Fully Coupled Simulation of the Plasma Liquid Interface and Interfacial Coefficient Effects

There is a growing interest in the study of coupled plasma-liquid systems because of their applications to biomedicine, biological and chemical disinfection, agriculture, and other areas. Without an understanding of the near-surface gas dynamics, modellers are left to make assumptions about the interfacial conditions. For instance it is commonly assumed that the surface loss or sticking coefficient of gas-phase electrons at the interface is equal to 1. In this work we explore the consequences of this assumption and introduce a couple of ways to think about the electron interfacial condition. In one set of simulations we impose a kinetic condition with varying surface loss coefficient on the gas phase interfacial electrons. In a second set of simulations we introduce a Henry's law like condition at the interface in which the gas-phase electron concentration is assumed to be in thermodynamic equilibrium with the liquid-phase electron concentration. It is shown that for a range of electron Henry coefficients spanning a range of known hydrophilic specie Henry coefficients, the gas phase electron density in the anode can vary by orders of magnitude. Varying reflection of electrons by the interface also has consequences for the electron energy profile. This variation in anode electron density and energy as a function of the interface characteristics could also lead to significant variation in near-surface gas chemistries when such reactions are included in the model; this could very well in turn affect the reactive species impinging on the liquid surface. We draw the conclusion that in order to make more confident model predictions about plasma-liquid systems, finer scale simulations and/or new experimental techniques must be used to elucidate the near-surface gas phase electron dynamics

Changes in insulin and insulin signaling in Alzheimer\u27s disease: Cause or consequence?

Individuals with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD), although the causal relationship remains poorly understood. Alterations in insulin signaling (IS) are reported in the AD brain. Moreover, oligomers/fibrils of amyloid-β (Aβ) can lead to neuronal insulin resistance and intranasal insulin is being explored as a potential therapy for AD. Conversely, elevated insulin levels (ins) are found in AD patients and high insulin has been reported to increase Aβ levels and tau phosphorylation, which could exacerbate AD pathology. Herein, we explore whether changes in ins and IS are a cause or consequence of AD

Addressing neuroticism in psychological treatment

Neuroticism has long been associated with psychopathology and there is increasing evidence that this trait represents a shared vulnerability responsible for the development and maintenance of a range of common mental disorders. Given that neuroticism may be more malleable than previously thought, targeting this trait in treatment, rather than its specific manifestations (e.g., anxiety, mood, and personality disorders), may represent a more efficient and cost-effective approach to psychological treatment. The goals of the current manuscript are to (a) review the role of neuroticism in the development of common mental disorders, (b) describe the evidence of its malleability, and (c) review interventions that have been explicitly developed to target this trait in treatment. Implications for shifting the focus of psychological treatment to underlying vulnerabilities, such as neuroticism, rather than on the manifest symptoms of mental health conditions, are also discussed.First author draf

Fast Hands-free Writing by Gaze Direction

We describe a method for text entry based on inverse arithmetic coding that relies on gaze direction and which is faster and more accurate than using an on-screen keyboard. These benefits are derived from two innovations: the writing task is matched to the capabilities of the eye, and a language model is used to make predictable words and phrases easier to write.Comment: 3 pages. Final versio

Social Capital in Tompkins County

The essence of social capital is that trust, diverse social networks, and associated norms of reciprocity are important to a strong, well-functioning community. On an individual level, social capital has been linked to better physical and emotional health. At the social level, it has been linked to lower levels of crime and better functioning schools. The Community Foundation of Tompkins County (CFTC) has developed an interest in measuring social capital in response to a series of focusing events in the community that were centered around race and socioeconomic status. These events led to CFTC to investigate ways to measure social capital and pursue efforts to improve it. By measuring social capital systematically, the CFTC hopes to learn more about how much Tompkins County residents trust each other, engage their community, and give back. In doing this, the CFTC hopes to create benchmarks for improving the community\u27s social capital where there are deficits and sustain it where it has strengths

Estimation of weight of cattle by means of skeletal measurements

Body measurements, including heart girth, body length, shoulder width, hip width, hip height, and chest depth were recorded on both Angus and Polled Hereford calves. These measurements were studied in-dividually and in combination to assess their value in estimation of live weight. The Angus calves used in this study were raised at the University of Tennessee Plateau Experiment Station, Crossville, Tennessee, while the Polled Hereford calves were raised at the University of Tennessee Tobacco Experiment Station, Greeneville, Tennessee. The calves were born in the years 1968 through 1974. More than 5,000 sets of records were taken from more than 1,600 different calves. A total of 63 simple and multiple regression equations were constructed. In addition, a number of stepwise regression analyses were conducted. When all of the variables were available to the program for possible inclusion as independent variables to estimate weight, the final equation would include all of the variables except hip height; and the coefficient of determination would be about 0.96. When all of the variables except heart girth were available for inclusion, the final equation would include all of them; and the coefficient of determination would be about 0.95. Chest depth was most highly correlated with weight (0.95), and heart girth was second (0.93). Hip height was found to be the variable least correlated with weight (0.86). The mean weight of calves studied was 211 kg with the range being 39 to 433 kg. It was concluded that in Angus and Polled Hereford calves weighing from 39 to 433 kg, an accurate estimation of weight could be made by using either chest depth or heart girth alone, but the coefficient of determination could be increased by adding additional measurements. However, the small increase in predictive value would not be justified in practice

Sire-of-fetus effects on performance of the dam\u27s current calf in beef cattle

Data recorded from a total of 5,618 calves from the herds at the Plateau Experiment Station (PES) and Tobacco Experiment Station (TES) of the University of Tennessee were available for analysis. Weight and condition score were recorded for these calves three times during their first year of life. Standard adjustment, including those to remove variation due to differences in age and sex of calf and age of dam, were made for each of these variables. In addition for the present purpose, the data were adjusted to remove variation due to differences between sires of calves. Analysis of the adjusted data revealed that there was a significant effect of sire of fetus carried by the cow upon the performance of her currently nursed calf with respect to both variables at all three collection times in the TES data. The PES data followed a similar pattern; however, the effect on average daily gain at weaning and at a year of age was not significant. Another analysis was performed on the same data to determine if the sex of the fetus had a similar effect; however, no such effect was revealed. Of the 6 combinations of variable and collection time at each of the two stations, sex of fetus was a significant effect in three at TES and in one at PES after adjustment to remove variation due to differences in birth weight of fetus. In order to relate the age of the fetus to the magnitude of these effects on performance, a regression analysis of variance was performed using age of fetus as the continuous independent variable in the preweaning and weaning data. It was determined that, in the four combinations of variable and collection time, there was a significant regression on fetus age in the TES data, but in the PES data regression of condition score at preweaning and average daily gain at weaning on fetus age were not significant. The same analyses also revealed that these effects generally increased as age of fetus increased

CRLF2 rearrangement in Ph-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia predicts relative glucocorticoid resistance that is overcome with MEK or Akt inhibition.

Philadelphia chromosome-like (Ph-like) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a genetically heterogeneous subtype of B-cell ALL characterized by chromosomal rearrangements and mutations that result in aberrant cytokine receptor and kinase signaling. In particular, chromosomal rearrangements resulting in the overexpression of cytokine receptor-like factor 2 (CRLF2) occur in 50% of Ph-like ALL cases. CRLF2 overexpression is associated with particularly poor clinical outcomes, though the molecular basis for this is currently unknown. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are integral to the treatment of ALL and GC resistance at diagnosis is an important negative prognostic factor. Given the importance of GCs in ALL therapy and the poor outcomes for patients with CRLF2 overexpression, we hypothesized that the aberrant signal transduction associated with CRLF2 overexpression might mediate intrinsic GC insensitivity. To test this hypothesis, we exposed Ph-like ALL cells from patient-derived xenografts to GCs and found that CRLF2 rearranged (CRLF2R) leukemias uniformly demonstrated reduced GC sensitivity in vitro. Furthermore, targeted inhibition of signal transduction with the MEK inhibitor trametinib and the Akt inhibitor MK2206, but not the JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib, was sufficient to augment GC sensitivity. These data suggest that suboptimal GC responses may in part underlie the poor clinical outcomes for patients with CRLF2 overexpression and provide rationale for combination therapy involving GCs and signal transduction inhibitors as a means of enhancing GC efficacy