cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Substance Use Behaviors and the Timing of Family Formation During Young Adulthood

The impact of substance use on the life course of young adults can be substantial, yet few studies have examined to what extent early adult substance use behaviors are related to the timing of family formation, independent of confounding factors from adolescence. Using panel data from the Monitoring the Future study (N~20,000), the current study examined the associations between three substance use behaviors (i.e., cigarette use, binge drinking, and marijuana use) and the timing of family formation events in young adulthood. Survival analysis and propensity score weighting addressed pre-existing differences between substance users and non-users in the estimation of the timing of union formation (i.e., marriage, cohabitation) and parenthood. Results for young adult substance users showed general patterns of reduced rates of marriage and parenthood, and increased cohabitation during young adulthood. Variations were evident by substance and sex.
Mechanistic Insights into Surface Chemical Interactions between Lithium Polysulfides and Transition Metal Oxides

The design and development of materials for electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices requires fundamental understanding of chemical interactions at electrode/electrolyte interfaces. For Li–S batteries that hold the promise for outperforming the current generation of Li ion batteries, the interactions of lithium polysulfide (LPS) intermediates with the electrode surface strongly influence the efficiency and cycle life of the sulfur cathode. While metal oxides have been demonstrated to be useful in trapping LPS, the actual binding modes of LPS on 3d transition metal oxides and their dependence on the metal element identity across the periodic table remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the chemical interactions between LPS and oxides of Mn, Fe, Co, and Cu by combining X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. We find that Li–O interactions dominate LPS binding to the oxides (Mn3O4, Fe2O3, and Co3O4), with increasing strength from Mn to Fe to Co. For C...
Symptoms in gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

9637 Background: A major barrier to effective symptom management in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) is lack of recognition of the symptom burden of the disease and treatment. Symptom burden ...
Chronic Inflammatory Entities of the Placenta

While maternal and fetal acute inflammatory processes in the placenta are relatively well elucidated, the chronic inflammatory responses are less well studied. This article presents an overview of the various patterns of chronic placental inflammation, their potentially overlapping pathogeneses, their associations with adverse fetal and infant outcomes, and, because of the predominance in many of these disorders of the maternal origin of the inflammatory cells, their subsequent risks of recurrence in future pregnancies.
Integrated Production Planning and Risk Hedging

We study production planning integrated with risk hedging. In addition to using a one-time production quantity decision, made at the beginning of a planning horizon, as a way to manage demand uncertainty, we illustrate how to construct and execute a hedging strategy throughout the horizon, as a better and more effective approach to mitigating the risks involved. Furthermore, whereas traditional production planning models focus on the expected net-profit as an objective function, we study two risk measures, variance and shortfall. In both cases, we characterize the efficient frontier, and demonstrate the improved risk-return profile over a production-only decision.
Antibiotic resistance profiles and cell surface components of Salmonellae.

Salmonellae were isolated from raw chilled retail poultry meats (n = 100) using the procedures outlined in the Bacteriological Analytical Manual and Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook. These isolates and 36 Salmonella strains from our laboratory culture collection were tested for their resistance to 12 different antibiotics and for their ability to produce thin aggregative fimbriae and/or cellulose, two of the most important surface components influencing the ability of cells to attach to surfaces and form biofilms. The sensitivity of the salmonellae to the antibiotics was determined with a disc diffusion assay. Of 52 Salmonella isolates, 25 (48.0%) were resistant to one antibiotic, 5 (9.6%) were resistant to two, 4 (7.7%) were resistant to three, 6 (11.5%) were resistant to four, and 5 (9.6%) were resistant to five antibiotics. Two (3.8%) of the isolates were resistant to up to nine of the antibiotics tested. Fifty-one (98%) of the isolates were resistant to novobiocin, 18 (34.6%) were resistant to strept...
Of Operational Logic

It is possible of course to begin logic with whatever elements are necessary to make computation possible. That is why I have entitled this chapter ‘operational logic.’ The name ‘performative logic’ could have been used just as well but I did not want to confuse it with the theory of performative language for which the term has already been adopted. Computational logic on the other hand, would have made it sound too instrumental. Searching out the metaphysical assumptions of symbolic logic to get rid of all explicit ones, as contained for instance in the axioms, clears the way for a closer examination of what a basic set would look like when stripped to its essentials.
Lambda Depression/Overlay Histogram Analysis of Poly(Acrylate) as a Function of Added Salt

Dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques monitor the decay of spontaneous fluctuations in the polarizability of the medium. Any process that results in a change in polarizability can therefore be examined by DLS. The time dependence of these processes can be extracted from the autocorrelation function [C(t)] or spectral density [S(ω))] of the scattered light. If the light scattered by the supporting medium (solvent and salt) can be neglected, then the molecular (solute) correlation function for the self-beat (homodyne) correlation function can be expressed as
The Biogeography of Primate Evolution: The Role of Plate Tectonics, Climate and Chance

The present biogeographic distribution of primates is the result of a complex series of events throughout the Cenozoic Era. In past, primates have been both widespread and diverse in North America and Europe and have had much broader distributions in South America, Madagascar and Asia. Many of the dramatic changes in primate biogeography can be related to global climatic events and to geological changes in the interconnections among continents. The evolutionary history of primate seems to have involved a wide range of traditional dispersal mechanisms, including land bridges, chance dispersal over open ocean, and intermediate island hopping. The assemblages of primates found in most of the world contain members of several different clades, each with a distinctive biogeographical history. Our understandings of primate phylogeny and primate biogeography are interwoven, and reciprocally illuminating.
Biosynthesis of the purines. XXXI. Binding of formylglycinamide ribonucleotide and adenosine triphosphate to formylglycinamide ribonucleotide amidotransferase.

Abstract 14C-Formylglycinamide ribonucleotide (FGAR) and γ-32P-ATP (or 14C-ATP) bind to FGAR amidotransferase to form a complex, which may be isolated by Sephadex gel filtration and characterized. The formation of this complex is dependent on the presence of three components, FGAR, ATP, and magnesium ions, but does not require glutamine. The binding sites for FGAR and ATP on the enzyme molecule may be distinguished from that of glutamine. The binding ratio of either FGAR or ATP to the enzyme expressed in molar quantity was approximately 0.7 under the conditions used at pH 6.5. The ratio of FGAR to ATP bound to the enzyme was unity. The analysis of the radioactive materials obtained from the complex of FGAR and γ-32P-ATP with the enzyme indicated that the terminal phosphoanhydride bond of ATP was cleaved to ADP and a phosphate moiety, which remained bound to the enzyme presumably in ester linkage. Furthermore, when the enzyme was incubated with 14C-ATP in the presence of MgCl2, an amount of 14C-ADP nearly equivalent to the moles of enzyme present was obtained. FGAR did not affect this reaction. These results and others including observations on an ATP-ADP exchange reaction indicate strongly that the enzyme itself is phosphorylated in a step of the over-all reaction catalyzed by FGAR amidotransferase. Azaserine and iodoacetate, both of which reacted at the glutamine-binding site, reduced and enhanced, respectively, the stability of the FGAR-ATP-enzyme complex. However, these compounds did not affect the true binding ratios of the substrates. Although both compounds inhibited the reaction in which glutamine was the nitrogen donor, azaserine stimulated and iodoacetate partially inhibited the reaction with ammonium chloride as the nitrogen donor. A mechanism of the reaction catalyzed by FGAR amidotransferase has been discussed on the basis of the above information. The over-all reaction has been broken down into partial reactions, which, however, operate in a highly coordinated manner with one another.
Sensory features as predictors of adaptive behaviors: A comparative longitudinal study of children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities.

Abstract Background Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD) exhibit sensory features that differ from their typically developing peers. Prior cross-sectional research has demonstrated significant associations between elevated sensory features and lower adaptive behavior scores, yet there is limited prospective research examining longitudinal associations. Aims To examine the longitudinal prediction of early sensory response patterns (i.e., hyperresponsiveness, hyporesponsiveness, and sensory interests, repetitions, and seeking behaviors) to later adaptive behavior outcomes in children with ASD and DD. Methods and procedures Children with ASD (n = 51) and DD (n = 30) were seen at two time points (Time 1: M(SD) = 5.6(2.5) years; Time 2: M(SD) = 9.0(2.2) years). We used a series of regression models with both observational and parent-report measures of sensory response patterns, and including group interactions. Outcomes and results All three sensory response patterns significantly predicted aspects of adaptive behaviors, with some differences based on assessment format and diagnostic group. Across groups and sensory patterns, we found some evidence that elevated sensory features early in childhood predicted lower adaptive behavior skills later in childhood. Conclusions and implications Sensory features may interfere with development of adaptive behaviors, suggesting a need for effective interventions addressing sensory features early in development.
Race Differences in Reported Harmful Patient Safety Events in Healthcare System High Reliability Organizations.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to determine whether race differences exist in voluntarily reported harmful patient safety events in a large 10 hospital healthcare system on a high reliability organization journey. METHODS From July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2017, employees in a healthcare system based in Washington, District of Columbia, and Maryland voluntarily reported harmful patient safety events by type using a Patient Safety Event Management System. Inpatients, outpatients, and observation patients were identified as "black," "white," or "other" (N = 5038). Using retrospective analysis and χ goodness of fit, comparisons of race proportions were conducted to determine differences at the health system level, by hospital, by event type, and by severity. RESULTS Significant race differences existed: (1) overall with higher proportions of whites and lower proportions of other in a Patient Safety Event Management System; (2) by type across races; (3) in six hospitals across races; and (4) by type and by hospital for blacks and whites. All differences were significant at P < 0.05. CONCLUSIONS Race differences in harmful events exist in voluntary reporting systems by type and by hospital setting. Healthcare organizations, particularly healthcare high reliability organizations, can use these findings to help identify areas of further study and investigation. Further study and investigation should include efforts to understand the root cause of the differences found in this study, including the role of reporting bias.
Unexpected Findings: Normal Appendix During Appendectomy

Unexpected findings are not infrequently encountered, either intraoperatively or in the postoperative settings. This chapter will discuss finding a normal appearing appendix during laparoscopic appendectomy for presumed appendicitis.
Large-Scale Estimates of LGBQ-Heterosexual Disparities in the Presence of Potentially Mischievous Responders: A Preregistered Replication and Comparison of Methods:

Although numerous survey-based studies have found that students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ) have elevated risk for many negative academic, disciplinary, psychologi...
Bayesian empirical likelihood for ridge and lasso regressions

Abstract Ridge and lasso regression models, which are also known as regularization methods, are widely used methods in machine learning and inverse problems that introduce additional information to solve ill-posed problems and/or perform feature selection. The ridge and lasso estimates for linear regression parameters can be interpreted as Bayesian posterior estimates when the regression parameters have Normal and independent Laplace (i.e., double-exponential) priors, respectively. A significant challenge in regularization problems is that these approaches assume that data are normally distributed, which makes them not robust to model misspecification. A Bayesian approach for ridge and lasso models based on empirical likelihood is proposed. This method is semiparametric because it combines a nonparametric model and a parametric model. Hence, problems with model misspecification are avoided. Under the Bayesian empirical likelihood approach, the resulting posterior distribution lacks a closed form and has a nonconvex support, which makes the implementation of traditional Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods such as Gibbs sampling and Metropolis–Hastings very challenging. To solve the nonconvex optimization and nonconvergence problems, the tailored Metropolis–Hastings approach is implemented. The asymptotic Bayesian credible intervals are derived.
Sensemaking for 21st century intelligence

The key to effective 21st century intelligence is our sensemaking process. In this article, we present a case for why Cold War-era reductive intelligence models have become obsolete, and we show th...
Emotion Malleability Beliefs and Emotion Experience and Regulation in the Daily Lives of People with High Trait Social Anxiety

The extent to which a person believes they can change or control their own emotions is associated with trait-level symptoms of mood and anxiety-related psychopathology. The present study examined how this belief relates to momentary and daily self-reports of affect, emotion regulation tendencies, and perceived effectiveness of emotion regulation attempts throughout a five-week experience sampling study conducted in N = 113 high socially anxious people ( https://osf.io/eprwt/ ). Results suggest that people with relatively stronger beliefs that their emotions are malleable experienced more momentary and daily positive affect (relative to negative affect), even after controlling for social anxiety symptom severity (although only daily positive affect, and not momentary positive affect, remained significant after correcting for false discovery rate). However, emotion malleability beliefs were not uniquely associated with other emotion regulation-related outcomes in daily life, despite theory suggesting malleability beliefs influence motivation to engage in emotion regulation. The paucity of significant associations observed between trait malleability beliefs and momentary and daily self-reports of emotion regulation (despite consistent findings of such relationships at trait levels) calls for additional research to better understand the complex dynamics of emotion beliefs in daily life.
Difference in the prevalence of intracardiac thrombus on the first presentation of atrial fibrillation versus flutter in the pediatric and congenital heart disease population

Introduction Guidelines recommend trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL) for > 48 hours, due to risk of intra-cardiac thrombus formation. With growing evidence that AFL in adults with structurally normal hearts has less thrombogenic potential compared to AF, and the need for TEE questioned, we compared prevalence of intra-cardiac thrombus detected by TEE in pediatric and congenital heart disease (CHD) patients presenting in AF and AFL. Methods/results Single center, cross-sectional analysis for unique first-time presentations of patients for either AF, AFL or intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia (IART) between 2000-2019. Patients were categorized by presenting arrhythmia (AF vs. AFL/IART), with exclusion of other forms of atrial tachycardia, hemodynamic instability, chronic anti-coagulation prior to TEE, and presentation for reason other than TEE examination for thrombus. A total of 201 patients had TEE with co-diagnosis of AF or AFL. Of these, 105 patients (29 AF, 76 AFL) met inclusion criteria, with no difference in age between AF (median 24.9 years; IQR 18.6-38.3 years) and AFL/IART (23.3 years; 15.4-38.4 years). The prevalence of thrombus in the entire cohort was 9.5%, with no difference between AF (13.8%) and AFL groups (7.9%), p=0.46. Patients with thrombus demonstrated no difference in age, systemic ventricular function, cardiac complexity, or CHADS2/CHA2DS2VASc score at presentation. Conclusions The risk for intra-cardiac thrombus is high in the pediatric and CHD population, with no apparent distinguishing factors to warrant a change in the recommendations for TEE, with all levels of cardiac complexity being at risk for clot. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Higher Order Terms of the Spectral Heat Content for Killed Subordinate and Subordinate Killed Brownian Motions Related to Symmetric α -Stable Processes in ℝ ${\mathbb {R}}$

We investigate the 3rd term of the spectral heat content for killed subordinate and subordinate killed Brownian motions on a bounded open interval D = (a,b) in a real line when the underlying subordinators are stable subordinators with index α ∈ (1, 2) or α = 1. We prove that in the 3rd term of the spectral heat content, one can observe the length b − a of the interval D.
High contrast imaging of dental fluorosis in the short wavelength infrared

Dental fluorosis is an increasing problem due to over exposure to fluoride from the environment. Fluorosis causes hypomineralization of the enamel during tooth development and mild fluorosis is visible as faint white lines on the tooth surface while the most severe fluorosis can result in pitted surfaces. It is difficult to quantify the severity of mild to moderate fluorosis and assessments are limited to subjective visual examinations. Dental fluorosis appears with very high contrast at short wavelength infrared (SWIR) wavelengths beyond 1400 nm and we hypothesize that these wavelengths may be better suited for detecting mild fluorosis and for estimating the severity on tooth surfaces. In this study, the contrast of fluorosis of varying severity on extracted human permanent teeth was measured at SWIR wavelengths ranging from 1300 to 2150 nm using an extended range of InGaAs camera and broadband light sources. The contrast was also measured in the visible range and with quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) for comparison. The depth of hypomineralization and the integrated reflectivity were also measured with cross-polarization optical coherence tomography. The contrast of hypomineralization is significantly higher (P < 0.05) at 1460 and 1950 nm wavelengths than for the visible, fluorescence or other SWIR wavelengths from 1300 to 2150 nm. The highest correlation of the contrast with the depth of hypomineralization measured with cross-polarization-optical coherence tomography (CP-OCT) was at 1950 nm. This SWIR in vitro imaging study exploring wavelengths beyond 1400 nm has shown that hypomineralization on tooth surfaces can be viewed with extremely high contrast at SWIR wavelengths from 1460 to 2000 nm and that SWIR imaging has great potential for monitoring hypomineralization on tooth surfaces. New clinical methods are needed for the measurement of fluorosis that are valid, reliable, and feasible for surveillance at the community level. In addition, methods are needed for the quantitative assessment of fluorosis in vivo.
Effect of treatment with direct acting antiviral on glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus and chronic hepatitis C

Abstract Introduction and aim. The effect of the new direct acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) for chronic hepatitis C (HCV) on glycemic control is unknown. Materials and methods. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients who were treated for chronic HCV with direct-acting antiviral medications at a single academic institution between May 2013 and April 2016. Univariate analysis was performed comparing subjects pre- and post-treatment. Results. One hundred seventy-five consecutive adult patients were treated for chronic HCV and met enrollment criteria. The majority (80.8%) were genotype 1 and overall cohort sustained virologic response at week 12 (SVR12) was 97.8%. Thirty-one (18.5%) had diabetes mellitus (DM); twenty-six had pre- and post-treatment HbA1c values. Of these, 76.9% were male and 61.5% had cirrhosis. Ninety-six percent were prescribed sofosbuvir-based therapy and all but one (96.8%) achieved SVR12. Three patients were started on treatment despite meeting the definition for poorly controlled DM (HbA1c > 9 mg/dL). There was no significant difference when comparing pre-treatment (7.36 mg/dL, 95% CI 6.55-8.16) to post-treatment HbA1c (7.11 mg/dL, 95% CI 6.34-7.88, p = 0.268). Thirty-one percent of subjects required dose escalation or the initiation of insulin based therapy during treatment. Discussion. Although chronic HCV is associated with exacerbation of insulin resistance, our results showed HbA1c to be unaffected by eradication of chronic HCV with DAA in diabetic patients with and without cirrhosis. Paradoxically, almost 1/3 of patients required escalation of anti-diabetic therapy during treatment. Long-term studies are warranted to understand the relationship between HCV viral eradication and insulin metabolism.
Western Blotting Technique in Biomedical Research

Western Blot is the most important and powerful technique frequently used in laboratory research. It is used to identify specific proteins in biological samples isolated from cells or tissues. Similar to the Southern Blot for DNA and Northern Blot for RNA, the Western Blot procedures rely upon three key elements: the separation of protein mixtures by size utilizing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the efficient transfer of separated proteins from the gel to a nitrocellulose or polyvinylidene difluoride membrane, and identification of a target protein via conjugation with specific primary and enzyme-labeled secondary antibodies. This specificity of the antibody–antigen interaction enables a target protein to be identified in the midst of a complex protein mixture. Once detected, an appropriate substrate is then added to the enzyme, and together, they produce a detectable band visible on a blotting membrane, X-ray file, or imaging system. Western Blot is rapid, and simple, enabling easy to interpret, unique, and unambiguous results. Along with other immunoassays, Western Blot is routinely used in research and clinical settings.
Multiresolution/multiorientation based nonlinear filters for image enhancement and detection in digital mammography

In this paper a novel hybrid filter architecture is presented that incorporates an adaptive multistage nonlinear filter (AMNF) and Multiresolution/Multiorientation Wavelet Transform (MMWT) specifically designed for image enhancement in medical imaging. The MMWT is used for multiresolution and/or multiorientation decomposition and reconstruction of the mammograms where selective reconstruction of subimages is used to perform further enhancement of the MCCs and masses. The specific clinical application is enhancement of microcalcification clusters (MCCs) and masses in digitized mammograms and the AMNF is used for noise suppression and image enhancement. This novel filter was evaluated using diagnostic images from two databases: (a) and (b). Database (a) has 100 single view mammograms at a resolution of 105 micron and 12 bits gray level. It contains 50 cases of normal mammograms and 50 cases of biopsy proven malignant MCCs. Database (b) has 100 single view mammograms at a resolution of 180 micron and 12 bits gray value. It contains 50 normal and 50 biopsy proven abnormal masses. Visual inspection of the enhanced images demonstrated improved visualization of MCCs/masses and the morphology of the individual subtle microcalcifications and masses compared with unprocessed images. The performance of the enhancement method was quantitatively evaluated using a Kalman Filtering Neural Network for MCCs and mass detection and applied to the digital mammograms of the database (a) and (b). The sensitivities (True Positive (TP) detection rate) of MCC cluster detection were 93% and 71% in the enhanced and original unprocessed images respectively, and the average false positive (FP) detection rate was 1.35 FP and 1.47 MCCs/image respectively. The sensitivities of mass detection were 85% and 62% in the enhanced and original unprocessed images respectively and the average FP rates were 1.81 and 2.75 masses/image respectively. The Research results in this article demonstrate the importance of the hybrid filter architecture for enhancement in the computerized detection of MCCs and mass.
Probably approximately correct learning

This paper surveys some recent theoretical results on the efficiency of machine learning algorithms. The main tool described is the notion of Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) learning, introduced by Valiant. We define this learning model and then look at some of the results obtained in it. We then consider some criticisms of the PAC model and the extensions proposed to address these criticisms. Finally, we look briefly at other models recently proposed in computational learning theory.
Beta normal limiting of TFTR neutral beams

In TFTR plasmas heated by neutral beam injection, the fusion power yield increases rapidly with the plasma pressure. However, the pressure is limited by the onset of instabilities which may result in plasma disruptions that increase the risk of damage to internal components. The likelihood of disruption has been found to correlate with the normalized beta
Arbitration and matchmaking for agents with conflicting interests

The exchange of goods and services among software agents requires reliable and fair brokering mechanisms to match trading parties and to mediate among their conflicting interests. Available trading models for electronic marketplaces are fixed price selling, bilateral multi-step negotiations, and various forms of auctioning. These models demand trading parties to evaluate appropriate interest matches on their own and encourage them to pretend inexact interests to their advantage. We introduce an arbiter as intermediary that finds buyers and suppliers with best matching interests. The intermediary uses matching and arbitration protocols that ensure better overall benefit than random matches, avoid advantages for agents that manipulate their interests (lies), preserve the mutual privacy of interests of the trading parties, and, if desired, their anonymity. We analyse the protocols with respect to their applicability under various conditions, investigate their robustness with different utility distributions by simulations, and describe which forms of interest manipulations can be avoided.
Restoring Soil Quality to Mitigate Soil Degradation

Feeding the world population, 7.3 billion in 2015 and projected to increase to 9.5 billion by 2050, necessitates an increase in agricultural production of ~70% between 2005 and 2050. Soil degradation, characterized by decline in quality and decrease in ecosystem goods and services, is a major constraint to achieving the required increase in agricultural production. Soil is a non-renewable resource on human time scales with its vulnerability to degradation depending on complex interactions between processes, factors and causes occurring at a range of spatial and temporal scales. Among the major soil degradation processes are accelerated erosion, depletion of the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool and loss in biodiversity, loss of soil fertility and elemental imbalance, acidification and salinization. Soil degradation trends can be reversed by conversion to a restorative land use and adoption of recommended management practices. The strategy is to minimize soil erosion, create positive SOC and N budgets, enhance activity and species diversity of soil biota (micro, meso, and macro), and improve structural stability and pore geometry. Improving soil quality (i.e., increasing SOC pool, improving soil structure, enhancing soil fertility) can reduce risks of soil degradation (physical, chemical, biological and ecological) while improving the environment. Increasing the SOC pool to above the critical level (10 to 15 g/kg) is essential to set-in-motion the restorative trends. Site-specific techniques of restoring soil quality include conservation agriculture, integrated nutrient management, continuous vegetative cover such as residue mulch and cover cropping, and controlled grazing at appropriate stocking rates. The strategy is to produce “more from less” by reducing losses and increasing soil, water, and nutrient use efficiency.
Inequity Aversion and the International Distribution of Trade Protection

One important puzzle in international political economy is why lower-earning and less-skilled intensive industries tend to receive relatively high levels of trade protection. This pattern of protection holds across countries with vastly different economic and political characteristics and is not well accounted for in existing political economy models. We propose and model one possible explanation: that individual inequity aversion leads to systematic differences in support for trade protection across industries. We conduct original survey experiments in China and the United States and provide strong evidence that individual policy opinions about sector-specific trade protection depend on the earnings of workers in the sector. We also present structural estimates that advantageous and disadvantageous inequality influence support for trade protection in the two countries. O ne important puzzle in international political economy is why lower-earning and less-skilled intensive industries tend to receive relatively high levels of trade protection. Because this pattern of protection holds even in low-income countries for which lower-earning and less-skilled intensive industries are likely to be comparative advantage sectors, it is arguably at odds with the common empirical finding that declining, comparative disadvantage industries are more likely to receive protection. Moreover, it is at odds with most theoretical political economy models, which tend to either predict, consistent with most empirical work, that losing sectors from international trade receive more protection or that expanding sectors that gain from greater trade should enjoy more government support. Existing accounts are generally good at explaining support for winners or for losers. They are not, however, good at
Effects of mating system in Japanese quail : 1. Inbreeding and fitness.

A selection experiment, conducted for 17 generations, compared a selected population mated in a cyclic manner with alternating generations of inbreeding and outbreeding, a selected population mated at random and a randomly mated, randomly selected control population. Trends in the number of birds available for selection and number selected are presented for each population. Actual and theoretical levels of inbreeding for each population were similar. Samples of all populations were subjected to continuous full-sib inbreeding at generation 12. All populations were sensitive to inbreeding depression. However, the cyclic mated population had greater reproductive fitness after continued intensive breeding.
A low-PDP and low-area repeater using passive CTLE for on-chip interconnects

This paper presents an improved repeater circuit that preserves the advantages of the inverter repeater and achieves a lower power, delay, and area by applying proper equalization. Designed and measured in 65nm CMOS technology, the proposed repeater achieves 44% lower power-delay product (PDP) while occupies 46% lower area.
Non-standard finite difference schemes for the differential equation y′(t)=b n y n +b n−1 y n−1+…+b 1 y+b 0

Roeger [J. Difference Equ. Appl. 15 (2009), pp. 133–151] constructed non-standard finite-difference schemes for the differential equation with distinct fixed-points where . The difference equations formed by the finite-difference schemes are explicit and dynamically consistent with the differential equation; they preserve all essential dynamics of the differential equation regardless of the chosen step-size of time. The preserved dynamics are: positivity of the solutions, satisfaction of stability conditions of all fixed-points 's, and monotonicity of the solutions in each interval , for , , and . We show that similar schemes can be carried out for the differential equation with a polynomial on the right-hand side:
Yield of Graft Surveillance after Open Aortic Operations.

Background To examine the value of routine postoperative surveillance duplex in identifying late graft-related complications after open aortic operations for occlusive and aneurysmal disease. Methods All open aortic operations performed at a single institution between 1998 and 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were scheduled for yearly postoperative surveillance duplex. Patients who had at least 30-day follow-up and at least 1 surveillance duplex were analyzed. Results Two hundred thirty-eight open aortic operations were performed during the study period, 140 of which met the inclusion criteria. Mean follow-up was 3.9 years. A tube graft was performed in 65 (46%), and the proximal anastomosis was in the infrarenal or juxtarenal position in 126 (90%). Overall survival at was 100% and 85.3% at 1 and 5 years, respectively. A mean of three surveillance duplexes was performed per patient. Surveillance duplex scanning identified 31 significant findings in 31 patients, including 13 significant velocity increases (>3:1) and 18 aneurysms/pseudoaneurysms. Thirteen (9%) patients required a graft-related operation at a mean of 3.5 years. Indications included anastomotic aneurysm/pseudoaneurysm (n = 7), limb occlusion (n = 3), graft stenosis (n = 2), and graft infection (n = 1). The indication for operation was identified by surveillance duplex in 5 of the 13 cases. The remainder were identified by physical examination and/or clinical presentation. Reintervention-free survival (RIFS) was 98.5% at 1 year and 80.4% at 5 years. On multivariable analysis, RIFS was improved only by the use of a tube graft during the index operation (hazard ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.54–0.96). Conclusions Routine surveillance duplex identifies few findings that lead to reintervention. Patients with a non–tube-graft reconstruction are at greater risk for reintervention and may benefit from surveillance duplex after open aortic operations.
Environmental and Social Impact of Stormwater Outfalls at Lake Michigan Beaches

Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin and home to approximately one million people. Lake Michigan waters in Milwaukeeâ€™s coastal area are mainly used for recreational purposes and drinking water. These coastal waters are impacted by many sources of pollution, from which the presence of sewage is a main concern, as this sewage contains numerous harmful pathogens. In this paper, the authors examine and analyze the beaches of Milwaukee for pollutants to serve as an impetus for future action.
Finite Element Modeling of Brinell and Rockwell Hardness Testing of Metals

Hardness test results provide a convenient and economical means of specifying material performance characteristics and are useful in quality control. Quantifiable hardness testing is at least 150 years old but, due to the complex deformation processes that occur during indentation, in many ways physical insights on the test are still lacking. Finite element codes can now accurately simulate complex, time-varying stress and strain states. Such codes can be used as a tool to study the hardness test and with the knowledge gained perhaps make such testing more useful for validating the material models used for impact simulations. In this paper the EPIC finite element code with the Johnson-Cook strength model was used to numerically simulate. Brinell, and Rockwell B, C, and F hardness tests (as appropriate) for 24 different metals.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
A simple approximate solution for horizontal infiltration in a Brooks-Corey medium

A simple approximate solution is derived for the problem of one-dimensional absorption in a porous medium characterized by the Brooks-Corey equations. A piecewise-linear saturation profile, which satisfies flux continuity at the edge of the tension-saturated zone as well as an integrated form of the Richards' equation, is assumed. The predicted sorptivity agrees very well with the results of numerical simulations.
Scalar multiples of admissible linear estimators

Abstract Consider the problem of choosing a linear estimator for a linear parametric function in a linear model using the criterion of mean squared error. Assume that there is no functional relationship between the mean vector and the covariance matrix in the model. If an admissible linear estimator is ‘shrunk’ by multiplying it by a scalar between 0 and 1, then the resulting estimator is also admissible, except in a certain trivial case. When the design matrix for the mean vector has only a single column, then any admissible linear estimator can be obtained as a multiple, by a scalar between 0 and 1, of an unbiased admissible linear estimator.
DNA interstrand crosslink repair in mammalian cells: step by step

Interstrand DNA crosslinks (ICLs) are formed by natural products of metabolism and by chemotherapeutic reagents. Work in E. coli identified a two cycle repair scheme involving incisions on one strand on either side of the ICL (unhooking) producing a gapped intermediate with the incised oligonucleotide attached to the intact strand. The gap is filled by recombinational repair or lesion bypass synthesis. The remaining monoadduct is then removed by nucleotide excision repair (NER). Despite considerable effort, our understanding of each step in mammalian cells is still quite limited. In part this reflects the variety of crosslinking compounds, each with distinct structural features, used by different investigators. Also, multiple repair pathways are involved, variably operative during the cell cycle. G(1) phase repair requires functions from NER, although the mechanism of recognition has not been determined. Repair can be initiated by encounters with the transcriptional apparatus, or a replication fork. In the case of the latter, the reconstruction of a replication fork, stalled or broken by collision with an ICL, adds to the complexity of the repair process. The enzymology of unhooking, the identity of the lesion bypass polymerases required to fill the first repair gap, and the functions involved in the second repair cycle are all subjects of active inquiry. Here we will review current understanding of each step in ICL repair in mammalian cells.
Community Social Structure as an Indicator of Social Integration and Its Effect on Quality of Life for Persons with a Spinal Cord Injury

This research examines the association between community social structure, as measured by neighborhood socioeconomic status and community participation, and satisfaction with life for persons with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Using information for a sample of 139 persons with an SCI, hierarchical regression analysis was employed to analyze the data. Results indicated that community social structure influences satisfaction with life for persons with an SCI. This research suggests that community structure variables are important for investigating outcomes in persons with an SCI and that future research needs to investigate other community structure variables.
Classical description of the absence of bound states for strong coulomb fields

It is shown that the absence of bound states for strong Coulomb fields in the Dirac theory can be understood using classical dynamics.
A Multivariate and Multimodal Wind Distribution model

This paper presents a new methodology to accurately characterize and predict the annual variation of wind conditions. The estimate of the distribution of wind conditions is necessary to quantify the available energy (power density) at a site, and to design optimal wind farm configurations. A smooth multivariate wind distribution model is developed to capture the coupled variation of wind speed, wind direction, and air density. The wind distribution model developed in this paper avoids the limiting assumption of unimodality of the distribution. This method, which we call the Multivariate and Multimodal Wind Distribution (MMWD) model, is an evolution from existing wind distribution modeling techniques. Multivariate kernel density estimation, a standard non-parametric approach to estimate the probability density function of random variables, is adopted for this purpose. The MMWD technique is successfully applied to model (i) the distribution of wind speed (univariate); (ii) the joint distribution of wind speed and wind direction (bivariate); and (iii) the joint distribution of wind speed, wind direction, and air density (multivariate). The latter is a novel contribution of this paper, while the former offers opportunities for validation. Both onshore and offshore wind distributions are estimated using the MMWD model. Recorded wind data, obtained from the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) and the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), is used in this paper. The coupled distribution was found to be multimodal. A strong correlation among the wind condition parameters was also observed.
General composition of switch grass Panicum virgatum.

Abstract A partial analysis of switch grass and its prepared holocellulose is given. The total amount of hemicelluloses extracted from switch grass holocellulose by potassium hydroxide solution at 20 ° increases with increasing alkali concentration until a concentration of 10 % potassium hydroxide is reached. Switch grass and its holocellulose were fractionated into eight fractions. A partial analysis of these is given. Three fractions were further subfractionated by use of carbon chromatography. Sucrose octaacetate was obtained on acetylation of the aqueous ethanol subfraction of fraction E. A fructan from switch grass was isolated and identified as the triacetate.
A trial of immunotherapy in aplastic anemia and pure red cell aplasia

Immunotherapy, consisting of lymphocyte depletion or plasmapheresis in combination with cyclophosphamide and prednisone, was employed in three patients with refractory pure red cell aplasia and six patients with aplastic anemia of various etiologies. All three patients with pure red cell aplasia responded to plasmapheresis. One patient with atypical aplastic anemia showed partial recovery following lymphocyte depletion; the other five patients showed no evidence of a clinical response. The effect of patients' sera or bone marrow on formation of myeloid or erythroid colonies by bone marrow from normal individuals was determined in vitro. A decline in serum inhibition of erythroid colony formation was observed in the patients with pure red cell aplasia following treatment. Any changes in serum inhibition were less marked or unrelated to treatment outcome in the patients with aplastic anemia, although the single patient who responded to lymphocyte depletion exhibited reversal of coculture bone marrow inhibition. Our experience suggests that in vitro assay methods may not adequately predict the response of patients with aplastic anemia to this form of immunotherapy, and furthermore clinical improvement was too sporadic for this treatment to be recommended. Plasmapheresis may be a useful adjunct in patients with pure red cell aplasia, but remissions may not be dramatic or sustained.
On Variations of Space-heating Energy Use in Office Buildings

Space heating is the largest energy end use, consuming more than 7 quintillion joules of site energy annually in the U.S. building sector. A few recent studies showed discrepancies in simulated space-heating energy use among different building energy modeling programs, and the simulated results are suspected to be underpredicting reality. While various uncertainties are associated with building simulations, especially when simulations are performed by different modelers using different simulation programs for buildings with different configurations, it is crucial to identify and evaluate key driving factors to space-heating energy use in order to support the design and operation of low-energy buildings. In this study, 10 design and operation parameters for space-heating systems of two prototypical office buildings in each of three U.S. heating climates are identified and evaluated, using building simulations with EnergyPlus, to determine the most influential parameters and their impacts on variations of space-heating energy use. The influence of annual weather change on space-heating energy is also investigated using 30-year actual weather data. The simulated space-heating energy use is further benchmarked against those from similar actual office buildings in two U.S. commercial-building databases to better understand the discrepancies between simulated and actual energy use. In summary, variations of both the simulated and actual space-heating energy use of office buildings in all three heating climates can be very large. However these variations are mostly driven by a few influential parameters related to building design and operation. The findings provide insights for building designers, owners, operators, and energy policy makers to make better decisions on energy-efficiency technologies to reduce space-heating energy use for both new and existing buildings.
Light induced nucleation of vapour bubbles at the interface of a solid and superheated liquid helium i: test of the photoelectron hypothesis

Abstract We report further studies of light induced enhancement of heat transfer from a solid into liquid helium 1. We have previously found that a flash of visible light applied to a solid surface immersed in the superheated liquid results in the production of vapour bubbles and a subsequent decrease in liquid layer superheat. Because there appeared to be a long wavelength cut-off we felt that this effect could be due to a mechanism involving photoemission of electrons into the liquid helium. In this hypothesis, electrons are first detached from the solid by the action of light and second, serve as bubble nuclei in the superheated liquid helium. The results reported in this paper fail to support this explanation.