cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The homeodomain complement of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi suggests that Ctenophora and Porifera diverged prior to the ParaHoxozoa

The much-debated phylogenetic relationships of the five early branching metazoan lineages (Bilateria, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Placozoa and Porifera) are of fundamental importance in piecing together events that occurred early in animal evolution. Comparisons of gene content between organismal lineages have been identified as a potentially useful methodology for phylogenetic reconstruction. However, these comparisons require complete genomes that, until now, did not exist for the ctenophore lineage. The homeobox superfamily of genes is particularly suited for these kinds of gene content comparisons, since it is large, diverse, and features a highly conserved domain. We have used a next-generation sequencing approach to generate a high-quality rough draft of the genome of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi and subsequently identified a set of 76 homeobox-containing genes from this draft. We phylogenetically categorized this set into established gene families and classes and then compared this set to the homeodomain repertoire of species from the other four early branching metazoan lineages. We have identified several important classes and subclasses of homeodomains that appear to be absent from Mnemiopsis and from the poriferan Amphimedon queenslandica. We have also determined that, based on lineage-specific paralog retention and average branch lengths, it is unlikely that these missing classes and subclasses are due to extensive gene loss or unusually high rates of evolution in Mnemiopsis. This paper provides a first glimpse of the first sequenced ctenophore genome. We have characterized the full complement of Mnemiopsis homeodomains from this species and have compared them to species from other early branching lineages. Our results suggest that Porifera and Ctenophora were the first two extant lineages to diverge from the rest of animals. Based on this analysis, we also propose a new name - ParaHoxozoa - for the remaining group that includes Placozoa, Cnidaria and Bilateria.
Mitigating Cloud Computing security risks using a self-monitoring defensive scheme

Cloud Computing (CC) promises to offer seamless provisioning of on-demand services and data through the network. These services are made discoverable to the user in the form of simple abstractions via virtualized resources. These services offer unprecedented dynamic, primarily hardware dependent, scalability. Although CC promises to make life much easier for the user, it comes with significant security issues. Because on-demand service provisioning for applications and data will be used by hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of users simultaneously, a successful intrusion would not only expose sensitive data, but it could also completely cut users off from both applications and/or data. This paper examines the underlying security risks inherent to the CC paradigm, compares approaches to mitigate known security risks, and offers a solution that leverages intelligent multi-agent systems and network data ontologies to provide automated defense for both known and unknown malware security risks. We describe a mechanism whereby a dynamic ontology can be self-enriched over time to provide for some protection against unknown security risks.
Virtual Machine Hosting for Networked Clusters: Building the Foundations for "Autonomic" Orchestration

Virtualization technology offers powerful resource management mechanisms, including performance-isolating resource schedulers, live migration, and suspend/resume. But how should networked virtual computing systems use these mechanisms? A grand challenge is to devise practical policies to drive these mechanisms in a self-managing or .autonomic . system, without relying on human operators. This paper explores architectural and algorithmic issues for resource management policy and orchestration in Shirako, a system for on-demand leasing of shared networked resources in federated clusters. Shirako enables a flexible factoring of resource management functions across the participants in a federated system, to accommodate a range of models of distributed virtual computing. We present extensions to Shirako to provision fine-grained virtual machine .slivers. and drive virtual machine migration. We illustrate the interactions of provisioning and placement/migration policies, and their impact.
Dialogism Feminist Revision of Argumentative Writing Instruction

According to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), to be college and career ready students must be able to construct logical arguments using facts and reason. A feminist perspective provides an a...
K-Rotational Relaxation of S1 H2CO (v4 = 1, JKaKc = 101) via Dispersed Fluorescence Spectroscopy

The K-rotational relaxation of electronically excited S1 H2CO from the v4 = 1, JKaKc = 101 rovibronic state with S0 H2CO as the collider has been investigated. Dispersed fluorescence spectra and population time profiles of individual Ka‘ parent and satellite states have been recorded. Curvature in the Stern−Volmer plot is qualitatively discussed. Quantitative analysis of total and state-to-state K-rotational relaxation processes is carried out by two independent analytical kinetic schemes, a decoupled model and a coupled model. The results reveal the dominance of the ΔKa = ±2 step and a minor contribution from the ΔKa = ±4 step. The rate of pure K-collisional relaxation is determined to be (3.1 ± 0.8) × 107 s-1·Torr-1, accounting for 28% of the total collisional relaxation rate of S1 H2CO. Mechanisms of collisional depopulation from a single excited rovibronic state are reviewed to elucidate the overall collisional relaxation dynamics of S1 H2CO.
Evidence for Seven Surface Ruptures in the Past 1600 Years on the Claremont Fault at Mystic Lake, Northern San Jacinto Fault Zone, California

We present new data from the Mystic Lake paleoseismic site along the Claremont segment of the northern San Jacinto fault zone. The site is located within a sag formed between two fault strands that pass through the eastern side of Mystic Lake in the San Jacinto Valley. Trenches excavated across the sag exposed faulted and folded lacustrine and alluvial strata that record at least seven ground‐rupturing earthquakes during the past 1600 yr. Evidence for past surface deformation includes upward terminating faults with associated fissure fills, folding, angular unconformities, and pinching of strata against a paleoscarp. All of the event horizons occur at the tops of paleosols and are overlain by massive lacustrine clay units. We interpret this pattern to represent development of soils at the surface between earthquakes that are buried when fault rupture causes subsidence and renewed filling of the depression with lacustrine sediments. The ages of the events are constrained by 50 radiocarbon dates determined from detrital charcoal. The recurrence interval for the past seven events ranges from 159 to 210 yr, and the most recent event occurred sometime between A.D. 1738 and 1850 based on radiocarbon ages trimmed by historical data. Some of the event ages at Mystic Lake overlap in time with events recorded at Hog Lake on the Clark strand of the San Jacinto fault zone to the south, suggesting that these events may have jumped the San Jacinto Valley releasing stepover, or that events on one fault triggered closely timed events on the adjacent fault.
The Nature of Feedback: How Peer Feedback Features Affect Students' Implementation Rate and Quality of Revisions.

Although feedback is often seen as a critical component of the learning process, many open questions about how specific feedback features contribute to the effectiveness of feedback remain—especially in regards to peer feedback of writing. Nelson and Schunn (2009) identified several important features of peer feedback in their nature of feedback model. In the current study, we test an updated theoretical model that includes a broader set of features and considers not only students’ likelihood of implementing a comment but also the quality of their revisions. To empirically test the updated theoretical model, we analyze over 7,500 comments from 351 reviewers to 189 authors. Each comment was coded for the presence of praise, a problem description, a suggested solution, localization, focus (i.e., low prose, high prose, substance), implementation, and revision quality. To account for the cross-classified nesting of data, we used a 2-level, cross-classified, hierarchical logistic regression model. Only 2 feedback features increased students’ likelihood of implementation (i.e., overall praise and localization), while several feedback features reduced students’ likelihood of implementation (i.e., mitigating praise, solutions, and high-prose comments). Overlapping feedback features affected students’ ability to revise and in opposing directions from their effect on likelihood of implementation: Revisions were less likely to improve the quality of their paper when implementing comments that included a specific location in the text, but they were more likely to improve the quality of their paper when implementing comments that focused on high-prose and substance issues. Implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
These Unequal States: Corporate Organization and Income Inequality across the US States

Focusing on US states, we examine the connection between changes in corporate organization and rising income inequality. We argue that organizational restructuring events occurring between the 1980...
Long-Term Growth Modeling of Healthcare Spending in OECD Countries, 1970-2004

Rationale: This paper develops and compares long-term healthcare expenditure growth models for the US and other industrialized countries. In the US, the Centers of Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) estimates long-term healthcare expenditure growth with the rule GDP+1, which is the annual growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita plus one percent. Developed by a team of leading health economists, it is used to make national policy decisions. Other industrialized countries and theoretical economists have developed models also. The various models have not been compared. Objective: To understand, model and predict the long-term growth in healthcare expenditures for the US and other selected countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Study Population and Data: Data from 1970 to 2004 for six OECD countries are modeled to gain insight into the variations of aggregate and disaggregate healthcare expenditure growth across countries. Theoretical Framework: The Solow long-term economic growth model is adapted to estimate healthcare expenditure growth. We separate capital into physical and human, and use the Mincer wage model to estimate human capital. Parameters of the resulting model provides information about the contribution levels of capital, labor and technology, income demand elasticity, and the long-term asymptotic share of healthcare expenditures to GDP. Validation: The resulting model explains the variation in growth paths of healthcare expenditures within and across OECD countries. The remaining residuals are fitted by splines to identify healthcare policy changes. The Chow test is used to determine significant differences in coefficients across countries and differences across disaggregate categories of expenditures. Results: We have found that the aggregate healthcare expenditures are well-modeled as a linear function of potential GDP, or full-employment GDP, per capita. The relationship suggests that the drivers of healthcare expenditures are related to the drivers of potential GDP (i.e., capital, labor, and technology). The dominant explanatory factors for the growth path of healthcare expenditures are the tangent hyperbolic growth of healthcare labor and the different returns to education. Additional variation in disaggregate healthcare expenditures can be explained by healthcare policies modeled with splines.
RESEARCH UTILIZATION IN THE DESIGN DECISION MAKING PROCESS

This article summarizes findings from a national survey of interior design practitioners in the United States (N=366). The study explored interior design practitioners' current preferences for conducting project research including: activities conducted and sources used, attraction to and recall from sources, and ideas for communicating research findings. Responses suggest that interior designers do value research, yet have little time to utilize research. While cross-tabulation analyses indicate no major differences in research activities between the study’s demographic groups, collectively, only 12% of the sample indicated they utilized academic journals and, at times, even incorrectly identified those sources. Open-ended responses allowed designers to offer ideas for communicating research and four key themes emerged, including: topic selection and relevancy, ideas for new dissemination methods, ideas for presentation style, and perceptions of the written language used. It is hoped that this study’s findings may help design researchers better communicate their own findings to design practitioners.
The Circuit to Expanding Functions for Oscilloscope ——The Development of a Simple Logical Analyzer

A simple logical analyzer to display the logical time state or truth table of eight channel data simultaneously is designed on the principle of Lissajous figure in this paper. It details the idea of design and the principle of fuctioning. The experimental circuit and it's results are also presented.
Eighty-five million years of Pacific Ocean gyre ecosystem structure: long-term stability marked by punctuated change

While the history of taxonomic diversification in open ocean lineages of ray-finned fish and elasmobranchs is increasingly known, the evolution of their roles within the open ocean ecosystem remain...
A high-dimensional linkage analysis model for characterizing crossover interference

Linkage analysis has played an important role in understanding genome structure and evolution. However, two-point linkage analysis widely used for genetic map construction can rarely chart a detailed picture of genome organization because it fails to identify the dependence of crossovers distributed along the length of a chromosome, a phenomenon known as crossover interference. Multi-point analysis, proven to be more advantageous in gene ordering and genetic distance estimation for dominant markers than two-point analysis, is equipped with a capacity to discern and quantify crossover interference. Here, we review a statistical model for four-point analysis, which, beyond three-point analysis, can characterize crossover interference that takes place not only between two adjacent chromosomal intervals, but also over multiple successive intervals. This procedure provides an analytical tool to elucidate the detailed landscape of crossover interference over the genome and further infer the evolution of genome structure and organization.
Duplication of small segments within the major breakpoint cluster region in chronic myelogenous leukemia.

The t(9;22) in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) may be reciprocal or, in a minority of cases, may result in an extensive deletion of a portion of the major breakpoint cluster region (M-bcr) of the BCR. This report provides evidence of the duplication of small segments within the M-bcr in a small group of patients with CML. Southern blots of Bgl II and Bgl II/BamHI double-digested DNA from the blood or bone marrow of 46 patients with CML were probed with a 5' 1.4-kb Taq I/HindIII M- bcr probe and a 3' 2-kb HindIII/BamHI M-bcr probe. In three patients, rearrangements were noted with both probes in Bgl II-digested DNA, but were not present in Bgl II/BamHI-digested DNA with either probe. Southern analysis of DNA samples double-digested with Bgl II and BspHI from two of these three cases showed no rearrangements with either probe; the M-bcr BspHI site is located 26 bp 3' of the BamHI site in the second intron of the M-bcr. The presence of a rearranged M-bcr with both probes in Bgl II-digested DNA and the lack of rearrangement in Bgl II/BamHI and Bgl II/BspHI double-digested DNA suggest the presence of M- bcr BamHI and BspHI sites on both 9q+ chromosome (9q+) and the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph). This implies a duplication of at least the 26-bp M-bcr BamHI/BspHI fragment in these two samples. Sequence data from one of these two cases confirmed the M-bcr breakpoints to be staggered; the Ph M-bcr breakpoint occurred 258 bp downstream from the 9q+ M-bcr breakpoint. It is concluded that a duplication of small segments within the M-bcr occurs in a small group of patients with CML, which may lead to pseudogermline patterns on Southern blot. Such a duplication may provide insight into the mechanism of some chromosomal translocations in neoplasia.
Outline guide for performance of field studies to establish safe reentry intervals for organophosphate pesticides.

Residues of cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides on the foliage of certain crops can pose a hazard to farm workers whose work brings them into prolonged and intimate contact with the foliage. Poisoning episodes caused by residue exposure of this type have occurred on numerous occasions since 1949 (KAHN 1976). Although incidents have been reported in tobacco fields in the Southeast and apple orchards in Washington the great majority of these episodes have been in California. Most observers attribute this predilection for one state to dry fields and rainless summers with resulting heavy dust deposits on the foliage. The dusty matrix enhances the persistence of organophosphate residues and the most toxic degradation products of the thiophosphates, their oxons.
Epidemiology of Viral Pneumonia

Abstract The burden of pneumonia, including that due to respiratory viruses, is markedly higher in the very young (<5 years) and older adults (≥50 years). Respiratory viruses substantially contribute to pneumonia in both adults and children, and when systematically tested for, are more commonly detected than bacteria in both adults and children. It is difficult to distinguish between viruses by clinical presentation, and the exact clinical implication of viral detections among patients with pneumonia depends on the pathogen detected; however, there is increasing evidence of their importance in pneumonia.
Takeoff Behavior of the Greenbug, Schizaphis graminum (Homoptera: Aphididae), in the Laboratory

Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) was capable of taking off in the dark at temperatures from 26 to 42°C. An ultraviolet light increased percent takeoff and orientation after takeoff. Takeoff occurred most readily between 25 and 35°C at light intensities above 245 foot candles. Under continuous light in the laboratory no rhythmic takeoff was observed.
Is Judge Hanen's Smackdown of Executive Action on Immigration "Narrowly Crafted"?

In a recent essay in the Wall Street Journal, Professor Michael McConnell argues that Judge Andrew Hanen’s February 2015 opinion and order blocking some of the Obama administration’s recent executive actions on immigration should not be understood as questioning the executive branch's authority to exercise "prosecutorial discretion," but rather as questioning the extension of "affirmative benefits" to recipients of deferred action under those initiatives. According to Professor McConnell, Judge Hanen’s opinion “carefully lays out the legal case against the program” and ultimately concludes that "prosecutorial discretion is limited to nonenforcement and doesn’t entitle the executive branch to grant affirmative benefits such as work permits and welfare without statutory authority and notice-and-comment rule-making." Such "benefits," he asserts, have "never been part of prosecutorial discretion." On that basis, McConnell concludes that Judge Hanen “narrowly crafted [his] order not to touch on prosecutorial discretion” and that the decree therefore does not interfere with executive discretion to set enforcement priorities.In this essay, I critically assess these claims. McConnell is entirely correct that Judge Hanen at least professes to preserve the executive branch’s ability to establish enforcement priorities and exercise prosecutorial discretion. And it is also true that Judge Hanen exhibits considerable ire over the prospect of "award[ing] … benefits to otherwise removable aliens." However, contrary to McConnell's suggestion, Judge Hanen’s opinion is remarkably sweeping in its tenor and its potential significance. Ultimately, the ruling does not turn on any sort of distinction between the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, on the one hand, and the extension of "affirmative benefits," on the other.
P147 A new approach for accurate, fully-phased HLA class I sequencing using PacBio technology

Aim To test the accuracy and sensitivity of a workflow that combines PacBio sequencing and a novel bioinformatics pipeline for multiplexed fully-phased sequencing of full-length HLA-A, -B and -C alleles. This approach involved a new barcoding system and was compared against the LAA approach, commonly used for PacBio-based HLA typing. Methods Full-length HLA-A, -B and -C loci were PCR-amplified from 50 samples (IHWG reference panel) using in-house barcoded primers. PCR amplicons were pooled together and then ligated to SMRTbell regular adapters (LibraryPrep1), or pooled by sample (A+B+C) and then each pool independently ligated to a different barcoded SMRTbell adapter (LibraryPrep2). PacBio sequencing data (RSII system) was analyzed using the MDPSeq tool. Data from LibrarypPrep2 was also analyzed using the LAA tool (Pacific Biosciences). Results The sequence of 113 unique alleles was obtained that included 7 with incomplete reference sequences and 14 novel alleles. The high accuracy of the approach was demonstrated by a complete match between alleles sequences obtained from different samples, by a complete match with the available IMGT reference sequences, and by Sanger sequencing confirmation of the mismatches found in the 14 new alleles. Sequencing results from LibraryPrep1 and LibraryPrep2 were identical when data was analyzed with the MDPSeq tool, while LAA approach exhibited an estimated 10% rate of in silico cross-contamination when compared against the MDPSeq tool on data from LibraryPrep2. Conclusions The MDPSeq tool is able to achieve accurate multiplexed sequencing of HLA-I alleles while the LAA tool exhibits a significant rate of in silico cross-contamination identifying homozygotes as heterozygotes and finding more than two alleles for heterozygotes. The MDPSeq tool, which performs simultaneous step-wise phasing and correction of both barcode and target sequence is able to prevent cross-contamination and provide unequivocally accurate results.
Removal of myomas in asymptomatic patients to improve fertility and/or reduce miscarriage rate: a guideline

The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate if uterine myomas impact the likelihood of pregnancy and pregnancy loss, and if myomectomy influences pregnancy outcomes in asymptomatic women. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that the presence of myomas reduces the likelihood of achieving pregnancy. However, there is fair evidence that myomectomy (open or laparoscopic) for cavity-distorting myomas (intramural or intramural with a submucosal component) improves pregnancy rates and reduces the risk of early pregnancy loss. There is fair evidence that hysteroscopic myomectomy for cavity-distorting myomas improves clinical pregnancy rates but insufficient evidence regarding the impact of this procedure on the likelihood of live birth or early pregnancy loss. In women with asymptomatic cavity-distorting myomas, myomectomy may be considered to optimize pregnancy outcomes.
Short Communication: Temperature Dependence of Multiplexed Twisted Nematic Liquid Crystal Displays

Operating temperature range can make the difference between a laboratory curiosity and a practical display device. For a limited range of instrument applications, operating temperature ranges as narrow as +5 to +45° C may be acceptable. However, operating ranges of -10 to +65° C and wider are desired by potential users. Reaching these goals with twisted nematic (TN) liquid crystal displays (LCDs) is not an easy task - particularly if the LCD is to be multiplexed. Nevertheless, we have recently reported on performance of multiplexed TN-LCDs with satisfactory operating properties between 0 and 50° C1 and have other laboratory displays with improved performance which will operate satisfactorily from -6 to +66° C.
Strategies for Using the Five-Factor Model of Personality in Religious Research:

The five-factor model of personality (FFM) represents an important advancement in the area of personality research and assessment. One of the model's assets is its ability to organize under a commo...
The Problem of Inhomogeneous Heating in Laser-T-Jump Experiments

Due to exponential extinction of the heating laser pulse in the solution, the chemical relaxation takes place in an anisotropic medium in laser-T-jump experiments. The problem is analysed in terms of relaxation amplitudes as a function of time and position in the cell.
Scientific meeting abstracts: significance, access, and trends.

Abstract Abstracts of scientific papers and posters that are presented at annual scientific meetings of professional societies are part of the broader category of conference literature. They are an important avenue for the dissemination of current data. While timely and succinct, these abstracts present problems such as an abbreviated peer review and incomplete bibliographic access. METHODS: Seventy societies of health sciences professionals were surveyed about the publication of abstracts from their annual meetings. Nineteen frequently cited journals also were contacted about their policies on the citation of meeting abstracts. Ten databases were searched for the presence of meetings abstracts. RESULTS: Ninety percent of the seventy societies publish their abstracts, with nearly half appearing in the society's journal. Seventy-seven percent of the societies supply meeting attendees with a copy of each abstract, and 43% make their abstracts available in an electronic format. Most of the journals surveyed allow meeting abstracts to be cited. Bibliographic access to these abstracts does not appear to be widespread. CONCLUSIONS: Meeting abstracts play an important role in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Bibliographic access to meeting abstracts is very limited. The trend toward making meeting abstracts available via the Internet has the potential to give a broader audience access to the information they contain.
Titanium-Nickel Shape Memory Alloys in Medical Applications

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are special metallic materials, which spontaneously recover shape after being subjected to macroscopic deformation higher than their elastic limit. Recovery of shape may occur after heating or after release of loads. Applied deformation can be quite complex. Combinations of different deformation sequences are as readily recoverable as simple tension or compression. Numerous alloy systems, polymers, and ceramics have been found to exhibit shape memory behavior [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10].
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy as a window to cardiovascular health

The temporal evolution of cortical activation patterns during a handgrip task inducing forearm muscle fatigue was studied with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Brain activation patterns mapped over the prefrontal and sensorimotor cortices (111 channels) and concurrent fatigue measurements, assessed by a force sensor, were studied for a group of physical active subjects versus an age-matched healthy, but non-exercising group. Thirteen young adults (18-35 years old) were recruited who performed intermittent handgrip contractions for 3.5s alternating with 6.5s of rest for 120 blocks with their dominant hand. Observed differences in activation and connectivity in the primary motor cortex (M1), premotor and supplementary motor cortex (PMC/SMA), and prefrontal cortex (PFC) in both hemispheres hinted at differences in compensatory tactics used by the brain based on available physical resources that depend on physical activity. Furthermore, our study demonstrated strengthened FC throughout the entire duration of the fatigue-inducing handgrip task. Ultimately, this ongoing study will provide baseline measurements on the brain’s compensatory patterns for follow-up work on older individuals with impaired cardiovascular health performing the fatiguing handgrip task.
Abstract 5163: Angiocrine induction of colorectal cancer cell HER3 activation and cell survival is independent of CRC mutational status

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. A better understanding of the regulation of CRC cell survival pathways is necessary for developing new therapeutic strategies for patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC). We have previously found that endothelial cells (ECs) from the liver, the most common site of CRC metastases, secrete soluble factors in their conditioned medium (CM) that, in turn, increase cell growth and chemoresistance of CRC cells. We also determined that EC-induced CRC cell survival is mediated, in part, by HER3/ERRB3 signaling. OBJECTIVES: In the current study we sought to determine if alterations in driver mutations mediate the role of liver ECs in activating HER3 signaling and promoting cell survival in CRC cells. METHODS: Primary ECs from non-malignant liver parenchyma were isolated as previously described (Wang et al., Mol Cancer Res., 2018). CRC cell lines with distinct molecular profiles (MSI status, and wildtype or mutant KRAS, BRAF, and PIK3CA) were incubated with either their own CM (control) or CM from ECs. The effects of CM on CRC cell growth and response to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was determined by MTT and colony formation assays. The effect of angiocrine signaling on chemoresistance was also determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) for apoptosis after treating CRC cells with 5-FU, either in control CM or EC CM. HER3 blockade was accomplished by 1) siRNA knockdown or 2) a HER3 antibody. RESULTS: CM from liver ECs significantly increased cell growth and chemoresistance in CRC cells regardless of the gene alteration profiles in in vitro assays. We confirmed that EC CM activated the HER3-AKT signaling pathway in CRC cells. Furthermore, we found that HER3 blockade attenuated EC CM-induced AKT activation and cell survival in CRC cells independent of the cell mutational profile. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that HER3 mediates liver EC-induced cell growth and chemoresistance in CRC cells independent of the driver mutational profiles of the cells. The genetic background of CRC cells is not a mediator of EC CM-induced HER3 activation and cell survival. These findings suggest that effects of HER3 targeting of tumor cells in patients with mCRC should be independent of MSI status, or RAS, BRAF, or PIK3CA mutational status. Citation Format: Rui Wang, Rajat Bhattacharya, Fan Fan, Xiangcang Ye, Lee M. Ellis. Angiocrine induction of colorectal cancer cell HER3 activation and cell survival is independent of CRC mutational status [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5163.
The design and evaluation of water tariffs: A systematic review

Abstract Across the globe, many low- and middle-income countries are investing in their first generation of piped water and sanitation infrastructure. At the same time, the water and sanitation infrastructure in many industrialized countries is reaching, or has reached, the end of its useful life. Governments will need to mobilize substantial resources to finance this global water and sanitation infrastructure transition and user charges (tariffs) will play an integral role in supporting these efforts. This paper presents the results of a systematic review of the empirical literature on the design and evaluation of tariffs for municipal water and sanitation services, highlighting ways in which insights from the literature might inform policy and identifying areas for future research. Overall, we find that the empirical literature on pricing municipal water and sanitation services is diverse. Studies identified through our systematic review are published in a wide range of journals and vary considerably with respect to their primary aims, methods, number of tariffs analyzed, and the metrics used to evaluate different tariffs. The majority of studies examine two or fewer metrics of tariff performance, limiting the extent to which the literature characterizes the tradeoffs policy makers face when setting tariffs for municipal water and sanitation services. Finally, the majority of studies in the literature focus on water pricing in industrialized countries, highlighting an opportunity for research on water pricing in low- and middle-income countries.
Machine learning as an inversion algorithm for aerosol profile and property retrieval from multi-axis differential absorption spectroscopy measurements: a feasibility study

Abstract. In this study, we explore a new approach based on machine learning (ML) for deriving aerosol extinction coefficient profiles, single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter at 360 nm from a single MAX-DOAS sky scan. Our method relies on a multi-output sequence-to-sequence model combining Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for feature extraction and Long Short-Term Memory networks (LSTM) for profile prediction. The model was trained and evaluated using data simulated by VLIDORT v2.7, which contains 1 459 200 unique mappings. 75 % randomly selected simulations were used for training and the remaining 25 % for validation. The overall error of estimated aerosol properties for (1) total AOD is −1.4 ± 10.1 %, (2) for single scattering albedo is 0.1 ± 3.6 %; and (3) asymmetry factor is −0.1 ± 2.1 %. The resulting model is capable of retrieving aerosol extinction coefficient profiles with degrading accuracy as a function of height. The uncertainty due to the randomness in ML training is also discussed.
A proteoliposome-based system reveals how lipids control photosynthetic light harvesting

Integral membrane proteins are exposed to a complex and dynamic lipid environment modulated by nonbilayer lipids that can influence protein functions by lipid-protein interactions. The nonbilayer lipid monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) is the most abundant lipid in plant photosynthetic thylakoid membranes, but its impact on the functionality of energy-converting membrane protein complexes is unknown. Here, we optimized a detergent-based reconstitution protocol to develop a proteoliposome technique that incorporates the major light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) into compositionally well-defined large unilamellar lipid bilayer vesicles to study the impact of MGDG on light harvesting by LHCII. Using steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, CD spectroscopy, and time-correlated single-photon counting, we found that both chlorophyll fluorescence quantum yields and fluorescence lifetimes clearly indicate that the presence of MGDG in lipid bilayers switches LHCII from a light-harvesting to a more energy-quenching mode that dissipates harvested light into heat. It is hypothesized that in the in vitro system developed here, MGDG controls light harvesting of LHCII by modulating the hydrostatic lateral membrane pressure profile in the lipid bilayer sensed by LHCII-bound peripheral pigments.
Understanding the role of hydrologic model structures on evapotranspiration-driven sensitivity

Most conceptual hydrological models do not treat vegetation as a dynamic component. This study focuses on understanding the impact of model structural complexity on the sensitivity of hydrologic mo...
45 – Bernoulli Equation

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews Bernoulli equation of the form: y' + P(x)y = Q(x)yn. By a change of dependent variable, a Bernoulli equation, which is a nonlinear equation of the form y' + P(x)y = Q(x)yn where n is not equal to 1, can be transformed to a first-order linear equation. This linear equation can be solved by the use of integrating factors. The chapter considers the equation y' + P(x)y = Q(x)yn. To solve, the equation is divided by yn and the dependent variable is changed from y(x) to u(x) by u(x) = y(x)1−n. This changes y' + P(x)y = Q(x)yn into the first-order linear differential equation (1/(1−n))u' + P(x)u = Q(x). An exact solution of (1/(1−n))u' + P(x)u = Q(x) can be found by integrating factors.
2.205 – Self-Assembling Biomaterials

Self-assembly has become a useful way of constructing biomaterials for a variety of applications ranging from cell culture to tissue engineering. Attractive features of self-assembled biomaterials include chemical definition, modularity, stimulus-sensitivity, and the ability to produce complex supramolecular objects from comparatively simple precursors. These aspects also make self-assembly an effective way of bridging the practicality of synthetic materials with the molecular and structural complexity of biologically derived materials. In this chapter, self-assembling strategies are summarized, with particular emphasis on materials employing peptides and proteins as the essential oligomerizing components. Two-dimensional self-assemblies, primarily self-assembled monolayers, are also overviewed. Immune responses to supramolecular biomaterials, advantages that arise from self-assembling approaches, and examples of recent in vivo applications of these materials are additionally discussed.
PTH-073 Severe neonatal inflammation epigenetically sensitises the colonic epithelium for exacerbated il-1Β activation

Introduction Accumulating evidence suggests that adverse early-life events interfere with the perinatal programming and maturation of the immune system, predisposing the host to complex diseases including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). We hypothesise that neonatal inflammation (NI) induces susceptibility to aggravated and prolonged immune response in the colon when subjected to a 2nd inflammatory insult in adult-life. Method We used a two-hit model: NI was induced in 10 day old rat pups by intrarectal administration of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS, 130 mg/kg), and the 2nd dose of TNBS (80 mg/kg) was applied to induce adult inflammation (AI) 8 weeks later. All 4 groups (Veh+Veh, NI+Veh, Veh+AI, and NI+AI) of rats were euthanized 7 days later. Results In NI+AI rats, we observed an aggravated immune response, evidenced by a greater loss of body weight, a drastic increase of myeloperoxidase activity, and a greater overexpression of IL-1β in colonic mucosa and submucosa (MSM) when compared with the other 3 groups. We found that norepinephrine and epinephrine levels in plasma were significantly elevated only in NI+AI rats, suggesting an involvement of adrenoceptors in IL-1β activation. In vivo treatment with propranolol (2 mg/kg, daily IP), a β blocker, markedly ameliorated TNBS-induced swelling and tissue damage and the overexpression of IL-1β. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying IL-1β activation, we assessed NF-kB status and its interaction with the IL-1β promoter in the colonic MSM. Our data revealed an aggravated decrease of IκBα and a greater increase of p65 in NI+AI rats. In addition, acetylation of histone H4 lysine 12 (H4K12Ac) increased significantly at both the NF-κB binding region and the core promoter of IL-1β gene in NI+AI (vs Veh+AI) rats, causing greater chromatin relaxation. H4K12Ac at the IL-1β promoter was slightly elevated in NI+Veh (vs Veh+Veh) rats. Accordingly, p65 binding to the IL-1β promoter was markedly enhanced in NI+AI vs Veh+AI rats (14.3±3.1 vs 2.7±0.6). Aa a result, RNA polymerase II association with the IL-1β promoter was augmented in NI+AI vs Veh+AI (5.9±0.9 vs 2.5±0.5, p Conclusion Severe NI renders the host susceptible to aggravated immune response by epigenetically sensitising the colonic epithelium, in which IL-1β activation is exacerbated through stress hormone/NF-κB/IL-1β signalling axis, when subjected to a 2nd insult in adult-life. Disclosure of Interest None Declared
Lying to patients: Ethics of deception in nursing:

While the ethical use of deception has been discussed in literature, the ethics and acceptability of nursing deception has yet to be studied. The current study examined nurses’ and nursing students...
Survival following simultaneous liver-lung versus liver alone transplantation: Results of the US national experience.

Abstract Background There are little data to compare the post-transplant survival between lung-liver transplant (LLT) and liver-alone recipients. This study was undertaken to compare survival between LLT and liver-alone transplant. Methods UNOS data for patients undergoing LLT from 2002 to 2017 was analyzed. LLT recipients (n = 81) were matched 1:4 to liver-alone recipients (n = 324) by propensity score and patient survival was compared in the matched cohorts. Results Unadjusted 1, 3, and 5-year patient survival in the matched cohort was significantly worse in the LLT (82.5%, 72.2%, and 62.2%) versus liver-alone (92.2%, 82.8%, and 80.9%; p = 0.005). This difference persisted after adjusting for covariates with residual imbalance (HR 2.05, 95% CI 1.37–3.08; p = 0.001). Conclusion LLT has significantly worse survival than liver-alone transplant. With an increasing organ shortage, medical necessity criteria such as those developed for simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation should be developed for simultaneous lung-liver transplants to assure liver allografts are only allocated when truly needed.
Photographing Everything and Seeing Nothing: Travel Selfies as Performance, Affirmation of Social-Collective Perception, Spatial Collapse

In White Noise, Don DeLillo wrote of a welltrafficked tourist destination he called “The Most Photographed Barn in America.” Because it is known through a proliferation of photographs, he suggests, “no one sees the barn” anymore. Thus, making a picture of the barn is not about ‘looking’, but akin to “taking pictures of taking pictures” –a performative mass social ritual of image-making. This behavior also is a relational means of collapsing physical space to connect psychologically and virtually with larger narratives of the human experience for both the selfie subject and their social-media followers. Thus, travel selfies remediate physical and psychological distances and, in Walter Benjamin’s terms, “bring things spatially and humanly closer.” This essay takes a closer look the reframing of both physical distance and psychological presence by digital travel selfies. Rather than being a means of producing subjects/objects to behold and to archive as ‘embalmed’ memories or artifacts of personal history for later review, digital social-media travel photographs are driven by different relational impulses: the collapse of material conceptions of time and space, the performance and promotion of self-as-‘avatar’, the dissolution of psychological space between viewer and subject, and by communal/network participation.
Hiding in plain sight: genetic deaf-blindness is not always Usher syndrome

Introduction Hearing loss (HL) is the most common congenital sensory impairment. Usher syndrome (USH) is the leading genetic etiology of congenital deafness combined with progressive vision loss, and individuals presenting with these symptoms are often assumed to have USH. This can be an erroneous assumption, as there are additional genetic causes of deaf-blindness. Objective To describe and accurately diagnose non-USH genetic causes of deaf-blindness. Methods We present three children with hearing and vision loss with clinical and genetic findings suggestive of USH. However, ongoing clinical assessment did not completely support an USH diagnosis, and exome analysis was pursued for all three individuals. Results Updated genetic testing showed pathogenic variants in ALMS1 in the first individual and TUBB4B in the second and third. Although HL in all three was consistent with USH type 2, vision impairment with retinal changes was noted by age two years, which is unusual for USH. In all three the updated genotype more accurately fit the clinical phenotype. Conclusion Because USH is the most common form of genetic deaf-blindness, individuals with HL, early vision impairment, and retinal dysfunction are often assumed to have USH. However, additional genes associated with HL and retinal impairment include ALMS1, TUBB4B, CEP78, ABHD12, and PRPS1. Accurate genetic diagnosis is critical to these individuals' understanding of their genetic conditions, prognosis, vision and hearing loss management, and future access to molecular therapies. If clinically or genetically USH seems uncertain, updated genetic testing for non-USH genes is essential.
Chapter 27. The Inhibition of Proteolytic Enzymes

Publisher Summary An enzyme is specifically inhibited when its active site is blocked physically and/or chemically without significant alteration of the rest of the molecule. This chapter emphasizes on the various types of molecular interactions with active sites. This review covers critically but not exhaustively the principal methods for efficient inhibition of proteolytic enzymes. Although the main emphasis is on serine proteases, other proteases and other types of enzymes will be discussed in the chapter to illustrate specific points. Inhibitors may be categorized by the way they interact with active sites, but such categories may overlap and may not be assignable without considerable investigation. A broad division may be made between the inhibitors that react chemically and those that interact only physically with an active site. Both the groups include inhibitors that are for practical purposes, either reversible or irreversible. It is a major point of this review that the efficiency of inhibition is directly related to the degree and correctness of binding for both reversible and irreversible inhibitors. Peptide aldehydes of microbial origin had been discovered to be efficient inhibitors of proteolytic enzymes before recent interest in transition state analogs and much of this work has been reviewed.
Data Types in the Medical Record

This chapter partly recapitulates databases/statistics 101. The principles laid here are essential to appreciating the design decisions that are made for electronic medical records. It may be elementary to those with a database-design or statistics background, who may wish to skim rapidly or skip ahead to the very last section of this chapter, where I recommend and describe a specific approach for representing enumerated data types.