cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Postpartum length of stay and newborn health: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Objective. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of increasing lengths of brief postpartum hospitalizations. Methods. A cost-effectiveness model extrapolating from secondary data was used. Social costs in 2000 US dollars were estimated using several sources, including a randomized controlled trial, a retrospective study, and survey data. Life-years saved from reduced infant mortality were estimated from administrative data from Washington State. A total of 113 147 singleton newborns who were born in nonmilitary hospitals in Washington State in 1989 or 1990 and had postpartum stays short enough to be affected by length of stay legislation were studied. The cost-effectiveness of increases in postpartum lengths of stay similar to those that would occur if all mothers and singleton newborns used at least the time allotted to them under the federal length of stay legislation was measured. Results. Estimated lower-bound cost per newborn life-year saved was $19 800 (95% confidence interval: $11 600–$61 300) when only neonatal deaths were considered. The corresponding upper-bound estimate was $94 800 (95% confidence interval: $55 200–$286 800). The results were very sensitive to assumptions about the discount rate for future life-years and the time from birth during which averted deaths are considered (neonatal deaths, postneonatal infant deaths, or all infant deaths). Conclusions. At hospitals that do not experience additional capacity costs as a result of increased lengths of stay, lengthening short postpartum stays seems to be more cost-effective than many common health interventions and well below cost-effectiveness thresholds suggested by the literature. Even at hospitals that experience additional capacity costs, the cost-effectiveness of lengthening short postpartum stays seems to be roughly equal to the benchmark of $100 000 per quality-adjusted life-year suggested by the literature.
A Role for Endogenous and Radiation-Induced DNA Double-Strand Breaks in p53-Dependent Apoptosis during Cortical Neurogenesis

Abstract Li, H., Liu, N., Rajendran, G. K., Gernon, T. J., Rockhill, J. K., Schwartz, J. L. and Gu, Y. A Role for Endogenous and Radiation-Induced DNA Double-Strand Breaks in p53-Dependent Apoptosis during Cortical Neurogenesis. Radiat. Res. 169, 513–522 (2008). Prenatal exposure to low-dose radiation increases the risk of microcephaly and/or mental retardation. Microcephaly is also associated with genetic mutations that affect the non-homologous end-joining pathway of DNA double-strand break repair. To examine the link between these two causal factors, we characterized the neural developmental effects of acute radiation exposure in mouse littermate embryos harboring mutations in the Ku70 and p53 genes. Both low-dose radiation exposure and Ku70 deficiency induced morphologically indistinguishable cortical neuronal apoptosis. Irradiated Ku70-deficient embryos displayed anatomical damage indicative of increased radiosensitivity in the developing cerebral cortex. Deleting the p53 gene not only rescued cortic...
Cutaneous blood flow during exercise is higher in endurance-trained humans.

This study determined whether cutaneous blood flow during exercise is different in endurance-trained (Tr) compared with untrained (Untr) subjects. Ten Tr and ten Untr men (62.4 ± 1.7 and 44.2 ± 1.8...
Discoloration of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tape as a proxy for water‐table depth in peatlands: validation and assessment of seasonal variability

Summary 1 Discoloration of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tape has been used in peatland ecological and hydrological studies as an inexpensive way to monitor changes in water-table depth and reducing conditions. 2 We investigated the relationship between depth of PVC tape discoloration and measured water-table depth at monthly time steps during the growing season within nine kettle peatlands of northern Wisconsin. Our specific objectives were to: (1) determine if PVC discoloration is an accurate method of inferring water-table depth in Sphagnum-dominated kettle peatlands of the region; (2) assess seasonal variability in the accuracy of the method; and (3) determine if systematic differences in accuracy occurred among microhabitats, PVC tape colour and peatlands. 3 Our results indicated that PVC tape discoloration can be used to describe gradients of water-table depth in kettle peatlands. However, accuracy differed among the peatlands studied, and was systematically biased in early spring and late summer/autumn. Regardless of the month when the tape was installed, the highest elevations of PVC tape discoloration showed the strongest correlation with midsummer (around July) water-table depth and average water-table depth during the growing season. 4 The PVC tape discoloration method should be used cautiously when precise estimates are needed of seasonal changes in the water-table.
Research on optimal products structure decision of supply chain under demand uncertainty

Considering resources constraints of supply chain environment, a problem of products optimal decision under demand uncertainty was studied in this paper. Putting every component of supply chain such as suppliers, manufacturing plant, distribution centers and customers into an identical decision system, an integrated optimal stochastic chance constraint programming model with objective of maximum profit was presented. According to characteristics of the problem, a real number genome matrix encoding based genetic algorithm combining with stochastic sampling constraints verifying was proposed. A numeric example is performed and the results illustrate the feasibility and the effectiveness of proposed model and algorithm.
Cell line differences in bacterially translocated ExoS ADP-ribosyltransferase substrate specificity

Exoenzyme S (ExoS) is an ADP-ribosyltransferase (ADPRT) directly translocated into eukaryotic cells by the type III secretory (TTS) process of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Comparisons of the functional effects of ExoS on human epithelial and murine fibroblastic cells showed that human epithelial cells exhibited an overall increased sensitivity to the effects of bacterially translocated ExoS on cell proliferation, morphology and re-adherence. ExoS was also found to ADP-ribosylate a greater number of low-molecular-mass G (LMMG) proteins in human epithelial cells, as compared to murine fibroblasts. Examination of the cellular mechanism for differences in ExoS ADPRT substrate modification found that the more restricted pattern of substrate modification in murine fibroblasts was not linked to the efficiency of bacterial adherence nor to the efficiency of ExoS internalization by the TTS process. In exploring the cellular nature of patterns of substrate modification, more extensive substrate modification was detected in human and simian cell lines, while rodent cell lines, including rat, mouse and hamster lines, consistently exhibited the more limited pattern of LMMG protein ADP-ribosylation. Patterns of substrate modification were not altered by cellular transformation and occurred independently of cell type. These studies suggest that eukaryotic cell properties, as recognized through studies of cells of different animal origins, affect the substrate targeting of ExoS ADPRT activity, and that this in turn can influence the severity of effects of ExoS on host-cell function.
Raters’ L2 background as a potential source of bias in rating oral performance:

Based on evidence that listeners may favor certain foreign accents over others (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Major, Fitzmaurice, Bunta, & Balasubramanian, 2002; Tauroza & Luk, 1997) and that language-test...
Nanomicelle formulation modifies the pharmacokinetic profiles and cardiac toxicity of daunorubicin

Background: Treatment with daunorubicin (DNR) in acute myeloid leukemia is moderately effective and associated with significant side effects, including cardiac toxicity. We recently developed a nanomicellar formulation of DNR that specifically targets acute myeloid leukemia stem cells. Materials & methods: Pharmacokinetics analysis of free DNR, DNR in nanomicellar formulations was performed in Balb/c mice and Sprague–Dawley rats. Histochemical staining, caspase 3/7, troponin and creatine kinase MB isoenzyme were used to assess toxicity. Results: Compared with free DNR, the nanomicellar formulations of DNR had less cardiotoxicity as evidenced by milder histopathological changes, lower caspase 3/7 activity in heart tissue (p = 0.002), lower plasma creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (p = 0.002) and troponin concentrations (p = 0.001) postinjection. The area under curve concentration of DNR in micelles increased by 31.9-fold in mice (p < 0.0001) and 22.0-fold higher in rats (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Leukemia stem ce...
Dental self-care among dentate adults: contrasting problem-oriented dental attenders and regular dental attenders

Self-care behaviors are common and can act as substitutes for or supplements to formal health care services. We tested the hypothesis that problem-oriented dental attenders (POAs) report more dental self-care behaviors than do regular dental attenders (RAs), presumably as a substitute for professional care. The Florida Dental Care Study Is a longitudinal cohort study of changes In oral health, In which we measured dental self-care behaviors related to three common dental problems: toothache pain, bleed-Ing gums, and tooth loss. Despite using less dental care, POAs were less likely to report “conventional” methods as means to prevent the three dental problems; however, they were more likely to report that homemade remedies, topical medications, or mouthwashes were ways to prevent or treat these problems. POAs were also more likely to believe that “nothing can be done” to prevent these problems. Additionally, POAs had more negative dental attitudes, used less dental care during follow-up, had more dental disease, were the only persons who extracted at least one of their own teeth, and were more likely to use tobacco. With the exception of dental self-extractions, no single self-care belief or behavior distinguished POAs from RAs, nor were POAs likely to have different explanations tor dental problems. Instead, the pattern was one of modest differences on a number of items. Although POAs use less dental care, they do not compensate by employing more “conventional” dental self-care behaviors, but report being more likely to employ “unconventional” behaviors. They also are more likely to believe that nothing can be done to prevent dental problems.
Freedom of the 'Far Seas'? A Maritime Dilemma for China

For more than a decade, the People's Republic of China has challenged U.S. military operations and activities in and over the waters of East Asia. But some of the national interests of the United States and China might not be as divergent on these matters as some in China had assumed. China is steaming closer and closer to a potential dilemma: making the right choice could help ensure its economic rise, but making the wrong one could impede or slow down continued success. A nation once focused almost exclusively on coastal-state interests now recognizes that it has increasing user-state interests in the “far seas.” China must reconcile longstanding adherence to a restrictive maritime regime in the “near seas” with expanding interests in the “far seas” that would be better served by a much more liberal approach. A rising China should well consider some of the merits of the American perspective on matters of law of the sea, as the substance of that position could benefit China now and in the future.
Long-term Trends in Benthic Macroinvertebrate Populations in Lake Huron over the Past Four Decades

Surveys of the benthic macroinvertebrate community were conducted in the main basin of Lake Huron in 2000 and 2003, and in Georgian Bay and North Channel in 2002. Results were compared to surveys conducted in the 1960s and early 1970s. Although data of earlier surveys were inconsistent, our best estimates suggest that total density of the four major benthic taxa (Diporeia spp., Oligochaeta, Sphaeriidae, and Chironomidae) in the main basin declined dramatically between the early 1970s and 2000. Populations of all major taxa continued to decline between 2000 and 2003, particularly Diporeia and Sphaeriidae. Diporeia was rare or absent in the southern end of the lake and in some nearshore areas in 2000, and by 2003 was not found at depths < 50 m except in the far northeastern end of the lake. Densities of the major taxa in Georgian Bay and North Channel in 2002 were not different from densities in 1973 despite differences in survey methods. A limited study in southern Georgian Bay, however, found that densities of both Diporeia and Sphaeriidae declined to zero at most sites between 2000 and 2004. The population of Dreissena polymorpha was stable in all lake areas, but Dreissena bugensis increased, particularly at the 31–50 m depth interval in the main basin. Since there were no extensive surveys in Lake Huron in the period between nutrient abatement (late 1970s) and the establishment of Dreissena (early 1990s), it is difficult to determine relative roles of these events on observed declines. However, since phosphorus loads have been stable since the early 1980s, declines between 2000 and 2003 can likely be attributed to Dreissena.
Mendel had no “true” monohybrids

Mendel's experiments in hybridizing peas started in 1856 and ended in 1863. When one attempts to fit the described experiments--in the sequence indicated in the paper--into those limits some serious implications emerge with regard to parental types needed and the scheduling of the experiments. If Mendel had to develop the parental types of his monohybrid and dihybrid crosses and then do the experiments he described, 8 years would not have been a sufficient amount of time. We believe that his original true-breeding varieties differed in more than one trait on the basis of a logical analysis of breeding relationships. It follows first that his "monohybrid" experiments were performed with varieties in several traits but that in each offering he concentrated his attention on only one, second that he had the parental lines for his dihybrid and trihybrid experiments on hand before he started those experiments.
Symmetry Breaking and Fractional Quantization of Quantum Systems

It is well established now that integral quantization of a class of quantum systems, such as the integral quantum Hall effect and the quantization of charge transport, is a topological invariant related to the first Chern class.1 However, the relationship between fractional quantization of quantum systems and the first Chern class is still an open question.2
Modeling of a Permanent Magnet Linear Generator for Wave-Energy Conversion

This paper begins with a brief review of the equation of motion for a generic floating body with modification to incorporate the influence of a power-take-off (PTO) unit. Since the damping coefficient is considered the dominant contribution to the PTO reaction force, the optimum non time-varying values are presented for all frequencies, recovering the well-known impedance-matching principle at the resonance condition of the coupled system. The construction of a laboratory-scale permanent magnet linear generator (PMLG), developed at the University of California at Berkeley, is discussed along with the basic electromagnetic equations used to model its performance. Modeling of the PMLG begins with a lumped magnetic circuit analysis, which provides an analytical solution to predict the magnetic flux available for power conversion. The voltage generated across each phase of the stator, induced by the motion of the armature, provides an estimate for the electromagnetic damping as a function of the applied resistive load. The performance of the PMLG and the validation of the proposed analytical model is completed by a set of dry-bench tests. Results from the bench test showed good agreement with the described electromechanical model, thus providing an analytical solution that can assist in further optimization of the PMLG.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Teaching debugging

A course in debugging techniques is motivated and described. A course outline, reading list, and projects list are included. Certain debugging aids are described. Debugging techniques for elementary algorithms are illustrated. Particular attention is paid to ways to teach debugging and algorithm structure.
Disapproval of Chicago: The Symbolic Trial of David Swing

PETER Mode, the Chicago church historian, complained in 1923 that no interpretation of American Christianity had "taken serious cognizance of the influcence of the frontier" in religious development. Since Mode's time, frontier, western, rural, and southern religious movements have gained substantial recognition. But the same cannot be claimed so confidently for the history of theology and religious thought. Critics still fret about a tendency on the part of those who write the intellectual history of American religion to locate nearly all serious theological work and influence in the Northeast.1 It is unlikely that revisionists will elevate any region other than the Northeast, or any denomination other than Congregationalism and its immediate offshoots, to a place of actual preeminence in American theological development before 1900. Yet in some segments of our religious historiography, the excessive New England emphasis of early interpretations still stands in need of revision. A good many scholars, the present writer included, have been guilty of assuming, with the fabled Boston matron, that the route to St. Louis lies "out Boylston Street." The historiography of Protestant liberalism offers a case in point. Chroniclers of that movement in the 1880s and 1890s celebrated liberalism as the "new Puritanism"; and their successors in the earlier twentieth century continued to assume an essentially eastern and Congregational line of development. John W. Buckham's study of "progressive religious thought" was subtitled A Survey of the Enlarging Pilgrim Faith. Frank Hugh Foster viewed the liberal movement as "principally a part of [Congregational] history." Today, while it is no longer common to exhibit Foster's degree of
Applying Developmental Criminology to Law: Reconsidering Juvenile Sex Offenses:

In this article we apply a developmental psychology analysis to sex offender laws and policies for adolescents to examine how such laws and policies, derived primarily from downward extension of ad...
121: A silk-based gel for cervical injection: controlled gelation with sonication

the first pregnancy (15.0 per 1000, OR 2.54 [95% CI 0.72-8.98]). Women with a history of a stillbirth 37 weeks of gestation appeared to have no risk of recurrence (1.1 per 1000, OR 0.37 [95% CI 0.05-2.64]). This might be related to the 68% induction of labor rate for women with a history of stillbirth 37 weeks of gestation was, versus 22% for women without a history of stillbirth. CONCLUSION: Women with a prior stillbirth have a higher risk of recurrence in their next pregnancy. This risk was mainly observed when stillbirth had occurred in early gestation (22-28 weeks). The absence of this association in late pregnancy might be due to more inductions of labour.
Effect of Ionic Strength on the Kinetics of Crystal Growth by Oriented Aggregation

Oriented aggregation is an important, nonclassical crystal growth mechanism that occurs in a wide array of materials, often producing nanoparticles with unique, anisotropic, and symmetry-defying morphologies. The growth of acicular goethite (α-FeOOH) nanorods from ellipsoidal ferrihydrite (Fe5HO8·4H2O) nanoparticles was used as a model system to study the effects of sodium nitrate concentration on product crystal morphology and the kinetics of growth by oriented aggregation. Time-resolved sampling and transmission electron microscopy were employed with semi-automated image analysis to quantify the growth rate constant of oriented aggregation. Results are discussed in the context of Derjaguin and Landau, Verwey and Overbeek (DLVO) theory through the use of quantitative statistical comparisons and modeling of rate constants. Increasing the concentration of sodium nitrate results in an increasing second-order growth rate constant. The magnitude of increase depends on the primary particle size; however, the m...
Two Separate Persons: Ethnicity and Identity in Trollope's Phineas Finn

This essay explores Anthony Trollope’s decision to identify Phineas Finn, of his various “Palliser Novels,” as Irish. Many Victorian readers questioned Phineas’s ethnicity and lack of stereotypically Irish characteristics, and Trollope himself renounced this decision in his autobiography. The character’s Irishness, however, seems to be more than a gimm ick to differentiate the novel from similar tales of aspiring members of Parliament; in Phineas Finn, the author uses ethnicity to invert the national marriage trope. Trollope employs gendered ethnic stereotypes, casting his title character as feminine in his romantic entanglements and even his political behavior, while the English ladies he meets are described as masculine. But the character of Phineas emerges as more complicated than a feminine or emasculated one; in his tenuous loyalty to his docile Irish sweetheart, Phineas becomes a conventional male lead. His Irishness, then, lends a duality to his character that encompasses more than merely two national identities; it embodies two entirely different kinds of men: one masculine and the other feminine, one a philanderer and the other loyal, one English and the other Irish.
Making the Marketing of Higher Education More Ethical

The ethical behavior of all institutions is increasingly being challenged. Higher education is no exception to this intensified scrutiny (Wilcox and Ebbs 1992). Many of the possible abuses stem from the accelerated use of marketing techniques by colleges and universities as they attempt to recruit and retain students (Lovelock and Weinberg 1989, 412–415; Simmons and Laczniak 1992). In this paper, several ethically troublesome areas of student admissions and college program marketing are highlighted. The case for the utilization of marketing methods, applied in an ethical manner, is also set forth. Then drawing on a sampling of the frameworks described by Laczniak and Murphy (1993), the application of moral reasoning to problem areas of admissions marketing is briefly illustrated. The paper concludes with a discussion of some newer ethics models as well as questions that require research investigation as college marketing becomes the growth sector of higher education administration (Hayes 1991).
Liquid Requirements for the Cool-Down of Cryogenic Equipment

It Is frequently necessary to estimate the amounts of cryogenic liquid required to cool cryogenic equipment to its operating condition, The purpose of this paper Is threefold: (1) to derive relations for making these estimates; (2) to compute the cool-down requirements for the commonly used liquids (helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen) with some commonly used materials (stainless steel, copper, and aluminum); and (3) to present the results of the computations in a readily usable graphical form.
Rhamnolipid Biosurfactants: Solubility and Environmental Issues

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on rhamnolipid biosurfactants and their various environmental applications in solubilization and biodegradation, soil and waste treatment (in situ and ex situ), and water treatment. A group of biosurfactants that has been studied extensively is the rhamnolipids from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), which are commercially available and can lower surface tensions of water to 29 mN/m. P. aeruginosa can produce rhamnolipids from a wide variety of substrates including C11 and C12 alkanes, succinate, pyruvate, citrate, fructose, glycerol, olive oil, glucose, and mannitol. The composition and yield depend on the fermentor design, pH, nutrient composition, substrate, and temperature. Rhamnolipid addition can enhance the biodegradation of various pure compounds such as hexadecane, octadecane, n-paraffin, and phenanthrene in liquid systems in addition to hexadecane, tetradecane, pristine, creosote, and hydrocarbon mixtures in soils. It has been demonstrated that a concentration of 300 mg/L of rhamnolipids increases the mineralization of octadecane to 20% in comparison to 5% for the controls. Because of their biodegradability and low toxicity, biosurfactants such as rhamnolipids are very promising for use in remediation technologies. However, further research regarding the prediction of their behavior in the fate and transport of contaminants is required.
Transparent, Abrasion-Resistant Films Mimic Layered Structure of Strong, Tough, Seashells

(1999). Transparent, Abrasion-Resistant Films Mimic Layered Structure of Strong, Tough, Seashells. Materials Technology: Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 3-4.
Monoxalyze: Verifying Smoking Cessation with a Keychain-sized Carbon Monoxide Breathalyzer

We present Monoxalyze, a keychain-sized, Bluetooth-based, carbon monoxide breathalyzer that aims to enable mobile, scalable smoking cessation intervention programs. These intervention programs have been shown to greatly increase the rate of a quit attempt, which in turn decreases the rate of smoking, a major public health problem that still affects over one billion people around the world. Currently, intervention programs verify cessation compliance by requiring program participants to periodically visit clinics and exhale through large, expensive carbon monoxide breathalyzers---a practice that cannot scale to one billion smokers. Monoxalyze enables mobile cessation verification by working with a user's smartphone to establish a ring of spatio-temporal transitive trust between the Monoxalyze device, the user, and the smartphone, a concept that can be applied to many third-party monitoring applications. In Monoxalyze, the links of this trust are represented by simultaneous exhalation verification, facial recognition, and device-to-phone visible light authentication. In our evaluation, we show that Monoxalyze lasts over 80 days between charges, and has the ability to verify a Monoxalyze user. With a small user study we show that Monoxalyze determines smoking cessation with 92% accuracy, a level comparable with commercial CO breathalyzers. Further contributions describe the design decisions behind creating a low-power BLE device.
Milestone Analyses of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, Targeted Therapy, and Conventional Therapy in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Trials: A Meta-analysis

Importance Novel intermediate end points may be useful to detect signals of early activity and prioritize new therapies to treat patients with advanced malignant neoplasms, including metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC). Objective To explore milestone rate, a proposed intermediate end point for immunotherapy trials. Data Sources Trials submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration with more than 150 patients and in which the intention-to-treat population was assessed were identified. Study Selection An initial meta-analysis identified 14 randomized clinical trials for treatment of mNSCLC with active controls submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2013. An additional 11 randomized clinical trials submitted from January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2016 were included. Data Extraction and Synthesis Two investigators abstracted data and pooled data to compare trial-level milestone ratios with conventional end points. Main Outcomes and Measures Trial-level milestone ratios for milestone rates were calculated for overall response rate (ORR) within 6 months, 9-month progression-free survival (PFS), 9-month overall survival (OS), and 12-month OS. A weighted linear regression model evaluated associations between milestone ratios and hazard ratios (HRs). Experimental and control arms of trials testing immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and other trials were pooled to compare Kaplan-Meier survival estimates in the 3 therapeutic classes. Results A total of 20 013 unique patients (65.4% male and 34.6% female; mean age, 60 [range, 18-92] years) with advanced lung cancer were identified in 25 unique trials. A moderate association was observed between 12-month OS milestone ratio and OS HR ( R 2 = 0.80; 95% CI, 0.63-0.91) and 9-month OS milestone ratio and OS HR ( R 2 = 0.67; 95% CI, 0.49-0.82). No associations were observed between 9-month PFS milestone ratio and OS HR ( R 2 = 0.19; 95% CI, 0.03-0.49) or 6-month ORR and OS HR ( R 2 = 0.05; 95% CI, 0.0001-0.31). The aggregated Kaplan-Meier analysis of immunotherapy trials vs chemotherapy revealed an OS HR of 0.69 (95% CI, 0.63-0.75) and PFS HR of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.76-0.89). Targeted therapy trials vs chemotherapy had an OS HR of 0.98 (95% CI, 0.80-1.19) and PFS HR of 0.48 (95% CI, 0.42-0.56). Conclusions and Relevance This analysis of milestone rates suggests a moderate association between OS milestones at 12 or 9 months and OS HR but not 9-month PFS or 6-month ORR milestones and OS HR. Although OS at 12 months had the strongest association with OS HR, it may not be the optimal time for future trials, which will increasingly have immunotherapy as the control, deploy new biomarker-enrichment strategies, and likely enroll patients with longer survival. Milestone rates may be useful as a complementary tool to summarize or interpret trial results or as a secondary end point in exploratory studies.
Abstract 1370: EGFR-mediated Spred1 phosphorylation inhibits NF1 to sustain constitutive Ras/MAPK signaling

Spred proteins negatively regulate Ras/MAPK signaling following growth factor stimulation. Inhibition of Ras primary occurs through Spreds ability to bind and localize NF1, a RasGAP and major tumor suppressor, to the plasma membrane. Spred1 and NF1 loss-of-function mutations occur across multiple cancer types including non-small cell lung carcinoma, glioblastoma, melanoma, stomach carcinoma, and uterine carcinosarcoma. Here we demonstrate that EGFR signaling disrupts Spred1-NF1 binding. Mass spectrometry was performed on cells overexpressing EGFRL858R to identify potential phosphorylation sites on Spred1 and NF1 that could disrupt Spred1-NF1 binding by steric hindrance. A serine phosphorylation site on Spred1 was identified in which a phosphomimetic and phosphodeficient mutant decreased or increased Spred1-NF1 binding, respectively. Phosphomimetic Spred1 is unable to suppress Ras-GTP following EGF stimulation. Therefore, phosphorylation of Spred1 at this site by a serine kinase downstream of EGFR may disrupt Spred1-NF1 binding. To identify the Spred1 kinase we are performing an in vitro kinase assay and an unbiased CRISPRa screen. Our findings provide one potential mechanism by which EGFR signaling disrupts negative feedback to sustain constitutive Ras signaling. Furthermore, this work may elucidate a novel therapeutic target for restoring NF1-mediated inhibition of Ras. Citation Format: Evan Markegard, Ellen L. Mercado, Jillian M. Silva, Jacqueline Galeas, Marena I. Trinidad, Anatoly Urisman, Frank McCormick. EGFR-mediated Spred1 phosphorylation inhibits NF1 to sustain constitutive Ras/MAPK signaling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1370. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1370
Useful Applications of Enantioselective (4 + 2)-Cycloaddition Reactions to the Synthesis of Chiral 1,2-Amino Alcohols, 1,2-Diamines, and β-Amino Acids

The scope of enantioselective (4 + 2)-cycloaddition reactions has been expanded to include reactive olefinic components that are equivalents of three inoperable and unstable ethylene derivatives: 1-hydroxy-2-aminoethylene, 1,2-diaminoethylene, and β-aminoacrylic acid. In this way, a variety of otherwise unavailable functionalized (4 + 2)-cycloadducts have been synthesized from 1,3-dienes with high enantioselectivity (92–98%) and in good yields. The research leading up to this synthetic advance has also produced some surprising insights on reactivity and positional selectivity in catalytic enantioselective (4 + 2)-cycloaddition.
Independent Photochemical Generation and Reactivity of Nitrogen-Centered Purine Nucleoside Radicals from Hydrazines

Photochemical precursors that produce dA• and dG(N2–H)• are needed to investigate their reactivity. The synthesis of two 1,1-diphenylhydrazines (1, 2) and their use as photochemical sources of dA• and dG(N2–H)• is presented. Trapping studies indicate production of these radicals with good fidelity, and 1 was incorporated into an oligonucleotide via solid-phase synthesis. Cyclic voltammetric studies show that reduction potentials of 1 and 2 are lower than those of widely used “hole sinks”, e.g., 8-oxodGuo and 7-deazadGuo, to investigate DNA–hole transfer processes. These molecules could be useful (a) as sources of dA• and dG(N2–H)• at specific sites in oligonucleotides and (b) as “hole sinks” for the study of DNA–hole transfer processes.
Prevalence and Correlates of Youth Homelessness in the United States

Purpose Unaccompanied youth homelessness is a serious concern. Response, however, has been constrained by the absence of credible data on the size and characteristics of the population and reliable means to track youth homelessness over time. We sought to address these gaps. Methods Using a nationally representative phone-based survey (N = 26,161), we solicited household and individual reports on different types of youth homelessness. We collected household reports on adolescents aged 13-17 and young adults aged 18-25, as well as self-reports from young adults aged 18-25. Follow-up interviews with a subsample (n = 150) provided additional information on youth experiences and enabled adjustment for inclusion errors. Results Over a 12-month period, approximately 3.0% of households with 13- to 17-year-olds reported explicit youth homelessness (including running away or being asked to leave) and 1.3% reported experiences that solely involved couch surfing, resulting in an overall 4.3% household prevalence of any homelessness, broadly defined. For 18- to 25-year-olds, household prevalence estimates were 5.9% for explicitly reported homelessness, 6.6% for couch surfing only, and 12.5% overall. The 12-month population prevalence estimates, available only for 18- to 25-year-olds, were 5.2%, 4.5%, and 9.7%, respectively. Incidence rates were about half as high as prevalence rates. Prevalence rates were similar across rural and nonrural counties. Higher risk of homelessness was observed among young parents; black, Hispanic, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) youth; and those who did not complete high school. Conclusions The prevalence and incidence of youth homelessness reveal a significant need for prevention and youth-centric systems and services, as well as strategies to address disproportionate risks of certain subpopulations.
Surgical management of hidradenitis suppurativa: procedural trends and risk factors.

Abstract Background Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic debilitating cutaneous disorder. The recalcitrant nature of this disease may require surgery in severe cases. We aimed to delineate the types of operations performed, the risk factors associated with these operations, and the surgical services involved based on a national database. Methods Data were collected through the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from 2011 to 2016. Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, (ICD-9) codes were used for data extraction and analysis as type of surgery and complication rates were extracted. Results There were 2594 patients diagnosed with HS: 1405 (54.2%) incision and drainage, 1017 (39.2%) debridement, 31 (1.2%) skin graft, and 141 (5.4%) flap reconstruction. There were significant differences in transfusion rates and operation time among the four procedures. Skin graft and flap reconstruction had the highest complications and longest operation time. Bleeding requiring preoperative transfusion and a number of comorbidities were significant risk factors for postoperative complications. Flap reconstructions by plastic surgeons compared to general surgeons had significantly shorter operation times (134.89 versus 209.82 min, P = 0.022) and lower transfusion rates (2.2% versus 12.8%, P = 0.024). Conclusions The management of HS can be complex and may require a multidisciplinary approach. Bleeding requiring preoperative transfusion and other baseline comorbidities are independent risk factors that should be addressed when definitive surgical treatment of hidradenitis is planned. Appropriate surgical specialty involvement may better optimize the surgical outcomes for HS.
Bone In-Growth and Porous Implant Stability with Bioactive Substances

The objective of this research was to investigate materials and methods promoting bone in-growth into porous implants. The work involves a nonweight bearing canine model in short and long term studies, up to 6 months. Porous coated rods were implanted into both femurs and one femur supplemented with bone growth stimulating materials. We have investigated the effect of ground bone graft, demineralized bone matrix, tricalcium phosphate and electrical direct current stimulated bone in-growth into porous coated cobalt chromium rods with porosity from 50 to 400 micrometers.
Influence of Zeolites on Amyloid-β Aggregation

Aggregation of Aβ plays a key role in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, the Aβ aggregation mechanism is complex, leading to a structurally diverse population of oligomers and amyloid fibrils. Heterogeneous interfaces have been shown to influence the rate of fibrilization and may be useful tools to bias amyloid formation toward specific structures. In order to better understand how exogenous materials influence Aβ aggregation, Aβ1-40 was exposed to zeolite Y containing different metal cations, including Na+, Mg2+, Fe3+, Zn2+, and Cu2+. NaY, MgY, and FeY, all accelerated the kinetics of fibrilization by increasing the primary nucleation rate, while CuY and ZnY inhibited fibrilization. These kinetic effects were supported through binding affinity measurements, in which ZnY and CuY showed higher association constants than the other zeolites. In addition to influencing the kinetics of fibrilization, the zeolites also affected the intermediate structures along the pathway. Western blots confirmed that Aβ1-40 was arrested at the oligomeric stage in the presence of ZnY and CuY, while continuing to the fibrillary state in the presence of other zeolites. Seeding studies showed that NaY and FeY form on-pathway oligomers, while ZnY formed off-pathway oligomers. Overall, our results show that zeolites can impact the aggregation and speciation of amyloids.
Neural TTS Stylization with Adversarial and Collaborative Games

The modeling of style when synthesizing natural human speech from text has been the focus of signiﬁcant attention. Some state-of-the-art approaches train an encoder-decoder network on paired text and audio samples hxtxt, xaudi by encouraging its output to reconstruct xaud. The synthesized audio waveform is expected to contain the verbal content of xtxt and the auditory style of xaud. Unfortunately, modeling style in TTS is somewhat under-determined and training models with a reconstruction loss alone is insufﬁcient to disentangle content and style from other factors of variation. In this work, we introduce an end-to-end TTS model that offers enhanced content-style disentanglement ability and controllability. We achieve this by combining a pairwise training procedure, an adversarial game, and a collaborative game into one training scheme. The adversarial game concentrates the true data distribution, and the collaborative game minimizes the distance between real samples and generated samples in both the original space and the latent space. As a result, our model delivers a highly controllable generator with disentangled representation. Beneﬁting from the separate modeling of style and content, our model can generate human ﬁdelity speech that satisﬁes the desired style conditions. Our model achieves start-of-the-art results across multiple tasks, including style transfer (content and style swapping), emotion modeling, and identity transfer (ﬁtting a new speaker’s voice).
Adalimumab-induced acute myeloid leukaemia in a patient with Crohn’s disease

We present a patient with Crohn's disease under treatment with adalimumab who developed acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) with core-binding factor beta gene rearrangement. This case report emphasises the importance of long-term close follow-up of patients receiving adalimumab because of the increased risk of developing AML and other malignancies.
Multi-step Short Term Traffic Flow Forecasting Using Temporal and Spatial Data

Short term traffic flow forecasting is valuable to both governments for designing intelligent transportation systems and everyday commuters or travelers who are interested in the best routes to their destinations. This work focuses on forecasting traffic flow in major freeways in southern California using large amounts of data collected from the Caltrans Performance Measurement System. Both statistical models and machine learning models are considered. The statistical models include seasonal ARIMA, seasonal VARMA, exponential smoothing and various regression models. The machine learning models include Support Vector Regression, feed forward Neural Networks, and Long Short-Term Memory Neural Networks. Forecasting is performed in both a univariate manner by relying on the historical temporal data of a particular sensor as well as in a multivariate manner by considering a neighborhood of three closely located sensors. Multivariate forecasters generally improve upon their univariate counterparts.
Autonomic Feature Selection using Computational Intelligence

Abstract This paper introduces an autonomic method to optimize Feature Selection (FS) in autonomic systems while also presenting a taxonomy of FS techniques. Feature selection is a dimension reduction technique that has been proven to lead to improved performance by avoiding overfitting and to address complexity, thus providing faster and cost-effective algorithms. To be successful, the current FS methods are heavily reliant on two key elements: (1) a well defined and static learning objective, and (2) a relevant dataset. Current FS approaches involve mostly a manual process and do not take into account the constant change in the state of the underlying system. However, the method to automate the FS process presented in this paper, the Autonomic Feature Selection (AFS), uses representation and transfer learning concepts borrowed from the deep learning area. Representations of various types of monitoring data from a system are learned, and the resulting knowledge is transferred and re-used. The AFS is targeted to self-aware software systems, where the learning objective and (or) the availability of the relevant data are subject to change. The results suggest that although building and transferring learned representations is computationally expensive, its benefits outweigh the cost, by offering the potential to build flexible and re-usable knowledge structures.
Assessing the potential of community foundation leadership through a new conceptual lens

Community foundations are emerging as an important and effective method of not only increasing assets and distributing funds in communities but also promoting community dialogue about present needs...
32P and acute leukemia: development of leukemia in a patient with hemoglobin Yakima

In 1954 a then 31-yr-old male was found to have erythrocytosis. Over the ensuing decade he received 72 mCi32P. In 1964 his daughters were found to have erythrocytosis. Further investigation led to the discovery of hemoglobin Yakima, a variant with high oxygen affinity. He received no further therapy and was well until 1975, when he developed the preleukemic syndrome. Within 12 mo. he developed acute nonlymphocytic leukemia accompanied by fetal erythropoiesis. Because the inital discovery of this type of hemoglobinopathy came 27 yr after the introduction of 32P for use in the treatment of polycythemia vera, and because there are now known to be more than 39 different high-oxygen-affinity hemoglobins, we anticipate that more patients such as ours have been exposed to 32P. The exposed population should be cosely followed, since this will likely permit assessment of the risk of 32P-induced leukemia in a nonneoplastic condition.
Equitably Sharing the Benefits and Burdens of Research: Covid-19 Raises the Stakes.

One of the central principles of research ethics is that the benefits and burdens of research with human participants should be equitably distributed. This principle has important implications for where research will be conducted, how participants will be recruited, what questions will be investigated, and who will control the distribution of any innovations that result. In the context of Covid-19, key issues include providing support to clinical trials in low- and middle-income countries, without taking needed resources away from other critical clinical and public health needs; designing recruitment strategies likely to generate sufficient enrollment from groups that have been disproportionately burdened by the virus, such as African Americans; supporting studies designed to improve outcomes in high-risk environments, such as nursing homes and group homes for the developmentally disabled; and ensuring that the medical products resulting from research are made available throughout the world at an affordable price. If clinical trials are not designed with equity considerations consciously in mind, the response to the pandemic may further exacerbate disparities in health status between population groups.
High-frequency phononic crystal structures based on metallic pillars on piezzoelectric membranes (Presentation Video)

Phononic crystal (PnC) structures based on an array of metallic pillars on a piezzoelectric substrate will be discussed as a means for achieving PnBG at high (e.g., GHz) frequencies. In addition to operation at higher frequencies, the advantage of metallic-pillar-based structures in providing design flexibility for functional PnC-based devices will be discussed. Experimental evidence for the existence of the PnBG in these structures and the use of their relatively wide bandgap for the implementation of practical PnC devices (especially waveguides and resonators) will be theoretically and experimentally demonstrated, and the prospects of these structures for practical applications (e.g., sensing and wireless communications) will be discussed.
A 0.011-mm 2 27.5-GHz VCO with Transformer-Coupled Bandpass Filter Achieving -191 dBc/Hz FoM in 16-nm FinFET CMOS

We present a new approach to improve the phase noise of a conventional transformer-coupled voltage-controlled oscillator (TC-VCO) for 5G mmWave application. Coupling capacitors are added to a single center-tapped transformer to introduce bandpass filtering that suppresses nonlinear conversion of second- and third-harmonic distortion to phase noise around the VCO fundamental. The resulting TC-VCO exhibits phase noise measured at -108.1 dBc/Hz at an offset of 1-MHz which is 4.3 dB better than a conventional TC-VCO. The proposed VCO is implemented in 16-nm finFET CMOS with a core area of only 0.011 mm2. It tunes over a measured frequency range of 27.2 to 27.7 GHz while consuming only 4 mW of dc power. The phase noise performance corresponds to a figure-of-merit (FoM) of -191 dBc/Hz which, to our knowledge, is the best reported FoM with the smallest core area among nanoscale CMOS VCOs operating near 27 GHz.