HIPAA's Effect on Web Site Privacy Policies

Healthcare institutions typically post their privacy practices online as privacy policy documents. We conducted a longitudinal study that examines the effects of HIPAA's enactment on a collection of privacy policy documents for a fixed set of organizations over a four-year period. We present our analysis of 24 healthcare privacy policy documents from nine healthcare Web sites, analyzed using goal mining, a content-analysis method that supports extraction of useful information about institutions' privacy practices from documents. We compare our results to our pre-HIPAA study of these same institutions' online privacy practices and evaluate their evolution in the presence of privacy laws     

Ubiquitin-Specific Protease 29 Regulates Cdc25A-Mediated Tumorigenesis

Cell division cycle 25A (Cdc25A) is a dual-specificity phosphatase that is overexpressed in several cancer cells and promotes tumorigenesis. In normal cells, Cdc25A expression is regulated tightly, but the changes in expression patterns in cancer cells that lead to tumorigenesis are unknown. In this study, we showed that ubiquitin-specific protease 29 (USP29) stabilized Cdc25A protein expression in cancer cell lines by protecting it from ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation. The presence of USP29 effectively blocked polyubiquitination of Cdc25A and extended its half-life. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockdown of USP29 in HeLa cells resulted in cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. We also showed that USP29 knockdown hampered Cdc25A-mediated cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of cancer cells in vitro. Moreover, NSG nude mice transplanted with USP29-depleted cells significantly reduced the size of the tumors, whereas the reconstitution of Cdc25A in USP29-depleted cells significantly increased the tumor size. Altogether, our results implied that USP29 promoted cell cycle progression and oncogenic transformation by regulating protein turnover of Cdc25A.     

Comparison and review of three available P2O5 methods for diammonium phosphate and triple superphosphate

The AOAC indirect, AOAC direct and EEC direct available P₂O₅ methods are compared by two different collaborative studies on DAP and GTSP. The collaborative studies found the AOAC direct and EEC direct available P₂O₅ methods to be lower than the AOAC indirect P₂O₅ method when the citrate insoluble P₂O₅ was greater than 0.3% P₂O₅. Results found in the Association of Florida Phosphate Chemist Check Sample Program confirmed the lower analysis.Until 1950 the primary method of analysis for available P₂O₅ was the AOAC indirect method. A faster method for available P₂O₅ was developed and adopted in the 50's by the AOAC. Diammonium phosphate from phosphate rock was not manufactured until 1959. The current fertilizer of today was not evaluated by the AOAC direct available P₂O₅ method because the fertilizer had not been manufactured.The current practice to use the empirical method for determining available P₂O₅ for plants was evaluated in the 30's, but it is still being applied to fertilizer materials of today. Several agronomic studies with current fertilizers have shown the so-called citrate insoluble P₂O₅ to be available to plants, which implies a new agronomic study should be evaluated for today's fertilizer to determine its availability.Based on the high cost of P₂O₅ production, available P₂O₅ methods must be equal when applied to the same fertilizer. Manufacturers of P₂O₅ in fertilizers cannot tolerate a 1.0% P₂O₅ difference between different available P₂O₅ methods. No one manufacturer or buyer should have an advantage over another because of the analytical method used to determine the available P₂O₅. If the so-called citrate insoluble P₂O₅ can be proved as available P₂O₅, the manufacturer should be able to sell that product as total available P₂O₅. If every regulatory agency developed their own available P₂O₅ method, the result would be confusion in determining the available P₂O₅ and inequities in the marketing of the product. The AOAC should establish methods that are equal in value for available P₂O₅.Quick, unofficial available P₂O₅ methods used to determine large volumes of fertilizer samples can be used by regulatory agencies to speed up the analyses. When deficient fertilizer samples are found by the unofficial method, the official methods should be used to determine true availability. The quick methods of questionable accuracy should be used for screening only. Regulatory agencies should operate in a posture of being fair to the consumer and manufacturer.     

Antineoplastic and antioxidant potential of phycofabricated silver nanoparticles using microalgae Chlorella minutissima

This study for the first time reports on fresh water microalgae Chlorella minutissima aqueous extract (CmAe) which was utilized for the biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles and tested their antineoplastic potential against Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HepG2) cell line. The characteristic colour change of the reaction mixture from greenish yellow to yellowish brown confirmed the synthesis of Chlorella minutissima silver nanoparticles (CmAgNPs). Microscopic analysis revealed CmAgNPs to be spherical‐shaped with particle size ranging from 10 to 30 nm. The carbohydrates and proteins distinctive peaks were observed in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra which suggested these biomolecules acted as reducing and capping agents. Further, the crystalline nature of CmAgNPs was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. CmAgNPs showed maximum free radical scavenging proving it to be more potent antioxidant agent as compared to CmAe. The mortality rate of HepG2 cells treated with CmAgNPs was found to be 91.8 % at 120 μg/ml with IC₅₀ value 12.42 ± 1.096 μg/ml after 48 h whereas no effect was observed on normal Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK 293) cells. Fluorescent images of the treated HepG2 cells revealed the formation of apoptotic bodies, condensed nuclei and cell shrinkage indicating their effectiveness against the cancer cells.Inspec keywords: silver, nanoparticles, nanomedicine, microorganisms, cellular biophysics, nanofabrication, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, proteins, Fourier transform infrared spectra, molecular biophysics, X‐ray chemical analysis, X‐ray diffraction, kidney, cancer, biomedical materialsOther keywords: antineoplastic potential, antioxidant potential, phycofabricated silver nanoparticle, Chlorella minutissima, freshwater microalgae, aqueous extract, liver hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, CmAgNP synthesis, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering, carbohydrate, protein, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, biomolecule, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, elemental silver signal, CmAgNP crystalline, X‐ray diffraction analysis, antioxidant agent, HepG2 cell mortality rate, human embryonic kidney, HEK 293 cell, fluorescent image, apoptotic body formation, condensed nuclei, cell shrinkage, cancer cell, antineoplastic agent, Ag     

Oxide bound impact on hot-carrier degradation for gate electrode workfunction engineered (GEWE) silicon nanowire MOSFET

In this present work, we explore the hot carrier fidelity of gate electrode workfunction engineered silicon nanowire (GEWE-SiNW) MOSFET at 300 K using DEVEDIT-3D device editor and ATLAS device simulation software. TCAD simulation shows reduction in the hot carrier reliability of a GEWE SiNW MOSFET in terms of electron temperature, electron velocity and Hot Electron gate current for reflecting its efficacy in high power CMOS applications. Further, a comparative investigation for different values of oxide thickness and high-k has been done to analyze the performance of GEWE-SiNW MOSFET in terms of electrical parameters such as conduction band, DIBL, electric field, electron temperature, electric velocity and gate current. It has been clearly shown that with oxide thickness 0.5 nm the hot-carrier reliability and device performance improves in comparison to oxide thickness 2.5 nm. In addition, with k = 21(HfO₂) device performance in terms of hot-carrier reliability further enhanced due to increased capacitance and thus offer its effectiveness in sub-nm range analog applications.     

Electrochemical treatment of cotton textile-based dyeing effluent

The electrochemical treatment (ECT) of textile wastewater was carried out in a 1.5 dm³ electrolyte batch reactor using iron electrodes. With the four plate configurations, a current density (CD) of 89.2 A/m² and a pH value of 8.5 were found to be optimal, at which maximum reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and colour achieved were 86% and 79%, respectively. Loss of 0.0666 kg/m³ iron electrode and 18.44 kWh/m³ power consumption was observed during ECT with a maximum COD reduction of 79%. The settling characteristics of electrochemically treated effluents as well as the characteristics of foam and residue were also analysed.     

Periodic Exposure of Plasma-Activated Medium Alters Fibroblast Cellular Homoeostasis

Excess amounts of redox stress and failure to regulate homeostatic levels of reactive species are associated with several skin pathophysiologic conditions. Nonmalignant cells are assumed to cope better with higher reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) levels. However, the effect of periodic stress on this balance has not been investigated in fibroblasts in the field of plasma medicine. In this study, we aimed to investigate intrinsic changes with respect to cellular proliferation, cell cycle, and ability to neutralize the redox stress inside fibroblast cells following periodic redox stress in vitro. Soft jet plasma with air as feeding gas was used to generate plasma-activated medium (PAM) for inducing redox stress conditions. We assessed cellular viability, energetics, and cell cycle machinery under oxidative stress conditions at weeks 3, 6, 9, and 12. Fibroblasts retained their usual physiological properties until 6 weeks. Fibroblasts failed to overcome the redox stress induced by periodic PAM exposure after 6 weeks, indicating its threshold potential. Periodic stress above the threshold level led to alterations in fibroblast cellular processes. These include consistent increases in apoptosis, while RONS accumulation and cell cycle arrest were observed at the final stages. Currently, the use of NTP in clinical settings is limited due to a lack of knowledge about fibroblasts’ behavior in wound healing, scar formation, and other fibrotic disorders. Understanding fibroblasts’ physiology could help to utilize nonthermal plasma in redox-related skin diseases. Furthermore, these results provide new information about the threshold capacity of fibroblasts and an insight into the adaptation mechanism against periodic oxidative stress conditions in fibroblasts.