cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
70. Safety, Toxicity and Efficacy of Systemic Recombinant VSV Therapy in Pet Dogs With Spontaneous Cancer

Clinical translation of oncolytic therapy to benefit cancer patients is dependent upon extensive evaluation of viral safety, toxicity and therapeutic efficacy in disease bearing animals. Comparative oncology, the study of naturally occurring cancer in animals, allows evaluation of novel cancer therapies in pet dogs that are similar in size, genetic make-up, physiology and exposure to environmental risk factors to humans. We have previously shown single shot systemic therapy with recombinant Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) engineered to express Interferon-beta (IFN) and the sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) in tumor bearing mice results in tumor-specific virus replication that can be monitored noninvasively by SPECT/CT imaging using NIS specific radio-tracer, induces tumor remission and confers significant survival benefit. A comparative oncology approach was utilized to investigate safety, clinical toxicities and therapeutic efficacy of systemic VSV therapy in dogs with spontaneous cancer. A pre-clinical rapid dose-escalation study was performed in healthy lab beagles defined a safe systemic dose range. We initiated evaluation of systemic VSV administration in dogs with spontaneous cancer. 8 dogs with various cancers were treated with VSV expressing either human or canine IFN-beta and NIS. We demonstrate that systemic VSV therapy at a dose of 10(10) TCID is well tolerated in dogs with spontaneous disease. We detected transient hepatotoxicity that resolved spontaneously in 2/8 dogs following systemic VSV-IFN-NIS treatment. No infectious virus was detected in urine or buccal swab samples. Monitoring of disease response indicated that 2/2 dogs with T-cell lymphoma had dramatic disease remission following systemic VSV-hIFN-NIS treatment resulting in partial response, though remission was transient and disease eventually relapsed. Virus pharmacokinetics (PK) studies indicate that dogs with robust responses also had highest viral PK in blood, suggesting therapeutic response is PK dependent. A dose optimization protocol was adopted where gradual dose escalation and multi-dosing protocols are being evaluated. Initial findings indicate two-dose systemic VSV-IFN-NIS therapy in a dog with metastatic Osteosarcoma (OSA) is well tolerated, delays viral decay in blood, and has resulted in improved health of the treated dog with no major disease progression to date. RNAseq analysis of tumor biopsies from treated animals reveals changes in tumor gene expression following systemic VSV therapy. Overall the data demonstrate that recombinant VSV can be safely administered systemically in cancer bearing dogs. Our data suggest that therapeutic response is PK dependent, prompting dose optimization studies that will directly inform and support planned clinical studies to evaluate systemic VSV therapy in patients with relapsed or metastatic cancer.
Social-psychological dynamics of police-minority relations: An evolutionary interpretation

Abstract Tensions between police and citizens have long existed in US cities, especially in disadvantaged minority neighborhoods. Citizens are concerned about lack of police protection and aggressive strategies of policing, whereas the police are concerned about self-protection from objective and subjective threats posed by citizens. Scholars have focused on factors such as the subculture of policing and the system of racial/ethnic stratification to explain the tension between the groups. Those perspectives overlook important social-psychological processes involved in intergroup conflicts. Consideration of evolved mental mechanisms characteristic of modern humans may provide fresh insights into police-citizen relations. Interrelated emotional and cognitive processes create social cohesion among ingroups and defensive action against threatening outgroups. In this article, we describe the evolution of these mechanisms and their persistence among modern humans. We analyze the ways in which these deep-seated mental processes influence police-minority tensions in the context of disadvantaged neighborhoods. We conclude by considering the implications of those ordinary social-psychological processes for ameliorating the problem.
Tumors of the Testis in the Mexican Axolotl (Ambystoma, or Siredon, mexicanum)

Although neoplasms in the Amphibia occur with considerable frequency, ones originating in the testis seem to be very rarely encountered. In an extensive review published in 1962 Balls (1) was able to include only a single case, that of a carcinoma in Megalobatracbus maximus reported by Pick and Poll (2). In view of this apparent scarcity of neoplasms in the amphibian testis, it is rather remarkable that 16 have been found in Mexican axolotls of the writer’s colony. The first of these was discovered in 1941 in a white male about 6 years of age which had been obtained in 193 5 from Dr. Cranford Hutchinson, then at the Morris Biological Farm of the Wistar Institute. Fundamentally similar tumors have since been found in 15 additional animals, most of them of the same white strain. The last of the series was found in 1968; the tumors have thus been appearing at intervals over a period of 27 years. Five of them were found while the axolotl colony was at the University of Buffalo, and the remaining 11 since its transfer to Indiana University in 1957.
A systematic study of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to enhance working memory manipulation abilities

A core element of human working memory (WM) is the ability to perform mental operations on information that is stored in a flexible, limited capacity buffer. Given the profound importance of such WM manipulation (WM-M) abilities, there is a concerted effort aimed at developing approaches to improve them. Past research has identified neural substrates of WM-M centered in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), thereby providing a plausible and accessible target for noninvasive neuromodulatory stimulation that can be used to alter cortical excitability and potentially lead to facilitation of WM-M. In the current study, 5Hz online repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), applied over the left DLPFC, was used to test the hypothesis that active rTMS would lead to significant improvements in memory recall accuracy compared to sham stimulation, and that these effects would be most pronounced in the WM-M conditions with the highest cognitive demand (registered Clinical Trial: #NCT02767323). Participants performed a delayed response alphabetization task with three individually-titrated levels of difficulty during active and sham rTMS. Analyses revealed that active rTMS led to numerically greater accuracy relative to sham stimulation for the hardest condition; however, this effect did not survive Bonferroni correction over all task conditions. Despite the lack of robust, study-wise significant effects, when considered in isolation, the magnitude of behavioral improvement in the hardest condition was negatively correlated with parametric difficulty-related fMRI activity in the targeted brain region, suggesting that individuals with less activation benefit more from rTMS. The present findings therefore suggest evidence towards the hypothesis that active rTMS can enhance performance during difficult memory manipulation conditions; however, firm conclusions cannot be drawn given the lack of overall significant effects. These findings are discussed in the context of individualized targeting and other factors that might moderate rTMS effects.
Borderline hypertension: clinical and pathophysiologic significance.

Borderline hypertension can best be characterized as a condition where a subject’s blood pressure is above the normal range, but is not sufficiently elevated to warrant immediate treatment. This “gray zone” between normotension and hypertension has been defined in many ways by various authors and health organizations. For the purpose of this review we will define normal blood pressure and clearly hypertensive readings and then designate as borderline hypertension readings that fall between the normal and hypertensive limits (Table 1). Age of the individual is also taken into consideration.
Mappings of Metric Spaces

In the last chapter you learned about some of the “geometry” of metric spaces. These geometrical ideas are more general than those you studied in high school, such as the congruence or similarity of triangles. They underlie all of geometry and are fundamental for the study of analysis, the branch of mathematics that develops and extends the ideas of calculus. In calculus you studied derivatives and integrals, which in turn were based on the idea of limits. It is possible to define limits in a metric space, but I will examine a more basic concept, that of continuous mappings of metric spaces.
Coupled Raman-Raman modes in the ionic Raman scattering process

We employ a lattice Hamiltonian to examine the dynamics of coupled normal modes excited through a nonlinear phononic process, extending the model beyond infrared and first-order Raman active mode couplings to include interactions between symmetry-allowed Raman active modes. We examine the strength of the interactions between two Raman active modes on the targeted driven-mode dynamics to confirm that all symmetry allowed Raman modes interact with each other. We apply the model to the correlated insulating ferromagnet YTiO3 and present the resulting renormalization effects on the driven-mode dynamics from the anharmonic interactions. Owing to the dependence of the displacive amplitude of the Raman active mode on such interactions, especially for those modes with small amplitude, we suggest that models of anharmonic phononic coupling in materials with electronic, ferroic, or superconducting properties derived from competing Raman-like distortions should include these low-order terms in the equations of motion describing the excited phonons to obtain accurate physical models.
Brief, computerized inhibitory control training to leverage adolescent neural plasticity: A pilot effectiveness trial.

AbstractAdolescence is a time of heightened neural plasticity. Many brain networks show protracted development through this period, such as those underlying inhibitory control (IC), a neurocognitiv...
CHAPTER 257 – Notch Signaling in Vertebrate Development

Over the last ten years, the Notch pathway has emerged as one of the key signaling pathways operating during vertebrate development. In many cases. Notch signaling is used widely in vertebrate development to regulate cell fate often by activating the expression of bHLH repressors which in turn regulate the expression and/or activity of bHLH activators. These interactions can determine patterns of differentiation that range from salt-and-pepper to segmental. The role of Notch is not likely to be exclusive to cell fate decisions, but emerging evidence suggests that it might regulate a variety of cellular events ranging from differentiation, morphogenesis, and cell death to proliferation. A key goal of future studies is to identify the various gene targets of the CSL-dependent pathway that mediate these events, or to elucidate parallel pathways in which Notch signals by a CSL-independent mechanism if they exist. In addition, the diversity of Notch signaling is likely to depend in part on functional diversity of ligands and receptors, about which we still know very little. Finally, the Notch signaling pathway is likely to contribute to various human diseases, but more needs to be done to identify the nature of these lesions and how they alter cell physiology. The first part of this chapter will describe the structural features of the receptors, ligands, and accessory proteins that mediate Notch signaling in vertebrates. The second part will describe how Notch signaling is used, in many cases in a similar manner, to regulate various aspects of cell fate determinationand tissue patterning during vertebrate development.
Amyloid Beta-Related Angiitis: A Rare Cause of CNS Vasculitis (P3.422)

Objective: To report a case of amyloid beta-related angiitis (ABRA), discuss diagnosis and management, review the available literature, and emphasize early treatment to minimize morbidity and mortality Background: ABRA, a rare form of CNS vasculitis, may complicate cerebral amyloid angiopathy. The proposed pathogenic mechanism is autoimmunity to abnormally insoluble amyloid beta (Aβ) deposited in leptomeningeal and cerebral arteries. Symptoms may include altered mental status, focal neurological deficits, and seizures. MRI brain commonly demonstrates cortical/subcortical T2/FLAIR hyperintensities and microbleeds. Cerebral biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis. ABRA responds to immunosuppression, but there is a high potential for morbidity and mortality without early diagnosis and treatment. Design/Methods: Case report and literature review Results: A previously healthy 73-year-old woman was admitted for three weeks of headaches, left visual field loss, and new-onset seizures. On physical exam, the patient demonstrated bradyphrenia, effortful reading, left homonymous hemianopia, and hyperreflexia in the left upper and lower extremities. MRI brain revealed confluent T2/FLAIR signal hyperintensities in the right parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes with associated leptomeningeal enhancement and vasogenic edema. CSF was notable for elevated protein (WBC 0, RBC 144, protein 71, glucose 68). Further CSF studies including autoimmune encephalopathy panel, VZV, HSV, HHV6, TB PCR, cytology, and microbial cultures were unremarkable. Right occipital leptomeningeal biopsy demonstrated granulomatous perivascular inflammation and extensive Aβ staining in the vessel walls consistent with ABRA. She was treated with a prolonged prednisone taper. On one-month follow-up, short-term memory and math skills had improved, although reading ability was still significantly impaired. Her left homonymous hemianopia remained unchanged. She was transitioned to mycophenolate mofetil for long-term immunosuppression. Conclusions: ABRA is a rare form of CNS vasculitis complicating cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Tissue biopsy is required for definitive diagnosis. Early diagnosis and treatment with immunosuppression are critical to minimize neurological impairment and mortality. Disclosure: Dr. Rohm has nothing to disclose.
Femtosecond 1P-to-1S electron relaxation in strongly confined semiconductor nanocrystals

High-sensitivity femtosecond transient absorption is applied to directly measure the population-depopulation dynamics of the lowest ( $1S$) and the first excited ( $1P$) electron states in CdSe nanocrystals (NC's) of different radii with $1S$--- $1P$ energy separation up to 16 longitudinal optical phonon energies. Instead of the drastic reduction of the energy relaxation rate expected due to a phonon bottleneck, we observe a fast subpicosecond $1P$-to- $1S$ relaxation, with the rate enhanced in NC's of smaller radius. This indicates the opening of new confinement-enhanced relaxation channels which likely involve Auger-type electron-hole energy transfer.
An Unsupervised Machine Learning Approach in Remote Sensing Data

The analysis, image recognition, the classification in remote sensing data always up to date is for the insiders a very useful system for the management, planning, protection of our territory. Technological evolution the succession of applications and tools in GIS environment, have refined more and more techniques allowing us to computerize much of the territory bringing an enrichment of geographical data distributed more or less updated, remote sensing, digital orthoimage help us in the areas where the local computerization is not always updated. In this paper I want to demonstrate that an approach based on machine learning applied to territorial analysis using dynamic matrices, provides for the definition of numerical indices assigned to each recognized pattern. The numerical indices will be the elements of recognition where the territorial computerization is insufficient. The data from remote sensing or digital orthoimage are variable matrices where the numerical indices have to express their potential. The goal is to educate the recognition in matrix form to obtain a dynamic topology where the computerization has not been updated.
Role of High-Dose Chemotherapy with Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in Primary Systemic Amyloidosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Primary systemic amyloidosis (AL) is a rare plasma cell clonal disorder(8/million) characterized by extracellular deposits of material composed mainly of fragments of light chain immunoglobulin throughout a body. Standard chemotherapy (e.g. melphalan and prednisone) is associated with poor outcomes (typical median survival is between 12–18 months with less than 5% survive 10 years). Autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) has been increasingly advocated for treatment of AL. However, it is uncertain whether ASCT is better than standard chemotherapy. To address this uncertainty, we undertook a systematic review/meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem-cell transplant (HSCT) versus conventional chemotherapy in patients with AL. Methods: Data search of published studies included Medline [all randomized controlled trials (RCTs)], Cochrane library and hand search of references. Studies were included if they were comparison trials of HSCT versus conventional chemotherapy, regardless if they were RCTs, prospective studies with historical control, or single arm studies. The studies were eligible if patients had biopsy proven AL with at least one major organ involved. Data were extracted on benefits as well as harms (overall survival, event-free survival, response, treatment related mortality, treatment-related morbidity). Results: Out of 34 identified studies only 13 met the inclusion criteria for the current systematic review (2 RCTs, 2 prospective non-randomized trials involving historical control, and 9 single arm trials). Altogether these trials enrolled 1056 patients. Pooled data from 4 trials with controls (RCT and non-RCT) found similar overall survival for ASCT and conventional therapy arms [hazard ratio (HR) of 1.10 (95% CI 0.88, 1.36, p=0.4); p= 0.6]. Analysis of data according to trial design also did not find any difference in survival [HR for RCTs was 1.10 (95% CI 0.88, 1.37) and for non RCTs HR was 0.98 (95% CI 0.29, 3.35)]. The complete hematological response was also similar in both arms in RCTs (Odds ratio [OR]=1.38, 95%CI 0.67, 2.85; p=0.4) and non RCTs (OR=1.78, 95%CI 0.22, 14.65; p=0.32). The pooled proportion of treatment-related deaths in the single arm studies for AHCT was 0.119 (95% CI = 0.09 to 0.14)]. Conclusion: The results from the meta-analysis indicate that there is no statistically significant difference between the treatment effects from high-dose chemotherapy with ASCT and conventional chemotherapy. Hence, the efficacy of ASCT in improving overall survival and complete hematological response remains to be proven.
Development of Selective Histone Deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) Degraders Recruiting Von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) E3 Ubiquitin Ligase

Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) is involved in multiple cellular processes such as aggresome formation, protein stability, and cell motility. Numerous HDAC6-selective inhibitors have been developed a...
Effects of 4-week impairment-based rehabilitation on jump-landing biomechanics in chronic ankle instability patients.

Abstract Objective To determine effects of 4-weeks of impairment-based rehabilitation on lower extremity neuromechanics during jump-landing. Design Descriptive laboratory study. Participants Twenty-six CAI subjects (age = 21.4 ± 3.1 sex=(M = 7,F = 19), height = 169.0 ± 8.8 cm, weight = 71.0 ± 13.8 kg) completed 15 jump-landing trials prior to and following 12 supervised rehabilitation sessions. Main outcome measures Frontal and sagittal lower extremity kinematics and kinetics and sEMG amplitudes (anterior tibialis, peroneus brevis, peroneus longus, and medial gastrocnemius). Means and 90% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for 100 ms prior to and 200 ms following ground contact. Areas where pre- and post-rehabilitation CIs did not overlap were considered significantly different. Kinematic and kinetic peaks and kinematic excursion were compared with paired t-test (P ≤ 0.05). Results Following rehabilitation, CAI subjects exhibited less ankle (2.1° (0.8, 3.4), P Conclusion Progressive impairment-based rehabilitation resulted in reductions in kinematic excursion and peroneus longus muscle activity, suggesting a more efficient landing strategy.
Effects of Multi-Species Direct-Fed Microbial Products on Ruminal Metatranscriptome and Carboxyl-Metabolome of Beef Steers

We examined the effects of two direct-fed microbial (DFM) products containing multiple microbial species and their fermentation products on ruminal metatranscriptome and carboxyl-metabolome of beef steers. Nine ruminally-cannulated Holstein steers were assigned to 3 treatments arranged in a 3 × 3 Latin square design with three 21-d periods. Dietary treatments were (1) Control (CON; basal diet without additive), (2) Commence (PROB; basal diet plus 19 g/d of Commence), and (3) RX3 (SYNB; basal diet plus 28 g/d of RX3). Commence and RX3 are both S. cerevisiae-based DFM products containing several microbial species and their fermentation products. Mixed ruminal contents collected multiple times after feeding on day 21 were used for metatranscriptome and carboxyl-metabolome analysis. Partial least squares discriminant analysis revealed a distinct transcriptionally active taxonomy profiles between CON and each of the PROB and SYNB samples. Compared to CON, the steers fed supplemental PROB had 3 differential (LDA ≥ 2.0; p ≤ 0.05) transcriptionally active taxa, none of which were at the species level, and those fed SYNB had eight differential (LDA > 2.0, p ≤ 0.05) transcriptionally active taxa, but there was no difference (p > 0.05) between PROB and SYNB. No functional microbial genes were differentially expressed among the treatments. Compared with CON, 3 metabolites (hydroxylpropionic acid and 2 isomers of propionic acid) were increased (FC ≥ 1.2, FDR ≤ 0.05), whereas 15 metabolites, including succinic acid and fatty acid peroxidation and amino acid degradation products were reduced (FC ≤ 0.83, FDR ≤ 0.05) by supplemental PROB. Compared with CON, 2 metabolites (2 isomers of propionic acid) were increased (FC ≥ 1.2, FDR ≤ 0.05), whereas 2 metabolites (succinic acid and pimelate) were reduced (FC ≤ 0.83, FDR ≤ 0.05) by supplemental SYNB. Compared to SYNB, supplemental PROB reduced (FC ≤ 0.83, FDR ≤ 0.05) the relative abundance of four fatty acid peroxidation products in the rumen. This study demonstrated that dietary supplementation with either PROB or SYNB altered the ruminal fermentation pattern. In addition, supplemental PROB reduced concentrations of metabolic products of fatty acid peroxidation and amino acid degradation. Future studies are needed to evaluate the significance of these alterations to ruminal fatty acid and amino acid metabolisms, and their influence on beef cattle performance.
Sponges are highly resistant to radiation exposure and cancer

Abstract There are no reports of cancer in sponges, despite them having somatic cell turnover, long lifespans and no specialized adaptive immune cells. In order to investigate whether sponges are cancer resistant, we exposed a species of sponge, Tethya wilhelma, to X-rays. We found that T. wilhelma can withstand 600 Gy of X-ray radiation. That is approximately 100 times the lethal dose for humans. A single high dose of X-rays did not induce cancer in sponges, providing the first experimental evidence of cancer resistance in the phylum, Porifera. Following X-ray exposure, we found an overexpression of genes involved in DNA repair, signaling transduction pathways and epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Sponges have the highest level of radiation resistance that has yet been observed in animals that have sustained somatic cell turnover. This may make them an excellent model system for studying cancer resistance and developing new approaches for cancer prevention and treatment.
ECG biometric using 2D Deep Convolutional Neural Network

We propose a novel multi-scale continuous wavelet transform feature method to accurately obtain micro-texture and multi-scale ECG characteristics and demonstrate how it could benefit from the state-of-the-art deep convolutional neural network techniques. In other words, we performed transfer learning with popular CNN architectures such as InceptionV3, VGG16, VGG19, Inception ResNetV2, MobileNetV2, and Xception which have been trained on the ImageNet. Our proposed ECG biometric framework achieves an average identification rate of 99.96% on CEBDB, 99.47% on PTB dataset with 290 subjects. We also evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm with the other two public ECG datasets with diverse behaviors.
Use of Zebrafish Genetic Models to Study Etiology of the Amyloid-Beta and Neurofibrillary Tangle Pathways in Alzheimer's Disease.

The prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases is increasing globally, with an imperative need to identify and expand the availability of pharmaceutical treatment strategies. Alzheimer's disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure or has limited treatments. Rodent models are primarily used in Alzheimer's disease research to investigate causes, pathology, molecular mechanisms, and pharmaceutical therapies. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive understanding of Alzheimer's disease causes, pathogenesis, and optimal treatments due in part to some limitations of using rodents, including higher economic cost, which can influence sample size and ultimately statistical power. It is necessary to expand our animal model toolbox to provide alternative strategies in Alzheimer's disease research. The zebrafish application in neurodegenerative disease research and neuropharmacology is greatly expanding due to several vital strengths spanning lower economic costs, the smaller size of the organism, a sequenced characterized genome, and well described anatomical structures. These characteristics are coupled to the conserved molecular function and disease pathways in humans. The existence of orthologs for genes associated with Alzheimer's disease in zebrafish is also confirmed. While wild-type zebrafish appear to lack some of the neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease, the advent of genetic editing technologies has expanded evaluation of the amyloid and neurofibrillary tangle hypotheses using the zebrafish and exploration of pharmaceutical molecular targets. An overview of how genetic editing technologies are being used with the zebrafish to create models to investigate the causes, pathology, molecular mechanisms, and pharmaceutical targets of Alzheimer's disease is detailed.
Fluid Restriction Contributes to Poor Nutritional Adequacy in Patients With Congenital Heart Disease Receiving Renal Replacement Therapy.

Objectives Critically ill patients receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) are at high risk for inadequate nutrition delivery. The objective of this study is to evaluate barriers to adequate energy and protein delivery in critically ill patients with congenital heart disease receiving RRT. Methods This is a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients receiving RRT in the CICU from 2011 to 2019. Energy and protein adequacy was recorded over the first 7 days of RRT. Adequacy was defined as delivery of >80% of the energy and protein targets during this time period. Patients who achieved adequacy were compared to those who did not. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to determine factors independently associated with energy and protein adequacy while receiving RRT. Results Sixty patients were included for analysis. Fifty-five patients (92%) achieved energy adequacy and 37 patients (62%) achieved protein adequacy. A higher weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) on admission to the CICU was the only independent predictor of inadequate energy intake (odds ratio 0.07, 95% confidence interval 0.01-0.58, P = .014); median WAZ was −1.17 versus +1.24 for those with adequate versus inadequate energy intake, respectively. Fluid restriction to Conclusions Protein delivery was inadequate in 38% of children undergoing RRT in the CICU. Fluid restriction was associated with inadequate protein intake and higher WAZ was associated with inadequate energy intake.
Digital Image Shape Measurement for the Monitoring and Control of Non-Homogeneous, Axisymmetric Plastic Deformation

The deformation of a cylinder is non-homogeneous in many plastic deformation processes. Examples include bulging in upset forging or compression testing and necking in tensile testing. The deformed shape provides valuable information that can be used to monitor or control the process. Shape can be used to estimate the von Mises equivalent stress and strain, to estimate foldover and the frictional interface conditions in compression, and to predict and possibly avoid fracture. Shape measurements can also be used in a closed loop control system to maintain a constant strain rate during non-homogeneous deformation. In this paper, a method is described to use coarse digital camera data to calculate the shape parameters. An assumed form of the deformed shape is used to provide sub-pixel resolution. Since the method uses moments of the data, which are integrals, the method is insensitive to noise in the data. Because of its simplicity, the moment method is practical for real time computation and control.
KAT2B polymorphism identified for drug abuse in African Americans with regulatory links to drug abuse pathways in human prefrontal cortex

Drug abuse is a common and heritable set of disorders, but the underlying genetic factors are largely unknown. We conducted genome-wide association studies of drug abuse using 7 million imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions/deletions in African Americans (AAs; n = 3742) and European Americans (EAs; n = 6845). Cases were drawn from the Urban Health Study of street-recruited people, who injected drugs and reported abusing opioids, cocaine, marijuana, stimulants and/or other drugs 10 or more times in the past 30 days, and were compared with population controls. Independent replication testing was conducted in 755 AAs and 1131 EAs from the Genetic Association Information Network. An intronic SNP (rs9829896) in the K(lysine) acetyltransferase 2B (KAT2B) gene was significantly associated with drug abuse in AAs (P = 4.63 × 10-8 ) and independently replicated in AAs (P = 0.0019). The rs9829896-C allele (frequency = 12%) had odds ratios of 0.68 and 0.53 across the AA cohorts: meta-analysis P = 3.93 × 10-10 . Rs9829896-C was not associated with drug abuse across the EA cohorts: frequency = 36% and meta-analysis P = 0.12. Using dorsolateral prefrontal cortex data from the BrainCloud cohort, we found that rs9829896-C was associated with reduced KAT2B expression in AAs (n = 113, P = 0.050) but not EAs (n = 110, P = 0.39). KAT2B encodes a transcriptional regulator in the cyclic adenosine monophosphate and dopamine signaling pathways, and rs9829896-C was associated with expression of genes in these pathways: reduced CREBBP expression (P = 0.011) and increased OPRM1 expression (P = 0.016), both in AAs only. Our study identified the KAT2B SNP rs9829896 as having novel and biologically plausible associations with drug abuse and gene expression in AAs but not EAs, suggesting ancestry-specific effects.
Traffic Grooming in WDM Ring Networks with the Min-Max Objective

We consider the problem of traffic grooming in WDM ring networks. Previous studies have focused on minimizing aggregate representations of the network cost. In this work, we consider a Min-Max objective, in which it is desirable to minimize the cost at the node where this cost is maximum. Such an objective is of practical value when dimensioning a network for unknown future traffic demands and/or for dynamic traffic scenarios. We prove that traffic grooming with the Min-Max objective is NP-Complete even when wavelength assignment is not an issue. We also present a new polynomial-time algorithm for Min-Max traffic grooming. Experiments with a wide range of problem instances demonstrate that our algorithm produces solutions which are always close to the optimal and/or the lower bound, and which scale well to large network sizes, large number of wavelengths, and high loads.
Role of Rel/NF-κB transcription factors during the outgrowth of the vertebrate limb

The development of the vertebrate limb serves as an amenable system for studying signaling pathways that lead to tissue patterning and proliferation. Limbs originate as a consequence of a differential growth of cells from the lateral plate mesoderm at specific axial levels. At the tip of the limb primordia the progress zone, a proliferating group of mesenchymal cells, induces the overlying ectoderm to differentiate into a specialized structure termed the apical ectodermal ridge. Subsequent limb outgrowth requires reciprocal signalling between the ridge and the progress zone. The Rel/NF-kappaB family of transcription factors is induced in response to several signals that lead to cell growth, differentiation, inflammatory responses, apoptosis and neoplastic transformation. In unstimulated cells, NF-kappaB is associated in the cytoplasm with an inhibitory protein, I-kappaB. In response to an external signal, I-kappaB is phosphorylated, ubiquitinated and degraded, releasing NF-kappaB to enter the nucleus and activate transcription. Here we show that Rel/NF-kappaB genes are expressed in the progress zone of the developing chick limb bud. When the activity of Rel/NF-kappaB proteins is blocked by infection with viral vectors that produce transdominant-negative I-kappaBalpha proteins, limb outgrowth is arrested. Our results indicate that Rel/NF-kappaB transcription factors play a role in vertebrate limb development.
Vehicular Problems as Accident Causes-an Overview of Available Information

This paper provides final results of an accident investigation project conducted by the Indiana University Institute for Research in Public Safety (IRPS), for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, emphasizing particularly the role of vehicular factors in causing accidents. In addition, these results are put in context with other recent studies which have provided information on the same topic. Data collection for the Indiana University accident causation study was confined to Monroe County, Indiana, where between 1970 and 1975, 2,258 accidents were investigated by teams of technicians using a consistent set of procedures and terminology. Concurrently, 420 in-depth investigations were conducted by a multidisciplinary team. Vehicular degradations, malajustments, and failures were identified as definite causes in 4.5% of these accidents by the multidisciplinary team, and in 4.1% by the technicians. Vehicular problems were considered either definite or probable causes in 12.6% of these accidents by the in-depth team, and in 9.1% by the technicians. Problems with brakes and tires predominated as vehicular causes with gross brake system failure and inadequate trend depth being two of the leading problems identified. The other studies referenced, while varying somewhat in the proportion of accidents in which vehicular factors were implicated, also reflect brakes and tires and predominant problem areas. /HSRI/
Counting process: Theory

A counting process is a nonnegative, integer-valued, increasing stochastic process that is used to count the number of occurrences of some event as time goes by. Special cases include pure birth processes, renewal processes, and the Poisson process. Keywords: counting process; excess lifetime; Poisson process; pure birth process; renewal process
A double blind, placebo controlled trial of modafinil for the treatment of cocaine dependence without co-morbid alcohol dependence

Background Modafinil is a medication approved for narcolepsy and shift work sleep disorder. It has both dopaminergic and glutamatergic activity that could be useful for the treatment of cocaine dependence. Modafinil has reduced cocaine subjective effects and cocaine self-administration in human laboratory trials and has reduced cocaine use in cocaine dependent patients in some clinical trials.
Observation of bulk superconductivity in NaxCoO2.yH(2)O and NaxCoO2.yD(2)O powder and single crystals.

Poly- and single-crystalline NaxCoO2 has been successfully intercalated with H2O and D2O as confirmed by x-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. Resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat measurements show bulk superconductivity with T(c) close to 5 K in both cases. The substitution of deuterium for hydrogen has an effect on T(c) of less than 0.2 K. Investigation of the resistivity anisotropy of NaxCoO2.yH(2)O single crystals shows (a). almost zero resistivity below T(c), and (b). an abrupt upturn at T(*) approximately 52 K in both the ab plane and the c direction. The implications of our results on the possible superconducting mechanism will be discussed.
The location swapping method for geomasking

ABSTRACTWhen locations of individual-level health data are released in the form of published maps, the identity of these individuals could be identified through reverse geocoding. Spatial data can, therefore, not be released unless the locations have been modified, for example, using aggregation or geographic masking. Geographic masking techniques apply translation or perturbations to decrease the likelihood of re-identification of individuals through reverse geocoding. The current study proposes a new geographic masking technique referred to as “location swapping.” Location swapping replaces an original location with a masked location selected from all possible locations with similar geographic characteristics within a specified neighborhood. Strengths and weaknesses of location swapping will be discussed relative to existing geographic masking techniques. The approach will be illustrated using several example data sets and a custom toolset developed for ArcGIS to automate the location swapping algorithm.
Gastrointestinal lymphoid neoplasms.

Abstract Primary gastrointestinal lymphomas (PGLs) are the most frequent extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and involve stomach more commonly than small bowel in Western countries. PGLs need to be differentiated from a variety of tumor-like hyperplastic lymphoid lesions; this may be facilitated by immunotyping of lymphoid cells. In PGLs, large-cell types predominate. Our study of 76 PGLs utilizing the ABC immunoperoxidase technique has led us to conclude that the majority are of B cell origin and that, while true histiocytic PGLs do indeed exist, their incidence is not greater than in nodal lymphomas. An important observation was that 26% of the cases showed an intense admixture of muramidase-positive reactive histiocytes, a feature that could result in an erroneous impression of a histiocytic derivation of the neoplasm. The prognostic significance of Immunologic subtypes is currently not known. However, survival in P% Is determined by the clinical stage of the disease and to a lesser extent by the histologic type. Current optimal therapy includes resection of tumor-bearing bowel followed by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy.
Dopamine-NMDA interactions and relevance to gamma band synchrony in schizophrenia

An increasing body of behavioral and physiological evidence shows that cortical activity operates optimally within a limited range of dopamine (DA) transmission within a broader inverted-U shaped relationship [1]. However, the exact mechanism through which DA leads to such non-monotonic modulation of network activity needs further investigation. Our recent work suggests that DA's modulation of potassium currents in the fast-spiking interneurons could be a potential mechanism underlying this inverted-U relationship [2]. Here we propose that another potential mechanism could contribute in the form of interactions between DA D1 receptors and NMDA conductance in the cortex. This has been an area of interest for many reasons including its relevance to the etiology of schizophrenia with deficits in both NMDA-mediated glutamate and DA transmission. Studies examining the relationship between DA and NMDA conductance in the cortex revealed that DA D1 receptors enhance NMDA responses [3, 4, 5]. In the current study, we incorporated DA's modulation of NMDA conductance at a network level and analyzed whether DA's modulation of NMDA currents could lead to an inverted-U shaped relationship with cortical activity. With this motivation, we simulated a neural network with 200 excitatory and 40 inhibitory quadratic integrate-and-fire neurons coupled with biologically realistic probabilities. In the simulated network, the effects of DA were implemented through varying the NMDA conductances in various combinations of synaptic types including excitatory-excitatory and excitatory-inhibitory. The network synchronization was analyzed through examining gamma band power in the local field potential. Parametrically varying the NMDA conductance revealed an inverted-U shaped relationship, with lower gamma band power at both low and high conductance levels and optimal synchronization occurring at intermediate conductance levels. Our findings reveal that DA's modulation of NMDA currents at the single cell level gives rise to a non-monotonic relationship between cortical gamma band synchrony and DA levels. These results together with those of [2] suggest that DA's modulation of potassium currents as well as NMDA-mediated currents may be complementary or synergistic mechanisms that give rise to the inverted-U shaped pattern in cortical activity across dopamine levels.
M Estimation of Multivariate Regressions

Abstract Robust alternatives to the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) estimator of Zellner (1962) are proposed for the classical multivariate regression model. These weighted M estimators achieve an asymptotic covariance matrix analogous to that of the SUR estimator. Comparisons for the l 1, least absolute deviation, case are made with the efficient estimator in the case of elliptically contoured distributions. An example reanalyzing the Grunfeld investment data using a smooth “l 1-like” M estimator is discussed in detail. In contrast to recent work of Hampel, Ronchetti, Rousseeuw, and Stahel (1986), Rousseeuw (1987), and Oja (1983), the methods studied here are not affine equivariant; some remarks on the potential significance of this failing conclude the article.
Does providing nutrition information at vending machines reduce calories per item sold

In 2010, the United States (US) enacted a restaurant menu labeling law. The law also applied to vending machine companies selling food. Research suggested that providing nutrition information on menus in restaurants might reduce the number of calories purchased. We tested the effect of providing nutrition information and 'healthy' designations to consumers where vending machines were located in college residence halls. We conducted our study at one university in Southeast US (October-November 2012). We randomly assigned 18 vending machines locations (residence halls) to an intervention or control group. For the intervention we posted nutrition information, interpretive signage, and sent a promotional email to residents of the hall. For the control group we did nothing. We tracked sales over 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after we introduced the intervention. Our intervention did not change what the residents bought. We recommend additional research about providing nutrition information where vending machines are located, including testing formats used to present information.
The Algebraic Construction of Phase-Type Distributions

A probability distribution of discrete phase-type must have a rational generating function. We give an algorithm that constructs, from a given rational function G(z), a Markov chain whose absorption-time distribution has G(z) as generating function. The algorithm, which is based on an automata-theoretic algorithm of Soittola, may be applied to any G(z) that satisfies the conditions on discrete phase-type generating functions discovered by O’Cinneide. So it provides an alternative, algebraic proof of O’Cinneide's characterisation of discrete phase-type distributions. We also clarify the relation between the classes of continuous and discrete phase-type distributions, and show that O’Cinneide's characterisation of continuous phase-type distributions is a corollary of his discrete characterisation. In conjunction with our discrete-time algorithm, this engenders an algorithm for constructing a Markov process representation for any distribution of continuous phase-type.
Effect of N-glycosylation on turnover and subcellular distribution of N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase I and sialyltransferase II in neuroblastoma cells.

Abstract: Gangliosides are sialylated glycosphingolipids whose biosynthesis is catalyzed by a series of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)- and Golgi-resident glycosyltransferases. Protein expression, processing, and subcellular localization of the key regulatory enzymes for ganglioside biosynthesis, sialyltransferase II (ST-II) and N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase I (GalNAcT), were analyzed upon transient expression of the two enzymes in the neuroblastoma cell lines NG108-15 and F-11. The enzymes were endowed with a C-terminal epitope tag peptide (FLAG) for immunostaining and immunoaffinity purification using a FLAG-specific antibody. Mature ST-II-FLAG and GalNAcT-FLAG were expressed as N-glycoproteins with noncomplex oligosaccharides. ST-II-FLAG was distributed to the Golgi apparatus, whereas GalNAcT-FLAG was found in the ER and Golgi. Inhibition of early N-glycoprotein processing with castanospermine resulted in a distribution of ST-II-FLAG to the ER, whereas that of GalNAcT-FLAG remained unaltered. In contrast to GalNAcT, the activity of ST-II and the amount of immunostained enzyme were reduced concomitantly by 75% upon incubation with castanospermine. This was due to a fourfold increased turnover of ST-II-FLAG, which was not found with GalNAcT-FLAG. The ER retention and increased turnover of ST-II-FLAG were most likely due to its inability to bind to calnexin upon inhibition of early N-glycoprotein processing. Calnexin binding was not observed for GalNAcT-FLAG, indicating a differential effect of N-glycosylation on the turnover and subcellular localization of the two glycosyltransferases.
Long story short - Global unsupervised models for keyphrase based meeting summarization

We analyze and compare two different methods for unsupervised extractive spontaneous speech summarization in the meeting domain. Based on utterance comparison, we introduce an optimal formulation for the widely used greedy maximum marginal relevance (MMR) algorithm. Following the idea that information is spread over the utterances in form of concepts, we describe a system which finds an optimal selection of utterances covering as many unique important concepts as possible. Both optimization problems are formulated as an integer linear program (ILP) and solved using public domain software. We analyze and discuss the performance of both approaches using various evaluation setups on two well studied meeting corpora. We conclude on the benefits and drawbacks of the presented models and give an outlook on future aspects to improve extractive meeting summarization.
Sensitive, selective, and analytical improvements to a porous silicon gas sensor

Abstract Conductometric porous silicon gas sensors consisting of a sensitive surface layer which is conducive to the rapid and reversible transduction of sub-ppm levels of analyte gas have been developed. Several new fabrication and testing methods allow the detection of a number of analytes including CO (