cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Income Tax Changes on Economic Growth

This paper examines how changes to the individual income tax affect long-term economic growth. The structure and financing of a tax change are critical to achieving economic growth. Tax rate cuts may encourage individuals to work, save, and invest, but if the tax cuts are not financed by immediate spending cuts they will likely also result in an increased federal budget deficit, which in the long-term will reduce national saving and raise interest rates. The net impact on growth is uncertain, but many estimates suggest it is either small or negative. Base-broadening measures can eliminate the effect of tax rate cuts on budget deficits, but at the same time they also reduce the impact on labor supply, saving, and investment and thus reduce the direct impact on growth. However, they also reallocate resources across sectors toward their highest-value economic use, resulting in increased efficiency and potentially raising the overall size of the economy. The results suggest that not all tax changes will have the same impact on growth. Reforms that improve incentives, reduce existing subsidies, avoid windfall gains, and avoid deficit financing will have more auspicious effects on the long-term size of the economy, but may also create trade-offs between equity and efficiency.
A revised quantum chemistry-based potential for poly(ethylene oxide) and its oligomers in aqueous solution.

We have conducted a high-level quantum chemistry study of the interactions of 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) with water for complexes representing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic hydration. It was found that our previous quantum chemistry-based force field for poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and its oligomers in aqueous solution did a poor job in describing the hydrophobic binding of water to the ether, consistent with our recent calculations of the excess free energy and entropy of hydration of DME. Our original force field was revised to more accurately reproduce the interaction of water with the carboneous portions of DME. Molecular dynamics simulations of aqueous DME solutions using the revised quantum chemistry-based potential yielded good agreement with experiment for excess free energy, enthalpy, and volume as well as excess solution viscosity and the self-diffusion of water. Comparison with our original potential revealed that the relatively hydrophobic ether-water interactions in the new potential strongly reduced the favorable excess free energy and enthalpy but have relatively little influence on the excess entropy for dilute DME solutions. Other properties of DME and PEO solutions including conformational populations and dynamics, solution viscosity, hydrogen bonding, water translational and rotational diffusion and neutron structure factor as a function of solution composition were found to be largely unchanged from those obtained using the original potential.
Climate change, human land use and future fires in the Amazon

There is increasing consensus that the global climate will continue to warm over the next century. The biodiversity-rich Amazon forest is a region of growing concern because many global climate model (GCM) scenarios of climate change forecast reduced precipitation and, in some cases, coupled vegetation models predict dieback of the forest. To date, fires have generally been spatially co-located with road networks and associated human land use because almost all fires in this region are anthropogenic in origin. Climate change, if severe enough, could alter this situation, potentially changing the fire regime to one of increased fire frequency and severity for vast portions of the Amazon forest. High moisture contents and dense canopies have historically made Amazonian forests extremely resistant to fire spread. Climate will affect the fire situation in the Amazon directly, through changes in temperature and precipitation, and indirectly, through climate-forced changes in vegetation composition and structure. The frequency of drought will be a prime determinant of both how often forest fires occur and how extensive they become. Fire risk management needs to take into account landscape configuration, land cover types and forest disturbance history as well as climate and weather. Maintaining large blocks of unsettled forest is critical for managing landscape level fire in the Amazon. The Amazon has resisted previous climate changes and should adapt to future climates as well if landscapes can be managed to maintain natural fire regimes in the majority of forest remnants.
Waste minimization pretreatment via pyrolysis and oxidative pyroylsis of organic ion exchange resin

Abstract Pyrolysis and/or oxidative pyrolysis of organic ion exchange resins and other combustible waste may be effective pretreatment processes before vitrification. To further examine these processes, organic ion exchange resins were pyrolyzed or oxidatively pyrolyzed with the use of a small-scale, commercial TGA. Volatilization of the anionic and cationic resins was observed separately for each resin as a function of temperature for pyrolysis and oxidative pyrolysis conditions. The quantity of remains or residue was found to be dependent on the method employed. Three different methods were examined with the TGA to pretreat the resins: pyrolysis; oxidative pyrolysis; and oxidative pyrolysis of ash remaining after the pyrolysis of resin. The latter two methods were found to provide better volume reduction than the pyrolysis-only process. Between the two types of resins, cationic and anionic, the cationic exchange resin was less volatile. Pyrolysis and oxidative pyrolysis of mixed resin (50% cation and 50% anion by wt.) showed volatilization at the temperatures where volatilization was observed for each of the separate resins. Because of certain limitations of the commercial TGA, tube furnace experiments were performed, generally, to examine the pyrolysis of larger quantities of cationic, anionic, and mixed resin, and to examine off-gas characteristics. The cationic resin-only and anionic resin-only gravimetric results showed good agreement with the smaller-scale TGA results. SEM pictures of the different variants of the resin (cationic, anionic, and mixed) show a different morphology for each. Off-gas data showed the presence of H 2 S, SO 2 , CO, and NO during the pyrolysis of cationic resin. CO was observed during the pyrolysis of anionic resin. The mixed resin trials showed the presence of the gases approximately at the temperatures where the gases would evolve if the results of the two different resins (cationic and anionic) were superimposed. However, the amount of hydrogen sulfide relative to the sulfur dioxide was found to increase significantly compared to the results of the cationic resin-only trials.
Urinary chromium excretion and insulinogenic properties of carbohydrates.

Eleven male and nine female adult subjects were given one ofthe following five carbohydrate-drink combi- nations (per kg body wt) on five mornings separated by � 2 wk: 1) 1.0 g glucose, 2) 0.9 g uncooked cornstarch, 3) 1.0 g glucose followed 20 mm later by 1.75 g fructose, 4) 0.9 g uncooked cornstarch followed 20 mm later by 1.75 g fructose, and 5) wa- ter followed 20 mm later by 1.75 g fructose. Glucose plus fruc- tose was the most insulinogenic followed by glucose alone, starch plus fructose, starch alone, and water plus fructose. The urinary losses ofchromium followed a similar pattern. Subjects with the highest concentrations ofcirculating insulin displayed decreased ability to mobilize chromium on the basis of urinary chromium excretion. Therefore, urinary chromium losses are related to the insulinogenic properties of carbohydrates. Am J ClinNutr 1990;51:864-8.
Super-resolved multi-channel fuzzy segmentation of MR brain images

We propose a new fuzzy segmentation framework that incorporates the idea of super-resolution image reconstruction. The new framework is designed to segment data sets comprised of orthogonally acquired magnetic resonance (MR) images by taking into account their different system point spread functions. Formulating the reconstruction within the segmentation framework improves its robustness and stability, and makes it possible to incorporate multispectral scans that possess different contrast properties into the super-resolution reconstruction process. Our method has been tested on both simulated and real 3D MR brain data.
Shareholder Value, Shared Value, or Social Value Creation - The Troubles of Managing for More than One Bottom Line

The financial crisis of 2007/08 has caused many to question the basic premises of the current business system. ‘Business as usual’ has come under heavy scrutiny. Achieving environmental and social sustainability stand out as some of the major challenges that current business leaders have to deal with (Jackson & Nelson, 2004). Social Entrepreneurs who address social or environmental problems in innovative ways could thus serve as role models to 21st century leaders. In a manner unsettling to traditional management styles, social entrepreneurs try most often to create shared value and pursue dual objectives (Alter, 2006; Pirson, 2008a; Rangan, Quelch, Herrero, & Barton, 2007). Achieving positive social and environmental impact is considered key to the motivation (Yunus, 2008). It is assumed that social entrepreneurs are able to create shared value in the sense that they create social and environmental impact while earning income and be financially sustainable (Elkington & Hartigan, 2008). This seemingly simple assumption questions longstanding economic research, and questions some of the basic foundations of organizational research. Scholars in economics and management have long made the case that general welfare is increased most by organizations that maximize a single objective function. Jensen (2002) even opined that without a single objective function, no firm could be managed meaningfully. Accordingly, if organizations were now to focus on a balance of different goals, they would necessarily undermine their impact and not maximize their potential. This tension between the practice of social entrepreneurship and the theoretical insights merit further study, since all too easily proponents of either side end up making arguments based more on ideology and wishful thinking rather than facts. Hence in the below paper, I will examine the question whether social enterprises can indeed create shared value and if so, under what circumstances. After a short introduction to the concept of social entrepreneurship, I will then present three cases of rather prominent social enterprises and analyze their evolution. I will conclude by presenting the conditions in which shared value creation can be managed, and in which circumstances maximization strategies prove superior.
A self-testing and self-pruning binary communication tree for a wafer scale database system

The design of the internal node for the WaRP wafer-scale database machine is described. The WaRP architecture consists of a binary tree laid out on a wafer. Most of the data storage and processing occurs in the leaf nodes. The internal nodes of the tree are given the task of distributing queries to the leaves and combining responses. The tree is both fault tolerant and soft-prunable in the field; it is possible to both test the tree and to prune away faulty nodes. As a result, most of the internal node is concerned with testability. >
An Inquiry into the Nature of Plains Indian Cultural Development1

HE Great Plains of the United States is one of the best documented examples of cultural development in the anthropological literature. Archeological studies, historical records, and ethnographic reports give us a good picture of the Plains cultural systems before and after the introduction of the horse. However, in spite of all the available data, some of the more significant questions concerning Plains development have not been answered: "Why did tribal groups coming into the Plains from surrounding regions, with radically different social structures, tend to develop a similar type? The answer is not simply diffusion. Once this new formulation of the Plains is made, new problems will arise which will require a more complex apparatus to solve (Eggan 1954:757)." The purpose of this paper is to offer some suggestions about this "new formulation of the Plains." The question I shall attempt to answer here may be stated simply: What was the magnitude and direction of culture change occurring on the Plains after the introduction of the horse? This study is divided into five parts: First, a consideration of the classic interpretation of Plains development and the generally incompatible conclusions reached through this interpretation. Second, a discussion of whether the horse was a more efficient tool or a new source of energy for Plains development and the implications of these two views. Third, a suggestion that Plains cultural development resulted in a nomadic pastoral culture rather than a mere hunting culture. Fourth, a discussion of three of the main obstacles to classifying the Plains cultures as nomadic pastoral: (a) the consideration of the horse as a "tool," (b) the restricted definitions of pastoralism, and (c) the fact that the Plains cultures were dependent upon hunting buffalo. And, fifth, conclusions with some suggestions for problems which might be fruitfully explored within the framework established here.
Dorsomedial pontine neurons with descending projections to the medullary reticular formation express orexin-1 and adrenergic α2A receptor mRNA

Neurons located in the dorsomedial pontine rapid eye movement (REM) sleep-triggering region send axons to the medial medullary reticular formation (mMRF). This pathway is believed to be important for the generation of REM sleep motor atonia, but other than that they are glutamatergic little is known about neurochemical signatures of these pontine neurons important for REM sleep. We used single-cell reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to determine whether dorsomedial pontine cells with projections to the mMRF express mRNA for selected membrane receptors that mediate modulatory influences on REM sleep. Fluorescein (FITC)-labeled latex microspheres were microinjected into the mMRF of 26–34-day-old rats under pentobarbital anesthesia. After 5–6 days, rats were sacrificed, pontine slices were obtained and neurons were dissociated from 400 to 600m micropunches extracted from dorsomedial pontine reticular formation. We found that 32 out of 51 FITC-labeled cells tested (63 ± 7% (SE)) contained the orexin type 1 receptor (ORX1r) mRNA, 27 out of 73 (37 ± 6%) contained the adrenergic 2A receptor (2Ar) RNA, and 6 out of 31 (19 ± 7%) contained both mRNAs. The percentage of cells positive for the ORX1r mRNA was significantly lower (p < 0.04) for the dorsomedial pontine cells that were not retrogradely labeled from the mMRF (32 ± 11%), whereas 2Ar mRNA was present in a similar percentage of FITC-labeled and unlabeled neurons. Our data suggest that ORX and adrenergic pathways converge on a subpopulation of cells of the pontine REM sleep-triggering region that have descending projections to the medullary region important for the motor control during REM sleep.
Orthogonal polynomials and second-order differential equations

On montre qu'une suite de polynomes peut etre fonctions propre d'un operateur differentiel d'ordre 2 seulement sous des conditions severes
The double-layer network architecture for photonic switching

This paper introduces a new architecture for strictly nonblocking multistage photonic space networks implemented using the switched directional couplers. This switching architecture has the lowest path loss and the best SNR performance of any nondilated network. The architecture can also be dilated, giving it even better SNR. >
Head-Eye Coordination at a Microscopic Scale

Humans explore static visual scenes by alternating rapid eye movements (saccades) with periods of slow and incessant eye drifts [1-3]. These drifts are commonly believed to be the consequence of physiological limits in maintaining steady gaze, resulting in Brownian-like trajectories [4-7], which are almost independent in the two eyes [8-10]. However, because of the technical difficulty of recording minute eye movements, most knowledge on ocular drift comes from artificial laboratory conditions, in which the head of the observer is strictly immobilized. Little is known about eye drift during natural head-free fixation, when microscopic head movements are also continually present [11-13]. We have recently observed that the power spectrum of the visual input to the retina during ocular drift is largely unaffected by fixational head movements [14]. Here we elucidate the mechanism responsible for this invariance. We show that, contrary to common assumption, ocular drift does not move the eyes randomly, but compensates for microscopic head movements, thereby yielding highly correlated movements in the two eyes. This compensatory behavior is extremely fast, persists with one eye patched, and results in image motion trajectories that are only partially correlated on the two retinas. These findings challenge established views of how humans acquire visual information. They show that ocular drift is precisely controlled, as long speculated [15], and imply the existence of neural mechanisms that integrate minute multimodal signals.
‘Justice is a Bad Idea for Christians’: Religious Identity in Political Deliberation

Religious groups are in danger of becoming the other of liberal democracies at exactly the moment when rapprochement between them seems vital to domestic and international stability. In this paper, I argue that liberal political discourse must make room for explicit appeals to religious reasons or risk alienating and potentially radicalizing religious groups. Drawing on various conceptions of public reason and deliberative democracy, I show that the establishment of trust and solidarity are central to liberalism. In order to fulfill these normative goals, political deliberation must be a space in which citizens can express their basic religious commitments. For, deliberation is in part a process in which individuals express their identities and respond to the identities of others. Excluding religious commitments from political discourse turns politics into a painful, alienating experience, undermining trust and solidarity. Hearing and valuing these commitments is therefore central to the success of the liberal project.
Development of Omniphobic Desalination Membranes Using a Charged Electrospun Nanofiber Scaffold

In this study, we present a facile and scalable approach to fabricate omniphobic nanofiber membranes by constructing multilevel re-entrant structures with low surface energy. We first prepared positively charged nanofiber mats by electrospinning a blend polymer-surfactant solution of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) and cationic surfactant (benzyltriethylammonium). Negatively charged silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) were grafted on the positively charged electrospun nanofibers via dip-coating to achieve multilevel re-entrant structures. Grafted SiNPs were then coated with fluoroalkylsilane to lower the surface energy of the membrane. The fabricated membrane showed excellent omniphobicity, as demonstrated by its wetting resistance to various low surface tension liquids, including ethanol with a surface tension of 22.1 mN/m. As a promising application, the prepared omniphobic membrane was tested in direct contact membrane distillation to extract water from highly saline feed solutions containing low surface tension substances, mimicking emerging industrial wastewaters (e.g., from shale gas production). While a control hydrophobic PVDF-HFP nanofiber membrane failed in the desalination/separation process due to low wetting resistance, our fabricated omniphobic membrane exhibited a stable desalination performance for 8 h of operation, successfully demonstrating clean water production from the low surface tension feedwater.
Recommended Levels of Physical Activity Are Associated with Reduced Risk of the Metabolic Syndrome in Mexican-Americans

Purpose To measure the association between physical activity and the metabolic syndrome risk in Mexican-Americans. Methods Participants were drawn from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (n = 3,414), a randomly selected Mexican-American cohort in Texas on the US-Mexico border. Moderate and vigorous physical activity was assessed using reliable and validated instruments. The metabolic syndrome was defined as having 3 or more metabolic abnormalities. Results One thousand five hundred and twenty-four participants of the cohort (45.02%) were found to have the metabolic syndrome. Compared to participants who did not meet US physical activity guidelines, participants who met physical activity guidelines of 150 moderate and vigorous minutes per week (≥ 600 MET adjusted minutes) had 36% lower risk for the metabolic syndrome (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.42–0.98), and participants with total minutes per week of moderate and vigorous/strenuous activity greater than 743 MET adjusted minutes had 37% lower risk for the metabolic syndrome (OR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.42–0.94) compared with their counterparts, after adjusting for age, gender, annual household income, body mass index, smoking and alcohol drinking status, total portions of fruit and vegetable intake, census tracts and blocks, and survey version for physical activity. Conclusions Meeting or exceeding physical activity guidelines significantly was inversely associated with the risk for the metabolic syndrome in Mexican-Americans. Improving levels of physical activity appears to be an effective target for the metabolic syndrome prevention and control among Mexican-Americans independent of other factors.
Rayleigh Doppler velocimetry measurements of a microwave thruster

The performance of a microwave plasma thruster augmented with a magnetohydrodynamic accelerator is being evaluated. Both electrical conductivity and flow velocity are needed to determine the efficiency at the inlet to a magnetohydrodynamic accelerator. This work focuses on the measurement of velocity and temperature in the plumes of a microwave plasma thruster. Tests were conducted at pressures from atmospheric down to I torr. Rayleigh scattered light from an injection-seeded, frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser is analyzed using a planar mirror Fabry-Perot interferometer operating in the static imaging mode. Images were taken with an ICCD camera and digitally stored for later evaluation using a least squares curve fit. Good agreement is seen between thermocouple data and the Rayleigh scattering technique at atmospheric conditions. Preliminary data taken at 1 torr shows the Rayleigh signal dominated by scattered laser light coming from windows and metal surfaces. Methods of reducing this scatter along with the theory of Rayleigh scattering are discussed.
Machine Learning Capabilities of a Simulated Cerebellum

This paper describes the learning and control capabilities of a biologically constrained bottom-up model of the mammalian cerebellum. Results are presented from six tasks: 1) eyelid conditioning; 2) pendulum balancing; 3) proportional–integral–derivative control; 4) robot balancing; 5) pattern recognition; and 6) MNIST handwritten digit recognition. These tasks span several paradigms of machine learning, including supervised learning, reinforcement learning, control, and pattern recognition. Results over these six domains indicate that the cerebellar simulation is capable of robustly identifying static input patterns even when randomized across the sensory apparatus. This capability allows the simulated cerebellum to perform several different supervised learning and control tasks. On the other hand, both reinforcement learning and temporal pattern recognition prove problematic due to the delayed nature of error signals and the simulator’s inability to solve the credit assignment problem. These results are consistent with previous findings which hypothesize that in the human brain, the basal ganglia is responsible for reinforcement learning, while the cerebellum handles supervised learning.
Breeding of Zengchengsimiao-type Fine Quality CMS Line Guang 8A in Rice

Guang 8A,derived from the cross between Zengchengsimiao-8 Xuan,a fine quality early-cropping indica rice in Guangdong with genetic background of wild rice,as the female,and 1325B(Yuefeng B/26),a maintainer line,as the male,and the testcross of its filial plants to 325A,a WA-type CMS line,is a new WA-type indica CMS line with fine grain quality in rice.It has a Zengchengsimiao-type rice quality,high combining ability,good disease resistances and integrated agronomic characteristics.In July,2010,it was technically identified in Guangdong Province.The hybrids derived from Guang 8A including Guang 8 You 98,Guang 8 You 169 and Guang 8 You 2168 were tested in Guangdong regional trials and showed high yield,good resistance and fine grain quality,indicating a good prospect in commercial production.
Intraoperative monitoring of femorotibial bypass grafts.

Numerous efforts to quantitate blood flow through arterial reconstructions have been carried out in recent years, in more proximal grafts, but there is a paucity of information regarding flow through femorotibial grafts. Data from the author’s studies may, among other results, be useful in determining whether there is a significant difference in flow dynamics between diabetic and nondiabetic extremities.
Buffer-eliminated, charge-neutral epitaxial graphene on oxidized 4H-SiC (0001) surface

Buffer-eliminated, charge-neutral epitaxial graphene (EG) is important to enhance its potential in device applications. Using the first principles Density Functional Theory calculations, we investigated the effect of oxidation on the electronic and structural properties of EG on 4H-SiC (0001) surface. Our investigation reveals that the buffer layer decouples from the substrate in the presence of both silicate and silicon oxy-nitride at the interface, and the resultant monolayer EG is charge-neutral in both cases. The interface at 4H-SiC/silicate/EG is characterized by surface dangling electrons, which opens up another route for further engineering EG on 4H-SiC. Dangling electron-free 4H-SiC/silicon oxy-nitride/EG is ideal for achieving charge-neutral EG.
Characterization of Maternal Trophoblast Lymphocyte Cross-Reactive (TLX) Immunity

Women suffering from idiopathic recurrent spontaneous abortions may be grouped as primary (1°) or secondary (2°) aborters (McIntyre and Faulk, 1984; McIntyre et al., 1984). Women classified as 2° aborters have had children, stillbirths or premature births before their abortions began. Unlike 1° aborters, 2° aborters do not share HLA antigens with their spouses and they have high-titred complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) reactivity against paternal and non-paternal lymphoyctes even when not pregnant (McConnachie and McIntyre, 1984; McIntyre et al., 1984; McIntyre et al., 1986). Although multiparous women are the primary source of HLA typing sera, only 20–60% actually produce demonstrable antibodies and most of these disappear soon after delivery (Amon and Kostyu, 1980). Study of 2° aborters’ antibodies on HLA select cell panels before and after absorption with trophoblast membranes has shown patterns of reactivity which indicate specificities for trophoblast lymphocyte crossreactive (TLX) antigens (McIntyre and Faulk, 1982; McIntyre et al., 1983; McIntyre et al., 1985; Faulk and McIntyre, 1983).
Conciliation with Revolutionary Regimes

‘We drove them to the Soviets!’ This, too, is a notion that appears with great frequency in recent writings on American foreign policy. The argument, of course, is that revolutionary governments would be interested in good relations with the United States if only they were treated with more understanding or sympathy, but that the US has reacted to them time and again with mechanical hostility, giving them no choice but to turn to the USSR. This view may be accurate for individual cases, but it is demonstrably false as a generalisation. In point of fact, the United States has pursued conciliatory policies toward revolutionary governments on many occasions since 1945, and, as we shall see, has very little to show for it in many instances.1
Spatio-temporal approach to moving window block kriging of satellite data v1.0

Abstract. Numerous existing satellites observe physical or environmental properties of the Earth system. Many of these satellites provide global-scale observations, but these observations are often sparse and noisy. By contrast, contiguous, global maps are often most useful to the scientific community (i.e., Level 3 products). We develop a spatio-temporal moving window block kriging method to create contiguous maps from sparse and/or noisy satellite observations. This approach exhibits several advantages over existing methods: (1) it allows for flexibility in setting the spatial resolution of the Level 3 map, (2) it is applicable to observations with variable density, (3) it produces a rigorous uncertainty estimate, (4) it exploits both spatial and temporal correlations in the data, and (5) it facilitates estimation in real time. Moreover, this approach only requires the assumption that the observable quantity exhibits spatial and temporal correlations that are inferable from the data. We test this method by creating Level 3 products from satellite observations of CO2 (XCO2) from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT), CH4 (XCH4) from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2). We evaluate and analyze the difference in performance of spatio-temporal vs. recently developed spatial kriging methods.
Data-driven Discovery: A New Era of Exploiting the Literature and Data

In the current data-intensive era, the traditional hands-on method of conducting scientific research by exploring related publications to generate a testable hypothesis is well on its way of becoming obsolete within just a year or two. Analyzing the literature and data to automatically generate a hypothesis might become the de facto approach to inform the core research efforts of those trying to master the exponentially rapid expansion of publications and datasets. Here, viewpoints are provided and discussed to help the understanding of challenges of data-driven discovery.
Low Uptake of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Among High Risk Men in Malawi.

Malawi is one of 14 priority countries for voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) initiatives with the lowest VMMC uptake. Using data from a study of 269 men accessing VMMC in southern Malawi and latent class analysis, men were classified based on four risk factors: ever tested for HIV, condom use at last sex, having casual/concurrent sexual partners, and using alcohol before sex. Two distinct classes were identified: 8% of men were classified as high risk, while 92% were classified as low/medium risk. Poisson regression modeling indicated that men who had lower education (risk ratio [RR] 1.07, p < 0.05) and were ages 19–26 (RR 1.07, p < 0.05) were more likely to be in the high risk group. The low numbers of men in the high risk category seeking services suggests the need to implement targeted strategies to increase VMMC uptake among such high risk men.
Si clusters are more metallic than bulk Si.

Dipole polarizabilities were computed using density functional theory for silicon clusters over a broad range of sizes up to N = 147 atoms. The calculated total effective polarizabilities, which include contributions from permanent dipole moments of the clusters, are in very good agreement with recently measured values. We show that the permanent dipole contributions are most important for clusters in the intermediate size range and that the measured polarizabilities can be used to distinguish between energetically nearly degenerate cluster isomers at these sizes. We decompose the computed total polarizabilities α into the so-called dipole and charge transfer contributions, αp and αq, using a site-specific analysis. When the per-atom values of these quantities are plotted against N−1/3, clear linear trends emerge that can be extrapolated to the large size limit (N−1/3→0), resulting in a value for αN of 30.5 bohrs3/atom that is significantly larger than the per-atom polarizability of semiconducting bulk Si...
Entrustable Professional Activities for Specialty Pharmacy Practice.

To the editor: We thank Drs. Jarrett and Berenbrok for their commentary on our statement paper, “Entrustable Professional Activities for Pharmacy Practice,” published in the Journal, [ 1 ][1] and appreciate the opportunity to respond. Drs. Jarrett and Berenbrok comment on the need for setting
INDIRA: ‘Application Intent’ network assistant to configure SDN-based high performance scientific networks

We demonstrate INDIRA ((Intelligent Network Deployment Intent Renderer Application)), an interactive network assistant that will help us configure a data path between two scientific end-point groups (EPGs) to optimize the transfer of elephant data flows.
Providing Ventilation to the Newborn Infant in the Delivery Room

* Abbreviations: BPD: : bronchopulmonary dysplasia CPAP: : continuous positive airway pressure ETT: : endotracheal tube FiO2: : fraction of inspired oxygen NRP: : Neonatal Resuscitation Program PEEP: : positive end-expiratory pressure PIP: : peak inspiratory pressure PPV: : positive pressure ventilation Ventilating the lungs of the newborn is the most important element of neonatal resuscitation. Recognizing and delivering effective ventilation remains a critical skill for all attendants at a newborn delivery. After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Recognize the critical role of ventilation in the delivery room. 2. Identify the signs of effective ventilation. 3. Understand devices that deliver positive pressure ventilation. The Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) emphasizes the importance of ventilation in the resuscitation of compromised newborns. (1) The purpose of this review is to explain the physiologic necessity of ventilation in newborn resuscitation and to describe the different methods of providing ventilation in the delivery room. We will also discuss the assessment of ventilation to ensure efficacy. Blood flow during fetal life is focused on perfusion of the brain and major organs with oxygenated blood and avoidance of fluid-filled lungs (Fig 1A). This blood flow is dependent on oxygenated umbilical venous blood from the placenta. Figure 1. A. Fetal circulation path. Only a small amount of blood travels to the lungs. There is no gas exchange in the lung. Blood returning to the right side of the heart from the umbilical vein has the highest oxygen saturation. B. Transitional circulation path. The infant breathes, pulmonary resistance decreases and blood travels to the lungs. Gas exchange occurs in the lungs. Blood returning to the left side of the heart from the lungs has the highest oxygen saturation. (From Textbook of Neonatal Resuscitation, 7th ed. , 2016. Reproduced with permission from the American Academy of Pediatrics.) Normal cardiopulmonary transition of the newborn from intra- to extrauterine life requires a rapid and complex process of fetal lung fluid clearance, expansion of the alveolar spaces with air, and redirection of cardiac output toward the lungs. All of these events take place independent of intervention …
Semi-supervised deep generative models for change detection in very high resolution imagery

Increasing population, rapid urbanization, quest for biofuels, pollution, diseases, and adverse climate changes are some of the major drivers behind the changing surface of our planet. Timely monitoring and assessment of these changes, along with dissemination of accurate information, is important for policy makers, city planners, and humanitarian relief workers. Advances in remote sensing technologies have led to acquisition of very high resolution remote sensing imagery in the past decade. This data is highly useful for the aforementioned applications, and machine learning technology can be used to identify and quantify the changed regions. In this study we explore a semi-supervised deep generative model for change detection in very high resolution multispectral and bitemporal imagery. We constructed an auxiliary variational autoencoder that infers class labels without incurring high sample complexity costs. The resulting classifier was able to produce accurate predictions of real changes over images that appear significantly different due to environmental conditions (not real changes) while utilizing only a small set of labeled samples.
The Association Between Provider Price and Complication Rates for Outpatient Surgical Services.

Wide variations exist in price and quality for health-care services, but the link between price and quality remains uncertain. This paper used claims data from a large commercially insured population to assess the association between both procedure- and provider-level prices and complication rates for three common outpatient surgical services. This is a retrospective cohort study. The study used medical claims data from commercial health plans between 2009 and 2013 for three outpatient surgical services—joint arthroscopy, cataract surgery, and colonoscopy. For each procedure, price was assessed as the sum of patient, employer, and insurer spending. Complications were identified using existing algorithms specific to each service. Multivariate regressions were used to risk-adjust prices and complication rates. Provider-level price and complication rates were compared by calculating standardized differences that compared provider risk-adjusted price and complication rates with other providers within the same geographic market. The association between provider-level risk-adjusted price and complication rates was estimated using a linear regression. Across the three services, there was an inverse association between both procedure- and provider-level prices and complication rates. For joint arthroscopy, cataract surgery, and colonoscopy, a one standard deviation increase in procedure-level price was associated with 1.06 (95% CI 1.05–1.08), 1.14 (95% CI 1.11–1.16), and 1.07 (95% CI 1.06–1.07) odds increases in the rate of procedural complications, respectively. A one standard deviation increase in risk-adjusted provider price was associated with 0.09 (95% CI 0.07 to 0.11), 0.02 (95% CI 0.003 to 0.05), and 0.32 (95% CI 0.29 to 0.34) standard deviation increases in the rate of provider risk-adjusted complication rates, respectively. Results may be due to unobserved factors. Only three surgical services were examined, and the results may not generalize to other services and procedures. Quality measurements did not include patient satisfaction or experience measures. For three common outpatient surgical services, procedure- and provider-level prices are associated with modest increased rates of complication rates.
A Comparison of Solid, Mesh, and Segmented Strip Dipoles in a Subdermal Environment

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the feasibility of subdermal (tattoo) antennas in the fat layer, which use the low conductivity of the fat to electrically insulate a dipole antenna. The current research in polymer engineering is moving toward materials that can be injected as fluids that turn to soft, conductive solids at body temperature; this paper anticipates using these materials for tattooed subdermal antennas. Simulations and measurements were used to evaluate the current distributions that are shared between antennas with and without voids (solid, segmented, and meshed strip dipole antennas) and surrounding body tissues to give insight into the performance of subdermal antennas and their coupling to the body. The body tissues play a strong role in adapting the current distributions. The high dielectric materials electrically shorten the antenna. The high conductivity muscle conducts or guides current into the body. Any voids in the antennas (e.g., gaps between segments or holes in the mesh) are particularly important, as they generate stronger coupling to the tissues. The feasibility of using fat as insulation is verified in simulation and confirmed with measurement.
On the Intrinsic Fracture Pressure of Liquid and Solid Aluminum Around Its Melting Temperature

To determine the intrinsic fracture pressure of aluminum, data from studies that have used molecular dynamic simulations, the van der Waals method as well as experimental observations have been gathered and analyzed. Results indicate that aluminum has an intrinsic fracture pressure of − 4 GPa at its melting temperature in both liquid and solid states. Moreover, the Fisher equation can be used to estimate the intrinsic fracture pressure of liquid aluminum.
Should I Get LASIK If I’m Breastfeeding?

Changes in keratometric values and refraction can occur during pregnancy. For this reason, changing a patient’s refractive prescription or undergoing corneal refractive surgery is not recommended during pregnancy. However, the extent to which these corneal changes persist during lactation is not as well reported. Pregnancy and lactation lead to hormonal changes that affect the corneal structure. LASIK, or other types of refractive surgery, is not recommended until all of the following conditions are met: cessation of lactation, the return of regular menses, and a return to pre-pregnancy refraction. Additionally, patients should be cautioned that refractive regression may occur if they become pregnant within 1 year of LASIK. Research to Prevent Blindness, NY, USA.
Water column oxygen dynamics within the coastal gradient in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico inner shelf

Abstract This study quantified the coastal gradients of salinity, temperature, nutrients, chlorophyll and oxygen along a transect from 5 to 18 m depth in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (NEGOM) through measurements of water column profiles over 4.5-years and recordings of probes mounted at 0.5 m above the seafloor over 2-years. The main goal was to determine the influences of the coastal gradients on water column oxygen concentration distributions. Apalachicola River discharge affected the study region as reflected in low-salinity surface layers. Decreasing rates of oxygen production and consumption from the shallowest station to the deepest station were attributed to measured coastal gradients of nutrients and the decreasing influence of seafloor processes with increasing distance from shore. Water column photosynthetic oxygen production at a realistic irradiance of 200 μE m−2 s−1 ranged from 0.5 to 4.5 mmol O2 m−3 h−1, and dark consumption rates from 0.2 to 2.6 mmol O2 m−3 h−1. Based on July irradiance profiles and associated production and consumption rates, the water column in July 2009 produced 0.9 (1SD=0.2) g C m−2 d−1 with rates remaining relatively constant over the length of this coastal transect. Benthic boundary layer production reaching 26–43% of the surface layer production underlines the role of the benthic boundary layer for production in the inner shelf. Oxygen in the benthic boundary layer never decreased below 73% air saturation, and hypoxic zones, as reported from shelf areas west of the study region, did not occur. Oxygen production exceeded consumption suggesting a net autotrophic system.
Uncertainty quantification in ICME workflows for fatigue critical computational modeling

Abstract Fatigue critical applications of digital twins require an emphasis on computing the driving forces to form and grow fatigue cracks in materials. The concept of a digital twin is extended to incorporate microstructure-sensitive fatigue in the context of ICME. Uncertainty is ubiquitous in ICME workflows, and robust uncertainty quantification strategies can facilitate reliable prognosis support. This work addresses epistemic uncertainty from model form and parameters for microstructure-sensitive simulation of fatigue. Model form uncertainty is studied through statistical volume element sampling strategies. A strategy to reduce this uncertainty is applied and a second study of model parameter uncertainty stemming from macroscopic calibration of a Ti-6Al-4V constitutive model is discussed.
Complexation of Wavenumbers in Solitons

It is shown that, by letting wavenumbers and frequencies complex in Hirota's bilinear method, new classes of exact solutions of soliton equations can be obtained systematically. They include not only singular or N-homoclinic solutions but also N-wavepacket solutions.
“The walls came down:” A Mixed-Methods Multi-Site Prison Arts Program Evaluation

Considerable research has linked participation in arts programs to a constellation of positive social emotional outcomes for incarcerated participants. This article describes and evaluates a set of...
Uncertainty Driven Entry and Exit Over the Business Cycle

This paper explores the aggregate implications of countercyclical macroeconomic volatility. First, by drawing on data of publicly traded U.S. firms, I find that both the investment rate and the probability of investment spikes decrease as macroeconomic volatility rises, with this effect weakening as firms age. Second, to rationalize empirical patterns, I build an uncertainty regime-switching general equilibrium model of investment with capital adjustment costs and firms’ entry and exit. In the model, mature firms are close to their long-run productivity, and therefore, do not respond strongly to heightened uncertainty. Conversely, young firms are far away from their long-run productivity, and prefer to "freeze" their investment decisions during volatile times. Finally, in contrast to existing literature, I show that the entry/exit margin can be quantitatively important, especially during high-uncertainty episodes such as the Great Recession.
Contributions of emotion regulation and brain structure and function to adolescent internalizing problems and stress vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study

Abstract Background Adolescence is a period of increased vulnerability for internalizing problems, particularly following stressful life events. We examined how emotion regulation and brain structure and function were associated with internalizing problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and moderated the association between pandemic-related stressors and internalizing problems. Methods Data are from a longitudinal sample (N = 145, age range, 10–15 years) strategically assessed at 3 crucial time points: before the COVID-19 pandemic, early during the stay-at-home order period, and again 6 months later. We examined associations of amygdala and hippocampal volume and amygdala activation during an emotional processing task before the pandemic, examined use of emotion regulation strategies before and during the pandemic, and examined pandemic-related stressors with internalizing problems. Results Greater exposure to pandemic-related stressors was associated with higher internalizing problems both early and later in the COVID-19 pandemic. Youths who reported more frequent use of rumination before the pandemic and higher use of expressive suppression and lower use of cognitive reappraisal early in the pandemic had higher internalizing problems early in the pandemic. Higher left amygdala activation to neutral relative to fearful faces before the pandemic was associated with greater internalizing problems and a stronger link between pandemic-related stressors and internalizing problems early in the pandemic. Conclusions Stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic are strongly associated with adolescent internalizing problems, as are individual differences in emotional reactivity and regulation and their underlying neural mechanisms. Interventions that reduce pandemic-related stressors and foster adaptive emotion regulation skills may protect against adolescent psychopathology during this period of heightened exposure to stress.
Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Experience, by Yaroslav Komarovski.

Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Experience, by Yaroslav Komarovski. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. 285pp., £86 (hb). ISBN: 9780190244958