cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measurement-based optimization techniques for bandwidth-demanding peer-to-peer systems

Measurement-based optimization is one important strategy to improve the performance of bandwidth-demanding peer-to-peer systems. However, to date, we have little quantitative knowledge of how well basic lightweight measurement-based techniques such as RTT probing, 10KB TCP probing, and bottleneck bandwidth probing may work in practice in the peer-to-peer environment. By conducting trace-based analyses, we find that the basic techniques can help achieve 40 to 50% optimal performance. To deepen our understanding, we analyze some of the intrinsic properties of these techniques. Our analyses reveal the inherent difficulty of the peer selection problem due to the extreme heterogeneity in the peer-to-peer environment, and that the basic techniques are limited because their primary strength lies in eliminating the low-performance peers rather than reliably identifying the best-performing one. However, our analyses also reveal two key insights that can potentially be exploited by applications. First, for adaptive applications that can continuously change communication peers, the basic techniques are highly effective in guiding the adaption process. In our experiments, typically an 80% optimal peer can be found by trying less than 5 candidates. Secondly, we find that the basic techniques are highly complementary and can potentially be combined to better identify a high-performance peer, thus even applications that cannot adapt may benefit. Using media file sharing and overlay multicast streaming as case studies, we have systematically experimented with several simple combined peer selection techniques. Our results show that for the nonadaptive media file sharing application, a simple combined technique can boost performance to 60% optimal. In contrast, for the continuously adaptive overlay multicast application, we find that a basic technique with even low-fidelity network information is sufficient to ensure good performance. We believe our findings will help guide the future designs of high-performance peer-to-peer systems.
Filamentous Hemagglutinin of Bordetella bronchiseptica Is Required for Efficient Establishment of Tracheal Colonization

Adherence to ciliated respiratory epithelial cells is considered a critical early step in Bordetella pathogenesis. For Bordetella pertussis, the etiologic agent of whooping cough, several factors have been shown to mediate adherence to cells and cell lines in vitro. These putative adhesins include filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), fimbriae, pertactin, and pertussis toxin. Determining the precise roles of each of these factors in vivo, however, has been difficult, due in part to the lack of natural-host animal models for use with B. pertussis. Using the closely related species Bordetella bronchiseptica, and by constructing both deletion mutation and ectopic expression mutants, we have shown that FHA is both necessary and sufficient for mediating adherence to a rat lung epithelial (L2) cell line. Using a rat model of respiratory infection, we have shown that FHA is absolutely required, but not sufficient, for tracheal colonization in healthy, unanesthetized animals. FHA was not required for initial tracheal colonization in anesthetized animals, however, suggesting that its role in establishment may be dedicated to overcoming the clearance action of the mucociliary escalator.
Learning Compact Lexicons for CCG Semantic Parsing

We present methods to control the lexicon size when learning a Combinatory Categorial Grammar semantic parser. Existing methods incrementally expand the lexicon by greedily adding entries, considering a single training datapoint at a time. We propose using corpus-level statistics for lexicon learning decisions. We introduce voting to globally consider adding entries to the lexicon, and pruning to remove entries no longer required to explain the training data. Our methods result in state-of-the-art performance on the task of executing sequences of natural language instructions, achieving up to 25% error reduction, with lexicons that are up to 70% smaller and are qualitatively less noisy.
Magnetic states stabilization in Ni51Mn33.4In15.6 Heusler alloy

AbstractThe rate-independent stabilization of magnetic states with iterations in a Heusler alloy has been studied. The direct measurement of the adiabatic temperature change, ΔTad, of a Ni51Mn33.4In15.6 alloy near the magnetostructural phase transition is presented. The adiabatic temperature change at a given temperature within the temperature range of the magnetostructural transition is history dependent and varies considerably with the iteration count of the field cycle. The data show the transition from the low magnetization state to the high magnetization state during low to high (L–H) temperature change direction and from high magnetization to low magnetization state during high to low (H–L) temperature change direction require several field cycles to stabilize the ΔTad measurement, similar to the accommodation phenomenon in hysteretic materials. In the mixed magnetic state inside the first-order transition, both low and high magnetization portions of the alloy exist and it varies considerably with t...
Elevated Carbon Dioxide and Ozone Effects on Peanut: I. Gas-Exchange, Biomass, and Leaf Chemistry

The effects of elevated CO 2 and ozone (O 3 ) on net photosynthetic rate (A) and growth are generally antagonistic although plant responses are highly dependent on crop sensitivity to the individual gases and their concentrations. In this experiment, we evaluated the effects of various CO 2 and O 3 mixtures on leaf gas-exchange, harvest biomass, and leaf chemistry in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), an O 3 –sensitive species, using open-top fi eld chambers. Treatments included ambient CO 2 (about 375 μmol mol −1 ) and CO 2 enrichment of approximately 173 and 355 μmol mol −1 in combination with charcoal-fi ltered air (22 nmol O 3 mol −1 ), nonfi ltered air (46 nmol O 3 mol −1 ), and nonfi ltered air plus O 3 (75 nmol O 3 mol −1 ). Twice-ambient CO 2 in charcoal-fi ltered air increased A by 23% while decreasing seasonal stomatal conductance (g s ) by 42%. Harvest biomass was increased 12 to 15% by elevated CO 2 . In ambient CO 2 , nonfi ltered air and added O 3 lowered A by 21% and 48%, respectively, while added O 3 reduced g s by 18%. Biomass was not signifi cantly affected by nonfi ltered air, but was 40% lower in the added O 3 treatment. Elevated CO 2 generally suppressed inhibitory effects of O 3 on A and harvest biomass. Leaf starch concentration was increased by elevated CO 2 and decreased by O 3 . Treatment effects on foliar N and total phenolic concentrations were minor. Increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations should attenuate detrimental effects of ambient O 3 and promote growth in peanut but its effectiveness declines with increasing O 3 concentrations.
Atheroprotection in the Absence of “Caves”: Is it the Fat, the Vessels, or Both?

The protein caveolin-1 is the major coat protein for the organelle termed caveolae. Caveolae (or “small caves”) can be isolated from cells as cholesterol and sphingomyelin-enriched microdomains that are traditionally found decorating both apical and/or basolateral membranes in terminally differentiated cells. Caveolae are the primary plasmalemmal vesicle type found in vascular cells and are implicated in several basic processes, including endocytosis, potocytosis, cellular signaling, and cholesterol homeostasis.1 Work by many laboratories has placed caveolae and their less complex siblings, lipid rafts, on front and center stage in a variety of broad biology fields, including vascular biology, immunology, microbiology, and cancer biology. The article by Frank et al2 in this issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology sheds light on several fundamental issues regarding the role of caveolae-type vesicles in cholesterol homeostasis and atherogenesis. See page 98 Frank et al2 examine the hypothesis that caveolae-type organelles are critical for atherosclerotic lesion progression in mice. To this end, mice deficient in caveolin-1 (Cav-1−/−) and, subsequently, plasmalemmal-type caveolae3,4 were bred to mice deficient in apoliprotein E (ApoE−/−), defective in hepatic LDL cholesterol clearance. Presumptively, it was difficult to predict the net outcome on lipoprotein metabolism and lesion development in this model given the cellular data that (1) caveolin-1 is a cholesterol binding protein that can transport cholesterol from the endoplasmic reticulum to the plasma membrane5 and (2) a major receptor for HDL, scavenger receptor SR-B1, and a scavenger receptor for modified …
Comparison of hepatocyte phenotypes at the glutathione transferase and albumin loci in Sprague-Dawley and Nagase analbuminemic rats and F1 progeny after initiation and promotion

Hepatocarcinogenesis was examined in an initiation--promotion protocol with a single initiating dose of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) followed by promotion with phenobarbital (PB) in the Nagase analbuminemic rat (NA), the Sprague-Dawley rat (SD) and their F1 crosses. All rats received a 70% partial hepatectomy, followed at 24 h by 30 mg DMBA/kg body wt or the solvent. After a 2 week recovery following surgery, half of the solvent control and initiated groups received either basal diet or promotion with 0.05% PB mixed into the basal NIH-07 diet. After 12 weeks of promotion, the rats were killed and the livers perfused and fixed in situ with paraformaldehyde. Liver slices were paraffin embedded and stained for the placental isozyme of glutathione S-transferase (PGST). The number of altered hepatic foci (AHF) expressing PGST per liver was determined by quantitative stereology and used as an endpoint for comparison of initiation in the rat strains. The NA rat had a lower response to this initiation-promotion protocol than did the SD rat. The F1 progeny of the male NA and female SD rats were more similar to the NA parent in their responsiveness to initiation, whereas the F1 progeny of the female NA and male SD were similar to the SD parent in this respect. Putative mutagenesis and carcinogenesis were examined in the F1 progeny of the female NA and male SD rat. In these rats, serial liver sections were stained either for albumin to detect putative mutations at that locus, or PGST to identify putatively initiated hepatocytes. In the NA/SD F1, the number of single hepatocytes with a putative mutation at the albumin locus was the same (3.7 x 10(5)/liver) as those expressing a common marker of preneoplasia (PGST). The number of AHF expressing PGST was approximately 5% that of the single cells exhibiting an altered expression of albumin or PGST, indicating a possible quantitative correlation between initiation and mutation in vivo when individual hepatocytes with altered gene expression were counted. These studies also suggest that only a subpopulation of the putatively initiated hepatocytes expands clonally in the presence of the promoting agent, PB. The progeny of the female NA rat crossed with the SD male rat appears to provide a useful model in which to compare mutation and carcinogenesis simultaneously in vivo.
Inhibition of Bacterial Superantigens by Peptides and Antibodies

The pyrogenic exotoxins of group A streptococci and staphylococcal enterotoxins are a family of structurally related superantigens with similar biological activity. Two distinct areas have been identified which have a highly conserved amino acid homology in all of the toxin families. A number of peptides were constructed from these regions, some of which were concatenated and polymerized to enhance their immunogenicity in animals. Antibodies prepared against these polymerized peptides were used to serologically identify the majority of the superantigen toxins, block the biological activities of the superantigens, and protect an experimental animal model against shock. In addition certain peptides were able per se to block up to 90% of the proliferative responses induced by the toxins. The peptide also proved protective in a septic shock model in mice. Binding experiments indicate that the peptide binds tightly to the major histocompatibility complex class II molecule, thus preventing binding and hence activation of the superantigen. The selective and rapid binding of the peptide to the major histocompatibility complex class II molecule may lead to a novel therapeutic modality in treatment of superantigen-mediated diseases.
Rheumatoid arthritis-associated polymorphisms are not protective against Alzheimer's disease

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are inversely associated. To test the hypothesis that genetic elements associated with increased RA risk are associated with decreased AD risk, we evaluated RA genetic risk factors recently identified in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for their association with AD in a two-stage, case-control analysis. In our Stage 1 analysis of ~800 AD and ~1,200 non-AD individuals, three of seventeen RA-associated SNPs were nominally associated with AD (p < 0.05) with one SNP, rs2837960, retaining significance after correction for multiple testing (p = 0.03). The rs2837960_G (minor) allele, which is associated with increased RA risk, was associated with increased AD risk. Analysis of these three SNPs in a Stage 2 population, consisting of ~1,100 AD and ~2,600 non-AD individuals, did not confirm their association with AD. Analysis of Stage 1 and 2 combined suggested that rs2837960 shows a trend for association with AD. When the Stage 2 population was age-matched for the Stage 1 population, rs2837960 exhibited a non-significant trend with AD. Combined analysis of Stage 1 and the age-matched Stage 2 subset showed a significant association of rs2837960 with AD (p = 0.002, OR 1.24) that retained significance following correction for age, sex and APOE (p = 0.02, OR = 1.20). Rs2837960 is near BACE2, which encodes an aspartic protease capable of processing the AD-associated amyloid precursor protein. Testing for an association between rs2837960 and the expression of BACE2 isoforms in human brain, we observed a trend between rs2837960 and the total expression of BACE2 and the expression of a BACE2 transcript lacking exon 7 (p = 0.07 and 0.10, respectively). RA-associated SNPs are generally not associated with AD. Moreover, rs2837960_G is associated with increased risk of both RA and, in individuals less than 80 years of age, with AD. Overall, these results contest the hypothesis that genetic variants associated with RA confer protection against AD. Further investigation of rs2837960 is necessary to elucidate the mechanism by which rs2837960 contributes to both AD and RA risk, likely via modulation of BACE2 expression.
Women's anger and its meanings: A phenomenological perspective

This study focused on the interactions of somatizations, thoughts, and social processes evolving from unrecognized, unexpressed, or repressed anger in women. Material from patients’ clinical narratives was phenomenologically described and interpreted. The most critical finding was the transformation of anger as lived by women into socially acceptable pathology. Anger was left in silence, and the possibilities for its expression were found in physiological disorders, substance abuse, self‐deprecation, and affiliation problems, among other conditions.
New species of shrew (Soricidae: Crocidura) from Sibuyan Island, Philippines

Recent molecular phylogenetic studies of Southeast Asian shrews (Crocidura) suggest that Crocidura mindorus, as currently defined, is diphyletic. The species is reported from Mindoro (type locality) and Sibuyan islands in the Philippines, each of which has been isolated from other land masses over considerable geological timescales. We examined morphological evidence to determine whether the Mindoro and Sibuyan populations represent distinct, endemic species. We found that the two populations differ in discrete and mensural characters. This evidence, combined with previous molecular phylogenetic studies, confirms that the Sibuyan population is an isolated, independently evolving lineage, and we formally describe it as a new species, Crocidura ninoyi.
Process Control Security Journey

The issues associated with computer security are no longer the exclusive domain of information technology. The increasing use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies in process control systems and networks makes them a potential target for various kinds of cyber attacks. The potential damage that can be caused if an attack is successful against a process control system can be substantial, if not catastrophic. Not only can production be impacted, but more importantly, safety can be compromised. It is therefore imperative that manufacturers understand the nature of potential threats, and that processes be put in place to prevent incidents as well as to deal with those that do occur. This paper will discuss one company's approach to understanding the nature of these threats, the risks associated with these threats, the business value of implementing a secure business to process architecture, and the experience gained by dealing with process control security. Discussed will be technology issues, organizational implications, and the recommended processes to put into place to insure that risks are minimized.
Inhalant anesthetic requirement in cats is animal-dependent.

Minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of an inhalant is an indicator of its anesthetic potency. Individuals vary in their sensitivity to anesthetic agents as demonstrated by different individual MAC values. We hypothesized that individual animal sensitivity would be maintained with different inhalant anesthetics. As part of separate studies, six female DSH cats, aged 24 ± 2.5 (mean ± SD) months and weighing 3.5 ± 0.3 kg, were studied similarly on three separate occasions over a 12-month period to determine the MAC of isoflurane (ISO), sevoflurane (SEVO), and desflurane (DES), respectively. In each study, chamber induction was followed by orotracheal intubation, and anesthesia was maintained via a nonrebreathing circuit. ECG, pulse oximetry, Doppler systolic blood pressure, end-tidal gases, and esophageal temperature were monitored. End-tidal gases were hand-sampled from a catheter whose tip lay level with the distal end of the ET tube. Gases were analyzed by Raman spectrometry and, for each agent, the analyzer was calibrated with at least three gas standards. MAC was determined in triplicate using standard tail-clamp technique. Data were analyzed by two-way anova followed by Tukey's test and significant differences were found. Average MACs (%) for ISO, SEVO, and DES were 1.90 ± 0.18, 3.41 ± 0.65, and 10.27 ± 1.06, respectively. Body temperatures, Doppler systolic blood pressure, and SpO2 were recorded at the time of MAC determinations for ISO, SEVO, and DES were 38.3 ± 0.3, 38.6 ± 0.1, 38.3 ± 0.35 °C; 71 ± 8, 75 ± 16, 88 ± 12 mm Hg; 99 ± 1, 99 ± 1, 99 ± 1%, respectively. Both the anesthetic agent and the individual cat had significant effects on MAC (p = 0.0001 and 0.0185, respectively). MAC varied between individuals and cats were consistent in their order of sensitivity to inhalant anesthetics across the three agents. Within this group of cats, the relationship of individual MAC to the group MAC for each of the three inhalant agents was maintained. This suggests that any individual may be consistently more or less sensitive to a variety of inhalant agents.
Bad for Breathing: A Pictorial of Drug-Induced Pulmonary Disease

Drug-induced lung disease has been described with over 300 different agents, some of which are asymptomatic and may first present on imaging. These pulmonary diseases may present with variable imaging manifestations, and often overlap with other etiologies such as rejection, lymphoproliferative disorders, and infection that may be suspected in this patient population. However, there are several drugs that have classic imaging appearances, and in the proper clinical context, the radiologist should include their toxicity in the differential diagnosis, potentially expediting withdrawal of the drug and avoiding irreversible lung injury such as fibrosis.
What Does Research on Computer-Based Instruction Have to Say to the Reading Teacher?

Abstract Though it may wax and wane in popularity, computer‐based instruction is a permanent option for reading instruction. In an examination of trends in the Educational Products Information Exchange (EPIE) database of software, Haven (1985) noted that there are some 608 reading programs and 736 English/language arts programs available. Availability of such programs grew 500% for reading and 400% for English/language arts between 1981 and 1984.
Chemical Precursor Routes to Nanostructured Non-oxide Ceramics

An efficient route to boron carbide, boron nitride, and silicon carbide ceramic nanofibers and nanotubules has been developed which employs newly developed molecular and polymeric precursors in conjunction with porous alumina templating methods. Melt infiltration or vacuum filtration of solutions of 6,6 -(CH2)6-(B10H13)2 or polyhexenyldecaborane through alumina templates followed by pyrolysis and dissolution of the membranes in 48% HF yielded boron carbide nanofibers or nanotubules. Boron nitride nanotubules were generated in a similar fashion by employing polyborazylene as a precursor, while silicon carbide nanotubules were generated from the commercially available allylhydridopolycarbosilane (AHPCS) polymeric precursor. In all cases, SEM and TEM analyses showed aligned, monodispersed ensembles of nanofibers or nanotubules. Structural control of the end products can be achieved through changes in concentration of the precursor solution, the number of alumina membrane treatments, and/or pore size of the alumina template.
Room temperature selective reduction of nitrobenzene to azoxybenzene over magnetically separable urchin-like Ni/Graphene nanocomposites

Abstract Magnetically recyclable Ni/Graphene (Ni/G) nanocomposites were synthesized via an in situ reduction growth process for selective reduction of nitroarenes into corresponding azoxybenzene at room temperature and at atmospheric pressure. Here, hydrazine hydrate (N2H4⋅H2O) is used as the reducing agent which generates harmless by-products such as N2 and water. The catalyst, when used under controlled reaction conditions, exhibits a 100% conversion and selectivity to the target product without the use of any external additives (turnover number 36.2). Under the optimized conditions, a variety of structurally different nitroarenes were selectively transformed to their corresponding azoxy products in high conversions. Furthermore, a high stability and recyclability of the catalyst were also observed under the investigated conditions (93% conversion, 100% selectivity after the 4th reuse).
Abstract 3658: 5F 203 modulates oxidative stress, induces single-strand break formation and promotes mitochondrial membrane potential loss in sensitive breast cancer cells

Targeted pharmacotherapeutic agents have been successful in treating women with breast cancer that either over-expresses human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2/neu) or is dependent upon estrogen receptor signaling. However, patients with Her2/neu-negative or hormone-independent breast cancer do not benefit from these targeted agents. A candidate anticancer agent 2-(4-amino-3-methylphenyl)-5-benzothiazole (5F 203) targets the aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling pathway and potently inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells irrespective of either estrogen receptor or Her2/neu status. 5F 203 may represent a promising agent for women who lack targeted therapeutic options. We have previously assessed the role reactive oxygen species (ROS) play in mediating the anticancer activity of 5F 203. In our current studies, we pretreated 5F 203-sensitive breast cancer cells with rotenone prior to treatment with 5F 203. This pretreatment diminished 5F 203-mediated ROS formation as measured by DCF-DA staining followed by flow cytometry. This suggests 5F 203-induced ROS production is partially derived from the mitochondria. Using the comet assay and a JC1 dye-based fluorometry assay respectively, we found 5F 203 induced single-strand break formation and mitochondrial membrane potential loss in sensitive breast cancer cells. Pretreatment with the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine partially diminished apoptosis as assessed by relief contrast microscopy and the Annexin V/PI assay. This implies that 5F 203-induced apoptosis depends at least in part on ROS derived from mitochondria. We also analyzed 84 oxidative stress-responsive genes using PCR-array and determined that 5F 203 significantly increased the expression of cytoglobin, a novel tumor suppressor, in sensitive breast cancer cells. These data imply ROS and cytoglobin contribute to the anticancer activity of 5F 203. 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 3658.
Construction of plastid reference proteomes for maize and Arabidopsis and evaluation of their orthologous relationships; the concept of orthoproteomics.

Plastids are essential organelles because they contribute to primary and secondary metabolism and plant signaling networks. A high-quality inventory of the plastid proteome is therefore a critical tool in plant research. We present reference plastid proteomes for maize (Zea mays) and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) with, respectively, 1564 and 1559 proteins. This was based on manual curation of published experimental information, including >150 proteomics studies regarding different (sub)cellular fractions, and new quantitative proteomics experiments on plastid subfractions specifically designed to fill gaps in current knowledge. These plastid proteomes represent an estimated 40 (maize) to 50% (Arabidopsis) of all plastid proteins and can serve as a “gold standard” because of their low false-positive rate. To facilitate direct comparison of these plastid proteomes, identify “missing” proteins, and evaluate species-specific differences, we determined their orthologous relationships. The multistep strate...
The Test That Gets Forgotten

Systemic hypertension in the context of a dilated, poorly functioning heart is not commonly seen in the paediatric population. Patients with poor left ventricular function are usually hypotensive; however, there is a subset in whom heart failure appears to present secondary to systemic hypertension (increased afterload). This is a well-described phenomenon in hypertensive adult patients. In the paediatric age group, the cause of systemic hypertension needs to be established. Causes of systemic hypertension include aortic coarctation, kidney disease, tumours or endocrine abnormalities.
A Review of Palliative Sedation

Palliative sedation has become a standard practice to treat refractory symptoms at end-of-life. Dyspnea and delirium are the two most commonly treated symptoms. The medications used in palliative sedation are usually benzodiazepines, barbiturates, antipsychotics, and/or anesthetics. Some ethical considerations remain, especially surrounding the use of palliative sedation in psychological distress and existential suffering.
Frequency Modulation Spectroscopy Modeling for Remote Chemical Detection

Frequency modulation (FM) spectroscopy techniques show promise for active infrared remote chemical sensing. FM spectroscopy techniques have reduced sensitivity to optical and electronic noise, and are relatively immune to the effects of various electronic and mechanical drifts. FM systems are responsive to sharp spectral features and can therefore reduce the effects of spectral clutter due to interfering chemicals in the plume or in the atmosphere. The relatively high modulation frequencies used for FM also reduces the effects of albedo (reflectance) and plume variations. Conventional differential absorption lidar (DIAL) systems are performance limited by the noise induced by speckle. Analysis presented in this report shows that FM based sensors may reduce the effects of speckle by one to two orders of magnitude. This can result in reduced dwell times and faster area searches, as well as reducing various forms of spatial clutter. FM systems will require a laser system that is continuously tunable at relatively high frequencies (0.1 to 20 MHz). One promising candidate is the quantum-cascade (QC) laser [1, 2]. The QC laser is potentially capable of power levels on the order of 1 Watt and frequency tuning on the order of 3 - 6 GHz, which is the performance level required for FM spectroscopy based remote sensing. In this report we describe a high-level numerical model for an FM spectroscopy based remote sensing system, and application to two unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV) scenarios. A Predator scenario operating at a slant range of 6.5 km with a 10 cm diameter telescope, and a Global Hawk scenario operating at a range of 30 km with a 20 cm diameter telescope, has been assumed to allow estimation of the performance of potential FM systems.
Abstract LB-147: Simultaneous profiling of mRNA and protein in single human induced pluripotent stem cells

The cancer stem cell theory proposes that a discrete, small number of “stem-cell-like” cancer cells are primarily responsible for driving cancer. Thus, future cancer treatments are likely to be developed by targeting these cancer stem cells. One approach to modeling cancer therapy utilizes induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. While gene expression studies have measured differentiation propensities between different iPSC clones and compared protein coding gene profiles between iPSCs and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), relatively little is known about the expression characteristics of individual RNA transcripts and their corresponding protein within each single iPSC. In addition, studies of the dynamic interaction between RNA and protein during the cell differentiation stage remains rare. Here we present an integrated assay that simultaneously quantifies mRNAs and proteins of interest within single iPSCs. The C1™ system was utilized for individual cell capture, cell lysis, DNA template generation for protein detection and cDNA synthesis. Final products from each iPSC were quantified on the 96.96 Dynamic Array™ IFC on the Biomark™ HD system. PCR data were analyzed using the Singular™ Analysis Toolset. For each run, up to 5,000 data points for 52 protein targets and 2,880 data points for 30 RNA targets, in addition to control and reference assays, were simultaneously generated and analyzed in less than two days. Combined RNA and protein signatures of each iPSC were identified. By comparing these results to those obtained from non-induced fibroblast cells, we demonstrate that this method is capable of obtaining expression levels of both RNA and protein associated with pluripotency marker genes at a single-cell level. More interestingly, the profiling data also indicates changes of some key members (EGFR, TGFB1, EPCAM, etc.) of cancer related common signaling pathways. The current system significantly controls lab-specific differences in reprogramming processes, progenitor cells or cell culture and handling conditions. We believe this powerful method makes it a suitable approach of choice for providing new insights into cell differentiation, reprogramming and tumor progression, as well as cancer therapeutic targets research. Citation Format: Benjamin Liu, Gajalakshmi Dakshinamoorthy, Haibiao Gong, Aik Ooi, Nianzhen Li, Marc Unger, Ilona Holcomb, Ramesh Ramakrishnan. Simultaneous profiling of mRNA and protein in single human induced pluripotent stem cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-147.
Mindfulness Training for Emotional and Cognitive Health in Late Life

Purpose of Review There is a growing interest in psychosocial interventions that can enhance emotional and cognitive health in older adults, both to treat psychopathology and/or cognitive decline and to prolong optimum functioning in healthy individuals. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been proposed as an accessible and effective means of promoting emotional and cognitive health. This article reviews recent clinical trials of MBIs in older adults.
Competency-based education: The employers' perspective of higher education

Background This article presents the results of a recent research study conducted to understand how employers viewed degrees earned through competency-based education programs and, specifically, how employers perceived graduates from these programs for hiring. Methods This two-phase, sequential mixed methods study explored whether employers valued such degrees and whether they considered job applicants possessing credentials from competency-based education programs to be equally academically prepared for the workplace as candidates who had graduated from traditional, credit-hour-based programs. The participants in both phases of this study were human resource professionals and hiring managers from a range of business models, industries, and employee population sizes who were members of a targeted human resource organization. Findings The number one finding of the study was the lack of familiarity that employers possess of the CBE model, but it is clear that employers have strong views of what they require from new hires and new college graduates. The research results also indicated that employers have an interest in learning more about the CBE model of education. Conclusions Employers would like to have a voice in identifying what skills and competencies are needed by their workforces, and they believe it is in a college's best interest to seek out their input. They have noted that credentials from competency-based programs can be of value to their organizations if the competencies that a student masters are aligned with employer needs.
The Effect of Carrier Frequency Offset on Collision Resolution in Wireless Networks

A random access protocol for wireless networks named AlLIANCES was recently proposed, that via cooperation of network nodes resolves collisions and achieves high throughput. Cooperative transmissions introduce multiple frequency offsets that arise from differences between receiver oscillators and those each node. These offsets were not taken into account in the original ALLIANCES. This paper introduces a method to identify and eliminate frequency offsets so that channel estimation and bit recovery can be performed. The proposed approach is tested on real collision data obtained at a wireless communications testbed.
Synthesis of Polycarbonates and Poly(ether carbonate)s Directly from Carbon Dioxide and Diols Promoted by a Cs2CO3/CH2Cl2 System

Recently, polycarbonates have attracted considerable research interest because of their potential biodegradability and sustainability. Here, we present a direct route for the synthesis of polycarbonates and poly(ether carbonate)s from carbon dioxide (CO2) and diols, promoted by Cs2CO3 and CH2Cl2 under 1 atm of CO2. Quantitative conversion of diols and polymers with up to 11 kg/mol molecular weight could be obtained. While benzylic diols lead to predominantly carbonate linkage, aliphatic diols result in the incorporation of the methylene unit of CH2Cl2 that produces poly(ether carbonate)s. Both primary and secondary diols have been successfully incorporated into the polymer chain.
Jacksonian Democracy, Manifest Destiny, and Resourcing the Mexican–American War

Following the end of the War of 1812, the British threat to American dominance of the North American continent appeared to receding. While the British maintained their hold on Canada, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 vastly expanded the territorial boundaries of the United States to the south and west. Following the Texan War of Independence in 1835–1836, largely won on the back of American settlers, political leaders in Washington began casting a covetous eye, not only on Texas but on the remaining territories governed by a succession of weak Mexican governments. In this chapter, Meagher examines the development of the concept of “Manifest Destiny”, or the inevitable (in American eyes anyway) expansion of the United States from southward from Canada to Mexico and westward from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and the inevitable conflict with Mexico that ensued.
Payload Processing, Testing and Integration

Payload processing is the business of preparing, integrating, testing and launching payloads into space (Fig. 6.1). Given the projected demand for passenger and science missions, spaceports must be prepared to offer the variety of services, equipment and facilities required to prepare payloads for their journey into space. This chapter provides an overview of the key elements involved in the payload processing sequence and the facilities required to support these activities.
On the prenatal initiation of T cell development in the opossum Monodelphis domestica.

Thymus-dependent lymphocytes (T cells) are a critical cell lineage in the adaptive immune system of all jawed vertebrates. In eutherian mammals the initiation of T cell development takes place prenatally and the offspring of many species are born relatively immuno-competent. Marsupials, in contrast, are born in a comparatively altricial state and with a less well developed immune system. As such, marsupials are valuable models for studying the peri- and postnatal initiation of immune system development in mammals. Previous results supported a lack of prenatal T cell development in a variety of marsupial species. In the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica, however, there was evidence that αβT cells were present on postnatal day 1 and likely initiated development prenatally. Demonstrated here is the presence of CD3e+ lymphocytes in late-stage embryos at a site in the upper thoracic cavity, the site of an early developing thymus. CD3e+ cells were evident as early as 48 h prior to parturition. In day 14 embryos, where there is clear organogenesis, CD3e+ cells were only found at the site of the early thymus, consistent with no extra-thymic sites of T cell development in the opossum. These observations are the first evidence of prenatal T cell lineage commitment in any marsupial.
Inhibition of a DNA Repair Kinase ATM Leads to Cell Death in 3D Migration Independent of DNA Damage

The DNA damage response (DDR) is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and repairs a site of DNA damage. Many factors can cause DNA damage and initiate the repair machinery, such as UV, reactive oxygen species nucleases, or even drug treatments like etoposide. Recent studies of several cancer lines as well as immortalized epithelial cells (RPE-1) and primary dendritic cells have convincingly characterized nuclear envelope rupture and cell death in migration through narrow channel. ATM kinase phosphorylates H2AX (to γH2AX) as well as 53BP1 among other targets. A high dose of an ATM inhibitor (ATMi: KU-55933) increases migration-induced death of RPE-1 and HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells, particularly when combined with perturbations to the nuclear lamina or envelope repair. However, ATMi at high doses affects other pathways and ATM's roles beyond DNA repair now include a migration phenotype independent of DNA damage in MDA-MB-231 cells treated with siATM. Such results motivate dose-response assays here of ATMi in assessing relations between DNA damage and survival in pore migration of U2OS cells. Foci counts of phospho-ATM and of γH2AX (a target of ATM kinase) in 2D cultures were reduced by 50% at just 0.01 µM, consistent with pharmacological studies of ATM. Surprisingly, comet assays showed no DNA breaks even at 10-32 µM. Only at these very high ATMi concentrations did cells die: in 2D cultures, 50% of cells die at 66 µM ATMi, and this decreases to 37 µM and 14 µM in migration through 8 µm and 3 µm pores, respectively. However, ATM knockdown does not increase cell death in constricted migration, suggesting that high dose effects of ATMi involves pathways independent of DNA damage.
Ultrastructural Surveillance of the Infection Process of AgrobacteriumTumefaciens, Biovar Three in Grape

The nature of T-DNA is now fairly well understood and much of the genetic information, specifically gene complement, arrangement and control, is known. However, the precise manner in which the information supplied by the pathogen enters and is integrated into the host’s genome remains to be learned.
Regulatory Protocols for Identifying Teratogens

In 1966, partly in reaction to the thalidomide disaster of the 1950s and early 1960s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adopted new guidelines for preclinically testing drugs for reproductive and structural defects prior to allowing them to be marketed (U.S. F.D.A., 1966).
Unintended consequences of cosmopolitanism: Malcolm X, Africa, and revolutionary theorizing in the black power movement in the US

During the black power movement (BPM) in the US and the contemporaneous anti-colonial movement in Africa, African-Americans sought to emulate the liberation struggles in Africa. BPM revolutionists,...
Telerehabilitation Robotics: Overview of approaches and clinical outcomes

Abstract As the world’s population ages, the management of chronic diseases pressures the health-care systems to provide efficacious care while reducing mounting costs. The use of technological advancements to augment health-care services provides one such method to meet those demands. Telerehabilitation robotics is one of the newest additions to technologically mediated health care that combines established features of robot-assisted rehabilitation and telehealthcare to provide rehabilitation services at a distance. Several studies have documented clinically and statistically significant improvements in upper and lower extremity functioning, while several feasibility studies have documented improvements in high-fidelity kinematics. Telerehabilitation robotic delivery has also been shown to expand access to rehabilitation services. While telerehabilitation robotics is a promising adjunct to conventional care, numerous barriers that limit practice integration will need to be addressed to allow more widespread acceptance and use in rehabilitation.
Identification of novel mycobacterial targets for murine CD4+ T-cells by IFNγ ELISPOT

Enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) is an assay used to detect secretion of cytokines from immune cells. The resolution and sensitivity of ELISPOT allow for the detection of rare T cell specificities and small quantities of molecules produced by individual cells. In this chapter, we describe an epitope screening method that uses CD4+ T cell ELISPOT assays to identify specific novel mycobacterial antigens as potential vaccine candidates. In order to screen a large number of candidate epitopes simultaneously, pools of predicted MHC class II peptides were used to identify mycobacterial specific CD4+ T cells. Using this method, we identified novel mycobacterial antigens as vaccine candidates.
Environmental and Neural Determinants of Behavior in Development

Developmental characteristics of age-typical behaviors have been investigated extensively in a number of altricial species during the past decade. These investigations have outlined (1) the proximal determinants of a behavior during a particular developmental period, (2) how these controls change as development progresses and perceptual domains are expanded, and (3) the bases of these changes.
Euvolemia—A critical target in the management of acute kidney injury

It has been clearly established that critically ill patients with sepsis require prompt fluid resuscitation. The optimal amount of fluid and when to taper this resuscitation is less clear. There is a growing evidence that fluid overload leads to acute kidney injury, and increased morbidity and mortality. A clinician's best intentions in resuscitating a patient can lead to too much of a good thing. Currently, there are several bedside tools to aid in determining a patient's response to a fluid challenge as well as in the assessment of the current volume status. Guidelines are not available on the exact rate of fluid overload removal and what medicinal or mechanical modality is most favorable. We discuss our experience and an examination of the literature on the problems with fluid overload, and how a patient may benefit from forced fluid removal.
Differences in colonic crypt morphology of spontaneous and colitis-associated murine models via second harmonic generation imaging to quantify colon cancer development

Colorectal cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and increased risk in patients with ulcerative colitis (a subset of inflammatory bowel disease) has motivated studies into early markers of dysplasia. The development of clinically translatable multiphoton imaging systems has allowed for the potential of in vivo label-free imaging of epithelial crypt structures via autofluorescence and/or second harmonic generation (SHG). SHG has been used to investigate collagen structures in various types of cancer, though the changes that colorectal epithelial collagen structures undergo during tumor development, specifically colitis-associated tumors, have not been fully investigated. This study used two murine models, using A/J mice, one for spontaneous carcinoma and one for colitis-associated carcinoma, to investigate and quantify SHG image features that could potentially inform future study designs of endoscopic multiphoton imaging systems. The spontaneous tumor model comprised a series of six weekly injections of azoxymethane (AOM model). The colitis-associated tumor model comprised a single injection of AOM, followed by cycles of drinking water with dissolved dextran sodium sulfate salt (AOM-DSS model). SHG images of freshly resected murine colon were acquired with a multiphoton imaging system, and image features, such as crypt size, shape and distribution, were quantified using an automated algorithm. The comparison of quantified features of crypt morphology demonstrated the ability of our quantitative image feature algorithms to detect differences between spontaneous (AOM model) and colitis-associated (AOM-DSS model) murine colorectal tissue specimens. There were statistically significant differences in the mean and standard deviation of nearest neighbor (distance between crypts) and circularity between the Control cohort, AOM and AOM-DSS cohorts. We also saw significance between AOM and AOM-DSS cohorts when calculating nearest neighbor in images acquired at fixed depths. The results provide insight into the ability of SHG imaging to yield relevant data about the crypt microstructure in colorectal epithelium, specifically the potential to distinguish between spontaneous and colitis-associated murine models using quantification of crypt shape and distribution, informing future design of translational multiphoton imaging systems and protocols.
Surrogate Contrastive Network for Supervised Band Selection in Multispectral Computer Vision Tasks

Computer vision techniques that operate on hyper-and multispectral imagery benefit from the additional amount of spectral information relative to those that exploit traditional RGB or monochromatic visual data. However, the increased volume of data to be processed brings about additional memory, storage and computational requirements. In order to address such limitations, a wide range of techniques for dimensionality reduction have been introduced by previous work. In this paper, we propose a framework for spectral band selection that is highly data-and computationally efficient. The method leverages a convolutional siamese network learned by optimizing a contrastive loss, and performs band selection based on the low-dimensional data embeddings produced by the network. We empirically demonstrate the efficacy of the method on an object detection task from aerial multispectral imagery. The results show that, in spite of the method's frugality, it produces very competitive band selection results against the evaluated competing techniques.