cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ask and you shall receive: Social network contacts’ provision of help during the job search

Abstract Social network contacts—the people who are asked to help with others’ job searches—are key players in the job networking process. Before job seekers can become employed with the help social networks, contacts must first be able and willing to share the social resources job seekers need for their search. Little is known about the factors that affect contacts’ ability and willingness to do this. Analyses of a unique dataset of contacts show that they typically have access to resources and help job seekers by sharing them. Still, contacts are better able to help when they are male, employed, and better educated than job seekers. They are more willing to help when they perceive job seekers to be “good” workers. In identifying the conditions in which contacts provide social resources, this study illustrates how social networks are a productive job search strategy for some, but not all, job seekers.
NUTRITIONAL ENCEPHALOMALACIA IN CHICKS : INFLUENCE OF AGE, GROWTH, AND BREED UPON SUSCEPTIBILITY.

1. Nutritional encephalomalacia may be induced in chicks up to the age of approximately 2 months. As the preliminary feeding period on a natural foods diet is increased, the percentage incidence of the disease becomes progressively less. The average time between institution of diet and appearance of the disease tends to diminish. 2. There is no correlation between growth and incidence of the disease. 3. White Leghorns, Barred Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, and White Wyandottes are equally susceptible.
Digital circuit applications of resonant tunneling devices

Many semiconductor quantum devices utilize a novel tunneling transport mechanism that allows picosecond device switching speeds. The negative differential resistance characteristic of these devices, achieved due to resonant tunneling, is also ideally suited for the design of highly compact, self-latching logic circuits. As a result, quantum device technology is a promising emerging alternative for high-performance very-large-scale-integration design. The bistable nature of the basic logic gates implemented using resonant tunneling devices has been utilized in the development of a gate-level pipelining technique, called nanopipelining, that significantly improves the throughput and speed of pipelined systems. The advent of multiple-peak resonant tunneling diodes provides a viable means for efficient design of multiple-valued circuits with decreased interconnect complexity and reduced device count as compared to multiple-valued circuits in conventional technologies. This paper details various circuit design accomplishments in the area of binary and multiple-valued logic using resonant tunneling diodes (RTD's) in conjunction with high-performance III-V devices such as heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT's) and modulation doped field-effect transistors (MODFET's). New bistable logic families using RTD+HBT and RTD+MODFET gates are described that provide a single-gate, self-latching majority function in addition to basic NAND, NOR, and inverter gates.
Freeway traffic systems: prediction and control

Since traffic congestion is becoming a serious and worsening problem, extensive research and development are now undertaken to reduce congestion and enhance safety. A new area, namely intelligent vehicle-high systems (IVHS), has drawn great attention from industries and academic institutions. This paper builds a deterministic linear time-variant model for freeway traffic system. Then we study the stability property of the system. In order to reduce the computation time, we decouple the given freeway system with many segments into a sequence of separate subsystems. Thereafter, we formulate a discrete-time moving horizon optimization problem and finally get the optimal solution for ramp-metering, which is in an explicit form of the predictive states.
Director Structures in Achiral Smectic C Liquid Crystal Cells: Field Induced Twist Domain Nucleation

The electro‐optic response of two achiral smectic C liquid crystals, W479 and 8¯S5, in thin surface stabilized cells has been studied using polarizing optical microscopy. In their virgin (field‐free) state, W479 cells have ‘bookshelf’ structure, with the smectic layers uniformly tilted with respect to the bounding glass plates, while 8¯S5 cells have bent or ‘chevron’ layering. Upon first cooling into the smectic C phase, both materials exhibit domains of uniform optic axis orientation. Subsequent application of an electric field leads to a Freedericksz transition and to the nucleation and growth of non‐uniform domains in which the optic axis is twisted. Models for the virgin and field‐induced director structures are proposed.
Dynamics of Rotating Stellar Systems: Collapse and Violent Relaxation

Axisymmetric systems, having differing amounts of initial angular momentum and containing 2000 stars (mass points) each, are allowed to collapse under their own gravitational attraction. Collapse and violent relaxation are found to lead to the formation of equilibrium structures after only a few free-fall times. The systems contain a sufficient number of mass points so as to be effectively collisionless and the equilibrium structures are consistent with accurate satisfaction of the stationary collisionless Boltzmann equation. Rotating equilibrium models produced in this way resemble elliptical galaxies, with elliptical isophotes. With cosmologically reasonable amounts of initial angular momentum, E0 to E4.5 galaxies can be produced. The equilibrium models show rotation curves in general agreement with that expected from violent relaxation theory. In particular the models show a central region with solid-body rotation. Further out, the systems become differentially rotating. When infall effects are included one can produce models with extended envelopes in good agreement with observed elliptical galaxies. It is suggested that the crucial factor in determining whether an elliptical or a spiral galaxy is formed is whether or not star formation is complete by the time the proto-galaxy reaches its point of maximum collapse.
A quantitative study of coronary vasculature in four dimensions

The medical diagnosis and study of heart disease utilize two common imaging modalities, biplane X-ray angiography and intravascular ultrasound. We have developed a method (data fusion) which combines these technologies to produce three-dimensional reconstructions of coronary vessels. This paper describes recent extensions to this technology in which four-dimensional velocity measurements and three-dimensional volumetric measurements can be performed. The measurement of vessel velocity is of great importance In the design of new image acquisition devices, and the volumetric measurements are useful in the study of vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. Both methods have been validated in computer simulations, yielding minimal errors. The method for the determination of the vessel velocity has been tested on routine patient data and provided consistently good results.
A theory of nonmonotonic rule systems

The semantics for nonmonotonic rule systems are investigated. The notion of nonmonotonic formal systems is then introduced. Examples are given, along with applications of logic, logic programming, and common-sense reasoning. >
Microstructure preserving synthesis of biomedical images

We present an approach for synthesizing biological tissue textures from existing tissue samples. At microscopic resolution, tissues are characterized by a spatial arrangement of nuclei, cytoplasm, red-blood cells (RBCs) and adipose components etc. We employ 2-point correlation functions (2-pcfs) to encode the geometrical aspects of component arrangements in the synthesis process. The 2-pcfs belong to a class of neighborhood density estimators and were recently introduced in microscopic image analysis. We provide examples of their application toward synthesis of histology-based tissue textures. We show that our methods retain properties such as component volume fractions, sizes and density in comparison to standard approaches. Our methods are also shown to improve the performance of segmentation algorithms by automatically generating labeled texture classes.
Rebuttal Neither the Absolute Certainty of Prescriptive Law nor a Surrender to Mysticism

Each of the three replies demonstrates a continuing vitality of the positivist ideology critically opposed in the original essay (Iano, 1986). Forness and Kavale propose a strategy of research and theory development that belongs to the natural science-technical tradition. Lloyd's claim, that he has found logical fallacies undermining the major theses of the essay, seems to be based on misinterpretations of the arguments and also on the mistaken belief that prescriptions of textbook logic can be used to resolve ideological debates. Neither Lloyd nor Carnine is successful in their attempts to show there is no basis for my claim that the natural science-technical program of research has failed to achieve its stated aims.
Immune mediation of hypersensitivity adverse drug reactions: implications for therapy.

Adverse drug reactions are among the top causes of death in the developed world, and among the spectrum of adverse drug reactions, drug hypersensitivity is a principal contributor to serious adverse drug events. The pathophysiology of drug hypersensitivity remains incompletely understood, but seems to involve the initial recognition of a drug or metabolite by the immune system followed by an immune response that determines the clinical manifestations. At present, there are two competing theories for how immune recognition occurs: the Hapten Hypothesis in which drug hapten–carrier association is the key driver for immune recognition and the Pharmacological Interference Concept that postulates direct recognition of drugs by low affinity association with the T cell receptor. The Danger Hypothesis provides a potentially important addition to the Hapten Hypothesis. Therapy for drug hypersensitivity has traditionally involved excellent supportive care. Although corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin hav...
Extraction of frequency dependent series impedance for interconnect on lossy substrates using the superposition of PMC and PEC boundary conditions

In this paper, the frequency dependant series impedance on lossy substrates is calculated from a quasi-static magnetic Green's function in the spatial domain by limiting the computational domain to a finite size box and superimposing the solutions of two sets of boundary conditions, namely, perfect electric conducting (PEC) and perfect magnetic conducting (PMC) walls. The resulting solution actually models an open problem (no walls) with or without a ground plane.
Plasticity in the Primary Auditory Cortex: Substrate of Specific Long-Term Memory Traces

Best frequency (BF) – The frequency that produces the best cellular response to a frequency at a given soundlevel intensity. Conditioned response (CR) – A behavioral response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus as a result of classical or instrumental conditioning. Conditioned stimulus (CS) – An initially neutral stimulus that elicits a behavioral response after it has been associated with an unconditioned stimulus. Frequency receptive field (frequency RF) – The portion of the acoustic spectrum to which a cell in the auditory system is sensitive. Frequency RFs are often called ‘tuning curves.’ Local field potentials (LFPs) – Responses of sensory (auditory) cortex to sensory (acoustic) stimuli, which are comprised of evoked voltage changes in the low-frequency range (1–300Hz). They generally index excitatory postsynaptic potentials recorded in extracellular space with a large electrode on the surface or in the depths of the cortex. Tonotopic map – The progressive distribution of best frequencies across primary auditory cortex. The posterior-to-anterior axis has a systematic range of BFs, from lower to higher, respectively. Unconditioned response (UR) – An innate behavioral response that is elicited by a stimulus in the absence of conditioning. Unconditioned stimulus (US) – A stimulus that elicits a UR.
Traffic Control, Time—Space Diagrams, and Networks

The object of traffic control is largely to minimize the delay, or travel time, of the users of a traffic system. Both the aggregate delay to all the users of a traffic system and the maximum individual delay are to be considered. Other objectives of traffic control are the decrease of the number of stops, increase of smoothness of driving, and increase of safety.
Endovascular treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations following radiosurgery.

PURPOSE Previous reports of embolization of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) have evaluated the technique as adjunctive therapy prior to surgery or radiosurgery; our aim is to assess the role of embolization following radiosurgery. PATIENTS Six patients previously treated with radiosurgery and showing no response as judged by cerebral angiography were embolized 24 to 55 months (mean 34.3 months) after initial radiosurgery. RESULTS In five of six, a significant volume reduction was achieved ranging from 60%-100% (mean 74%). One patient was treated with embolization alone and the AVM has remained fully thrombosed 2 years after treatment. Three patients underwent surgical resection for cure after embolization, and two patients had repeat radiosurgery to a significantly smaller AVM volume. One patient had an asymptomatic carotid dissection at embolization; however, no clinically apparent complications occurred in the treatment group. CONCLUSION Embolization can be used after radiosurgery to assist in the management of those AVMs that have not responded to initial treatment.
Gaming Operating Performance: Managerial Incentives and the Impact of Discretionary Financial and Disclosure Decisions

We extend the existing research on managerial incentives and operating performance measurement by integrating the market impact of the manager's discretionary financial and disclosures decisions to stock price performance in compensation contracts. There is evidence that managers manipulate accounting numbers to mitigate the consequences of decreasing operating performance and negative compensation effects. We argue that managers may also use discretionary financial decisions to meet market expectations and avoid compromising internal control systems. We focus on the financial decision to repurchase stock, given the prevalence and documented positive market impact of that activity. While controlling for other factors associated with stock repurchases, we examine the likelihood that firms with decreasing operating performance use stock repurchases to help meet analyst expectations to avoid stock price decreases. We find that managers that repurchase stock are also likely to benefit from higher stock prices, since they exercise more stock options in the year following the stock repurchase. We also examine whether firms that use stock repurchases use MD&A disclosures to manage expectations downward. We find that rather than managing expectations downward, managers are likely to provide more optimistic disclosures, especially when planning stock repurchases. Our results suggest that the current emphasis on stock price performance in management's compensation contracts may not eliminate managerial opportunism, given the market impact of the manager's discretionary financial and disclosures decisions.
Peak force and maximal shortening velocity of soleus fibers after non-weight-bearing and resistance exercise

Widrick, Jeffrey J., and Robert H. Fitts. Peak force and maximal shortening velocity of soleus fibers after non-weight-bearing and resistance exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(1): 189–195, 1997.—This ...
The Stimulatory Effects of D-Fenfluramine (D-Fen) on Blood and Splenic Immune Functions in the Fischer 344 Rat Are Age and Sex Dependent

In order to study the effects of serotonin (5-HT) on splenic and blood immune functions, male and female F344 rats (5-6 and 21-23 mo old) received the selective 5-HT releaser and reuptake inhibitor, d-FEN (0.6-1.8 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for 30-44 days. d-FEN significantly increased the relative level of splenic as well as peripheral blood large granular lymphocytes (LGL) in not only old females (1.6x) but also young males (2.3x). In addition, d-FEN significantly increased base-line and recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) stimulated YAC-1 killing (NK activity) by young male (1.4x) and old female (1.8x) spleen ocytes. d-FEN only increased (1.7-2.4x) NK cytotoxicity in the old females. The data indicate that in the F344 rat 5-HT modulates the NK component of the immune system in an age and sex dependent manner. The closer correlation of LGL elevation and functional NK activity in the spleen versus peripheral blood may indicate that d-FEN induces a greater compartmental increase in mature LGLs in the spleen than in blood. High concentrations of 5-HT and its metabolite 5-HIAA, 5-HT immunoreactive processes, as well as 5-HT recognition and reuptake sites have been found in the spleen. Morphological and biochemical evidence thus supports the view that 5-HT can play an important role in the regulation of NK-mediated immune functions.
Synthesis and Nanostructure Control of CIGS Nanoparticles by Solvothermal Route

Due to the potential applications to high-efficiency and light-weight solar cells, the growth of CuInGaSe 2 (CIGS) nanoparticles is a recent research focus. We have developed a relatively simple solvothermal route to grow high quality CIGS nanoparticles in an autoclave under different temperatures (170 – 280 ° C). The effect of reaction temperature on the shape of CIGS nanoparticles has been investigated. At lower temperatures, the CIGS particles show plate-like shape. Whereas at higher temperatures, most of them exhibit rod-like feature. The nanoparticle products have been also characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques.
Understanding Mexico’s Drug Violence

A dramatic increase in criminal violence in Mexico since 2007 has resulted in an estimated 60,000–70,000 “additional” homicides, often of an especially brutal form, related to drug trafficking and ...
Adrenal Demedullation and Oxygen Supplementation Independently Increase Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Concentrations in Fetal Sheep With Intrauterine Growth Restriction

In pregnancies complicated by placental insufficiency and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), fetal glucose and oxygen concentrations are reduced, whereas plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine concentrations are elevated throughout the final third of gestation. Here we study the effects of chronic hypoxemia and hypercatecholaminemia on β-cell function in fetal sheep with placental insufficiency-induced IUGR that is produced by maternal hyperthermia. IUGR and control fetuses underwent a sham (intact) or bilateral adrenal demedullation (AD) surgical procedure at 0.65 gestation. As expected, AD-IUGR fetuses had lower norepinephrine concentrations than intact-IUGR fetuses despite being hypoxemic and hypoglycemic. Placental insufficiency reduced fetal weights, but the severity of IUGR was less with AD. Although basal plasma insulin concentrations were lower in intact-IUGR and AD-IUGR fetuses compared with intact-controls, glucose-stimulated insulin concentrations were greater in AD-IUGR fetuses compared with intact-IUGR fetuses. Interestingly, AD-controls had lower glucose- and arginine-stimulated insulin concentrations than intact-controls, but AD-IUGR and AD-control insulin responses were not different. To investigate chronic hypoxemia in the IUGR fetus, arterial oxygen tension was increased to normal levels by increasing the maternal inspired oxygen fraction. Oxygenation of IUGR fetuses enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin concentrations 3.3-fold in intact-IUGR and 1.7-fold in AD-IUGR fetuses but did not lower norepinephrine and epinephrine concentrations. Together these findings show that chronic hypoxemia and hypercatecholaminemia have distinct but complementary roles in the suppression of β-cell responsiveness in IUGR fetuses.
Analytical modeling of reconstruction delays in distributed storage data centers

Cloud users store millions of files on the cloud every day. Often times the files are simply replicated so that if one is lost a mirror can be fetched when required. Simple replication of data files is easier however it is more costly since more storage is required. Alternatively, cloud datacenters use coding techniques that code a file into parts; each of which can be stored at a different location and sometimes geographically distant locations. The biggest advantage of coding is that not all the parts are required to reconstruct the file in case one of more parts are lost. This is especially useful in presence of disk failures that frequently occur in datacenters. In this paper we present an analytical model of the reconstruction process with reference to delays incurred during the reconstruction process.
Circulating Antibodies in Vitamin Deficiency States. Pantothenic Acid-sparing Action of DL-Methionine

Summary1. In albino rats DL-methionine possesses a significant sparing action upon the pantothenic acid requirement for antibody production. 2.β-alanine cannot replace pantothenic acid in the proce...
Determining Sample Sizes for Monte Carlo Integration

In an introductory course in probability, one discusses the use of random samples for estimating an unknown population average /jl. If one chooses a large enough random sample xv...,xn, then by the law of large numbers, the sample average x = (l/n)Ef=1Jc/ should reasonably approximate jjl. We can use this fact to esti? mate many types of averages via a Monte Carlo simulation. For example, to estimate the average value of a continuous function / over an interval [a,b],_one selects a random sample of points Xx,...,Xn from [a, b]. Then, Xn = (l/7z)??=1/(^) converges in probability to jjl = \/(b a)f*f(x)dx [2, p. 157]. The solution of the Dirichlet problem for Laplace's equation offers another interesting application of the Monte Carlo method [3, p. 35]. Although it may be interesting to make Monte Carlo approximations, it may not always be very practical or efficient. In particular, if students are limited to manual methods, such as coin tossing or dice throwing, the problem of obtaining a large enough sample will arise. For surveys, one may also encounter the problem of ensuring that samples are truly random. Fortunately, for mathematical computations such as Monte Carlo integration, a computer can provide both a pseudo-random number generator and the power to handle large samples. For example, in Mathematica, one can use the command
Presenting Information to Users

This chapter investigates the first part of JDBC that is to present information to the users. In the world of interactive programs, a textual interface is unappealing and inefficient for users. To present tabular information stored in databases with Java, a graphic component that resembles the table structure of databases is needed. The graphical component of choice is the JTable class in the javax.swing package. The use of JTables to represent relational database tables is natural. Several third-party extensions to the JTable class automatically make this connection. A database table contains rows, and each row comprises columns. Within JDBC, the table resulting from a query is mapped to a ResultSet object. A ResultSet object translates into a Vector of Vectors. Each row in the ResultSet is turned into a Vector by adding all of the fields to a vector. Then all row Vectors are added to another Vector. Finally, JTable objects have rows mapped to a row Vector. The columns in the select clause of the query become the columns in the JTable, and all of the rows in the database satisfying the Where clause appear as rows in the JTable.
ACHIEVEMENT OF SPECIFIC TREATMENT GOALS THROUGH DAY HOSPITAL

The day-hospital approach, where patients return home nights and weekends, is of fairly recent origin (Glasscote, Kraft, Glassman, & Jepson, 1969) . The linle research (Herz, Endicoct, Spitzer, & Mesnikoff, 1971) has focused largely on comparing day-hospital to in-hospital care. It is therefore possible that the reported efficacy of a day hospital may be due mainly to the removal of adverse effects of hospitalization. Consequently, this study sought to determine whether a day hospital could achieve specific therapeutic goals, anxiety reduction and improved self-concept. The Anxiety Scale of the Zuckerman (1960) Affect Adjective Check List (AACL), Today form, was selected to assess anxiety since the scale is both reliable and sensitive to short-term changes (Zuckerman, Lubin, Vogel, & Valerius, 1964) . Eleven Semantic Differential rating scales representing the Evaluative (good-bad) , Potency (strong-weak) , and Activity (active-passive) dimensions (Osgood, Suci, & Tannenbaum, 1957) measured self-concepts in 2 samples selected From the John Cochran VA Day-Hospital program for patients ranging from psychotic to characterological with a wide variety of activities (various groups, drugs, individual therapy, relaxation, lectures, vocational counseling, games, sports, and handcrafts) in a therapeutic milieu setting. The first group of 24 male patients had taken the AACL shortly after admission (pre) and before termination (post) . The second group of 1 6 male patients had received the Semantic Differential both upon admission and termination. t tests for correlated means were run on each pair of pre and post means ( S D s ) . AACL anxiety diminished significantly ( p = . 0 1 ) , while the Semantic Differential measure of self-concept showed increases on both the Evaluative ( p = .O5) and the Potency ( p = .01) dimensions; Activity did not change. N o doubt the improved self-concept, particularly the increased self-confidence (Potency), is closely related to the reduction in debilitating high anxiety.
Investigation of drainage basin geometry near an anomalously straight reach of the Big Black River, Mississippi, USA

AbstractDrainage basin geometry was analyzed in the lower portion of the Big Black River, Mississippi. The study was centered on a reach of the Big Black River that encompasses an anomalous straight reach (ASR) and has morphometric characteristics that differ from those of upstream and downstream reaches. The study area was divided into three reaches, defined by alluvial valley and active floodplain width, sinuosity, and slope. Tributary streams with confluences in the three study reaches were investigated for evidence of surface tilting, and channel and valley slopes and sinuosity were measured. The average stream channel and valley slopes within the middle reach are nearly double those of the upper and lower reaches. Lateral stream migration within the tributary basins was quantitatively analyzed by measuring the asymmetry factor (AF) and transverse topographic symmetry factor (T) indices. While AF results suggest minimal to no lateral migration within the tributaries, the T results show some shifting. ...
Optical Frequency Comb Generation based on Erbium Fiber Lasers

Citation: Droste, S., Ycas, G., Washburn, B. R., Coddington, I., & Newbury, N. R. (2016). Optical Frequency Comb Generation based on Erbium Fiber Lasers. Nanophotonics, 5(2), 196-213. doi:10.1515/nanoph-2016-0019
Community forest management, gender and fuelwood collection in rural Nepal

This paper investigates how Forest User Group (FUG) management of community forests and household characteristics influence household allocation of male and female labor to fuelwood collection in rural Nepal. FUG collection bans are found to displace both landed and landless female fuelwood collection labor to other forests that are typically further away, but lower restrictions do not. A higher female FUG executive committee share has both conservation and equity enhancing effects by lowering the likelihoods that landless, Dalit, landed and non-Dalit women collect in other forests, and increasing the likelihood landless males collect in the FUG forest.
Exploiting Mucosal Immunity for Antiviral Vaccines

Mucosal surfaces provide a remarkably effective barrier against potentially dangerous pathogens. Therefore, enhancing mucosal immunity through vaccines-strengthening that first line of defense-holds significant promise for reducing the burden of viral diseases. The large and varied class of viral pathogens, however, continues to present thorny challenges to vaccine development. Two primary difficulties exist: Viruses exhibit a stunning diversity of strategies for evading the host immune response, and even when we understand the nature of effective immune protection against a given virus, eliciting that protection is technically challenging. Only a few mucosal vaccines have surmounted these obstacles thus far. Recent developments, however, could greatly improve vaccine design. In this review, we first sketch out our understanding of mucosal immunity and then compare the herpes simplex virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and influenza virus to illustrate the distinct challenges of developing successful vaccines and to outline potential solutions.
Gene analysis of HA1 of group A influenza virus H3N2 in Zhuhai during 2007～2008

Objective:To analyze the prevalence and genetic characteristics of Hemagglutinin of influenza H3N2 virus in Zhuhai during 2007～2008.Methods:12 H3N2 strains isolated were selected according to different time phases.The Hemagglutinin(HA1) gene of those strains were sequenced and analyzed.Results:Influenza H3N2 virus was dominant in Zhuhai in 2007.The amino acid sequence of HA1 showed that there was a glycosylation site acquired,and there were 4 sites changed at HA1 domin in most strains isolated in 2007 as compared with the vaccine strain recommended by WHO.There was no significant variation observed the amino acid sequence of HA1 of Zhuhai strains in 2008 compared with the vaccine strain.Conclusion:The H3N2 subtype vaccine strain recommended in 2007 by WHO has no effective protection,which is the main reason for why the H3N2 virus were dominant in 2007.The amino acid sequence of HA1 of Zhuhai strains in 2008 has no distinct variation and the vaccine provides enough protection.
Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Prescription Medication Use In Medicare Part D

Legalization of medical marijuana has been one of the most controversial areas of state policy change over the past twenty years. However, little is known about whether medical marijuana is being used clinically to any significant degree. Using data on all prescriptions filled by Medicare Part D enrollees from 2010 to 2013, we found that the use of prescription drugs for which marijuana could serve as a clinical alternative fell significantly, once a medical marijuana law was implemented. National overall reductions in Medicare program and enrollee spending when states implemented medical marijuana laws were estimated to be $165.2 million per year in 2013. The availability of medical marijuana has a significant effect on prescribing patterns and spending in Medicare Part D.
Psychosexual Problems in Infertility: A Preventive Model

AbstractHelping a couple who appears to be infertile poses some unique problems that do not fit neatly into the medical pardigm. The “patient” is two people rather than one, and the “doctor” is several health care professionals rather than one. Keeping within the framework of patient-couple and health-care team, it is essential to keep in mind not only diagnosis and treatment of infertility but prevention of iatrogenic sexual, marital, and individual psychological problems as well. A model aimed at stress monitoring and reduction, as well as at sexual and marital health, is outlined for working with infertile couples.
Environmental Resource Scarcity and Conflict

All humans depend on direct and market-mediated access to a diverse array of environmental resources for basic survival and quality of life. Consequently, increased demand, reduced supply, or deterioration of a resource threatens access and can therefore also threaten individuals and groups. Security extends beyond maintaining the status quo or the power of the state to protection of the “physical, social, and economic well-being” of human populations (Homer-Dixon 1991). Security in this sense is threatened when the institutional and economic resources to ameliorate the impact of scarcity are unavailable or extremely costly. Violence is a potential outcome when groups compete to ensure their security.
Differential relationships between social adversity and depressive symptoms by HIV status and racial/ethnic identity.

OBJECTIVE Historically marginalized groups are likely to be exposed to social adversity, which predicts important mental health outcomes (e.g., depression). Despite the well-established relationship between adversity and poor health, few studies have examined how adversity differentially predicts mental health among people living with multiple, co-occurring marginalized identities or statuses. The current study fills this gap by examining whether relationships between social adversity and depressive symptoms differed between those living with or without a stigmatized disease (i.e., HIV) and/or marginalized racial/ethnic identity (i.e., African American). METHOD A community sample of men and women (N = 149) completed questionnaires assessing demographics and depressive symptoms. Additionally, a composite index of social adversity was derived from measures of perceived discrimination, socioeconomic status, financial restriction to receiving medical care, and perceived neighborhood characteristics. Multiple regression was used to test whether relationships between adversity and depressive symptoms differed as a function of HIV status and racial/ethnic identity. RESULTS A significant 3-way interaction between social adversity, HIV status, and racial/ethnic identity indicated that there was a direct relationship between adversity and depressive symptoms for HIV-positive (HIV+) African Americans but not for HIV-negative (HIV-) African Americans, HIV+ Caucasians, or HIV- Caucasians. Further, HIV+ African Americans evidenced a significantly greater relationship between adversity and depressive symptoms compared with HIV- African Americans, but not compared with other groups. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that HIV+ African Americans may be at risk for higher depressive symptoms amid adversity, highlighting the importance of evaluating intersectional identities/statuses in the context of mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record
Dermatologic Cosmetic Laser Surgery

Dermatologic cosmetic laser surgery has greatly evolved over the last 30 years. Today's lasers can treat a wide gamut of vascular and pigmented lesions, as well as tattoos, with a high degree of success and minimal incidence of scarring. In addition, with some refinements, older laser systems are playing a renewed role in the cosmetic dermatologic surgeon's armamentarium. Dermatologic cosmetic laser surgery is one of the most exciting and rapidly growing areas in the field of cosmetic surgery.
Mesoscale Fracture Analysis of Multiphase Cementitious Composites Using Peridynamics

Concrete is a complex heterogeneous material, and thus, it is important to develop numerical modeling methods to enhance the prediction accuracy of the fracture mechanism. In this study, a two-dimensional mesoscale model is developed using a non-ordinary state-based peridynamic (NOSBPD) method. Fracture in a concrete cube specimen subjected to pure tension is studied. The presence of heterogeneous materials consisting of coarse aggregates, interfacial transition zones, air voids and cementitious matrix is characterized as particle points in a two-dimensional mesoscale model. Coarse aggregates and voids are generated using uniform probability distributions, while a statistical study is provided to comprise the effect of random distributions of constituent materials. In obtaining the steady-state response, an incremental and iterativesolverisadopted for the dynamic relaxation method. Load-displacement curves and damage patterns are compared with available experimental and ﬁnite element analysis (FEA) results.Although the proposed model uses much simpler material damage models and discretization schemes, the load-displacementcurvesshownodifferencefromtheFEAresults. Furthermore,nomeshreﬁnement is necessary, as fracture is inherently characterized by bond breakages. Finally, a sensitivity study is conducted to understand the effect of aggregate volume fraction and porosity on the load capacity of the proposed mesoscale model.
Scanning the Symposium

The International Symposium on Guided-Wave Optoelectronics held October 26–28, 1994, was the fourth in the conference series sponsored by the Weber Research Institute of Polytechnic University. Following the successful format of preceding conferences, the Symposium strived to achieve a critical in-depth coverage of fundamental issues in a rapidly evolving area. Its aim was to examine guided-wave phenomena and related aspects of optoelectronics, and to review state-of-the-art techniques for solving electromagnetic problems that arise in that field.
Stochastic Version Of Second-Order Optimization Using Only Function Measurements

Abstract Consider the problem of loss function minimization when only (possibly noisy) measurements of the loss function are available. In particular, no measurements of the gradient of the loss function are assumed available (as required in the steepest descent or Newton-Raphson algorithms). Stochastic approximation (SA) algorithms of the multivariate Kiefer-Wolfowitz (finite-difference) form have long been considered for such problems, but with only limited success. The simultaneous perturbation SA (SPSA) algorithm has successfully addressed one of the major shortcomings of those finite-difference SA algorithms by significantly reducing the number of measurements required in many multivariate problems of practical interest. This paper presents a second-order SPSA algorithm that is based on estimating both the loss function gradient and inverse Hessian matrix at each iteration. The aim of this approach is to emulate the acceleration properties associated with deterministic algorithms of Newton-Raphson form, particularly in the terminal phase where the first-order SPSA algorithm slows down in its convergence. This second-order SPSA algorithm requires only three loss function measurements at each iteration, independent of the problem dimension. This paper includes a formal convergence result for this second-order approach.
A Rules-Based Algorithm to Prioritize Poor Prognosis Cancer Patients in Need of Advance Care Planning

Abstract Background: Accurate understanding of the prognosis of an advanced cancer patient can lead to decreased aggressive care at the end of life and earlier hospice enrollment. Objective: Our goal was to determine the association between high-risk clinical events identified by a simple, rules-based algorithm and decreased overall survival, to target poor prognosis cancer patients who would urgently benefit from advanced care planning. Design: A retrospective analysis was performed on outpatient oncology patients with an index visit from April 1, 2015, through June 30, 2015. We examined a three-month window for “high-risk events,” defined as (1) change in chemotherapy, (2) emergency department (ED) visit, and (3) hospitalization. Patients were followed until January 31, 2017. Setting/Subjects: A total of 219 patients receiving palliative chemotherapy at the University of Chicago Medicine with a prognosis of ≤12 months were included. Measurements: The main outcome was overall survival, and each “high-ris...
Resilient AES Against Side-Channel Attack Using All-Spin Logic

The new generation of spintronic devices, Hybrid Spintronic-CMOS devices including Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ), have been utilized to overcome Moore's law limitation as well as preserve higher performance with lower cost. However, implementing these devices as a hardware cryptosystem is vulnerable to side channel attacks (SCAs) due to the differential power at the output of the Hybrid Spintronic-CMOS device and asymmetric read/write operations in MTJ. One of the most severe SCAs is the power analysis attack (PAA), in which an attacker can observe the output current of the device and extract the secret key. In this paper, we employ the All Spin Logic Device (ASLD) to implement protected AES cryptography for the first time. More precisely, we realize that in additional to ASLD features, such as small area, non-volatile memory, high density and low operating voltage, this device has another unique feature: identical power dissipation through the switching operations. Such properties can be effectively leveraged to prevent SCA.
Generation and Characterization of Human T-Cell Hybridomas That Constitutively Produce Immune Interferon

Regulation of immune responses by T lymphocytes is mediated mainly by the release of soluble factors, which can be either specific (Lonai et al., 1981; Sorensen et al., 1983) or nonspecific (Pick, 1980; Pierce and Kapp, 1980). Studies on the structure and function of these important mediators have been hampered by the great heterogeneity of crude preparations from lymphoid cell cultures induced with mitogens or antigens, and by the insufficient amounts of material available for characterization in such preparations. Construction of T-cell hybridomas by somatic cell hybridization techniques has allowed us to overcome these obstacles.
Democracy-Assisting Judicial Review and the Challenge of Partisan Polarization

Democracy-assisting judicial review is a theme that has recently reemerged in normative constitutional scholarship. It asks the Supreme Court to use its power to vindicate the people’s views that have been stymied by a dysfunctional political process, a problem that has worsened in recent years. The main deficiency in this prescription is that it overstates the Court’s ability to compensate for problems like polarization and gridlock since it is a part of the interbranch strategies employed by partisan regimes. This was demonstrated in the area of reapportionment, typically seen as a classic example of democracy-assisting judicial review. It is also evident in recent Roberts Court decisions in the election-law field. This Article recommends abandoning the democracy-assisting idea and instead exploring ways to prevent the Court from being enlisted in extreme and unrepresentative causes. Reform ideas should focus on increasing and regularizing turnover on the Court and encouraging the selection of more representative Justices, an outcome made more likely by increasing the representativeness of the elected officials who choose the Justices. Absent a crisis, of course, it is highly unlikely that any such reforms will be adopted. Nonetheless, it is a worthwhile exercise to think about how to enhance representational and consensus-building processes in the presence of growing partisan polarization. And it is a more valuable exercise than simply imploring the Justices be less partisan or suggesting that they defer to today’s laws that represent such fragile legislative compromises. Institutions and processes, and the incentives they create, must be changed if behavior is to be changed. The best we can do for the Court and for American democracy in 2020 and beyond is to construct better electoral processes that produce more representative leaders who, in turn, select more representative Justices, which aids the quest for true constitutional consensus.
Presupposition and Quantification

Up until now we have been ignoring the fact that pronouns in natural languages come in different genders, such as the English pronouns he, she and it. In the case of a bound pronoun the choice of gender depends on the gender of the noun-phrase which is used to bind it. Since we are not indicating in the syntactic representation the binding relationships between noun-phrases and pronouns, we cannot give a syntactic account of the choice of gender in such cases (and we will argue in Chapter VII that it would be incorrect to try). We will propose a treatment of gender in terms of presupposition. Since such a treatment of gender in pronouns is intimately connected with quantification we must first present an account of presupposition in quantified sentences. In this chapter we will present such an account which solves a problem which was presented in Karttunen and Peters (1979) and also treats some facts about presuppositions associated with generalized quantifiers which I believe have not been previously discussed. The problems are outlined in section 1 and the treatment of quantifiers is given in section 4. The basic ideas of the treatment are contained in section 2.
Enhancement of mechanisms acting against mammary carcinoma: Pancreatic trypsin inhibitor

Human mammary carcinoma cells were cultivated from primary tumor explants in Eagle's minimum essential medium (MEM) supplemented with Insulin-Penicillin-Streptomycin-Fetal Calf Serum (35–45%) and/or pancreatic trypsin inhibitor. In MEM supplemented with Insulin-Penicillin-Streptomycin-Fetal Calf Serum (15%) the mammary carcinoma cells were produced from the primary explants with an abundance of pseudopodia-like fibers extending from the explants connecting and surrounding groups of cells. These cells survived 3 to 5 weeks and died. If the medium was supplemented with pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (10 µg/ml) the mammary carcinoma cells were produced from the explants as separate round bodies which developed into fusiform or triangular cells, without any interlinking or protecting structures. These cells survived from several months to over a year. After several (18 to 48) weeks of cultivation in presence of pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, the human mammary carcinoma cells became more sensitive to the cytotoxic effects of serum from post surgery patients with mammary carcinoma. Some of these cultures responded to the dual effect of high and low doses of oestrogens and to the effect of prolactin. In the presence of insulin, the cultivated cells synthesized alpha lactalbumin a characteristic of mammary tissue.
Ordering up gene expression by slowing down transcription factor binding kinetics.

Efficient regulation of a complex genetic response requires that the gene products, which catalyze the response, be synthesized in a temporally ordered manner to match the sequential nature of the reaction pathway they act upon. Transcription regulation networks coordinate this aspect of cellular control by modulating transcription factor (TF) concentrations through time. The effect a TF has on the timing of gene expression is often modeled assuming that the TF–promoter binding reaction is in thermodynamic equilibrium with changes in TF concentration over time; however, non-equilibrium dynamics resulting from relatively slow TF-binding kinetics can result in different network behavior. Here, I highlight a recent study of the bacterial SOS response, where a single TF regulates multiple target promoters, to show how a disequilibrium of TF binding at promoters results in a more complex behavior, enabling a larger temporal separation of promoter activities that depends not only upon slow TF binding kinetics at promoters, but also on the magnitude of the response stimulus. I also discuss the dependence of network behavior on specific TF regulatory mechanisms and the implications non-equilibrium dynamics have for stochastic gene expression.