cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Targeted Lipidomic and Transcriptomic Analysis Identifies Dysregulated Renal Ceramide Metabolism in a Mouse Model of Diabetic Kidney Disease

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are associated with altered lipid metabolism, which might in part contribute to debilitating complications such as diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Ceramides are bioactive sphingolipids that have been implicated in a variety of diseases as they can regulate cellular responses to stress and invoke a myriad of downstream signaling responses. To investigate a potential role of altered ceramide metabolism in DKD, we utilized a highly sensitive and specific mass spectrometry (MS) method to quantitatively measure individual ceramide species in plasma and kidney cortex from the C57BLKS db/db mouse model of DKD and littermate controls. Longchain ceramides (C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C20:0) and a glucosylceramide (Glu-Cer C18:0) were increased in diabetic mouse plasma, while long-chain (C14:0, C16:0, C18:0) and very-long-chain (C24:0, C24:1) ceramides and a glucosylceramide (Glu-Cer C16:0) were decreased in diabetic mouse kidney tissue. Kidney and plasma ceramide levels correlated to functional and histopathological features of DKD. Transcriptomic analysis of mouse kidney tissue revealed expression changes indicative of decreased ceramide synthesis (Degs2, Smpd2) and increased conversion to sphingosine (Acer2) and downstream sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling. Correlation analysis identified a negative relationship between plasma and kidney tissue levels of ceramide C16:0 and ceramide C24:1. Overall, the findings suggest a previously unrecognized role for ceramide metabolism in DKD.
Reed-Sternberg cells in the peripheral blood; report of case of Hodgkin's disease.

A case of Hodgkin’s disease is presented, in which Reed-Sternberg cells were observed in the peripheral blood.
Enamel Hypoplasias in Permanent Teeth from Yellow Jacket Sites 5MT-1 and 5MT-3, Southwestern Colorado

Childhood stress is examined in a prehistoric population from the American Southwest, using dental enamel hypoplasias as indicators of nutrition and disease status. The hypoplasia sample consists of permanent anterior teeth from 43 individuals excavated from habitation sites 5MT-1 and 5MT-3 at Yellow Jacket, southwestern Colorado. Although most defects are mild, the prevalence of hypoplasias in the sample is high, involving 97.7 percent of the individuals and 71.7 percent of the teeth. Upper central incisors from the Pueblo II period at Yellow Jacket (A.D. 900 to 1100) have significantly higher hypoplasia frequencies (P < 0.05) than those from the Pueblo III period (A.D. 1100 to about 1250). The increased frequency of hypoplasias during the Pueblo II period appears to be associated with climatic changes that may have resulted in unreliable crop production, extended periods of food shortage, and widespread chronic nutritional stress.
Phoneme classification using naive Bayes classifier in reconstructed phase space

A novel method for classifying speech phonemes is presented. Unlike traditional cepstral based methods, this approach uses histograms of reconstructed phase spaces. A naive Bayes classifier uses the probability mass estimates for classification. The approach is verified using isolated fricative, vowel, and nasal phonemes from the TIMIT corpus. The results show that a reconstructed phase space approach is a viable method for classification of phonemes, with the potential for use in a continuous speech recognition system.
Ligand-Enabled meta-Selective C–H Arylation of Nosyl-Protected Phenethylamines, Benzylamines, and 2-Aryl Anilines

A Pd-catalyzed, meta-selective C–H arylation of nosyl-protected phenethylamines and benzylamines is disclosed using a combination of norbornene and pyridine-based ligands. Subjecting nosyl protected 2-aryl anilines to this protocol led to meta-C–H arylation at the remote aryl ring. A diverse range of aryl iodides are tolerated in this reaction, along with select heteroaryl iodides. Select aryl bromides bearing ortho-coordinating groups can also be utilized as effective coupling partners in this reaction. The use of pyridine ligands has allowed the palladium loading to be reduced to 2.5 mol %. Furthermore, a catalytic amount of 2-norbornene (20 mol %) to mediate this meta-C–H activation process is demonstrated for the first time. Utilization of a common protecting group as the directing group for meta-C–H activation of amines is an important feature of this reaction in terms of practical applications.
Assessing a traditional case-based application exercise and a student question creation exercise on student performance and perceptions

Abstract Background and purpose To compare the impact of a traditional case-based application exercise with a student question creation exercise on a) student exam performance, b) student perceptions of enjoyment, competence, understanding, effort, interest in continuing participation, and interest in the subject. Educational activity and setting Subjects were 84 second-year pharmacy students in a pharmacotherapy course. The research focus was active learning involving the topic of chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder. Student teams were randomly assigned to either case-based or student question creation exercises using PeerWise. Student performance was assessed by a pre- and posttest and on block and final exams. After completion, an online survey assessed student perceptions of both exercises. Findings Statistically significant differences were revealed in favor of the student question creation group on enjoyment and interest in the subject matter. No statistically differences were found between the traditional case-based group and the student question creation group on gain score from pre-test to posttest. The student question creation group performed slightly better than the case-based application group on two of the five questions on the block exam but none of these differences reached statistical significance. Discussion and conclusions Students randomly assigned to groups that created and reviewed questions exhibited slightly improved summative exam performance and reported significantly more positive perceptions than students engaging in a more traditional case-based learning activity. Student question creation has demonstrated potential as a useful learning activity. Despite inherent difficulties in designing studies involving educational research in a controlled environment, students who have submitted, created, rated, and answered peers’ questions have overall performed well.
Healthy and Unhealthy Food Prices across Neighborhoods and Their Association with Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Proportion Black/Hispanic

This paper evaluates variation in food prices within and between neighborhoods to improve our understanding of access to healthy foods in urbanized areas and potential economic incentives and barriers to consuming a higher-quality diet. Prices of a selection of healthier foods (dairy, fruit juice, and frozen vegetables) and unhealthy foods (soda, sweets, and salty snacks) were obtained from 1953 supermarkets across the USA during 2009-2012 and were linked to census block group socio-demographics. Analyses evaluated associations between neighborhood SES and proportion Black/Hispanic and the prices of healthier and unhealthy foods, and the relative price of healthier foods compared with unhealthy foods (healthy-to-unhealthy price ratio). Linear hierarchical regression models were used to explore geospatial variation and adjust for confounders. Overall, the price of healthier foods was nearly twice as high as the price of unhealthy foods ($0.590 vs $0.298 per serving; healthy-to-unhealthy price ratio of 1.99). This trend was consistent across all neighborhood characteristics. After adjusting for covariates, no association was found between food prices (healthy, unhealthy, or the healthy-to-unhealthy ratio) and neighborhood SES. Similarly, there was no association between the proportion Black/Hispanic and healthier food price, a very small positive association with unhealthy price, and a modest negative association with the healthy-to-unhealthy ratio. No major differences were seen in food prices across levels of neighborhood SES and proportion Black/Hispanic; however, the price of healthier food was twice as expensive as unhealthy food per serving on average.
An Automatic Measure of Cross-Language Text Structures

In order to further validate and extend the application of GIKS (Graphical Interface of Knowledge Structure) beyond English, this investigation applies the GIKS to capture, visually represent, and compare text structures inherent in two “contrasting” languages. The English and parallel Korean versions of 50 expository and 50 narrative texts from Newsweek, Popular Science and Vogue magazines were converted into Pathfinder network graphs for analysis, based on key concepts and their relative proximity relationships in the texts. Results indicate that the novel text structures obtained by this approach reveal unique, useful, and interesting linguistic differences for the English and Korean texts, confirming prior linguistic literature (Sohn 2001). Particularly, the analyses show that the expository text structures are somewhat similar between these two languages while the narrative text structures are quite different. These findings demonstrate the utility of the GIKS for representing the nature of texts as manifested in different languages. If further confirmed in other languages, this computer-based approach could offer a new way for students and instructors to interact with lesson texts by providing a visual representation of text structure, regardless of language.
Poisson Disk Sampling on the Grassmannnian: Applications in Subspace Optimization

To develop accurate inference algorithms on embedded manifolds such as the Grassmannian, we often employ several optimization tools and incorporate the characteristics of known manifolds as additional constraints. However, a direct analysis of the nature of functions on manifolds is rarely performed. In this paper, we propose an alternative approach to this inference by adopting a statistical pipeline that first generates an initial sampling of the manifold, and then performs subsequent analysis based on these samples. First, we introduce a better sampling technique based on dart throwing (called the Poisson disk sampling (PDS)) to effectively sample the Grassmannian. Next, using Grassmannian sparse coding, we demonstrate the improved coverage achieved by PDS. Finally, we develop a consensus approach, with Grassmann samples, to infer the optimal embeddings for linear dimensionality reduction, and show that the resulting solutions are nearly optimal.
Abstract 4790: Let-7 mediates sulindac inhibition of tumor cell transformation

Cell transformation is the process in which normal cells acquire the properties of cancer. Sulindac Sulfide (SS) is one of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and its anticancer activity in prevention of tumor occurrence and progression has been documented in various human cancers. In this study, we observed the anti-transformative activity of SS in NIH/3T3 cells by using a two-stage transformation assay induced by the carcinogens, 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA) and 2-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in which foci formation is used to characterize the transformed cells. We found that SS could inhibit foci formation by attenuation of TPA’s promotive effect. K-Ras was upregulated in the transformed cells, while SS treatment could selectively inhibit the growth of transformed cell in which K-Ras was suppressed significantly. Loss-of-function study demonstrated that knockdown of K-Ras in NIH/3T3 cells could significantly reduce foci formation, which support that K-Ras might be one of the key targets involved in SS inhibiting tumor cell transformation. When studying the mechanism by which SS regulates K-Ras, we triggered tumor suppressor miRNA, let-7b, which was previously reported to target K-Ras and repress its expression through the post-transcriptional or translational modulation. We found that let-7b could be upregulated in the transformed cells by SS treatment. However, the inhibitory effect of SS on foci formation was significantly attenuated when let-7b was knocked down by CRISPR/Cas9. In parallel, K-Ras maintained static expression in the transformed cells, regardless of SS treatment. Meanwhile, the overexpression of endogenous let-7b can significantly inhibit tumor transformation. In addition, we demonstrated that SS could suppress the expression of Lin28 that interacts with let-7 through a documented feedback loop. Given our previous studies reporting that SS was able to inhibit the transcriptional activity of NF-κB that is involved in regulation of Lin28 expression, our study demonstrates that the NF-κB/Lin28/Let-7/K-Ras axis addresses a new mechanism responsible for anti-transformative activity of SS. These results will provide novel insights into understanding the mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis and benefiting identification of new targets for drug development in prevention of tumor progression. Citation Format: Zhipin Liang, Bin Yi, Hongyou Zhao, Ruixia Ma, Yaguang Xi. Let-7 mediates sulindac inhibition of tumor cell transformation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4790. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4790
Breast cancer survival, survival disparities, and guideline-based treatment.

The role of appropriate therapy in breast cancer survival and survival disparities by race/ethnicity has not been fully elucidated. We investigated whether lack of guideline-recommended therapy contributed to survival differences overall and among Hispanics relative to non-Hispanic white (NHW) women in a case-cohort study. The study included a 15% random sample of female invasive breast cancer patients diagnosed from 1997 to 2009 in 6 New Mexico counties and all deaths due to breast cancer-related causes. Information was obtained from comprehensive medical chart reviews. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN®) guideline-recommended treatment was assessed among white women aged < 70 who were free of contraindications for recommended therapy, had stage I–III tumors, and survived ≥ 12 months. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for breast cancer death were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Included women represented 4635 patients and 449 breast cancer deaths. Women who did not receive radiotherapy (HR 2.3; 95% CI 1.2–4.4) or endocrine therapy (HR 2.0; 95% CI 1.0–4.0) as recommended by guidelines had an increased risk of breast cancer death, relative to those treated appropriately. Receipt of guideline-recommended therapy did not differ between Hispanic and NHW women for chemotherapy (84.2% vs. 81.3%, respectively), radiotherapy (89.2% vs. 91.1%), or endocrine therapy (89.2% vs. 85.8%), thus did not influence Hispanic survival disparities. Lack of guideline-recommended radiotherapy or endocrine therapy contributed to survival as strongly as other established prognostic indicators. Hispanic survival disparities in this population do not appear to be attributable to treatment differences.
Aged Chinese-origin rhesus macaques infected with SIV develop marked viremia in absence of clinical disease, inflammation or cognitive impairment

Damage to the central nervous system during HIV infection can lead to variable neurobehavioral dysfunction termed HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). There is no clear consensus regarding the neuropathological or cellular basis of HAND. We sought to study the potential contribution of aging to the pathogenesis of HAND. Aged (range = 14.7–24.8 year) rhesus macaques of Chinese origin (RM-Ch) (n = 23) were trained to perform cognitive tasks. Macaques were then divided into four groups to assess the impact of SIVmac251 infection (n = 12) and combined antiretroviral therapy (CART) (5 infected; 5 mock-infected) on the execution of these tasks. Aged SIV-infected RM-Ch demonstrated significant plasma viremia and modest CSF viral loads but showed few clinical signs, no elevations of systemic temperature, and no changes in activity levels, platelet counts or weight. Concentrations of biomarkers of acute and chronic inflammation such as soluble CD14, CXCL10, IL-6 and TNF-α are known to be elevated following SIV infection of young adult macaques of several species, but concentrations of these biomarkers did not shift after SIV infection in aged RM-Ch and remained similar to mock-infected macaques. Neither acute nor chronic SIV infection or CART had a significant impact on accuracy, speed or percent completion in a sensorimotor test. Viremia in the absence of a chronic elevated inflammatory response seen in some aged RM-Ch is reminiscent of SIV infection in natural disease resistant hosts. The absence of cognitive impairment during SIV infection in aged RM-Ch might be in part attributed to diminishment of some facets of the immunological response. Additional study encompassing species and age differences is necessary to substantiate this hypothesis.
Preparing Teachers to Integrate Technology into K–12 Instruction II: Examining the Effects of Technology-Infused Methods Courses and Student Teaching

In a 2-year longitudinal study, we examined the effectiveness of a new technology-infused approach for teaching technology integration (TI) skills to teacher candidates. In the new approach, we inf...
Growth and Biomass Partitioning Response of Northern Red Oak Genotypes to Shading and Grass Root Competition

First-year biomass, biomass relative growth rate, and biomass partitioning among organs were compared among eight open-pollinated families of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) under crossed levels of light intensity (100% and 37% full sun) and grass root competition (presence and absence of grass roots (Poa pratensis L.)). Onto- genetic patterns of biomass partitioning during the first year of seedling development were characterized by coefficients of the allometric equation Y = aX b. Grass root competition reduced seedling biomass at both levels of light intensity. Shading reduced seedling biomass in the absence of grass but had no effect in its presence. Total biomass and biomass relative growth rate differed among families, and family x environment interaction variance was negligible compared to family variance. Results suggest that families with superior juvenile growth rate under competition-free conditions will also have superior growth rate under at least some conditions of shading and root competi- tion. Biomass partitioning to leaf area, and to shoot weight relative to root weight declined during seedling development. Both shoot-root ratio and leaf area ratio were greater in shaded compared to full sun environments, while the presence of grass root competition had an opposite effect on both ratios. Families differed in shoot-root ratio, and shoot-root ratios of families responded differently to grass root competition. How- ever, family differences in biomass partitioning were not consistently related to family differences in growth rate in any environment. FOR. ScI. 36(2):293-303.
Studies Related to Antibody-Mediated Boron Delivery for BNCT

Of the many methods of selective boron delivery to tumor presently under consideration, the use of boron-labeled tumor-targeted monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) and their immunoreactive fragments appears to offer the most general, but complex, approach.1–4 Assuming that tumor cells generally carry 106 characteristic antigenic sites of any one type and that there are approximately 109 cells per gram of tumor, one calculates that about 600 10B atoms must be attach d to each individual Mab molecule (if all antigenic sites are complexed) for each 10 ppm of 10B supplied to tumor. Rather than randomly attack IgG Mab molecules with a large number of relatively small boron-containing conjugation reagent molecules we have chosen to assemble a series of discrete, precisely synthesized oligomeric reagents (“trailers”) each of which contains a fixed number of B-atoms up to approximately 200. These oligomeric reagents would carry a radioactive or fluorescent group for analytical purposes attached to a terminal-NH2 group of their chain and the remaining -COOH terminus would be free for conjugation with the lysine e-NH2 groups of Mab protein. Two types of oligomeric trailer reagents are envisioned; hydrophilic peptides and polyamides. Both types of reagent are prepared using the solid-supported synthesis methods of Merrifield.5 Figure 1 illustrates two typical a-amino acids which contain the hydrophobic closo-1,2-C2B10H11-cage and the corresponding hydrophilic [nido-7,8-C2B9H11-]-cage fragment. These amino acids are designated closo-CB and nido-CB,respectively, throughout this paper.
Homeostatic Synaptic Plasticity

Homeostatic synaptic plasticity mechanisms provide a means for neurons and circuitsto maintain stable function in the face of perturbations such as developmental or activitydependent changes in synapse number or strength. These forms of plasticity use negative feedback signaling to adjust synaptic properties to keep activity close to some internal set point value. Recent work suggests that there are likely multiple forms of synaptic homeostasis, mediated by distinct signaling pathways and with distinct expression mechanisms. Both excitatory and inhibitory synapses are subject to homeostatic regulation, and the form of plasticity present at a particular synapse likely depends on its function within a neuronal circuit.
Microstructure and Intergranular Phase Distribution in Bi2O3-Doped ZnO

The atomic-level distribution of Bi solute in polycrystalline ZnO has been investigated through model experiments utilizing HREM and STEM as analytical tools. In solid-liquid equilibrium, the capillary (sphering) pressure is systematically varied by controlling grain size and liquid fraction. Intergranular phase thicknesses and dihedral angles are found to vary with capillary pressure, a phenomenon which can be understood from the effect of applied pressure on the interparticle force balance and interfacial energy. In the solid state, Bi-saturated boundaries are, surprisingly, also found to contain an amorphous film of nanometer thickness. It is shown that this is the equilibrium configuration of the doped grain boundary, and that in contrast to conclusions from previous studies, virtually all boundaries in Bi-doped ZnO contain a thin intergranular film.
Erinaceus europaeus europaeus (Western European hedgehog)

The karyotypes presented here are donated by Prof. A. Gropp, Pathologisches Institut der Universitat Bonn, Bonn, Germany. The specimens were collected in the vicinity of Bonn. A total of 4 animals were analyzed. The karyotypes differ markedly from those of the Eastern European subspecies of hedgehog shown in Folio 53. The X chromosome has been identified by Professor Gropp with H3-thymidine autoradiography.
Low-temperature activation of methane on doped single atoms: descriptor and prediction.

Catalytic transformation of methane under mild conditions remains a grand challenge. Fundamental understanding of C–H activation of methane is crucial for designing a catalyst for the utilization of methane at low temperature. Recent experiments show that strong methane chemisorption on oxides of precious metals leads to facile C–H activation. However, only a very few such oxides are capable (for example, IrO2 and PdO). Here we show for the first time that strong methane chemisorption and facile C–H activation can be accomplished by single transition-metal atoms on TiO2, some of which are even better than IrO2. Using methane adsorption energy as a descriptor, we screened over 30 transition-metal single atoms doped on TiO2 for the chemisorption of methane by replacing a surface Ti atom with a single atom of another transition metal. It is found that the adsorption energies of methane on a single atom of Pd, Rh, Os, Ir, and Pt doped on rutile TiO2(110) are greater than or similar to those on rutile IrO2(110), a benchmark for the chemisorption of methane on transition oxides. Electronic structure analysis uncovered orbital overlap and mixing between methane and the single atom, as well as significant localization of the charge between the molecule and the surface, demonstrating chemical bonding of CH4 to doped single atoms. Facile C–H dissociation has been found on the single-atom sites with the transition state energies lower than desorption energies. Our computational studies predict that Pd, Rh, Os, Ir, and Pt single atoms on rutile TiO2(110) can activate C–H of methane at a temperature lower than 25 °C.
Predicting suicide attempts among soldiers who deny suicidal ideation in the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS)

Most nonfatal suicide attempts and suicide deaths occur among patients who deny suicidal ideation (SI) during suicide risk screenings. Little is known about risk factors for suicidal behaviors among such patients. We investigated this in a representative sample of U.S. Army soldiers who denied lifetime SI in a survey and were then followed through administrative records for up to 45 months to learn of administratively-recorded suicide attempts (SA). A novel two-stage risk assessment approach was used that combined first-stage prediction from administrative records to find the subsample of SI deniers with highest subsequent SA risk and then used survey reports to estimate a second-stage model identifying the subset of individuals in the high-risk subsample at highest SA risk. 70% of survey respondents denied lifetime SI. Administrative data identified 30% of this 70% who accounted for 81.2% of subsequent administratively-recorded SAs. A relatively small number of self-report survey variables were then used to create a prediction model that identified 10% of the first-stage high-risk sample (i.e., 3% of all soldiers) at highest SA risk (accounting for 45% of SAs in the total sample). We close by discussing potential applications of this approach for identifying future SI deniers at highest SA risk.
Overview of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract Among the different solar technologies, the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) shows tremendous promise in delivering a low-cost, high-manufacturability solution to an energy economy free of fossil fuels and their adverse impacts. However, in a quarter of a century, the overall conversion efficiency of DSSCs reported in the literature has increased by only 4%. This chapter provides an overview of the DSSC design, describes the current state of the technology, and puts into perspective factors that have hindered the improvement of the cell efficiency, despite the tremendous amount of effort invested in improving the technology. It points to the highly complex and nontrivial nature of DSSC optimization and a need for fundamentally understanding the physics, dynamics, and interplay of internal DSSC components, through multiscale first principles mathematical modeling of DSSCs. These models can describe processes occurring inside the cells in different temporal and spatial scales, and allow for in silico design and optimization of DSSCs.
A Public BCR Present in a Unique Dual-Receptor-Expressing Lymphocyte from Type 1 Diabetes Patients Encodes a Potent T Cell Autoantigen

T and B cells are the two known lineages of adaptive immune cells. Here, we describe a previously unknown lymphocyte that is a dual expresser (DE) of TCR and BCR and key lineage markers of both B and T cells. In type 1 diabetes (T1D), DEs are predominated by one clonotype that encodes a potent CD4 T cell autoantigen in its antigen binding site. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that this peptide has an optimal binding register for diabetogenic HLA-DQ8. In concordance, a synthetic version of the peptide forms stable DQ8 complexes and potently stimulates autoreactive CD4 T cells from T1D patients, but not healthy controls. Moreover, mAbs bearing this clonotype are autoreactive against CD4 T cells and inhibit insulin tetramer binding to CD4 T cells. Thus, compartmentalization of adaptive immune cells into T and B cells is not absolute, and violators of this paradigm are likely key drivers of autoimmune diseases.
Small RNA Mobility: Spread of RNA Silencing Effectors and its Effect on Developmental Processes and Stress Adaptation in Plants

Plants are exposed every day to multiple environmental cues, and tight transcriptome reprogramming is necessary to control the balance between responses to stress and processes of plant growth. In this context, the silencing phenomena mediated by small RNAs can drive transcriptional and epigenetic regulatory modifications, in turn shaping plant development and adaptation to the surrounding environment. Mounting experimental evidence has recently pointed to small noncoding RNAs as fundamental players in molecular signalling cascades activated upon exposure to abiotic and biotic stresses. Although, in the last decade, studies on stress responsive small RNAs increased significantly in many plant species, the physiological responses triggered by these molecules in the presence of environmental stresses need to be further explored. It is noteworthy that small RNAs can move either cell-to-cell or systemically, thus acting as mobile silencing effectors within the plant. This aspect has great importance when physiological changes, as well as epigenetic regulatory marks, are inspected in light of plant environmental adaptation. In this review, we provide an overview of the categories of mobile small RNAs in plants, particularly focusing on the biological implications of non-cell autonomous RNA silencing in the stress adaptive response and epigenetic modifications.
Maternal morbidity of induction of labor compared to planned cesarean delivery in twin gestations

To compare maternal morbidity associated with induction of labor (IOL) with planned cesarean delivery (CD) in twin gestations.This was a retrospective cohort study of vertex-presenting twin pregnan...
Radiomics to predict response to pembrolizumab in patients with advanced rare cancers.

66Background: To predict responders versus non-responders to Pembrolizumab, an anti PD-1 monoclonal antibody, in patients with advanced rare cancers. Methods: The study included 58 patients with ad...
A Long Short-Term Memory Enabled Framework for DDoS Detection

The proliferation of attack-for-hire services, coupled with the advent of Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled botnets, is driving the increase of the frequency and intensity of Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks, at an alarming rate. Inspired by the success of machine learning in a variety of fields and domain applications, numerous intelligent schemes have been proposed to effectively defend against and mitigate the impact of these attacks. Traditional machine learning methods, however, are limited by the use of an expensive and error-prone feature engineering process. Feature engineering is fundamental to the application of machine learning, and is both difficult and expensive. Furthermore, the ability of these schemes to successfully detect previously unknown attacks is limited. To address these limitations, a novel DDoS detection scheme, based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), is proposed. The basic tenet of the LSTM scheme is its ability to distinguish between attack and legitimate flows by only examining a relatively small number of a network flow packets. The performance evaluation results show that the LSTM-based scheme successfully learns the complex flow-level feature representations embedded in raw input traffic. Furthermore, the results show that the scheme performs better than other approaches that use sophisticated flow-level statistical features. Lastly, the results show the ability of the proposed scheme to accurately capture the dynamic behaviors of unknown network traffic exceeds that of traditional machine learning methods.
Hospital and Surgeon Reimbursement Trends for Femoral Neck Fractures Treated With Hip Hemiarthroplasty and Total Hip Arthroplasty

Abstract Background The economic impact of hip fractures on the health care system continues to rise with continued pressure to reduce unnecessary costs while maintaining quality patient care. This study aimed to analyze the trend in hospital charges and payments relative to surgeon charges and payments in a Medicare population for hip hemiarthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty (THA) for femoral neck fracture. Methods The 5% Medicare sample database was used to capture hospital and surgeon charges and payments related to 32,340 patients who underwent hemiarthroplasty and 4323 patients who underwent THA for femoral neck fractures between 2005 and 2014. Two values were calculated: (1) charge multiplier (CM, ratio of hospital to surgeon charges), and (2) payment multiplier (PM, ratio of hospital to surgeon payments). Year-to-year variation and regional trends in patient demographics, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), length of stay (LOS), 90-day and 1-year mortality, CM, and PM were evaluated. Results Hospital charges were significantly higher than surgeon charges and increased substantially for hemiarthroplasty (CM of 13.6 to 19.3, P Conclusion Hospital charges and payments relative to surgeon charges and payments have increased substantially for hemiarthroplasty and THA performed for femoral neck fractures.
How the FCC Can Preserve the Open Internet & Net Neutrality Through Title II Reclassification

The case for reclassifying broadband internet access under Title II, and adopting rules that protect the Open Internet and ensure net neutrality. Introduction & Background: The recent 2014 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Net Neutrality represents an opportunity for the Federal Communications Commission to choose a communications future of innovation, creative exchange, and consumer choice, rather than one where powerful companies can alter the Internet to support entrenched business models. The Commission was certainly correct when it stated that the Internet is “America’s most important platform for economic growth, innovation, competition, free expression, and broadband investment and deployment.” As a non-profit organization focused on providing free and low-cost legal assistance to independent creators, internet users, and start-up entrepreneurs (such as musicians, artists, filmmakers, mobile app developers, and more), New Media Rights (“NMR”) is reminded daily of the innumerable benefits the Internet can provide to American innovators, creators, and consumers. As the Commission suggests, these benefits largely flow from the open architecture of the Internet and its low barriers to entry. However, in recent years this openness has been challenged by fixed and mobile broadband internet access providers. We stand at a fork in the road, and if the Commission cannot implement strong, certain, and legally defensible rules to maintain the basic tenants of Net Neutrality (Transparency, No Blocking, No Discrimination), the trend away from an Open Internet is likely to continue to the detriment of not only American consumers and innovators, but American society as a whole.
Pathways to Change: Community and Environmental Transformation

This chapter explores responses to the crises and injustices laid out in the previous six chapters and examines a path forward. We emphasize that the kind and magnitude of human changes needed range from the personal to the global and everything in between. We offer examples of how community can be rebuilt and restructured as we work to transform the ecological environment. Taking a holistic approach involves confronting the ecological crisis as a wicked problem requiring responses that embrace the complexity and overlapping nature of the issues. System-level changes that acknowledge and confront the ways race, class, and gender are used to disproportionately place the burdens of our global environmental crisis on those with less power and voice are essential. Engaging in this change means collaborating across disciplines and knowledge bases. Finally, we explore ways to come together in response to the crisis we are facing to explore ways to move forward within community, professions, and education.
Real world sedentary behavior and activity levels in patients with schizophrenia and controls: An ecological momentary assessment study

Abstract Background People with schizophrenia often experience poor health, leading to shortened lifespans. The health of people with schizophrenia may be further exacerbated by increased sedentary behavior, which independently predicts health risk in the general population. However, the prevalence and patterns of objectively measured sedentary behavior in schizophrenia have not been studied extensively on a momentary basis. Methods Activity of 100 patients with schizophrenia was compared to that of healthy controls (HC; n = 71) using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). EMA provides real-time, real-world monitoring of behavior. We sampled behavior seven times per day for seven days, quantifying active versus inactive behaviors and four different movement patterns (recumbent, seated, standing, and moving). Due to different employment rates between samples, we focused on surveys completed at home. Results Four of the five most commonly reported activities for participants with schizophrenia involved sitting or lying down. When considering activity during the last hour, participants with schizophrenia were more likely to be sitting or pacing and less likely to be standing than HC. If participants with schizophrenia only did one thing in the last hour, it was more likely to involve sitting and less likely to involve standing compared to HC. Discussion People with schizophrenia were significantly more likely to be seated and less likely to be standing or active during the past hour than HC, despite high frequencies of seated behaviors in the HC as well. The adverse health consequences of sitting for extended periods may be especially relevant for people with schizophrenia and likely contribute to premature mortality in this population.
The Razor's Edge of Human Bonding: Artificial Fathers and Surrogate Mothers

This article will examine the plight of the artificial father and surrogate mother by focusing on how the law views artificial insemination. From this focus, the author will explore alternative responses for dealing with problems involving surrogate mothers, donor insemination, and infertility and show their symbiotic, if not direct, relation to the problem of infertility.
Support for the social-cognitive model of internalized stigma in serious mental illness.

Abstract One prominent social-cognitive model of internalized stigma by Corrigan and his colleagues (2012; 2002) proposes that individuals are exposed to societal stereotypes about mental illness, at least tacitly agree with them, and may apply them to oneself, engendering harmful self-beliefs. There is limited empirical support for this model in serious mental illness. Moreover, it is not clearly established how internalized stigma and its associated factors impact recovery in this population. The current study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the social-cognitive model's goodness of fit in a sample of Veterans with serious mental illness (Veteran sample, n = 248), and then validates the model in a second and independent sample of individuals receiving community-based psychiatric rehabilitation services (community sample, n = 267). Participants completed the Self-Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (SSMIS; Corrigan et al., 2006) and measures of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and recovery attitudes. Consistent with Corrigan and colleagues' formulation of internalized stigma, SEM analyses showed a significant indirect pathway from stereotype awareness, to stereotype agreement, to application to self, to self-esteem decrement, to poorer recovery attitudes. Additionally, there was a significant direct effect from stereotype awareness to self-esteem. This study shows that individuals with serious mental illness experience psychological harm from stigma in two ways: (1) through perceived public prejudice and bias, and (2) through internalizing these negative messages. In particular, stigma harms individuals' self-esteem, which then reduces their recovery attitudes.
Association of floor type on health parameters of cattle fed indoors during the finishing phase

The use of indoor confinement concrete slatted floor feeding facilities has grown in the US to comply with increasing environmental regulations and decreasing land availability. Rubber mats manufactured to be installed on top of concrete slats are being promoted to increase comfort and improve welfare and performance. There are limited published data on the association of rubber mats with bovine health and performance in a North American production setting. The objective of this project was to evaluate potential health differences associated with various types of slatted flooring in confined beef operations during the finishing phase of production.
Special Processes Developed for Microcircuit Technology

Since we are illustrating the principles of microfabrication with application to microelectronics, we devote this chapter to discussing in some detail those special processes that have been developed for planar silicon technology, namely, epitaxy, oxidation, doping, and annealing. This is not to imply that analogous or similar processes could not or have not been applied to other materials and devices, but it reflects the fact that the major thrust in the microdevice area over the past two decades has been associated with silicon, and hence more work has been done in this area. We have included some special epitaxial processes developed for devices utilizing III–V compound semiconductors, since these are of emerging importance for high-speed microcircuits.
Contact Modeling and Manipulation

Robotic manipulators use contact forces to grasp and manipulate objects in their environments. Fixtures rely on contacts to immobilize workpieces. Mobile robots and humanoids use wheels or feet to generate the contact forces that allow them to locomote. Modeling of the contact interface, therefore, is fundamental to analysis, design, planning, and control of many robotic tasks.
Real Traceable Signatures

Traceable signature scheme extends a group signature scheme with an enhanced anonymity management mechanism. The group manager can compute a tracing trapdoor which enables anyone to test if a signature is signed by a given misbehaving user, while the only way to do so for group signatures requires revealing the signer of all signatures. Nevertheless, it is not tracing in a strict sense. For all existing schemes, T tracing agents need to recollect all N? signatures ever produced and perform RN? "checks" for R revoked users. This involves a high volume of transfer and computations. Increasing T increases the degree of parallelism for tracing but also the probability of "missing" some signatures in case some of the agents are dishonest. We propose a new and efficient way of tracing --- the tracing trapdoor allows the reconstruction of tags such that each of them can uniquely identify a signature of a misbehaving user. Identifying N signatures out of the total of N? signatures (N < < N?) just requires the agent to construct N small tags and send them to the signatures holder. N here gives a trade-off between the number of unlinkable signatures a member can produce and the efforts for the agents to trace the signatures. We present schemes with simple design borrowed from anonymous credential systems. Our schemes are proven secure respectively in the random oracle model and in the common reference string model (or in the standard model if there exists a trusted party for system parameters initialization).
Computer-Aided Design of Organic Host Architectures for Selective Chemosensors

Selective organic hosts provide the foundation for the development of many types of sensors. The deliberate design of host molecules with predetermined selectivity, however, remains a challenge in supramolecular chemistry. To address this issue, we have developed a de novo structure-based design approach for the unbiased construction of complementary host architectures. This chapter summarizes recent progress including improvements on a computer software program, HostDesigner, specifically tailored to discover host architectures for small guest molecules. HostDesigner is capable of generating and evaluating millions of candidate structures in minutes on a desktop personal computer, allowing a user to rapidly identify three-dimensional architectures that are structurally organized for binding a targeted guest species. The efficacy of this computational methodology is illustrated with a search for cation hosts containing aliphatic ether oxygen groups and anion hosts containing urea groups.
A new approach to partially adaptive arrays

When an adaptive array operates in the presence of white noise only, the resulting beam pattern is referred to as the quiescent response. Typically, these patterns have mainlobe and sidelobe shapes differing from those designed for use in deterministic, non-adaptive arrays. This paper describes a simple method which allows nearly arbitrary specification of the quiescent response in a linearly-constrained power minimization adaptive array. The only restriction on the quiescent is that it must meet the constraints defined for the adaptive array. Since many well-known deterministic designs such as Chebychev are not likely to meet the linear constraint conditions used in adaptive arrays for mainlobe and other pattern control functions, a procedure is presented which modifies the deterministic design to force it to meet the linear constraints in a least-squares manner. Once this has been accomplished, the methods outlined in this paper can be used to cause the modified deterministic design to become the quiescent response of the adaptive array. As a result, the adaptive array can be configured to closely resemble a deterministic array when the noise is white. Under conditions of correlated interference, or jamming, however, the response changes so as to effectively steer nulls in the appropriate directions. The method is based on the use of a generalized sidelobe canceller and requires one additional linear constraint for both narrow-band and broad-band arrays. This added flexibility in a partially adaptive array allows the system to be configured so as to meet an arbitrary number M of linear constraints either at all times (using M degrees of freedom) or only under quiescent conditions (using a single constraint). Any intermediate mixture of these extreme positions is also possible.
Successful reduction of a monozygotic equine twin pregnancy via transabdominal ultrasound-guided cardiac puncture

Summary In horses, twin pregnancy is pathological and represents a potentially life-threatening condition to the mare and foal. Twinning occurs in approximately 2% of pregnancies. Of these, the majority of cases are dizygotic twins, resulting from 2 ovulations and monozygotic twins are rare. A 12-year-old Quarter Horse mare was presented for breeding management with shipped cooled semen and embryo transfer. Seven days post ovulation, a single late morula/early blastocyst was recovered and transferred immediately to a recipient mare. Thirty-six days after transfer, transrectal ultrasound examination revealed the presence of 2 embryos. A transcutaneous reduction of one of the fetuses was performed successfully at 128 days of gestation. This report is the first to describe a successful reduction of monozygotic twins by transcutaneous ultrasound-guided cardiac puncture.