cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Signatures of movement variability anticipate hand speed according to levels of intent

Complex movement sequences are composed of segments with different levels of functionality: intended segments towards a goal and segments that spontaneously occur largely beneath our awareness. It is not known if these spontaneously-occurring segments could be informative of the learning progression in naive subjects trying to skillfully master a new sport routine. To address this question we asked if the hand speed variability could be modeled as a stochastic process where each trial speed depended on the speed of the previous trial. We specifically asked if the hand speed maximum from a previous trial could accurately predict the maximum speed of a sub-sequent trial in both intended and spontaneous movement segments. We further asked whether experts and novices manifested similar models, despite different kinematic dynamics and assessed the predictive power of the spontaneous fluctuations in the incidental motions. We found a simple power rule to parameterize speed variability for expert and novices with accurate predictive value despite randomly instructed speed levels and training contexts. This rule on average tended to yield similar exponent across speed levels for intended motion segments. Yet for the spontaneous segments the speed fluctuations had exponents that changed as a function of speed level and training context. Two conditions highlighted the expert performance: broad bandwidth of velocity-dependent parameter values and low noise-to-signal ratios that unambiguously distinguished between training regimes. Neither of these was yet manifested in the novices. We suggest that the statistics of intended motions may be a predictor of overall expertise level, whereas those of spontaneously occurring incidental motions may serve to track learning progression in different training contexts. These spontaneous fluctuations may help the central systems to kinesthetically discriminate the peripheral re-afferent patterns of movement variability associated with changes in movement speed and training context. We further propose that during learning the acquisition of both broad bandwidth of speeds and low noise-to-signal ratios may be critical to build a verifiable kinesthetic (movement) percept and reach the type of automaticity that an expert acquires.
Antenatal ultrasound and risk of autism spectrum disorders

We evaluated antenatal ultrasound (U/S) exposure as a risk factor for autism spectrum disorders (ASD), comparing affected singleton children and control children born 1995-1999 and enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente health care system. Among children with ASD (n = 362) and controls (n = 393), 13% had no antenatal exposure to U/S examinations; case-control differences in number of exposures during the entire gestation or by trimester were small and not statistically significant. In analyses adjusted for covariates, cases were generally similar to controls with regard to the number of U/S scans throughout gestation and during each trimester. This study indicates that antenatal U/S is unlikely to increase the risk of ASD, although studies examining ASD subgroups remain to be conducted.
Closing the loop: heuristics for autonomous discovery

Autonomous discovery systems will be able to peruse very large databases more thoroughly than people can. In a companion paper by G.R. Livingston et al. (see ibid., p.385-92, 2001), we describe a general framework for autonomous systems. We present and evaluate heuristics for use in this framework. Although these heuristics were designed for a prototype system, we believe they provide good initial solutions to problems encountered when implementing fully autonomous discovery systems. As such, these heuristics may be used as the starting point for future research into fully autonomous discovery systems.
A guidance sensor for continuous mine haulage

A major research program to reduce hazard exposure of miners with computer-assisted mining equipment was initiated by the US Bureau of Mines. One application involves the manual process of extracting and hauling coal where operators, in the tight confines of a mine, can be struck or caught by mobile machinery. The approach to remedy this problem uses a guidance system on the haulage equipment so that it follows the machine that extracts coal. This, in essence, involves sensor-based docking of the machines. Sensors that can survive the hostile mine environment of dust, methane gas, and water, play the key role. Computer analysis of the mining machine's movements and empirical machine characterizations were conducted to establish operating requirements and spatial limitations to ensure proper loading of coal into the haulage equipment. These data served in the selection of a sensing system. A near infrared (IR) sensor employing active targets met the requirements. The sensor has a nominal 75/spl deg/ conical field-of-view and a range from 0.1 to 18.0 m. For the single target mode, nominal range accuracy was 4.3% at a distance of 3.56 m. Correction algorithms were generated reducing the error to 0.6%. Airborne dust testing showed less than 0.8% accuracy (worst case) degradation at levels exceeding (by a factor of 7.5) concentrations permitted by Federal law. The sensor can track multiple active targets providing five degrees-of-freedom (DOF) measurements. Using four targets, the nominal range accuracy was 0.4% without correction algorithms. A guidance system for the haulage system to follow the mining machine does not exist commercially. Such a system can reduce fatalities and injuries by current haulage mining equipment, and is a viable alternative to current haulage control.
SVM Based Speaker Verification using a GMM Supervector Kernel and NAP Variability Compensation

Gaussian mixture models with universal backgrounds (UBMs) have become the standard method for speaker recognition. Typically, a speaker model is constructed by MAP adaptation of the means of the UBM. A GMM supervector is constructed by stacking the means of the adapted mixture components. A recent discovery is that latent factor analysis of this GMM supervector is an effective method for variability compensation. We consider this GMM supervector in the context of support vector machines. We construct a support vector machine kernel using the GMM supervector. We show similarities based on this kernel between the method of SVM nuisance attribute projection (NAP) and the recent results in latent factor analysis. Experiments on a NIST SRE 2005 corpus demonstrate the effectiveness of the new technique.
Test generation for maximizing ground bounce for internal circuitry with reconvergent fan-outs

Due to technology scaling and increasing clock rate, problems due to noise effects lead to an increase in design and test efforts and a decrease in circuit performance. This paper addresses the problem of efficiently and effectively generating two vector tests to produce the maximum ground bounce in a circuit. We have developed a branch and bound procedure that can find a good quality test for maximum ground bounce in a rather short time. Comparison of results with SPICE simulations confirms the quality of tests obtained by our procedure.
Analysis of Cartilage Tissue on a Cellular Level in Fresh Osteochondral Allograft Retrievals

BackgroundFresh human osteochondral allografting is a biological cartilage replacement technique used to treat articular and osteoarticular defects in the knee. A small number of grafts fail, and we analyzed every retrieved graft during a 4-year period in order to learn more about the potential causes of failure.HypothesisA large percentage of chondrocytes still remain viable many years after fresh osteochondral allografting.Study DesignDescriptive laboratory study.MethodsRetrieval specimens were obtained at the time of revision surgery and immediately analyzed. Chondrocyte viability and viable cell density were determined using a live/dead staining technique followed by confocal microscopy. Glycosaminoglycan content was a measure of the cartilage matrix. Radiolabeled sulfate uptake served as a biochemical marker of chondrocyte metabolic activity. Cartilage and subchondral bone were examined histologically.ResultsFourteen patients yielded a total of 26 retrieval specimens that had been originally implante...
Detailed Characterization of a Fractured Limestone Formation by Use of Stochastic Inverse Approaches

The authors discuss two inverse approaches to construction of fracture-flow models and their application in characterizing a fractured limestone formation. The first approach creates ``equivalent discontinuum`` models that conceptualize the fracture system as a partially filled lattice of conductors that are locally connected or disconnected to reproduce the observed hydrologic behavior. An alternative approach -- i.e., ``variable aperture lattice`` models -- represent the fracture system as a fully filled network composed of conductors of varying apertures or hydraulic conductivities. The fracture apertures are sampled from a specified distribution, usual log-normal, which is consistent with field data. The spatial arrangement of apertures is altered through inverse modeling to fit the available hydrologic data, such as transient pressure and/or tracer data. Unlike traditional discrete fracture-network approaches that rely on fracture geometry to reproduce flow and transport behavior, the inverse methods directly incorporate hydrologic data in deriving the fracture networks and thus naturally emphasize the underlying features that impact fluid flow and transport. However, hydrologic models derived by inversion are nonunique in general. The authors have addressed such nonuniqueness by examining an ensemble of models that satisfy the observation data within acceptable limits. They then determine properties that are shared by the ensemblemore » of models and their associated uncertainties to create a conceptual model of the fracture system. They show the fracture-flow model to be consistent with geophysical imaging.« less
Quality improvement approach and performance: multisite analysis within a firm

Abstract A contingency-based view of an organization suggests contextual variables, such as leadership, training, product (service) design, and employee relations, vary among firms. This leads to varying levels of quality performance. The interest in this study is to identify the contextual variables within a firm, which affect quality performance and other financial variables. A second study objective is to determine if the variables that affect quality are different in rapid- vs. slow-learning environments. The study was conducted in five manufacturing plants of a supplier to many large automotive firms. Results suggest that quality improvement is enhanced by following a process-oriented, quality control approach to improvement, emphasizing product design, and stressing conformance to specifications. To increase the chance of improved financial performance, the firm would follow a process-oriented, quality control approach to improvement and introduce external quality information. No differences were found between fast and slowly improving plants (improving quality) regarding approach to quality improvement. Expectations were that differences in approach to quality would exist between the two groups and that the slow-to-improve plants would use a more robust set of quality improvement variables.
Lower Airway Foreign Body Aspiration in Children An Analysis of 13 Cases

This analysis of thirteen cases of lower airway foreign body aspiration in children reveals a high incidence of aspiration into the left main bronchus, and an increased incidence in older children. Early identification of non- radio opaque foreign bodies such as food and plastic toys is difficult in the absence of a positive history. Suggestions are offered for prevention, early detection, and treatment.
Reconsidering the legacy of urban public facility location theory in human geography

In 1968, Michael Teitz initiated a new locational theory, focusing on how best to locate urban public facilities given the need to balance efficiency and equity. This locational problematic would evolve into a coherent set of geographical concepts steeped in normative, neoclassical and quantitative assumptions. Building on Teitz's original formulations, quantitative geographers and regional scientists focused on operationalizing efficiency and equity concerns according to distance, pattern, accessibility, impacts and externalities. The legacy of these concepts in human geography, however, has not been systematically traced. While both reflecting and bolstering wider stances in welfare, urban and behavioral geography during the quantitative era, the legacy of urban public facility theory in the postquantitative era is decidedly uneven. On the one hand, the legacy was effectively refuted by situating location theory within a much broader political, economic and social matrix. Adopting a more conflictual fra...
Stereocontrol within polyketide assembly lines

Most of the stereocenters of polyketide natural products are established during assembly line biosynthesis. The body of knowledge for how stereocenters are set is now large enough to begin constructing physical models of key reactions. Interactions between stereocenter-forming enzymes and polyketide intermediates are examined here at atomic resolution, drawing from the most current structural and functional information of ketosynthases (KSs), ketoreductases (KRs), dehydratases (DHs), enoylreductases (ERs), and related enzymes. While many details remain to be experimentally determined, our understanding of the chemical and physical mechanisms utilized by the chirality-molding enzymes of modular PKSs is rapidly advancing.
Mast Cell Degranulating Peptide

Mast cell degranulating (MCD) peptide is cationic 22-amino acid residue peptide with two disulfide bridges derived from bee venom …
Seeking Emotional Ends with Legal Means

Introduction 1657 I. Two Approaches to Law and the Emotions 1659 A. Emotions Shaping Law: A Field Emerges 1659 B. Law Shaping Emotions: Sources of Skepticism 1661 1. Critiques of Purposeful Efforts to Cultivate Emotions Through Law 1663 2. A Critique of Restorative Justice 1665 3. Common Premises and Questions 1667 II. Minow on Law, Forgiveness, and Repair 1671 Conclusion 1677
Hypoallergenic formula with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG for babies with colic: A pilot study of recruitment, retention, and fecal biomarkers.

Hypoallergenic formula with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG for babies with colic: A pilot study of recruitment, retention, and fecal biomarkers
111 Outcomes of Patients with Anthracycline Cardiomyopathy Treated with Mechanical Circulatory Support: Data from the INTERMACS Registry

cardiac index (p 0.20), inotrope use (p 0.47), loop diuretic use (p 0.55) and diabetes (p 0.9) were not associated with IRF. Pts with an elevated BUN/Cr had significantly increased incidence of IRF (OR 1.5, p 0.001). This association persisted after adjustment for baseline GFR (OR 1.5, p 0.001) and adjustment for baseline characteristics associated with IRF (hemoglobin, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, ACE inhibitor use, beta blocker use, edema, race, INTERMACS class, and sodium; OR 1.5, p 0.002). Conclusions: HF pts with an elevated pre-implant BUN/Cr are more likely to experience post-LVAD IRF. The ability to appropriately distinguish pts with reversible from those with irreversible RI, utilizing markers such as BUN/Cr, could potentially facilitate use of advanced therapies in pts previously not considered candidates due to their RI. Additional research aimed at identification of pts with potential for significant IRF is warranted.
Preliminary investigation of multiparametric strain Z-score (MPZS) computation using displacement encoding with simulated echoes (DENSE) and radial point interpretation method (RPIM).

Purpose To describe and assess an automated normalization method for identifying sentinel (septal) regions of myocardial dysfunction in nonischemic, nonvalvular dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), using an unprecedented combination of the navigator-gated 3D spiral displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), radial point interpolation (RPIM) and multiparametric strain z-score (MPZS). Materials and methods Navigator-gated 3D spiral DENSE, in a 1.5T MRI machine, was used for acquiring the displacement encoded complex images, MR Analytical Software System (MASS) for automated boundary detection and automated meshfree RPIM for left-ventricular (LV) myocardial strain computation to analyze MPZS in 36 subjects (with n = 17 DCM patients). Pearson's r correlation established relations between global/sentinel MPZS and ejection fraction (EF). The time taken for combined RPIM-MPZS computations was recorded. Results Maximum MPZS differences were seen between anteroseptal and posterolateral regions in the base (2.0 ± 0.3 vs. 0.9 ± 0.5) and the mid-wall (2.1 ± 0.4 vs. 1.0 ± 0.4). These regional differences were found to be consistent with historically documented septal injury in nonischemic DCM. Correlations were 0.6 between global MPZS and EF, and 0.7 between sentinel MPZS and EF. The time taken for combined RPIM-MPZS computations per subject was 18.9 ± 5.9 seconds. Conclusion Heterogeneous contractility found in the sentinel regions with the current automated MPZS computation scheme and the correlation found between MPZS and EF may lead to the creation of a new clinical metric in LV DCM surveillance. J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2016;44:993-1002.
Eye-movement patterns during visual information processing

Eye-movement patterns were recorded while Ss visually scanned 5-cell patterns to compare the sum of the 3 digits in each of 4 peripheral cells with the sum of the 3 digits in the central “target” cell. Both larger target sums and greater target-non-target similarity caused significantly longer fixations; number and pattern of fixations were independent of experimental variables. Results supported predictions based upon previous studies correlating eye-movement patterns and visual stimuli.
Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness of Integrating HIV and Nutrition Service Delivery: Pilots in Malawi and Mozambique

This paper provides the first estimates of impact and cost-effectiveness for integrated HIV and nutrition service delivery in sub-Saharan Africa. HIV and undernutrition are synergistic co-epidemics impacting millions of children throughout the region. To alleviate this co-epidemic, UNICEF supported small-scale pilot programs in Malawi and Mozambique that integrated HIV and nutrition service delivery. We use trends from integration sites and comparison sites to estimate the number of lives saved, infections averted and/or undernutrition cases cured due to programmatic activities, and to estimate cost-effectiveness. Results suggest that Malawi's program had a cost-effectiveness of $11-29/DALY, while Mozambique's was $16-59/DALY. Some components were more effective than others ($1-4/DALY for Malawi's Male motivators vs. $179/DALY for Mozambique's One stop shops). These results suggest that integrating HIV and nutrition programming leads to a positive impact on health outcomes and should motivate additional work to evaluate impact and determine cost-effectiveness using an appropriate research design.
Managing the Adaptive Proteostatic Landscape: Restoring Resilience in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency

A protein adopts numerous energetic folding states controlling its stability and functional trajectory during its lifespan. These states are differentially recognized and managed by a sophisticated network mainly composed of folding chaperones (the chaperome) and degradative (ubiquitin and autophagy–lysosome based) components referred to as proteostasis. The proteostasis network (PN) defines different quinary states (Q-states) for each protein in response to its secondary, tertiary, and quaternary levels of organization and hence constitutes an adaptive proteostatic landscape (APL). The APL concept emphasizes not only the dynamic and sculptable in vivo folding energy of each protein but also the dynamic function defined by the local PN. Inherited genetic disorders, such as the Z-variant in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), expand the diversity of protein folding landscape excursions and often redirect the misfolded species in ways that challenge cellular, tissue, and host PN buffering and capacity. Individual-specific inherited genetic traits (Marciniak and Lomas, Clin Chest Med. 35(1):29–38, 2014), acquisition of modifiers, and environmental stressors that impair the normal PN response to misfolding excursions lead to further imbalances in the APL in both the liver and lung of AATD patients, triggering disease phenotypes. Here, we review how the PN responds to the proteostatic problem in AATD and discuss the rationale behind potential new therapeutic proteostatic strategies to manage the APL and restore the resilience and health in AATD.
Using Text Messages to Promote Engagement in a Subsidized Community Supported Agriculture Program for Head Start Families

ABSTRACTFarm to Family is a subsidized community supported agriculture model for low-income families. This study evaluated text message reminders on Head Start parents’ farm share pickup rates. Pickup rates were high for both groups within 2 days of delivery, with 96% (SD = 0.04) of parents in the text messaging group picking up their produce vs. 92% (SD = 0.07) of parents in the no text message group, and lower on the day of delivery, with 69% (SD = 0.14) of parents in the text messaging group picking up their produce vs. 62% (SD = 0.13) of parents in the no text messaging group. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups. Program coordinators reported using additional efforts to promote parent participation (e-mails or verbal reminders). Because sites used multiple methods to promote parent participation, this study could not isolate the effects of text messages.
Relationship between personality characteristics of 611 teenagers and their family environment

Objective To investigate influences of family environment on personality of teenagers.Methods 611 middle school students aged 12 to 18 years old in Suzhou city were investigated using Eysenck Personality Questionnaire(EPQ) and Family Environment Scale-Chinese Version(FES-CV).Results There was no significant gender difference between the high psychoticism score group and the low psychoticism score group.The number of female students in the high extrovision score group and high introvision score group was significantly more than male students(χ2=21.73,P0.005).There was no significant gender difference in the high neuroticism score group.In age,there were significant differences between the high and the low psychoticism,extrovision and introvision and neuroticism score groups(χ2= 26.61,41.33,22.51,25.07,24.34,30.08,respectively,all P0.005).Between the high and the low psychoticism score groups there were significant differences in organization,moral-religious emphasis,conflict,intellectual-cultural orientation,cohesion(intimacy) and control(t=7.75,6.53,5.39,4.06,3.00,2.98,respectively,P0.01).Between the high and the low extrovision and introvision score groups,there were significant differences in active-recreational orientation,cohesion(intimacy) and emotional expression(t=6.35,4.25,4.16,respectively,all P0.01).Between the high and the low neuroticism score groups,there were significant differences in conflict,organization,moral-religious emphasis,emotional expression,cohesion(intimacy),intellectual-cultural orientation and active-recreational orientation(t=7.00,5.40,5.09,5.01,4.70,3.74,3.29,respectively,P0.01).Conclusion Family environment plays an important role in development of teenager's personality.
Neurocutaneous Syndromes and Brain Tumors

The etiology of most childhood cancer remains largely unknown, but is likely attributable to random or induced genetic aberrations in somatic tissue. However, a subset of children develops cancer in the setting of an underlying inheritable condition involving a germline genetic mutation or chromosomal aberration. The term "neurocutaneous syndrome" encompasses a group of multisystem, hereditary disorders that are associated with skin manifestations as well as central and/or peripheral nervous system lesions of variable severity. This review outlines the central nervous system tumors associated with underlying neurocutaneous disorders, including neurofibromatosis type 1, neurofibromatosis type 2, schwannomatosis, tuberous sclerosis complex, Von Hippel Lindau, and nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome. Recognizing the presence of an underlying syndrome is critically important to both optimizing clinical care and treatment as well as genetic counseling and monitoring of these affected patients and their families.
Volume regulation and intracellular calcium in the rabbit proximal convoluted tubule

The hypothesis that an increase of calcium leads to activation of calcium-activated ionic conductances during cell swelling was examined in the isolated perfused proximal convoluted tubule of the r...
Broadcast channel under unequal coherence intervals

In practical multiuser wireless networks, different links often experience unequal coherence lengths due to differences in mobility as well as scattering environment, a common scenario that has largely been neglected in the fundamental studies of the wireless channel. A key feature of unequal coherence lengths is that the per-transmission cost of acquiring CSI and its effect on achievable rates may vary significantly among the nodes, thus pre-existing receive CSI on a typical node should not be assumed as it will hide this key feature of the problem. In this paper, the method of product superposition is employed to find the achievable degrees of freedom region of multiuser broadcast channel where the users coherence lengths have arbitrary integer ratios. The achievable degrees of freedom region meets the outer bound when the transmitter has fewer antennas than the receivers, or when all receivers have the same number of antennas, hence for this class of antenna configurations the optimal degrees of freedom is now known.
Development of a detailed model of calcium dynamics at the postsynaptic spine of an excitatory synapse

Postsynaptic calcium dynamics play a critical role in synaptic plasticity, but are often difficult to measure in experimental protocols due to their relatively fast rise and decay times, and the small spine dimensions. To circumvent these limitations, we propose to develop a computational model of calcium dynamics in the postsynaptic spine. This model integrates the main elements that participate in calcium concentration influx, efflux, diffusion and buffering. These consist of (i) spine geometry; (ii) calcium influx through NMDA receptors and voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC); (iii) calcium efflux with plasma membrane calcium pumps (PMCA) and sodium-calcium exchangers (NCX); (iv) intracellular calcium stores; and (v) calcium buffers. We herein present computational results we obtained and compare them with experimentally measured data, thereby validating the proposed model. Overall the development of such postsynaptic calcium model may help us better understand the intricacies of interplay between the different elements that shape calcium dynamics and impact synaptic plasticity in normal functions and pathologies. This model also constitutes a first step in the development of a nonlinear input-output calcium dynamics model for multi-scale, large scale neuronal simulations.
Dynamics of Hydrogel-Assisted Giant Unilamellar Vesicle Formation from Unsaturated Lipid Systems

While current research is centered on observing biophysical properties and phenomena in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), little is known about fabrication parameters that control GUV formation. Using different lipids and rehydration buffers, we directly observe varying dynamics of hydrogel-assisted GUV formation via fluorescence microscopy. We observe the effects of buffer ionic strength, osmolarity, agarose density, and pH on the formation of GUVs using neutral and charged lipids. We find that increasing rehydration buffer ionic strength correlates with increased vesicle size and rate of GUV formation. Increasing buffer acidity increased the rate of GUV formation, while more basic environments slowed the rate. For buffers containing 500 mM sucrose, GUV formation was overall inhibited and only tubules formed. Observations of GUV formation dynamics elucidate parametric effects of charge, ionic strength, pH, and osmolarity, demonstrating the versatility of this biomimetic platform.
Hello Again, Metabolism!

Years ago, pathways of intermediary metabolism made up a significant portion of biochemistry and microbiology courses. Therein, students learned about interconversions and connections between pathways, and they could follow the carbons as they moved from acetate into the cholesterol molecule and many others. But the advent of exciting new methodologies—structural biology, recombinant DNA, molecular genetics, immunochemistry, probes, blots, microarrays, metagenomics, and more—crowded much of metabolism right off the syllabus. Given that teaching pathways could be dry and boring, faculty often elected to substitute more trendy and exciting topics instead. To be sure, they thought metabolism was important, but assumed “someone else must be teaching it.”
Iron regulation of hepatic macrophage TNFalpha expression.

Abstract Sustained TNFα induction is central to the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease including alcoholic liver disease (ALD). However, molecular understanding of this abnormality at the cellular level remains elusive. Redox regulation of NF-κB is critical in the transcriptional control of TNFα expression. Evidence supports that increased iron storage in hepatic macrophages (HM) is causally associated with accentuated and sustained NF-κB activation in these cells in ALD. Treatment of cultured HM with a lipophilic iron chelator (deferiprone) abrogates LPS-induced NF-κB activation. HM from an animal model of ALD have increased nonheme iron content accompanied by increased generation of EPR-detected radicals, NF-κB activation, and TNFα induction, all of which are normalized by ex vivo treatment of the cells with deferiprone. A moderate increase in the nonheme iron content in HM by erythrophagocytosis, promotes subsequent LPS-stimulated NF-κB activation in a hemeoxygenase-dependent manner. Recent evidence also suggests a role of intracellular low molecular weight iron in the early signal transduction for LPS-mediated NF-κB activation.
Immuno-kinetics of immunotherapy: dosing with DCs

Therapeutic vaccines play a large role in the cast of immunotherapies that are now an essential component in most cancer treatment regimes. The complexity of the immune response and the ability of the tumour to mount a counter-offensive to this response have made it difficult to predict who will respond to what treatments, and for clinicians to optimise treatment strategies for individual patients. In this paper, we present a mathematical model that captures the dynamics of the adaptive response to an autologous whole-cell cancer vaccine, without some of the complexities of previous models that incorporate delays. Model simulations are compared to published experimental and clinical data, and used to discuss possible improvements to vaccine design.
Low-threshold surface-plasmon-polariton laser pumped by surface plasmon polaritons

We demonstrate a narrow-linewidth, low-threshold surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) laser based on a low-loss open cavity resonator leveraging grating-coupled SPPs to pump the lasing SPPs with strong spatial overlap and minimum perturbation.
IS PSYCHIATRIC REHABILITATION SOMETHING SPECIAL TO MANAGED CARE IN THE USA

Psychiatric (a term we prefer to psychosocial, because we acknowledge the biological component) rehabilitation (PSR) is well defined in an excellent consensus statement from the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation (WAPR).1 That statement notes “previously considered as tertiary prevention, has evolved into a concept, a body of knowledge, on ways of organizing services and methods subject to empirical validation, and is concerned with the prevention and/or reduction of disability associated with mental and behavioral disorders.” It lists objectives and strategies. At the level of the individual, the principal strategies are: psychopharmacological treatment, independent living, and social skills, psychological support to patients and families, housing, vocational rehabilitation and employment, social support networks, and leisure time use. At the mental health services and human resource level, the strategies are mental health service policy and fund allocation, improvement of institutional and residential settings, training for staff, and quality assurance. At the societal level, the strategies include improvement of pertinent legislation, consumer empowerment, and improvement of public opinion and attitudes related to mental illness.
Abstract P081: Voltage-Gated TTX-Sensitive Nav1.1 Brain Sodium Channels Are Important for Cardiac Contractile Function

Background: Mutations in voltage gated brain sodium channel Nav1.1 have been linked to many disorders, including Generalized Epilepsy with Febrile Seizures Plus (GEFS+) and Severe Myoclonic Epileps...
Absence of Gender Differences in Actual Induced HMD Motion Sickness vs. Pretrial Susceptibility Ratings

The purpose of this paper is to report the gender differences in motion sickness susceptibility and reported sickness levels experienced during a study to determine how latency in a head-mounted di...
Zinc Acquisition Mechanisms Differ between Environmental and Virulent Francisella Species.

ABSTRACT Zinc is an essential nutrient for bacterial growth. Because host cells can restrict pathogen access to zinc as an antimicrobial defense mechanism, intracellular pathogens such as Francisella must sense their environment and acquire zinc in response. In many bacteria, the conserved transcription factor Zur is a key regulator of zinc acquisition. To identify mechanisms of zinc uptake in Francisella novicida U112, transcriptome sequencing of wild-type and putative zur mutant bacteria was performed. Only three genes were confirmed as directly regulated by Zur and zinc limitation by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. One of these genes, FTN_0879, is predicted to encode a protein with similarity to the zupT family of zinc transporters, which are not typically regulated by Zur. While a putative znuACB operon encoding a high-affinity zinc transporter was identified in U112, expression of this operon was not controlled by Zur or zinc concentration. Disruption of zupT but not znuA in U112 impaired growth under zinc limitation, suggesting that ZupT is the primary mechanism of zinc acquisition under these conditions. In the virulent Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis Schu S4 strain, zupT is a pseudogene, and attempts to delete znuA were unsuccessful, suggesting that it is essential in this strain. A reverse TetR repression system was used to knock down the expression of znuA in Schu S4, revealing that znuA is required for growth under zinc limitation and contributes to intracellular growth within macrophages. Overall, this work identifies genes necessary for adaptation to zinc limitation and highlights nutritional differences between environmental and virulent Francisella strains. IMPORTANCEFrancisella tularensis is a tier 1 select agent with a high potential for lethality and no approved vaccine. A better understanding of Francisella virulence factors is required for the development of therapeutics. While acquisition of zinc has been shown to be required for the virulence of numerous intracellular pathogens, zinc uptake has not been characterized in Francisella. This work characterizes the Zur regulon in F. novicida and identifies two transporters that contribute to bacterial growth under zinc limitation. In addition, these data identify differences in mechanisms of zinc uptake and tolerance to zinc limitation between F. tularensis and F. novicida, highlighting the role of znuA in the growth of Schu S4 under zinc limitation.
Heat transfer enhancement in suddenly expanding annular shear-thinning flows

Abstract Heat transfer enhancement in suddenly expanding annular pipe flows of Newtonian and shear-thinning non-Newtonian fluids is studied within the steady laminar flow regime. Conservation of mass, momentum, and energy equations, along with the power-law constitutive model are numerically solved. The impact of inflow inertia, annular-diameter-ratio, k, power-law index, n, and Prandtl numbers, is reported over the following range of parameters: Re = {50, 100, 150}, k = {0, 0.5, 0.7}; n = {1, 0.8, 0.6}; and Pr = {1, 10, 100}. Heat transfer enhancement downstream of the expansion plane, i.e., Nusselt numbers greater than the downstream fully developed value, Nu/Nufd > 1, is only observed for Pr = 10 and 100. In general, higher Prandtl numbers, power-law index values, and annular-diameter-ratios, result in more significant heat transfer enhancement downstream of the expansion plane. Heat transfer augmentation, for Pr = 10 and 100, increases with the annular-diameter-ratio. For a given annular-diameter-ratio and Reynolds numbers, increasing the Prandtl number from Pr = 10 to Pr = 100, always results in higher peak Nu values, Numax, for both Newtonian and shear-thinning flows. All Numax values are located downstream of the flow reattachment point, in the case of suddenly expanding round pipe flows, i.e., κ = 0. However, for suddenly expanding annular pipe flows, i.e., κ = 0.5 and 0.7, Numax values appear upstream the flow reattachment point. For Pr = 10 and 100, shear-thinning flows display two local peak Nu/Nufd values, in comparison with one peak value in the case of Newtonian flows. The highest heat transfer enhancement, Numax/Nufd ≈ 5, is observed at κ = 0.7, n = 0.6, and Pr = 100.
Basal forebrain septal nuclei are enlarged in healthy subjects prior to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract Alzheimer's disease (AD) is known to be associated with loss of cholinergic neurons in the nucleus basalis of Meynert, located in the posterior basal forebrain. Structural changes of septal nuclei, located in the anterior basal forebrain, have not been well studied in AD. Using a validated algorithm, we manually traced septal nuclei on high-resolution coronal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 40 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or AD, 89 healthy controls, and 18 subjects who were cognitively normal at the time of MRI but went on to develop AD an average of 2.8 years later. We found that cognitively normal subjects destined to develop AD in the future had enlarged septal nuclei as compared to both healthy controls and patients with current MCI or AD. To our knowledge, this is the first time a brain structure has been found to be enlarged in association with risk of AD. Further research is needed to determine if septal enlargement reflects neuroplastic compensation, amyloid deposition, inflammation, or another process and to determine whether it can serve as an early MRI biomarker of AD.
Nomenclatural Adjustments in North American Arabis , Chinese Hilliella , and South American Neuontobotrys (Brassicaceae)

The new combinations Arabis adpressipilis, Hilliella rupidcola subsp. shuangpaiensis, H. sinuata subsp. qianwuensis, and Neuontobotrys amplexicaulis are proposed. The distinguishing characters of A. adpressipilis from A. pycnocarpa are discussed and evaluated. The new combinations in Hilliella were previously recognized in Yinshania when the genera were united but now recognized in different tribes. The basionym of the long-neglected Hesperis amplexicaulis predates that of Sisymbrium grayanum, and therefore becomes the basis for the new combination in Neuontobotrys. Sisymbrium amplexicaule and S. amplexicaule var. tenuicaule are lectotypified.
Regional patterns of genetic diversity in swine influenza A viruses in the United States from 2010 to 2016

BACKGROUND Regular spatial and temporal analyses of the genetic diversity and evolutionary patterns of influenza A virus (IAV) in swine inform control efforts and improve animal health. Initiated in 2009, the USDA passively surveils IAV in U.S. swine, with a focus on subtyping clinical respiratory submissions, sequencing the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes at a minimum, and sharing these data publicly. OBJECTIVES In this study, our goal was to quantify and describe regional and national patterns in the genetic diversity and evolution of IAV in U.S. swine from 2010 to 2016. METHODS A comprehensive phylogenetic and epidemiological analysis of publicly available HA and NA genes generated by the USDA surveillance system collected from January 2010 to December 2016 was conducted. RESULTS The dominant subtypes and genetic clades detected during the study period were H1N1 (H1-γ/1A.3.3.3, N1-classical, 29%), H1N2 (H1-δ1/1B.2.2, N2-2002, 27%), and H3N2 (H3-IV-A, N2-2002, 15%), but many other minor clades were also maintained. Year-round circulation was observed, with a primary epidemic peak in October-November and a secondary epidemic peak in March-April. Partitioning these data into 5 spatial zones revealed that genetic diversity varied regionally and was not correlated with aggregated national patterns of HA/NA diversity. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that vaccine composition and control efforts should consider IAV diversity within swine production regions in addition to aggregated national patterns.
Trace Expansions for Elliptic Cone Operators

Let (M, g) be a Riemannian manifold and E → M a Hermitian vector bundle. Let $$A : {C}_{c}^{\infty }(M;E) \rightarrow {C}^{\infty }(M;E)$$ (1) be a differential operator (with smooth coefficients).
Double Disadvantage in the Process of Disablement: Race as a Moderator in the Association Between Chronic Conditions and Functional Limitations.

Objectives This study evaluated (a) whether the association between chronic conditions and functional limitations vary by race/ethnicity, and (b) whether socioeconomic status accounted for any observed racial variation in the association between chronic conditions and functional limitations. Method The Health and Retirement Study data were used to assess whether race/ethnicity moderated the association between chronic conditions and functional limitations, and whether education, income, and/or wealth mediated any of the observed moderation by race/ethnicity. Results Results from structural equation models of latent growth curves with random onset indicated that (a) the positive association between chronic conditions and functional limitations onset was larger for African Americans and Hispanics than it was for Whites, but (b) this difference largely persisted net of socioeconomic status. Discussion African Americans and Hispanics endure a multiplicative double disadvantage in the early stages of the disablement process where they experience (a) a more rapid onset and higher levels of functional limitations, and (b) greater risk of functional limitation onset associated with chronic conditions compared to their White counterparts. Moreover, basic economic policies are unlikely to curtail the greater risk of functional limitations onset associated with chronic conditions encountered by African Americans and Hispanics.
Tuning Noncollinear Spin Structure and Anisotropy in Ferromagnetic Nitride MXenes

Recent experimental success in the realization of two-dimensional magnetism has invigorated the search for low-dimensional material systems with tunable magnetic anisotropy that exhibit intrinsic long-range ferromagnetic order. Here we report that modifying the surface termination and transition metal in monolayer M2NTx nitride MXenes gives rise to a rich diversity of noncollinear spin structures and finely tunable magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Based on first-principles simulations, we predict that manipulating the strength of the spin–orbit interaction and electron localization via the chemical degrees of freedom can induce sufficient anisotropy to counteract thermal fluctuations that suppress long-range magnetic order. We find that Ti2NO2 and Mn2NF2 MXenes have continuous O(3) and O(2) spin symmetries, respectively, that may be broken by an applied field, while Cr2NO2 and Mn2NO2 are intrinsic Ising ferromagnets with out-of-plane easy axes and magnetic anisotropy energies up to 63 μeV/atom. These system...
The effectiveness of virtual reality for administering spatial navigation training to firefighters

Because fire rescue personnel often enter unfamiliar buildings to perform critical tasks like rescues, the importance of finding new and improved ways to train route navigation is becoming paramount. This research was designed to compare three methods for training firefighters to navigate a rescue route in an unfamiliar building. Thirty firefighters from the Madison County, Alabama, area were trained to navigate through the Administrative Science Building at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. The firefighters, who had not had any experience with the Administrative Science Building prior to the experiment, were randomly assigned to one of three experimental training groups: Blueprint, Virtual Reality, or No Training Control. After training, we measured the total navigation time and number of wrong turns exhibited by firefighters in the actual building. Participants were required to rescue a mock baby a life-sized doll following the specific trained route. Measures of test performance were compared among groups by using analyses of variance ANOVAs. The results indicated that firefighters trained with virtual reality or blueprints performed a quicker and more accurate rescue than those without training. Furthermore, the speed and accuracy of rescue performance did not differ significantly between virtual reality and blueprint training groups. These results indicate that virtual reality training, if constructed and implemented properly, may provide an effective alternative to current navigation training methods. The results are discussed with regard to theories of transfer of training and human performance in virtual environments.