cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Using Recursive, Spatially Separated, Overlapping Model Subsystems Mixed within an ONIOM-Based Fragmentation Energy Extrapolation Technique

Here, we demonstrate the application of fragment-based electronic structure calculations in (a) ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) and (b) reduced dimensional potential calculations, for medium- and large-sized protonated water clusters. The specific fragmentation algorithm used here is derived from ONIOM, but includes multiple, overlapping “model” systems. The interaction between the various overlapping model systems is (a) approximated by invoking the principle of inclusion-exclusion at the chosen higher level of theory and (b) within a real calculation performed at the chosen lower level of theory. The fragmentation algorithm itself is written using bit-manipulation arithmetic, which will prove to be advantageous, since the number of fragments in such methods has the propensity to grow exponentially with system size. Benchmark calculations are performed for three different protonated water clusters: H₉O₄⁺, H₁₃O₆⁺ and H(H₂O)₂₁⁺. For potential energy surface benchmarks, we sample the normal coordinates and compare our surface energies with full MP2 and CCSD(T) calculations. The mean absolute error for the fragment-based algorithm is <0.05 kcal/mol, when compared with MP2 calculations, and <0.07 kcal/mol, when compared with CCSD(T) calculations over 693 different geometries for the H₉O₄⁺ system. For the larger H(H₂O)₂₁⁺ water cluster, the mean absolute error is on the order of a 0.1 kcal/mol, when compared with full MP2 calculations for 84 different geometries, at a fraction of the computational cost. Ab initio dynamics calculations were performed for H₉O₄⁺ and H₁₃O₆⁺, and the energy conservation was found to be of the order of 0.01 kcal/mol for short trajectories (on the order of a picosecond). The trajectories were kept short because our algorithm does not currently include dynamical fragmentation, which will be considered in future publications. Nevertheless, the velocity autocorrelation functions and their Fourier transforms computed from the fragment-based AIMD approaches were found to be in excellent agreement with those computed using the respective higher level of theory from the chosen hybrid calculation.
Correlations between videoendoscopy and sonotubometry of eustachian tube opening during a swallow.

Objectives/Hypothesis Describe the relationship between the magnitude of eustachian tube (ET) dilation during swallowing observed on transnasal videoendoscopy and quantified by sonotubometry. Study Design Descriptive observational study. Methods Simultaneous transnasal videoendoscopic and sonotubometric recordings were done on 33 adults with no middle ear disease. Briefly, microphones were placed in the ear canals, a 45° telescope introduced through one side of the nose to visualize and record ipsilateral ET movements, and the probe from a sound generator placed in the opposite nostril. At a generated nasopharyngeal sound level, ET movements and ipsilateral microphone signals were continuously recorded while the subject performed a series of three swallows. For each swallow, relational movements among ET structures observed on video recordings and characteristics of the sonotubometry signal envelope at the ear canal were quantified at three times: swallow onset (T1), maximum soft-palate elevation (T2), and maximum ET luminal dilation (T3). Results A total of 99 swallows were analyzed. The average medial rotation of the ET cartilage and lateral wall over the T1-T2 interval were −32.7 ± 14.9° and 7.2 ± 25.1°, and over the T2-T3 interval were 4.6 ± 7.7° and 6.2 ± 14.6°, respectively. The transtubal sound transmission during a swallow peaked at an amplitude of 30.5 ± 35.7 mV during the 572.5 ± 292.6 ms of elevated sound-pressure time. Correlational analysis documented significant linear associations between the relational measures of ET component movements from videoendoscopy and the signal envelope measures from sonotubometry. Conclusions There is a direct linear relationship between the degree of ET luminal dilation visualized on videoendoscopy and represented in the sonotubometry signal envelope. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 2016
Management of the infected median sternotomy wound with muscle flaps. The Emory 20-year experience.

Objective The purpose of the study is to define those patient variables that contribute to morbidity and mortality of median sternotomy wound infection and the results of treatment by debridement and closure by muscle flaps. Background Infection of the median sternotomy wound after open heart surgery is a devastating complication associated with significant mortality. Twenty years ago, these wounds were treated with either open packing or antibiotic irrigation, with a mortality approaching 50% in some series. In 1975, the authors began treating these wounds with radical sternal debridement followed by closure using muscle or omental flaps. The mortality of sternal wound infection has dropped to <10%. Methods The authors' total experience with 409 patients treated over 20 years is described in relation to flap choices, hospital days after sternal wound closure, and incidence rates of morbidity and mortality. One hundred eighty-six patients treated since January 1988 were studied to determine which patient variables had impact on rates of flap closure complications, recurrent sternal wound infection, or death. Variables included obesity, history of smoking, hypertension, diabetes, poststernotomy septicemia, internal mammary artery harvest, use of intra-aortic balloon pump, and perioperative myocardial infarction and were analyzed using chi square tests, Fisher's exact tests, and multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results The mortality rate over 20 years was 8.1% (33/49). Additional procedures for recurrent sternal wound infection were necessary in 5.1% of patients. Thirty-one patients (7.6%) required treatment for hematoma, and 11 patients (2.7%) required hernia repair. Among patients treated since 1988, variables strongly associated with mortality were septicemia (p < 0.00001), perioperative myocardial infarction (p = 0.006), and intra-aortic balloon pump (p = 0.0168). Factors associated with wound closure complications were intra-aortic balloon pump (p = 0.0287), hypertension (p = 0.0335), and history of smoking (p = 0.0741). Factors associated with recurrent infection were history of sternotomy (p = 0.008) and patients treated for sternal wound infection from 1988 to 1992 (p = 0.024). Mean hospital stay after sternal wound reconstruction declined from 18.6 days (1988-1992) to 12.4 days (1993-1996) (p = 0.005). To clarify management decisions of these difficult cases, a classification of sternal wound infection is presented. Conclusions Using the principles of sternal wound debridement and early flap coverage, the authors have achieved a significant reduction in mortality after sternal wound infection and have reduced the mean hospital stay after sternal wound closure of these critically ill patients. Further reductions in mortality will depend on earlier detection of mediastinitis, before onset of septicemia, and ongoing improvements in the critical care of patients with multisystem organ failure.
Abstract A65: Caspase 14 is a target of black‐raspberry‐mediated inhibition of human cervical cancer cell proliferation

Cervical cancer is the second most common female cancer worldwide and the seventh leading cause of cancer death in women. While significant advances have been made in early detection, it remains a challenge to manage pre‐invasive and invasive cervical lesions. However, the long latency of cervical cancer development allows for the investigation and utilization of preventive and therapeutic interventions, including chemopreventive approaches. Phytochemical‐based cancer chemoprevention and the role of bioactive food components have attracted significant interest due to their dramatic anti‐proliferative and anti‐tumorigenesis effects observed in preclinical studies. We have previously demonstrated that an extract of lyophilized black raspberries (LBR, Rubus occidentalis) inhibited the proliferation of human cervical cancer cell lines: HeLa (HPV16−/HPV18+, adenocarcinoma), SiHa (HPV16+/HPV18−, squamous cell carcinoma) and C‐33A (HPV16−/HPV18−, squamous cell carcinoma) in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. Here we investigate the modulation of apoptotic pathways as a potential mechanism. Expression profiling of 93 apoptosis‐related genes was performed with the Applied Biosystems9 TaqMan Gene Signature Human Apoptosis Array in HeLa, SiHa and C‐33A human cervical cancer cells treated with vehicle control (0.02% DMSO) or LBR (200µg/mL) for 1 and 3 days. The following genes were differentially expressed (≥2‐fold change) in a manner favorable to cancer prevention following LBR treatment: CARD9 (+4.4) and BCL2L10 (−4.0) in HeLa cells; BIRC1 (−2.3) and CASP14 (+4.2) in SiHa cells; CARD15 (+3.4), TNFRSF1B (+2.8), TNFRSF1A (+2.3), FADD (+2.3), BBC3 (+2.1), BOK (+2.1), RELB (+2.1), IKBKG (+2.0), HTRA2 (+2.0), DEDD2 (+2.0), BAD (+2.0) and BAX (+2.0) in C‐33A cells. Two candidate genes from each cell line were chosen for subsequent validation: CARD9 and BCL2L10 in HeLa cells, BIRC1 and CASP14 in SiHa cells, FADD and BAX in C‐33A cells. From these selected candidate genes, only CASP14 was validated as a >2‐fold expression change (+5.1) following LBR exposure in SiHa cells. CASP14 mRNA expression was undetectable (>40 Ct values) in both HeLa and C‐33A cells. Caspase 14, a cysteine‐aspartic proteases, is directly involved in epithelial cell differentiation, and only indirectly with canonical apoptotic pathways. Caspase 14 plays a role in epithelial cell malignant transformation, and is progressive loss during cervical cancer progression. Consequently, up‐regulation of CASP14 expression by LBR in cervical cancer cells may provide a potential mechanism for attenuating cervical carcinogenesis and progression. Further studies will define the contribution of CASP14 mRNA and protein up‐regulation following LBR exposure in cervical cancer cells. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):A65.
Some Thoughts on Policy Concerning Foreign-trained Chinese Students

Since its open-door policy to the outside world in 1979, China has paid considerable attention to work related to Chinese students abroad and to returned students. Under the auspices of the State Education Commission, many specific policies and regulations have been promulgated. An overwhelming majority of Chinese students abroad and returned students, however, claim that many of the regulations are irrational and not in the spirit of seeking the truth from the facts, not based on a concrete analysis of concrete conditions, and the results have been unsatisfactory when these policies and regulations are implemented.
Liver Transplantation Anesthesiology

Liver transplantation is recognized widely as the ultimate treatment for patients with acute or chronic liver failure. Because it is one of the most challenging noncardiac surgical procedures, its success depends on an anesthesiology team with a special set of knowledge and skills, including a thorough understanding of the systemic manifestations of liver failure, donor types, transplant procedures, the three stages of transplantation surgery, and related issues. Special attention should be paid to blood transfusion conservation strategies and the initiation of induction immunosuppression therapy. The goal of this chapter is to describe this basic knowledge and discuss the anesthetic management of liver transplantation recipients. Practical anesthesia management is described according to the three stages of liver transplantation: stage I (pre-anhepatic), stage II (anhepatic), and stage III (neohepatic).
The Place of Ethics in the Theory of Production

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses ethics in production theory and patterns. In a model of production in which information is costless and agreements are enforced with an accompanying cost, there is no place for ethics or other dispositional attributes of the persons who own the instruments. The marginal private product of ethical conduct, while positive, is less than the marginal social product, and important institutions of training and socialization are designed to overcome this gap. The loss of reputation (as a good credit risk) results in having to pay more so as to borrow a given sum for a given period. This loss of reputation can lead to a loss of wealth. Morality is not always conducive to social welfare but only that it fosters production. The usefulness of this concept of morality is conditional upon the cooperative activity of individuals having negligible (adverse) impact upon others. The incentives to imperfectly moral conduct and the precautions that are prompted by awareness of them are very similar to the incentives to commit crimes and to the self-protective activities thereby inspired. The common purpose of defaulting on a contract maybe is to profit by failure to fulfill an expectation of performance that one has created. In all these cases, morality consists in refusing to profit and/or bearing loss rather than permitting the nonfulfillment of an expectation that one has created. Subsequently, the economic loss from imperfectly moral conduct arises from the misinformation to which it gives rise.
Clinical Validation of a Radiolabeled PF-4 Staph-a Binding Assay for Confirming Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia

Introduction :Confirmatory laboratory assays for heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) can broadly be classified as functional which have high specificity and rely on activation of platelets by the platelet factor 4 (PF4)-heparin-IgG immune complex or as immune based assays that are relatively more sensitive. At the time when the clinician is evaluating heparin as a cause of thrombocytopenia the 4 "T" criteria are helpful. However, an increase in the patient9s platelet count after the heparin has been stopped is critical for confirmation of the diagnosis. Methods : We developed a variation of a previously described technique (Newman Thromb Haemost 1998;80:292) and used clinical criteria as the standard for comparison to evaluate the assay. Radiolabeled 125-I-PF4 is incorporated into the immune complex of PF-4-heparin-immunoglobulin and the amount of radiolabeled immune complex is measured after binding to staphylococcal A protein sepharose (Staph-A). The hospitalized subjects medical record was reviewed to: measure a 4 "T" score, to determine if the patient9s platelet count increased after heparin was stopped and to exclude other plausible causes of thrombocytopenia. Aim : The assay relies on the binding of the heparin immune complexes to Staph A. Staph A preferentially binds to larger as compared to smaller immune complexes and the larger complexes produce a greater degree of F(c) mediated platelet activation when compared with the smaller complexes. This suggests the hypothesis that a Staph A based assay will have have better specificity and sensitivity than the currently used methodologies. Results : 28 patient samples were evaluated. True positives were observed in 4 hospital patients and 4 known positives. 19 were true negatives and included 7 from hospital patients and 12 from thrombocytopenic patients who were not treated with heparin. 1 sample was negative in our assay, and was judged as false negative. Concordance between the radiolabeled PF-4 assay and the commercial PF-4 assay was observed in all the 28 patients. Conclusions : To date when judged using clinical criteria, the radiolabeled PF-4 assay correctly distinguished true positives and true negatives in 27 of the 28 samples. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Evaluating the US Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization amidst early century uncertainty

The recent change in US presidential administrations has introduced significant uncertainty about both domestic and international policy support for continued reductions in GHG emissions. This brief analysis estimates the potential climate ramifications of changing US leadership, contrasting the Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization (MCS) released under the Obama Administration, with campaign statements, early executive actions, and prevailing market conditions to estimate potential emission pathways under the Trump Administration. The analysis highlights areas where GHG reductions are less robust to changing policy conditions, and offers brief recommendations for addressing emissions in the interim. It specifically finds that continued reductions in the electricity sector are less vulnerable to changes in federal policy than those in the built environment and land use sectors. Given the long-lived nature of investments in these latter two sectors, however, opportunities for near-term climate acti...
DEVS specification for modeling and simulation of the UML activities

Recently, the existence of the foundational UML subset (fUML) has made a significant impact on driving the mainstream in behavioral modeling. Recent advances on concepts like UML actions and behavioral metamodeling promise better mechanisms in handling behavior. We argue that a greater potentiality can be achieved through establishing a rigorous mathematical grounding for the subset. We also argue that Parallel DEVS can be used as a suitable candidate. Thus, we propose formalizing the creation of UML activities as a set of atomic and coupled DEVS models. These abstractions have distinct structures and behaviors. That is to say, the foundational elements of UML activities and actions are modeled and mapped into a set of atomic as well as coupled models. Then, they can collectively serve as a basis for grounding different diagrams via coupling. We demonstrate the use of the formalism for the modeling and simulation of activities.
Functional traits and community composition: multilevel models outperform community-weighted means

1. Plant functional traits are increasingly being used to infer mechanisms about community assembly and predict global change impacts. Of the several approaches that are used to analyze trait-environment relationships, one of the most popular is community-weighted means (CWM), in which species trait values are averaged at the site level. Other approaches that do not require averaging are being developed, including multilevel models (MLM, also called generalized linear mixed models). However, relative strengths and weaknesses of these methods have not been extensively compared. 2. We investigated three statistical models for trait-environment associations: CWM, a MLM in which traits were not included as fixed effects (MLM1), and a MLM with traits as fixed effects (MLM2). We analyzed a real plant community dataset to investigate associations between two traits and one environmental variable. We then analyzed permutations of the dataset to investigate sources of type I errors, and performed a simulation study to compare the statistical power of the methods. 3. In the analysis of real data, CWM gave highly significant associations for both traits, while MLM1 and MLM2 did not. Using P-values derived by simulating the data using the fitted MLM2, none of the models gave significant associations, showing that CWM had inflated type I errors (false positives). In the permutation tests, MLM2 performed the best of the three approaches. MLM2 still had inflated type I error rates in some situations, but this could be corrected using bootstrapping. The simulation study showed that MLM2 always had as good or better power than CWM. These simulations also confirmed the causes of type I errors from the permutation study. 4. The MLM that includes main effects of traits (MLM2) is the best method for identifying trait-environmental association in community assembly, with better type I error control and greater power. Analyses that regress CWMs on continuous environmental variables are not reliable because they are likely to produce type I errors.
An Experimental Framework for Investigating Security and Privacy of IoT Devices

With the rapid growth of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, security and privacy issues emerged as a potential roadblock for widespread adoption. Preliminary research indicates that many types of IoT devices have serious vulnerabilities. It is not easy to investigate security and privacy issues since each type of device is different and manual experiments need to be conducted on the device. In this paper, we propose a framework for investigation of security and privacy issues of IoT devices. The framework consists of four components, a testbed, set of topics to be investigated, a set of experiments for each topic investigated and a final report. Fundamental approach used in the framework is to capture layer 2 and layer 3 packets and to analyze the packets for various features. Proposed framework is low cost and is based on off-the-shelf hardware and open source software. Using the framework, we can investigate security and privacy issues of many IoT devices including HDMI sticks, IP cameras, activity trackers, smartwatches and drones. A large set of topics can be investigated on IoT devices using the framework including vulnerability issues, protocol security, firmware updates, authentication issues and privacy violations. Sample experimental results show the promise of the proposed framework. We believe this framework will serve as the foundation for a general automated framework to investigate security and privacy issues of most IoT devices.
A robust optimization approach for solving problems in conservation planning

Abstract In conservation planning, the data related to size, growth and diffusion of populations is sparse, hard to collect and unreliable at best. If and when the data is readily available, it is not of sufficient quantity to construct a probability distribution. In such a scenario, applying deterministic or stochastic approaches to the problems in conservation planning either ignores the uncertainty completely or assumes a distribution that does not accurately describe the nature of uncertainty. To overcome these drawbacks, we propose a robust optimization approach to problems in conservation planning that considers the uncertainty in data without making any assumption about its probability distribution. We explore two of the basic formulations in conservation planning related to reserve selection and invasive species control to show the value of the proposed robust optimization. Several novel techniques are developed to compare the results produced by the proposed robust optimization approach and the existing deterministic approach. For the case when the robust optimization approach fails to find a feasible solution, a novel bi-objective optimization technique is developed to handle infeasibility by modifying the level of uncertainty. Some numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed approach in finding more applicable conservation planning strategies.
Health care utilization and the cost of posttraumatic acute respiratory distress syndrome care

Background Posttraumatic acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation and longer hospitalizations. The relationship between posttraumatic ARDS severity and financial burden has not been previously studied. We hypothesized that increasing ARDS severity is associated with incrementally higher health care costs. Methods Adults arriving as the highest level of trauma activation were enrolled in an ongoing prospective cohort study. Patients who survived 6 hours or longer are included in the analysis. Blinded review of chest radiographs was performed by two independent physicians for any intubated patient with PaO2:FIO2 ratio of 300 mmHg or lower during the first 8 days of admission. The severity of ARDS was classified by the Berlin criteria. Hospital charge data were used to perform standard costing analysis. Results Acute respiratory distress syndrome occurred in 13% (203 of 1,586). The distribution of disease severity was 33% mild, 42% moderate, and 25% severe. Patients with ARDS were older (41 years vs. 35 years, p Conclusion The development of posttraumatic ARDS is associated with higher health care costs. Among trauma patients who develop ARDS, total hospital charges per day increase with worsening severity of disease. Prevention, early recognition, and treatment of ARDS after trauma are potentially important objectives for efforts to control health care costs in this population. Level of evidence Economic and value-based evaluations, level IV.
The IR-THY-1 Genes: Possible Mechanism of Their Effect

The concept of complementary Ir-Thy-1 genes has been recently revived to account for the exceptionally good humoral responsiveness of H-2 b/H-2 d heterozygotes to the Thy-1 antigen (1,2). These particular heterozygotes defy the requirements imposed upon all inbred strains and other F1 hybrids tested for their ability to respond to Thy-1 antigen, namely that donor and responder (a) must be compatible at all three class I loci of the H-2 complex (3,4), and (b) must carry different alleles at some non-H-2 loci (5,6). The H-2 b/H-2 d heterozygotes respond well regardless of donor and responder genotypes. To account for the experimental data, the working hypothesis was proposed in this laboratory that the murine Thy-1 alloantigens may be presented in two distinct forms (7). Cell-bound Thy-1 antigen is carried on the surface of intact thymocytes and is presented by donor’s thymocytes directly to responder’s cells, presumably T lymphocytes. However, in order to be immunogenic, this form of the antigen must associate with some non-H-2 molecules on the donor’s cell membrane.
Attention improves memory by suppressing spiking-neuron activity in the human anterior temporal lobe

We identify a memory-specific attention mechanism in the human anterior temporal lobe, an area implicated in semantic processing and episodic memory formation. Spiking neuron activity is suppressed and becomes more reliable in preparation for verbal memory formation. Intracranial electroencephalography signals implicate this region as a source of executive control for attentional selection. Consistent with this interpretation, its surgical removal causes significant memory impairment for attended words relative to unattended words.
Shear axial modes in a PCTSCM,: Part VIII: Spectral holes with dissimilar materials but without phase defects

Sufficiently thick layers of piezoelectric, continuously twisted, structurally chiral materials (PCTSCMs) exhibit the circular Bragg phenomenon in a narrow frequency regime, when irradiated by a normally incident shear wave; and the introduction of a phase defect between two identical PCTSCMs gives rise to spectral reflection and transmission holes. We show, here, that an alternative structure made of two different PCTSCMs can be used to produce spectral holes, provided that the constitutive properties and the dimensions of the two PCTSCMs are in a certain relationship. No phase defect is present in the alternative structure, but its effect is effectively simulated by the contrast in the material properties of the two PCTSCMs.
Atomic Scale Modeling of Hydrogen and Helium in BCC Iron

Understanding the interactions of hydrogen and helium within ferritic steels will aid in the development of materials appropriate for next generation nuclear reactors. We discuss interatomic potent...
Unraveling the Fate of Host Excitons in Host–Guest Phosphorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Understanding the energy- and charge-transfer mechanisms in host–guest systems is crucial for improving the performance of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), but it presents a theoretical chall...
Bone marrow donor selection and characterization of MSCs is critical for pre-clinical and clinical cell dose production

Cell based therapies, such as bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs; also known as mesenchymal stromal cells), are currently under investigation for a number of disease applications. The current challenge facing the field is maintaining the consistency and quality of cells especially for cell dose production for pre-clinical testing and clinical trials. Here we determine how BM-donor variability and thus the derived MSCs factor into selection of the optimal primary cell lineage for cell production and testing in a pre-clinical swine model of trauma induced acute respiratory distress syndrome. We harvested bone marrow and generated three different primary BM-MSCs from Yorkshire swine. Cells from these three donors were characterized based on (a) phenotype (morphology, differentiation capacity and flow cytometry), (b) in vitro growth kinetics and metabolic activity, and (c) functional analysis based on inhibition of lung endothelial cell permeability. Cells from each swine donor exhibited varied morphology, growth rate, and doubling times. All expressed the same magnitude of standard MSC cell surface markers by flow cytometry and had similar differentiation potential. Metabolic activity and growth potential at each of the passages varied between the three primary cell cultures. More importantly, the functional potency of the MSCs on inhibition of endothelial permeability was also cell donor dependent. This study suggests that for production of MSCs for cell-based therapy, it is imperative to examine donor variability and characterize derived MSCs for marker expression, growth and differentiation characteristics and testing potency in application dependent assays prior to selection of the optimal cell lineage for large scale expansion and dose production.
Robotic Left Colectomy with Natural Orifice IntraCorporeal Anastomosis with Extraction: The NICE Procedure

Minimally invasive colorectal surgery continues to evolve with new technologies enabling platforms. In particular, advances in robotic surgery have led to renewed interest in natural orifice-assisted surgery with intracorporeal anastomosis (ICA) and transrectal extraction of specimen.
A Multi-body Simulation Framework for Live Motion Tracking and Analysis within the Unity Environment

Synthesizing motion de novo for dynamic virtual organisms in a physics-based, virtual environment is presently intractable. Multi-body simulation development within current software systems is often cumbersome and interfacing third-party hardware (i.e. VR equipment, IMUs, haptic systems) is usually not straightforward for the average developer. Developing a simulation framework within a widely supported engine, such as Unity or Unreal Engine, would be much more practical because the resulting products can be designed to be scalable, highly customizable, easy-to-use, and open source. In this paper, we present a Unity-based multi-body simulation framework that can be used to simultaneously track and analyze human motion. The framework incorporates the musculoskeletal models derived from OpenSim and utilizes runtime-derived, closed-form definitions for muscle routing kinematics and kinematic Jacobians. The framework can be used to simulate multiple dynamic models simultaneously. Also, being integrated with the Unity environment, the framework naturally provides intuitive customization and third-party system integration. To demonstrate the performance and motion analysis capabilities of the framework, the paper also presents a live test simulation in which the muscular effort values of three different bicep curl forms were calculated while simultaneously tracking the tasks’ motion at 100 Hz. One prospective use of the proposed framework is virtual reality and haptic-augmented motion training. The live tracking and motion analysis capabilities of the framework will allow immediate and effective dynamic feedback towards task performance optimization.
Viral-mediated gene delivery of TMBIM6 protects the neonatal brain via disruption of NPR-CYP complex coupled with upregulation of Nrf-2 post-HI

Oxidative stress, inflammation, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress play a major role in the pathogenesis of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury. ER stress results in the accumulation of unfolded proteins that trigger the NADPH-P450 reductase (NPR) and the microsomal monooxygenase system which is composed of cytochrome P450 members (CYP) generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as the release of inflammatory cytokines. We explored the role of Bax Inhibitor-1 (BI-1) protein, encoded by the Transmembrane Bax inhibitor Motif Containing 6 (TMBIM6) gene, in protection from ER stress after HI brain injury. BI-1 may attenuate ER stress-induced ROS production and release of inflammatory mediators via (1) disruption of the NPR-CYP complex and (2) upregulation of Nrf-2, a redox-sensitive transcription factor, thus promoting an increase in anti-oxidant enzymes to inhibit ROS production. The main objective of our study is to evaluate BI-1’s inhibitory effects on ROS production and inflammation by overexpressing BI-1 in 10-day-old rat pups. Ten-day-old (P10) unsexed Sprague-Dawley rat pups underwent right common carotid artery ligation, followed by 1.5 h of hypoxia. To overexpress BI-1, rat pups were intracerebroventricularly (icv) injected at 48 h pre-HI with the human adenoviral vector-TMBIM6 (Ad-TMBIM6). BI-1 and Nrf-2 silencing were achieved by icv injection at 48 h pre-HI using siRNA to elucidate the potential mechanism. Percent infarcted area, immunofluorescent staining, DHE staining, western blot, and long-term neurobehavior assessments were performed. Overexpression of BI-1 significantly reduced the percent infarcted area and improved long-term neurobehavioral outcomes. BI-1’s mediated protection was observed to be via inhibition of P4502E1, a major contributor to ROS generation and upregulation of pNrf-2 and HO-1, which correlated with a decrease in ROS and inflammatory markers. This effect was reversed when BI-1 or Nrf-2 were inhibited. Overexpression of BI-1 increased the production of antioxidant enzymes and attenuated inflammation by destabilizing the complex responsible for ROS production. BI-1’s multimodal role in inhibiting P4502E1, together with upregulating Nrf-2, makes it a promising therapeutic target.
An Approach to Supervised Classification of Highly Imbalanced and High Dimensionality COPD Readmission Data on HPCC

Hospital readmission within a 30-day period causes severe economic and healthcare impacts. According to a study, 76% of the hospitals readmissions can be prevented by providing out of hospital post-discharge care. In order to appropriately mark the patients with high chances of getting readmitted, numerous studies and researches have been performed which uses various supervised machine learning algorithms to predict the readmission probability of a patient using labeled discharge summaries and clinical notes. The datasets used in these studies are highly imbalanced and has high dimensionality, which affects classification performance negatively. This study uses data sampling technique to reduce the imbalance and feature selection technique to reduce high dimensionality, thereby improving the overall classification performance and reducing the evaluation time as compared to other industry standard hospital readmission frameworks reviewed in this study.
Chapter 4 Case History: Chantix™/Champix™ (Varenicline Tartrate), a Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Partial Agonist as a Smoking Cessation Aid

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on research associated with therapies addressing nicotine addiction by acting directly at the receptors that mediate the addictive effects. It discusses a medicine that not only decreases nicotine craving and withdrawal symptoms, but effectively and safely reduces the neurochemical reinforcement produced by smoking. Partial agonists theoretically address both of these primary physiologic aspects of nicotine dependence, but required the identification of compounds with in vivo features that effectively competed with inhaled nicotine. Varenicline is the first medicine targeting nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), other than nicotine as replacement therapy (NRT), and is approved as an aid to smoking cessation by both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) in 2006. However, receptor binding studies demonstrated that varenicline has high affinity only for the α 4 β 2 neuronal nicotinic receptor subtype in rat and human cortex. Varenicline did not bind with significant affinity to various other neurotransmitter receptors and transporters, enzymes, modulatory binding sites, and ion channels in membranes derived from relevant tissues and cell lines.
Greater health care utilization and cost associated with untreated sleep apnea

CITATIONDing Q, Kryger M. Greater health care utilization and cost associated with untreated sleep apnea. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(1):5–6.
An alternative and simple synthesis of [14C]potassium cyanate

The one-step synthesis of [14 C]potassium cyanate from [14 C]urea is described with product characterization by gravimetric specific activity as well as a novel TLC system. The storage, stability, and repurification of [14 C]potassium cyanate are also discussed.
Spirituality and Parenting among Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

While spirituality and parenting have been examined among caregivers experiencing adversity, less research has explored these factors among mother survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Given the potentially protective role of spirituality, understanding how parenting is associated with spirituality is important. The current study explored parenting practices, parent-child communication, and spirituality among 175 women caregivers who had experienced recent IPV. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine associations between maternal age, education, HIV status, and illicit substance use (model 1); child age and gender (model 2); parent-child comfort communicating about sexual practices, IPV, HIV/AIDS, and substance use (model 3); and positive and negative parenting practices (model 4) with spirituality. Findings suggested positive parenting practices, greater comfort talking about IPV, and greater discomfort talking about substance use were associated with higher spirituality. Results highlight the value of parenting and communication strategies among women caregivers experiencing recent adversity.
Media History and Advertising Archives

Advertising agencies have been the U.S. media industry’s closest collaborators throughout its history; however, scholars have given them little attention. Close analysis of the archival record left...
Accelerated Atomic Data Production in Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics with Recurrent Neural Network for Materials Research

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) is a versatile and reliable computational approach to atomic-scale materials science. However, due to the expensive computational cost on the first-principles ca...
Candidate risk genes for bipolar disorder are highly conserved during evolution and highly interconnected.

Objectives Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a highly heritable psychiatric disorder whose genetic complexity and pathogenetic mechanisms are still being unraveled. The main goal of this work was to characterize BPD risk-gene candidates (identified by Nurnberger et al., JAMA Psychiatry 71:657, 2014 and Stahl et al., Nat. Genet. 51:793, 2019) with respect to their evolutionary conservation, associated phenotypes and extent of gene-gene interactions. Methods Database searches and BLAST were used to identify homologous counterparts of human BPD risk genes in C. elegans, zebrafish and Drosophila. Phenotypes associated with the C. elegans genes were annotated and searched. With GeneMANIA, we characterized and quantified gene-gene interactions among members of the BPD gene set in comparison to randomly chosen gene sets of the same size. Results BPD risk genes are highly conserved across species and are enriched for essential genes and genes associated with lethality and altered life span. They are significantly more interactive with each other in comparison to random genes. We identified syntenic blocks of risk genes, which provided potential insights into molecular pathways and co-morbidities associated with BPD including coronary disease, obesity and decreased life expectancy. Conclusions BPD risk genes appear to be special in terms of their degree of conservation, interconnectedness and pleiotropic effects that extend beyond a role in brain function. Key hub genes or pleiotropic regulatory components may represent attractive targets for future drug discovery.
Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) Shipboard Monitoring System

The main purpose of this study is to customize a Shipboard Monitoring for Philippine Merchant Marine Academy. It also shows an excellent reliability with respect to transmission ratio speed of sensor nodes and a significant connectivity between nodes located in different compartments and decks separated by metallic watertight doors using the shipboard monitoring system, (Kdouh et al., 2013).
Colonoscopy Follow-up: U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer Updates Recommendations.

Screening colonoscopy findings define the future risk of colorectal cancer and the need for repeat screening. The U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer updated recommended follow-up intervals after screening colonoscopy in average-risk individuals.
Risk factors for development of initial Clostridioides difficile infection.

Abstract Objectives The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for initial complicated Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). Methods This retrospective cross-sectional study included adult patients with initial episodes of CDI who received ≥72 h of CDI-active antimicrobials. Patients were categorised into one of two groups: complicated CDI or uncomplicated CDI. A total of 513 patients were screened for inclusion, with complicated CDI patients exhibiting abnormal abdominal CT findings or experiencing death within 30 days post-CDI diagnosis. Results A total of 203 patients met the inclusion criteria, comprising 143 (70.4%) with uncomplicated CDI and 60 (29.6%) with complicated CDI. Complicated CDI patients were more likely to have been exposed to fluoroquinolones (48.3% vs. 30.8%; P = 0.017) and to carbapenems for a longer duration prior to CDI diagnosis (7 days vs. 3 days; P = 0.019). They were more likely to receive oral vancomycin (65.0% vs. 46.9%; P = 0.018) and rectal vancomycin (5.0% vs. 0%; P = 0.025) compared with uncomplicated CDI patients. Logistic regression identified previous fluoroquinolone exposure increased the risk of complicated CDI, while previous abdominal surgery decreased the risk. Conclusion Almost one-third of included patients experienced a complicated episode of CDI as their initial episode. Further research is warranted to elucidate the extent of influence of prior antibiotics on the development of complicated CDI.
Alkaline intracellular pH activates AMPK-mTORC2 signaling to promote cell survival during growth factor limitation

mTORC2 controls cell metabolism and promotes cell survival, yet its upstream regulation by diverse cellular cues remains poorly defined. While considerable evidence indicates that mTORC1 but not mTORC2 responds dynamically to amino acid levels, several studies reported activation of mTORC2 signaling by amino acids, a paradox that remains unresolved. Following amino acid starvation, we noted that addition of a commercial amino acid solution but not re-feeding with DMEM containing amino acids increased mTORC2 signaling. Interestingly, the pH of the amino acid solution was [~] 10. These key observations enabled us to discover that alkaline intracellular pH (pHi) represents a previously unknown activator of mTORC2. Using a fluorescent pH-sensitive dye (cSNARF-1-AM) coupled to live-cell imaging, we demonstrate that alkaline extracellular pH (pHe) increases intracellular pHi, which increases mTORC2 catalytic activity and downstream signaling to Akt. Alkaline pHi also activates AMPK, a sensor of energetic stress. Functionally, alkaline pHi attenuates apoptosis caused by growth factor withdrawal, which requires AMPK in part and mTOR in full. Collectively, these findings reveal that alkaline pHi increases AMPK-mTORC2 signaling to promote cell survival during growth factor limitation. As elevated pHi represents an under-appreciated hallmark of cancer cells, alkaline pH sensing by AMPK-mTORC2 may contribute to tumorigenesis. One Sentence SummaryAlkaline intracellular pH activates mTORC2
Light and depth dependency of nitrogen fixation by the non-photosynthetic, symbiotic cyanobacterium UCYN-A.

The symbiotic cyanobacterium UCYN-A is one of the most globally abundant marine dinitrogen (N2 )-fixers, but cultures have not been available and its biology and ecology are poorly understood. We used cultivation-independent approaches to investigate how UCYN-A single-cell N2 fixation rates (NFRs) and nifH gene expression vary as a function of depth and photoperiod. Twelve-hour day/night incubations showed that UCYN-A only fixed N2 during the day. Experiments conducted using in situ arrays showed a light-dependence of NFRs by the UCYN-A symbiosis, with the highest rates in surface waters (5-45 m) and lower rates at depth (≥ 75 m). Analysis of NFRs versus in situ light intensity yielded a light saturation parameter (Ik ) for UCYN-A of 44 μmol quanta m-2 s-1 . This is low compared with other marine diazotrophs, suggesting an ecological advantage for the UCYN-A symbiosis under low-light conditions. In contrast to cell-specific NFRs, nifH gene-specific expression levels did not vary with depth, indicating that light regulates N2 fixation by UCYN-A through processes other than transcription, likely including host-symbiont interactions. These results offer new insights into the physiology of the UCYN-A symbiosis in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean and provide clues to the environmental drivers of its global distributions.
Waterway maintenance budget allocation in a multimodal network

Abstract The U.S. inland waterway system has more than 11,000 miles of maintained navigation channel, which carries a significant percentage of the national freight total. Maintenance operations, including dredging and lock and dam maintenance/repair, are important to ensuring the effective and efficient operation of the inland marine transportation system. This study specifically deals with maintenance fund allocation to these projects. It proposes a multimodal approach to formulate the waterway maintenance problem in a network that considers rivers, locks/dams, highways and railways. The random effects of channel infilling known as shoaling are also considered. Maintenance on locks and dams reduces the delay therein, the cost of which is also considered in the model. The solution identifies maintenance projects to fund with an objective to serve the OD demand and minimize the total shipping costs on the network. The model is tested using data from the Ohio River Basin network. The proposed model is effective, and the result indicates a trade-off between lock/dam maintenance versus channel dredging. A distinct feature of this study is its explicit modeling of the interdependency between projects in realizing the system benefits as well as the random shoaling effect.
State Estimation Filtering Algorithms for Vehicle Attitude Determination using a Dual-Arc Accelerometer Array and 3-Axis Rate Gyroscopes

Sensor measurements are corrupted by biases, noise and drift effects and, in order to provide accurate measurements, these errors need to be estimated and, thus, eliminated. The current model used an Extended Kalman filter for the estimation of rate gyroscope measurement errors. This work improves upon that filter by applying a more robust, more accurate and more reliable Unscented Kalman filter. In addition, an algorithm for estimating the accelerometer measurement errors is developed using control theory. Using the attitude estimate from the Unscented Kalman filter, an error signal is formed between that attitude and the attitude estimates from the accelerometer array(s). This error signal is then reduced by implementation of an innovative method using PID controllers to estimate, and reduce the effects of, accelerometer measurement errors.