cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development of neural sensitivity to face identity correlates with perceptual discriminability

Face perception is subserved by a series of face-selective regions in the human ventral stream, which undergo prolonged development from childhood to adulthood. However, it is unknown how neural development of these regions relates to the development of face-perception abilities. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain responses of ventral occipitotemporal regions in children (ages, 5–12 years) and adults (ages, 19–34 years) when they viewed faces that parametrically varied in dissimilarity. Since similar faces generate lower responses than dissimilar faces due to fMRI adaptation, this design objectively evaluates neural sensitivity to face identity across development. Additionally, a subset of subjects participated in a behavioral experiment to assess perceptual discriminability of face identity. Our data reveal three main findings: (1) neural sensitivity to face identity increases with age in face-selective but not object-selective regions; (2) the amplitude of responses to faces increases with age in both face-selective and object-selective regions; and (3) perceptual discriminability of face identity is correlated with the neural sensitivity to face identity of face-selective regions. In contrast, perceptual discriminability is not correlated with the amplitude of response in face-selective regions or of responses of object-selective regions. These data suggest that developmental increases in neural sensitivity to face identity in face-selective regions improve perceptual discriminability of faces. Our findings significantly advance the understanding of the neural mechanisms of development of face perception and open new avenues for using fMRI adaptation to study the neural development of high-level visual and cognitive functions more broadly. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Face perception, which is critical for daily social interactions, develops from childhood to adulthood. However, it is unknown what developmental changes in the brain lead to improved performance. Using fMRI in children and adults, we find that from childhood to adulthood, neural sensitivity to changes in face identity increases in face-selective regions. Critically, subjects9 perceptual discriminability among faces is linked to neural sensitivity: participants with higher neural sensitivity in face-selective regions demonstrate higher perceptual discriminability. Thus, our results suggest that developmental increases in face-selective regions9 sensitivity to face identity improve perceptual discrimination of faces. These findings significantly advance understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying the development of face perception and have important implications for assessing both typical and atypical development.
Persistence of cities: Evidence from China

Using data from the Qing dynasty, we investigate the long‐run impact of early development on today's living standards in China. We use city‐level population density in 1776 as a measure of early economic prosperity, and examine how it is associated with today's development indicators such as the average night light density, GDP per capita, average years of schooling, and trade openness. We find that cities which were more prosperous during the Qing dynasty are now also brighter, richer, more educated, and more open.
An Observational View of Relationships Between Moisture Aggregation, Cloud, and Radiative Heating Profiles

Data from several coincident satellite sensors are analyzed to determine the dependence of cloud and precipitation characteristics of tropical regions on the variance in the water vapor field. Increased vapor variance is associated with decreased high cloud fraction and an enhancement of low-level radiative cooling in dry regions of the domain. The result is found across a range of sea surface temperatures and rain rates. This suggests the possibility of an enhanced low-level circulation feeding the moist convecting areas when vapor variance is large. These findings are consistent with idealized models of self-aggregation, in which the aggregation of convection is maintained by a combination of low-level radiative cooling in dry regions and mid-to-upper-level radiative warming in cloudy regions.
Beyond Early Warning Indicators: High School Dropout and Machine Learning

This paper combines machine learning with economic theory in order to analyse high school dropout. It provides an algorithm to predict which students are going to drop out of high school by relying only on information from 9th grade. This analysis emphasizes that using a parsimonious early warning system – as implemented in many schools – leads to poor results. It shows that schools can obtain more precise predictions by exploiting the available high‐dimensional data jointly with machine learning tools such as Support Vector Machine, Boosted Regression and Post‐LASSO. Goodness‐of‐fit criteria are selected based on the context and the underlying theoretical framework: model parameters are calibrated by taking into account the policy goal – minimizing the expected dropout rate ‐ and the school budget constraint. Finally, this study verifies the existence of heterogeneity through unsupervised machine learning by dividing students at risk of dropping out into different clusters.
Saath: Speeding up CoFlows by Exploiting the Spatial Dimension

CoFlow scheduling improves data-intensive application performance by improving their networking performance. State-of-the-art CoFlow schedulers in essence approximate the classic online Shortest-Job-First (SJF) scheduling, designed for a single CPU, in a distributed setting, with no coordination among how the flows of a CoFlow at individual ports are scheduled, and as a result suffer two performance drawbacks: (1) The flows of a CoFlow may suffer the out-of-sync problem -- they may be scheduled at different times and become drifting apart, negatively affecting the CoFlow completion time (CCT); (2) FIFO scheduling of flows at each port bears no notion of SJF, leading to suboptimal CCT. We propose Saath, an online CoFlow scheduler that overcomes the above drawbacks by explicitly exploiting the spatial dimension of CoFlows. In Saath, the global scheduler schedules the flows of a CoFlow using an all-or-none policy which mitigates the out-of-sync problem. To order the CoFlows within each queue, Saath resorts to a Least-Contention-First (LCoF) policy which we show extends the gist of SJF to the spatial dimension, complemented with starvation freedom. Our evaluation using an Azure testbed and simulations of two production cluster traces show that compared to Aalo, Saath reduces the CCT in median (P90) cases by 1.53x (4.5x) and 1.42x (37x), respectively.
A New Standard for Crustacean Genomes: The Highly Contiguous, Annotated Genome Assembly of the Clam Shrimp Eulimnadia texana Reveals HOX Gene Order and Identifies the Sex Chromosome.

Vernal pool clam shrimp (Eulimnadia texana) are a promising model system due to their ease of lab culture, short generation time, modest sized genome, a somewhat rare stable androdioecious sex determination system, and a requirement to reproduce via desiccated diapaused eggs. We generated a highly contiguous genome assembly using 46× of PacBio long read data and 216× of Illumina short reads, and annotated using Illumina RNAseq obtained from adult males or hermaphrodites. Of the 120 Mb genome 85% is contained in the largest eight contigs, the smallest of which is 4.6 Mb. The assembly contains 98% of transcripts predicted via RNAseq. This assembly is qualitatively different from scaffolded Illumina assemblies: It is produced from long reads that contain sequence data along their entire length, and is thus gap free. The contiguity of the assembly allows us to order the HOX genes within the genome, identifying two loci that contain HOX gene orthologs, and which approximately maintain the order observed in other arthropods. We identified a partial duplication of the Antennapedia complex adjacent to the few genes homologous to the Bithorax locus. Because the sex chromosome of an androdioecious species is of special interest, we used existing allozyme and microsatellite markers to identify the E. texana sex chromosome, and find that it comprises nearly half of the genome of this species. Linkage patterns indicate that recombination is extremely rare and perhaps absent in hermaphrodites, and as a result the location of the sex determining locus will be difficult to refine using recombination mapping.
Evolution of the Infant Health Production Function

Michael Grossman's seminal publication on the demand for health and health production (Grossman 1972) has spawned a substantial body of research focusing on the production of infant health. This article provides a systematic review of the published literature to date on infant health production and how it has evolved over the past 3–4 decades as data have become more available, computing has improved, and econometric methods have become more sophisticated. While empirical research in most fields has expanded in corresponding ways, the infant health production research has become an important part of the broader and inherently multidisciplinary literature on intergenerational health. The strongest and most robust findings are that policies matter for infant health, particularly those affecting access to health care, and that prenatal smoking and other chemical exposures substantially compromise infant health. Promising directions for future research include elucidating relevant pathways, reconciling the largely inconsistent estimated effects of nutrition and education, and exploring the roles of preconceptional and lifetime health care, paternal factors, social support, housing, complementarity and substitutability of inputs, factors that modify effects of inputs, and evolving medical technologies.
Capacity of the Energy Harvesting Gaussian MAC

We consider an energy harvesting multiple access channel (MAC) where the transmitters are powered by an exogenous stochastic energy harvesting process and equipped with finite batteries. We characterize the capacity region of this channel as $n$ -letter mutual information rate and develop inner and outer bounds that differ by a constant gap. An interesting conclusion that emerges from our results is that the sum-capacity approaches that of a standard additive white Gaussian noise MAC (with only an average constraint on the transmitted power), as the number of users in the MAC becomes large.
Optimizing stress responses with reappraisal and mindset interventions: an integrated model.

Background: The dominant perspective in society is that stress has negative consequences, and not surprisingly, the vast majority of interventions for coping with stress focus on reducing the frequ...
Modeling Cell-to-Cell Communication Networks Using Response-Time Distributions

Cell-to-cell communication networks have critical roles in coordinating diverse organismal processes, such as tissue development or immune cell response. However, compared with intracellular signal transduction networks, the function and engineering principles of cell-to-cell communication networks are far less understood. Major complications include: cells are themselves regulated by complex intracellular signaling networks; individual cells are heterogeneous; and output of any one cell can recursively become an additional input signal to other cells. Here, we make use of a framework that treats intracellular signal transduction networks as "black boxes" with characterized input-to-output response relationships. We study simple cell-to-cell communication circuit motifs and find conditions that generate bimodal responses in time, as well as mechanisms for independently controlling synchronization and delay of cell-population responses. We apply our modeling approach to explain otherwise puzzling data on cytokine secretion onset times in T cells. Our approach can be used to predict communication network structure using experimentally accessible input-to-output measurements and without detailed knowledge of intermediate steps.
Becoming the change we wish to see: The unexpected benefits of conflict resolution work

Mediators, ombuds, and other peace workers generally see their work as a calling. They pursue this work because of a desire to help others while promoting healing and reconciliation. While their work helps clients, it frequently results in deeply personal transformations, changing the ways in which they relate to and communicate with their family, colleagues, and community members. After hearing anecdotal reports of these transformations, I designed this study to learn more about how the work of conflict resolution affects its practitioners. Data for this study come from interviews and surveys of peace workers in various settings.
Anticholinergics Influence Transition from Normal Cognition to Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults in Primary Care

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the influence of anticholinergic medications on transitions in cognitive diagnosis of older adults in primary care. DESIGN This observational cohort study was conducted over a mean follow-up of 3.2 years. Anticholinergic exposure was defined by pharmacy dispensing and claims records. Cognitive diagnosis was performed by an expert panel at baseline and annually up to 4 years. DATA SOURCE Medication exposure and other clinical data were extracted from the Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC). The cognitive diagnosis was derived from a cognitive screening and diagnosis study. PARTICIPANTS A total of 350 adults 65 years and older without dementia and receiving primary care in a safety net health care system. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS Cognitive diagnosis followed a two-phase screening and consensus-based neuropsychiatric examination to determine a baseline diagnosis as normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia, with a follow-up neuropsychiatric examination and consensus-based diagnosis repeated annually. The Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden scale was used to identify anticholinergics dispensed up to 10 years before enrollment and annually throughout the study. A total standard daily dose of anticholinergics was calculated by using pharmacy dispensing data from the INPC. Among 350 participants, a total of 978 diagnostic assessments were completed over a mean follow-up of 3.2 years. Compared with stable cognition, increasing use of strong anticholinergics calculated by total standard daily dose increased the odds of transition from normal cognition to MCI (odds ratio [OR] 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.31, p = 0.0342). Compared with stable MCI, strong anticholinergics did not influence the reversion of MCI to normal cognition (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.86-1.05, p = 0.3266). CONCLUSION De-prescribing interventions in older adults with normal cognition should test anticholinergics as potentially modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment.
Banking, Trade, and the making of a Dominant Currency

We explore the interplay between trade-invoicing patterns and the pricing of safe assets in different currencies. Our theory highlights the following points: (i) a currency’s role as a unit of account for invoicing decisions is complementary to its role as a safe store of value; (ii) this complementarity can lead to the emergence of a single dominant currency in trade invoicing and global banking, even when multiple large candidate countries share similar economic fundamentals; (iii) firms in emerging-market countries endogenously take on currency mismatches by borrowing in the dominant currency; and (iv) the expected return on dominant-currency safe assets is lower than that on similarly safe assets denominated in other currencies, thereby bestowing an “exorbitant privilege” on the dominant currency. The theory thus provides a unified explanation for why a dominant currency is so heavily used in both trade invoicing and in global finance.
A multiple seed linear feedback shift register

The authors describe a design of an LFSR (linear feedback shift register) that can easily accommodate a change-of-seeds feature. This new LFSR is controlled by two separate clocks, one for the normal LFSR operation and one for the change of seeds option. The change of seeds is fast since it is accomplished by a pair of clock pulses rather than by long scan operations. >
A meat- or dairy-based complementary diet leads to distinct growth patterns in formula-fed infants: a randomized controlled trial.

Background Protein intake from cow milk-based infant formula has been associated with rapid weight gain and increased adiposity, but the effect of protein from complementary foods has not been prospectively evaluated, and the effect of protein from sources other than formula during complementary feeding is not clear. Objective The aim of this study was to directly compare the effect of protein from 2 common complementary food sources, meat and dairy, on infant growth and weight trajectory. Design Healthy term, formula-fed infants were recruited from the metro Denver area, matched by sex and race/ethnicity and randomly assigned to a meat or a dairy complementary food group from 5 to 12 mo of age. Total protein intake during this 7-mo intervention was ∼3 g ⋅ kg-1 ⋅ d-1 for both groups. Intakes of infant formula, cereal, fruit, and vegetables were ad libitum. Caregivers also completed 3-d diet records at 5, 10, and 12 mo of age. Anthropometric measures were obtained during monthly home visits, and blood samples were collected at 5 and 12 mo of age. Results Sixty-four infants completed the intervention (meat: n = 32; dairy: n = 32). The average total protein intake (mean ± SD) increased from 2.01 ± 0.06 g ⋅ kg-1 ⋅ d-1 at 5 mo to 3.35 ±0.12 g ⋅ kg-1 ⋅ d-1 at 12 mo and did not differ between groups. Over time, weight and weight-for-age z score increased by 0.48 ± 0.07. However, there was a significant group-by-time interaction for both length-for-age z score (LAZ) and weight-for-length z score (WLZ). Post hoc analysis showed that LAZ increased in the meat group (+0.33 ± 0.09; P = 0.001 over time) and decreased in the dairy group (-0.30 ± 0.10; P = 0.0002 over time); WLZ significantly increased in the dairy group (0.76 ± 0.21; P = 0.000002 over time) compared with the meat group (0.30 ± 0.17; P = 0.55 over time). Insulin-like growth factor I and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 both increased over time without group differences. Conclusions Protein source may have an important role in regulating growth. In these formula-fed older infants, meat- and dairy-based complementary foods led to distinct growth patterns, especially for length. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02142647.
A Computational Synaptic Antibody Characterization Tool for Array Tomography

Application-specific validation of antibodies is a critical prerequisite for their successful use. Here we introduce an automated framework for characterization and screening of antibodies against synaptic molecules for high-resolution immunofluorescence array tomography (AT). The proposed Synaptic Antibody Characterization Tool (SACT) is designed to provide an automatic, robust, flexible, and efficient tool for antibody characterization at scale. SACT automatically detects puncta of immunofluorescence labeling from candidate antibodies and determines whether a punctum belongs to a synapse. The molecular composition and size of the target synapses expected to contain the antigen is determined by the user, based on biological knowledge. Operationally, the presence of a synapse is defined by the colocalization or adjacency of the candidate antibody punctum to one or more reference antibody puncta. The outputs of SACT are automatically computed measurements such as target synapse density and target specificity ratio that reflect the sensitivity and specificity of immunolabeling with a given candidate antibody. These measurements provide an objective way to characterize and compare the performance of different antibodies against the same target, and can be used to objectively select the antibodies best suited for AT and potentially for other immunolabeling applications.
High Throughput Screen Identifies Interferon γ-Dependent Inhibitors of Toxoplasma gondii Growth

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite capable of causing severe disease due to congenital infection and in patients with compromised immune systems. Control of infection is dependent on a robust Th1 type immune response including production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), which is essential for control. IFN-γ activates a variety of antimicrobial mechanisms in host cells, which are then able to control intracellular parasites such as T. gondii. Despite the effectiveness of these pathways in controlling acute infection, the immune system is unable to eradicate chronic infections that can persist for life. Similarly, while antibiotic treatment can control acute infection, it is unable to eliminate chronic infection. To identify compounds that would act synergistically with IFN-γ, we performed a high-throughput screen of diverse small molecule libraries to identify inhibitors of T. gondii. We identified a number of compounds that inhibited parasite growth in vitro at low μM concentrations and t...
Recently Described and Clinically Important Entities in Testis Tumors: A Selective Review of Changes Incorporated Into the 2016 Classification of the World Health Organization

Context.— In 2016 the World Health Organization published a revised classification of testicular neoplasms based upon advances in understanding their pathogenesis and molecular biology. The rationa...
The association of adverse events with bivalent human papilloma virus vaccination: A nationwide register-based cohort study in Finland

Abstract Background A bivalent HPV vaccine (Cervarix®; HPV2, GlaxoSmithKline) was introduced into the Finnish national vaccination programme (NVP) in November 2013 for girls aged 11–13 years with a catch-up for 14–15 year-olds. We evaluated the association between HPV2 and selected autoimmune diseases and clinical syndromes by conducting a nation-wide retrospective register-based cohort study. Methods First life-time occurrences of the relevant ICD-10 codes in girls aged 11–15 years between Nov-2013 and Dec-2016 were obtained from the national hospital discharge register. Population denominators were obtained from the Population Information System and vaccination records from the National Vaccination Register. Registers were linked using unique personal identity codes. Association between HPV2 and 38 selected outcomes were studied using Cox regression, with age as the main time-scale and the first vaccination dose as the time-dependent exposure. The hazard ratios (HR) with 95%CI were assessed according to the time since exposure (entire follow-up, 0-180/181-365/>365 days). Results Of 240 605 girls eligible for HPV2 vaccination, 134 615 (56%) were vaccinated. After adjustment for geographical area (6 hospital districts), country of origin (Finnish-born/not) and number of hospital contacts from 9 through 10 years of age, HRs ranged from 0.34 (95%CI 0.11–1.05) to 8.37 (95%CI 0.85–82.54) and HPV2 vaccination was not statistically significantly associated with a higher risk of any outcome during the entire follow-up. Conclusions This study found no significantly increased risk for the selected outcomes after the HPV vaccination in girls 11–15 years of age. These results provide valid evidence to counterbalance public scepticism, fears of adverse events and possible opposition to HPV vaccination and consequently can contribute to increase HPV vaccination coverage in Finland as well as elsewhere.
What determines the metabolic cost of human running across a wide range of velocities

The cost of generating force hypothesis proposes that the metabolic rate during running is determined by the rate of muscle force development (1/t c , t c =contact time) and the volume of active leg muscle. A previous study assumed a constant recruited muscle volume and reported that the rate of force development alone explained ∼70% of the increase in metabolic rate for human runners across a moderate velocity range (2-4 m s −1 ). We hypothesized that over a wider range of velocities, the effective mechanical advantage (EMA) of the lower limb joints would overall decrease, necessitating a greater volume of active muscle recruitment. Ten high-caliber male human runners ran on a force-measuring treadmill at 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 km hr −1 while we analyzed their expired air to determine metabolic rates. We measured ground reaction forces and joint kinematics to calculate contact time and estimate active muscle volume. From 8 to 18 km hr −1 , metabolic rate increased 131% from 9.28 to 21.44 W kg −1 . Contact time (t c ) decreased from 0.280 sec to 0.190 sec, and thus the rate of force development (1/t c ) increased by 48%. Ankle EMA decreased by 19.7±11%, knee EMA increased by 11.1±26.9% and hip EMA decreased by 60.8±11.8%. Estimated active muscle volume per leg increased 52.8% from 1663±152 cm 3 to 2550±169 cm 3 . Overall, 98% of the increase in metabolic rate across the velocity range was explained by just two factors: the rate of generating force and the volume of active leg muscle.
Phenylephrine, a common cold remedy active ingredient, suppresses uterine contractions through cAMP signalling

Regulation of uterine contractility is an important aspect of women’s health. Phenylephrine, a selective agonist of the α1-adrenoceptor and a potent smooth muscle constrictor, is widely used in women even during pregnancy to relieve cold-related symptoms, to treat postpartum haemorrhoid, and during routine eye exams. We performed isometric tension recordings to investigate the effect of phenylephrine on mouse uterine contractility. Phenylephrine decreased spontaneous and oxytocin-induced contractions in non-pregnant mouse uterine rings and strips with an IC50 of ~1 μM. Prazosin, an inhibitor of α1-adrenoceptor, did not prevent phenylephrine-mediated relaxations. Conversely, ICI118551, an antagonist of β2-adrenoceptors, inhibited phenylephrine relaxation. In the presence of ICI118551, high concentrations (>30 μM) of phenylephrine caused mouse uterine contractions, suggesting that β-adrenoceptor-mediated inhibition interferes with the phenylephrine contractile potential. Phenylephrine-dependent relaxation was reduced in the uterus of pregnant mice. We used primary mouse and human uterine smooth muscle cells (M/HUSMC) to establish the underlying mechanisms. Phenylephrine stimulated large increases in intracellular cAMP in M/HUSMCs. These cAMP transients were decreased when HUSMCs were cultured in the presence of oestrogen and progesterone to mimic the pregnancy milieu. Thus, phenylephrine is a strong relaxant in the non-pregnant mouse uterus, but exhibits diminished effect in the pregnant uterus.
Optimal Mass Transport and Kernel Density Estimation for State-Dependent Networked Dynamic Systems

State-dependent networked dynamic systems are ones where the interconnections between agents change as a function of the states of the agents. Such systems are highly nonlinear, and a cohesive strategy for their control is lacking in the literature. In this paper, we present two techniques pertaining to the density control of such systems. Agent states are initially distributed according to some density, and a feedback law is designed to move the agents to a target density profile. We use optimal mass transport to design a feedforward control law propelling the agents towards this target density. Kernel density estimation, with constraints imposed by the state-dependent dynamics, is then used to allow each agent to estimate the local density of the agents.
Experimental and theoretical investigation of a low-Reynolds-number flow through deformable shallow microchannels with ultra-low height-to-width aspect ratios

The emerging field of deformable microfluidics widely employed in the Lab-on-a-Chip and MEMS communities offers an opportunity to study a relatively under-examined physics. The main objective of this work is to provide a deeper insight into the underlying coupled fluid–solid interactions of a low-Reynolds-number, i.e. $$Re \sim O(10^{-2}$$ – $$10^{+1})$$ , fluid flow through a shallow deformable microchannel with ultra-low height-to-width-ratios, i.e. $$O(10^{-3})$$ . The fabricated deformable microchannels of several microns in height and few millimeters in width, whose aspect ratio is about two orders of magnitude smaller than that of the previous reports, allow us to investigate the fluid flow characteristics spanning a variety of distinct regimes from small wall deflections, where the deformable microchannel resembles its corresponding rigid one, to wall deflections much larger than the original height, where the height-independent characteristic behavior emerges. The effects of the microchannel geometry, membrane properties, and pressure difference across the channel are represented by a lumped variable called flexibility parameter. Under the same pressure drop across different channels, any difference in their geometries is reflected into the flexibility parameter of the channels, which can potentially cause the devices to operate under distinct regimes of the fluid–solid characteristics. For a fabricated microchannel with given membrane properties and channel geometry, on the other hand, a sufficiently large change in the applied pressure difference can alter the flow-structure behavior from one characteristic regime to another. By appropriately introducing the flexibility parameter and the dimensionless volumetric flow rate, a master curve is found for the fluid flow through any long and shallow deformable microchannel. A criterion is also suggested for determining whether the coupled or decoupled fluid–solid mechanics should be considered.
Primary Care Providers' Attitudes, Practices, and Knowledge in Treating LGBTQ Communities

Cultural competency in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) health care has been found to be lacking within various medical specialties, but no studies have compared competency among primary care providers. The authors compared 127 primary care providers' cultural competency regarding LGBTQ health using a survey that assessed providers' attitudes, practices, and knowledge. Overall, 78.0% of respondents agreed that they were comfortable treating LGBTQ patients. Yet many providers did not feel well informed on specific LGBTQ health needs (70.1%), on clinical management of LGBTQ care (74.8%), nor on referring patients with LGBTQ issues (78.7%). Overall accuracy on LGBTQ knowledge questions was 51.0%. This study revealed a lack of cultural competency and much need for improvement as primary care providers endorsed negative attitudes, biases, inconsistencies in clinical practice, and deficiencies in medical knowledge in specialty-specific ways. There is a need for greater LGBTQ-specific education to increase providers' comfortability and competency in the needs, management, and referrals within LGBTQ health care.
International flows of people and institutional change

Abstract International travel clearly increases human interaction over space and exposes societies to foreign influences, foreign ideas, and foreign institutions. Does international travel promote institutional change in a traveler's home country? This paper uses panel data from 149 countries to test the hypothesis of institutional change stemming from international travel. We generally find that foreign travel does not affect political institutions. In one sub-sample, we find limited evidence that international travel can be a determinant of institutional quality in the home country depending upon whether the home country is an autocracy or democracy.
The automorphism group of a simple $\mathcal{Z}$-stable $C^{*}$-algebra

We study the automorphism group of a unital, simple, $\mathcal{Z}$-stable $C^{*}$-algebra. In this paper, we generalize the results by the authors in \cite{pr_auto} to $\mathcal{Z}$-stable $C^{*}$-algebras $\mathfrak{A}$ such that $\mathfrak{A} \otimes \mathfrak{B}$ is a separable, nuclear, simple, tracially AI algebras satisfying the Universal Coefficient Theorem (UCT) of Rosenberg and Schochet \cite{uct}. By the results of Lin in \cite{hl_asyunit} and Winter in \cite{ww_localelliott}, $C^{\ast}$-algebras that satisfies the above condition are classified via $K$-theory and traces.
Sweeping Points

Given a set of points in the plane, and a sweep-line as a tool, what is best way to move the points to a target point using a sequence of sweeps? In a sweep, the sweep-line is placed at a start position somewhere in the plane, then moved orthogonally and continuously to another parallel end position, and then lifted from the plane. The cost of a sequence of sweeps is the total length of the sweeps. Another parameter of interest is the number of sweeps. Four variants are discussed, depending on whether the target is a hole or a pile, and whether the target is specified or freely selected by the algorithm. Here we present a ratio 4/π≈1.27 approximation algorithm in the length measure, which performs at most four sweeps. We also prove that, for the two constrained variants, there are sets of n points for which any sequence of minimum cost requires 3n/2−O(1) sweeps.
Polymorphism Information Content

The polymorphism information content of a marker is the probability that the marker genotype of the offspring of a heterozygous parent affected with a dominant disease allows one to deduce which marker allele the offspring inherited from the parent. It is a measure of a marker's usefulness for linkage analysis. Keywords: genetic marker; linkage analysis
A case for superconducting accelerators

As scaling of CMOS slows down, there is growing interest in alternative technologies that can improve performance and energy-efficiency. Superconducting circuits based on Josephson Junctions (JJ) is an emerging technology that provides devices which can be switched with pico-second latencies and consumes two orders of magnitude lower switching energy compared to CMOS. While JJ-based circuits can operate at high frequencies and are energy-efficient, the technology faces three critical challenges: limited device density and lack of area-efficient technology for memory structures, low gate fanout, and new failure modes of Flux-Traps that occurs due to the operating environment. Limited memory density restricts the use of superconducting technology in the near term to application domains that have high compute intensity but require negligible amount of memory. In this paper, we study the use of superconducting technology to build an accelerator for SHA-256 engines commonly used in Bitcoin mining. We show that merely porting existing CMOS-based accelerator to superconducting technology provides 10.6X improvement in energy efficiency. Redesigning the accelerator to suit the unique constraints of superconducting technology (such as low fanout) improves the energy efficiency to 12.2X. We also investigate solutions to make the accelerator tolerant of new fault modes and show how this fault-tolerant design can be leveraged to reduce the operating current, thereby improving the overall energy-efficiency to 46X.
Ensemble Methods for Causal Effects in Panel Data Settings

In many prediction problems researchers have found that combinations of prediction methods ("ensembles") perform better than individual methods. In this paper we apply these ideas to synthetic control type problems in panel data. Here a number of conceptually quite different methods have been developed. We compare the predictive accuracy of three methods with an ensemble method and find that the latter dominates. These results show that ensemble methods are a practical and effective method for the type of data configurations typically encountered in empirical work in economics, and that these methods deserve more attention.
WHO (ELSE) BENEFITS FROM ELECTRICITY DEREGULATION? COAL PRICES, NATURAL GAS, AND PRICE DISCRIMINATION

Deregulation of major industries over the past 40 years has produced large efficiency gains. However, distributional effects have been more difficult to assess. In the electricity sector, deregulation has vastly increased information available to market participants through the formation of wholesale markets. We test whether upstream suppliers, specifically railroads that transport coal from mines to power plants, use this information to capture economic rents that would otherwise accrue to electricity generators. We find railroads charge higher markups when rents are larger. This effect is larger for deregulated plants, highlighting an important distributional impact of deregulation. (JEL L11, L51, Q48)
Surface activity of magnesium during GaN molecular beam epitaxial growth

Exposure of wurtzite GaN films grown on Si-polar 6H-SiC(0001) to magnesium during molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been studied. In the nitrogen rich regime of MBE growth, GaN films are known to grow with rough morphology. We observe on GaN(0001) that small doses of Mg act as a surfactant, smoothing out this roughness. An interpretation of this surfactant behavior is given in terms of electron counting arguments for the surface reconstructions. Previously, we have reported that larger doses of Mg lead to inversion of the Ga-polar GaN film to produce N-polar GaN. Several Mg-related reconstructions of the resulting GaN $$\left( {000\bar 1} \right)$$ surface are reported.
An Empirical Examination of the Arbitrage Pricing Theory: Evidence from Jordan

Investors in the stock market need a valid and accurate model to predict the expected rate of return on their portfolios which necessitate testing many pricing models and determining which model is the most accurate. The problem is that both single-factor and multi-factor capital asset pricing models (CAPM) are not valid for predicting the expected rate of return. The purpose of this quantitative study was to test the validity of the arbitrage pricing theory (APT) in the Jordanian stock market as an alternative to the CAPM. The study was theoretically based on the arbitrage pricing theory introduced by Stephen Ross. The main focus of the research questions was on examining the relationship between stocks' rate of return calculated using the price index of Amman stock exchange (ASE) and a set of macroeconomic variables. The website of ASE, central bank of Jordan, and department of statistics were used to collect data about ASE price index and the independent macroeconomic variables of unemployment rate, gross domestic product (GDP), industrial producers' price index (IPPI), and exports for the period from 2000 to 2016. Collected data were analyzed using multiple-linear regression. Due to the detected multicollinearity between GDP and exports, GDP was excluded from the proposed model. The results revealed that among three variables tested, only IPPI had a significant negative effect on the stocks' rate of return.
Institutional factors associated with global health education across US pharmacy schools.

Abstract Introduction The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between institutional factors and offerings of global health education opportunities in pharmacy schools. Methods Data for this project came from a review of international advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) and global course offerings for US pharmacy schools conducted between February 1 and March 31, 2014. These data were merged with data on institutional factors which may influence a school's offering of APPEs or courses. Institutional factors included tuition, class size, academic medical center affiliation, year established, and others. Multivariable regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between individual institutional factors and APPEs and global courses. Results In multivariable adjusted models, older and more established schools had a larger percent of the graduating class with an international APPE (9.5% vs. 2.6%, p $25,000/year) had, on average, a larger percent of their graduating class with an international APPE (7.9% vs. 3.1%, p Conclusions More established schools and those with higher tuition appeared to have more robust global offerings. Schools can consider local opportunities to provide global experiential and didactic experiences, which may reduce the financial burden of global programs.
Rhodium-Catalyzed Cyclohydrocarbonylation: Application to the Synthesis of (+)-Prosopinine and (−)-Deoxoprosophylline†

Efficient convergent total syntheses of (+)-prosopinine (1) and (−)-deoxoprosophylline (4) were accomplished using Rh−BIPHEPHOS complex-catalyzed cyclohydrocarbonylation as the key step. The Rh−BIPHEPHOS complex-catalyzed cyclohydrocarbonylation of I, derived from (R)-serine, at 65 °C and 4 atm of CO and H2 (1:1) in ethanol afforded 6-ethoxypiperidine II, which was transformed to enantiopure (+)-prosopinine (1) in 3 steps. In a similar manner, (−)-deoxoprosophylline was synthesized through cyclohydrocarbonylation of IV derived from (S)-serine, giving 6-ethoxypiperidine V. The key intermediate V was transformed to enantiopure (−)-deoxoprosophylline (4) in 4 steps. These two short total syntheses clearly demonstrate the usefulness of the extremely regioselective cyclohydrocarbonylation process developed in these laboratories for the concise syntheses of piperidine alkaloids and related compounds.
Correlated-Input Secure Hash Functions.

We undertake a general study of hash functions secure under correlated inputs, meaning that security should be maintained when the adversary sees hash values of many related high-entropy inputs. Such a property is satisfied by a random oracle, and its importance is illustrated by study of the “avalanche effect,” a well-known heuristic in cryptographic hash function design. One can interpret “security” in different ways: e.g., asking for one-wayness or that the hash values look uniformly and independently random; the latter case can be seen as a generalization of correlation-robustness introduced by Ishai et al. (CRYPTO 2003). We give specific applications of these notions to passwordbased login and efficient search on encrypted data. Our main construction achieves them (without random oracles) for inputs related by polynomials over the input space (namely Zp for a prime number p), based on corresponding variants of the q-Diffie Hellman Inversion assumption. Additionally, we show relations between correlated-input secure hash functions and cryptographic primitives secure under related-key attacks. Using our techniques, we are also able to obtain a host of new results for such related-key attack secure cryptographic primitives.
Stereocontrolled Construction of Tetrahydrofurans and γ-Butyrolactones Using Organomolybdenum Chemistry

Diastereoselective conversion of π-allylmolybdenum complex aldehyde 1 to organometallic triol 4 and diols 5, 10, and 13 is described. Stereocontrolled demetalation of 4, 5, and 13 was accomplished, leading to hydroxylated tetrahydrofurans and γ-butyrolactones, as single diastereoisomers.
Silylcarbocyclizations of 1,6-Diynes

Two types of silylcarbocyclization reactions (SiCaCs) of 1,6-diynes are discussed: (i) silylcarbocyclization−hydrosilylation (SiCaC−HS) reactions giving 3-(silylmethylene)-4-(silylmethyl)pyrrolidi...
Crystal approach to affine Schubert calculus

Author(s): Morse, Jennifer; Schilling, Anne | Abstract: We apply crystal theory to affine Schubert calculus, Gromov-Witten invariants for the complete flag manifold, and the positroid stratification of the positive Grassmannian. We introduce operators on decompositions of elements in the type-$A$ affine Weyl group and produce a crystal reflecting the internal structure of the generalized Young modules whose Frobenius image is represented by stable Schubert polynomials. We apply the crystal framework to products of a Schur function with a $k$-Schur function, consequently proving that a subclass of 3-point Gromov-Witten invariants of complete flag varieties for $\mathbb C^n$ enumerate the highest weight elements under these operators. Included in this class are the Schubert structure constants in the (quantum) product of a Schubert polynomial with a Schur function $s_\lambda$ for all $|\lambda^\vee|l n$. Another by-product gives a highest weight formulation for various fusion coefficients of the Verlinde algebra and for the Schubert decomposition of certain positroid classes.
Preparation of Tri- and Difluoromethylsilanes via an Unusual Magnesium Metal-Mediated Reductive Tri- and Difluoromethylation of Chlorosilanes Using Tri- and Difluoromethyl Sulfides, Sulfoxides, and Sulfones

A new and efficient method for the preparation of tri- and difluoromethylsilanes using magnesium metal-mediated reductive tri- and difluoromethylation of chlorosilanes is reported using tri- and difluoromethyl sulfides, sulfoxides, and sulfones. The byproduct of the process is diphenyl disulfide. Since phenyl trifluoromethyl sulfone, sulfoxide, and sulfide are readily prepared from trifluoromethane (CF3H) and diphenyl disulfide, the method can be considered to be catalytic in diphenyl disulfide for the preparation of (trifluoromethyl)trimethylsilane (TMS−CF3) from non-ozone-depleting trifluoromethane.
Chemistry of the Pyrrolo[1,2-a]benzimidazole Antitumor Agents: Influence of the 7-Substituent on the Ability To Alkylate DNA and Inhibit Topoisomerase II

This study addresses the influence the 7-substituent on the cytotoxicity of pyrrolo[1,2-a]benzimidazole quinones possessing a 6-aziridinyl group (PBIs) and a 6-acetamido group (APBIs). Reduction of...
Ruthenium complexes of the general formula [RuCl2(PHOX)2] and their catalytic activity in the Mukaiyama aldol reaction

Abstract New ruthenium phosphinooxazoline (PHOX) complexes were synthesized and applied in the Mukaiyama aldol reaction. Four ruthenium complexes of the general formula [RuCl2(PHOX)2] were synthesized from [RuCl2(dmso)4] and the corresponding PHOX ligands through thermal ligand exchange. Two of the complexes were characterized structurally. Achiral PHOX ligands gave the ruthenium complexes as single isomers, whereas chiral PHOX ligands gave a mixture of isomers and also some incomplete substitution. After activation by chloride abstraction, one of the new ruthenium complexes was applied as catalyst in the Mukaiyama aldol reaction to give silyl-protected β-hydroxyl alcohols in 74–92% isolated yields (room temperature, 18–24 h reaction time, 1 mol % catalyst loading).