cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DNA from fecal immunochemical test can replace stool for detection of colonic lesions using a microbiota-based model

There is a significant demand for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening methods that are noninvasive, inexpensive, and capable of accurately detecting early stage tumors. It has been shown that models based on the gut microbiota can complement the fecal occult blood test and fecal immunochemical test (FIT). However, a barrier to microbiota-based screening is the need to collect and store a patient’s stool sample. Using stool samples collected from 404 patients, we tested whether the residual buffer containing resuspended feces in FIT cartridges could be used in place of intact stool samples. We found that the bacterial DNA isolated from FIT cartridges largely recapitulated the community structure and membership of patients’ stool microbiota and that the abundance of bacteria associated with CRC were conserved. We also found that models for detecting CRC that were generated using bacterial abundances from FIT cartridges were equally predictive as models generated using bacterial abundances from stool. These findings demonstrate the potential for using residual buffer from FIT cartridges in place of stool for microbiota-based screening for CRC. This may reduce the need to collect and process separate stool samples and may facilitate combining FIT and microbiota-based biomarkers into a single test. Additionally, FIT cartridges could constitute a novel data source for studying the role of the microbiome in cancer and other diseases.
Fostering Ethical Professional Identity in Tax: Using the Traditional Tax Classroom

Will a tax lawyer in private practice help taxpayers comply or help taxpayers cheat? Will a government tax lawyer respect or abuse taxpayer rights? Answers to these questions turn, at least in large part, on the lawyer’s ethical professional identity — the lawyer’s philosophy of lawyering, which reflects her values, her sense of responsibility to others, and her self-concept of who she is (and wants to be) as a member of the legal profession. According to recent reports on legal education reform, commentators, and the ABA, law schools must do more to help students develop their ethical professional identities. This is particularly important in tax law, where lawyers’ ethical professional identities can affect compliance and revenue collection, tax morale and taxpayer rights, and the reputation of the tax profession. However, there is a dearth of resources for faculty members who want to leverage their traditional tax classrooms to help future tax lawyers develop their professional identities and learn to exercise professional judgment within the boundaries of the applicable ethical rules. So how can doctrinal faculty members help aspiring tax lawyers develop and implement their professional identities? This article describes exercises for the traditional tax classroom that are intended to (a) enable each student to identify and justify her developing lawyering philosophy, and (b) empower each student to implement her lawyering philosophy in her career. By empowering professors to help their students become more thoughtful, principled tax advisers, this article advances the goal of building a community of ethical tax professionals, both taxpayer-side and government-side, that serves taxpayers well.
Crime as Social Control

The criminality of crime is defined by law, and therefore falls within the jurisdiction of a completely different theory. This chapter discusses the struggle between law and self-help, the deterrence of crime, the processing of self-help by legal officials, and the problem of predicting and explaining self-help. The approach taken in the chapter departs radically from traditional criminology. Indeed, the approach taken is not criminological at all, because it ignores the characteristics of crime as such. Instead, it draws attention to a dimension of many crimes usually viewed as a totally different—even opposite— kind of human behavior, namely, social control. Crime often expresses a grievance. This implies that many crimes belong to the same family as gossip, ridicule, vengeance, punishment, and law. It also implies that to a significant degree one can predict and explain crime with a sociological theory of social control, specifically a theory of self-help. Beyond this, it might be worthwhile to contemplate what else crime has in common with noncriminal conduct.
In-Furnace Sulfur Capture by Co-Firing Coal with Alkali-Based Sorbents

Over the last quarter of a century, since the 1990 US Clean Air Act Amendments were enacted the gaseous sulfur emission, in the form of sulfur dioxide, have been reduced [1] by a factor of 4, by switching to lower sulfur content coals, installation of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) sorbents or switching altogether to natural gas as a fuel. Penetration of alternative energy generation also has had a positive impact. However, current emissions of sulfur dioxide are still voluminous, amounting to 3,242,000 short tons annually in the USA [2]. As wet flue gas desulfurization is both real-estate- and capital-intensive, infurnace dry sorbent injection has been considered over the years to be a viable alternative. However there is still uncertainty on the best selection of the sorbents for particular coals and furnace operating conditions. This is particularly the case when it is economically attractive for the power-plant operator to burn locally-sourced high-sulfur coal, such as the case of Illinois bituminous coals. This manuscript presents experimental results on the reduction of sulfur oxide emissions from combustion of a high-sulfur content pulverized bituminous coal (Illinois #6 Macoupin). The coal particles were in the size range of 90–125 μm and were blended with dry calcium-, sodium-, potassium-, and magnesium-containing powdered sorbents at different proportions. The alkali/S molar ratios were chosen to be at stoichiometric proportions (Ca/S = 1, Mg/S = 1, Na2/S = 2, and K2/S = 2) and the effectiveness of each alkali or alkali earth based sorbent was evaluated separately. Combustion of coal took place in a drop-tube furnace, electrically-heated to 1400 K under fuel-lean conditions. The evolution of combustion effluent gases, such as NOx, SO2 and CO2 were monitored and compared among the different sorbent cases. The use of these sorbents helps to resolve the potential of different alkali metals for effective in-furnace sulfur oxide capture and possible NOx reduction. It also assesses the effectiveness of various chemical compounds of the alkalis, such as oxides, carbonates, peroxides and acetates.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
A Parameter Estimation Method Using Linear Response Statistics

This paper presents a new parameter estimation method for Ito diffusions such that the resulting model predicts the equilibrium statistics as well as the sensitivities of the underlying system to external disturbances. Our formulation does not require the knowledge of the underlying system, however, we assume that the linear response statistics can be computed via the fluctuation–dissipation theory. The main idea is to fit the model to a finite set of “essential” statistics that is sufficient to approximate the linear response operators. In a series of test problems, we will show the consistency of the proposed method in the sense that if we apply it to estimate the parameters of the underlying model, then we must obtain the true parameters.
Characterizing a proposed sixteen-element array antenna designed for microwave imaging of breast cancer

Microwave imaging (MI) has been widely studied for cancer detection recently. In this technique, either an array or a scanning antenna is used. Employing an array has the advantage of avoiding the mechanical issues of a scanning antenna. Moreover, a scanning antenna is not a practical arrangement for self-examination purposes. However, designing the array still remains an important topic in MI. In this paper, a new array is designed and characterized at 1.2GHz for breast cancer detection and the radiation properties are studied.
Depicting urban boundaries from a mobility network of spatial interactions: a case study of Great Britain with geo-located Twitter data

Existing urban boundaries are usually defined by government agencies for administrative, economic, and political purposes. However, it is not clear whether the boundaries truly reflect human intera...
Free riders: the economics and organization of outlaw motorcycle gangs

This paper investigates the organizational structure of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, one of the largest and best known North American motorcycle gangs. Within the first few decades since their establishment, the Angels developed a hierarchical organizational form, which allowed them to overcome internal conflict and exploit the gains from their involvement in criminal activities. This organizational form, I argue, played a central role in the rapid success of the Angels in the North American (and international) criminal landscape.
(Im)patience by Proxy: Making Intertemporal Decisions for Others

Abstract Decisions with consequences that play out over time are ubiquitous in business, policy, and family relations, and frequently the agent making such a decision is not the one who bears the consequences. We use a lab experiment to examine whether individuals make different intertemporal decisions for others of varying social distance than for themselves. Subjects make a series of intertemporal work time allocation decisions for themselves and for another individual, either a friend or a stranger. We find that if they do not receive information about the decision recipient, people choose more impatiently (moving more disutility cost into the future) for others than for themselves. In other words, a decision made for you by an uninformed proxy is more impatient than a decision you would make for yourself and thus is probably suboptimal. This result contrasts with some of the literature, a divergence that may be because most of those studies are in the benefit domain while ours is in the cost domain and because (as we find in a separate survey) people perceive procrastination as qualitatively different from other discounting decisions. We provide evidence that this bias in proxy decisions exists because benevolent decision-makers believe their decision recipients to be more impatient than they actually are. First, survey evidence suggests that uninformed individuals believe that they are more patient than other subjects. Second, when the decision-maker sees information about how patient the recipient believes herself to be, this impatience bias disappears if the recipient is a friend. Taken together, our results show that given limited information, proxy decision-makers choose more impatiently than principals would prefer, but information can mitigate this suboptimal choice if social distance is low. Our results also suggest that intertemporal choice may not be behaviorally the same over time as over money.
Attenuated coupled cluster: a heuristic polynomial similarity transformation incorporating spin symmetry projection into traditional coupled cluster theory

In electronic structure theory, restricted single-reference coupled cluster (CC) captures weak correlation but fails catastrophically under strong correlation. Spin-projected unrestricted Hartree-F...
State spaces of JB * -triples*

An atomic decomposition is proved for Banach spaces which satisfy some affine geometric axioms compatible with notions from the quantum mechanical measuring process. This is then applied to yield, under appropriate assumptions, geometric characterizations, up to isometry, of the unit ball of the dual space of a JB*-triple, and up to complete isometry, of one-sided ideals in C*-algebras.
Aerial UAV-IoT sensing for ubiquitous immersive communication and virtual human teleportation

We consider UAV IoT aerial sensing that delivers multiple VR/AR immersive communication sessions to remote users. The UAV swarm is spatially distributed over a wide area of interest, and each UAV captures a viewpoint of the scene below it. The remote users are interested in visual immersive navigation of specific subareas/scenes of interest, reconstructed on their respective VR/AR devices from the captured data. The reconstruction quality of the immersive scene representations at the users will depend on the sampling/sensing rates associated with each UAV. There is a limit on the aggregate amount of data that the UAV swarm can sample and send towards the users, stemming from physical/transmission capacity constraints. Similarly, each VR/AR application has minimum reconstruction quality requirements for its own session. We propose an optimization framework that makes three contributions in this context. First, we select the optimal sampling rates to be used by each UAV, such that the system and application constraints are not exceed, while the priority weighted reconstruction quality across all VR/AR sessions is maximized. Then, we design an optimal scalable source-channel signal representation that instills into the captured data inherent rate adaptivity, unequal error protection, and minimum required redundancy. Finally, the UAV transmission efficiency is enhanced by the use of small-form-factor multi-beam directional antennas and optimal power/link scheduling across the scalable signal representation layers. Our experiments demonstrate competitive advantages over conventional methods for visual sensing. This is a first-of-its-kind study of an emerging application of prospectively broad societal impact.
Towards automatic generation of short summaries of commits

Committing to a version control system means submitting a software change to the system. Each commit can have a message to describe the submission. Several approaches have been proposed to automatically generate the content of such messages. However, the quality of the automatically generated messages falls far short of what humans write. In studying the differences between auto-generated and human-written messages, we found that 82% of the human-written messages have only one sentence, while the automatically generated messages often have multiple lines. Furthermore, we found that the commit messages often begin with a verb followed by an direct object. This finding inspired us to use a "verb+object" format in this paper to generate short commit summaries. We split the approach into two parts: verb generation and object generation. As our first try, we trained a classifier to classify a diff to a verb. We are seeking feedback from the community before we continue to work on generating direct objects for the commits.
The Impact of Information Technology on the Diffusion of New Pharmaceuticals

Do information differences across U.S. physicians contribute to treatment disparities? This paper uses a unique new dataset to evaluate how changes in physician access to a decision-relevant drug database affect prescribing decisions. Our results indicate that doctors using the reference have a significantly greater propensity to prescribe generic drugs, are faster to begin prescribing new generics, and prescribe a more diverse set of products. Notably, physicians using the reference database are not faster to prescribe new branded drugs. Given that a new generic drug resembles its branded equivalent clinically, these results are consistent with database users responding primarily to the increased accessibility of non-clinical information such as drug price and insurance formulary data; the results also suggest improvements to physician information access have important aggregate implications for the costs and efficiency of medical care. We address possible selection effects in physician types by relying on within-doctor variation and an instrument for adoption timing that is based on the marketing strategy of the drug reference firm.
Opportunities for Price Manipulation by Aggregators in Electricity Markets

Aggregators of distributed generation are playing an increasingly crucial role in the integration of renewable energy in power systems. However, the intermittent nature of renewable generation makes market interactions of aggregators difficult to monitor and regulate, raising concerns about potential market manipulation by aggregators. In this paper, we study this issue by quantifying the profit an aggregator can obtain through strategic curtailment of generation in an electricity market. We show that, while the problem of maximizing the benefit from curtailment is hard in general, efficient algorithms exist when the topology of the network is radial (acyclic). Further, we highlight that significant increases in profit are possible via strategic curtailment in practical settings.
The time dimension of science: Connecting the past to the future

Abstract A central question in science of science concerns how time affects citations. Despite the long-standing interests and its broad impact, we lack systematic answers to this simple yet fundamental question. By reviewing and classifying prior studies for the past 50 years, we find a significant lack of consensus in the literature, primarily due to the coexistence of retrospective and prospective approaches to measuring citation age distributions. These two approaches have been pursued in parallel, lacking any known connections between the two. Here we developed a new theoretical framework that not only allows us to connect the two approaches through precise mathematical relationships, it also helps us reconcile the interplay between temporal decay of citations and the growth of science, helping us uncover new functional forms characterizing citation age distributions. We find retrospective distribution follows a lognormal distribution with exponential cutoff, while prospective distribution is governed by the interplay between a lognormal distribution and the growth in the number of references. Most interestingly, the two approaches can be connected once rescaled by the growth of publications and citations. We further validate our framework using both large-scale citation datasets and analytical models capturing citation dynamics. Together this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the time dimension of science, representing a new empirical and theoretical basis for all future studies in this area.
Nonparametric Estimation of the Conditional Distribution at Regression Boundary Points

Nonparametric regression is a standard statistical tool with increased importance in the Big Data era. Boundary points pose additional difficulties but local polynomial regression can be used to al...
Do Health Information Exchanges Deter Repetition of Medical Services

Repetition of medical services by providers is one of the major sources of healthcare costs. The lack of access to previous medical information on a patient at the point of care often leads a physician to perform medical procedures that have already been done. Multiple healthcare initiatives and legislation at both the federal and state levels have mandated Health Information Exchange (HIE) systems to address this problem. This study aims to assess the extent to which HIE could reduce these repetitions, using data from Centers for Medicare 8 Medicaid Services and a regional HIE organization. A 2-Stage Least Square model is developed to predict the impact of HIE on repetitions of two classes of procedures: diagnostic and therapeutic. The first stage is a predictive analytic model that estimates the duration of tenure of each HIE member-practice. Based on these estimates, the second stage predicts the effect of providers’ HIE tenure on their repetition of medical services. The model incorporates moderating effects of a federal quality assurance program and the complexity of medical procedures with a set of control variables. Our analyses show that a practice's tenure with HIE significantly lowers the repetition of therapeutic medical procedures, while diagnostic procedures are not impacted. The medical reasons for the effects observed in each class of procedures are discussed. The results will inform healthcare policymakers and provide insights on the business models of HIE platforms.
On the power of white pebbles

We construct a family (G p |p) of directed acyclic graphs such that any black pebble strategy forG p requiresp 2 pebbles whereas 3p+1 pebbles are sufficient when white pebbles are allowed.
Compensation, diversity and inclusion at the World Bank Group

This paper examines salary gaps by gender and nationality at the World Bank Group between 1987 and 2015 using a unique panel of all employees over this period. The paper develops and implements a dynamic simulation approach that models existing gaps as arising from differences in job composition at entry, entry salaries, salary growth and attrition. There are three main findings. First, 76 percent of the $27,400 salary gap across the average male and female staff at the World Bank Group can be attributed to composition effects, whereby men entered the World Bank Group at higher paid positions, particularly in the earlier half of the sample. Second, salary gaps 15 years after joining the World Bank Group can favor either men or women depending on their entry position. Third, for the most common entry-level professional position (known as Grade GF at the World Bank Group) there is a gender gap of 3.5 percent in favor of males 15 years after entry. The majority of this gap (84 percent) is due to differences in salary growth rather than differences in entry salaries or attrition. The pattern of these gaps is similar for staff from different nationalities. The dynamic decomposition method developed here thus identifies specific areas of concern and can be widely applied to the analysis of salary gaps within firms.
Even-Keeled Moments of Doubt

Uncertainty affects all aspects of economics. A principle this vital demands a mathematically precise definition. The distinction between risk and uncertainty, as made by Frank Knight (1921) and John Maynard Keynes (1937), invites the following definition (Anderson, Ghysels & Juergens 2009): An event is risky if its outcome is unknown but the distribution of its outcomes is known. By contrast, an event is uncertain if its outcome is unknown and the distribution of its outcomes is also unknown. In fat-tailed problems where historical evidence does not reflect the true distribution of extreme outcomes, kurtosis approximates uncertainty. This intuition arises from options pricing models where both price and volatility fluctuate stochastically (Heston 1993).
Microscopic theory of spin toroidization in periodic crystals

Using the semiclassical theory of electron dynamics, we derive a gauge-invariant expression for the spin toroidization in a periodical crystal. We show that the spin toroidization is comprised of two contributions: One is due to the configuration of a classical spin array, while the other comes from the coordinate shift of the electron as spin carrier in response to the inhomogeneous magnetic field. We then establish a direct and elegant relation between our spin toroidization and the antisymmetric magnetoelectric polarizability in insulators. Finally, we demonstrate our spin toroidization in a tight-binding model and show that it is a genuine bulk quantity.
Post-processing partitions to identify domains of modularity optimization

We introduce the Convex Hull of Admissible Modularity Partitions (CHAMP) algorithm to prune and prioritize different network community structures identified across multiple runs of possibly various computational heuristics. Given a set of partitions, CHAMP identifies the domain of modularity optimization for each partition—i.e., the parameter-space domain where it has the largest modularity relative to the input set—discarding partitions with empty domains to obtain the subset of partitions that are “admissible” candidate community structures that remain potentially optimal over indicated parameter domains. Importantly, CHAMP can be used for multi-dimensional parameter spaces, such as those for multilayer networks where one includes a resolution parameter and interlayer coupling. Using the results from CHAMP, a user can more appropriately select robust community structures by observing the sizes of domains of optimization and the pairwise comparisons between partitions in the admissible subset. We demonstrate the utility of CHAMP with several example networks. In these examples, CHAMP focuses attention onto pruned subsets of admissible partitions that are 20-to-1785 times smaller than the sets of unique partitions obtained by community detection heuristics that were input into CHAMP.
INVENTORY BEHAVIOR AND ECONOMIC INSTABILITY

Abstract Inventory fluctuations are known to be an important propagation mechanism for U.S. business cycles. This paper compares the significance of inventory fluctuations in the U.S. with other major industrial economies. A general model of aggregate inventory demand is specified which seeks to encompass the models presented in recent studies of inventory behavior. This model is estimated for the U.S. and West Germany, and the preferred model that results from this analysis is compared with the empirical evidence for the U.S.
Design and Simulation of a Planar Micro-Optic Free-Space Receiver

We propose a receiver design and simulation that optimizes a Si microlens array with micro-optic injection structures to selectively couple light into a waveguide and then to an edge-mounted detector to couple 2.5Gbps modulated input.
Endoscopic Management of Bladder Cancer With Hematoporphyrin Derivative Phototherapy

The propensity of hematoporphyrin derivative (HpD) to fluoresce in the red portion of the spectrum when exposed to near-ultraviolet light has enabled investigators to substantiate that HpD selectively localizes in dysplastic and neoplastic urothelial cells. More important from a clinical standpoint is the cytotoxicity that occurs when cells that have absorbed HpD are exposed to light of wavelengths that correspond to its absorption bands. Several early clinical studies have substantiated the potential clinical usefulness of HpD phototherapy.
Implications of Small, Peripheral Hypoechoic Lesions in Endorectal US of the Prostate

Endorectal ultrasound (US) can demonstrate small, nonpalpable, or subtly palpable lesions of the prostate. However, differentiation of benign from malignant processes has not always been possible. Because early diagnosis may have immense clinical implications, the possibility that endorectal US can be used to diagnose early prostate cancer has been suggested. The authors prospectively evaluated with endorectal US 80 small (less than 1.5 cm) peripherally oriented hypoechoic lesions in 79 patients with a normal or questionably abnormal digital rectal examination. In all patients at least two biopsies per lesion were performed. The transperineal sonographically guided biopsies were performed with both cytologic and core biopsy techniques. Seventeen of the 80 lesions (21.3%) were malignant. These findings suggest a low, but perhaps clinically significant, rate of diagnosis of small prostate cancers. While these data are interesting, they are insufficient to recommend use of endorectal US as a screening tool for prostate cancer.
Aortorenal Arterial Autografts: The Last two Decades

Arterial autografts were introduced nearly a quarter century ago at the University of California, San Francisco and have proven their value for replacement in many demanding arterial problems. Renal artery fibrodysplasia is one of the more common lesions treated with arterial autograft. Arterial autografts that ideally match the renal artery and its branches are procured from the patient's own internal lilac artery. Either straight or branched configuration are available depending on the replacement requirements. In-situ aortorenal autografts are employed for lesions of the main renal artery or primary branches. Ex vivo repair involves temporary nephrectomy, pulsatile hypothermlc perfusion and precise micro-vascular repair with unrestricted exposure, illumination, and an unhurried pace with no threat of renal ischemic insult Autografts are attached proximally to the side of the aorta and distally to the disease-free end of the renal artery or a branch. The technique of arterial substitution for ex vivo repairs are identical except for the additional reanastomosis or reattachment of the renal vein. The arterial autograft exhibits the compliance characteristics which resemble a normal artery, maturation when used in the growing child, and durability essential for the long life span of this treated population. When the objective of a renal artery reconstruction is a normal renal arterial system, then the internal iliac artery autograft is the only choice.
Methods for Monitoring Canine Prostate Size: Internal and External Caliper Measurements

A method has been developed that allows the generation of a three-dimensional representation of the canine prostate from a pair of orthogonal radiographs. This information can be used to externally measure the length, width, and height of the prostate and from these results to calculate prostate weight. This externally estimated prostate weight is correlated closely (r = 0.90) with the actual prostate weight. The ability to generate an external caliper measurement of prostate weight will facilitate future studies of the effect of aging and hormonal manipulation on the canine prostate.
The Benjamin H. Kean travel fellowship in tropical medicine: Assessment of impact at 15 years

The Benjamin H. Kean Fellowship in Tropical Medicine is an American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene initiative that provides medical students with funding for international clinical or research experiences lasting at least 1 month. Of the 175 Kean fellows from 1998 to 2013, 140 had current available e-mails, and 70 of the 140 (50%) responded to a survey about their fellowship experience. Alumni indicated that the Kean Fellowship had a high impact on their career plans with regard to preparation for (N = 65, 94.2%) and inspiration to pursue (N = 59, 88.1%) a career in tropical medicine and global health. Continued involvement in tropical medicine and global health was common: 52 alumni (74.3%) were currently working in tropical medicine or global health, 49 (71.0%) had done so in the interim between the Kean fellowship and their current position; and 17 of 19 Kean fellows (89.4%) who had completed all medical training and were now in professional practice continued to work in tropical medicine and global health. Alumni had been highly productive academically, publishing a total of 831 PubMed-indexed manuscripts, almost all on tropical medicine or global health topics, in the period between their fellowship year and 2013. Alumni reported strengths of the fellowship including funding, networking, and flexibility, and suggested that more networking and career mentoring would enhance the program. The Benjamin H. Kean fellowship program has been highly successful at inspiring and fostering ongoing work by trainees in tropical medicine and global health.
Histological Findings in the Rat Prostate Cancer Model During Treatment With a Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Agonist and Novantrone

Morphological changes produced by the treatment with the D-tryptophan-6 analog of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (D-Trp-6-LH-RH) and mitoxantrone (novantrone) were studied in the Dunning R3327H rat prostate cancer model. Microcapsules of D-Trp-6-LH-RH, calculated to release a controlled dose of 25 micrograms/day, were injected intramuscularly once a month. Novantrone (0.25 mg/kg body weight) was injected intravenously once every 3 weeks. The pathology of tumors was studied in two experiments. In the first experiment, the treatment was started 135 days after tumor transplantation, and the therapy was continued for 105 days. In the second experiment, the treatment was initiated 45 days after tumor transplantation, and was carried on for 70 days. The rats were divided into four groups: 1) untreated control, 2) microcapsule-injected, 3) novantrone-injected, and 4) combination of microcapsules and novantrone-injected. In both experiments, similar results were obtained, which included significant reduction in the tumor volume and weight, a very striking decrease in the number of epithelial tumoral cells with atrophy of the glandular epithelium, and an increase in the stromal connective tissue. All these changes were more prominent in the group treated with the combination of microcapsules and novantrone than in the groups treated with microcapsules or novantrone alone. Pathological results support the view that combined therapy may be more efficacious than the treatment with single agents.
The Opioid Crisis and the Need for Compassion in Pain Management.

An editorial is presented which addresses the author's views about an opioid abuse epidemic in America and the need for compassion in pain management as of 2017. Prescription drug monitoring programs and state laws in the U.S. are addressed, along with the therapeutic use of opioids. The potential impacts that no opioid policies could have on patients are examined, along with physician-patient relations in America and problems such as the over-prescribing of opioids.
Detecting Race Conditions in Parallel Programs that Use Semaphores

We address the problem of detecting race conditions in programs that use semaphores for synchronization. Netzer and Miller showed that it is NP-complete to detect race conditions in programs that use many semaphores. We show in this paper that it remains NP-complete even if only two semaphores are used in the parallel programs.
A UNIVERSAL SCREW PLACEMENT FOR TRIPLANE FRACTURES: DO WE STILL NEED A CT?

Triplane fractures of the adolescent ankle commonly require operative management. A number of classification systems exist showing a variety of fracture patterns, making fixation planning complex. Our institute has previously presented a classification system that simplifies the fracture pattern. Our aim was to find a fixation method that could be used in all cases. We devised a universal screw trajectory for the epiphyseal fracture based on a partially threaded screw placed medial-to-lateral at 20 degrees to the inter-malleolar axis of the ankle. We retrospectively reviewed the axial CT images of 59 consecutive operatively managed triplane fractures from a single institute to simulate the placement of the screw. In all 59 subjects, the simulated universal screw placement was in a satisfactory position to adequately, and safely, reduce the fracture. Two cases were classified as ‘Tillaux variants’, which are classically managed with a lateral-to-medial screw, but they were deemed to be potentially suitable for the universal screw, indeed in one case the treating surgeon used a medial-to-lateral screw and had a successful outcome. Our classification system demonstrates a reproducible fracture line that is amenable to a universal screw fixation method in the world9s largest published triplane series. It offers a low-tech solution to a difficult problem. This could simplify the preoperative plan and obviate the need for a CT scan, which is relevant to departments treating populations without access to such resources.
NetProphet 2.0: mapping transcription factor networks by exploiting scalable data resources.

MOTIVATION Cells process information, in part, through transcription factor (TF) networks, which control the rates at which individual genes produce their products. A TF network map is a graph that indicates which TFs bind and directly regulate each gene. Previous work has described network mapping algorithms that rely exclusively on gene expression data and 'integrative' algorithms that exploit a wide range of data sources including chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) of many TFs, genome-wide chromatin marks, and binding specificities for many TFs determined in vitro. However, such resources are available only for a few major model systems and cannot be easily replicated for new organisms or cell types. RESULTS We present NetProphet 2.0, a 'data light' algorithm for TF network mapping, and show that it is more accurate at identifying direct targets of TFs than other, similarly data light algorithms. In particular, it improves on the accuracy of NetProphet 1.0, which used only gene expression data, by exploiting three principles. First, combining multiple approaches to network mapping from expression data can improve accuracy relative to the constituent approaches. Second, TFs with similar DNA binding domains bind similar sets of target genes. Third, even a noisy, preliminary network map can be used to infer DNA binding specificities from promoter sequences and these inferred specificities can be used to further improve the accuracy of the network map. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Source code and comprehensive documentation are freely available at https://github.com/yiming-kang/NetProphet_2.0. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
ECONOMIC FREEDOM AND GROWTH IN U.S. STATE-LEVEL MARKET INCOMES AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM

This paper investigates the relationship between economic freedom and income growth and inequality across U.S. states over the period 1979–2011. The focus is on market income at the top and bottom of the income distribution. Results show that increases in overall freedom are associated with average income growth. When viewed separately, an increase in overall freedom is associated with larger income growth rates for income earners in the bottom 90% relative to the top 10%. Interestingly, results show that increases in overall economic freedom are related to larger relative growth rates for the top 10% incomes within high-income states and larger relative growth rates for the bottom 90% incomes within low-income states. Top-to-bottom income ratio regressions suggest a negative and statistically significant relationship between economic freedom and income inequality. (JEL D63, P16, R11)
Specific hippocampal representations are linked to generalized cortical representations in memory

Memories link information about specific experiences to more general knowledge that is abstracted from and contextualizes those experiences. Hippocampal-cortical activity patterns representing features of past experience are reinstated during awake memory reactivation events, but whether representations of both specific and general features of experience are simultaneously reinstated remains unknown. We examined hippocampal and prefrontal cortical firing patterns during memory reactivation in rats performing a well-learned foraging task with multiple spatial paths. We found that specific hippocampal place representations are preferentially reactivated with the subset of prefrontal cortical task representations that generalize across different paths. Our results suggest that hippocampal-cortical networks maintain links between stored representations for specific and general features of experience, which could support abstraction and task guidance in mammals.
G protein-coupled estrogen receptor regulates embryonic heart rate in zebrafish

Estrogens act by binding to estrogen receptors alpha and beta (ERα, ERβ), ligand-dependent transcription factors that play crucial roles in sex differentiation, tumor growth and cardiovascular physiology. Estrogens also activate the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER), however the function of GPER in vivo is less well understood. Here we find that GPER is required for normal heart rate in zebrafish embryos. Acute exposure to estrogens increased heart rate in wildtype and in ERα and ERβ mutant embryos but not in GPER mutants. GPER mutant embryos exhibited reduced basal heart rate, while heart rate was normal in ERα and ERβ mutants. We detected gper transcript in discrete regions of the brain and pituitary but not in the heart, suggesting that GPER acts centrally to regulate heart rate. In the pituitary, we observed gper expression in cells that regulate levels of thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3), a hormone known to increase heart rate. Compared to wild type, GPER mutants had reduced levels of T3 and estrogens, suggesting pituitary abnormalities. Exposure to exogenous T3, but not estradiol, rescued the reduced heart rate phenotype in gper mutant embryos, demonstrating that T3 acts downstream of GPER to regulate heart rate. Using genetic and mass spectrometry approaches, we find that GPER regulates maternal estrogen levels, which are required for normal embryonic heart rate. Our results demonstrate that estradiol plays a previously unappreciated role in the acute modulation of heart rate during zebrafish embryonic development and suggest that GPER regulates embryonic heart rate by altering maternal estrogen levels and embryonic T3 levels.
Government Credit, a Double-Edged Sword: Evidence from the China Development Bank

Using proprietary data from the China Development Bank (CDB), this paper examines the effects of government credit on firm activities. Tracing the effects of government credit across different levels of the supply chain, I find that CDB industrial loans to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) crowd out private firms in the same industry but crowd in private firms in downstream industries. On average, a $1 increase in CDB SOE loans leads to a $0.20 decrease in private firms' assets. Moreover, CDB infrastructure loans crowd in private firms. I use exogenous timing of municipal politicians' turnover as an instrument for CDB credit flows. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Bridging the gap for future clinician-educators.

Background In contrast to the training required in the UK, opportunities for medical education training in the USA are limited. Resident-as-teacher programmes are typically insufficient to prepare trainees to be successful clinician-educators, but few pursue formal education degrees. We sought to assess the need for, and feasibility of, a training pathway for subspecialty fellows in a large Department of Medicine that would prepare our trainees to become effective educators. Methods Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Previous fellowship applicants and current programme directors were surveyed to determine the potential benefits of the programme. A pilot programme was conducted with fellows interested in education to determine the feasibility of the programme. Pilot participants were interviewed regarding the benefits that they gained from the pilot and the logistical challenges that they experienced. In contrast to the training required in the UK, opportunities for medical education training in the USA are limited RESULTS: Five highly ranked fellows would have scored our programmes higher if we offered this training pathway. Pilot participants and fellowship programme directors agreed that there is a compelling need for such a training pathway. A number of themes arose from the interviews that enabled us to build the framework for a strong programme. Discussion Our findings suggest that a clinician-educator training pathway that draws from multiple subspecialties has the potential to improve recruitment, provide needed career counselling and skills development to trainees, and to build a community of educators that will benefit the institution. Important insights from pilot participant interviews will inform the programme design, in order to keep trainees engaged and overcome logistical challenges.
Optogenetic silencing of nociceptive primary afferents reduces evoked and ongoing bladder pain.

Patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) suffer from chronic pain that severely affects quality of life. Although the underlying pathophysiology is not well understood, inhibition of bladder sensory afferents temporarily relieves pain. Here, we explored the possibility that optogenetic inhibition of nociceptive sensory afferents could be used to modulate bladder pain. The light-activated inhibitory proton pump Archaerhodopsin (Arch) was expressed under control of the sensory neuron-specific sodium channel (sns) gene to selectively silence these neurons. Optically silencing nociceptive sensory afferents significantly blunted the evoked visceromotor response to bladder distension and led to small but significant changes in bladder function. To study of the role of nociceptive sensory afferents in freely behaving mice, we developed a fully implantable, flexible, wirelessly powered optoelectronic system for the long-term manipulation of bladder afferent expressed opsins. We found that optogenetic inhibition of nociceptive sensory afferents reduced both ongoing pain and evoked cutaneous hypersensitivity in the context of cystitis, but had no effect in uninjured, naive mice. These results suggest that selective optogenetic silencing of nociceptive bladder afferents may represent a potential future therapeutic strategy for the treatment of bladder pain.
Effects of Online Recommendations on Consumers' Willingness to Pay

Recommender systems are an integral part of the online retail environment. Prior research has focused largely on computational approaches to improving recommendation accuracy, and only recently researchers have started to study their behavioral implications and potential side effects. We used three controlled experiments, in the context of purchasing digital songs, to explore the willingness-to-pay judgments of individual consumers after being shown personalized recommendations. In Study 1, we found strong evidence that randomly assigned song recommendations affected participants' willingness to pay, even when controlling for participants' preferences and demographics. In Study 2, participants viewed actual system-generated recommendations that were intentionally perturbed introducing recommendation error, and we observed similar effects. In Study 3, we showed that the influence of personalized recommendations on willingness-to-pay judgments was obtained even when preference uncertainty was reduced through immediate and mandatory song sampling prior to pricing. The results demonstrate the existence of important economic side effects of personalized recommender systems and inform our understanding of how system recommendations can influence our everyday preference judgments. The findings have significant implications for the design and application of recommender systems as well as for online retail practices. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2017.0703 .
Temperature and light effects on in vitro germination of Peronospora effusa sporangia

Spinach downy mildew, caused by the biotrophic oomycete Peronospora effusa, is an economically important disease that is found in all spinach growing regions of the US. To effectively predict disease risk we need to understand the response of P. effusa to different environmental conditions. We conducted several in vitro germination assays, exposing P. effusa sporangia to different temperature and lighting conditions. Between 5 and 25 °C under constant darkness, germination of P. effusa sporangia on water agar declined with increasing temperatures. These results were qualitatively different from a previous study of P. effusa germination that found a bimodal response curve, with increased germination at lower and higher temperatures. Time course studies revealed that sporangia consistently germinated within the first 12 h of plating, regardless of incubation temperature. Blue light exposure significantly reduced sporangial germination when compared with sporangia exposed to red, yellow, or no light. Light intensity and color significantly impacted germination, although the effect of color varied by light intensity.
Analysis and Improvement of Blood Collection Operations

Because of the importance, limited supply, and perishable nature of blood products, effective management of blood collection is critical for high-quality healthcare delivery. In this paper, working...