cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Morphological Evolution of Multilayer Ni/NiO Thin Film Electrodes during Lithiation

Oxide conversion reactions in lithium ion batteries are challenged by substantial irreversibility associated with significant volume change during the phase separation of an oxide into lithia and metal species (e.g., NiO + 2Li+ + 2e– → Ni + Li2O). We demonstrate that the confinement of nanometer-scale NiO layers within a Ni/NiO multilayer electrode can direct lithium transport and reactivity, leading to coherent expansion of the multilayer. The morphological changes accompanying lithiation were tracked in real-time by in-operando X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and ex-situ cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy on well-defined periodic Ni/NiO multilayers grown by pulsed-laser deposition. Comparison of pristine and lithiated structures reveals that the nm-thick nickel layers help initiate the conversion process at the interface and then provide an architecture that confines the lithiation to the individual oxide layers. XRR data reveal that the lithiation process starts at the top and progressed through...
Bioactive components and antioxidant activities of oak cup crude extract and its four partially purified fractions by HPD-100 macroporous resin chromatography

Abstract Documents have revealed that leaves, barks and woods from oak trees are rich in phenols, yet little is known about them in Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica) cups, the by-product waste with large biomass. In the present work, composition analysis through total phenols, flavonoids and tannins, and condensed tannins, and HPLC profiles and antioxidant assessment by DPPH, ABTS, reducing power, ORAC and CAA were performed to evaluate oak cup crude extracts and the resulting four fractions (Fr. I, Fr. II, Fr. III and Fr. IV) prepared by HPD-100 macroporous resin chromatography. Among the optimal 50% ethanol crude extract (ECE) and its subsequent four fractions, Fr. II, on the basis of the oak cups, collected the majority of total phenols, flavonoids and tannins, and condensed tannins from ECE though lower contents of all compositions than those in Fr. III when based on the extract with an exception of condensed tannins. And the highlight of Fr. II is that it possessed the strongest antioxidant ability from the perspective of extract. These findings imply that composition of condensed tannins as well as its contents might take dominate role in antioxidant ability of oak cups. This was further corroborated through HPLC profiles as compositions in ECE and the four fractions are all distinguished from each other. HPLC also exhibited the great enrichment of ellagic acid in Fr. III. Moreover, the correlation analysis indicated that there is exclusive correlation existed between total flavonoids and antioxidant assays among all composition analysis including ellagic acid, which further confirmed the main influencing factor to antioxidant ability of oak cup may be composition of condensed tannins as well as its contents because the condensed tannins were constituted by flavonoid units, and ellagic acid may not be a strong antioxidant contributor in oak cups. Therefore, Fr. II should be chosen as the best fraction to be further explored. In addition, this established HPD-100 macroporous resin chromatography procedure could be developed as a simple and effective procedure for preparation of ellagic acid from oak cups.
Long-Term Load Forecasting Using System Type Neural Network Architecture

This paper presents a methodology for long-term electric power demands using a semigroup based system-type neural network architecture. The assumption is that given enough data, the next year's loads can be predicted using only components from the previous few years. This methodology is applied to recent load data, and the next year's load data is satisfactorily forecasted. This method also provides a more in depth forecasted time interval than other methods that just predict the average or peak power demand in the interval.
Inference Instruction to Support Reading Comprehension for Elementary Students With Learning Disabilities

Making inferences during reading is a critical standards-based skill and is important for reading comprehension. This article supports the improvement of reading comprehension for students with lea...
Next-generation sequencing of liquid-based cytology non-small cell lung cancer samples.

BACKGROUND The detection of mutated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with residual cell pellets derived from liquid-based cytology (LBC) samples (eg, endoscopic ultrasound–guided fine-needle aspiration) has been validated with allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. The aim of this study was to validate next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology for detecting gene mutations with residual cell pellets from LBC. METHODS Archived DNA extracted from LBC samples of adenocarcinoma stored in PreservCyt with a known EGFR mutation status was retrieved. Genomic DNA was multiplex-amplified and enriched with Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Hotspot Panel v2 chemistry and the OneTouch 2 instrument; this was followed by semiconductor sequencing on the Ion Personal Genome Machine platform. The mutation hotspots of 6 NSCLC-related genes (BRAF, EGFR, ERBB2, KRAS, MET, and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit α [PIK3CA]) were analyzed with NextGENe and Torrent Suite bioinformatics tools. RESULTS The commonly identified EGFR sequence changes, including 4 L858R mutations, 3 exon 19 deletions, and 1 exon 20 insertion, were in 100% concordance between the assay platforms. Less common NSCLC variants were also found in the mutation hotspots of ERBB2, KRAS, MET, and PIK3CA genes. CONCLUSIONS NSCLC mutation analysis using NGS can be successfully performed on residual cell pellets derived from LBC samples. This approach allows the simultaneous examination of multiple mutation hotspots in a timely manner to improve patient care. Cancer Cytopathol 2017;125:178–187. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Correcting Taxonomic Confusion for the Kleptoplastic Sea Slug Elysia papillosa Verrill (1901)

Abstract: We present evidence that the most recent redescription of Elysia patina Marcus, 1980, by Ortea et al. (2005) is incorrect. Instead, the redescribed characters used to classify E. patina exactly match those of Elysia papillosa Verrill, 1901. Therefore, Ortea et al.'s (2005) redescriptions of E. patina and E. papillosa should not be used.
On Cohen–Macaulay modules over the plane curve singularity of type \(\varvec{T_{44}}\)

For a wide class of Cohen–Macaulay modules over the local ring of the plane curve singularity of type \(T_{44}\), we explicitly describe the corresponding matrix factorizations. The calculations are based on the technique of matrix problems, in particular, representations of bunches of chains.
Formation and Structure of Wild Type Huntingtin Exon-1 Fibrils

The fact that the heritable neurodegenerative disorder Huntington’s disease (HD) is autosomal dominant means that there is one wild type and one mutant allele in most HD patients. The CAG repeat expansion in the exon 1 of the protein huntingtin (HTTex1) that causes the disease leads to the formation of HTT fibrils in vitro and vivo. An important question for understanding the molecular mechanism of HD is which role wild type HTT plays for the formation, propagation, and structure of these HTT fibrils. Here we report that fibrils of mutant HTTex1 are able to seed the aggregation of wild type HTTex1 into amyloid fibrils, which in turn can seed the fibril formation of mutant HTTex1. Solid-state NMR and electron paramagnetic resonance data showed that wild type HTTex1 fibrils closely resemble the structure of mutant fibrils, with small differences indicating a less extended fibril core. These data suggest that wild type fibrils can faithfully perpetuate the structure of mutant fibrils in HD. However, wild typ...
Does early change predict long-term (6 months) improvements in subjects who receive manual therapy for low back pain?

ABSTRACTEarly change is commonly assessed for manual therapy interventions and has been used to determine treatment appropriateness. However, current studies have only explored the relationship of between or within-session changes and short-/medium-term outcomes. The goal of this study was to determine whether pain changes after two weeks of pragmatic manual therapy could predict those participants with chronic low back pain who demonstrate continued improvements at 6-month follow-up. This study was a retrospective observational design. Univariate logistic regression analyses were performed using a 33% and a 50% pain change to predict improvement. Those who experienced a ≥33% pain reduction by 2 weeks had 6.98 (95% CI = 1.29, 37.53) times higher odds of 50% improvement on the GRoC and 4.74 (95% CI = 1.31, 17.17) times higher odds of 50% improvement on the ODI (at 6 months). Subjects who reported a ≥50% pain reduction at 2 weeks had 5.98 (95% CI = 1.56, 22.88) times higher odds of a 50% improvement in the ...
Effect dietary corn starch intake on pancreatic amylase and intestinal maltase and pH in cattle.

The pH optimum of pancreatic alpha-amylase from grain-fed steers was determined to be 6.9, while that of intestinal maltase was established at 5.8. Both assays were found to be linear up to 1 hr of incubation. The V max of pancreatic amylase was determined to be pancreatic amylase was determined to be 1.15 mg of maltose monohydrate produced/hr. Activities of pancreatic and intestinal maltase were not reduced (P greater than .05) during the interval from sample collection from the animal until analysis 4 hr later when tissues were kept on ice. Twenty-four yearling Holstein steers fed either alfalfa hay at a maintenance level of metabolizable energy (ME) intake or corn at one, two or three times the maintenance ME intake level were slaughtered after being fed 106 days. The pancreas was removed alone with sections of the intestine. Specific activity of pancreatic amylase for steers fed the high level of corn was 129% of that for steers fed the alfalfa diet (P greater than .05). Intestinal maltase activity was highest in the jejunum and decreased toward the ileum. Increasing dietary starch intake resulted in no response (P greater than .05) in maltase activity at 10, 30, 50, 70, or 90% of the small intestine length. The effect of dietary starch level on dieesta pH was dependent on sampling location within the small intestine. There were no dietary effects (P greater than .05) on digesta pH for the first 10% segment of intestine distal to the pylorus. However, in all subsequent sections, digesta pH was higher steers fed the alfalfa diet than for those fed the two higher levels of grain. A calculation for estimating th amount of pancreatic amylase needed to hydrolyze starch presented to small intestine is discussed.
Permeability Changes during Experimental Endotoxemia and Sepsis

Pulmonary transmicrovascular fluid flux has traditionally been evaluated in relationship to the Starling-Landis equation [Starling 1890]: $$Qf = kf(Pmv - Pi) - \sigma (\pi pl - \pi i)$$ In this equation Qf is the net fluid flux, kf is the filtration coefficient, Pmv the capillary pressure, Pi the pressure in the interstitial space, a the reflection coefficient, πpl the oncotic pressure in the plasma and πi the oncotic pressure of the interstitial fluid. Since lymph flow is a very accurate index of the net fluid flux (Qf) the flow of lymph (QL) has been used almost exclusively to define this term. The caudal mediastinal lymph node of the sheep has a single efferent and surgical manipulation of the systemic contamination to the node resulting in lymph which is almost exclusively from the lung [Staub 1975]. The ease with which the lung lymphatic can be cannulated and the facility with which you can then obtain the remainder of the terms in the Starling-Landis equation have resulted in the use of ovine models to study several aspects of microvascular pathophysiology.
Rethinking Educational Aims in an Era of Globalization

Globalization is the term most commonly used to describe our era. It points to the emergence of a set of processes that relate to the rapid movement of ideas, goods and people around the globe, radically transforming relations among people and communities across national borders. Driven largely by developments in information and communication technologies, globalization has given rise to new forms of transnational interconnectivity and interdependence. And while people continue to live in local realities, these realities are increasingly integrated into larger systems of global networks. According to Waters (1995), globalization involves both an objective and a subjective dimension. It represents an objective account of the ways in which geographical constraints on economic, political and cultural activities are receding; but on a subjective level, it suggests that people around the world are becoming increasingly aware of this fact and are reshaping their lives accordingly. People deal on a daily basis with the realities of transnational economic relations, technological and media innovations, and cultural flows that cut across national borders, with greater speed and intensity than ever before. For many people, these developments have provided new and exciting opportunities to travel and trade, while for others they have brought nothing but destruction of their life opportunities and of their communities and cultural traditions. Education is deeply implicated in these transformations, affected by the accelerating transnational dynamics of globalization. Through major advances in information and communication technologies, educational
Selecting a Reading Intervention Program for Struggling Readers: A Case Study of an Urban District:

Reading intervention programs provide the foundation for the educational success of students, especially those who are considered struggling readers. States across the country recently implemented ...
Molecular imaging of cardiac regenerative medicine

Abstract Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death globally by creating irreversible loss of cardiomyocytes and subsequent deterioration of cardiac function. To help repair the injured myocardium, promising approaches in regenerative medicine focus on rejuvenating the damaged heart. In this review, we highlight recent progress in molecular imaging applications for cardiac regenerative medicine in vivo including tracking cell delivery and retention, monitoring cell fates, evaluating therapeutic efficacy, and assessing side effects. We also discuss future directions to address two major challenges in this field, namely, improving the sensitivity of stem cell detection and advancing functional imaging of cell fates in vivo. We conclude that molecular imaging is crucial for facilitating regenerative medicine. Rapid progress in molecular imaging makes it a valuable tool to achieve the ultimate goal of improving cardiovascular outcomes.
The Impact of Psychotherapeutic Reiki on Anxiety

Reiki healing is one of several complementary and integrative therapies becoming increasingly prevalent in mental health counseling. It has been identified in the medical field for its usefulness i...
Bayesian t-tests for correlations and partial correlations

In this paper, we develop Bayes factor based testing procedures for the presence of a correlation or a partial correlation. The proposed Bayesian tests are obtained by restricting the class of the ...
Disinfection Trends of Dental X-ray Machines in North American Dental Schools

Introduction: This study evaluates the trends in the disinfection of the dental X-ray machines in North American dental schools. The methods of disinfection were compared to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. Materials and Methods: A survey posed the question of whether plastic barrier wrap, bag, disinfecting wipes, or a combination were used for infection control of the tube head. Additional information was gathered from the dental schools’ infection policy guides and clinic manuals available online. Results: Of the forty-two Canadian and US dental schools surveyed, 24% used disinfectant wipes, 19% used bags, 19% used plastic surface barriers, and 38% used a combination. Conclusion: The majority of schools used a combination of the three methods, and all institutions abided by the CDC guidelines. As bags are more cumbersome to use with a rectangular collimator, wipes and barriers are arguably better methods to disinfect the X-ray tube head.
Buying the Electorate: An Empirical Study of the Current Campaign Finance Landscape and How the Supreme Court Erred by Not Revisiting Citizens United

The article discusses how the Supreme Court erred by summarily reversing the Montana Supreme Court’s decision in Western Tradition Partnership v. AG and not revisiting their holding in Citizens United v. FEC. The article begins by discussing the holding in the Western Tradition Partnership case and analyzing both the majority and dissenting opinions. The article then analyzes how the Montana Supreme Court distinguished Citizens United, with the Court specifically looking at the “unique” political history in Montana and finding that Montana’s ban on corporate independent political spending served a compelling state interest and was narrowly tailored to that interest. The article then transitions into an empirical study of the current campaign finance landscape by specifically looking at: states’ unique histories of corruption, the lack of transparency with regard to corporate political expenditures, the public perception of corruption in corporate political spending practices, the independence of super PACs, the influence of political dark money and 501(c)(4) organizations being used to circumvent campaign finance laws, and the use of shell corporations to circumvent campaign finance disclosure rules and Federal tax laws. The article concludes by listing additional arguments in favor of the Supreme Court revisiting Citizens United including: the breadth of the First Amendment, the idea of corporations being “creatures of the state,” the ability of PACs to allow corporate political participation, the issue of a state’s power to exclude foreign corporations from participation in their democratic political institutions, shareholder protection, the treatment of public unions, and the Supreme Court’s history of altering constitutional doctrine when its understanding of the doctrine’s factual underpinnings no longer appear to be accurate.
“Subtle, vicious effects”: Lillian Steele Proctor's Pioneering Investigation of Gifted African American Children in Washington, DC

This essay examines the first detailed study of gifted African American youth: Lillian Steele Proctor's master's thesis from the late 1920s on Black children in Washington, DC. Unlike formative research on gifted children by educational psychologists, Proctor's investigation emphasized children's experiences at school, home, and community in determining their abilities, opportunities, and accomplishments. Proctor's work also anticipated African American intellectuals’ critiques of racist claims about intelligence and giftedness that would flourish in the 1930s. In focusing on the nation's capital, her investigation drew from a municipality with a high proportion of African American residents that was segregated by law. Proctor pointed directly to systemic racism as both contributing to the relative invisibility of gifted African American youth and in thwarting opportunities to realize their intellectual potential. In an environment of racial subordination and segregation, these gifted children found themselves excluded from cultural resources and educational opportunities.
Osseous metaplasia within native cardiac valves: clinicopathologic characterization of a histologic constituent with particular focus upon aortic valves.

Native cardiac valves may undergo calcification in the setting of chronic injury, subsequently impeding normal valve structure and function. In the same setting, there may be evidence of metaplasia—specifically osseous metaplasia—with lamellar bone admixed with dystrophic calcification. In this study, the histologic features of 123 native aortic valves (identified from 1094 sequentially reviewed native valves of all types that included a total of 754 aortic valves) with osseous metaplasia are focused upon, as well as correlation with other histopathologic features, and clinical and echocardiographic findings. Osseous metaplasia was identified in aortic and significantly less frequently in mitral valves, and never in tricuspid or pulmonic valves. Notable observations included that osseous metaplasia in aortic valves were seen in patients with greater body mass index, and less commonly identified in patients with a history of autoimmune disease. Aortic valves with osseous metaplasia were more commonly tricuspid (as opposed to bicuspid), and with smaller aortic valve area and greater peak and mean gradients. The rate of osseous metaplasia in aortic valves increased with increasing degree of stenosis and decreasing degree of regurgitation. The rates of the presence of chondromatous metaplasia, smooth muscle, arterial vessels, capillary bed formation, chronic inflammation, and hemosiderin laden macrophages were greater in aortic valves with osseous metaplasia compared to valves without osseous metaplasia. Further investigation is required to determine potential physiologic and/or pathologic consequence of the presence of valvular osseous metaplasia.
The Eady problem for a basic state with zero PV gradient but beta does not equal 0

The classic Eady problem is modified to include beta does not equal 0, but with the basic distributions of temperature and zonal flow adjusted to preserve zero meridional gradients of basic-state potential vorticity in the fluid interior. Much of the mathematical simplicity of the classic problem is retained; however, the results differ in important ways. Specifically, the instability now has a long-wave cutoff in addition to the traditional short-wave cutoff. The former is associated with the fact that the phase speeds of the edge waves begin to differ so much as wavenumber is reduced that the two edge waves can no longer interact in order to form unstable modes. For the unstable modes, this manifests itself in that the steering level for unstable modes is always below the middle of the fluid and approaches the lower boundary near the long-wave cutoff. Relatedly, the amplitude of the unstable geopotential perturbations is larger at the upper boundary than at the lower boundary. Finally, below the long-wave cutoff, one of the neutral waves has a phase speed that becomes increasingly easterly as wavenumber decreases. This allows a resonant response to planetary-scale stationary forcing.
SU‐E‐T‐363: Error Detection Comparison of EPID and MLC Log File Based IMRT QA Systems

Purpose: In this study we will compare the ability of three QA methods (Delta4, MU-EPID, Dynalog QA) to detect specific errors. Methods: A Varian Novalis Tx with a HD120 MLC and aS1000 Electronic Portal Imaging Device (EPID) was used in our study. Multi-leaf collimator (MLC) errors, gantry angle and dose errors were introduced into 5 volumetric arc therapy (VMAT) plans. 3D dose distributions calculated with data from the EPID and Dynalog QA methods were compared with the planned dose distribution. The gamma passing percentages as well as percentage error of planning target volume (PTV) dose were used for passing determination. Baselines for gamma passing percentages and PTV dose were established by measuring the original plan 5 times consecutively. Standard passing thresholds as well as thresholds derived from receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis and 2 standard deviation (SD) criteria were used. Results: When applying the standard 95% pass rate at 3%/3mm gamma analysis 14, 21 and 8 of 30 errors were detected by the Delta4, MU-EPID and Dynalog QA methods respectively. Thresholds set at 2 SD from our base line measurements resulted in the detection of 18, 9 and 14 of 30 errors for the Delta4, MU-EPID and Dynalog QA methods respectively. When using D2 of the PTV as a metric the Dynalog QA detected 20 of 30 errors while the EPID method detected 14 of 30 errors. Using D98 of the PTV, Dynalog QA detected 13 of 30 while the EPID detected 3 of 30 errors. Conclusion: Although MU-EPID detected the most errors at the standard 95% cutoff it also produced the most false detections in the baseline data. The Dynalog QA was the most effective when the ROC adjusted passing threshold was used. D2 was more effective as a metric for detecting errors than D98.
Ictericia e incompatibilidad por grupo Kell: caso clínico.

Resumen es: Dentro de las patologias mas frecuentes que afectan al recien nacido se encuentra la ictericia. Sus etiologias son diversas y conforman una larga lista q...
Binary Star Rotation from Line Profiles

Rotation measures for binaries and single stars need to be put on a firm basis. From an astrophysical point of view, asynchronous rotation in Algol type binaries is mainly a consequence of mass transfer, and thus can provide evolutionary information. Also, rotation is a neglected area of stellar astronomy, especially on the observational side, and it is appropriate to develop our knowledge simply because unexpected benefits nearly always accompany rapid observational advances into unexplored territory. This contribution includes results on RY Per, RW Mon, DM Per, RY Gem, TU Mon and Algol (Table 1). F1 is the ratio of spin angular speed to mean orbital angular speed for the primary star while F2 is the corresponding ratio for the secondary star. F1= 1 signifies synchronous rotation. Table 1 lists the values of F1 obtained from three methods. F1(dc) refers to the value obtained by the differential correction method while F1(simplex) refers to the value obtained from the simplex method. F1(lc) is the photometric F1 value. The published spectroscopic F1 values in Table 1 are averages found by Van Hamme and Wilson (1990, Ai 100, 1981) from the listed references. The last column in Table 1 gives the equatorial velocity corresponding to the F1(dc) value. The fitted spectral line profiles are shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3. A more complete list of binaries observed to date by G.J.Peters is given in Table 2. In this table the term “noisy lines” refers to those for which the spectral distributions have large scatter. Any blending is usually with lines of the same star because Algol-type secondary stars are much less luminous than the primaries. The term “clean lines” refers to those which are reasonably free of scatter and blending. The resolution of the CCD as it was used is 0.15 Angstroms per pixel.
Real-time applications on the Internet

This paper provides a general introduction to real-time applications over networks operating the Internet protocol. A particular issue facing such applications is the difficulty in consistently achieving the required quality of service. The paper looks at the role of the network, the operating system and the application environment in delivering the required quality of service. The main focus is an outline description of an application architecture designed to support a wide range of real-time applications, with particular reference to audiovisual services.
The Postadoption Needs of Adoptive Parents of Children With Disabilities

Adoptions of children with disabilities are considered special needs, due to the higher level of support needed pre- and postadoption by families and children for adoptions to succeed. Despite this fact, very few studies examine the specific postadoption experiences of families with children with disabilities. Using secondary analysis of a national survey of adoptive parents, as well as interviews and a focus group with adoptive parents in one state, this study examines families’ with adopted children with disabilities challenges and unmet needs after adoption, as well as the postadoption needs and experiences of adoptive families with children with developmental and intellectual disabilities and adoptive families of children with emotional, behavioral, and mental health disabilities. Findings indicate that families with children with disabilities do report higher rates of challenges and barriers to service access, and that this is particularly true in families with adopted children with emotional, behavi...
Overeating with and without loss of control: Associations with weight status, weight-related characteristics, and psychosocial health.

Objective The relative importance of loss of control and overeating in the relationship between binge eating and eating-related and general psychopathology has been debated in the literature. This study assessed the prevalence and correlates of overeating with and without loss of control within a diverse, population-based sample of adolescents. Method A highly diverse (81.1% non-White) sample of adolescents (n = 2,793) from EAT-2010 (Eating and Activity in Teens) completed self-report questionnaires assessing eating-related psychopathology, substance use, nonsuicidal self-injury, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem. Results Overeating without loss of control was reported by 6.9% of girls and 5.0% of boys, while 9.6% of girls and 6.3% of boys reported overeating with loss of control (binge eating). Overall, overeating (with or without loss of control) was positively associated with unhealthy or extreme weight control behaviors, dieting, nonsuicidal self-injury, lower body satisfaction, and self-esteem, and higher depressive symptoms relative to no overeating. Among girls, binge eating was associated with unhealthy or extreme weight control behaviors, lower self-esteem, and higher depressive symptoms relative to overeating without loss of control, while in boys, binge eating was associated with greater cigarette usage, lower body satisfaction, and greater depressive symptoms than overeating without loss of control (although cigarette usage was comparable in boys reporting binge eating and no overeating). Discussion Any overeating, with or without loss of control, was associated with multiple adverse correlates among adolescents. Loss of control was uniquely associated with multiple health indicators, further highlighting its importance as a marker of severity of overeating. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2015; 48:1150–1157).
Are BiTEs the “missing link” in cancer therapy?

Conventional treatment for cancer routinely includes surgical resection and some combination of chemotherapy and radiation. These approaches are frequently accompanied by unintended and highly toxic collateral damage to healthy tissues, which are offset by only marginal prognostic improvements in patients with advanced cancers. This unfortunate balance has driven the development of novel therapies that aim to target tumors both safely and efficiently. Over the past decade, mounting evidence has supported the therapeutic utility of T-cell-centered cancer immunotherapy, which, in its various iterations, has been shown capable of eliciting highly precise and robust antitumor responses both in animal models and human trials. The identification of tumor-specific targets has further fueled a growing interest in T-cell therapies given their potential to circumvent the non-specific nature of traditional treatments. Of the several strategies geared toward achieving T-cell recognition of tumor, bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) represent a novel class of biologics that have garnered enthusiasm in recent years due to their versatility, specificity, safety, cost, and ease of production. Bispecific T-cell Engagers (BiTEs) are a subclass of bsAbs that are specific for CD3 on one arm and a tumor antigen on the second. As such, BiTEs function by recruiting and activating polyclonal populations of T-cells at tumor sites, and do so without the need for co-stimulation or conventional MHC recognition. Blinatumomab, a well-characterized BiTE, has emerged as a promising recombinant bscCD19×CD3 construct that has demonstrated remarkable antitumor activity in patients with B-cell malignancies. This clinical success has resulted in the rapid extension of BiTE technology against a greater repertoire of tumor antigens and the recent US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) accelerated approval of blinatumomab for the treatment of a rare form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In this review, we dissect the role of T-cell therapeutics in the new era of cancer immunotherapy, appraise the value of CAR T-cells in the context of solid tumors, and discuss why the BiTE platform may rescue several of the apparent deficits and shortcomings of competing immunotherapies to support its widespread clinical application.
Lanthanide-based luminescent probes for selective time-gated detection of hydrogen peroxide in water and in living cells

Lanthanide-based luminescent probes TPR1 and TPR2 were developed for the detection of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in living systems. The chemoselective reaction of these boronate-protected probes with H2O2 resulted in an enhanced lanthanide sensitization and a 6-fold increase in luminescent intensity. TPR2 was utilized to measure the endogenous production of H2O2 in RAW 264.7 macrophages using time-gated luminescent spectroscopy.
On the relationship between spontaneous mutation rates in vivo and in vitro.

Abstract Recent estimates if spontaneous mutation rates in man, in which previous sources of bias are corrected, indicate that the average is about 3 × 10 −7 per locus per generation, a much lower figure than is generally accepted. Assuming 100 to 1000 cell division between each gametic union, this information predicts that cellular mutation rates should be of the order of 10 −9 per locus per generation. Since none of the mutation rates measured in cultured cells are this low (average for seven characters = 7 × 10 −7 ), the size of mutation rates in cultured cells cannot be used to substantiate the claim of epigenetic inheritance. Furthermore, this information suggests that in multicellular organisms the germinal tissue is sequestered from mutagenic insult or subjected to selection against mutational damage so as to keep the genetic load of a species at a tolerable level. Alternatively, cell culture environments may present an extremely abnormal situation to somatic cells, thus elevating the mutation rate.
Reconstructing missing daily precipitation data using regression trees and artificial neural networks for SWAT streamflow simulation.

Summary Environmental models typically require a complete time series of meteorological inputs, thus reconstructing missing data is a key issue in the functionality of such physical models. The objective of this work was to develop a new technique to reconstruct missing daily precipitation data in the central part of Chesapeake Bay Watershed using a two-step reconstruction method (RT + ANN) that employed artificial neural networks (ANN) with inputs only from stations that were found to be influential in bootstrap applications of regression trees (RT). The predictive performance of RT + ANN was also compared with those of stand-alone RT and ANN methods. In addition to statistical comparisons of the reconstructed precipitation time series, these resulting data in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) watershed model were used to perform an error propagation analysis in streamflow simulations. The RT provided a transparent visual representation of the similarity between the stations in their daily precipitation time series. Seven years of data from 39 weather stations showed that both RT and ANN provided the reconstruction accuracy comparable to (or better than) published earlier results of precipitation reconstruction. The RT + ANN method significantly improved accuracy and was more robust when compared to RT or ANN methods. This method also provided more accurate and robust SWAT streamflow predictions with reconstructed precipitation.
18F, 64Cu, and 68Ga Labeled RGD-Bombesin Heterodimeric Peptides for PET Imaging of Breast Cancer

Radiolabeled RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) and bombesin (BBN) radiotracers that specifically target integrin αvβ3 and gastrin releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) are both promising radiopharmaceuticals for tumor imaging. We recently designed and synthesized a RGD-BBN heterodimeric peptide with both RGD and BBN motifs in one single molecule. The 18F-labeled RGD-BBN heterodimer exhibited dual integrin αvβ3 and GRPR targeting in a PC-3 prostate cancer model. In this study we investigated whether radiolabeled RGD-BBN tracers can be used to detect breast cancer by using microPET. Cell binding assay demonstrated that the high GRPR expressing breast cancer cells typically express low to moderate level of integrin αvβ3, while high integrin αvβ3 expressing breast cancer cells have negligible level of GRPR. We labeled RGD-BBN heterodimer with three positron emitting radionuclides 18F, 64Cu, and 68Ga and investigated the corresponding PET radiotracers in both orthotopic T47D (GRPR+/low integrin αvβ3) and MDA-MB-435 (GRPR−/integri...
Reduced primary patency rate in diabetic patients after percutaneous intervention results from more frequent presentation with limb-threatening ischemia.

Objective Although patients with diabetes are at increased risk of amputation from peripheral vascular disease, excellent limb-salvage rates have been achieved with aggressive surgical revascularization. It is less clear whether patients with diabetes will fare as well as nondiabetics after undergoing percutaneous lower extremity revascularization, a modality which is becoming increasingly utilized for this disease process. This study aimed to assess differential outcomes in between diabetics and nondiabetics in lower extremity percutaneous interventions. Methods We retrospectively studied 291 patients with respect to patient variables, complications, and outcomes for percutaneous interventions performed for peripheral occlusive disease between 2002 and 2005. Tibial vessel run-off was assessed by angiography. Patency (assessed arterial duplex) was expressed by Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank analysis. Mean follow-up was 11.6 months (range 1 to 56 months). Results A total of 385 interventions for peripheral occlusive disease with claudication (52.2%), rest pain (16.4%), or tissue loss (31.4%) were analyzed, including 336 primary interventions and 49 reinterventions (mean patient age 73.9 years, 50.8% male). Comorbidities included diabetes mellitus (57.2%), chronic renal insufficiency (18.4%), hemodialysis (3.8%), hypertension (81.9%), hypercholesterolemia (57%), coronary artery disease (58%), tobacco use (63.2%). Diabetics were significantly more likely to be female (55.3% vs 40.8%), and suffer from CRI (23.5% vs 12.0%), a history of myocardial infarction (36.5% vs 18.0%), and Conclusion Patients with diabetes demonstrate reduced primary patency rates after percutaneous treatment of lower extremity occlusive disease, most likely due to their advanced stage of disease at presentation. However, despite a higher reintervention rate, diabetics and others with risk factors predictive of reduced primary patency can attain equivalent short-term secondary patency and limb-salvage rates. Therefore, these patient characteristics should not be considered contraindications to endovascular therapy.
Mohs surgery for melanoma: rationale, advances and possibilities.

Mohs surgery (MS) is an effective technique for the removal of a variety of cutaneous neoplasms by virtue of its thorough assessment of margins. It has yet to become widely accepted for melanoma because recognizing melanocytes histologically in frozen section can be problematic. Recently, ‘rapid’ methods of immunohistochemistry have been developed that resolve this issue by staining the melanocytes in frozen section. In addition, some of the immunohistochemistry protocols that previously required up to 1 h now take 19 min or less. These technological enhancements for MS have removed some of the obstacles towards the acceptance of MS as a legitimate option for removal of melanomas, especially poorly demarcated lesions and lesions from the head and neck, the distal extremities and the genitalia. Experience thus far with MS for melanoma has shown lower recurrence rates and improved disease-specific survival compared with historical controls for standard excision, while at the same time minimizing the sacrifi...
IFN-Inducible GTPases in Host Cell Defense

From plants to humans, the ability to control infection at the level of an individual cell—a process termed cell-autonomous immunity—equates firmly with survival of the species. Recent work has begun to unravel this programmed cell-intrinsic response and the central roles played by IFN-inducible GTPases in defending the mammalian cell's interior against a diverse group of invading pathogens. These immune GTPases regulate vesicular traffic and protein complex assembly to stimulate oxidative, autophagic, membranolytic, and inflammasome-related antimicrobial activities within the cytosol, as well as on pathogen-containing vacuoles. Moreover, human genome-wide association studies and disease-related transcriptional profiling have linked mutations in the Immunity-Related GTPase M ( IRGM ) locus and altered expression of guanylate binding proteins (GBPs) with tuberculosis susceptibility and Crohn's colitis.
Exploring Strategic Behavior in an Oligopoly Market Using Classroom Clickers

This article discusses an innovative technique to teach strategic behavior in oligopoly markets. In the classroom exercise, students play the role of a firm that maximizes its profit given the behavior of other firms in the industry. Using classroom clickers to communicate pricing decisions, students explore first-hand the strategic nature of decision-making in an oligopoly market. Students see the diversity of equilibrium outcomes that can be supported in an oligopoly setting and better understand the conditions that lead to one equilibrium over another. The game also illustrates different game theoretic concepts such as the Nash equilibrium (Nash 1950, 1951) and backward induction. The exercise is designed for use in an intermediate microeconomics class, although the technique and exercise could be modified for other courses that examine strategic behavior.
Residents on the transport team. Balancing service and education.

Objectives: To describe an educational program for pediatric house staff who participate in interhospital transport and to present an evaluation of the educational program. Design: Educational program evaluation that used multiple confidential surveys of participating pediatric house staff. Setting: The interhospital transport team of a large, urban pediatric hospital. Participants: Twenty-six pediatric second-year residents who participated in required rotations with the transport service. Intervention: The institution of an educational program designed specifically for the clinical transport rotation. Results: Before their service with the transport team, residents have doubts about their clinical skills, fund of knowledge, and ability to practice independently in a mobile environment. These doubts decrease as the residents participate in the educational program during their transport clinical service. All residents perceive service on the transport rotation to be of educational benefit with regard to communications or cognitive skills. Alternatively, transport service provides little opportunity for residents to improve technical skills. Among the various skills that residents could obtain during transport service, improvement in clinical judgment was most commonly cited by residents who performed more than 10 transports. Among the specific curricular components in the educational program, interactive teaching methods were judged to be more valuable than written materials. Conclusions: Serving as a physician on interhospital transports can be an important educational opportunity for pediatric house staff when that experience is concentrated in a designated rotation and combined with a focused educational program. Contrary to expectations, there was little opportunity for residents to develop technical skills on transport. Therefore, educators should focus on the development of communications and cognitive skills. Interhospital transport programs that debate the use of residents as members of the service should consider the potential educational benefit of the clinical service to house staff. (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996;150:529-534)
Management of adult soft-tissue sarcoma of the extremities and trunk.

Soft-tissue sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of tumors consisting of approximately 100 distinct diagnoses. Management requires a multimodality approach with the input of pathologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists and radiologists. In localized disease, the primary modality of treatment is wide-resection surgery, and the use of radiation therapy has improved local control rates for high-grade tumors. Currently, most localized tumors can be managed with limb-sparing treatment, and local control rates of 80–90% can be seen with appropriate management. Improvements in classification and diagnosis of these tumors have led to the current idea that the specific histology is an important consideration when developing a treatment plan and may affect prognosis, although existing staging systems have not yet incorporated this parameter. Treatment of metastatic disease continues to be difficult, but current research focuses on clarifying molecular mechanisms of disease and identifying new po...
Isolation of gastroferrin from human gastric juice.

Abstract A method is reported for the isolation of gastroferrin - the high molecular weight iron-binding fraction of human gastric juice. This method is based on the ability of the iron-gastroferrin complex to be removed from solution by coprecipitation with ferric hydroxide. When iron is removed from the iron-gastroferrin complex, the gastroferrin is shown to regain its iron chelating ability. Preliminary examination of the product so obtained showed it to be a glycoprotein of molecular weight 260,000. It consists of approximately 85% carbohydrate and 15% protein. Glucosamine, galactosamine, galactose, fucose, and sialic acid were the only carbohydrate residues detected. Serine, threonine, and proline predominated among the 17 amino acids observed; aromatic and sulfur containing amino acids were present in only small amounts.
Theoretical Studies of Carbocations in Ion Pairs. Part 3. The tert-Butyl Cation in an Ionic Aggregate

The structure of the tert-butyl cation in the five-ion aggregate Li+•H3BF-•Me3C+•FBH3-•Li+ was studied by high level ab initio MO calculations, with electron correlation, at the MP2/6-31G** level. The aggregate size was defined by the distance L between two parallel planes. One Li+ ion moves freely within each plane. At the first level of complexity, each Li..B..F group was collinear and normal to these planes, the angles between each of the three C+−C bonds and an axis perpendicular to the planes were equal, and the ions in the central triple ion moved freely along this axis. Starting from the C3h form preferred by the isolated carbocation, geometry optimization led to a Cs conformation, by methyl group rotation. The C3v form of the cation maintained its conformation upon optimization. The stabilities of these two conformations cannot be fairly compared, because the interionic equilibrium distances are different. (The aggregate with a C3v cation is lower in energy by 1.9 kcal/mol at L = 12.658 A). At the...