cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ULTRASTRUCTURE AND CHAETOTAXY OF SENSORY RECEPTORS IN THE CERCARIAE OF A SPECIES OF CREPIDOSTOMUM BRAUN, 1900 AND BUNODERA RAILLIET, 1896 (DIGENEA: ALLOCREADIIDAE)

Previous investigations of cercarial sensory systems have focused on chaetotaxy and ultrastructure of sensory receptors and have revealed chaetotaxic patterns within families, genera, and species as well as different types of sensory receptors. However, chaetotaxic and ultrastructural observations have rarely been combined. We investigated the ultrastructure of cercarial sensory receptors in conjunction with the chaetotaxy and neuromorphology in 2 allocreadiid species belonging to the genera Crepidostomum and Bunodera. Cercariae were treated with acetylthiocholine iodide and silver nitrate, and for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Similar cholinergic nerve networks were revealed. Chaetotaxy was consistent with that of other allocreadiids. Seven and 6 types of receptors were distinguished with SEM in Crepidostomum sp. and Bunodera sp., respectively. Types differed in number of cilia (1 or 2), cilium length (short, moderately long, or long), presence or absence ...
Atomistic Free Energy Model for Nucleic Acids: Simulations of Single-Stranded DNA and the Entropy Landscape of RNA Stem–Loop Structures

While single-stranded (ss) segments of DNAs and RNAs are ubiquitous in biology, details about their structures have only recently begun to emerge. To study ssDNA and RNAs, we have developed a new Monte Carlo (MC) simulation using a free energy model for nucleic acids that has the atomisitic accuracy to capture fine molecular details of the sugar-phosphate backbone. Formulated on the basis of a first-principle calculation of the conformational entropy of the nucleic acid chain, this free energy model correctly reproduced both the long and short length-scale structural properties of ssDNA and RNAs in a rigorous comparison against recent data from fluorescence resonance energy transfer, small-angle X-ray scattering, force spectroscopy and fluorescence correlation transport measurements on sequences up to ∼100 nucleotides long. With this new MC algorithm, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of the entropy landscape of small RNA stem-loop structures. From a simulated ensemble of ∼10(6) equilibrium conformations, the entropy for the initiation of different size RNA hairpin loops was computed and compared against thermodynamic measurements. Starting from seeded hairpin loops, constrained MC simulations were then used to estimate the entropic costs associated with propagation of the stem. The numerical results provide new direct molecular insights into thermodynaimc measurement from macroscopic calorimetry and melting experiments.
Associative learning versus fear habituation as predictors of long-term extinction retention.

ABSTRACTViolation of unconditioned stimulus (US) expectancy during extinction training may enhance associative learning and result in improved long-term extinction retention compared to within-session habituation. This experiment examines variation in US expectancy (i.e., expectancy violation) as a predictor of long-term extinction retention. It also examines within-session habituation of fear-potentiated startle (electromyography, EMG) and fear of conditioned stimuli (CS) throughout extinction training as predictors of extinction retention. Participants (n = 63) underwent fear conditioning, extinction and retention and provided continuous ratings of US expectancy and EMG, as well as CS fear ratings before and after each phase. Variation in US expectancy throughout extinction and habituation of EMG and fear was entered into a regression as predictors of retention and reinstatement of levels of expectancy and fear. Greater variation in US expectancy throughout extinction training was significantly predicti...
Civic Engagement Through Presidential Debates Young Citizens’ Political Attitudes in the 2012 Election

This study explores the effects of televised presidential debate viewing on young citizens’ candidate evaluations and normative democratic attitudes, including political cynicism and political information efficacy. Findings revealed that debate viewing decreases young citizens’ political cynicism and strengthens political information efficacy. Longitudinal analysis tracked young citizens’ democratic attitudes from pre-debate to post-election, finding that one’s political information efficacy intensifies throughout the course of the ongoing campaign, but debates’ immediate effect of reducing political cynicism is not sustained as the campaign progresses.
Properties of Concrete With Crumb Rubber Replacing Fine Aggregates (Sand)

In this paper, crumb rubber is proposed as a possible lightweight replacement for fine aggregate in concrete. The performance of concrete with crumb rubber is analyzed through comparison to conventional concrete in terms of compressive strength (ASTM C39), tensile strength (ASTM C78 and ASTM C496), failure patterns, energy absorption during loading, and workability. The results show that up to 15 % of fine aggregates can be replaced with an equal volume of crumb rubber with a slight improvement of the concrete workability. The crumb rubber improves the compressive strength by over 5 %. The splitting tensile strength decreases with an increase in the quantity of crumb rubber, and the modulus of rupture is decreased by an average of 12 %. However, increased strain at failure, good energy absorption, improved modulus of toughness, and ductility are observed in rubberized concrete. Typical concrete brittle failure is not observed in rubberized concrete.
Passive and active silicon nanophotonic circuits

We will review results on nanophotonic circuits based on photonic crystals and photonic wires. Strong light confinement permits dramatic scaling of the active device area below 100μm2 with reduced operation power and increased efficiency.
A Behavioral Function Approach in Predicting Contribution of User-Generated Content

This study theoretically develops a three-stage model in which certain types of health behavior functions (i.e., health-affirming vs. health-detection/treatment) prime individuals to process information with either a defensive or accuracy motivation. Such information-processing motivations, in turn, are expected to influence the contribution and consumption of user-generated health content. The three-stage model was tested with data from an online sample of American adults (N = 767). A well-fitting structural equation model provided evidence for each of the hypothesized paths except for that from health-detection/treatment behavior to accuracy motivation. Individuals’ information search for health-affirming behaviors instigated a defensive motivation. Moreover, while both information-processing motivations influenced user-generated content consumption, only defensive motivation had a significant effect on user-generated content contribution. Finally, there was also one significant cross-stage path in whic...
Antioxidant and Prooxidant Activities of Alpha-lipoic Acid

Alpha-lipoic acid(LA,α-LA)is a powerful antioxidant with diverse pharmacologic and antioxidant properties. It improves glycemic control,directly terminates free radicals,chelates transition metal ions,increases cytosolic glutathione and vitamin C levels,prevents damage associated with oxidative stress. Prooxidant activities of LA and DHLA were also studied just as antioxidant Vitamine C and Carotenoid . Bidirectional activities of LA and DHLA were summarized in this paper.
Discussion on the IT Project to the Human-centered and Flexible Management

In the 1990 s,software began to develop in China,it was very rapid.The many software companies also set up and developed rapidly,but many of these companies had gradually appeared serious cost overruns,project schedule postponed again and again,the software quality was slowly out of control.Then customer satisfaction declined,and the team management was difficult,the people of company changed and lost their best people.In recent years the many companies began to be focused on the software project management,the mature and effective project management methodology for software development and enterprise management was very importantly.But the project management of the software was various,how to in different professional areas,different industries,different regional cultures done the good project management,it was always plagued by leaders of the company.This article was based on "people" and combined with the practice,told the story of how we could do the team management,and then was flexible in the project management of the software.
Compliance of combustion models for turbulent reacting flow simulations

Abstract The utilization of low-dimensional manifold combustion models for large-eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent reactive flows introduces model simplifications that represent sources of uncertainties in addition to those arising from turbulent closure models and numerical discretization. The ability to quantitatively assess these uncertainties in the absence of measurements or reference results is vital for reliable and predictive simulations of practical combustion devices. This paper is concerned with the extension of the manifold drift term to LES to examine the compliance of a particular combustion model in describing a quantity of interest (QoI) with respect to the underlying flow-field representation. This drift term was previously introduced as a key component of the Pareto-efficient combustion (PEC) framework. The behavior of the drift term is examined in a series of test cases. To this end, large-eddy simulations of a partially-premixed turbulent pilot flame with inhomogeneous inlet streams are performed, in which the non-premixed flamelet/progress-variable (FPV) model and the premixed filtered tabulated chemistry LES (F-TACLES) formulation are employed. The drift term is shown to be capable of identifying chemically sensitive regions with respect to user-specific QoIs. With this, a species-specific combustion regime indicator is derived by computing the relative magnitude of the drift terms for different combustion models. Comparisons with commonly employed flame indicators suggests that the flame index and other indicators that are solely based on major species and flame topology are insufficient in describing complex physical processes in multi-regime combustion.
Glioproliferative Lesion of the Spinal Cord Derived from Intrathecal Administration of Stem Cells (P4.234)

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of spinal cord neoplasm caused by intrathecal stem cell transplantation in the setting of “stem cell tourism.” BACKGROUND: Stem cell transplantation (SCT) into the neuraxis is being investigated as a potential therapy for a variety of neurologic conditions. However, studies to date have not demonstrated definitive benefit and reports have highlighted risks such as malignancy. Despite this, increasing numbers of individuals with neurologic disease are lured to international centers providing unregulated stem cell therapies, an industry termed “stem cell tourism.” DESIGN: case report CASE: A 66-year-old man underwent multiple commercial infusions of stem cells (allogeneic, embryonic neural, and mesenchymal) at various sites around the world to treat deficits from an ischemic stroke. He subsequently developed progressive lower back pain, paraplegia, and urinary incontinence. MRI of the spine demonstrated an enhancing, intradural, extramedullary mass from T10 to the distal thecal sac encasing the cauda equina nerve roots and conus medullaris. RESULTS: Histopathologic evaluation of biopsied tissue from T10 revealed two populations of cells: primitive-appearing atypical cells (~50[percnt] expressing SOX2; neural marker) and glial differentiated cells with vascular proliferation. Both populations demonstrated negative embryonic stem cell markers (OCT3/4) and leukocyte markers (CD45). Short tandem repeat molecular analysis showed 62 ± 8 [percnt] of cells contained non-host DNA, most likely derived from one non-patient human. Oncopanel targeted exome DNA sequencing showed no pathogenic mutations. Radiation was administered with 48.6 Gy/27 fractions from C4 to thecal sac, delivered in 3 shrinking field doses. Subsequent imaging showed significant mass reduction and the patient reported improvement in right lower extremity mobility over the weeks following treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Unregulated intrathecal SCT can cause devastating complications. This patient’s highly proliferative neoplasm developing from pluripotent stem cells supports the ideological shift to employ more differentiated cells in future SCT research. Disclosure: Dr. Saad has nothing to disclose. Dr. Miller has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cagney has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chavakula has nothing to disclose. Dr. Guleria has nothing to disclose. Dr. Aizer has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ligon has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Berkowitz has received royalty payments from Clinical Pathophysiology Made Ridiculously Simple and The Improvising Mind.
Spectral shaping using coded modulation for mobile radio

Spectral efficiency for land mobile radio (LMR) channels is primarily limited by adjacent channel interference (ACI). Conventional digital modulation schemes do not achieve current specifications for ACI at high data rates, in the absence of powerful interference mitigation schemes. A novel trellis coded modulation scheme (TCM) scheme was presented by S. Chennakeshu et. al., (see Proc. Fifth Tirennia International Workshop, Tirennia, Elsevier, p.329-40, 1991) that has the potential to provide high data rates and at the same time, mitigate adjacent channel interference. The main idea was that the TCM scheme must be optimized to provide the desired spectral shaping. The authors explore this idea further and show how the various components of the system can be optimized to provide the desired gains in spectral shaping. >
Clinical Behavior and Treatment of Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy diagnosed in women in the developed nations. It affects a disproportionate number of reproductive-aged women. While the overall prognosis is good compared to other cancers affecting women, the pathogenesis and clinical behavior of endometrial cancer are heterogeneous. The risk factors associated with the type I and type II endometrial cancers and their pathogenesis will be discussed, as well as the evaluation and primary treatment of women with endometrial cancer. The chapter will also focus on risk stratification for recurrence after surgery and role of adjuvant treatments. Finally, the treatment of recurrent endometrial cancer will be presented.
Backscattering analysis of high frequency ultrasonic imaging for ultrasound-guided breast biopsy

A new ultrasound-guided breast biopsy technique is proposed. The technique utilizes conventional ultrasound guidance coupled with a high frequency embedded ultrasound array located within the biopsy needle to improve the accuracy in breast cancer diagnosis.1 The array within the needle is intended to be used to detect micro- calcifications indicative of early breast cancers such as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Backscattering analysis has the potential to characterize tissues to improve localization of lesions. This paper describes initial results of the application of backscattering analysis of breast biopsy tissue specimens and shows the usefulness of high frequency ultrasound for the new biopsy related technique. Ultrasound echoes of ex-vivo breast biopsy tissue specimens were acquired by using a single-element transducer with a bandwidth from 41 MHz to 88 MHz utilizing a UBM methodology, and the backscattering coefficients were calculated. These values as well as B-mode image data were mapped in 2D and matched with each pathology image for the identification of tissue type for the comparison to the pathology images corresponding to each plane. Microcalcifications were significantly distinguished from normal tissue. Adenocarcinoma was also successfully differentiated from adipose tissue. These results indicate that backscattering analysis is able to quantitatively distinguish tissues into normal and abnormal, which should help radiologists locate abnormal areas during the proposed ultrasound-guided breast biopsy with high frequency ultrasound.
Transition Metal-Promoted Reactions of Main Group Species and Main Group-Promoted Reactions of Transition Metal Species

Given the wide application of transition metal reagents to organic chemistry, it is not surprising to find a broad range of main group element reactions which are mediated by transition metals. It is often useful to compare and contrast such processes with transition metal-hydrocarbon interactions, but there are important differences and the analogy must not be carried too far. Indeed, on surveying the range of known metal-facilitated transformations of main-group species, it is apparent that many such reactions are in fact mechanistically distinct from organometallic processes (and from each other) and frequently generate structurally dissimilar products. Not surprisingly, main group-transition metal interactions tend to be characterized by special features endemic to the specific element or compound type, defying broad generalizations.
Substitution of ROTC for College Physical Education

(1953). Substitution of ROTC for College Physical Education. Research Quarterly. American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 325-326.
Computing messages that reveal selected inferences while protecting others

We study a lossy coding scenario, posed as an algorithmic optimization problem, where we trade off between the conflicting goals of accuracy and privacy, motivated by scenarios such as the public release of estimates of data that accurately reflect some aspects of the raw data without revealing other sensitive confidential aspects of it, or permitting it to be inferred. More precisely, given a discrete probability distribution p(D, X, Y), where X represents the whitelisted inferences from D and Y represents the blacklisted inferences, we seek to construct a conditional distribution p(M|D) with the dual goals of making I(M; X) large and I(M; Y) small. Chakraborty et al. 2013 [1] provided optimal solutions within this model to the two extreme points on the two objectives' Pareto frontier: maximizing I(M; X) subject to the constraint that I(M; Y) be as small as possible (“perfect privacy”, using linear programming (LP)) and vice versa (“perfect utility”, which is trivial). In this paper we provide a faster combinatorial optimal algorithm for the perfect privacy problem, which does not require the use of an LP solver. Moreover, this algorithm any be used to compute Pareto-optimal solutions at any point on the Pareto frontier. (En route to this algorithm, we also provide a mathematical programming-based solution.) This solves the primary open problem posed by [1].
Structural Underpinnings of the Enhanced Cycling Stability upon Al-Substitution in LiNi0.45Mn0.45Co0.1–yAlyO2 Positive Electrode Materials for Li-ion Batteries

Single-phase LiNi0.45Mn0.45Co0.1–yAlyO2 layered oxide materials with 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.10 were prepared using the glycine-nitrate combustion method. Al-substitution has a minimal effect on the defect concentration and rate capability of the materials, but raises the operating voltage and reduces the capacity fade of the materials during prolonged cycling compared to the unsubstituted system. In situ X-ray diffraction suggests the presence of Al has a significant structural impact during battery operation. It acts to limit the changes in lattice parameters observed during electrochemical charging and cycling of the materials. High-resolution X-ray diffraction reveals structural distortions in the transition metal layers of as-synthesized powders with high Al-contents, as well as a structural evolution seen in all materials after cycling.
Temperature Dependence of Mineral Precipitation Rates Along the CaCO3-MgCO3 Join

The large variation in precipitation rate and abundance of mineralscomprising the CaCO3–MgCO3 binary join can be understood in terms of their large differences in activation energy. Following the treatment of Lippmann (1973), activation energy isextrapolated along the join as a linear function of mole percentmagnesium. For the dolomite-type carbonates, the predicted activationenergy is compatible with recent measurements of calcian protodolomitekinetics; cation ordering in ideal dolomite can thus be seen as anadditional contribution to activation energy. Although no activationenergies are available for magnesian calcites, treatment of rate datafor these phases using the formalism of stoichiometric saturationsuggests a possible change in mechanism or rate-limiting step astemperature is decreased from 25 to 5 °C.
INSULIN AND GERMLINE PROLIFERATION IN CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS

Germline proliferation in Caenorhabditis elegans is emerging as a compelling model system for understanding the molecular basis for the developmental and physiological control of cell proliferation. This review covers the discovery and implications of the role of the insulin/IGF-like signaling pathway in germline proliferation during germline development. This pathway plays a host of important roles in C. elegans biology. Its role in germline proliferation is important to generate the proper adult stem/progenitor population and to ensure optimal fecundity. Moreover, in this role, it is restricted to reproductive (as opposed to dauer) larval stages and impinges on the G2 of the cell cycle. Two putative insulin ligands are especially important for the germline role but do not mediate signaling in other tissues. A picture is emerging of a complex web of developmentally and temporally restricted, ligand- and tissue-specific responses to insulin signaling. Avenues for future studies include the regulation of specific insulin-like ligands and the mechanisms for tissue-specific responses to them.
Non-apoid flower-visiting fauna of Everglades National Park, Florida

The non-apoid flower-visiting fauna of Everglades National Park (ENP), Florida, was surveyed during 1995–1997 as part of a community pollinator survey. One hundred and thirty one sampling trips were made to four areas of Everglades National Park (Shark Valley, Chekika, Long Pine Key (LPK), and Flamingo). Species–month curves indicate that the sampling effort resulted in capture of most of the flower-visiting animal species in the park. A total of 143 insects and 1 bird species were recorded. Diptera were the most diverse group (55 spp.), followed by Lepidoptera (42 spp.) and non-apoid Hymenoptera (34 spp.). The majority of species were rare (56% of species were found on fewer than five trips). The highest diversity of species was found from January to May during the peak flowering period in some plant communities. The greatest total diversity was found in Long Pine Key and Shark Valley had the lowest diversity. Chekika and Flamingo were intermediate in diversity. Animals visited 178 plant species,∼26% of the potentially animal pollinated Angiosperm diversity of the park. Twenty-five species of plants had only non-apoid flower visitors; the majority of these species had only visits by Lepidoptera. Potentially important pollinator species include members of the Syrphidae, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera. However, many of the flower-visiting species may not be effective pollinators. This study will be useful for designing sampling protocols for including invertebrates in assessments of ecological restoration underway in the Everglades ecosystem and for more detailed studies of the importance of non-apoid flower-visitors as effective pollinators.
Leaf Venation Density and Calculated Physiological Characteristics of Fossil Leaves From the Permian of Gondwana

Abstract Leaf venation density is closely related to many physiological characteristics of a plant, including leaf hydraulic conductance and maximum photosynthetic capacity. Leaf venation is commonly preserved in the fossil record, allowing it to be used to estimate physiological characteristics in extinct plants. The Glossopteris leaf morphotype dominated most landscapes throughout the Permian of Antarctica; a distinctive feature of the leaf is its reticulate venation pattern. By analyzing the leaf venation density of Glossopteris, Gangamopteris, and Noeggerathiopsis, this study demonstrates that the Glossopteris morphotype would have had a photosynthetic advantage over contemporary leaf types, providing a potential explanation for the dominance of the Glossopteris plant. Additionally, by comparing Glossopteris leaves from the early and late Permian, we can observe a small shift in leaf venation density that occurs during a time of changing atmospheric CO2. This change in vein density is so small compared to the change in CO2 concentration that it is unlikely to have provided a measurable advantage. Notably, many localities dominated by Glossopteris leaves occur at high paleolatitudes. Plants living at these latitudes would have been subjected to extreme light regimes, such as diffuse light and long days. The wide distribution of Glossopteris leaves allowed this study to examine potential differences in leaf venation density at different paleolatitudes. However, determining trends in leaf venation density influenced by paleolatitude has thus far remained equivocal.
Adding Depth to Our Understanding of Nitrogen Dynamics in Permafrost Soils

Author(s): Salmon, Verity G; Schadel, Christina; Bracho, Rosvel; Pegoraro, Elaine; Celis, Gerardo; Mauritz, Marguerite; Mack, Michelle C; Schuur, Edward AG
Recovering 3D Planes from a Single Image via Convolutional Neural Networks

In this paper, we study the problem of recovering 3D planar surfaces from a single image of man-made environment. We show that it is possible to directly train a deep neural network to achieve this goal. A novel plane structure-induced loss is proposed to train the network to simultaneously predict a plane segmentation map and the parameters of the 3D planes. Further, to avoid the tedious manual labeling process, we show how to leverage existing large-scale RGB-D dataset to train our network without explicit 3D plane annotations, and how to take advantage of the semantic labels come with the dataset for accurate planar and non-planar classification. Experiment results demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms existing methods, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The recovered planes could potentially benefit many important visual tasks such as vision-based navigation and human-robot interaction.
Factors associated with complications in total laryngectomy without microvascular reconstruction.

BACKGROUND There is little population-level data evaluating risk factors for postoperative complications after total laryngectomy. METHODS We conducted a retrospective review of the American College of Surgeons National Quality Improvement Program identifying patients who underwent total laryngectomy as a primary procedure from 2005 to 2014. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify variables that were independently associated with overall and major complications. RESULTS Eight hundred seventy-one cases met inclusion criteria. Three hundred twenty-eight patients (37.7%) had complications, with operative time (hours; P < .0001), class III (P < .001) wound status, and patient age (decade; P = .003) associated with overall complications. Two hundred one patients had major complications that were associated with steroid use (P = .01) and class III (P = .0083) wound classification. Preoperative hematocrit was correlated with a reduction of all and major complications on multivariate analysis (P < .0001 and P = .036). CONCLUSION Identifying and optimizing risk factors may improve outcomes in total laryngectomy.
Mosquito-borne infectious disease, risk-perceptions, and personal protective behavior among U.S. international travelers.

Abstract Vector-borne diseases account for a significant amount of the global infectious disease burden, including morbidity and mortality. In particular, mosquito-borne infectious diseases (MBIDs) have the greatest burden in number of cases, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years and their prevention and control is critical. However, prevention efforts are hindered by the absence of vaccines and failure of long-term mosquito vector control for these MBIDs. Thus, personal protective behaviors (PPBs) may offer the most promising and effective mode of prevention. This study examines the impact of awareness, perceived susceptibility, and perceived severity for five MBIDs (e.g., Malaria, Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya and West Nile) on the adoption of PPBs. Study participants (n = 1043) were recruited from a probability-based internet panel of adult United States residents with a history of traveling outside of the country in the past year. Data were collected in the U.S. between June 7, 2017 and June 12, 2017. Our findings show that awareness of Zika disease among respondents was consistently associated with adoption of all three PPBs. Respondents that reported high-perceived severity for all five MBIDs were also more likely to report adopting the PPBs of wearing covering clothing and use of mosquito repellent spray. Our findings indicate that U.S. travelers are largely more concerned about Zika, Chikungunya, and Dengue than Malaria and West Nile and that these concerns drive their adoption of the three recommended PPBs. This information should inform the development and design of future public health campaigns for behavior modification to prevent MBIDs.
5-FLUOROURACIL INDUCED CORONARY VASOSPASM AND NON-ISCHEMIC CARDIOMYOPATHY PRESENTING IN THE SAME PATIENT

5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is commonly used in the chemotherapeutic treatment of solid tumors. Adjuvant therapy with mFolfirinox including oxaliplatin, leucovorin, irinotecan, and 5-FU is indicated in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Incidence of 5-FU induced cardiotoxicity is overall rare. The
Combinatorial drug screening of mammary cells with induced mesenchymal transformation to identify drug combinations for triple-negative breast cancer.

// Sierra A. Colavito 1 , James T. Platt 2 , Matthew A. Held 3 , Zongzhi Liu 2 , Ryan Sokup 1 and David F. Stern 4 , 5 1 Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, WI, USA 2 Department of Internal Medicine and Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA 3 Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA 4 Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA 5 Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, USA Correspondence to: Sierra A. Colavito, email: scolavito@uwlax.edu Keywords: epithelial-mesenchymal transition; triple-negative breast cancer; targeted drug combination screen; claudin-low breast cancer; CHK1 Received: June 25, 2019 Accepted: July 05, 2019 Published: August 06, 2019 ABSTRACT Mesenchymal stem-like (MSL) breast cancers are enriched for cells with tumor reconstituting and mesenchymal characteristics. These cancers are often triple-negative and have a poor prognosis. Few effective targeted treatment options exist for patients with these cancers, and even when targeted therapies exist, resistance often arises and tumors recur, due in part to drug-tolerant persisting tumor cells with self-renewal capability. Effective treatment strategies will combine agents that target the bulk-tumor and reconstituting cells. In order to identify such a combination therapy, we conducted an inhibitor screen using 40 targeted agents at three different doses in all pairwise combinations. Checkpoint Kinase 1 (CHK1) inhibitors were identified as potent inhibitors of MSL breast cancers. When combined with a pro-apoptotic agent/B Cell Lymphoma 2 (BCL2) inhibitor, the effectiveness of the combination regimen was super-additive compared to either treatment alone and was selective for MSL cancers. Treatment of MSL breast cancer cells results in DNA damage, cell-cycle defects characterized by a prolonged S-phase, increased apoptosis and decreased colony forming abilities compared to untreated cells. These data suggest that a combination of a CHK1 and BCL2 inhibitor could be an effective treatment for patients with MSL breast cancer. Several other effective drug combinations were also identified.
Development and evaluation of an 1-day Acceptance and Commitment Therapy workshop for Veterans with comorbid chronic pain, TBI, and psychological distress: Outcomes from a pilot study

Abstract Objectives To 1) develop and refine a 1-day trans-diagnostic psychotherapeutic “ACT on Life” workshop tailored for Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury, stress-based psychopathology, and pain; 2) examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of this intervention. Setting A Veterans Health Administration medical center. Participants Veterans returning from Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and New Dawn with mild TBI, stress-based psychopathology, and chronic pain. Design Phase I involved development of the intervention by experts and subsequent refinement based on Veteran feedback (N = 11). Phase II was a pilot randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of the revised intervention (N = 20) to treatment as usual (TAU; N = 12). Main measures For phase I, qualitative feedback at 2 weeks and 3 months post-workshop was obtained from Veterans. For phase II, quantitative measures included the PTSD Checklist, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale, Military-to-Civilian Questionnaire, WHO-Disability Assessment Schedule, Brief Pain Inventory, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire. Results Veterans found the workshop acceptable, innovative and useful. Quantitative data from phase II suggested that participants in the ACT group, relative to TAU, showed improvement in psychiatric symptoms, functioning, and reintegration 3 months post-workshop. Unexpectedly, pain interference was lower in the TAU group at follow-up. Conclusions Preliminary results support the feasibility, acceptability, and promising effects on psychological distress and community reintegration of this 1-day, transdiagnostic workshop for Veterans. Future research examining the effectiveness of this workshop with a larger sample size is necessary.
Phylogenetic farming: Can evolutionary history predict crop rotation via the soil microbiome?

Agriculture has long employed phylogenetic rules whereby farmers are encouraged to rotate taxonomically unrelated plants in shared soil. Although this forms a central tenet of sustainable agriculture, strangely, this on-farm "rule of thumb" has never been rigorously tested in a scientific framework. To experimentally evaluate the relationship between phylogenetic distance and crop performance, we used a plant-soil feedback approach whereby 35 crops and weeds varying in their relatedness to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) were tested in a two-year field experiment. We used community profiling of the bacteria and fungi to determine the extent to which soil microbes contribute to phenotypic differences in crop growth. Overall, tomato yield was ca. 15% lower in soil previously cultivated with tomato; yet, past the species level there was no effect of phylogenetic distance on crop performance. Soil microbial communities, on the other hand, were compositionally more similar between close plant relatives. Random forest regression predicted log10 phylogenetic distance to tomato with moderate accuracy (R 2 = .52), primarily driven by bacteria in the genus Sphingobium. These data indicate that, beyond avoiding conspecifics, evolutionary history contributes little to understanding plant-soil feedbacks in agricultural fields; however, microbial legacies can be predicted by species identity and relatedness.
Electro-plasmonic nanoresonators for wireless voltage sensing and ultra-high bandwidth brain computer interfaces

We introduce electro-plasmonic nanoresonators as a wireless nanoscale voltage probe that can remotely measure local electric-fields and electrophysiological signals with high temporal (sub-millisecond) and spatial (diffraction limited) resolutions in a label-free manner.
Using classical methods to start quantum mechanical calculations for microporosity and mesoporosity

One primary measurement of open porosity uses physical adsorption isotherm, amount adsorbed versus gas pressure. Classical treatments, including the BET, cannot fit the isotherm for its full range, therefore standard curves have been created from non-porous materials for comparison. This classical method yields three output parameters, two surface areas, pore and external, relative to the standard. The third output is moles of material needed to fill the pores. A modern treatment using quantum mechanics and thermodynamics, call χ/ESW, yields seven physical quantities. However, the calculation requires a non-linear least squares routine, with initial parameters to find a minimum. In this paper the possibility of using the answers from the classical method as a first approximation is explored, with no need for a standard since χ/ESW treatment is used as a self-standard. Within limits, this works well for microporosity but mesoporosity presents some problems with one of the parameters.
Your Cybersecurity Is Now Programmable: Experiments on Networking and Blockchain Systems

We increasingly live in a software-defined world where systems that were once implemented as rigid control capabilities or fixed function hardware systems are now highly programmable through software interfaces that decouple underlying details and offer remote control and centralized management. Blockchain and cloud computing systems are early examples of embracing software-defined system designs. We argue that we should further leverage software-defined principles to make security programmable, thus also make this software-defined world more secure. We will use two case studies to demonstrate how programmable security can be achieved on software-defined networking (SDN) and blockchain systems, respectively.
Verification and Implementation of HIV Antibody Differentiation Testing to Improve Turnaround Time for the HIV Diagnostic Algorithm.

Background Relying on reference laboratories for HIV confirmation testing may lead to delays in treatment and can cause stress for patients who have positive HIV screening results. Objective To internalize HIV-1/HIV-2 antibody differentiation testing within the hospital laboratory. Methods We analytically verified an HIV antibody differentiation immunoassay and subsequently compared result turnaround times (TATs) for HIV antibody differentiation and HIV-1 qualitative RNA in the months before and after the test internalization. Results HIV antibody differentiation was successfully verified. TATs for HIV antibody differentiation and HIV-1 RNA significantly improved, from medians of 40.4 hours and 156.5 hours to medians of 17.7 hours and 56.5 hours, respectively, after the internalization. The 90th-percentile turnaround times declined by 72% and 44%, respectively. Conclusions It is feasible for a hospital laboratory to verify HIV antibody-differentiation testing. Its implementation may considerably improve result TATs for the HIV diagnostic algorithm.
Review of available systems and materials for splicing prestressed-precast concrete piles

Abstract Establishing a bridge foundation when there is a top layer of weak soils normally requires the application of deep foundations such as piles. Driving prestressed-precast concrete piles (PPCP) is one of the options among various types of piles and installation methods. However, it often happens that shipping and transportation constraints limit the length of precast prestressed pile segments that can be delivered to the bridge site. Therefore, the length of pile segments may be smaller than the length required to establish adequate resistance, and splicing of pile segments becomes necessary. The review reported in this paper aims at identifying and analyzing the available splice systems to be able to build upon the existing experiences when considering the development of new alternatives. The existing splice systems were compared based on capacity, ductility, durability, and ease of installation. As importantly, a thorough investigation was also conducted on the existing filler or bonding materials used for PPCP splicing to help the selection of the most applicable material. The review identified a set of filler/bonding material with rapid strength gain, workability and setting time suitable for establishing splices. This research was deemed necessary since there has been little or no recent innovation related to the PPCP splices. This paper combines in one place all available information on this subject and will help the researchers to understand the existing systems as well as the types of materials used for splicing. The results of this study are expected to motivate new ideas on more effective, durable, and economic systems for establishing PPCPs splices.
Disorders of Consciousness and Theories of Well-Being

Among other issues, Peterson and colleagues (2021) raise the crucial but vexing question of how to assess the well-being of patients with disorders of consciousness (DoCs). I provide some suggestio...
A 10.8 µW Neural Signal Recorder and Processor With Unsupervised Analog Classifier for Spike Sorting

Implantable brain machine interfaces for treatment of neurological disorders require on-chip, real-time signal processing of action potentials (spikes). In this work, we present the first spike sorting SoC with integrated neural recording front-end and analog unsupervised classifier. The event-driven, low power spike sorter features a novel hardware-optimized, K-means based algorithm that effectively eliminates duplicate clusters and is implemented using a novel clockless and ADC-less analog architecture. The $1.4\ {\boldsymbol{m}}{{\boldsymbol{m}}^2}$ chip is fabricated in a 180-nm CMOS SOI process. The analog front-end achieves a 3.3 ${\boldsymbol{\mu }}{{{\bf V}}_{{{\bf rms}}}}$ noise floor over the spike bandwidth (400 – 5000 Hz) and consumes 6.42 ${\boldsymbol{\mu }}$ W from a 1.5 V supply. The analog spike sorter consumes 4.35 ${\boldsymbol{\mu }}$ W and achieves 93.2% classification accuracy on a widely used synthetic test dataset. In addition, higher than 93% agreement between the chip classification result and that of a standard spike sorting software is observed using pre-recorded real neural signals. Simulations of the implemented spike sorter show robust performance under process-voltage-temperature variations.
Crowdfunding deception perception: What makes would-be contributors perceive fakeness in crowdfunding campaigns?

This study illuminates the signals that cause contributors to perceive realness and fakeness in a crowdfunding campaign. A grounded theory approach involving 818 human evaluations of 225 COVID-19related charitable crowdfunding campaigns identified the validity of the campaign's stated need, its descriptive detail and writing quality, and having a reputable campaign sponsor as important signals of realness and/or deception, as well as other factors. Commonly used NLP measures have heavy overlap with these reported signals, but by themselves reflect roughly half of the variance explained. Crowdfunding platforms can use this information to help campaign organizers improve public perceptions. © AMCIS 2021.
Some Etching Studies on Boron

Samples of crystalline boron were polished and reacted with various etchants. Several etching compositions are recommended because of the rather unusual reducing ability of boron.
Microstructural origin of flutes and their use in distinguishing striationless fatigue cleavage from stress-corrosion cracking in titanium alloys

Postfracture analysis does not always distinguish striationless low-stress fatigue from stress-corrosion cracking (SCC), since both are characterized by cleavage, together with other less distinct fracture modes. Studies of identical specimens of Ti-8A1-1Mo-1V broken under both conditions suggest that the presence of certain microplastic fracture features called flutes may be uniquely characteristic of SCC, and absent from low-stress striationless fatigue fractures. Some new observations concerning the microstructural origins of flutes verify that they arise from a tendency toward planar slip in a and α-β alloys and from the presence of multiple cleavage during crack propagation under certain circumstances, including SCC.
Sovereignty of States in Theory. Universalist and Nationalist Conceptions

For the purpose of these introductory remarks, until the further course of the present study will permit the determination of the notion of sovereignty in a more detailed and precise manner, the following definition is submitted thereof: Sovereignty of a State is its supreme power over its territory and inhabitants, as well as its independence of any external authority.
Perspectives on Transactional Memory

We examine the role of transactional memory from two perspectives: that of a programming language with atomic actions and that of implementations of the language. We argue that it is difficult to formulate a clean, separate, and generally useful definition of transactional memory. In both programming-language semantics and implementations, the treatment of atomic actions benefits from being combined with that of other language features. In this respect (as in many others), transactional memory is analogous to garbage collection, which is often coupled with other parts of language runtime systems.
Los caminos de la modernidad: comparando a Europa y Estados Unidos con América Latina

It is argued that Latin America contributed to modernity and the spread of what literature has called «the modern West». Rather than just imitating, reacting, or adjusting to the paradigms of modernity (and globalization), in the nineteenth century and early twentieth, the region elaborated and created modernity. This can be seen in two related but different processes: the formation of the Nation-State and the conceptualization of the Nation. While Latin America did, of course, look at Europe and the United States as possible models and attempted to emulate someof their modernity, no Latin American country seriously believed that they could reproduce Europe or the United States. Rather, in the context of post-colonialism, the region pioneered some of the precepts of modernity. The result was, as these brief comparisons with Europe and the United States suggest, a different path to modernity that later, in the twentieth century, one could find elsewhere in the global system.
Test token driven acoustic balancing for sparse enrollment data in cohort GMM speaker recognition

In this study, we address the problem of sparse train/test data for in-set/out-of-set speaker recognition. Sparse enrollment data presents a unique challenge due to a lack of acoustic space coverage. The proposed algorithm focuses on filling acoustic holes and fortifying the acoustic information using the claimed speaker's test token histogram. This scheme is possible by using a GMM model to classify the speaker phone information at the feature level. Parallel GMM training with EM using the most occurring (top) and least occurring (bottom) acoustic feature is called “Top-Down Bottom-Up (TDBU)”, and the method employing the acoustic token histogram of test token using the TDBU is called “TDBU using Test Token Histogram (TTH)”. Since TTH provides test data histogram information, the most occurred (top) parts in test data fortify the its discriminating ability using same acoustic tokens in enrollment data. The less occurred (bottom) part in test data provide acoustic hole information so that the mismatched acoustic hole between enrollment and test data can be filled in chance. The TDBU-TTH method is evaluated using telephone conversation speech from the FISHER corpus with 5 second train sets. The TDBU-TTH improves on average 2.17% absolute EER over the TDBU, and an average 4.03% absolute EER improvement over GMM-UBM baseline using 2 second test data. The proposed algorithm improvement is a noteworthy stage to compensate for both sparse enrollment data and limited test data.