cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The oncogene makes its escape

Far from a random tangle, cellular DNA is packed into the nucleus with astounding precision. Indeed, there is growing appreciation for how the three-dimensional (3D) organization of the genome contributes to controlling gene expression. For instance, loops of DNA called insulated neighborhoods can protect small groups of genes from silencing or activation ( 1 ). If cancer can result from dysregulation of gene expression ( 2 ), then an enticing hypothesis is that disrupting insulated neighborhoods may lead to increased transcription of cancer genes. On page [1454][1] of this issue, Hnisz et al. ( 3 ) use tumor-derived sequencing data and targeted deletions in cells to show that disruption of insulated neighborhoods leads to activation of proto-oncogenes—genes with the potential to cause cancer. These findings strongly support disruption of chromatin structure as causally linked to tumorigenesis, and suggest that such disruptions may be the hidden culprit driving many tumors. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aad9024
A Retrospective Examination of the Patterns of Recrudescence in Patients Infected with Plasmodium Falciparum

A retrospective examination was made to determine median intervals between recrudescences of Plasmodium falciparum in 343 neurosyphilitic patients who were given malariatherapy, which was routine care at that time. Data were collected at the National Institutes of Health laboratories in Columbia, South Carolina and Milledgeville, Georgia during the period 1940 to 1963. The geometric mean days of peak parasite count for the patients were 8, 26.5, 43.5, 62, 78.5, and 95.5 days, respectively. The intervals between these peaks of 18.5, 17, 18.5, 16.5, and 17 days suggest a fixed time frame for the appearance of different dominant parasite populations during the first 100 days of patent infection. When the data from these same patients were examined for mean peak parasite counts, the patterns indicated a consistent decrease in parasite count suggestive of increasing immunity, which was sufficient to reduce but not eliminate subsequent parasite populations. The geometric mean peak parasite counts for the 343 patients during the primary attack and the first 5 recrudescences were 40,350, 6,975, 5,090, 3,820, 3,455, and 2,375/microl, respectively.
InAsSb/InAlAsSb Quantum-Well Diode Lasers Emitting Between 3 and 4 μm

Recently, mid-infrared diode lasers fabricated from the antimonide-based III-V compounds have been receiving increased attention for potential applications in trace gas detection, spectroscopy, pollution monitoring, and military systems. In this paper we will report the growth, fabrication, and modeling of high performance diode lasers with wavelengths longer than 3 μm. Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been employed for the growth of these Type-I, strained quantum-well (QW) laser structures on GaSb and InAs substrates. The lasers consist of compressively strained InAsSb wells, tensile-strained InAlAsSb barriers, and lattice-matched AlAsSb cladding layers. QW lasers grown on GaSb substrates, with emission wavelengths of ∼3.9 μm, have operated pulsed up to 165 K. At 80 K, cw power of 30 mW/Facet has been obtained. Ridge-waveguide lasers have operated cw up to 128K. QW lasers grown on InAs substrates have emission wavelengths between 3.2 and 3.55 μm. Broad-stripe lasers on InAs have exhibited cw power of 215 mW/facet at 80 K, pulsed threshold current density as low as 30 A/cm 2 at 80 K, characteristic temperatures (T O ) between 30 and 40 K, and maximum pulsed operating temperature of 225 K. Ridge-waveguide lasers on InAs have cw threshold current of 12 mA at 100 K, and a maximum cw operating temperature of 175 K. In this paper we will present some of the key issues regarding the MBE growth, fabrication, and modeling of such lasers and discuss future directions for improved device performance.
Julian Hayden's Malpais Model: A Pre-Clovis Claim from the American Southwest

ABSTRACTThough many potentially pre-Clovis sites have been investigated in the Americas no archaeological site south of the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets has yet been demonstrated to unequivocally predate Clovis. Julian Hayden's Malpais model is one such claim from the American Southwest. Unlike idiosyncratic pre-Clovis claims, Hayden's Malpais model attempts to demonstrate a recurrent pattern of related pre-Clovis sites. In order to re-investigate Hayden's Malpais model, it is necessary to re-examine the intellectual history of the Malpais model. Although some features of the Malpais model are problematic, committed reinvestigation of the Malpais model could contribute to the understanding of early American prehistory.
Radium-223 in Metastatic Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer

Metastatic disease continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in men with prostate cancer. Over the last decade, the treatment landscape for patients with metastatic castrate resistant disease has drastically changed, with several novel agents demonstrating an improvement in overall survival in large, multi-institutional randomized trials. These new agents include the incorporation of newer cytotoxics, next generation anti-androgens, immunotherapeutics, and radiopharmaceuticals. Of these available treatments, the first in class radiopharmaceutical Radium-223 has emerged as the only bone-directed treatment option demonstrating an improvement in overall survival. In this chapter we will discuss the development of Radium-223 in prostate cancer, its unique mechanism of action, clinical outcome data, practical use, and future directions.
Discrete all-pole modeling using higher-order spectra

Discrete all-pole modeling using higher-order spectra (DAPHOS) is presented as a method for fitting all-pole envelopes to harmonic or discrete bispectra encountered in the analysis of voiced segments of speech. DAPHOS modeling combines the superior spectral envelope estimation capabilities of the DAP modeling with the Gaussian noise suppression properties of higher-order spectra. Consequently, DAPHOS outperforms DAP modeling in environments with additive Gaussian noise (white or colored) even when the noise parameters are unknown. The performance of DAPHOS modeling is compared to that of DAP modeling in both noisy and noise-free environments. >
Second-order Logic and the Power Set

Ignacio Jane has argued that second-order logic presupposes some amount of set theory and hence cannot legitimately be used in axiomatizing set theory. I focus here on his claim that the second-order formulation of the Axiom of Separation presupposes the character of the power set operation, thereby preventing a thorough study of the power set of infinite sets, a central part of set theory. In reply I argue that substantive issues often cannot be separated from a logic, but rather must be presupposed. I call this the logic-metalogic link. There are two facets to the logic-metalogic link. First, when a logic is entangled with a substantive issue, the same position on that issue should be taken at the meta- level as at the object level; and second, if an expression has a clear meaning in natural language, then the corresponding concept can equally well be deployed in a formal language. The determinate nature of the power set operation is one such substantive issue in set theory. Whether there is a determinate power set of an infinite set can only be presupposed in set theory, not proved, so the use of second-order logic cannot be ruled out by virtue of presupposing one answer to this question. Moreover, the legitimacy of presupposing in the background logic that the power set of an infinite set is determinate is guaranteed by the clarity and definiteness of the notions of all and of subset. This is also exactly what is required for the same presupposition to be legitimately made in an axiomatic set theory, so the use of second-order logic in set theory rather than first-order logic does not require any new metatheoretic commitments.
Towards ultimate scaling limits of phase-change memory

Data storage based on a reversible material phase transition (e.g. amorphous to crystalline) has been studied for nearly five decades. Yet, it was only during the past five years that some phase-change memory technologies (e.g. GeSbTe) have been approaching the physical scaling limits of the smallest possible memory cell. Here we review recent results from our group and others, which have achieved sub-10 nm scale PCM with switching energy approaching single femtojoules per bit. Fundamental limits could be as low as single attojoules per cubic nanometer of the memory material, although approaching such limits in practice appears strongly limited by electrical and thermal parasitics, i.e. contacts and interfaces.
A cross-sectional comparison of ethanol-related cytokine expression in the hippocampus of young and aged Fischer 344 rats.

Abstract Our work in Sprague Dawley rats has shown rapid alterations in neuroimmune gene expression (RANGE) in the hippocampus and paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). These manifest as increased interleukin (IL)-6 and IκBα, and suppressed IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor alpha during acute ethanol intoxication. The present studies tested these effects across the lifespan (young adulthood at 2–3 months; senescence at 18 and 24 months), as well as across strain (Fischer 344) and sex. The hippocampus revealed age-dependent shifts in cytokine expression (IL-6, IL-1β, and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1), but no changes were observed in the PVN at baseline or following ethanol. RANGE in adults was similar across sex and comparable with effects seen in Sprague Dawley rats. Plasma corticosterone levels increased with age, whereas the blood ethanol concentrations and loss of righting reflex were similar in all groups older than 2 months. These findings indicate that the RANGE effect is largely conserved across strain and is durable across age, even in the face of a shifting neuroimmune profile that emerges during immunosenescence.
Structural optimization of an aptamer generated from Ligand-Guided Selection (LIGS) resulted in high affinity variant toward mIgM expressed on Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines

Aptamers are synthetic, short nucleic acid molecules capable of specific target recognition. Aptamers are selected using a screening method termed Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment (SELEX). We recently have introduced a variant of SELEX called "Ligand-Guided-Selection" (LIGS) that allows the identification of specific aptamers against known cell-surface proteins. Utilizing LIGS, we introduced three specific aptamers against membrane-bound IgM (mIgM), which is the hallmark of B cells. Out of the three aptamers selected against mIgM, an aptamer termed R1, in particular, was found to be interesting due to its ability to recognize mIgM on target cells and then block anti-IgM antibodies binding their antigen. We systematically truncated parent aptamer R1 to design shorter variants with enhanced affinity. Importantly, herein we show that the specificity of the most optimized variant of R1 aptamer is similar to that of anti-IgM antibody, indicating that the specificity of the ligand utilized in selective elution of the aptamer determines the specificity of the LIGS-generated aptamer. Furthermore, we report that truncated variants of R1 are able to recognize mIgM-positive human B lymphoma BJAB cells at physiological temperature, demonstrating that LIGS-generated aptamers could be re-optimized into higher affinity variants. Collectively, these findings show the significance of LIGS in generating highly specific aptamers with potential applications in biomedicine.
Software Speculation on Caching DSMs

Clusters with caching DSMs deliver programmability and performance by supporting shared-memory programming model and tolerating communication latency of remote fetches via caching. The input of a data parallel program is partitioned across machines in the cluster while the DSM transparently fetches and caches remote data as needed by the application. Irregular applications are challenging to parallelize because the input related data dependences that manifest at runtime require the use of speculation for efficiently exploiting parallelism. By speculating that there are no cross iteration dependences, multiple iterations of a data parallel loop are executed in parallel using locally cached copies of data; the absence of dependences is validated before committing the speculatively computed results. In this paper we show that in irregular data-parallel applications, while caching helps tolerate long communication latencies, using a value read from the cache in a computation can lead to misspeculation, and thus aggressive caching can degrade performance due to increased misspeculation rate. To limit misspeculation rate we present optimizations for distributed speculation on caching based DSMs that decrease the cost of misspeculation check and speed up the re-execution of misspeculated recomputations. These optimizations give speedups of 2.24 $${\times }$$ for graph coloring, 1.71 $${\times }$$ for connected components, 1.88 $${\times }$$ for community detection, 1.32 $${\times }$$ for shortest path, and 1.74 $${\times }$$ for pagerank over baseline parallel executions.
STUDENTS ACTIVITIES IN SOLVING MATHEMATICS VERBAL QUESTIONS BASED ON VAK LEARNIG STYLES

The purpose of this study is to determine the activities of students who have visual learning style, auditorial, and kinestetik in solving the problem of verbal mathematics.This research is descriptive-qualitative research. Researchers act as the main instrument assisted by interview guides as well as verbal tasks (about the story). The subjects of this study were three students of class VIII-F SMP Negeri 3 Sungguminasa, consisting of one SGBV, SGBA, and SGBK. Data were obtained from job-based interviews. Collected data is analyzed through three stages, namely reviewing data, reducing data, and presenting data. The results of the study generally show: 1) SGBV, SGBA, and SGBK through the three stages of thinking, that is understanding the problem, preparing the settlement plan and carry out the settlement 2) SGBV, SGBA, and SGBK thinking processes tend to be almost the same that is conceptual. 3) The behavior of SGBV, SGBA, and SGBK in solving verbal math problems (SVM) varies
Abstract 1418: G9a methyltransferase plays a role in ATM-dependent DNA damage response

Induction of DNA damage leads to a choreographed set of local chromatin changes that ensures an efficient recruitment of DNA repair factors. One principal regulator of the DNA Damage Response (DDR) signaling pathway is ATM kinase, which phosphorylates key factors at early stages of the response. G9a protein methyltransferase has been identified as a novel substrate for ATM. We have found that G9a localizes to sites of DNA damage in an ATM-dependent fashion and that inhibition of its activity affects recruitment of multiple DNA repair factors. Moreover G9a catalytic inhibition using UNC0638 leads to hyperactivation of ATM induced by DNA breaks. This was associated with an increased ATM-dependent “spreading” of pH2AX and MDC1 signals seen at regions of localized DNA breaks induced by UV-laser scissors. These data suggest that G9a activity is required for regulating the extent of ATM activation as well as for efficient recruitment of downstream DNA repair factors. Biochemical data will be presented that explore potential mechanisms for these findings. Overall our data suggests that G9a plays a critical role in the regulation of ATM-dependent signaling during the DNA damage response, and raises the possibility of using G9a inhibitors to target cancers with certain DNA repair defects. Citation Format: Lizahira Rodriguez-Colon, Vasudeva Ginjala, Atul Kulkarni, Safia Ansari, Shridar Ganesan. G9a methyltransferase plays a role in ATM-dependent DNA damage response [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1418. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1418
The cortisol awakening response after sleep deprivation: Is the cortisol awakening response a “response” to awakening or a circadian process?:

This study tested whether the cortisol awakening response is dependent on the transition from sleep to awakening, or alternatively, a circadian-driven process that is independent of awakening. A total of 40 participants were randomly assigned to either a total sleep deprivation or a sleep condition. Salivary cortisol was also assessed. Participants in the sleep condition demonstrated a traditional cortisol awakening response, whereas participants in the total sleep deprivation condition showed no increases in morning cortisol. These results are consistent with the notion that if circadian-driven processes are related to the cortisol awakening response, they may only be activated when awakening occurs or is anticipated.
Academic Promotion for Special Groups of Faculty

As promotion systems are based on very traditional concepts of departments and faculty roles, individuals may encounter challenges in fully articulating their roles and evidence for promotion within the terminology or documentation format of the system. Examples include non-full-time and volunteer faculty members as well as clinicians based in nonclinical departments, regional campuses, and affiliated institutions. A complete and persuasive application is especially important to ensure reviewers understand the unique situation of such applicants.
Magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy guided atomistic characterization of structure and dynamics in HIV-1 protein assemblies

Abstract Since its discovery, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been an intense subject of research. Several biophysical methodologies have aided towards understanding of the viral lifecycle and infectivity. Magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has played a pivotal role in several key findings, providing atomistic details about the viral particles. These contributions have been made owing to tremendous advancements in NMR instrumentation, development of novel experiments and hybrid approaches combining NMR and computational methodologies. In this review, we highlight some advances made towards characterization of structure and dynamics in HIV-1 assemblies by MAS NMR spectroscopy. These findings have established MAS NMR spectroscopy is a promising methodology to investigate large biological assemblies such as viral particles and HIV-1 protein assemblies.
Primary Non-Response to Tumor Necrosis Factor Antagonists is Associated with Inferior Response to Second-line Biologics in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background and aims We sought to analyze whether response to a second-line biologic varies depending on the reason for discontinuation of the primary anti-TNF agent (primary non-response [PNR], secondary loss of response [LOR] after initial response, or intolerance), through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods Through a systematic search through May 31, 2017, we identified eight randomized controlled trials [RCTs] of biologics in patients with IBD with prior exposure to anti-TNF agents, that stratified response to second-line therapy by reason for discontinuing primary anti-TNF therapy [PNR vs. LOR vs. intolerance]. We estimated relative risk [RR] (and 95% confidence interval [CI]) of achieving clinical remission in patients with PNR as compared with patients with LOR, and intolerance, through random effects meta-analysis. Results As compared with patients who discontinued prior anti-TNF due to intolerance, patients with prior PNR were 24% less likely to achieve remission with second-line biologics (RR,0.76 [0.61-0.96]). As compared with patients who discontinued prior anti-TNF due to LOR, patients with prior PNR were 27% less likely to achieve remission with induction therapy with second-line biologics (RR,0.73 [0.56-0.97]), particularly to ustekinumab (RR,0.64 [0.52-0.80]). There was no difference in response to vedolizumab in patients with prior PNR or LOR to anti-TNF agents (RR,1.16 [0.85-1.58]). Conclusion Patients with PNR to anti-TNF agents are less likely to respond to second-line non-TNF biologics, as compared with patients who discontinued therapy due to secondary LOR or intolerance. This may be attributed to underlying pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of anti-TNF agents in patients with PNR.
“Entrepreneur as a Person at Crossroads”: A Reflection on Kets de Vries (1977)

This chapter provides a reflection on Kets de Vries (J Manag Stud, 14(1):34–57, 1977). Kets de Vries’s article (J Manag Stud, 14(1):34–57, 1977) is considered a core article in early entrepreneurship literature because it is among the first to propose a synthesized view of entrepreneurial personality traits with a focus on interactions between individuals and environments. Kets de Vries (J Manag Stud, 14(1):34–57, 1977) discussed personality traits common across entrepreneurial types and investigated the impact of social and economic forces on the formation of entrepreneurship personality traits. Kets de Vries (J Manag Stud, 14(1):34–57, 1977) also warned of the potential danger and downside of entrepreneurial personality traits. This chapter also reviews later studies done on entrepreneurial personality traits that adopted a synthesized view and discusses the current themes in recent studies and directions for future research.
How near is the bionic future

For decades, futurists and science fiction writers have dreamed about replacing malfunctioning human organs with manufactured devices. One of the most significant steps towards realizing this dream was the implantation of an artificial permanent replacement heart in Dr. Barney Clark on December 2, 1982. The commotion surrounding this event was undoubtedly due to the expectations of Western society that the era of the “bionic man” had become a reality. Reports were broadcast on every national television network, published in every major American newspaper and newsmagazine, and picked up in most international capitals [1]. While the bionic future is still a few years down the road, progress made in biotechnology, understanding of human physiology, biomaterials, and microelectronics over the past few decades has unquestionably shortened the travel time.
Neonatal testis tumors: a review of the Prepubertal Testis Tumor Registry.

AbstractSince 1980, 338 testis tumors have been registered in the Prepubertal Testis Tumor Registry of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Urology. Of these tumors 22 occurred in neonates less than 1 month old, of which 7 (31%) were diagnosed at birth. The distribution of lesions in this group revealed 6 yolk sac tumors, 6 gonadal stromal tumors, 6 juvenile granulosa cell tumors, 2 gonadoblastomas, 1 teratoma and 1 hamartoma. Preoperative serum α-fetoprotein levels were available for 10 patients and ranged from 23 to 61,700ng./ml., which is within normal limits. No patient had evidence of metastatic disease at presentation. Of the 18 children in whom followup is available 17 have no evidence of disease and 1, who was diagnosed with a yolk sac tumor before the advent of chemotherapy, died of metastatic disease before reaching age 1 year. Although neonatal testis tumors are rare, they should be considered in the differential diagnosis and management of a newborn with a scrotal mass.
Crime and Violence as Development Issues in Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper discusses this region's recent epidemic crime and violence as impediments to the realization of sustainable economic growth and the reduction of poverty. The primary focus of this paper is not to equate the problem of illegal drugs and narcotics trafficking with crime and violence but to demonstrate that illegal drugs and narcotics trafficking are part of a larger problem of economic and social decay. Regional data for crime and violence are grossly inadequate. It is necessary to enhance the knowledge-base about the nature, extent, and evolution of these pathologies. Crime and violence erode the development of both physical and human capital. This paper focuses on the following key policy domains of a development agenda: (i) programs to combat urban poverty; (ii) targeted programs in urban areas, in particular those targeted on vulnerable groups such as at-risk youth and women; (iii) programs designed to build or strengthen social capital; (iv) programs to improve the capacity of governments, especially municipal governments, to prevent and reduce crime and violent through community involvement and partnerships with civil society and the private sector; and (v) programs to reform the criminal justice system.
Silicon Photonic Switch Fabrics: Technology and Architecture

Photonic switching technologies show potential for transforming communication networks across diverse markets from long-haul to short-reach distance scales due to their large bandwidth density, high energy efficiency, and potential for low cost. In recent years, numerous outstanding advancements have been made in scaled silicon photonic switching fabrics: spanning a variety of manufacturing platforms and packaging methods, relying on different switching mechanisms, and assembled on-chip in a diverse mixture of loosely related architectures. This paper reviews the current approaches employed by leading researchers in this area, and surveys the state of the art in achieved performance at both the technological and the architectural level. Specifically, we consider thermo-optic, electro-optic, and MEMS-based switch actuation embedded in Mach–Zehnder interferometer, ring resonator, and directional coupler based silicon photonic switches. We define common metrics and compare performances. We outline critical requirements for constructing scaled switch fabrics from elementary cells. We investigate similarities and differences between a number of commonly utilized topologies. And, we survey recent accomplishments in scaled switch fabrics at the chip and package level. Moving these demonstrations from research to product will require many further advancements, and we highlight areas that we believe will be critical for market adoption.
Adults’ sensitivity to graphotactic differences within the English vocabulary

Linguists have described the English vocabulary as including Latinate and basic subsystems. In three experiments with a total of 93 participants, we asked whether skilled readers are sensitive to graphotactic differences between these systems. Participants saw pairs of nonwords and were asked to choose the item in each pair that appeared more wordlike. Participants were more likely to select an item with an onset and an ending that suggested the same system than an item with a mismatch. Participants also used the presence of a single versus double medial consonant as a marker of the system to which an item belongs. The results suggest that skilled readers have learned about some of the graphotactic differences between Latinate and basic words and do not treat English as a monolithic system.
Deformation twinning and grain partitioning in a hexagonal close-packed magnesium alloy

Pervasive deformation twinning in magnesium greatly affects its strength and formability. The local stress fields associated with twinning play a key role on deformation behavior and fracture but are extremely difficult to characterize experimentally. In this study, we perform synchrotron experiments with differential-aperture X-ray microscopy to measure the 3D stress fields in the vicinity of a twin with a spatial resolution of 0.5 micrometer. The measured local stress field aids to identify the sequence of events involved with twinning. We find that the selected grain deforms elastically before twinning, and the twin formation splits the grain into two non-interacting domains. Under further straining one domain of the grain continued to deform elastically, whereas the other domain deforms plastically by prismatic slip. This heterogeneous deformation behavior may be mediated by the surrounding medium and it is likely to lead to asymmetric twin growth.
Allergen-induced histaminergic and non-histaminergic activation of itch C-fiber nerve terminals in mouse skin

Acute cutaneous exposure to allergen often leads to itch, but seldom pain. The effect of mast cell activation on cutaneous C-fibers was studied using innervated isolated mouse skin preparation that allows for intra-arterial delivery of chemicals to the nerve terminals in the skin. Allergen (ovalbumin) injection into the isolated skin of actively sensitized mice strongly stimulated chloroquine (CQ)-sensitive C-fibers (also referred to as "itch" nerves); on the other hand, CQ-insensitive C-fibers were activated only modestly, if at all. The histamine H1 receptor antagonist pyrilamine abolished itch C-fibers response to histamine, but failed to significantly reduce the response to ovalbumin. Ovalbumin also strongly activated itch C-fibers in skin isolated from Mrgpr-cluster Δ-/- mice. When pyrilamine was studied in the Mrgpr-cluster Δ-/- mice thereby eliminating the influence of both histamine H1 and Mrgpr receptors (MrgprA3 and C11 are selectively expressed by itch nerves), the ovalbumin response was very nearly eliminated. The data indicate that the acute activation of itch C-fibers in mouse skin is largely secondary to the combined effect of activation of histamine H1 and Mrpgr receptors.
Assessment During and After Surgery or Interventional Procedures on the Mitral Valve

This chapter provides an overview of the role of three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) in surgical and percutaneous mitral valve procedures. Throughout the chapter, numerous still images and videos are provided to illustrate the incremental values of 3DE in these procedures. The chapter starts with the description of 3DE imaging of surgical mitral valve replacements and repairs. The 3DE appearance of major types of mechanical and bioprosthetic valves is given including Starr-Edwards, Medtronic Hall, St Jude, and Carpentier Edwards prosthetic valves. Thereafter, an overview of common surgical mitral valve repairs including the Alfieri stitch is discussed. Next, an overview of 3DE in percutaneous alternatives to surgical repairs of native and prosthetic mitral regurgitant lesions is provided including the mitral valve clipping and percutaneous closures of prosthetic paravalvular leaks. The chapter concludes with a description of the role of 3DE in percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty of rheumatic mitral stenosis.
A Method for Detection of Walls and Large Flat Surfaces in Through-the-Wall SAR Imaging

Through-the-wall imaging using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) provides high-resolution images of hidden objects behind the walls which has many applications in military, security, and rescue operations. Besides imaging of hidden objects, detection of walls provides complete map of buildings’ interiors features such as rooms, corridors, and hidden pathways which is required for path planning and threat assessment in rescue and military operations. Unlike targets with small surface size, each point on flat walls provide reflection at certain directions. In this case, forming the image using the entire large aperture has a destructive effect on the image of some points on the wall surface. As a result, in high resolution SAR, the walls are imaged as few discrete points instead of solid lines which may be interpreted as few discrete closely spaced targets. In this paper, a method is presented to discriminate walls and objects with large flat surfaces from limited size objects and determine the existing walls locations and orientations inside the imaged area.
Machine Learning Approach for Sequence Clustering with Applications to Ground-Motion Selection

AbstractClustering analysis of sequential data is of great interest and importance in many science and engineering areas thanks to the explosive growth of time-series data. Effective methods, espec...
Cylinder-Pack Modeling of Open-Cell Metal Foam for Flow and Heat Transfer

Because of its morphology, accessible huge surface, and high porosity, open-cell metal foam has been investigated for flow and heat transfer applications. Capturing the actual knotted internal structure of the foam is rather expensive and time-consuming. Some researchers have relied on geometrical idealization of the actual structure in order to save on computational time and cost. However, some of these idealizations are ad hoc and often do not necessarily exhibit intimate relationship to the actual foam, especially in terms of key properties that control flow and heat transfer in the foam. This study investigates certain staggered arrangement of thin vertical cylinders that can provide the same transport effects as a given foam with known morphology. The average cell diameter, surface area density, and porosity are used to describe the foam. The transverse pitch of the cylinders is chosen such that the surface area density of the foam and that of the cylinders is equal. The diagonal pitch is determined based on the staggering arrangement of the cylinders, while the diameter of a typical cylinder is calculated from the porosity of the foam. By founding a robust, yet minimal, technique for representing the complex morphology of the foam, substantial savings in computational time and effort will be realized.
Machine learned approach for estimating myocardial blood flow from dynamic CT and coronary artery disease risk factors

Estimating myocardial blood flow (MBF) is essential for diagnosing and risk stratifying myocardial ischemia. Currently, positron emission tomography (PET) is a gold standard for non-invasive, quantitative MBF measurements. In this work, we compare our machine learning derived MBF estimates to PET derived estimates, and 2-compartmental model derived MBF estimates. Our best performing model (ensemble regression tree) had a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.47 ml/min/g. Comparatively, the compartmental model achieved an RMSE of 0.80 ml/min/g. Including CAD risk factors improved flow estimation accuracy for models that trained on feature selected TAC data and worsened accuracy for models that trained on PCA data. Overall, our machine learning approach produces comparable MBF estimations to verified DCE-CT and PET estimates and can provide rapid assessments for myocardial ischemia.
3D pore microstructures and computer simulation: Effective permeabilities and capillary pressure during drainage in Opalinus Clay

The 3D reconstruction of the pore space in Opalinus Clay is faced with the difficulty that high-resolution imaging methods reach their limits at the nanometer-sized pores in this material. Until now it has not been possible to image the whole pore space with pore sizes that span two orders of magnitude. Therefore, it has not been possible to predict the transport properties of this material with the help computer simulations that require 3D pore structures as input. Following the concept of self-similarity, a digital pore microstructure was constructed from a real but incomplete pore microstructure. The constructed pore structure has the same pore size spectrum as measured in the laboratory. Computer simulations were used to predict capillary pressure curves during drainage, which also agree with laboratory data. It is predicted, that two-phase transport properties such as the evolution of effective permeability as well as capillary pressures during drainage depend both on transport directions, which should be considered for Opalinus Clay when assessing its suitability as host rock for nuclear waste. This directional dependence is controlled on the pore scale by a geometric anisotropy in the pore space.
Solar activity and number of live births in Massachusetts neonates 2000-2015

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Previous studies have shown a possible effect of solar energy on pregnancy and fetal growth. The objective of the present study is to investigate the impact of solar and geomagn...
Senolytic Therapy to Modulate the Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease (SToMP-AD): A Pilot Clinical Trial

Preclinical studies indicate an age-associated accumulation of senescent cells across multiple organ systems. Emerging evidence suggests that tau protein accumulation, which closely correlates with cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease and other tauopathies, drives cellular senescence in the brain. Pharmacologically clearing senescent cells in mouse models of tauopathy reduced brain pathogenesis. Compared to vehicle treated mice, intermittent senolytic administration reduced tau accumulation and neuroinflammation, preserved neuronal and synaptic density, restored aberrant cerebral blood flow, and reduced ventricular enlargement. Intermittent dosing of the senolytics, dasatinib plus quercetin, has shown an acceptable safety profile in clinical studies for other senescence-associated conditions. With these data, we proposed and herein describe the objectives and methods for a clinical vanguard study. This initial open-label clinical trial pilots an intermittent senolytic combination therapy of dasatinib plus quercetin in five older adults with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. The primary objective is to evaluate the central nervous system penetration of dasatinib and quercetin through analysis of cerebrospinal fluid collected at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment. Further, through a series of secondary outcome measures to assess target engagement of the senolytic compounds and Alzheimer’s disease-relevant cognitive, functional, and physical outcomes, we will collect preliminary data on safety, feasibility, and efficacy. The results of this study will be used to inform the development of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter phase II trial to further explore of the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of senolytics for modulating the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Clinicaltrials.gov registration number and date: NCT04063124 (08/21/2019).
Learning Common Tools Across the Office Suite

To save you time and effort, the Office apps have many common features, starting with the three elements you use to give most commands: the menu bar, the Ribbon control interface, and the Quick Access Toolbar.
Evaluation of high‐frequency oceanographic signal in GRACE data: Implications for de‐aliasing

[1] The sub-monthly portion of a recent daily-resolution GRACE data set (ITG-Grace2010) is evaluated over the ocean by comparing with the high-frequency component of sea level variability measured by satellite altimetry. The current Atmosphere and Ocean De-aliasing (AOD) model used to remove the high-frequency non-tidal ocean mass variations in GRACE data processing is also assessed. We demonstrate that the OMCT-based AOD model does not adequately represent the true sub-monthly variability in non-tidal ocean mass variability, but that ITG-Grace2010 does. The differences are not small, and indicate that a new model, or a data set derived from sub-monthly GRACE information, should be considered for de-aliasing in future GRACE processing.
Coherent structures in turbulent flow

It is customary to say that the problem of turbulence remains the outstanding challenge of fluid dynamics, but in fact the concerted efforts of many scientists and engineers over the years have led to a considerable body of useful knowledge. The three processes of cataloguing, curve fitting and 'postdicting' are well under control. If there is a problem, it is partly because we now ask harder questions and are more concerned with prediction and control; or we hanker for the E1 Dorado of a general theory and the chimaera of simple understanding. The purpose of this meeting is to consider if coherent structures are the road to the promised land, to decide if we are right to retreat from the statistical approaches of energy spectra, correlations, the Reynolds equation, etc., and to examine critically the prospects for a deterministic approach to turbulent flow. Put briefly, is the understanding and description of vortex dynamics the key to turbulence? The concept of coherent structure or organized eddy is of course not exactly new. In a sense, the mixing length theories of Taylor and Prandtl, in which momentum or vorticity is convected by a blob of fluid, use a vague kind of physical entity as the basis for transport or mixing. More formally, Synge & Lin Eli proposed 37 years ago a model of isotropic turbulence as a random superposition of Hill Spherical Vortices (H.S.V's). The H.S.V. is an exact solution of the Euler equations (in fact it would be an exact solution of the Navier-Stokes equations except that the viscous stresses are not continuous across the boundary) in which the vorticity is confined to the interior of a sphere, the only non-zero component being the azimuthal with magnitude (15U/2R2)y, where U = IUI is the speed and R the radius of the sphere. Associ' ated with the H.S.V. is a kinetic energy (i0/7) p~U2R 3, and a hydrodynamic impulse I = 2D~R3U. The velocity field at a point r relative ~ ~
Energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis of the electrolytes in biological bulk specimen. II. Age-dependent alterations in the monovalent ion contents of cell nucleus and cytoplasm in rat liver and brain cells.

Energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis was carried out on the nucleus and cytoplasm of large brain cortical and liver cells of young, adult and old (1, 12 and 24 months of age, respectively) female Wistar rats, using a new method for preparation of freeze-dried bulk specimens. It was found that the K + , Na + and Cl − contents per unit dry mass in the nucleus in both tissues significantly increased except the K + content of the hepatocyte nucleus between 1 and 24 months of age. At the same time, in the cytoplasm some ions increased, others decreased or remained unchanged. There is an age-dependent intracellular water loss the extent of which is not known for the tissues studied, however, in human organism it averages about 10–14% between 20 and 99 years. Therefore, intranuclear and intracytoplasmic ionic strengths of the rat tissues studied were calculated assuming 2–6% water loss between 1 and 24 months of age. Already a water loss of 2% results in considerable increases of the ionic strength within the cell water even in those cases where the dry mass fraction values slightly decreased or remained unchanged. The values obtained in the old cell nuclei reach ranges of ionic strength where nonhistonic regulatory proteins are separated from the chromatin in vitro . The results are discussed in the light of recent biochemical observations.
Biologically Inspired Neural Computation

The development of intelligent machines that are capable of robust sensory perception has been an elusive task for those involved in machine intelligence. Indeed, although machines have been developed for performing on the order of 1012 floating-point operations per second, they have not been able to outperform human infants at such simple tasks as face recognition. As a result, many researchers have turned their sights to the inner workings of the biological brain itself in the hope of finding clues to the development of more robust machine perception, thus spawning the field of biologically inspired computation. It should be noted that biologically inspired computation includes many topics that are not directly related to the function of the nervous system, such as genetic algorithms and molecular or DNA computing. However, within the context of neural networks, biologically inspired computation can be described as the development and implementation of models and algorithms that imitate the behavior of individual nerve cells (or neurons) as well as groups or nuclei of synaptically interconnected neurons. This article discusses the relationship between the biological neuron and popular artificial neural networks that have been used in the scientific literature. In addition, applications of neural networks that are exemplary of their biological origin will be presented. Keywords: neuron; neural networks; machine intelligence; biological; computational; synapse
The time-optimal control problem in Banach spaces

We show here that a variant of Pontryagin's maximum principle holds for time-optimal trajectories of the systemu′ = Au + f that begin and end at the domain ofA. HereA is the infinitesimal generator of a strongly continuous semigroupS(·) in the reflexive Banach spaceE. This partly generalizes a result of Balakrishnan ([1]) where no conditions are assumed on the trajectories but whereS(t) is supposed to beonto for allt ≥ 0. A weakened version of the maximum principle is then proved forall time-optimal trajectories whenA generates an analytic semigroup andE is a Hilbert space. Finally, the results are modified to handle two examples involving the heat equation where the spaceE is not reflexive.
Current trends in venous thromboembolism among persons hospitalized with acute traumatic spinal cord injury: does early access to rehabilitation matter?

Abstract Selassie AW, Varma A, Saunders LL. Current trends in venous thromboembolism among persons hospitalized with acute traumatic spinal cord injury: does early access to rehabilitation matter? Objective To determine the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) among patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in acute care settings that is attributable to extended length of stay (LOS), insurance status, and access to rehabilitation. Design Population-based, retrospective cohort study. Setting Levels I through III and undesignated trauma centers. Participants Patients with acute TSCI (N=3389) discharged from all acute care hospitals in South Carolina from 1998 through 2009, and a representative sample of patients with TSCI (n=186) interviewed 1 year later. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure VTE while in acute care. Results Annual incidence of TSCI is 67.2 per million in the state of South Carolina, while the cumulative incidence of VTE is 4.1%. Patients with TSCI who developed VTE were nearly 4 times more likely (odds ratio [OR], 3.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.57–6.17) to have been those who stayed 12 days or longer in acute care after adjusting for covariates. The adjusted mean LOS in acute care was 32.0 days (95% CI, 27.7–37.2) for patients with TSCI who had indigent insurance versus 11.3 days (95% CI, 4.9–17.6) for Medicare, and 18.5 days (95% CI, 14.5–22.5) for commercial insurance after adjusting for VTE, disposition, and year of discharge. Only 20% of the persons under indigent care received rehabilitation from accredited rehabilitation facilities in contrast to 60% under commercial insurance. Conclusions Fewer patients with TSCI under indigent care received postacute rehabilitation compared with Medicare or commercial insurance. Insurance status remains a major barrier to timely transfer to rehabilitation, leading to protracted LOS in acute care with increased risk of VTE.
Terms of Trade, Competitive Advantage, and Trade Patterns

This paper investigates the competitive determination of the pattern of trade, seen as a choice of technique problem within a two-country, two-commodity, circulating capital model. It seeks to re-examine the analytical premises of the principle of comparative advantage. The establishment of competitive advantage is addressed in a Sraffian framework that allows the integration of the choice of technique problem to issues of growth and distribution. The focus is on exploring the validity of this principle when capital is internationally immobile—the context in which the principle was first postulated. Capital immobility imparts a degree freedom to the model. Closing the model and establishing a trade outcome on the basis of the principle of comparative advantage depends on the specification of appropriate boundary conditions. These boundary conditions boil down to some specification of relative scales of the trading partners and the scope for complete specialization and mutually beneficial gains from trade ...