cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radiation dose reduction in chest dual-energy computed tomography: effect on image quality and diagnostic information

Abstract Objective: To determine whether dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) of the chest can be performed at a reduced radiation dose, with an emphasis on images generated with post-processing techniques. Materials and Methods: In 21 patients undergoing DECT of the chest in a dual-source scanner, an additional image series was acquired at a reduced radiation dose. Four thoracic radiologists assessed both image series for image quality, normal thoracic structures, as well as pulmonary and mediastinal abnormalities, on virtual monochromatic images at 40 keV and 60 keV. Data were analyzed with Student's t-test, kappa statistics, analysis of variance, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The overall image quality of 60 keV virtual monochromatic images at a reduced radiation dose was considered optimal in all patients, and no abnormalities were missed. Contrast enhancement and lesion detection performance were comparable between reduced-dose images at 40 keV and standard-of-care images at 60 keV. The intraobserver and interobserver agreement were both good. The mean volumetric CT dose index (CTDIvol), size-specific dose estimate (SSDE), dose-length product (DLP), and effective dose (ED) for reduced-dose DECT were 3.0 ± 0.6 mGy, 4.0 ± 0.6 mGy, 107 ± 30 mGy.cm, and 1.5 ± 0.4 mSv, respectively. Conclusion: DECT of the chest can be performed at a reduced radiation dose (CTDIvol < 3 mGy) without loss of diagnostic information.
Cardiovascular Complications of Cancer Therapy: Best Practices in Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management: Part 2.

Abstract In this second part of a 2-part review, we will review cancer or cancer therapy–associated systemic and pulmonary hypertension, QT prolongation, arrhythmias, pericardial disease, and radiation-induced cardiotoxicity. This review is based on a MEDLINE search of published data, published clinical guidelines, and best practices in major cancer centers. Newly developed targeted therapy can exert off-target effects causing hypertension, thromboembolism, QT prolongation, and atrial fibrillation. Radiation therapy often accelerates atherosclerosis. Furthermore, radiation can damage the heart valves, the conduction system, and pericardium, which may take years to manifest clinically. Management of pericardial disease in cancer patients also posed clinical challenges. This review highlights the unique opportunity of caring for cancer patients with heart problems caused by cancer or cancer therapy. It is an invitation to action for cardiologists to become familiar with this emerging subspecialty.
233) Conditional Knockout of Prdm12 from Sensory Neurons in Mice Recapitulates Aspects of Human Congenital Insensitivity to Pain

Painful conditions are a huge medical burden with an estimated prevalence of 32% of the population, and an economic cost of $635 billion, or 4% of the GDP. Currently, the best available medical analgesics are opioids, but due to their vast side effect profile and risk of overdose, these are far from ideal drugs. Recently, the study of genetic mutations leading to congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP) has resulted in submission of novel drugs to the FDA for clinical trial. Here, we show our work on one such mutation of the gene Prdm12. We first characterized the expression pattern of Prdm12 within different sensory neurons present in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) by performing in-situ hybridization paired with immunohistochemistry, and found it to be expressed in both myelinated and unmyelinated small-diameter axons of the thoracic and lumbar DRGs. We then generated a new strain of mice in which Prdm12 has been conditionally knocked out of neurons in DRG and cranial ganglia, and subjected these mice to a variety of behavioral assays alongside littermate controls. We have shown that the Prdm12cKO mice have reduced sensitivity to nociceptive thermal and mechanical stimuli, and correlated this with a decrease in the number of pain-sensitive IB4+ and CGRP+ Aδ and C fibers in the DRG. We believe that further study of this mouse model, along with investigation of the downstream effectors and genomic targets of PRDM12, will provide a new avenue for the pursuit of analgesic drug discovery.
A Financial Analysis of Procedural Revenue in Outpatient Spine Clinic: An Analysis of 36,312 Patient Appointments and Subsequent Surgeries at a Single Major Academic Institution.

Objective The economic pressures widely discussed in health care have a large impact on spine practices. This current study is the first to look at characteristics associated with revenues from an outpatient spine clinic. Methods All clinic visits to spine providers were identified at a single academic institution spanning the dates June 1, 2014, to June 1, 2018. All payment information was calculated using Medicare reimbursement values for Current Procedural Terminology codes. Relevant clinical, surgical, and cost structure data was collected for each patient. Results On average, providers had 21.9 average appointments over the course of 7.6 hours per clinic day. The average ratio of new to follow-up patients was 39.3%, with an average new patient to surgery conversion rate of 15.0%. The adjusted average total procedural revenue per new patient, controlled for scheduled appointment length and actual appointment length, was $686.02. The adjusted average procedural revenue per surgery was $3444.64 and average procedural revenue per hour in spine clinic was $552.40. With a 1% and 5% increase in new patient visits, total procedural revenue increases 2.7% and 13.5%, respectively. With a 1% and 5% increase in conversion rate, total procedural revenue increases 6.7% and 33.3%, respectively. With a decrease in new patient appointment length from 30 minutes to 25 minutes, the opportunity for 1.7 new patient appointments per day was created resulting in a net increase in procedural revenue per clinic day of $837.57. Conclusions Incremental changes in practice structure can significantly affect procedural revenue. Significant heterogeneity also exists among spine providers.
The Semiannual and 4.4-Year Modulations of Extreme High Tides

In most places extreme high tides undergo a clear seasonal variation. It is well known that semidiurnal tides tend to peak during equinox seasons, and diurnals during solstice seasons. This is a consequence of the solar and lunar declinations, which when large maximize diurnal tides at the expense of semidiurnals. The semiannual range modulation of tidal extremes for a pure semidiurnal tide is determined mainly by the amplitude of the K2 constituent; a pure diurnal is determined mainly by P1. Mixed tidal regimes tend to experience maxima very roughly around the times of solstice, but not always, with the semiannual modulation generally a complicated function of constituent amplitudes and phases. These modulations are here mapped worldwide by analyzing tidal extremes predicted with a global tide model. The known 4.4-year modulation in extreme tides is a consequence of declinational and perigean effects coming in and out of phase. The phase of the 4.4-year modulation is controlled by the phase of the semiannual modulation, irrespective of whether the tide is diurnal, semidiurnal, or mixed.
Templated Synthesis of Polymer-Based Yolk/Shell Particles with Tunable Morphologies

Polymer-based yolk/shell particles with functional components, including porous shells, removable shells, hollow cavities, or functional cores, are of potential utility in many contexts. We report ...
A Compact Device for the Integrated Filtration, Drying, and Mechanical Processing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients.

Abstract Recent changes in the pharmaceutical sector call for the development of novel manufacturing approaches to reduce costs and improve control over product quality. In this area, the development of compact, plug-and-play devices that fit in a continuous manufacturing system has gained interest in recent years. Most Nutsche filters offer a versatile solution as compact filtration and drying devices. However, conventional drying processes tend to generate a large amount of lumps, usually requiring further mechanical processing of the isolated drug substance before it can be formulated. In this work, we present a compact, automatable filtration device that takes advantage of a unique impeller design and in situ measurements of the drying heat duty to integrate mechanical processing into the drying step. By preventing the formation of dry lumps during drug substance drying, and breaking needle-like crystals through the developed agitation program, the resulting powder can be directly used for tablet formulation. This device, designed to fit in a compact continuous manufacturing module, has the potential to reduce manufacturing costs and footprint, while allowing for the low-shear mechanical processing of heat-sensitive compounds.
Pseudo CT Image Synthesis and Bone Segmentation From MR Images Using Adversarial Networks With Residual Blocks for MR-Based Attenuation Correction of Brain PET Data

For photon attenuation correction, current positron emission tomography systems combined with magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MR) imaging systems typically use methods based on MR image segmentation with subsequent assignment of empirical attenuation coefficients in PET image reconstruction. Delineation of bone in MR images has been challenging, especially in the head and neck areas, due to the difficulty of separating bone from air. In this article, we study deep learning techniques that assist the MR-based attenuation correction (MRAC) process for PET/MR systems, with focus on the brain region. We use a generative adversarial network (GAN) with residual blocks in a conditional setting for this task. We studied the performance of the designed network on image translation and segmentation tasks, which are essential for MRAC. For both tasks, the network generates pseudo CT images that resemble real CT images with normalized pixel value difference of around 5% and structural similarity (SSIM) index of around 0.8.
Investigation of the mumps outbreak in a school

Objective To analyze the epidemiologic feature of mumps outbreak in a school of Beijing and assess vaccine effectiveness of mumps containing vaccine.Methods Descriptive epidemiological method was used to describe the epidemiological characteristics of this outbreak and vaccine coverage.Vaccine effectiveness was calculated by mumps attack rate of students.Results 15 students were infected and the attack rate was 2.4％.Coverage rate of one and two doses mumps containing vaccine were 82.4％ and 32.8％,separately.Vaccination time was more than 5 years in 93.5％ of students.Conclusions The main reasons of outbreak were low coverage of two doses vaccine and long time after immunization.To reduce mumps incidence and control outbreak,it was important to strengthen schools inspected vaccination certificate,improve vaccination rate,and carry out emergency vaccination timely and effectively. Key words: Mumps; Outbreak ; Vaccine
Male-Dependent Promotion of Colitis in 129 Rag2-/- Mice Co-Infected with Helicobacter pylori and Helicobacter hepaticus.

The prevalence of gastric Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is ~50% of the world population. However, how Hp infection influences inflammatory bowel disease in humans is not fully defined. In this study, we examined whether co-infection with Hp influenced Helicobacter hepaticus (Hh)-induced intestinal pathology in Rag2-/- mice. Rag2-/- mice of both sexes were infected with Hh, of which a subgroup was followed by infection with Hp two weeks later. Co-infected males, but not females, had significantly higher total colitis index scores in the colon at both 10 and 21 weeks post-Hh infection (WPI) and developed more severe dysplasia at 21 WPI compared with mono-Hh males. There were no significant differences in colonization levels of gastric Hp and colonic Hh between sexes or time-points. In addition, mRNA levels of colonic Il-1β, Ifnγ, Tnfα, Il-17A, Il-17F, Il-18, and Il-23, which play important roles in the development and function of proinflammatory innate lymphoid cell groups 1 and 3, were significantly up-regulated in the dually infected males compared with mono-Hh males at 21 WPI. These data suggest that concomitant Hp infection enhances the inflammatory responses in the colon of-Hh-infected Rag2-/- males, which results in more severe colitis and dysplasia.
The Impact of Airport Noise and Proximity on Residential Property Values

The hedonic price method is used to estimate the relationship between residential property values and airport noise and proximity to the airport in the Reno-Sparks area. Empirical results suggest there is a statistically significant negative relationship between airport noise and residential property values, with the average home in areas where noise levels are 65 decibels or high selling for about $2400 less than equivalent homes in quieter areas. However, in direct contrast to the study by Tomkins et al.(1998) who found proximity to the Manchester airport to be an amenity, this study finds proximity to the Reno-Sparks airport to have a significant negative value.
Teaching Responsible Data Science: Charting New Pedagogical Territory

Although an increasing number of ethical data science and AI courses is available, with many focusing specifically on technology and computer ethics, pedagogical approaches employed in these courses rely exclusively on texts rather than on algorithmic development or data analysis. In this paper we recount a recent experience in developing and teaching a technical course focused on responsible data science, which tackles the issues of ethics in AI, legal compliance, data quality, algorithmic fairness and diversity, transparency of data and algorithms, privacy, and data protection. Interpretability of machine-assisted decision-making is an important component of responsible data science that gives a good lens through which to see other responsible data science topics, including privacy and fairness. We provide emerging pedagogical best practices for teaching technical data science and AI courses that focus on interpretability, and tie responsible data science to current learning science and learning analytics research. We focus on a novel methodological notion of the object-to-interpret-with, a representation that helps students target metacognition involving interpretation and representation. In the context of interpreting machine learning models, we highlight the suitability of “nutritional labels”—a family of interpretability tools that are gaining popularity in responsible data science research and practice.
The Profound Impact of COVID-19 on the Dental Profession

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the world in unprecedented ways. It is clear that this pandemic, unlike any public health challenge in recent memory, has the potential to fundamentally alter the delivery of many healthcare services, including dentistry. As evidence-based information on COVID-19 continues to emerge, this article serves as a means to disseminate current opinions, management strategies, and the impact of COVID-19 on dentistry.
Ultrafast THz modulators with WSe2 thin films: erratum

We correct three labeling errors, one in Fig. 4(a), and the other two in Section 3.2 of the manuscript text [Opt. Mater. Express9, 826 (2019)10.1364/OME.9.000826].
The efficacy of γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor (GABA AR) subtype-selective positive allosteric modulators in blocking tetramethylenedisulfotetramine (TETS)-induced seizure-like behavior in larval zebrafish with minimal sedation.

The chemical threat agent tetramethylenedisulfotetramine (TETS) is a γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor (GABA AR) antagonist that causes life threatening seizures. Currently, there is no specific antidote for TETS intoxication. TETS-induced seizures are typically treated with benzodiazepines, which function as nonselective positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of synaptic GABAARs. The major target of TETS was recently identified as the GABAAR α2β3γ2 subtype in electrophysiological studies using recombinantly expressed receptor combinations. Here, we tested whether these in vitro findings translate in vivo by comparing the efficacy of GABAAR subunit-selective PAMs in reducing TETS-induced seizure behavior in larval zebrafish. We tested PAMs targeting α1, α2, α2/3/5, α6, s2/3, s1/2/3, and δ subunits and compared their efficacy to the benzodiazepine midazolam (MDZ). The data demonstrate that α2- and α6-selective PAMs (SL-651,498 and SB-205384, respectively) were effective at mitigating TETS-induced seizure-like behavior. Combinations of SB-205384 and MDZ or SL-651,498 and 2-261 (s2/3-selective) mitigated TETS-induced seizure-like behavior at concentrations that did not elicit sedating effects in a photomotor behavioral assay, whereas MDZ alone caused sedation at the concentration required to stop seizure behavior. Isobologram analyses suggested that SB-205384 and MDZ interacted in an antagonistic fashion, while the effects of SL-651,498 and 2-261 were additive. These results further elucidate the molecular mechanism by which TETS induces seizures and provide mechanistic insight regarding specific countermeasures against this chemical convulsant.
Industry Adaptability Index: A New All-Time High

The evaluation of the Industry Adaptability (‘Normality’) Index for Q3 2017 shows that the Index continued to grow, hitting a new historical all-time high. Seventy nine percent of Russian enterprises said they were adapted to the current stage of economic development and considered their status as “normal” at this stage.
Psychosocial and Patient Support Services in Comprehensive Cancer Centers

Patient support and psychosocial services are an important aspect of cancer care. Comprehensive cancer centers need to provide a spectrum of these services to provide high-quality and holistic care to cancer patients. Provision of these services begins from the time of diagnosis, continues through cancer treatment, and then subsequently transitions to survivorship or end-of-life phase. Examples of these services include psychological assessment and management, patient navigation, care coordination, genetic counseling, and complementary medicine. Survivorship care is an important aspect of patients’ experience during their cancer journey and beyond. This chapter discusses key psychosocial and supportive care services that are recommended for cancer centers that strive to provide comprehensive cancer care to their patients.
Tropical Cyclone Structure and Intensity Change

Abstract : The long-term goals of this research are to understand the nature of the interactions between a tropical cyclone and its larger scale environment, and the impact of these interactions on tropical cyclone structure and intensity.
Convalescent transfusion for pandemic influenza: preparing blood banks for a new plasma product?

Due to the potential of a severe pandemic to limit efficacy or availability of medical countermeasures, some researchers have begun a search for new interventions that could complement the planned antiviral- and vaccine-based response to an influenza pandemic. One such countermeasure—the transfusion of pandemic influenza-specific antibodies from surviving patients to the clinically ill—is the focus of this commentary. Passive immunotherapy, which includes the use of monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs), hyperimmune globulin, or convalescent plasma, had been used before the advent of antibiotics and has recently reentered the limelight due to the accelerating development of MoAb therapies against cancer, a number of microbes, allograft rejection, and a host of other conditions. After the plausible biologic mechanism and somewhat limited data supporting the efficacy for this modality against influenza are reviewed, safety and logistical concerns for utilization of this potential new product (fresh convalescent plasma against influenza [FCP-Flu]) are discussed. FCP-Flu could indeed prove useful in a response to a pandemic, but two necessary items must first be satisfied. Most importantly, more research should be conducted to establish FCP-Flu efficacy against the current and other pandemic strains. Second, and also importantly, blood banks and donor centers should examine whether offering this new product would be feasible in a pandemic and begin planning before a more severe pandemic forces us to respond without adequate preparation.
Enhancing the economics of photovoltaics through the use of advanced PV technologies and high value applications

Summary form only given, as follows. There have been major improvements in the cost, efficiency and reliability of PV systems over the last two decades. Despite impressive progress, the cost of PV energy is still higher than traditional grid electricity (at grid accessible locations). Grid electricity typically costs between 5 and 15 cents per kilowatt-hour. Whereas, PV energy currently costs from about 20 to 50 cents per kilowatt-hour depending on the solar resource availability, the PV technology, and the system design features. For PV to be cost competitive with grid power requires continued improvement in PV technologies that further reduce the cost as well as the use of higher-value PV applications (such as building integrated PV products or local reliability enhancement) that take advantage of an ancillary benefit of onsite PV generation. This presentation discusses some of the emerging PV technologies and the use of higher-value ancillary service applications that can make a difference in the economic viability of PV.
Why are Stock Buyback Announcements Good News

The positive stock price reaction to stock buyback announcements reported in many previous studies is commonly interpreted as a signal that the firm's future profitability will rise, or that the firm is decreasing its agency costs by dispersing free cash flow, or that the firm is increasing its leverage toward a more optimal capital structure. We examine a sample of 7,079 buybacks (open market and tender offers) announced between 1981 and 1995, and follow each firm for five years after their buyback announcement. Consistent with prior work, we find that our sample firms repurchase most (and more in many cases) of the shares that they target in their announcements. We also find, however, that our sample firms issue shares following buyback announcements. In fact, our average sample firm increases its shares outstanding 23.73 percent following its buyback announcement, and our typical sample firm has an insignificant change of -0.88 percent. With no change in shares outstanding, our results are generally not supportive of commonly accepted buyback theories. For example, we find no consistent evidence of positive long-term abnormal operating performance or stock returns following buybacks; we also find no consistent evidence of a decrease in cash flow from financing, or an increase in the firm's debt ratio or default risk. Instead, we find that the buying and selling of their own shares that firms do following buyback announcements increases their stock's liquidity and this explains the positive stock price reaction to these announcements.
B Lymphocytes Differentially Influence Acute and Chronic Allograft Rejection in Mice

The relative contributions of B lymphocytes and plasma cells during allograft rejection remain unclear. Therefore, the effects of B cell depletion on acute cardiac rejection, chronic renal rejection, and skin graft rejection were compared using CD20 or CD19 mAbs. Both CD20 and CD19 mAbs effectively depleted mature B cells, and CD19 mAb treatment depleted plasmablasts and some plasma cells. B cell depletion did not affect acute cardiac allograft rejection, although CD19 mAb treatment prevented allograft-specific IgG production. Strikingly, CD19 mAb treatment significantly reduced renal allograft rejection and abrogated allograft-specific IgG development, whereas CD20 mAb treatment did not. By contrast, B cell depletion exacerbated skin allograft rejection and augmented the proliferation of adoptively transferred alloantigen-specific CD4 + T cells, demonstrating that B cells can also negatively regulate allograft rejection. Thereby, B cells can either positively or negatively regulate allograft rejection depending on the nature of the allograft and the intensity of the rejection response. Moreover, CD19 mAb may represent a new approach for depleting both B cells and plasma cells to concomitantly impair T cell activation, inhibit the generation of new allograft-specific Abs, or reduce preexisting allograft-specific Ab levels in transplant patients.
A Spontaneous Low-Pathogenic Variant of Theiler’s Virus Contains an Amino Acid Substitution within the Predominant VP1233–250 T-Cell Epitope

Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) induces immune-mediated demyelination after intracerebral inoculation of the virus into susceptible mouse strains. We isolated from a TMEV BeAn 8386 viral stock, a low-pathogenic variant which requires greater than a 10,000-fold increase in viral inoculation for the manifestation of detectable clinical signs. Intracerebral inoculation of this variant virus induced a strong, long-lasting, protective immunity from the demyelinating disease caused by pathogenic TMEV. The levels of antibodies to the whole virus as well as to the major linear epitopes were similar in mice infected with either the variant or wild-type virus. However, persistence of the variant virus in the central nervous system (CNS) of mice was significantly lower than that of the pathogenic virus. In addition, the T-cell response to the predominant VP1 (VP1233–250) epitope in mice infected with the variant virus was significantly weaker than that in mice infected with the parent virus, while similar T-cell responses were induced against another predominant epitope (VP274–86). Further analyses indicated that a change of lysine to arginine at position 244 of VP1, which is the only amino acid difference in the P1 region, is responsible for such differential T-cell recognition. Thus, the difference in the T-cell reactivity to this VP1 region as well as the low level of viral persistence in the CNS may account for the low pathogenicity of this spontaneous variant virus.
Determinants of Ship Accident Seaworthiness

This study investigates determinants of the seaworthiness of ships involved in accidents, utilizing detailed data of individual tanker, container and bulk ship (U.S. and foreign) accidents investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard. Ordered probit estimation results suggest that ship accident seaworthiness: 1) increases with ship size; 2) is greater if the ship is classified by the American Bureau of Shipping and manned by a licensed operator; and 3) is less for a tanker ship, for multi-ship accidents, at higher winds, if the weather is foggy, and for collision, fire/explosion and material/equipment failure accidents than for groundings. Estimated marginal ship accident seaworthiness probabilities suggest that policies that reduce fire/explosion and material/equipment failure accidents and increase the manning of ships by licensed operators are likely to be efficacious in improving ship accident seaworthiness.
A generalization of the Peano-Baker method

Abstract An improvement of the Peano-Baker iterative method (matrizant method) for solving a system of first order linear differential equations with variable coefficients is presented. The new method utilizes the structure of the matrix of coefficients to define iterative schemes which may converge much more rapidly than the traditional method.
Enhancement in hydrogen storage in carbon nanotubes under modified conditions

We investigate the hydrogen adsorbing characteristics of single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through fundamental molecular dynamics simulations that characterize the role of ambient pressure and temperature, the presence of surface charges on the CNTs, inclusion of metal ion interconnects, and nanocapillary effects. While the literature suggests that hydrogen spillover due to the presence of metallic contaminants enhances storage on and inside the nanotubes, we find this to be significant for alkali and not transition metals. Charging the CNT surfaces does not significantly enhance hydrogen storage. We find that the bulk of the hydrogen storage occurs inside CNTs due to their nanocapillarity effect. Storage is much more dependent on external thermodynamic conditions such as the temperature and the pressure than on these facets of the CNT structure. The dependence of storage on the external thermodynamic conditions is analyzed and the optimal range of operating conditions is identified.
Role of glutathione modulation in acrylonitrile-induced gastric DNA damage in rats

Acrylonitrile (VCN) or its reactive metabolites irreversibly interact with gastric DNA in vivo and cause DNA damage. The effect of glutathione (GSH) modulation on VCN-induced genotoxicity and unscheduled DNA repair synthesis (UDRS) in DNA of gastric mucosal tissues was investigated. VCN-induced UDRS was determined: in control rats, rats with depleted gastric GSH contents, and rats treated with sulfhydryl compounds. A single oral dose (23 mg/kg) of VCN induced a time-and dose-dependent increase in gastric UDRS and decrease in GSH levels. While maximal UDRS in gastric mucosa was observed 2 h following oral administration of 23 mg/kg VCN, maximal GSH depletion (50% of control) was detected 4 h following treatment. Increasing the VCN dose to 46 mg/kg caused a further decrease in gastric GSH level (27% of control), while UDRS was elevated. Inhibition of VCN oxidation by treatment of the animals with the cytochrome P450 inhibitor, SKF 525-A, prior to VCN administration caused 65% reduction in VCN-induced UDRS. Treatment of rats with the GSH depletor diethylmaleate (DEM) prior to VCN administration caused 167% increase in UDRS in gastric mucosal tissues. Treatment of the animals with the sulfhydryl compounds, cysteine and penicillamine, prior to VCN administration protected against VCN-induced UDRS. The results demonstrated an inverse and highly significant correlation between gastric GSH levels and VCN-induced UDRS (r=−0.873, P<0.0001). In conclusion, our study indicates that VCN bioactivation and the homeostasis of gastric GSH may play a major role in the initial processes underlying VCN-induced gastric carcinogenesis.
A comprehensive platform for ex vivo T-cell expansion based on biodegradable polymeric artificial antigen-presenting cells.

Efficient T-cell stimulation and proliferation in response to specific antigens is a goal of immunotherapy against infectious disease and cancer. Manipulation of this response can be accomplished by adoptive immunotherapy involving the infusion of antigen-specific T-cell populations expanded ex vivo with antigen presenting cells. We mimicked physiological antigen presentation on a biodegradable microparticle constructed from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), a polymer system whose safety has been established for use in humans. These particles present a high density of adaptor elements for attaching both recognition ligands and co-stimulatory ligands to a biodegradable core encapsulating the cytokine interleukin-2 (IL-2). We demonstrate the utility of this system in efficient polyclonal and antigen-specific T-cell stimulation and expansion, showing that sustained release of IL-2 in the vicinity of T-cell contacts dramatically improves the stimulatory capacity of these acellular systems, as compared to the effect of exogenous addition of cytokine. This results in a 45-fold enhancement in T-cell expansion. In addition, this mode of antigen presentation skews the expansion toward the CD8+ T-cell phenotype. This comprehensive acellular platform, capable of delivering recognition, co-stimulatory, and cytokine signals, represents a promising new technology for artificial antigen presentation.
What Drives Codon Choices in Human Genes

Synonymous codon usage is based and the bias seems to be different in different organisms. Factors with proposed roles in causing codon bias include degree and timing of gene expression, codon-anticodon interactions, transcription and translation rate and fidelity, codon context, and global and local G + C content. We offer a new perspective and new methods for elucidating codon choices applied especially to the human genome. We present data supporting the thesis that codon choices for human genes are largely a consequence of two factors: (1) amino acid constraints, (2) maintaining DNA structures dependent on base-step conformational tendencies consistent with the organism's genome signature that is determined by genome-wide processes of DNA modification, replication and repair. The related codon signature defined as the dinucleotide relative abundances at the distinct codon positions (1,2), (2,3), and (3,4) (4 = 1 of the next codon) accommodates both the global genome signature and amino acid constraints. In human genes, codon positions (2,3) and (3,4) containing the silent site have similar codon signatures reflecting DNA symmetry. Strong CG and TA dinucleotide underrepresentation is observed at all codon positions as well as in non-coding regions. Estimates of synonymous codon usage based on codon signatures are in excellent agreement with the actual codon usage in human and general vertebrate genes. These properties are largely independent of the isochore compartment (G + C content), gene size, and transcriptional and translational constraints. We hypothesize that major influences on codon usage in human genes result from residue preferences and diresidue associations in proteins coupled to biases on the DNA level, related to replication and repair processes and/or DNA structural requirements.
Magnetic Amplification by Magnetized Cosmic Rays in Supernova Remnant Shocks

X-ray observations of synchrotron rims in supernova remnant (SNR) shocks show evidence of efficient electron acceleration and strong magnetic field amplification (a factor of ~100 between the upstream and downstream medium). This amplification may be due to plasma instabilities driven by shock-accelerated particles or cosmic rays (CRs), as they propagate ahead of the shocks. One candidate process is the cosmic ray current-driven (CRCD) instability caused by the electric current of unmagnetized CRs (i.e., CRs whose Larmor radii are much larger than the length scale of the CRCD modes) propagating parallel to the upstream magnetic field. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations have shown that the back-reaction of the amplified field on CRs would limit the amplification factor of this instability to less than ~10 in galactic SNRs (not including the additional field compression at the shock). In this paper, we study the possibility of further amplification driven near shocks by magnetized CRs, whose Larmor radii are smaller than the length scale of the field that was previously amplified by the CRCD instability. We find that additional amplification can occur due to a new instability, driven by the CR current perpendicular to the field, which we term the perpendicular current-driven instability (PCDI). We derive the growth rate of this instability and, using PIC simulations, study its non-linear evolution. We show that the maximum amplification of PCDI is determined by the disruption of CR current, which happens when CR Larmor radii in the amplified field become comparable to the length scale of the instability. We find that, in regions close to the shock, PCDI grows on scales smaller than the scales of the CRCD instability, and, therefore, it results in larger amplification of the field (amplification factor up to ~45). One possible observational signature of PCDI is the characteristic dependence of the amplified field on the shock velocity, B 2 v 2 sh, which contrasts with the one corresponding to the CRCD instability acting alone, B 2 v 3 sh. Our results strengthen the idea of CRs driving a significant part of the magnetic field amplification observed in SNR shocks.
WHAT IS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

Soulevant la question de la nature, de la justification morale et du role de la desobeissance civile dans le cadre de la conception de la societe bien ordonnee developpee par J. Rawls, l'A. se propose de modifier l'analyse rawlsienne en 'brouillant' la distinction entre les actes nonviolents de desobeissance et les actes de violence. A travers l'exemple du terrorisme et le cas des fermiers americains defendant le Liberty Bell, l'A. montre que le recours a la menace coercitive et l'appel direct ou indirect au sens de la justice au sein de la communaute permettent d'etendre le domaine traditionnel de la desobeissance civile
Developmental coordination of cry sounds with visual regard and gestures

Abstract Developmental changes were examined in behaviors that accompanied infants' naturally occurring cry sounds. By the age of 12 months, most infants were sometimes observed not only to direct their crying toward the caregiver but also to elaborate the sounds by the use of gestures; at the same time, most of them continued to exhibit simple, undirected crying. It appears that the development of the act of crying reflects no single, all-or-none transition but, instead, increasing variability and sophistication in communicative forms and functions.
Gesture spotting and recognition using salience detection and concatenated hidden markov models

We developed a gesture salience based hand tracking method, and a gesture spotting and recognition method based on concatenated hidden Markov models. A 3-fold cross validation using the ChAirGest development data set with 10 users gives an F1 score of 0.907 and an accurate temporal segmentation rate (ATSR) of 0.923. The average final score is 0.9116. Compared with using the hand joint position from the Kinect SDK, using our hand tracking method gives a 3.7% absolute increase in the recognition F1 score.
Interleukin-12 p40 m-RNA expression in human kidney allograft biopsies

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a heterodimeric cytokine implicated in the early differentiation of naive T-lymphocytes into the Th1 subset. IL-12 is important for induction of the cellular immune response against viruses, intracellular parasites and neoplasms. Its role in alloresponsiveness has not been fully elucidated. Preliminary data in the literature point toward the prevalence of Th1 lymphocytes in processes of allograft rejection. In attempt to further investigate the expression of this cytokine during episodes of cellular rejection of renal allografts, we searched for IL-12 message in human kidney allograft biopsies using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction technique. Twenty-three allograft core biopsies from 19 patients were obtained percutaneously for clinical indications in 18 cases, and as part of an investigational protocol in five cases. A portion of the tissue was used for RNA extraction using the guanidium-thiocyanide phenol-chloroform method. Histology was performed on the remaining core material. Ten mg of total RNA were used for reverse transcription. PCR of the c-DNAs was done for 40 cycles using primers for the p40 subunit of IL-12 and GAPDH which was used as a control. PCR products were photographed after electrophoresis, transferred to a nylon membrane and hybridized with a radiolabelled cloned human IL-12 p40 1 kb c-DNA fragment. Autoradiographies were developed after 20-min exposure. All samples were run in triplicate. IL-12 p40 m-RNA was expressed in all 17 biopsies showing acute cellular rejection as well as in all three biopsies showing focal interstitial fibrosis. No message was found in the presence of normal allograft histology. This is the first in vivo report of IL-12 p40 subunit m-RNA expression during renal allograft rejection in humans. The role of this Th1 cytokine in the alloresponse deserves further investigation.
The ultraviolet photochemistry of phenylacetylene and the enthalpy of formation of 1,3,5-hexatriyne.

The ultraviolet photochemistry of phenylacetylene was studied in a molecular beam at 193 nm. The only primary photofragments observed were HCCH (acetylene) and C6H4. Some of the C6H4 molecules were found to decompose to 1,3,5-hexatriyne and molecular hydrogen. An enthalpy of formation of ΔHf ≤ 160 ± 4 kcal mol-1 was determined for 1,3,5-hexatriyne from the energetic threshold for this process. This experimentally determined value agrees well with our ab initio calculations performed at the G2 level of theory. Angular distribution measurements for the HCCH + C6H4 channel yielded an isotropic distribution and were attributed to a long-lived intermediate and ground-state dissociation. An exhaustive search yielded no evidence for the phenyl + ethynyl or the atomic hydrogen elimination channels even though these were observed in the pyrolytic studies of phenylacetylene [Hofmann, J.; Zimmermann, G.; Guthier, K.; Hebgen, P.; Homann, K. H. Liebigs Ann. 1995, 631, 1995. Guthier, K.; Hebgen, P.; Hofmann, K. H.; Zim...
An alternative Pit-1 RNA splicing product reveals modular binding and nonmodular transcriptional activities of the POU-specific domain

We have identified a form of the pituitary-specific POU protein Pit-1 that results from deletion of the POU-specific (POUs) domain by alternative RNA splicing. This natural variant of Pit-1 (called delta 4Pit-1) has revealed several aspects of the function of the POUs domain. The delta 4Pit-1 protein was characterized using a delta 4Pit-1-specific antiserum. Further, selection assays of random oligonucleotide pools identified binding site preferences for both wild type and delta 4Pit-1. Methylation interference, copper phenanthrolene, and missing contact analyses were used to compare the binding characteristics of the two forms of Pit-1 on a selected site. DNA binding affinity assays on several DNA elements revealed that the POUs domain contains a modular DNA binding activity affecting the DNA binding affinity of the entire POU domain on some, but not on other, DNA sites. Functional analysis on such DNA elements has revealed that the POUs domain is an essential, but nonmodular, component of the Pit-1 tran...
The worm problem of Leo Moser

One of Leo Moser's geometry problems is referred to as the Worm Problem [10]: "What is the (convex) region of smallest area which will accommodate (or cover) every planar arc of length 1?" For example, it is easy to show that the circular disk with diameter 1 will cover every planar arc of length 1. The area of the disk is approximately 0.78539. Here we show that a solution to the Worm Problem of Moser is a region with area less than 0.27524.
Light-front limit in a rest frame.

Covariant perturbation theory is formulated using a new set of space-time coordinates. This corresponds to a quantization on any flat spacelike surface in Minkowski space. One limit of the theory reproduces the usual instant (equal-time) dynamics, whereas a different limit gives light-front dynamics. Neither the infinite-momentum frame nor infinite momenta are involved. In particular a smooth parametric transformation from the instant to light-front picture is given for a system at rest.
Surface Characterization Studies of Thiols as a Blocking Mechanism for Specific Adsorption for Application of Charge Selective Membrane Transport

This paper proposes the use of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to measure characteristics of gold (Au)-coated membranes and their inherent limitations. In this work, the fabrication of a membrane permeate flow cell is described with the aim of subsequently studying the transport of ions through conductive polycarbonate track etched membrane (PCTE) by interrogating the system using EIS and CV measurements. In particular, we would like to ascertain the voltage range that can be applied to the Au-coated membrane without getting a considerable faradaic activity; the difference between platinum and Au electrode; the effects of different electrolyte concentrations and various applied DC potentials.We extend our previous work done [1] by studying the differences of using a hrydroxyl and methyl terminated self assembled monolayer (SAM). We also extend the quality of the monolayer with respect to the amount of time in which the monolayer is grown. Finally, finding the voltage in which a ‘defect free’ monolayer transforms from insulative to ‘leaky’ behavior extends a detailed analysis of the critical voltage of an alkane thiol.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Modeling the joint statistics of satellite path XPD and attenuation

A new and simple technique for estimating from attenuation statistics alone the joint distribution of attenuation and cross-polarization impairments on a satellite-to-earth radio path is presented. It compares measurements with predictions for the CTS spacecraft 11.7 GHz right-hand circularly polarized downlink during the first six months of 1979.
Single-Slit Fresnel Diffraction Patterns: Comparison of Experimental and Theoretical Results

Experimental work at the University of Utah has produced high-resolution optical diffraction patterns by slit apertures, 20 m from source and 30 m from photomultiplier receiver slit. The slit widths varied in 26 values from 0.5 to 32 mm with 4358- and 5461-A light, corresponding to a Fresnel-variable difference ranging from 0.271 to 19.396. The receiver-slit width was 0.2 mm. A versatile program developed at The Aerospace Corporation for calculation of Fresnel integrals has been used for comparison with experiment, including averaging to give the effect of integration by the photomultiplier slit. Experimental and theoretical diffraction curves are compared for various slit widths. One double-slit-pattern comparison is also given. A high degree of symmetry is found in the measured curves. Even the very fine fluctuations of irradiance in the experimental and theoretical curves match. Three-dimensional theoretical projections of diffraction patterns show the continuous change of pattern from near-Fraunhofer to Fresnel diffraction.
Target detection in FLIR imagery using independent component analysis

In this paper, we propose a target detection algorithm in FLIR imagery using independent component analysis (ICA). Here FLIR images of some real targets with practical background regions are used for training. Dimension of the training regions is chosen depending on the size of the target. After performing ICA transformation on these training images, we obtain a ICA matrix, where each row gives the transformed version of the previous matrix, and a weight matrix. Using these matrices, a transformed matrix of the input image can be found with enhanced features. Then cosine of the angle between the training and test vectors is employed as the parameter for detecting the unknown target. A test region is selected from the first frame of FLIR image, which is of the same size as the training region. This region is transformed following the proposed algorithm and then the cosine value is measured between this transformed vector and the corresponding vector of the transformed training matrix. Next the test region is shifted by one pixel and the same transformation and measurement are done. Thus the whole input frame is scanned and we get a matrix for cosine values. Finally a target is detected in a region of the input frame where it gives the highest cosine value. A detailed computer simulation program is developed for the proposed algorithm and a satisfactory performance is observed when tested with real FLIR images.