cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Orientation Information in Encoding Facial Expressions for People With Central Vision Loss

Author(s): Yu, Deyue; Chung, Susana TL | Abstract: Purpose:Patients with central vision loss face daily challenges on performing various visual tasks. Categorizing facial expressions is one of the essential daily activities. The knowledge of what visual information is crucial for facial expression categorization is important to the understanding of the functional performance of these patients. Here we asked how the performance for categorizing facial expressions depends on the spatial information along different orientations for patients with central vision loss. Methods:Eight observers with central vision loss and five age-matched normally sighted observers categorized face images into four expressions: angry, fearful, happy, and sad. An orientation filter (bandwidth = 23°) was applied to restrict the spatial information within the face images, with the center of the filter ranged from horizontal (0°) to 150° in steps of 30°. Face images without filtering were also tested. Results:When the stimulus visibility was matched, observers with central vision loss categorized facial expressions just as well as their normally sighted counterparts, and showed similar confusion and bias patterns. For all four expressions, performance (normalized d'), uncorrelated with any of the observers' visual characteristics, peaked between -30° and 30° filter orientations and declined systematically as the filter orientation approached vertical (90°). Like normally sighted observers, observers with central vision loss also relied mainly on mouth and eye regions to categorize facial expressions. Conclusions:Similar to people with normal vision, people with central vision loss rely primarily on the spatial information around the horizontal orientation, in particular the regions around the mouth and eyes, for recognizing facial expressions.
Overall survival of patients with recurrent pancreatic cancer treated with systemic therapy: a retrospective study

Only a few patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) recurring after curative resection and peri-operative (neoadjuvant and adjuvant) therapy are included in clinical trials of metastatic PDAC. As such, there is a paucity of data to guide treatment after relapse, and patients are treated similarly to those with de novo metastatic PDAC (mPDAC). We evaluated the patterns of chemotherapy use and over-all survival (OS) in patients with recurrent PDAC (rPDAC) following curative therapy. In this retrospective study, the Indiana University pancreatic cancer database was used to identify patients with PDAC who underwent curative resection and subsequently developed recurrence. Demographics, tumor and treatment characteristics were collected. Patients were broadly divided into those who received chemotherapy for rPDAC and those who did not. Patients in the former category were further subdivided into those who received single agent therapy, any standard combination therapy (5-fluorouracil/irinotecan/oxaliplatin combination or gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel) and those who received non-standard combinations. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Log rank tests were used to determine differences in survival between treated rPDAC patients and those not treated. Cox regression analysis was employed to evaluate factors associated with OS. We identified 435 patients with resected PDAC treated between 2008 and 2014. Two hundred and twenty-three patients (51.2%) were diagnosed with rPDAC. Of these, 140 patients (63%) received chemotherapy whereas 71 patients (32%) did not receive chemotherapy. The 74 patients (53%) who received any standard, approved multiagent combination regimen had a median OS of 14 months compared to 8 months for the 47 patents (34%) who received other non-standard combinations and the 19 (13%) who received single agent therapy (P = 0.029). Multivariate cox regression analysis showed that margin negative resection, peri-operative therapy, radiotherapy and the use of any chemotherapy for rPDAC were associated with improved OS. Our findings support the use of standard approved multi-agent therapy in rPDAC. Patients derive significant benefit from these standard combination therapies with median OS that is comparable to what is observed with treatment for de novo mPDAC.
Clinical Response and Tolerability of Selinexor in Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Other Hematologic Malignancies - a Systematic Review

Abstract Introduction Selinexor, a SINE (selective inhibitor of nuclear export) compound, inhibits exportin 1 (XPO1) involved in transport of tumor suppressor proteins leading to apoptosis of tumor cells. XPO1 is overexpressed in variety of cancer including ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, glioma, osteosarcoma, leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. The aim of this study is to summarize clinical response and adverse events of selinexor in hematological neoplasms. Methods A comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Embase, AdisInsight and Clinicaltrials.gov was completed on July 12, 2018. Studies focusing on efficacy and/or adverse events of selinexor in patients with hematological neoplasms were included for the review. Results Out of 321 studies found on initial search, we finalized 15 studies (8 phase I and 7 phase I/II) after screening by two reviewers. AML Selinexor in combination with high-dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone has shown overall response rate (ORR) of 70% among 20 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), Wang et al., 2018. Out of 12 newly diagnosed AML (ND AML) patients, 11 (92%) patients showed response with complete response (CR) in 7, CR with incomplete recovery (CRi) in 3 and partial response (PR) in 1 patient. Among 8 relapsed/refractory AML (R/R AML) patients, only 3 patients showed CR while 5 had treatment failure (TF), ORR in this subset was 38%. In 81 evaluable R/R AML patients receiving selinexor as monotherapy only 14% of the patients showed response while 31% patients had disease progression (PD) along with grade ≥3 hematological adverse events (AEs) of thrombocytopenia, anemia and neutropenia in 19%, 15% and 13% patients, respectively (Garzon et al., 2017). MM Relapsed refractory multiple myeloma patients receiving selinexor combined with pomalidomide and dexamethasone have achieved ORR of 60% with CR in 1 and PR in 5 patients (Chen et al., 2016 n=10) with grade ≥3 neutropenia in 8 patients. In another regimen with doxorubicin and dexamethasone the clinical benefit rate (CBR) was 26% with 15% overall response (Rachid et al., 2017 n=27). Grade ≥3 neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and hyponatremia occurred in 33%, 33% and 30% of patients, respectively. NHL Kuruvilla et al. observed ORR in 31% patients with relapsed refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma with single-agent selinexor. Grade ≥3 thrombocytopenia, neutropenia and anemia occurred in 47%, 32% and 27% patients, respectively. The efficacy of selinexor in phase I and I/II clinical trials is given in table 1 while toxicity is mentioned in table 2. With selinexor, the most common hematological and nonhematological AEs noted were thrombocytopenia and hyponatremia, respectively. Conclusion Selinexor based combination regimens have shown better clinical response against AML as compared to monotherapy. The efficacy results in multiple myeloma and other hematological malignancies are also encouraging. The adverse events like cytopenias were common as in other chemotherapy regimens. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
MnTnBuOE-2-PyP treatment protects from radioactive iodine (I-131) treatment-related side effects in thyroid cancer

Treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer often involves administration of radioactive iodine (I-131) for remnant ablation or adjuvant therapy. However, there is morbidity associated with I-131 therapy, which can result in both acute and chronic complications. Currently, there are no approved radioprotectors that can be used in conjunction with I-131 to reduce complications in thyroid cancer therapy. It is well known that the damaging effects of ionizing radiation are mediated, in part, by the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). A potent scavenger of ROS, Mn(III)meso-tetrakis(N–n-butoxyethylpyridinium-2-yl)porphyrin (MnTnBuOE-2-PyP), has radioprotective and anti-tumor effects in various cancer models including head and neck, prostate, and brain tumors exposed to external beam radiation therapy. Female C57BL/6 mice were administered I-131 orally at doses of 0.0085–0.01 mCi/g (3.145 × 105 to 3.7 × 105 Bq) of body weight with or without MnTnBuOE-2-PyP. We measured acute external inflammation, blood cell counts, and collected thyroid tissue and salivary glands for histological examination. We found oral administration of I-131 caused an acute decrease in platelets and white blood cells, caused facial swelling, and loss of thyroid and salivary tissues. However, when MnTnBuOE-2-PyP was given during and after I-131 administration, blood cell counts remained in the normal range, less facial inflammation was observed, and the salivary glands were protected from radiation-induced killing. These data indicate that MnTnBuOE-2-PyP may be a potent radioprotector of salivary glands in thyroid cancer patients receiving I-131 therapy.
Virtual reality based hybrid simulation for functional endoscopic sinus surgery

AbstractAdvances in Virtual Reality (VR) technology warrants the improvement of the training system to replicate surgical procedures. The VR-based training system has proved to be useful for surgic...
Towards an Integrated and Realtime Wayfinding Framework for Flood Events

City planners can encounter severe challenges during natural disasters. Flooding, for example, is considered as the number one cause of infrastructure damage across the world. Flooding can have a significant impact on personal property, commercial assets, and essential infrastructure, including power and gas delivery, and transportation. This paper focuses on the effects of flooding on transportation systems in the State of Iowa under a variety of flood scenarios, including 50, 100, 200, and 500-year return probabilities. We explore the impacts of flooding from institutional support (e.g., services including police, fire, and EMS) and general population (i.e., individuals distributed across cities) perspectives. Graph-theoretic methods are used in this study to determine the effects of flooding on road networks due to potential removal of paths that were once viable. This paper presents preliminary research into flood impacts on road infrastructure in Iowa and the development of an integrated real-time framework for analyzing those impacts. In future work, we plan to extend the framework developed in this study to provide a generalized decision-support system for cities and individuals. The framework will be open so city planners will be able explore "what if" flooding scenarios to find vulnerable areas and populations in their jurisdiction. These areas can be made more resilient to flooding effects by increasing the elevation of important roads, changing flow patterns, or increasing the height of bridges.
Algorithms for inferring multiple microbial networks

In this paper we consider the computational problem of inferring $K$ microbial networks from a given sample-taxa matrix. We recently proposed a mixture model framework to address this problem, where the taxa counts in each of the $K$ components is modeled using a Multivariate Poisson Log-Normal (MPLN) distribution, and such that the precision matrix of the distribution associated with each mixture component defines a separate microbial network. The parameters of our mixture model (MixMPLN) were estimated in a maximum likelihood framework setting, and our optimization algorithm was based on the Minorization-Maximization (MM) principle combined with gradient ascent and block updates. Here, we extend the application of the MM framework to propose two new algorithms for inferring $K$ microbial networks from a sample-taxa matrix. The first algorithm, MixGGM, applies a log-ratio transform to the sample-taxa count matrix and subsequently models the problem as a mixture of Multivariate Gaussian distributions. The second algorithm, MixMCMC, is based on the MixMPLN formulation but estimates a subset of the mixture parameters using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling strategy rather than by direct optimization. We also extend these algorithms to address the inference of sparse networks. We evaluate the performances of the three methods (MixMPLN, MixMCMC, and MixGGM) on synthetic datasets generated from a comprehensive collection of graph types (band, cluster, scale-free, and random). We also applied MixMPLN and MixGGM to a real dataset. The code and datasets are available on https://github.com/sahatava/MicNet.
Comparison of the effect of zinc and selenium preparation and zinc sulfate on antibiotic associated diarrhea

Objective To compare the effect of zinc and selenium preparation and zinc sulfate on antibiotic associated diarrhea in children. Methods From February 2014 to February 2015, 120 cases of antibiotic associated diarrhea were selected as the research objects. The 120 cases were randomly divided into the control group (60 cases) and observation group (60 cases), the control group were treated with zinc gluconate, the observation group were treated with zinc selenium. The efficiency of all the children, the related symptom disappearance time, diarrhea incidence was observed. Results The effective rate of the observation group was 96.67%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (70%). The vomiting, fever, diarrhea disappearance time in the observation group was significantly shorter than those in the control group. The incidence of diarrhea in the observation group (6.67%) was significantly lower than that in the control group (31.67%), the difference was significant (P<0.05). Conclusions Zinc and selenium has good clinical effect on antibiotic associated diarrhea. It is better than the zinc in the efficiency, the related symptoms disappearance time and the diarrhea incidence. Key words: Zinc and selenium preparation; Zinc sulfate; Antibiotic; Related diarrhea
Totally nonsymplectic Anosov actions on tori and nilmanifolds

We show that sufficiently irreducible totally non-symplectic Anosov actions of higher rank abelian groups on tori and nilmanifolds are C 1 -conjugate to actions by affine automorphisms.
Prehospital personnel discretion pediatric trauma team activations: Too much of a good thing?

Abstract Purpose Trauma team activation is essential to provide rapid assessment of injured patients, however excessive utilization can overburden systems. We aimed to identify predictors of over triage and evaluate impact of prehospital personal discretion trauma activations on the over triage rate. Methods Retrospective comparative study of pediatric trauma patients ( Results 1363 patients including 359 trauma team activations were evaluated. Median age was 6 years, Injury Severity Score (ISS) 4, 116 (8.5%) required operative intervention and 20 (1.4%) died. Matched analysis using age and ISS showed trauma activated patients were more likely to have penetrating MOI (4.7% vs.1.7%; p = 0.03) and need ICU admission(32.9% vs.16.7%; p = 0.0001). State of Florida discrete criteria based trauma activated patients when compared to paramedic discretion activations had a higher ISS (9 vs.5; p = 0.014), need for ICU admission (36.5% vs.20.4%; p = 0.004), ICU LOS(2 vs.0 days; p = 0.02), hospital LOS(2 vs.2 days; p = 0.014) and higher likelihood of death(4.9% vs.0%;p = 0.0001). Moreover, paramedic discretion trauma activated patients were similar to trauma consult patients in terms of ISS score(p = 0.86), need for ICU admission(p = 0.86), operative intervention(p = 0.86), death(p = 0.86) and hospital LOS(p = 0.86), with a considerably higher cost of care(p = 0.0002). Conclusion Discrete criteria-based trauma team activations appear to more reliably identify patients likely to benefit from initial multidisciplinary management.
COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion - What Do the Portuguese Think in This Time of COVID-19?

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to the global community, reinforcing the role of public health in society The main measures to combat it had (and still have) a huge impact on the daily lives of citizens This investigation aimed to identify and monitor the population's perceptions about how it faced this period and the impact on health, well-being, and daily life In this study, we describe the main trends observed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of mental health status, confidence in the capacity of the health services to respond to the pandemic, and the use of health services by participants The online survey collected responses from 171,947 individuals ≥16 years of age in Portugal, over a period of 15 weeks that started on 21 March 2020 Participants could fill the questionnaire once or weekly, which enabled us to analyse trends and variations in responses Overall, 81% of the respondents reported having felt agitated, anxious, or sad during the COVID-19 pandemic;19% did not experience these feelings During the confinement period, the proportion of participants feeling agitated, anxious, or sad every day/almost every day ranged between 20 and 30%, but since the deconfinement this proportion decreased Around 30% reported having more difficulty getting to sleep or to sleep all night;28 4% felt more agitated;25 5% felt sadder, discouraged, or cried more easily;and 24 7% felt unable to do everything they had to do, women more frequently than men Overall, 65 8% of the participants reported feeling confident or very confident in the health services' capacity to respond to the challenges associated with the pandemic, and this confidence increased over time Concerning the people who needed a consultation, 35 6% had one in person and 20 8% had one remotely, but almost 44% did not have one due to cancellation by the service (27 2%) or their own decision not to go (16 3%) At this unusual time in which we find ourselves and based on our findings, it is essential to continue monitoring how the population is facing the different phases of the pandemic until it officially ends Analysing the effects of the pandemic from the point of view of citizens allows for anticipating critical trends and can contribute to preventative action © 2021 American Medical Association All rights reserved
Hydroxocobalamin or Methylene Blue for Vasoplegic Syndrome in Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Objective To compare hydroxocobalamin and methylene blue for the treatment of vasopressor-refractory vasoplegic syndrome (VS) after adult cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Design A retrospective, propensity-matched, cohort study was performed. The primary endpoints were the percentage change in vasopressor use at 30, 60, and 120 minutes, characterized as both norepinephrine equivalents and vasoactive inotropic score. Eligible patients who received methylene blue were matched 3:1 with patients who received hydroxocobalamin based on sequential organ failure assessment score, preoperative mechanical circulatory support, CPB duration, and use of pre-CPB vasopressors, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or beta-blockers. Setting A quaternary care academic medical center. Participants Adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery with CPB from July 2013 to June 2019. Interventions Patients were included who received either hydroxocobalamin (5,000 mg) or methylene blue (median 1.2 mg/kg) for VS in the operating room during the index surgery or in the intensive care unit up to 24 hours after CPB separation. Measurements and Main Results Of the 142 included patients, 120 received methylene blue and 22 received hydroxocobalamin. After matching, 66 patients in the methylene blue group were included in the analysis. Baseline demographics, surgical characteristics, and vasoactive medications were similar between groups. There were no significant between-group differences in percentage change in norepinephrine equivalents or vasoactive inotropic score at each timepoint. Conclusions In adult patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery using CPB with VS, the ability to reduce vasopressor use was similar with hydroxocobalamin compared with methylene blue.
Excitable Membrane-Derived Lipid Mediators: Glutamate Release and Regulation of Gene Expression

Ischemia and seizures lead to the accumulation of free arachidonic (AA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA); diacylglycerol, due to activation of phospholipase A2; and phospholipase C. The platelet-activating factor (PAF) precursor, 1-alkyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerophosphocholine, is enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids such as the 2-acyl group. Under resting conditions PAF is undetectable in brain, but it accumulates after injury. The PAF antagonist BN 52021 elicits neuroprotection during brain ischemia-reperfusion and inhibits AA accumulation and inositol lipid degradation. This work led to the discovery of presynaptic PAF binding sites upon which the neuroprotective BN 52021 acts. PAF plays at least two major roles in the nervous system: as a modulator of synapse function and as a mediator of inflammation/injury. Depending upon the degree of neuronal activity, there appear to be roles, on the one hand, for PAF as a retrograde messenger in long-term potentiation, and, on the other hand, for PAF acting on neural responses to injury. PAF activates immediate-early gene expression through an intracellular PAF binding site. An early increase in inducible prostaglandin G/H synthase (TIS-10, COX-2) expression takes place after brain injury. The intracellular PAF antagonist BN 50730 inhibits this effect, as does dexamethasone. These PAF-mediated synaptic and gene expression events may represent intracellular pathways of signal transduction in repair, neuronal plasticity, and cell death. Moreover, these events may be involved in epileptogenesis and the remodeling of synaptic circuitry. Thus, excitable membrane-derived lipid mediators as new targets may be explored for pharmacological intervention in stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases, epileptic damage, neurotrauma, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Radio Waves from the Milky Way

Interstellar space in the Milky Way and in other galaxies radiates radio signals generated by cosmic ray electrons spiraling around magnetic field lines of force.Observations of such radio emissions allow the shape of the Galaxy to be derived and details of the center of the Milky Way are vividly revealed.
Strain-dependent decrease in glutamate binding to the N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor during aging.

Abstract Glutamate binding to the N- methyl- d -aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor decreases in two strains of aged mice. In BALB/c mice the B max values decline 16% by 10 months and 45% by 30 months of age when compared to 3 months. The K d increased more by 10 months (+ 29%) than by 30 months (+ 14%). In the C57B1 strain the B max was unaltered by 10 months but decreased 17% by 30 months. The K d values, however, increased 121% by 10 months and 283% by 30 months of age. These data suggest that the age-related decline in glutamate binding to the NMDA receptor may predict a strain-specific reduction in NMDA-mediated processes (e.g. long-term potentiation, postsynaptic calcium fluxes).
Three-dimensional imaging with arrays of geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes

We report 32x32 focal plane arrays comprising silicon Geiger-mode single-photon-sensitive photodiodes integrated with high-speed CMOS digital timing circuitry, and present three-dimensional imagery obtained from flash laser radar systems using these focal planes.
Chapter 7. Particle Beam Mass Spectrometry for the Identification of Environmental Contaminants and Agrochemicals

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on particle beam (PB) interfaces, which have several advantages over alternative interfacing of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with mass spectrometry (MS) for the analysis of less volatile compounds. The advantage lies in its simplicity of design and its independence of ionization options. Electron impact (EI) positive and negative chemical ionization (PCI and NCI), fast atom bombardment (FAB), and thermal surface ionization (TSI) are all accessible ionization techniques for PB/MS. The ability to collect EI mass spectral data on the analytes introduced into the MS source through the PB interface is one of its most attractive features. EI spectra are then available not only for library matching but also for the structure elucidation of unknowns based on well-rationalized EI fragmentation patterns. This chapter provides new practitioners with an understanding of the principles and pitfalls of the particle beam interface and current users with information about recent advances in the technique for potential application to their work.
On Simulated Annealing and Nested Annealing

Simulated Annealing is a family of randomized algorithms used to solve many combinatorial optimization problems. In practice they have been applied to solve some presumably hard (e.g., NP-complete) problems. The level of performance obtained has been promising [2,5,6,14]. The success of this heuristic technique has motivated analysis of this algorithm from a theoretical point of view. In particular, people have looked at the convergence of this algorithm. They have shown (see e.g., [10]) that this algorithm converges in the limit to a globally optimal solution with probability 1. However few of these convergence results specify a time limit within which the algorithm is guaranteed to converge (with some high probability, say). We present, for the first time, a simple analysis of SA that will provide a time bound for convergence with overwhelming probability. The analysis will hold no matter what annealing schedule is used. Convergence of Simulated Annealing in the limit will follow as a corollary to our time convergence proof. In this paper we also look at optimization problems for which the cost function has some special properties. We prove that for these problems the convergence is much faster. In particular, we give a simpler and more general proof of convergence for Nested Annealing, a heuristic algorithm developed in [12]. Nested Annealing is based on defining a graph corresponding to the given optimization problem. If this graph is `small separable', they [12] show that Nested Annealing will converge `faster'. For an arbitrary optimization problem, we may not have any knowledge about the `separability' of its graph. In this paper we give tight bounds for the `separability' of a random graph. We then use these bounds to analyze the expected behavior of Nested Annealing on an arbitrary optimization problem. The `separability' bounds we derive in this paper are of independent interest and have the potential of finding other applications.
Feasibility study for assessing liver fibrosis in paediatric and adolescent patients using real-time shear wave elastography

Introduction The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of shear wave elastography (SWE), as a non-invasive means of assessing liver fibrosis stage in paediatric and adolescent patients. Materials and Methods Consecutive paediatric and adolescent subjects scheduled for liver biopsy (LB) evaluation of known or suspected diffuse liver disease were included after informed guardian consent and subject assent in this IRB-approved single institution study. Elastograms were acquired prior to liver biopsy, from the liver under a breath-hold after normal inspiration when possible. Biopsy specimens underwent blinded pathologist review using the METAVIR scoring system. Results Twenty-four patients (M : F = 13:11) with a mean age of 17 years (range: 1–21 years) underwent liver biopsy. The distribution of fibrosis on pathological examination was: F0 = 10, F1 = 9, F2 = 1, F3 = 3, and F4 = 1. Subjects with stages F0 and F1 fibrosis had a mean SWE value of 6.93 kPa (95% CI: 6.33–7.44 kPa) and 8.33 kPa (95% CI: 6.83–10.80 kPa) respectively. The SWE value for the one subject with stage F2 fibrosis was 6.36 kPa, whereas for F3 and F4 were 8.86 (95% CI: 5.70–11.40) and 17.85 kPa respectively. The correlation between SWE values and fibrosis grade was strong (r = 0.58, P = 0.003), and the area under the ROC curve differentiatiang ≥F2 fibrosis was 0.62 (95% CI: 0.26–0.98). Conclusion Estimation of liver stiffness using real-time SWE is feasible using the SC6-1 ultrasound probe in paediatric and adolescent patients and strongly correlates with the stage of fibrosis.
Optically-powered wireless transmitter for high-temperature MEMS sensing and communication

A high-temperature low-power silicon-tunnel-diode-based oscillator transmitter with an on-board optical power converter is proposed for harsh environment MEMS sensing and wireless data transmission applications. The prototype sensing and transmitting module employs a MEMS silicon capacitive pressure sensor performing pressure to frequency conversion and a coil loop serving as the inductor of the LC tank resonator and also as a transmitting antenna. A GaAs photodiode converts an incoming laser beam to electrical energy to power the prototype. The system achieves a telemetry performance up to 250/spl deg/C over a distance of 1.5 meters with a transmitter power consumption of approximately 60 /spl mu/W.
Les enjeux de la recherche sur les montagnes en matière de terminologie et de connaissances : application à l'espace andin

Resume: L'histoire de la progressive emergence d'un savoir scientifique sur la montagne montre qu'il a parfois emprunte a la terminologie des savoirs locaux, mais qu'il a rarement ete capable de prendre en compte les singularites des milieux et des populations locales. L'influence des modeles dominants d'interpretation, souvent elabores dans les contextes europeens et nord-americains, a largement occulte les caracteristiques locales et certaines differences de nature fondamentales des montagnes tropicales. Ce court texte developpe cette question en insistant sur les lexiques et les concepts conceptuels adoptes pour rendre compte des Andes comme chaine de montagnes d'une part et, dans la partie equatoriale et tropicale de la cordillere, des forets et des prairies d'altitude. Par ailleurs, il justifie de cette necessaire integration de connaissances de nature tres differentes pour preconiser l'emergence d'un paradigme nouveau, la «montologie».
Noncoding transcription within the Igh distal V(H) region at PAIR elements affects the 3D structure of the Igh locus in pro-B cells.

Noncoding sense and antisense germ-line transcription within the Ig heavy chain locus precedes V(D)J recombination and has been proposed to be associated with Igh locus accessibility, although its precise role remains elusive. However, no global analysis of germ-line transcription throughout the Igh locus has been done. Therefore, we performed directional RNA-seq, demonstrating the locations and extent of both sense and antisense transcription throughout the Igh locus. Surprisingly, the majority of antisense transcripts are localized around two Pax5-activated intergenic repeat (PAIR) elements in the distal IghV region. Importantly, long-distance loops measured by chromosome conformation capture (3C) are observed between these two active PAIR promoters and Eμ, the start site of Iμ germ-line transcription, in a lineage- and stage-specific manner, even though this antisense transcription is Eμ-independent. YY1−/− pro-B cells are greatly impaired in distal VH gene rearrangement and Igh locus compaction, and we demonstrate that YY1 deficiency greatly reduces antisense transcription and PAIR-Eμ interactions. ChIP-seq shows high level YY1 binding only at Eμ, but low levels near some antisense promoters. PAIR–Eμ interactions are not disrupted by DRB, which blocks transcription elongation without disrupting transcription factories once they are established, but the looping is reduced after heat-shock treatment, which disrupts transcription factories. We propose that transcription-mediated interactions, most likely at transcription factories, initially compact the Igh locus, bringing distal VH genes close to the DJH rearrangement which is adjacent to Eμ. Therefore, we hypothesize that one key role of noncoding germ-line transcription is to facilitate locus compaction, allowing distal VH genes to undergo efficient rearrangement.
Tissue pH Monitoring Tracks Changes in Cardiac Output Following Endotoxin Administration

Abstract We studied the reliability of tissue pH monitoring in tracking changes in cardiac index (CI) following endotoxin administration in ten anesthetized dogs. CI fell significantly during the four hour study period. The changes observed in CI were closely reflected by changes in tissue pH, measured continuously by a probe that was inserted into the dogs' skin. In contrast, other more traditional hemodynamic monitors such as heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, and arterial and mixed venous blood pH failed to closely reflect the changes in CI. We conclude that tissue pH provides a valuable trend monitor at peripheral tissues where inadequate perfusion results in acid production and a low pH. The reliability and sensitivity of tissue pH monitoring in detecting changes in CI suggests that its use in clinical monitoring during unstable hemodynamic states such as endotoxemia should be considered.
Inflammatory interference of memory formation

CD8+ memory T cells are critical for immunity against intracellular pathogens. Epidemiological evidence demonstrates that bystander infection can impact immune responses to co-infection or vaccination. A recent paper in Immunity demonstrates that persistent bystander inflammation can negatively impact CD8+ T cell effector to memory transition and protection from subsequent infection.
Miscanthus and switchgrass feedstock potential for bioenergy and carbon sequestration on minesoils

Using biomass data derived from the literature in minesoils in the Appalachian region, if miscanthus and switchgrass were established in this land, it could potentially produce 340 and 118 million L yr−1 of bioethanol, respectively. However, in order to sustain long-term plant and soil productivity, potential losses from carbon inputs (net change of –55% and +20% for switchgrass and miscanthus, respectively) and plant nutrients (nitrogen removal of 20 and 110 kg ha−1 for switchgrass and miscanthus harvest in the fall, respectively) from land use changes and biomass removal must be offset by additional fertilization, ideally from organic fertilizers to enhance not only soil fertility, but soil structure and carbon sequestration.
Low-dose Conformal Radiation Therapy for Ipilimumab-induced Hypophysitis

Purpose/Objective(s): Ipilimumab is an immunostimulatory anti-CTLA 4 antibody that has been shown to improve survival in patients with metastatic melanoma. Unfortunately, 10-15% of patients treated with ipilimumab develop hypophysitis, which is often treated with systemic steroids or ipilimumab cessation or dose reduction. As these treatments are not optimal for patients who may be responding to ipilimumab, we present here our initial experience treating ipilimumab-induced hypophysitis with low-dose conformal radiation therapy. Materials/Methods: This is a single institution retrospective review of metastatic melanoma patients with ipilimumab-induced hypophysitis who were treated with low-dose pituitary radiation therapy. All patients had biochemical evidence of pituitary dysfunction and MRI features of hypophysitis, including diffuse pituitary enlargement and enhancement. Radiation therapy was linear accelerator-based and consisted of three daily 150 cGy fractions delivered using 6or 15-MV photons. The PTV consisted of the pituitary gland and a 0.5-1 cm margin, which was treated via a three or five field conformal plan. A thermoplastic mask was employed for immobilization. Clinical follow-up as well as preand post-treatment MRIs were used to evaluate treatment efficacy, with pituitary volumes calculated using the volumetric formula for an ellipsoid (4/3 x p x R1 x R2 x R3). Mean preand post-radiation therapy pituitary volumes were compared using the Student’s t-test. Results: Between September 10, 2010 and February 24, 2012, seven patients (3 women, 4 men) with a median age of 65 years (range, 39-88) were treated. At a median follow-up of 31 weeks (range, 1-77), no patients experienced acute radiation therapy toxicity or developed new symptoms following treatment. Mean preand post-radiation therapy pituitary volumes were 796.7 (range, 433.1-962.5) and 380.8 (range, 266.8-569.7) mm, respectively (p Z 0.005). Radiation therapy was delivered over a median of 5 days (range, 3-5) and without interruption in any patient. All patients who presented with generalized symptoms of fatigue, anorexia, and headache reported symptomatic improvement following treatment. Every patient who presented with a hormonal deficiency had persistent endocrine dysfunction at last follow-up. Conclusion: Low-dose conformal radiation therapy results in significant clinical improvement and radiographic response in patients with ipilimumab-induced hypophysitis, although there is no amelioration of endocrine dysfunction following treatment. This treatment represents a promising therapeutic option for patients with ipilimumab-induced hypophysitis whose survival may be adversely affected by treatment with systemic steroids or interference of ipilimumab administration. Additional exploration and follow-up is necessary to determine whether early treatment initiation can reverse endocrine dysfunction. Author Disclosure: P.L. Menzel: None. A. Geng: None. C. Marquez: None. M. Scala: None. D. Minor: None. R. Abendroth: None.
An Analysis of Swapping Policies in Virtual Storage Systems

An important resource allocation mechanism in virtual storage operating systems is the maintainence of the multiprogramming level in main storage, especially when some form of working-set storage management strategy is employed. Swapping of programs in and out of main memory occurs when sufficient storage becomes available and when total storage demand exceeds capacity. In this paper, we propose a class of swapping algorithms that couples storage management parameters with swapping decisions. An analytic model is developed and numerical results are presented to compare the performance of these algorithms.
Orthodromic production of non-cholinergic slow depolarizing response in the superior cervical ganglion of the rabbit.

1. A late slow depolarization in the rabbit superior cervical ganglion, recorded extracellularly as `late late negative' (l.l.n.) response, can be elicited by suitably repetitive stimulation of cervical sympathetic nerve. The l.l.n. response is not blocked by strong nicotinic, muscarinic or adrenergic antagonists; it appears with latencies in seconds, rise times in minutes, durations of up to 20 min or more, and extracellular amplitudes that can exceed 1 mV when recorded in an air-gap chamber. 2. The l.l.n. component is a graded post-synaptic response that decreases with a length constant similar to those of the known p.s.p.s (fast e.p.s.p., slow i.p.s.p., and slow e.p.s.p.). This and its other characteristics indicate that the l.l.n. response is neuronally generated and represents a non-cholinergic late slow depolarization. The term `slow slow e.p.s.p.' is suggested for this response, to replace both `slow depolarization' and `late slow e.p.s.p.'. 3. The amplitudes, evaluated relative to the compound action potentials, and the durations of l.l.n. responses recorded from intact neurones of rabbit superior cervical ganglion were considerably greater and more consistently producible than the non-cholinergic slow depolarizations recorded by others from impaled neurones of guinea-pig inferior mesenteric ganglion. 4. The l.l.n. response does not exhibit the special sensitivity to sodium azide previously found for the muscarinic `late negative' or slow e.p.s.p. response. 5. The total number of orthodromic volleys is the chief determinant of the amplitude and duration of the l.l.n. response. Increases in pulse frequency, with no change in pulse number, exert only a minor influence on amplitude and duration of the l.l.n. response but can markedly decrease latency and rise time. 6. Even very low pulse frequencies (e.g. 1/sec) are almost as effective as higher frequencies if a sufficiently large number of stimulus pulses is applied. 7. The features of orthodromic production of the l.l.n., slow slow e.p.s.p. response, as well as the amplitudes and durations of this depolarization, indicate that this non-cholinergic post-synaptic response could, like the muscarinic slow e.p.s.p., play a significant role in mediating physiological activities of sympathetic ganglia.
The challenge of challenge: Can problem solving opportunities enhance animal welfare?

Abstract Cognitive mechanisms are an important part of the organization of the behavior systems of animals. In the wild, animals regularly face problems that they must overcome in order to survive and thrive. Solving such problems often requires animals to process, store, retrieve, and act upon information from the environment—in other words, to use their cognitive skills. For example, animals may have to use navigational, tool-making or cooperative social skills in order to procure their food. However, many enrichment programs for captive animals do not include the integration of these types of cognitive challenges. Thus, foraging enrichments typically are designed to facilitate the physical expression of feeding behaviors such as food-searching and food consumption, but not to facilitate complex problem solving behaviors related to food acquisition. Challenging animals by presenting them with problems is almost certainly a source of frustration and stress. However, we suggest here that this is an important, and even necessary, feature of an enrichment program, as long as animals also possess the skills and resources to effectively solve the problems with which they are presented. We discuss this with reference to theories about the emotional consequences of coping with challenge, the association between lack of challenge and the development of abnormal behavior, and the benefits of stress (arousal) in facilitating learning and memory of relevant skills. Much remains to be done to provide empirical support for these theories. However, they do point the way to a practical approach to improving animal welfare—to design enrichments to facilitate the cognitive mechanisms which underlie the performance of complex behaviors that cannot be performed due to the restrictions inherent to the captive environment.
Vertical State Estimation for Aircraft Collision Avoidance with Quantized Measurements

A IR traffic control separation services rely on aircraft transponders to provide altitude information. The vast majority of general aviation aircraft today carries mode C transponders, which came into civilian use during the 1950s. Mode C transponders report their barometric altitude with 100 ft quantization. Large aircraft typically carrymode S transponders, which report altitudes with 25 ft quantization. Although 100 ft quantization is generally satisfactory for basic separation services, it makes last-minute collision avoidance difficult because of the need to accurately estimate the vertical rate of the aircraft to predict the future trajectories of the aircraft. During the development of the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) [1], the system nowmandatedworldwide on large aircraft, it was recognized that 100 ft quantization made rate estimation significantly more difficult. Although vertical rate could be tracked easily from 25 ft reports using a simple linear filter, 100 ft reports required the introduction of a complex nonlinear filter designed specifically for mode C tracking [2]. Even with the special nonlinear filter, simulation studies show that collision risk withmode C intruders is significantly greater than with an intruder with 25 ft quantization [3]. In the U.S. airspace, over 70% of the TCAS resolution advisories involve mode C aircraft. This note studies the safety and operational impact of improving collision avoidance involving intruders with 100 ft encoding. The trackers embedded in TCAS were designed to produce single point estimates of the vertical rate, but recent analysis has shown that collision avoidance performance can be greatly improved if state uncertainty is taken into account [4]. Adapting TCAS to accommodate covariance information is far from straightforward, but recent research has investigated a decision-theoretic approach that naturally accommodates state uncertainty as a probability distribution [5]. This new approach is being used to develop the next generation of TCAS [6]. Different state estimation techniques have been developed for quantized measurements. The Kalman filter can be used by treating the quantization as Gaussian noise and using the Sheppard correction [7]. Curry et al. show how to update state estimates using knowledge that the observation is quantized [8]. This approach requires numerical approximation. Sviestins andWigren developed a method from the Fokker–Planck equation under the assumption of constant rate [9]. A particle filter can accommodate quantization but with additional computational cost and certification challenges [10]. This note compares the tracking performance of the TCAS nonlinear filter against several different filters. The Kalman filter and the modified Kalman filter are integrated into the next-generation TCAS logic, and the performance is evaluated on both operational radar data and a high-fidelity airspace encounter model [11]. Experiments reveal that adding a couple checks can further improve performance of the modified Kalman filter.
Acetanilide 4-hydroxylase and acetanilide 2-hydroxylase activity in hepatic microsomes from induced mice

Abstract A simple and sensitive method for the separation of 14 C-labelled acetanilide, 4-hydroxyacetanilide, 3-hydroxyacetanilide and 2-hydroxyacetanilide was developed using thin-layer chromatography. This separation is the basis for the assay of acetanilide 4-hydroxylase and acetanilide 2-hydroxylase activity in liver microsomes from DBA2/N male mice that had been treated with phenobarbital, 3-methylcholanthrene isosafrole or n -butylbenzodioxole. Microsomes were incubated with [ 14 C]acetanilide and extracted with benzene and ethyl acetate. The extract was applied to silica gel plates and developed with a hexane/isopropanol/ammonium hydroxide/water solvent system. The radiolabelled phenolic metabolites and the parent compound were detected using a Berthold Automatic TLC Linear Analyzer. Although the 4-hydroxylated metabolite was the primary product detected, this method can be used to detect other phenolic metabolites.
Interframe hierarchical vector quantization using hashing-based reorganized codebook

Real-time multimedia communication over PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) or wireless channel requires video signals to be encoded at the bit rate well below 64 kbits/second. Most of the current works on such very low bit rate video coding are based on H.261 or H.263 scheme. The H.263 encoding scheme, for example, consists mainly of motion estimation and compensation, discrete cosine transform, and run and variable/fixed length coding. Vector quantization (VQ) is an efficient and alternative scheme for coding at very low bit rate. One such VQ code applied to video coding is interframe hierarchical vector quantization (IHVQ). One problem of IHVQ, and VQ in general, is the computational complexity due to codebook search. A number of techniques have been proposed to reduce the search time which include tree-structured VQ, finite-state VQ, cache VQ, and hashing based codebook reorganization. In this paper, we present an IHVQ code with a hashing based scheme to reorganize the codebook so that codebook search time, and thus encoding time, can be significantly reduced. We applied the algorithm to the same test environment as in H.263 and evaluated coding performance. It turned out that the performance of the proposed scheme is significantly better than that of IHVQ without hashed codebook. Also, the performance of the proposed scheme was comparable to and often better than that of the H.263, due mainly to hashing based reorganized codebook.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.