cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Free Riding: An Overstated, and Unconvincing, Explanation for Resale Price Maintenance

This paper was prepared as a chapter for a forthcoming book, How the Chicago School Overshot the Mark: Effect of Conservative Economic Analysis on U.S. Antitrust (Ed. Robert Pitofsky, Oxford Univ. Press).Lester Telser's free rider theory provided a rational efficiency explanation for vertical restraints under the conditions of his model. It soon became the basis for a comprehensive claim that vertical restraints, including resale price maintenance, generally increase distribution efficiency, enhance interbrand competition, and improve consumer welfare. This claim was a principal rationale for the Court's recent 5-4 decision, in Leegin, to overrule Dr. Miles' per se rule for minimum RPM.I argue that the free rider concept, though theoretically correct, cannot support such a broad claim. The theory has limited application in its original formulation because few goods require tangible dealer services for effective marketing. I also analyze why the expansive versions of the theory, which include free riding on general intangible services and on reputation or quality certification are flawed on their own terms. Moreover, free riding, ubiquitous in our economy, is not necessarily harmful and does not have to be eliminated wherever it occurs. In the absence of good empirical data, we should not assume that minimum RPM usually confers substantial consumer benefits.In overruling Dr. Miles without good empirical evidence of (or economic consensus about) the regularity or harshness of the free rider problem, Leegin apparently assumes that the per se rule is inappropriate for any class of conduct for which procompetitive benefits are possible. This approach seems contrary to modern decision theory, which requires focus, not on whether a practice has any procompetitive benefit (or anticompetitive harm), but on the frequency and relative magnitude of those benefits and harms, and on the availability of less anticompetitive alternatives.The full implications of Leegin will depend on how lower courts interpret that opinion and apply the rule of reason. Given minimum RPM's anticompetitive risks, I suggest that courts reject the Sylvania rule of reason standard, which has become a de facto legality rule, and instead apply the quick-look standard now frequently employed in horizontal restraint cases.
Modeling Resource Use with Time Equations: Empirical Evidence

ABSTRACT We test whether cost-object-level characteristics significantly and predictably affect resource use within a single standardized activity. Using data on operating time for joint replacements, we find reliable effects for age, race, and gender after controlling for body mass index and other comorbidities. Modeling such granular variation is practically not possible in a classic two-stage system. Thus, this finding provides strong support for the use of time equations, as in time-driven activity-based costing, to model resource use. Supplementary analyses of hospital length of stay and gross charges show that, in addition to the expected direct effects, hospital-level characteristics moderate how patient-level attributes affect resource use.
Gustatory neural coding in the cortex of the alert cynomolgus macaque: the quality of bitterness.

Scott, Thomas R., Barbara K. Giza, and Jianqun Yan. Gustatory neural coding in the cortex of the alert cynomolgus macaque: the quality of bitterness. J. Neurophysiol. 81: 60–71, 1999. We sought to ...
Interactive Reconstruction of 3D Models in the OpenVSP Parametric Geometry Tool

Parametric geometry tools such as Vehicle Sketch Pad (OpenVSP) describe geometry by using the terms most familiar to designers, thereby facilitating design by reducing the problem’s dimensionality and improving descriptive meaning. Often, design studies do not start from a clean sheet where the designer can construct an original native model in a parametric geometry tool. Instead, some pre-existing legacy 3D model plays the role of an initial design and/or a part of a design that is constrained in the design study. Additionally, some design optimization tools may operate on a discretized version of a model, leading to a desire to re-parameterize the optimization result. OpenVSP has been extended to support interactive assisted reconstruction of discrete 3D models. These legacy models may originate as structured or unstructured surface grids, 3D laser or CMM scans, or any other 3D point data source. The interactive assisted approach balances user guidance and algorithmic automation in a way that is superior to either a fully automated or fully manual approach. User guidance is essential to create a final parametric model constructed in a way that matches how a user would construct the same model – the right parameters are used in the right way. Algorithmic automation is essential to remove the tedium of finely adjusting parameters while assuring greatest possible accuracy.
On the Origin of the State: Stationary Bandits and Taxation in Eastern Congo

When do states arise? When do they fail to arise? This question has generated scholarship across all social sciences. A dominant view is that states first arise when violent actors impose a “monopoly of violence” in order to extract taxes (Carneiro, 1970, Tilly, 1985). A fundamental fact affects all existing studies: systematic data are the creation of states. There is therefore no statistical evidence on the causes state formation. As a foundation for this study, I organized the collection of village-level panel data on violent actors, managing teams of surveyors, village elders, and households in 380 war-torn areas of DRC. I introduce optimal taxation theory to the decision of violent actors to establish local “monopolies of violence”. The value of such decision hinges on their ability to tax the local population. A sharp rise in the global demand for coltan, a bulky commodity used in the electronics industry, leads violent actors to impose “monopolies of violence” and taxation systems in coltan sites, which persist years after demand collapses. A similar rise in the demand for gold, easier to conceal and more difficult to tax, does not. My findings support the view that the expected revenue from taxation, determined in particular by tax base elasticity, can explain the first stages of state formation, and that temporary changes in the economic environment have persistent effects on local state capacity.
Über eine Hochdruck-Reaktion bei lumbaler Barographie

Eine besondere wahrend der Injektion von neutraler Flussigkeit in den lumbalen Liquorraum auftretende Reaktion wird naher beschrieben. Sie ist gekennzeichnet durch Schmerz, ausstrahlend in das Verteilungsgebiet der sakralen Nervenwurzeln, Zunahme des arteriellen und venosen Blutdruckes, Pupillenerweiterung, Schweisausbruch, Unruhe, Angst und bisweilen Verwirrtheitszustande.
Visual functions in congenital night blindness.

It was shown preciously that the physiological basis of congenital night blindness probably involves a defect in neural transmission affecting primarily the scotopic (rod) mechanism. However, spectral sensitivity measurements in the dark-adapted peripheral retina indicate that rod signals, although greatly attenuated, may reach cortical centers. In spite of the decreased sensitivity, measurements of visual threshold as a function of stimulus area showed that the integrative properties of the retina ivere normal. Although toe have been unable to identify the precise nature of the defect, it appears that the abnormality affects both rod and. cone vision and extends also over the rod-free region of the fovea. t is usually assumed that vision in night-blind subjects is mediated solely by the photopic (cone) system since thresholds, measured during the course of dark adaptation, rarely fall below the cone plateau of the normal curve.f This view probably stems from the unreserved acceptance of the duplicity theory wherein high thresholds are associated with cone vision and low ones, with rod vision. It has been demonstrated, however, that when small test fields are used, thereby depriving the rods of the advantage that areal summation bestows on them, the difference in threshold is reduced if not al
Bigger ≠ Better: The Comprehensiveness and Strength of School Wellness Policies Varies by School District Size.

BACKGROUND District size has been shown to impact the anticipated barriers to wellness policy creation and implementation. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine if strength and comprehensiveness of wellness policies differs among school districts of varying size. METHODS Wellness policies were collected from 10 large, 29 medium, and 31 small school districts in a rural Midwest state. District size was categorized by the average daily membership in grades 9-11. Polices were coded using the Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT). Strength and comprehensiveness of the full policy and policy sections were compared among small, medium, and large districts using 1-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Data are presented as mean ± SD. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ .05. RESULTS There was a difference in the total combined (p = .041), total comprehensiveness (p = .043), and total strength scores (p = .031) based on school district size, such that small districts had stronger, more comprehensive wellness policies than large districts. Section comparisons revealed the section focused on Standards for United States Department of Agriculture School Meals was primarily responsible for these differences. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest smaller districts write policies that are more comprehensive to governmental standards and use more definitive language than larger districts.
Poetics of Memory: Aesthetics and Experience of Holocaust Remembrance in Museums

This essay offers a comparative analysis of Holocaust commemoration in three museums: The Jewish Museum Berlin; Yad Vashem: The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. In particular, the essay examines exhibition techniques, architecture and the visceral, physical experience of the visitor in each museum. My argument focuses on the way that museums draw on aesthetic technique, design and the manipulation of visitor experience to create Holocaust narratives that resonate with and reflect each country’s dominant Holocaust discourse. In Yad Vashem, this narrative is a distinctly Zionist one that relies on the symbolism of autochthony and redemption in contrast to Jewish suffering in exile. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Holocaust narrative, in contrast, is rooted in the idea of American exceptionalism and democracy as the antidote to Fascism and anti-Semitism, while the Holocaust narrative of the Jewis...
A High-Resolution Aerial Survey and Radar Analysis of Quasi-Linear Convective System Surface Vortex Damage Paths from 31 August 2014

AbstractOn the evening of 31 August 2014, a powerful quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) impacted much of Iowa. In the weeks following the event, the entire path of the QLCS was imaged at ~1-m resolution using aerial photography through the National Agriculture Imagery Program. The predominantly flat, mature agricultural land cover of central Iowa provided an excellent medium on which to document wind phenomena of varying scales. The high-resolution aerial data, in combination with recent spatial, temporal, and polarimetric upgrades to the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) network, offer an extraordinary glimpse into the quantity, evolution, and scale of surface vortices generated throughout the entire lifespan of this QLCS. One hundred eleven damage tracks associated with these vortices were cataloged along the storm’s 350-km path, ranging in length from 130 m to nearly 18 km. This study classified 35 of these circulations as tornadoes using a series of tests that weighed track characte...
Leopold and Loeb

On September 10, 1924, Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr. (November 19, 1904–August 29, 1971), and Richard Albert Loeb (June 11, 1905–January 28, 1936) were convicted of the kidnapping and murder of 14-year-old Robert “Bobby” Franks. Franks's death was particularly shocking, in part because of its randomness, but also because the murderers had no motive other than to satisfy their obsession with committing the “perfect crime.” In light of these facts, the prosecution demanded the death penalty, which prompted the defendants’ families to retain Clarence Darrow, an outspoken foe of capital punishment. At the time of the murder, Leopold and Loeb lived in the wealthy, primarily Jewish neighborhood of Kenwood on Chicago's south side. They first met, however, while attending the University of Chicago in 1920.
Physical-psychiatric comorbidity: patterns and explanations for ethnic group differences.

Objective: This paper examines ethnic differences in the co-occurrence of physical and psychiatric health problems (physical-psychiatric comorbidity) for women and men. The following ethnic groups ...
Transcriptomic profiling of the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens in rhesus macaques following long-term cocaine self-administration

Abstract Background The behavioral consequences associated with addiction are thought to arise from drug-induced neuroadaptation. The mesolimbic system plays an important initial role in this process, and while the dopaminergic system specifically has been strongly interrogated, a complete understanding of the broad transcriptomic effects associated with cocaine use remains elusive. Methods Using next generation sequencing approaches, we performed a comprehensive evaluation of gene expression differences in the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens of rhesus macaques that had self-administered cocaine for roughly 100 days and saline-yoked controls. During self-administration, the monkeys increased daily consumption of cocaine until almost the maximum number of injections were taken within the first 15 min of the one hour session for a total intake of 3 mg/kg/day. Results We confirm the centrality of dopaminergic differences in the ventral tegmental area, but in the nucleus accumbens we see the strongest evidence for an inflammatory response and large scale chromatin remodeling. Conclusions These findings suggest an expanded understanding of the pathology of cocaine addiction with the potential to lead to the development of alternative treatment strategies.
Decitabine therapy for myeloproliferative neoplasm in accelerated (MPN-AP) or blastic (acute myeloid leukemia; MPN-AML) phase.

e18006 Background: MPN-AP and MPN-AML are associated with poor response to therapy and shortened survival. DNA methyltransferase inhibitors, e.g. decitabine (DEC), may have clinical activity in thi...
A smart car model based on autonomous intelligent agents for reducing accidents

The recent years several companies have invested a lot of money on autonomous cars. This is a part of the future, where autonomous cars (i.e. smart—⊠cars) will transport us to different places without drivers in a nearly optimum way. It should be noted that we are not ready yet, although companies promote their autonomous cars with 80% reliable performance. Thus in this paper, we present a smart car model based on intelligent agents for reducing accident using a more safe approach. The approach is based on existing traffic rules and by training the smart cars on human drivers'safe behavior.
La correspondencia epistolar y la poesía de Ernestina de Champourcin y Carmen Conde:: una habitación propia como taller de autenticidad estética

espanolEn el presente ensayo se estudia la relacion entre la correspondencia epistolar de Ernestina de Champourcin y Carmen Conde con la simultanea es critura de sus poemas. A la luz del concepto de habitacion propia como espacio imprescindible y necesario para la creacion literaria expresado por Virginia Woolf en A Room of One’s Own , las cartas sirven como habitacion propia donde ambas poetas pretenden conseguir su autenticidad estetica coartada por la sociedad patriarcal en los comienzos del siglo XX en Espana. La presencia del interlocutor, el desdoblamiento del yo poetico y los poemas metapoeticos confluyen en la obligacion por parte de la critica de posicionar el epistolario de las poetas en primer plano, ya que este sirve como taller y espacio libre para el desarrollo de la estetica de las poet Englishn this essay I study the link between the epistolary relationship between Ernestina de Champourcin and Carmen Conde and their simultaneous poetic production. In the light of the concept of a room of one’s own as a essent ial and necessary space for creative writing elaborated by Virginia Woolf’s eponymous book, I argue that, the epistolary discourse functions as a room of one’s own where both poets try to attain an aesthetic authenticity that was limited by patriarchal soc iety at the beginning of the 20 th century in Spain. The presence of the interlocutor, the doubling of the poetic voice, and the metapoetic poems converge in our responsibility as critics to place the poets epistolary at the forefront, since this is used as a workshop and a free space for the development of the poets’ aesthetic
Opting in, Opting Out a Decade Later

This study updates the HUD report Multifamily Properties: Opting In, Opting Out and Remaining Affordable, prepared by Econometrica and Abt Associates in 2006. The original report examined the loss of affordable housing units associated with HUD’s Section 8 project-based rental assistance and Section 236 and 221(d)(3) subsidized mortgage programs. The authors analyzed property-level data to identify the physical, financial, location, ownership and tenant characteristics associated with opt-outs from rental assistance programs, prepayment of subsidized mortgages, and enforcement actions by HUD. The original study used cross-tabulation and multivariate regression analysis to identify characteristics associated with losses to the HUD-assisted inventory between 1998 and 2004.
A Novel Methodological Approach to Estimate the Impact of Natural Hazard-Induced Disasters on Country/Region-Level Economic Growth

With the increased frequency of extreme weather events and large-scale disasters, extensive societal and economic losses incur every year due to damage of infrastructure and private properties, business disruptions, fatalities, homelessness, and severe health-related issues. In this article, we analyze the economic and disaster data from 1970 through 2010 to investigate the impact of disasters on country/region-level economic growth. We leveraged a random parameter modeling approach to develop the growth-econometrics model that identifies risk factors significantly influencing the country/region-level economic growth in the face of natural hazard-induced disasters, while controlling for country/region- and time-specific unobserved heterogeneities. We found that disaster intensity in terms of fatalities and homelessness, and economic characteristics such as openness to trade and a government’s consumption share of purchasing power parity (PPP), are the significant risk factors that randomly vary for different countries/regions. Other significant factors found to be significant include population, real gross domestic product (GDP), and investment share of PPP converted GDP per capita. We also found that flood is the most devastating disaster to affect country/region-level economic growth. This growth-econometrics model will help in the policy and decision making of governments related to the investment needs for pre- and post-disaster risk mitigation and response planning strategies, to better protect nations and minimize disaster-induced economic impacts.
Simulation-based Assessment to Reliably Identify Key Resident Performance Attributes.

Background:Obtaining reliable and valid information on resident performance is critical to patient safety and training program improvement. The goals were to characterize important anesthesia resident performance gaps that are not typically evaluated, and to further validate scores from a multiscena
Feedback control of transport systems in tape drives without tension transducers

Abstract Accurate control of tape tension and velocity will be required in advanced tape drives, as tape thickness is reduced and track density is increased towards target tape capacities of 100 TB and beyond. In this paper, a novel method is introduced for the feedback control of the tape transport in tape drives without tension transducers. The method relies on estimating tape tension variations from the difference of the measured lateral positions of servo read elements on adjacent servo bands. Furthermore, a technique for the suppression of periodic tape tension disturbances, which are caused by reel eccentricities and other once-around effects, is developed and presented. The technique uses a time-varying narrow-band bi-quad filter with variable center frequency to suppress the slowly time-varying disturbances. To avoid the noise enhancement that would occur when the disturbance frequency moves outside of the loop bandwidth, the filter parameters are determined by H∞-norm minimization. Using the proposed tape transport system, we experimentally demonstrate a reduction in the standard deviation of the tension of about 40% and a reduction in the standard deviation of the velocity of about 23% with respect to state-of-the-art tape drives.
Is in utero exposure to maternal socioeconomic disadvantage related to offspring ovarian reserve in adulthood

Because the ovarian follicle pool is established in utero, adverse exposures during this period may be especially impactful on the size and health of the initial follicle endowment, potentially shaping trajectories of ovarian follicle loss and the eventual onset of menopause. Building on a robust literature linking socioeconomic status (SES) and menopausal timing, the current study examined adverse prenatal exposures related to maternal SES, hypothesizing that greater maternal socioeconomic disadvantage would be associated with lower ovarian reserve in the adult offspring. In a healthy, community-based sub-sample (n = 350) of reproductive age participants in the OVA Study (2006–2011), prenatal maternal SES was examined in relation to two biomarkers of ovarian reserve, antimullerian hormone (AMH) and antral follicle count (AFC). Prenatal maternal SES was assessed indirectly using maternal addresses abstracted from participant birth certificates, geocoded, and linked to US Census-derived variables, including neighborhood-level characteristics: education (% of individuals with a HS diploma); poverty (% of families below the poverty line); unemployment (% of individuals > 16 years who are unemployed); and income (median family income). In separate covariate-adjusted linear regression models (following the backward elimination of main effects with P > .10), greater maternal neighborhood education was related to higher ovarian reserve as marked by higher levels of offspring AMH (beta = .142, P < .001) and AFC (beta = .092, P < .10) with models accounting for 19.6% and 21.5% of the variance in AMH and AFC, respectively. In addition, greater maternal neighborhood poverty was related to lower ovarian reserve as marked by lower offspring AMH (beta = −.144, P < .01), with the model accounting for 19.5% of the variance in AMH. Maternal socioeconomic disadvantage measured indirectly at the neighborhood level was associated with lower ovarian reserve among the adult offspring, independently of offspring SES and other potential confounding factors. This suggests SES-related adversity exposures may have a detrimental impact on the size or health of the initial follicle endowment, leading to accelerated follicle loss over time.
Early-onset Scoliosis: Contemporary Decision-making and Treatment Options

Early-onset scoliosis (EOS) describes a wide array of diagnoses and deformities exposed to growth. This potentially life-threatening condition is still 1 of the biggest challenges in pediatric orthopaedics. The enlightenment of Bob Campbell's thoracic insufficiency syndrome concept and the negative impact of the earlier short and straight spine fusion approach on respiratory function and survival have fueled the evolution of EOS care. Despite all the progress made, growth-friendly spine surgery remains to be a burden to patients and caregivers. Even down-sized implants and remote-controlled noninvasive rod expansions do not omit unexpected returns to the operating room: failures of foundations, rod breakage, difficulties to keep the sagittal balance, progressive transverse plane deformities, stiffening, and the need for final instrumented fusion are still common. However, past experience and the current multitude of surgical strategies and implants have sharpened the decision-making process, patients with thoracic insufficiency syndrome require earliest possible vertical expandable prosthetic titanium ribs application. Flexible deformities below 60 degrees, with normal spinal anatomy and without thoracic involvement, benefit from serial Mehta casting which revived as a long available but not-used strategy. In case of progression, standard double growing rods or-if available, affordable, and applicable-magnetically controlled motorized rods provide deformity control and growth promotion. Shilla growth-guiding technique is a less costly alternative. Its lack of stiff lengthening boxes or actuators may be beneficial in difficult deformities. Anterior convex flexible tethering promises benefits of sparing the trunk muscles and keeping mobility. However, this step towards a true nonfusion concept has yet to stand the test of broad clinical application.
Umbilical Cord Blood Expansion as an Alternate Graft Source for HSC Transplantation

Abstract Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation is the transfer of HSCs from a healthy donor into an immunosuppressed host, with the goal of repopulating the host with a donor-derived hematopoietic system and thereby reestablishing functional immunity. Over the course of the past 50 years, allogeneic HSC transplantation has proven to be a curative therapy for a wide array of both malignant and nonmalignant hematological disorders. During this time, the clinical practice of HSC transplantation has seen many advances, one of the most significant of which has been the extended use of “alternative donors.” For many years, convention held that the only donor that could be used was an HLA-matched sibling. This greatly limited the ability to perform HSC transplants on the majority of patients because only 30% of patients who require an allograft will have an HLA-matched sibling donor. Despite >20 million adult volunteer donors in the National Marrow Donor Program and affiliated registries, many patients, particularly patients of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds, will not have a suitably matched, unrelated volunteer donor identified in the required time period. The realization that umbilical cord blood could be used as a source of HSCs has revolutionized the practice of allogeneic HSC transplantation by making it possible to perform this life-saving procedure in patients who otherwise lack a suitable HLA-matched donor.
PZT Nano Active Fiber Composites-Based Acoustic Emission Sensor

A concept that utilizes the lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nano active fiber composites (NAFCs) to sense the acoustic emission (AE) for structural health monitoring (SHM) is demonstrated. The developed NAFCs consist of nanoscale PZT fibers with interdigitated electrodes on a silicon substrate. PZT nanofibers fabricated by an electrospinning process have a diameter of approximately 80 nm and aligned across the electrodes. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is severed as the polymer matrix and covers the sensor surfaces to protect nanofibers structures. The AE detection was demonstrated by both mounting the sensor on the surface of a steel table and embedding it in an epoxy structure. The output voltage reached the amplitude of 0.2 V in response to the acoustic wave generated by periodic impacts using a steel bar. The signal attenuation curves were measured to characterize the properties and demonstrate the anisotropic sensitivity of the PZT NAFCs sensor. The highly sensitive micro-sized PZT NAFCs sensors have promising applications in the SHM of composite structures such as the advanced carbon fiber-reinforced composites used in aerospace industry.
Ion-Selectivity and ”Gating” Properties of the Conductance Pathways in Squid Axon

The objectives of this chapter are two-fold: (1) to review the experimental findings of the ionic effects on the ion-selectivity and “gating” properties of the conductance pathways of the nerve cell, and (2) to discuss how these findings can be used to differentiate various hypotheses of “channel” structure, based either on the traditional membrane view or an alternative view, the membrane-cortex model.
Satellite Imagery and Positioning Systems for Accurate Mapping in Unmapped Areas of the Amazon

Many maps have been produced from Landsat MSS and TM imagery, and more recently SPOT (Satellite pour l’Observation de la Terre) imagery, but only a small effort has been made in producing intermediate scale maps of unmapped regions that meet accuracy requirements such as NATO Class A or U.S. National Cartographic Standards for Spatial Accuracy. Today, most base maps are produced and revised from aerial photographs at considerable expense. Pan American nations have invested millions of dollars in producing map products from this particular source, yet there are many areas are not adequately mapped. Affordable image processing and geodetic positioning systems exist today suitable for mapping at a reduced cost and turnaround time. Questions remain, however, as to the suitability of such systems for the accurate mapping of remote unmapped areas. The panchromatic data of SPOT has a ground resolution of 10 by 10 meters and is suitable as a source for meeting first-time map requirements when using positioning information from adjacent mapped areas, geodetic points acquired with Doppler frequency data, or the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System data.
Space-Time ARMA Models for Satellite Ozone Data

In this paper, we develop some space-time autoregressive moving-average (ARMA) models for satellite ozone data, in which both the geographic neighbor effects and time-lag effects are considered. For the global TOMS ozone data over the 11-year period from January 1979 to December 1989, we divide the whole world into 10° latitude by 10° longitude blocks and calculate the monthly averages of total ozone for each geographic block. The space-time ARMA models then are applied to the monthly average series to assess the long-term changes in ozone concentrations. The long-term trend estimates over the world are all negative with the most negative trends occurring in the south polar latitudes, which is a reflection of the springtime Antarctic ozone hole that developed over the last several decades.
Post-Contracture Reperfusion: Effect of Elevated Potassium and Verapamil

We have previously reported that ischemic contracture in the isolated rat heart can be reversed and functional recovery significantly improved by reperfusing for a brief period of time with elevated potassium cardioplegic solution, before returning to normal potassium levels 1. Similarly, Lazar et al2 observed that reperfusing an ischemic dog heart with secondary blood cardioplegia resulted in reversal of ischemic damage. Presumably, this allows a return to aerobic metabolism and the re-synthesis of high-energy phosphates without the drain on energy reserves caused by beating. However, we have found that reperfusion must occur soon after the peak of contracture (within 1 to 3 min), or recovery will be poor.
On Computing a Cell Decomposition of a Real Surface Containing Infinitely Many Singularities

Numerical algorithms for decomposing the real points of a complex curve or surface in any number of variables have been developed and implemented in the new software package Bertini_real. These algorithms use homotopy continuation to produce a cell decomposition. The previously existing algorithm for surfaces is restricted to the “almost smooth” case, i.e., the given surface must contain only finitely many singular points. We describe the use of isosingular deflation to remove this almost smooth condition and describe an implementation of deflation via Bertini with MATLAB.
Retrospective Comparison of Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformation Embolization with the Polytetrafluoroethylene-Covered Nitinol Microvascular Plug, AMPLATZER Plug, and Coils in Patients with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia.

Abstract Purpose To evaluate effectiveness of the polytetrafluoroethylene-covered nitinol mesh microvascular plug (MVP) and compare it with other devices in pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM) embolization in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). Materials and Methods Twenty-five patients (average age 35 y; range, 15–56 y) with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) and de novo PAVM embolization with at least 1 MVP between November 2015 and May 2017 were retrospectively evaluated. Retrospective data were also obtained from prior embolization procedures in the same patient population with other embolic devices dating back to 2008. Technical success, complications, PAVM persistence rates, and category of persistence were analyzed. Results In 25 patients, 157 PAVMs were treated: 92 with MVP, 35 with AMPLATZER vascular plug (AVP), 6 with AVP plus coils, and 24 with coils. The per-PAVM technical success rates were 100% with MVP; 97%, AVP; 100%, AVP plus coils; and 100%, coils. PAVM persistence rates and median follow-up were as follows: MVP, 2% (1/92) (510 d); AVP, 15% (3/20) (1,447 d); AVP plus coils, 20% (1/5) (1,141 d); coils, 46.7% (7/15) (1,141 d). Persistence owing to recanalization for MVP, AVP, AVP plus coils, and coils was 2%, 15%, 0%, and 33%. No difference was found between persistence rates of MVP vs AVP (P = .098). Embolization with a vascular plug (MVP or AVP) with or without coils had a statistically significant lower persistence rate (5.4%) than embolization with coils alone (46.7%) (P = .022). Conclusions PAVM embolization with MVP had a high technical success rate and a low persistence rate comparable to AVP and lower than coil embolization alone.
Testing at scale of IoT blockchain applications

Abstract Due to the ever-increasing adaptation of Blockchain technologies in the private, public, and business domains, both the use of Distributed Systems and the increased demand for their reliability has exploded recently, especially with their desired integration with Internet-of-Things devices. This has resulted in a lot of work being done in the fields of distributed system analysis and design, specifically in the areas of blockchain smart contract design and formal verification. However, the focus on formal verification methodologies has meant that less attention has been given toward more traditional testing methodologies, such as unit testing and integration testing. This includes a lack of full support by most, if not all, the major blockchain implementations for testing at scale, except on fully public test networks. This has several drawbacks, such as: (1) The inability to do repeatable testing under identical scenarios, (2) reliance upon public mining of blocks, which introduces unreasonable amounts of delay for a test driven development scenario that a private network could reduce or eliminate, and (3) the inability to design scenarios where parts of the network go down. In this chapter we discuss design, testing methodologies, and tools to allow Testing at Scale of IoT Blockchain Applications.
Genetic Basis of Craniofacial Deformities and Malocclusion, Oral Clefts, and Craniosynostosis

Genetics explains the etiology of craniofacial problems, such as malocclusions, oral clefts, and craniosynostosis. In the case of craniofacial deformities and malocclusions, there is a general sense of skepticism of the role of genetics due to the perception that genetic inheritance is tied to a monogenic or Mendelian form of inheritance. The inheritance of these conditions is complex or multifactorial, where more than one gene is involved in the development of the phenotype. There is also the possibility that the environment influences the formation of craniofacial deformities, malocclusions, oral clefts, and craniosynostosis.
Urban Street Contexts Classification Using Convolutional Neural Networks and Streets Imagery

The classification of streets on road networks has been focused on the vehicular transportational features of streets. Examples of street labels include arterials, major roads, minor roads and so forth based on their transportational use. City authorities on the other hand have been shifting to more wholistic planning of streets. The modern approach towards designing and planning streets is more inclusive of the street context, meaning the side use of a street combined with the transportational features of a street. Several city authorities are developing new classification schemes for street context that extends traditional classification methods to include the use of land on the sides of a street. In those classification schemes, streets are labeled for example as commercial throughway, residential neighborhood, park etc. This modern approach to urban planning have been adopted by major cities such as the city of San Francisco, the state of Florida and Pennsylvania among many others. Currently, the process of labeling streets according to their contexts is manual and hence is tedious and time consuming. It will require manual labor to regularly relabel streets as the city develops. In this paper, we propose an approach to deploy advancements in computer vision towards modern urban planning. We propose a framework for automatic classification of street contexts. Using labeled street imagery we train deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) to perform the classification of street context. We show that CNN models can perform well achieving accuracies in the 81% to 87% range. We test various CNN architectures and report on their performances.
Revealing the Moral Self in the Context of Us

We shall be questioning concerning technology , and in so doing we should like to prepare a free relationship to it. The relationship will be free if it opens our human existence to the essence of technology. When we can respond to this essence, we shall be able to experience the technological within its own bounds (Heidegger, 1977, p. 1; emphasis in the original). If our morality is being shaped in a detrimental way by our use of social media, how is it possible these same technologies could also offer a solution for its repair? The answer depends on whether we are willing to explore what social media reveals about us. Recall that Heidegger explained that technology is a “way of revealing” because it allows reality to come to presence while transforming our relation to it. This process of “revealing,” however, also orders our relationship with technology and our ontological state of Being in such a way that it limits our understanding. The ordering of technology is Enframing , which, in turn, creates the Gestell that limits what is revealed: Enframing does not simply endanger man in his relationship to himself and to everything that is. As a destining, it banishes man into that kind of revealing which is an ordering. Where this ordering holds sway, it drives out every other possibility of revealing. Above all, Enframing conceals that revealing which, in the sense of poiesis , lets what presences come forth into appearance. As compared with that other revealing, the setting- upon that challenges forth thrusts man into a relation to that which is, that is at once antithetical and rigorously ordered (Heidegger, 1977, p. 14). This description of our relationship with technology captures the current “danger” we face in our use of social media. Ironically, it is not the technology that is the danger. Rather, it is the technological ordering of our ontological Being that is the danger we must overcome. “The threat is not a problem for which there can be a solution but an ontological condition from which to be saved” (Dreyfus, 1995, p. 54). The solution for the moral problems we face with our use of social media is not then limited to technological fixes.
Recovery Values and Principles

Recovery values and principles guide the paradigm shift, allowing care practices to move beyond the disease model of mental distress. While recovery programming maintains care aimed at symptom relief, it expands the focus to include the development of strengths, hope and resilience. The goal is to maximize agency, autonomy and empowerment. This includes increasing more client involvement in care planning and decision-making. Recovery-oriented care incorporates both formal and informal peer and community supports within a more holistic system of care. In this way, Stepped Care 2.0 attends more deliberately to the broad determinants of health. Stepped Care 2.0 operationalizes recovery values and principles in the form of practical treatment guidelines. It also supplies a template for client-centric system transformation.
The plastids ofPolytrichum commune: I. The capsule at meiosis

Field collections of capsules ofPolytrichum commune were studied with light and electron microscopy. The capsules contained sporocytes and spore tetrads and showed a diverse complement of plastid types. The discs, or compartments, within the sporocyte plastids were more widely spaced (ca. 50 A apart) than were the grana compartments of the chloroplasts found in other cells of the capsule. Profiles of chloroplasts, especially those from the innermost cell layer of the capsule wall, showed both single and closely juxtaposed stroma lamellae in addition to the grana compartments. Frets and stroma lamellae were represented simultaneously in some chloroplasts.
A Title IX Conundrum: Are Campus Visitors Protected from Sexual Assault?

Sexual violence is a significant and longstanding problem on college campuses that has been made even more visible by recent media attention to the #MeToo movement. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 addresses discrimination (including sexual violence) that impedes access to education; the law demands compliance from federally funded schools related to their prevention of and response to this problem. The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the law to contain an implied private right of action that can be brought against a school for its deliberate indifference to severe and pervasive sex discrimination about which it has knowledge. However, over the past several years, a handful of courts in the United States have rendered opinions that have defined, and effectively narrowed, the class of individuals who are entitled to protection under Title IX. These cases create two separate classes of individuals with different rights: students and non-students, or put another way, insiders and outsiders. This Article seeks to add to the ongoing and complex Title IX conversation by exposing a novel, yet very real conundrum: To whom does Title IX apply? Should universities extend greater safety protections to those who are officially a part of an institution like students, faculty or staff, as opposed to those who are not? Are non-students and other individuals who temporarily interact within the university context simply left out of the spectrum of Title IX protections? What sort of campus safety dynamic exists if certain classes of victims are denied access to Title IX? After extensive analysis, this Article ultimately concludes that facilitating safer campus communities likely demands an extension of Title IX rights to those individuals who participate in campus life, regardless of their official connection to the university.
Crowding-induced opening of the mechanosensitive Piezo1 channel in silico

Mechanosensitive Piezo1 channels are essential mechanotransduction proteins in eukaryotes. Their curved transmembrane domains, called arms, create a convex membrane deformation, or footprint, which is predicted to flatten in response to increased membrane tension. Here, using a hyperbolic tangent model, we show that, due to the intrinsic bending rigidity of the membrane, the overlap of neighboring Piezo1 footprints produces a flattening of the Piezo1 footprints and arms. Multiple all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of Piezo1 further reveal that this tension-independent flattening is accompanied by gating motions that open an activation gate in the pore. This open state recapitulates experimentally obtained ionic selectivity, unitary conductance, and mutant phenotypes. Tracking ion permeation along the open pore reveals the presence of intracellular and extracellular fenestrations acting as cation-selective sites. Simulations also reveal multiple potential binding sites for phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. We propose that the overlap of Piezo channel footprints may act as a cooperative mechanism to regulate channel activity. Mechanosensitive Piezo1 channels transduce mechanical stimuli into electrochemical signals. Jiang et al. show that due to the bending rigidity of the membrane, the overlap of neighboring Piezo1 footprints produces a flattening of the Piezo1 footprints and a cation-selective conducting pore. This study suggests that the clustering of Piezo1 channels may tune its sensitivity to applied force.
Inventory Control at a University Food Pantry Using an MVC Software Pattern and Data Visualization

University food pantries have been opened on-campus to reduce food insecurity among students. However, they are relatively self-governed and receive a limited amount of support. This study aims to resolve the inventory management issue at university food pantries using the combination of the Model-View-Controller (MVC) software pattern and data visualization. As a result, a foundation is established to predict the food choices of clients and to manage food waste effectively. The benefits of visualization on decision making through the use of a resourceful inventory system are outlined. The focus of this research is on university pantries, in particular, the Aggie Source Food Pantry at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. A sample of 50 clients' food choices was acquired from picklists for June and July of 2019. The inventory tracking system implemented is a client-server mobile application used for data collection. Data visualization was applied to evaluate the food donations and distributions. Students preferred essential foods (e.g., pasta, canned vegetables), over unhealthy foods (e.g., Pop-Tarts, cookies). The data consisted of 338 pounds of distributed food and almost 2,473 pounds of donations. Data was simplified into comprehensive visual diagrams. The MVC structure established a program interface that grouped application functions and managed data objects. The solution allowed the staff to understand pantry status and the trends in production. It is anticipated that the prototype will be implemented in the daily activities of the pantry.
Ochlocracy Disappears: The Rise of Representative Democracy

The British gentry led the way in establishing rules of order for parliamentary debates. The American founding fathers established constitutional-legal constraints on political actions. Taken together, the small parliamentary group of elected representatives, the rules for debate, and the constitutional limitations on political action reduced the problem of mob rule and crowd psychology. Civilized debate prevailed over mob psychology. Olocracy was no longer a threat to democracy.
Materials for thermophotovoltaics

This Conference Presentation, “Materials for thermophotovoltaics,” was recorded for Optics + Photonics 2021 held in San Diego, California.