cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 1399:In vitrocharacterization of several enzymes of the Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase superfamily using a universal succinate detection assay

The covalent modification of histone proteins, DNA and RNA by Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases are key to the modulation of biological processes such as epigenetics, hypoxic signaling and DNA/RNA repair. Of these, JumonjiC domain-containing histone lysine demethylases (JMJCs), the ten-eleven-translocation (TET) DNA dioxygenases, the ALKB DNA/RNA hydroxylases and the prolyl hydroxylases EGLN1-3 have generated increased interest as potential drug targets for the treatment of a number of pathological conditions, including cancer. Since succinate is a common product to all Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases, we determined the substrate specificities, the apparent kinetic constants for several JMJCs and members of the dioxygenase superfamily (i.e.: TET1, EGLN1, ALKBH3 and FTO), as well as inhibition profiles of reported inhibitors using a novel bioluminescent and homogenous succinate detection assay. Our results demonstrate that succinate detection is a useful strategy for the characterization of multiple Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases with distinct substrate requirements, enabling the investigation of a large number of enzymes that cannot be evaluated in a miniaturized or high-throughput manner with the methods currently available. Citation Format: Juliano Alves, Said Goueli, Hicham Zegzouti. In vitro characterization of several enzymes of the Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase superfamily using a universal succinate detection assay [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1399. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1399
Discrete Trial Teaching and Social Skill Training: Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater

Social skills are an elusive target to address in working with individuals with autism, and effective procedures are difficult to identify. Misconceptions exist about how to best address social skill deficits and about which procedures are most likely to produce socially significant outcomes. Discrete trial training (DTT) has a long history of effectiveness in addressing a wide variety of skills, including social responses. In this chapter, we review applications of DTT to address a variety of social skill deficits. The definition of DTT used in this chapter is wide but reflects the definitional elements of DTT (e.g., sequenced instruction, use of prompts, reinforcement of identified responses). A wide variety of skills have been successfully taught with these procedures. In effect, DTT has a long history of effectiveness and a current role in teaching social skills. It is important to identify effective elements and best practice recommendations when using DTT in addressing social deficits. DTT is helpful in addressing skill acquisition in this area, as it enables the instructor to carefully arrange the instructional context and affords many practice opportunities beyond those provided in natural contexts. The advantages associated with DTT should not be overlooked when developing treatment approaches to remediating social skill deficits in individuals with autism.
Risk factors for motorcycle loss-of-control crashes.

ABSTRACTObjective: The present article identifies and assesses the effect of critical factors on the risk of motorcycle loss-of-control (LOC) crashes.Method: Data come from a French project on road crashes, which include all fatal road crashes and a random sample of 1/20th of nonfatal crashes in France in 2011, based on police reports. A case–control study was carried out on a sample of 903 crashes for 444 LOC motorcycle riders (case) and 470 non-LOC and nonresponsible motorcycle riders (control). The sample was weighted due to the randomization of nonfatal crashes. Missing values were imputed using multiple imputation.Results: Road alignment and surface conditions, human factors, and motorcycle type played important roles in motorcycle LOC crashes. Riding in a curve was associated with a 3-fold greater risk of losing control of motorcycle than riding in a straight line. Poor road adhesion significantly increased the risk of losing control; the risk increased more than 20-fold when deteriorated road adhes...
Muscle-sparing Thoracotomy

Surgical access to the thoracic cavity can be performed through a variety of approaches. Traditional surgical approaches focused on optimizing exposure, often times at the expense of sparing adjacent truncal muscles, such as the latissimus dorsi or serratus anterior, which can serve as lifeboats in thoracic reconstruction. Numerous studies have evaluated the differences in these techniques, focusing on surgical access, postoperative pain, shoulder strength and mobility, and lung function. We advocate, whenever possible, the routine use of a muscle-sparing thoracotomy to preserve vital local flap options for reconstruction of postresection complications. These flaps can assist in the management of postoperative wound healing complications, such as empyemas and bronchopleural fistulae. When local flap options are unavailable, other flap options are often more morbid and can be challenging. Herein, we describe the technique for a muscle-sparing thoracotomy at our institution.
Structure and Composition of Historical Longleaf Pine Ecosystems in Mississippi, USA

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) historically was a widespread ecosystem composed of a simple tree canopy and grasslands ground layer. After widespread loss of this ecosystem due to logging and fire exclusion, little quantitative information exists about historical structure for restoration goals. We identified composition in De Soto National Forest and Pearl River County, Mississippi, USA, and density, basal area, and percent stocking in Pearl River County using General Land Office surveys and US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis surveys. Historical longleaf ecosystems were about 85% pine, with lesser amounts of broadleaf evergreen and oak species. Densities were about 175 to 180 trees/ha, mean tree diameters were 45 cm, and stocking was around 60% to 65%, which suggested longleaf pines were closed woodlands. Current forests are 38% to 57% pine, primarily loblolly, while longleaf pine is 2% to 8% of composition. Indeed, current longleaf pine composition across the Coastal Plain averages 3% and does not reach 10% at smaller landscape scales. Fire-sensitive broadleaf species of water oak, sweetgum, yellow-poplar, and red maple increased from about 0.5% composition to 2% to 10% of composition. Forests became twice as dense, at about 280 trees/ha to 330 trees/ha, with mean tree diameters of 22 cm. These results characterize conversion from open old growth longleaf forests, resulting in part from human maintenance, to successional forests due to human disruption of the historical ecosystem. It is important to remember structure and composition of historical forests for restoration and recognize wholesale changes so that successional forests do not become the new social and cultural baseline.
Microstructure and Mechanical Property Behavior of FRP Reinforcement Autopsied from Bridge Structures Subjected to In Situ Exposure

This paper examines the microstructure and mechanical property behavior of FRP reinforcement extracted from several FRP-reinforced concrete bridges built more than a decade ago. These include bridges constructed in Missouri and Texas. In particular, the following tests were performed including SEM, FTIR, EDX, glass transition temperature (Tg), and short shear test (SBS). Results from the evaluation demonstrated that the FRP bars are performing at a level with no observed degradation. The paper collects data to study the implications of the current ACI code knockdown factors relative to field-related data.
Sex differences in face but not colour learning in Polistes fuscatus paper wasps

When males and females have distinct behaviour, learning may vary between the sexes. Polistes fuscatus wasps provide an interesting model to study sex differences in learning because males and females have different social behaviour. Female wasps have highly variable facial patterns used for individual face recognition, live in cooperative groups where interactions depend on individual face recognition and excel at learning female faces. In contrast, male wasps lack the type of variable facial patterns necessary for individual face recognition and do not participate in the type of social interactions known to favour individual recognition in females. Instead, males leave the nest soon after adulthood and devote their energy to mating. Given the behavioural differences between males and females, females may be more adept at learning wasp faces than males. Here, we train male and female P. fuscatus to discriminate between pairs of female P. fuscatus face images and pairs of colours. Females learned to discriminate between pairs of face images more accurately than males. However, males and females were equally adept at colour learning, indicating that there are no generalized sex differences in learning. The sex differences in face, but not colour, learning are consistent with the adaptive specialization hypothesis, which posits that cognitive abilities are selected to solve particular social or ecological problems. Overall, general learning capacity is similar across male and female wasps, but face learning is shaped by sex-specific recognition behaviour.
Gender Differences in the Use of Gay Clubs: A Place to Resist Gender Norms for Gay Men and a Place of Diffusion for Lesbian Women

This article is based on an ethnographic study of the gay dance club subculture at Flames, a popular gay dance club in a Northwest city. I spent approximately 18 hours in the field making observations and interacting with subculturalists. Utilizing the known researcher role and the participant observer role on different occasions, I conducted informal interviews using the guided conversation method. Through observing the behavior of gay men, expressed mainly through dance, I tried to understand the ways in which gay males perform gender. By engaging in feminine forms of dance to female pop music artists and openly expressing their sexuality, gay men in the dance club subculture resist hegemonic masculinity norms of the dominant culture. Gay dance clubs function as important spaces of acceptance for gay men and lesbian women. However, female heterosexual diffusion has helped push lesbian women to the periphery of the subculture, leaving them with little space of their own. This aspect of my study branches out from previous literature in the United States, which has mainly focused on gay men’s experiences in gay clubs.
On the Mechanism of α-Helix to β-Sheet Transition in the Recombinant Prion Protein†

It is believed that the critical event in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies is the conversion of the prion protein from an α-helical form, PrPC, to a β-sheet-rich conformer, PrPSc. Recently, we have shown that incubation of the recombinant prion protein under mildly acidic conditions (pH 5 or below) in the presence of low concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride results in a transition to PrPSc-like β-sheet-rich oligomers that show fibrillar morphology and an increased resistance to proteinase K digestion [Swietnicki, W., Morillas, M, Chen, S., Gambetti, P., and Surewicz, W. K. (2000) Biochemistry 39, 424−431]. To gain insight into the mechanism of this transition, in the present study we have characterized the biophysical properties of the recombinant human prion protein (huPrP) at acidic pH in the presence of urea and salt. Urea alone induces unfolding of the protein but does not result in protein self-association or a conversion to β-sheet structure. However, a time-depende...
Assessment of the Young Autistic Child

This chapter will cover issues and methods in the assessment of preschoolers with autism and related severe disorders of communication. Aspects of diagnosis will be reviewed as a backdrop to a review of behavioral characteristics using the current DSM-III-R (American Psychiatric Association, 1987) symptom clusters as a basis to describe empirical data and implications for clinical approaches. Following a discussion of general issues in assessment, including how both diagnosis and assessment differ between the young preschooler and the older autistic child, the final section will discuss the relationship between assessment and treatment planning.
EFFECTS OF ULTRA-THIN SiOx IN CONDUCTING M-I-S Structures

ABSTRACT Barrier formation in Schottky barrier-type devices, metal-semiconductor and metal-thin film insulator-semiconductor, is examined as a function of controlled surface oxidation. Metalizations used are thin film (≲200A) Ag and Pd. The evolution of the semiconductor barrier with purposeful oxidation is measured by reverse C-V barrier height determinations, dark IV barrier height, photo-response barrier height, and photovoltaic open circuit voltage. The photovoltaic open circuit voltage for Ag and Pd devices exhibited a correlation to the change in barrier height when operated as solar cells, indicative of majority carrier devices.
THE EFFECT OF SELENIUM AND VITAMIN E DEFICIENCY ON THE TOXICITY OF NITROFURANTOIN IN THE CHICK

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the effect of selenium and vitamin E deficiency on the toxicity of nitrofurantoin in chick. Nitrofurantoin (N-[5–nitro–2–furfurylidine]–l–amino–hydantoin) is a commonly used urinary tract antimicrobial drug. It has been implicated in a number of drug-induced toxicities, the most common of which is associated with pulmonary injury. Recent studies suggest that the acute toxicity of this drug is mediated by an oxidative stress resulting from the futile reductive metabolism of the drug. In the study described in the chapter, the nitro compound is reduced to the nitro aromatic anion free radical, which is, then, re-oxidized by molecular oxygen regenerating the parent compound and forming superoxide. Superoxide, then, disproportionates to form hydrogen peroxide and ultimately the hydroxyl radical. One line of defense for the aerobic organism against these activated forms of oxygen is the selenium dependent glutathione peroxidase. The chapter explains that the toxicity of nitrofurantoin in the 10–12 day old chick is increased by decreasing the activity of this enzyme. In this animal model, it is found that vitamin E affords no protection against the toxicity of this nitro drug. Data supports the hypothesis that the toxicity of nitrofurantoin in vivo is because of activated forms of oxygen.
Place Attachment and Community Development

Place attachment is a multidimensional concept about bonds people have for the places with which they interact. We are intrigued by its implications and potential influences on community developmen...
Early clinical complete blood count changes in severe burn injuries

Abstract Introduction Following a severe burn injury, significant hematologic changes occur that are reflected in complete blood count (CBC) measurements. Our aim for this study was to examine trend in the components of the CBC in severely burned patients over the first week after injury and compare differences in CBC components between survivors and non-survivors. Methods A 5-year retrospective review was performed of adult (≥18 years) burn patients with a TBSA ≥ 15%. Age, TBSA, gender, mortality, length of hospital stay, ventilator days, and CBC were collected. Results Over the first week after injury, HBG and HCT decreased. This decrease was due to loss of red blood cells. WBC counts was initially elevated but decreased over the first 4 days. PLT also decreased over the first 4 days. Non-survivors had lower HBG, HCT, RCC, and PLT over the first week compared to survivors. Non-survivors had higher WBC compared to survivors. RDW was elevated during the first week in non-survivors. MPV was elevated at the end of the first week in non-survivors and MPV on day 7 was independently associated with mortality (O.R. 2.01 (1.1–3.7)). Compared to survivors non-survivors received more transfusions of blood products during the first week after injury. Conclusion Burn-injury specific trends in CBC measurements can be used as references to determine expected clinical course of burn patients. Non-survivors have early hematologic differences compared to survivors.
The Israel-Palestine Conflict: The Palestinian National Movement Comes of Age

In the late summer of 2001, Mary Robinson, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, convened the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa. Attendees included the member states of the United Nations General Assembly and assorted observer missions and nongovernmental organizations. At the end of the conference, participants agreed on a final report that included a list of 122 “General Issues” and a 219-point “Programme of Action.” Not surprisingly, the report condemned racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. The report also urged the world community to be more sensitive to these evils and undertake efforts to eradicate them. All this was set down in a style of rhetoric once caricatured by former American vice president Nelson Rockefeller as BOMFOG – Brotherhood of Man (under the) Fatherhood of God. It's a small world after all. The blandness of the final report masks one of several controversies that had threatened to tear apart the conference before it had even convened: An early draft of the report had condemned the “practises of racial discrimination against the Palestinians as well as other inhabitants of the Arab occupied territories,” going so far as to single out Zionism as a particularly virulent form of racism. “The World Conference recognises with deep concern the increase of racist practises of Zionism and anti-Semitism in various parts of the world,” the draft read, “as well as the emergence of racial and violent movements based on racism and discriminatory ideas, in particular the Zionist movement, which is based on racial superiority.” In the end, the final report deleted the offending passages, but not before the American and Israeli delegations staged a walkout.
Heterogeneous molecular catalysts for electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction

This review provides an overview of the literature regarding heterogeneous molecular catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR). Fundamental aspects of the science, including aggregation, electrochemical rate laws, and electrode-catalyst electronic coupling, are discussed to provide a solid foundation on which to design experiments and interpret results. Mechanistic aspects of ECR are presented based on electrokinetic and spectroscopic measurements as well as density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Consensus is improving for electrokinetic measurements, but the redox state of the metal center under reaction conditions and DFT reaction pathways lack agreement in the literature. Concerning the tunable aspects of the molecular catalyst, the impacts of the metal center, ligand substituents, and electrode support on the activity and selectivity toward ECR are presented with an emphasis on those studies that controlled for aggregation and minimized mass-transport limitations. Extended three-dimensional (3D) structures such as polymers, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) are discussed as highly tunable architectures that begin to mimic the catalytic pockets of enzyme active sites. To achieve the full potential of these catalysts, design principles must emerge based on a combination of deconvoluting measurements to extract intrinsic catalyst properties and more reliable theoretical calculations to predict reaction pathways.
Application of Cumulative Prospect Theory to Optimal Inspection Decision-Making for Ship Structures

The selection of optimal maintenance solutions under uncertainty is affected by the risk perception of decision-makers. The solution predicted by the minimum expected cost criterion may not conform to the preferences of decision-makers. The aim of this paper is to develop a risk-informed maintenance decision-making framework for corroding ship structures considering risk perceptions. Cumulative prospect theory is employed to model the choice preferences under uncertainty. The optimal ship maintenance strategy is developed as a single goal to maximize the expected prospect value. The uniform inspection interval is assumed to be the only design variable and a condition-based repair policy is considered. Monte Carlo simulations are employed to obtain the distribution of the maintenance and failure costs within the considered service life. The application of the developed framework is demonstrated on a ship hull girder structure.
Does the addition of adjuvant intraoperative tumor bed chemotherapy during midgut neuroendocrine tumor debulking procedures benefit patients

Background: Midgut neuroendocrine tumor (NET) patients are often diagnosed at advanced stages with extensive mesenteric nodal and hepatic metastasis. The only potentially curative treatment is surgical tumor eradication. Despite an aggressive resection, macro and microscopic residual disease still may remain in the resection bed. We hypothesize that the application of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) within the tumor bed will help eliminate microscopic residual disease. Methods: Records of 189 patients who underwent extensive cytoreductive surgeries during 2003–2012 for advanced, midgut NETs with extensive mesenteric lymphadenopathy were reviewed. Eighty-six patients (46%) who had 5-FU saturated gel foam strips secured into their mesenteric resection sites served as the study group and a matching 103 patients (54%) who did not have such an intra-operative chemotherapy served as controls. Survival from the time of diagnosis and post-operative complications between the two groups were compared. Results: Mortality rates at 30, 60 and 90 days post-operatively were 4%, 0%, 0% versus 2%, 0%, 2% for study and control groups, respectively. Major complications (Grades III & IV) at the same intervals were 0, 0, 1 versus 2, 3, 2 for study and control groups, respectively. Median survival was 236 months versus 148 months for the study and control groups, respectively 24 (P=0.15). Conclusions: Intraoperative tumor resection bed chemotherapy is a safe adjuvant without discernible toxicity. This procedure may provide survival benefits to midgut NET patients with extensive mesenteric lymphadenopathy undergoing extensive cytoreductive surgery. Further study in prospective trials must be conducted to determine definitive benefit to the NET patient.
Deep learning based domain knowledge integration for small datasets: Illustrative applications in materials informatics

Deep learning has shown its superiority to traditional machine learning methods in various fields, and in general, its success depends on the availability of large amounts of reliable data. However, in some scientific fields such as materials science, such big data is often expensive or even impossible to collect. Thus given relatively small datasets, most of data-driven methods are based on traditional machine learning methods, and it is challenging to apply deep learning for many tasks in these fields. In order to take the advantage of deep learning even for small datasets, a domain knowledge integration approach is proposed in this work. The efficacy of the proposed approach is tested on two materials science datasets with different types of inputs and outputs, for which domain knowledge-aware convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are developed and evaluated against traditional machine learning methods and standard CNN-based approaches. Experiment results demonstrate that integrating domain knowledge into deep learning can not only improve the model’s performance for small datasets, but also make the prediction results more explainable based on domain knowledge.
Molecular detection of opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens in rural Louisiana's drinking water distribution system

Opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) in drinking water distribution systems are responsible for causing numerous infections such as Legionnaires' disease and pneumonia through the consumption of contaminated drinking water. The incidence of opportunistic pathogens and the number of individuals at risk of contracting infections caused by these OPPPs in drinking water has risen drastically in the past decade. Preflush and postflush water samples were collected from 64 houses in a rural town in northeast Louisiana to determine drinking water quality in terms of understanding abiotic and biotic factors on potential proliferation of OPPPs. Physical and chemical water quality parameters, such as pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and specific conductance were also measured. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) results indicated that Legionella spp. had the highest prevalence and was found in 46/64 samples (72%), followed by Mycobacterium spp. which was found in 43/64 samples (67%), E. coli in 31/64 samples (48%) and, Naegleria fowleri in 4/64 samples (6%) respectively. The results indicate the persistence of Legionella spp. DNA marker in these water samples.
Arteriovenous Fistula Use in the United States and Dialysis Facility-Level Comorbidity Burden.

Rationale & Objective Patients with multiple comorbid conditions are less likely to use an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) for hemodialysis vascular access. Some dialysis facilities have high rates of AVF placement despite having patients with many comorbid conditions. This study describes variation in facility-level use of AVFs across the facility-level burden of patient comorbid conditions. Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting & Participants Medicare patients receiving hemodialysis for 1 year or more in US dialysis facilities. Predictors Facility-level burden of patient comorbid conditions; patient characteristics. Outcomes Odds of AVFs versus other access types; facility-level use of AVFs. Analytical Approach Facility-level comorbidity burden was calculated by summing individual comorbid conditions, determining the average per patient, then defining 11 groups based on facility percentile ranking. Generalized estimating equations with a logit link were used to estimate the odds of AVF placement at the patient level. For the facility-level analysis, a generalized estimating equation model with the identity link was fit to characterize the percentage of AVF use at each facility. Results Overall, AVF use was 65.8% in 315,919 prevalent hemodialysis patients among 5,813 facilities. After adjustment for patient characteristics, AVF use was 0.27, 0.30, 1.05, and 1.74 percentage points lower than the median among facilities in the 61st to 70th, 71st to 80th, 81st to 90th, and 91st to 99th percentiles of comorbidity, respectively, and 0.42, 0.63, 1.34, and 1.90 percentage points higher than the median among facilities in the 31st to 40th, 21st to 30th, 11th to 20th, and 1st to 10th percentiles of comorbidity, respectively. Facilities in the greater than 99th percentile of comorbidity burden had AVF use that was 3.47 percentage points lower than the median. Facilities in the less than 1st percentile of comorbidity burden had AVF use that was 2.64 percentage points greater than the median. Limitations Limited to Medicare dialysis-dependent patients treated for 1 year or more. Conclusions After adjustment for patient characteristics, we found small differences in facility rates of AVF use except in the extremes of high or low levels of comorbidity burden. Our study demonstrates that dialysis facilities with a relatively high patient comorbidity burden can achieve similar fistula rates as facilities with healthier patients. Although high comorbidity burden does not explain low facility AVF use, additional study is needed to understand differences in AVF use rates between facilities with similar comorbidity burdens.
Transduction of Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells by Foamy Virus and Lentivirus Vectors.

The induction and maintenance of antigen specific peripheral tolerance is critical for the prevention of autoimmunity and maintenance of immune homeostasis. Antigen presentation by tolerogenic dendritic cells (DCs) initiates the process through the stimulation of regulatory T cells and other mechanisms that may include peripheral deletion and anergy induction of autoreactive T cells. In contrast to DCs that mediate immune priming, tolerogenic DCs have a resting phenotype. They lack expression of co-stimulatory molecules and MHC class II. Recently, a method for identifying murine tolerogenic DCs (lin − , CD45RB high , CD11c low ) and expanding them ex vivo has been described (Wakkach et al . Immunity18:605, 2003). Directed antigen presentation by viral vector transduction of these cells has the potential to produce antigen specific tolerance for therapeutic purposes. To generate tolerogenic DCs, we cultured lin − murine bone marrow in complete RPMI medium in the presence of 10 ng/ml GM-CSF, 2.5 ng/ml TNF-α and 10–100 ng/ml IL-10 for 6–7 days. Cells were transduced overnight at different time points (day 0, day 3, day 6), with foamy virus vectors and lentivirus vectors containing either the GFP or alkaline phosphatase reporter genes. Transductions were performed both in the presence or absence of fibronectin fragment CH-296. For day 0 transductions, we also evaluated whether stem cell stimulatory cytokines (50 ng/ml TPO, 100 ng/ml SCF, 100 ng/ml FL) improved gene transfer efficiency. On days 6–7 the CD45RB high CD11c low cell population was flow sorted and then further analyzed. The percentage of CD45RB high CD11c low cells harvested on days 6–7 varied from 10% to 30% and was increased by IL-10 in a dosage dependent manner. As expected for tolerogenic DCs, these cells were morphologically immature by Giemsa-Wright staining and phenotypically negative to low for the expression of co-stimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86, and MHC class II, even after exposure to lipopolysaccharide. At an MOI of 0.5–1, transduction rates of CD45Rb high CD11c low cells were 30%–37% for foamy virus vectors and 23%–24% for lentivirus vectors. Most importantly, vector transduction did not induce expression of co-stimulatory molecules, suggesting that these two viral vectors do not activate DCs. There was no difference in transduction efficiency at the three different time points tested. Furthermore, transduction efficiencies were not affected by either stem cell stimulatory cytokines or CH-296. In summary, cells with the phenotype of tolerogenic DCs can be efficiently transduced by foamy virus and lentivirus vectors with overnight exposure to vector stocks. In vivo studies in mice are in progress to evaluate if transduced CD45RB high CD11c low cells are able to induce antigen specific tolerance. These studies have potential clinical implications for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, the induction of tolerance after stem cell transplantation, or the prevention of immune responses triggered by specific transgenes in gene therapy.
Patient-level Classification on Clinical Note Sequences Guided by Attributed Hierarchical Attention

In spite of clinical notes in Electronic Health Records (EHR) providing abundant information about patient health, effective modeling of clinical notes remains in its infancy. A patient’s clinical notes correspond to a sequence of free-form texts generated by health care professionals over time; with each note in turn containing a sequence of words. Additionally, notes are accompanied by external attributes at multiple layers such as the time at which each note was created (note level) or the demographics of the patient (patient level). Thus, EHR notes correspond to a nested structure of text sequences augmented with external multi-layer attributes. To model this complex problem, we propose an Attributed Hierarchical Attention model, named HAC-RNN, that integrates multiple RNN layers that encode nested sequential notes with contextual and temporal attention layers that are conditioned on the external attributes. While the bottom layer of HAC-RNN is responsible for contextual summarization of the note content, the top layer combs through the entire timeline of notes to focus on those which are most relevant. These attention layers, which are each conditioned on layer-specific hierarchical attributes, allow personalized predictions through inferring patient profiles.We evaluate HAC-RNN using three real-world medical tasks, detecting in-hospital acquired infections and predicting patient mortality using critical care database MIMIC-III. Our results demonstrate that our model significantly outperforms state-of-the-art techniques for all tasks.
Does Ultrasonographic Measurement of Gastric Content Influence Airway Management Decisions

The presence of gastric content before induction of general anesthesia is the primary modifiable risk factor in the prevention of pulmonary aspiration. The purpose of this project was to determine if ultrasonography could be routinely used to measure gastric content and assign aspiration risk in patients undergoing general anesthesia. Preoperative gastric ultrasonography was performed in a convenience sample of 100 patients. A group of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, anesthesia residents, and anesthesiologists were asked their plan for airway management before and after receiving the results of the patients' gastric ultrasonogram, to determine if the scan would alter the plan. In 14% of patients scanned, solid gastric content was observed, 7% had clear liquids present, and 79% had an empty stomach. Of the patients with clear liquids present, 3 had substantial (> 100 mL) gastric content despite following fasting guidelines. Overall, there was a 9% change in airway management from standard induction: 6% changed to modified rapid sequence intubation (no ventilation, no cricoid pressure), and 3% changed to rapid sequence intubation with cricoid pressure. The number of changes to the airway management plan and identification of several patients with substantial gastric content demonstrate the value of preoperative gastric ultrasonography in airway management decision making.
Prevalence, Incidence, and Impact on Mortality of Conduction System Disease in Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis.

Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) is an increasingly recognized infiltrative cardiomyopathy in which conduction system disease is common. The aim of our study was to define the incidence and prevalence of high-grade atrioventricular (AV) block requiring pacemaker implantation in our quaternary referral center. This was a single-center retrospective cohort study of 369 consecutive patients with ATTR-CA who underwent 12-lead electrocardiogram at the time of ATTR-CA diagnosis. During a mean follow-up of 28 months, serial ECGs and the electronic medical record were examined for the development of high-grade AV block and pacemaker implantation. Wild-type ATTR-CA (wtATTR-CA) was diagnosed in 261 patients and 108 had hereditary ATTR-CA (hATTR-CA). A total of 35 (9.5%) had high-grade AV block requiring pacemaker implantation at the time of diagnosis of ATTR-CA. The most common conduction abnormalities evident on the baseline ECG were a wide QRS complex, present in 51% with wtATTR-CA and 48% with hATTR-CA (p = 0.62), followed by first-degree AV block, which was present in 49% with wtATTR-CA and 43% with hATTR-CA (p = 0.31). During follow-up, high-grade AV block developed in 10% of those with hATTR-CA and 12% of patients with wtATTR-CA (p = 0.64). On multivariable models, high-grade AV block was not significantly associated with increased mortality. More advanced ATTR-CA stage and a history of obstructive coronary artery disease were associated with increased mortality on multivariable models. In conclusion, the incidence and prevalence of high-grade AV block is high in patients with ATTR-CA. Patients with ATTR-CA require close monitoring during follow-up for the development of conduction system disease.
Insecticidal Activity of Commiphora erythraea Essential Oil and Its Emulsions Against Larvae of Three Mosquito Species.

The use essential oils as ecofriendly tools for pest and vector management has become one of the mainstreams for biopesticide research. Here, Commiphora erythraea (opoponax) essential oil and its fractions were profiled for their chemical composition and larvicidal activity against Culex restuans, Cx. pipiens, and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The effect of C. erythraea essential oil on expression of three cytochrome P450 (CYP450s) and three Glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) genes and the use of bio-based amylose-N-1-hexadecylammonium chloride inclusion complex (Hex-Am) and amylose-sodium palmitate inclusion complex (Na-Palm) as emulsifiers for C. erythraea essential oil were also investigated. The most abundant chemical constituents were curzerene (32.6%) in fraction 1, spathulenol (62.5%) in fraction 2, and bicyclosesquiphellandrene in the whole essential oil (33.9%) and factions 3 (30.1%) and 4 (23.8%). LC50 values for the whole essential oil were 19.05 ppm for Cx. restuans, 22.61 ppm for Cx. pipiens and 29.83 ppm for Ae. aegypti and differed significantly from each other. None of the four C. erythraea essential oil fractions were active against mosquito larvae. Two CYP450 genes (CYP6M11 and CYP6N12) and one GST gene (GST-2) were significantly upregulated in Ae. aegypti larvae exposed to C. erythraea essential oil suggesting their potential involvement in pathways of metabolic activation and detoxification of C. erythraea essential oil. Essential oil emulsions produced with Hex-Am were more toxic than the whole essential oil while those produced with Na-Palm had similar toxicity as the whole essential oil. These findings demonstrate that C. erythraea essential oil is a promising source of mosquito larvicide and that its larvicidal activity is likely due to synergistic interactions among the major and minor constituents. The findings also demonstrate that the use of Hex-Am as an emulsifier can enhance the insecticidal properties of C. erythraea essential oil.
Resiliency and Self-Care Behaviors in Health Professional Schools.

Background: Resilience is crucial for students in health schools as care becomes more complex and as the adjustment to meet patient, environmental, and professional demands with success can seem a ...
Assembly and Qualification of a Slotless Stator Assembly for a MW-Class Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine

This paper discusses the manufacturing process and qualification procedures of a slotless stator for a 1-MW high-speed permanent magnet synchronous machine. The motor, targeted to reach 13 kW/kg, is assembled with form-wound air-core armature windings which utilize litz wire as the conductor. A prototype is being developed and a full-power test will be done in the near future. The insulation, mechanical and thermal qualification test procedures of the stator are discussed in detail. Results showed that the manufacturing process and tolerances significantly affect the machine performance. Various assembly challenges of this slotless stator and their impacts on performance targets are illustrated.
Demonstration of a time-efficient mobility system using a scaled smart city

The implementation of connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies enables a novel computational framework to deliver real-time control actions that optimise travel time, energy, and safety. ...
High-temperature Pumping of Silicon for Thermal Energy Grid Storage

Abstract As the cost of renewable energy falls below fossil fuels, the key barrier to widespread sustainable electricity has become availability on demand. Energy storage can enable dispatchable renewables, but only with drastic cost reductions compared to current batteries. One electricity storage concept that could enable these cost reductions stores electricity as sensible heat in an extremely hot liquid (>2000 °C) and uses multi-junction photovoltaics (MPV) as a heat engine to convert it back to electricity on demand, hours or days later. This paper follows previously reported technoeconomics and liquid containment, examining equipment that would be needed to exchange heat between resistive heaters, a molten silicon storage tank above 2000 °C, and a heat engine. Herein, we report on a pump that was designed and tested to circulate the liquid silicon between these three regions and the effect of spatial thermal cycling was simulated in models and experiments. While the pump successfully circulated silicon between 1800 and 2080 °C for 10 h, circulation with a temperature gradient caused it and other non-isothermal experiments to dissolve significantly due to the temperature dependent solubility of not only carbon, but also silicon carbide which otherwise protected the graphite infrastructure. Methods to reduce dissolution and an alternative embodiment are presented.
Importance of Process Mining for Big Data Requirements Engineering

Requirements engineering (RE), as a part of the project development life cycle, has increasingly been recognized as the key to ensure on-time, on-budget, and goal-based delivery of software projects. RE of big data projects is even more crucial because of the rapid growth of big data applications over the past few years. Data processing, being a part of big data RE, is an essential job in driving big data RE process successfully. Business can be overwhelmed by data and underwhelmed by the information so, data processing is very critical in big data projects. Employing traditional data processing techniques lacks the invention of useful information because of the main characteristics of big data, including high volume, velocity, and variety. Data processing can be benefited by process mining, and in turn, helps to increase the productivity of the big data projects. In this paper, the capability of process mining in big data RE to discover valuable insights and business values from event logs and processes of the systems has been highlighted. Also, the proposed big data requirements engineering framework, named REBD, helps software requirements engineers to eradicate many challenges of big data RE.
Sensing and Estimation

Sensing and estimation are essential aspects of the design of any robotic system. At a very basic level, the state of the robot itself must be estimated for feedback control. At a higher level, perception, which is defined here to be task-oriented interpretation of sensor data, allows the integration of sensor information across space and time to facilitate planning.
PAC bounds for simulation-based optimization of Markov decision processes

We generalize the PAC Learning framework for Markov decision processes developed in [18]. We consider the reward function to depend on both the state and the action. Both the state and action spaces can potentially be countably infinite. We obtain an estimate for the value function of a Markov decision process, which assigns to each policy its expected discounted reward. This expected reward can be estimated as the empirical average of the reward over many independent simulation runs. We derive bounds on the number of runs needed for the convergence of the empirical average to the expected reward uniformly for a class of policies, in terms of the V-C or pseudo dimension of the policy class. We then propose a framework to obtain an e-optimal policy from simulation. We provide sample complexity of such an approach.
Implications of stress and infection on neuroimmune function and behavior as potential risk factors for developing postpartum depression

Significant changes in maternal immune function must take place to foster the development of a growing fetus. Furthermore, significant neuroimmune changes have been linked to several psychiatric disorders including depression. Despite evidence that peripheral immune changes are induced by pregnancy and central immune changes are linked to depression, it is currently unknown whether pregnancy similarly affects changes in the immune cells of the brain that may increase the risk of postpartum depression. Thus, we hypothesize functional neuroimmune changes associated with pregnancy compounded by external stressors may be linked to an increased risk for developing postpartum depression. Microglia are the immune cells of the brain, having both pro- and anti-inflammatory responses to various insults. Real-time PCR identified significant changes in microglial activation markers and pro-inflammatory molecules within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus of pregnant and postpartum rats compared to non-pregnant controls. Separate cohorts of rats exposed to either forced swimming stress during the last week of gestation or an LPS injection one day prior to parturition induced differential changes of inflammatory cytokines in mPFC after birth. Behaviorally, both stressors and pregnancy caused depressive-like anhedonia as measured with sucrose preference. Data show novel findings of neuroimmune and behavioral changes induced by pregnancy alone. Additionally, forced swimming stress or infection during gestation interact with pregnancy, resulting in unique neuroimmune gene expression and depressive behavioral outcomes.
Mechanisms in Obesity-related Hypertension: Role of Insulin and Catecholamines

Although the association of obesity and hypertension is well recognized, the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of increased blood pressure in the obese are poorly understood. Recent studies addressing the impact of 1) body fat distribution on blood pressure and 2) dietary intake on sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity suggest a plausible hypothesis that relates the hypertension of the obese to hyperinsulinemia and SNS stimulation. Hypertension in the obese is associated with fat accumulation in the upper body segments; this type of obesity is also characterized by hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. Insulin, moreover, is an important signal in the relationship between dietary intake and SNS activity: increased insulin levels are associated with SNS stimulation. The hyperinsulinemia of obesity may, therefore, increase blood pressure by 1) direct effects of insulin to stimulate renal sodium reabsorption, and 2) sympathetic stimulation of the heart, blood vessels, and kidney. Conversely, SNS suppression and diminished insulin following caloric restriction may explain the hypotensive effects of caloric restriction in obese hypertensive subjects. The hypothesis presented here emphasizes the important role of diet in the treatment of obese hypertensive subjects. The efficacy of caloric restriction, weight loss, and exercise in reducing blood pressure in the obese is linked to diminished insulin and SNS activity and may be viewed as evidence in favor of this hypothesis.
MBE Growth of Thin Hexagonal Films Bi2Te3, Bi2Se3, and Their Alloys on Cubic GaAs (001) Substrates

Films of pseudo-hexagonal Bi2Te3, Bi2Se3, and their alloys were successfully grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on GaAs (001) substrates. The growth mechanism and structural properties of these films were investigated by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and Raman spectroscopy and mapping. The results indicate that the epitaxial films are highly uniform and of high crystalline quality. The electronic band structure of these films was studied by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The results confirm that these films are topological insulators, with a single Dirac cone for the topological surface states. Electric transport measurements were performed on the films, and weak anti-localization (WAL) was observed in the magnetoresistance. Tuning of conductance by gating was demonstrated in top-gated field effect transistor (FET) devices fabricated from these films.