Element similarity in high-dimensional materials representations

The traditional display of elements in the periodic table is convenient for the study of chemistry and physics. However, the atomic number alone is insufficient for training statistical machine learning models to describe and extract composition-structure-property relationships. Here, we assess the similarity and correlations contained within high-dimensional local and distributed representations of the chemical elements, as implemented in an open-source Python package ElementEmbeddings. These include element vectors of up to 200 dimensions derived from known physical properties, crystal structure analysis, natural language processing, and deep learning models. A range of distance measures are compared and a clustering of elements into familiar groups is found using dimensionality reduction techniques. The cosine similarity is used to assess the utility of these metrics for crystal structure prediction, showing that they can outperform the traditional radius ratio rules for the structural classification of AB binary solids.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Novel Superior Cerebellar Artery Aneurysm Coming from a Superior Cerebellar Artery-Posterior Cerebral Artery Anastomotic Branch

A middle-aged patient presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage and was found to have a ruptured superior cerebellar artery (SCA) aneurysm arising from the origin of a rare anastomotic branch between the right SCA and right posterior cerebral artery (PCA). The aneurysm was secured by transradial coil embolization, and the patient made a good functional recovery. This case demonstrates an aneurysm arising from an anastomotic branch between the SCA and PCA, which may represent a remnant of a persistent primordial hindbrain channel. Although variations in basilar artery branches are common, aneurysms rarely can form at the site of seldom- seen anastomoses between the branches of the posterior circulation. The complex embryology of these vessels, which includes anastomoses and the involution of primitive arteries, may have contributed to the development of this aneurysm arising from an SCA-PCA anastomotic branch

Element similarity in high-dimensional materials representations

The traditional display of elements in the periodic table is convenient for the study of chemistry and physics. However, the atomic number alone is insufficient for training statistical machine learning models to describe and extract composition-structure–property relationships. Here, we assess the similarity and correlations contained within high-dimensional local and distributed representations of the chemical elements, as implemented in an open-source Python package ElementEmbeddings. These include element vectors of up to 200 dimensions derived from known physical properties, crystal structure analysis, natural language processing, and deep learning models. A range of distance measures are compared and a clustering of elements into familiar groups is found using dimensionality reduction techniques. The cosine similarity is used to assess the utility of these metrics for crystal structure prediction, showing that they can outperform the traditional radius ratio rules for the structural classification of AB binary solids

The MB2 gene family of Plasmodium species has a unique combination of S1 and GTP-binding domains

BACKGROUND: Identification and characterization of novel Plasmodium gene families is necessary for developing new anti-malarial therapeutics. The products of the Plasmodium falciparum gene, MB2, were shown previously to have a stage-specific pattern of subcellular localization and proteolytic processing. RESULTS: Genes homologous to MB2 were identified in five additional parasite species, P. knowlesi, P. gallinaceum, P. berghei, P. yoelii, and P. chabaudi. Sequence comparisons among the MB2 gene products reveal amino acid conservation of structural features, including putative S1 and GTP-binding domains, and putative signal peptides and nuclear localization signals. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of domains is unique to this gene family and indicates that MB2 genes comprise a novel family and therefore may be a good target for drug development

Results of a phase I pilot clinical trial examining the effect of plant-derived resveratrol and grape powder on Wnt pathway target gene expression in colonic mucosa and colon cancer

Anthony V Nguyen1, Micaela Martinez1, Michael J Stamos2, Mary P Moyer3, Kestutis Planutis1, Christopher Hope1 Randall F Holcombe11Division of Hematology/Oncology and Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2Department of Surgery, University of California, Irvine CA, USA; 3Incell Corporation, San Antonio, TX USAContext: Resveratrol exhibits colon cancer prevention activity in animal models; it is purported to have this activity in humans and inhibit a key signaling pathway involved in colon cancer initiation, the Wnt pathway, in vitro.Design: A phase I pilot study in patients with colon cancer was performed to evaluate the effects of a low dose of plant-derived resveratrol formulation and resveratrol-containing freeze-dried grape powder (GP) on Wnt signaling in the colon. Eight patients were enrolled and normal colonic mucosa and colon cancer tissue were evaluated by Wnt pathway-specific microarray and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) pre- and post-exposure to resveratrol/GP.Results: Based on the expression of a panel of Wnt target genes, resveratrol/GP did not inhibit the Wnt pathway in colon cancer but had significant (p < 0.03) activity in inhibiting Wnt target gene expression in normal colonic mucosa. The greatest effect on Wnt target gene expression was seen following ingestion of 80 g of GP per day (p < 0.001). These results were confirmed with qRT-PCR of cyclinD1 and axinII. The inhibitory effect of GP on Wnt signal throughput was confirmed in vitro with a normal colonic mucosa-derived cell line.Conclusions: These data suggest that GP, which contains low dosages of resveratrol in combination with other bioactive components, can inhibit the Wnt pathway in vivo and that this effect is confined to the normal colonic mucosa. Further study of dietary supplementation with resveratrol-containing foods such as whole grapes or GP as a potential colon cancer preventive strategy is warranted.Trial registration: NCT00256334.Keywords: resveratrol, clinical trial, colon cancer, Wnt signaling, grapes, cancer preventio

Nuclear localization of the mitochondrial factor HIGD1A during metabolic stress.

Cellular stress responses are frequently governed by the subcellular localization of critical effector proteins. Apoptosis-inducing Factor (AIF) or Glyceraldehyde 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH), for example, can translocate from mitochondria to the nucleus, where they modulate apoptotic death pathways. Hypoxia-inducible gene domain 1A (HIGD1A) is a mitochondrial protein regulated by Hypoxia-inducible Factor-1α (HIF1α). Here we show that while HIGD1A resides in mitochondria during physiological hypoxia, severe metabolic stress, such as glucose starvation coupled with hypoxia, in addition to DNA damage induced by etoposide, triggers its nuclear accumulation. We show that nuclear localization of HIGD1A overlaps with that of AIF, and is dependent on the presence of BAX and BAK. Furthermore, we show that AIF and HIGD1A physically interact. Additionally, we demonstrate that nuclear HIGD1A is a potential marker of metabolic stress in vivo, frequently observed in diverse pathological states such as myocardial infarction, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and different types of cancer. In summary, we demonstrate a novel nuclear localization of HIGD1A that is commonly observed in human disease processes in vivo

Grain Boundary Induced Bias Instability in Soluble Acene-Based Thin-Film Transistors

Since the grain boundaries (GBs) within the semiconductor layer of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) have a strong influence on device performance, a substantial number of studies have been devoted to controlling the crystallization characteristics of organic semiconductors. We studied the intrinsic effects of GBs within 5,11-bis(triethylsilylethynyl) anthradithiophene (TES-ADT) thin films on the electrical properties of OFETs. The GB density was easily changed by controlling nulceation event in TES-ADT thin films. When the mixing time was increased, the number of aggregates in as-spun TES-ADT thin films were increased and subsequent exposure of the films to 1,2-dichloroethane vapor led to a significant increase in the number of nuleation sites, thereby increasing the GB density of TES-ADT spherulites. The density of GBs strongly influences the angular spread and crystallographic orientation of TES-ADT spherulites. Accordingly, the FETs with higher GB densities showed much poorer electrical characteristics than devices with lower GB density. Especially, GBs provide charge trapping sites which are responsible for bias-stress driven electrical instability. Dielectric surface treatment with a polystyrene brush layer clarified the GB-induced charge trapping by reducing charge trapping at the semiconductor-dielectric interface. Our study provides an understanding on GB induced bias instability for the development of high performance OFETs

Assessment of changes in quality of life among patients in the SAVE Study - Sirolimus as therapeutic Approach to uVEitis: a randomized study to assess the safety and bioactivity of intravitreal and subconjunctival injections of sirolimus in patients with non-infectious uveitis.

BACKGROUND: The National Eye Institute 39-Question Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-39) is an indicator of vision-related quality of life (QoL). The NEI VFQ-39 is used to assess the QoL in patients with non-infectious posterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, or panuveitis, treated with subconjunctival (SCJ) or intravitreal (IVT) sirolimus as an immunomodulatory therapeutic (IMT) agent, delivered subconjunctivally (SCJ) or intravitreally (IVT) (the SAVE Study). Thirty subjects with non-infectious uveitis were randomized (SCJ:IVT, 1:1) for a prospective clinical trial. The 39-Question Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-39) was administered at baseline (BL), month 6 (M6), and month 12 (M12) visits. The survey measures self-reported vision health status for patients with chronic eye disease and assesses the effects of visual impairment on both task-oriented visual function and general health domains. In accordance to the NEI-VFQ Manual, each patient\u27s questionnaire was converted to a scaled score between 0 (worst) and 100 (best), and median scores were calculated for each of the subcategories and overall composite score at BL, M6, and M12. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients completed the VFQ-39 at BL and M6, whereas 23 patients completed it at M12. Patients showed a significant improvement in pooled composite scores from BL to M6 and BL to M12. Analysis by treatment groups showed that intravitreal injection of sirolimus is better tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Sirolimus has demonstrated bioactivity as an IMT and corticosteroid-sparing agent to treat non-infectious uveitis. Patients receiving intravitreal injection of sirolimus showed overall improvement of vision-related health while those receiving subconjunctival injections did not. Larger randomized control trials with sirolimus are indicated to validate these results. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00908466

Development and validation of the POSITIVES scale (postsecondary information technology scale)

"Final report presented to the Canadian Council on Learning"Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 6 août 2009).Également disponible en format papier.Comprend des références bibliographiques

Ocular tolerability and efficacy of intravitreal and subconjunctival injections of sirolimus in patients with non-infectious uveitis: primary 6-month results of the SAVE Study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ocular tolerability and efficacy of sirolimus administered as subconjunctival or intravitreal injections in patients with non-infectious uveitis. Sirolimus as a Therapeutic Approach for Uveitis (SAVE) is a prospective, randomized, open-label, interventional study. Thirty patients were enrolled and randomized in 1:1 ratio to receive either intravitreal injections of 352 μg sirolimus or subconjunctival injections of 1,320 μg at days 0, 60, and 120, with primary endpoint at month 6. RESULTS: At month 6, all subjects with active uveitis at baseline showed reduction in vitreous haze of one or more steps. Forty percent of subjects showed reduction of two steps or more of vitreous haze (four in each group), and 60% showed a reduction of one-step vitreous haze (seven in group 1 and five in group 2). Changes in the inflammatory indices were statistically significant (p \u3c 0.05) in both study groups. Thirty percent of patients gained one or more lines of visual acuity, 20% lost one or more lines, and 50% maintained the same visual acuity. There were no statistically significant differences between the two study groups at month 6. No serious adverse events were found to be related to the study drug. CONCLUSION: Local administration of sirolimus, either intravitreally or subconjunctivally, appears to be safe and tolerable. No drug-related systemic adverse events or serious adverse events were noted. Sirolimus delivered as either an intravitreal or subconjunctival injection has demonstrated bioactivity as an immunomodulatory and corticosteroid-sparing agent in reducing vitreous haze and cells, improving visual acuity, and in decreasing the need for systemic corticosteroids