cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Protective Effect of Sipunculus Nudus Polysaccharides on 5. 0 Gy ~(60)Coγ Irradiation Mice

Objective To evaluate the protective effects of sipunculus nudus polysaccharides( SNPS) on mice with irradiation damage induced by 5. 0 Gy60Co γray. Methods 60 mice were divided into control group,model group,nilestriol group and 100 mg / kg·d,200 mg / kg·d,and 400 mg / kg·d SNPS groups. SNPS was administrated by intragastric infusion every day,and nilestriol was administrated by intragastric infusion with 3. 3 mg / kg,1. 67 mg / kg in the day before and after iradiation,respectively. In the fifteenth day,the mice except control group were irradiated by γrays of60Co( 0. 80 Gy / h) with the dose of 5. 0 Gy. Peripheral blood WBC,the spleen index( SI),thymus index( TI),DNA contain in spleen cells and in bone marrow cells,SOD and MDA in serum were detected. Results Peripheral blood WBC in 100mg / kg·d and 200 mg / kg·d SNPS groups were higher than that of model group at the third day after irradiation( P 0. 05). Peripheral blood WBC in 100mg / kg·d,SI in 200 mg / kg·d and 400 mg / kg·d SNPS groups,DNA contain in spleen cells in 200 mg / kg·d SNPS group,DNA contain in in bone marrow cells in 100 mg / kg·d and 200 mg / kg·d SNPS groups,and SOD in serum in three SNPS groups were much higher than that of model group. MDA in three SNPS groups were much lower than that of model group at the fourteenth and third day after irradiation. Conclusion SNPS has radiation protective effects on γrays irradiation mice.
24 EVALUATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRE-HOSPITAL TRIAGE, TRANSPORT, AND HOSPITAL ADMISSION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL HEALTHCARE NEEDS

Purpose Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel perform pre-hospital triage of pediatric emergencies. Standing orders and on-line medical direction provide triage guidelines to determine the level of care required by the patient during ambulance transport. Children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN) have been identified as a unique sub-group of pediatric emergencies. The purpose of this study is to characterize the level of care required by CSHCN during ambulance transport and identify a correlation between this level of care and subsequent hospital admission. Hypothesis We assessed the hypothesis that CSHCN with emergencies requiring Advanced Life Support (ALS) transport are more likely to be admitted to the receiving hospital compared to children requiring Basic Life Support (BLS) transport. Methods CSHCN were defined as children, 21 years of age or younger, with a congenital or acquired condition or chronic physical or mental illness, affecting physical or mental growth and development. During a 22-month period, 1,697 EMS responses for CSHCN were identified and evaluated for the nature of the emergency, level of care required during transport, and admission status. Results 71% of CSHCN required ALS transport. Medical emergencies were twice as likely to result in hospital admission compared to traumatic emergencies (1.25≤OR≤3.04, p≤0.01). For all emergencies, children requiring ALS transport were 4.5 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital compared to those requiring BLS transport (2.74≤OR≤7.73, p≤0.01). When excluding emergencies directly related to the child9s special need, children requiring ALS transport were 7.63 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital compared to those requiring BLS transport (3.48≤OR≤17.14, p≤0.01). Conclusions This study shows a significant correlation between level of transport and hospital admission in the studied population, suggesting that current pre-hospital triage protocols correctly identify CSHCN who require a more advanced or specialized level of care.
Acoustic and Plasma Guided Lasertripsy (APGL) of Urinary Calculi

The feasibility of using pulsed laser generated acoustic and plasma optical emission signals to monitor laser fragmentation of urinary stones was studied in vitro. A flashlamp pumped tunable dye laser operating at a wavelength of 504 nm. (coumarin green) was used as the laser source. Acoustic signals were recorded with a hydrophone which has a useful frequency response of up to 350 KHz. Plasma optical emissions were transmitted retrograde along the laser fiber and reflected through a beam splitter to an optical detection system consisting of a series of spectral filters (to transmit plasma radiation from 380 nm.-440 nm. and block any 504 nm. laser light) and a photomultiplier tube. Measurements of acoustic and plasma signals were taken from different urinary calculi, guidewires, catheters, blood, blood clots, bruised soft tissue and normal ureter. Signals were also obtained from stones placed in ureter of an ex vivo bovine urinary tract specimen. Results of monitoring both plasma and acoustic signals show that it is possible to determine, without direct vision, whether the laser is hitting stone, ureteral wall or lumen. Strong plasma and strong acoustic signals are produced by calculi; strong acoustic but no plasma signals suggest that the laser is hitting blood clot or bruised ureteral wall. Absent plasma and acoustic response indicate that the laser is discharging on normal ureter or in the lumen. These distinctions may allow clinical stone fragmentation without direct ureteroscopic vision.
A SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING HEALTH EFFECTS FROM HAZARDOUS EXPOSURES

A statistical procedure for monitoring the health status of a community potentially exposed to a hazardous environment is presented. It utilizes two levels of investigation. Level I studies monitor routinely collected vital statistics and routes of community exposure whereas level II studies require additional data collection and are further distinguished by their design and duration. In a level I study, routine vital statistics for specified end points over a specified period of time are monitored, and the observed number of events is compared with the expected number of events for a given population. The statistical model used with this procedure employs a two-step decision rule based on the standardized mortality ratio for the study community. An "alert status" is invoked when the number of events exceeds a prescribed excess. An "action status" is indicated if the excess noted in the initial period persists or if the observed number of events in the initial period greatly exceeds expectation. Should an "action status" be justified, level II studies to determine the likely explanation for the significant excess are initiated. This could include the conduct of a "case-control" study using the exposure data available from monitoring the community.
Fast, simultaneous optimization of power amplifier input power and load impedance for power-added efficiency and adjacent-channel power ratio using the power smith tube

Reconfigurable adaptive amplifiers are expected to be a critical component of future adaptive and cognitive radar transmitters. This paper details an algorithm to simultaneously optimize input power and load reflection coefficient of a power amplifier device to obtain the largest power-added efficiency (PAE) possible under a predefined constraint on adjacent-channel power ratio (ACPR). The vector-based search relies on estimation of the PAE and ACPR gradients in the three-dimensional power Smith tube. Accurate convergence to the optimum impedance in the Smith chart is demonstrated in simulation and measurement search experiments requiring between 20 and 60 experimental queries. This paper presents a fast search to jointly optimize the input power level and load impedance. This method is feasible for future implementation in real-time reconfigurable power amplifiers.
Mathematically modeling chromatograms of evaporated ignitable liquids for fire debris applications

Abstract Ignitable liquid reference collections used in fire debris analysis often contain chromatograms of the liquids evaporated to various levels. In this work, a mathematical model was used to predict the chemical composition of several ignitable liquids at various evaporation levels. The model requires only the chromatogram of the unevaporated liquid and offers the potential to generate chromatograms of evaporated liquids in a time- and cost-efficient manner. A set of petroleum distillates and gasoline were experimentally evaporated to 30–90% by mass and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The resulting chromatograms were compared to modeled chromatograms corresponding to the same evaporation levels. For the petroleum distillates, strong correlation was observed between the modeled and experimentally derived chromatograms, with Pearson product-moment correlation (PPMC) coefficients ranging from 0.920 (90% evaporated lamp oil) to 0.998 (30% evaporated lamp oil). For gasoline, moderate to strong correlation was observed between the modeled and experimentally derived chromatograms, with PPMC coefficients ranging from 0.772 (90% evaporated) to 0.949 (30% evaporated). The lower correlation was due to the presence of highly volatile compounds in gasoline that were not observed using the conventional GC–MS analysis method but contributed to the volume and mass loss. A modeled reference collection of evaporated liquids was generated and used to successfully indicate the presence of gasoline in simulated fire debris samples.
What is the place of lecture in student learning today

Sadly, lecture is the primary teaching method in college classrooms. This reliance on lecture runs counter to evidenced-based research derived from current educational theories: social constructivi...
CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing In Human Cells Works Via The Fanconi Anemia Pathway

CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing creates targeted double strand breaks (DSBs) in eukaryotic cells that are processed by cellular DNA repair pathways. Co-administration of single stranded oligonucleotide donor DNA (ssODN) during editing can result in high-efficiency (>20%) incorporation of ssODN sequences into the break site. This process is commonly referred to as homology directed repair (HDR) and here referred to as single stranded template repair (SSTR) to distinguish it from repair using a double stranded DNA donor (dsDonor). The high efficacy of SSTR makes it a promising avenue for the treatment of genetic diseases, but the genetic basis of SSTR editing is still unclear, leaving its use a mostly empiric process. To determine the pathways underlying SSTR in human cells, we developed a coupled knockdown-editing screening system capable of interrogating multiple editing outcomes in the context of thousands of individual gene knockdowns. Unexpectedly, we found that SSTR requires multiple components of the Fanconi Anemia (FA) repair pathway, but does not require Rad51-mediated homologous recombination, distinguishing SSTR from repair using dsDonors. Knockdown of FA genes impacts SSTR without altering break repair by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) in multiple human cell lines and in neonatal dermal fibroblasts. Our results establish an unanticipated and central role for the FA pathway in templated repair from single stranded DNA by human cells. Therapeutic genome editing has been proposed to treat genetic disorders caused by deficiencies in DNA repair, including Fanconi Anemia. Our data imply that patient genotype and/or transcriptome profoundly impact the effectiveness of gene editing treatments and that adjuvant treatments to bias cells towards FA repair pathways could have considerable therapeutic value.
Are U.S. Cities Underpoliced? Theory and Evidence

We document the extent of measurement errors in the basic data set on police used in the literature on the effect of police on crime. Analyzing medium to large U.S. cities over 1960 to 2010, we obt...
A late adaptive graph-based edge-aware filtering with iterative weight updating process

In this work, we propose a parallelized graph-based framework for lowpass and highpass edge-aware filtering for detail manipulation (smoothening/boosting). Our proposed filter abstracts images through simplifying their visual content while preserving edges and emphasizing most of the perceptually important information. The proposed filtering framework is realized by using the graph similarity and Laplacian matrices to obtain smoothened image at each layer. The resulted smoothened images are iteratively treated as inputs to the next layer of the filtering framework and the weights are updated accordingly. The efficacy of the proposed image abstraction method is confirmed by conducting simulations. It is shown that the proposed method provides abstracted images having higher quality than those resulted from the other existing works.
Behavioral Factors in Equity Allocation Decisions: A Large-Scale Experimental Study With Context

Traditional models of rational behavior struggle to explain how individuals allocate their money over a variety of financial instruments, including annuities, the stock market, and risk-free bonds....
Strategies to mitigate student resistance to active learning

Research has shown that active learning promotes student learning and increases retention rates of STEM undergraduates. Yet, instructors are reluctant to change their teaching approaches for several reasons, including a fear of student resistance to active learning. This paper addresses this issue by building on our prior work which demonstrates that certain instructor strategies can positively influence student responses to active learning. We present an analysis of interview data from 17 engineering professors across the USA about the ways they use strategies to reduce student resistance to active learning in their undergraduate engineering courses. Our data reveal that instructor strategies for reducing student resistance generally fall within two broad types: explanation and facilitation strategies. Explanation strategies consist of the following: (a) explain the purpose, (b) explain course expectations, and (c) explain activity expectations. Facilitation strategies include the following: (a) approach non-participants, (b) assume an encouraging demeanor, (c) grade on participation, (d) walk around the room, (e) invite questions, (f) develop a routine, (g) design activities for participation, and (h) use incremental steps. Four of the strategies emerged from our analysis and were previously unstudied in the context of student resistance. The findings of this study have practical implications for instructors wishing to implement active learning. There is a variety of strategies to reduce student resistance to active learning, and there are multiple successful ways to implement the strategies. Importantly, effective use of strategies requires some degree of intentional course planning. These strategies should be considered as a starting point for instructors seeking to better incorporate the use of active learning strategies into their undergraduate engineering classrooms.
Hematoxylin substitutes. A study of phenocyanin TC and the use of afterchrome mordanting in histology.

A practical, simple synthesis of the obsolete mordant dye, phenocyanin,* was devised, proceding from gallocyanin and resorcinol with acid and heat. The dye gave promise of good performance in metachrome iron mixtures, but because of excessive precipitation, the practice of afterchroming was taken from textile dyeing usage, and proved very successful. Of a number of metallic salts tried, Fe II proved to be the best, then Cu II and Fe III. The stain acts as a cationic dye on nucleic acids and other acidic tissue components: acid mucins, cartilage, mast cells, corpora amylacea, etc. The afterchroming process renders the stain much more resistant to various extraction agents and even moderately resistant to acid alcohol. Color values are quite comparable to those obtained with hematoxylin–eosin when an eosin counterstain is used. Nuclei, basophilic cytoplasm, Nissl granules, and bacteria color dark blue; cartilage, mast cells, and some acid mucins, deep violet. Staining with the 1% solution was essentially unaltered from neutrality down to 1.2 N HCl, pH 0.68, and dilution of the dye to 0.05% in 1% conc. HCl (pH 1.2) still gave excellent nuclear, RNA, and mast-cell staining. At 0.02% and pH 1.2, nuclear staining was distinctly weakened; mast cell granules were still dark violet.
Electrical Stimulation of the Neuromuscular System

Patients with paralysis or disease of the nervous system can have severe functional deficits. Although rehabilitation and neural regeneration can provide some improvement (Grill and Kirsch, 2000; McDonald and Sadowsky, 2000), there is still a large gap to close in order to restore function. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) of neural tissue can be successfully applied to provide additional functional restoration to neurologically impaired individuals. By placing electrodes within excitable neural tissue and passing current through these electrodes, it is possible to activate pathways to the brain or to muscles. The activated pathways can then excite or inhibit their intended target. Neural prostheses refer to applications for which electrical stimulation is used to replace a previously lost or damaged neural function.cr]
What is Property? Putting the Pieces Back Together

This article offers an alternative to twentieth-century theories of property, which have eviscerated the concept of property and thereby undermined the policy foundations of property doctrines ranging from eminent domain to intellectual property. The result is that legislators and judges lack the ability to define properly the purpose or the boundaries of the legal doctrines that they are enacting into law or ruling on from the bench. The complaints are omnipresent - from the expansion of legal entitlements afforded to owners of intellectual property to the indeterminacy that plagues the takings jurisprudence. As a solution, this article advances an "integrated" theory that combines the exclusive rights to acquire, use and dispose of one's possessions into a broad concept of property. The integrated theory of property provides a descriptive account of past and present property doctrines, and justifies or critiques the evolution of these doctrines into the twenty-first century.
A new method for alignment of LC-MALDI-TOF data

In proteomics studies, liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has proven to be a powerful technology to investigate differential expression of proteins/peptides that are characterized by their peak intensities, mass-to-charge ratio (m/z), and retention time (RT). The variable complexity of peptide mixtures and occasional drifts lead to substantial variations in m/z and RT dimensions. Thus, label-free differential protein expression studies by LC-MS technology require alignment with respect to both RT and m/z to ensure that same proteins/peptides are compared from multiple runs. In this study, we propose a new strategy to align LC-MALDI-TOF data by combining quality threshold cluster analysis and support vector regression. Our method performs alignment on the basis of measurements in three dimensions (RT, m/z, intensity). We demonstrate the suitability of our proposed method for alignment of LC-MALDI-TOF data through a previously published spike-in dataset and a new in-house generated spike-in dataset. A comparison of our method with other methods that utilize only RT and m/z dimensions reveals that the use of intensity measurements enhances alignment performance.
High-Order PT-Symmetric Telemetric Sensors with Singularity-Enhanced Sensitivity

We propose a new parity-time (PT)-symmetric telemetric sensing system to greatly enhance the sensitivity of passive inductor-capacitor (LC) wireless sensors, widely used in RFID sensors and internet-of-things (loTs). We demonstrate that by tailoring the equivalent circuit of inductively-coupled sensor and reader to satisfy the PT-symmetry (space-time reflection symmetry), the sensitivity can be the significantly improved when compared to that of conventional loop-antenna readers. This finding may have an impact on various wireless sensing and imaging systems, which employ micro/nano-machined RFID tags, wearables, and bioimplants.
High Performance InGaAs Gate-All-Around Nanosheet FET on Si Using Template Assisted Selective Epitaxy

We report InGaAs gate-all-around nanosheet NFETs on Si substrate using template-assisted-selective-epitaxy (TASE) and a gate-last process with thermal budget advantages. Compared to our early report of the TASE process, in this paper we demonstrate that TASE can be scaled to a channel thickness of ∼10 nm, which enables short gate devices without significant leakage. The defects and composition of the fabricated nanosheet FETs are also investigated. Enabled by this VLSI compatible process and a novel high-pressure deuterium annealing process, our 39 nm- $L_{g}$ device shows a peak $g_{m}$ of $1.37 \ \text{mS}/\mu \mathrm{m}$ , a subthreshold slope in saturation of 72 mV/decade, and an $I_{on}$ of $355 \ \mu \mathrm{A}/\mu \mathrm{m}$ at 0.5 V $V_{gs}$ , the highest among reported sub-50 nm- $L_{g}$ III-V FETs on Si.
Calibration of a Mode II Test Specimen

Mode II and Mode I calibrations of the NASA Lewis Research Center Mode II fatigue specimen were performed experimentally over crack length to specimen width ratios (a/W) of 0.5 to 0.9. Mode II displacements were measured both at the specimen notch mouth and at the intersection of the notch with the centerline of the loading pin holes. Mode I displacements were measured across the span of the specimen at the loading pins' centerline. Analytical stress intensity factor coefficients for both Mode II and Mode I are also presented.
Hepatitis C Virus Mediated Inhibition of miR-181c Activates ATM Signaling and Promotes Hepatocyte Growth.

Background and aims Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection promotes hepatocyte growth and progress to hepatocellular carcinoma. We previously observed that HCV infection of hepatocytes transcriptionally down-regulates miR-181c expression through CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β (C/EBP-β). Here, we examined the role of miR-181c in the regulation of cell cycle progression in relation to HCV infection. In silico analysis suggested that ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein, a protein kinase, is a direct target of miR-181c. ATM is a central mediator of response for cellular DNA double-strand break. Approach and results Our results demonstrated that ATM expression is higher in HCV-infected hepatocytes and chronic HCV-infected liver biopsy specimens. We have shown a direct interaction of miR-181c with the 3' untranslated region of ATM, and the presence of ATM in miR-181c-associated RNA-induced silencing complex. Exogenous expression of miR-181c inhibited ATM expression and activation of its downstream molecules, Chk2 and Akt. On the other hand, introduction of anti-miR-181c restored ATM and phosphorylated Akt. Furthermore, introduction of miR-181c significantly inhibited phospho-cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) and cyclin-A expression, arresting cell cycle progression, whereas overexpression of miR-181c promoted apoptosis of HCV-infected hepatocytes and can be inhibited by overexpression of ATM from a clone lacking miR-181c binding sites. In addition, miR-181c significantly regressed tumor growth in the xenograft human hepatocellular carcinoma mouse model. Conclusions Together, our results suggest that HCV infection suppresses miR-181c in hepatocytes, resulting in ATM activation and apoptosis inhibition for promotion of cell cycle progression. The results provide mechanistic insight into understanding the role of miR-181c in HCV-associated hepatocyte growth promotion, and may have the potential for therapeutic intervention.
Interfacial Electronic Properties Dictate Li Dendrite Growth in Solid Electrolytes

The experimental observation of Li dendrite growth inside mechanically hard solid electrolytes (SEs) raised an important question: can hard SEs mechanically stop Li-dendrite growth? Here, we report...
Failure of cost-benefit analysis in gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Background and study aims We discuss the occurrence of two cases, where the endoscopic pursuit of diagnostic certainty resulted in adverse events that exceeded the clinical relevance of the endoscopic diagnosis itself. In both instances, physicians were hesitant to subject their patients to a necessary surgical intervention before gastrointestinal endoscopy had provided them with absolute assurance that no other mitigating factors could possibly jeopardize the success of a planned intervention. In trying to avoid a single and potentially bad outcome of a necessary medical intervention, the physicians exposed their patients to many more additional and unnecessary risks. As key players in clinical decision-making, physicians sometimes may find it difficult to disentangle their own risk-benefit considerations from those of their patients.
In Pursuit of Democratization and Engagement

This chapter discusses the way the Reagan administration navigated the landmines of struggles for political democracy in South Korea in 1987. George Shultz and Gaston Sigur spearheaded Reagan’s policy to support the popular movement for freedom and democracy. They welcomed Roh Tae Woo’s announcement for dramatic democratic initiatives on June 29, 1987. Even though the heroic struggles of South Korean people were primarily responsible for this historic turning point for democracy, the Reagan administration’s patient, active, and supportive role was no less crucial. Once an important step for South Korea’s democratization was consummated, the Reagan administration took a modest initiative for engagement with North Korea and began the Beijing Talks between American and North Korean political counselors in 1988.
Qualitative spatial reasoning: extracting and reasoning with spatial aggregates

Reasoning about spatial data is a key task in many applications, including geographic information systems, meteorological and fluid flow analysis, computer-aided design, and protein structure databases. Such applications often require the identification and manipulation of qualitative spatial representations, for example, to detect whether one “object” will soon occlude another in a digital image, or to efficiently determine relationships between a proposed road and wetland regions in a geographic data set. Qualitative spatial reasoning (QSR) provides representational primitives (a spatial “vocabulary”) and inference mechanisms for these tasks. This paper first reviews representative work on QSR for data-poor scenarios, where the goal is to design representations that can answer qualitative queries without much numerical information. It then turns to the data-rich case, where the goal is to derive and manipulate qualitative spatial representations that efficiently and correctly abstract important spatial aspects of the underlying data, for use in subsequent tasks. This paper focuses on how a particular QSR system, Spatial Aggregation (SA), can help answer spatial queries for scientific and engineering data sets. A case study application of weather analysis illustrates the effective representation and reasoning supported by both data-poor and data-rich forms of QSR.
Effect of local cold application during exercise on gene expression related to mitochondrial homeostasis.

Exercise training increases mitochondrial content in active skeletal muscle. Previous work suggests that mitochondrial-related genes respond favorably to exercise in cold environments. However, the...
Abstract PR16: Specific activation of the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor inhibits melanoma and other cancers and potentiates immune and targeted therapies

Modern immune and targeted therapies appear more effective against advanced melanoma in women than in men. Melanoma incidence is also lower in women. Similar sex differences are observed in other tumors that are not classically considered sex hormone responsive. Here, we show that much of the protective effect likely results from estrogen signaling through the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) on tumor cells. Selective GPER activation in primary male and female melanocytes, and in melanoma cells, induced long-term changes that maintained a more differentiated cell state as defined by increased expression of well-established melanocyte differentiation antigens, increased pigment production, decreased proliferative capacity, and decreased expression of the oncodriver and stem cell marker c-Myc. GPER signaling also rendered melanoma cells more vulnerable to immunotherapy. Systemic delivery of a small-molecule, selective GPER agonist was well tolerated, and cooperated with PD-1 directed immune checkpoint blockade in melanoma-bearing mice to dramatically extend survival, with up to half of mice clearing their tumor. Complete responses were associated with immune memory that protected against rechallenge with naive tumor cells. Specific GPER activation in the BRaf-driven murine melanoma model (YUMM1.7) also delayed resistance to targeted BRaf inhibition in vivo. Similar antitumor responses were observed in genetically defined KRas-driven syngeneic pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDAC) models. The GPER agonist used has favorable pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability in mice and higher vertebrates and appears to have a large therapeutic window. Together, these data suggest that GPER may be a useful, pharmacologically accessible target for melanoma and other common cancers. This abstract is also being presented as Poster B15. Citation Format: Chris Natale, Jinyang Li, Jun Zhang, Cristina Aquirre, Ankit Dahal, Tzvete Dentchev, John Seykora, Ben Stanger, Todd Ridky. Specific activation of the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor inhibits melanoma and other cancers and potentiates immune and targeted therapies [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Melanoma: From Biology to Target; 2019 Jan 15-18; Houston, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(19 Suppl):Abstract nr PR16.
Factors Influencing Base of Gait During Running: Consideration of Sex, Speed, Kinematics, and Anthropometrics.

Context A narrow base of gait (BOG), the mediolateral distance between the foot and the body's line of gravity at midstance, during running is a suggested cause of injuries such as iliotibial band syndrome and tibial stress injury. However, an understanding of modifiable and nonmodifiable factors that influence BOG is lacking, which limits the development of corrective strategies. Objective To determine if BOG varies by sex and running speed and the influence of running kinematics and anthropometrics on BOG. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Record review of routinely collected performance data from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I intercollegiate athletic program. Patients or other participants A total of 166 Division I collegiate athletes (basketball, cross-country, football, soccer). Main outcome measure(s) Running biomechanics (N = 166) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry-derived anthropometric data (n = 68) were extracted. Running variables were BOG, step rate, stride length, foot-inclination angle, center-of-mass vertical displacement, heel-to-center of mass anteroposterior distance, and peak stance-phase angles: hip flexion, hip adduction, pelvic drop, knee flexion, and ankle dorsiflexion. Extracted anthropometric variables were height; leg, femur, and tibia length; and anterior-superior iliac spine, hip-joint, and greater trochanter width. We calculated linear mixed-effects models to assess the influence of sex and running speed on BOG and identify the kinematic and anthropometric variables most associated with BOG. Results A significant interaction between sex and running speed on BOG was observed, with males demonstrating a smaller BOG than females at faster speeds and BOG decreasing overall with speed. The kinematic measures most associated with BOG at preferred running speed were foot-inclination angle at initial contact and peak stance-phase hip adduction and ankle dorsiflexion. Anterior-superior iliac spine width was the anthropometric variable most associated with BOG at preferred running speed. Conclusions Sex and running speed must be considered when determining the appropriateness of an individual's BOG. Additionally, BOG was associated with several potentially modifiable kinematic parameters.
Two Decades of Calorimetry and Thermal Analysis at the Thermal Processing Technology Centre at Illinois Institute of Technology

When the Kleppa lab at the University of Chicago closed, one of the drop calorimeters was moved to IIT just 3 miles to the north. The collaboration between UC and IIT that began in the 1990’s initiated two decades of calorimetry and thermal analysis at IIT. The research continued the studies on the enthalpy of formation of binary compounds performed in Ole Kleppa’s lab at UC and extended the work to ternary intermetallics. The acquisition of a Setaram drop calorimeter and Setaram DSC/TGA allowed us to extend our studies to specific heat measurements and thermal analysis of alloy systems. This presentation provides an overview of the work performed over the last 20 yr at IIT, provides some recent unpublished data, and highlights some of the important results.
Center-Based Experiences Implementing Strategies to Reduce Risk of Horizontal Transmission of SARS-Cov-2: Potential for Compromise of Neonatal Microbiome Assemblage

Perinatal transmission of COVID-19 is poorly understood and many neonatal intensive care units9 (NICU) policies minimize mother-infant contact to prevent transmission. We present our unit9s approach and ways it may impact neonatal microbiome acquisition. We attending COVID-19 positive mothers9 deliveries from March-August 2020. Delayed cord clamping and skin-to-skin were avoided and infants were admitted to the NICU. No parents9 visits were allowed and discharge was arranged with COVID-19 negative family members. Maternal breast milk was restricted in the NICU. All twenty-one infants tested negative at 24 and 48 hours and had average hospital stays of nine days. 40% of mothers expressed breastmilk and 30% of infants were discharged with COVID-19 negative caregivers. Extended hospital stays, no skin-to-skin contact, limited maternal milk use, and discharge to caregivers outside primary residences, potentially affect the neonatal microbiome. Future studies are warranted to explore how ours and other centers9with similar policies influence this outcome.
An automatic approach to lung region segmentation in chest x-ray images using adapted U-Net architecture

Segmentation of the lung field is considered as the first and crucial stage in diagnosis of pulmonary diseases. In clinical practice, computer-aided systems are used to segment the lung region from chest X-ray (CXR) or CT images. The task of segmentation is challenging due to the presence of opacities or consolidation in CXR, which are typically produced by overlaps between the lung region and intense abnormalities caused by pulmonary diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, or COVID-19. Recently, Convolution Neural Networks (CNNs) have been shown promising for segmentation and detection in digital images. In this paper, we propose a two-stage framework based on adapted U-Net architecture to leverage automatic lung segmentation. In the first stage, we extract CXR-patches and train a modified U-Net architecture to generate an initial segmentation of lung field. The second stage is the post-processing step, where we deploy image processing techniques to obtain a clear final segmentation. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated on a set of 138 CXR images obtained from Montgomery County’s Tuberculosis Control Program, producing an average Dice Coefficient (DC) of 94.21%, and an average Intersection-Over-Union (IoU) of 91.37%.
Abstract 778: CD24 mutant p53 contribute to racial disparities in prostate cancer

African-American (AA) men have the highest rate of prostate cancer among racial or ethnic groups. CD24, a cell-surface protein anchored by glycosyl-phosphatidyl-inositol (GPI), often is over-expressed in cancers and serves as a marker for poor prognosis of human cancer, including prostate cancer. Using a functional analysis of prostate cancer cells, we found a CD24-dependent inactivation of mutant p53, but the clinical significance of this observation remained uncertain. Here, we validated these results with samples of human prostate cancer and explored the role of a CD24-p53 axis in racial disparities of prostate cancer. Our bioinformatics analysis of public datasets, including TCGA data, confirmed higher levels of CD24 mRNA expression in late-stage and metastatic prostate cancer. In the present study, we addressed the association of CD24 with mutant p53 and their differential expression between AA and European-American (EA) prostate cancers and assessed whether cells with CD24 and mutant p53 contribute to health disparities in prostate cancer. CD24, mutant p53, MDM2, and ARF proteins were expressed in 55%, 24%, 39%, and 68% of prostate cancer samples, respectively. CD24 and mutant p53 were present more frequently in late-stage and metastatic prostate cancer. The presence of CD24 was associated with a > 4-fold risk of metastasis, which included lymph node and distant metastases. H-score analysis showed positive correlations of CD24 expression with mutant p53 and MDM2. A racial disparity was evident for CD24 but not for mutant p53. In 32 CD24+/mutant p53+ cases, a TP53R273H mutation was found in five cases, but no TP53R175H mutation was found. The CD24-p53 axis may contribute to aggressive and metastatic prostate cancers, especially those of AAs. Citation Format: Xuelian Cui, Shuaibin Wang, Lizhong Wang. CD24 mutant p53 contribute to racial disparities in prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 778.
Effect of surface wettability on the interfacial adhesion of a thermosetting elastomer on glass

Interfacial adhesion dictates properties and performance of both composites and adhesively bonded structures. Weak adhesion at the interfaces of polymer composites leads to void formation and debonding, which adversely affect composite structural integrity and mechanical performance. This work investigated the relationship between surface wettability and interfacial fracture energy with the goal of tailoring interfacial adhesion within polymer composites. A series of model functionalized surfaces was created using silane coupling agents with different organo-functionalities to alter surface wettability. Based on the analysis of interfacial fracture energy between a thermosetting elastomeric polymer network and model surfaces, interfacial adhesion was found to be positively correlated to resin wettability. The results provide a fast and simple approach to screen different material combinations for the development of novel polymeric composites and adhesively bonded structures with tailorable adhesion.
An unusual presentation of primary adrenal insufficiency with new onset type 1 diabetes: case report and review of the literature

Objectives To describe an atypical presentation of primary adrenal insufficiency in conjunction with new onset type 1 diabetes. Case presentation Here, we describe a case of new-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) presenting simultaneously with an unusual presentation of primary adrenal insufficiency in a previously healthy 16-year-old. He was admitted for a typical presentation of diabetic ketoacidosis, but with extreme hyponatremia. An extensive workup revealed a low aldosterone level, appropriate cortisol level, and positive 21-hydroxylase antibodies. While the phenomenon of multiple autoimmune conditions developing in the same patient is well-described, this particular case has several atypical aspects. Our patient's case highlights the danger of relying on random serum cortisol in the setting of acute illness to rule out adrenal insufficiency. Conclusions Adrenal insufficiency can present as isolated hypoaldosteronism without hypocortisolemia and can manifest as severe hyponatremia in the context of diabetic ketoacidosis. Workup for an unusual presentation of T1D should include a 21-hydroxylase antibody, as well as thyroid and celiac disease studies.
Pituitary Gland Lesions

Probably the most commonly encountered lesion of the pituitary gland which one is likely to see in the surgical neuropathology arena is the pituitary adenoma. In general, adenomas present in one of two ways. If they attain sufficient size, they can produce symptoms related to mass effect. They also may present via endocrine symptomatology related to secretion of one or more hormonal substances. The peak incidence of adenomas is between the third and sixth decades of life and there appears to be a female predominance in cases reported in the literature. Pituitary adenomas, however, can occur at any age. There is an association of pituitary adenomas with multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN I) (1); adenomas that arise in this setting tend to be relatively small in size (microadenomas — < 1 cm in diameter) and are associated with growth hormone and prolactin secretion. Incidence rates of pituitary adenomas in autopsied patients have been estimated to run as high as 25%.
Phase transition in ising magnetic superlattice nanowires: Molecular field theory approach

Abstract Within the framework of the molecular-field theory approach, (l,r) hexagonal magnetic superlattice nanowire model in which the l atomic layers of material a alternate with r atomic layers of material b is considered. These materials may be both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic. The transition temperature Tc for the nanowires is calculated as a function of inter-and intralayer exchange constant by the transfer matrix method. In particular case, the results are presented for the (1,1), (2,1), (2,2), (3,1), (4,1) and (4,2) ferromagnetic superlattice nanowires. It has been determined that critical temperature increases with the layer number in one elementary unit cell increases and it decrease when the difference of numbers of atomic layers, belonging to deferent materials, increases.
Immune reconstitution in severe combined immunodeficiency disease after lectin-treated, T-cell-depleted haplocompatible bone marrow transplantation.

We describe our 9-year experience with lectin-treated T-cell-depleted haplocompatible parental bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for 24 patients with severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID). Nineteen of 21 evaluable patients had T-cell engraftment; 2 of 11 patients tested had B-cell and monocyte engraftment. Fourteen of 24 (58%) patients are alive 7 months to 9.8 years post-BMT. Seventeen of 24 patients received pretransplant conditioning with chemotherapy and/or total body irradiation, and 8 of 24 received more than one transplant. Patients who received conditioning had a survival rate of 61% versus 57% for those who received no conditioning. None received graft-versus- host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis and no patient had acute or chronic GVHD greater than grade I. Kinetics and follow-up of immune recovery were analyzed in 14 patients who are greater than 1 year from transplant. Half of the patients showed evidence of T-cell function by 3 months and normal T-cell function by 4 to 7 months post-BMT. On average, T-cell numbers and subsets became normal 10 to 12 months posttransplant. Recovery of B-cell function was more delayed, although in most patients B-cell numbers and IgM levels were normal by 12 months post-BMT. B-cell function, as determined by isohemagglutinin titers or specific antibodies to pneumococcal polysaccharide, keyhole limpet hemocyanin, or tetanus toxoid, became normal in 10 of 14 patients 2 to 8 years post-BMT. Seven of the 14 are off gammaglobulin therapy. Production of isohemagglutinins tended to predict recovery of antibody response to pneumococcal polysaccharide (P < .064). Based on these results, we believe that haplocompatible BMT is an effective, curative treatment for patients with SCID who lack an HLA-matched related donor.
EPR characterization of the stereochemistry of the distal heme pocket of the engineered human myoglobin mutants

Recombinant human myoglobin mutants with the distal histidine residue replaced by Leu, Val, or Gln residues have been prepared by site-directed mutagenesis and expression in Escherichia coli. The recombinant apomyoglobin proteins have been successfully reconstituted with cobaltous protoporphyrin IX to obtain cobalt myoglobin mutant proteins, and the role of the distal histidine residue on the interaction between the bound ligand and the myoglobin molecule has been studied by EPR spectroscopy. We found that the distal histidine residue is significant in the orientation of the bound oxygen molecule. Low temperature photolysis experiments on both oxy cobalt proteins and ferric nitric oxide complexes indicated that the nature of the photolyzed form depends on the steric crowding of the distal heme pocket. To our surprise, the distal Leu mutant has a less restricted, less sterically crowded distal heme pocket than that of the distal Val mutant myoglobin, despite the fact that Leu has a larger side chain volume than Val. Our results demonstrate that the distal heme pocket steric crowding is not necessarily related to the side chain volume of the E7 residue.
The use of multitreatment modalities in early intervention: A quantitative case study

A quantitative single case study is presented to illustrate how an early intervention program used two therapeutic modalities to treat a depressed mother and her 2-month-old son. Drawing upon an ecological, transactional model of development, the case study utilized a multimethod, longitudinal approach to assess the infant's developmental competence and attachment status, the mother's history and current psychosocial functioning, patterns of mother-infant interaction, and components of the family's social ecology. Measures were administered during a baseline period to assess pre-intervention functioning and were systematically repeated throughout the 2-year period of intervention. The treatment modalities included psychodynamically oriented individual therapy and Parent-Infant Relationship Treatment (PIRT) in which the dyad was also seen by a second therapist to foster more adaptive mother-infant transactional patterns. The findings indicated increased infant developmental competence and a shift from an insecure to a secure attachment classification, improved maternal psychosocial functioning, and a decline in the dyadic interactional pattern of maternal intrusiveness and infant withdrawal. The advantages of using two treatment modalities and a single case approach to evaluation are discussed.