cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evidence of an Unusual N–H···N Hydrogen Bond in Proteins

Many residues within proteins adopt conformations that appear to be stabilized by interactions between an amide N–H and the amide N of the previous residue. To explore whether these interactions constitute hydrogen bonds, we characterized the IR stretching frequencies of deuterated variants of proline and the corresponding carbamate, as well as the four proline residues of an Src homology 3 domain protein. The CδD2 stretching frequencies are shifted to lower energies due to hyperconjugation with Ni electron density, and engaging this density via protonation or the formation of the Ni+1–H···Ni interaction ablates this hyperconjugation and thus induces an otherwise difficult to explain blue shift in the C–D absorptions. Along with density functional theory calculations, the data reveal that the Ni+1–H···Ni interactions constitute H-bonds and suggest that they may play an important and previously underappreciated role in protein folding, structure, and function.
Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and single-ventricle patients: A good match?

From the Department of Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY. Disclosures: Author has nothing to disclose with regard to commercial support. Received for publication March 17, 2016; accepted for publication March 17, 2016. Address for reprints: Paul J. Chai, MD, Department of Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, 161 Fort Washington Ave, New York, NY 10032 (E-mail: pjc2164@cumc.columbia.edu). J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2016;151:1737 0022-5223/$36.00 Copyright 2016 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2016.03.030
On the ionic basis of electrical stimulation.

In their attempts to develop a physical theory of electrical stimulation, Nernst1 and A. V. Hill2 have supposed the current to act by carrying the ions within the tissue against a membrane barrier. The resulting heaping up of the ions at the membrane constitutes the first step in excitation. If we assume, as the work of Loeb3 shows we have a right to do, that the positive ions are the effective ones, then according to the views of Nernst and of Hill stimulation must occur at the cathode when the current is made. This is a statement of Pfluger's law and is valid for frog tissue, with which Pfluger worked.A consideration of cases in which Pfluger's law is reversed suggests that a somewhat different and more general picture of the ion mechanism of electrical stimulation is necessary. In the ctenophores Beroe and Mnemiopsis, when the galvanic current is passed through a trough of sea water containing them, the result is a luminescent glow on the anodal side of the animal.4 This glow occurs on the make and las...
Laser surgery simulation platform: Toward full-procedure training and rehearsal for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) therapy

Recently, photo-selective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) has been a popular alternative to the standard electrocautery - transurethral resection of prostate (TURP). Here we introduce a new training system for practicing the laser therapy by using a virtual reality (VR) simulator. To interactively and realistically simulate PVP on a virtual organ with an order of a quarter million elements, a few novel and practical solutions have been applied to handle the challenges in modeling tissue ablation, contact/collision and deformation; endoscopic instruments tracking, haptic rendering and a web/database curriculum management module are integrated into the system. Over 40 urologists and surgical experts have been invited nationally and participated in the system verification.
Benzylacyclouridine reverses azidothymidine-induced marrow suppression without impairment of anti-human immunodeficiency virus activity.

Increased extracellular concentrations of uridine (Urd) have been reported to reduce, in vitro, azidothymidine (AZT)-induced inhibition of human granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cells without impairment of its antihuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity. Because of the clinical toxicities associated with chronic Urd administration, the ability of benzylacyclouridine (BAU) to effect, in vivo, AZT-induced anemia and leukopenia was assessed. This agent inhibits Urd catabolism and, in vivo, increases the plasma concentration of Urd in a dose- dependent manner, without Urd-related toxicity. In mice rendered anemic and leukopenic by the administration of AZT for 28 days in drinking water (1.5 mg/mL), the continued administration of AZT plus daily BAU (300 mg/kg, orally) partially reversed AZT-induced anemia and leukopenia (P less than .05), increased peripheral reticulocytes (to 4.9%, P less than .01), increased cellularity in the marrow, and improved megaloblastosis. When coadministered with AZT from the onset of drug administration, BAU reduced AZT-induced marrow toxicity. In vitro, at a concentration of 100 mumol/L, BAU possesses minimal anti- HIV activity and has no effect on the ability of AZT to reverse the HIV- induced cytopathic effect in MT4 cells. The clinical and biochemical implications of these findings are discussed.
Forensic pathology. Pulmonary disease.

Certain conditions in cases with pulmonary pathology such as thrombosis and embolism, pregnancy, asthma, drug abuse, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and occupational exposures are particularly likely to come under critical scrutiny and may form the basis of allegations of medical negligence, wrongful death or product liability Pathologists may play an important role in the resolution of these legal claims through the proper performance, interpretation and reporting of their examinations. Pathologists can also assist in the legal process by explaining pathologic findings and their signifigance, correlating them with the clinical course and addressing issues of causation.
Predicting aerobic power in children. A comparison of two methods.

Objective. To compare the accuracy of two equations for predicting VO 2 max of children using submaximal cycle ergometry. Experimental design. Repeated measures comparing treadmill measured maximal aerobic power (VO 2 max) with two methods of predicting VO 2 max using cycle ergometry testing. Participants. Thirty-three children (15 boys and 18 girls) aged 7-13 years served as subjects. Measures. Each child completed a treadmill graded exercise test (GXT) to volitional fatigue to assess VO 2 max. Each child also completed a progressive 9-min, three-stage, submaximal cycle ergometer test. Heart rates obtained during the last minute of each stage of the ergometer test were used to predict VO 2 max. Predictions were based on a gender-specific modification of the PWC 170 (PWC GS ) and a modification of the PWC 195 using a 1.17 correction factor and an age and gender-adjusted estimate of resting metabolic rate. Results. The correlations between both submaximal tests and the GXT were significant (p<0.001); however, the correlation between the GXT and the PWC 195 equation (r=0.807) was higher than the correlation between the GXT and the PWC GS equation (r=0.658). Analysis indicated that the PWC GS equation significantly underestimated the VO 2 max compared to either the GXT or PWC 195 (GXT=45.0±7.1, PWC 195 =44.7±6.2, PWC GS =42.7±5.8 ml/kg/min; p<0.01). Conclusions. These results suggest that although the gender-specific PWC GS method is easier to compute and may be acceptable, the modified PWC 195 method is a more accurate estimate of VO 2 max in children.
The Antibacterial Effect of the Bladder Surface: An Electron Microscopic Study

AbstractTo explore an intrinsic bladder defense mechanism we examined interaction between Escherichia coli and bacterial size particles (polystyrene latex balls) and the vesical luminal surface by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The bacteria and the latex spheres were held in folds of the cellular luminal surface. Voiding (bladder contraction) resulted in the entrapment of a large number of bacteria and particles by these microplicae, with their apparent engulfment in vesicles below the cell surface. Some urine was probably contained in the folds and vesicles, thus reducing the volume of residual urine in the bladder. Since leukocytes were rarely seen in the model studied they presumably do not play an immediate role against acute infection in the normal bladder. These observations indicate that fixation of bacteria to the mucosa is 1 step in the mechanism whereby the normally functioning bladder resists infection.
A wavelet contrast metric for the targeting task performance metric

Target acquisition performance depends strongly on the contrast of the target. The Targeting Task Performance (TTP) metric, within the Night Vision Integrated Performance Model (NV-IPM), uses a combination of resolution, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast to predict and model system performance. While the dependence on resolution and SNR are well defined and understood, defining a robust and versatile contrast metric for a wide variety of acquisition tasks is more difficult. In this correspondence, a wavelet contrast metric (WCM) is developed under the assumption that the human eye processes spatial differences in a manner similar to a wavelet transform. The amount of perceivable information, or useful wavelet coefficients, is used to predict the total viewable contrast to the human eye. The WCM is intended to better match the measured performance of the human vision system for high-contrast, low-contrast, and low-observable targets. After further validation, the new contrast metric can be incorporated using a modified TTP metric into the latest Army target acquisition software suite, the NV-IPM.
Gastrointestinal crises in intensive care

Summary Various causes of acute pancreatitis are commonly encountered in the intensive care unit. Some of these factors such as trauma, transplantation, and various cardiac and noncardiac surgery bring patients to the intensive care unit. In other patients, the pancreatitis develops subsequently. A high degree of suspicion is indicated, but not all hyperamylasemia is pancreatitis.
Competence-based Education and Educational Effectiveness

The chapter assesses the empirical evidence about the outcomes of competence-based education (CBE) by a review of the research literature documented in bibliographical databases that cover academic publications (EBSCOHOST) and in more practical material (Google). Several generic searches were run and included not only specific competence expressions but also a set of related terms as ‘outcomes’ and ‘learning’. The staggering conclusion of this exercise is that hardly any evidence about the effectiveness of competence-based education exists, despite the long period since the 1970s when the approach came up in the USA and despite the high-priority policymakers and practicians devote to this approach. Whether this is an artefact of the diverse and mostly vague operationalisation of the outcomes of competence-based education or not, it seems that there is only very little attention to testing the policy assumptions that competence-based education is a worthy educational innovation. Insofar some evidence exists, we find positive results in specific applications of the approach, whereas more broad political attempts rather lead to disputes among the actors and only seldom yield positive results. Medicine education is somewhat outstanding in providing research about effects of the approach; moreover, traditional fields that include established expression of competence seem to deal easier with questions about effects than newly arising fields. As a consequence of the overall disturbing results, it is recommended that more efforts are being made to prove (or falsify) the putative-added value of competence-based education initiatives.
Labeling relevant skills in tasks: Can the crowd help?

Identifying the skills required to complete a task is an important aspect of software development. Managers perform this when triaging and assigning tasks. Developers do it when picking tasks to work on. However, this endeavor is time-consuming for experts, and difficult for newcomers. In this paper, we investigate a crowd-based approach to find the skillset of a task. Our results indicate that the crowd is able to identify the skills with a recall of 0.67 and a precision of 0.76. Further, we found no difference between novice and experienced crowd workers in identifying skills. Finally, our results suggest that tasks should be reviewed by at least four workers to leverage Voting at a 25% agreement.
Bacterial Hopanoids : The Lipids That Last Forever

The world of lipids does not always gets its due. Their oleaginous charm is not always appreciated. For example, have you heard of hopanoids? They are made by some bacteria and are an unusual kind of polycyclic lipids that resemble steroids, but with an extra ring. Just like cholesterol in eukaryotic membranes, they insert in bacterial membranes where they contribute to their stability. Both hopanoid and steroid molecules are almost planar, thus can intercalate into the lipid bilayers with relative ease and there interact with the adjacent fatty acid chains to enhance stiffness. That hopanoids and steroids play analogous roles can be readily shown in mycoplasma, the bacteria that have the unusual ability to incorporate exogenous steroids in their membranes. Mycoplasma mycoides, it turns out, can grow without steroids if provided with hopanoids. Not all bacteria make hopanoids, but they play a vital role in the ones that do. How do we know? Inhibitors that stop their synthesis also inhibit the growth of the organisms that make them. Hopanoids are found in trace amounts in some plants and not at all in the Archaea. For a review, see here (1.usa.gov/1H96TT8), and for previous appearances in this blog, here for a piece (bit.ly/1MrGNCg) by Tanja Bosak and here (bit.ly/1MrH4VO) for one by Paula Welander.
An open source solar power forecasting tool using PVLIB-Python

We describe an open-source PV power forecasting tool based on the PVLIB-Python library. The tool allows users to easily retrieve standardized weather forecast data relevant to PV power modeling from NOAA/NCEP/NWS models including the GFS, NAM, RAP, HRRR, and the NDFD. A PV power forecast can then be obtained using the weather data as inputs to the comprehensive modeling capabilities of PVLIB-Python. Standardized, open source, reference implementations of forecast methods using publicly available data may help advance the state-of-the-art of solar power forecasting.
Gravicommunication, Subjectivity and Quantum Entanglement

In this work gravicommunication (GC) is introduced, as a new form of communication (different from the classical gravitational waves). GC involves gravitons (particles of gravitation) and manifests itself, particularly, in our subjective experiences. This research is based on quantum modification of the general relativity. The modification includes effects of production /absorption of gravitons, which turn out to have small, but finite mass and electric dipole moment. It is shown, that such gravitons form the dipole Bose-Einstein condensate, even for high temperature. The theory (without fitting parameters) is in good quantitative agreement with cosmological observations. In this theory we got an interface between gravitons and ordinary matter, which very likely exist not only in cosmos, but everywhere, including our body and, especially, our brain. Subjective experiences are considered as a manifestation of that interface. A model of such interface is presented and some new experimentally verifiable aspects of natural neural systems are considered. According to the model, GC can be superluminal, which will solve the problem of quantum entanglement. Probable applications of these ideas include health (brain stimulation), new forms of communication, computational capabilities, energy resources and weapons. Some developed civilizations in the universe may already master GC (with various applications) and so should we.
Vitreous Humor Changes Expression of Iron-Handling Proteins in Lens Epithelial Cells.

Purpose In humans, vitrectomy is associated with development of nuclear cataracts. Iron catalyzes free radical formation causing oxidative damage, which is implicated in cataract formation. This study was designed to determine if vitreous humor, which can initiate differentiation of lens epithelial cells, would have an effect on iron-handling proteins. Methods Cultured canine lens epithelial cells were treated with collected canine vitreous humor. Lysates of treated and control cells were separated by SDS-PAGE. Ferritin H- and L-chains, transferrin receptor 1, and aquaporin 0 were immunodetected and quantitated with specific antibodies. Morphologic changes in treated cells were assessed. Results Treatment of lens epithelial cells with a 33% (vol/vol) solution of vitreous humor changed the morphology of lens cells and induced expression of aquaporin 0, a marker of fiber cell differentiation that was undetectable in control cells. Treatment did not modify the size of iron-handling proteins but significantly increased content of ferritin from 2.9- to 8.8-fold over control and decreased levels of transferrin receptor by 37% to 59%. Conclusions Vitreous humor may significantly limit iron uptake by transferrin/transferrin receptor pathway, and by increasing ferritin levels could profoundly increase the iron-storage capacity of ferritin in lens cells. Vitreous humor may play a significant protective role against iron-catalyzed oxidative damage of lens epithelial cells and therefore in the formation of cataracts.
Nationwide Procedural Trends for Renal Trauma Management.

OBJECTIVE To characterize national trends in procedural management of renal trauma. BACKGROUND Management of renal trauma has evolved to favor a more conservative approach. For patients requiring intervention, there is a paucity of information to characterize the nature of procedural therapy administered. METHODS A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was performed using data contained within the National Trauma Data Bank. The National Trauma Data Bank is a voluntary data repository managed by the American College of Surgeons, containing data regarding trauma admissions at 747 level I to V trauma centers throughout the United States and Canada. Participants included any patient with renal trauma requiring intervention from 2002 to 2012. They were identified according to International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnosis codes, with codes 866.00 through 866.03 for blunt renal trauma, and codes 866.10 through 866.13 for penetrating trauma. Cases were separated into those requiring nephrectomy, renorrhaphy, or endovascular repair based on ICD-9 procedure code. The number of cases performed each year and yearly trends as measured by linear regression. RESULTS A total of 4296 cases were reported during the study period. Of these cases, 2635 involved blunt trauma and 1661 involved penetrating injury. There was a significant increase in the percentage of cases managed by endovascular means for both blunt and penetrating trauma (R = 0.92, P < 0.01; and R = 0.86, P < 0.01, respectively). This was primarily at the expense of nephrectomy, with cases showing significant decline in both groups. CONCLUSIONS National trends for procedural management of renal trauma are toward less invasive interventions. These trends suggest favorable change towards renal preservation and decreased morbidity, potentially facilitated, in part, by improved radiographic staging and endovascular techniques, and also increased provider awareness of the safety and value of conservative management.
Safety of Intravenous Thrombolysis in Chronic Intracranial Hemorrhage: A Five-Year Multicenter Study.

Introduction Although the recently updated U.S. alteplase label removed “history of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH)” as a contraindication, there are very limited data on the safety of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients with chronic ICH. We sought to evaluate IVT safety in AIS patients with a history of ICH. Methods We analyzed consecutive AIS patients treated with IVT at 3 tertiary stroke centers during a 5-year period. We identified AIS treated with IVT with clinical history and neuroimaging confirmation of prior ICH. The safety measure was symptomatic ICH (sICH) defined according to European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study-III criteria combined with the clinical deterioration of 4 points or higher in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) or death. Results Of the 1212 AIS patients treated with IVT, 7 (.6%) (mean age 72 ± 11 years, 57% men, median NIHSS: 5 points, interquartile range: 2-8) had a history of ICH (hematoma volume: 1-21 cm3, elapsed time between previous ICH and AIS: 1.5-12 years, 5 located in basal ganglia and 2 in periventricular white matter). Patients with previous ICH did not differ in terms of demographics and admission stroke severity in comparison with the rest. The 2 groups had similar rates of sICH (0% [0/7] versus 3.6%, P = .61) and in-hospital mortality (0% [0/7] versus 6.0%, P = .50). Conclusion Our study indicates that IVT might be safe among AIS patients with a history of chronic ICH. Further research with a larger sample size is required to confirm our finding and define the shortest time interval between the hemorrhagic and ischemic events that can be associated with the safe administration of IVT.
Caspase cleavage of transcription factor Sp1 enhances apoptosis

Sp1 is a ubiquitous transcription factor that regulates many genes involved in apoptosis and senescence. Sp1 also has a role in the DNA damage response; at low levels of DNA damage, Sp1 is phosphorylated by ATM and localizes to double-strand break sites where it facilitates DNA double-strand-break repair. Depletion of Sp1 increases the sensitivity of cells to DNA damage, whereas overexpression of Sp1 can drive cells into apoptosis. In response to a variety of stimuli, Sp1 can be regulated through proteolytic cleavage by caspases and/or degradation. Here, we show that activation of apoptosis through DNA damage or TRAIL-mediated activation of the extrinsic apoptotic pathway induces caspase-mediated cleavage of Sp1. Cleavage of Sp1 was coincident with the appearance of cleaved caspase 3, and produced a 70 kDa Sp1 product. In vitro analysis revealed a novel caspase cleavage site at aspartic acid 183. Mutation of aspartic acid 183 to alanine conferred resistance to cleavage, and ectopic expression of the Sp1 D183A rendered cells resistant to apoptotic stimuli, indicating that Sp1 cleavage is involved in the induction of apoptosis. The 70 kDa product resulting from caspase cleavage of Sp1 comprises amino acids 184-785. This truncated form, designated Sp1-70C, which retains transcriptional activity, induced apoptosis when overexpressed in normal epithelial cells, whereas Sp1D183A induced significantly less apoptosis. Together, these data reveal a new caspase cleavage site in Sp1 and demonstrate for the first time that caspase cleavage of Sp1 promotes apoptosis.
The narrative psychology of love lives

Narrative identity is an internal and evolving story about the self. Individual differences in narrative identity have been found to correspond with several important constructs (e.g., well-being, ...
[18 F]AV-1451 tau-PET and primary progressive aphasia.

Objectives To assess [18 F]AV-1451 tau-PET (positron emission tomography) uptake patterns across the primary progressive aphasia (PPA) variants (logopenic, semantic, and agrammatic), examine regional uptake patterns of [18 F]AV-1451 independent of clinical diagnosis, and compare the diagnostic utility of [18 F]AV-1451, [18 F]-fluorodeoxygluclose (FDG)-PET and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to differentiate the PPA variants. Methods We performed statistical parametric mapping of [18 F]AV-1451 across 40 PPA patients (logopenic-PPA = 14, semantic-PPA = 13, and agrammatic-PPA = 13) compared to 80 cognitively normal, Pittsburgh compound B-negative controls, age and gender matched 2:1. Principal component analysis of regional [18 F]AV-1451 tau-PET standard uptake value ratio was performed to understand underlying patterns of [18 F]AV-1451 uptake independent of clinical diagnosis. Penalized multinomial regression analyses were utilized to assess diagnostic utility. Results Logopenic-PPA showed striking uptake throughout neocortex, particularly temporoparietal, compared to controls, semantic-PPA, and agrammatic-PPA. Semantic-PPA and agrammatic-PPA showed milder patterns of focal [18 F]AV-1451 uptake. Semantic-PPA showed elevated uptake (left>right) in anteromedial temporal lobes, compared to controls and agrammatic-PPA. Agrammatic-PPA showed elevated uptake (left>right) throughout prefrontal white matter and in subcortical gray matter structures, compared to controls and semantic-PPA. The principal component analysis of regional [18 F]AV-1451 indicated two primary dimensions, a severity dimension that distinguished logopenic-PPA from agrammatic-PPA and semantic-PPA, and a frontal versus temporal contrast that distinguishes agrammatic-PPA and semantic-PPA cases. Diagnostic utility of [18 F]AV-1451was superior to MRI and at least equal to FDG-PET. Interpretation [18 F]AV-1451binding characteristics differ across the PPA variants and were excellent at distinguishing between the variants. [18 F]AV-1451binding characteristics were as good or better than other brain imaging modalities utilized in clinical practice, suggesting that [18 F]AV-1451 may have clinical diagnostic utility in PPA. Ann Neurol 2018 Ann Neurol 2018;83:599-611.
Factors Associated With County-Level Differences in U.S. Drug-Related Mortality Rates

Introduction Over the past 2 decades, drug-related deaths have grown to be a major U.S. public health problem. County-level differences in drug-related mortality rates are large. The relative contributions of social determinants of health to this variation, including the economic, social, and healthcare environments, are unknown. Methods Using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Multiple-Cause of Death Files (2006–2015, analyzed in 2017); U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; and Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, this paper modeled associations between county-level drug-related mortality rates and economic, social, and healthcare environments. Spatial autoregressive models controlled for state fixed effects and county demographic characteristics. Results The average county-level age-adjusted drug-related mortality rate was 16.6 deaths per 100,000 population (2006–2015), but there were substantial geographic disparities in rates. Controlling for county demographic characteristics, average mortality rates were significantly higher in counties with greater economic and family distress and in counties economically dependent on mining. Average mortality rates were significantly lower in counties with a larger presence of religious establishments, a greater percentage of recent in-migrants, and counties with economies reliant on public (government) sector employment. Healthcare supply factors did not contribute to between-county disparities in mortality rates. Conclusions Drug-related mortality rates are not randomly distributed across the U.S. Future research should consider the specific pathways through which economic, social, and healthcare environments are associated with drug-related mortality.
Plasma inflammatory cytokines and survival of pancreatic cancer patients.

OBJECTIVES Inflammation and inflammatory conditions have been associated with pancreatic cancer risk and progression in a number of clinical, epidemiological, and animal model studies. The goal of the present study is to identify plasma markers of inflammation associated with survival of pancreatic cancer patients, and assess their joint contribution to patient outcome. METHODS We measured circulating levels of four established markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type II (sTNF-RII), and macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1)) in 446 patients enrolled in an ongoing prospective clinic-based study. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for death were estimated using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS Overall mortality was significantly increased in patients in the top quartile of CRP (HR = 2.52, 95% CI: 1.82-3.49), IL-6 (HR = 2.78, 95% CI: 2.03-3.81), sTNF-RII (HR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.46-2.72), and MIC-1 (HR = 2.53, 95% CI: 1.83-3.50), compared to those in the bottom quartile (P-trend <0.0001 for all four comparisons). Furthermore, patients with higher circulating concentrations of all four cytokines had a median survival of 3.7 months; whereas, those with lower levels had a median survival of 19.2 months (HR = 4.55, 95% CI: 2.87-7.20, P-trend <0.0001). CONCLUSION Individual elevated plasma inflammatory cytokines are associated with significant and dramatic reductions in pancreatic cancer patient survival. Furthermore, we observed an independent combined effect of those cytokines on patient survival, suggesting that multiple inflammatory pathways are likely involved in PDAC progression. Future research efforts to target the inflammatory state using combination strategies in pancreatic cancer patients are warranted.
User Evaluation of MyStudentScope: A Web Portal for Parental Management of Their Children’s Educational Information

Parents and caregivers often struggle to successfully manage data from a variety of sources in a myriad of formats regarding their children’s education. To address challenges that have been identified by previous research, a MyStudentScope (MSS) was designed with the integration of proposed solutions and recommendations from subject matter experts in education. In order to ensure that the system can fully meet users’ needs, a user study was conducted investigating participants’ perceptions of MSS. Because parents tend to use paper-based methods to archive and retrieve information regarding their children’s education, the task performance through the use of the MSS web portal was compared to the paper-based methods. Situations parents/caregivers may encounter related to their children’s education and extracurricular activities were simulated during the study. We present findings based on analysis of user responses and provide recommendations for improvement of the MSS design.
Alcohol and Cancer: Biological Basis

1. For decades, it has been well documented that alcohol intake increases risk for cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus), especially at high levels of intake, as well as for breast, colon, and liver cancers.
Restriction Endonucleases, DNA Sequencing, and Computers

Among the 250 Type II restriction endonucleases now characterized, there are more than 70 different specificities1 and yet there is no indication that the range of specificities is exausted. Indeed, there is good reason to believe that hundreds, if not thousands, of different specificities would be found if a diligent search were carried out. One reason for this speculation is illustrated in Table 1, which shows the range of sequence patterns with which different Type II restriction endonucleases interact. Among the simple symmetric hexanucleotide sequences designated here as Class A, almost half of the possible sequence patterns are already represented by well-characterized enzymes. There is no reason to believe that a similar number of enzymes will not be found for the other patterns in Classes B through F. Similarly, it seems likely that enzymes recognizing degenerate patterns, like HgiAI and AccI, are not the sole representatives of the class. Within the last year alone, five new classes (C, D, F, N, and O) were added to this list.
Perturbation of CNS functions by antibodies to gangliosides. Speculations on biological roles of ganglioside receptors.

Since gangliosides are found in the plasma membranes of numerous cell types and interact with apparent specificity with a number of different agents such as toxins, antibodies, and hormones, it is reasonable to regard them as receptor molecules. Our interest in ganglioside receptors stems from their reactions with antibodies. Gangliosides represent only one class of molecules in vertebrate synapses that can be identified as functional components through perturbation of CNS functions by intracerebral administration of antibodies. Since gangliosides are relatively small, stable molecules whose chemistry has been well established, they provide a better focus than other antigenic components of the synapse for developing methods to detect and identify functional molecules. GM1 ganglioside may be especially useful for this purpose since, of the various ganglioside species present in the synaptic membrane, more of the GM1 is exposed on the outer surface and is therefore access-ible to antibodies in the extracellular space.1
Blind evaluation of nearest neighbor queries using space transformation to preserve location privacy

In this paper we propose a fundamental approach to perform the class of Nearest Neighbor (NN) queries, the core class of queries used in many of the location-based services, without revealing the origin of the query in order to preserve the privacy of this information. The idea behind our approach is to utilize one-way transformations to map the space of all static and dynamic objects to another space and resolve the query blindly in the transformed space. However, in order to become a viable approach, the transformation used should be able to resolve NN queries in the transformed space accurately and more importantly prevent malicious use of transformed data by untrusted entities. Traditional encryption based techniques incur expensive O(n) computation cost (where n is the total number of points in space) and possibly logarithmic communication cost for resolving a KNN query. This is because such approaches treat points as vectors in space and do not exploit their spatial properties. In contrast, we use Hilbert curves as efficient one-way transformations and design algorithms to evaluate a KNN query in the Hilbert transformed space. Consequently, we reduce the complexity of computing a KNN query to O(K × 22N/n) and transferring the results to the client in O(K), respectively, where N, the Hilbert curve degree, is a small constant. Our results show that we very closely approximate the result set generated from performing KNN queries in the original space while enforcing our new location privacy metrics termed u-anonymity and a-anonymity, which are stronger and more generalized privacy measures than the commonly used K-anonymity and cloaked region size measures.
Ultra-sensitive measurement of brain penetration with microscale probes for brain machine interface considerations

Abstract Microscale electrodes are rapidly becoming critical tools for neuroscience and brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) for their high spatial and temporal resolution. However, the mechanics of how devices on this scale insert into brain tissue is unknown, making it difficult to balance between larger probes with higher stiffness, or smaller probes with lower damage. Measurements have been experimentally challenging due to the large deformations, rapid events, and small forces involved. Here we modified a nanoindentation force measurement system to provide the first ultra-high resolution force, distance, and temporal recordings of brain penetration as a function of microwire diameter (7.5 µm to 100 µm) and tip geometry (flat, angled, and electrosharpened). Surprisingly, both penetration force and tissue compression scaled linearly with wire diameter, rather than cross-sectional area. Linear brain compression with wire diameter strongly suggest smaller probes will cause less tissue damage upon insertion, though unexpectedly no statistical difference was observed between angled and flat tipped probes. These first of their kind measurements provide a mechanical framework for designing effective microprobe geometries while limiting mechanical damage.
Clinical, Pathological and Oncologic Findings of Radical Prostatectomy with Extraprostatic Extension Diagnosed on Preoperative Prostate Biopsy

Purpose:Prostatic adenocarcinoma with extraprostatic extension detected on prostate needle biopsy is an uncommon finding. We describe clinical and pathological findings in a large cohort of patient...
Autonomous Temperature Management through Selective Control of Exact-Approximate Tiles

In this work we propose to isolate and encapsulate into exact-approximate tiles, that we call EXAP-tiles, individual approximations in hardware accelerators mapped onto FPGAs. These approximate hardware accelerators are enhanced with a controller that can dynamically enable or disable these EXAPtiles at runtime. This allows to trade-off dynamically, at runtime, the output error vs. e.g. the reduction in power. In particular, in this work we make use of this feature to dynamically control the temperature of the hardware accelerator by selectively enabling and disabling the EXAP-tiles. We have implemented two control methods: The first, based on the static pre-characterization of each EXAP-tile and the second, based on the closeness of the tile to the hotspot. We have prototyped the system on a Terasic DE1-SoC FPGA board and show the effectiveness of the proposed framework.
Directed-assembly of carbon structures in a nonpolar dielectric liquid under the influence of DC-generated electric fields

Externally applied direct current (DC) electric fields have been examined as a means of controllable organization of carbon structures (one-dimensional multi-walled carbon nanotubes of three sizes, quasi two-dimensional exfoliated graphene platelets, and three-dimensional bulk graphite) suspended in a high dielectric strength (i.e., highly resistive) solvent (perfluorocarbon FC-40). The net particle charge of the carbon structures in FC-40 was negligible. This eliminates non-dielectrophoretic (DEP) kinetic motions and allows for examination of isolated DEP forces on the assembly process. At a sufficiently high DC field strength and carbon structure concentration, DEP directed assembly and subsequent formation of electrically conductive networks were observed. The influences of particle size, aspect ratio, concentration, and structure on the assembly and electrical conduction in this system were investigated. Threshold voltage, an operationally defined measure of the applied voltage where current flow first occurred, was used as a characteristic measure of the assembly process. Consistent with charge percolation theory, the threshold voltage was found to be inversely related to the particle concentration and directly proportional to particle size as measured by light scattering. Accordingly, we developed an agglomeration model that accounts for the influence of particle size on the threshold voltage.
Naming Black Studies: Results From a Faculty Opinion Survey:

The ongoing debate about nomenclature has been part of the discourse in Black Studies since the late 1960s, yet there remains no consensus on an ideal name. The existing literature ties specific na...
National Cancer Institute Alliance for nanotechnology in cancer—Catalyzing research and translation toward novel cancer diagnostics and therapeutics

Nanotechnology has been a burgeoning research field, which is finding compelling applications in several practical areas of everyday life. It has provided novel, paradigm shifting solutions to medical problems and particularly to cancer. In order to accelerate integration of nanotechnology into cancer research and oncology, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer program in 2005. This effort brought together scientists representing physical sciences, chemistry, and engineering working at the nanoscale with biologists and clinicians working on cancer to form a uniquely multidisciplinary cancer nanotechnology research community. The last 14 years of the program have produced a remarkable body of scientific discovery and demonstrated its utility to the development of practical cancer interventions. This paper takes stock of how the Alliance program influenced melding of disparate research disciplines into the field of nanomedicine and cancer nanotechnology, has been highly productive in the scientific arena, and produced a mechanism of seamless transfer of novel technologies developed in academia to the clinical and commercial space. This article is categorized under: Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Regulatory and Policy Issues in Nanomedicine Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease Diagnostic Tools > in vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging.
Personality traits as predictors of citizen engagement with local government

Do citizens' personality traits affect their likelihood of interacting with local public officials? Using psychology's preferred approach for operationalizing personality — the "Big Five" trait framework — and two nationally-representative survey data sets from the U.S., we examine this question, and find that: (1) citizens who score higher on openness and extraversion traits have an increased likelihood of attending a local government board meeting; and (2) personality traits that predict the likelihood a citizen will contact a local government official vary based on whether that official holds an elected or non-elected position. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for citizen engagement scholarship, and outline ways to extend this research in future studies.
Visual cues to fertility are in the eye (movements) of the beholder

Past work demonstrates that humans behave differently towards women across their menstrual cycles, even after exclusively visual exposure to women's faces. People may look at women's faces differently as a function of women's menstrual cycles. Analyses of participants' scanpaths (eye movement patterns) while they looked at women at different phases of their menstrual cycles revealed that observers exhibit more consistent scanpaths when examining women's faces when women are in a menstrual cycle phase that typically corresponds with peak fertility, whereas they exhibit more variable patterns when looking at women's faces when they are in phases that do not correspond with fertility. A multivariate classifier on participants' scanpaths predicted whether they were looking at the face of a woman in a more typically fertile- versus non-fertile-phase of her menstrual cycle with above-chance accuracy. These findings demonstrate that people look at women's faces differently as a function of women's menstrual cycles, and suggest that people are sensitive to fluctuating visual cues associated with women's menstrual cycle phase.
Design and Performance Evaluation of 1.2 kV, 325 a SiC-MOSFET High Performance Module Based 100 kVA Three-Phase Two-Level Power Block

To ramp up the adaptation of the highly optimized high current 1.2 kV Sillicon Carbide (SiC) based Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) power modules, a high power three-phase two-level power block is designed which is rated at 100 kVA and operates with 800 V DC bus. The power modules combined with low inductance busbar and optimized loop thermo-syphon based heatsink extracts the full performance of the power electronic switches. In this paper, the design details of the power block is presented. Furthermore, the performance of the power block is qualified by a back-to-back pump back test set up where two power blocks are interconnected via inductors. Furthermore, closed loop voltage and current control are implemented to circulate the desired amount of AC current between the power blocks. Moreover, heat run tests are carried out to quantify the thermal performance of the thermal management system. The experimental results demonstrate the performance benefits of the power block.
Hardware Trojan Detection Schemes Using Path Delay and Side-Channel Analysis

Power-side channel attacks use the amount of power consumption and transient/dynamic current leakage to attack the design. A device like an oscilloscope can be used to collect power traces, and those traces are statistically analyzed using correlation analysis to derive secret information of the design. Therefore, it is very important to develop automated security validation methods that can identify power side-channel leakage. We need to detect the parts of a design that is responsible for power side-channel leakage in an automated fashion. Chapter 10 presents techniques to detect these vulnerabilities.
Five ethical and clinical challenges psychiatrists may face when treating patients with borderline personality disorder who are or may become suicidal

Background. Psychiatric diagnoses are important for treatment planning. There are a number of current challenges in the area of psychiatric diagnosis with important treatment implications. In this study, we examined the differential usefulness of two semi-structured interviews of differing length compared to clinical diagnoses for generation of diagnoses that did not require modification over the course of treatment. Methods. We performed a three-year, three-cohort study at an outpatient psychiatric rehabilitation facility, comparing the stability of admission diagnoses when generated by unstructured procedures relying on referring clinician diagnosis, the SCID, and the MINI. We examined changes in diagnoses from admission to discharge (averaging 13 weeks) and, during the second two years, convergence between referring clinician diagnoses and those generated by structured interviews. The same three interviewers examined all patients in all three phases of the study. Results. Admission and discharge diagnoses were available for 313 cases. Diagnoses generated with the unstructured procedure were changed by discharge 74 percent of the time, compared to four percent for SCID diagnoses and 11 percent for MINI diagnoses. Referring clinician diagnoses were disconfirmed in Years 2 and 3 in 56 percent of SCID cases and 44 percent of MINI cases. The distinctions between unipolar and bipolar disorders were particular points of disagreement, with similar rates of under and over-diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The rate of confirmation of referring clinician diagnoses of schizoaffective disorder was 10 percent with the SCID and 11 percent with the MINI. Discussion. In this setting, there appears to be a reasonable trade-off between brevity and accuracy through the use of the MINI compared to the SCID, with substantial improvements in stability of diagnoses compared to clinician diagnoses. Clinical diagnoses were minimally overlapping with the results of structured diagnoses, suggesting that structured assessment, particularly early in the illness or in short term treatment settings, may improve treatment planning.