cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Single-Step Chemoenzymatic Reaction for the Construction of Antibody–Cell Conjugates

Employing live cells as therapeutics is a direction of future drug discovery. An easy and robust method to modify the surfaces of cells directly to incorporate novel functionalities is highly desirable. However, genetic methods for cell-surface engineering are laborious and limited by low efficiency for primary cell modification. Here we report a chemoenzymatic approach that exploits a fucosyltransferase to transfer bio-macromolecules, such as an IgG antibody (MW∼ 150 KD), to the glycocalyx on the surfaces of live cells when the antibody is conjugated to the enzyme’s natural donor substrate GDP-Fucose. Requiring no genetic modification, this method is fast and biocompatible with little interference to cells’ endogenous functions. We applied this method to construct two antibody–cell conjugates (ACCs) using both cell lines and primary cells, and the modified cells exhibited specific tumor targeting and resistance to inhibitory signals produced by tumor cells, respectively. Remarkably, Herceptin-NK-92MI con...
Structure, function, and inhibition of drug reactivating human gut microbial β-glucuronidases

Bacterial β-glucuronidase (GUS) enzymes cause drug toxicity by reversing Phase II glucuronidation in the gastrointestinal tract. While many human gut microbial GUS enzymes have been examined with model glucuronide substrates like p-nitrophenol-β-D-glucuronide (pNPG), the GUS orthologs that are most efficient at processing drug-glucuronides remain unclear. Here we present the crystal structures of GUS enzymes from human gut commensals Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Ruminococcus gnavus, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii that possess an active site loop (Loop 1; L1) analogous to that found in E. coli GUS, which processes drug substrates. We also resolve the structure of the No Loop GUS from Bacteroides dorei. We then compare the pNPG and diclofenac glucuronide processing abilities of a panel of twelve structurally diverse GUS proteins, and find that the new L1 GUS enzymes presented here process small glucuronide substrates inefficiently compared to previously characterized L1 GUS enzymes like E. coli GUS. We further demonstrate that our GUS inhibitors, which are effective against some L1 enzymes, are not potent towards all. Our findings pinpoint active site structural features necessary for the processing of drug-glucuronide substrates and the inhibition of such processing.
Speaker Agnostic Foreground Speech Detection from Audio Recordings in Workplace Settings from Wearable Recorders

Audio-signal acquisition as part of wearable sensing adds an important dimension for applications such as understanding human behaviors. As part of a large study on work place behaviours, we collected audio data from individual hospital staff using custom wearable recorders. The audio features collected were limited to preserve privacy of the interactions in the hospital. A first step towards audio processing is to identify the foreground speech of the person wearing the audio badge. This task is challenging because of the multi-party nature of possible ambulatory interactions, lack of access to speaker information and varying channel and ambient conditions. In this paper, we present a speaker-agnostic approach to foreground detection. We propose a convolutional neural network model to predict foreground regions using a limited set of audio features. We show that these models generalize across the proxy corpora we collected in house to approximately match the deployment environment. The proxy corpora contained full audio and was used as a test-bed to analyze our models in greater detail. We also evaluated the models in the workplace setting to measure speech activity. Our experimental results show promising direction for analyzing workplace behaviors with privacy protected sensing.
Saphenous venous cavernous angioma masquerading as an aneurysm

Abstract Cavernous angiomas are common in the upper body and viscera but saphenous vein cavernous angiomas have not been previously described in the literature. We present a case of a rare congenital vascular malformation of the lower extremity masquerading as an aneurysm in a 4-year-old girl who presented with an asymptomatic right lower leg mass. Ultrasound was concerning for saphenous venous aneurysm and MRI was confirmatory. Operative exploration identified a vascular mass without evidence of an aneurysm; cavernous angioma was confirmed on pathologic examination. Although infantile vascular lesions are common, imaging diagnosis of venous aneurysm – an unusual asymptomatic clinical entity – should raise concerns about possible rare entities or diagnostic alternatives.
Neural-encoding Human Experts' Domain Knowledge to Warm Start Reinforcement Learning

Deep reinforcement learning has been successful in a variety of tasks, such as game playing and robotic manipulation. However, attempting to learn \textit{tabula rasa} disregards the logical structure of many domains as well as the wealth of readily available knowledge from domain experts that could help "warm start" the learning process. We present a novel reinforcement learning technique that allows for intelligent initialization of a neural network weights and architecture. Our approach permits the encoding domain knowledge directly into a neural decision tree, and improves upon that knowledge with policy gradient updates. We empirically validate our approach on two OpenAI Gym tasks and two modified StarCraft 2 tasks, showing that our novel architecture outperforms multilayer-perceptron and recurrent architectures. Our knowledge-based framework finds superior policies compared to imitation learning-based and prior knowledge-based approaches. Importantly, we demonstrate that our approach can be used by untrained humans to initially provide >80% increase in expected reward relative to baselines prior to training (p 60% increase in expected reward after policy optimization (p = 0.011).
Navigating the Unchartered Waters in the Time of COVID-19.

Many of us could have never envisioned, even in our wildest dreams, the current situation we are facing across the Academy. The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has left an indelible mark on our lives forever. We all feel and see the stress and anxiety in our students, faculty, staff,
THE EFFECT OF VARIOUS ANTICOAGULANTS ON THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF BLOOD AND OF PLASMA, AND ON THE HEMATOCRIT

,‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ “‘i In the observations here reported, the specific gravity of defibrinated, heparinized, oxalated, and citrated blood, as well as that of the serum or plasma from blood so treated, was compared with the specific gravity of an aliquot of the same sample, untreated and prior to coagulation. Similar comparisons were made for relative red cell volumes by hematocrit. All observations were made on arterial blood, freshly drawn from rabbits. The animals were anesthetized lightly with ether, and a large-bore hypodermic needle was tied into one of the carotid arteries exposed in the neck. Approximately ao ml. of blood were withdrawn into a syringe, and the blood was then quickly transferred in measured amounts to small, appropriately prepared test tubes. The drawing and transfer of the blood required only a few seconds; hence uniformity of the sample was assured. Plasma from untreated blood was obtained by centrifugalizing freshly drawn blood for thirty seconds in an angle centrifuge at about ia,ooo revolutions per minute (mean radius 6.7 cm.). Aliquots for defibrination were stirredwith fine, nickel-silver wires for the required length of time, usually about five mmutes. Samples for chemical anticoagulant treatment were mixed promptly with the proper amounts of reagent, previously placed in the receptacles. The anticoagulants used, with their respective amounts for each ml. of blood, were as follows: heparin, dry, o.i mg. (io units); heparin, solution, o.ox ml. ( equivalent to a., mg. ofdry heparin); sodium citrate, powdered, 5.0mg.; potassium oxalate, powdered,
Stabilizing Hydrogen Adsorption through Theory-Guided Chalcogen Substitution in Chevrel-Phase Mo6X8 (X=S, Se, Te) Electrocatalysts.

In this work, we implement a facile microwave-assisted synthesis method to yield three binary Chevrel-Phase chalcogenides (Mo6X8; X = S, Se, Te) and investigate the effect of increasing chalcogen e...
In My Beginning Is My End

This introductory chapter develops a framework for the essays of this volume. That theme is contained in the title of the chapter, namely, that in our beginnings, our origins, one can find one’s end, one’s telos or purpose. This is not to romanticize indigenous communities nor to dismiss them as animist and superstitious. The author reviews the emergence of indigenous groups, their spirituality and the threats to their existence. The focus on indigenous groups seeks to honor their struggle and also to add their unique experiences to the construction of a comprehensive understanding of the relationship of culture, religion, and psychology. The second section summarizes the contributions of the authors as they expand each in their own way the theme of the relationship between beginnings and endings.
The genome of a daddy-long-legs (Opiliones) illuminates the evolution of arachnid appendages and chelicerate genome architecture

Chelicerates exhibit dynamic evolution of genome architecture, with multiple whole genome duplication events affecting groups like spiders, scorpions, and horseshoe crabs. Yet, genomes remain unavailable for several chelicerate orders, such as Opiliones (harvestmen), which has hindered comparative genomics and developmental genetics across arachnids. We assembled a draft genome of the daddy-long-legs Phalangium opilio, which revealed no signal of whole genome duplication. To test the hypothesis that single-copy Hox genes of the harvestman exhibit broader functions than subfunctionalized spider paralogs, we performed RNA interference against Deformed in P. opilio. Knockdown of Deformed incurred homeotic transformation of the two anterior pairs of walking legs into pedipalpal identity; by comparison, knockdown of the spatially restricted paralog Deformed-A in the spider affects only the first walking leg. To investigate the genetic basis for leg elongation and tarsomere patterning, we identified and interrogated the function of an Epidermal growth factor receptor (Egfr) homolog. Knockdown of Egfr incurred shortened appendages and the loss of distal leg structures. The overlapping phenotypic spectra of Egfr knockdown experiments in the harvestman and multiple insect models are striking because tarsomeres have evolved independently in these groups. Our results suggest a conserved role for Egfr in patterning distal leg structures across arthropods, as well as cooption of EGFR signaling in tarsomere patterning in both insects and arachnids. The establishment of genomic resources for P. opilio, together with functional investigations of appendage fate specification and distal patterning mechanisms, are key steps in understanding how daddy-long-legs make their long legs.
Membrane Remodeling and Stimulation of Aggregation Following α-Synuclein Adsorption to Phosphotidylserine Vesicles

α-Synuclein is an intrinsically disordered protein abundant in presynaptic terminals in neurons and in synaptic vesicles. α-Synuclein's interaction with lipid bilayers is important not only for its normal physiological function but also in its pathological aggregation and deposition as Lewy bodies in Parkinson's disease. α-Synuclein binds preferentially to lipids with acidic head groups and to high-curvature vesicles and can modulate membrane curvature. The relationship between the protein's role as a membrane curvature sensor and generator and the role of membranes in facilitating its aggregation remains unknown. We investigated the interaction of α-synuclein with vesicles of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-l-serine (DOPS) or 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-l-serine (DLPS). Using nanoparticle tracking along with electron microscopy, we demonstrate that α-synuclein induces extensive vesicle disruption and membrane remodeling into discoids, tubules, and ribbons with DLPS vesicles but not DOPS. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations revealed that adsorption of α-synuclein to DLPS but not DOPS vesicles induced vesicle elongation and redistribution of protein to regions of higher curvature, a process that could drive protein aggregation. In agreement with this hypothesis, DLPS but not DOPS strongly stimulated α-synuclein aggregation. Our results provide new insights into the critical contribution of bilayer stability in the membrane response to α-synuclein adsorption and in stimulation of aggregation.
Willingness to use syringe service programs and safe consumption sites among methadone patients with histories of injection drug use in a small Midwest community

Syringe service programs (SSPs) and safe consumption sites (SCSs) are evidence-based strategies to reduce harm associated with injection drug use. However, little is known about the acceptability o...
Defective interfering particles of coronavirus.

Defective interfering (DI) particles are viral deletion mutants, which cannot replicate by themselves and require homologous standard viruses to provide helper functions for their replication. DI particles also interfere with the replication of helper virus. Many studies have suggested a role for DI particles in evolution, persistent infection and pathogenesis of various viruses. Although coronaviruses readily establish persistent infection in vitro and in vivo, there have been no reports of isolation of coronavirus DI particles during persistent infection. We have, however, detected the generation of coronavirus DI particles during high-multiplicity passages of the JHM strain of MHV in tissue culture (Makino et al., 1984a). These DI particles contain a single-stranded RNA genome of roughly 5.2 × 106 molecular weight which is slightly smaller than the genome of the standard virus (M.W. 5.4 × 106). Oligonucleotide fingerprinting studies showed that the RNA of JHM DI is missing several large RNase T1-resistant oligonucleotides, which represent several different regions on the standard viral genome (Makino et al., 1984a; 1984b). This observation suggests that the coronavirus DI particles are unique since the DI genomes of other viruses usually exhibit more extensive deletions. Additionally, coronavirus DIs interfere with the replication of the standard virus to a much smaller extent. We have further shown that, with the exception of mRNA 7, the synthesis of the virus-specific mRNAs in DI-infected cells is inhibited. Instead, the infected cells contain two novel RNA species: one is the DI-specific genomic RNA (DIssA), which is eventually incorporated into the virus particles, the other novel RNA species is subgenomic but of variable size, depending on the level of DI passage. This subgenomic RNA is single-stranded, polyadenylated and contains sequences derived from various noncontiguous parts of the DI genome (Makino et al., 1985). In this report, we present data on the possible mechanisms of synthesis of the two DI-specific RNA species.
Immigration causes American businesses to fail and that is a good thing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between immigration rates and business failure, where business failure is viewed as a proxy for the presence of entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – It employs a panel data approach to the USA, using the percentage of the population that is foreign born as the explanatory variable for the business failure rate ten years later. Findings – The authors find the effect to be large, with a one standard deviation increase in the foreign born population corresponding to a 1.09 standard deviation increase in business failure rate, and the authors argue, entrepreneurship. Originality/value – The effect the authors find is very large though perhaps also counterintuitive.
The Realization Effect: Risk-Taking after Realized versus Paper Losses †

Abstract Understanding how prior outcomes affect risk attitudes is critical for the study of choice under uncertainty. A large literature documents the significant influence of prior losses on risk attitudes. The findings appear contradictory: some studies find greater risk-taking after a loss, whereas others show the opposite—that people take on less risk. I reconcile these seemingly inconsistent findings by distinguishing between realized versus paper losses. Using new and existing data, I replicate prior findings and demonstrate that following a realized loss, individuals avoid risk; if the same loss is not realized, a paper loss, individuals take on greater risk. (JEL D11, D14, D81, G11)
El estado actual de la criminología

Aunque la evolucion de la delincuencia y la desviacion responde a la dinamica de los acontecimientos sociales, economicos y politicos a nivel global, es posible que la Criminologia tenga un impacto positivo en este campo. Para lograr esta meta, sera necesario desarrollar los cursos interdisciplinarios en Criminologia y justicia penal alrededor del mundo, adoptar programas y politicas basados en la recopilacion y evaluacion sistematica de evidencias, y convertirnos en criminologos efectivos, no solamente en el ambito cientifico, sino tambien en el mundo politico. Actualmente, la Criminologia no es una disciplina madura y no estamos seguros sobre como responder al problema de la delincuencia. Carecemos de instrumentos de diagnostico preciso, de un cuerpo de conocimientos definitivos, de una comprension de causas y efectos, y de una serie de modalidades de tratamiento generalmente consistentes. En este sentido, los criminologos se parecen en algo a los medicos del Siglo XVIII
In-cycle Minimum Variance Control of Extrusion Blow Moulding

Abstract Disturbances occuring during the blow moulding process can be of a high frequency or a low frequency nature. Traditional blow moulding practice has involved the correction of process deviations in a cycle-to-cycle time frame. The cycle-to-cycle control allows for the correction of low frequency disturbances, such as material property changes and temperature drifts. This work involves the study of process corrections of high frequency disturbances that occur during the product formation cycle. These high frequency disturbances include die gap fluctuations and pressure surges. In-cycle control entails as a first step, the study of process dynamics to changes input during the cycle. Once the identification procedure is complete, the appropriate control algorithm is introduced.
Information: Hard and Soft

Information, which can arrive in multiple forms, is a fundamental component of all financial transactions and markets. We define hard and soft information and describe the relative advantages of each. Hard information is quantitative, is easy to store, and can be transmitted in impersonal ways. Its information content is independent of its collection. As technology changes, the way we collect, process, and communicate information, it changes the structure of markets, the design of financial intermediaries, and the incentives to use or misuse information. We survey the literature to understand how information type influences the continued evolution of financial markets and institutions.Received October 25, 2016; editorial decision September 6, 2018 by Editor Efraim Benmelech.
Graph-sparse LDA: a topic model with structured sparsity

Topic modeling is a powerful tool for uncovering latent structure in many domains, including medicine, finance, and vision. The goals for the model vary depending on the application: sometimes the discovered topics are used for prediction or another downstream task. In other cases, the content of the topic may be of intrinsic scientific interest. Unfortunately, even when one uses modern sparse techniques, discovered topics are often difficult to interpret due to the high dimensionality of the underlying space. To improve topic interpretability, we introduce Graph-Sparse LDA, a hierarchical topic model that uses knowledge of relationships between words (e.g., as encoded by an ontology). In our model, topics are summarized by a few latent concept-words from the underlying graph that explain the observed words. Graph-Sparse LDA recovers sparse, interpretable summaries on two real-world biomedical datasets while matching state-of-the-art prediction performance.
A linear-time kernelization for the Rooted k-Leaf Outbranching Problem

In the Rootedk-Leaf Outbranching Problem, a digraph G=(V,E), a vertex r of G, and an integer k are given, and the goal is to find an r-rooted spanning outtree of G with k leaves (a subtree of G with vertex set V, all edges directed away from r, and k leaves). We present a linear-time algorithm that computes a problem kernel with O(k6) vertices and O(k7) edges for the Rootedk-Leaf Outbranching Problem. By combining the new result with a result of Daligault and Thomass (2009), a kernel with a quadratic number of vertices and edges can be found on n-vertex m-edge digraphs in time O(n+m+k14).
Asset Pricing with Entry and Imperfect Competition

I study the implications of fluctuations in new firm creation across industries for asset prices and macroeconomic quantities. I write a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous industries, allowing for firm entry and time variation in markups. Firms entering an industry increase competition and displace incumbents' monopoly rents. This mechanism is strongest in industries that exhibit high profit margins and high elasticity of innovation to the cost of entry. A positive shock to the aggregate cost of entry increases the marginal utility of consumption --the price of entry risk is negative. Therefore, firms with more exposure to rents' displacement have higher expected excess returns. Using micro-level data on entry rates, I trace out the impact of firm creation on incumbent firms' profitability and stock returns. The effect is strongest for the types of industries the model predicts. I confirm aggregate entry risk is priced: differential exposure to the aggregate entry shock explains a large fraction of the cross-industry variation in expected returns.
Distal esophageal spasm

Distal esophageal spasm (DES) is an uncommon esophageal motility disorder associated with dysphagia and/or chest pain. Its pathophysiology implies an impairment of esophageal inhibitory neural function. Using conventional manometry, DES was defined by the presence of simultaneous esophageal contractions. With the introduction of high-resolution manometry and esophageal pressure topography (EPT) in clinical practice, rapidly propagated contractions are nonspecific of esophageal spasm. Hence, a more physiological and clinically relevant definition was proposed. Distal latency (DL) measures the period of inhibition that precedes contraction in the distal esophagus immediately proximal to the esophagogastric junction (EGJ). Premature contractions, defined as reduced DL, appeared to be much more specific for DES in EPT. Premature contractions with normal EGJ relaxation constitute DES, while premature contractions with impaired EGJ relaxation are diagnostic of spastic achalasia. Because of the interaction between DES and gastroesophageal reflux disease, 24-h esophageal pH monitoring should also be considered in patient evaluation. Medical treatment of DES aims to compensate for the deficient inhibitory neural function. Sildenafil, which blocks nitric oxide degradation and thus prolongs esophageal muscle relaxation, is a promising treatment. Endoscopic injection of botulinum toxin in the esophageal muscle is also an interesting therapeutic option. Finally, extended surgical myotomy might be discussed in extreme cases after failure of other therapeutic options.
Automatic variational inference in Stan

Variational inference is a scalable technique for approximate Bayesian inference. Deriving variational inference algorithms requires tedious model-specific calculations; this makes it difficult for non-experts to use. We propose an automatic variational inference algorithm, automatic differentiation variational inference (ADVI); we implement it in Stan (code available), a probabilistic programming system. In ADVI the user provides a Bayesian model and a dataset, nothing else. We make no conjugacy assumptions and support a broad class of models. The algorithm automatically determines an appropriate variational family and optimizes the variational objective. We compare ADVI to MCMC sampling across hierarchical generalized linear models, nonconjugate matrix factorization, and a mixture model. We train the mixture model on a quarter million images. With ADVI we can use variational inference on any model we write in Stan.
Robust probabilistic inference in distributed systems

Probabilistic inference problems arise naturally in distributed systems such as sensor networks and teams of mobile robots. Inference algorithms that use message passing are a natural fit for distributed systems, but they must be robust to the failure situations that arise in real-world settings, such as unreliable communication and node failures. Unfortunately, the popular sum--product algorithm can yield very poor estimates in these settings because the nodes' beliefs before convergence can be arbitrarily different from the correct posteriors. In this paper, we present a new message passing algorithm for probabilistic inference which provides several crucial guarantees that the standard sum--product algorithm does not. Not only does it converge to the correct posteriors, but it is also guaranteed to yield a principled approximation at any point before convergence. In addition, the computational complexity of the message passing updates depends only upon the model, and is independent of the network topology of the distributed system. We demonstrate the approach with detailed experimental results on a distributed sensor calibration task using data from an actual sensor network deployment.
Explaining Snapshots of Network Diffusions: Structural and Hardness Results

Much research has been done on studying the diffusion of ideas or technologies on social networks including the Influence Maximization problem and many of its variations. Here, we investigate a type of inverse problem. Given a snapshot of the diffusion process, we seek to understand if the snapshot is feasible for a given dynamic, i.e., whether there is a limited number of nodes whose initial adoption can result in the snapshot in finite time. While similar questions have been considered for epidemic dynamics, here, we consider this problem for variations of the deterministic Linear Threshold Model, which is more appropriate for modeling strategic agents. Specifically, we consider both sequential and simultaneous dynamics when deactivations are allowed and when they are not. Even though we show hardness results for all variations we consider, we show that the case of sequential dynamics with deactivations allowed is significantly harder than all others. In contrast, sequential dynamics make the problem trivial on cliques even though it’s complexity for simultaneous dynamics is unknown. We complement our hardness results with structural insights that can lead to better understanding of diffusions on social networks under various dynamics.
Binary Stars in the Local Group: The Playing Field

As an introduction to the stage on which Extragalactic Binaries exist I will present an overview of the stellar populations of the Local Group Galaxies. This will highlight the (few) similarities in the star formation histories of Local Group galaxies as well as the better-known variety that has been uncovered in recent studies. In the few cases where this is possible, the direct role of binaries in the interpretation of the star forming histories of these galaxies will be described. The possible role of binaries in helping to shape the star-formation history will be described more generally with some emphasis on the sorts of observations that can be carried out to investigate this more fully.
Perpetual what? Injury, Sovereignty and a Cosmopolitan View of Immigration

Can Kantian cosmopolitanism contribute to normative approaches to immigration? Kant developed the universal right to hospitality in the context of late eighteenth-century colonialism. He claimed that non-European countries had a sovereign right over their territory and the conditions of foreigners' visits. This sovereign prerogative limited visitors' right to hospitality. The interconnected and complementary system of right he devised is influential today, but this article argues that maintaining the complementarity of the three realms involves reconsidering its application to contemporary immigration. It situates Kant's Perpetual Peace within the context of debates about conquest and colonialism and argues that Kant's strict conception of sovereignty is justified by his concern in maintaining a realm of sovereignty that is complementary with cosmopolitanism and his prioritization of mutual agreements in each of the realms, particularly in a context of international power asymmetry. In Kant's time, European powers appropriated cosmopolitan discourses to defend their right to visit other countries and it was necessary to strengthen non-Europeans' sovereign claims. The strength and hostility of the visitors made limited hospitality and strong sovereignty act in tandem to keep away conquerors, expanding cosmopolitanism. Today, individuals from poor countries migrate to wealthier ones where they are subject to a sovereign authority that excludes them. Sovereignty and cosmopolitanism no longer work complementarily, but rather strengthen powerful state actors vis-a-vis non-citizens subject to unilateral rule. Maintaining the pre-eminence of the right to freedom, the article suggests that only through the creation of ‘cosmopolitan spaces’ of politics can we reproduce today the complementarity that Kant envisioned.
Borders and Barriers: Spatial Analysis of Agricultural Output Spillovers at the Grid Cell Level

Much of the world's agricultural productivity growth over the past fifty years has been attributed to the international spillover of benefits from research and develop- ment (Alston, 2002). Because the impact of these spillovers often varies with distance, geography, and climate, attention has increasingly focused on measuring their spa- tial dimensions Evenson (1989). In this paper, spatial spillovers are examined in the context of country borders. Using high-resolution worldwide grid cell data covering yields for 11 major crops, we test whether spatial dependencies in agricultural yields fall in the presence of country borders, controlling for geography and climate as well as country-specific effects. Two different complementary analyses show that country borders significantly and sizeably diminish the transmission of spatial spillovers be- tween locations. The results thus point to a clear \border effect" on an important determinant of agricultural productivity.
Spending on Public Infrastructure : A Practitioner's Guide

This paper provides a methodological tool to support the collection and preparation of standardized, comprehensive data regarding public spending on infrastructure services that can be rigorously compared across countries. Infrastructure is defined to cover six sectors: irrigation, energy (primarily power), transport, communication, wastewater management, and water supply. The guide is designed to provide a much richer and more complete measurement of infrastructure spending than the limited highly aggregated data currently available through the IMF Government Financial Statistics. Originally developed for Africa, the methodology is relevant and readily applicable to any developing country. With the aim of being as comprehensive as possible, the methodology covers central and sub-national government expenditures, non-budgetary vehicles (such as road funds), state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and public-private partnerships (PPPs). While the methodology focuses on collecting quantitative data on the level and composition of spending, this is complemented with qualitative data that provides the institutional context. Importantly, the methodology allows for cross-classification of infrastructure spending by purpose (power, roads, etc) and by function (operational versus capital spending). This guide provides practical guidance -- including concepts, definitions, and classifications -- for each of the three stages of work, namely: (i) pre-field, (ii) field, and (iii) back office.
Selecting Medications for the Treatment of Urinary Incontinence

In response to the growing population of older patients with incontinence, pharmaceutical companies are developing new drugs to treat the condition. Before prescribing medications for incontinence, however, physicians should determine the nature and cause of the patient's incontinence. The evaluation should rule out reversible conditions, conditions requiring special evaluation, and overflow bladder. The best treatment for urge incontinence is behaviour therapy in the form of pelvic floor muscle exercises. Medications, used as an adjunct to behaviour therapy, can provide additional benefit. Many therapies are available for patients with stress incontinence, including pelvic floor muscle exercise, surgery, intravaginal support devices, pessaries, peri-urethral injections, magnetic chairs, and intra-urethral inserts. No medication has been approved for the treatment of stress incontinence, although medications are under development.
Constitutions for New Democracies: Reflections of Turmoil or Agents of Stability?

Despite the widely held view in newly emerging democracies that constitutions are mere words on paper or that parchment barriers cannot render a state stable or democratic, those who draft such documents commonly act as if words ARE of consequence. The difficulty, however, is that contemporaneous conflicts too easily intervene so as to corrupt the drafting process and to preclude optimal constitutional design. The specific principle of design most likely to be violated is the proposition that we treat all parts of the constitution as an interconnected whole and that we not try to assess the consequences of one part without appreciating the full meaning of all other parts. This essay illustrates this violation by looking at the new Russian constitution, ratified by direct popular vote in December 1993, with special attention paid to that document's treatment of federalism. We offer the additional argument, however, that even contemporary research in political institutional design pays insufficient heed to this principle.
German Merchants in the Nineteenth-Century Atlantic

Index of tables, graphs, and maps Glossary Prologue Introduction Part I. Moorings of the Hanseatic Network: 1. Prudent pioneers: Hanseats in trans-Atlantic trade, 1798-1860 2. The Hanseatic household: families, firms, and faith, 1815-64 3. Cosmopolitan conservatives: home-town traditions and Western ideas in Bremish politics, 1806-60 Part II. Exchanges: In a Transnational World: 4. Free labor and dependent labor: from patronage to wage labor and social control, 1815-61 5. International improvement: Hanseats, Hamiltonians, and Jacksonians, 1845-60 6. Nations, races, and empires: Hanseats encounter the other, 1837-59 Part III. Decline of a Cosmopolitan Community: 7. The end of merchant-capital: crisis and adaptation in a world of industrial capitalism, 1857-90 8. Decisions and divisions: Hanseatic responses to nation-making wars, 1859-67 9. Patriarchs into patriots: Hanseats in a world of nation-states, 1867-1945 Conclusion Appendix: maps Sources Bibliography.
Prosocial behavior: Private contributions to agriculture's impact on the environment

Private provision of public environmental benefits is considered with a theory of prosocial behavior that elaborates the roles of nonhedonistic values held by agents as well as the functional interaction between private good and public good production processes. The theory also identifies the conditions under which public environmental goods will be privately supplied and motivates an empirical approach. Models of environmental effort in agriculture are estimated based on a survey of U.S. field crop farmers. Results confirm the role of hedonistic motivation of environmental effort and provide very weak evidence of a role of nonhedonistic values.
Sweetening the carrot : motivating public physicians for better performance

It is widely observed that many physicians working in public health facilities do not put in the required effort and time in their jobs. At the same time, many public physicians remain highly motivated, working long hours for little financial reward, in providing quality health services. This mix of provider-types poses fundamental challenges in the design of compensation mechanisms and monitoring regime in public facilities, where the objective of any reward-control paradigm is to improve the inoptimal performance of some physicians without compromising the effort of those already motivated. This paper presents a model to explain shirking behavior among public physicians and explores combinations of monitoring and incentive mechanisms that meet the twin objectives of inspiring the shirkers without losing the motivated. Drawing on the basic Shapiro-Stiglitz shirking model and the theory of social custom, the paper develops and presents a design of incentive structures that consists of punitive monitoring systems accompanied by non-pecuniary rewards. The analysis shows that intensive monitoring persuades the shirking physicians to improve their performance but may have a negative effect on the morale of those already motivated. The findings indicate that non-pecuniary rewards and recognition for the latter can potentially restore the incentives and counter the deleterious effect of increased supervision. The policy implications are discussed by presenting case studies in the health care context of developing countries.
Empirical Investigation into the Limitations of the Normative Paired Sales Adjustment Method

This study investigates the normative paired sales adjustment method employed by appraisers in the sales comparison approach. It finds that the method fails to account for the diminishing marginal ...
Aggregation-Based Aggressive Coarsening with Polynomial Smoothing

This paper develops an algebraic multigrid preconditioner for the graph Laplacian. The proposed approach uses aggressive coarsening based on the aggregation framework in the setup phase and a polynomial smoother with sufficiently large degree within a (nonlinear) Algebraic Multilevel Iteration as a preconditioner to the flexible Conjugate Gradient iteration in the solve phase. We show that by combining these techniques it is possible to design a simple and scalable algorithm. Results of the algorithm applied to graph Laplacian systems arising from the standard linear finite element discretization of the scalar Poisson problem are reported.
Incremental Multiset Hash Functions and Their Application to Memory Integrity Checking

We introduce a new cryptographic tool: multiset hash functions. Unlike standard hash functions which take strings as input, multiset hash functions operate on multisets (or sets). They map multisets of arbitrary finite size to strings (hashes) of fixed length. They are incremental in that, when new members are added to the multiset, the hash can be updated in time proportional to the change. The functions may be multiset-collision resistant in that it is difficult to find two multisets which produce the same hash, or just set-collision resistant in that it is difficult to find a set and a multiset which produce the same hash.
A Study of Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Two-Dimensional Trapped Gas

We examine the possibility of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in two-dimensional (2D) system of interacting particles in a trap. We use a self-consistent mean-field theory of Bose particles interacting by a contact interaction in the Popov and WKB approximations. The equations show that the normal state has a phase transition at some critical temperature T c but below T c the Bose-Einstein condensed state is not a consistent solution of the equations in the thermodynamic limit. This result agrees with a theorem recently discussed by the author that shows that a BEC state is impossible for an interacting gas in a 2D trap in the thermodynamic limit.
Cognitive Implications of Musical Perception

Any musical experience is innately pertinent to cognition and psychology. This paper discusses various aspects of musical cognition, including notions of timbre in relation to spectromorphology, a term coined by Denis Smalley, a notable writer on aesthetics of electroacoustic music. Furthermore, a cognitive model will serve to explain inherent inter-relationships involving multi-modal perception.
WELFARE ECONOMICS AND THE THEORY OF SECOND BEST

Abstract : Conditions are demonstrated under which a violation of one Pareto condition means that it is socially desirable that certain other of the Paretian conditions be violated. The commonly held interpretation of the Lipsey-Lancasterassified report DESCRIPTORS: *Economics, Theory, Mathematical analysis, Functions, Partial differential equations, Decision making. Identifiers: Pareto condition (Economics), Theory of second best, Welfare economics. Conditions are demonstrated under which a violation of one Pareto condition means that it is socially desirable that certain other of the Paretian conditions be violated. The commonly held interpretation of the Lipsey-Lancaster theorem - that a violation of one Pareto condition means that none of the remaining Pareto conditions is desirable - is dispelled. The approach is somewhat similar to that used by Lipsey and Lancaster in that the method of maximinization subject to constraints is used. It is demonstrated that the Lipsey-Lancaster formulation of the second-best problem introduces extraneous considerations, does not provide adequate 'guidelines' for policy applications, and leads, at the very best, to misinterpretations of the meaning of their theorem. (Author)
Pulsed Doppler Radar Detects Weather Hazards to Aviation

Over the last several years experiments were conducted with a pulsed Doppler radar that have significant consequences for hazard detection in the en route and terminal areas. Mesocyclones can be detected to over 250 km while tornadoes are seen to about 150 km. The radar can detect strong straight winds if they have a significant component along the beam. It is definitely demonstrated that aircraft measured turbulence correlates with the spread of the Doppler spectrum, but caution must be exercised in interpreting the Doppler spectrum width data because these are more prone to gross errors due to noise, antenna sidelobes, ground clutter, etc. Measurements of transient wind phenomena associated with thunderstorms near the airport require a suitably located radar, but it is not yet clear whether these can be always recognized. It appears that monitoring of winds along an aircraft glide path in clear air or otherwise is feasible.
Swimming upstream: identifying proteomic signals that drive transcriptional changes using the interactome and multiple "- omics" datasets

Signaling and transcription are tightly integrated processes that underlie many cellular responses to the environment. A network of signaling events, often mediated by post-translational modification on proteins, can lead to long-term changes in cellular behavior by altering the activity of specific transcriptional regulators and consequently the expression level of their downstream targets. As many high-throughput, “-omics” methods are now available that can simultaneously measure changes in hundreds of proteins and thousands of transcripts, it should be possible to systematically reconstruct cellular responses to perturbations in order to discover previously unrecognized signaling pathways. This chapter describes a computational method for discovering such pathways that aims to compensate for the varying levels of noise present in these diverse data sources. Based on the concept of constraint optimization on networks, the method seeks to achieve two conflicting aims: (1) to link together many of the signaling proteins and differential expressed transcripts identified in the experiments (“constraints”) using previously reported protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions, while (2) keeping the resulting network small and ensuring it is composed of the highest confidence interactions (“optimization”). A further distinctive feature of this approach is the use of transcriptional data as evidence of upstream signaling events that drive changes in gene expression, rather than as proxies for downstream changes in the levels of the encoded proteins. We recently demonstrated that by applying this method to phosphoproteomic and transcriptional data from the pheromone response in yeast, we were able to recover functionally coherent pathways and to reveal many components of the cellular response that are not readily apparent in the original data. Here we provide a more detailed description of the method, explore the robustness of the solution to the noise level of input data and discuss the effect of parameter values.
Synthesis, structural characterization and magnetic properties of RE2MgGe2 (RE=rare-earth metal)

Abstract A series of rare-earth metal–magnesium–germanides RE2MgGe2 (RE=Y, Nd, Sm, Gd–Tm, Lu) has been synthesized by reactions of the corresponding elements at high temperature. Their structures have been established by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction and belong to the Mo2FeB2 structure type (space group P4/mbm (No. 127), Z=2; Pearson symbol tP10). Temperature dependent DC magnetization measurements indicate Curie–Weiss paramagnetism in the high-temperature regime for all members of the family, excluding Y2MgGe2, Sm2MgGe2, and Lu2MgGe2. At cryogenic temperatures (ca. 60 K and below), most RE2MgGe2 phases enter into an antiferromagnetic ground-state, except for Er2MgGe2 and Tm2MgGe2, which do not undergo magnetic ordering down to 5 K. The structural variations as a function of the decreasing size of the rare-earth metals, following the lanthanide contraction, and the changes in the magnetic properties across the series are discussed as well.
A Multi-Wavelength Optical Content-Addressable Parallel Processor (MW-OCAPP) for High-Speed Parallel Relational Database Processing: Architectural Concepts and Preliminary Experimental System

This paper presents a novel architecture for parallel database processing called Multi-Wavelength Optical Content Addressable Parallel Processor (MW-OCAPP). MW-OCAPP is designed to provide efficient parallel retrieval and processing of data by moving the bulk of database operations from electronics to optics. It combines a parallel model of computation with the many degrees of processing freedom that light provides. MW-OCAPP uses a polarization and wavelength-encoding scheme to achieve a high level of parallelism. Distinctive features of the proposed architecture include (1) the use of a multiple-wavelength encoding scheme to enhance processing parallelism, (2) multiple-comparand word-parallel and bit-parallel magnitude comparison with an execution-time independent of the data size or word size, (3) the implementation of a suite of eleven database primitives, and (4) multi-comparand two-dimensional data processing. The MW-OCAPP architecture realizes eleven relational database primitives: difference, intersection, union, conditional selection, maximum, minimum, join, product, projection, division and update. Most of these operations execute in constant time independent of the data size. This paper outlines the architectural concepts and motivation behind MW-OCAPP’s design, as well as describes the architecture required for implementing the equality and magnitude comparison processing cores. Additionally, a physical demonstration of the multiwavelength equality operation is presented.