cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structural and Functional Organization of a Gene in Drosophila Melanogaster

In recent years, considerable interest and research effort has been directed towards an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the control of gene expression in higher organisms. Several experimental approaches have been employed to this end, and the results of such studies have been the subject of recent review (Axel et al., 1979). Major emphasis in this laboratory has been directed towards the development of an experimental system in Drosophila melanogaster involving the genetic dissection of a specific genetic unit. The end-product of this effort will be a gene whose DNA is marked and mapped to permit eventual identification of the various sequences that control its expression.
Wikimantic: Toward effective disambiguation and expansion of queries

Abstract This paper presents an implemented and evaluated methodology for disambiguating terms in search queries and for augmenting queries with expansion terms. By exploiting Wikipedia articles and their reference relations, our method is able to disambiguate terms in particularly short queries with few context words and to effectively expand queries for retrieval of short documents such as tweets. Our strategy can determine when a sequence of words should be treated as a single entity rather than as a sequence of individual entities. This work is part of a larger project to retrieve information graphics in response to user queries.
Fibre optical parametric amplifier operating near zero-dispersion wavelength

The authors have investigated the gain characteristics of a fibre-optical parametric amplifier operating near zero-dispersion wavelength. The gain spectrum is very sensitive to the difference between the pump and zero-dispersion wavelengths. A gain of 12 dB and an output saturation power of 8.4 dBm have been demonstrated with a pump power of 180 mW.
Wetting transparency of graphene

It is demonstrated that graphene coatings do not alter the wetting behaviour of copper, gold or silicon surfaces. Such wetting transparency—shown to occur only for surfaces where surface–water interactions are dominated by van der Waals forces—and graphene’s ability to suppress copper oxidation result in a 30–40% increase in condensation heat transfer on copper. The findings have implications for graphene-based coatings with independently tunable electronic and wetting properties.
Gastroretentive Delivery Systems: Hollow Beads

The objective of this study was to develop a floatable multiparticulate system with potential for intragastric sustained drug delivery. Cross-linked beads were made by using calcium and low methoxylated pectin (LMP), which is an anionic polysaccharide, and calcium, LMP, and sodium alginate. Beads were dried separately in an air convection type oven at 40 degrees C for 6 hours and in a freeze dryer to evaluate the changes in bead characteristics due to process variability. Riboflavin (B-2), tetracycline (TCN), and Methotrexate (MTX) were used as model drugs for encapsulation. Ionic and nonionic excipients were added to study their effects on the release profiles of the beads. The presence of noncross linking agents in low amounts (less than 2%) did not significantly interfere with release kinetics. For an amphoteric drug like TCN, which has pH dependent solubility, three different pHs (1.5, 5.0, and 8.0) of cross-linking media were used to evaluate the effects of pH on the drug entrapment capacity of the beads. As anticipated, highest entrapment was possible when cross-linking media pH coincided with least drug solubility. Evaluation of the drying process demonstrated that the freeze-dried beads remained buoyant over 12 hours in United States Pharmacopeia (USP) hydrochloride buffer at pH 1.5, whereas the air-dried beads remained submerged throughout the release study. Confocal laser microscopy revealed the presence of air-filled hollow spaces inside the freeze dried beads, which was responsible for the flotation property of the beads. However, the release kinetics from freeze dried beads was independent of hydrodynamic conditions. Calcium-pectinate-alginate beads released their contents at much faster rates than did calcium-pectinate beads (100% in 10 hours vs. 50% in 10 hours). It appears that the nature of cross-linking, drying method, drug solubility, and production approach are all important and provide the opportunity and potential for development of a gastroretentive drug delivery system.
Relationship between improvement in left ventricular dyssynchrony and contractile function and clinical outcome with cardiac resynchronization therapy: the MADIT-CRT trial

To assess long-term effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony and contractile function, by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography, compared with implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) only in MADIT-CRT.
Identidade, aprendizagem e protagonismo social: sentido do trabalho para sujeitos recicladores

The aim of this paper is to analyze how workers of recycling cooperatives produce the meaning of their work. Six cooperatives make up the study field. They are active in the recycling of post-consumer waste and are located on the outskirts of Canoas and Esteio (Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil) cities. The choice of these cooperatives was due to advisorship services provided to them by Incubadora de Empreendimentos Solidarios do Tecnosocial – Unilasalle , which is linked to the Centro Universitario La Salle (Unilasalle). Eighteen semi-structured interviews with workers who take part in the incubated enterprises were conducted and the researchers also wrote a field diary. The interviews were transcribed, systematized and analyzed through Content Analysis. The results showed: (i) a redefinition of the workers’ identity on the basis of the collective work with post-consumer waste, through the interactions, discussions and valuing of work and the environment; (ii) learning in terms of behavior change at the individual, interactional and organizational levels and (iii) a recognition of the work performed as an action of social protagonism, in which subjects feel that they are contributing to the care of the planet. Keywords: identity, learning, social protagonism, recycling cooperatives.
All Heck Breaks Loose at Little Sisters of the Bayou High School

Public schools are full of incidents that fill newspapers, but when a private school is struck with instances of libel, child abuse, and violations of Title IX, the community is at a loss as to what to do. Language: en
A PEER REVIEWED ONLINE COMPUTATIONAL MODELING FRAMEWORK

Along with theory and experimentation, computational simulation has become the third pillar of scientific discovery. While in industry computational modeling has seen application at an enterprise-wide level in the context of Model-Based Design, in academia models are typically still limited to isolated use by specialists. Once a project is completed, the intellectual property embodied by the model is lost. To harness the effort spent, a networked repository is proposed that stores peer-reviewed models. These models are evaluated whether they adhere to a set of quality requirements so they capture intrinsic value. This would facilitate the type of multi-disciplinary collaboration that is required to engineer the systems that have emerged and that continue to gain in importance. This work puts forward an outline of such a peer-reviewed online repository.
The Effect of Politically Salient Decisions on the U.S. Supreme Court's Agenda

The U.S. Supreme Court is widely recognized as setting its agenda by choosing to hear certain cases and refusing to hear others. But what influence, if any, does the Court have on the types of cases that are appealed to it? The Court has no formal power to solicit cases, but I contend that potential litigants interpret politically salient Court decisions as signals of its willingness to hear additional cases in certain policy areas. When this happens, the Court receives additional well-framed cases that allow it to make policy in those areas. The theoretical implications are twofold: (1) by signaling the litigant community to support litigation in certain policy areas, the Supreme Court can bring cases onto its agenda well before the certiorari process begins, and (2) the Supreme Court is dependent on extrajudicial actors and their resources to make comprehensive policy.
Whole ecosystem metabolic pulses following precipitation events

Summary 1. Ecosystem respiration varies substantially at short temporal intervals and identifying the role of coupled temperature- and precipitation-induced changes has been an ongoing challenge. To address this challenge we applied a metabolic ecological theory to identify pulses in ecosystem respiration following rain events. Using this metabolic framework, precipitation-induced pulses were described as a reduction in metabolic activation energy after individual precipitation events. 2. We used this approach to estimate the responses of 237 individual events recorded over 2 years at four eddy-covariance sites in southern AZ, USA. The sites varied in both community type (woody and grass dominated) and landscape position (riparian and upland). We used a nonlinear inversion procedure to identify both the parameters for the pre-event temperature sensitivity and the predicted response of the temperature sensitivity to precipitation. By examining multiple events we evaluated the consistency of pulses between sites and discriminated between hypotheses regarding landscape position, event distributions, and pre-event ecosystem metabolism rates. 3. Over the 5-day post-event period across all sites the mean precipitation effect was attributed to 6·1 g CO 2 m ‐2 of carbon release, which represented a 21% increase in respiration over the pre-event steady state trajectory of carbon loss. Differences in vegetation community were associated with differences in the integrated magnitude of pulse responses, while differences in topographic position were associated with the initial peak pulse rate. In conjunction with the differences between sites, the individual total pulse response was positively related to the drying time interval and metabolic rates prior to the event. The quantitative theory presented provides an approach for understanding ecosystem pulse dynamics and helps characterized the dependence of ecosystem metabolism on both temperature and precipitation.
Wg Signaling Via Zw3 and Mad Restricts Self-Renewal of Sensory Organ Precursor Cells in Drosophila

It is well known that the Dpp signal transducer Mad is activated by phosphorylation at its carboxy-terminus. The role of phosphorylation on other regions of Mad is not as well understood. Here we report that the phosphorylation of Mad in the linker region by the Wg antagonist Zw3 (homolog of vertebrate Gsk3-β) regulates the development of sensory organs in the anterior–dorsal quadrant of the wing. Proneural expression of Mad-RNA interference (RNAi) or a Mad transgene with its Zw3/Gsk3-β phosphorylation sites mutated (MGM) generated wings with ectopic sensilla and chemosensory bristle duplications. Studies with pMad-Gsk (an antibody specific to Zw3/Gsk3-β-phosphorylated Mad) in larval wing disks revealed that this phosphorylation event is Wg dependent (via an unconventional mechanism), is restricted to anterior–dorsal sensory organ precursors (SOP) expressing Senseless (Sens), and is always co-expressed with the mitotic marker phospho-histone3. Quantitative analysis in both Mad-RNAi and MGM larval wing disks revealed a significant increase in the number of Sens SOP. We conclude that the phosphorylation of Mad by Zw3 functions to prevent the self-renewal of Sens SOP, perhaps facilitating their differentiation via asymmetric division. The conservation of Zw3/Gsk3-β phosphorylation sites in vertebrate homologs of Mad (Smads) suggests that this pathway, the first transforming growth factor β-independent role for any Smad protein, may be widely utilized for regulating mitosis during development.
Development of a Multiscale Thermal Conductivity Model for Fission Gas in UO 2

Abstract Accurately predicting changes in the thermal conductivity of light water reactor UO2 fuel throughout its lifetime in reactor is an essential part of fuel performance modeling. However, typical thermal conductivity models from the literature are empirical. In this work, we begin to develop a mechanistic thermal conductivity model by focusing on the impact of gaseous fission products, which is coupled to swelling and fission gas release. The impact of additional defects and fission products will be added in future work. The model is developed using a combination of atomistic and mesoscale simulation, as well as analytical models. The impact of dispersed fission gas atoms is quantified using molecular dynamics simulations corrected to account for phonon-spin scattering. The impact of intragranular bubbles is accounted for using an analytical model that considers phonon scattering. The impact of grain boundary bubbles is determined using a simple model with five thermal resistors that are parameterized by comparing to 3D mesoscale heat conduction results. When used in the BISON fuel performance code to model four reactor experiments, it produces reasonable predictions without having been fit to fuel thermocouple data.
Reliability assessment of a peer evaluation instrument in a team-based learning course

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of a peer evaluation instrument in a longitudinal team-based learning setting.Methods: Student pharmacists were instructed to evaluate the contributions of their peers. Evaluations were analyzed for the variance of the scores by identifying low, medium, and high scores. Agreement between performance ratings within each group of students was assessed via intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC).Results: We found little variation in the standard deviation (SD) based on the score means among the high, medium, and low scores within each group. The lack of variation in SD of results between groups suggests that the peer evaluation instrument produces precise results. The ICC showed strong concordance among raters.Conclusions: Findings suggest that our student peer evaluation instrument provides a reliable method for peer assessment in team-based learning settings.
Aerodynamic analysis of the Pioneer unmanned air vehicle

Wind-tunnel tests and a numerical study were performed of the Pioneer Remotely Piloted Vehicle for static longitudinal and lateraldirectional stability-and-control characteristics. Longitudinal derivatives were generally well predicted by the panel method. Directional response showed discrepancies in the determined derivatives, though rudder-with-sideslip correlated well between the two methods. Drag predictions using the panel method for inviscid drag and build-up methods for viscous drag were poor. The number of panels was insufficent to accurately model the induced drag.behavior. Overall, accuracies were suitable for a personal-computer-based prediction method for preliminary design or analysis purposes.
Intravenous Prostaglandin F2α for Induction of Menses

13 women received 25 mg of prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) intravenously for 8 hours less than 14 days after the 1st missed menses. The efficacy of menses induction or pregnancy termination was assessed and biopsy or curettage specimens were reviewed to reveal histologic damage. 9 of 13 patients were infused in early pregnancy and 8 of these bled. 4 nonpregnant patients had normal menstrual bleeding. 5 of the 9 pregnant patients terminated the pregnancy and the bleeding induced was excessive only in duration. Curettage specimens from all 4 patients who remained pregnant showed histologic damage including foci of hyalinization and aseptic necrosis and severe trophoblastic damage. It is concluded that PG administration may induce vaginal bleeding but that pregnancy is not reliably terminated. Gestations that continued appeared to be damaged. (authors modified)
Chapter 2 – Physiology and Plasticity

Every day, thousands of new dentate granule cells (DGCs) are born in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus (DG), wherein a niche of neuronal precursors undergoes continuous division and differentiation throughout mammalian life. Yet, only a fraction of these cells will ultimately survive and mature to become functional members of the DG neuronal population. Newborn DGCs form early excitatory GABAergic and later excitatory glutamatergic synapses as they join the functional architecture of the DG. In addition, newborn cells are more plastic than mature ones, likely helping younger cells to form connections and contribute meaningfully to hippocampal function. What processes regulate the fate of newborn DGCs, how do they integrate into the existing neuronal circuitry of the hippocampus, and what are the physiological/behavioral roles of DG plasticity? Here we review the current evidence, largely based on studies in rodents and nonhuman primates.
A miniature combined horizontal wind-turbine and PV demonstration kit for K-12 STEM programs

Increasing green energy usage has become a priority for towns and municipalities. A general lack of awareness regarding the many benefits of green energy remains a formidable impediment for wide spread adoption of green technologies. A potential solution to this problem is educating K-12 students and increasing their awareness of the benefits of green energy. Doing so will lead to an increase in the community's overall awareness, through secondary knowledge dissemination, especially of those communities not easily reachable through adults. Furthermore as part of a STEM educational series, demonstration of a windturbine system will greatly benefit the students understanding of wind-turbine designs. To this end, two undergraduate engineering students, during summer 2015 term, designed and implemented a miniature horizontal wind-turbine demonstration kit for K- 12 STEM programs. This paper outlines the design process and presents the implemented prototypes.
Complex cis-regulatory landscape of the insulin receptor gene underlies the broad expression of a central signaling regulator.

Insulin signaling plays key roles in development, growth and metabolism through dynamic control of glucose uptake, global protein translation and transcriptional regulation. Altered levels of insulin signaling are known to play key roles in development and disease, yet the molecular basis of such differential signaling remains obscure. Expression of the insulin receptor (InR) gene itself appears to play an important role, but the nature of the molecular wiring controlling InR transcription has not been elucidated. We characterized the regulatory elements driving Drosophila InR expression and found that the generally broad expression of this gene is belied by complex individual switch elements, the dynamic regulation of which reflects direct and indirect contributions of FOXO, EcR, Rbf and additional transcription factors through redundant elements dispersed throughout ∼40 kb of non-coding regions. The control of InR transcription in response to nutritional and tissue-specific inputs represents an integration of multiple cis-regulatory elements, the structure and function of which may have been sculpted by evolutionary selection to provide a highly tailored set of signaling responses on developmental and tissue-specific levels.
Identification and Characterization of Enzymes Catalyzing Pyrazolopyrimidine Formation in the Biosynthesis of Formycin A.

Genome scanning of Streptomyces kaniharaensis, the producer of formycin A, reveals two sets of purA, purB, purC, and purH genes. The Pur enzymes catalyze pyrimidine assembly of purine nucleobases. To test whether enzymes encoded by the second set of pur genes catalyze analogous transformations in formycin biosynthesis, formycin B 5′-phosphate was synthesized and shown to be converted by ForA and ForB to formycin A 5′-phosphate. These results support that For enzymes are responsible for formycin formation.
Critical Interface States Controlling Rectification of Ultrathin NiO–ZnO p–n Heterojunctions

Herein, we consider the heterojunction formation of two prototypical metal oxides: p-type NiO and n-type ZnO. Elementally abundant, low-cost metal oxide/oxide’ heterojunctions are of interest for UV optical sensing, gas sensing, photocatalysis, charge confinement layers, piezoelectric nanogenerators, and flash memory devices. These heterojunctions can also be used as current rectifiers and potentially as recombination layers in tandem photovoltaic stacks by making the two oxide layers ultrathin. In the ultrathin geometry, understanding and control of interface electronic structure and chemical reactions at the oxide/oxide’ interface are critical to functionality, as oxygen atoms are shared at the interface of the dissimilar materials. In the studies presented here the extent of chemical reactions and interface band bending is monitored using X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopies. Interface reactivity is controlled by varying the near surface composition of nickel oxide, nickel hydroxide, and ...
The inflammatory microenvironment and microbiome in prostate cancer development

Chronic inflammation promotes the development of several types of solid cancers and might contribute to prostate carcinogenesis. This hypothesis partly originates in the frequent observation of inflammatory cells in the prostate microenvironment of adult men. Inflammation is associated with putative prostate cancer precursor lesions, termed proliferative inflammatory atrophy. Inflammation might drive prostate carcinogenesis via oxidative stress and generation of reactive oxygen species that induce mutagenesis. Additionally, inflammatory stress might cause epigenetic alterations that promote neoplastic transformation. Proliferative inflammatory atrophy is enriched for proliferative luminal epithelial cells of intermediate phenotype that might be prone to genomic alterations leading to prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and prostate cancer. Studies in animals suggest that inflammatory changes in the prostate microenvironment contribute to reprogramming of prostate epithelial cells, a possible step in tumour initiation. Prostatic infection, concurrent with epithelial barrier disruption, might be a key driver of an inflammatory microenvironment; the discovery of a urinary microbiome indicates a potential source of frequent exposure of the prostate to a diverse number of microorganisms. Hence, current evidence suggests that inflammation and atrophy are involved in prostate carcinogenesis and suggests a role for the microbiome in establishing an inflammatory prostate microenvironment that might promote prostate cancer development and progression.
Creolizing Political Institutions

This essay engages the contributions to the forum by Nathalie Etoke, Kevin Bruyneel, Michael Neocosmos, and Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun to consider what it means to creolize political identities, political memory, and political institutions.
Tailoring the hierarchical architecture of beta zeolites using base leaching and pore-directing agents

Abstract The tailoring of hierarchical structures in beta zeolites of differing Al contents (Si/Al: 14-250) has been systematically investigated through a top-down base leaching process with various cationic tetraalkylammonium (TAA) salts and organic amines as pore-directing agents (PDAs) to examine their effectiveness in protecting beta zeolite framework while directing the formation of mesopores. The structure-property relationship was established between PDA structure and average mesopore sizes in resulting hierarchical zeolites, especially for high Si beta zeolites when the presence of PDA is necessary to avoid framework amorphization during NaOH desilication. All PDAs studied are effective in directing the mesopore formation in alkaline solutions without experiencing significant decrease in microporosity and crystallinity of parent beta zeolites. For high Si beta zeolites, hierarchical structures with non-ionic amines possess larger mesopores (average mesopore sizes, da: 5-8 nm) than those treated with TAA cationic PDAs (da: 2-6 nm), which should be due to better accommodation of TAA-type cationic PDAs within the inner channel of beta framework and more favorable interaction and protection of parent framework as compared to organic amines. For similarly structured TAA cations, the resulting mesopore sizes and surface areas are correlated with the molecular weights of different cations, i.e. higher molecular weight cations result in smaller da and correspondingly larger surface areas. Therefore, it is feasible to tailor the mesopore sizes by a top-down base leaching with an appropriate selection of PDAs for beta zeolites. The successful introduction of mesopores in beta zeolites also led to significantly improved catalytic conversion for the acid-catalyzed alpha-pinene isomerization, as compared to the parent beta catalysts.
Medical Imaging and Laboratory Analysis of Diagnostic Accuracy in 107 Consecutive Hospitalized Patients With Diabetic Foot Osteomyelitis and Partial Foot Amputations.

The primary aim of our study was to compare the preoperative diagnostic accuracy of plain radiographic findings with the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings for diabetic foot oste...
HALF-LIFE DETERMINATIONS BY DIRECT DECAY

Half-lives have been measured by direct decay for 18 radionuclides. The method of least squares was used to obtain the best straight-line fit to the data. The observed half-lives are 87.9 ± 0.3 d f...
Crocks, Quacks, and Shrinks

In 1950, health care costs accounted for 4.6% of the gross national product. In 1985, health care costs accounted for 10.8% of the gross national product (Cohen, 1985). Sophisticated biomedical technology and expensive medical tests have contributed to this cost escalation (Culliton, 1978). This massive increase in health care costs appears to have occurred without a comparable increase in health status (DeLeon & VandenBos, 1983) of United States citizens as measured by morbidity, mortality, longevity, and so on.
Polyamine metabolism in an obligately alkalophilic Bacillus alcalophilus that grows at pH 11.0

Bacillus alcalophilus, an obligately alkalophilic bacterium that grows at pH 11.0, has an intracellular pH of 9.5 or less. Unlike all other living organisms, polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) in B. alcalophilus, if present, will be largely unprotonated. HPLC analysis indicated that spermidine is the major polyamine in B. alcalophilus, accounting for more than 90% of total polyamines, and the level of spermidine varies during growth. Ornithine decarboxylase activity was not detectable in B. alcalophilus under all conditions examined. When [3H]arginine was added to the culture medium, the radioactivity can be recovered from polyamine pool; the distribution is 3% for putrescine, 94% for spermidine, and 3% for spermine, suggesting the presence of arginine pathway for polyamine biosynthesis. The polyamine transport system in B. alcalphilus appears to be Na+-dependent and is highly sensitive to the inhibition of gramicidin S and valinomycin.
Endovascular Treatment of Claudication due to Isolated Internal Iliac Artery Occlusive Disease.

Aortoiliac occlusive disease is a common cause of lower extremity claudication. Patients are typically found to have diminished femoral pulses and abnormal noninvasive vascular studies of the lower extremities. Isolated lesions of the internal iliac arteries are much less commonly treated but can cause similar claudication symptoms in the buttocks, hips, or thighs. Occlusive disease in the internal iliac artery is more challenging to diagnose because the lower extremity pulses and vascular studies can be normal. This may falsely steer the diagnosis away from a vascular etiology. We present a case of disabling buttock claudication in a patient with normal pulses and isolated ipsilateral internal iliac artery stenosis. This was treated successfully with drug-eluting balloon angioplasty. We review the literature for similar cases of isolated internal iliac artery occlusive disease and summarize the disease characteristics and treatment modalities.
Revealing Unknown Protein Structures Using Computational Conformational Sampling Guided by Experimental Hydrogen-Exchange Data

Both experimental and computational methods are available to gather information about a protein's conformational space and interpret changes in protein structure. However, experimentally observing and computationally modeling large proteins remain critical challenges for structural biology. Our work aims at addressing these challenges by combining computational and experimental techniques relying on each other to overcome their respective limitations. Indeed, despite its advantages, an experimental technique such as hydrogen-exchange monitoring cannot produce structural models because of its low resolution. Additionally, the computational methods that can generate such models suffer from the curse of dimensionality when applied to large proteins. Adopting a common solution to this issue, we have recently proposed a framework in which our computational method for protein conformational sampling is biased by experimental hydrogen-exchange data. In this paper, we present our latest application of this computational framework: generating an atomic-resolution structural model for an unknown protein state. For that, starting from an available protein structure, we explore the conformational space of this protein, using hydrogen-exchange data on this unknown state as a guide. We have successfully used our computational framework to generate models for three proteins of increasing size, the biggest one undergoing large-scale conformational changes.
Bereavement Groups and the Role of Social Support: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice

All too frequently, clinical practice consists of repeating year after year the methods learned in graduate training, occasionally seasoned by a technique learned in a continuing-education workshop. Bereavement Groups and the Role of Social Support gives clinicians what they’ve been missing in other volumes: practical techniques that have a solid contemporary empirical basis. Deftly weaving together theory, research, and practice, this volume is a compendium of the latest practical thinking about bereavement support groups. Readers will learn when well-loved practices make sense and are supported by sound evidence, as well as which practices should possibly be discontinued. The book also contains the results of a qualitative study bringing together the best practices of experienced bereavement group leaders from around the world.
Classification of Melanocytic Lesions in Selected and Whole-Slide Images via Convolutional Neural Networks.

Whole-slide images (WSIs) are a rich new source of biomedical imaging data. The use of automated systems to classify and segment WSIs has recently come to forefront of the pathology research community. While digital slides have obvious educational and clinical uses, their most exciting potential lies in the application of quantitative computational tools to automate search tasks, assist in classic diagnostic classification tasks, and improve prognosis and theranostics. An essential step in enabling these advancements is to apply advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence from other fields to previously inaccessible pathology datasets, thereby enabling the application of new technologies to solve persistent diagnostic challenges in pathology. Here, we applied convolutional neural networks to differentiate between two forms of melanocytic lesions (Spitz and conventional). Classification accuracy at the patch level was 99.0%–2% when applied to WSI. Importantly, when the model was trained without careful image curation by a pathologist, the training took significantly longer and had lower overall performance. These results highlight the utility of augmented human intelligence in digital pathology applications, and the critical role pathologists will play in the evolution of computational pathology algorithms.
Interactions Between Platelets and the Coagulation System

Abstract Coagulation consists of a cascade of enzymes (often with a regulatory cofactor), ultimately resulting in the cleavage of fibrinogen to fibrin, which polymerizes into a gel. Thrombin generated by the clotting cascade is also a potent platelet activator. Platelets contain many pro- and anticoagulant components of the blood coagulation cascade. Some participants are secreted from platelet granules upon activation, some are transferred from the cytoplasm, and some are receptors on the platelet surface. Links between coagulation participants, polymerized fibrin and aggregated platelets aid in anchoring the growing clot to the vascular wall. Activated platelets provide a critical surface for assembly of the intrinsic tenase complex (which generates factor Xa) and the prothrombinase complex (which generates thrombin). This surface allows for binding of blood clotting enzymes, cofactors, and substrates via calcium-dependent interactions between clotting proteins and anionic phospholipids (particularly phosphatidylserine) in the platelet membrane.
Performance on the repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status in college students with mild traumatic brain injury

College students recovering from mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) often experience a constellation of symptoms including cognitive and emotional difficulties. While these symptoms may interfere w...
Differential serum protein expression in pancreatic cancer patients using two dimensional-differential gel electrophoresis.

3545 The purpose of this study is to develop techniques for identifying cancer biomarkers in human serum using differential in-gel electrophoresis (DIGE), and characterizing the protein biomarkers using mass spectrometry (MS). A major problem in profiling protein expression by DIGE comes from the presence of high concentrations of a small number of proteins. This makes it difficult to run gels reproducibly as well as masking differential protein expression of proteins with similar properties or those which non-covalently bind to the abundant proteins. Therefore, samples were first chromatographed using a multi-affinity HPLC column (Agilent Technologies), in order to selectively remove albumin, immunoglobulins, transferrin, haptoglobin, and antitrypsin from the serum. This system was used to process multiple samples of normal human serum. The low abundance protein fraction was collected for each sample. Fifty micrograms of each sample were covalently labeled with one of three size and charge-matched spectrally resolvable CyDye fluors (Amersham Biosciences). Samples were mixed, separated by 2-D gel electrophoresis, and analyzed using DeCyder Differential Analysis Software. On average, only 6.1% of all protein spots demonstrated greater than 2-fold variation between samples. Serum samples from three individuals with pancreatic cancer and three individuals without cancer were then compared. A pooled sample containing serum from all six individuals was created. Serum samples were processed using the multi-affinity column. The cancer, control, and pooled samples were labeled with Cy3, Cy5, or Cy2, respectively. Samples were mixed, separated by 2-D gel electrophoresis, and analyzed using DeCyder Differential Analysis Software. An average of 144 different protein spots had Cy3/Cy5 ratios greater than 2, while 106 protein spots had Cy3/Cy5 ratios less than 0.5. These preliminary results suggest that affinity column enrichment and 2-D DIGE can be used to identify numerous proteins differentially expressed in serum from individuals with pancreatic cancer. Further analyses to determine which protein spots are differentially expressed in all cancer serum samples, and to identify these proteins by matrix-assisted laser desorption –time-of-flight/MS and tandem MS (MS/MS) and liquid chromatography (LC)/MS/MS are currently underway. Supported by NIH grant P30 CA16520 and NIH/NIDDK grant P32-DK-007066-29.
Use of Twitter in disaster rescue: lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey

Despite the increasingly prominent role of social media in disaster events, studies analyzing its use in rescue operations remain scanty. Hurricane Harvey hit Texas with unprecedented rainfall and ...
THE PRESENT STATE OF STRIATAL CIRCUITRY — INTRODUCTORY REMARKS TO THE SYMPOSIUM ON STRIATAL MECHANISMS

Publisher Summary Many discoveries have been made in the fields of neurochemistry and neuropharmacology, particularly in reference to neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, and their receptors; however, the conceptual arrangement of the neuronal circuitry has changed drastically on the basis of anatomic and physiologic findings. For over 50 years, the model proposed by the Vogts (1920) was widely accepted. The input to the neostriatum stimulated numerous medium-sized neurons with spiny dendrites that relayed it via their short axons to a relatively small number of large hyperchromic cells. These so-called giant neurons were the efferent elements projecting to the pallidum. This chapter discusses a diagram that illustrates what has become of the simplistic circuitry of the Vogts. The main cell categories are represented by the different shadings in the diagram. There are two types of spiny cells (SI and SII) and both have long axons. There are at least three types of nonspiny or aspiny cells (AI, All, AIII) and they have short axons. The large content of acetylcholine present in the neostriatum is intrinsic to the structure particularly by McGeer's group. The most likely cholinergic neuronal type is the Aspiny I cell, apparently the most frequent interneuron, that would excite spiny neurons. The intrinsic gabaergic inhibitory actions may be mediated by the Aspiny III interneurons and the powerful collateral system of the Spiny I axons. In the monkey neostriatum, Leu-enkephalin is localized in medium-sized neurons, their emerging dendrites, and in fine beaded fibers.
Thoughts about modern retrieval technologies

In recent years, the amount and the variety of available machine-readable data have substantially increased. To cope with the mass of machine-processed data, new technologies have been introduced, such as high density storage devices, and fancy graphic displays useful for information transformation and access. New approaches have also been considered for processing the stored data based on the construction of knowledge bases representing the contents and structure of the information, and the use of expert system techniques to control the user-system interactions. This note provides a brief evaluation of the new information processing technologies, and of the software methods proposed for information manipulation.
Acute COPD: Effect of Age and Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Hospital Utilization

Background: Acute COPD patients utilize the hospital for inpatient admissions and ER visits. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) can reduce use of health care resources. The null hypothesis was that neither patient age nor PR have a significant effect on hospital utilization. Methods: With IRB approval, discharge summaries from electronic medical records (EMR) were queried at a community hospital between January 1, 2016 and January 1, 2017. Inclusion criteria: inpatient status >1 day, >40 y of age, and primary admission ICD-10 code of COPD. Data collected: age (5 categories), combined encounters (ER visits without admission and inpatient re-admissions), PR referral/recommendation. Data analysis: P
Elevated serum substance P during simian varicella virus infection in rhesus macaques: implications for chronic inflammation and adverse cerebrovascular events.

Varicella and zoster, produced by varicella-zoster virus (VZV), are associated with an increased risk of stroke that may be due to persistent inflammation and hypercoagulability. Because substance P is associated with inflammation, hypercoagulability, and atherosclerotic plaque rupture that may contribute to increased stroke risk after VZV infection, we measured serum substance P in simian varicella virus–infected rhesus macaques. We found significantly increased and persistent serum substance P concentrations during varicella and zoster compared with pre-inoculation, supporting the hypothesis that VZV-induced increases in serum substance P may contribute to increased stroke risk associated with VZV infection.
A Switched-Capacitor-Based Analog Computer for Solving the 1-D Wave Equation

This paper describes a single-chip analog computer for solving the one dimensional (1-D) wave equation. The chip integrates a 16-point discrete-time but continuous-valued finite-difference solver with spatially-programmable wave velocity, selectable boundary conditions, and arbitrary input excitation waveforms. Built-in Δ-Σ analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) allow the solution results to be easily read out by a digital processor. The design was realized in TSMC 180 nm CMOS and has an active area of 2.81 mm × 2.64 mm. Experimental results prove the functionality of the proposed analog solver.
Broken Promises? Examining the Effectiveness of Promising Practices in STEM Lectures by Student Subgroups

Traditional approaches to teaching and learning in large undergraduate STEM lectures has not kept pace with the massification and diversification of higher education. Efforts to alleviate learning obstacles call for improved instruction, stipulating the utility of specific pedagogical techniques delineated as “promising practices”; however, little evidence supports their effectiveness. In this study, a quasi-experimental method is applied to a large panel dataset containing course observations and institutional records to investigate the effect of promising practices on student learning. Additionally, differential effects are examined across several important nontraditional and historically under-served populations, such as Hispanic, first-generation, low-income and lower prior ability students. Results suggest that two information relaying techniques—the use of prior content and reviewing exam content—were positively and significantly associated with student outcomes, and estimates were found to be stable across subgroups. Implications for higher education teaching and learning, as well as empirical research in these areas, are discussed.
Young American’s diet problem: A linear programing application

This study employs linear programming to find a healthy diet at minimum cost to avoid overweight and obesity that affect 9–18-year-old girls in U.S. The data includes the most consumed food in USA based on the USDA ERS data base, and nutrients that are selected from the Dietary Reference Intake Vitamins and Elements list: Protein, Calcium, Iron, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C.
A Study of the Pulse Rate and Systolic Arterial Pressure during Sustained Volitional Tetanus

(1904). A Study of the Pulse Rate and Systolic Arterial Pressure during Sustained Volitional Tetanus. American Physical Education Review: Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 16-22.
Staining fungal nuclei with mithramycin.

Publisher Summary The chapter describes the use of mithramycin as a nuclear stain. The procedure is designed primarily for observing stages of division of the nucleus rather than its internal structures. It has been used mainly with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and has also been found to work with a filamentous fungus. Mithramycin (areolic acid) is a member of a group of antitumor antibiotics produced by Streptomyces. Mithramycin is inert toward RNA and protein however fluoresces when bound to DNA; binding to the latter requires both Mg 2+ and base pairing. The fluorescence and specificity properties of mithramycin are exploited in a microassay for DNA and in flow microfluorometry. The specific binding and fluorescence properties of mithramycin make it possible to stain fungal nuclei in a rapid, one-step procedure. This procedure is suitable for monitoring yeast mitotic cell cycles or sporulation as they occur rather than after they are completed. Alternatively, large numbers of samples can be fixed, stored, and processed later to screen mutants or to assess synchrony.
SU-E-J-210: Characterizing Tissue Equivalent Materials for the Development of a Dual MRI-CT Heterogeneous Anthropomorphic Phantom Designed Specifically for MRI Guided Radiotherapy Systems

Purpose: MRI guided radiotherapy (MRIgRT) is an emerging technology which will eventually require a proficient quality auditing system. Due to different principles in which MR and CT acquire images, there is a need for a multi-imaging-modality, end-to-end QA phantom for MRIgRT. The purpose of this study is to identify lung, soft tissue, and tumor equivalent substitutes that share similar human-like CT and MR properties (i.e. Hounsfield units and relaxation times). Methods: Materials of interested such as common CT QA phantom materials, and other proprietary gels/silicones from Polytek, SmoothOn, and CompositeOne were first scanned on a GE 1.5T Signa HDxT MR. Materials that could be seen on both T1-weighted and T2-weighted images were then scanned on a GE Lightspeed RT16 CT simulator and a GE Discovery 750HD CT scanner and their HU values were then measured. The materials with matching HU values of lung (−500 to −700HU), muscle (+40HU) and soft tissue (+100 to +300HU) were further scanned on GE 1.5T Signa HDx to measure their T1 and T2 relaxation times from varying parameters of TI and TE. Results: Materials that could be visualized on T1-weighted and T2-weighted images from a 1.5T MR unit and had an appropriate average CT number, −650, −685, 46,169, and 168 HUs were: compressed cork saturated with water, Polytek Platsil™ Gel-00 combined with mini styrofoam balls, radiotherapy bolus material, SmoothOn Dragon-Skin™ and SmoothOn Ecoflex™, respectively. Conclusion: Post processing analysis is currently being performed to accurately map T1 and T2 values for each material tested. From previous MR visualization and CT examinations it is expected that Dragon-Skin™, Ecoflex™ and bolus will have values consistent with tissue and tumor substitutes. We also expect compressed cork statured with water, and Polytek™-styrofoam combination to have approximate T1 and T2 values suitable for lung-equivalent materials.
Power is Knowledge (and Vice Versa):A Commentary on "On Winning Some and Losing Some:A Social Relations Approach to Social Dominancein Toddlers"

The conceptual and methodological strengths of On winning some and losing some are identified and the pedagogical value of the approach taken by Hawley and Little is commended. This research extends developmental researchers' under standing of social dominance, and should serve to revive the study of it. Questions unanswered in the study concern the validity of adult caregiver perceptions of social dominance, the relation between competition hierarchies and hierarchies based on directed agonism, and the relation between social dominance and social competence in young children.