cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 2418: Establishment and characterization of a primary chordoma xenograft

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL Chordomas are slow growing, malignant cancers believed to originate from notochord remnants. Chordoma accounts for 1% of cancers of the central nervous system with an annual incidence of 0.08 cases per 100,000 individuals. There are 3 different histologic subtypes- classic chordoma, chondroid chordoma, and dedifferentiated chordoma. Chordomas are characterized by the presence of physaliphorous cells with vacuolated cytoplasm and high expression of the transcription factor T Brachury. Management of chordoma is primarily surgical – chemotherapy and radiation therapy have limited effect. The development of effective treatments for this tumor is hampered by the lack of adequate animal models. We report here the establishment of the first primary xenograft model of chordoma. Tumor excised from a patient diagnosed with classic chordoma was implanted adjacent to the right proximal tibia in a NOD/SCID/IL2Rγ (null) mouse. The resulting tumor has been serially transplanted at least 10 times with no diminution in growth rate over time. Histologically, the xenograft does not appear to be a classic chordoma; interestingly, the patient from whom the xenograft was derived relapsed with a dedifferentiated morphology. To confirm the identity of the tumor xenograft, T brachyury expression was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and PCR. We have begun to characterize this xenograft by gene expression profiling and comparative genomic hybridization. Expression profiling results were verified by RT-PCR. Cells isolated from xenografts were analyzed by the Aldefluor assay to assess the levels of expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase activity. A cell line was generated from this xenograft as well and is being characterized. In summary, we report here the establishment of the first primary chordoma xenograft. Initial molecular characterization of the xenograft and a cell line derived from this tumor is ongoing. These tools will shed valuable light on the pathophysiology of this rare tumor and allow the preclinical development of novel treatment strategies. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2418. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2418
Bismuth Overlayer Formation on GaAs(110)

The temperature and coverage dependent ordering of bismuth overlayers on GaAs(110) is examined using low energy electron diffraction (LEED). Sixth order electron diffraction profiles associated with overlayer ordering are observed at coverages of 0.7, 1.0, and 1.5 monolayers (ML) and for temperatures ranging from -110 C to 200 C. The full-width at half-maxima (FWHM) of the sixth-order spots are examined. Profile analysis reveals narrowing widths with increasing annealing temperature, indicating an improvement of the long-range ordering of the overlayers. Differences in inter- and intrachain ordering are observed, analyzed, and discussed.
Competency-based education: programme design and challenges to implementation.

Context Competency-based education (CBE) has been widely cited as an educational framework for medical students and residents, and provides a framework for designing educational programmes that reflect four critical features: a focus on outcomes, an emphasis on abilities, a reduction of emphasis on time-based training, and promotion of learner centredness. Each of these features has implications and potential challenges for implementing CBE. Methods As an experiment in CBE programme design and implementation, the University of Michigan Master of Health Professions Education (UM-MHPE) degree programme was examined for lessons to be learned when putting CBE into practice. The UM-MHPE identifies 12 educational competencies and 20 educational entrustable professional activities (EPAs) that serve as the vehicle for both learning and assessment. The programme also defines distinct roles of faculty members as assessors, mentors and subject-matter experts focused on highly individualised learning plans adapted to each learner. Conclusions Early experience with implementing the UM-MHPE indicates that EPAs and competencies can provide a viable alternative to traditional courses and a vehicle for rigorous assessment. A high level of individualisation is feasible but carries with it significant costs and makes intentional community building essential. Most significantly, abandoning a time-based framework is a difficult innovation to implement in a university structure that is predicated on time-based education.
Lymphoma of the parotid gland in Sjögren's syndrome.

Introduction: Sjogren’s Syndrome is a chronic auto immune disorder manifested by lymphocytic infiltration of the exocrine glands, particularly the salivary and lacrimal glands. Methodology: Our case is that of a 60 year-old female with insidious slowly progressive development of dry eyes and mouth. A soft tissue mass was identified in the parotid area. A Computed Tomography (CT) examination revealed a nodular appearance of both parotid glands. Conclusions: CT and MR can demonstrate findings consistent with Sjogren’s syndrome. The parotid glands reveal a punctate or nodular appearance representing globular collections. These findings are nonspecific.
Microtubules are acetylated in domains that turn over slowly

Tubulin is subject to a post-translational acetylation reaction that is thought to be correlated with increased stability of the modified microtubules (MTs). We sought to test directly the stability of acetylated MTs by determining their specific rate of turnover. We used human fibroblasts, which contain a subset of MTs that display terminal and internal domains of acetylation. The turnover of acetylated domains was analysed by microinjecting cells with biotinylated brain tubulin and determining, by triple-label immunofluorescence, the progress of incorporation of biotinylated tubulin into acetylated and non-acetylated domains. Within two minutes after injection, biotinylated domains were contiguous with virtually all observed non-acetylated MT ends but were not contiguous with terminal acetylated domains, demonstrating that the former were growing while the latter were not. Ten minutes after injection, many MTs lacking acetylated domains had incorporated biotinylated subunits uniformly while most MTs containing acetylated domains remained unlabelled, indicating that non-acetylated MTs were turning over while most acetylated domains were not. One hour after injection, virtually all non-acetylated MTs were labelled with biotin whereas approximately half of the acetylated domains contained biotin, demonstrating that acetylated domains turned over much more slowly than the non-acetylated, bulk array. Non-acetylated MT regions flanking acetylated domains also lacked hapten, indicating that acetylation modified discrete regions along stable MTs. Sixteen hours after injection, cells that had not entered mitosis still retained acetylated domains that had not turned over (13% of all acetylated domains), indicating that acetylated domains can be extremely long-lived.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Substrates and Materials

The choice of substrate and the material requirements for GaN-based power transistors for switching applications strongly depend on the device architecture. While to date most efforts have been directed toward the fabrication of lateral devices, vertical device layouts have recently gained interest, catalyzed by the progress in the development of larger size bulk GaN substrates. The vertical devices have the advantage that the high fields are held within the bulk of the material rather than on the surface. Large-area GaN substrates, however, are still very expensive, making a lateral device layout on a foreign substrate such as silicon, which is available in wafer sizes up to 12″, currently more attractive.
Marijuana use and sex with multiple partners among lesbian, gay and bisexual youth: results from a national sample.

Sex with multiple partners (SMP) is one of the important contributing factors for contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among adolescents and young adults, especially among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) youth. Past studies mainly focus on examining associations of alcohol or club drugs use with unprotected sexual behaviors among adult homo/bisexual men, while little is known about the temporal association between marijuana use (MU) and SMP among LGB youth. This study examined the relationship between MU and SMP among LGB adolescents and young adults. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) logistic regression analyses were utilized to analyze four waves’ public-use Add Health data (N = 694, youth who reported a homo/bisexual status at any wave; Wave 1: aged 11–21; Wave 4: aged 24–32). After adjusting for other substance use, current depression, mother-child relationship quality at Wave 1, and socioeconomic variables, past-year MU was both concurrently and prospectively associated with past-year SMP. The moderating effect of age was not found. MU is concurrently and prospectively associated with increased odds of SMP in the adolescent sample and in the young adult sample. Findings imply that prevention/intervention on HIV risk behaviors may benefit from MU reduction not only in LGB adolescents but also in young adults.
Are Consumers Willing to Pay for Local Chicken Breasts and Pork Chops

Consumer definitions of and demand for locally produced meat were collected via an online survey of 625 U.S. residents. Consumer choice experiments were utilised to elicit willingness to pay for lo...
Charting a Course for Precision Oncology

The fields of science have undergone dramatic reorganizations as they have come to terms with the realities of the growing complexities of their problem set, the costs, and the breadth of skills needed to make major progress. A field such as particle physics transformed from principal investigator-driven research supported by an electron synchrotron in the basement of your physics building in the 1950s, to regional centers when costs became prohibitive to refresh technology everywhere, driving larger teams of scientists to cooperate in the 1970s, to international centers where multinational teams work together to achieve progress. The 2013 Nobel Prize winning discovery of the Higgs boson would have been unlikely without such team science.[1] Other fields such as the computational sciences are well on their way through such a transformation. Today, we see precision medicine as a field that will need to come to terms with new organizational principles in order to make major progress, including everyone from individual medical researchers to pharma. Interestingly, the Cancer Moonshot has helped move thinking in that direction for part of the community and now the initiative has been transformed into law.[2]
An assessment of the performance of global rainfall estimates without ground-based observations

Abstract. Satellite-based rainfall estimates over land have great potential for a wide range of applications, but their validation is challenging due to the scarcity of ground-based observations of rainfall in many areas of the planet. Recent studies have suggested the use of triple collocation (TC) to characterize uncertainties associated with rainfall estimates by using three collocated rainfall products. However, TC requires the simultaneous availability of three products with mutually uncorrelated errors, a requirement which is difficult to satisfy with current global precipitation data sets. In this study, a recently developed method for rainfall estimation from soil moisture observations, SM2RAIN, is demonstrated to facilitate the accurate application of TC within triplets containing two state-of-the-art satellite rainfall estimates and a reanalysis product. The validity of different TC assumptions are indirectly tested via a high-quality ground rainfall product over the contiguous United States (CONUS), showing that SM2RAIN can provide a truly independent source of rainfall accumulation information which uniquely satisfies the assumptions underlying TC. On this basis, TC is applied with SM2RAIN on a global scale in an optimal configuration to calculate, for the first time, reliable global correlations (vs. an unknown truth) of the aforementioned products without using a ground benchmark data set. The analysis is carried out during the period 2007–2012 using daily rainfall accumulation products obtained at 1° × 1° spatial resolution. Results convey the relatively high performance of the satellite rainfall estimates in eastern North and South America, southern Africa, southern and eastern Asia, eastern Australia, and southern Europe, as well as complementary performances between the reanalysis product and SM2RAIN, with the first performing reasonably well in the Northern Hemisphere and the second providing very good performance in the Southern Hemisphere. The methodology presented in this study can be used to identify the best rainfall product for hydrologic models with sparsely gauged areas and provide the basis for an optimal integration among different rainfall products.
Type-1 Fuzzy Systems: Design Methods and Applications

This chapter focuses first on what exactly “design of a type-1 fuzzy system” means, and then provides a tabular way for making the choices that are needed in order to fully specify a type-1 fuzzy system, and introduces two approaches to design, the partially dependent approach and the totally independent approach. It then describes six design methods for designing a type-1 fuzzy system, namely: one-pass, least squares, derivative-based, SVD-QR, derivative-free and iterative. It then introduces and covers three case studies (forecasting of time series, knowledge mining using surveys, and fuzzy logic control, all of which are reexamined in Chap. 10), as well as the applications of forecasting of compressed video traffic, and rule-based classification of video traffic. Twelve examples are used to illustrate the chapter’s important concepts.
Variation in the Diagnostic Evaluation among Persons with Hematuria: Influence of Gender, Race and Risk Factors for Bladder Cancer

Purpose: We sought to determine whether race, gender and number of bladder cancer risk factors are significant predictors of hematuria evaluation.Materials and Methods: We used self-reported data from SCCS (Southern Community Cohort Study) linked to Medicare claims data. Evaluation of subjects diagnosed with incident hematuria was considered complete if imaging and cystoscopy were performed within 180 days of diagnosis. Exposures of interest were race, gender and risk factors for bladder cancer.Results: Of the 1,412 patients evaluation was complete in 261 (18%). On our adjusted analyses African American patients were less likely than Caucasian patients to undergo any aspect of evaluation, including urology referral (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.56–0.93), cystoscopy (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.50–0.89) and imaging (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.59–0.95). Women were less likely than men to be referred to a urologist (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.46–0.76). Also, although all patients with 2 or 3 risk factors had 31% higher odds of urology referral (O...
Motivating Savings Behavior With Public Service Advertisements: Using Social Norms and Benefit Information to Encourage Savings

ABSTRACTPersonal savings rates in the United States are low, creating potentially negative consequences for individuals and the population. As positively influencing savings behavior for the public is a crucial task, this study conducted two experiments to test the effects of social norms and benefit information and the moderating role of an individual’s financial responsibility in increasing the effectiveness of public service advertisements promoting savings behavior. Study 1 tested the effects of a social norm, in conjunction with benefits to saving, on individuals who varied with respect to financial responsibility. In light of Study 1 results, Study 2 replicated this design with a more socially and spatially proximal norm. Taken together, the results supported that compliance to norm and benefit information varied with financial responsibility level. Implications for social norm theory and improving social marketing campaigns to promote saving are provided.
A Demonstration of the DeDoS Platform for Defusing Asymmetric DDoS Attacks in Data Centers

We propose a demonstration of DeDoS, a platform for mitigating asymmetric DDoS attacks. These attacks are particularly challenging since attackers using limited resources can exhaust the resources of even well-provisioned servers. DeDoS resolves this by splitting monolithic software stacks into separable components called minimum splittable units (MSUs). If part of the application stack is experiencing a DDoS attack, DeDoS can massively replicate only the affected MSUs, potentially across many machines. This allows scaling of the impacted resource separately from the rest of the application stack so that resources can be precisely added where needed to combat the attack. Our demonstration will show that DeDoS incurs reasonable overheads in normal operations and that it significantly outperforms naive replication when defending against a range of asymmetric attacks.
Progressive structural modification to a zinc-actuated photoinduced electron transfer (PeT) switch in the context of intracellular zinc imaging

Photoinduced electron transfer (PeT)-type fluorescent molecular switches are often applied in ion-selective sensors. Zinc-targeting sensors that contain an anilino-based electron donor (aka, the PeT ‘switch’) have multiple advantages over those with an aliphatic amino switch. In addition to the lower pKa value of an aniline than that of a comparably substituted aliphatic amine, which reduces the interference of pH on the spectral properties of the attached fluorophore, the oxidation potentials of anilino groups are lower than those of aliphatic amino counterparts, which make them better electron donors in PeT. The effectiveness of anilino as a PeT switch is evaluated in a series of zinc-sensitive sensors that contain different fluorophores, zinc-binding ligands, and alkyl linkers between ligand and fluorophore. The abilities of these compounds to distinguish high and low intracellular zinc concentrations in living cells are demonstrated.
Imaging Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy

Cardiac stem cell therapy is a promising approach to repair an injured heart. Noninvasive imaging can be tremendously useful for characterizing its therapeutic mechanisms and efficacy. In this chapter, we summarize the roles of various imaging modalities in assessing cell fate and cardiac function following stem cell therapy. The advancement of these imaging technologies is crucial for the full clinical translation of cardiac stem cell therapy.
Zhang Peili: Record. Repeat.

Review of Exhibition catalog: Orianna Cacchione, Zhang Peili: Record. Repeat. Exh. Cat. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2017. 96 pp.; 50 color ills. Hardback $25.00 (9780300226225) Exhibition schedule: Art Institute of Chicago, March 31–July 9, 2017
Long-Term Cognitive Impairment after Hospitalization for Community-Acquired Pneumonia: a Prospective Cohort Study

Background Recent studies suggest older patients hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia are at risk for new-onset cognitive impairment. The characteristics of long-term cognitive impairment after pneumonia, however, have not been elucidated.
Water transport in starchy foods: Experimental and mathematical aspects

Abstract Background The availability and movement of water inside the food materials play essential roles for food stability by affecting their physical and chemical properties, and microbiological activity. Understanding the moisture sorption behavior is a necessary step to control food properties. Food processing unit operations like drying and cooking influence the behavior of starch since such systems trigger swelling or shrinkage as a result of moisture sorption or desorption mechanisms. Also, these processes alter many aspects of starch-containing foods such as acceptability, nutritional value, quality, and shelf-life. Scope and approach Therefore, understanding the water transport in starchy foods and the changes occurring in functional properties of starch has a great importance to describe and model their sorption and drying behavior. First, the primary mechanisms occurring during water transport such as moisture sorption, swelling, gelatinization, and glass transition are discussed using experimental results presented in the literature. Additionally, the hybrid mixture theory (HMT) and its potential for predicting transport mechanisms in starchy foods is discussed. Key findings and conclusions In addition to experimental considerations, the mathematical modeling provides complementary information to predict the heat and fluid transfer. The hybrid mixture theory based multiscale models are able to describe the physico-chemical changes and general transport mechanisms occurring within a porous food matrix. This theory can also be used to predict the quality changes in food products during processing.
Fronterización del espacio hacia el norte de la Nueva España

En Fronterizacion del espacio hacia el norte de la Nueva Espana, Cecilia Sheridan Prieto exhibe el fruto de anos de experiencia de investigacion y analisis con respecto a la coexistencia de colonizadores e indigenas durante la Colonia espanola en lo que es ahora el norte de Mexico y la frontera sur de Estados Unidos.Ellabusca comprender que significo “la frontera” para quienes desde el centro del pais la imaginaban y legislaban;para aquellos misioneros y militares que la intentaron conquistar y colonizar, y para los grupos indigenas que la habitaron. Lo que “el norte” significo para los habitantes de la Nueva Espana, explica la autora, fue construido de la mezcla de experiencias concretas e ideaspreconcebidas. Para los espanoles, la frontera norte rapidamente se convirtio en un espacio de diferencias, donde la civilizacion euroamericana confrontaba a lo salvaje e indigena, lo que justifico una serie de acciones que culminaron en intentos por aniquilar a los pueblos de indios. A lo largo del texto, Sheridan logra exponer la frontera simultaneamente como espacio geografico y fenomeno social.
Induction of experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis by a self-antigen: melanin complex without adjuvant.

Purpose Experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis (EAAU) is an organ-specific autoimmune disease induced by immunization with bovine melanin-associated antigen (MAA) and two adjuvants (complete Freund's adjuvant and purified pertussis toxin). This study was undertaken to explore whether an adjuvant is required in the induction of EAAU. Methods Insoluble MAA was extracted from the bovine iris and ciliary body. Soluble bovine MAA was derived by treatment of insoluble MAA with the proteolytic enzyme, V8 protease. Lewis rats were immunized with the insoluble or soluble antigen, with or without adjuvant (complete Freund's adjuvant and purified pertussis toxin). Adoptive transfer of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was performed to investigate the pathogenesis of EAAU. Results Experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis can be induced in Lewis rats by immunization with 100 g insoluble bovine MAA alone without the use of adjuvants. The disease can be adoptively transferred to naive syngenic rats by primed CD4+ T cells. In contrast, soluble bovine MAA was not uveitogenic unless adjuvants were employed. Conclusions The data suggest that EAAU can be induced in the Lewis rat without addition of an adjuvant. Future studies concerning the pathogenesis of EAAU can now be performed without the possible confounding effect of an adjuvant.
Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscopes (IVEM), Electron Tomography, and Single-Particle Electron Microscopy

Contemporary IVEMs as typified by those from JEOL (JEM-2010 and JEM-3010) and FEICO/Philips (Tecnai T20 and Tecnai T30) possess most of the advantages of beam penetration of HVEMs without most of the disadvantages associated with HVEM cost, stability, and Space requirements. The original IVEM units did not provide images at low accelerating voltages (100-120 kV) that were comparable with conventional TEM images, but modern IVEMs are considerably more flexible. It is now possible to achieve high resolution for both ultrathin sections and semithin sections in excess of 3 p,m with IVEMs, particularly if equipped with energy filtration systems.
The Use of Radioactive Isotopes in the Management of Prostatic Cancer

Curative radiation therapy for cancer of the prostate gland started in 1913. Subsequent experience showed that most of these tumors responded, at least partially, to various modalities of radiation. Two limiting factors were recognized: 1) the complications from radiation of adjacent organs and 2) its ineffectiveness against metastases with death occurring from disseminated tumor. In fact, even today the therapy of metastases is the key in the management of prostatic cancer. In 1951 interstitial gold radiation (198Au) was instituted by the author as either sole local therapy or as an adjunct to surgery. Metastases have been attacked by external radiation or by intravenous radioactive phosphorus (32P). Clinical staging divides cases of prostatic cancer into four groups: Stage 0 = the operable lesion confined to the prostate gland (2 % of all cases); Stage I = a lesion extending into the seminal vesicles (34 %); Stage II = local extragenital extension (44 %); and Stage III = metastatic lesions (20 %). Yet further studies point out that up to 45 % of clinical Stage I and Stage II lesions already have metastatic spread via lymphytics and 10 % have spread via the vascular route. Adjunctive use of 198Au in Stage I and II tumors is effective in 50 % of these cases if the lesion is confined locally. Results of five-year followup in 13 Stage II lesions treated by surgery only showed one patient cured. But, when interstitial 198Au was combined with surgery, 48 of 74 patients were free of disease. Of the 26 failures, only four had local recurrences. Complications of interstitial 198Au are few – mainly delayed wound healing and perineal-urinary fistula. Radiogold as an adjunct to perineal surgery is more effective than ecternal radiation. Metastatic lesions can be treated with external radiation of 1200–2500 rads in 8 to 18 days. Approximately one-third of prostatic cancers are sensitive to external radiation. Such therapy combined with estrogens is of benefit. Radioactive chromium phosphate and yttrium chloride are not as effective as 198Au and cause significant marrow depression. After testosterone priming (100 mg intramuscularly every day for five days) 32P can be used for therapy of painful metastases. Minimal marrow depression occurs. The beneficial effects may be due to inhibition of purine synthesis. 32P – polymetaphosphate, two microcuries intravenously, three times weekly, for a total dose of 16 microcuries, is now available for treatment of bone metastases. Combined with estrogen therapy, the effects are synergistic. Side effects are mainly transient leukopenia, nausea, fever and petechiea.
Increasing the Accessibility of Hands-On Science for Blind Students.

The Adapting Science Materials for the Blind (ASMB) project has developed a number of individualized sets of science activities and experiments for upper-elementary level visually handicapped stude...
Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay

Abstract Unbonded concrete overlay (UBCO) is the most used pavement rehabilitation technique across United States with an overall usage of 47% amongst all the rehabilitation methods. It is aimed to improve the performance of any deteriorated/cracked jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP). Unbonded JPCP overlay involves placement of a separation layer of hot mix asphalt (HMA), which acts as a stress relief layer between the existing concrete pavement and the overlay. There are numerous factors that affect the design and performance of UBCOs and out of these, existing pavement condition or the severity of damage of existing pavement is a prime factor. The severity of damage is described by the distressed elastic modulus thus, accurate determination of the distressed elastic modulus of the existing concrete pavement is essential for predicting the accurate performance of the unbonded overlay. This study focuses on analyzing the impact of distressed modulus by conducting simulations in the AASHTOWare pavement ME design software version 2.3 and evaluating the predicted performance of JPCP overlay for two different climatic regions. The results indicated that the distressed modulus of existing concrete pavement affects the performance of the overlay with regards to transverse cracking, joint faulting and pavement roughness. Transverse cracking is the most affected performance parameter with a change of 0.27%–2.31% with a unit change in distressed modulus. The impact of climatic conditions on the performance of unbonded overlay was also observed. The adverse effects of distressed modulus can be minimized by reducing the joint spacing or increasing the overlay slab thickness.
The Rubric Meets the Road in Law Schools: Program Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes as a Fundamental Way for Law Schools to Improve and Fulfill Their Respective Missions

This Article thoroughly explores the implications of the American Bar Association’s new standards requiring law schools to adopt Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) and to develop sound methods to assess objectively whether graduates of a given law school are meeting that school’s stated PLOs. The Article offers a summary of assessment as part of higher education in Europe before the establishment of the United States. The Article further discusses the evolution of PLOs in American education and the methods used not only to assess outcomes but also by which accrediting bodies verify schools’ assessments. The Article then describes the process that Regent University Law School developed in the process of evaluating two of its PLOs — ones that articulate the law schools expectation that graduates of the J.D. program will have attained competency in legal analysis, communication, and writing. As we turn to our particular effort at assessment, the Article reviews best practices in assessment. Moreover, the Article describes each step the Law School took in curriculum mapping, determining courses in which assessment would be appropriate, and development of rubrics for assessment. The Article describes some of the less-than-obvious issues that law schools can run into in performing assessments. For instance, our school learned that it was essential that the persons assessing competence have a common understanding of what that would look like in a student’s work product. Finally, the Article describes the triangulated, direct assessments that resulted in findings that students were competent in the PLOs in question. Finally, the Article suggests how the Law School had — even before completing the initial assessments — began developing an assessment plan for other PLOs and moving forward on assessment of other PLOs.
Induction of dominant-negative BRG1 abolishes expression of CD44 protein via post-transcriptional mechanism in mouse NIH/3T3 cells.

5063 BRG1, the ATPase unit of a SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex, is involved in regulating a number of genes including CD44, a transmembrane glycoprotein. Altered expression of CD44 has been implicated in the progression of a vast array of cancers. A previous report indicated that BRG1 deficient cells had abrogated CD44 expression (Strobeck et al., 2001; Reisman et al., 2002). Because the mechanism for this loss remains unresolved, we hypothesized that BRG1 loss promotes methylation of the CD44 promoter. We have tested this notion using a Tet-Vp16 system to transactivate an enzymatically inactive from of BRG1 (dominant negative:dnBRG1) lacking ATPase activity. Immunofluorescence and real-time PCR (QT-PCR) assays were used to determine the expression of CD44 and BRG1. Furthermore, bisulfite sequencing was used to determine whether loss of CD44 expression is due to the hypermethylation of the promoter region of CD44. Our results show that cells lost CD44 expression 1-3 passages after induction of dnBRG1 by immunofluorescence. However, CD44 levels returned to normal by 6 passages after transactivation of the dnBRG1. The result of the RNA expression analysis of CD44 by QT-PCR indicated no difference in expression between cells that express wild type BRG1 versus dnBRG1. By QT-PCR ChIPs analysis, we did not find the flag-tagged dnBRG-1 at the CD44 promoter. Therefore, our preliminary ChIPs data correlate with the expression data. Bisulfite sequencing demonstrated that the promoter region of CD44 showed few changes in DNA methylation. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that BRG1 and/or BRM loss by other mechanisms may influence cellular DNA methylation patterns. Our results suggest that the dnBRG1 may disrupt CD44 expression via a post-transcriptional mechanism. These studies show the caveat of using dominant-negative approaches to study regulation of transcription. Reisman, D. N., M. W. Strobeck, B. L. Betz, J. Sciariotta, W. Funkhouser, Jr., C. Murchardt, M. Yaniv, L. S. Sherman, E. S. Knudsen, and B. E. Weissman. 2002. Concominant down-regulation of BRM and BRG1 in human tumor cell lines: differential effects on RB-mediated growth arrest vs CD44 expression. Oncogene 21:1196-207. Strobeck, M. W., M. F. DeCristofaro, F. Banine, B. E. Weissman, L. S. Sherman, and E. S. Knudsen. 2001. The BRG-1 subunit of the SWI/SNF complex regulates CD44 expression. J. Biol. Chem. 276:9273-8.
Best Practices for Community Based Learning

BRIEF SESSION DESCRIPTION: Community Based Learning (CBL) is a pedagogy that is encompassed in the broader spectrum of the scholarship of engagement, which also includes experiential education, undergraduate research, community-based research, and stronger relationships between academic institutions, their work, and local communities. CBL can present benefits and challenges to students, faculty and partners. However, understanding community needs and creating effective partnerships is critical to this work and can allow your course to make true community impact. Participants will be able to describe the steps needed to effectively construct a CBL course and be able to list and locate the tools, resources, and required documents to create a CBL course. _____________________________________________________________ FULL ABSTRACT: Community Based Learning (CBL) is a pedagogy that is encompassed in the broader spectrum of the scholarship of engagement, which also includes experiential education, undergraduate research, community-based research, and stronger relationships between academic institutions, their work, and local communities. As an experiential learning pedagogy, CBL is also related to other forms of active learning, such as internships, however it is unique in that it integrates academic learning objectives with goals for social responsibility and civic values, which many institutions of higher education, including George Mason University, promote. In order to realize the student and community benefits of CBL, the research has shown that high quality implementation of the pedagogy matters. This training will allow faculty members to increase their knowledge of CBL and incorporate best practices to increasing student learning outcomes as well as adding value to and building the capacity of community work. The wrong way to approach CBL is to think of the project as bestowing a benefit on the community, or as doing outreach to the community. A better goal is to strive to have students think of themselves as being members of the community – we are doing with, not us doing for them. In a true partnership, everyone plays a role in creating the goal, devising the plan, contributing to the work and benefitting from it. Understanding community needs and creating effective partnerships is critical to this work. Through an understanding of best practices faculty, students and community partners will be able to deepen their work and impact community issues.
Draft Genome Sequences of 48 Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Strains Isolated from Inpatients with Bacteremia and Urinary Tract Infection

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) is a major cause of nosocomial infections of the bloodstream and urinary tract. Here, we report the draft genome sequences of 48 vancomycin-resistant E. faecium isolates recovered from inpatients exhibiting clinical signs of bacteremia at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
A Co-Requisite Model for Developmental Mathematics

The traditional mathematics pre-requisite model creates obstacles for pre-service educators by increasing the number of semesters to graduation. Extended time results in additional financial burdens for students in developmental courses along with increased risk of student drop out. Education majors, with little or no room for electives in their programs of study, have been particularly impacted. The pilot of a co-requisite model, involving the collaboration of two academic departments, has proven successful in enhancing students’ academic achievement while addressing social and emotional needs of students.
A Virtual Reality Experience for Learning Languages

This demo showcases an interactive virtual reality experience for language learning that allows users to enter a virtual world to explore and interact with their surroundings while learning Spanish. Through immersive game-play on the Oculus Rift, users explore Spanish translations of everyday household items in a search-and-find format, scoring points when they can correctly identify and select objects. Users are able to put what they learn into practice in real time. Study participants who tried the experience said they found this method of language learning to be more enjoyable than traditional methods of studying due to the gamification created and it not "feeling like studying". As virtual reality headsets continue to become more accessible to the public, addresses the cost limitations of traveling overseas to achieve immersion in foreign language. This application can be expanded to most real-world scenarios and locations. Additionally, it can be applied to any language.
Abstract 761: Up-regulation of miR-10a affect on prostate cancer racial disparity

Purpose: Prostate cancer (PC) is the second most diagnosed cancer in men. African-American (AfA) men have higher incidence and twice the PC mortality rates compared to Caucasian-American (CaA) men. In this study, we investigated the biochemical role of miR-10a in prostate cancer racial disparity. Methods: We used PCa cell lines from CaA (DU145, LNCaP, PC3), AfA (MDA-PCa-2b, E006AA-hT) and a normal epithelial cell line (PWR1E) to examine miR-10a expression levels. Total RNA was extracted from total 138 human prostate cancer clinical samples (AfA: n=75, CaA: n=63) and cell lines. Gene expression levels were determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). A miRNA target database (miRWalk that integrates mainly three databases, miRDB, TargetScan and miRTarBase) was used for miR-10a target prediction. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were monitored after miR-10a knockdown by using anti-miR-10a. Results: miR-10a was significantly up-regulated in AfA prostate cancer cell line, E006AA-hT compared to CaA cells. Utilizing SFVAMC and NDRI patient cohorts, we confirmed that miR-10a expression was linked to a racial difference between AfA/CaA PCa patients. Knockdown of miR-10a showed decreased growth and apoptosis, though the effect was less in CaA compared to AfA cells. We found NCOR2 which is frequently deleted in castration- resistant prostate cancer patient specimens and tumor-suppressor PTEN as miR-10a targets that overlapped in multiple miRNA target prediction databases. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that miR-10a may be a central regulator of crucial events that contribute to racial differences in prostate cancer. Regulation of miR-10a expression may be a new therapeutic strategy for AfA prostate cancer patients. Citation Format: Yutaka Hashimoto, Marisa Shiina, Yuichiro Tanaka, Pritha Dasgupta, Priyanka Kulkarni, Taku Kato, Ryan K. Wong, Varahram Shahryari, Shigekatsu Maekawa, Soichiro Yamamura, Divya Bhagiratha, Sharanjot Saini, Guoren Deng, Laura Tabatabai, Shahana Majid, Rajvir Dahiya, Rajvir Dahiya. Up-regulation of miR-10a affect on prostate cancer racial disparity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 761.
The Mother of Invention: The Birth of the Twin

The focus of critical analysis in this chapter is the problematic, ambivalent, and generative relationship between Hemingway and his mother, Grace Hall Hemingway—and the extent to which both Hemingway’s identity and invention are informed by the mother-son dyad. The familial, maternal origin of the androgynous wound is read through the critical lens of Freud’s theory of “The Uncanny.” The baby album kept by Grace, Marcelline’s memoir, At the Hemingways, and Kenneth Lynn’s psycho-biography, Hemingway, are cited to document a wound of androgyny that is always and already a wound of emasculation, into which the subsequent war wound is absorbed.
Dense Subsemigroups of Semigroups Of Continuous Selfmaps

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the least number of functions that will generate a dense subsemigroup of S(X) , where S(X) is the semigroup, under composition, of all continuous selfmaps of a topological space X . Schreier and Ulam have showed the existence of finitely generated subsemigroups of S(X) where X is the closed n -dimensional unit cube I n . Sierpinski improved the result, in the special case of the unit interval I, by reducing the number of functions needed from five to four. Whenever X is also locally compact, one sees that S(X) is a topological semigroup that is not commutative and so the number of generators cannot be reduced further.
Pynchon's Age of Reason: Mason & Dixon and America's Rise of Rational Discourse

By drawing upon astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon for the unlikely protagonists of Mason & Dixon (1997), Thomas Pynchon develops a revisionist history of these two Englishmen as they come to terms with America in the so-called Age of Reason, which was informed by a European philosophical movement with its roots in rational discourse aimed at cultural and political intellect that eventually served as the foundation for American independence and democracy. But as Thomas Paine suggests, time wields a stronger power than does reason, and what history calls the Age of Reason may remind one of an ideal time in America when, in theory, rational discourse converted people into better citizens. However, as Mason and Dixon create their Line, recognizing that it will, in effect, divide North from South, they begin to realize that America consumes them with irrational discourse.
Rotorcraft virtual sensors via deep regression

Abstract Raw sensor data containing high-fidelity information is highly desirable for valuable post-processing. We developed a machine learning model that performs deep regression to infer rotorcraft component vibration spectra from a few flight conditional indicators (CI). The model consists of a deep neural network of fully connected layers (DNN) that performs high-dimensional and non-linear multivariate regression to reconstruct raw accelerometer data. The network architecture hyperparameters were optimized using an evolutionary genetic algorithm (GA) that was more effective than random and manual search methods. The best GA design was further tuned to achieve spectrum reconstruction accuracies above 95% on validation datasets. An automated model generator workflow was developed to train and evaluate thousands of DNN designs using parallel asynchronous execution on a Cray XC50, which were monitored and studied. Finally, as a verification step of the DNN inference model operation and performance, a detailed sensitivity analysis was performed using a modified Sobol sampling technique to understand response behavior and limitations. The sensitivity analysis method utilized Dask-distributed across multiple nodes on our HPC to evaluate millions of generated samples in parallel.
Recent kuru-induced female gene flow disrupted the coevolution of genes and languages in the Papua New Guinea highlands.

OBJECTIVES The island of New Guinea was settled by modern human over 50,000 years ago, and is currently characterized by a complex landscape and contains one-seventh of the world's languages. The Eastern Highlands of New Guinea were also the home to the devastating prion disease called kuru that primarily affected Fore-speaking populations, with some 68% of cases involving adult females. We characterized the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity of highlanders from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to: (a) gain insight into the coevolution of genes and languages in situ over mountainous landscapes; and (b) evaluate the recent influence of kuru mortality on the pattern of female gene flow. MATERIALS AND METHODS We sequenced the mtDNA hypervariable segment 1 of 870 individuals from the Eastern and Southern Highlands of PNG using serums collected in the 1950s to 1960s. These highlanders were selected from villages representing 15 linguistic groups within the Trans-New Guinea phylum. Genetic, linguistic, and geographic distances were calculated separately and correlations among those distance matrices were assessed using the Mantel test. RESULTS Geographic, genetic, and linguistic patterns were independently correlated with each other (p < .05). Increased mtDNA diversity in kuru-affected populations and low Fst estimates between kuru-affected linguistic groups were observed. DISCUSSION In general, the genetic structure among the Highland populations was shaped by both geography and language, and language is a good predictor of mtDNA affinity in the PNG Highlands. High kuru female mortality increased female gene flow locally, disrupting coevolutionary pattern among genes, languages, and geography.
The effects of aquatic invasive species on recreational fishing participation and value in the Great Lakes: Possible future scenarios

Abstract The impacts of aquatic invasive species (AIS) on the recreational fishery in the Laurentian Great Lakes are of concern to managers and policy makers. Some AIS have the potential to depress sportfish populations, reducing recreational fishing opportunities and damaging local economies. Alternatives that could reduce the threat of AIS could be costly. Assessments of how AIS could affect recreational fishing participation and the economic value derived from it would contribute to the evaluation of these alternatives. We assessed best-case and worst-case scenarios for how a range of AIS could affect recreational fishing participation and economic value. We utilized previously developed scenarios for how AIS could affect sportfish populations as input for a recreational fishing model developed by Ready et al. (2018) . Their model estimated changes in fishing participation and economic value from such scenarios. Given uncertainty in how AIS could affect sportfish, projected effects of AIS on economic value varied widely, with some scenarios likely to have minimal effects and others leading to losses of over $100 million annually. None of the scenarios would lead to a large percentage decrease in recreational fishing in the eight Great Lake states, largely because anglers have numerous inland fishing opportunities. Nevertheless, lakeshore communities dependent on Great Lakes fishing could still suffer considerable economic loss. Collectively the economic valuation of the range of scenarios narrows down the possible impacts on fishing and the economy that decision makers need to consider.
Results of the KRUSTY Warm Critical Experiments

The Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) was a prototypic nuclear-powered test of a 5-kW(thermal) Kilopower space reactor. This paper presents results from the KRUSTY warm critical e...