cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Next-Generation Immunotherapy in Lymphoma: Checkpoint Blockade, Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells, and Beyond

Lymphomas are cancers that arise from immune cells called lymphocytes and are classified in many different subtypes. These cancers have distinct features compared to cancers of solid organs and tend to use immunological resources to protect themselves from anti-cancer surveillance and disseminate throughout the body. This unique feature is both a challenge and an opportunity, making lymphomas ideal targets for immunotherapy. In this chapter we will review the role of the tumor microenvironment in lymphoma progression and describe immunological strategies used to reactivate immune cells to pursue an anti-tumoral attack. We review the first generation of lymphoma immunotherapy drugs (monoclonal antibodies and their derivatives) followed by a more through description of the next generation of immunotherapy agents shown to have activity in this disease. Specifically, we review the mechanism of action of checkpoint inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells and discuss the findings of clinical studies with these agents in lymphoma. We conclude by discussing the challenges posed by the emergence of these new drugs and describe the prospects of novel immunotherapy agents under investigation.
Chemical Amputation and Regeneration of the Pharynx in the Planarian Schmidtea mediterranea

Planarians are flatworms that are extremely efficient at regeneration. They owe this ability to a large number of stem cells that can rapidly respond to any type of injury. Common injury models in these animals remove large amounts of tissue, which damages multiple organs. To overcome this broad tissue damage, we describe here a method to selectively remove a single organ, the pharynx, in the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. We achieve this by soaking animals in a solution containing the cytochrome oxidase inhibitor sodium azide. Brief exposure to sodium azide causes extrusion of the pharynx from the animal, which we call "chemical amputation." Chemical amputation removes the entire pharynx, and generates a small wound where the pharynx attaches to the intestine. After extensive rinsing, all amputated animals regenerate a fully functional pharynx in approximately one week. Stem cells in the rest of the body drive regeneration of the new pharynx. Here, we provide a detailed protocol for chemical amputation, and describe both histological and behavioral methods to assess successful amputation and regeneration.
Lymphomatoid Papulosis in a 37-year-old Woman with Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Dimethyl Fumarate (P5.375)

Objective: NA Background: NA Design/Methods: NA Results: A 37-year-old woman with relapsing multiple sclerosis on dimethyl fumarate (DMF) developed raised red papules on her skin, some of which ulcerated, approximately six months after initiating DMF. She had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) approximately two years prior after an episode of hemi-body sensory loss and subsequent MRI imaging consistent with MS. After developing skin lesions on her arms and abdomen she had a dermatology evaluation and skin biopsy. Biopsy results were consistent with lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP), a rare and often chronic cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorder involving CD30 cells. This has been associated with the development of lymphoma in some patients, both cutaneous and systemic forms. DMF was discontinued out of concern this was the inciting factor; however, the patient continued to have new skin lesions. Conclusions: DMF modulates the T-cell immune response, promoting a Th2 rather than Th1 response, and inhibits NF-κB signaling. This case is notable as LyP is a rare condition which neurologists should be aware of and has been reported in MS patients. In addition, DMF is being investigated as a possible therapeutic option in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma as it has shown apoptosis induction in mice via NF-κB modulation; it is especially unusual that our patient developed LyP in spite of her treatment with DMF. The clinical significance of this finding is unclear, however, the occurrence of LyP is important to note in order to better understand the pathogenesis and T-cell modulatory effects of DMF in other organ systems. Disclosure: Dr. George has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kheterpal has nothing to disclose. Dr. Miller has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Accordant Health Services (Caremark), Adama, BiogenIdec, Celgene, Genzyme/Sanofi, Mallinckrodt, Mapi-Pharma, Novartis, Roche/Genentech.
Fault-Tolerance Issues in RDBMS on SCI-Based Local Area Multiprocessor (LAMP)

This paper explores some issues of the database management systems (RDBMS) running on the Local Area Multiprocessor (LAMP) architecture. LAMP is an approach to high-performance/low-cost parallel processing and high performance networking. LAMP consists of a number of machines, single or multiple processors, sharing physical memory among them. The interconnection is the Scalable Coherent Interface (SCI) which provides cache coherent, physically shared memory for multiprocessors via its bus-like point-to-point connections with high bandwidth and low latency. The article describes both challenges and opportunities this architecture presents for the database management systems, mostly in the area of fault-tolerance. Some of the issues discussed here are also likely to apply to other subsystems which provide transactional semantics, such as TP monitors and various Resource Managers.
Improving data integrity in linux software RAID with protection information (T10-PI)

The T10 DIF (Data Integrity Field) and DIX (Data Integrity Extension) specifications provide mechanisms to guarantee end-to-end data integrity and protection in the face of silent data corruption in modern storage systems. However, the Multiple Devices (MD) software RAID driver in Linux does not fully leverage these capabilities to provide such end-to-end guarantees with widely-used RAID modes such as 5 and 6, thereby causing an "integrity gap" in the Linux I/O stack. This paper describes the design and performance characteristics of a DIX-aware MD module that plugs this integrity gap with minimal overhead to client applications. A PI (Protection Information) operator is added in MD to handle the PI-related operations, and dedicated buffers for PI are allocated and managed in MD RAID-5/6 personality's stripe structures to generate, store, and verify the PI. This allows seamless exchange of PI information among end-applications running in user mode, file systems, the linux block layer, and PI-capable HBAs and drives. Our evaluations show that the DIX-aware MD module has the capability of detecting SDC with the tolerable performance penalty.
Competence-confidence gap: a threat to female developers' contribution on github

On GitHub, contributing to a new project is crucial for a developer to gain personal growth and maximize impact in the community. It is known that female developers are often hesitant to explore the opportunities to contribute to new projects even when they possess the competence to make valuable contributions. Drawing from the literature of the competence-confidence gap, we develop a fresh explanation for this phenomenon. We validate the theoretical explanation through an empirical study using GitHub's historical data. In this study, we identify all female developers ranking in top 5,000 GitHub users. Using the Granger Causality Test, we find that, for the majority of identified female developers, initiating a pull request to a new repository is "Granger" caused by the quick increase of followers in the preceding couple of weeks. For most male developers, our observations show that their new pull requests have no relationship with the dynamics of follower numbers. The results indicate that the competence-confidence gap is a threat to female developers' contribution on GitHub. The research suggests that helping female developers to overcome the competence-confidence gap is critical for encouraging female's contribution open source development, as well as growing their reputations and impacts in the community.
Expandable Lattice Electrode Ablation Catheter: A Novel Radiofrequency Platform Allowing High Current at Low Density for Rapid, Titratable, and Durable Lesions.

Background: High-current short-duration radiofrequency energy delivery has potential advantages for cardiac ablation. However, this strategy is limited by high current density and narrow safety-to-...
A Law on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in the EU

This paper discusses the European Parliament’s Resolution of 16 February 2017 with recommendations to the Commission on Civil Law Rules on Robotics (European Parliament 2017). It provides a brief summary of the content of the Resolution and looks at its basic principles and raison d’etre. It also touches on the issue of defining robots and their liability. In so doing, it suggests a twofold shift in the rationale of Parliament’s recommendations. Using a prospective approach and taking into consideration the views of scholars who are specialised in analysing robotics and artificial intelligence, this paper proposes that Parliament’s recommendations could go further by addressing a much broader spectrum of artificial agents and artificial intelligence, instead of focusing on specific categories of robots. It then looks at the responsibility, visibility and liability of those who have decision-making powers over the design, development and deployment of robots and artificial intelligence, including designers and developers.
Structural and functional analysis of the Acinetobacter baumannii BlsA photoreceptor and regulatory protein.

The Acinetobacter baumannii BlsA photoreceptor has an N-terminal (NT) BLUF domain and a C-terminal (CT) amino acid sequence with no significant homology to characterized bacterial proteins. In this study, we tested the biological role of specific residues located in these BlsA regions. Site-directed mutagenesis, surface motility assays at 24°C and protein overexpression showed that residues Y7, Q51 and W92 are essential for not only light-regulated motility, but also BlsA’s solubility when overexpressed in a heterologous host. In contrast, residues A29 and F32, the latter representing a difference when compared with other BLUF-containing photoreceptors, do not play a major role in BlsA’s biological functions. Analysis of the CT region showed that the deletion of the last five BlsA residues has no significant effect on the protein’s light-sensing and motility regulatory functions, but the deletion of the last 14 residues as well as K144E and K145E substitutions significantly alter light-regulated motility responses. In contrast to the NT mutants, these CT derivatives were overexpressed and purified to homogeneity to demonstrate that although these mutations do not significantly affect flavin binding and photocycling, they do affect BlsA’s photodynamic properties. Notably, these mutations map within a potential fifth α-helical component that could play a role in predicted interactions between regulatory partners and BlsA, which could function as a monomer according to gel filtration data. All these observations indicate that although BlsA shares common structural and functional properties with unrelated photoreceptors, it also exhibits unique features that make it a distinct BLUF photoreceptor.
Distributed Ledger and Blockchain Technology: Framework and Use Cases

Since its first widespread implementation in 2009, distributed ledgers in general, and blockchain technology in particular, have rapidly become a part of the FinTech vernacular. In this paper, we provide an overview of the history of trade settlement and discuss this nascent technology that may now transform traditional methods of verifying and settling transactions. In so doing, we discuss current and potential use cases of this technology and provide a business-oriented framework for proper as well as improper implementations and applications of blockchains and distributed ledgers.
Quality of Life Concerns in Patients with Uveal Melanoma after Initial Diagnosis

Background Patients with uveal melanoma (UM) are known to have quality of life (QOL) issues after treatment, but QOL concerns after initial diagnosis are ill-defined. Objectives We studied the QOL concerns of patients with UM after initial diagnosis to identify factors associated with QOL. Method Between September 2011 and May 2016, UM planning to undergo radiotherapy completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) core quality of life questionnaire (QLQ)-C30, as well as the Ophthalmic Oncology module, QLQ-OPT30. Demographic, ophthalmic, and tumor related characteristics were recorded. The primary outcome was the QOL score and fraction of patients reporting any or severe symptoms. A multiple stepwise regression model investigated the association of demographic, ophthalmic, and tumor characteristics with QOL. Results QOL concerns were assessed in 201 subjects. The majority (51/60) of QOL items had a high response rate (≥90%), and internal consistency on scales (median Cronbach α = 0.85) with the most common severe QOL concern being worry about disease recurrence (41%). The most common ophthalmic symptoms reported were vision impairment (81%) and ocular irritation (66%). Multivariable regression modeling demonstrated several significant associations. Conclusions Severe worry about UM recurrence, ocular irritation, and vision impairment was reported by many patients. Clinicians should be aware of these concerns and implement management strategies.
Simulation Evaluation: Observation Versus Self-Efficacy Among Nursing Students in India

Abstract Background Few studies have addressed methods for evaluating simulation in low- and middle-income countries. Purpose To determine if participation in a simulation scenario improved self-efficacy in nursing competency among undergraduate nursing students in India and to assess relationship of self-efficacy scores and instructors' observed competency. Methods A one-arm pretest/post-test and correlational design was used. Results Self-efficacy post-test scores were significantly higher than pretest scores (p Conclusions Self-efficacy reporting may not be the most effective measure for evaluating nursing competency, and cultural implications may exist.
Variations in Constitutive Properties of the Fluid Elicit Divergent Vibrational and Pressure Response Under Shock Wave Loading.

We performed a characterization of the shock wave loading on the response of the specimen representing a simplified head model. A polycarbonate cylinder (2-in. outer diameter, wall thickness: 0.06 or 0.12 in.) was filled with two fluids: pure de-ionized water and 40% glycerol in water, which differ only slightly in their constitutive material properties. These two fluids were selected to represent the cerebrospinal fluid and cerebral blood, using their high strain rate viscosity as a primary selection criterion. The model specimen was exposed to a single shock wave with two nominal intensities: 70 and 130 kPa overpressure. The response of the model was measured using three strain gauges and three pressure sensors, one mounted on the front face of the cylinder and two embedded in the cylinder to measure the pressure inside of the fluid. We noted several discriminant characteristics in the collected data, which indicate that the type of fluid is strongly influencing the response. The vibrations of the cylinder walls are strongly correlated with the fluid kind. The similarity analysis via the Pearson coefficient indicated that the pressure waveforms in the fluid are only moderately correlated, and these results were further corroborated by Euclidean distance analysis. Continuous wavelet transform of pressure waveforms revealed that the frequency response is strongly correlated with the properties of the fluid. The observed differences in strain and pressure modalities stem from relatively small differences in the properties of the fluids used in this study.
Erratum Homoclinic connections and numerical integration (Numerical Algorithms 14 (1997) 261---267)

for sufficiently large negative values of t. Here λ1, . . . ,λk are positive eigenvalues of A = (∂f/∂y)(0), α are multi-indices and yα are constant vectors. A similar representation holds for a stable solution when t is a sufficiently large positive number. By an unstable solution to the difference equation (3), approximating (1), (as well as to the difference equation (4)) in the paper was meant a solution that has a representation similar to (∗). In the case of equation (4) this representation was given by (5). A stable solution was understood similarly. Accordingly, by a homoclinic solution y(t) was meant a solution that is simultaneously stable and unstable in the above mentioned sense. Taking into account these remarks, line 7 on p. 262 should be replaced by “does not have homoclinic solutions”. The words “with zero real part”, line 22, p. 262, should be replaced by “on the unit circle”. The results of the paper show that the approximating difference equation (3) has no homoclinic solutions of the special type that was mentioned above.
Entertainment as Crime Prevention: Evidence From Chicago Sports Games

The concern that mass media may be responsible for aggressive and criminal behavior is widespread. Comparatively little consideration has been given to its diversionary function. We test for the effect of television entertainment on crime by leveraging the randomness inherent in the scheduling of sporting events. We compare Chicago crime reports by the half hour when Chicago’s sports teams are playing to reports at the same time, day, and month when the teams are not playing. We conduct the same analysis for the Super Bowl, National Basketball Association Finals, and Major League Baseball World Series. We find consistent decreases in crime during games. Short-term crime displacement is minimal or nonexistent.
PALBI and ALBI score as a prognosis factor for liver metastasis undergoing transarterial radioembolization.

345Background: Liver metastasis is evident in many oncological patients at the time of initial presentation. Recently, platelet-albumin-bilirubin (PALBI) score was reported to be superior to Child-...
Hearing better with the right eye? The lateralization of multisensory processing affects auditory learning in Northern bobwhite quail (Colinus Virginianus) chicks

Precocial avian species exhibit a high degree of lateralization of perceptual and motor abilities, including preferential eye use for tasks such as social recognition and predator detection. Such lateralization has been related, in part, to differential experience prior to hatch. That is, due to spatial and resulting postural constraints late in incubation, one eye and hemisphere-generally the right eye / left hemisphere-receive greater amounts of stimulation than the contralateral eye / hemisphere. This raises the possibility that the left hemisphere may specialize or show relative advantages in integrating information across visual and auditory modalities, given that it typically receives greater amounts of multimodal auditory and visual stimulation prior to hatch. The present study represents an initial investigation of this question in a precocial avian species, the Northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). Day-old bobwhite chicks received 5 min training sessions in which they vocalized to receive contingent playback of a bobwhite maternal call, presented with or without a light that flashed in synchrony with the notes of the call (i.e., bimodal versus unimodal exposure, respectively). Chicks were trained with or without eye patches that allowed them to experience the visual component of the bimodal stimulus with only the left eye (LE), right eye (RE), or both eyes (i.e., binocular; BIN). Finally, the light was placed in various positions relative to the speakers playing the maternal call across three experiments. 24 hrs later chicks were provided a simultaneous choice test between the familiarized and a novel bobwhite maternal call. Given that the right eye and ear typically face outward and are thus unoccluded by the body during late prenatal development, we hypothesized that RE chicks would show facilitated learning under bimodal conditions compared to all other training conditions. This hypothesis was partially confirmed in Experiment 1, when the light was positioned 40 cm above the source of the maternal call. However, we also observed evidence of suppressed learning in chicks provided BIN exposure to the bimodal audio-visual stimulus that was not present during auditory-only training. Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrated that this was likely related to activation of a left-hemisphere dependent fear response when the left eye was exposed to a visual stimulus that loomed above the auditory stimulus. These results indicate that multisensory processing is lateralized in a precocial bird and that these species may thus provide a unique model for studying experience-dependent plasticity of intersensory perception.
Democracy, Post-Conflict Recovery, and Women in Sub-Saharan Africa's Cabinets

This paper examines variation in women’s cabinet representation in SSA. Over the past thirty years, these levels have grown substantially. While women held 3.5% of SSA’s ministerial posts in 1979, their presence reached nearly 19% in 2009. This regional trend, however, hides important variation. In 2009, 57.1% of Cape Verde’s ministers were women, while 0% of Djibouti’s ministers were women. In addition, in some countries, cabinets have been very “gender volatile,” containing many women one year, few women the next year, and many women again the third year. Other countries have had more stable gender trajectories. Our paper seeks to explain cross-national variation in women’s cabinet representation and variation in the gender volatility of cabinets. We examine the effects of democratization and post-conflict transitions on women’s representation. We argue that post-conflict situations generate opportunities for women’s cabinet breakthroughs and that there is no significant relationship between democracy and women’s cabinet representation. We suggest, however, that democracy decreases the gender volatility of cabinets: democracies with high levels of women’s representation are likely to sustain or increase those levels, while non-democracies with high levels of representation are more likely to lapse back to male-centered governance.
Strengthening community resilience efforts in disasters: Exploring the roles of public libraries

Public libraries “now respond to a wide range of ongoing and emerging needs,” 1 which include helping communities cope with the unexpected—such as disruptive events, disasters, and emergencies. In their evolving and multiple roles, public libraries can play a critical part in building the resilience that could help individuals, families, and the whole community recover from disasters more rapidly. As disasters are often local events, local organizations such as public libraries are critical in responding to them. In this editorial, I argue that as community and information hubs, 2 the nation's public libraries, of which there are more than 16,000, are well situated to engage in strengthening community resilience efforts in disasters. In Spring 2015, a national survey
Symposium: Arthur Danto, The Abuse of Beauty

The title of Arthur C. Danto's Paul Carus Lectures on art and beauty confronts us with the characteristic ambiguity of the double genitive. On the one hand, The Abuse of Beauty can refer to the vio...
LUBRICANT CONTAMINANTS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON BEARING PERFORMANCE

This paper provides a discussion of the more common types of solid and liquid lubricant contaminants and the possible sources from which they originate, plus the different modes of premature bearing damage that can results. Some case histories of applications plagued with contaminated lubrication problems and the resulting difficulties encountered with bearing performance are also reviewed. /GHRL/
Teaching Healing and Healing Teaching

Time to Heal American Medical Education from the Turn of the Century to the Era of Managed Care. Kenneth M. Ludmerer. Oxford University Press, New York, 1999. 540 pp. $29.95. ISBN 0-19-511837-5. Ludmerer discusses the web of interactions among medical schools, teaching hospitals, and the health care system that have shaped the evolution of medical education in the United States since World War I. His narrative ends with a consideration of the challenges offered by the current environment of managed care.
Ninety-seven Years Old Hispanic Male With Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Treating geriatric patients can be difficult. Patients often present with subtle or atypical symptoms, and end-of-life care is rarely neatly packaged. We present a case of a 97 years old Hispanic male with multiple medical problems who was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma after thoracentesis from what was thought to be a para-pneumonic effusion. An oncology evaluation determined that he was not a candidate for aggressive treatment. There is no evidence of curative treatment for mantle cell lymphoma. To complicate the decision making process further, the patient’s primary caregiver requested specifically that the health care team withholds the diagnosis from the patient. We discuss the inherent difficulties associated with end-of-life care. Keywords Geriatrics; End-of-life care; Mantle cell lymphoma; Hispanic
Identification of a new marine algal species Pyropia nitida sp. nov. (Bangiales: Rhodophyta) from Monterey, California

An unidentified marine red algal species classified in Pyropia J. Agardh was discovered from Monterey, CA. Morphological, barcode, and complete mitochondrial genome analysis of the alga support its recognition as a new species, Pyropia nitida sp. nov. The species is a high-intertidal, winter annual that is lanceolate in shape, monostromatic, and dioecious. Based on CO1 sequences, P. nitida is closely allied with the P. nereocystis clade. The mitogenome of P. nitida is 35 313 bp in length and contains 53 genes, including two ribosomal RNAs, 24 transfer RNAs, four ribosomal proteins, two ymfs, four ORFs, and 17 genes involved in electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation. The results support the recognition of P. nitida as distinct from the morphologically similar P. lanceolata.
WHEN ANTITRUST MET FACEBOOK

Social networks are among the most dynamic forces on the Internet, increasingly displacing search engines as the primary way that end users find content and garnering headlines for their controversial stock offerings. In what may be considered a high-technology rite of passage, social networking companies are now facing monopolization claims under the antitrust laws. This Article evaluates the likely success of these claims, identifying considerations in network economics that may mitigate a finding or market power and evaluating whether a social network’s refusal to facilitate data portability can constitute exclusionary conduct. It also analyzes two early private antitrust law cases against social networking sites: LiveUniverse v. MySpace and Facebook v. Power Ventures. These analytical considerations and early case underscore the importance of requiring that antitrust claims be asserted in terms of a coherent economic theory backed by empirical evidence. Permitting looser assertions of anticompetitive conduct risks protecting competitors instead of competition.
Increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines in chronic lesions of human cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The nature of the host cellular immune response largely determines the expression of disease following infection with the intracellular protozoans Leishmania spp. In experimental animals control and resolution of infection are mediated by gamma interferon and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), whereas disease progression is associated with the production of interleukin 4 (IL-4), IL-5, IL-10, and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). We have analyzed the profile of cytokine gene expression directly in the lesions of 13 patients with localized cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania mexicana. All but one patient had a single lesion, and the time of evolution ranged from 8 days to 18 months. Cytokine gene expression was quantitated by reverse transcriptase PCR and interpolation from a standard curve. Gamma interferon, TNF-alpha, IL-1 alpha, IL-6, IL-10, and TGF-beta gene expression was present in all samples. IL-3 and IL-4 gene expression was barely detectable in 1 and 3 of 13 samples, respectively. IL-2 and IL-5 mRNAs were not found. A significant increase in the expression of IL-1 alpha, TNF-alpha, IL-10, and TGF-beta was observed in late lesions (> or = 4 months) compared with that in early lesions (
Insights into the effects of tensile and compressive loadings on microstructure dependent fracture of trabecular bone

The micro-scale finite element models used in the past to understand yielding failure of trabecular bone have not addressed the microcrack formation and its effect on microstructure dependent fracture. An understanding of microcrack based failure mechanisms can be important to develop insights into response of trabecular bone to external loading before final failure. With this goal, we analyze tensile and compressive fracture failure at two different ages in two trabecular bone micrographs obtained from an ovine femur using a recently developed cohesive finite element method (CFEM) framework. The results and analyses indicate that examined trabecular microstructures are optimally designed for resisting compressive loading. Under tensile loading, initial damage in a microstructure is localized in a single random trabecula. Final microstructure failure occurs immediately after the failure of the trabecula. However, under compressive loading, failure of the first trabecula does not precede immediate complete failure of microstructure. Under compression the propagation fracture toughness (characterized by change in energy release rate as a function of crack density) increases with increase in crack density. However, under tension the propagation fracture toughness decreases with increasing crack density. The fracture mechanism remains unaffected by age variation. Effect of tissue property random variation on the variation in fracture strength diminishes under tension and increases under compression with increase in the age. Overall, results indicate that structural arrangement of the trabecular bone (besides the hierarchical chemical composition) can be an important contributor to its unique fracture resistance properties.
Effect of allixin, a phytoalexin produced by garlic, on mutagenesis, DNA-binding and metabolism of aflatoxin B1

Allixin, a phytoalexin isolated from garlic, was examined for its effects on aflatoxin B1(AFB1)-induced mutagenesis using Salmonella typhimurium TA100 as the bacterial tester strain and rat liver S9 fraction as the metabolic activation system. The effects of allixin on the binding of [3H]AFB1 to calf thymus DNA and on the formation of metabolites of [3H]AFB1 were also determined. Allixin showed a dose-related inhibition of Histidine+ revertants induced by AFB1. Allixin at 75 μg/ml inhibited [3H]AFB1 binding to calf thymus DNA and reduced formation of AFB1-DNA adducts. In addition, allixin exhibited a concentration-dependent inhibition of the formation of organosoluble metabolites and the glutathione conjugates of [3H]AFB1. The data indicate that the effect of allixin on AFB1-induced mutagenesis and binding of metabolites to DNA may be mediated through an inhibition of microsomal P-450 enzymes. Allixin may thus be useful in the chemoprevention of cancer.
Clinical guidelines for cardiovascular disease prevention: Should they differ by gender?

The effects of cardiovascular disease are substantial in women, yet cardiovascular preventive therapies for women are underused. The prevalence and impact of many coronary risk factors differ by gender. Coronary risk interventions (eg, using aspirin) have diverse outcomes in women and men. Results from studies of preventive interventions specific to women (eg, menopausal hormone therapy) have changed preventive recommendations and clinical practice.
Cultural and spiritual coping in sobriety: Informing substance abuse prevention for Alaska Native communities.

Culture and spirituality have been conceptualized as both protecting people from addiction and assisting in the recovery process. A collaborative study, utilizing focus group and survey methods, defined and examined cultural and spiritual coping in sobriety among a select sample of Alaska Natives. Results suggest that the Alaska Native worldview incorporates a circular synthesis and balance of physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual processes within a protective layer of family and communal/cultural beliefs and practices embedded within the larger environment. Cultural-spiritual coping in sobriety is a process of appraisal, change, and connection that leads the person toward achieving an overarching construct: a sense of coherence. Cultural and spiritual processes provide important areas for understanding the sobriety process as well as keys to the prevention of alcohol abuse and addiction. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Proteasome regulates transcription-favoring histone methylation, acetylation and ubiquitination in long-term synaptic plasticity

Histone modifications, such as lysine methylation, acetylation and ubiquitination, are epigenetic tags that shape the chromatin landscape and regulate transcription required for synaptic plasticity and memory. Here, we show that transcription-promoting histone H3 trimethylated at lysine 4 (H3K4me3), histone H3 acetylated at lysine 9 and 14 (H3K9/14ac), and histone H2B monoubiquitinated at lysine 120 (H2BK120ub) are enhanced after the induction of long-lasting chemically-induced long-term potentiation (cLTP) in the murine hippocampus. While H3K4me3 and H3K9/14ac were transiently upregulated, H2BK120ub levels oscillated after cLTP induction. In addition, we present results showing that blocking the proteasome, a molecular complex specialized for targeted protein degradation, inhibited the upregulation of these epigenetic tags after cLTP. Thus, our study provides the initial steps toward understanding the role of the proteasome in regulating histone modifications critical for synaptic plasticity.
Teaching open source: involving students in free and open source software (FOSS) project communities (abstract only)

Involving students from a wide range of backgrounds in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) project communities gets them a hands-on, portfolio-building experience in the creation of a real-world project while simultaneously building their institution's public profile. The Teaching Open Source (http://teachingopensource.org) community is an emergent (3 year old) group working on scaffolding to bridge the cultural differences between academic and FOSS communities of practice. Join us to share questions, challenges, and triumphs of incorporating FOSS participation into existing and new curricula as well support resources for doing so. Alumni and current members of the POSSE (Professors' Open Source Summer Experience, http://communityleadershipteam.org/posse) will attend in mentorship roles. Faculty attendance at the SIGCSE 2010 BoF on Teaching Open Source (TOS) indicates that student involvement in FOSS projects is a teaching and learning approach of interest for many faculty members. The transparency of both artifacts and process make FOSS an attractive real-world experience that enhances peer learning and intrinsic motivation for a diversity of courses, from introductory, interdisciplinary, and non-major classes to software engineering core offerings and senior capstones. However, such student participation involves a significant learning curve and effort on the part of the faculty member, and support structures for faculty are still maturing. 2011-2012 marks the 3rd academic year the TOS community has explored this realm together, and the past year has seen the emergence of more best practices, support resources, and curricular material. Community members are starting to design cross-institutional research on the impact of FOSS participation on students. BoF attendees will be encouraged to ask questions, network, and take advantage of the TOS community as a support structure for their own courses and projects.The audience is expected to consist of instructors who 1) are interested in learning how to get started in involving students in FOSS projects; or 2) have involved students in FOSS projects and are looking for better ways to facilitate student learning within FOSS projects.
“Deserted His Majesty's Service”: Military Runaways, The British-American Press, and the Problem of Desertion During the Seven Years' War

During the Seven Years' War newspapers routinely published notices of desertions from the British regular and colonial forces that served in America. Evidence culled from these advertisements hints that many troops eventually deserted. Ashadowy war within a war ensued, pitting the formidable resources that elites commanded against the cunning minds and fast feet of deserters. The decisions of so many to flee their units, and the inability of officers to stop them, reveal three major points about this wartime phenomenon. First, these items show that deserters were a diverse group who differed from the overall population of troops. Many were Irish, and a disproportionate number were artisans or sailors. Second, the notices illustrate that the military used several methods to quell desertion, and when deterrence failed, officers sent out search parties and often imposed severe punishments on those they caught. Third, mutinies by New Englanders were not unique. Other provincial and regular units also revolted en masse. More commonly, however, were individuals or small groups who stole away from the army and used mobility, disguise, and aid from lovers, families, employers, fugitive slaves and sympathetic Indian communities to avoid the suspicious gaze and vigorous pace of their pursuers.
Beyond diffusion-limited aggregation kinetics in microparticle suspensions.

Received 3 May 2009; revised manuscript received 15 August 2009; published 2 November 2009Aggregation in nondiffusion limited colloidal particle suspensions follows a temporal power-law depen-dence that is consistent with classical diffusion limited cluster aggregation models; however, the dynamicscaling exponents observed in these systems are not adequately described by diffusion limited cluster aggre-gation models, which expect these scaling exponents to be constant over all experimental conditions. We showhere that the dynamic scaling exponents for 10 m particles increase with the particle concentration and theparticle-particle free energy of interaction. We provide a semiquantitative explanation for the scaling behaviorin terms of the long-ranged particle-particle interaction potential.DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.80.051402 PACS number s : 82.70.Kj, 47.65.Cb, 61.43.Hv, 87.18.Ed
SU‐FF‐T‐03: 3‐D Dosimetric Evaluation On Isocenter Positioning Error in the Dynamic Arc Stereotactic Radiotherapy Based On Optical CT Based Polymer Gel Dosimetry

Purpose: Accurate isocenter positioning is very important for patient setup in the treatment of stereotactic radiosurgery. In this study, the effect of positioning error of the planned isocenter on the 3‐D dose distribution was evaluated for brain lesions treated with Novalis dynamic arc stereotactic radiotherapy, using an optical CT based polymergeldosimeter.Method and Materials: Recent developments in mechanic accuracy of gantry and couch rotation and IGRT devices have shown that the patient setup can be corrected with sub‐millimeter shift along the three vertical axes. This leads to an important question: What is the impact on the dose‐volume‐histogram for both target and critical organs, if the isocenter positioning error is not corrected. To assess this impact, two plastic cylinders filled with BANG® polymergel (MGS Research, Inc) were used for dose measurements. One gel was irradiated with an adjustment on the isocenter shift due to couch rotation between couch positions. One gel was irradiated without any correction for isocenter shift. The irradiated gels were then scanned with 1 mm resolution using an optical CT scanner, OCTOPUS™ (MGS Research, Inc). Dose distributions and DVHs from two gel measurements and the treatment planning calculation were compared. Results: Comparison of dose distributions between the gel measurement and the treatment planning calculation showed that the agreement was within 2% in dose or 2 mm in distance. The DVH obtained from the gel measurement without any correction for isocenter shift showed smaller dose coverage at the target volume and a larger volume at the low dose (50%–80% isodose). Conclusion:Polymergeldosimeter can provide a method of acquiring 3‐D dose distribution for a complex treatment modality. The clinical impact of sub‐millimeter error in isocenter positioning depends on disease site, target size, and other clinical information. Conflict of Interest: Research sponsored by MGS Research, Inc.
Genetic Algorithm Phase Retrieval for the Systematic Image-Based Optical Alignment Test Bed

A real-valued genetic algorithm with random rank-based selection is shown to successfully estimate the multiple phases of a segmented optical system modeled on the seven-mirror Systematic Image-Based Optical Alignment test bed located at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Comparisons are made between this and more traditional phase-retrieval methods. No significant increase in computational speed is observed using the genetic algorithm technique.
Docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids segregate differently between raft and nonraft domains.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), enriched in fish oils, are increasingly recognized to have potential benefits for treating many human afflictions. Despite the importance of PUFA, their molecular mechanism of action remains unclear. One emerging hypothesis is that phospholipids containing n-3 PUFA acyl chains modify the structure and composition of membrane rafts, thus affecting cell signaling. In this study the two major n-3 PUFA found in fish oils, eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids, are compared. Using solid-state 2H NMR spectroscopy we explored the molecular organization of 1-[2H31]palmitoyl-2-eicosapentaenoylphosphatidylcholine (PEPC-d31) and 1-[2H31]palmitoyl-2-docosahexaenoylphosphatidylcholine (PDPC-d31) in mixtures with sphingomyelin (SM) and cholesterol (chol). Our results indicate that whereas both PEPC-d31 and PDPC-d31 can accumulate into SM-rich/chol-rich raftlike domains, the tendency for DHA to incorporate into rafts is more than twice as great as for EPA. We propose that DHA may be the more bioactive component of fish oil that serves to disrupt lipid raft domain organization. This mechanism represents an evolution in the view of how PUFA remodel membrane architecture.
Sylvian aqueduct syndrome caused by unilateral midbrain lesion

A patient developed a syndrome of head tilt, limited upgaze, and convergence-retractory nystagmus. Pathological examination revealed a single 0.6 cm diameter metastatic tumor nodule in the right tegmentum of the midbrain extending from the posterior commissure to a plane through the lower end of the lateral geniculate body. The unique features are the lesion's small size and the fact that it was unilateral.
Shape “Break-and-Repair” Strategy and Its Application to Automated Medical Image Segmentation

In three-dimensional medical imaging, segmentation of specific anatomy structure is often a preprocessing step for computer-aided detection/diagnosis (CAD) purposes, and its performance has a significant impact on diagnosis of diseases as well as objective quantitative assessment of therapeutic efficacy. However, the existence of various diseases, image noise or artifacts, and individual anatomical variety generally impose a challenge for accurate segmentation of specific structures. To address these problems, a shape analysis strategy termed “break-and-repair” is presented in this study to facilitate automated medical image segmentation. Similar to surface approximation using a limited number of control points, the basic idea is to remove problematic regions and then estimate a smooth and complete surface shape by representing the remaining regions with high fidelity as an implicit function. The innovation of this shape analysis strategy is the capability of solving challenging medical image segmentation problems in a unified framework, regardless of the variability of anatomical structures in question. In our implementation, principal curvature analysis is used to identify and remove the problematic regions and radial basis function (RBF) based implicit surface fitting is used to achieve a closed (or complete) surface boundary. The feasibility and performance of this strategy are demonstrated by applying it to automated segmentation of two completely different anatomical structures depicted on CT examinations, namely human lungs and pulmonary nodules. Our quantitative experiments on a large number of clinical CT examinations collected from different sources demonstrate the accuracy, robustness, and generality of the shape “break-and-repair” strategy in medical image segmentation.
Genetic variants detected by PCR-RFLP in intron 6 of the bovine calpastatin gene.

PCR conditions: A total of 35 cycles were adapted for denaturation at 94 °C/1 min, annealing at 57 °C/1 min, and polymerization at 72 °C/2 min (MJ Research, PT 200, Watertown, MA, USA). A total of 30 ll of mixture consisting of 3 ll of 10X reaction buffer (10 mM Tris, pH 8.3, 50 mM KCl, 0.1% Triton X-100, 1.5 mM MgCl2), 10 lM dNTP, 10 pmol of each primer, 50 ng of genomic DNA and 2 units of Taq DNA polymerase (Gibco BRL, Grand Island, NY, USA) was used.
Density of states and conductivity of a granular metal or an array of quantum dots

The conductivity of a granular metal or an array of quantum dots usually has the temperature dependence associated with variable range hopping within the soft Coulomb gap of density of states. This is difficult to explain because neutral dots have a hard charging gap at the Fermi level. We show that uncontrolled or intentional doping of the insulator around dots by donors leads to random charging of dots and finite bare density of states at the Fermi level. Then Coulomb interactions between electrons of distant dots results in a soft Coulomb gap. We show that in a sparse array of dots the bare density of states oscillates as a function of concentration of donors and causes periodic changes in the temperature dependence of conductivity. In a dense array of dots the bare density of states is totally smeared if there are several donors per dot in the insulator.