cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Note on New Estimates of the Distribution of Income in the 1920s

The period from 1916 through 1929 is important to anyone interested in the history of income inequality in the United States. Current estimates suggest that income inequality increased in the antebellum period and reached a "plateau of high income inequality from the Civil War to 1929."'' Inequality seems to have risen from the turn of the century to 1916 and then declined sharply during the First World War. The 1920s brought a new surge of income inequality which, by 1929, pushed inequality to about the 1916 level.2 From 1929 to 1950 there was a significant decrease in income inequality in the United States followed by a period of relative distributional stability. Thus, 1916 and 1929 appear to have marked peaks in income inequality in the history of the United States. Because it directly preceded the Great Depression the surge of income inequality duning the prosperous 1920s has generated considerable interest. In 1946 Arthur Bums developed data which provided preliminary measures of this growing disparity, but the most iniportant evidence on changes in the distribution of income during the 1920s was presented in 1953 in Simon Kuznets's pathbreaking study, Shares of Upper Income Groups in Income and Savings. Kuznets carefully constructed income shares for upper-income percentiles of the total and nonfarm population. These shares provided evidence of increasing income inequality. For example, the share of disposable income ofthe top 1 percent of the nonfarm population rose from 13.13 percent in 1919 to 19.07 percent in 1929. From the business-cycle peak in 1923 to the cyclical peak in 1929 this share rose from 12.78 to 19.07 percent. Similar, though less pronounced, changes were found for the second and third, fourth and fifth, and sixth and seventh percentiles. The share of disposable income for the lower 93 percent of the nonfarm population fell from 71.00 percent in 1919 to 69.74 percent in 1923 to 61.29 percent in 1929.4 In 1977 Charles Holt used Kuznets's data to estimate real per capita disposable incomes for nonfarn income percentiles. Holt found that the real per capita disposable incomes of the lower 93 percent of the nonfarm population fell 4 percent and concluded that, "The inference is clear. Consumption increased markedly during the New Era in the face of little or no improvement in the consumption habits of the bulk of the nonfarm population."5 Recent research has shown that Kuznets's share estimates, and Holt's real per capita income estimates, overstate the rise in inequality during the twenties because no adjustments were made for changes in tax-avoidance behavior. This article draws upon new
Learning and Memory Performances in Adolescent Users of Alcohol and Marijuana: Interactive Effects

Objective:Lifetime alcohol hangover and withdrawal symptoms in youth have been shown to predict poorer recall of verbal and nonverbal information, as well as reduced visuospatial skills. Some evidence has suggested that negative effects of alcohol on the brain may be buffered in part by potential neuroprotective properties of can-nabinoids. We hypothesized that a history of more alcohol hangover symptoms would predict worse performances on measures of verbal and visual memory, and that this relationship would be moderated by marijuana involvement.Method:Participants were 130 adolescents (65 with histories of heavy marijuana use, and 65 non-marijuana-using controls), ranging in age from 15.7 to 19.1 years. Neuropsychological tests for visual and verbal memory and interviews assessing lifetime and recent substance use, hangover/withdrawal symptoms, and abuse and dependence criteria were administered.Results:Regression models revealed that greater alcohol hangover symptoms predicted worse verbal learning (p ...
A noncombinatorial necessary and sufficient 'vertex' solution for checking robust stability of polytopes of matrices induced by interval parameters

This paper first argues that the current research by the author on the issue of developing necessary and sufficient 'vertex' solutions for checking the stability of matrix families needs to be evaluated on its own merit without any link to the computational complexity issues such as NP-hardness because it is not proven that P /spl ne/ NP. Then it reviews the current 'necessary and sufficient vertex solution' presented by the author for the 'interval polytopes', that is, polytopes of matrices induced by 'interval' parameters. The major features of the 'interval polytopes' in contrast to general polytopes are highlighted. Finally, and more importantly, by exploiting the special nature of 'interval polytopes', a new improved vertex solution, which is noncombinatorial in nature, is presented in this paper for that family. This new result, which clearly offers significant computational savings, should alleviate the concerns of computational complexity issue being raised in the context of this research and establishes that at least the 'interval polytope' stability check is in P. Future research promises to point towards even more computational reduction possibilities for the 'interval polytope' problem.
DOVIS: A Tool for High-Throughput Virtual Screening

We developed a Docking-based Virtual Screening (DOVIS) pipeline to predict how small molecules may interact with a given protein, so that we can rank a large database of molecules based on their predicted affinities to the protein. We used the program AutoDock as the docking engine and OpenBabel as the molecular data model. We designed and implemented a novel parallelization scheme using a file-based inter-process communication protocol to control parallel jobs. A Web- server/Web-page architecture was developed based on the User Interface Toolkit (UIT) to manage DOVIS jobs on high performance computing (HPC) platforms and provide a Web-page-based graphical user interface (GUI). The DOVIS pipeline is running on JVN at the Army Research laboratory (ARL) Major Shared Resource Center (MSRC). Scientists at several Department of Defense (DoD) labs are currently using the DOVIS pipeline in their research projects.
On the underlying causes of semantic paralexias in a patient with deep dyslexia

The nature of the underlying causes of paralexias produced by a patient exhibiting the syndrome of deep dyslexia was explored by pairing an oral reading task with a picture matching task using the same words. The results suggested two causes of semantic paralexias: word retrieval difficulties and impaired concept arousal. Parallel deficits in language tasks not involving written words were found. It is suggested that the major component of the deep dyslexia syndrome may reflect a deficit which is not specific to the written modality.
An analysis of students' gaming behaviors in an intelligent tutoring system: predictors and impacts

Students who exploit properties of an instructional system to make progress while avoiding learning are said to be "gaming" the system. In order to investigate what causes gaming and how it impacts students, we analyzed log data from two Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). The primary analyses focused on six college physics classes using the Andes ITS for homework and test preparation, starting with the research question: What is a better predictor of gaming, problem or student? To address this question, we developed a computational gaming detector for automatically labeling the Andes data, and applied several data mining techniques, including machine learning of Bayesian network parameters. Contrary to some prior findings, the analyses indicated that student was a better predictor of gaming than problem. This result was surprising, so we tested and confirmed it with log data from a second ITS (the Algebra Cognitive Tutor) and population (high school students). Given that student was more predictive of gaming than problem, subsequent analyses focused on how students gamed and in turn benefited (or not) from instructional features of the environment, as well as how gaming in general influenced problem solving and learning outcomes.
Direct Growth of Highly Mismatched Type II ZnO/ZnSe Core/Shell Nanowire Arrays on Transparent Conducting Oxide Substrates for Solar Cell Applications

A number of nanometer-scale photovoltaic (PV) concepts based on semiconductor nanowires have been developed or proposed in recent years, with either inorganic/organic hybrid or all-inorganic approaches. The quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) structure is perhaps the optimized choice for optoelectronic devices such as solar cells and photodetectors, because it allows for maximal advantage to be taken of reduced dimensionality whilst retaining the last and only needed conduction channel. Besides the possibility of exploring quantum effects at the nanoscopic scale, the quasi-1D system could be superior to the bulk material even at the mesoscopic scale, where the lateral size falls below the carrier diffusion length, for instance, by reducing the nonradiative recombination and carrier scattering loss through elimination of the unnecessary lateral transport and the resulting recombination loss. Additionally, a nanowire array constitutes a natural architecture, such as a photonic crystal, for light trapping. The charge separation of the electron and hole is a key step in the generation of solar power in a PV device. In a conventional solar cell, it is typically achieved by a planar p–n homojunction along the path of the current flow or longitudinally. In nanometer-architecture PV devices, however, the charge separation is often facilitated by a type II or staggered energy alignment of a heterojunction, constructed from two materials for which both the valance and conduction bands of one component lie lower in energy than the corresponding bands of the other component. Such heterojunctions have been intensively investigated for solar cell applications, including dyesensitized solar cells (DSSCs), quantum-dot-sensitized solar
The effect of native-language experience on the sensory-obligatory components, the P1-N1-P2 and the T-complex.

The influence of native-language experience on sensory-obligatory auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs) was investigated in native-English and native-Polish listeners. AEPs were recorded to the first word in nonsense word pairs, while participants performed a syllable identification task to the second word in the pairs. Nonsense words contained phoneme sequence onsets (i.e., /pt/, /pət/, /st/ and /sət/) that occur in the Polish and English languages, with the exception that /pt/ at syllable onset is an illegal phonotactic form in English. P1–N1–P2 waveforms from fronto-central electrode sites were comparable in English and Polish listeners, even though, these same English participants were unable to distinguish the nonsense words having /pt/ and /pət/ onsets. The P1–N1–P2 complex indexed the temporal characteristics of the word stimuli in the same manner for both language groups. Taken together, these findings suggest that the fronto-central P1–N1–P2 complex reflects acoustic feature processing of speech and is not significantly influenced by exposure to the phoneme sequences of the native-language. In contrast, the T-complex from bilateral posterior temporal sites was found to index phonological as well as acoustic feature processing to the nonsense word stimuli. An enhanced negativity for the /pt/ cluster relative to its contrast sequence (i.e., /pət/) occurred only for the Polish listeners, suggesting that neural networks within non-primary auditory cortex may be involved in early cortical phonological processing.
Solitary Wave Breaking on Irregular 3D Bathymetry Using a Coupled Potential + Viscous Flow Model

AbstractA three-dimensional (3D) coupled potential + viscous flow model based on a domain decomposition method is developed and applied to study shoaling and breaking of a solitary wave on a nonuniform bathymetry. The flow domain is decomposed into two subdomains separated by an interface: a wave generation and propagation subdomain modeled by a potential-flow (PF) solver and a shoaling and surf zone subdomain modeled by a Navier-Stokes equation (NSE) solver. The PF solver, based on a boundary-element method, is capable of modeling the motion of a piston wavemaker and the propagation of the resulting wave downstream. After the wave passes through the interface, it continues to propagate in the viscous-flow (NSE) subdomain, which is solved by a FEM. A free-surface capturing feature of the NSE solver allows simulation of wave breaking and the postbreaking behavior. Numerical results show good agreement with those of a large-scale wave-basin experiment of a solitary wave run-up on a 3D wedge. The simulation ...
The Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program: Four decades of training physicians as agents of change.

The Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program has trained 1,200 physicians over 45 years to be agents of change in their communities, medical education, research, and politics.
High DC Current Density On-Chip Strip-Line Inductors Integrated With Magnetic Film

The integration of voltage regulator on the chip substrate in system on chip can reduce interconnect resistive losses, facilitates real-time power management with control of the supply voltage, and requires to manufacture small inductors with high inductance density, power density, and efficiency with large current carrying capability. In this paper, we fabricated a strip-line on-chip inductor with separate conductive windings wrapped by boron-incorporated amorphous Co–Zr–Ta–B film. We examined its response of inductance and quality factor as a function of an applied dc current and its large current density capability.
Role of Degradation Products of Chlorogenic Acid in the Antioxidant Activity of Roasted Coffee

Antioxidant activities of brewed coffees prepared from six commercial brands ranged from 63.13 ± 1.01 to 96.80 ± 1.68% at the highest levels tested. Generally, the degree of antioxidant activity of the brewed coffee was inversely proportional to the total chlorogenic acid concentration. A sample obtained from the major chlorogenic acid, 5-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA), heated at 250 °C exhibited potent antioxidant activity (79.12 ± 2.49%) at the level of 10 μg/mL, whereas unheated 5-CQA showed only moderate antioxidant activity (44.41 ± 0.27%) at the level of 100 μg/mL. Heat produced relatively high levels of pyrocatechol (2,809.3 μg/g) and 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (46.4 μg/g) from 5-CQA, and their antioxidant activity levels were 76.57 ± 3.00 and 98.63 ± 0.01%, respectively. The results of the present study suggest that roasting degrades chlorogenic acids to form potent antioxidants and thus plays an important role in the preparation of high-antioxidant low-acid coffee.
Probing the Nature of Bandgap States in Hydrogen-Treated TiO2 Nanowires

Hydrogen treatment of TiO2 has been demonstrated to significantly alter its optical properties, including substantially enhanced visible light absorption that has important implications for various applications. The chemical nature of the bandgap states responsible for the increased visible absorption is not yet well understood. This work reports a detailed study of the structural, optical, electronic, and ultrafast properties of hydrogen-treated TiO2 (H:TiO2) nanowires (NWs) using a combination of experimental techniques including high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR), time-resolved fluorescence (TRF), and femtosecond transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy in order to explain the origin of the strong visible absorption. The combined TEM, ESR, TRF, and TA data suggest that the presence of a localized mid-bandgap oxygen vacancy (VO) occupied by a lone electron in an antibonding orbital situated at a surface site is likely responsible for the vi...
Reliability and reproducibility of individual differences in functional connectivity acquired during task and resting state.

Objectives Application of fMRI connectivity metrics as diagnostic biomarkers at the individual level will require reliability, sensitivity and specificity to longitudinal changes in development, aging, neurocognitive, and behavioral performance and pathologies. Such metrics have not been well characterized for recent advances in BOLD acquisition.
A Cross-sectional Study on Injuries of Migrant Children in Yixing City

[Objective]To conduct a cross-sectional study on injuries of migrant children in Yixing City.[Methods]A retrospective investigation was performed on 20 022 migrant children and local children in Yixing City for their injuries in the previous year with a stratified cluster sampling.[Results]The incidence of injury incidents: in 0～5 years(preschool) group,that was 3.68%,7.25%,16.35% respectively in local,mixed,migrant children groups;and that of male and female in each children group were 3.93%,3.41%;8.54%,5.79%;18.78%,13.85%,respectively.For 6～14 years(primary and secondary school) group,that was 7.99%,6.37%,20.37% respectively in local,mixed,migrant children groups;and that of male and female in each children group were 8.75,7.15%;7.39%,5.19%;20.97%,19.77%,respectively.The first 3 leading causes of injuries,in 0～5 years group,were falls,burns,insect and animals bites which were essentially equal in 3 children groups;in 6～14 years group,those were falls,insect and animals bites,sharp injury in migrant and mixed children groups,and falls,burns,insect and animals bites in migrant children groups.[Conclusion]The injury incidence of migrant children is significantly higher than that of local children.It is urgent to strengthen the prevention and control of migrant children injury.
Pediatric Herpes Virus Anterior Segment Infections

This chapter is designed as a practical guide for diagnosis and management of anterior segment herpetic disease in children. When these potentially serious infections occur in childhood, the pediatric ophthalmologist frequently coordinates the acute and long-term management. In atypical or severe cases, consultation with a cornea, uveitis, or infectious disease specialist may be necessary. Although complex diagnostic and treatment descriptions are possible, this chapter provides generalized guidance through defined categories of disease with delineated treatment protocols. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is the primary focus of the chapter, and the text emphasizes pediatric blepharoconjunctivitis, epithelial keratitis, stromal keratitis, endotheliitis, iritis, and neonatal disease. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) infections are also briefly discussed. Treatment flow diagrams and clinical photographs are presented for additional guidance.
Challenges of an Evidence-Based Approach to Addiction Treatment

Publisher Summary In order to develop new evidence-based treatment methods and improve upon the ones one has, researchers need to shadow clinicians in their clinical settings and learn more about the types of complex clinical cases they treat. In addition, scientists need to develop a better sense of the realities of substance abuse treatment centers in terms of organizational, financial, and caseload factors that may influence the adoption of evidence-based treatments. New treatments must be designed to take the current treatment infrastructure into account and develop ways to improve it. Clinicians, however, need to become scientist practitioners by carefully observing and recording specific aspects of the treatment process and its outcomes in order to assist researchers in developing work-able and testable hypotheses about what works and what does not. In this regard, clinicians probably have a great deal of important things to say about their own theories of why their clients change. There are certainly challenges in developing and implementing evidence-based addiction treatment, the emphasis on treatments that have proven their worth through controlled clinical trials is a welcome change in the substance abuse arena.
Surgical Hemostasis in the Era of Anticoagulation: Guidelines and Recommendations Summary

An aging population and improved management of chronic conditions are at the crux of an issue confronting all surgeons—the increasing use of anticoagulation in older patients more likely to harbor surgical pathology and more susceptible to even trivial trauma when compared to younger cohorts. Cardiac, vascular, and prothrombotic conditions are the primary indications for antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy, with the specific indications continually expanding. Furthermore, inconveniences and failures in past experience with these agents drives discovery and utilization of new agents, often before a reliable inhibitor or reversal agent exists [1–3]. The inherent risk in this situation is magnified further in neurosurgery due to the complex, unforgiving system involved.
Transport Properties of the 1-Hexyl-3-methylimidazolium Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide-Trichloromethane Binary System: Indication of Trichloromethane Segregation.

Self-diffusion coefficients and electrical conductivity were studied for the binary system 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide–trichloromethane ([C6mim][NTf2]–CHCl3) as a function of composition and temperature. Self-diffusion coefficients of cation and anion are identical for ionic liquid mole fractions xIL < 0.95. The self-diffusion coefficient of CHCl3 is consistently larger than that of the ions by a factor of 4. A double logarithmic plot for the ratio of self-diffusion coefficient and temperature versus viscosity is linear for ionic liquid mole fractions 0.1 < xIL < 0.9 indicating (a) a fractional Stokes–Einstein applies where self-diffusion is inverse proportional to some power b of viscosity (D ∼ η–b) and (b) single average length scales are associated with the mass transport of [C6mim][NTf2] and CHCl3. However, the obtained length scale for CHCl3 is unreasonably small, which is indicative of CHCl3 segregation. The molar conductivity displays a maximum near xIL = 0.2. Eval...
A study on distributed diffusion and its variants

Energy awareness is an essential design issue in wireless sensor networks (WSN). The routing techniques of WSN are classified into three main categories Data-Centric, hierarchical and location-based. Data-Centric technologies perform in-network aggregation of data to yield energy-efficient dissemination; Sensor Protocols for Information via Negotiation (SPIN) and Directed Diffusion (DD) are basic Data-Centric routing protocols. This paper presents a survey on Data-Centric routing and specifically focuses on the Directed Diffusion and its variants (dissemination and aggregation variants) and the protocols that follow the similar concept like Directed Diffusion.
Class Jurisprudes: Free Labor Ideology and For‐Profit Penal Labor in Gilded Age Courts

For-profit penal servitude flourished in Gilded Age America. Prisoners produced consumer goods inside factory-penitentiaries for private enterprise. Regulations protecting free labor encountered litigation by businesses invested in carceral capitalism. Judges who defended “liberty of contract,” maintained “state neutrality,” and condemned “class legislation” exhibited a different approach when evaluating labeling laws. Such statutes were seemingly consonant with the free labor ideology that dominated appellate benches—they remediated markets distorted by state-created privileges. Yet courts routinely struck them down. This article argues that judges were motivated by a class-infused framework structuring interpretation of facts and aliening lower-class Americans. Judges perceived workingmen who sought remedial assistance as seeking class legislation; they saw prison inmates and products as ordinary workers and goods, not as captive manpower and state-subsidized wares. Jurisprudence bent and bowed from judges’ values and associations. This article thus reintroduces the explanatory power of class to the Lochner era through judicial subjectivity.
Automated acoustic analysis of 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations using template matching and contour analysis

Ultrasonic vocalizations are a useful tool for inferring affective states in the rat and have been incorporated in research paradigms modeling important human conditions. While the majority of studies report the quantity or rate of observed ultrasonic vocalizations, growing evidence suggests that critical data may be contained in the acoustic features of individual vocalizations. Thus, the goal of the present study was to develop and validate a method for measuring acoustic parameters of ultrasonic vocalizations that were collected using automatic template detection. Acoustic parameters derived using this method were found to be comparable to those collected using commercially available software.
Profiling bacterial communities by MinION sequencing of ribosomal operons

An approach utilizing the long-read capability of the Oxford Nanopore MinION to rapidly sequence bacterial ribosomal operons of complex natural communities was developed. Microbial fingerprinting employs domain-specific forward primers (16S rRNA subunit), reverse primers (23S rRNA subunit), and a high-fidelity Taq polymerase with proofreading capabilities. Amplicons contained both ribosomal subunits for broad-based phylogenetic assignment (~ 3900 bp of sequence), plus the intergenic spacer (ITS) region (~ 300 bp) for potential strain-specific identification. To test the approach, bacterial rRNA operons (~ 4200 bp) were amplified from six DNA samples employing a mixture of farm soil and bioreactor DNA in known concentrations. Each DNA sample mixture was barcoded, sequenced in quadruplicate (n = 24), on two separate 6-h runs using the MinION system (R7.3 flow cell; MAP005 and 006 chemistry). From nearly 90,000 MinION reads, roughly 33,000 forward and reverse sequences were obtained. This yielded over 10,000 2D sequences which were analyzed using a simplified data analysis pipeline based on NCBI Blast and assembly with Geneious software. The method could detect over 1000 operational taxonomic units in the sample sets in a quantitative manner. Global sequence coverage for the various rRNA operons ranged from 1 to 1951x. An iterative assembly scheme was developed to reconstruct those rRNA operons with > 35x coverage from a set of 30 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) among the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, and Gemmatimonadetes. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA and 23S rRNA genes from each operon demonstrated similar tree topologies with species/strain-level resolution. This sequencing method represents a cost-effective way to profile microbial communities. Because the MinION is small, portable, and runs on a laptop, the possibility of microbiota characterization in the field or on robotic platforms becomes realistic.
Acquittal by Reason of Insanity

Our criminal law is premised on this assumption: Because an individual has the ability to choose between socially acceptable and socially unacceptable behavior, he or she can be held responsible for conduct that violates the law. Thus, an individual who chooses to commit a crime is morally blameworthy and therefore an appropriate subject for punishment. The insanity defense developed as a device to exclude from criminal responsibility people whom society views as not blameworthy. A severely mentally disordered individual is not considered blameworthy because he or she lacks the capacity (free will) to form the intent to commit a criminal act.
Mini-Rio Summit: An Innovative Method for Teaching the Policy Relevance of Earth System Science

One of the issues facing educators of earth system science is how to teach the policy relevance of this discipline to students with mostly science backgrounds and interests. A “mini-Rio Summit” has...
Porphyra umbilicalis in applied and basic research: reproductive phenology, development, seed stock culture, and a field trial for aquaculture

Porphyra umbilicalis is being developed in the North Atlantic for aquaculture; however, information on nursery stock establishment and maintenance is needed, including when to collect spores (phenology), how to maintain healthy seed stock over multiple generations, and whether reproductively mature blades can be stored at low temperature (− 20 °C) for immediate use “on demand” to seed lines and nets. We evaluated whether spore damage would occur by documenting early developmental patterns of germlings from cold-stored parent blades to control blades. Phenological studies over 300 km of Maine, USA, shore indicated that successful NS production by P. umbilicalis peaks in winter, is greatly reduced in summer, and may be affected by amphipod (Apohyale prevostii) grazers in fall and spring. The pattern of early cell division in germinating neutral spores was affected by donor parent (blade) for a few minor patterns of cell division, but not by cold storage (− 20 °C) of reproductive blades for 6 weeks. Linear development was about four times more common in neutral spore germlings than bilateral development, but variations in pattern of cell division were observed, and these may help to explain the variable morphology of the adult blade. The minimal time required to grow neutral spores to reproductively mature blades in laboratory culture was 62 days; vigorous water motion provided by aeration and immobilization of blades by holdfast clips (versus tumbling) were essential to spore production. Seeded lines produced blades of harvestable size with a substantial understory in a preliminary field trial.
A Systematic Perspective of ADR in Latin America: Enhancing the Shadow of the Law Through Citizen Pa

In the United States, ADR generally works as an alternative to the judiciary within the framework of the legal system, operating under what has been described as the shadow of the law. However, this assumption does not hold in most Latin American countries. That is, in Latin America, ADR usually is not a true alternative because it operates without a practical judicial option, without an effective shadow of the law. The promotion of ADR in dispute resolution systems that lack functional and effective courts has only exacerbated problems of access to justice by creating three tiers of justice: private arbitration, for those who can afford an arbiter; the justice system, for those who can afford a lawyer; and mediation centers, for those who can afford neither. The present article addresses the need to enhance the shadow of the law in Latin America, which is necessary to optimize effective dispute resolution systems in the region. This Article first addresses the issue of a pale shadow of the law in Latin America. It discusses the legal reform efforts in Latin America, and suggests that a systemic perspective could effectively link together and strengthen judicial reform efforts and the promotion of ADR. Second, this Article proposes a systemic reform framework for the enhancement of a well-defined shadow of the law in Latin America that includes three elements: sustainable domestic laws, a functional enforcement mechanism, and supportive social norms. This paper focuses on the first of these elements, sustainable domestic laws, and suggests consensus building as a preferable method for their creation. Finally, this Article concludes that enhancing the shadow of the law through citizen participation is essential to optimize dispute resolution systems in Latin America. [Note: This article refers to "A Dialogue between Professors Frank Sander and Mariana Hernandez Crespo Exploring the Evolution of the Multi-door Courthouse", which can be found at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1265221]
End-to-End Differentiable Physics for Learning and Control

We present a differentiable physics engine that can be integrated as a module in deep neural networks for end-to-end learning. As a result, structured physics knowledge can be embedded into larger systems, allowing them, for example, to match observations by performing precise simulations, while achieves high sample efficiency. Specifically, in this paper we demonstrate how to perform backpropagation analytically through a physical simulator defined via a linear complementarity problem. Unlike traditional finite difference methods, such gradients can be computed analytically, which allows for greater flexibility of the engine. Through experiments in diverse domains, we highlight the system's ability to learn physical parameters from data, efficiently match and simulate observed visual behavior, and readily enable control via gradient-based planning methods. Code for the engine and experiments is included with the paper.
The veteran wage differential

There is debate in the literature as to whether military service is rewarded in the economy and the extent to which veterans receive either a wage premium or penalty. In this paper, we take a new a...
A systematic review of nurse-led interventions with populations experiencing homelessness

Homelessness is associated with poorer health status, and affects men, women, children, and veterans alike across the United States. With over half a million-people suffering from homelessness on any given night, it is imperative that the health care delivery system step in to help this vulnerable group. Registered nurses encounter people experiencing homelessness in hospitals, clinics, shelters, and across the public health sector. They have the necessary skills to help make positive health-related changes for homeless populations and improve their overall quality of life. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to (a) assess existing nurse-led interventional studies with homeless populations, (b) highlight effective methods that nurses used to impact care, and (c) make recommendations about future research needed. PRISMA guidelines were used and multiple databases were searched for nurse-led interventional research with those experiencing homelessness. Recommendations include using a holistic nursing approach when working to improve outcomes for homeless populations to ensure optimal treatment for their complex physical, mental, and social health problems.
Experimental Relativity with Accretion Disk Observations

Electromagnetic observations have been used over the past decades to understand the nature of black holes and the material around them. Our ability to learn about the fundamental physics relies on our understanding of two key ingredients in the modeling of these electromagnetic observations: the gravity theory that describes the black hole, and the astrophysics that produces the observed radiation. In this work we study our current ability to constrain and detect deviations from general relativity using the accretion disk spectrum of stellar-mass black holes in binary systems. Our analysis combines relativistic ray-tracing and Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo sampling techniques to determine how well such tests of General Relativity can be carried out in practice. We show that even when a very simple astrophysical model for the accretion disk is assumed a priori, the uncertainties and covariances between the parameters of the model and the parameters that control the deformation from general relativity make any test of general relativity very challenging with accretion disk spectrum observations. We also discuss the implications of assuming that general relativity is correct a priori on the estimation of parameters of the astrophysical model when the data is not described by Einstein's theory, which can lead to a fundamental systematic bias.
SOME EXAMPLES OF HIDDEN-VARIABLES THEORIES OF THE SECOND KIND FOR “EXPLAINING” POLARIZATION CORRELATIONS

This chapter presents some examples of hidden-variables theories of the second kind for explaining polarization correlations. The leading idea in theories of the second kind for pairs of photons emitted by an atom is that they assume that the two photons will have some properties described by one or more parameters which for the two photons will have correlated values, and that these values will help the photon decide, upon reaching a polarization filter, whether it should pass through that filter. Some of the hidden variables of the second kind will be carried by the photons from their creation in the atom toward the polarization filters. The hypothesis of hidden-variables theories of the second kind is that, when a photon reaches a polarization filter, the angle of the filter's polarization direction together with all the internal and external hidden variables of the photon will determine locally whether the photon will traverse the filter.
Conductance of Curved 3M – 1 Armchair Graphene Nanoribbons

The electrical properties of deformed graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are of considerable current research interest since GNRs have wide potential application in electronic and nanoelectromechanical de...
The physical demands and risks of working in healthcare simulation center.

Background The purpose of this study was to describe the physical demands and risks associated with working in a simulation center. Methods The 26-item online survey included questions about the physical nature of a simulationist's role and about what engineering and administrative controls they most commonly used. The sample consisted of 119 simulation operators and educators recruited from simulation interest groups based in the United States. Results Fifty-five percent of participants reported that their job description did not match their work, and 59% of participants believed that they experienced a musculoskeletal disorder resulting from their work in a simulation center. Conclusion This study highlights the need to address workplace safety in simulation centers. Future research is needed to inform best practices for safe handling policies and procedures in simulation programs.
Nucleic Acid Nanostructure Assisted Immune Modulation

Rapid advances in nucleic acid nanotechnology have transformed our view of nucleic acids from key biological components to versatile building materials. By programming the specific molecular forces...
In Search of Forms for Evocative and Generative Reflection: Exploratory Studies and a Design Proposal

Today an increasing number of personal informatics tools and platforms support intended behavior change and goal achievement through data-based self-reflection. The scope of self-reflection expands with emerging sources, goals, and challenges of human well-being, demanding for reframing recent computer-mediated reflective practice. This study investigates a broader range of contexts and forms of self-reflection that support navigating one's mind and goals beyond achieving preset goals. This paper describes contemporary issues on human well-being and two exploratory studies-one conducted in a traveling artists' residency and the other in a design studio class-which surveyed various triggers, contexts, and forms of self-reflection. By connecting the insights from the two studies, I propose evocative and generative reflection as an alternative perspective to tracking-based, goal-oriented reflection and discuss implications for the design for reflection with a focus on the creative dimension of human well-being.
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Female Sexual Health from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: How Adolescent Characteristics Matter?

Abstract Study Objective To describe sexual initiation patterns in female adolescents and examine their association with adolescent characteristics and racial disparities in adverse sexual health across adolescence into early adulthood. Design A prospective, longitudinal, observational study from adolescence to adulthood. Setting Nationally representative, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health data, in the range of 24-32 years old at final assessment. Participants Data from 43,577 US women from 1994 to 2008. Interventions and Main Outcome Measures Adolescent sex-related characteristics at the individual-, family-, and school peer-level were assessed, and multiple sex partners, sexually transmitted infections (STIs)/HIV, and intimate partner violence (IPV) were longitudinally tracked. The sexual initiation pattern and its longitudinal association with sexual health were analyzed using latent class analysis and mixed effects Poisson regression models. Results Of the 43,577 subjects, the sexual initiation patterns were determined as normative (n = 28,712, 65.9%), late (n = 10,799, 24.8%), and early but unempowered (n = 4,066, 9.3%). The highest rate of the early-unempowered group was shown in Hispanic individuals (1,054/7,307 = 14.4%); they were more likely to be depressed, unsatisfied with their bodies, receiving welfare, and have less educated/permissive parents to their sexual initiation than others. The late group had a higher body mass index and greater satisfaction with their bodies. The highest number of STIs/HIV and IPV victimization was shown in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and Hispanic individuals, respectively. However, NHB females’ higher number of STIs/HIV was shown in the late/normative groups, not in the early-unempowered group. Among Hispanic females, adolescent sexual initiation patterns were not directly associated with their frequent IPV victimization. Conclusion NHB females' higher STI/HIV in late/normative groups and Hispanic females’ frequent IPV victimization regardless of their sexual initiation patterns might indicate that racial/ethnic disparities in female sexual health was not directly determined by adolescent risk behaviors.
Walking together: Exploring perspectives, attitudes, and barriers on nutrition and exercise among individuals with serious mental illness

Modifiable risk factors related to lifestyle choices contribute to the disproportionate impact of poor physical health among individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). This mixed methods study sought to elucidate factors that promote and challenge healthy lifestyle engagement. Focus groups were conducted to assess the lived perspectives of twelve individuals with SMI living independently in the community or utilizing group housing about their dietary and exercise habits. A survey was administered pre-focus group to explore participant views on and motivations for healthier living. Three major themes emerged based on focus group discussion: Meaning of Healthy Living, Obstacles to Maintaining Good Health, and Importance of Community. Overall, participants demonstrated positive attitudes and readiness for healthy lifestyle changes. Healthy lifestyle interventions with careful consideration of determinants related to health disparities and existing community resources to support such activities are recommended to improve physical health in people with SMI.
The MicroRNA miR-18a Links Proliferation and Inflammation During Photoreceptor Regeneration in the Injured Zebrafish Retina

ABSTRACT In mammals, photoreceptor loss causes permanent blindness, but in zebrafish (Danio rerio), photoreceptor loss reprograms Muller glia to function as stem cells, producing progenitors that fully regenerate photoreceptors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate neurogenesis in the CNS, but the roles of miRNAs in injury-induced neuronal regeneration are largely unknown. In the embryonic zebrafish retina, miRNA miR- 18a regulates photoreceptor differentiation. The purpose of the current study was to determine in zebrafish the function of miR-18a during injury-induced photoreceptor regeneration. RT-qPCR, in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry showed that miR-18a expression increases throughout the retina by 1-day post-injury (dpi) and increases through 5 dpi. To test miR-18a function during photoreceptor regeneration, we used homozygous miR-18a mutants (miR-18ami5012), and knocked down miR-18a with morpholino oligonucleotides. During photoreceptor regeneration, miR-18ami5012 retinas have fewer mature photoreceptors than WT at 7 and 10 dpi, but there is no difference at 14 dpi, indicating that photoreceptor regeneration is delayed. Labeling dividing cells with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) showed that at 7 and 10 dpi, there are excess Muller glia-derived progenitors in both mutants and morphants, indicating that miR-18a negatively regulates injury-induced proliferation. Tracing BrdU-labeled cells showed that in miR-18ami5012 retinas excess progenitors migrate to other retinal layers in addition to the photoreceptor layer. Inflammation is critical for photoreceptor regeneration, and RT-qPCR showed that in miR-18ami5012 retinas, inflammatory gene expression and microglia activation are prolonged. Suppressing inflammation with dexamethasone rescues the miR-18ami5012 phenotype. Together, these data show that during photoreceptor regeneration in zebrafish, miR-18a regulates proliferation and photoreceptor regeneration by regulating the inflammatory response.
An atlas of transcriptionally defined cell populations in the rat ventral tegmental area

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a complex brain region that is essential for reward function but is also implicated in neuropsychiatric diseases including substance abuse. While decades of research on VTA function have focused on the role of dopaminergic neurons, recent evidence has identified critical roles for VTA GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons in reward processes as well. Interestingly, molecular characterization has revealed that subsets of these neurons express genes involved in the transport, synthesis, and vesicular packaging of multiple neurotransmitters, providing evidence for co-release neurons. However, these studies have largely relied on low-throughput methods, and the molecular architecture of the VTA has not been comprehensively examined. Here, we performed single nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) on 21,600 VTA cells from male and female Sprague-Dawley rats to generate a transcriptional atlas of the rat VTA. We identified 16 transcriptionally distinct cell types within the VTA, including 7 neuronal populations. Further subclustering revealed several VTA neuronal populations expressing markers for more than one neurotransmitter system, with one cluster exhibiting high expression levels of genes involved in the synthesis and transport of GABA, glutamate, and dopamine. Finally, snRNA-seq enabled the de novo identification of thousands of marker genes for each transcriptionally distinct population, revealing cluster-specific enrichment of gene sets implicated in neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as specific phenotypes associated with alcohol and tobacco use. Together, these results highlight the heterogeneity of cellular populations in the VTA and identify novel markers and disease-linked genes enriched in distinct neuronal subtypes.
Selective Effects of T-2 Toxin and Ochratoxin a on Immune Functions

Mycotoxins have been reported to alter immune responses in experimental animals.12,19 The selective effects of various trichothecene mycotoxins and the ochratoxins on the immune system have gained attention recently.13,14,23 Herein, we have reviewed some of our findings on the trichothecene mycotoxins, particularly T-2 toxin (T-2). Data on the Ochratoxins A and B will also be discussed.
Tympanostomy Tube Placement for Management of Otitis Media

Placement of tympanostomy tubes (TTs) is the most common surgery performed in the pediatric population with almost 670,000 children undergoing the procedure each year. Bilateral myringotomy with TT (BMTT) placement accounts for more than 20 % of all ambulatory surgeries in children, and by age 3 years, as many as 1 in 15 children (6.8 %) will have undergone the procedure. The decision to place TTs and their care thereafter should be individualized based on the patient and the overall clinical picture. This chapter reviews the common indications for BMTT as well as the most recent set of published clinical practice guidelines for the use of BMTT in children, including areas of controversy and lists the most common short- and long-term complications associated with BMTT.