Reactions to imagery generated using computational aesthetic measures

This article examines whether textural generation system imagery evolved with computational aesthetic support can be judged as having aesthetic attributes, both when knowing and not knowing its true origin. Such a generation, depicting a digital landscape, is offered to two groups of participants to appraise. It is hypothesized that there will be no statistically significant difference between the groups on their appraisal of the image. Results from statistical analysis prove to be consistent with this hypothesis. A minority of participants, however, do exhibit significant differences in their perception of the image based on its means of production. This article explores and illustrates these differences

GSU Event Portal

The Web-based systems have become very popular in recent software applications. Keeping in trend with the developments, it is proposed to have an event portal for browsing and creating the events in a web server. The proposed system would include two levels, the Admin and the User. Admin Controls: The admin has the authority to check the events posted by the user and can also manage and modify the different departments in the application like edit or delete the events, reviews registrations and administer user accounts. User Controls: The user can log in to create or edit events, and can also review registrations and payments. Compared to existing applications, we can find the proposed application more user-friendly with ease of access. Once the user registers in this application, they can also subscribe to find out the latest events happening around their respective places. They can even purchase tickets to the events through the application by using the payment gateway in the application. When subscribed, the users can receive the various promotional codes and offers to the various events. This application would release by the end of August 2016. Technical Details: UI: HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap frameworks. Tool: Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Database: My SQL .Net C

Whole-genome analysis of Exserohilum rostratum from an outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections

Exserohilum rostratum was the cause of most cases of fungal meningitis and other infections associated with the injection of contaminated methylprednisolone acetate produced by the New England Compounding Center (NECC). Until this outbreak, very few human cases of Exserohilum infection had been reported, and very little was known about this dematiaceous fungus, which usually infects plants. Here, we report using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and phylogenetic analysis to investigate the molecular origin of the outbreak using 22 isolates of E. rostratum retrieved from 19 case patients with meningitis or epidural/spinal abscesses, 6 isolates from contaminated NECC vials, and 7 isolates unrelated to the outbreak. Our analysis indicates that all 28 isolates associated with the outbreak had nearly identical genomes of 33.8 Mb. A total of 8 SNPs were detected among the outbreak genomes, with no more than 2 SNPs separating any 2 of the 28 genomes. The outbreak genomes were separated from the next most closely related control strain by ∼136,000 SNPs. We also observed significant genomic variability among strains unrelated to the outbreak, which may suggest the possibility of cryptic speciation in E. rostratum

Investigation of a Prolonged and Large Outbreak of Healthcare-Associated Mucormycosis Cases in an Acute Care Hospital-Arkansas, June 2019-May 2021.

BACKGROUND: Outbreaks of healthcare-associated mucormycosis (HCM), a life-threatening fungal infection, have been attributed to multiple sources, including contaminated healthcare linens. In 2020, staff at Hospital A in Arkansas alerted public health officials of a potential HCM outbreak. METHODS: We collected data on patients at Hospital A who had invasive mucormycosis during January 2017-June 2021 and calculated annual incidence of HCM (defined as mucormycosis diagnosed within ≥7 days after hospital admission). We performed targeted environmental assessments, including linen sampling at the hospital, to identify potential sources of infection. RESULTS: During the outbreak period (June 2019-June 2021), 16 patients had HCM; clinical features were similar between HCM patients and non-HCM patients. Hospital-wide HCM incidence (per 100 000 patient-days) increased from 0 in 2018 to 3 in 2019 and 6 in 2020. For the 16 HCM patients, the most common underlying medical conditions were hematologic malignancy (56%) and recent traumatic injury (38%); 38% of HCM patients died in-hospital. Healthcare-associated mucormycosis cases were not epidemiologically linked by common procedures, products, units, or rooms. At Hospital A and its contracted offsite laundry provider, suboptimal handling of laundered linens and inadequate environmental controls to prevent mucormycete contamination were observed. We detected Rhizopus on 9 (9%) of 98 linens sampled at the hospital, including on linens that had just arrived from the laundry facility. CONCLUSIONS: We describe the largest, single-center, HCM outbreak reported to date. Our findings underscore the importance of hospital-based monitoring for HCM and increased attention to the safe handling of laundered linens

Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders

Genetic influences on psychiatric disorders transcend diagnostic boundaries, suggesting substantial pleiotropy of contributing loci. However, the nature and mechanisms of these pleiotropic effects remain unclear. We performed analyses of 232,964 cases and 494,162 controls from genome-wide studies of anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome. Genetic correlation analyses revealed a meaningful structure within the eight disorders, identifying three groups of inter-related disorders. Meta-analysis across these eight disorders detected 109 loci associated with at least two psychiatric disorders, including 23 loci with pleiotropic effects on four or more disorders and 11 loci with antagonistic effects on multiple disorders. The pleiotropic loci are located within genes that show heightened expression in the brain throughout the lifespan, beginning prenatally in the second trimester, and play prominent roles in neurodevelopmental processes. These findings have important implications for psychiatric nosology, drug development, and risk prediction.Peer reviewe

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

A chelate-amidozirconium fragment as building block for unsupported trinuclear ZrM2 heterobimetallic complexes (M = Fe, Ru, Co)

Exclusive mono-insertion into one of the polar metal–metal bonds is an apt description of the reaction of thermally stable ZrFe2 and ZrRu2 complexes 1 with methyl isocyanide [Eq. (a); M = Fe, Ru]. Thus surprisingly, the second of the two polar ZrM bonds in 1 as well as the distorted tetrahedral coordination geometry of the Zr atom remain intact. The low degree of steric congestion in 1 is manifest in a rapid rotation about the ZrM bonds that cannot be frozen out even on cooling to 180 K

Ligand exchange and molecular aggregation of an Ag-Sn heterobimetallic complex: first structural characterization of an Ag-Sn bond

A direct Ag−Sn bond has been established for the first time by X-ray crystallography for the dimeric complex [MeSi{SiMe2N(p-Tol)}3SnAg]2 (4) [d(Ag−Sn) =2.6567(7) Å], which is the product of a phosphine ligand redistribution reaction of MeSi{SiMe2N(p-Tol)}3SnAg(PPh3) (2)

Reactions to Imagery Generated Using Computational Aesthetic Measures

This article examines whether textural generation system imagery evolved with computational aesthetic support can be judged as having aesthetic attributes, both when knowing and not knowing its true origin. Such a generation, depicting a digital landscape, is offered to two groups of participants to appraise. It is hypothesized that there will be no statistically significant difference between the groups on their appraisal of the image. Results from statistical analysis prove to be consistent with this hypothesis. A minority of participants, however, do exhibit significant differences in their perception of the image based on its means of production. This article explores and illustrates these differences