cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Demodicosis: An unusual presentation of small lymphocytic lymphoma

Abstract Rationale Demodex follicularum, a 0.3 mm long transparent mite, has the prevalence of 100% in human pilosebaceous follicles. Histopathological findings of Demodex include: follicular dilatation, a presence of eosinophilic concentration around the mites, folliculitis, and perifollicular chronic inflammation. Methods A 69-year-old male presented to a dermatologist after his veterinarian neighbor advised him that he should seek dermatological care for his “mange-like” skin rash. The patient admitted to a six-month history of pustules, and papules involving the entire body. The patient states that his rash occurred shortly after arriving in Panama. In Panama, the patient became ill with a fever and emesis. Initially, the patient was treated with Kenalog, various topical steroids, permethrin cream, Selsun lotion 2.5%, Sulfur Aid soap, and Ivermectin12 mg with no improvement. An underlying immune system abnormality was suspected and Immunology was consulted. Results Immunoglobin levels, IgG subclass levels and pneumococcal antibodies were obtained and were found to be consistent with hypogammaglobulinemia. Three months later the demodex rash cleared. The patient was give a Pneumovax booster and was told to follow-up in one year. A year later the patient presented to the immunologist with a recurrence of a similar rash with the new complaints of dizziness, and cervical and left axillary lymphadenopathy. FACS and biopsy were consistent with the diagnosis of CD-38 positive chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma. Conclusions We believe that this case represents a unique presentation of CLL. Immunosuppression secondary to the lymphoma, led to the development of the Demodex proliferation in the pilosebaceous follicles, leading to the development of Demodicosis.
Human Regulatory T Cells Kill Tumor Cells through Granzyme-Dependent Cytotoxicity Upon Retargeting with a Bispecific Antibody

A major mechanism by which human regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been shown to suppress and kill autologous immune cells is through the granzyme-perforin pathway. However, it is unknown whether Tregs also possess the capacity to kill tumor cells using similar mechanisms. Bispecific antibodies (bscAbs) have emerged as a promising class of therapeutics that activate T cells against tumor antigens without the need for classical MHC-restricted TCR recognition. Here, we show that a bscAb targeting the tumor-specific mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFRvIII, redirects human CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Tregs to kill glioblastoma (GBM) cells. This activity was significantly abrogated by inhibitors of the granzyme-perforin pathway. Notably, analyses of human primary GBM also displayed diffuse infiltration of granzyme-expressing FoxP3+ T cells. Together, these data suggest that despite their known suppressive functions, tumor-infiltrating Tregs possess potent cytotoxic mechanisms that can be co-opted for efficient tumor cell lysis.
Nitroamino Triazoles: Nitrogen‐Rich Precursors of Stable Energetic Salts

1-Nitroamino-1,2,3-triazole (5) was synthesized and its zwitterionic structure was established using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The calculated detonation properties for 4-nitroamino-1,2,4-triazole (2) (P = 33.4 GPa, vD = 8793 m/s) and 1-nitroamino-1,2,3-triazole (5) (P = 33.0 GPa, vD = 8743 m/s) are comparable with RDX. A new family of energetic salts 7–21 based on either the 1-nitroamino-1,2,3-triazolate or the 4-nitroamino-1,2,4-triazolate anion were prepared and characterized by vibrational spectroscopy (IR), multinuclear NMR spectra, elemental analyses, density, TGA and DSC. The heats of formation (ΔfH°298) and detonation properties for these stable salts were calculated using Gaussian 03 and Cheetah 4.0, respectively. Comparison of the properties of the 1,2,3- and 1,2,4-triazolate salts indicates that while the 1,2,4-derivatives are more stable thermally, the 1,2,3-analogs invariably have higher heats of formation. In contrast to its salts, 1-nitroamino-1,2,3-triazole (5) is extremely shock-sensitive with an impact sensitivty of <1 J. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008)
Dynamic wake-up and topology maintenance protocols with spatiotemporal guarantees

Many mission-critical applications require spatiotemporal data services for mobile users or objects. Examples include distributed object tracking and fire monitoring by firefighters. To support such applications, wireless sensor networks must satisfy a set of stringent spatiotemporal constraints despite having low network duty cycles and scarce resources. We have developed two new wake-up and topology maintenance protocols, directional tree maintenance (DTM) and omnidirectional tree creation (OTC), to support spatiotemporal services in mobile environments. A key feature of our protocols is that they provide robust spatiotemporal performance while maintaining low overhead and energy consumption. Our simulations showed that both DTM and OTC can successfully deliver over 85% of query results to a mobile user within desired spatiotemporal constraints, even when the sleep schedule is as long as 15 s, the user changes direction every minute, and the location error is as high as 10 m. The benefits of our protocols have been validated through theoretical analysis and empirical results on a testbed of Mica2 motes.
NEW HOST AND ELEVATION RECORDS FOR MONEILEMA APPRESSUM LECONTE (COLEOPTERA: CERAMBYCIDAE: LAMIINAE)

An isolated population of Moneilema appressum LeConte was discovered above Long Park in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona (318529440N, 1098179120W) during July 2001. Specimens of this flightless lamiine cerambycid were observed hiding and walking in the junctures of Echinocereus coccineus Engelmann (Cactaceae) at 2,760 m (9,055 feet). These data represent new host plant and elevation records for this species.
Bayes-cost reduction algorithm in quantum hypothesis testing (Corresp.)

An iterative procedure is described for reducing the Bayes cost in decisions among M>2 quantum hypotheses by minimizing the average cost in binary decisions between all possible pairs of hypotheses: the resulting decision strategy is a projection-valued measure and yields an upper bound to the minimum attainable Bayes cost. From it is derived an algorithm for finding the optimum measurement states for choosing among M linearly independent pure states with minimum probability of error. The method is also applied to decisions among M unimodal coherent quantum signals in thermal noise.
Experimental Evidence of Improved Transthoracic Defibrillation With Electroporation-Enhancing Pulses

There is considerable work on defibrillation wave form optimization. This paper determines the impedance changes during defibrillation, then uses that information to derive the optimum defibrillation wave form. Methods Part I: Twelve guinea pigs and six swine were used to measure the current wave form for square voltage pulses of a strength which would defibrillate about 50% of the time. In guinea pigs, electrodes were placed thoracically, abdominally and subcutaneously using two electrode materials (zinc and steel) and two electrode pastes (Core-gel and metallic paste). Results Part I: The measured current wave form indicated an exponentially increasing conductance over the first 3 ms, consistent with enhanced electroporation or another mechanism of time-dependent conductance. We fit this current with a parallel conductance composed of a time-independent component (g0=1.22plusmn0.28 mS) and a time-dependent component described by gDelta(1-e-t tau/), where gDelta=0.95plusmn0.20 mS and tau=0.82plusmn0.17 ms in guinea pigs using zinc and Cor-gel. Different electrode placements and materials had no significant effect on this fit. From our fit, we determined the stimulating wave form that would theoretically charge the myocardial membrane to a given threshold using the least energy from the defibrillator. The solution was a very short, high voltage pulse followed immediately by a truncated ascending exponential tail. Methods PART II: The optimized wave forms and similar nonoptimized wave forms were tested for efficacy in 25 additional guinea pigs and six additional swine using methods similar to Part I. Results Part II: Optimized wave forms were significantly more efficacious than similar nonoptimized wave forms. In swine, a wave form with the short pulse was 41% effective while the same wave form without the short pulse was 8.3% effective (p<0.03) despite there being only a small difference in energy (111 J versus 116 J). Conclusions: We conclude that a short pulse preceding a defibrillation pulse significantly improves efficacy, perhaps by enhancing electroporation
Docosahexaenoic acid and smoking-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

If the inflammatory response to inhalation of cigarette smoke causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), suppression of that natural response might be beneficial. We hypothesized that a smoker's risk of developing COPD is inversely related to physiologic levels of two fatty acids that have antiinflammatory properties: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6). The proportion of each fatty acid in plasma lipids was measured in 2,349 current or former smokers. COPD was identified and defined by clinical symptoms and/or spirometry. After adjustment for smoking exposure and other possible confounders, the prevalence odds of COPD were inversely related to the DHA (but not to the EPA) content of plasma lipid components in most of the models. For example, as compared with the first quartile of the DHA distribution, the prevalence odds ratios (ORs) for chronic bronchitis were 0.98, 0.88, and 0.69 for the second, third, and fourth quartiles, respectively (p for linear trend...
Calibration-free image sensor model for an arbitrary pan-tilt plane of view

This paper presents a calibration-free approach to modelling image sensors applicable in various pan-tilt planes of view. The proposed technique utilises known sensor's mechanical and electrical properties and constructs the model. The sensor's effective focal length is first estimated by known lens properties and is used to approximate the lens system by a thick lens and its properties. This is followed by the derivation of calibration-free distortion effects factor to characterise distortion effects inherent in the sensor, and subsequently generates the corrected image data. As a result, this does not require experimental setup or calibration and reduces the dependency on the quality of image data. Using sensors with three different specifications, an experiment was constructed to evaluate the accuracy and robustness of a model created by proposed modelling process. The proposed modelling process has also shown itself to be robust and, in comparison to conventional process, improved the accuracy significantly.
Biosynthesis of vancomycin: identification of TDP-glucose: aglycosyl-vancomycin glucosyltransferase from Amycolatopsis orientalis

An enzyme was identified from Amycolatopsis orientalis as TDP-glucose:aglycosyl vancomycin glucosyltransferase. It catalyzes the addition of a sugar onto the peptide core of the antibiotic and will use TDP-Glc, UDP-Glc and UDP-Gal as co-substrates for the transferase reaction. The peptide core of the antibiotic must have a free hydroxyl group on ring B and a specific change in the conformation of the core eliminated activity of the enzyme. Enzyme activity was optimal at pH values between 9.0 and 10.0 and a temperature of 37°C. Under these conditions, the enzyme reaction is linear for one hour. Gel filtration studies demonstrated that all the enzyme activity eluted from the column at a molecular weight of 44 kDa. This is the first report of an enzyme activity that appears to be associated with the biosynthesis of glycopeptide antibiotics.
Including auroral oval boundaries in the IRI model

At the last International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) Workshop it was decided that future editions of the model should include a representationof the aurroral oval boundaries. In this paper we review the different existing parameterizations of the auroral oval discussing their data base, boundary criteria, matematical formation, and overall usefulness for IRI. As a first candidate for incorporation into IRI we recomment the parameterization of the Feldstein ovals by Holzworth and Meng. Ways of implementing this model into IRI are discussed. We will also address adjustability with user-provided boundaries or boundary-related parameters, to better support strom-related studies.
STRUCTURAL IMPERATIVES BEHIND RACIAL CHANGE IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

While it is agreed that capital made use of race to restructure for more profitable production, there have been few attempts to incorporate race within the general framework of historical materialist inquiry and class politics. This paper discusses the social construction of race in Birmingham, Alabama for the industrial, Fordist, and post-Fordist phases of U.S. capitalist development. No other industrial city in America would rely upon black labor so early in its industrial development as Birmingham, providing the opportunity to examine the social construction of race from an early stage of industrial capitalism. While southern periodizations of capitalist development correspond in some ways to those of the regulationists, they also diverge in other important ways, precisely because the southern road to capitalism was different, defining the path for the entry of blacks into capital-labor relations.
A Procedure for Using Multi-Electrode Information in the Analysis of Components of the Event-Related Potential: Vector Filter

This paper describes a procedure, Vector filter, based on a multiple regression model, which decomposes the event-related brain potential into components on the basis of scalp distribution. It is assumed that the voltage values observed at several electrode sites at any point in time are given by the linear combination of a set of components and background noise and that the scalp distribution of each component is invariant and known. Each component's scalp distribution is expressed by a set of weights, one for each electrode. The amplitude of the component, at any point in time, is then derived using a least squares criterion. Unlike other component decomposition procedures, Vector filter can be applied when the latency of a component varies as a function of trial, condition, or subject population. We review two problems in the use of the procedure: the selection of the set of components, and the derivation of the scalp distribution of each of the components. Two applications of the procedure are discussed: identification of the component structure of an event-related potential waveform, and filtering of a waveform for a particular component.
Regulation of suppressors of cytokine signaling as a therapeutic approach in autoimmune diseases, with an emphasis on multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating, presumably autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Among the available MS therapies, interferon (IFN)β and the recently introduced statins have been reported to exert their immunomodulatory effects through the induction of SOCS1 and SOCS3 in various inflammatory cell subsets. The SOCS proteins negatively regulate cytokine and Toll-like receptors- (TLR-) induced signaling in the inflammatory cells. SOCS1 and SOCS3 have been reported to play an important role in the regulation of Th17-cell differentiation through their effects on the cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems. IFNβ and statins inhibit Th17-cell differentiation directly and indirectly via induction of SOCS1 and SOCS3 expression in monocytes, dendritic cells (DCs), and B-cells. Due to their rapid induction and degradation, and SOCS-mediated regulation of multiple cytokine-signaling pathways, they represent an attractive therapeutic target in the autoimmune diseases, and particularly relapsing remitting (RR) MS.
Understanding a collaborative effort to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care: Contributions from social network analysis☆

Quality improvement collaboratives have become a common strategy for improving health care. This paper uses social network analysis to study the relationships among organizations participating in a large scale public-private collaboration among major health plans to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care in the United States. Pre-existing ties, the collaborative process, participants' perceived contributions, and the overall organizational standing of participants were examined. Findings suggest that sponsors and support organizations, along with a few of the health plans, form the core of this network and act as the "glue" that holds the collaboration together. Most health plans (and one or two support organizations) are in the periphery. While health plans do not interact much with one another, their interactions with the core organizations provided a way of helping achieve health plans' disparities goals. The findings illustrate the role sponsors can play in encouraging organizations to voluntarily work together to achieve social ends while also highlighting the challenges.
"Competitive balance in sports leagues - an introduction".

The authors summarize the literature on competitive balance to point out that there is no need for Zimbalist's editorial position that a single measurement of competitive balance is the correct mea...
A Message-Passing Approach to Combating Desynchronization Attacks

We propose a new paradigm for blind watermark decoding in the presence of desynchronization attacks. Employing Forney-style factor graphs to model the watermarking system, we cast the blind watermark decoding problem as a probabilistic inference problem on a graph, and solve it via message-passing. We study a wide range of moderate to strong attacks including scaling, amplitude modulation, fractional shift, arbitrary linear and shift-invariant filtering, and blockwise filtering, and show that the graph-based iterative decoders perform almost as well as if they had exact knowledge of the desynchronization attack parameters. Other desirable features of the graph-based decoders include the flexibility to adapt to other types of attacks and the ability to cope with the “curse of dimensionality” problem that seemingly results when the desynchronization parameter space has high dimensionality. These properties are unlike most blind watermark decoders proposed to date.
Dynamic compensation in robust stabilization using observers

This paper is concerned with the stabilization of uncertain linear systems via observer-based controllers. The motivation comes from earlier work (see [6] and [7]) where sufficient conditions are given for uniform asymptotic stability of the combined plant-observer-controller. In this paper, we describe an augmented dynamical system whose stability via an observer-based controller implies likewise for the original plant. While the given system may have uncertainties in the matrices describing the model, input connection, output distribution and direct transmission, the augmented system only contains uncertainties in its model matrix. The advantages of "lumping" the uncertainty into the model matrix are also discussed.
Are two heuristics better than one? The fluency and distinctiveness heuristics in recognition memory.

Four experiments were conducted to test the impact of having multiple heuristics (distinctiveness and fluency) available during a recognition test. Recent work by Gallo, Perlmutter, Moore, and Schacter (Memory & Cognition 36:461–466, 2008) suggested that fluency effects are reduced when the distinctiveness heuristic can be applied to a recognition decision. In Experiment 1, we used a response reversal paradigm (Van Zandt & Maldonado-Molina Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 30:1147–1166, 2004) to demonstrate that participants transitioned from an early response strategy that was largely reliant on fluency to a later strategy in which the influences of fluency and distinctiveness were both observable. Experiments 2a, 2b, and 3 showed no evidence for reduction of the fluency heuristic after picture study when the test required a delayed response (Exp. 2a), confidence ratings (Exp. 2b), or the application of conceptual fluency (Exp. 3). The results are consistent with models of memory that assume that familiarity and recollection influence individual memory decisions Wixted (Psychological Review, 114:152–176, 2007).
Studies on a Membrane Reactor

Abstract Simulation is used to evaluate the performance of a catalytic reactor with permeable wall (membrane reactor) in shifting the equilibrium of three reversible reactions (cyclohexane dehydrogenation, hydrogen iodide decomposition, and propylene disproportionation). It is found that the preferred choice of cocurrent or countercurrent operation is dependent on the physical properties and operating conditions. Methods of enhancing conversion are suggested and temperature effects are discussed.
Linear prediction analysis of speech with set-membership constraints: experimental results

Set-membership (SM) identification refers to a class of techniques for estimating parameters of linear system or signal models under a priori information which constrains the solutions to certain sets. When data do not help refine these membership sets, the effort of updating the parameter estimates at those points can be avoided. An application of the SM method to the problem of identifying the linear prediction (LP) parameters of speech is discussed, emphasizing experimental findings of practical significance. >
ν3 and ν1 bands of the NT3 molecule

The nu /sub 3/f the NT/sub 3/ molecule occurring at about 4.5 mu was recorded with a high resolution spectrograph. The observed rotational structure was analyzed and the constants evaluated are STAB'/sub ( nu 3)/ - B"/sub (ground state)/! = -0.030/sub 5/cm/sup -1 /; nu /sub 3/= 0.214; q = 0.007 cm/sup -1/; and nu /sub 0/ = 2184.76 cm/sup -1/. The nu /sub 1 / band whose Q branch was located at 2014.1 cm/sup -1/ was found to be much weaker than the nu /sub 3/ band; these two bands are of comparable intensity in the NR/sub 3/ molecule. (auth)
Love and Law: The Dialogical Nature of Talmudic Legal Narrative

This paper argues that talmudic legal narrative, as a fundamentally dialogical mode of writing, resists interpretive moves that attempt to frame it exclusively in legal terms. Prior scholarship has applied Bakhtin's notion of the dialogical to rabbinic texts, claiming that they celebrate the polysemy of textual interpretation by offering multiple opinions and refusing to speak in one voice. This characterization overlooks the fact that at the heart of Bakhtin's claims is an insistence that a text is not dialogical because it contains a dialogue, but because it constructs meaning by appealing simultaneously to multiple discourses. Rabbinic legal discourse is constituted through binary debates over purity or impurity, guilt or innocence, legality or illegality. Participants within these debates do not move outside the discourse of law. By contrast, talmudic legal narrative constructs law dialogically by interweaving legal discourse with other extra-legal narratives, such as politics, psychology, science, ethics, and medicine. Invoking Bakhtin's distinction in precise terms, this paper highlights the role of dialogic discourse within rabbinic narrative through a specific example at Sanhedrin 75a. The Talmud there recounts the story of a man whose lovesickness for a specific woman is killing him. Doctors prescribe several sexual cures for his ailment. When the rabbis are consulted to authorize these cures they reject each one, brazenly declaring that the man should die rather than perform any of them. Several generations of scholars within the Talmud itself struggle to justify the rabbis' position as a matter of law. This paper examines these treatments, and proposes that their attempts to transform a dialogical narrative celebrating rabbinic authority into a monological legal text can never succeed, highlighting the degree to which the tale is fundamentally not about the law, but about the dialogical construction of rabbinic authority.
The Estate Tax: Not Dead Yet

Following an acrimonious debate regarding estate taxes over the past several years, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 reforms and cuts estate taxes through 2009, abolishes the tax in 2010, and then reinstates it in 2011. These changes make the taxation of transfers more complex and more uncertain, and will require policy makers to revisit estate tax issues in the near future. In this report, the authors provide an overview of issues and new research findings with regard to the estate tax, with special reference to papers found in Rethinking Estate and Gift Taxation, a book that they edited with James R. Hines Jr. that was published by the Brookings Institution Press in August 2001.
The Impact of Board Structure on IPO Underpricing

Prior research has examined the impact of board structure on firm performance and found that characteristics such as board size affect both operating and stock price performance. Existing research has concentrated primarily on performance in periods well removed from a firm’s initial public offering (IPO), and relatively little research has examined the impact of board structure on the stock price performance of IPOs, particularly with regard to characteristics other than board size. This study fills this gap, finding that the key board characteristic is the percentage external directors on the board. The authors find that the greater the percentage of external board members, the lower the firm’s underpricing or initial return. This result is particularly pronounced for firms with venture capital backing, suggesting that VCs provide certification value, although primarily when they have a deep involvement in the issuing firm.
Integrating Information from Advertising and Trial: Processes and Effects on Consumer Response to Product Information:

Information integration theory and the integrated information response model are used to explore how consumers combine information from advertising and trial. Also investigated is the ability of at...
Myocardial Infarction Patterns in Young Subjects with Normal Coronary Arteriograms

For the present, the primary obligations of this communication are to acknowledge that the electrocardiographic patterns of myocardial ischemia, injury, and necrosis may appear in asymptomatic, young white males who have low-intensity systolic murmurs; to record that any implication that these electrical deviations result from obstructive coronary disease cannot be substantiated by coronary arteriography; and to suggest that individuals possessing these diagnostic features may represent a distant, recognizable clinical entity the etiology of which remains obscure.
OOGen: An Automated Generation Tool for Custom MPSoC Architectures Based on Object-Oriented Programming Methods

As multiprocessor systems are continuing to be adopted in academic laboratories and industry, researchers and application developers are routinely designing multiprocessor systems from the low level. Before they can validate their ideas, most of their time is spent on handling massive engineering details. It includes building a multiprocessor system from scratch by handling details of IP components and their topologies. A new method to design multiprocessor systems is necessary to improve the productivity and the accessibility. In this work, we present OOGen, an automatic generation tool for multiprocessor architectures by using object-oriented programming (OOP) methods. A system topology can be described in an OOP language (i.e., Java) without indicating massive low level details. OOGen provides libraries and automation framework that compiles design programs to generate corresponding hardware architectures. In order to demonstrate the flexibility of OOGen, we extend the non-uniform memory access (NUMA) template architecture to automatically generate two existing hardware platforms to support programming models as Hthreads and HOpenCL. We present evaluation on resource utilization, performance and energy efficiency by examining 5 typical benchmarks.
Abstract 4513: A prognostic model for pulmonary carcinoid tumors based on large chromosomal alterations

PURPOSE: Previous mutational analyses have failed to identify a predictive or prognostic marker for pulmonary carcinoid tumors (PCT). The heterogeneity of PCTs coupled with a lack of detailed information about the tumor biology, impedes patient stratification into groups based on tumor phenotypes or treatment response. We sought to use high-throughput next-generation sequencing to improve prognostication. METHODS: We stratified 37 patients with resected PCTs as low risk (n = 17) and high risk (n = 20) based on a 5 year long follow up for recurrence. Patients with no recurrence within 5 years from initial treatment were deemed low risk. Macrodissection was followed by genomic DNA isolation and next-generation sequencing was performed using an Illumina Mate Pair library protocol. Sequence reads were mapped to the human genome, and primers spanning the fusion junctions were used for validation polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Carcinoids commonly harbor rearrangements (median 3.5, range 1-167). Large chromosomal gains or losses were found in 24 of the cases (64.8%). We developed a prognostic score that included the total amount of genetic alterations (deletions and translocations). ROC analysis revealed an AUC of 0.76. High risk patients had a mean score of 20 and low risk patients had a mean score of 5.45 (p value = 0.03, Welch Two Sample t-test). Further analysis of the specific genetic alterations harbored by high and low risk PCTs and correlation with the pathologic and immunohistochemical information is currently underway. CONCLUSION: Large chromosomal rearrangements and aneuploidy portend a poor prognosis for patients with PCTs. Mate Pair sequencing of PCTs provides valuable prognostic information for this highly heterogeneous group of cancers. Citation Format: Konstantinos Leventakos, Aaron S. Mansfield, Stephen J. Murphy, Sarah H. Johnson, Sarah E. Kerr, Marie Christine Aubry, George Vasmatzis, Julian R. Molina. A prognostic model for pulmonary carcinoid tumors based on large chromosomal alterations. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4513.
Reduction of Common Mode Voltage and Conducted EMI Through Three-Phase Inverter Topology

This letter presents a three-phase voltage source inverter (VSI) topology to reduce the common mode (CM) voltage and electromagnetic interference (EMI) of electric motor drives. Instead of using filters, active or passive, or specific pulse width modulated (PWM) techniques to reduce the CM voltage, the proposed topology has inherently less CM voltage generation. With the addition of two switches placed in series on the dc lines, this topology effectively reduces the CM voltage during zero switching states by “floating” the inverter from the dc source. This topology can be implemented with any PWM method and does not add any additional complexity to the standard control techniques. The operation and CM reduction capability of the topology is first demonstrated in simulation and then verified with experimental results. A comparison of both common mode voltage and EMI is made to a conventional three-phase VSI to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed topology.
Impact of instrumental current scatter on fast Bias Temperature Instability testing

To minimize charge relaxation during Bias Temperature Instability (BTI) tests, fast current sensing has become the mainstream methodology in recent years and fast source measurement units are now available commercially. In these instruments, the measurement delay and sampling time have to been significant reduced in order to meet the more stringent methodology specification of fast BTI testing. In this paper, the impact of these speed improvements in two commercially available source measurement units (SMUs) on the accuracy of threshold voltage measurements during fast BTI testing is studied in detail.
391. Increased Levels of Amyloid β Peptides in RPE via AAV-Mediated Gene Transfer Mimics AMD-Like Pathology in Mice

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive retinal neurodegenerative disorder and shares several common characteristics of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent studies have provided evidence that amyloid β, a major extracellular deposit in the senile plaques of the AD brain, is also found in drusen, the extracellular deposits characteristic of AMD patients. The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of selective increase of human Aβ42 and Aβ40 in adult mouse retina and to examine the contribution of each to retinal pathophysiology via AAV mediated gene delivery.
Student-led co-curricular medical Spanish training in a pharmacy professional program

Abstract Background and purpose This paper describes a student-led co-curricular training program to increase pharmacy student proficiency with medical Spanish terminology. Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU) pharmacy students frequently can interact with Spanish-speaking patients in experiential rotations. Moreover, the clear majority of program graduates remain in California, a state with a high Spanish-speaking population. Developing foundational knowledge of medical Spanish terminology can enhance communication with Spanish-speaking patients, who may have limited English proficiency and experience a lack of language concordance when interacting with the healthcare system. Providing training in medical terminology in another language is important because communication barriers have been associated with adverse medical outcomes, such as poor medication adherence. Educational activity and setting The development of the training logistics and materials are described for replication of the process, whether with medical Spanish or other languages. Students in the pharmacy program developed the medical Spanish training that is now a robust co-curricular activity with over 100 students participating in the training each semester. An important aspect of the WesternU co-curricular activity is that students develop materials, create learning activities, and facilitate training.
Targeted analyte deconvolution and identification by four-way parallel factor analysis using three-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometry data.

Comprehensive three-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC3-TOFMS) creates an opportunity to explore a new paradigm in chemometric analysis. Using this newly described instrument and the well understood Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) model we present one option for utilization of the novel GC3-TOFMS data structure. We present a method which builds upon previous work in both GC3 and targeted analysis using PARAFAC to simplify some of the implementation challenges previously discovered. Conceptualizing the GC3-TOFMS instead as a one-dimensional gas chromatograph with GC × GC-TOFMS detection we allow the instrument to create the PARAFAC target window natively. Each first dimension modulation thus creates a full GC × GC-TOFMS chromatogram fully amenable to PARAFAC. A simple mixture of 115 compounds and a diesel sample are interrogated through this methodology. All test analyte targets are successfully identified in both mixtures. In addition, mass spectral matching of the PARAFAC loadings to library spectra yielded results greater than 900 in 40 of 42 test analyte cases. Twenty-nine of these cases produced match values greater than 950.
Comparisons of selected methods with the Fung-Yu tube procedure for determining Listeria monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. in meats

The ability of the motility enrichment Fung-Yu tube procedure with Oxyrase™ enzyme to detect the presence of Listeria monocytogenes inoculated into ground beef samples was compared to the USDA-FSIS method. Three strains of L. monocytogenes (LM 101M, LM 103M, and Scott A) were inoculated separately into sterilized ground beef or culture broth. The inoculum levels used were as low as 1 to 1000 Listeria cells per g of meat or per ml of broth. The Fung-Yu tube procedure produced results as sensitive as the USDA procedures and provided a shorter detection time of 26-48 h. A total of 215 retail-level meat and poultry products were analyzed comparatively by the Fung-Yu tube and the GENETRAK® DNA hybridization methods for Listeria detection. Six Listeria spp. ( L. denitrificans , L. grayi , L. innocua , L. ivanovii , L. monocytogenes , and L. murrayi ) were identified among the isolates. All 48 presumptively positive samples determined by the Fung-Yu tube method were further confirmed to harbor Listeria by biochemical tests. Eleven samples were missed by the GENETRAK® procedure, probably because of the enrichment procedure. L. monocytogenes was isolated from ground beef, pork sausage, smokie links, and cheese hot dogs. Among cooked samples examined, only cheese hot dogs and macaroni and cheese loaf showed substantial incidence of Listeria contamination.
Mechanosensing drives acuity of αβ T-cell recognition

T lymphocytes use surface α β T-cell receptors (TCRs) to recognize peptides bound to MHC molecules (pMHCs) on antigen-presenting cells (APCs). How the exquisite specificity of high-avidity T cells is achieved is unknown but essential, given the paucity of foreign pMHC ligands relative to the ubiquitous self-pMHC array on an APC. Using optical traps, we determine physicochemical triggering thresholds based on load and force direction. Strikingly, chemical thresholds in the absence of external load require orders of magnitude higher pMHC numbers than observed physiologically. In contrast, force applied in the shear direction ( ∼ 10 pN per TCR molecule) triggers T-cell Ca2+ flux with as few as two pMHC molecules at the interacting surface interface with rapid positional relaxation associated with similarly directed motor-dependent transport via ∼ 8-nm steps, behaviors inconsistent with serial engagement during initial TCR triggering. These synergistic directional forces generated during cell motility are essential for adaptive T-cell immunity against infectious pathogens and cancers.
JAK/STAT Pathway Inhibition Reverts IL7-Induced Glucocorticoid Resistance in a Subset of Human T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Although outcomes for patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) have improved dramatically, survival rates for relapsed or refractory T-ALL remain less than 10%. While mechanisms mediating chemotherapy resistance in these patients remain incompletely understood, resistance to glucocorticoids (GC), a central component of therapy, may be particularly important. GC resistance occurs more commonly than resistance to other chemotherapeutic agents in ALL. Additionally, newly diagnosed patients that fail to rapidly clear their peripheral leukemic blasts during an upfront window of prednisone (prednisone poor response) have a poorer outcome, suggesting differences in GC sensitivity may exist at diagnosis. Here, we develop an in vitro assay to model the early prednisone response. Using primary, pre-treatment human T-ALL samples, we demonstrate that individual T-ALLs have distinct intrinsic GC sensitivity thresholds at diagnosis and that this threshold can predict end induction MRD. To interrogate potential mechanisms of GC resistance, we use a panel of patient-derived xenografts (PDX) generated from diagnostic T-ALLs. We find that intrinsic GC resistance is uniformly seen in T-ALLs that arise at the early thymic progenitor (ETP) stage as well as in a subset of non-ETP T-ALLs. Removal of IL7 from the media or inhibition of IL7/JAK/STAT signaling with the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib or a novel JAK3 inhibitor, JAK3i, reverses GC resistance in ETP and a subset of the non-ETP T-ALL. This effect is drug specific, since IL7 does not offer protection from death induced by other agents. IL7-dependent GC resistance can be predicted by hyper-responsiveness to IL7 stimulation. Mechanistically, the combination of dexamethasone and ruxolitinib alters the balance between BCL2 and BIM in IL7-dependent, but not IL7-independent, GC resistant T-ALL samples. Together, these data support a model where IL7, a cytokine with leukemogenic properties that is normally present in lymphopoietic niches, contributes to intrinsic GC resistance in a subset of T-ALL samples. This environmentally induced GC resistance may be reversed with IL7/JAK/STAT pathway inhibition. This could result in an augmented leukemotoxic effect of GC treatment, potentially enhancing efficacy of glucocorticoids in a subset of patients and justifying exposure to the toxic side effects of GCs. Disclosures Taunton: Global Blood Therapeutics: Equity Ownership; Kezar Life Sciences: Equity Ownership, Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Principia Biopharma: Consultancy, Equity Ownership; Circle Pharma: Consultancy, Equity Ownership; Cell Design Labs: Consultancy, Equity Ownership. Wood: Juno: Other: Laboratory Services Agreement; Amgen: Honoraria, Other: Laboratory Services Agreement; Pfizer: Honoraria, Other: Laboratory Services Agreement; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Other: Laboratory Services Agreement. Teachey: Novartis: Research Funding.
A Fourier analysis for a fast simulation algorithm

This paper presents a derivation of compact expressions for the Fourier series analysis of the steady-state solution of a typical switching converter. The modeling procedure for the simulation and the steady-state solution is described, and some desirable traits for its matrix exponential subroutine are discussed. The Fourier analysis algorithm was tested on a phase-controlled parallel-loaded resonant converter, providing an experimental confirmation.
Long-term Clinical Course of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-associated Vasculitis Patients off Maintenance Therapy.

Objectives The optimal duration of maintenance immunosuppressive therapy in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is still controversial. The aim of our study is to describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AAV who were able to stop maintenance agents completely while remaining on daily prednisone ( 36 months can be achieved in some patients with AAV. Prospective, randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm this finding.
Evaluation of genetically-improved (glandless) and genetically-modified low-gossypol cottonseed meal as alternative protein sources in the diet of juvenile southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma reared in a recirculating aquaculture system

Abstract Cottonseed meal (CSM) proteins from genetically-improved (glandless) low-gossypol seed (GI-CSM, 52.1% crude protein, CP), genetically-modified low-gossypol seed (GMO-CSM, 56.0% CP) and from an untreated regular (glanded) seed (R-CSM 49.9% CP) were evaluated to replace fish meal (FM) protein (59.5% CP) in juvenile southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma diets. Eight isonitrogenous (45% CP) and isolipidic (16% crude lipid, CL) diets were formulated. A control diet (0% CSM) contained 40% fishmeal (FM) and other practical protein sources. Six diets replaced 50, 75 and 100% FM protein with GI-CSM or GMO-CSM protein. One diet replaced 100% FM protein by R-CSM protein. Fifteen fish (mean = 1.81 g) were stocked in each of twenty-four 75-L tanks (N = 3 per treatment) and were fed the treatment diets for eight weeks. Final percent weight gain was not significantly (P > 0.05) different in fish fed the GI- and GMO- and R-CSM protein diets (898–1405%) compared with the control diet (0% CSM) (1242%), but percent weight gain was greater (P 0.05) interactive effects between CSM sources and FM replacement levels on final weight, FCR and PER were observed. Arginine levels in the diets increased as CSM was increased, consistent with the high arginine concentrations found in CSM. Liver gossypol was only detectable in fish fed the 100% R-CSM diet (37 μg/g). Replacing up to 75% FM protein by GI- or GMO-CSM protein did not affect on whole body omega-3 PUFAs, or liver gossypol. The results suggest that up to 75% of fish meal protein may be replaced by GI- or GMO-CSM protein in the diet of juvenile flounder without adverse effects on growth performance and body composition. Statement of relevance Cottonseed meal (CSM) is a potentially cost-effective alternative plant protein source for use in aquafeeds. The results suggest that a 75% of fishmeal protein could be replaced by genetically-improved and genetically modified (GMO) low gossypol based cottonseed flour protein in the diet of southern flounder. These ultra-low gossypol cottonseed flour proteins could be inexpensive protein sources for the commercial culture of southern flounder and other finfish species.
Developing a Blocked Based Language for the Adafruit Circuit Playground: (Abstract Only)

With the integrated use of technology in daily activities, the need for more end-users who can program solutions in their domain of expertise is increasing. There is also growing interest to introduce children to coding activities that are engaging and appropriate for their experience level. Additional resources are needed that initiate and teach computer science in a way that incorporates hardware components to children and first-learners. This poster introduces a new block-based programming environment (called CodePlayground) built from Google's Blockly Developer Tools. The Blockly library injects an editor into an HTML file that represents coding concepts as interlocking blocks, and then outputs the blocks as syntactically correct code. CodePlayground was designed to be compatible with the Adafruit Circuit Playground, which was released as an all-in-one low cost device that can be used for education. CodePlayground allows teachers to utilize the Circuit Playground as an educational device that includes both hardware and software elements. The Circuit Playground uses the firmata provided by Adafruit to communicate with Python code generated by CodePlayground. Blockly Developer Tools was used to create the frame for the language and Atom was used to insert the specialized JavaScript for code generation. After the language was complete, 90 sample programs were created and evaluated to demonstrate the ability of CodePlayground to serve as a programming environment for first learners.
Enabling Early Gesture Recognition by Motion Augmentation

In real-time gesture recognition algorithms, accurately classifying gestures early, when they are only partially observed, can be advantageous as it minimizes latency and improves user experience. This work investigates a novel approach for improving the results of an early gesture classification model. The method involves augmenting the input sequence of human poses of a partially observed gesture with a series of poses predicted by an auxiliary recurrent neural network sequence-to-sequence motion prediction model before being fed into a random forest gesture classifier. By concatenating the partially observed ground truth sequence with the forecasted motion sequence, we are able to significantly improve early gesture recognition accuracy. When forecasting 25 future frames of a partially observed input gesture sequence of 50 frames, recognition accuracy improves from 45% to 87% on average when evaluated on the MSRC-12 gesture dataset.