cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sexually and developmentally dimorphic grooming: A comparative survey of the ungulata

Grooming is effective in removing fitness-compromising ectoparasites, such as ticks. Tick-removal grooming is regulated both by a central control mechanism (programmed grooming model) and by cutaneous stimulation from tick bites (stimulus-driven model). The programmed grooming model predicts that organismic factors that impact the cost-benefit ratio of grooming (e.g., sex and body size) will influence the rate of grooming. The ‘vigilance principle’ predicts that breeding males of sexually dimorphic species will groom less than females to maintain high levels of vigilance for rival males and oestrus females. The intraspecific body size principle predicts that juveniles will engage in more frequent grooming than larger-bodied adults to compensate for the higher cost of tick infestation for smaller animals. To examine the generalizability of these predictions, we surveyed the grooming rate of 53 species/subspecies of ungulates (primarily Bovidae and Cervidae) in tick-free zoological parks in which stimulusdriven grooming was controlled for. Matched-pair analysis supported both predictions. Males delivered fewer oral grooming episodes per hour than females in 85% of sexually dimorphic species (n ¼ 40), but only 56% of monomorphic species (n ¼ 11) exhibited sexually dimorphic grooming, which was not different from random. Juvenile oral episodes per hour exceeded that of adult females in 74% of surveyed species (n ¼ 36). As predicted by the body size principle, the grooming rate of juveniles declined as juveniles grew larger and less vulnerable to tick infestation. In separate analyses of Bovidae and Cervidae to control for common ancestry, both families supported sexually dimorphic grooming, but developmentally dimorphic grooming was supported only for Bovidae. Our results indicate that sexually dimorphic grooming is widespread in the ungulate species surveyed, suggesting that programmed grooming evolved at least as early as the common ancestor to the Artiodactyla.
Early adversity and adult health outcomes

Adversity in childhood has effects on mental and physical health, not only in childhood but across the lifespan. A chief task of our research has been to define the pathways by which childhood experience has these surprising health outcomes, often decades later. The concept of allostatic load, which refers to dysregulations across major biological regulatory systems that have cumulative interacting adverse effects over time, provides a mechanism for understanding these relations and defining specific pathways. To chart these pathways, we examine early childhood socioeconomic status, family environment, and genetic predispositions as antecedents to socioemotional functioning/psychological distress; and neural responses to threat that have downstream effects on major stress regulatory systems, ultimately culminating in risks to mental and physical health outcomes. This integrative approach to investigating the impact of childhood experience on adult health outcomes illustrates the significance of multilevel integrative approaches to understanding developmental psychopathology more generally.
Raynaud phenomenon and the vascular disease in scleroderma.

Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is the most common feature of vascular disease in scleroderma. The diagnostic methods and mechanisms involved in the development of RP continue to be defined, and deficiency in the endothelial-dependent vasodilatory mechanism is suggested. Neuronal involvement in the pathogenesis of vasospasm is illustrated by a defective neuromediated vasodilatory mechanism in both spontaneous RP and vibration white-finger syndrome. The exact neuronal-related mechanism(s) is not known, but the development of scleroderma-like dermal changes following spinal cord injury suggests an important role for neuronal participation in the development of scleroderma. Mechanisms involved in endothelial injury are still not known, but the complement system may be involved, as suggested by the finding of decreased endothelial expression of the complement protective molecular system in scleroderma. Occurrence of vasculitis in the digital arteries in patients with digital ischemic lesions suggests that immune-mediated vascular injury occurs in the disease. The role of antiendothelial antibodies is questioned in view of the lack of endothelial specificity for the antibodies, but the association of anticentromere antibodies with vascular occlusion was confirmed. Therapeutic interventions stressing an individualized approach are recommended. Spinal cord stimulation and continued iloprost infusion are some of the newer proposed therapies for patients with difficult vascular complications.
Mn(II) Oxidation Is Catalyzed by Heme Peroxidases in “Aurantimonas manganoxydans” Strain SI85-9A1 and Erythrobacter sp. Strain SD-21

A new type of manganese-oxidizing enzyme has been identified in two alphaproteobacteria, “Aurantimonas manganoxydans” strain SI85-9A1 and Erythrobacter sp. strain SD-21. These proteins were identified by tandem mass spectrometry of manganese-oxidizing bands visualized by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in-gel activity assays and fast protein liquid chromatography-purified proteins. Proteins of both alphaproteobacteria contain animal heme peroxidase and hemolysin-type calcium binding domains, with the 350-kDa active Mn-oxidizing protein of A. manganoxydans containing stainable heme. The addition of both Ca2+ ions and H2O2 to the enriched protein from Aurantimonas increased manganese oxidation activity 5.9-fold, and the highest activity recorded was 700 μM min−1 mg−1. Mn(II) is oxidized to Mn(IV) via an Mn(III) intermediate, which is consistent with known manganese peroxidase activity in fungi. The Mn-oxidizing protein in Erythrobacter sp. strain SD-21 is 225 kDa and contains only one peroxidase domain with strong homology to the first 2,000 amino acids of the peroxidase protein from A. manganoxydans. The heme peroxidase has tentatively been named MopA (manganese-oxidizing peroxidase) and sheds new light on the molecular mechanism of Mn oxidation in prokaryotes.
Lost in transition: one radiology resident's transitional year at a hospital lost to the ages.

Admission to a radiology residency requires a year’s clinical experience: an internship. What made mine different from most is that mine was served in a hospital that was scheduled to close at the end of that year: St Vincent’s Medical Center in the West Village of Manhattan (Fig. 1). I began my intern year as all interns do: a novice who was careful yet anxious and slightly overwhelmed. Did my medical school education prepare me well enough to handle the responsibility? Were other interns also nervous about their new roles, or were they somehow more confident? I would be remiss to suggest that any of these sentiments, felt by every intern on that sweltering summer day in July 2009, were unique for my peers and me. I began on the ventilator service, a field to which I had little exposure as a medical student because of a
Soil adjusted vegetation water content retrievals in grasslands

Soil contamination of canopy reflectance over grasslands can cause errors in empirical vegetation water content (VWC) retrievals using the NDII (Normalized Difference Infrared Index, [ρ0.86-ρ1.64]/[ρ0.86+ρ1.64]). Minimization of soil contamination by NDII relies on the existence of a quasi straight soil line and quasi straight VWC isolines (lines of equal VWC) in the 1.64-0.86 µm reflectance space. Further the VWC isolines are expected to meet at the origin of the 1.64-0.86 µm reflectance space. Considering soil moisture as the primary determinant of soil reflectance variation at a given location, this study investigates the effect of soil moisture on the nature of soil lines and VWC isolines under grassland conditions. Reflectance simulations from coupled soil-leaf-canopy reflectance models under grassland conditions show that soil lines and VWC isolines are expected to be curved and may not converge at the origin. This behaviour is attributed to disproportionate soil moisture related absorption processes operating at 1.64 µm and 0.86 µm. A new technique that accounts for these inconsistencies in NDII assumptions is proposed for VWC retrievals. The technique consists of using separate regression relationships between VWC and a Soil Adjusted NDII (SANDII) based on the volumetric soil moisture category of the background. SANDII, based on the idea borrowed from the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) is an origin shifted transformation of NDII. The optimum origin that reduces VWC retrieval errors is shown to be soil moisture category specific. The proposed technique requires categorical soil moisture information in order to decide which regression relationship to apply for VWC retrievals. Climatology, meteorological models or microwave observations are expected to be reliable resources for such categorical soil moisture information. Evaluations of the proposed technique using simulated reflectances showed that absolute errors in VWC retrievals were reduced by an average 20% as compared to the traditional NDII regression method. Such improvements are expected to be significant for fire-risk applications. Finally supporting evidence for the need of an origin translated NDII is provided using data collected over pastures during the Soil Moisture Experiment 2003 (SMEX03) field campaign.
Pipelined test of SOC cores through test data transformations

Attaining parallelism among core tests is of crucial importance to the reduction of SOC test costs. In this paper, we propose an SOC test methodology that enhances SOC testapplication throughput with no increase in test pin requirements. In the proposed methodology,the test vector of a core is formed in its scan chain by transforming the response of the preceding core; logic gates inserted between the core scan cells transform the response ofthe preceding core into the core test vector. The consequent core tests can be thought of as being pipelined, thus reducing the time spent for the delivery of the test vectors into the scan cells of the cores being tested in parallel, and hence increasing the throughput of SOC test application. The proposed algorithmic framework identifies the cost-effective hardware that maps the responses of the preceding core onto a maximal number of core test vectors through the utilization of effiient test vector and scan cell reordering heuristics; the impact of these techniques is modeled, enabling their utilization along with the aforementioned transformation techniques. We furthermore investigate various scan chain configuration techniques to enhance the pipeline efficiency, thus minimizing the pipeline period and theSOC test time. The efficacy of the proposed methodology translates into enhanced parallelism in testing SOC cores.
Ribosomal Protein S14 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Regulates Its Expression by Binding to RPS14B Pre-mRNA and to 18S rRNA

Production of ribosomal protein S14 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is coordinated with the rate of ribosome assembly by a feedback mechanism that represses expression of RPS14B. Three-hybrid assays in vivo and filter binding assays in vitro demonstrate that rpS14 directly binds to an RNA stem-loop structure in RPS14B pre-mRNA that is necessary for RPS14B regulation. Moreover, rpS14 binds to a conserved helix in 18S rRNA with approximately five- to sixfold-greater affinity. These results support the model that RPS14B regulation is mediated by direct binding of rpS14 either to its pre-mRNA or to rRNA. Investigation of these interactions with the three-hybrid system reveals two regions of rpS14 that are involved in RNA recognition. D52G and E55G mutations in rpS14 alter the specificity of rpS14 for RNA, as indicated by increased affinity for RPS14B RNA but reduced affinity for the rRNA target. Deletion of the C terminus of rpS14, where multiple antibiotic resistance mutations map, prevents binding of rpS14 to RNA and production of functional 40S subunits. The emetine-resistant protein, rpS14-EmRR, which contains two mutations near the C terminus of rpS14, does not bind either RNA target in the three-hybrid or in vitro assays. This is the first direct demonstration that an antibiotic resistance mutation alters binding of an r protein to rRNA and is consistent with the hypothesis that antibiotic resistance mutations can result from local alterations in rRNA structure.
Solvent and Protein Effects on the Vibrational Frequency Shift and Energy Relaxation of the Azide Ligand in Carbonic Anhydrase

Combined QM/MM molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out to investigate the vibrational frequency shift for the azide antisymmetric stretch mode induced by aqueous solvation and by carbonic anhydrase II. In this work the oscillator and the enzyme active site is treated explicitly by quantum mechanics. Thus, the dynamical change of the potential energy surface of the oscillator can be adequately represented. We found that although the average geometry of the azide ion is symmetric in aqueous solution, the instantaneous solute−solvent interactions induce localization of the resonance structure having triple bond character, leading to a blue shift in the observed antisymmetric vibrational frequency in polar solvents. The computed frequency shift of azide ion from water to the active site of carbonic anhydrase is 56 cm-1, in good accord with the experimental value of 51 cm-1. Analyses of the computational results demonstrate that the origin of the protein-induced blue shift is due to a combination ...
Inferring Gene Regulatory Networks using Heterogeneous Microarray Data Sets

Inferring Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs) is critical in describing the intrinsic relationship between genes in the course of evolution and discovering group behaviors of a certain set of genes. Recent development on high-throughput technique, microarray, provides researchers a chance to monitor the expression patterns of thousands of genes simultaneously. While increasing amount of microarray data sets are becoming available online, the integration of multiple microarray data sets from various data sources (e.g. different tissues, species, and conditions) for GRNs inference becomes very important in order to achieve more accurate and reliable GRNs modeling. This paper will review recent developments on integrating multiple microarray data sets and propose a new method to infer GRNs using multiple microarray data sets.
Central memory T cells mediate long-term immunity to Leishmania major in the absence of persistent parasites

Infection with Leishmania major induces a protective immune response and long-term resistance to reinfection, which is thought to depend upon persistent parasites. Here we demonstrate that although effector CD4(+) T cells are lost in the absence of parasites, central memory CD4(+) T cells are maintained. Upon secondary infection, these central memory T cells become tissue-homing effector T cells and mediate protection. Thus, immunity to L. major is mediated by at least two distinct populations of CD4(+) T cells: short-lived pathogen-dependent effector cells and long-lived pathogen-independent central memory cells. These data suggest that central memory T cells should be the targets for nonlive vaccines against infectious diseases requiring cell-mediated immunity.
Choice of dielectrics for TFEL displays

The commonly used dielectrics, Y 2 O 3 , Al 2 O 3 , Si 3 N 4 , and Ta 2 O 5 , were evaluated for use in ac thin-film electroluminescent displays, along with a composite dielectric SiAlON. Adhesion, stress cracking, charge storage capacity, and display brightness and efficiency were studied for devices with ZnS: Mn layers fabricated under identical conditions. A combination of SiAlON and Ta 2 O 5 appears to be optimum as a double-layer dielectric system for ACTFEL displays.
Infant Attention Grows Up: The Emergence of a Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective

Visual attention has long been regarded as a tool for studying the development of basic cognitive skills in infancy and early childhood. However, over the past decade, the development of attention in early life has emerged as an important topic of research in its own right. This essay describes recent changes in the methods used to study attention in infancy, and in the nature of inferences about the early development of attention, as both research and theory in the area have become progressively integrated with models of attention from cognitive science and neuroscience.
Edge disjoint Hamiltonian cycles in k-ary n-cubes and hypercubes

Solutions for decomposing a higher dimensional torus to edge disjoint lower dimensional tori, in particular, edge disjoint Hamiltonian cycles are obtained based on the coding theory approach. First, Lee distance Gray codes in Z/sub k//sup n/ are presented and then it is shown how these codes can directly be used to generate edge disjoint Hamiltonian cycles in k-ary n-cubes. Further, some new classes of binary Gray codes are designed from these Lee distance Gray codes and, using these new classes of binary Gray codes, edge disjoint Hamiltonian cycles in hypercubes are generated.
Interparticle and Particle-Surface Gas Dynamic Interactions

The problems of the gas dynamic interactions of two spherical particles and a single spherical particle with a plane wall are reviewed here. The resistance and mobility functions that describe the relationship between the forces and torques acting on the spheres with their translational and angular velocities are summarized for continuum and near-continuum (small Knudsen number) flows. For intermediate and large Knudsen number (free-molecule) flows, these functions are only known in their asymptotic limit of infinitely large interparticle or particle-wall separation distances (isolated particles). Potentially useful analytical and computational methods to treat these regimes are also reviewed.
Identification of a Guanylyl Cyclase-Activating Protein-Binding Site within the Catalytic Domain of Retinal Guanylyl Cyclase1 †

Regulation of cAMP and cGMP production is a fundamental step in a broad range of signal transduction systems, including phototransduction. To identify regions within photoreceptor guanylyl cyclase 1 (GC1) that interact with GC-activating proteins (GCAPs), we synthesized the intracellular fragment of GC1, residues 491-1110, as a set of 15 amino acid long, partially overlapping peptides on the surface of individual pins arranged in a microtiter plate format. This pin assay identified 8 peptides derived from different regions of the GC1 intracellular domain that bind GCAPs. Peptide variants containing these sequences were synthesized as free peptides and tested for their ability to inhibit GC1 stimulation by GCAPs. A free peptide,968GTFRMRHMPEVPVRIRIG, from the catalytic domain of GC1 was the strongest inhibitor of GCAP1/GCAP2-mediated activation. In native GC1, this polypeptide fragment is likely to form a loop between alpha-helix 3 and beta-strand 4. When this region in GC1 was replaced by the corresponding sequence of GCAP-insensitive GC type A, GCAPs did not stimulate the GC1 mutant. The corresponding loops in related adenylyl cyclase (AC) are involved in the activating and inhibiting interactions with Gs alpha and Gi alpha, respectively. Thus, despite interacting with different activating proteins, both AC and GC activity may be modulated through their respective regions within catalytic domains.
Tests of Benefits of Insuring the Poor

Governments are facing problems associated with rising medical costs. In major economies, an aging population is driving up the demand for medical care while in emerging economies the emergence of new diseases is doing the same while all countries face the problem of higher costs due to more expensive drug or other therapies. The kinds of problems facing governments often deal with the issue of more or less reliance on markets to provide health care to the poor. Some information can be gained from looking at various health care systems in the fifty states of the United States. These states each have economies equivalent to the economies of small, medium, and large countries. For example Vermont and Syria have economies of about the same size as do Missouri and Turkey and California and France. Perhaps information gained from examining health system choices in the various states will offer insights into similar problems faced by countries in the world. The point of this work is: if measurable economic benefits exist from insuring the poor then that is the argument for government intervention. However if there do not appear to any measurable economic benefits to citizens in general from insuring the poor, then the intervention appeal must be made on altruistic grounds. The fifty US states each determine the extent to which health insurance is provided to poor persons inside their state. The US federal government subsidizes this program. Richer states receive 50% of the amount spent on this program from the federal government while poorer states receive 85%. Yet in most states persons with incomes lower than the poverty level of income still do not have health insurance. This paper will consider economic benefits to taxpayers that result from providing health insurance to poor persons. Private insurance premium should be higher in states with more uninsured persons because health care is provided to poor persons and budgets must be balanced. Given the current coverage rates for treatment costs, those with private insurance are left paying 128% of their own costs. We will test if insurance rates by state reflect the degree to which the state has uninsured persons or reflects the degree to which Medicaid covers poor persons. A second set of possible benefit of providing health insurance to poor persons relates to hospital costs and length of hospital stays. At issue is whether hospital costs and hospital stays on average relate either to the per cent in a state without health insurance or to the per cent covered by the Medicaid program. All data needed to perform these tests are publicly available through the following sources: US Census Bureau, American Hospital Association, and StateHealthFacts.org. Some have criticized ecological studies because of a lack of controls. Gender, age distribution, ethnicity, educational attainment, house ownership, per cent with poverty.
Class Discovery via Bimodal Feature Selection in Unsupervised Settings

In machine learning there are numerous supervised techniques that extend naturally to analogous unsupervised methods, such as clustering. In this paper, we consider so-called rare-weak models, in which the number of important features is small (or rare) and the signal strength of each important feature is minimal (or weak). When classical clustering is applied crudely in "big data" scenarios, significant problems can arise, including long computational run times and significant clustering errors. One solution is to use feature selection (FS) to reduce dataset dimensionality before clustering. We introduce two novel unsupervised feature selection methods, one parametric and one nonparametric, based on what we call bimodal feature selection. These methods produce ranked lists of features based on their univariate multi-modality. Unlike previously developed univariate FS methods, which have typically been restricted to 2-cluster scenarios, our method has been adapted and tested to discriminate binary and higher level clusterings. The method is particularly advantageous in rare-weak settings, since reducing data dimensionality allows classical clustering methods to be applied computationally faster and with greater accuracy.
Mid-Atlantic Power Corporation (A2)

This case explores the strategic options that open up in an industry under conditions of deregulation. A traditional electric utility, Cavalier Electric is uncertain of its strategic course in a new, more competitive business environment.
Penciclovir-resistance mutations in the herpes simplex virus DNA polymerase gene

Summary Penciclovir is the active form of the orally available prodrug famciclovir, which is entering clinical use for herpesvirus infections. Like aciclovir, penciclovir is an acyclic guanosine analogue that is phosphorylated by viral thymidine kinase and whose triphosphate can inhibit viral DNA polymerase. We tested several well-characterized herpes simplex virus mutants with aciclovir-resistance mutations in the viral DNA poly­ merase gene for altered sensitivity to penciclovir. The mutants varied in their susceptibilities to penciclovir with one exhibiting 2-fold hypersensitivity, one marginal resistance and three about 3-fold resis­ tance. Marker rescue and DNA sequencing analyses mapped the penciclovir-resistance mutation of one mutant, AraA r7, to a single base change that alters a glycine to a cysteine at residue 841 within conserved region III of a-like DNA polymerases. The results have implications for the mechanism of selective action of penciclovir, for the potential for development of resis­ tance in the clinic, and for the substrate recognition properties of herpes simplex virus DNA polymerase.
Risk Factors for 30-Day Unplanned Readmission and Major Perioperative Complications After Spine Fusion Surgery in Adults: A Review of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Database.

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective review of a prospective cohort. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to determine the patient characteristics and surgical procedure factors related to increased rates of 30-day unplanned readmission and major perioperative complications after spinal fusion surgery, and the association between unplanned readmission and major complications. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Reducing unplanned readmissions can reduce the cost of healthcare. Payers are implementing penalties for 30-day readmissions after discharge. There is limited data regarding the current rates and risk factors for unplanned readmission and major complications related to spinal fusion surgery. METHODS Spine fusion patients were identified using the 2012 and 2013 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Participant User File. Rates of readmissions within 30 days after spine fusion surgery were calculated using the person-years method. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the independent associations of spine surgical procedure types, diagnoses, patient profiles, and major perioperative complications with unplanned related readmissions. Independent risk factors for major complications were assessed by multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS Of the 18,602 identified patients, there was a 5.2% overall major perioperative complication rate. There was a rate of 4.4% per 30 person-days for unplanned readmissions related to index surgery. Independent risk factors for both readmissions and major perioperative complications included combined anterior and posterior surgery, diagnosis of solitary tumor, older age, and higher American Society of Anesthesiologists class. Patients with deep/organ surgical site infection carried higher risk of having unplanned readmission, followed by pulmonary embolism, acute renal failure, and stroke/cerebral vascular accident with neurological deficit. CONCLUSION This study provides benchmark rates of 30-day readmission based on diagnosis and procedure codes from a high-quality database for adult spinal fusion patients and showed increased rates of 30-day unplanned readmission and major perioperative complications for patients with specific risk factors. Targeted preoperative planning on modifiable risk factors with proportional reimbursement may promote higher-quality healthcare. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3.
High-Order Methods for Three-Dimensional Strand-Cartesian Grids

The flux correction method combines unstructured flux correction along body surfaces and high-order finite differences normal to surfaces. This paper builds on previous twodimensional developments of the flux correction method and extends it to three-dimensional laminar and turbulent flow on strand grids. The development of flux correction scheme applied to three-dimensions is presented. Where turbulence modeling is required, a robust version of the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model is employed that accommodates negative values of the turbulence working variable. A unique parallel communication strategy for high-order strand grid topologies is presented which eliminates the need for “fringe” nodes or cells in each partitioned block. A semi-implicit multigrid solution algorithm is described that allows for several advantageous solution techniques to be combined for optimal efficiency in terms of memory and computation time. Fundamental verification studies are conducted, which show the flux correction method achieves high-order accuracy for both laminar and turbulent flows. A three-dimensional steady-state study of a sphere is conducted over a range of laminar Reynolds numbers. The flux correction method accurately predicts the centers and length of recirculation vortices for each Reynolds number examined, and shows excellent comparison to experimental data. The three-dimensional unsteady capabilities of flux correction are displayed through a qualitative study of vortex shedding from a sphere.
Associations between patellofemoral joint cartilage T1ρ and T2 and knee flexion moment and impulse during gait in individuals with and without patellofemoral joint osteoarthritis.

Summary Objective This study aimed to investigate the associations between patellofemoral cartilage T 1ρ and T 2 relaxation times and knee flexion moment (KFM) and KFM impulse during gait. Method Knee magnetic resonance (MR) images were obtained from 99 subjects with and without patellofemoral joint (PFJ) osteoarthritis (OA), using fast spin-echo, T 1ρ and T 2 relaxation time sequences. Patellar and trochlear cartilage relaxation times were computed for the whole cartilage, and superficial and deep layers (laminar analysis). Subjects also underwent three-dimensional (3D) gait analysis. Peak KFM and KFM impulse were calculated during the stance phase. Linear regressions were used to examine whether cartilage relaxation times were associated with knee kinetics during walking while adjusting age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and walking speed. Results Higher peak KFM and KFM impulse were significantly related to higher T 1ρ and T 2 relaxation times of the trochlear and patellar cartilage, with standardized regression coefficients ranging from 0.21 to 0.28. Laminar analysis showed that overall the superficial layer of patellofemoral cartilage showed stronger associations with knee kinetics. Subgroup analysis revealed that in subjects with PFJ OA, every standard deviation change in knee kinetics was related to greater increases in PFJ cartilage T 1ρ and T 2 (standardized coefficients: 0.29 to 0.41). Conversely, in subjects without OA, weaker relationships were observed between knee kinetics and PFJ cartilage T 1ρ and T 2 . Conclusions Our findings suggest that increased peak KFM and KFM impulse were related to worse cartilage health at the PFJ. This association is more prominent in superficial layer cartilage and cartilage with morphological lesions.
Cost utility analysis of fixed‐dose and free‐dose combinations of oral medications in type 2 diabetes patients

Objectives Fixed-dose combinations (FXD), medications with more than one active drug ingredient in them, have been a strategy to enhance adherence, but their costs have not been determined, nor have they been compared to the free-dose combinations (FRC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of FXD versus the FRC of oral medications among type 2 diabetes patients. Methods The study was done from a third-party payer perspective using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The sample was divided into two cohorts, FXD group, which includes patients taking only FXD medication, and FRC group, which includes patients not taking any FXD medication and only taking their individual component drugs. The costs include only direct costs, and the effectiveness was measured in QALYs (Quality Adjusted Life Years) using the utility score from Short Form-6D. To control for selection bias, a propensity score matching technique was performed. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the impact of different assumptions on the results. Key findings On matching, 93 patients were included in the FXD and FRC groups. The mean annual cost for the FXD group was $6016.65, and the cost was $6919.58 for the FRC group. The mean utility gained using FXD over FRC was 0.04. The base case analysis shows that the costs of FXD are lower and there is a gain in QALY over FRC, so FXDs are a better choice than FRC. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that FXD exceeded FRC for all willingness to pay (WTP) values. Conclusion Although the cost-effectiveness of a single pill strategy was within the acceptable WTP threshold, the QALY difference was minimal. Further research is recommended in this area to look into the long-term impact in terms of the quality of life of patients using these drugs.
L‐type Ca2+ channels in mood, cognition and addiction: integrating human and rodent studies with a focus on behavioural endophenotypes

Brain Cav 1.2 and Cav 1.3 L-type Ca2+ channels play key physiological roles in various neuronal processes that contribute to brain function. Genetic studies have recently identified CACNA1C as a candidate risk gene for bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia (SCZ), major depressive disorder (MDD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and CACNA1D for BD and ASD, suggesting a contribution of Cav 1.2 and Cav 1.3 Ca2+ signalling to the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. Once considered sole clinical entities, it is now clear that BD, SCZ, MDD and ASD share common phenotypic features, most likely due to overlapping neurocircuitry and common molecular mechanisms. A major future challenge lies in translating the human genetic findings to pathological mechanisms that are translatable back to the patient. One approach for tackling such a daunting scientific endeavour for complex behaviour-based neuropsychiatric disorders is to examine intermediate biological phenotypes in the context of endophenotypes within distinct behavioural domains. This will better allow us to integrate findings from genes to behaviour across species, and improve the chances of translating preclinical findings to clinical practice.
Organ culture of rabbit small intestine: prolonged in vitro steady state protein synthesis and secretion and secretory IgA secretion.

When organ culture techniques were applied, biopsies of rabbit jejunal mucosa were cultured for 24 hr with maintenance of mucosal architecture. Moreover, villous epithelial cells and most lamina propria lymphoid cells were structurally normal although crypt epithelial cells often showed focal degeneration after 24 hr. Incorporation of radiolabeled leucine and glucosamine into protein and glycoprotein was linear with time. After 3 to 6 hr of incubation, radiolabeled protein was secreted steadily into the culture medium during the subsequent 12 to 24 hr. De novo protein synthesis and secretion were inhibited by cycloheximide. Biopsies cultured in 14C-labeled leucine secreted intact radiolabeled secretory IgA into the culture medium. Secretory IgA-14C was purified from concentrated medium by sequential column chromatography. This material uniformly gave a single radioactive precipitin arc by immunodiffusion and Immunoelectrophoresis with specific antibodies against rabbit secretory IgA, secretory component, or α chain. Thus, when maintained in organ culture, biopsies of rabbit jejunal mucosa synthesize and secrete protein under steady state conditions for 24 hr and secrete intact newly synthesized secretory IgA into the culture medium. Organ culture offers considerable advantage over all previously described intestinal preparations since in vitro synthesis and secretion of macromolecules by intestinal mucosa can be studied for significantly longer periods.
Safety and efficacy of a high-performance graphene-based magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent for renal abnormalities

The etiology of renal insufficiency includes primary (e.g polycystic kidney disease) or secondary (e.g. contrast media, diabetes) causes. The regulatory restrictions placed on the use of contrast agents (CAs) for non-invasive imaging modalities such as X-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) affects the clinical management of these patients. With the goal to develop a next-generation CA for unfettered use for renal MRI, here we report, in a rodent model of chronic kidney disease, the preclinical safety and efficacy of a novel nanoparticle CA comprising of manganese (Mn2+) ions intercalated graphene coated with dextran (hereafter called Mangradex). Nephrectomized rats received single or 5 times/week repeat (2 or 4 weeks) intravenous (IV) injections of Mangradex at two potential (low = 5 mg/kg, and high = 50 mg/kg) therapeutic doses. Histopathology results indicate that Mangradex does not elicit nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF)-like indicators or questionable effects on vital organs of rodents. MRI at 7 Tesla magnetic field was performed on these rats immediately after IV injections of Mangradex at one potential therapeutic dose (25 mg/kg, [Mn2+] = 60 nmoles/kg) for 90 minutes. The results indicated significant (>100%) and sustained contrast enhancement in the kidney and renal artery at these low paramagnetic ion (Mn2+) concentration; 2 orders of magnitude lower than the paramagnetic ion concentration in a typical clinical dose of long circulating Gd3+-based MRI CA gadofosveset trisodium. The results open avenues for further development of Mangradex as a MRI CA to diagnose and monitor abnormalities in renal anatomy and vasculature.
Stealthy Attacks in Dynamical Systems: Tradeoffs Between Utility and Detectability With Application in Anonymous Systems

Cyber physical systems which integrate physical system dynamics with digital cyber infrastructure are envisioned to transform our core infrastructural frameworks, such as the smart electricity grid, transportation networks, and advanced manufacturing. This integration, however, exposes the physical system functioning to the security vulnerabilities of cyber communication. Both scientific studies and real-world examples have demonstrated the impact of data injection attacks on complex systems, including the Internet, the smart electricity grid, and air traffic systems. In this paper, an abstract theoretical framework is proposed to study data injection/modification attacks on Markov modeled dynamical systems from the perspective of an adversary. Typical data injection attacks focus on one shot attacks by adversary and the non-detectability of such attacks under static assumptions. In this paper, we study dynamic data injection attacks where the adversary is capable of modifying a temporal sequence of data and the physical controller is equipped with prior statistical knowledge about the data arrival process to detect the presence of an adversary. The goal of the adversary is to modify the arrivals to minimize a utility function of the controller while minimizing the detectability of his presence as measured by the K–L divergence between the prior and posterior distribution of the arriving data. The tradeoff between these two metrics—controller utility and the detectability cost—is studied analytically for different underlying dynamics. The proposed framework is then applied to a practical problem in data networks where a router tries to hide the path of traffic flow from timing analysis by an active adversary who can modify the timing of an incoming packet stream. This problem is studied from the adversary perspective wherein the goal is to balance two costs—the adversary’s detectability cost measured by the K–L divergence and the network privacy cost measured by the maximum length of the packet stream whose paths can be hidden by a memory limited router.
Risk Factors of 131I-Induced Salivary Gland Damage in Thyroid Cancer Patients.

Context: Sialadenitis and xerostomia are major adverse effects of 131I therapy in thyroid cancer patients. The risk factors for these adverse effects, other than administered activity of 131I, have not been investigated. Objective: The aim of this study is to identify risk factors for 131I-induced salivary gland damage among follicular cell-derived thyroid cancer patients. Design: We enrolled 216 thyroid cancer patients who visited The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center between April 2013 and April 2014. Symptoms of xerostomia and sialadenitis were identified via questionnaire and medical record search. To validate the findings in a large cohort, we retrospectively searched for ICD-9/10 codes for sialadenitis, xerostomia, and autoimmune disease associated with Sjogren's syndrome (AID-SS) in our existing database (n = 1507). Demographic and clinical information was extracted from medical records. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors for salivary gland damage. Res...
Effects of Stable Degradation Products of Curcumin on Cancer Cell Proliferation and Inflammation

Curcumin is among the most promising dietary compounds for cancer prevention. However, curcumin rapidly degrades in aqueous buffer at physiological pH, making it difficult to understand whether the effects of curcumin are from curcumin itself or its degradation products. Here we studied the antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin degradation products, including its total degradation products (a mixture containing all stable degradation products of curcumin) and bicyclopentadione (a dominant stable degradation compound of curcumin). Curcumin potently modulated cell proliferation, progression of cell cycle, and apoptosis in MC38 colon cancer cells and inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses and NF-κB signaling in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. In contrast, neither the total degradation products of curcumin nor bicyclopentadione had such effects. For example, after 24 h of treatment in MC38 colon cancer cells, 5 μg/mL curcumin inhibited 39.2 ± 1.8% of cell prolifera...
A New Scheme to Maintain Routes in Entry-to-Exit Routing Strategy

ABSTRACT Problems of maintaining routing information in entry-to-exit routing strategies are discussed and a new scheme is introduced. In the new scheme, the routing tables at each node are organized coherently so that a small cost to maintain routes can be achieved and the update of routing tables does not disrupt the network operation. The new scheme, which is part of a new network control architecture under study, can also be used in various existing architectures such as IBM's SNA.
Stochastic radio interferometric positioning with unsynchronized modulated signals in wireless sensor networks

Sensor localization problem is one of the fundamental issues in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). In this paper, we investigate this problem and present an innovative Radio Interferometric Positioning System (RIPS) for WSN — Stochastic Radio Interferometric Positioning System with Unsynchronized Modulated Signals (SRIPS_UMS). To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to utilize unsynchronized modulated signals for radio interferometric positioning and demonstrate its viability in theory. Although previous radio interferometric positioning methods provide centimeter accuracy, they are still not widely adopted due to (1) strict hardware requirements for Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) circuitry (2) time synchronization problem between distributed hardware. SRIPS_UMS overcomes these limitations by using unsynchronized modulated signals. Its viability and advantages are demonstrated through mathematical models and simulations. Extensive simulations based on radio chip CC2420 demonstrate that SRIPS_UMS is an efficient positioning system for outdoor WSN.
Understanding shoplifting of fast-moving consumer goods: an application of the CRAVED model

This study examines the variation in theft of shoplifted fast-moving consumer goods. Typically, shoplifting is estimated using shrinkage—a composite of several causes of lost retail merchandise. This study, however, benefits from access to a retailer’s database, in which extraordinary steps are taken to identify and record losses due to shoplifting only. This study is unique because of the more valid measure of shoplifting. A 1-year cross-sectional sample of 7468 products, sold in 204 U.S. chain supermarkets, was drawn from the retailer’s specialized database. Using Clarke’s (Hot products: understanding, anticipating, and reducing demand for stolen goods. Policing and Reducing Crime Unit, Paper 112, Home Office, London, 1999) CRAVED model of theft, products’ theft rates were correlated to the attributes consistent with the most vulnerable targets of theft. The results show that theft rates of products were significantly correlated to the measures for CRAVED. Regression analysis indicated that the measures for CRAVED were significant predictors of theft. Specifically, products were stolen more often when they were more Concealable, less Available, more Valuable, Enjoyable, and more Disposable. The most frequently stolen types of products were several types of cosmetics—primarily small but expensive products (e.g., eye, nail, lip products). Additionally, electronics, toys, and games had high theft rates. Implications for retailers, manufacturers, and governments are discussed. Suggestions for further research are also considered.
Teaching the importance of developing the therapeutic relationship.

This chapter addresses why and how to teach students the importance of developing the therapeutic relationship (TR), acknowledged as the variable that most impacts the outcome of therapy, regardless of therapeutic approach, population, or setting. It covers the history and background of the development of the concept of TR in general psychotherapy, mental health nursing, and addiction treatment. The chapter examines the critical components of TR (namely, tasks, goals, and bonds, but also communication, goal consensus, collaboration, and clinician self-awareness), evidence-based practice showing the effectiveness of TR in achieving positive outcomes, and issues related to cultural competence in developing an effective TR. It discusses the importance of knowing the difference between TR and a personal relationship and not crossing that boundary, practical skills related to developing TR during different stages of therapy (including reflective listening, being flexible, confident, trustworthy, using humor, and demonstrating expertise, empathy, and similarity of values as appropriate during different stages of treatment), addressing any problems which arise and repairing inevitable ruptures in the alliance, and tools to measure and assess the effectiveness of TR on client outcomes. The chapter concludes with a review of various approaches to teaching the importance of developing TR in clinical and classroom settings, as well as the skills needed to develop TR with a range of clients; implications for future practice, research, and education; and how organizations can support patients and therapists in developing TR.