Challenges in Sensors Technology for Industry 4.0 for Futuristic Metrological Applications

The current advances and innovations in sensor technologies attributed to Industry 4.0 serve as the backbone for the inclusive growth of industry and ramping up the economy of any country. Industry 4.0 was basically conceptualized by introducing the Internet of Things (IoT) and Information and Communication technologies (ICT) that serve as an interface between digital and physical world through the fusion of smart sensors. The role of smart sensors and IoT-enabled industrial infrastructure is pivotal for adapting to the advanced technologies based on fusion of smart sensors. Digital meteorological traceability and uses of intelligent sensors, instrumentation and machinery in Industry 4.0, Smart Cities, Digital India and AtmaNirbhar Bharat missions of the government of India, are not only highly important but also in huge demand, which is going to increase manifolds in the years to come. The present paper is an attempt to provide a terse review and perspectives related to the advanced technological developments in this field and the challenges therein.

Spontaneous Pneumothorax: Follow up Treatment Outcome in a Tertiary Care Center of Eastern Nepal

Background Spontaneous pneumothorax is not an uncommon medical emergency in pulmonary practice. Related data are not available in our setting. In emergency departments, clinical presentation is often confused with other cardiopulmonary problems. Follow up outcome is important for better patient care. Objective To study clinical profile and outcome after non surgical intervention in a tertiary care center. Method This was a prospective observational study carried out in Nobel Medical College, Biratnagar over last 3 years. We enrolled consecutive spontaneous pneumothorax patients over 15 years of age. Each data related to individual patients were collected in predefined proforma. To study follow up outcome of management, we used OPD attendance or if not possible took, at least two telephone numbers from the patients. All patients were followed for recurrences. Data was statistically analyzed using SPSS software. Result Over the last 3 years, we enrolled 65 spontaneous pneumothorax patients. Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax was more common (92.3%). Commonest presentations were acute pleuritic chest pain (92.3%), dyspnea (84.62%) and cough (92.3%). COPD (46.14%), PTB sequelae (15.38%), bronchiectasis (23.07%) and bullous lung disease (23.07%) were common risk factors. Tube thoracostomy (95.38%) with pleurodesis with iodopovidone (84.61%) led to lung expansion in 92.3% cases. During follow up, only 4.61% had recurrences of pneumothorax. There was one mortality. Conclusion Spontaneous pneumothorax is a common pulmonary emergency. Meticulous and careful assessment of the patients may help reach the diagnosis even in primary care setting. Tube thoracostomy followed by pleurodesis with iodo-povidone suffices in most circumstances leading lower future recurrences.

1107 Arousal And Sleepiness In Opioid Use Disorder Compared To Insomnia Disorder With And Without Comorbid Psychiatric Conditions

Introduction

Insomnia is frequent in opioid use disorder patients on buprenorphine (OUDB) and increases risk of relapse. There is lack of data evaluating specific differences in hyperarousal and daytime sequelae between OUDBs as compared to individuals with insomnia disorder without (ID) or with comorbid psychiatric conditions (CID).

Methods

We studied 112 patients with ID (47.8±16.3y, 55% female, 13% minority) and 148 with CID (44.7±15.6y, 69% female, 16% minority) evaluated at the Behavioral Sleep Medicine program of Penn State Hershey Sleep Research & Treatment Center and 71 OUDB (37.8±11.2y, 51% female, 16% minority) evaluated at the Recovery, Advocacy, Empowerment and Service program and WellSpan Internal Medicine clinics (York, PA). Subjects completed the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Ford Insomnia Response to Stress (FIRST), Arousal Predisposition Scale (APS), Pre-sleep Arousal cognitive (PSAS-C) and somatic (PSAS-S) Scale, Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale (DBAS) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) was defined as an ESS score ≥ 10. MANCOVA included age, sex, race/ethnicity and depression as covariates, while logistic regression further included ISI, APS and PSAS-S.

Results

No differences across groups were observed in PSAS-C or DBAS scores. Subjects with CID and OUDB had significantly higher PSAS-S (15.7±0.5 and 16.4±0.7, respectively) and APS (35.6±0.6 and 36±1, respectively) scores as compared to the ID group (14.2±0.6 and 33.2±0.7, respectively). Subjects with OUDB had significantly higher ESS score (9.8±0.6) as compared to the ID or CID groups (6.2±0.5 and 6.4±0.4, respectively). The odds of EDS were 2.7 times (95%CI=1.2-6.1) higher in the OUDB group as compared to the ID group.

Conclusion

OUDB may present with similar phenotypic insomnia symptoms as patients with ID or CID but report more sleep-disturbing somatic symptoms and EDS. These data have important implications for tailoring behavioral and pharmacological treatments of insomnia to this specific patient population.

Support

Junior Faculty Development Program, Penn State College of Medicine

Drops That Change Their Mind: Spontaneous Reversal from Spreading to Retraction

A liquid drop may spread faster on surfaces when surfactants are added. Here we show that after some time the spreading in such systems can, under certain conditions, spontaneously reverse to retraction and the droplet pulls itself back, receding from areas it has just recently wetted, elevating its center of mass in a jerklike motion. The duration from drop placement to the onset of retraction ranges from hours to less than a second primarily as a function of surfactant concentration. When the retraction is asymmetric, it results in drop motion, and when it is symmetric, the mass of the drop collects itself on its spot. This phenomenon, which was predicted theoretically in 2014, is apparently a general one for drops with surfactants; however, other factors, such as evaporation and contamination, prevented its observance so far.

Mechanical and Fracture Peculiarities of Polypropylene-Based Functionally Graded Materials Manufactured via Injection Molding

This research presents the investigation of mechanical and thermal characteristics as well as fracture toughness of Polypropylene (PP) based functionally graded materials (FGMs) and compares them vis-a-vis PP based homogeneous composites and neat PP. FGMs and homogeneous composites are fabricated with 15 wt.% and 30 wt.% glass fiber-reinforced PP. The gradient of fiber distribution in functionally graded materials is verified by scanning electron microscope analysis and ignition loss test. Findings of this work reveal that FGMs outperform neat PP and homogeneous composites. Tensile, flexural and compression strength of FGMs are found to be better as compared to neat PP and homogeneous composites. Fracture toughness and thermal conductivity are also found higher for FGMs. The performance of fabricated composites is optimized by using the VlseKriterijuska Optimizacija I Komoromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method.

Abstract P6-19-05: Clinical characteristics and survival of patients with male breast cancer: The Mayo Clinic experience

Background:

Male breast cancer (MBC) is rare, and usually managed by extrapolation from female breast cancer. We report on the characteristics and survival outcomes of MBC patients from Mayo Clinic Rochester (MCR).

Methods:

Medical records of MBC patients treated at MCR during a 25-year period (1990-2015) were reviewed. Demographic variables, tumor characteristics, recurrences, and overall survival (OS) were collected. Progression free survival (PFS) and OS were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate Cox-proportional hazard regression was used to identify predictors of OS.

Results:

One hundred sixty-seven patients were included in the final analysis, with a median follow-up of 58 months after diagnosis. Baseline characteristics are presented in Table 1. Eighty percent of patients with ER-positive tumors received endocrine therapy. Among men with stage I-III disease, approximately 90% underwent mastectomy, and 44% received adjuvant chemotherapy.

The 5-year locoregional and distant recurrence rates for patients with stage I-III disease were 4.4% and 21.5%, respectively. The 5-year PFS and OS for patients with stage I-III disease were 65.5% and 80.1%, respectively. In a multivariate analysis assessing predictors of OS in patients with stage I-III disease, older age (HR 1.05; 95% CI: 1.02 – 1.09), stage II (HR 11.06; 95% CI: 3.84 – 31.85) or stage III disease (HR 14.74; 95% CI (3.99 – 54.45), and omission of surgery (HR 45.33; 95% CI: 3.97 – 517.32) were associated with poorer OS, while endocrine therapy (HR 0.21, 95% CI: 0.09 – 0.51) was associated with better OS. ER, PR, HER2 and grade were not independently prognostic.

The median OS for stage IV patients was 10 months, though this 11-man cohort was too small to allow assessment of prognostic factors in advanced male breast cancer.

Conclusions:

MBC remains an understudied condition. Prognostic factors in this stage I-III disease are consistent with those identified in other MBC retrospective cohorts. Prospective studies are needed to better understand the unique clinical features of MBC, and to improve outcomes, particularly for advanced disease.

Table 1:Baseline characteristics N=167  Median age at diagnosis (Years)64.4  Ethnicity/Race: Caucasian131 (78.4%)African American4 (2.4%)Other or unknown32 (19.2%)  Overall AJCC 7th edition stage: Stage I39 (23.4%)Stage II80 (47.9%)Stage III32 (19.2%)Stage IV11 (6.6%)Unknown5 (3.0%)  Grade: 18 (4.8%)247 (28.1%)3101 (60.5%)Unknown12 (7.1%)  ER status: Negative8 (4.8%)Positive153 (91.6%)Unknown6 (3.6%)  PR status: Negative17 (10.2%)Positive141 (84.4%)Unknown9 (5.4%)  HER-2 status: Negative70 (41.9%)Positive12 (7.2%)Unknown85 (50.9%)

Citation Format: Yadav S, Leon-Ferre RA, Jimenez RE, Hawse JR, Hieken TJ, Couch FJ, Boughey JC, Ruddy KJ. Clinical characteristics and survival of patients with male breast cancer: The Mayo Clinic experience [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-19-05.

Abstract P3-09-02: CRISPR-Cas9 mediated BRCA1 mutation in primary cells: Mutation efficiency and effects

Background: Germline mutations in Breast Cancer Associated (BRCA) 1 or 2 genes confer an increased risk of the development of breast and ovarian cancer. Germline mutation is followed by somatic loss of heterozygosity (LOH) resulting in biallelic inactivation. BRCA1 is involved in multiple homeostatic functions including control of chromatin organization, gene transcription, protein stability and cell division. Recent studies have demonstrated heterogeneity in LOH within and between premalignant and malignant breast tissues of BRCA1 mutation carriers. We hypothesize that LOH does not have a unitary effect on phenotype but differs by the function that is abrogated.

Methods: To test our hypothesis, we adopted CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology. The guide RNAs for targeting the exon sequence in the RING finger, nuclear export signal (NES), nuclear localization signal (NLS) and BRCA1 C Terminus (BRCT) domain/motif of BRCA1 were designed and synthesized. MCF10A cells were transfected with a complex of guide RNA and Cas9 protein (RNP) to cause in/del mutation. The mutation was analyzed by both T7E1 assay, and an innovative and more precise method developed in our lab that utilizes linked nucleic acids (LNA) and qPCR. Proliferation and apoptosis assays were performed using the transfected cells. Organoids prepared from BRCA1 mutation carriers also were transfected with RNPs and the mutation burden determined.

Results: Since single cell clones of the transfected MCF10A cells could not be selected and expanded, a pool of transfected cells was used for the analyses. T7E1 assay and qPCR analysis using LNAs demonstrated the presence of the mutations. A standard curve was created to enable the calculation of the mutation burden. IncuCyte analysis revealed increased proliferation and apoptosis, induced by irradiation, in cells with the mutation in Exon 10, where the extent of increase varied from 11% to 48% depending on the degree of mutation. In contrast, cells with the mutation in Exon 5 displayed diminished proliferation with no change in apoptosis. That mutations in exon10 and 5 have distinct biological effects when compared to the mutations in other exons is intriguing, and modification of binding proteins will be investigated. Organoids generated from BRCA1 mutation carriers (primary and nonmalignant cells) were able to be successfully transfected using the NEON electroporation system. Mutations were introduced by the CRISPR-Cas9 system and their extent quantified by our LNA-mediated qPCR method.

Conclusions: CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing of BRCA1 in MCF10A resulted in a change in the proliferation rate and the extent of apoptosis that is dependent on the location of the de novo mutation within the gene. The development of a novel method, LNA-mediated qPCR, provides quantitative information regarding the mutations that may be used to correlate mutation burden with biological functional change. Successful establishment of this BRCA1 tumorigenesis model has provided us with a method to test other putative tumor suppressors.

Citation Format: Choi MR, Yadav S, Shidfar A, Khan SA, Clare SE. CRISPR-Cas9 mediated BRCA1 mutation in primary cells: Mutation efficiency and effects [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-09-02.

Abstract P2-02-06: Deregulated lipid metabolism fuels the genesis of estrogen receptor negative breast cancer

Background:

There are no targeted pharmacologic interventions currently available for the prevention of hormone receptor negative breast cancer. Primary prevention with endocrine agents decreases the risk of ER positive disease with no effect against ER negative (ER-) disease. Thus, there is a compelling need to identify women at high risk for ER-negative breast cancer and to uncover the molecular mechanisms involved in its genesis. Our recent observation that a set of lipid metabolism (LiMe) genes are over-expressed in the contralateral unaffected breasts of women with unilateral ER- breast cancer suggests the novel hypothesis that specific lipid metabolism pathways in the breast produce a physiological milieu favoring the development of ER- breast cancer. We are now testing the specific hypothesis that lipids are the source of the acetyl-coA that is utilized to acetylate histones, an epigenetic modification that reprograms transcription.

Methods:

We developed an in-vitro model that relies on octanoic acid, a medium chain fatty acid that freely diffuses though the plasma and mitochondrial membranes. MCF-10A cells were plated and allowed to adhere overnight and then exposed to an increasing dose of sodium octanoate for 24 hours in complete media. Acetylation of Lysine 9 of Histone 3 (H3K9) was analyzed by Western blot and RNA was extracted for qPCR and RNA-seq. Chromatin packing density at the nanoscale was quantified bypartial wave spectroscopic (PWS) microscopy. Mammary organoids were prepared from breast tissue by collagenase digestion and similarly treated.

Results:

We found a striking, dose-dependent increase of H3K9 acetylation in octanoate treated MCF-10A cells. The acetylation is specific to the lipids as no acetylation was observed in cells treated with the same concentration of the alcohol 1,4-Cyclohexanedimethanol. RNA-Seq revealed the differential expression of LiMe genes together with a significant upregulation of Hedgehog and Notch signaling pathways. Individual genes from various pathways were further verified by qPCR which revealed, for example, a four-fold increase in SHH expression and 25-fold increase in DLL4. The expression of two of the previously identified LiMe genes, HMGCS2 and ACSL3, was increased four-fold in the octanoate treated MCF10A cells. We repeated the octanoate treatment in organoids and found similar effects. PWS in live cells showed a dose-dependent increase in chromatin packing scaling (D) in cells exposed to octanoate, suggesting that accessibility of chromatin to transcription factors is increased upon fatty acid treatment.

Conclusion:

A lipid rich microenvironment affects metabolism in ER- MCF10A cells and stimulates pro-neoplastic signaling via histone modifications. This supports our hypothesis that perturbed lipid metabolism plays an important role in the development of ER- breast cancer. Further mechanistic studies will determine if the genes differentially expressed in cell culture are also differentially expressed in antecedent benign breast biopsies from women eventually diagnosed with ER+ and ER- cancer.

Citation Format: Yadav S, Choi M, VanDerway D, Bauer G, Backman V, Khan SA, Clare SE. Deregulated lipid metabolism fuels the genesis of estrogen receptor negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-02-06.

Anatomical variation of the ulnar artery: clinical and developmental significance

Introduction: Variation of the ulnar artery in the upper limb is uncommon. The existence of such a variant is of particular clinical significance, as these arteries are more susceptible to trauma, and can be easily confused with superficial veins during medical and surgical procedures, potentially leading to iatrogenic distal limb ischemia. Case report: During routine dissection we observed a unilateral case of superficial ulnar artery in a 60-year-old male cadaver. It originated from the left brachial artery in the middle of the arm, near to insertion of coracobrachialis muscle. From its origin, it passed downwards in the medial part of arm behind the median nerve and forearm in a supericial plane compared to normal ulnar artery. In the hand, the supericial ulnar artery anastomosed with the palmar branch of the radial artery, creating the supericial palmar arch. Brachial artery divided into the radial and common interosseous arteries in the cubital fossa. The normal ulnar artery was absent. The existence of superficial ulnar artery is undeniably of interest to the clinicians as well as to the anatomists.

Benzo(a)pyrene, an Active Product of Cigarette Smoke, Role in PLA2 Isoforms Activation in Colon Cancer

Background and aim: One of the active combustion product of cigarette smoke, Benzo[a]pyrenes, role in pulmonary cancer is clearly understood. However, its role in gastrointestinal cancer including colon cancer is not clearly understood. Methods: In this study, benzo(a)pyrenes was treated to colon cells to evaluate its role in cell viability, cellular ROS, and gene expression of various PLA2 isoforms was evaluated by FACS and PCR. The identified PLA2 was silenced at the gene level to evaluate its role in cell viability and ROS generation. Results: B(a)P treatment at 1 µg/mL for 48 h to HCT-15 male colon cells significantly reduced the cell viability without affecting HT-29 female colon cells. Higher doses and longer treatment duration with B(a)P showed that female colon cells were highly sensitive than male colon cells. Annexin-V/PI staining for preapoptotic detection showed that B(a)P treatment increased the apoptosis in both the cell types in a concentration and time-dependent manner. The cytosolic ROS (cROS) and superoxide radical (SOR) formation in the female colon cells was significantly higher than male colon cells unlike the mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) production which was significantly higher in male colon cells. Treatment with B(a)P significantly upregulated the IID and IVA PLA2 isoform groups in HCT-15 male colon cells, whereas IB was upregulated in HT-29 female colon cells among the various PLA2 isozyme gene studied (IB, IID, III, IVA, IVB, IVC, VI, X, aiPLA2 and iPLA2). Gene silencing experiments targeting PLA2 IID and IVA in the HCT-15 male colon cells and IB in HT-29 female colon cells showed no effect with B(a)P treatment on the cell proliferation, apoptosis, membrane integrity and free radicals (ROS, mtROS, and SOR) generation. Conclusion: Targeting specific PLA2 isozymes in a cell-specific manner abolished the B(a)P-induced PLA2-mediated oxidative damage–related signaling pathways.