cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cognitively Motivated Features for Readability Assessment

We investigate linguistic features that correlate with the readability of texts for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Based on a corpus of texts (including some experimentally measured for comprehension by adults with ID), we analyze the significance of novel discourse-level features related to the cognitive factors underlying our users' literacy challenges. We develop and evaluate a tool for automatically rating the readability of texts for these users. Our experiments show that our discourse-level, cognitively-motivated features improve automatic readability assessment.
It Just Didn’t Work Out: Examining Nonreturning Students’ Stories About Their Freshman Experience

First-year college student retention is important to colleges and universities, as well as beyond academia. An analysis was conduced of emergent themes and subthemes from 144 nonreturning students’...
Retrospective Comparison of Intranasal Dexmedetomidine and Oral Chloral Hydrate for Sedated Auditory Brainstem Response Exams

OBJECTIVE: Satisfactory conditions for auditory brainstem responses (ABR) screening tests for pediatric hearing loss are usually achieved with oral chloral hydrate (CH) sedation. When the US manufacture of this drug was discontinued for business reasons, we developed an alternative sedation regimen using intranasal dexmedetomidine (IN DEX) 4 μg/kg. This institutional review board–approved retrospective study compared the efficacy and adverse effect profiles of these 2 sedative regimens. METHODS: Medical records of children receiving oral CH or IN DEX for ABR were surveyed for demographic data and times from sedative administration to start and completion of the ABR procedure and recovery times. We also noted if the examination was completed with or without interruptions, failed for inadequate sedation, and if predefined cardiorespiratory adverse events occurred. RESULTS: In the IN DEX cohort, the examination could be completed more frequently with a single dose of medication (P = .002). Satisfactory sedation in these patients permitted an earlier start of both the ABR examination and recovery to the awake status (P CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective study found that IN DEX provides effective sedation for ABR examinations, with the benefits of an ability to begin the test sooner and complete the examination with a single dose, in addition to a decreased incidence of hypoxemia. A randomized controlled trial should test the hypothesis that the IN DEX technique is superior to the well-established standard oral CH regimen.
Spin superfluid Josephson quantum devices

Spin Hall phenomena are a collection of relativistic spin-orbit coupling effects that permit control and detection of magnetization dynamics in magnetic materials with electrical currents. In spintronics, they have been studied extensively in bilayer structures consisting of a magnetically ordered material interfaced by a current-carrying paramagnetic metal with strong spin-orbit coupling. In this work, the authors propose the magnetic phase qubit, the macroscopic quantum spintronic device that can be built from such bilayers and that permits full electrical control and readout via spin Hall phenomena. The device is an example of a macroscopic qubit that can be constructed from solid-state materials and so should offer the same advantages as the superconducting qubits of strong inter-qubit coupling and scalability. An estimate of the relevant physical parameters based on current spintronic technology gives a qubit operational temperature that is more than an order of magnitude higher than for existing superconducting qubits, thus opening the possibility of macroscopic quantum information processing at temperatures above the dilution refrigerator range. The authors also show that a coupled array of these qubits can realize a quantum annealer, which could be used to solve certain hard optimization problems and machine learning tasks.
Digital runtime

This paper describes a digital runtime environment designed to support both ATLAS and non-ATLAS control of a digital instrument. The paper provides a brief overview of the architecture and tools integrated into the runtime to assist in re-hosting and debugging
Alpha quartz

The history of the use of alpha quartz, SiO/sub 2/, one of the nine forms of silica is sketched, and its structure and crystallography are described. Piezoelectricity, the most important property of quartz from an electrical standpoint, is explained. Processing of quartz crystals to ensure proper operation in circuits is discussed. The two primary types of device made from quartz crystal plates or wafers, the quartz crystal resonator and the quartz transducer, are described. >
Fracture Mechanics Analysis of Asperity Cracking Due to Repetitive Sliding Contact

Asperity failure due to repetitive sliding is a common process of wear particle formation. Linear elastic fracture mechanics and the finite element method (FEM) were used to analyze asperity cracking due to sliding against another rigid asperity. The maximum ranges of the tensile and shear stress intensity factors (SIFs) were used to determine the crack growth direction and the dominant mode of fracture. Simulations of repetitive sliding showed a strong dependence of the wear particle size and wear rate on the direction and rate of crack growth. The maximum ranges of tensile and shear SIFs were used to determine the dominant mode of crack growth. The effects of asperity interaction depth, sliding friction, initial crack position, crack-face friction, and material properties on crack growth direction, dominant fracture mode, and crack growth rate are discussed in the context of FEM results. It is shown that the asperity interaction depth and sliding friction exhibit the most pronounced effects on the crack growth direction and growth rate. A transition from shear- to tensile-dominant mode of crack growth was observed with the increase of the asperity interaction depth and/or sliding friction coefficient. Crack-face opening, slip, and stick mechanisms are discussed in the light of crack mechanism maps constructed for different asperity interaction depths and sliding friction coefficients.© 2010 ASME
Evaluation of Orchard Weed Hosts of Green Peach Aphid and the Production of Winged Migrants

In laboratory tests, only 8–13% survived of 1st-instar nymphs of the green peach aphid (GPA), Myzus persicae (Sulzer), placed on young lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L., and redroot pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus L., with 2–4 leaves initially and held to adult stage. GPA had 80% survival and shorter developmental time on radish, Raphanus sativus L., shepherdspurse, Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik, field bindweed, Convolvulus arvenis L., hoary cress, Cardaria draba (L.) Desv., yellowflower pepperweed, Lepidium perfoliatum L., and hairy nightshade, Solanum sarrachoides Sendt. When life table statistics were determined for the 7 weed plants and radish, hoary cress had the highest intrinsic rate of increase, r = 0.401; and that for radish was r = 0.357. In field cage experiments, with plants with 6 true leaves initially, the GPA multiplied faster on shepherdspurse, radish, and hairy nightshade than other weeds. In the orchard, the GPA population in late May on 6 common weed species ranged from 608/pigweed plant to 4659/yellowflower pepperweed plant. Winged migrants contributed from 3.8–26% of these populations and the estimated production of winged GPA was 70 million migrants/ha. Since about half of these orchard weed species are known hosts of beet western yellow virus (BWYV), many of the winged GPA from the orchard weeds are potential vectors of BWYV.
Investigation about Affective Teaching in Middle Schools in Small-medium Cities: Take Yixing City for Instance

Over a long period of time,there have been serious unbalanced teaching phenomenon that values more knowledge than emotion in our teaching theory and practice. Affective teaching model is complement and improvement to traditional models and it is advantageous to the harmonious development of the students. 157 middle school teachers in Yixing City was investigated by self-designed scale to explore the understanding and practicing of affective teaching model. The results showed:( 1) Most teachers thought that affective teaching should and must be emphasised,but the fact might be opposite;( 2) Only about half of the teachers( 54. 8%) always considered the affective needs of their students;( 3) Only about half of the teachers( 52. 2%) always tried to use affective teaching in practice;( 4) The main reasons included examination oriented education system,the lack of theoretical direction and methods. In conclusion,even in some small-medium cities, great importance has been attached to affective teaching,but some problems are also exsist.
Microsurgical ureteroureterostomy in ureteral injuries.

Abstract Contemporary methods to repair the injured ureter often result in persistent hydronephrosis or infection. Use of a microsurgical ureteroureterostomy technique is described and 2 cases are reported. The results in both cases were excellent.
Computational Simulation of Biventricular Pacing in an Asymptomatic Human Heart

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) through biventricular stimulation was first used in the early 1990s as a treatment option for patients with systolic heart failure, intraventricular conduction delay, and other cardiac arrhythmias [1]. CRT, also known as biventricular pacing (BiVP), is an alternative to right ventricular stimulation, which induces dyssynchronous ventricular contraction. In BiVP, three pacing leads are usually placed on the myocardium of the right atrium, the right ventricle, and the left ventricle in the distal cardiac vein. Because there are no standardized loci for lead placement in BiVP, physicians rely on trial and error when inserting pacemaker leads and use electrocardiograms (ECG) to determine the effectiveness of the BiVP lead placement. The ECG measures the electrical conduction, contraction pacing, and projections of the anatomy of the myocardium. Abnormalities in the sinusoidal waves of the ECG reveal problems. Therefore, the ECG can depict a quantitative representation of the effectiveness of biventricular pacing lead placement.© 2011 ASME
A Systematic Review of the Research on Vocabulary Instruction That Impacts Text Comprehension

Although numerous studies have identified a correlational relationship between vocabulary and comprehension, we know less about vocabulary interventions that impact reading comprehension. Therefore, this study is a systematic review of vocabulary interventions with comprehension outcomes. Analyses of 36 studies that met criteria are organized around (a) type of comprehension measure (i.e., comprehension of passages that included taught words or more generalized comprehension measures) and (b) type of intervention (i.e., direct teaching of word meanings or word-learning strategies). The authors looked for patterns in characteristics of vocabulary instruction within these analyses. Their findings led to four major themes: (1) Teaching of word meanings supported comprehension of text containing the target words in almost all cases; (2) instruction that focused on some active processing was typically more impactful than a definition or a dictionary method for supporting comprehension of text containing the target words, but we do not know how much instruction is sufficient; (3) there is very limited evidence that direct teaching of word meanings, even long-term, multifaceted interventions of large numbers of words, can improve generalized comprehension; and (4) there is currently no empirical evidence that instruction in one or two strategies for solving word meanings will impact generalized comprehension. However, studies that actively teach students to monitor their understanding of vocabulary and to use multiple, flexible strategies for solving word meanings are a promising area for future research. The authors discuss the implications of these themes, as well as critical avenues for future vocabulary research.
Evidence Base Update of Psychosocial Treatments for Child and Adolescent Depression

Depression in youth is prevalent and disabling and tends to presage a chronic and recurrent course of illness and impairment in adulthood. Clinical trial research in youth depression has a 30-year history, and evidence-based treatment reviews appeared in 1998 and 2008. The current review of 42 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) updates these reviews to include RCTs published between 2008 and 2014 (N = 14) and reevaluates previously reviewed literature. Given the growing maturity of the field, this review utilized a stringent set of methodological criteria for trial inclusion, most notable for excluding trials based in subclinical samples of youth that had been included in previous reviews (N = 12) and including well-designed RCTs with null and negative findings (N = 8). Findings from the current review suggest that evidence for child treatments is notably weaker than for adolescent interventions, with no child treatments achieving well-established status and the evidentiary basis of treatments downgraded...
Survival and Prognosis in World Health Organization Defined Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia- A Mayo Clinic Series of 227 Patients

Abstract Abstract 3790 Background: Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a clonal stem cell disorder characterized by: persistent peripheral blood (PB) monocytosis (>1 × 10(9)/L), absence of BCR-ABL1 fusion, absence of rearrangement of the PDGFRA/B genes, Methods: 227 patients with WHO defined CMML were seen at the Mayo Clinic from 1997 through 2007. All patients underwent bone marrow (BM) examination and cytogenetic evaluation at diagnosis. We evaluated the prognostic relevance of several clinical and laboratory parameters including those previously identified by the MDAPS (Blood 2002;99:840) and the Spanish cytogenetic risk stratification (Haematologica 2011;96:375). Results: Among the 227 study patients, 153 (67%) were males and median age was 71 years (range, 17–90 years). There were 192 (85%) patients with CMML-1 & the remainder had CMML-2. At a median follow-up of 15 months, 166 (73%) deaths and 33 (14.5%) leukemic transformations were documented. Median survivals were 22 months for CMML-1 and 14 months for CMML-2. In univariate analysis, significant risk factors for survival included decreased hemoglobin level, decreased platelet count and increased levels of white blood cells (WBC), absolute neutrophils (ANC), absolute monocytes (AMC), absolute lymphocytes (ALC), PB blasts, BM blasts and presence of circulating immature myeloid cells (IMC; inclusive of PB blasts). However, on multivariable analysis that included the aforementioned Spanish cytogenetic risk stratification, only increased AMC (>10 × 10(9)/L, RR 2.5, 95% CI 1.7–3.8), presence of circulating IMC (RR 2.0, 95% CI 1.4–2.7), decreased hemoglobin ( Figure ). The Mayo risk model was also predictive of leukemic transformation: high risk RR 4.9 (95% CI 1.9–12.8) and intermediate risk RR 2.6 (1.1–5.9). Individual parameters of independent significance for leukemic transformation included PB blast count and AMC >10 × 10(9)/L. Conclusions: Absolute monocyte count is the strongest predictor of survival in CMML. Other independent risk factors include circulating immature myeloid cells, anemia and thrombocytopenia. A risk model based on these four risk factors is effective in predicting both overall and leukemia-free survival and outperforms both the MDAPS and risk stratification by cytogenetics. Download : Download high-res image (50KB) Download : Download full-size image Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Label-Free High-Throughput Phenotypic Screening

Flow cytometry is a powerful tool for cell counting and biomarker detection in biotechnology and medicine especially with regards to blood analysis. Standard flow cytometers perform cell type classification both by estimating size and granularity of cells using forward- and side-scattered light signals and through the collection of emission spectra of fluorescently labeled cells. However, cell surface labeling as a means of marking cells is often undesirable as many reagents negatively impact cellular viability or provide activating/inhibitory signals, which can alter the behavior of the desired cellular subtypes for downstream applications or analysis. To eliminate the need for labeling, we introduce a label-free imaging-based flow cytometer that measures size and cell protein concentration simultaneously either as a stand-alone instrument or as an add-on to conventional flow cytometers. Cell protein concentration adds a parameter to cell classification, which improves the specificity and sensitivity of flow cytometers without the requirement of cell labeling. This system uses coherent dispersive Fourier transform to perform phase imaging at flow speeds as high as a few meters per second.
Aquifer Discharge Drives Microbial Community Change in Karst Estuaries

Karst estuaries are unique systems governed by freshwater inputs that flow directly to the sea through karst conduits and/or matrices. Because they are found at the interface between terrestrial and marine environments, they can act as sentinels to climate change and as indicators of aquifer health. The physical and geochemical gradients formed in karst estuaries are a direct result of the interactions between inland hydrological conditions and sea level. To examine the influence these gradients have on microbial communities in the water column and sediment of a karst estuary, we studied the spring-fed Double Keyhole Karst Estuary in west central Florida for a 2-year period. Four sites were monitored within this system starting at the Double Keyhole Spring Conduit extending 2 km west through the estuary toward the Gulf of Mexico. Water column and sediment samples were collected quarterly at all sites from September 2011 through September 2013. Archaeal, bacterial, and microbial eukaryote communities were analyzed using quantitative PCR and length-heterogeneity PCR. The biological communities were analyzed in the context of hydrological, physical, and geochemical parameters in order to determine which factor(s) governed the observed changes of microbial abundance and richness. The major finding of this study was that microbial community change in this karst estuary was primarily driven by the volume of aquifer discharge and associated physical gradients, and less by the geochemical fluctuations within the system.
Innovation and dedication underpin management of sudden oak death ( Phytophthora ramorum ) in California and Oregon forests

In 2006, several isolated Phytophthora ramorum infested locations were selected just outside an 800-ha infested area in southern Humboldt County, California, for silvicultural treatments that targeted the removal and/or reduction of tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) and California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica), the main tree hosts supporting sporulation of P. ramorum. The treatments included cutting of hosts, cutting with burning, and herbicide removal. Important differences emerged between the treatment responses in shrub cover, tanoak resprouting, fuel loads, and host tree regeneration. In 2010, another isolated infestation was verified in northern Humboldt County. This infestation was 80 km away from the core infested area in southern Humboldt. Stand-level P. ramorum disease dynamic models and forest growth simulations parameterized with data collected in this northern infestation suggested that California bay laurel and tanoak thinning treatments may slow tanoak mortality, foster a greater component of mature tanoak over the next 100 years, and contribute to greater amounts of live-tree carbon. Reviewing these long-running, landscape-scale P. ramorum management projects provides a platform to inform future adaptive management of P. ramorum. This paper summarizes two presentations from the Sixth Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium held in June 2016 in San Francisco, California.
Historical Change and Human Development

Behavioral scientists have examined how the particularities of historical circumstance lead to unique patterns of development. Indeed, human development reflects mechanisms that operate in three historical time frames. First, human behavior reflects evolutionary mechanisms that operate across historical epochs covering millions of years. These mechanisms are the subjects of ethology, life history theory, and evolutionary psychology. Second, individual development also reflects the unique mechanisms of historical periods that are comparatively limited in their duration. For example, social historians and students of psychohistory examine how the organization and ideology of Medieval society led to specific biographical patterns. Third, life-span psychologists and life course sociologists examine the mechanisms that connect human lives and the ‘historical present,’ which encompasses the historically specific circumstances of a person's life (e.g., the Great Depression). All of these time-frames come together to shape people's lives, and thus render the study of human development an interdisciplinary, historically sensitive task. Historical data are also used to test general theories of the life span, an approach that emphasizes the generalizability of models of behavior across historical settings. This approach has been especially useful in testing models of human growth and maturation, creativity, and family dynamics and personality.
The Role of Personality Disorders and Characterological Tendencies in Procrastination

Throughout this volume we have noted that procrastinators differ in emotional, cognitive, and behavioral domains compared to nonprocrastinators. Research findings reported in several Chapters indicate positive relations between procrastination and a wide variety of variables such as depression, forgetfulness, disorganization, dysfunctional impulsivity, sensation-seeking, perfectionism, noncompetitiveness, and decreased energy and self-control.
Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward Police Officers Seeking Psychological Services

Police officers are continuously involved in various roles that prove to be highly stressful and require a developed skill set. Consequently, demands from this career put officers at an increased risk for a range of mental-health related concerns. Although officers who suffer from these mental health concerns may need to seek psychological services, there is, unfortunately, a stigma that surrounds mental health causing officers to be reluctant to seek help. This research examines public perceptions and attitudes toward law enforcement professionals seeking mental health treatment. Findings suggest that when a higher level of self-stigma toward mental health is reported, there is also a higher level of stigma toward law enforcement. Males also showed higher levels of stigma toward officers. Implications of the findings and limitations of the study are discussed.
Sentinel lymph node mapping of the canine anal sac using lymphoscintigraphy: A pilot study

Sentinel lymph node mapping and biopsy are important parts of oncologic staging in human medicine. Sentinel lymph node mapping enables identification of the first lymph node to receive lymphatic drainage while avoiding unnecessary lymph node dissection. Anal sac adenocarcinoma is the most common malignant neoplasm of the canine perineal area. For dogs with anal sac adenocarcinoma, lympadenectomy and metastasis to the iliosacral lymphocentrum are negative prognostics indicators. The objectives of this prospective, two by two, crossover pilot study were to establish the feasibility of lymphoscintigraphy using Technetium-99 sulfur colloid of the canine anal sac of healthy dogs, compare two injection techniques, and the time for identification of sentinel lymph nodes using each technique. We hypothesized that both intramural and perimural injections of the canine anal sac would identify similar sentinel lymph node drainage. The sentinel lymph node was identified in all dogs using either technique. Intramural injection of the canine anal sac showed radiopharmaceutical uptake faster than perimural injection technique (P = 0.040). There was concordance between intramual and perimural techniques for the sentinel lymph node identified in 50% of cases. A sacral lymph node was identified as sentinel in three of eight dogs (37.5%). Lymphoscintigraphy of the canine anal sac is safe and feasible in normal dogs; however, the method of injection technique seems to have a significant effect on the sentinel lymph node identified.
Creating Smart Learning Environments with Virtual Worlds

A virtual world is an immersive 3D online environment whose residents are represented by avatars that move through the spaces and interact with other users and objects synchronously or asynchronously. The literature reveals that virtual worlds have significant potential to foster constructivist learning and create smart learning environments that are effective, efficient, scalable, engaging, flexible, adaptive, and personalized. This paper presents seven ways to use virtual worlds to create smart learning environments: (1) visualization of inaccessible and invisible content, (2) role-playing and identity exploration, (3) situated learning, (4) safe and adaptive environments for skill practice, (5) spatial simulation and virtual field trips, (6) social interactions and collaboration, and (7) virtual performance assessments.
Legalism in the Kitchen: Relativizing the Ethics and Performance of Gastronomic Expertise

By adopting a “weak” version of cultural relativism, we can manage our own ethical discomfort without disrespecting those whose culinary values and practices we do not share. This entails recognizing the contextual and performative aspects of all gastronomic rhetoric, including claims of expertise over questions of culinary authenticity and standards of acceptable behavior during the consumption of food and drink; all such claims, while often couched in the language of moral certainty, are in reality susceptible to contestation. It is thus in the language of right and wrong that those engaged in culinary discussions affirm, negotiate, and modify the prevailing standards of taste and good manners. This becomes especially clear when local people test foreigners9 willingness to adapt to local gastronomic practices and styles of consumption, aspects of performance that are often coded in ways that force uninitiated outsiders to fail, perhaps unknowingly, in local eyes.
Deep Learning-Based Circuit Recognition Using Sparse Mapping and Level-Dependent Decaying Sum Circuit Representations

Efficiently recognizing the functionality of a circuit is key to many applications, such as formal verification, reverse engineering, and security. We present a scalable framework for gate-level circuit recognition that leverages deep learning and a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based circuit representation. Given a standard cell library, we present a sparse mapping algorithm to improve the time and memory efficiency of the CNN-based circuit representation. Sparse mapping allows encoding only the logic cell functionality, independently of implementation parameters such as timing or area. We further propose a data structure, termed level-dependent decaying sum (LDDS) existence vector, which can compactly represent information about the circuit topology. Given a reference gate in the circuit, an LDDS vector can capture the function of the gates in the input and output cones as well as their distance (number of stages) from the reference. Compared to the baseline approach, our framework obtains more than an-order-of-magnitude reduction in the average training time and 2× improvement in the average runtime for generating CNN-based representations from gate-level circuits, while achieving 10% higher accuracy on a set of benchmarks including EPFL and ISCAS’85 circuits.
Motoric cognitive risk syndrome and predictors of transition to dementia: A multicenter study

Abstract Introduction To report clinical predictors of transition to dementia in motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), a predementia syndrome characterized by cognitive complaints and slow gait. Methods We examined if cognitive or motoric impairments predicted transition to dementia in 610 older adults with MCR from three cohorts. Association of cognitive (logical memory, clinical dementia rating, cognitive complaint severity, and Mini–Mental State Examination) and motoric factors (gait velocity) with dementia risk was computed using Cox models. Results There were 156 incident dementias (134 Alzheimer's disease). In the pooled sample, logical memory (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.91), cognitive complaint severity (aHR 1.53), and Mini–Mental State Examination (aHR 0.75) predicted transition of MCR to dementia. Clinical dementia rating score ≥0.5 predicted dementia (aHR 3.18) in one cohort. Gait velocity did not predict dementia. Discussion While MCR is a motoric-based predementia syndrome, severity of cognitive but not motoric impairments predicts conversion to dementia.
Visceral adipose tissue normative values in adults from the United States using GE Lunar iDXA.

OBJECTIVES To create normative data for visceral adipose tissue (VAT) derived from the GE Lunar iDXA specific to sex and age cohorts for adults in the United States (US). METHODS A cross-sectional analysis of 649 adults were evaluated [Mean ± SD (Range): Males: n = 351; Age = 33·2 ± 17·4 years (18-75 years); Body mass index (BMI) = 26·5 ± 5·4 kg·m-2 (17·5-44·2 kg·m-2 ); Females: n = 298; Age = 28·5 ± 14·3 years (18·0-75·0 years); BMI=25·8 ± 6·9 kg·m-2 (17·9-54·8 kg·m-2 )]. From a total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan, VAT mass (kg) and volume (cm3 ) were quantified from the software-delineated region-of-interest. The relationship between VAT and age was evaluated using regression analysis. Separate VAT percentiles were stratified by age range (18-19 years; 20-24 years; 25-50 years; 50+ years) for males and females. RESULTS In both males and females, there was a positive, non-linear relationship between VAT and age (R2 = 0·47-0·49; P<0·0001). In males, the 50th percentile for VAT mass and volume, stratified by age was: 18-19 years (0·18 kg; 185·67 cm3 ), 20-24 years (0·25 kg; 261·21 cm3 ), 25-49 years (0·71 kg; 746·27 cm3 ) and 50+ years (1·62 kg; 1708·36 cm3 ). In females, the 50th percentile for VAT mass and volume, stratified by age was: 18-19 years (0·04 kg; 44·90 cm3 ), 20-24 years (0·06 kg; 59·57 cm3 ), 25-49 years (0·55 kg; 579·28 cm3 ) and 50+ years (1·21 kg; 1284·59 cm3 ). CONCLUSION These normative values provide a reference for VAT mass and volume in US adults 18-75 years of age obtained using the GE Lunar iDXA. Measures of VAT provide important information about metabolic and cardiovascular health risk beyond that of BMI and per cent body fat.
Contemporary State Anti-‘Slavery’ Efforts: Dishonest and Ineffective

Contemporary state anti-“slavery” efforts are dishonest with respect to the types of anti-“slavery” methodologies that states implement, including the use of slavery terminology. State anti-“slavery” efforts demonstrate three types of dishonesty: (1) the rhetorical misrepresentation to the public, and within state entities themselves, of the nature of the contemporary exploitation targeted by states; (2) hypocritical protestations of concern, coupled with the pretense that the types of initiatives that states support can succeed (this despite state failure to address the root causes and the fundamental interrelationships of the exploitation with state-supported and –implemented policies and structures); and (3) a form of willful innocence that refuses to acknowledge or deliberately ignores the interrelationships among state policies and the types of exploitation that are targeted by the anti-“slavery” initiatives. In addition, state efforts are ineffective in addressing the types of exploitation that states purport to target. State anti-“slavery” efforts are largely ineffective because the conceptual paradigms supported by states do not challenge the role of states or existing modalities of wealth and resource allocation upon which they depend.
Application of machine learning to estimate fireball characteristics and their uncertainty from infrared spectral data

Experiments or events involving high explosives (HE) can be monitored remotely by infrared (IR) sensors to gather information about the configuration or materials involved in the device. Researchers at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) developed a phenomenological model for HE fireball spectra in the IR range that allows for parameters to be extracted from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) data. This model includes parameters tied to physical characteristics of the fireball: temperature, size, soot, and gas concentrations. Previous works have sought to recover these parameters by the fitting of either whole spectra or select wavenumber bands to this phenomenological model. Difficulties arise due to the complex relationships between the parameters to be fit. Uncertainty quantification of the estimated fireball parameters is also problematic since HE experiments do not have any ground truth information on the parameters. It is suggested that artificial neural network (ANN) based approaches may be well suited to this problem, because of their ability to capture complex and highly nonlinear relationships. This work seeks to explore the efficacy of deep artificial neural networks (DNNs) for this problem of parameter recovery from spectra and to also investigate the uncertainty of recovering the fireball parameters from FTIR data. Networks are designed using the hyperparameter optimization tool Hyperopt and trained/tested on artificial data generated using the phenomenological model developed by AFIT. The results of applying the network to the artificial data set are compared to a physics-based band approach that uses a selected number of bands based on their physical properties. Information on the uncertainty of estimating parameters from remotely sensed experimental data is obtained by treating the accuracy of the DNN model on artificial data as an upper bound and by examining the impact of emissivity due to soot on parameter estimation error; the results for artificial data are likely to be optimistic as compared to recovering parameters from experimental data.
Optical Characterization of Near-Field Sprays for Various Alternative and Conventional Jet Fuels Using a Flow-Blurring Injector

Jet fuels with various properties are desirable for different operational or environmental advantages, necessitating fuel-flexible technology. For example, JP-5 (A-3) and alternative jet-fuels with high flash points are favored for safe handling and other advantages. The study investigates the effects of fuel properties on the near-field spray characteristics of the relatively viscous A-3 and a more viscous alternative fuel blend (C-3) compared to the baseline fuel—Jet A (A-2) with the least viscosity, using the relatively novel twin-fluid flow blurring (FB) injection. Prior studies have acquired fine FB atomization with high viscosity tolerance compared to conventional jet-based injectors, where atomization is suppressed by high viscosity. The study aims to further quantify the FB fuel flexibility using shadowgraph and particle image velocimetry to potentially enable effective utilization of the desired jet fuels. Results show that the FB injection achieved fine sprays immediately at the injector exit rather than typical jets by conventional atomization. Nearly the same atomization completion length, within 4 D downstream the injector exit with the diameter D of 1.5 mm, was acquired for all three fuels regardless of the varying properties. Compared to A-2, the final droplets of the viscous A-3 are only 6% larger and the most-viscous C-3 are only 10% larger. It is also observed that the density of fuel affects the droplet travel distance from the injector exit to a downstream location before achieving a terminal or peak velocity. Droplet size distribution, velocity distribution, and Weber number estimate consistently reveal more turbulent bag breakup mode at the spray periphery resulting in smaller droplets, compared to the oscillatory mode yielding larger ones in the center.
P446 Decreased Sex Partnerships but No Change in Gonorrhea/Chlamydia Prevalence among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men-Who-Have-Sex-with-Men (MSM) during the COVID-19 Pandemic

BackgroundCOVID-19 mitigation measures may indirectly impact sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmission. Social distancing may impact number/type of sex partnerships and access to STI testing and treatment. The objective was to compare the number of reported sex partnerships and gonorrhea and chlamydia prevalence pre- and during-pandemic among a cohort of gay, bisexual and other men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) in Baltimore, Maryland, a U.S. city with sustained STI epidemics.MethodsThis study was nested in a cohort study of sexually active MSM aged 18–45, and included participants who had at least one study visit after March 13, 2020 (during-pandemic) and ≤ six months between their first during-pandemic and last pre-pandemic visit. Wilcoxon and McNemar tests for paired data were used for statistical testing.ResultsAmong 417 MSM enrolled in the cohort, 220 (52.8%) were included. 213 (96.8%) had a visit between April 6-June 30, 2020 (during-pandemic1);185 (84.1%) had a visit between July 1-September 30, 2020 (during-pandemic2), including seven who missed the during-pandemic1 visit. The majority were Black (73.2%) and aged 24–35 (56.4%);42% were living with HIV. Compared to pre-pandemic, the median number of total and casual male sex partners (past three months) significantly declined during-pandemic1 and during-pandemic2 (Total partners: pre-pandemic: 2.0 (range: 0–75);during-pandemic1: 1.0 (0–25), p<0.0001;during-pandemic2: 1.0 (0–20) p<0.0001;Casual partners: pre-pandemic: 1.0 (0–75);during-pandemic1: 0.0 (0–25) p<0.0001, during-pandemic2: 1.0 (0–20), p=0.004). Among those tested both pre- and during-pandemic2, (n=96) STI prevalence was similar (gonorrhea: 14.1% vs. 15.8%, p=0.847;chlamydia: 7.0% vs. 9.5%, p=0.527).ConclusionsAlthough overall and casual sex partnerships declined significantly during- compared to pre-pandemic, STI prevalence was similar. The observed decreased sex partnerships may not have substantially altered transmission dynamics or were offset by increased prevalence due to limited access to testing/treatment. Improved understanding of how COVID-19 mitigation measures alter STI transmission dynamics is needed.
Abstract 2838: Epigenetic regulator MLL3 mutations promote tumor metastasis by enhancing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition state

Epigenetic dysregulations have a recognized role in cancer pathogenesis. Histone methyltransferase MLL3 (mixed-lineage leukemia protein 3) (gene symbol - KMT2C) is one of the most frequently altered genes in human breast cancer. In addition to the loss-of-function mutations, the expression levels of MLL3 are downregulated significantly in the tumor, compared to normal breast samples. Consistent with these cancer genome findings, functional studies in mouse models and human cancer cells showed loss of MLL3 promotes tumor initiation and growth. However, the role of MLL3 mutation in metastasis has not been determined. Here we showed that the MLL3 levels were further reduced in distant metastases compared to primary tumors, suggesting a potential role of MLL3 loss in metastasis. We demonstrate that MLL3 loss markedly promoted distant metastasis through specifically enhancing the step of colonization during the metastatic cascade. MLL3 loss facilitated the acquisition of an epithelial/mesenchymal (E/M) transition state by cancer cells disseminated to the lung. These cells have a hybrid phenotype of epithelial and mesenchymal features. We further showed that the E/M transitional cells induced by MLL3 loss have greatly increased tumor-initiating ability and multi-organ metastatic ability. We further demonstrated that MLL3 lose facilitated luminal breast tumor cells to acquire the E/M hybrid features and promoted endocrine therapy resistance, suggesting that loss of MLL3 also promotes the epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity and therapeutic resistance. To identify vulnerability of MLL3-mutant cancer cells, we performed small molecule screening and discovered that MLL3-mutant cancer cells are markedly more sensitive to BET inhibitors than MLL3-WT cells. The in vivo study confirmed that the BET inhibitor repressed the MLL3-mutant tumor growth much more efficiently than MLL3-WT tumors. Furthermore, the BET inhibitor is effective in suppressing the growth of established MLL3-mutant lung metastasis. Taken together, our findings indicate that MLL3 mutations promotes metastasis and therapeutic resistance by enhancing epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity. However, these aggressive cancer cells are uniquely vulnerable to BET inhibition, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy for MLL3-mutant cancers. Citation Format: Jihong Cui, Kai Ge, Wenjun Guo. Epigenetic regulator MLL3 mutations promote tumor metastasis by enhancing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition state [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2838.
Determining the optimal adjuvant therapy strategy in uterine leiomyosarcoma

Objectives: Uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS) is a rare tumor with limited therapeutic options and no clearly established best treatment sequence strategy. The objective of this study was to evaluate treatment sequencing for ULMS following primary surgical management and determine predictors of survival. Methods: Women with a diagnosis of ULMS between 1/2013 and 1/2018 were identified. Clinical data was collected; for this analysis, only women treated with primary surgical management were included. Descriptive statistics were performed and predictors of overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were analyzed using Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier methodology. Results: 179 patients were included. Median age was 52 years (20-78), 94% had grade 3 tumors, and over half the total population were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy (n=100, 56%). In the subset of patients with early stage disease (126), 49% were treated with surgery only while 51% received adjuvant chemotherapy. There was no difference in PFS between early stage patients who did or did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy (p=0.60). For the overall cohort, the most common adjuvant therapy regimens were gemcitabine/docetaxel (gem/doce, 40.9%) or ifosphamide/doxorubicin (ifos/doxo, 11.4%).137 patients (76.5%) experienced recurrence, progression or death during their follow up. The median PFS was 1.76 years (95% CI: 1.27- 2.08). The median survival for those treated with surgery alone was 1.79 years, for those treated with gem/doce was 1.27 years, and other chemotherapy regimen was 0.43 years. Median survival was not estimated for the ifos/doxo regimen due to small patient number. Upfront therapy regimen significantly impacted PFS (Figure 1, p=0.003), but was not significantly associated with OS (p=0.069). The one-year PFS probability was 0.58 for gem/doce (95% CI 0.45-0.68) compared with 0.80 for ifos/doxo (95% CI 0.54-0.91). Download : Download high-res image (94KB) Download : Download full-size image Conclusions: Median PFS was 1.76 years, despite many women undergoing adjuvant therapy after surgery, most commonly with either gem/doce or ifos/doxo regimens. Primary treatment with ifos/doxo was associated with higher one-year PFS. This finding warrants additional evaluation to determine the optimal adjuvant therapy for these women.
The Dog Days of Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence

This Article discusses Florida v. Harris and Florida v. Jardines, the two Fourth Amendment drug dog opinions issued by the Supreme Court earlier this year. Together the cases hold that a narcotics detection dog effects a “search” when it intrudes on a constitutionally protected area in order to collect evidence, but that the dog’s positive alert is generally sufficient to support a finding of probable cause. The piece argues that both cases essentially generate a bright-line rule, thereby deviating from precedent that favored a more amorphous standard considering all the surrounding circumstances. Like many purportedly clear rules, the ones flowing from the drug dog decisions lack precision and therefore create an inherent risk of overinclusion or underinclusion. Here, the Article concludes, Harris exhibits overconfidence in the accuracy of drug dog alerts, while Jardines threatens to underprotect less privileged socio-economic classes.
Propylthiouracil tasting as a possible genetic association marker for two types of alcoholism

The ability to taste 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) as bitter is determined genetically. The present study investigated whether this genetic ability was correlated with alcoholism and/or depression. Four groups of community college students (n = 25 each) were constituted based on the presence or absence of alcoholism and/or depression in themselves or their parents. Family history was assessed using the Family History-Research Diagnostic Criteria. Each subject was given a taste test using paper saturated with PROP. The results showed that subjects who had only alcoholism in their family were more likely to be nontasters of PROP than the control group, whereas subjects with both alcoholism and depression in their family were more likely to be so-called supertasters of PROP; that is, they found it extremely bitter. These findings suggest that PROP tasting might function as a genetic marker for two types of alcoholism.
Sleep in Other Conditions: Sleep in the Caregiver

A considerable portion of the population is involved in caring for a person with dementia, an adult with some illness, or a child with a medical condition. Among the multiple burdens associated with caregiving is difficulty sleeping. Research shows that caregivers experience impairments in sleep quantity, sleep quality, and considerable night-to-night variability. Interestingly, disrupted caregiver sleep is not perfectly correlated with the care recipient's sleep or nocturnal caregiving responsibilities. Rather, difficulty sleeping in caregivers can develop as a chronic condition, distinct from the direct demands of caregiving, and can persist in the absence of the caregiving responsibilities. Treatment should differentiate between situational and chronic insomnia and shape interventions accordingly.
Eye Movement Indices of Cognitive Behavior

Some of the earlier studies of eye movements were conducted with expansive expectations, which recent work has not substantiated. However, line of sight recordings of eye movements do appear to have potential for both research and practice in audiovisual communication. This paper will report recent studies which employed eye movement data in the study of cognitive behavior. The following four categories will provide a framework for this discussion: perception, associative learning, search behavior, and problem solving. The significance of eye movements (hereafter referred to as EM) may be better understood if there is a brief digression to consider certain characteristics of the eye. The usual analogy between eye and camera is quite inaccurate, but with several modifications it may suffice for present purposes. Imagine a camera mounted on a free-head tripod so that it can be directed at will up and down, side to side. Let the film be both