cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF INSTRUCTION ON PERCEIVED PHYSICAL ABILITY AND EXERCISE ADHERENCE

More than 30% o€ individuals drop out of an exercise program within the first three months of joining despire the many physiological and psychological benefits associated with regular physical exercise (3). Instruction on the essential facts about exercise (cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance and strength, fle~~bd~rv, and body composition) provided during an exercise session may be an effective strategy to maximize attendance and perceived physical ability (2). Fifty-three women whose mean age was 26.3 yr. (SD=9.3) and were enrolled in a low-impact aerobics exercise program were studied to assess whether instruction would increase perceived physical ability and adherence to exercise. The control group (n=30) and the taught group (n=23) met for one hour three times per week for eight weeks and received the same exercise routine that included a warm-up, cardiovascular workout, cool-down, stretching, and toning segments. In the taught group the instructor provided basic facts about exercise. The control group received no fitness instruction. The Perceived Physical Ability Scale (1) was used, and responses were reported on a 5-point scale anchored by 1-lowest to 5-highest, and an averane was used in com~arison. Attendance was recorded. - Analysis of the effect of instruction on perceived physical abiliry, conducted on data from subjects present on the last day of the study, was not statistically significant (M=3.1, SD= .3; F,,,,=.64, p> .43). Attrition at the end of the st~ldy was 48% in he control group and 35% in the taught group. Average attendance by the taught group was 11.6 days (SD=6.7) and for the control group, 9.7 days (SD=5.9). The effect of instruction on the total number of days attended by all subjects was nonsignificant (M= 10.7, SD=6.3; F,,,,= 1.42, p> .24).
Development and evaluation of an ultrasonic personal aerosol sampler.

Assessing personal exposure to air pollution has long proven challenging due to technological limitations posed by the samplers themselves. Historically, wearable aerosol monitors have proven to be expensive, noisy, and burdensome. The objective of this work was to develop a new type of wearable monitor, an ultrasonic personal aerosol sampler (UPAS), to overcome many of the technological limitations in personal exposure assessment. The UPAS is a time-integrated monitor that features a novel micro-pump that is virtually silent during operation. A suite of on-board environmental sensors integrated with this pump measure and record mass air flow (0.5-3.0 L/min, accurate within 5%), temperature, pressure, relative humidity, light intensity, and acceleration. Rapid development of the UPAS was made possible through recent advances in low-cost electronics, open-source programming platforms, and additive manufacturing for rapid prototyping. Interchangeable cyclone inlets provided a close match to the EPA PM2.5 mass criterion (within 5%) for device flows at either 1.0 or 2.0 L/min. Battery life varied from 23-45 hrs depending on sample flow rate and selected filter media. Laboratory tests of the UPAS prototype demonstrate excellent agreement with equivalent federal reference method samplers for gravimetric analysis of PM2.5 across a broad range of concentrations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Walking in Andrei Bely’s Petersburg: Active Perception and Embodied Experience of the City

Using the example of Andrei Bely’s novel Petersburg, Sioli examines how walking reveals aspects of the way we engage with the urban environment, offering an understanding of the city as perceived and sensed by the body. Sioli shows how the city’s built environment triggers thoughts and decisions among the novel’s pedestrians, her analysis illuminating the characteristics of the modern city walker. Since this walker is not a non-participatory passive observer intrigued by the phantasmagoria of the city (W. Benjamin), the chapter examines the more open and creative relationship he experiences with the urban environment, one that manifests his perception as action. Unlike Benjamin’s flâneur or Engel’s monad, Bely’s characters demonstrate that walking the city streets had become a crucial aspect of human consciousness.
Abstract 4273: Oncogenic BRAFV600E drives stem cell niche factors-independent growth and tumorigenic transformation in colon organoids

Herein, we report a model for how BRAF mutations, in contrast to KRAS mutations, specifically associate with and induce, in mouse colon organoids without a microenvironment, the phenotype of human sporadic right-sided colon adenocarcinomas (COAD). The human BRAF mutant COAD are particularly distinguished by having an increased incidence of promoter CpG island methylation, termed CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP)-High. This latter phenotype contrasts with the majority of the COAD which are classified in the CIMP-low to intermediate groups and have mostly KRAS mutations. To understand how these mutations influence tumor evolution and the methylation landscape, we modeled the early carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer by inducing BRAFV600E and KRASG12D mutations individually in 3D organoids prepared from mouse proximal colon. The induction of BRAFV600E mutation, but not KRASG12D mutation, showed various features of progressive transformation. In vitro induction of BRAFV600E drove the organoids to derive cystic changes in morphology and promoted adoption of a stem cell niche independency characterized by growth in the absence of added stem cell niche factors including Wnt3a, R-Spondin, and Noggin. This independency is not due to increased secretion of niche factors by the Paneth-like cells in BRAFV600E mutant organoids. In addition, BRAFV600E organoids showed dysplastic changes such as high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio and abnormal budding. The most exciting finding is that induction of BRAFV600E mutation, but not KRASG12D mutation, induced complete transformation of the organoids forming xenograft tumors in NOD/SCID mice. The tumors exhibit histological characteristics of human mucinous adenocarcinoma, which is the tumor type highly associated with BRAFV600E mutation in human COAD. Gene expression analyses revealed up-regulation of intestinal stem cell signature genes and down-regulation of genes related to intestinal differentiation in BRAFV600E organoids. In addition, BRAFV600E organoids showed increased expression levels of Wnt pathway target genes indicating an enhanced and sustained Wnt-signaling. Analyses of CpG-island methylation in a panel of genes showed increased CpG-island methylation only in the BRAFV600E mutant organoids. In conclusion, in mouse colon organoids, BRAFV600E drives a human right-sided COAD phenotype with adoption of a stem cell niche independency, activation of the Wnt pathway, and induction of CpG island methylation. Citation Format: Byunghak Kang, Julie In, Nicholas Zachos, David Huso, Shinji Maegawa, Jean-Pierre Issa, Hariharan Easwaran, Stephen B. Baylin. Oncogenic BRAFV600E drives stem cell niche factors-independent growth and tumorigenic transformation in colon organoids. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4273.
Slit2/Robo4 Signaling Modulates HIV-1 Gp120-Induced Lymphatic Hyperpermeability,

Abstract Abstract 3225 Dissemination of HIV in the host involves transit of the virus and virus-infected cells across the lymphatic endothelium. HIV may alter lymphatic endothelial permeability to foster dissemination, but the mechanism is largely unexplored. Using a primary human lymphatic endothelial cell model, we found that HIV-1 envelope protein gp120 induced lymphatic hyperpermeability by disturbing the normal function of Robo4, a novel regulator of endothelial permeability. HIV-1 gp120 induced fibronectin expression and integrin α5β1 phosphorylation, which led to the complexing of these three proteins, and their subsequent interaction with Robo4 through its fibronectin type III repeats. Moreover, pretreatment with an active N-terminus fragment of Slit2, a Robo4 agonist, protected lymphatic endothelial cells from HIV-1 gp120-induced hyperpermeability by inhibiting c-Src kinase activation. Our results indicate that targeting Slit2/Robo4 signaling may protect the integrity of the lymphatic barrier and limit the dissemination of HIV in the host. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Perceptions of Risks and Benefits Among Nonprescription Stimulant Consumers, Diverters, and Non-Users.

ABSTRACTBackground: Few studies have examined perceptions of legal and health risks along with the perceived benefits of nonprescription stimulant (NPS) use in college students (e.g., using stimulants such as Ritalin, Vvyanse, Concerta, or Adderall without a prescription). Objective: This study sought to better understand how college students perceived legal and health risks, as well as motivations associated with NPS use. The perceived risks and benefits were examined between those involved and those uninvolved. Method: The sample comprised 988 undergraduates at a southeastern university. Of the participants, 65.3% (645) were females, 69.1% (682) were freshmen, and 76.5% (756) were Caucasian. Participants from a convenience sample of general psychology students (enrolled August to December 2013) completed an on-line survey regarding behaviors and beliefs about the risks/benefits and motivations related to NPS use. Non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis analyses were conducted to examine perceptions of risks and m...
Mass Media Campaign to Reduce Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in a Rural Area of the United States

Objectives. To evaluate a mass media campaign to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs).Methods. We disseminated messages emphasizing the health risks of SSBs through television, digital channels, and local organizations over 15 weeks in 2015–2016 in the Tri-Cities region of northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and southeast Kentucky. We evaluated the campaign with pre- and post-telephone surveys of adults aged 18 to 45 years in the intervention area and by examining changes in beverage sales in the intervention and a matched comparison area in western Virginia.Results. Fifty-four percent of postcampaign respondents recalled seeing a campaign advertisement. After the campaign, 53% of respondents believed SSBs were a cause of heart disease, and respondents were more likely postcampaign to consider SSBs a “big cause of diabetes” (75% vs 60%; P < .001). Compared with 12 months before, after the start of the campaign, SSB sales decreased 3.4%, including a 4.1% decrease in soda sales in...
Children's sleep problems are associated with poorer student-teacher relationship quality.

Abstract Objective Children's sleep problems are associated with poorer student functioning in the school environment, including impairment in peer relationships; yet, no studies have examined sleep functioning in relation to the student–teacher relationship. The objective of this study was to examine whether child-rated total sleep problems or specific sleep problem domains (bedtime problems, nighttime problems, or daytime sleepiness) were associated with teacher-rated student–teacher closeness and conflict after controlling for student mental health symptoms known to be associated with both greater sleep problems and poorer student–teacher relationship quality. The study also examined whether age moderated the relation between sleep problems and student–teacher relationship quality. Participants Participants were 175 children (81 boys and 94 girls) in the first to sixth grades (age = 6–13 years) and their teachers. Methods Children completed the Sleep Self-Report. Teachers completed a measure of student mental health symptoms (ie, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and anxiety/depression) and a measure of their relational closeness and conflict with each student. Results Total sleep problems were associated with greater student–teacher conflict, after controlling for child mental health symptoms and demographic factors. This association was moderated by age such that sleep problems were associated with conflict for younger children but not older children. Notably, daytime sleepiness specifically was associated with less student–teacher closeness. Conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate a relation between student sleep functioning and the student–teacher relationship. Results of the study suggest that sleep may be an important component of school-based screening and evaluation efforts, as sleep is an important malleable factor related to school success.
Weight Mobility and Obesity in a Representative Sample of the US Adult Population

Background. Despite the attention given to the prevalence of obesity, surprisingly little is known about the incidence or reduction of obesity. We report the 1-year incidence and remission of obesity in a representative sample of the US population. Methods. Individuals from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) panel 17 were classified into standard obesity categories at enrollment and one year later. Incidence rates were calculated by age. Results. Although the overall prevalence of obesity remained nearly constant, remission rates from obesity (stratified by age) ranged from 11 to 27% while incidence rates ranged from 6 to 16%. For almost all age levels, the proportion of individuals leaving an obese or overweight state was greater than or equal to the proportion who progressed to a more severe level of overweight or obesity. Overall, 36% of adults lost at least 2.5 kg/m2 in the one-year period; only 8% gained 2.5 kg/m2 or more. Individuals less than 25 years of age had higher rates of leaving overweight (23% versus <16%) and obesity (27% versus 24%) classifications than people of other ages. Conclusions. Prevalence rates of obesity are well documented in the United States, but incidence is understudied. Public health efforts that target young people with overweight or obesity may yield the greatest benefit.
Hazards and Disaster Research in Contemporary Anthropology

Disasters are highly complex, multidimensional processes and events that take place in both the material and social worlds. It is in this multidimensionality of disasters that the salience of anthropological theory and application manifests itself most clearly. The holistic perspective of anthropology is ideally suited to address the multifaceted realities of disasters. As disasters develop and occur, all dimensions of a social structural formation and the totality of its relations with the total environment become involved, affected, and focused in patterns of vulnerability and resilience over time. In disasters are expressed continuity and change, cooperation and conflict, power and resistance, all articulated through the operation of physical, biological, and social systems and their interaction among populations, institutions, and practices. Mining this rich vein of thought and behavior that disasters bring into intense focus, presents not only a challenge but an important opportunity to probe the multiple linkages and relationships they reveal for sociocultural theory and, by the same token, establish what anthropology can offer to the study of disaster both in the realm of research as well as the practice of disaster management.
Generation of Islet-Like Structures From ES Cells

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes, though different diseases, both involve inadequate cell mass of insulin-producing β cells, the most abundant cell type of pancreatic islets of Langerhans. Insulin injections alleviate hyperglycemia in the majority of diabetic patients. However, insulin therapy cannot provide the finely tuned control of glucose homeostasis afforded by native pancreatic islets. As a result, diabetic patients commonly develop multiple life-threatening complications, such as cardiovascular and kidney disease, neuropathy, and blindness. Recent successes in pancreatic islet transplantation (1) fueled new hope that this procedure could significantly improve the quality of life for diabetic patients. Unfortunately, because the islets needed for transplantation are obtained from cadaveric donors only, few patients can receive this therapy. The shortage of islets could potentially be overcome by deriving them from alternative sources such as embryonic stem (ES) cells. This chapter will provide a review of the recent progress in generating islet-like hormone-producing cell clusters from ES cells.
Treatment of Herpes Simplex Virus Infections in Immunosuppressed Patients

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is a major cause of morbidity in immunosuppressed patients. In rare instances HSV infection also may be a primary cause of death. The natural history of these infections has been well described in selected patient populations. The temporal occurrence of HSV infections is predictable in many immunosuppressed patients. Advances in antiviral therapy have led to the development of compounds which inhibit HSV replication. Carefully conducted, controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical trials have demonstrated that acyclovir is currently the most effective therapy for the treatment of established HSV infections in immunosuppressed patients.
Adherence to Children’s Oncology Group (COG) long-term follow-up guidelines for echocardiogram screening in young adult survivors of childhood cancer.

e22513Background: Late morbidity is of increasing importance with improved survival from childhood cancer. The COG Long-term Follow-up Guidelines recommend echocardiogram screening in patients who ...
GPyTorch: Blackbox Matrix-Matrix Gaussian Process Inference with GPU Acceleration.

Despite advances in scalable models, the inference tools used for Gaussian processes (GPs) have yet to fully capitalize on developments in computing hardware. We present an efficient and general approach to GP inference based on Blackbox Matrix-Matrix multiplication (BBMM). BBMM inference uses a modified batched version of the conjugate gradients algorithm to derive all terms for training and inference in a single call. BBMM reduces the asymptotic complexity of exact GP inference from $O(n^3)$ to $O(n^2)$. Adapting this algorithm to scalable approximations and complex GP models simply requires a routine for efficient matrix-matrix multiplication with the kernel and its derivative. In addition, BBMM uses a specialized preconditioner to substantially speed up convergence. In experiments we show that BBMM effectively uses GPU hardware to dramatically accelerate both exact GP inference and scalable approximations. Additionally, we provide GPyTorch, a software platform for scalable GP inference via BBMM, built on PyTorch.
New Concepts of Security Affecting Stabilization and Reconstruction

The United States military Civil Affairs community desires to increase its relevance to future operations and missions of the U.S. Army as part of the joint force. To do so, it must adapt to the ch...
Florida arsenic distribution index: quantifying the distribution of past and present arsenic usage.

Arsenic is an abundant, highly toxic element that is a global health concern due to damage from acute and chronic exposure and the potential for high local concentrations in heavily populated areas. In Florida, arsenic has been used heavily in agricultural, commercial, and industrial applications for decades. While studies have identified and quantified the contributions of arsenic to the state, there are fewer studies that have attempted to index to identify spatial distribution patterns. The aim of this study was to develop representative indices that would identify and estimate the distribution of arsenic from historic and present usage for the state of Florida at the county-level. Eight variables are summarized and categorized into two different types of arsenic indices that represent the arsenic distribution from natural occurrence and anthropogenic practices in Florida. The anthropogenic index had distributions scores that ranged from 0.20 to 1.60 with a mean of 0.61 (SD = 0.34). The natural index had distribution scores that ranged from 1.00 to 3.00 and a mean of 1.47 (SD = 0.43). Our finding noticed comparability between high arsenic distributions mainly occur in counties located in the northwestern and southwestern regions in both the anthropogenic and natural indices with diverse arsenic sources contributions.
Historically Black Community Colleges: A Descriptive Profile and Call for Context-Based Future Research.

ABSTRACTMuch of the research and discussion of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) focuses on four-year institutions, impeding the significance of their two-year counterparts. Usin...
Demographic, Clinical, and Counseling Factors Associated with the Selection of Pregnancy Termination Method in the Second Trimester for Fetal and Pregnancy Anomalies.

Abstract Objective Despite women's preference for induction of labor (IOL) or dilation and evacuation (DE 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.8–34.7), premature previable rupture (OR, 110; 95% CI, 23.0–526.8), prior substance use disorder (OR, 35.5; 95% CI–2.7, 473.7), or counseling from obstetrics (OR, 3.3; 95% CI–1.3, 8.4), pediatrics (OR, 3.3; 95% CI–1.3, 8.6), or social services (OR, 12.6; 95% CI, 4.2–37.3) had higher odds of selecting IOL. Conclusions Patient characteristics, medical factors, and type of counseling are associated with the selection between D&E and IOL for anomalous pregnancies. Institutional, regional, and state policies should permit women both delivery methods to preserve autonomous decision-making at the time of pregnancy termination.
Putting Genomics into Clinical Practice

ABSTRACT Over the last decade we have seen advances in breast cancer including the realization that breast cancer is not a homogenous disease but rather a conglomeration of a number of subtypes including luminal A, luminal B, HER2 enriched and basal like subtypes; each associated with a different prognostic outcome. The development of high-throughput techniques such as gene expression profiling platforms that are able to not only predict prognostic outcome but also, as the data indicate, predict for responsiveness to chemotherapy and thus being able to identify groups who may not require chemotherapy. Such data led to the endorsement for the use of Oncotype DX RS by ASCO and NCCN as both a prediction and prognostic tool among women with estrogen receptor-positive node negative breast cancer. The two prototypes that have the most clinical data reported and are being evaluated in prospective clinical trials are MammaPrint (Agendia, Inc., Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and Oncotype DX (Genomic Health, Inc., Santa Clara, CA). However the question remains as to whether such tools would be useful among women with node-positive disease. Women with node-positive disease have traditionally been considered to be at highest risk of recurrence. However, multigene assays may be able to identify a group of women with endocrine responsive, node positive disease that may not require chemotherapy thus avoiding the associated toxicities. Prospective trials will be essential to accurately identify the groups that will and will not benefit from chemotherapy. Until results of such studies are available the current guidelines still endorse the use of adjuvant chemotherapy among all women with node positive disease. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Pollux: Interactive Cluster-First Projections of High-Dimensional Data

Semantic interaction is a technique relying upon the interactive semantic exploration of data. When an analyst manipulates data items within a visualization, an underlying model learns from the intent underlying these interactions, updating the parameters of the model controlling the visualization. In this work, we propose, implement, and evaluate a model which defines clusters within this data projection, then projects these clusters into a two-dimensional space using a “proximity $\approx$ similarity” metaphor. These clusters act as targets against which data values can be manipulated, providing explicit user-driven cluster membership assignments to train the underlying models. Using this cluster-first approach can improve the speed and efficiency of laying out a projection of high-dimensional data, with the tradeoff of distorting the global projection space.
$$AD_{\mathbb {R}}$$ A D R implies that all sets of reals are $$\Theta $$ Θ universally Baire

We show that assuming the determinacy of all games on reals, every set of reals is $$\Theta $$ universally baire.
Renal Safety of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Opioids in Hospitalized Patients on Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) prescriptions for analgesia during hospitalization are increasing as health systems implement opioid-minimization initiatives (1). This trend can lead to an increase in the use of alternative agents, including NSAIDs, which are known to cause or increase susceptibility to hemodynamically mediated AKI among other renal adverse events. The risk for these outcomes may be particularly high among patients with multiple comorbidities and who are acutely ill (2). This may be especially true when NSAIDs are prescribed concurrently with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone inhibition (RAASi), which may reduce the threshold for hemodynamically mediated AKI, especially among those with actual or effective volume depletion or with decreased systemic vascular resistance. The higher risk with this drug-drug interaction is known and well documented in the outpatient setting (2,3); however, this study is the first to evaluate the potential and the magnitude for synergistic nephrotoxicity of NSAIDs and RAASi agents in patients who are hospitalized. In this study, the authors conducted a large-scale pharmacoepidemiologic study in 25,571 hospitalized patients admitted to four hospitals in Pennsylvania to evaluate the risk of AKI in patients that are prescribed NSAIDs concurrently with RAASi therapy. They used advanced and rigorous methods to control for confounders. One of these approaches is the use of an active comparator (drugs with similar clinical indication), which allows to control for confounding by indication (4). For NSAIDs, the active comparator …
Electrical Characterization of Ceramics and Polymers

Electrical characterization of ceramic and polymeric materials can be of both fundamental and diagnostic value, even for materials not used directly in electronic applications. We would like to review some selective DC and AC measurements to illustrate this point. Electrical conduction is of particular interest in certain ceramics, capacitors and insulators being examples. DC conduction and thermoelectric measurements are discussed below specifically for the case of ferroelectric ceramic used in capacitors.
The Major Health Implications of Social Connection

The influence of social relationships extends beyond emotional well-being to influence long-term physical-health outcomes, including mortality risk. Despite the varied measurement approaches used t...
A Two-length Scale Turbulence Model for Single-phase Multi-fluid Mixing

A two-length scale, second moment turbulence model (Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes, RANS) is proposed to capture a wide variety of single-phase flows, spanning from incompressible flows with single fluids and mixtures of different density fluids (variable density flows) to flows over shock waves. The two-length scale model was developed to address an inconsistency present in the single-length scale models, e.g. the inability to match both variable density homogeneous Rayleigh-Taylor turbulence and Rayleigh-Taylor induced turbulence, as well as the inability to match both homogeneous shear and free shear flows. The two-length scale model focuses on separating the decay and transport length scales, as the two physical processes are generally different in inhomogeneous turbulence. This allows reasonable comparisons with statistics and spreading rates over such a wide range of turbulent flows using a common set of model coefficients. The specific canonical flows considered for calibrating the model include homogeneous shear, single-phase incompressible shear driven turbulence, variable density homogeneous Rayleigh-Taylor turbulence, Rayleigh-Taylor induced turbulence, and shocked isotropic turbulence. The second moment model shows to compare reasonably well with direct numerical simulations (DNS), experiments, and theory in most cases. The model was then applied to variable density shear layer and shock tube data and shows to be in reasonable agreement with DNS and experiments. The importance of using DNS to calibrate and assess RANS type turbulence models is also highlighted.
Chapter 11 Ab initio simulations of photoinduced molecule-semiconductor electron transfer

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the ab initio simulations of photoinduced molecule–semiconductor electron transfer. The electronic structure of the dye-sensitized semiconductor interface is illustrated with the catechol and alizarin molecules. The measured photoexcitation spectra of these molecules that are in the free state and are bound to titanium are simulated using ab initio electronic structure theory. Although catechol and alizarin are very similar molecules with analogous electronic spectra in the free state, they reveal stark differences upon binding to titanium. The alizarin spectrum is red-shifted upon binding, but it retains its shape. Binding catechol to titanium causes very little shifting of the spectrum, but it does produce a new low-energy band. In bound catechol, however, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) is localized on the titanium, and the free catechol LUMO becomes a higher energy orbital. The new low energy band observed in the bound catechol spectrum is dominated by transitions from the dye-localized highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) to several titanium-localized unoccupied orbitals.
A Case Study of the Robustness of Bayesian Methods of Inference: Estimating the Total in a Finite Population Using Transformations to Normality

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a case study of the robustness of Bayesian methods of inference estimating the total in a finite population using transformations to normality. Bayesian intervals provide interval estimates that can legitimately be interpreted as such or at least to offer guidance as to when the intervals that are provided can be safely interpreted in this manner. The potential application of the statistical methods is often demonstrated either theoretically, from artificial data generated following some convenient analytic form, or from real data without a known correct answer. The case study presented here uses a small, real data set with a known value for the quantity to be estimated. It is surprising and instructive to see the care that may be needed to arrive at satisfactory inferences with real data. Simulation techniques are not needed to estimate totals routinely in practice. If stratification variables were available, that is, categorizing the municipalities into villages, towns, cities, and boroughs of New York City, to estimate the population total from a sample of 100, oversampling the large municipalities would be highly desirable. Robustness is not a property of data alone or questions alone, but particular combinations of data, questions and families of models. In many problems, statisticians may be able to define the questions being studied so as to have robust answers.
Abstract 2830: Predictive biomarker identification for response to vantictumab (OMP-18R5; anti-Frizzled) by mining gene expression data of human breast cancer xenografts

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway has been shown to play key roles in both normal development and tumorigenesis (Polakis, 2007; MacDonald et al., 2009). We have developed a monoclonal antibody, vantictumab, that blocks canonical WNT/β-catenin signaling through binding of five Fzd receptors (1, 2, 5, 7, 8) at a conserved epitope within the extracellular domain. This antibody inhibits the growth of several tumor types, including breast, pancreas, colon and lung. Furthermore, studies also showed that vantictumab reduces tumor-initiating cell frequency and exhibits synergistic activity with standard-of-care chemotherapeutic agents (Gurney et al., 2012). Predictive biomarkers are central to maximizing clinical benefit by targeting breast cancer patients most likely to respond to vantictumab. We analyzed microarray gene expression data from 8 minimally passaged breast cancer xenograft models (mostly triple-negative) with established in vivo responses to vantictumab combined with paclitaxel (4 responders, 4 non-responders). We utilized support vector machine—recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE, Guyon et al., 2002) to identify genes that can distinguish between responder and non-responders and SVM for classification. Leave-one-out cross-validation was used to measure positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), sensitivity and specificity of the models. The selected 6-gene signature achieved the best performance with PPV=NPV=sensitivity=specificity=100% in the 8 breast cancer models. In addition, we observed a strong correlation between the gene signature biomarker and the ratio of tumor volume (RTV) observed in the breast xenograft experiments. The identified 6-gene biomarker was used to predict the response to vantictumab in combination with paclitaxel in 6 additional, HER2-negative breast cancer xenograft models. The efficacy in all 6 models was predicted successfully by the biomarker. Prevalence data for the biomarker will be presented for both HER2-negative and triple-negative breast cancers. The 6-gene biomarker is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b study of vantictumab in combination with paclitaxel in patients with locally recurrent or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer. Citation Format: Chun Zhang, Pete Yeung, Lucia Beviglia, Belinda Cancilla, Tracy Tang, Wan-Ching Yen, Austin Gurney, John Lewicki, Timothy Hoey, Ann M. Kapoun. Predictive biomarker identification for response to vantictumab (OMP-18R5; anti-Frizzled) by mining gene expression data of human breast cancer xenografts. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2830. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2830
Crystallin genes: specialization by changes in gene regulation may precede gene duplication.

The crystallins account for 80–90% of the water-soluble proteins of the transparent lens. These diverse proteins are responsible for the optical properties of the lens and have been recruited from metabolic enzymes and stress proteins. They often differ among species (i.e. are taxon-specific) and may be expressed outside of the lens where they have non-refractive roles (a situation we call gene sharing). Crystallin recruitment has occurred by changes in gene regulation resulting in high lens expression. Duck lactate dehydrogenase/∃-crystallin and α-enolase/τ-crystallin are each encoded in single-copy genes, consistent with these enzymes acquiring a crystallin role, without loss of their nonlens metabolic function, by a change in gene regulation in the absence of gene duplication. The small heat shock protein/α-crystallins and avian argininosuccinate lyase/δ-crystallins were also recruited by a change in gene regulation leading to high lens expression, except this was followed by a gene duplication with further lens specialization of the αA and the δ1 (in chickens) crystallin genes. Cephalopod (squid and octopus) S-crystallins were recruited from glutathione S-transferase apparently after duplication of the original gene encoding the enzyme, although this remains uncertain. We speculate that one of the new genes (glutathione S-transferase/S11-crystallin) specialized for lens expression by a change in gene regulation and subsequently duplicated many times to form the lens-specialized, multiple S-crystallins that lack enzymatic activity. That similar transcription factors (e.g. Pax-6, retinoic acid receptors, maf, Sox, AP-1, CREB) regulate different crystallin genes suggest that common features of lens-specific expression have played a pivotal role for recruiting the diverse, multifunctional proteins as crystallins.
A lysophospholipase D pathway in the metabolism of ether-linked lipids in brain microsomes.

Abstract Microsomal preparations from rat brain in the presence of Mg2+ hydrolyzed the ethanolamine, choline, and phosphate moieties from 1-[1-14C]hexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylethanolamine, 1-[1-14C]hexadec-1-enyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylethanolamine, and 1-[1-14C]hexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine. Studies of the hydrolysis of 1-[1-14C]-hexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylethanolamine in this system indicated that the ethanolamine moiety was first removed by a phosphodiesterase to form 1-[1-14C]hexadecylglycero-3-phosphate which was then dephosphorylated to form 1-[1-14C]hexadecylglycerol. Only minimal hydrolysis occurred when the 2-positions of the substrates were acylated; otherwise the phosphodiesterase activity was similar to that of phospholipase D from plants. The occurrence of such a lysophospholipase D pathway has not been previously reported. When Ca2+ (5 mm) was added to the system instead of Mg2+ (5 mm), little, if any, stimulation occurred; higher concentrations of Ca2+ (25 mm) inhibited the reaction. Therefore, this reaction does not appear to be related to the Ca2+-stimulated base exchange reaction found in the brain by others.
Machine vision for autonomous small body navigation

This paper describes machine vision algorithms that enable precision guidance and hazard avoidance during small body exploration through onboard visual feature tracking and landmark recognition. These algorithms provide estimates of spacecraft relative motion and absolute position used to guide the spacecraft during autonomous landing and exploration. They also enable hazard avoidance by providing estimates of 3-D surface topography through processing of monocular image streams. This form of onboard autonomy is a critical enabling technology for multiple future missions including Comet Nucleus Sample Return, Large Asteroid Sample Return, Titan Organics Explorer and Europa Lander and Mars lander missions.
Imaging natural occlusal caries lesions with optical coherence tomography

Several studies have demonstrated that polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) can be used to nondestructively measure the severity of demineralization in the important occlusal surfaces. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential of PS-OCT and OCT methods for the measurement of the depth of natural occlusal carious lesions. Teeth were screened for potential occlusal lesions using near infrared imaging (NIR). A PS-OCT system operating at 1310-nm was used to acquire polarization resolved images of the area of interest on the occlusal surface. The teeth were serial sectioned to 200 μm thickness and examined with polarized light microscopy (PLM) and Transverse Microradiography (TMR) for comparison. The lesion depth measured nondestructively with PS-OCT was compared to the lesion depth measured with PLM and TMR to assess the performance of these methods and determine if polarization sensitivity is required. The lesion depth measured using OCT correlated well with the lesion depths measured with TMR and PLM. Although polarization sensitivity provided better contrast it was not necessary to have polarization sensitivity to identify deep occlusal lesions.
Monolithic opto-electronic integration technologies for rf modules

Monolithic integration promises to deliver high-speed, mechanically robust, EMI-immune, low cost, light-weight, miniaturized RF modules for Air Force space-based sensors,and UAV and manned air vehicle sensor applications. This paper reviews several new approaches being investigated in the Air Force Research Laboratory's Photonics Center towards the monolithic integration of optical and electronic devices on silicon to form high-speed RF links and antenna elements. These include a completed in-house project to evaluate GaAsN light-emitting material latticed-matched to silicon, and funded programs to develop low-noise ring laser link sources flip-chip bonded onto silicon and also monolithically grown on GaP on silicon, and InGaAs sources and detectors grown on mis-oriented silicon CMOS via selective epitaxy. A new in-house technology application project is discussed.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Expanding the Context of Weed Management

Abstract Concerns about current weed control practices have increased the consideration of new weed management strategies. In recent times, weed control practices for major crops have been influenced greatly by the availability of selective herbicides. Herbicides are critical tools, but weed science must integrate more components to create weed management systems. Changes in weed management can be attained within the framework of existing cropping systems. However, for the longer term, new methods and approaches to weed management are needed. Weed scientists need to play a central role in the development of new cropping systems to make weed management an integral component of the system. This volume contains a series of review articles and original research that presents innovative approaches to weeds and weed management. It is our hope that these papers will stimulate discussion on a broader view of weeds and weed management.
Security of attachment and quality of mother–toddler social interaction in a high-risk sample

The quality of children's social interactions and their attachment security with a primary caregiver are two widely studied indices of socioemotional functioning in early childhood. Although both Bowlby and Ainsworth suggested that the parent-child interactions underlying the development of attachment security could be distinguished from other aspects of parent-child interaction (e.g., play), relatively little empirical research has examined this proposition. The aim of the current study was to explore this issue by examining concurrent relations between toddler's attachment security in the Strange Situation Procedure and quality of mother-child social interaction in a high-risk sample of toddlers characterized by prenatal cocaine exposure and low levels of maternal education. Analyses of variance suggested limited relations between attachment security and quality of social interaction. Further research examining the interrelations among various components of the parent-child relationship is needed.
Peace amidst development: 1 a conceptual agenda for conflict and peace research

(1979). Peace amidst development: a conceptual agenda for conflict and peace research. International Interactions: Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 123-143.
Raw-Starch Degrading Amylase(s) Affect Enzyme-resistant Starch

Enzyme-resistant starch (RS) was degraded, in part, by amylase(s) that act on raw starch. The degradation (solubilization) was accompanied by changes in several characteristics (peak temperature and enthalpy) -and, probably, by the presence of a lipid-amylose complex. The degradation resulted in a significant reduction in one of the two main contiguous peaks of RS around 155 o C
On the mechanism of methyl ion condenstion reactions with methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide

Abstract The mechanism of the condensation reactions of CH+3 ions with CH4, NH3 and H2S was studied. Apparently, neither a purely “direct” reaction nor complete equilibration of hydrogen atoms takes place. Evidence for intramolecular exchange of hydrogen atoms prior to H2 elimination was found.
Enhanced OH Chemiluminescent Emission from Transient Plasma Ignited Methane-Air Mixtures Relative to Spark Ignition

Summary form only given. Ignition phenomena in gaseous CH4-air mixtures from transient plasma and spark discharges were studied using optical techniques. It was found that transient plasmas, composed of pulsed discharges persisting for times shorter than the plasma formative phase in gas mixtures, produced shorter ignition delay times - a critical factor in applications such as pulsed detonation engines. 1. The transient plasma is generated via 66 kV, 70 ns FWHM pulses with pulse energies of the order 800 mJ/pulse. The free radical OH is present in many chain propagation and branching reactions, therefore is indicative of the intensities of chemical reaction processes before and after ignition. CH4-air combustion tests were performed at 1 atm, at equivalence ratios of phi =1 and phi =1.2, and chemiluminescent emission of OH at 308 nm was recorded. Emission intensity after ignition, induced by transient plasma, was typically a factor of 5-8 greater than by capacitive spark discharge. In addition, before ignition a large OH signature was present immediately after the application of the transient plasma, whereas there was none detected when using a spark. Associated pressure curves were also compared: the transient plasma case had larger peak pressures, with shorter ignition delays consistent with previous data. 2. Additionally a PicoStar ICCD was used to obtain images of streamer propagation, channel formation, and spark formation. The imaging of the streamers and the strong OH signal indicates that transient plasma in the tested geometry yielded a volumetric ignition process populating the discharge volume with reactive free radicals. Physics and chemistry issues resulting from the combination of these effects, volumetric ignition and direct production of free radicals, will be discussed.
The antidysrhythmic effect of metoprolol in the epinephrine treated chick embryo

It was confirmed through electrocardiography that within two hours after epinephrine treatment, four day chick embryos either maintained normal rhythm or developed a severe cardiac dysrhythmia (22/93, 24% dysrhythmic). The ECG dysrhythmia in epinephrine treated embryos were characterized by periods of bradycardia, asystole, and various supraventricular or ventricular dysrhythmias. Within four hours after treatment, dysrhythmic embryos either reestablished normal rhythmicity or died. Electrocardiographic data also demonstrated that metoprolol pretreatment will block epinephrine induced dysrhythmias (0/46, 0% dysrhythmic). We conclude that metoprolol possesses antidysrhythmic properties in the epinephrine treated chick embryo.
Globalization of neurology: Development of the WFN Journal of the Neurological Sciences

For the past 15 plus years I have had the pleasure and honor of serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Neurological Sciences (JNS), the journal of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN). Although virtually all English-language journals, certainly in neurology and neuroscience, are “international” in scope, origin of manuscripts and to a relatively modest degree “international” in the makeup of editorial boards and ad hoc reviewers, as the official journal of the WFN our editorial board is by design international. In addition, we have purposely attempted to encourage submissions from all countries and regions, as defined by the WFN. Because English is not the first or sometimes even the second language of many of the authors, we have been lenient in the number of revisions we allow when language is the issue. The publisher, Elsevier, provides a list of individuals in several countries who can be hired to help with language problems. On occasion we receive a manuscript that is virtually incomprehensible, and we are forced to reject the manuscript.