cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms of resistance to organophosphorus insecticides in Culex tarsalis.

A 55.6-fold level of resistance to parathion in larvae of a multiresistant strain of Culex tarsalis Coquillett was shown to be due to slower penetration and increased metabolism of the toxicant. After 4 h exposure, 1.9× more water-soluble metabolites and 0.4× less intact parathion were recovered from the resistant strain relative to the susceptible. Comparable amounts of paraoxon were isolated from both strains. During the same period, larvae of the susceptible strain absorbed 1.3× as much parathion as resistant larvae. In vivo tests revealed strong synergism of organophosphorus compounds in the resistant strain by DEF (S, S, S-tributyl phosphorotrithioate) but antagonism or no effect by piperonyl butoxide. In vitro assays indicated that resistance was not due to acetylcholinesterase insensitivity to inhibition by organophosphates.
Investigation of the Elemental Profile of Petroleum Jelly-Based Personal Care Products by ICP-MS

ABSTRACTHair-relaxing kits are used by many women, a high percentage of whom are African American, to transform curly hair to straight hair. Almost all varieties consist of extremely caustic solutions that demonstrate pH values in the range of 10–14. Because of the harshness of this alkaline reagent, petroleum jelly (petrolatum) is often times incorporated into the composition to protect the scalp. Petrolatum, a highly organic byproduct of crude oil, is widely used in cosmetics and topical pharmaceuticals as well. This article reports the elemental composition of various brands of hair-relaxing creams. Several sample preparation techniques were investigated for the digestion of this very organic, viscous matrix. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was used for its multi-element capability and high sensitivity. Internal standard calibration was used in the quantitation of a select group of metals, transition metals, and metalloids (Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Ga, Ge, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ag, Cd, Cs,...
Bayesian Inference for Dynamics of Slowly Changing Variables in Time-Series Cross-Sectional Data Analyses

The time-invariant and/or rarely changing explanatory variables are of interest to political scientists, including both their short- and long-run effects. However, estimating these effects in the analysis of time-series cross-sectional (TSCS) data by the conventional estimators may be problematic when unit effects are included in the model. This paper discusses the advantages of using Bayesian multilevel modeling to estimate the dynamic effects of these slowly changing explanatory variables in the analysis of TSCS data and applies a Bayesian dynamic multilevel model to analyzing the effects of political regime on social spending in Latin America.
Study on self-rated health among populations with different incomes

Objective To study impact of income level on self-rated health scores of local residents.Method Multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling method was used to select subjects from community residents.Self-rated health modified scale(SRHMS V1.0)was used to collect self-rated health scores.One-way analysis of variance and Student-Newman-Keuls(SNK)test were used to compare mean values.Results For all dimensions together with 3sub-scales and total scales,scores of self-rated physical health,self-rated mental health and self-rated social health among populations with different incomes showed significant difference(P0.001).No significant difference was observed among scores of all dimensions and sub-scales for self-rated mental health and self-rated social health in populations with middle-high incomes and high incomes(P0.05). For all other dimensions,sub-scales and total scales,significant difference was observed for scores between every 2groups among other populations(P0.001).Mean self-rated health score increasesd with income;maximum mean score was found in populations with middle and high incomes.Conclusion Self-rated health score was impacted by income level.More attention should be paid to low-income populations via health education.
Happiness and Education: Character and Spirituality

Philosophers have long insisted that a measure of goodness is necessary for happiness or human flourishing. These days, however, we hear many cynical comments about the purported unhappiness of the rich and wicked. “I'd like to be so unhappy,” a scoffer may comment on the wealth and high-living style of some enormously rich, not very nice person. Still, we know that the rich are not always happy, and the forms of happiness we admire — those derived from mutual relationships, respect in public life, inner serenity — require a depth of character and spirituality. As parents, we want our children to be good, not only so that they will succeed financially but, even more, because we believe in the connection between goodness and happiness. Caring Relations and Character Character education — the deliberate attempt to inculcate virtues — is the oldest and best-known mode of moral education. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, after a lapse of just a few decades, it has once more become popular. There are many thoughtful people, however, who object to the movement. Some dissenters doubt (with Socrates) that virtues can be taught at all; others object to how they are often taught — by indoctrination. Still others, while sharing the doubts just mentioned, feel that most efforts at character education start with a mistaken view of moral life.
Martingales in Banach Spaces

Introduction Description of the contents 1. Banach space valued martingales 2. Radon Nikodym property 3. Harmonic functions and RNP 4. Analytic functions and ARNP 5. The UMD property for Banach spaces 6. Hilbert transform and UMD Banach spaces 7. Banach space valued H1 and BMO 8. Interpolation methods 9. The strong p-variation of martingales 10. Uniformly convex of martingales 11. Super-reflexivity 12. Interpolation and strong p-variation 13. Martingales and metric spaces 14. Martingales in non-commutative LP *.
Technical Note: Development of a combined molecular breast imaging/ultrasound system for diagnostic evaluation of MBI-detected lesions

Purpose The purpose of this study was to perform a pilot evaluation of an integrated molecular breast imaging/ultrasound (MBI/US) system designed to enable, in real-time, the registration of US to MBI and diagnostic evaluation of breast lesions detected on MBI. Methods The MBI/US system was constructed by modifying an existing dual-head cadmium zinc telluride (CZT)-based MBI gamma camera. The upper MBI detector head was replaced with a mesh panel, which allowed an ultrasound probe to access the breast. An optical tracking system was used to monitor the location of the ultrasound transducer, referenced to the MBI detector. The lesion depth at which ultrasound was targeted was estimated from analysis of previously acquired dual-head MBI datasets. A software tool was developed to project the US field of view onto the current MBI image. Correlation of lesion location between both modalities with real-time MBI/US scanning was confirmed in a breast phantom model and assessed in 12 patients with a breast lesion detected on MBI. Results Combined MBI/US scanning allowed for registration of lesions detected on US and MBI as validated in phantom experiments. In patient studies, successful registration was achieved in 8 of 12 (67%) patients, with complete registration achieved in seven and partial registration achieved in one patient. In 4 of 12 (37%) patients, lesion registration was not achieved, partially attributed to uncertainty in lesion depth estimates from MBI. Conclusion The MBI/US system enabled successful registration of US to MBI in over half of patients studied in this pilot evaluation. Future studies are needed to determine if real-time, registered US imaging of MBI-detected lesions may obviate the need to proceed to more expensive procedures such as contrast-enhanced breast MRI for diagnostic workup or biopsy of MBI findings.
The Protein Subunit of Telomerase Is Downregulated with Normal Myeloid Differentiation, but Reactivated in Leukemic Progenitors.

Telomeres are comprised of TTAGGG nucleotide repeats and a large protein complex that together protect chromosomal ends. Telomeres shorten progressively with cell division in the absence of telomerase, a reverse transcriptase that synthesizes telomere repeats. Critical telomere shortening has potent effects on cancer development, either blocking cancer progression by impairing proliferation and survival or promoting cancer by enhancing chromosomal instability. Although telomerase is upregulated in the vast majority of human cancers, where it is thought to endow cancer cells with unlimited proliferative capacity, the regulation of telomerase during the course of normal lineage development or during leukemogenesis remains unclear. Here, we show that expression of TERT, the protein catalytic subunit of telomerase, is tightly regulated during myeloid development in both human and mouse. Real time PCR analysis of RNA from purified human stem cell and progenitor cell populations showed that TERT mRNA was highest in human HSCs (100%, values normalized to HSC). TERT mRNA remained high in common myeloid progenitors (CMP, 47%), but was dramatically decreased with differentiation to granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (GMP, 3%) or megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitors (MEP, 0.2%). TERT was similarly down regulated during normal myeloid development in mouse bone marrow. In marked contrast, TERT was reactivated in leukemic GMP in a transgenic Fas lpr/lpr hMRP8BCL2 mouse model of acute myelogenous leukemia. Notably, transplantation experiments demonstrated that leukemic GMP provided the most robust leukemic transplantation potential compared with HSC or blasts suggesting that TERT reactivation may provide an important final step in leukemic pathogenesis by enhancing the replicative life-span of leukemic progenitors. Currently, we are in the process of assessing TERT regulation in human leukemic progenitors isolated from patients with CML in chronic, accelerated and blast phases. Together, these data indicate that TERT is most highly expressed in stem cells and multipotent progenitors. This pattern of TERT expression may reflect a need for efficient telomere maintenance in these stem/progenitor compartments. Furthermore, these data are consistent with our recent data showing novel, telomere length-independent functions for TERT in stem/progenitor cell compartments.
A Computerized Family Planning Counseling Aid: A Pilot Study Evaluation of Smart Choices

CONTEXT: Resource constraints may make it challenging for family planning clinics to provide comprehensive contraceptive counseling; technological tools that help providers follow recommended practices without straining resources merit evaluation. METHODS: A pilot study using a two-group posttest-only experimental design evaluated Smart Choices a computer-based tool designed to help providers offer more patient-centered counseling and enable patients to participate proactively in the counseling session. In two North Carolina family planning clinics 214 women received usual counseling in March-May 2013 and 126 women used Smart Choices in May-July 2013. Exit interviews provided data for the evaluation. Multivariate Poisson and multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to examine group differences in counseling outcomes. RESULTS: Three of 12 hypotheses tested were supported: Compared with controls women in the intervention group knew more contraceptive methods (adjusted mean 11.1 vs. 10.7); discussed more topics related to sexual health during counseling (1.2 vs. 0.9 among those reporting any discussion); and rated counseling as more patient-centered an indication of how well they felt providers understood their family planning circumstances and ideas (3.9 vs. 3.7 on a scale of 1-4). Contrary to another hypothesis controls were more likely than women in the intervention group to choose IUDs and implants. CONCLUSIONS: Computerized counseling aids like Smart Choices are in an early stage of development. Future research is warranted to develop tools that lead to more productive and individualized clinic visits and ultimately to more effective contraceptive use and reduced levels of unintended pregnancy. Copyright (c) 2017 by the Guttmacher Institute.
Examining Student Thinking Through Teacher Noticing: Commentary

With the growing research base on teacher noticing has come a similar expansion of methodologies used to measure teacher noticing. The six chapters in this section reflect a range of methodologies, and this commentary is organized around three methodological considerations showcased in the chapters: (a) adoption of a conception of teacher noticing, (b) design of data-collection tools, and (c) choice of data-analysis lenses.
Multi-Parameter Ensemble Learning for Automated Vertebral Body Segmentation in Heterogeneously Acquired Clinical MR Images

The development of quantitative imaging biomarkers in medicine requires automatic delineation of relevant anatomical structures using available imaging data. However, this task is complicated in clinical medicine due to the variation in scanning parameters and protocols, even within a single medical center. Existing literature on automatic image segmentation using MR data is based on the analysis of highly homogenous images obtained using a fixed set of pulse sequence parameters (TR/TE). Unfortunately, algorithms that operate on fixed scanning parameters do not avail themselves to real-world daily clinical use due to the existing variation in scanning parameters and protocols. Thus, it is necessary to develop algorithmic techniques that can address the challenge of MR image segmentation using real clinical data. Toward this goal, we developed a multi-parametric ensemble learning technique to automatically detect and segment lumbar vertebral bodies using MR images of the spine. We use spine imaging data to illustrate our techniques since low back pain is an extremely common condition and a typical spine clinic evaluates patients that have been referred with a wide range of scanning parameters. This method was designed with special emphasis on robustness so that it can perform well despite the inherent variation in scanning protocols. Specifically, we show how a single multi-parameter ensemble model trained with manually labeled T2 scans can autonomously segment vertebral bodies on scans with echo times varying between 24 and 147 ms and relaxation times varying between 1500 and 7810 ms. Furthermore, even though the model was trained using T2-MR imaging data, it can accurately segment vertebral bodies on T1-MR and CT, further demonstrating the robustness and versatility of our methodology. We believe that robust segmentation techniques, such as the one presented here, are necessary for translating computer assisted diagnosis into everyday clinical practice.
The Relationship between Faculty Confirmation and Community College Student Self-Efficacy

ABSTRACTNearly half of all college students in the United States begin at community colleges, including higher numbers of students coming from backgrounds which have been historically underrepresented in higher education. Despite record numbers of new students enrolling at community colleges, the number of students who are retained at the institution long enough to be deemed successful, either through transferring or graduating, remains largely unchanged. One theory is that some students enter college with less confidence in their ability to be successful, hastening their departure. Faculty members are in a unique position to impact student self-efficacy, which ultimately may impact student success. This exploratory study quantitatively assessed whether a relationship exists between confirmation behaviors employed by faculty members in the classroom and changes in reported academic self-efficacy of students. The research was conducted through a causal comparative matched pair design with Midwestern commun...
Objectives of Training in Psychosomatic Medicine in Primary Care

The aim of psychosomatic primary care is to overcome the dualism in medicine and health care by making overall diagnoses. Physical and psychological symptoms, as well as subjective experience and its processing, are described in the context of present and past relationship experiences and, above all, in the current doctor-patient contact where their significance for the current symptoms is assessed. The basis of this process is a trusting and empathic doctor-patient relationship. Further goals of the basic therapy are solution-oriented problem clarification, help in overcoming life crises, specific treatment for various psychological disorders including psychopharmacotherapy, and preparation and initiation of further psychotherapeutic treatment in an inpatient or outpatient facility. The three targeted skills of psychosomatic medicine in primary care are: 1. Recognition of mental disorders. 2. Basic interventions. 3. Collaboration with mental health specialists.
Quantification of 3-ketodihydrosphingosine using HPLC-ESI-MS/MS to study SPT activity in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) catalyzes the rate-limiting step of condensation of L-serine and palmitoyl-CoA to form 3-ketodihydrosphingosine (3KDS). Here, we report a HPLC-ESI-MS/MS method to directly quantify 3KDS generated by SPT. With this technique, we were able to detect 3KDS at a level comparable to that of dihydrosphingosine in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae An in vitro SPT assay measuring the incorporation of deuterated serine into deuterated 3KDS was developed. The results show that SPT kinetics in response to palmitoyl-CoA fit into an allosteric sigmoidal model, suggesting the existence of more than one palmitoyl-CoA binding site on yeast SPT and positive cooperativity between them. Myriocin inhibition of yeast SPT activity was also investigated and we report here, for the first time, an estimated myriocin Ki for yeast SPT of approximately 10 nM. Lastly, we investigated the fate of serine α-proton during SPT reaction. We provide additional evidence to support the proposed mechanism of SPT catalytic activity in regard to proton exchange between the intermediate NH3+ base formed on the active Lys residue with surrounding water. These findings establish the current method as a powerful tool with significant resolution and quantitative power to study SPT activity.
Promoting a Child Rights-Based Approach to Immigration in the United States

This article argues that immigration policymakers, activists, and programs should implement a child rights-based approach to immigration in the United States based on the key principles of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Children impacted by immigration policies suffer from the lack of a comprehensive legal framework protecting their rights in the context of migration. There is no federal child rights framework in the U.S., and state child welfare laws and policies have limited influence over U.S. immigration policy. While the U.S. has failed to ratify the CRC, the Convention can nevertheless serve as a conceptual model for developing principled and impactful initiatives responding to today's migration-related challenges. This article provides a broad analysis of U.S. immigration policies and practices as they relate to children through the lens of the four key principles of the CRC, and highlights promising initiatives, such as legal service models providing "universal representation" and various state and local-level policy reforms.
Monoamine oxidase isoenzymes: genes, functions and targets for behavior and cancer therapy

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) catalyzes the oxidative deamination of monoamine neurotransmitters and dietary amines. Two pharmacological types with different substrate and inhibitor specificities were reported. Molecular cloning revealed that the two types of MAO were different genes expressed as different proteins with different functions. MAO A and B have identical intron-exon organization derived by duplication of a common ancestral gene thus they are termed isoenzymes. MAO A knockout mice exhibited aggression, the first clear evidence linking genes to behavior. MAO A KO mice exhibited autistic-like behaviors which could be prevented by reducing serotonin levels at an early developmental age (P1-P7) providing potential therapy. MAO B KO mice were non-aggressive and resistant to Parkinsongenic neurotoxin. More recently it was found that MAO A is overexpressed in prostate cancer and correlates with degree of malignancy. The oncogenic mechanism involves a ROS-activated AKT/FOXO1/TWIST1 signaling pathway. Deletion of MAO A reduced prostate cancer stem cells and suppressed invasive adenocarcinoma. MAO A was also overexpressed in classical Hodgkin lymphoma and glioma brain tumors. MAO B was overexpressed in glioma and non-small cell lung cancer. MAO A inhibitors reduce the growth of prostate cancer, drug sensitive and resistant gliomas and classical Hodgkin lymphoma, and enhance standard chemotherapy. Currently, we are developing NIR dye-conjugated clorgyline (MAO A inhibitor) as a novel dual therapeutic/diagnostic agent for cancer. A phase II clinical trial of MAO inhibitor for biochemical recurrent prostate cancer is ongoing. The role of MAO A and B in several cancer types opens new avenues for cancer therapies.
Prostate cancer survival in the United States by race and stage (2001-2009): Findings from the CONCORD-2 study.

Background The 5-year relative survival for prostate cancers diagnosed between 1990 and 1994 in the United States was very high (92%); however, survival in black males was 7% lower compared with white males. The authors updated these findings and examined survival by stage and race. Methods The authors used data from the CONCORD-2 study for males (ages 15-99 years) who were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 37 states, covering 80% of the US population. Survival was adjusted for background mortality (net survival) using state-specific and race-specific life tables and was age-standardized. Data were presented for 2001 through 2003 and 2004 through 2009 to account for changes in collecting SEER Summary Stage 2000. Results Among the 1,527,602 prostate cancers diagnosed between 2001 and 2009, the proportion of localized cases increased from 73% to 77% in black males and from 77% to 79% in white males. Although the proportion of distant-stage cases was higher among black males than among white males, they represented less than 6% of cases in both groups between 2004 and 2009. Net survival exceeded 99% for localized stage between 2004 and 2009 in both racial groups. Overall, and in most states, 5-year net survival exceeded 95%. Conclusions Prostate cancer survival has increased since the first CONCORD study, and the racial gap has narrowed. Earlier detection of localized cancers likely contributed to this finding. However, racial disparities also were observed in overall survival. To help understand which factors might contribute to the persistence of this disparity, states could use local data to explore sociodemographic characteristics, such as survivors' health insurance status, health literacy, treatment decision-making processes, and treatment preferences. Cancer 2017;123:5160-77. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
BuildingIQ Technology Field Validation

Author(s): Granderson, Jessica; Lin, Guanjing; Singla, Rupam; Fernandes, Samuel; Touzani, Samir | Abstract: This document describes a field validation and verification of the BuildingIQ Predictive Energy Optimization (PEO) technology based on a five-site study. BuildingIQ describes its PEO technology as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that optimizes commercial building HVAC control for system efficiency, occupant comfort, and cost. It is targeted for use in large, complex buildings, and integrates with the building automation system (BAS) to conduct supervisory control. The PEO algorithm defines optimal space air temperature setpoints that are automatically implemented at the variable air volume (VAV) terminal units when possible, or through supply air temperature and duct static pressure setpoints at the air handling unit (AHU) level. The optimization is built upon a learned predictive model that provides a 24-hour ahead forecast of the building’s power profile, using weather forecasts and historical operational data; this model is updated every 4 to 6 hours. Demand-responsive load reductions may also be implemented.
Global Health Education in Child Neurology and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Training Programs in the United States: A National Survey.

Objectives:To describe the current landscape of opportunities and education in global health among child neurology and neurodevelopmental disabilities training programs and provide a framework for ...
Crop diversification and resilience of agriculture to climatic shocks: Evidence from India

Abstract Indian agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate shocks, such as floods, droughts and heat-stress. In this paper, using a dynamic panel-data approach we have assessed the impact of rainfall-deficit and heat-stress on agricultural productivity, and subsequently evaluated effectiveness of crop diversification in mitigating their adverse effects. The findings show that both rainfall-deficit and heat-stress damage agricultural productivity, and the damage increases with increase in their severity. Nevertheless, we find crop diversification as an important ex ante adaptation measure to climatic shocks and its adaptation benefits are more apparent against severe shocks and in the long-run. Our findings reinforce the dynamic role of crop diversification in improving resilience of agricultural production systems to climatic shocks.
QUANTITATION AND AUTOMATION OF CHROMOSOMAL DATA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE CHROMOSOMES OF THE HAMSHIRE PIG (SUS SCROFA)

Publisher Summary The key to the development of somatic genetics lies in the characterization of genetic markers that express themselves at the cellular level and are unrepressed by cell culture conditions. The likely candidates are variant enzyme and antigen phenotypes. The characterization and analysis of such phenotypes can be expected to be facilitated by cytogenetic techniques. This chapter discusses a study in which the quantitation and automation of chromosomal data with special reference to the chromosomes of the Hamshire pig. Chromosomal preparations were made on fetuses of Hamshire pigs obtained from a slaughter house. Kidney tissue cultures were studied cytologically during the second passage, usually 10 days after the initial explantation. Arm ratios were calculated directly from absolute arm length data.
COPD: A New Diagnostic Paradigm.

The disease we know as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continues a circuitous journey in its definition, characterization and clinical course. The article by Lowe et al in this issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation expands our understanding of the diagnosis, progression and mortality of this heterogeneous group of disorders.1 The definition of COPD is expanded and a new diagnostic term is introduced – COPDGene® 2019. This perspective provides insights on the importance of this manuscript to clinicians, clinical researchers, and patients. Four questions are raised by this new definition of COPD: · Does COPDGene® 2019 differ from the current definition of COPD? · Is COPDGene® 2019 clinically important? · Are there opportunities for future research to improve the implementation and management of COPDGene® 2019? · How can clinicians employ COPDGene® 2019 in the management of their patients?
Cluster-based Module to Manage Smart Grid Data for an Enhanced Situation Awareness: A Case Study

Under an imminent or ongoing cyberattack, utility network and security operation control center (NOC/SOC) analysts lack access to relevant, timely data, thus reducing their speeds of incident response and decision-making. To enhance their situation awareness, this paper proposes a Data Module (DM) that uses computer clusters to ingest, process, and store data from heterogeneous sources of smart grids and utility enterprise, and derive contextual relationships across attributes to infer meaningful trends. The goal of DM is to enhance situation awareness of its users in a time-constrained environment. The paper describes DM's architecture, presents three functions (correlation, classification and regression trees, and K-means clustering), and validates them using weather and smart meter data from a real Florida neighborhood for the years 2013 to 2015. In doing so, this paper demonstrates the use of an independent module that can be readily customized and integrated into utility NOC/SOC for effective data ingestion and contextualization for well-informed decision-making.
Agreement Study Using Gesture Description Analysis

Choosing adequate gestures for touchless interfaces is a challenging task that has a direct impact on human–computer interaction. Such gestures are commonly determined by the designer, ad-hoc, rule-based, or agreement-based methods. Previous approaches to assess agreement grouped the gestures into equivalence classes and ignored the integral properties that are shared between them. In this article, we propose a generalized framework that inherently incorporates the gesture descriptors into the agreement analysis. In contrast to previous approaches, we represent gestures using binary description vectors and allow them to be partially similar. In this context, we introduce a new metric referred to as soft agreement rate ( $\mathcal {SAR}$ ) to measure the level of agreement and provide a mathematical justification for this metric. Furthermore, we perform computational experiments to study the behavior of $\mathcal {SAR}$ and demonstrate that existing agreement metrics are a special case of our approach. Our method is evaluated and tested through a guessability study conducted with a group of neurosurgeons. Nevertheless, our formulation can be applied to any other user-elicitation study. Results show that the level of agreement obtained by $\mathcal {SAR}$ is 2.64 times higher than the previous metrics. Finally, we show that our approach complements the existing agreement techniques by generating an artificial lexicon based on the most agreed properties.
Time since targets’ initial public offerings, asymmetric information, uncertainty, and acquisition pricing

Abstract We document that acquirer announcement returns decrease and takeover premiums increase with the length of time since targets’ initial public offerings. Declining asymmetric information that leads to lower target valuation uncertainty for the acquirer can explain these effects. Newly public firms should have greater information asymmetry than established public firms that makes the target valuation more uncertain for a less-informed acquirer. Risk-averse acquirer managers pay less for riskier targets, resulting in relatively low takeover premiums and high acquirer announcement returns. Over time, as a target builds a public track record, the asymmetric information about its valuation declines, and takeover premiums increase to the benefit of target shareholders and the detriment of acquirer shareholders.
Outcomes After Extracorporeal Life Support Cannulation in Pediatric Patients With Trisomy 13 and Trisomy 18

Abstract Background Indications for extracorporeal life support (ECLS) have evolved and expanded, yet its use in trisomy 13 (T13) and trisomy 18 (T18) patients remains controversial. We reviewed the experience of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization with ECLS in these patients to inform practice at our institution. Methods The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry was queried for all patients younger than 18 y with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition/Tenth Edition code for T13 or T18 from 2000 to 2018. Basic demographics, ECLS details, and clinical outcomes were recorded. Descriptive statistics were performed. Results Twenty-eight patients were identified (15 with T13; 13 with T18), representing 0.06% (28 of 46,901) of pediatric ECLS cannulations. The median weight was 3.5 kg (range, 1.4-13), and age at cannulation was 52 d (range, 0 d-6.8 y). Time on ECLS ranged from 13 to 478 h (median, 114). Cardiac defects were diagnosed in 19 (68%) patients, of which 13 (46%) underwent surgical repair. Median oxygenation index pre-ECLS was 45. Venoarterial cannulations accounted for 82% of patients, whereas 14% underwent venovenous cannulation. Overall survival to hospital discharge was 46% with 86% of patients experiencing one or more complications. There were no survivors when cannulation continued past 12 d. Conclusions Although complications are frequent, the mortality rate in patients with T13 and T18 remains within the reported range for the general pediatric population. T13 and T18 alone should not be viewed as absolute contraindications to ECLS within the pediatric population but rather considered during the evaluation of a patient's potential candidacy.
Anger Increases Susceptibility to Misinformation

The effect of anger on acceptance of false details was examined using a three-phase misinformation paradigm. Participants viewed an event, were presented with schema-consistent and schema-irrelevant misinformation about it, and were given a surprise source monitoring test to examine the acceptance of the suggested material. Between each phase of the experiment, they performed a task that either induced anger or maintained a neutral mood. Participants showed greater susceptibility to schema-consistent than schema-irrelevant misinformation. Anger did not affect either recognition or source accuracy for true details about the initial event, but suggestibility for false details increased with anger. In spite of this increase in source errors (i.e., misinformation acceptance), both confidence in the accuracy of source attributions and decision speed for incorrect judgments also increased with anger. Implications are discussed with respect to both the general effects of anger and real-world applications such as eyewitness memory.
Microsphere antioxidant and sustained erythropoietin-R76E release functions cooperate to reduce traumatic optic neuropathy

Abstract Wild-type erythropoietin (EPO) is promising for neuroprotection, but its therapeutic use is limited because it causes a systemic rise in hematocrit. We have developed an EPO-R76E derivative that maintains neuroprotective function without effects on hematocrit, but this protein has a short half-life in vivo. Here, we compare the efficacy and carrier-induced inflammatory response of two polymeric microparticle (MP) EPO-R76E sustained release formulations based on conventional hydrolytically degradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-degradable poly(propylene sulfide) (PPS). Both MP types effectively loaded EPO-R76E and achieved sustained release, providing detectable levels of EPO-R76E at the injection site in the eye in vivo for at least 28 days. Testing in an in vitro oxidative stress assay and a mouse model of blast-induced indirect traumatic optic neuropathy (bITON) showed that PPS and PLGA MP-mediated delivery of EPO-R76E provided therapeutic protection. While unloaded PLGA MPs inherently increase levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the bITON model, drug-free PPS MPs have innate antioxidant properties that provide therapeutic benefit both in vitro and in vivo. Both PLGA and PPS MPs enabled sustained release of EPO-R76E, providing therapeutic benefits including reduction in inflammation and axon degeneration, and preservation of visual function as measured by electroretinogram. The PPS-based MP platform is especially promising for further development, as the delivery system provides inherent antioxidant benefits that can be harnessed to work in complement with EPO-R76E or other drugs for neuroprotection in the setting of traumatic eye injury.
Advocating a just transition in Appalachia: Civil society and industrial change in a carbon-intensive region

Abstract Whereas research to date has focused on the role of governments and unions in leading just transition initiatives, this study explores the role of a broad range of civil society actors. It focuses on the central Appalachian region in the U.S. (Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia), which has significant fossil-fuel resources. Based on an analysis of 98 initiatives related to a just transition led by 70 civil society organizations during the 2010–2020 period, the study contributes to the just transitions literature by showing the role of non-labor civil society in defining and motivating a just transition in the context of resistance from actors associated with fossil-fuel industries. The study develops a framework for researching just transitions that is based on two sets of goals: societal change (democracy and equity) and sociotechnical system change (support for renewable energy and energy efficiency and opposition to fossil-fuel extraction and pollution). Results from the comparative and network analyses indicate that the four goal types are not equally represented and that civil society organizations tend to specialize with respect to the goals, with only a few organizations providing bridges across the goals. Implications for strategy for funders and advocacy organizations are discussed.
Abstract P130: Association Between Ready-to-eat Cereal Consumption And Nutrient Intakes Among Children 2 To 18 Years, Stratified By Household Income: Results From The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2018

Ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal has been associated with higher diet quality and dairy intake (it is often consumed with milk) in children and is an affordable source of under-consumed nutrients and whol...
Vectofusin-1–based T-cell transduction approach compared with RetroNectin-based transduction for generating murine chimeric antigen receptor T-cells

Abstract Gene transfer into human and murine T-cells using viral-based approaches has several promising therapeutic applications including the production of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy. The generation of murine CAR-T is paramount to test and validate immunocompetent mouse models for CAR-T therapy. Several viral transduction enhancers already exist for gene therapy with few limitations. In this study, we tested vectofusin-1, a short cationic peptide, as a soluble transduction enhancer for gammaretroviral transduction for the generation of anti-CD19 murine CAR-T. We found that in comparison to Retronectin, Vectofusin-1 is an equally optimal transduction enhancer for the generation of murine CAR-T cells.
Design Guidelines of Tools for Facilitating Blind People to Independently Format Their Documents

In professional and educational settings, a document’s presentation can be as important as its content. Thus, blind people often rely on sighted help for fear of having their documents treated dismissively or misinterpreted as lack of professionalism or education, by sighted readers when the documents do not meet presentation ‘standards’. Still, most work on helping blind people with word-processed documents focuses on the content rather than the formatting. Our work aims to enable the development of efficient tools to help blind people independently format their documents. We first sought to understand blind peoples’ experiences and issues with document formatting and sighted readers’ strategies and expectations regarding well-formatted documents. As a result, we compiled a set of guidelines for such tools and present them here.
Respiration by Birds at High Altitude and in Flight

When they fly, birds use more energy per unit of time than any other exercising vertebrate of similar size. Oxygen transfer to their tissues must therefore be especially efficient. Some birds visit and others reside at high altitudes, where environmental temperatures and available O2 are below the tolerance limits for many mammals. At 7,000 meters above sea level (ASL) where several birds are found, for example, barometric pressure (PB) and O2 partial pressure (PO2) fall to 308 Torr and 65 Torr, respectively. Mean air temperature (Ta) reaches an average of -30°C at the same height.
Global Existence and Asymptotics in One-Dimensional Nonlinear Viscoelasticity.

Abstract : In this paper we survey recent results concerning global existence and decay of smooth solutions of certain quasilinear hyperbolic Volterra equations which provide models for the motion of one-dimensional viscoelastic solid of the Boltzmann type. We also sketch the derivation of these equations from physical principles, discuss the physically appropriate assumptions, and prove a special case of a new existence theorem for the Cauchy problem. (Author)
An Overview of Computational and Theoretical Immunology

In this talk, I will give an overview of the operating principles of the immune system emphasizing its role as a pattern recognizer. The fundamental algorithm that the immune system uses to recognize foreign cells and molecules is called clonal selection. The basic idea is to generate cells each of which has many copies of a unique receptor on its surface. In the case of B lymphocytes, which are the cells in the immune system that secrete antibody, the receptor is a membrane associated form of antibody called surface immunoglobulin (sIg). Each lymphocyte during its development expresses a pseudo random set of genes, which code for its surface Ig. The diversity of Ig genes is such that potentially about 1010 different sIg molecules could be made. A mouse, for example, only has 108 lymphocytes so that at any given time only a small fraction of its potential repertoire of receptor types can be found in the animal. This is called the expressed repertoire. When a foreign molecule (antigen) is encountered, one hopes the diversity of receptor types is sufficiently large that one or more lymphocytes will recognize the antigen. If this occurs, the lymphocyte will be triggered to proliferate and make copies of itself, as well as to differentiate into cells that secrete high levels of antibody. The antibody they secrete is a soluble form of their sIg. Thus, in essence antigen selects the lymphocytes that can recognize it and causes those cells to expand into a clone, hence the name clonal selection. Given this scenario and assuming a random repertoire of size N such that each receptor has a probability p of recognizing a random antigen, one can easily see that the probability of an antigen not being recognized by any receptor is \((1-p)^N = \exp[N \ln(1-p)]\), which for p≪ 1 is approximately e − − pN, and the probability of recognizing an antigen is 1–e − − pN. Note that if p=1, the immune system would only need one receptor, but since this receptor would also recognize self molecules it would not be useful. Consequently, one must also require that the immune discriminate between self and non-self.
Toward a Computational Model of Transfer

This article focuses on a broad framing of the DARPA Transfer Learning Program research and an assessment of its progress, limitations, and challenges, from an admittedly personal but DARPA-influenced perspective. I will focus on a broad framing of TL that that will allow us to talk about this body of work as a whole, and use this to look towards work yet to be done in this area. I will consider both indicated application areas for transfer learning, as well as indicated future research challenges. With each of these I will also venture assessment of the "ripeness" of each of these subareas for follow on work-of course this assessment will be a very personal estimation based on the effort and progress made during the TL program.
Treatment of cervical carcinoma.

Abstract A comparison of cervical carcinoma survival data is made between a large specialized cancer treatment center, M. D. Anderson, and a general regional medical center with 15,000 inpatient admissions and over 250,000 outpatient visits per year. End results are identical and did not depend on the percentage of time spent by the gynecologists or radiation therapists on problems of pelvic cancer.
Interactions of Escherichia coli transcription termination factor rho with RNA. II. Electron microscopy and nuclease protection experiments.

Structural aspects of the interaction between Escherichia coli transcription termination factor rho and RNA have been investigated, using nuclease protection assays and electron microscopy. A synthetic RNA, poly(rC), has been used as a substrate for these studies, since it binds tightly to rho and acts as a strong activator of the ATPase activity of rho. Digestion of oligo(rC)-rho complexes with ribonuclease A yields oligo(rC) fragments with a maximum length of 70 to 80 nucleotide residues. Electron micrographs demonstrate that rho binds to poly(rC) as a toroid-shaped oligomer with an outside diameter of approximately 120 A. Taken together with data from the accompanying paper, which shows that the RNA binding site size per rho monomer is 13(±1) nucleotide residues, we infer that rho binds RNA as a hexamer with an oligomeric site size of 72 to 84 residues. Further analysis of the electron micrographs has revealed that the polynucleotide chain is wrapped around, or condensed within, the protein oligomer, rho hexamers bind to poly(rC) with moderate co-operativity (ω = 380 ± 60), displaying no significant preference for binding to chain ends versus internal sites on the polynucleotide chain. These findings and those of the companion paper are discussed in terms of various models for the structure of the rho-RNA complex in transcription termination.
Development of an FPGA for multitechnology applications

We present here a novel architecture for a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that incorporates multi-technology blocks to work in multi-technology environments (e.g. combinations of Digital Logic, CMOS based Analog, Photonic, MEMS, Microwave, etc.). Based on a modular approach that resembles conventional FPGA design, the architecture presented here is robust and scalable. Implemented using a conventional CMOS VLSI device technology, this new FPGA architecture will enable the design of reconfigurable systems the incorporate technologies outside of the traditional electronic domain.
Towards Single-Channel Unsupervised Source Separation of Speech Mixtures: The Layered Harmonics/Formants Separation-Tracking Model

Speaker models for blind source separation are typically based on HMMs consisting of vast numbers of states to capture source spectral variation, and trained on large amounts of isolated speech. Since observations can be similar between sources, inference relies on sequential constraints from the state transition matrix which are, however, quite weak. To avoid these problems, we propose a strategy of capturing local deformations of the time-frequency energy distribution. Since consecutive spectral frames are highly correlated, each frame can be accurately described as a nonuniform deformation of its predecessor. A smooth pattern of deformations is indicative of a single speaker, and the cliffs in the deformation fields may indicate a speaker switch. Further, the log-spectrum of speech can be decomposed into two additive layers, separately describing the harmonics and formant structure. We model smooth deformations as hidden transformation variables in both layers, using MRFs with overlapping subwindows as observations, assumed to be a noisy sum of the two layers. Loopy belief propagation provides for efficient inference. Without any pre-trained speech or speaker models, this approach can be used to fill in missing time-frequency observations, and the local entropy of the deformation fields indicate source boundaries for separation.