cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Are Consumers Affected by Durable Goods Makers' Financial Distress? The Case of Auto Manufacturers

Theory suggests the financial decisions of durable goods makers can impose externalities on their consumers. Namely, the consumption stream that durable goods provide frequently depends on services provided by the manufacturer itself (e.g., warranties, spare parts availability, maintenance and upgrades). Bankruptcy of a manufacturer, or even the possibility thereof, threatens this service provision and as a result can substantially reduce the value of its products to their current owners. We test whether this hypothesis holds in one of the largest durable goods markets, automobiles. We use data on prices of millions of used cars sold at wholesale auctions around the U.S. during 2006-8. We find that an increase in an auto manufacturer’s financial distress (as measured by an increase in its CDS spread) does result in a contemporaneous drop in the prices of its cars at auction, controlling for a host of other influences on price. The estimated effects are statistically and economically significant. Furthermore, cars with longer expected service lives (lower mileage or better condition cars) see larger price declines than those with shorter remaining lives. These patterns do not seem to be driven solely by reduced demand from auto dealers affiliated with the troubled manufacturers.
Polyelectrolyte behavior of glycerol-treated psoas fibers†

Glycerol-treated psoas fibers lengthen when transferred from distilled water to 0.01M barbital at pH 3.3. The addition of electrolyte then causes a considerable shortening, depending primarily on the charge of the anion. The effects of the ionic strength are reversible. The extraction of myosin from the fiber increases the pH at which length changes are observable.
Synthesis of lung surfactant-associated glycoproteins by A549 cells: description of an in vitro model for human type II cell dysfunction

Immunocytochemical, ultrastructural, and biochemical approaches were used in a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments designed to identify characteristic changes reflecting differentiated type II cell function of A549 cells. Monolayers of A549 cells and A549 clones were maintained in culture for up to 3 weeks. Using an immunoperoxidase (PAP) technique, we demonstrated that variable proportions of A549 cells and of cells in several A549 clones reacted specifically with antibodies to high molecular weight (greater than 400,000) human surfactant-associated glycoproteins (HSAG). The cells of one clone, A549-C12, were consistently negative for HSAG, but their lamellar bodies were similar in appearance and distribution to those found in a PAP-positive clone, A549-C11, as well as in A549 cells. In addition, both C11 and C12 clones displayed time-dependent, divergent differentiation predominantly toward type II epithelium and nonciliated bronchiolar and bronchial cells. Surfactant isolated from either C11 or C12 cells revealed reduced content of disaturated phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol when compared to human surfactant; however, a 95,000-dalton peptide immunologically related to HSAG was identified in surfactant from C11 cells but not from the PAP-negative C12 clone. Tumor xenografts produced in athymic (nude) mice following inoculation with cells from C11 and C12 clones exhibited prominent immunoperoxidase staining involving most tumor cells. Cell lines derived from these xenografts (T-11 and T-12) were also enriched in PAP-positive cells. Immunoelectron microscopy indicated that HSAG was localized in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, multivesicular bodies (MVB), intermediate MVB-lamellar forms, and abnormal pleomorphic inclusions. Moreover, two HSAG peptides, both larger than the 34,000-dalton peptide subunit found in normal human surfactant, were present in cells and media from monolayers of the T-11 cell line. We conclude that A549 cells synthesize "defective" HSAG and that the synthesis may be modulated by host factors. The results indicate that appropriate A549 clones can be used effectively as model systems for selected type II cell dysfunctions.
The Texas City Disaster: a re-examination

The explosion of two ships loaded with ammonium nitrate fertilizer at the Texas City docks on April 16 and 17, 1947, produced the worst industrial dis aster in United States history. Despite this, inaccuracies persist about exactly what happened, the event has never been analyzed in terms of crisis manage ment, and landside-waterside relationships are overlooked. This article applies the concepts of risk reduction, contingency planning, and incident response to these problems. Analysis reveals that the key elements of the Texas City Disaster were ignorance and complacency about hazardous materi als, system interaction, and a perceptual and organizational void between land and marine operations. Although safety practices have improved since 1947, uneven relationships between potential system interaction and disaster response capabilities persist at ports and along navigable waterways and con stitute the potential for future hazardous material disasters.
Are there gender differences in severity of ankylosing spondylitis? Results from the PSOAS cohort

Objective: To examine the clinical and radiographic features in men and women in the Prospective Study of Outcomes in Ankylosing Spondylitis cohort, a large well-defined cross-sectional study of patients with AS, in order to understand the influence of gender in determining the severity of ankylosing spondylitis. Methods: Extensive clinical assessments and spine radiographs were performed in 302 men and 100 women with AS of ⩾20 years duration. Radiographs were scored using the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Radiographic Index Spine (BASRI-spine) score (range 2–12). Functional impairment was measured by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) and the Health Assessment Questionnaire for the Spondyloarthropathies (HAQ-S). Results: Radiographic severity was worse among men. The unadjusted median BASRI-spine score for men was 10, compared with 6.5 for women (p Conclusions: Among patients with longstanding AS, men have more severe radiographic changes; findings of treatment differences suggest that women may have more peripheral arthritis. At any given level of radiographic damage, self-reported functional limitations were worse for women.
Elections, repression and authoritarian survival in post-transition Indonesia and the Philippines

Abstract This paper compares post-transition Philippines and Indonesia, examining the ways in which authoritarian practices survive and are shaped by regime transition. It examines the transition process in each case, to identify the problems of management and control that regime elites set for themselves in the post-dictatorship period. It is argued that Philippine elites set out to disaggregate and domesticate an already mobilized opposition movement, while the Indonesian authorities strove to keep similar popular politics from mobilizing. The paper then considers how these political objectives find expression in the structuring of two important institutional fields – the electoral and policy making processes – concluding with an examination of how these considerations influence patterns of repression. In particular, the paper also investigates whether repression targets primarily proscribed modes of activity, or sets out to threaten and intimidate proscribed organizations and people. Differences in ele...
Timing of Referral to Hospice and Quality of Care: Length of Stay and Bereaved Family Members' Perceptions of the Timing of Hospice Referral

Previous research has noted that many persons are referred to hospice in the last days of life. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization collaborated with Brown Medical School to create the Family Evaluation of Hospice Care (FEHC) data repository. In 2005, 106,514 surveys from 631 hospices were submitted with complete data on the hospice length of stay and bereaved family member perceptions of the timing of hospice care. Of these surveys, 11.4% of family members believed that they were referred "too late" to hospice. This varied from 0 to 28.1% among the participating hospice programs with 30 or more surveys. Among those with hospice lengths of stay of less than a month, only 16.2% reported they were referred "too late." Although the bereaved family member perceptions of the quality of end-of-life care did not vary by length of stay for each of the FEHC domains, the perception of being referred "too late" was associated with more unmet needs, higher reported concerns, and lower satisfaction. Our results suggest that family members' perception of the timing of hospice referral-not the length of stay-is associated with the quality of hospice care. This perception varies substantially among the participating hospice programs. Future research is needed to understand this variation and how hospice programs are delivering high quality of care despite short length of stay.
Novel reconfigurable multi-band antennas for multi-radio platforms

Reconfigurable and multi-band concepts have been combined to design antennas for mobile multi-radio platforms. The new concept is based on reconfiguring a multi-branched low profile planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) structure suitable for laptops applications. The developed unique structure complies with space and service requirements, and utilizes only two switches to provide two operating reconfigurable multi-band states. Each state is capable of covering specific service group to simplify service switching, and minimize out-of-band input noise.
Hamiltonian Formulation of Wilson's Lattice Gauge Theories

Wilson's lattice gauge model is presented as a canonical Hamiltonian theory. The structure of the model is reduced to the interactions of an infinite collection of coupled rigid rotators. The gauge-invariant configuration space consists of a collection of strings with quarks at their ends. The strings are lines of non-Abelian electric flux. In the strong-coupling limit the dynamics is best described in terms of these strings. Quark confinement is a result of the inability to break a string without producing a pair.
A reduced model solution for the chemical master equation arising in stochastic analyses of biological networks

This article introduces the Observability Aggregated Finite State Projection (OAFSP) method for use in the stochastic analysis of biological systems. The small chemical populations of such systems have probability distributions that evolve according to a set of linear, time-invariant, ordinary differential equations known as the Chemical Master Equation (CME). The original FSP algorithm directly approximates the full CME solution to within a prespecified error. However, one may be interested only in certain portions of the distribution or certain statistical quantities such as mean or variance, and the full FSP method may provide an excess of information. In these cases, one can define a linear output signal and extract only the reachable and observable regions from the full distribution state space. The unobservable regions of the distribution can be aggregated with no accuracy loss but with less computational cost. This paper presents the resulting OAFSP algorithm and illustrates its benefits on a simple chemical reaction.
Phenylalanine Hydroxylase Stimulator Protein Is a 4α-Carbinolamine Dehydratase

Abstract Phenylalanine hydroxylase stimulator protein is shown to be an enzyme that catalyzes the dehydration of the 4α-carbinolamine, derived from the turnover of 6-methyltetrahydropterin with phenylalanine hydroxylase, to form p-quinonoid-6-methyldihydropterin. This conclusion is based on the facts that: 1) a linear dependence on phenylalanine hydroxylase stimulator concentration of the first order rate of decay at low levels of 4α-carbinolamine is observed; 2) the physical separation of phenylalanine hydroxylase from phenylalanine hydroxylase stimulator and 4α-carbinolamine gives identical kinetic parameters with those obtained in its presence, thus indicating no catalytically significant protein-protein interaction; and 3) the 4α-carbinolamine analog, 5-deaza-4α-hydroxy-6-methyltetrahydropterin is an inhibitor of phenylalanine hydroxylase stimulator activity.
Alternative Models for the Time Path of Enfranchisement: Comment on Freeman and Snidal's Study of Enfranchisement in Western Europe

Freeman and Snidal have recently presented an intriguing model of enfranchisement in Western Europe.' Instead of "explaining" enfranchisement historically, with remarks elastic enough to suit any time path for suffrage reform, they have begun the arduous process of constructing a formal theory with transparent logic and testable implications. Their considerable success in fitting the data indicates that they may even have escaped the usual limitation of mathematical models that, in Joan Didion's words, they "seem to hold up but not to apply."2 In brief, Freeman and Snidal postulate that elites demand "legitimacy" and pay for it with enfranchisement. Similarly, the mass supplies legitimacy as a function of the suffrage. Here "legitimacy" may be interpreted quite broadly without altering the substantive consequences of the model. For example, one may think of it as "incorporation into the political community," so that the model describes elites engaged in nation-building. In this version, whether or not there is something in the minds of the populace that might conventionally be called "legitimacy" is simply irrelevant.
Inferences based on the buckley-james procedure

Several estimators for the variance of estimates of the intercept and slope for a linear model fit to censored data are proposed and compared. The Buckley-James (1979) procedure is used to derive estimates of the slope and intercept and the bootstrap is applied to this method to derive new variance estimates. Results indicate that several of the methods perform suitably well for this problem.
Chemosensory Transduction in Paramecium

Summary Paramecium tetraurelia is attracted and repelled by a variety of chemical stimuli. The attractants probably signify the presence of nutrients. For attractants, there are at least three signal transduction pathways that all lead to a hyperpolarization of the cell that results in relatively fast and smooth swimming. The three pathways differ in stimuli, receptor mechanisms and second messengers. Receptors for one and possibly two of the pathways couple surface events to the activation of a plasma membrane calcium pump. One pathway is not receptor-mediated, but affects intracellular pH by diffusion of the stimulus across the membrane. A variety of techniques are described in an effort to probe the steps of each of these pathways, which remain only partially defined.
Altered neural function to happy faces in adolescents with and at risk for depression

Background There is accumulating evidence of alterations in neural circuitry underlying the processing of social-affective information in adolescent Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). However the extent to which such alterations are present in youth at risk for mood disorders remains unclear. Method Whole-brain blood oxygenation level-dependent task responses and functional connectivity using generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analyses to mild and intense happy face stimuli was examined in 29 adolescents with MDD (MDD; M age, 16.0, S.D. 1.2 years), 38 healthy adolescents at risk of a mood disorder, by virtue of having a parent diagnosed with either Bipolar Disorder (BD) or MDD (Mood-risk; M age 13.4, S.D. 2.5 years) and 43 healthy control adolescents, having parents with no psychiatric disorder (HC; M age 14.6, S.D. 2.2 years). Results Relative to HC adolescents, Mood-risk adolescents showed elevated right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation to 100% intensity happy (vs. neutral) faces and concomitant lowered ventral putamen activity to 50% intensity happy (vs. neutral) faces. gPPI analyses revealed that MDD adolescents showed significantly lower right DLPFC functional connectivity with the ventrolateral PFC (VLPFC) compared to HC to all happy faces. Limitations The current study is limited by the smaller number of healthy offspring at risk for MDD compared to BD. Conclusions Because Mood-risk adolescents were healthy at the time of the scan, elevated DLPFC and lowered ventral striatal activity in Mood-risk adolescents may be associated with risk or resiliency. In contrast, altered DLPFC–VLPFC functional connectivity in MDD adolescents may be associated with depressed mood state. Such alterations may affect social-affective development and progression to a mood disorder in Mood-risk adolescents. Future longitudinal follow-up studies are needed to directly answer this research question.
Land use and land cover (LULC) changes in semi-arid sub-watersheds of Laikipia and Athi River basins, Kenya, as influenced by expanding intensive commercial horticulture

Abstract Agriculturally productive watersheds in Kenya are experiencing important land transformations with consequences on environmental resources. Previous work identified spatial pockets of vegetation decline across sub-watersheds with intensive farming. While this is crucial information in delineating impacted regions, it is important to understand the type of occurring changes, spatial patterns and the rate of change. The study focused in the Athi River and Laikipia regions which have intensified commercial horticulture, yet marginalized semi-arid to arid environments. The study quantified land use and land cover changes between 1984 and 2009/2010, identifying areas of change and the average annual rate of change. Landsat (5 TM, MSS and 7 ETM+) multitemporal data were used in classification and change detection analysis. From the results, both regions experienced intense land transformation at varying magnitudes during the 25 years period. Woody grasslands covered vast areas. In Laikipia, the averaged percentage annual rate of land change to settlements/urban use was highest (20.2%). There was a decline in barren area, forest and wooded grasslands (−1.4%, −0.7% and −0.3% respectively). In the Athi River region, the averaged percentage annual rate of changes was in the order of agriculture, water, settlement, bare soils, woody grasslands (37.7%, 17.2%, 8.4%, 3.9, 2.9% respectively) while dark bare soils, and forest cover declined (−3.4% and −3.3% respectively). Observed LULC transformations were largely attributed to socio-economic drivers including increased human migration into agriculturally productive sub-watersheds fueling growth of settlement, increased irrigation farming and therefore increased area under water, and growth of cities and industrial areas.
Management of peripheral arterial aneurysms.

True atherosclerotic aneurysms of the common femoral artery are less common than iatrogenic, mycotic, or postreconstructive pseudoaneurysms, but the development of new noninvasive diagnostic measures may lessen the incidence of false aneurysms. Usual treatment is by replacement grafting or simple suture of the iatrogenic arterial defect.
Nasal blood flow.

Although the assessment of allergic reactions was subjective for many years, it is now possible to evaluate nasal blockage objectively by measuring nasal airway resistance. To explore the pathophysiology of nasal blockage, however, it is necessary to analyze the separate components of obstruction, including secretions, cellular infiltrates, and microcirculatory parameters. The preferred techniques for measuring nasal mucosal blood flow are laser-Doppler velocimetry and radioactive xenon washout. Laser-Doppler velocimetry allows the measurement not only of blood flow but also of blood volume, red blood cell speed, and pulsatility of flow
Pose Filter Based Hidden-CRF Models for Activity Detection

Detecting activities which involve a sequence of complex pose and motion changes in unsegmented videos is a challenging task, and common approaches use sequential graphical models to infer the human pose-state in every frame. We propose an alternative model based on detecting the key-poses in a video, where only the temporal positions of a few key-poses are inferred. We also introduce a novel pose summarization algorithm to automatically discover the key-poses of an activity. We learn a detection filter for each key-pose, which along with a bag-of-words root filter are combined in an HCRF model, whose parameters are learned using the latent-SVM optimization. We evaluate the performance of our model for detection on unsegmented videos on four human action datasets, which include challenging crowded scenes with dynamic backgrounds, inter-person occlusions, multi-human interactions and hard-to-detect daily use objects.
Communication Skills Training for Interactive Sports

The development of interpersonal communication skills is an important aspect of psychological skill development in interactive sport athletes. This article presents a communication skills training program for interactive sport teams. Collegiate coaches of interactive sports implemented a series of seven interpersonal communication exercises with their teams to gain a preliminary perspective on the effectiveness of communication skills training. Overall, athletes’ responses in evaluating the program indicated that the communication exercises raised awareness levels of communication skills and competencies and also provided valuable opportunities to practice improving communication skills. Suggestions are provided for the continuation of communication skills training with athletes.
Unique Effects of Ion Irradiation

This chapter will focus on processes that are unique to ion bombardment of metals and alloys. Ion bombardment is important in fusion reactor systems in which the reaction products consist of energetic helium and hydrogen (deuterium or tritium) ions that impact the first wall and other components.
c-Cbl mediates the degradation of tumorigenic nuclear β-catenin contributing to the heterogeneity in Wnt activity in colorectal tumors.

// Moshe Shashar 1 , Jamaica Siwak 1 , Umit Tapan 2 , Shin Yin Lee 2 , Rosana D. Meyer 3 , Paige Parrack 1 , Josenia Tan 3 , Fatemeh Khatami 1 , Jean Francis 1 , Qing Zhao 3 , Kevan Hartshorn 2 , Vijaya B. Kolachalama 4,5 , Nader Rahimi 3 and Vipul Chitalia 1,4 1 Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA 2 Department of Medicine, Hematology-Oncology Section, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA 3 Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA 4 Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA 5 Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA Correspondence to: Vipul Chitalia, email: // Keywords : colorectal cancer, Cbl, Wnt Received : June 16, 2016 Accepted : August 21, 2016 Published : September 20, 2016 Abstract Despite the loss of Adenomatous Polyposis Coli ( APC ) in a majority of colorectal cancers (CRC), not all CRCs bear hallmarks of Wnt activation, such as nuclear β-catenin. This underscores the presence of other Wnt regulators that are important to define, given the pathogenic and prognostic roles of nuclear β-catenin in human CRC. Herein, we investigated the effect of Casitas B-lineage lymphoma (c-Cbl) on nuclear β-catenin, which is an oncoprotein upregulated in CRC due to loss-of-function APC or gain-of-function CTNNB1 mutations. Despite mechanistic rationale and recent discoveries of c-Cbl’s mutations in solid tumors, little is known about its functional importance in CRC. Our study in a cohort of human CRC patients demonstrated an inverse correlation between nuclear β-catenin and c-Cbl. Further investigation showed that the loss of c-Cbl activity significantly enhanced nuclear β-catenin and CRC tumor growth in cell culture and a mouse xenograft model. c-Cbl interacted with and downregulated β-catenin in a manner that was independent of CTNNB1 or APC mutation status. This study demonstrates a previously unrecognized function of c-Cbl as a negative regulator of CRC.
Lifestyle and Psychological Issues

Obesity, nicotine use, sleep disturbance, and psychological distress have all been linked to increased pain occurrence and severity. Nicotine use and sleep deprivation have been linked to reduce response to analgesic effects from pain medications. Weight reduction effectively reduces chronic pain complaints. Insomnia affects half of chronic pain patients and is linked to increased pain-related disability and depression. About half of chronic pain patients treated at specialty clinics and 25% treated through primary care have depression. Anxiety similarly affects about half of chronic pain patients treated at specialty clinics. Psychological distress predicts the development and persistence of chronic pain.
Smart, low-cost, pumpless loop for micro-channel electronic cooling using flat and enhanced surfaces

Two-phase cooling of a square simulated electronic device surface of 21.3 mm side was successfully carried out without the need for a pump. This smart, passive, low-cost cooling system incorporates a self-enhancing and self-sustaining mechanism, wherein the system inherently enhances its cooling capacity by increasing the velocity of the two-phase mixture along the boiling surface when an increase in heat flux is sensed. Other practical attributes of this pumpless loop are small liquid inventory requirements and absence of the incipient boiling temperature drop. It is shown small surface tension and contact angle render dielectric coolants such as FC-72 ideally suited for flow in narrow gaps. These unique properties are responsible for very small bubble size, precluding any appreciable blockage of the replenishment liquid flow even in narrow gaps. Critical heat flux (CHF) was found to generally increase with decreasing boiler gap. CHF for flat, micro-channel (with 0.2 mm rectangular fins) and mini-channel (with 1.98 mm rectangular fins) surfaces was 4.5, 5.9, and 5.7 times greater than for pool boiling from a flat surface for corresponding gaps. A pressure drop model was formulated to predict coolant mass flow rate, boiling surface inlet and exit velocities, and pressure drop components throughout the loop. The model predictions illustrate the pumpless loop's self-sustaining and self-enhancing attributes, and relate CHF trends to those of the two-phase mixture acceleration along the boiling surface.
On the Tarsiiform Origins of Anthropoidea

Many systematic papers of the past decade have employed a cladistic approach. Reasons for this lie largely in the superficially rigorous appearance of this method and, therefore, the impression of a powerful tool. An unvarying commitment to the operational underpinnings of cladism has led to the acceptance of a systematic methodology which perforce only recognizes, and can only search for, sister-group relationships (e.g., Engelman and Wiley, 1977). The notion of ancestor-descendant relationships, or to put it differently, that phena transform from antecedent phena, has been simply set aside. This fundamental aspect of real evolutionary history has come to be ignored at the expense of a method because hypotheses of descent are claimed to be unfalsifiable, whereas sister-group relationships are thought to be easily refutable.
Post-Soviet Authoritarianism: The Impact of International Actors and Alliances

After the demise of the Soviet Union and the Communist-dominated regimes of central and eastern Europe, democratic polities were created and consolidated in a number of post-Communist countries. But in others, the process of democratization never started or, if it did, stalled at some point and the countries evolved into hybrid regimes that combined, in varying mixes, elements of democratic and authoritarian politics. A good deal of scholarly attention has been devoted to analyzing the role played by transnational linkages and international actors – most notably, the European Union – in the establishment and consolidation of democratic polities in the post-Communist countries of central and eastern Europe. But surprisingly little attention has been devoted to the role played by such actors in the establishment and consolidation in other formally-Communist countries – most notably, the non- Baltic states of the former Soviet Union – of polities that are either authoritarian or combine elements of democratic and authoritarian politics. This paper considers the extent to which and ways in which Russia, the successor state of the Soviet Union and by far the largest and most powerful of the post-Soviet states, may have influenced the consolidation of increasingly authoritarian polities or, in the case of hybrid polities that combine authoritarian and democratic elements, the erosion of their democratic elements in the other non-Baltic post-Soviet states. Building on the pathbreaking work of Levitsky and Way (2010a), the paper suggests that, while national actors pursuing their own interests no doubt played a major role in the perpetuation of authoritarian politics and erosion of democratic elements in those states, Russia’s exceptional trade, energy, security and military linkages with those states provide it with ample leverage to influence the balance of authoritarian and democratic elements in most if not all of them. In particular, it suggests that Russia’s extensive economic, collective security and military linkages with the other non-Baltic post-Soviet states, coupled with the erosion that has occurred over the past two decades of the democratic elements of its polity, may have facilitated and legitimized a strengthening of the authoritarian elements and a weakening of the democratic elements of the polities of most if not all of those states.
Overview of Reactive Scattering

In this paper, I hope to summarize and illustrate the field of reactive molecular scattering, focusing particularly on how modern theoretical methods are used in applications to experimentally relevant systems. I should note at the outset that many of the papers in this volume provide excellent examples of such applications. Since there have been several very recent reviews of reactive scattering,1-12 I will not attempt to survey this topic exhaustively. Instead, I will concentrate on some of the most recent advances in the field and on recent applications to systems which have not previously been extensively reviewed.
Employee Ownership: An Unstable Form or a Stabilizing Force?

Is it a viable, efficient, and stable organizational form for the equity of an enterprise to be all or substantially owned by employees? The question is part of a long debate about the nature of capitalism and the way in which capitalism distributes the economic gains from production. In this paper, we take on a seemingly very simple set of empirical questions that we hope will shed light on whether employee ownership of firms "works" in some sense. We do this by examining the actual track record of the 27 publicly-traded firms that we were able to identify for which approximately 20 percent or more of their stock was held by or for employees in 1983, and compared the experience of these firms over time (through the end of 1997) to that of a control sample of 45 firms that were similar in size and in similar industries as of 1983. Our results suggest that, far from being an unstable form, or a form used primarily for transitions, the ownership of a substantial block of shares by employees appears to be a relatively stable arrangement. Indeed, it may be an arrangement that "stabilizes" the firm itself, by making it less likely that the firm will be acquired, taken private, or thrust into bankruptcy. The form may also be associated with more stable employment levels. And it appears to achieve this without cost in terms of productivity or financial performance, and may, in fact, enhance performance.
State-Transition Matrix for Satellite Relative Motion in the Presence of Gravitational Perturbations

A state-transition matrix (STM) for the relative motion of artificial satellites is presented in this work that is valid in the presence of the gravitational spherical harmonic perturbations. The p...
Frequency of unsafe storage, use, and disposal practices of opioids among cancer patients presenting to the Emergency Center (EC).

e20720 Background: Prescription opioid abuse is on the rise in the U.S. It is reported that 75% of the abusers obtain the drug from an acquaintance. Improper opioid storage, use, and disposal may l...
Finite element analysis of aero-hydroelastic stability of arbitrary shape panels

Abstract A fluid-structure model based on Mindlin-Reissner plate theory and linearized incompressible potential flow theory is used to study the aero-hydroelastic stability of panels of arbitrary planforms. A finite-element procedure is developed to reduce the continuous system to a finite flow-structure system, which is solved in the frequency domain. The finite element method is crucial for the study of panels of arbitrary geometry and circumvents difficulties with the assumed mode shape approach. This paper is the first finite-element formulation of a fully coupled fluid-structure model of the aero-hydroelastic panel stability problem for incompressible flow. Circular, square, and triangular panels surrounded by a rigid baffle with different boundary conditions are studied. Eigenvalues of the system are surveyed as a function of the hydrodynamic loading at high and low density ratios. Critical flow velocity at divergence-onset and modal coalescence divergence or flutter are determined and compared for the three planforms. For simply supported or clamped panels of equal area and flexural rigidity, as the fluid velocity increases from zero the circular panel diverges first then the square and equilateral triangle, the later is the most stable. In order to compare the relative stability of the three geometries considered, a velocity ratio that consolidates divergence and flutter conditions for the three panels is introduced. Such a parameter offers a simple formula for the divergence velocity in terms of the panel geometry and flow and material properties, and is very useful to the designer in a wide range of engineering applications.
Coordinating a new approach to basic research into Parkinson’s disease

The Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) initiative is building an international network of researchers to improve our understanding of the biology underlying Parkinson's disease. Developing a better understanding of how the disease originates and progresses will, we hope, lead to new therapies. The ASAP initiative will incentivize collaboration between the existing PD research community and other researchers and will be committed to open-science practices.
Larson Industries: A Case on Identifying and Researching Revenue Recognition Issues

Financial accounting students are often provided cues regarding a particular recognition/measurement issue prior to learning the related technical material. Yet, anecdotal evidence from the profess...
Repeated word production is inconsistent in both aphasia and apraxia of speech

Purpose: There is persistent uncertainty about whether sound error consistency is a valid criterion for differentiating between apraxia of speech (AOS) and aphasia with phonemic paraphasia. The pur...
CHAPTER 9 – Polarized Neutron Reflectometry

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR), which is well suited for determining the nanostructures of magnetic thin films and multilayers. Together with magnetic X-ray scattering, PNR provides a unique means of seeing the vector magnetization with extraordinary spatial detail well beneath the surface. For neutrons this sensitivity to atomic magnetic moments comes about because the neutron itself possesses a magnetic moment, and neutrons can be obtained with a wavelength comparable to interatomic distances. Given the ability to obtain the vector magnetization profile by PNR, a multilayered structure composed of ferromagnetic films separated by intervening layers of another material can be systematically studied to reveal various fundamental magnetic behaviors. The mathematical representation of a neutron plane wave in three dimensions is given. One can impose conservation of energy to define a neutron refractive index analogous to that employed in ordinary light optics. The Specular reflection from a film with a nonuniform scattering length density profile is also elaborated.
Mechanistic Analyses and Modeling of Pavement Sections Utilizing Sustainable Aggregate Quarry By-Product Applications

This paper presents a modeling study based on finite element (FE) analysis to mechanistically evaluate flexible pavements constructed with quarry by-products (QB). Twelve pavement test sections, a ...
New Insights Into Causal Pathways Between the Pediatric Age-Related Physical Activity Decline and Loss of Control Eating: A Narrative Review and Proposed Conceptual Model

Research consistently suggests that loss of control (LOC) eating in children and adolescents is a key factor contributing to pediatric obesity and eating disorders. However, causes of pediatric LOC eating are yet unclear, and there is a lack of longitudinal research investigating the developmental processes contributing to LOC eating and related outcomes in youth. Physical activity is an understudied behavior that declines during middle childhood to adolescence and may exert an influence in the development of LOC eating via its impact on executive functioning. While physical activity levels and executive functioning have been linked to regulation of eating, no research has examined the mechanistic processes by which these domains may together impact LOC eating during childhood and adolescence. In the current narrative review, a model is proposed that suggests how physical activity and executive functioning influence LOC eating and related outcomes during childhood and adolescence. This model has the potential to influence future theoretical models of pediatric LOC eating and guide future prevention and intervention efforts.
The Yale Children’s Diabetes Program

We know it can be hard to remember all the information you are learning. We have created these “Need to Know” sidebars at the beginning of each chapter to highlight the most important informa tion.
Loxhd1 Mutations Cause Mechanotransduction Defects in Cochlear Hair Cells.

Sound detection happens in the inner ear via the mechanical deflection of the hair bundle of cochlear hair cells. The hair bundle is an apical specialization consisting of actin-filled membrane protrusions (called stereocilia) connected by tip links (TLs) that transfer the deflection force to gate the mechanotransduction channels. Here, we identified the hearing loss-associated Loxhd1/DFNB77 gene as being required for the mechanotransduction process. LOXHD1 consists of 15 polycystin lipoxygenase α-toxin (PLAT) repeats, which in other proteins can bind lipids and proteins. LOXHD1 was distributed along the length of the stereocilia. Two LOXHD1 mouse models with mutations in the 10th PLAT repeat exhibited mechanotransduction defects (in both sexes). While mechanotransduction currents in mutant inner hair cells (IHCs) were similar to wild-type levels in the first postnatal week, they were severely affected by postnatal day 11. The onset of the mechanotransduction phenotype was consistent with the temporal progression of postnatal LOXHD1 expression/localization in the hair bundle. The mechanotransduction defect observed in Loxhd1-mutant IHCs was not accompanied by a morphologic defect of the hair bundle or a reduction in TL number. Using immunolocalization, we found that two proteins of the upper and lower TL protein complexes (Harmonin and LHFPL5) were maintained in the mutants, suggesting that the mechanotransduction machinery was present but not activatable. This work identified a novel LOXHD1-dependent step in hair bundle development that is critical for mechanotransduction in mature hair cells as well as for normal hearing function in mice and humans. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Hair cells detect sound-induced forces via the hair bundle, which consists of membrane protrusions connected by tip links. The mechanotransduction machinery forms protein complexes at the tip-link ends. The current study showed that LOXHD1, a multirepeat protein responsible for hearing loss in humans and mice when mutated, was required for hair-cell mechanotransduction, but only after the first postnatal week. Using immunochemistry, we demonstrated that this defect was not caused by the mislocalization of the tip-link complex proteins Harmonin or LHFPL5, suggesting that the mechanotransduction protein complexes were maintained. This work identified a new step in hair bundle development, which is critical for both hair-cell mechanotransduction and hearing.
Systematic Review of Transradial Access for Flow Diversion of Intracranial Aneurysms.

Background Transradial access is an increasingly popular route for cerebral angiography and neurointerventions. However, obstacles to wider adoption remain, especially for complex interventions typically performed with larger, multiaxial systems such as flow diversion. We sought to analyze the published evidence for transradial flow diversion of intracranial aneurysms. Methods Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, a literature review was performed to identify all published reports and studies of transradial flow diversion for intracranial aneurysm. The search was limited from April 2011 to February 2021. Primary outcome was successful completion of the procedure via a transradial approach. Heterogeneity was analyzed with Q and I2 statistics. Secondary outcomes were transradial access-site complications and other complications. Results In total, 11 studies involving 290 treated aneurysms were identified; 90.7% of the procedures were completed via the transradial approach. The heterogeneity between studies was high, with an I2 of 56.9%. There were no transradial access-site complications. The procedural complication rate was 2.41%. Conclusions Transradial access has a high success rate for both anterior and posterior circulation flow-diversion embolizations. The success rate may be particularly high for posterior circulation and right anterior circulation aneurysms. It has a negligible access-site complication rate. Transradial access is a viable alternative to transfemoral access for flow diversion and should be considered as a first-line approach.
Neuroimmune mechanisms of cognitive impairment in a mouse model of Gulf War illness.

Abstract Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic, multi-symptom disorder affecting approximately 30 percent of the nearly 700,000 Veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. GWI-related chemical (GWIC) exposure promotes immune activation that correlates with cognitive impairment and other symptoms of GWI. However, the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways linking GWIC to inflammation and neurological symptoms remain unclear. Here we show that acute exposure of murine macrophages to GWIC potentiates innate immune signaling and inflammatory cytokine production. Using an established mouse model of GWI, we report that neurobehavioral changes and neuroinflammation are attenuated in mice lacking the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) and NOD-, LRR- or pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) innate immune pathways. In addition, we report sex differences in response to GWIC, with female mice showing more pronounced cognitive impairment and hippocampal astrocyte hypertrophy. In contrast, male mice display a GWIC-dependent upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines in the plasma that is not present in female mice. Our results indicate that STING and NLRP3 are key mediators of the cognitive impairment and inflammation observed in GWI and provide important new information on sex differences in this model.
The impact of COVID-19 on the sensitivity of D-dimer for pulmonary embolism.

Objective This study seeks to evaluate the test characteristics of D-dimer for pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with a concurrent diagnosis of COVID-19. We hypothesized that the sensitivity of D-dimer for PE at current institutional cut points would be similar to those without COVID-19. Methods This is a multicenter retrospective observational cohort study across five urban and suburban EDs in the same health care system. The electronic health record was queried for all computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) studies from December 1, 2019, to October 22, 2020. All ED patients who underwent CTPA had D-dimer and COVID-19 testing completed in a single encounter were included in the study. Baseline demographics were obtained. Test characteristics of D-dimer for PE were calculated for patients with and without COVID-19. Additionally, receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curves were constructed for two different D-dimer assays. Results There were 1158 patient encounters that met criteria for analysis. Performance of D-dimer testing for PE was similar between COVID-19-positive and -negative patients. In COVID-19-positive patients, the sensitivity was 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 87.6%-100%), specificity was 11.9% (95% CI = 7.9%-17.1%), and negative predictive value (NPV) was 100%. In COVID-19-negative patients the sensitivity was 97.6% (95% CI = 91.5%-99.7%), specificity was 14.4% (95% CI = 12.1%-17%), and NPV was 98.3% (95% CI = 93.8%-99.6%). For assay 1 the area under the curve (AUC) for COVID-19-positive patients was 0.76 (95% CI = 0.68-0.83), and for COVID-19-negative patients, 0.73 (95% CI = 0.69-0.77). For assay 2, AUC for COVID-19-positive patients was 0.85 (95% CI = 0.77-0.92), and for COVID-19-negative patients, 0.80 (95% CI = 0.77-0.84). Inspection of the ROC curve for assay 1 revealed that 100% sensitivity was maintained up to a threshold of 0.67 FEU (fibrinogen equivalent units; from 0.50 FEU) with an increase in specificity to 29% (from 18.7%), and for assay 2, 100% sensitivity was maintained up to a threshold of 662 D-dimer units (DDU; from 230 DDU) with an increased specificity to 59% (from 6.1%). Conclusion Results from this multicenter retrospective study did not find a significant difference in sensitivity of D-dimer for PE due to concomitant COVID-19 infection. Further study is required to determine if PE can safely be excluded based on D-dimer results alone in patients with suspected or proven COVID-19 or if adjusted D-dimer levels could have a role in management.
The Association for Women in Mathematics: How and Why It Was Founded, and Why It’s Still Needed in the 21st Century

Submissions should be uploaded to http://tmin.edmgr.com or sent directly to Marjorie Senechal, mi.editor1@gmail.com I t’s 2011 and the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) is celebrating 40 years of supporting and promoting female students, teachers, and researchers. It’s a joyous occasion filled with good food, warm conversation, and great mathematics—four plenary lectures and eighteen special sessions. There’s even a song for the conference, titled ‘‘((3 + 1) 9 3 + 1) 9 3 + 1 Anniversary of the AWM’’ and sung (robustly!) to the tune of ‘‘This Land is Your Land’’ [ICERM 2011]. The spirit of community and the beautiful mathematics on display during ‘‘40 Years and Counting: AWM’s Celebration of Women in Mathematics’’ are truly a triumph for the organization and for women in mathematics.
Composing Interface Demonstrations Automatically from Usage Logs

The benefits of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for managing enterprise-wide processes and resources may be counterbalanced by the burdens placed on their users in learning to operate the system. In this paper, we present an approach to creating system tutorials in which the system itself produces interface demonstrations as dynamic visualizations of previously occurring system-user interactions. This approach is motivated by our observations of ERP users in the workplace in conjunction with theoretical accounts of system-user collaboration. The playback interface culls information from the usage log records of the data model, which was specifically designed to overcome the challenges of identifying and aggregating relevant process-related data. This approach is a less costly, more flexible alternative to pre-recorded tutorials and has far-reaching implications for assisting users in learning to navigate and use any complex or confusing interface.