Isospin effects on the energy of vanishing flow in heavy-ion collisions

Using the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model we study the isospin effects on the disappearance of flow for the reactions of $^{58}Ni$ + $^{58}Ni$ and $^{58}Fe$ +$^{58}Fe$ as a function of impact parameter. We found good agreement between our calculations and experimentally measured energy of vanishing flow at all colliding geometries. Our calculations reproduce the experimental data within 5%(10%) at central (peripheral) geometries

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus oncoprotein K13 protects against B cell receptor induced growth arrest and apoptosis through NF-κB activation

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) has been linked to the development of Kaposi's sarcoma, primary effusion lymphoma and multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). We have characterized the role of KSHV-encoded viral FLICE inhibitory protein K13 in the modulation of anti-IgM induced growth arrest and apoptosis in B cells. We demonstrate that K13 protects WEHI 231, an immature B cell line, against anti-IgM induced growth arrest and apoptosis. The protective effect of K13 was associated with the activation of the NF-κB pathway and was deficient in its mutant, K13-58AAA, and a structural homolog, vFLIP E8, which lack NF-κB activity. K13 upregulated the expression of NF-κB subunit RelB and blocked the anti-IgM induced decline in c-Myc and rise in p27(Kip1) that have been associated with growth arrest and apoptosis. K13 also upregulated the expression of Mcl-1, an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl2 family. Finally, K13 protected the mature B cell line Ramos against anti-IgM induced apoptosis through NF-κB activation. Inhibition of anti-IgM induced apoptosis by K13 may contribute to the development of KSHV-associated lymphoproliferative disorders

Rapid, ultra low coverage copy number profiling of cell-free DNA as a precision oncology screening strategy.

Current cell-free DNA (cfDNA) next generation sequencing (NGS) precision oncology workflows are typically limited to targeted and/or disease-specific applications. In advanced cancer, disease burden and cfDNA tumor content are often elevated, yielding unique precision oncology opportunities. We sought to demonstrate the utility of a pan-cancer, rapid, inexpensive, whole genome NGS of cfDNA approach (PRINCe) as a precision oncology screening strategy via ultra-low coverage (~0.01x) tumor content determination through genome-wide copy number alteration (CNA) profiling. We applied PRINCe to a retrospective cohort of 124 cfDNA samples from 100 patients with advanced cancers, including 76 men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), enabling cfDNA tumor content approximation and actionable focal CNA detection, while facilitating concordance analyses between cfDNA and tissue-based NGS profiles and assessment of cfDNA alteration associations with mCRPC treatment outcomes. Therapeutically relevant focal CNAs were present in 42 (34%) cfDNA samples, including 36 of 93 (39%) mCRPC patient samples harboring AR amplification. PRINCe identified pre-treatment cfDNA CNA profiles facilitating disease monitoring. Combining PRINCe with routine targeted NGS of cfDNA enabled mutation and CNA assessment with coverages tuned to cfDNA tumor content. In mCRPC, genome-wide PRINCe cfDNA and matched tissue CNA profiles showed high concordance (median Pearson correlation = 0.87), and PRINCe detectable AR amplifications predicted reduced time on therapy, independent of therapy type (Kaplan-Meier log-rank test, chi-square = 24.9, p < 0.0001). Our screening approach enables robust, broadly applicable cfDNA-based precision oncology for patients with advanced cancer through scalable identification of therapeutically relevant CNAs and pre-/post-treatment genomic profiles, enabling cfDNA- or tissue-based precision oncology workflow optimization

Antimicrobial sensitivity pattern of gram positive CSF isolates in children with septic meningitis in a Tertiary Care Hospital

The present study was conducted with the objective to determineantimicrobial susceptibility of Gram positive CSF isolates in septic meningitis in a tertiary care hospital. CSF (3-5 ml) was collected from 638 admitted children clinically suspected of septic meningitis. Bacterial isolates were identified and microbial sensitivity was assessed by the Kirby-Bauer’s disk diffusion method. Of the samples tested 102 (15.99%) were culture positive of which 45 (44.12%) culture positives were found inchildren aged 1-12 years. M: F ratio was 1.62:1. Maximum incidence (51 cases) was in summer-rainy season and in institutional delivery (58 cases). Primary immunization did not protect against septic meningitis. The isolates in 66 (64.71%) cases were Gram positive of which 36 (54.55%) were Streptococcus spp., 24 (36.36%) Staphylococcus aureus and 6 (9.09%) cases coagulase negative Staphylococcus (CONS). Both Streptococci and coagulase negative Staphylococci were highly sensitive (100%) to Linezolid, Vancomycin and Piperacillin-Tazobactam. However, Staphylococcus aureus were 100% sensitive to Linezolid and Vancomycin but were only 87.5% sensitive to Piperacillin-Tazobactam combination. The Streptococcus species showed a high degree of resistance to Tetracyclin91.67%, Co-trimoxazole 88.89% and Penicillin 63.89%. Staphylococcus aureus showed resistance to the tune of 83.33% each to Tetracycline and Co-trimoxazxole and 79.17% with Penicillin. In case of coagulase negative Staphylococcus, Co-trimoxazole showed resistance in 83.33%, Penicillin in 66.67% and Tetracycline in 50% cases. In septic meningitis Gram positive isolates predominate. Therapy should be based on trends of bacterial sensitivity

Subsidence Movements and Structural Damage Related to an Abandoned Coal Mine

An area in southwestern Illinois has been experiencing surface and subsurface movements with associated damage to surface structures. The area is underlain by an abandoned, partially extracted room-and-pillar underground coal mine. Instrumentation included TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry), Inclinometers, Sondex, Tiltplates, and precision land surveys. This paper presents the results of a 16-month cooperative study between the Department of Mining Engineering at SIUC and a local coal company

Editable AI: Mixed Human-AI Authoring of Code Patterns

Developers authoring HTML documents define elements following patterns which establish and reflect the visual structure of a document, such as making all images in a footer the same height by applying a class to each. To surface these patterns to developers and support developers in authoring consistent with these patterns, we propose a mixed human-AI technique for creating code patterns. Patterns are first learned from individual HTML documents through a decision tree, generating a representation which developers may view and edit. Code patterns are used to offer developers autocomplete suggestions, list examples, and flag violations. To evaluate our technique, we conducted a user study in which 24 participants wrote, edited, and corrected HTML documents. We found that our technique enabled developers to edit and correct documents more quickly and create, edit, and correct documents more successfully

Rapidity distribution as a probe for elliptical flow at intermediate energies

Interplay between the spectator and participant matter in heavy-ion collisions is investigated within isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics (IQMD) model in term of rapidity distribution of light charged particles. The effect of different types and size rapidity distributions is studied in elliptical flow. The elliptical flow patterns show important role of the nearby spectator matter on the participant zone. This role is further explained on the basis of passing time of the spectator and expansion time of the participant zone. The transition from the in-plane to out-of-plane is observed only when the mid-rapidity region is included in the rapidity bin, otherwise no transition occurs. The transition energy is found to be highly sensitive towards the size of the rapidity bin, while weakly on the type of the rapidity distribution. The theoretical results are also compared with the experimental findings and are found in good agreement.Comment: 8 figure

In vitro induction and proliferation of protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) from leaf segments of Phalaenopsis bellina (Rchb.f.) Christenson

An in vitro culture procedure was established to induce protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) from leaf segments of the Phalaenopsis bellina (Rchb.f.) Christenson directly from epidermal cells without intervening callus on ½ strength modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) (in Physiol Plant 15:473–497, 1962) medium supplemented with 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA; 0, 0.1, 1 mg/l) and Thidiazuron (TDZ; 0, 0.1, 1, 3 mg/l). The best response was established at 3 mg/l TDZ which induced 78% of leaf segments to form a mean number of 14 PLBs per explant after 16 weeks of culture. No PLBs were found when leaf segments were cultured on ½ strength modified MS media supplemented with 0.1 and 1 mg/l NAA. The best induction percentage for auxin: cytokinin combination was at the combination of NAA and TDZ at 1.0 and 3.0 mg/l which gave 72% induction with 9 PLBs per explant. Semi-solid ½ strength MS and liquid Vacin and Went (VW) (in Bot Gaz 110:605–613, 1949) medium were used in order to find the highest survival and number of PLBs proliferation after 3 months in culture. Half strength MS showed an average of 9 PLBs in comparison with VW with an average of 5.3 PLBs per explants. Histological observations revealed that the regenerated PLBs were generally formed from the epidermal layers of the posterior regions of the leaf segments. Scanning electron micrograph of PLBs showed the origin of newly formed PLB from the peripheral region of leaf segments

Industry-Government-University Cooperative Research Program for the Development of Structural Materials from Sulfate-Rich FGD Scrubber Sludge

The main aim of our project was to develop technology, which converts flue gas desulfurization (FGD) sulfate-rich scrubber sludge into value-added decorative materials. Specifically, we were to establish technology for fabricating cost effective but marketable materials, like countertops and decorative tiles from the sludge. In addition, we were to explore the feasibility of forming siding material from the sludge. At the end of the project, we were to establish the potential of our products by generating 64 countertop pieces and 64 tiles of various colors. In pursuit of our above-mentioned goals, we conducted Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements of the binders and co-processed binders to identify their curing behavior. Using our 6-inch x 6-inch and 4-inch x 4-inch high pressure and high temperature hardened stainless steel dies, we developed procedures to fabricate countertop and decorative tile materials. The composites, fabricated from sulfate-rich scrubber sludge, were subjected to mechanical tests using a three-point bending machine and a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). We compared our material's mechanical performance against commercially obtained countertops. We successfully established the procedures for the development of countertop and tile composites from scrubber sludge by mounting our materials on commercial boards. We fabricated more than 64 pieces of countertop material in at least 11 different colors having different patterns. In addition, more than 100 tiles in six different colors were fabricated. We also developed procedures by which the fabrication waste, up to 30-weight %, could be recycled in the manufacturing of our countertops and decorative tiles. Our experimental results indicated that our countertops had mechanical strength, which was comparable to high-end commercial countertop materials and contained substantially larger inorganic content than the commercial products. Our moisture sensitivity test suggested that our materials were non-water wettable and did not disintegrate on submerging the product in water for at least two months. Countertop polishing techniques were also established