The Struggle of the Rubiniumite Wars

The Struggle of the Rubiniumite Warsis a browser-based, one- to two-player, simultaneous turn-based strategy game set amongst the stars. It uses WebGL and Three.js for 3D graphics in the browser, Node.js for game engine and artificial intelligence design on the backend, and Socket.io for networking using websockets. The development group’s inspiration, motivation, and reflections are discussed. Additionally, details on the development of the game engine, database integration with Parse, user registration with Nodemailer, graphics with Three.js and HTML/CSS, and audio with HTML5

Ultrasonic Attenuation and Backscatter Coefficient Estimates of Rodent-Tumor-Mimicking Structures: Comparison of Results among Clinical Scanners

In vivo estimations of the frequency-dependent acoustic attenuation (α) and backscatter (η) coefficients using radiofrequency (rf) echoes acquired with clinical ultrasound systems must be independent of the data acquisition setup and the estimation procedures. In a recent in vivo assessment of these parameters in rodent mammary tumors, overall agreement was observed among α and η estimates using data from four clinical imaging systems. In some cases, particularly in highly-attenuating heterogeneous tumors, multisystem variability was observed. This paper compares α and η estimates of a well-characterized rodent-tumor-mimicking homogeneous phantom scanned using seven transducers with the same four clinical imaging systems: a Siemens Acuson S2000, an Ultrasonix RP, a Zonare Z.one and a VisualSonics Vevo2100. α and η estimates of lesion-mimicking spheres in the phantom were independently assessed by three research groups, who analyzed their system\u27s rf echo signals. Imaging-system-based estimates of α and η of both lesion-mimicking spheres were comparable to through-transmission laboratory estimates and to predictions using Faran\u27s theory, respectively. A few notable variations in results among the clinical systems were observed but the average and maximum percent difference between α estimates and laboratory-assessed values was 11% and 29%, respectively. Excluding a single outlier dataset, the average and maximum average difference between η estimates for the clinical systems and values predicted from scattering theory was 16% and 33%, respectively. These results were an improvement over previous interlaboratory comparisons of attenuation and backscatter estimates. Although the standardization of our estimation methodologies can be further improved, this study validates our results from previous rodent breast-tumor model studies

A Search for Nitrogen-Enhanced Metal-Poor Stars

Theoretical models of very metal-poor intermediate-mass Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars predict a large overabundance of primary nitrogen. The very metal-poor, carbon-enhanced, s-process-rich stars, which are thought to be the polluted companions of now-extinct AGB stars, provide direct tests of the predictions of these models. Recent studies of the carbon and nitrogen abundances in metal-poor stars have focused on the most carbon-rich stars, leading to a potential selection bias against stars that have been polluted by AGB stars that produced large amounts of nitrogen, and hence have small [C/N] ratios. We call these stars Nitrogen-Enhanced Metal-Poor (NEMP) stars, and define them as having [N/Fe] > +0.5 and [C/N] < -0.5. In this paper, we report on the [C/N] abundances of a sample of 21 carbon-enhanced stars, all but three of which have [C/Fe] < +2.0. If NEMP stars were made as easily as Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars, then we expected to find between two and seven NEMP stars. Instead, we found no NEMP stars in our sample. Therefore, this observational bias is not an important contributor to the apparent dearth of N-rich stars. Our [C/N] values are in the same range as values reported previously in the literature (-0.5 to +2.0), and all stars are in disagreement with the predicted [C/N] ratios for both low-mass and high-mass AGB stars. We suggest that the decrease in [C/N] from the low-mass AGB models is due to enhanced extra-mixing, while the lack of NEMP stars may be caused by unfavorable mass ratios in binaries or the difficulty of mass transfer in binary systems with large mass ratios.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, to be published in Ap

Pulse-Echo Quantitative US Biomarkers for Liver Steatosis: Toward Technical Standardization

Excessive liver fat (steatosis) is now the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide and is an independent risk factor for cirrhosis and associated complications. Accurate and clinically useful diagnosis, risk stratification, prognostication, and therapy monitoring require accurate and reliable biomarker measurement at acceptable cost. This article describes a joint effort by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) and the RSNA Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (QIBA) to develop standards for clinical and technical validation of quantitative biomarkers for liver steatosis. The AIUM Liver Fat Quantification Task Force provides clinical guidance, while the RSNA QIBA Pulse-Echo Quantitative Ultrasound Biomarker Committee develops methods to measure biomarkers and reduce biomarker variability. In this article, the authors present the clinical need for quantitative imaging biomarkers of liver steatosis, review the current state of various imaging modalities, and describe the technical state of the art for three key liver steatosis pulse-echo quantitative US biomarkers: attenuation coefficient, backscatter coefficient, and speed of sound. Lastly, a perspective on current challenges and recommendations for clinical translation for each biomarker is offered

Tuberculosis in the San Diego-Tijuana Border Region: Time for Bi-National Community-Based Solutions

The close geographical proximity of San Diego and Tijuana, the stark contrast between their distinct economies and levels of socio-economic development, and the ease and magnitude of cross-border exchange between these two metropolitan areas, demand our undivided attention. According to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), over 60 million persons cross into San Diego from Tijuana at the San Ysidro border crossing each year. In fact, many have come to agree that the San Diego-Tijuana border region does not identify with one particular country, but rather has a broader identity of its own. The blending of economic, social and cultural activities in this region charges us to find bi-national solutions to the unique bi-national issues facing the region. One such regional issue we must confront is that of tuberculosis (TB). Both California and Baja California have TB incidence rates that are much higher than the national rates of their respective countries. Furthermore, Tijuana reports approximately 4 times as many new TB cases per year than does San Diego. There is an urgent need to confront this disparity, and address the issue of bi-national TB control in the San Diego-Tijuana border region to find sustainable, community-based solutions that will benefit both Mexico and the United States. Importantly, as an air-borne infection, successful models of TB control will have applicability to other emerging diseases threats that require cross-border solutions, such as H1N1.TB is a subtle and complex chronic infectious disease that can remain dormant for years after the initial infection. Once active or reactivated, TB often takes weeks or months to be diagnosed correctly, allowing for ongoing exposure and transmission to others. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2 billion people, or one-third of the global population, are currently infected with the M. tuberculosis bacilli. Of those infected, it is estimated that 1 in 10 will develop the active, contagious form of disease at some time in their lives, and those with active TB will infect an average of 10 to 15 people per year if they are not treated. Likely an underestimate, over 600 cases of pulmonary TB were confirmed and reported annually in Tijuana in 2006 and 2007 with an overall rate of 46 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is substantially higher than rates in neighboring Mexican states. In the last decade, there has been an average of over 300 new TB cases per year in San Diego County, of which nearly 40% were born in Mexico. This estimate is likely to understate the influence of Mexico on the TB case load in San Diego, since USborn, Hispanic TB cases are not identified in TB surveillance data as being of Mexican origin. Nevertheless, these cases have significant interaction with Mexico when they, or their contacts, cross the border for social, cultural and economic reasons. Prior to the discovery in 1946 that streptomycin cured TB, the disease claimed the lives of half its victims. Hopes of eradicating TB grew when a 6-month course of daily drug treatment was found to be highly effective for curing TB and rates of disease began to drop worldwide. However, interrupted or inconsistent treatment, combined with the AIDS epidemic, led to the emergence of drug resistant strains of TB bacteria that could no longer be cured with first-line antibiotics, and rates of TB began to increase in the 1980s. To date, the WHO and other agencies have documented cases of TB that are resistant to standard first-line antibiotics and second-line antibiotics in all regions of the world, including the US-Mexico border region. This reverses years of progress in TB control as successful management of drug resistance requires more sophisticated laboratory capacity, educated personnel and access to significantly more expensive drugs. Importantly, drug resistance is completely preventable with appropriate diagnosis that includes drug sensitivity testing and programs like directly observed therapy (DOT) that ensure patients are on proper treatment regimens and do not interrupt therapy or miss doses. Until a vaccine or single-dose treatment is discovered, our best hope for preventing TB from returning to an untreatable disease depends on accurately diagnosing and completely treating patients with TB.Like the disease itself, the costs of TB are complex and difficult to quantify. The direct costs can be described in terms of infrastructure - diagnostic laboratories and equipment, clinic and hospital units appropriately designed for infection control, and surveillance systems; personnel - trained laboratory technicians, informed healthcare providers, DOT workers, contact investigators, and surveillance system managers; and consumables - laboratory reagents, anti-TB medications, infection control supplies, and educational materials. Indirect costs include lost wages for those infected, decreased productivity by employers, and disruption to the community affected by contact tracing activities. We estimate that TB costs in San Diego amount to be at least $21.3 million annually, which includes approximately$12.7 million in lost earnings for patients due to their disease. Beyond the loss of earned wages is the loss by San Diego employers in productivity. Workforce productivity is impacted in several ways by TB. Most significant is that TB symptoms are slow to develop and many infected individuals continue day-to-day activities for weeks or months before their disease is detected, potentially exposing large numbers of contacts at work, home and in the community to TB. This results in additional infections in the workplace and disruptions due to the extensive contact tracing activities that need to take place after a workplace infection. The costs presented here include the major measurable factors and costs to San Diego, but, while high, are certainly an underestimate of total costs. They do not include the substantial hidden costs of lost productivity to employers or other more subtle losses like loss of income to school districts due to scheduled absences for children with TB; nor do they account for other social costs related to stigmatization or infected individuals and their contacts. Importantly, there is consensus for what constitutes a comprehensive TB control program: the WHO DOTS program. This strategy includes early detection of cases, contact tracing, accurate diagnosis through bacterial culture and drug sensitivity testing, uninterrupted access to effective drugs, and DOT. Although incidence rates are declining globally and domestically, the number of cases worldwide is increasing due to population growth and the emergence of resistance threatens to reverse the advances to date. Thus, there is an urgent call by multiple political and professional organizations for a coordinated global response. While the San Diego-Tijuana region is impacted by the growing challenges of TB, this is a preventable and treatable disease and there is tremendous potential to contribute and participate in an international mobilization of public health, clinical personnel, business leaders and communities to effectively combat the disease.Economic analyses clearly indicate that US investment in TB control in Mexico can be a cost-effective means of controlling TB in the United States. Given the epidemiology of TB in the San Diego- Tijuana border such economic benefits are likely to be true for this bi-national region. While this is so, the active involvement of both private businesses and governmental agencies will be required to make this a reality. Successful working models in which businesses located in high TB-incidence areas have taken a lead role in TB control programs already exist through the work of member companies of the Global Business Coalition for HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC). This novel approach to address emerging high impact threats through private-public partnerships provides a promising model that can be adopted in the US-Mexico border region

Vanadium Complexes Are in vitro Inhibitors of Leishmania Secreted Acid Phosphatases

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoa Leishmania. These organisms secrete acid phosphatases during their growth cycle as an important part of cell targeting to host macrophage cells thus allowing for a successful infection. Secreted acid phosphatases (SAP) are reported to play a significant role in the survival of Leishmania cells, thus evaluation of these enzymes is of interest. The inhibition of SAP can be the focus of a new drug therapy. We tested for SAP activity from Leishmania tarentolae following the addition of a series of vanadium complexes including decavanadate. Cell cultures at different stages in their growth curve were harvested by centrifugation and supernatant was collected. The SAP activity in the supernatant was assayed with the artificial substrate p-nitrophenylphosphate (pNPP). Incubation with orthovanadate resulted in a decrease in activity of 18% ± 1 relative to the control, in comparison to decavanadate, which resulted in a 35% ± 4 decrease in activity. Other vanadium complexes showed smaller inhibitory effects than orthovanadate. Some vanadium complexes appeared to have an effect on reducing cell clumping when compared to control cells. The SAP was partially isolated through anion exchange chromatography and results indicate that SAP isozyme forms are present in the supernatant from cells. Future work is focused on obtaining recombinant enzyme which can be more completely characterized for inhibition by vanadium complexes

The redshift evolution of major merger triggering of luminous AGN:a slight enhancement at z∼2

TH was supported by STFC grant ST/M503812/1 during the course of this work. VW, JM-A, MP and KR acknowledge support from the European Research Council Starting Grant SEDmorph (P.I. V. Wild).Active galactic nuclei (AGN), particularly the most luminous AGN, are commonly assumed to be triggered through major mergers, however observational evidence for this scenario is mixed. To investigate any influence of galaxy mergers on AGN triggering and luminosities through cosmic time, we present a sample of 106 luminous X-ray selected type 1 AGN from the COSMOS survey. These AGN occupy a large redshift range (0.5 < z < 2.2) and two orders of magnitude in X-ray luminosity (∼1043 - 1045 erg s-1). AGN hosts are carefully mass and redshift matched to 486 control galaxies. A novel technique for identifying and quantifying merger features in galaxies is developed, subtracting galfit galaxy models and quantifying the residuals. Comparison to visual classification confirms this measure reliably picks out disturbance features in galaxies. No enhancement of merger features with increasing AGN luminosity is found with this metric, or by visual inspection. We analyse the redshift evolution of AGN associated with galaxy mergers and find no merger enhancement in lower redshift bins. Contrarily, in the highest redshift bin (z∼2) AGN are ∼4 times more likely to be in galaxies exhibiting evidence of morphological disturbance compared to control galaxies, at 99% confidence level (∼2.4σ) from visual inspection. Since only ∼15% of these AGN are found to be in morphologically disturbed galaxies, it is implied that major mergers at high redshift make a noticeable but subdominant contribution to AGN fuelling. At low redshifts other processes dominate and mergers become a less significant triggering mechanism.PostprintPeer reviewe