cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Openness and trade policy in China: an industrial analysis

Abstract This paper analyzes the tariff structure and its determinants in China, with our research conducted under the rubric of endogenous policy theory. We study the tariff rates for 95 industries in China in 1996. The potential determinants of tariff rates are collected from an array of variables characterizing industries in 1995. A principal component method is used to reduce these variables into four major dimensions. The first component comprises the information on the composition of employees broken down by age, education, and job classification. The second component is underlined by the profitability of the industry. The third component consists of those variables not picked up with high salience in the first two components. More closely resembling those in the second component than the first, these variables include gross product, foreign capital, inventory, sales revenue, and total loss. The fourth component receives high loadings from two variables: the number of firms in the industry and the number of firms that incur net losses in their operation. Using variables identified by the principal component analysis and postulated by the variants of the endogenous trade theory, regression analysis finds that the trade policy in China is mainly defined by an industrial policy favoring high-tech industries and a social policy minimizing social instability. The implications for China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) are also provided in the paper.
Tropical Ecosystems and Ecological Concepts: Cities and human ecology

Human populations are becoming more concentrated through urbanisation and it has been estimated that, worldwide, each week, 1 million people move from rural areas into cities. In developed countries, 80% of the population now live in cities, and this contrasts with only 30% in developing countries, but this latter proportion is increasing rapidly. In 1950, no Asian city had more than 8 million people. By 1970, the populations of Beijing and Shanghai reached this size and, by 1990, were joined by Kolkata, Mumbai, Seoul, Tianjin, Jakarta, Delhi and Manila. Cities in other parts of the tropics have shown similar rapid growth. These large cities require enormous imports of food, water and other materials in order to support their large human populations. Wastes generated within cities have to be removed. These material imports and waste exports exert an ecological stress on the surrounding ecosystems that produce the imports and receive the waste products. Appropriation of these ecosystem goods and services extends the environmental impact of a city far beyond its urban boundary. The extent of this influence is the city’s ecological footprint .
Collective Redress – Categories of Loss and Legislative Options

Issues of collective redress remain amongst the most controversial in Europe. Considerations of the Directorate General for Competition (DJ Comp) and the Directorate General for Health and Consumers (DJ Sanco) to introduce new legislation aimed at facilitating the enforcement of damage claims in cases involving a multitude of victims meet with considerable resistance. There is widespread fear that the Commission would intend to import the litigation culture known from the United States and despised by many Europeans. One major element characterizing the situation in the U.S. is the class action. This paper avoids taking sides with either the proponents or the opponents of the class action. Rather, it tries to rationalize the discussion and to devise remedies that fit their purpose and that may work in practice without overplaying in the other direction of over-enforcement or even disrupting the European style of civil litigation.
Random Matrices: l1 Concentration and Dictionary Learning with Few Samples

Let X be a sparse random matrix of size n by p (p >> n). We prove that if p > C n log4 n, then with probability 1-o(1), |XT v|1 is close to its expectation for all vectors v in Rn (simultaneously). The bound on p is sharp up to the polylogarithmic factor. The study of this problem is directly motivated by an application. Let A be an n by n matrix, X be an n by p matrix and Y = AX. A challenging and important problem in data analysis, motivated by dictionary learning and other practical problems, is to recover both A and X, given Y. Under normal circumstances, it is clear that this problem is underdetermined. However, in the case when X is sparse and random, Spiel man, Wang and Wright showed that one can recover both A and X efficiently from Y with high probability, given that p (the number of samples) is sufficiently large. Their method works for p > C n2 log2 n and they conjectured that p > C n log n suffices. The bound n log n is sharp for an obvious information theoretical reason. The matrix concentration result verifies the Spiel man et. Al. Conjecture up to a log3 n factor. Our proof of the concentration result is based on two ideas. The first is an economical way to apply the union bound. The second is a refined version of Bernstein's concentration inequality for a sum of independent variables. Both have nothing to do with random matrices and are applicable in general settings.
Role of MHC Class I Antigens in Tumor Rejection

The mouse H-2 or major histocompatibility complex (MHC) encodes a series of antigens that are centrally involved in immune responses. The K and D MHC class I antigens are highly polymorphic glycoproteins expressed on the surface of most nucleated cells, and consist of a 45 KD heavy chain noncovalently associated with a 12 KD protein, beta-2-microglobulin (B2m). Genetic differences between MHC class I antigens of graft donor and recipient result in allogeneic graft rejection. MHC class I antigens are also required for T cell mediated recognition of virally infected (Zinkernagel and Doherty 1979) or modified self cells (Shearer 1974).
Comprehensive evaluation of power quality based on disaster levels

A new concept of comprehensive power quality evaluation is proposed based on disaster levels,which makes the evaluation result clearer and more acceptable by utilities and customers.The economic losses caused by different power quality issues include the direct losses and indirect losses and the disaster levels are used as index to reflect the severity degree of power quality.The evaluation is based on the frequency statistics of power quality event(index violation) and loss estimation.Observe the loss change by modifying the event frequency of some power quality issues,which is helpful to determine the treatment priority.
Incidence of speech recognition errors in the emergency department.

Abstract Background Physician use of computerized speech recognition (SR) technology has risen in recent years due to its ease of use and efficiency at the point of care. However, error rates between 10 and 23% have been observed, raising concern about the number of errors being entered into the permanent medical record, their impact on quality of care and medical liability that may arise. Our aim was to determine the incidence and types of SR errors introduced by this technology in the emergency department (ED). Setting Level 1 emergency department with 42,000 visits/year in a tertiary academic teaching hospital. Methods A random sample of 100 notes dictated by attending emergency physicians (EPs) using SR software was collected from the ED electronic health record between January and June 2012. Two board-certified EPs annotated the notes and conducted error analysis independently. An existing classification schema was adopted to classify errors into eight errors types. Critical errors deemed to potentially impact patient care were identified. Results There were 128 errors in total or 1.3 errors per note, and 14.8% (n=19) errors were judged to be critical. 71% of notes contained errors, and 15% contained one or more critical errors. Annunciation errors were the highest at 53.9% (n=69), followed by deletions at 18.0% (n=23) and added words at 11.7% (n=15). Nonsense errors, homonyms and spelling errors were present in 10.9% (n=14), 4.7% (n=6), and 0.8% (n=1) of notes, respectively. There were no suffix or dictionary errors. Inter-annotator agreement was 97.8%. Conclusions This is the first estimate at classifying speech recognition errors in dictated emergency department notes. Speech recognition errors occur commonly with annunciation errors being the most frequent. Error rates were comparable if not lower than previous studies. 15% of errors were deemed critical, potentially leading to miscommunication that could affect patient care .
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's provisions regarding medical loss ratios and quality: evidence from Texas.

Objectives The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) includes a provision that penalizes insurance companies if their Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) falls below a specified threshold. The MLR is roughly measured as the ratio of health care expenses to premiums paid by enrollees. I investigate whether there is a relationship between MLRs and the quality of care provided by insurance companies. Methods I employ a ten-year sample of market-level financial data and quality variables for Texas insurers, as well as relevant control variables, in regression analyses that utilize insurer and market fixed effects. Results Of the 15 quality measures, only one has a statistically significant relationship with the MLR. For this measure, the relationship is negative. Conclusions Although the MLR provision may provide incentives for insurance companies to lower premiums, this sample does not suggest that there is likely to be a beneficial effect on quality.
Planning with Resource Conflicts in Human-Robot Cohabitation

In order to be acceptable members of future human-robot ecosystems, it is necessary for autonomous agents to be respectful of the intentions of humans cohabiting a workspace and account for conflicts on shared resources in the environment. In this paper we build an integrated system that demonstrates how maintaining predictive models of its human colleagues can inform the planning process of the robotic agent. We propose an Integer Programming based planner as a general formulation of this flavor of human-aware planning and show how the proposed formulation can be used to produce different behaviors of the robotic agent, showcasing compromise, opportunism or negotiation. Finally, we investigate how the proposed approach scales with the different parameters involved, and provide empirical evaluations to illustrate the pros and cons associated with the proposed style of planning.
Cooperation between animal and human health sectors is key to the detection, surveillance, and control of emerging disease: IMED 2007 meeting in Vienna, February 2007.

For many years, scientists have recognised the overrepresentation of zoonoses among emerging and re-emerging human diseases. Many factors affect the likelihood that a pathogen will emerge
Digital pile-up rejection for plutonium experiments with solution-grown stilbene

Abstract A solution-grown stilbene detector was used in several experiments with plutonium samples including plutonium oxide, mixed oxide, and plutonium metal samples. Neutrons from different reactions and plutonium isotopes are accompanied by numerous gamma rays especially by the 59-keV gamma ray of 241Am. Identifying neutrons correctly is important for nuclear nonproliferation applications and makes neutron/gamma discrimination and pile-up rejection necessary. Each experimental dataset is presented with and without pile-up filtering using a previously developed algorithm. The experiments were simulated using MCNPX-PoliMi, a Monte Carlo code designed to accurately model scintillation detector response. Collision output from MCNPX-PoliMi was processed using the specialized MPPost post-processing code to convert neutron energy depositions event-by-event into light pulses. The model was compared to experimental data after pulse-shape discrimination identified waveforms as gamma ray or neutron interactions. We show that the use of the digital pile-up rejection algorithm allows for accurate neutron counting with stilbene to within 2% even when not using lead shielding.
Intestinal Epithelial Cell Regulation of Adaptive Immune Dysfunction in Human Type 1 Diabetes.

Environmental factors contribute to the initiation, progression, and maintenance of type 1 diabetes (T1D), although a single environmental trigger for disease has not been identified. Studies have documented the contribution of immunity within the gastrointestinal tract (GI) to the expression of autoimmunity at distal sites. Intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) regulate local and systemic immunologic homeostasis through physical and biochemical interactions with innate and adaptive immune populations. We hypothesize that a loss in the tolerance inducing nature of the GI tract occurs within T1D, and is due to altered IEC innate immune function. As a first step in addressing this hypothesis, we contrasted the global immune microenvironment within the GI tract of individuals with T1D as well as evaluated the IEC-specific effects on adaptive immune cell phenotypes. The soluble and cellular immune microenvironment within the duodenum, the soluble mediator profile of primary-IEC derived from the same duodenal tissues, and the effect of the primary-IEC soluble mediator profile on T-cell expansion and polarization were evaluated. Higher levels of IL-17C and beta-defensin 2 (BD-2) mRNA in the T1D-duodenum were observed. Higher frequencies of type 1 innate lymphoid cells (ILC1) and CD8+CXCR3+ T-cells (Tc1) were also observed in T1D-duodenal tissues, concomitant with lower frequencies of type 3 ILC (ILC3) and CD8+CCR6+ T-cells (Tc17). Higher levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (IL-17C and BD-2) in the absence of similar changes in mediators associated with homeostasis (IL-10 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP)) were also observed in T1D-derived primary IEC cultures. T1D-derived IEC culture supernatants induced more robust CD8+ T-cell proliferation along with enhanced polarization of Tc1 populations, at the expense of Tc17 polarization, as well as the expansion of CXCR3+CCR6+/- Tregs, indicative of a Th1-like and less regulatory phenotype. These data demonstrate a proinflammatory microenvironment of the T1D-dueodoenum, whereby IECs have the potential to contribute to the expansion and polarization of innate and adaptive immune cells. Although these data do not discern whether these observations are not simply a consequence of T1D, the data indicate that the T1D-GI tract has the capacity to foster a permissive environment under which autoreactive T-cells could be expanded and polarized.
Attention, Emotion, and Evaluative Understanding

This paper assesses Michael Brady’s claim that the ‘capture and consumption of attention’ in an emotion facilitates evaluative understanding. It argues that emotional attention is epistemically deleterious on its own, even though it can be beneficial in conjunction with the right epistemic skills and motivations. The paper considers Sartre’s and Solomon’s claim that emotions have purposes, respectively, to circumvent difficulty or maximize self-esteem. While this appeal to purposes is problematic, it suggests a promising alternative conception of how emotions can be teleological. The fact that emotional attention manifests dispositions, which have been habituated by repeated association with pleasure or relief, explains how the emotion can acquire the function of producing pleasure or relief. Hence, the emotion can have ‘non-cognitive function,’ in which its patterns of attention reliably produce beliefs that disregard or distort the truth. Not only is non-cognitive function the default condition of emotion prior to any training, but even those who have successfully trained their emotions often revert back to non-cognitive function when faced with trauma or stress.
Meaning, spirituality, and health: a brief introduction Sentido, espiritualidade e saúde: uma breve introdução

Spirituality is receiving increased research attention in the context of physical health and wellbeing. In this paper, I use a specific theoretical framework — the meaning making model — to briefly review theory and empirical findings regarding the links between spirituality and health in the context of general health and illness. In particular, I discuss the links between meaning and health both generally and in the context of illness. Spirituality is then considered in detail as an exemplar of meaning. Studies are reviewed that illustrate the multiple ways that spirituality is related to physical health. I conclude with suggestions for future research.
The ends justify the meanness: An investigation of psychopathic traits and utilitarian moral endorsement

Abstract Although psychopathy has traditionally been synonymous with immorality, little research exists on the ethical reasoning of psychopathic individuals. Recent examination of psychopathy and utilitarianism suggests that psychopaths' moral decision-making differs from nonpsychopaths (Koenigs et al., 2012). The current study examined the relationship between psychopathic traits (PPI-R, Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005; TriPM, Patrick, 2010) and utilitarian endorsement (moral dilemmas, Greene et al., 2001) in a college sample (n = 316). The relationships between utilitarian decisions and triarchic dimensions were explored and empathy and aggression were examined as mediating factors. Hypotheses were partially supported, with Disinhibition and Meanness traits relating to personal utilitarian decisions; aggression partially mediated the relationship between psychopathic traits and utilitarian endorsements. Implications and future directions are further discussed.
Fetal regional brain protein signature in FASD rat model.

Abstract Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) describe neurodevelopmental deficits in children exposed to alcohol in utero. We hypothesized that gestational alcohol significantly alters fetal brain regional protein signature. Pregnant rats were binge-treated with alcohol or pair-fed and nutritionally-controlled. Mass spectrometry identified 1806, 2077, and 1456 quantifiable proteins in the fetal hippocampus, cortex, and cerebellum, respectively. A stronger effect of alcohol exposure on the hippocampal proteome was noted: over 600 hippocampal proteins were significantly (P
Modeling of drug diffusion in a solid tumor leading to tumor cell death

It has been shown recently that changing the fluidic properties of a drug can improve its efficacy in ablating solid tumors. We develop a modeling framework for tumor ablation, and present the simplest possible model for drug diffusion in a spherical tumor with leaky boundaries and assuming cell death eventually leads to ablation of that cell effectively making the two quantities numerically equivalent. The death of a cell after a given exposure time depends on both the concentration of the drug and the amount of oxygen available to the cell. Higher oxygen availability leads to cell death at lower drug concentrations. It can be assumed that a minimum concentration is required for a cell to die, effectively connecting diffusion with efficacy. The concentration threshold decreases as exposure time increases, which allows us to compute dose-response curves. Furthermore, these curves can be plotted at much finer time intervals compared to that of experiments, which is used to produce a dose-threshold-response surface giving an observer a complete picture of the drug's efficacy for an individual. In addition, since the diffusion, leak coefficients, and the availability of oxygen is different for different individuals and tumors, we produce artificial replication data through bootstrapping to simulate error. While the usual data-driven model with Sigmoidal curves use 12 free parameters, our mechanistic model only has two free parameters, allowing it to be open to scrutiny rather than forcing agreement with data. Even so, the simplest model in our framework, derived here, shows close agreement with the bootstrapped curves, and reproduces well established relations, such as Haber's rule.
Functional curriculum and students with mild intellectual disability: Exploring postschool outcomes through the NLTS2

While students with mild intellectual disability receive less attention in research, their educational programming is still important, including the curriculum they receive in school. This study analyzed the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) as to the curriculum students with mild intellectual disability received in high school as well as students' postschool outcomes. Frequency distributions, cross tabulations and logistic regression were utilized to analyze secondary data from the NLTS2. Results indicated few students with mild intellectual disability received a functional curriculum and receipt of a functional curriculum did not influence postschool outcomes. The implications and future directions of these results are discussed.
New modalities in oncology: antisense oligonucleotides.

New and innovative cancer treatments are appearing at an astonishing rate. Although the array of new approaches seems breathtaking, most can be grouped into a few categories based on underlying purpose. For example, with our greater understanding of the genetic defects that predispose to malignant cell growth has come the idea of therapeutic agents targeted to a single mutant protein. This approach can take the form of very specific kinase inhibitors (e.g., STI571 or Gleevec) or can attempt to actually manipulate the expression level of the target protein. This paper discusses the technology of antisense oligonucleotides as an example of the latter approach. THEORY OF ANTISENSE TECHNOLOGY
Projected oropharyngeal carcinoma incidence among middle‐aged US men

Background The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is rapidly increasing. This study aimed to describe the temporal trends and projection of OPC incidence. Methods Incidence data were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and trends were calculated using the joinpoint regression model. Results The incidence of OPC in the US population significantly increased by 1.94% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.65%-2.23%) per year from 2000 to 2015. OPC was projected to increase continuously over the next 30 years, with more than half of projected new OPC cases being found in non-Hispanic white men aged 55-69 years. By 2045, OPC will become the third most common cancer in 55-69-year-old non-Hispanic white men in the United States. Conclusions The incidence of OPC is expected to increase substantially in the US population, particularly among middle-aged non-Hispanic white men. Our projections may have implications for policy makers.
Effect of Organization-Directed Workplace Interventions on Physician Burnout: A Systematic Review

To assess the impact of organization-directed workplace interventions on physician burnout, including stress or job satisfaction in all settings, we conducted a systematic review of the literature published from January 1, 2007, to October 3, 2018, from multiple databases. Manual searches of grey literature and bibliographies were also performed. Of the 633 identified citations, 50 met inclusion criteria. Four unique categories of organization-directed workplace interventions were identified. Teamwork involved initiatives to incorporate scribes or medical assistants into electronic health record (EHR) processes, expand team responsibilities, and improve communication among physicians. Time studies evaluated the impact of schedule adjustments, duty hour restrictions, and time-banking initiatives. Transitions referred to workflow changes such as process improvement initiatives or policy changes within the organization. Technology related to the implementation or improvement of EHRs. Of the 50 included studies, 35 (70.0%) reported interventions that successfully improved the 3 measures of physician burnout, job satisfaction, and/or stress. The largest benefits resulted from interventions that improved processes, promoted team-based care, and incorporated the use of scribes/medical assistants to complete EHR documentation and tasks. Implementation of EHR interventions to improve clinical workflows worsened burnout, but EHR improvements had positive effects. Time interventions had mixed effects on burnout. The results of our study suggest that organization-directed workplace interventions that improve processes, optimize EHRs, reduce clerical burden by the use of scribes, and implement team-based care can lessen physician burnout. Benefits of process changes can enhance physician resiliency, augment care provided by the team, and optimize the coordination and communication of patient care and health information.
Internal Senses and Aristotle’s Cognitive Theory

The question I plan to address is: Does Aristotle posit one or more internal senses in theorizing about perception and other types of sensory experience? My initial thought is that there are good reasons to be skeptical.
J M Keynes’s Contribution to Solving the Certainty Effect Problem: How Some Philosophers Overlooked Keynes’s Conventional Coefficient of Weight and Risk, C

J M Keynes solved the problems of the certainty, reflection, translation, and preference reversal effects long before these effects were specified in the post world war II literature by psychologists. Keynes recognized in chapter 26 of the A Treatise on Probability (1921; p.313) that all of these effects were a result of non linear probability preferences on the part of the decision maker. An understanding of Keynes’s contribution would have helped philosophers, such as I. Levi and B. Weatherson, to deal with this problem.
Tranexamic Acid in a Case Report of Life-threatening Nontraumatic Hemorrhage in Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

Author(s): Randall, Melanie M.; Nurse, Jason; Singh, Karan P. | Abstract: Introduction: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an autoimmune-mediated disorder in which the body produces antibodies that destroy platelets, causing an increased risk of bleeding and bruising. Tranexamic acid (TXA) is a medication that prevents clot breakdown and is used to treat uncontrolled bleeding.Case Report: We present the case of an 11-year-old female with significant epistaxis and hypotension in the emergency department. Traditional therapies were initiated; however, the patient continued to have bleeding and remained hypotensive, so intravenous TXA was given. The patient’s bleeding then resolved.Conclusion: TXA may be a safe and effective adjunct to traditional therapies for the treatment of life-threatening hemorrhage in ITP patients.
The Log-Euclidean Framework Applied to SPD Matrices

In this chapter we present an application of Lie groups and Riemannian geometry. We describe an approach due to Arsigny, Fillard, Pennec, and Ayache to define a Lie group structure and a class of metrics on symmetric, positive-definite matrices (SPD matrices) which yield a new notion of mean on SPD matrices generalizing the standard notion of geometric mean.
Commodity Money, Free Banking, and Nominal Income Targeting

Some have argued that nominal income targeting is desirable because it would replicate characteristics of a free banking regime. However, the degree to which this is true and desirable depends on the properties of commodity-based monetary regimes. In this paper, I provide a model of commodity money. I find that a pure commodity money regime can only generate an efficient stationary equilibrium by divine coincidence or by giving policymakers control over the supply of the commodity. The introduction of bank notes makes it much more likely that the economy will achieve an efficient equilibrium. In particular, in a commodity-based system, bank notes are equivalent to call options on the commodity, and the commodity holdings are equivalent to a put option on the commodity. Assuming that there is no risk-free arbitrage in equilibrium, then both bank notes and the commodity will have an expected rate of return equal to the risk-free rate. If the risk-free rate is equal to the rate of time preference, then this commodity regime is efficient. A free banking system would therefore not only minimize deviations between the supply and demand for money, but it would also (potentially) implement the Friedman rule. Both market-based and more conventional nominal income targeting regimes are unlikely to replicate both features of a free banking system unless the nominal income target has a deflationary bias.
Prisons and the Consequences of Tough on Crime Policies at Home and Abroad

This chapter concentrates on the linkages between the war on drugs and the prison population in the United States and in the Americas. It highlights the impact of three-strike laws and addresses other important topics, such as race, women, drugs, and the increasing prison population. This chapter sheds light on the challenges of recidivism and provides data about the cost of the massive prison population. It also stresses that prosecutorial discretion has been a contributing factor in the increasing prison population, not just the war on drugs. This chapter then turns to trends in prison in other countries in the Americas, highlighting the impact of the drug war on the incarceration populations.
Crack Detection in Buildings Using Convolutional Neural Network

Crack detection is a necessary errand in observing and investigating structural designing structures. Picture order furthermore, bouncing box approaches have been proposed in existing vision-based robotized reliable crack detection strategies utilizing deep convolutional neural networks. The current investigation suggests a crack detection technique based on in-depth, completely convolutional arrange (FCN) for semantic division on concrete crack pictures. Execution of three distinctive pre-prepared system models, which fills in as the FCN encoder's spine, is assessed for picture characterization on an open, reliable crack dataset of 40,000 227×227 pixel pictures. In this manner, the entire encoder-decoder FCN connect with the VGG16-based encoder is prepared to start to finish on a subset of 500 commented on 227×227-pixel crack-named pictures for the semantic division. The FCN organize accomplishes about 90% in normal exactness. Pictures removed from a video of a cyclic stacking test on a concrete example are utilized to approve the proposed strategy for reliable crack detection. It was discovered that cracks are sensibly distinguished; what's more, crack thickness is additionally precisely assessed.
Cloud Computing for MATLAB and R Users: Part IV – How to Use MATLAB in the Cloud

Cloud-based computing has tremendous potential for academia in general and researchers in particular. The ability to store, read and manipulate large dataset is increasingly important to be on the cutting-edge of research. While most researchers have extensive programming skills, they generally are not computer scientists. A number of cloud-based, virtual work spaces have been developed which can bring enormous computing advantages over any desktop or laptop. However, the instructions to get up and running in the cloud are often overwhelming, and require a significant investment of time. There is an initial steep learning curve associated with developing a high performance computing environment that several times becomes an obstacle, preventing many from benefitting the most from using the cloud. This paper seeks to demystify the process and get the reader up and running very quickly. Once this initial process is over and the reader is proficient on these issues, performing computational chores that would take days on a desktop can be done in minutes. We next show the way the readers can implement their research using two well-known computer programs, MATLAB and R. Finally, Part IV concludes with a description on how to use MATLAB in the cloud.
Test Particle Calculation of Plasma Equilibria

We present a numerical technique for self-consistently calculating plasma equilibria with prescribed sources and sinks on the boundaries, i.e. a scattering system. The method is applied to the earth’smagnetotail. The method follows individual particles through a prescribed magnetic field, while calculating the density, current and pressure that the particle contributes on a uniformly spaced grid. The individual particles are weighted to model a given source distribution and the total equilibrium properties, including the resulting magnetic field, are evaluated. The calculated and prescribed magnetic fields are then compared. If the fields differ significantly, the two fields are mixed and the process repeated. Convergence to the self-consistent field typically takes between 100 and 150 iterations.
The Neurology of Creativity: Focus on Music

Creativity has been a very difficult human quality to study, but is now beginning to be understood at the neurobiological level. The most recent theories suggest that the major lobes of the brain, in particular interactions between the frontal lobes and temporal lobes, are critical for maximizing the potential for creative endeavors. The neural circuitry of the limbic system, as well as catecholaminergic neurotransmitter pathways and their lobar interactions, is also important in the process. Music is one of the most creative and complex of all human activities and appears to involve numerous regions and pathways within the brain. The process of listening to music involves many specialized regions, including the auditory pathways, Heschl’s gyrus, the planum temporale (PT), and auditory association areas. Musical performance involves coordination between the neuromuscular system while playing an instrument, with simultaneous and constant auditory feedback on the quality of the performance and the need for any necessary adjustments. The process of music perception while listening or performing requires acoustical analysis of pitch, melody, and harmony, the use of auditory memories, analysis of musical syntax and emotional responses, and many other functions, all performed over a matter of milliseconds in the dedicated musical neural networks in the brain. In addition, the brains of musicians and non-musicians are now known to be different, with musicians having specialized networks and connections as a result of formal musical training. The origins of music, as well as the anatomical and neurobiological underpinnings of musical perception, performance, and training, are reviewed in detail.
Toward an Understanding of the Biochemical Nature of H-2 Molecules: A Historical Perspective

As part of an historical perspective of the development of our knowledge of the H-2 genes and products, this paper presents a brief, selected, personal account of those studies from my laboratory which were carried out with the objective to understand the biochemical nature of H-2 molecules. This work was performed with the goal of relating the structural features of what are now called class I MHC molecules to their biological function, in addition to expanding our understanding of the genetic organization and diversity of the H-2 region genes.
Public Sector Reform in Developing and Transitional Countries : Decentralisation and Local Governance

1. Perspectives on Decentralization and Local Governance in Developing and Transitional Countries 2. Digitized Government in Worldwide Municipalities between 2003 and 2007 3. Choosing between Centralized and Decentralized Models of Tax Administration 4. The Past, Present, and Future of Decentralisation in Africa: A Comparative Case Study of Local Government Development Trajectories of Ghana and Uganda 5. Challenges of Making Donor-Driven Public Sector Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa Sustainable: Some Experiences from Ghana 6. Indonesian Decentralization: Accountability Deferred 7. Decentralization and Local Governance in Kazakhstan 8. Decentralizing Local Governance in Thailand: Contemporary Trends and Challenges 9. Is Decentralization Still Recentralization? The Local Government Reform Programme in Tanzania 10. An Analysis of Quasi-Decentralized Budgeting in Vietnam 11. Decentralization and 'Consumerization' of the Training Function: The 'Re-invention' of the Central Training Institute of Hong Kong 12. Local Government Reform Programs and Human Resource Capacity Building in Africa: Evidence from Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in Tanzania 13. Assessing the Scope for Partnerships Between Local Governments and Community-Based Organizations: Findings from Rural Morocco 14. Decentralisation, Service Delivery, and People's Perspectives: Empirical Observations on Selected Social Protection Programs in India 15. Decentralised Management of Solid Waste in Mumbai Slums: Informal Privatisation through Patronage
Assessing the importance of terrestrial organic carbon in the CHUKCHI and Beaufort seas

Abstract The western Arctic Ocean is a unique part of the world's oceans, and is an area undergoing significant climate changes. The effects and possible climate feedbacks of these changes are not yet fully understood. Decreased sea ice cover could lead to increased productivity in the water column, or a reduction in total productivity through the loss of sea ice algal contributions. Climate change could also alter the patterns of terrestrial inputs from rivers and coastal erosion. In order to better understand the balance of organic material inputs in the western Arctic Ocean, this report presents carbon and nitrogen elemental and isotopic compositions from 19 surface sediment samples and 7 cores from 4 shelf to basin transects as evidence of the sources of organic matter buried in the sediments of the Chukchi and Alaskan Beaufort Seas. The C:N ratios for surface sediments were between 5.3 and 11.5 (mean 9.0 ± 1.3). The mean %TOC was 1.2 ± 0.3% and mean %TN was 0.16 ± 0.02%. The highest %TOC contents were observed in the Barrow Canyon transect, likely reflecting heightened overlying productivity. The δ 13 C of this preserved material varied from −22.1 to −16.7‰ (mean −19.4 ± 1.3‰). A trend to depletion in 13 C and higher C:N in eastern sites was observed. Among the surface samples, δ 15 N varied from 4.1 to 7.6‰ (mean 5.7 ± 1.1‰). An evaluation of the inputs of organic matter to the western Arctic sediment was accomplished using δ 13 C and δ 15 N values with the novel technique of a Bayesian analysis multi-source mixing model. This model was used to estimate proportional contributions of sea ice algae, water column phytoplankton and terrestrial organic matter. We conclude that water column productivity is the source of between 50 and 70% of the organic carbon buried in this portion of the western Arctic. The remaining 25–35% of carbon is mainly supplied by sea ice algal productivity, with at most 15% of sedimentary carbon derived from terrestrial inputs.
Graded Index Waveguides

There are two ways to significantly reduce modal dispersion in a waveguide: use only single mode waveguides, or use a graded index waveguide. The first choice appears to be the simplest, but it is not always a practical solution. Single mode waveguides are much more difficult to couple light into than multimode waveguides. To help see this, consider the two planar structures shown in Fig.7.1. Both waveguides have the same indexes, but one of them has a larger guiding layer. The number of guided TE modes can be approximated from Eq.2.43 $$m \approx (hk\sqrt {n_f^2 - n_s^2} )/\pi $$ (7.1) Given identical indices of refraction, the only way to make a waveguide operate in a single mode is to reduce the thickness, h, of the guiding film. The smaller dimension of the single-mode guiding layer makes alignment between sources and other guides much more critical than with a large (multimode) structure. Connecting and aligning between multimode waveguides is easier due to the large size.
2. Chromatin assembly with H3 histones: full throttle down multiple pathways.

The typical eukaryotic genome packages roughly 6 feet of DNA into a nucleus about 5 μm in diameter, yet this compaction blocks access to the DNA. At the first level of compaction, DNA is wrapped around octamers of core histone proteins to form arrays of nucleosomes. Nucleosomes are sufficient to block access to DNA, and cells must therefore manipulate nucleosomes in the course of activating the genome. Dramatic progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms by which nucleosomes are manipulated. In addition to the major core histones, most eukaryotic genomes also encode additional variant histones, which have some structural similarity. These are targeted to specific loci by coupling specialized nucleosome assembly pathways to DNA replication, transcription, or to developmental processes. We review evidence that nucleosome assembly pathways are interlinked with histone‐modification systems, and may thereby perpetuate epigenetic chromatin states.
Are We Sending Mixed Messages? How Philosophical Naturalism Erodes Ethical Instruction.

To develop critical thinking skills, higher order ethical reasoning, a better grasp of the implications of ethical decisions, and a basis for ethical knowledge, it is necessary to explore the philosophical premises foundational to one’s ethical persuasion. No philosophical premises are more important than those pertaining to the nature of human personhood and business’ responsibility to respect the inherent value of human beings. Philosophical naturalism assigns the essence of human personhood strictly to causal interactions of physical matter. Substance dualism, on the other hand, posits both a physical aspect and an immaterial substance to personhood, interacting within the totality of each being. This paper argues for the logical superiority of substance dualism in achieving the overriding objective of discerning ethical knowledge. Substance dualism offers a better explanation – and one that more closely follows the way most people commonly experience themselves and others–than naturalism for free agency and accountability, meaningful moral standards, confidence in knowing what ethical decisions to make, and the moral drive residing in conscience.
Chapter 21 Reverse algebra

Publisher Summary In this chapter, Reverse algebra is discussed in detail. Reverse algebra is part of a program called “reverse mathematics” whose goal is to answer the main question: “Which set existence axioms are needed in order to prove the theorems of countable algebra?” The set existence axioms are formulated in the context of weak subsystems of the second-order arithmetic. Almost all countable algebra can be developed within the formal system Z 2 of second-order arithmetic. Investigations revealed that the set existence axioms of Z 2 are in fact, too strong. If a theorem of countable algebra is proved from the weakest possible set existence axioms, it will be possible to “reverse” the algebraic theorem by proving that it is equivalent to those axioms over a weaker base theory. The chapter provides examples of how some theorems of countable algebra can be developed in weak subsystems of Z­ 2 , and how to “reverse” them. How the reverse algebra is related to recursive algebra has been discussed. The similarities and differences between reverse algebra and recursive algebra is illustrated by an example.
Iterative Toeplitz solvers with local quadratic convergence

We study an iterative, locally quadratically convergent algorithm for solving Toeplitz systems of equations from [R. P. Brent, F. G. Gustavson and D. Y. Y. Yun. “Fast solution of Toeplitz systems of equations and computation of Pade approximations”,J. Algorithms, 1:259–295, 1980]. We introduce a new iterative algorithm that is locally quadratically convergent when used to solve symmetric positive definite Toeplitz systems. We present a set of numerical experiments on randomly generated symmetric positive definite Toeplitz matrices. In these experiments, our algorithm performed significantly better than the previously proposed algorithm.
Self-reported skin symptoms and skin-related quality of life among Latino immigrant poultry processing and other manual workers.

Background Manual labor employment occurs in environments with exposures likely to impact skin-related quality of life (SRQOL). Objectives The objectives of this paper are to (1) document the dimensions of SRQOL, (2) examine its association with skin symptoms, and (3) identify the predictors of SRQOL in Latino manual workers. Methods A population-based survey of 733 Latino manual workers obtained Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and skin symptoms in the prior year. Results Two-thirds of workers were employed in production. Skin symptoms in prior year were reported by 23%. Impaired SRQOL was reported by 23%. In multivariate analyses, reduced SRQOL was associated with age, occupation, childhood indigenous language use, and experience of skin symptoms in the prior year. Conclusions Despite overall high SRQOL exposures in some immigrant occupational groups produce reduce SRQOL. This rural, immigrant population faces significant obstacles to obtaining dermatological care; efforts are needed to improve their SRQOL. Am. J. Ind. Med. 57:605–614, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Z-plasty for closure of moderately sized oral defects – a case report

Following sharp excision of oral pathology, management of the residual defect is often a quandary. The oral mucosa can often be extensively undermined; however, in some instances, primary closure with local advancement is not desirable because of the potential to distort adjacent anatomy. In such circumstances, alternative treatment options include healing via secondary or tertiary intention. In this article, we present a 79 year-old female who underwent sharp excision of an epulis fissuratum from the left maxillary labial mucosa resulting in a 3.5 cm oral defect. Using a Z-plasty transposition flap, closure was achieved without distortion of adjacent anatomy.
Granular epithelioid (juxtaglomerular) cell and renovascular morphology of the coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae smith (Crossopterygii) compared with that of other fishes

Abstract The larger arteries of the coelacanth Latimeria contain a specialized secretory smooth muscle component, the granular epithelioid (juxtaglomerular) cell. There is, however, no associated specialized distal tubular segment or macula densa. Endothelial cells in the renal arteries of this crossopterygian relic also exhibit an apparent secretory specialization similar to that reported previously in certain amphibians and mammals. In this investigation, the renovascular morphology of the coelacanth is compared with that of teleosts, primitive actinopterygians, and elasmobranchs. Despite the problematic and conceivably quite different functions which may pertain to granular epithelioid cells within the three major groups of the Osteichthyes, they appear to be homologous with the juxtaglomerular cells of tetrapods.
Decision Support System for Predicting Benefits of Left-Turn Lanes at Unsignalized Intersections

Accommodating left turns at unsignalized intersections is one of the most challenging problems in traffic engineering. Over the past 40 years, a few studies developed guidelines to help traffic engineers in deciding when a left-turn lane was warranted for a given situation. Building on these previous attempts, the current study develops a refined decision support system (DSS) for assessing the likely benefits of left-turn lane installations as an aid in deciding whether a left-turn lane is warranted. The developed DSS is designed to predict these likely benefits on the basis of several measures, including delay savings, reductions in percentage of stops, increases in fuel efficiency, and reductions in emissions. The first step in development of the DSS was the use of microscopic simulation to model several real-world unsignalized intersections with different geometric configurations located in different area types. After careful calibration of these models, several scenarios covering a wide range of opera...