cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Müllerian Anomalies and Renal Agenesis: Autosomal Dominant Urogenital Adysplasia

We report two families in which mullerian anomalies or renal agenesis appeared to be caused by an autosomal dominant gene that produces unilateral or bilateral renal agenesis and a spectrum of mullerian anomalies. This single gene disorder may account for the high incidence of mullerian anomalies observed in females with bilateral renal agenesis and the increased frequency of renal anomalies in patients with mullerian malformations. The range of mullerian anomalies in this disorder includes bicornuate uterus, uterus didelphys, Rokitansky- Kuster -Hauser syndrome (vaginal atresia with or without absence of the uterus), and total mullerian aplasia. Gene expression is not sex limited. Affected males can have bilateral or unilateral renal agenesis, and possibly may have unilateral or bilateral absence of the vas deferens or seminal vesicles. We suggest that autosomal dominant urogenital adysplasia is common, but underdiagnosed because of the deceptive variability in gene expression. In addition, reduced gene penetrance and reduced biologic fitness from lethal renal anomalies or genital tract anomalies may obscure the autosomal dominant nature of this disorder in most families.
Thymus Involution in the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a severe disorder of unknown etiology and pathogenesis, predominantly affecting homosexual males and other high-risk groups and characterized by profound alterations in T-lymphocyte function. The authors have examined thymus tissue from 14 patients who died of AIDS and compared the results with findings in five control groups: healthy age-matched controls, elderly individuals, patients with chronic or debilitating illnesses other than AIDS, infants with conditions causing "stress atrophy," and patients with myasthenia gravis. The AIDS group included 11 homosexual males, 1 Haitian, 1 homosexual who was also a drug abuser, and a 10-month-old infant believed to have contracted AIDS following blood transfusion. All the AIDS cases showed marked thymus involution with severe depletion of both lymphocytes and epithelial elements. The latter component consisted primarily of thin cords and nests of primitive-appearing epithelial cells that could be defined by positive immunohistochemical staining for keratin. Many cases showed a variable plasma cell infiltration, and the majority exhibited distinct vascular changes in the form of hyalinization and/or onion-skin patterns, primarily in the adventitia. Most striking of all was the marked paucity of Hassall's corpuscles; four patients had none at all, while in the other ten patients all the Hassall's corpuscles were calcified. These changes were far more extensive than those seen in any of the control groups, which retained most of their complement of Hassall's corpuscles even in the face of marked overall involution. The physiologic function of Hassall's corpuscles is not known, but recent immunohistochemical studies have implicated them in the synthesis of "facteur thymique serique" (FTS, thymulin) and other thymic hormones known to play a role in regulating T-helper and suppressor cell activity. It is conceivable that the extensive destruction of Hassall's corpuscles observed in AIDS may be a crucial element in the pathogenesis of this syndrome.
Two-Dimensional Immunoelectrophoretic Analysis of Urinary Ultraconcentrates: Antigenic Differences Between Bladder Cancer Positive Patients, Normal Individuals, and Patients With Urinary Tract Infections

Urine ultraconcentrates (100-fold) from bladder cancer patients, patients suffering from urinary tract infection, and normal individuals were analyzed using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis. A combined sample of normal urine was resolved into 1 to 3 protein bands by PAGE, whereas a single concentrated bladder cancer urine was resolved into 10-12 protein bands. Yet, this same concentrated urine sample was resolved into 17-20 antigen peaks by two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis (2DIEP) against antihuman serum. A significant (P less than 0.05) increase was observed in the relative antigen concentration when comparing 2DIEP profiles of bladder cancer urines to normal controls. A significant increase in the relative antigen concentration and the number of antigen peaks was also found when comparing immunoelectrophoretic patterns obtained from ultraconcentrated urine specimens of bladder cancer positive urine and normal controls using a rabbit antibladder cancer urine antisera (P less than 0.002 and P less than 0.02, respectively). In addition, significant (P less than 0.02) antigenic differences were found when comparing concentrated urine samples from bladder cancer positive individuals to those with urinary tract infection. The bladder cancer group demonstrated 8/9 positive results for relative antigen concentrations greater than 3.0. Fifteen of 16 normal or urinary tract infected individuals combined had relative antigen concentrations less than 3.0. These differences were highly significant (P less than 0.001). No differences were found between concentrated bladder cancer and normal urine specimens tested against rabbit antinormal urine antisera.
Androgen Resistance in the Neonate: Use of Hormones of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis for Diagnosis

Resistance to the action of androgen may be the most common cause of ambiguous genitalia in the infant (male pseudohermaphroditism)J In this entity, the developing fetal testis secretes and converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone normally but does not virilize the external genitalia, because of the inability of the target tissue to respond to androgens. The defect is usually an X-linked recessive genetic abnormality, either in the receptor that binds testosterone and DHT or in a step that follows androgen binding. Partial androgen resistance can be difficult to diagnosis in the absence of a family history of the disorder. We present a case of an infant boy with ambiguous genitalia and no family history of androgen resistance in whom the presumptive diagnosis of androgen resistance was made on day 17 of life by measurement of serum testosterone and luteinizing hormone.
A Neo-Urethral Enteroplication for Urinary Continence in a Case of Cloacal Exstrophy

A four-year-old female, born with cloacal exstrophy, returned for evaluation of her urinary incontinence two years after her initial repair. Her bladder had been turned in at her first operation and had a capacity of approximately 15 cc. Her ureters exited close to the reconstructed introitus. At reoperation, her bladder measured 3.5 cm in length and appeared to be well healed and of normal consistency. An anterior wall bladder flap was created which was based at the dome and was reflected 180° cephalad. The bladder was then tubularized over a #10 french catheter to create a “neo-urethra” of 6 cm in length. Both ureters were reimplanted into an intestinal conduit, constructed 18 cm long, in a nonrefluxing fashion. The distal, oversewn, end of the conduit was sewn down into the pelvis, at the level of the bladder neck and posterior to the “neo-urethra”. The end of the neo-urethra was anastomosed to the anterior wall of the intestinal reservoir, which was then plicated circumferentially around the neo-urethra in a manner very similar to the construction of a Nissen fundoplication for gastro-esophageal reflux. Pressure in the reservoir serves to keep the neo-urethra closed so that urine cannot escape until the neo-urethra is intubated. She is currently continent of urine with a successful program of clean intermittent catheterization. Her upper tracts remain undilated and are free of intestinal-ureteral reflux. Her urine is sterile.
Complicated Implantations of Inflatable Penile Prostheses

SUMMARY In conclusion, implantation of an inflatable penile prosthesis into a normal penis is usually a relatively uncomplicated procedure, but the urologist should be aware of the possibility of complications described in this article. He must be familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of the various prostheses and the surgical techniques required to deal with the problems encountered in complicated as well as in routine prosthetic penile implants.
An Efficient Bandit Algorithm for Realtime Multivariate Optimization

Optimization is commonly employed to determine the content of web pages, such as to maximize conversions on landing pages or click-through rates on search engine result pages. Often the layout of these pages can be decoupled into several separate decisions. For example, the composition of a landing page may involve deciding which image to show, which wording to use, what color background to display, etc. Such optimization is a combinatorial problem over an exponentially large decision space. Randomized experiments do not scale well to this setting, and therefore, in practice, one is typically limited to optimizing a single aspect of a web page at a time. This represents a missed opportunity in both the speed of experimentation and the exploitation of possible interactions between layout decisions Here we focus on multivariate optimization of interactive web pages. We formulate an approach where the possible interactions between different components of the page are modeled explicitly. We apply bandit methodology to explore the layout space efficiently and use hill-climbing to select optimal content in realtime. Our algorithm also extends to contextualization and personalization of layout selection. Simulation results show the suitability of our approach to large decision spaces with strong interactions between content. We further apply our algorithm to optimize a message that promotes adoption of an Amazon service. After only a single week of online optimization, we saw a 21% conversion increase compared to the median layout. Our technique is currently being deployed to optimize content across several locations at Amazon.com.
Does portfolio concentration affect performance? Evidence from corporate bond mutual funds

Abstract This paper examines the relation between portfolio concentration and investment performance in corporate bond mutual funds. Using detailed holdings data, we construct portfolio concentration measures at the firm, industry, and credit rating levels. We find that portfolio concentration is significantly positively related to expected abnormal returns of corporate bond funds, and this relation is mainly driven by investment-grade funds. High-yield funds, however, do not exhibit such a relation, possibly due to the erosion of the value of portfolio concentration by liquidity costs. In support of this conjecture, we document that the concentration-performance relation is less pronounced among funds with higher sensitivities to market-wide illiquidity innovations and during periods of bond market illiquidity shocks and fund-level net money outflows. Finally, we show that more concentrated funds demonstrate stronger performance persistence, and investors appear to consider portfolio concentration in making investment decisions.
Financial innovation in microcap public offerings

Abstract This paper examines external financing of small and growth firms using a regulatory experiment in the US microcap market. The paper focuses on a new financing method for entrepreneurial firms – small public offerings under Regulation A, which was significantly expanded by 2015 amendments. Regulation A offerings serve as a financing alternative for issuers that seek public capital but are unable to conduct a traditional registered public offering. Compared to small registered public offerings, Regulation A involves fewer requirements and draws smaller, younger companies, often raising capital without intermediaries or on a best efforts basis. Regulation A companies raise less capital on average after accounting for their historical financials. The use of Regulation A increased significantly following the 2015 shock, particularly in market segments that had more private placements and traditional public offerings. Different types of issuers are pursuing Regulation A and registered offerings, and Regulation A does not appear to draw issuers away from traditional public offerings.
Who Goes Freelance? The Determinants of Self-Employment for Artists:

This study examines the self-employment behavior of artists. Using data from the Current Population Survey between 2003 and 2015, we estimate a series of logit models to predict transitions from paid employment to self-employment in the arts. The results show that artists disproportionately freelance and frequently switch in and out of self-employment compared to all other professional workers. We also find that artists exhibit unique entrepreneurial profiles, particularly in terms of their demographic and employment characteristics. In particular, artist workers are considerably more likely to attain self-employment status when living in a city with a high saturation of artist occupations.
A library of chemically defined human N-glycans synthesized from microbial oligosaccharide precursors

Synthesis of homogenous glycans in quantitative yields represents a major bottleneck to the production of molecular tools for glycoscience, such as glycan microarrays, affinity resins, and reference standards. Here, we describe a combined biological/enzymatic synthesis that is capable of efficiently converting microbially-derived precursor oligosaccharides into structurally uniform human-type N-glycans. Unlike starting material obtained by chemical synthesis or direct isolation from natural sources, which can be time consuming and costly to generate, our approach involves precursors derived from renewable sources including wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae glycoproteins and lipid-linked oligosaccharides from glycoengineered Escherichia coli. Following deglycosylation of these biosynthetic precursors, the resulting microbial oligosaccharides are subjected to a greatly simplified purification scheme followed by structural remodeling using commercially available and recombinantly produced glycosyltransferases including key N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases (e.g., GnTI, GnTII, and GnTIV) involved in early remodeling of glycans in the mammalian glycosylation pathway. Using this approach, preparative quantities of hybrid and complex-type N-glycans including asymmetric multi-antennary structures were generated and subsequently used to develop a glycan microarray for high-throughput, fluorescence-based screening of glycan-binding proteins. Taken together, these results confirm our combined synthesis strategy as a new, user-friendly route for supplying chemically defined human glycans simply by combining biosynthetically-derived precursors with enzymatic remodeling.
Statistical Framework for Uncertainty Quantification in Computational Molecular Modeling

As computational modeling, simulation, and predictions are becoming integral parts of biomedical pipelines, it behooves us to emphasize the reliability of the computational protocol. For any reported quantity of interest (QOI), one must also compute and report a measure of the uncertainty or error associated with the QOI. This is especially important in molecular modeling, since in most practical applications the inputs to the computational protocol are often noisy, incomplete, or low-resolution. Unfortunately, currently available modeling tools do not account for uncertainties and their effect on the final QOIs with sufficient rigor. We have developed a statistical framework that expresses the uncertainty of the QOI as the probability that the reported value deviates from the true value by more than some user-defined threshold. First, we provide a theoretical approach where this probability can be bounded using Azuma-Hoeffding like inequalities. Second, we approximate this probability empirically by sampling the space of uncertainties of the input and provide applications of our framework to bound uncertainties of several QOIs commonly used in molecular modeling. Finally, we also present several visualization techniques to effectively and quantitavely visualize the uncertainties: in the input, final QOIs, and also intermediate states.
Short interest as a signal to issue equity

Abstract We find that the level of short interest in a firm's stock significantly predicts future seasoned equity offers (SEOs). The probability of an SEO announcement increases by 34% (decreases by 49%) for firms in the top (bottom) quintile of short interest. We identify a causal impact of short interest on SEO issuance using a novel instrument for short interest based on future litigation filings in close geographical proximity to hedge fund centers. Our findings suggest that corporate decisions can be triggered by the aggregate trading activity of sophisticated outside investors.
Market Segments and Stochastic Brand Choice Models

The modeling of buyer behavior by stochastic brand choice models has typically involved the use of a single model to represent the behavior of all consumers though consumer heterogeneity is recogni...
The General Theory at 80: Reflections on the history and enduring relevance of Keynes’ economics

T his paper reflects on the history and enduring relevance of Keynes’ economics. Keynes unleashed a devastating critique of classical macroeconomics and introduced a new replacement schema that defines macroeconomics. The success of the Keynesian revolution triggered a counter-revolution that restored the classical tradition and now enforces a renewed classical monopoly. That monopoly has provided the intellectual foundations for neoliberalism which has produced economic and political conditions echoing the 1930s. Openness to Keynesian ideas seems to fluctuate with conditions, and current conditions are conducive to revival of the Keynesian revolution. However, a revival will have to overcome the renewed classical monopoly.
Protein–ligand interfaces are polarized: discovery of a strong trend for intermolecular hydrogen bonds to favor donors on the protein side with implications for predicting and designing ligand complexes

Understanding how proteins encode ligand specificity is fascinating and similar in importance to deciphering the genetic code. For protein-ligand recognition, the combination of an almost infinite variety of interfacial shapes and patterns of chemical groups makes the problem especially challenging. Here we analyze data across non-homologous proteins in complex with small biological ligands to address observations made in our inhibitor discovery projects: that proteins favor donating H-bonds to ligands and avoid using groups with both H-bond donor and acceptor capacity. The resulting clear and significant chemical group matching preferences elucidate the code for protein-native ligand binding, similar to the dominant patterns found in nucleic acid base-pairing. On average, 90% of the keto and carboxylate oxygens occurring in the biological ligands formed direct H-bonds to the protein. A two-fold preference was found for protein atoms to act as H-bond donors and ligand atoms to act as acceptors, and 76% of all intermolecular H-bonds involved an amine donor. Together, the tight chemical and geometric constraints associated with satisfying donor groups generate a hydrogen-bonding lock that can be matched only by ligands bearing the right acceptor-rich key. Measuring an index of H-bond preference based on the observed chemical trends proved sufficient to predict other protein-ligand complexes and can be used to guide molecular design. The resulting Hbind and Protein Recognition Index software packages are being made available for rigorously defining intermolecular H-bonds and measuring the extent to which H-bonding patterns in a given complex match the preference key.
Cash Transfers, Food Prices, and Nutrition Impacts on Nonbeneficiary Children

Based on a randomized evaluation, the paper shows that a household-targeted Philippine cash transfer program significantly raised the local price of key foods relevant for child nutritional status. This shift in prices increased stunting among young nonbeneficiary children by 34 percent (11 percentage points). Price and stunting effects increase in program saturation; at median saturation, the village income shock is 15 percent. These effects persist 2.5 years after program introduction. The authors confirm the price patterns in their experimental sample against price information from nationally-representative household expenditure surveys across the 6-year rollout of the program. Failing to consider such general equilibrium effects may overstate the net benefits of targeted cash transfers. In areas where targeting of social programs covers a large proportion of the population, offering the program on a universal basis may avoid such long-lasting negative impacts at moderate additional cost.
Anatomical, Physiological, and Functional Heterogeneity of the Dorsal Raphe Serotonin System

The dorsal raphe (DR) constitutes a major serotonergic input to the forebrain, and modulates diverse functions and brain states including mood, anxiety, and sensory and motor functions. Most functional studies to date have treated DR serotonin neurons as a single, homogeneous population. Using viral-genetic methods, we found that subcortical- vs. cortical-projecting serotonin neurons have distinct cell body distributions within the DR and different degrees of co-expressing a vesicular glutamate transporter. Further, the amygdala- and frontal cortex-projecting DR serotonin neurons have largely complementary whole-brain collateralization patterns, receive biased inputs from presynaptic partners, and exhibit opposite responses to aversive stimuli. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments suggest that amygdala-projecting DR serotonin neurons promote anxiety-like behavior, whereas frontal cortex-projecting neurons promote active coping in face of challenge. These results provide compelling evidence that the DR serotonin system contains parallel sub-systems that differ in input and output connectivity, physiological response properties, and behavioral functions.
Predictions for Cholesterol Interaction Sites on the A2A Adenosine Receptor

Molecular dynamics simulations of the A2A adenosine receptor totaling 1.4 μs show clear evidence for specific sites mediating interactions between adenosine-bound A2A and cholesterol. The strongest evidence is for three binding sites. Two are in the extracellular leaflet, with one site interacting with helices VII and I, and the other with helices II and III. One site is located in the intracellular leaflet, interacting with helices III and IV. One of our three predicted binding sites is confirmed by a just-published high-resolution structure of A2A cocrystallized with an antagonist.
Celebrity Endorsements and Donations: Empirical Investigation of Impact on Philanthropic Giving:

AbstractThis study investigates the effects of celebrity endorsers on donations and views of nonprofits. Celebrity endorsers and their relationships with nonprofits evoke a series of emotions that ...
Control Synthesis for Permutation-Symmetric High-Dimensional Systems With Counting Constraints

General-purpose correct-by-construction synthesis methods are limited to systems with low dimensionality or simple specifications. In this paper, we consider highly symmetrical counting problems and exploit the symmetry to synthesize provably correct controllers for systems with tens of thousands of states. The key ingredients of the solution are an aggregate abstraction procedure for mildly heterogeneous systems and a formulation of counting constraints as linear inequalities.
Tourniquetless Total Knee Arthroplasty With Modern Perioperative Protocols Decreases Pain and Opioid Consumption in Women.

Abstract Background This study examined whether a modern total knee arthroplasty (TKA) protocol without a tourniquet results in less patient-reported pain and in-hospital opioid consumption compared to TKA with a tourniquet. Methods A retrospective study of 203 primary unilateral cemented TKAs consecutively performed with or without tourniquet was performed. Identical perioperative pain and blood loss protocols were used in all cases. In tourniquetless TKAs, the tourniquet was not inflated at any time, and sterile CO2 gas compression maximized cement interdigitation. Results After exclusions for scientific confounds, 184 TKAs (93 with tourniquet; 91 tourniquetless) were analyzed. Controlling for multiple covariates, females with a tourniquet reported significantly more pain (P = .002) and opioid consumption (P Conclusion Avoiding tourniquet use during TKA for females may be a relatively risk-free adjunct to minimize opioid consumption during hospitalization. Further study is warranted to elucidate the factors accounting for different outcomes in females and males.
Dental safety net capacity: An innovative use of existing data to measure dentists' clinical engagement in state Medicaid programs.

BACKGROUND The demand for dentists available for state Medicaid populations has long outpaced the supply of such providers. To help understand the workforce dynamics, this study sought to develop a novel approach to measuring dentists' relative contribution to the dental safety net and, using this new measurement, identify demographic and practice characteristics predictive of dentists' willingness to participate in Indiana's Medicaid program. METHODS We examined Medicaid claims data for 1,023 Indiana dentists. We fit generalized ordered logistic regression models to measure dentists' level of clinical engagement with Medicaid. Using a partial proportional odds specification model, we estimated proportional adjusted odds ratios for covariates and separate estimates for each contrast of nonproportional covariates. RESULTS Though 75% of Medicaid-enrolled dentists were active providers, only 27% of them had 800 or more claims during fiscal year 2015. As has been shown in previous studies, our findings from the proportional odds model reinforced certain demographic and practice characteristics to be predictive of dentists' participation in state Medicaid programs. CONCLUSIONS In addition to confirming predictive factors for Medicaid enrollment, this study validated the clinical engagement measure as a reliable method to assess the level of Medicaid participation. Prior studies have been limited by self-reported data and variations in Medicaid claims reporting. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Our findings have implications for state Medicaid policymakers by enabling access to data regarding dental providers' level of participation in Medicaid in addition to identifying factors predictive of such participation. This information will inform Medicaid program plans and provider recruitment efforts.
Municipal Bond Trading, Information Relatedness, and Natural Disasters

1. Brittany Cole 1. is an assistant professor of finance at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN. (bcole{at}tntech.edu) 2. Bonnie Van Ness 1. is the Otho Smith Professor of Finance at the University of Mississippi in University, MS. (bvanness{at}bus.olemiss.edu) 3. Robert Van
Why do firms issue guaranteed bonds

Abstract Corporations often use affiliated firms as guarantors when issuing guaranteed bonds, thus combining external financing with internal credit enhancements. In this study, we empirically examine the potential determinants of corporate guaranteed debt issuance. We find evidence that issuers with fewer tangible assets, lower credit ratings, more pronounced debt overhang and/or greater managerial agency problems are more likely to issue guaranteed bonds. Moreover, we find that while firms generally issue guaranteed bonds with different motives, alternative incentives for guaranteed bond uses are largely captured by bond prices at issuance.
Metric Temporal Extensions of DL-Lite and Interval-Rigid Names

The DL-Lite description logics allow for modeling domain knowledge on top of databases and for efficient reasoning. We focus on metric temporal extensions of DL-Lite_bool and its fragments, and study the complexity of satisfiability. In particular, we investigate the influence of rigid and interval-rigid symbols, which allow for modeling knowledge that remains valid over (some) time. We show that especially the latter add considerable expressive power in many logics, but they do not always increase complexity.
Two Round Information-Theoretic MPC with Malicious Security

We provide the first constructions of two round information-theoretic (IT) secure multiparty computation (MPC) protocols in the plain model that tolerate any \(t<n/2\) malicious corruptions. Our protocols satisfy the strongest achievable standard notions of security in two rounds in different communication models.
The influence of submarine groundwater discharge on nearshore marine dissolved organic carbon reactivity, concentration dynamics, and offshore export

Abstract Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is the largest pool of reduced carbon in the oceans, with a reservoir equivalent to atmospheric CO2. In nearshore marine regions, DOC sources include primary production, terrestrial DOC delivered by river discharge, and/or terrestrial and marine DOC delivered via submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). While the importance of SGD to coastal carbon cycling has been implicated, the actual influence of this process on nearshore carbon dynamics and offshore export has not been explicitly identified. This study, conducted at a predominantly marine-influenced intertidal beach-nearshore ocean system along the Santa Barbara, California coastline, aimed to address this knowledge gap. Dark, temperature-controlled laboratory incubations, radioisotopic (radon-222) SGD estimates, and an SGD-DOC mixing-reaction box model were coupled to identify the influence of pore water mixing with seawater on nearshore DOC reactivity, concentration dynamics, and offshore export. Even with a relatively low volumetric contribution, SGD pore water mixing altered nearshore DOC reactivity, and elevated the nearshore DOC concentration by 0.4–6.6 µmol L−1 over nearshore seawater residence times spanning 1–6 days. These elevated DOC concentrations were equivalent to 0.5% to 9% of the mean offshore DOC concentration for the summer months in the Santa Barbara Channel, when the coastal water column is highly thermally stratified. Despite the challenge of assessing carbon dynamics in physically and biogeochemically complex nearshore marine regions, this study demonstrates the need for future investigations to assess and account for SGD as a non-trivial component of coastal marine carbon cycles.
Ultralow thermal conductivity in a two-dimensional material due to surface-enhanced resonant bonding

Abstract Crystalline materials with ultralow thermal conductivity are highly desirable for thermoelectric applications. Many known crystalline materials with low thermal conductivity, including PbTe and Bi2Te3, possess a special kind of chemical bond called ‘resonant bond’. Resonant bonds consist of superposition of degenerate bonding configurations that leads to structural instability, anomalous long-range interatomic interaction, and soft optical phonons. These factors contribute to large lattice anharmonicity and strong phonon-phonon scattering, which result in low thermal conductivity. In this work, we use first principles simulation to investigate the effect of resonant bonding in two dimensions (2D), where resonant bonds are in proximity to the surface. We find that the long-range interatomic interaction due to resonant bonding becomes more prominent in 2D because of reduced screening of the atomic displacement–induced charge density distortion. To demonstrate this effect, we analyze the phonon properties of quasi-2D Bi2PbTe4 with an ultralow thermal conductivity of 0.74 W/mK at 300 K. By comparing the interatomic force constants of quasi-2D Bi2PbTe4 and its bulk counterpart and the properties of resonant bonds near the surface and in the bulk, we conclude that resonant bonds are significantly enhanced in reduced dimensions and are more effective in reducing the lattice thermal conductivity. Our results will provide new clues to search for thermal insulators in low-dimensional materials.
Exploiting Numerical Sparsity for Efficient Learning : Faster Eigenvector Computation and Regression

In this paper, we obtain improved running times for regression and top eigenvector computation for numerically sparse matrices. Given a data matrix $\mat{A} \in \R^{n \times d}$ where every row $a \in \R^d$ has $\|a\|_2^2 \leq L$ and numerical sparsity $\leq s$, i.e. $\|a\|_1^2 / \|a\|_2^2 \leq s$, we provide faster algorithms for these problems for many parameter settings. For top eigenvector computation, when $\gap > 0$ is the relative gap between the top two eigenvectors of $\mat{A}^\top \mat{A}$ and $r$ is the stable rank of $\mat{A}$ we obtain a running time of $\otilde(nd + r(s + \sqrt{r s}) / \gap^2)$ improving upon the previous best unaccelerated running time of $O(nd + r d / \gap^2)$. As $r \leq d$ and $s \leq d$ our algorithm everywhere improves or matches the previous bounds for all parameter settings. For regression, when $\mu > 0$ is the smallest eigenvalue of $\mat{A}^\top \mat{A}$ we obtain a running time of $\otilde(nd + (nL / \mu) \sqrt{s nL / \mu})$ improving upon the previous best unaccelerated running time of $\otilde(nd + n L d / \mu)$. This result expands when regression can be solved in nearly linear time from when $L/\mu = \otilde(1)$ to when $L / \mu = \otilde(d^{2/3} / (sn)^{1/3})$. Furthermore, we obtain similar improvements even when row norms and numerical sparsities are non-uniform and we show how to achieve even faster running times by accelerating using approximate proximal point \cite{frostig2015regularizing} / catalyst \cite{lin2015universal}. Our running times depend only on the size of the input and natural numerical measures of the matrix, i.e. eigenvalues and $\ell_p$ norms, making progress on a key open problem regarding optimal running times for efficient large-scale learning.
Unsupervised Video Object Segmentation using Motion Saliency-Guided Spatio-Temporal Propagation

Unsupervised video segmentation plays an important role in a wide variety of applications from object identification to compression. However, to date, fast motion, motion blur and occlusions pose significant challenges. To address these challenges for unsupervised video segmentation, we develop a novel saliency estimation technique as well as a novel neighborhood graph, based on optical flow and edge cues. Our approach leads to significantly better initial foreground-background estimates and their robust as well as accurate diffusion across time. We evaluate our proposed algorithm on the challenging DAVIS, SegTrack v2 and FBMS-59 datasets. Despite the usage of only a standard edge detector trained on 200 images, our method achieves state-of-the-art results outperforming deep learning based methods in the unsupervised setting. We even demonstrate competitive results comparable to deep learning based methods in the semi-supervised setting on the DAVIS dataset.
Consumer Misinformation and the Brand Premium: A Private Label Blind Taste Test

To study consumer brand misinformation, we run in-store blind taste tests with a retailer’s private label food brands and the leading national brand counterparts in three large consumer packaged go...
'Bad Apple' Peer Effects in Elementary Classrooms: The Case of Corporal Punishment in the Home.

This paper provides the first empirical evidence on the existence of negative spillover effects from children exposed to corporal punishment in the home (CPH). We find that interactions with peers ...
Myocyte Renewal and Ventricular Remodelling

Remaining young at heart is a desirable but elusive goal. Unbeknown to us, however, myocyte regeneration may accomplish just that. Continuous cell renewal in the adult myocardium was thought to be impossible, but multipotent cardiac stem cells may be able to renew the myocardium and, under certain circumstances, can be coaxed to repair the broken heart after infarction.
Software safety

Software safety is an important aspect of software quality which is in need of research attention and priority. In this paper, software safety is defined and distinguished from reliability, and the current research efforts of the Irvine Safety Project are outlined.
Parallel three-dimensional mesh generation on distributed memory MIMD computers

This paper discusses the development of an automatic mesh generation technique designed to operate effectively on multiple instruction multiple data (MIMD) parallel computers. The meshing approach is hierarchical, that is, model entities are meshed after their boundaries have been meshed. Focus is on the region meshing step. An octree is constructed to serve as a localization tool and for efficiency. The tree is also key to the efficient parallelization of the meshing process since it supports the distribution of load to processors. The parallel mesh generation procedure repartitions the domain to be meshed and applies on processor face removals until all face removals with local data have been performed. The portion of the domain to be meshed remaining is dynamically repartitioned at the octant level using an Inertial Recursive Bisection method and local face removals are reperformed. Migration of a terminal octant involves migration of the octant data and the octant's mesh faces and/or mesh regions. Results show relatively good speed-ups for parallel face removals on small numbers of processors. Once the three-dimensional mesh has been generated, mesh regions may be scattered across processors. Therefore, a final dynamic repartitioning step is applied at the region level to produce a partition ready for finite element analysis.
Markov models of policy support for technology transitions

Abstract In this paper, we develop and analyze two Markov models to obtain generalizable insights into technology policy decision making under uncertainty. The first model is a Markov reward process (MRP) that represents policy interventions with one-time, upfront costs, while the second is a Markov decision process (MDP) that represents interventions with recurring costs. For each model, we derive analytical expressions for the policymaker’s willingness to pay (WTP) to raise the probabilities of advancing a technology development or diffusion process at various stages and compare and contrast the behaviors of the MRP and MDP models. Then, we conduct numerical sensitivity analysis to explore how the optimal technology policy portfolio varies with certain parameters, and present a case study on lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. We find that the MRP and MDP models share some key similarities. Most notably, the possibility of regressing from a more advanced development or diffusion stage back to an earlier one reduces the value of earlier policy intervention and enhances the value of later intervention. This effect is stronger in the MDP because moving the process forward helps avoid incurring policy costs repeatedly by lingering in stages affected by the policy. Another consequence of the models’ different cost accounting schemes is that increases in WTP with respect to policy-enhanced transition probabilities exhibit diminishing returns in the MRP, but constant returns in the MDP. Lastly, our case study on the development of lithium-ion batteries demonstrates the practical application of our model to technology policy decision making.
A Proteomic Atlas of Senescence-Associated Secretomes for Aging Biomarker Development

SUMMARY The senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) has recently emerged as both a driver of, and promising therapeutic target for, multiple age-related conditions, ranging from neurodegeneration to cancer. The complexity of the SASP, typically monitored by a few dozen secreted proteins, has been greatly underappreciated, and a small set of factors cannot explain the diverse phenotypes it produces in vivo. Here, we present ‘SASP Atlas’, a comprehensive proteomic database of soluble and exosome SASP factors originating from multiple senescence inducers and cell types. Each profile consists of hundreds of largely distinct proteins, but also includes a subset of proteins elevated in all SASPs. Based on our analyses, we propose several candidate biomarkers of cellular senescence, including GDF15, STC1 and SERPINs. This resource will facilitate identification of proteins that drive specific senescence-associated phenotypes and catalog potential senescence biomarkers to assess the burden, originating stimulus and tissue of senescent cells in vivo.
A space-time tradeoff for implementing a function with master equation dynamics.

Master equations are commonly used to model the dynamics of physical systems, including systems that implement single-valued functions like a computer’s update step. However, many such functions cannot be implemented by any master equation, even approximately, which raises the question of how they can occur in the real world. Here we show how any function over some “visible” states can be implemented with master equation dynamics—if the dynamics exploits additional, “hidden” states at intermediate times. We also show that any master equation implementing a function can be decomposed into a sequence of “hidden” timesteps, demarcated by changes in what state-to-state transitions have nonzero probability. In many real-world situations there is a cost both for more hidden states and for more hidden timesteps. Accordingly, we derive a “space–time” tradeoff between the number of hidden states and the number of hidden timesteps needed to implement any given function. Deterministic maps from initial to final states can always be modelled using the master equation formalism, provided additional “hidden” states are available. Here, the authors demonstrate a tradeoff between the required number of such states and the number of required, suitably defined “hidden time steps”.
Organometallic complexes as luminescence probes in monitoring thermal and photochemical polymerizations

Abstract This review describes recent developments where several organometallic complexes have been employed as luminescence probes to monitor industrially important thermal and photochemical polymerization reactions. Both epoxy resin and acrylate thin-film materials are discussed. Attention is focused on polymer systems incorporating the metal complexes, W(CO)4L and fac-XRe(CO)3L (X=Cl, Br or I, and L is an α,α′-diimine ligand such as 2,2′-bipyridine or 1,10-phenanthroline, and related derivatives) which are shown to offer considerable promise as spectroscopic probes. A key feature of these organometallic systems is that they are emissive from low-lying metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excited states and that these energy levels are sensitive to environmental rigidity. The luminescence properties of these complexes in both solution and polymeric media are examined in detail and the photophysical parameters of the MLCT excited states are correlated with spectroscopic and rheological measurements acquired during the curing process of the polymer.
Stereoselective Syntheses of 1,2-trans p-MePh and 2-Pyridyl 1-Thioglycosides Catalyzed by Zirconium(IV) Chloride

Abstract 1-Thioglycosides including per-O-acetyl p-MePh and 2-pyridyl 1-thioglycosides were chemically synthesized with high complete stereoselectivity by using ZrC14 as catalyst.
Structural basis for σ1 receptor ligand recognition.

The σ1 receptor is a poorly understood membrane protein expressed throughout the human body. Ligands targeting the σ1 receptor are in clinical trials for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, ischemic stroke, and neuropathic pain. However, relatively little is known regarding the σ1 receptor’s molecular function. Here, we present crystal structures of human σ1 receptor bound to the antagonists haloperidol and NE-100, and the agonist (+)-pentazocine, at crystallographic resolutions of 3.1 A, 2.9 A, and 3.1 A, respectively. These structures reveal a unique binding pose for the agonist. The structures and accompanying molecular dynamics (MD) simulations identify agonist-induced structural rearrangements in the receptor. Additionally, we show that ligand binding to σ1 is a multistep process that is rate limited by receptor conformational change. We used MD simulations to reconstruct a ligand binding pathway involving two major conformational changes. These data provide a framework for understanding the molecular basis for σ1 agonism. Crystal structures of human σ1 receptor bound to the antagonists haloperidol and NE-100, and to agonist (+)-pentazocine, alongside MD simulations, reveal a unique binding pose for, and major conformational rearrangements induced by, the agonist.
New Extensions of the Anionic Oxy-Cope/Intramolecular SN' Reaction Cascade

Abstract The exo carbinol 3 and endo carbinol 7 can be expeditiously transformed into the relatively complex end products 6 and 11, respectively, upon appropriate exposure to basic conditions.
Structures of Silicon-Doped Carbon Clusters

Gas phase ion mobility measurements have been used to examine the geometries of silicon-doped carbon cluster cations, CnSi+ (n = 3−69). The observed isomers resemble those found for pure carbon clusters: linear chains, monocyclic, bicyclic, and polycyclic rings, graphite sheets, and fullerenes. Generally, the silicon atom substitutes for a carbon atom and has only a minor effect on the structure. The linear chain and monocyclic ring isomers coexist for CnSi+ clusters over a wider range than for pure carbon cluster cations. The results provide the first conclusive experimental evidence that C2n-1Si+ fullerenes with an even number of atoms are closed-cage structures with the silicon atom networked into the cage. For C2nSi+ fullerenes with an odd number of atoms the silicon atom appears to be exohedral.
Synthesis of 4‐amino‐3,5‐dinitro‐1H‐pyrazole using vicarious nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen

A novel synthesis of the title compound was achieved by direct animation using Vicarious Nucleophilic Substitution (VNS) methodology. Reaction of 1,1,1-trimethylhydrazinium iodide with 3,5-dinitropyrazole in DMSO produces 4-amino-3,5-dinitro-1H-pyrazole as a 1:1 crystal solvate with DMSO. Recrystallization from water yields the monohydrated crystal. Recrystallization of the monohydrate from butyl acetate yields the compound in pure form.
Theoretical studies of o-, m-, and p-benzyne negative ions

A general theoretical description of “distonic” radical anions is presented, along with an account of an extensive series of ab initio molecular orbital and density functional theory calculations on the negative ions of o-, m- and p-benzyne. The performance of several different computational methods is evaluated with respect to artifactual symmetry-breaking. QCISD(T), CCSD(T), CASPT2N, and DFT(B3LYP) calculations employing double-ζ quality basis sets predict that o-, m-, and p-benzyne anions all have high-symmetry, delocalized radical anion ground electronic states: 2B2 (C2v), 2B2 (C2v), and 2Ag (D2h), respectively. The meta and para isomers also exhibit low-lying, localized radical anion forms with distorted geometries that arise by pseudo Jahn-Teller interactions (vibronic coupling): 2A‘ (Cs) for m-benzyne anion and 2A1 (C2v) for p-benzyne anion. Broken-symmetry wave functions are obtained at symmetrical geometries from MCSCF and CISD calculations for p-benzyne anion, but not for o- and m-benzyne anio...
Preparation of aza-polycyclic aromatic compounds via superelectrophilic cyclizations.

Alkenyl-substituted N-heterocycles react in superacidic CF 3 SO 3 H (triflic acid) to produce dicationic intermediates. These superelectrophiles undergo cyclizations to give varied aza-polycyclic aromatic compounds in generally good yields (27-99%, 16 examples). Theoretical calculations indicate a preference for charge-separated dicationic intermediates.
Cellular heterogeneity during mouse pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma progression at single-cell resolution.

e15739Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a major cause of cancer-related death with limited therapeutic options available. This highlights the need for improved understanding of ...