cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery in gynecology.

Purpose of review To review the contemporary literature on laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) advances in gynecology. Recent findings Minimally invasive surgery has become a standard of care for the treatment of many benign and malignant gynecologic conditions. Both conventional laparoscopy and robotic assisted surgery have impacted the entire spectrum of gynecologic surgery. Ongoing efforts to improve upon the morbidity and cosmetic sequelae of laparoscopic surgery have led to minimization of size and number of ports required for these procedures. LESS surgery is a recently coined surgical term used to describe various techniques that aim at performing laparoscopic surgery through a single, small skin incision concealed within the umbilicus.LESS surgery is not a new endeavor but recent developments in surgical technology and techniques have resulted in an exponential increase in utilization of LESS across many surgical subspecialties. Recently published outcome data demonstrate feasibility, safety and reproducibility for LESS in gynecology. The contemporary LESS literature, gamut of gynecologic procedures and limitations of current technology will be reviewed in this article. Summary LESS represents the latest innovation in minimally invasive surgery but comparative data and prospective trials are required to determine the clinical impact of LESS in treatment of gynecologic conditions.
Infrared Spectroscopy of Biological Materials

The application of infrared spectroscopy to various problems in the biological field is illustrated by considering its use in the structural determination of proteins and a clinical situation. Sampling problems with biological materials are discussed With the advent of the far-infrared spectrophotometer the study of biological materials in the far-infrared region is now possible. Typical results with various material such as tissue and macromolecular components of the tissues are shown. The far-infrared spectra of amino acids are discussed
Sex pheromone of the stable flyl: Isolation and preliminary identification of compounds that induce mating strike behavior

Cuticular rinses of the female stable fly,Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), contained saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons that incited the male fly to attempt couplation. These compounds present in GLC trappings of the saturated hydrocarbon fraction showing highest biological activity were mono- and dimethyl-substituted hentria- and tritriacontanes. Active trappings from the unsaturated hydrocarbon fraction contained (Z)-9-hentriacontene, (Z)-9-tritriacontene, and methyl-branched hentria- and tritriacontenes.
Evaluation of a compact sensor for backscattering and absorption

Seawater inherent optical properties (IOPs) are key parameters in a wide range of applications in environmental studies and oceanographic research. In particular, the absorption coefficient (a) is the typical IOP used to obtain the concentration of chlorophyll-a in the water—a critical parameter in biological oceanography studies and the backscattering coefficient (bb) is used as a measure of turbidity. In this study, we test a novel instrument concept designed to obtain both the absorption and backscattering coefficients. The instrument would emit a collimated monochromatic light beam into the water retrieving the backscattered light intensity as a function of distance from the center of illumination. We use Monte Carlo modeling of light propagation to create an inversion algorithm that translates the signal from such an instrument into values of a and bb. Our results, based on simulations spanning the bulk of natural values of seawater IOP combinations, indicate that a 6.2 cm diameter instrument with a radial resolution of 1 cm would be capable of predicting bb within less than 13.4% relative difference and a within less than 57% relative difference (for 90% of the inverted a values, the relative errors fall below 29.7%). Additionally, these errors could be further reduced by constraining the inversion algorithm with information from concurrent measurements of other IOPs. Such a compact and relatively simple device could have multiple applications for in situ optical measurements, including a and bb retrievals from instrumentation mounted on autonomous underwater vehicles. Furthermore, the same methodology could possibly be used for an out-of-water sensor.
Gabapentin for Treatment of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia

OBJECTIVE:To report the use of gabapentin in the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and to review the available literature relating to the use of gabapentin in this population.CASE SUMMARY:A 62-year-old white man was admitted to the hospital due to a worsening state of confusion, anxiety, depressed mood, insomnia, and verbal and physical aggressiveness toward his wife. He had a past medical history significant for vascular dementia. He had been intolerant of or had failed to respond to numerous antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and neuroleptics. The addition of gabapentin to the patient's medication regimen resulted in reduced agitation, sexual inappropriateness, and lability. He was discharged to his home on a dose of gabapentin 300 mg three × daily.DATA SOURCES:A MEDLINE search (1966–August 2000) was performed to identify case reports and clinical trials discussing the efficacy of gabapentin in the treatment of BPSD.DISCUSSION:Gabapentin, like other anticonvulsants, ha...
Benthic Studies in Buzzards Bay. I. Animal‐Sediment Relationships1

During October and November 1955 a bottom faunal study was undertaken at 19 localities in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. The number of animals ranged from 1,064 to 12,576/m2 with a mean number of 4,430. In comparison with certain other areas these numbers appeared small and seemed to be due to the relatively low concentrations of chemical nutrients and modest primary production of the region. Two faunal assemblages were recognized: one, present in the muddy sediments and dominated by the’lamellibranch Nucula proxima and the polychaete Nephthys incisa was essentially the same communit) described from Long Island Sound; the other, restricted to the sandier sediments and characterized by species of the amphipod genus AAmpeZi.sca. The two primary feeding types, the filter-feeders and the deposit-feeders, numerically dominated in the sand and mud sediments, respectively. The distribution of certain dominant deposit-feeders in Long Island Sound and Buzzards Bay was poorly correlated with the silt-clay fraction of t,he sediment. However, when clay alone was used, a much better agreement was obtained. It was suggested that clay is probably the most valid criterion for the distribution of deposit-feeders. The distribution of infaunal filter-feeders seemed related to the degree of sorting and the median grain size of the sediment, with largest populations present in wellsorted fine sand. The hydrodynamic implications of this distribution are discussed.
General properties of dielectric optical antennas

Using Mie theory we derive a number of general results concerning the resonances of spherical and cylindrical dielectric antennas. Specifically, we prove that the peak scattering cross-section of radiation-limited antennas depends only on the resonance frequency and thus is independent of refractive index and size, a result which is valid even when the resonator is atomic-scale. Furthermore, we derive scaling limits for the bandwidth of dielectric antennas and describe a cylindrical mode which is unique in its ability to support extremely large bandwidths even when the particle size is deeply subwavelength. Finally, we show that higher Q antennas may couple more efficiently to an external load, but the optimal absorption cross-section depends only on the resonance frequency.
PTEN coordinates G1 arrest by down-regulating cyclin D1 via its protein phosphatase activity and up-regulating p27 via its lipid phosphatase activity in a breast cancer model

The tumour suppressor gene PTEN/MMAC1/TEP1 encodes a dual-specificity phosphatase that recognizes phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate and protein substrates. We have shown previously that over-expression of PTEN in a tetracycline-controlled inducible system blocks cell cycle progression and induces apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Here, we demonstrate that over-expression of wild-type PTEN leads to the suppression of cell growth through the blockade of cell cycle progression, an increase in the abundance of p27, a decrease in the protein levels of cyclin D1 and the inhibition of Akt phosphorylation. In contrast, expression of the phosphatase-dead mutant, C124S, promotes cell growth and has the opposite effect on the abundance of p27, cyclin D1 levels and the phosphorylation of Akt. The G129E mutant, which does not have lipid phosphatase activity but retains protein phosphatase activity, behaves like C124S except that the former causes decreases in cyclin D1 levels similar to wild-type PTEN. Therefore, PTEN exerts its growth suppression through lipid phosphatase-dependent and independent activities and most likely, via the coordinate effect of both protein phosphatase and lipid phosphatase activities. Addition of either estrogen or insulin abrogates PTEN-mediated up-regulation of p27 and partially blocks PTEN-mediated growth suppression, whereas the combination of estrogen and insulin eliminates the alterations of p27 and cyclin D1 and completely blocks PTEN-mediated growth suppression. Our findings demonstrate that PTEN blocks cell cycle progression differentially through down-regulating the positive cell cycle regulator, cyclin D1, by its protein phosphatase activity, and up-regulating the negative cell cycle regulator, p27, by its lipid phosphatase activity.
Inverse Scattering and Imaging Using Broadband Time-Domain Data

In inverse scattering, one attempts to determine the internal profile of an in-homogeneous object from measurement data collected away from the scatterer. For example, inverse scattering may be used to locate and image a possible crack or defect in a civil structure in the field of nondestructive testing. It is also used to generate images of geophysical formations for locating minerals or buried objects such as hazardous wastes. Inverse scattering is used in medical imaging in X-rays as well as ultrasonic or CAT scans. There are also military applications for locating and identifying targets from radar data. Basically, the theory of inverse scattering applies whenever waves are used to probe objects for information about their structure. In addition to obtaining the image of an object, a quantitative description of the scatterer such as its permittivity, velocity, or conductivity profile is also obtainable from inverse scattering methods and can contribute invaluable diagnostic information.
Utility of high dimensional genomic composite biomarkers in therapeutic and/or diagnostic development

The recent advances of the high throughput biotechnology have made the genome-wide scanning, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) profiling and proteomic pattern profiling possible, in addition to the more traditional candidate genes approach. In this paper, we collectively use the term genomics to refer to the various technologies. As a result, a massive exciting biological data generated from the genomic technology has increased the complexity of the research questions we seek to answer. The added characteristics of using genomics in therapeutic drug development and in the co-development of genomic biomarker diagnostic test have been publicly discussed and have received much attention. Pharmacogenomics (PG) is the science of determining how the clinical benefits and related adverse effects of a drug vary among a population of patients targeted based on genomic features of the patient's disease tissue, blood sample or biological specimen. The genomic features obtained from microarrays, SNP-arrays, proteomic arrays are to be selected to determine the genomic composite biomarker (GCB) classifier. The bioinformatics involved has helped brought down the high dimensional genomics to a much reduced dimension in selecting the GCB classifier. The dimension reduction has contributed to the designing of an adaptive and flexible pharmacogenomic clinical trial contrasting the more conventional well-controlled double-blind randomized clinical trials.
The Trilinos Software Lifecycle Model

The Trilinos Project [1, 2] is an effort to facilitate the design, development, integration and on-going support of mathematical solver libraries. Efforts range from research and development of new algorithms to proof-of-concept of new and existing algorithms to eventual production use of solver libraries on a variety of computer systems across a broad set of applications. Software quality assurance and engineering (SQA/SQE) play an integral role in the project. Although many formal software lifecycle models exist, no single model can address all Trilinos developer needs since our requirements for rigor change as a particular Trilinos package matures. In this report we present a three-phase promotional lifecycle model that closely matches the needs and realities of Trilinos development.
Description and preliminary evaluation of a diabetes technology simulation course.

Background: We aim to provide data on a diabetes technology simulation course (DTSC) that instructs internal medicine residents in the use of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) and continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) devices. Methods: The DTSC was implemented during calendar year 2012 and conducted in the institution’s simulation center. It consisted of a set of prerequisites, a practicum, and completion of a web-based inpatient CSII-ordering simulation. DTSC participants included only those residents in the outpatient endocrinology rotation. Questionnaires were used to determine whether course objectives were met and to assess the satisfaction of residents with the course. Questionnaires were also administered before and after the endocrine rotation to gauge improvement in familiarity with CSII and CGMS technologies. Results: During the first year, 12 of 12 residents in the outpatient endocrinology rotation completed the DTSC. Residents reported that the course objectives were fully met. The mean satisfaction score with the course ranged from 4.0 to 4.9 (maximum, 5), with most variables rated above 4.5. Self-reported familiarity with the operation of CSII and CGMS devices increased significantly in the postrotation survey compared with that on the prerotation survey (both p < .01). Conclusions: In this pilot program, simulation-based education increased the perceived familiarity of residents with CSII and CGMS technologies. In light of these preliminary findings, the course will continue to be offered, with further data accrual. Future work will involve piloting the DTSC approach among other types of providers, such as residents in other specialties or inpatient nursing staff.
Orientalism, Colonialism, and Legal History: The Attack on Muslim Family Endowments in Algeria and India

One of the earliest and most highly developed areas of orientalist scholarly production was the study of Islamic law. Modern western investigation of Islamic law emerged during the era of European colonial expansion, and the first studies of the subject were written by citizens of the colonial powers, many of whom had lived in the colonies for extended periods. These men produced the first translations of legal texts, the first studies of individual legal institutions, and the first comprehensive studies of Islamic law, thereby laying the foundations for the modern discipline of Islamic legal history. Surprisingly, students of orientalism have devoted little attention to the colonials' views of Islamic law—that is, to the attitudes and assumptions that underlay their writings and interpretations—or to the impact of those views on the development of Islamic legal studies as a discipline.
Ferrets (Mustela putoius furo) Inefficiently Convert β-Carotene to Vitamin A

The ferret has recently been used as a model to evaluate the absorption and metabolism of several carotenoids; however, little is known about the vitamin A (VA) requirements of this species or the ability of ferrets to convert dietary beta-carotene (betaC) to VA. Three studies were conducted to estimate the daily utilization of VA in ferrets and to determine the effect of prior VA status on the ability of ferrets to utilize betaC as a source of VA. Weanling male ferrets were fed a pelleted, low carotenoid, semipurified diet either with (+VA) or without VA (-VA) for 21- to 35-d prefeeding periods. Upon initiation of the experiments, several ferrets were killed to determine base-line VA status. The remaining ferrets were fed VA, betaC, or VA and betaC in pelleted feed (Studies 1-3) or liquid carrier (Study 3) for 16-21 additional days. Hepatic VA and betaC concentrations were used as the primary indicators of VA status, although serum and adrenal VA and betaC also were measured. The results showed the following: 1) provision of betaC at up to a 15:1 weight ratio of betaC to VA in pelleted feed or liquid carrier was not sufficient to maintain hepatic VA stores after a -VA prefeeding period; 2) the daily utilization rate of VA by ferrets ranged from 80 to 171 microg in the three studies; 3) the ferret was confirmed to be a species that has the majority of its serum VA in ester form; and 4) feeding -VA diets significantly reduced serum retinyl esters but had less effect on serum retinol. We conclude that although ferrets can convert betaC to VA, the process is inefficient. The ferret model can be most appropriately used when studying the biological effect of tissue betaC stores on VA status and is less appropriate for the evaluation of dietary betaC conversion to VA.
Aging of nanocarbons in ambient conditions: Probable metastability of carbon nanotubes

We studied the physicochemical properties of several commercially available single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs and MWNTs) and fullerenes stored in normal ambient conditions for 24 months. We found that SWNTs exhibit a trend of decreasing surface area and pore volume up to 7-15 months but then stabilized, no longer being impacted by sample age or outgassing temperatures. Using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, we also observed a trend of decreasing surface oxygen in all samples from the beginning with much lower % oxygen observed after 12-15 months of aging under ambient conditions. The surface oxygen then stabilized for the duration of this study. There was also evidence that the total structural-defect concentration, estimated from Raman spectroscopy, was somehow lowered during the aging process. The decrease in surface oxygen is an unexpected phenomenon because most other carbons, such as activated carbons or carbon molecular sieves, either oxidize or remain unaffected by age. We believe that nanocarbons are meta-stable materials (in pseudo-thermodynamic equilibrium), and that their aging in ambient conditions makes them more thermodynamically stable with fixed properties. This new information about the properties of nanocarbons should be further explored as it can help resolve some of the conflicting reports such as those about the environmental impacts of nanomaterials.
Photorefractive and photochromic polymers as adaptive beam combiners for laser-based ultrasound detection

Summary form only given. Photorefractive materials have attracted interest in the detection of phase modulated signals as the transient hologram in the material can convert the phase modulation into an amplitude modulation. Due to the very nature of the hologram, the principle also works for speckled beams, which enables operation with beams reflected from non-mirror-like surfaces. As the transient hologram can adapt to changes slower than the material response time, noise with frequencies below the response time is rejected, leading to better signal-to-noise ratios. These features make photorefractive materials attractive for the remote detection of ultrasonic waves in workpieces for quality testing in industrial production.
TET-catalyzed 5-hydroxymethylcytosine regulates gene expression in differentiating colonocytes and colon cancer

The formation of differentiated cell types from pluripotent progenitors involves epigenetic regulation of gene expression. DNA hydroxymethylation results from the enzymatic oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) by the ten-eleven translocation (TET) 5-mC dioxygenase enzymes. Previous work has mapped changes in 5-mC during differentiation of intestinal stem cells. However, whether or not 5-hmC regulates colonocyte differentiation is unknown. Here we show that 5-hmC regulates gene expression during colonocyte differentiation and controls gene expression in human colon cancers. Genome-wide profiling of 5-hmC during in vitro colonic differentiation demonstrated that 5-hmC is gained at highly expressed and induced genes and is associated with intestinal transcription factor binding sites, including those for HNF4A and CDX2. TET1 induction occurred during differentiation, and TET1 knockdown altered gene expression and inhibited barrier formation of colonocytes. We find that the 5-hmC distribution in primary human colonocytes parallels the distribution found in differentiated cells in vitro, and that gene-specific 5-hmC changes in human colon cancers are directly correlated with changes in gene expression. Our results support a model in which 5-hmC regulates differentiation of adult human intestine and 5-hmC alterations contribute to the disrupted gene expression in colon cancer.
Infrastructuring aid: materializing humanitarianism in northern Kenya:

In numerous African countries humanitarian and development organizations—as well as governments—are expanding expenditures on social protection schemes as a means of poverty alleviation. These init...
Retinoschisis in Pars Planitis

ABSTRACTPurpose: To describe the course of retinoschisis in patients with pars planitis (PP).Methods: Chart review of PP patients seen July 2012–September 2014 at a single institution.Results: Included were 34 patients (68 eyes). Uveitis was bilateral in all cases. Thirteen eyes (19%) developed retinoschisis. In six patients (86%), the schisis was bilateral. The average follow-up of patients with schisis was 7 years; the average best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/22 at last follow-up. Schisis was noted to develop or progress in patients with both active and inactive inflammation. Five eyes of five patients underwent vitrectomy; three for disease control, with scleral buckle to reduce residual traction. Two eyes required vitrectomy for retinal detachment with progressive schisis, despite inactive uveitis. Seven eyes remained stable without intervention.Conclusions: Retinoschisis is a common complication in patients with PP. It is typically bilateral, and may develop or progress, despite control of ...
Effect of host factors in the cure of gram-negative bacterial infections

It has been shown among patients with gram negative bacterial infections, either life-threatening bacteraemia or common urinary tract infections, that categorical host factors markedly impinge on the observed effects of treatment with antimicrobial drugs. These factors have statistical significance in predicting the results that will be obtained with any particular chemotherapeutic regimen. The mechanisms mediating the host effects are not known, but in bacteraemia some conditions such as those that cause a decrease in circulating phagocytes, deficient function of fixed macrophages, delayed bacterial clearance and a reduced tolerance to shock, can be assumed to be important. In others, such as urinary tract infections, the finality of the eradication of bacteria from infected tissues may be paramount. The host factors are independent of, but also influence and integrate the effect of specific bacterial and drug features of infection and treatment. Readily recognizable clinical conditions permit some grouping of patients by host categories in order to make comparable analysis of antimicrobial drugs and regimens. In the search for clinical measures of synergy, host effects may dominate and obscure differences observed in vitro or in experimental infections in animals. However, the treatment of infection in host comparable groups of patients provides the opportunity to examine critically the clinical applicability of in vitro synergy and to devise more meaningful tests and procedures to achieve synergy in the treatment of infection in persons with unfavourable host conditions.
Some Ecological Notes on Lotic Dipteran Emergence in Prater's Creek, South Carolina

As a natural function of lotic systems, water current tends to carry invertebrate fauna downstream. Many authors have investigated this drift as an index of productivity (Waters 1961, 1962a, 1966; Dimond 1967) as well as an index of the diurnal periodicity of certain benthos (Waters 1962b, 1968; Muller 1963; Elliott 1967a; Holt and Waters 1967; Pearson and Franklin 1968). Elliott (1967b) found that drifting behavior and life-history phenomena were related closely in the Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera. Anderson (1967) and Elliott (1968) related the drifting behavior of certain Trichoptera with their life-history stages. Because emergence patterns seemed to be related to drift in other orders of aquatic insects, it seemed logical that dipteran emergence times should correspond to fluctuations in the drift of the imagoes. Thus the object of this study was to investigate the relationship between dipteran emergence times, daily and monthly, and imaginal drift.
Intranasal landmarks for adequate L-strut preservation during endoscopic septoplasty.

BackgroundA 10- to 15-mm L-strut in the dorsal and caudal areas of the nasal septum is preserved during septoplasty to maintain structural stability and prevent external deformity. However, during ...
Humanitarianism in the Preindustrial City: The New York Society for the Prevention of Pauperism, 1817–1823

THE course of American humanitarianism in the early nineteenth century was strongly influenced by the forces of social transformation which swept the nation after 1815.1 The disturbing and unwholesome results of heavy immigration, rapid urbanization, and industrialization particularly affected the rising seaport cities. In New York City reformers sought to remove the social ills associated with these changes, improve the quality of urban life, and restore order to an increasingly chaotic society. Voluntary associations were formed for every imaginable humanitarian purpose: to assist widows and orphans, immigrants and Negroes, debtors and prisoners, aged females and young prostitutes; to supply the poor with food, fuel, medicine, employment, and religion; to promote morality, temperance, thrift, and industrious habits; to educate poor children in free schools, Sunday schools, and charity schools; to reform gamblers, drinkers, criminals, juvenile delinquents, and ungodly sailors; and to purge the lower classes of their supposed vices. Although the spirit of Christian benevolence and the rationalism of the Enlightenment continued to motivate New Yorkers as it had in an earlier period, the demand for social control of a rapidly growing population and an ideology of moral stewardship increasingly compromised humanitarian fervor. In its attitudes, assumptions, and activities the New York Society for the Prevention of Pauperism (S.P.P.) typified philanthropic reform in the preindustrial city.2 Mr. Mohl is assistant professor of history in Florida Atlantic University. The author acknowledges the financial assistance of the Samuel Fels Fund, the American Philosophical Society, and the Indiana University Foundation.
Do Accelerators Accelerate? The Role of Indirect Learning in New Venture Development

A fundamental challenge for new ventures is overcoming liabilities of newness - particularly, lack of relevant knowledge. Accelerators, intense, time-compressed entrepreneurial programs, attempt to alleviate these liabilities by providing ventures with intensive learning. While accelerators have rapidly emerged as prominent players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and other practitioners have continued to raise questions about their efficacy. Mirroring such concerns, extant organizational theories offer competing predictions about whether and for which ventures accelerator participation might be beneficial. Drawing on hybrid empirical methods that triangulate across multiple quantitative and qualitative analyses, we consistently find evidence that many accelerators do indeed aid and accelerate venture development and that their effects are neither due purely to selection or credentialing. Intriguingly, our results also indicate that accelerator participation complements rather than substitutes for many forms of prior founder experience (e.g., having worked for a company that produces a lot of startups). Overall, we contribute by pioneering work on the nature and outcomes of accelerators, offering insight into the fundamental value of intensive indirect learning (vs direct learning) in new ventures and extending understanding of how organizations may speed products and services to market.
Comparative Study of Integrating Technique for Wind Power between China and Germany

Germany is the first country to conduct the research on wind power integrating techniques,technical standards and related policies,which make it at the leading position globally in wind power management.The comparison between Germany and China in respect of integration strategies,technical standards and certification systems is made to borrow the advanced experience from Germany and improve the integration techniques and social accommodation level in China.
Verapamil-induced hyperprolactinemia complicated by a pituitary incidentaloma.

Objective:To describe a patient with an incidental pituitary lesion who experienced verapamil-induced hyperprolactinemia.Case Summary:A patient experiencing impotence was found to have increased prolactin and low testosterone concentrations. Verapamil as a cause for his increased prolactin concentration was not considered initially. The patient underwent extensive testing to rule out a pituitary tumor. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a 6-mm lesion consistent with a pituitary microadenoma that had remained unchanged for 6 months. Verapamil therapy was discontinued and within 1 month the patient's prolactin concentration decreased from 46.8 to 14.4 μg/L, and has remained within normal limits.Discussion:We reviewed reports of verapamil-induced hyperprolactinemia. This case was unique as this patient had an incidental pituitary lesion that was not responsible for increasing the prolactin concentration in our patient, but rather complicated the identification of a drug-induced disorder.Conclusions:The failur...
Identification of Differentially Expressed miRNAs in Appendiceal Mucinous Cystadenocarcinoma from Mucinous Cystadenoma.

Objective: Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of appendix is a rare entity. To differentiated mucinous cystadenocarcinoma from mucinous cystadenoma is very challenging and depends on establishing the presence of malignant cells in the appendix wall. The invasion may be very difficult to assess in some cases, especially in early stages of the disease, which could have devastating prognostic effects on patients. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an ancillary test that can differentiate the mucinous cystadenocarcinoma from mucinous cystadenoma. So far, there is no report available about the role of differentially expressed miRNAs in the diagnosis of appendiceal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: Six confirmed mucinous appendiceal cystadenocarcinoma and twelve mucinous appendiceal cystadenoma cases were selected. The total RNAs were extracted from the formalin-fixed paraffinembedded specimen of these cases. The comprehensive miRNA microarray expression profiling from pooled aliquots of RNA samples from these two entities were analyzed to detect the differentially expressed miRNAs in mucinous cystadenocarcinoma. The best seven differentially expressed miRNAs were validated in individual cases by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: The microarray miRNA expression profiling analysis revealed 646 miRNAs that were differentially expressed in the mucinous cystadenocarcinoma. Among these differentially expressed miRNAs, the expression of 80 miRNAs showed statistical difference (p<0.01). The quantitative RT-PCR validated that the expression of miR-1, miR-4328 was significantly down regulated in mucinous cystadenocarcinoma compared to the mucinous cystadenoma (p<0.05). On the other hand, the expression of miR-200b, miR-200c, miR-451, miR-223 and miR-21 were significantly increased in mucinous cystadenocarcinoma (p<0.05). Conclusion: The expression levels of miRNAs tested were significantly altered in the appendiceal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma samples compared to the mucinous cystadenoma. These data suggest that the miRNA expression in mucinous appendiceal neoplasm may help to supplement the morphological evaluation in distinguishing benign from malignant tumors.
Synthesis of 9,10‐Dimethyl‐2,3,6,7‐Anthracenetetra(thioacetate) and Benzenepentathiol; Improved Syntheses of 1,2,4,5‐Benzenetetra(thioacetate) and Benzenehexathiol

A synthesis is reported for 9,10-dimethyl-2,3,6,7-anthracenetetra(thioacetate), an anthracenetetrathiol derivative that may find use in molecular electronics and conducting metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The easily accessible 2,3,6,7-tetrahydroxy-9,10-dimethylanthracene was treated with 2-(4-pyridyl)ethanethiol in molten p-toluenesulfonic acid to yield the tetra(thioether), which was methylated and then deprotected with triethylamine in the presence of acetic anhydride to yield 9,10-dimethyl-2,3,6,7-anthracenetetra(thioacetate), a protected form of the tetrathiol. Separately, the first synthesis of benzenepentathiol and streamlined syntheses of 1,2,4,5-benzenetetra(thioacetate) and benzenehexathiol are reported.
Transgenic Expression of IL15 Selectively Expands Antigen Specific Cytotoxic T Cells (CTLs) Enhancing Their Anti-Tumor Effect In Vivo.

The anti-tumor effect of adoptively transferred tumor-specific CTLs is impaired by the limited capacity of these cells to expand within the tumor microenvironment. Administration of IL2 has been used to overcome this limitation, but the systemic toxicity and the potential expansion of unwanted cells including regulatory T cells limit the clinical value of this strategy. To discover whether transgenic expression of lymphokines by the CTLs themselves might overcome these limitations, we compared the effects of transgenic expression of IL2 and IL15 in our model of tumor antigen-Epstein Barr Virus-specific CTLs (EBV-CTLs). Bicistronic retroviral vectors were generated encoding hIL2 or hIL15 and a truncated form of the human CD34 molecule (DCD34) as a marker to track transgenic cells. The two genes were linked using a 2A peptide cleavable sequence. Based on the expression of CD34, the transduction rate was 29±6%, 26±12% and 34±19% respectively for CTLs/IL2v, CTLs/IL15v and CTLs/DCD34 alone. Twenty eight days after stimulation with the antigen (LCLs) at E:T ratio 1:1, we observed significant expansion of CTLs/IL2v (2283 fold expansion, range 410–5131) and CTLs/IL15v (1194, range 41–3420) compared to CTLs/DCD34 without cytokines ( 90% CD3+/CD8+) and remained polyclonal as assessed by staining for the TCRVb repertoire. Antigenic specificity was maintained since CTLs/IL2v and CTLs/IL15v killed autologous LCLs (40±10% at E:T ratio 20:1) but not allogeneic LCLs or K562 cells ( 0.8–1 cm, while 5/7 mice receiving CTLs/IL15v or CTLs/IL2v had undetectable tumor. In conclusion, our data indicate that transgenic expression of either IL2 or IL15 improves the expansion and anti-tumor effect of EBV-CTLs in vivo. However, IL15 preferentially expands transduced CTLs, and may avoid an increase of unwanted cells in the tumor microenvironment.
Detecting Social Insects in Videos Using Spatiotemporal Regularization

The studies of the network formed by social insects require the motion analysis of their interactions and movements in videos over an extended period of time. Automated detection is an important field of interest because it enables the motion analysis in large-scale experiments. When an automated detection method is applied to various insect types, the training task often involves the collection of a large number of labels provided by human experts. To save the experts' time and effort, unlabeled data have been recently employed to supplement the training. In this paper, we utilize the spatiotemporal connectivity of the unlabeled data to regulate the training of a detector on a new insect type. Our key contribution is integrating the spatiotemporal connectivity among the unlabeled samples to determine the weighting scheme of the existing classifiers from multiple sources. The evaluation on 3 data sets of social insects consisting of 6,000 samples demonstrates that a detector trained using our method can achieve comparable performance to previous approaches while reducing the training labels up to 16 times. Since the proposed method is based on regularizing the unlabeled samples based on their spatiotemporal connectivity, we refer to it as the Spatio-Temporally Regularized Adaptive Learning (STRAL).
Spark on the ARC: Big data analytics frameworks on HPC clusters

In this paper we document our approach to overcoming service discovery and configuration of Apache Hadoop and Spark frameworks with dynamic resource allocations in a batch oriented Advanced Research Computing (ARC) High Performance Computing (HPC) environment. ARC efforts have produced a wide variety of HPC architectures. A common HPC architectural pattern is multi-node compute clusters with low-latency, high-performance interconnect fabrics and shared central storage. This pattern enables processing of workloads with high data co-dependency, frequently solved with message passing interface (MPI) programming models, and then executed as batch jobs. Unfortunately, many HPC programming paradigms are not well suited to big data workloads which are often easily separable. Our approach lowers barriers of entry to HPC environments by enabling end users to utilize Apache Hadoop and Spark frameworks that support big data oriented programming paradigms appropriate for separable workloads in batch oriented HPC environments.
Tuning the Cavity Size and Chirality of Self-Assembling 3D DNA Crystals.

The foundational goal of structural DNA nanotechnology—the field that uses oligonucleotides as a molecular building block for the programmable self-assembly of nanostructured systems—was to use DNA to construct three-dimensional (3D) lattices for solving macromolecular structures. The programmable nature of DNA makes it an ideal system for rationally constructing self-assembled crystals and immobilizing guest molecules in a repeating 3D array through their specific stereospatial interactions with the scaffold. In this work, we have extended a previously described motif (4 × 5) by expanding the structure to a system that links four double-helical layers; we use a central weaving oligonucleotide containing a sequence of four six-base repeats (4 × 6), forming a matrix of layers that are organized and dictated by a series of Holliday junctions. In addition, we have assembled mirror image crystals (l-DNA) with the identical sequence that are completely resistant to nucleases. Bromine and selenium derivatives w...
Use of Analog Signatures for Hardware Trojan Detection

Malicious Hardware Trojans can corrupt data which if undetected may cause serious harm. We propose a technique where characteristics of the data itself are used to detect Hardware Trojan (HT) attacks. In particular, we use a two-chip approach where we generate a data "signature" in analog and test for the signature in a partially reconfigurable digital microchip where the HT may attack. This paper presents an overall signature-based HT detection architecture and case study for cardiovascular signals used in medical device technology. Our results show that with minimal performance and area overhead, the proposed architecture is able to detect HT attacks on primary data inputs as well as on multiple modules of the design.
Patients with rare diseases: from therapeutic orphans to pioneers of personalized treatments

Common diseases, such as cancer, diabetes mellitus, or Alzheimer9s disease, affect a large segment of the population, which justifies the enormous financial allocations for translational and clinical research. In contrast, the ~5,000 known rare disorders affect only very few patients each, even though the cumulative disease burden is substantial. This influences not only the general appreciation of research to address rare diseases, but also the allocation of research funds. Importantly, however, studying rare diseases has contributed enormously to our understanding of human biochemistry, cell and developmental biology, and physiology. For example, Linus Pauling and Vernon Ingram9s discovery of a structural difference and amino acid variant in the beta‐globin protein, which causes monogenic hemoglobinopathies such as sickle cell disease or thalassemia, issued in the era of molecular medicine (Pauling et al , 1949). Subsequently, numerous genetic defects in critical genes controlling differentiation and/or function of cells and organs have been identified and opened new possibilities for molecular diagnosis.
Studie III: Längsschnittstudie zu Stabilität, Bedingungen und Effekten selbstbezogener Ziele

Aufbauend auf den bisherigen beiden Studien wurde in Studie III eine dezidierte Aufklarung der Wirkrichtungen zwischen selbstbezogenen Zielen in Lehre und Forschung sowie den im Rahmenmodell (vgl. Abbildung 13) als Determinanten und Konsequenzen verorteten Variablen verfolgt, wahrend zusatzlich die zeitliche Stabilitat der Ziele untersucht und die Moderation zwischen Lehre und Forschung abschliesend geklart werden sollte. Dadurch wurden intern valide Aussagen zu den Bedingungsfaktoren und Effekten der Ziele ermoglicht, was zum umfassenden Verstandnis des Konstrukts selbstbezogener Ziele von Wissenschaftler(inne)n beitrug.
Adult Reconstruction Hip and Knee Fellowship Program Content and Accessibility

Abstract Background The objective of the study was to assess the accessibility and content of accredited adult reconstruction hip and knee fellowship program websites. Methods Using the online database of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS), we compiled a list of accredited adult hip and knee/tumor reconstruction fellowship programs. A full list of adult reconstruction hip and knee fellowship programs was gathered from the AAHKS website. The program website links they provided were evaluated. A Google search was conducted to identify program websites and analyzed for accessibility and content in 3 domains: program overview, applying/recruitment, and education. Results At the time the study was conducted, there were 78 accredited adult reconstruction hip and knee fellowship programs identified through the AAHKS program directory. Three of the 78 programs identified had a functional link on the AAHKS fellowship program directory; however, Google search identified 60 websites. Eighteen programs did not have a website and were not evaluated for content. Data analysis of content in the domains of program details, application process/recruitment, and education revealed that most websites included a program description and director name with contact information. However, they were not as comprehensive in the application process/recruitment and education domains. Conclusions AAHKS provides a reasonable method of identifying programs. Yet, most programs can readily be identified using a Google search (76.9%). Although most fellowship program websites contained program details, there is still paucity of information for fellowship candidates.
Personality Factors and Their Impact on PTSD and Post-traumatic Growth is Mediated by Coping Style Among OIF/OEF Veterans.

Introduction Traumatic experiences can trigger negative effects such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, some individuals may also experience positive changes following trauma exposure. These changes are known as post-traumatic growth (PTG). Dispositional and situational factors are likely at play in determining both severity of PTSD symptoms and whether and to what degree an individual experiences PTG. This study examined how coping style and personality traits interact to influence PTSD and PTG. Materials and methods Two hundred and seventy-one Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom veterans not engaged in mental health treatment completed self-report measures of trauma exposure, personality traits, coping styles, PTSD symptoms, and PTG. The study was approved by the Minneapolis VAHCS Institutional Review Board. Results Adaptive coping and positive personality traits such as openness were positively correlated with PTG. Maladaptive coping and neuroticism were positively correlated with PTSD symptoms. Regression analyses indicated that an inverted-U (quadratic) curve characterized the relationship between PTSD symptoms and PTG; veterans who reported moderate PTSD levels reported the most PTG. Mediation analyses revealed that adaptive coping partially mediated the relationship between openness and PTG. Maladaptive coping partially mediated the relationship between neuroticism and PTSD symptoms. Conclusion This study demonstrated that coping style mediated relationships between personality traits and post-trauma outcomes. Our findings are subject to the limitations of the self-report and cross-sectional nature of the data. Longitudinal studies, preferably incorporating coping-oriented interventions, could convincingly demonstrate the impact of coping style on PTSD and PTG. As coping styles can be modified, our findings nonetheless suggest that coping-oriented clinical intervention has potential to reduce PTSD symptoms and promote positive growth following trauma exposure.
Droplet departure modeling and a heat transfer correlation for dropwise flow condensation in hydrophobic mini-channels

Abstract Droplet nucleation, growth, coalescence, and departure control dropwise condensation heat transfer. Smaller droplets are associated with higher heat transfer coefficients due to their lower liquid thermal resistances. Unlike quiescent dropwise condensation with gravity-driven droplet departure, droplet departure sizes in flow condensation are governed by flow-droplet shear forces and droplet-solid adhesive forces. This research models droplet departure, droplet size distributions, and heat transfer through single droplets under different flow conditions. Heat transfer through single droplets includes the thermal resistances at the vapor-liquid interface, temperature depression across the curved surface, conduction in the liquid droplet, and conduction through the surface promoter (e.g., Teflon). Droplet size distributions were determined for two ranges using the population balance method and power law function for small and large droplets, respectively. Droplet departure sizes (e.g., 10–500 µm) were derived using force balances between drag forces (obtained using FLUENT) and droplet-solid adhesive forces (determined using a third-order polynomial for contact angle distribution along contact line). The analytical model was compared to experimental flow condensation heat transfer data in a Teflon AF™-coated rectangular mini-gap with hydraulic diameters of 0.95 and 1.8 mm. The correlation was compared against experiments with a steam mass flux range of 35–75 kg/m2 s and quality of 0.2–0.9. There was good agreement between the model and experimental data; without any curving fitting, the mean absolute errors of the heat transfer correlation were 9.6% and 8.8% respectively for the 0.95-mm and 1.8-mm mini-gaps.