cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An ongoing validation of a Tier I screening battery for detecting endocrine-active compounds (EACs).

Abstract After previously examining an estrogen receptor agonist (17β-estradiol), several additional compounds have been evaluated in a Tier I screening battery for detecting endocrine-active compounds (EACs): an estrogen receptor antagonist (ICI-182,780, ICI), an androgen receptor antagonist (flutamide, FLUT), a testosterone biosynthesis inhibitor (ketoconazole, KETO), a 5α-reductase inhibitor (finasteride, FIN), and an aromatase inhibitor (anastrozole, ANA). The Tier I battery incorporates two short-termin vivotests (a 5-day ovariectomized female battery and a 15-day intact male battery) and anin vitroyeast transactivation system (YTS). The Tier I battery is designed to identify compounds that have the potential to act as agonists or antagonists to the estrogen, androgen, progesterone, or dopamine receptors, steroid biosynthesis inhibitors (aromatase, 5α-reductase, and testosterone biosynthesis), or compounds that alter thyroid function. ICI administration decreased uterine estrogen and progesterone receptor number in the female battery, increased serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels and caused spermatid retention in the male battery, and activated gene transcription in the YTS containing the estrogen receptor. FLUT administration increased uterine stromal cell proliferation in the female battery and decreased weights for all androgen-dependent tissues, induced Leydig cell hyperplasia, and caused hormonal alterations (increased testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), luteinizing hormone (LH), and FSH) in the male battery, and competed for binding to the androgen receptor in the YTS competition assay. In the male battery KETO decreased weights for all androgen-dependent tissues, caused hormonal alterations (decreased T and DHT and increased LH and FSH), and induced spermatid retention. FIN decreased seminal vesicle and accessory sex gland (ASG) unit weight and caused hormonal alterations (decreased DHT and increased LH, and PRL) in the male battery. KETO was judged not to affect any of the endpoints in the female battery. ANA decreased ASG unit weight and serum E2 levels in the male battery. Using the responses obtained for all the endpoints in the Tier I battery, a distinct “fingerprint” was produced for each type of endocrine activity against which compounds with unknown activity can be compared. These data demonstrate that the described Tier I battery is useful for identifying EACs.
PSF‐choice: A novel MRI method for shaping point‐spread functions in phase‐encoding dimensions

An imaging method to obtain arbitrary point-spread functions (PSFs) in phase-encoding dimensions is described. This method, called PSF-Choice, is particularly relevant for applications, such as spectroscopic imaging, in which only a very few phase encodes are acquired and ringing artifact can be a serious problem. PSF-Choice uses partial 2D RF excitations to produce aliased excitations that are encoded using standard phase-encoding gradients. Theoretically, the PSF of the reconstructed result depends only on the RF excitation profile. Simulations demonstrate that a Gaussian-like PSF can be achieved, eliminating the side lobes that are associated with ringing artifact. It is further shown that neither the spatial resolution (as represented by the width of the PSF) nor the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the method is adversely affected when compared to standard phase encoding. In the sense that the same number of encodes are required as with standard phase encoding, temporal resolution is also maintained. Phantom experiments demonstrate the initial feasibility of the method to eliminate ringing artifact.
Relationship between hot flashes and distress in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer.

Objective: Side effects of cancer treatment have been found to have a significant impact on patients' psychological well-being. Each of the primary treatment options for prostate cancer is associated with significant side effects that can have a dramatic impact on quality of life. Hot flashes are a notable side effect of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and a potential source of distress due to their episodic nature and low frequency in a normal aging male population. The current study sought to examine the relationship between hot flashes and cancer-related distress during the first three months of ADT. Methods: Participants were 68 men with various stages of prostate cancer scheduled to begin ADT for the first time. Study measures were completed at the beginning of treatment and 3 months later. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that men who did not experience hot flashes had a significant decrease in total cancer-related distress and avoidance over the 3-month period, while men with hot flashes exhibited no change in distress. Among men with hot flashes, results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that a worse experience with hot flashes was a significant predictor of greater increases in intrusion and total cancer-related distress over the 3-month period. Conclusions: These results suggest that hot flashes serve to maintain levels of distress during the treatment period. Further research should extend these findings by lengthening the follow-up period and using ecological momentary assessment to refine measurement of these constructs and provide evidence for the direction of causality between hot flashes and distress. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ACTA and the Destabilization of TRIPS

A significant divide has developed between the large portion of the WTO membership which sees little or no benefit from the TRIPS undertakings and the small number of advanced economy members who seek ever greater IP standards. This chasm – between those who now judge TRIPS to be overreaching and those who find TRIPS to be inadequate – raises doubt as to whether a TRIPS consensus continues to exist. Our story is one of two regrets: that TRIPS did not go far enough, that TRIPS went too far. In particular, the call for more IP protection, known as ‘TRIPS Plus’, has led to even greater fragmentation of the global intellectual property system. To ask for more, when the other side wishes to offer less, is a path to a potential breakdown. By pursuing TRIPS Plus, through new free trade agreements, and in particular through the negotiation and implementation of the 2010 Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is to risk losing the moral force behind TRIPS. ACTA is a critique of TRIPS - its very core signals a diagnosis that TRIPS inadequately addressed the problem of IP enforcement. After ACTA, one cannot read TRIPS as expressing the common understanding of the world community as to the minimum standard of IP protection. ACTA formalizes a rift between the developed world and many other countries (it is these non-signatory countries where 'counterfeiting' and 'piracy' are perceived to be most prevalent). With ACTA, the developed world (led by the United States) is playing a high-stakes game. It seeks to destabilize TRIPS in order to induce movement. But in so doing, it also necessarily undercuts the prestige, normative pull, and - perhaps - legitimacy of TRIPS. For if one group of WTO members distance themselves from TRIPS (due to its asserted ineffectiveness or obsolescence), so too might another group. Ironically, what all these countries might share is a judgment that TRIPS is failing - though of course their respective prescriptions for reform would differ. ACTA may prove strangely counterproductive. Instead of achieving higher IP standards, it may lead to an increasingly resented, and hence less effective, observation of TRIPS.
Sclerotherapy for intractable ganglion cyst of the hallux.

Background: We devised a method of sclerotherapy using OK432. The present study comprised a retrospective followup of sclerotherapy outcomes. Materials and Methods: Eighteen feet in 18 consecutive ...
Tailoring next-generation biofuels and their combustion in next-generation engines.

Increasing energy costs, the dependence on foreign oil supplies, and environmental concerns have emphasized the need to produce sustainable renewable fuels and chemicals. The strategy for producing next-generation biofuels must include efficient processes for biomass conversion to liquid fuels and the fuels must be compatible with current and future engines. Unfortunately, biofuel development generally takes place without any consideration of combustion characteristics, and combustion scientists typically measure biofuels properties without any feedback to the production design. We seek to optimize the fuel/engine system by bringing combustion performance, specifically for advanced next-generation engines, into the development of novel biosynthetic fuel pathways. Here we report an innovative coupling of combustion chemistry, from fundamentals to engine measurements, to the optimization of fuel production using metabolic engineering. We have established the necessary connections among the fundamental chemistry, engine science, and synthetic biology for fuel production, building a powerful framework for co-development of engines and biofuels.
North Pacific Subtropical Mode Water Volume Decrease in 2006–09 Estimated from Argo Observations: Influence of Surface Formation and Basin-Scale Oceanic Variability

AbstractAnalysis of Argo temperature and salinity profiles (gridded at 0.5° × 0.5° resolution for 2005–12) shows a strong North Pacific Subtropical Mode Water (NPSTMW) volume and density decrease during 2006–09. In this time period, upper-ocean temperature, stratification, and potential vorticity (PV) all increased within the region in and around the NPSTMW low-PV pool, contributing to the NPSTMW volume decrease in two ways: (i) the volume of water satisfying the low-PV constraint that is part of the “mode water” definition decreased, and (ii) some water that was initially in the NPSTMW density range σθ = 25.0–25.5 kg m−3 was transformed into lighter water. Both changes in density and in PV in the NPSTMW region were a manifestation of basinwide changes. A positive PV anomaly started to propagate westward from the central Pacific in 2005, followed by a negative density anomaly in 2007, which caused a dramatic NPSTMW volume and density decrease.A Walin estimate of surface formation in the NPSTMW density ran...
Mark Galeotti (ed.), The Politics of Security in Modern Russia

Mark Galeotti (ed.), (New York: Ashgate Press, 2010), Pp.229, $99.95. Hb, ISBN 978-0-7546-7408-5 This edited volume aims to examine Russian security affairs ‘from the inside out, as Moscow itself s...
Abdominal Ultrasound and Computerized Axial Radiographic Tomography

The recent development of Computerized Radiography for total body examination (Delta Scanner, Ohio Nuclear, Inc., Solon, Ohio) has opened a new field of diagnostic imaging with great repercussions in medicine. The predecesor, the EMI Scanner has already proven its great value in the examination of the brain.
Athletic performance and career longevity following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in the National Basketball Association

To identify the impact of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction on performance and career longevity for National Basketball Association (NBA) players. Seventy-nine players (80 knees) with acute ACL tears in the NBA between the 1984–2014 seasons, and 112 age, height, weight, and performance-matched controls were identified. Pre- and post-injury performance outcomes including seasons played, games played, games started, minutes per game, points per game, field goals, 3-point shots, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, personal fouls, usage percentage and player efficiency ratings were compared between cases and controls using independent samples t tests and Fisher’s exact tests. Sixty-eight of seventy-nine players (86.1 %) returned to play in the NBA following ACL reconstruction. Mean length of post-operative play was 1.84 years shorter than matched controls (P = 0.001). There was a significantly higher rate of attrition from professional basketball for players with a history of ACL reconstruction (P = 0.014). In the first full season following surgery, players started in 15.5 fewer games (P = 0.001), they played in 17.3 fewer games (P < 0.001), and had combined player efficiency ratings 2.35 points lower (P = 0.001) when compared to matched controls. Over the length of their careers, players competed in 22.2 fewer games per season (P = 0.009). There is a high rate of return to sport in the NBA following ACL reconstruction, although playing time, games played, player efficiency ratings and career lengths are significantly impacted in the post-operative period. These data should be used to manage patients’ expectations regarding their abilities to return to elite levels of athletic performance.
Analysis of Autoregressive Energy Models of a Research House

Energy consumption from buildings is a major component of the overall energy consumption by end-use sectors in industrialized countries. In the United States of America (USA), the residential sector alone accounts for half of the combined residential and commercial energy consumption. Therefore, efforts toward energy consumption modeling based on statistical and engineering models are in continuous development. Statistical approaches need measured data but not buildings characteristics; engineering approaches need building characteristics but not data, at least when a calibrated model is the goal. Among the statistical models, the linear regression analysis has shown promising results because of its reasonable accuracy and relatively simple implementation when compared to other methods. In addition, when observed or measured data is available, statistical models are a good option to avoid the burden associated with engineering approaches. However, the dynamic behavior of buildings suggests that models accounting for dynamic effects may lead to more effective regression models, which is not possible with standard linear regression analysis. Utilizing lag variables is one method of autoregression that can model the dynamic behavior of energy consumption. The purpose of using lag variables is to account for the thermal energy stored/release from the mass of the building, which affects the response of HVAC equipment to changes in outdoor or weather parameters. In this study, energy consumption and outdoor temperature data from a research house are used to develop autoregressive models of energy consumption during the cooling season with lag variables to account for the dynamics of the house. Models with no lag variable, one lag variable, and two lag variables are compared. To investigate the effect of the time interval on the quality of the models, data intervals of 5 minutes, 15 minutes, and one hour are used to generate the models. The 5 minutes time interval is used because that is the resolution of the acquired data; the 15 minutes time interval is used because it is a common time interval in electric smart meters; and one hour time interval is used because it is the common time interval for energy simulation in buildings. The primary results shows that the use of lag variables greatly improves the accuracy of the models, but a time interval of 5 minutes is too small to avoid the dependence of the energy consumption on operating parameters. All mathematical models and their quality parameters are presented, along with supporting graphical representation as a visual aid to comparing models.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
The Space of Closed Subsets of a Convergent Sequence

Many topological spaces are simply sets of points (atoms) endowed with a topology. Some spaces, however, have elements that are functions, matrices, or other non-atomic items. Another special type of space has elements that are themselves subsets of another space; these spaces are called hyperspaces. Hyperspaces are metric spaces, and the metric defined on them is called the Hausdorff metric. Hyperspaces wllose points are the closed subsets and hyperspaces whose points are the closed connected subsets (of metric spaces) have been extensively studied. Also, hyperspaces of closed and convex subsets of a bounded convex set in Euclidean space are of great interest in geometry. See Lay [3]. In recent years, geometers and topological dynamicists have explored spaces of closed and bounded subsets of the plane in connection with the study of fractals. One of the major results in the theory is that the hyperspace of closed subsets of a closed interval of real numbers is homeomorphic with the Hilbert cube, and with the space IX, the countable product of unit intervals. For more general information about the Hausdorff metric and spaces of subsets, see Devaney [2] and Sieradski [6]. The main result of this paper is a topological characterization of the space of closed subsets of a convergent sequence of points. The proof given here provides a homneornorphic embedding of the space in the plane, E2. The result was first proved by Pelczynski [5]. He studied arbitrary compact zero-dimensional metric spaces, so his proofs are much more widely applicable, but they are also somewhat technical. Our proof depends only on some well-known results in the theory of metric spaces, and is therefore accessible to advanced undergraduate mathematics majors. We also prove that for no convergent sequence of real numbers is there an isometric embedding of the hyperspace in Euclidean space, E,1, for any n. For other results and discussion, see Nadler [4]. Let (X, d) denote a compact metric space. The hyperspace (2X, D) of X is the metric space whose points are the closed nonempty subsets of X and whose metric is the Hausdorff metric D given by
Taking Library Instruction Online Using the Campus Portal to Deliver a Web-Based Tutorial for Psychology Students

ABSTRACT Instruction librarians at the University of South Florida Tampa Library embarked on a pilot project to deliver customized library information through the campus portal using Blackboard courseware. This article describes the background, planning, design and implementation of an online library tutorial designed for an undergraduate psychology course.
Musculature of the Adult Tobacco Hornworm (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) Abdomen and Genitalia

This is a description of the exoskeleton and musculature of the abdomen of the adult tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). In both sexes segments 1 and 2 are specialized for movement of the abdomen. Segments 3 through 6 are similar and have a generalized structure. Segments 7 through 10 are specialized for mating and oviposition. In males, segment 2 has developed additional muscles for everting the scent brush. Where possible, the abdominal muscles of Manduca have been homologized with those of other Lepidoptera.
Temporal dynamics of periphyton exposed to tetracycline in stream mesocosms.

Significant amounts of antibiotics enter the environment via point and nonpoint sources. We examined the temporal dynamics of tetracycline exposure to stream periphyton and associated organisms across a logarithmically dosed-series of experimental mesocosms, designed to mimic natural conditions. Target in-stream tetracycline exposures were based on environmentally relevant concentrations in aquatic ecosystems throughout the United States (<1–100 μg L–1). Significant changes in the stream biotic community were observed within 7 days with in-stream tetracycline concentrations as low as 0.5 μg L–1, including significant changes in antibiotic resistance, bacteria abundance and productivity, algae biomass, cyanobacteria, organic biomass, and nematodes. These effects were magnified with increased exposure time and dosing concentration. Recovery of the periphyton community after 28 days of exposure was dependent upon the tetracycline dose. At the highest doses, 10 and 100 μg L–1, bacteria productivity recovered;...
The use of phospholipid fatty acids to determine microbial community structure

The most difficult task facing microbial ecologists is the quantitative description of microbial communities. This is due to the fact that, unlike higher organisms, there is little correlation between the observable structure of a microorganism and its ecological function. Hence, the tried and true method of plant and animal ecologists, careful visual observation, is often of little value when applied to the problem of describing microbial communities. Indeed, the vast majority of microbial diversity is best described in terms of their varied metabolic functions. Unfortunately, measures of metabolic processes, while yielding important ecological information, rarely yield estimates of the biomass of microorganisms effecting the measured rate. Classical methods of isolation and identification, as well as many modern molecular methods, are highly selective — that is they fail to detect most organisms in a given environment. Only two accepted methods overcome the difficulty of selectivity and provide a relatively unbiased view of the structure of complex microbial communities. These are analysis of microbial populations using ribosomal RNA (or its corresponding DNA sequences) and phospholipid fatty acid analysis. Both techniques have advantages and disadvantages and should not be viewed as competing, rather, as complementary. Community analysis using rRNA (or rDNA) sequencing can commonly detect and identify community members with a high degree of specificity (to species and even strains), as well as, detect and suggest phylogenetic affinities of as yet uncultured organisms.
Endocrine disruptors: Chemical contaminants - a toxic mixture for neurodevelopment.

A mixture of chemicals commonly detected in human amniotic fluid has been found to perturb thyroid signalling, development of neurons and glia in the brain, and behavioural outcomes in offspring, when tested in a frog model of embryogenesis. The findings show the exquisite sensitivity of the developing organism to environmental contaminants.
MyriadHub: Efficiently Scaling Personalized Email Conversations with Valet Crowdsourcing

Email has scaled our ability to communicate with large groups, but has not equivalently scaled our ability to listen and respond. For example, emailing many people for feedback requires either impersonal surveys or manual effort to hold many similar conversations. To scale personalized conversations, we introduce techniques that exploit similarities across conversations to recycle relevant parts of previous conversations. These techniques reduce the authoring burden, save senders' time, and maintain recipient engagement through personalized responses. We introduce MyriadHub, a mail client where users start conversations and then crowd workers extract underlying conversational patterns and rules to accelerate responses to future similar emails. In a within-subjects experiment comparing MyriadHub to existing mass email techniques, senders spent significantly less time planning events with MyriadHub. In a second experiment comparing MyriadHub to a standard email survey, MyriadHub doubled the recipients' response rate and tripled the number of words in their responses.
Size selection from fishways and potential evolutionary responses in a threatened Atlantic salmon population

The evolutionary effects of harvest on wild fish populations have been documented around the world; however, sublethal selective pressures can also cause evolutionary changes in phenotypes. For migratory fishes, passage facilities may represent instances of nonlethal selective pressure. Our analysis of 6 years of passage data suggests that certain fish passage facilities on the Penobscot River have been exerting selective pressure against large-bodied, anadromous Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). At the second and third dams in the river, a 91-cm salmon was 21%–27% and 12%–16% less likely to pass than a 45-cm salmon, respectively. Fish size positively influences egg survival and number and is a heritable trait. Therefore, in a wild-reproducing population, exclusion of large fish from spawning areas may have population-level impacts. In the Penobscot River, most returning adults derive from a hatchery program that collects its broodstock after passing the first dam in the river. Analysis of fork lengths of salmon returning to the Penobscot River from 1978 to 2012 provided mixed support for evolution of size at maturity in different age classes in a pattern that may be expected from interactions with conservation hatchery operations. Additionally, slow-maturing and iteroparous individuals that represent the largest salmon size classes were essentially lost from the population during that time, and Penobscot River fish have shorter fork lengths at maturity than Atlantic salmon in undammed systems.
On the Effect of Sampling Interval Variance on the Response of a Digital Control System

Abstract This paper is concerned with the selection of the sampling interval in a digital control system. It is assumed that the desired control system performance can be achieved using a digital controller implementation with sufficiently fast sampling. The paper develops a technique for investigating the effect on control system response of reducing the sampling rate by integral multiples of a base-rate sampling interval. This technique is based on both frequency and time domain analysis techniques and is amenable to computer-aided design. Through this approach, the designer can select a sampling interval that retains desirable performance characteristics and reduces digital controller timing constraints. This is particularly important in implementing microcomputer-based multivariable digital controllers.
A technique for isolation of bovine hepatocytes

A technique for preparing viable and functional isolated hepatocytes from cattle liver is described. The basic procedure, which was adapted from published methods established for laboratory species, employed a two-step in vitro vascular perfusion of the caudate lobe: (1) perfusion with a calcium-free buffer containing ethylene bis(oxyethylenenitrilo)tetraacetic acid (EGTA) for removal of blood cells and extracellular calcium and (2) perfusion with calcium-fortified buffer containing collagenase for cell dissociation. Hepatocyte suspensions prepared from the caudate lobes of 20 cattle possessed a mean viability of 81.3% as determined by trypan blue exclusion. Mean yield was 2.2 X 10(7) viable hepatocytes/g of liver (wet wt). Viable hepatocytes utilized O2 at a rate 2.82 times greater than nonviable hepatocytes. Biochemical function of the hepatocyte suspensions was assessed by rates of gluconeogenesis and fatty acid oxidation. Glucose production from added lactate ranged from .88 to 1.47 mumol X min-1 X g-1 of liver tissue (dry wt). Both gluconeogenic and fatty acid oxidation rates were substantially greater in isolated hepatocytes when compared with liver slices. Isolated hepatocyte contained .398 +/- .033 (SE) nmol cytochromes P-450/mg microsomal protein and .285 +/- .025 nmol cytochrome bs/mg microsomal protein, which was comparable with amounts in liver tissue from the same animals (.568 +/- .056 and .298 +/- .033 nmol/mg protein, respectively). No significant decline of either cytochrome was detectable for isolated hepatocytes for up to 5.5 h after euthanasia. The potential usefulness of isolated bovine hepatocytes in xenobiotic metabolism studies is illustrated by the epoxidation of aldrin.
Keep on dancing: Effects of expressive motion mimicry

Expressive motion refers to movements that help convey an agent's attitude towards its task or environment. People frequently use expressive motion to indicate internal states such as emotion, confidence, and engagement. Robots can also exhibit expressive motion, and studies have shown that people can legibly interpret such expressive motion. Mimicry involves imitating the behaviors of others, and has been shown to increase rapport between people. The research question addressed in this study is how robots mimicking the expressive motion of children affects their interaction with dancing robots. The paper presents our approach to generating and characterizing expressive motion, based on the Laban Efforts System and the results of the study, which provides both significant and suggestive evidence to support that such mimicry has positive effects on the children's behaviors.
Evidence for a Neural Basis of Age-Related Visual Field Loss in Normal Observers

Many studies have reported a decrease in visual field sensitivity as a function of increasing age in normal individuals. This age-related sensitivity loss has mainly been attributed to reductions in pupil size and transmission losses of the ocular media (particularly the lens), although neural losses in the retina, optic nerve and visual cortex have also been suggested. We evaluated the role of preretinal factors on normal visual field changes associated with aging. The central visual field of both eyes of 62 normal subjects (ages 20 to 72) were evaluated with Program 30-2 of a modified Humphrey Field Analyzer. Three test procedures were employed: (1) a standard visual field evaluation; (2) a yellow target on a yellow background condition (530 nm cutoff filter) to minimize the influence of lens transmission losses with age; and (3) a large target/high background luminance "yellow on yellow" test condition (530 nm cutoff filter, 635 asb background, Size V target) to minimize both pupil size and lens effects on central visual field sensitivity. In addition, relative lens absorption estimates were obtained for each subject. All three test conditions revealed a loss in visual field sensitivity with increasing age (approximately 0.8 dB per decade) but no meaningful differences were found among the three test procedures. Relative lens density increased with age but was not related to visual field sensitivity for any of the three test conditions. These data suggest that normal age-related visual field sensitivity changes are primarily due to neural losses rather than preretinal factors. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 30:2056-2064, 1989
Chapter Four - Atomic Data Needs for Understanding X-ray Astrophysical Plasmas

Abstract Astrophysical X-ray spectroscopy promises huge potential scientific returns. The soft X-ray bandpass, 0.1-10 keV, contains transitions from the K-, L-, and M-shell of every cosmically abundant element and ion except H and He. With only moderate (R ~ 1000) resolution, these transitions can be separated into gas, molecular, and solid state phases. Line and continuum measurements at lower resolutions (R ~ 100) can determine the electron temperature, estimate the electron density or radiation field and reveal if the plasma is in equilibrium. Achieving these returns, however, requires accurate data for the underlying rates and transition wavelengths for ions, molecules and solid state materials. Uncertainties in the oscillator strengths of Fe XVII transitions already limit the conclusions that can be made about the non-thermal turbulence in two galaxy groups ( de Plaa et al., 2012 ), while the paucity of accurate wavelengths and collisional rates in the 50-150 A bandpass have affected analysis of data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory's Low-Energy Transmission Grating (LETG) (e.g., Liang et al., 2006 , Raassen et al., 2003 ). We describe the atomic physics required for the X-ray diagnostics that are in use with existing X-ray missions and that will be required for future X-ray missions.
If the truth be told: accounts in literary forms

In the book If the Truth Be Told, Ronald J Pelias invites us to think about truth contextually, subjectively, as somewhere that could exist between fact and fiction. In the opening chapter, Pelias ...
Measuring Psychiatric Symptoms Remotely: a Systematic Review of Remote Measurement-Based Care

This article systematically reviews studies examining remote measurement-based care (RMBC), defined as using technology to measure patients’ psychiatric symptoms outside the context of a clinical encounter. Thirty-six studies were identified that measured patients’ psychiatric symptoms remotely and provided feedback to treatment providers. The majority were single group designs. There was evidence supporting the short-term feasibility and acceptability of RMBC, although long-term sustainability was less clear. Thirteen randomized controlled trials were identified. RMBC was typically implemented as part of a multicomponent intervention (e.g., internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy with feedback to provider). Three studies experimentally isolated the clinical effects of RMBC, with two reporting no statistically significant differences between the RMBC and control conditions and one reporting greater symptom improvement associated with RMBC. RMBC appears feasible and acceptable and may be a promising intervention for improving mental health care, but additional experimental studies are needed.
Implicative Weights as Importance Quantifiers in Evaluation Criteria

This paper investigates properties of implicative weights and the use of implicative weights in evaluation criteria. We analyze and compare twelve different forms of implication and compare them with multiplicative weights and exponential weights that are also used in evaluation criteria. Since weighted conjunction is based on implicative weights, we also investigate the usability of weighted conjunction in evaluation criteria.
Redesigning an Information System that Reduces Health Care Accessibility Effort and Increases User Acceptance and Satisfaction: A Comparative Effectiveness Study.

Objectives: This research tackles a critical issue in modern health care systems—namely, to determine if creating a user-centered health information system that is easy to utilize would lead to consumers who are more satisfied and more likely to accept the system. Materials and Methods: The health information system is a consumer service center that receives inquiries from consumers on how to find and pay for care. To understand if a system designed to decrease effort results in satisfaction, we redesigned the system, deployed it for 3 months, and then compared consumer satisfaction results to a control group. Satisfaction and Net Promoter surveys were provided to consumers who used the control system and consumers using the redesigned system. Results: This study was completed over a 6 month continual time period where over 100,000 consumer interactions took place. Using 11 different metrics and data from over 5,000 random system users, it was shown that consumers were more satisfied with an information system designed to reduce their administrative effort. Discussion: While not all consumer survey results were statistically significant, they all showed a shift towards improved satisfaction with the health care system. Statistically, it was shown that there was a dependency between the design of the system to provide information and many needs of the consumers. Conclusion: A health care system designed to reduce effort in accessing care results in improved consumer satisfaction. Consumers are also more likely to trust the assistance provided by the organization.
Incidence and risk factors for hepatocellular cancer in individuals with haemophilia: A National Inpatient Sample Study.

INTRODUCTION Among haemophilic (H) men, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of liver disease and mortality, but demographics and risks of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in H are not well known. METHODS Adult discharges in H and non-haemophilic (NH) men, with and without HCC were identified in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) between 1998 and 2014, using ICD-9 codes. Analyses included NIS-provided discharge-level weights to reflect national estimates. Categorical variables were assessed by Rao-Scott chi-square and continuous variables by weighted simple linear regression. HCC predictors were determined by weighted multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS Of 18 098 H, 144 (0.79%) had HCC between 1998 and 2014. Adjusted rates of HCC increased 3.0-fold in H vs 1.7-fold in NH (P = 0.484). Among HCV+, HCC rates adjusted for HIV, increased 2.2-fold in H vs 1.7-fold in NH (P = 0.740), while among HIV+, HCC increased 1.4-fold in H vs 0.2-fold in NH (P = 0.448). Among those with HCC, H were older than NH (P < 0.001), Caucasian (P = 0.006), platelet transfusion recipients (P < 0.001), with greater comorbidity (P < 0.001) and mortality (P < 0.006). H with HCC also had greater rates of HCV and HIV (each P < 0.001), lower rates of alcoholism and hyperlipidemia (each P < 0.001), and similar rates of HBV (P = 0.866), smoking (P = 0.507) and obesity (P = 0.502). In multivariable logistic regression, HCV was a strong predictor for HCC in haemophilia, (OR: 15.42, 95% CI: 8.75-27.16). DISCUSSION Haemophilic men have increasing rates of HCC, similar to men without haemophilia. HCV is the major predictor of HCC in haemophilia. Future trends in HCC will depend on the impact of newer HCV antiviral therapy.
Giving Taxpayer Rights a Seat at the Table

How can Congress’ codifying the taxpayer bill of rights make a meaningful difference for tax administration? This is a question that will likely confront academics, policymakers and judges in the next few years. In late 2015, Congress codified the rights that the Internal Revenue Service administratively adopted in 2014, explicitly requiring that the Commissioner ensure that IRS employees receive training and act in accord with them. A recent article by Professors Alice Abreu and Richard Greenstein refers to the codification of TBOR having the power to “transform the tax practice and the relationship between taxpayers and the IRS.” Yet the statute itself is silent on the practical effect of IRS violations of any of the rights and fails to include a specific remedy or enforcement mechanism when the IRS acts inconsistently with or violates those rights. In Facebook v IRS, a federal district court concluded that at least with respect to one of the enumerated taxpayer rights (the right to appeal a decision in an independent forum), the right is not enforceable by taxpayers. This development highlights a central weakness in the current law, namely that there is no formal way to ensure that IRS employees act consistently with or even consider taxpayer rights. In this essay I propose a way to change this shortcoming. I argue that we should focus on rulemaking as a way to operationalize taxpayer rights. Congress should explicitly require the IRS to consider the impact of guidance on taxpayer rights prior to promulgating regulations and other guidance. In so doing, Congress should rely on and expand the role of the office within the IRS that is deeply associated with the increased importance of taxpayer rights, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS).
Analyzing residential weatherization decisions using hybrid simulation modeling

Weatherizing residential buildings to make them more energy efficient offers great potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving resources, and improving occupant comfort and well-being in the face of climate change. However, weatherization adoption rates remain low. Previous research suggests that social norms and energy-related interactions within a community have greater influence on households’ weatherization adoption decisions than financial incentives. Therefore, an increased understanding of how social factors can be leveraged to encourage more households to weatherize is needed. This paper describes a hybrid simulation model on households’ weatherization adoption decisions in an urban community. The simulation model integrates a building energy simulation model with an agent-based model that is embedded in a social network to represent the interactions, adaptations, and decision making of individual households over time. The model is demonstrated for several experimental scenarios for a residential block in the City of Des Moines, Iowa. Results indicate that social connectedness, community leaders, and delivery mechanisms for weatherization assistance all have a significant impact on household weatherization adoption. These results provide insight into the potential of policy interventions to increase weatherization adoption.
Specifying Location–Scale Models for Heterogeneous Variances as Multilevel SEMs

Standard multilevel models focus on variables that predict the mean while the within-group variability is largely treated as a nuisance. Recent work has shown the advantage of including predictors ...
The anti inflammatory effect of Tie2 signal in vasculitis

Vasculitis is common among children, which is often manifested as Henoch Schonlein purpura (HSP), Kawasaki (KD) disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of vasculitis.It has been found that the activation of tyrosine kinase-2 (Tie2) signaling system can inhibit vascular endothelial cell apoptosis, maintain vascular stability, and reduce vascular leakage, thereby achieving anti-inflammatory effects.Until now, the role of angiopoietins and their receptor Tie2 in inflammatory response is still rare reported.Here we reviews the research about Tie2 signal in vasculitis. Key words: Tyrosine protein kinase-2; Anti-inflammatory; Vascular inflammation; Vascular endothelial protection
Clinical Pain Phenotyping for Omics Studies

Pain is by definition a subjective experience that affects individuals in dramatically different ways. Individual variation across many domains of the pain experience, such as sensitivity to noxious stimuli and propensity to develop chronic pain, has been observed. For omics researchers concerned with exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying these traits, suitable phenotyping approaches are needed. These methods should strike a balance between accurate and comprehensive assessment while minimizing cost, expense, and time, to make pain phenotyping feasible in large-scale omics studies. Validated diagnostic tools are available to assess pain intensity, location, sensory qualities, and other signs and symptoms associated with pain. Additional measures may be used to capture psychosocial and functional characteristics, such as anxiety, negative affect, and disturbances in sleep. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) procedures are recommended for exploring the function of nociceptive pathways and endogenous modulatory systems. The best path forward for the “pain-omics” research community is to adopt a collaborative approach incorporating consistent, rigorous, and mechanism-based phenotyping measures with current informatics technology.
Double degenerate candidates in the open cluster NGC 6633

The study of white dwarfs, the end stage of stellar evolution for more than 95% of stars, is critical to bettering our understanding of the late stages of the lives of low mass stars. In particular, the post main sequence evolution of binary star systems is complex, and the identification and analysis of double degenerate systems is a crucial step in constraining models of binary star systems. Binary white dwarfs in open star clusters are particularly useful because cluster parameters such as distance, metal content, and total system age are more tightly constrained than for field double degenerates. Here we use the precision astrometry from the Gaia Data Release 2 catalog to study two other white dwarfs which were identified as candidate double degenerates in the field of the open star cluster NGC 6633. One of the two objects, LAWDS 4, is found to have astrometric properties fully consistent with that of the cluster. In such a case, the object is significantly overluminous for a single white dwarf, strongly indicating binarity. The second candidate binary, LAWDS 7, appears to be inconsistent with cluster membership, though a more thorough analysis is necessary to properly quantify the probability. At present we are proceeding to model the photometric and spectroscopic data for both objects as if they were cluster member double degenerates. Results of this latter analysis are forthcoming. Our results will add crucial data to the study of binary star evolution in open star clusters.
Metformin Extended-Release Oral Solution.

Metformin hydrochloride extended-release oral suspension (Riomet ER) is a reformulation of a biguanide that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on 29 August 2019 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (1). The American Diabetes Association’s Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2021 recommends metformin as the preferred initial pharmacological agent for treatment of type 2 diabetes (2). These guidelines also recommend that, once initiated, metformin should be continued as tolerated. Before the approval of Riomet ER, metformin was available as immediate-release tablets, extended-release tablets, and an immediate-release oral solution. Metformin is the only biguanide agent currently available in the United States. According to GoodRx, it was the eighth most commonly prescribed medication in the United States as of August 2020 (3). Riomet ER is indicated to be used in combination with diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in both adults and children ≥10 years of age with type 2 diabetes (4). Riomet ER is available as 47.31 g metformin hydrochloride for reconstitution in a 473-mL bottle. Upon reconstitution, the final concentration is 500 mg/5 mL. The recommended starting dose is 5 mL (500 mg) orally once daily with the evening meal. The dose can be increased in 5-mL increments weekly up to a maximum dose of 20 mL (2,000 mg) once …
Treatment of greenhouse wastewater for reuse or disposal using monovalent selective electrodialysis

Abstract Minimal liquid discharge (MLD) in greenhouses minimizes the volume of discharged wastewater, thereby increasing the volume of effluent that may be reused. Sodium accumulation in wastewater is often considered the main bottleneck to achieving 100% reuse. Consequently, greenhouses have begun adopting reverse osmosis (RO), the most commonly used desalination technology for wastewater treatment. RO removes ions from wastewater indiscriminately, including multivalent nutrients to crops (Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42−, PO43−). In contrast, monovalent selective electrodialysis (MSED) selectively removes monovalent sodium while retaining multivalent nutrients in solution. For greenhouses that have not achieved MLD, MSED has an alternative application of reducing levels of nitrate, a monovalent ion and agricultural pollutant, in wastewater for disposal. This paper investigates the monovalent selectivity and potential of the widely-used Neosepta MSED membranes and the new Fujifilm MSED membranes to treat wastewater in greenhouses for reuse or discharge. Eight effluent compositions are tested as feedwater in a laboratory MSED system. Both membranes demonstrate selectivity towards sodium and nitrate across the tested compositions. Fujifilm cation-exchange membranes remove two to six sodium ions, compared to Neosepta's two to eight, for every magnesium ion. Fujifilm anion-exchange membranes remove two to seven nitrate ions, compared to Neosepta's two to six, for every sulfate ion.