cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Concerns about appearing prejudiced: Implications for anxiety during daily interracial interactions

We investigated the relationship between Whites’ and ethnic minorities’ concerns about appearing prejudiced and anxiety during daily interracial interactions. College roommate pairs completed an individual difference measure of concerns about appearing prejudiced at the beginning of the semester. Then they completed measures of anxiety and perceptions of their roommates’ anxietyrelated behaviors for 15 days. Results indicated that among interracial roommate pairs, Whites’ and ethnic minorities’ concerns about appearing prejudiced were related to their self-reported anxiety on a daily basis; but this was not the case among same-race roommate pairs. In addition, among interracial roommate pairs, roommates who were concerned about appearing prejudiced began to “leak” their anxiety towards the end of the diary period, as indicated by their out-group roommate who perceived their anxious behaviors as increasing across time, and who consequently liked them less. The implications of these findings for intergroup relations are discussed in this article.
OE+IOE: a novel turn model based fault tolerant routing scheme for networks-on-chip

Network-on-chip (NoC) communication architectures are increasingly being used today to interconnect cores on chip multiprocessors (CMPs). Permanent faults in NoCs due to fabrication challenges in ultra deep submicron (UDSM) technology nodes and due to wearout have led to an increased emphasis on fault tolerant design techniques. To ensure fault tolerant communication in NoCs, several fault tolerant routing algorithms have been proposed in recent years with the goal of routing flits around faults. A majority of these algorithms are based on the turn model approach due to its simplicity and inherent freedom from deadlock. However, existing turn model based fault tolerant routing algorithms are either too restrictive in the choice of paths that flits can traverse, or are tailored to work efficiently only on very specific fault distribution patterns. In this paper, we propose a novel low overhead fault tolerant routing scheme that combines the odd-even (OE) and inverted odd-even (IOE) turn models to achieve much better fault tolerance than traditional turn model based schemes. The proposed scheme uses replication opportunistically to optimize the balance between energy overhead and arrival rate. Our experimental results indicate that the proposed OE+IOE routing scheme provides better fault tolerance than existing turn model, N-random walk, and dual virtual channel based routing schemes that have been proposed in literature.
Infrared Spectra of a Single Human Hair

Abstract We have recently shown that it is possible to carry out nondestructive infrared (IR) spectroscopic studies of solid objects which are very large1–4. It is, however, of equal interest to be able to examine objects which are very small. Consequently, we have recorded spectra of a single human hair, using IR Fourier transform photothermal beam deflection spectroscopy (PBDS)1–8.
The global alcohol industry: an overview.

Aims To describe the globalized sector of the alcoholic beverage industry, including its size, principal actors and activities. Methods Market research firms and business journalism are the primary sources for information about the global alcohol industry, and are used to profile the size and membership of the three main industry sectors of beer, distilled spirits and wine. Findings Branded alcoholic beverages are approximately 38% of recorded alcohol consumption world-wide. Producers of these beverages tend to be large multi-national corporations reliant on marketing for their survival. Marketing activities include traditional advertising as well as numerous other activities, such as new product development, product placement and the creation and promotion of social responsibility programs, messages and organizations. Conclusions The global alcohol industry is highly concentrated and innovative. There is relatively little public health research evaluating the impact of its many marketing activities.
Effect of network structure on the stability margin of large vehicle formation with distributed control

We study the problem of distributed control of a large network of double-integrator agents to maintain a rigid formation. A few lead vehicles are given information on the desired trajectory of the formation; while every other vehicle uses linear controller which only depends on relative position and velocity from a few other vehicles, which are called its neighbors. A predetermined information graph defines the neighbor relationships. We limit our attention to information graphs that are D-dimensional lattices, and examine the stability margin of the closed loop, which is measured by the real part of the least stable eigenvalue of the state matrix. The stability margin is shown to decay to 0 as O(1/N2/D) when the graph is “square“, where N is the number of agents. Therefore, increasing the dimension of the information graph can improve the stability margin by a significant amount. For a non-square information graph, the stability margin can be made independent of N by choosing the “aspect ratio“ appropriately. An information graph with large D may require nodes that are physically apart to exchange information. Similarly, choosing an aspect ratio to improve stability margin may entail an increase in the number of lead vehicles. These results are useful to the designer in making trade-offs between performance and cost in designing information exchange architectures for decentralized control.
The Pauline and Johannine Idea of ‘to Know God’ against the Hellenistic Background

The broad title of this article can be misleading. That is the reason why I have added a sub-title pointing out that I am not going to present a study of the whole complex of ideas connected with the Pauline and Johannine concept ‘to know God’. Because of the limited space that an article offers such a study could hardly be a complete one, and, in any case, the fine analyses of the knowledge of God in Paul and John which already exist make it unnecessary. As the sub-title indicates, my intention is to discuss one point only in this field, namely the Greek philosophical principle ‘like by like’ as an essential element in John's and Paul's understanding of how one gets to know God, and thus to contribute to the discussion of how the Hellenistic way of thinking influenced them or rather how two outstanding Early Church theologians adapted their argumentation to a Hellenistic pattern. By analysing primarily the two passages I Cor. ii. 6–16 and John i. 1–18 and interpreting them in the light of the Greek principle, it will be clear that the authors of these passages were familiar with the principle. It might seem strange to choose these two passages that are very much debated as chief sources of an exposition of such a complicated idea as ‘to know God’, particularly as at first sight the idea does not appear to be the most important one in I Cor. ii and the conclusive verb γινώσκeιν occurs only once in the Prologue, i. 10. Nevertheless I think that both passages give evidence of a usage of (or an adaptation of the theological reasoning for) the principle ‘like by like’. This has not been stressed sufficiently in earlier studies.
Laminar‐Turbulent transition for nonisothermal pipe flow

Finite disturbance pipe flow stability criteria are evaluated for constant flux heating of liquids flowing through vertical pipes under small disturbances conditions where velocity profile distortion due to natural convection is significat. For Newtonian flow in long heated pipes the analysis of Hanks correctly predicts the transition to turbulence observed for upflow heating and is qualitatively consistent with the transition to asymmetric flow which occurs in downflow heating, whereas the criterion of Ryan and Johnson predicts stability for experimentally unstable flows. In the practically more important case of short pipe lengths experimental data obtained over the viscosity range from 1 to 21 centiposises show that natural convection induced transition will occur at low Reynolds numbers for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids for conditions consistent with predictions of Hanks' analysis.
An overview of cryptanalysis research for the advanced encryption standard

Since its release in November 2001, the Advanced Encryption Standard (NIST FIPS-197) has been the subject of extensive cryptanalysis research. The importance of this research has intensified since AES was named, in 2003, by NSA as a Type-1 Suite B Encryption Algorithm (CNSSP-15). As such, AES is now authorized to protect classified and unclassified national security systems and information. This paper provides an overview of current cryptanalysis research on the AES cryptographic algorithm. Discussion is provided on the impact by each technique to the strength of the algorithm in national security applications. The paper is concluded with an attempt at a forecast of the usable life of AES in these applications.
Coagulation of oil in water using sawdust, bentonite and calcium hydroxide to form floating sheets

Abstract The coagulation of oil in water is valuable for the removal of oil from water. The use of a mixture of bentonite and sawdust, with sawdust being the vast majority, is highly effective for the coagulation of oil in water, giving coagulation efficiency 92% or above. A minor amount of calcium hydroxide may be optionally added to the mixture to increase the coagulation efficiency to 94%. The use of organobentonite in place of unmodified bentonite increases the coagulation efficiency further to 95%, but increases cost. Sawdust by itself sinks in water. However, the coagulated aggregates float on water when sawdust is used with the bentonite. These aggregates are sheet-like, with the oil–bentonite–sawdust serving as a continuous matrix and apparently no upper limit to the aggregate sheet size. They contain, for example, 81 vol.% oil, 15 vol.% sawdust, 3 vol.% bentonite (with basal spacing 14.4 A) and 1 vol.% calcium hydroxide. Upon compression, 73% of the oil in the aggregate is removed. Without sawdust, the aggregates sink in water and the coagulation efficiency is only 37%. The sawdust functions as a fibrous framework for the attachment of the coagulating oil and bentonite, thus facilitating floating aggregate formation and the subsequent removal of the aggregates. In the presence of unmodified bentonite, sawdust enhances the coagulation efficiency significantly, while calcium hydroxide enhances the coagulation efficiency by a much lower degree.
Reduction of Salmonella on chicken breast fillets stored under aerobic or modified atmosphere packaging by the application of lytic bacteriophage preparation SalmoFreshTM

The present study evaluated the efficacy of recently approved Salmonella lytic bacteriophage preparation (SalmoFresh™) in reducing Salmonella on chicken breast fillets, as a surface and dip application. The effectiveness of phage in combination with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and the ability of phage preparation in reducing Salmonella on chicken breast fillets at room temperature was also evaluated. Chicken breast fillets inoculated with a cocktail of Salmonella Typhimurium, S. Heidelberg, and S. Enteritidis were treated with bacteriophage (10(9) PFU/mL) as either a dip or surface treatment. The dip-treated samples were stored at 4°C aerobically and the surface-treated samples were stored under aerobic and MAP conditions (95% CO2/5% O2) at 4°C for 7 d. Immersion of Salmonella-inoculated chicken breast fillets in bacteriophage solution reduced Salmonella (P < 0.05) by 0.7 and 0.9 log CFU/g on d 0 and d 1 of storage, respectively. Surface treatment with phage significantly (P < 0.05) reduced Salmonella by 0.8, 0.8, and 1 log CFU/g on d 0, 1, and 7 of storage, respectively, under aerobic conditions. Higher reductions in Salmonella counts were achieved on chicken breast fillets when the samples were surface treated with phage and stored under MAP conditions. The Salmonella counts were reduced by 1.2, 1.1, and 1.2 log CFU/g on d 0, 1, and 7 of storage, respectively. Bacteriophage surface application on chicken breast fillets stored at room temperature reduced the Salmonella counts by 0.8, 0.9, and 0.4 log CFU/g after 0, 4, and 8 h, respectively, compared to the untreated positive control. These findings indicate that lytic phage preparation was effective in reducing Salmonella on chicken breast fillets stored under aerobic and modified atmosphere conditions.
Glucose Isomerase: A Case Study of Enzyme-Catalyzed Process Technology

Process engineering considerations important in the exploitation of enzyme-catalyzed reactions for large-scale production of desired products are illustrated in the context of a case study of glucose isomerase technology. The state of the art of glucose isomerase processing as revealed by journal and patent literature is reviewed and assessed. Among topics covered are enzyme production, immobilization and stabilization, kinetics, reactor design, and product recovery. Some possible future processing objectives, such as production of pure fructose, are discussed.
Strongly Anisotropic Dielectric Relaxation of Water at the Nanoscale

We carried out atomistic simulations of water at the nanoscale, and we investigated the dielectric response of the liquid as a function of the distance between hydrophobic confining surfaces. We found that dipolar fluctuations are modified by the presence of surfaces up to strikingly large distances, i.e., tens of nanometers. Fluctuations are suppressed by approximately an order of magnitude in the z direction, perpendicular to the interface, and they are enhanced (up to 50%) in the x–y plane, giving rise to strong anisotropies in the components of the dielectric relaxation. Such anisotropies originate from the very presence of interfaces, and not from the details of the interaction between water and the hydrophobic surfaces. Our findings are consistent with recent terahertz and ultrafast infrared pump–probe spectroscopy experiments and bear important implications for the study of solvation under confinement.
Planning Algorithm for Large Satellite Clusters

A generalized planning algorithm for large clusters of satellites is proposed. Based on an initial configuration and final set of target locations, the algorithm utilizes Hamiltonian-Jacobi-Bellman optimality to find the minimum time or minimum fuel maneuvers quickly. Based on the maneuver time, maneuver fuel, and collision proximity locations, maneuvers are selected from the original set. The final maneuvers are calculated by optimizing the switch times using a realistic set of orbital dynamics. The algorithm is developed to be distributed, such that each satellite can find its own maneuver set, as well as the final, optimized switch times.
The eidos of urban form: a framework for heritage-based place making

Despite the efforts of preservationists, numerous decaying heritage structures dot the urban landscape. Simultaneously, new development in historic areas has received much debate. Applying Plato’s theory of Forms, this research highlights contributions of the historic built environment to place making, offering a new theoretical framework based on the study of eidetic imagery. The root word for eidetic is eidos, the foundation of Plato’s theory. This paper traces the connotational evolution of the term eidos, applies these meanings to place research and case sites, and presents a new framework for heritage-based place making based on these meanings. Two salient factors are suggested moving forward: (1) the regeneration of non-productive heritage structures; and (2) utilizing the shared characteristics in the local and regional historic environment for design and planning of new development. While the case sites are international, the contextualization of the problem is primarily US-oriented.
The Real Value Design Structure Matrix Algorithm and Its Application in Process Reengineering

Based on Design Structure Matrix(DSM) algorithm and the properties of business process,a Real Value Design Structure Matrix(RVDSM) algorithm is proposed in this paper.It introduces the conception of Interpretative Structural Modeling(ISM) into DSM,changes the elements of DSM to real value and describes the rules and process when the value is related to path,then it was applied to a store logistics system and communication networkd.Through experiments,the effectiveness of RVDSM is proved.In the end,the approach is extended to show string on the matrix.
Community structure of small mammals and surveillance of Yersinia pestis antibody in Mentougou district of Beijing, China

Objective To investigate the community structure and density of small mammals in the natural environment in Mentougou district of Beijing, China and to detect the infection with Yersinia pestis in the mammals. Methods The surveillance was conducted from 2009 to 2011. Small mammals were captured by trap at night method. The rodent species were identified, and the capture rate was calculated. Living rodents were captured by cage trap method, and blood samples were collected from the heart for detection of F1 antibody of Y. pestis. Results A total of 315 small mammals (7 species) were captured in Mentougou district from 2009 to 2011, including 309 mammals (6 species) of the order Rodentia and 6 mammals (1 species) of the order Insectivora. The capture rates of small mammals were 16.60%, 4.62%, and 15.08%, respectively for different year. The three species of rodents with the highest capture rate and constituent ratio were Apodemus peninsulae, Niviventer confucianus, and A. agrarius; the total proportions of the three rodents were 95.18%, 88.89%, and 96.84% from 2009 to 2011. In the serological detection, no Y. pestis F1 antibody was found in 49 blood samples. Conclusion No infection of Y. pestis has been found by serological detection in rodents in Mentougou district of Beijing, and there is no natural foci of plague in this area.
College of American Pathologists Conference XXVIII on alternate site testing. What must we now do

Implementation of the conference consensus that alternative site testing should be under the direction of the laboratory director supported by an institutional structure of users, laboratorians, and possibly administrators will optimize success. Information is needed if, when, and where alternative site testing improves the care of patients, and if faster results are associated with better and less expensive patient care. Costs and the timeliness of both central clinical laboratory and alternative site testing must be estimated in an identical fashion, then both must be compared with the costs and timeliness attributed to all steps of the total testing process included. As has been done with glucose, accuracy and precision goals must be developed for analytes measured at alternative test sites, then agreement reached on what these goals are and whether speed of measurement can influence these goals. Consideration of successful models is essential by those implementing or reevaluating alternative site testing programs. Required scientific information cannot be obtained in a timely manner unless improved funding occurs.
Gaga Activism: The New Ethics of Pop Culture

From early on in her career and increasingly over its successful course, Lady Gaga has been involved in various activist causes and has also been outspoken on a number of ethical issues, including religion. In this chapter, the advocacy and religiosity of Lady Gaga is discussed in terms of the position of the singer as an artist who is primarily situated in the world of popular music and entertainment and who, therefore precisely, garners much attention when she engages in activist and religious issues that resonate strongly in ethical terms. The fame-generating capacity of celebrity activism will be limited to the extent that it would be perceived to have become a part of pop culture entertainment.
A novel method for document summarization using Word2Vec

Texting mining is a process to extract useful patterns and information from large volume of unstructured text data. Unlike other quantitative data, unstructured text data cannot be directly utilized in machine learning models. Hence, data pre-processing is an essential step to remove vague or redundant data such as punctuations, stop-words, low-frequency words in the corpus, and re-organize the data in a format that computers can understand. Though existing approaches are able to eliminate some symbols and stop-words during the pre-processing step, a portion of words are not used to describe the documents' topics. These irrelevant words not only waste the storage that lessen the efficiency of computing, but also lead to confounding results. In this paper, we propose an optimization method to further remove these irrelevant words which are not highly correlated to the documents' topics. Experimental results indicate that our proposed method significantly compresses the documents, while the resulting documents remain a high discrimination in classification tasks; additionally, storage is greatly reduced according to various criteria.
Levetiracetam Related Encephalopathy with Opsoclonus and Triphasics (P01.045)

OBJECTIVE: To present a rare case of levetiracetam-related encephalopathy with abnormal eye movements and triphasic waves on EEG. BACKGROUND: Levetiracetam is a widely used antiepileptic medication because of broad spectrum effect and low incidence of adverse effects. Common adverse effects are somnolence, asthenia, headache, dizziness, and behavioral abnormalities. Clearance of levetiracetam is affected by renal function. Correlation between serum concentration and toxicity is not well known. DESIGN/METHODS: 12-year-old girl with a Chiari II, repaired myelomeningocele, shunted hydrocephalus, renal tubular acidosis, and well-controlled epilepsy on levetiracetam, was admitted with acute renal failure, metabolic acidosis, respiratory distress, and confusion. With treatment of metabolic abnormalities and respiratory failure she returned to baseline, with continued impaired renal function. Subsequently, within a few hours she became increasingly somnolent, tremulous and encephalopathic. New neurologic findings included continuous, random conjugate jerky eye movements in all directions of gaze(opsoclonus), chin quivering with occasional multifocal twitches of lower face muscles. EEG showed diffuse delta with continuous runs of periodic frontally predominant sharp waves consistent with triphasic waves. Her symptoms did not respond to lorazepam and fosphenytoin. Dose of levetiracetam was adjusted for creatinine clearance. Continuous EEG over several days showed persistent triphasic waves. RESULTS: Plasma level of levetiracetam on the day of declined mental status was later found to be 112 μg/ml (therapeutic range for our lab = 5–60 μg/ml). Other causes of metabolic encephalopathy were excluded. Levetiracetam was discontinued and she was started on valproate. Over the next 4-5 days abnormal eye movements resolved, and she gradually returned to baseline. Follow-up EEG showed resolution of triphasic waves. CONCLUSIONS: There are rare reports of toxic encephalopathy due to levetiracetam. Our case has unique manifestations of opsoclonus with triphasic waves on EEG. There should be high index of suspicion in individuals with renal impairment on stable or even adjusted doses of levetiracetam. Disclosure: Dr. Putta has nothing to disclose. Dr. Talwar has nothing to disclose.
Ultrasonic thermal dust: A method to monitor deep tissue temperature profiles

We demonstrate a tetherless, sub-millimeter implantable temperature sensing system employing ultrasonic powering and ultrasonic backscatter modulation assembled using commercially available components. We demonstrate two sizes of sensors based on available components with volumes of 1.45 mm3 and 0.118 mm3. Individual sensors are able to resolve ±0.5°C changes in temperature, suitable for medical diagnostic and monitoring purposes. We verify less than 0.3°C drift in temperature readings over 14 days in physiological conditions. This approach is compatible with more sophisticated temperature sensors such as classic proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) integrated circuits, as well as digital backscatter approaches. Our goal is to solve a long-standing issue: chronic and tetherlessly monitoring deep tissue temperature with high spatial accuracy.
Characterization of Long-Chain Fatty Acid as N-(4-Aminomethylphenyl) Pyridinium Derivative by MALDI LIFT-TOF/TOF Mass Spectrometry.

In the preceding article “Characterization of Long-Chain Fatty Acid as N-(4-Aminomethylphenyl) Pyridinium Derivative by MALDI LIFT-TOF/TOF Mass Spectrometry” by Frankfater et al., errors in Figs. 2 and 3 have occurred. The legend (Fig. 2)
Demand driven growth and capital distribution in a two class model with applications to the United States

Abstract We present a demand driven growth and distribution model of capitalists and workers. Our model highlights dynamics of wealth distribution with class-differentiated savings which are themselves distinct from the decision to invest and accumulate capital. At the steady state, investment parameters do not influence the distribution of wealth but there exists a long run paradox of thrift effect which distributes wealth to capitalists whilst simultaneously exerting downward pressure on the level of aggregate demand. Applied to annual US data from 1950–2015 we find that the share of capitalist wealth will stabilize at approximately 68%, fairly close to the Kotlikoff–Summers dynastic capital range. The demand driven nature of our model implies a key role for the capitalist saving rate in jointly reducing macroeconomic performance and increasing wealth inequality. This may be an important issue in mature, low growth capitalist economies.
HIV-associated neurological disorders: a guide to pharmacotherapy

In the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) continues to be a common and significant morbidity among individuals infected with HIV. The term HAND encompasses a spectrum of progressively severe CNS involvement, ranging from asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment and minor neurocognitive disorder through to the most severe form of HIV-associated dementia (HAD). While the incidence of HAD has declined significantly with HAART, the milder forms of HAND persist. In addition, HAND now develops in individuals with less advanced immunosuppression. The reasons for the persistence of milder forms of HAND in individuals treated with HAART are not entirely known. There are several hypotheses to explain this phenomenon that include the legacy effect, a failure of antiretroviral agents to reverse neurological damage, poor access of antiretroviral agents to the CNS, chronic systemic immune activation associated with microbial translocation products, sustained CNS inflammation, the improved survival of HIV-seropositive individuals and the possible contribution from aging, amyloid deposition and other co-morbidities. In contrast, the incidence of HIV-associated CNS opportunistic processes including progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, tuberculosis, CNS toxo-plasmosis, cytomegalovirus encephalitis, cryptococcosis and primary CNS lymphoma has declined dramatically with the introduction of HAART. This review briefly summarizes our current understanding of HAND and the pathological mechanisms involved, namely direct injury from HIV-1 and viral proteins, indirect neurotoxicity from proinflammatory cytokines and chronic, sustained immune activation in the CNS. To date, only HAART has been shown to benefit HAND despite numerous controlled trials of adjunctive ‘anti-inflammatory’ agents. Although HAART has a profound impact on the incidence and severity of HAND, there exists a ‘therapeutic gap’ as even HAART that is effective at inducing durable virological suppression may only partially reverse HAND. In addition, there may be potential CNS adverse effects of antiretroviral agents. There is an ongoing multicentre clinical trial to investigate the role of the CNS Penetration-Effectiveness index, an indicator of drug permeability and availability in the CNS, to help guide the choice of antiretroviral agents in the treatment of HAND. With recent recommendations for earlier treatment intervention with HAART for HIV-1 infection, it remains to be seen the effects of this on HAND. There is an urgent need to better define the therapeutic guidelines for the prevention and treatment of HAND.
Protein structure prediction by global energy optimization

The theoretical prediction of biomolecular structure from first principles and without the crutches of experimental restraints remains a dream. Most theoreticians agree that the answer is the global minimum of the free energy function [1,2], but disagree about strategies to find the minimum. Several schools of thought have formed over the years: dynamicists [3–11], minimalists [12–32], and synthesists [2,33–44]. Dynamicists believe that:sufficiently long simulations of a quasi-continuous trajectory of molecular dynamics of atomic models in vacuo or in water will solve the problem using new generations of computers, code parallelization [45,46], and optimized simulation techniques. Minimalists, unwilling to play power games and too impatient to wait until new generations of processors cover the next mile of a hundred-mile road, simplify the system by using a reduced atomic representation or a lattice, inventing a potential and then enjoying the luxury of always finding the global minimum of their energies as well as most of the other possible states for a chain of up to a hundred simplified residues [27,47]. The third school shares the impatience of minimalists, yet resists the temptation to use simple models since it appears that accuracy is a pivotal issue. Synthesists focus on the development of algorithms to replace molecular dynamics as a generator of conformational changes [42,43,48,35] and the design of methods of energy calculation which combine accuracy and speed.
Feedback Resonating Control for a Wave Energy Converter

Through the use of advanced control techniques, wave energy converters have significantly improved energy absorption. The motion of the WEC device is a significant contribution to the energy absorbed by the device. Reactive control (complex conjugate control) maximizes the energy absorption due to the impedance matching. The issue with complex conjugate control is that the controller is non-causal, which requires prediction into the oncoming waves to the device. This paper explores the potential of using system identification (SID) techniques to build a causal transfer function that approximates the complex conjugate controller over a specific frequency band of interest. The resulting controller is stable, and the average efficiency of the power captured by the causal controller is 99%, when compared to the non-causal complex conjugate.
P081 ST14 protease resistant peptides, from glioblastoma multiforme mutant proteins, represent higher binding affinities as potential HLA class I epitopes

Aim We previously identified a set of the most frequently mutated cytoskeleton- and extracellular matrix-related proteins (CECMPs) in numerous cancer datasets. Mutations in the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix can induce resistance or sensitivity to proteolysis. We aim to elucidate the effects of protease cleavage on exposing new epitopes for potential HLA Class I binding. Methods Here, we use a bioinformatics approach to assess the impact of amino acid (AA) substitutions on the sensitivity of CECMPs to the ST14 protease (matriptase), a transmembrane serine protease previously implicated in cancer development. Furthermore, to assess tumor specimen immunogenicity, we identified T-cell receptor (TCR) V(D) J recombinations in GBM exome files and mapped overlaps in patient survival between 1) protease sensitivity, 2) HLA Class I binding affinities of new epitopes, and 3) V(D) J recombination reads. Results Results indicated that AA substitutions in the glioblastoma multiforme CECMPs are skewed toward increased resistance to the ST14 protease, in comparison to the wild-type peptide sequence. Furthermore, the protease resistant AA substitutions represent relatively high binding affinities to HLA class I proteins, when assessing the binding specificities using HLA class I alleles matched to the source of the mutant AA. In contrast, the protease sensitive AA substitutions create epitopes that represent lower binding affinities with HLA class I. Moreover, samples representing AA substitutions that increased protease sensitivity also represented reduced overall and disease-free survival periods for patients with glioblastoma. Although the presence of TCR V(D) J recombinations alone did not represent any significant survival differences, the overlap between ST14-protease sensitive mutant barcodes and the TCR V(D) J recombination read positive barcodes represented significantly reduced survival. Conclusions These results may provide indications of the value of the overlap of protease sensitive and resistant, mutant peptides and immune activity as a biomarker for prognosis in Glioblastoma multiforme further elucidating on the role of histocompatibility in cancer development and prognosis.
Investigating K-12 teachers’ use of electronic board in the classroom in the Central South of United States

Examining classroom teachers’ use of electronic boards is crucial due to the rapid widespread replacement of traditional blackboards in schools. This study focuses on K-12 teachers’ use of electronic boards in the classroom, quantitatively in four subscales – presentation, motivation, engagement, and assessment, and teachers’ attributes – grade levels, ages, and years of teaching. The results reveal that correlation coefficients of presentation, motivation, engagement, and assessment, are significantly correlated. Elementary teachers tend to feel more comfortable in using electronic boards than middle school teachers. Teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes towards electronic board are significant factors in students’ motivation and engagement. Qualitative data present most teaching activities and their desires to improve their more efficient usage of electronic board. Limitation of study and recommendation for further research are provided.
Thrombus on the inflow cannula of the HeartWare HVAD: an update.

Abstract Background The HeartWare HVAD (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) is a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) approved by the FDA in 2012 as a bridge to transplant in patients with end-stage left ventricular heart failure. The current inflow cannula has a smooth outer surface near the inflow edge and a sintered collar of titanium microspheres near the pump. A previous case series of HVAD patients bridged to transplant revealed thrombus on the outer surface of the inflow cannula in 8 of 8 patients, predominantly at the smooth-sintered interface, that was associated with a clinical stroke rate of 12.5%. Design Cases of HVAD devices removed at the time of heart transplant were identified in the surgical pathology database. The gross and microscopic findings were reviewed along with clinical data. Results A total of 22 patients with 24 HVAD implants diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy (13 patients), ischemic heart disease (4 patients), lymphocytic myocarditis (2 patients), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (2 patients), and congenital valvular disease (1 patient) were included. Two patients received two HVADs to provide biventricular support. All patients received post-implantation anti-coagulation with an INR goal of 2 to 3. Gross pathologic examination revealed thrombi on the outer aspect of the HVAD inflow cannula in 23 of 24 devices (96%). The inflow cannula of the one device that did not develop thrombus was positioned such that the smooth-sintered interface was buried in the ventricular myocardium and not in contact with blood in the ventricular chamber. Complications during the period of device support included 9 thromboembolic events (41%) including 6 ischemic strokes (27%), 2 intracoronary thromboembolic events and 1 splenic infarct. Patients suffered strokes 4 to 174 days (mean 82) after HVAD placement and had thrombus on the inflow cannula ranging in size from 0.1–2.5 cm (axial), 0.4–4.5 cm (circumferential) and 0.1–0.5 cm (thickness). Histologic evaluation revealed bland, partially organized thrombi without evidence of infection. Other complications included driveline infections (9%), non-driveline related bacteremia (9%) and hemorrhage (5%). Conclusions We report here an extension of our original study to a total of 22 patients with 24 HVAD implants who were all successfully bridged to transplant. We validate the very high prevalence of thrombus around the HVAD inflow cannula, associated with a clinical thromboembolic event in over a third of the patients, the majority of which were strokes. The nidus for thrombus formation appears to be the smooth-sintered interface of the HVAD inflow cannula.
De nutteloze p-waarde

In wetenschappelijk onderzoek wordt vaak geschermd met de p-waarde: als deze significant is, is de bevinding waar. Anders niet. De werkelijkheid is dat een significante p-waarde niets zegt over het waarheidsgehalte van een bepaalde conclusie en dat een niet-significante p-waarde zo mogelijk nog minder zegt over het klinisch belang van een onderzoeksresultaat. Het lijkt of p-waarden vooral populair zijn bij artsen. De noodzaak tot ja-neebeslissingen in de klinische praktijk (wel of niet insturen, wel of niet opereren) passen zij ook toe in het denken over wetenschappelijke resultaten, met een dichtome interpretatie van de p-waarde die echter contraproductief is.
A fast algorithm for computing distance correlation

Abstract Classical dependence measures such as Pearson correlation, Spearman’s ρ , and Kendall’s τ can detect only monotonic or linear dependence. To overcome these limitations, Szekely et al. proposed distance covariance and its derived correlation. The distance covariance is a weighted L 2 distance between the joint characteristic function and the product of marginal distributions; it is 0 if and only if two random vectors X and Y are independent. This measure can detect the presence of a dependence structure when the sample size is large enough. They further showed that the sample distance covariance can be calculated simply from modified Euclidean distances, which typically requires O ( n 2 ) cost, where n is the sample size. Quadratic computing time greatly limits the use of the distance covariance for large data. To calculate the sample distance covariance between two univariate random variables, a simple, exact O ( n log ( n ) ) algorithms is developed. The proposed algorithm essentially consists of two sorting steps, so it is easy to implement. Empirical results show that the proposed algorithm is significantly faster than state-of-the-art methods. The algorithm’s speed will enable researchers to explore complicated dependence structures in large datasets.
SiPM readout of stilbene crystals for safeguards applications

We developed and tested a compact neutron detector, based on a cylindrical stilbene crystal, directly read out by a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). We experimentally studied the effect of light guides to improve the light collection efficiency when coupling small SiPMs to large-area crystals. The use of the light guide for a crystal-SiPM area ratio of 14x increased the overall detection efficiency approximately 5%, compared to a direct coupling. This modest efficiency improvement hardly justifies the additional design complexity due to adding a light guide to the assembly. Based on a simple readout scheme, a pair of detectors was used to measure correlated emissions from laboratory fission sources (i.e. Cf-252). An amplified SiPM readout board is being developed. Detectors equipped with this readout device will be used in a multiplicity counter assembly to inspect special nuclear materials.
Correlation between epitaxial strain and magnetic properties in La0.7Sr0.3CoO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 bilayers

Magnetic properties arising at interfaces of perovskite oxides such as La0.7Sr0.3CoO3 (LSCO) and La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) depend sensitively on the fine details of their structural properties. In this work, we use high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy to examine the structural and electronic phenomena at the interfaces in two LSCO/LSMO bilayers with reversed growth order. Two different strain mechanisms are at work in these films: compressive or tensile epitaxial strain, and distortion of the octahedral tilt pattern to maintain a network of corner-sharing octahedra. While the epitaxial strain is constant regardless of the growth order, the modification of the octahedral tilt pattern depends on whether the film is grown directly on the substrate or as the second sublayer. As a consequence, exchange spring behavior is observed only when the LSCO sublayer is grown first. The different mechanisms of strain accommodation within the oxygen octahedra network in each material proved to be of critical importance in determining the interfacial structure and thus magnetic and electronic properties of the bilayers.
Impact of Integral Dose on the Maintenance of Pain Relief in Patients with Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia Treated with Upfront Gamma Knife Radiosurgery.

Background Integral dose (ID) defined as the product of mean dose and target volume, is a measure of the absorbed radiation energy. Objective To evaluate the effect of ID on the duration of pain relief after primary Gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery (GKSRS) in trigeminal neuralgia. Patients and Methods A total of 78 patients who achieved initial pain response of I-III on the Barrow Neurological Institute Pain Scale (BNI-PS) following primary GKSRS for idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia were included in this study. A Cox regression model was used to compute the prognostic factor with respect to the ID within the 50% isodose line. Facial pain relief maintenance interval was defined as time interval between the day of improved BNI-PS grade and pain level back to the BNI-PS IV or V. The median duration of follow-up was 42 months (range 6–108 months). Results After the initial GKSRS, patients achieved pain relief at a median of 0.5 months (range, 7 days to 6 months); 28 patients developed recurrence of pain. There was a positive correlation between the pain relief maintenance and increasing ID within 50% isodose line (hazard ratio 1.85, P = 0.04) on multivariable Cox-regression analysis. Using logistic regression analysis, we found that ID was not predictive of developing post-stereotactic radiosurgery hypoesthesia (P = 0.64, hazard ratio 1.057). Conclusions Stereotactic radiosurgery can be individualized based on trigeminal nerve morphology to achieve durable pain relief in patients with trigeminal neuralgia. ID calculation aids in planning an optimal radiation dose based on the nerve morphology to provide durable pain relief of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia.
Additive manufacturing approaches for biological power generation

Abstract As the consequences of global warming continue to affect the climate, there is an increased need for technologies that decrease dependence on fossil fuel consumption and promote sustainability. Additive manufacturing (AM) not only enables the scale-up and mass production of renewable energy technologies but also reduces cost and lead time, minimizes waste, and uses less energy than traditional manufacturing processes. Moreover, AM brings design and innovation to the forefront by allowing for design strategy revision and rapid prototyping. Herein, AM approaches used to fabricate devices that enable biological power generation are described. Biological power generation is a process through which biocatalysts – electroactive bacteria, enzymes, or cyanobacteria – harvest electrons from chemical substrates or light. Device engineering directs electron transfer events to a conductive material and maximizes power output. This review covers recent AM approaches for biological power generation in the form of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), enzymatic fuel cells, and biophotovoltaic cells with an emphasis on MFCs. Fabrication methods and materials for electrodes, chambers, inserts, membranes, and biofilms are described, along with impacts on device performance.
PROINSULIN-PREDOMINANT PANCREATIC NEUROENDOCRINE TUMOR-INDUCED HYPOGLYCEMIA AFTER ROUX-EN-Y GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY

ABSTRACT Objective: To present a case of recurrent hypoglycemia following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery whose etiology was determined to be a proinsulin-predominant pancreatic neuroendocr...
The Effects of Some Exogenous Applications on Quality in ‘Crimson Seedless’ Grape

‘Crimson Seedless’ is a red seedless table grape (Vitis vinifera) and although it is widely cultivated in Aegean Region, it does not develop adequate color in warm climate. The present study was carried out to estimate the effect of abscisic acid (S-ABA), ethephon and girdling on color of bunches and metabolic profile on ‘Crimson Seedless’ grapevine variety. To achieve this goal, experimental treatments were carried out during two successive seasons (2017–2018). Experimental materials were eight-year-old ‘Crimson Seedless’ grapevines grafted onto 1103P (V. berlandieri x V. rupestris) of similar vigor and grown in a loamy soil structure under drip irrigation system. In this study a randomized block experimental design with three replications was used, with each plot consisting of six grapevines. Exogenous plant growth regulator (PGR) like S‑ABA and Ethephon was applied to the plant materials in five different application method. T4 (S-ABA+ Ethephon) application for ‘Crimson Seedless’ grape among different applications yielded more effective results on maturity index (SS/TA), total soluble solids (°Brix), a*, CIRG (Color Index of Red Grapes) and cluster lenght (mm) properties than other applications. Exogenous S‑ABA+ Ethephon promoted color development in ‘Crimson Seedless’ grape berries. For this reason, it has been determined that T4 (S-ABA+ Ethephon) treatment gives the best results for “Crimson Seeddless” grape variety. These results indicate that ‘Crimson Seedless’ grapevines grown in a warm climate, where color development is poor, would benefit from a spray of 400 mg/L S‑ABA, ten days after the veraison and 500 mg/L Ethephon, ten days after the first S‑ABA application.