cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant Activity Constituents of Lonicera japonica Leaves

A wavelength conversion method was established to determine chlorogenic acid,luteolin and luteoloside in Lonicera japonica leaves. The content of chlorogenic acid in aqueous phase was 2.05%,while the content of luteolin and luteoloside in EA phase were 1.12% and 0.57%,respectively. The antioxidative activity of effective components in Lonicera japonica leaves was evaluated by DPPH·,FRAP and ORAC with Vc as reference substance. The results showed that crude extraction,crude fraction,chlorogenic acid,luteolin and luteoloside in Lonicera japonica leaves all had great antioxidative activity. The strongest antioxidant capacity substance was luteolin,its IC50 value,reducing capacity and ORAC value were 0.01764 mg/mL,1751.8±13.9 mmol/L and 23817.44 μmol Trolox/g,respectively. The crude fraction eluted by 30% ethanol also showed high antioxidative acitivity,its IC50 value,reduction capability and ORAC value were 0.02548 mg/mL,933.8±11.6 mmol/L,and 10557.97 μmol Trolox/g,respectively. The antioxidative activity of each constituent increased with the increase of concentration and purity of the antioxidant. Therefore,there is broad development and utilization prospect of the antioxidant activity constituents of Lonicera Japonica leaves as a new type efficient non-toxic antioxidant.
Successfully managed endophthalmitis following strabismus surgery

Endophthalmitis following strabismus surgery is rare and has been reported to occur in from 1:3,500 to 1:185,000 cases. Severe adverse sequelae, including phthisis bulbi and enucleation, occur often despite early and aggressive treatment. This report describes 3 patients with endophthalmitis following apparently uneventful strabismus surgery by three different surgeons. Infections were aggressively treated. Two patients received intravitreal steroids; all 3 returned to their preoperative baseline visual acuity.
Integrating Fracture Mechanics Into the Material and Structural Design Process

A new paradigm is now emerging that has the potential to transform fracture control and, in fact, to transform the entire material and structural design process. In a nutshell, the new paradigm is to design and virtually evaluate the material, the manufacturing process, and the structure in an integrated manner for the specific purpose of meeting structural reliability goals in a fraction of the currently required time. The engine of the new paradigm is a set of robust computational models for fatigue crack growth (FCG) and fracture that are fully integrated with computational models for material microstructure and properties, manufacturing processes, and structural response. Efficient methods for calculating stress intensity factors are linked directly with 2D and 3D finite-element models for stress and thermal analysis to perform automated FCG life analysis, next incorporating advanced probabilistic models to calculate fracture risk. The initial conditions for these calculations are informed by direct links to manufacturing process simulation software to determine bulk residual stress fields and location-specific microstructure and properties. Crack origins are linked to specific quantified threats, such as inherent material anomalies, induced manufacturing or maintenance anomalies, or naturally occurring fatigue damage. The entire calculation process is performed in an appropriate probabilistic framework to quantify significant uncertainty and variability. Several specific examples of recent efforts to build and extend this integrated framework are cited, and several suggestions are offered for future work.
Self-assembled protein nanocarrier for intracellular delivery of antibody

Despite the great potential of antibodies as intracellular therapeutics, there is a significant, unmet challenge in delivering sufficient amounts of folded antibodies inside cells. We describe an all-protein self-assembled nanocarrier capable of delivering functional antibodies to the cytosol. By combining an α-helical peptide that self-assembles into a hexameric coiled-coil bundle and an Fc-binding Protein A fragment, we generated the Hex nanocarrier that is efficiently internalized by cells without cytotoxicity. Localization of multiple Fc-binding domains on the hexameric core allowed the Hex nanocarrier to tightly bind antibody with sub-nanomolar affinity regardless of pH and the antibody's originating species. The size of the Hex nanocarrier ranges from 25 to 35nm depending on the antibody loading ratio. We demonstrated the capacity of the Hex nanocarrier to deliver functional antibodies to the cytosol by employing anti-β-tubulin or anti-nuclear pore complex antibody as cargo. The design of the Hex nanocarrier is modular, which enables functionalization beyond Fc-binding. We exploited this feature to improve the cytosolic delivery efficiency of the Hex nanocarrier by addition of an endosomolytic motif to the core. The modified Hex nanocarrier exhibited similar antibody-binding behavior, but delivered more antibodies to their cytosolic targets at a faster rate. This work demonstrates an efficient intracellular antibody delivery platform with significant advantages over existing approaches as it does not require modification of the antibody, is biodegradable, and has an antibody to carrier mass ratio of 13, which is greater than other reported antibody carriers.
Empirical analysis of profit maximization and cost minimization behaviour of Kansas farms

ABSTRACTA farm-level deterministic and stochastic nonparametric tests of profit maximization and cost minimization behaviour for a sample of 112 Kansas farms was completed from 1996 to 2013. Allowing for monotonic non-regressive technological change and using a 10% significance level, 73 farms violated the profit-maximization hypothesis and 58 farms violated the cost minimization hypothesis. More profit maximization violations existed relative to cost minimization violations. However, comparing these results with results for 289 Kansas farms using data from 1973 to 1990, farms have significantly reduced profit maximizing violations. Cost minimizing behaviour has not changed substantially.
Challenges in physical modeling for adaptation of cyber-physical systems

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) mix software, hardware, and physical aspects with equal importance. Typically, the use of models of such systems during run time has concentrated only on managing and controlling the cyber (software) aspects. However, to fully realize the goals of a CPS, physical models too have to be treated as first-class models. This approach gives rise to three main challenges: (a) identifying and integrating physical and software models with different characteristics and semantics; (b) obtaining instances of physical models at a suitable level of abstraction for adaptation; and (c) using and adapting physical models to control CPSs. In this position paper, we elaborate on these three challenges and describe our vision of making physical models first-class entities in adaptation. We illustrate this vision in the context of power adaptation for a service robotic system.
Algorithmic processing of intrinsic signals in affixed transmission speckle analysis (ATSA) (Conference Presentation)

Affixed Transmission Speckle Analysis (ATSA) is a method recently developed to measure blood flow that is based on laser speckle imaging miniaturized into a clip-on form factor the size of a pulse-oximeter. Measuring at a rate of 250 Hz, ATSA is capable or obtaining the cardiac waveform in blood flow data, referred to as the Speckle-Plethysmogram (SPG). ATSA is also capable of simultaneously measuring the Photoplethysmogram (PPG), a more conventional signal related to light intensity. In this work we present several novel algorithms for extracting physiologically relevant information from the combined SPG-PPG waveform data. First we show that there is a slight time-delay between the SPG and PPG that can be extracted computationally. Second, we present a set of frequency domain algorithms that measure harmonic content on pulse-by-pulse basis for both the SPG and PPG. Finally, we apply these algorithms to data obtained from a set of subjects including healthy controls and individuals with heightened cardiovascular risk. We hypothesize that the time-delay and frequency content are correlated with cardiovascular health; specifically with vascular stiffening.
Nerve and Tendon Ultrasound (25 min)

: This presentation will cover, appearance of normal nerve versus tendon; anisotropy (advantage and disadvantage); special case carpal tunnel; tendinopathy; nerve impingement; special case cubital tunnel.
Strong enhancement of tumor radioresponse by CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN)

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004 1306 CpG ODNs are synthetic DNA sequences containing unmethylated cytosine-guanine motifs that have potent immunomodulatory effects. Via Toll-like receptor 9 agonism of dendritic cells and B–cells, CpGs induce cytokines, activate natural killer cells, and elicit vigorous Th1 T-cell responses which lead to significant antitumor effects including improved efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents. Based on known CpG mechanisms and on previously demonstrated in vivo radiopotentiation by bacterial immunotherapeutic agents, CpG ODNs were tested for enhancement of tumor responses to radiotherapy. C3Hf/Kam/Law mice bearing a syngeneic immunogenic sarcoma, designated FSa, received single dose local tumor irradiation to the tumor bearing leg with or without CpG 1826. A control ODN with no CpG motif, ODN 1982, was used as an inactive negative control. Several CpG dose levels and treatment schedules in combination with radiation were tested for efficacy, the most common scheme consisting of 3 x 100 μg CpG sc peritumorally: when tumors grew to 6mm in diameter, at 8 mm in diameter at which time tumors were locally irradiated, and 7 days later. Groups of 7 to 10 mice were compared for tumor growth delay (TGD defined as days for tumor growth from 8 to 12 mm) and for tumor cure. In TGD experiments a single radiation dose of 20 Gy was used, whereas in tumor cure experiments a range of single doses from 10 Gy to 55 Gy were used to determine TCD50 values (radiation dose yielding 50% tumor cure). CpG 1826 alone delayed FSa growth slightly (1-3 days). However, when combined with local tumor irradiation CpG 1826 dramatically increased radiation-induced TGD from 12.9 ± 1.2 days to 29.2 ± 4.2 days [enhancement factor (EF) of 2.6], and 3 of 7 mice were cured. CpG 1826 was similarly effective in its ability to potentiate tumor response measured by TGD when a single dose of 100 μg per mouse was given from 7 days before to 3 days after local tumor irradiation. The control ODN was ineffective in enhancing tumor radioresponse. CpG 1826 also greatly enhanced tumor cure, reducing the control (radiation only) TCD50 value from 39.6 Gy to 20.5 Gy (EF= 1.93). The CpG 1826–induced enhancement of tumor radioresponse was greatly reduced when tumors grew in mice whose immunocompetence was compromised by 6 Gy whole body irradiation delivered one day before tumor cell implantation. This finding implies that the induced enhancement of tumor radioresponse was mediated by an immune response activated by CpG 1826. Overall, our findings show that treatment of mice bearing an immunogenic tumor with CpG 1826 strongly enhanced the radioresponse measured by both TGD and tumor cure. Therefore, CpG ODNs may have potential to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy.
Survival Outcomes in Patients with T2N0M0 (Stage II) Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Larynx

Objective Emerging data have demonstrated suboptimal outcomes among patients with stage II larynx cancer. Our objective is to report survival outcomes for T2N0M0 larynx cancer and to determine the cause-specific survival. Study Design Case series with planned data collection. Setting Tertiary academic center. Subjects Adults with T2N0M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx treated with curative intent. Methods A head and neck cancer epidemiology database was queried for eligible subjects from 2003 to 2014. Data were extracted from the electronic medical record and research database, and survival analyses were performed. Results Thirty-four patients with previously untreated stage II larynx cancer were identified (median follow-up 48 months). Patients included 27 males and 7 females with a mean age of 59 years. The majority of tumors arose from the glottis (59%). Of the cohort, 12% were treated with surgery, 65% radiation therapy, and 24% chemoradiation therapy. The estimated 2-year overall survival was 81%, (95% confidence interval [CI], 59%-92%), disease-specific survival was 91% (95% CI, 69%-98%), and recurrence-free survival was 84% (95% CI, 65%-93%). Four of 5 patients with persistent or recurrent disease posttreatment were successfully salvaged with total laryngectomy with 100% locoregional control. There were 11 mortalities (2 disease related, 2 due to metachronous primaries, 3 treatment related, and 4 from other/unknown causes). Conclusion Stage II laryngeal cancer has suboptimal survival outcomes. This appears to be a reflection of medical comorbidities, propensity for metachronous primaries, and the sequelae of late treatment effects rather than poor locoregional control.
Introduction: Comparative Theologies and Multiple Modernities

The introduction chapter discusses the correlation of interreligious dialogue (practical engagement) with comparative religious scholarship (theoretical foundation and elaboration). David Tracy presents public theology in ways of correlating it analogically with the comparative study of religion. On the other hand, Francis Clooney develops a commentarial approach to comparative theology, utilizing Tracy’s analogical imagination. Clooney’s position is astute in a careful and deliberate reading of Christian texts with other religious texts. To what extent does the hermeneutical reflection and comparative theology effectively relate to theological discourse of God’s mission and church? How do we reformulate Clooney’s epistemology of comparative theology (faith seeking understanding) in the sociological debate of multiple modernities and make its comparative project more amenable to social and political agenda? Given this, I shall treat a necessity of argument for integrating comparative theology linked to the Ultimate Reality in a phenomenological framework. In distinction from Tracy, I shall elucidate a phenomenological study of religion and culture, in which a theological phenomenology is conceptualized in a hermeneutical and sociological framework for developing comparative theology. This new model of critical comparative theology and its method is introduced with respect to Clooney’s comparative theology, when it comes to deal with social responsibility, politics of recognition, and postcolonial challenge.
TRADITIONAL CV RISK FACTORS VERSUS FITNESS AND STRESS TEST FINDINGS: WHICH BETTER PREDICTS MORTALITY?

Hypertension (HTN), diabetes (DM), and smoking are known cardiovascular disease risk factors that lead to increased mortality, as do low functional aerobic capacity (FAC), abnormal heart rate recovery (AbnHRR), and abnormal exercise electrocardiogram (AbnECG). We reviewed the Mayo Integrated Stress
The blended dominant mode rejection adaptive beamformer

Adaptive beamformers balance competing demands of enhancing desired signals, suppressing discrete interferers and attenuating background noise. This requires an accurate estimate of the spatial covariance matrix that is challenging to obtain in nonstationary environments. The dominant mode rejection (DMR) beamformer [Abraham & Owsley, Oceans, 1990] addresses this challenge by replacing the sample covariance matrix (SCM) eigenvalues of the noise subspace with the average of these eigenvalues to improve its conditioning. The DMR beamformer requires an estimate of the interferer subspace dimension, and the DMR beamformer's performance degrades when this estimated dimension is inaccurate. We propose the Blended DMR beamformer, whose array weights are formed as a mixture of fixed-dimension DMR beamformer array weights across a range of interferer dimensions. The contribution of each fixed-dimension DMR beamformer is a function of its recent performance in suppressing interferers and attenuating noise. The perf...
Peer networks, parental attributes, and drug use among Asian-Indian adolescents born in the United States.

This study examined the interrelationships among peer networks, parental attributes, and drug use among Asian-Indian adolescents born in the United States whose parents emigrated from India. The sample consisted of 200 Asian-Indian adolescents, 116 males and 84 females, aged 13 to 18, who were born in the United States and resided in the greater New York metropolitan area. The subjects were interviewed using a semistructured instrument adapted from relevant validated scales and items from other researchers. Adolescent-reported data were analyzed using descriptive and univariable techniques. Of the 200 subjects, 32.5% had tried some form of tobacco, alcohol, or other drug, and 67.5% did not report drug use of any kind. The adolescents stated whether they had ever (at least one time) smoked cigarettes (16.5%), drank beer (18%), drank wine (20.5%), or smoked marijuana (2.5%). The parents' communication of the harmful consequences of drug use and approval of the adolescents' peer networks correlated (p < .05) independently with less drug use by the adolescents. The parents' concern for education was positively correlated (p < .05) with the adolescents' academic performance. The prevalence of drug use among Asian-Indian adolescents is low. Parents' awareness of their children's school performance, peer networks, and concerns related to the consequences of drug use can be used as an effective mechanism to communicate the prevention of drug use among adolescents.
Urethral Diverticula and Other Periurethral Masses

Urethral diverticula may represent some of the more challenging diagnostic and reconstructive cases in urology. Women with lower urinary tract symptoms, pelvic pain, or vaginal masses are often referred to a urologist or gynecologist as diagnostic dilemmas. A portion of these patients are subsequently found to have urethral diverticula. However, urethral diverticula represent only one of several types of pathologic periurethral masses presenting in the female. Given the rather wide spectrum of lesions and conditions that present in this manner, proper characterization is necessary prior to formulating a therapeutic plan. Often, although not invariably, urethral diverticula and other periurethral masses are treated surgically. These cases are approached individually and a successful repair often may employ a variety of reconstructive maneuvers including flaps and grafts. The operating surgeon, therefore, should be prepared to be flexible and alter the operative plan accordingly with the findings at operation.
Determinants in Protein Topology

Proteins are synthesized with specific structural information that determine their topology. Based in part on experimental evidence and in part on theoretical considerations, one can distinguish four groups of protein sequence that are determinants for protein topology. These are: (1) signal sequences, (2) stop-transfer sequences, (3) insertion sequences, and (4) sorting sequences. Signal sequences trigger translocation of proteins across distinct cellular membranes. Stop-transfer sequences abrogate translocation. Both sequences interact with specific membrane proteins that function as translocators. Insertion sequences serve to integrate monotopic integral membrane proteins into the lipid bilayer without the help of translocators. Sorting sequences function to route protein traffic following translocation or integration into membranes.
Interstage outcomes in single ventricle patients undergoing hybrid stage 1 palliation

OBJECTIVE Interstage readmissions are common in infants with single ventricle congenital heart disease undergoing staged surgical palliation. We retrospectively examined readmissions during the interstage period. DESIGN Retrospective analysis. SETTING The Heart Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. PATIENTS Newborns undergoing hybrid stage 1 palliation from January 2012 to December 2016 who survived to hospital discharge and were followed at our institution. INTERVENTIONS All patients underwent hybrid stage 1 palliation. OUTCOME MEASURES Outcomes included (1) reason for interstage readmission; (2) feeding modality during interstage period; (3) major interstage adverse events; and (4) interstage mortality. RESULTS Study group comprised 57 patients. Five patients only admitted once during the interstage period for scheduled cardiac catheterization were included in the no readmission group. Therefore, 43 patients (75%) had a total of 87 interstage readmissions. Fourteen patients had 15 major interstage adverse events accounting for 17% of total readmissions. Stroke (n = 1); sepsis (n = 1); pericardial effusion requiring drainage (n = 1); mesenteric ischemia (n = 1); shock (n = 1); and cardiac catheterization requiring intervention (n = 11)-ductal stent balloon angioplasty (n = 3), enlargement of atrial septal defect/stent placement (n = 3), retrograde aortic arch stenosis (n = 4). Thirty-three readmissions were secondary to gastrointestinal/feeding issues; 15 cyanosis; 15 work of breathing; and 9 asymptomatic patients. Four patients suffered interstage deaths (7%). Five patients (9%) spent >30 days in the hospital during the interstage period. Of the 47 newborns (82%) discharged exclusively orally feeding, 74% remained all orally feeding throughout interstage period. No patient discharged with tube feedings learned to eat during the interstage period. CONCLUSION Interstage readmissions are common in the hybrid patient population. Seventeen percent were secondary to major adverse events. Interstage mortality was 7%. Future studies to identify interventions aimed at decreasing feeding issues and viral bronchiolitis in this tenuous patient population will hopefully improve quality outcomes, reduce readmissions, and lessen health care costs.
Pierre S. du Pont and the Making of an Anti-Prohibition Activist1

AbstractThis paper examines the motivations of perhaps the highest-profile crusader for the repeal of the U.S. national prohibition amendment, Pierre S. du Pont II. The paper uses du Pont’s archive...
A Radio Frequency Comb Filter for Sparse Fourier Transform-Based Spectrum Sensing

This work demonstrates a passive low-insertion-loss (IL)RF filter with periodic passbands and capable of sparsifying the spectrum from 238 to 526 MHz for sparse Fourier transform (SFT)based spectrum sensing. The demonstrated periodic filter employs LiNbO 3 lateral overtone bulk acoustic resonators (LOBARs)with high-quality factors ($Q$ s), large electromechanical coupling (k t 2), and multiple equally spaced resonances in a ladder topology. The fabricated LOBARs show k t 2 larger than 1.5% and figure of merits (k2Q) more than 30 for over 10 tones simultaneously and are both among the highest demonstrated in overmoded resonators. The multi-band filter centered at 370 MHz have then been obtained with a passband span of 291 MHz, a spectral spacing of 22 MHz, an IL of 2 dB, FBWs around 0.6%, and a sparsification ratio between 7 and 15. An out-of-band rejection around 25 dB has also been achieved for more than 14 bands. The great performance demonstrated by the RF filter with 14 useable periodic passbands will serve to enable future sparse Fourier transform-based spectrum sensing.
The visible hand behind study-abroad waves: cram schools, organizational framing and the international mobility of Chinese students

This paper adds an organizational dimension to the body of literature on international student mobility. Existing studies examine push/pull factors and student motivations, neglecting that students’ motivations and demands are not necessarily spontaneous, but can be shaped by external forces. Drawing on interview, archival and observation data collected on four leading cram schools that prepare students for the TOEFL/GRE, IELTS and SAT in China, I argue that cram schools not only coach students on test preparation and “how to study abroad,” but they also adopt organizational framing to instill in students “why to study abroad.” Leading cram schools have played an integral role in promoting a certain organizational framing as the dominant approach of a niche market in a given era. During the 1990s, when the TOEFL/GRE niche market was rapidly expanding, the market leader in this niche promoted self-help and nationalism as dominant discourses. Self-help discourse frames overseas study and test preparation not as means, but as the ends of students’ lives: going beyond one’s limit and making one’s life complete. Nationalist discourse depicts overseas study as a detour to build a stronger China after learning from the West. After 2000, however, new organizational framing picked up momentum in the new niche markets of IELTS and SAT. Targeting urban middle-class consumers, market leaders in these new niches increasingly framed studying abroad as a springboard for immigration, a channel for becoming global elites and an opportunity for status improvement for the entire family. My article bridges literature on transnational higher education with studies on supplementary education.
Dynamic allostery-based molecular workings of kinase:peptide complexes

A dense interplay between structure and dynamics underlies the working of proteins, especially enzymes. Protein kinases are molecular switches that are optimized for their regulation rather than catalytic turnover rates. Using long-simulations dynamic allostery analysis, this study describes an exploration of the dynamic kinase:peptide complex. We have used protein kinase A (PKA) as a model system as a generic prototype of the protein kinase superfamily of signaling enzymes. Our results explain the role of dynamic coupling of active-site residues that must work in coherence to provide for a successful activation or inhibition response from the kinase. Amino acid networks-based community analysis allows us to ponder the conformational entropy of the kinase:nucleotide:peptide ternary complex. We use a combination of 7 peptides that include 3 types of PKA-binding partners: Substrates, products, and inhibitors. The substrate peptides provide for dynamic insights into the enzyme:substrate complex, while the product phospho-peptide allows for accessing modes of enzyme:product release. Mapping of allosteric communities onto the PKA structure allows us to locate the more unvarying and flexible dynamic regions of the kinase. These distributions, when correlated with the structural elements of the kinase core, allow for a detailed exploration of key dynamics-based signatures that could affect peptide recognition and binding at the kinase active site. These studies provide a unique dynamic allostery-based perspective to kinase:peptide complexes that have previously been explored only in a structural or thermodynamic context.
Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura Splenectomy in the Context of New Medical Therapies.

Abstract Background As medical therapy improves, splenectomy has been relegated to third- or fourth-line therapy for immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in many hematologic practices. However, these medications have well-known associated morbidity and changes in treatment algorithms may affect the timing and degree of response to splenectomy as well as complications in heavily treated ITP patients. Materials and methods This is a retrospective study of consecutive patients who underwent ITP splenectomy from January 1994 to June 2017. Nonresponders after splenectomy and those with recurrent disease were compared to complete responders. Results The cohort included 84 patients. Median number of medications received before splenectomy was 3 (1-6). 14.3% of patients had a medication-related complication, including heart failure, adrenal insufficiency, diabetes mellitus, infection, and osteoporosis. After splenectomy, 83.5% had a complete response, 7.5% partial response, and 9% no response. Complete response was associated with response to steroids before surgery (P Conclusions Many ITP patients have complications related to medication use, and 52.0% required nonelective splenectomy despite maximal medical therapy. Earlier splenectomy may avoid medication-related complications and may reduce the complications from splenectomy. Splenectomy remains an effective and safe treatment for ITP.
Connecting mothers to care: Effectiveness and scale-up of an mHealth program in Timor-Leste.

Background Health Alliance International (HAI) with the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Timor-Leste and Catalpa International implemented a mobile phone-based mHealth program in 2013 known as Liga Inan ("Connecting Mothers"). Liga Inan was designed as a sustainable and scalable effort that would support MoH efforts to improve maternal and newborn health care-seeking and home practices. Key aims were to use mobile phone technology to improve communication between pregnant women and their MoH health providers and to increase optimal maternal health behaviors. MoH health staff registered pregnant women into Liga Inan at their first antenatal care (ANC) visit and followed them through pregnancy, delivery and six months postpartum. A web-based platform sent text messages twice weekly to promote safe pregnancy/delivery and facilitated phone communication between pregnant women and their MoH care providers. Methods For the program's final evaluation, baseline (2012) and final (2015) surveys interviewed women in one intervention district and one adjacent control district who had given birth in the preceding two years. Primary outcomes were receiving four or more ANC visits, using skilled birth attendants, delivery in health facilities, and timely postnatal care. Results Multivariate analysis compared endline maternal health behaviors for women in the intervention district compared to baseline and to women in the control district. Controlling for other factors, women in the intervention district had nearly twice the odds of having a skilled birth attendant and a facility delivery, nearly five times the odds of receiving a postpartum care visit within two days of delivery, and over five times the odds of having their newborn's health checked within two days of birth. There was no significant association between Liga Inan exposure and receipt of four or more ANC visits. Conclusions Liga Inan was associated with substantial increases in MoH health provider-assisted and facility-based births and timely postnatal care in Timor-Leste. These positive results led the MoH to incorporate Liga Inan into the national maternal and child health program. To date the program has expanded to cover all 13 districts in the country, with gradual assumption of management and financial responsibility by the MoH under way.
How Extended Hemodialysis Treatment Time Can Affect Patient Quality of Life

Among patients undergoing RRT for ESKD, there are significant differences in quality of life by treatment modality. Users of in-center hemodialysis therapy have the poorest average quality of life, less than users of home dialysis—peritoneal dialysis or home hemodialysis—and considerably less
An Unusual Replication Strategy of an Animal Iridovirus

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the unusual structure of the Frog virus 3 (FV3) genome and its unique replication strategy. An unusual attribute of FV3 DNA is its high degree of methylation. It is found that over 20% of the deoxycytosine residues—apparently every deoxycytosine in the sequence CpG—has been methylated at the 5 carbon position. FV3 DNA lacks inverted repeats of the kind seen in herpesviruses nor does it have cross-linked termini such as those observed in poxvirus genomes. The DNA also lacks proteins covalently bound to the molecular ends such as those observed in adenoviruses. FV3 genome is both terminally redundant and circularly permuted. The two features have important implications for genome replication and morphogenesis of the virus. All of the findings with FV3 can be integrated into a scheme of replication that contrasts sharply with the replication strategies of most animal viruses. It utilizes both the nucleus and the cytoplasm for its replication, may be considered as an intermediate form in the evolution of nuclear and cytoplasmic DNA viruses. Another interesting aspect of FV3 replication is its similarity to that of the lambdoid and T bacteriophages. Indeed, FV3 with its highly methylated DNA, circularly permuted and terminally redundant genome, mRNAs lacking poly(A), and two-stage DNA replication most closely resembles a bacteriophage rather than an animal virus.
Iran Encounters the West

This chapter provides a brief historical background to understand how Iran was gradually weakened from being a prominent country in the beginning of the nineteenth century to a semi-colony by the beginning of the twentieth century under the domination of Great Britain and the Russian Empire. As the Europeans advanced in science and technology during the Industrial Revolution, Iranians remained uninformed of those advancements and were stuck with their traditional way of life. Consequently, Iran became dependent on Western technology and know-how and was subjected to domination by great powers. The chapter indicates how European diplomats influenced the Iranian royal court to use the Iranian territory for their imperial goals. In that era, the British and Russian empires dismembered large parts of Iranian territory and partitioned the rest to their spheres of influence. The issues covered in this chapter are the major historical events that help us understand what happened to Iran resulting in Iran’s anti-colonial resentment toward the West decades later.
Addressing Sexual Harassment in the #MeToo Era: An Institutional Approach

Sexual harassment is a particularly pernicious form of harassment that can result in long-lasting psychological damage to victims. In health care, it has deleterious effects on teamwork and communication and may affect patient care. Although concerns regarding sexual harassment in the workplace, including within health care, are not new, increased attention has been focused on this topic since late 2017 as a result of the #MeToo movement. As in other sectors, health care centers have experienced instances of sexual harassment. Evidence indicates that harassment in health care centers is not uncommon and has not decreased with time. Beyond reporting and addressing, health care institutions must establish policies that clearly outline the unacceptability of harassing behaviors. Moreover, institutions must have a systematic method to thoroughly investigate allegations of sexual harassment and to impose fair and consistent corrective actions when allegations are substantiated. This article describes Mayo Clinic's approach to this complex problem, including targeted efforts toward developing a culture intolerant of sexually harassing behavior.
High-yield skeletal muscle protein recovery from TRIzol after RNA and DNA extraction

Extraction of DNA, RNA and protein from the same sample would allow for direct comparison of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic information. Commercially available kits exhibit poor protein yield and the TRIzol® reagent produces a protein pellet that is extremely difficult to solubilize. In response to these limitations, this study presents an optimized method for the extraction of protein from the organic phase of TRIzol that allows for higher yield recovery of skeletal muscle protein compared with direct homogenization in a common protein lysis buffer. The presented method is inexpensive, simple and fast, requires no additional treatment of the protein pellet for dissolution, and is compatible with downstream western blot applications.
The value of geophysical data for geothermal exploration: Examples from empirical, field, and synthetic data

Abstract The value of information (VOI) metric requires geophysicists to clearly link their measurements to important subsurface parameters in geothermal exploration, such as temperature, permeabil...
Controlled Biodegradation of an Additively Fabricated Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensor

Successful precision agriculture decision making requires characterizing soil heterogeneity at high spatiotemporal resolution in real-time in order to optimize input (such as water and nutrient) amounts and location. In order to achieve this goal, a printed soil moisture sensor fabricated from biodegradable materials is demonstrated. These devices are intended to function during the growing season and then harmlessly degrade afterward, enabling high-density deployment, eliminating the need for sensor retrieval, and enabling the use of simple device structures and low-cost materials and fabrication techniques. A capacitive structure is used with a water-soluble zinc electrode printed onto a biodegradable substrate. Rapidly degrading substrate and electrode are encapsulated in a slowly degrading wax blend that protects the device, reduces drift, and controls degradation time. A linear capacitance response is observed for soil samples with a volumetric water content from 0 to 72%. Accelerated degradation testing demonstrates that the sensor responds predictably and stably until the encapsulation is breached, at which point the sensor fails rapidly, providing a clear distinction between the functional and nonfunctional lifetimes of the sensor. These results demonstrate the potential of biodegradable sensors to allow maintenance-free, affordable, and real-time soil moisture measurement at high spatial density for precision irrigation control.
The role of two emotion regulation tendencies across two waiting periods

The distress associated with uncertainty differs in important ways from distress over clear and present stressors. Emotion regulation (ER) tendencies—namely reappraisal and suppression—have received considerable empirical attention, but the stressful uncertainty of waiting for important news poses unique ER challenges. Two longitudinal studies examined the role of these dispositional ER tendencies in predicting well-being (e.g., emotions, worry, subjective health, expectation management efforts) during uncertain waiting periods. Study 1 surveyed undergraduate students awaiting their grade on a midterm exam (N = 137; a 5-day wait); Study 2 surveyed law graduates awaiting their result on the California bar exam (N = 230; a 4-month wait). Consistently with past research, reappraisal was generally associated with positive markers of well-being. However, suppression was largely unassociated with well-being, in contrast with previous evidence. Our findings confirm the unique context of uncertain waiting periods and suggest that suppression may not be as detrimental during these periods as in other stressful situations.
Kinetic analysis of Na,K-activated adenosine triphosphatase induced by low external K+ in a rat liver cell line.

Abstract Exposure of ARL 15 cells to medium containing reduced concentrations of K+ (0.65 mM) elicited a 50-100% increase in Na,K-ATPase activity. The inhibition by ouabain of both the basal and the induced enzyme conformed to a single-site model (KI = 1 x 10(-4) M). The low K+-induced increment in Na,K-ATPase activity was accompanied by an equivalent increase in the abundance of Na,K-pump sites estimated by ouabain-stabilized ("back-door") phosphorylation, such that the calculated catalytic turnover number of approximately 8000/min was minimally changed. Comparison of the dependence of ouabain-inhibitable K+ uptake on intracellular Na+ and on extracellular K+ concentrations in control and low K+-treated cells revealed no change in the respective half-maximal stimulatory concentrations for these cations, whereas the maximal rate of active K+ uptake in cells exposed to low external K+ increased by nearly 100%. The derived Hill coefficients for active K+ transport rate were also unchanged by the low K+ treatment (i.e. approximately 1.4 for extracellular K+ and 2.6 for intracellular Na+). Na,K-ATPase activity of basal and low K+-induced cells calculated from the measured maximal Na,K transport rate closely approximated the Na,K-ATPase activity measured enzymatically in unfractionated cell lysates under Vmax conditions, suggesting that all or most of the Na,K-ATPase enzymatic units present in both basal and stimulated states are functionally active. Northern blot analysis of RNA isolated from control cells indicated the presence of the Na,K-ATPase alpha-I isoform of the enzyme which increased by nearly 200% following incubation of the cells in low-K+ medium. By contrast, the alpha-II and alpha-III mRNAs were undetectable in either the basal or low K+-stimulated state. These results indicate that the Na,K-ATPase induced by incubation of ARL 15 cells in low-K+ medium is kinetically and functionally indistinguishable from the basal enzyme, and that only the alpha-I isoform is expressed under control and low-K+ conditions.
Teaching the one-minute preceptor. A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The One-Minute Preceptor (OMP) model of faculty development is used widely to improve teaching, but its effect on teaching behavior has not been assessed. We aim to evaluate the effect of this intervention on residents’ teaching skills. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Inpatient teaching services at both a tertiary care hospital and a Veterans Administration Medical Center affiliated with a University Medical Center. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included 57 second- and third-year internal medicine residents that were randomized to the intervention group (n=28) or to the control group (n=29). INTERVENTION: The intervention was a 1-hour session incorporating lecture, group discussion, and role-play. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Primary outcome measures were resident self-report and learner ratings of resident performance of the OMP teaching behaviors. Residents assigned to the intervention group reported statistically significant changes in all behaviors (P<.05). Eighty-seven percent of residents rated the intervention as “useful or very useful” on a 1–5 point scale with a mean of 4.28. Student ratings of teacher performance showed improvements in all skills except “Teaching General Rules.” Learners of the residents in the intervention group reported increased motivation to do outside reading when compared to learners of the control residents. Ratings of overall teaching effectiveness were not significantly different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: The OMP model is a brief and easy-to-administer intervention that provides modest improvements in residents’ teaching skills.
Synchronization Trigger Control System for Flow Visualization

The use of cinematography or holographic interferometry for dynamic flow visualization in an internal combustion engine requires a control device that globally synchronizes camera and light source timing at a predefined shaft encoder angle. The device is capable of 0.35 deg resolution for rotational speeds of up to 73 240 rpm. This was achieved by implementing the shaft encoder signal addressed look-up table (LUT) and appropriate latches. The developed digital signal processing technique achieves 25 nsec of high speed triggering angle detection by using direct parallel bit comparison of the shaft encoder digital code with a simulated angle reference code, instead of using angle value comparison which involves more complicated computation steps. In order to establish synchronization to an AC reference signal whose magnitude is variant with the rotating speed, a dynamic peak followup synchronization technique has been devised. This method scrutinizes the reference signal and provides the right timing within 40 nsec. Two application examples are described.
DD* lite: efficient incremental search with state dominance

This paper presents DD* Lite, an efficient incremental search algorithm for problems that can capitalize on state dominance. Dominance relationships between nodes are used to prune graphs in search algorithms. Thus, exploiting state dominance relationships can considerably speed up search problems in large state spaces, such as mobile robot path planning considering uncertainty, time, or energy constraints. Incremental search techniques are useful when changes can occur in the search graph, such as when re-planning paths for mobile robots in partially known environments. While algorithms such as D* and D* Lite are very efficient incremental search algorithms, they cannot be applied as formulated to search problems in which state dominance is used to prune the graph. DD* Lite extends D* Lite to seamlessly support reasoning about state dominance. It maintains the algorithmic simplicity and incremental search capability of D* Lite, while resulting in orders of magnitude increase in search efficiency in large state spaces with dominance. We illustrate the efficiency of DD* Lite with simulation results from applying the algorithm to a path planning problem with time and energy constraints. We also prove that DD* Lite is sound, complete, optimal, and efficient.
The Evolution of Market Efficiency: 103 Years Daily Data of the Dow

Autocorrelation in daily returns of the Dow 30 Index fluctuates significantly over time and reveals a declining trend after World War II. The relation between autocorrelation and volatility is negative and nonlinear. The relation between autocorrelation and volume is also negative and nonlinear. Returns exhibit positive autocorrelation during years with higher autocorrelation, and negative autocorrelation during years with lower autocorrelation. Positive autocorrelation appears more frequently during periods of low volatility, while negative autocorrelation appears more frequently during periods of high volatility. Current period's autocorrelation is related to previous period's autocorrelation and to both the previous and the current period's volatility and rate of return, which implies that investors incorporate previous period's pattern of market behavior into their trading strategy.
AC-Framework for Privacy-Preserving Collaboration

The secure mlllti-party compnt.ation (ShIC) illode1 provitles ineails for l~alailciilg the use and confidentiality of distribut.ed data. Iilcreasiilg security coilcerils 11al.e led to a surge in work oil practical secure 1nult.i-party coinputatioil protocols. However. inost are only proveil secure under the semi-hoilest model, and security under this adversary illode1 is iils~~fici~iit for illost applications. I11 this paper: we propose a no\rel frame~vork: accoui~tal~le coinputi~ig (XC) framework. ~17llicll is sufficient or practical for man!applic.ations \vitlioiit the coinplesit,y and cost of a ShIC-protocol under the malicious model. F~lrtherinore. to s h o ~ tlie a~)plical~ilit~of t.1le AC-framework. we present an applicatioil under this framework regarding PI-i\-acy-preser\.iilg illillillg frequent it,emset,s. .
Transducers with Programmable Input by DNA Self-assembly

Notions of Wang tiles, finite state machines and recursive functions are tied together. We show that there is a natural way to simulate finite state machines with output (transducers) with Wang tiles and we show that recursive (computable) functions can be obtained as composition of transducers through employing Wang tiles. We also show how a programmable transducer can be self-assembled using TX DNA molecules simulating Wang tiles and a linear array of DNA PX-JX2 nanodevices.
Finding parity in a broadcast network

Consider a broadcast network of N nodes in which each binary digit transmitted by each node is received by each other node via a binary symmetric channel whose crossover probability e is independent over transmitters, receivers, and time. Each note has a binary state and the problem is to construct a distributed algorithm to find the parity of the set of states with some given reliability. This problem was first formulated by A. E1 Gamal (see Chapter III, Section 3.10) and is of interest because it is one of the simplest distributed algorithm problems involving noise.