cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thymidylate Synthase (TS) Expression In Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL): Identification of a Potential Therapeutic Target

Abstract 5107 Purpose: TS is critical for the de novo synthesis of thymidine needed for tumor cell proliferation and DNA damage repair, whereas thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is key to the salvage pathway providing thymidine recovered from plasma. While TK1 expression has been previously shown to correlate with proliferation in DLBCL, little is known about TS levels in these neoplasms. We hypothesized that, similarly to TK1, TS expression levels associate with increased proliferation and thus may represent a novel therapeutic target in large cell lymphoma. Methods: To address this hypothesis, we determined the expression of TS in lymph node biopsies from 43 DLBCL patients sequentially enrolled in the study with no pre-selection criteria other than the primary histological diagnosis of lymphoma, and then compared it to TK1 expression. In addition, Ki-67 (MIB1) was included as an established marker of cell proliferation. Pearson correlation along with the correlation coefficient and two-tailed P values were calculated to measure the extent of covariation. Results: TS expression and both MIB1 and TK1 were significantly correlated with correlation coefficients of 0.43 and 0.65, respectively (95% CI 0.13 to 0.65 and 0.44 to 0.8; P values = 0.006 and <0.0001, respectively). The correlation between TS and MIB1 expression was in fact stronger than between MIB1 and TK1 ( P values 0.006 and 0.04, respectively). Mean percent positive cells and standard deviations for MIB1, TS and TK1 were 44.5% (SD=35), 51.8% (SD=33.4), and 44% (SD=28.5), respectively. Despite the general good correlation, however, six patients had relatively high TS levels (defined as % cell staining above the mean for TS) and relatively low TK1 levels (% cell staining below the mean for TK1), while the reverse was true in seven patients. Eight patients had high levels of TK1 and TS with ≥ 70% cells positive for both; seven patients had low levels of both proteins (≤30% of cells stained). Conclusion and Significance: This is the first report of TS expression in DLBCL. TS is frequently expressed in DLBCL and there is a significant correlation between TS and TK1 or MIB1 expression. Further studies are warranted to determine the correlation between TS or TK1 expression and patient prognosis in comparison to MIB1. Importantly, the common expression of TS in patients with DLBCL indicates that TS may be a suitable target for TS inhibitors (TSIs) in these neoplasms. Preclinical studies are underway to test this hypothesis. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
What’s the Harm in Climate Change?

AbstractA popular argument against direct duties for individuals to address climate change holds that only states and other powerful collective agents must act. It excuses individual actions as harmless since they (1) are neither necessary nor sufficient to cause harm, (2) arise through normal activity, and (3) have no clear victims. Philosophers have challenged one or more of these assumptions; however, I show that this definition of harm also excuses states and other collective agents. I cite two examples of this in public discourse and suggest we reconsider the notion of harmful action in our discussions about climate change.
Associations of Health-Related Quality of Life with Overall Quality of Life in the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) Project

Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) and evaluative well-being (EWB) surveys are used at local and national level to monitor population health. Significant associations have been reported between HRQOL and EWB measures. Perceptions of overall quality of life are one type of EWB measure. This study estimates associations between a quality of life item and HRQOL items in two datasets (n = 21,133 and n = 2996) collected as part of the U.S. Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) project. HRQOL measures accounted for 69% to 75% of variance in overall quality of life. The study provides further evidence about the empirical overlap between EWB and HRQOL. EWB researchers need to explicitly incorporate HRQOL measures and vice versa in their research. Future research is needed to determine the extent to which the associations between EWB and HRQOL vary by individual characteristics.
Effects of microbiota on GI health: gnotobiotic research.

The complex interactions between the GI tract microbiota and the immune system can be simplified for study using gnotobiotic animal models. The importance of cytokines, such as IFN-γ, TNF-α, TGF-β, Interleukin-2, IL-4 and IL-10 in the host response to intestinal bacteria has been evaluated using gnotobiotic studies. Gnotobiotic experiments with immunodeficient animals have revealed insights into the relationships between innate, cell-mediated and antibody-mediated immune system components in resistance to infectious microorganisms. The development and maturation of the immune system is dependent on the presence of some members of the intestinal microbiota. The commensal microorganisms, in turn, are dependent on the environment and nutrients provided by the GI tract of the host. Gnotobiotic studies are starting to reveal how the microbiota influences oral tolerance to dietary and commensal bacterial antigens. The immunomodulatory effects of microbiota and probiotics for inflammatory bowel diseases and the role of bacteria in their etiologies are being studied in gnotobiotic systems. Many aspects of the host interaction with the microbiota have been and will continue to be best addressed in gnotobiotic experimental models. This chapter reviews the contributions that gnotobiology has made to our understanding of the microbiota and host GI tract health.
Treatment of the Mal de Debarquement Syndrome: A 1-Year Follow-up

The Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS) is a movement disorder, occurring predominantly in women, is most often induced by passive transport on water or in the air (Classic MdDS), or can occur spontaneously. MdDS likely originates in the velocity storage integrator in the vestibular system, and is unfamiliar to many physicians. The first successful treatment was devised by Dai (Dai et al., 2014), and over 330 MdDS patients have now been treated. Here, we report the outcomes of 141 patients (122 females, 19 males), treated one year or more ago. We examine the patient’s rocking frequency, body drifting, and nystagmus. The patients are then treated according to these findings for 4-5 days. During treatment, patients’ heads were rolled while watching a rotating full-field visual surround (Dai et al., 2014). Their symptom severity after the initial treatment and at the follow-up was assessed using a subjective10-point scale. Objective measures, taken before and at the end of the week of treatment, included static posturography. Significant improvement was a reduction in symptom severity by more than 50%. Objective measures were not possible during the follow-up because of the wide geographic distribution of the patients. The treatment group consisted of 120 classic and 21 spontaneous MdDS patients. The initial rate of significant improvement after a week of treatment was 78% in classic and 48% in spontaneous patients. One year later, significant improvement was maintained in 52% of classic and 48% of spontaneous subjects. There was complete remission of symptoms in 27% (32) of classic and 19% (4) of spontaneous patients. Although about half of them did not achieve a 50% improvement, most reported fewer and milder symptoms than before. The success of the treatment was generally inversely correlated with the duration of the MdDS symptoms and with the patients’ ages. Prolonged travel by air or car on the way home most likely contributed to the symptomatic reversion from the initial successful treatment. Our results indicate that early diagnosis and treatment can significantly improve results and the prevention of symptomatic reversion will increase the long-term benefit in this disabling disorder.
A Genome-Wide Association Study Reveals That Genes with Functions for Bone Development Are Associated with Body Conformation in Catfish.

Body conformation is of great scientific and commercial interest for aquaculture fish species because it affects biological adaptation of the organism to environments, and is of economic importance to the aquaculture industry considering its direct effect on fillet yield. Catfish is the primary aquaculture species in the USA. Two major species used in the aquaculture industry, channel catfish and blue catfish, differ in body shape and therefore the backcross progenies serve as a good model for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis. Here, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with hybrid catfish was conducted to identify the QTL for body conformation, including deheaded body length (DBL), body length (BL), body depth (BD), and body breadth (BB), which were all standardized by cubic root of body weight. Overall, the results indicate that the traits are polygenic. For DBL, linkage group (LG) 2 and LG 24 contain significant QTL, and LG 13 and LG 26 contain suggestively associated QTL (-log10(P value) > 4.5). Compared with DBL, additional SNPs were identified to be associated with body length on LG 2, LG 7, and LG 18. Although no significant QTL for body depth was found, three suggestively associated QTLs were identified on LG 5, LG 13, and LG 14. No SNP for body breadth reached the threshold for suggestive association. Genes close to the associated SNPs were determined, many of which are known to be involved in bone development. This work therefore provides the basis for future identification of causal genes for the control of body conformation.
Ascending Somatosensory Systems

The ascending somatosensory pathways signal to the brain information concerning stimuli that are applied to the body or head. This chapter considers only those pathways that convey sensory information from the body. The term “somatosensory” is somewhat misleading, since the somatosensory pathways are used for the perception of signals originating from the viscera (see Foreman, Chapter 10) in addition to those coming from sensory receptors located in such somatic structures as the skin, muscles, and joints. Thus, the pathways to be discussed mediate both somatic and visceral sensation.
The Psychology of Asthma Implications for Treatment

The above quotation, taken from a current short story of John Updike, illustrates the hardihood of a myth. People, including some physicians,* still persist in the belief that asthma is rooted in psychological causes. This psychosomatic view, widely held a half century ago, has been found to be without substance. Asthma, Updike to the contrary, has nothing to do with one’ s mother— or his either. This is not to say that asthma and psychological factors are unrelated. The arrow of causality simply points 180 degrees in the direction away from Updike’ s thesis. Asthma, quite understandably, triggers psychological symptoms in many of its victims and its victims include patients and care-providers. And the processes of diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of asthma are much affected by psychological considerations.
Chapter 16 Amorphous magnetic rare earth alloys

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on amorphous magnetic rare earth alloys. These metal-metalloid amorphous alloys are produced typically by either rapid quenching from the liquid state, electro-deposition from solution, electro-less deposition, or evaporation onto cooled substrates. In late 1972, a new class of amorphous materials was produced: the rare earth-transition metal amorphous alloys (e.g. Tb 0.33 Fe 0.66 or simply TbFe 2 ) that contained no metalloid or glass-former atoms. The rare earth amorphous alloys were found to possess a number of unique features, mostly related to their magnetic state, including magnetic bubble domain propagation, a giant coercive field behavior at low temperatures, evidence of angstrom-sized magnetic micro-domains, and a unique dependence of bulk magnetic ordering temperatures (Curie points) on magnitude of the rare earth effective spin. This chapter discusses these and other aspects of the rare earth transition metal amorphous materials.
Nuclear Data and Cross Section Processing

The common approach of representing energy dependence of neutron–nucleus interactions consists of discretizing the energy dependence in a number of energy groups. During the fission reactions neutrons are emitted with an average energy of approximately 2 MeV. Neutron numbers are negligibly small above 10–15 MeV, making the maximum energy of interest in most nuclear fission reactors to be of about 15 MeV. Neutrons are then slowed down to much lower energies by collisions with the reactor components.
The Voyage of Entrecasteaux: Part 3 New Caledonia to Ambon

The open sea proved to be extremely rough, and Labillardiere found, after a few weeks on land, that he had lost his immunity to seasickness. Only on 3 June 1792 did the sea become sufficiently calm to allow him to get to work on specimens collected during his final outings. The naturalists were eager to reach the southern portion of New Caledonia as a region quite unexplored. Everyone on board, in fact, could not avoid hoping for frequent landfalls. Because the General could not know when it would be possible to secure fresh supplies of water, and as they would soon be entering the torrid zone, he had taken the necessary precaution to limit everyone to one bottle of water a day.
Contemporary Ethical Issues in Engineering [Book Reviews]

This book gives engineering educators a useful global perspective on the state of ethics education in their discipline. The principle strength of the book is the geographical diversity of the 17 contributors to this volume. Not only is India represented, but so is the U.S., U.K, Holland, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Malaysia, and Sudan. Obviously, Europe and Asia have a strong presence and there are multiple entries from the U.S., but there is alas nothing from South America or Australia. The book consists of a series of short essays by, for the most part, professors whose job it is to teach professional ethics to engineering students. Strange to say there is no one here from industry describing what ethical practices he/she might require in a newly hired engineer.
Emerging Role of Combination Immunotherapy in the First-line Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Review

Importance Novel immunotherapies, notably the immune checkpoint inhibitors, have been shown to be efficacious in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, but innate or adaptive resistance is observed with single-agent immunotherapy. New combination treatment strategies are needed that can improve efficacy in a broader patient population, without exacerbating the toxic effects. Observations Numerous late-phase trials are ongoing to investigate (1) dual immune checkpoint inhibition or (2) combined inhibition of immune checkpoints and vascular endothelial growth factor. Initial results from studies of the nivolumab plus ipilimumab and atezolizumab plus bevacizumab combinations have demonstrated efficacy compared with sunitinib malate in treatment-naive patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma; moreover, the safety profile of these combinations compare favorably with sunitinib. Nevertheless, immune checkpoint inhibition is associated with unique immune-related adverse events, and practicing physicians must be educated on how to best identify and manage these events. Conclusions and Relevance Evidence suggests that immunotherapy-based combination regimens will be an important addition to the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma in both the first- and later-line setting; however, clinical study data and clinical practice experience indicate that optimizing the management of the associated immune-related adverse events is essential to maximizing the advantages of these therapies.
Sampling Methods for Counting Temporal Motifs

Pattern counting in graphs is fundamental to several network sci- ence tasks, and there is an abundance of scalable methods for estimating counts of small patterns, often called motifs, in large graphs. However, modern graph datasets now contain richer structure, and incorporating temporal information in particular has become a key part of network analysis. Consequently, temporal motifs, which are generalizations of small subgraph patterns that incorporate temporal ordering on edges, are an emerging part of the network analysis toolbox. However, there are no algorithms for fast estimation of temporal motifs counts; moreover, we show that even counting simple temporal star motifs is NP-complete. Thus, there is a need for fast and approximate algorithms. Here, we present the first frequency estimation algorithms for counting temporal motifs. More specifically, we develop a sampling framework that sits as a layer on top of existing exact counting algorithms and enables fast and accurate memory-efficient estimates of temporal motif counts. Our results show that we can achieve one to two orders of magnitude speedups over existing algorithms with minimal and controllable loss in accuracy on a number of datasets.
A Pilot-Scale Field Study: In Situ Treatment of PCB-Impacted Sediments with Bioamended Activated Carbon.

A combined approach involving microbial bioaugmentation and enhanced sorption was demonstrated to be effective for in situ treatment of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). A pilot study was conducted for 409 days on PCB impacted sediments in four 400 m2 plots located in a watershed drainage pond in Quantico, VA. Treatments with activated carbon (AC) agglomerate bioamended with PCB dechlorinating and oxidizing bacteria decreased the PCB concentration in the top 7.5 cm by up to 52% and the aqueous concentrations of tri- to nonachlorobiphenyl PCB congeners by as much as 95%. Coplanar congeners decreased by up to 80% in sediment and were undetectable in the porewater. There was no significant decrease in PCB concentrations in non-bioamended plots with or without AC. All homologue groups decreased in bioamended sediment and porewater, indicating that both anaerobic dechlorination and aerobic degradation occurred concurrently. The titer of the bioamendments based on quantitative PCR of functional marker genes dec...
Open image in new windowNutritional Mode

The quest for food and energy is universal. We consider in this chapter how creatures can be grouped depending on the nutrients they use and how they go about harvesting them. Not much can be said about the biology of an organism until one knows how it provides for itself.
An assessment of red fillet prevalence in the catfish industry

Abstract Nonstandard Channel Ictalurus punctatus and Hybrid I. punctatus × I. furcatus Catfish fillets are rejected by catfish processors primarily due to aberrations in muscle texture or coloration (i.e., yellow, pink, red), and represent an economic loss for both the processer and farmer. Of these fillet types, red fillet is characterized by red coloration, with affected areas ranging from a solitary spot to the whole fillet. The present study investigates the prevalence of red fillet within the catfish industry and evaluates compositional differences in fillets by means of color, proximate composition, and microbial presence between red (diffuse red patch), punctured (singular red spot), and acceptable fillets. Red fillets with presence of different bacteria were also compared histologically. In order to evaluate the occurrence of red fillet, subsamples of acceptable and rejected fillets were obtained biweekly from a commercial processing plant over the course of a year, with rejected fillets sorted as red, punctured, or neither. Red fillets accounted for an average of 0.13% fillets from each pond harvest, representing an estimated annual loss of $443,000 for catfish farmers and $683,000 for catfish processors. Red and punctured fillets did not significantly differ in color (lightness and redness), pH, fat, protein, or moisture. Red and punctured fillets were darker, redder, and yellower than acceptable fillets. Acceptable fillets had more fat and less moisture than red and punctured fillets. Microbial analyses were similar for both red and punctured fillets with Aeromonas sobria being the most prevalent bacterium (62%) followed by Plesiomonas shigelloides (28%) and A. hydrophila (19%). Fewer acceptable fillets had bacteria than red or punctured fillets, with A. sobria as the most abundant bacterium (24%). The prevalence of A. sobria in red catfish fillets may warrant further investigation into the effect of bacteria on the development of red fillets in intensively-reared Channel and Hybrid Catfish.
Dual-Polarized Perpendicularly Fed Balanced Feed Antenna With High Polarization Purity

The design and analysis of a high-performance dual-polarized perpendicularly fed microstrip patch antenna are presented. The planar balanced feeding technique has been evolved to a highly isolated nonplanar method for exciting a dual-polarized microstrip patch antenna. Reducing the number of parallel dielectric and ground plane layers improves the isolation between polarization and increases the antenna scan capability. The simulation and measurement results of the proposed antenna are presented. The proposed antenna possesses high-performance electromagnetic characteristics. Input isolation of better than 52 dB between orthogonal polarizations in the entire frequency band of 2.7–2.9 GHz and cross-polarization level of better than $-$ 32 dB have been achieved in the measured results.
17 – Stochastic Differential Games

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of stochastic differential equations in which control variables occur in the drift coefficient. The control variables are to be chosen so as to yield optimal results for a given set of cost functions or payoffs. The chapter reviews the schemes whereby, in addition to control variables, optimal stopping is allowed. It also explains N-person stochastic differential games with perfect observation, stochastic differential games with stopping time, and stochastic differential games with partial observation. The chapter describes a saddle point in pure strategies.
Synthesis and evaluation of new peptide-linked doxorubicin conjugates as prodrugs activated by prostate-specific antigen

The targeted delivery of cytotoxic agents to prostate cancer cells via selective activation of peptide-linked prodrugs by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been previously demonstrated. In our continued efforts to design prodrugs with improved prostate tumor specificity, we developed GABA ← mGly-Ala-Ser-Chg-Gln and glutaryl-Ser-Ala-Ser-Chg-Gln as promoieties with enhanced PSA specificity starting from the known substrate sequence glutaryl-Hyp-Ala-Ser-Chg-Gln. Based on their PSA cleavage rates and resistance to non-PSA-mediated hydrolysis in plasma, GABA ← mGly-Ala-Ser-Chg-Gln and glutaryl-Ser-Ala-Ser-Chg-Gln were selected as optimal promoieties and coupled to doxorubicin (Dox) as PSA-targeted prodrugs, using Ser-Leu linkers. Following 72-h incubations with Dox prodrugs, there was insignificant cytotoxicity in non-PSA-producing DU145 cells. The Dox prodrugs, glutaryl-Hyp-Ala-Ser-Chg-Gln-Ser-Leu-Dox (I), glutaryl-Ser-Ala-Ser-Chg-Gln-Ser-Leu-Dox (II) and GABA ← mGly-Ala-Ser-Chg-Gln-Ser-Leu-Dox (III) demonstrated comparable PSA cleavage rates (t1/2 values <23 min), and were cytotoxic against PSA-producing LNCaP cells with IC50 values of 0.18, 0.27 and 0.082 μM, respectively. To mitigate neprilysin-mediated hydrolysis of the Ser-Leu linker in prodrugs I–III and further improve PSA specificity, 3-aminooxypropionate was incorporated between the promoiety and Dox (prodrug IV). Despite its slower PSA cleavage rate (t1/2 value of 67 min), GABA ← mGly-Ala-Ser-Chg-Gln-NH-O-CH2-C(Me)2C(O)-14-O-Dox (IV) was equipotent (IC50 value of 0.19 μM) to prodrug I at killing PSA-producing LNCaP cells due to its ability to release free Dox through a cyclization activation mechanism. Further metabolism and PK/PD studies will be conducted to evaluate the tumor specificity of the novel Dox prodrugs (II–IV) reported herein.
Unintended consequences of performance incentives: impacts of framing and structure on performance and cheating

Setting specific, challenging goals motivates employees to exert greater effort in their jobs. However, goal-setting may have unintended consequences of also motivating unethical behavior. The pres...
Effects of Electron Bunch Width on the Efficiency of High-Order Harmonic Generation from Ultrathin Solid Targets

We demonstrate the importance of the finite extent of the electron bunch width on the spectral power law and the efficiency of high harmonic generation from a relativistic laser interacting with an ultrathin target.
Optical absorption induced by small polaron formation in transition metal oxides: The case of Co 3 O 4

Small polarons (SPs) are known to exist in most important transition metal oxides; however, the nature of small polaron formation remains enigmatic, and a fundamental understanding of how SPs impact the intrinsic electronic structure and optical properties of these materials is largely lacking. In this work, we employ first-principles calculations to investigate SP formation in ${\mathrm{Co}}_{\text{3}}{\mathrm{O}}_{\text{4}}$, a highly promising material for a wide range of emerging energy applications, and we resolve the conflicting findings that have been reported on the electronic structure of the system. We confirm that the intrinsic band gap of ${\mathrm{Co}}_{\text{3}}{\mathrm{O}}_{\text{4}}$ is 1.6 eV, and we show that the formation of small hole polarons significantly influences the optical absorption spectra, leading to a 0.8 eV transition that is often misinterpreted as the band edge that defines the fundamental gap. In addition, we discuss how uniaxial strain can be utilized to probe the Jahn-Teller distortion of SP states and, in turn, effect their optical transitions. Beyond ${\mathrm{Co}}_{\text{3}}{\mathrm{O}}_{\text{4}}$, our study suggests a general roadmap for establishing a first-principles computational approach that can simultaneously achieve an accurate description of SP states, electronic band structure, and optical transitions of polaronic magnetic oxides.
Power-Efficient Software Architecture for a CubeSat System

A 2U CubeSat, (20cm by 10 cm by 10 cm) is being developed to make impedance measurements of plasma in the ionosphere at 400 km altitude. Because the new instrument is able to make measurements rapidly, and because of the severe power and size constraints of the satellite, special care is needed in storing the measurement data and transmitting it to Earth. For both the measurements and for general housekeeping functions, the software of the CubeSat must be able to respond rapidly to events and operate in a manner that is not only flexible and extensible but also power efficient. This work outlines the process by which the software was designed to satisfy the constraints of the mission.
Pulmonary mucormycosis mimicking a tracheobronchial tumor in a patient with diabetic ketoacidosis.

Pulmonary mucormycosis is a life-threatening infection caused by a fungus that is part of the Mucorales family. Diabetes ketoacidosis has been classically described as the main risk factor for the ...
Accelerated share repurchases: value creation or extraction

In this paper, we examine firms’ motivation to conduct an Accelerated Share Repurchase (ASR) comparing to an OMR. ASRs have become the second most popular method of share repurchases in the US. Based on a comprehensive sample of ASR contracts, we find that the cumulative abnormal stock returns surrounding ASR announcements are positive and significantly higher than those for OMR, and ASR market reaction is positively linked to pre-repurchase stock return. The results suggest that firms use ASR to signal short-term undervaluation. We also find support for an earnings management explanation. Our findings strongly support the agency theory of free cash flow explanation for ASR comparing to OMR. The likelihood of conducting an ASR is higher for firms with a larger firm size, higher levels of cash and free cash flow, better operating performance, but a declining investment set. The use of ASR serves as a more efficient method to convey the short-term equity undervaluation and management’s commitment to return excess cash to shareholders.
Comparison between SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV 2

COVID-19, which is officially called SARS-CoV-2, is a newly emerging viral respiratory illness leading to a global epidemic, which causes concerns among the global community in November 2019. SARS-CoV-2 is considered as the third global coronavirus epidemic in the past 20 years after SARS-CoV in 2002 and MERS in 2012. SARS is a viral respiratory illness caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV which was first reported in Guangdong, China in 2002. SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV share similar and different biological features, clinical manifestations, region distribution, transmission mechanisms, and clinical treatments. In this paper, differences and similarities between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV are analyzed to provide valuable information for further research. Through analysis, we found SARS-CoV-2 and SARSCoV share a lot of similarities, but also have differences in clinical manifestations, pathogenicity, transmission rate and treatments.
Evaluation of the University of California Diabetes Prevention Program (UC DPP) Initiative

Background Type 2 diabetes can negatively impact long term health outcomes, healthcare costs and quality of life. However, intensive lifestyle interventions, including the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), can significantly lower risk of incident type 2 diabetes among overweight adults with prediabetes. Unfortunately, the majority of adults in the US who are at risk of developing diabetes do not engage in DPP-based lifestyle change programs. Increased adoption of evidence-based obesity and diabetes prevention interventions, such as the DPP, may help large employers reduce health risks and improve health outcomes among employees. In 2018, the University of California Office of thePresident (UCOP) implemented the UC DPP Initiative, a novel, multi-component program to address diabetes and obesity prevention across the UC system. Methods The goal of our study is to conduct a multifaceted evaluation of the UC DPP Initiative using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Our evaluation will integrate unique and diverse UC data sources, including electronic health record (EHR) data, administrative claims, campus-based DPP cohort data, qualitative interviews and site visits. Our primary outcome of interest is the mean percent weight change among three groups of overweight/obese UC beneficiaries at risk for diabetes at 12-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes include mean percent weight change at 24-month follow-up, barriers and facilitators associated with implementatio, as well as the degree of program adoption and maintenance. Discussion Our study will help inform diabetes and obesity prevention efforts across the UC system. Findings from this evaluation will also be highly applicable to universities and large employers, as well as community organizers, healthcare organizations and insurers implementing the DPP and/or other health promotion interventions.
A Feasibility Study on Tribological Origins of Knee Acoustic Emissions.

Objective: Considering the knee as a fluid-lubricated system, articulating surfaces undergo different lubrication modes and generate joint acoustic emissions (JAEs) while moving. The goal of this study is to compare knee biomechanical signals against synchronously recorded joint sounds and assess the hypothesis that these JAEs are attributed to tribological origins. Methods: JAE, electromyography, ground reaction force signals, and motion capture markers were synchronously recorded from 10 healthy subjects while performing two-leg and one-leg squat exercises. The biomechanical signals were processed with standard inverse dynamic analysis through musculoskeletal modeling, and a tribological parameter, lubrication coefficient, was calculated from these signals. Besides, JAEs were divided into short windows, and 64 time-frequency features were extracted. The lubrication coefficients and joint sound features of the two-leg squats were used to label the windows and train a classifier that discriminates the knee lubrication modes only based on JAE features. Then, the classifier was used to predict the label of one-leg squat JAE windows. To evaluate these results, the predicted joint sound labels were directly compared against the associated lubrication coefficients. Results: The trained classifier achieves a high test-accuracy of 84% distinguishing lubrication modes of the one-leg squat JAE windows. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the estimated friction coefficient and the predicted JAE scores was 0.830.08. Furthermore, the lubrication coefficient threshold, separating two lubrication modes, was calculated from joint sound labels, and it decreased by half from two-leg to one-leg squats. This result was consistent with the tribological changes in the knee load as it was inversely doubled in one-leg squats. These results verify that JAEs contain salient information on knee tribology. Significance: This study supports the potential use of JAEs as a quantitative digital biomarker to extract tribological information about joint lubrication modes and loading conditions. Since arthritis and many other conditions impact the roughness of cartilage and other surfaces within the knee, the use of JAEs in clinical applications could thereby have broad implications for studying joint frictions and monitoring joint structural changes with wearable devices.
The Effects of Food Limitation on Life History Tradeoffs in Pregnant Male Gulf Pipefish

Syngnathid fishes (pipefishes, seahorses and seadragons) are characterized by a unique mode of paternal care in which embryos develop on or in the male’s body, often within a structure known as a brood pouch. Evidence suggests that this pouch plays a role in mediating postcopulatory sexual selection and that males have some control over the events occurring within the pouch during the pregnancy. These observations lead to the prediction that males should invest differently in broods depending on the availability of food. Here, we use the Gulf pipefish to test this prediction by monitoring growth rate and offspring survivorship during the pregnancies of males under low- or high-food conditions. Our results show that pregnant males grow less rapidly on average than non-pregnant males, and pregnant males under low-food conditions grow less than pregnant males under high-food conditions. Offspring survivorship, on the other hand, does not differ between food treatments, suggesting that male Gulf pipefish sacrifice investment in somatic growth, and thus indirectly sacrifice future reproduction, in favor of current reproduction. However, a positive relationship between number of failed eggs and male growth rate in our low-food treatments suggests that undeveloped eggs reduce the pregnancy’s overall cost to the male compared to broods containing only viable offspring.
Selective Disclosures in the Public Capital Markets

Author(s): Choi, Stephen | Abstract: Publicly-traded corporations contain a wealth of non-public material information. Insider trading prohibitions limit the ability of corporate insiders to profit from this information advantage through trades in their own corporations' securities. Some may view the SEC's recently promulgated Regulation FD as complementary to restrictions on insider trading, limiting the ability of firms to confer on outsiders a similar inside information advantage through selective disclosures. The employment of selective disclosures to favor outside investors and analysts, nonetheless, may provide a number of benefits to all shareholders of a corporation. Selective disclosures, for example, may help subsidize the formation of blocks of shares that help monitor managers for agency problems. Selective disclosures also may provide firms a low-cost and flexible means of conveying even confidential information indirectly into the capital markets. The Article contends that the real risk of selective disclosures lies with the potential for managers to co-opt such disclosures for their own opportunistic endeavors. Regulation FD, however, represents an untailored and overly broad response to the risk of opportunism. Instead, the Article sets forth a number of more tailored regulatory responses that allow firms to provide selective disclosures in situations where overall shareholder welfare is enhanced while curtailing more opportunistic uses. Prepared for the Dykstra Corporate Governance Symposium at the University of California, Davis School of Law (2001).
A Neural Network Approach for Analyzing Small Business Lending Decisions

In this paper, we apply the neural network method to small business lending decisions. We use the neural network to classify the loan applications into the groups of acceptance or rejection, and compare the model results with the actual decisions made by loan officers. Data were collected from a leading bank in Central New York. The sample contains important financial statement and business information of borrowers and the loan officers' decisions. We conduct the network training on the data sample and find that the neural network has a stronger discriminating power for classifying the acceptance and rejection groups than traditional parametric and nonparametric classifiers. The results show that the neural network model has a high predictive ability. Our findings suggest that neural networks can be a very useful tool for enhancing small-business lending decisions and reducing loan processing time and costs.
Posttransplantation Lymphoproliferative Disorders in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Liver Transplantation

Abstract Objectives.—To study the clinicopathologic and molecular genetic findings in posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) following pediatric liver transplantation and to determine the applicability of a recently proposed consensus classification system. Design.—The clinical, pathologic, and molecular genetic findings of 11 PTLDs that occurred in 10 patients are presented. These 10 patients were derived from a group of 121 pediatric patients who underwent liver transplantation at the University of California, San Francisco. The PTLDs were classified using the proposed Society for Hematopathology scheme. Clonality was determined by immunohistochemical detection of monotypic immunoglobulin or by using polymerase chain reaction–based methods to detect monoclonal immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene rearrangements. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was detected by immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, or polymerase chain reaction. Epstein-Barr virus typing and the presence of LMP1 gene deletion...
Influence of the Kapitza resistance on nucleate boiling of liquid helium

A modified Schmidt equation is proposed which includes the influence of a non-linear thermal Kapitza resistance on nucleate boiling at solids immersed in liquid helium I. Data of transient nucleate boiling heat transport, at increasing heat flux, are in good agreement with the equation.
Conformational stability, barriers to internal rotation, vibrational assignment and ab initio calculations of 2-methylpropionyl chloride

Abstract The Raman spectra (3600-10 cm−1) of gaseous, liquid and solid 2-methylpropionyl chloride ((CH3)2CHCClO) and the IR spectra (3600-40 cm−1) of gaseous and solid (CH3)2CHCClO have been recorded. In addition, qualitative depolarization ratios have been obtained from the Raman spectrum of the liquid. Variable-temperature (−60 to −100°C) studies of the IR spectra (3500-400 cm−1) of (CH3)2CHCClO dissolved in liquid xenon have been recorded. Utilizing three sets of conformer doublets, the enthalpy difference has been determined to be 240 ± 12 cm−1 (686 ± 34 cal mol−1). These data have been interpreted for the fluid phases and show that the gauche conformation (methyl group eclipses the carbonyl bond) is thermodynamically preferred over the high-energy trans conformation and is the only rotamer present in the spectra of the annealed solid. From the relative intensities of the Raman lines of the liquid at 687 and 563 cm−1 as a function of temperature, the enthalpy difference for the liquid has been determined to be 345 ± 93 cm−1 (986 ± 266 cal mol−1). A complete vibrational assignment is proposed, which is based on IR band contours, depolarization values, group frequencies and normal coordinates. The structural parameters, conformational stabilities, barriers to internal rotation and fundamental vibrational frequencies determined experimentally are compared with those obtained from ab initio calculations and with the corresponding quantities obtained for similar molecules.
A simple model of fuel spray burning I: Random sprays

Abstract A simple model of fuel spray burning is considered. The major simplifying feature of this model is that only diffusive and conductive modes of mass and heat transfer are included, while all the effects due to the hydrodynamic flow field are ignored. A self-consistent equation is derived which expresses the dependence of the burning rate of a droplet on the burning rates of all the other droplets in the spray. This equation is solved for the case of a random distribution of droplet locations using common techniques of statistical mechanics. The resulting expression for the average burning rate is compared to experimental data.
CELL SURFACE EXPRESSION AND FUSION BY THE VARICELLA-ZOSTER VIRUS GH:GL GLYCOPROTEIN COMPLEX : ANALYSIS BY LASER SCANNING CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) open reading frames 37 and 60 encode the glycoproteins gH (gpIII) and gL (gpVI), respectively. The property of gH:gL complex formation is highly conserved among the herpesviruses, even though the VZV gL component diverges greatly from other herpesvirus gL homologs. VZV gL by itself was processed to a mature product within the Golgi. To evaluate the structure:function relationships for VZV gH:gL complex formation, the VZV gL product was modified by site-directed mutagenesis of three cysteine residues. When the transfection products were examined by laser scanning confocal microscopy, expression of the wild-type gH:gL complex was clearly visualized by a uniform distribution of gH molecules across the cell surface. In contrast, transfection with wild-type gH:mutant gL led to a marked change in the trafficking pattern; gH was not processed in the Golgi and not detected at the cell surface. Likewise, replacement of the gL cysteine residues interfered with the fusogenic properties of the gH:gL complex. Whereas coexpression of wild-type VZV gH:gL caused extensive cell-to-cell fusion with polykaryocytosis, no cell fusion occurred following transfection with gH:mutant gL. Whether another VZV glycoprotein could substitute for VZV gL was investigated within the same transfection system, with the discovery that either VZV gE (gpI) or VZV gI (gpIV) facilitated the cell surface expression of VZV gH. The gH:gE or gH:gI interaction led to a capping or patching phenomenon never seen on the surface of a cell expressing gH:gL complexes; furthermore, cell-to-cell fusion was not observed. The fact that VZV gL, unlike other herpesviral glycoproteins, lacked a traditional signal sequence was investigated further by computer-assisted BlockSearch sequence analysis. The BlockSearch program assigned VZV gL to a family of proteins which lack a typical endoplasmic reticulum signal sequence but possess instead an endoplasmic reticulum targeting sequence. Since the latter sequence is common to many chaperone proteins, VZV gL most likely behaves in a similar manner.
A review of the arsenic cycle in natural waters

Abstract A review of the occurrence and cycling of arsenic in fresh waters is presented. The fate of arsenic in natural waters has received little attention in past years, in spite of the fact that arsenic is toxic and probably carcinogenic through exposure by drinking water. The chemistry of arsenic in aqueous systems is reviewed. Thermodynamic information is summarized in an Eh pH diagram for a system including sulfur. Mechanisms for removal of arsenic from the solution phase to the sediments are discussed. The possible microbially-mediated reactions of arsenic, including oxidation of arsenite, methylation of arsenic species, and reduction of arsenate, are discussed with reference to the locale of the reaction in the water column or in the sediments and to the toxicological significance of the reaction products and the rates of reaction. A cycle of reactions for arsenic in a stratified lake is proposed and evidence is summarized relating to the occurrence and importance of particular reactions. The potential pollutional hazard of arsenic is from ingestion of drinking water with high concentrations of arsenic, rather than consuming arsenic containing aquatic organisms. Although arsenic is greatly concentrated in aquatic organisms, it is evidently not progressively concentrated along a food chain. In addition, arsenic when consumed as an organically-bound species in flesh evidently has low toxicity. The global cycle of arsenic is discussed. While volcanic activity is the original source of much of the arsenic in sedimentary rocks, in recent times weathering of arsenic has been approximately in balance with deposition of arsenic in sediments. Human activities, including the use of arsenic, the burning of fossil fuels, increased erosion of land and the mining and processing of sulfide minerals, have increased the amount of arsenic entering the oceans by at least a factor of 3. This increase will have no effect on the concentration in the oceans for many hundreds of years. However, these cultural contributions are the source of high localized concentrations in many fresh waters. Careful surveillance and increased knowledge of the fate or arsenic in the aquatic environment are needed to insure that there will be no public health hazard.
Threshold of F-center formation of alkali halide crystals by two-photon absorption

Abstract Thresholds of F-center formations for various alkali halide crystals with accuracy better than 5 meV are first reported by two-photon absorption process of a tunable dye laser.
The assay of sulfided molybdena-alumina catalysts

Abstract Sulfided catalysts were characterized by measuring the comsumption of O2 on reoxidation. The S Mo , O 5 Mo , and e Mo ratios could be evaluated. Most of the sulfur was removed and measured as SO2; some SO3 was formed and trapped by the alumina as SO4−2. This was released as SO2 on reduction with H2. The average extent of reduction, e Mo , was calculated after correcting the oxygen consumed for that required to oxidize and replaced the sulfur. The oxygen removed by reduction and sulfiding was measured as H2O, i.e., as WR and WS, respectively. This oxygen removed was mostly compensated by the addition of sulfur. Reduction occurred by breaking bonds between bound molybdena and the alumina surface. The results obtained show that usually S Mo ≤2 and that e Mo ≥ 2. It was concluded, therefore, that valence states below Mo4+ are common in these preparations. Parallel infrared studies were helpful in validating the procedures used.
Aquatic and aerial metabolism of juvenile monkeyface prickleback, Cebidichthys violaceus, an intertidal fish of california

1. 1. Aerial and aquatic oxygen consumption rates of monkeyface prickleback, Cebidichthys violaceus (0.46–7.05 g wet weight) from California intertidal areas were measured in glass respirometers. 2. 2. Fish consumed 0.54 ± 0.04 mg O2 hr (mean ± SEM) in water, which was significantly (P < 0.05) more than the 0.41 ± 0.03 mg O2 hr consumed in air. 3. 3. Muscle [lactate−] did not differ (P > 0.05) between water-exposed (15.37 ± 1.25 mg dl) and airexposed (20.73 ± 2.91 mg dl) fish. 4. 4. A combination of low aerobic and anaerobic metabolic demands help Cebidichthys survive in upper intertidal habitats.