cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Stress in Late Adulthood: A Longitudinal Approach to Measuring Allostatic Load:

Objectives: This study examines how the effects of childhood socioeconomic status (SES) may carry on into late adulthood. Methods: We examine how childhood SES affects both perceived stress and allostatic load, which is a cumulative measure of the body’s biologic response to chronic stress. We use the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, Waves 1 and 2, and suggest a novel method of incorporating a longitudinal allostatic load measure. Results: Individuals who grew up in low SES households have higher allostatic load scores in late adulthood, and this association is mediated mostly by educational attainment. Discussion: The longitudinal allostatic load measure shows similar results to the singular measures and allows us to include 2 time points into one outcome measure. Incorporating 2 separate time points into one measure is important because allostatic load is a measure of cumulative physiological dysregulation, and longitudinal data provide a more comprehensive measure.
Renal and Cardiac Implications of Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) Inhibitors: The State of the Science:

Objective: To review the role of the sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), including the effects on renal and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. ...
Experimental Investigation of Tractor and Pusher Hexacopter Performance

Multicopters are increasingly becoming popular for hobby and commercial applications. A variety of quadcopter, hexacopter, and octocopter configurations have emerged, yet few publications carefully...
Polarizabilities of Rn-like Th 4+ from rf spectroscopy of Th 3+ Rydberg levels

High-resolution studies of the fine-structure pattern in high-L n = 37 levels of Th{sup 3+} have been carried out using radio-frequency (rf) spectroscopy detected with resonant excitation Stark ionization spectroscopy (RESIS). Intervals separating L = 9 to L = 15 levels have been measured, and the results analyzed with the long-range effective potential model. The dipole polarizability of Th{sup 4+}is determined to be {alpha}{sub D} = 7.720(7) a.u. The quadrupole polarizability is found to be 21.5(3.9) a.u. Both measurements represent significant tests of a priori theoretical descriptions of this highly relativistic ion.
Variations In Adequate Levothyroxine Replacement Therapy In Patients With Different Causes Of Hypothyroidism

ABSTRACT Objective To compare the levothyroxine replacement dose in 181 patients with various causes of hypothyroidism. Methods We analyzed the dose of levothyroxine used in the following five patient groups: (1) 37 patients with hypothyroidism after radioiodine therapy for Graves’ thyrotoxicosis who were receiving a stable (for at least 4 years) replacement dose (mean time after 131I therapy, 11.3 years); (2) 36 patients with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism (chronic autoimmune thyroiditis with a goiter or positive test results for antithyroid antibodies); (3) 36 patients with central hypothyroidism; (4) 36 patients with hypothyroidism after near-total thyroidectomy and 131I therapy for thyroid carcinoma with negative total-body 131I scans who were euthyroid when receiving levothyroxine; and (5) 36 patients with atrophic thyroiditis (no goiter and negative test results for antithyroid antibodies). Adequacy of levothyroxine replacement dose was defined as a normal thyrotropin level and clinical euthyroidism in patients with primary hypothyroidism and a serum free thyroxine index in the upper half of the normal range in conjunction with clinical euthyroidism in patients with central hypothyroidism. Results The mean (± standard error of the mean) replacement dosage of levothyroxine (μg/kg per day) in patients with atrophic thyroiditis (1.26 ± 0.07) was lower (P Conclusion The levothyroxine replacement dose varies with the cause of the hypothyroidism. (Endocr Pract. 1999;5:233-238).
Pharmacological Differences between Men and Women

The 1980s era of drug development was accompanied by renewed attention to response differences in population subgroups determined by age, race, and sex, and led to studies of intrinsic and extrinsic factors and their impact on pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and overall treatment response. As a result, the safety and efficacy of drug products in representative patient populations and the biological bases for interindividual differences in treatment response are now routinely studied prior to their marketing approval. This approach can optimize risks and benefits of therapeutic products by helping to base drug, dose, and regimen selection on individual patient needs. Guidances and regulations have also been developed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to provide drug developers and regulatory reviewers with a better understanding and appreciation of interindividual differences in treatments and outcomes. In accordance with currently accepted usage, those differences reflecting differences between men and women that are biological or chromosomal based are referred to as sex differences , whereas cultural, social and societal differences are referred to as gender differences . This chapter focuses primarily on differences and similarities between men and women, as it relates to sex-based pharmacological response to therapy.
On the Dimension and Degree of the Projective Dual Variety: A q-Analog of the Katz-Kleiman Formula

Let X ⊂ P N be a complex projective variety. Let \(\overset{\lower0.5em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\smile}$}}\to {P} ^N\) be the projective space whose points are hyperplanes in P N . Let x ∈ X be any smooth point. A hyperplane \(H \in \overset{\lower0.5em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\smile}$}}\to {P} ^N\) is said to be tangent to X at x if H contains the tangent subspace T xX. The projective dual variety \(X^V \subset \overset{\lower0.5em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\smile}$}}\to {P} ^N\) is defined as the closure of the locus of those hyperplanes H which are tangent to X in some smooth point, see [7]. The name “projective dual” is justified by the biduality theorem [7]: the dual to X⋁ coincides with X.
Discrete Wavelet Transform

In general, discrete wavelet transforms are generated by samplings (in the time—scale plane) of a corresponding continuous wavelet transform. Such a discrete wavelet transform is specified by the choice of items: 1. a time—scale sampling set (a countable set of points), and 2. an analyzing wavelet.
Application II: Model Reduction on Component Level—Superelement Modeling Technique

In the preceding chapter, the application of the dynamic condensation technique in model reduction of large size of discrete models on the system level is demonstrated by three examples. The results show that the computational effort could be reduced significantly after the implementation of the dynamic condensation technique.
Pre-operative and Post-Operative Alpha Angles are Significant Independent Predictors of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures at Two Years After Hip Arthroscopy:

Objectives:Residual impingement after hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a common cause for re-operation; however, the relationship between preoperative and postoperative rad...
Prognostic impact of kinetics of circulating plasma cells before and after induction therapy in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients undergoing early transplantation.

8020Background: Circulating plasma cells (CPCs) at diagnosis, prior to transplant and at relapse have a negative prognostic impact on survival in multiple myeloma (MM). However, the impact of chang...
High throughput near infrared screening discovers DNA-templated silver clusters with peak fluorescence beyond 950 nm

We use high throughput near-infrared (NIR) screening technology to discover abundant new DNA-stabilized silver clusters, AgN-DNA, that fluoresce in the NIR. These include the longest wavelength AgN-DNA fluorophores identified to date, with peak emission beyond 950 nm that extends into the NIR II tissue transparency window, and the highest silver content.
Touchscreen travelers: Hands, bodies, agency, and mobile game players:

Unlike traditional games that anchor players to a controller in a designated gaming space, mobile games invite haptic interfaces wherein players may touch, hold, play, move, sit, and otherwise reco...
Surprise as Emotion: Between Startle and Humility

I consider the experience of surprise within the context of my current work on the emotions. To do this, I examine surprise in terms of its belief structure, distinguishing it from a startle (1). I then suggest that surprise is a being caught off-guard that is related to being attentively turned toward something (2). As the latter, I qualify surprise as an emotion in its being thrown back on an experience in a way that is different from affectively turning toward something (3). This constitutes surprise as a disequilibrium in distinction to a diremptive experience like we find in the moral emotions of shame or guilt (4). Finally, I distinguish surprise from a gift, which is peculiar to the experience of humility. I then suggest that surprise is an emotion while being neither an affect, like a startle-reflex, nor a moral emotion, like shame, guilt, or humility.
Universal Electrocardiographic Screening for Long QT Syndrome in Hospitalized Neonates.

Objective Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a known cause of unexpected death, leading some to recommend routine neonatal electrocardiographic (ECG) screening. We used continuous electronic heart rate corrected QT interval (QTc) monitoring to screen for interval prolongation in a cohort of hospitalized neonates to identify those at a risk of having LQTS. We hypothesized that this screening method would yield an acceptable positive predictive value (PPV). Study Design A cohort of 589 infants hospitalized in a level II neonatal intensive care unit were screened through continuous electronic QTc monitoring linked to an investigator-designed, computerized data sniffer. Screening was conducted from days-of-life 3 through 7 or until hospital discharge. The data sniffer alerted investigators for a 24-hour average QTc of ≥475 ms. Positively screened patients were further evaluated with 12-lead ECG. Results Positive screens were obtained in 5.6% of patients, all of whom had negative follow-up ECG testing (PPV = 0%). Furthermore, one-quarter of positively screened neonates underwent echocardiography based on ECG findings, none of which identified clinically relevant pathology. Conclusion Electronic monitoring of QTc in hospitalized neonates during the first week of life was not an efficient way to identify those at a risk of having LQTS. Conversely, screening triggered unnecessary testing.
Cheirostylis wenshanensis , a new species of Orchidaceae from Yunan, China

A new orchid species, Cheirostylis wenshanensis (Orchidaceae; Cranichideae; Goodyerinae), from Yunnan Province, China, is described and illustrated based on morphological. This new species is similar to C. pingbianensis, but it differs by having a leaf-like flora bract at bottom, to 2.3 cm long; Inflorescence raceme with 5 flowers; The rest part of lateral sepal 2.8–3 mm, front of lip 5–6 × 5–6 mm, both with 1 pale green spot at base of lip lobes, without denticulate between lobes.
Mesenchymal derived exosomes enhance recovery of motor function in a monkey model of cortical injury.

Background Exosomes from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are endosome-derived vesicles that have been shown to enhance functional recovery in rodent models of stroke. Objective Building on these findings, we tested exosomes as a treatment in monkeys with cortical injury. Methods After being trained on a task of fine motor function of the hand, monkeys received a cortical injury to the hand representation in primary motor cortex. Twenty-four hours later and again 14 days after injury, monkeys received exosomes or vehicle control. Recovery of motor function was followed for 12 weeks. Results Compared to monkeys that received vehicle, exosome treated monkeys returned to pre-operative grasp patterns and latency to retrieve a food reward in the first three-five weeks of recovery. Conclusions These results provide evidence that in monkeys exosomes delivered after cortical injury enhance recovery of motor function.
Investigation of the global methane budget over 1980–2017 using GFDL-AM4.1

Abstract. Changes in atmospheric methane abundance have implications for both chemistry and climate as methane is both a strong greenhouse gas and an important precursor for tropospheric ozone. A better understanding of the drivers of trends and variability in methane abundance over the recent past is therefore critical for building confidence in projections of future methane levels. In this work, the representation of methane in the atmospheric chemistry model AM4.1 is improved by optimizing total methane emissions (to an annual mean of 580±34 Tg yr−1 ) to match surface observations over 1980–2017. The simulations with optimized global emissions are in general able to capture the observed trend, variability, seasonal cycle, and latitudinal gradient of methane. Simulations with different emission adjustments suggest that increases in methane emissions (mainly from agriculture, energy, and waste sectors) balanced by increases in methane sinks (mainly due to increases in OH levels) lead to methane stabilization (with an imbalance of 5 Tg yr−1 ) during 1999–2006 and that increases in methane emissions (mainly from agriculture, energy, and waste sectors) combined with little change in sinks (despite small decreases in OH levels) during 2007–2012 lead to renewed growth in methane (with an imbalance of 14 Tg yr−1 for 2007–2017). Compared to 1999–2006, both methane emissions and sinks are greater (by 31 and 22 Tg yr−1 , respectively) during 2007–2017. Our tagged tracer analysis indicates that anthropogenic sources (such as agriculture, energy, and waste sectors) are more likely major contributors to the renewed growth in methane after 2006. A sharp increase in wetland emissions (a likely scenario) with a concomitant sharp decrease in anthropogenic emissions (a less likely scenario), would be required starting in 2006 to drive the methane growth by wetland tracer. Simulations with varying OH levels indicate that a 1 % change in OH levels could lead to an annual mean difference of ∼4 Tg yr−1 in the optimized emissions and a 0.08-year difference in the estimated tropospheric methane lifetime. Continued increases in methane emissions along with decreases in tropospheric OH concentrations during 2008–2015 prolong methane's lifetime and therefore amplify the response of methane concentrations to emission changes. Uncertainties still exist in the partitioning of emissions among individual sources and regions.
The Meaning Frame Theory: Meaning Arises with Reference Points

Meaning in life is an abstract construct but researchers have found a way to conduct empirical studies. Recent theoretical developments suggest that significance (or mattering), comprehension, and purpose are main components of meaning in life. This paper introduces the meaning frame theory indicating that meaning of a target person or object arises when there are reference points for the target. Meaning does not occur without frames that can situate a target in the frames. Three different frames are presented and the meta-theory argues that meaning in one’s life can be understood through one or a combination of the frames. The agent-to-self frame suggests a meaning of one’s life arises to the self and this frame helps make sense of one’s life through self and identity. The purpose-to-agent frame indicates that purpose is meaningful for the agent and works as a motivator in providing meaning. The agent-to-others frame suggests that one’s life is meaningful to others who recognize their value. The meaning frame theory also provides three premises that define the strength and the quality of meaning; (a) meaning is clearer when a relationship with a reference point can be more concretely defined; (b) less subjective justification indicates more definite meaning of a target to its reference; and (c) multi-framed meaning is more resistant to adverse changes. The implications and other research questions relevant to the theory are discussed and future directions are proposed.
Gender Attitudes, Support for Teachers’ Strikes, and Legislative Elections

In the past 25 years, education funding in Oklahoma has stagnated. In some schools, students learn about American politics from tattered textbooks in which George W. Bush is listed as the current president (Hendry and Pasquantonio 2018). Across the board, teachers are grossly underpaid, yet many are compelled to buy school supplies with their own funds (Felder 2018a). Moreover, in one out of five schools, students come to class only four days a week (Carlson 2018). After the state legislature failed to pass a funding package to sufficiently increase spending on schools and salaries in early 2018, teachers across Oklahoma walked out on their jobs to protest at the Capitol for nine days. In addition to sharing their grievances, the hundreds of protesting educators had something else in common: many were women.
Comprehensive and scalable quantification of splicing differences with MntJULiP

Alternative splicing of mRNA is an essential gene regulatory mechanism with important roles in development and disease. We present MntJULiP, a method for comprehensive and accurate quantification of splicing differences between two or more conditions. MntJULiP implements novel Dirichlet-multinomial and zero-inflated negative binomial models within a Bayesian framework to detect both changes in splicing ratios and in absolute splicing levels of introns with high accuracy, and can find classes of variation overlooked by reference tools. Additionally, a mixture model allows multiple conditions to be compared simultaneously. Highly scalable, it processed hundreds of GTEx samples in
Atomic-scale mechanisms of void strengthening in tungsten

Neutron and heavy-ion irradiation of tungsten produces nanometer-size vacancy voids, gas-filled bubbles and dislocation loops. These defect features can affect mechanical properties and the impact can be quite significant because of their high density. Understanding the basic mechanisms of mechanical properties degradation is necessary for predicting radiation effects. Predictions can be made using discrete dislocation dynamics or/and finite element approaches which, however, need local interaction mechanisms as inputs. Such knowledge can be provided only by atomic-scale modeling. This paper reports the results of an extensive atomic-scale modeling study of the interactions between moving edge dislocations and voids in tungsten. The main focus is on the effects of the void size and ambient temperature. Critical resolved shear stress was calculated for voids up to 9 nm in diameter. Atomistic results are compared with the theoretical approach and with those obtained earlier for voids in body centered cubic (bcc) iron. An important role of the void surface has been revealed.
Shaping dietary histories: Exploring the relationship between cranial modification and childhood feeding in a high-altitude Andean population (1100–1450 CE)

Abstract Cranial modification, the intentional reshaping of an infant’s head, was likely tied to notions of proper child-rearing in the ancient Andes. However, its relationship to other aspects of childhood experience and socialization is rarely interrogated. This study assesses childhood diet and weaning practices among 85 modified and unmodified individuals from the Colca Valley, Peru (1100–1450 CE), analyzing carbon and oxygen isotope ratios from 190 enamel carbonate samples from 110 teeth. Increasing δ13C values between cuspal and cervical enamel, and between early and later forming teeth, suggest that the diets of infants and children, regardless of social identity, were gradually supplemented by maize. Although average isotopic values do not differ systematically by site, sex, or presence or absence of cranial modification, modified individuals show greater variance in δ13C than unmodified individuals. Stable carbon isotope data from modified individuals with more than one tooth sampled further underscore the maintenance of distinct diets across juvenile life histories. This dietary diversity may be the outcome of more geographically expansive patterns of resource use that involved temporary residence outside of the valley. This interpretation follows from ethnohistorical models of vertical economy in the Andes, but requires further testing with other lines of isotope data.
Revealing the variations in impact of economic segregation on preterm birth among disaggregated Asian ethnicities across MSAs in the United States: 2015–2017

Abstract Background Preterm birth (PTB) accounts for the majority of perinatal morbidity and mortality in developed nations, accounting for 9.9% of all births in the U.S. in 2016. Prior research has primarily focused on disparities between Black and white mothers’ rates of PTB due to racial segregation. However, population health scholarship has been limited on the fastest growing population in the U.S., Asian and Pacific Islanders (API). Racial residential segregation has been well studied, but relatively little research examines the effects of economic segregation on perinatal health. This cross-sectional analysis examines how economic segregation modifies risk for PTB among various API ethnic groups. Methods U.S. natality data were used to identify 134 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) with >500 API births from 2015 to 2017 (n = 766,711). Economic segregation was calculated for each MSA using 2017 income data using the Rank-Order Information Theory Index (H Index). Generalized Estimating Equations estimated the log-odds of PTB, allowing for modification by ethnicity. Results There is heterogeneity in PTB prevalence by ethnicity and the association of economic segregation is non-linear. The risk for PTB is higher in MSAs with both high and low H Index for Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Other Pacific Islander mothers. The risk for PTB follows highest in MSAs with mid-range values of standardized H Index for Indian, Hawaiian, Guamanian, and Samoan mothers. Filipino, Hawaiian, Guamanian, and Other Pacific Islander mothers had the highest predicted risk for PTB at mean levels of economic segregation while Chinese mothers had the lowest. Conclusion These findings are examined through the lens of immigration histories related to European colonialism, U.S. imperialism, and globalization. Importantly, the results suggest that current practices of aggregating API health data mask disparities in health and how socially stratifying processes like economic segregation may differ by ethnic group.
Assessing neurological disease in patients with common variable immunodeficiency (P5.388)

Objective: Describe the demographics and clinical characteristics of patients within the University of Utah Healthcare system with coexistent CVID and neurological disorders. Background: Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is defined by hypogammaglobulinemia, poor vaccine response, and onset after the age of two years old in the absence of an alternative explanation for immunodeficiency. Patients are at increased risk of recurrent infections, autoimmunity, and malignancy. There is limited epidemiologic data on the coexistence of CVID and neurological disorders and the relationship between immune dysfunction and neurologic complications remains unclear. Design/Methods: We performed a retrospective review of patients within the University of Utah Healthcare system meeting the following criteria: At least one ICD-9-CM code 279.*or ICD-10-CM code D80.* and D83.* At least one visit with a University of Utah Immunology or Allergy provider At least one visit with a University of Utah Neurology or Ophthalmology provider. Patients not meeting clinical criteria for CVID were excluded. Results: We identified 24 unique patients (18 female, 6 male) meeting the above criteria. Each case is described detailing demographics and clinical data including age of CVID diagnosis, time to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) initiation, pre-IVIG immunoglobulin levels, and characterization of coexisting neurological disease. We also further assessed characteristics of patients with coexisting neuroinfectious and neuroinflammatory disease. Conclusions: Our study reports the occurrence of neurological disease in this CVID population, and highlights the importance of consideration for assessment for CVID and other immunodeficiencies in patients with diagnostically challenging neurologic presentations. Disclosure: Dr. Galli has nothing to disclose. Dr. Williams has nothing to disclose. Dr. Greenlee has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Associate Editor for Medlink. Dr. Gundlapalli has nothing to disclose. Dr Clardy has nothing to disclose.
A Contribution to the Corporate Finance of Business Cycles

This paper describes the balance sheet adjustments of debt and equity financed firms over the business cycle. A model is developed that describes a representative firm with a stochastic diminishing returns technology and a set of financial contracts that resolves a conflict of interest problem between differentially risk-averse bondholders and stockholders. The contractual resolution of this conflict of interest problem is shown to shape certain stylized facts of business cycles ignored in Keynesian and Classical models. Changes in the market value of equities trigger investment decisions and can cause business cycles. Bond covenants then have the firm adjusting its financing decisions so as to offset any risk-shifting associated with the investment decisions. Stockholders manage the asset side of the firm's balance sheet while bondholders (regulators in the case of banks) manage the financing side. In this way the welfare of both investors is coalesced over the business cycle. Evidence presented here and elsewhere fails to reject these predictions for the U.S. non-financial and financial corporate sectors.
Text Mining Drug-Protein Interactions using an Ensemble of BERT, Sentence BERT and T5 models

In this work, we trained an ensemble model for predicting drug-protein interactions within a sentence based on only its semantics. Our ensembled model was built using three separate models: 1) a classification model using a fine-tuned BERT model; 2) a fine-tuned sentence BERT model that embeds every sentence into a vector; and 3) another classification model using a fine-tuned T5 model. In all models, we further improved performance using data augmentation. For model 2, we predicted the label of a sentence using k-nearest neighbors with its embedded vector. We also explored ways to ensemble these 3 models: a) we used the majority vote method to ensemble these 3 models; and b) based on the HDBSCAN clustering algorithm, we trained another ensemble model using features from all the models to make decisions. Our best model achieved an F-1 score of 0.753 on the BioCreative VII Track 1 test dataset.
Interaction of Silicon Carbide and Nitride with Halogen Containing Compounds

SiC, Si3N4, and other silicon-based ceramics are generally considered to be resistant to oxidation because they form a protective silica film when exposed to air, which limits the rate of the reaction. Silicon halide compounds are volatile at elevated temperatures, however, and silicon reacts rapidly with chlorine without formation of a protective film. In mixed environments containing a halogen, the competition between formation of volatile and condensed products leads to complex reaction kinetics. In chlorine containing mixtures, if the ratio of chlorine to oxygen is low, a protective film forms which reduces the rate of the reaction to that which would be expected in clean air. If the chlorine to oxygen ratio is high enough to produce volatile species, the rate of attack is very rapid, and corrosion products may consist of volatile products and/or silica with a non-protective morphology. The active corrosion under this condition is several orders of magnitude faster than would be expected in clean air. The transition between these regimes of behavior depends on temperature and on the microstructure and sintering aids in the SiC. Silicon nitride is much more resistant to this attack than SiC.
The IOM Report: Too Quick to Diagnose Bias

The IOM report Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care argues that medical studies document a systematic causal relationship between race and disparities in health inputs and outcomes among individuals of different races. We argue that the majority of studies are not powerful enough to establish a causal link since they do not sufficiently control for differences among patients that happen to correlate with race. We outline a powerful audit study that could isolate any effect of race on health care decisions. Lastly, we point out that even if there are race-based disparities in health inputs, evaluations of welfare and policy prescriptions should be based on health outcomes since the relationship between care and health is, at least in some cases, weak.
Pyramid histograms of motion context with application to angiogram video classification

Due to poor image quality as well as the difficulty of modeling the non-rigid heart motion, motion information has rarely been used in the past for angiogram analysis. In this paper we propose a new motion feature for the purpose of classifying angiogram videos according to their viewpoints. Specifically, local motion content of the video around the anatomical structures cardiac vessels is represented using the so-called "motion context", a motion histogram representation in polar coordinates within a local patch. The global motion layout is captured as pyramid histograms of the motion context (PHMC) in a manner similar to that proposed by the Spatial Pyramid Kernel [1]. The PHMC is a robust representation of the motion features in a video sequence. Through experiments on a large database of angiograms obtained from both diseased and control subjects, we show that our technique consistently outperforms state-of-the-art methods in the angiogram classification test.
The Role of Stress Testing in Credit Risk Management

In this article, we outline some concepts relating to the use of stress testing in credit risk management. We begin by providing a simple taxonomy of stress scenarios and discussing the trade-offs that different approaches require for implementation. Our taxonomy is modeled after one that is common in the credit literature and involves con-cepts related to reduced-form and structural approaches to credit modeling. Recently, some have expressed the view that the use of distribution-based measures such as VaR and expected shortfall (ES) for credit risk management should be deemphasized in favor of stress-testing and scenario analysis. We consider this question in the main portion of this article. We discuss the benefits of stress testing and scenario analysis as well as describing some limitations of using scenario-based approaches as a sole mechanism for assessing portfolio risk. We provide a number of examples to illustrate these limitations. In particular, except in special cases, it is difficult to use stress scenarios alone, ex ante, for allocating capital across disparate portfolios. However, stress testing and scenario analysis are integral to prudent credit risk management and can complement measures such as VaR and ES, thereby better informing both risk assessment and business strategy development. While neither stress testing nor VaR type measures, in and of themselves, provide complete descriptions of credit portfolio risk, combining both approaches results in more robust risk analysis. This permits risk managers to integrate quantitative measures with managerial intuition and judgment to arrive at more comprehensive assessments of both portfolio risk and overall firm strategy.
Effect of chronic disulfiram administration on the activities of CYP1A2, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, and N-acetyltransferase in healthy human subjects.

Aims Short-term disulfiram administration has been shown to selectively inhibit CYP2E1 activity but the effects of chronic disulfiram administration on the activities of drug metabolizing enzymes is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of disulfiram given for 11 days on selected drug metabolizing enzyme activities.
Microcomputers and Microprocessors: The 8080, 8085, and Z-80 Programming, Interfacing, and Troubleshooting

Introduction to the microprocessors introducing the 8080, 8085 and Z-80 microprocessors programming the microprocessor building the microcomputer. Part 1: The buses building the microcomputer. Part 2 Adding memory building the microcomputer. Part 3 Input/output special-purpose support devices - the 8080/8085 family special support devices - the Z-80 family serial I/O techniques floppy and hard disk drives microcomputer control applications and troubleshooting techniques introduction to the 8086 16-bit microprocessor.
On the Meaning of Computer Programs

This paper explores how computer programmers extract meaning from the computer program texts that they read. This issue is examined from the perspective that program reading is governed by a number of economic choices, since resources, particularly cognitive resources, are severely constrained. These economic choices are informed by the reader's existing belief set, which includes beliefs pertaining to the overlapping and enclosing social groups to which the program reader, the original programmer, and the program's users belong. Membership within these social groups, which may be as specific as the set of programmers working within a particular organization or as general as the members of a particular nation or cultural group, implies a set of shared knowledge that characterizes membership in the social group. This shared knowledge includes both linguistic and non-linguistic components and is what ultimately provides the interpretative context in which meaning is constructed. This account is distinguished from previous theories of computer program comprehension by its emphasis on the social and economic perspective, and by its recognition of the similarities between computer program understanding and natural language understanding.
Hemodynamic and hormonal responses to hemorrhage in conscious rabbits at mid- and late gestation

This study tests the hypothesis that conscious rabbits late in pregnancy (P), but not at midgestation (MP), are less able to maintain arterial pressure during hemorrhage. Blood volume (BV) was elev...
A Capital Asset Pricing Model with Variable Asset Supply

The assumption of variable asset supply is incorporated into the standard capital asset pricing model because of consistent and strong empirical results showing that equity is issued when share prices are high. The results of the model show that the “beta” of the asset is influenced by both its demand and supply functions. Available empirical evidence suggests that the supply of corporate equity, over a time period of a year, is inelastic and that demand is elastic. More empirical research is needed.
Search for weakly interacting massive particles in ancient mica

For a WIMP search the collecting power of a crystal of mica with a track-retention age of 10 9 years is far greater than can be attained with electronic detectors. We use an Atomic Force Microscope to measure the depths of etchpits due to recoil atoms in mica that has been calibrated with fast neutrons and low-energy ions of O, Si, K, and Fe. The background of alpha recoils is eliminated by making a range cut. The mica contains target atoms (F-19, Al-27, K-39, and K-41) with high cross sections for elastic scattering by neutralinos. Our first result with the mica technique is a WIMP flux limit comparable to the best limit attained with Ge detectors. It may be possible to increase the sensitivity by several orders of magnitude.
HIV Treatment in the Criminal Justice System: Critical Knowledge and Intervention Gaps

The criminal justice system bears a disproportionate burden of the HIV epidemic. Continuity of care is critical for HAART-based prevention of HIV-related morbidity and mortality. This paper describes four major challenges to successful management of HIV in the criminal justice system: relapse to substance use, homelessness, mental illness, and loss of medical and social benefits. Each of these areas constitutes a competing priority upon release that demands immediate attention and diverts time, energy, and valuable resources away from engagement in care and adherence to HAART. Numerous gaps exist in scientific knowledge about these issues and potential solutions. In illuminating these knowledge deficits, we present a contemporary research agenda for the management of HIV in correctional systems. Future empirical research should focus on these critical issues in HIV-infected prisoners and releasees while interventional research should incorporate evidence-based solutions into the criminal justice setting.
Student retention: Moving from numbers to action

We describe a multifaceted approach to providing information to improve student retention at an urban public university. Many students at this institution are older, working people; few live on campus and participate in “traditional” student experiences. A Retention Task Force, using qualitative as well as quantitative methods, identified problems that were barriers to student success or that contributed to student departure. We outline our results to date, address strategies for involving administrators, faculty, staff, and students, and discuss future research plans. We describe elements of a model for transferring information from the research realm into the policy arena.
Food as a Theme in Social Studies Classes: Connecting Daily Life to Technology, Economy, and Culture.

Connecting wider economic, technological, or cultural trends to the everyday life of students can be a challenge. Food can serve as a course-long theme that helps students comprehend the essential connection between personal actions and national or international trends and develop skills of critical analysis. The author describes four activities that can be adapted to a wide variety of social studies courses and age groups. In the first two activities, students gain an understanding of their diet by exploring their food choices and the factors that affect those choices. These activities provide a point of comparison for subsequent units in which students examine food choices in a pre-industrial age and the impact of the technological advances of the Industrial Revolution on food production, preservation, and preparation.
Cyclicity and gestation length ofMacaca fascicularis

Menstrual cycle records were kept on all of the females in the colony for a period of 14 months. The mean cycle length was 30.8 days; the median, 33 days; and, the mode, 28 days. Cycles ranging from 27 to 32 days in length comprised 66.4% of all cycles. Regular cycles were scored on the basis of menses beginning within 2 days of a projected date based on an average of 6 previous cycles. Regular cycles were observed in 6.24% of the cases. The mean cycle length for regular cycles was 29.2 days. Forty-five percent of all females had regular cycles at least 70% of the time. The duration of menstrual flow for 150 cycles averaged 2.8 days. Menses ranged from 1 to 8 days in length, with 90.7% of the cases ranging from 1 to 4 days in length. For a given duration of menses, the percentage of cases of light flow increased as the end of the menstrual period was reached. The mean gestation length of 3 pregnancies was 164.4 days, with implantation bleeding beginning on day 19 of pregnancy and lasting from 4 to 9 days.
Survey of media for the resuscitation of heat-stressed Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Eighteen agar media were compared with Thiosulphate–Citrate–Bile salts–Sucrose agar for their ability to permit colony formation by heated and non-heated Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Seven enrichment broths were tested for their ability to recover V. parahaemolyticus from homogenates of crab meat. Water Blue–Alizarin Yellow agar, Arabinose–Ammonium Sulphate–Cholate agar and Horie's Arabinose–Ethyl Violet broth were found to be most suitable for detecting non-heated and heat-stressed V. parahaemolyticus.
Constrictive pericarditis and hepatic encephalopathy

based study in Nova Scotia from 1977–1985. Epilepsia 1996; 37: 19–23. 5 Wirrell EC, Camfield CS, Camfield PR, Gordon K, Dooley J. Longterm prognosis of typical childhood absence epilepsy. Neurology 1996; 47: 912–18. 6 Commission on classification and terminology of the International League Against Epilepsy. Proposal for revised classification of epilepsies and epileptic syndromes. Epilepsia 1989; 30: 389–99. 7 Hauser WA, Hesdorffer DC. Epilepsy: frequency, causes and consequences. New York: Demos Publications, 1990: 297–326. 8 Hauser WA, Annegers JF, Elveback LR. Mortality in patients with epilepsy. Epilepsia 1980; 21: 339–412. 9 Nilsson L, Farahmand BY, Persson PG, Thiblin I, Tomson T. Risk factors for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: a case-control study. Lancet 1999; 353: 888–93. 10 Camfield PR, Camfield CS. Antiepileptic drug therapy: when is epilepsy truly intractable? Epilepsia 1996; 37 (suppl 1): S60–S65. 11 Kurtz Z, Tookey P, Ross E. Epilepsy in young people: 23 year follow up of the British national child development study. BMJ 1998; 316: 339–40. 12 Brorson LO, Wranne L. Long-term prognosis in childhood epilepsy: survival and seizure prognosis. Epilepsia 1987; 28: 324–30. 13 Harvey AS, Nolan T, Carlin JB. Community-based study of mortality in children with epilepsy. Epilepsia 1993; 34: 597–603. 14 Cockerell OC, Johnson AL, Sander JWAS, Hart YM, Goodridge DMG, Shorvon SD. Mortality from epilepsy: results from a prospective population-based study. Lancet 1994; 344: 918–21. 15 Sillanpaa M, Jalava M, Kaleva O, Shinnar S. Long-term prognosis of seizures with onset in childhood. N Engl J Med 1998; 338: 1715–22. 16 Sillanpaa M, Camfield PR, Camfield CS. Predicting long term outcome of childhood epilepsy in Nova Scotia, Canada and Turku Finland: validation of a simple scoring system. Arch Neurol 1995; 52: 589–92. 17 Strauss D, Ashwal S, Shavelle R, Eyman RK. Prognosis for survival and improvement in function in children with severe developmental disabilities. J Pediatr 1997; 131: 712–17. ARTICLES
Wavelength-agile H2O absorption spectrometer for thermometry of general combustion gases ☆

Abstract Using a novel Fourier-domain mode-locking (FDML) laser scanning 1330–1380 nm, we have developed a gas thermometer based on absorption spectroscopy that is appropriate for combustion gases at essentially arbitrary conditions. The path-integrated measurements are particularly useful in homogeneous environments, and here we present measurements in a controlled piston engine and a shock tube. Engine measurements demonstrate a RMS temperature precision of ±3% at 1500 K and 200 kHz bandwidth; the precision is improved dramatically by averaging. Initial shock tube measurements place the absolute accuracy of the thermometer within ∼2% to 1000 K. The sensor performs best when significant H 2 O vapor is present, but requires only X H 2 O L > 0.07 cm at 300 K, X H 2 O L > 0.25 cm at 1000 K, or X H 2 O L > 1.25 cm at 3000 K for 2% accurate thermometry, assuming a 4 kHz measurement bandwidth (200 kHz scans with 50 averages). The sensor also provides H 2 O mole fraction and shows potential for monitoring gas pressure based on the broadening of spectral features. To aid in designing other sensors based on high-temperature, high-pressure H 2 O absorption spectroscopy, a database of measured spectra is included.
REPRODUCTION OF THE SALAMANDER SIREN INTERMEDIA LE CONTE WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO OVIDUCAL ANATOMY AND MODE OF FERTILIZATION

Reproduction was studied in a South Carolina population of the paedomorphic salamander Siren intermedia with emphasis on anatomy of the female oviduct. The oviduct forms 67-79% of the snout-vent length in this elongate species and can be divided into three portions. The atrium, 7-13% of oviducal length, is the narrow anteriormost portion, with the ostial opening immediately caudad of the transverse septum. The ampulla, 63-75% of oviducal length, is the highly convoluted, middle portion in which gelatinous coverings are added to the eggs during their passage. Hypertrophy of the oviducal glands in the ampulla causes the ampulla to increase in diameter during the ovipository season. The secretion of the eosinophilic oviducal glands is intensely positive following staining with the periodic acid-Schiff procedure and does not react with alcian blue at pH 2.5. This staining reaction, coupled with the presence of abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi complexes, indicates that the secretion contains a glycoprotein. The ovisac, 16-25% of oviducal length, is the most posterior portion of the oviduct and holds up to 10-11 eggs prior to oviposition. Oviducal glands similar to those in the ampulla are absent in the ovisac. Oviposition in female sirens occurs during February-April in this population, and male spermiation is concurrent. Entire oviducts were sectioned from three females collected during the ovipository season and from two collected prior to the breeding season, and sperm were not found in the oviducts of these specimens. Thus no evidence was found for internal fertilization or sperm storage in the oviducts of sirens. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Ultrastructural analysis of the effects of erythromycin on the morphology and developmental cycle of Chlamydia trachomatis HAR-13

The effect of erythromycin (10 μg/ml) on the morphology and developmental cycle of Chlamydia trachomatis HAR-13 was examined by electron microscopy. When the antibiotic was added later than 24 h post infection, the HAR-13 morphology or developmental cycle was not altered. Addition at 18 or 24 h post infection inhibited glycogen production, blocked the transformation of the reticulate body to elementary body, and produced ghost bodies and reticulate bodies twice the diameter of untreated reticulate bodies. When erythromycin was added within 12 h post infection, the conversion of the elementary body to reticulate body was inhibited. Erythromycin (10 μg/ml) was bactericidal to strain HAR-13 throughout the developmental cycle.
Designer stabilizer for preparation of pristine graphene/polysiloxane films and networks

A conductive polymer film containing pristine graphene was prepared by designing a polysiloxane-based stabilizer for graphene. The stabilizer was prepared by grafting 1-ethynylpyrene to the backbone of a poly(dimethylsiloxane)-co-(methylhydrosiloxane) (PDMS-PHMS) random copolymer by Pt-catalyzed hydrosilylation with a SiH–ethynyl ratio of 1.0 : 1.3. The resulting copolymer was able to stabilize pristine graphene in chloroform solution via π–π interactions between the pyrene groups and graphene sheets. TEM and SEM images show a homogeneous distribution of the graphene in cast films deposited from chloroform. The conductivity of a graphene/PDMS film prepared from copolymer with a 1.7 vol.% graphene loading was measured as 220 S m−1 after the removal of unbound polymer by a simple separation technique. With a SiH–ethynyl ratio of 1.7 : 1.0, the copolymer self-crosslinked at 110 °C in the presence of adventitious moisture, providing a straightforward route to incorporate graphene into silicone elastomers. The crosslinking process (with and without added graphene) was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and by swelling and extraction of the obtained networks. Again, unbound polymer removal increases the conductivity of the composite.
Bone End Sclerosis in Renal Osteodystrophy Simulating Osteonecrosis

Osteosclerosis of the bone ends is an unusual manifestation of renal osteodystrophy. In evaluating this finding one should be careful to exclude clinical and radiographic evidence for osteonecrosis. In the two known cases of this entity, bone end sclerosis has been found to develop over one to two years with symmetrical involvement of multiple bones.