cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Controlled release of a heterogeneous human placental matrix from PLGA microparticles to modulate angiogenesis

A significant hurdle limiting musculoskeletal tissue regeneration is the inability to develop effective vascular networks to support cellular development within engineered constructs. Due to the inherent complexity of angiogenesis, where multiple biochemical pathways induce and control vessel formation, our laboratory has taken an alternate approach using a matrix material containing angiogenic and osteogenic proteins derived from human placental tissues. Single bolus administrations of the human placental matrix (hPM) have been shown to initiate angiogenesis but vascular networks deteriorated over time. Controlled/sustained delivery was therefore hypothesized to stabilize and extend network formation. To test this hypothesis, hPM was encapsulated in degradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles to extend the release period. Microparticle preparation including loading, size, encapsulation efficiency, and release profile was optimized for hPM. The angiogenic cellular response to the hPM/PLGA-loaded microparticles was assessed in 3D alginate hydrogel matrices seeded with primary human endothelial cells. Results show an average microparticle diameter of 91.82 ± 2.92 μm, with an encapsulation efficiency of 75%, and a release profile extending over 30 days. Three-dimensional angiogenic assays with hPM-loaded PLGA microparticles showed initial stimulation of angiogenic tubules after 14 days and further defined network formations after 21 days of culture. Although additional optimization is necessary, these studies confirm the effectiveness of a novel controlled multi-protein release approach to induce and maintain capillary networks within alginate tissue scaffolds.
The Cosmetic Gaze: Body Modification and the Construction of Beauty

Book Review Editor: Roxanne O'ConnellBernadette WegensteinThe Cosmetic Gaze: Body Modification and the Construction of Beauty240 pagesCambridge, MA: The MIT Press • 2012While the male gaze is under...
Air-to-Air Missile Maximum Launch Range Modeling using a Multilayer Perceptron

In many aerospace research and training applications, high fidelity virtual flight simulation is necessary to provide the pilot with the most realistic environment possible. This need for realism may extend to all aspects of the simulation from the out-the-window (OTW) scene to the models being used to represent aircraft, missiles, ground assets, and other mission relevant agents. This work investigates the use of an artificial neural network (ANN), in particular a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), to perform function approximation on truth data representing a simulated air-to-air missile’s (AAM) weapon engagement zone (WEZ) maximum launch range. The WEZ of an air-to-air missile represents the missile’s engagement capabilities for a one-vs-one air-to-air combat engagement, which is displayed to the pilot via a heads up display. The intent is for the network to fuse table lookup and interpolation functionality into a physically compact and computationally efficient package, while improving approximation accuracy over conventional methods. Data was collected from simulated firings of a notional air-to-air missile model and used to train a three layer perceptron using the Bayesian regularization backpropagation training algorithm. The resulting best network was able to improve approximation accuracy and reduce the amount of truth data needed. With basic feasibility established, future efforts can be focused on more comprehensive comparisons with existing methods, deployment within practical models, and extension to other types of launch acceptability region (LAR) calculations.
The Use of an Electronic Spreadsheet to Solve Linear and Non-Linear “Stochastic” Feed Formulation Problems

Abstract Typical linear programming models used by the feed industry for ration formulation include no features to account for variability in ingredient composition. Average composition values are input; therefore, the confidence in meeting nutrient restrictions is 50%. Commercial feed formulation software is available that contains non-linear “stochastic” models capable of meeting nutrient restrictions with any specified level of confidence. Such stochastic models require mean and variance values for the nutrient composition of each ingredient. Commercial stochastic programming software was offered for sale in the Spring of 1997 for $18.000. We show here how to solve the problem with spreadsheet software available for personal computers at a cost of under $300 (
Photoresist Stripping Using a Remote Plasma: Chemical and Transport Effects

Photoresist removal from silicon substrates has been achieved by a dry processing method using a plasma remote from the substrate to produce active species. Although the principal gas used is oxygen, the addition of small amounts of other gases (N 2 O, HCI, HBr, H 2 , Cl 2 , CF 4 , and CHF 3 ) has been shown to significantly enhance resist removal. The measured temperature dependences indicate that the effect of these additives may be a combination of oxygen atom production enhancement by neutral and ionic mechanisms as well as independent reaction with the resist.
Greenbug Resistance to Organophosphorous Insecticides on the Texas High Plains

Resistance to disulfoton in populations of Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) was suspected following failure to obtain adequate control in grain sorghum grown in the Texas High Plains. Laboratory tests confirmed the finding of resistance to disulfoton and demonstrated a decrease in susceptibility of ca. 30-fold. For a greenbug population from Lubbock an LC50 of 0.24 and LC90 of 0.50 ppm at 48 h was determined. For greenbugs from the Edmonson area these values were LC50 = 8.16 and LC90 = 13.88 ppm at 48 h. The organophosphate-resistant green-bugs are designated as Biotype D.
A Conjectured Analogue of Rolle's Theorem for Polynomials with Real or Complex Coefficients

(1986). A Conjectured Analogue of Rolle's Theorem for Polynomials with Real or Complex Coefficients. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 93, No. 1, pp. 8-13.
In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy of Cadmium Selenide Nanorod Sublimation

In situ electron microscopy is used to observe the morphological evolution of cadmium selenide nanorods as they sublime under vacuum at a series of elevated temperatures. Mass loss occurs anisotropically along the nanorod’s long axis. At temperatures close to the sublimation threshold, the phase change occurs from both tips of the nanorods and proceeds unevenly with periods of rapid mass loss punctuated by periods of relative stability. At higher temperatures, the nanorods sublime at a faster, more uniform rate, but mass loss occurs from only a single end of the rod. We propose a mechanism that accounts for the observed sublimation behavior based on the terrace–ledge–kink (TLK) model and how the nanorod surface chemical environment influences the kinetic barrier of sublimation.
Mind-Movies: Original Authorship as Applied to Works From "Mind-Reading" Neurotechnology

U.S. courts frequently analyze new technology under copyright law. Over the years, the courts have applied copyright law to photographic cameras, computer programs, digital video recorders, and much more. However, a recent breakthrough in the neuroscience community may force judges to apply copyright standards in an unorthodox fashion. A group of researchers at UC Berkeley devised a process that reconstructs video sequences from the human brain, essentially creating a movie from the person’s mind. As this neurotechnology develops, it is uncertain how judges will apply copyright law to content taken directly from the brain. Nevertheless, this Article argues that such content meets the originality standard under U.S. copyright law. Specifically, videos taken from the brain are original to the author based on the author’s unique visual experiences and unique mental processes. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Analysis, modeling, emergence & integration in complex systems: A modeling and integration framework & system biology: Research Article

Analysis and Modeling is the first “phase” of understanding or developing a system. It is also, maybe more importantly, the foundation of understanding a natural science or system. It's abstract and conceptually difficult but, being foundational, contributes the most to the quality of understanding of (designed or natural) systems. Complex Systems have a natural hierarchy of levels and multiple subsystems. The character and functionality of each level or subsystem “emerges” across its boundaries. Both sides of these boundaries must be understood within that side's natural thought patterns. Integrated interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for making sense of complex systems; but collaboration among disciplines is difficult, because of their different ways of thinking. This creates a dilemma, “understanding complex systems” is one horn; “integrated interdisciplinary collaboration” is the other. This dilemma in complex system analysis/modeling and interdiscipline collaboration, is currently addressed by “grabbing the bull by the horns.” This takes on this doubly complex problem, by painstakingly building up abstract “bull wrestling” skills in and across domains and disciplines. There's another wrinkle; complexity requires interdisciplinary collaboration at deeper, more dissimilar, levels. The usual approach, finding a way to “pass between the horns of the dilemma” will not work here, due to this cross coupling. Rather than trying to pass between the horns, by abstracting away the coupling, we overtly organizing this coupling. We weave a semantic unification space of conceptual connections linking each side of a boundary to its appropriate way of thinking. This allows us to abstracting away the dilemma and iron out the wrinkle. The threads of common image schemas, cognitive metaphors and conceptual interfaces, weave a bridge between the semantics foundations and organizations of each problem. These allow addressing the problems synergistically. This paper presents and explores a naturally valid way for discipline specific and discipline integrating addressing complex systems. We start with the methodological insights from analysis and modeling from the perspective of object orientation, with its ontologies, organizing lexical semantics. We advance from there by integrating in imagistic, imaginative semantics and affordance based interaction methodology, as the keys to addressing complex systems analysis, modeling and integration. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2007 This paper was submitted as an invited paper resulting from the “Understanding Complex Systems” conference held at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, May 2005
Protection of mice from lethal doses of methotrexate by transplantation with transgenic marrow expressing drug-resistant dihydrofolate reductase activity.

Marrow cells from previously established lines of transgenic mice expressing either of two different methotrexate (MTX)-resistant dihydrofolate reductases (DHFRs) were transplanted into recipient animals to determine the resultant in vivo protective effect against toxicity associated with MTX administration. Sublethally irradiated, untransplanted animals were first used to establish conditions of low- dose MTX administration resulting in substantial hematopoietic toxicity with undetectable gastrointestinal toxicity. Under these conditions, low survival rates were observed for normal or transgenic animals not expressing drug-resistant DHFR activity, whereas transgenic animals expressing either the arg22 (line 04) or trp31 (line 03) DHFR variants survived. Transplantation of 10(6) marrow cells from either transgenic lines 03 or 04 rescued normal FVB/N recipient animals from low-dose MTX administration, which was lethal for animals transplanted with 10(6) normal FVB/N marrow cells. Reduced survival of transgenic line 04 marrow recipients was observed when twofold or fourfold doses of MTX were administered. However, when 10(7) transgenic line 04 marrow cells were infused, the recipients were found to be resistant to a MTX dose that was not only lethal for animals transplanted with 10(7) normal FVB/N marrow cells, but also lethal for normal, untransplanted FVB/N mice. Histologic analysis showed protection of both marrow and gastrointestinal tissues from MTX toxicity in transgenic line 04 marrow transplant recipients. Thus, exclusive expression of MTX-resistant DHFR activity in the marrow had a substantial, systemic chemoprotective effect in animals, which could be applied for improved utilization of MTX for antitumor chemotherapy.
Automatic Uncovering of Tap Points from Kernel Executions

Automatic uncovering of tap points (i.e., places to deploy active monitoring) in an OS kernel is useful in many security applications such as virtual machine introspection, kernel malware detection, and kernel rootkit profiling. However, current practice to extract a tap point for an OS kernel is through either analyzing kernel source code or manually reverse engineering of kernel binary. This paper presents AutoTap, the first system that can automatically uncover the tap points directly from kernel binaries. Specifically, starting from the execution of system calls (i.e., the user level programing interface) and exported kernel APIs (i.e., the kernel module/driver development interface), AutoTap automatically tracks kernel objects, resolves their kernel execution context, and associates the accessed context with the objects, from which to derive the tap points based on how an object is accessed (e.g., whether the object is created, accessed, updated, traversed, or destroyed). The experimental results with a number of Linux kernels show that AutoTap is able to automatically uncover the tap points for many kernel objects, which would be very challenging to achieve with manual analysis. A case study of using the uncovered tap points shows that we can use them to build a robust hidden process detection tool at the hypervisor layer with very low overhead.
DPP8 and DPP9 inhibition induces pro-caspase-1-dependent monocyte and macrophage pyroptosis

Inhibitors of the post-proline-cleaving serine proteases DPP8 and DPP9 trigger a lytic form of programmed cell death called pyroptosis by activating pro-caspase-1 without autoproteolysis.
The Effect of Pain Catastrophizing on Outcomes: A Developmental Perspective Across Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Chronic Pain

Abstract Pain catastrophizing is one of the most powerful predictors of poor outcomes in youth and adults with pain; however, little is known about differential effects of pain catastrophizing on outcomes as a function of age. The current study examined the predictive value of pain catastrophizing on pain interference and pain intensity across children, adolescents, and 2 age groups of young adults with chronic pain. Cross-sectional data are presented from the adult and pediatric Collaborative Health Outcomes Information Registry (CHOIR), including measures of pain catastrophizing, pain intensity, pain interference, and emotional distress from 1,028 individuals with chronic pain. Results revealed that age moderated the relation between pain catastrophizing and pain interference, with the strength of these effects declining with age. The effect of pain catastrophizing on pain interference was strongest in adolescents and relatively weak in all 3 other groups. Emotional distress was the strongest predictor of pain interference for children, whereas pain intensity was the strongest predictor for both adult groups. Pain catastrophizing was found to predict pain intensity and, although age was a significant moderator, statistical findings were weak. Developmental considerations and clinical implications regarding the utility of the construct of pain catastrophizing across age groups are discussed. Perspective This article explores differences in pain catastrophizing as predictors of pain interference and pain intensity across cohorts of children, adolescents, and 2 age groups of young adults. This work may stimulate further research on chronic pain from a developmental perceptive and inform developmentally tailored treatment interventions that target catastrophizing, emotional distress, and pain intensity.
Synthetic Biodegradable Microparticle and Nanoparticle Vaccines against the Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Synthetic biodegradable microparticle and nanoparticle platform technology provides the opportunity to design particles varying in composition, size, shape and surface properties for application in vaccine development. The use of particle vaccine formulations allows improvement of antigen stability and immunogenicity while allowing targeted delivery and slow release. This technology has been design to develop novel vaccines against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection in infants. In the last decade, several nano- and micro-sized RSV vaccine candidates have been developed and tested in animal models showing promising results. This review provides an overview of recent advances in prophylactic particle vaccines for RSV and the multiple factors that can affect vaccine efficacy.
Pose estimation for contact manipulation with manifold particle filters

We investigate the problem of estimating the state of an object during manipulation. Contact sensors provide valuable information about the object state during actions which involve persistent contact, e.g. pushing. However, contact sensing is very discriminative by nature, and therefore the set of object states that contact a sensor constitutes a lower-dimensional manifold in the state space of the object. This causes stochastic state estimation methods, such as particle filters, to perform poorly when contact sensors are used. We propose a new algorithm, the manifold particle filter, which uses dual particles directly sampled from the contact manifold to avoid this problem. The algorithm adapts to the probability of contact by dynamically changing the number of dual particles sampled from the manifold. We compare our algorithm to the conventional particle filter through extensive experiments and we show that our algorithm is both faster and better at estimating the state. Unlike the conventional particle filter, our algorithm's performance improves with increasing sensor accuracy and the filter's update rate. We implement the algorithm on a real robot using commercially available tactile sensors to track the pose of a pushed object.
Monte Carlo Simulation for Reliability Physics Modeling and Prediction of Scaled (100 nm) Silicon Mosfet Devices

Since the early 1970’s, silicon integrated circuit technology has been propelled by continual and successful efforts to reduce the active channel length of MOSFET devices [1–3]. This exercise in scaling provides the framework that has produced increases in the density of devices on a chip, increases in device frequency response and operating speed, and increases in the precision required to achieve more complex systems with greater functionality and performance. Today, devices with channel lengths well below 100 nm have been produced in many research laboratories, and the downward scaling trends of the past twenty years are expected to persist at the same pace until at least the 40 nm generation in manufacturing [1], or about the year 2015. This level of technology is expected to correspond to 128 GBit DRAMs and 28 Ggate microprocessors with five times the clock frequency and 1/9 the power consumption of today’s devices, all operating at a power supply voltage of around 0.5 V.
Growing and slowing down like China

This article is based on the presidential address delivered at the EEA Annual Congress 2016. It discusses China’s institutional and economic transformation through the lens of the model of growth and convergence developed in Acemoglu, Aghion, and Zilibotti (JEEA 2006), which emphasizes the dichotomy between investment- and innovation-led growth. The economic reforms introduced in the 1980s and 1990s have enabled the Chinese economy to grow at historically unprecedented rates through fostering investment, reallocation, and technology adoption from abroad. The Chinese stimulus package introduced in 2008 appears to have prolonged the longevity of China’s investment-driven growth beyond its optimal point. Over the last decade, China has activated the engine of innovation-led growth. The article discusses the virtues and limits of such ongoing transition, based on research in progress using firm-level data on R&D and productivity growth. Finally, it provides an appraisal of the institutional and policy reforms that are necessary for China to continue on its path of rapid convergence.
Redevelopment in California: Its Abrupt Termination and a Texas-Inspired Proposal for a Fresh Start

This paper describes how redevelopment in California came to an end with the California Supreme Court’s decision in California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos and how redevelopment could be resuscitated. The first part of the paper highlights the precipitating events leading up to the case: California’s unique property tax history, the successes and drawbacks of redevelopment, how redevelopment is financed, and the text and politics of Proposition 22, the state constitutional predicate for the Court’s opinion. The second section describes the arguments and outcome of the case in which the Court upheld a statute dissolving redevelopment agencies (RDAs) and simultaneously struck down a companion bill — a “pay-to-stay” law — that would have enabled cities and counties to preserve their RDAs by pledging local funds to the state. A concluding section proposes that California legislators consider a new redevelopment enabling law, modeled along the lines of Texas’s tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZs). Such a statute would conform to the guidelines for constitutionality from the concluding paragraph of the Court’s opinion in Matosantos, and it would be fiscally responsible because it limits the use of tax increment financing.
G208 An Innovative and Effective Model of Completing WPBAs- CbD (Case Based Discussion) Clinics

Objective PaedCbD is a workplace based assessment tool for paediatric trainees that has been designed to assess clinical reasoning and decision-making. Trainees survey highlighted that often trainees felt difficulties in completing the assessments on a regular basis and many WBPAs work place based assessments were completed immediately prior to ARCP. It also appeared that same consultants were carrying out the assessments with junior doctors. Methodology We developed a clinic model for carrying out the assessments. all consultants in general paediatrics and all paediatric subspecialties were approached to offer a dedicated 1 PA annual session for this. An electronic booking system was developed with consultant CBD clinic dates and timeslots whereby trainees could self-book specified timeslot. Frequent email reminders were sent to the trainees informing them of the available clinic slots. Results We had a very positive response from both the consultants and trainees. Trainees liked the electronic system as they found it easier than approaching consultants directly for appointments and felt assured the session would happen and necessary forms be completed. Consultants enjoyed these sessions as they had allocated time to spend with the trainees without any disruption and it felt less pressured than in the pre ARCP timeframe. Trainees particularly appreciated the opportunity to discuss subspecialty cases with specialist consultants. Conclusion This was a successful endeavour. We have run 43 clinics in 1 year period with 13 in first 6 months and 30 in the second 6 months. The clinic model seems to have established well and continuing to expand. Currently all the clinics are fully booked and the clinics are spread throughout the year. General feedback has been most of the trainees are undertaking their assessments in timely fashion in line with their college recommendations. We are hoping to continually improve this model and expand it to do other types of WPBAs as well.
Regional Variations of Medicare Physician Payments for Hand Surgery Procedures in the United States.

Background Medicare reimbursement is known to exhibit geographic variation for inpatient orthopedic procedures. This study determined whether US geographic variations also exist for commonly performed hand surgeries. Methods Using the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data (2012-2013) from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, we analyzed regional physician charges/payments for common outpatient hand surgeries. Results The most commonly performed procedures in the United States were open carpal tunnel release (n = 21 944), trigger finger release (n = 15 345), endoscopic carpal tunnel release (n = 7106), and basal joint arthroplasty/ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition (n = 2408). A range of average Medicare physician reimbursements existed based on geographic region for basal joint arthroplasty ($669-$571), endoscopic carpal tunnel release ($400-$317), open carpal tunnel release ($325-$261), and trigger finger release ($215-$167). The latter three exhibited statistically significant variation across geographic regions with regard to both charges and physician reimbursement. However, the overall percentage physician reimbursement (70%-79%) to charges was similar across all geographic regions. Conclusions In conclusion, further research is warranted to determine why regional or geographic variations in physician payments exist in the United States for commonly performed hand surgeries.
One icon, two audiences: how the Denver Art Museum used their new building to both brand the city and bolster civic pride

Iconic architecture can draw global attention while simultaneously speaking to local audiences. In 2006, the Denver Art Museum opened an iconic new wing that help brand the city as a cultural city for both external and internal audiences. Based on analysis of interviews with stakeholders and archival documents, this paper demonstrates that the Hamilton Building project was used both to brand the city for potential tourists and to engender civic pride in Denver residents. This research provides a complex understanding of what roles iconic architecture plays in a city.
Racial disparities in healthcare provider advice to quit smoking

Abstract African-American/Black smokers are less likely than White smokers to be told to quit smoking by healthcare providers. This preliminary study examined the predictors of being told to quit separately by race for the first time to potentially highlight the source of this racial disparity. A random, household sample of 1670 Black and White adults from a southeastern county of the United States completed a brief survey on their demographics, smoking, access to healthcare, health status, and receipt of healthcare provider advice to quit smoking. Analyses are based on the 512 Black and White smokers in that sample. The logistic regression for all smokers revealed that after controlling for demographic, healthcare, and health status variables, White smokers were 2.39 times more likely than Black smokers to have ever been told to quit smoking. The regression for Black smokers revealed that women and older people were more likely to be told to quit, and that healthcare and health status did not contribute. In the regression for White smokers, no predictor was statistically significant. These findings suggest that one possible reason that African-Americans receive cessation advice less often than Whites is that such advice varies with their age and gender, whereas for Whites this is not the case.
Social Workers, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), and Client Financial Concerns

ABSTRACTThe negative impact of financial abuse on intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors is well researched (Babcock, Waltz, Jacobson, & Gottman, 1993), however literature indicating how often s...
Some Structural Aspects of the Antigenic O-Polysaccharide Components of Salmonella Somatic Lipopolysaccharides

The lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of Salmonella are not only the most abundant but also the most extensively studied outer membrane constituents of this genus because, in common with the LPSs produced by other gram-negative bacteria, these macromolecules induce a myriad of biological effects many of which are important in the pathogenesis of infections with few exceptions, LPSs have toxic properties and are often referred to as endotoxins.
Utilization of data mining techniques to detect and predict accounting fraud: a comparison of neural networks and discriminant analysis

Accounting information systems enable the process of internal control and external auditing to provide a first-line defense in detecting fraud (Turpen & Messina, 1997). There are few valid indicators at either the individual or the organizational level which are reliable indicators of fraud prevention (Groveman, 1995). Recent studies have shown that it is nearly impossible to predict fraud. In fact, many of the characteristics associated with white-collar criminals are precisely the traits which organizations look for when hiring employees (Lord, 1997). This paper proposes the use of information systems to deal with fraud through proactive information collection, data mining, and decision support activities.
Vision readiness of the reserve forces of the U.S. Army.

In 1996 and 1997, the Army conducted an exercise to assess the ability to rapidly mobilize the reserve forces. In accordance with Army requirements, each soldier was evaluated to determine if he or she met vision and optical readiness standards. Of the 1,947 individuals processed through the optometry section, 40% met vision requirements without correction and 32% met vision requirements with their current spectacles. The remaining 28% required examination. A major impediment to processing reserve units for deployment is the lack of vision and optical readiness. In the mobilization for the Persian Gulf War, significant delays were incurred because of the time required to perform eye examinations and fabricate eyewear. However, as a result of this exercise, current prescriptions will be available in the event of mobilization. To ensure readiness, all units should perform such exercises periodically.
Understanding Motivation and Schooling: Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Where We Need to Go

This paper presents an interpretive summary of the progress that has been made in the study of motivation, especially as this work relates to the area of education. Motivation research has “come of age” with theoretical frameworks rooted in an established body of findings, and with the development of core methodologies for pursuing further knowledge. It has begun to provide a firm base for guiding educational practice. Current work is clearly in accord with mainstream psychology in that cognitive models of motivation are the predominant guides for research. Future work is likely to focus increasingly on how the meaning construction process affects engagement in tasks. Researchers should consider a wider array of research procedures and give greater attention to understanding motivation as it occurs in natural settings, especially as educational interventions are attempted. A serious deficiency in the motivation literature is that relatively little attention has been given to differences related to sociocultural backgrounds.
Insights into the Function of the N-Acetyltransferase SatA That Detoxifies Streptothricin in Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus anthracis

Acylation of epsilon amino groups of lysyl side chains is a widespread modification of proteins and small molecules in cells of all three domains of life. Recently, we showed that Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus anthracis encode the GCN5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) SatA that can acetylate and inactivate streptothricin, which is a broad-spectrum antibiotic produced by actinomycetes in the soil. To determine functionally relevant residues of B. subtilis SatA (BsSatA), a mutational screen was performed, highlighting the importance of a conserved area near the C terminus. Upon inspection of the crystal structure of the B. anthracis Ames SatA (BaSatA; PDB entry 3PP9), this area appears to form a pocket with multiple conserved aromatic residues; we hypothesized this region contains the streptothricin-binding site. Chemical and site-directed mutagenesis was used to introduce missense mutations into satA, and the functionality of the variants was assessed using a heterologous host (Salmonella enterica). Results of isothermal titration calorimetry experiments showed that residue Y164 of BaSatA was important for binding streptothricin. Results of size exclusion chromatography analyses showed that residue D160 was important for dimerization. Together, these data advance our understanding of how SatA interacts with streptothricin.IMPORTANCE This work provides insights into how an abundant antibiotic found in soil is bound to the enzyme that inactivates it. This work identifies residues for the binding of the antibiotic and probes the contributions of substituting side chains for those in the native protein, providing information regarding hydrophobicity, size, and flexibility of the antibiotic binding site.
RE-INITIATION OF GUIDELINE-DIRECTED CHRONIC CARDIAC MEDICATIONS IS LIMITED POST-DISCHARGE AMONG CARDIAC INTENSIVE CARE SURVIVORS

Discontinuation of beta blockers (BB) and/or renin-angiotensin aldosterone antagonists (RAAS) during heart failure (HF) admissions is associated with increased mortality. Nonetheless, BB & RAAS discontinuation remains a common occurrence, but the reasons for discontinuations are under-defined.
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND AGENCIES Georgia Bureau of Investigation: Clarify Procedures for Submission of Bar Applicants' Fingerprints for Criminal Background Checks

The Act gives the Georgia Crime Information Center the responsibility of receiving fingerprints from bar applicants and submitting these fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Act also removes the restriction on the use of information obtained by the background check.
Current Status on Population Genome Catalogues in different Countries

Genomics has become indispensable for research in the last two decades. Completed and ongoing genome projects such as the UK Biobank, ICGC, TCGA and GenomeAsia100K have helped to understand several life-threatening diseases like cancer. Such initiatives from different countries have offered genomics-based diagnostics along with glues for therapies towards personalized healthcare. The Indian Agencies has started initiatives to catalogue the genome sequences of 20,000 individuals. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) along with other scientific agencies has plans to sequence 10,000 healthy individuals and 10,000 diseased individuals. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) also developed the "IndiGen" genome project where genome sequences for 1008 individuals are made available in Phase I. This will enable the development of a genome catalogue to introduce novel genomics-based clinical applications in future healthcare plan.
O01.1 Genetic similarity of gonococcal homologs to meningococcal outer membrane proteins of serogroup B vaccine

Background Human pathogens, Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) and N. meningitidis (Nm), share high genome similarity. Retrospective analysis of surveillance data in New Zealand suggests cross-protection against Ng infections conferred by serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) outer membrane vesicle (OMV)-based vaccine. We explored the possible cross-protective mechanisms against gonorrhea conferred by the licensed multicomponent 4CMenB (BexseroTM) vaccine containing NZ98/254 OMVs. Methods A dataset of 970 Ng genomes of isolates collected from the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project sites across the United States was analyzed to identify common proteins present in both Ng and NmB, and assess the sequence diversity of vaccine antigens and OMV components between the two bacteria, and within the Ng strains. Bioinformatics tools were applied to predict the subcellular localization of each identified common protein. Results We found 1525 common proteins shared by both Neisseria species, of which 59 were predicted as outer membrane proteins (OMPs). The 4CMenB vaccine antigen NhbA showed moderate sequence identity (73%) to the respective gonococcal homologs, and was highly conserved within Ng. The gonococcal FHbp was predicted as not being surface-expressed, while NadA was absent in all the Ng isolates. The immunodominant OMV protein PorA was present in nearly all Ng isolates, but harbored deletions in the promoter regions, preventing its transcription. Noteworthy, OMPs including FetA, PilQ, Omp85, RmpM, LbpA and TonB-dependent receptors, previously identified and abundantly expressed in the NZ98/254 OMV, displayed ≥93% sequence identity between Nm and Ng, and were highly conserved within Ng. Conclusion Our results provide a better understanding of the OMPs present in the OMV of the 4CMenB vaccine. These OMPs may contribute to the observed cross-protection, and can serve as potential antigen targets for guiding the next steps of gonorrhea vaccine development. Disclosure No significant relationships.
Probing Gas-Phase-Clustering Thermodynamics with Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry: Association Energies of Phenylalanine Ions with Gas-Phase Alcohols.

Vapor assisted mobility shift measurements were made with atmospheric pressure drift-tube ion mobility–mass spectrometry (IM–MS) to determine the thermodynamic properties of weakly bound ion–molecu...
Rhizosphere Microbiomes in a Historical Maize/Soybean Rotation System respond to Host Species and Nitrogen Fertilization at Genus and Sub-genus Levels

Abstract Root associated microbes are key players in plant health, disease resistance, and nitrogen (N) use efficiency. It remains largely unclear how the interplay of biological and environmental factors affects rhizobiome dynamics in agricultural systems. Here, we quantified the composition of rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial communities associated with maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) in a long-term crop rotation study under conventional fertilization and low N regimes. Over two growing seasons, we evaluated the effects of environmental conditions and several treatment factors on the abundance of rhizosphere and soil colonizing microbial taxa. Time of sampling, host plant species and N fertilization had major effects on microbiomes, while no effect of crop rotation was observed. Using variance partitioning as well as 16S sequence information, we further defined a set of 82 microbial genera and sub-genus groups that show distinct responses to treatment factors. We identified taxa that are highly specific to either maize or soybean rhizospheres, as well as taxa that are sensitive to N fertilization in plant rhizospheres and bulk soil. This study provides insights to harness the full potential of soil microbes in maize and soybean agricultural systems through plant breeding and field management.
Disentangling placebo effects in the treatment of migraine.

A new meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antibodies for migraine has shown that the direct biological effects of these treatments beyond the effects of placebo are modest, raising questions about how the ‘true value’ of these and other drugs are assessed.
Lactobacillus plantarum 299v probiotic supplementation in men with stable coronary artery disease suppresses systemic inflammation

Recent trials demonstrate that systemic anti-inflammatory therapy reduces cardiovascular events in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. We recently demonstrated Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (Lp299v) supplementation improved vascular endothelial function in men with stable CAD. Whether this favorable effect is in part due to anti-inflammatory action remains unknown. Testing this hypothesis, we exposed plasma obtained before and after Lp299v supplementation from these subjects to a healthy donor’s PBMCs and measured differences in the PBMC transciptome, performed gene ontological analyses, and compared Lp299v-induced transcriptome changes with changes in vascular function. Daily alcohol users (DAUs) (n = 4) had a significantly different response to Lp299v and were separated from the main analyses. Non-DAUs- (n = 15) showed improved brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and reduced circulating IL-8, IL-12, and leptin. 997 genes were significantly changed. I.I.com decreased (1.01 ± 0.74 vs. 0.22 ± 0.51; P < 0.0001), indicating strong anti-inflammatory effects. Pathway analyses revealed downregulation of IL-1β, interferon-stimulated pathways, and toll-like receptor signaling, and an increase in regulator T-cell (Treg) activity. Reductions in GBP1, JAK2, and TRAIL expression correlated with improved FMD. In non-DAU men with stable CAD, post-Lp299v supplementation plasma induced anti-inflammatory transcriptome changes in human PBMCs that could benefit CAD patients. Future studies should delineate changes in circulating metabolites responsible for these effects.
Over 30% of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Focused on Rotator Cuff Tear Treatments Contained Spin in the Abstract.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of spin in the abstracts of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on treatments for rotator cuff tears and whether various study and publishing journal characteristics were associated with the presence of spin. Methods A search strategy was developed for Ovid MEDLINE and Ovid Embase to retrieve systematic reviews focused on treatments for rotator cuff tears. For an article to be included, it must meet the following criteria: (1) the article must be a systematic review with or without a meta-analysis, (2) the article must pertain to the treatment of rotator cuff tears, (3) the article must only contain human subjects, and (4) the article must be accessible in English. Systematic reviews were analyzed for spin using a previously developed classification scheme in a masked, duplicate manner. Binary logistic regression was used to examine independent associations via unadjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals between the presence of spin and study characteristics. Results Search queries returned 932 articles, of which 121 systematic reviews and meta-analyses were eligible. A total of 36.4% (44/121) of systematic reviews contained spin. Among the general characteristics evaluated, there were no correlations with spin. Conclusions Spin was present in more than one-third of systematic reviews and meta-analyses covering rotator cuff tear treatments. Spin was not associated with any general study or journal characteristics, which indicates that clinicians must be aware of the potential presence of spin in all such abstracts. Clinical Relevance Clinicians rely on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, especially abstracts of these articles, to provide succinct guidance on best practices in patient care. The presence of spin could adversely affect patient care; thus, steps should be taken to improve the reporting quality of abstracts on rotator cuff tear treatment.
Coupled Newton–Krylov Time-Spectral Solver for Flutter and Limit Cycle Oscillation Prediction

Flutter and limit cycle oscillation (LCO) are important phenomena that need to be considered in aircraft design. Previous harmonic-balance-based flutter and LCO prediction methods either have low l...
Performance Analysis of Scientific Computing Workloads on General Purpose TEEs

Scientific computing sometimes involves computation on sensitive data. Depending on the data and the execution environment, the HPC (high-performance computing) user or data provider may require confidentiality and/or integrity guarantees. To study the applicability of hardware-based trusted execution environments (TEEs) to enable secure scientific computing, we deeply analyze the performance impact of general purpose TEEs, AMD SEV, and Intel SGX, for diverse HPC benchmarks including traditional scientific computing, machine learning, graph analytics, and emerging scientific computing workloads. We observe three main findings: 1) SEV requires careful memory placement on large scale NUMA machines (1×–3.4× slowdown without and 1×–1.15× slowdown with NUMA aware placement), 2) virtualization—a prerequisite for SEV— results in performance degradation for workloads with irregular memory accesses and large working sets (1×–4× slowdown compared to native execution for graph applications) and 3) SGX is inappropriate for HPC given its limited secure memory size and inflexible programming model (1.2×–126× slowdown over unsecure execution). Finally, we discuss forthcoming new TEE designs and their potential impact on scientific computing.
A value-based approach for training of classifiers with high-throughput small molecule screening data

In many practical applications of machine learning, models are built using experimental data that are noisy, biased and of low quality. Binary classifiers trained with such data have low performance in independent and prospective tests. This work builds upon techniques for the estimation of the value of training data and evaluates a batch-based data valuation. Comparative experiments conducted in this work with seven challenging benchmarks, demonstrate that classification performance can be improved by 10% to 25% in independent tests, using value-based training of classifiers. Additionally, between 97% to 100% of class labels can be detected among low-valued training samples. Finally, results show that simpler and faster learning methods, such as generalized linear models, perform as well as complex gradient boosting trees when training data comprises only the high-valued samples extracted from high-throughput small molecule screens.
Data-driven phase recognition of steels for use in mechanical property prediction

Abstract This paper develops a deep learning scheme of phase recognition for steel materials. A convolutional neural network classifier is established, such that the martensite phase, which has a substantial impact on the mechanical properties of steels, can be recognized from microstructure images and its volumetric fraction can also be estimated from multi-phase microconstituents. The testing results on an ultrahigh carbon steel dataset proved that the developed scheme has a rational phase recognition accuracy. The estimated martensite fraction can be used as an essential feature to predict the mechanical properties of materials in additive manufacturing.
CD63+ and MHC Class I+ Subsets of Extracellular Vesicles Produced by Wild-Type and CD47-Deficient Jurkat T Cells Have Divergent Functional Effects on Endothelial Cell Gene Expression

T cells and endothelial cells engage in bidirectional communication that regulates angiogenesis and T cell transmigration. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate intercellular communication by the transfer of bioactive molecules including RNAs. EVs produced by a given cell type are heterogeneous in their RNA content, but it is unclear how specific EV surface markers relate to their functional effects on target cells. Our previous work established that Jurkat T cell EVs bearing CD63, MHC-I, or CD47 surface markers contain distinct noncoding RNA populations. The present study reveals that CD63+ and MHC-I+ EVs from CD47-deficient Jurkat T cells are enriched in small non-coding RNAs relative to EVs from wild-type Jurkat T cells. CD47-deficient Jurkat T cells secrete more CD63+ and MHC-I+ EVs, but MHC-I+ EVs are selectively taken up more by human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Transcriptomics analysis of endothelial cells treated with CD63+ or MHC-I+ EVs showed surface marker- and CD47-dependent changes in gene expression in the target cells. Gene set enrichment analysis identified CD47-dependent, and surface marker-dependent effects of T cell EVs on VEGF and inflammatory signaling, cell cycle, and lipid and cholesterol metabolism. Thus, subsets of T cell EVs differentially regulate endothelial cell metabolism and inflammatory and angiogenic responses.
Recurrent Ovarian Cancer — Sculpting a Promising Future with Surgery

The combination of surgery and chemotherapy is a hallmark of the management of ovarian cancer.1 Although surgery is an integral component of management of this disease, its role in recurrent diseas...