Disclosure with an emotional intelligent synthetic partner

To talk and write about one’s feelings has a beneficial effect on one’s physical and psychological health. More specifically, conversation evoking disclosure of emotions and traumatic events has a positive effect on one’s health, rather than chitchat. Astronauts on a mission are exposed to stressful situations, without the presence of a therapist or even comfortable communication with home base. Given that it is important one is able to express one’s feelings regularly, this situation clearly is a threat to success of enduring space missions. In this paper we discuss using an emotional intelligent relational agent to help solve this problem

Probing the heat during the PCCI beat : determining PCCI engine temperatures using two-line thermometry, Aachen, Germany.

Temperature is a key parameter for reaction progress during combustion, and as such its experimental determination has been a subject of considerable interest for many years. The aim of our present project is to study the 2-D temperature field in a realistic heavy-duty Diesel engine under the conditions of premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) combustion. Two-line OH Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) thermometry will be used, in combination with spontaneous Raman scattering as an independent calibration. Here, we discuss the initial test measurements performed on a high-pressure high-temperature gas cell, and the selection of OH line pairs for thermometry. In addition, we will discuss Raman scattering temperature measurements that were carried out in a realistic engine

Laser beam attenuation in LIF measurements on NO in a diesel engine

The effect of laser beam attenuation on nitric oxide measurements in a diesel engine is presented. A number ofexperimental ways to correct for this attenuation are discussed: transmission measurements, bidirectional laserinducedfluorescence, and Raman scattering by N2. Comparison of the results indicates that the attenuation isgenerally not uniform over the cylinder. Instead it seems to be less severe over the field of view (i.e. the upper partof the cylinder)

Laser beam attenuation in LIF measurements on NO in a diesel engine

The effect of laser beam attenuation on nitric oxide measurements in a diesel engine is presented. A number ofexperimental ways to correct for this attenuation are discussed: transmission measurements, bidirectional laserinducedfluorescence, and Raman scattering by N\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e. Comparison of the results indicates that the attenuation isgenerally not uniform over the cylinder. Instead it seems to be less severe over the field of view (i.e. the upper partof the cylinder)

Exploring immune status in peripheral blood and tumor tissue in association with survival in patients with multi-organ metastatic colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) raises considerable clinical challenges, including a high mortality rate once the tumor spreads to distant sites. At this advanced stage, more accurate prediction of prognosis and treatment outcome is urgently needed. The role of cancer immunity in metastatic CRC (mCRC) is poorly understood. Here, we explore cellular immune cell status in patients with multi-organ mCRC. We analyzed T cell infiltration in primary tumor sections, surveyed the lymphocytic landscape of liver metastases, and assessed circulating mononuclear immune cells. Besides asking whether immune cells are associated with survival at this stage of the disease, we investigated correlations between the different tissue types; as this could indicate a dominant immune phenotype. Taken together, our analyses corroborate previous observations that higher levels of CD8+ T lymphocytes link to better survival outcomes. Our findings therefore extend evidence from earlier stages of CRC to indicate an important role for cancer immunity in disease control even after metastatic spreading to multiple organs. This finding may help to improve predicting outcome of patients with mCRC and suggests a future role for immunotherapeutic strategies.</p

Semiautomatic Assessment of the Terminal Ileum and Colon in Patients with Crohn Disease Using MRI (the VIGOR++ Project)

Rationale and Objectives: The objective of this study was to develop and validate a predictive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) activity score for ileocolonic Crohn disease activity based on both subjective and semiautomatic MRI features. Materials and Methods: An MRI activity score (the “virtual gastrointestinal tract [VIGOR]” score) was developed from 27 validated magnetic resonance enterography datasets, including subjective radiologist observation of mural T2 signal and semiautomatic measurements of bowel wall thickness, excess volume, and dynamic contrast enhancement (initial slope of increase). A second subjective score was developed based on only radiologist observations. For validation, two observers applied both scores and three existing scores to a prospective dataset of 106 patients (59 women, median age 33) with known Crohn disease, using the endoscopic Crohn's Disease Endoscopic Index of Severity (CDEIS) as a reference standard. Results: The VIGOR score (17.1 × initial slope of increase + 0.2 × excess volume + 2.3 × mural T2) and other activity scores all had comparable correlation to the CDEIS scores (observer 1: r = 0.58 and 0.59, and observer 2: r = 0.34–0.40 and 0.43–0.51, respectively). The VIGOR score, however, improved interobserver agreement compared to the other activity scores (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.81 vs 0.44–0.59). A diagnostic accuracy of 80%–81% was seen for the VIGOR score, similar to the other scores. Conclusions: The VIGOR score achieves comparable accuracy to conventional MRI activity scores, but with significantly improved reproducibility, favoring its use for disease monitoring and therapy evaluation

Meta-analysis of type 2 Diabetes in African Americans Consortium

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is more prevalent in African Americans than in Europeans. However, little is known about the genetic risk in African Americans despite the recent identification of more than 70 T2D loci primarily by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in individuals of European ancestry. In order to investigate the genetic architecture of T2D in African Americans, the MEta-analysis of type 2 DIabetes in African Americans (MEDIA) Consortium examined 17 GWAS on T2D comprising 8,284 cases and 15,543 controls in African Americans in stage 1 analysis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) association analysis was conducted in each study under the additive model after adjustment for age, sex, study site, and principal components. Meta-analysis of approximately 2.6 million genotyped and imputed SNPs in all studies was conducted using an inverse variance-weighted fixed effect model. Replications were performed to follow up 21 loci in up to 6,061 cases and 5,483 controls in African Americans, and 8,130 cases and 38,987 controls of European ancestry. We identified three known loci (TCF7L2, HMGA2 and KCNQ1) and two novel loci (HLA-B and INS-IGF2) at genome-wide significance (4.15 × 10(-94)<P<5 × 10(-8), odds ratio (OR)  = 1.09 to 1.36). Fine-mapping revealed that 88 of 158 previously identified T2D or glucose homeostasis loci demonstrated nominal to highly significant association (2.2 × 10(-23) < locus-wide P<0.05). These novel and previously identified loci yielded a sibling relative risk of 1.19, explaining 17.5% of the phenotypic variance of T2D on the liability scale in African Americans. Overall, this study identified two novel susceptibility loci for T2D in African Americans. A substantial number of previously reported loci are transferable to African Americans after accounting for linkage disequilibrium, enabling fine mapping of causal variants in trans-ethnic meta-analysis studies.Peer reviewe