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Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) stereotactic body radiation therapy with 50 Gy/5 fractions is sometimes considered controversial, as the nominal biologically effective dose (BED) of 100 Gy is felt by some to be insufficient for long-term local control of some lesions. In this study, we analyzed such patients using explainable deep learning techniques and consequently proposed appropriate treatment planning criteria. These novel criteria could help planners achieve optimized treatment plans for maximal local control. A total of 535 patients treated with 50 Gy/5 fractions were used to develop a novel deep learning local response model. A multimodality approach, incorporating computed tomography images, 3-dimensional dose distribution, and patient demographics, combined with a discrete-time survival model, was applied to predict time to failure and the probability of local control. Subsequently, an integrated gradient-weighted class activation mapping method was used to identify the most significant dose-volume metrics predictive of local failure and their optimal cut-points. The model was cross-validated, showing an acceptable performance (c-index: 0.72, 95% CI, 0.68-0.75); the testing c-index was 0.69. The model's spatial attention was concentrated mostly in the tumors' periphery (planning target volume [PTV] - internal gross target volume [IGTV]) region. Statistically significant dose-volume metrics in improved local control were BED D near-min ≥ 103.8 Gy in IGTV (hazard ratio [HR], 0.31; 95% CI, 015-0.63), V104 ≥ 98% in IGTV (HR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.15-0.60), gEUD ≥ 103.8 Gy in PTV-IGTV (HR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.12-0.50), and D mean ≥ 104.5 Gy in PTV-IGTV (HR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.12-0.51). Deep learning–identified dose-volume metrics have shown significant prognostic power (log-rank, P =.003) and could be used as additional actionable criteria for treatment planning in NSCLC stereotactic body radiation therapy patients receiving 50 Gy in 5 fractions. Although our data do not confirm or refute that a significantly higher BED for the prescription dose is necessary for tumor control in NSCLC, it might be clinically effective to escalate the nominal prescribed dose from BED 100 to 105 Gy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Flowability and hydrophilicity are essential properties of accurate impressions and casts. Aim of study: This study aimed to quantify these characteristics of elastomeric impression materials. Material and Methods: A total number of eight impression materials, including vinyl polysiloxane (PVS), polyether (PE), and condensation silicone (CS) were thoroughly investigated in this study. The flowability of elastomers was proven with the shark fin test (SFT), and the hydrophilicity was determined with contact angle (CA) measurements. Results: The shark fins' (SF) of VPSs presented 11.57 mm (SD 3.49), while the PE 11.37 mm (SD 5.06) and CS 8.1 mm average values. Some of the products showed better flowability. Based on 128 measured CAs, the examined polyethers had the lowest CAs which indicate good hydrophilicity. Conclusions: A good performance of an impression material in one of the involved tests (SFT and CA) does not mean a similar result in the other analysis. All investigated impression materials could be considered hydrophilic as their CA was lower than 90°. The SFTs of light-bodied VPSs and PEs suggest reliable use of them in dental practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Uptake of lung cancer screening (LCS) has been slow with less than 20% of eligible people who currently or formerly smoked reported to have undergone a screening CT. Objective: To determine individual-, health system-, and neighborhood-level factors associated with LCS uptake after a provider order for screening. Design and Subjects: We conducted an observational cohort study of screening-eligible patients within the Population-based Research to Optimize the Screening Process (PROSPR)–Lung Consortium who received a radiology referral/order for a baseline low-dose screening CT (LDCT) from a healthcare provider between January 1, 2015, and June 30, 2019. Main Measures: The primary outcome is screening uptake, defined as LCS-LDCT completion within 90 days of the screening order date. Key Results: During the study period, 18,294 patients received their first order for LCS-LDCT. Orders more than doubled from the beginning to the end of the study period. Overall, 60% of patients completed screening after receiving their first LCS-LDCT order. Across health systems, uptake varied from 41 to 87%. In both univariate and multivariable analyses, older age, male sex, former smoking status, COPD, and receiving care in a centralized LCS program were positively associated with completing LCS-LDCT. Unknown insurance status, other or unknown race, and lower neighborhood socioeconomic status, as measured by the Yost Index, were negatively associated with screening uptake. Conclusions: Overall, 40% of patients referred for LCS did not complete a LDCT within 90 days, highlighting a substantial gap in the lung screening care pathway, particularly in decentralized screening programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding and predicting complex drug metabolism, transport, and drug–drug interactions (DDIs) are of primary importance for drug discovery and development. Over the past decade, artificial intelligence (AI) approaches including machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) methodologies have shown impressive progress and have been employed to accelerate drug development processes and to improve the prediction of drug metabolism, transport, and DDIs. Important challenges to be overcome include the lack of sufficient quantity and quality of experimental data, as well as the handling of heterogeneous data, but new initiatives have been undertaken to complete the missing knowledge. The integration of high-quality pharmacological and structural data together with physics-based modeling may foster next-generation AI for the prediction of drug metabolism, transport, and DDIs. Drug metabolism and transport, orchestrated by drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) and drug transporters (DTs), are implicated in drug–drug interactions (DDIs) and adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Reliable and precise predictions of DDIs and ADRs are critical in the early stages of drug development to reduce the rate of drug candidate failure. A variety of experimental and computational technologies have been developed to predict DDIs and ADRs. Recent artificial intelligence (AI) approaches offer new opportunities for better predicting and understanding the complex processes related to drug metabolism and transport. We summarize the role of major DMEs and DTs, and provide an overview of current progress in computational approaches for the prediction of drug metabolism, transport, and DDIs, with an emphasis on AI including machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfotransferases (SULTs) are phase II metabolizing enzymes catalyzing the sulfoconjugation from the co-factor 3′-Phosphoadenosine 5′-Phosphosulfate (PAPS) to a wide variety of endogenous compounds, drugs and natural products. Although SULT1A1 and SULT1A3 share 93% identity, SULT1A1, the most abundant SULT isoform in humans, exhibits a broad substrate range with specificity for small phenolic compounds, while SULT1A3 displays a high affinity toward monoamine neurotransmitters like dopamine. To elucidate the factors determining the substrate specificity of the SULT1 isoenzymes, we studied the dynamic behavior and structural specificities of SULT1A1 and SULT1A3 by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and ensemble docking of common and specific substrates of the two isoforms. Our results demonstrated that while SULT1A1 exhibits a relatively rigid structure by showing lower conformational flexibility except for the lip (loop L1), the loop L2 and the cap (L3) of SULT1A3 are extremely flexible. We identified protein residues strongly involved in the recognition of different substrates for the two isoforms. Our analyses indicated that being more specific and highly flexible, the structure of SULT1A3 has particularities in the binding site, which are crucial for its substrate selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metagenomic studies have uncovered many novel viruses by looking beyond hosts of public health or economic interest. However, the resulting viral genomes are often incomplete, and analyses largely characterize the distribution of viruses over their dynamics. Here, we integrate accumulated data from metagenomic studies to reveal geographic and evolutionary dynamics in a case study of Orthomyxoviridae, the RNA virus family that includes influenza virus. First, we use sequences of the orthomyxovirid Wǔhàn mosquito virus 6 to track the migrations of its host. We then look at orthomyxovirus genome evolution, finding gene gain and loss across members of the family, especially in the surface proteins responsible for cell and host tropism. We find that the surface protein of Wǔhàn mosquito virus 6 exhibits accelerated non-synonymous evolution suggestive of antigenic evolution, i.e., vertebrate infection, and belongs to a wider quaranjavirid group bearing highly diverged surface proteins. Finally, we quantify the progress of orthomyxovirus discovery and forecast that many diverged Orthomyxoviridae members remain to be found. We argue that continued metagenomic studies will be fruitful for understanding the dynamics, evolution, ecology of viruses, and their hosts, regardless of whether novel viruses are identified or not, as long as study designs allowing for the resolution of complete viral genomes are employed. IMPORTANCE The number of known virus species has increased dramatically through metagenomic studies, which search genetic material sampled from a host for non-host genes. Here, we focus on an important viral family that includes influenza viruses, the Orthomyxoviridae, with over 100 recently discovered viruses infecting hosts from humans to fish. We find that one virus called Wǔhàn mosquito virus 6, discovered in mosquitoes in China, has spread across the globe very recently. Surface proteins used to enter cells show signs of rapid evolution in Wǔhàn mosquito virus 6 and its relatives which suggests an ability to infect vertebrate animals. We compute the rate at which new orthomyxovirus species discovered add evolutionary history to the tree of life, predict that many viruses remain to be discovered, and discuss what appropriately designed future studies can teach us about how diseases cross between continents and species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tele-consults provide access to specialized care for a specific question and single point in time. eICU models utilize remote monitoring and ordering but have significant financial burden. We developed a virtual intensive care unit (VICU) for daily input of an intensivist working with local physicians. The purpose was to expand the acute care ability of the critical access hospital (CAH). The study evaluates the impact on the CAH and system. Methods: The CAH developed an ICU team, led by a hospitalist, who staffed the intensive care unit (ICU). The CAH ICU team rounds daily via a secure video link to provide care in consultation with intensivists based at a university, tertiary care center (TC). A retrospective analysis was conducted 6 months before and after implementation (4/2018-3/2019). Fisher's exact test was used to compare pre- and post-intervention with significance at P <.04. Results: After VICU implementation, there were 265 initial daily and 35 follow-up consults. Monthly transfers to a higher level of care decreased from 63 to 57 (P =.03). Transfers to TC increased from 49.6 to 62.0% (P =.001). Critical access hospital average monthly census and average monthly inpatient days increased (69 to 130 (P <.0001) and 158 to 319 (P <.0001), respectively). Critical access hospital physicians report increased comfort to admit ICU and non-ICU patients due to the program. The total startup cost was $5180. CAH hired 11 providers. There were no unanticipated deaths. Discussion: VICU implementation resulted in new CAH jobs. The CAH experienced increased inpatient census and revenues (ICU and non-ICU) while decreasing patients transferred out of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating a supersonic jet in the laboratory is both a challenging and an expensive task. The supersonic flow is sensitive to the shape of the wall bounding it because a shock could be developed at the sharp edges. Moreover, the growth of boundary layer, within and outside the nozzle, makes the design of a convergent-divergent nozzle a sophisticated work. The present work proposes an optimization algorithm that is believed to be efficient in constructing a nozzle contour to deliver a shock-free radially uniform flow at the exit plane. The steepest descent optimization technique is employed to obtain the shape with minimum radial velocity at the outlet, along with restriction on the inlet angle, i.e., the angle of divergence immediately downstream the throat. Three different ways of implementing the constraints are discussed and compared with the experimental results after fabricating the nozzle. The optimized nozzle shows a potential core of 7 throat diameters height at the nozzle exit and an axial extent of 28 throat diameters downstream the exit plane. Further, the nozzle appears to operate efficiently even after increasing the nominal total temperature by 25% or decreasing it by 50%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central line–associated bloodstream infection is a complication with serious consequences and biofilm development is thought to play a role. This study evaluated the impact of sterilization technique on central venous catheter (CVC) biofilm formation. This pilot study was conducted in the surgical intensive care unit of a tertiary care facility. All CVCs were inserted with chlorhexidine preparation (CHG). CHG-only CVCs were compared to the use of CHG with chlorhexidine gluconate–impregnated sponge (CHGIS). After removal, a punch biopsy of the CVC was taken at the noted skin level. Scanning electron microscopy identified the stage of biofilm. Confocal laser scanning microscopy with SYPRO stain confirmed the presence of glycocalyx and a volumetric analysis was completed. Twenty four CVCs were collected. Indications for line placement were similar, with 42% placed for sepsis in the CHGIS group and 33% in the CHG group. There were no positive line cultures or bacteremia and 2/12 CHGIS patients had candidemia. CHGIS lines were in place for a mean of 91 h, compared to 60 h with CHG alone (P = 0.19). The interior of CVCs had lower stage biofilms than the exterior and lacked stage 4 biofilms. Stage 4 biofilms were present externally on 50% of CVCs (8/12 CHG and 4/12 CHGIS). Stage 3 biofilms were present on 7/12 CHG and 6/12 CHGIS interior samples. Volume analysis found an increase in biofilm and glycocalyx in CHGIS compared to CHG samples. This study identified biofilms on both surfaces of CVCs. No significant difference in biofilm formation was found based on a sterilization technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No-tillage (NT) and no-tillage systems (NTS) are widely used conservation agriculture practices in Brazil, and in the state of Paraná, nearly 80% of annual crops are cultivated using these methods. Compared with NT, NTS sites permanently include: minimum soil disturbance, soil cover (straw and living vegetation) and crop rotation and diversification with cover crops. These practices often increase earthworm populations, that can be used to indicate soil health. Herein, we review soil health classification of NT sites, and the species found in Paraná state. We compiled information from 130 sites with NT or NTS, located in 29 counties, of which 93 had biomass and 91 had species richness data, aiming to compare NT with NTS sites, and the effect of the age of these practices on earthworm populations. Overall, 29 earthworm species were recorded, of which 17 were native, including many new to science. Mean abundance and biomass in NT + NTS were 104 ind m−2 and 2.5 g m−2, respectively, and richness 2.5 species per site. Abundance was significantly higher in NT than NTS in the initial phase of adoption, and both abundance and biomass decreased with increasing age of NT. Earthworm abundance and species richness were positively correlated with clayey soils and phosphorus content, while higher biomass was associated with soil carbon content and pH. A new classification system was proposed, with the categories poor (<50 ind. m−2, 1 species), moderate (≥50 to <100 ind m−2, 2 species), good (≥100 to <150 ind m−2, 3 species), very good (≥150 to 200 ind m−2, 4 species) and excellent (≥200 ind m−2, ≥5 species) soil health, using earthworm abundance and species richness, respectively. Most of the sites sampled showed poor or moderate soil health, with few displaying very good or excellent health, indicating the need for improved management practices, in order to promote earthworm populations and their potential benefits to soil fertility and plant production. • Overall 29 earthworm species (17 native) were found in no-tillage in Paraná state. • Abundance and biomass decreased with increasing no-tillage age. • Sites under no-tillage system in the consolidation phase, had higher earthworm abundance. • Farmers can classify their soil's health using earthworm abundance and species richness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rodents, along with numerous other mammals, heavily depend on olfactory cues to navigate their social interactions. Processing of olfactory sensory inputs is mediated by conserved brain circuits that ultimately trigger social behaviors, such as social interactions and parental care. Although innate, parenting is influenced by internal states, social experience, genetics, and the environment, and any significant disruption of these factors can impact the social circuits. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms and social circuits from the olfactory epithelium to central processing that initiate parental behaviors and their dysregulations that may contribute to the social impairments in mouse models of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We discuss recent advances of the crucial role of olfaction in parental care, its consequences for social interactions, and the reciprocal influence on social interaction impairments in mouse models of ASD. • Parental behaviors in rodents is largely controlled by the olfactory system. • Responses to pup olfactory cues are influenced by internal and external factors. • Parenting elicit plastic changes in the olfactory periphery and central brain regions. • Autism-associated genes influence pup detection and subsequent parental behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Values-based practice (VBP) is a framework of clinical theory and skills to facilitate a good process whereby the (often conflicting) values involved in clinical decision-making can be recognised and balanced productively. Many of these values come from the personal histories of the patient and of the clinician, and the traditions and history of psychiatry. New developments in science lead to increasing choice and increasing complexity of values. Therefore, psychiatrists will need more skills in this area, as reflected by the inclusion of VBP in the Royal College of Psychiatrists' training curricula. This article describes some tools for understanding and navigating this value diversity in applying science to clinical practice during history taking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphological and pharmacological studies indicate that hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons communicate with each other in rats and regulate a variety of hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic functions. Indeed, electron microscopic studies revealed NPY-immunoreactive (NPI-IR) synapses on β-endorphin-IR neurons in the hypothalamus. However, no such connections have been reported in humans. Here, we studied the putative NPY–β-endorphin associations with high-resolution light microscopic double-label immunocytochemistry in the human hypothalamus. The majority of β-endorphin-IR perikarya appear to be innervated by abutting NPY-IR fibers in the infundibulum/median eminence, receiving more than 6 contacts (38% of the counted neurons) or three to six contacts (42% of the counted neurons). The rest of the β-endorphin-IR neurons are lightly innervated by NPY fibers (14%, one–three contacts) or do not receive any detectable NPY-IR axon varicosities (6% of the counted neurons). Since β-endorphin is cleaved from the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) precursor, the NPY–β-endorphin connections also provide the foundation for NPY–α-MSH and NPY–ACTH connections and their subsequent physiology. The close anatomical connections between NPY-IR nerve terminals and β-endorphin-IR neurons reported herein may represent functional synapses and provide the foundation for NPY-stimulated β-endorphin release. By interacting with β-endorphin, NPY may have a more widespread regulatory capacity than acting alone on different neurotransmitter systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterization of inflammation in chronic rhinosinusitis with (CRSwNP) and without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) is an ongoing research process. To overcome limitations of current cytologic techniques, we investigated whether immunofluorescence multiplex image cytometry could quantify intact neutrophils, eosinophils, and other immune cells in solid upper airway mucosa. We used a four-channel immunofluorescence-microscopy technique for the simultaneous detection of the leukocyte marker CD45, the neutrophil marker myeloperoxidase, two eosinophil markers, i.e., major basic protein and eosinophil peroxidase, and DAPI (4′,6-diamidin-2-phenylindole), in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded upper airway tissue samples of patients with CRSwNP and CRSsNP, as well as of patients free of CRS with inferior turbinate hypertrophy (controls). Image acquisition and analysis were performed with TissueFAXS and StrataQuest (TissueGnostics, Vienna, Austria), respectively. Positive and negative immunostaining were differentiated with a specific fluorescence signal/background signal ratio. Isotype controls were used as negative controls. In six controls, nine patients with CRSsNP, and 11 patients with CRSwNP, the median area scanned and median cell count per patient were 14.2 mm2 and 34,356, respectively. In CRSwNP, the number of eosinophils was three times higher (23%) than that of neutrophils (7%). Three times more immune cells were encountered in CRSwNP (33%) compared to CRSsNP (11%). In controls, inflammation was balanced between the epithelial layer and lamina propria, in contrast to CRS (three times more pronounced inflammation in the lamina propria). The quantification of intact neutrophils, eosinophils, and other immune cells in solid tissue with undisrupted architecture seems feasible with immunofluorescence multiplex image cytometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of humor in medical education. Also cited are the benefits of a well-executed humor in clinical teaching like enhance learner engagement, promote effective learning environment, and increase student satisfaction, its potential adverse effects like creating misunderstanding and fostering isolation or division, as well as the incongruity theory about humor.

Starting from a peculiar orientifold projection proposed long ago by Angelantonj and Cardella, we elaborate on a novel perturbative scenario that involves only D-branes, together with the two types of orientifold planes O± and anti-orientifold planes O ¯ ± . We elucidate the microscopic ingredients of such models, connecting them to a novel realization of brane supersymmetry breaking. Depending on the position of the D-branes in the internal space, supersymmetry can be broken at the string scale on branes, or alternatively only at the massive level. The main novelty of this construction is that it features no NS-NS disk tadpoles, while avoiding open-string instabilities. The one-loop potential, which depends on the positions of the D-branes, is minimized for maximally broken, non-linearly realized supersymmetry. The orientifold projection and the effective field theory description reveal a soft breaking of supersymmetry in the closed-string sector. In such models it is possible to decouple the gravitino mass from the value of the scalar potential, while avoiding brane instabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfotransferases (SULTs) are phase II drug-metabolizing enzymes catalyzing the sulfoconjugation from the co-factor 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (PAPS) to a substrate. It has been previously suggested that a considerable shift of SULT structure caused by PAPS binding could control the capability of SULT to bind large substrates. We employed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and the recently developed approach of MD with excited normal modes (MDeNM) to elucidate molecular mechanisms guiding the recognition of diverse substrates and inhibitors by SULT1A1. MDeNM allowed exploring an extended conformational space of PAPS-bound SULT1A1, which has not been achieved up to now by using classical MD. The generated ensembles combined with docking of 132 SULT1A1 ligands shed new light on substrate and inhibitor binding mechanisms. Unexpectedly, our simulations and analyses on binding of the substrates estradiol and fulvestrant demonstrated that large conformational changes of the PAPS-bound SULT1A1 could occur independently of the co-factor movements that could be sufficient to accommodate large substrates as fulvestrant. Such structural displacements detected by the MDeNM simulations in the presence of the co-factor suggest that a wider range of drugs could be recognized by PAPS-bound SULT1A1 and highlight the utility of including MDeNM in protein–ligand interactions studies where major rearrangements are expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RalF is an Arf GEF from Legionella pneumophilia, the bacterium that causes severe pneumonia. In its crystal structure, RalF is in the autoinhibited form. A large-scale domain motion is expected to lift the autoinhibition, the mechanism of which is still unknown. Since RalF is activated in the presence of the membrane, its active structure and the structure of the RalF-Arf1 complex could not have been determined experimentally. On the simulation side, it has been proven that classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) alone is not efficient enough to map motions of such amplitude and determine the active conformation of RalF. In this article, using Molecular Dynamics with excited Normal Modes (MDeNM) combined with previous experimental findings we were able to determine the active RalF structure and the structure of the RalF-Arf1 complex in the presence of the membrane, bridging the gap between experiments and simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mosquitoes are major infectious disease-carrying vectors. Assessment of current and future risks associated with the mosquito population requires knowledge of the full repertoire of pathogens they carry, including novel viruses, as well as their blood meal sources. Unbiased metatranscriptomic sequencing of individual mosquitoes offers a straightforward, rapid, and quantitative means to acquire this information. Here, we profile 148 diverse wild-caught mosquitoes collected in California and detect sequences from eukaryotes, prokaryotes, 24 known and 46 novel viral species. Importantly, sequencing individuals greatly enhanced the value of the biological information obtained. It allowed us to (a) speciate host mosquito, (b) compute the prevalence of each microbe and recognize a high frequency of viral co-infections, (c) associate animal pathogens with specific blood meal sources, and (d) apply simple co-occurrence methods to recover previously undetected components of highly prevalent segmented viruses. In the context of emerging diseases, where knowledge about vectors, pathogens, and reservoirs is lacking, the approaches described here can provide actionable information for public health surveillance and intervention decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bacterial infection of embryo culture medium is rare but may be detrimental. The main source of embryo culture contamination is semen. Assisted reproduction centers currently lack consensus regarding the methods for preventing and managing embryo culture infection. In our recent case, a successful pregnancy was achieved with intracytoplasmic sperm injection after failed conventional in vitro fertilization owing to bacterial contamination. Case presentation: We present a case report of two consecutive in vitro fertilization–intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles with photo and video documentation of the bacterial growth. A 36-year-old Hungarian woman and her 37-year-old Hungarian partner came to our department. They had two normal births followed by 2 years of infertility. The major causes of infertility were a closed fallopian tube and asthenozoospermia. Bacterial infection of the embryo culture medium was observed during in vitro fertilization and all oocytes degenerated. The source was found to be the semen. To prevent contamination, intracytoplasmic sperm injection was used for fertilization in the subsequent cycle. Intracytoplasmic bacterial proliferation was observed in one of the three fertilized eggs, but two good-quality embryos were successfully obtained. The transfer of one embryo resulted in a successful pregnancy and a healthy newborn was delivered. Conclusion: Intracytoplasmic sperm injection may be offered to couples who fail conventional in vitro fertilization treatment owing to bacteriospermia, as it seems to prevent infection of the embryo culture. Even if bacterial contamination appears, our case encourages us to continue treatment. Nevertheless, the development of new management guidelines for the prevention and management of bacterial contamination is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was recently shown that in warped compactifications based on a Klebanov-Strassler throat there is a light complex structure field, governing the size of the throat and the redshift at its tip. We show that after uplift of the cosmological constant by an anti-D3 brane at the tip of the throat, the contribution to supersymmetry breaking coming from the new light field is large. We work out the mass scales, in particular the condition for this field to be heavier than the Kähler modulus. We check that for the range of parameters relevant for the destabilization we find agreement with de Sitter swampland conjecture. Adding matter fields on distant branes, we discuss the effects on supersymmetry breaking in the observable sector. A hierarchically small scale of supersymmetry breaking translates generically into large values of localized D3 charges in the manifold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersecting D-brane models and their T-dual magnetic compactifications provide an attractive framework for particle physics, allowing for chiral fermions and supersymmetry breaking. Generically, magnetic compactifications have tachyons that are usually removed by Wilson lines. However, quantum corrections prevent local minima for Wilson lines. We therefore study tachyon condensation in the simplest case, the magnetic compactification of type I string theory on a torus to eight dimensions. We find that tachyon condensation restores supersymmetry, which is broken by the magnetic flux, and we compute the Kaluza-Klein mass spectrum. The gauge group SO(32) is broken to USp(16). We give arguments that the vacuum reached by tachyon condensation corresponds to the unique 8d superstring theory already known in the literature, with discrete Bab background or, in the T-dual version, the type IIB orientifold with three O7−-planes, one O7+-plane and eight D7-branes coincident with the O7+-plane. The ground state after tachyon condensation is supersymmetric and has no chiral fermions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epithelial, connective tissue and immune cells contribute in various ways to the pathophysiology of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). However, data of their distribution in upper airway mucosa are sparse. We aimed to provide quantitative, purely informative data on the distribution of these cell lineages and their coexpression patterns, which might help identifying, e.g., cells in the epithelium undergoing through epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). For this purpose, we used immunofluorescence multichannel image cytometry (IMIC). We examined fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples (FFPE) of six patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and of three patients without CRS (controls). The direct-conjugated antibodies pancytokeratin, vimentin and CD45/CD18 were used for coexpression analysis in epithelial layer and lamina propria. Image acquisition and analysis were performed with TissueFAXS and StrataQuest, respectively. To distinguish positive from negative expression, a ratio between cell-specific immunostaining intensity and background was developed. Isotype controls were used as negative controls. Per patient, a 4.5-mm2 tissue area was scanned and a median of 14,875 cells was recognized. The most common cell types were cytokeratin-single-positive (26%), vimentin-single-positive (13%) and CD45/CD18-single-positive with CD45/CD18–vimentin-double-positive cells (29%). In the patients with CRS, CD45/CD18-single-positive cells were 3–6 times higher compared to the control patients. In the epithelial layer, cytokeratin–vimentin-double-positive EMT cells were observed 3–5 times higher in the patients with CRS than in the control patients. This study provided quantitative data for the distribution of crucial cell types in CRS. Future studies may focus on the distribution and coexpression patterns of different immune cells in CRS or even cancer tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stipulate shared decision-making (SDM) counseling as a prerequisite to lung cancer screening (LCS) reimbursement, despite well-known challenges implementing SDM in practice.Research Question: How have health-care organizations implemented SDM for LCS?Study Design and Methods: For this qualitative study, we used data from in-depth, semistructured interviews with key informants directly involved in implementing SDM for LCS, managing SDM for LCS, or both. We identified respondents using a snowball sampling technique and used template analysis to identify and analyze responses thematically.Results: We interviewed 30 informants representing 23 health-care organizations located in 12 states and 4 Census regions. Respondents described two types of SDM for LCS programs: centralized models (n = 7), in which front-end practitioners (eg, primary care providers) referred patients to an LCS clinic where trained staff (eg, advanced practice nurses) delivered SDM at the time of screening, or decentralized models (n = 10), in which front-end practitioners delivered SDM before referring patients for screening. Some organizations used both models simultaneously (n = 6). Respondents discussed tradeoffs between SDM quality and access. They perceived centralized models as enhancing SDM quality, but limiting patient access to care, and vice versa. Respondents reported ongoing challenges with limited resources and budgetary constraints, ambiguity regarding what constitutes SDM, and an absence of benchmarks for evaluating SDM for LCS quality.Interpretation: Those responsible for developing and managing SDM for LCS programs voiced concerns regarding both patient access and SDM quality, regardless of organizational context, or the SDM for LCS model implemented. The challenge facing these organizations, and those wanting to help patients and clinicians balance the tradeoffs inherent with LCS, is how to move beyond a check-box documentation requirement to a process that enables LCS to be offered to all high-risk patients, but used only by those who are informed and for whom screening represents a value-concordant service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove several conjectures about the cohomology of Deligne–Lusztig varieties: invariance under conjugation in the braid group, behaviour with respect to translation by the full twist, parity vanishing of the cohomology for the variety associated with the full twist. In the case of split groups of type A , and using previous results of the second author, this implies Broué–Michel's conjecture on the disjointness of the cohomology for the variety associated to any good regular element. That conjecture was inspired by Broué's abelian defect group conjecture and the specific form Broué conjectured for finite groups of Lie type [4, Rêves 1 et 2]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) has a critical role in the central regulation of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) from the anterior pituitary, and subsequently, thyroid hormone secretion from the thyroid gland. In addition to its role in the regulation of HPT axis, TRH is a potent regulator of prolactin (PRL) secretion by stimulating PRL secretion either directly from lactotrophs or indirectly via its action on the tuberoinfundibular dopamine (TIDA) neurons. In rodents, the TRH neurons which regulate TSH and thyroid hormone secretion, called hypophysiotropic TRH neurons, are in the medial subdivision of the parvicellular paraventricular nucleus (PVN). In humans, the PVN also contains a large population of TRH neurons, especially in its medial part, but the location of hypophysiotropic TRH neurons is not yet known. In addition to regulating TSH and PRL secretion, TRH also functions as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator. In rodents and teleosts, TRH axons densely innervate TIDA neurons to inhibit tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) biosynthesis, neuronal firing, and dopamine turnover which may contribute to increasing PRL secretion. No such connections have been reported in humans, although dopaminergic neurons express TRH receptors and TRH also regulates PRL secretion. The objectives of this study were to map TRH-IR and TH-IR structures in the human hypothalamus with single-label light microscopic immunocytochemistry and study their interaction with double-label light microscopic immunocytochemistry. We show that TRH-IR nerve terminals densely surround TH-IR neurons (perikarya and dendrites) in the infundibulum of the human hypothalamus. The micrographs illustrating these juxtapositions were taken by Olympus BX45 microscope equipped with a digital camera and with 100X oil immersion objective. Composite images were created from the consecutive micrographs if the neurons were larger than the frame of the camera, using Adobe Photoshop software. As no gaps between TRH-IR and TH-IR elements were seen, these contacts may be functional synapses by which TRH regulates the activity of dopaminergic neurons and subsequently TSH and PRL secretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we complete the determination of the Brauer trees of unipotent blocks (with cyclic defect groups) of finite groups of Lie type. These trees were conjectured by the first author in [19]. As a consequence, the Brauer trees of principal ℓ-blocks of finite groups are known for ℓ > 71. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Skeena River estuary supports commercial and culturally important salmon fisheries. However, considerable development has occurred in the area, and more has been proposed. If anthropogenic development degrades this critical habitat, the Skeena salmon run, that every year contributes $110 million to local economies, may be negatively impacted. Benthic invertebrates are common indicator species, as they often respond to disturbances before commercial species, warning of potential impacts. Unfortunately, invertebrates in the Skeena estuary have not been extensively studied, and we lack the detailed understanding of their community structure and dynamics for them to serve as indicator species in this region. Therefore, present conditions of the Skeena estuary are established here (invertebrate community, sediment conditions and food availability), in order to provide the data required both to anticipate changes associated with potential anthropogenic disturbances and to detect changes in this system if development occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study UV-complete Froggatt-Nielsen-like models for the generation of mass and mixing hierarchies, assuming that the integrated heavy fields are chiral with respect to an abelian Froggatt-Nielsen symmetry. It modifies the mixed anomalies with respect to the Standard Model gauge group, which opens up the possibility to gauge the Froggatt-Nielsen symmetry without the need to introduce additional spectator fermions, while keeping mass matrices usually associated to anomalous flavour symmetries. We give specific examples where this happens, and we study the flavourful axion which arises from an accidental Peccei-Quinn symmetry in some of those models. Such an axion is typically more coupled to matter than in models with spectator fermions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inexpensive pathogen genome sequencing has had a transformative effect on the field of phylodynamics, where ever increasing volumes of data have promised real-time insight into outbreaks of infectious disease. As well as the sheer volume of pathogen isolates being sequenced, the sequencing of whole pathogen genomes, rather than select loci, has allowed phylogenetic analyses to be carried out at finer time scales, often approaching serial intervals for infections caused by rapidly evolving RNA viruses. Despite its utility, whole genome sequencing of pathogens has not been adopted universally and targeted sequencing of loci is common in some pathogen-specific fields. Results: In this study we highlighted the utility of sequencing whole genomes of pathogens by re-analysing a well-characterised collection of Ebola virus sequences in the form of complete viral genomes (≈19 kb long) or the rapidly evolving glycoprotein (GP, ≈2 kb long) gene. We have quantified changes in phylogenetic, temporal, and spatial inference resolution as a result of this reduction in data and compared these to theoretical expectations. Conclusions: We propose a simple intuitive metric for quantifying temporal resolution, i.e. the time scale over which sequence data might be informative of various processes as a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation of statistical power available to molecular clock analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersecting D-brane models and their T-dual magnetic compactifications yield attractive models of particle physics where magnetic flux plays a twofold role, being the source of fermion chirality as well as supersymmetry breaking. A potential problem of these models is the appearance of tachyons which can only be avoided in certain regions of moduli space and in the presence of Wilson lines. We study the effective four-dimensional field theory for an orientifold compactification of type IIA string theory and the corresponding toroidal compactification of type I string theory. After determining the Kaluza-Klein and Landau-level towers of massive states in different sectors of the model, we evaluate their contributions to the one-loop effective potential, summing over all massive states, and we relate the result to the corresponding string partition functions. We find that the Wilson- line effective potential has only saddle points, and the theory is therefore driven to the tachyonic regime. There tachyon condensation takes place and chiral fermions acquire a mass of the order of the compactification scale. We also find evidence for a tachyonic behaviour of the volume moduli. More work on tachyon condensation is needed to clarify the connection between supersymmetry breaking, a chiral fermion spectrum and vacuum stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct new string vacua featuring Brane Supersymmetry Breaking, based on T4/ℤN orientifolds with O5+ planes and D 5 ¯ branes. Differently from the original construction, in these vacua the cancellation of twisted R-R charges of D-branes and orientifold planes is achieved in a non-trivial way, and results in rigid configurations with few open-string moduli, which highly restrict the possible deformations of the model. The breaking of supersymmetry and, consequently, the non-vanishing untwisted and twisted NS-NS tadpoles, generates a rich potential both for the dilaton and the blown-up moduli. We also uncover the stringy origin of the J form entering the gauge kinetic functions in the low-energy effective action, and display its relation to the NS-NS tadpoles for the scalars in the tensor multiplets. As a result, the J form can be consistently identified also when supersymmetry is broken, thus solving an embarrassing puzzle related to its very existence. We also discuss the unitarity constraints for one-dimensional defects in these vacua, where the Kač-Moody algebra for D9 and D 5 ¯ can be realised both in the left-moving and right-moving sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents experimental results on the thermal stability of epitaxial crystalline Mo-V multilayers and summarizes theoretical results on the effect of the strong concentration dependence of the interdiffusion coefficient on the diffusional homogenisation. Experimental results; Discussion; Conclusion.

Purpose: A review of our child abuse evaluation system demonstrated a lack of standardization leading to low reporting levels. The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to develop a standard child abuse screening tool; an education program increasing awareness to child abuse; and to measure the impact of the screening tool in reporting.Methods: A screening tool was developed and implemented for all trauma patients < 15 years of age; staff was educated; and a child protection team (CPT) was established. Within 9 months, screening was extended to all patients admitted to the children's hospital. Screening compliance, number of child abuse reporting forms (CY-47) filed, and consultations to the CPT were monitored.Results: Initially, there was an average screening compliance of 56%. After making the program hospital-wide, the compliance rate increased to an average of 96%; and the average number of CPT consults increased from 2 to 10 per month. Over this study period, the average number of CY-47s filed increased from 6.1 to 7.3 per month.Conclusions: Hospital-wide use of an objective screening tool, frequent re-education, and the support of an experienced child protection team led to improved child abuse screening compliance and more consistent suspected-abuse reporting rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research was to find out if the students of the University of Oradea consume fast food products, which are the reasons why students choose to consume these products, what kind of brands they prefer, which they consider to be the effects of consumption on health. For this I drew up a questionnaire that was applied to a number of 219 students of the University of Oradea of which 77% were female and 23% male, most of the participants being enrolled in the Faculty of Geography, Sport and Tourism, the Faculty of Socio-Human Sciences, the Faculty of Environmental Protection and the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy. Most of the students come from urban areas - 63%, and 37% - from rural areas. After analyzing the answers I found out that the favorite restaurant of the students of the University of Oradea is McDonald's, and the main reason for the consumption is the taste of the dishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the progenerator constructed in a previous work to give a necessary condition for a simple module of a finite reductive group to be cuspidal, or more generally to obtain information on which Harish-Chandra series it can lie in. As a first application we show the irreducibility of the smallest unipotent character in any Harish-Chandra series. Secondly, we determine a unitriangular approximation to part of the unipotent decomposition matrix of finite orthogonal groups and prove a gap result on certain Brauer character degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We provide geochronological (zircon U Pb) and geochemical data (whole rock major and trace elements, Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes, mineral compositions, zircon trace elements) for Late Cretaceous I- and A-type granitoids and associated gabbros from three areas (Dereli, Şebinkarahisar, Divriği), along a north-south traverse in eastern Turkey from the northern part of the Eastern Pontides Orogenic Belt to the Anatolide-Tauride Block, and from two locations (Sökmen and Pırnallı) that are situated away from the traverse line. Our aim is to interpret the tectonic environment in which the granitoids formed. Late Cretaceous plutonic activity began ~ 90 Ma and continued uninterruptedly for about 20 my. The Dereli suite and the Asarcık intrusion at Şebinkarahisar are I-type granitoids; the others are A-type granitoids. The A-type classification of these rocks is ambiguous; they are A-type relative to other coeval granitoids in eastern Turkey. The Şebinkarahisar, Murmana (Divriği), and Pırnallı granitoids evolved primarily by closed-system fractional crytallization. At Şebinkarahisar, I- and A-type intrusions are isotopically indistinguishable, and must share the same source. Open system, AFC processes affected the other granitoids. Crustal components contributed to all of the granitoids. The Dereli granitoids have an old component (1.2 < T DM < 1.75 Ga) that is unusual among Turkish igneous rocks. No mantle component is recognizable in the A-type granitoids, but the low SiO 2 content of some granitoids requires a mantle-derived component. Arc-like geochemical features may be inherited from a mid-crustal source component, in addition to contributions from the arc environment active at the time of magmatism. A petrogenetic relation cannot be demonstrated between the Divriği gabbros and their contemporaneous granitoids. The gabbros require a subcontinental lithospheric mantle source. Trace elements in zircon track fractional crystallization paths within suites, and faithfully map the arc-related petrogenesis of the granitoids, but do not mirror trace element distributions in zircons from other A-type suites. Available data indicate that Late Cretaceous plutonic activity began at about ~90 Ma in both the northern part of the Eastern Pontides Orogenic Belt and the southern part of the Anatolide-Tauride Block. Magma compositions began to change at ca. 80 Ma, and transformed successively into high-K I-type and shoshonitic A-type activity, and magmatism continued until ~ 70 Ma. We interpret this 20 my interval to be the subduction-dominated, arc-construction phase in the Eastern Pontides. The distribution of I-type magmas in eastern Turkey is best explained by double-sided, initially shallow-angle subduction of Paleo- and Neo-Tethyan lithospheres, with subsequent steepening of the subducted slabs leading to an extensional regime and the generation of A-type magmas. This hypothesis also explains the origin of Late Cretaceous I- and A-type Central Anatolian granitoids. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Plutonic activity began ~90 Ma and continued for about 20 my. • Composition of magmatism changed from I-type to A-type at ca. 80 Ma. • Both I- and A-type rocks formed in a subduction-controlled setting. • Crustal sources are important in both I- and A-type rocks. • Zircon trace elements track fractionation within suites and tectonic environment. • Distribution of I- and A-type type rocks is best explained by double-sided subduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by recent studies of high-scale decay constant or flavorful QCD axions, we review and clarify their existence in effective string models with anomalous U(1) gauge groups. We find that such models, when coupled to charged scalars getting vacuum expectation values, always have one light axion, whose mass can only come from nonperturbative effects. If the main nonperturbative effect is from QCD, then it becomes a Peccei–Quinn axion candidate for solving the strong CP problem. We then study simple models with universal Green–Schwarz mechanism and only one charged scalar field: in the minimal gaugino condensation case the axion mass is tied to the supersymmetry breaking scale and cannot be light enough, but slightly refined models maintain a massless axion all the way down to the QCD scale. Both kinds of models can be extended to yield intermediate scale axion decay constants. Finally, we gauge flavorful axion models under an anomalous U(1) and discuss the axion couplings which arise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is caused by different prion strains that are discriminated by the molecular characteristics of the pathological prion protein. In 2011, Switzerland reported two presumptive cases of BSE in cattle with a prion protein phenotype different from previously described strains, and it was unclear whether these findings were related to a transmissible disease and have implications on animal and public health. In this study, brain tissues of these cases were inoculated into transgenic mice expressing the bovine prion protein (BoPrP‐Tg110) and into cattle. Clinical and pathological investigations as well as molecular testing did not provide evidence for the presence of BSE in the Swiss cases after two passages in BoPrP‐Tg110 mice and a challenge period of 3.5 years in cattle. This lack of disease transmission suggests that the Swiss 2011 cases were not affected by a prion disease and were unrelated to the feed‐born BSE epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We exhibit a simple representation of the finite symplectic group of Sp 8 ( q ) in characteristic ℓ | q 2 + 1 having two non-conjugate supercuspidal supports. This answers a question of M.-F. Vignéras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students of diverse ethnic backgrounds, including those who speak English as an additional language (EAL) are increasingly enrolling in pre-licensure nursing programs. Limited information regarding success of EAL nursing students exists and has focused on those in traditional pre-licensure programs. A qualitative inquiry incorporating the phenomenological framework of van Manen was applied to study EAL student experiences in an accelerated second-degree baccalaureate nursing program. Five major themes emerged: (1) bridging cultures, (2) needing more time, (3) myriad of emotions, (4) network of support, and (4) finding my way. Several subthemes emerged to support major themes illustrating the complexity of being an EAL student in a fastpaced and challenging program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates current rise-time limitation of large volume X-ray preionized discharge-pumped XeCl laser. Types of experimental devices used; Technique in compensating fractional increases in chamber inductance; Discharge performance parameters as a function of several energy storage conditions.

Background: Genome streamlining, the process by which genomes become smaller and encode fewer genes over time, is a common phenomenon among pathogenic bacteria. This reduction is driven by selection for minimized energy expenditure in a nutrient-rich environment. As pathogens evolve to become more reliant on the host, metabolic genes and resulting capabilities are lost in favor of siphoning metabolites from the host. Characterizing genome streamlining, gene loss, and metabolic pathway degradation can be useful in assessing pathogen dependency on host metabolism and identifying potential targets for host-directed therapeutics. Results: PoMeLo (Predictor of Metabolic Loss) is a novel evolutionary genomics-guided computational approach for identifying metabolic gaps in the genomes of pathogenic bacteria. PoMeLo leverages a centralized public database of high-quality genomes and annotations and allows the user to compare an unlimited number of genomes across individual genes and pathways. PoMeLo runs locally using user-friendly prompts in a matter of minutes and generates tabular and visual outputs for users to compare predicted metabolic capacity between groups of bacteria and individual species. Each pathway is assigned a Predicted Metabolic Loss (PML) score to assess the magnitude of genome streamlining. Optionally, PoMeLo places the results in an evolutionary context by including phylogenetic relationships in visual outputs. It can also initially compute phylogenetically-weighted mean genome sizes to identify genome streamlining events. Here, we describe PoMeLo and demonstrate its use in identifying metabolic gaps in genomes of pathogenic Treponema species. Conclusions: PoMeLo represents an advance over existing methods for identifying metabolic gaps in genomic data, allowing comparison across large numbers of genomes and placing the resulting data in a phylogenetic context. PoMeLo is freely available for academic and non-academic use at https://github.com/czbiohub-sf/pomelo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epithelial, connective tissue and immune cells contribute in various ways to the pathophysiology of HPV positive (HPV+) and HPV negative (HPV-) oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). We aimed to investigate the abundance of these cell lineages and their coexpression patterns in patients with HPV + and HPV- OPSCC. Methods: We used a 4-channel immunofluorescence-microscopy technique for the simultaneous detection of three direct-conjugated antibodies (pancytokeratin, vimentin and CD45/CD18) and DAPI (4',6-Diamidin-2-phenylindole) in formalin fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples (FFPE) of patients with HPV + and HPV- OPSCC, and of control patients. Image acquisition and analysis were performed with TissueFAXS and StrataQuest (TissueGnostics, Vienna, Austria), respectively, in tumor cell clusters/stroma in OPSCC specimens and epithelial layer/lamina propria in control specimens. Cell populations were created based on antibodies' coexpression patterns. Isotype and positive controls were examined for plausibility. Results: The proportion of cells of epithelial differentiation in tumor cell clusters was higher in HPV + OPSCC (55%) than in HPV- OPSCC samples (44%). The proportion of connective tissue cells in tumor cell cluster was lower in HPV + OPSCC patients (18%) than in HPV- OPSCC patients (26%). The proportion of immune cells in tumor cell clusters was higher in HPV + OPSCC patients (25%) than in HPV- OPSCC patients (18%). The percentage of anaplastic, potentially de-differentiated cells, was 2% in control patients, and it was higher in HPV- OPSCC (21%) than in HPV + OPSCC samples (6%). Conclusions: This study provided the first quantitative data for the abundance of cells of epithelial, connective tissue and immune differentiation, in patients with OPSCC and control patients. The abundance of these different crucial cell populations was consistently originating from the same tissue sample. De-differentiation of tumor cells was higher in HPV- OPSCC than in HPV + OPSCC. In tumor cells clusters, the antitumoral host immune response was higher in HPV + OPSCC than in HPV- OPSCC, whereas the fibroblast response was higher in HPV- OPSCC than in HPV + OPSCC. This study contributed to the understanding of histopathologic differences between HPV + OPSCC and HPV- OPSCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Meso-Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of the Eastern Pontides Orogenic Belt, a mountain chain extending parallel to the southeastern margin of the Black Sea, has been controversial for the last forty years. Here we present data for a newly discovered alkaline gabbro body and its surrounding basaltic rocks in the northern part of the Eastern Pontides Orogenic Belt. We also provide a comprehensive assessment of the Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean region. The gabbroic body is bounded by reverse faults along its northern and southern borders and is surrounded by vesicular, pillow-fragment breccias and pillow basalts. Mineral compositions suggest that crystallization of the gabbros began at about 1170 °C, and the lowest preserved crystallization T is near 1000 °C. Estimated pressure at the beginning of crystallization is 5.7–7.4 kb. The 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating of kaersutite and plagioclase and U Pb dating of titanite indicated that the Hayrat gabbro crystallized at ~67 Ma (Late Maastrichtian). Whole rock major-trace-rare earth element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data indicate that the gabbros and basalts have different origins. The gabbros are alkaline and exhibit the geochemical features of OIB, whereas the basalts are tholeiitic and reveal depletions of HFSE that are similar to those of arc rocks. The gabbros are strongly fractionated, and derive from an enriched, lithospheric mantle source, with partial melting occurring in a garnet-stable environment. The basalts are less fractionated, and probably derive from a shallower source in which spinel peridotite was the predominant lithology. Considering all new and old geological, geochemical, geochronological and geophysical data from the Black Sea Basin and the Eastern Pontides-Lesser Caucasus-Alborz Orogenic Belt, we suggest that the alkaline Hayrat gabbro formed in an oceanic intraplate setting, and was accreted to the forearc region of the Eastern Pontides Orogenic Belt during southward subduction of Paleotethyan lithosphere. It was later tectonically juxtaposed with subaqueously erupted, arc-related basalts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse open strings with background electric fields in the internal space, T-dual to branes moving with constant velocities in the internal space. We find that the direction of the electric fields inside a two torus, dual to the D-brane velocities, has to be quantised such that the corresponding direction is compact. This implies that D-brane motion in the internal torus is periodic, with a periodicity that can be parametrically large in terms of the internal radii. By S-duality, this is mapped into an internal magnetic field in a three torus, a quantum mechanical analysis of which yields a similar result, i.e. the parallel direction to the magnetic field has to be compact. Furthermore, for the magnetic case, we find the Landau level degeneracy as being given by the greatest common divisor of the flux numbers. We carry on the string quantisation and derive the relevant partition functions for these models. Our analysis includes also the case of oblique electric fields which can arise when several stacks of branes are present. Compact dimensions and/or oblique sectors influence the energy loss of the system through pair-creation and thus can be relevant for inflationary scenarios with branes. Finally, we show that the compact energy loss is always larger than the non-compact one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove a long-standing conjecture of Geck which predicts that cuspidal unipotent characters remain irreducible after $$\ell $$ -reduction. To this end, we construct a progenerator for the category of representations of a finite reductive group coming from generalised Gelfand-Graev representations. This is achieved by showing that cuspidal representations appear in the head of generalised Gelfand-Graev representations attached to cuspidal unipotent classes, as defined and studied in Geck and Malle (J Lond Math Soc 2(53):63-78, 1996). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic virus from camels causing significant mortality and morbidity in humans in the Arabian Peninsula. The epidemiology of the virus remains poorly understood, and while case-based and seroepidemiological studies have been employed extensively throughout the epidemic, viral sequence data have not been utilised to their full potential. Here, we use existing MERS-CoV sequence data to explore its phylodynamics in two of its known major hosts, humans and camels. We employ structured coalescent models to show that long-term MERS-CoV evolution occurs exclusively in camels, whereas humans act as a transient, and ultimately terminal host. By analysing the distribution of human outbreak cluster sizes and zoonotic introduction times, we show that human outbreaks in the Arabian peninsula are driven by seasonally varying zoonotic transfer of viruses from camels. Without heretofore unseen evolution of host tropism, MERS-CoV is unlikely to become endemic in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]