Composite bimaterial lattice structures which possess both low, tailorable thermal expansion and nearly optimal stiffness have been proposed for applications which require high structural stiffness in environments which include large temperature fluctuations, such as the surfaces of high-speed aerospace vehicles. An experimental validation of the thermal properties of these lattices when they are constructed of practical materials with easily manufactured bonded joints is contained herein. Bonded lattices, comprising aluminum and titanium alloys, have been manufactured with press-fit dovetail joints and tested in a variety of thermal environments. Results for equilibrium heating, rapid transient heating and thermal cycling leading to shakedown are presented and shown to be consistent with theoretically and numerically attained results.

Are cooperative decisions typically made more quickly or slowly than non-cooperative decisions? While this question has attracted considerable attention in recent years, most research has focused on one-shot interactions. Yet it is repeated interactions that characterize most important real-world social interactions. In repeated interactions, the cooperativeness of one's interaction partners (the "social environment") should affect the speed of cooperation. Specifically, we propose that reciprocal decisions (choices that mirror behavior observed in the social environment), rather than cooperative decisions per se, occur more quickly. We test this hypothesis by examining four independent decision time datasets with a total of 2,088 subjects making 55,968 decisions. We show that reciprocal decisions are consistently faster than non-reciprocal decisions: cooperation is faster than defection in cooperative environments, while defection is faster than cooperation in non-cooperative environments. These differences are further enhanced by subjects' previous behavior - reciprocal decisions are faster when they are consistent with the subject's previous choices. Finally, mediation analyses of a fifth dataset suggest that the speed of reciprocal decisions is explained, in part, by feelings of conflict - reciprocal decisions are less conflicted than non-reciprocal decisions, and less decision conflict appears to lead to shorter decision times.

Introduction

CC-002 is a prospective cooperative group study conducted by NRG Oncology to evaluate whether a pre-operative GA-GYN score derived from a predictive model utilizing components of an abbreviated geriatric assessment (GA) is associated with major post-operative complications in elderly women with suspected ovarian, fallopian tube, primary peritoneal or advanced stage papillary serous uterine (GYN) carcinoma undergoing primary open cytoreductive surgery.

Methods

Patients 70 years or older with suspected advanced gynecologic cancers undergoing evaluation for surgery were eligible. A GA-GYN score was derived from a model utilizing the GA as a pre-operative tool. Patients were followed for six weeks post-operatively or until start of chemotherapy. Post-operative events were recorded either directly as binary occurrence (yes or no) using CTCAE version 4.0.

Results

There were 189 eligible patients, 117 patients with primary surgical intervention and 37 patients undergoing interval cytoreduction surgery. The association between higher GA-GYN score and major postoperative complications in patients undergoing primary surgery was not significant (p = 0.1341). In a subgroup analysis of patients with advanced staged malignant disease who underwent primary cytoreductive surgery, there was a trend towards an association with the GA-GYN score and post-operative complications.

Conclusion

The pre-operative GA-GYN score derived from a predictive model utilizing components of an abbreviated geriatric assessment was not predictive of major post-operative complications in elderly patients undergoing primary open cytoreductive surgery. However, there was an association between GA-GYN score and post-operative complications in a subgroup of patients with advanced staged malignant disease.

De novo, heterozygous, loss-of-function variants were identified in Pou domain, class 4, transcription factor 1 (POU4F1) via whole-exome sequencing in four independent probands presenting with ataxia, intention tremor, and hypotonia. POU4F1 is expressed in the developing nervous system, and mice homozygous for null alleles of Pou4f1 exhibit uncoordinated movements with newborns being unable to successfully right themselves to feed. Head magnetic resonance imaging of the four probands was reviewed and multiple abnormalities were noted, including significant cerebellar vermian atrophy and hypertrophic olivary degeneration in one proband. Transcriptional activation of the POU4F1 p.Gln306Arg protein was noted to be decreased when compared with wild type. These findings suggest that heterozygous, loss-of-function variants in POU4F1 are causative of a novel ataxia syndrome.

We identify amino acid variants within dominant SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes by interrogating global sequence data. Several variants within nucleocapsid and ORF3a epitopes have arisen independently in multiple lineages and result in loss of recognition by epitope-specific T cells assessed by IFN-γ and cytotoxic killing assays. Complete loss of T cell responsiveness was seen due to Q213K in the A∗01:01-restricted CD8+ ORF3a epitope FTSDYYQLY_207-215; due to P13L, P13S, and P13T in the B∗27:05-restricted CD8+ nucleocapsid epitope QRNAPRITF_9-17; and due to T362I and P365S in the A∗03:01/A∗11:01-restricted CD8+ nucleocapsid epitope KTFPPTEPK_361-369. CD8+ T cell lines unable to recognize variant epitopes have diverse T cell receptor repertoires. These data demonstrate the potential for T cell evasion and highlight the need for ongoing surveillance for variants capable of escaping T cell as well as humoral immunity.