cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Study on Heterozygous Deficiency in α_1-Antichymotrypsin of Children with Asthma in Urumqi

Objective To explore whether the heterozygous deficiency in α1-antichymotrpsin (α1-ACT) is a factor in the pathogenesis of childhood asthma in Urumqi.Methods Fifty asthmatic children without consanguinity were randomly selected from pediatric outpatient and inpatient departments in Urumqi General Hospital as asthmatic group,while 50 cases of healthy children without consanguinity were randomly selected from pediatric outpatient department as healthy control group.One hundred whole blood samples were collected from the children in 2 groups.Whole blood samples in the asthmatic group were collected in remission,while those in the healthy control group were collected during the medical examination in outpatient department.Thirty-eight whole blood samples were collected from 19 Han families in 2 groups.Every sample included 1 mL whole blood and anticoagulat with citrated citric acid sodium.Each anticoagulated blood was centrifugated with 1 500 r·min-1 for 5 min,and then blood plasma in upper layer was sub-pachaged in small centrifuge tubes and eventually content was determined.The level of α1-ACT was examined with rocket immunoelectrophoresis.Heterozygous deficiency in α1-ACT was determined on the basis of family history.The clinical materials of asthmatic children with or without heterozygous α1-ACT deficiency were analyzed statistically.Results There was no significant difference in the level of serum α1-ACT in asthmatic group [(0.273±0.056) g·L-1] and that in the healthy control group[(0.271±0.053) g·L-1](t=0.023,P0.05).The heterozygous deficiency in α1-ACT including 8 cases in the asthmatic group and 1 case in healthy control group were found after family survey.The rate of heterozygous deficiency in α1-ACT was far higher in the asthmatic group than that in healthy control group(χ2=2.325,P0.05).Compared with children without heterozygous deficiency in α1-ACT,the children with heterozygous deficiency in α1-ACT experienced the first onset of asthma in a much younger age(t=2.540,P0.05)and hospitalized more frequently(t=-8.380,P0.001),and they had a higher positive rate by radioallergosorbent test (χ2=15.152,P0.01).Conclusion There is a possible association of heterozygous deficiency in α1-ACT with childhood asthma and the severity of childhood asthma in Urumqi.
Abstract PR08: New tools for mapping genetic modifiers of cancer risk in the tumor microenvironment

The majority of heritable breast cancer risk is unknown. One potential source of “missing heritability” is genetic modifiers in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Although genetic modifiers in the TME have long been suspected, they have rarely been studied and are largely unknown. Here, we used two new techniques: the Consomic Xenograft Model (CXM) and species-specific RNA-seq (SSRS) to map genetic modifiers in the TME. In CXM, human breast cancer xenografts are implanted in immunodeficient consomic rat strains and tracked for tumor progression. Because the rat strains vary by one chromosome (i.e., consomic), whereas the malignant tumor cells do not differ, any observed changes in tumor phenotypes are due to genetic modifiers in the TME and can be localized to one chromosome. The SSRS method uses probabilistic mapping of RNAseq reads to a joint human and rat transcriptome to assess differential expression (DE) in malignant (human) tumor cells and the nonmalignant (rat) TME. Validation of SSRS revealed >99.4% specificity in calling human or rat reads, which was significantly better than conventional RNA-seq. Using CXM, we found that BN-derived genetic variant(s) on rat chromosome 3 significantly reduced growth of MDA-MB-231-Luc (231Luc+) tumors by 49% (P 4-fold; P Citation Format: Michael J. Flister, Alexander Stoddard, Shirng-Wern Tsaih, Angela Lemke, Jozef Lazar, Howard Jacob. New tools for mapping genetic modifiers of cancer risk in the tumor microenvironment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Computational and Systems Biology of Cancer; Feb 8-11 2015; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(22 Suppl 2):Abstract nr PR08.
Genetically Marked Strains of Shiga Toxin-Producing O157:H7 and Non-O157 Escherichia coli: Tools for Detection and Modeling.

Shiga toxin–producing E. coli (STEC) is an important group of foodborne pathogens in the United States and worldwide. Nearly half of STEC-induced diarrheal disease in the United States is caused by serotype O157:H7, while non-O157 STEC account for the remaining illnesses. Thus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service has instituted regulatory testing of beef products and has a zero-tolerance policy for regulatory samples that test positive for STEC O157:H7 and six other non-O157 STEC (serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145). In this study, positive control (PC) strains for the detection of STEC O157:H7 and the six USDA-regulated non-O157 STEC were constructed. To ensure that the food testing samples are not cross-contaminated by the PC sample, it is important that the STEC-PC strains are distinguishable from STEC isolated from test samples. The PC strains were constructed by integrating a unique DNA target sequence and a gene for spectinomycin (Sp) resistance ...
Cometary origin of atmospheric methane variations on Mars unlikely

The detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars was first reported in 2004. Since then a number of independent observations of methane have been reported, all showing temporal variability. Up until recently, the origin of methane was attributed to sources either indigenous to Mars or exogenous, where methane is a UV degradation byproduct of organics falling on to the surface. Most recently, a new hypothesis has been proposed that argues that the appearance and variation of methane are correlated with specific meteor events at Mars. Indeed, extraplanetary material can be brought to a planet when it passes through a meteoroid stream left behind by cometary bodies orbiting the Sun. This occurs repeatedly at specific times in a planet's year as streams tend to be fairly stable in space. In this paper, we revisit this latest hypothesis by carrying out a complete analysis of all available data on Mars atmospheric methane, including the very recent data not previously published, together with all published predicted meteor events for Mars. Whether we consider the collection of individual data points and predicted meteor events, whether we apply statistical analysis, or whether we consider different time spans between high methane measurements and the occurrence of meteor events, we find no compelling evidence for any correlation between atmospheric methane and predicted meteor events.
Abstract 668: Induction of mammary carcinoma in tetracycline-inducible cMET(T1010I) transgenic mice

Gene amplification and mutations of cMET have been reported in a wide variety of tumors, including colorectal, lung, renal, liver, thyroid, and breast cancer. cMET(T1010I) mutation occurred in 5.2% out of 148 sibling pairs diagnosed with colorectal cancer in one study. This germline mutation occurs in about 1% of breast cancer patients, but its frequency increases to 2% in metastatic breast cancer. Furthermore, 16% of breast cancer cases with PI3KCA mutations have co-mutations of the cMET oncogene. To determine the functional consequences of this germline mutation and elucidate the molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis induced by its oncogenic mutant protein, we developed a transgenic mouse model expressing human cMET(T1010I) under the control of a Tet-responsive promoter. MMTV promoter - directed expression of reverse tetracycline-controlled transactivator (rtTA) turns on the expression of the cMET(T1010I) transgene in murine mammary glands upon tetracycline administration. Thirty percent of these mice developed early onset mammary carcinoma within 5 months of transgene induction. This contrasts with previous reports of mammary tumor development in MMTV-cMET transgenic mice after more than a year. This strong phenotype is not the result of a random insertional effect of the transgene as no mammary tumors developed in the 29 transgene positive mice without mammary-specific expression of rtTA over a year in our study. Molecular characterization of these tumors is currently underway and the results may reveal mechanisms of tumorigenesis and novel therapeutic targets for patients harboring this mutation. In conclusion, we showed for the first time that the cMET(T1010I) mutation can trigger rapid breast tumorigenicity. By using organ-specific expression of rtTA to direct the expression of cMET(T1010I) in the organ of interest, our transgenic model may be used to understand the impact of cMET(T1010I) on many other cancer types such as colorectal, lung, renal, thyroid, and liver cancer. Citation Format: Chuanwei Yang, Ana M. Gonzalez, Naoto T. Ueno, Shuying Liu, Jinsong Zhang, Gordon B. Mills, John Mendelsohn, Prahlad Ram. Induction of mammary carcinoma in tetracycline-inducible cMET(T1010I) transgenic mice. [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 668.
Minimally Invasive Wiltse Approaches for Posterolateral Fusion

MISS approaches to the spine minimize requisite exposure to reduce morbidity associated with surgery, striving for that balance between minimizing anatomic compromise and optimizing surgical outcome. This chapter deals with a subset of approaches constrained by the posterior segmental muscles, with specific regard to their neurovascular supply. The local anatomy of the back supports an anatomic approach medial or lateral to the neurovascular and tendinous constraints about the superior articular process. Initial discussion addresses the fixed constraints about the articular complex in the back with subsequent attention to the more superficial elements constraining the approach.
An experimental exploration of the impact of sensor-level packet loss on network intrusion detection

In this paper we consider the problem of sensor-level packet loss (SLPL) as it applies to network intrusion detection. We explore 2 research questions: 1) Is there sufficient regularity in SLPL to allow an algorithm to be developed to model it? and 2) Is the impact of SLPL on network intrusion detection performance sufficiently regular to allow a formula to be developed that will accurately predict the effect? We developed and validated the Pcapreplay program, which allowed us to characterize the manifestation of SLPL. We conducted experiments using Pcapreplay and Snort to explore the impact of SLPL.We graphed and analyzed this impact against our previous theoretical work. We conducted experiments using Pcapreplay and Snort to measure the impact on network intrusion detection. We graphed the alert loss rate against the packet loss rate. We compared these graphs to our previous theoretical work. We used nonlinear regression analysis to produce a formula with r-squared and reduced adjusted r-squared values close enough to 1 for us to answer both of our research questions in the affirmative.
What Is the Opposite of Trauma? The Positive Power of Transformational Grace

I began this book with a commitment to bring to bear the concepts of positive psychology to my own life in the hope of shedding light on the human condition. In the previous chapter I delved into the worst of the issues in what might be called “negative psychology,” namely, trauma, but sought to show how meeting this challenge with positive psychology can lead to growth and development, at least for some people, some of the time. But what then is the best of issues for positive psychology? I think it is to be found in asking, “what is the opposite of trauma?” But there is a prior question, namely, “how would I know?” And that is where I must begin, with the challenging of knowing.
Transforming a Traditional Laboratory to an Inquiry-Based Course: Importance of Training TAs when Redesigning a Curriculum

Laboratory course redesign and effective implementation of an inquiry-based curriculum can be challenging, particularly when teaching assistants (TAs) are responsible for instruction. Our multiyear redesign of a traditional general chemistry laboratory course has included transitioning to a project based guided inquiry (PBGI) curriculum that emphasizes chemical lab techniques, self-driven experiments, and development of scientific writing skills as well as development of an intensive, inquiry-based training for TAs. The purpose of this article is to describe our inquiry-based laboratory curriculum and TA training, discuss the benefits of an immersive week-long training process for both undergraduate TAs (UTAs) and graduate TAs (GTAs), provide evidence of efficacy of our program, and offer suggestions on ways to develop a similar model in other university contexts. By providing extended training for all TAs that covers teaching theory, pedagogy, and practical aspects of lab, this course now allows students...
The Impact of Culture on Health Disparities

Culture denotes the ways of life that are normally transmitted from one generation to another, and these are associated with various ethnic and racial groups. The culture of the African diaspora and other low–socioeconomic (SES) minority populations may influence health behaviors and practices and interactions with the health-care system. Conversely, the cultural assumptions on which the health/care systems, policies, and interventions are based may impact health behaviors and outcomes for minority and low-SES populations. Health disparities can be alleviated in part by creating and maintaining a culturally competent health-care system.
The experimental parameters that affect attentional modulation of the ERP C1 component

There is current debate as to whether spatial attention can modulate V1 activity during the initial wave of visual processing. Research on this topic has focused on the event-related potential (ERP...
Tomographic damage imaging based on inverse acoustic wave propagation using k-space method with adjoint method

Abstract A novel damage imaging of engineering structures and materials methodology using the k-space method with adjoint method is proposed in this paper. The proposed methodology consists of two parts: the wave propagation solution algorithms for elastic solids in k-space and adjoint method-based optimization algorithms for damage imaging. One major advantage of the proposed method is the superior computational efficiency compared to the classical finite element method-based wave propagation and gradient-based optimization algorithms. The k-space formulation for wave propagation in 2D and 3D solids are discussed first. Adjoint method and a modified conjugate gradient method is presented for the inverse problem of damage imaging. Following this, parametric studies for measurement duration, number of sensors, noise effect, and computational efficiency are discussed in detail. Next, demonstration examples for concrete structures with and without reinforcement are presented. Several conclusions and future work are given based on the proposed method.
High-energy-resolution diced spherical quartz analyzers for resonant inelastic X-ray scattering.

A novel diced spherical quartz analyzer for use in resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) is introduced, achieving an unprecedented energy resolution of 10.53 meV at the Ir L3 absorption edge (11.215 keV). In this work the fabrication process and the characterization of the analyzer are presented, and an example of a RIXS spectrum of magnetic excitations in a Sr3Ir2O7 sample is shown.
Effects of particle composition on thorium scavenging in the North Atlantic

Abstract The dependence of thorium scavenging by particles on particle composition is examined at selected stations of the U.S. GEOTRACES North Atlantic Section (GA03). Scavenging is here described by the apparent, first-order rate constant of Th adsorption onto particles ( k 1 ), as estimated from an inversion of Th radioisotope and radioactive parent data. Our k 1 estimates are regressed against particle phase data using two different models. Model I considers biogenic particles (POC + PIC + bSi), lithogenic particles, Mn (oxyhydr)oxides, and Fe (oxyhydr)oxides as regressors, and k 1 as the regressand. Model II considers ln(POC + PIC + bSi), ln(lithogenic particles), ln(Mn (oxyhydr)oxides), and ln(Fe (oxyhydr)oxides) as regressors, and ln( k 1 ) as the regressand, where ln() denotes the natural logarithm. Thus, models I and II posit that the effects of particle phases on k 1 are, respectively, additive and multiplicative. These models are applied to three groups of stations: (i) all selected stations, (ii) stations west of the Mauritanian upwelling region (“western stations”), and (iii) stations within that region (“eastern stations”). We find that model II appears to better describe the effect of particle composition on k 1 than model I. Particle composition explains a larger fraction of the variance of k 1 for the eastern stations ( R 2 = 0.60 for model I and 0.67 for model II) than for the western stations ( R 2 = 0.26 for model I and 0.39 for model II). When considering all stations, the variance of k 1 explained by particle composition is intermediate ( R 2 = 0.50 for model I and 0.51 for model II). According to model II, the variance of k 1 explained by particle composition is predominantly due to biogenic particles at the eastern stations and to Mn (oxyhydr)oxides at the western stations. Additionally, we find that particle composition does not explain a significantly different proportion of variance of k 1 than particle concentration. It is thus concluded that, at our selected stations, (i) biogenic particles and Mn (oxyhydr)oxides more strongly influence Th scavenging than any other phases considered and (ii) particle composition and particle concentration have comparable effects on this process.
Phylum XXIII. Verrucomicrobia phyl. nov.

The phylum Verrucomicrobia is defined by phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences of cultured strains and environmental clone sequences retrieved from a wide variety of environments. All cultivated members of the phylum stain Gram-negative; many have intracellular compartments bounded by internal membranes. Menaquinones are the dominant respiratory quinones; ubiquinones have not been detected. Most members are chemoheterotrophs, preferring carbohydrates including complex natural polysaccharides. Recently isolated members are thermoacidophilic methylotrophs.
Radioactive Tracer Diffusion Data in Metals, Alloys, and Oxides

The data given in these tables cover radioactive tracer diffusion data of metals in metals, alloys, and simple oxides published in the literature from 1938 to December 1968. It is divided into four parts.
Visualizing Huge Tracefiles with Xscal

Xscal is a tool for visualizing the behavior of large numbers of comparable entities such as computers, routers, processes, users, etc. The input to Xscal is a table of numbers and strings, which can represent a system snapshot at an instant of time or an event trace of system activity over time. Xscal depicts the global distribution of values in one or two columns of that data. The user can then annotate the visualization to denote categories of behavior, after which Xscal can depict detailed information on entities in each category. Originally developed to study massively parallel computation, Xscal is applicable to a wide variety of system analysis tasks, from visualizing the process table or accounting statistics for a large server to studying the performance of a large network.
Abstract 3572: Clinical Outcomes of the “Stroke100 Club”

Background: Patients with advanced age or high NIHSS have poorer tPA outcomes. When combined, old age (≥80yo) and elevated NIHSS (≥20) may have an even worse outcome. Patients who are also in this “Stroke100 Club” (any combination of age and NIHSS ≥100) by other means, have not been fully assessed. We evaluated discharge destination, 90-day mRS, sICH and death in treated and untreated Stroke100 Club patients. We further compared patients with age ≥ 80 and NIHSS ≥ 20 (“80/20s”), those who reached 100 without both characteristics (“non80/20s”) and ‘controls’. Methods: The UCSD SPOTRIAS prospectively collected database was analyzed for AIS patients (with and without tPA). Multivariable regression models including the Stroke100 group as an independent variable was used. Outcomes were adjusted for baseline mRS. For comparing categorical outcomes between controls, “80/20s” and “non80/20s” subgroups, a Fisher’s exact was used. Results: The IV tPA subset included 257 patients (mean age 71, 52% male, 85% white, mean NIHSS 12). 53 were in the “Stroke100 Club” (28 80/20, 25 non80/20), with more women (68% p= 0.002), higher NIHSS (22.5 p 0.99). Conclusions: There is a question of treatment outcome in patients with various permutations of stroke severity and advanced age. Our data corroborates the concern of poor outcomes for Stroke100 Club patients, but notes no increased sICH with tPA. Though outcome may be poor, withholding tPA should be discouraged as worse outcomes were not due to sICH. Young patients with severe strokes or old patients with mild strokes may have outcomes similar to the standard “80/20” Stroke100 patients, however further adjusted analysis is ongoing. In addition, further analyses are being done to compare tPA to non tPA patients.
CHAOS: An octree-based PIC-DSMC code for modeling of electron kinetic properties in a plasma plume using MPI-CUDA parallelization

Abstract A new computational framework for a coupled PIC-DSMC tool using multiple GPUs to model the kinetic behavior of electrons in plasma plumes is presented in this work. The disparate length scales of the Debye length and the collisional mean free path are resolved by using separate, independent linearized Morton Z-ordered forest of trees. A 2:1 restraint is imposed for the PIC module to solve partial differential equations in the context of an AMR/Octree framework. The MPI-CUDA parallelization strategies used to implement a preconditioned conjugate gradient method for solving the electrostatic Poisson's equation on the 2:1 octree are discussed and the scaling of the code to near ideal speedup as a function of the number of GPUs is demonstrated. The PIC method is validated using analytical test cases, and the octree-based PIC simulations are found to be ten times more efficient compared to the uniform grid method especially for plume simulations which have large density variations. The computational strategies are then demonstrated with the simulation of collisionless, mesothermal plasma plumes using a kinetic approach for both ions and electrons. The effect of ion mass and electron source location are analyzed by comparing plume dynamics and electron velocity distribution functions. It is shown that a more confined mesothermal plume is observed for the heavier xenon ions, present in electric propulsion devices, compared to protons. The confinement of the xenon plume traps the electrons resulting in higher electron temperatures compared to the proton plasma case. In both the simulations, however, the electron temperature is found to be anisotropic. Finally, when a shifted electron source location case is considered the electron velocity distributions in all three directions are found to be unequal and non-Maxwellian, contrary to the co-located case. The ion beam is observed to attract the electrons, which initially oscillate between the radial edges of the ion beam as confirmed by the bi-modal velocity distribution at early times. As the plume evolves, it electrostatically traps these electrons within the ion beam, allowing them to thermalize, as observed from the single-peak electron velocity distribution functions at later times. These results demonstrate that GPUs can efficiently accelerate computations of a fully kinetic approach to enable the study of electron kinetics and neutralization with the highest physical fidelity.
Intersectional and Interdisciplinary Approaches to Interspecies Food Justice Pedagogies

In this chapter, I draw on theories of intersectionality to develop a nascent “interspecies food justice” approach to teaching about food systems. This approach builds on critical scholarship in education that centers the lives of animals, marginalized humans, or both, along with the environment. After this initial theoretical framing, I provide an overview of the Critical Food Studies course I teach and research, highlighting how intersectional theories guide my own pedagogy, as well as my positionality as an educator and scholar. In this section, I provide specific examples of pedagogical tools I employ. Next, I explore how interdisciplinary intersectional pedagogies might afford students the opportunity to understand injustices as intricately linked through power structures that exploit animals and some humans alike. To do this, I briefly analyze and share several pieces of empirical data from my research on the course. I conclude by drawing out the implications and tensions of this research.
Parametric amplification of reversible transverse susceptibility in single domain magnetic nanoparticles

We propose, model, and experimentally demonstrate the enhancement of reversible transverse susceptibility in single domain magnetic nanoparticles through the principle of parametric amplification. It has previously been demonstrated that properly oriented anisotropic single domain magnetic nanoparticles have an appreciable peak in transverse susceptibility at the particle anisotropy field. Here we show theoretically and experimentally that an additional parametric AC magnetic field applied at a proper phase and at twice the frequency (2f) of the transverse field further enhances transverse susceptibility peaks through the process of parametric amplification. We model this effect numerically and describe it through the energy formalism of the single magnetic domain Stoner-Wohlfarth model. The proper phase relationships of the transverse and parametric fields to obtain either parametric amplification or attenuation of the transverse susceptibility signals are also described. We experimentally demonstrate such parametric tuning of transverse susceptibility in single domain magnetic nanoparticles of a commercial audio tape in a prototypical inductive transverse susceptibility set-up.
Deglutition Syncope: Does Fluid Temperature Matter?

![Figure][1] [![Graphic][3] ][3] A hospitalized 25-year-old man experiences pre-syncope upon swallowing oral medications with water. This correlated with more than 5 s of asystole on telemetry ([Online Video 1][3]) and on an electrocardiogram (A) . The patient reported a long history
Urban Applications of Nasa’s Black Marble Product Suite

Historically, satellite-based nighttime lights datasets have been limited by their coarse spatial and radiometric resolution, as well as their lack of calibration across time. As a result, most studies have used nighttime lights to understand processes at the aggregate urban scale—e.g. differentiating between urban and non-urban land, or downscaling national energy, social, and economic variables. In contrast, the new Black Marble Product Suite, a science-quality product derived from the Suomi-NPP VIIRS Day Night Band (DNB), opens up novel opportunities to look inside cities-understanding internal patterns and processes of urban areas, as well as how human settlements change throughout time.In this article, we provide a brief overview of the innovations of the Black Marble Product Suite [1] that are specifically important for urban applications. We also discuss three case studies that have demonstrated the capability of nighttime lights to track changing conditions in human settlements—e.g. urban energy access, migration, and disaster impacts and recovery. As the time series expands, Black Marble data has the potential to increase our understanding of changes in urban infrastructure and human factors that influence a myriad of urban sustainability and resilience outcomes.
Noise Testing Methodology of the Hybrid Imaging Sensor for Short-Wavelength Infrared Domain

We proposed a simple noise model based on the photon transfer method for the testing of a hybrid optical sensor for imaging in short-wavelength infrared regime. The proposed testing procedure allowed us to separate the noise sources and then work on noise mitigation.
Plant Spike: A Low-Cost, Low-Power Beacon for Smart City Soil Health Monitoring

Plant Spike is an in situ low-cost sensor system that is wireless, miniature, and low powered. It can be seamlessly implanted in subsurface locations across major cities to measure urban soil health. Plant Spike incorporates noncontact soil moisture monitoring, temperature monitoring, light intensity monitoring, advanced power management, and Bluetooth low energy transmit-only communication for transmitting information to a client device. With a novel combination of aggressive power reduction techniques, the system’s lifetime is over two years with a 500-mAh battery. By connecting on-board sensors to a single-chip microcontroller, the total component and assembly cost of each module is less than $10. The sensor system has been tested within an urban soil testbed located on Columbia University’s Morningside Campus in New York City as well as street tree pits located in Morningside Heights, proving the functionality and robustness of the system. Plant Spike is able to measure temperature and light ranges that are comparable to the fluctuations experienced by soils located within the climate zone of New York City.
Intraoperative Margin Assessment in Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer Using Label-Free Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging and Machine Learning

Objective: To demonstrate the diagnostic ability of label-free, point-scanning, fiber-based Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIm) as a means of intraoperative guidance during oral and oropharyngeal cancer removal surgery. Methods: FLIm point-measurements acquired from 53 patients (n = 67893 pre-resection in vivo , n = 89695 post-resection ex vivo ) undergoing oral or oropharyngeal cancer removal surgery were used for analysis. Discrimination of healthy tissue and cancer was investigated using various FLIm-derived parameter sets and classifiers (Support Vector Machine, Random Forests, CNN). Classifier output for the acquired set of point-measurements was visualized through an interpolation-based approach to generate a probabilistic heatmap of cancer within the surgical field. Classifier output for dysplasia at the resection margins was also investigated. Results: Statistically significant change (P $ 0.01) between healthy and cancer was observed in vivo for the acquired FLIm signal parameters (e.g., average lifetime) linked with metabolic activity. Superior classification was achieved at the tissue region level using the Random Forests method (ROC-AUC: 0.88). Classifier output for dysplasia (% probability of cancer) was observed to lie between that of cancer and healthy tissue, highlighting FLIm's ability to distinguish various conditions. Conclusion: The developed approach demonstrates the potential of FLIm for fast, reliable intraoperative margin assessment without the need for contrast agents. Significance: Fiber-based FLIm has the potential to be used as a diagnostic tool during cancer resection surgery, including Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS), helping ensure complete resections and improve the survival rate of oral and oropharyngeal cancer patients.
QCD FACTORIZATION IN HADRONIC B DECAYS

We review recent advances in the theory of strong-interaction effects and final-state interaction in hadronic weak decays of heavy mesons. In the heavy-quark limit, the amplitudes for most nonleptonic, two-body B decays can be calculated from first principles and expressed in terms of semileptonic form factors and light-cone distribution amplitudes. We summarize the main features of this novel QCD factorization and discuss its phenomenological applications to the charmless decays B→π K and B→ππ.
Pyridine-containing octadentate ligand NE3TA-PY for formation of neutral complex with 177Lu(III) and 90Y(III) for radiopharmaceutical applications: Synthesis, DFT calculation, radiolabeling, and in vitro complex stability

Abstract Targeted radionuclide therapy is a developing therapeutic modality for cancer and employs a cytotoxic radionuclide bound to a chelating agent and a bioactive molecule with high binding affinity for a specific biomarker in tumors. An optimal chelator is one of the critical components to control therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of targeted radionuclide therapy. We designed a new octadentate ligand NE3TA-PY (7-[2-[(carboxymethyl)(2-pyridylmethyl)amino]ethyl]-1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4-diacetic acid) for β-particle-emitting 177Lu and 90Y with targeted radionuclide therapy applications. The pyridine-containing polyaminocarboxylate ligand was proposed to form a neutral complex with Lu(III) and Y(III). The new chelator NE3TA-PY was synthesized and experimentally and theorectically studied for complexation with 177Lu(III) and 90Y(III). DFT-optimized structures of Y(III)-NE3TA-PY and Lu(III)-NE3TA-PY complexes were predicted. NE3TA-PY displayed excellent radiolabeling efficiency with both 177Lu and 90Y. The new chelator (NE3TA-PY) bound to 177Lu was more stable in human serum and better tolerated when challenged by EDTA than 90Y-labeled NE3TA-PY. Our findings suggest that the new chelator (NE3TA-PY) produced excellent Lu-177 radiolabeling and in vitro complex stability profiles.
Does the size of a ketogenic diet admission group influence outcomes

Abstract Introduction Most pediatric centers admit children with epilepsy for several days when initiating the ketogenic diet (KD). At some institutions, children are admitted in groups in order to save staff time and allow families to bond together for support. It is unknown if admitting children in larger groups for the KD affects outcomes. Methods We performed a retrospective study of all children with intractable epilepsy admitted for KD initiation at Johns Hopkins Hospital from 2010 to 2020. Charts were reviewed for size of admission groups, 3-month seizure reduction, and total KD duration. A linear mixed effects model was used to analyze KD duration between different size admission groups. Results 245 children were started on the KD, mean age 5.2 years. Thirty-three (13%) children were admitted in one-child admission groups, 52 (21%) in 2-children groups, 78 (32%) in 3-children groups, 72 (29%) in 4-children groups, and 10 (4%) in 5-children groups. At our center, fewer large admission groups and shorter KD durations have occurred over time. After adjusting for time, the 3-children admission group had higher KD duration than 1-child (1.9 times duration, p = 0.035). Additionally, after grouping cohort sizes into small (1–2 patients) versus large (3–5 patients), KD durations in the large groups were 1.6 times those in the small groups, p = 0.036. There was no statistically significant correlation between the size of the admission groups and 3-month seizure reduction. Conclusions Admitting children in larger groups, specifically 3 children at a time, was associated with longer KD durations. This may be due to parent support from groups, listening and learning from other parents’ questions, or other factors.
An Expansion for Automated Cardiac Anomaly Detection Frameworks with Multimodal Missing Data Imputation

Monitoring of the cardiovascular system is vital to detect cardiac arrhythmia which is a leading cause of death in the United States. The most popular cardiac monitoring modalities are Electrocardiography (ECG) and Photoplethysmography (PPG). Utilization of the critical features extracted from these signals allows an automated pipeline for early detection. However, recorded data is often incomplete due to equipment sampling issues or loss of contact. Completion of missing values through imputation permits these datasets to be examined for arrhythmia through machine learning. Because a comprehensive investigation of prominent imputation algorithms has not been conducted within this context before, we explored several algorithms to accurately predict the missing feature values extracted from both modalities. Our workflow consists of preprocessing, feature extraction, and imputation algorithms to estimate these clinically important values. We collected 2700 minutes of ECG and PPG data from 36 patients within the PhysioNet MIMIC-III database. Approximately 150 features were extracted for both ECG and PPG prior to the imputation. We compared seven imputation algorithms (Zero, Mean, Hot Deck, Linear Regression, KNN, Random Forest and Neural Networks) using MSE and R2 as the evaluation metrics. KNN, Random Forest and Linear Regression gave the highest R2 values of 0.904, 0.908, 0.898 respectively, for a subset of the features. Overall, KNN was the most consistent in providing the highest R2 values and the lowest MSE values across all the features tested. Our investigation provides an expanded preliminary platform to conduct real-time arrhythmia detection in hospitals or remotely via wearable devices.
Optimally Hiding Object Sizes with Constrained Padding

Among the most challenging traffic-analysis attacks to confound are those leveraging the sizes of objects downloaded over the network. In this paper we systematically analyze this problem under realistic constraints regarding the padding overhead that the object store is willing to incur. We give algorithms to compute privacy-optimal padding schemes -- specifically that minimize the network observer's information gain from a downloaded object's padded size -- in several scenarios of interest: per-object padding, in which the object store responds to each request for an object with the same padded copy; per-request padding, in which the object store pads an object anew each time it serves that object; and a scenario unlike the previous ones in that the object store is unable to leverage a known distribution over the object queries. We provide constructions for privacy-optimal padding in each case, compare them to recent contenders in the research literature, and evaluate their performance on practical datasets.
Validation of VR-12 Physical Function in Minimally Invasive Lumbar Discectomy.

Background Although the Veterans RAND 12-item Physical Component Survey (VR-12 PCS) has been broadly used to evaluate patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in spine surgery, its feasibility for use in patients undergoing minimally invasive lumbar discectomy (MIS LD) has not been well studied. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of VR-12 PCS for use up to 2 years postoperatively for MIS LD by correlation with PROMs for physical function. Methods Patients undergoing primary single-level MIS LD procedures were reviewed retrospectively. Results on the VR-12 PCS, 12-Item Short Form (SF-12) PCS, and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS PF) were recorded preoperatively and up to 2 years postoperatively. Improvements in postoperative PROMs were calculated and assessed for significant differences from baseline values. Correlation significance and strength were evaluated between VR-12 PCS and SF-12 PCS or PROMIS PF. Scatterplots were constructed to demonstrate relationships of VR-12 PCS with SF-12 PCS and PROMIS PF at each time point. Results Our cohort comprised 402 patients. Patients improved significantly from preoperative baseline for all 3 PROMs at all postoperative time points. Both Pearson's correlation and time-independent partial correlation revealed statistically significant strong correlations of VR-12 PCS with SF-12 PCS and PROMIS PF through 2-years. Discussion Physical function scores for VR-12, SF-12, and PROMIS PF all demonstrated significant improvements following MIS LD. Strongly statistically significant correlations of VR-12 PCS with SF-12 PCS and PROMIS PF from preoperative measures through 2 years demonstrate the feasibility of VR-12 for assessing patient-reported physical function in MIS LD patients.
The Time-Oriented Database

Before continuing the presentation of the knowledge base, the Study Module, and the Discovery Module I will discuss in greater detail the structure and contents of the time-oriented database used in this research. An understanding of the database is crucial to understanding the other components of RX. In the following introduction I will review the basic structure of time-oriented databases presented in Chapter 1.
Microbial Growth Measurement

This paper outlines the physical techniques used to follow growth of bacteria and measure their amounts. Keywords: bacterial amount; variation in cell composition; unbalanced growth; mycelial growth; direct particle counts; flow cytometry; colony counts; types of plates; most probable number; biomass measurement; light scattering; flow cytometry
Data dependent phase coding for mitigation of intrachannel four wave mixing

A novel phase code for the diminution of ghost pulses is introduced. Our approach involves the use of a data dependent code and is intended to take care of the small ghost pulses that remain after, previously proposed, duobinary or alternate mark phase flipping are applied. Formerly suggested codes are quite powerful in tackling the strong pulses, but are not as efficient in preventing ghost pulses that occur in multiple consecutive spaces surrounded by marker blocks. Our coding method comes down to dividing each marker block into doublets and inverting the phase of every other doublet by /spl pi/ while keeping the marker blocks anti-symmetric. around single 0-bits or zero-blocks consisting of odd number of zeros.
Rotational dynamics and protein-protein interactions in the Ca-ATPase mechanism

We have varied the degree of protein-protein interactions among Ca-ATPase polypeptide chains in sarcoplasmic reticulum using the cleavable homobifunctional cross-linker dithiobissuccinimidyl propionate and have measured both the rotational mobility and calcium-dependent ATPase activity of the Ca-ATPase in order to assess 1) the nature of the microsecond rotational motion measured by saturation transfer EPR (ST-EPR) of the spin-labeled Ca-ATPase and 2) the functional significance of this rotational motion. The Ca-ATPase was labeled specifically and covalently with a maleimide spin label, with full preservation of enzymatic activity. ST-EPR experiments show that cross-linking increases the enzyme's effective rotational correlation time (tau r), thus decreasing its rotational mobility (tau r-1). As the degree of cross-linking is varied, tau r is proportional to the mean molecular weight of the cross-linked aggregate, as predicted by theory, adding to the evidence that ST-EPR measures the overall rotational mobility of the Ca-ATPase with respect to the membrane normal. Furthermore, enzymatic activity correlates with overall protein rotational mobility, suggesting that this motion is functionally important. The second-order inactivation profile resulting from the use of either cross-linking or chemical modification with fluorescein isothiocyanate as modes of inactivation indicates that protein-protein interactions are critical to the reaction mechanism. However, the pattern of cross-linking observed on polyacrylamide gels demonstrates that cross-linking occurs in a random manner, indicating that no specific and stable oligomeric complexes exist. In order to rationalize both the functional need for protein mobility and the evidence that protein-protein interactions are critical and random, we propose that the enzymatic cycle of the Ca-ATPase involves the making and breaking of functionally important protein-protein interactions.
Kvβ2 Inhibits the Kvβ1-mediated Inactivation of K+ Channels in Transfected Mammalian Cells

Cloned auxiliary beta-subunits (e.g. Kvbeta1) modulate the kinetic properties of the pore-forming alpha-subunits of a subset of Shaker-like potassium channels. Coexpression of the alpha-subunit and Kvbeta2, however, induces little change in channel properties. Since more than one beta-subunit has been found in individual K+ channel complexes and expression patterns of different beta-subunits overlap in vivo, it is important to test the possible physical and/or functional interaction(s) between different beta-subunits. In this report, we show that both Kvbeta2 and Kvbeta1 recognize the same region on the pore-forming alpha-subunits of the Kv1 Shaker-like potassium channels. In the absence of alpha-subunits the Kvbeta2 polypeptide interacts with additional beta-subunit(s) to form either a homomultimer with Kvbeta2 or a heteromultimer with Kvbeta1. When coexpressing alpha-subunits and Kvbeta1 in the presence of Kvbeta2, we find that Kvbeta2 is capable of inhibiting the Kvbeta1-mediated inactivation. Using deletion analysis, we have localized the minimal interaction region that is sufficient for Kvbeta2 to associate with both alpha-subunits and Kvbeta1. This mapped minimal interaction region is necessary and sufficient for inhibiting the Kvbeta1-mediated inactivation, consistent with the notion that the inhibitory activity of Kvbeta2 results from the coassembly of Kvbeta2 with compatible alpha-subunits and possibly with Kvbeta1. Together, these results provide biochemical evidence that Kvbeta2 may profoundly alter the inactivation activity of another beta-subunit by either differential subunit assembly or by competing for binding sites on alpha-subunits, which indicates that Kvbeta2 is capable of serving as an important determinant in regulating the kinetic properties of K+ currents.
A Stochastic Fractional Dynamics Model of Space-time Variability of Rain

Rainfall varies in space and time in a highly irregular manner and is described naturally in terms of a stochastic process. A characteristic feature of rainfall statistics is that they depend strongly on the space-time scales over which rain data are averaged. A spectral model of precipitation has been developed based on a stochastic differential equation of fractional order for the point rain rate, that allows a concise description of the second moment statistics of rain at any prescribed space-time averaging scale. The model is thus capable of providing a unified description of the statistics of both radar and rain gauge data. The underlying dynamical equation can be expressed in terms of space-time derivatives of fractional orders that are adjusted together with other model parameters to fit the data. The form of the resulting spectrum gives the model adequate flexibility to capture the subtle interplay between the spatial and temporal scales of variability of rain but strongly constrains the predicted statistical behavior as a function of the averaging length and times scales. We test the model with radar and gauge data collected contemporaneously at the NASA TRMM ground validation sites located near Melbourne, Florida and in Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands in the tropical Pacific. We estimate the parameters by tuning them to the second moment statistics of radar data. The model predictions are then found to fit the second moment statistics of the gauge data reasonably well without any further adjustment.
Underlying Benefits of Foraging Aggression in Egrets

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