cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association of energy intake with prostate cancer in a long-term aging study: Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (United States).

Abstract Objectives To examine the association of total energy intake and macronutrient contributors to energy with prostate cancer risk among men in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Methods In the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging cohort, 444 men completed at least one food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). At their earliest FFQ completion, men were 45 to 92 years old. The total number of prostate cancer cases (n = 68) consisted of men who were diagnosed with cancer before their FFQ completion (n = 46) and those who were diagnosed after their FFQ completion (n = 22). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratio of prostate cancer and its 95% confidence interval. Results Total energy intake was positively associated with prostate cancer. Compared with the lowest quintile of energy intake, the odds ratio for the highest quintile was 3.79 (95% confidence interval 1.52 to 9.48, P trend = 0.002). Energy-adjusted intakes of protein, fat, and carbohydrates were not statistically significantly associated with prostate cancer risk. Conclusions This analysis, in which we used current energy intake as a surrogate for past prediagnostic intake, suggests a higher risk of prostate cancer with increased energy intake.
Cryptopatches Are Essential for the Development of Human GALT

Summary Abnormal gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) in humans is associated with infectious and autoimmune diseases, which cause dysfunction of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract immune system. To aid in investigating GALT pathologies in vivo, we bioengineered a human-mouse chimeric model characterized by the development of human GALT structures originating in mouse cryptopatches. This observation expands our mechanistic understanding of the role of cryptopatches in human GALT genesis and emphasizes the evolutionary conservation of this developmental process. Immunoglobulin class switching to IgA occurs in these GALT structures, leading to numerous human IgA-producing plasma cells throughout the intestinal lamina propria. CD4 + T cell depletion within GALT structures results from HIV infection, as it does in humans. This human-mouse chimeric model represents the most comprehensive experimental platform currently available for the study and for the preclinical testing of therapeutics designed to repair disease-damaged GALT. Video Abstract
Characterization of the Glycoproteins of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus is the cause of an important tick-borne disease of humans throughout regions of Africa, Europe, and Asia. Like other members of the genus Nairovirus, family Bunyaviridae, the CCHF virus M genome RNA segment encodes the virus glycoproteins. Sequence analysis of the CCHF virus (Matin strain) M RNA segment revealed one major open reading frame that potentially encodes a precursor polyprotein 1,689 amino acids (aa) in length. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of the M-encoded polyproteins of Nigerian, Pakistani, and Chinese CCHF virus strains revealed two distinct protein regions. The carboxyl-terminal 1,441 aa are relatively highly conserved (up to 8.4% identity difference), whereas the amino-terminal 243 to 248 aa are highly variable (up to 56.4% identity difference) and have mucin-like features, including a high serine, threonine, and proline content (up to 47.3%) and a potential for extensive O-glycosylation. Analysis of released virus revealed two major structural glycoproteins, G2 (37 kDa) and G1 (75 kDa). Virus protein analysis by various techniques, including pulse-chase analysis and/or reactivity with CCHF virus-specific polyclonal and antipeptide antibodies, demonstrated that the 140-kDa (which contains the mucin-like region) and 85-kDa nonstructural proteins are the precursors of the mature G2 and G1 proteins, respectively. The amino termini of the CCHF virus (Matin strain) G2 and G1 proteins were established by microsequencing to be equivalent to aa 525 and 1046, respectively, of the encoded polyprotein precursor. The tetrapeptides RRLL and RKPL are immediately upstream of the cleavage site for mature G2 and G1, respectively. These are completely conserved among the predicted polyprotein sequences of all the CCHF virus strains and closely resemble the tetrapeptides that represent the major cleavage recognition sites present in the glycoprotein precursors of arenaviruses, such as Lassa fever virus (RRLL) and Pichinde virus (RKLL). These results strongly suggest that CCHF viruses (and other members of the genus Nairovirus) likely utilize the subtilase SKI-1/S1P-like cellular proteases for the major glycoprotein precursor cleavage events, as has recently been demonstrated for the arenaviruses.
Adherence to a Mediterranean-type dietary pattern and cognitive decline in a community population.

Background: Many of the foods abundant in the traditional Mediterranean diet, such as vegetables and fish, have been associated with slower cognitive decline. Objective: We investigated whether adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern or to the Healthy Eating Index–2005 (HEI-2005) is associated with cognitive change in older adults. Design: This article is based on analyses of data from an ongoing longitudinal study in adults aged ≥65 y known as the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP). CHAP participants (2280 blacks and 1510 whites) with ≥2 cognitive assessments were evaluated for adherence to 1) the Mediterranean dietary pattern (MedDiet; maximum score: 55) and 2) the HEI-2005 (maximum score: 100). For both scoring systems, higher scores connote greater adherence. Cognitive function was assessed at 3-y intervals on the basis of a composite measure of global cognition. Linear mixed models were used to examine the association of dietary scores to change in cognitive function. Mean follow-up time was 7.6 y. Results: Mean (±SD) scores for participants were 28.2 ± 0.1 for the MedDiet and 61.2 ± 9.6 for the HEI-2005. White participants had higher energy-adjusted MedDiet scores but lower HEI-2005 scores than did black participants. Higher MedDiet scores were associated with slower rates of cognitive decline (β = +0.0014 per 1-point increase, SEE = 0.0004, P = 0.0004) after adjustment for age, sex, race, education, participation in cognitive activities, and energy. No such associations were observed for HEI-2005 scores. Conclusion: The Mediterranean dietary pattern as captured by the MedDiet scoring system may reduce the rate of cognitive decline with older age.
Depth profile of donor-acceptor pair transition revealing its effect on the efficiency of green LEDs

GaInN/GaN light emitting diodes are the primary choice for efficient green light emitters, yet their performance limiting factors have yet to be identified. Here we perform a low-temperature luminescence study in depth-resolved cathodoluminescence. A series of LEDs with a combination of blue and green light emitting quantum wells exhibiting low and high electroluminescence output power were compared. In all samples, a band of donor-acceptor pair recombination was identified at 77 K. In the samples with lowest performance, such transitions located within the active region of the quantum wells had a particular strong contribution to the spectrum. In LEDs of higher performance, such luminescence was substantially suppressed within those layers. We argue that the higher performance of LEDs without such donor acceptor transition bands may be associated with the absence of corresponding dopant impurities and indicate a higher epitaxial perfection within the active quantum well region.
A static hysteresis model for power ferrites

Basso and Bertotti's physics-based, yet simple, static hysteresis model is brought to the power electronic community as an alternative for simulation of magnetic components embedded in a power electronic converter. The model is reviewed and its equations cast in application/simulation-oriented forms. It is then revised to better characterize the very soft saturation behavior of commercial power manganese-zinc (MnZn) ferrites. The procedures to extract the model parameters from voltage and current measurements are described. The improved models have been verified against experimental data for major and minor hysteresis loops of three commercial power ferrites.
The NOX on Pulmonary Hypertension

See related article, pages 258–267 Chronic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating clinical disorder that contributes to the morbidity and mortality of adult and pediatric patients with a wide range of lung and heart diseases. Diseases leading to pulmonary hypertension are frequently associated with hypoxia within discrete areas of the lung. Acutely, the regional response to hypoxia is a reversible contraction of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC), which is a protective physiologic response that serves to redirect blood to better-ventilated areas of the lung. This constrictor response of PASMC contrasts with that of systemic arterial smooth muscle cells, which usually relax in response to hypoxia, indicating that oxygen (O2) sensing mechanisms in vascular smooth muscle are adapted to the environment from which they are derived. Importantly, chronic hypoxia induces irreversible changes of profound vascular remodeling characterized by medial and adventitial thickening of the muscular and elastic vessels and muscularization of previously nonmuscularized more distal small vessels. This is the basis for debilitating persistent PAH.1 Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important regulators of vascular tone and function.2,3 In the lung, ROS are implicated in acute hypoxic vasoconstriction.4 Administration of superoxide dismutase significantly attenuates pulmonary vasoconstriction because of hypoxia.5 Moreover, several studies have now shown that agents promoting ROS generation stimulate both systemic arterial smooth muscle cells and PASMC proliferation implicating ROS in the vascular remodeling associated with chronic hypoxia. Again, suppression of endogenous ROS production inhibits smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and promotes apoptosis.6–8 In animal models, ROS production has been directly linked to the vascular remodeling associated …
A 97.3 dB SNR, 600 kHz BW, 31mW multibit continuous time ΔΣ ADC

A continuous time 5-bit feed forward ΔΣ ADC architecture is presented, which measures 97.3 dB SNR, over 600 kHz bandwidth while consuming 31 mW/channel. This performance is achieved by using an ISI mitigation scheme and a 2 nd -order DEM for 3-level DACs along with analog low power techniques. The 0.99mm 2 /channel chip was fabricated in 0.18um CMOS process, and achieves a FOM of 171.8 dB.
Active tectonics and the LiDAR revolution

A revolution in remote sensing, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) laser altimetry swath mapping, reveals the details of topographic features at such high resolution that they have transformed our understanding of tectonic forcing of the shape of the Earth’s surface. Meter-scale DEMs (digital elevation models) capture fault offsets, fault zone structure, off-fault deformation, and landscape properties at microgeomorphic scale, highlighting that the surface faithfully records the complexity and sensitivity of deformation in detail.
Necrotizing Soft-Tissue Infection of the Thumb: A Case Report.

Case: We present the case of a fifty-three-year-old man who presented with a necrotizing soft-tissue infection (NSTI) of the thumb, which tracked along the flexor pollicis longus tendon into the space of Parona. In this case report, we review the clinical and laboratory findings diagnostic of NSTI as well as the appropriate initial treatment for this challenging problem. Conclusion: NSTI is a rare, life-threatening condition that must be identified and treated promptly for optimal results. In our patient, although we amputated the necrotic thumb, we were able to salvage the remaining hand and wrist despite more proximal involvement.
Freedom, Justice, and Legitimacy in Pettit's On the People's Terms

Philip Pettit’s On the People’s Terms represents a major, comprehen-sive statement of the contemporary civic republican political doctrine. This re-view aims to trace and comment on some of this book’s major themes, empha-sizing where appropriate continuities with and revisions of Pettit’s past contri-butions. The review’s three parts discuss republican conceptions of freedom, so-cial justice, and legitimacy, respectively.
A STUDY OF REACTION NORMS IN NATURAL POPULATIONS OF DROSOPHILA PSEUDOOBSCURA

The central assertion of phenogenetics is that the phenotype of an individual is a unique consequence of its genotype in interaction with the sequence of environments encountered by the developing organism. Asserting this truism, however, is a very different thing from studying the actual interactions between environment and genome in creating the phenotype, a particularly difficult problem for continuously varying phenotypes such as shape, behavior, and physiological processes. There have been two main approaches to the problem. The first, statistical approach, characteristic of biometrical genetics, has been to analyze the variance of phenotype into components assigned to genotypes, environment, and genotypeenvironment interaction. These variance components are then used to predict the consequences of altering the environment or of selection of genotypes. They are also used to make inferences about the actual nature of gene action, whether there is dominance and epistasis. The alternative approach, taken by developmental genetics, has been to characterize the phenotype of a given genotype in a fixed series of environments and then to compare genotypes with respect to their patterns of phenotypic response to different environments. Developmental genetics, then, characterizes what Schmalhausen (1949) called the norm of reaction of a genotype-the array of phenotypes that will be developed by the genotype over an array of environments. The study of variance components has
NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF THE WHISTLING ARROW

In her article "tber die pfeifenden Pfeile der innerasiatischen Reiternomaden" (Acta Orientalia, Hungaricae, III [I953], 45-7I; see esp. p. 67), K. U. K6halmi has occasion to mention the early references to the whistling arrow in Chinese texts. She cites as "die alteste historische Nachricht fiber pfeifende Pfeile" the well-known episode in Shih chi which tells of the rise to power of the Hsiung-nu prince Mao-tun ~ jf (Shih chi, K'ai-ming ed., ch. IIo, p. 0244.4). The prince had determined upon the assassination of his father, the then reigning chieftain T'ouman g _, in order to gain the throne for himself. In preparation for the deed Mao-tun manufactured "singing arrow-heads" P, "j for his own use. He directed his followers that they must, on pain of instant death, shoot at any target at which he first shot a whistling arrow. Maotun tested the obedience of his men by shooting, on one occasion, at his own favorite horse, and again at a beloved consort, in both cases finding it necessary to mete out the threatened punishment to some of his followers who were reluctant to shoot. When, finally, he shoots at his father's favorite horse and his followers, to a man, obey, he is ready for the assassination of his father, which follows shortly after. K6halmi mentions another term for the whistling arrow and cites its occurrence in Giles' Dictionary (No. 3872), hao-shih P' Y "sounding arrow," but she does not mention that the passage containing the expression, given by Giles, is from Chuang-tzu I (Nan-hua chen ching i| -i X , Szu-pu ts'ung-k'an ed. 4, 33a-b): "How do I know that [the sages] Tseng and Shih are not the sounding arrows of [the tyrantj Chieh and [the brigand] Chih?" 8at~ ~ Y:^; P ) ~ l'. That is, how do we know that great moralists are not the forerunners of evil-doers ? The date of the earliest reference to the whist-
Miniaturization Design of the 5.8 GHz RFID Antenna Based on Metamaterial

A traditional square-shaped 5.8 GHz microstrip antenna used in the radio frequency identification(RFID)system was designed. The size of antenna radiation patch is 15.74 mm×11.12 mm. The measurement result of antenna'sreturn loss is-23.276 d B. To make an improvement on the basis of the microstrip rectangular antenna,the metamaterialstructure including 15 I-shaped and 6 split resonant ring(SRR)patterns were etched on the square patch to fabricatetwo new types of miniature antennas. Compared with the original one,the sizes of the new antenna radiation patches whichare 12.44 mm×9.12 mm and 11.74 mm×9.1 mm,reduce 35.2% and 41.82 % respectively,keeping the directivity andthe maximum gain almost unchangeable. The miniaturization effects of radiation patch are obvious. The measured resultsof return loss of two miniature antennas are-21.83 d B and-15.40 d B.
Purification and enzymatic characterization of the hepatitis B virus ribonuclease H, a new target for antiviral inhibitors.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reverse transcription requires coordinated function of the reverse transcriptase and ribonuclease H (RNaseH) activities of the viral polymerase protein. The reverse transcriptase has been biochemically characterized, but technical difficulties have prevented both assessment of the RNaseH and development of high throughput inhibitor screens against the RNaseH. Expressing the HBV RNaseH domain with both maltose binding protein and hexahistidine tags led to stable, high-level accumulation of the RNaseH in bacteria. Nickel-affinity purification in the presence of Mg(2+) and ATP removed co-purifying bacterial chaperones and yielded nearly pure monomeric recombinant enzyme. The endonucleolytic RNaseH activity required an DNA:RNA duplex ≥14 nt, could not tolerate a stem-loop in either the RNA or DNA strands, and could tolerate a nick in the DNA strand but not a gap. The RNaseH had no obvious sequence specificity or positional dependence within the RNA, and it cut the RNA at multiple positions even within the minimal 14 nt duplex. The RNaseH also possesses a processive 3'-5' exoribonuclease activity that is slower than the endonucleolytic reaction. These results are consistent with the HBV reverse transcription mechanism that features an initial endoribonucleolytic cut, 3'-5' degradation of RNA, and a sequence-independent terminal RNA cleavage. These data provide support for ongoing anti-RNaseH drug discovery efforts.
Parallel Computing of the Adaptive N-Body Treecode Algorithm for Solving Boundary Integral Poisson-Boltzmann Equation

In this paper, we study the parallelization of a Cartesian grid based treecode algorithm in evaluating electrostatic potentials in a charged particle system. The treecode algorithm uses a far-field Taylor expansion to compute \(\mathcal {O}(N \log {N})\) particle-cluster interactions to replace the \(\mathcal {O}(N^2)\) particle-particle interactions. The treecode algorithm is implemented with MPI based parallelization. We design schemes to optimize the implementation adaptive to the particle location. The numerical results show high parallel efficiency. These optimized schemes are further extended to accelerate GMRES iteration in solving boundary integral Poisson–Boltzmann equation in which the discretized linear algebraic system resembles the interactions of the charged system.
The Effect of Compartmental Asymmetry on the Monitoring of Pulmonary Mechanics and Lung Volumes

BACKGROUND: Esophageal pressure measurement for computation of transpulmonary pressure (Ptp) has begun to be incorporated into clinical use for evaluating forces across the lungs. Gaps exist in our understanding of how esophageal pressure (and therefore Ptp), a value measured at a single site, responds when respiratory system compartments are asymmetrically affected by whole-lung atelectasis or unilateral injury as well as changes in chest wall compliance. We reasoned that Ptp would track with aerated volume changes as estimated by functional residual capacity (FRC) and tidal volume. We examined this hypothesis in the setting of asymmetric lungs and changes in intra-abdominal pressure. METHODS: This study was conducted in the animal laboratory of a university-affiliated hospital. Models of unilateral atelectasis and unilateral and bilateral lung injury exposed to intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) in 10 deeply sedated mechanically ventilated swine. Atelectasis was created by balloon occlusion of the left main bronchus. Unilateral lung injury was induced by saline lavage of isolated right lung. Diffuse lung injury was induced by saline lavage of both lungs. The peritoneum was insufflated with air to create a model of pressure-regulated IAH. We measured esophageal pressures, airway pressures, FRC by gas dilution, and oxygenation. RESULTS: FRC was reduced by IAH in normal lungs (P CONCLUSIONS: Ptp tracks with aerated lung volume in the setting of thoracic asymmetry and changes in intra-abdominal pressure. However, used alone, it cannot distinguish the relative contributions of air-space distention and recruitment of lung units.
Chain: tasks and channels for reliable intermittent programs

Energy harvesting computers enable general-purpose computing using energy collected from their environment. Energy-autonomy of such devices has great potential, but their intermittent power supply poses a challenge. Intermittent program execution compromises progress and leaves state inconsistent. This work describes Chain: a new model for programming intermittent devices. A Chain program is a set of programmer-defined tasks that compute and exchange data through channels. Chain guarantees forward progress at task granularity. A task is restartable and never sees inconsistent state, because its input and output channels are separated. Our system supports language features for expressing advanced data exchange patterns and for encapsulating reusable functionality. Chain fundamentally differs from state-of-the-art checkpointing approaches and does not incur the associated overhead. We implement Chain as C language extensions and a runtime library. We used Chain to implement four applications: machine learning, encryption, compression, and sensing. In experiments, Chain ensured consistency where prior approaches failed and improved throughput by 2-7x over the leading state-of-the-art system.
Distribution of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes in the murine small intestine.

Abstract Aims Serotonin stimulates enterocyte turnover in the small intestine and studies suggest this is mediated by neuronal signaling via a cholinergic pathway. Distribution of the five known muscarinic receptor subtypes (mAChRs) in the small intestine has not been fully studied, and their role in intestinal growth is unknown. We hypothesized that mAChRs have distinct anatomic distributions within the bowel, and that mAChRs present within intestinal crypts mediate the effects of acetylcholine on the small intestinal mucosa. Main methods Small intestine from male C57BL/6 mice ages 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks were harvested. RNA was isolated and cDNA synthesized for PCR-amplification of subtype specific mAChRs. Ileum was fixed with Nakane, embedded in epon, and immunofluorescence microscopy performed using polyclonal antibodies specific to each mAChR1-5. Key findings All five mAChR subtypes were present in the mouse duodenum, jejunum, and ileum at all ages by RT-PCR. Immunofluorescence microscopy suggested the presence of mAChR1-5 in association with mature enterocytes along the villus and within the myenteric plexus. Only mAChR2 clearly localized to the crypt stem cell compartment, specifically co-localizing with Paneth cells at crypt bases. Significance Muscarinic receptors are widely distributed along the entire alimentary tract. mAChR2 appears to localize to the crypt stem cell compartment, suggesting it is a plausible regulator of stem cell activity. The location of mAChR2 to the crypt makes it a potential therapeutic target for treatment of intestinal disease such as short bowel syndrome. The exact cellular location and action of each mAChR requires further study.
Interhospital transfers of the critically ill: Time spent at referring institutions influences survival.

Abstract Objective To determine if the length of stay at a referring institution intensive care unit (ICU) before transfer to a tertiary/quaternary care facility is a risk factor for mortality. Design We performed a retrospective chart review of patients transferred to our ICU from referring institution ICUs over a 3-year period. Logistical regression analysis was performed to determine which factors were independently associated with increased mortality. The primary outcomes were ICU and hospital mortality. Main results A total of 1248 patients were included in our study. Length of stay at the referring institution was an independent risk factor for both ICU and hospital mortality (P Conclusions Length of stay at the referring institution before transfer is a risk factor for worse outcomes, with longer stays associated with increased likelihood of mortality. Further studies delineating which factors most affect length of stay at referring institutions, though a difficult task, should be pursued.
Subunits that form Trimeric DEG/ENaC Mechano-Electrical Transduction Channels in Touch Receptor Neurons

In C. elegans, the behavioral response to touch and the underlying molecular actors are thoroughly studied. However, it is still debated which and how many of several co-expressed pore-forming subunits assemble into a functional, multimeric mechano-electrical transduction (MeT) channel in vivo. Two members of the DEG/ENaC channel family, MEC-4 and MEC-10, are important to convert touch into behavioral responses. MEC-4 is required to form native MeT channels, whereas MEC-10 plays a regulatory role. Recently, a third homologous protein and potential subunit, DEGT-1, was identified; its role in touch sensation remains incompletely understood. Given that DEG/ENaC proteins are thought to assemble as trimers, the presence of a third, homologous protein opens new questions regarding the composition of native MeT channels. A key outstanding question is which of these homologous proteins co-assemble to form the channels responsible for touch sensation. With the gentle touch assay, we detected a more severe defect in touch sensation if both MEC-10 and DEGT-1 were removed simultaneously than we did by removing them individually. This genetic enhancement suggests that DEGT-1 is part of the native MeT channel complex. To investigate this further, we are analyzing the contribution of DEGT-1 to native MeT channels and to channel activity in Xenopus oocytes. Using in vivo patch clamp recordings of wild type and mutant touch receptor neurons lacking individual subunits or expressing proteins with altered pore domains, we seek to delineate how DEGT-1 contributes to the mechanosensitivity, voltage-dependence and adaptation of the native MeT current. In Xenopus oocytes, we find that DEGT-1 is unable to form homomeric channels on its own, but can assemble into functional channels in the presence of MEC-4. This finding suggests that, like MEC-10, DEGT-1 plays a regulatory role in channel formation.
PUVA for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis

PUVA (psoralen plus ultraviolet A) phototherapy is the use of a photosensitizing medication (8-methoxypsoralen/methoxsalen/Oxsoralen Ultra) in combination with ultraviolet A (UVA) phototherapy. PUVA is used to treat moderate to severe psoriasis, generalized psoriasis, or psoriasis that is unresponsive to topical treatments. In systemic PUVA, patients take oral methoxsalen and are subsequently exposed to UVA. In topical and bath PUVA, patients expose their skin to psoralens by soaking in water containing methoxsalen or applying a topical formulation of methoxsalen, followed by exposure to UVA. Patients are treated three times per week for at least 12 week and potential ongoing maintenance treatment is required. PUVA penetrates deeper into the skin and may be more effective than UVB. Potential side effects of PUVA include burning, itching, and pigmentation of the skin, as well as nausea with systemic PUVA. There is an increased risk of skin cancer in Caucasian patients who undergo more than 250 treatments of PUVA.
The effect of injected interstitials on void formation in self-ion irradiated nickel containing concentrated solid solution alloys

Abstract Pure nickel and three nickel containing single-phase concentrated solid solution alloys (SP-CSAs) have been irradiated using 3 MeV Ni2+ ions at 500 °C to fluences of 1.5 × 10 16 and 5.0 × 10 16 c m − 2 . The radiation-induced voids were characterized using cross sectional transmission electron microscopy that distributions of voids and dislocation loops were presented as a function of depth. A various degree of void suppression was observed on the tested samples and a defect clusters migration mechanism was proposed for NiCo. In order to sufficiently understand the defect dynamics in these SP-CSAs, the injected interstitial effect has been taken into account along with the 1-dimentional (1-D) and 3-dimentional (3-D) interstitial movement mechanisms.
Reversible Electrochemistry of Mercury Chalcogenide Colloidal Quantum Dot Films

The absolute positions of the energy levels of colloidal quantum dots of Hg(S, Se, Te), which are of interest as mid-infrared materials, are determined by electrochemistry. The bulk valence bands are at −5.85, −5.50, and −4.77 eV (±0.05 eV) for zinc-blend HgS, HgSe, HgTe, respectively, in the same order as the anions p-orbital energies. The conduction bands are conversely at −5.20, −5.50, and −4.77 eV. The stable ambient n-doping of Hg(S, Se) quantum dots compared to HgTe arises because the conduction band is sufficiently lower than the measured environment Fermi level of ∼ −4.7 eV to allow for n-doping for HgS and HgSe quantum dots even with significant electron confinement. The position of the Fermi level and the quantum dots states are reported for a specific surface treatment with ethanedithiol and electrolyte environment. The positions are however sensitive to different surface treatments, providing an avenue to control doping. Electrochemical gating is further used to determine the carrier mobility ...
Host Utilization of Chinese Privet (Lamiales: Oleaceae) and Host Choice by Leptoypha mutica (Hemiptera: Tingidae)

Abstract Exotic lace bugs (Hemiptera: Tingidae) have previously been evaluated for potential biocontrol of pervasive, exotic Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense Lour. This study was conducted to determine if a native lace bug, Leptoypha mutica Say, could utilize Chinese privet and to determine the lace bug's preferred host plant. A no-choice test determined the lace bug's acceptance and utilization of three plant hosts: fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus L.), swamp privet (Foresteria acuminata Michx), and Chinese privet, based on frass production, oviposition, and survival of lace bugs. Choice tests in the laboratory and the field evaluated lace bug preference among swamp privet, Chinese privet, and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh). All plant hosts supported the lace bugs in laboratory assays, but fewer eggs were produced on Chinese privet. Green ash was the most preferred while Chinese and swamp privet were equally preferred. These laboratory results were consistent with a field choice test and f...
Overview of Current and Future First-Line Systemic Therapy for Metastatic Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Treatment of metastatic clear cell renal cancer (mccRCC) has seen substantial progress over the last 20 years, with many regulatory approvals since 2006 culminating in a substantial increase to overall survival (OS). Six therapies are currently available for first-line use, with additional treatments currently being tested in this setting, some of which are expected to be approved soon based on new data from the CABOSUN and CheckMate-214 trials. Based on the available evidence, we strongly believe that vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (VEGF-TKI) therapy over mechanistic target or rapamycin (mTOR; formerly known as mammalian target of rapamycin) inhibitor therapy is the most effective first-line option regardless of risk category assignment. High-dose interleukin-2 (HDIL-2) therapy remains a reasonable treatment option in patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0–1 and have minimal comorbid conditions. In the near future, these agents are likely to be surpassed by cabozantinib and by combination immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab. Independent review has recently confirmed superiority of first-line cabozantinib over sunitinib in a phase 2 trial of 157 patients with intermediate or poor risk mccRCC (progression-free survival [PFS] 8.6 vs 5.3 months, hazard ratio [HR] 0.48, p = 0.0008). In a separate study of 1096 patients treated with either upfront sunitinib or the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab, those with intermediate and poor risk had significant improvement in both PFS (11.6 vs 8.4 months, HR 0.82, p = 0.0331) and OS (not reached vs 26 months, p < 0.0001). Responses were greater in patients with positive programmed death receptor ligand-1 (PD-L1) tumor staining, and pending regulatory approval may become standard of care in untreated patients with intermediate to poor risk disease with positive PD-L1 status. This likely represents the beginning of additional novel immunotherapy combinations for the first-line treatment of mccRCC.
Relationship between academic achievement and healthy school transformations in urban elementary schools in the United States

Purpose: Given the recent push to increase children’s physical activity levels through whole-of-school approaches, the relationship between physical activity and academic achievement has received m...
Human-Tiger (Re)Negotiations

This case study explores the reintroduction of tigers to Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, India, highlighting how the (re)negotiation between people and tigers is a struggle rooted in place and territory, with boundaries co-constructed by human and nonhuman actors. While the reintroduction came only three years after the official admission of complete species loss, tigers as a dominant force on the landscape were absent for more than a decade in some places. Accordingly, the people of Sariska see the reintroduced tigers as foreigners without place-knowledge and as disturbers of the interspecies boundaries created by the interactions of Sariska’s original tigers and many generations of local people. This study speaks to conservation sciences and animal geography to contribute to the scientific knowledge of the human dimensions of rewilding, still a nascent area of restoration ecology specifically in the case of apex predators in the global south.
To What Physics Corresponds

In what follows I wish to reconsider certain ideas to be found in Post’s (1971) defence of the ‘retentionist’ or ‘accumulativist’ view of science. In particular I shall focus on heuristics and methodology and will confine the discussion to physics, specifically to theories of dynamics (this, I hazard, is to be counted a constraint in principle: it seems unlikely that similar considerations will apply to any other branch of empirical science). Post’s thesis (what he calls the “generalized principle of correspondence”) is both historical and methodological; it may be simply put as the claim that what is taken over from preceding theories is not only those laws and experimental facts which are well-confirmed, but also ‘patterns’ and ‘internal connections’, that in this way the successor theory accounts for whatever success its precursor enjoyed, for it “… will in fact embody a good deal of the (lower) theoretical structure of the [precursor] theory.” (1971, p. 229).
Building a network testbed for internet security research

Historical research of intrusion, anomaly, or rogue software detection, and network protection techniques to prevent Denial of Service, or other malicious software attacks, have involved antiquated singularly scoped techniques. Malicious software attacks, whether in the form of worms, spyware, malware, or computer viruses, have economically and productively impacted the state of information exchange throughout the interconnected world. The ability to proactively identify the threats or unauthorized activity that contradicts day-today activities, will allow initiation of defenses before a full threat infestation occurs. This paper describes a test networked system that has been built for our research projects involving Internet worm detection. The goal of the system is to simulate a global network containing heterogeneous systems; in turn, we may study the behaviors of various worms and to design effective strategies for predicting, detecting, and quarantining outbreaks.
Trends in Fellow Education Research Among Obstetric and Gynecologic Subspecialties.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the frequency at which fellow education-related abstracts are presented at national meetings and compare presentation rates before and after the accreditation transition. METHODS This cross-sectional study evaluated abstracts from the five most recent national meetings of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS), and the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) and Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO). Three independent reviewers assessed abstracts for education-specific content. Abstracts were included if two or greater reviewers identified them as related to fellow education. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. RESULTS Fourteen thousand six hundred thirty abstracts were presented at obstetric and gynecologic subspecialty meetings between 2012 and 2017. Of these, 29 (0.20%) pertained to fellows' education. The percent of total abstracts that were fellow-related remained relatively constant over time. Of the four subspecialties, the AUGS presented fellow education research almost five times more frequently than ASRM (P<.01) or SMFM (P<.01). Over the study period, 1,283 abstracts were presented at the CREOG and APGO meeting, with four (0.31%) pertaining to fellows' education. At the CREOG and APGO meeting, fellow-related abstracts did not appear to increase over the period studied. CONCLUSION Research regarding fellows' education is rarely presented at national meetings, representing less than 1% of all abstracts, and has not substantially increased since the transition to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
Poor Performance on Single-Legged Hop Tests Associated With Development of Posttraumatic Knee Osteoarthritis After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Background:The risk for knee osteoarthritis (OA) is substantially increased after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Tools are needed to identify characteristics of patients after ACL injury ...
Mothers' postsecondary entry during early childhood: Short- and long-term effects on children

Abstract This study explored the implications of low-income mothers' entry into post-secondary education (PSE) during their children's first five years of life. Using propensity score matching to analyze data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979, we examined associations between maternal entry into PSE during early childhood and children's short- and long-term (ages 7 and 13, respectively) academic and socioemotional outcomes. We found that mothers' entry into PSE during early childhood had no short-term effects on children. There were, however, long-term positive effects on academic outcomes among children with a coresident father figure, and negative effects on behavior. We also tested explanatory mechanisms and found that maternal PSE entry had positive long-term effects on household income, but income did not mediate effects on long-term child outcomes. Further, maternal PSE had no effects on the home learning environment, mothers' educational expectations for children, maternal presence at home, or family climate.
Microvascular diameter changes during local blood flow regulation: independence of changes in PO2.

The flow of blood to tissues is largely regulated by the contractile activity of the vascular smooth muscle of the arterioles and precapillary sphincters in the microcirculation. It has long been recognized that there is a feedback mechanism between tissue and vessel which modulates vascular smooth muscle contraction. One of many substances which has been proposed as a mediator of this regulation is oxygen (1,2). It is apparent that oxygen might be a regulator either via its action, if any, directly on the smooth muscle cells themselves or alternately by an indirect mechanism which initially alters parenchymal cell function. It is usually assumed that oxygen acting via an indirect mechanism causes altered release of a vasodilator metabolite which then reduces the contraction of the vascular smooth muscle (1,2).
Late Early Devonian (Late Emsian) eospiriferinid brachiopods from Shellabarger Pass, south-central Alaska, and their biogeographic importance; further evidence for a Siberian origin of the Farewell and allied Alaskan accreted terranes

Two eospiriferinid taxa,Myriospirifer n. sp. aff.M. myriofilaHavlicek 1978 andJanius cf.J. vetulus (Eichwald 1860), are described from an unnamed late Emsian (late Early Devonian) limestone unit in the Shellabarger Pass area, Talkeetna C-6 Quadrangle, south-central Alaska. These biogeographically distinctive species, along with other co-occurring brachiopod taxa such as the gypidulinid genusIvdelinia and the rhynchonellidSibirirhynchia alata (Khodalevich) indicate strong biogeographic affinities with Emsian faunas of Siberia (including Kolyma, Taimyr, and the Kuznetsk Basin) and the Urals. This Alaskan fauna is from the Farewell Terrane, an accreted terrane, which also shows strong Siberian affinities in the Middle Cambrian, Late Ordovician, Late Silurian-Lochkovian, early Emsian (late Early Devonian), and Permian time-intervals, suggesting that the Farewell Terrane is a continental margin sequence rifted away from the Siberian continent. Based on their close faunal ties with Siberia and with the Farewell Terrane, Siberian origins are also indicated for other major Alaskan terranes: the Alexander Terrane of southeastern Alaska, the Arctic Alaska Superterrane, and the York Terrane of northern Alaska. The only truly North American portion of Alaska is east-central Alaska (including the Nation Arch), bounded on the north by the Porcupine River and on the south by the Yukon River and Tintina Fault. Faunas from the latter area are nearly identical to those from miogeoclinal and cratonic strata of northwestern and Arctic Canada, and are very distinct from those present in the accreted terranes making up the greater portion of Alaska.
Through a Test Tube Darkly: Artificial Insemination and the Law

Although written forty-four years ago, this article provides a foundational analysis of the then-nascent beginnings of the legalization of artificial insemination from the judicial posture taken by the state of California to the legislative stance of Oklahoma. Analyzing the consequences of artificial insemination by a donor (A.I.D.) and by a woman’s husband (A.I.H.), the consequences of these procedures on family law — and especially illegitimacy — inheritance, and adultery, are studied and evaluated. In order to provide some degree of stability and predictability to this obviously contentious area within Law, Science, and Medicine, this article urges measured experimentation in genetics — with a goal as such to improve the overall quality of health in the population and, thus, minimize suffering and promote the public welfare by lowering the lifetime costs of health maintenance.
NSAID-induced injury of gastric epithelial cells is reversible: roles of mitochondria, AMP kinase, NGF, and PGE2

This study demonstrated that mitochondria are key targets of diclofenac- and indomethacin-induced injury of gastric epithelial cells and that diclofenac- and indomethacin- injury can be prevented a...
“It’s Like a Death Sentence but It Really Isn’t” What Patients and Families Want to Know About Hospice Care When Making End-of-Life Decisions:

Background:Hospice is underutilized, due to both lack of initiation from patients and late referral from clinicians. Prior research has suggested the reasons for underuse are multifactorial, includ...
A kinetic mechanism for enhanced selectivity of membrane transport

Membrane transport is generally thought to occur via an alternating access mechanism in which the transporter adopts at least two states, accessible from two different sides of the membrane to exchange substrates from the extracellular environment and the cytoplasm or from the cytoplasm and the intracellular matrix of the organelles (only in eukaryotes). In recent years, a number of high resolution structures have supported this general framework for a wide class of transport molecules, although additional states along the transport pathway are emerging as critically important. Given that substrate binding is often weak in order to enhance overall transport rates, there exists the distinct possibility that transporters may transport the incorrect substrate. This is certainly the case for many pharmaceutical compounds that are absorbed in the gut or cross the blood brain barrier through endogenous transporters. Docking studies on the bacterial sugar transporter vSGLT reveal that many highly toxic compounds are compatible with binding to the orthosteric site, further motivating the selective pressure for additional modes of selectivity. Motivated by recent work in which we observed failed substrate delivery in a molecular dynamics simulation where the energized ion still goes down its concentration gradient, we hypothesize that some transporters evolved to harness this 'slip' mechanism to increase substrate selectivity and reduce the uptake of toxic molecules. Here, we test this idea by constructing and exploring a kinetic transport model that includes a slip pathway. While slip reduces the overall productive flux, when coupled with a second toxic molecule that is more prone to slippage, the overall substrate selectivity dramatically increases, suppressing the accumulation of the incorrect compound. We show that the mathematical framework for increased substrate selectivity in our model is analogous to the classic proofreading mechanism originally proposed for tRNA synthase; however, because the transport cycle is reversible we identified conditions in which the selectivity is essentially infinite and incorrect substrates are exported from the cell in a 'detoxification' mode. The cellular consequences of proofreading and membrane slippage are discussed as well as the impact on future drug development.
Coalition Feature Interpretation and Attribution in Algorithmic Trading Models

The ability to correctly interpret a prediction model’s output is critically important in many problem spheres. Accurate interpretation generates user trust in the model, provides insight into how a model may be improved, and supports understanding of the process being modeled. Absence of this capability has constrained algorithmic trading from making use of more powerful predictive models, such as XGBoost and Random Forests. Recently, the adaptation of coalitional game theory has led to the development of consistent methods of determining feature importance for these models (SHAP).This study designs and tests a novel method of integrating the capabilities of SHAP into predictive models for algorithmic trading.