cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phenotypic plasticity in cell walls of maize brown midrib mutants is limited by lignin composition

The hydrophobic cell wall polymer lignin is deposited in specialized cells to make them impermeable to water and prevent cell collapse as negative pressure or gravitational force is exerted. The variation in lignin subunit composition that exists among different species, and among different tissues within the same species suggests that lignin subunit composition varies depending on its precise function. In order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between lignin subunit composition and the physico-chemical properties of lignified tissues, detailed analyses were performed of near-isogenic brown midrib2 (bm2), bm4, bm2-bm4, and bm1-bm2-bm4 mutants of maize. This investigation was motivated by the fact that the bm2-bm4 double mutant is substantially shorter, displays drought symptoms even when well watered, and will often not develop reproductive organs, whereas the phenotypes of the individual bm single mutants and double mutant combinations other than bm2-bm4 are only subtly different from the wild-type control. Detailed cell wall compositional analyses revealed midrib-specific reductions in Klason lignin content in the bm2, bm4, and bm2-bm4 mutants relative to the wild-type control, with reductions in both guaiacyl (G)- and syringyl (S)-residues. The cellulose content was not different, but the reduction in lignin content was compensated by an increase in hemicellulosic polysaccharides. Linear discriminant analysis performed on the compositional data indicated that the bm2 and bm4 mutations act independently of each other on common cell wall biosynthetic steps. After quantitative analysis of scanning electron micrographs of midrib sections, the variation in chemical composition of the cell walls was shown to be correlated with the thickness of the sclerenchyma cell walls, but not with xylem vessel surface area. The bm2-bm4 double mutant represents the limit of phenotypic plasticity in cell wall composition, as the bm1-bm2-bm4 and bm2-bm3-bm4 mutants did not develop into mature plants, unlike the triple mutants bm1-bm2-bm3 and bm1-bm3-bm4.
Postmastectomy radiation therapy and immediate autologous breast reconstruction: integrating perspectives from surgical oncology, radiation oncology, and plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Background and Objectives The effect of postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) on immediately reconstructed abdominal wall-based tissue remains imprecisely defined. We evaluated evidence from all fields involved in care of the breast cancer patient in order to advance a unified recommendation regarding this therapeutic sequence. Methods We performed a MEDLINE and manual reference search to identify studies of PMRT with immediate autologous breast reconstruction. Inclusion criteria required studies to describe patients, flaps, and complication rates. Analyses were based on a random effects model. Surgical and radiation oncology literature was reviewed. Results Eleven retrospective studies of 337 patients with an average follow-up of 18–60 months (out of 268 patients) were selected for inclusion. Overall rates of fat necrosis, revisional surgery, volume loss, and fibrosis/contracture ranged from 16.9% to 35.4%. One out of 260 patients experienced total flap loss. There was an increased probability of fat necrosis in the irradiated breast (OR = 3.13, 95% CI = 1.42–6.89, P = 0.005) among three studies with non-irradiated controls. Five studies evaluated aesthetics with variable outcomes. Conclusions There is mixed evidence for the utility of PMRT with immediate autologous abdominal wall breast reconstruction. Further investigation requires prospective studies with collaboration among surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and plastic surgeons. J. Surg. Oncol. 2015 111:251–257. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A compressed-domain visual information embedding algorithm for MPEG-2 HDTV streams

Many features of traditional TV service are becoming desirable for software multimedia applications to provide open solutions and improve flexibility. We have studied a new kind of service, what we call "visual information embedding", that comes from the idea of picture-in-picture. Based on previous work in MPEG-compressed domain algorithms, we propose a "backtracking" approach that reduces the decoding complexity up to 90% and enables real-time processing on MPEG2 streams at the price of a delay of one group-of-picture period. We have implemented a software real-time visual information embedding gateway for HDTV streams, and the experimental results have shown that our solution is practical and efficient.
Citizens, Accountability, and Service Satisfaction The Influence of Expectations

Understanding how citizen-consumers form evaluations of public services is critical to understanding account ability in democratic governance. The task of using citizens’ assessments of service qua...
Evaluation of the use of remotely sensed evapotranspiration estimates into AnnAGNPS pollution model

The utilization of evapotranspiration (ET) estimates, derived from satellite remote sensing, into the Annualized Agricultural Non-Point Source (AnnAGNPS) pollution model was investigated. Modifications within AnnAGNPS were performed to allow the internal calculations of ET based on climate parameters, collected from ground-based measurements, to be replaced by ET estimates produced with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. Direct comparison of these sources of ET indicated that AnnAGNPS calculated ET estimates were 35% higher than the MODIS-calculated ET estimates resulting in a 10% increase in runoff at the outlet of the Yalobusha River Watershed for 2004. Simulated monthly runoff values based on MODIS and AnnAGNPS ET estimates for the year 2004 were compared with observed values from stream gages indicating slightly better agreement from the simulation using MODIS-derived ET. Analysis of the spatial distribution of the percent difference in runoff between AnnAGNPS-based ET and MODIS-based ET simulations showed higher differences at the most downstream and upstream of the watershed. These differences could be attributed to different soil properties or to the effect of distant field/weather station assigned to these locations. Although these findings should not be generalized to watersheds located in different ecosystems, the results indicate that the utilization of remotely sensed ET in hydrological modelling is feasible and that use of MODIS to estimate ET provided a more comprehensive spatial coverage than the often available through ground-based measurements. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Embolic testicular infarction secondary to nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis in Wegener's granulomatosis.

Acute scrotal or testicular pain is a common urological problem that usually requires immediate or emergency evaluation by a urologist. In adults the most common differential diagnoses are acute epididymo-orchitis, testicular torsion and trauma. Less commonly testis tumors may cause acute pain, especially when there is hemorrhage after traumatic insult. We report on a patient with recently diagnosed Wegener's granulomatosis and nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis who presented with acute testicular pain mimicking testicular torsion or a testis tumor.
Recombinant soluble P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 moderates local and remote injuries following experimental lower-torso ischaemia.

Background: A central role for the polymorphonuclear leucocyte (PMN) in skeletal muscle ischaemia–reperfusion has been demonstrated by the observation that PMN depletion reduced local and remote pulmonary vascular permeability. This study investigated the role of recombinant soluble P-selectin glycoprotein ligand–immunoglobulin fusion protein (rPSGL-Ig), a P- and E-selectin antagonist, in moderating injury. Methods: Mice underwent 2 h of hindlimb ischaemia and 3 h of reperfusion. Muscle and lung vascular permeability index (PI) was assessed by extravasation of 125I-radiolabelled albumin. Lung myelo peroxidase (MPO) activity was also measured. Results: In mice treated with rPSGL-Ig 1 mg/kg before reperfusion (n = 12) muscle PI was reduced by 40 per cent, whereas it was moderated by 20 per cent in animals treated 30 min after reperfusion (n = 15). Lung PI in mice treated with rPSGL-Ig before (n = 12) and 30 min after (n = 15) reperfusion was reduced by over 99 and 98 per cent respectively. Lung MPO activity in mice treated with rPSGL-Ig before (n = 10) and 30 min after (n = 12) reperfusion was reduced by 68 and 58 per cent respectively. Treatment with rPSGL-Ig 1 h after reperfusion, or with m20ek.Fc 1 mg/kg (n = 9; negative control for rPSGL-Ig which is inactive for selectin binding) before reperfusion failed significantly to moderate local or remote organ injury. Conclusion: Selectin blockade moderated local skeletal muscle and remote lung injury following hindlimb ischaemia–reperfusion. Significantly, delayed antiselectin therapy also decreased injury. © 2001 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd
LPS induces late cardiac functional protection against ischemia independent of cardiac and circulating TNF-α

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α independently induce cardioprotection against ischemia in the rat at 24 h after administration, suggesting that endogenously synthesized T...
Multivariate Congruential Methods

The multivariate congruential method to generate a k-dimensional uniform pseudo-random vectors sequence has been considered recently by Grothe (1987), Nieder-reiter(l986) and Deng (1989,1990b). In this paper, we proposed an efficient method of finding matrix multipliers with the maximum period. Several generators with extremely long cycle are presented. Extensive empirical study shows the excellent performance of the new generators.
End-User Acceptance of Electronic Journals

Abstract This article reports the results of a survey of Texas AM the reasons faculty were or were not using e-journals; and faculty concerns about e-journals. Faculty were also asked about other journal format choices for library collections and individual subscriptions. The findings suggest Texas A&M faculty are cautiously optimistic about electronic journals but unwilling to forego print journals.
Case Studies in Innovation at FEMA, NASA, OSHA and the FDA

These four case studies were prepared for the Council for Excellence in Government in 1997-98 and examine cases of successful transformation at four federal agencies: the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Food and Drug Administration. They are based primarily on interviews conducted with FEMA Director James Lee Witt, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, former OSHA administrator Joe Dear, and executives at the FDA.
Linking Maternal Socialization of Positive Emotions to Children’s Behavioral Problems: The Moderating Role of Self-Control

Little is known about how parents socialize children’s positive affect regulation during late childhood. Consequently, we examined how mothers’ reported responses to their children’s (aged 7–12 years) positive emotions were linked to children’s behavioral problems and how children’s self-control moderated these associations. Our results indicated that maternal encouragement of positive emotions predicted fewer externalizing behaviors, but only for youth with lower self-control. Maternal explanation about their children’s positive emotions was unrelated to youth’s behavioral problems. Lastly, maternal dismissing responses to their children’s positive emotions (i.e., reprimanding responses and discomfort) were related to more externalizing and internalizing in youth, and these effects were not dependent on the children’s self-control. The current study adds to the limited research on positive affect socialization and offers some evidence that youth’s self-control may serve as a vantage-sensitivity factor in the association between maternal positive affect socialization and youth adjustment.
Dynamic Modeling of Stick Slip Motion in an Untethered Magnetic Micro-Robot

This work presents the dynamic modeling of an untethered electromagnetically actuated magnetic micro-robot, and compares computer simulations to experimental results. The micro-robot, which is composed of neodymium-iron-boron with dimensions 250 μm x 130 μm x 100 μm, is actuated by a system of 5 macro-scale electromagnets. Periodic magnetic fields are created using two different control methods, which induce stick-slip motion in the micro-robot. The effects of model parameter variations on micro-robot velocity are explored and discussed. Micro-robot stick-slip motion is accurately captured in simulation. Velocity trends of the micro-robot on a silicon surface as a function of magnetic field oscillation frequency and magnetic field strength are also captured. Mismatch between simulation and reality is discussed.
Use of Intraoperative Computed Tomography in Complex Craniofacial Trauma: An Example of On-Table Change in Management:

The primary goals in repairing complex craniofacial fractures are restoration of occlusion and mastication, and anatomic reconstruction of a symmetric facial skeleton. Failure to accomplish these goals may result in the need for secondary operations. Recognition of malreduction may not be appreciated until review of a postoperative computed tomographic (CT) scan. Intraoperative CT scanning enables immediate on-table assessment of reduction and fixation, allowing alteration of the surgical plan as needed. We report using intraoperative CT scanning while repairing a panfacial injury in which malreduction was appreciated intraoperatively and corrected. Intraoperative CT can be used to improve outcomes and quality of complex facial fracture repair.
Staff Burnout Among Medical Technologists

Staff burnout among health professionals could produce dangerous ramifications for all concerned. Although addressed in other professions, burnout among medical technologists has not been adequately researched. The major purpose of this study was to determine the burnout scores of hospitalbased medical technologists certified by the Board of Registry of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP). An additional purpose was to determine if any significant relationships existed between burnout scores and four demographic factors: gender, number of years in the profession, job level, and the number of hospital beds in the work place. A demographic sheet and the Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals (SBS-HP) were mailed to 100 randomly selected ASCP-certified medical technologists. The resulting mean burnout score was higher than the scores obtained by the other groups of health professionals that had taken the SBSHP. No significant relationships were found between the demographic factors and the burnout scores.
Retroperitoneal abscess and mycotic aortic aneurysm: unusual septic complications of central vascular line placement in premature infants.

Objective To describe the sonographic appearance of unusual septic complications after central vascular line placement in premature infants. Methods Two case reports are presented. Results The first patient had a retroperitoneal abscess after percutaneous central venous catheter placement. The second patient had a ruptured mycotic aneurysm of the abdominal aorta after umbilical arterial catheter placement. Conclusions Retroperitoneal abscess and aortic aneurysm should be considered in patients with histories of long-standing catheters or line sepsis. Both of these complications are readily diagnosed on the basis of sonography.
Discussion on five methods used for the determination of temporal clustering on infectious diseases

探讨并比较判定传染病发病时间聚集性的五种方法.以郑州市金水区2008-2010年细菌性痢疾发病时间聚集性的判定为例,比较可用于传染病发病时间聚集性分析和判定的聚类分析、游程检验、负二项分布、圆分布、集中度五种方法.聚类分析得出5-9月是发病流行期,8月是发病高峰期;游程检验得出2008和2009年月发病具有聚集性(P＜0.05),2010年发病月分布具有随机性;集中度法得出2008-2010年每年月发病分布均有一定的聚集性,从M值看聚集程度逐年减弱;圆分布法得出2008-2010年每年均具有发病聚集倾向时间(P＜0.01),3年依次为7月11、29日和8月24日;负二项分布拟合得出在年度日发病层面2008和2010年具有聚集性(P＞0.05),2009年不具有聚集性(P＜0.05).五种方法均可用于传染病发病时间聚集性的分析和判定,可根据不同情况选择.[Introduction] To demonstrate and evaluate five different methods in the determination of temporal clustering on infectious diseases.The incidence rates of bacillary dysentery in Jinshui district,Zhengzhou city,Henan province from 2008 to 2010 were analyzed by 5 different methodsCluster Analysis,Runs Test,Negative Binomial Distribution,Circular Distribution and Concentration Ratio.Through Cluster Analysis,data showed that the epidemic period was from May to Sept.with August as the peak.Runs Test confirmed a cluster of month-incidence in 2008 and 2009 (P＜0.05)and a random distribution in 2010.The Concentration Ratio showed a weakened seasonal incidence cluster to a certain extent by M from 2008 to 2010.The Circular Distribution demonstrated an inclining cluster of time (P＜0.01) and it was on July 11th and 29th,as well on August 24th in 2008,2009 and 2010.In terms of day-incidence,the Negative Binomial Distribution presented a cluster in 2008 and 2010,but with no significant difference in 2009.The five above said methods could flexibly be used in determining the temporal clustering of infectious disease at different occasions. 关键词：传染病;时间聚集性;聚类分析;游程检验;负二项分布;圆分布;集中度
Egypt: Criminal Law

This chapter presents the substantive criminal law of Egypt according to the sources of that law: the 1971 Constitution, the 1937 Penal Code, and other legislation; decisions by the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC), the Court of Cassation, and other organs of the Egyptian judiciary; and administrative and executive regulations. The evolution of modern Egyptian criminal law is explained, and contemporary scholarly commentary is referenced; also addressed are the constitutional amendments of 2007, and controversial aspects of the law and its enforcement such as the use of emergency and military courts and the prosecution of alleged homosexuals. The chapter thus serves as an introduction to modern Egyptian criminal law and a reference source for scholars and researchers.
Post-contact, in-hand object motion compensation for compliant and underactuated hands

The past decade has seen great progress in the development of adaptive, low-complexity, underactuated robot hands. An advantage of these hands is that they use under-constrained mechanisms and compliance, which facilitate grasping even under significant object pose uncertainties. However, for many minimal contact grasps such as precision fingertip grasps, these hands tend to move the object after a grasp is secured, to an equilibrium configuration determined by the elasticity of the mechanism and the contact forces exerted through the robot fingertips. In this paper, we present a methodology based on constrained optimization methods for deriving stable, minimal effort grasps for underactuated robot hands and compensating for post-contact, in-hand parasitic object motions. To do so, we compute the imposed object motions for different object shapes and sizes and we synthesize appropriate robot arm trajectories that eliminate them. The approach allows for the computation of these grasps and motions even for hands with complex, flexure-based, compliant members. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is validated using a redundant robot arm (Barrett WAM) and a two fingered, compliant, underactuated robot hand (Yale Open Hand model T42), for a series of simulated and experimental paradigms.
519. Intravenous Application of CXCR4 Targeted Conditionally Replicative Adenovirus with Fiber and Hexon Modifications to Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the 4th leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Most newly diagnosed patients have unresectable disease due to local spread or early aggressive metastasis and have a medial survival of 6 months. Cancer stem cells (CSC) have been found to be involved in the development of metastatic disease. CSC markers such as C-X-C chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and CD133 are overexpressed on the invasive front of PDAC. In this study, we tested a CXCR4-targeted conditionally replicative adenovirus (CRAd) with fiber and hexon modifications toward systemic treatment of PDAC. Due to poor infectivity of CRAd to PDAC cells, our vector contains a modified chimeric fiber which incorporates adenovirus 5 shaft and adenovirus 3 knob (Ad5/3) in order to target PDAC cells via an alternative receptor. The CXCR-4 targeted CRAd with Ad5/3 fiber modification showed strong replication in CD133(+) primary cells isolated from human PDAC tumors. The virus copy number in CD133(+) cells was more than 5 times higher than in CD133(-) cells (p<0.0005). Virus replication capability as measured by luciferase expression from Ad major late promoter was more than double in CD133(+) cells (p<0.05). This data indicates Ad5/3 modified oncolytic adenovirus shows enhanced replication in CSC-rich CD133(+) population. To overcome the issue of adenoviral sequestration upon systemic injection by non-target organs (ie liver, lung), our vector was additionally modified by replacing the Ad5 hexon hypervariable regions 5 and 7 with those from Ad3. We assessed the hexon modified adenovirus in a human Ad replication-permissive model that is most frequently used in IND-directed distribution/toxicology studies, the Syrian hamster. When the virus copy number was assayed after systemic injection via the saphenous vein, the hexon modified virus showed decreased liver sequestration, while showing no difference in the lungs. On the other hand, the major late promoter driven luciferase expression showed much more significant reductions in both liver and lung. The difference between the assays may indicate more contribution of macrophages to the copy number. Next, antitumor effect of the fiber and hexon modified CRAd was assessed in patient-derived xenografts. After intratumoral administration, the fiber-modified CRAd showed antitumor effect compared to the untreated group regardless of the presence (AdCXCR4 E1 F5/3 H5/H3) or absence of (AdCXCR4 E1 F5/3) hexon modification (p<0.01 and 0.05, respectively). On the contrary, with intravenous infection, only the fiber and hexon modified CRAd (AdCXCR4 E1 F5/3 H5/H3) showed significant antitumor effect. We believe that our CXCR4-targeted chimeric fiber and hexon modified CRAd may be employed in advanced PDAC, and that hexon modification of oncolytic adenovirus can be advantageous with systemic administration in the clinical setting.
Myosin Activator Omecamtiv Mecarbil Differentially Impacts the Contractile Properties of Skinned Myocardium from Failing and Donor Human Hearts

Omecamtiv mecarbil (OM) is a compound that selectively targets the cardiac sarcomere and enhances myosin crossbridge (XB) activation and force generation. Because of these properties OM has been proposed as a treatment for systolic heart failure in humans, however, there are no studies that have directly examined the functional effects of OM, at XB level, in remodeled human failing myocardium. Thus, we tested whether OM differentially impacts contractile properties in failing and donor human myocardium. Isometric force, myofilament Ca2+-sensitivity (pCa50), rates of XB detachment (krel), recruitment (kdf), and magnitude of XB recruitment (Pdf) were measured both before and after OM incubation in chemically-skinned myocardial preparations isolated from failing and donor hearts. Because the failing myocardium exhibited an enhanced pCa50, dynamic XB parameters were measured at pCa's 6.6 and 6.3, respectively for failing and donor groups in order to achieve equivalent levels of activation (∼22% and ∼35% of maximal force, respectively for pre- and post-OM incubations). OM incubation did not alter the pCa50 but significantly enhanced the sub-maximal force production at forces lower than 50%, an affect that was less pronounced as Ca2+ levels increased. Furthermore, OM differentially impacted the contractile properties of failing and donor myocardium. Specifically, OM-induced force increases were more pronounced in the failing myocardium (∼79% increase vs. ∼28% in donor myocardium). Additionally, the OM-induced slowing of krel and kdf, and increase in Pdf were also more pronounced in the failing myocardium. Our results suggest that OM is effective in increasing force generation in myocardium isolated from failing hearts by increasing XB on-time and enhancing cooperative XB recruitment.
The Flipped Classroom: Implementing Technology To Aid In College Mathematics Student’s Success

August 2016 there was a call (Braun, Bremser, Duval, Lockwood & White, 2017) for post-secondary instructors to use active learning in their classrooms. Once such example of active learning is what is called the “flipped” classroom. This paper presents the need for, and the methodology of the flipped classroom, results of questionnaires on student perceptions, as well as quantitative data on student performance.
S-100β and Antioxidant Capacity in Cerebrospinal Fluid during and after Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair.

Background. Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) has substantially decreased the mortality and major complications from aortic surgery. However, neurological complications such as spinal cord ischemia may still occur after TEVAR. S-100β is a biomarker of central nervous system injury, and oxidant injury plays an important role in neurological injury. In this pilot study, we examined the trends of S-100β and antioxidant capacity in the CSF during and after TEVAR. Methods. We recruited 10 patients who underwent elective TEVAR. CSF samples were collected through a lumbar catheter at the following time points: before the start of surgery () and immediately () and 24 () and 48 hours () after the deployment of the aortic stent. S-100β and CSF antioxidant capacity were analyzed with the use of commercially available kits. Results. We observed that the level of S-100β in all of the subjects at 24 hours after the deployment of the aortic stent () increased. However, the levels of S-100β at and were comparable to the baseline value. The antioxidant capacity remained unchanged. No patient had a clinical neurologic complication. Conclusions. Our observations may indicate biochemical/subclinical central nervous system injury attributable to the deployment of the aortic stent.
Swift-X: Accelerating OpenStack Swift with RDMA for Building an Efficient HPC Cloud

Running Big Data applications in the cloud has become extremely popular in recent times. To enable the storage of data for these applications, cloud-based distributed storage solutions are a must. OpenStack Swift is an object storage service which is widely used for such purposes. Swift is one of the main components of the OpenStack software package. Although Swift has become extremely popular in recent times, its proxy server based design limits the overall throughput and scalability of the cluster. Swift is based on the traditional TCP/IP sockets based communication which has known performance issues such as context-switch and buffer copies for each message transfer. Modern high-performance interconnects such as InfiniBand and RoCE offer advanced features such as RDMA and provide high bandwidth and low latency communication. In this paper, we propose two new designs to improve the performance and scalability of Swift. We propose changes to the Swift architecture and operation design. We propose high-performance implementations of network communication and I/O modules based on RDMA to provide the fastest possible object transfer. In addition, we use efficient hashing algorithms to accelerate object verification in Swift. Experimental evaluations with microbenchmarks, Swift stack benchmark (ssbench), and synthetic application workloads reveal up to 2x and 7.3x performance improvement with our two proposed designs for put and get operations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work towards accelerating OpenStack Swift with RDMA over high-performance interconnects in the literature.
Low-Frequency Conductivity Tensor Imaging of the Human Head In Vivo Using DT-MREIT: First Study

We present the first in vivo images of anisotropic conductivity distribution in the human head, measured at a frequency of approximately 10 Hz. We used magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography techniques to encode phase changes caused by current flow within the head via two independent electrode pairs. These results were then combined with diffusion tensor imaging data to reconstruct full anisotropic conductivity distributions in 5-mm-thick slices of the brains of two participants. Conductivity values recovered in this paper were broadly consistent with literature values. We anticipate that this technique will be of use in many areas of neuroscience, most importantly in functional imaging via inverse electroencephalogram. Future studies will involve pulse sequence acceleration to maximize brain coverage and resolution.
Dry eye syndrome: developments and lifitegrast in perspective

Dry eye (DE) is a chronic ocular condition with high prevalence and morbidity. It has a complex pathophysiology and is multifactorial in nature. Chronic ocular surface inflammation has emerged as a key component of DE that is capable of perpetuating ocular surface damage and leading to symptoms of ocular pain, discomfort, and visual phenomena. It begins with stress to the ocular surface leading to the production of proinflammatory mediators that induce maturation of resident antigen-presenting cells which then migrate to the lymph nodes to activate CD4 T cells. The specific antigen(s) targeted by these pathogenic CD4+ T cells remains unknown. Two emerging theories include self-antigens by autoreactive CD4 T cells or harmless exogenous antigens in the setting of mucosal immunotolerance loss. These CD4 T cells migrate to the ocular surface causing additional inflammation and damage. Lifitegrast is the second topical anti-inflammatory agent to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of DE and the first to show improvement in DE symptoms. Lifitegrast works by blocking the interaction between intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and lymphocyte functional associated antigen-1, which has been shown to be critical for the migration of antigen-presenting cells to the lymph nodes as well as CD4+ T cell activation and migration to the ocular surface. In four large multicenter, randomized controlled trials, lifitegrast has proven to be effective in controlling both the signs and symptoms of DE with minimal side effects. Further research should include comparative and combination studies with other anti-inflammatory therapies used for DE.
Classification of Clinical Research Study Eligibility Criteria to Support Multi-Stage Cohort Identification Using Clinical Data Repositories

One of the challenges to using electronic health record (EHR) repositories for research is the difficulty mapping study subject eligibility criteria to the query capabilities of the repository. We sought to characterize criteria as "easy" (searchable in a typical repository), "hard" (requiring manual review of the record data), and "impossible" (not typically available in EHR repositories). We obtained 292 criteria from 20 studies available from Clinical Trials.gov and rated them according to our three types, plus a fourth "mixed" type. We had good agreement among three independent reviewers and chose 274 criteria that were characterized by single types for further analysis. The resulting analysis showed typical features of criteria that do and don't map to repositories. We propose that these features be used to guide researchers in specifying eligibility criteria to improve development of enrollment workflow, including the definition of EHR repository queries for self-service or analyst-mediated retrievals.
Measurement of PD-1, TIM-3 and LAG-3 protein in non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs) with acquired resistance to PD-1 axis blockers.

e14611Background: PD-1 axis blockade induces lasting clinical responses in ~20% of patients with advanced NSCLC. However, most patients eventually develop resistance. Acquired resistance is poorly ...
Impaired regulation of emotional distractors during working memory load in schizophrenia.

Abstract Schizophrenia (SZ) patients exhibit deficits in emotion regulation that affect their daily functioning. There is evidence that the prefrontal cortex plays an important role in emotion regulation. However, it remains unclear how this brain region is involved in emotion regulation deficits in SZ, and how such deficits impact performance on cognitively demanding tasks. We examined how happy and fearful emotional distractors impact performance on working memory (WM) tasks of varying difficulty (0-back, 2-back), and brain activity using fMRI. Participants were 20 patients with SZ and 20 healthy controls (HC) matched on age, sex, race, and IQ. A significant 3-way interaction showed that SZ patients had lower performance compared to HC when exposed to fearful and happy distractors, but only during the 2-back task. Second-level fMRI between-group analysis revealed that compared to SZ patients, HC showed significantly greater increase in brain activity with WM load in the left IFG (BA 45) when exposed to fearful distractors. Less brain activity in this region was also associated with reduction in SZ patients' performance during higher WM load and the presence of fearful distractors. SZ patients had difficulty in performing a WM task when regulating emotions, and they failed to show the emotion-specific modulation of the left IFG observed in HC. These results suggest that SZ patients have difficulty with emotion regulation demands during effortful cognitive tasks. This also provides us with potential insight on how emotion regulation could be rehabilitated in SZ using cognitive training.
A Review on Melt-Pool Characteristics in Laser Welding of Metals

Laser welding of metals involves with formation of a melt-pool and subsequent rapid solidification, resulting in alteration of properties and the microstructure of the welded metal. Understanding and predicting relationships between laser welding process parameters, such as laser speed and welding power, and melt-pool characteristics have been the subjects of many studies in literature because this knowledge is critical to controlling and improving laser welding. Recent advances in metal additive manufacturing processes have renewed interest in the melt-pool studies because in many of these processes, part fabrication involves small moving melt-pools. The present work is a critical review of the literature on experimental and modeling studies on laser welding, with the focus being on the influence of process parameters on geometry, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, microstructure, and porosity characteristics of the melt-pool. These data may inform future experimental laser welding studies and may be used for verification and validation of results obtained in future melt-pool modeling studies.
Foundations of Sequence-to-Sequence Modeling for Time Series

The availability of large amounts of time series data, paired with the performance of deep-learning algorithms on a broad class of problems, has recently led to significant interest in the use of sequence-to-sequence models for time series forecasting. We provide the first theoretical analysis of this time series forecasting framework. We include a comparison of sequence-to-sequence modeling to classical time series models, and as such our theory can serve as a quantitative guide for practitioners choosing between different modeling methodologies.
Biocomputation: comparing genomes

The theory behind biocomputing is to look to biological structures and processes for new ways of solving difficult computational problems. But this need not be a one-way street: advances in computing can feed back into the study of biology, leading to better biotechnological tools.
Thermal Nonequilibrium Between Fluid and Solid Phases

In this chapter we examine the single-phase flow through solid matrices where the assumption of the local thermal equilibrium between the phases is not valid. When there is a significant heat generation occurring in any one of the phases (solid or fluid), i.e., when the primary heat transfer is by heat generation in a phase and the heat transfer through surfaces bounding the porous medium is less significant, then the local (finite and small) volumes of the solid and fluid phases will be far from the local thermal equilibrium. Also, when the temperature at the bounding surface changes significantly with respect to time, then in the presence of an interstitial flow and when solid and fluid phases have significantly different heat capacities and thermal conductivities, the local rate of change of temperature for the two phases will not be equal.
Financial Structures: Indebtedness and Credit

Our subject is debt, credit and the rate of interest in Keynesian theory and the significance of these variables for economic policy. A particular interest is the significance of the financial structure — i.e., the impact of the particular set of financial institutions and financial relations that exist upon the behaviour of the economy. Modern capitalism is a system in which financial relations are of particular importance in determining what happens. An understanding of the movements in calendar time of contemporary capitalisms depends upon understanding the behaviour and evolution of financial practices and structures.
Sovereign Debt Restructurings: The Case of Venezuela—Issues and Challenges

In November 2017, the Venezuela government announced its intention to restructure its sovereign debt. To address the challenges and issues involved, we organized a conference at Drexel University on February 23, 2018, sponsored by the Global Interdependence Center and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business. Internationally recognized experts, academics, and renowned practitioners representing a variety of institutional perspectives presented complex issues related to the anticipated restructuring and touched upon economic, geopolitical, legal, and market-driven conditions that will impact the success of the restructuring. Although the case of Venezuela’s restructuring is complicated due to political considerations and the current humanitarian crisis in the country, nevertheless it offers a multifaceted review of a sovereign debt restructuring as more countries are expected to restructure their debt in the near future, given the rising interest rate environment. The estimated $150 billion restructuring of Venezuela’s sovereign and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA)’s debt will have a major impact on investment portfolios of institutional investors in the years to come. This article serves as an introduction to the topics covered in the conference and as a synopsis of the contributions.
Azathioprine and Mycophenolate Mofetil Adherence Patterns and Predictors Among Medicaid Beneficiaries With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Objective Azathioprine (AZA) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) are immunosuppressants frequently used in the treatment of moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We studied longitudinal patterns and predictors of adherence to AZA and MMF in a nationwide US SLE cohort. Methods In the Medicaid Analytic eXtract (2000-2010) database, we identified patients with SLE who initiated AZA or MMF (no use in the prior 6 months) with ≥12 months of continuous follow-up. We dichotomized adherence at 80%, with ≥24 of 30 days per month considered adherent. We used group-based trajectory models to estimate monthly adherence patterns and multivariable multinomial logistic regression to determine the association between demographic, SLE and utilization-related predictors, and the odds ratios (OR) of belonging to a nonadherent versus the adherent trajectory, separately for AZA and MMF. Results We identified 2,309 AZA initiators and 2,070 MMF initiators with SLE. Four-group trajectory models classified 17% of AZA and 21% of MMF initiators as adherent. AZA and MMF nonadherers followed similar trajectory patterns. African American race (OR 1.67 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.20-2.31]) and Hispanic ethnicity (OR 1.58 [95% CI 1.06-2.35]) increased odds of AZA nonadherence; there were no significant associations between race/ethnicity and MMF nonadherence. Male sex and polypharmacy were associated with lower odds of nonadherence to both medications; lupus nephritis was associated with lower odds of nonadherence to MMF (OR 0.74 [95% CI 0.55-0.99]). Conclusion Adherence to AZA or MMF over the first year of use was rare. Race, sex, and lupus nephritis were modestly associated with adherence, but the magnitude, direction, and significance of predictors differed by medication, suggesting the complexity of predicting adherence behavior.
Total Synthesis of (+)-Granatumine A and Related Bislactone Limonoid Alkaloids via a Pyran to Pyridine Interconversion.

We report the first total synthesis of (+)-granatumine A, a limonoid alkaloid with PTP1B inhibitory activity, in ten steps. Over the course of this study, two key methodological advances were made: a cost-effective procedure for ketone α,β-dehydrogenation using allyl-Pd catalysis, and a Pd-catalyzed protocol to convert epoxyketones to 1,3-diketones. The central tetrasubstituted pyridine is formed by a convergent Knoevenagel condensation and carbonyl-selective electrocyclization cascade, which was followed by a direct transformation of a 2H-pyran to a pyridine. These studies have led to the structural revision of two members of this family.
Molybdenum-carbide-graphene composites for paper-based strain and acoustic pressure sensors

Abstract Paper-based pressure/strain sensors could have potential wide applications with wearable features in disposable products. In this study, molybdenum carbide-graphene (MCG) composites with porous and stacking micro-structures are fabricated on top of the paper substrate to act as piezo-resistivity strain/pressure sensors. As a strain sensor, this paper-based device can detect not only the amplitude and frequency of applied strain but also the direction as tensile or compressive deformation. The gauge factors are 73 and 43 for tensile and compressive strain, respectively, with demonstration example in detecting and recognizing human body motions. As a pressure sensor, this MCG-based paper device has high sensitivity to weak pressure signals such as sounds by distinguishing the seven piano notes. Our study provides a simple strategy for developing paper-based electronics with unique properties toward practical applications.
Student Attitudes Toward Tobacco Use and Tobacco Policies on College Campuses.

We utilized a mixed methods approach to assess student attitudes towards tobacco use and campus tobacco policies. Interviews (N = 21), focus groups (N = 2 groups, 4–5 participants each), and an online survey (N = 636) were conducted among a sample of students attending a 4-year, urban, public university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. In interviews and focus groups, students expressed skepticism about a tobacco-free campus policy due to perceived violations of personal rights and challenges with enforcement. Of the sample surveyed, 9.2% and 20.6% had used cigarettes or e-cigarettes within the past 30 days. The majority of students agreed that colleges have a responsibility to adopt tobacco-free policies that reduce the risk of tobacco addiction (62.4%) and ensure smoke-free air to breathe (81.5%). However, more than half (56.3%) also indicated that a policy allowing for designated smoking areas for cigarettes was best for campus, which runs counter to a comprehensive tobacco-free policy. Academic year, gender, and race/ethnicity were significant factors associated with support for tobacco-free policies. Current smokers and vapers were less likely to support tobacco-free policies that reduce the risk of tobacco addiction (OR = 0.3, 95% CI 0.1, 0.7 for smokers; OR = 0.3, 95% CI 0.1, 0.6 for vapers), but not policies that ensure smoke-free air to breathe. E-cigarettes pose a unique obstacle to tobacco-free policies, as students perceived e-cigarettes to be less harmful than cigarettes. To implement a tobacco-free campus policy, students suggested educational campaigns that focus on the potential health benefits of a tobacco-free campus.
Triangle Completion Time Prediction Using Time-Conserving Embedding

A triangle is an important building block of social networks, so the study of triangle formation in a network is critical for better understanding of the dynamics of such networks. Existing works in this area mainly focus on triangle counting, or generating synthetic networks by matching the prevalence of triangles in real-life networks. While these efforts increase our understanding of triangle’s role in a network, they have limited practical utility. In this work we undertake an interesting problem relating to triangle formation in a network, which is, to predict the time by which the third link of a triangle appears in a network. Since the third link completes a triangle, we name this task as Triangle Completion Time Prediction (TCTP). Solution to TCTP problem is valuable for real-life link recommendation in social/e-commerce networks, also it provides vital information for dynamic network analysis and community generation study.
Isolation rearing reduces brain glucose metabolism after burn injury

1770 Objectives We Previously identified brain regions with decreased immediate early gene (IEG) expression in isolation reared (IR) rats ( Levine et al., 2008). In the current study, effects of burn injury on brain FDG uptake were evaluated in Group reared (GR) and Isolation reared (IR) rats. If FDG PET findings correlate with the genetic changes, they could serve as a biomarker in translational studies aimed at linking findings in isolation reared animals to clinical studies of patients presenting with symptoms due to early psychosocial deprivation. Methods A total of 12 male rats were obtained on post natal day (PN) 17 with lactating dams and were housed as in our prior studies (Levine et al., 2008). On PN 21, 1/2 of the animals were subjected to 20% dorsal burn in 90 degree water for 8 sec or sham treatment. The IR rats were then housed individually and the GR rats were housed in groups (Levine et al., 2007). On PN 49 the rats were fasted for 24 h, anaesthetized with isoflurane/N2O2, positioned in to a custom fabricated head holder, injected with FDG (1.0 mCi via tail vein) and brain images of 5 min. duration were acquired with a Siemens focus 220 (PET/CT. Images were reconstructed using the OSEM 3D/MAP algorithm with zoom 6 (256 x 256 matrix) and ROIs (SUV) were constructed for whole brain and multiple regions. Results The FDG PET results are summarized in the Table. For whole brain, FDG uptake in sham rats was neatly identical for IR and GR animals (p=NS). In contrast, whole brain FDG PET SUV was reduced by ~53% and IR ~ 68% for GR (p Conclusions The finding of FDG SUV differences, suggest the possibility that metabolic changes that can be measured in vivo using PET can be used as a biomarker of molecular changes that have previously only been accessible by ex-vivo measurements. Research Support Shriners Hospital Boston
Energy Harvesting Circuit for Indoor Light Based on the FOCV and P&O Schemes with an Adaptive Fraction Approach

This paper presents an energy harvesting circuit for indoor light. The main design objective of the proposed circuit is high adaptability to various types of photovoltaic (PV) cells and coverage of a large range of PV voltages. A dual-input dual-output buck-boost running in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) with pulse skipping modulation is adopted for the purpose. It proposes the fractional open-circuit voltage (FOCV) scheme with an adaptive fraction for maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The optimal fraction is obtained through the perturb & observe (P&O) scheme, which leads the proposed MPPT method adaptable to different types of PV cells. The circuits are designed in 0.18 μm BCDMOS process, and post-layout simulations verify correct operation of the proposed circuit.