cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association of Very Low-Volume Practice With Vascular Surgery Outcomes in New York

Importance Little research has focused on very low-volume surgery, especially in the context of decreasing vascular surgery volume with the adoption of endovascular procedures. Objective To investigate the existence and outcomes of open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (OAR) and carotid endarterectomy (CEA) performed by very low-volume surgeons in New York. Design, Settings, and Participants This cohort study examined inpatient data of patients undergoing elective OAR or CEA from 2000 to 2014 from all New York hospitals. Exposures Surgeons who performed 1 or less designated procedure per year on average were considered very low volume, as opposed to higher-volume surgeons. Main Outcomes and Measures Temporal trends of the existence of very low-volume practice were evaluated. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to compare in-hospital outcomes and health care resource use between patients treated by very low-volume surgeons and higher-volume surgeons for both OAR and CEA, adjusting for patient, surgeon, and hospital characteristics. Results There were 8781 OAR procedures and 68 896 CEA procedures included in the study. The mean (SD) patient age was 71.7 (8.4) years for OAR and 71.5 (9.1) years for CEA. A total of 614 surgeons performed OAR and 1071 performed CEA in New York during the study period. Of these, 318 (51.8%) and 512 (47.8%), respectively, were very low-volume surgeons. Very low-volume surgeons were less likely to be vascular surgeons. The number and proportion of very low-volume surgeons decreased over years. Compared with patients treated by higher-volume surgeons, those treated by very low-volume surgeons were more likely to have higher in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR], 2.09; 95% CI, 1.41-3.08) following OAR and higher risks of postoperative myocardial infarction (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.03-3.26) and stroke (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.21-2.62) following CEA. Patients treated by very low-volume surgeons also had greater health care resource use following both surgeries, including prolonged length of stay (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.11-1.70) following OAR as well as higher charges (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.01-1.62) and increased 30-day readmission (OR, 1.30; 95% CI 1.04-1.62) following CEA. Conclusions and Relevance The OAR and CEA procedures performed by very low-volume surgeons resulted in worse postoperative outcomes and greater lengths of stay. Although the percentage of very low-volume surgeons declined from 2000 to 2014, it remains concerning, given ready access to higher-volume surgeons. Future research is needed to understand the existence of this practice pattern in other surgical fields. Efforts to eliminate this practice pattern are warranted to ensure high-quality care for all patients.
Uncertain Inflation and Optimal Social Security Indexation

Abstract This paper derives the optimal policy with respect to social security indexation within the framework of an overlapping-generations model, taking into account its impact on individual portfolio allocation, precautionary saving and conditional bequests. The model also allows for possible market failure in providing for inflation insurance.
Primary Adrenal Hyperplasia: A New Subset of Primary Hyperaldosteronism

The existence of a new subset of primary hyperaldosteronism that combines the morphology of bilateral hyperplasia with the biochemical and therapeutic responses typical of adenoma recently was suggested. The following is the first detailed case report of that subset. The patient had severe hypokalemia and hypertension responsive to spironolactone, and elevated supine plasma aldosterone and 18-hydroxycorticosterone values that did not increase after ambulation. Surgical removal of 75% of both adrenal glands decreased mineralocorticoid levels into the low normal range and allowed the return of normal renin-angiotensin function, although plasma aldosterone was still unresponsive to postural change. Glucocorticoid reserve remained normal. Histology showed bilateral cortical hyperplasia. The results support the existence of a new subset of adrenal hyperplasia, termed primary adrenal hyperplasia, in which biochemical parameters and response to surgery mimic those of adrenal adenomas. The existence of such a sub...
Subrenal Capsule Assay to Test the Viability of Parenterally Delivered Müllerian Inhibiting Substance

Production of bovine mullerian inhibiting substance (MIS) has been increased to allow generation of large quantities of biologically active purified material. The limited MIS previously available allowed only pretreatment of tumors prior to colony inhibition or implanting in nude mice. In preparation for posttransplantation tumor treatment, a subrenal capsule assay, which was first used against human tumors heterotransplanted into nude mice and subsequently against those heterotransplanted into immunocompetent mice, was adapted to determine (1) if MIS preparations could traverse the bloodstream without degradation and (2) the optimal dose required to produce a biologic effect. Urogenital ridges from female 14-day-old rat embryos were transferred atraumatically to small pouches beneath the renal capsule of the immunocompetent male CDF, mice. The cranial-caudal orientation of the ridge with its mullerian duct was maintained. Over the next 72 hours, the mice were injected via the tail vein with 0.1 mL of an MIS-containing solution over a 100-fold concentration range. After three days, the kidneys were removed and shaved just below the ridge, which was then placed in solft agar for orientration and subsequent serial sectioning. After fixation, dehydration, and paraffin embedding, sections were stained and reeression of the mullerian duct was graded and compared according to concentration and number of MIS doses administered. Regression diminished from almost complete (4+) at the highest dose, to minimal (1 to 2+) at 1/100 of that dose. Heat-inactivated and vehicle controls caused no regression of the mullerian ducts. Mullerian inhibiting substance maintains its biologic activity in the adult mouse blood stream and exerts its effect against the transplanted embryonic rat mullerian duct; it therefore can be tested against similarly placed human tumors. The subrenal site can find many applications in the study of embryonic interactions, particularly those where neovascularization is an important prerequisite.
Persistent Adrenal Insufficiency Secondary to Low-Dose Ketoconazole Therapy

Persistent adrenal insufficiency secondary to ketoconazole therapy has not previously been documented. A case of adrenocortical insufficiency secondary to low-dose (400 mg per day) ketoconazole therapy for blastomycosis is described. Symptomatic adrenal insufficiency was documented on endocrine testing, required physiologic replacement doses of glucocorticoids, and has not been reversible in two years of follow-up. Thus, adrenal insufficiency may be caused by low-dose ketoconazole therapy, and such adrenal insufficiency may have a prolonged course.
Acute Scrotal Swelling in Children

We have found that the blanket philosophy of emergency scrotal exploration in all cases of acute scrotal swelling in boys results in an unacceptably large number of unnecessary explorations. The use of specific aspects of the clinical examination, in conjunction with the radioisotope testicular scan in selected instances, has guided our management of 150 consecutive boys presenting with acute scrotal symptoms.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Victims of Sexual Assault

Rape is a violent crime whose incidence is increasing rapidly. Although only 10 to 33 percent of cases of rape are reported, medical and paramedical personnel treat more than 81,000 rape victims in the United States each year.1 Rape can be defined as sexual relations that are obtained through physical force, threats, or intimidation. The victims of sexual assault may include both male and female adults and children. Risk of Infection It is difficult to estimate the risk of sexually transmitted conditions in victims of sexual assault. The prevalence of such conditions varies according to geographic area and the various . . .
Does pulling together lead to falling apart? The self-regulatory consequences of cooperative orientations for the self-reliant

Abstract Much evidence exists to support the hypothesis that cooperation improves performance outcomes for both organizations and individuals. In spite of this, relatively little attention has been paid to the potential downstream consequences of asking self-reliant individuals to work and pursue goals in a team setting, where their success depends heavily on cooperation and the performance of others. This paper explores these downstream consequences. Across three studies, our results reveal that individuals prompted with self-reliance lose significant self-regulatory capacity after cooperating as opposed to competing individually, which leads them to act dishonestly (Experiments 1 and 3) and quit a task early (Experiment 2). Together, these findings highlight that cooperation, despite the performance advantages it offers teams, can also contribute to unforeseen costs for highly self-reliant individuals.
Upper Bounds on the Values of Masses in Unified Gauge Theories

Upper bounds are found for the masses of most of the new, unobserved particles in unified gauge theories by requiring that the partial-wave amplitudes satisfy unitarity bounds.
ALMA Thermal Observations of a Proposed Plume Source Region on Europa

We present a daytime thermal image of Europa taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. The imaged region includes the area northwest of Pwyll Crater, which is associated with a nighttime thermal excess seen by the Galileo Photopolarimeter Radiometer and with two potential plume detections. We develop a global thermal model of Europa and simulate both the daytime and nighttime thermal emission to determine if the nighttime thermal anomaly is caused by excess endogenic heat flow, as might be expected from a plume source region. We find that the nighttime and daytime brightness temperatures near Pwyll Crater cannot be matched by including excess heat flow at that location. Rather, we can successfully model both measurements by increasing the local thermal inertia of the surface.
Coherent synthesis of genomic associations with phenotypes and home environments

Local adaptation is often studied via (i) multiple common garden experiments comparing performance of genotypes in different environments and (ii) sequencing genotypes from multiple locations and characterizing geographic patterns in allele frequency. Both approaches aim to characterize the same pattern (local adaptation), yet the complementary information from each has not yet been coherently integrated. Here, we develop a genome-wide association model of genotype interactions with continuous environmental gradients (G × E), that is reaction norms. We present an approach to impute relative fitness, allowing us to coherently synthesize evidence from common garden and genome–environment associations. Our approach identifies loci exhibiting environmental clines where alleles are associated with higher fitness in home environments. Simulations show our approach can increase power to detect loci causing local adaptation. In a case study on Arabidopsis thaliana, most identified SNPs exhibited home allele advantage and fitness trade-offs along climate gradients, suggesting selective gradients can maintain allelic clines. SNPs exhibiting G × E associations with fitness were enriched in genic regions, putative partial selective sweeps and associations with an adaptive phenotype (flowering time plasticity). We discuss extensions for situations where only adaptive phenotypes other than fitness are available. Many types of data may point towards the loci underlying G × E and local adaptation; coherent models of diverse data provide a principled basis for synthesis.
Organ and Effective Dose Coefficients for Cranial and Caudal Irradiation Geometries: Neutrons

With the introduction of new recommendations by ICRP Publication 103, the methodology for determining the protection quantity, effective dose, has been modified. The modifications include changes to the defined organs and tissues, the associated tissue weighting factors, radiation weighting factors, and the introduction of reference sex-specific computational phantoms (ICRP Publication 110). Computations of equivalent doses in organs and tissues are now performed in both the male and female phantoms and the sex-averaged values used to determine the effective dose. Dose coefficients based on the ICRP 103 recommendations were reported in ICRP Publication 116, the revision of ICRP Publication 74 and ICRU Publication 57. The coefficients were determined for the following irradiation geometries: anterior-posterior (AP), posterior-anterior (PA), right and left lateral (RLAT and LLAT), rotational (ROT), and isotropic (ISO). In this work, the methodology of ICRP Publication 116 was used to compute dose coefficients for neutron irradiation of the body with parallel beams directed upward from below the feet (caudal) and directed downward from above the head (cranial). These geometries may be encountered in the workplace from personnel standing on contaminated surfaces or volumes and from overhead sources. Calculations of organ and tissue absorbed doses for caudal and cranial exposures to neutrons ranging in energy from 10-9 MeV to 10 GeV have been performed using the MCNP6 radiation transport code and the adult reference voxel phantoms of ICRP Publication 110. At lower energies the effective dose per particle fluence for cranial and caudal exposures is less than AP orientations while above about 30 MeV the cranial and caudal values are greater.
North American pollution measurements from geostationary orbit with Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO)

TEMPO, the first NASA Earth Venture Instrument, launches soon to measure atmospheric pollution from Mexico City and Cuba to the Canadian oil sands, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Proximal Predictors of Alcohol Use among Japanese College Students

ABSTRACTBackground and Objectives: This study investigated how negative social interactions (e.g., disagreeing with a friend) predicted subsequent drinking behaviors among Japanese college students. Because of social influences on drinking, and cultural norms for maintaining social harmony and making amends in response to social transgressions in Japanese culture, the authors hypothesized that students would consume more alcohol socially following increases in negative social interactions. Drinking refusal self-efficacy and social self-efficacy were also studied as moderators of social drinking. Methods: Fifty-five college students (79% women) of legal drinking age completed a once-daily Internet survey for 30 days, providing 1195 daily reports of drinking and social interaction. Prior to the daily survey, participants reported on Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy and Social Self-Efficacy in an initial Internet-based assessment. Results: Students drank more socially in the evening following daytime increases...
Quantifying the Rate of Ellipsoid Zone Loss in Stargardt Disease.

Purpose To determine a reliable method of using the ellipsoid zone (EZ) on optical coherence tomography (OCT) to track disease progression in Stardgardt disease (STGD). Design Retrospective reliability study. Methods STGD patients with genetically confirmed ABCA4 gene mutations seen at the Wilmer Eye Institute with follow-up visits separated by at least 12 months were identified. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) macula volume scans centered at the fovea and fundus autofluorescence (FAF) images were obtained. The area of EZ loss was calculated from the SD-OCT and the area of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) loss from the FAF. Scans were reanalyzed by the primary grader to assess intragrader reliability, and reanalyzed by a second grader to assess intergrader reliability. Results Sixteen STGD patients (total of 31 eyes) were followed for a mean of 2 years (range 1–4.7 years). The mean rate of EZ loss, 0.31 ± 0.31 mm 2 /year, was similar to the average rate of RPE loss, 0.33 ± 0.38 mm 2 /year. The average area of EZ loss at the initial examination, 4.18 ± 1.91 mm 2 , was larger than the initial area of RPE loss, 2.25 ± 1.66 mm 2 ( P 2 , and between graders 0.21 ± 0.21 mm 2 . The intraclass correlation (ICC) of both intragrader and intergrader reliability for EZ loss was excellent at 0.99. Conclusions Tracking the area of EZ loss on SD-OCT macular volume scans longitudinally is a reliable way of monitoring disease progression in STGD. This could be used as a sensitive anatomic outcome measure in clinical trials related to STGD.
Competitive Algorithms from Competitive Equilibria: Non-Clairvoyant Scheduling under Polyhedral Constraints

We introduce and study a general scheduling problem that we term the Polytope Scheduling problem (PSP). In this problem, jobs can have different arrival times and sizes, and the rates assigned by the scheduler to the jobs are subject to arbitrary packing constraints. The PSP framework captures a variety of scheduling problems, including the classical problems of unrelated machines scheduling, broadcast scheduling, and scheduling jobs of different parallelizability. It also captures scheduling constraints arising in diverse modern environments ranging from individual computer architectures to data centers. More concretely, PSP models multidimensional resource requirements and parallelizability, as well as network bandwidth requirements found in data center scheduling.We show a surprising result—there is a single algorithm that is O(1) competitive for all PSP instances when the objective is total completion time, and O(1) competitive for a large sub-class of PSP instances when the objective is total flow time. This algorithm simply uses the well-known Proportional Fairness (PF) algorithm to perform allocations each time instant. Though PF has been extensively studied in the context of maximizing fairness in resource allocation, we present the first analysis in adversarial and general settings for optimizing job latency. Further, PF is non-clairvoyant, meaning that the algorithm doesn’t need to know jobs sizes until their completion. We establish our positive results by making novel connections with Economics, in particular, the notions of market clearing, Gross Substitutes, and Eisenberg-Gale markets.We complement these positive results with a negative result: We show that for the total flow time objective, any non-clairvoyant algorithm for general PSP has a strong lower bound on the competitive ratio unless given a poly-logarithmic speed augmentation. This motivates the need to consider sub-classes of PSP when studying flow time. The sub-class for which we obtain positive results not only captures several well-studied models, such as scheduling with speedup curves and related machine scheduling, but also captures as special cases hitherto unstudied scheduling problems, such as single source flow routing, routing multicast (video-on-demand) trees, and resource allocation with substitute resources.
MATTHEW EFFECTS IN READING: SOME CONSEQUENCES OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE ACQUISITION OF LITERACY

A framework for conceptualizing the development of individual differences in reading ability is presented that synthesizes a great deal of the research literature. The framework places special emph...
Engineering Design with Digital Thread

Digital Thread is a data-driven architecture that links together information generated from across the product lifecycle. Though Digital Thread is gaining traction as a digital communication framew...
Deterministic teleportation of a quantum gate between two logical qubits

A quantum computer has the potential to efficiently solve problems that are intractable for classical computers. However, constructing a large-scale quantum processor is challenging because of the errors and noise that are inherent in real-world quantum systems. One approach to addressing this challenge is to utilize modularity—a strategy used frequently in nature and engineering to build complex systems robustly. Such an approach manages complexity and uncertainty by assembling small, specialized components into a larger architecture. These considerations have motivated the development of a quantum modular architecture, in which separate quantum systems are connected into a quantum network via communication channels1,2. In this architecture, an essential tool for universal quantum computation is the teleportation of an entangling quantum gate3–5, but such teleportation has hitherto not been realized as a deterministic operation. Here we experimentally demonstrate the teleportation of a controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate, which we make deterministic by using real-time adaptive control. In addition, we take a crucial step towards implementing robust, error-correctable modules by enacting the gate between two logical qubits, encoding quantum information redundantly in the states of superconducting cavities6. By using such an error-correctable encoding, our teleported gate achieves a process fidelity of 79 per cent. Teleported gates have implications for fault-tolerant quantum computation3, and when realized within a network can have broad applications in quantum communication, metrology and simulations1,2,7. Our results illustrate a compelling approach for implementing multi-qubit operations on logical qubits and, if integrated with quantum error-correction protocols, indicate a promising path towards fault-tolerant quantum computation using a modular architecture. A teleported controlled-NOT gate is realized experimentally between two logical qubits implemented as superconducting cavity quantum memories, thus demonstrating an important tool for universal computation in a quantum modular architecture.
Development differentially sculpts receptive fields across early and high-level human visual cortex

Receptive fields (RFs) processing information in restricted parts of the visual field are a key property of visual system neurons. However, how RFs develop in humans is unknown. Using fMRI and population receptive field (pRF) modeling in children and adults, we determine where and how pRFs develop across the ventral visual stream. Here we report that pRF properties in visual field maps, from the first visual area, V1, through the first ventro-occipital area, VO1, are adult-like by age 5. However, pRF properties in face-selective and character-selective regions develop into adulthood, increasing the foveal coverage bias for faces in the right hemisphere and words in the left hemisphere. Eye-tracking indicates that pRF changes are related to changing fixation patterns on words and faces across development. These findings suggest a link between face and word viewing behavior and the differential development of pRFs across visual cortex, potentially due to competition on foveal coverage.
Accurate critical pressures for structural phase transitions of group IV, III-V, and II-VI compounds from the SCAN density functional

Most of the group IV, III-V, and II-VI compounds crystallize in semiconductor structures under ambient conditions. Upon application of pressure, they undergo structural phase transitions to more closely packed structures, sometimes metallic phases. We have performed density functional calculations using projector augmented wave (PAW) pseudopotentials to determine the transition pressures for these transitions within the local density approximation (LDA), the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) generalized gradient approximation (GGA), and the strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) meta-GGA. LDA underestimates the transition pressure for most of the studied materials. PBE under- or overestimates in many cases. SCAN typically corrects the errors of LDA and PBE for the transition pressure. The accuracy of SCAN is comparable to that of computationally expensive methods like the hybrid functional HSE06, the random phase approximation (RPA), and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC), in cases where calculations with these methods have been reported, but at a more modest computational cost. The improvement from LDA to PBE to SCAN is especially clearcut and dramatic for covalent semiconductor-metal transitions, as for Si and Ge, where it reflects the increasing relative stabilization of the covalent semiconducting phases under increasing functional sophistication.
First-Order Interfacial Transformations with a Critical Point: Breaking the Symmetry at a Symmetric Tilt Grain Boundary.

First-order interfacial phaselike transformations that break the mirror symmetry of the symmetric $\ensuremath{\sum}5\text{ }(210)$ tilt grain boundary (GB) are discovered by combining a modified genetic algorithm with hybrid Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations. Density functional theory calculations confirm this prediction. This first-order coupled structural and adsorption transformation, which produces two variants of asymmetric bilayers, vanishes at an interfacial critical point. A GB complexion (phase) diagram is constructed via semigrand canonical ensemble atomistic simulations for the first time.
A Comprehensive Theory of Integration

Efforts to transform health care delivery to improve care have increasingly focused on care integration. However, variation in how integration is defined has complicated efforts to design, synthesize, and compare studies of integration in health care. Evaluations of integration initiatives would be enhanced by describing them according to clear definitions of integration and specifying which empirical relationships they seek to test—whether among types of integration or between integration and outcomes of care. Drawing on previous work, we present a comprehensive theoretical model of relationships between types of integration and propose how to measure them.
Human Interaction with Recommendation Systems.

Many recommendation algorithms rely on user data to generate recommendations. However, these recommendations also affect the data obtained from future users. This work aims to understand the effects of this dynamic interaction. We propose a simple model where users with heterogeneous preferences arrive over time. Based on this model, we prove that naive estimators, i.e. those which ignore this feedback loop, are not consistent. We show that consistent estimators are efficient in the presence of myopic agents. Our results are validated using extensive simulations.
Single-Cell Analysis of Quiescent HIV Infection Reveals Host Transcriptional Profiles that Regulate Proviral Latency

A detailed understanding of the mechanisms that establish or maintain the latent reservoir of HIV will guide approaches to eliminate persistent infection. We used a cell line and primary cell models of HIV latency to investigate viral RNA (vRNA) expression and the role of the host transcriptome using single-cell approaches. Single-cell vRNA quantitation identified distinct populations of cells expressing various levels of vRNA, including completely silent populations. Strikingly, single-cell RNA-seq of latently infected primary cells demonstrated that HIV downregulation occurred in diverse transcriptomic environments but was significantly associated with expression of a specific set of cellular genes. In particular, latency was more frequent in cells expressing a transcriptional signature that included markers of naive and central memory T cells. These data reveal that expression of HIV proviruses within the latent reservoir are influenced by the host cell transcriptional program. Therapeutic modulation of these programs may reverse or enforce HIV latency.
FFNet: Video Fast-Forwarding via Reinforcement Learning

For many applications with limited computation, communication, storage and energy resources, there is an imperative need of computer vision methods that could select an informative subset of the input video for efficient processing at or near real time. In the literature, there are two relevant groups of approaches: generating a "trailer" for a video or fast-forwarding while watching/processing the video. The first group is supported by video summarization techniques, which require processing of the entire video to select an important subset for showing to users. In the second group, current fast-forwarding methods depend on either manual control or automatic adaptation of playback speed, which often do not present an accurate representation and may still require processing of every frame. In this paper, we introduce FastForwardNet (FFNet), a reinforcement learning agent that gets inspiration from video summarization and does fast-forwarding differently. It is an online framework that automatically fast-forwards a video and presents a representative subset of frames to users on the fly. It does not require processing the entire video, but just the portion that is selected by the fast-forward agent, which makes the process very computationally efficient. The online nature of our proposed method also enables the users to begin fast-forwarding at any point of the video. Experiments on two real-world datasets demonstrate that our method can provide better representation of the input video (about 6%-20% improvement on coverage of important frames) with much less processing requirement (more than 80% reduction in the number of frames processed).
Automation in detection of recirculation in a booster fan ventilation network

Abstract Recirculation is prohibited in many coal mining countries because of the fear that the re-use of return air would allow the build-up of air contaminants at the workings. The incorrect design and location of a booster fan in any ventilation network can create unsafe condition due to recirculation. The current approach to investigating recirculation using simulation software requires manual effort which becomes tedious in a complex and a large network. An algorithm-based C++ program was designed to detect the recirculation in a booster fan ventilation networks. This program needed an input file prepared from output file generated by any ventilation simulator. This program created an output file for recirculation. This program demonstrated the strong capability to detect the recirculation in a sample network and a coal mine ventilation network. The outcomes of this program were documented in this paper.
The amount of supervision trainees receive during neonatal resuscitation is variable and often dependent on subjective criteria.

Measure variation in delivery room supervision provided by neonatologists using hypothetical scenarios and determine the factors used to guide entrustment decisions. A survey was distributed to members of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Perinatal Pediatrics. Neonatologists were presented with various newborn resuscitation scenarios and asked to choose the level of supervision they thought appropriate and grade factors on their importance in making entrustment decisions. There was significant variation in supervision neonatologists deemed necessary for most scenarios (deviation from the mode 0.36–0.69). Post-graduate year of training and environmental circumstances influence the amount of autonomy neonatologists grant trainees. Few neonatologists have objective assessment of a trainees’ competence in neonatal resuscitation available to them and most never document how the trainee performed. Delivery room supervision is often determined by subjective evaluation of trainees’ competence and may not provide a level of supervision congruent with their capability.
Fast Variance Reduction Method with Stochastic Batch Size.

In this paper we study a family of variance reduction methods with randomized batch size---at each step, the algorithm first randomly chooses the batch size and then selects a batch of samples to conduct a variance-reduced stochastic update. We give the linear convergence rate for this framework for composite functions, and show that the optimal strategy to achieve the optimal convergence rate per data access is to always choose batch size of 1, which is equivalent to the SAGA algorithm. However, due to the presence of cache/disk IO effect in computer architecture, the number of data access cannot reflect the running time because of 1) random memory access is much slower than sequential access, 2) when data is too big to fit into memory, disk seeking takes even longer time. After taking these into account, choosing batch size of $1$ is no longer optimal, so we propose a new algorithm called SAGA++ and show how to calculate the optimal average batch size theoretically. Our algorithm outperforms SAGA and other existing batched and stochastic solvers on real datasets. In addition, we also conduct a precise analysis to compare different update rules for variance reduction methods, showing that SAGA++ converges faster than SVRG in theory.
SimExTargId: a comprehensive package for real-time LC-MS data acquisition and analysis.

Summary Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is the favored method for untargeted metabolomic analysis of small molecules in biofluids. Here we present SimExTargId, an open-source R package for autonomous analysis of metabolomic data and real-time observation of experimental runs. This simultaneous, fully automated and multi-threaded (optional) package is a wrapper for vendor-independent format conversion (ProteoWizard), xcms- and CAMERA- based peak-picking, MetMSLine-based pre-processing and covariate-based statistical analysis. Users are notified of detrimental instrument drift or errors by email. Also included are two shiny applications, targetId for real-time MS2 target identification, and peakMonitor to monitor targeted metabolites. Availability and implementation SimExTargId is publicly available under GNU LGPL v3.0 license at https://github.com/JosieLHayes/simExTargId, which includes a vignette with example data. SimExTargId should be installed on a dedicated data-processing workstation or server that is networked to the LC-MS platform to facilitate MS1 profiling of metabolomic data. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of valacyclovir and its metabolite acyclovir in mouse and human plasma.

Abstract It is challenging to conduct a pharmacokinetic (PK) study on mice due to the limited amount of plasma one can obtain, which is also true for some clinical studies. Here, we developed and validated a simple, sensitive and robust LC-MS/MS method for measuring the prodrug valacyclovir (VACV) and its metabolite acyclovir (ACV) in mouse and human plasma. This assay utilized an acetonitrile protein precipitation method with isotope-labeled internal standards (IS) and enabled precise and accurate quantification of VACV and ACV in 10 μL plasma samples with a nine-min gradient. The analytes were separated on a Waters Atlantis T3 C18 column. The precursor-product ion transitions for VACV (m/z 325.2 > 152.1), ACV (m/z 226.2 > 152.1), VACV-D4 (m/z 329.2 > 152.1, IS) and ACV-D4 (m/z 230.2 > 152.1, IS) were detected in a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) positive ion mode using an API4000 LC-MS/MS system. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 2 nM for both VACV and ACV. The linear range was validated over the concentration ranges of 2–200 nM and 200–5000 nM for both compounds. The matrix effect and stability of VACV and ACV were also evaluated. This assay was successfully applied to a PK study in mice.
Equilibrium versus Nonequilibrium Peptide Dynamics: Insights into Transient 2D IR Spectroscopy

Over the past two decades, two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy has evolved from the theoretical underpinnings of nonlinear spectroscopy as a means of investigating detailed molecular structure on an ultrafast time scale. The combined time and spectral resolution over which spectra can be collected on complex molecular systems has led to the precise structural resolution of dynamic species that have previously been impossible to directly observe through traditional methods. The adoption of 2D IR spectroscopy for the study of protein folding and peptide interactions has provided key details of how small changes in conformations can exert major influences on the activities of these complex molecular systems. Traditional 2D IR experiments are limited to molecules under equilibrium conditions, where small motions and fluctuations of these larger molecules often still lead to functionality. Utilizing techniques that allow the rapid initiation of chemical or structural changes in conjunction with 2D IR...
Recurrent Neural Networks in Linguistic Theory: Revisiting Pinker and Prince (1988) and the Past Tense Debate

Can advances in NLP help advance cognitive modeling? We examine the role of artificial neural networks, the current state of the art in many common NLP tasks, by returning to a classic case study. ...
INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE TAX AVOIDANCE: A REVIEW OF THE CHANNELS, MAGNITUDES, AND BLIND SPOTS

This paper reviews the rapidly growing empirical literature on international tax avoidance by multinational corporations. It surveys evidence on main channels of corporate tax avoidance including transfer mispricing, international debt shifting, treaty shopping, tax deferral and corporate inversions. Moreover, it performs a meta analysis of the extensive literature that estimates the overall size of profit shifting. We find that the literature suggests that, for the most recent year, a 1 percentage-point lower corporate tax rate compared to other countries will expand before-tax income by 1.5 percent—an effect that is larger than reported as the consensus estimate in previous surveys and tends to be increasing over time. The literature on tax avoidance still has several unresolved puzzles and blind spots that require further research.
Split Tickets? On the Strategic Allocation of Presidential Versus Vice Presidential Campaign Visits in 2016:

This article analyzes the strategic allocation of presidential campaign visits in 2016. In particular, we test whether each campaign disproportionately targeted its presidential versus vice preside...
Class I histone deacetylases in retinal progenitors and differentiating ganglion cells.

Abstract Background The acetylation state of histones has been used as an indicator of the developmental state of progenitor and differentiating cells. The goal of this study was to determine the nuclear localization patterns of Class I histone deacetylases (HDACs) in retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), as the first step in understanding their potential importance in cell fate determination within the murine retina. Results The only HDAC to label RPC nuclei at E16 and P5 was HDAC1. In contrast, there was generally increased nuclear localization of all Class I HDACs in differentiating RGCs. Between P5 and P30, SOX2 expression becomes restricted to Muller glial, cholinergic amacrine cells, and retinal astrocytes. Cholinergic amacrine showed a combination of changes in nuclear localization of Class I HDACs. Strikingly, although Muller glia and retinal astrocytes express many of the same genes, P30 Muller glial cells showed nuclear localization only of HDAC1, while retinal astrocytes were positive for HDACs 1, 2, and 3. Conclusion These results indicate there may be a role for one or more of the Class I HDACs in retinal cell type-specific differentiation.
Cytoplasmic Amplification of Transcriptional Noise Generates Substantial Cell-to-Cell Variability.

Summary Transcription is an episodic process characterized by probabilistic bursts, but how the transcriptional noise from these bursts is modulated by cellular physiology remains unclear. Using simulations and single-molecule RNA counting, we examined how cellular processes influence cell-to-cell variability (noise). The results show that RNA noise is higher in the cytoplasm than the nucleus in ∼85% of genes across diverse promoters, genomic loci, and cell types (human and mouse). Measurements show further amplification of RNA noise in the cytoplasm, fitting a model of biphasic mRNA conversion between translation- and degradation-competent states. This multi-state translation-degradation of mRNA also causes substantial noise amplification in protein levels, ultimately accounting for ∼74% of intrinsic protein variability in cell populations. Overall, the results demonstrate how noise from transcriptional bursts is intrinsically amplified by mRNA processing, leading to a large super-Poissonian variability in protein levels.
Phase I study of recombinant human interleukin-18 (IL-18) in combination with ofatumumab after autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) for lymphoma.

e19066Background: IL-18 is an immunostimulatory cytokine that is well-tolerated in combination with the CD20 mAb rituximab. Ofatumumab is a CD20 mAb that is more potent than rituximab in preclinica...
The impact of the U.S. employment report on exchange rates

Abstract The impact of the U.S. Employment Report and analyst forecasts of that report’s major statistics on Pound/Dollar, Yen/Dollar, and Euro/Dollar exchange rates are explored. While the nonfarm payroll employment figure has the greatest impact, we find that the exchange rates also react to the announced revision to last month’s payroll figure and to the unemployment rate. In all three markets, the exchange rate response to the payroll employment figure is strongly conditioned on pre-release analyst uncertainty. The median analyst forecast from Bloomberg anticipates over 80% of the monthly variation in the payroll figure and is basically unbiased. The markets appear to respond to these analyst forecasts prior to the government release. Analyst forecast dispersion tends to increase following large forecast errors indicating that when the announced figure is far from what analysts expected, they tend to disagree on the implications for future payroll levels.
Inferring Mobile Payment Passcodes Leveraging Wearable Devices

Mobile payment has drawn considerable attention due to its convenience of paying via personal mobile devices at anytime and anywhere, and passcodes (i.e., PINs) are the first choice of most consumers to authorize the payment. This work demonstrates a serious security breach and aims to raise the awareness of the public that the passcodes for authorizing transactions in mobile payments can be leaked by exploiting the embedded sensors in wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches). We present a passcode inference system, which examines to what extent the user's PIN during mobile payment could be revealed from a single wrist-worn wearable device under different input scenarios involving either two hands or a single hand. Extensive experiments with 15 volunteers demonstrate that an adversary is able to recover a user's PIN with high success rate within 5 tries under various input scenarios.
Sex Differences in Context-Driven Reinstatement of Methamphetamine Seeking is Associated with Distinct Neuroadaptations in the Dentate Gyrus

The present study examined differences in operant responses in adult male and female rats during distinct phases of addiction. Males and females demonstrated escalation in methamphetamine (0.05 mg/kg, i.v.) intake with females showing enhanced latency to escalate, and bingeing. Following protracted abstinence, females show reduced responses during extinction, and have greater latency to extinguish compared with males, indicating reduced craving. Females demonstrated lower context-driven reinstatement compared to males, indicating that females have less motivational significance to the context associated with methamphetamine. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings on dentate gyrus (DG) granule cell neurons (GCNs) were performed in acute brain slices from controls and methamphetamine experienced male and female rats, and neuronal excitability was evaluated from GCNs. Reinstatement of methamphetamine seeking reduced spiking in males, and increased spiking in females compared to controls, demonstrating distinct neuroadaptations in intrinsic excitability of GCNs in males and females. Reduced excitability of GCNs in males was associated with enhanced levels of neural progenitor cells, expression of plasticity-related proteins including CaMKII, and choline acetyltransferase in the DG. Enhanced excitability in females was associated with an increased GluN2A/2B ratio, indicating changes in postsynaptic GluN subunit composition in the DG. Altered intrinsic excitability of GCNs was associated with reduced mossy fiber terminals in the hilus and pyramidal projections, demonstrating compromised neuroplasticity in the DG in both sexes. The alterations in excitability, plasticity-related proteins, and mossy fiber density were correlated with enhanced activation of microglial cells in the hilus, indicating neuroimmune responses in both sexes. Together, the present results indicate sexually dimorphic adaptive biochemical changes in excitatory neurotransmitter systems in the DG and highlight the importance of including sex as a biological variable in exploring neuroplasticity and neuroimmune changes that predict enhanced relapse to methamphetamine-seeking behaviors.
Guanidinium Can Break and Form Strongly Associating Ion Complexes

Guanidinium is one of nature’s strongest denaturants and is also a motif that appears in several interfacial contexts such as the RGD sequence involved in cell adhesion, cell penetrating peptides, and antimicrobial molecules. It is important to quantify the origin of guanidinium’s ion-specific interactions so that its unique behavior may be exploited in synthetic applications. The present work demonstrates that guanidinium ions can both break and form strongly associating ion complexes in a context-dependent way. These insights into guanidinium’s behavior are elucidated using polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs), where interpolymer ion pairs between oppositely charged polymers play an important role in determining material stability. Different polycation–polyanion combinations can span a large range of association affinities, where more strongly associating complexes can remain insoluble in concentrated salt solutions and in extreme pH conditions. This high stability is desirable in several application contex...
Properties of Dislocation Drag from Phonon Wind at Ambient Conditions

It is well known that, under plastic deformation, dislocations are not only created but also move through the crystal, and their mobility is impeded by their interaction with the crystal structure. At high stress and temperature, this “drag” is dominated by phonon wind, i.e., phonons scattering off dislocations. Employing the semi-isotropic approach discussed in detail in a previous paper (J. Phys. Chem. Solids 2019, 124, 24–35), we discuss here the approximate functional dependence of dislocation drag B on dislocation velocity in various regimes between a few percent of transverse sound speed c T and c T (where c T is the effective average transverse sound speed of the polycrystal). In doing so, we find an effective functional form for dislocation drag B ( v ) for different slip systems and dislocation characters at fixed (room) temperature and low pressure.
Geological Time: Dating Techniques

First page of article Keywords: geological time – dating techniques; radiometric dating