cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Competitive Authoritarian Legacies and Political Participation in New Democracies

How does experience with unfree elections impact the participatory patterns of newly democratized states? Nominally competitive electoral institutions have become standard features of authoritarian regimes but little is known about their post-transition impact on new democracies. This study investigates how experience with unfree elections before a transition to democracy affects the scope and magnitude of political participation following a democratic transition. The literature linking hybrid regimes and democratization has suggested that competitive authoritarianism might habituate citizens to electoral participation as well as mobilize politically relevant segments of society. If these arguments are correct then we might expect that new democracies with competitive authoritarian legacies should have broader, more competitive participation and higher overall levels of turnout than regimes with different authoritarian legacies. Alternatively, unfree elections may lead to widespread distrust of the basic institutions of democracy and, consequently, patterns of voter abstention and more direct political action, such as protest. To examine the potential impact of competitive authoritarian legacies on political participation, I look at how patterns of turnout and protest differ across regimes with different institutional legacies. The empirical analysis employs data on nearly 60 new democracies that emerged around the world between 1975 and 2003. I show that competitive authoritarian legacies are associated with lower levels of turnout in early elections but this effect dissipates relatively quickly. Additionally, new democracies with competitive legacies experience less anti-regime protest, perhaps because politically relevant groups were able to organize and become invested in the electoral process prior to democratization.
Chemokine regulation of the inflammatory response to a low-dose influenza infection in CCR2–/– mice

Influenza virus infections induce chemokines and cytokines, which regulate the immune response. The chemokine receptor CCR2 plays an important role in macrophage recruitment and in the development of T1 immunity. In the present study, we addressed the role of CCR2 in influenza A virus infection. CCR2 knockout (-/-) mice are protected against influenza A virus infection, despite delayed recruitment of macrophages. We show that low-dose influenza infection of CCR2-/- mice leads to increased neutrophilia between Days 5 and 10 after infection and decreased monocyte/macrophage and CD4(+) T cell recruitment to the lungs between Days 5 and 7 after infection. These changes in leukocyte recruitment did not result from or cause increased viral titers or delayed viral clearance. Neutrophilia in the lungs correlated with increased keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC) and/or MIP-2 expression in CCR2-/- mice between Days 5 to 10 after infection, although the kinetics of neutrophil recruitment was not altered. MIP-2 mRNA and protein expression was increased three- to fivefold, and KC protein levels were increased two- to threefold in CCR2-/- compared with CCR2 wild-type mice at Day 5 after infection. This preceded the peak neutrophil influx, which occurred 7 days after infection. In vitro studies confirmed that MIP-2 and KC accounted for neutrophil chemotactic activity in the bronchoalveolar lavage. CCR2 deficiency also resulted in increased MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, MCP-1, and IFN-inducible protein 10 and decreased RANTES mRNA expression. Furthermore, IL-6 and TNF-alpha cytokine production were elevated after infection. These studies suggest that CCR2 plays a multifactorial role in the development of the immune response to influenza.
Evaluation of NIMA GPS satellite ephemerides using NASA laser ranging data

This paper describes the use of recently collected Satellite Laser Range (SLR) data in assessing the accuracy of the Global Positioning System (GPS) ephemeris produced by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). The SLR data were collected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during October-December 1996. At that time, NASA launched an intensive tracking campaign for the two GPS satellites which carry laser retro-reflectors. The satellites, Satellite Vehicle Numbers (SVN) 35 and 36, were to be tracked on a higher than normal priority level with nineteen NASA affiliated tracking stations for the duration of the campaign. There was less uniformity in the geographic coverage of the data than was hoped for. However, the campaign still afforded an excellent opportunity to assess the accuracy of the NIMA ephemerides. This was done by utilizing ephemerides provided by the international GPS Service (IGS) to form a baseline. The IGS provides GPS ephemerides that are considered to be accurate to better than ten centimeters. In addition, ephemerides from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was also examined, because the JPL ephemerides are used in the production of the IGS ephemerides and could provide another point in the baseline. NASA "quick-look" normal point data, the principal NASA SLR data product, were obtained from the NASA Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS). Normal point data have better than centimeter accuracy and were used here to calculate SLR residuals from the NIMA, the JPL and the IGS ephemerides. The RMS values, for the SLR residuals over the three month study period, were seven centimeters for the IGS, eight centimeters for the JPL and twelve centimeters for the NIMA ephemerides. The IGS and the JPL ephemerides have a small negative bias for both SVN35 and SVN36, while the NIMA results are mixed, with SVN36 having the same negative bias but SVN35 having a small positive bias. One possible explanation for this bias could be a change in the satellite's center of mass, CM, which might have occurred since the launch date. Solving for the center of mass, when calculating the SLR residuals for each organization, removes the bias and gives an RMS of less than five centimeters for the IGS, less than five centimeters for the JPL and less than ten centimeters for the NIMA ephemerides.
Physiologic basis for assessing critical coronary stenosis : Instantaneous flow response and regional distribution during coronary hyperemia as measures of coronary flow reserve

Abstract Quantitative hemodynamic assessment of coronary stenosis has not been previously reported. Resting coronary blood flow and its regional distribution are insensitive indexes for determining critical stenosis, but flow response to a hyperemic stimulus quantifies restrictions on maximal flow due to coronary arterial lesions. Coronary flow responses to temporary occlusion and to selective main coronary arterial injection of sodium diatrizoate (Hypaque-M 75 percent) were studied in 12 consecutive dogs with a surgically implanted electromagnetic flowmeter and separate micrometer constrictor on the left circumflex coronary artery. Selective Hypaque injection adequate for coronary cineangiography increased coronary flow to four times the resting base-line value, peaking at 6 seconds and lasting 3 minutes, a response equivalent to hyperemia after 10 seconds of circumflex arterial occlusion. With progressive micrometer constriction, resting flow measurements did not decrease until there was 85 percent stenosis. Hyperemia after intracoronary injection of Hypaque decreased when there was 30 to 45 percent stenosis and disappeared when there was 88 to 93 percent stenosis. Myocardial images obtained by gamma camera after left atrial injection of 131 iodine-macroaggregated albumin demonstrated uniform regional distribution of resting flow in spite of severe constriction. However, 6 seconds after selective Hypaque injection, left atrial injection of 99m technetium macroaggregates demonstrated distinct perfusion abnormalities in the region of circumflex stenosis. Thus, flow distribution with a severe lesion was normal at rest but showed marked differences due to restricted circumflex versus normal anterior descending hyperemic response after injection of Hypaque. Flow response and regional distribution during coronary hyperemia caused by Hypaque are quantitative measures for physiologically assessing critical coronary stenosis and flow reserve with potential applicability to patients.
Feinman's reply to silverstein's “redox redux: A response to feinman's oxidation-reduction calculations in the biochemistry course”

I am grateful to Dr. Silverstein for pointing out the errorsin my article and for his collegiality in attributing the mis-take to the complexity of the subject.On specific points that he raises:1. We agree that conceptually the goal is to determinethe spontaneity of redox reactions.2. We agree that one question is which method iseasier for students. This is an experimental ques-tion. I have observed that medical students are eas-ily confused by the traditional method but do muchbetter, both in terms of understanding and problem-solving ability, using the method I propose. Silver-stein is right, however, that he (and others) shouldtest the generality of this observation.3. We disagree on the utility of the equation G° –nFE° and describing a half-reaction as more spon-taneous. It is this idea that gives rise to the descrip-tion of NADH as a “high energy compound,” whichappears in several textbooks. Until you know whatthe oxidizing agent is, you don’t know whether it ishigh energy or low energy. As I indicated in myarticle, the bottom line is that students do not ap-preciate that NADH is a poor reducing agent in twoof the reactions of the trichloroacetic acid cycle(where the oxidation by NAD is spontaneous) andcan miss the big picture that the NAD /NADH cou-ple is an intermediate redox agent. Still more prob-lematic, however, is the manipulation that followsfrom taking this approach, namely, “change the signand add.” E° is the measured potential for a mixturethat is half reduced compared with a standard. Youcan’t change the sign on the voltmeter. Thus, evenif the method I proposed were harder, it is morephysically accurate.4. I share Silverstein’s concern about “artificially sep-arating biology from chemistry,” but I suspect thatwe might also need to change the way we teachelectrochemistry, although I have not really consid-ered how to do this. In the worst case, if studentsare taught the method in biochemistry and gaincontrol over the subject, it can be pointed out that,as Silverstein agrees, both conventions give thesameanswer.Again,myexperiencewithstudentsisthat “what students have already learned” is how tosolve a problem and not how to understand it. Thisis what we don’t want to reinforce.If the method is tried, I would strongly advise against“giving students a choice.” Students (and everybody else)tend to adhere to what they learned first and rather bearthose ills they have than fly to others that they know not of.My experience is that the proposed method should betaught without reference to anything else. Some studentswill recognize the problem as one that they have done adifferent way before. Pointing out that both methods leadto the same answer may be educational.
Comparison of inhibin B and estradiol responses to intravenous FSH in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and normal women

BACKGROUND Inhibin B (Inh B) is produced by pre-antral and early antral follicles whereas estradiol (E2) is a product of follicles undergoing antrum formation. This temporal distinction is evident in the patterns of Inh B and E2 release earlier and later during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, respectively. However, in previous studies of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and normal controls, release of these granulosa cell (GC) products appears to be simultaneous in response to FSH stimulation. In order to reconcile these disparate findings, we conducted dose–response studies in both PCOS women and normal controls to determine whether GC product responses were due to the amount of FSH administered. In addition, we compared FSH-stimulated responses in PCOS women at various stages of recovery following ovarian suppression with a long-acting GnRH agonist to examine whether Inh B and E2 responses reflected the level of ovarian follicle activity (i.e. circulating E2 levels).
Papillomavirus Infection and its Pathologic Correlate in Sexually Active Adolescents

We investigated the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) and its pathologic correlation in an adolescent clinic population (13—20 years, mean 16 years) over a 2-year period. 413 cervical specimens were obtained and analyzed cytologically and by a Southern Blot (SB) method for HPV DNA. 277 specimens from 210 patients could be fully analyzed. 23 patients (10.9%) were positive for HPV DNA by SB. Cytologic findings in these 23 patients demonstrated changes compatible with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LGSIL) and HPV-associated changes in 4 cases (17%). Cervical biopsies obtained in 3 cases with abnormal cytology demonstrated LGSIL in all cases. 6 patients were retested for HPV 2 to 6 months after the initial positive, two showed persistence of the initial virus, one was positive for a different HPV type and three were negative for HPV DNA.
Reinforcement Learning Solution to a Benchmark Time- Optimal Control Problem

Reinforcement learning methods originated with reward-punishment studies in psychology, and were then extended to machine learning algorithms in computer science. The advantage of reinforcement learning methods is that they do not require any knowledge of a system’s dynamics, and use experience gained from interaction with the actual system (or simulation thereof) to obtain control solutions. In fact, strict RL and its derivatives have inspired several new methodologies, which have begun to be used on complex aerospace systems. In this paper, we apply traditional RL to a well-known simply-posed minimum time optimal control problem using the Sarsa(λ) reinforcement learning method. It is wellknown by control researchers that the true analytic optimal solution is a “bang-bang” solution. In fact, analytical proof of optimality for Sarsa(λ) has yet to be achieved for either discrete state or continuous state optimal control problems (though it is an active area of research). The current study showed that Sarsa(λ) did produce nearly-optimal “bang-bang” results for the given benchmark problem—without any explicit a-priori knowledge of the system dynamics. However, generalization of the numerical solution from a single initial condition to other initial conditions was not immediate.
The Use Of In Situ Permeable Flow Sensors To Monitor An Air-Stripping Waste Remediation Experiment At The Savannah River Site, Sc

In Situ Permeable Flow Sensors, new instruments which use a thermal perturbation technique to directly measure the direction and magnitude of the 3-dimensional groundwater flow velocity vector at a point in a permeable medium, are being used to monitor changes in the groundwater flow regime in the immediate vicinity of an underground air-stripping waste remediation experiment underway at the Savannah River Site, SC. Two horizontal boreholes were drilled into the sandy sediments with interbedded clay lenses beneath the site, which is contaminated mainly with trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene. The two holes are at depths of approximately 20 and 50 meters. The water table is at a depth of 42 meters, in between the two horizontal wells. Air is injected into the deeper hole, flows upward through both the saturated and unsaturated sediments and is extracted from the shallower hole. As it travels from the injection to the extraction well, the air volatilizes the contaminants which are then removed from the extraction well along with the injected air. The 7 flow sensors installed in the saturated subsurface at the site record large changes in the flow field around the injection well immediately after the injection system is activated. For the most part, these perturbations are transient in nature and the flow field returns to its pre-injection level after 1 to 2 days. From this transient response, information about the pathways used by the injected air to travel to the extraction well can be deduced. The flow at some locations, however, is significantly different when the injection system is on compared to when it is off, even in a steady state condition. There are two possible explanations for these observations. One is that the air injection system has established a general circulation system in the groundwater in the vicinity of the air injection system. Groundwater directly above the injection well is entrained upward by the passage of air bubbles. As this groundwater reaches the water table it flows laterally away from the injection well. At some distance from the well, the groundwater must flow downward again and return in the direction of the injection well. The resulting circulation pattern resembles a convection cell but is driven by the percolation of air upward through the saturated subsurface, not by the introduction of heat. The establishment of this type of circulation system would be highly advantageous to the remediation process since it means that unremediated groundwater would be circulated through the zone most affected by the remediation activity. A considerably larger volume of groundwater would be remediated as a result of the establishment of this type of circulation system. Another explanation for these observations, however, is that these flow sensors are actually observing the flow of air past the probes and do not reflect a steady state change in the groundwater flow system resulting from the air injection operation. Additional sensors are being emplaced at the site to resolve this issue.
A domain necessary for the transforming activity of SnoN is required for specific DNA binding, transcriptional repression and interaction with TAF II 110

sno is a member of the ski oncogene family and shares ski's ability to transform avian fibroblasts and induce muscle differentiation. Ski and Sno are nuclear proteins that form homodimers and heterodimers. Ski activates transcription of cellular and viral enhancers and we have identified a DNA binding site (GTCTAGAC) through which it represses transcription. In this work, we show that SnoN binds this site and represses transcription of reporters with this binding site as an upstream element. Using fusions with the Gal4-DNA binding domain in a heterologous reporter assay, we identify a tripartite repression domain in SnoN. A 107 amino acid stretch of the SnoN repression domain, that contains two of the subdomains, is closely related to the minimal region of Ski required for transformation. The third subdomain is unique to SnoN. By analysing deletions involving each of the subdomains, we show that subdomains II and III are also required for DNA binding and cellular transformation. We provide evidence for a quenching mechanism of transcriptional repression by which subdomain II binds to TAFII110.
Inactivation of Yeast cells using Dielectric Barrier Discharge

Conventional sterilization methods pose certain disadvantages such as long exposure times, deposition of dangerous residues on objects being sterilized and limited versatility. Prior literature has proved that plasma sterilization trumps these conventional methods in terms of exposure time, operating temperature, versatility and safety. This paper focuses primarily on investigative efforts spent in trying to understand the underlying mechanisms involved in the sterilizing effect of plasma on yeast. Samples of yeast cells were exposed to RF induced Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma. While complete sterilization was noted within 60-120s, it was also seen that the sterilization process was affected by factors such as dielectric material and number of sterilization cycles.
Ion Thruster Plume Simulation Using Clustered PC Workstations

A numerical tool was developed to simulate the exhaust plume of ion thrusters using clustered PC workstations with distributed memory operating in parallel. The numerical scheme combines the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method for collision modeling with the Particle-in-Cell technique to capture plasma dynamic eects. A localized data structure based on computational cells allows domain decompositions to be dened that improve computational eciency . Overall parallel eciency is improved through periodic load balancing. A conservative weighting scheme was implemented to improve the resolution of charge-exchange ions and decrease overall execution time. Floweld results were computed for the UK-10 ion thruster and compared with experimental measurements. Simulation results and experimental measurements agree satisfactorily. Parallel eciencies were obtained for a simple domain decomposition technique without optimal algorithm tuning. The distributed memory architecture was found to perform sucien tly well to provide a viable low-cost alternative to traditional parallel computing.
Reconstructing the Southern Landscape: The History of Education and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Charleston, South Carolina

The city of Charleston, South Carolina, illustrates how educators can use people- and place-based case studies as pedagogical tools to reconstruct a Southern public and historic landscape. Teaching the Foundations of Education course in the city of Charleston makes the history that frames contemporary educational issues such as (re)segregation more visible. In the wake of the recent tragedy at the historic African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in Charleston that claimed nine lives at the hands of Dylann Roof, place and local history help make a silent history more pronounced. A history of resistance and an ongoing struggle for freedom is inscribed into Charleston's landscape as much as the colonial and antebellum grandeur that captures the imagination, and dollars, of a thriving tourism industry. The public and historic landscape, in short, is in and of itself an educative space that allows educators and students to disrupt popular narratives by making the invisible more visible.
COMSOL Multiphysics Modeling of Architected Acoustic Transducers in Oil Drilling

In the oil and gas industry, acoustic transducers have been found to provide valuable geological sonic information such as compressional wave velocity, shear wave velocity, and rock formation slowness. These data can be used to indicate lithology, determine porosity, detect over-pressured formation zones, and check well to well correlation. One category of such acoustic transducers is equipped with piezoelectric elements. Conventional piezoelectric transducers are packaged by epoxy resin. Because of the liquid nature of uncured epoxy resin, it is difficult to position the piezoelectric elements accurately. The introduction of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) as the packaging material solved this issue. Due to the ease of machining on solid form, architectures of the composite acoustic transducers can be devised with great flexibility and creativity. These designs can be modeled with finite element methods (FEM) and the best design for the oil drilling application can be finalized and fabricated. COMSOL Multiphysics® solves problems in a programming environment that integrates relevant physics. In this case, it includes electrical circuit, solid mechanics, acoustics, and piezoelectricity. Here a compete model and procedure to study the performance of an architected composite acoustic transducer is provided. The displacement analysis gives insights into the resonance modes of the piezoelectric elements. The acoustics analysis gives the necessary information on the acoustic performance of the transducers, such as acoustic pressure spatial distribution, acoustic pressure frequency response, transmitting voltage response, and directivity. These are important criteria to judge the effectiveness of an architected transducer.
G Protein-selective GPCR Conformations Measured Using FRET Sensors in a Live Cell Suspension Fluorometer Assay.

Fӧrster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based studies have become increasingly common in the investigation of GPCR signaling. Our research group developed an intra-molecular FRET sensor to detect the interaction between Gα subunits and GPCRs in live cells following agonist stimulation. Here, we detail the protocol for detecting changes in FRET between the β2-adrenergic receptor and the Gαs C-terminus peptide upon treatment with 100 µM isoproterenol hydrochloride as previously characterized1. Our FRET sensor is a single polypeptide consisting serially of a full-length GPCR, a FRET acceptor fluorophore (mCitrine), an ER/K SPASM (systematic protein affinity strength modulation) linker, a FRET donor fluorophore (mCerulean), and a Gα C-terminal peptide. This protocol will detail cell preparation, transfection conditions, equipment setup, assay execution, and data analysis. This experimental design detects small changes in FRET indicative of protein-protein interactions, and can also be used to compare the strength of interaction across ligands and GPCR-G protein pairings. To enhance the signal-to-noise in our measurements, this protocol requires heightened precision in all steps, and is presented here to enable reproducible execution.
Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Arthrogryposis

Four infants with neurogenic arthrogryposis who died of respiratory failure before 1 month of age had DNA testing of autopsy specimens for SMNT gene deletion in a study at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA, and the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH.
Neutrophil DREAM Is a Novel Regulator for Beta2 Integrin Function through NF-Kappab Signaling and Modulates Neutrophil Recruitment during Vascular Inflammation

Abstract The interaction between neutrophils and activated endothelial cells (ECs) is critical for the pathogenesis of vascular inflammation. However, it remains poorly understood how the cell-cell interactions are regulated under inflammatory conditions. Using intravital microscopy in mice lacking DREAM (downstream regulatory element antagonist modulator), a member of the neuronal Ca2+ sensors and a transcriptional repressor, we have found that DREAM plays an important role in neutrophil rolling and adhesion to the TNF-α-inflamed cremaster muscle venules. Studies with DREAM bone marrow chimeras revealed that both hematopoietic and EC DREAM are important for neutrophil recruitment. We found that neutrophils lacking DREAM exhibit reduced αMβ2 surface expression and decrease fibrinogen binding following stimulation with TNF-α, but not fMLF, implying the role for neutrophil DREAM in regulating β2 integrin function through a specific signaling pathway. Since recent studies demonstrated the important role of endothelial cell DREAM in NF-κB signaling, we further examined whether neutrophil DREAM regulates NF-κB signaling. Indeed, the protein expression of A20 (an inhibitor of NF-κB signaling) and p65 (a key subunit of the NF-κB complex) was significantly up- and down-regulated, respectively, in DREAM-deficient neutrophils, compared to WT neutrophils. Moreover, DREAM deletion impaired the phosphorylation of IKKa/β following TNF-a-stimulation, suggesting the role of neutrophil DREAM in NF-κB signaling. Consistently, we found that the transcription of the NF-κB target genes, such as IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6, was inhibited by DREAM deletion. Taken together, our results provide evidence that neutrophil DREAM is a novel regulator for β2 integrin function through NF-κB signaling and could be a therapeutic target for treatment of inflammatory disease. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Trauma, Transformation, and Transcendence

This essay argues that conflict transformation must incorporate trauma studies and also that trauma studies can learn much from the field of conflict transformation. With the change in nomenclature from conflict resolution to conflict transformation, there is an opening to assessing the role that trauma plays in the processes of conflict transformation. Rambo highlights two dimensions of trauma—the somatic and the spectral—that continue to challenge the field of conflict transformation and explores what this opening to trauma might look like in education. She also demonstrates how ancient theological conceptions of sin and human nature resonate with these dimensions, challenging notions of resolution and offering unique ways of conceiving the work of transformation.
Scalable EM simulation and validations of dual-polarized phased array antennas for MPAR

This work developed a scalable measurement and simulation framework that allows different types of future Multifunctional Phased Array Radar (MPAR) manifolds to be evaluated and improved. The focus is to compare the optimized, formed beam patterns of both planar and cylindrical array antennas. A Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) solver is developed for rectangular, cylindrical, and non orthogonal coordinate systems to simulate planar array, fully conformal cylindrical array, and faceted-cylindrical array respectively. This electromagnetic (EM) solver is used to generate Active Element Patterns (AEP) for scalable simulations, which are then compared and validated with measurements of active element patterns using near-field scanning and array pattern generation results.
CYP2D6 Genetic Variation and Beta-Blocker Maintenance Dose in Patients with Heart Failure

This study examined whether a CYP2D6 polymorphism (CYP2D6*4) was related to beta-blocker maintenance dose in patients with heart failure. Logistic regression modeling was utilized in a retrospective chart-review analysis of heart-failure patients (60% Male, 90% of European descent) to assess whether CYP2D6*4 (non-functional CYP2D6 allele present in 1 of 5 individuals of European descent) is associated with maintenance dose of carvedilol (n = 65) or metoprolol (n = 33). CYP2D6*4 was associated with lower maintenance dose of metoprolol (OR 0.13 [95% CI 0.02–0.75] p = 0.023), and a trend was observed between CYP2D6*4 and higher maintenance dose of carvedilol (OR 2.94 [95% CI 0.84–10.30] p = 0.093). None of the patients that carried CYP2D6*4 achieved the recommended target dose of metoprolol (200 mg/day). Consistent with the role of CYP2D6 in the metabolism of metoprolol, the tolerated maintenance dose of metoprolol was lower in CYP2D6*4 carriers compared to non-carriers. Consistent with the role of CYP2D6 in activation of carvedilol, tolerated maintenance dose of carvedilol was higher in CYP2D6*4 carriers compared to non-carriers. Further investigation is warranted to ascertain the potential of CYP2D6 as a potential predictive biomarker of beta-blocker maintenance dose in heart failure patients.
Utility Cost of Formal Privacy for Releasing National Employer-Employee Statistics

National statistical agencies around the world publish tabular summaries based on combined employer-employee (ER-EE) data. The privacy of both individuals and business establishments that feature in these data are protected by law in most countries. These data are currently released using a variety of statistical disclosure limitation (SDL) techniques that do not reveal the exact characteristics of particular employers and employees, but lack provable privacy guarantees limiting inferential disclosures. In this work, we present novel algorithms for releasing tabular summaries of linked ER-EE data with formal, provable guarantees of privacy. We show that state-of-the-art differentially private algorithms add too much noise for the output to be useful. Instead, we identify the privacy requirements mandated by current interpretations of the relevant laws, and formalize them using the Pufferfish framework. We then develop new privacy definitions that are customized to ER-EE data and satisfy the statutory privacy requirements. We implement the experiments in this paper on production data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau. An empirical evaluation of utility for these data shows that for reasonable values of the privacy-loss parameter e≥ 1, the additive error introduced by our provably private algorithms is comparable, and in some cases better, than the error introduced by existing SDL techniques that have no provable privacy guarantees. For some complex queries currently published, however, our algorithms do not have utility comparable to the existing traditional SDL algorithms. Those queries are fodder for future research.
Pathways linking marijuana use to substance use problems among emerging adults: A prospective analysis of young Black men.

Abstract Objectives Marijuana use rates peak during emerging adulthood (ages 18 to 25 years). Although marijuana use quantity reliably predicts substance-related problems, considerable individual differences characterize this association. The aims of the present study were to examine the influence of community disadvantage in amplifying the effects of marijuana use on downstream substance use problems, as well as the mediating influence of social disengagement in the path linking marijuana use frequency to related problems. Method We conducted a 3-year longitudinal study with 505 Black men from rural communities in Georgia, age 20.3 years at baseline. Three waves of data were collected at 18-month intervals in participants' homes or convenient community settings. Men completed audio computer-assisted self-interviews concerning their substance use, engagement in conventional roles and relationships, community characteristics, and substance use problems. Results Community disadvantage moderated the association of marijuana use with changes in substance use problems across time. In disadvantaged communities, a robust effect emerged between marijuana use frequency and related problems, whereas in less disadvantaged communities, marijuana use quantity and problems were not significantly associated. Increases in social disengagement mediated the influence of marijuana use on substance use problems in the context of community disadvantage. Conclusions For young Black men, residence in a disadvantaged neighborhood appears to amplify the impact of marijuana use on substance use problems. This effect appears to be a consequence of increases in social disengagement.
The Indigenous State: Race, Politics, and Performance in Plurinational Bolivia

In 2005, Bolivians elected their first indigenous president, Evo Morales. Ushering in a new “democratic cultural revolution,” Morales promised to overturn neoliberalism and inaugurate a new decolonized society. In this perceptive new book, Nancy Postero examines the successes and failures that have followed in the ten years since Morales’s election. While the Morales government has made many changes that have benefited Bolivia’s majority indigenous population, it has also consolidated power and reinforced extractivist development models. In the process, indigeneity has been transformed from a site of emancipatory politics to a site of liberal nationstate building. By carefully tracing the political origins and practices of decolonization among activists, government administrators, and ordinary citizens, Postero makes an important contribution to our understanding of the meaning and impact of Bolivia’s indigenous state. “Provides multiple new insights into the Bolivian state in the time of President Evo Morales. It is a must-read for scholars and students interested in the recent political and cultural history of the country.” JOHN ANDREW MCNEISH, Professor of International Development and Environmental Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences NANCY POSTERO is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California,San Diego. She is the author of Now We Are Citizens: Indigenous Politics in Post-Multicultural Bolivia .
LACTOBACILLUS | Lactobacillus Acidophilus

This article is a revision of the previous edition article by Todd R. Klaenhammer, W. Michael Russell, volume 2, pp 1151–1157, © 1999, Elsevier Ltd.
Engineering a Dual Small Molecule Gated ZAP70 Switch in T Cells.

T cells expressing tumor-specific T cell receptors are promising cancer therapeutic agents, but safety control switches are needed to manage potential side effects arising from overactivity. Here, we present the first dual small molecule-gated ZAP70 signaling switch for the regulation of T cell activity. We show that when an analogue-sensitive ZAP70 allele is fused to the engineered ligand binding domain of the estrogen receptor, ERT2, its activity can be upregulated to an extent by a metabolite of an FDA-approved tamoxifen, 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen, and downregulated by an ATP analogue, 3-MB-PP1. The strength of early T cell signaling can also be modulated by varying the concentrations of activator and inhibitor, and the switch exhibits temporal control on the time scale of minutes. Interestingly, the switch has the ability to control CD69 and calcium levels in T cells but has limited capabilities in the regulation of downstream cytokine release, suggesting further investigation is needed before it can be imp...
Fair-as-Foodway: Culinary Worlds and Modernizing Tastes at Chicago’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition

The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago from May to October, hosted 27 million people who experienced the encyclopedic world of the past, present, and imagined future on display in the space of a single site. The restaurants and food-related exhibits of the fair introduced new modes of consumption, while literally sustaining tourists and workers alike. Individual consumption at the Chicago Fair would have been mediated by a person’s ethnicity, class, race, and gender, as well as emerging access to increasingly industrialized, urban food systems. Historical, archival, and archaeological research at Chicago’s Jackson Park, the former site of the fair, reveal some of the most pervasive legacies of these foodways.
A Charge-Based Architecture for Energy-Efficient Vector-Vector Multiplication in 65nm CMOS

In this work, a charge-based energy-efficient architecture for computing vector-vector multiplications (VVM) is presented. Using an array of capacitors, the inner product of vectors is quantitatively computed as the total charge injected onto the array. By scaling the capacitance to the thermal noise (kTC) limit, this computation can be done efficiently on the order of a few picoJoules (pJ). Furthermore, this charge is then converted into a pulse-density modulated binary output over time through a first-order delta-sigma converter, giving a trade-off of output precision and computation time. This design was fabricated in a 65nm CMOS process and measured to compute 6-bit MACs with a throughput of 350KOPs, and an overall efficiency of 14.6GOP/W at 5-bit precision. Moreover, the computation done on the array in the analog domain, has an efficiency of 284.4GOP/W.
Longitudinal Change in High-Cost Prosocial Behaviors of Defending and Including during the Transition to Adulthood.

Despite high profile examples that are highlighted in the popular media, we know little about high-cost prosocial behaviors such as defending and including, and how these behaviors might change over time and vary by individual. Thus, this study explored defending and including behaviors across the transition to adulthood by assessing growth and profiles of these high-cost prosocial behaviors over a four-year time span. In addition the study explored gender, emotional (sympathy), cognitive (personal values), individual (self-esteem), and relational (maternal warmth) factors during adolescence that predicted profiles of defending and including during the transition to adulthood. Participants were 469 individuals (52% female, 70% European American) who participated at four time points (ages 18–21). Growth curve analyses showed that defending and including behaviors decreased slightly across the transition to adulthood and these behaviors tended to vary as a function of the target of the behavior. Latent profile analyses revealed three groups at each age, one with low, one with medium, and one with high levels of defending and including. The discussion focused on the prevalence and change in defending and including behaviors during the transition to adulthood, as well as the variability that exists in high-cost behavioral profiles.
Phenotypic Plasticity, Cultural Transmission, and Human Sociobiology

Two major criticisms of human sociobiology are: (1) Biological determinism, the view that behavior is determined by genes, is wrong when applied to humans; and (2) Culture makes man unique in the animal world, so one cannot extrapolate from the sociobiology of non-cultured animals to man. I argue that the two criticisms are related in that a range of the conditions that favor increased phenotypic plasticity (and so a decreased degree of genetic determinism) also favor culture. That is, I argue that cultural transmission is not universally favored by natural selection; but the ecological conditions that do favor culture also favor phenotypic plasticity. Homo sapiens clearly is a cultural species and the evolutionary dynamics of a cultural species differ in important respects from that of a non-cultural species. In particular, the central tenet of sociobiology — that the behaviors that evolve are those that maximize inclusive fitness — does not hold true of a cultural species. In effect, this paper offers an evolutionary argument against the general utility of human sociobiology.
Synthetic Retinoids in Dermatology

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses synthetic retinoids in dermatology. Synthetic retinoids are beneficial in a variety of cutaneous disorders. Synthetic retinoids are of value in the treatment and prevention of skin cancer. Isotretinoin is the drug of choice for severe cystic acne. The development of optimum dosage schedules for acne of varying severity and for facial and truncal locations is continuing. The use of etretinate either alone or in combination with currently available therapies for psoriasis is very effective, especially for the typically treatment-resistant pustular and erythrodermic varieties. Unlike isotretinoin in acne, maintenance therapy with etretinate is necessary for most psoriatic patients. Synthetic retinoids is the most effective treatment for Darier's disease and certain other disorders of keratinization. The use of synthetic retinoids in cancer prevention and therapy for both cutaneous and internal tumors is potentially the most significant clinical use of these drugs. Chronic maintenance therapy is needed for successful chemoprevention of cancer with retinoids.
The Feasibility of a Diplomatic Solution to the Confrontation over Iran’s Nuclear Program

Iran and the United Nations Security Council have been in an escalating confrontation over Iran’s enrichment program since 2006. The Security Council has been demanding that Iran suspend its enrichment while Iran has been demanding that the Security Council recognize Iran’s right to enrich. As a result of the impasse, the Security Council and the West have been increasing sanctions on Iran while Iran has been expanding its enrichment program and increasing the enrichment of its product. It is proposed that, as a compromise, the UN Security Council accept an Iranian enrichment program in exchange for maximal transparency (Additional Protocol plus) and constraints including limits on: enrichment capacity, enrichment level to less than 5 %, and stockpiles of enriched UF6. In addition, Iran would agree not to reprocess spent fuel, i.e. separate plutonium, and to export all of its spent fuel. It is pointed out that, in 2005, Iran offered to accept essentially all of these transparency requirements and constraints.
The Interrelationship of Substance Abuse and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Epidemiological and Clinical Considerations

This chapter reviews the data available on the relationship of substance abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Delimiting the review to those studies of Vietnam veterans, we found that levels of combat exposure seemed to be positively related to subsequent alcohol use, although not all studies confirmed this relationship. When studies of patients seeking treatment for PTSD were examined, we learned that 60–80% of these patients had concurrent diagnoses of substance abuse, alcohol abuse, or dependence. Methodological limitations of all the studies are discussed and conclusions regarding the status of the PTSD-substance abuse relationship are drawn cautiously. Alternative suggestions for treatment are presented and discussed.
CTOD and J Relationships for a Growing Crack

Tests were performed on three steels, A533-B, A508 Class 2, and ASTM A240 Thype 304 stainless. These materials exhibit a wide range of properties; their strain-hardening exponents n are within the range of 8 to 12 while their flow stresses sigma-O are within the range of 45 to 90 ksi.
Private Sector Response Patterns to Risks from Chemicals

Over the past decade, corporations that use or market chemicals have had to manage a wide range of risks posed by these chemicals. This management problem is a result of a considerable amount of uncertainty in the external organizational environments these corporations face, particularly in the regulatory environment. The uncertainties that exist relate to identifying the kinds of chemicals that pose risks, establishing the level of risk reduction necessary, and determining the acceptability of different forms of risk reduction and risk aversive behavior.
A Rapid Process for Identifying and Prioritizing Technology-Based Tools for Health System Implementation.

Background: Health system decisions to put new technologies into clinical practice require a rapid and trustworthy decision-making process informed by best evidence. Objective: This study aimed to present a rapid evidence review process that can be used to inform health system leaders and clinicians seeking to implement new technology tools to improve patient-clinician decision making and patient-oriented outcomes. Methods: The rapid evidence review process we pioneered involved 5 sequential subprocesses: (1) environmental scan, (2) expert panel recruitment, (3) host evidence review panel, (4) analysis, and (5) local validation panel. We conducted an environmental scan of health information technology (IT) literature to identify relevant digital tools in oncology care. We synthesized the recent literature using current evidence review methods, creating visual summaries for use by a national panel of experts. Panelists were taken through a 6-hour modified Delphi process to prioritize tools for implementation. Findings from the rapid evidence review panel were taken to a local validation panel for further rapid review during a 3-hour session. Results: Our rapid evidence review process shows promise for informing decision making by reducing the amount of time and resources needed to identify and prioritize adoption of IT tools. Despite evidence of improved patient outcomes, panelists had substantial concerns about implementing patient-reported outcome tracking tools, voicing concerns about liability, lack of familiarity with new technology, and additional time and workflow changes such tools would require. Instead, clinicians favored technologies that did not require clinician involvement. Conclusions: Health system leaders can use the rapid evidence review process presented here to usefully inform local technology adoption, implementation, and use in practice.