery method was most often incidental finding on cross-section imaging (61%) rather than PHEO-related symptoms (27%) or mutation-based case detection testing (12%). Patients with incidentally discovered PHEOs were older than symptomatic and mutation-based case detection testing patients (median age 56.6 vs 43 vs 35 years, P < 0.0001). Mutation-based case detection PHEOs were smaller than those discovered due to symptoms (median size 29.0 vs 50.5 mm, P = 0.0027). Patients with PHEOs discovered due to symptoms had the highest median concentration of 24-hour urinary metanephrines and total plasma metanephrines (P < 0.0001). These patients required a higher cumulative phenoxybenzamine dose than patients with incidental or case detection PHEO (median 450 vs 375 vs 270 mg, P = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS PHEOs are primarily discovered due to incidental finding on cross-sectional imaging rather than PHEO-related symptoms. PHEOs discovered through mutation-based genetic case detection testing were smaller and required less α-adrenergic blockade preoperatively compared with PHEOs found due to symptoms, which supports routine case detection testing for patients genetically predisposed for PHEOs.
The platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha promoter-directed expression of cre recombinase in mouse placenta.

Author(s): Wattez, Jean-Sebastien; Qiao, Liping; Lee, Samuel; Natale, David Renato Christopher; Shao, Jianhua | Abstract: BackgroundNumerous pathologies of pregnancy originate from placental dysfunction. It is essential to understand the functions of key genes in the placenta in order to discern the etiology of placental pathologies. A paucity of animal models that allow conditional and inducible expression of a target gene in the placenta is a major limitation for studying placental development and function.ResultsTo study the platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRα)-directed and tamoxifen-induced Cre recombinase expression in the placenta, PDGFRα-CreER mice were crossed with mT/mG dual-fluorescent reporter mice. The expression of endogenous membrane-localized enhanced green fluorescent protein (mEGFP) and/or dTomato in the placenta was examined to identify PDGFRα promoter-directed Cre expression. Pregnant PDGFRα-CreER;mT/mG mice were treated with tamoxifen at various gestational ages. Upon tamoxifen treatment, reporter protein mEGFP was observed in the junctional zone (JZ) and chorionic plate (CP). Furthermore, a single dose of tamoxifen was sufficient to induce the recombination.ConclusionsPDGFRα-CreER expression is restricted to the JZ and CP of mouse placentas. PDGFRα-CreER mice provide a useful tool to conditionally knock out or overexpress a target gene in these regions of the mouse placenta.
A Critical Review of the Experimentally Known Properties of U-Pu-Zr Alloys. Part 1: Phases and Phase Diagrams

The U-Pu-Zr metallic fuels contain multiple phases whose properties and distributions evolve due to factors such as fission, nuclear transmutation, and elemental redistribution under the influence ...
Gossypiboma Mimicking Fluorodeoxyglucose-avid Lung Nodule

We present the case of a 55-year-old woman with a fluorodeoxyglucose-avid lung nodule 8 months after a coronary artery bypass graft procedure. This mass was later discovered to be a gossypiboma caused by retained surgical sponge material. There have been prior reports of intrathoracic gossypiboma presenting with various imaging findings; however, none that have presented as a positron emission tomography–avid lung nodule mimicking a malignancy.
Online Distributed IoT Security Monitoring With Multidimensional Streaming Big Data

Internet of Things (IoT) enables extensive connections between cyber and physical “things.” Nevertheless, the streaming data among IoT sensors bring “big data” issues, for example, large data volumes, data redundancy, lack of scalability, and so on. Under big data circumstances, IoT system monitoring becomes a challenge. Furthermore, cyberattacks which threaten IoT security are hard to be detected. In this article, we propose an online distributed IoT security monitoring algorithm (ODIS). An advanced influential point selection operation extracts important information from multidimensional time-series data across distributed sensor nodes based on the spatial and temporal data dependence structure. Then, an accurate data structure model is constructed to capture the IoT system behaviors. Next, hypothesis testing is carried out to quantify the uncertainty of the monitoring tasks. Besides, the distributed system architecture solves the scalability issue. Using a real sensor network testbed, we commit cyberattacks to an IoT system with different patterns and strengths. The proposed ODIS algorithm demonstrates promising detection and monitoring performances.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of a 6-Month Low-Carbohydrate Intervention on Disease Progression in Men with Recurrent Prostate Cancer: Carbohydrate and Prostate Study 2 (CAPS2)

Introduction: Both weight loss and low carbohydrate diets (LCD) without weight loss prolong survival in prostate cancer (PC) models. Few human trials tested weight loss or LCD on PC. Methods: We conducted a multi-site randomized 6-month trial of LCD vs control on PSA doubling time (PSADT) in PC patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR) after local treatment. Eligibility included BMI ≥24 kg/m2 and PSADT 3-36 months. LCD was instructed to eat 20 g/carbs/day; controls were instructed to avoid dietary changes. Primary outcome was PSADT. Secondary outcomes included weight, lipids, glucose metabolism, and diet. Results: Of 60 planned patients, the study stopped early after an interim analysis showed futility. 27 LCD and 18 controls completed the study. At 6-month, while both arms consumed similar protein and fats, LCD reduced carbohydrates intake (-117 vs. 8g, p
Malpractice claims associated with foot surgery

Surgery of the foot constitutes a substantial portion of orthopedic procedures, performed by both orthopedic surgeons and doctors of podiatric medicine. Little research exists on the medicolegal implications of foot surgery amongst these specialties. This study seeks to investigate the different medical and legal factors associated with foot surgery-based malpractice litigation. Malpractice data between 2004 and 2017 was collected using the VerdictSearch legal database. Cases involving foot surgery were identified, and case information including physician specialty, procedure, medical outcome, verdict, and payment amount were obtained. A total of 72 cases were analyzed. A majority of lawsuits involved podiatrists (76.4%), with orthopedic surgeons accounting for 15.3%. Lawsuits against podiatrists primarily occurred over elective procedures (94.5%) and most frequently involved plaintiff complaints of persistent pain (41.8%) or deformation (27.3%). Podiatrist cases most often involved allegations of failure to treat (45.5%) or inappropriate surgical procedure (27.3%). Orthopedic surgeons saw higher rates of urgent cases (45.5%), with surgical complications (27.3%) occurring at higher rates than podiatrists. Despite different trends in case types, similar rates of plaintiff victories, and mean payments were seen between podiatrists (25.5%, $911,884 ± 1,145,345) and orthopedic surgeons (27.3%, $975,555 ± 448,795). This investigation is the first to analyze malpractice trends amongst podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons. Differing factors related to medical and legal outcomes can suggest quality improvement targets for both specialties. This data may assist in reducing malpractice risk and refining patient care, particularly with regards to outlining risks, benefits, and alternatives during pre-operative counselling.
Human adaptation over the past 40,000 years

Over the past few years several methodological and data-driven advances have greatly improved our ability to robustly detect genomic signatures of selection in humans. New methods applied to large samples of present-day genomes provide increased power, while ancient DNA allows precise estimation of timing and tempo. However, despite these advances, we are still limited in our ability to translate these signatures into understanding about which traits were actually under selection, and why. Combining information from different populations and timescales may allow interpretation of selective sweeps. Other modes of selection have proved more difficult to detect. In particular, despite strong evidence of the polygenicity of most human traits, evidence for polygenic selection is weak, and its importance in recent human evolution remains unclear. Balancing selection and archaic introgression seem important for the maintenance of potentially adaptive immune diversity, but perhaps less so for other traits.
Mitigating hypothetical bias by defaulting to opt-out in an online choice

Hypothetical Bias (HB) is an ongoing concern for welfare estimates generated from stated preference approaches. Employing a default option has been shown to affect decision-making and outcomes in a...
Urban mobility and resilience: exploring Boston’s urban mobility network through twitter data

Human mobility connects urban dwellers and neighborhoods and impacts social equity. An in-depth understanding of human mobility helps to enhance urban resilience. However, limited research has focused on mobility resilience. Building on previous research, this study looks at the neighborhood connectivity enabled by urban mobility. We analyze the aggregated mobility patterns in Boston through the coupling of network structure and social characteristics. Geocoded twitter data combined with socioeconomic datasets were used to create a mobility-based urban network. Through the quantitative analysis, we found that the social segregation in Boston shapes its mobility network. Network communities identified by the Louvain modularity algorithm are often self-containing, meaning that their residents are more likely to move within their communities. A multinomial regression reveals that spatial racial and income segregation has a strong impact on the dynamic segregation of the network. The beneficial network characteristics –e.g. higher density and well-connected motifs– are less present in areas with bolder presence of minorities. Thus, the resilience state is not equitable among neighborhoods of different income levels and races, indicating that the resilience measures of urban networks need to be adapted according to sociodemographic characteristics.
Plato’s Ion as an Ethical Performance

Plato’s Ion is primarily ethical rather than epistemological, investigating the implications of transgressing one’s own epistemic limits. The figures of Socrates and Ion are juxtaposed in the dialogue, Ion being a laughable, comic, ethically inferior character who cannot recognize his own epistemic limits, Socrates being an elevated, serious, ethically superior character who exhibits disciplined epistemic restraint. The point of the dialogue is to contrast Ion’s laughable state with the serious state of Socrates. In this sense, the dialogue’s central argument is performative rather than demonstrative.
Hypochloremia Secondary to Diuretics in Preterm Infants: Should Clinicians Pay Close Attention?:

Diuretic therapy, commonly used in the newborn intensive care unit, is associated with a variety of electrolyte abnormalities such as hyponatremia, hypokalemia, and hypochloremia. Hypochloremia, often ignored, is associated with significant morbidities and increased mortality in infants and adults. Clinicians respond in a reflex manner to hyponatremia than to hypochloremia. Hypochloremia is associated with nephrocalcinosis, hypochloremic alkalosis, and poor growth. Besides, the diuretic resistance associated with hypochloremia makes maintaining chloride levels in the physiological range even more logical. Since sodium supplementation counters the renal absorption of calcium and lack of evidence for spironolactone role in diuretic therapy for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), alternate chloride supplements such as potassium or arginine chloride may need to be considered in the management of hypochloremia due to diuretic therapy. In this review, we have summarized the current literature on hypochloremia secondary to diuretics and suggested a pragmatic approach to hypochloremia in preterm infants.
Sexual Dimorphism of the Heart: Genetics, Epigenetics, and Development

The democratization of genomic technologies has revealed profound sex biases in expression patterns in every adult tissue, even in organs with no conspicuous differences, such as the heart. With the increasing awareness of the disparities in cardiac pathophysiology between males and females, there are exciting opportunities to explore how sex differences in the heart are established developmentally. Although sexual dimorphism is traditionally attributed to hormonal influence, expression and epigenetic sex biases observed in early cardiac development can only be accounted for by the difference in sex chromosome composition, i.e., XX in females and XY in males. In fact, genes linked to the X and Y chromosomes, many of which encode regulatory factors, are expressed in cardiac progenitor cells and at every subsequent developmental stage. The effect of the sex chromosome composition may explain why many congenital heart defects originating before gonad formation exhibit sex biases in presentation, mortality, and morbidity. Some transcriptional and epigenetic sex biases established soon after fertilization persist in cardiac lineages, suggesting that early epigenetic events are perpetuated beyond early embryogenesis. Importantly, when sex hormones begin to circulate, they encounter a cardiac genome that is already functionally distinct between the sexes. Although there is a wealth of knowledge on the effects of sex hormones on cardiac function, we propose that sex chromosome-linked genes and their downstream targets also contribute to the differences between male and female hearts. Moreover, identifying how hormones influence sex chromosome effects, whether antagonistically or synergistically, will enhance our understanding of how sex disparities are established. We also explore the possibility that sexual dimorphism of the developing heart predicts sex-specific responses to environmental signals and foreshadows sex-biased health-related outcomes after birth.