cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Strengthen Mechanism and Prediction of Modulus of Fiber/Polymer Foam Composites

The influence factors of performances of fiber/polymer foam composites are analyzed and strengthen mechanism of fibers are summarized firstly.The application of Halpin-Kerner model and modifier formulas in modulus prediction and the differences between calculated and measurement values are then discussed.The finite element model are proposed to be involving more factors that affecting the properties of fiber/polymer foam composites and exhibiting better modulus prediction results closed to real experimental data.
Study of control effect of GLT to Bemisia tabaci

For evaluating the effective of the GLT against the agricultural disease and arthropod pest,this experent determined the effective of GLT add the different activator or pesticide against the Bemisia tabaci,the result indicated GLT add the different activator or pesticide all have the preferable effective against the Bemisia tabaci.Particle Film Technology is one physical control technology in control agricultural disease and arthropod pest,it is a preferable effective way in control agricultural disease and arthropod pest,and it can increase the production and improved the quality of the products.
Pearls, perils, and pitfalls in the use of the electroencephalogram.

Despite advances in neuroimaging techniques over the past three decades that have helped in identifying structural lesions of the central nervous system, electroencephalography (EEG) continues to provide valuable insight into brain function by demonstrating focal or diffuse background abnormalities and epileptiform abnormalities. It is an extremely valuable test in patients suspected of epilepsy and in patients with altered mental status and coma. Patterns in the EEG make it possible to clarify the seizure type; it is indispensable for the diagnosis of nonconvulsive status epilepticus and for separating epileptic from other paroxysmal (nonepileptic) episodes. There are EEG patterns predictive of the cause of the encephalopathy (i.e., triphasic waves in metabolic encephalopathy) or the location of the lesion (i.e., focal polymorphic delta activity in lesions of the subcortical white matter). The various EEG characteristics of infantile, childhood, and adult epilepsies are described as well as the EEG patterns that are morphologically similar to interictal/ictal epileptiform discharges but unrelated to epilepsy. An EEG is most helpful in determining the severity and, hence, the prognosis of cerebral dysfunction. Lastly, EEG is extremely helpful in assessing normal or abnormal brain functioning in a newborn because of the serious limitation in performing an adequate neurologic examination on the neonate who is intubated or paralyzed for ventilatory control. Under such circumstances, the EEG may be the only available tool to detect an encephalopathic process or the occurrence of epileptic seizures.
Environmental Influences on Wood Chemistry and Density of Populus and Loblolly Pine

The objectives of the study are to: (1) determine the degree to which physical and chemical wood properties vary in association with environmental and silvicultural practices in Populus and loblolly pine and (2) develop and verify species-specific empirical models in an effort to create a framework for understanding environmental influences on wood quality.
“A Tale of Two Planes”: Deep Versus Superficial Serratus Plane Block for Postmastectomy Pain Syndrome

Introduction Postmastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS) is a significant burden for breast cancer survivors. Although multiple therapies have been described, an evolving field of serratus anterior plane blocks has been described in this population. We describe the addition of the deep serratus anterior plane block (DSPB) for PMPS. Methods Four patients with history of PMPS underwent DSPB for anterior chest wall pain. A retrospective review of these patients9 outcomes was obtained through postprocedure interviews. Results Three of the patients previously had a superficial serratus anterior plane block, which was not as efficacious as the DSPB. The fourth patient had a superficial serratus anterior plane that was difficult to separate with hydrodissection but had improved pain control with a DSPB. Conclusions We illustrate 4 patients who have benefitted from a DSPB and describe indications that this block may be more efficacious than a superficial serratus plane block. Further study is recommended to understand the intercostal nerve branches within the lateral and anterior muscular chest wall planes.
Recurrent Network Dynamics; a Link between Form and Motion.

To discriminate visual features such as corners and contours, the brain must be sensitive to spatial correlations between multiple points in an image. Consistent with this, macaque V2 neurons respond selectively to patterns with well-defined multipoint correlations. Here, we show that a standard feedforward model (a cascade of linear-nonlinear filters) does not capture this multipoint selectivity. As an alternative, we developed an artificial neural network model with two hierarchical stages of processing and locally recurrent connectivity. This model faithfully reproduced neurons’ selectivity for multipoint correlations. By probing the model, we gained novel insights into early form processing. First, the diverse selectivity for multipoint correlations and complex response dynamics of the hidden units in the model were surprisingly similar to those observed in V1 and V2. This suggests that both transient and sustained response dynamics may be a vital part of form computations. Second, the model self-organized units with speed and direction selectivity that was correlated with selectivity for multipoint correlations. In other words, the model units that detected multipoint spatial correlations also detected space-time correlations. This leads to the novel hypothesis that higher-order spatial correlations could be computed by the rapid, sequential assessment and comparison of multiple low-order correlations within the receptive field. This computation links spatial and temporal processing and leads to the testable prediction that the analysis of complex form and motion are closely intertwined in early visual cortex.
Group-level support recovery guarantees for group lasso estimator

This paper considers the problem of estimating an unknown high dimensional signal from (typically low-dimensional) noisy linear measurements, where the desired unknown signal is assumed to possess a group-sparse structure, i.e. given a (pre-defined) partition of its entries into groups, only a small number of such groups are non-zero. Assuming the unknown group-sparse signal is generated according to a certain statistical model, we provide guarantees under which it can be efficiently estimated via solving the well-known group Lasso problem. In particular, we demonstrate that the set of indices for non-zero groups of the signal (called the group-level support of the signal) can be exactly recovered by solving the proposed group Lasso problem provided that its constituent non-zero groups are small in number and possess enough energy. Our guarantees rely on the well-conditioning of measurement matrix, which is expressed in terms of the block coherence parameter and can be efficiently computed. Our results are non-asymptotic in nature and therefore applicable to practical scenarios.
Pharmacology of the placenta.

A number of drugs, if administered during pregnancy, have the potential of increasing or decreasing the blood supply to the developing fetus via a variety of mechanisms. Two aspects of placental pharmacology are considered here: the capacity of the placenta to catalyze the biotransformation of xenobiotic (drug) substrates, and the effects of drugs on the placental vasculature.
Effects of neonatal antigen exposure on natural antibody repertoire development

B-1 B cells produce natural antibodies that contribute significantly to maintenance of immunological homeostasis, however the role exogenous antigens play in the development of the B-1 B cell repertoire is unclear. N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc)-reactive antibodies are universally represented in mammals, and some GlcNAc-reactive B cell clonotypes are autoreactive due to the conservation of orthologous GlcNAc epitopes in mammals and microorganisms. We report here that neonatal immunization with GlcNAc-bearing Group A Streptococcus significantly expands CD5-bearing GlcNAc-reactive B-1 B cell populations, alters the GlcNAc- reactive clonal repertoire, and suppresses class-switch antibody responses upon secondary immunization in adulthood. We further find that in the absence of exogenous antigen stimulation, germ-free mice exhibit log-reductions in the number of GlcNAc-reactive B-1 B cells and the levels of circulating antibodies. Importantly, clonal analyses of B cells from germ-free mice reveals a lack of GlcNAc-reactive innate-like B cell clonotypes that are highly conserved between mice raised under SPF conditions. Collectively, these data indicate that exposure to exogenous antigen during perinatal development can directly influence clonal representation within certain B-1 B cell specificities. These observations suggest that integration of signals derived from exogenous antigen is required for the development of certain clonal specificities that are negatively selected in the absence of exogenous stimuli. Given the functions of natural antibodies, these observations may hold major implications for the roles of environmental factors in the development of autoimmune disease.
Stronger-than-Pt hydrogen adsorption in a Au22 nanocluster for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Atomically precise metal nanoclusters have recently emerged as a novel class of catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction. From first-principles density functional theory, we show that the eight coordinatively unsaturated (cus) Au atoms in the Au22(L8)6 cluster [L8 = 1,8-bis(diphenylphosphino) octane] can adsorb H stronger than Pt, thereby being a potentially promising catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). We find that up to six H atoms can adsorb onto the Au22(L8)6 cluster and they have close-to-zero Gibbs free adsorption energies (ΔGH). From the HOMO–LUMO gaps, frontier orbitals, and Bader charge analysis, we conclude that H behaves as a hydride or electron-withdrawing ligand in the Au22(L8)6 clusters, in contrast to the metallic H in thiolate-protected Au nanoclusters. Our study demonstrates that ligand-protected Au clusters with cus Au sites will be the most promising candidates for realizing Au–H nanoclusters and can act as excellent electrocatalysts for the HER.
Performance of the Asthma Impact on Quality of Life Scale (A-IQOLS) in diverse asthma research populations and demographic subgroups.

Background The Asthma Impact on Quality of Life Scale (A-IQOLS) assesses the patient-perceived negative effect of asthma on quality of life. Its standard error of measurement is known; it has strong construct, convergent, and divergent validity; and it provides information that is unique among asthma outcome measures. Objective We sought to characterize the psychometric properties of the A-IQOLS and its suitability for use in demographically and clinically diverse adult asthmatic populations. Methods Data from participants in 5 independent asthma studies, with samples ranging from patients with well-controlled moderate asthma to patients with severe poorly controlled asthma, were pooled to determine the psychometric performance of A-IQOLS scores overall and in multiple demographic, disease status, and study subgroups. Results Pooled sample (n = 597) age averaged 45 years; 66% were female, 65% were white, 22% were African American, 11% were Hispanic, and 11% had a high school education or less. The rated importance of its underlying life dimensions and associations between A-IQOLS scores and lung function, symptom, Asthma Control Test, Juniper Mini Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire, and Marks Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire scores was very similar, regardless of patients' demographic and clinical characteristics. A-IQOLS scores discriminated among the individual study samples, as well as other patient-reported symptom and functional status measures. Distribution and anchor-based considerations suggest an A-IQOLS minimum clinically important difference in the vicinity of 0.50 and not less than 0.33 scale score units. Conclusions A-IQOLS is valid for research and potentially clinical use in demographically and clinically diverse patients.
Student and faculty performance in clinical simulations with access to a searchable information resource.

Abstract In this study we explore how students' use of an easily accessible and searchable database affects their performance in clinical simulations. We do this by comparing performance of students with and without database access and compare these to a sample of faculty members. The literature supports the fact that interactive information resources can augment a clinician's problem solving ability in small clinical vignettes. We have taken the INQUIRER bacteriological database, containing detailed information on 63 medically important bacteria in 33 structured fields, and incorporated it into a computer-based clinical simulation. Subjects worked through the case-based clinical simulations with some having access to the INQUIRER information resource. Performance metrics were based on correct determination of the etiologic agent in the simulation and crosstabulated with student access of the information resource; more specifically it was determined whether the student displayed the database record describing the etiologic agent. Chi-square tests show statistical significance for this relationship (chi 2 = 3.922; p = 0.048). Results support the idea that students with database access in a clinical simulation environment can perform at a higher level than their counterparts who lack access to such information, reflecting favorably on the use of information resources in training environments.
New Proofs of Some q-Series Results

We use a Sheffer classification technique to give very short proofs of the addition theorem for the e q function, the representation of e q as a multiple of a 2ϕ1, and a relatively new representation of e q . A direct proof of the evaluation of the connection coefficients of the Askey-Wilson polynomials and the Nassrallah-Rahman integral are also given. A sim ple proof of a characterization theorem for the continuous q-Hermite polynomials is also given.
The Challenges of Negotiating a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

In his State of the Union speech, President Obama announced that the United States will launch talks on a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union. This initiative is big news, and potentially a game-changer for trade liberalization. For years now, trade talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other fora have been stalled or grinding along slowly. By limiting the transatlantic talks to two economies that are relatively supportive of free trade, and are at the same development level, perhaps trade negotiators will at last have some success. A completed agreement here could generate momentum for broader trade liberalization around the world. More immediately, the economic benefits of this trade deal would be great, as the United States and the European Union are the two largest economies in the world, and their trade flows with the world account for almost one third of global trade.However, there may be some stumbling blocks along the way. If the United States and the European Union take on an agenda that is too broad, it may turn out that these trade talks fare no better than other current trade talks. In order to succeed, it is important that the negotiations have realistic goals and a clear path to completion.The precise scope of the talks remains somewhat vague at this point, but a framework is set out in the Final Report of the U.S.–EU High-Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth. The report indicates that various forms of protectionism will be addressed, and also suggests that the talks will delve further into domestic regulatory issues than most current trade agreements do. While such an expansion of international trade rules does hold the potential for significant economic benefits, it also tests the limits of how far trade agreements can go in terms of global trade governance. Including issues that the trading system cannot handle may doom the talks from the start, and negotiators should be careful about how they approach this.
Abstract 3159: Rac1 and Cdc42 as drivers in ovarian cancer metastasis

Five-year ovarian cancer patient survival has not improved for decades, largely due to disease recurrence. Therefore, drivers of relapse need to be identified. We first reported that Rac1 and Cdc42 GTPases are highly overexpressed in serous ovarian cancer using immunohistochemistry. To correlate GTPase expression with survival outcomes, we analyzed gene expression data in The Cancer Genome Atlas, revealing that ovarian cancer patients with the highest RAC1 RNA levels had significantly worse age-adjusted survival than those with low RAC1. Quantitative analyses of Rac1b, a constitutively active Rac1 splice variant, show dramatic overexpression in tumor epithelia relative to stroma and normal epithelia. Since high Rac1 and Cdc42 levels drive cancer cell adhesion, invasion and metastasis, we used multiple assays to assess the dependence of ovarian cancer cell behaviors on Rac1 and Cdc42. Using Matrigel invasion chambers, treatment of multiple ovarian cancer cell lines with specific Rac1 and Cdc42 inhibitors resulted in significantly decreased cellular invasion. Conversely, with overexpression of Rac1, ovarian cancer cells demonstrated increased invasion. Furthermore, IP injection of ovarian cancer cells overexpressing Rac1 resulted in increased adhesion, invasion and metastasis in the omentum and peritoneum in vivo. These data support Rac1 and Cdc42 as important drivers of invasive and metastatic ovarian cancer and as novel high-value therapeutic targets with potential impact in reducing disease metastasis. Citation Format: Melanie Rivera, Dayna Dominguez, Christine Pauken, Elsa Romero, S. Ray Kenney, Yang Shi, Ji-Hyun Lee, Jennifer Gillette, Laurie G. Hudson, Angela Wandinger-Ness. Rac1 and Cdc42 as drivers in ovarian cancer metastasis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3159.
Learning through Meaning Making: Applying Job Crafting in Field Learning

ABSTRACTJob crafting makes people’s work rewarding through meaning making. This article discusses the ways in which a field director may use job crafting to address a common challenge in field education. Field placements are based on various institutional expectations; however, many students have preconceived notions of what social work and social work education should be, and they complain that their placements are “not clinical ” enough. Through the application of job crafting, students can reframe their field learning experiences in a meaningful way. Using the case study method, this article demonstrates one way to support MSW students, highlighting common challenges and practices at a large public northeastern university.
Addressing the Enduring Primary Care Physician Shortage in The United States: The Direct and Indirect Effects of Gender on the Medical Specialty Decision-Making Process

Background: There has been an enduring primary care (PC) physician shortage in the United States (U.S.) for decades, which is projected to worsen. With women entering PC at significantly higher rates than men, the aim of this study was to explore various pathways through which gender may affect the medical specialty decision-making process. Methods: Using data from the National Survey of Attitudes and Choices in Medical Education and Training (ACMET) II on a sample of 492 medical residents, this study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore how gender shaped residents’ preferences for future practice and their perceptions of PC, and how their experiences with faculty affected the medical specialty decision-making process. Results: As expected, women were significantly more likely than men to report choosing PC. This study also found that there were several indirect pathways through which gender affects specialty choice, including through negative perceptions about PC and the time spent with PC faculty in medical school. Conclusion: Given the multiple pathways through which gender affects the medical specialty decision-making process, this study highlights a need for gender-specific interventions when addressing the enduring PC physician shortage in the U.S. Specifically, the results of this study suggest that increasing the time that male medical students spend in PC through structural changes in medical education might mitigate negative perceptions about PC and encourage males to enter PC at higher rates. Future research should assess the effectiveness of such gender-specific interventions.
Thomas of Sutton on Intellectual habitus

According to the Dominican Thomas of Sutton (ca. 1250–1315), the reception of intelligible species in the potential intellect is in every point similar to the actualization of forms in matter, which means that the potential intellect remains completely passive through the whole process of concept acquisition. However, Sutton adds that when the intelligible species are stored in the memory and aggregate in logically organized clusters, thus becoming intellectual habitus, they have a way of being that is not found in material things, namely, incomplete actuality. Without being properly speaking efficient causes of mental processes, they spontaneously tend to emerge by themselves into the light of awareness—even though other elements (other intelligible species, notably, or the will) may in fact block them. This special sort of self-actualization is compatible, Sutton thinks, with the passivity he ascribes to the potential intellect.
On experimentally locating saddle-points on a potential energy surface from observed dynamics

Abstract This paper details a new method to estimate the location of unstable equilibria, specifically saddle-points, based on transient trajectories from experiments. We describe a system in which saddle-points (not easily observed in a direct sense) influence the behavior of trajectories that pass ’close-by’ them. This influence is used to construct a model and thus identify a more accurate estimate of the location using a number of refinements associated with linearization and regression. Both simulations and experiments were conducted to verify the method. The experiment consists of a small ball rolling on a relatively shallow curved surface under the influence of gravity: a potential energy surface in two dimensions. Tracking the motion of the ball with a digital camera provides data that compares closely with the output of numerical simulation. The experimental results suggest that this method can effectively locate the saddle equilibria in a system, and the robustness of the approach is assessed relative to the effect of noise, size of the local neighborhood, etc., in addition to providing information on the local dynamics. Given the relative simplicity of the experiment system used and a priori knowledge of the saddle-points, it is a useful testing environment for system identification in a nonlinear context.
Peptidoglycan (Murein) Hydrolases: Unusual Enzymes for Unusual Substrates

A broad variety of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria have been shown to have the ability to dissolve themselves (autolyze), particularly under “adverse” conditions (see Ghuysen and Shockman, 1973; Daneo-Moore and Shockman, 1977; Rogers et al., 1980; Shockman and Barrett, 1983; Doyle and Koch, 1987; Holtje and Tuomanen, 1991, for reviews). This process is now known to be initiated by the action of endogenous enzymes that hydrolyze specific bonds in the insoluble, osmotically protective, shape-maintaining and essential, peptidoglycan (murein) polymer of the bacterial cell wall. Hydrolysis of a sufficient number of bonds in a restricted area of the two- or three-dimensional peptidoglycan network, or a larger number of bonds in a broader area of the wall, creates a weak spot (or a generalized weakness in the structure), so that the wall can no longer protect the protoplast from its own internal osmotic pressure, so that the protoplast then explodes out through the weakened structure. Endogenous enzymes are now known that can hydrolyze virtually every bond in the peptidoglycan including: (i) glycosidases and transglycosidases, such as N-acetylmuramoylhydrolases (muramidases) and N-acetylglucosaminidases, (ii) N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidases, and (iii) various peptidases and transpeptidases, including DD- and LD-carboxypeptidases (Rogers et al., 1980).
Communication, conflict, and the quality of family relationships.

Conﬂict is one of the most (if not the most) studied and discussed subjects in the area of family communication. In fact, some authors suggest that conﬂict has been emphasized to such an extent that it has eclipsed positive aspects of marital and family interaction (Bradbury, Rogge, & Lawrence, 2001; Roberts & Greenberg, in press). Why do scholars show so much interest in communication and family conﬂict?
Food Fraud Prevention Overview (Part 1 of 3): Basics

This chapter presents the overall food fraud prevention concept and introduces the fundamental theory of prevention, the relation of food fraud to all other food risks (e.g., food quality, food safety, and food defense), why the core focus is prevention, and finally the Food Fraud Prevention Strategy (FFPS). There is a specific focus on how these activities interact and also how new information enters the cycle. The next chapter will expand to include the application of the Food Fraud Prevention Cycle (FFPC).
The Unhappy Cosmetic Patient: Lessons From Unfavorable Online Reviews of Minimally and Noninvasive Cosmetic Procedures.

Background The number of patients receiving minimally and noninvasive cosmetic procedures is increasing. Often, patients turn to online review forums to gain and share advice regarding cosmetic procedures. Understanding and discussing patient-reported outcome data can help align physician and patient expectations and ultimately help improve the patient experience. Objective To determine the most common reasons patients are dissatisfied with a selection of minimally and noninvasive cosmetic procedures. Materials and methods Negative patient reviews from the RealSelf.com website were analyzed, and the reason for patient discontent was recorded for the following treatments: tissue stabilized-guided subscision, cryolipolysis, electromagnetic therapy, deoxycholic acid injections, energy-induced thermolysis, radio thermoplasty, threadlifts, and ultrasound therapy. Results One thousand two hundred four reviews were included in analysis. For all treatments analyzed, the most common reason for patient dissatisfaction was ineffectiveness (n = 782, 65.0%), followed by complications (n = 301, 25.0%). The most common complications were as follows: lumps for tissue stabilized-guided subscision (n = 6, 50.0%), treated area enlargement for cryolipolysis (n = 23, 22.1%), swelling for deoxycholic acid injections (n = 9, 47.4%), numbness for energy-induced thermolysis (n = 6, 35.3%), fat loss for radio thermoplasty (n = 26, 53.1%) and ultrasound therapy (n = 32, 48.5%), and indentations for threadlifts (n = 10, 30.3%). Conclusion Ineffectiveness and complications were the most common reasons for dissatisfaction among all treatments analyzed. Patient-reported outcome data may offer insight into how physicians can improve their patient's satisfaction with cosmetic procedures.
Bank Opacity and the Lending Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has included market discipline as one of the three pillars in its new capital accord. This study looks into the existence of bank market discipline through the lending channel of monetary policy transmission. Bond and equity trading data for 84 bank holding companies from 1993 to 2003 are used to construct and correlate debt and equity-based proxies for bank opacity. These proxies for bank opacity are used to divide the sample of bank holding companies for use in a lending channel model. Using this model reveals that a lending channel does exist and more opaque banks are more sensitive to monetary contractions than more transparent ones. That opaque banks have their lending restricted more by tightening of monetary policy indicates that a tradeoff exists between promoting transparency to enhance market discipline and conducting effective monetary policy. Because of this, decision makers must determine the optimal mix of bank supervision based on market discipline and control over the money supply.
MicroRNA-744 Inhibits Proliferation of Bronchial Epithelial Cells by Regulating Smad3 Pathway via Targeting Transforming Growth Factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in Severe Asthma.

BACKGROUND Bronchial epithelial cells proliferation plays a pivotal role in airway remodeling in children with severe asthma. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have gained great attention for many diseases, including asthma. The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanisms that underlie miR-744 modulating bronchial epithelial cells proliferation in severe asthma in children. MATERIAL AND METHODS Bronchial epithelial cells were isolated from bronchial biopsies of normal controls and asthmatic subjects. miR-744 and transforming growth factor-s1 (TGF-s1) expressions were measured by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), phosphorylation or total of mothers against decapentaplegic homolog3 (Smad3) and production of Smad anchor for receptor activation (SARA) were measured via Western blot analysis. A link between miR-744 and TGF-s1 was probed by luciferase activity and RNA immunoprecipitation. Cell proliferation was evaluated using the Cell Proliferation Assay Kit. RESULTS Severe asthma showed a significantly elevated cell proliferation rate and reduced abundance of miR-744, which in turn inhibited cell proliferation of bronchial epithelial cells. In particular, TGF-s1 might be a candidate target of miR-744, and enrichment of miR-744 lowered the expression of TGF-s1 at mRNA and protein levels. Indeed, overexpression of miR-744 lowered the proliferation rate of bronchial epithelial cells via driving TGF-s1. Moreover, addition of miR-744 limited phosphorylation of Smad3 but reversed SARA protein abundance by regulating TGF-s1. CONCLUSIONS The presence of miR-744 repressed bronchial epithelial cells proliferation through mediating the Smad3 pathway by modulating TGF-s1, providing a promising therapeutic approach for epithelial function in severe asthma.
Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)-assessment with three different methodologies and correlation with Oncotype DX DCIS Score.

AIMS Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are prognostic in invasive breast cancer; however, their prognostic significance in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has not been established. The Oncotype DX (ODX) Breast DCIS Score test is a genomic assay used to predict the local recurrence risk. The aims of this study were to quantify TILs in DCIS by the use of three methodologies, and correlate them with the ODX DCIS Score. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied 97 DCIS cases, all with an ODX DCIS Score. Cases with a low ODX DCIS Score were considered as one group, and those with an intermediate/high ODX Score were considered together. TILs were quantified on haematoxylin and eosin-stained slides. The methodologies used to quantify TILS included assessment of stromal TILs, assessment of touching TILs, and assessment of circumferential TILS. In cases with >5% stromal TILS, the percentage of stromal TILS was considered to be high. In cases with a mean number of more than five touching TILs per DCIS duct, TILs were considered to be present. The ODX DCIS Score was intermediate/high in 27 (28%) cases and low in 70 (72%) cases. There were >5% stromal TILs in 33 (34%) cases, and more than five touching TILs per DCIS duct in 15 (15%) cases; circumferential TILs were present in nine (9%) cases. In univariate analysis, a low ODX DCIS Score showed significant associations with absent touching TILS (P = 0.027), stromal TILs < 5% (P = 0.031), and absent circumferential TILs (P = 0.002). In logistic regression analysis adjusted for necrosis and nuclear grade, touching TILs and circumferential TILs showed significant associations with the ODX DCIS Score, whereas stromal TILs did not. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that both the presence of TILs and the spatial arrangement of TILs or close proximity of TILs to DCIS, and TILs touching or encircling DCIS, may be predictive of recurrence.
Identification of Autophagy-Inhibiting Factors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by High-Throughput Loss-of-Function Screening.

The interaction of host cells with mycobacteria is complex and can lead to multiple outcomes ranging from bacterial clearance to progressive or latent infection. Autophagy is recognized as one component of host cell responses that has an essential role in innate and adaptive immunity to intracellular bacteria. Many microbes, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, have evolved to evade or exploit autophagy, but the precise mechanisms and virulence factors are mostly unknown. Through a loss of function screening of an M. tuberculosis transposon mutant library, we identified 16 genes that contribute to autophagy inhibition, six of which encoded the PE/PPE protein family. Their expression in M. smegmatis confirmed that these PE/PPE proteins inhibit autophagy and increased intracellular bacterial persistence or replication in infected cells. These effects were associated with increased mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activity, and also with decreased production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). We also confirmed that the targeted deletion of the pe/ppe genes in M. tuberculosis resulted in enhanced autophagy and improved intracellular survival rates compared to wild-type bacteria in the infected macrophages. Differential expression of these PE/PPE proteins was observed in response to various stress conditions, suggesting that they may confer advantages to M. tuberculosis by modulating its interactions with host cells under various conditions. Our findings demonstrated that multiple M. tuberculosis PE/PPE proteins are involved in inhibiting autophagy during infection of host phagocytes and may provide strategic targets in developing therapeutics or vaccines against tuberculosis.
Koopman mode analysis on thermal data for building energy assessment

Current approaches to thermal control and energy management in residential and office buildings rely on complex or high-dimensional thermal models. We provide a means to extract features from in-of...
Dealing With Dissatisfaction Measure In QFD Model To Derive Target Of Engineering Characteristics

Abstract. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a design tool for developing product to maximize customer satisfaction. Implementation of QFD demands deeply understanding about customer requirements. Kano model is broadly used to give insight about customer requirements categories. In the Kano model there are three major categories that have to be considered regarding its influence on customer’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Attractive requirements and must be requirements have more than proportional influence on customer’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction. One dimensional requirements are requirements that affect customer satisfaction proportionally. In dealing with factors that lead to satisfaction or dissatisfaction, Kano model is considered parallel to Motivation-Hygiene (M-H) theory. According to Kano model and M-H theory, fulfilling factors that lead to satisfaction is not automatically eliminating dissatisfaction. In Kano model, factors that merely lead to satisfaction (attractive requirements) differ from those that only lead to dissatisfaction (must be requirements). A number of studies on QFD have tried to incorporate Kano model into QFD process. Some of those which proposed mathematical model used nonlinear function to represent requirements that have disproportional influence on satisfaction. However, those studies focused mainly in maximizing customer satisfaction without paying much attention in dissatisfaction measurement. This research is conducted to deal with maximizing customer satisfaction and minimizing dissatisfaction as well. A mathematical model is developed to set target of engineering characteristics. Verification of model developed is done by a simple hypothetical case. Although it shows that it is well verified, validation is still needed. It may be done in the future by implementing the model for solving real cases.
Integrating Risk and Resilience Approaches to Catastrophe Management in Engineering Systems

Recent natural and man-made catastrophes, such as the Fukushima nuclear power plant, flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Haiti earthquake, and the mortgage derivatives crisis, have renewed interest in the concept of resilience, especially as it relates to complex systems vulnerable to multiple or cascading failures. Although the meaning of resilience is contested in different contexts, in general resilience is understood to mean the capacity to adapt to changing conditions without catastrophic loss of form or function. In the context of engineering systems, this has sometimes been interpreted as the probability that system conditions might exceed an irrevocable tipping point. However, we argue that this approach improperly conflates resilience and risk perspectives by expressing resilience exclusively in risk terms. In contrast, we describe resilience as an emergent property of what an engineering system does, rather than a static property the system has. Therefore, resilience cannot be measured at the systems scale solely from examination of component parts. Instead, resilience is better understood as the outcome of a recursive process that includes: sensing, anticipation, learning, and adaptation. In this approach, resilience analysis can be understood as differentiable from, but complementary to, risk analysis, with important implications for the adaptive management of complex, coupled engineering systems. Management of the 2011 flooding in the Mississippi River Basin is discussed as an example of the successes and challenges of resilience-based management of complex natural systems that have been extensively altered by engineered structures.
Perceived Exertion in Isometric Muscular Contractions Related to Age, Muscle, Force Level and Duration

This research was concerned with studying the development and growth of perceived effort of long-term isometric contractions as a function of muscle group (biceps vs quadriceps), of subjects with different age groups (20–29 vs. 50–59 years old) on long-term muscular isometric contractions (5 minutes) at different levels of %MVC (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 %MVC). An experiment testing 20 subjects each performing 10 conditions (two muscle groups × five levels of %MVC) showed that the older age group reported Significantly higher perceived exertion at higher levels of %MVC and across time. Furthermore, subjects experienced a higher and faster increase in their perceived exertion when the level of %MVC and time increased.
1 Ethical Issues in Forensic Psychiatry in the United States

The forensic psychiatrist or psychologist works within the judicial system, whichis not a therapeutic system. Rather, the judicial system is one that seeks truth andjustice, irrespective of harm that may come either to the defendant in a criminalcase, or the plaintiff in a civil case or an individual in an administrative legal case.The criminal justice system seeks to punish those who are guilty of criminalbehavior. In civil matters, the court attempts to seek justice by awarding damagesto those who have been harmed by others. The court also attempts to identify thosewho are not harmed, but claim to be. Forensic mental health experts are utilized bythe judicial system to aid in the process of discovery and adjudication. Thus, theforensic psychiatrist may ﬁnd him or herself working within a system that is nottherapeutic and may cause signiﬁcant harm to various individuals. How can theforensic medical expert work within such a system while adhering to the ethicaltenets of our profession and not causing harm to those with whom we work?We have already established that the major ethical issue in medicine is “ﬁrst,do no harm.” We have also shown that patients are indeed harmed in the name oftherapy, even in the course of conducting diagnostic procedures. With the intentionof helping patients, we may often harm them. In psychiatry, we have also shownthat patients can be harmed either with medication, somatic treatment modalitiesor even psychotherapy.InthePreambletothe
Adipose Tissue - Vasculature Interactions

Obesity and metabolic dysfunction diminish lifespan, predominantly by increasing the frequency and severity of vascular diseases. It is becoming increasingly recognized that obesity contributes to ...
Integration on Product Spaces

Suppose that (X, ℳ, μ) and (Y, \( \mathcal{N} \), ν) are two measure spaces. We wish to define a product measure space $$(X \times Y,{\mathcal{M}} \times {\mathcal{N}},\mu \times \nu),$$ where \({\mathcal{M}} \times {\mathcal{N}}\) is an appropriate σ-algebra of subsets of X × Y and μ × ν is a measure on \({\mathcal{M}} \times {\mathcal{N}}\) for which $$\mu \times \nu (A \times B) = \mu (A) \cdot \nu (B)$$ whenever A ∈ ℳ and \(B \times {\mathcal{N}}\) That is, we wish to generalize the usual geometric notion of the area of a rectangle. We also wish it to be true that $$\int\limits_{X \times Y} {fd\mu \times \nu = } \int\limits_X \int\limits_Y {fd\nu \ d\mu } = \int\limits_Y \int\limits_X {fd\mu \ d\nu },$$ (1) for a reasonably large class of functions f on X × Y. Thus we want a generalization of the classical formula $$\int\limits_{[a,b] \times [c,d]} {f(x,y) \ dS} = \int\limits_a^b \int\limits_c^d {f(x,y)} dy \ dx = \int\limits_c^d \int\limits_a^b {f(x,y)} dx \ dy,$$ which, as we know from elementary analysis, is valid for all functions \(f \in {\mathcal{S}}([a,b] \times, [c,d])\).
Anoxia-inducible rat VL30 elements and their relationship to ras-containing sarcoma viruses.

Abstract VL30 elements are associated with cancer by their overexpression in rodent malignancies, their induction in a fibroblast response to anoxia which shares features with the malignant phenotype, and their presence recombined into Harvey murine sarcoma virus (HaSV) and Kirsten murine sarcoma virus. These sarcoma viruses contain ras oncogenes flanked on both sides by retrotransposon VL30 element sequences, in turn flanked by mouse leukemia virus sequences. Three very basic questions have existed about the VL30 element sequences found in sarcoma viruses: (i) how did they become recombined, (ii) what are their exact boundaries, and (iii) why are they there? To help decipher the nature of VL30 elements in sarcoma viruses, we examined VL30 clones isolated from an anoxic fibroblast cDNA library and independently by polymerase chain reaction cloning from rat cell DNA. Sequence comparisons with HaSV revealed that HaSV was formed by the substitution of 0.7 kb of VL30 sequences by 0.9 kb of c-Ha-ras sequences, with this event possibly facilitated by the presence of an identical Alu-like repeat found upstream of the 5' recombination point in both the VL30 element and c-Ha-ras. Recombination occurred 42 bases beyond the Alu-like sequences in VL30 and 1596 bases beyond them in c-Ha-ras, at position 926 of HaSV. The 3' ras-VL30 recombination event in HaSV occurred within a seven-base region of shared sequence identity, between HaSV bases 1825 and 1825 and 1831. Recombination between Moloney leukemia virus (MoLV) and VL30 appears to have occurred at a point corresponding to base 218 or 219 of MoLV and was near a TAR-like VL30 sequence; such recombination at the 3' end was between positions 7445 and 7456 of MoLV (HaSV positions 4694 to 4703). Kirsten murine sarcoma virus was found to be closely analogous to HaSV, and limited similar features were also seen with Rasheed sarcoma virus.
Java 5 for CS II tutorial

The tutorial will focus on the evolution of the Java programming language into the version now referred to as Java 5 (J2SE 1.5). Particular emphasis will be on how the new capabilities of Java can enhance teaching of software development and data abstraction, particularly in the context of CS II. The approach will be to compare and contrast Java 2 with Java 5 such that the participant may develop an appreciation for the value of the new features.
HDB-Subdue: A Scalable Approach to Graph Mining

Transactional data mining (association rules, decision trees etc.) has been effectively used to find non-trivial patterns in categorical and unstructured data. For applications that have an inherent structure (e.g., social networks, proteins), graph mining is useful since mapping the structured data into a transactional representation will lead to loss of information. Graph mining is used for identifying interesting or frequent subgraphs. Database mining uses SQL and relational representation to overcome limitations of main memory algorithms and to achieve scalability. This paper presents a scalable, SQL-based approach to graph mining --- specifically, interesting substructure discovery. The most general form of graphs including directed edges, multiple edges between nodes, and cycles are handled by our approach. Our primary goal in this work has been to address scalability, and map difficult and computationally expensive problems such as pseudo duplicate elimination, canonical labeling, and isomorphism checking into SQL-based counterparts. The notion of minimum description length (MDL) has been cast into corresponding metric for relational representation. Our experimental analysis shows that graphs with Millions of nodes and edges can be handled by the algorithm and the approach presented in this paper.
Antidiuretic effects of a factor in brain/corpora cardiaca/corpora allata extract on fluid reabsorption across the cryptonephric complex of Manduca sexta.

Extracts of the brain/corpora cardiaca/corpora allata (Br/CC/CA) complex of Manduca sexta larvae elicit an antidiuretic effect, measured by an increase in fluid reabsorption across the cryptonephric complex of larval M. sexta. Separation of the extract by reversed-phase liquid chromatography gave two fractions with antidiuretic effects. The more potent of these two factors was further characterized for its effects on the cryptonephric complex. Its antidiuretic effect is not inhibited by bumetanide, a drug that inhibits M. sexta diuretic hormone (Mas-DH)-stimulated fluid reabsorption. These data indicate that the mechanism of the antidiuretic effect of the factor is different from that of Mas-DH on the cryptonephric complex. The basal reabsorption of the cryptonephric complex is blocked when treated on the lumen side with bafilomycin A(1), an inhibitor of the H(+)-ATPase, or with amiloride, an inhibitor of the H(+)/K(+) antiporter. However, the antidiuretic-factor-stimulated fluid reabsorption is not affected by either bafilomycin A(1) or amiloride. The increase in reabsorption triggered by the semi-purified factor can be inhibited by Cl(−) channel blockers or by removing Cl(−) from the lumen side of the cryptonephric complex. It appears that this factor activates a Cl(−) pump associated with the cryptonephric complex. Forskolin mimics the effect of this factor on fluid reabsorption, and the effect of forskolin is not inhibited by bumetanide. A selective and potent inhibitor of protein kinase A, H-89, also inhibits antidiuretic-factor-stimulated fluid reabsorption. Addition of the factor to cryptonephric complexes maintained in vitro caused a significant increase in cyclic AMP levels extracted from these tissues compared with values for controls. These data suggest that the antidiuretic effect of the factor in Br/CC/CA extract is mediated by cyclic AMP.