cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bad Social Behavior

The transition from bad individual to bad social behavior is not difficult to discern. It was begun, as a matter of fact, in the last section of the previous chapter, where I discussed the unsocial individual. To speak of society is to speak of the human part of culture. Societies could not exist without the material ingredients of culture any more than cultures could exist without societies.
Speaking of Law and Religion: 'Why Law, Why Religion?' - A Conversation Between a Lawyer and a Theologian (Preface)

On October 23-25, 2009, the Journal of Law and Religion celebrated its twenty-fifth year of publication devoted to “Speaking about Law and Religion” with a Symposium that brought a diverse group of scholars. At the Symposium, scholars, theologians, and lawyers had a conversation about law and religion, featuring Doug Strum, Milner Ball, and others. This piece includes the preface to the issue and provides context for the conversation between Professors Sturm (a theologian) and Professor Ball (a legal scholar) on how they came to view and embrace the relation of law and religion in their lives and work.
Time-Varying and Spatial Herding Behavior in the US Housing Market: Evidence from Direct Housing Prices

This paper investigates herding behavior in the US residential housing market. The sample period is 1975 M01 to 2015 M06. The study utilizes the housing price index of each of the 50 states and Washington DC to form nine census region-based markets, or portfolios and then employs switching and quantile regressions to examine the spatial and time-varying disparities of housing return dispersions and investors’ herding behavior. The study finds that the degree of herding varies across regimes, regions and conditional distributions. The regime-specific herd formation may be partially originated by extreme housing market conditions, bull and bear housing market conditions, uncertainty in national financial markets, economic recessions and uncertainty of economic policies. The bull housing markets exhibits stronger effects on return dispersion than down markets, which is consistent with the “flight-to-safety” consensus behavior of investors. The study also finds that positive and negative linear and nonlinear returns magnify dispersions in an asymmetric manner. The increase in co-movement and interdependence of state and regional-level housing markets returns among geographically diverse states and regions offer little hope of successful geographical portfolio diversification strategies for U.S housing market investors. Moreover, time-invariant modeling may yield incorrect inferences regarding herd formation in regional housing markets.
Life after Welfare: The Economic Well-Being of Women and Children Following an Exit from Afdc

Much previous research has focused on the length of welfare spells and returns to welfare following an exit. Few quantitative studies have looked at broader indicators of the economic well-being of those who have exited AFDC. In this paper we use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NSLY) to trace welfare use, poverty status and primary sources of income in the five years following an exit from welfare. We find that while there is a trend toward improved economic status over time, 40 percent of women remain poor five years after exit. Women with more advantaged family backgrounds, those with fewer children or those with more education at exit are more likely to consistently escape poverty. Median income increases over the first five years from about $10,500 to about $15,000 (1992 dollars). Own earnings are the most prevalent income source, followed by spouse's earnings, and mean-tested transfers.
Image analogies

This paper describes a new framework for processing images by example, called “image analogies.” The framework involves two stages: a design phase, in which a pair of images, with one image purported to be a “filtered” version of the other, is presented as “training data”; and an application phase, in which the learned filter is applied to some new target image in order to create an “analogous” filtered result. Image analogies are based on a simple multi-scale autoregression, inspired primarily by recent results in texture synthesis. By choosing different types of source image pairs as input, the framework supports a wide variety of “image filter” effects, including traditional image filters, such as blurring or embossing; improved texture synthesis, in which some textures are synthesized with higher quality than by previous approaches; super-resolution, in which a higher-resolution image is inferred from a low-resolution source; texture transfer, in which images are “texturized” with some arbitrary source texture; artistic filters, in which various drawing and painting styles are synthesized based on scanned real-world examples; and texture-by-numbers, in which realistic scenes, composed of a variety of textures, are created using a simple painting interface.
Problems in inverse scattering of approximate reflection coefficient measurements

Because of the nonlinear nature of the Gelfand-Levitan equation, it may be a concern that a small difference in the reflection coefficient could lead to large changes in the corresponding potential. This paper considers this and shows that this need not be a concern. Though assumptions are made about the associated spectral measure function, these are not restrictive.
TRENDS IN ATRIAL FIBRILLATION HOSPITALIZATION IN YOUNG PATIENTS

background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is heterogeneous in its epidemiology, pathophysiology, and treatment options based on individual patient characteristics. Ageing is well recognized as an independent risk factor for AF. We hypothesized that fundamental differences may exist between young and older individuals with AF. The aim of our study was to investigate contemporary data in hospitalization rates, comorbidities, length of stay (LOS) and mortality in AF in young vs. older individuals.
Effect of feeding fat on duration of thiopental anesthesia.

Summary1. It has been shown in rats that ingestion of oil preliminary to thiopental anesthesia will decrease the anesthesia time by about 50%. 2. A suggested explanation for this action is the production of a hyperlipemia by the oil, with the resultant uptake of the circulating thiopental by the chylomicrons.
Excited-State Quenching Mechanism of a Terthiophene Acid Dye Bound to Monodisperse CdS Nanocrystals: Electron Transfer versus Concentration Quenching

Oleate-capped CdS nanocrystals (NCs) dispersed in dichloromethane were found to quench the excited-state fluorescence of the terthiophene derivative 3′,4′-dibutyl-5″-phenyl-[2,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene]-5-carboxylic acid (1-CO2H). Infrared and 1H NMR spectroscopies provided evidence that 1-CO2H substitutes for oleate on the surface of the CdS NCs. Upon binding, the fluorescence of 1-CO2H is quenched, and the 1H NMR lines from 1-CO2H are broadened. The importance of the carboxylate group in binding to the CdS NC was further established by examining the behavior of a similar fluorophore where the carboxylic acid group was replaced with a bromo substituent (1-Br). The CdS NCs had no influence on the fluorescence intensity or NMR line shapes of 1-Br. For 1-CO2H, Stern–Volmer plots indicated a nearly linear increase in I0/I as the CdS NCs’ concentration was increased, but as the dye/NC ratio reached ∼20/1, I0/I reached a maximum of ∼8 and began to decrease. By a dye/NC ratio of 2/1, the I0/I reached a steady value...
Stem Cells Expand Insights into Human Brain Evolution

Substantial expansion in the number of cerebral cortex neurons is thought to underlie cognitive differences between humans and other primates, although the mechanisms underlying this expansion are unclear. Otani et al. (2016) utilize PSC-derived brain organoids to study how species-specific differences in cortical progenitor proliferation may underlie cortical evolution.
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF PRESCRIPTION WRITING.

The art of prescripiton writing is an ancient inheritance. Through many centuries the time-honored custom of the prescription has played a vital role in the practice of medicine and pharmacy. Its origin is lost in antiquity but its importance through the centuries has made it one of the most significant written communications of the human race. The ancients started their prescriptions with an appeal to the gods for its success. The ancient symbol, “R” signifying this appeal, was established centuries ago and has been carried down to the present time.
THE INVESTIGATION OF PRESENT SITUATION OF HAND-HYGIENE COGNITION IN TEACHERS OF HIGH MEDICAL COLLEGES

Objective To understand the present situation of hand-hygiene cognition in teachers of high medical colleges, in order to take the education countermeasure. Method Questionnaire survey was used to carry out investigation in some teachers at their posts. Results Nine point system was used with 9 points as the full marks. The average score of hand-hygiene knowledge in medical teachers was 1.949. The score of the knowledge, the behavior and the manner accounted for 42.09% of the total score. The factors influencing hand-hygiene knowledge of medical teaches were as follows: 61.9% of the teachers had not received special hand-hygienE knowledge training, lack of the professional teaching material accounted for 44.8%, inadequate understanding of the harmfulness of unwashing the hands accounted for 46.6%. Conclusion The hand-hygiene cognition in teachers of high medical colleges and universities is insufficient, which directly influences the student education.
Antibiotic-Induced Changes in the Intestinal Microbiota and Disease

The gut microbiota is a key player in many physiological and pathological processes occurring in humans. Recent investigations suggest that the efficacy of some clinical approaches depends on the action of commensal bacteria. Antibiotics are invaluable weapons to fight infectious diseases. However, by altering the composition and functions of the microbiota, they can also produce long-lasting deleterious effects for the host. The emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens raises concerns about the common, and at times inappropriate, use of antimicrobial agents. Here we review the most recently discovered connections between host pathophysiology, microbiota, and antibiotics highlighting technological platforms, mechanistic insights, and clinical strategies to enhance resistance to diseases by preserving the beneficial functions of the microbiota.
Soil Research in Arctic Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctica

During the formative years of northern pedologic studies in Alaska, the term Arctic generally was reserved for the Brooks Range and land to the north. Some investigators, however, extended the definition to include some of the treeless sectors of western and central Alaska. Delineations generally were based on a combination of vegetation and temperature, plus the presence of permafrost. Permafrost is present in various patterns in virtually all of Alaska, except some land bordering the Gulf of Alaska (Brown et al., 1997). One rightfully could include as Arctic nearly all of Alaska, but, in this chapter, discussions are almost exclusively of the Brooks Range, Arctic Foothills, and Arctic Coastal Plain.
Benign Neonatal Familial Convulsions

An electroencephalographic-video study of 14 benign neonatal familial convulsions (BNFCs) in 3 children from two families is reported from the Hopitaux Universitaires, Strasbourg, and the Institut de Biologie, Montpellier, France.
On The Outside Looking In: Towards Detecting Counterfeit Devices Using Network Traffic Analysis

In order to combat the growing threat of counterfeit components, this paper describes a technique to fingerprint and identify components based upon the way in which they send and process ICMP, UDP, and TCP network packets. These network fingerprints are then processed by an artificial neural network in order to categorize and classify individual processors. These tests found that ICMP and UDP packets provided an an effective, inexpensive, and fast tool for identifying counterfeit components in a network.
Dual functioning ovaries and atresia in chickens. Is it a coincidence

During the course of a QTL study involving an intercross between White Plymouth Rock chickens and Red Jungle Fowl, certain reproductive anomalies such as atresia and double ovary-oviduct became evident. Observed in reciprocal pedigreed F1 crosses were 2 full-sib pullets with dual functioning ovaries. One also had complete functioning left and right oviducts. The other had asymmetrical reproductive tracts with a typical left oviduct and a rudimentary right oviduct. In addition, there were 3 females with atresia. Although they had different sires and dams, their grandparents were related, and all 5 traced to a common ancestor. Pedigrees, photos, and biological aspects of these conditions are presented and discussed.
Effects of Dowicide® G-ST on Development of Experimental Estuarine Macrobenthic Communities

Aquaria containing clean sand received a continuous supply of flowing seawater from Santa Rosa Sound, Florida, mixed with known quantities of Dowicide® G-ST (79% sodium pentachlorophenate) for thirteen weeks. The measured concentrations of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the aquaria were 1.8, 15.8 and 161 μg/1. At the end of the experiment, macrofauna established in control and experimental aquaria was examined. Mollusks, arthropods and annelids were numerically dominant among the macrofauna. Although exposure to 1.8 μg PCP/1 had no effect, the higher concentrations of PCP caused marked reduction in the numbers of individuals and species. Mollusks were the most sensitive taxonomic group to PCP. These results and our previous studies on the effects of a nine-week exposure to PCP on the establishment of macrobenthic communities indicate that discharge of PCP into natural waters could alter the normal colonization by benthic animals and could impact various ecological relationships among localized populations.
Letter re: A dedicated scholarly research program in an adult and pediatric neurology residency program

I applaud Robbins et al.1 for successfully improving scholarly research in their residency program. In general, education on clinical research is inadequate in medical schools and postgraduate clinical programs.2 Flexner3 stressed that original research, and the critical method of research, should play an important role in medical schools. However, clinical research at academic medical centers is under stress.2 The amount of time spent by academic physicians on clinical research has declined over the last several decades due to increasing demands to provide clinical care.2 Another recent publication provided data to this regard from a 2016 survey of US neurologists.4 The survey revealed that academic neurologists spent an average of 16% of their time on research (median 10%).4 These levels fell drastically from reports done in 1984, which found that academic physicians overall spent 41% of their time on research activities.5 I previously offered recommendations to improve clinical research in academic medical centers,2 including training in clinical research methodology and required research by medical students, residents, and clinical fellows. Efforts like those reported by Robbins et al. can improve the situation and affect the overall clinical research environment of a neurology department.
Evaluation of Chest Pain and Acute Coronary Syndromes

Chest pain is a common complaint in the emergency department, and it is the job of clinicians to rule out life-threatening diagnoses such as acute coronary syndrome. The history, physical examination, cardiac risk factors, electrocardiogram findings, and clinician judgment are often not enough to distinguish between causes of chest pain syndromes and to reliably rule out acute myocardial ischemia. New cardiac troponin assays, especially in conjunction with clinical decision algorithms, help clinicians rapidly exclude acute myocardial infarction. For further risk stratification, stress testing or coronary computed tomography angiography can be used in the emergency department.
Out-of-Pocket Household Expenditures on Medical Injections in Cambodia

Background Cambodia has one of the highest rates of overall medical injection usage worldwide. Therapeutic injections, which are often unnecessary, contribute to the spread of blood-borne diseases. Objective This study describes injection practices and associated household expenditures in rural northwest Cambodia. Methods We assessed care-seeking patterns of surveyed adult family members who sought healthcare in the previous 30 days, including location of care, medical injection use, and out-of-pocket household expenditures for treatment. A regression model was used to explore the impact of injection use on out-of-pocket household expenditures. Results Among 480 households sampled, 298 included members who had been sick within the previous 30 days; a total of 342 episodes of care had been sought. Private providers accounted for over 66% (n = 226) of all episodes of care, with public and informal providers accounting for 20% (n = 69) and 14% (n = 47), respectively. Injections were administered in over 120 (35%) episodes of care, with 81% of injections administered by private providers. Patients who received injections incurred total out-of-pocket household expenditures that were, on average, 126,590 Cambodian Riel (KHR) (US$31.65) higher than those who did not receive injections (p < 0.01), equivalent to nearly half of the country’s total annual health expenditure per capita. Receiving injections and perceived severity of illness were significantly associated with higher out-of-pocket household expenditures. Conclusion This study found high levels of medical injection use, particularly among private healthcare providers, which was significantly associated with high healthcare expenditures. Reducing the number of medical injections would not only reduce disease transmission risk but also contribute to reduced healthcare costs and greater financial protection.
De Novo Heart Failure After Kidney Transplantation: Trends in Incidence and Outcomes.

Background Heart failure is an important cause of morbidity and mortality following kidney transplantation. Some studies in the general population have shown that the incidence of heart failure has decreased during the past 20 years. However, it is not currently known whether such a trend exists in the kidney transplantation population. Study Design Retrospective observational cohort study. Setting & Participants Adult patients included in the US Renal Data System who underwent their first kidney transplantation in the United States between 1998 and 2010 with at least 6 months of continuous Medicare parts A and B coverage before transplantation and no prior evidence for a diagnosis of heart failure before kidney transplantation. Predictors Calendar year of transplantation and calendar year of posttransplantation heart failure diagnosis. Outcomes De novo posttransplantation heart failure defined using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnosis codes and mortality following de novo posttransplantation heart failure diagnosis. Secular trends in de novo post–kidney transplantation heart failure were examined using Cox proportional hazards analysis. Results Within a study cohort of 48,771 patients, 7,269 developed de novo heart failure within 3 years of kidney transplantation, with a median time to heart failure of 0.76 years. The adjusted HR for heart failure with death as competing risk comparing patients who underwent transplantation in 2010 with those who underwent transplantation in 1998 was 0.69 (95% CI, 0.60-0.79). No temporal trend in mortality following a diagnosis of post–kidney transplantation heart failure was observed. Limitations Potential residual confounding from either incorrectly ascertained or unavailable confounders. The cohort was limited to Medicare beneficiaries. Conclusions Adjusted for demographic and clinical characteristics, the risk for developing de novo post–kidney transplantation heart failure has declined significantly between 1998 and 2010, with no apparent change in subsequent mortality.
Abstract MP12: Cardiovascular Health Promoting Behaviors in Older Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease

Background: The chronic kidney disease (CKD) epidemic continues to grow, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death. To modify CVD risk, CKD patients are asked to engage in heal...
Single-Injection Adductor Canal Block With Multiple Adjuvants Provides Equivalent Analgesia When Compared With Continuous Adductor Canal Blockade for Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Double-Blinded, Randomized, Controlled, Equivalency Trial

Abstract Background Peripheral nerve blockade is used to provide analgesia for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. This study compared a single-injection adductor canal block (SACB) with adjuvants to continuous adductor canal blockade (CACB). The hypothesis was that the 2 groups would have equivalent analgesia at 30 hours after neural blockade. Methods This was a double-blinded, randomized, controlled, equivalency trial. Sixty patients were randomized to either the SACB group (20 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine, 1.67 mcg/mL of clonidine, 2 mg of dexamethasone, 150 mcg of buprenorphine, and 2.5 mcg/mL of epinephrine) or the CACB group (20 mL 0.25% of bupivacaine injection with 2.5 mcg/mL of epinephrine followed by an 8 mL/h infusion of 0.125% bupivacaine continued through postoperative day 2). The primary outcome was movement pain scores at 30 hours using the numeric rating scale (NRS). The secondary outcomes included serial postoperative NRS pain scores (rest and movement every 6 hours), opioid consumption, time to first opioid administration, ability to straight leg raise, patient satisfaction, length of stay, and the incidence of nausea/vomiting. Results An intention-to-treat analysis included 59 patients. The NRS pain scores with movement were equivalent at 30 hours (SACB 5.5 ± 2.8 vs CACB 5.7 ± 2.9 [mean NRS ± standard deviation]; mean difference 0.2 [−1.5 to 1.0 {90% confidence interval}]). All NRS pain scores were equivalent until 42 hours (rest) and 48 hours (rest and movement) with the CACB group having lower pain scores. Other secondary outcomes were not statistically different. Conclusion An SACB provides equivalent analgesia for up to 36 hours after block placement when compared with a CACB for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty, though a CACB was favored at 42 hours and beyond.
Evaluation of chromogenic substrates for measurement of protease production by biocontrol strains of Trichoderma

Four chromogenic substrates were compared, and methods were developed for measuring protease activity from fungi. Digestion of azoalbumin, a water-soluble substrate, resulted in dye release most closely proportional to enzyme activity. Substrates insoluble in water were advantageous for time-course studies, and azocoll was more sensitive to digestion and easier to handle than hide powder azure. The optimal pH was 7 for measurement of extracellular protease activity from the Trichoderma strains. Addition of calcium or serine protease inhibitors did not affect crude protease activity. The optimized protocol was used to demonstrate that specific activity of proteases produced by the strains of Trichoderma tested did not correlate with their known biocontrol ability.
Mechanisms of calcium release from terminal cisternae in crustacean muscle.

The chain of events leading to the release of Ca2+ from the terminal cisternae of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in vertebrate twitch skeletal muscle fibers begins with the action potential, which is propagated along the transverse tubular membrane (T tubules). The exact link between membrane potential changes in the T tubules (Heiny & Vergara, 1984) and Ca2+ release from the SR remains unresolved (Frank, 1980) despite the fact that the inward spread of mechanical activation has been measured (Costantin, 1975). Until recently, most of the experimental work on E-C coupling has been interpreted in terms of the direct electro-mechanical coupling hypothesis. In this model charged gating particles (Chandler, Rakowski & Schneider, 1976) control directly the release of Ca2+ from the SR (Hui & Gilly, 1979; Franzini-Armstrong, Block & Ferguson, 1990).
Control of Blood Pressure by Muscarinic and Nicotinic Receptors in the Ventrolateral Medulla

Nicotine, one of the most widely used drugs in human society, has been implicated as a risk factor in many cardiovascular diseases. The mechanisms by which nicotine evokes cardiovascular responses are not clear. This lack of information may be partially attributed to our incomplete understanding of cardiovascular actions of this substance even under normal physiological conditions. The results of several investigators indicate that the effects of nicotine on cardiovascular function are variable. Our results indicate that the cardiovascular actions of nicotine may be variable because it evokes different responses from different regions of the brain. For example, it induces an increase and decrease in blood pressure when microinjected into the pressor and depressor areas of the ventrolateral medulla, respectively. Heart rate and resistance in major vascular beds are increased when nicotine is microinjected into the pressor area. Opposite effects on these parameters are observed when it is microinjected into the depressor area. Other investigators have shown that nicotine induces depressor and bradycardic effects when microinjected into the dorsal medulla. Thus, the net effect of nicotine on cardiovascular function depends on the accessibility of different cardiovascular neuronal pools to sufficient concentration of this substance. Specific brain cholinergic nicotinic receptors and the sympathetic nervous system are involved in these actions of nicotine. The cardiovascular actions of nicotine are comparable to those evoked by other cholinergic agonists such as carbachol and physostigmine.
School Socioeconomic Contexts and Adolescent Self-Descriptions in India

Many Western developmental theorists (e.g., Baumeister, 1986; Erikson, 1968) propose an increasingly autonomous self-construal during adolescence (e.g., Erikson, 1968). In this study self-construal among 191 older children and young adolescents (ages 9 through 16) from private and public schools in Madras, India, was assessed by means of the self attitudes instrument (Kuhn and McPartland, 1954) and the scoring system of Trafimow et al. (1991). Individuality in self-construal did not increase with age across all groups but was mediated by socioeconomic strata (SES, as indexed by school) and gender. Boys from high SES schools best conformed to the Western conceptualization of self-concept development. Boys from lower SES schools exhibited opposite patterns with higher group responses in the older age group. The findings highlight the importance of social context in individual development.
Some Remarks on the Optimum Operation of a Nuclear Rocket

Recent papers have dealt with performance optimization of nuclear rockets, that is, rockets in which energy source and working fluid are separate. Their results are modified to include the constraint arising from the energy-limited nature of such rockets. The exhaust-speed program leading to maximum characteristic speed is derived and shown to be independent of mass flow rate. The characteristic speed corresponding to the optimum exhaust program is found to be a function of total working fluid mass only, increasing with increasing working fluid mass. Thus, maximum characteristic speed of energy-limited rockets is obtained at lowest feasible power operation.
Stenting for Benign Airway Obstruction

Surgery has been the standard treatment for benign tracheal stenosis for decades, as it has shown durable results and low morbidity. However, the low incidence of these lesions, the intrinsic technical difficulty of the surgery, and frequent patient comorbidities lead to significant postoperative complications including anastomotic dehiscence and re-stenoses, make stenting an attractive alternative. Most of the experience with stents comes from the palliation of malignant airway strictures, with an estimated 20% to 30 % of patients with lung cancer developing some degree of airway obstruction during the course of their disease. The incidence of benign airway stenoses is unknown.
Reduced and oxidized ascorbates in guinea pig retina under normal and light-exposed conditions.

Both reduced and oxidized ascorbates were measured in aqueous, neural retina, and pigment epithelium-choroid complex (PE-C) of pigmented guinea pigs. Normal values for total ascorbate of 16 mg/dl in aqueous, 22 mg/dl in neural retina, and 7 mg/dl in PE-C were found. After mild photic damage caused by varying lengths of exposure of 10,000 to 20,000 lux of fluorescent lighting, reduced ascorbate concentrations generally decreased in the neural retina, while oxidized ascorbate generally increased in PE-C. In both normal and light-exposed retinas, reduced ascorbate was predominant in the neural retina, and oxidized ascorbate was predominant in the PE-C. Histochemical localization of reduced ascorbate occurred in the Muller cell fibers and at the apices of the retinal pigment epithelium.
Intercountry Adoption of Children with Visual Impairments: An Exploratory Study:

IntroductionAlthough there is much research related to the adoption of children with disabilities in general, there is none that focuses specifically on the experiences of parents who have adopted ...
Pulmonary Manifestations of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Pulmonary manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease are increasingly recognized in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Most commonly, incidental abnormalities are noted on chest imaging or pulmonary function tests. Although clinically significant pulmonary disease is less common, it can carry significant morbidity for patients. We review the presenting symptoms, workup, and management for several of the more common forms of inflammatory bowel disease-related pulmonary disease. Increased awareness of the spectrum of extraintestinal inflammatory bowel disease will help providers more readily recognize this phenomenon in their own patients and more comprehensively address the protean sequelae of inflammatory bowel disease.
Transcriptional Response of SK-N-AS Cells to Methamidophos (Extended Abstract)

Transcriptomics response of SK-N-AS cells to methamidophos (an acetylcholine esterase inhibitor) exposure was measured at 10 time points between 0.5 and 48 h. The data was analyzed using a combination of traditional statistical methods, machine learning techniques, and methods to infer causal relations between time profiles. We identified several processes that appeared to be upregulated in cells treated with methamidophos including: unfolded protein response, response to cAMP, calcium ion response, and cell-cell signaling. The data confirmed the expected consequence of acetylcholine buildup. Transcripts with potentially key roles were identified by anomaly detection using convolutional autoencoders and Generative Adversarial Networks, and causal networks relating these transcripts were inferred using Siamese convolutional networks and time warp causal inference.
Instrumental improvements for the trace analysis of structural isomers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with molecular mass 302 Da.

Abstract Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are some of the most common environmental pollutants encountered worldwide. Eco-toxicological studies attribute a significant portion of the biological activity of PAH contaminated samples to the presence of high molecular weight PAHs (HMW-PAHs), i.e. PAHs with molecular mass (MM) greater than 300 Da. The research presented here focuses on the analysis of PAH isomers of MM 302 Da. This is not a trivial task. There are 23 isomers with MM 302 Da available to commercial and academic researchers. Many of them are difficult to separate in the chromatographic column and have virtually identical fragmentation patterns. The selectivity of HPLC absorption and fluorescence detectors is modest for resolving co-eluting isomers. Previous work in our lab demonstrated the potential of laser excited time-resolved Shpol’skii spectroscopy (LETRSS) for the analysis of 302 Da isomers in HPLC fractions. The main limitation of the technique was instrumental and due to the narrow range of excitation wavelengths of the tunable dye laser used for sample excitation. Herein, we remove this limitation with an optical parametric oscillator (OPO)-based wavelength tuning laser that covers the whole excitation range of 302 Da isomers. It is possible now to excite each isomer at its excitation wavelength for maximum fluorescence emission and reach limits of detection at the parts-per-trillion level (pg.mL−1). The excitation bandwidth of the OPO laser (0.2 nm) is a good match for the narrow excitation spectra of 302 Da isomers in n-octane. This feature, associated to unique vibrational fluorescence profiles and lifetime decays, allows for the unambiguous identification of co-eluting isomers in RPLC fractions. The same is true for their quantitative analysis in coal tar samples.
Perovskite Materials in Photovoltaics

This chapter presents a summary of the design and development of perovskite-based functional materials for the application in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as the light absorbers, the electron transportation materials, and the photoelectrodes. The importance of increasing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and the long-term operational stability is explained, and the operational principles and the functions, advantages, and requirements of the perovskite-based key functional materials for PSCs and DSSCs are described. Some design strategies to enhance the PCE and durability of perovskite-based PSCs and DSSCs are presented including the functional doping, morphology control, interfacial engineering, coupling and the defect control, etc. Some challenges and future research topics in this dynamic field are also presented in order to provide some useful guidelines for the future development of perovskite-based materials for photovoltaics (solar cell) applications. This chapter is interesting and useful to a broad readership in the various fields of PSCs, DSSCs, electrochemistry, photochemistry, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and so on.
Improving Parenting to Promote School Readiness: A Preliminary Evaluation of the Books Can…© Public Library Program

The present study examines associations between parents’ involvement in an enhanced storytime program and parenting knowledge and efficacy for supporting their child’s socioemotional development and book reading. Books Can… © was developed by a public library to teach parents important child development information and strategies for supporting their child’s socioemotional learning. Parents and their young children participated in a 6-week interactive program that included book reading, songs, interactive activities, and parenting tips. Parents (n =119) completed questionnaires both prior to and after participating in the program. Multilevel general linear models compared responses to survey items before and after the program, indicating significant increases in parent knowledge, attitudes, and reading behavior by the end of the program. This study provides preliminary support documenting the benefits of the Books Can… © program. Moreover, results highlight public libraries and enhanced storytime programs as meaningful settings for promoting family involvement in children’s early learning.
An Interdisciplinary Examination of the Material Effects of Deceptive Sport Beverage Advertisements

Sport companies frequently make product claims in advertisements to influence consumer purchase decisions. Sport beverages, in particular, often tout health benefits and performance claims. Unfortu...
A deep RNN for CT image reconstruction

Filtered back projection (FBP) reconstruction is simple and computationally efficient and is used in many commercial CT (tomography) imaging products. However, higher Poisson noise levels or metal objects in the imaged area can lead to severe artifacts. Iterative reconstruction employs stochastic models for the imaging process and the characteristics of the medical images and can reduce Poisson noise and metal related artifacts. But it is computation-intensive and furthermore, its image models are relatively simple and cannot quite capture the highly complex nature of the medical images, leaving rooms for further improvement. Recent advances in neural networks and deep learning could offer potential solutions to overcome these two problems. Towards that end, most of the neural networks proposed so far for CT image reconstruction are feed-forward networks with CNN (convolutional neural network) and fully connected layers, attempting to learn the mapping from the projections or the FBP output to the reconstructed image. While these networks have demonstrated some promising reconstruction or post-processing results, their architectures are somewhat arbitrary and the question remains as to what would be a more principled way to find a good architecture, thereby further improving reconstruction results. One promising idea is to design the network structure based on signal processing principles such as MAP (maximum a posteriori) estimation and iterative optimization. In this work, we developed a novel RNN (recurrent neural network) based on an accelerated iterative MAP estimation algorithm. This network makes use of, rather than learn, the forward image model such that the learning can be focused on the image or prior model and acceleration. This has led to good reconstruction results where Poisson noise and metal artifacts are greatly reduced.
CORONARY MICROVASCULARDYSFUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH PSORISASIS

Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) is a powerful prognostic marker of cardiovascular (CV) risk. Inflammation is a driver of atherosclerosis and endothelial cell dysfunction. Psoriasis (PsO) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder, and CV disease the leading cause of death among patients with
The Coase Theorem and the Power to Increase Transaction Costs

The Coase Theorem maintains that in the absence of transaction costs, in Francesco Parisi's words, "regardless of the initial allocation of property rights and choice of remedial protection, the market will determine ultimate allocations of legal entitlements, based on their relative value to different parties." The paper explores the consequences for Coase's Theorem when a party without the initial allocation of a property right can manipulate the transaction costs of the party with the initial allocation in asserting that right. A party wishing to obtain the ultimate entitlement may find it preferable not to purchase the entitlement but to increase the transaction costs faced by the party with the initial entitlement in asserting that entitlement. The paper uses the example of the sale of consumer financial information in connection with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act as a vehicle for showing that in some cases the power to manipulate transaction costs will not interfere with parties bargaining to reach the highest-valued use of property, but that in other cases it will. Indeed, in some circumstances, someone contracting with a party with the power to inflate transaction costs will be better off without the initial allocation of rights. The paper also provides other examples of inflated consumer transaction costs. Finally, it discusses how federal regulators have attempted to address the problem of inflated consumer transaction costs under Gramm-Leach-Bliley and suggests another solution to the problem.
An In situ Collagen‐HA Hydrogel System Promotes Survival and Preserves the Proangiogenic Secretion of hiPSC‐derived Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived vascular smooth muscle cells (hiPSC-VSMCs) with proangiogenic properties have huge therapeutic potential. While hiPSC-VSMCs have already been utilized for wound healing using a biomimetic collagen scaffold, an in situ forming hydrogel mimicking the native environment of skin offers the promise of hiPSC-VSMC mediated repair and regeneration. Herein, the impact of a collagen type-I-hyaluronic acid (HA) in situ hydrogel cross-linked using a PEG-based cross-linker on hiPSC-VSMCs viability and proangiogenic paracrine secretion was investigated. Our study demonstrated increases in cell viability, maintenance of phenotype and proangiogenic growth factor secretion, and proangiogenic activity in response to the conditioned medium. The optimally cross-linked and functionalized collagen type-I/HA hydrogel system developed in this study shows promise as an in situ hiPSC-VSMC carrier system for wound regeneration. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Influence of Perfluorobutanoic Acid (PFBA) on the Developmental Cycle and Damage Potential of the Beet Armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), one of the short-chain replacement perfluoroalkyl substances, has been shown to accumulate in plants. The potential of PFBA to modulate the developmental cycle of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, a polyphagous pest, was investigated. Second-instar larvae were fed with PFBA-spiked artificial diets and leaves from soybean plants grown with PFBA-spiked irrigation water. Spiked PFBA concentrations were 200 μg/kg for the artificial diet, whereas 405 to 15,190 ng/kg accumulated in the soybean leaves. The larvae fed with the PFBA-spiked diet showed a significant increase in weight gain compared with the controls over a 7-day exposure period. A similar weight gain trend was observed with larvae fed with the PFBA-containing soybean leaves, with the dose–response data fitting into a Brain-Cousens hormesis model with a 57% stimulation over controls. The artificial diet treatments showed 66.7% metamorphosed larva to pupa at 9 days after exposure (dpe) compared with 33.3% of the controls. The adult emergence at 16-dpe followed a similar trend with 57.7% and 33.3%, respectively, for the exposed and control groups. The duration of transition from larvae to adults was more symmetrical and 0.5 day faster for the exposed groups over controls. The beet armyworm caused more damage on leaves from the PFBA exposed plants in a nonmonotonic dose–response manner. The results suggest PFBA may have a stimulatory impact on some hormonal signaling pathways at low doses.
Crack-Free Silicon Monoxide as Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The volume expansion of Si and SiO particles was investigated using a single-particle battery assembled with a focused ion beam and scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) system. Single Si and SiO ...
Are There Moral Limits to Wage Inequality

For moral and practical reasons, many democratic societies address the problem of inequality, in part, by enforcing a minimum wage. Yet this policy raises another question: Should there be equal pay for all workers? I argue that equal compensation is unjustified because some wage inequality is morally permissible, although there are limits. First, I summarize the factors that determine the value of wages. Second, I examine a moral concern about wage labor, whether its conditions are coercive because they restrict alternatives or include threats to welfare. If these conditions are coercive, we have good reasons to establish a different standard for wages that aims to reduce them for all. Finally, I claim that establishing such a standard will require increasing the value of low-wage work to a living wage.
Ternary LDPC Error Correction for Arrhythmia Classification in Wireless Wearable Electrocardiogram Sensors

This paper presents a ternary low-density parity-check (LDPC) error correction system for wireless electrocardiogram sensors to improve the accuracy of arrhythmia classification. The classification system is based on ternary Delta-modulated bitstreams and rotation linear kernel support vector machines, which identifies the supraventricular ectopic beat (SVEB) and the ventricular ectopic beat (VEB) over the normal heartbeats. We model errors using a ternary symmetric channel with probability parameter p and construct a variety of ternary LDPC codes with different coding rates by concatenating two-component sub-matrices to form a parity-check matrix with a quasi-cyclic structure that facilitates the hardware design. In particular, a hardware-friendly LDPC encoder circuit is proposed that leverages the highly structured parity-check matrix to perform serial generation of the parity symbols using an accumulator and a look-up table. The encoder circuits are implemented on FPGA and synthesized on ASIC using a 32 nm CMOS process. Simulation results show that the ternary LDPC codes can significantly improve classification accuracy in the presence of errors. For example, with an error probability of up to 21% in the sensor output bitstreams, the classification accuracy remains above 99% with the proposed error correction system.
The role of Caenorhabditis elegans sex-determination homologs, Mi-sdc-1 and Mi-tra-1 in Meloidogyne incognita

Sex determination is a key developmental event in all organisms. The pathway that regulates sexual fate has been well characterized at the molecular level in the model free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This study aims to gain a preliminary understanding of sex-determining pathways in a plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne incognita, and the extent to which the roles of the sex determination genes are conserved in a hermaphrodite species, C. elegans, and plant-parasitic nematode species, M. incognita. In this study, we targeted two sex-determining orthologues, sdc-1 and tra-1 from M. incognita using RNA interference (RNAi). RNAi was performed by soaking second-stage juveniles of M. incognita in a solution containing dsRNA of either Mi-tra-1or Mi-sdc-1 or both. To determine the effect of RNAi of the target genes, the juveniles treated with the dsRNA were inoculated onto a susceptible cultivar of cowpea grown in a nutrient pouch at 28 °C for 5 weeks. The development of the nematodes was analyzed at different time points during the growth period and compared to untreated controls. Our results showed that neither Mi-sdc-1 nor Mi-tra-1 have a significant role in regulating sexual fate in M. incognita. However, the silencing of Mi-sdc-1 significantly delayed maturity to adult females but did not affect egg production in mature females. In contrast, the downregulation of Mi-tra-1 transcript resulted in a significant reduction in egg production in both single and combinatorial RNAi-treated nematodes. Our results indicate that M. incognita may have adopted a divergent function for Mi-sdc-1 and Mi-tra-1distinct from Caenorhabditis spp. However, Mi-tra-1 might have an essential role in female fecundity in M. incognita and is a promising dsRNA target for root-knot nematode (RKN) management using host-delivered RNAi.