cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Raman Scattering in LiCoO2 Single Crystals and Thin Films

We report Raman scattering measurements for uniaxially textured and randomly oriented polycrystalline LiCoO2 min films as well as for LiCoO2 and LiCo0.4Al0.6O2 single crystals. For both the crystalline LiCoO2 thin film samples and the single crystal LiCoO2 samples, well defined phonon modes are observed at Raman shifts of 486 cm−1 and 596 cm−1corresponding to the expected Eg and Alg modes of the layered LiCoO2 crystal structure with R 3 m symmetry. Upon Al substitution for Co in LiCoO2, the two phonon modes appear to shift to higher energy, but further work is needed to clarify this point.
Vitamin A and Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

Vitamin A levels were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid of a total of 78 patients having idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH;n=20), elevated pressure of other causes (E-ICP;n=19), and normal pressure (N-ICP;n=39), in a study at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Abstract 5361: Progesterone alters cell survival and cell death pathways in estrogen-induced mammary carcinogenesis

Breast cancer is one of the most frequent and common malignancy in women. The incidence of breast cancer is high in postmenopausal women and majority of these cancers are estrogen receptor positive. Epidemiological data suggests that estrogen plus progesterone hormone replacement therapy increases the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Further, estrogen alone therapy did not increase the risk instead decreased the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Till date the role of progesterone in breast cancer is not well understood. Our earlier studies using ACI rats have clearly demonstrated the significant role progesterone plays in the estrogen-induced mammary carcinogenesis. We now, aim to investigate the mechanisms by which progesterone promotes estrogen-induced mammary carcinogenesis in ACI rats. We chose to use the ACI rats as it is a good model to study hormone-induced mammary carcinogenesis. In brief, seven weeks old female ACI rats were divided into the following groups: 1) untreated control, 2) rats treated with 30 mg estradiol, 3) rats treated with 30 mg progesterone, 4) rats treated with 30 mg estradiol plus 30 mg of mifepristone (a progesterone inhibitor). All hormone treatments were given for 30 days by subcutaneous implants of silastic capsules. At the end of the treatment, mammary glands were excised and used for molecular analysis. Cell survival, cell death pathways, and hormone receptor status were analyzed using different molecular techniques. Expression patterns of mRNA and proteins involved in major cell survival and apoptotic pathways were significantly altered in response to progesterone inhibition. Our data demonstrates that progesterone plays a prominent role in regulating key regulatory pathways in estrogen-induced mammary carcinogenesis. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5361.
Reevaluation of Secular Trends in Depression Rates

Results of numerous community surveys of psychiatric illness suggest a striking change in the occurrence of depression, with younger generations experiencing higher lifetime risk and earlier age of onset. Data from the National Institute of Mental Health Epidemiologic Catchment Area Survey (a cross-sectional survey of psychiatric morbidity in five US communities conducted between 1980 and 1984) were reexamined for evidence of methods effects which might contribute to these unexpected findings. A pattern of higher lifetime risk and earlier age of onset among recent birth cohorts was observed for every psychiatric disorder examined, with schizophrenia, major depression, and panic disorder showing equally strong trends. For respondents of all ages, reported first onset of major depression clustered in the 10-year period prior to the study interview, in contrast to the expectation that older respondents would report onset in early adulthood. Examination of individual psychiatric symptoms revealed a nearly universal pattern of decreasing lifetime prevalence among older respondents, a reversal of the expected accumulation of lifetime symptoms with age. These findings suggest that effects of study methods may contribute to the apparent temporal trends in prevalence of depression and that cross-sectional surveys may underestimate lifetime psychiatric morbidity among older respondents. Generational changes in the lifetime risk of depression or other psychiatric disorders may not be reliably assessed by cross-sectional survey data.
Testing on Big Muscle Group Development

This paper explains development of human movement especially for main content and important function of big muscle group.The movement skill testing of big muscle group consists of locomotion subjects and object control including 12 skills.The result shows that identification the movement skill development of big muscle group significantly lags behind.Setting Feasibility plans of developing movement skill.Evaluating on development of big muscle group.Evaluating success of big muscle group program.Providing measurement instrument related to development of big muscle group.
Variation in Testosterone Levels and Health-related Quality of Life in Men Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer on Active Surveillance

Objective To determine the extent to which low testosterone levels impact health-related quality of life in patients undergoing active surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer. Materials and Methods Eligible AS patients were grouped as having low, low-normal, or normal testosterone levels ( Results The cohort consisted of 223 patients, 74 (33%) of which had low testosterone levels. The mean age was 66.8 ± 7.2 years, with 85% being Caucasian. Mean prostate-specific antigen did not differ between groups. Obesity was significantly higher for men with low testosterone levels (P Conclusion Men with testosterone levels ≥400 ng/dL reported some improved measures of health-related quality of life including greater satisfaction with treatment outcome. These findings are hypothesis generating in the controversial area of exogenous testosterone administration in men on AS.
Determination of volatile organic compounds in well water in Luogang district,Guangzhou,by gas chromatography mass spectrometry with purge and trap method

Objective:To conduct qualitative and quantitative detection of the volatile organic compounds(VOCs) in well water in Luogang district,Guangzhou,by gas chromatography mass spectrometry with purge and trap method.Methods: 5 ml sample solution were pipeted,and VOCs of samples were purged and traped at 40℃ for 11 min,then desorped at 190℃ for 4 min.The VOCs were separated on Rxi-5ms column and detected by the full-scanning mode with positive electron ionization.Results: 54 kinds of VOCs in well water were detected.The detection limits were 0.10 ug/L to 0.25 ug/L,the average recoveries were 83.9% to 114.5%,and the relative standard deviations were 2.85% to 9.67%.Conclusion: The technique of gas chromatography mass spectrometry with purge and trap method is simple and reliable for the detection of the VOCs in well water,and the well water quality is good in Luogang district of Guangzhou city,only few VOCs was detected.
Trust, but Verify II: A Practical Guide to Chemogenomics Data Curation

There is a growing public concern about the lack of reproducibility of experimental data published in peer-reviewed scientific literature. Herein, we review the most recent alerts regarding experimental data quality and discuss initiatives taken thus far to address this problem, especially in the area of chemical genomics. Going beyond just acknowledging the issue, we propose a chemical and biological data curation workflow that relies on existing cheminformatics approaches to flag, and when appropriate, correct possibly erroneous entries in large chemogenomics data sets. We posit that the adherence to the best practices for data curation is important for both experimental scientists who generate primary data and deposit them in chemical genomics databases and computational researchers who rely on these data for model development.
Intersection of Living in a Rural Versus Urban Area and Race/Ethnicity in Explaining Access to Health Care in the United States.

Objectives. To examine whether living in a rural versus urban area differentially exposes populations to social conditions associated with disparities in access to health care.Methods. We linked Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2005–2010) data to geographic data from the American Community Survey (2005–2009) and Area Health Resource File (2010). We categorized census tracts as rural and urban by using the Rural–Urban Commuting Area Codes. Respondent sample sizes ranged from 49 839 to 105 306. Outcomes were access to a usual source of health care, cholesterol screening, cervical screening, dental visit within recommended intervals, and health care needs met.Results. African Americans in rural areas had lower odds of cholesterol screening (odds ratio[OR] = 0.37; 95% confidence interval[CI] = 0.25, 0.57) and cervical screening (OR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.29, 0.80) than African Americans in urban areas. Whites had fewer screenings and dental visits in rural versus urban areas. There were mixed results for which r...
An Analytical Investigation on the Thermally Induced Response of Composites in the Absence of Thermal Equilibrium

A numerical study of the thermally-induced response of two widely used composites has been conducted. This study was performed using a newly developed numerical model which, unlike previous models, does not include the assumption of local thermal equilibrium between the solid matrix and gases generated as a result of the decomposition processes. The results of this study include temperature, mass loss, pressure and expansion profiles. These results were used to evaluate the effects of material composition and processing on the overall response of the materials.
A network model of insurance company cash flow management

Cash flow management activities of property-casualty insurance companies deal with both insurance underwriting operations and investment portfolio pursuits. For the greatest overall efficiency, these two dimensions require simultaneous consideration and coordination to effect the optimum strategy for each. The complexities involved in managing the joint cash flow are such that the judgmental methods or heuristic guidelines often employed are inadequate to investigate properly the various tradeoffs. Analytical techniques, such as various forms of general linear and nonlinear programming, have been proposed to aid in these investigations, but are of little operational value because of problem size. In other applications, network analysis has been able to overcome this type of difficulty. Hence, in this paper an application of a network model to the problem of managing the overall cash flow of a medium sized property-casualty insurance company is described. The model allows for coordination of the two dimensions, and an example situation is indicated.
Comparison of selected noise reduction techniques for MODIS daily NDVI: An empirical analysis on corn and soybean

Remote sensing derived NDVI data is fundamental to crop monitoring and crop yield estimation research. The usefulness of NDVI relies on reducing noise caused by varying atmospheric conditions such as cloud, haze, and dust as well as by sensor viewing geometry. Different techniques have been applied for noise reduction of composite NDVI products. However, the noise reduction for daily NDVI remains a challenge compare to multi-day composite products as the noise is already reduced to a certain degree in composite products. To address this issue, this research conducts experiments on reducing the noise of MODIS daily NDVI by selected techniques and applying a unique two level filtering on two crops: the first-level filter to take best possible NDVI values and then the second-level filter to smooth the curve by interpolating values selected in the first filter. The Best Index Slope Extraction (BISE) and running average are selected as first level filter. Five other techniques such as first Fourier transformation, Savitzky-Golay filter, asymmetric Gaussian function, double sigmoidal function and double logistic function fitting are selected as second level filter. The performances of noise reduction techniques are evaluated based on the correlation coefficient between crop NDVI and crop yield. The result demonstrates that the overall performance of Best Index Slope Extraction (BISE) as first filter is better than running average. The combination of BISE and Savitzky-Golay filter (SavGol) revealed better performance over other techniques in MODIS daily NDVI noise reduction based on the coefficient of determination (R2, 0.86 for corn and 0.80 for soybean) between area under NDVI curve and crop yield. The noise-reduced NDVI profile generated through this filter combination can explain 86% variability in corn yield and 80% variability in soybean yield.
Airborne Observation of ocean surface roughness variations using a combination of microwave radiometer and reflectometer systems - The second Virginia offshore (Virgo II) experiment

Airborne and satellite retrieval of Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) using L-band microwave radiometers requires accurate corrections for the influence of wind-induced Sea Surface Roughness (SSR) on the retrievals. We describe an airborne experiment, Virgo II, that combined an L-band microwave radiometer for retrieving SSS, with L- and S-band reflectometer systems for retrieving SSR descriptors including Mean Square Slope (MSS) and Wind Speed (WS) under a range of surface wind and wave conditions. The research objective is to use the SSR descriptors derived from the reflectometers to correct the brightness temperatures observed by the L-band radiometer, and produce more accurate SSS retrievals. Here we describe our experimental investigations to assess the feasibility of this approach. Preliminary comparisons of WS data retrieved from the reflectometers with coincident WS data from in situ platforms and an atmospheric circulation model indicate that after correcting for apparent biases, the reflectometry-derived SSR descriptors could, indeed, provide reliable corrections for the L-band radiometer salinity retrieval.
haploR: an R package for querying web-based annotation tools.

We developed haploR , an R package for querying web based genome annotation tools HaploReg and RegulomeDB. haploR gathers information in a data frame which is suitable for downstream bioinformatic analyses. This will facilitate post-genome wide association studies streamline analysis for rapid discovery and interpretation of genetic associations.
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH RAPID PROGRESSION OF AORTIC STENOSIS IN PATIENTS WITH BICUSPID AORTIC VALVE: A SINGLE CENTER RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background: Progression of aortic stenosis (AS) in bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) patients is not well understood. Methods: To investigate which factors in BAV patients predict progression of AS more rapid than the reported average rate of 0.1 cm2/ yr, clinical records and echocardiograms of 260 BAV
Peto’s Paradox: how has evolution solved the problem of cancer prevention?

The risk of developing cancer should theoretically increase with both the number of cells and the lifespan of an organism. However, gigantic animals do not get more cancer than humans, suggesting that super-human cancer suppression has evolved numerous times across the tree of life. This is the essence and promise of Peto’s Paradox. We discuss what is known about Peto’s Paradox and provide hints of what is yet to be discovered.
Shifting Perspectives about Grammar: Changing What and How We Teach

years of my teaching as something new comes up and perspectives shift again. Today, when I read articles or hear discussions about teaching grammar, I find interesting dichotomies in perspectives. Some people see language issues as right or wrong: That's it. No flexibility. This perspective is evident when people look at issues of language in stark contrasts instead of in relation to context. Even if teachers don't think of
Performance Variability on Xeon Phi

An understanding of sources of performance variability is important for high performance application developers and users. In this paper we discuss non-I/O sources of application performance variability on Cori, a Cray XC40 at NERSC with 9600+ Xeon Phi nodes connecting to an Aries high speed network with a Dragonfly topology. Our survey covers variability due to on-node effects from MCDRAM configured as cache and clock frequency scaling as well as off-node effects due to the network. For each source of variability we quantify the variability through micro-benchmarks and mini-applications, discuss potential mitigation strategies and analyze the impact on applications.
Contributions of cell death to aging in C. elegans.

There is little question that cell death contributes in a significant way to development, homeostasis, and disease. The roles of cell death and cell-death genes in the process of aging, however, have not yet been clearly elaborated. The nematode C. elegans has proven to be a powerful genetic model system for studying both cell death and aging. Mutations affecting either cellular death or animal life span have been identified, providing the tools to evaluate genetic contributions of cell death to aging. Here, we briefly review the genetics of life span and the genetics of cell death in C. elegans. We discuss what is known of the contributions of apoptotic and necrotic cell death genes to aging and highlight pressing questions for more detailed evaluation of the role of cell death in aging.
Predictors of Disparities in Access and Retention in School-Based Mental Health Services

Despite promising evidence that school-based health centers (SBHCs) and school mental health (SMH) services can reduce disparities in access to mental health care for underserved populations, little is known about what predicts retention of youth in SMH services. This study aimed to identify individual- and school-level factors associated with access and retention in mental health services provided in SBHCs. Existing data were analyzed for 17,348 students (2205 who received SMH services) who attended 17 middle and high schools in an urban school district. Student-level predictors included sex, race/ethnicity, and mental health need at intake. School-level predictors included grade level (middle vs. high school), student/teacher ratio, percent of white students, and percent of students receiving free or reduced lunch. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling was used to examine the association between student- and school-level variables and retention in care. White, Latino, and Asian students were less likely to access SMH services; multiracial and Native American students were more likely to access services, and African-American students were no more or less likely. Hierarchical models found that retention in services was more likely for female students, those who presented with social/educational problems, internalizing problems, and trauma/abuse/neglect, and less likely for Asian students. Retention was also more likely for students in middle schools, schools with a lower student/teacher ratio, and schools with a smaller percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. While SMH services show promise in increasing access for underserved groups, ensuring equitable retention of students in care will likely require concerted effort focused on consistently engaging students and ensuring quality of care.
Convex Optimization Approaches to Information Structured Decentralized Control

This paper considers the problem of synthesizing output feedback controllers subject to sparsity constraints. This problem is known to be generically NP-hard, unless the plant satisfies the quadratic invariance property. Our main results show that, even if this property does not hold, tractable convex relaxations with optimality certificates can be obtained by recasting the problem into a polynomial optimization through the use of polyhedral Lyapunov functions. Combining these ideas with rank minimization tools leads to a computationally attractive algorithm. As an alternative, we present a second relaxation, with lower computational complexity, based on finding the best sparse estimate of a desired control action. These results are illustrated with several examples.
Accomplishments of Electron Microscopy Study in the Practice of Nephrology

The practice of nephrology (renal medicine) involves mainly those patients with the nephrotic syndrome, the acute syndrome of diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis, acute uremia, chronic uremia, asymptomatic proteinuria, recurrent microscopic hematuria, and hypertension. A safe method of obtaining a 1- to 2-cm core of renal tissue by means of closed needle biopsy and the increasing availability of electron microscopy (EM) techniques for evaluation of the renal tissue have popularized EM study among clinicians and pathologists in the practice of nephrology. There is little argument concerning the value of EM of renal tissue in patients with the nephrotic syndrome, but controversies still exist as to whether or not EM study is of clinical benefit in other renal diseases.
Intramolecular Diels-Alder Reaction of a Silyl-Substituted Vinylimidazole en Route to the Fully Substituted Cyclopentane Core of Oroidin Dimers.

An intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction of a silyl-substituted vinylimidazole delivers a diastereomeric mixture of C4-silyl functionalized dihydrobenzimidazoles. Subsequent diastereoselective reduction and elaboration of the lactone gives rise to a polysubstituted tetrahydrobenzimidazole, which, upon oxidative rearrangement, affords a single spirofused imidazolone containing all of the relevant functionality for an approach to the oroidin dimers axinellamine, massadine, and palau’amine.
Characterization of a Monomeric, Homoleptic, Solvent-Free Samarium Bis(aryloxide).

The reaction of Sm[N(SiMe3)2]2(THF)2 with 2 equiv of the bulky aryloxide ligand HOAriPr6 [AriPr6 = −C6H3-2,6-(C6H2-2,4,6-iPr3)2] afforded the first monomeric homoleptic solvent-free bis(aryloxide) ...
Ablation Planning Software for Optimizing Treatment: Challenges, Techniques, and Applications

Percutaneous ablation can deliver effective anticancer therapy with minimal side effects; however, undertreatment can lead to disease recurrence and overtreatment can lead to unnecessary complications. Ablation planning software can support the procedure during the planning, treatment, and follow-up phases. In this review, 2 examples of microwave ablation software are described with attention to how the software can influence procedural choices. In the future, ablation software will entail larger source datasets and more refined algorithms to better model the in vivo ablation zone. Moreover, ablation simulation has the potential to augment clinical care beyond the interventional suite, such as procedural demonstration for patients, clinical consultation with referring providers, documentation for the medical record, and educational simulation for trainees.
Managed care rebound? Recent changes in health plans' cost containment strategies.

ABSTRACT: Large increases in health care costs combined with an economic slowdown have created pressures for health plans and employers to reconsider cost containment strategies that were scaled ba...
The Risk of Malignancy in Korean Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Purpose To investigate the overall cancer risk and risk for specific cancers in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in Korea by comparing cancer incidence between RA patients and the general population. Materials and methods Individuals diagnosed with RA between 1996 and 2009 who underwent treatment at the Daegu Catholic University Medical Center were retrospectively examined. 1885 patients with RA were included in the analyses. Occurrence of cancer and death during follow up was ascertained by linking medical records to the Korean Central Cancer Registry and national death certificates. For comparing cancer incidence between RA patients and general population, standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated. The 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of SIRs were calculated using the shortcut method introduced by Vandenbroucke. Results The total follow-up time was 10218.9 person-years. During follow up, 100 patients (31 men and 69 women) were diagnosed with cancer. Both men and women had greater risks of having malignancy, although cancer risk was greater in men. Men showed increased risks of lung cancer (SIR=5.46, 95% CI: 2.60-9.36) and leukemia (SIR=16.7, 95% CI: 1.58-47.9). Women showed increased risks of thyroid cancer (SIR=1.75, 95% CI: 1.02-2.68), cervical cancer (SIR=3.65, 95% CI: 1.65-6.42), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (SIR=6.47, 95% CI: 2.04-13.4), and gallbladder cancer (SIR=3.87, 95% CI: 1.01-8.60). Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs usage and cancer were not related: the relative risks of developing malignancy were not elevated for each medicine. Conclusion The overall cancer incidence was increased in Korean men and women with RA. Increased risk of specific malignancy differed according to sex.
Post-Implant Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitor Use is Associated with Increased Rates of Late Right Heart Failure after LVAD: An INTERMACS Analysis

Purpose Late right heart failure (LRHF) is a major cause of morbidity after LVAD. Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5i) are often used for post-LVAD right heart dysfunction, but their impact on LRHF is unknown. Methods We identified adult patients from the INTERMACS registry undergoing continuous-flow LVAD (CFLVAD) after 2012 and stratified them by use of PDE5i at 1 month. Early RHF (ERHF) was defined as the need for RVAD within 1 month or inotropes for > 2 weeks. Among patients surviving > 1 month after discharge from the index LVAD implant, LRHF was defined as any of the following: death from RHF, need for RVAD or inotropes, re-hospitalization for RHF or volume overload , or fulfilling INTERMACS criteria of documentation and manifestation of RHF. Freedom from LRHF was compared with the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results Among 9627 CFLVAD patients surviving >1 month after discharge, 2463 (26%) were treated with PDE5i at 1 month. Patients on PDE5i were more likely to require >2 weeks of inotropic support (27% vs 14%), be INTERMACS Profile 1 or 2 (52% vs 46%), and have higher pulmonary vascular resistance (2.8 vs 2.2 WU), p Conclusion Irrespective of ERHF, post-implant PDE5i use is associated with an increased risk of LRHF after LVAD. Further studies are required to determine if selective pulmonary vasodilator therapy has a role in preventing LRHF after LVAD.
Imaging Phenotypes of Breast Cancer Heterogeneity in Preoperative Breast Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE-MRI) Scans Predict 10-Year Recurrence.

Purpose: Identifying imaging phenotypes and understanding their relationship with prognostic markers and patient outcomes can allow for a noninvasive assessment of cancer. The purpose of this study was to identify and validate intrinsic imaging phenotypes of breast cancer heterogeneity in preoperative breast dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) scans and evaluate their prognostic performance in predicting 10 years recurrence. Experimental Design: Pretreatment DCE-MRI scans of 95 women with primary invasive breast cancer with at least 10 years of follow-up from a clinical trial at our institution (2002–2006) were retrospectively analyzed. For each woman, a signal enhancement ratio (SER) map was generated for the entire segmented primary lesion volume from which 60 radiomic features of texture and morphology were extracted. Intrinsic phenotypes of tumor heterogeneity were identified via unsupervised hierarchical clustering of the extracted features. An independent sample of 163 women diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer (2002–2006), publicly available via The Cancer Imaging Archive, was used to validate phenotype reproducibility. Results: Three significant phenotypes of low, medium, and high heterogeneity were identified in the discovery cohort and reproduced in the validation cohort (P Conclusions: Intrinsic imaging phenotypes of breast cancer tumor heterogeneity at primary diagnosis can predict 10-year recurrence. The independent and additional prognostic value of imaging heterogeneity phenotypes suggests that radiomic phenotypes can provide a noninvasive characterization of tumor heterogeneity to augment personalized prognosis and treatment.
SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED SECRETOME COMPONENTS AS BIOMARKERS FOR AGING

Cellular senescence is a state of stable growth arrest in response to stress, which is a fundamental process of biological aging. They secrete products, the Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP), which consists of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and matrix remodeling proteins. Senescent cells accumulate with advancing age and partial elimination of senescent cells can reverse age-related dysfunction and increase mean lifespan in mice. However, it is not clear whether components of the SASP can be measured in human plasma and serve as aging biomarkers. Here we generated a candidate panel of senescence markers based on a multiplexed bead-based assay of proteins secreted by senescent preadipocytes, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, myoblasts, preadipocytes, and epithelial cells compared to non-senescent controls. The SASP undoubtedly varies by cell type; however, we observed that multiple components of the SASP are conserved. We then assessed circulating SASP components in human plasma samples from Mayo Clinic Biobank participants (n=280, 20 male and 20 female per decade, age 20-90) using the same method. We confirmed that components of the SASP can be quantified in human plasma with the multiplexed bead-based assay and observed several SASP components robustly increase with chronological age in humans. Our study illustrates that senescence-associated secretome components are detectable in human plasma and could potentially serve as biomarkers of systemic aging and senescent cell burden.
Catastrophic health expenditure and health-related quality of life among older adults in China

Older adults have more health-care needs and higher financial burdens but fewer income resources compared to other age groups in China. Meanwhile, substantial inequalities exist between rural and urban older adults in terms of welfare benefits level, access to health care, quality of care and financial resources to pay for health-care services. Using 2011–2013 panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study and a difference-in-differences methodology, this study examined the association between the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) and health-related quality of life among older adults in China. To distinguish the dynamic of CHE and generate rigorous estimates, we categorised the older adults into four groups: CHE entry group, non-CHE group, CHE exit group and CHE persistent group. Overall, we found that entry into CHE was associated with poorer physical and mental health for both rural and urban older adults, but this association was more consistent and robust for physical than for mental health. Exiting CHE was found to have a weak and sporadic positive association with physical and mental health across rural and urban areas. The results suggest that financial resources and social services are needed in China to support older adults who experience CHE persistently or periodically to help improve their health outcomes.
Use of animation director movies to teach CS1 programming concepts

We have developed a set of multimedia, Director-based movies to enhance and complement the teaching of CS1 using Java. From the beginning, we have decided to privilege simplicity and ease of use. There is one movie per concept and the movie is a simple, interactive, easy to use tutorial focused on a single concept, as opposed to a complex, multi-use, flexible tool. There is essentially no learning curve to use the movie. In this paper, two examples using Director are presented illustrating two typical programming concepts: looping and recursion. Benefits of using such an approach are discussed. A very brief overview of Macromedia Director is presented: Director is a software program to make movies, or dynamic animations, independent or part of a web page.
RNA modifications and cancer

RNA plays essential roles in not only translating nucleic acids into proteins, but also in gene regulation, environmental interactions and many human diseases. Nature uses over 150 chemical modific...
Fruit and Vegetable Consumption of US Adults by Level of Variety, What We Eat in America, NHANES 2013-2016.

Background Dietary guidance encourages consuming a variety of fruit and vegetables (FVs), which has been associated with higher FV intake and nutrient adequacy. Dietary intake of adults in the United States has not been described in the context of variety. Objectives The objective of this study was to describe FV consumption of adults in the United States by level of FV variety. Methods One day of dietary intake data of adults aged ≥20 y (n = 10,064) in What We Eat in America, NHANES 2013-2016 were used. FV variety was the count of foods consumed that contributed to total FV intake. Each FV was counted only once; a mixed dish counted as 1. Variety levels were high (≥5 items, n = 2316); moderate (3-4 items, n = 3423); or low (1-2 items, n = 3746). Differences between each level of variety were compared by t test. Results Among the low, moderate, and high levels, total FV intakes were 1.4, 2.6, and 4.4 cup equivalents (CE), respectively. CE amounts of FVs consumed were 0.3, 0.6, and 1.4 of vegetables excluding potatoes; 0.2, 0.3, and 0.3 of potatoes; 0.3, 0.6, and 1.2 of fruit; and 0.4, 0.4, and 0.5 from mixed dishes, respectively; percentages of each level reporting intake were 34%, 64%, and 89% for vegetables excluding potatoes; 23%, 34%, and 32% for potatoes; 22%, 49%, and 75% for fruit; and 72%, 71%, and 72% for mixed dishes, respectively. Conclusions Those with more variety of FV intake include whole FVs more frequently and in higher amounts. These results support suggestions for encouraging more FVs at snacks and as side dishes and salads at meals to increase total intake.
Surface Thermal Heterogeneities and the Atmospheric Boundary Layer: The Relevance of Dispersive Fluxes

While the increasing availability of computational power is enabling finer grid resolutions in numerical-weather-prediction models, representing land–atmosphere exchange processes remains challenging. This partially results from the fact that land-surface heterogeneity exists at all spatial scales, and its variability does not necessarily ‘average’ out with decreasing size. The work presented here uses large-eddy simulations and the concept of dispersive fluxes to quantify the effects of a surface that is thermally inhomogeneous (with scales that are approximately 10% of the height of the atmospheric boundary layer), but uniformly rough. These near-canonical cases describe inhomogeneous scalar transport over a broad range of unstable atmospheric flows. Results illustrate the existence of a regime where the mean flow is mostly driven by the surface thermal heterogeneities. In this regime, the contribution of the dispersive fluxes can account for more than 40% of the total sensible heat flux at 100 m above the ground and about 5–10% near the surface. This result is independent of the spatial distribution of the thermal heterogeneities and weakly dependent on the averaging time used to define the dispersive fluxes. Additionally, an alternative regime exists where the effects of the surface thermal heterogeneities are quickly blended and the dispersive fluxes match those obtained over an equivalent homogeneous surface. Results further illustrate the existence of a new cospectral scaling for the dispersive sensible heat fluxes that differs from the traditional turbulence cospectral scaling. We believe that these results might elucidate pathways for developing new parametrizations for the non-canonical atmospheric surface layer.
Formative Process Evaluation of the "Connect" Physical Activity Feasibility Trial for Adolescents.

Most interventions do not reach full implementation in real-world settings. Due to this issue, formative process evaluation during pilot programs can be especially useful to understand implementati...
Romosozumab: A first-in-class sclerostin inhibitor for osteoporosis.

Purpose The purpose of this article is to review the pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of the sclerostin inhibitor romosozumab for the treatment of osteoporosis, including data from clinical trials of the drug. Summary A review of the literature was performed by searching PubMed and MEDLINE for all relevant articles published between January 2014 and February 2020 using the keywords romosozumab, romosozumab-aqqg, osteoporosis, and fracture. All relevant English-language articles evaluating the pharmacology, efficacy, or safety of romosozumab for the treatment of osteoporosis in humans were included; poster presentations were excluded. Romosozumab has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and is considered both safe and effective for the treatment of osteoporosis in high-risk postmenopausal females. Phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials have shown a statistically significant decrease in new vertebral fractures and an increase in bone mineral density with romosozumab use, as compared with both placebo use and use of alternative osteoporosis therapies. The primary safety concern is a potential risk of cardiovascular events; additionally, hypocalcemia must be corrected prior to initiation. Romosozumab is the first anabolic medication that both increases bone formation and decreases bone resorption. Data suggest that romosozumab is more effective than oral bisphosphonates in preventing osteoporotic fractures, though cost and safety concerns must be considered. Conclusion Romosozumab is a novel, 12-month treatment option for postmenopausal women at high risk for osteoporotic fracture that both increases bone formation and decreases bone resorption.
Liver transplant evaluation for fulminant liver failure due to acute hepatitis A infection: Case series and literature review

Hepatitis A virus can cause liver damage ranging from mild illness to fulminant hepatic failure, constituting 0.35% of all cases of fulminant liver failure. While rates of spontaneous remission are higher for hepatitis A, recent outbreaks attributable to vaccine shortages in highly populated urban cities plagued by insufficient affordable housing and inaccessible sanitation, and changes in the epidemiology of viral strains have resulted in increased hospitalizations and deaths. While the prognosis for patients with FHF has improved since the introduction of transplantation, the decision to transplant is often difficult to reach. We present five patients with HAV and subsequent FHF, one of whom successfully received a liver transplant. We have reviewed all published cases of HAV FHF in the literature and report ten patients, seven of whom received liver transplantation. There are few predictive models that attempt to distinguish between fulminant hepatitis A and spontaneous recovery. Patients found to have positive hepatitis A IgM, encephalopathy, worsening LFT's and coagulation should be monitored closely and referred to transplant centers urgently for management.
Inequitable rewards: experiences of faculty of color mentoring students of color

Employing the analytical lens of Critical Race Theory, I explored how faculty of color view their mentorship of students of color at predominantly White colleges and universities. The research was ...
Revelation in Other Traditions

Revelations do not occur only in theistic traditions, and in this chapter the occurrence of revelatory disclosures in two nontheistic traditions are discussed. The historical Buddha as a part of his enlightenment, it is observed, attained a revelation of the Four Noble Truths. In the Hindu tradition the Vedas are accepted as revealed, and the different ways of understanding the provenance of their revelation in the Hindu tradition is explored, including the understanding of nontheistic Advaita Vedānta.
Rural-Urban Differences in Caregiver Burden Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic among a National Sample of Informal Caregivers

The objective of this exploratory study was to explore potential associations between changes to caregiver burden (CB) due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rural-urban status using a nationally represe...
A Competitive Analysis of Nearest Neighbor Based Algorithms for Searching Unknown Scenes (Preliminary Version)

We consider problems involving robot motion planning in an initially unknown scene of obstacles. The two specific problems that we examine are mapping the scene and searching the scene for a recognizable target whose location is unknown. We use competitive analysis as a tool for comparing algorithms. In the case of convex obstacles, we show a tight θ(min(k, √kα)) bound on the competitiveness for these problems, where α and k are aspect ratio and number of objects, respectively. This lower bound also holds for randomized algorithms. We derive an almost tight bound on the competitive ratio for the Nearest Neighbor heuristic.
From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law by Martha C. Nussbaum

Disgust is the “fundamental refusal” to accept another person's “full humanity.” In her 2010 book, From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law, Martha Nussbaum argues that d...
Direct quantification of thin-layer chromatograms by empirical methods

Abstract Ideally, the material in a spot on a two-dimensional chromatogram forms a bivariate normal distribution in which the base of the figure corresponds to the dimensions of the circular spot and the height of the curve is a function of the maximum absorbance. Using a paraboloid as an approximation of the Gaussian figure, it has been possible to construct a mathematical model of a series of chromatographic standards over a five hundred-fold range of values and to define mathematically deviant “spots” which were more compact or more diffuse than the standard series. The model has been used to evaluate the various empirical techniques of direct chromatographic analysis including: spot length, area, maximum absorbance, (area) (maximum absorbance), total absorbance and slit scanning with fixed and fixed-ratio slit length. It was found that slit scanning where the length of the slit is a constant fraction of the spot diameter is probably the best technique for mono-dimensional chromatograms while for two-dimensional chromatograms the product of (spot area) × (maximum absorbance) appears to be the best method.
ARTMAP-DS: Pattern Discrimination by Discounting Similarities

ARTMAP-DS extends fuzzy ARTMAP to discriminate between similar inputs by discounting similarities. When two or more candidate category representations are activated by a given input, features that the candidate representations have in common are ignored prior to determining the winning category. Simulations illustrate the network's ability to recognize similar inputs, such as STAR and START, in a noisy environment.
Electromagnetic propagation at interfaces and in waveguides in uniaxial crystals

The use of surface-impedance and surface-admittance concepts for analyzing reflection and refraction at an isotropic dielectric interface (first developed about 1938) is extended to include an interface between uniaxial birefringent dielectrics. Total internal reflection and the polarizing (Brewster) angle at an anisotropic interface are shown to be naturally explainable in terms of surface impedance (for TM polarization) and surface admittance (for TE polarization). The allowable modes in an integrated optical uniaxial asymmetric dielectric slab waveguide are also shown to be directly obtainable using the surface impedance/admittance approach. Numerical examples are presented.
Transgenic expression of an insect inhibitor of apoptosis gene, SfIAP, confers abiotic and biotic stress tolerance and delays tomato fruit ripening

Abstract SfIAP, an IAP ( i nhibitor of apoptosis) family member from the insect Spodoptera frugiperda , was introduced into tobacco and tomato plants. Expression of SfIAP conferred tolerance to several abiotic stresses including heat, salt, and fumonisin B1 (FB1) as well as resistance to the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria alternata . In wild type tomato, these stresses induced DNA fragmentation and formation of apoptotic-like bodies prior to cell death. Transgenic expression of SfIAP inhibited these features and cell death did not occur. In addition, tomato fruit ripening was delayed in plants harboring SfIAP. Expression of EIN3, a key transcription factor mediating ethylene responses, was suppressed in transgenic plants during fruit ripening and in response to fungal challenge. Treatment of transgenic plants with ethephon restored normal fruit ripening and disease susceptibility. The expression of ethylene-associated genes during the process of fruit ripening was blocked in SfIAP-expressing plants. The phenotypes associated with expression of SfIAP were not correlated with the expression of pathogenesis-related proteins. Taken together, these data suggest that the insect anti-apoptotic gene SfIAP, has a conserved function that inhibits stress-induced cell death both in plants and animals.
An Architecture for Configuring an Effcient Scan Path for a Subset of Elements

Many FPGAs support partial reconfiguration, where the states of a subset of configurable elements is (potentially) altered. However, the configuration bits often enter the chip through a small number of pins. Thus, the time needed to partially reconfigure an FPGA depends, to a large extent, on the number of configuration bits to be input into the chip. This is a key consideration, particularly where partial reconfiguration is performed during the computation. Therefore, it is important that the size of a frame (an atomic configuration unit) be small and the configuration be focused on the bits that truly need to be altered. Suppose C denotes the set of elements that need to be configured during a partial reconfiguration phase, here C is a (small) subset of k frames from a much larger set S of n frames. In this paper we present a method to configure the k elements of C by setting up a configuration path that strings its way through only those frames that require reconfiguration, the configuration bit stream can be now shifted in through this path. Our method also automatically selects (in hardware) a suitable clock speed that can be used to input these configuration bits. If the elements of C show spatial locality, then the configuration time could be made largely independent of n.