Twitter mood predicts the stock market

Behavioral economics tells us that emotions can profoundly affect individual behavior and decision-making. Does this also apply to societies at large, i.e., can societies experience mood states that affect their collective decision making? By extension is the public mood correlated or even predictive of economic indicators? Here we investigate whether measurements of collective mood states derived from large-scale Twitter feeds are correlated to the value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) over time. We analyze the text content of daily Twitter feeds by two mood tracking tools, namely OpinionFinder that measures positive vs. negative mood and Google-Profile of Mood States (GPOMS) that measures mood in terms of 6 dimensions (Calm, Alert, Sure, Vital, Kind, and Happy). We cross-validate the resulting mood time series by comparing their ability to detect the public's response to the presidential election and Thanksgiving day in 2008. A Granger causality analysis and a Self-Organizing Fuzzy Neural Network are then used to investigate the hypothesis that public mood states, as measured by the OpinionFinder and GPOMS mood time series, are predictive of changes in DJIA closing values. Our results indicate that the accuracy of DJIA predictions can be significantly improved by the inclusion of specific public mood dimensions but not others. We find an accuracy of 87.6% in predicting the daily up and down changes in the closing values of the DJIA and a reduction of the Mean Average Percentage Error by more than 6%

Chemoradiotherapy-Induced CD4+ and CD8+ T-Cell Alterations to Predict Patient Outcomes in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose and Objectives: Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is an important component of treatment for patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Recent research findings support the role of CRT in activating an anti-tumor immune response. However, predictors of CRT efficacy are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to measure CRT-induced changes to lymphocyte subpopulations and to evaluate the prognostic value of lymphocyte alterations for patients with ESCC.Materials and Methods: In total, this pilot study enrolled 64 patients with ESCC who received neo-adjuvant CRT or definitive CRT. Peripheral blood samples were collected before and during treatment and were analyzed by flow cytometry for CD19, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD56, and CD16. Relationships between lymphocyte subset alterations and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated using the log-rank test and a Cox regression model.Results: The median follow-up period was 11.8 months (range, 4.0–20.2 months). Compared to pre-treatment specimens, post-treatment blood samples had decreased proportions of CD19+ B-cells and increased proportions of CD3+ and CD8+ T-cells (all P < 0.05). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that increased CD4+ T-cell ratios after CRT independently predicted superior PFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.383; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.173–0.848, P = 0.017) and that increased CD8+ T-cell ratios predicted improved OS (HR = 0.258; 95% CI = 0.083–0.802, P = 0.019). Patients with both increased CD4+ and CD8+ ratios had a superior PFS and OS, compared to patients with an increased CD4+ ratio only or CD8+ ratio only or neither (1-year PFS rate 63 vs. 25%, 1-year OS rate 80 vs. 62%, P = 0.005 and 0.025, respectively).Conclusions: CRT-induced increases in CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell ratios are reliable biomarker predictors of survival in patients with ESCC

Theoretical Study on the Electronic Structures of Small TinNm (n + m=5, 6) Clusters

45 isomers of TinNm (n + m = 5, 6) clusters, including linear, some planar and some stero configurations, have been predicted by density functional theory method. For five-atom clusters Ti3N2 and Ti2N3, the most stable structures are trigonal bipyramid in D-3h symmetry, and for Ti4N cluster, the isomer with one nitrogen atom occupying the center of quasi-tetrahedron is the most stable. In the isomers Of Ti4N2 and Ti3N3, the planar networks are more stable, but for Ti2N4, the six-membered ring configuration is the most favorable. Most linear structures can form weak-strong bonds alternately with higher energy. As regards to planar structures, the more Ti-N bonds are formed, the more stable they will be; for stero closed polyhedral isomers, their energies are lower.National Natural Science Foundation of China [20503021]; Natural Science Foundation of Fujian [2005HZ01

Density functional theory study of the clusters: TixNy

The cluster TixNy (x <= 3, y <= 2) has been calculated by density functional theory (B3LYP) with effective core potential basis set. The results show that the spin multiplicity of the system was determined by Ti atoms of Ti2N. The negative charge of N was increased with its number of coordinate in Ti3N, and every Ti atom afforded about 0.3 charge to the N atom. From the analysis of Ti2N2, the more the bonds are formed, the more stable the system is. The bond of N-N was weakened with increase of the number of the bonds of Ti-N

Sesquiterpenoids From the Antarctic Fungus Pseudogymnoascus sp. HSX2#-11

The fungal strains Pseudogymnoascus are a kind of psychrophilic pathogenic fungi that are ubiquitously distributed in Antarctica, while the studies of their secondary metabolites are infrequent. Systematic research of the metabolites of the fungus Pseudogymnoascus sp. HSX2#-11 led to the isolation of six new tremulane sesquiterpenoids pseudotremulanes A–F (1–6), combined with one known analog 11,12-epoxy-12β-hydroxy-1-tremulen-5-one (7), and five known steroids (8–12). The absolute configurations of the new compounds (1–6) were elucidated by their ECD spectra and ECD calculations. Compounds 1–7 were proved to be isomeride structures with the same chemical formula. Compounds 1/2, 3/4, 1/4, and 2/3 were identified as four pairs of epimerides at the locations of C-3, C-3, C-9, and C-9, respectively. Compounds 8 and 9 exhibited cytotoxic activities against human breast cancer (MDA-MB-231), colorectal cancer (HCT116), and hepatoma (HepG2) cell lines. Compounds 9 and 10 also showed antibacterial activities against marine fouling bacteria Aeromonas salmonicida. This is the first time to find terpenoids and steroids in the fungal genus Pseudogymnoascus

Niobium cluster structural stability and energetic: calculations and simulations

Density functional method (DFT) has been combined with global minimum techniques into hybrid schemes: The equilibrium geometries and electronic properties of little cluster Nb-n (n=2similar to6) clusters were determined via DFT computations. The potential function was constructed with parameters fitted to calculated results, and a global minimum "basin-hopping" algorithm was used to obtain minimum-energy structures of Nb clusters for n=7similar to20. The results are in good agreement with experiments and other calculations

Geometric structures and magnetic analysis of manganese clusters Mn-5 and Mn-6

Equilibrium geometries and electronic properties of transition metal clusters (Mn-5, Mn-6) have been investigated by means of the relativistic density functional approach. Present results show that these clusters exhibit rich structural varieties on the potential energy surfaces, while the spin polarization at each site and the corresponding magnetic moments are highly sensitive to structures. For Mn-5 cluster, the most stable structure is trigonal bipyramid with spin magnetism of 3 mu(B), and Mn-6 cluster has the most stable structure of ferromagnetic octahedron with spin magnetic moment of 16 mu(B). The more stable isomers of Mn-5 and Mn-6 correspond to different orientations of the atomic spins resulting from the interatomic exchange coupling

Astrocytic Ion Dynamics: Implications for Potassium Buffering and Liquid Flow

We review modeling of astrocyte ion dynamics with a specific focus on the implications of so-called spatial potassium buffering, where excess potassium in the extracellular space (ECS) is transported away to prevent pathological neural spiking. The recently introduced Kirchoff-Nernst-Planck (KNP) scheme for modeling ion dynamics in astrocytes (and brain tissue in general) is outlined and used to study such spatial buffering. We next describe how the ion dynamics of astrocytes may regulate microscopic liquid flow by osmotic effects and how such microscopic flow can be linked to whole-brain macroscopic flow. We thus include the key elements in a putative multiscale theory with astrocytes linking neural activity on a microscopic scale to macroscopic fluid flow.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figure

Preclinical Evaluation of Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus for Therapy of Canine Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Virotherapy using oncolytic vaccinia virus (VACV) strains is one promising new strategy for canine cancer therapy. In this study we describe the establishment of an in vivo model of canine soft tissue sarcoma (CSTS) using the new isolated cell line STSA-1 and the analysis of the virus-mediated oncolytic and immunological effects of two different Lister VACV LIVP1.1.1 and GLV-1h68 strains against CSTS. Cell culture data demonstrated that both tested VACV strains efficiently infected and destroyed cells of the canine soft tissue sarcoma line STSA-1. In addition, in our new canine sarcoma tumor xenograft mouse model, systemic administration of LIVP1.1.1 or GLV-1h68 viruses led to significant inhibition of tumor growth compared to control mice. Furthermore, LIVP1.1.1 mediated therapy resulted in almost complete tumor regression and resulted in long-term survival of sarcoma-bearing mice. The replication of the tested VACV strains in tumor tissues led to strong oncolytic effects accompanied by an intense intratumoral infiltration of host immune cells, mainly neutrophils. These findings suggest that the direct viral oncolysis of tumor cells and the virus-dependent activation of tumor-associated host immune cells could be crucial parts of anti-tumor mechanism in STSA-1 xenografts. In summary, the data showed that both tested vaccinia virus strains and especially LIVP1.1.1 have great potential for effective treatment of CSTS