cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Decentralized Algorithm for Coordinating Independent Peers: An Initial Examination

Peer-to-peer (P2P) applications are composed of a distributed collection of peers that cooperate in order to perform some common task. Though P2P applications have attracted the attention of researchers, there has been little exploration of the deep issues; rather initial attention has been on widely known but technically shallow applications such as found in Napster and Gnutella. One particularly rich domain for examining the utility of P2P applications is distributed, decentralized crisis response. This paper studies the applicability of a peer-to-peer approach in such an emergency response situation. We have developed a prototype peer-to-peer infrastructure that models a group of firefighters who communicate with each other while fighting fires. Each firefighter (peer) runs a novel distributed "k-server" algorithm that makes local autonomous decisions based on the information received from other firefighters. While this study was limited in that it used a simulation to study the algorithm, the emergent behavior observed suggests that further, more detailed investigations are warranted.
Level shifts, continuum lowering, and the mobility edge in dense plasmas

The many-body problem in a hot dense plasma is treated using the ``effective one-particle'' description of density-functional theory. Three key ideas emerge, viz., (i) the neutral-pseudoatom (NPA) concept to describe a nucleus plus its electron distribution in the plasma, (ii) the concept of hopping electrons describing the effect of the ion-distribution on the electrons, which are shown to exist as bound, hopping, and free electrons, and (iii) the concept of the mobility edge replacing that of the continuum edge as we go to denser plasmas. The NPA concept shows that the electron-density profile around an ion in a plasma is very similar to that of the isolated neutral atom in a relevant configuration, and explains the absence of large polarization shifts predicted by simple plasma-screening theories. Several models of the ion distribution are used to study level shifts as a function of temperature and density. The change of continuum phase shifts with density is shown to give information about level formation. The appearance of hopping electrons signals the breakdown of Saha theory and the need to evaluate the effective charge ${\mathit{Z}}^{\mathrm{*}}$ of an ion in a dense plasma as a function of the ion distribution. The ion-correlation sphere is shown to be the ``optimal volume'' that maximizes the number of hopping states in the plasma. The mobility edge for the plasma percolation cluster is calculated and shown to depend on exchange-plus-correlation effects of electrons and ions, a Friedel-sum contribution, and a percolation contribution.
Spherical aberration after laser in situ keratomileusis and photorefractive keratectomy. Clinical results and theoretical models of etiology.

Abstract Purpose: To assess changes in corneal asphericity after laser refractive surgery and mathematically model possible causes of the changes. Setting: Cornea and Laser Eye Institute, Hersh Vision Group, Teaneck, New Jersey, USA. Methods: The corneal topography (EyeSys 2000) of 20 eyes was measured before and after laser in situ keratomileusis, laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy, and photorefractive keratectomy for myopia. All preoperative and postoperative maps were analyzed using the CTView 4.0, a computer software program for determining quantitative corneal spherical aberration. To define possible mechanisms of asphericity change, 2 mathematical models of corneal ablation were constructed and theoretical postoperative corneal asphericities were determined over a range of corrections from −12.0 to +6.0 diopters. Model 1 assumes homogeneous beam fluence over the ablation zone, and model 2 accounts for a theoretical ablation rate drop off peripherally as a result of the angle of incidence of the laser beam on the cornea. Postoperative clinical corneal spherical aberration was compared to the theoretically predicted asphericity values. Results: After excimer laser procedures, all corneas had positive asphericity within the ablation zone, generally changing from a prolate to an oblate optical contour. The mean asphericity ( Q ) was −0.17 ± 0.14 (SD) preoperatively and +0.92 ± 0.70 postoperatively. The mean change in spherical aberration was +1.09 ± 0.67 of positive asphericity; the range of asphericity change was +0.40 to +2.73 in the direction of a more oblate corneal profile. A trend toward greater change in asphericity and more oblateness was observed among eyes receiving higher correction. A mathematical model taking into account theoretical beam fluence changes across the ablation zone was highly predictive of the actual postoperative asphericity measurements. Conclusions: The cornea within the ablation zone becomes more oblate after laser refractive surgery. A mathematical model of the change in asphericity, which accounts for the angle of incidence of the laser beam across the ablation area, predicted this change in spherical aberration. If the model is correct, possible changes in laser algorithms, delivering more ablation to the peripheral optical zone, may better retain the native corneal prolate conformation. Moreover, wavefront-guided ablations may have to consider the effects of fluence variability across the optical zone to fully correct spherical as well as other aberrations.
‘Because She Made Beds. Every Day’. Social Positioning, Classroom Discourse, and Language Learning

This paper discursively analyzes two events of gendered positioning that took place during a unit on employment in an adult English as a Second Language program in California. Because the program primarily served Latina immigrant women, the teacher focused in this unit on the needs and goals of full-time homemakers who might want to transition into paid employment. This paper contends that it was the tensions inherent in the teacher's assumptions about her students’ identities which led to the events of positioning discussed in this paper. In one of these events, a learner contests being positioned as primarily a homemaker; in the other, a more-advanced learner appropriates this positioning to her own ends in the classroom. Arguing that events of language learning and social positioning often occur simultaneously in the L2 classroom, the paper concludes with a discussion of the significance of such events for longer term processes of language socialization.
Production economics and process quality: A Taguchi perspective

Abstract Although several studies have analyzed the interaction between the economics of production and process quality, most of them view quality from a very traditional perspective – reject when outside specified limits, or else accept. Recent views on quality have shown that such a definition greatly underestimates the costs of poor quality and leads to sub-optimal decisions. The primary intent in this paper is to revisit this interaction of the economics of production with process quality from a non-traditional yet more realistic “Taguchi” quality cost perspective. Specifically, we investigate the possibility of investing in a process to decrease its variance. Although such an investment reduces the proportion of defects, and when large enough, the Taguchi's loss, it also increases the cost of holding inventory. Our model determines the optimal levels of inventory, and the production lot-size that minimizes the sum of inventory and quality-related costs.
The ethics of access

The principle of providing equal access to archival resources is enshrined in various guidelines and codes of ethics for archival practices. The professional archivist has the responsibility to balance the conflicting interests of heirs, donors, collectors, researchers, and home institutions. An examination of the access problems associated with the restricted papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Sigmund Freud, and recently opened files on Ferdinand Marcos and Kurt Waldheim reveals the difficulties inherent in implementing such a deceptively simple principle. Several hypothetical situations are posed to demonstrate the practical difficulties of implementing the concept of equal access to open collections.
Oxygen consumption after massive sympathetic nervous system discharge

We evaluated the possibility that massive, sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation [as may precede the development of neurogenic pulmonary edema (NPE)] increases O2 demand. O2 consumption (VO2) and plasma concentrations of the calorigenic agents, epinephrine (EPI) and norepinephrine (NE) were measured in alpha-chloralose-anesthetized dogs under control conditions and for 3 h after the administration of either 1) intracisternal (ic) veratrine to activate the SNS, 2) intravenous (iv) veratrine, 3) ic saline, or 4) ic veratrine, after clamping the adrenal blood vessels. VO2 increased 31.7 +/- 3.6% (SE), and EPI and NE increased to, respectively, 30,853 +/- 8,347 and 8,176 +/- 2,104 pg/ml in the ic veratrine group. No increases in VO2 and EPI and attenuated increases in NE were observed in the ic veratrine animals with clamped adrenals. No significant increases in VO2 or catecholamine concentrations were observed after ic saline or iv veratrine administration. These data suggest that the elevated VO2 may have been mediated by adrenal catecholamines and that an increased metabolic rate may complicate the ability of patients with severe NPE to balance O2 supply with demand.
Dynamics of Organizational Populations: Density, Legitimation, and Competition

The article reviews the book “Dynamics of Organizational Populations: Density, Legitimacy and Competition,” by Michael T. Hannan and Glen R. Carroll.
A Comparison of Overt and Covert Response in Programmed Learning

THE IMPORTANCE and function of overt re sponse in learning has been debated by both learn ing theorists and educators (Spence, 1951; and Dewey, 1959). Progress toward the solution of this problem under conditions that would satisfy both the theorist and the educator has been difficult up to the present time since rigorous controls can not be achieved in the ordinary classroom. Pro grammed self-instruction, however, provides lab oratory-like conditions for the study of learning within an educational context and with meaningful educational materials. The present study was con ducted to determine the relative effectiveness of overt and covert practice during learning when some basic concepts of descriptive statistics were taught by programmed s elf-instruction using a cut back page, linear programmed text. (See Stolurow, 1961, for a description of the format.)**
Response of Chickens Inoculated with Infectious Bronchitis Virus to Temperature and Humidity Environments

Abstract THE effect of physical environment on the growth and production of the chicken has been investigated extensively in recent years. Adams et al. (1961) found that feed consumption of chicks 4 to 8 and 6 to 10 weeks of age decreased in a linear relationship for environmental temperatures between 7.1°C. and 23.8°C. Weight gain was not affected by these temperatures. Ota and Garver (1958) found that feed consumption of chicks 1 to 56 days of age was greater at 18.2°C. than at 29.3°C. In an experiment with chicks 4 to 8 weeks of age, Prince et al. (1961) found that feed consumption decreased in a linear fashion for environmental temperatures between 7.1°C. and 23.8°C. Differences in weight gain due to environmental temperature were not significant. Siegel and Cole (1958) found no difference in feed consumption or in the 2 week weights of chicks subjected to relative humidities of 57–58 …
How Great Judges Think: Judges Richard Posner, Henry Friendly, and Roger Traynor on Judicial Lawmaking

In his 2008 book, How Judges Think, Judge Richard Posner has written that in the "open area," where conventional legal materials – the Constitution, statues and prior decisions – "fail to generate acceptable answers to . . . legal questions that American judges are required to decide, judges perforce have occasional – indeed rather frequent – recourse to other sources of judgment, including their own political opinions or policy judgments." At these times judges "are legislators as well as adjudicators."This Article demonstrates that this is a view that was shared by two of the great judges of the twentieth century: Roger Traynor and Henry Friendly. And it is a perspective that places each of these judges at odds with the dominant jurisprudential movements of their respective eras – the legal process school in Traynor's and Friendly's case and the moral, constitutional, jurisprudential, and formalist (including originalist) theorists in Posner's. The theorists, in other words, are out of touch with the reality of judicial lawmaking as it has been understood, and articulated, by the great judges who have shaped, and are continuing to shape, our law.Unlike the theories of many, if not most, contemporary academics, the perspective shared by Traynor, Friendly, and Posner is not liberal or conservative – as can be seen in the vastly different ideologies of Traynor and Posner. And it is not original. It is the framework articulated by our greatest judge, Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Determination of organophosphorus pesticides in blood by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

To establish an analysis method for 8 kinds of organophosphorus pesticides in blood poisoned by organophosphate pesticides. After extracted with dichloromethane,the samples were frozen and fat was removed with high-speed centrifugation,and determined by GC /MS in selective ion monitoring( SIM) mode and quantified by the external standard method. The results indicated that the calibration curves were linear in the range of0. 05 ~ 1. 0 mg /L,( except methamidophos was 0. 1 ~ 2 mg /L and trichlorfon was 1 ~ 20 mg /L),r≥0. 9980.The average recoveries of organophosphorus pesticides were between 60. 6% and 113. 3%,relative standard deviations less than 19%( RSD,n = 6). The limits of detection( LOD) were 0. 003 ~ 0. 06 mg /L. The method is stable and reliable. This method can satisfy the requirement for simultaneous analysis of various organophosphorus pesticides in blood. It can provide diagnostic basis for patient by the organophosphate poisoning.
Research on Psychological Factors Affecting Respondents' Intention to Participate in Web Surveys

The objective of this paper is to reveal the determinants of decision to participate in web surveys from a psychological perspective.Based on the theory of reasoned action,we proposed a theoretical framework encompassing attitude toward web surveys,subjective norm,moral obligation,trust in sponsor of survey,topic involvement,topic sensitivity,and reputation of the sponsor to predict a potential respondent's participation decision.We empirically tested the proposed model using structural equation modeling(PLS).The results indicated that attitude,subjective norm,moral obligation,reputation of sponsor and trust in sponsor had positive effects on participation intention;attitude completely mediated the relationship between topic involvement and participation intentions;topic sensitivity of the web survey had no effect either on attitude or participation intention.Implications were drawn for future research and practice.
Cause Analysis and Remedies of Vibration Occurring in a Certain Imported 330 MW Turbine-Generator Unit

Abnormal vibration,that occurred in an imported 330 MW generating unit after overhaul,is being described and its cause analyzed,together with an explanation of countermeasures taken and subsequent results.
An Aberrant Internal Carotid Artery Discovered during Evaluation of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Report of 2 Cases with Consideration of a Possible Association:

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is often associated with reduced pharyngeal muscle tone and an anatomically narrowed pharyngeal airspace. We describe 2 cases of aberrant internal carotid arteries tha...
The "three-in-one block" for treatment of pain in a patient with acute herpes zoster infection.

Background and Objectives Herpes zoster infection in elderly patients frequently results in disabling pain, carries a high risk of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), and can pose a significant therapeutic challenge. Methods We describe a successful use of the perivascular technique of lumbar plexus blockade (“three-in-one block”) for treatment of pain during acute herpes zoster infection in an 82-year-old severely ill patient in whom other modalities were contraindicated. Results Three-in-one block using 40 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine with 1:300,000 epinephrine resulted in excellent pain relief that lasted for 2 weeks. Conclusions The perivascular technique of lumbar plexus blockade may be a useful alternative to epidural and paravertebral techniques of lumbar blockade in the occasional patient for whom these other approaches are contraindicated.
The Environmental Ethics of Fan Ruiping’s Revisionist Confucianism

Fan Ruiping is engaged in a wide-ranging project to reconstruct Confucianism for the contemporary period. It includes his sustained attack on John Rawls’ theory of distributive justice, various Chinese policies and practices on the delivery of health and elder care, and global business ethics. This paper describes his revised Confucian understanding of environmental morality under the metaphor of nature as garden and man as gardener. I argue the current state of this effort is in need of a more robust appropriation of Chinese sources and a greater attention to comparative analogues using the garden metaphor. I conclude with some suggestions that might advance this specific aspect of his project.
Independence, Trade and Colonization

At the turn of the thirteenth pre-Christian century both the Egyptians and the Hittite powers were definitely on the wane and the star of the Assyrians, the third world power of the ancient Orient, was not yet in the ascendant. This provided the Phoenician city-states with their unique opportunity to acknowledge no suzerainty, assert full independence and enjoy a period of relative peace and prosperity based on international trade and colonization. Roughly Phoenicia then extended from Aradus to Mount Carmel. In the meantime another Semitic people, the Aramaeans, were organizing an important kingdom centring on Damascus; and to the south still another, the Hebrews, were beginning to gain control of Palestine. Mount Lebanon checked Aramaean advance to the coast.
Evaluation of a Single Intra-Articular Injection of Autologous Protein Solution for Treatment of Osteoarthritis in a Canine Population

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of an intra-articular injection of autologous protein solution (APS) for treatment of canine osteoarthritis (OA). STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled pilot clinical trial. ANIMALS: Client-owned dogs with single limb lameness because of OA in a stifle or elbow joint (n=21). METHODS: Lame dogs, confirmed with OA by physical and lameness examination and imaging, were randomly assigned to control or treatment groups. Owners, blinded to treatment, scored pain (University of Pennsylvania Canine Brief Pain Inventory) and lameness severity (Hudson Visual Analogue Scale [HVAS]). Weight-bearing was assessed by kinetic gait analysis. Dogs were injected intra-articularly with APS (treatment group) or saline solution (control group). Evaluations were performed before injection, and 2 and 12 weeks post-injection. RESULTS: Compared to pretreatment values, APS treatment data showed a significant improvement in week 12 pain scores (improved 25.6% over baseline), lameness scores (improved 15% over baseline) and peak vertical force (PVF; N/kg; increased 14.9% of baseline), as well as vertical impulse (Ns/kg) and PVF normalized to stance time (N/kg/s). Control group dogs improved at week 2 in owner assigned indices, but not force plate values and had no significant improvement in scores or force plate values from pretreatment values at 12 weeks. CONCLUSION: APS injection reduced pain and lameness scores and increased weight-bearing associated with the OA-affected joint in dogs at 12 weeks providing preliminary evidence that APS therapy may be beneficial in the treatment of OA in dogs and supporting pursuit of additional studies.
Noise-Resilient SRAM Physically Unclonable Function Design for Security

Physically Unclonable Function (PUF) circuits are designed to provide part-specific responses that are random across different copies of the circuit by exploiting the unavoidable process variations in nanometer scale fabrication. This property can be used as an important building block in security and cryptographic applications including key generation and challenge-response authentication. A major problem, however, is to ensure PUF response stability and reliability in the presence of circuit and environmental noise. SRAM based PUFs are most promising in this regard but still require extensive output error correction because the response of many cells in the memory array is not consistent. Unfortunately, all such "weak" cells cannot be determined in advance to allow their unstable responses to be masked out. In this paper we present a new SRAM PUF design that allows all the unstable weak cells to be reliably identified over the full range of operating conditions including temperature, electrical noise, and aging. By using the remaining "strong" cells, each instantiation of our SRAM PUF provides the same consistent and repeatable response every time it is challenged, without any need for error correction. Experiments reported here show that relatively few (of the order of 10%) SRAM PUF cells are truly stable in the presence of realistic circuit noise; in addition to the expected noise level, this number also depends on the random variability in the manufacturing process. Our simulation results show that the new SRAM PUF can be designed to maintain good robustness against any level of expect circuit and environmental noise, and is resilient to aging.
The Rustle of the Anthropocene: Kafka's Odradek as Ecocritical Icon

This article interrogates the uses and abuses of Franz Kafka's enigmatic figure Odradek as an illustration for three recent approaches in the environmental humanities: Timothy Morton's notion of th...
A life of learning

When I consider the distinction and varied accomplishments of previous speakers, I am especially sensible of the honor of being asked to give the Haskins Prize Lecture. Unlike some of my predecessors, I can offer neither significant achievements in the public or institutional sphere nor a striking or particularly unusual life history. What I do share with a number of previous speakers is the feeling that if I have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed a life of learning, that privilege has owed much to chance or, more bluntly, been due more to good luck than good management. But the good luck surely included encountering teachers—and later in my career, colleagues—who inspired and helped me; I will have occasion to mention a number of them.
Scores and Rankings

Scoring functions are measures that reduce multi-dimensional records to a single value, highlighting some particular property of the data. A familiar example of scoring functions are those used to assign student grades in courses such as mine. Students can then be ranked (sorted) according to these numerical scores, and later assigned letter grades based on this order.
Evolutionary-Economic Principles as Regulators of Soil Enzyme Production and Ecosystem Function

Extracellular enzymes allow microbes and plant roots to acquire resources from complex molecules, and thereby catalyze the rate-limiting step in soil carbon and nutrient cycling. We examine the hypothesis that extracellular enzyme producers are under evolutionary pressure to minimize the cost:benefit ratio of enzyme production. Consistent with this prediction, enzyme producers generally allocate more resources to enzymes that target limiting nutrients. Additionally, regulatory systems have evolved to increase enzyme production when substrates are abundant and available resources are scarce. Finally, theoretical models predict that producers should control enzyme diffusion rates and adopt strategies to reduce competition for enzymatic reaction products. Because extracellular enzymes regulate ecosystem processes, enzyme allocation could affect ecosystem responses to environmental change. In particular, shifts in enzyme allocation may result in negative feedbacks to changes in resource availability. Enzyme allocation patterns therefore link ecological and evolutionary constraints at the organismal level with ecosystem-level processes.
Electrochemistry of the Iron-Molybdenum Cofactor of Nitrogenase: Evidence for Multiple Speciation and Electrocatalytic Behavior

Iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMoco)1 is the Fe-Mo-S and O-containing cluster that serves as the active site for biological reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia. FeMoco may be extracted2 from the iron-molybdenum protein of nitrogenase enzyme of nitrogen-fixing organisms (e.g. Azotobacter vinelandii) into N-methylformamide (NMF), where it exists as a lowmolecular-weight entity of approximate composition MoFe6–8S8–10O2–3. Study of this small chemical system is simpler than the large biological one; thus, considerable progress towards understanding the catalytic site at which nitrogen fixation occurs has been made by characterizing the composition, structure and spectroscopic properties of FeMoco1. These investigations have failed to address the principal role of the cofactor as a biological electron transfer catalyst. Therefore, we have undertaken studies of its electrochemical reactivity to understand better how the process of N2 reduction is accomplished at this Mo-Fe-S-O center in biological systems.
Predictive Factors for Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Placement After Anterior Cervical Fusion.

Study Design:Retrospective case-control study.Objectives:To identify incidence and risk factors for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement after anterior cervical fusion (ACF).Met...
Bone marrow suppression as a complication of total skin helical tomotherapy in the treatment of mycosis fungoides

Total skin electron beam therapy (TSEBT) is an effective treatment in mycosis fungoides. Total skin helical tomotherapy (TSHT) may be an alternative to TSEBT and may offer several dosimetric and treatment advantages. There are currently very few published treatment results using TSHT in place of TSEBT for treatment of mycosis fungoides. Two patients with mycosis fungoides were treated at our institution using TSHT. The first patient was a 69-year-old Caucasian female with stage IVA2 (T2 N3 M0 B2) disease who was treated to a dose of 12 Gy in 8 fractions, with a bone marrow mean dose of 1.66 Gy and V10 = 0.41%. Two weeks after ending treatment the patient developed myelosuppression including grade 4 thrombocytopenia and required blood and platelet transfusions. The second patient was a 29-year-old Caucasian female with stage I (T2 N0 M0 B0) disease. This patient previously had been treated for mycosis fungoides using helical tomotherapy (HT) at a dose of 20 Gy to a localized region and experienced mild thrombocytopenia at that time. The patient then underwent retreatment 17 months later with TSHT to a dose of 12 Gy in 6 fractions with a mean bone marrow dose of 2.3 Gy and V10 = 4.28%. This patient once again experienced myelosuppression that included grade 4 thrombocytopenia. She also required blood and platelet transfusions. Both patients treated with TSHT experienced severe bone marrow suppression including grade 4 thrombocytopenia. This was more severe than expected considering the relatively low overall prescription dose and despite a planning constraint placed on the bone marrow of a mean dose of < 2 Gy. These outcomes suggest that patients treated using TSHT should be closely monitored for myelosuppression and caution used even when treating to a dose of 12 Gy.
Thermal Energy Storage and Extraction in Solar Ponds

In the recent past, considerable research effort has been directed at energy storage systems, which are necessary for solar energy applications because of the intermittent availability of solar radiation. Various studies have considered energy storage in rock beds, phase change materials in enclosed water bodies, as discussed in the textbooks by Kreith and Kreider [1] Lunde [2] and Hsieh [3]. Hot water storage has been studied extensively, particularly for space and water heating, see, for instance, Lavan and Thompson [4], Cabelli [5] Jaluria and Gupta [6] and Guo and Wu [7] Salt-gradient solar ponds have also been studied because of their considerable promise for collection and long-term storage of solar energy as reviewed by Nielsen [8] and Tabor [9]. Most of these studies were largely directed at the design, analysis and operation of the energy storage system. As a consequence, considerable information exists on the effect of various physical variables, relevant to a given storage system, on its performance, particularly for long-term storage.
Chapter 10 Arbitrage, state prices and portfolio theory

Abstract Neoclassical financial models provide the foundation for our understanding of finance. This chapter introduces the main ideas of neoclassical finance in a single-period context that avoids the technical difficulties of continuous-time models, but preserves the principal intuitions of the subject. The starting point of the analysis is the formulation of standard portfolio choice problems. A central conceptual result is the Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing, which asserts the equivalence of absence of arbitrage, the existence of a positive linear pricing rule, and the existence of an optimum for some agent who prefers more to less. A related conceptual result is the Pricing Rule Representation Theorem, which asserts that a positive linear pricing rule can be represented as using state prices, risk-neutral expectations, or a state-price density. Different equivalent representations are useful in different contexts. Many applied results can be derived from the first-order conditions of the portfolio choice problem. The first-order conditions say that marginal utility in each state is proportional to a consistent state-price density, where the constant of proportionality is determined by the budget constraint. If markets are complete, the implicit state-price density is uniquely determined by investment opportunities and must be the same as viewed by all agents, thus simplifying the choice problem. Solving first-order conditions for quantities gives us optimal portfolio choice, solving them for prices gives us asset pricing models, solving them for utilities gives us preferences, and solving them for probabilities gives us beliefs. We look at two popular asset pricing models, the CAPM and the APT, as well as complete-markets pricing. In the case of the CAPM, the first-order conditions link nicely to the traditional measures of portfolio performance. Further conceptual results include aggregation and mutual fund separation theory, both of which are useful for understanding equilibrium and asset pricing.
Actualism, Free Logic and First-Order Supervaluations

In [Woodruff 1984] I showed that the supervaluation semantics introduced by [Van Fraassen 1966a, b] for Lambert’s system of free logic [Meyer and Lambert 1968] failed to have certain metatheoretic properties (compactness, upward and downward Lowenheim-Skolem, strong completeness and recursive axiomatizability) which attach to ordinary first-order logic. I also introduced the idea of secondary supervaluations, in which the class of conventions for asigning truth values to formulas with non-designating terms was restricted in some way or another. I was able to show that for a particular such restriction, the falsity condition (R(cx) false of all x when c doesn’t denote), the desirable properties were regained. I speculated that the indifference condition (R(cx) true either of all or of no xwhen cdoesn’t denote) would also suffice, and might be necessary.1
PLAQUE FORMING CELL ASSAY FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF POLYCLONAL ACTIVATION OF HUMAN PERIPHERAL BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES. CELLULAR REQUIREMENTS AND INTERACTIONS

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the plaque-forming cell assay for the measurement of polyclonal activation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes. In a study described in the chapter, heparinized venous blood was drawn from 20 normal adults and mononuclear cells were obtained by Hypaque–Ficoll density centrifugation. Purified lymphocyte suspensions depleted of monocytes were obtained by the glass plate adherence method. T-cell enriched and T-cell depleted mononuclear cell suspensions were obtained by differential centrifugation over a Hypaque–Ficoll gradient. Cells were cultured in 12 × 75 mm round bottom plastic tubes at a density of 2 × 106 in 1 ml of RPMI-1640 media containing 10% pooled human AB serum (absorbed with SRBC) in the absence or presence of various concentrations of pokeweed mitogen. Cultures were incubated in 5% CO2 in air at 100% humidity for 1 to 10 days on a rocker platform. The assay method employed was a combination monolayer-gel technique using a drop of agar-cell suspension-complement mixture beneath a glass coverslip. Plaque-forming cell (PFCs) were not detected until day 3 to 4, with a sharp peak by day 6 to 7. Background PFC was almost always 0. The number of PFC varied considerably from person to person with a mean (±SEM) of 175 (±76) PFC per 106 lymphocytes.
Abstract 5497: Effective combination therapy for breast cancer targeting BACH1 and mitochondrial metabolism

Oxidative phosphorylation is an attractive target for cancer therapy. Reprogramming metabolic pathways by promoting oxidative phosphorylation could improve the ability of metabolic inhibitors to suppress cancers with limited treatment options like triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Here we show that BACH1, a heme-binding transcription factor whose expression is enriched in patients with TNBC, inhibits oxidative phosphorylation through direct transcriptional regulation of electron transport chain (ETC) gene expression. Treatment of cells with hemin, which induces BACH1 degradation, mimics BACH1 depletion with shRNA. Pretreatment of TNBC tumors with BACH1 shRNA or hemin overcame resistance to metformin, an anti-diabetic drug, and abolished the growth of both cell line and patient-derived tumor xenografts. BACH1 gene expression inversely correlated with ETC gene expression in breast cancer patients as well as other tumor types, highlighting the clinical relevance. This study demonstrates that oxidative phosphorylation represents an Achilles heel that can be exploited through targeting BACH1 to sensitize breast cancer and potentially other tumor tissues to mitochondrial inhibitors. Citation Format: Jiyoung Lee, Ali Yesilkanal, Casey Frankenberger, Mohamad Elbaz, Daniel Rabe, Jielin Yan, Felicia Rustandy, Peter Hart, Christie Kang, Elizabeth Grossman, Jason Locasale, Daniel Nomura, Marcelo Bonini, Marsha Rosner. Effective combination therapy for breast cancer targeting BACH1 and mitochondrial metabolism [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5497.
MPS dose reconstruction for internal emitters: some site-specific issues and approaches.

Background: As part of the Million Person Study (MPS), dose reconstructions for internal emitters have been performed for several U.S. facilities where large quantities of radionuclides were handle...
Examining physical activity and correlates in adults with healthy weight, overweight/obesity, or binge-eating disorder.

Objective To examine physical activity and correlates among three subgroups of adults: healthy weight without binge eating (HW), overweight/obesity without binge eating (OW/OB), and core features of binge-eating disorder (BED). Method Participants (N = 2,384) completed an online survey with established measures of physical activity, eating psychopathology, and health. Most participants were White (82.6%) women (66.7%). Participants were categorized into three study groups: HW (n = 948; 39.9%), OW/OB (n = 1,308; 55.1%), and BED (n = 120; 5.1%). Results The BED group had the highest proportion of self-reported insufficiently active individuals (63.8%), followed by OW/OB (41.7%), and HW (29.2%). Associations between self-reported physical activity, eating pathology, and health were generally small in HW and OW/OB groups, whereas associations were moderate in the BED group. Self-reported weekly bouts of physical activity were more strongly, positively related to self-reported physical health for OW/OB than HW, and this effect was even more pronounced for BED compared with HW or OW/OB. Discussion This is the first study, to our knowledge, to demonstrate a stronger association between self-reported physical activity and physical health for individuals with BED compared with OW/OB alone. The high rate of physical inactivity and the strong association between physical activity and health among participants with BED suggest physical activity as an important treatment target for individuals with BED.
Drug resistance profiling of a new triple negative breast cancer patient-derived xenograft model

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents an aggressive subtype with limited therapeutic options. Experimental preclinical models that recapitulate their tumors of origin can accelerate target identification, thereby potentially improving therapeutic efficacy. Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), due to their genomic and transcriptomic fidelity to the tumors from which they are derived, are poised to improve the preclinical testing of drug-target combinations in translational models. Despite the previous development of breast and TNBC PDX models, those derived from patients with demonstrated health-disparities are lacking. We use an aggressive TNBC PDX model propagated in SCID/Beige mice that was established from an African-American woman, TU-BcX-2 K1, and assess its metastatic potential and drug sensitivities under distinct in vitro conditions. Cellular derivatives of the primary tumor or the PDX were grown in 2D culture conditions or grown in mammospheres 3D culture. Flow cytometry and fluorescence staining was used to quantify cancer stem cell-like populations. qRT-PCR was used to describe the mesenchymal gene signature of the tumor. The sensitivity of TU-BcX-2 K1-derived cells to anti-neoplastic oncology drugs was compared in adherent cells and mammospheres. Drug response was evaluated using a live/dead staining kit and crystal violet staining. TU-BcX-2 K1 has a low propensity for metastasis, reflects a mesenchymal state, and contains a large burden of cancer stem cells. We show that TU-BcX-2 K1 cells have differential responses to cytotoxic and targeted therapies in 2D compared to 3D culture conditions insofar as several drug classes conferred sensitivity in 2D but not in 3D culture, or cells grown as mammospheres. Here we introduce a new TNBC PDX model and demonstrate the differences in evaluating drug sensitivity in adherent cells compared to mammosphere, or suspension, culture.
Identity of coral reef herbivores drives variation in ecological processes over multiple spatial scales

Overexploitation of key species can negatively impact ecosystem processes, so understanding the ecological roles of individual species is critical for improving ecosystem management. Here, we use coral reefs and the process of herbivory as a model to examine how species identity of consumers influence ecosystem processes to inform management of these consumers. Herbivorous fishes can facilitate the recruitment, growth, and recovery of corals by controlling the fast-growing algae that can outcompete corals for space. However, herbivorous fish guilds are species rich with important differences among species in diet, movement, and habitat preferences. Yet, we lack a general understanding of (1) how these species-specific differences in feeding and behavior scale up to reef-wide rates of ecosystem processes and (2) how species identity and diversity impact these processes. To address these knowledge gaps, we used field observations to derive key species- and size-specific foraging parameters for nine herbivorous parrotfish species on coral reefs in the Florida Keys, USA. We then combined these foraging parameters with fish survey data spanning multiple spatial scales to estimate the rates of three ecosystem processes: area of reef grazed, amount of macroalgae removed, and rate of bioerosion. We found that predicted rates of ecological processes varied dramatically among habitats and among reef zones within habitats, driven primarily by variation in abundance among species with different foraging behaviors. In some cases, assemblages with similar levels of total biomass had different rates of ecological processes, and in others, assemblages with different biomass had similar rates of ecological processes. Importantly, our models of herbivory using species-specific parameters differed from those using genus-level parameters by up to 300% in rates of ecological processes, highlighting the importance of herbivore identity in this system. Our results indicate that there may be little overlap in the roles species play, suggesting that some systems may be vulnerable to loss of ecological function with the reduction or loss of just a few species. This work provides a framework that can be applied across the region to predict how changes in management may affect the ecological impact of these important herbivores.
A Concise Approach to Structurally Diverse β-Amino Acids

We have demonstrated that the high yields and selectivities of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions can be translated into facile stereoselective syntheses of a diverse array of beta-amino acids, key components of bioactive natural products, beta-lactams, and peptidomimetics. Simply by selecting different combinations of three readily available starting materials (an oxime, a chiral allylic alcohol, and a nucleophile), we used the reaction sequence to prepare four different beta-amino acid structural types with a variety of substitution patterns in good overall yield. Of particular note is the use of this approach to prepare highly substituted beta-amino acids not readily accessible by previously reported methodologies. This will pave the way for future studies of the structure and function of this important class of molecules.
From La Monjita to La Hormiga: Reflections on Gender, Body and Power in Fieldwork

Ethnography is widely accepted to be an embodied and experiential form of knowledge production. Gender, in particular, shapes fieldwork, influencing relationships between participants and researche...
Surprise! Some of the Anti-Arbitration Bills Introduced in Congress This Year May Actually Become Law (One Already Has)

Over the past several years, many bills were introduced by Congressional Democrats to restrict mandatory predispute arbitration agreement (“PDAA”) use. The 116th Congress has been no exception, especially with the Democrats controlling the House of Representtives. The new bills seek to amend the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), specific statutes like Dodd-Frank, Sarbanes-Oxley, or the National Labor Relations Act, or combinations thereof.In this article, I cover in an organized manner the key bills that have been introduced, starting with the FAIR Act (this Congress’ iteration of the dear, departed, Arbitration Fairness Act), or as I call it, “The AFA on Steroids”). I then segue to my predictions on what I think will happen, and close with what I suggest Congress actually do to effectuate meaningful change.
The Fixed Childfree Subjectivity: Performing Meta-Facework about Sterilization on Reddit

Although sterilization is the most common and effective form of birth control available, childfree individuals often report difficulty actually obtaining the procedure. The ideological and material constraints that impede access have been well documented, including physicians' pronatalist perceptions that childless women will regret sterilization when they mature or meet the right partner. However, researchers have demonstrated that childfree women experience low levels of regret after sterilization, indicating that physicians' reluctance is empirically unfounded. In order to mitigate physicians' hesitancy, childfree individuals organize and communicate online in order to share health-related information, seek support, and engage in identity work to more effectively procure the procedure. The current study contributes to critical health, interpersonal, and family communication conversations by employing performative face theory to study online interactions on the childfree subreddit, the largest and most active online forum dedicated to child freedom. Through critical-qualitative analysis of a cross-section of subreddit posts about sterilization, this study demonstrates how subreddit discourse draws upon ideological and metaphorical associations to articulate the fixed childfree subjectivity, which rejects negative significations of regret in favor of positive notions of repair and permanence. Users further engage in subversive meta-facework, or facework presented online about facework users engaged in offline, which maintains shared face and denaturalizes taken-for-granted linkages between gender, identity, and parenthood. Implications for health activism across individual, relational, communal, and cultural levels are discussed.
Understanding the Effect of Precipitation Process Variables on Hardwood Lignin Characteristics and Recovery from Black Liquor

Lignin has an enormous valorization potential as a sustainable raw material. The most common source of industrial lignin is black liquor, a byproduct from the kraft process. However, the variabilit...
Automatic recognition of eye blinking in spontaneously occurring behavior.

Previous research in automatic facial expression recognition has been limited to recognition of gross expression categories (e.g., joy or anger) in posed facial behavior under well-controlled conditions (e.g., frontal pose and minimal out-of-plane head motion). We have developed a system that detects a discrete and important facial action (e.g., eye blinking) in spontaneously occurring facial behavior that has been measured with a nonfrontal pose, moderate out-of-plane head motion, and occlusion. The system recovers three-dimensional motion parameters, stabilizes facial regions, extracts motion and appearance information, and recognizes discrete facial actions in spontaneous facial behavior. We tested the system in video data from a two-person interview. The 10 subjects were ethnically diverse, action units occurred during speech, and out-of-plane motion and occlusion from head motion and glasses were common. The video data were originally collected to answer substantive questions in psychology and represent a substantial challenge to automated action unit recognition. In analysis of blinks, the system achieved 98% accuracy.
Troubles with Global Monopoles in Quantum Gravity

A theory with a global $O(3)$ symmetry broken at a scale $\eta$ admits topological configurations: global monopoles realized by Goldstone fields winding around the core of false vacuum. One may expect them to behave as heavy, big composite objects, difficult to make and therefore mostly harmless. However, after gravity is turned on, as long as Equivalence Principle holds, one finds that global monopoles have a negative mass, $M \sim - \eta/\sqrt{\lambda}$, where $\lambda$ is the field theory coupling. This could catalyze an instability in the space of a global monopole, by the production of additional global monopole-antimonopole pairs along with normal particles, leading to energy production {\it ab nihilo}, if the pair energy is dominated by their negative rest masses. In a theory with unbroken local Poincar\'e symmetry, this could lead to a divergent `decay rate' of the global monopole configurations.