cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Are Anal Sex Roles Associated with Preferences for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Administration Modalities Among Men Who Have Sex with Men?

The current study sought to examine awareness of, willingness to use, and preferences for available and theoretical administration modalities for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and the association of anal sex roles with these concepts among a sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Paris, France. Broadcast advertisements were placed on a popular geosocial-networking smartphone application for MSM to direct users to complete a Web-based survey. MSM answered questions on their recent engagement in condomless anal intercourse and awareness of and willingness to use PrEP in the form of once daily and event-driven pill regimens, long-acting injections, and penile and rectal microbicides as well as sexual roles. Multinomial regression models were fit to assess the association between behaviorally classified anal sexual role and preferences for one of these biomedical prevention modalities. A total of 482 HIV-uninfected MSM completed the survey, 48.1% of whom engaged in some form of condomless anal intercourse in the preceding 3 months. Most respondents (85.3%) had heard of once daily PrEP, but fewer respondents had heard of other prevention strategies. Assuming equal effectiveness, long-acting injections were the most commonly preferred (21.8%). Behaviorally defined “bottom” and “versatile” MSM more frequently preferred long-acting injections (32.9% of “bottoms” and 25.3% of “versatiles”). The development of long-acting injections to deliver antiretroviral drugs and topical microbicides may offer more convenient and acceptable options for HIV prevention among MSM, as MSM in this sample were willing to use them and would prefer to use them over currently available pill regimens.
Updates on Influenza Vaccination in Children

Influenza vaccination is recommended for all children 6 months of age and older who do not have contraindications. This article provides an overview of information concerning burden of influenza among children in the United States; US-licensed influenza vaccines; vaccine immunogenicity, effectiveness, and safety; and recent updates relevant to use of these vaccines in pediatric populations. Influenza antiviral medications are discussed. Details concerning vaccine-related topics may be found in the current US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations for use of influenza vaccines (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/vacc-specific/flu.html). Additional information on influenza antivirals is located at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/antivirals/index.htm.
Two synthetic progestins and natural progesterone are responsible for most of the progestagenic activities in municipal wastewater treatment plant effluents in the Czech and Slovak republics.

Abstract Vast numbers of xenobiotics are known still to be present in treated municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. Some of these possess endocrine-disrupting potency and pose risks for exposed aquatic animals. We searched for 17 potential environmental contaminants having affinity to the progesterone receptor. Relative potency values of these progesterone receptor-active chemicals were obtained. On the basis of relative potencies and measured environmental concentrations, the contribution of progestins to measured progestagenic activities was evaluated. Wastewaters (influent and effluent) and surrounding surface waters (upstream and downstream) at six municipal WWTPs were screened using instrumental chemical analysis and in vitro reporter gene bioassay. We showed the presence of target compounds and (anti-)progestagenic activities in municipal wastewater and surface water. Nine and seven progestins were identified in influent and effluent wastewaters, respectively. Only two compounds, progesterone and medroxyprogesterone were found in surface waters. Progestagenic agonistic activities in influents were partially masked by strong anti-progestagenic activities that were detected in all influents and ranged from 2.63 to 83 ng/L of mifepristone equivalents (EQs). Progestagenic activities were detected in all effluents and ranged from 0.06 to 0.47 ng/L of reference compound ORG 2058 EQs (a synthetic progestin equivalents), thus indicating incomplete removal of progestins during wastewater treatment processing. This activity poses a continuing risk for the aquatic environment. By contrast, anti-progestagenic activities showed better removal efficiency in WWTPs compared to progestagenic agonistic activities. Anti-progestagenic activities were found in only three of six effluents and ranged from 0.26 to 2.1 ng/L mifepristone EQs. We explained most of the progestagenic activity in municipal WWTP effluents by the presence of synthetic progestins and progesterone, which contributed 65–96% of such activity in samples where no antagonistic activity was found. The progestins medroxyprogesterone acetate, megestrol acetate and progesterone contributed most to the progestagenic activity detected in municipal effluents. Anti-progestagenic activities were found in some municipal effluents, but no causative agents were revealed because two analysed selective progesterone receptor modulators (SPRMs) with anti-progestagenic activities, mifepristone and ulipristal acetate, were not present in the effluents.
Option Trading Costs Are Lower than You Think

Conventional estimates of the costs of taking liquidity in equity options markets are large. This presents a puzzle, which we resolve by taking seriously the implication of models of dynamic limit order markets that the bid-ask midpoint can be a poor proxy for the true value of a security, conditional on the occurrence of a trade. Changes in option prices can be predicted using publically available information, and a large proportion of option trades exploit this high-frequency predictability to take liquidity at low cost, buying and selling immediately before option prices are expected to change. Conventional measures of effective spreads and price impact do not account for this execution timing but can be adjusted to do so. For the average trade, effective spreads that take account of trade timing are one-third smaller than the conventionally measured effective spreads; for trades that reflect execution timing, they are four times smaller. Conventional measures of price impact overstate it by a factor of more than two. These findings have striking implications for the profitability of options trading strategies that involve taking liquidity. Our main results are robust to recent changes in option market structure.
Prognosis of Acute Viral Hepatitis Now You Got It, Now You Don't (Or Do You?)

Acute viral hepatitis (AVH) results in only a limited number of outcomes. The patient may or may not recover from the infection and get rid of the virus (while having either a symptomatic or an asymptomatic illness). The “may not” occurs if the patient dies during the acute phase (in particular, from fulminant hepatitis) or if the patient develops a chronic infection.
Iron uptake by Bifidobacterium thermophilum protoplasts.

Protoplasts ofBifidobacterium thermophilum were prepared by a combination of lysozyme and protease digestion, and ferrous iron uptake studies were carried out. Little, if any, iron was internalized by the protoplasts, although large amounts of iron were bound to the protoplast surface. This binding was much greater than that of intact cells, which prefer to internalize iron by an energy-dependent process. It was also found that the binding of iron by protoplasts of cells grown in an iron-deficient medium was much more extensive than that of cells grown in an iron-sufficient medium. Soluble and particulate fractions of protoplasts were prepared by grinding them in a glass homogenizer, and the particulate fraction was also subjected to iron binding studies. The amount of iron bound was the same as that in intact protoplasts, indicating that the particulate fraction membrane fragments bound iron on their outer surface only. Nevertheless, when iron-preloaded cells were protoplasted and their surface cleared of iron, their particulate fraction contained considerable amounts of iron, indicating that the inner surface of the membranes is capable of binding iron as long as the cell is intact. The amount of iron so bound was dose-dependent on the amount of iron entering the cell. The failure of the outer and inner surface iron pools to mix was confirmed by the fact that when iron-preloaded protoplasts were incubated with additional iron, only the latter (surface-bound) was elutable with nonradioactive 2 mM FeSO4. It is concluded that increasing bifidobacterial iron load increases the amount of iron bound to the inner surface of the membrane; the procedure, which is effective in forming bifidobacterial protoplasts, destroys their iron transport mechanism while uncovering surface iron-binding sites; and that such iron-binding sites may be of significance in the cellular iron metabolism processes.
Multivariate Probabilistic Wavelet Approximation

Multivariate probability laws are approximated by some naturally arising wavelet operations. They transform multivariate distribution functions to multivariable distribution functions. The degree of this approximation is estimated by establishing some sharp local Jackson type inequalities. We extend the results for distributions of stochastic processes and unbounded measures.
Characterization of Electron Transfer Proteins

The end-product of their respiration, hydrogen sulfide, is making sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) one of the main microbial agent that interacts with metals through formation of sulfide. As a consequence, most of the metals which are found to interact with living organisms have been found in these bacteria, with the exception of copper metal probably because the redox potentials of the Cu+/Cu2+ complexes are too high to be compatible with any of the physiological reactions common to SRB.
Opening Comments on Gauge Theories

I wish to take the prerogative of a discussion leader to make a few opening comments on the subject of gauge theories of weak and electromagnetic interactions to set the stage for this session.
Treatment of metastatic human papillomavirus-associated epithelial cancers with adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating T cells.

3004Background: Adoptive T-cell therapy (ACT) is a promising cancer treatment modality. However, its study in epithelial cancers has been limited. Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers are ...
How faces (and cars) may become special

Abstract Recent reports have shown that individuals from small hometowns show relatively poor face recognition ability as measured by the Cambridge Face Memory Test or CFMT (Balas & Saville, 2015, 2017), suggesting that the number of faces present in an individual’s visual environment relates to that individual’s face recognition ability. We replicate this finding in a sample from a different region (Nebraska) and with more variable age distribution. We extend the study by using another test of face recognition ability that does not require learning over trials, and with non-face object recognition tests that share the learning format with the CFMT. We find no hometown effect in these other tests, although more power would be required to show the CFMT effect is significantly larger. We use the same dataset to explore whether experience with more faces and cars in larger hometowns leads to specialization of these abilities. We find strong and substantial support for the hypothesis that the recognition abilities for faces and for cars are more independent from general object recognition in people from larger hometowns. This suggests that experience may be critical to the specialization of these abilities.
Associations Between Positron Emission Tomography Amyloid Pathology and Diffusion Tensor Imaging Brain Connectivity in Pre-Clinical Alzheimer's Disease

Characterizing Alzheimer's disease (AD) at pre-clinical stages is crucial for initiating early treatment strategies. It is widely accepted that amyloid accumulation is a primary pathological event in AD. Also, loss of connectivity between brain regions is suspected of contributing to cognitive decline, but studies that test these associations using either local (i.e., individual edges) or global (i.e., modularity) connectivity measures may be limited. In this study, we utilized data acquired from 139 cognitively unimpaired participants. Sixteen gray matter (GM) regions known to be affected by AD were selected for analysis. For each of the 16 regions, the effect of amyloid burden, measured using Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography, on each of the 1761 brain network connections derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) connecting 162 GM regions, was investigated. Applying our unique multiresolution statistical analysis called the Wavelet Connectivity Signature (WaCS), this study demonstrates the relationship between amyloid burden and structural brain connectivity as assessed with DTI. Our statistical analysis using WaCS shows that in 15 of 16 GM regions, statistically significant relationships between amyloid burden in those regions and structural connectivity networks were observed. After applying multiple testing correction, 10 unique structural brain connections were found to be significantly associated with amyloid accumulation. For 7 of those 10 network connections, the decrease in their network connection strength indexed by fractional anisotropy was, in turn, associated with lower cognitive function, providing evidence that AD-related structural connectivity loss is a correlate of cognitive decline.
Student Perspectives of Technology use for Learning in Higher Education

In this study, college students in a large public university in the U.S. were surveyed regarding what technologies they use most frequently for learning, what technologies they value for learning, and how they perceive technology effectiveness to support their learning. The results revealed that technology use and value were closely aligned with laptops and these were detailed as the most used and valued for learning, which underscores the importance of mobile and portable devices in supporting anytime anywhere learning. In terms of using software for learning, search engines, file-sharing tools, digital libraries, videos, and wikis obtained the best results, suggesting that students are adopting self-directed, approaches to their learning. Additionally, collaboration tools were perceived as the most important for learning which highlights the need to design better teaching strategies and learning interactions to support collaborative practices that use technology. Overall, the majority of participants perceived that technology was effective in fostering discussion, collaboration, and interaction. This enable experiential learning, supporting organization, planning, and resource management, and facilitating a personalized learning experience. The results also revealed statistically significant differences between the experiences of undergraduate and graduate students about the effectiveness of technology. Implications for integrating Web 2.0 technologies into teaching and learning practices are discussed.
Haptoglobin degradation product as a novel serum biomarker for hematopoietic stem cell transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy

Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT)-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) is a well-known complication of HSCT and carries high risk of morbidity and mortality. A lack of consistent non-invasive diagnostic criteria can delay diagnosis and lead to irreversible organ damage. Serum samples of 100 patients that underwent HSCT at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital were serially collected. Unbiased proteomic profiling by SELDI-TOF-MS was performed on serum from TA-TMA patients at baseline (pre-HSCT), 2 weeks before TMA diagnosis (pre-TMA), and at clinical TMA diagnosis. Two proteins with mass to charge ratios of 12–13 kDa were consistently elevated at the 2 week pre-TMA time point by SELDI-TOF, compared to control samples. Potential peptides were isolated and analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) on the Linear Trap Quadropole (LTQ). A MASCOT search identified haptoglobin fragments in the 12–17-kDa range. Western blot was performed to validate haptoglobin fragments as a potential biomarker. Western blot of TA-TMA patients showed haptoglobin fragments at 12, 14, and 17 kDa that varied between baseline, pre-TMA, and TMA time points for each patient. By densitometric analysis, the 17-kDa fragment in the pre-TMA samples differed significantly from TMA diagnosis (p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the concentrations of the 12-kDa and 14-kDa fragments. The 17-kDa haptoglobin degradation product may represent a novel early serum biomarker for TA-TMA that could potentially allow for earlier diagnosis and intervention.
Novel antenna concepts and developments for CubeSats

A miniaturized class of satellites called SmallSats, whose weight are typically under 500 kg, has recently garnered significant attention to exploit space for many applications. A key member of the SmallSat family are CubeSats. CubeSats can weigh as little as 1.33 kg with a volume as small as 10 x 10 x 10 cm3. Realizing the potential of CubeSats, the scientific community is revisiting existing spacecraft technologies to enable their integration with the small CubeSat form factor [1,2]. This chapter particularly focuses on the antenna research and development. We review the general constraints that antenna engineers face while designing antenna systems for CubeSats. An extensive literature collection is presented to survey the current state of the art in antenna systems for CubeSats. We also discuss recent antenna research that enables many exciting missions in the future.
Trends in Clinical Breast Density Assessment From the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium.

Changes to mammography practice, including revised Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) density classification guidelines and implementation of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), may impact clinical breast density assessment. We investigated temporal trends in clinical breast density assessment among 2 990 291 digital mammography (DM) screens and 221 063 DBT screens interpreted by 722 radiologists from 144 facilities in the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. After age-standardization, 46.3% (95% CI = 44.1% to 48.6%) of DM screens were assessed as dense (heterogeneously/extremely dense) during the BI-RADS 4th edition era (2005-2013), compared to 46.5% (95% CI = 43.8% to 49.1%) during the 5th edition era (2014-2016) (P = .93 from two-sided generalized score test). Among DBT screens in the BI-RADS 5th edition era, 45.8% (95% CI = 42.0% to 49.7%) were assessed as dense (P = .77 from two-sided generalized score test) compared to 46.5% (95% CI = 43.8% to 49.1%) dense on DM in BI-RADS 5th edition era. Results were similar when examining all four density categories and age subgroups. Clinicians, researchers, and policymakers may reasonably expect stable density distributions across screened populations despite changes to the BI-RADS guidelines and implementation of DBT.
An IoT Implementation for Manufacturing Using Wi-Fi, 6LoWPAN, and MQTT

Traditional automated manufacturing environments employ multiple machines that do not necessarily communicate with a central supervisory system. As suggested by the initiatives such as Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing, it is more important than ever to access real time machine performance and environmental data to accurately track, maintain and improve manufacturing automation. We present a use case where WiFi and 6LoWPAN based sensors are introduced to collect environmental and machine health data in an existing manufacturing line to minimize the downtime and maintenance costs.
Using Chart-Stimulated Recall to Identify Barriers and Facilitators to Routine HIV Testing Among Pediatric Primary Care Providers.

Abstract Purpose Adolescents account for one in five new HIV infections in the U.S. Yet, only 25% of sexually active adolescents report HIV testing, and testing rates have not improved over time. In this study, the primary aim was to identify barriers and facilitators to routine HIV testing in the pediatric primary care setting. Methods Practices within a large pediatric network were stratified by higher and lower rates of HIV testing. Providers were purposively sampled across practices, and chart-stimulated recall was used to explore HIV testing knowledge and practices by having providers review actual adolescent well visit records. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Qualitative content analysis identified categories of barriers and facilitators to HIV testing among higher and lower performing sites. Results Of participants (n = 31), 52% were from higher performing clinics, and 48% from lower performing clinics, and mean number of years in practice was 16.9 (standard deviation 10.8). Provider-identified barriers at lower-performing sites included lack of knowledge of testing guidelines, inadequate sexual risk assessment, concerns about damaging patient/caregiver relationships, and competing priorities, whereas both high- and low-performing cites reported concerns about confidentiality. Identified facilitators at higher performing sites included availability of on-site resources (Title X funding; laboratory). Conclusions Several distinct barriers and facilitators to routine HIV screening were identified at lower and higher performing sites. These findings can inform the development of multilevel interventions to improve HIV testing rates in pediatric primary care.
Anatomical context improves deep learning on the brain age estimation task.

Abstract Deep learning has shown remarkable improvements in the analysis of medical images without the need for engineered features. In this work, we hypothesize that deep learning is complementary to traditional feature estimation. We propose a network design to include traditional structural imaging features alongside deep convolutional ones and illustrate this approach on the task of imaging-based age prediction in two separate contexts: T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (N = 5121, ages 4–96, healthy controls) and computed tomography (CT) of the head (N = 1313, ages 1–97, healthy controls). In brain MRI, we can predict age with a mean absolute error of 4.08 years by combining raw images along with engineered structural features, compared to 5.00 years using image-derived features alone and 8.23 years using structural features alone. In head CT, we can predict age with a median absolute error of 9.99 years combining features, compared to 11.02 years with image-derived features alone and 13.28 years with structural features alone. These results show that we can complement traditional feature estimation using deep learning to improve prediction tasks. As the field of medical image processing continues to integrate deep learning, it will be important to use the new techniques to complement traditional imaging features instead of fully displacing them.
Informal Support, Health, and Burden Among Parents of Adult Children With Autism.

Background and objectives Many adults with autism spectrum disorders require lifelong reliance on caregiver support. As these caregivers age and experience health challenges, social support can be critical. This study seeks to understand if caregiver health moderates the relationship between informal social support and caregiver burden. Research design and methods A total of 320 parents (age 50+ years) of adult children diagnosed with ASD were recruited from autism organizations and support groups and completed a web-based survey. Separate moderation analyses were used to determine if caregiver health was moderating the relationship between informal social support and composite caregiver burden, as well as the separate domains of developmental, time dependence, emotional burden, and impact of caregiving on finances. For each analysis, perceptions of available informal social support were the independent variable, composite and domains of caregiver burden were dependent variables, and parents' self-reported general health was the moderating variable. Results Caregiver health had a statistically significant moderating effect when predicting the relationships between informal social support and composite caregiver burden, as well as time dependence burden and impact of caregiving on finances. Discussion and implications Increased attention should be focused on supporting the current and future needs of both aging caregivers and their adult children with ASD. Future research on the dynamics of social support, health, and burden is also urgently needed to address the growing number of aging caregivers of adults diagnosed with ASD.
Dendritic Cell Activation by PF4/H Multimolecular Complexes

Abstract 722 Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT) is caused by antibodies to multimolecular complexes of Platelet Factor 4 (PF4) and heparin (H). Little is known about the cellular mechanisms underlying the PF4/H immune response. Our previous studies have shown that mice injected with murine (m) PF4/H complexes develop a de novo immune response to mPF4/H, but do not respond to injections of mPF4 alone or H alone. In other studies using this model, we have shown that the HIT immune response is T-cell dependent, requires the presence of PF4/H multimolecular complexes and does not engage TLRs via MyD88. To examine the cellular basis of the HIT immune response, we performed studies addressing requirements for antigen presentation. We first isolated splenocytes from non-immunized C57Bl/6 mice and incubated 4×105 splenocytes with mPF4 alone (10mg/ml, final concentration.), heparin alone (0.4U/ml, final), mPF4/H complexes (10mg/ml and 0.4U/ml, final), buffer or LPS (1 mg/ml, final, positive control). We noted significant levels of IL-12 in wells incubated 24hrs with mPF4/H (109 ± 7 pg/mL) or LPS (256 ± 22 pg/mL) but not wells containing mPF4 (33 ± 7 pg/mL), H (5 ± 7 pg/mL), or buffer (9 ± 13 pg/mL). In other studies, we noted that splenic dendritic cells (DCs) were primarily activated by mPF4/H complexes and that cellular activation, as gauged by IL-12 (Figure 1A) or IFN-g (data not shown) occurred in a heparin-dependent manner. DCs activation by mPF4/H complexes was not dependent on CXCR3 or pattern recognition receptors, such as receptor for dectin, mannose or complement receptor 3 (CR3 or CD11b antibody). To determine the effect of DC activation on T-cell responses, we performed mixed lymphocyte reaction assays using DCs isolated from C57Bl/6 mice (3×105 cell/well) and naive T-cells from Balb/c mice (1:5 cellular ratio). Pre-incubation of Bl/6 DCs with mPF4/H complexes, but not mPF4, H or buffer alone resulted in Balb/c T cell activation and release of cytokines indicative of T helper (Th) 1 immune response (Figure 1B). In summary, we show that DC s are directly activated by PF4/H multimolecular complexes, and that cellular activation by complexes results in a predominant Th1 polarization. Additional studies are underway to identify the relevant receptor for DC activation, and additional pathways of antigen processing and presentation that are necessary for the initiation of a PF4/H specific adaptive immune response. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Utility of endoscopic anatomical optical coherence tomography in functional rhinoplasty

Objective measurement of the nasal valve region is valuable for the assessment of functional rhinoplasty surgical outcomes. Anatomical optical coherence tomography (aOCT) is an imaging modality that may be used to obtain real-time, quantitative, and volumetric scans of the nasal airway. We aim to evaluate if volumetric aOCT imaging is useful for the examination of the nasal valve region before and after functional rhinoplasty procedures. aOCT scans of the nasal valves were performed on four cadaveric heads before and after spreader graft and butterfly graft procedures. The resulting aOCT images were compared against video endoscopy images, and the segmented volumes of the nasal airway obtained from aOCT scans were compared with computed tomography (CT) derived volumes acquired under the same conditions. The aOCT-derived volumes match the CT volumes closely, with a mean Dice similarity coefficient of 0.88 and a mean Hausdorff distance of 2.3 mm. Furthermore, the aOCT images were found to represent the shape of the nasal cavity accurately. Due to its ability to perform real-time, quantitative, and accurate evaluation of the nasal airway, aOCT imaging is a promising modality for the objective assessment of the nasal valves before and after functional rhinoplasty procedures.
Rotational and shortening osteotomy at the conjoined mass in the treatment of congenital radioulnar synostosis in children

Objective To investigate effect of rotational and shortening osteotomy at the conjoined mass in the treatment of congenital radioulnar synostosis.Methods Fourteen cases of radioulnar synostosis in 13 patients were treated by rotational and shortening osteotomy at the conjoined mass of radius and ulna.There were 10 males and 3 females,aged from 2 to 7 years (average,3.5 years).The pronation deformity of the forearm ranged from 50° to 90° (average,82.1°).The affected limbs could not perform some activities of daily living such as eating by holding a bowl,cleaning genitals and buttocks,turning on the global door knob,turning a key in a keyhole,and accepting objects in the palm.The operation was done through Boyd approach,and the proximal interosseous membrane of forearm was identified and released.The conjoined mass of radius and ulna was cut and shortened about 0.5 cm,then the distal part of forearm was rotated to neutral position or 10° to 20° of supination.Finally two parts of osteotomy were closed and fixed by crossing Kirschner wires which were removed 8 to 16 weeks after operation when reunion had been achieved.Results The average correction of pronation deformity of the forearm was 90.7°.No ischemic contracture of the forearm and incision infection occurred.And bone union was achieved in all patients.The parents and children were satisfied with improvement of deformity and function of the affected limbs.All patients were followed up for 14 to 88 months (average,35.7 months),and there was no loss of correction.Conclusion Rotational and shortening osteotomy at the conjoined mass of radius and ulna is an effective method for treating congenital radioulnar synostosis,which can significantly improve deformity and function of the affected limbs,and decrease risk of ischemic contracture of the forearm after operation. Key words: Upper extremity deformities, congenital; Synostosis; Ulna; Radius; Osteotomy
Infant temperament, parenting and behavior problems: Variation by parental education and income

Abstract Although research has linked infants' negative temperamental characteristics with later behavior problems, it has not accounted for unobserved heterogeneity in this association, nor has it examined potential variation by socioeconomic status. Using data from the Child and Young Adult Supplement of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), the present study compares behavioral outcomes at age 5 (mean age = 60.6 months) of siblings who differed with regard to infant temperament (N = 3480). Associations between temperament and parenting behavior, and the role parenting behavior plays in those associations, were also explored. Findings indicate that negative reactivity predicts greater internalizing behavior problems consistently across the socioeconomic distribution, whereas negative reactivity predicts externalizing behavior problems only among children from the lowest education group. Moreover, negative reactivity predicts less optimal parenting behavior, and consistently by education and income. No evidence emerged that parenting explains links between temperament and child behavior or variation in links by education or income.
Meeting the Liquidity Challenge in Resolution: the US Approach (Presentation Slides)

This presentation addresses the liquidity problem a failing bank faces and how resolution procedures can contribute to the mitigate this problem and the risk of contagion. The Orderly Liquidation Procedures in Dodd-Frank are discussed.
Carcinoid Crisis-Induced Acute Systolic Heart Failure.

Abstract Carcinoid crisis is a life-threatening manifestation of carcinoid syndrome characterized by profound autonomic instability in the setting of catecholamine release from stress, tumor manipu...
Sequence-based prediction of protein-protein interactions: a structure-aware interpretable deep learning model

Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks have proven to be a valuable tool in systems biology to facilitate the discovery and understanding of protein function. Unfortunately, experimental PPI data remains sparse in most model organisms and even more so in other species. Existing methods for computational prediction of PPIs seek to address this limitation, and while they perform well when sufficient within-species training data is available, they generalize poorly to new species or often require specific types and sizes of training data that may not be available in the species of interest. We therefore present D-SCRIPT, a deep learning method for predicting a physical interaction between two proteins given just their sequences. Compared to existing methods, D-SCRIPT generalizes better to new species and is robust to limitations in training data size. Our approach encodes the intuition that for two proteins to physically interact, a subset of amino acids from each protein should be in contact with the other. The intermediate stages of D-SCRIPT directly implement this intuition; the penultimate stage in D-SCRIPT is a rough estimate of the inter-protein contact map of the protein dimer. This structurally-motivated design enables interpretability of our model and, since structure is more conserved evolutionarily than sequence, improves generalizability across species. We show that a D-SCRIPT model trained on 38,345 human PPIs enables significantly improved functional characterization of fly proteins compared to the state-of-the-art approach. Evaluating the same D-SCRIPT model on protein complexes with known 3-D structure, we find that the inter-protein contact map output by D-SCRIPT has significant overlap with the ground truth. Our work suggests that recent advances in deep learning language modeling of protein structure can be leveraged for protein interaction prediction from sequence. D-SCRIPT is available at http://dscript.csail.mit.edu.
Does education increase risk aversion in households?: Some evidence using artefactual experiments in Peru

We provide empirical evidence that supports a causal link from education to risk attitudes when using representative data from representative surveys and artefactual or lab-on-the field experiments in Lima, Peru. We employ three standard experimental measures of risk attitudes and find that each of them is positively correlated with years of education. We suggest that this relationship may be causal as we take advantage of an identification strategy that exploits an exogenous boom in construction of new schools in Lima, which allows us to provide evidence that, in fact, more education may increase risk attitudes. Our findings are further confirmed when applying a broad set of robustness tests.
ESTIMATES OF MINIMAL CLINICALLY IMPORTANT IMPROVMENTS VARY WITH THE RESPONSIVENESS OF THE SAMPLE

ABSTRACT Objective. Minimal clinically important improvements (MCII) are known to vary with the baseline level in the sample. We examined if MCIIs are also larger in samples with higher responsiveness. Study design and setting. In a prospective longitudinal study of patients with active rheumatoid arthritis, we assessed arthritis activity before and after new treatments. We estimated anchor-based MCIIs for three outcomes (pain severity, physical functioning by the Health Assessment Questionnaire, and Simplified Disease Activity Index, a composite measure) using receiver operating characteristic curves. We compared MCIIs among patients treated with three interventions of different impact (dose escalation, new disease-modifying medication, or prednisone). Separately, we used simulations to estimate MCIIs in five groups of responsiveness. Results. Among 250 patients, standardized response means (SRMs) increased across the dose escalation, disease-modifying treatment, and prednisone treatment groups (-0.74, -1.00, and -1.53, respectively). MCIIs were also highest in the prednisone group. For example, corresponding MCIIs were -5.5, -8.9, and -13.8 for the composite measure. In the simulations, MCIIs (range -4.6 to -11.9) varied directly with SRMs (range -0.40 to -1.33). Results were similar for pain and the Health Assessment Questionnaire. Conclusion. The MCII is not an intrinsic measurement property but varies directly with sample responsiveness.
Abstract 1946: Inhibition of IKK/NF-κB impairs glioma stem cell function

Glioma, the most frequently occurring primary brain tumor, has a median survival of less than 15 months, despite multimodal treatment combining surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. It has been suggested that the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) within these tumors are responsible for resistance to treatment and high probability of recurrence. As a result, there is increasing interest in specifically targeting CSCs with new therapies to improve treatment of this disease. NF-κB has been implicated in numerous forms of cancer, as its target genes regulate hallmarks of cancer such as cell proliferation, survival, and invasion. Both glioma cell lines and tumor samples show high levels of phosphorylated p65, a marker of NF-κB activation. When comparing populations from tumor explants, NF-κB is preferentially activated in the CSC subset. We are examining the effects of IKK/NF-κB inhibition on both heterogeneous glioma explants and purified (CD133+) CSCs from these explants. Inhibition of NF-κB through either genetic or pharmacological means abrogates neurosphere formation, an in vitro measure of stem cell function. Additionally, real-time PCR analysis indicates that inhibition of NF-κB leads to a decrease in target genes implicated in glioma CSC biology, such as A20 and IL-6. We have also studied our glioma explants in both subcutaneous and intracranial xenografts to examine the role of NF-κB in vivo. We are utilizing microarrays to define the NF-κB-dependent gene expression signature in CD133+ cells. Our studies indicate a significant role for the NF-κB pathway in the biology of glioma CSCs, with possible parallels in CSCs of other tumor types. Citation Format: Amanda L. Rinkenbaugh, Patricia C. Cogswell, Albert S. Baldwin. Inhibition of IKK/NF-κB impairs glioma stem cell function. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1946. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1946
Analog Fault Simulation: Need it? No. It is already done

Analog design requires simulation comprehending detailed and accurate semiconductor process knowledge in order to produce designs which will (one hopes) meet narrowly defined specifications. QED The fault simulation is already done! ((Quod erat demonstrandum = which was to be demonstrated.) for those, like me, wondering what the latin acronym means...) Model-to-hardware correlation is a requirement for design success. The simulation of analog devices occurs in the same manner as digital devices for reasonably small counts of devices. It is only when large numbers of digital devices are connected together that the expedient of switch based stuck fault testing is applied. Is there yet an ‘analog’ to the digital modeling process? Should there be? Simulating gross faults, like stuck fault behavior, using switch based methods is pointless when applied to complex analog circuits. Clearly the simulated defective analog behavior will deviate from the expected unless aliasing is possible. Murphy will ensure its untimely arrival. For combined analog functions ‘logic depth’ grows much more rapidly than digital logic having similar transistor counts, particularly if the combined analog devices have continuous response ranges. What does coverage mean in this environment? How is a passing range of values defined?
Children with traumatic head injury: morbidity and postacute treatment

Abstract The purpose of this paper was to describe pediatric head trauma and the factors that affect the extent, characteristics, and postacute service needs of functional limitations resulting from head trauma. Data are presented on 4,870 children who survived head injuries and who were enrolled in the National Pediatric Trauma Registry during 1985 to 1988. The sample excluded 349 children who died and 151 children who had impairments before injury. More than 50% of the surviving children sustained extracranial injury in addition to head injury, and this occurrence was related to age and mechanism of injury. Although 78% of the children were discharged from acute care without obvious impairments, 787 had one to three impairments, and 286 had four or more impairments. Discharge to rehabilitation or extended care facilities depended on the number and type of resulting impairments.
Alignment and fricative assimilation in German

An account of the distribution of the dorsal fricative in German has generally been assumed to require cyclic derivation and/or multiple phonological levels (Hall 1989, Moltmann 1990, Noske 1990, Macfarland and Pierrehumbert 1991, Iverson and Salmons 1992, Borowsky 1993). In this squib I argue that the facts of fricative assimilation can be accounted for without cyclicity or separate phonological levels within Optimality Theory (OT) (Prince and Smolensky 1993) by employing a version of the theory of alignment proposed by McCarthy and Prince (1993a), which permits direct interaction between morphological and phonological structures. I propose that the fricative in these cases is ambisyllabic, permitting an account under which fricative assimilation occurs only tautosyllabically. My analysis assumes that alignment constraints proper are not violated in cases of multiple linking, supporting the premise that satisfaction of alignment constraints is to be distinguished from satisfaction of constraints requiring prosodic units to have crisp edges (as argued for in Ito and Mester, in press)
Flux of the paramyxovirus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoprotein through the endoplasmic reticulum activates transcription of the GRP78-BiP gene

The cellular glucose-regulated protein GRP78-BiP is a member of the HSP70 stress family of gene products, and the protein is a resident component of the endoplasmic reticulum, where it is thought to play a role in the folding and oligomerization of secretory and membrane-bound proteins. GRP78-BiP also binds to malfolded proteins, and this may be one mechanism for preventing their intracellular transport. An induction in synthesis of the GRP78-BiP protein occurs in cells infected with paramyxoviruses (R. W. Peluso, R. A. Lamb, and P. W. Choppin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75:6120-6124, 1978). We have studied the expression and activity of the GRP78-BiP gene and synthesis of the GRP78-BiP protein during infection with the paramyxovirus simian virus 5 (SV5). We wished to identify the viral component capable of causing activation of GRP78-BiP since GRP78-BiP interacts specifically and transiently with the SV5 hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) glycoprotein during HN folding (D. T. W. Ng, R. E. Randall, and R. A. Lamb, J. Cell Biol. 109:3273-3289, 1989). Expression of cDNAs of the SV5 wild-type HN glycoprotein and a mutant form of HN that is malfolded but not the SV5 F glycoprotein or SV5 cytoplasmic proteins P, V, and M caused increased amounts of GRP78-BiP mRNA to accumulate, as detected by nuclease S1 protection assays. As unfolded or malfolded forms of HN cannot be detected to accumulate during SV5 infection, the data suggest that the flux of HN through the ER in SV5-infected cells can cause activation of GRP78-BiP transcription.
History of Anticancer Drugs

The origins of cancer chemotherapies can be traced back to their roots in the nineteenth century. Historically, the majority of anticancer drugs have been natural products or synthetic agents designed to target a specific function in the cell or nucleus of tumour cells. These conventional agents however typically suffer from side effects as they are administered systemically – that is, they circulate to other organs where they often exert unwanted ‘bystander’ toxicity. More recent approaches have harnessed the power of monoclonal antibodies, complex proteins which are manufactured from cells. Antibodies accumulate on and around specific cell types (by binding to antigens on the surface of cells), and a number of antibodies which target and kill specific cancer cells have now been developed as therapeutics. A related strategy is to employ the antibody as a ‘delivery vehicle’ to accumulate a conventional anticancer drug in the cancer cell. Such antibody drug conjugates hold great promise. Key Concepts: A number of plants and bacteria produce toxins which have been used successfully as anticancer drugs. A major limitation of conventional anticancer drugs is that they are also toxic to healthy tissue, and result in many side effects including nausea, hair loss, bone marrow loss and irritation of the gastrointestinal tract. Proteins known as monoclonal antibodies, which target individual cell types specifically, hold great promise for the treatment of certain cancers. Future research will focus on personalised cancer therapeutics, where the appropriate drug is selected based on the patients genomic makeup. Synthetic derivatives and mimics of natural products have become front line therapeutics against a number of cancers. Keywords: anticancer drugs; history; natural products; monoclonal antibodies; antibody drug conjugates
An XML-based protocol for distributed event services

A recent trend in distributed computing is the construction of high-performance distributed systems called computational grids. One difficulty we have encountered is that there is no standard format for the representation of performance information and no standard protocol for transmitting this information. This limits the types of performance analysis that can be undertaken in complex distributed systems. To address this problem, we present an XML-based protocol for transmitting performance events in distributed systems and evaluate the performance of this protocol.
Import Demand Elasticity and Exporter Responses to Anti-Dumping Duties

When an anti-dumping (AD) duty is imposed, a foreign exporting firm must decide whether to stay in the market and how to price its product. This paper investigates both of these decisions, but focuses on firm pricing by exploring the pass-through of the AD duty. Our model of exporter behavior shows that the firm’s responses crucially depend on the elasticity of the import demand. The firm finds it easier to increase the price if it faces a low elasticity of demand. The theoretical predictions are supported empirically by relating product-level US import demand elasticities and exporting firms’ reactions to duties inferred from a dataset on US AD investigations from 1980 to 1995.