cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dominance and polyethism in the eusocial wasp Mischocyttarus mastigophorus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Dominance interactions affected patterns of non-reproductive division of labor (polyethism) in the eusocial wasp Mischocyttarus mastigophorus. Socially dominant individuals foraged for food (nectar and insect prey) at lower rates than subordinate individuals. In contrast, dominant wasps performed most of the foraging for the wood pulp used in nest construction. Social dominance also affected partitioning of materials collected by foragers when they returned to the nest. Wood pulp loads were never shared with nest mates, while food loads, especially insect prey, were often partitioned with other wasps. Dominant individuals on the nest were more likely to take food from arriving foragers than subordinate individuals. The role of dominance interactions in regulating polyethism has evolved in the eusocial paper wasps (Polistinae). Both specialization by foragers and task partitioning have increased from basal genera (independent-founding wasps, including Mischo-cyttarus spp.) to more derived genera (swarm-founding Epiponini). Dominance interactions do not regulate forager specialization or task partitioning in epiponines. I hypothesize that these changes in polyethism were enabled by the evolution of increased colony size in the Epiponini.
Pasteurella multocida brain abscess following perforating cranial dog bite.

1. Krieg EG: Heterotopic pancreatic tissue producing pyloric obstruction, Ann Surg 113:364, 1941. 2. Nelson RS, and Scott NM: Heterotopic pancreatic tissue in the stomach, Gastroenterology 34:452, 1958. ~3. Dolan RV, ReMine WH, and Dockerty MB: The fate of heterotopic pancreatic tissue, Arch Surg 109:762, 1974. 4. Eklof O, Lassrich A, Stanley P, and Chrispin AR: Ectopic pancreas, Pediatr Radiol 1:24, 1973. 5. Stone DD, Riddervold HO, and Keats TF: An unusual case of aberrant pancreas in the stomach, Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther Nucl Med 113:125, 197L 6. Martinez NS, Morloch CG, Dockerty MB, Waugh JM, and Weber HM: Heterotopic pancreatic tissue involving the stomach, Ann Surg 147:1, 1958. 7. Lukash WM, Johnson RB, and Bishop RP: Aberrant pancreas in the stomach: radiographic and gastroscopic findings, Gastrointest Endosc 16:148, 1970. 8. Collett RW: Prepyloric polypus in stomach of child diagnosed histologically as aberrant pancreatic tissue, Am J Dis Child 72:545, 1946. 9. Palmer ED: Aberrant pancreatic tumours, Medicine 30:83, 1951. 10. French WE: Pancreatic tissue in antral wall, Am J Surg 114:959, 1967.
Validation of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale in Veterans With PTSD

The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of 2 versions of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp) scale in a sample of Veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The FACIT-Sp has 12- and 23-item versions that have been factor analyzed in other populations with mixed factor solutions. Spiritual well-being is of growing interest in military and veteran populations; valid and reliable measures are needed for research with these groups. A sample of 146 Veterans diagnosed with PTSD was selected for this analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test competing factorial structures for the 12-item FACIT-Sp. Both a 2-factor and 3-factor model were compared. For the 12-item FACIT-Sp, a more plausible model of spiritual well-being was found with the 3-factor model, separating Meaning from Peace and including Faith subscales. The addition of 11 more items in the 23-item FACIT-Sp did not improve model fit to any substantial degree. Therefore, the 12-item FACIT-Sp with a 3- rather than 2-factor solution (e.g., subscales of Peace, Meaning, and Faith) is recommended as the most accurate representation of the spiritual well-being components in this study of veterans with PTSD
Life experiences of individuals with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and disclosing outside the family: a qualitative analysis

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT; OMIM 187300) is a disorder that affects 1:5000–1:10,000 people worldwide, with an estimated 60,000 affected individuals in the USA. Approximately 50 % of patients with HHT experience potentially life-threatening health complications such as stroke, brain abscess, or heart failure. However, the most common symptom is spontaneous and frequent nosebleeding. HHT is a hereditary condition with significant health consequences, but little is known about how individuals cope with HHT on a daily basis and how individuals share information about the disorder with social groups outside of the family. The objectives of this study were to improve understanding of the daily experiences of patients with diagnosed HHT and to investigate how they disclose their diagnosis to various social groups (friends, dating partners, employers, and coworkers) outside of their biological family. Adult patients seen at a university HHT clinic and who had been diagnosed with HHT for at least 6 months were recruited by mail. Participants completed semi-structured telephone interviews (n = 19). A qualitative content analysis of interview transcripts identified four major categories: (1) the emotional impact of HHT, (2) the social impact of HHT, (3) concerns for current and future health related to HHT, and (4) social context drives disclosure of HHT. Participants reported that although HHT was a manageable hereditary disorder, the symptoms negatively affected their daily life. It is important for health care providers to understand how individuals with rare genetic disorders are managing.
Assessing progress in systematics with continuous jackknife function analysis.

Systematists expect their hypotheses to be asymptotically precise. As the number of phylogenetically informative characters for a set of taxa increases, the relationships implied should stabilize on some topology. If true, this increasing stability should clearly manifest itself if an index of congruence is plotted against the accumulating number of characters. Continuous jackknife function (CJF) analysis is a new graphical method that portrays the extent to which available data converge on a specified phylogenetic hypothesis, the reference tree. The method removes characters with increasing proba- bility, analyzes the rarefied data matrices phylogenetically, and scores the clades shared between each of the resulting trees and the reference tree. As more characters are removed, the number of shared clades must decrease, but the rate of decrease will depend on how decisively the data support the reference tree. Curves for stable phylogenies are clearly asymptotic with nearly 100% congruence for a substantial part of the curve. Less stable phylogenies lose congruent nodes quickly as characters are excluded, resulting in a more linear or even a sigmoidal relationship. Curves can be interpreted as predictors of whether the addition of new data of the same type is likely to alter the hypothesis under test. Continuous jackknife func- tion analysis makes statistical assumptions about the collection of character data. To the extent that CJF curves are sensitive to violations of unbiased character collection, they will be misleading as predictors. Convergence of data on a reference tree does not guarantee historical accuracy, but it does predict that the accumulation of further data under the sampling model will not lead to rapid changes in the hypothesis. (Accuracy; combined data; comparative biology; congruence; data visualization; jackknife; pseudoreplicate; stability; support; total evidence.)
Stepsize Control in Piecewise Approximate Circuit Simulation

Piecewise approximate circuit simulation has proven to be a reliable and efficient technique for the transient simulation of digital integrated circuits. The method permits variable accuracy event-driven simulation both across runs of the simulator and across portions of the circuit, allowing the user to control the tradeoff between accuracy and efficiency. Variable accuracy is achieved by using table models built at different voltage resolution levels. This paper presents a timing error criterion based on which dynamic stepsize control has been implemented in a piecewise approximate circuit simulator. The stepsize control enables each device to take the largest possible current/voltage step while staying within prescribed error bounds. Thus steady state level accuracy is improved to within the minimum table model resolution. Further, the stepsize control scheme combined with a new steady state algorithm allows the efficient simulation of “stifl” circuits.
Identification and Characterization of a Novel Heme-Associated Cell Surface Protein Made by Streptococcus pyogenes

Analysis of the genome sequence of a serotype M1 group A Streptococcus (GAS) strain identified a gene encoding a previously undescribed putative cell surface protein. The gene was cloned from a serotype M1 strain, and the recombinant protein was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The purified protein was associated with heme in a 1:1 stoichiometry. This streptococcal heme-associated protein, designated Shp, was produced in vitro by GAS, located on the bacterial cell surface, and accessible to specific antibody raised against the purified recombinant protein. Mice inoculated subcutaneously with GAS and humans with invasive infections and pharyngitis caused by GAS seroconverted to Shp, indicating that Shp was produced in vivo. The blood of mice actively immunized with Shp had significantly higher bactericidal activity than the blood of unimmunized mice. The shp gene was cotranscribed with eight contiguous genes, including homologues of an ABC transporter involved in iron uptake in gram-negative bacteria. Our results indicate that Shp is a novel cell surface heme-associated protein.
X-ray, Cryo-EM, and computationally predicted protein structures used in integrative modeling of HIV Env glycoprotein gp120 in complex with CD4 and 17b

We present the data used for an integrative approach to computational modeling of proteins with large variable domains, specifically applied in this context to model HIV Env glycoprotein gp120 in its CD4 and 17b bound state. The initial data involved X-ray structure PDBID:1GC1 and electron microscopy image EMD:5020. Other existing X-ray structures were used as controls to validate and hierarchically refine partial and complete computational models. A summary of the experiment protocol and data was published (Rasheed et al., 2015) [26], along with detailed analysis of the final model (PDBID:3J70) and its implications.
Monitoring the health of Persian Gulf War veteran women. Federal Nursing Service Award.

ABSTRACT The Persian Gulf War imposed unique threats and stressors on our military forces. Mobilization included an unprecedented number of women, with more than 33,000 U.S. military women serving in key combat positions throughout the region. Despite their increasing numbers, little is known about the general health effects of combat exposure on women’s long-term health. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess whether the prevalence of health problems remained elevated among women deployed to the Gulf at 6 years after deployment. Methods: This comprehensive self-report survey compared the prevalence of physical health problems among 900 Air Force women deployed to the Gulf and 900 Air Force women deployed elsewhere. Results: Findings indicate that significant health problems among women deployed to the theater have persisted for an extended period and the prevalence remains statistically different from that among women deployed elsewhere during the same period of time. Conclusions: Long-term health...
Family Structure, Maternal Dating, and Sexual Debut: Extending the Conceptualization of Instability

Family structure influences the risk of early onset of sexual intercourse. This study proposes that the family structures associated with risk-single-mother, step-parent, and cohabiting-influence early sexual debut due to family instability, including shifts in family structure and maternal dating, which can undermine parental control and transmit messages about the acceptability of nonmarital sex. Previous research has not considered maternal dating as a component of family instability, assuming single mothers who date and those who do not date experience comparable levels of family disruption and transmit similar messages about the acceptability of nonmarital sex. Hypotheses are assessed using logistic regression models predicting the odds of early onset of sexual intercourse among 9959 respondents (53 % female, 47 % male) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Respondents were ages 12-17 at the first wave of data collection and 18-26 at the third wave, when respondents reported the age at which they first had sexual intercourse. Results show that maternal dating is a source of family instability with repercussions for early sexual debut. Parental control and permissive attitudes towards teenage sex and pregnancy link at-risk family structures and maternal dating to early sexual initiation among females, though these variables do not fully explain family structure and maternal dating effects. Among males, the influence of maternal dating on early sexual debut is fully explained by the learning of permissive sexual attitudes.
Micropuncture Studies of the Motility of Rete Testis and Epididymal Spermatozoa

The effect of cyclic adenosine 3′ :5′-monophosphate (cAMP) and caffeine on the motility of spermatozoa obtained in vivo by micropuncture from the rat rete testis, caput epididymidis, and cauda epididymidis was studied. Spermatozoa from all sites were immobile in their native fluid. Rete testis spermatozoa were not motile under any experimental conditions. After dilution in salt solution, some caput sperm exhibited circular motion, whereas most cauda sperm swam progressively. Dextrose enhanced the motility of sperm from both epididymal sites. Caffeine further increased the motility of epididymal sperm. Dibutyryl cAMP and cAMP stimulated caput spermatozoa but had no effect on cauda spermatozoa.
Presence of Lesions without Virus Replication in the Thymus of Chickens Exposed to Infectious Bursal Disease Virus

SUMMARY. Specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens were exposed to the IM and VA isolates of virulent infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Both viruses induced rapidly progressing lymphoid cell depletion in the bursa. The bursal lesions persisted through the observation period of 16 days. The virus-exposed birds also had histologic lesions in the thymus. Thymic lesions peaked at 3-4 days postinoculation (PI) and then subsided. Immunofluorescence (IF) and antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detected abundant viral antigen in the bursa, but not in the thymus, of chickens during the first week after infection with IM-IBDV or VA-IBDV. This result indicated that the presence of histologic lesions in the thymus was not associated with active infection and replication of the virus in thymic cells. Inoculation of homogenates of bursal and thymic tissues from virus-exposed chickens into embryonated chicken eggs revealed the presence of infectious virus from both tissues. We speculated that the virus recovered from thymus may have been contributed by virus-infected cells that were circulating through the thymus at the time when this tissue was homogenized.
Activity of Adult Whiteflies (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) Within Plantings of Different Cotton Strains and Cultivars as Determined by Sticky-Trap Catches

Adults of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), and the bandedwinged whitefly, Trialeurodes abutilonea (Haldeman), were collected with sticky traps from replicated field plots of a number of different breeding stocks and cultivars of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., grown in three tests in Arizona and California. These cottons carried different combinations of the mutant characters nectariless, okra leaf, smoothleaf, and semismoothleaf. Many more B. tabaci than T. abutilonea were caught. None of the breeding stocks or test cultivars had fewer whiteflies than the cultivar ‘Deltapine 61;’ ‘Deltapine 62,’ however, attracted fewer B. tabaci. Smoothleaf in ‘AET-5’ background (‘AET-5’ is a breeding stock having resistance to the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella [Saunders]) had significantly fewer adults of both whitefly species than did pubescent-leaf plants. The nectariless and okra-leaf characters showed no significant differences, except that more bandedwinged whiteflies used okra leaf than its normal-leaf counterpart. Semismoothleaf yielded mixed results, suggesting that this character might be of some value for reducing whitefly populations if incorporated into an appropriate genetic background. Both okra leaf and nectariless okra leaf conferred some susceptibility to whiteflies in certain genetic backgrounds. This is a cause for concern because these two mutant characters impart resistance to pink bollworms.
Real-time co-simulation testbed for micro grid cyber-physical analysis

This paper provides an overview of the development of a real-time cyber-physical testbed for analyzing the impact of cyber events on the critical loads in a microgrid. A real-time, cyber-physical co-simulation testbed utilizing a Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) for simulating the power system, Common Open Research Emulator (CORE) for emulation of the communication network, and a TCP/IP based interface is used in this work. The testbed is used to simulate a Army microgrid based model for validation. Cyber-physical system simulation results demonstrates the ability of the testbed to implement the cyber attacks and analyze the impact on microgrid.
Abstract LB-056: Discovery of novel small molecule inhibitors of the DCN1-Ubc12 interaction by high throughput screening technology

Ubiquitination of protein is well known mechanism for the regulation of cellular proteins by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) plays a crucial role in regulating cellular protein degradation and turnover. Dysregulation of the UPS has been associated with a wide variety of diseases including cancers, neurodegenerative disorders, and viral and bacterial infections. Recently, there are emerging evidences show that targeting this UPS by small molecule modulator is a useful anticancer strategy based on the previous successes of proteasome inhibitors, E3 inhibitors and the NEDD8 E1 inhibitor. In particular, we are targeting NEDD8 ligation to cullins via inhibition of DCN1 as a small molecule target. DCN1 was known to interacts with cullins and is required for neddylation in vivo. Furthermore, dysregulation of DCN1 is associated with a number of human cancers. DCN1 activity is controlled by its interaction with UBC12. Therefore, we have developed biochemical assay utilizing TR-FRET technology for the purpose of high-throughput screening (HTS) to identify the small molecule inhibitors that disrupt the DCN1-UBC12 protein-protein interaction and use them to elucidate the biological effects of DCN1 mediated UPS regulation. Herein, we report our progress including design, procedure and result of HTS with post-screen analysis to discover small molecule inhibitors of the DCN1 from our in-house library compounds (∼600K). Following hit identification and validation, we identified three novel scaffolds as novel DCN1 inhibitors by biochemical, biophysical, and crystallographic studies to follow for further hit optimization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to report small molecule DCN1 inhibitors. Citation Format: Jaeki Min, Daniel C. Scott, Sergio C. Chai, Asli N. Goktug, Jared T. Hammill, Guochang Huang, Michele C. Connelly, Amy Matheny, Anang Shelat, Bhuvanesh Singh, Taosheng Chen, Brenda A. Schulman, R. Kiplin Guy. Discovery of novel small molecule inhibitors of the DCN1-Ubc12 interaction by high throughput screening technology. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-056.
Deep narrow territories

It is always a pleasure to observe Peter Harrison deploying his skill in argument, repertoire of apt quotations, and power of analogy. One argument joins so neatly to the next that it seems willful to withhold assent from the conclusion. Having enjoyed the sparkle, however, it is well to consider how it is achieved. The principal means, conspicuous also in Harrison’s earlier book, The Bible: Protestantism and the Rise of Science (1998), is a very tight focus: the argument, repertoire, and analogies achieve their effect by operating in a domain of inquiry restricted more severely, and sometimes less justifiably, than might at first appear. In The Bible, Harrison argued that by doing away with allegorical readings of scripture, Protestants liberated ‘‘the study of the natural world from the specifically religious concern of biblical interpretation.’’ The fruit of this liberation fell far from the tree. ‘‘The literalist mentality initiated by the Protestant reformers, and sponsored by their successors [was]....by far the most significant [cause]...for the rise of modern science.’’ With this bold extrapolation, Harrison made the reformers’ method of sola scriptura serve as a motive, indeed, the main motive, for the very diverse sorts of thinking and acting required to investigate and apply natural knowledge. The ascendency of bible reading over all other putative causes of the Scientific Revolution, however brilliantly argued, is not very convincing. The Territories of Science and Religion follows the method of sola scriptura to conclude that clashes between the territories could not have occurred before the Reformation. In England they started even later, in the last third of the nineteenth century. Harrison’s crisp argument for this chronology is quickly summarized. He observes that ‘‘science’’ and ‘‘religion’’ (SR that before the watershed they had to do with the internal cultivation of the individual and after it with a public confession
Process Economics for Water Purification: A Comparative Assessment

A preliminary comparative examination is made between a known water purification technology (activated carbon adsorption), an emerging photoprocess technology (photolytic ozonation), and an hypothetical photocatalyzed process. The example feed stream is contaminated with particulates and a non-volatile halocarbon (PCB example). The process comparisons assume a common pretreatment section for all three processes. Conditions under which heterogeneous photocatalysis may be competitive are indicated.
Label consistent recursive least squares dictionary learning for image classification

A label consistent recursive least squares dictionary learning algorithm, LC-RLSDLA, is proposed to learn discriminative dictionaries for image classification based on sparse coding. The class label information and a label consistency term are used in the cost function to enforce discriminability among the sparse codes. Two operation modes are derived for the LC-RLSDLA: the supervised learning mode, in which the algorithm employs a training set to learn the dictionary and linear classifier simultaneously, and the online semi-supervised learning mode, in which the algorithm continuously learns as it classifies new vectors. Experiments performed on two face recognition databases demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art sparse coding algorithms.
An alternate Dual Channel Algorithm for passive soil moisture retrieval from the soil moisture active passive (SMAP) mission

The zeroth-order radiative transfer model, also known as the tau-omega model, has been used extensively for decades in passive remote sensing of soil moisture. One approach, commonly known as the Dual Channel Algorithm (DCA), to retrieve soil moisture from this model is to make use of the H- and V-polarized brightness temperature (T B ) channels simultaneously in the inversion process. In DCA, a soil moisture retrieval is determined iteratively that minimizes the cost function formed by the sum of squares of the difference between the simulated and observed T B 's.
Comparing Three Methods for Counting Raw-Milk Pour Plates1

Six hundred Grade A raw milk samples were plated on Standard Methods agar and the pour-plate counts compared using three methods. Counts of each sample were determined after incubation at 26, 30 and 32 C for 72 h with an automatic colony counter (ACC). Quebec colony counter and hand tally (HT) and Quebec colony counter and electronic probe with digital register (DT). No significant differences were found between the counts obtained with the HT and the DT for any of the three incubation temperatures. The ACC counts were lower (P < .01) than the manual counts at each temperature. The ACC counts were .39, .35 and .31 log counts lower than the manual count at 26, 30 and 32 C, respectively. The ACC counts at 72 h were higher (P < .01) than the ACC counts at 48 h for all temperatures. The difference was about .41 log counts. The two manual counts were totally correlated, while the correlation between the ACC counts and the manual count; was 97. Regression equations were formulated for predicting the 72 h HT count from either the 48 or 72 h ACC count.
Force-driven growth of intercellular junctions

Mechanical force regulates the formation and growth of cell-cell junctions. Cadherin is a prominent homotypic cell adhesion molecule that plays a crucial role in establishment of intercellular adhesion. It is known that the transmitted force through the cadherin-mediated junctions directly correlates with the growth and enlargement of the junctions. In this paper, we propose a physical model for the structural evolution of cell-cell junctions subjected to pulling tractions, using the Bell-Dembo-Bongard thermodynamic model. Cadherins have multiple adhesive states and may establish slip or catch bonds depending on the Ca2+ concentration. We conducted a comparative study between the force-dependent behavior of clusters of slip and catch bonds. The results show that the clusters of catch bonds feature some hallmarks of cell mechanotransduction in response to the pulling traction. This is a passive thermodynamic response and is entirely controlled by the effect of mechanical work of the pulling force on the free energy landscape of the junction.
A Systems Biology Approach to Investigating Sex Differences in Cardiac Hypertrophy

BackgroundHeart failure preceded by hypertrophy is a leading cause of death, and sex differences in hypertrophy are well known, although the basis for these sex differences is poorly understood. Me...
Heat shock proteins in histoplasma and paracoccidioides

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are highly conserved biomolecules that are constitutively expressed and generally upregulated in response to various stress conditions (biotic and abiotic). Hsps have diverse functions, categorizations, and classifications. Their adaptive expression in fungi indicates their significance in these diverse species, particularly in dimorphic pathogens. Histoplasma capsulatum and Paracoccidioides species are dimorphic fungi that are the causative agents of histoplasmosis and paracoccidioidomycosis, respectively. This minireview focuses on the pathobiology of Hsps, with particular emphasis on their roles in the morphogenesis and virulence of Histoplasma and Paracoccidioides and the potential roles of active and passive immunization against Hsps in protection against infection with these fungi.
A retrospective matched cohort study evaluating the effects of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding tubes on nutritional status and survival in patients with advanced gastroesophageal malignancies undergoing systemic anti-cancer therapy.

Background Many patients with cancer or other systemic illnesses can experience malnutrition. One way to mitigate malnutrition is by insertion of a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding tube (PEG tube). The goal of this retrospective matched cohort study is to evaluate if PEG tube placement improved nutritional status and overall survival (OS) in advanced gastroesophageal (GE) cancer patients who are undergoing anti-neoplastic therapy. Methods GE cancer patients who were treated and evaluated by a nutritionist and had at least 2 nutritionist follow-up visits were identified. Patients with PEG tube were matched to patients that did not undergo PEG placement (non-PEG). Clinical characteristics, GE symptoms reported at nutrition follow-up visits, and OS were recorded. Results 20 PEG and 18 non-PEG cases met criteria for further analyses. After correction for multiple testing, there were no OS differences between PEG and non-PEG, treatment naive and previously treated. However, PEG esophageal carcinoma has statistically significant inferior OS compared with non-PEG esophageal carcinoma. PEG placement did not significantly reduce the proportion of patients with weight loss between the initial nutrition assessment and 12-week follow-up. Conclusions In this small study, PEG placement had inferior OS outcome for GE esophageal carcinoma, no improvement in OS for other evaluated groups, and did not reduce weight loss between baseline and 12-week follow-up. Unless there is prospective randomized trial that can show superiority of PEG placement in this population, PEG placement in this group cannot be endorsed.
Simulation of Dual Modality Probe

Combining different modality sensors on a single probe is an emerging and promising trend in multimodality approach. Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Optical Spectroscopy are both emerging technologies for molecular and near-cellular imaging, and they offer a new chance for evaluating tissue characteristic in situ. The aim of this study is to create simulations for a dual modality probe that combines both modality and find out the effective areas of these sensors. Biot-Savart Law is used to create a simulation for MRS, and Monte Carlo method is modified and applied in the Light-Induced Fluorescence simulation.
Delta form-factor calculation for the cubic tetrahedral algorithm

Publisher Summary The hemicube algorithm has become the most popular method of calculating radiosity solutions for complex environments containing hidden surfaces and shadows. The cubic tetrahedral algorithm replaces the hemicube with a cubic tetrahedron .This adaptation increases performance by reducing the number of projection planes from five to three, while maintaining the simplicity of the required clipping and projection operations. The cubic tetrahedral algorithm calculates the amount of light—landing on a patch from every other patch—by transforming the environment so that the receiving patch's center is at the origin and its surface normal coincides with the vector. This chapter illustrates a cubic tetrahedral face with a cell resolution of 8 × 8 for which the shaded cells were selected for delta form-factor calculation.
What Is Going on in Today’s Liquid Chromatography?

In order to win the permanent war with slow mass transport of analytes through the stagnant mobile phase located in pores of typical packings of chromatographic columns, which leads to undesirable peak broadening, both academic and industrial research recently came up with several interesting approaches. The present overview outlines the history of fight with diffusion, problem of the back pressure, and then briefly describes advantages and drawbacks of the applications of sub-2 μm packings, core-shell particles, high temperature, and monolithic stationary phases.
Application and Implications of Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Pragmatism for Medical Practice

Ethical theories help to shape both the conscious and subconscious background of our ethical considerations. In what follows I shall discuss the classic deontological and utilitarian theories which have been used in dealing with ethical problems and argue that they are problematic because inflexible. I suggest, as an alternative, an instrumentalist or pragmatic ethic similar to that advocated by John Dewey. Such an ethic, by utilizing a variety of antecedent information and theoretical perspectives, can better serve us not only in dealing with problems today but as a springboard for further development, learning and improvement.
Hydrodynamic Force Compensation for Single-Molecule Mechanical Testing Using Colloidal Probe Atomic Force Microscopy

The use of colloidal probes for mechanical testing of single molecules in an atomic force microscope (AFM) provides an attractive alternative to conventional microfabricated AFM cantilever force sensors, in that they have a much greater surface area available for specific binding to a target molecule. This is of particular importance for molecules have a low binding probability or are sterically inhibited from binding in some way. There are, however, several features unique to colloidal probe force measurements performed in a fluid environment, one of which is the presence of hydrodynamic forces acting on the sphere at the tip of the cantilever as it moves through the fluid. This force must be subtracted from the total measured force to isolate the molecular interaction of interest. Herein, a method is described to perform such a correction based on Brenner’s equation, and the method is demonstrated on data from the mechanical testing of a single DNA molecule.
Biphenotypic hepatic tumors: imaging findings and review of literature

To describe imaging findings in biphenotypic hepatic tumors (BPT) and a proposal for new imaging classification based on contrast-enhanced imaging. Retrospective review of CT, MRI, PET/CT, and ultrasound findings in 39 patients with histologically confirmed BPT was performed. Tumor markers including AFP, L3 fraction, CA 19.9, CA 125, and CEA were recorded. Based on the dynamic enhancement features, BPT were categorized into 4 enhancement patterns (Types 1–4). Enhancement patterns were correlated with other imaging findings and tumor markers. Imaging features and tumor markers that were not consistent with diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma or intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma based on enhancement pattern were considered discordant findings. Enhancement patterns in 29 patients (CT/MR) included 23 Type 2 (continuous peripheral rim of late arterial hyperenhancement with washout or fade in portal venous and/or delayed phases, ±delayed central enhancement) and 2 of each Types 1, 2, and 3. Discordant imaging findings were present in two patients with Type 2 pattern and in one patient with Type 1 pattern. Both AFP and CA 19.9 were elevated in 15 of 33 of patients. Tumor markers AFP and CA 19.9 were discordant in 17 of 21 patients with Type 2 pattern, two of two patients with Type 3 pattern. Most BPTs were markedly PET avid with average SUV max of 8.2. Most frequent ultrasound appearance is peripheral hypoechogenicity and central hyperechogenicity. BPT most commonly present with imaging features similar to cholangiocarcinoma or metastases. BPT can be suggested when imaging findings or tumor markers are discordant with the most likely diagnosis based on enhancement pattern.
Exploration of OpenCL 2D Convolution Kernels on Intel FPGA, CPU, and GPU Platforms

There is a need to evaluate the resource usage and optimize the performance of the floating-point 2D convolution kernels on a recent FPGA which features large numbers of hardened floating-point digital signal processing blocks and an increasingly large on-chip memory. In this paper, we presented an OpenCL 2D convolution kernel with configurable parameters for specifying the precision, sizes of filter and block, vectorization width, and compute-unit duplication factor. Then, we instantiated a set of specific instances of the kernel with a fixed filter size to evaluate their resource usage and performance to narrow down the exploration space. Based on the evaluation results on an Intelo Arria 10 FPGA using high-level synthesis, we evaluated the kernels with different filter sizes within the pruned exploration space. Compared to the baseline implementation in which the vectorization width is two and the block size is 32$\times$ 32, our optimizations improve the performance by a factor ranging from 1. 9X to 3X for the single-precision kernels, and from 2. 2X to 3. 37X for the half-precision kernels. Furthermore, we evaluated the performance and power of the kernels on an Intel® Xeon® CPU and an IrisTM Pro integrated GPU. We found that the FPGA could achieve the highest performance for a 9$\times$ 9 filter among the CPU, GPU, and FPGA, but the GPU can achieve the highest performance for other filter sizes.
Stress Fractures of the Ribs and Girdle

Though over 90 % of stress fractures occur in the lower extremities as a result of impact loading [Matheson et al. Am J Sports Med 15:46–58, 1987; Fredericson et al. Top Magn Reson Imaging 17(5):309–325, 2006; Brukner. Sports Med 26(6):415–424, 1998], athletes who perform repetitive tasks with the shoulder and upper extremity may also develop stress injuries of bone. Rib and shoulder girdle stress fractures account for less than 10 % of all stress fractures, and are most commonly reported in rowers and throwing athletes along with those requiring repetitive rotation of the torso [Jones. Clin Sports Med 25(1):159–174, xi, 2006; Verma and Sherman. Am J Orthop 20(12), 848–860, 2001]. The most common mechanisms for these injuries involve repetitive bony torsion, weight bearing, and muscle contraction overload. Any athlete complaining of the non-traumatic onset of pain in the ribs or upper extremity that occurs during or shortly after the repetitive activity should raise concern for a possible stress fracture [Jones. Clin Sports Med 25(1):159–174, xi, 2006]. The majority of these injuries are considered low-risk and do not require surgical stabilization. Instead, a period of relative rest, complete rest or activity modification with improved biomechanics will typically resolve symptoms and allow for fracture healing. An understanding of the most common locations of upper extremity stress fractures and their associated causative activities is essential for prompt diagnosis and optimal treatment.
Unsupervised Geometric Disentanglement for Surfaces via CFAN-VAE.

Geometric disentanglement, the separation of latent codes for intrinsic (i.e. identity) and extrinsic(i.e. pose) geometry, is a prominent task for generative models of non-Euclidean data such as 3D deformable models. It provides greater interpretability of the latent space, and leads to more control in generation. This work introduces a mesh feature, the conformal factor and normal feature (CFAN),for use in mesh convolutional autoencoders. We further propose CFAN-VAE, a novel architecture that disentangles identity and pose using the CFAN feature. Requiring no label information on the identity or pose during training, CFAN-VAE achieves geometric disentanglement in an unsupervisedway. Our comprehensive experiments, including reconstruction, interpolation, generation, and identity/pose transfer, demonstrate CFAN-VAE achieves state-of-the-art performance on unsupervised geometric disentanglement. We also successfully detect a level of geometric disentanglement in mesh convolutional autoencoders that encode xyz-coordinates directly by registering its latent space to that of CFAN-VAE.
Arthrofibrosis after total knee arthroplasty: patients with keloids at risk.

Arthrofibrosis remains one of the leading causes for revision in primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Similar in nature to arthrofibrosis, hypertrophic scars and keloid formation are a result of excessive collagen formation. There is paucity in the literature on whether there is an association between keloid formation and the development of arthrofibrosis following TKA. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to utilize a large nationwide database to identify and compare the rates of postoperative complications related to arthrofibrosis after primary TKA in patients with history of hypertrophic scar and keloid disorders versus those without. Patient records from 2010 to the second quarter of 2016 were queried from an administrative claims database, comparing rates of arthrofibrosis, manipulation under anesthesia (MUA), lysis of adhesions (LOA), and revision TKA in patients with chart diagnosis of keloids versus those without in patients who underwent primary TKA. Data analysis was performed using R statistical software (R Project for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria) utilizing multivariate logistic regression, chi square analysis, or Welch’s t- test where appropriate with p values < 0.05 being considered statistically significant. Of 545,875 primary TKAs, 11,461 (2.1%) had a keloid diagnosis at any time point in their record, while 534,414 (97.9%) had not. Patients in the keloid cohort had a significantly higher association with ankylosis within 30 days (OR, 1.7), 90 days (OR, 1.2), 6 months (OR, 1.2), and 1 year (OR, 1.3) following primary TKA. The keloid cohort also had a significantly greater risk of MUA (90-day OR, 1.1; 6-month OR, 1.1; 1-year OR, 1.2) and LOA (90-day OR, 2.2; 6-month OR, 2.0; 1-year OR, 1.9). Patients with keloids have increased odds risk of arthrofibrosis following primary TKA. These patients are subsequently at a higher odds risk of undergoing the procedures necessary to treat arthrofibrosis, such as MUA and LOA. Future studies investigating confounding factors such as race, prior surgery, range of motion, and postoperative recovery are needed to confirm the association of keloid diagnosis and arthrofibrosis following primary TKA demonstrated in this study. Level III retrospective comparative study.
Professional Jurisdiction, Organizational Boundaries, & the Scope of Standard Setting Authority

This paper examines the ardent stakeholder response to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s (GASB) Preliminary Views on Economic Condition Reporting: Financial Projections (ECR), which would have mandated governments to publish financial projections. The stakeholder response to the proposed inclusion of forward-looking information within government financial statements not only resulted in the GASB removing ECR from its agenda, but also in the revision to the standard setting process itself through the redefinition of the GASB’s Scope of Authority. By examining this conflict using historical and contemporary sources, our study makes two primary contributions. First, we highlight the ways in which work performed by accounting practitioners and other professional groups can limit the jurisdictional claims of proposed accounting standards. Second, we point to reconciliation as a potential solution to conflict around the expansion of accounting work. However, the failure of ECR also highlights the political nature of report reconciliation, and the limits on its use by accounting standard setters.
Identification of mundulone and mundulone acetate as natural products with tocolytic efficacy in mono- and combination-therapy with current tocolytics

Currently, there are a lack of FDA-approved tocolytics for the management of preterm labor. We previously observed that the isoflavones mundulone and mundulone acetate (MA) inhibit intracellular Ca2+-regulated myometrial contractility. Here, we further probed the potential of these natural products to be small molecule leads for discovery of novel tocolytics by: (1) examining uterine-selectivity by comparing concentration-response between human primary myometrial cells and a major off-target site, aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), (2) identifying synergistic combinations with current clinical tocolytics to increase efficacy or and reduce off-target side effects, (3) determining cytotoxic effects and (4) investigating the efficacy, potency and tissue-selectivity between myometrial contractility and constriction of fetal ductus arteriosus (DA), a major off-target of current tocolytics. Mundulone displayed significantly greater efficacy (Emax = 80.5% vs. 44.5%, p=0.0005) and potency (IC50 = 27 M and 14 M, p=0.007) compared to MA in the inhibition of intracellular-Ca2+ from myometrial cells. MA showed greater uterine-selectivity, compared to mundulone, based on greater differences in the IC50 (4.3 vs. 2.3 fold) and Emax (70% vs. 0%) between myometrial cells compared to aorta VSMCs. Moreover, MA demonstrated a favorable in vitro therapeutic index of 8.8, compared to TI = 0.8 of mundulone, due to its significantly (p<0.0005) smaller effect on the viability of myometrial (hTERT-HM), liver (HepG2) and kidney (RPTEC) cells. However, mundulone exhibited synergism with two current tocolytics (atosiban and nifedipine), while MA only displayed synergistic efficacy with only nifedipine. Of these synergistic combinations, only mundulone + atosiban demonstrated a favorable TI = 10 compared to TI=0.8 for mundulone alone. While only mundulone showed concentration-dependent inhibition of ex vivo mouse myometrial contractions, neither mundulone or MA affected mouse fetal DA vasoreactivity. The combination of mundulone and atosiban yielded greater tocolytic efficacy and potency on term pregnant mouse and human myometrial tissue compared to single-drugs. Collectively, these data highlight the difference in uterine-selectivity of Ca2+-mobilization, effects on cell viability and tocolytic efficacy between mundulone and MA. These natural products could benefit from medicinal chemistry efforts to study the structural activity relationship for further development into a promising single- and/or combination-tocolytic therapy for management of preterm labor. Chemical compounds studied in this articleatosiban (Pubchem CID: 5311010); indomethacin (Pubchem CID: 3715); mundulone (Pubchem CID: 4587968); mundulone acetate (Pubchem CID: 6857790); nifedipine (Pubchem CID: 4485); oxytocin acetate (Pubchem CID: 5771); U46619 (Pubchem CID: 5311493)
Noise Reduction via Chopper Stabilization of Fully Differential Temperature Sensors for Hardware Security Applications

The analysis and design of a chopper-stabilized fully-differential temperature sensor is presented for future on-chip power monitoring applications, particularly for the detection of malicious circuits. When temperature sensors are employed to sense the power dissipation of nearby circuits based on electrothermal coupling on the chip, the signal quality is limited by flicker noise because the slowly-varying temperature gradients imply that the information of interest is at low frequencies. The proposed two-stage transimpedance amplifier architecture has been designed with a chopping technique for flicker noise reduction by modulating the differential input currents from the bipolar junction transistors used as temperature sensors. Simulations of the prototype sensor circuit implemented in 130 nm CMOS technology show a low output-referred noise of 0.38 mVrms over a bandwidth from 1 to 370 Hz, while exhibiting a high temperature sensitivity of 2.09 V/ °C. A noise analysis was performed to derive equations that aid the design process with regards to trade-offs of parameters affecting noise performance, such as the chopping frequency and feedback resistance of the transimpedance amplifier.