cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An atlas of Caenorhabditis elegans chemoreceptor expression

One goal of modern day neuroscience is the establishment of molecular maps that assign unique features to individual neuron types. Such maps provide important starting points for neuron classification, for functional analysis, and for developmental studies aimed at defining the molecular mechanisms of neuron identity acquisition and neuron identity diversification. In this resource paper, we describe a nervous system-wide map of the potential expression sites of 244 members of the largest gene family in the C. elegans genome, rhodopsin-like (class A) G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) chemoreceptors, using classic gfp reporter gene technology. We cover representatives of all sequence families of chemoreceptor GPCRs, some of which were previously entirely uncharacterized. Most reporters are expressed in a very restricted number of cells, often just in single cells. We assign GPCR reporter expression to all but two of the 37 sensory neuron classes of the sex-shared, core nervous system. Some sensory neurons express a very small number of receptors, while others, particularly nociceptive neurons, coexpress several dozen GPCR reporter genes. GPCR reporters are also expressed in a wide range of inter- and motorneurons, as well as non-neuronal cells, suggesting that GPCRs may constitute receptors not just for environmental signals, but also for internal cues. We observe only one notable, frequent association of coexpression patterns, namely in one nociceptive amphid (ASH) and two nociceptive phasmid sensory neurons (PHA, PHB). We identified GPCRs with sexually dimorphic expression and several GPCR reporters that are expressed in a left/right asymmetric manner. We identified a substantial degree of GPCR expression plasticity; particularly in the context of the environmentally-induced dauer diapause stage when one third of all tested GPCRs alter the cellular specificity of their expression within and outside the nervous system. Intriguingly, in a number of cases, the dauer-specific alterations of GPCR reporter expression in specific neuron classes are maintained during postdauer life and in some case new patterns are induced post-dauer, demonstrating that GPCR gene expression may serve as traits of life history. Taken together, our resource provides an entry point for functional studies and also offers a host of molecular markers for studying molecular patterning and plasticity of the nervous system.
Nationwide trends in the utilization of and payments for hysterectomy in the United States among commercially insured women.

Background Laparotomy followed by inpatient hospitalization has traditionally been the most common surgical care for hysterectomy. The financial implications of the increased use of laparoscopy and outpatient hysterectomy are unknown. Objectives The objective of the study was to quantify the increasing use of laparoscopy and outpatient hysterectomy and to describe the financial implications among women with commercially based insurance in the United States. Study Design Hysterectomies between 2010 and 2013 were identified in the Health Care Cost Institute, a national data set with inpatient and outpatient private insurance claims for more than 25 million women. Surgical approach was categorized with procedure codes as abdominal, laparoscopic, laparoscopic assisted vaginal, or vaginal. Payments were adjusted to 2013 US dollars to account for change because of inflation. Results Between 2010 and 2013, there were 386,226 women who underwent hysterectomy. The rate of utilization decreased 12.4%, from 39.9 to 35.0 hysterectomies per 10,000 women. The largest absolute decreases were observed among women younger than 55 years and among those with uterine fibroids, abnormal uterine bleeding, and endometriosis. The proportion of laparoscopic hysterectomies increased from 26.1% to 43.4%, with concomitant decreases in abdominal (38.6% to 28.3%), laparoscopic assisted vaginal (20.2 to 16.7%), and vaginal (15.1% to 11.5%) hysterectomies. There was also a shift from inpatient to outpatient surgery. In 2010, the inpatient and outpatient rates of hysterectomy were 26.6 and 13.3 per 10,000 women, respectively. By 2013, the rates were 15.4 and 19.6 per 10,000 women. In each year of analysis, the average reimbursement for outpatient procedures was 44-46% less than for similar inpatient procedures. Offsetting the lower utilization of hysterectomy and lower reimbursement for outpatient surgery were increases in average inpatient and outpatient hysterectomy reimbursement of 19.4% and 19.8%, respectively. Total payments for hysterectomy decreased 6.3%, from $823.4 million to $771.3 million. Conclusion Between 2010 and 2013, laparoscopy emerged as the most common surgical approach for hysterectomy, and outpatient hysterectomy became more common than inpatient among women with commercially based insurance. While average reimbursement per case increased, overall payments for hysterectomy are decreasing because of decreased utilization and dramatic differences in how hysterectomy is performed.
Creditor Influence and CEO Compensation: Evidence from Debt Covenant Violations

ABSTRACT Debt covenant violation alters firm dynamics, providing creditors with the right to demand repayment, and via that right, influence firm actions. We provide evidence consistent with credit...
Going-concern opinions and corporate governance

This paper looks into the issuance of auditor's going-concern opinions and investigates how it triggers subsequent changes in corporate governance, specifically, the corporate control, executive compensation and management turnover. Using a difference-in-difference approach with the exogenous shock of Auditing Standard No. 5 (AS5) in 2007, we find that going-concern opinion leads to the decrease in blockholder ownership and institutional ownership, the reduction in CEO's cash compensation and total compensation, and the increase in the turnovers of top executives and auditors, indicating strong monitoring function of the auditors.
Gravitationally Driven Wicking for Enhanced Condensation Heat Transfer

Vapor condensation is routinely used as an effective means of transferring heat or separating fluids. Filmwise condensation is prevalent in typical industrial-scale systems, where the condensed fluid forms a thin liquid film due to the high surface energy associated with many industrial materials. Conversely, dropwise condensation, where the condensate forms discrete liquid droplets which grow, coalesce, and shed, results in an improvement in heat transfer performance of an order of magnitude compared to filmwise condensation. However, current state-of-the-art dropwise technology relies on functional hydrophobic coatings, for example, long chain fatty acids or polymers, which are often not robust and therefore undesirable in industrial conditions. In addition, low surface tension fluid condensates, such as hydrocarbons, pose a unique challenge because common hydrophobic condenser coatings used to shed water (with a surface tension of 73 mN/m) often do not repel fluids with lower surface tensions (<25 mN/m...
Quantum measurement and fuzzy dark matter

It has been suggested that dark matter is a superfluid of particles whose masses are on the rough order of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}22}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV}$. Since the occupation numbers are huge, the state is coherent, and the speeds typical of orbital velocities in halos, it has generally been assumed that a classical effective nonrelativistic treatment is adequate. However, the Compton wavelength would be $\ensuremath{\sim}1\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{pc}$, and around the Compton scale concerns about some aspects of quantum measurement theory, known in principle but not quantitatively significant in previous cases, become pronounced. I estimate here the stress-energy operator, averaged over a few Compton wavelengths; a rough but useful approximation has a remarkably simple form. Conventional quantum measurement theory gives physically unacceptable results: a thought-experiment to measure the stress-energy is described which would involve only a modest apparatus but would excite particles in the observation volume to relativistic energies; these particles would escape the Galaxy, and there would be a substantial violation of energy conservation. Related foundational questions come up: the meaning of measurements of observables with continuous spectra, and the problem of predicting when measurements occur. The effective classical theory of fuzzy dark matter is not affected; however, the underlying quantum theory cannot be regarded as satisfactory without resolving these issues. But we may interpret the results more broadly. The macroscopic Compton scale amplifies inadequacies of measurement theory which have not previously seemed pressing.
ovoD Co-selection: A Method for Enriching CRISPR/Cas9-Edited Alleles in Drosophila.

Screening for successful CRISPR/Cas9 editing events remains a time consuming technical bottleneck in the field of Drosophila genome editing. This step can be particularly laborious for events that do not cause a visible phenotype, or those which occur at relatively low frequency. A promising strategy to enrich for desired CRISPR events is to co-select for an independent CRISPR event that produces an easily detectable phenotype. Here, we describe a simple negative co-selection strategy involving CRISPR-editing of a dominant female sterile allele, ovoD1. In this system (“ovoD co-selection”), the only functional germ cells in injected females are those that have been edited at the ovoD1 locus, and thus all offspring of these flies have undergone editing of at least one locus. We demonstrate that ovoD co-selection can be used to enrich for knock-out mutagenesis via nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ), and for knock-in alleles via homology-directed repair (HDR). Altogether, our results demonstrate that ovoD co-selection reduces the amount of screening necessary to isolate desired CRISPR events in Drosophila.
Multicultural experience: Development and validation of a multidimensional scale

Abstract In response to the lack of a psychometrically tested instrument that can measure different types and modes of multicultural experience (MCE), we introduce the Multicultural Experience Assessment scale (MExA) that distinguishes between multicultural exposures and multicultural interactions, which are measured based on frequency, duration, and breadth. We evaluated MExA’s factor structure, internal consistency, and construct-related validity in six studies using highly diverse student and U.S. national samples (total N = 1373). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the two-factor structure. Results provide full support for the convergent and criterion-related validity, and partial support for discriminant validity, and reveal high internal consistency of the subscales. Exploratory results identified frequency (vs. duration and breadth) of MCE as a better predictor of creativity. This research improves our understanding of the MCE construct and presents a psychometrically tested measure to investigate its dimensions and their relationships with other constructs.
Nucleation pressure threshold in acoustic droplet vaporization

Acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV) has been studied by several laboratories around the world, including the parametric dependence of its nucleation. In this abstract, we will present our approach of combining classical homogeneous nucleation theory with superharmonic focusing to predict necessary pressures to induce nucleation in ADV. We will show that linear acoustics is a valid approximation to leading order when particle displacements in the sound field are small relative to the radius of the exposed droplet. This is done by perturbation analysis of an axisymmetric compressible inviscid flow about a micrometer-sized droplet with small surface perturbations relative to the mean droplet radius when subjected to an incoming ultrasonic wave. A calibrated single element spherical focus transducer (Olympus A321S 7.5 MHz) was positioned in a water tank above an inverted microscope (Leica DM IL) to emit single ten-cycle bursts. Single droplets (3–30 μm) were placed on ultrasound gel and exposed quasi free-fie...
Uncertainty Analysis of Coaxial Thermocouple Calorimeters used in Arc Jets

Recent introduction of Coaxial Thermocouple type calorimeters into the NASA Ames arc jet facilities has inspired an analysis of 2D conduction effects internal to this type of calorimeter. The 1D finite slab inverse analysis (which is typically used to deduce the heat transfer to the calorimeter) relies on the assumption that lateral conduction (i.e., 2D effects) is negligible. Most calorimeter bodies have a spherical nose, which in itself is a violation of the 1D finite slab analysis assumption. Secondly most calorimeters experience a variation in heating across the face of the body which is also a violation of the 1D finite slab analysis assumption. It turns out that these two effects tend to cancel each other to some extent. This paper shows the extent to which error exists in the analysis of the Coaxial Thermocouple type calorimeters, and also offers analysis strategies for reducing the errors.
A Tour of Reinforcement Learning: The View from Continuous Control

This article surveys reinforcement learning from the perspective of optimization and control, with a focus on continuous control applications. It reviews the general formulation, terminology, and t...
Behavioral Household Finance

Abstract This chapter provides an overview of household finance. The first part summarizes key facts regarding household financial behavior, emphasizing empirical regularities that are inconsistent with the standard classical economic model and discussing extensions of the classical model and explanations grounded in behavioral economics that can account for the observed patterns. This part covers five topics: consumption and savings, borrowing, payments, asset allocation, and insurance. The second part addresses interventions that firms, governments, and other parties deploy to shape household financial outcomes: education and information, peer effects and social influence, product design, advice and disclosure, choice architecture, and interventions that directly target prices or quantities.
Too little or too much? Actionable Advice in an Early-Childhood Text Messaging Experiment

Text-message based parenting programs have proven successful in improving parental engagement and preschoolers' literacy development. This study seeks to identify mechanisms of the overall effect o...
The Spillover Effect of SEC Comment Letters on Qualitative Corporate Disclosure: Evidence from the Risk Factor Disclosure

In this study we use the recently mandated risk factor disclosure to examine the spillover effect of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) review of qualitative corporate disclosure. We find that firms not receiving any comment letter (“No‐letter Firms”) modify their subsequent year's disclosures to a larger extent if the SEC has commented on the risk factor disclosure of (i) the industry leader, (ii) a close rival, or (iii) numerous industry peers. We refer to this effect as “spillover.” Further, we find that after SEC comments on the industry leader's disclosure, No‐letter Firms also provide more firm‐specific disclosures in the subsequent year. The increased disclosure specificity reduces these firms’ likelihood of receiving SEC risk disclosure comments on their new filings. Our evidence suggests an indirect effect of the SEC review of qualitative disclosure. Les auteurs utilisent l'information sur les facteurs de risque dont la communication a recemment ete rendue obligatoire pour etudier les retombees de l'examen par la SEC de l'information qualitative communiquee par les societes. Ils constatent que les societes n'ayant recu aucune lettre de commentaires modifient davantage l'information qu'ils communiquent au sujet de l'exercice subsequent si la SEC a commente l'information sur les facteurs de risque communiquee par 1) le chef de file du secteur, 2) un proche rival ou 3) plusieurs entreprises comparables du secteur. Ce comportement s'explique par ce que les auteurs appellent les « retombees » des commentaires. Il appert en outre qu'apres la formulation par la SEC de commentaires sur l'information communiquee par le chef de file du secteur, les societes n'ayant recu aucune lettre de commentaires livrent egalement davantage d'information propre a l'entreprise dans l'exercice subsequent. Cette specificite accrue de l'information communiquee reduit la probabilite que la SEC adresse a ces entreprises des commentaires relatifs a l'information sur les facteurs de risque lors de la production de leurs nouvelles declarations. Les constats des auteurs semblent indiquer que l'examen par la SEC de l'information qualitative communiquee par les societes a des repercussions indirectes.
Communication Research Training: A Place in the Sun

AbstractAlthough research methods and analytical procedures are usually not part of the curriculum in the established western schools of communication at undergraduate level, many of the departments of communication in Asia have compulsory courses in these subjects. This is because Honours graduates often will have responsibilities that necessitate a familiarity with at least basic research techniques and interpretation of data. This paper includes proposed content for research courses at the undergraduate level and a research direction which should lead to the development of a body of knowledge on communication and locally relevant theory.
Explaining spatial variations in productivity : evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean

There is a large and extensive literature examining the strength of agglomeration economies and, more generally, the determinants of spatial variations in productivity for developed countries. However, the corresponding literature for developing countries is comparatively scant. This paper contributes to filling this knowledge gap by providing estimates for city productivity premiums and different sources of agglomeration effects for 16 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region. While two of the countries in our sample -- Brazil and Colombia -- have been considered by the literature, the remaining 14 countries have not been previously analyzed. The paper presents estimates for the region as well as comparable estimates for each country using a harmonized data set with characteristics of individual workers and features of the cities in which the workers live. In addition to examining the strength of agglomeration economies, the roles of human capital externalities and market access in explaining subnational productivity variations are assessed. The paper finds that citywide human capital externalities appear much stronger than agglomeration economies in explaining productivity variation in all the considered countries. There is considerable heterogeneity in the estimated strength of human capital externalities across countries, which could be a reflection of country differences in educational quality.
Near Log-Convexity of Measured Heat in (Discrete) Time and Consequences

Let u, v e R^Ω_+ be positive unit vectors and Se R^Ω×Ω_+ be a symmetric substochastic matrix. For an integer t≥ 0, let m_t = 〈 v, S^t u〉, which we view as the heat measured by v after an initial heat configuration u is let to diffuse for t time steps according to S. Since S is entropy improving, one may intuit that m_t should not change too rapidly over time. We give the following formalizations of this intuition. We prove that m_t+2 ≥ m_t^1+2/t, an inequality studied earlier by Blakley and Dixon (also Erdos and Simonovits) for u=v and shown true under the restriction m_t≥ e-4t. Moreover we prove that for any e>0, a stronger inequality m_t+2 ≥ t^1-e ⋅ m_t^1+2/t holds unless m_t+2m_t-2≥ δ m_t^2 for some δ that depends on e only. Phrased differently, ∀ e> 0, ∃δ> 0 such that ∀S, u, v m_t+2/m_t^1+2/t≥ min{t^1-e}, δm_t^1-2/t/m_t-2}, ∀t ≥ 2, which can be viewed as a truncated log-convexity statement. Using this inequality, we answer two related open questions in complexity theory: Any property tester for k-linearity requires Ω(klog k). queries and the randomized communication complexity of the k-Hamming distance problem is Ω(k log k). Further we show that any randomized parity decision tree computing k-Hamming weight has size exp(Ω(k log k)).
Accurate and efficient numerical simulation of dielectrically anisotropic particles

A variety of electrostatic phenomena, including the structure of electric double layers and the aggregation of charged colloids and proteins, are affected by nonuniform electric permittivity. These effects are frequently ignored in analytical and computational studies and particularly difficult to handle in situations where multiple dielectric contrasts are present, such as in colloids that are heterogeneous in permittivity. We present an extension to the Iterative Dielectric Solver developed by Barros and Luijten [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 017801 (2014)] that makes it possible to accurately compute the polarization of anisotropic particles with multiple dielectric contrasts. This efficient boundary-element-method-based approach is applicable to geometries that are not amenable to other solvers, opening the possibility of studying collective phenomena of dielectrically anisotropic particles. We provide insight into the underlying physical reasons for this efficiency.
Deriving a lattice model for neo-Hookean solids from finite element methods

Abstract Lattice models are popular methods for simulating deformation of solids by discretizing continuum structures into spring networks. Despite the simplicity and efficiency, most lattice models only rigorously converge to continuum models for lattices with regular shapes. Here, we derive a lattice model for neo-Hookean solids directly from finite element methods (FEM). The proposed lattice model can handle complicated geometries and tune the material compressibility without significantly increasing the complexity of the model. Distinct lattices are required for irregular structures, where the lattice spring stiffness can be pre-calculated with the aid of FEM shape functions. Multibody interactions are incorporated to describe the volumetric deformation. We validate the lattice model with benchmark tests using FEM. The simplicity and adaptability of the proposed lattice model open possibilities to develop novel numerical platforms for simulating multiphysics and multiscale problems via integrating it with other modeling techniques.
Unsupervised space–time clustering using persistent homology

This paper presents a new clustering algorithm for space-time data based on the concepts of topological data analysis and in particular, persistent homology. Employing persistent homology - a flexible mathematical tool from algebraic topology used to extract topological information from data - in unsupervised learning is an uncommon and a novel approach. A notable aspect of this methodology consists in analyzing data at multiple resolutions which allows to distinguish true features from noise based on the extent of their persistence. We evaluate the performance of our algorithm on synthetic data and compare it to other well-known clustering algorithms such as K-means, hierarchical clustering and DBSCAN. We illustrate its application in the context of a case study of water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.
Backward Wave Oscillation Thresholds in a Traveling-Wave Tube

The threshold for the onset of backward wave oscillation (BWO) in a traveling-wave tube (TWT) was formulated by Johnson [1]. In this paper, we extend Johnson’s model to include random variations of circuit phase velocity along the tube axis. We find that Johnson’s BWO threshold is minimally affected by these random variations. We next ignore these random variations, but include finite reflections at the two ends of a TWT and study their effects on Johnson’s threshold. The latter theory is developed and being compared with results from an experimental helix test circuit. We will explore a 4-wave treatment [2] for BWO, and its connection with the Briggs-Bers criterion [3] for the existence of absolute instability.
Temperature dependence of the pitch in chiral lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals

One of the most simple cases in which chirality at the microscopic level produces a chiral macroscopic structure is the chiral nematic liquid crystal phase. In such a phase, the preferred direction of molecular orientation rotates in helical fashion, with the pitch of the helix in different systems ranging from around 100 nm to as large as can be measured (∼10 mm). For almost all thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals, the ordered entities are formed from strong bonds, so the pitch varies in accordance with how the interactions between these largely immutable entities are affected by changing conditions. A unique exception are lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) that spontaneously form weakly bound assemblies in solution, the size of which depends strongly on experimental parameters. While the temperature dependence of the pitch has been measured for chiral LCLCs formed by short strands of DNA (DNA-LCLCs), such is not the case for chiral LCLCs formed by small molecules. Polarized optical microscopy experiments on small molecule chiral LCLCs reveal the changing assembly size through a temperature dependence of the pitch not typical for many other systems, including the most recent measurements on DNA-LCLCs. In fact, the pitch measurements in small molecule chiral LCLCs strongly increase in value as the temperature is increased and the assemblies shrink in size. Theoretical considerations provide some help in understanding this phenomena, but leave much to be explained.
The Public's Unmet Need for Legal Services & What Law Schools Can Do about It

Civil legal services in the United States are increasingly unaffordable and inaccessible. Although the causes are complex, law schools can help in three ways beyond simply offering free legal clini...
Volatility-Managed Portfolio: Does It Really Work?

In this article, the authors find that a typical application of volatility-timing strategies to the stock market suffers from look-ahead bias, despite existing evidence on the success of the strategies at the stock level. After correcting this bias, the strategy becomes very difficult to implement in practice because its maximum drawdown is 68%–93% in almost all cases. Moreover, the strategy outperforms the market only during the financial crisis period. The authors also consider three alternative volatility-timing strategies and find that they do not outperform the market either. Their results show that one cannot easily beat the market via timing the market alone. TOPICS:Portfolio construction, statistical methods, risk management Key Findings • A typical application of volatility-timing strategies to the aggregate stock market, instead of at the stock level, can be more susceptible to look-ahead bias. • After correcting the bias, the strategy is difficult to implement due to large drawdowns, and it performs poorly over time except during the recent financial crisis period when volatility was extremely high. • One cannot easily beat the market via volatility-timing the market alone.
FINDING SOLUTIONS TO ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN AGRICULTURE

A distinction should be made betweentwo types of ethical problems. A Type I ethicalproblem is one in which there is no consensusas to what is ethical. A Type II ethicalproblem is one in which there is a consensus asto what is ethical, but incentives exist forindividuals to behave unethically. Type Iethical problems are resolved by making,challenging, and reasoning through moralarguments. Type II ethical problems areresolved by changing the institutionalenvironment so that people do not haveincentives to behave unethically. Type Isolutions, however, will not be effective insolving Type II problems. Examples inagriculture and elsewhere show howdistinguishing between Type I and Type IIethical problems will help in theidentification of solutions to ethical issuesin agriculture.
A new simulation metric to determine safe environments and controllers for systems with unknown dynamics

We consider the problem of extracting safe environments and controllers for reach-avoid objectives for systems with known state and control spaces, but unknown dynamics. In a given environment, a common approach is to synthesize a controller from an abstraction or a model of the system (potentially learned from data). However, in many situations, the relationship between the dynamics of the model and the actual system is not known; and hence it is difficult to provide safety guarantees for the system. In such cases, the Standard Simulation Metric (SSM), defined as the worst-case norm distance between the model and the system output trajectories, can be used to modify a reach-avoid specification for the system into a more stringent specification for the abstraction. Nevertheless, the obtained distance, and hence the modified specification, can be quite conservative. This limits the set of environments for which a safe controller can be obtained. We propose SPEC, a specification-centric simulation metric, which overcomes these limitations by computing the distance using only the trajectories that violate the specification for the system. We show that modifying a reach-avoid specification with SPEC allows us to synthesize a safe controller for a larger set of environments compared to SSM. We also propose a probabilistic method to compute SPEC for a general class of systems. Case studies using simulators for quadrotors and autonomous cars illustrate the advantages of the proposed metric for determining safe environment sets and controllers.
Capacity of Gaussian Arbitrarily-Varying Fading Channels

In this work, we explore the capacity of point-to-point fast fading channels in the presence of an adversary. We assume that the fading gains are known at the decoder; they may also be known to the encoder and/or adversary. If the adversary does not know the gains, then the capacity is equal to the capacity of the corresponding fading channel with the noise variance raised by the power of the jammer. If the gains are available at the jammer, then the capacity is determined by the worst-case noise variance as a function of the channel gain subject to the jammer's power constraint; if the jammer has enough power, then it can imitate the legitimate user's channel, causing the capacity to drop to zero.
The Five Trolls Under the Bridge: Principal Component Analysis With Asynchronous and Noisy High Frequency Data

We develop a principal component analysis (PCA) for high frequency data. As in Northern fairy tales, there are trolls waiting for the explorer. The first three trolls are market microstructure nois...
The relationship between acceptance of cancer and distress: A meta-analytic review.

Abstract Acceptance of cancer has long been recognized as playing a critical role in psychological adjustment to the illness, but its associations with distress outcomes have not been quantitatively reviewed. Informed by coping theory and third wave conceptualizations of acceptance, we first propose an integrated model of acceptance of cancer. Then we examine the strength of the relationships between acceptance of cancer and general and cancer-specific distress in cancer patients and potential moderators of these relationships. CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and Web of Science databases were searched. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted on 78 records (N = 15,448). Small-to-moderate, negative, and significant relationships were found between acceptance of cancer and general distress (r = −0.31; 95% CI: −0.36 to −0.26, k = 75); cancer-specific distress (r = −0.18; 95% CI: −0.21 to −0.14, k = 13); depressive symptoms (r = −0.25; 95% CI: −0.31 to −0.19, k = 41); and anxiety symptoms (r = −0.22; 95% CI: −0.30 to −0.15, k = 29). Age, marital status, and stage of cancer were identified as significant moderators. Findings suggest that acceptance of cancer may be important to target in interventions to reduce general and cancer-specific distress in cancer patients. Future research should focus on developing multifaceted measures of acceptance and identifying theory-based psychological and social processes that lead to greater acceptance.
Best-of-five contest: An experiment on gender differences

Abstract Prior gender literature has focused on whether men and women differ in their willingness to enter competition. We conduct a laboratory study to examine, instead, gender differences while in competition. We analyze effort choices in a best-of-five probabilistic contest. The longer contest and the careful manipulation of the gender composition allow us to identify gender differences in competitiveness in an environment where success requires repeated interaction. We find that women exert significantly greater effort only when competing against other women, but for men the gender of the opponent is of no consequence. Our multi-battle structure also enables us to identify the psychological impact of immediate prior outcomes and the strategic impact of early round wins or losses, as well as their differential impact on genders. Across both genders, we find evidence supporting strategic momentum, but not psychological momentum. Finally, subjects who exhibit lower level of confidence and those who have higher utility of winning choose higher effort levels.
ACC Theta Improves Hippocampal Contextual Processing during Remote Recall

Consolidation studies show that, over time, memory recall becomes independent of the medial temporal lobes. Multiple lines of research show that the medial frontal cortex, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), is involved with contextual information processing and remote recall. We hypothesize that interactions between the ACC and hippocampal area CA1 will change as memories became more remote. Animals are re-exposed to multiple environments at different retention intervals. During remote recall, ACC-CA1 theta coherence increases, with the ACC leading area CA1. ACC theta regulates unit spike timing, gamma oscillations, and ensemble and single-neuron information coding in CA1. Over the course of consolidation, the strength and prevalence of ACC theta modulation grow, leading to richer environmental context representations in CA1. These data are consistent with the transference of contextual memory dependence to the ACC and indicate that remote memories are retrieved via ACC-driven oscillatory coupling with CA1.
Preparation of fluorinated phenoxathiin dioxide monoamine oxidase‐A inhibitors: Intramolecular radical substitution at sulfur versus the mauthner synthesis

Five unique fluorinated analogs, 8a-c and 15a,b, of the monoamine oxidase-A inhibitor 3-iso-propoxyphenoxathiin 10,10-dioxide (II) were prepared via oxidation of the corresponding phenoxathiins 7 and 14. 3-Fluoro-7-isopropoxy- 7a, 2-fluoro-3-isopropoxy- 7b, and 2,7-difluoro-3-isopropoxyphenoxathiin (7c) were prepared by a modification of the Mauthner synthesis which involved cyclization of the corresponding 2-hydroxy-4-isopropoxythiophenols 4 with the appropriate 2-halonitrobenzenes 5 in the presence of potassium tert-butoxide. Preparation of 2,8-difluoro-3-isopropoxyphenoxathiin (14b) from 4b and 2,4-difluoronitrobenzene (5c) employing similar methods failed, leading instead to a novel macrocycle 9. Attempts to obtain 2-fluoro-7-isopropoxyphenoxathun (14a) and the 2,8-difluoro analog 14b via trifluoroacetic acid deprotection of intermediate thio-protected 2-nitrophenyl 2-thiophenyl ethers 11a and c followed by cyclization of the resulting thiols were also unsuccessful. Deprotection of 11a with trifluoroacetic acid produced only complex product mixtures, while similar deprotection of 11c and treatment of the resulting crude product with potassium tert-butoxide in refluxing dimethylformamide produced the 2,7-difluorophenoxathiin analog 7c, a result consistent with a Smiles rearrangement of the intermediate thiol 12 prior to ring closure. The phenoxathiins 14 were ultimately prepared by a modification of a relatively unexploited phenoxathiin synthesis involving the intramolecular radical substitution at sulfur of 2-aminophenyl 2-thiophenyl ethers 13 containing para-methoxybenzyl and methoxymethylthio-protecting groups.
Functionalization of carboxylic anhydrides at α-carbon with hypervalent iodine reagents: one-pot conversion of anhydrides to 2-sulfonyloxycarboxylate esters

Abstract The treatment of carboxylic anhydrides with iodine(III) sulfonate reagents at ca. 100°C and esterification of the reaction mixtures with MeOH/TsOH·H 2 O affords 2-sulfonyloxycarboxylate esters. This is consistent with enolic behavior in the anhydrides.
Policies or knowledge: priors differ between a perceptual and sensorimotor task.

We do not know whether the brain represents abstract and generalizable knowledge or task-specific policies that map internal states to actions. We find that learning in a sensorimotor task does not...
The Dynamics of ETF Fees

Despite widely publicized fee reductions, average expense ratios of ETFs have remained relatively steady. Thousands of new funds have not led to lower fees. Investors should examine all available o...
Fragmentation of CDF jets: perturbative or non-perturbative?

Presented are the most recent jet fragmentation results from CDF: inclusive distributions of charged particle momenta and their k{sub T} in jets; average track multiplicities, as well as angular distributions of multiplicity flow, for a wide range of jet energies with E{sub T} from 40 to 300 GeV. The results are compared with Monte-Carlo and, when possible, analytical calculations performed in resumed perturbative QCD approximations (MLLA).
Exploring the binding mechanism between human profilin (PFN1) and polyproline-10 through binding mode screening.

The large magnitude of protein-protein interaction (PPI) pairs within the human interactome necessitates the development of predictive models and screening tools to better understand this fundamental molecular communication. However, despite enormous efforts from various groups to develop predictive techniques in the last decade, PPI complex structures are in general still very challenging to predict due to the large number of degrees of freedom. In this study, we use the binding complex of human profilin (PFN1) and polyproline-10 (P10) as a model system to examine various approaches, with the aim of going beyond normal protein docking for PPI prediction and evaluation. The potential of mean force (PMF) was first obtained from the time-consuming umbrella sampling, which confirmed that the most stable binding structure identified by the maximal PMF difference is indeed the crystallographic binding structure. Moreover, crucial residues previously identified in experimental studies, W3, H133, and S137 of PFN1, were found to form favorable hydrogen bonds with P10, suggesting a zipping process during the binding between PFN1 and P10. We then explored both regular molecular dynamics (MD) and steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations, seeking for better criteria of ranking the PPI prediction. Despite valuable information obtained from conventional MD simulations, neither the commonly used interaction energy between the two binding parties nor the long-term root mean square displacement correlates well with the PMF results. On the other hand, with a sizable collection of trajectories, we demonstrated that the average and minimal rupture works calculated from SMD simulations correlate fairly well with the PMFs (R2 = 0.67), making this a promising PPI screening method.
Proteomic analysis defines kinase taxonomies specific for subtypes of breast cancer.

// Kyla A.L. Collins 1, * , Timothy J. Stuhlmiller 2, 3, * , Jon S. Zawistowski 2, 3 , Michael P. East 2, 3 , Trang T. Pham 2, 3 , Claire R. Hall 4 , Daniel R. Goulet 2, 3 , Samantha M. Bevill 2, 3 , Steven P. Angus 2, 3 , Sara H. Velarde 2, 3 , Noah Sciaky 2 , Tudor I. Oprea 5, 6 , Lee M. Graves 2, 3 , Gary L. Johnson 2, 3 and Shawn M. Gomez 1, 2, 4 1 Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA 2 Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA 3 Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA 4 Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA 5 Translational Informatics Division, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA 6 UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Gary L. Johnson, email: gary_johnson@med.unc.edu Shawn M. Gomez, email: smgomez@unc.edu Keywords: cancer biology; proteomics; kinase signaling Received: September 27, 2017 Accepted: January 19, 2018 Epub: January 29, 2018 Published: March 20, 2018 ABSTRACT Multiplexed small molecule inhibitors covalently bound to Sepharose beads (MIBs) were used to capture functional kinases in luminal, HER2-enriched and triple negative (basal-like and claudin-low) breast cancer cell lines and tumors. Kinase MIB-binding profiles at baseline without perturbation proteomically distinguished the four breast cancer subtypes. Understudied kinases, whose disease associations and pharmacology are generally unexplored, were highly represented in MIB-binding taxonomies and are integrated into signaling subnetworks with kinases that have been previously well characterized in breast cancer. Computationally it was possible to define subtypes using profiles of less than 50 of the more than 300 kinases bound to MIBs that included understudied as well as metabolic and lipid kinases. Furthermore, analysis of MIB-binding profiles established potential functional annotations for these understudied kinases. Thus, comprehensive MIBs-based capture of kinases provides a unique proteomics-based method for integration of poorly characterized kinases of the understudied kinome into functional subnetworks in breast cancer cells and tumors that is not possible using genomic strategies. The MIB-binding profiles readily defined subtype-selective differential adaptive kinome reprogramming in response to targeted kinase inhibition, demonstrating how MIB profiles can be used in determining dynamic kinome changes that result in subtype selective phenotypic state changes.
Enantiomerically enriched vic-amino alcohols from 2-iminobornanes ☆

Abstract Enantiomerically enriched vic-amino alcohols derived from d -camphor have been synthesized by condensation of the highly electrophilic N-nitroimine of d -camphor with ethanolamine, (R)-phenylglycinol and (1R,2S)-norephedrine to afford imines 8a–c. The iminobornanes were reduced with lithium aluminum hydride to afford the corresponding amines in good yield (78–88%). The stereochemistry of the reduction was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic studies of the N-nitrosated norephedrine–camphor derivative 12.
Which patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolism should receive extended anticoagulation with direct oral anticoagulants? A systematic review, network meta-analysis, and decision analysis.

Introduction Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) effectively prevent recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, it is unknown which agents should be used to prevent recurrent VTE and which patients with unprovoked VTE should receive extended anticoagulation. We therefore sought to compare the efficacy and safety among DOACs for secondary prevention of VTE. We also determined a risk-adapted threshold for initiating extended anticoagulation based on the likelihood of VTE recurrence (without treatment) and bleeding (with treatment) in patients with unprovoked VTE. Methods Our systematic review of randomized controlled trials compares extended anticoagulation with DOACs to another DOAC, aspirin, or placebo for the prevention of recurrent VTE. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Registry of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in October 2018. Our outcomes of interest were VTE recurrence, major bleeding, and all clinically relevant bleeding. We used network meta-analysis to make indirect comparisons among DOACs. We populated the threshold decision-analytic model with data from our meta-analysis to determine the risk of VTE recurrence above which the benefits of extended anticoagulation outweigh the harms compared with no treatment. Results We included four, high-quality, randomized trials comprising 8386 participants. Low-dose apixaban, full-dose apixaban, low-dose rivaroxaban, full-dose rivaroxaban, and dabigatran reduce VTE recurrence compared with placebo (RR = 0.19, 95% CI, 0.12-0.31; RR = 0.20, 95% CI, 0.12-0.32; RR = 0.08, 95% CI, 0.03-0.27; RR = 0.14, 95% CI, 0.06-0.35; RR = 0.19, 95% CI, 0.09-0.40, respectively). No DOACs increased major bleeding risk compared with placebo. A VTE recurrence risk above 0.3% to 0.4% at approximately 1 year is the threshold to treat a patient with unprovoked VTE with extended anticoagulation (with any DOAC). Conclusions All DOACs exhibit comparable efficacy for the prevention of recurrent VTE. Given that the risk of VTE recurrence is much higher than the calculated threshold for treatment, extended thromboprophylaxis should be considered in all patients with unprovoked VTE who do not have increased bleeding risk.
Synthesis of N-formylmaleamic acid and some related N-formylamides

Two syntheses of N-formylmaleamic acid and some related N-formylamides are described which take place under very mild conditions.
Photochemistry of Phenyl-Substituted 1-Methylpyrazoles.

Direct irradiation of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyrazole (2) in methanol results in regiospecific phototransposition to 1-methyl-4-phenylimidazole (4) and in photocleavage to (E)/(Z)-3-(N-methylamino)-2-phenylpropenenitrile (5) and (E)/(Z)-2-(N-methylamino)-1-phenylethenyl isocyanide (6). Deuterium labeling confirms that the phototransposition occurs via the P4 permutation pathway. Separate experiments show that 5 and 6 undergo (Z) → (E) isomerization and photocyclization to imidazole 4. Quantum yields for these reactions show that the sequence 2 → 6 → 4 is a major pathway for the P4 phototransposition of 2 → 4. Isocyanides were also detected as intermediates in the P4 phototransposition of a variety of other pyrazoles confirming the generality of this pathway in pyrazole photochemistry. Direct irradiation of 1-methyl-5-phenylpyrazole (3) resulted in the formation of 1-methyl-5-phenylimidazole (7), 1-methyl-2-phenylimidazole (8), and 1-methyl-4-phenylimidazole (4). Deuterium labeling revealed that these products w...
Plasma processing approach to molecular surface tailoring of nanoparticles : Improved photocatalytic activity of TiO2

Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) was employed to modify surfaces of TiO 2 nanoparticles. To help overcome nanoparticle aggregation, a 360° rotating reactor was employed to provide continuous agitation and mixing of the particles during the plasma induced film deposition process. The nanoparticles were coated with thin films produced from the plasma polymerization of tetramethyltin (TMT) monomer. Subsequently, the coated particles were heated in air to remove the carbonaceous material while, simultaneously, oxidizing the tin atoms to tin oxide. The photocatalytic activity of the tin oxide coated TiO 2 was then measured and contrasted with that of untreated TiO 2 particles. A significantly enhanced increase in the oxidation rate of acid orange (AO7) dye was observed with the modified particles. Additional experiments employing a mixture of TMT and perfluoropropylene oxide monomers were used to achieve surfaces possessing partially fluorinated tin oxide. The fluorine doped tin oxide coatings exhibited even higher catalytic activity than that obtained from TMT only experiments. Some experiments involving characterization of the films before and after the annealing process, specifically those involving X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy measurements, were carried our using flat glass or polished silicon substrates. Overall, this study demonstrates the general utility of PECVD technology to provide effective coating of ultrafine nanoscale particles.