cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RICO 2.0: State RICO Statutes in Opt-Out Securities Litigation

This Essay analyzes the potential role for state racketeering statutes in the future of opt-out securities litigation. In the 1980s and early 1990s, securities fraud plaintiffs often asserted claims under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), largely motivated by the treble damages provision. This trend ground to a halt in 1995, when Congress eliminated the private remedy under RICO for most securities fraud cases. More recently, a new trend has emerged: institutional investors have begun opting out of federal securities class actions, choosing instead to pursue individual actions in state court under state law. An often overlooked implication of this enhanced prominence of state law in securities litigation is that many states have enacted so-called “little-RICO” statutes, which largely mirror the pre-1995 version of federal RICO. This raises the potential for RICO 2.0 — a new wave of racketeering claims premised on securities fraud asserted by opt-out plaintiffs under state RICO statutes.This Essay argues that, if this prediction comes to fruition, opt-outs’ ability to recover enhanced damages under state RICO statutes would not further the purposes of RICO, would not further the goals of securities litigation, would implicate serious distributive justice concerns, and would inhibit necessary reforms of the federal securities laws. Therefore, this Essay contends that the playing field between negative-value investors and potential opt-out investors should be leveled, either by reinstating federal RICO claims premised on securities fraud or by eliminating state RICO claims premised on securities fraud. In other words, this Essay argues for RICO 3.0.
Why Did Hospital Ethics Committees Emerge in the US

Ethics committees developed in response to new technology, value-laden questions in a pluralistic context, and a short timeframe for decision making.
Influence factor and characteristics of human rabies during incubation period.

The data of 468 human rabies cases from 2004 to 2009 in Henan province were sorted and analyzed in order to analyse the influence factor and characteristics of human rabies during incubation period.All the data were input into database with Epidata3.1 software,and were analyzed with SPSS15.0 software.Nonparametric statistics-rank sum test,semi-parametric statistics-Cox regression method were used in this study.The results showed that the data of rabies during incubation period was positively skew distribution,the skewness was 5.047,the kurtosis was 31.099,the median was sixty-day,and the interval was from 4 to 2465 day.The significant incubation period in single factor analysis were the influence factors,such as age,exposure sort,exposure level,exposure site,treatment post-exposure,clinic grade of treatment,wound wash or not,wound disinfection or not,vaccination or not,the state of infectious sources,and the cause of exposure.The significant influence factors in multi-factor analysis was exposure site and age.In conclusion,the data of rabies incubation period was positively skew distribution.The significant influence factors of incubation period were exposure site and age.
How physicians support children with disabilities and their families: Roles, responsibilities and collaborative partnerships

Abstract Background The American Association of Pediatricians (AAP), in collaboration with the Council for Children with Disabilities and the Council on School Health, recommends that physicians learn special education law and practices in order to increase their ability to work with schools to support children with disabilities and their families. However, there is limited research that examines how doctors perceive their role as collaborators with families and school personnel. Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and collaborative experiences of doctors treating children with disabilities in order to develop an initial understanding of how doctors collaborate within the doctor/family/school triad. Method Semi-structured interviews with doctors (n = 13) from two states in the North Eastern United States were collected and analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Doctor specialty areas included general pediatrics, developmental pediatrics, rehabilitation pediatrics, and neurology. Results Analysis of the data revealed four key categories: (a) what doctors do with regard to children with disabilities and schools, (b) elements that interfere with doctor/family/school collaboration, (c) what doctors know and understand about topics related to special education, and (d) how doctors learned about topics related to special education. Doctors disclosed they learned about these topics through mentorship and on-the job training, not formally during medical school or residency. Conclusions This research presents powerful evidence in support of a paradigm shift with regard to infusing a focus on doctor/family/school collaboration for children with disabilities into the medical school curriculum.
Economic and Management Education in China: The Pros and Cons of Emulating the US Model

In the early 1980s, China began its transition away from a planned economic system to a market-oriented economy. Marx and Mao Zedong thought were still taught, but the transition to Paul Samuelson and Michael Porter had begun. Today, three mainland business schools rank in the top global tier of MBA programs (Financial Times, 2012), and the hottest part of the job market at the American Economic Association is the Chinese universities hiring many of the best and brightest new PhDs. In 2007,14 schools attended to recruit 80 faculty positions (Li, 2010), and this market has grown since.
Comparison of Heart Rate and Blood Pressure with Toe Pinch and Bispectral Index for Monitoring the Depth of Anesthesia in Piglets

Determining depth of anesthesia (DOA) is a clinical challenge in veterinary medicine, yet it is critical for the appropriate oversight of animals involved in potentially painful experimental procedures. Here, we investigated various parameters used to monitor conscious awareness during surgical procedures and refined the application of noxious stimuli to anesthetized animals. Specifically we used a common stimulus, a compressive toe pinch (TP), to determine physiologic changes that accompanied a positive or negative motion response in isoflurane-anesthetized piglets. A positive response was defined as any reflexive withdrawal, whereas a negative response was defined as the absence of motion after stimulation. We also assessed the utility of the bispectral index (BIS) for its ability to predict a motion response to TP. The average of BIS values over 1 min (BISmean) was recorded before and after TP. In piglets with a positive response to TP, heart rate (HR), but not blood pressure (BP), increased significantly, but receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that HR was not a sensitive, specific predictor of TP motion response. Both before and after TP, BISmean was a strong predictor of a positive motion response. We conclude that HR and noninvasive BP changes are not clinically reliable indicators of anesthetic depth when assessed immediately after a peripherally applied compressive force as an indicator stimulus; however, BISmean and response TP are acceptable for assessing DOA in piglets maintained under isoflurane anesthesia.
Bonding, Bridging, and Constricting

Given the nature of government policy and funding for victim support groups, combined with the types of leaders identified in Chap. 4, it should come as no surprise that victim groups were predominantly engaged in bonding, rather than bridging social capital. While around 80 % of groups were engaged in either functional or dysfunctional bonding, only around 20 % built bridging forms of social capital. In this chapter, I will reveal the ways in which victim support groups bonded, bridged, and constricted. Significantly, leadership and trust were crucial determinants of whether bonding, bridging, or constriction occurred. However, government policy, as I have already argued, also played an important role in shaping social capital in victim support groups. Thus, I begin with an investigation of Northern Ireland’s social capital policy.
Efficient algorithms for market equilibria

The mathematical modeling of a market, and the proof of existence of equilibria have been of central importance in mathematical economics. Since the existence proof is non-constructive in general, a natural question is if computation of equilibria can be done efficiently. Moreover, the emergence of Internet and e-commerce has given rise to new markets that have completely changed the traditional notions. Add to this the pervasiveness of computing resources, and an algorithmic theory of market equilibrium becomes highly desirable. The goal of this thesis is to provide polynomial time algorithms for various market models. Two basic market models are the Fisher model: one in which there is a demarcation between buyers and sellers, buyers are interested in the goods that the sellers possess, and sellers are only interested in the money that the buyers have; and the Arrow-Debreu model: everyone has an endowment of goods, and wants to exchange them for other goods. We give the first polynomial time algorithm for exactly computing an equilibrium in the Fisher model with linear utilities. We also show that the basic ideas in this algorithm can be extended to give a strongly polynomial time approximation scheme in the Arrow-Debreu model. We also give several existential, algorithmic and structural results for new market models: (1) the spending constraint utilities (defined by Vazirani) captures the "diminishing returns" property while generalizing the algorithm for the linear case; (2) the capacity allocation market (defined by Kelly), motivated by the study of fairness and stability of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) for the Internet, and more generally the class of Eisenberg-Gale (EG) markets (defined by Jain and Vaziram). Finally, this line of research has given insights into the fundamental techniques in algorithm design. The primal-dual schema has been a great success in combinatorial optimization and approximation algorithms. Our algorithms use this paradigm in the enhanced setting of Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions and convex programs.
1917: Communism — A New World Religion

The Russian Revolution of 1917 changed the political outlook of much of the human race. The uprising began on 8 March 1917, when a handful of hungry housewives rioted in the streets of Petrograd (St Petersburg), capital of Czarist Russia. The economic hardships and the stupendous losses suffered by the Russians at the beginning of the First Great War had already aroused widespread dissent among all classes and it was not long before the bread riots became anti-government demonstrations. On 11 March soldiers of the Petrograd garrison mutinied. On 12 March, in a vast, unexpected explosion of feeling, the people of Petrograd took to the streets. Unplanned, unforeseen, and uncoordinated, the revolution was underway. This time, unlike the earlier uprising of 1905, which had followed Russia’s defeat by Japan, nothing could stem it. Troops were called out to put down the revolt, but they mutinied and joined the people. Panic seized the city. In an attempt to restore order, the Duma136 formed a Provisional Government. On 15 March Czar Nicholas, who was hurrying back to the capital from the front, was forced to abdicate.
Agents Causing Acute Hepatitis

This chapter discusses the pathology of hepatitis. It discusses the diagnosis, treatment, and causing agents of hepatitis. There are at least three important hepatitis viruses that are presently called viruses A, B, and C. These viruses are distinctive, cause somewhat different diseases, exhibit no cross immunity, and carry differing long-term implications. Virus A (MS-1) is the cause of infectious hepatitis, virus B (MS-2) causes serum hepatitis, and virus C causes non-A and non-B hepatitis. Hepatitis A is apparently caused worldwide by the same single agent, a 27-nm RNA enterovirus. The virus of hepatitis B was identified and described well before the hepatitis A virus was identified; the quest for the former and the development of increasingly sensitive immunologic techniques helped immeasurably to facilitate the discovery of the latter. There are several reasons for hepatitis; however, at present, it is clear that alcohol is directly responsible for fatty metamorphosis of the liver. It is equally clear that continued use of alcohol can cause progressive hepatic damage, from fatty liver to alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis. Hepatic damage can be caused by almost all drugs some of the time; it can even be caused by some drugs all of the time.
Upper Bounds on the Time and Space Complexity of Optimizing Additively Separable Functions

We present upper bounds on the time and space complexity of finding the global optimum of additively separable functions, a class of functions that has been studied extensively in the evolutionary computation literature. The algorithm presented uses efficient linkage discovery in conjunction with local search. Using our algorithm, the global optimum of an order-k additively separable function defined on strings of length l can be found using O(l ln(l)2 k ) function evaluations, a bound which is lower than all those that have previously been reported.
Concurrent Error Detection using Signature Monitoring and Encryption

This paper presents an efficient approach to concurrent detection of program execution errors that combines signature monitoring with program encryption. Sources of detectable errors include permanent and transient hardware faults, software and hardware design faults, and computer viruses. Errors are detected by a simple monitor that uses signatures embedded in a compatibly encrypted program. The monitor concurrently decrypts the program using the processor control-bit sequences that are included in the signatures. Computer virus attacks are difficult because details of the processor’s internal operation are needed to attach compatibly encrypted code. Encryption and a small signature cache added to the monitor allow the lowest memory overhead of any proposed signature-monitoring technique. Encryption and the program memory’s error correction/detection code are combined to reduce signature-error detection latency by more than 60 times, while maintaining memory error correction/detection.
VectorSync: distributed dataset synchronization over named data networking

Distributed dataset synchronization (sync for short) provides an important abstraction for multi-party data-centric communication in the Named Data Networking (NDN) architecture. Since the beginning of the NDN project, several sync protocols have been developed, each made its own design choices that cause inefficiency under various conditions. Furthermore, none of them provides group membership management, making it difficult to remove departed nodes from the protocol state maintained at each node. This poster presents VectorSync, a new NDN sync protocol that is built upon the lessons learned so far, provides group membership management, and improves the efficiency of dataset synchronization.
Retrospective cost adaptive Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes k–ω model for data-driven unsteady turbulent simulations

Abstract This paper presents a data-driven computational model for simulating unsteady turbulent flows, where sparse measurement data is available. The model uses the retrospective cost adaptation (RCA) algorithm to automatically adjust the closure coefficients of the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) k – ω turbulence equations to improve agreement between the simulated flow and the measurements. The RCA-RANS k – ω model is verified for steady flow using a pipe-flow test case and for unsteady flow using a surface-mounted-cube test case. Measurements used for adaptation of the verification cases are obtained from baseline simulations with known closure coefficients. These verification test cases demonstrate that the RCA-RANS k – ω model can successfully adapt the closure coefficients to improve agreement between the simulated flow field and a set of sparse flow-field measurements. Furthermore, the RCA-RANS k – ω model improves agreement between the simulated flow and the baseline flow at locations at which measurements do not exist. The RCA-RANS k – ω model is also validated with experimental data from 2 test cases: steady pipe flow, and unsteady flow past a square cylinder. In both test cases, the adaptation improves agreement with experimental data in comparison to the results from a non-adaptive RANS k – ω model that uses the standard values of the k – ω closure coefficients. For the steady pipe flow, adaptation is driven by mean stream-wise velocity measurements at 24 locations along the pipe radius. The RCA-RANS k – ω model reduces the average velocity error at these locations by over 35%. For the unsteady flow over a square cylinder, adaptation is driven by time-varying surface pressure measurements at 2 locations on the square cylinder. The RCA-RANS k – ω model reduces the average surface-pressure error at these locations by 88.8%.
The role of FDA enforcement in misleading product labelling claims in hospitality

Chronic diseases are the leading concerns to public health in the USA. These diseases include preventable conditions such as: heart disease, diabetes, and obesity (CDC, 2017). Consumers are increasingly turning to 'healthy' food options in an attempt to do their part to fight this increasingly important issue. Food manufacturers have responded by providing ever-greater numbers of foods labelled at 'wholesome' or 'natural'. But are these foods really what they are touted to be? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the US agency tasked with protecting consumers and overseeing food labelling. This paper looks at the monumental task facing this agency and the issues and constraints that hamper their ability to fully fulfil their mandate.
Human fallibility and weapons

Everything will work the way it is supposed to work.Nothing will happen until it is supposed to happen.
Rediscovering Good Teaching: Exploring Selfhood and Solidarity in Urban Contexts.

This paper describes the experiences of preservice teachers developing deeper understanding of themselves and diverse students through participation in the Philadelphia Urban Seminar. The Seminar focuses on the reconstruction of more complete understanding of urban students and urban communities by combining field experience in Philadelphia with profession development, service projects and contact with community members and organizations. Field notes, transcriptions of interviews and meetings, as well as reflective writing are analyzed using the framework of Solidarity (Rorty, 1998). Findings suggest that specific models of field experience and reflection are necessary to adequately prepare beginning teachers to work in urban classrooms.
Abstract 21234: Patient and Lesion Predictors of Stenting and Atherectomy for Peripheral Arterial Disease

Introduction: Endovascular management of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has become popular in the past two decades. But little is understood about the practice patterns of different endovascular...
Monitoring Drought from Space and Food Security

Drought is a typical phenomenon of the Earth’s climate. Losses from drought, especially in agriculture, are staggering. For example, in the USA, a country with the most advanced technology, the average annual drought damages are around $6 billion. In extreme drought years, such as 1988, costs jumped to $60 billion. Between 2001 and 2017, nearly 20% of land around the world was stricken by drought almost every year, and in some cases, that number is much higher. Developing countries in Africa and Asia were the most affected. During the first 17 years of the twenty-first century, the Horn of Africa experienced droughts 6 years in a row, which led to very serious food shortages and hunger. Mongolia’s rangelands suffered from very intensive droughts resulting in a lack of feed for livestock every 2–4 years. Unusual summer dryness also affected main grain-producing countries of the Black and Caspian Seas regions in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013. Weather data is traditionally used for drought monitoring. However, a weather-derived drought-watch system has a few serious shortcomings. Weather data represents point locations rather than an area and the number of meteorological stations around the globe are quite limited and not distributed evenly, especially in African countries, which have frequent problems with food security. Even in the United States, with a well-developed weather network, the density of stations is not sufficient for efficient drought monitoring. The US Drought Monitor (USDM), assumed by some users as an official US drought system, provides drought information for an area of 1,500,000–2,000,000 million acres of US territory, while California, producing nearly 90% of the USA’s vegetables, fruits, berries, and nuts, needs this information for each 200–500 acres occupied by each crop in the primary, irrigated Central Valley. This chapter discusses how the new vegetation health (VH) technology uses high-resolution (0.5 and 1 km2) and mid-resolution (4 and 16 km2) 38-year NOAA operational polar-orbiting satellite data (SNPP/VIIRS, NOAA-20/VIIRS and NOAA/AVHRR) for early drought detection, monitoring its features (area, intensity, duration, origination, impacts, etc.) and prediction of agricultural losses, which is used for global and regional food security assessments.
(1 → 3) β-Glucan induces multimodal toxicity responses in parallel exposures of model human lung epithelial cells and immature macrophage

Many epidemiological studies have associated bioaerosol exposures with a variety of adverse health effects; however, the role of bioaerosol components in the development and manifestation of hypersensitivity and non-infectious respiratory diseases remains unclear. Despite many studies which have examined allergic responses to bioaerosols, less is known about non-allergenic effects. In order to elucidate the mechanisms by which bioaerosols can exert non-atopic stresses on a cellular level, there is a need for improving existing in vitro approaches. In response, a cohort of toxicology assays were optimized to create a robust analytical suite for studying the effects that biogenic atmospheric pollutants generate on two model human lung cell lines (A549 epithelial line and GDM-1 immature macrophage line). To demonstrate the utility for studying the cellular responses to select bioaerosols, cells exposed to curdlan (a linear (1 → 3)-β-glucan) were examined in a composite cytometry platform. Results suggest that curdlan has the potential to elicit significant responses in A549 and GDM-1 in two or more toxicological modes associated with exposure to airborne particulate matter. As designed, this suite provided a more powerful tool for characterizing curdlan-induced toxicological potential than any individual assay. Responses to curdlan were distinctly modal and cell line dependent, suggesting that the use of a suite of toxicological assays, in a common platform on different cell lines, can help provide important insights into the formative toxigenic responses that primary bioaerosols can induce in respiratory cells.
Criminal Law: The Supreme Court and Title Iii: Rewriting the Law of ElectronicSurveillance Part 2 of 2

... The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Kahn to resolve a seemingly important issue of statutory construction, but its ultimate dispostion of the case had constitutional implications beyond that of any prior Title III decision. ... Errors have most frequently been occasioned in six important areas: (1) standing; (2) exhaustion of investigative alternatives; (3) probable cause; (4) particularity of conversation; (5) plain view seizures; and (6) post-interception sealing of tapes. ... Title III does not explictly address this point, but it seems apparent that once probable cause has dissipated by virtue of an unproductive or exculpatory investigation, surveillance cannot constitutionally continue. ... Despite their concern for limiting the scope of electronic surveillance, Title III's drafters realized that conversations pertinent to crimes not specified in the warrant would inevitably be overheard; the minimization process was inherently imperfect, and many criminals, especially those associated with organized crime, tended to diversify their activities. ... Finally, the suggestion that sealing violations may not occasion suppression under section 2518(10)(a) because they occur after the interception fundamentally misconceives Title III's overall design. ... Although the National Wiretapping Commission found that electronic surveillance under Title III has effectively assisted law enforcement in investigations of organized-crime type offenses, several of which resulted in conviction of major crime chieftains, there was no suggestion that organized crime has been eradicated nationally. ...
The Dimension of Time in Host-Microbiome Interactions.

ABSTRACT The intestinal microbiota contains trillions of commensal microorganisms that shape multiple aspects of host physiology and disease. In contrast to the host’s genome, the microbiome is amenable to change over the course of an organism’s lifetime, providing an opportunity to therapeutically modulate the microbiome’s impact on human pathophysiology. In this Perspective, we highlight environmental factors that regulate the temporal dynamics of the intestinal microbiome, with a particular focus on the different time scales at which they act. We propose that the identification of transient and intermediate states of microbiome responses to perturbations is essential for understanding the rules that govern the behavior of this ecosystem. The delineation of microbiome dynamics is also helpful for distinguishing cause and effect in microbiome responses to environmental stimuli. Understanding the dimension of time in host-microbiome interactions is therefore critical for therapeutic strategies that aim at short-term or long-term engineering of the intestinal microbial community.
Comprehensive and Efficient Runtime Checking in System Software through Watchdogs

Systems software today is composed of numerous modules and exhibits complex failure modes. Existing failure detectors focus on catching simple, complete failures and treat programs uniformly at the process level. In this paper, we argue that modern software needs intrinsic failure detectors that are tailored to individual systems and can detect anomalies within a process at finer granularity. We particularly advocate a notion of intrinsic software watchdogs and propose an abstraction for it. Among the different styles of watchdogs, we believe watchdogs that imitate the main program can provide the best combination of completeness, accuracy and localization for detecting gray failures. But, manually constructing such mimic-type watchdogs is challenging and time-consuming. To close this gap, we present an early exploration for automatically generating mimic-type watchdogs.
The synthesis, structure and properties of diazaphospholes: Reagents and ligands for asymmetric synthesis

Abstract Reaction of C2 diamines with PCl3 and Et3N in toluene, followed by water or hydrogen sulfide, gave a series of cyclic phosphorous acid diamides (diazaphosphole oxides) and thiophosphorous acid diamides (diazaphosphole sulfides), respectively. Similarly, reaction of diamines with phenyl dichlorphosphine gave phenyl diazaphospholes. The synthesis, properties, and structure of these diazaphospholes are reported.
What is genomic medicine

Genomic medicine is rapidly changing the future of medicine. Medical librarians need to understand this field of research and keep current with its latest advancements. Even if they are not directly involved in genomic medicine, librarians can play an integral role by helping health care consumers and practitioners who may also need to expand their knowledge in this area. This article provides a basic introduction to genomic medicine, gives a brief overview of its recent advancements, and briefly describes some of the ethical, legal, and social implications of this emerging area of research and practice.
Solute clustering and crystallization from solution

Three experimental studies, consisting of a laser Raman spectroscopic study, a vertical column experiment, and a microscopic observation, were carried out to evaluate the structures and characteristics of solute clustering in NaNO^ solution systems and the relations between solute clustering and crystallization from solution. The results of these experimental studies suggest that solute clustering occurs in NaNOg solution systems. These solute clusters are apparently solvated clusters that have no solid-phase structure, and they may exist in saturated and supersaturated, as well as in undersaturated, solutions. The relative number of the solute clusters and the degree of clustering increase with solution concentration. The results also suggest that with an observation field of about 20 microns, there is no significant difference between the solution structures at and near the crystal-solution interface of a growing crystal and that in the bulk solution. For a given solution concentration, as the solution becomes supersaturated, a dynamic rearrangement occurs between lower-ordered ionic species and clusters. The present study explains this rearrangement process in terms of the coalescence of some of the clusters at the expense of other clusters and the dilution of the lower-ordered species. Thermodynamic considerations and analyses of this solute clustering are described in terms of relationship of free energy versus
Research Mentoring: Decreasing the Gap in Clinical Application of Evidence in the School-Based Setting

Purpose The purpose of this article was to describe how effective research mentoring, with emphasis on implementation science, may contribute to speech-language pathologists' experiences integratin...
Mean blood glucose-independent HbA1c racial disparity and iron status in youth with Type 1 DM.

Introduction Black patients have higher HbA1c than Whites even after adjustment for mean blood glucose (MBG). Decreased iron status has been associated with increased HbA1c independently of glucose. We hypothesized that decreased iron status might account for higher HbA1c in Black patients. Methods Pediatric patients with T1D in the Diabetes Center at Children's Hospital of New Orleans who self-identified as either Black or White were recruited for the study. At the time of their clinic visit labs were obtained for ferritin (Fer), soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), HbA1c, and CBC. MBG was derived from patient's home glucose meter records over the last 30 days. Total body iron (TBI) and sTfr/log10 Fer (R/lFer) were calculated. Results A total of 80 (35 Blacks/45 Whites; 41 female/39 male) patients were recruited. Unadjusted levels of HbA1c, MBG, sTfR, Fer, RDW-CV, and RDW-SD were all higher in Blacks than Whites. TBI and R/lFer were not different between groups. Fer was correlated with Hb, MBG but not HbA1c. sTfR was correlated with HbA1c, MCV, MCH, and RDW-SD. In multiple variable analysis with HbA1c as the dependent variable, race and MBG were statistically significant in the model. However, measures of iron status: Fer, sTfR, R/lFer and TBI were not statistically influential. Conclusion After adjustment for race, MBG and RDW-CV, iron indices were not statistically significant independent predictors of HbA1c levels. These observations indicate that factors besides iron status and CBC indices contribute to MBG-independent racial disparity in HbA1c.
The Effect of a Non-Thermal Tail on the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect in clusters of galaxies

We study the spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background radiation induced by the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect in clusters of galaxies when the target electrons have a modified Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution with a high-energy non-thermal tail. Bremsstrahlung radiation from this type of \\ electron distribution may explain the supra-thermal X-ray emission observed in some clusters such as the Coma cluster and A2199 and serve as an alternative to the classical but problematic inverse Compton scattering interpretation. We show that the SZ effect can be used as a powerful tool to probe the electron distribution in clusters of galaxies and discriminate among these different interpretations of the X-ray excess. The existence of a non-thermal tail can have important consequences for cluster based estimators of cosmological parameters.
What Drives Closed-End Fund Discounts? Evidence from COVID-19

By exploiting the exogenous COVID-19 shock, this paper attempts to shed light on the closed-end fund (CEF) discount puzzle. CEF discounts increased after COVID-19, and I identify a causal role of sentiment in this effect. I show that COVID-19 reduced individual investor sentiment. Using the difference-in-differences (DiD) approach, I find that CEFs with higher sentiment beta or higher retail ownership experienced a larger increase in discounts after the COVID-19 shock. The DiD results are unlikely to be driven by alternative channels such as the liquidity, expense, payout, and leverage channels. Overall, the results support the sentiment-based explanation of CEF discounts.
Sudden Sensorineural Hearing and Vestibular Loss in a Case of Relapsing Polychondritis

Objectives:To report a case of profound bilateral sensorineural hearing and vestibular loss from relapsing polychondritis and hearing outcomes after cochlear implantation.Methods:Case report and li...
Factors Associated With Non-Operative Management of Resectable Adrenocortical Carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION Surgery is the initial treatment of choice for patients with resectable adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). We sought to determine factors associated with non-operative management of resectable ACC. METHODS 2004-2016 National Cancer Database (NCDB) was queried to identify patients with AJCC/ENSAT Stage I-III ACC. Patients who underwent surgery (S) were compared to those who did not undergo surgery (NS). Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with NS. Kaplan-Meier estimates used to assess survival. RESULTS Two thousand-seventy patients with Stage I-III ACC were identified, of which 17.5% were NS. 85.9% of NS patients were not offered surgery; 69.9% of NS patients did not receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy. NS were older and less likely to receive care at an Academic center or high volume center (≥5 cases during the study period). NS patients were more likely to have advanced T stage and N1 disease. On multivariate regression, factors associated with lower odds of surgery include older age (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.06), T4 disease (OR 3.34, 95% CI 1.05-10.68), and treatment at a community center (OR 2.92, 95% CI 1.58-5.40). Overall median survival was significantly poorer for NS patients (50.4 versus 78.4 months, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION Patients with locally advanced ACC are less likely to undergo an operation, while those treated at centers with more operative experience or Academic facilities are more likely to undergo an operation. As the surgery-first approach is the current standard of care for resectable ACC, these patients may be best served at high volume Academic facilities.
Determining the lean growth curve for growing-finishing pigs from the lysine requirements estimated by using plasma urea nitrogen as a rapid response criterion

Five trials (Trials 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) were conducted to estimate the lysine requirements of PIC (327 x C22) barrows at approximately 30, 50, 70, 90, and 110 kg BW, respectively, using plasma urea nitrogen (PUN) as a rapid response criterion. One hundred barrows with an initial BW of 24.4 kg were used in the five trials, each was conducted as a randomized complete block design with four blocks and five treatments. Pigs were group penned and had free access to feed and water. The treatments were five true ileal digestible lysine concentrations, which were 0.723, 0.798, 0.873, 0.948, 1.023% in Trial 1, 0.577, 0.657, 0.737, 0.817, 0.897% in Trial 2, 0.541, 0.621, 0.701, 0.781, 0.861% in Trial 3, 0.404, 0.484, 0.564, 0.644, 0.724% in Trial 4, and 0.304, 0.384, 0.464, 0.544, 0.624% in Trial 5. In each trial, com, wheat, soybean meal, L-theronine and DL-methionine were used to formulate a basal diet containing the lowest lysine concentration, and other essential AA were at or above their optimal ratios (NRC, 1998) to the highest lysine concentration. Lysine additions were achieved by supplementation with L-lysine HC1. Trials 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 started when pigs reached approximately 30, 50, 70, 90, and 110 kg BW, respectively. Each trial consisted of a 5-d dietary treatment period. On the last 2 d of the period, two pigs from each pen were selected and bled for PUN measurements. Pretreatment PUN was obtained before the initiation of dietary treatments and was used as a covariate to correct PUN variation not
The Chow Ring of the Moduli Space of Curves of Genus 5

Let M g be the moduli spare of smooth curves of genus g over an algebraically closed field (of characteristic differetd, from 2 and 3) and let \({\bar M_g}\) be its compactification by Deligne-Mumford stable curves.
Lubiprostone reduces murine colitis principally in a ClC-2-dependent manner. (LB750)

Lubiprostone, a ClC-2 chloride channel activator, induces intestinal secretion and is used in the management of idiopathic chronic constipation. Recent studies have suggested that lubiprostone has multiple targets and mechanisms of action in the intestine. However, we have previously reported that lubiprostone initiates intestinal barrier repair in ischemic-injured intestine via its principal target, the chloride channel ClC-2. Thus, we hypothesized that lubiprostone would have a protective or therapeutic effect in an in vivo colitis model. We administrated lubiprostone in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis model in wild type and ClC-2-/- mice. We determined the severity of colitis based on body weight, disease activity index (DAI), histology scores, and levels of cytokine production. Additionally, intestinal permeability was measured in vivo to evaluate barrier function. Administration of DSS in the drinking water initiated symptoms of experimental IBD, including weight loos and elevation in ...
Algorithm Design for Different Computer Architectures

Within the last ten years many who work on the development of numerical algorithms have come to realize the need to get directly involved in the software development process. Issues such as robustness, ease of use, and portability are standard fare in any discussion of numerical algorithm design and implementation. The portability issue, in particular, can be very challenging. As new and exotic architectures evolve they will embrace the notions of concurrent processing, shared memory, pipelining, etc. in order to increase performance. The portability issue becomes formidable indeed as different architectural designs become reality. In fact, it is very tempting to assume that an unavoidable byproduct of portability must be an unacceptable degradation in the level of efficiency on a given variety of machine architecture. We contend that this assumption is erroneous and that its widespread adoption could seriously hamper the ability to effectively utilize machines of the future.
Laboratory Searches for Effects Beyond Classical Gravity

Advances in the past few years in theoretical gravity and particle physics suggest radical changes in our understanding of gravity, and have directed physicists’ attention to new types of gravitational experiments in the laboratory. From among these, this review describes recent tests of the inverse square law at submillimeter range, and anomalous (non-magnetic) spin coupling experiments in the laboratory.
Development of an oxidation resistant ceramic-to-metal braze for use in YSZ-based electrochemical devices

During the past decade, the development of high temperature solid state devices for energy generation and environmental control applications has advanced considerably. Traditionally, glass seals have been employed as a means of hermetically joining the ceramic components that lie at the heart of these devices to the heat resistant metal flame that gives the device its structural integrity. The present paper outlines an alternative technique for joining these dissimilar materials by brazing and discusses recent findings regarding the effect of high temperature aging in dry air or wet hydrogen on the strength of the joint.
Controls for Agility Research in the NASA High-Alpha Technology Program

The research process being used to develop control law design methodologies and guidelines in the NASA High-Alpha Technology Program are discussed. This step-by-step process consists of four basic elements: (1) control law architecture definition and linear synthesis, (2) nonlinear batch simulation, (3) piloted simulation evaluation, and (4) flight test validation. This paper discusses the research tools being used in this effort and provides a status report on design methodologies and guidelines being developed for each of these elements.
Importance of frictional effects and jet instability on the morphodynamics of river mouth bars and levees

[1] In this work, extensive numerical simulations have been performed to assess the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic behavior of a river jet debouching in a large quiescent water body. A refined three-dimensional grid has been used to capture the transition zone between a stable jet and an unstable meandering jet. The model results show that the stability number S, which is a function of friction and river mouth aspect ratio, and the mouth Reynolds number are the two parameters that describe the stable/unstable character of the jet. From a morphodynamic point of view, a stable jet always tends to form a mouth bar. However, a decrease of the stability number together with jet instability increase the delivery of sediments to the jet margins, favoring the formation of subaerial levees and elongated channels. Frictional effects play a major role to set the distance at which the mouth bar becomes stagnant. The importance of the stability number in setting depositional patterns at the river mouth is larger than other variables (i.e., momentum of the jet and potential vorticity) and therefore should be considered in the design of restoration schemes for deltaic land.
Mothers' views on child care under the JOBS program and implications for welfare reform

Jan L. Hagen , PhD , ACSW, is professor of social work, State University of New York at Albany. The late Liane V. Davis , PhD , was associate dean and professor ; School of Social Welfare , University of Kansas , Lawrence. She died October 18, 1995. The Work programs dent (PL. recently 104-193) Children Opportunity (such passed curtails as [AFDC], Aid Personal Reconciliation to expenditures Families food Responsibility stamps, with Act for of Depenwelfare 1996 and and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PL. 104-193) curtails expenditures for welfare programs (such as Aid to Families with Dependent Ch ldren [ FDC], foo ps, and Supplemental Security Income [SSI] for children) by allocating a fixed sum of federal funds to states, imposing lifetime limits on welfare benefits, and increasing the demands on states to require welfare recipients to engage in work-related activities. The debates surrounding the demands for high levels of participation in work-related activities have given little consideration to the child care services necessary for women to participate, particularly those with preschool children.
Exciton capture and thermalization in ZnSe/(Zn,Mn)Se superlattices

The recently introduced ZnSe/(Zn,Mn)Se super-lattice1 is a novel entry to the family of such II–VI compound semiconductor structures. At low temperatures, the luminescence emitted by multiple quantum wells (MQWs) is dominated by intense blue exciten recombination from the ZnSe wells up to a high Mn alloy fraction in the adjacent (Zn,Mn)Se layers (x < 0.50).
Desert terrain characterization of landforms and surface materials within vehicle test courses at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, USA

The U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground is the Department of Defense desert environment test center within the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. The Yuma Proving Ground has ∼320 km of unpaved vehicle test courses that cross a variety of landforms of diverse geologic age and characteristics. The surface materials of the courses ranges from bedrock to silt and their topography varies from steep and rolling to flat. Research presented here aims to provide a systematic characterization of the terrain of eight vehicle endurance and three dust courses so that their comparability with other desert areas of the World may be assessed. Landform and surface cover (upper 1 m) characterization was accomplished by geomorphic mapping based on 1-m resolution IKONOS satellite imagery, 10-m digital elevation models, field verification, and by assimilating pre-existing soil surveys and geologic maps, as well as site-specific investigations. Results provide an assessment of each test course, including information on the landform, geology, surface materials, soil type, degree of desert pavement development, dust content, and percent slope. Data is presented both on individual terrain property maps for each course and in the form of tabulated data for each official milepost marker along the courses. The results for one course area and an example of how they may be used to assess comparability with another desert of interest are presented here with the objective to improve the fidelity of desert testing during material research, development, testing and evaluation prior to deployment in the field.
Formaldehyde-induced DNA adducts as biomarkers of in vitro human nasal epithelial cell exposure to formaldehyde.

Abstract Formaldehyde (FA) is a mutagen that, at high concentrations and long durations, has been reported to cause nasal cancer in rats and in some humans. The level of FA-induced modified DNA in nasal cells should serve as a biomarker of FA exposure and effect. In the present study, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-ultraviolet (UV) method at 254 nm was developed and optimized to detect and quantify hydroxymethyldeoxynucleosides after the isolated DNA in exposed human nasal epithelial cells (HNEC) was enzymically digested. Normal and modified deoxynucleosides were successfully resolved from one another and from tissue and enzyme blank interferences. The viability of HNEC exposed to FA in solution for 24 h decreased, and there was a linear dose response between % nonviability and FA dose from 10 to 500 μg/mL. Amounts of 18.0 ± 1.5 pmol N6-dA and 12.0 ± 1.2 pmol N2-dG derivatives were determined in a 10 μL injection after 1.4 × 107 HNEC (106 μg DNA) were exposed to 500 μg/mL in solution. The respective tissue concentrations in pmol hydroxymethyldeoxynucleoside/mg DNA were 170 ± 14 and 113 ± 11. The lower quantifiable limits were about 97 and 88 pmol/mg DNA, respectively. Diffusive exposure of HNEC to air FA up to 100 ppm (v/v) for 24 h did not produce quantifiable hydroxymethylnucleosides. FA-modified deoxynucleosides may be useful biomarkers for FA exposure in biological monitoring samples taken by nasal lavage or brush biopsy.