cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Net alkalinity and net acidity 2: Practical considerations

The pH, alkalinity, and acidity of mine drainage and associated waters can be misinterpreted because of the chemical instability of samples and possible misunderstandings of standard analytical method results. Synthetic and field samples of mine drainage having various initial pH values and concentrations of dissolved metals and alkalinity were titrated by several methods, and the results were compared to alkalinity and acidity calculated based on dissolved solutes. The pH, alkalinity, and acidity were compared between fresh, unoxidized and aged, oxidized samples. Data for Pennsylvania coal mine drainage indicates that the pH of fresh samples was predominantly acidic (pH 2.5– 4) or near neutral (pH 6–7); � 25% of the samples had pH values between 5 and 6. Following oxidation, no samples had pH values between 5 and 6. The Standard Method Alkalinity titration is constrained to yield values >0. Most calculated and measured alkalinities for samples with positive alkalinities were in close agreement. However, for low-pH samples, the calculated alkalinity can be negative due to negative contributions by dissolved metals that may oxidize and hydrolyze. The Standard Method hot peroxide treatment titration for acidity determination (Hot Acidity) accurately indicates the potential for pH to decrease to acidic values after complete degassing of CO2 and oxidation of Fe and Mn, and it indicates either the excess alkalinity or that required for neutralization of the sample. The Hot Acidity directly measures net acidity (= � net alkalinity). Samples that had near-neutral pH after oxidation had negative Hot Acidity; samples that had pH < 6.3 after oxidation had positive Hot Acidity. Samples with similar pH values before oxidation had dissimilar Hot Acidities due to variations in their alkalinities and dissolved Fe, Mn, and Al concentrations. Hot Acidity was approximately equal to net acidity calculated based on initial pH and dissolved concentrations of Fe, Mn, and Al minus the initial alkalinity. Acidity calculated from the pH and dissolved metals concentrations, assuming equivalents of 2 per mole of Fe and Mn and 3 per mole of Al, was equivalent to that calculated based on complete aqueous speciation of Fe II /Fe III . Despite changes in the pH, alkalinity, and metals concentrations, the Hot Acidities were comparable for fresh and most aged samples. A meaningful ‘‘net’’ acidity can be determined from a measured Hot Acidity or by calculation from the pH, alka
A Quantitative Analysis of Optimal Treatment Capacity for Perinatal Asphyxia

Objective. In centers electing to offer therapeutic hypothermia for treating hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), determining the optimal number of cooling devices is not straightforward. The authors used computer-based modeling to determine the level of service as a function of local HIE caseload and number of cooling devices available. Methods. The authors used discrete event simulation to create a model that varied the number of HIE cases and number of cooling devices available. Outcomes of interest were percentage of HIE-affected infants not cooled, number of infants not cooled, and percentage of time that all cooling devices were in use. Results. With 1 cooling device, even the smallest perinatal center did not achieve a cooling rate of 99% of eligible infants. In contrast, 2 devices ensured 99% service in centers treating as many as 20 infants annually. In centers averaging no more than 1 HIE infant monthly, the addition of a third cooling device did not result in a substantial reduction in the nu...
A New Functional Equation Analogous to CAUCHT‐PEXIDER Functional Equation and its Application

The CAUCHY-PEXIDER functional equation H (x±y)=F(x) G(y) is generalized to the form H ((xc±yc)1/c) = F(x) G(y), c≠0, assuming the function H(x) possesses a measurable majorant on a set of positive measure. The result is used to obtain a characterization of WEIBULL distribution. This functional equation is generalized to functions of vector variables.
Prophylaxis of Neonatal Conjunctivitis An Analytic Review

The recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that erythromycin and tetracycline ointments, as well as silver nitrate solution, are acceptable regimens for prophylaxis of gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum (GON) has resulted in widespread local review of policies for ocular prophylaxis. The data concerning the efficacy and side effects of these agents are somewhat confusing or nonexistent. We discuss the etiologies of neonatal conjunctivitis and the topical and systemic agents used for prophylaxis of GON. We also review all studies that have compared the efficacy of one prophylactic agent with that of another agent or with no prophylaxis. It is found that all three agents have similar efficacy in preventing GON, although silver nitrate has been used more extensively in populations at high risk for GON. However, since Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common infectious cause of neonatal conjunctivitis in the United States at this time, and erythromycin appears to be very effective in prevention of neonatal conjunctivitis due to C. trachomatis, it may have an advantage over the other two agents. In addition, erythromycin use is associated with fewer ocular reactions than is silver nitrate.
Arbuscular Mycorrhizas, Microbial Communities, Nutrient Availability, and Soil Aggregates in Organic Tomato Production

Effects of arbuscular mycorrhzal (AM) fungi on plant growth and nutrition are well-known, but their effects on the wider soil biota are less clear. This is in part due to difficulties with establishing appropriate non-mycorrhizal controls in the field. Here we present results of a field experiment using a new approach to overcome this problem. A previously well-characterized mycorrhizal defective tomato mutant (rmc) and its mycorrhizal wildtype progenitor (76R MYC+) were grown at an organic fresh market tomato farm (Yolo County, CA). At the time of planting, root in-growth cores amended with different levels of N and P, were installed between experimental plants to study localized effects of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal tomato roots on soil ecology. Whilst fruit yield and vegetative production of the two genotypes were very similar at harvest, there were large positive effects of colonization of roots by AM fungi on plant nutrient contents, especially P and Zn. The presence of roots colonized by AM fungi also resulted in improved aggregate stability by increasing the fraction of small macroaggregates, but only when N was added. Effects on the wider soil community including nematodes, fungal biomass as indicated by ergosterol, microbial biomass C, and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles were less pronounced. Taken together, these data show that AM fungi provide important ecosystem functions in terms of plant nutrition and aggregate stability, but that a change in this one functional group had only a small effect on the wider soil biota. This indicates a high degree of stability in soil communities of this organic farm.
Positions in Multiple Network Systems, Part Two: Stratification and Prestige Among Elite Decision- Makers in the Community of Altneustadt

Three basic research issues are addressed concerning the structure of relations among elite community decision-makers as an illustrative application of the conception of a system of actors as a social topology given in Part One (appearing in the previous issue of this journal): (1) What is the form of the role-sets defining statuses across which the elite are stratified? (2) What is the content of these role-sets, i.e., what is the substance of the relations differentiating the community elite? (3) How is the possession of resources associated with the distribution of prestige among the community elite? The application to elite decision-makers in a small German community illustrates the explicit epistemic linkage between abstract and empirical structure inherent in casting a system of actors as a social topology and the hypothesis testing capabilities arising from this explicit linkage. One of the systems of actors most familiar to social scientists as a laboratory for studies of stratification and prestige-and as a source for new ideas concerning both concepts, is that composed of elite decision-makers in a community (see, e.g., reviews by Aiken and Mott; Bonjean et al.; Clark, a, d; Hawley and Wirt). This has become increasingly the case with the adoption in community research of a metaphor discussed at length by Clark (a, c, d) in which the stratification of elites arises in some manner as a consequence of exogenous characteristics of a community and determines in some manner the policies adopted within the community. Adoption of *Modest computer funds from the Department of Sociology and facilities made available to me during the writing of this paper at the National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago by J. S. Coleman through a grant from the National Science Foundation (SOC7305504 A02) are gratefully acknowledged. The presentation of ideas here has benefited from discussions with J. S. Coleman and E. 0. Laumann.
The usefulness of mathematical models for bone remodeling

The usefulness of mathematical models for bone remodeling is greatly limited if they are not developed in terms of variables which can be (1) histologically measured, and (2) related to the mechanical properties which determine function. A model is presented which has these advantages and simulates the remodeling of cortical bone by secondary osteons. Demonstrations are given of the usefulness of this model for studying such phenomena as the overlapping of osteons so as to limit porosity, Wolff's law, regional acceleratory phenomena, and fluorochrome label escape errors. The model is developed in the form of a computer program written in BASIC on an IBM-PC–compatible microcomputer.
Interlaminar Fracture Behavior of Nanoclay Reinforced Glass Fiber Composites

The effect of nanoclay on the interlaminar fracture toughness of glass fiber composites was studied. Mode I and mode II tests were conducted to measure the interlaminar fracture toughness of nanoclay reinforced composites. A reduction in interlaminar fracture toughness (both mode I and mode II) was observed in the nanoclay reinforced fiber composites. Alignment of nanoclay along the fiber axis was found to be a possible reason for this reduction.
Evaluating a Project Management Simulation Training Exercise

This research is an evaluation of a single-player, project management simulation training exercise. Our objective is to gain understanding about the extent to which it contributes to participants' project management knowledge and skills. Results from pre- and post-simulation exercise questionnaires indicate that overall the simulation exercise significantly improves a participant's conceptual knowledge about project management. It also indicates that participants with less experience achieve more knowledge improvement than those with more experience. Results further indicate that the actual performance of the exercise, which represents the educational value of the exercise, is primarily dependent on the post-project management knowledge of the participant established throughout the exercise, prior knowledge brought to the exercise, and the experience of the participant. We believe that these results indicate that the simulation training exercise is a valuable training tool, which both engineering and project managers can use.
Identification and estimation of nonlinear models using two samples with nonclassical measurement errors

This paper considers identification and estimation of a general nonlinear errors-in-variables (EIV) model using two samples. Both samples consist of a dependent variable, some error-free covariates, and an error-prone covariate, for which the measurement error has unknown distribution and could be arbitrarily correlated with the latent true values, and neither sample contains an accurate measurement of the corresponding true variable. We assume that the regression model of interest – the conditional distribution of the dependent variable given the latent true covariate and the error-free covariates – is the same in both samples, but the distributions of the latent true covariates vary with observed error-free discrete covariates. We first show that the general latent nonlinear model is nonparametrically identified using the two samples when both could have nonclassical errors, without either instrumental variables or independence between the two samples. When the two samples are independent and the nonlin...
Dynamic alterations in chemokine gradients induce transendothelial shuttling of human T cells under physiologic shear conditions.

The active movement of cells from subendothelial compartments into the bloodstream (intravasation) has been recognized for several decades by histologic and physiologic studies, yet the molecular effectors of this process are relatively uncharacterized. For extravasation, studies based predominantly on static transwell assays support a general model, whereby transendothelial migration (TEM) occurs via chemoattraction toward increasing chemokine concentrations. However, this model of chemotaxis cannot readily reconcile how chemokines influence intravasation, as shear forces of blood flow would likely abrogate luminal chemokine gradient(s). Thus, to analyze how T cells integrate perivascular chemokine signals under physiologic flow, we developed a novel transwell-based flow chamber allowing for real-time modulation of chemokine levels above (luminal/apical compartment) and below (abluminal/subendothelial compartment) HUVEC monolayers. We routinely observed human T cell TEM across HUVEC monolayers with the combination of luminal CXCL12 and abluminal CCL5. With increasing concentrations of CXCL12 in the luminal compartment, transmigrated T cells did not undergo retrograde transendothelial migration (retro-TEM). However, when exposed to abluminal CXCL12, transmigrated T cells underwent striking retro-TEM and re-entered the flow stream. This CXCL12 fugetactic (chemorepellant) effect was concentration-dependent, augmented by apical flow, blocked by antibodies to integrins, and reduced by AMD3100 in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, CXCL12-induced retro-TEM was inhibited by PI3K antagonism and cAMP agonism. These findings broaden our understanding of chemokine biology and support a novel paradigm by which temporospatial modulations in subendothelial chemokine display drive cell migration from interstitial compartments into the bloodstream.
Trajectory generation for dynamic walking in a humanoid over uneven terrain using a 3D-actuated Dual-SLIP model

The Dual-SLIP model has been proposed as a walking template that inherently encodes a rich set of human-like features. Previous work has used the 3D Dual-SLIP with bio-inspired leg actuation to generate a human-like dynamic walking gait over a wide range of speeds. The work presented in this paper extends the 3D Dual-SLIP walking strategy to uneven terrain. With nonlinear optimization based on a multiple-shooting formulation, actuated Dual-SLIP walking gaits over uneven terrain are identified that handle 1-step elevation changes up to ±10 cm. Moreover, this Dual-SLIP actuation strategy enables a constant center of mass (CoM) forward speed at leg midstance to be maintained. The resultant gaits have revealed a leg lengthening/shortening strategy that is similar to that adopted by a human when walking over prepared, uneven terrain. Results demonstrate that the CoM trajectories and ground reaction force patterns found with the approach are comparable to the human data found in the biomechanics literature. The trajectories generated by the Dual-SLIP model are also demonstrated to orchestrate a dynamic walking motion with an anthropomorphic humanoid model in simulation over uneven terrain.
Chapter 13 - Periglacial Processes and Landforms in the Critical Zone

Abstract The periglacial landscape is not represented within the current definition of the Critical Zone. This zone encompasses all processes taking place from base of the aquifer to the top of the canopy. This chapter will describe the geomorphological processes and resulting landforms that occur throughout the periglacial, and describe the relationship with the Critical Zone. Processes, including mass movement, hydrological activity, and frost action, result in various landforms that alter the Critical Zone. We argue that the Critical Zone definition must include the periglacial environment to have a complete representation of Earth. We demonstrate that humans and a changing climate are accelerating local and global changes within the Critical Zone, which results in a rapidly changing periglacial environment. It is, therefore, essential to understand complex interactions within the periglacial realm of the Critical Zone to determine ways to sustain this unique landscape.
Abstract 482: Attachment Site Curvature of Thoracic Endografts is Correlated to Adjacent Aortic Wall Stress and Stress Distribution

INTRODUCTION: TEVAR has been seen to cause acute and chronic stent-induced tears of the adjacent aortic wall after treatment in 10-25% of cases with increasing frequency as the stent is placed closer to the aortic valve. The underlying cause for these tears and the ability to predict their occurrence is poorly understood. We hypothesize the cause of these tears is related to stent-induced changes in the adjacent aortic wall which could be quantified and predicted through finite element analysis (FEA) of stent-aorta interface. METHODS: Abaqus TM was used to resolve the FEA model of the stent-aorta interface in three configurations. The maximum principal stress in the vessel wall was averaged over the volume around the stent attachment point and the curvature of the stent was calculated at both the distal and proximal ends. (Figure 1). RESULTS: As the curvature of the attachment site increased, an increase in adjacent aortic wall stress was noted. These ranged from mean curvature (1/m) of 0.1 with wall stress of 49kPa for the distal attachment, position #2 to mean curvature of 6.7 and wall stress of 82kPa for the distal attachment site in position #3. There was an increase in maximum stress distribution as the TEVAR approached the aortic root of 104kPa, 109kPa, and 112kPa for positions 1-3 repectively. CONCLUSIONS: An increase in adjacent aortic wall stress and stress distribution was noted as TEVAR were placed closer to the aortic root which corresponds to the increase in stent-induced aortic tears observed in clinical series. This approach provides the basis for a predictive clinical tool to allow for patient-specific TEVAR planning with associated aortic wall stress analysis to minimize adjacent aortic trauma and assist in future stent design.
Trampolined style

A trampolined program is organized as a single loop in which computations are scheduled and their execution allowed to proceed in discrete steps. Writing programs in trampolined style supports primitives for multithreading without language support for continuations. Various forms of trampolining allow for different degrees of interaction between threads. We present two architectures based on an only mildly intrusive trampolined style. Concurrency can be supported at multiple levels of granularity by performing the trampolining transformation multiple times.
Combined Animal, Dairy, and Poultry Science Extension Workshop: Introduction

Abstract This meeting emphasized an expanded concept or definition for Cooperative Extension, including cooperation across animal commodities, and addressing cultural issues. This second combined extension workshop recognized the fact that environmental, animal welfare, biosecurity, food safety, societal, and other concerns are not restricted to individual commodities. Effectively addressing these complex issues requires that agriculture present a united front and find ways to cooperate for the common good of everyone in agriculture and society.
Being Prepared: Attitudes and Practices Related to Condom Carrying Among Minority Adolescents

This research examines how maternal attitudes toward teenagers carrying condoms interact with maternal perceptions of adolescent sexual behavior and the likelihood of condom discussions with offspring. We also examine whether condom discussion leads to the use of a condom at the adolescent's sexual debut. Study participants were 907 minority youth, ages 14 to 17 years, and their mothers from New York, Alabama and Puerto Rico. Logistic regressions reveal that mother's age, belief about the sexuality of her offspring and the youth's gender affected mother's attitude regarding her adolescent carrying condoms and whether or not condom discussion occurred. Having a condom discussion with mother, being sexually active and being male increased the adolescent's willingness to carry condoms. Among sexually active adolescents, condom discussions and being female predicted condom use at sexual debut. The implications for teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention programs are discussed in the light of these results.
The effects of corticosteroids on experimental herpes simplex virus encephalitis

This study examines the effects of corticosteroids on the ultimate survival, virus concentration and neuropathologic changes in mice with herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis. Swiss white mice were inoculated intracerebrally with 0.01 ml of a 5 × 10−4 dilution of stock Rodanis strain HSV. Virus was injected directly into the right cerebral cortex. Treatemtn was initiated 60 hours after inoculation of virus with either hydrocortisone, corticosterone or placebo. One group of animals was inoculated with virus and left untreated and another group was retained as an uninfected control population. Both preparations were given as 5 mg intramuscular injections every 24 hours for 5 days. Fifty percent of the infected, untreated animals and an identical proportion of those treated with placebo, died with encephalitis. In the steroid treated group sixty percent of those receiving hydrocortisone died as compared with fifty percent receiving cortecosterone. The differences were not significant. The study realting virus concentration in brain and neuropathology to serum adrenal corticosteroid levels was done using an identical population of animals with the same inoculum. Groups of 8 animals were sacrificed by decapitation at intervals before and after institution of therapy. The blood was pooled and the plasma separated and stored at −70°C. Steroid levels were measured using the fluorimetric method. Preliminary results revealed a level of 90 μgm/100 ml for hydrocortisone treated animals and 13 μgm/100 ml for untreated animals. Two brains from each of these groups were aseptically removed and made into a 10% suspension for plaque assay. The results will be presented and discussed, stressing the survival data and the interrelationship between steroid concentration and prognosis in this illness.
Interferon-gamma constitutively expressed in the stromal microenvironment of human marrow cultures mediates potent hematopoietic inhibition

Clinical and laboratory studies have suggested involvement of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in the pathophysiology of aplastic anemia. T cells from aplastic anemia (AA) patients secrete IFN-gamma in vitro, activated cytotoxic lymphocytes infiltrate aplastic bone marrow (BM), and IFN-gamma mRNA, not detected in normal BM, is present in BM from most AA patients. Many patients respond to immunosuppressive therapy with antithymocyte globulin and cyclosporine. Using long-term BM cultures (LTBMC) as a tissue culture model of hematopoiesis, we show that IFN-gamma is a potent inhibitor in the long-term culture-initiating cell (LTC-IC) assay, the best in vitro surrogate test for human hematopoietic stem cells, as well as of the output of committed progenitor cells (colony-forming unit-granulocyte-macrophage [CFU-GM] and burst-forming unit-erythroid [BFU-E]). In LTBMC, continuous addition of relatively high IFN-gamma concentrations (1,000 U/mL weekly or 200 U/mL every 2 days) was required for inhibition of secondary colony formation, a measure of LTC-IC number and clonogenicity. To mimick local production of IFN-gamma, human stromal cells were engineered by retroviral-mediated gene transfer to express a transduced IFN-gamma gene. IFN-gamma secreted by stromal cells was far more potent than exogenous IFN-gamma in its effects in the LTC-IC assay. For purified CD34+ cells culture in the presence of IFN-gamma stroma dramatically reduced secondary colony numbers as well as production of CFU-GM and BFU-E. Supernatants from these cultures contained only about 20 U/mL of IFN-gamma; this quantity of cytokine, when added to LTBMC, had little effect on hematopoiesis. The mechanism of hematopoietic suppression was related to the inhibition of cell cycle progression and induction of apoptosis of CD34+ cells. There was no apparent effect of local low-level IFN-gamma production on stromal cell function, as reflected in cell morphology, cell surface phenotype, or expression of hematopoietic growth factor genes. LTBMC with genetically altered stromal cells offers an in vitro model of immune suppression of hematopoiesis in AA and may be helpful in testing certain therapeutic modalities. We infer from our data that local production of low levels of inhibitory cytokine is sufficient to markedly inhibit hematopoiesis and to destroy stem cells and more mature progenitor cells.
Imagery for Self-Healing and Integrative Nursing Practice

Imagery has been used as a healing practice since ancient times. Its reemergence in modern medicine began in the second half of the 20th century, when research suggested that imagery could help reduce patients' pain and anxiety and improve their quality of life and outlook on their illness. While current evidence is insufficient to support claims that imagery affects disease progression, research suggests that this method of inducing relaxation encourages patients' healing process and gives them a greater sense of autonomy in relation to disease and its management. Because imagery is noninvasive, the risks associated with its use are minimal and it is now widely used in integrative nursing. The author discusses imagery's uses and benefits, as well as the potential pitfalls in its use, and describes an imagery technique she has found effective in practice, providing a sample script and explaining how the technique might be used to help patients in various settings.
A Near-Ir Fluorescent Sensor for Detecting Cellular Potassium Efflux

Our goal is to develop a fluorescence-based method to visualize potassium efflux and extracellular accumulation in cells and living organisms. Rapid, coordinated transport of potassium across the plasma membrane is vital for cardiac rhythmicity, muscle contraction and neuronal excitability. However, potassium selective electrodes and electrophysiological methods that are used conventionally to measure potassium transport provide minimal spatiotemporal information on potassium efflux from an entire cell. Our approach is to detect transient fluctuations in potassium concentration at the cell surface by attaching potassium-specific fluorescent sensors to the re-engineered glycocalyces of living cells. We have already synthesized and characterized a potassium-selective, near-IR fluorescent sensor suitable for measuring potassium under physiological conditions. Our fluorescent potassium sensor possesses a chemical handle that allows the sensor to be attached covalently to the re-engineered glycocalyces of cells using bio-orthogonal click chemistry. We are currently using this newly developed technology to visualize potassium transport through a variety of voltage-gated potassium channels. The synthesis of the potassium-selective, near-IR fluorescent sensor, its characterization, and application will be presented.
Neurophysiology of the Genitourinary Organs

Publisher Summary The urogenital system has two major subdivisions, which include the urinary tract, consisting of the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra, and the genital tract, consisting of the penis, clitoris, vagina, testes, ovaries, and uterus. The urogenital system is affected by a variety of neuropathologic conditions and often is the site of the first symptoms produced by diffuse neurologic diseases, such as diabetic neuropathy or multiple sclerosis. This sensitivity to neurogenic disorders is not surprising in view of the complexity and importance of neural mechanisms in the regulation of urogenital function. Many functions of the urogenital system are controlled by autonomic (para-sympathetic and sympathetic) and somatic efferent pathways originating in the lumbosacral spinal cord. These pathways regulate the activity of smooth muscles, striated muscle, epithelial cells, and exocrine glands in the urogenital organs via the release of multiple transmitters, including acetylcholine (ACh), norepinephrine, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), nitric oxide (NO), and neuropeptides. The excitatory transmission in the central pathways to the lower urinary tract may depend on several types of transmitters, including glutamic acid, neuropeptides (substance P, VIP, PACAP), norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and nitric oxide. The damage to central inhibitory mechanisms following disease or injury to the nervous system leads to failure of urine storage and bladder hyperactivity and incontinence. Neurogenic disturbances of micturition can be classified into two general categories which include failure to store and failure to eliminate urine. Complete spinal cord injury rostral to the lumbosacral level eliminates voluntary and supraspinal control of voiding, leading initially to an areflexic bladder and complete urinary retention followed by a slow development of automatic micturition and bladder hyperactivity mediated by spinal reflex pathways.
PATTERN: Pain Assessment for paTients who can’t TEll using Restricted Boltzmann machiNe

Accurately assessing pain for those who cannot make self-report of pain, such as minimally responsive or severely brain-injured patients, is challenging. In this paper, we attempted to address this challenge by answering the following questions: (1) if the pain has dependency structures in electronic signals and if so, (2) how to apply this pattern in predicting the state of pain. To this end, we have been investigating and comparing the performance of several machine learning techniques. We first adopted different strategies, in which the collected original n-dimensional numerical data were converted into binary data. Pain states are represented in binary format and bound with above binary features to construct (n + 1) -dimensional data. We then modeled the joint distribution over all variables in this data using the Restricted Boltzmann Machine (RBM). Seventy-eight pain data items were collected. Four individuals with the number of recorded labels larger than 1000 were used in the experiment. Number of avaliable data items for the four patients varied from 22 to 28. Discriminant RBM achieved better accuracy in all four experiments. The experimental results show that RBM models the distribution of our binary pain data well. We showed that discriminant RBM can be used in a classification task, and the initial result is advantageous over other classifiers such as support vector machine (SVM) using PCA representation and the LDA discriminant method.
China and the evolution of the world economy

Abstract China's rapid growth and its growth model have accelerated important existing structural trends in the world economy and made them decisive characteristics of the global economy. In particular, China has ensured that this will be the era of the global market economy; the super-industrial economy; the post-industrial economy; the ecologically constrained economy; the complex economy; the highly globalized economy; the innovation economy; an economy with a new moral consciousness about the global supply chain; and an economy with an emerging new monetary system.
Abstract IA26: Changes in diet and microbiome that mitigate CRC risk in Native Africans vs. African Americans

Colon cancer is an environmental disease associated with westernization, and it has been shown that it takes one generation for immigrants to change their risk of cancer. To investigate the role of the western diet in driving this change, we have switched the macronutrient composition of diets of groups of 20 healthy middle aged African Americans, who have the highest risk of colon cancer in the USA (~65:100,000) and rural Africans, who rarely get the disease ( Citation Format: Stephen J. O9Keefe. Changes in diet and microbiome that mitigate CRC risk in Native Africans vs. African Americans. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Colorectal Cancer: From Initiation to Outcomes; 2016 Sep 17-20; Tampa, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(3 Suppl):Abstract nr IA26.
Heterosexism and LGB Positive Identity: Roles of Coping and Personal Growth Initiative:

To combat the prevailing deficit and dysfunction paradigm, scholars have called for research focusing on LGB individuals from a positive psychology perspective. Thus, we examined the mediating role...
Peripheral Blood Biomarkers Associated With Toxicity and Treatment Characteristics After 131I- Metaiodobenzylguanidine Therapy in Patients With Neuroblastoma.

Purpose Few tools exist to predict clinical outcomes after radiopharmaceutical therapy. Our goal was to identify associations between blood-based biomarkers of radiation effect and clinical outcomes after 131 I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ( 131 I-MIBG) therapy in patients with neuroblastoma. Methods and Materials We conducted a prospective, single-center cohort study in children with advanced neuroblastoma treated with 131 I-MIBG as monotherapy or in combination with systemic putative radiation sensitizers. We collected serial peripheral blood samples after 131 I-MIBG infusions and quantified a panel of protein and messenger RNA markers. We plotted relative change from baseline to assess degree of modulation over time and then evaluated association of marker modulation with toxicity and response endpoints. Results The cohort included 40 patients (30 male/10 female; median age 7 years). We observed significant modulation of the majority of markers between baseline and hour 72 after 131 I-MIBG. Greater fold increase of plasma FLT3 ligand was associated with subsequent grade 4 neutropenia ( P =.039). Modulation of peripheral blood BCLXL and DDB2 was associated with grade 3+ nonhematologic toxicity ( P =.043 and .048, respectively). No markers were associated with tumor response. Greater plasma FLT3 ligand, BCLXL , and BCL2 modulation was observed in patients receiving 131 I-MIBG in combination with radiation sensitizers. Among 9 patients who received 2 courses, the degree of modulation in serum amylase was significantly lower after the second course ( P =.012). Conclusions Peripheral blood biomarkers relevant to radiation exposure are significantly modulated during the acute period after 131 I-MIBG. The degree of modulation of a subset of these markers is associated with toxicity and receipt of concomitant radiation sensitizers.
Chapter 16 – The kinematics of damage for finite-strain elasto-plastic solids

Publisher Summary This chapter introduces the kinematics of damage for finite strain elasto-plastic deformation by using the fourth-order damage effect tensor through the concept of the effective stress within the framework of continuum damage mechanics. This proposed approach provides a general description of kinematics of damage applicable to finite strains. This is accomplished by directly considering the kinematics of the deformation field. The damage is described kinematically in both the elastic domain and plastic domain using the fourth-order damage effect tensor. This chapter characterizes the damage effect tensor explicitly in terms of a kinematic measure of damage through a second-order damage tensor. The finite elasto-plastic deformation behavior with damage is also viewed within the framework of thermodynamics with internal state variables. Using the consistent thermodynamic formulation, the strain due to damage and the associated dissipation energy due to this strain are introduced separately in the chapter.
Immunization of Lewis rats with a prostate cancer xenoantigen elicits predominantly xenoantigen epitope-specific T cell responses

1174 Prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) is a prostate cancer tumor antigen and a prostate-specific protein shared by rats and humans. Previous studies have demonstrated that rats immunized with the human homologue (hPAP) develop a cross-reactive immune response to the rat homologue (rPAP). We are currently investigating a plasmid DNA-based vaccine targeting prostatic acid phosphatase. Here, we investigate the mechanism behind the ability of the DNA vaccine to elicit a cross-reactive immune response by identifying epitopes of PAP recognized by T cells. Our working hypothesis is that immunization with a xenoantigen will result in the recognition of immunodominant epitope(s) of human PAP that are recognized by T cells with a cross-reactive response to the corresponding rat epitopes. To test this hypothesis, Lewis rats were immunized intradermally with a DNA vaccine encoding human PAP. Using a PAP peptide library, PAP-specific epitopes recognized by T cells in the Lewis rat model were mapped. PAP-specific T cell proliferation and interferon gamma production indicated two major immunogenic peptides of human PAP were recognized after immunization with hPAP DNA vaccine. However, the corresponding rat PAP peptides were not recognized. Rats immunized with these hPAP immunogenic peptides developed an immune response to the peptides and to the human PAP protein as determined by PAP-specific and peptide-specific T cell proliferation. These studies confirm that these peptides comprise naturally presented epitopes of hPAP. Overall, immunization with a DNA vaccine encoding a xenoantigen biases the immune response towards the foreign protein thus potentially limiting the cross-reactive response to the autoantigen.
From water to tears: extra-curricular activities and the search for substance in China’s universities

ABSTRACTWhy do university students participate in extra-curricular activities in China? What do they seek in a meaningful education? This paper explains the rising interest in extra-curricular activities by looking into students’ frustration about classroom-bounded education in China’s universities. A transforming socio-economic landscape and increasing imagination about global modernity have inspired new neoliberal demands for practical knowledge and personal meaning. And yet, China’s universities have failed to keep up with students’ changing visions of education, success, and productive personhood. This paper explores students’ agentive pursuit of sociability and emotional sensitivity through extra-curricular activities as a lens to examine the fluidity of meaning-making in contemporary China. In the process, I discuss why self-reported aspirations in skill cultivation cannot encompass the range of motivations that have driven students to extra-curricular participation, and explain how the ethnographic...
Spaghetti Shakespeare: Johnny Hamlet and the Italian Western

The Italian Western, Johnny Hamlet (1968), directed by Enzo G. Castellari, draws on the revenge story of Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet for plot and characterization. While international distributors of the film downplayed its connection to highbrow Shakespeare, they emphasized the movie’s violent content and actionpacked revenge narrative, which was typical of the western all’italiana . Johnny Hamlet shares similarities with the brutally violent Django (1966), directed by Sergio Corbucci, whose avenging angel protagonist epitomizes the Spaghetti Western antihero. Although the filmmakers of Johnny Hamlet characterized Johnny as a vindicator, they also sought to develop the “broody” aspect of this gunfighter, one based on Shakespeare’s famously ruminating hero. Using innovative film techniques, Johnny Hamlet shows Johnny as a contemplative pistolero.
Length and time scales of cell-cell signaling circuits in agar

A community of genetically heterogeneous cells embedded in an unmixed medium allows for sophisticated operations by retaining spatial differentiation and coordinating division-of-labor. To establish the principles of engineering reliable cell-cell communication in a heterogeneous environment, we examined how circuit parameters and spatial placement affect the range of length and time scales over which simple communication circuits interact. We constructed several "sender" and "receiver" strains with quorum-sensing signaling circuits. The sender cell colony produces acyl homoserine lactones (AHL), which diffuse across the semisolid medium. The receiver cell colony detects these signal molecules and reports by fluorescence. We have found that a single colony of one sender variant is sufficient to induce receiver response at more than 1.5cm separation. Furthermore, AHL degradase expression in receiver colonies produces a signal threshold effect and reduces the response level in subsequent receiver colonies. Finally, our investigation on the spatial placement of colonies gave rise to the design of a multicellular long-range communication array consisting of two alternating colony types. Its signal response successfully propagated colony-by-colony along a six-colony array spanning 4.8cm at a transmission velocity of 12.8 hours per colony or 0.075cm per hour. In addition, we have developed a reaction-diffusion model that recreates the observed behaviors of the many performed experiments using data-informed parameter estimates of signal diffusion, gene expression, and nutrient consumption. These results demonstrate that a mixed community of colonies can enable new patterning programs, and the corresponding model will facilitate the rational design of complex communication networks.
Overview of the Cohort-Component Method

The cohort-component method has a longstanding tradition in demography, having been used for constructing population projections for more than a century. It is widely used because it provides a powerful yet flexible approach to the projection process. It can incorporate many different application techniques, types of data, and assumptions regarding future population change. It can be used at any level of geography, from nations down to states, counties, and subcounty areas. Perhaps most important, it provides projections not only of total population but also of demographic composition and individual components of growth. In this chapter, we describe several basic concepts and definitions and discuss the steps that must be taken when using the cohort-component method to construct state and local population projections.
A sampler designed for nanoparticles and respirable particles with direct analysis feature

A sampler has been designed to collect particles in the nanometer and respirable sizes directly onto a membrane filter and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grid. The novel design aspects of this sampler include the selection of the diameter of the inlet probe, geometry of the sampler, and the resulting air flow to the sampler. Together, they control the cutoff diameter, which was determined experimentally to be a mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of 3.8 μm. The maximum aerodynamic diameter entering the sampler is designed to be approximately 8 μm. Nanometer-sized particles are collected on both the filter and grid through diffusion, as confirmed by testing with aluminum oxide engineered nanoparticles collected on the filter which measured a count median diameter (CMD) of 500 nm and a geometric standard deviation (GSD) of 1.97. The primary particles and small agglomerates collected on the grid have a CMD of 100 nm and GSD of 2.3. This diffusion sampler collected close to, if not 100%, of the particles entering the sampler. The sampler is easily wearable for personal exposure and environmental sampling, operates at 0.3 L/min, and can collect particles in various settings at indoor and outdoor environments. Particles are analyzed directly by transmission electron microscope on the grid and by scanning electron microscope on the filter to assess the exposure through particle counts and elemental composition analysis.
Combinations of BRAF inhibitor and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody improve survival and tumour immunity in an immunocompetent model of orthotopic murine anaplastic thyroid cancer

Patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) have an extremely poor prognosis despite aggressive multimodal therapy. ATC has a high prevalence of BRAFV600E mutations and is associated with an immunosuppressive microenvironment; we previously demonstrated that the combination of BRAF inhibitor and checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy synergistically reduce tumour volume in an immunocompetent mouse model of orthotopic ATC. We again utilised our mouse model of ATC to assess the combination of BRAFV600E inhibitor PLX4720 and anti-PD-L1 or anti-PD-1 antibody on survival, and performed immune cell profiling of lymphoid and myeloid-lineage cells during maximal treatment response and tumour regrowth. Combination therapy dramatically improved mouse survival. Maximal tumour reduction was associated with increases in the number and cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells and NK cells, as well as increases in mostly M1-polarised tumour-associated macrophages (TAM) and decreases in myeloid-derived suppressor-like cells. Regrowth of tumour occurred after 2–3 weeks of ongoing combination therapy, and was most significantly associated with decreased TAMs and a dramatic increase in M2-polarisation. Combination of PLX4720 and anti-PD-L1/PD-1 antibody dramatically reduced tumour volume, prolonged survival and improved the anti-tumour immune profile in murine ATC. Tumour growth inevitably recurred and demonstrated re-emergence of an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment.
Resolving gastric cancer aetiology: an update in genetic predisposition.

Summary Every year gastric cancer accounts for nearly 1 million new cases and more than 720 000 deaths worldwide. Prognosis is dismal because most patients are diagnosed with advanced disease; as such, gastric cancer outcomes will benefit from better methods for identification of at-risk individuals that can be targeted for early detection. One approach to targeting high-risk populations is to identify individuals who are genetically predisposed to gastric cancer, as up to 15% of all patients report family history of the disease. On the basis of clinical manifestations, three gastric cancer syndromes have been described, but the diagnosis of some of these syndromes is suboptimal and could benefit from genetic information. Over the past decade, genome-wide association and next-generation sequencing studies have identified several low penetrance variants and high-risk genes, considerably increasing our understanding of inherited gastric cancer predisposition. From these studies, PALB2 has emerged as a new familial gastric cancer gene. Furthermore, genetic analyses in patients with sporadic gastric cancer suggest that more than 10% of all cases have pathogenic mutations, a finding of great importance for cancer aetiology. In this Review, we summarise the role of genetics in gastric cancer aetiology and the implications of genetics findings for the prevention of this malignancy.