cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Expanding HIV rapid testing via point-of-care paraprofessionals

HIV counselling and testing has traditionally been performed by highly trained professionals in clinical settings. With HIV rapid testing, a reliable and easy to use diagnostic tool, paraprofessionals can be trained to administer on-site HIV testing in a variety of non-traditional settings, broadening the HIV detection rates. Our objective was to create a robust and sustainable paraprofessional training module to facilitate off-site HIV rapid testing in non-clinical settings. Trainees attended a series of training sessions involving HIV education, rapid test instructions and communication techniques. After these sessions, trainees competently carried out HIV rapid testing in homeless shelters throughout the Los Angeles county. Agencies motivated to expand HIV screening programmes may use trained paraprofessionals to administer a full range of services (recruitment, pretest counselling, test administration, interpretation of results, post-test counselling and documentation) through this training model and enabling more highly trained healthcare providers to focus efforts on patients identified as HIV-positive.
Chromatin states accurately classify cell differentiation stages.

Gene expression is controlled by the concerted interactions between transcription factors and chromatin regulators. While recent studies have identified global chromatin state changes across cell-types, it remains unclear to what extent these changes are co-regulated during cell-differentiation. Here we present a comprehensive computational analysis by assembling a large dataset containing genome-wide occupancy information of 5 histone modifications in 27 human cell lines (including 24 normal and 3 cancer cell lines) obtained from the public domain, followed by independent analysis at three different representations. We classified the differentiation stage of a cell-type based on its genome-wide pattern of chromatin states, and found that our method was able to identify normal cell lines with nearly 100% accuracy. We then applied our model to classify the cancer cell lines and found that each can be unequivocally classified as differentiated cells. The differences can be in part explained by the differential activities of three regulatory modules associated with embryonic stem cells. We also found that the “hotspot” genes, whose chromatin states change dynamically in accordance to the differentiation stage, are not randomly distributed across the genome but tend to be embedded in multi-gene chromatin domains, and that specialized gene clusters tend to be embedded in stably occupied domains.
Ebay, Inc. (B)

Set in the fall of 1998, this case series (see also the A case, UVA-F-1357) examines the decision by eBay management to proceed with the company's initial public offering during the quietest IPO market in 20 years. In the A case, eBay's chief financial officer considers the financial and competitive implications of delaying the offering, as well as the challenge of fairly pricing the shares of an emerging, unseasoned Internet stock. The case provides an excellent forum for students to discuss the costs and benefits of going public. The B case reviews the events of eBay's first trading day and the associated 160% return on the shares. With such a backdrop, students are exposed to one of the well-known finance anomalies--IPO underpricing--and are invited to discuss various proposed explanations. The case series provides opportunities for the instructor to develop the following teaching objectives: (1) review the institutional aspects of the equity-issuance transaction, (2) explore the costs and benefits associated with public share offerings, (3) examine the impact of market turbulence on the IPO market, (4) develop an appreciation for the difficulty of valuing unseasoned firms, and (5) evaluate the received explanations of various finance anomalies, such as IPO underpricing.
Transboundary Energy Security: Emerging Legal and Institutional Framework for Electricity Trading in Southern Africa

This article introduces the framework for pooling of electricity among several countries in the Southern African region, which has been put in place for the last few years. The article focuses on the introduction of the legal and institutional framework that has been established and, in parallel, briefly discusses the mechanisms of trading in electricity, available in the region.
An Examination of the Antecedents of TMT Global Diversity

We examine a growing trend in organizations today: TMT global diversity. Researchers have found that if managed properly, TMT global diversity can have positive effects such as stronger performance. Surprisingly, scant attention has been paid to what affects TMT global diversity. Given its positive effects, we argue that understanding better the conditions and factors that affect TMT global diversity will be a worthwhile contribution to the research stream. Thus, we develop a theoretical model that addresses this question and it includes four main antecedents to TMT global diversity: the degree of the firm international diversification, the firm’s past performance, the international experience of the CEO, and the global diversity of Board of Directors. Understanding the antecedents of TMT global diversity should help shed light on what levers might be used to improve global diversity in situations where global diversity might lead to stronger effects on the firm.
A Comparison of Corrosion on Passenger Car Bodies in Europe and USA

Resultats du programme d'expertise entrepris par Ford sur les differences de comportement vis-a-vis de la corrosion des automobiles selon leur localisation. (Europe ou Etats-Unis)
THE INFLUENCE OF SEXUAL ATTITUDES ON MID- TO LATE-LIFE SEXUAL WELL-BEING: AGE, NOT GENDER, AS A SALIENT FACTOR

The influence of sexual attitudes on sexual activity and expression has been relatively understudied in older populations. In the current study, we sought to understand the role sexual attitudes have on sexual well-being among middle-aged and young-old adults. Using a diverse sample of participants over the age of 45 (N = 384), a path model was analyzed to determine whether sexual attitudes contributed to sexual well-being. The model was then compared by gender. Results indicated: a) only age-relative sexual attitudes significantly contributed to sexual well-being; and b) the model was equally robust for both men and women, even though women held slightly more positive age-relative sexual attitudes than men. Therefore, among middle-aged and young-old adults, sexual well-being may be reduced by harboring negative ageist sexual attitudes. Efforts should be made to reduce stigma surrounding continued sexual activity and expression among the aged.
Analytical and Experimental Analysis of a Precision Positioning Actuator System

An innovative flexure design concept is developed that involves the use of composite materials with bonded piezoelectric actuators to create a “smart actuator” for nanometer scale positioning both in and out of plane. The utilization of smart actuators/sensors will have many benefits over current positioning stages including the utilization of advantageous composite properties, the increase of the resonant frequency of the stage system, the simplification of the manufacturing procedure, and possible increased range of motion. Enhanced mechanical response is made possible by using composite materials and proper layer orientation. This work is a “proof of concept” design for the ultra-precision smart actuator. Analytical and numerical models were developed to determine the response of the composite material and piezoelectric actuator system. Experimentation was performed on the system to verify the results of the mathematical and numerical models. Good correlation between mathematical, numerical, and experimental data was seen in axial and bending modes of operation. Results from the parametric and experimental verification studies are presented to illustrate the efficacy of the design concept.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Collagenase Activity of Gingival Tissue from Patients with Periodontal Diseases.

SummaryCollagenase activity was demonstrated by lysis of precipitated collagen gel. Such collagenase activity was found to occur in both viable gingival explants (14 of 41 cases) and in frozen and ...
Serum Dyslipidemia Is Induced by Internal Exposure to Strontium-90 in Mice, Lipidomic Profiling Using a Data-Independent Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Approach

Despite considerable research into the environmental risks and biological effects of exposure to external beam γ rays, incorporation of radionuclides has largely been understudied. This dosimetry and exposure risk assessment is challenging for first responders in the field during a nuclear or radiological event. Therefore, we have developed a workflow for assessing injury responses in easily obtainable biofluids, such as urine and serum, as the result of exposure to internal emitters cesium-137 ((137)Cs) and strontium-90 ((90)Sr) in mice. Here we report on the results of the untargeted lipidomic profiling of serum from mice exposed to (90)Sr. We also compared these results to those from previously published (137)Cs exposure to determine any differences in cellular responses based on exposure type. The results of this study conclude that there is a gross increase in the serum abundance of triacylglycerides and cholesterol esters, while phostaphatidylcholines and lysophosphatidylcholines displayed decreases in their serum levels postexposure at study days 4, 7, 9, 25, and 30, with corresponding average cumulative skeleton doses ranging from 1.2 ± 0.1 to 5.2 ± 0.73 Gy. The results show significant perturbations in serum lipidome as early as 2 days postexposure persisting until the end of the study (day 30).
On Emily Bronte and Wuthering Heights

This article elaborates on the prominent place Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights occupies in English and world literatures. It also expatiates upon the love affair between Heathcliff and Catherine and the former’s life cycle of resistance, revenge and reversion. In so doing, the article recommends Wuthering Heights as a unique literary piece worthy of its readers’ perusal.
40 Gb/s WDM System Equipment Technology

With the emerging of 40 Gb/s port router, the 40 Gb/s Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) system equipment will replace the 10 Gb/s WDM system equipment, just like 10 Gb/s WDM system equipment replaced 2.5 Gb/s WDM system equipment several years ago. The 40 Gb/s WDM system has several transmission limiting factors, such as Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) noise, fiber nonlinearities, chromatic dispersion, plorization mode dispersion, etc. In order to solve these problems, it is necessary to use new modulation formats, chromatic dispersion compensation and polarization mode dispersion compensation.
Nuclear magnetic resonance: a noninvasive approach to cancer.

Malignant cells differ in chemical composition from normal cells, and nuclear magnetic resonance can detect such differences, thereby offering a new biophysical approach to diagnosis. An instrument that focuses the NMR beam has been developed and has already proved successful in detecting a tumor in a living experimental animal. Other implications of the technique for human cancer are discussed.
Applying functional analysis to stalking behavior.

Publisher Summary This chapter applies an assessment technology and functional analysis to stalking behavior. This approach is suggested as a means to collect information that might be of service to law enforcement officials, mental health professionals, stalking victims, and others who compete with stalking. Scientific progress in understanding stalking must begin with a consensus on the description of what is meant by this term. There are two general problems with definitions of stalking found in the literature. First, the term “stalking” does not differentiate between a general class of behaviors and the specific act of following someone. The second general problem with current stalking definitions concerns the use of the word “obsessional.” Obsessions have been traditionally viewed as being unwanted or intrusive thoughts. Functional analysis is derived from a behavior-analytic approach to understanding behavior. It is a pragmatic approach to understanding behavior, as the focus is on predicting and controlling behavior by identifying variables that can be manipulated to affect behavior. A functional relation occurs when a contingent relation is observed between two or more variables, that is, when a change in one results in a change in the other.
Resting blood pressure differentially predicts time course in a tonic pain experiment.

Resting blood pressure (BP) shows a negative relationship with pain sensitivity (BP-related hypoalgesia). In chronic pain conditions, this relationship is inverted. The precise mechanisms responsible for the inversion are unknown. Using a tonic pain protocol, we report findings closely resembling this inversion in healthy participants. Resting BP and state measures of anxiety and mood were assessed from 33 participants (21 female). Participants then immersed their dominant hand in painfully hot water (47 °C) for five trials of 1-min duration, with 30-s intertrial intervals. Throughout the trials, participants continually registered their pain. After a 35-min intermission, the trial sequence was repeated. A disassociation of the negative relationship of resting systolic BP (as per Trial 1) was found using hierarchical linear modeling (p < .001, R(2) = .07). The disassociation unfolds over each consecutive trial, with an increasingly positive relationship. In Sequence 2, the initially negative relationship is almost completely absent. Furthermore, the association of BP and pain was found to be moderated by anxiety, such that only persons with low anxiety exhibited BP hypoalgesia. Our findings expand the existing literature by incorporating anxiety as a moderator of BP hypoalgesia. Furthermore, the protocol emulates the changing relationship between BP and pain observed in chronic pain patients. The protocol has potential as a model for chronic pain; however, future research should determine if similar physiological systems are involved. The finding holds potential diagnostic or prognostic relevance for certain clinical pain conditions, especially those involving dysfunction of the descending modulation of pain.
A theoretical investigation on the Cr(H2O)n0,1+(n=1–4) clusters by density functional theory methods

Abstract The first systematic study of the Cr ( H 2 O ) n 0 , 1 + ( n = 1 − 4 ) series of clusters is herein presented at the level of the unrestricted DFT B3LYP level in conjunction with electron core potential basis sets. The present structures are relevant for laser-induced and laser-ablation syntheses of chromium compounds, and also for fundamental spectroscopy studies of metal-bearing species in the gas phase. Calculated properties include optimal geometries, total energies, bond lengths, bond angles, natural orbital analysis charges, hydration dissociation energies, and HOMO–LUMO gaps inter alia. Present results reveal a strict correlation between the clusters total energy and their spin state. Except for Cr ( H 2 O ) 4 0 + , the most stable clusters in each Cr ( H 2 O ) n 0 , 1 + ( n = 1 – 4 ) series are high-spin states. Comparisons with a few available theoretical results show good agreement.
Genotype influences survival and growth of eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides L.) managed as a bioenergy feedstock on retired agricultural sites of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley

The global community needs a sustainable and renewable sources of energy as alternatives to finite fossil fuels that are also associated with climate change. Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) is a fast-growing candidate for cultivation as a short-rotation woody crop for biofuel production and it is planted throughout Asia, Europe, and the Northern America. It is native to the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) of the South Central United States. The LMAV has climatic, edaphic, and infrastructural attributes conducive to biofuel production, but much of the most productive sites of the region are dedicated to agricultural production because it is the most economically prime use. To foster development of a biofuel industry of the region may require biomass production on sites suboptimal for agricultural production. In this study, cropping systems and genotypes for cottonwood production were tested at three retired agricultural sites in the LMAV, Archibald, Colt, and Rohwer. Cropping systems tested were monoculture and alley cropping systems with two different alley widths. Genotypes tested were clones from Mississippi (ST-66) and Texas (S7C20) and a mixture of clones from Louisiana (LAMIX). Several interactions among site, genotype, and cropping system treatments were detected in survival and growth parameters. By the end of the study period, survival ranged from 30 to 81%, while height and diameter at breast height (dbh) ranges were 3.12–5.78 m, and 2.09–4.39 cm, respectively. Overall, survival and growth performance in this study were low compared to previous studies, suggesting the difficulty of managing productive cottonwood plantations under the suboptimal site conditions tested. Pronounced droughts during half of the years in this study and poor soil conditions were likely the primary reasons behind such performance of the genotypes. The study found no effect of cropping systems on individual tree growth. Genotypes from Texas and Louisiana showed relatively better survival (P = 0.0029) and growth (P < 0.001 to P = 0.0207) than the clone from Mississippi in the site conditions tested. Among sites, Rohwer, which had deep clay soil, had the highest biomass production (8299 kg ha−1). Survival and growth was limited at the Archibald site by ponding of water in winter and early spring in the establishment year and 2 years of pronounced drought in following years. A greater recurrence of competing vegetation at Archibald likely contributed to its lower survival (30%) and growth (biomass ranging from 1026 to 1511 kg ha−1 among the treatments) by the end of the study period. We suggest selecting drought-hardy genotypes along with site preparation and fertilization in such marginal sites.
Fundamental Equations Governing Cloud Processes

Abstract This chapter presents equations that govern kinematic and thermodynamic processes in clouds and cloud systems. First a set of state properties are presented, and then equations for conservation of mass, momentum, and energy are provided. Some predictive equations that are commonly used in numerical weather prediction models are also presented and assumptions made for some equation sets are discussed. Conserved variables for moist processes are evaluated in detail with special attention paid to the underlying approximations and assumptions (e.g., reversible or pseudoadiabatic thermodynamics). The chapter concludes by reviewing some concepts that arise from application of the governing equations, including: buoyancy, static stability, lapse rates, and convective available potential energy.
Chapter 4 The Actor-Coverage of, Conduct-Coverage of, Tests of Illegality Promulgated by, and Defenses Recognized by U.S. Antitrust Law and E.C./E.U. Competition Law

This chapter has three sections. The first summarizes the conduct coverage of, the tests of legality promulgated by, and the defenses recognized by U.S. antitrust law and points out certain mistakes that U.S. courts and various scholars have made when addressing these issues. The second presents a parallel analysis of the E.C./E.U. competition law. And the third compares the above aspects of U.S. antitrust law and E.C./E.U. competition law. This chapter will not discuss (1) the approaches that U.S. and E.C./E.U. officials and scholars take to market definition, (2) the assumptions they make about the connection between a firm’s market share and its monopoly, oligopoly, and overall market power, or (3) the conclusions they have reached about the monopolizing character and/or likely competitive impact of various types of conduct or particular exemplars of specific types of conduct. These issues will be addressed respectively in Chaps. 8–15. This chapter will also not discuss the institutional framework of U.S. and E.C./E.U. antitrust law (i.e., the nature of their enforcement “agencies” and courts and the roles each such authority plays in the creation and enforcement of competition law), the procedures those various State actors are bound to follow (inter alia, the various notification requirements imposed on the law’s addressees and the time-constraints imposed on the “agencies” review of notified mergers), and the “remedial” options available to U.S. and E.C./E.U. antitrust decision-makers. Chapter 12 discusses the U.S. and E.C./E.U. notification and “agency”-review protocols for horizontal mergers.
Efficacy and Safety of Sildenafil in Men With Sexual Dysfunction and Spinal Cord Injury.

Abstract Introduction Spinal cord injury (SCI) is estimated to affect approximately 276,000 individuals in the United States. Since 2010, the mean age of individuals at the time of the SCI has been 42 years, with nearly 80% of cases involving men. This means that individuals with SCI generally are young men who typically place a great deal of importance on normal sexual and reproductive function. Aim To assess the effect of sildenafil treatment on erectile function and the frequency of ejaculation in men with SCI. Methods This study was a post hoc analysis of pooled data from two randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, flexible-dose, crossover sildenafil trials conducted in Europe, Australia, and Turkey. Two hundred forty-eight men at least 18 years old with traumatic SCI of at least 6 months' duration, with erectile dysfunction solely attributed to SCI, and in a stable heterosexual relationship were treated sequentially with sildenafil and placebo. Exclusion criteria included taking nitrate therapy, severe cardiac failure, and recent stroke or myocardial infarction. The starting sildenafil dose was 50 mg, taken approximately 1 hour before sexual activity, with subsequent dose adjustment to 100 or 25 mg based on efficacy and safety during treatment. There was a 2-week washout between 6-week treatments. Main Outcome Measures Change from baseline in International Index of Erectile Function question 3 (frequency of penetration), question 4 (maintaining erection after penetration), question 9 (frequency of ejaculation), and erectile function domain scores; intercourse success; and treatment preference. Results All International Index of Erectile Function outcomes, including achieving and maintaining erections and ejaculation frequency, were statistically significantly greater with sildenafil vs placebo, including the subgroup with complete SCI ( P P Conclusion Sildenafil significantly improves erections, intercourse success, and ejaculation frequency vs placebo, including in men with complete SCI. Sildenafil is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for sexual dysfunction in men with SCI. The increase in frequency of ejaculation could allow the possibility of having children without medical intervention in this patient population. Ohl DA, Carlsson M, Stecher VJ, Rippon GA. Efficacy and Safety of Sildenafil in Men With Sexual Dysfunction and Spinal Cord Injury. Sex Med Rev 2017;X:XX-XX.
Mental Hygiene Guidance Films and Duck and Cover

Mental hygiene films, also known as social guidance or social engineering films, were training films that were specifically used to shape the social behavior of their audiences. This essay explores the social guidance film industry and how these training films were part of instruction in elementary and high school classrooms in the United States from the late 1940s to the early 1970s (with their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s). Social guidance films covered topics including social etiquette and dating, personal hygiene, drug use, and driver safety. Discussed in this chapter, too, are the motivations for government civil defense training considered by experts today as feckless or, at best, profoundly lacking. The idea that the government provided such training to minimize civilian panic is explored, as well.
Characterization methods for high temperature polymer blends

Abstract: This chapter provides information about characterization methods for examining the structure and properties of blends that contain at least one high temperature polymer. Methods are described that probe both the phase structure of such blends as well as techniques that define and measure the properties of blends. Relations between the determined phase structure and resultant properties are also discussed.
Quadratic Scheduling Problems

As noted in Chapter 4.2, the operations scheduling problem (OSP) with machine independent quadratic interaction costs is identical with the graph partitioning problem (GPP). We compare in this chapter these alternative formulations for the OSP in this special case. By comparing the two formulations we do not mean an empirical comparison, but rather an analytical comparison such as the one carried out by Padberg and Sung [1991] for four different formulations of the traveling salesman problem. This guarantees that our results have validity for any numerical calculations based on the formulations that we propose in Chapters 4.2 and 4.3. In the second half of this chapter we derive some results on the facial structure of the OSP.
Environmental Effects on Color Vision

A wide variety of environmental variables may affect color vision. Among them are light itself, pressure, the composition of the atmosphere, medical and non-medical drugs, and such physical effects as acceleration.
Congenital and Secondary Heart Disease

Congenital and secondary heart diseases generally result from either abnormal embryonic development of normal structure or failure of such structures to progress beyond early embryonic or fetal development. The malformations resulting from complex multifactorial genetic and environmental causes account for about 2% of adult …
Urodynamic Assessment of Overactive Bladder

Urodynamic studies (UDS) generate information about bladder function that, currently, no other testing can provide. Though clearly not necessary to evaluate all lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), UDS can be useful when confronted with situations in which the normal noninvasive parameters used to assess LUTS, such as questionnaires, flow rates, and postvoid residual testing, are not helpful. There are a few keys to developing a successful urodynamic laboratory and to conducting studies that can be readily interpreted and utilized for clinical planning. Perhaps the foremost among these are the ability to re-create the LUTS in question during the UDS and training capable technicians who understand the equipment and the patients so that they are able to accomplish this task. Having the clinician present or readily available during the study is essential to generating interpretable data. A poorly conducted UDS test will tell you nothing about the symptom or problem in question, may only serve to further muddy the clinical picture, and may dissuade the patient from further care. On the other hand, a properly conducted test will give insight into the pathophysiology underlying the clinical condition, may provide some type of assessment of risk to the patient of leaving the condition untreated, and will clearly help guide management.
Toni Wolff and C. G. Jung: a collaboration

Toni Wolff’s story as a contributor to Jungian psychology, let alone her role in the life of the founder, C. G. Jung, has not been told. So goes the rationale for this remarkably detailed and richl...
FIRSTT study: randomized controlled trial of uterine artery embolization vs focused ultrasound surgery

Background Uterine leiomyomas (fibroid tumors) cause considerable symptoms in 30–50% of women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States. Women with uterine fibroid tumors often seek uterine-preserving treatments, but comparative effectiveness trials are lacking. Objective The purpose of this study was to report treatment effectiveness and ovarian function after uterine artery embolization vs magnetic resonance imaging–guided focused ultrasound surgery from the Fibroid Interventions: Reducing Symptoms Today and Tomorrow study. Study Design The Fibroid Interventions: Reducing Symptoms Today and Tomorrow study, which is a randomized controlled trial of uterine artery embolization vs magnetic resonance imaging–guided focused ultrasound surgery, enrolled premenopausal women with symptomatic uterine fibroid tumors; women who declined randomization were enrolled in a parallel observational cohort. A comprehensive cohort design was used for outcomes analysis. Our target enrollment was 220 women, of which we achieved 41% (n=91) in the randomized and parallel arms of the trial. Primary outcome was reintervention for uterine fibroid tumors within 36 months. Secondary outcomes were change in serum anti-Mullerian hormone levels and standardized measures of fibroid symptoms, quality of life, pain, and sexual function. Results From 2010–2014, 83 women (mean age, 44.4 years) were treated in the comprehensive cohort design (43 for magnetic resonance imaging–guided focused ultrasound surgery [27 randomized]; 40 for uterine artery embolization [22 randomized]); baseline clinical and uterine characteristics were similar between treatment arms, except for higher fibroid load in the uterine artery embolization arm. The risk of reintervention was higher with magnetic resonance imaging–guided focused ultrasound surgery than uterine artery embolization (hazard ratio, 2.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.01–7.79). Uterine artery embolization showed a significantly greater absolute decrease in anti-Mullerian hormone levels at 24 months compared with magnetic resonance imaging–guided focused ultrasound surgery. Quality of life and pain scores improved in both arms but to a greater extent in the uterine artery embolization arm. Higher pretreatment anti-Mullerian hormone level and younger age at treatment increased the overall risk of reintervention. Conclusion Our study demonstrates a lower reintervention rate and greater improvement in symptoms after uterine artery embolization, although some of the effectiveness may come through impairment of ovarian reserve. Both pretreatment anti-Mullerian hormone level and age are associated with risk of reintervention. Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT00995878 , clinicaltrials.gov
Access to Justice and Routine Legal Services: New Technologies Meet Bar Regulators

We are in the early stages of a technological revolution in legal services. Technology is displacing lawyers in a wide array of tasks such as document drafting, review, and assembly, and is also reshaping the way that lawyers find clients and deliver assistance. For most consumers, these are welcome developments. Such innovations generally reduce costs and increase both accessibility and efficiency. The potential gains are particularly great for low- and middle-income consumers, who lack access for a vast array of basic, often urgent, legal needs. Yet for lawyers, the consequences of technology have been more mixed. Many feel that their professional independence and livelihoods are threatened by the growth of online forms, computerized algorithms, and price competition with internet providers. Responding to these concerns, bar regulators have often fought back through ethics rulings that attempt to rein in organizations such as LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer, and Avvo Legal Services. This article explores the contested technological terrain of legal services for low- and middle-income Americans and uses the battles brewing over Avvo Legal Services as a case study of how bar regulators are, and should be, responding to innovations in the legal market for consumers of limited means. We cover the rise of the online provision of legal services, with a special focus on the three big players in consumer-oriented internet legal services, Avvo, LegalZoom, and Rocket Lawyer. We then assess the recent objections of bar regulators to the latest entry into this market – Avvo Legal Services. We argue that these concerns are largely incorrect. The argument relies partially on the controlling law and partially on business and common sense. As a business matter, small firm and solo practitioners are trying to survive in a brutally competitive market for consumer legal services. Avvo Legal Services attempts to connect these lawyers to clients directly, albeit with inexpensive, fixed-fee legal services. But LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer are already driving the prices for these services down. Avvo Legal Services just allows regular lawyers to try to compete. The business case is also the public interest case: Avvo Legal Services can help lower the barriers to hiring a lawyer and the cost. This will, in turn, increase access to justice in a country that was recently ranked sixty-seventh (tied with Uganda) of ninety-seven countries in the accessibility and affordability of civil justice. We can and must do better and technological innovations such as those pioneered by Avvo are part of the way forward. Our central argument is that lawyers should embrace the inevitable. Technological innovations are here to stay, and the organized bar should be looking for ways to harness their potential to help underserved constituencies, and the legal profession itself, not try to hold back the inexorable.
Pharmacophore-based design of novel 3-hydroxypyrimidine-2,4-dione subtypes as inhibitors of HIV reverse transcriptase-associated RNase H: Tolerance of a nonflexible linker.

Abstract The pharmacophore of active site inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT)-associated RNase H typically entails a flexible linker connecting the chelating core and the hydrophobic aromatics. We report herein that novel 3-hydroxypyrimidine-2,4-dione (HPD) subtypes with a nonflexible C-6 carbonyl linkage exhibited potent and selective biochemical inhibitory profiles with strong RNase H inhibition at low nM, weak to moderate integrase strand transfer (INST) inhibition at low μM, and no to marginal RT polymerase (pol) inhibition up to 10 μM. A few analogues also demonstrated significant antiviral activity without cytotoxicity. The overall inhibitory profile is comparable to or better than that of previous HPD subtypes with a flexible C-6 linker, suggesting that the nonflexible carbonyl linker can be tolerated in the design of novel HIV RNase H active site inhibitors.
Activation of Protein Kinase A Stimulates SUMOylation, Expression, and Transport Activity of Organic Anion Transporter 3

Organic anion transporter 3 (OAT3) plays a vital role in removing a broad variety of anionic drugs from kidney, thus avoiding their possible toxicity in the body. We earlier established that activation of protein kinase C (PKC) enhances OAT3 ubiquitination, which promotes OAT3 internalization from the cell plasma membrane to intracellular endosomes and consequent degradation. As a result, OAT3 expression and transport activity are reduced. In the current study, we discovered that protein kinase A (PKA) had an opposite effect to PKC on the regulation of OAT3. We showed that activation of PKA by Bt2-cAMP stimulated OAT3 transport activity, which was largely caused by an enhanced plasma membrane expression of the transporter, kinetically reflected as an augmented maximal transport velocity Vmax without notable alteration in substrate-binding affinity Km. Additionally, we showed that PKA activation accelerated the rate of OAT3 recycling from intracellular compartments to the plasma membrane and decelerated the rate of OAT3 degradation. We further showed that OAT3 is subjected to post-translational modification by SUMO-2 and SUMO-3 not by SUMO-1. PKA activation enhanced OAT3 SUMOylation, which was accompanied by a reduced OAT3 ubiquitination. Finally, insulin-like growth factor 1 significantly stimulated OAT3 transport activity and SUMOylation through PKA signaling pathway. In conclusion, this is the first demonstration that PKA stimulated OAT3 expression and transport activity by altering the trafficking kinetics of OAT3 possibly through the crosstalk between SUMOylation and ubiquitination. Our studies are consistent with a remote sensing and signaling model for transporters (Wu et al. in Mol Pharmacol. 79(5):795-805, 2011).
Timely detection and mitigation of IoT-based cyberattacks in the smart grid

Abstract The ongoing changes, updates, and upgrades of the Smart Grid infrastructure open up new cybersecurity challenges whose successful and satisfactory handling is a vital necessity for a viable future of these initiatives. The characteristic of the Smart Grid that leads to physical damage and cascading power failures amplifies the severity of security breaches. A set of recent successful Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks on the Internet, facilitated by the proliferation of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) powered botnets, shows that the Smart Grid may become the target and likely victim of such an attack, potentially leaving catastrophic outage of power service to millions of people. In this paper, under a hierarchical data collection infrastructure we propose a general and scalable mitigation approach, called Minimally Invasive Attack Mitigation via Detection Isolation and Localization (MIAMI-DIL), based on an online and nonparametric anomaly detection algorithm which is scalable and capable of timely detection. We provide a proof-of-concept by means of simulations to show the efficacy and scalability of the proposed approach.
Bayesian estimation of genetic regulatory effects in high-throughput reporter assays.

Motivation High-throughput reporter assays dramatically improve our ability to assign function to noncoding genetic variants, by measuring allelic effects on gene expression in the controlled setting of a reporter gene. Unlike genetic association tests, such assays are not confounded by linkage disequilibrium when loci are independently assayed. These methods can thus improve the identification of causal disease mutations. While work continues on improving experimental aspects of these assays, less effort has gone into developing methods for assessing the statistical significance of assay results, particularly in the case of rare variants captured from patient DNA. Results We describe a Bayesian hierarchical model, called Bayesian Inference of Regulatory Differences, which integrates prior information and explicitly accounts for variability between experimental replicates. The model produces substantially more accurate predictions than existing methods when allele frequencies are low, which is of clear advantage in the search for disease-causing variants in DNA captured from patient cohorts. Using the model, we demonstrate a clear tradeoff between variant sequencing coverage and numbers of biological replicates, and we show that the use of additional biological replicates decreases variance in estimates of effect size, due to the properties of the Poisson-binomial distribution. We also provide a power and sample size calculator, which facilitates decision making in experimental design parameters. Availability and implementation The software is freely available from www.geneprediction.org/bird. The experimental design web tool can be accessed at http://67.159.92.22:8080. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
DMSO potentiates the suppressive effect of dronabinol, a cannabinoid, on sleep apnea and REM sleep

Abstract Purpose Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is an amphipathic molecule with innate biological activity that also is used to dissolve both polar and nonpolar compounds in preclinical and clinical studies. Recent investigations of dronabinol, a cannabinoid, dissolved in DMSO demonstrated decreased sleep apnea frequency and time spent in REM sleep in rats. Here, we tested the effects of dronabinol dissolved in 25% DMSO (diluted in phosphate-buffered saline) to rule out potentiating effects of DMSO. Methods Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and implanted with bilateral stainless steel screws into the skull for electroencephalogram recording and bilateral wire electrodes into the nuchal muscles for electromyogram recording. Each animal was recorded by polysomnography. The study was a fully nested, repeated measures crossover design, such that each rat was recorded following each of 8 intraperitoneal injections separated by three days: vehicle (25% DMSO/PBS); vehicle and CB1 antagonist (AM 251); vehicle and CB2 antagonist (AM 630); vehicle and CB1/CB2 antagonist; dronabinol (CB1/CB2 agonist); dronabinol and CB1 antagonist; dronabinol and CB2 antagonist; and dronabinol and CB1/CB2 antagonist. Sleep was manually scored into NREM and REM stages, and apneas were quantified. Results Dronabinol dissolved in 25% DMSO did not suppress apnea or modify sleep efficiency compared to vehicle controls, in contrast to previously published results. However, dronabinol did suppress REM sleep, which is in line with previously published results. Conclusions Dronabinol in 25% DMSO partially potentiated dronabinol’s effects, suggesting a concomitant biological effect of DMSO on breathing during sleep.
On Efficiently Processing Workflow Provenance Queries in Spark

In this paper, we look at how we can leverage Spark platform for efficiently processing fine-grained provenance queries on large volumes of workflow provenance data. Simple recursive querying based Spark solutions involve large data scanning cost and hence do not work well. We propose a novel provenance framework which is engineered to quickly determine a small volume of data containing the entire lineage of the queried data-item. This small volume of data is then recursively processed to figure out the provenance of the queried data-item. We study the effectiveness of the proposed framework on a provenance trace obtained from a financial domain text curation workflow and report our observations. We show that the proposed framework easily outperforms the naive approaches.
Supporting Refugee Distance Education: A Review of the Literature

ABSTRACTThe sudden influx of refugees into countries around the world has caused a complicated, multi-faceted, international refugee crisis. Refugees, whether in camps or urban areas, face a myriad...
Structural Sizing of Unconventional Aircraft under Static and Dynamic Aeroelastic Loading

A framework was created to size an airframe structure of interest with both static and dynamic loading conditions, allowing the designer to take into account dynamics early in the design process. For that, two important tools, the Rapid Airframe Design Environment (RADE), and NASRAN are used. The framework allows the sizing of conventional aircraft, like the NASA Common Research Model Aircraft, and unconventional, such as a thruss-braced wing, put forward by Boeing and NASA. In the paper, static aeroelastic loads such as 2.5 and -1 G maneuvers and dynamic aeroelastic loads, such as sharp or One-Minus cosine gust are tested and contrasted. Finally, sizing of the wing is performed using HyperSizer.
The human kindness curriculum: An innovative preclinical initiative to highlight kindness and empathy in medicine.

Background: Prior studies have shown a marked drop in empathy among students during their third (clinical) year of medical school. Curricula developed to address this problem have varied greatly in content and have not always been subjected to validated measures of impact. Methods: In 2015, we initiated a Human Kindness (HK) curriculum for the initial 2 years of medical school. This mandatory 12-h curriculum (6 h/year) included an innovative series of lectures and patient interactions with regard to compassion and empathy in the clinical setting. Both quantitative (Jefferson Scale of Empathy [JSE]) and qualitative data were collected prospectively to evaluate the impact of the HK curriculum. Results: In the initial Pilot Year, neither 1st (Group 1) nor 2nd (Group 2) year medical students showed pre-post changes in JSE scores. Substantial changes were made to the curriculum based on faculty and student evaluations. In the following Implementation Year, both the new 1st (Group 3) and the now 2nd year (Group 4) students, who previously experienced the Pilot Year, showed significant improvements in post-course JSE scores; this improvement remained valid across subanalyses of gender, age, and student career focus (e.g., internal medicine, surgery, etc.). Despite the disappointingly flat initial Pilot Year JSE scores, the 3rd year students (Group 2) who experienced only the Pilot Year of the curriculum (i.e., 2nd year students at the time of the Pilot Year) had subsequent JSE scores that did not show the typical decline associated with the clinical years. Students generally evaluated the HK curriculum positively and rated it as being important to their medical education and development as a physician. Discussion: A required preclinical curriculum focused on HK resulted in significant improvements in medical student empathy; this improvement was maintained during the 1st clinical year of training.
The impact of colonization history on the composition of ecological systems

Observational studies of ecological systems have shown that different species compositions can arise from distinct species arrival orders during community assembly---also known as colonization history. However, it is still unclear under which conditions colonization history will dominate community composition. Yet, this is important in order to understand and anticipate the impact of species arrivals on the biodiversity that we observe in both nature and experiments. To address this fundamental question, here we develop a testable theory linking colonization history and community composition. First, we prove two general theorems to determine whether the composition of a community will depend on its colonization history. For communities governed by Lotka-Volterra dynamics, we further simplify the two theorems into a corollary that is easy for numerical test. Second, we show, via extensive numerical simulations, that the probability that community composition is dominated by colonization history increases monotonically with community size and species connectivity. Third, we show that this probability significantly increases with the variation of intrinsic growth rates across species. These results reveal that community composition is a probabilistic process mediated by ecological dynamics via the interspecific variation and the size of regional pools.
Chapter 27 – The Role of Genetics

The snow leopard’s life history, diet, and population status is poorly understood due to its remote distribution and occurrence at low densities. This information is critical for understanding population trends, important prey species, human-snow leopard conflict, causes for decline, genetic and demographic threats, and as a rigorous way of measuring the impact of conservation management strategies. Advances in molecular techniques have made it possible to study these factors through the use of noninvasive genetics, which have yet to be fully implemented in the study of snow leopards. Here, we summarize conservation genetic techniques, review genetic studies on wild snow leopards and describe noninvasive sampling of scat for genetic-based diet reconstruction and its benefits over other methods. Finally, we address the gaps in our understanding of these elusive creatures, and outline how conservation genetics can address these issues to better understand and conserve snow leopards.