cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interaction between Radiation and Drug Damage in Mammalian Cells IV. Radiation Response of Adriamycin-Resistant V79 Cells

Adriamycin-resistant variants derived from V79 Chinese hamster cells were examined for their radiation response properties. A stable resistant cell line (77A) demonstrated a significant reduction in the extrapolation number of the single-dose radiation survival curve. Second-step mutants from 77A cells exhibited a spectrum of radiation response states including decreased D0 values and large extrapolation numbers. A highly Adriamycin-resistant line (LZ) was found to be radiation sensitive with increased capacity for the accumulation of sublethal radiation injury. LZ cells are known to contain double-minute chromosomes and an amplified gene for the multidrug phenotype and to exhibit multidrug resistant properties. These cells require the presence of Adriamycin in their growth medium to maintain their pleiotropic characteristics. LZ cells became more resistant to radiation following reversion to an intermediate Adriamycin response as the consequence of growth in Adriamycin-free medium. Reverted cells also lost their large capacity for sublethal damage. It is suggested that detailed study of these mutants may provide insight into the identification of radiation-sensitive sites and their relationship to the genetic changes characterizing Adriamycin-resistant cell lines.
Tissue-characteristic forms of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Abstract Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase exists in two different forms in various human tissue preparations. One of them is exhibited, after starch-gel electrophoresis, by a rapidly migrating or f∗'bandandtheotherbyaf∗′bandandtheotherbyaslow' band. The proportion of the total activity in each of the two forms is characteristic of the type of tissue. A particulate fraction, obtained after centrifugation of homogenates, inhibits the enzyme activity and tends to convert the slow band into a fast one. The conversion is reversible. The fast band can also be converted into the slow one by addition of NAD+ or ADP, or by dialysis against saturated sodium chloride solution. Conversions occur with the purified enzyme as well as with crude homogenates. The relevance of these findings to previous investigations and to glycolytic control mechanisms are discussed.
Osteogenin-enhanced bone-specific differentiation in hydroxyapatite orbital implants.

Hydroxyapatite orbital implants undergo early ingrowth of fibrovascular tissue after enucleation. This animal study determined whether control and osteogenin-impregnated hydroxyapatite orbital implants vary in their osteogenic response at 6 and 52 weeks. Rabbits underwent enucleation with implantation of control or osteogenin-impregnated hydroxyapatite spheres. Light microscopy determined fibrovascular ingrowth, and histomorphometry quantitated the amount of bone produced. Osteogenin implants vascularized at a faster rate and contained bony foci by 6 weeks that became confluent at I year. Spontaneous osteogenesis was not seen in control animals at 6 weeks. After I year they contained bone, although less than in the osteogenin implants. Mixed cell inflammation was observed at the hydroxyapatite. -tissue interface in both groups. No inflammation was noted at the interface of hydroxyapatite and bone. These are the first controlled observations that bone-specific differentiation occurs in the pores of spherical hydroxyapatite implants within the soft tissues of the socket. This vascularized process can be enhanced with osteogenin to occur earlier and more uniformly in the implants at one year.
Switching sources: a study of people's exploratory search behavior on social media and the web

Searching the Web for information via search engines is a ubiquitous phenomenon and a well-established field of study in Information Science. Social media sites also continue to evolve and by now have gained enough popularity and momentum to be used as not just vessels for communication with others, but also as important repositories of information. However, it is not clear if the information behavior of users of traditional search engines differ from those performing information searches strictly on social media sites. To address this, we examined data from two user studies on people's exploratory searching behavior: one group only used Web search engines, while the other exclusively used social media sites to search for information. Information search behaviors of both groups regarding exploratory tasks were observed and analyzed through search log and surveys. The results indicate that, while people using social media sites for exploratory search tasks find a smaller quantity and a less diverse set of documents than what they might discover when utilizing traditional Web search engines, they do perceive to end up with more relevant documents. They also report doing less work and feeling less challenged.
Public Health Law and the Public Health Officer

The public health officer today is constrained by law, although he once was the law. In all his actions he must be certain of his legal duty and authority and must use procedural due process.
Normative Network Models and Their Solution

Modelers commonly distinguish between positive and normative models. Loosely, a positive model is descriptive (i.e., involves “what is”) and a normative model is prescriptive (i.e., involves “what should be”). Optimization models can be either positive or normative, depending on whether they are descriptions of actual behaviors/circumstances or are prescriptions for desired behaviors/circumstances. In this chapter we focus on a variety of network and near network models that are most commonly used in a prescriptive fashion.
Moving alcohol prevention research forward-Part I: introducing a complex systems paradigm.

Background and aims The drinking environment is a complex system consisting of a number of heterogeneous, evolving, and interacting components, which exhibit circular causality and emergent properties. These characteristics reduce the efficacy of commonly used research approaches, which typically do not account for the underlying dynamic complexity of alcohol consumption and the interdependent nature of diverse factors influencing misuse over time. We use alcohol misuse among college students in the United States as an example for framing our argument for a complex systems paradigm. Methods A complex systems paradigm, grounded in socioecological and complex systems theories and computational modeling and simulation, is introduced. Theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and analytical underpinnings of this paradigm are described in the context of college drinking prevention research. Results The proposed complex systems paradigm can transcend limitations of traditional approaches, thereby fostering new directions in alcohol prevention research. By conceptualizing student alcohol misuse as a complex adaptive system, computational modeling and simulation methodologies and analytical techniques can be used. Moreover, use of participatory model-building approaches to generate simulation models, can further increase stakeholder buy-in, understanding, and policymaking. Conclusions A complex systems paradigm for research into alcohol misuse can provide a holistic understanding of the underlying drinking environment and its long-term trajectory, which can elucidate high-leverage preventive interventions.
Fine-scale population genetic structure of sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae), in eastern Maine, USA

There is an interest to develop sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) cultivation in the rural, eastern Maine region of the USA. Future farming efforts would benefit from an understanding of the genetic diversity and population structure of kelp, to inform management and conservation, and to identify genetic resources. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the fine-scale population genetic structure of kelp in eastern Maine, using twelve microsatellite loci. A total of 188 samples were genotyped from five sampling locations. Overall, kelp exhibited relatively low genetic diversity and small but significant differentiation among populations (FST = 0.0157). The greatest genetic difference was detected between two geographically close populations in Penobscot and Frenchman Bays, which is likely due to patterns in the Eastern Maine Coastal Current that may limit meiospore recruitment. The population structure could not be fully explained by an isolation-by-distance model. Fine-scale structuring was also detected among populations along the more continuous, eastern Maine coastline. These differences highlight that sugar kelp populations are finely structured across small spatial scales, and that future management and farming efforts should aim to maintain genetic diversity and assess the culture potential of local populations.
Experimental and numerical study of fluid thermal homogenization in a spherical reservoir with EHD conduction pumping mechanism

Effect of electric conduction phenomenon on the mixing and thermal homogenization of a dielectric liquid in a spherical reservoir is experimentally and numerically studied. The working fluid is stored in a spherical reservoir with an initial non-uniform temperature distribution, and an electrode pair is placed by the central plane of the reservoir in order to make the resultant Coulomb force penetrate into the interior of the reservoir. The temperatures in three different locations of the spherical reservoir are monitored with probe thermocouples and an RTD. The net charge distribution, Coulomb force density, and the resultant velocity field at the steady-state condition are numerically presented. The numerically determined temperature distribution of the working fluid in two time steps are also provided to illustrate fluid mixing and thermal homogenization process.
Robust Coordinated Aerial Deployments for Theatrical Applications Given Online User Interaction via Behavior Composition

We propose and evaluate a multirobot system designed to enable live theatric presentation of episodic stories through online interaction between a performer and a robot system. The proposed system translates theatric performer intent into dynamically feasible robot trajectories without requiring prior knowledge of the ordering or timing of the desired robot motions. The system enables a user to issue instructions composed of desired motion descriptors at arbitrary times to specify the motion of the robot ensemble. The system refines user motion specifications into safe and dynamically feasible trajectories thereby reducing the cognitive burden placed on the performer. We evaluate the system on a team of aerial robots (quadrotors), and show through offline simulation and online performance that the proposed system formulation translates online input into non-colliding dynamically feasible trajectories enabling the performance of an epic poem over the course of a three act performance spanning fifteen minutes of coordinated flight by a six robot team.
LAMP assays of Zika virus and other infectious agents will inevitably see expanded use due to their simplicity, sensitivity, specificity, and economy.

We would like to thank Annals of Translational Medicine for the opportunity to respond to the editorials on our recent publication, Rapid and specific detection of Asian- and African-lineage Zika viruses . And we thank Yaniv Lustig, Danit Sofer, Musa Hindiyeh, and Ella Mendelson, and Erick Mora-Cardenas and Alessandro Marcello for their carefully considered remarks. The editorials reflect the writer’s experience in evaluating environmental samples for many diseases and show their great interest in the continuing development of diagnostic tools for deployment at points of care and in the field. We would like to take this opportunity to address their points, with which we are largely in agreement but may not have made clear in the publication.
Internal Carotid Artery Aneurysms Introduction

Abstract Intracranial or intradural internal carotid artery aneurysms include those aneurysms from the carotid cave to the carotid terminus. Location, regional anatomy, pathogenesis, and treatment options vary for each subset. The following will introduce you to a section of chapters detailing carotid cave, paraclinoid, posterior communicating and carotid terminus aneurysm anatomical features, and management. Rapid advances in endovascular technology have significantly changed the options for treatment, but have not completely obviated the need for open treatment. ICA aneurysms are not a uniform group of lesions and require a thoughtful and individualized approach.
Sulfuric Acid and Its Derivatives

It is appropriate that we begin our study of industrial chemicals with important inorganic compounds and then progress into organic chemicals and polymers. Many of these inorganic chemicals are used in processes to be described later for organics. Usually 19 of the top 50 chemicals are considered to be inorganic, although the exact figure is dependent on what you count. For instance, carbon dioxide, sodium carbonate, and carbon black are counted as inorganic even though they contain carbon, because their chemistry and uses resemble other inorganics more than organics.
Condoms in Prison: The Ethical Dilemma

It is more important to test and treat prisoners for HIV infection and AIDS than simply to distribute condoms in prison. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF SPECIFIC H-LINKED IMMUNE RESPONSE GENES AND IMMUNE SUPPRESSION GENES

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the nature and function of specific H-linked immune response genes and immune suppression genes. The activities of histocompatibility (H)-linked Ir genes have become a problem of increasing interest for immunologists, particularly as the mapping of these genes has been localized to a chromosomal region, the I region, which also controls other important traits such as cell interaction in the regulation of immune responses, mixed lymphocyte, and graft-versus-host responses and expression of a new class of alloantigens, Ia antigens, on the surface of B cells, T cells, and macrophages. The increasing awareness of the role of these genes in the control of responsiveness to thymus-dependent antigens and the demonstration from several laboratories of the production of factors from activated T cells possessing determinants coded for in the same I region have further emphasized the importance of understanding the function of Ir genes and their products.
210Pb and 137Cs dating methods in lakes: A retrospective study

210Pb has been used for more than two decades to provide the geochronology of annually deposited sediments and to construct pollution histories. Evidence from some lakes suggests that this radionuclide may be adequately mobile to compromise dating reliability. This study provides one test of that possibility by comparing recent measurements of 210Pb and trace metals to ones carried out more than 20 yrs in the past. 137Cs dating is used to confirm sediment accumulation rates in the recent cores. In the three Connecticut, USA, lakes studied, sediment accumulation rates changed abruptly to higher values between 40-50 yrs ago (increasing by factors of 2.2, 2.9, and 3.0). In all three lakes, rates calculated from 210Pb distributions both above and below this horizon agreed, within measurement uncertainty, in recent and older cores. Furthermore, when the older data were corrected for 20 yrs of burial, the changes in slope in 210Pb distributions occurred at the same depth in each pair of cores. The depth of sharp peaks in concentrations of trace metals also matched. In general, this evidence supports the idea that sediments in these lakes have simply been buried, without significant diagenetic remobilization of 210Pb and trace metals . Nevertheless, some important differences were also observed. For two of the three lakes, there was a significant difference in average sediment accumulation rate during the past 33 yrs as calculated from 137Cs and 210Pb in the recent cores. Most potential causes for this difference can be ruled out, and it appears that one of the two nuclides is remobilized compared to the other. There were also significant differences in the total inventories of both 210Pb and trace metals (both up to 2 ×) between recent and older cores in some cases. This may be due to dissimilar sediment focusing, since it is not known for certain whether the new cores were collected at exactly the same sites as in the past.
Non-placental Causes of IUGR

Placental insufficiency, often presenting with differing clinical presentations, is associated with the majority of cases of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). There are numerous causes of IUGR which are not caused primarily by placental insufficiency, but indirectly lead to it. The causes of IUGR can be subdivided into fetal and maternal etiologies. The fetal etiologies consist of (1) congenital malformations, (2) genetic disorders, (3) infections, (4) multiple gestations, and (5) placental/cord abnormalities. The maternal etiologies are categorized as follows: (1) autoimmune disease, (2) cardiac disease, (3) diabetes, (4) hypertensive diseases, (5) malnutrition, (6) teratogens, and (7) miscellaneous causes such as prior history, interpregnancy intervals, race, maternal age, and low socioeconomic status. Knowledge of the etiologies of fetal growth restriction is essential, so that future care can be targeted at prevention since there are several primary and secondary prevention strategies that can be adopted.
Factors Influencing Patient Satisfaction in Plastic Surgery: A Nationwide Analysis.

BACKGROUND Patient satisfaction surveys are an increasingly important part of health care, influencing the practice of physicians. Press Ganey has developed tools to assess physician and department performance that are used by 50 percent of hospitals in the United States and over 10,000 health care organizations. The authors sought to evaluate the factors that influence patient satisfaction in plastic surgery patients both locally and nationally. METHODS A 24-item Press Ganey survey was distributed to patients of 686 participating plastic surgeons nationwide, including those at the authors' home institution. The responses from January to December of 2016 were analyzed retrospectively with Pearson correlation coefficients. The items "likelihood to recommend provider" and "likelihood to recommend practice" were correlated to all other items of the survey, as these items have been shown to be surrogates for overall satisfaction. RESULTS There were 411 survey responses from patients in the Northwell Health System and 36,836 responses from patients nationally. Items that were not well correlated (r 0.8) with "likelihood to recommend practice" or "provider" were the patient's confidence in the care provider and the provider's concern for questions. All correlations were statistically significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION In an evolving patient centric culture, the patient's confidence and trust of the provider is more important than perception of the provider's office environment to maintaining patient loyalty and market share.
Association measures for estimating semantic similarity and relatedness between biomedical concepts.

Abstract Association measures quantify the observed likelihood a term pair co-occurs versus their predicted co-occurrence together if by chance. This is based both on the terms’ individual occurrence frequencies, and their mutual co-occurrence frequencies. One application of association scores is estimating semantic relatedness, which is critical for many natural language processing applications, such as clustering of biomedical and clinical documents and the development of biomedical terminologies and ontololgies. In this paper we propose a method of generating association scores between biomedical concepts to estimate semantic relatedness. We use co-occurrence statistics between Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) concepts to account for lexical variation at the synonymous level, and introduce a process of concept expansion that exploits hierarchical information from the UMLS to account for lexical variation at the hyponymous level. State of the art results are achieved on several standard evaluation datasets, and an in depth analysis of hyper-parameters is presented.
THE ROLE OF PROTEASES IN BIOLOGICAL REGULATION

Abstract: In recent years, it has become evident that many proteins are synthesized as inactive precursors, or zymogens, which are subsequently converted to active forms by limited proteolysis. This process of zymogen activation is a rate-controlling step in a variety of physiological processes which include the activation of enzymes, the generation of protein hormones, the assembly of fibrils and viruses, blood coagulation, fertilization, and many others. Some of these processes involve the conversion of zymogen to active proteins in a single step, whereas others involve multiple steps or “cascades”, which serve to amplify small stimuli to major physiological responses. Zymogen activation is brought about by restricted and specific peptide bond cleavage which in turn induces a conformational change in the molecule. In the case of the zymogens of serine proteases such as chymotrypsinogen or trypsinogen, the geometry of the active site appears to be unfavorable to bind substrates in a productive mode prior to activation, and it is only after limited proteolysis that the idealized transition state of the enzyme substrate complex can be attained.
THE INFLUENCE OF ROLLING PROCESS ON SUPERPLASTICITY OF 8090 ALLOY

ABSTRACT The influence of 350°C warm rolling and cold rolling on the superplasticity of 8090 alloy is investigated in this paper. The results of superplastic deformation show that the optimum elongation of 8090 alloy treated by warm rolling is δ = 550%, and that by cold rolling up to δ = 630%. Moreover, the maximum value of m in cold rolled specimens is greater than warm rollecl specimem TEM (transmission electron microscope) observations and grain boundary angle measuring results indicate that, smaller size of dislocation cell is obtained in cold rolled 8090 alloy, and at the early stage of superplastic deformation, the strain — induced recrystallization takes place more rapidly in cold rolling specimens than warm rolled specimens, when deformed to δ = 25%, the high angle (> 10°) boundary fraction in cold rolled specimens is 0.67, and that in warm rolled specimens only 0.48. It is indicated that the efficiency of strain — induced recrystallization refining grains and increasing high angle boundary fraction obviously affect the superplastic properties of the alloy.
Ensuring Effective Care Transition Communication: Implementation of an Electronic Medical Record-Based Tool for Improved Cancer Treatment Handoffs Between Clinic and Infusion Nurses.

PURPOSE:Ineffective handoffs contribute to gaps in patient care and medication errors, which jeopardize patient safety and lead to poor-quality care. The project aims are to develop and implement a...
Inhibition of in vivo neutrophil accumulation by stress. Possible role of neutrophil adherence.

Psychological stress results in neural and endocrine changes which can alter various aspects of the immune system. However, the effects of stress on inflammation has not received much attention despite the fact that stress hormones, such as the corticosteroids, are known to reduce inflammation. The present study extends a previous finding that stress itself can reduce inflammation. In the first experiment, zymosan was injected into an air pouch on the dorsum of F344 rats. Half of these rats then received three hours of inescapable, intermittent, electric foot shock as a Stressor, The other half of the injected rats served as nonstressed controls. A third group were given air pouches but no zymosan. Fewer neutrophils accumulated at the inflammatory site of stressed rats as compared to nonstressed control rats. However, phagocytosis of zymosan by air pouch neutrophiis was higher in stressed rats. Peripheral perfusion was not altered significantly by shock, but vascular permeability was reduced in stressed rats. The effects of stress on peripheral blood leukocytes of rats not injected with zymosan was investigated. It was found that while peripheral blood monocytes and lymphocyte numbers were decreased by stress, neutrophils were not decreased. Increased neutrophil adherence was found in stressed rats. Additionally, in the presence of endotoxin, neutrophils from stressed rats did not increase their adherence as much as those of control rats. The increased adhesiveness of neutrophils in stressed animals may account for the diminished inflammatory response in the shocked rats.
Genetic Variations in GRIA1 On Chromosome 5q33 Related to Asparaginase Hypersensitivity in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

Abstract 112 Asparaginase, an important antileukemic agent for ALL, is isolated from bacterial sources, and hence hypersensitivity reactions frequently occur; these reactions may attenuate its enzymatic activity and thus its antileukemic effect. Inherited genomic variations are known to affect the risk of hypersensitivity to some medications, but those that affect the risk of asparaginase allergy are not known. We interrogated 500,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 485 children with ALL treated on a single clinical trial to identify SNPs associated with allergy to native E. Coli (Elspar) asparaginase. A total of 204 (41%) patients developed an allergic reaction, most of which were NCI grade 2. We divided the patients into a discovery (n = 322) and a validation (n = 163) cohort, balancing for age, sex, treatment arm, race, and the occurrence of asparaginase allergy. Among the top 100 SNPs significantly associated with allergy in the discovery cohort, SNPs on chromosomes 5 and 19 were overrepresented, hosting 12 SNPs annotated to genes. Among these 12 SNPs, only one SNP (rs4958381 in GRIA1 on chromosome 5q33) replicated in the validation cohort ( p = 2.8 ′ 10 −5 and 2.0 ′ 10 −3 in the discovery and validation cohorts, respectively). This locus has been associated with asthma or atopy. We further found that an additional 11 SNPs annotated to GRIA1 (a glutamate receptor gene) associated with asparaginase allergy at p p GRIA1 SNP rs4958381, the cumulative incidence of asparaginase allergy (Figure) was 74%, 44%, and 32% for those with the AA, AG, and GG genotypes, respectively (n = 485, p = 4.2 ′ 10 −8 ). The 5q33 region hosts several cytokine and immunomodulatory genes, with multiple genome-wide studies implicating this locus in asthma and atopy. An agnostic genome-wide approach implicates genomic variations in GRIA1 on chromosome 5q33 as predisposing to the risk of asparaginase allergy. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Richard P. Van Duyne, plasmonics pioneer.

Prof. Richard P. Van Duyne (Fig. 1), a National Academy of Sciences member who played a pivotal role in starting the field of plasmonics and promoting nanoscience, died on July 28, 2019, at the age of 73. Rick’s prominence as a great intellect and visionary is apparent by his tremendous academic success, including a host of academic awards, an impressive publication record, and generations of mentees working to live up to the potential he saw in them. While being elected to the National Academy of Sciences was Rick’s most coveted recognition, he was proud of all of the recognition he achieved in his long career, including an h-index of 125 and rising, the Earle K. Plyler Prize in Molecular Spectroscopy from the American Physical Society, the Charles N. Reilly Award from the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry, and a 2017 Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship. Fig. 1. Rick Van Duyne was proud to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Image courtesy of Northwestern University. Rick’s primary contributions to science all stem from his interest in molecular plasmonics, which deals with the interactions of molecules with nanomaterials that support a surface plasmon resonance. Rick entered this field in the early 1970s with training in electrochemistry, and proved himself an early adopter in a number of creative endeavors, including applications in glucose sensing, food safety, art conservation, single-molecule detection, and photocatalysis. As a physical and analytical chemist, Rick’s primary contributions include a number of fundamental insights on the mechanism and applications of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), the development of nanoplasmonic substrates via nanosphere lithography, and extensions of molecular plasmonics into biosensing and submolecular resolution imaging. Rick’s journey with surface-enhanced spectroscopy began pretenure when he read a newly published paper in 1974. In that paper (1), “Raman spectra of pyridine adsorbed at a silver electrode,” … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: chaynes{at}umn.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
A community divided: Post-transplant live vaccine practices among Society of Pediatric Liver Transplantation (SPLIT) centers.

Background Historically, the IDSA and the AST have recommended that live vaccines not be administered post-transplant due to concern for induction of vaccine-strain disease in immunocompromised hosts. However, recent prospective studies and revised AST guidelines published in April 2019 suggest that in the current era of immunosuppression minimization, live vaccines may be safely administered to select transplant recipients with resulting immunoprotection. The goal of this study was to assess current post-transplant live vaccine practices at individual pediatric liver transplant centers following the updated AST guidelines. Methods A six-item email survey detailing center-specific post-transplant live vaccine practices followed by up to three response-specific questions were distributed between July 2019 and May 2020 to a representative from each center participating in the SPLIT consortium. Results The overall survey response rate was 93% (41/44 centers). Only 29% (12/41) of centers offer live vaccines post-transplant; each of these 12 centers uses different eligibility criteria for live vaccines. There was no difference between large (ten or more transplants per year) and small (less than ten transplants per year) centers in likelihood to offer live vaccines post-transplant. The main reasons for a center not offering post-transplant live vaccines were safety concerns and inability to reach group consensus. Conclusions The majority of pediatric liver transplant centers are reluctant to offer live vaccines post-transplant despite the updated AST guidelines. Prospective multicenter studies are needed to confirm safety and immunogenicity of live vaccines post-transplant.
Milk exosomes: A biogenic nanocarrier for small molecules and macromolecules to combat cancer

Exosomes are unique biogenic nanocarriers of endocytic origin that are generated from most of the cells and found in biofluids like milk, plasma, saliva, and urine. Bovine milk represents the largest and an economic source for the production of exosomes. In recent past, the utility of the milk exosomes as drug carriers is intensified. Exosomes are emerging for delivery of both small and large therapeutics due to their biocompatibility. In this article, we highlighted the various exosomal isolation techniques, physicochemical properties, their biodistribution, and utility of milk exosomes in delivering the small drug molecules and siRNA to combat cancer.
A Deep Learning Model for Detecting Dust in Earth's Atmosphere from Satellite Remote Sensing Data

In this paper we develop a deep learning model to distinguish dust from cloud and surface using satellite remote sensing image data. The occurrence of dust storms is increasing along with global climate change, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions. Originated from the soil, dust acts as a type of aerosol that causes significant impacts on the environment and human health. The dust and cloud data labels used in this paper are from CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) satellite. The radiometric channels and geometric parameters from VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) satellite sensor serve as features for our model. We trained and tested our deep learning model using 10,000 samples in March 2012. The developed model has five hidden layers and 512 neurons in each layer. The classification accuracy on the test set is 71.1%. In addition, we performed a shuffling procedure to identify the importance of features, which is calculated as the increase in the prediction error after we permute the feature's values. We also developed a method based on genetic algorithm to find the best subset of features for dust detection. The results show that the genetic algorithm can select a subset of features that have comparable performance as that of a model with all features. The shuffling procedure and the genetic algorithm both identify geometric information as important features for detecting mineral dust. The chosen subset will improve computational efficiency for dust detection and improve physical based methods.
5-Aminolevulinic acid radiodynamic therapy for treatment of high-grade gliomas: A systematic review.

Abstract Introduction Radiodynamic therapy (RDT) involves administration of a radiosensitizing agent and its subsequent activation by ionizing radiation for destruction of neoplastic cells. Materials and methods A comprehensive evaluation of the literature was performed to review the history of RDT using porphyrins for solid tumors, the cellular mechanisms of action, immunomodulatory effects, and both preclinical and clinical studies for use in high-grade gliomas (HGGs). This manuscript was prepared in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Results A total of 271 articles were considered for initial review. After removal of duplicates, articles not unrelated to specific topic, and exclusion of commentary articles, a total of 11 articles were subject to full analysis that included in vivo, in vitro, and human studies. Porphyrins such as 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) selectively accumulate in neoplastic cells and are currently used for fluorescent-guided surgical resection and photodynamic therapy (PDT) of HGG and other brain tumors. 5-ALA is also shown to act as a radiosensitizer by increasing oxidative stress in neoplastic cell mitochondria and enhancing the host immune response. Postoperative radiation therapy is currently the standard of care for treatment of HGG. Conclusion RDT remains a promising adjuvant therapy for HGGs and requires further investigation. Clinical trials of 5-ALA RDT for HGG are needed to evaluate the optimum timing, dosing and effectiveness.
The rational side of egocentrism in social comparisons

Abstract Prior work has found that when people compare themselves with others they egocentrically focus on their own strengths and achievements more than on the (equally relevant) strengths and achievements of the comparison group. As a consequence, people tend to overestimate their comparative standing when absolute standing is high and underestimate their comparative standing when absolute standing is low. The present research investigated a rational discounting explanation of this bias—namely, that people weight the target of the comparison (the self) more than the referent of the comparison (others) because they typically have more knowledge about the former than the latter. In three studies, we found that the tendency to focus on the target in social comparisons—and the over and underestimation of relative standing that tendency engenders—was reduced (but not eliminated) as people’s knowledge about the comparison group increased. These results suggest that there may be a rational side to egocentrism in social comparisons.
Self-reinforced hydrogels toughen upon stretching

In a recent work in Science, a team led by Mayumi and Ito at the University of Tokyo, Japan developed self-reinforced hydrogels upon deformation. These hydrogels showed high toughness, good stretchability, and high fatigue resistance after a hundred (un)loading cycles.
Impaired Proximal Esophageal Contractility Predicts Pharyngeal Reflux in Patients With Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Symptoms.

OBJECTIVES The pathophysiology of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) remains incompletely understood. Proximal esophageal motor dysfunction may impair bolus clearance, increasing the risk of pharyngeal refluxate exposure. We aimed to evaluate the association of proximal esophageal contractility with objective reflux metrics. METHODS We evaluated adults with LPR symptoms undergoing high-resolution manometry (HRM) and combined hypopharyngeal-esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH testing at a tertiary center between March 2018 and August 2019. Routine parameters per Chicago classification were obtained on HRM. Proximal esophageal contractility was evaluated using proximal contractile integral (PCI), which quantifies contractile pressure >20 mm Hg for the region spanning the distal margin of the upper esophageal sphincter and transition zone. Univariate (Kendall correlation and Student t test) and multivariable (general linear regression and logistic regression) analyses were performed. RESULTS We enrolled 138 patients (66.7% women, mean age 57.1 years) in this study. Lower PCI was associated with an elevated risk of increased pharyngeal reflux (adjusted odds ratio 0.83 per 100 mm Hg-s-cm change in PCI, 95% confidence interval: 0.69-0.98), with a trend toward increased bolus exposure time and total reflux events, after multivariable adjustment. The relationship between PCI and pharyngeal reflux was strongest among participants without a primary motility disorder on HRM (adjusted odds ratio 0.63, 95% confidence interval: 0.42-0.85, P interaction = 0.04). Among continuously expressed reflux parameters, lower PCI was significantly associated with more distal acid reflux events (β = -0.0094, P = 0.03) and total reflux events (β = -0.0172, P = 0.05), after adjusting for confounders. DISCUSSION Reduced proximal esophageal contractility as assessed by decreased PCI on HRM independently predicted increased pharyngeal reflux in patients with LPR symptoms, particularly among those without a coexisting motility disorder.
Heterogeneous Monolithic 3D ICs: EDA Solutions, and Power, Performance, Cost Tradeoffs

In this paper, we present a novel heterogeneous design of Monolithic 3D ICs along with crucial design flow enhancements and better partitioning methods. The heterogeneous M3D ICs are designed with a combination of low-cost, low-power, and low-performance cells on one die and a higher-cost, power, and performance technology variant on the tier, for heterogeneity. These heterogeneous designs out-perform most 2D, 3D variants in Power-Delay Product and Cost metrics. Using 4 different netlists, we see up-to 23% improvement in Performance per Cost, and 16% improvement of Power Delay Product with heterogeneous M3D compared to the best 2D designs.
A Re-Evaluation of Blouderflow as a Relative Dating Technique for Surficial Boulder Features

(1988). A Re-Evaluation of Boulderflow as A relative Dating technique For surficial Boulder features. Plains Anthropologist: Vol. 33, No. 119, pp. 113-118.
What Every School Administrator Should Know about Equal Employment Opportunity Legislation

Managers unfamiliar with both the basic provisions of equal employment opportunity (EEO) legislation and subsequent interpretations by the courts could find themselves entangled in endless difficulties. School administrators who nowadays are perceived as management specialists do not escape this predicament. The following information should help them avoid some of the obvious pitfalls. As the federal government's leading EEO law enforcement agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was amended in 1972 to prohibit employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The EEOC also enforces the Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967, and federal prohibitions against discrimination against disabled persons. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 eliminates a former exemption for educational institutions, thus bringing teachers and professional and nonprofessional staff members within the act's coverage.
On decompositions in homotopy theory

We first describe Krull-Schmidt theorems decomposing H spaces and simply-connected co-H spaces into atomic factors in the category of pointed nilpotent p-complete spaces of finite type. We use this to construct a 1-1 correspondence between homotopy types of atomic H spaces and homotopy types of atomic co-H spaces, and construct a split fibration which connects them and illuminates the decomposition. Various properties of these constructions are analyzed.
Subspace-based estimation of multipath channel parameters for CDMA communication systems

Considers the estimation of multipath channel parameters to exploit time diversity in asynchronous code division multiple access communication systems. The multiuser channel estimation problem is decomposed into a series of single user problems through a subspace-based approach using the sample correlation matrix of the received signal. The authors estimate the channel impulse response associated with a given user by choosing filter coefficients that minimize the projection of the filtered spreading waveform into the estimated noise subspace. They then perform a least-squares fit of a parametric channel model to this unconstrained estimate to extract the desired channel coefficients. This method requires no training sequence, is near-far resistant, and is robust to changing channel conditions.
OX40 and Bcl-xL Promote the Persistence of CD8 T Cells to Recall Tumor-Associated Antigen

The molecular signals that allow primed CD8 T cells to persist and be effective are particularly important during cancer growth. With response to tumor-expressed Ag following adoptive T cell transfer, we show that CD8 effector cells deficient in OX40, a TNFR family member, could not mediate short-term tumor suppression. OX40 was required at two critical stages. The first was during CD8 priming in vitro, in which APC-transmitted OX40 signals endowed the ability to survive when adoptively transferred in vivo before tumor Ag encounter. The second was during the in vivo recall response of primed CD8 T cells, the stage in which OX40 contributed to the further survival and accumulation of T cells at the tumor site. The lack of OX40 costimulation was associated with reduced levels of Bcl-xL, and retroviral expression of Bcl-xL in tumor-reactive CD8 T cells conferred greatly enhanced tumor protection following adoptive transfer. These data demonstrate that OX40 and Bcl-xL can control survival of primed CD8 T cells and provide new insights into both regulation of CD8 immunity and control of tumors.
Exactly how good are heuristics?: toward a realistic predictive theory of best-first search

We seek here to determine the exact quantitative dependence of performance of best-first search (i.e., A* algorithm) on the amount of error in the heuristic function's estimates of distance to the goal. Comparative performance measurements for three families of heuristics for the 8-puzzle suggest general conjectures that may also hold for more complex best-first search systems. As an example, the conjectures are applied to the coding phase of the PSI program synthesis system. A new worst case cost analysis of uniform trees reveals an exceedingly simple general formula relating cost to relative error. The analytic model is realistic enough to permit reasonably accurate performance predictions for an 8-puzzle heuristic. The analytic results also sharpen the distinction between "Knowledge itself" and the "Knowledge engine itself".
Genetic cascade learning for neural networks

Genetic cascade learning is a new constructive algorithm for connectionist learning which combines genetic algorithms and the architectural feature of the cascade-correlation learning algorithm. Like the cascade-correlation learning architecture, this new algorithm also starts with a minimal network and dynamically builds a suitable cascade structure by training and installing one hidden unit at a time until the problem is successfully learned. This step-wise constructive algorithm exhibits more scalability than existing genetic algorithms and is free of the competing conventions problem which results from the fact that functionally equivalent networks may have different assignments of functionality to individual hidden units. Initial tests of genetic cascade learning are carried out on a difficult supervised learning problem as well as a reinforcement learning control problem. >
Effective load carrying capability evaluation for high penetration renewable energy integration

This paper proposes an Approximate Dynamic Programming (ADP) based approach to evaluate the effective load carrying capability (ELCC) of high penetration renewable resources by solving the long-term security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC) problem with various uncertainties related to solar radiation, wind speed, and load level. Compared with traditional approaches, the proposed approach can assist Independent System Operator (ISO) to make the decision on the basis of current day information only, hence it can reduce the computation burden from future states forecasting. The objective of the proposed long-term SCUC formulation is to minimize the operation cost for the base case with forecast values while considering variable cost from uncertainties. Numerical case studies on a 6-bus system illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed ADP based long-term SCUC model for the investigation of ELCC under various uncertainties.
Continuous Monitoring of Inflammation Biomarkers During Simulated Cardiopulmonary Bypass Using a Microfluidic Immunoassay Device—A Pilot Study

This work demonstrates the use of a continuous online monitoring system for tracking systemic inflammation biomarkers during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) procedures. The ability to monitor inflammation biomarkers during CPB will allow surgical teams to actively treat inflammation and reduce harmful effects on postoperative morbidity and mortality, enabling improved patient outcomes. A microfluidic device has been designed which allows automation of the individual processing steps of a microbead immunoassay to allow continuous tracking of antigen concentrations. Preliminary experiments have demonstrated that the results produced by the microimmunoassay are comparable to results produced from a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (r = 0.98). Additionally, integration of the assay with a simulated CPB circuit has been demonstrated with temporal tracking of C3a concentrations within blood continuously sampled from the circuit. The presented work describes the motivation, design challenges, and preliminary experimental results of this project.