cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How to Probabilize a Newcomb Problem

“Dogmatism” (in a non-invidious sense) is an ancient term for the view that judgment is and ought to be a matter of assertion and denial, of belief (Greek, “dogma”) and disbelief. Probabilism is a relatively recent view, urged in the mid-17th century, that judgment isn’t or shouldn’t generally be a matter of believing but of — what to call it? — probabilizing. Will it rain today? I don’t know; I’m not in a position to assert or deny it. But still I may have an action-guiding probabilistic judgment, e.g., my odds on rain might be 7: 3, my probability for rain might be 70%.
Nanofiber waveguides and photophysics of an organic dye

We present previously unreported properties of the organic molecular dye compound, 2,3,7,8-tetracyano-5,10-dimethyl-5,10-dihydrodipyrazino[2,3-b:2’,3’-e]pyrazine (DMTC-pyrazine) (CAS Reg. No. 150960-11-5), including photophysical properties with particular emphasis on optical waveguiding. We show that DMTC-pyrazine can self-assemble into monoclinic crystals that are thermally stable over 300°C. Through shape-engineering, optimized growth conditions produced high yields of nanofiber (aspect ratio >6) crystals. No photobleaching of this dye was observed in air even after hours of on-resonant illumination. Excitation of photoluminescence within the DMTC-pyrazine nanofibers propagates in tightly confined guided modes (up to 25 μm). The finesse, end-facet reflectance, and group refractive index of nanofiber DMTC-pyrazine Fabry-Perot cavities are reported.
Meniscal injury associated with femoral shaft fractures. An arthroscopic evaluation of incidence

We studied 47 patients with closed, displaced, diaphyseal fractures of the femur caused by blunt trauma, to determine the incidence of associated knee injuries, particularly of the meniscus. After femoral nailing, all patients had an examination under anaesthesia and an arthroscopy. There were 12 medial meniscal injuries (5 tears) and 13 injuries of the lateral meniscus (8 tears). Ten of the 13 tears were in the posterior third of the meniscus, and two patients had tears of both menisci. Synovitis was common at the meniscal attachments. Complex and radial tears were more common than peripheral or bucket-handle tears. Examination under anaesthesia revealed ligamentous laxity in 23 patients (49%), but meniscal injuries had a similar incidence in knees with and without ligament injury. Femoral shaft fractures are often associated with injuries to the ipsilateral knee, and a high index of suspicion is necessary to identify these lesions.
Isolation Through Humanitarianism: Subaltern Geopolitics of the Siege on Gaza

Scholars have argued that in attempts to achieve geopolitical goals, siege often results in covert assaults against civilian populations. In the Gazan context, siege subjects are rendered as surplus to the Israeli state, and are therefore isolated and deprived of basic human needs as well as human rights. In 2006, siege was enacted against Gaza, enforced by the Egyptian and Israeli militaries. As a consequence, the population of Gaza is isolated from the exchange of goods, services, people, and ideas. This article begins with an analysis of siege as a violent process and as a subset of occupation practices. Using ethnographic data collected in Gaza between 2009 and 2014, this article mobilizes the methods and approach of subaltern geopolitics to undermine the notion of siege as a humanitarian alternative to war. This study reveals the micro-scale, graduated nature of siege and its impacts on the civilians living in Gaza.
A Review of Reflex and Penning Discharges

Publisher Summary This chapter explains the reflex and Penning discharges, with attention to the various modes of operation. The reflex discharged, also called the Penning discharge or Philips ionization gage (PIG), has received a great deal of attention in the scientific and engineering literature because of the many interesting physical phenomena that occur in it and because of its many applications. When the short anode of Schuurman's discharge is considered, the results of the experiment are surprisingly in agreement with a simplified theory. Radio frequency was apparently present in the discharges investigated by Pavlichenko et al., who conclude that the excited frequencies are proportional to the square root of the electron temperature as expected for ion acoustic waves. Tanaka and Yamamoto, Nagao et al., and Berezin et al. have studied the oscillations. Their observations are consistent with the neutral drag instability. The Penning discharge has found several practical uses. Lundgren et al. have reviewed applications of the discharge, with particular attention to an otherwise unpublished work at the University of California (Berkeley).
The first rational therapist: George Lincoln Walton and mental training

In the early years of the twentieth century, George Lincoln Walton, a Boston neurologist, developed, an approach to treating emotional disturbance which anticipated most of the principles of rational-emotive therapy. Walton argued that most neuroses are the product of irrational thinking, and that the only way to eliminate emotional distress is to adopt a rational philosophy of life. Walton's theory is examined and his place in the history of psychotherapy assessed.
Effect of face flies on grazing time and weight gain in dairy heifers.

Automatic recorders attached to halters of Holstein heifers were used to sample the grazing behavior of comparable 15-heifer herds, one protected from feeding by Musca autumnalis De Geer, the other exposed to ambient pest intensity. Grazing time and face fly population levels were monitored on 27 days over a 6-week period in 1978, and on 24 days over a 5-week period in 1979. The rate of weight gain for each herd was also determined. To avoid pasture bias, respective herds were switched between comparable pasture swards on a regular basis. The results, which were similar both years of study, indicate that pest-intensity levels averaging 10–11 face flies/heifer had little effect on the diel pattern of grazing but did reduce grazing time by ca. 20 to 25 min/day. Differences in grazing time were greatest on ‘high’ fly days, up to 47 min/day, and during ‘diurnal’ hours. Nocturnal grazing was minimal, averaging 11 to 17 min/heifer/day, and did not differ significantly between herds. The rate of weight gain for heifers in respective herds did not differ significantly either year of study.
Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis: Ovarian cancer presenting as an amnesic syndrome

Background Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis (PLE) is a rare neurologic manifestation of malignancy. Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis typically presents with short-term memory loss, seizures, or other limbic system abnormalities. The majority of PLE cases are associated with lung and testicular cancer. Case We present the first case of PLE attributable to an epithelial ovarian cancer. The 58-year-old woman presented with rapidly progressing short-term memory loss and amnesia. The diagnosis of ovarian cancer was suspected on the basis of computed tomography scan findings. The patient showed dramatic clinical improvement within 2 weeks of debulking surgery and after the initiation of plasmapheresis and chemotherapy. Conclusion Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis is a rare complication of ovarian tumors that is potentially reversible with prompt surgical management of the primary tumor, plasmapheresis, and chemotherapy.
Avoiding tolerance against prostatic antigens with subdominant peptide epitopes

A potential novel therapy for prostate cancer is the induction of immune responses to normal prostate-associated antigens (PAA). One approach is to use synthetic peptides from PAA to educate T cells as a means of developing a defined and specific immunotherapy for prostate cancer. A likely major hurdle when using normal PAA for this type of therapy is the tolerance that the immune system may already have for PAA. To evaluate mechanisms for overcoming tolerance, the authors assessed the level of tolerance to SV40T antigen in a transgenic mouse. The SV40T antigen is selectively expressed in the prostates of mice from the transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse prostate (TRAMP) model. The authors have shown that TRAMP mice are tolerant to a dominant cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitope from the SV40T antigen compared with nontransgenic littermates. The tolerance was exhibited as early as 4 weeks and as late as 24 weeks. The use of multiple injections of an oligonucleotide that contains an unmethylated CpG induced high levels of hematopoiesis but did not overcome the tolerance. Injection of an antibody to activate CD40 increased the CTL response in normal mice but also did not overcome tolerance. However, tolerance in the TRAMP mice was avoided when an epitope that had previously been characterized as a subdominant epitope was administered. The authors are investigating the potential of subdominant epitopes to induce prostatitis and antitumor responses. The results of this work should facilitate the development of immune-based therapies for prostate cancer.
Selective Fixation with Glutaraldehyde of ADH-Induced Urea Permeability Sites in Toad Bladder:

AbstractToad bladders exposed to vasopressin (ADH) and then fixed on the mucosal surface with 1 % glutaraldehyde were highly permeable to water and to urea compared to control bladders fixed in the absence of hormone. When identical conditions of fixation were used, but the concentration of glutaraldehyde was decreased to 0.25%, the ADH-induced increase in membrane permeability to urea was preserved whereas water permeability was not. About 74% of the hormone-induced urea permeability sites were preserved by glutaraldehyde and were stable to changes in temperature as suggested by a constant value for the activation energy of urea movement of 5.4 kcal/mole (4–33°C). In other studies bladders were exposed at low temperatures to 0.17% glutaraldehyde applied either to the serosal or the mucosal surface. The ADH-induced increase in membrane permeability to urea, bulk water, and tritiated water was well preserved with serosal fixation, but not with mucosal fixation. The observation that the urea pathway can be ...
Synthesis and Properties of a New Intramolecular Complex Antioxidant

The intramolecular complex antioxidant [3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)]propionyl phosphoric acid bisoctadecanol ester was synthesized from methyl 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionate(MPC),diethyl phosphite and octadecanol.The influence of catalyst and its quantity,reaction medium and other reaction parameters were studied.FTIR and elementary analysis confirmed that the product was the one as desired.Using organotin compound(the quantity was 1.5wt% of MPC) as catalyst,under the optimum reaction conditions,the yield of the product(melting point 47.7～49.2 ℃) can be up to 75%.Applying to PP,the value of oxidation induction time(OIT) was 41.351 min,which was 1.3 times that of antioxidant 1076,and the melt flow rate(MFR) was 1.932 g/10 min,proving that the antioxidant can improve the fluidity of PP.
Bulging at the Root: An Inflammatory Tale.

Information about a real patient is presented in stages (boldface type) to an expert clinician (Dr Bhatt), who responds to the information, sharing his reasoning with the reader (regular type). A discussion by the authors follows. Patient presentation: A 54-year-old man was transferred from an outside institution after he presented to the emergency department following the sudden onset of nonradiating, substernal chest pressure, dyspnea, diaphoresis, and nausea while brushing his teeth. Before transfer, the patient received a full dose of aspirin and was started on unfractionated heparin with biomarker and electrocardiographic evidence of a non–ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction. His medical history included hypertension, dyslipidemia, long-standing severe atopic dermatitis, and remote large-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that had remained in remission for the past 9 years after treatment with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin hydrochloride, vincristine, and prednisolone. Over the preceding year, the patient had suffered recurrent admissions for acutely decompensated heart failure with a newly appreciated depressed left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction of 20% and evidence of global hypokinesis by echocardiography. Regadenoson radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging had demonstrated a moderate-sized scar in the midanterior wall with no evidence of ischemia. During the same time period, the patient had developed rapidly progressive end-stage renal disease of unknown origin requiring the initiation of hemodialysis. The patient had not yet undergone a renal biopsy. Renal ultrasound had incidentally demonstrated a 4.3-cm infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and bilateral common iliac artery aneurysms (right, 2.6 cm; left, 1.7 cm). A computerized tomography (CT) scan had additionally detected a 1.7-cm superior mesenteric artery aneurysm with a dissection. The patient’s medications included daily aspirin 81 mg, atorvastatin 80 mg, lisinopril 2.5 mg, metoprolol succinate 25 mg, furosemide 20 mg, a multivitamin, and sublingual nitroglycerin as needed. He had no allergies to medicines and no history of smoking, alcohol use, or drug …
Dynamic multiscale modes of resting state brain activity detected by entropy field decomposition

The ability of functional magnetic resonance imaging FMRI to noninvasively measure fluctuations in brain activity in the absence of an applied stimulus offers the possibility of discerning functional networks in the resting state of the brain. However, the reconstruction of brain networks from these signal fluctuations poses a significant challenge because they are generally nonlinear and nongaussian and can overlap in both their spatial and temporal extent. Moreover, because there is no explicit input stimulus, there is no signal model with which to compare the brain responses. A variety of techniques have been devised to address this problem, but the predominant approaches are based on the presupposition of statistical properties of complex brain signal parameters, which are unprovable but facilitate the analysis. In this article, we address this problem with a new method, entropy field decomposition, for estimating structure within spatiotemporal data. This method is based on a general information field-theoretic formulation of Bayesian probability theory incorporating prior coupling information that allows the enumeration of the most probable parameter configurations without the need for unjustified statistical assumptions. This approach facilitates the construction of brain activation modes directly from the spatial-temporal correlation structure of the data. These modes and their associated spatial-temporal correlation structure can then be used to generate space-time activity probability trajectories, called functional connectivity pathways, which provide a characterization of functional brain networks.
“So a new day has dawned for Porto Rico’s Jíbaro”: Military service, manhood and self-government during World War I

For Puerto Ricans, World War I provided the opportunity to test and challenge the linkages between military service, manhood, citizenship and decolonization. During the war, Puerto Rican political leaders, elected officials and opinion makers sought to advance the socioeconomic and political standing of their communities by demanding access to, and encouraging participation in the US military. In particular, Puerto Rican elites were interested in mobilizing the Puerto Rican peasantry, reasoning that training would transform them into modern men worthy of self-determination in the eyes of the metropolis.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma in a greater hedgehog tenrec (Setifer setosus)

A five-year-old male greater hedgehog tenrec ( Setifer setosus ) presented with an oral mass and osteolysis of the mandible. Histopathology characterised the mass as a squamous cell carcinoma with extension into the alveolar bone. The patient was treated with intralesional bleomycin, clindamycin, meloxicam and enrofloxacin. After seven weeks of treatment, the animal9s condition declined. Radiographs indicated progression of the lesions. Due to its worsening clinical condition and poor response to therapy, the animal was humanely euthanased. This is the first description of squamous cell carcinoma in a greater hedgehog tenrec and the first reported use of intralesional bleomycin in this species.
Counting with the Elementary and Homogeneous Symmetric Functions

The relationship between the elementary and homogeneous symmetric functions, specifically the expansion involving brick tabloids, is used to find an assortment of generating functions. We are able to count and refine permutations according to restricted appearances of descents and prove a variety of results about words.
Wavenumber transform analysis for acoustic black hole design

Acoustic black holes (ABHs) are effective, passive, lightweight vibration absorbers that have been developed and shown to effectively reduce the structural vibration and radiated sound of beam and plate structures. ABHs employ a local thickness change that reduces the speed of bending waves and increases the transverse vibration amplitude. The vibrational energy can then be effectively focused and dissipated by material losses or through conventional viscoelastic damping treatments. In this work, the measured vibratory response of embedded ABH plates was transformed into the wavenumber domain in order to investigate the use of wavenumber analysis for characterizing, designing, and optimizing practical ABH systems. The results showed that wavenumber transform analysis can be used to simultaneously visualize multiple aspects of ABH performance including changes in bending wave speed, transverse vibration amplitude, and energy dissipation. The analysis was also used to investigate the structural acoustic coupling of the ABH system and determine the radiation efficiency of the embedded ABH plates compared to a uniform plate. The results demonstrated that the ABH effect results in acoustic decoupling as well as vibration reduction. The wavenumber transform based methods and results will be useful for implementing ABHs into real world structures.
Health status and national health priorities.

Abstract Various measures of the health status of the population of the United States show there is considerable room for improvement. Compared with other industrialized nations, we are spending more for health care but our health is worse. These data form the basis for setting national priorities. Four selected policy issues are discussed, including access to medical care, maternal and child health care, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and long-term care. Examination of these issues leads to the conclusion that universal and affordable health care is the major national health priority, requiring a commitment by the people of the United States and its leaders to develop a viable solution.
Field measurements of alkalinity from lakes in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, 1956–1991

Data collected from alpine lakes in the Uinta Mountains during fishery surveys by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources indicate alkalinity has decreased in some drainages since the mid 1950s. Implications for continued monitoring, as well as environmental and recreations values, are discussed.
From the Cover: ROS-Induced Store-Operated Ca2+ Entry Coupled to PARP-1 Hyperactivation Is Independent of PARG Activity in Necrotic Cell Death

2,3,5-tris(Glutathion-S-yl)hydroquinone, a potent nephrotoxic and nephrocarcinogenic metabolite of benzene and hydroquinone, generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) causing DNA strand breaks and the subsequent activation of DNA repair enzymes, including poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)-1. Under robust oxidative DNA damage, PARP-1 is hyperactivated, resulting in the depletion of NAD+ and ATP with accompanying elevations in intracellular calcium concentrations (iCa2+), and ultimately necrotic cell death. The role of Ca2+ during PARP-dependent necrotic cell death remains unclear. We therefore sought to determine the relationship between Ca2+ and PARP-1 during ROS-induced necrotic cell death in human renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (HK-2). Our experiments suggest that store-operated Ca2+ channel (SOC) entry contributes to the coupling of PARP-1 activation to increases in iCa2+ during ROS-induced cell death. Poly(ADP-ribose)glycohydrolase (PARG), which catalyzes the degradation of PARs to yield free ADP-ribose (ADPR), is known to activate Ca2+ channels such as TRPM2. However, siRNA knockdown of PARG did not restore cell viability, indicating that free ADPR is not responsible for SOC activation in HK-2 cells. The data indicate that PARP-1 and iCa2+ are coupled through activation of SOC mediated Ca2+ entry in an apparently ADPR-independent fashion; alternative PAR-mediated signaling likely contributes to PARP-dependent necrotic cell death, perhaps via PAR-mediated signaling proteins that regulate iCa2+ homeostasis.
Malonate degradation in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1: operon organization and regulation by MdcR

Transcriptional regulators in the LysR or GntR families are typically encoded in the genomic neighbourhood of bacterial genes for malonate degradation. While these arrangements have been evaluated using bioinformatics methods, experimental studies demonstrating co-transcription of predicted operons were lacking. Here, transcriptional regulation was characterized for a cluster of mdc genes that enable a soil bacterium, Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1, to use malonate as a carbon source. Despite previous assumptions that the mdc-gene set forms one operon, our studies revealed distinct promoters in two different regions of a nine-gene cluster. Furthermore, a single promoter is insufficient to account for transcription of mdcR, a regulatory gene that is convergent to other mdc genes. MdcR, a LysR-type transcriptional regulator, was shown to bind specifically to a site where it can activate mdc-gene transcription. Although mdcR deletion prevented growth on malonate, a 1 nt substitution in the promoter of mdcA enabled MdcR-independent growth on this carbon source. Regulation was characterized by methods including transcriptional fusions, quantitative reverse transcription PCR, reverse transcription PCR, 5′-rapid amplification of cDNA ends and gel shift assays. Moreover, a new technique was developed for transcriptional characterization of low-copy mRNA by increasing the DNA copy number of specific chromosomal regions. MdcR was shown to respond to malonate, in the absence of its catabolism. These studies contribute to ongoing characterization of the structure and function of a set of 44 LysR-type transcriptional regulators in A. baylyi ADP1.
the Increasing Use of Federal Earmarks to Fund Local Infrastructure: A Case Study of Illinois Municipal Governments

Local governments have long relied on their ability to issue public debt to fund long-term public works projects. In Illinois, increasing fiscal stress within local and state government has hampered many communities’ ability to take on additional credit obligations. As a result, municipalities are increasingly looking to their federal legislators for financial assistance with their public works projects. This study uses federal appropriations legislation and earmark reports, supplemented by survey data and personal interviews with federal, state and local elected officials and agency executives, to explore Illinois’ municipal governments’ use of federal earmarks to finance local infrastructure needs.
Evaluation of feeding characteristics in cast aluminum alloys

The production of sound castings often entails supplying adequate amounts of feed metal duringsolidification of the casting. If the feed metal is insufficient, several defects such as porosity, shrinkage and surface sinks can occur in the casting. The extensive data and information in this area has been reviewed in order to obtain a fundamental understanding of the complex phenomena occurring during feeding of aluminum castings. The influence of process parameters such as alloy composition, grain refinement, modification and cooling rate on feeding properties has been analyzed. Various modeling techniques that have been adopted to study the feeding behavior have been described.
Fracture risk prediction using FRAX in patients following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

We aimed to study the utility of the FRAX tool in predicting fractures in patient’s receiving a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Our results indicate that the FRAX tool has modest fracture predictive ability in patients greater than 50 years of age at the time of HSCT. Identifying patients at high risk of osteoporotic fractures following HSCT is challenging. We aimed to evaluate the utility of the FRAX tool at the time of HSCT in predicting fractures following transplant. We conducted a retrospective chart review of adults (> 18 years) who underwent HSCT at MD Anderson Cancer Center from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2010, and were followed until December 31, 2013, to identify osteoporotic fractures. Multivariate Cox regression models were built using FRAX score thresholds of low risk 20% probability of osteoporotic fracture. We identified 5170 patients who had undergone HSCT, 10% of whom developed an osteoporotic fracture during a median follow-up of 3.2 years. In patients > 65 years of age, those with medium risk (hazard ratio (HR) 2.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.27–4.47) and high risk (HR 3.41, 95% CI 1.73–6.75) had a greater probability of developing an osteoporotic fracture compared to those at low risk. Similar trends were seen in patients 50 to 65 years of age. In patients greater than 50 years, the FRAX tool has modest predictive ability and could be used to aid in preventive treatment decision-making at the time of transplant.
Implications of exceptional points for few-photon transport in waveguide quantum electrodynamics

We identify a general connection between the physics of exceptional points in non-Hermitian systems and the few-photon bound states in waveguide quantum electrodynamics (QED) systems. We show that, in waveguide QED systems where the local quantum system exhibits an exceptional point, the tightest-bound few-photon bound state occurs at the exceptional point. We illustrate this connection with an explicit computation on a waveguide QED system in which a waveguide is coupled to a Jaynes-Cummings system. Our result provides a quantum signature of the exceptional point physics and indicates that the physics of exceptional point can be used to understand and control the photon-photon interaction.
Presenting and analyzing the results of ai experiments: data averaging and data snooping

Experimental results reported in the machine learning AI literature can be misleading. This paper investigates the common processes of data averaging (reporting results in terms of the mean and standard deviation of the results from multiple trials) and data snooping in the context of neural networks, one of the most popular AI machine learning models. Both of these processes can result in misleading results and inaccurate conclusions. We demonstrate how easily this can happen and propose techniques for avoiding these very important problems. For data averaging, common presentation assumes that the distribution of individual results is Gaussian. However, we investigate the distribution for common problems and find that it often does not approximate the Gaussian distribution, may not be symmetric, and may be multimodal. We show that assuming Gaussian distributions can significantly affect the interpretation of results, especially those of comparison studies. For a controlled task, we find that the distribution of performance is skewed towards better performance for smoother target functions and skewed towards worse performance for more complex target functions. We propose new guidelines for reporting performance which provide more information about the actual distribution (e.g. box-whiskers plots). For data snooping, we demonstrate that optimization of performance via experimentation with multiple parameters can lead to significance being assigned to results which are due to chance. We suggest that precise descriptions of experimental techniques can be very important to the evaluation of results, and that we need to be aware of potential data snooping biases when formulating these experimental techniques (e.g. selecting the test procedure). Additionally, it is important to only rely on appropriate statistical tests and to ensure that any assumptions made in the tests are valid (e.g. normality of the distribution).
What Happens to Mentoring when School Budgets are Cut

This case study was originally conducted as part of a larger pilot study of mentor teachers who participated in a university-based Master Mentor Teacher Certificate program (MMTC). The primary focus of this study was to investigate if mentor teachers who had participated in the program were involved in other leadership activities at their campuses, tracing their developing leadership identity once they completed the MMTC and returned to their primary teaching duties. Given the current financial situations in school districts nationally as well as locally, the author revisited the participants eighteen months later to examine if school restructuring efforts within this district had altered their leadership capacities or their mentoring activities.
Why We Believe in the Einstein Theory

I am very happy to be invited to Carbondale and to have this opportunity of paying tribute to Einstein. His influence on the whole of modern physics is simply enormous and probably not always appreciated and I will try to give you a better understanding of it.
Profane cooks and minor condiments: Chutnification and “cooking the world” in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children:

The exploration of food in Salman Rushdie’s canonical novel Midnight’s Children (1981) is neither provincial nor an act of strategic essentialism. Food as a central artistic device has been underst...
Tactual Discrimination of Shapes

The young child's development of the concept of space was explored using shapes characterized by topological and Euclidean relations. The subjects were required to tactually explore a stimulus shap...
Using Face-Based Emotion Recognition Software to Examine the Effects of Negative Feedback

We investigate the effects of performance feedback on a subsequent performance task, and the mediating role of sadness. Drawing on the appraisal theory of emotion, we expect that negative performan...
Regioselective lithiation of benzyl imidazole: Synthesis and evaluation of new organocatalysts for trans-diol functionalization.

Benzyl imidazole was successfully lithiated using n-BuLi at −78 °C and verified by deuterium incorporation. The chemical reaction of the lithiated benzimidazole was explored with a series of differ...
An Explorative Longitudinal Study on the Five-Year Patient Portal Use among an Underserved Patient Population:

The purpose of the study was to identify and assess multiple aspects of patient portal usage behavior in an underserved urban patient population. Given the rise of patient-centered care, patients a...
Staffing by Nursing Hours Per Patient Day

(1963). Staffing by Nursing Hours Per Patient Day. Hospital Topics: Vol. 41, No. 9, pp. 46-48.
Soluble Endoglin (sCD105) as a Novel Biomarker for Detecting Aggressive Prostate Cancer.

Background/aim We have previously found elevated levels of endoglin (CD105) in the prostate cancer (PC) tissue of men with poor prognosis, compared to men with indolent disease. Herein, we examined whether plasma levels of the soluble form of CD105 (sCD105) differ according to the PC grade at diagnosis. Patients and methods We measured sCD105 in 73 subjects with biopsy-confirmed PC at the Durham, North Carolina, Veteran Affairs Health System. The association between sCD105 and intermediate/high-grade PC risk [Gleason Group (GG) 2-5 vs. 1] was examined using regression models. Results Of 73 men, 27 had low-grade PC and 46 high-grade PC. Higher GG was linked to lower sCD105 (GG1: 6938 pg/ml, GG2-3: 6150 pg/ml, GG4-5: 5554 pg/ml; p=0.012). On multivariable analysis, lower sCD105 was associated with increased high-grade PC risk (ORper 1000 units=1.33, p=0.028). Conclusion Lower sCD105 levels were associated with intermediate and high-risk PC. Further investigation is warranted in a larger PC cohort.
Abstract 5960: Machine learning assisted prognostication model based on genomic expression in the tumor microenvironment of stage II and III breast cancer

Background: Immune cells and stroma in the tumor microenvironment (TME) has an important role in patient prognosis and responses to therapy. Only few mathematical models exist to prognosticate patients, based on mRNA expressivity in the TME. Methods: Clinical outcomes data and mRNA-seq of 246 patients with stage 2 and 98 patients with stage 3 estrogen receptor (ER) positive (+) and HER2 negative (-) breast cancer were obtained from TCGA. 26 gene groups composed of 191 genes* enriched in cellular and non-cellular elements of TME, mutational burden (MB), and clinical data were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier (KM) analysis and multivariate nonlinear regression assisted by machine learning to achieve confined optimization with model-data minimization among multiple distribution functions. *Due to character limit, more details about these genes will be at actual presentation. Results: Prognostication was modeled with higher risk score (RS) representing worse prognosis in stage 2 and 3 ER+HER2- breast cancer. In stage 2 patients, six genes (C15orf53, PDGFB, IL10, HS3ST2, GPNMB, PADI4) and seven genes (FCRL3, IFNGR2, ICAM2, CXCR4, HLA-DMB, LGMN, ICOSLG) out of 191 genes associated with poor prognosis were identified (p Similarly, in stage 3 patients, 15 genes (CD8A, CD8B, FCRL3, GZMK, CD3E, CCL5, TP53, ICAM3, CD247, IFNG, IFNGR1, ICAM4, SHH, HLA-DOB, CXCR3) and 5 genes (LOXL2, PHEX, ACTA2, MEGF9, TNFSF4) out of 191 genes associated with good and poor prognosis were identified. Genomic expression of the 15 and 5 gene groups were labeled as G and P, respectively. RS = 9.3185 - 0.3250 × (Age at diagnosis0.0001) - 8.2979 × (P/G0.0051). Based on RS, patients were clustered into 2 groups; high and low RS groups, showing two KM curves with P = 0.05, HR = 2.878 (95% CI 1.903 - 3.471), confirming the validity of RS modeling. MB was not associated with survival in both groups. Conclusions: Machine learning-assisted mathematical modeling of RS and gene analysis identified TME-related genes and gene groups that are strongly associated with worse prognosis in stage 2 and 3 ER+HER2- breast cancer. RS could potentially prognosticate patients in the clinic with available genomic profiles. Citation Format: Yara Abdou, Jessica Jerez, Sunyoung Lee. Machine learning assisted prognostication model based on genomic expression in the tumor microenvironment of stage II and III breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 5960.
Distinct place cell dynamics in CA1 and CA3 encode experience in new contexts

We compared trial-by-trial dynamics of place cells in CA1 and CA3 in new contexts across days. We found that CA1 place fields form early but shift backwards with experience and partially remap across days. In contrast, CA3 place fields develop gradually but remain stable with experience and across days. This suggests distinct plasticity mechanisms drive the formation and dynamics of place fields in CA1 and CA3 to encode distinct features of experience.
Chlamydia trachomatis Encodes a Dynamic, Ring-Forming Bactofilin Critical for Maintaining Cell Size and Shape

ABSTRACT Bactofilins are polymer-forming cytoskeletal proteins that are widely conserved in bacteria. Members of this protein family have diverse functional roles such as orienting subcellular molecular processes, establishing cell polarity, and aiding in cell shape maintenance. Chlamydia species are obligate intracellular bacteria that undergo a developmental cycle alternating between an infectious, non-dividing EB and a non-infectious, dividing RB. As Chlamydia divides by a polarized division process, we hypothesized that BacACT may function to establish polarity in these unique bacteria. Using sequence alignment to the conserved bactofilin domain, we identified a bactofilin ortholog, BacACT, in the obligate intracellular pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis. Utilizing a combination of fusion constructs and high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, we determined that BacACT forms a dynamic, membrane-associated, ring-like structure in Chlamydia’s replicative RB form. Contrary to our hypothesis, this filamentous ring structure is distinct from the microbe’s cell division machinery and does not colocalize with septal peptidoglycan or MreB, the major organizer of the bacterium’s division complex. Bacterial two-hybrid assays demonstrated BacACT interacts homotypically but does not directly interact with proteins involved in cell division or peptidoglycan biosynthesis. To investigate the function of BacACT in chlamydial development, we constructed a conditional knockdown strain using a newly developed CRISPR interference system. We observed that reducing bacACT expression significantly impacted chlamydial cell size and morphology. Normal RB morphology was restored when an additional copy of BacACT was expressed in trans during knockdown. These data reveal a novel function for chlamydial bactofilin in maintaining cell shape in this obligate intracellular bacterium. IMPORTANCE Chlamydia is an ancient, obligate intracellular bacterium with a unique biphasic developmental cycle. As a result of its evolution within the osmotically stable environment of a host cell, Chlamydia has lost its dependence on side-wall peptidoglycan, and maintains only a fraction of the components thought to be required for regulating bacterial cell size and division. As such, very little is known about how Chlamydia species carry out these critical processes in the absence of a stabilizing peptidoglycan layer. In the current study, we identify a novel cytoskeletal element, termed a bactofilin, that is critical for maintaining the morphology of the bacteria. Using state-of-the-art genetic techniques for this organism, we demonstrate that chlamydial bactofilin forms a dynamic ring structure independent of the microbe’s division machinery and that abrogating its expression level using CRISPR interference results in abnormal morphologic forms. These findings enhance our understanding of chlamydial biology and bactofilins more generally.
533 Cross-species immunogenomic analysis identifies pathways of canine natural killer cell response to cytokine therapy, and reveals convergence of activated dog and human natural killer transcriptomes

Background Natural killer (NK) cells are key effectors of the innate immune system, but major differences between human and murine NK cells impede translation. Outbred dogs offer an important link for NK-based cancer immunotherapy studies. We compared gene expression profiles of dog NK signatures in vitro and from a phase I clinical trial of inhaled IL-15, and analyzed dog, mouse and human NK cells using a novel orthologous transcriptome. Methods We performed differential gene expression (DGE) using resting healthy donor CD5dim NK populations and following ex vivo activation using recombinant human (rh)IL-15 or co-culture with irradiated feeder cells. Eight dogs with naturally-occurring pulmonary metastases were enrolled on a Phase I clinical trial of inhaled rhIL-15 using a 3+3 cohort design with escalating doses of inhaled rhIL-15. Blood was collected from study dogs before, during, and after therapy. We compared DGE among healthy and cancer-bearing dogs and then across mouse, dog and human NK cells in resting and activated states using ~7000 1:1 orthologous genes. Results DGE revealed distinct transcriptional profiles between the ex vivo resting, IL-15 and co-cultured canine NK cells. Among treated patients, hierarchical clustering revealed that in vivo NK cell transcriptional signatures grouped by individual dog, and not amount of time exposed to treatment. PCA showed in vivo profiles of the clinical responders were distinctly separate from the non-responding patients (PC1 38%, PC2 12%). Patient in vivo NK cell transcription profiles most closely resembled those of ex vivo resting NK cells and not IL-15 treated or co-culture activated (PC1 43%, PC2 19%), likely reflecting key differences in activation. In cross-species analysis, PCA showed within-species spatial clustering of resting NK cells. After activation, variance between dog and human NK cells decreased, while variance between human and mouse NK cells increased (PC1 40%, PC2 28%). Conclusions In this first transcriptomic sequencing of dog NK cells, we demonstrate distinct gene profiles of ex vivo activated NK cells from healthy donors compared to circulating NK cells from dogs receiving inhaled rhIL-15 on a clinical trial. Baseline in vivo NK cell profiles appear to predict response to therapy more than changes over time. We also show distinct gene profiles of NK cells across the most commonly used mouse, dog, and human NK populations, with convergence of dog and human NK cells after activation. By defining the canine NK cell DGE signatures, these data fill a gap in translational NK studies. Ethics Approval The canine clinical trial study was approved by IACUC and Clinical Trials Review Board (Inhaled IL-15 Immunotherapy for Treatment of Lung Metastases, Protocol #20179).
Rethinking the Adolescent Mind in U.S. Schools

Educators, like most helping professionals, are called to their work by a deeply rooted desire to connect with and enrich human life. It is personal, relational work they envision. It is loving work. Love is not a discrete experience with an idea of another, though, nor is it available on demand and without challenges, as we are often led to believe and might wish. Love is a dogged practice, rooted in an intention to fully know the other. This intention, if honest, begets a holistic view that does not cull the painful realities of others’ daily life. That holistic view, in turn, obligates one to act in the interest of equality and justice, of liberation and freedom.
Complete solutions of inverse quantum orthogonal equivalence classes

Abstract In the year 1939, the mathematician G.H. Hardy proved that the only functions f which satisfy the classical orthogonality relation ∫ 0 1 f ( λ m t ) f ( λ n t ) d t = 0 , m ≠ n , are the Bessel functions J ν ( t ) under certain constraints, where ν > − 1 is the order of the Bessel function, and λ m , λ n are the nontrivial zeros of the Bessel function. By example, herein we present a complete equivalence class of inverse q -periodic functions, satisfying the inverse q -orthogonality relation ∫ 0 1 f ( λ m t ) f ( λ n t ) d 1 q t = 0 , m ≠ n . The inverse q -integral is a Riemann–Stieltjes integral with respect to a step function having infinitely many points of increase at the points q − l , with the step size at the point q − l being q , ∀ l ∈ N 0 , where N 0 ≔ N ∪ { 0 } , and | q | ≠ 1 . An equivalence class of entire functions f ∈ L q − 1 2 ( 0 , 1 ) that are inverse q -orthogonal with respect to their own nontrivial zeros is proven by invoking the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, as the inverse q -periodic functions constitute an equivalence class of nonzero inverse q -periodic constants on the complex plane.
The lysophospholipid-binding molecule CD1D is not required for the alloimmunization response to fresh or stored RBCs in mice despite RBC storage driving alterations in lysophospholipids.

BACKGROUND Despite the significant adverse clinical consequences of RBC alloimmunization, our understanding of the signals that induce immune responses to transfused RBCs remains incomplete. Though RBC storage has been shown to enhance alloimmunization in the hen egg lysozyme, ovalbumin, and human Duffy (HOD) RBC alloantigen mouse model, the molecular signals leading to immune activation in this system remain unclear. Given that the nonclassical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class I molecule CD1D can bind to multiple different lysophospholipids and direct immune activation, we hypothesized that storage of RBCs increases lysophospholipids known to bind CD1D, and further that recipient CD1D recognition of these altered lipids mediates storage-induced alloimmunization responses. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS We used a mass spectrometry-based approach to analyze the changes in lysophospholipids that are induced during storage of mouse RBCs. CD1D knockout (CD1D-KO) and wild-type (WT) control mice were transfused with stored HOD RBCs to measure the impact of CD1D deficiency on RBC alloimmunization. RESULTS RBC storage results in alterations in multiple lysophospholipid species known to bind to CD1D and activate the immune system. Prior to transfusion, CD1D-deficient mice had lower baseline levels of polyclonal immunoglobulin (IgG) relative to WT mice. In response to stored RBC transfusion, CD1D-deficient mice generated similar levels of anti-HOD IgM and anti-HOD IgG. CONCLUSION Although storage of RBCs leads to alteration of several lysophospholipids known to be capable of binding CD1D, storage-induced RBC alloimmunization responses are not impacted by recipient CD1D deficiency.
Abstract 3026: Sex differences in the genomic profiles of medulloblastoma subtypes

Medulloblastoma (MB), the most common malignant brain tumor in children, has marked sex differences within molecular subtypes such that males are more frequently diagnosed with SHH, Group 3 and 4 tumors, which have worse prognoses than WNT tumors. Using publicly available data by Cavalli et al. (Cancer Cell, 2017), we identified sex differences in MB methylation and gene expression to uncover sexually dimorphic genomic profiles and biologic pathways to better understand the role of sex in MB subtype biology. There were statistically significant differences in sex by MB subtype (p-value=0.0005): Group 3 (n=144; 65% male), Group 4 (n=326; 67% male), SHH (n=223; 57% male) and WNT (n=70; 41% male). Females had statistically significantly worse survival than males for SHH (Log-Rank p-value=0.02; female 5-year survival 71%, male 85%; Hazard Ratio: 2.39; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.16-4.77). There were no sex differences in survival for other subtypes. In differential gene expression analyses using microarray data, few genes had statistically significant sexually dimorphic expression patterns (Group 3: 25 genes; Group 4: 65 genes; SHH: 37 genes; WNT: 32 genes). Ingenuity Pathway Analysis on the top 200 genes for each subtype found no sexually dimorphic pathways shared between all subtypes. Sex differences in Regulation of eIF4 and p70S6K Signaling, which has an important role in the mTOR pathway, was shared in WNT, SHH and Group 4 tumors. There were sex differences in VEGF and androgen signaling in WNT, EMT and IL-23 signaling in SHH, NF-KB and IL-8 signaling in Group 3, and mTOR and AMPK signaling in Group 4. Due to immune system sex differences, we examined MB immune cell composition, which may underlie sex differences in MB severity. We applied the LM22 signature and identified differences in most immune cell types between MB subtypes including M2 macrophages, CD8 T cells, and activated NK cells (all p Citation Format: Rachel M. Moss, Natali Sorajja, Lauren J. Mills, Christopher L. Moertel, Logan G. Spector, David A. Largaespada, Lindsay A. Williams. Sex differences in the genomic profiles of medulloblastoma subtypes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 3026.