Summertime, and the livin is easy: Winter and summer pseudoseasonal life expectancy in the United States

In temperate climates, mortality is seasonal with a winter-dominant pattern, due in part to pneumonia and influenza. Cardiac causes, which are the leading cause of death in the United States, are also winter-seasonal although it is not clear why. Interactions between circulating respiratory viruses (f.e., influenza) and cardiac conditions have been suggested as a cause of winter-dominant mortality patterns. We propose and implement a way to estimate an upper bound on mortality attributable to winter-dominant viruses like influenza. We calculate 'pseudo-seasonal' life expectancy, dividing the year into two six-month spans, one encompassing winter the other summer. During the summer when the circulation of respiratory viruses is drastically reduced, life expectancy is about one year longer. We also quantify the seasonal mortality difference in terms of seasonal "equivalent ages" (defined herein) and proportional hazards. We suggest that even if viruses cause excess winter cardiac mortality, the population-level mortality reduction of a perfect influenza vaccine would be much more modest than is often recognized

Regulation of Functional Amyloid formation and Pigmentation During Melanosome Biogenesis

Melanosomes are subcellular organelles specialized for the synthesis and storage of melanin pigments. Within epidermal and ocular pigment cells, melanosomes are generated from endosomal precursors in discrete stages. Early stages are characterized by the accumulation of premelanosome protein (PMEL) and its assembly into nontoxic amyloid fibrils, while later stages are characterized by the arrival of proteins important for the production of pigment. In this thesis, I will discuss two important findings relevant to melanosome biology. The first finding addresses the molecular mechanisms that regulate the transformation of PMEL from an integral membrane protein to fibrillar structures with properties of amyloid. These data show that native disulfide-bonded PMEL dimers prevent premature fibril formation early in the secretory pathway but must be resolved prior to the assembly of functional amyloid fibrils in early stage melanosomes. Failure to resolve the dimeric intermediates – as occurs with mutagenesis of a PMEL regulatory domain – decreases amyloid production in a heterologous expression system. Since the oligomerization of amyloid precursors is hardly unique, detailed characterization of the different intermediates formed by functional versus pathological amyloid proteins may bring us one step closer to understanding the mechanisms of neurodegenerative amyloid disease. The second finding addresses the localization and potential function of SLC45A2, a proton-dependent sucrose transporter encoded by the gene that is mutated in the hypopigmentary disorder oculocutaneous albinism type 4 (OCA4). While melanocytes derived from patients and mouse models of OCA4 are known to contain hypopigmented melanosomes, it is unclear why mutations in SLC45A2 lead to decreased pigment production. Our data show that SLC45A2 localizes to and functions from distinct punctate structures on/near stage III and IV melanosomes. Mislocalization of SLC45A2 leads to hypopigmentation suggesting that the transporter must be present on melanosomal structures to function. Preliminary data also suggest that SLC45A2-deficient melanocytes harbor melanosomes that are hypopigmented but normally shaped and that SLC45A2 function can be bypassed by overexpression of a different melanosomal transporter, OCA2. Along with other preliminary data, these results suggest that SLC45A2 likely maintains a neutral pH within maturing melanosomes to ensure sustained melanin deposition. Together, these two studies provide insight into the molecular mechanisms that regulate nontoxic amyloid and melanin production within healthy melanocytes

Pilot Study: Assistive Technology as a Vocational Support for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the effectiveness of video-based instruction (VBI) to support completion of vocational tasks. A mixed-method approach was utilized to explore the use of VBI on a personal digital assistant with individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using two assembling cooking tasks, researchers investigated the level of independence with task completion through written instruction versus VBI. The results indicated a small non-significant increase in the level of independence with task completion during the VBI task independent of intelligence quotient (IQ) levels. Participant’s feedback of VBI was also noted as positive to help learn other tasks. This study presents evidence for the use of assistive technology to support task completion in the area of vocation for individuals with ASD

Compression Test on Cold-Formed Steel Built-up Back-to-Back Channels Stub Columns

Built-up sections are used to resist load induced in a structure when a single section is not sufficient to carry the design load for example roof trusses. In current North American Specification, the provision has been substantially taken from research in hot-rolled built-up members connected with bolts or welds [1]. The aim of this paper is to investigate on built-up back-to-back channels stub columns experimentally and theoretically using Effective Width Method and Direct Strength Method. Compression test was performed on 5 lipped channel and 5 back-to-back channels stub columns fabricated from cold-formed steel sheets of 1.2mm thicknesses. The test results indicated that local buckling is the dominant failure modes of stub columns. Therefore, Effective Width Method predicts the capacity of stub columns compared to Direct Strength Method. When compared to the average test results, results based on EWM are 5% higher while results based on DSM are 12% higher for stub column

A Behavioral Economics Analysis of Will Making Preferences: When to Begin and Who Should Have the Most Input

The global COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to plan for death, including the transmission of property through a valid will. Surprisingly little is known, however, about when people tend to make wills, how they go about doing so, and whether those practices vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. To begin building a foundation of knowledge, a research team comprised of United States and Australian lawyers and economists recently conducted the first-ever behavioral economics empirical study exploring these questions. This Article reports the results of the team\u27s survey of both members of the Australian general public and estate planning lawyers in that country. The research aim was to elicit and compare the attitudes of members of both groups on three questions: (1) when people should begin to plan their estates in anticipation of death; (2) the relative role that the lawyer (compared to the client) should play in the estate planning process; and (3) whether remote witnessing rules for wills--newly adopted during the pandemic in several jurisdictions including states in Australia and the United States--have any impact on individuals\u27 expressed preferences towards will making. The study yields three significant findings. First, members of the legal profession in Australia tend to prefer the execution of a will at a much younger age than members of the general public do. Estate planning attorneys tend to cite age 29 as the “right” time to make a will, but the general public tends to think that age 47 is best. Second, laypeople in Australia tend to hold widely divergent opinions on the appropriate balance of client vs. professional input into the estate planning process. Those who already have engaged at least once in the will making process tend to desire far greater levels of input from estate planning attorneys than those who have never made a will. Attorneys, in contrast, have relatively uniform views about the same question, tending to cite 70% as the appropriate percentage of estate planning decisions that should be driven by the client. Finally, among both members of the general public and attorneys in Australia, expressed preferences on these matters appear to be largely unaffected by any stated benefits or drawbacks of remotely executed wills. The survey\u27s focus on Australia was intentional. Australia is an industrialized, democratic country with both a largely capitalist economic and a history of innovation in the law of wills, trusts and estates. Furthermore, Australia\u27s population is smaller than that of the United States, making it easier to obtain a more representative sample. At the same time, we conceive of this study as the beginning point for further, cross-jurisdictional inquiries. Future research can explore whether or how attitudes about will making differ across jurisdictions, using the results reported here as a touchstone. Separate from any country-specific considerations, knowledge about when people make wills, how they do so, and differences between and among jurisdictions will allow lawmakers to make more informed decisions about whether to make permanent some of the pandemic-era rules that enabled the remote online audio-visual witnessing of wills

Experimental Investigation into the Behavior of Back-to-Back Gapped Built-up Cold-Formed Steel Channel Sections under Compression

Back-to-back gapped built-up cold-formed steel channel-sections are used as compression members in cold-formed steel structures, such as trusses, space frames and portal frames etc. Because of the complex and non-uniform cross section of the back-to-back gapped built- up cold-formed steel channel columns, it is difficult to calculate the strength of these sections accurately. Current guidance by the direct strength method in the AISI Specification and the Australian/New Zealand Standard doesn’t include the gap between the back-to-back channels, thus not being able to predict the axial capacities of these sections accurately. In the literature, very few results have been reported for such columns and specially investigated the effect of link-channel’s spacing on axial strength of such columns. This issue is addressed herein. Forty new experimental results are reported, conducted on back-to-back gapped built-up cold-formed steel channel-sections, covering stub to slender columns. Axial capacity of the columns, load-axial shortening, load-axial strain, failure modes and deformed shapes were observed and reported in this paper. Also, the effect of link-channel’s spacing on axial strength, is investigated. Test strengths are compared against the design strengths calculated in accordance with AISI and Australian/New Zealand standard for cold-formed steel structures. It is shown that the design standards can be conservative by as much as 53%, while predicting axial strength of such columns. Therefore, a modification to the non-dimensional slenderness, that considers the gap, is proposed which leads the design standards being within 5% conservative to the test results