cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GUELB MOGHREIN: AN UNUSUAL CARBONATE-HOSTED IRON OXIDE COPPER-GOLD DEPOSIT IN MAURITANIA, NORTHWEST AFRICA

The Guelb Moghrein Cu-Au deposit occurs within metacarbonate bodies derived from sedimentary carbonate beds of probable late Archean age. The metacarbonate lenses are enclosed within mafic meta-igneous rocks that display a coarse-grained, amphibolite-facies (hornblende-albite) assemblage that is mineralogically anomalous relative to the greenschist-facies metamorphic rocks present regionally within the district and may represent a zone of synmetamorphic hydrothermal metasomatism. Crosscutting relationships and textural evidence for progressive replacement of different mineral assemblages demonstrate that the deposit had a complex, multiphase alteration-mineralization history. Early sodic alteration at Guelb Moghrein resulted in the formation of albitized zones along moderately to shallowly dipping structures. Sodic alteration was followed by syndeformational ferroan potassic alteration that resulted in the growth of biotite and grunerite-cummingtonite in meta-igneous rocks and conversion of calcite-dolomite in metacarbonate bodies to ankerite- and siderite-rich assemblages. Progressive alteration resulted in breakdown of siderite to magnetite and graphite at approximately 400° to 450°C. Sulfide mineralization took place at ca. 2.5 Ga, concurrently with or shortly after ferroan potassic alteration and magnetite-graphite formation. An early assemblage of Co-, Ni-, and As-rich sulfide minerals was followed by precipitation of pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. Sulfide mineralization was focused within brittle deformation zones along the margins of the metacarbonate bodies, which represent high-permeability zones adjacent to more ductile structures. The nucleation of sulfides on graphite during siderite breakdown suggests redox reactions may have largely controlled sulfide precipitation. A late magnesian alteration event at ca. 1.74 Ga resulted in the formation of chlorite-rich shear zones and precipitation and/or recrystallization of sulfides. The Guelb Moghrein deposit is a member of the iron oxide Cu-Au class of deposits but is unusual in being hosted in carbonate strata.
SIRPα-Antibody Fusion Proteins Selectively Bind and Eliminate Dual Antigen-Expressing Tumor Cells

Purpose: CD47 is highly expressed on a variety of tumor cells. The interaction of CD47 with signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα), a protein on phagocytic cells, transmits a “don9t eat me” signal that negatively regulates phagocytosis. CD47–SIRPα antagonists enable phagocytosis by disrupting the inhibitory signal and can synergize with Fc-mediated pro-phagocytic signals for potent elimination of tumor cells. A potential limitation of therapeutic CD47–SIRPα antagonists is that expression of CD47 on normal cells may create sites of toxicity or an “antigen sink.” To overcome these limitations and address selective tumor targeting, we developed SIRPabodies to improve the therapeutic benefits of CD47–SIRPα blockade specifically toward tumor. Experimental Design: SIRPabodies were generated by grafting the wild-type SIRPα either to the N-terminus or to the C-terminus of the heavy chain of rituximab. Selective tumor binding was tested using CFSE-labeled human primary CLL cells in the presence of 20-fold excess of human RBCs. NSG mice were transplanted with Raji-luciferase cells and were assigned to controls versus SIRPabody treatment. Cynomolgus nonhuman primates were administered a single intravenous infusion of SIRPabody at 3, 10, or 30 mg/kg. Results: SIRPabodies selectively bound to dual antigen-expressing tumor cells in the presence of a large antigen sink. SIRPabody reduced tumor burden and extended survival in mouse xenograft lymphoma models. SIRPabody caused no significant toxicity in nonhuman primates. Conclusions: These findings establish SIRPabodies as a promising approach to deliver the therapeutic benefit of CD47–SIRPα blockade specifically toward tumor cells. SIRPabodies may be applied to additional cancer types by grafting SIRPα onto other tumor-specific therapeutic antibodies. Clin Cancer Res; 22(20); 5109–19. ©2016 AACR.
Controlling heat input by measuring net power

At constant travel speed, net power is directly responsible for physical and metallurgical changes in the metal being welded.
Moving encounters: Latinas/os about town in East Boston, MA

Abstract Latino and Latina migrants experience the urban in ways that are often more challenging, complex, and stressful than naturalized or native-born citizens, yet work in the US on Latino experiences has lagged behind the changing complexity of Latina/o geographies. While scholars have analyzed the emotional dimensions of the encounter, this research claims that immigrants' everyday socio-spatial mobilities are entangled with emotional encounters they have with people in the city. It therefore considers how participants' urban socio-spatial mobilities are formed in relation to real and imagined emotional encounters with others in the city. I analyze these encounters through Henri Lefebvre and Mikhail Bakhtin's conceptualizations of encounters as moments of dialogue important in better understandings of what is meant by the ‘self’. Further, their concepts help to consider the interpretations and presence of broader social structures. Therefore participants discussed how opportunities for and limits on certain activities, areas, or modes of transportation were formed in part through emotional encounters. Thus fear, sadness, relief, joy, anger, and surprise result from moving encounters with others in the city impact they ways in which participants feel like they have access to or are excluded from urban spaces and relationships with other residents. The research was conducted in East Boston through semi-structured interviews with 26 with immigrants mostly from El Salvador and Colombia, 12 months of participant observation, and informal interviews with other community members.
Aqueous Electrochemical Energy Storage with a Mediator-Ion Solid Electrolyte

This study presents a battery concept with a “mediator-ion” solid electrolyte for the development of next-generation electrochemical energy storage technologies. The active anode and cathode materials in a single cell can be in the solid, liquid, or gaseous form, which are separated by a sodium-ion solid-electrolyte separator. The uniqueness of this mediator-ion strategy is that the redox reactions at the anode and the cathode are sustained by a shuttling of a mediator sodium ion between the anolyte and the catholyte through the solid-state electrolyte. Use of the solid-electrolyte separator circumvents the chemical-crossover problem between the anode and the cathode, overcomes the dendrite-problem when employing metal-anodes, and offers the possibility of using different liquid electrolytes at the anode and the cathode in a single cell. The battery concept is demonstrated with two low-cost metal anodes (zinc and iron), two liquid cathodes (bromine and potassium ferricyanide), and one gaseous cathode (air/O2) with a sodium-ion solid electrolyte. This novel battery strategy with a mediator-ion solid electrolyte is applicable to a wide range of electrochemical energy storage systems with a variety of cathodes, anodes, and mediator-ion solid electrolytes.
Contextualizing Oncologic Imaging Utilization Through End-of-Life Spending Patterns

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the effect of spending patterns during the final year of life on high-cost imaging utilization in the final 3 months of life. Methods An academic comprehensive cancer center's radiology, cancer registry, and claims records were matched to identify decedents with dates of death from April 2013 through June 2014. Spending patterns in the final year of life were identified using group-based trajectory modeling. Descriptive analysis of CT, MRI, and PET utilization across trajectories was conducted. Multivariate logistic regressions modeled the likelihood of imaging utilization in the final 3 months of life, and a sensitivity analysis assessed the impact of spending trajectories on model fit. Results Six spending trajectories were identified. Membership in the late rising trajectory was the strongest predictor of high-cost imaging in the final 3 months of life (odds ratio, 11.61; P = .000), followed by diagnosis 12 to 6 months premortem (odds ratio, 7.49; P = .000). The likelihood of imaging the final 3 months of life was no different between high persistent and low persistent trajectory patients, despite the heterogeneity between the two patient groups. Sensitivity analysis indicated that spending trajectory improved the prediction of imaging in the final 3 months of life to a greater extent than temporal proximity to death at the time of diagnosis, which may serve as a proxy for severity and/or complexity. Conclusions Clinical measures of severity and patients' utilization histories should be considered by hospital administrators in estimations of aggregate and individual oncologic imaging utilization. This analytic approach may aid in evaluating participation in advanced payment models.
Reports of unintended consequences of financial incentives to improve management of hypertension.

Background Given the increase in financial-incentive programs nationwide, many physicians and physician groups are concerned about potential unintended consequences of providing financial incentives to improve quality of care. However, few studies examine whether actual unintended consequences result from providing financial incentives to physicians. We sought to document the extent to which the unintended consequences discussed in the literature were observable in a randomized clinical trial (RCT) of financial incentives. Methods We conducted a qualitative observational study nested within a larger RCT of financial incentives to improve hypertension care. We conducted 30-minute telephone interviews with primary care personnel at facilities participating in the RCT housed at12 geographically dispersed Veterans Affairs Medical Centers nationwide. Participants answered questions about unintended effects, clinic team dynamics, organizational impact on care delivery, study participation. We employed a blend of inductive and deductive qualitative techniques for analysis. Participants Sixty-five participants were recruited from RCT enrollees and personnel not enrolled in the larger RCT, plus one primary care leader per site. Results Emergent themes included possible patient harm, emphasis on documentation over improving care, reduced professional morale, and positive spillover. All discussions of unintended consequences involving patient harm were only concerns, not actual events. Several unintended consequences concerned ancillary initiatives for quality improvement (e.g., practice guidelines and performance measurement systems) rather than financial incentives. Conclusions Many unintended consequences of financial incentives noted were either only concerns or attributable to ancillary quality-improvement initiatives. Actual unintended consequences included improved documentation of care without necessarily improving actual care, and positive unintended consequences. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00302718.
Characterizing stratospheric polar vortex variability with computer vision techniques

Computer vision techniques are used to characterize the Arctic stratospheric polar vortex in 38 years of reanalysis data. Such techniques are typically applied to analyses of digital images, but they represent powerful tools that are more widely applicable: basic techniques and considerations for geophysical applications are outlined herein. Segmentation, descriptive, and tracking algorithms are combined in the Characterization and Analysis of Vortex Evolution using Algorithms for Region Tracking (CAVE-ART) package, which was developed to comprehensively describe dynamical and geometrical evolution of polar vortices. CAVE-ART can characterize and track multiple vortex regions through time, providing an extensive suite of region, moments, and edge diagnostics for each. CAVE-ART is valuable for identifying vortex splitting events including, but not limited to, previously cataloged vortex-split sudden stratospheric warmings. An algorithm for identifying such events detects 52 potential events between 1980 - 2017; of these, 38 are subjectively classified as distinct "split-like” events. The algorithm based on CAVE-ART is also compared with moments-based methods previously used to detect split events. Furthermore, vortex edge-averaged windspeeds from CAVE-ART are used to define extreme weak and strong polar vortex events over multiple vertical levels; this allows characterization of their occurrence frequencies and extents in time and altitude. Weak and strong events show distinct signatures in CAVE-ART diagnostics: in contrast to weak events, strong vortices are more cylindrical and pole centered, and less filamented, than the climatological state. These results from CAVE-ART exemplify the value of computer vision techniques for analysis of geophysical phenomena.
Some Open Problems in Information-Theoretic Cryptography

Information-theoretic cryptography is full of open problems with a communication-complexity flavor. We will describe several such problems that arise in the study of private information retrieval, secure multi-party computation, secret sharing, private simultaneous messages (PSM) and conditional disclosure of secrets (CDS). In all these cases, there is a huge (exponential) gap between the best known upper and lower bounds. We will also describe the connections between these problems, some old and some new.
Culture and Communication in Israel: The Transformation of Tradition

This paper is an introduction to a study of what 4,000 Israelis had to say about their leisure, culture, and communication. In a national survey conducted during the spring of 1970, we gathered data on a large variety of cultural activities. With respect to each of them, an effort was made to measure both supply and demand. Thus, we know for cultural events taking place outside the home which events were advertised where, and we know who attends which activities. Likewise, we studied the cultural activities that take place inside the home, paying particular attention to the effect of the introduction of television, and to the fate of the book the newest and oldest media in Israel. We try to do this within two broader contexts. One is behavioural: using the method of time-budget analysis, we have reconstructed the way in which Israelis invest time, that most scarce of human resources, over the 24-hour period of a weekday, a Friday, and a Saturday. The other context is that of attitudes and values: we discuss the functions of cultural activities and communications within the framework of attitudes towards work, leisure, the Sabbath, and holidays, and more generally, in terms of the social and psychological 'needs' that are experienced as salient by Israeli Jews, in their several social roles. This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/asc_papers/168 CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION IN ISRAEL: THE TRANSFORMATION OF TRADITION
Drugs Addiction: Actions

Addictive drugs belong to several classes and initiate their addictive actions at several targets in several brain sites. Directly or indirectly, most addictive drugs activate the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system, a system important for the habit-forming effects of natural rewards (food, sexual contact); thus amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, morphine, heroin, nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis, by their various mechanisms, elevate extracellular dopamine levels. This elevation either causes or contributes to the addiction liability of these drugs. The most highly addictive drugs activate this system more strongly or immediately, or both, than do the more natural pleasures of life.
Inhibition of CFU-NM and CFU-EOS by mature granulocytes

Approximately half of the colony-forming units-culture (CFU-C) from normal peripheral blood are eosinophilic. The purpose of our study was to determine: (1) whether progenitor cells committed to eosinophil or neutrophil maturation would be differentially affected by feedback inhibition, and (2) whether mature eosinophils added to the feeder layers of the culture would inhibit the proliferation of CFU-C in a manner similar to that described for neutrophils. Concentrated eosinophils and neutrophils, obtained by separation on a metrizamide gradient, were added to feeder layers containing either 10(6) autologous whole mononuclear cells (WMNC) or 0.1 ml of leukocyte conditioned media (LCM). The average number of colonies was 123/10(6) nonadherent cells (NAC) cultured. When neutrophils or eosinophils were added to the WMNC feeder layer, the percent inhibition of growth was 40.2% +/- 1.6% (mean +/- SEM) and 42.3% +/- 5.4%, respectively, but the ratio of neutrophil to eosinophil colonies remained constant. No effect was seen when neutrophils or eosinophils were added to an LCM feeder layer. Thus, it appears that the differential control of neutrophil versus eosinophil production in vitro is not regulated through feedback inhibition by mature granulocytes. In addition, these studies suggest that eosinophils, as well as neutrophils, cause inhibition of CFU-C growth when intact cells are the source of colony-stimulating factor (CSF).
Pharmacogenetics in Clinical and Forensic Toxicology: Opioid Overdoses and Deaths

Factors considered in the observed variability in drug response within a population are intrinsic, extrinsic, or a combination of both. The intrinsic factors are differences in the demographics of a given individual (e.g., age or gender), disease or physical condition (e.g., renal function or BMI), and pharmacogenetics (see below). The extrinsic factors are composed of environmental factors (e.g., diet) as well as drug interactions or polypharmacy.
An Epidemiologic Critique of Current Microbial Risk Assessment Practices: The Importance of Prevalence and Test Accuracy Data

Data deficiencies are impeding the development and validation of microbial risk assessment models. One such deficiency is the failure to adjust test-based (apparent) prevalence estimates to true prevalence estimates by correcting for the imperfect accuracy of tests that are used. Such adjustments will facilitate comparability of data from different populations and from the same population over time as tests change and the unbiased quantification of effects of mitigation strategies. True prevalence can be estimated from apparent prevalence using frequentist and Bayesian methods, but the latter are more flexible and can incorporate uncertainty in test accuracy and prior prevalence data. Both approaches can be used for single or multiple populations, but the Bayesian approach can better deal with clustered data, inferences for rare events, and uncertainty in multiple variables. Examples of prevalence inferences based on results of Salmonella culture are presented. The opportunity to adjust test-based prevalence estimates is predicated on the availability of sensitivity and specificity estimates. These estimates can be obtained from studies using archived gold standard (reference) samples, by screening with the new test and follow-up of test-positive and test-negative samples with a gold standard test, and by use of latent class methods, which make no assumptions about the true status of each sampling unit. Latent class analysis can be done with maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods, and an example of their use in the evaluation of tests for Toxoplasma gondii in pigs is presented. Guidelines are proposed for more transparent incorporation of test data into microbial risk assessments.
Synthesis of tactic poly(alkyl methacrylate) homo and copolymers

Anionic polymerization of alkyl methacrylates, especially methyl methacrylate (MMA), has been studied extensively over the last two decades.1–5 The vast majority of these investigations have dealt with the kinetic and mechanistic aspects of anionic methacrylate polymerization. Relatively few investigations, however, have been concerned with the synthesis of novel homo- and copolymers.6 Two major reasons synthetic studies of these sytems have lagged behind the voluminous work done on the hydrocarbon monomers, e.g. styrene, butadiene and isoprene, are problems with methacrylate monomer purity and the inherent side reactions found in most anionic polymerizations involving polar monomers. The problem of side reactions to the methacrylate carbonyl has been well documented in the literature.7 Methods have been developed in the past to avoid these deleterious side reactions, namely bulky initiators, low temperatures, and polar solvents. We have been able to synthesize narrow distribution poly(alkyl methacrylates) by utilizing the well established route of THF at −78°C with the bulky initiator diphenyl hexyl lithium (DPHL). A much less appreciated aspect of the anionic synthesis of methacrylate polymers, however, has been the problem of monomer purification. Suitable methods are available for the scrupulous purification of hydrocarbon monomers. For example, the organometallic reagent dibutyl magnesium (DBM) has been well documented as a highly sensitive reagent which reacts with the last traces of water, air, or other terminating impurities present in styrenic and diene monomers.8
An Incitement to Discourse: Sociology and The History of Sexuality

L'Histoire de la sexualite de Michel Foucault a fait l'objet de critiques de la part d'universitaires americains considerant que, par-dela sa critique de la domination des elites a travers la regulation de la sexualite, cet ouvrage justifierait les deviances sexuelles, dont la pedophilie. Cet article examine dans un premier temps quel impact reel cet ouvrage a produit dans la litterature de sciences sociales americaine, puis il rappelle sa contribution a une meilleure comprehension de la dimension sexuelle des mecanismes de pouvoir
Aviation Multicarrier Communication System Performance in Several 5 GHz Band Air-Ground Channels - Invited Paper

Aviation traffic is on the rise, in part due to a large increase in the number of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). With the rise in vehicle traffic will come increased communication traffic, and for the air-ground communications to/from all these air vehicles, new communication systems are required. In this paper we evaluate via simulations the performance of two new candidate systems over empirical air-ground channel models. These channel models-here for the 5 GHz band-are based on an extensive measurement campaign sponsored by NASA, with ground sites in multiple local environments. The two new multicarrier candidate schemes are 5 MHz bandwidth systems: a cyclic-prefix OFDM scheme similar to the previously proposed L-DACS1 scheme, and a new filterbank multicarrier (FBMC) scheme related to a prior L-band FBMC design of the authors. By taking advantage of the more compact FBMC spectrum, we can improve spectral efficiency via replacement of band-edge guard subcarriers with data-bearing subcarriers. Our design increases throughput by approximately 23%. The (uncoded) bit error ratio performance of the two schemes is evaluated for several modulations over three specific air-ground channels, and performance results are very similar between the two schemes: even in the worst-case channels and with highest modulation order, the FBMC bit error ratio is only marginally larger than that of the CP-OFDM scheme. Hence with nearly identical performance and significantly better throughput, the FBMC design is an attractive candidate for future air-ground communications in these settings.
Efficient Monte Carlo resampling for probability measure changes from Bayesian updating

Abstract The objective of Bayesian inference is often to infer, from data, a probability measure for a random variable that can be used as input for Monte Carlo simulation. When datasets for Bayesian inference are small, a principle challenge is that, as additional data are collected, the probability measure inferred from Bayesian inference may change significantly. In such cases, expensive Monte Carlo simulations may have already been performed using the original distribution and it is infeasible to start again and perform a new Monte Carlo analysis using the updated density due to the large added computational cost. This work explores four strategies for updating Monte Carlo simulations for such a change in probability measure. The efficiency of each strategy is compared and the ultimate aim is to achieve the change in distribution with a minimal number of added computational simulations. The results show that, when the change in measure is small, importance sampling reweighting can be very effective. Otherwise, a proposed mixed augmenting-filtering algorithm can robustly and efficiently accommodate a measure change in Monte Carlo simulation. The strategy is then applied for uncertainty quantification in the buckling strength of a simple plate given ongoing data collection to estimate uncertainty in the yield stress.
Testing the effects of incivility during internet political discussion on perceptions of rational argument and evaluations of a political outgroup

Abstract Incivility is common in Internet political discussions, but the effects of incivility during such discussions have been largely unexamined. We conducted a series of experiments to address the effect of political incivility on ratings of rational argument and evaluations of a political outgroup. Participants were randomly assigned to encounter ostensible political discussions in a 2(Manipulated Civility: civil or uncivil) X 2(Strength of Arguments: strong or weak) experimental design. We demonstrated that incivility in political exchanges has a large and negative effect on perceptions of the degree of rational argument present in the discussions, even in conditions with relatively stronger argument levels. We provided evidence that when levels of incivility in political discourse were particularly strong, perceptions of rationality for one's political outgroup (liberals or conservative) decreased, which was inversely related to attitudes towards one's outgroup. The implications of the dominance of incivility during political discussion are discussed.
A CURIOUS CASE OF POST-TUSSIVE PARADOXICAL PARALYSIS

40-50% of cryptogenic strokes are found to have a patent foramen ovale (PFO) which are seen in 20% of the population. Newer evidence is warranting a change in management of cryptogenic strokes via percutaneous closure of PFO's. A 23 year old male presented with a coughing spell that led to a
Teaching NeuroImages: A disintegrating rock.

A 75-year-old woman with a history of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and atrial fibrillation on warfarin presented with sudden-onset confusion. A brain CT was read as normal. The international normalized ratio (INR) was 3.4. She was discharged home after resolution of her symptoms. Two weeks later, she presented with sudden-onset anomia and a right facial droop. The INR was 3.2. A new brain CT revealed multiple calcific emboli (figure, B). A CT angiogram showed a large atheromatous plaque within the aortic arch extending into the origin of the brachiocephalic artery (figure, C). Retrospectively, the initial CT already showed a calcified embolus (figure, A). Calcified cerebral emboli are frequently overlooked.1 Underlying sources may carry a high risk of recurrent embolism. Their early identification allows appropriate workup and treatment.
Gallotannins and Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 Mitigate High-Fat Diet-Induced Inflammation and Induce Biomarkers for Thermogenesis in Adipose Tissue in Gnotobiotic Mice.

Scope Intestinal microbial metabolites from gallotannins (GT), including gallic acid (GA) and pyrogallol (PG), may possess potential anti-obesogenic properties. Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) found in the intestinal microbiome encodes for enzymatic activities that metabolize GT into GA and PG. Anti-obesogenic activities of orally administered GT in the presence or absence of L. plantarum is examined in gnotobiotic mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Methods and results Germ-free (GF) C57BL/6J mice are divided into three groups, GF control, GF gavaged with GT, and mice colonized with L. plantarum and gavaged with GT. Compared to the control, GT decreases the expressions of lipogenic genes (e.g., fatty acid synthase (FAS)) in epididymal white adipose tissue and increases thermogenic genes (e.g., nuclear factor erythroid-2-like 1 (Nfe2l1)) in interscapular brown adipose tissue. Intestinal colonization with L. plantarum enhances these effects, and mice colonized with L. plantarum exhibit lower levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), leptin and plasma insulin. Conclusions Results indicate that GT and L. plantarum reduce HFD-induced inflammation, insulin resistance, and promote thermogenesis in adipose tissue potentially through the activity of GT-metabolizing bacterial enzymes yielding absorbable bioactive GT metabolites. These findings imply the potential role of prebiotic-probiotic interactions in the prevention of diet-induced metabolic disorders.
Boot Camps for Graduate Student Success: A Collaborative Initiative

AbstractAlthough graduate students are interested in learning data, grant, literature research, presentation, scholarly communication, and writing and publishing skills – topics not typically taugh...
Principal Efficacy Beliefs for Instructional Leadership and their Relation to Teachers’ Sense of Collective Efficacy and Student Achievement

The purpose of this study was to examine the conceptualization, measure and impacts of school principals’ sense of efficacy for instructional improvement. Based on social cognitive theory and prior...
Derivative Complexity as a Key Determinant of Perceived Risk

While derivative securities are a critical component of the global economy, the complexity of derivatives is decried as a contributor to financial crises and investor losses. However, derivative complexity is not necessarily related to risk. In this paper, we use four experiments to investigate whether and why complexity is interpreted as a key risk determinant when evaluating derivatives. Our first two experiments show a robust effect consistent with investors and managers interpreting complexity as a key risk determinant and deeming more complex, but equally risky, derivatives as more risky. Our next two experiments provide evidence that the effect is driven by attribute substitution. Altogether, our results shed light on how derivatives are evaluated and suggest an important potential source of misinterpretations of disclosures provided under US GAAP (ASC 815-10-50).
Secondary Palate Development in the Dog (Canis lupus familiaris).

Objective:To investigate the gestational timing of morphologic events in normal canine secondary palate development as a baseline for studies in dog models of isolated cleft palate (CP).Methods:Bea...
Linear Ion Accelerators

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the various aspects of linear ion accelerators. The energy that can be reached when ions are accelerated in a DC electric field is limited by insulation breakdown. A method for removing this limitation by accelerating the ions several times in the gaps between linear arrays of tubular electrodes is suggested in the chapter. Linacs are capable of producing very intense beams of high quality during a pulse. This property has led to their use as injectors for proton synchrotrons. The feasibility of linacs that operate continuously has been demonstrated and the limitation on the duty factor of a linac is primarily an economic one. Another type of linear accelerator consists of a waveguide carrying a traveling wave with the principal electric field along the axis of the guide. High-frequency power is fed into one end of the guide and discharged into a matched load at the other end. It is found that if the phase velocity of the waves is the same as the velocity of the particles at every point in the guide, the particles can simply follow a wave crest down the guide and be continually accelerated. It is observed that a linear accelerator is designed so that the phase velocity of one of the Fourier components is equal to the velocity of the particles.
Robust Controller Design for a Virtual Synchronous Generator (VSG) Using Linear Matrix Inequalities

A new method to design a robust controller for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems is presented in this paper. A constant pre-compensator is calculated by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMI) to damp the effect of non-diagonal terms and reduce the effect of interactions in MIMO systems. This method will help better achieve the control design specifications, such as proper gain margin and phase margin. The method is implemented on a virtual synchronous generator as a MIMO system example and its effectiveness is proven in frequency domain using Gershgorin disks. Getting thinner Gershgorin disks which are further from the origin point shows successfully decoupling the system. The performance of the proposed control is successfully verified with a set of simulation case studies carried out in both frequency and time domain.
Why hate carbon taxes? Machine learning evidence on the roles of personal responsibility, trust, revenue recycling, and other factors across 23 European countries

Abstract Carbon taxes are considered a key instrument for achieving deep decarbonization but are often unpopular among voters. While existing studies indicate that public opposition to carbon taxes is influenced by climate change belief and by political trust, less is known about the relevance of other factors. Moreover, it remains unclear why people oppose carbon taxes more fiercely than other climate policies. To enhance understanding of carbon tax opposition, I synthesize and categorize 28 conditions that potentially provoke public opposition to carbon taxes, assess their independent importance for predicting carbon tax opposition, and review the specific form in which they predict carbon tax opposition. This analysis draws on data from approximately 44,400 individuals from 23 European countries. It uses a random forest model, a machine learning method, to estimate independent prediction effects. The results identify the feeling of personal responsibility for trying to reduce climate change as the most important condition for predicting opposition to carbon taxes and for predicting attitudes on other climate policies. Political trust, in contrast, strongly predicts carbon tax opposition but not attitudes on other climate policies, suggesting that low political trust could explain the peculiar public aversion against carbon taxes. Recycling revenues from existing carbon prices back to households, often considered crucial for securing public support, is only associated with minor increases in the acceptance of higher carbon taxes. Finally, the results reveal that age, market liberal values, and good governance are related to carbon tax opposition in a non-monotonous pattern.
Transposable element landscape changes are buffered by RNA silencing in aging Drosophila

Genetic mechanisms that repress transposable elements (TEs) in young animals decline during aging, as reflected by increased TE expression in aged animals. Does increased TE expression during aging lead to more genomic TE copies in older animals? To answer this question, we quantified TE Landscapes (TLs) via whole genome sequencing of young and aged Drosophila strains of wild-type and mutant backgrounds. We quantified TLs in whole flies and dissected brains and validated the feasibility of our approach in detecting new TE insertions in aging Drosophila genomes when natural defenses like RNA interference (RNAi) pathways are compromised. By also incorporating droplet digital PCR to validate genomic TE loads, we confirm TL changes can occur in a single lifespan of Drosophila when TEs are not suppressed. We also describe improved sequencing methods to quantify extra-chromosomal DNA circles (eccDNAs) in Drosophila as an additional source of TE copies that accumulate during aging. Lastly, to combat the natural progression of aging-associated TE expression, we show that knocking down PAF1, a conserved transcription elongation factor that antagonizes RNAi pathways , may bolster suppression of TEs during aging and extend lifespan. Our study suggests that RNAi mechanisms generally mitigate genomic TL expansion despite the increase in TE transcripts during aging.
The Neoliberal Limitations of Water and Electricity Supply in Ghana

There have been several arguments regarding the fact that any economic growth must have the tendency towards strengthening free market fundamentalism, the neoclassical assumption of laisser-faire economy and perfect market competitive system. These assumptions have largely affected how public goods such as water and electricity are appropriated in the state. In Ghana, the provision of water and electricity has been a public good since independence in 1957, which was necessitated by the significant need to provide affordable and portable drinking water and electricity to Ghanaians. However, the 1980s saw a paradigmatic shift in the provision and allocation of water and electricity in Ghana. This shift was largely based on Ghanas adoption for the first time in its history the structural adjustment policies of the World Bank and IMF which became known as the Bretton woods institutions. As a result, this paper argues that the paradigmatic shift to neoliberal polices that commodified the provision of water and electricity from being a public good subsidized by the government to a private good run by corporate interest and private enterprises exacerbated poverty and exclusion in accessing water and electricity.
Book Review: Stories of Surrogacy

Written in the immediate wake of the much-debated Baby M case, this review of Lori Andrews’s book, Between Strangers: Surrogate Mothers, Expectant Fathers and Brave New Babies (1989), emphasizes how telling the stories of participants can shape our views of novel and controversial reproductive arrangements.
COVID-19 Pandemic-Associated Changes in the Acuity of Brain MRI Findings: A Secondary Analysis of Reports Using Natural Language Processing

Abstract Rationale and Objectives We aimed to assess early COVID-19 pandemic-associated changes in brain MRI examination frequency and acuity of imaging findings acuity. Methods Using a natural language processing model, we retrospectively categorized reported findings of 12,346 brain MRI examinations performed during 6-month pre-pandemic and early pandemic time periods across a large metropolitan health system into three acuity levels: 1, normal or near normal; 2, incidental or chronic findings not requiring a management change; and 3, new or progressive findings requiring a management change. Brain MRI frequency and imaging finding acuity level were compared over time. Results Between March and August of 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (early pandemic), our health system brain MRI examination volumes decreased 17.0% (6,745 vs. 5,601). Comparing calendar-matched 6-month periods, the proportion of higher acuity findings increased significantly (p Conclusion As the volume of brain MRI examinations decreased during the early COVID-19 pandemic, the relative proportion of examinations with higher acuity findings increased significantly. Pandemic-related changes in patient outcomes related to reduced imaging access merits further attention.
African Politics in Comparative Perspective: Gender and Politics

If the analysis of the agrarian question in Africa suggests that peasants can circumvent relations of dependence because their reliance on the state and other external agencies is weak, the opposite tends to be the case in gender relations. A woman may be able to divorce her husband, but even in such a scenario she is likely to be subjected to control by other males. In societies, therefore, where control of women is vital not only for social reproduction but also for economic reasons, their emancipation is fraught with special hurdles. This chapter will analyze the constraints that women encounter and discuss the progress they are making despite these many hurdles. As such, it will draw on social exchange theory to examine both symmetrical and asymmetrical, informal reciprocal relations. Gender came to the forefront as a public issue in Africa in the 1980s. It was a reflection on what was happening elsewhere in the world. The role of women in politics and development got a special boost from the international conferences that the United Nations organized in Copenhagen 1980 and Nairobi 1985 in order to showcase this theme as a concern of all. The idea of holding the second international conference in Nairobi was deliberate. The situation of women in Africa was generally considered critical. Not only were women poor, but they also carried a heavy burden of work on the land.
A Microcomputer Controlled CCD H-Alpha Spectrometer

A miniaturized spectrometer designed for mounting at the Cassegrain focus of a 40 cm telescope has been built and laboratory tested with promising results. The optical system consists of a slit, spherical mirror, and reflection grating in a Littrow configuration. The detector is a 128 element linear CCD cooled by an evacuated microminiature nitrogen refrigerator and interfaced to a microcomputer using direct memory access. Laboratory spectra of a mercury vapor discharge tube have been obtained and demonstrate 1 Angstrom resolution with low noise. The spectral coverage of about 100 Angstroms is suitable for measurement of stellar H-alpha line profiles, and it is anticipated that the instrument can be used to monitor bright Be stars.
Corporate social responsibility implementation

Purpose – Corporate social responsibility (CSR)‐based strategies have become important concepts in dealing with firms' stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the processes of stakeholder legitimacy and interest detection, namely ethical considerations and community obligations, to promote CSR as an intangible strategic asset.Design/methodology/approach – The two relatively large service‐based firms (contrasting not‐for‐profit with for‐profit) that were selected for study were Pittsburgh‐based, namely the largest single employer of the metropolitan area of Pittsburgh (The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)) and WESCO, a distributor of electrical construction products and electrical and industrial maintenance products and the largest domestic provider of integrated supply services.Findings – It was found that the management teams at UPMC and WESCO approach CSR‐based strategies and its initiative from completely different perspectives. UPMC functions a not‐for‐profit organization ...
Alternative Assessment for Software Enigneering Education

In this paper we present a new architecture for assessment that involves the integration of hypermedia with key requirements for advancing students' education. The result is an interactive system for assessing student competence that fosters individualized progress through a given software engineering curriculum and provides instructors and administrators with quantitative, standardized assessments of confidence, states of knowledge, and problem-solving ability. We present preliminary results of our prototype development effort and describe an architecture and rationale for such systems.
Learning by Going Social: Do We Really Learn from Social Media?

With the ever increasing ubiquity of smart phones and mobile devices, social networking has become a trend that has captured attention and interest of one and all. Young people, middle aged, and older generations are all engaged to certain extent in some sort of social networking over the web. While there are both pros and cons attached to the use of social networks, the usage of social media interestingly has always shown an upward trend in popularity and consumption. Are there real benefits in getting connected to people using social networks? Or does the use of web based social media actually isolate people and diminish the necessity of meeting face to face? Do we really learn from using social media? Does the use of social networks enhance collaboration and promote motivation and collective intelligence and learning? Â This research based discussion evaluates social media as an emerging educational and performance improvement tool from the perspective of social cognitive theory and social constructivist theories. We discuss some existing research that used social media as a teaching learning tool. We end this discussion with a decision making framework matrix for educators contemplating using social media within their course pedagogy.
Virginia Woolf and the Study of Nature

Virginia Woolf and the Study of Nature is a carefully researched and much-needed investigation in the areas of Woolf studies, Modernist studies, and literature and science. Christina Alt theorizes ...
Axial splitting of rocks under uniaxial compression

Abstract Although uniaxial compression testing of rock is considered a simple technique for evaluation of rock strength, it induces a complicated fracture pattern in the specimen that is difficult to comprehend. In particular, axial splitting is observed in uniaxial compression tests. There have been some attempts to interpret the failure pattern in compression testing of rock. The rock non-homogeneity and existence of initial micro-cracks and pores have been considered the main causes for nucleation of axial cracks. Based on some physical uniaxial compression tests on Pennsylvania blue sandstone, we suggest another possible mechanism, which considers the rock–loading platen interaction for generation of axial cracks in rock. In particular, this failure mechanism can occur in rock pillars which are loaded by the roof or floor that is made of a rock with different elastic properties. The non-uniform penetration of specimen in the loading platens and the end friction produce shear strain that can be the cause of axial shear cracking at the specimen ends. Dislocation along these axial shear cracks and the induced material dilation generate radial stresses which result in confinement of the core of the specimen and radial cracks in the vicinity of the specimen end surfaces. As a consequence of axial and radial cracks, rock pieces in the form of cantilever beams are generated around the specimen free surface. These rock pieces can break in tension in mode I fracture due to the internal radial stresses. Based on the physical observations, a simple mathematical model is proposed to explain the fracture pattern observed in the physical tests. Furthermore, a bonded particle numerical model for rock, together with a finite element simulation of the loading machine, is used to show how the applied boundary conditions and loading machine stiffness can affect the failure pattern.
The 1 Percent Solution: Corporate Tax Returns Should be Public (and How to Get There)

This paper argues that the tax returns of publicly traded US corporations should be made public and offers a way in which this can be achieved without legislation.