cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
IRA Withdrawals in 2012 and Longitudinal Results, 2010-2012

The EBRI IRA Database, an ongoing project that collects data from multiple IRA plan administrators, for 2012 contains information on 25.3 million accounts owned by 19.9 million unique individuals with total assets of $2.09 trillion. This paper examines the percentage of traditional and Roth IRA owners in the EBRI IRA Database who had a withdrawal in 2012, a total of 17.7 million individuals with $1.97 trillion in assets. In addition, the amount and the proportion of the account this withdrawal represents is investigated by IRA type and account balance as well as by the gender and age of the account owner. Furthermore, this withdrawal activity is examined longitudinally over the years 2010-2012, with a particular focus on those who were ages 70 or older (the point at which Internal Revenue Service rules on minimum required distributions become effective) in 2010. Just under 21 percent of traditional and Roth IRA accounts had a withdrawal in 2012, including 24.3 percent of traditional accounts. The overall IRA withdrawal percentage was largely driven by activity among traditional IRAs owned by individuals ages 70-1/2 or older, a point at which the individuals were required by law to make withdrawals from these accounts. In contrast, among individuals under age 60, 10 percent or fewer had a withdrawal. The median withdrawal rate for those taking a withdrawal from a traditional IRA was 5.9 percent, compared with 32.1 percent for those taking a withdrawal from a Roth IRA. The percentage of Roth IRA owners who took a withdrawal was almost constant at 2.8 percent in 2010, 3.5 percent in 2011, and 3.5 percent in 2012. The percentage of traditional IRA owners in the sample who took a withdrawal increased each year from 18.2 percent in 2010 to 22.7 percent in 2011 to 23.7 percent in 2012, as the individuals in the sample aged.
Self-assembly of protein-zwitterionic polymer bioconjugates into nanostructured materials

The microphase separation of a bioconjugate made of a globular protein and a zwitterionic polymer is studied in order to elucidate the role of charge in the polymer block on the self-assembly of protein–polymer bioconjugates. Zwitterionic polymer surfaces are resistant to nonspecific protein adsoprtion due to strong hydration; however, bioconjugates constructed from a red fluorescent protein, mCherry, and a zwitterionic polymer, PDMAPS, show a relatively narrow range of conditions for self-assembly in concentrated systems. The bioconjugates demonstrate weaker segregation strengths compared to previously studied mCherry–polymer conjugates with non-ionic polymers, as demonstrated by higher order-disorder transition concentrations (CODT) and a narrower range of ordered concentrations in the phase diagram. The results suggest that electrostatic segregation of mCherry is one of the main parameters governing the self-assembly of protein–nonionic polymer bioconjugates, and this driving force is perturbed by the zwitterionic polymer. Disruption of ordering upon addition of NaCl confirms that electrostatics play a critical role in the bioconjugate self-assembly. Order–disorder–order transitions are observed with increasing concentration of a kosmotropic salt, ammonium sulphate, due to the initial salt-in followed by salt-out effect, suggesting that stabilization of protein domains by enhancing attractive interactions between proteins can significantly improve long range ordering.
Preparation of Water Insoluble Thrombin.

SummaryThe preparation of an insoluble particle having some of the enzymatic properties of thrombin has been accomplished by coupling thrombin to a copolymer of p-amino-DL-phenylalanine and L-leucine. Esterase thrombin activity is easily demonstrable and some clot forming activity is preserved.
Comparing the Effects of Two Controller Algorithms on DC Torque Tool Operators

Prior studies of effects of DC torque tool use on human operators have not studied the effect of different controller algorithms. This paper describes results of an experimental laboratory-based study that investigated the effects of DC torque tool controller algorithm on operator and tool kinematics. The effects of joint hardness and tool orientation were also examined. Dependent measures included posture and velocity of the operator's arm and displacement and velocity of the torque tool handle. Significant differences were found in several measures as a function of one or more of the independent variables. Of particular note, the Automatic Tightening Control (ATC) algorithm showed some positive effects (less movement and lower velocities) in comparison to the Downshift algorithm in certain conditions. These results provide some support for a potential biomechanical benefit from ATC.
Driver Mutations in Uveal Melanoma: Associations With Gene Expression Profile and Patient Outcomes

Importance Frequent mutations have been described in the following 5 genes in uveal melanoma (UM): BAP1 , EIF1AX , GNA11 , GNAQ , and SF3B1 . Understanding the prognostic significance of these mutations could facilitate their use in precision medicine. Objective To determine the associations between driver mutations, gene expression profile (GEP) classification, clinicopathologic features, and patient outcomes in UM. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective study of patients with UM treated by enucleation by a single ocular oncologist between November 1, 1998, and July 31, 2014. Main Outcomes and Measures Clinicopathologic features, patient outcomes, GEP classification (class 1 or class 2), and mutation status were recorded. Results The study cohort comprised 81 participants. Their mean age was 61.5 years, and 37% (30 of 81) were female. The GEP classification was class 1 in 35 of 81 (43%), class 2 in 42 of 81 (52%), and unknown in 4 of 81 (5%). BAP1 mutations were identified in 29 of 64 (45%), GNAQ mutations in 36 of 81 (44%), GNA11 mutations in 36 of 81 (44%), SF3B1 mutations in 19 of 81 (24%), and EIF1AX mutations in 14 of 81 (17%). Sixteen of the mutations in BAP1 and 6 of the mutations in EIF1AX were previously unreported in UM. GNAQ and GNA11 mutations were mutually exclusive. BAP1 , SF3B1 , and EIF1AX mutations were almost mutually exclusive with each other. Using multiple regression analysis, BAP1 mutations were associated with class 2 GEP and older patient. EIF1AX mutations were associated with class 1 GEP and the absence of ciliary body involvement. SF3B1 mutations were associated with younger patient age. GNAQ mutations were associated with the absence of ciliary body involvement and greater largest basal diameter. GNA11 mutations were not associated with any of the analyzed features. Using Cox proportional hazards modeling, class 2 GEP was the prognostic factor most strongly associated with metastasis (relative risk, 9.4; 95% CI, 3.1-28.5) and melanoma-specific mortality (relative risk, 15.7; 95% CI, 3.6-69.1) ( P BAP1 mutations was the factor most strongly associated with metastasis (relative risk, 10.6; 95% CI, 3.4-33.5) and melanoma-specific mortality (relative risk, 9.0; 95% CI, 2.8-29.2) ( P Conclusions and Relevance BAP1 , SF3B1 , and EIF1AX mutations occur during UM tumor progression in an almost mutually exclusive manner and are associated with different levels of metastatic risk. These mutations may have value as prognostic markers in UM.
Application Research of Oil Spray Lubrication on Bearing Lubrication

This thesis illustrates the operating theory of oil spray lubrication. It indicates oil spray lubrication effect is good, the cost is low, and automation level is high through contrast analysis of bearing lubrication effect before and after using oil spray lubrication on experiment .
Correlation of clinical features of Wilson's disease with ATP7B gene mutation in children

Objective Wilson's disease(WD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder.We have evaluated 53 WD cases in children(52 families) from the Chinese Han population to expand our knowledge of ATP7B mutations and clinical features.Methods Cases of children diagnosed as WD in Jul 2005-Feb 2012 were analyzed retrospectively with clinical symptoms and laboratory test results.The cases were categorized into hepatic group and neurologic group by disease region and categorized into clinical type and subclinical type by presentation.The coding and promoter regions of the ATP7B gene were analyzed by direct sequencing of genomic DNA.Then the genotype-phenotype correlations were analyzed.Results 53 cases of WD(52 probands)were collected(male,n=37; female,n=19; age range,2.5-13.5 years).52 cases were with liver disease(98.5%),41 cases with diagnosed hepatic presentation(6.0±2.3) years and 12 cases as neurologic presentation(9.5±3.0) years.19 and 34 cases were clinical type and subclinical type,respectively.Alanine transpeptidase(ALT) level was higher in the hepatic group however the level of 24 h urinary copper,serum bile acid(SBA),and positive rate of K-F ring were higher in neurology group.ALT / AST ratio and ALT or AST level were higher in the subclinical type than that in the clinical type but the age at onset,24 h urinary copper,positive rate of K-F ring and SBA were lower in subclinical type than that in clinical type.97 pathogenicity alleles(91.5%) with thirty six different mutations were identified in these patients.The frequency of homozygotes,combined heterozygotes and heterozygotes were 8 36 and 9,respectively.23 types of missense mutation,8 types of frameshift mutations,2 types of nonsense mutation and 3 types of splice mutation were found.Frequency of missense mutation,synonymous mutation,homozygotes or heterozygotes were not associated with the age of onset,K-F rings,or the level of ALT,AST,24 h urinary copper,serum ceruloplasmin(SCp).Common mutations included p.Arg778Leu(34/97),p.Pro992Leu(15/97) and p.Ala874Val(5/97),their frequencies did not significantly differ in hepatic and neurologic groups,clinical and subclinical types.Patients with p.Ala874Va /Pro mutation had smaller age of onset(P=0.017,0.000).6 cases with splicing mutations were also associated with high serum ceruloplasmin(P=0.000).Conclusion Wilson 's disease in Chinese children almost all had liver damages and dominant hepatic presentations.Therefore exons(8,11,and 13) and mutations(p.Arg778Leu,p.Pro992Leu,p.Ala874Va /Pro) should be considered high priority for cost-effective testing in China.The relationship between phenotype and genetype was not found.But patients with p.Ala874Va/Pro mutation develop disease early and patients with splicing mutations were associated with high serum ceruloplasmin.
Metformin and insulin: is there a role for combination therapy?

ObjectiveTo review the literature on concomitant insulin and metformin therapy in patients with type 1 diabetes to determine the potential for combination therapy.Data SourcesA MEDLINE and bibliographic search (1966–1996) of the literature pertaining to metformin and phenformin and their combined use with insulin in the treatment of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus was performed.Study SelectionAll human studies using metformin with insulin were included in the analysis. Studies using phenformin with insulin were also included due to its similarities to metformin.Data SynthesisThe recent availability of metformin provides some new options for treating diabetes mellitus. One possibility is the use of this medication in conjunction with insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes. Although this seems like a potentially beneficial combination, there is currently no recommendation for use in this manner. Experience with combination metformin and insulin therapy has consistently demonstrated a reduction in i...
Decreased Expression of Retinoid X Receptors During Human and Azoxymethane-induced Colorectal Carcinogenesis in the Rat.

Background/Aim: The family of retinoid X receptors (RXRs) including RXRα, β and γ, is involved in regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and development. Materials and Methods: In order to characterize the role of RXRs during colorectal carcinogenesis, the expression of RXRs in human and azoxymethane (AOM)-induced rat colorectal tumors was profiled by immunohistochemistry. Results: Both human and rat normal colorectal epithelia and hyperplasia exhibited strong nuclear, but weak cytoplasmic staining for all three proteins. Expression of RXRα, β and γ was significantly reduced in rat carcinomas compared to high-grade dysplasia whether in aberrant crypt foci or in adenomas. All three proteins displayed dramatically reduced nuclear expression in both human adenomas and carcinomas. Reduced expression of RXRα and RXRγ seems more significant than RXRβ in both human and rat carcinomas. Conclusion: Reduced expression of RXRs is associated with colorectal carcinogenesis in both humans and AOM-treated rats.
Corporate Governance, Collective Action, and Contractual Freedom: Justifying Delaware's New Restrictions on Private Ordering

Prior to the 2015 amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, fee-shifting and forum selection provisions held much promise for Delaware corporations that sought to limit their exposure to a rising tide of multi-jurisdictional shareholder litigation. With the 2015 amendments, however, the Delaware legislature significantly restricted the ability of the state’s corporations to include fee-shifting and forum selection provisions in their organizational documents and, in doing so, repudiated a series of cases upholding the inclusion of such provisions in corporate bylaws. Delaware corporations can no longer include fee-shifting provisions in their organizational documents; forum selection provisions are acceptable, but only if they allow litigation to proceed in Delaware. For a business-friendly jurisdiction that generally favors contractual freedom and private ordering, this was an extraordinary step. Some commentators have looked to interest group politics and the influence of the Delaware bar as an explanation; others have argued that this issue has exposed flaws with Delaware’s longstanding contractual view of the corporation. This Article takes a different approach to Delaware’s new restrictions on private ordering by focusing on the effect that fee-shifting and non-Delaware forum selection provisions would have on the benefits that result from having public adjudication of shareholder disputes in the Delaware courts. It argues that as to these benefits, such provisions present a collective action problem and that Delaware’s new limitations on private ordering are best seen as a preventative measure. This is not to say that Delaware should have ignored the detrimental trends in shareholder litigation. Instead, that task has appropriately fallen to the Delaware courts, which have adopted a new, more skeptical stance toward the settlement practices that drove the crisis. Together, Delaware’s new legislation and its new approach to the settlement of shareholder litigation strike an appropriate balance between the need to address the recent explosion in frivolous, multi-jurisdictional filings and the importance of maintaining the benefits that come from the adjudication of shareholder disputes.
An intersectional approach to evaluating consumer financial literacy

This study applies a novel approach to explore consumer financial literacy—the necessary skills and knowledge to make personal financial decisions—across different demographic groups. Rather than exploring demographic variables independently of each other, an intersectional approach is employed to identify the most critical and vulnerable consumer groups in light of financial literacy. A survey of 1047 respondents from a panel of consumers residing in the United States demonstrates that identifying the most critical and vulnerable consumer groups is achieved using an intersectional approach. For example, although we find Generation Y exhibits lower financial literacy compared with previous generations, by examining the demographic variables simultaneously, we find that Generation Y females who are members of ethnical minorities are at the greatest risk of being financially vulnerable. Implications for research and financial literacy programs are discussed.
Physical Differences in Hot Carrier Degradation of Oxide Interfaces in Complementary (n-p-n+p-n-p) SiGe HBTs

This paper examines the fundamental reliability differences between n-p-n and p-n-p SiGe HBTs. The device profile, hot carrier transport, and oxide interface differences between the two device types are explored in detail as they relate to device reliability. After careful analysis under identical electrical stress conditions for n-p-n and p-n-p, the differences in activation energies for the damage of the oxide interfaces of the two devices is determined to be the primary cause for accelerated degradation seen in p-n-p SiGe HBTs. An analytical model has been adapted for simulating these aging differences between p-n-p and n-p-n devices. This paper has significant implications for predicting the degradation of complementary SiGe HBTs and even engineering future generations with well-matched n-p-n and p-n-p device-level reliability.
Coding and Billing Considerations

Our profession requires administrative procedures to ensure patient safety, maintain efficient organization, and facilitate communication. These include public policy regulations about coding, billing, reimbursement, privileging, and staffing. Physicians must work within those regulations and professional business standards. EEG has been used in intensive care unit (ICU) monitoring for many years. The modern generation of full scalp EEG continuous monitoring with trending and digital automated routines now has been used in the ICU for more than 30 years [1]. It has grown to be widespread [2] and for a variety of uses [3]. Policies are described here about critical care neurology and EEG monitoring with an emphasis on aspects that affect coding.
A moving target defense approach to mitigate DDoS attacks against proxy-based architectures

Distributed Denial of Service attacks against high-profile targets have become more frequent in recent years. In response to such massive attacks, several architectures have adopted proxies to introduce layers of indirection between end users and target services and reduce the impact of a DDoS attack by migrating users to new proxies and shuffling clients across proxies so as to isolate malicious clients. However, the reactive nature of these solutions presents weaknesses that we leveraged to develop a new attack - the proxy harvesting attack - which enables malicious clients to collect information about a large number of proxies before launching a DDoS attack. We show that current solutions are vulnerable to this attack, and propose a moving target defense technique consisting in periodically and proactively replacing one or more proxies and remapping clients to proxies. Our primary goal is to disrupt the attacker's reconnaissance effort. Additionally, to mitigate ongoing attacks, we propose a new client-to-proxy assignment strategy to isolate compromised clients, thereby reducing the impact of attacks. We validate our approach both theoretically and through simulation, and show that the proposed solution can effectively limit the number of proxies an attacker can discover and isolate malicious clients.
Feasibility of lay cancer patient navigation in an academic medical center on unmet needs of cancer patients.

87Background: Lay cancer patient navigators (LCPN) are volunteers from the community who assist cancer patients in overcoming barriers to receiving quality cancer care. LCPN can address issues such as. financial burden and psychosocial distress, and can reduce disparities in access to resources. There is little data regarding LCPN within academic medical centers. Methods: In 2013, 24 breast cancer patients at our center were surveyed to determine unmet needs. 82% reported feeling alone and 55% reported lack of awareness about available patient resources. These data supported the development of an LCPN program, in January 2015. Volunteers were provided with comprehensive training that focused on supportive communication, identification of barriers to care, and provision of available cancer resources to address unmet patient needs. Volunteers were integrated within clinical workflows to identify and interact with patients felt to potentially benefit from LCPN. Results: A total of 30 volunteer lay patient na...
On the measurement of P2P file synchronization: Resilio Sync as a case study

Recent years have witnessed a growing popularity of file synchronization systems. In this paper, we take a first step towards the understandings of a new Peer-to-Peer file synchronization system, Resilio Sync. Our real-world measurement identifies its unique features and reveals its potential fairness issues
Glucose metabolism in pediatric traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury is the number one cause of death and disability among the pediatric population in the USA. The heterogeneity of the pediatric population is reflected by both the normal cerebral maturation and the age differences in the causes of TBI, which generate unique age-related pathophysiology responses and recovery profiles. This review will address the normal changes in cerebral glucose metabolism throughout developmental phases and how TBI alters glucose metabolism. Evidence has shown that TBI disrupts the biochemical processing of glucose to energy. This brings to question, "What is the optimal substrate to manage a pediatric TBI patient?" Issues related to glycemic control and alternative substrate metabolism are addressed specifically in regard to pediatric TBI. Research into pediatric glucose metabolism after TBI is limited, and understanding these age-related differences within the pediatric population have great potential to improve support for the injured younger brain.
Wavelet model of multivariate prior covariance

Initialization of numerical weather-prediction models uses data assimilation to specify an optimal analysis state derived from observations and the model background state. The associated covariance structures are crucial factors. The full background-error covariance (BEC) matrix would contain a number of entries of order the square of the nominal degrees of freedom, which for realistic models is prohibitive even to store, let alone compute with. To obtain the ideal diagonal BEC would require solving an intractably large eigenvector problem. A reasonable approach is to approximate the eigenvectors by appropriate known functions, then construct diagonal BEC values accordingly. Until now, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model data assimilation (WRFDA) used recursive filters for the horizontal factors of these functions. Here an option is introduced to replace those with a little-known wavelet type, the wavelet Parseval frame (i.e., left-invertible transform that preserves the sum of squares). The wavelet option has strong theoretical and empirical support in the reviewed literature. The pseudo-single observation tests presented here exhibit improved representation of horizontal spatial heterogeneity and anisotropy compared to recursive filters, comparable to the realism of the ensemble method, but at much less computational cost.
The use of polymorphic markers to detect genetic variability.

In non-experimental organisms, such as humans, it is not an easy matter to demonstrate unequivocally that a genetic component is involved in the determination of a trait. Estimates of heritability are based on familial correlations on the assumption that non-genetic correlations between pairs of relatives can be allowed for statistically. There have been many recent advances in segregation analysis to detect single-gene effects, but it is still difficult to be certain that any apparent segregation is in fact due to an underlying genetic mechanism (Elston, 1986). The basic problem is that in general we cannot infer causal mechanisms from observational data (Kempthorne, 1978). However, the availability of polymorphic genetic markers allows us to circumvent this difficulty to a certain extent.
Normalizing glucocorticoid levels attenuates metabolic and neuropathological symptoms in the R6/2 mouse model of huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal genetic neurological disorder caused by a mutation in the human Huntingtin (HTT) gene. This mutation confers a toxic gain of function of the encoded mutant huntingtin (mHTT) protein, leading to widespread neuropathology including the formation of mHTT-positive inclusion bodies, gene dysregulation, reduced levels of adult dentate gyrus neurogenesis and neuron loss throughout many regions of the brain. Additionally, because HTT is ubiquitously expressed, several peripheral tissues are also affected. HD patients suffer from progressive motor, cognitive, psychiatric, and metabolic symptoms, including weight loss and skeletal muscle wasting. HD patients also show neuroendocrine changes including a robust, significant elevation in circulating levels of the glucocorticoid, cortisol. Previously, we confirmed that the R6/2 mouse model of HD exhibits elevated corticosterone (the rodent homolog of cortisol) levels and demonstrated that experimentally elevated corticosterone exacerbates R6/2 HD symptomology, resulting in severe and rapid weight loss and a shorter latency to death. Given that efficacious therapeutics are lacking for HD, here we investigated whether normalizing glucocorticoid levels could serve as a viable therapeutic approach for this disease. We tested the hypothesis that normalizing glucocorticoids to wild-type levels would ameliorate HD symptomology. Wild-type (WT) and transgenic R6/2 mice were allocated to three treatment groups: 1) adrenalectomy with normalized, WT-level corticosterone replacement (10 μg/ml), 2) adrenalectomy with high HD-level corticosterone replacement (35 μg/ml), or 3) sham surgery with no corticosterone replacement. Normalizing corticosterone to WT levels led to an improvement in metabolic rate in male R6/2 mice, as indicated by indirect calorimetry, including a reduction in oxygen consumption and normalization of respiratory exchange ratio values (p < .05 for both). Normalizing corticosterone also ameliorated brain atrophy in female R6/2 mice and skeletal muscle wasting in both male and female R6/2 mice (p < .05 for all). Female R6/2 mice given WT-level corticosterone replacement also showed a reduction in HD neuropathological markers, including a reduction in mHTT inclusion burden in the striatum, cortex, and hippocampus (p < .05 for all). This data illustrates that ameliorating glucocorticoid dysregulation leads to a significant improvement in HD symptomology in the R6/2 mouse model and suggests that cortisol-reducing therapeutics may be of value in improving HD patient quality of life.
Deep Learning from Logged Interventions

Every time a system places an ad, presents a search ranking, or makes a recommendation, we can think about this as an intervention for which we can observe the user's response (e.g. click, dwell time, purchase). Such logged intervention data is one of the most plentiful types of data available, as it can be recorded from a variety of systems (e.g., search engines, recommender systems, ad placement) at little cost. However, this data provides only partial-information feedback -- aka "bandit feedback" -- limited to the particular intervention chosen by the system. We don't get to see how the user would have responded, if we had chosen a different intervention. This makes learning from logged bandit feedback substantially different from conventional supervised learning, where "correct" predictions together with a loss function provide full-information feedback. It is also different from online learning in the bandit setting, since the algorithm does not assume interactive control of the interventions. In this talk, I will explore learning methods for batch learning from logged bandit feedback (BLBF). Following the inductive principle of Counterfactual Risk Minimization for BLBF, this talk presents an approach to training linear models and deep networks from propensity-scored bandit feedback.
Correction to: Words Speak Louder than Actions: Public Responsiveness to Elite Communication

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in Figs. 2 and 3. The shaded regions representing 95% confidence interval are missing in both the figures. The corrected Figs. 2 and 3 are given below. The original article has been corrected.
Factors that affect the physical and mental health of caregivers of school-age children and transitioning young adults with autism spectrum disorder

Background Although studies have examined quality of life (QOL) among family caregivers of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little is known about potential differences in QOL based on the age of the individual with ASD, particularly in relation to caregivers' needs, beliefs and coping mechanisms. Method This study investigated 132 caregivers of school-age children and 61 caregivers of transitioning young adults with ASD on measures of caregiving, strain, coping, family needs and QOL. Results The results indicated that there were no significant differences in QOL based on the age of the individuals with ASD, although parents of children reported significantly more caregiving behaviours, with coping, internalized strain and health information needs predicted mental health QOL. Discussion Age of the individual with ASD was not significantly related to caregivers' QOL. More research is needed to determine independent predictors of caregiver QOL across the lifespan.
Intrinsic Localized P-Mode in Forced Nonlinear Oscillator Array

Intrinsic localized modes (ILMs) are energy localizations that may occur in arrays of discrete, nonlinear oscillators. When present in physical systems, these energy localizations may cause undesirable dynamics or damaging effects. If properly understood, ILMs may be used to increase the sensing capacity of inertial sensors, store information, or move energy through an array. Depending on the system parameters, ILMs may have a variety of profiles (e.g., the symmetric ST-mode or the antisymmetric P-mode). Using the method of restricted normal modes, a displacement profile is calculated for the P-mode. After performing numerical simulations using the P-mode profile as initial conditions, the P-mode is found to be persistent when forced at 3 times the linear natural frequency. Although persistent, this P-mode ILM is found to have chaotic properties. This ILM may have been previously overlooked because of its positive Lyapunov exponent, meaning that there might be larger ranges of parameters capable of supporting these energy localizations.
Rhamnolipids: Pathways, Productivities, and Potential

Abstract Rhamnolipids are biosurfactants produced by certain microorganisms. Rhamnolipids have several potential environmental and industrial applications where they can be used as emulsifiers, detergents, dispersants, and antimicrobial agents. This chapter reviews the biosynthesis of rhamnolipids in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, rhamnolipid production using different bacteria, and some of their promising applications. The rhamnolipid production pathway in P. aeruginosa is complex and includes the central metabolic pathway, de novo fatty acid synthesis, and β-oxidation pathway. Four quorum-sensing systems, alternative sigma factors, several two-component regulatory systems, and other global regulators of gene expression are also involved in rhamnolipid biosynthesis. Although rhamnolipids are majorly produced by P. aeruginosa, low-level production by other nonpathogenic species has also been reported. Genetic engineering has significantly improved rhamnolipid productivity by nonpathogenic species but not yet to the levels of more productive P. aeruginosa strains. Rhamnolipid production processes can also benefit significantly from further improvements in productivity, yield, foaming control, and downstream processing costs. The use of rhamnolipids in environmental applications such as soil and water remediation, agricultural applications as a biopesticide against phytopathogenic fungi, and antimicrobial applications is promising.
Resident Autonomous Underwater Vehicles: Docking Revisited

Opportunities to expand frontiers in various ocean sciences using Resident Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (RAUVs) are documented in a recent workshop reported on by Manalang et al. (this conference). Critical to realizing the potential of RAUV systems is reliable docking. A variety of prototype AUV docking systems have been demonstrated. Despite many demonstrations, a reliable, long-term system has yet to be proven. Docking is a subsystem of a more comprehensive R-AUV system (system of systems). Docking an underwater vehicle is functionally analogous to landing an aircraft. Aircraft landing systems have been designed and refined over many decades and provide a rich source of lessons learned in both functional design and in the time scale of their development. This paper describes the system at a high level and outlines approaches for system architecture and system engineering. The goals are to define the boundaries of the system, to capitalize on developments of similar systems, and identify some useful tools.
DAXX Suppresses Tumor-Initiating Cells in Estrogen Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer Following Endocrine Therapy

Estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer recurrence is thought to be driven by tumor-initiating cells (TIC). TICs are enriched by endocrine therapy through NOTCH signaling. Side effects have limited clinical trial testing of NOTCH-targeted therapies. Death-associated factor 6 (DAXX) is a newly identified marker whose RNA expression inversely correlates with NOTCH in human ER+ breast tumor samples. In this study, knockdown and overexpression approaches were used to investigate the role of DAXX on stem/pluripotent gene expression, TIC survival in vitro, and TIC frequency in vivo, and the mechanism by which DAXX suppresses TICs in ER+ breast cancer. 17β-Estradiol (E2)-mediated ER activation stabilized the DAXX protein, which was required for repressing stem/pluripotent genes (NOTCH4, SOX2, OCT4, NANOG, and ALDH1A1), and TICs in vitro and in vivo. Conversely, endocrine therapy promoted rapid protein depletion due to increased proteasome activity. DAXX was enriched at promoters of stem/pluripotent genes, which was lost with endocrine therapy. Ectopic expression of DAXX decreased stem/pluripotent gene transcripts to levels similar to E2 treatment. DAXX-mediated repression of stem/pluripotent genes and suppression of TICs was dependent on DNMT1. DAXX or DNMT1 was necessary to inhibit methylation of CpGs within the SOX2 promoter and moderately within the gene body of NOTCH4, NOTCH activation, and TIC survival. E2-mediated stabilization of DAXX was necessary and sufficient to repress stem/pluripotent genes by recruiting DNMT1 to methylate some promoters and suppress TICs. These findings suggest that a combination of endocrine therapy and DAXX-stabilizing agents may inhibit ER+ tumor recurrence. SIGNIFICANCE: Estradiol-mediated stabilization of DAXX is necessary and sufficient to repress genes associated with stemness, suggesting that the combination of endocrine therapy and DAXX-stabilizing agents may inhibit tumor recurrence in ER+ breast cancer.
Early Sports Specialization is Associated with Increased Upper Extremity Injuries and Fewer Games Played in Major League Baseball Players

Objectives:Early sport-specialization has been shown to place athletes at risk for increased injuries and decreased sporting performance in various sporting populations. However, the effect of spor...
Long-Wavelength Lead Sulfide Quantum Dots Sensing up to 2600 nm for Short-Wavelength Infrared Photodetectors

Lead sulfide nanoparticles (PbS NPs) are used in the short-wavelength infrared photodetectors because of their excellent photosensitivity, band gap tunability, and solution processability. It has been a challenge to synthesize high-quality PbS NPs with an absorption peak beyond 2000 nm. In this work, using PbS seed crystals with an absorption peak at 1960 nm, we report a successful synthesis of very large monodispersed PbS NPs having a diameter up to 16 nm by multiple injections. The resulting NPs have an absorption peak over 2500 nm with a small full width at half-maximum of 24 meV. To demonstrate the applications of such large quantum dots (QDs), broadband heterojunction photodetectors are fabricated with the large PbS QDs of an absorption peak at 2100 nm. The resulting devices have an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 25% (over 50% internal quantum efficiency) at 2100 nm corresponding to a responsivity of 0.385 A/W and an EQE of ∼60% in the visible range.
From Jails to Sanctuary Planning: Spatial Justice in Santa Ana, California:

Today’s immigrant rights movements bring attention to jails—some cities’ largest public safety expenditures—as primary sites for deportation operations. This article examines how these movements pu...
The Impact of Service-Learning on Undergraduate Awareness and Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder

As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) rises and individuals with ASD seek community inclusion, there is a great need for community awareness and knowledge of ASD. The likelihood that college graduates will be working with and living alongside individuals with ASD is high given the current prevalence rates of 1 in 59 children or youth with ASD. This study aimed to address this need using service-learning pedagogy as a means of increasing undergraduate students’ awareness, knowledge, and perception of ASD. Two cohorts of undergraduate students (N= 44) enrolled in a course which required 30 hours of hands-on community service with individuals with ASD in addition to three hours per week of in-class participation. Based on student responses to a pre- and post- course survey as well as their open-ended case study responses, service-learning pedagogy has the potential to improve undergraduate student awareness, knowledge, and acceptance of ASD. Lessons learned and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Feigning or forgetfulness: The effect of memory impairment severity on word choice test performance.

This study cross-validated the word choice test (WCT) in a diverse neuropsychiatric sample and examined the effect of increasing verbal memory impairment severity on WCT performance. Data from 147 ...
The Effect of Principles-Based Standards on Financial Statement Comparability: The Case of SFAS-142

This study examines the effects of a prominent principles-based standard (SFAS-142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets) on financial statement comparability. Using non-goodwill-intensive firms as our control group, we implement a difference-in-differences research design to examine how SFAS-142 affects comparability among goodwill-intensive firms (i.e. a treatment group), and comparability between goodwill-intensive firms and non-goodwill-intensive firms (i.e. another treatment group). We find that SFAS-142 decreases comparability among goodwill-intensive firms, as well as comparability between goodwill-intensive and non-goodwill-intensive firms. We also find that these reductions in comparability are less severe when the verifiability of net assets is higher. Overall, the results suggest that principles-based standards may reduce comparability, particularly when the accounting items entail high uncertainty and verifiability is low.
Abstract PO-087: Novel high-throughput screen in a breast cancer cell line to identify potent radiosensitizers

There is a need for more broadly applicable radiosensitizers independent of disease state and DNA protein repair status. High throughput screens hold potential for identifying new classes of radiosensitizers from libraries of small molecules. Our group has developed an in vitro high throughput screen identifying radiosensitizers using high content imaging. Due to chromatin condensation, G2/M is acknowledged as the most radiosensitive phase of the cell cycle. We therefore dosed 4T1 breast cancer cells with a library of 1430 FDA approved drugs, then using the high content images, assessed ability to stall in G2/M. We initially eliminated drugs with less than 30% viability from consideration to negate toxicity effects on the CCI. With a CCI cutoff of two standard deviations from the mean, we attained a hit rate of 2.8% with 40 hits. The screen identified both known and novel radiosensitizers belonging to previously unidentified classes. This methodology of cell cycle analysis was confirmed by the more classical flow cytometry assay and a selected hit from the screen was assessed for radiosensitizing ability by clonogenic and γH2AX assays, and in vivo studies. Based on the clonogenic survival fractions, the radiation enhancement ratio was found to be >1 at all doses between 2-6 Gy for the selected drug, with the highest values at 4 and 5 Gy of 4.5. Furthermore, we found two 10 µM doses of the novel radiosensitizer paired with two fractions of 2 Gy was sufficient to significantly decrease 4T1 tumor volume growth in BALB/c mice. Citation Format: Madeleine R. Landry, Allison N. DuRoss, Eunseo Choi, Antony Jozic, Dylan Nelson, Conroy Sun. Novel high-throughput screen in a breast cancer cell line to identify potent radiosensitizers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Radiation Science and Medicine; 2021 Mar 2-3. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(8_Suppl):Abstract nr PO-087.
Comparison of Antimicrobial Activity Between Bacitracin-Soaked Sutures and Triclosan Coated Suture.

ABSTRACT Background With the easily available option for surgeons to soak their suture in antibiotic irrigation solution intraoperatively in mind, this study was designed to evaluate the ability of suture soaked in bacitracin irrigation solution to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Materials and Methods Using standard experimental procedure, sterile suture was soaked in Bacitracin, and dried for 10 min or 6 h, incubated for 24 h on inoculated plates, and examined for zone of inhibition around the suture. This was compared to control unsoaked suture and antimicrobial suture (AMS) currently on the market to determine if the minor intraoperative procedural change of placing suture in antibiotic irrigation solution instead of on the sterile table could confer comparable antimicrobial activity. Results The study found the Bacitracin-soaked suture (BSS) consistently inhibited the growth of the test organisms. For both organisms, the BSS exhibited a significantly larger zone of inhibition compared to the unsoaked control suture (P Conclusions Placing sutures in a bacitracin irrigation solution intraoperatively instead of directly on the sterile table can achieve some of the in vitro antimicrobial effect seen from AMS currently on the market. This may result in reduced rates of surgical site infections and associated costs without major procedural change and at reduced overhead.
The development of a high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric method for simultaneous quantification of morphine, morphine-3-β-glucuronide, morphine-6-β-glucuronide, hydromorphone, and normorphine in serum

Abstract Objectives Development and validation of a selective, robust high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric (HPLC/MS–MS) method for the quantification of morphine, morphine-3-β-glucuronide, morphine-6-β-glucuronide, hydromorphone, and normorphine in human serum. Design and methods Drug-free human serum samples spiked with morphine, morphine-3-β-glucuronide, morphine-6-β-glucuronide, hydromorphone, and normorphine were prepared by protein precipitation using methanol containing the internal standards. Samples were injected onto a Thermo Scientific AccuCore PFP column for chromatographic separation. Detection was achieved using a Thermo Scientific TSQ Vantage mass spectrometer. Assay validation followed the new Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) C62-A guidelines. Results The analytical measuring range for all analytes was determined to be 5 to 1000 ng/mL. Intra- and inter-assay precision for three quality control levels were ≤ 7.0% and ≤ 13.5%, respectively. Carryover, stability, linearity, matrix effects, extraction and processing efficiency and method comparison characteristics were acceptable relative to the CLSI C62 guidelines. Conclusion The validation of this HPLC–MS/MS method demonstrated a robust and rapid assay for the quantification of morphine, morphine-3-β-glucuronide, morphine-6-β-glucuronide, hydromorphone, and normorphine.
Efficient weight learning for Markov logic networks

Markov logic networks (MLNs) combine Markov networks and first-order logic, and are a powerful and increasingly popular representation for statistical relational learning. The state-of-the-art method for discriminative learning of MLN weights is the voted perceptron algorithm, which is essentially gradient descent with an MPE approximation to the expected sufficient statistics (true clause counts). Unfortunately, these can vary widely between clauses, causing the learning problem to be highly ill-conditioned, and making gradient descent very slow. In this paper, we explore several alternatives, from per-weight learning rates to second-order methods. In particular, we focus on two approaches that avoid computing the partition function: diagonal Newton and scaled conjugate gradient. In experiments on standard SRL datasets, we obtain order-of-magnitude speedups, or more accurate models given comparable learning times.
Some aspects of anionic polymerization.

Initiation of anionic polymerization by negative ions is discussed in terms of acidbase reactions. The differences between a conventional acid-base reaction and the initiation process are considered and elaborated on the basis of a few illuminating examples. The electron-transfer initiation is described in greater detail. the course of the reaction following the formation of the monomeric radical-ions is discussed; a distinction is made between primary dimerization, primary monomer addition, secondary electron transfer process, tetramerization and polymerization. Examples of these processes are quoted. Furthermore, some aspects of initation by alkali metals are examined. A tentative discussion is given of polymerization involving dipolar species and zwitterions. Modes of termination are discribed and the conditions required to prevent the termination are outlined. The consequences of the lack of termination are elaborated, namely: the establishment of equilibrium between monomer and “living” polymers, molecular weights and molecular weight distributions of the resulting polymers, the possibilities of intorduction of functional end groups, of formation of block polymers, etc. The problem of pseudo-termination is discussed in terms of association, solvation, polymer chain configuration, etc. The effect of pseudo-termination on the structure of the resulting polymer is considered. Die Initiierung der anionischen Polymerisation durch negative Ionen wird im Rahmen einer Sare-Base-Reaktion diskutiert. Die Unterschiede zwischen einer gewohnlichen Saure-Base-Reaktion und der Initiierungsreaktion werden an Hand einiger Beispiele besprochen. Die Initiierung durch eine Elektronen-Ubertragung wird ausfuhrlicher behandelt. Der Reaktionsverlauf unter Bildung monomere Radikal-Ionen wird besprochen; es wird unterschieden zwischen einer primaren Dimerisierung, primaren Anlagerung von Monomeren, sekundaren Elektronen-Ubertragung, Tetramerisierung und Polymerisation. Fur die einzelnen Reaktionen werden Beispiele angegebnen. Versuchsweise wird die Polymerisation uber dipolare Zustande und Zwitter-Ionen diskutiert. Die verschiedenen Abbruchsmoglichkeiten werden beschrieben und die Bedingungen fur eine abbruchslose Polymerisation umrissen. Die Folgerungen, die sich aus einer abbruchslosen Polymerisation ergeben, sind : Einstellung eines Gleichgewichts zwischen Monomerem und dem „lebenden” Polymeren, daraus sich ergebende Molekulargewichte und Molekulargewichtsverteilungen, Einfuhrung funktioneller Endgruppen, Bildung von Block-Copolymeren usw. Unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Assoziation, Solvatisierung und Konfiguration der Polyrnerkette wird die Frage des Pseudo-Abbruchs erortert. Der Effekt des Pseudo-Abbruchs auf die Struktur der entstehenden Makromolekiile wird besprochen.