cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of dynamic morphogen scale invariance.

During the development of some tissues, fields of multipotent cells differentiate into distinct cell types in response to the local concentration of a signalling factor called a morphogen. Typically, individual organisms within a population differ in size, but their body plans appear to be scaled versions of a common template. Similarly, closely related species may differ by three or more orders of magnitude in size, yet common structures between species scale to have similar proportions. In standard reaction–diffusion equations, the morphogen range has a length scale that depends on a balance between kinetic and transport processes and not on the length or size of the field of cells being patterned. However, as shown here for a class of morphogen-patterning systems, a number of conditions lead to scale invariance of the morphogen distribution at equilibrium and during the transient approach to equilibrium. Equilibrium scale invariance requires conservation of the total binding site number and total input flux. Dynamic scale invariance additionally requires sufficient binding to slow the diffusion of ligand. The equations derived herein can be extended to the study of other perturbations to gain further insight into the processes regulating the robustness and scaling of morphogen-mediated pattern formation.
Measuring physical activity among pregnant women using a structured one-week recall questionnaire: evidence for validity and reliability

Accurate measurement of the components of physical activity during pregnancy can aid in our understanding of the dose response relationships between physical activity and corresponding perinatal outcomes. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a one-week recall questionnaire to assess moderate to vigorous physical activity during pregnancy. To assess concurrent-related validity, 177 pregnant women (median 18 weeks' gestation, interquartile range (IQR) 15 -23) kept a structured diary and wore an accelerometer (Actigraph) for one week. At the conclusion of the week, they completed the Pregnancy Infection and Nutrition 3 (PIN3) physical activity questionnaire over the telephone. To assess evidence for test-retest reliability, 109 pregnant women (median 19 weeks' gestation, IQR 18-27) completed the questionnaire twice over the telephone, within 48 hours apart, recalling the same two time periods. Spearman correlation coefficients (SCC) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to assess evidence for validity and reliability, respectively. Comparison of the questionnaire to the structured diary was moderate to substantial (SCC 0.47 to 0.69) for several measures of moderate or vigorous physical activity using either perceived or absolute intensity. Comparison of moderate to vigorous physical activity from the questionnaire (absolute intensity using MET-hours/week) to the accelerometer ranged from 0.12 to 0.23 using SCC for absolute intensity (MET-hours/week) and 0.28 to 0.34 using relative intensity (hours/week) (n = 177). Test-retest reliability was moderate to almost perfect for moderate to vigorous physical activity, with the ICC ranging from 0.56 to 0.82 for both perceived and absolute intensities. The PIN3 one-week recall questionnaire assessed moderate to vigorous physical activity in the past week with evidence for reliability and validity.
Critical threshold effects of benthiscape structure on stream herbivore movement.

Abstract In landscape ecology, substantial theoretical progress has been made in understanding how critical threshold levels of habitat loss may result in sudden changes in landscape connectivity to animal movement. Empirical evidence for such thresholds in real systems, however, remains scarce. Streambed landscapes provide a strong testing ground for studying critical thresholds because organisms are faced with substantial environmental heterogeneity while attempting to overcome the physical force of water. In this study, I report on the results from a series of experiments investigating the influence of habitat abundance and current velocity on the movement dynamics of two stream herbivores (caddisfly larva Agapetus boulderensis and snail Physa sp.) that differ substantially in how they perceive landscape structure. Specifically, I ask whether critical thresholds to herbivore movement exist in streambed landscapes. By exploiting the pattern recognition capabilities of artificial neural networks, I found that the rate, sinuosity and directionality of movement by Agapetus and Physa varied nonlinearly according to the abundance of habitat patches, current velocity and habitat–current interaction. Both the study organisms exhibited threshold responses to habitat abundance, yet the location and slope of these thresholds differed between species and with respect to different current velocities. These results suggest that a critical threshold in functional connectivity (i.e. the connection of habitat patches by dispersal) is not an inherent property of the landscape, but in fact emerges from the interplay of species' interactions with landscape structure. Moreover, current velocity interacted with habitat abundance to elicit strong upstream-oriented movement for both the species. This suggests that dispersing individuals may be polarized in the upstream direction and therefore functional connectivity is not equal in all directions. Such results highlight the need for future research addressing the sources of variability of critical threshold effects in ecological phenomena.
The Jump Risk of Leveraged ETFs and a High-Frequency Volatility Estimator

This paper is the first to characterize the intraday performance of leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), for which I introduce a superior volatility estimator for high-frequency analysis. Leveraged ETFs, which attempt to reproduce two or three times the daily performance of their underlying indices, experienced a growth boom during the global financial crisis of 2008-09. Just a few months after their launch in November 2008, Direxion’s triple-leveraged long and short financials ETFs were among the five most actively traded stocks in the United States. By construction, leveraged ETFs have some tracking error compared to their underlying indices over longer holding periods, which has been the focus of extant research. The short-term tracking error of leveraged ETFs is more relevant because traders only hold them for a few days, so I examine it by modifying the nonparametric jump detection test of Lee and Mykland (2008) with a new bipower variation-based subsampling and averaging high-frequency volatility estimator. Tracking error jumps are found to occur in one-fourth of trading days for leveraged ETFs that track the S&P 500 index and financial sector, and the economic significance of jump risk is substantial. Tracking error jump risk can be largely avoided, but jumps that do occur are difficult to predict.
Elevated Interleukin 8 and T-Helper 1 and T-Helper 17 Cytokine Levels Prior to Antiretroviral Therapy in Participants Who Developed Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome During ACTG A5164

Potent combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced morbidity and mortality associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but its use can be complicated by immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) [1]. Although no uniform definition exists, the diagnosis of IRIS requires the worsening of a recognized (“paradoxical” IRIS) or unrecognized (“unmasking” IRIS) preexisting infection in the setting of successful HIV suppression and improving immunologic function. IRIS has been reported in 3%–40% of patients initiating ART [2–6], with the wide range in reported incidence likely reflecting differences in case definitions and in the patient populations studied. The immunopathogenesis of IRIS remains poorly understood, but the prevailing view is that IRIS reflects the atypical restoration of pathogen-specific immune response to microbial antigens [7]. Although there may be differences between paradoxical and unmasking IRIS and according to target antigen, some aspects of IRIS pathogenesis are likely shared among all IRIS events. For example, markers of antigen-presenting cell activation such as interleukin (IL) 6 have been found to be elevated prior to the development of IRIS to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, cryptococcus, and herpesviruses [8–10]. Although IRIS generally does not portend an unfavorable long-term prognosis, the development of IRIS may lead to hospitalization, the need for invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, or occasionally death [11]. Identifying biomarkers that predict the development of IRIS could lead to strategies to improve its diagnosis and reduce its incidence and associated morbidity and mortality. Although corticosteroids are frequently used to treat severe IRIS [12], the effects of corticosteroids on cytokine levels and the development of IRIS have not been studied to date. In this study, we compared levels of biomarkers and T-cell subsets prior to and at the time of IRIS (or a matched time point) between participants who developed IRIS and controls as well as the effect of corticosteroids on these biomarkers during a randomized trial examining the optimal timing of ART during an acute opportunistic infection (OI).
Position based structure from motion using a moving calibrated camera

In this paper, a 3D Euclidean position estimator using a single moving calibrated camera whose position is known is developed that asymptotically recovers the structure of a static object. To estimate the unknown structure an adaptive least squares estimation strategy is employed based on a novel prediction error formulation and a Lyapunov stability analysis. Numerical simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Metal hybridization and electronic structure of Tris(8-hydroxyquinolato)aluminum (Alq3)

Abstract The metal-organic complex Tris(8-hydroxyquinolato)aluminum (Alq 3 ) has been studied by energy and light polarization dependent photoemission. Resonant photoemission was used to identify the molecular orbitals involved in metal chelation. When adsorbed on cobalt and gold surfaces, marked differences in the Alq 3 metal-to-ligand bonds were observed. The results indicate intramolecular aluminum-to-ligand bonding through the oxygen heteroatom when Alq 3 is adsorbed on gold, but through the nitrogen heteroatom when on cobalt. These results indicate that substrate interfacial complex formation plays an important role in the Alq 3 molecular configuration and intramolecular bonding.
An Investigation Into the Feasibility of Real-Time Soccer Offside Detection From a Multiple Camera System

In this paper, we investigate on the feasibility of multiple camera system for automatic offside detection. We propose six fixed cameras, properly placed on the two sides of the soccer field (three for each side) to reduce perspective and occlusion errors. The images acquired by the synchronized cameras are processed to detect the players' position and the ball position in real-time; a multiple view analysis is carried out to evaluate the offside event, considering the position of all the players in the field, determining the players who passed the ball, and determining if active offside condition occurred. The whole system has been validated using real-time images acquired during official soccer matches, and quantitative results on the system accuracy were obtained comparing the system responses with the ground truth data generated manually on a number of extracted significant sequences.
Assembling of carbon nanotube structures by chemical anchoring for packaging applications

As IC performance increases, many technical challenges appear in the areas of current-carrying capacities, thermal management, I/O density, and thermal-mechanical reliability. To address these problems, the use of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been proposed in IC packaging for electrical interconnect and thermal interface materials (TIMs). The theoretically superior electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of CNTs promise to reduce the interconnect pitch size, increase thermal conductivity, and enhance system reliability, which is expected to bring about revolutionary improvement to microelectronics. However, the problems with the CVD growth process such as high growth temperature and poor adhesion of CNTs to substrates, challenges in selectively patterning CNT structures, high contact resistance of CNT/electrodes and damage of CNT wall structure by wet chemical functionalization, become barriers for CNT applications. In order to overcome these disadvantages, we proposed the "chemical anchoring" process to directly attach aligned CNTs onto gold-coated substrates. This methodology has the following features: 1) in-situ functionalization of CNTs with reactive functional groups during CVD process, which preserves the perfect CNT wall structure and good alignment of CNTs as well as conrrollably tunes the length of functionalized CNTs; 2) covalently bonded interface by employing a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) as the bridging ligand at the CNT-gold substrate interface; 3) low temperature and simple process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the CNT structures and the SAM-treated gold surface. The effectiveness of the in-situ functionalization was studied by XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). Four-point probe testing system was employed to test the electrical performance of the chemically anchored CNT structure. Results showed an Ohmic contact, low electrical resistivity of the CNT-gold interface structure and improved CNT-substrate adhesion.
Adaptation of endothelial cells in arteries under axial stretch in organ culture

To determine the adaptation of arterial endothelial cells under elevated axial stretch, arteries were perfused at physiological pressure and flow rate in an organ culture system. Endothelial cell shape, orientation, and proliferation were examined after the arteries were cultured at 20% increase in axial stretch ratio for 7 days. Results showed that endothelial cells demonstrated normal morphology and function. Cell proliferation was increased in the intimal layer of the stretched arteries as compared to the control arteries. These results suggest that arteries can be elongated without affecting endothelium morphology and function.
High-dosage ascorbic acid treatment in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A: results of a randomized, double-masked, controlled trial.

Importance No current medications improve neuropathy in subjects with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A). Ascorbic acid (AA) treatment improved the neuropathy of a transgenic mouse model of CMT1A and is a potential therapy. A lower dosage (1.5 g/d) did not cause improvement in humans. It is unknown whether a higher dosage would prove more effective. Objective To determine whether 4-g/d AA improves the neuropathy of subjects with CMT1A. Design A futility design to determine whether AA was unable to reduce worsening on the CMT Neuropathy Score (CMTNS) by at least 50% over a 2-year period relative to a natural history control group. Setting Three referral centers with peripheral nerve clinics (Wayne State University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Rochester). Participants One hundred seventy-four subjects with CMT1A were assessed for eligibility; 48 did not meet eligibility criteria and 16 declined to participate. The remaining 110 subjects, aged 13 to 70 years, were randomly assigned in a double-masked fashion with 4:1 allocation to oral AA (87 subjects) or matching placebo (23 subjects). Sixty-nine subjects from the treatment group and 16 from the placebo group completed the study. Two subjects from the treatment group and 1 from the placebo group withdrew because of adverse effects. Interventions Oral AA (4 g/d) or matching placebo. Main Outcomes and Measures Change from baseline to year 2 in the CMTNS, a validated composite impairment score for CMT. Results The mean 2-year change in the CMTNS was −0.21 for the AA group and −0.92 for the placebo group, both better than natural history (+1.33). This was well below 50% reduction of CMTNS worsening from natural history, so futility could not be declared ( P > .99). Conclusions and Relevance Both treated patients and those receiving placebo performed better than natural history. It seems unlikely that our results support undertaking a larger trial of 4-g/d AA treatment in subjects with CMT1A. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT00484510
Reflex stimulation of tracheal mucus gland secretion by gastric irritation in cats

Our aim was to determine whether flow from the submucosal glands of the trachea is reflexly regulated by sensory stimuli from the stomach in the cat, and, if such a gastropulmonary reflex exists, what sensory and motor pathways are important. We found that mechanical stimulation of the gastric mucosa increased submucosal gland secretions from 7.9 +/- 0.7 to 17.4 +/- 1.7 nl/min (mean +/- SE, P less than 0.001). This effect was prevented reversibly by cooling both abdominal vagus nerves to -3 degrees C before stimulation and was restored by rewarming the nerves. The effect was prevented irreversibly by cutting both abdominal vagus nerves and was then mimicked by electrically stimulating the central cut end of one of the nerves. This increase in secretions caused by electrical stimulation of the nerve was prevented by administration of atropine sulfate before stimulation. We conclude that stimuli from the stomach reflexly affect the rate of submucosal gland secretion. The sensory limb of this reflex lies in the abdominal vagus nerves, and the motor pathways are mediated by cholinergic muscarinic receptors.
Renewable Futures and Industrial Legacies: Wind and Solar Sectors in China, Germany, and the U.S.

This article develops an explanation for patterns of industrial specialization in emerging high-technology industries through a comparative analysis of wind and solar sectors in China, Germany, and the United States. Although governments have similar goals in the support of domestic wind and solar industries, firms in all three economies have established distinct innovative capabilities. Prevailing literatures attribute such divergence in industrial specialization to state intervention or persistent institutional differences. This article instead presents a firm-centered explanation. It argues that the rise of global production networks has widened the space for national diversity in industrial specialization. Firms no longer have to establish the full range of skills required to bring an idea from lab to market, but can specialize and collaborate with others. In this environment, firms respond to industrial policy by building on local industrial legacies, even in emerging industries: instead of converging on similar specializations, firms incrementally develop existing industrial capabilities and rely on familiar public resources and institutions in the process. These findings point to the role of local industrial legacies in shaping firm’s positions in global production networks and show that firms are active agents in maintaining distinct national industrial specializations under conditions of globalization.
Semi-supervised Representation Learning for Domain Adaptation using Dynamic Dependency Networks

Recently, various unsupervised representation learning approaches have been investigated to produce augmenting features for natural language processing systems in the open-domain learning scenarios. In this paper, we propose a dynamic dependency network model to conduct semi-supervised representation learning. It exploits existing task-specific labels in the source domain in addition to the large amount of unlabeled data from both the source and target domains to produce informative features for NLP tasks. We empirically evaluate the proposed learning technique on the part-of-speech tagging task using Wall Street Journal and MEDLINE sentences and on the syntactic chunking task using Wall Street Journal corpus and Brown corpus. Our experimental results show that the proposed semi-supervised learning model can produce more effective features than unsupervised representation learning methods for opendomain part-of-speech taggers and syntactic chunkers.
Home Range and Habitat Utilization by Neotoma fuscipes as Determined by Radiotelemetry

Seasonal, reproductive, and utilization aspects of home range for dusky-footed woodrats ( Neotoma fuscipes ) were analyzed from data obtained by radiotelemetry over one year of continuous study in northern California. Home ranges were stable for 34 of 37 woodrats periodically monitored but changed seasonally with reproductive activity and habitat conditions. The size of male home ranges (2289 square meters, m) was significantly larger than females (1924 square m) and juveniles (1719 square m). Home range overlap is lower than 28 percent except during the reproductive season. a utilization index based on vegetative cover was calculated. Woodrat activity was significantly higher in areas of 75 to 100 percent cover than in areas of less cover. Comparisons with traditional trapping methods of home range determination were made.
The Performance of the Polychoric Correlation Coefficient and Selected Fitting Functions in Confirmatory Factor Analysis with Ordinal Data

In a simulation study, no combination of the polychoric correlation coefficient with any LISREL 7 fitting function produced unbiased estimated standard errors or a correctly distributed chi square ...
Live Donor Renal Anatomic Asymmetry and Posttransplant Renal Function

Background Relationship between live donor renal anatomic asymmetry and posttransplant recipient function has not been studied extensively. Methods We analyzed 96 live kidney donors, who had anatomical asymmetry (>10% renal length and/or volume difference calculated from computerized tomography angiograms) and their matching recipients. Split function differences (SFD) were quantified with technetium-dimercaptosuccinic acid renography. Implantation biopsies at time 0 were semiquantitatively scored. A comprehensive model using donor renal volume adjusted to recipient weight (Vol/Wgt), SFD, and biopsy score was used to predict recipient estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 1 year. Primary analysis consisted of a logistic regression model of outcome (odds of developing eGFR>60 mL/min/1.73 m2 at 1 year), a linear regression model of outcome (predicting recipient eGFR at one-year, using the chronic kidney disease-epidemiology collaboration formula), and a Monte Carlo simulation based on the linear regression model (N=10,000 iterations). Results In the study cohort, the mean Vol/Wgt and eGFR at 1 year were 2.04 mL/kg and 60.4 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively. Volume and split ratios between 2 donor kidneys were strongly correlated (r = 0.79, P 10%) were not different (P = 0.190). On multivariate models, only Vol/Wgt was significantly associated with higher odds of having eGFR > 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 (odds ratio, 8.94, 95% CI 2.47–32.25, P = 0.001) and had a strong discriminatory power in predicting the risk of eGFR less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 at 1 year [receiver operating curve (ROC curve), 0.78, 95% CI, 0.68–0.89]. Conclusions In the presence of donor renal anatomic asymmetry, Vol/Wgt appears to be a major determinant of recipient renal function at 1 year after transplantation. Renography can be replaced with CT volume calculation in estimating split renal function.
Visible light-induced cytotoxicity of Ru,Os–polyazine complexes towards rat malignant glioma

Abstract Transition metal complexes capable of visible light-triggered cytotoxicity are appealing potential candidates for photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer. Two monometallic polyazine complexes, [(Ph2phen)2Ru(dpp)]2+ (1) and [(Ph2phen)2Os(dpp)]2+ (2) (Ph2phen = 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline; dpp = 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine), were synthesized, characterized and studied as light activated drugs to kill rat malignant glioma F98 cells. Compounds 1 and 2 display strong absorption in visible spectrum, oxygen-mediated DNA and BSA photocleavage and significant photocytotoxicity under blue light irradiation along with negligible activity in the dark. Both compounds show approximately five-fold higher cytotoxicity than the traditional chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin. Furthermore, compound 2 shows promising photocytotoxicity in F98 rat malignant glioma cells within the phototherapeutic window with an IC50 value of (86.07 ± 8.48) μM under red light (625 nm) irradiation.
Characterization of calcium currents in aortic baroreceptor neurons

1. Calcium currents in identified rat aortic baroreceptors were characterized with the perforated patch whole-cell voltage-clamp technique. Aortic baroreceptors were distinguished from other neuron...
An approach to the design of mathematical task sequences: Conceptual learning as abstraction

This paper describes an emerging approach to the design of task sequences and the theory that undergirds it. The approach aims at promoting particular mathematical concepts, understood as the result of reflective abstraction. Central to this approach is the identification of available student activities from which students can abstract the intended ideas. The approach differs from approaches in which learning to solve the problem posed is the intended learning. The paper illustrates the approach through data from a teaching experiment on division of fractions.
PolyStream: Cryptographically Enforced Access Controls for Outsourced Data Stream Processing

With data becoming available in larger quantities and at higher rates, new data processing paradigms have been proposed to handle high-volume, fast-moving data. Data Stream Processing is one such paradigm wherein transient data streams flow through sets of continuous queries, only returning results when data is of interest to the querier. To avoid the large costs associated with maintaining the infrastructure required for processing these data streams, many companies will outsource their computation to third-party cloud services. This outsourcing, however, can lead to private data being accessed by parties that a data provider may not trust. The literature offers solutions to this confidentiality and access control problem but they have fallen short of providing a complete solution to these problems, due to either immense overheads or trust requirements placed on these third-party services.To address these issues, we have developed PolyStream, an enhancement to existing data stream management systems that enables data providers to specify attribute-based access control policies that are cryptographically enforced while simultaneously allowing many types of in-network data processing. We detail the access control models and mechanisms used by PolyStream, and describe a novel use of security punctuations that enables flexible, online policy management and key distribution. We detail how queries are submitted and executed using an unmodified Data Stream Management System, and show through an extensive evaluation that PolyStream yields a 550x performance gain versus the state-of-the-art system StreamForce in CODASPY 2014, while providing greater functionality to the querier.
Os acromiale fixation: a biomechanical comparison of polyethylene suture versus stainless steel wire tension band.

Background Symptomatic hardware is a commonly reported complication after surgical fixation of an unstable meso-type os acromiale. This study compared the biomechanical properties of a cannulated screw tension band construct using a metal wire tension band vs. a suture tension band, considering that the suture construct could allow for decreased hardware burden in the clinical setting. Methods A meso-type os acromiale was created in 16 cadaveric shoulders. Two cannulated 4-mm screws were placed in each specimen. Tension band augmentation was accomplished with a 1-mm stainless steel wire (wire group) or a #5 braided polyethylene suture (suture group), with 8 specimens in each group. An inferiorly directed force was applied to the anterior acromion at 1 mm/s on a materials testing machine. Stiffness and ultimate failure load were recorded and analyzed. Results No significant difference ( P = .22) was observed in the ultimate failure load between the wire (228 ± 85 N; range, 114-397 N) and the suture (275 ± 139 N; range, 112–530 N). No significant difference ( P = .17) was observed in the stiffness between the wire (28 ± 12 N/mm; range, 18–53 N/mm) and the suture (38 ± 25 N/mm; range, 10–83 N/mm). Conclusions Stainless steel wire and polyethylene suture have similar biomechanical strength in the cannulated screw tension band fixation of meso-type os acromiale at time zero.
Increased MRI volumetric correlation contralateral to seizure focus in temporal lobe epilepsy

Quantification of volumetric correlation may be sensitive to disease alterations undetected by standard voxel based morphometry (VBM) such as subtle, synchronous alterations in regional volumes, and may provide complementary evidence of the structural impact of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) on the brain. The purpose of this study was to quantify differences of regional volumetric correlation in right (RTLE) and left (LTLE) TLE patients compared to healthy controls. A T1 weighted 3T MRI was acquired (1mm(3)) in 44 drug resistant unilateral TLE patients (n=26 RTLE, n=18 LTLE) and 44 individually age and gender matched healthy controls. Images were processed using a standard VBM framework and volumetric correlation was calculated across subjects in 90 regions and compared between patients and controls. Results were summarized across hemispheres and region groups. There was increased correlation involving the contralateral homologues of the seizure foci/network in the limbic, subcortical and temporal regions in both RTLE and LTLE. Outside these regions, results implied widespread correlated alterations across several contralateral lobes in LTLE, with more focal changes in RTLE. These findings complement previous volumetric studies in TLE describing more ipsilateral atrophy, by revealing subtle coordinated volumetric changes to identify a more widespread effect of TLE across the brain.
Nevi and Malignant Melanoma

Childhood nevi, whether acquired or congenital, pose a particular diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for the pediatric surgeon. Fueled by the fear of potential malignant transformation, many surgeons are now being asked to evaluate and surgically remove moles and other skin lesions at increasingly higher rates. Despite the heightened awareness of the increasing incidence of pediatric melanoma, diagnosis and management in this population can still be challenging given the disease’s variable presentation and behavior. Furthermore, there are a number of benign skin lesions common in childhood that can be easily confused with melanoma or act as precursors to malignancy. A thorough understanding of the characteristics of both benign and malignant skin lesions of childhood is thus essential to a practicing pediatric surgeon.
Current understanding of safety and efficacy of stem cell therapy for discogenic pain—A systematic review of human studies

Abstract This study is a systematic review of human clinical studies of stem cell therapy for discogenic pain. To summarize the current human trials and feasibility studies involving mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy for treatment of discogenic pain. A search of Ovid databases and Clinicaltrials.gov was conducted from inception through July 2016. We included human clinical trials and case reports that evaluated treatment with injected MSCs for patients with discogenic back pain. The outcomes of interest for published studies included pain score, Oswestry Disability Index, and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging signal intensity indicative of water content of the nucleus pulposus. The initial search in Ovid databases using the selected search terms identified 408 results, of which 11 were included in this review based on selection criteria. This includes 6 completed studies and 5 ongoing clinical trials, 4 of which were confirmed active at the time of retrieval. In the 6 completed studies involving intradiscal stem cell injections, improvement in pain score, Oswestry Disability Index, and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging signal intensity of nucleus pulposus were reported. Currently active clinical trials focus on establishing safety, tolerability, and efficacy with respect to injected MSCs for discogenic pain. Although pain and functional benefit have been reported in association with stem cell therapy, longer-term safety studies and more randomized controlled trials are needed to examine the safety and efficacy of stem cell therapy for discogenic pain.
Targeting autophagy to overcome chemoresistance in acute myleogenous leukemia

ABSTRACTTherapeutic inhibition of macroautophagy/autophagy is expected to increase chemosensitivity of cancers and alter tumor-stroma interdependence. The hypoxic, metabolically challenged bone marrow microenvironment confers chemoresistance to leukemia cells. The impact of autophagy inhibition in the context of microenvironment-mediated resistance in leukemia is less explored. Our recent studies demonstrated that co-culture of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) cells with marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) induces autophagy in AML cells and increases resistance to genotoxic agents (cytarabine and idarubicin). Genetic silencing of ATG7 in AML enhances the sensitivity to these genotoxic agents, an effect that was more pronounced with concomitant silencing of ATG7 in AML and MSCs. Mechanistically, the increased sensitivity of AML cells to genotoxic agents is associated with alteration of BCL2 family proteins, particularly transcriptional upregulation of PMAIP1/NOXA. In a disseminated AML model in ...
Electrochemical reduction of Ttz copper(II) complexes in the presence and absence of protons: Processes relevant to enzymatic nitrite reduction (TtzR,R′ = tris(3-R, 5-R′-1, 2, 4-triazolyl)borate)

Abstract Tris(triazolyl)borate (Ttz) is a proton responsive ligand, and the redox potential of Ttz complexes can be altered by protonation. Protonation events can therefore alter the thermodynamics of reduction of copper complexes, and this is relevant to nitrite reduction mediated by copper complexes wherein Cu(II) reduction to Cu(I) is the first step. The electrochemical behavior of tris(triazolyl)borate and the corresponding copper complexes, TtztBu,MeCuCl (1) and TtztBu,MeCuNO2 (2), was investigated under both neutral and acidic conditions. Upon protonation, reduction of 1 is shifted more positive (ΔEpc = 290 mV) upon addition of 1.0 equiv. of acid. This result indicates that ligand protonation facilitates the reduction process, which is also evident from the UV–Vis spectral data. In contrast, with the TtztBuMeCuNO2 (2) analog, the reduction peak shifted towards a more negative potential while UV–Vis spectra shows no significant changes as acid is added. This suggests that the protons may not be involved in assisting the redox process but rather lead to decomposition events at reducing potentials. Other electrochemical control studies on a series of compounds, namely (TtztBu,Me)ZnCl (3), (TtztBu,Me)K (4), H(TtztBu,Me) (5), and HtztBu,Me (6), were also conducted with and without acid present. These studies have shown that triazole rings, by themselves and in metal complexes, are not redox active under the conditions we have used. We therefore conclude that the Ttz ligand (including in 1 and 2) is not a site for reduction in our studies.
Land use changes in the last half century and their impact on water retention in the Šumava mountains and foothills (Czech Republic)

Clanek řesi změnu využiti uzemi a odtokových charakteristik v povodi řeky Otavy a jeho dvou subpovodich (povodi řeky Volsovky a Vydry). Cilem prace bylo zjistit, jak se změnila retence vody v krajině spolecně se změnou využiti uzemi v horských partiich a podhůři Sumavy od roku 1970. Změna využiti uzemi probihala dvěma hlavnimi směry - (a) Převod orne půdy s různou intenzitou hospodařeni na různě intenzivni ci extenzivni louky a pastviny, (b) Odlesňovani rozsahlých ploch původnich větsinou smrkových monokultur a jejich převod na křovinatou a bylinnou vegetaci s nesouvislým pokryvem povrchu. V horských polohach Sumavy je retence vody misty snižovana v důsledku zranitelnosti smrkových monokulturnich lesů přirodnimi katastrofami (vichřice), nemocemi a skůdci. V podhůři Sumavy byl prokazan pozitivni vliv soucasneho managementu krajiny na snižovani přimeho odtoku při intenzivnich sražkach.
Nanofiltration membranes for ionic liquid recovery

ABSTRACTNanofiltration membranes have been developed by interfacial polymerization using base PES ultrafiltration membranes. By varying the concentration of the reactive monomers present as well as the reaction conditions, the structure of the polymerized barrier layer has been modified. Here, the ability to concentrate low molecular weight sugars while allowing dissolved ionic liquids in aqueous solution to be recovered in the permeate has been investigated for application in biomass hydrolysis. The results obtained here indicate that the selectivity for 1-butyl-3-methylimidazoliumchloride (BmimCl) over glucose can be as high as 36.6. The membrane permeance was 2.31 L m−2 h−1 bar−1.
Algorithms and contact mechanics models for ultraform finishing (UFF)

UltraForm Finishing (UFF) is a new deterministic subaperture computer numerically controlled (CNC) polisher. Because UFF uses a compliant tool, the desired depth of removal is achieved by adjusting the tool crossfeed velocity. Algorithms for determining an optimum crossfeed velocity profile that satisfies tool velocity and acceleration constraints have been derived for flats, spheres, and mild aspheres. The solutions were validated experimentally. The removal function that characterizes the interaction between a particular tool and part material is evaluated by making a removal spot for one set of process parameters. Its variations, as a function of the process parameters, are predicted by using Hertz contact theory and the Preston equation. Additional algorithms were developed for the evaluation of part and spot metrology inputs and for tool path generation to prevent tool-part collisions.
Predicting Learner Levels for Online Exercises of Hebrew

We develop a system for predicting the level of language learners, using only a small amount of targeted language data. In particular, we focus on learners of Hebrew and predict level based on restricted placement exam exercises. As with many language teaching situations, a major problem is data sparsity, which we account for in our feature selection, learning algorithm, and in the setup. Specifically, we define a two-phase classification process, isolating individual errors and linguistic constructions which are then aggregated into a second phase; such a two-step process allows for easy integration of other exercises and features in the future. The aggregation of information also allows us to smooth over sparse features.
Norovirus Escape from Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Is Limited to Allostery-Like Mechanisms

Ideal antiviral vaccines elicit antibodies (Abs) with broad strain recognition that bind to regions that are difficult to mutate for escape. Using 10 murine norovirus (MNV) strains and 5 human norovirus (HuNoV) virus-like particles (VLPs), we identified monoclonal antibody (MAb) 2D3, which broadly neutralized all MNV strains tested. Importantly, escape mutants corresponding to this antibody were very slow to develop and were distal to those raised against our previously studied antibody, A6.2. To understand the atomic details of 2D3 neutralization, we determined the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the 2D3/MNV1 complex. Interestingly, 2D3 binds to the top of the P domain, very close to where A6.2 binds, but the only escape mutations identified to date fall well outside the contact regions of both 2D3 and A6.2. To determine how mutations in distal residues could block antibody binding, we used molecular dynamics flexible fitting simulations of the atomic structures placed into the density map to examine the 2D3/MNV1 complex and these mutations. Our findings suggest that the escape mutant, V339I, may stabilize a salt bridge network at the P-domain dimer interface that, in an allostery-like manner, affects the conformational relaxation of the P domain and the efficiency of binding. They further highlight the unusual antigenic surface bound by MAb 2D3, one which elicits cross-reactive antibodies but which the virus is unable to alter to escape neutralization. These results may be leveraged to generate norovirus (NoV) vaccines containing broadly neutralizing antibodies. IMPORTANCE The simplest and most common way for viruses to escape antibody neutralization is by mutating residues that are essential for antibody binding. Escape mutations are strongly selected for by their effect on viral fitness, which is most often related to issues of protein folding, particle assembly, and capsid function. The studies presented here demonstrated that a broadly neutralizing antibody to mouse norovirus binds to an exposed surface but that the only escape mutants that arose were distal to the antibody binding surface. To understand this finding, we performed an in silico analysis that suggested that those escape mutations blocked antibody binding by affecting structural plasticity. This kind of antigenic region-one that gives rise to broadly neutralizing antibodies but that the virus finds difficult to escape from-is therefore ideal for vaccine development.
Novel Mitochondria-Targeting Peptide in Heart Failure Treatment: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Elamipretide

Background Mitochondrial dysfunction and energy depletion in the failing heart are innovative therapeutic targets in heart failure management. Elamipretide is a novel tetrapeptide that increases mitochondrial energy; however, its safety, tolerability, and therapeutic effect on cardiac structure and function have not been studied in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Methods and Results In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, ascending-dose trial, patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (ejection fraction, ≤35%) were randomized to either a single 4-hour infusion of elamipretide (cohort 1 [n=8], 0.005; cohort 2 [n=8], 0.05; and cohort 3 [n=8], 0.25 mg·kg −1 ·h −1 ) or placebo control (n=12). Safety and efficacy were assessed by clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic assessments performed at pre-, mid- and end-infusion and 6-, 8-, 12- and 24-hours postinfusion start. Peak plasma concentrations of elamipretide occurred at end-infusion and were undetectable by 24 hours postinfusion. There were no serious adverse events. Blood pressure and heart rate remained stable in all cohorts. Compared with placebo, a significant decrease in left ventricular end-diastolic volume (−18 mL; P =0.009) and end-systolic volume (−14 mL; P =0.005) occurred at end infusion in the highest dose cohort. Conclusions This is the first study to evaluate elamipretide in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and demonstrates that a single infusion of elamipretide is safe and well tolerated. High-dose elamipretide resulted in favorable changes in left ventricular volumes that correlated with peak plasma concentrations, supporting a temporal association and dose–effect relationship. Further study of elamipretide is needed to determine long-term safety and efficacy. Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02388464.
New LINE(s) of Evidence for Genetic Regulation of Platelets

Platelets exhibit a complex milieu of signaling pathways that are tightly regulated to allow the platelet to participate in several biological functions in the blood including but not limited to hemostasis and thrombosis.1 Most cells have the ability to inherently modulate their protein profile and by extension their excitatory or inhibitory activity in part through genetic regulation, including transcription and translation. The platelet, however, being anucleate receives the majority of its translational and post-translational machinery from the megakaryocyte.2 Recent studies have shown that platelets contain several translational components, including mRNA, microRNA, and initiation and termination factors.3 These translational components allow the platelet to alter its protein profile on a limited basis which can have far reaching effects on how the platelet functions. In fact, recent work has shown that under certain conditions, platelets can produce cell bodies resembling megakaryocytic proplatelets that …
Association Between Initial Age of Exposure to Childhood Abuse and Cognitive Control: Preliminary Evidence

Cognitive control, which relies on the protracted development of frontal-parietal regions into adolescence, is a brain process that may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of childhood abuse. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine associations between the age of onset of childhood abuse and alterations to the neural mechanisms supporting cognitive control in early adulthood, which have not been previously examined. During fMRI scanning, participants completed hybrid block/event-related versions of a classic color-word Stroop task as well as emotional Stroop tasks (threat and positive words). Participants were young adult women (N = 15; age range: 23-30 years) who had a history of childhood physical or sexual abuse that began prior to 13 years of age. Results indicated that earlier age of onset of childhood abuse was robustly associated with increased transient (i.e., event-related) recruitment of medial cognitive control regions in the classic color-word paradigm as well as with less suppression of medial frontal regions that are part of the default mode network, βs = -.16 to -.87. In comparison, increased activation in dorsolateral prefrontal regions was associated with earlier age of abuse onset under conditions of sustained (i.e., blocked) cognitive control in the emotional Stroop task for blocks of positive distracting words versus fixation, βs = -.50 to -.60. These results provide preliminary evidence that earlier age of exposure to childhood abuse impacts the functional activation of neural systems involved in cognitive control in adulthood.
Evaluating the Fit of the Ecological Framework for Implementation Variables

Many teachers struggle to deliver interventions with sufficient treatment integrity, perhaps due to implementation variables that mediate or moderate treatment integrity. Potential implementation v...
Data Center Monitoring

Since the early days of data centers, the data center operators have been challenged with device placement, capacity planning, equipment maintenance, and failure & downtime. Lately, things have become even harder for them due to the spotlight on low energy efficiency and low utilization of available capacity. The idea is that more needs to be done with less, while maintaining the same level of service. While piecemeal and inadequate attempts have been made from time to time, to address some of these challenges, the key to solving all of these problems lies in combining IT and facility monitoring, or even just facility monitoring. Therefore, in this chapter, first we briefly discuss some of the aforementioned issues. Then we get into the details of what physical quantities should be monitored in a data center and what value that can bring. We focus on the cooling distribution chain and the power distribution chain. Since power monitoring is a very popular topic and a major portion of it deals with power quality, a separate section has been dedicated on brief explanations of different power quality issues. Finally, we discuss the requirements for the software infrastructure that is needed to support this type of holistic monitoring.