cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Managerial Entrenchment and Capital Structure: New Evidence

Prior research has often taken the view that entrenched managers tend to avoid debt. Contrary to this view, we find that firms with entrenched managers, as measured by the Gompers et al. (2003) governance index, use more debt finance and have higher leverage ratios. To address the potential endogeneity of the governance index, we use instrumental variables analysis and the exogenous shock to corporate governance generated by the adoption of state anti-takeover laws. We find that firms incorporated in states that adopt restrictive anti-takeover laws increase the debt component of their external financing. Our evidence is consistent with entrenched managers receiving better access to debt markets (better credit ratings) and better financing terms (perhaps in response to the conservative investment policy that they pursue).
Internet Recommendation Systems

Abstract Several online firms, including Yahoo!, Amazon.com, and Movie Critic, recommend documents and products to consumers. Typically, the recommendations are based on content and/or collaborative filtering methods. The authors examine the merits of these methods, suggest that preference models used in marketing offer good alternatives, and describe a Bayesian preference model that allows statistical integration of five types of information useful for making recommendations: a person’s expressed preferences, preferences of other consumers, expert evaluations, item characteristics, and individual characteristics. The proposed method accounts for not only preference heterogeneity across users but also unobserved product heterogeneity by introducing the interaction of unobserved product attributes with customer characteristics. The authors describe estimation by means of Markov chain Monte Carlo methods and use the model with a large data set to recommend movies either when collaborative filtering methods ...
Sustained Neuromuscular Blockade after Vecuronium Use in a Premature Infant.

Background Prolonged use of neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) is very common in critically ill children both in pediatric and neonatal intensive care units. There are no guidelines available for use of NMBAs in children or neonates in the US, and the data for their safety in this age group is limited. Case Description Our case describes prolonged neuromuscular blockade following concurrent use of a NMBA along with aminoglycosides and steroids in the setting of renal failure in a premature infant. Conclusion Prolonged use of NMBAs in preterm infants should be avoided if possible or should be restricted to the shortest possible duration and the smallest possible physiologically effective dose. Concurrent use of NMBAs with aminoglycoside and steroids should be avoided, especially in the setting of renal failure.
Modulating Electrochemical Activity in Polyaniline/Titanium Oxide Hybrid Nanostructured Ultrathin Films

Hybrid and nanostructured ultrathin films of polyaniline (PANI) were fabricated using combined layer-by-layer (LbL) and surface sol−gel (SSG) processing with titanium oxide (TiOx) layers. This enabled modulation of the electrochemical and the doping−dedoping process of the electroactive conjugated polymer with respect to thickness, presence of another polyelectrolyte, and intercalation of the inorganic slabs. The structure, composition, and viscoelastic behavior were proven by UV−vis absorbance, FT-IR, XPS, and QCM-D measurements. Spectroelectrochemical behavior showed that the oxidative stability of the films brought about the nanostructure control of the LbL process. On the other hand, the presence of the inorganic layer resulted in preventing electron transfer based on quinoid to benzenoid, Q → B, transitions. Thus, pairing the LbL assembly and the SSG process yielded a highly ordered, tunable structure in which the electrochemical behavior was modulated and correlated with diffusion-related arguments ...
Effects of dialect on vowel acoustics and intelligibility

A great deal of recent research has focused on phonetic variation among American English vowels from different dialects. This body of research continues to grow as vowels continuously undergo diachronic formant changes that become characteristic of certain dialects. Two experiments using the Nationwide Speech Project corpus (Clopper & Pisoni 2006a) explored whether the Midland dialect is more closely related acoustically and perceptually to the Mid-Atlantic or to the Southern dialect. The goal of this study was to further our understanding of acoustic and perceptual differences between two of the most marked dialects (Mid-Atlantic and Southern) and one of the least marked dialects (Midland) of American English. Ten vowels in /hVd/ context produced by one male talker from each of these three dialects were acoustically analyzed and presented to Midland listeners for identification. The listeners showed the greatest vowel identification accuracy for the Mid-Atlantic talker (95.2%), followed by the Midland talker (92.5%), and finally the Southern talker (79.7%). Vowel error patterns were consistent with vowel acoustic differences between the talkers. The results suggest that, acoustically and perceptually, the Midland and Mid-Atlantic dialects are more similar than are the Midland and Southern dialects.
Alterations in serum proteins of hibernating hamsters.

Summary1) Alterations in various fractions of serum proteins and hematocrits were studied in hibernating and non-hibernating hamsters. 2) During hibernation the hematocrit, serum albumin and beta-globulins increased to a significant degree. The increase in beta-globulins was too large to be accounted for on the basis of simple hemoconcentration. Since concentrations of neither alpha1 nor alpha2-globulin increased, the data were interpreted to mean that total circulating quantity of these globulins decreased. A marked decline in concentration of gamma-globulin occurred.
Public Mass Shooters and Firearms: A Cross-National Study of 171 Countries

OBJECTIVE: Model the global distribution of public mass shooters around the world. METHOD: Negative binomial regression is used to test the effects of homicide rates, suicide rates, firearm ownership rates, and several control variables on public mass shooters per country from 1966 to 2012. RESULTS: The global distribution of public mass shooters appears partially attributable to cross-national differences in firearms availability but not associated with cross-national homicide or suicide rates. CONCLUSION: The United States and other nations with high firearm ownership rates may be particularly susceptible to future public mass shootings, even if they are relatively peaceful or mentally healthy according to other national indicators. Language: en
Основные Характеристики Динамики и Структуры Финансовой и Банковской Сферы России На Различных Этапах Современного Развития (1999-2012 Годы) (Main Characterisitcs of the Development and Structure of the Russian Financial and Bank System at Various Levels of Modern Development (1999-2012)

Russian Abstract: Развитие российской банковской системы разделяется на несколько этапов после системного кризиса 1998 г. Каждый из этапов характеризуется различными внешними параметрами и непосредственно реализуемыми стратегиями — денежной политикой, политикой в области привлечения средств, развитием финансовых рынков. На каждом этапе менялась структура институциональных финансовых потоков. Анализ этапов развития российской экономики и ее финансовой сферы представлен не только и не столько в контексте описания истории развития. Каждый из выделенных этапов представляет модель экономического развития (хотя далеко не их полный набор). Важнейшим выступает вопрос о выборе модели развития экономики России в текущем десятилетии. Экономический рост в идеальном случае должен сопровождаться не структурными диспропорциями, а, напротив, улучшением структуры институциональных финансовых потоков, предполагающей способность национальной финансовой сферы содействовать поступательному развитию и противодействовать внешним шокам.English Abstract: Evolution of the Russian bank system separates into several stages in the aftermath of the 1998 systemic crisis. Each of the stages is characterized by different external parameters and direct strategies of implementation: monetary policy, funds borrowing, financial markets development. At each of the stages structure of the institutional financial flows was changing. Analysis of the development stages of the Russian economy and its financial sphere is presented not only and not so much in the context of evolution description. Each of the stages represents economic development model ( however, far from a full one). Main issue is the selection of the economic development model for Russia in the current decade. Economic development ideally should be accompanied by not structural disproportions nut, on the contrary, improvement of the structure of institutional financial flows envisaging ability of the national financial system promote sustainable development and counteract external shocks.
Maternal Fructose Consumption Disrupts Brain Development of Offspring in a Murine Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Objective The objective of this study was to localize by neuroimaging the altered structural brain development of these offspring using an autism model of transgenic mice lacking contactin-associated protein-like 2 (Cntnap2). Materials and Methods Pregnant dams were randomly allocated to fructose solution (10% W/V) as only drinking fluid or water. Cntnap2 heterozygous (+/−) offspring from each group were euthanized at 6 months of age and their whole brains evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging. T2-weighted images were acquired to evaluate the volumes of 29 regions of interest involved in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) pathogenesis. Whole brains were washed and processed for Nissl staining. Mann–Whitney U test and one-way analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis (significance: p Results The corpus callosum, anterior commissure, and caudate putamen were significantly smaller in Cntnap2 (+/−) male offspring exposed to fructose. No brain alterations were found in the female counterparts. Nissl staining of the caudate putamen revealed higher neuronal cell count in the male fructose offspring. Female group revealed an increase in caudate putamen neuronal cell count. Conclusion Metabolic dysregulation in pregnancy alters fetal brain development in genetically predisposed offspring. This is consistent with findings in human studies and supports the role of intrauterine factors in the etiology of autism.
Navigational conditions of entrance area of downstream approach channel in Qianwei navigation-power junction on the Minjiang river

The riverbed of entrance area of downstream approach channel and downstream connection in the Qianwei hydro-junction is high on the left and low on the right,and the flow condition at the entrance area is very complicated.Based on the analysis of the test of Qianwei hydro-junction model and ship model,we propose the measures for improving navigational conditions of entrance area of downstream approach channel in the Qianwei navigation-power junction on the Minjiang River.The test result shows that it's effective to expand the downstream excavation scope,retain the original riverbed properly and adjust the open manners of the flood discharge(scouring sluice) gate reasonably.
Perspectives for anaerobic digestion.

The modern society generates large amounts of waste that represent a tremendous threat to the environment and human and animal health. To prevent and control this, a range of different waste treatment and disposal methods are used. The choice of method must always be based on maximum safety, minimum environmental impact and, as far as possible, on valorization of the waste and final recycling of the end products. One of the main trends of today’s waste management policies is to reduce the stream of waste going to landfills and to recycle the organic material and the plant nutrients back to the soil. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is one way of achieving this goal and it will, furthermore, reduce energy consumption or may even be net energy producing. This chapter aims at provide a basic understanding of the world in which anaerobic digestion is operating today. The newest process developments as well as future perspectives will be discussed.
Current Research and Development in Computer-Aided Process Design

This paper presents initially an overview of the design effort as carried out in a typical industrial environment, discussing in particular several of the large number of computer aids currently in use. Examples include flowsheeting programs, mechanical design of heat exchangers and pressure vessels, drafting aids and a relatively new interest in using Data Base Management Systems to ease the problems of handling the myriad of data associated with using many of the other aids throughout the life of a design project.
A PetaFLOPS Supercomputer as a Campus Resource: Innovation, Impact, and Models for Locally-Owned High Performance Computing at Research Colleges and Universities

In 1997, Indiana University (IU) began a purposeful and steady drive to expand the use of supercomputers and what we now call cyberinfrastructure. In 2001, IU implemented the first 1 TFLOPS supercomputer owned by and operated for a single US University. In 2013, IU made an analogous investment and achievement at the 1 PFLOPS level: Big Red II, a Cray XE6/XK7, was the first supercomputer capable of 1 PFLOPS (theoretical) performance that was a dedicated university resource. IU's high performance computing (HPC) resources have fostered innovation in disciplines from biology to chemistry to medicine. Currently, 185 disciplines and sub disciplines are represented on Big Red II with a wide variety of usage needs. Quantitative data suggest that investment in this supercomputer has been a good value to IU in terms of academic achievement and federal grant income. Here we will discuss how investment in Big Red II has benefited IU, and argue that locally-owned computational resources (scaled appropriately to needs and budgets) may be of benefit to many colleges and universities. We will also discuss software tools under development that will aid others in quantifying the benefit of investment in high performance computing to their campuses.
AVALIAÇÃO DA EFETIVIDADE DOS PEQUENOS PROJETOS AGROINDUSTRIAIS NO TERRITÓRIO DO BICO DO PAPAGAIO - TO

O trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a efetividade de alguns dos projetos economicos desenvolvidos principalmente pelos agricultores familiares do Territorio do Bico do Papagaio – TO. O Territorio e caracterizado por ser uma regiao pobre, com baixo PIB per capita, relativamente populosa e fortemente influenciada pela agricultura familiar. A avaliacao de projetos foi feita em 05 (cinco) empreendimentos, onde foram aplicados questionarios e realizadas entrevistas aos responsaveis e envolvidos especificamente, casas de farinha e de mel. Dos projetos avaliados, 80%, encontram-se abandonados e/ou incompletos, nao exercendo suas funcoes socioeconomicas. Nos projetos do Territorio do Bico do Papagaio foi constatada uma relacao direta entre a capacidade de planejamento e, principalmente, de execucao com os impactos positivos dos projetos.
A new experimental testing method for investigation of creep-dominant creep-fatigue interaction in alloy 617 at 950 °C

Abstract An experimental testing procedure is proposed for generating creep-dominant creep-fatigue interaction in Alloy 617 at 950 °C. Most experimental studies on Alloy 617 at elevated temperatures employ a purely strain-controlled loading waveform with a tensile hold period. Strain-controlled loading can only generate interaction in the fatigue-dominant regime of the damage interaction diagram, due to the saturation effect of increasing hold time on cycle life. This saturation is caused by the rapid stress relaxation of Alloy 617 at high temperatures. Design codes for components undergoing creep-fatigue interaction at high temperatures require creep-fatigue testing data in the creep-dominant regime. This study investigates multiple creep-fatigue loading waveforms with the objective of producing creep-dominant interaction. The custom loading waveforms are implemented on a servo-hydraulic load frame with a furnace. A hybrid-control scheme with strain-controlled ramps and load-controlled hold periods is proposed due to its flexibility in generating varying proportions of creep and fatigue damage. Experimental data is presented and different loading schemes are compared. Special emphasis is on the creep and fatigue damage contributions by the newly proposed testing method. Several conclusions are discussed and an extension of this current work is suggested to improve the damage interaction diagram for design purposes.
Academic Achievement Deficits and Their Neuropsychological Correlates in Children Born Extremely Preterm.

Author(s): Akshoomoff, Natacha; Joseph, Robert M.; Taylor, H. Gerry; Allred, Elizabeth N.; Heeren, Timothy; O'Shea, Thomas M.; Kuban, Karl K. | Abstract: ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the risks associated with learning disabilities (LD) in a large sample of children born extremely preterm. We predicted higher than expected rates of LD, particularly in math, and children with LD in math, reading, or both would have lower IQs and specific patterns of neuropsychological deficits.MethodWe evaluated academic achievement, rates of LD, and their neuropsychological correlates in the Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn (ELGAN) Study cohort of 10-year-old children born at 23 to 27 weeks gestational age. Primary analyses focused on children without intellectual disability (verbal IQ g 70 and nonverbal IQ g 70; N=668). Low achievement was defined as a standard score ≤ 85 on the reading or math measures.ResultsThe risk of low math achievement scores (27%) was 1.5 times higher than the risk of low reading achievement scores (17%). Children were classified as having LD based on low achievement criteria in reading only (RD, 6.4% of sample), math only (MD, 16.2%), both reading and math (RD/MD, 8.3%), or no reading or math disabilities (No LD, 69.1%). Although all three LD groups had multiple neuropsychological weaknesses compared to the No LD group, the RD and MD groups had different patterns of neuropsychological impairment.ConclusionThese children from the ELGAN cohort had higher than expected rates of LD, particularly in mathematics, even after taking socioeconomic status into consideration. These results point to specific cognitive weaknesses that differ between extremely preterm children with RD and MD and the utility of neuropsychological assessments in addressing low academic achievement.
The Concentration-Compactness Rigidity Method for Critical Dispersive and Wave Equations

In these lectures I will describe a program (which I will call the concentrationcompactness/rigidity method) that Frank Merle and I have been developing to study critical evolution problems. The issues studied center around global wellposedness and scattering. The method applies to nonlinear dispersive and wave equations in both defocusing and focusing cases.
The effect of public versus private decision environment on the use of the net present value investment criterion

Public and private sector managers make investment decisions under uncertainty. Economic efficiency requires that managers who wish to maximize expected utility use NPV. A field test reports that a lower proportion of public managers (20%) utilize NPV than private managers (46%). This difference is significant at p = .01 in both logistic regression and chi-square tests for three competing, but not mutually exclusive, reasons. First, taxpayers are a primary source of capital. Taxation decisions are primarily political events and inefficiency is less likely to be disciplined by capital withdrawal. Second, it is more difficult to estimate expected benefits and costs. Third, investment decisions are often the result of political, not economic, processes. The objective may not be maximization of NPV.
Successful Return to Sport Following Distal Femoral Varus Osteotomy.

OBJECTIVE Distal femoral varus osteotomy (DFVO) is an effective treatment for unloading valgus knee malalignment; however, there is limited evidence on the ability for patients to return to athletics following this procedure. The purpose of this study is to report the functional outcomes and rate of return to sport for athletes that underwent DFVO. DESIGN A consecutive series of athletes that had undergone DFVO were retrospectively reviewed. Radiographs were assessed to determine preoperative and postoperative alignment. Institutional registries were used to collect preoperative and postoperative Marx Activity Scale, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Evaluation Form scores, and return to sport. RESULTS Thirteen patients (8 males, 5 females) with a mean age of 24 years (range 17-35 years) and a mean follow-up of 43 months (range 24-74 months) were included in the study. Six patients underwent medial closing wedge DFVO versus 7 patients who underwent lateral opening wedge DFVO. Nine of 13 had concomitant chondral, meniscal, or ligamentous procedures performed. The mean alignment correction was 8° (range 5°-13°). All patients were able to successfully return to sport at a mean of 11 months (range 9-13 months). Furthermore, all 13 patients demonstrated an improvement in both Marx Activity Scale (4-11; P < 0.01) and IKDC scores (53-89; P < 0.01) after surgery. CONCLUSIONS Correction of valgus knee malalignment through DFVO-either medial closing wedge or lateral opening wedge-can reliably result in improvement in function and return to sport. Concomitant chondral, meniscal, and ligamentous pathology should be addressed.
A novel image enhancement method of 3D medical images by transforming the 3D images to 2D grayscale images

The proposed method is a novel image enhancement for color medical images. In this method, the 3-D medical image is transformed first to the 2-D grayscale image and then the enhancement algorithms, either in frequency domain or spatial domain, are applied to the grayscale image. This paper describes the enhancement effects on the medical images by the proposed transformation model and then the enhancement by the alpha-rooting method, for the frequency domain algorithm, and the histogram equalization, for the spatial domain enhancement algorithm. The enhancement is quantitatively measured with respect to the metric which is called the color enhancement measure estimation (CEME). The proposed method is showing good CEME values as compared to the original images.
Representation, indexing, and retrieval of biological cases for biologically inspired design

Biologically inspired design is an increasingly popular design paradigm. Biologically inspired design differs from many traditional case-based reasoning tasks because it employs cross-domain analogies. The wide differences in biological source cases and technological target problems present challenges for determining what would make good or useful schemes for case representation, indexing, and adaptation. In this paper, we provide an information-processing analysis of biologically inspired design, a scheme for representing knowledge of designs of biological systems, and a computational technique for automatic indexing and retrieval of biological analogues of engineering problems. Our results highlight some important issues that a case-based reasoning system must overcome to succeed in supporting biologically inspired design.
Climatic control on eutrophication of the Hudson River estuary.

Eutrophication is arguably the biggest pollution problem facing estuaries globally, with extensive consequences including anoxic and hypoxic waters, reduced fishery harvests, toxic algal blooms, and loss of biotic diversity. However, estuaries vary greatly in their susceptibility to eutrophication. The Hudson River estuary receives very high levels of nutrient inputs yet in the past has shown relatively low rates of phytoplankton productivity and is generally considered to be only moderately susceptible to eutrophication. Here, we show that eutrophication and primary production in the Hudson estuary can increase dramatically in response to climatic variation and lowered freshwater discharge from the watershed. During dry summer periods in 1995 and 1997, rates of primary production were substantially higher than those measured during the 1970s, when freshwater discharge tended to be high. In the Hudson, low freshwater discharge increases water residence times and stratification and deepens the photic zone, all of which (alone or in combination) could lead to the observed increase in primary production. Our data, along with the prediction of most climate change models that freshwater discharge will be lower in the future during the summer in the northeastern US, suggest that the Hudson will become more susceptible to eutrophication. Eutrophication in an estuary is a complex process, and climate change is likely to affect each estuary differently due to interactions with nutrient loadings and physical circulation. Hence, it is essential to consider the effects of climate change in the context of individual estuarine functioning to successfully manage eutrophication in the future.
Spatial Ecology of Rock Rattlesnakes (Crotalus lepidus) in Far West Texas

Abstract Little is known about the ecology and behavior of Rock Rattlesnakes (Crotalus lepidus) despite the species' wide geographic distribution throughout the southwestern United States and central Mexico. The goal of this study was to quantify space use, movement patterns, and habitat use by C. lepidus in the Chihuahuan Desert of extreme west Texas. We used radiotelemetry to monitor subjects during at least one activity season from 2007 to 2010. Mean (±1 SE) home range size for all individuals was 13.69 ± 3.06 ha, and mean daily movement rate was 8.46 ± 1.45 m/d. Although monthly movement rates were similar, movement was greatest in September, corresponding with the peak of the mating season for C. lepidus at our study site. We used multinomial logit models to analyze habitat use patterns among telemetered snakes while controlling for subject, estimated habitat availability, and season. Our subjects were most often observed using small arroyos, despite these habitats being relatively limited spatially ...
On Cyber Threats to Smart Digital Environments

Cyber threats and attacks have significantly increased in complexity and quantity throughout this past year. In this paper, the top fifteen cyber threats and trends are articulated in detail to provide awareness throughout the community and raising awareness. Specific attack vectors, mitigation techniques, kill chain and threat agents addressing Smart Digital Environments (SDE), including Internet of Things (IoT), are discussed. Due to the rising number of IoT and embedded firmware devices within ubiquitous computing environments such as smart homes, smart businesses and smart cities, the top fifteen cyber threats are being used in a comprehensive manner to take advantage of vulnerabilities and launch cyber operations using multiple attack vectors. What began as ubiquitous, or pervasive, computing is now matured to smart environments where the vulnerabilities and threats are widespread.
Awakened: The Potential for Mobilization to Reshape Interest in Politics

Interest in politics has been repeatedly shown to be a substantively important precursor to political participation. Unfortunately, sources of its variation beyond childhood socialization remain under-explored. This is likely due to a widespread belief that interest is intractable: “You’ve either got it or you don’t.” In response, I enumerate several mechanisms through which political mobilization might be expected to shift interest. This potential is then tested using a well-established most-likely case: the 2012 presidential campaign. A difference-in-differences analysis finds that residents of battleground states exhibit a notable increase in political interest between 2010 and 2014 compared to those in “spectator” states and an alternative specification using field office placement implicates campaign mobilization directly in precipitating this change. The magnitude of the estimated effect is equivalent to over 150,000 entirely disinterested North Carolinians becoming fully engaged who would have remained apathetic had they lived in Georgia. The change is concentrated among those without college degrees, indicating mobilization may compensate for marginalizing conditions. Further evidence shows the effect resulted in increased political knowledge and lingered into 2016. Overall, this analysis demonstrates that political mobilization can shift interest and underscores the importance of understanding how recruitment can reshape the motivations of the electorate.
A topological study of functional data and Fréchet functions of metric measure spaces

We study the persistent homology of both functional data on compact topological spaces and structural data presented as compact metric measure spaces. One of our goals is to define persistent homology so as to capture primarily properties of the shape of a signal, eliminating otherwise highly persistent homology classes that may exist simply because of the nature of the domain on which the signal is defined. We investigate the stability of these invariants using metrics that downplay regions where signals are weak. The distance between two signals is small if they exhibit high similarity in regions where they are strong, regardless of the nature of their full domains, in particular allowing different homotopy types. Consistency and estimation of persistent homology of metric measure spaces from data are studied within this framework. We also apply the methodology to the construction of multi-scale topological descriptors for data on compact Riemannian manifolds via metric relaxations derived from the heat kernel.
Artificial Intelligence: Lessons Learned from Radiology

Artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to increase its significant impact on the everyday acquisition, interpretation, and application of data in our healthcare system. It is difficult to predi...
Increased Prevalence of Vestibular Loss in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease

BACKGROUND/AIMS Recent evidence has shown that Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients have reduced vestibular function relative to healthy controls. In this study, we evaluated whether patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) also have reduced vestibular function relative to controls, and compared the level of vestibular impairment between MCI and AD patients. METHODS Vestibular physiologic function was assessed in 77 patients (26 MCI, 51 AD) and 295 matched controls using 3 clinical vestibular tests. The association between vestibular loss and cognitive impairment was evaluated using conditional logistic regression models. RESULTS Individuals with vestibular impairment had a 3 to 4-fold increased odds of being in the MCI vs. control group (p-values < 0.05). MCI patients had a level of vestibular impairment that was intermediate between controls and AD. CONCLUSION These findings suggest a dose-response relationship between vestibular loss and cognitive status, and support the hypothesis that vestibular loss contributes to cognitive decline.
Making and Scheduling Citizens: Political Time and the Democratic Potential of Hurricanes

ABSTRACTThis article supplements the one-sided diet of spatial concepts, metaphors, and case studies used by scholars to feed our thinking on how everyday people become collective political agents....
Characterizing Herdability of Signed Networks via Graph Walks

Herdability, as a variant of controllability, indicates the capability of driving system states to a specific subset of the state space. This paper investigates the topological characterizations of the herdability of signed networked systems. Specifically, a dynamic signed leader-follower network is considered, where a small subset of the network nodes (i.e., the leaders) are endowed with exogenous control input and the rest nodes are influenced by the leaders via the underlying network connectivity. The considered network allows positive and negative edges to capture cooperative and competitive interactions, thus resulting a signed graph. Motivated by the practical applications, the systems states are required to be driven by the leaders to be element-wise larger than a positive threshold, i.e., a specific subset rather than the entire state space as in the classical controllability. To study the herdability of signed leader-follower networks, this work extends the results of [1] and characterizes topological structures of herdable networks. In particular, graph walk is exploited to develop sufficient conditions ensuring the herdability of signed networks via 1-walks and 2-walks. These results are then extended to acyclic graphs with multiple walks. Examples are provided to illustrate the developed topological characterizations.
Human papilloma virus-associated metachronous squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx and uterine cervix: Case report and review of the literature.

Abstract 60 year old woman with a history of laryngeal carcinoma-HPV 16 positive, presents seven years later with an abnormal Pap smear. Cervical biopsy showed squamous cell carcinoma. Clinical stage was IB1. Patient underwent open radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy. Based on pathologic findings no adjuvant therapy was recommended. Uterine cervix carcinoma was also positive for HPV-16. There are no guidelines for cervical cancer screening in patients with laryngeal cancer and vice versa. Our recommendation is that patient with HPV-positive laryngeal cancer should be encouraged HPV vaccine as current guidelines, but more frequent screening, as recommended for women with specific co-morbid conditions, needs to be investigated. Research is needed to assess the role of screening for laryngeal cancer in women with cervical cancer and the effect of HPV vaccine on laryngeal cancer prevention.
Conceptualizing unilateralism, fragmentationism and statism in a populism context – a rise of populist International Law?

The rise of populist governments around the world has attracted a great deal of attention from international law scholars. The field of international law witnesses a range of studies analyzing recent populist movements and their impact on international law, in particular, in the fields of trade, environment, human rights and migration. However, existing literature focusing on the Global South is scant. Nonetheless, as populism is essentially linked to nativism, jingoism, and authoritarianism, the South countries need to be investigated as well, given their close association with nationalism and localism especially when they came to participate in the rule-of-law dialogues. This article fills the gap by offering some insights to the understanding of populism from three perspectives: behaviors, regimes and actors, and cautions that populism places global justice and rule of law at a high stake of risk.
Enlightenment and the Creation of German Catholicism

1. Introduction Part I. Perfect Societies: Rethinking the Church and the State: 2. The liberty of the German church: Febronianism and the German Gallicans 3. The German church and the absolute state 4. Church and empire in the eighteenth century 5. Collegialism: the rise of the state, and the redefinition of the church Part II. The Universal Church and the University Class: 6. Catholic enlightenment and the search for a bourgeois Catholicism 7. A program for reform 8. Pastors of enlightenment: reforming the secular clergy 9. Gallican longings: nation and religion in the German enlightenment 10. Conclusion.
Heat Capacities from 11 to 305° K and Entropies of Hydrated and Anhydrous Bovine Zinc Insulin and Bovine Chymotrypsinogen A ENTROPY CHANGE FOR FORMATION OF PEPTIDE BONDS

Abstract 1. Heat capacities from 11–305°K have been measured for crystalline bovine zinc insulin containing 4% water and for crystalline chymotrypsinogen A containing 10.7% water. Both proteins were then studied in the anhydrous state. Heat capacities, entropies, (H° - H0°)/T, and -(G° - H0°)/ T are tabulated as functions of temperature for the anhydrous materials. For the hydrated samples only heat capacities and entropies are tabulated. 2. No elevated heat capacities for the hydrated samples were noted in the region 250–275°K; i.e. there was no evidence of the fusion of ice. Values of the apparent molal heat capacity of water in the proteins are calculated. 3.The average value for the entropy of formation of a peptide bond is 9.3 cal deg-1 per bond for insulin and 9.0 cal deg-1 per bond for chymotrypsinogen A which is close to the value observed in the formation of the bond in dipeptides.
Autophagy precedes caspase-independent cell death in chemo-resistant ovarian cancer cells

3216 Introduction: The role of autophagy in cancer is controversial. Initially autophagy was thought to represent an alternative pathway for cell death. However, more recently it has been suggested to play a role in tumor survival. In this study we describe how the induction of autophagy by a novel isoflavone derivative, NV128, induce cell death in chemo-resistant ovarian cancer cells. Methods: Eight primary cultures and two established epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cell lines were treated with increasing concentrations of NV128 (0.1, 1, and 10 ug/ml) with or without the pan-caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK. Cell viability was determined after 24h using the Celltiter 96 assay. DNA fragmentation was analyzed by flow cytometry with Hoechst and Propidium iodide staining. Activity of caspases- 3/7, -8, and -9 was measured using Caspase-Glo assay. Autophagic markers LC3-II and Beclin-1 was determined by Western blot analysis. Results: NV128 treatment decreased cell viability in all tested EOC cells lines in a dose-dependent manner with IC50 between 1 and 5 ug/ml. Flow cytometry analysis revealed DNA fragmentation, with Hoechst and Propidium iodide double-positive cells increasing 2-4 fold after NV128 treatment. However, cell death was caspase independent as evidenced by the lack of caspases- 3/7, -8, and -9 activity and the inability of the caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK, to prevent cell death. Western blot analysis of autophagic markers showed early involvement of LC3-II and Beclin-1. Conclusion: We demonstrate that induction of autophagy by NV128 in chemo-resistant ovarian cancer cells is able to promote caspase- independent cell death. Our results suggest that the autophagic pathway can be an alternative target in EOC cells, especially those that are highly resistant to apoptosis.
Family Law Federalism and the Origins of Modern Divorce Law

The United States Supreme Court decided a series of cases at the intersection of federalism and family law during the 1940s and 1950s. In these cases, beginning with Williams v. North Carolina, the Court applied the Full Faith and Credit Clause to disputes over interstate recognition of divorce and custody decrees. This article argues that these cases shifted the normative boundaries of state power over domestic relations and made several important changes in the law of divorce. In implementing a new approach to interstate divorce disputes, the Court embraced no-fault and mutual consent approaches to jurisdiction over divorce, helping to clear the way for the divorce reforms of later decades. By separating the test for jurisdiction to enter a divorce decree from the test for jurisdiction over its financial and custodial aspects, the Court signaled that the incidents of marriage were a more appropriate state concern than divorce prevention. Although these cases preceded the Court's turn toward a new substantive due process approach to family law in the 1960s, the opinions evidence a strong concern for the individual interests involved in marriage and divorce, and this concern is central to the Court's redefinition of state power over divorce.
Ceramic Matrix Composites

Ceramic materials in general have a very attractive package of properties: high strength and high stiffness at very high temperatures, chemical inertness, low density, and so on. This attractive package is marred by one deadly flaw, namely, an utter lack of toughness. They are prone to catastrophic failures in the presence of flaws (surface or internal). They are extremely susceptible to thermal shock and are easily damaged during fabrication and/or service. It is therefore understandable that an overriding consideration in ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) is to toughen the ceramics by incorporating fibers in them and thus exploit the attractive high-temperature strength and environmental resistance of ceramic materials without risking a catastrophic failure. It is worth pointing out at the very outset that there are certain basic differences between CMCs and other composites. The general philosophy in nonceramic matrix composites is to have the fiber bear a greater proportion of the applied load. This load partitioning depends on the ratio of fiber and matrix elastic moduli, Ef/Em. In nonceramic matrix composites, this ratio can be very high, while in CMCs, it is rather low and can be as low as unity; think of alumina fiber reinforced alumina matrix composite. Another distinctive point regarding CMCs is that because of limited matrix ductility and generally high fabrication temperature, thermal mismatch between components has a very important bearing on CMC performance. The problem of chemical compatibility between components in CMCs has ramifications similar to those in, say, MMCs. We first describe some of the processing techniques for CMCs, followed by a description of some salient characteristics of CMCs regarding interface and mechanical properties and, in particular, the various possible toughness mechanisms, and finally a description of some applications of CMCs.
Changes in the Serum Cholesterol Levels of Male College Students Who Participated in a Special Physical Exercise Program

Abstract This study attempted to determine the possible changes in the serum cholesterol levels of male college students who participated in a vigorous physical exercise program, as conducted in a college physical education class. The two parallel groups of male freshman college students who served as subjects were considered to have “low fitness” and a relatively high level of serum cholesterol. The control group participated in no physical education classes nor strenuous recreational activities while the exercise group was in a special physical education class which met for 35 minutes three times a week over a ten-week period. Although the exercise group improved significantly more in physical fitness than the control group, the difference between the final serum cholesterol levels of the two groups was not significant.
DSGE Models: I Smell a Rat (and It Smells Good)

DSGE models have now reached a point where they can and do serve an important role in the monetary policy process. From the standpoint of real-world policymaking, however, there remain important areas of omission and coarse approximation in these models. I argue that macroeconomics should follow other fields such as toxicology in having a formal literature on how best to use models that are far from perfect as a basis for public policy.
Replicated Data Placement for Uncertain Scheduling

Scheduling theory is a common tool to analyze the performance of parallel and distributed computing systems, such as their load balance. How to distribute the input data to be able to execute a set of tasks in a minimum amount of time can be modeled as a scheduling problem. Often these models assume that the computation time required for each task is known accurately. However in many practical case, only approximate values are available at the time of scheduling. In this paper, we investigate how replicating the data required by the tasks can help coping with the inaccuracies of the processing times. In particular, we investigate the problem of scheduling independent tasks to optimize the make span on a parallel system where the processing times of the tasks are only known up to a multiplicative factor. The problem is decomposed in two phases: a first offline phase where the data of the tasks are placed and a second online phase where the tasks are actually scheduled. For this problem we investigate three different strategies, each allowing a different degree of replication of tasks: a) No Replication b) Replication everywhere and c) Replication in groups. We propose approximation algorithms and theoretical lower bound on achievable approximation ratios. This allows us to study the trade off between the number of replication and the guarantee on the makespan.
Aging, Financial Literacy, and Fraud

This study examines how cognitive changes associated with aging impact the financial decision making capability of older Americans. We find that a decrease in cognition is associated with a decrease in financial literacy. Decreases in episodic memory, perceptual speed, and visuospatial ability are associated with a decrease in numeracy, and decreases in episodic and semantic memory are associated with a decrease in financial knowledge. A decrease in cognition also predicts a drop in self-confidence in general, but importantly, it is not associated with a drop in confidence in managing one's own finances. Participants experiencing decreases in cognition do show an increased likelihood of getting help with financial decisions; however, many participants experiencing significant drops in cognition still do not get help. This study also examines the risk factors for an older American being victimized by financial fraud. We find that overconfidence in one’s financial knowledge is a significant predictor of the odds of falling victim.
Cloud organization and growth during the transition from suppressed to active MJO conditions

During the Dynamics of the Madden-Julian Oscillation/Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) Investigation Experiment field experiment in the Indian Ocean, the National Center for Atmospheric Research dual-polarimetric S- and Ka-band radar (S-PolKa) radar observed three active Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) events. These events were separated by suppressed periods characterized by shallower, more isolated convection and relatively little rainfall. The sensitivity of S-PolKa allowed investigation of the initiation and organization of both nonprecipitating and precipitating clouds. Early in the suppressed periods, shallow nonprecipitating clouds occurred in shear-parallel lines along apparent boundary layer rolls during early morning. Once some of the clouds began to precipitate, small cold pools formed below the showers. By afternoon, the lines all but disappeared with nonprecipitating clouds instead forming along the edges of cold pools. All such convection was limited in depth early in suppressed periods. As the suppressed environment gained moisture, the nonprecipitating clouds were able to grow to larger size, with the deepest precipitating clouds occurring in clusters at intersections of cold pool boundaries by afternoon. Upscale growth into mesoscale convective systems was observed as the suppressed periods transitioned into active MJO phases, contributing to overnight precipitation during the later part of the suppressed period. This study demonstrates the need for models to accurately represent the organization and evolution of nonprecipitating clouds in association with boundary layer dynamics under suppressed conditions of the MJO, prior to the occurrence of precipitating clouds and their cold pools.
Popular Attitudes Toward Market Economic Principles and Institutional Reform in Transition Economies

Transition countries display generally low levels of public support for market economic principles during the 1990s—but more successful countries display more support than less successful countries. The attitude difference is not just the result of transition speed or success. Rather, the data suggest that the varying levels of public support toward market economic principles existed initially and are a cause of the distinct transition trajectories. Different historical legacies affected popular attitudes long before the watershed moment of 1990.