cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Outcomes following surgical treatment compared to radiation for stage I NSCLC: a SEER database analysis.

Abstract Introduction Outcomes following surgery are better than following radiation therapy (RT), for stage I NSCLC. Whether this is due to selection of healthier patients for surgery is unclear. This study was undertaken to compare outcomes between surgical patients and patients who were surgical candidates but did not receive surgery. Methods Data of patients with stage I NSCLC between 1988 and 2007, included in the SEER database were analyzed. Overall survival (OS) was examined by treatment type (surgery only, radiation only, surgery and radiation, and no treatment). OS was compared between RT patients who refused surgery and those not fit for surgery. Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare outcomes by treatment type. Results Data from 8579 patients with stage I NSCLC during 1988–2007 were analyzed. Use of RT alone increased during the study period. An increasing proportion of patients with stage I lung cancer chose to have no treatment. On multivariate analysis, OS was better among patients who had surgery. There was a 56% improvement in survival among patients who had surgery compared to fit patients who refused surgery (HR 0.437, 95% CI 0.301–0.632). Patients who refused surgery had a better OS than those who were not fit for surgery (log-rank p = 0.01). Patients who received RT alone or no treatment had a significant improvement in five-year OS during the latter part of the study period (1998–2002 vs. 1988–1992). Conclusions In medically fit patients, outcomes following surgery are better than those following conventional radiation. Hence surgery should be chosen over conventional radiation, whenever possible. Outcomes following RT show an improvement over time reflecting improvement in radiation techniques.
Temporal patterns of target catch and sea turtle bycatch in the US Atlantic pelagic longline fishing fleet

Sea turtle bycatch in pelagic longline fishing gear is an ongoing threat to the conservation of sea turtle popula- tions. However, these bycatch events do not occur uniformly in space or time. Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) bycatch rates reported in large fishing regions exhibited different degrees of interannual varia- bility. Target catch and sea turtle bycatch in most regions displayed strong periodicity that corresponded to seasons (~365 days) and/or moon phase (~29 days). When trends in catch and bycatch rates were examined by month and moon phase, the significant periods of higher and lower catch and bycatch related to swordfish (Xiphias gladius), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), and sea turtle temporal distributions in foraging and spawning/nesting, oceanographic and prey con- ditions, and foraging behavior. Catch and bycatch rates tended to depend more on a seasonal rather than a lunar time scale, although there is likely an interaction between the two. These findings provide insights to the susceptibility of target catch and bycatch, regional and temporal patterns of fishing effort, and potential guidance for resource management and conser- vation. Resume´ : La capture accessoire de tortues marines par les palangres pelagiques constitue toujours une menace pour la conservation des populations de tortues marines. Cependant, ces evenements de captures accessoires ne se repartissent pas uniformement dans l'espace et le temps. Les taux de capture des tortues luths (Dermochelys coriacea) et des caouanes (Caretta caretta) signales dans les grandes regions de peche affichent des degres divers de variabiliteinterannuelle. Dans la plupart des regions, les captures ciblees et les captures accessoires de tortues marines suivent une periodicitemarquee qui correspond aux saisons (~365 jours) et/ou aux phases de la lune (~29 jours). L'examen des tendances dans les taux de captures ciblees et de captures accessoires en fonction des mois et des phases lunaires montre que les periodes significati- ves plus elevees et plus basses de captures ciblees et accessoires correspondent aux repartitions temporelles de la recherche de nourriture et de la fraie/nidification, ainsi qu'aux conditions oceaniques, a l'etat des proies et au comportement alimen- taire, chez l'espadon (Xiphias gladius), l'albacore anageoires jaunes (Thunnus albacares) et les tortues marines. Les taux de captures ciblees et accessoires tendent adependre plus d'une echelle temporelle saisonniere que lunaire, bien qu'il y ait vraisemblablement une interaction entre les deux. Ces resultats ouvrent des perspectives sur la vulnerabiliteala capture ci- blee et accessoire et sur les patrons regionaux et temporels de repartition de l'effort de peche et ils permettent de formuler des recommendations potentiellement utiles pour la gestion et la conservation. (Traduit par la Redaction)
Constraint of DNA on Functionalized Graphene Improves its Biostability and Specificity

The single-stranded DNA constrained on graphene surface is effectively protected from enzymatic cleavage by DNase I. The anisotropy, fluorescence, NMR, and CD studies suggest that the single-stranded DNA is promptly adsorbed onto graphene forming strong molecular interactions. Furthermore, the constraint of DNA probe on graphene improves the specificity of its response to complementary DNA. These findings will promote the further application of graphene in biotechnology and biomedical fields.
Dynamic analyses of roll plane interconnected hydro-pneumatic suspension systems

Concepts in roll-interconnected hydro-pneumatic suspensions with hydraulic and pneumatic couplings are developed and analysed for enhancement of anti-roll properties of heavy vehicles. The mathematical models of the roll-coupled suspensions are formulated considering the fluid properties and variable damping valves. The roll properties of fluidically connected suspensions are compared with those of unconnected suspensions with and without anti-roll bar, and dynamic responses of a heavy vehicle with different suspensions are investigated under excitations arising from road roughness and directional manoeuvres. The results indicate that both interconnected suspensions could considerably improve roll stiffness without affecting vertical ride, while hydraulic interconnections could further enhance the roll mode damping properties.
DSDQuery DSI — Querying scientific data repositories with structured operators

Scientific data is often distributed through repositories that host a large number of files in formats such as NetCDF or HDF5. With recent and anticipated increases in the size of observational and simulation data, it is important to transport just the data that are of interest from a large distributed dataset. Unfortunately, existing portals provide limited querying interfaces — typically a set of predefined hard coded subsettings, limiting user's querying flexibility. This paper describes a system that addresses this gap. The relational algebra is adapted for scientific array querying allowing us to adapt a subset of SQL for this domain, which enables nuanced subsetting conditions to be applied on a set of dataset files within a repository. A query processing algorithm extracts and collects data from relevant datasets, based on metadata that was earlier extracted using an automatic metadata extraction engine. Finally, the system stitches a new structured, NetCDF, file to be returned as a resultset, allowing the returned data to be used and analyzed by existing tools. The system has been extensively evaluated to show its ability to handle increasing data and/or number of files.
Parameters Necessary for Analyzing Thermal Bioassays on Marine Fish

A series of bioassay experiments concerning the effects of heated water on white perch have shown that, for water temperatures ranging between 82°F (300.9°K) and 97°F (309.3°K), the lethal effects on a white perch being held at any temperature within that range will occur within the first 36 hrs of exposure. This is shorter than the time period prescribed in general by the standard bioassay procedure. Three parameters are given which more completely describe the pattern of mortality. Investigation has shown that: (1) A relationship exists between the temperature at which mortalities of the white perch are incipient and the temperature at which the body of the fish is functioning and (2) the lethal effects on white perch caused by extreme water temperatures are independent of the rate of temperature increase.
Optimized Parallel Label Propagation Based Community Detection on the Intel(R) Xeon Phi(TM) Architecture

Complex systems such as social, biological and information networks, characterized by millions to billions of sub-entities and relationships between them are best represented by graphs. A distinguishing feature of such complex systems is the self-organization into dense clusters called communities. Detecting such communities in massive graphs is critical to the understanding of such complex systems. However community detection is non-trivial and is expensive due to a vast number of computations needed to fully realize the underlying relationships. While a number of near-exact and heuristic algorithms is available for community detection, parallelizing such algorithms to fully leverage the advantages of parallel hardware is still a challenging problem. Most presently available approaches attempt to optimize run-time complexities by scaling original serial community detection algorithms. Graph algorithms in general and existing community detection algorithms in particular are known for not being commensurate with linear scalability on parallel systems. Therefore, there is a need for a combination of high-performance software and a hardware platform that would support efficient parallel graph processing with respect to community detection. We present an Intel® Xeon Phi Label Propagation algorithm (PLPA) variant of community detection algorithm based on label propagation (LP). Our algorithm was tuned for the Intel® Xeon Phi platform a novel architecture that provides 50+ physical cores with simultaneous multithreading. We outline Phi architecture advantages and limitations for PLPA and massive graph processing in general. We present test results of running our algorithm on large real-world networks while achieving near linear speedups and improving the quality of the detected communities. We also analyze possibilities of processing massive networks that cannot fully fit in a Phi memory and hence we extend our initial solution to a modified PLPA (PLPA-M).
Intimate partner violence–related experiences and mental health among college students in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health threat that contributes to a wide range of mental and physical health problems for victims. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to examine IPV-related experiences and mental health outcomes among college students in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. METHODS: The data were obtained from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), the International Dating Violence Study (IDVS) 2001-2006 (ICPSR 29583; N = 981; Japan n = 207; Singapore n = 260; South Korea n = 256; Taiwan n = 258). RESULTS: Co-experience of physical IPV victimization and perpetration was associated with borderline personality traits and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but not with depression. Childhood sexual abuse, gender hostility and violence socialization were significant predictors of borderline personality traits, depression and PTSD. While country and gender variations in mental health are noted, there are two specific populations that may need special attention for mental health interventions: Taiwanese women especially for borderline personality traits and PTSD, and Japanese men especially for depression. CONCLUSION: IPV victimization and perpetration, childhood sexual abuse, gender hostility and violence socialization have a significant impact on the mental health of college students in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Since IPV and mental health are significant public health issues, research on IPV and mental health consequences of IPV victimization and perpetration in these countries should be further expanded in order to better understand the interventions that will be effective in treating victims, perpetrators and victim/perpetrators of IPV. Language: en
Flow Modulation by Finite Size Particles: From Stokes Suspensions to Turbulence

Dispersed two-phase flows of particles in liquids arise commonly in the chemical in- dustry, oil extraction or materials handling, with typical volume fractions in the range of 1-40%. The flow is determined by the usual viscous stresses and by the cumulative effect of the local stresses generated by the randomly dispersed particle phase, including the effects of particle-particle contacts. We describe the results of several large scale numerical simulations of the flows both for Stokes suspensions, where the fluctuations are dominated by the distribution of particle phase and for a turbulent flow, where local fluid inertia and particle inertia play important roles. The issues of how to characterize the particle stresses and the particle fluxes are noted. a 2 � � that may be of order ten, even though the primary flow may have a much higher Reynolds number. We use a to denote the particle radius, u to denote the local rate of shear, andfor the fluid viscosity. Suspension flows are usually associated with viscous flow conditions and the motion of colloidal particles. There has been extensive research on the dynamics of neutrally buoyant, colloidal suspensions in uniform shear flows and a number of the key points are highlighted in recent review papers 2,3 and references therein. Particles that are a few microns in diameter or larger exhibit little effect of Brownian motion but are randomly dispersed through their chaotic hydrodynamic interactions once the volume fraction exceeds a few percent. The random velocity fluctuations in the suspension and particle dispersion may be further enhanced by the effects of steric coatings, particle contact forces or effects of surface roughness. 4 These effects introduce irreversibility into the otherwise reversible dynamics of Stokes flow and lead to a minimum separation distance between the particles. The development of theory in each area focuses on the effective stresses in the flow introduced on average by the particle phase. Particle fluxes are often framed in terms of an effective diffusivity coefficient with a gradient diffusion process dependent on variations in the particle volume fraction. While this may be effective in homogeneous systems or flows with uniform shear flows, other effects such as the effective particle
Diffusion Tensor Imaging Correlates with Short-Term Myelopathy Outcome in Patients with Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Objective To determine if spinal cord diffusion tensor imaging indexes correlate with short-term clinical outcome in patients undergoing elective cervical spine surgery for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). Methods A prospective consecutive cohort study was performed in patients undergoing elective cervical spine surgery for CSM. After obtaining informed consent, patients with CSM underwent preoperative T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging of the cervical spine. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values at the level of maximum cord compression and at the noncompressed C1-2 level were calculated on axial images. We recorded the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) scale, Neck Disability Index, and Short Form-36 physical functioning subscale scores for all patients preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. Statistical analysis was performed to identify correlations between FA and clinical outcome scores. Results The study included 27 patients (mean age 54.5 years ± 1.9, 12 men). The mean postoperative changes in mJOA scale, Neck Disability Index, and Short Form-36 physical functioning subscale scores were 0.9 ± 0.3, −6.0 ± 1.9, and 3.4 ± 1.9. The mean FA at the level of maximum compression was significantly lower than the mean FA at the C1-2 level (0.5 vs. 0.55, P = 0.01). FA was significantly correlated with change in mJOA scale score (Pearson r = −0.42, P = 0.02). FA was significantly correlated with the preoperative mJOA scale score (Pearson r = 0.65, P Conclusions Preoperative FA at the level of maximum cord compression significantly correlates with the 3-month change in mJOA scale score among patients with CSM. FA was also significantly associated with preoperative mJOA scale score and is a potential biomarker for spinal cord dysfunction in CSM.
Planet Formation in Close Binaries

Several exoplanets have been discovered in close binaries (a < 30 AU) to date.The fact that planets can form in these dynamically challenging environments says that planet formation must be a robust process. Disks in these systems should be tidally truncated to within a few AU, so if they form in situ, the efficiency of planet formation must be high. While the dynamical capture of planets is also a possibility, the probability of these interactions is low, so in situ formation is the more plausible explanation. I examine the truncation of protoplanetary disks in close binary stars, studying how the disk mass is affected as it evolves from higher accretion rates to lower rates. In the gamma Cephei system, a protoplanetary disk around the primary star should be truncated to within a few AU, but enough mass still remains for planets to form. However, if the semimajor axis of the binary is too small or its eccentricity is too high, such as in HD 188753, the disk will have too little mass for planet formation to occur. I present a way to characterize the feasibility of planet formation based on binary orbital parameters such as stellar mass, companion mass, eccentricity and semi-major axis. Using this measure, we can quantify the robustness of planet formation in close binaries and better understand the overall efficiency of planet formation in general.
Management of eye disease in the insulin-dependent diabetic patient.

SUMMARY Severe retinopathy and blindness are rare in children with IDDM. However, many of the pathologic changes that will lead to severe retinopathy start in childhood or adolescence. Available data suggest an association between poor glucose control and severity of retinopathy. Further data are needed to confirm the role of “tight” control of blood sugar and blood pressure, or the use of medical therapy such as aldose reductase inhibitors or aspirin, in preventing the incidence or the progression of retinopathy. Patients with IDDM should receive regular ophthalmologic examinations, since timely panretinal photocoagulation treatment may prevent visual loss. This is especially important since diabetic individuals may be unaware of potential loss of vision because vision is usually unimpaired in the earlier stages of diabetic retinopathy. Even patients with new blood vessel growth may be unaware of the threat to vision until a serious hemorrhage into the vitreous occurs. At this point, it may be more difficult to obtain successful results from treatment.
A search for seismic reflections from the top of the oceanic crust beneath Hawaii

Three-component digital array recordings of a midcrustal microearthquake cluster beneath the southeast flank of Kilauea volcano have been analyzed at four nearby portable stations for the presence of S -wave reflections from the top of the old oceanic crust and from the M -discontinuity beneath Hawaii. Cross-spectral correlation was applied to both P - and S -wave arrivals to obtain very precise relative hypocentral locations for the 29 events in the cluster. Reciprocal array analysis, in which the plane of earthquakes is treated as an observing array and the station as a source (Spudich and Bostwick, 1987), was applied to the S -wave coda for record sections at each of the four stations used in the joint hypocenter determination. Results of apparent velocity measurements across the earthquake (observing) array show that the early S -wave coda (up to about 1 to 1.5 sec after direct S ) is dominated by near-station reverberations. None of the large amplitude arrivals that are seen on the records immediately following direct S , including those which were previously interpreted by us to be possible reflections from the upper part of the oceanic crust beneath Hawaii, are in fact deep reflections. Array slownesses for two of the stations studied reveal a weak component of backscattered energy at coda arrival times greater than about 1.5 sec that may be due to reflections from lower crustal reflectors and from the Moho. Those signals, however, originate at reflector depths greater than those postulated for the upper part of the old oceanic crust beneath Hawaii. The crustal reflections indicate reflector depths around 10 km or 11 km, about the predicted depth for the boundary between upper (layer 2) and the lower (layer 3) sections of the old oceanic crust. Reflections from the Moho give two-way travel times indicative of total crustal thickness under that part of Hawaii of about 13 to 14 km. When the seismograms are source migrated (by normalizing the travel times and epicentral distances to remove the effect of varying focal depth), both deep crustal and Moho reflections are seen as low-frequency signals that are roughly aligned on the record sections. The apparent absence of strong reflections from the the top of the old oceanic crust beneath Hawaii means either that the boundary is not marked by a very strong seismic discontinuity or that the earthquakes studied are so close to the boundary that even large amplitude reflections are effectively masked by the dominating effect of near station reverberations.
SU-G-TeP2-08: Evaluation of Plastic Scintillator Detector for Small Field Stereotactic Patient-Specific Quality Assurance

Purpose: To evaluate the performance of a commercial plastic scintillator detector (PSD) for small-field stereotactic patient-specific quality assurance using flattening-filter-free (FFF) beams. Methods: A total of ten spherical targets (volume range:[0.03cc–2cc]) were planned using Dynamic Conformal Arc(DCA-10 plans) and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy(VMAT-10 plans) techniques in Eclipse(AAA v.11, 1mm dose calculation grid size). Additionally, 15 previously-treated cranial and spine SRS plans were evaluated (6 DCA, 9 VMAT, volume range:[0.04cc–119.02cc]). All measurements were acquired using Varian Edge equipped with HDMLC. Three detectors were used: PinPoint ion chamber (PTW;active volume 0.015cc), Exradin W1 PSD (Standard Imaging;active volume 0.002cc), and Gafchromic EBT3 film (Ashland). PinPoint and PSD were positioned perpendicular to beam axis in a Lucy phantom (Standard Imaging). Films were placed at isocenter in solid water. Calibration films were delivered for absolute dose analysis. Results: For large spherical targets(>1.5cc) with DCA, all detectors agreed within 1% of AAA calculations. As target volume decreased, PSD measured higher doses than AAA (maximum difference: 3.3% at 0.03cc target), while PinPoint chamber measured lower doses (maximum difference:-3.8% at 0.03cc target). Inter-detector differences between pinpoint and PSD increased with decreasing target size; differences>5% were observed for targets 5% higher dose than PinPoint chamber (maximum difference: 9.25% at 0.04cc target). Film demonstrated agreement of −0.19±1.47% with PSD for all spherical targets, and agreement within −0.98±2.25% for all 15 clinical targets. Unlike DCA, VMAT plans did not show improved AAA-to-detector agreements for large targets. Conclusion: For all targets, the PSD measurements agreed with film within 1.0%, on average. For small volume targets ( 5%) compared with the pin point ion chamber. The plastic scintillator detector appears to be suitable for accurate measurements of small SRS targets.
Management of High-Risk Primary Tumors Including Nodal Staging

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) is a growing epidemic in the United States. Recent evidence suggests that the mortality from CSCC may be just as common as that from melanoma, renal carcinoma and oropharyngeal carcinoma. While most CSCCs are easily treatable and curable, this textbook focuses on the high-risk subset of CSCC which exhibits more aggressive behavior and has a significant risk of recurrence. While many treatment options exist, optimal treatment depends on the benefits and shortcomings of each modality. The use of radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted molecular inhibitors as adjuvant therapy is likely to be critical to the management of high-risk CSCC but protocols and case selection parameters are just beginning to be investigated. Lastly, new evidence indicates that sentinel lymph node biopsy may be indicated in the work up of high-risk CSCC. This chapter will provide an overview of management options for high-risk CSCC primary tumors. Management of field cancerization, extensive local disease including in-transit metastases, nodal disease, and metastatic disease are covered in Chaps. 5, 7, 8, and 9, respectively.
ASYMPTOTIC RESULTS ON A SPLINE ESTIMATE OF A PROBABILITY DENSITY

Publisher Summary This chapter presents asymptotic results on a spline estimate of a probability density and discusses a class of cubic spline estimators of probability density functions over a finite interval. It describes the precise asymptotic behavior of the bias and covariance of these estimators and the asymptotic normality of the estimators. Given a finite number of fixed distinct points, the estimates are jointly asymptotically normal and independent with bias.
Developing a Scaffolded Learning Process to Increase Undergraduate Research Skills

This session presents the successes and challenges experienced in redesigning our curriculum (BS in Community Health) to support a scaffolded approach to developing undergraduate research skills, which was funded through a Students as ScholarsA¢â¬â¢ Curriculum Scholarship Development grant. We will detail the creation of discovery, inquiry and creation of scholarship level courses.AÂ In addition, our liaison librarian, who created library skills workshops unique to the research requirements of each class level, will share her insights on the collaboration. AÂ We will share our assessment data related to student learning outcomes. Implementation challenges, including working with various types of faculty members (adjunct, tenured, tenure-track, and term) and teaching these scholarship courses across multiple sections will be covered.AÂ Our presentation team includes tenured, term and adjunct faculty members and our liaison librarian.AÂ Session attendees will learn more about how to introduce, reinforce and further develop studentsA¢â¬â¢ research skills using an integrated approach across the curriculum.AÂ
Sea Surface Emissivity, Temperature and Atmospheric Measurements from the M-AERI During the ACAPEX Campaign

The M-AERI is a robust, accurate seagoing Fourier transform spectrometer measuring thermal emission spectra from the sea surface and marine atmosphere. Ocean skin temperature and emissivity retrievals are presented from the recent ACAPEX campaign.
Die Implantation von endokrinen Drüsen und ihr therapeutischer Effekt auf Grund tierexperimenteller Studien

Die Endokrinologie verdankt ihre Geburt einem Implantationsversuch. Als Geburtsjahr wird meist 1849 angegeben, als Berthold (3) uber die Verhinderung der Kastrationsfolgen durch Auto- und Homoiotransplantation der Hoden bei Hahnen berichtete. Der letzte Satz seiner Arbeit lautet wortlich: „Da nun aber an fremde Stellen transplantirte Hoden mit ihren ursprunglichen Nerven nicht mehr in Verbindung stehen konnen, und da es, wie aus dem dritten Satze einleuchtet, keine spezifischen, der Secretion vorstehenden Nerven giebt, so folgt, das der fragliche Consensus durch das productive Verhaltnis der Hoden, h. h. durch deren Einwirkung auf das Blut, und dann durch entsprechende Einwirkung des Blutes auf den allgemeinen Organismus uberhaupt, wovon allerdings das Nervensystem einen sehr wesentlichen Theil ausmacht, bedingt wird.“
Acts of the Apostles and the Rhetoric of Roman Imperialism

Acts of the Apostles is normally understood as a historical report of events of the early church and serves as the organizing centerpiece of the New Testament canon. In this book, Drew W. Billings demonstrates that Acts was written in conformity with broader representational trends and standards found on imperial monuments and in the epigraphic record of the early second century. Bringing an interdisciplinary approach to a text of critical importance, he compares the methods of representation in Acts with visual and verbal representations that were common during the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan (98-117 CE). Billings argues that Acts adopts the rhetoric of Roman imperialism as articulated in the images and texts from the period. His study bridges the fields of classics, art history, gender studies, Jewish studies, and New Testament studies in exploring how early Christian texts relate to wider patterns in the cultural production of the Roman Empire.
Webs of Influence: National Stakeholder Networks and Corporate Social Performance

Drawing on stakeholder, social network and social movement theories, we argue that the prominence of environmental and social stakeholders within a country’s socio-political network and their abili...
Multiple resistance to glyphosate, paraquat and ACCase‐inhibiting herbicides in Italian ryegrass populations from California: Confirmation and mechanisms of resistance

BACKGROUND Glyphosate, paraquat and acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACCase)-inhibiting herbicides are widely used in California annual and perennial cropping systems. Recently, glyphosate, paraquat, and ACCase- and acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibitor resistance was confirmed in several Italian ryegrass populations from the Central Valley of California. This research characterized the possible mechanisms of resistance. RESULTS Multiple-resistant populations (MR1, MR2) are resistant to several herbicides from at least three modes of action. Dose-response experiments revealed that the MR1 population was 45.9-, 122.7- and 20.5-fold, and the MR2 population was 24.8-, 93.9- and 4.0-fold less susceptible to glyphosate, sethoxydim and paraquat, respectively, than the susceptible (Sus) population. Accumulation of shikimate in Sus plants was significantly greater than in MR plants 32 h after light pretreatments. Glyphosate resistance in MR plants was at least partially due to Pro106-to-Ala and Pro106-to-Thr substitutions at site 106 of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS). EPSPS gene copy number and expression level were similar in plants from the Sus and MR populations. An Ile1781-to-Leu substitution in ACCase gene of MR plants conferred a high level of resistance to sethoxydim and cross-resistance to other ACCase-inhibitors. Radiolabeled herbicide studies and phosphorimaging indicated that MR plants had restricted translocation of 14 C-paraquat to untreated leaves compared to Sus plants. CONCLUSION This study shows that multiple herbicide resistance in Italian ryegrass populations in California, USA, is due to both target-site and non-target-site resistance mechanisms. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
Gold core-labeled TiO2 nanoparticles for tracking behavior in complex matrices: synthesis, characterization, and demonstration

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) are increasingly entering natural systems due to their widespread production and use. It is critical that TiO2 NP behavior is studied in real-world systems, but experimental work is complicated by the high levels of background titanium present in every environmental compartment. To assist in distinguishing between engineered NPs and background titanium, labeled particles with gold nanoparticle cores and TiO2 shells (Au@TiO2 NPs) were developed and the properties and behavior compared to unlabeled TiO2 NPs. Both particle types had primary particle diameters of approximately 200 nm and were stable in solutions at ionic strengths up to 500 mM due to a polyvinylpyrrolidone surface coating. To demonstrate utility, the Au@TiO2 NPs were used in several spike-and-recovery experiments in complex matrices such as activated sludge and a river water–sunscreen mixture. Au@TiO2 NPs were accurately quantified at using instrumental neutron activation analysis and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry.
Developing and Authoring an IME Report

The most important part of the IME process is the creation of a credible and defensible report. The written report reflects the expertise and comprehensiveness of the process. In addition, it markets the IME physician’s performance. The key components of a quality IME report include an introduction, results of the clinical evaluation, clinical impressions, assessment of current health status, medical management plan, synthesis of information, recommendations, and conclusions.
Elastin degradation in human and experimental emphysema.

It has been postulated that elastolytic breakdown of pulmonary connective tissue is the primary insult leading to emphysematous lesions in patients and experimental animals. In support of this mechanism we show (1) by biochemical analysis — that elastin content of connective tissue has been decreased in the parenchyma of emphysematous human subjects compared to normal human controls and in rats receiving 20 mg pancreatic elastase i.v. (2) by electron microscopy — that amorphous elastin is the only component of the pulmonary tissue reduced in the early stages of emphysema (3) immunologically — that enzymatic breakdown products of human lung elastin give rise to specific antibodies in the circulation of experimental animals (rabbits) and may stimulate antibodies in patients with pulmonary emphysema. The enzymes responsible for degradation of pulmonary elastin have not been established but three possibilities will be discussed: Polymorphonuclear leukocyte elastase which in phenotypical ly normal (α1-antitrypsin) MM subjects has been found to be present in statistically significantly higher amounts in patients with emphysema as compared with normal human subjects (2) alveolar macrophage elastase (3) specific tissue elastases. Work in progress is designed to distinguish the peptides resulting from digestion of human lung elastin by these enzymes on the basis of differences in their precipitating anti bodies.
Idiosyncratic and Uncommon Drug Effects

Humans seems to the only species to use tools to make tools. Here Sir William offers one more distinguishing characteristic of homo sapiens. We certainly take a lot of drugs and, which should be no surprise, we suffer a lot of side effects.
Abstract 2268: Differential splicing analysis of doxorubicin treatment response in cancer cells

Background:Splicing of transcripts is an important epigenetic control mechanism that significantly influences expression of protein isoforms in a cell. Alternative splicing is known to contribute to development and progression of cancer, however the impact of cellular splicing profiles on cancer drug response has been largely unexplored. In this study, we integrated two large public data sets and report findings on the basal splicing profiles between doxorubicin treated sensitive and resistant cancer cell lines. We introduced a new method to analyze of splicing data using the quasi-binomial distribution that is incredibly simple, powerful and well suited for comparison of large groups of samples. We also identified exons whose inclusion or exclusion level is likely to be damaging to intended gene products. Finally, we performed RNA-binding protein motif enrichment at these identified exons to characterize proteins that may play a role in their regulation. Methods:Drug response data from the Cancer Therapeutic Response Portal (CTRP) was integrated with RNAseq data from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE). AUC values from drug-response time curves in CTRP were used to classify cells as either doxorubicin sensitive, intermediate or resistant. The upper and lower tertiles provided a total of 253 sensitive and 258 resistant cell lines respectively. Splice junction read counts for skipped-exon events were calculated using the matched cell line data from CCLE. Response groups were then used to train a generalized linear model with quasi-binomial family. Results were filtered by group weight significance at an FDR of =10% difference in mean exon inclusion ratio. Results:In total we identified 277 differentially spliced events between doxorubicin sensitive and resistant groups. When performing GO term over-representation our results demonstrated significantly enriched biological processes supporting the role of alternative splicing in EMT and cellular differentiation. This further confirms previous studies linking alternative splicing to these cancer hallmarks, suggesting that splicing may facilitate acquired drug resistance through survival mechanisms similar to those seen in cancer stem cells. Citation Format: Edward Simpson, Yunlong Liu. Differential splicing analysis of doxorubicin treatment response in cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2268.
Coupling of motor oscillators - What really happens when you chew gum and walk?

Abstract Chewing and walking are two oscillatory behaviors performed on an everyday basis. The current study examined the impact chewing at different speeds (i.e. fast, slow, preferred) had on walking performance for fifteen young healthy adults (23.2 + 4.2 years) and fifteen healthy older participants (66.5 + 3.2 years). Chewing rates were attained from surface EMG activity recorded from the masseter muscle. For gait, accelerometers mounted on the lower trunk and lower leg were used to determine the timing of individual steps. In addition, a pressure sensitive walkway was also used to collect gait metrics (i.e., gait velocity, step length, step time). Our results demonstrated a strong link between chewing and walking for all participants, with increases or decreases in a person’s chewing rate leading to similar changes in their stepping rate (and hence walking speed). One explanation for this coupling is that the neural drive related to chewing entrains the muscles involved in the basic gait action of stepping. The coupling of stepping with chewing rates for all individuals was observed despite the older adults tending to walk slower overall. However, there were no age-related differences in chewing rates, suggesting that despite the general slowing of motor function seen with increasing age, mastication itself does not appear to be similarly affected.
Body contouring in adolescents after bariatric surgery

Abstract Background Bariatric surgery leads to sustained weight loss and resolution of obesity-associated co-morbidities in severely obese adolescents. However, one consequence of massive weight loss is excess skin and soft tissue. Many details regarding the timing, outcomes, and barriers associated with body contouring surgery (BCS) in youth who have undergone bariatric surgery are unknown. Objectives Describe the incidence and effect of BCS following bariatric surgery among adolescents. Setting University Hospitals. Methods Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery is a prospective multi-institutional study of 242 adolescents who underwent bariatric surgery from 2007 to 2012. Utilization of BCS was analyzed in this population with comparison of anthropometrics and excess skin–related symptoms between those who did and those who did not undergo BCS. Results Among the 198 study participants with BCS data available, 25 (12.6%) underwent 41 body contouring procedures after bariatric surgery. The most common BCS was panniculectomy (n = 23). Presence of pannus-related symptoms at baseline and the magnitude of weight loss within the first year after bariatric surgery were independently associated with subsequent panniculectomy (P = .04 and P = .03, respectively). All adolescents who underwent panniculectomy experienced resolution of pannus-related symptoms. At 5 years after bariatric surgery, 74% of those who did not undergo panniculectomy reported an interest in the procedure, and 58% indicated that cost/insurance coverage was the barrier to obtaining BCS. Conclusion Few adolescents who underwent bariatric surgery later underwent BCS procedures. Panniculectomy effectively treated pannus-related symptoms. Disparities in access to surgical care for adolescents who desire BCS warrants further investigation.
A cineradiographic study of VC and CV articulatory velocities

Abstract: Articulatory transition velocities were studied within and between speakers. Five normal speaking adult subjects were selected on the basis of differences in size of oral structures and were filmed using lateral-view cineradiography. Movements of various points on the tongue, lips, and mandible were recorded and average velocities were determined with the aid of computer processing. A direct relationship was observed between articulatory velocity and displacement both within and across speakers. Differences between velocities of movement toward vowels but not toward consonants could be explained largely on the basis of corresponding differences in displacement. A positive relationship was observed between articulatory velocity or displacement and tongue or jaw size. Phone-to-phone transitional movement times were similar for different articulators and different speakers. The subjects were found to use different physiological methods of changing speaking rate. With an increase in speaking rate each subject reduced transition time by approximately the same relative amount but the velocity and displacement variables were changed in different proportions to each other depending on the individual speaker.
The (International) Politics of Friendship: Examplar, Exemplarity, Exclusion

International Relations (IR), if there is such a thing, is an academic discipline which intends to describe, analyse and explain international relations. It is taught at universities through a variety of courses consisting of various quantitative and qualitative approaches; history and theory modules. Theory modules offer different competing stories about international politics: some write that the world is a multi-civilisational system; others claim that the world is an anarchic order; whilst another group of scholars propose that the world is reaching an endpoint in its ideological evolution. If there is any consensus in the IR academic community, it is that these theories represent separate methodologies and conclusions. A result of this assumption is that the intellectual exchange in IR is organised into and around various 'great debates': such as the liberalism-realism debate or the neo-neo debate. Instead of focusing on the differences of contending approaches to IR this essay endeavours to work out some commonalities of IR theories. Through a close reading of Jacques Derrida's Politics of Friendship the main texts of three academics whose works have been contested and re-contested in IR, Samuel Huntington, Kenneth Waltz, and Francis Fukuyama, are going to be studied through the lens of friendship.
RNA pathway enrichment in serum-based mass spectroscopy prognostic analyses.

e15197Background: Veristrat(VS) good and poor labels were found to be prognostic in the front-line NSCLC setting with or without immune checkpoint inhibitors. Little is known about RNA expression d...
Iron-containing pathologies of the spleen: magnetic resonance imaging features with pathologic correlation

Systemic and non-systemic pathologies that involve iron deposition within the spleen have characteristic features on MRI due to the susceptibility properties of deposited iron, or hemosiderin. These lesions will have signal loss on longer echo sequences due to the T2* effect when evaluated with dual-echo gradient-echo sequences. The pathophysiology of systemic and localized iron sequestration disease processes can elucidate an underlying diagnosis based on these imaging features in conjunction with clinical information.
Exploring Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Fatherhood and Paternal Biology: Testosterone as an Exemplar

Fathers’ roles vary greatly within and across cultures. Reflecting human biological plasticity, these diverse forms of fathering are expressed through psychobiological mechanisms. In this chapter, I focus on testosterone as one of the key and widely studied mechanisms relevant to the biology of fatherhood in humans and other species. I highlight the ways that evolutionary framing provides a critical foundation for proposing why men’s neurobiological and hormonal systems would have the functional capacity to respond to certain forms of partnering and parenting. I also review the importance of cultural variation in fatherhood and family life for studying the plausible range of possibilities for parental physiology in contemporary family systems.
The complete story of less than complete responses: The evolution and application of acute myeloid leukemia clinical responses

Complete remission (CR) has long been the critical therapeutic response in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, "less than CR" responses have been and continue to be proposed to define clinically meaningful post-therapy outcomes. These responses include CR with incomplete recovery (CRi), CR with incomplete platelet recovery (CRp) and, most recently, CR with partial hematologic recovery (CRh), which has been introduced and subsequently used for regulatory approval. However, the clinical benefits associated with "less than CR" responses have primarily been evaluated in the context of intensive therapies. In an era with sophisticated measurable residual disease (MRD) assessments, including flow-based, cytogenetic and molecular techniques, and an increase in "targeted", non-intensive therapies, the clinical value of responses that are "less than CR" must be reevaluated. Improvements in the rate of CR has not always led to improvements in OS among older patients. As such, MRD techniques might help define a more stringent response criterion (MRD-negative CR) that might better correlate with OS and should be incorporated in future clinical trials. Here we discuss the evolution of CR and "less than CR" responses, data regarding their clinical benefits, and considerations relevant to response assessments with newer therapies.
Motor imagery performance from calibration to online control in EEG-based brain-computer interfaces

Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems read and infer the user brain activity directly from the brain providing a means of communication and rehabilitation for patients in need. However, brain signals are known to be non-stationary and existing systems are not reliable and robust enough to be taken outside of the laboratory. Often times long calibration and recalibration of the system is required which can be tiresome and frustrating to the user. In this study, we compare the method of common spatial patterns (CSP) with two of its variants, namely, the canonical correlation analysis approach to common spatial patterns (CCACSP) and the common spatio-spectral patterns (CSSP) in detecting the motor imagery signal when trained on calibration data with sham feedback and tested in online control. We show that the motor imagery performance is significantly better with CSSP and CCACSP compared to CSP and hence, able to provide a more reliable transfer of the classifier from calibration to online control.
Donald Trump, Niccolò Machiavelli, the Establishment, and the People: Words of Advice and Warning from The Prince

This contribution tackles the Trump phenomenon from a Machiavellian perspective. Divided into three parts, Landon’s chapter covers (1) Trump’s candidacy, his election, and his presidency up to the present (October 2020); (2) the setting in which Machiavelli authored The Prince, the reasons why Machiavelli authored it, and how it situates his “little book” in the broader context of Machiavelli’s political “opere” (special attention is paid to The Discourses); and (3) how Trump, without ever having read The Prince, has managed to follow a good deal (but certainly not all) of Machiavelli’s advice therein … instinctually.