cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Laboratory, Epidemiological, and Human Intervention Studies Show That Tea (Camellia sinensis) May Be Useful in the Prevention of Obesity

Tea (Camellia sinensis, Theaceae) and tea polyphenols have been studied for the prevention of chronic diseases, including obesity. Obesity currently affects >20% of adults in the United States and is a risk factor for chronic diseases such as type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Given this increasing public health concern, the use of dietary agents for the prevention of obesity would be of tremendous benefit. Whereas many laboratory studies have demonstrated the potential efficacy of green or black tea for the prevention of obesity, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The results of human intervention studies are mixed and the role of caffeine has not been clearly established. Finally, there is emerging evidence that high doses of tea polyphenols may have adverse side effects. Given that the results of scientific studies on dietary components, including tea polyphenols, are often translated into dietary supplements, understanding the potential toxicities of the tea polyphenols is critical to understanding their potential usefulness in preventing obesity. In this review, we will critically evaluate the evidence for the prevention of obesity by tea, discuss the relevance of proposed mechanisms in light of tea polyphenol bioavailability, and review the reports concerning the toxic effects of high doses of tea polyphenols and the implication that this has for the potential use of tea for the prevention of obesity. We hope that this review will expose areas for further study and encourage research on this important public health issue.
Positive effect of NICU admission on breastfeeding of preterm US infants in 2000 to 2003

We hypothesized that neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission reduces breastfeeding in a recent population of US infants, adjusting for confounding factors. Using pregnancy risk assessment monitoring system data from 27 states for the years 2000 to 2003, we determined the relationship between breastfeeding and gestational age (GA) stratified by NICU status. We fitted a proportional odds model for breastfeeding duration as a function of NICU status adjusted for other covariates. SAS 9.1.3 and SUDAAN 9.0 were used for the weighted analyses. In total 138 359 surveys, including 29 940 NICU-admitted infants, were analyzed. A total of 73% of mothers of nonadmitted infants initiated breastfeeding vs 70% of mothers of NICU-admitted infants. Mothers of GA <38 weeks NICU-admitted infants were 34% more likely to initiate breastfeeding and 21% more likely to breastfeed for 4 weeks than were mothers of nonadmitted preterm infants (P<0.001). However, mothers of term NICU-admitted infants were less likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding to 4 weeks than were mothers of term nonadmitted infants (P<0.001). Adjusting for GA, race, maternal age, maternal education, mode of delivery and Medicaid status, NICU admission was associated with increasing duration of breastfeeding (OR 1.10, CI 1.03, 1.17). Compared with mothers of term infants, mothers of <32-week infants were 40% more likely to continue breastfeeding for 4 weeks, mothers of 32 to 34 week infants were 13% less likely to continue and mothers of 35–37 week infants were 22% less likely to continue for at least 4 weeks (P<0.001). NICU admission is now a positive influence on breastfeeding continuation, improving the overall likelihood by 10%. Mothers of preterm NICU-admitted infants were more likely than mothers of nonadmitted infants to continue breastfeeding for 4 weeks, while mothers of term NICU-admitted infants were less likely to continue. Breastfeeding support should be enhanced for term and late preterm infants.
Comparing objects composed by abstract relationships

J.C. Gower's similarity algorithm (1971) is flexible in its ability to classify objects with diverse types of attributes. The author extends Gower's algorithm to handle composite objects using semantic data modeling. The resulting composite classification algorithm, which can be integrated with a knowledge base, facilitates the definition and use of prototype concepts. >
Neuromyelitis optica in a mother and daughter.

Background Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a rare demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that most often results in selective involvement of the optic nerves and spinal cord. Although most cases are sporadic, several familial cases have been reported. All of those patients have been siblings who experienced disease onset at similar ages. To our knowledge, there has not been a documented case between a mother-daughter pair, nor has there been a reported case in which family members developed the disease at different stages of life. Objectives To illustrate the clinical courses of NMO in a white mother-daughter pair, which supports a hereditary predisposition to this disorder, as well as to reinforce that onset of disease can occur at different ends of the age spectrum even within the same family. Design, Setting, and Patients Case report of a mother-daughter pair with NMO treated at the University of Michigan Medical Center. Results After multiple occurrences of optic neuritis and transverse myelitis as well as extensive workups, both mother and daughter were eventually diagnosed with NMO but with different ages at onset, at ages 62 and 29 years, respectively. Conclusions Development of NMO is in part genetically influenced. Our familial cases show that NMO may differ clinically within a family. While current diagnostic criteria include an extensive spinal cord lesion, the second case (mother) illustrates that milder cases of NMO might not fulfill that requirement, in which case NMO-IgG antibody seropositivity may confirm the diagnosis.
Optimal harvesting strategies for stochastic single-species, multiage class models☆

Abstract Qualitative properties of optimal harvesting policies for stochastic, single-species, multiage class models are described. For many problems the k -dimensional problem ( k is the number of age classes) can be reduced to k one-dimentional problems, which can be solved far more readily. When such separability does not occur, bounds can be put on the derivatives of an optimal policy function which can greatly increase computational efficiency.
Acute Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Depression in Disaster or Rescue Workers

OBJECTIVE: The events of Sept. 11, 2001, highlighted the importance of understanding the effects of trauma on disaster workers. To better plan for the health care of disaster workers, this study examined acute stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), early dissociative symptoms, depression, and health care utilization in disaster workers. METHOD: Exposed disaster workers (N=207) and unexposed comparison subjects (N=421) were examined at 2, 7, and 13 months after an airplane crash. RESULTS: Exposed disaster workers had significantly higher rates of acute stress disorder, PTSD at 13 months, depression at 7 months, and depression at 13 months than comparison subjects. Those who were younger and single were more likely to develop acute stress disorder. Exposed disaster workers with acute stress disorder were 3.93 times more likely to be depressed at 7 months. Those with high exposure and previous disaster experience or who had acute stress disorder were more likely to develop PTSD. Similarly, th...
Perianal squamous cell carcinoma in-situ: a report of two human papilloma virus-negative cases

We are reporting two cases of perianal squamous cell carcinoma in-situ, negative for high-risk (HR) and low-risk (LR) human papilloma viruses. A brief review of anal and perianal squamous cell carcinoma and the role of HPV are presented.
A note on the numerical treatment of the thermally developing flow in screw extruders

This paper proposes a new solution for the problem of thermally developing flow in a single-screw extruder with power law fluids. It is shown that a transformation to a Lagrangean frame enables one to extend the solution to extrusion situations where appreciable “pressure back flow” exists. The utility of the model is demonstrated using a polystyrene melt as a model fluid.
Synthesis and characterization of a spin crossover iron(II)–iron(III) mixed valence supramolecular pseudo-dimer exhibiting chiral recognition, hydrogen bonding, and π–π interactions

Reaction of iron(II) and the 3 : 1 Schiff base condensate of 5-methylpyrazole-3-carboxaldehyde and tris(2-aminoethyl)amine in air gives a pseudo-dimer complex with a triple helix structure made of Δ–Δ and Λ–Λ pairings of spin crossover iron(II) and low spin iron(III) cations that are held together by three π–π and hydrogen bonding interactions.
The numerical simulation of o w patterns generated by the hydromedusa Aequorea victoria using an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation

A new geometrically conservative arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation in the swirl-free cylindrical coordinates has been developed to solve the o w patterns generated by the hydromedusa Aequorea victoria. The governing equations are multiplied with the radial distance and integrated over arbitrary moving Lagrangian-Eulerian quadrilateral elements. Therefore, the continuity and the geometric conservation equations take very simple form similar to those of the Cartesian coordinates. The continuity equation is satised exactly within each element and a special attention is given to satisfy the geometric conservation law (GCL) at the discrete level. The equation of motion of a deforming body is solved in addition to the Navier-Stokes equations in fully-coupled form. The mesh deformation is achieved by solving the linear elasticity equation at each time level while avoiding remeshing in order to enhance numerical robustness. The resulting algebraic linear systems are solved using an ILU(k) preconditioned GMRES method provided by the PETSc library. The present ALE method is validated for the steady and oscillatory o w around a sphere in a cylindrical tube and applied to the investigation of the o w patterns around a free-swimming hydromedusa Aequorea victoria (crystal jellysh). The calculations for the hydromedusa indicate the shed of the opposite signed vortex rings very close to each other and the formation of large induced velocities along the line of interaction while the ring vortices moving away from the hydromedusa.
Marrow transplantation for leukemia following fractionated total body irradiation. A comparative trial of methotrexate and cyclosporine.

Abstract Fifty-six patients, 30–47 yr of age, with leukemia in relapse received allogeneic marrow transplants from HLA-identical siblings. All patients were treated with cyclophosphamide (120 mg/kg) and 7 daily fractions of 2.25 Gy of total body irradiation (TBI) for seven consecutive days. Nine patients (16%) are currently alive and free of disease 324–845 days from transplantation. The actuarial relapse and survival rates at 2 yr were 56% and 9.5% respectively. These data were not remarkably different from those in previous studies using 10 Gy of TBI administered as a single dose. Thirty patients were randomized to receive methotrexate (MTX) and 26 to receive cyclosporine (CSP) as postgrafting prophylaxis for acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The probability of developing significant acute GVHD by day 100 post-transplant was 71% for patients in the MTX group and 45% for patients in the CSP group (p
STN1 protects chromosome ends in Arabidopsis thaliana

Telomeres shield the natural ends of chromosomes from nucleolytic attack, recognition as double-strand breaks, and inappropriate processing by DNA repair machinery. The trimeric Stn1/Ten1/Cdc13 complex is critical for chromosome end protection in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, while vertebrate telomeres are protected by shelterin, a complex of six proteins that does not include STN1 or TEN1. Recent studies demonstrate that Stn1 and Ten1 orthologs in Schizosaccharomyces pombe contribute to telomere integrity in a complex that is distinct from the shelterin components, Pot1 and Tpp1. Thus, chromosome-end protection may be mediated by distinct subcomplexes of telomere proteins. Here we report the identification of a STN1 gene in Arabidopsis that is essential for chromosome-end protection. AtSTN1 encodes an 18-kDa protein bearing a single oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide binding fold with significant sequence similarity to the yeast Stn1 proteins. Plants null for AtSTN1 display an immediate onset of growth and developmental defects and reduced fertility. These outward phenotypes are accompanied by catastrophic loss of telomeric and subtelomeric DNA, high levels of end-to-end chromosome fusions, increased G-overhang signals, and elevated telomere recombination. Thus, AtSTN1 is a crucial component of the protective telomere cap in Arabidopsis, and likely in other multicellular eukaryotes.
Takotsubo syndrome/QTc interval prolongation/myocardial edema/cardiac sympathetic denervation/cardiac arrhythmias: A quintet needing exploration.

Article history: Received 14 October 2015 Accepted 18 October 2015 Available online 19 October 2015 and favor “catecholaminergic, automatic, or fascicular tachycardias, with related cytosolic calcium overload” [2,8] inciting mechanisms. The opinion of the latter stems from the data about tissue level characterization deriving frommagnetic resonance imaging, showing absence of scar formation [7]. However this author has expressed the notion that myocardial edema (ME) developing in patients with TTS could have a “patchy” distribution, and thus engender the prerequisite substrate for
Insidious pedagogy: How course management systems affect teaching

Course management systems, like any other technology, have an inherent purpose implied in their design, and therefore a built-in pedagogy. Although these pedagogies are based on instructivist principles, today's large CMSs have many features suitable for applying more constructivist pedagogies. Yet few faculty use these features, or even adapt their CMS very much, despite the several customization options. This is because most college instructors do not work or play much on the Web, and thus utilize Web-based systems primarily at their basic level. The defaults of the CMS therefore tend to determine the way Web-novice faculty teach online, encouraging methods based on posting of material and engendering usage that focuses on administrative tasks. A solution to this underutilization of the CMS is to focus on pedagogy for Web-novice faculty and allow a choice of CMS.
Inverse Odds Ratio-Weighted Estimation for Causal Mediation Analysis

An important scientific goal of studies in the health and social sciences is increasingly to determine to what extent the total effect of a point exposure is mediated by an intermediate variable on the causal pathway between the exposure and the outcome. A causal framework has recently been proposed for mediation analysis, which gives rise to new definitions, formal identification results and novel estimators of direct and indirect effects. In the present paper, the author describes a new inverse odds ratio-weighted approach to estimate so-called natural direct and indirect effects. The approach, which uses as a weight the inverse of an estimate of the odds ratio function relating the exposure and the mediator, is universal in that it can be used to decompose total effects in a number of regression models commonly used in practice. Specifically, the approach may be used for effect decomposition in generalized linear models with a nonlinear link function, and in a number of other commonly used models such as the Cox proportional hazards regression for a survival outcome. The approach is simple and can be implemented in standard software provided a weight can be specified for each observation. An additional advantage of the method is that it easily incorporates multiple mediators of a categorical, discrete or continuous nature.
Formation of Solid Human Mammary Carcinoma In Vitro

An established line of human breast carcinoma, MCF-7, when cultured within the artificial capillary system, formed solid masses of tissue. Acinar and ductular patterns developed, having the ultrastructural appearance of breast tissue that responds to exogenous hormones.
Branching Near Plane Waves in Perturbed Dispersive Systems

A Poincare-Lindstedt type technique for partial differential equations is used to study branching phenomena in perturbed dispersive systems arising in hydrodynamic stability theory. Multi-periodic waves with two frequencies which branch from a family of neutrally stable nonlinear periodic plane waves are constructed, the second frequency as a power series expansion in e. The branching is compared with that of the unperturbed equations described in an earlier paper for the purpose of understanding how higher order perturbation terms effect the properties of the lower order amplitude equations. We find that in general the perturbation terms alter the leading order frequency shifts, thus changing the bifurcation from pitchfork to transverse type. The method is used to study the perturbed nonlinear Schrodinger equation and the perturbed MKdV equation.
Water Chemistry For Corrosion Prediction In High Pressure CO2 Environments

Transportation of hydrocarbons accompanied by a liquid or supercritical CO2 phase has recently become a significant concern in the oil and gas industry particularly as related to exploitation of high CO2 content gas-fields. The issue of internal line corrosion under such condition has a much broader relevance – it is applicable in the field of enhanced oil recovery as well as CO2 sequestration and transportation. Many different CO2 corrosion models can predict worst case corrosion rates of mild steel in the CO2 partial pressure range up to 10 bar, however they grossly overestimate the corrosion rates as the partial pressure gets higher. One important first step in understanding the corrosion mechanisms of mild steel in high CO2 content environments is to develop methods to predict the corresponding water chemistry. The present study focuses on modeling and model validation of water chemistry in the presence of large amounts of CO2, with partial pressure varying up to 100 bar and temperature up to 100C, covering gas, liquid and supercritical phases of CO2.
Determination of Neostigmine Methylsulfate in Injection by RP-HPLC

Reverse high performance liquid chromatography( RP-HPLC) was set up to determine the neostigmine methylsulfate in injection. The C18 colum( 4. 6 × 150 mm,5 μm) was used with the mobile phase consisted of 0. 1%phosphoric acid solution( pH was adjusted to 3. 0 by triethylamine)-methanol( 90∶ 10) and the detection wavelength of260 nm. The results showed that neostigmine methylsulfate had the good linear relationship at the range of 2 ~500 μg·mL-1( R2=0. 9999) and the mean recovery rate was 100. 2% ~ 100. 8%( RSD = 0. 7% ~ 1. 2%). The method was simple,accurate and robust for the quality control of neostigmine methylsulfate injection.
A performance-optimized model of neural responses across the ventral visual stream

Human visual object recognition is subserved by a multitude of cortical areas. To make sense of this system, one line of research focused on response properties of primary visual cortex neurons and developed theoretical models of a set of canonical computations such as convolution, thresholding, exponentiating and normalization that could be hierarchically repeated to give rise to more complex representations. Another line or research focused on response properties of high-level visual cortex and linked these to semantic categories useful for object recognition. Here, we hypothesized that the panoply of visual representations in the human ventral stream may be understood as emergent properties of a system constrained both by simple canonical computations and by top-level, object recognition functionality in a single unified framework (Yamins et al., 2014; Khaligh-Razavi and Kriegeskorte, 2014; Guclu and van Gerven, 2015). We built a deep convolutional neural network model optimized for object recognition and compared representations at various model levels using representational similarity analysis to human functional imaging responses elicited from viewing hundreds of image stimuli. Neural network layers developed representations that corresponded in a hierarchical consistent fashion to visual areas from V1 to LOC. This correspondence increased with optimization of the model's recognition performance. These findings support a unified view of the ventral stream in which representations from the earliest to the latest stages can be understood as being built from basic computations inspired by modeling of early visual cortex shaped by optimization for high-level object-based performance constraints.
Law School Histories: A Panel Discussion

Many law professors are interested in publishing a history of their law school, but few know how to do so. This paper identifies and discusses the various steps, including: 1) securing the necessary institutional support; 2) locating the underlying source material; 3) deciding on the manuscript's direction and tone; 4) working with co-authors; 5) finding a publisher; and 6) developing and executing a marketing plan.
Future Human Evolution and Views of the Future Human: Technological Perspectives and Challenges

Change is accelerating, with rapid and continuing advances in technology being among the leading forces shaping human evolution today. This article examines eight distinct technologies impacting fu...
Spatial Distribution of Infestations of Platynota stultana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in California Vineyards and a Plan for Sequential Sampling

The spatial pattern of infestations of Platynota stultana in vineyards in the San Joaquin Valley of California was assessed. There was evidence for aggregation whether the sampling unit was a single vine, four vines, or eight vines. Based on the pattern for single vines, a sequential sampling plan for infestations of P. stultana in vineyards was formulated and tested.
Computation of Forward-Time Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponents Using Discontinuous-Galerkin Spectral Element Methods

We present an algorithm for computing forward-time finite-time Lyapunov exponents (FTLEs) using discontinuous-Galerkin (DG) operators. Passive fluid tracers are initialized at Gauss-Lobatto quadrature nodes and advected concurrently with direct numerical simulation (DNS) using DG spectral element methods. The flow map is approximated by a high-order polynomial and the deformation gradient tensor is then determined by the spectral derivative. Since DG operators are used to compute the deformation gradient, the algorithm is high-order accurate and is consistent with the DG methods used to compute the fluid solution. The method is validated with a benchmark of a periodic gyre, a vortex advected in uniform flow and the flow around a square cylinder. An exact equation for the FTLE of the advected vortex is derived.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Evidence-based vaccination strategies in obstetrics and gynecology settings: Current practices and methods for assessment

Obstetrician-gynecologists have the potential to play an important role in the delivery of immunizations to women. However, despite national recommendations, immunization rates among pregnant women and adults in general remain low. Pragmatic immunization delivery trials are needed to demonstrate how best to deliver vaccines in such settings. We report the development and implementation of 2 novel methodologies for immunization delivery research and quality improvement in such settings. The first was the development and application of a 47-point Immunization Delivery Scale that formally assessed variability among practices in their engagement in a variety of evidence-based practices for improving immunization rates. The second was a covariate-constrained randomization technique - a method for achieving balance between study arms in cluster-randomized trials that is especially applicable to pragmatic trials.. To best achieve meaningful and interpretable findings, we recommend use of these or similar techniques in future immunization research and quality improvement projects in OB/GYN settings.
Closed Form Pricing for Commodity Spread Options with High Correlation

Inspired by recent work on the Dyson-Taylor Commutator method, we apply similar but different techniques to commodity spread options when the correlation (denoted by &#929) of the two underlying Brownian drivers is close to 1. We obtain closed-form asymptotic formulas in powers of 1−&#929.
Early invasive therapy or conservative management for unstable angina or NSTEMI

Compared with conservative management, early invasive treatment of patients with UA or NSTEMI using coronary angiography with or without revascularization reduces rehospitalization and refractory angina within the first year and significantly reduces mortality and myocardial infarction at two to five years. Patients undergoing early invasive treatment are more likely to have short-term complications such as bleeding and procedure-related myocardial infarction.
Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotypic Adaptation

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) differentiation is determined primarily by the level and activity of serum response factor and myocardin, which constitute a potent transcriptional switch over CArG elements located near a growing number of VSMC protein coding and non-coding RNA genes. Unlike the other two muscle types, differentiated VSMC are intrinsically wired to display a range of phenotypes that include embryonic forms of VSMC and disparate cell types that arise through a transdifferentiation-like process. This phenotypic adaptation occurs in response to aberrant signaling inputs and changes in VSMC gene expression associated with pathological insults to the vessel wall. In this chapter, several examples of VSMC phenotypic adaptation will be presented to highlight the critical role of serum response factor and myocardin in maintaining normal VSMC homeostasis.
Fast adaptive Bayesian beamforming using the FFT

A fast algorithm is developed to implement a Bayesian beam-former that can estimate signals of unknown direction of arrival (DOA). In the Bayesian approach, the underlying DOA is assumed random and its a posteriori probability density function (PDF) is approximated by a discrete probability mass function. A Bayesian beamformer then balances a set of beamformers according to the associated weights. To obtain a close approximation of the a posteriori PDF, the number of samples must be sufficiently large, incurring a significant computational burden. In this paper, we exploit the structure of a uniform linear array (ULA) to show that samples of the a posteriori PDF can be computed efficiently using the fast Fourier transform (FFT). This leads to a fast algorithm for the Bayesian beamformer, which operates in O(MlogM + N/sup 2/) operations where M is the number of samples and N is the number of sensors.
Association and Dependence

In this chapter, we shall first generalize the concepts of association and dependence in the bivariate case. We shall see that there are a variety of ways of extending the concept of association. Then, we shall consider its applications to lifetime distribution and see how we can generalize the concepts of failure rates and residual life, and thus the notions of multivariate lifetime distribution classes. Finally, we shall discuss the concept of negative association.
Two-Phase Hospital-Associated Outbreak of Mycobacterium abscessus: Investigation and Mitigation.

Background Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) commonly colonize municipal water supplies and cause healthcare-associated outbreaks. We investigated a biphasic outbreak of Mycobacterium abscessus at a tertiary care hospital. Methods Case patients had recent hospital exposure and laboratory-confirmed colonization or infection with M. abscessus from January 2013 through December 2015. We conducted a multidisciplinary epidemiologic, field, and laboratory investigation. Results The incidence rate of M. abscessus increased from 0.7 cases per 10000 patient-days during the baseline period (January 2013-July 2013) to 3.0 cases per 10000 patient-days during phase 1 of the outbreak (August 2013-May 2014) (incidence rate ratio, 4.6 [95% confidence interval, 2.3-8.8]; P < .001). Thirty-six of 71 (51%) phase 1 cases were lung transplant patients with positive respiratory cultures. We eliminated tap water exposure to the aerodigestive tract among high-risk patients, and the incidence rate decreased to baseline. Twelve of 24 (50%) phase 2 (December 2014-June 2015) cases occurred in cardiac surgery patients with invasive infections. Phase 2 resolved after we implemented an intensified disinfection protocol and used sterile water for heater-cooler units of cardiopulmonary bypass machines. Molecular fingerprinting of clinical isolates identified 2 clonal strains of M. abscessus; 1 clone was isolated from water sources at a new hospital addition. We made several water engineering interventions to improve water flow and increase disinfectant levels. Conclusions We investigated and mitigated a 2-phase clonal outbreak of M. abscessus linked to hospital tap water. Healthcare facilities with endemic NTM should consider similar tap water avoidance and engineering strategies to decrease risk of NTM infection.
High-pressure high-temperature Raman spectroscopy of kerogen: Relevance to subducted organic carbon

The amount of insoluble macromolecular organic matter in the Earth’s crust, commonly referred to as kerogen, far exceeds the mass of living organic matter. The fraction of kerogen in sediments subducted into the mantle remains poorly constrained and will vary depending on the physical-chemical properties of kerogen along different slab geotherms. We studied the pressure-temperature evolution of carbon vibrational frequencies in isolated kerogen, previously not subjected to metamorphism, using Raman spectroscopy in a sapphire optical cell up to 3.2 GPa and 450 °C, corresponding to colder subduction geotherms. For blue-green laser excitation, we find optical irradiance exceeding ~3 kW/cm 2 induces changes in spectral features of the primary graphitic (G-band) and two main disordered modes (D1 and D2) that might otherwise be mistaken for thermal maturation. Whereas previous in situ studies have investigated the changes in these molecular vibrations of kerogen at high temperature or high pressure, we collected Raman spectra of isolated kerogen at simultaneous high P-T conditions. Although instantaneous and irreversible changes in band ratios of isolated kerogen were observed above ~350 °C at room-pressure, long-duration (2–8 h) heating experiments at 450 °C and 2.7–3.0 GPa reveal no permanent change in band structure. The reduction in vibrational frequencies of the disordered carbon modes with temperature (dν/d T ) at pressures >1 GPa is slightly less than found at room pressure, further indicating that pressure effectively increases the thermal stability of kerogen. Our results suggest that kerogen reaching depths of 60 km where the temperature is below ~450 °C may subduct into the mantle, providing a potential source for the organic-rich component of carbon recently detected in certain lower-mantle diamonds.
Generating A Database of Phenotypic Consequences of Gene Regulation Across 40 Human Tissues

Abstract GWAS and sequencing studies have yielded thousands of genetic variants robustly associated genetic complex traits. However, the underlying biology of those associations needs to be further elucidated. To address this problem we developed PrediXcan, a mechanistically driven test, which was motivated by the accumulating evidence that the regulation of gene expression levels as well as splicing events have an important role in the genetic control of complex phenotypes. By using genotype to predict expression (or other intermediate molecular traits) and correlating them with the trait of interest, we can assess the phenotypic consequences of genetic variation through different intermediate processes. By collapsing the associations into functionally relevant units such as genes, we reduce the multiple testing burden. The method also provides direction of the effects. To implement the tissue specific analyses, we have developed prediction models for gene expression in 40 human tissues using the GTEx Consortium and Depression Genes Network data. Despite these advantages, the genetic architecture of psychiatric phenotypes is largely polygenic with modest effect sizes making discoveries only possible for very large sample sizes. Therefore we have extended our method so that only summary statistics are needed to infer PrediXcan results. This allows us to leverage the large meta analysis efforts that have collected hundreds of thousands of samples. Using this new method called MetaXcan we have generated results for 117 phenotypes with publicly available GWAS meta-analysis results. We validate our approach by re-identifying many established genes but in many cases, we find evidence that genes in the vicinity of reported ones are more likely mediators of the phenotype. Furthermore, we make this results database publicly available (http://gene2pheno.org). The database should be a valuable resource for the community to explore the phenotypic consequences of gene regulation. Software and all prediction models necessary to reproduce them or apply to new datasets are made publicly available on https://github.com/hakyimlab/PrediXcan.
Virtual Reality as an Interview Technique in Evaluation of Emergency Medicine Applicants.

Need for innovation Current interviewing strategies and the standardized letter of evaluation may not provide enough insight into preferred resident characteristics. Emergency medicine (EM) residency programs are challenged with identifying trainees who can problem solve, communicate, and work well with fellow health professionals. Background Structured interviews have previously been used and can help predict success but candidates have reported a negative impression with their use. Objective of innovation This structured virtual reality (VR) interviewing method was designed so that interviewers can observe the communication abilities, subtle personality traits, and teamwork skills of applicants interviewed at an EM residency program. Development process A consumer VR headset became available and in combination with an interactive team game was incorporated into a standardized team-based interview session. This session was designed to allow observation of candidates' communication, problem solving, and teamwork skills. Implementation phase Surveys were collected to examine the satisfaction of EM residency applicants who participated in this novel standardized interviewing method using a VR headset. After the submission of rank lists, but prior to Match Day, those who interviewed were e-mailed a voluntary, anonymous, and confidential survey asking about their interview experience, specifically about the VR portion. The survey was sent to 102 applicants with 63 responses for a 62% response rate at the completion of the 2015 to 2016 interview season. Outcomes Overall study findings suggested that participants had a highly favorable impression of the VR portion of the interview. Specifically, participants reported that this interview technique was appropriate and worthwhile. Additionally, participants attested that the Oculus portion of the interview gave insight to their work ethic, personality, and communication skills and how they work with others. Reflective discussion The novel interviewing method used in this study allowed interviewers to gain insight beyond that of the paperwork and brief face-to-face interaction. Study findings suggest that interviewees accepted the use of this novel interview method. It has been incorporated into our interview process for three consecutive years.
Sex differences in body composition and association with cardiometabolic risk

Body composition differs between men and women, with women having proportionally more fat mass and men more muscle mass. Although men and women are both susceptible to obesity, health consequences differ between the sexes. The purpose of our study was to assess sex differences in body composition using anatomic and functional imaging techniques, and its relationship to cardiometabolic risk markers in subjects with overweight/obesity. After written informed consent, we prospectively recruited 208 subjects with overweight/obesity who were otherwise healthy (94 men, 114 women, age 37 ± 10 years, BMI 35 ± 6 kg/m2). Subjects underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and computed tomography (CT) for fat and muscle mass, proton MR spectroscopy (1H-MRS) for intrahepatic (IHL) and intramyocellular lipids (IMCL), an oral glucose tolerance test, serum insulin, lipids, and inflammatory markers. Men and women were compared by Wilcoxon signed rank test. Linear correlation and multivariate analyses between body composition and cardiometabolic risk markers were performed. Women and men were of similar mean age and BMI (p ≥ 0.2). Women had higher %fat mass, extremity fat, and lower lean mass compared to men (p ≤ 0.0005). However, men had higher visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and IMCL and higher age-and BMI-adjusted IHL (p < 0.05). At similar age and BMI, men had a more detrimental cardiometabolic risk profile compared to women (p < 0.01). However, VAT in women, and IMCL in men, were more strongly associated with cardiometabolic risk markers, while more lower extremity fat was associated with a more favorable cardiometabolic profile in women compared to men (p ≤ 0.03). Although the male pattern of fat distribution is associated with a more detrimental cardiometabolic risk profile compared to women of similar age and BMI, VAT is more strongly associated with cardiometabolic risk markers in women, while IMCL are more detrimental in men. Lower extremity fat is relatively protective, in women more than in men. This suggests that detailed anatomic and functional imaging, rather than BMI, provides a more complete understanding of metabolic risk associated with sex differences in fat distribution.
Soybean protein solubility in potassium hydroxide: an in vitro test of in vivo protein quality.

Experiments were conducted to assess protein solubility in .2% KOH as an indicator of soybean protein quality for chicks and pigs and to assess effects of particle size on protein solubility. As the particle size (micron) of soybean meal (SBM) increased, protein solubility (%) decreased (b = -.0206). In two 9-d chick trials, dehulled SBM (48% CP) was subjected to various autoclaving times and then fed as the sole source of dietary protein to young chicks. Increasing autoclaving times from 0 to 40 min at 120 degrees C resulted in a quadratic decrease in protein solubility. A broken-line model was fitted wherein gain:feed of chicks was plotted as a function of protein solubility. The analysis showed no reduction in feed efficiency with solubilities greater than 59 +/- 1.5% (mean +/- SEM). When solubility was below 59%, however, gain:feed decreased 1.5% for each 1% decrease in protein solubility. The third trial (13 d) was conducted with 7.5-kg pigs fed autoclaved SBM (44% CP) as the primary source of protein. Feed efficiency was significantly decreased when protein solubility was less than 66%. This study showed that protein solubility in KOH was a good index of in vivo soybean protein quality, and that it is important to standardize SBM particle size when applying the KOH assay.
Specificity and inheritance in default reasoning

When specificity considerations are incorporated in default reasoning systems, it is hard to ensure that exceptional subclasses inherit all legitimate features of their parent classes To reconcile these two requirements specificity and inheritance, this paper proposes the addition of a new rule called coherence rule, to the desiderata for default inference The coherence rule captures the intuition that formulae which are more compatible with the defaults in the database are more believable. We offer a formal definition of this extended desiderata and analyze the behavior of its associated closure relation which we call coference closure. We provide a concrete embodiment of a system satisfying the extended desiderata by taking the coherence closure of system Z A procedure for computing the (unique) most compact, be lief ranking in the coherence closure of system Z is also described.
Gender differences in psychological distress among immigrants from the former Soviet Union

In this study we compared rates and correlates of psychological distress among immigrant women and men from the former Soviet Union. A demographic, migration, and social network questionnaire and the Symptom Checklist-90-R were administered to 935 female and 706 male immigrants. Older age and less time in the United States predicted distress in both gender groups. However, having less education, leaving relatives behind, and not being sponsored by friends or a religious organization predicted greater distress for women. Women reported significantly more distress than men except for those men who were married and retired.
SURVEY SAMPLING ACTIVITIES AT THE SURVEY RESEARCH CENTER

The Survey Research Center's primary concern is with the application of sample survey methods to a variety of social problems. The design, selection and servicing of a national sample of counties and households for personal interview surveys is a major sampling activity. The design of the county sample is discussed and its multipurpose uses illustrated with brief descriptions of several classes of household and nonhousehold sample surveys. Other types of sample designs developed at the Center are presented and some of the more unusual ones described.
A Comparison of Non-human Primate and Deep Reinforcement Learning Agent Performance in a Virtual Pursuit-Avoidance Task

We compare the performance of non-human primates and deep reinforcement learning agents in a virtual pursuit-avoidance task, as part of an effort to understand the role that cognitive control plays in the deeply evolved skill of chase and escape behavior. Here we train two agents, a deep Q network and an actor-critic model, on a video game in which the player must capture a prey while avoiding a predator. A previously trained rhesus macaque performed well on this task, and in a manner that obeyed basic principles of Newtonian physics. We sought to compare the principles learned by artificial agents with those followed by the animal, as determined by the ability of one to predict the other. Our findings suggest that the agents learn primarily 1st order physics of motion, while the animal exhibited abilities consistent with the 2nd order physics of motion. We identify scenarios in which the actions taken by the animal and agents were consistent as well as ones in which they differed, including some surprising strategies exhibited by the agents. Finally, we remark on how the differences between how the agents and the macaque learn the task may affect their peak performance as well as their ability to generalize to other tasks.
The Network Orientations of Highly Resilient Urban Minority Youth: A Network-Analytic Account of Minority Socialization and Its Educational Implications.

In this article the authors present a critical assessment of existing characterizations of resiliency and help-seeking behavior in light of their relevance to issues of minority youth socialization and schooling. In this effort, they reconceptualize the notion of resiliency within an analysis that highlights the more contextual aspects of how minority adolescent cope with structural forces that threaten healthy development. They show how key developmental transitions are thwarted by social forces that undermine the development of supportive relationships across multiple institutional sites (e.g., family, neighborhood, school). They also explain how resiliency is associated with egocentric networks that exhibit key structural characteristics. The authors conclude by discussing the implications of a critical network-analytic model of minority socialization in the development of future educational and youth mediations and reforms.
Faster Frequency-Agile Reconfiguration of a High-Power Cavity Tuner for Cognitive Radar Using Previous Search Results

Dynamic spectrum allocation requires real-time adjustment of operating frequency and bandwidth in future cognitive radar transmitters. We demonstrate the hastening of a previous frequency-agile reconfiguration algorithm by using prior search endpoints to intelligently inform the starting location of the next search at a previously visited frequency. Measurement results are shown for successive reconfiguration between 10 operating frequencies within the S-band radar allocation. Experimental results demonstrate improved power-added efficiency and speed from the initial information, improving the algorithm’s usefulness in real-time reconfigurable transmitters.
Second-Harmonic One-Millimeter Gyromonotron

Radiation at 238 GHz with peak power of the order of 50 W has been obtained from a second-harmonic gyromonotron. Initial measurements with a Fabry-Perot interferometer indicate a spectral width of at most a few MHz.
Evaluation and implementation of a mannequin-based surgical simulator for margin-involving eyelid laceration repair - a pilot study.

Repair of margin-involving eyelid lacerations is a challenge for beginning ophthalmology residents, yet no commercially-available simulation models exist for learning this skill. The objective of the study was to modify a mannequin-based surgical simulator originally developed for trachomatous trichiasis surgery training to teach margin-involving eyelid laceration repair and to evaluate its success within a residency wet-lab environment. We modified a previously developed mannequin-based training system for trachomatous trichiasis surgery into a simulator for margin-involving eyelid laceration repair. Six ophthalmology residents from a tertiary care academic institution performed at least one simulated margin-involving eyelid laceration repair using the surgical simulator between September 2019 and March 2020. Each session was video recorded. Two oculoplastic surgeons reviewed the videos in a blinded fashion to assess surgical proficiency using a standardized grading system. Participants were surveyed on their comfort level with eyelid laceration repair pre- and post-completion of simulation. They were also queried on their perceived usefulness of the surgical simulator compared to past methods and experiences. Six residents completed 11 simulation surgeries. For three residents who completed more than one session, a slight increase in their skills assessment score and a decrease in operative time over two to three simulation sessions were found. Self-reported comfort level with margin-involving eyelid laceration repairs was significantly higher post-simulation compared to pre-simulation (p = 0.02). Residents ranked the usefulness of our surgical simulator higher than past methods such as fruit peels, surgical skill boards, gloves, and pig feet (p = 0.03) but lower than operating room experience (p = 0.02). Residents perceived the surgical simulator to be as useful as cadaver head and emergency department/consult experience. We developed a surgical simulator for teaching eyelid laceration repair and showed its utility in developing trainees’ surgical skills. Our surgical simulator was rated to be as useful as a cadaver head but is more readily available and cost effective.