cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structure of Human NatA and Its Regulation by the Huntingtin Interacting Protein HYPK.

Summary Co-translational N-terminal protein acetylation regulates many protein functions including degradation, folding, interprotein interactions, and targeting. Human NatA (hNatA), one of six conserved metazoan N-terminal acetyltransferases, contains Naa10 catalytic and Naa15 auxiliary subunits, and associates with the intrinsically disordered Huntingtin yeast two-hybrid protein K (HYPK). We report on the crystal structures of hNatA and hNatA/HYPK, and associated biochemical and enzymatic analyses. We demonstrate that hNatA contains unique features: a stabilizing inositol hexaphosphate (IP 6 ) molecule and a metazoan-specific Naa15 domain that mediates high-affinity HYPK binding. We find that HYPK harbors intrinsic hNatA-specific inhibitory activity through a bipartite structure: a ubiquitin-associated domain that binds a hNaa15 metazoan-specific region and an N-terminal loop-helix region that distorts the hNaa10 active site. We show that HYPK binding blocks hNaa50 targeting to hNatA, likely limiting Naa50 ribosome localization in vivo . These studies provide a model for metazoan NAT activity and HYPK regulation of N-terminal acetylation.
Interaction between corruption and the GATT-WTO trade effect: a panel data analysis

Using cross-country time series data for 133 countries between 1984 and 2010, and implementing a fixed effects Poisson estimator using the gravity model of trade, we study the interaction between domestic and partner-country corruption and the treatment effect of a country joining the GATT-WTO on bilateral trade. The results highlight two sources of asymmetry in the effect of corruption on bilateral trade. First, exports rather than imports are found to be affected due to corruption and second, domestic corruption is found to be detrimental to exports from the GATT-WTO members to the non-member nations, but favorable to exports from the non-member countries to the GATT members. The results suggest the importance of accounting for institutional heterogeneity of countries to explain mixed results on the effectiveness of the GATT-WTO for global trade.
Prebiotics of Plant and Microbial Origin

The food industry is constantly shifting focus based on what is most important to the consumer. Products are marketed currently that are believed to provide health benefits to the consumer such as beneficial effects on health or as disease preventatives. Much of the focus is on oligosaccharides as health-promoting substrates. Many oligosaccharides are resistant to digestion and absorption by mammalian enzymes and, therefore, reach the large bowel where they may be fermented by the resident bacteria. Beyond their potential as substrates for fermentation, oligosaccharides are popular food additives due in large part to their low caloric value and their ability to enhance mineral absorption. Health benefits include alleviation of constipation, reduced risk of infection and diarrhea, and improved immune response. Many oligosaccharides modulate microbiota of the large bowel by increasing bifidobacteria and lactobacilli populations and decreasing clostridia populations. This review will describe the manufacturing processes for select non-digestible oligosaccharides and other food ingredients currently classified as prebiotics and those with prebiotic potential.
Phototherapy of Psoriasis and Other Skin Diseases

One specific aspect of photomedicine is the use of nonionizing electromagnetic radiation to treat disease. Heliotherapy has been prescribed since ancient times for a wide variety of illnesses. The Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded to Niels Finsen in 1903 for demonstrating the usefulness of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the treatment of a form of cutaneous tuberculosis. Erysipelas and other infections, both cutaneous and internal, have been treated with UV radiation and sunlight and artificial UV sources were used in the prevention and treatment of rickets. For most of these disorders, specific chemotherapy has replaced phototherapy. However, some forms of phototherapy are still quite useful. Visible light phototherapy is an effective treatment for hyperbilirubinemia of infants. This therapy is discussed in Chapter 16. UV radiation is used to treat skin diseases and to relieve certain forms of itching and, in both cases, offers advantages over other available forms of treatment. This UV phototherapy is the topic of the present chapter.
Nationalism: Contemporary Issues

While the term ‘nationalism’ is relatively new—dating back only about 150 years—the general concept has been around since the 14th century and the Holy Roman Empire. Both the term and the concept continue to be problematic, for our understanding of ‘nationalism’ is still evolving. For example, a romantic view of nationalism might emphasize the elan among a people. A more aggressive view would point to the intolerance that such elan can produce toward those considered outsiders. Researchers have used a variety of methods to study nationalism, including historical description, cultural anthropology, content analysis, and survey research, but there is little agreement on the outcome. Today we can see the dilemma clearly in the debates surrounding such issues as ethnic cleansing (in which a group insists on its right to maintain its own nationalist ‘purity’) and the development of a united Europe (in which the traditional sense of nationalism may be replaced to a greater or lesser extent by a new sense of togetherness). As the jet–setters around the globe increasingly think of themselves as citizens of the world, it is useful to remember that the number of national entities continues to grow.
Antipsychotic Use and Stroke: A Retrospective Comparative Study in a Non-Elderly Population

Objective To evaluate stroke risk among users of typical antipsychotics compared to users of atypical antipsychotics in a non-elderly and non-demented US population. Methods New users of antipsychotics aged 18-64 years without dementia were identified via electronic health care data from 13 health plans participating in the Sentinel System from January 2001 to September 2015. The risk of hospitalized stroke events, identified via ICD-9-CM diagnostic criteria, was compared between typical and atypical antipsychotic users using 1:1 matching on propensity score. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs during the entire follow-up period and during 1- to 15-day and 16- to 90-day risk windows were estimated. The risk associated with haloperidol use was estimated separately. Results A total of 45,495 typical antipsychotic users were matched 1:1 to atypical antipsychotic users. While unmatched HRs suggest an increased stroke risk among typical antipsychotic users compared to atypical antipsychotic users, no increased risk was observed after matching during the entire follow-up period (HR = 0.87; 95% CI, 0.54-1.41), the 1- to 15-day risk window (HR = 1.16; 95% CI, 0.41-3.32), or the 16- to 90-day risk window (HR = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.20-1.36). The adjusted HR for haloperidol was 1.31 (95% CI, 0.54-3.21). Conclusion These findings were not suggestive of an increased stroke risk in typical antipsychotic users compared to atypical antipsychotic users in a non-elderly and non-demented population.
Labial and Maxillary Palp Recordings of the Asian Longhorned Beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, Reveal Olfactory and Hygroreceptive Capabilities

Electrophysiological recordings from the labial and maxillary palps of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, revealed their ability to detect several volatile chemicals, including water vapor and acetic acid. The results indicate that these appendages may play a large role in this beetle's assessment of its immediate environment. A. glabripennis is a highly destructive, invasive pest that feeds preferentially on maple - but accepts many other tree species - in North America, warranting USDA quarantine zones and an eradication program. While control and sampling techniques are being developed for this insect, a better understanding of its sensory capabilities is helpful. Electropalpograms (EPGs) revealed that both the maxillary and labial palps are highly sensitive to changes in humidity, indicating the presence of hygroreceptors and the likely important role of humidity in such things as feeding and finding water or oviposition sites. Strong EPG responses to a narrow set of volatile chemicals indicate that olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) on the palps may be tuned to a small number of volatile compounds. The types of odorant molecules eliciting responses indicate that there are likely both odorant receptors (ORs) as well as ionotropic receptors (IRs) expressed on the OSNs, enabling palp OSNs to be able to respond to acids and aldehydes such as acetic acid and butyraldehyde. There were no significant EPG responses to this species' trail-sex pheromone components, which may indicate that the trail pheromone is primarily perceived via gustatory receptors contacting the substrate. These results indicate that the palps have a role in the beetle's assessment of its immediate environment underfoot, and that the sampling of surface odors and humidity via mouth parts may be important to this species' success.
Electro-chemo-mechanical evolution of sulfide solid electrolyte/Li metal interfaces: operando analysis and ALD interlayer effects

Sulfide solid electrolyte (SE) materials show promise for high-performance solid-state batteries because of their high ionic conductivity and ease of processing. However, several sulfide electrolytes have suffered from chemical and electrochemical instability against Li metal anodes. Herein, we use a suite of operando microscopy and spectroscopy techniques to study the impact of artificial solid electrolyte interphases (SEI) on the electro-chemo-mechanical degradation of Li10GeP2S12 (LGPS) solid electrolytes. Al2O3 interlayers deposited using atomic layer deposition (ALD) are used as a model system to show that the application of artificial SEI interlayers can delay degradation at the Li/LGPS interface by modifying the solid electrolyte interphase chemistry and morphology. Optical and scanning electron microscopy are used to rationalize the electrochemical response of the system, which is attributed to a delayed onset of mechanical degradation at the interface when ALD interlayers are used. Operando X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates that the dynamic evolution of SEI chemistry is impacted by the presence of the ALD interlayer. Auger electron spectroscopy and operando optical microscopy provide visual evidence of spatial heterogeneity of Li plating, which is attributed to the chemo-mechanical degradation of the ALD interphase. The implications of these observations provide valuable insights toward the development of robust interlayers for solid-state batteries.
Androgen attenuates the inactivating phospho–Ser-127 modification of yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) and promotes YAP1 nuclear abundance and activity

The transcriptional coactivator YAP1 (yes-associated protein 1) regulates cell proliferation, cell–cell interactions, organ size, and tumorigenesis. Post-transcriptional modifications and nuclear translocation of YAP1 are crucial for its nuclear activity. The objective of this study was to elucidate the mechanism by which the steroid hormone androgen regulates YAP1 nuclear entry and functions in several human prostate cancer cell lines. We demonstrate that androgen exposure suppresses the inactivating post-translational modification phospho–Ser-127 in YAP1, coinciding with increased YAP1 nuclear accumulation and activity. Pharmacological and genetic experiments revealed that intact androgen receptor signaling is necessary for androgen's inactivating effect on phospho–Ser-127 levels and increased YAP1 nuclear entry. We also found that androgen exposure antagonizes Ser/Thr kinase 4 (STK4/MST1) signaling, stimulates the activity of protein phosphatase 2A, and thereby attenuates the phospho–Ser-127 modification and promotes YAP1 nuclear localization. Results from quantitative RT-PCR and CRISPR/Cas9–aided gene knockout experiments indicated that androgen differentially regulates YAP1-dependent gene expression. Furthermore, an unbiased computational analysis of the prostate cancer data from The Cancer Genome Atlas revealed that YAP1 and androgen receptor transcript levels correlate with each other in prostate cancer tissues. These findings indicate that androgen regulates YAP1 nuclear localization and its transcriptional activity through the androgen receptor–STK4/MST1–protein phosphatase 2A axis, which may have important implications for human diseases such as prostate cancer.
Generalized Kompaneets formalism for inelastic neutrino-nucleon scattering in supernova simulations

Based on the Kompaneets approximation, we develop a robust methodology to calculate spectral redistribution via inelastic neutrino-nucleon scattering in the context of core-collapse supernova simulations. The resulting equations conserve lepton number to machine precision and scale linearly, not quadratically, with number of energy groups. The formalism also provides an elegant means to derive the rate of energy transfer to matter which, as it must, automatically goes to zero when the neutrino radiation field is in thermal equilibrium. Furthermore, we derive the next higher order in $ϵ/m{c}^{2}$ correction to the neutrino Kompaneets equation. Unlike other Kompaneets schema, ours also generalizes to the case of anisotropic angular distributions, while retaining the conservative form that is a hallmark of the classical Kompaneets equation. Our formalism enables immediate incorporation into supernova codes that follow the spectral angular moments of the neutrino radiation fields.
Coordinated Motion Planning for On-Orbit Satellite Inspection using a Swarm of Small-Spacecraft

This paper addresses the problem of how to plan optimal motion for a swarm of on-orbit servicing (OOS) small-spacecraft remotely inspecting a non-cooperative client spacecraft in Earth orbit. With the goal being to maximize the information gathered from the coordinated inspection, we present an integrated motion planning methodology that is a) fuel-efficient to ensure extended operation time and b) computationally-tractable to make possible on-board re-planning for improved exploration. Our method is decoupled into first offline selection of optimal orbits, followed by online coordinated attitude planning. In the orbit selection stage, we numerically evaluate the upper and lower bounds of the information gain for a discretized set of passive relative orbits (PRO). The algorithm then sequentially assigns orbits to each spacecraft using greedy heuristics. For the attitude planning stage, we propose a dynamic programming (DP) based attitude planner capable of addressing vehicle and sensor constraints such as attitude control system specifications, sensor field of view, sensing duration, and sensing angle. Finally, we validate the performance of the proposed algorithms through simulation of a design reference mission involving 3U CubeSats inspecting a satellite in low Earth orbit.
Implications of Illinois Teacher Evaluation Reforms: Insights from Principals

This study investigated principals’ perceptions of Illinois teacher evaluation reforms, applying education policy implementation theory and micropolitics of personnel evaluation as conceptual frame...
Conserved tandem arginines for PbgA/YejM allow Salmonella to regulate LpxC and control lipopolysaccharide biogenesis during infection

ABSTRACT Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium uses PbgA/YejM, a conserved multi-pass transmembrane protein with a soluble periplasmic domain (PD), to balance the glycerophospholipid (GPL) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) concentrations within the outer membrane (OM). The lipid homeostasis and virulence defects of pbgAΔ191-586 mutants, which are deleted for the PD, can be suppressed by substitutions in three LPS regulators, LapB/YciM, FtsH, and LpxC. We reasoned that S. Typhimurium uses the PbgA PD to regulate LpxC through functional interactions with LapB and FtsH. In the stationary phase of growth, pbgAΔ191-586 mutants accumulated LpxC and overproduced LPS precursors, known as lipid A-core molecules. Trans-complementation fully decreased the LpxC and lipid A-core levels for the mutants, while substitutions in LapB, FtsH, and LpxC variably reduced the concentrations. PbgA binds lipid A-core, in part, using dual arginines, R215 and R216, which are located near the plasma membrane. Neutral, conservative, and non-conservative substitutions were engineered at these positions to test whether the side-chain charges for residues 215 and 216 influenced LpxC regulation. Salmonellae that expressed PbgA with dual alanines or aspartic acids overproduced LpxC, accumulated lipid A-core and short-LPS molecules, and were severely attenuated in mice. Bacteria that expressed PbgA with tandem lysines were fully virulent in mice and yielded LpxC and lipid A-core levels that were similar to the wild type. Thus, S. Typhimurium uses the cationic charge of PbgA R215 and R216 to down-regulate LpxC and decrease lipid A-core biosynthesis in response to host stress and this regulatory mechanism enhances their virulence during bacteremia. IMPORTANCE Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium causes self-limiting gastroenteritis in healthy individuals and severe systemic disease in immunocompromised humans. The pathogen manipulates the immune system of its host by regulating the lipid, protein, and polysaccharide content of the outer membrane (OM) bilayer. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) comprise the external leaflet of the OM, and are essential for establishing the OM barrier and providing gram-negative microbes with intrinsic antimicrobial resistance. LPS molecules are potent endotoxins and immunomodulatory ligands that bind host-pattern receptors, which control host resistance and adaptation during infection. Salmonellae use the cationic charge of dual arginines for PbgA/YejM to negatively regulate LPS biosynthesis. The mechanism involves PbgA binding to an LPS precursor and activating a conserved multi-protein signal transduction network that cues LpxC proteolysis, the rate-limiting enzyme. The cationic charge of the tandem arginines is critical for the ability of salmonellae to survive intracellularly and to cause systemic disease in mice.
Adolescent girls' stress responses as prospective predictors of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors: A person-centered, multilevel study.

Adolescent risk for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (STBs) involves disturbance across multiple systems (e.g., affective valence, arousal regulatory, cognitive and social processes). However, research integrating information across these systems is lacking. Utilizing a multiple-levels-of-analysis approach, this person-centered study identified psychobiological stress response profiles and linked them to cognitive processes, interpersonal behaviors, and STBs. At baseline, adolescent girls (N = 241, Mage = 14.68 years, Range = 12-17) at risk for STBs completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), questionnaires, and STB interviews. Positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and salivary cortisol (SC) were assessed before and after the TSST. STBs were assessed again during 3, 6, and 9 month follow-up interviews. Multitrajectory modeling of girls' PA, NA, and SC revealed four profiles, which were compared on cognitive and behavioral correlates as well as STB outcomes. Relative to normative, girls in the affective distress, hyperresponsive, and hyporesponsive subgroups were more likely to report negative cognitive style (all three groups) and excessive reassurance seeking (hyporesponsive only) at baseline, as well as nonsuicidal self-injury (all three groups) and suicidal ideation and attempt (hyporesponsive only) at follow-up. Girls' close friendship characteristics moderated several profile-STB links. A synthesis of the findings is presented alongside implications for person-centered tailoring of intervention efforts.
Humanizing Personhood

This paper explores the debate between personists, who argue that the concept of a person if of central importance for moral thought, and personists, who argue that the concept of a human being is of greater moral significance. On the one hand, it argues that normative naturalism, the most ambitious defense of the humanist position, fails to identify moral standards with standards of human behavior and thereby fails to undermine the moral significance of personhood. At the same time, it contends that a more focused attention on the morally relevant features of human life may indeed play a crucial role in enhancing our moral understanding.
The Trenches and Valleys of Corporate America: A Black Male Human Resource Leader’s Autoethnographic Account:

The ProblemIn predominantly White organizational contexts and professions, such as human resources, that are significantly occupied by non-Blacks, Black male leaders struggle with achieving career ...
Green's functions with applications

Acknowledgments Author Preface List of Definitions Historical Development Mr. Green's Essay Potential Equation Heat Equation Helmholtz's Equation Wave Equation Ordinary Differential Equations Background Material Fourier Transform Laplace Transform Bessel Functions Legendre Polynomials The Dirac Delta Function Green's Formulas What Is a Green's Function? Green's Functions for Ordinary Differential Equations Initial-Value Problems The Superposition Integral Regular Boundary-Value Problems Eigenfunction Expansion for Regular Boundary-Value Problems Singular Boundary-Value Problems Maxwell's Reciprocity Generalized Green's Function Integro-Differential Equations Green's Functions for the Wave Equation One-Dimensional Wave Equation in an Unlimited Domain One-Dimensional Wave Equation on the Interval 0 < x < L Axisymmetric Vibrations of a Circular Membrane Two-Dimensional Wave Equation in an Unlimited Domain Three-Dimensional Wave Equation in an Unlimited Domain Asymmetric Vibrations of a Circular Membrane Thermal Waves Diffraction of a Cylindrical Pulse by a Half-Plane Leaky Modes Water Waves Green's Functions for the Heat Equation Heat Equation over Infinite or Semi-Infinite Domains Heat Equation within a Finite Cartesian Domain Heat Equation within a Cylinder Heat Equation within a Sphere Product Solution Absolute and Convective Instability Green's Functions for the Helmholtz Equation Free-Space Green's Functions for Helmholtz's and Poisson's Equation Method of Images Two-Dimensional Poisson's Equation over Rectangular and Circular Domains Two-Dimensional Helmholtz Equation over Rectangular and Circular Domains Poisson's and Helmholtz's Equations on a Rectangular Strip Three-Dimensional Problems in a Half-Space Three-Dimensional Poisson's Equation in a Cylindrical Domain Poisson's Equation for a Spherical Domain Improving the Convergence Rate of Green's Functions Mixed Boundary Value Problems Numerical Methods Discrete Wavenumber Representation Laplace Transform Method Finite Difference Method Hybrid Method Galerkin Method Evaluation of the Superposition Integral Mixed Boundary Value Problems Appendix: Relationship between Solutions of Helmholtz's and Laplace's Equations in Cylindrical and Spherical Coordinates Answers to Some of the Problems Author Index Subject Index
Putting together the pieces of the puzzle: Traces of New Zealand in international school geography textbooks

How does a fairly remote space (the islands of New Zealand) contribute to the development of geographical literacy in the geography textbooks of post-socialist (Romania), Western (Germany) and post-colonial (Mexico) countries? A four-step analysis of three textbooks of international selection revealed different regionalisation cultures combined with traditional and recently implemented educational paradigms of geography education and led to a similar result. Despite the many ways in which New Zealand's geographical distinctiveness could be used to enhance geographical literacy, there are few operationalisations of educational targets that might contribute to sustainable long-term learning. Further, these results also offer a possible explanation for the absence of the ‘southern lands’ on students' cognitive maps of the world.
Semi-supervised learning for software quality estimation

A software quality estimation model is often built using known software metrics and fault data obtained from program modules of previously developed releases or similar projects. Such a supervised learning approach to software quality estimation assumes that fault data is available for all the previously developed modules. Considering the various practical issues in software project development, fault data may not be available for all the software modules in the training data. More specifically, the available labeled training data is such that a supervised learning approach may not yield good software quality prediction. In contrast, a supervised classification scheme aided by unlabeled data, i.e., semisupervised learning, may yield better results. This work investigates semisupervised learning with the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm for the software quality classification problem. Case studies of software measurement data obtained from two NASA software projects, JM1 and KC2, are used in our empirical investigation. A small portion of the JM1 dataset is randomly extracted and used as the labeled data, while the remaining JM1 instances are used as unlabeled data. The performance of the semisupervised classification models built using the EM algorithm is evaluated by using the KC2 project as a test dataset. It is shown that the EM-based semisupervised learning scheme improves the predictive accuracy of the software quality classification models.
Direct sequencing of terminal regions of genomic P1 clones: A general strategy for the design of sequence-tagged site markers☆

A method for the preparation of P1 DNA is presented, which allows the direct sequencing of ends of inserts in genomic P1 clones using the Applied Biosystems 373A DNA Sequencer and the Dye Terminator sequencing methodology. We surveyed several common methods of DNA preparation including alkaline lysis, Triton-lysozyme lysis, CsCl density-gradient purification, and a commercial column matrix DNA purification kit manufactured by Qiagen. We found that a modified alkaline lysis preparation of P1 DNA was most successful for generating P1 DNA that could be sequenced directly. We also noted that the host bacterial strain from which the P1 DNA was purified dramatically affected the quality of sequencing templates. The bacterial strains NS3145 and NS3529, in which the Drosophila melanogaster and human P1 genomic libraries are harbored, routinely yielded poor-quality sequencing templates. However, the bacterial strain DH10B routinely yielded P1 DNA that was sequenced successfully. A bacterial mating scheme is presented that exploits gamma delta transposition events to allow the transfer of P1 clones from the library host strain to DH10B. Using either an SP6 or a T7 primer, an average of 350 base pairs of DNA sequence was obtained with an uncalled base frequency of approximately 2%. About 4% of P1 end sequences generated corresponded to unique Drosophila loci present in the Genbank database. These single-pass DNA sequences were used to design sequence-tagged site markers for physical mapping studies in both humans and Drosophila.
Diethyl­ammonium 5‐phenyl­tetrazolate

The title compound, [(C2H5)2NH2]+[C6H5CN4]−, crystallizes as discrete ions, linked by two types of hydrogen bonds into one-dimensional chains. The dihedral angle between the aromatic rings in the anion is 22.20 (12)°. The negatively charged 5-phenyl­tetrazolate moiety often serves as a ligand in main and transition metal complexes but, to our knowledge, this is the first example where it is not coordinated to a metal.
Recording affect in the field: towards methods and metrics for improving ground truth labels

One of the primary goals of affective computing is enabling computers to recognize human emotion. To do this we need accurately labeled affective data. This is challenging to obtain in real situations where affective events are not scripted and occur simultaneously with other activities and feelings. Affective labels also rely heavily on subject self-report for which can be problematic. This paper reports on methods for obtaining high quality emotion labels with reduced bias and variance and also shows that better training sets for machine learning algorithms can be created by combining multiple sources of evidence. During a 7 day, 13 participant field study we found that recognition accuracy for physiological activation improved from 63% to 79% with two sources of evidence and in an additional pilot study this improved to 100% accuracy for one subject over 10 days when context evidence was also included.
Tracking Health Insurance Coverage by Month: Trends in Employment-Based Coverage Among Workers, and Access to Coverage Among Uninsured Workers

There is a strong link between health benefits and employment. As a result, employment-based health benefits are the most common form of health insurance for nonpoor and nonelderly individuals in the United States. In 2010, 58.7 percent of nonelderly individuals (under age 65) were covered by an employment-based health benefits plan, with 68.6 percent of workers covered, 35.3 percent of nonworking adults covered, and 54.8 percent of children covered. Since the 1980s, the percentage of individuals without health insurance coverage has generally been increasing, in large part because rising health benefit costs eroded employment-based coverage. However, for a few years during the late 1990s, the percentage of workers and their families with employment-based coverage increased and the percentage without health insurance declined, in large part due to the strong economy and low unemployment. While the percentage of workers with coverage has ebbed and flowed with the economy and health care costs, trends in the percentage of workers offered coverage and the percentage of workers taking coverage when offered have remained steady. Prior research had shown that the percentage of workers offered health benefits had been increasing, but the take-up rate had been declining. The purpose of this paper is to examine the state of employment-based health benefits. Coverage rates are examined on a monthly basis from December 1995 to April 2010. This analysis updates prior EBRI research that examined trends in coverage on a monthly basis over this time period. Examining these data on a monthly basis allows more accurate identification of changes in trends, and can also more clearly indicate the effects of recessions and unemployment on changes in coverage. Trends in offer rates and reasons for being uninsured among uninsured workers are also examined.The PDF for the above title, published in the October 2011 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another October 2011 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “Ownership of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)-Type Plans, 1996-2009.”
Low-Noise High-Speed CMOS Detector Readout Electronics

In elementary-particle physics, the energies of elementary particles or radiation events are measured or detected by means of a semiconductor detector readout system. A principle schematic of such a detection system is depicted in Fig. 5.1. An inverse biased photo sensitive diode (Si or Ge) detects charged particles or radiation events by generating electron-hole pairs within the detector material. The generated electrons drift in a high electrical field towards the positive-biased n+ contact of the detector and are finally collected. Since the collection time is very short, being in the order of several ns [5.1], [5.2], the detector output signal can be represented as a Dirac current impulse, the integral of which equals the total generated charge Q. The generated charge Q is integrated onto a small feedback capacitor C f . by means of a low noise charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) giving rise to a voltage step at the CSA output with an amplitude Q/C f . The wide use of the CSA at the front end stems from its low noise configuration and insensitivity of the gain to the detector capacitance variations. The step signal is fed to a main amplifier where pulse shaping is performed, primarily to optimize the S/N ratio of the readout system. Therefore, it is called a pulse shaper. In all cases, the resulting output signal is a rather narrow pulse suitable for further processing. Depending on the application, the pulse processing unit can simply be a Multi-Channel Analyzer (MCA) in radiation spectroscopy applications, a series of discriminators for event detections or sample-hold circuits in a multi-channel readout system to store the informations for serial read out. However, for resolution analyses, the detail of the circuits in the processing unit is of no concern and only the CSA and the pulse shaper will therefore be considered in this chapter.
Properly Recycled Perlite Saves Money, Does Not Reduce Greenhouse Tomato Yield, and Can Be Reused for Many Years

A study was conducted to determine if raising tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) in cleaned and disinfected used perlite would be more economical than new perlite and have no negative impact on yield. Cleaning and disinfecting used perlite for recycling saved 56% of the cost to replace the media and reduced salt content to the optimum level recommended for raising container grown plants. Disinfecting used perlite with hot water raised media temperatures above limits necessary to kill several fungi and nematodes. Tomatoes
Call for Papers: Clinical Research

Since its inception, the Annals of Family Medicine has sought research on clinical topics: new knowledge that fills a gap in our understanding of how health and illness are gained and lost, how patients present and progress in primary care, and how diagnosis and treatment of patients in primary care
Making Regulatory Innovation Keep Pace with Technological Innovation

Recent world events are forcing us to reconsider the ways in which the energy needs of the United States can and should be met. In regards to renewable energy options in general, the public response to the nuclear crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant will likely stymie President Barack Obama’s call for an increase in our reliance on nuclear energy. Additionally, the increasing political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is once again reminding us that solutions must be found to mitigate our heavy reliance on foreign-produced oil. Newly emerging liquid biofuelsnot only hold the promise of enhancing U.S. energy se urity in a sustainable fashion, but also provide the potential to mitigate climatechanging greenhouse gas emissions and serve as a driver for economic development. Nevertheless, significant regulatory hurdles to their successful commercialization do exist.In this Article, we provide a thorough normative analysis of the two main regulatory schemes incentivizing and governing the commercialization of biofuel-related technological innovations. We urge that regulatory innovation is needed to keep pace with these technological innovations and, in doing so, we build upon the established principles that regulatory burdens should not outweigh the harms they are intended to mitigate, and that regulatory innovation is often called for to efficiently capture the social value of regulated activities. Next, we apply these insights via a detailed case study that focuses on biobutanol, an emerging biofuel with the potential to act as a socially optimal alternative to petroleum-based transportation fuels. This biobutanol case study describes and elaborates not only on the effects of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, but also on the lawful blending limits imposed by the Clean Air Act’s regulatory framework for the commercialization of new fuels and fuel additives. After analyzing these frameworks, we provide suggestions for distinct ways in which different forms of regulatory innovation will help mitigate unjustified regulatory hurdles to the commercialization of biofuel-based technological innovations and allow us to capture more efficiently their inherent social value. Our analysis and prescriptions also find resonance in the context of other newly emerging fuels and bioenergy developments.
Compositionality without word boundaries: (the) more and (the) most

This paper seeks to illustrate the advantages of not treating phonological words as distinguished building blocks in compositional semantics. Following Bobaljik 2012, we derive the relative readings of amount superlatives in two steps, [[[d-many] comparative] superlative]. The existence of two comparative constructions is revealed, involving more vs. the more. Each builds a different superlative construction, explaining the conflicting intuitions about superlatives in the literature, as well as puzzles relating to the definite article in superlatives.
High Order Strong Stability Preserving Time Discretizations

Strong stability preserving (SSP) high order time discretizations were developed to ensure nonlinear stability properties necessary in the numerical solution of hyperbolic partial differential equations with discontinuous solutions. SSP methods preserve the strong stability properties--in any norm, seminorm or convex functional--of the spatial discretization coupled with first order Euler time stepping. This paper describes the development of SSP methods and the connections between the timestep restrictions for strong stability preservation and contractivity. Numerical examples demonstrate that common linearly stable but not strong stability preserving time discretizations may lead to violation of important boundedness properties, whereas SSP methods guarantee the desired properties provided only that these properties are satisfied with forward Euler timestepping. We review optimal explicit and implicit SSP Runge---Kutta and multistep methods, for linear and nonlinear problems. We also discuss the SSP properties of spectral deferred correction methods.
Geologic heterogeneity and a comparison of two geostatistical models: Sequential Gaussian and transition probability-based geostatistical simulation

A covariance-based model-fitting approach is often considered valid to represent field spatial variability of hydraulic properties. This study examines the representation of geologic heterogeneity in two types of geostatistical models under the same mean and spatial covariance structure, and subsequently its effect on the hydraulic response to a pumping test based on 3D high-resolution numerical simulation and field data. Two geostatistical simulation methods, sequential Gaussian simulation (SGS) and transition probability indicator simulation (TPROGS) were applied to create conditional realizations of alluvial fan aquifer systems in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) area. The simulated K fields were then used in a numerical groundwater flow model to simulate a pumping test performed at the LLNL site. Spatial connectivity measures of high-K materials (channel facies) captured connectivity characteristics of each geostatistical model and revealed that the TPROGS model created an aquifer (channel) network having greater lateral connectivity. SGS realizations neglected important geologic structures associated with channel and overbank (levee) facies, even though the covariance model used to create these realizations provided excellent fits to sample covariances computed from exhaustive samplings of TPROGS realizations. Observed drawdown response in monitoring wells during a pumping test and its numerical simulation shows that in an aquifer system with strongly connected network of high-K materials, the Gaussian approach could not reproduce a similar behavior in simulated drawdown response found in TPROGS case. Overall, the simulated drawdown responses demonstrate significant disagreement between TPROGS and SGS realizations. This study showed that important geologic characteristics may not be captured by a spatial covariance model, even if that model is exhaustively determined and closely fits the exponential function.
SPECTRAL/HP ELEMENT METHOD WITH HIERARCHICAL RECONSTRUCTION FOR SOLVING NONLINEAR HYPERBOLIC CONSERVATION LAWS

Abstract The hierarchical reconstruction (HR) [Liu, Shu, Tadmor and Zhang, SINUM '07] has been successfully applied to prevent oscillations in solutions computed by finite volume, Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin, spectral volume schemes for solving hyperbolic conservation laws. In this paper, we demonstrate that HR can also be combined with spectral/hp element method for solving hyperbolic conservation laws. An orthogonal spectral basis written in terms of Jacobi polynomials is applied. High computational efficiency is obtained due to such matrix-free algorithm. The formulation is conservative, and essential non-oscillation is enforced by the HR limiter. We show that HR preserves the order of accuracy of the spectral/hp element method for smooth solution problems and generate essentially non-oscillatory solutions profiles for capturing discontinuous solutions without local characteristic decomposition. In addition, we introduce a postprocessing technique to improve HR for limiting high degree numerical solutions.
Simulations of the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect from quasars

Quasar feedback has most likely a substantial but only partially understood impact on the formation of structure in the universe. A potential direct probe of this feedback mechanism is the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect: energy emitted from quasar heats the surrounding intergalactic medium and induces a distortion in the microwave background radiation passing through the region. Here, we examine the formation of such hot quasar bubbles using a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation which includes a self-consistent treatment of black hole growth and associated feedback, along with radiative gas cooling and star formation. From this simulation, we construct microwave maps of the resulting SZ effect around black holes with a range of masses and redshifts. The size of the temperature distortion scales approximately with black hole mass and accretion rate, with a typical amplitude up to a few micro-Kelvin on angular scales around 10 arcsec. We discuss prospects for the direct detection of this signal with current and future single-dish and interferometric observations, including Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) and Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope (CCAT). These measurements will be challenging, but will allow us to characterize the evolution and growth of supermassive black holes and the role of their energy feedback on galaxy formation.
Production of 14 MeV neutrons from D-D neutron generators

Abstract The production of 14 MeV neutrons from a D-D neutron generator resulting from tritium buildup from the d(d, p)t reaction in the target is discussed. The effect of the 14 MeV neutrons on fast neutron activation analysis with D-D neutron generators is evaluated.
A Multimodal Intervention Improves Postanesthesia Care Unit Handovers

BACKGROUND:Failures of communication are a major contributor to perioperative adverse events. Transitions of care may be particularly vulnerable. We sought to improve postoperative handovers.METHODS:We introduced a multimodal intervention in an adult and a pediatric postanesthesia care unit (PACU) t
A Longitudinal Model of the Effects of Team Leadership and Group Potency on Group Performance

In the current study, the authors examine how leadership within a team predicts levels of group potency and group performance over time. The authors predict that groups that rated themselves high on transformational team leadership behaviors soon after the groups were formed would see themselves as being more potent over time and also would achieve a higher level of group performance. These predictions were confirmed. The implications of the current study for further research on leadership within teams are discussed.
Supravesical urinary diversion via the continent ileal reservoir: experience in 250 cases

From August, 1982, to August, 1985, a total of 250 patients have undergone diversion by means of a continent ileal reservoir. One hundred seventyone were in conjunction with radical cystectomy for the management of invasive bladder cancer; 19 underwent cystectomy and Kock pouch diversion to resolve complications of neurogenic bladder; and 60 patients were converted to a continent ileal reservoir from an unsatisfactory form of conduit, 10 from ureterosigmoidostomy and 2 patients from either a suprapubic tube or cutaneous ureterostomy. Early complications occurred in 42 patients (16%) resulting in 5 (2%) postoperative deaths. The complication rate was 18% among the 190 undergoing cystectomy with Kock pouch construction and 13% among the 60 undergoing conversion. Late complications have occurred in 77 (31%) of the 245 patients surviving the operation. Most late complications are due to leakage, parastomal hernia, and/or difficulty with catheterization. During this experience continuing modifications have developed that we feel will reduce the late complication incidence and improve results. These modifications will be discussed in detail.
Intervening inhibition underlies simple-cell receptive field structure in visual cortex

Synaptic inputs underlying spike receptive fields are important for understanding mechanisms of neuronal processing. Using whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings from neurons in mouse primary visual cortex, we examined the spatial patterns of their excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs evoked by On and Off stimuli. Neurons with either segregated or overlapped On/Off spike subfields had substantial overlaps between all the four synaptic subfields. The segregated receptive-field structures were generated by the integration of excitation and inhibition with a stereotypic 'overlap-but-mismatched' pattern: the peaks of excitatory On/Off subfields were separated and flanked colocalized peaks of inhibitory On/Off subfields. The small mismatch of excitation/inhibition led to an asymmetric inhibitory shaping of On/Off spatial tunings, resulting in a great enhancement of their distinctiveness. Thus, slightly separated On/Off excitation, together with intervening inhibition, can create simple-cell receptive-field structure and the dichotomy of receptive-field structures may arise from a fine-tuning of the spatial arrangement of synaptic inputs.
A normalized digital compensator for variable frequency PWM

Implementing variable frequency modulation using low-cost digital signal processors introduces two main design issues: variability in the converter response due to the modulator delay, and a widely varying controller response due to the changing sampling period. While the first issue has been modeled several times in literature, the second has been largely ignored, and becomes an even greater issue as the frequency range is increased. As a solution, a digital compensator with adaptive gains that is normalized against frequency variations is proposed. A method for calculating the coefficients is also provided, along with a theoretical analysis of the converter frequency response. The frequency-normalized compensator is then implemented on a 180W prototype dc-dc converter, and the improvements in converter stability and system bandwidth are verified experimentally using a frequency response analyzer. For a frequency range of 25-75kHz, bandwidth improvements of up to 300% are shown for the prototype system.