cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficiency and stability of a financial architecture with too-interconnected-to-fail institutions☆

Abstract The regulation of large interconnected financial institutions has become a key policy issue. To improve financial stability, regulators have proposed limiting banks’ size and interconnectedness. I estimate a network-based model of the over-the-counter interbank lending market in the US and quantify the efficiency-stability implications of this policy. Trading efficiency decreases with limits on interconnectedness because the intermediation chains become longer. While restricting the interconnectedness of banks improves stability, the effect is non-monotonic. Stability also improves with higher liquidity requirements, when banks have access to liquidity during the crisis, and when failed banks’ depositors maintain confidence in the banking system.
Terrorism and its impact on the cost of debt

Abstract We extend the literature on the costs of terrorism by examining its long-term impact on financial markets, an underdeveloped strand of research within the terrorism construct. Specifically, we look at its effect on the sovereign risk of 102 countries (a much broader sample than examined before), which forms the basis of the cost of debt in those countries, postulating that it results in a lower credit rating and that this impact is more pronounced in developing as opposed to developed markets. In operationalizing the risk of terrorism, we utilize the Institute for Economics and Peace's Global Terrorism Index, the most comprehensive index constructed to date which incorporates both the economic and social dimensions of terrorism and is based on the Global Terrorism Database covering 104,000 documented incidents. The results of the study support the hypothesis that terrorism results in a higher cost of debt for sovereigns and by extension, firms in impacted countries. In fact, a two-point increase in terrorism on the utilized 10-point scale on average results in a half notch reduction in a sovereign's credit rating, roughly equivalent to a change in outlook. Furthermore, this impact is more pronounced in developing markets where we find that a comparable two-point increase in terrorism on average results in an entire notch downgrade in the sovereign credit rating, e.g., from BB to BB-. Finally, we find that our model demonstrates predictive power on an out-of-sample basis and as such, could be useful for investors seeking to construct more efficient diversified asset portfolios.
The idea of an anthropology of Islam

На протяжении десятилетий Талал Асад, в данное время занимающий должность профессора антропологии в Городском университете Нью-Йорка, в своих работах о религии и её взаимосвязи с острыми вопросами современной жизни постоянно опровергал доминирующие парадигмы антропологии. Критикуя текстуализацию социальной жизни, Асад переориентировал направление анализа от интерпретации поведения к проблеме отношений между практиками и тем, что он назвал «дискурсивной традицией». Асад создал эту концепцию в рамках исследований антропологии ислама, но она приобрела важную роль во множестве областей, связанных с этикой и религией эпохи модерна (антропология, религиоведение, постколониальные исследования, критическая теория). Впервые концепция получила развитие в публикуемой ниже статье, написанной в 1986 году. Несмотря на то, что прошло более 30 лет с момента публикации, текст до сих пор более чем актуален, особенно в российском контексте, не избалованном качественными антропологическими и социологическими работами в области исламоведения. Перевод статьи печатается с любезного согласия самого автора и Центра современных арабских исследований Джорджтаунского университета, для которого она было подготовлена.
Consumption and Income Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Lifetime with No Humps and Low Partial Insurance

We conclude that low partial insurance is the norm in the rural areas of SSA and that credit constraints, savings constraints, and imperfect enforceability with a high risk of default are good reasons for it. The one lesson that we are learning is that theories that incorporate credit constraints, savings constraints, and some degree of lack of commitment are the ones more suitable to understand the degree of consupmtion insurance in SSA and possibly growth in these contexts. We are currently pursuing a quantitative theory of that short.
Balanced Encoding to Mitigate Power Analysis: A Case Study

Most side channel countermeasures for software implementations of cryptography either rely on masking or randomize the execution order of the cryptographic implementation. This work proposes a countermeasure that has constant leakage in common linear leakage models. Constant leakage is achieved not only for internal state values, but also for their transitions. The proposed countermeasure provides perfect protection in the theoretical leakage model. To study the practical relevance of the proposed countermeasure, it is applied to a software implementation of the block cipher Prince. This case study allows us to give realistic values for resulting implementation overheads as well as for the resulting side channel protection levels that can be achieved in realistic implementation scenarios.
Proprietary information spillovers and supplier choice: evidence from auditors

I test whether information spillover concerns are a causal determinant of supplier choice and whether suppliers are a conduit for these spillovers. Using the audit setting, where firms must use the services of an auditor to certify their financial statements, I document a reluctance of rival firms to engage the same auditor due to information-spillover concerns. This reluctance mitigates the benefits of industry specialization by auditors shown in prior literature. Using several quasi-natural experiments that exogenously vary the information-spillover costs of sharing the same auditor, while keeping the benefits of industry specialization constant, I find that same-industry rivals become less (more) likely to share the same auditor when the costs of information spillovers increase (decrease). I also find that firms initially sharing the same auditor make less similar decisions following an exogenous shock that compels them to switch auditors, suggesting that a legitimate reason may exist for client concerns about information spillovers.
Petri Nets, Traces, and Local Model Checking

It has been observed that the behavioural view of concurrent systems that all possible sequences of actions are relevant is too generous; not all sequences should be considered as likely behaviours. By taking progress fairness assumptions into account one obtains a more realistic behavioural view of the systems. In this paper we consider the problem of performing model checking relative to this behavioural view. We present a CTL-like logic which is interpreted over the model of concurrent systems labelled 1-safe nets. It turns out that Mazurkiewicz trace theory provides a useful setting in which the progress fairness assumptions can be formalized in a natural way. We provide the first, to our knowledge, set of sound and complete tableau rules for a CTL-like logic interpreted under progress fairness assumptions.
Factors that Influence Successful Start-Up of Home Visiting Sites: Lessons Learned from Replicating the First Born® Program

Proposes measures of successful home visiting program implementation and identifies factors that promote successful implementation or serve as barriers to program initiation based on lessons learned from the replication of the First Born® Program.
A Tree-Based Algorithm for Construction Robots

In this paper, we present a tree-based algorithm for construction robots. Inspired by the TERMES project of Harvard University, robots in this domain are required to gather construction blocks from a reservoir and build user-specified structures much larger than themselves. While the robots are of roughly the same size as the blocks, they can scale greater heights by using temporarily constructed ramps in the substructures. In this paper, we consider the problem of minimizing the number of pickup and drop-off operations performed on blocks in order to build user-specified structures. Our polynomial-time algorithm heuristically solves this problem and is based on the idea of performing dynamic programming on a spanning tree in the inner loop and searching for a good tree to do so in the outer loop. Our algorithm performs very well in simulation and scales easily to large problem instances. For planning problems of this nature that are akin to construction domains, we believe that valuable lessons can be learned from comparing the success of our algorithm with the failure of off-the-shelf planning technologies.
Utilities as random variables: density estimation and structure discovery

Decision theory does not traditionally include uncertainty over utility functions. We argue that the a person's utility value for a given outcome can be treated as we treat other domain attributes: as a random variable with a density function over its possible values. We show that we can apply statistical density estimation techniques to learn such a density function from a database of partially elicited utility functions. In particular, we define a Bayesian learning framework for this problem, assuming the distribution over utilities is a mixture of Gaussians, where the mixture components represent statistically coherent subpopulations. We can also extend our techniques to the problem of discovering generalized additivity structure in the utility functions in the population. We define a Bayesian model selection criterion for utility function structure and a search procedure over structures. The factorization of the utilities in the learned model, and the generalization obtained from density estimation, allows us to provide robust estimates of utilities using a significantly smaller number of utility elicitation questions. We experiment with our technique on synthetic utility data and on a real database of utility functions in the domain of prenatal diagnosis.
Ion implantation and dynamic recovery of tin-doped indium oxide films

The effect of O{sup +} on implantation on the electronic (carrier density, mobility), resistivity and microstructural properties of thin film Sn-doped In{sub 2}O{sub 3} (ITO) was studied. Both polycrystalline (c-) and amorphous (a-) ITO thin films, 200 nm thick, were implanted at substrate temperatures ranging from {minus}196 to 300{degrees} C with 80 keV O{sup +} at doses ranging from 0 to 4.0{times}10{sup 15} cm{sup {minus}2}. X-ray diffraction studies show that polycrystalline ITO remains crystalline even after implantation with 80 keV O{sup +} at {minus}196{degrees}C to a dose of 4.0{times}10{sup 15} cm{sup {minus}2} which suggests that dynamic recovery processes are active in ITO at this low temperature. Although the x-ray diffraction pattern of the polycrystalline ITO remains unchanged with implant dose, the electrical properties were seen to degrade when implanted to a dose of 1.0{times}10{sup 15}cm{sup {minus}2} below 200{degrees}C. In contrast, amorphous ITO films remains amorphous upon ion implantation and shows almost no degradation in resistivity when implanted below 16{degrees}C. The recrystallization temperature of amorphous ITO is about 150{degrees}C in the absence of ion implantation.
On maximizing network lifetime of broadcast in WANETs under an overhearing cost model

Absence of line power supplies imposes severe constraints on nodes in wireless ad hoc and sensor networks. In this paper, we concentrate on finding a broadcast tree that maximizes the network's lifetime. Previous studies showed that this problem is polynomially solvable when assuming receivers consume no energy or only designated receivers consume energy for receiving packets. Due to the broadcast nature of the wireless medium, however, unintended active nodes in the receiving range of a transmitting node may overhear the message and hence contribute to energy wastage. Under the overhearing cost (OC) model, the problem becomes NP-hard and the approximation ratio of the existing solutions, which are optimal under the non-overhearing cost (NOC) model, can be as bad as Ω(n). We investigate the problem by developing heuristic solutions. Simulation results show that our algorithms outperform the existing ones by up to 100%.
COMUNIDADES EPISTÉMICAS: UNA PROPUESTA PARA ESTUDIAR EL PAPEL DE LOS EXPERTOS EN LA DEFINICIÓN DE POLÍTICAS EN EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR EN MÉXICO

Con el termino comunidades epistemicas se analizar la influencia que redes de expertos en educacion superior han tenido en la instauracion de politicas publicas en Mexico en los pasados diez anos. Si bien se puede comprobar que la comunidad epistemica, especialmente del area cientifica, le dio contenido a la politica, dificilmente puede senalarse que ellos decidieron esta reforma. Los que tomaron directamente las decisiones fueron sin lugar a dudas otros actores. Al respecto, el estudio enfatiza la diversificacion y mutacion de las comunidades a traves de redes como nueva forma de organizacion disciplinaria, que en el caso mexicano, permitio su consolidacion frente a otras comunidades en su capacidad de influir en la elaboracion de las politicas destinadas a la educacion superior.
Balancing Transparency, Efficiency and Security in Pervasive Systems

Abstract This chapter surveys pervasive computing with a focus on how its constraint for transparency affects issues of resource management and security. The goal of pervasive computing is to render computing transparent, such that computing resources are ubiquitously offered to the user and services are proactively performed for a user without his or her intervention. The task of integrating computing infrastructure with everyday life without making it excessively invasive brings about trade-offs between flexibility and robustness, efficiency and effectiveness, as well as autonomy and reliability. While efficiency in resource management is not the primary goal of pervasive computing, it should be considered in order to best utilize a limited set of resources (bandwidth, computing, etc.) so as to avoid congestion and creation of a visible and distracting bottleneck in the eyes of the user. As solutions to efficiently manage the resources in a pervasive computing environment, three techniques will be examined: the distributed caching and sharing of data between mobile hosts, the broadcasting of services by public service providers and the ability for mobile hosts to adaptively adjust the quality of offered services. Likewise, security is often an afterthought in many computing projects, though it should be of high consideration in a pervasive environment where users share public resources to operate on private data. Specifically, how can a user be authenticated in this environment with minimal or no user intervention? Solutions such as single sign-on via smartcards and biometrics will be examined to carry out authentication in a pervasive environment. As the feasibility of ubiquitous computing and its real potential for mass applications are still a matter of controversy, this chapter will look into the underlying issues of resource management and authentication to discover how these can be handled in a least invasive fashion. The discussion will conclude with an overview of the solutions proposed by current pervasive computing efforts, both in the area of generic platforms and for dedicated applications such as pervasive education and healthcare.
A Knowledge Acquisition Tool for Bayesian-Network Troubleshooters

This paper describes a domain-specific knowledge acquisition tool for intelligent automated troubleshooter!; based on Bayesian networks. No Bayesian network knowledge is required to use the tool., and troubleshooting information can be spec.ified as natural and intuitive as possible. Probabilities can be specified in the direction that is most natural to the domain expert. Thus, the knowledge acquisition efficiently removes the traditional knowledge acquisition bottleneck of Bayesian networks.
The cometary nucleus: current concepts

This paper deals with current ideas concerning the nature of cometary nuclei as modified by observations of recent years, particularly by those of Halley’s comet during the 1986 apparition. The major trend has been to increase the postulated dimensions of the nuclei and reduce their albedos. The Vega and Giotto space missions have established invaluable check points with regard to comet nuclei. Striking is the low geometric albedo of 0.044 deduced from the directly observed dimensions of the nucleus and the brightness at large solar distances. The dimensions, the observed nongravitational motions and the jet activity combine to suggest an extremely low density for the nucleus of Halley’s cornet — in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 g cm−3.
Temporal and Spatial Evaluation of Soil Conservation Policies

Contained in this paper are estimates of the benefits and costs of alternative soil conservation policies in a spatially and temporally consistent framework. The policies considered are implementation of soil conservation practices with an objective of reducing erosion to a site's tolerance level and a policy with an objective of a voluntary 50 percent reduction of conventional tillage. Costs and erosion benefits of these two policies are compared with those obtained from CRP.
Low‐cloud optical depth feedback in climate models

The relationship between low-level cloud optical depth and atmospheric and surface air temperature is examined in the control climate of 13 climate models to determine if cloud optical depth-temperature relationships found in observations are replicated in climate models and if climate model behavior found in control climate simulations provides information about the optical depth feedback in climate warming simulations forced by increasing carbon dioxide. A positive relationship between cloud optical depth and cloud temperature exists in all models for low clouds with relatively cold temperatures at middle and high latitudes, whereas a negative relationship exists for warmer low clouds in the tropics and subtropics. This relationship is qualitatively similar to that in an earlier analysis of satellite observations, although modeled regression slopes tend to be too positive and their intermodel spread is large. In the models, the cold cloud response comes from increases in cloud water content with increasing temperature, while the warm cloud response comes from decreases in physical thickness with increasing cloud temperature. The intermodel and interregional spread of low-cloud optical depth feedback in climate warming simulations is well predicted by the corresponding spread in the relationships between optical depth and temperature for the current climate, suggesting that this aspect of cloud feedback may be constrained by observations. Because models have a positive bias relative to observations in the optical depth-temperature relationship, shortwave cloud feedback for climate changes may be more positive than climate models currently simulate.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer. An EOS facility instrument candidate for application of data compression methods

Summary form only given. MODIS is a multispectral imaging system to be flown on the Earth Observing System (EOS) in the late 1990's. The system will be composed of two cross-track scanning instruments. One instrument is called MODIS-N (nadir), indicating a multispectral scanner that will not be tilted and provide a continuous cross-track scan. The other instrument is called MODIS-T (tilt), indicating a scanner that will allow the cross-track scan to be tilted +or-50 degrees fore and aft. Data coming from the MODIS observing facility will amount to something near a terabyte per day depending upon the total time when the instruments are on, and the amount of ancillary information acquired concerning spacecraft attitude, etc. It is appropriate to consider the MODIS as a case study for methods that would reduce the volume of data involved for processing, archiving, distribution and analysis. A specific instance concerns the transmission of data by direct read-out to the scientist or user at a given location. >
FIRM SIZE AND EFFICIENCY IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN MOTOR VEHICLE INDUSTRY

The South African motor vehicle industry has historically been considered a critical industry in the South African economy and the target of numerous government policies designed to protect it and/or increase its international competitiveness. This study examines the cost performance of firms in this industry according to their size, using data categorised by output level. The results are consistent with statistically significant economies of scale at the lowest output levels and a cost inefficiency averaging from about seven to nine per cent for all firms. The findings also suggest that all else equal, the smallest firms and the largest firms have lower unit costs than mid-sized firms. While this work suggests that policies that would give incentives for the smallest firms to increase their scale of operations might help to reduce their unit costs, further investigation needs to be done with respect to why firms in the mid-level size categories appear to be less efficient.
A rationally designed histone deacetylase inhibitor with distinct antitumor activity against ovarian cancer.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are a class of antineoplastic agents previously demonstrating preclinical chemosensitizing activity against drug-resistant cancer cells and mouse xenografts. However, whereas clinical studies have shown efficacy against human hematologic malignancies, solid tumor trials have proved disappointing. We previously developed a novel HDACI, “OSU-HDAC42,” and herein examine its activity against ovarian cancer cell lines and xenografts. OSU-HDAC42, (i) unlike most HDACIs, elicited a more than five-fold increase in G2-phase cells, at 2.5 µM, with G2 arrest followed by apoptosis; (ii) at 1.0 µM, completely repressed messenger RNA expression of the cell cycle progression gene cdc2; (iii) at low doses (0.25–1.0 µM for 24 hours), induced tumor cell epithelial differentiation, as evidenced by morphology changes and a more than five-fold up-regulation of epithelium-specific cytokeratins; (iv) potently abrogated the growth of numerous ovarian cancer cells, with IC50 values of 0.5 to 1.0 µM, whereas also remaining eight-fold less toxic (IC50 of 8.6 µM) to normal ovarian surface epithelial cells; and (v) chemosensitizated platinum-resistant mouse xenografts to cisplatin. Compared with the clinically approved HDACI suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (vorinostat), 1.0 µM OSU-HDAC42 was more biochemically potent (i.e., enzyme-inhibitory), as suggested by greater gene up-regulation and acetylation of both histone and nonhistone proteins. In p53-dysfunctional cells, however, OSU-HDAC42 was two- to eight-fold less inductive of p53-regulated genes, whereas also having a two-fold higher IC50 than p53-functional cells, demonstrating some interaction with p53 tumor-suppressive cascades. These findings establish OSU-HDAC42 as a promising therapeutic agent for drug-resistant ovarian cancer and justify its further investigation.
Numerical and Theoretical Studies of Noise Effects in the Kauffman Model

In this work we analyze the stochastic dynamics of the Kauffman model evolving under the influence of noise. By considering the average crossing time between two distinct trajectories, we show that different Kauffman models exhibit a similar kind of behavior, even when the structure of their basins of attraction is quite different. This can be considered as a robust property of these models. We present numerical results for the full range of noise level and obtain approximate analytic expressions for the above crossing time as a function of the noise in the limit cases of small and large noise levels.
Predicting in-hospital mortality of ICU patients: The PhysioNet/Computing in cardiology challenge 2012

Acuity scores, such as APACHE, SAPS, MPM, and SOFA, are widely used to account for population differences in studies aiming to compare how medications, care guidelines, surgery, and other interventions impact mortality in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. By contrast, the focus of the PhysioNet/CinC Challenge 2012 is to develop methods for patient-specific prediction of in-hospital mortality. The data used for the challenge consisted of 5 general descriptors and 36 time series (measurements of vital signs and laboratory results) from the first 48 hours of the first available ICU stay of 12,000 adult patients from the MIMIC II database. The challenge was organized as two events: event 1 measured performance of a binary classifier, and event 2 measured performance of a risk estimator. The score of event 1 was the lower of sensitivity and positive predictive value. The score for event 2 was a range-normalized Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic. A baseline algorithm (using SAPS-1) obtained event 1 and 2 scores of 0.3125 and 68.58 respectively. Most participants submitted entries that outperformed the baseline algorithm. The top final scores for events 1 and 2 were 0.5353 and 17.88 respectively.
sticky prices and comovement of business cycle

A defining characteristic of business cycle is comovements of economic variables across sectors. But it is not easy to replicate these comovements in standard real business cycle models. Traditionally, however, not only the productivity shocks emphasized in real business cycle models but also monetary shocks have been believed to be important in explaining business cycles . Following this tradition, a two sector sticky price model is constructed in this paper to examine the sectoral comovements of economic variables under nominal rigidities. It turns out that monetary shocks can generate comovements of sectoral variabl
A Unified View of How the Study of Emission Lines Furthers Our Knowledge of AGN

A global view is given of how emission lines have been, and may in the future, be used to enhance our understanding of AGN. Lines from the microwave to the X-ray bands all contribute. Although we have a deep understanding of the physical processes by which line photons are generated, when the circumstances of line emission are complicated, models become too unreliable to provide strong inferences about the rest of the AGN system. At present, the lines which appear the most promising for helping answer the most important questions about AGN are the 22 GHz H 2 O rotational transition and the 6.4keV FeKα fluorescence.
A test of inter-modal performance measures for transit investment decisions

Choices among alternative transit capital investments are often complex and politically controversial. There is renewed interest in the use of performance indicators to assist in making rational and defensible choices for the investment of public funds. To improve the evaluation of rail and bus performance and provide more useful information for transit investment decision-makers, it is important to use performance indicators that fairly and efficiently compare different transit modes. This paper proposes a set of inter-modal performance indicators in which service input, service output, and service consumption are measured by total cost, revenue capacity miles/hours, and unlinked passenger trips/miles respectively based on economic principles and evaluation objectives. The proposed improvements involve the inclusion of capital as well as operating costs in such comparisons, and the recognition of the widely varying capacities of transit vehicles for seated and standing passengers. Two California cases, the Los Angeles – Long Beach Corridor and the Market/Judah Corridor in San Francisco, are used for testing their usefulness in the evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of rail and bus services. The results show substantial differences between performance indicators in current use and those proposed in this study. The enhanced inter-modal performance indicators are more appropriate for comparing the efficiency and effectiveness of different modes or a combination of transit modes at the corridor and system levels where most major investment decisions are made.
Complex decay chains of top and bottom squarks

Current searches for the top squark mostly focus on the decay channels of $$ {\tilde{t}}_1\to t{\chi}_1^0 $$ or $$ {\tilde{t}}_1\to b{\chi}_1^{\pm}\to bW{\chi}_1^0 $$ , leading to tt/bbWW + final states for top squark pair production at the LHC. In supersymmetric scenarios with light gauginos other than the neutralino lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP), different decay modes of the top squark could be dominant, which significantly weaken the current top squark search limits at the LHC. Additionally, new decay modes offer alternative discovery channels for top squark searches. In this paper, we study the top squark and bottom squark decay in the Bino-like LSP case with light Wino or Higgsino next-to-LSPs (NLSPs), and identify cases in which additional decay modes become dominant. We also perform a collider analysis for top squark pair production with mixed top squark decay final states of $$ {\tilde{t}}_1\to t{\chi}_2^0\to th{\chi}_1^0,{\tilde{t}}_1\to b{\chi}_1^{\pm}\to bW{\chi}_1^0 $$ , leading to the bbbbjjl + collider signature. The branching fraction for such decay varies between 25% and 50% for a top squark mass larger than 500 GeV with M2 = M1 + 150 GeV. At the 14 TeV LHC with 300 fb−1 integrated luminosity, the top squark can be excluded up to about 1040 GeV at the 95% C.L., or be discovered up to 940 GeV at 5σ significance.
Matching, heterogeneity and the evolution of income distribution

This paper analyzes a model in which firms and workers have to engage in costly search to find a production partner, and endogenizes the skill, job, and wage distributions in this context. The presence of search frictions implies that there are two redistributive forces in the labor market. The first is mismatch relative to the Walrasian economy; skilled workers tend to work with lower physical to human capital ratios, and this compresses the earnings differentials. The second is the opportunity cost effect; because the opportunity cost of accepting an unskilled worker, which is to forgo the opportunity to employ a skilled worker, is high, unskilled wages are pushed down. The interaction between these two forces leads to a non-ergodic equilibrium process for wage and income inequality. Further, the presence of mismatch reduces the rate of return to physical capital and thus depresses growth. A key prediction of the analysis is that increasing wage inequality is more likely to arise in economies with less frictional labor markets, which is in line with the diverse cross-country patterns observed over the past two decades. Finally, the paper predicts that, as is largely the case with U.S. data, between group and within group wage inequality should move in the same direction.
1-Amino-1-deoxy-d-fructose (“Fructosamine”) and its Derivatives

Fructosamine has long been considered as a key intermediate of the Maillard reaction, which to a large extent is responsible for specific aroma, taste, and color formation in thermally processed or dehydrated foods. Since the 1980s, however, as a product of the Amadori rearrangement reaction between glucose and biologically significant amines such as proteins, fructosamine has experienced a boom in biomedical research, mainly due to its relevance to pathologies in diabetes and aging. In this chapter, we assess the scope of the knowledge on and applications of fructosamine-related molecules in chemistry, food, and health sciences, as reflected mostly in publications within the past decade. Methods of fructosamine synthesis and analysis, its chemical, and biological properties, and degradation reactions, together with fructosamine-modifying and -recognizing proteins are surveyed.
Sequent Schema for Derived Rules

This paper presents a general sequent schema language that can be used for specifying sequent-style rules for a logical theory. We show how by adding the sequent schema language to a theory we gain an ability to prove new inference rules within the theory itself. We show that the extension of any such theory with our sequent schema language and with any new rules found using this mechanism is conservative.By using the sequent schema language in a theorem prover, one gets an ability to allow users to derive new rules and then use such derived rules as if they were primitive axioms. The conservativity result guarantees the validity of this approach. This property makes it a convenient tool for implementing a derived rules mechanism in theorem provers, especially considering that the application of the rules expressed in the sequent schema language can be efficiently implemented using MetaPRL's fast rewriting engine.
Microstructural Anisotropy During Varying Forming Conditions

Many ceramic forming methods have been shown to cause a shear-induced preferred orientation of particles and crystals within green microstructures. This preferred orientation can result in the anisotropy of key properties of ceramic materials including toughness, electrical properties, and firing shrinkage and warpage. A study was performed that applied computational fluid dynamics simulations to predict the shear rate profiles which exist during tape casting non-Newtonian slurries at varying casting geometries and velocities. Aluminum oxide tapes were experimentally cast under the same conditions and the texture induced in the green and fired tapes was measured using an optical technique. The texture was found to correspond to regional and global shear intensity variations as predicted by the computational simulations.
Can islands of effectiveness thrive in difficult governance settings ? the political economy of local-level collaborative governance

Many low-income countries contend with a governance syndrome characterized by a difficult combination of seeming openness, weak institutions, and strong inter-elite contestation for power and resources. In such countries, neither broad-based policy nor public management reforms are likely to be feasible. But are broad-based approaches necessary? Theory and evidence suggest that in such settings progress could be driven by"islands of effectiveness"-- narrowly-focused initiatives that combine high-quality institutional arrangements at the micro-level, plus supportive, narrowly-targeted policy reforms. This paper explores whether and how local-level collaborative governance can provide a platform for these islands of effectiveness. Drawing on the analytical framework developed by the Nobel-prize winning social scientist Elinor Ostrom, the paper reviews the underpinnings of successful collaborative governance. It introduces a simple model for exploring the interactions between collaborative governance and political economy. The model highlights the conditions under which coordination is capable of countering threats from predators seeking to capture the returns from collaborative governance for themselves. The relative strength in the broader environment of two opposing networks emerges as key --"threat networks"to which predators have access, and countervailing"trumping networks"on which protagonists of effective collaborative governance can draw. The paper illustrates the potential practical relevance of the approach with three heuristic examples: the governance of schools, fisheries, and road construction and maintenance. It concludes by laying out an agenda for further empirical research, and suggesting what might be the implications of the approach for future operational practice.
Applying Intermediate Microeconomics to Terrorism

The authors show how microeconomic concepts and principles are applicable to the study of terrorism. The utility maximization model provides insights into both terrorist resource allocation choices and government counterterrorism efforts, and basic game theory helps characterize the strategic interdependencies among terrorists and governments.
Plasma tyrosine kinase activity as a potential biomarker in BCR-ABL1-targeted therapy

In targeted therapy using tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), measurement of TK activities could be beneficial for diagnosis, identification of potential responders, and monitoring treatment efficacy. Here we evaluated the utility of measuring circulating TK (cTK) activity directly from plasma in leukemia patients positive for the BCR-ABL1. Plasma cTK activity was measured from 46 patients with newly diagnosed chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), 24 with multidrug-resistant CML, 24 with BCR-ABL1-positive acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), and 38 healthy donors. Circulating TK activity was significantly higher in CML (median 801.93 U/mL, range 18.10-3932.30 U/mL) and BCR-ABL1-positive ALL patients (median 659.55 U/mL, range 0-1626.90 U/mL) than in healthy donors (median 82.85 U/mL, range 0.63-852.80 U/mL) (P < 0.001). Plasma cTK activity was closely correlated with cellular BCR-ABL1 kinase activation as indicated by phosphorylation of the downstream signaling proteins CRKL (P < 0.001) and STAT-5 (P= 0.003). However, cTK activity was not associated with BCR-ABL1 transcript level and was independent of BCR-ABL1 mutation type. Ex vivo inhibition of imatinib and dasatinib on plasma cTK activity was severely diminished in patients harboring T315I mutation. Ex vivo testing measuring the effect of TKIs on plasma cTK activity thus hold promise as drug sensitivity tests for predicting and monitoring response to specific TKIs.
Small Area Variation Analysis

Small area variation analysis examines the variation in the rates of performance of a medical procedure, such as an appendectomy, across geographic areas. The approach is used to identify procedures or DRGs in which there is too much variation, with the goal of improving guidelines or identifying outlying providers. Unless the number of procedures per area is very large, variations analyses present a variety of statistical challenges. Keywords: small area; variations; geographic; DRG
Symbolic model checking of concurrent programs using partial orders and on-the-fly transactions

The state explosion problem is one of the core bottlenecks in the model checking of concurrent software. We show how to ameliorate the problem by combining the ability of partial order techniques to reduce the state space of the concurrent program with the power of symbolic model checking to explore large state spaces. Our new verification methodology involves translating the given concurrent program into a circuit-based model which gives us the flexibility to then employ any model checking technique of choice – either SAT or BDD-based – for verifying a broad range of linear time properties, not just safety. The reduction in the explored state-space is obtained by statically augmenting the symbolic encoding of the program by additional constraints. These constraints restrict the scheduler to choose from a minimal conditional stubborn set of transitions at each state. Another key contribution of the paper, is a new method for detecting transactions on-the-fly which takes into account patterns of lock acquisition and yields better reductions than existing methods which rely on a lockset based analysis. Moreover unlike existing techniques, identifying on-the-fly transactions does not require the program to follow a lock discipline in accessing shared variables. We have applied our techniques to the Daisy test bench and shown the existence of several bugs.
Polarity sensitivity and evaluation order in type-logical grammar

We present a novel, type-logical analysis of polarity sensitivity: how negative polarity items (like any and ever) or positive ones (like some) are licensed or prohibited. It takes not just scopal relations but also linear order into account, using the programming-language notions of delimited continuations and evaluation order, respectively. It thus achieves greater empirical coverage than previous proposals.
Lower bounds for interior nodal sets of Steklov eigenfunctions

We study the interior nodal sets, Zλ of Steklov eigenfunctions in an ndimensional relatively compact manifolds M with boundary and show that one has the lower bounds |Zλ| ≥ cλ 2−n 2 for the size of its (n − 1)-dimensional Hausdorff measure. The proof is based on a Dong-type identity and estimates for the gradient of Steklov eigenfunctions, similar to those in [18] and [19], respectively.
An Overview of Dairy Marketing Cooperatives Operating in New York State

Agricultural cooperatives have historically played an important role in marketing farm products produced in New York State dating back to the 1800’s. Some of the first dairy marketing cooperatives organized in the U.S. were formed in New York. Many early dairy cooperatives were created to bargain for prices and terms of trade on behalf of farmer members with dairy processors. The number of dairy processing plants and firms in the U.S. and New York State have decreased significantly over the past fifty years. However, the number of New York dairy cooperatives, especially bargaining cooperatives, did not decrease at the same rate as the rest of the U.S. over the same period. There is a wide range of types of cooperatives operating in New York performing various functions throughout the dairy value chain. Some dairy cooperatives operate at the first handler-level of the value chain as bargaining associations, while others operate further up the value chain by adding value to member milk in a number of ways. New York dairy cooperatives utilize a variety of organizational structures including: centralized, federated, marketing agency in common, strategic alliances and joint ventures both with cooperatives or other types of firms. Cooperatives can qualify for special status within the Federal Market Order system obtaining some privileges or voting rights not available to proprietary handlers. New York State reported the highest number (65) of dairy cooperatives of any state. The average gross volume per New York dairy cooperative as well as the average gross business volume per member was relatively low compared to other major dairy states. There are a relatively larger number of small scale bargaining cooperatives headquartered in New York State. Proximity to market; a large number of smaller volume processing plants; the previous ability of smaller bargaining cooperatives to secure beneficial terms for their members; the lack of a strong, pre-eminent dairy cooperative in the region; past Federal Market Order provisions in New York, and major cooperative financial failures were all factors that provided a climate for small bargaining cooperatives to operate in. Ten of the top 50 dairy cooperatives in the U.S. operate in New York. Four New York cooperatives with processing operations are among the top 100 U.S. dairy processors. A number of national, international cooperatives or associations of cooperatives include or support New York cooperatives such as the National Milk Producers Federation, Cooperatives Working Together, Dairy America, and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. Dairy cooperatives operating in New York State are adjusting to significant changes in the regional, national, and global markets for milk and dairy products. Since the data were collected for this report in 2003, a number of major changes have occurred in the number and scope of New York dairy cooperatives. Those developments will be reviewed in a future report.
Planning New UC Campuses in the 1960s: A Background Paper for UC Merced on the Role of the Universitywide Senate

Author(s): Douglass, John Aubrey | Abstract: This brief provides additional information on the role of the Academic Senate in new campus planning in the 1960s. A previous report, "The Role of the Academic Senate in Tenth Campus Planning," provided background information for the University of California Academic Council and the Assembly of the Academic Senate regarding the potential role of the Academic Senate in establishing UC Merced. The Merced campus is scheduled to begin instruction in the fall of 2004. This report is intended to provide contextual information for the Academic Senate's UC Merced Task Force.
The "Phantom Costs" of Florida's Citrus Industry

Regulatory compliance, the "phantom costs of production," is an increasingly "fact-of-life" for U.S. agriculture. A survey was developed and implemented to enumerate regulatory compliance costs for Florida's 748,500 acres citrus industry. Complying with 61 production related regulations, 643,757 hours were expended at a total annual cost of over $24.3 million.
A Tractable Metric for Evaluating Base Station Geometries in Cellular Network Localization

In this letter, we present a new metric for characterizing the geometric conditions encountered in cellular positioning based on the angular spread of the base stations (BSs). The metric is shown to be closely related to the geometric-dilution-of-precision (GDOP), yet has the benefit of being characterizable in terms of the network parameters for BS layouts modeled according to a Poisson point process (PPP). As an additional benefit, the metric is shown to immediately yield a device’s probability of being inside or outside the convex hull of the BSs, which localization researchers will widely-recognize as being a strong indicator of localization performance.
Inhibition of ovulation with cyclic use of progestogen-impregnated intravaginal devices.

Abstract In order to determine the efficacy, acceptability, and reversibility of contraception with silicone vaginal devices impregnated with medroxyprogesterone acetate, 24 women were studied for a 10 month period. All subjects had presumptive evidence of ovulation in 2 control cycles. New devices were inserted during each treatment cycle on either Day 5 or Day 10 and removed on Day 26. The subjects were studied for 2 posttreatment recovery cycles. During treatment, ovulation was effectively inhibited as determined by failure to detect a rise of serum progesterone in the luteal phase of the cycle. Ovulation as determined by this parameter usually resumed in the first posttreatment cycle. Breakthrough bleeding was minimal. Four subjects had small vaginal erosions which healed spontaneously following removal of the devices. Subjectively, both the subjects and their spouses stated the devices did not cause discomfort during coitus. After initial fitting by a physician, the subjects removed and reinserted the devices themselves without difficulty. These studies indicate this technique of continuous steroid administration offers promise as a method of contraception.
Path Integral Monte Carlo Calculation of the Momentum Distribution of the Homogeneous Electron Gas at Finite Temperature

Abstract Path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulations are employed to calculate the momentum distribution of the homogeneous electron gas at finite temperature. Open paths are introduced to sample off-diagonal elements of the real-space density matrix. It is demonstrated how the restricted PIMC method can be extended to incorporate open paths in order to allow for the simulations in fermionic systems where a sign problem is present. The computed momentum distribution shows significant deviations from behavior of free fermions when strong correlations are present but agrees with predictions from variational methods.