cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stingy King Meets Savvy Sage: Rethinking the Dialog between King Xuan of Qi and Mengzi

While the traditional interpretation takes Mengzi 孟子 to be trying to persuade King Xuan 宣 of Qi 齊, I take him to be manipulating King Xuan with insincere flattery. My interpretation has several advantages. On the traditional interpretation, Mengzi is naive about King Xuan’s motives, and confused about basic aspects of his own views, but my interpretation makes Mengzi into a canny sage with a clear, comprehensive grasp of his doctrines. My interpretation also brings the dialog into harmony with the rest of the book, and with common sense on several points. It thus makes the dialog a more nuanced, coherent, and plausible work. Next, my interpretation shows Mengzi to possess a more complete list of virtues, and a longer list of character improvement strategies than is usually thought. Finally, by attributing to Mengzi a promising strategy for curing rulers prone to rages, lust, and greed, I show that Mengzi’s work fills a pressing contemporary need.
Pharmacokinetics of a sulfadiazine and trimethoprim suspension in neonatal foals.

There is limited investigation of neonatal foal pharmacokinetic parameters for the antimicrobial combination of sulfadiazine (SDZ) and trimethoprim (TMP). Neonatal pharmacokinetic investigation of the sulfadiazine-trimethoprim combination is required to ensure safe and effective utilization in this population. The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics of sulfadiazine-trimethoprim in five healthy neonatal foals with oral administration at 24 mg/kg every 12 hr (hrs) for 10 days. Blood samples were collected at serial time points at approximately 72 hr of age (steady-state) and at days 5 and 10 to monitor the influence of age within the neonatal period. Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined using a one-compartment model analysis, and mean ± SD was calculated. Cmax was 37.8 ± 13.4 μg/ml (SDZ) and 1.92 ± 0.25 μg/ml (TMP). Tmax was 1.4 ± 0.6 hr (SDZ) and 1.4 ± 0.4 hr (TMP). Cmin for SDZ and TMP was 16.84 ± 8.46 μg/ml and 0.46 ± 0.24 μg/ml, respectively. Elimination half-life was 10.8 ± 6.1 hr (SDZ) and 6.5 ± 2 hr (TMP). AUC0 → ∞ was 667 ± 424 μg × hr/ml (SDZ) and 21.1 ± 5.3 μg × hr/ml (TMP). Foals remained healthy, and the plasma concentration of sulfadiazine-trimethoprim reached levels above MIC(90) for Streptococcus equi ssp. (SDZ/TMP): 9.5/0.5 μg/ml).
Novel function of adrenocorticotropic hormone in the stimulation of vascular endothelial growth factor release in healthy children and adolescents: a proof-of-concept study.

PURPOSE To assess the effect of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) on plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in healthy children and adolescents and to inform future work on the effects of ACTH on VEGF in bone. METHODS An Institutional Review Board-approved prospective study of 10 healthy subjects, ages 9-17, was conducted to assess the effect of ACTH on plasma VEGF levels. VEGF levels were collected at baseline and every 30 minutes for 3 hours. Cosyntropin (a synthetic ACTH analogue) was administered at a low-dose (1 μg) given at t=0 minutes and a high-dose (250 μg) given at t=60 minutes. A Friedman test was performed comparing baseline to peak VEGF levels after stimulation with low-dose and high-dose cosyntropin. RESULTS Peak plasma VEGF levels significantly increased after high-dose cosyntropin compared with baseline (P=0.042). Peak plasma VEGF levels did not significantly increase after low-dose cosyntropin compared to baseline. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that ACTH administration causes a significant increase in plasma VEGF levels in humans. This finding may have important implications in the protective effects of ACTH on bone. Decreased bone mineral density and adrenal suppression are common side effects of glucocorticoid use in pediatrics. VEGF increases vascularity and may play a role in reducing glucocorticoid-induced bone disease. Animal studies have shown that ACTH stimulates release of VEGF in osteoblasts, though this effect has yet to be evaluated in humans.
Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of Lateral Interbody Fusion for Adjacent Segment Degeneration.

ABSTRACT Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Objective: Assessment of outcomes in patients undergoing lateral interbody fusion as part of the surgical treatment of adjacent segment deterioration after previous lumbar spine fusion. Methods: Adult patients with previous lumbar posterior spinal fusion who presented with adjacent segment degeneration and stenosis refractory to nonoperative treatment and who underwent lateral lumbar interbody fusion were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical and radiographic outcomes were assessed and comparisons made between preoperative baseline and postoperative values. Results: Thirty-six patients with symptomatic adjacent segment degeneration at 46 motion segments were included. Thirty (83.3%) of the 36 patients had complete relief of both preoperative lower extremity pain and back pain at the time of final follow-up. Six (16.7%) of the 36 patients had persistent pain, though in all 6 cases, the pain was less postoperatively than preoperatively. Oswestry Disability Index scores were improved significantly at final follow-up (P = .001). Compared with preoperative baseline parameters, initial and final postoperative radiographs had an increase in segmental lordosis (P Conclusion: Lateral lumbar interbody fusion achieves favorable clinical and radiographic outcomes for the treatment of adjacent segment degeneration after previous lumbar fusion. Level of Evidence: 4.
Toward Optimized Clinical Decision Support: A Theory-Based Approach

While patient care can be improved through clinical decision support (CDS), it often fails for reasons that are not entirely clear. We hypothesize that the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model can provide insights to clinician behavior, which will help explain why CDS interventions succeed or fail. To test this hypothesis, we will characterize and evaluate the CDS literature according to the UTAUT model. This project seeks to provide generalizable knowledge and theory-informed metrics to guide the design and implementation of CDS across healthcare settings.
Theoretical Study of the Effects of Temperature Slip in LPCVD Systems

A Summary Report to The Electrochemical Society for the 2002 Edward G. Weston Summer Research Fellowship.
Individual- and group-level network-building interventions to address social isolation and loneliness: A scoping review with implications for COVID19.

Purpose Worldwide mandates for social distancing and home-quarantine have contributed to loneliness and social isolation. We conducted a systematic scoping review to identify network-building interventions that address loneliness and isolation, describe their components and impact on network structure, and consider their application in the wake of COVID19. Methods We performed forward and backward citation tracking of three seminal publications on network interventions and Bibliographic search of Web of Science and SCOPUS. We developed data charting tables and extracted and synthesized the characteristics of included studies, using an iteratively updating form. Findings From 3390 retrieved titles and abstracts, we included 8 studies. These interventions focused on building networks at either individual- or group-levels. Key elements that were incorporated in the interventions at varying degrees included (a) creating opportunities to build networks; (b) improving social skills; (c) assessing network diagnostics (i.e. using network data or information to inform network strategies); (d) promoting engagement with influential actors; and (e) a process for goal-setting and feedback. The effect of interventions on network structures, or the moderating effect of structure on the intervention effectiveness was rarely assessed. Conclusions As many natural face-to-face opportunities for social connection are limited due to COVID19, groups already at risk for social isolation and loneliness are disproportionately impacted. Network-building interventions include multiple components that address both the structure of individuals' networks, and their skills and motivation for activating them. These intervention elements could be adapted for delivery via online platforms, and implemented by trained facilitators or novice volunteers, although more rigorous testing is needed.
Chapter 8 – Additional Applications

In Chapter 8, we present several additional practical applications of linear algebra in mathematics and the sciences. These include an introduction to graph theory, applying Ohm’s and Kirchhoff’s laws in circuit theory, approximating data using the least-squares method, Markov chains, an introduction to coding theory via Hill substitutions, how the formulas for conic sections change under a rotation of axes, the use of matrices for transformations in computer graphics, solving certain linear differential equations, finding approximate solutions for inconsistent systems of linear equations using least-squares, and an introduction to quadratic forms.
Cervical Spine Stabilization; Technical Aspects

Cervical spine stabilization is a procedure frequently performed by neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons to treat spinal instability, which is the loss of the spine's ability to tolerate pain, structural deformity, or neurological damage under normal conditions. Cervical instability can be caused by traumatic injury, infection, cancer, and degenerative processes. Surgical treatment of any of these conditions requires removing bone, which can increase spinal instability. Stabilization procedures typically use instrumentation and bone grafts to restore the spine to its normal condition. The surgical goal is to provide the best environment for the formation of bone fusion.
Chaotic natural convection in a toroidal thermosyphon with heat flux boundaries

Abstract This computational study investigates nonlinear dynamics of unstable convection in a 3 D toroidal shaped thermal convection loop (i.e., thermosyphon) with heat flux boundary conditions; results are compared to prior 2 D simulations. The lower half of the thermosyphon is subjected to a positive heat flux into the system while the upper half is cooled by an equal-but-opposite heat flux out of the system. Water is employed as the working fluid with fully temperature dependent thermophysical properties and the system of governing equations is solved using a finite volume method. Numerical simulations are performed for varying magnitudes of heat flux ( 1.0 W / m 2 ⩽ q ″ ⩽ 1.0 × 10 4 W / m 2 ) to yield Rayleigh numbers (i.e., buoyant forcing) ranging from 2.83 × 10 4 ⩽ Ra ⩽ 2.83 × 10 8 . Delineation of multiple convective flow regimes is achieved through evolution of the bulk-mass-flow time-series and the trajectory of the mass flow attractor. Simulation results demonstrate that multiple regimes are possible and include: (1) conduction, (2) damped, stable convection that asymptotes to steady-state, (3) unstable, Lorenz-like chaotic convection with flow reversals, and (4) high Rayleigh, aperiodic stable convection without flow reversals. For the Rayleigh numbers considered, it is observed that certain flow regimes are not accessible in toroidal simulations owing to the constraints of additional surface boundaries in a 3 D system. The RMS of mass flow rate, power spectra of oscillatory behavior, dominant oscillatory frequency, and residence time are also described as a function of the buoyant forcing in the system.
The need for xenotransplantation as a source of organs and cells for clinical transplantation

The limited availability of deceased human organs and cells for the purposes of clinical transplantation remains critical worldwide. Despite the increasing utilization of ‘high-risk’, ‘marginal’, or ‘extended criteria’ deceased donors, in the U.S. each day 30 patients either die or are removed from the waiting list because they become too sick to undergo organ transplantation. In certain other countries, where there is cultural resistance to deceased donation, e.g., Japan, the increased utilization of living donors, e.g., of a single kidney or partial liver, only very partially addresses the organ shortage. For transplants of tissues and cells, e.g., pancreatic islet transplantation for patients with diabetes, and corneal transplantation for patients with corneal blindness (whose numbers worldwide are potentially in the millions), allotransplantation will never prove a sufficient source. There is an urgent need for an alternative source of organs and cells. The pig could prove to be a satisfactory source, and clinical xenotransplantation using pig organs or cells, particularly with the advantages provided by genetic engineering to provide resistance to the human immune response, may resolve the organ shortage. The physiologic compatibilities and incompatibilities of the pig and the human are briefly reviewed.
Synthesis of 1,3-Amino Alcohols, 1,3-Diols, Amines, and Carboxylic Acids from Terminal Alkynes

The half-sandwich ruthenium complexes 1–3 activate terminal alkynes toward anti-Markovnikov hydration and reductive hydration under mild conditions. These reactions are believed to proceed via addition of water to metal vinylidene intermediates (4). The functionalization of propargylic alcohols by metal vinylidene pathways is challenging owing to decomposition of the starting material and catalytic intermediates. Here we show that catalyst 2 can be employed to convert propargylic alcohols to 1,3-diols in high yield and with retention of stereochemistry at the propargylic position. The method is also amenable to propargylic amine derivatives, thereby establishing a route to enantioenriched 1,3-amino alcohol products. We also report the development of formal anti-Markovnikov reductive amination and oxidative hydration reactions to access linear amines and carboxylic acids, respectively, from terminal alkynes. This chemistry expands the scope of products that can be prepared from terminal alkynes by practica...
SPECTRUM OF THE MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION

A review is given of the present status of measurements of the spectrum of the microwave background. Factors that limit experimental accuracy are discussed with particular reference to high-frequency measurements. A selection of the available measurements yields a data set that is reasonably consistent with the black-body spectrum for a temperature of 2.9 K. A simple statistical analysis suggests either that there are errors in the data set, or that deviations from a black-body spectrum exist. The difficulties inherent in properly averaging the results from different observers are described. Prospects for improved measurements are summarized.
Institutional Impact of GATT: An Examination of Market Integration and Efficiency in the World Beef and Wheat Market under the GATT Regime

Many studies have been done concerning the impact of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) on economic activities such as production, consumptions trade, and prices. This study examines whether GATT reforms improved market integration and efficiency using the beef and wheat markets as specific cases. Whereas earlier studies specified general or partial equilibrium structure in their models, this study uses time series methods with minimum structural specification. The author suggests there is consistent evidence that GATT reforms promoted market integration and improved market efficiency.
Poverty in rural and semi-urban Mexico during 1992-2002

This paper analyzes poverty in rural and semi-urban areas of Mexico (localities with less than 2,500 and 15,000 inhabitants, respectively) and provides guidance on a social agenda and poverty alleviation strategy for rural Mexico. The analyses are based on INIGH and ENE data sets for 1992-2002. Monetary extreme poverty affected 42 percent of the rural dwellers in dispersed rural areas and 21 percent in semi-urban areas in 2002, slightly less than one decade earlier. Most of the rural poor live in dispersed rural areas and 13.2 million people live in poverty in rural Mexico with less than 15,000 inhabitants. It is disproportionately a feature of households whose main job is in the agricultural sector, as self-employed farmers or rural laborers, and that have at most a primary education. However, the incidence of extreme rural poverty has declined since 1996 but at a slower pace than the decline in urban poverty. Hence, the rural-urban poverty gap increased in recent years and in some places extreme poverty is at least four times higher in rural than in urban areas. Moreover, not only is the income gap in urban areas increasing, but also the gap between richer and poorer segments of the population in the rural areas is growing. Finally, the gap between rich and poor regions is still large.
Fatigue damage of notched boron/epoxy laminates under constant amplitude loading

Fatigue damage in (0, plus or minus 45) and (0, plus or minus 45, 90) boron/epoxy laminates was studied with X-ray radiography and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, limited tests for residual strength and stiffness were performed. Initially, fatigue damage in both (0, plus or minus 45) and (0, plus or minus 45, 90) laminates occurred as intralaminar cracks around the edge of the hole. Then, whenever further damage developed, intralaminar cracks in the plus or minus 45-deg plies began to propagate from the edge of the hole. Finally, in both types of laminates, primarily plus or minus 45-deg fibers broke (prior to two-piece failure) where intralaminar cracks in the plus or minus 45-deg plies had occurred. In the (0, plus or minus 45) laminates, the 45-deg plies developed intralaminar and transthickness cracks along lines parallel to the loading axis and tangent to the hole in the test specimen. This damage, which was most pronounced under compressive loads, had little effect on either strength or stiffness. In contrast, in the (0, plus or minus 45, 90) laminates, the plus or minus 45-deg plies developed intralaminar cracks transverse to the loading axis.
Targeting social spending to the poor with proxy - means testing: Colombia's SISBEN system

While targeting can effectively channel resources to the poor, implementation details matter tremendously to distributive outcomes. Several key factors affect performance, including: data collection processes; information management; household assessment mechanisms; institutional arrangements; and monitoring and oversight mechanisms. This report conducts an in-depth assessment of key design and implementation factors and their potential impact on outcomes for the household targeting system SISBEN used in Colombia to target social programs to the poor and vulnerable.
Corporate Board Structure, Managerial Self-Dealing, and Common Agency

This paper compares the effects on corporate performance and managerial self-dealing in a situation in which a (privately informed) CEO reports to a single Board that is responsible for both monitoring management and establishing performance targets to an alternative in which the CEO reports to two different Boards, each of them responsible for a different task. The equilibrium set of the common agency game induced by the dual board structure is fully characterized. Compared to a single board, a dual board demands less aggressive performance targets from the CEO, but exerts more monitoring. A consequence of the first feature is that the CEO always exerts less effort toward production with a dual board. The effect of a dual board on CEO self-dealing is ambiguous: there are equilibria in which, in spite of the higher monitoring, the amount self-dealt is higher in a dual system. The model indicates that the strategic interdependence generated by the assignment of different tasks to different boards may yield — in spite of the increase in monitoring — results that are far from the desired ones.
Finding accurate frontiers: a knowledge-intensive approach to relational learning

An approach to analytic learning is described that searches for accurate entailments of a Horn Clause domain theory. A hill-climbing search, guided by an information based evaluation function, is performed by applying a set of operators that derive frontiers from domain theories. The analytic learning system is one component of a multi-strategy relational learning system. We compare the accuracy of concepts learned with this analytic strategy to concepts learned with an analytic strategy that operationalizes the domain theory.
Optimized web services security performance with differential parsing

The focus of this paper is to exploit a differential technique based on the similarities among the byte sequences of the processed SOAP messages in order to improve the performance of the XML processing in the Web Service Security (WS-Security) processing. The WS-Security standard is a comprehensive and complex specification, and requires extensive XML processing that is one of the biggest overheads in WS-Security processing. This paper represents a novel WS-Security processing architecture with differential parsing. The architecture divides the byte sequence of a SOAP message into the parts according to the XML syntax of the message and stores them in an automaton efficiently in order to skip unnecessary XML processing. The architecture also provides a complete WS-Security data model so that we can support practical and complex scenarios. A performance study shows that our new architecture can reduce memory usage and improve performance of the XML processing in the WS-Security processing when the asymmetric signature and encryption algorithms are used.
Illness And Injury As Contributors To Bankruptcy

In 2001, 1.458 million American families filed for bankruptcy. To investigate medical contributors to bankruptcy, we surveyed 1,771 personal bankruptcy filers in five federal courts and subsequently completed in-depth interviews with 931 of them. About half cited medical causes, which indicates that 1.9–2.2 million Americans (filers plus dependents)experienced medical bankruptcy. Among those whose illnesses led to bankruptcy, out-of-pocket costs averaged $11,854 since the start of illness; 75.7 percent had insurance at the onset of illness. Medical debtors were 42 percent more likely than other debtors to experience lapses in coverage. Even middle-class insured families often fall prey to financial catastrophe when sick.
The History and Present Status of Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime

Quantum field theory in curved spacetime is the theory of quantum fields propagating in a classical curved spacetime. Here the spacetime is described, in accord with general relativity, by a manifold,M, on which is defined a Lorentz metric, g ab . In order to ensure that classical dynamics is well defined on (M,g ab ), we restrict attention to the case where (M,g ab ) is globally hyperbolic (see, e.g., (Wald 1984)).
Jet physics from static charges in AdS space

Soft interactions with high-energy jets are explored in radial coordinates which exploit the approximately conformal behavior of perturbative gauge theories. In these coordinates, the jets, approximated by Wilson lines, become static charges in Euclidean AdS. The anomalous dimension of the corresponding Wilson line operator is then determined by the potential energy of the charges. To study these Wilson lines we introduce a ``conformal gauge'' which does not have kinetic mixing between radial and angular directions, and show that a number of properties of Wilson lines are reproduced through relatively simple calculations. For example, certain nonplanar graphs involving multiple Wilson lines automatically vanish. We also discuss the linear growth of the charges' imaginary potential energy with separation, and a relationship between Wilson line diagrams and Witten diagrams.
CALPUFF, HPAC, and VLSTRACK evaluation with the over-land alongwind dispersion (OLAD) field data

The CALPUFF (California Puff), HPAC (Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability), and VLSTRACK (Chemical/Biological Agent Vapor, Liquid and Solid Tracking) transport and dispersion models were evaluated with the Over-Land Alongwind Dispersion (OLAD) field data. OLAD involved nearly instantaneous line releases of sulfuric hexafluoride (SF6) from truck or aircraft on a mesoscale field site at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. Meteorological data were measured at 16 surface sites, at one radiosonde site, and at one pibal site. SF6 concentrations were mainly measured by the whole-air samplers along three sampling lines. In general, all three models underpredicted the maximum dosages across a sampling line. CALPUFF, HPAC, and VLSTRACK predictions indicated a factor of 1.8, 2.0, and 3.3 mean underprediction, respectively; and a factor of two to seven random scatter for all three models, with HPAC having the smallest scatter. The fraction of predictions within a factor of two of observations was about 30% for CALPUFF, 25% for VLSTRACK, and about 50% for HPAC. The underprediction might be due to the model formulations for the vertical dispersion coefficient and the cloud advective speed.
Market and Welfare Effects of Trade Disruptions from Unapproved Biotech Crops

Genetically modified (GM) crops have been largely adopted in major exporting countries thereby representing a dominant share of a few key agricultural commodities that are traded in international markets. Regulatory reviews and approvals for the cultivation and marketing of GM crops, however, are country-specific and significant discrepancies in the amount of time required to review and approve new GM crops between importing and exporting countries has led to “asynchronous approvals”. Trade disruptions created by asynchronous approvals of GM crops are expected and can quickly deteriorate into effective trade bans because perfect segregation between approved and unapproved GM crops is difficult. The issues we examine in this paper are the potential market and welfare impacts from trade disruptions that might be caused by asynchronous regulatory approvals of new GM crops. We develop a trade model consisting of two composite importing countries and one exporting country. We first derive a baseline equilibrium where no unapproved events exists. When then derive a second equilibrium so that the market and welfare impacts of asynchronous approval on consumers and producers in each composite country can be analyze and discussed. We found that asynchronous approvals tend to increase prices, reduce consumer surplus and increase profits of producers of identity preserved commodities in all countries. However, we found that the aggregate quantities consumed and the profits of commodity producers are depend on the relative size of the export market in the countries where event are not approved.
Field Experiments Testing the Impact of Radio Advertisements on Electoral Competition

Results from previous studies of campaign spending imply that equal-sized grants to both incumbents and challengers are a net benefit to challengers, who on average spend less money and derive greater marginal returns from each additional dollar. This study provides an experimental test of this proposition. Cities holding mayoral elections in November 2005 and 2006 were randomly assigned to broadcast nonpartisan radio ads that stated the names of the mayoral candidates, reminded listeners about the date of the upcoming election, and encouraged them to vote. Consistent with the findings of previous studies on the differential effects of incumbent and challenger campaign spending on election outcomes, we find that these radio ads produced substantially more competitive elections. The borderline statistical significance of our results, however, invites replication of this experiment.
Do People Understand Spatial Concepts: The Case of First-Order Primitives

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether people in general understand elementary spatial concepts, and to examine whether or not naive spatial knowledge includes the ability to understand important spatial primitives that are built into geographic theory, spatial databases and geographic information systems (GIS). The extent of such understanding is a partial measure of spatial ability. Accurate indicators or measures of spatial ability can be used to explain different types of spatial behavior. In this paper I first examine the relation between spatial ability and spatial behavior, then present experimental evidence of the ability of people to understand spatial concepts such as nearest neighbors (proximity), and spatial distributions. A final commentary is made about the possible difference between “common sense” and “expert” spatial knowledge, and the implications of such results for the comprehension of space at all scales.
Deception across cultures: bottom-up and top-down approaches

This paper examines various approaches to analyzing differences in patterns of deception and how deception is evaluated across cultures. The approaches are divided into bottom-up approaches, which examine the foundations of culture and how they affect deception, and top-down approaches, which refer to models of deception and how their dynamics change across cultures. Considerations of the various approaches have led to a conclusion that the most comprehensive method for modeling deception across cultures would be to synthesize the two approaches, rather than consider them as opposing schools of thought.
Optical patterning of magnetic domains and defects in ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids

A promising approach in designing composite materials with an unusual physical behavior combines solid nanostructures and orientationally ordered soft matter at the mesoscale. Such composites can not only inherit properties of their constituents but also can exhibit emergent behavior such as ferromagnetic ordering of colloidal metal nanoparticles forming mesoscopic magnetization domains when dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal. Here, we demonstrate the optical patterning of domain structures and topological defects in such ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids, which allows for altering their response to magnetic fields. Our findings reveal the nature of the defects in this soft matter system which is different as compared to non-polar nematics and ferromagnets alike.
Deviations from uncovered interest rate parity: a Post Keynesian explanation

Finding satisfactory explanations of deviations from uncovered interest rate parity (UIRP) has proved to be a frustrating experience for Neoclassical economists. Studies have focused on the role of risk, but thus far no one has been able to put forward a source thereof that can account for the specific pattern of deviations from UIRP. This paper offers an alternative perspective that finally resolves the mystery. Drawing on the work of Marc Lavoie and John Smithin and extending it with some basic Post Keynesian propositions regarding endogenous money, uncertainty, and nonergodicity, it is shown that one can devise a comprehensive explanation of UIRP--an explanation that shows that much more than risk is responsible for deviations. In particular, it is argued that Keynes's "confidence" is a vitally important and overlooked factor. This contention is supported by a regression analysis of the U.S.-German and U.S.- Japanese asset markets.
Lessons from the Danish Ban on Feed-Grade Antibiotics

In June of 2003, McDonaldâs Corporation announced that it would prohibit its direct suppliers from using antibiotics that are important in human medicine as growth promotants in food animals after 2004. The company also created a purchasing preference for companies that work to minimize antibiotic use. This announcement, coupled with recent Food and Drug Administration guidance on the same issue, will put pressure on the US livestock industry to consider alternatives to feed-grade antibiotics. Denmark recently banned the use of feed-grade antibiotics in pork production and has been joined in this action by countries in the European Union (EU). The ban was implemented first at the finishing stage and then at the weaning stage. Denmarkâs recent experiences with the withdrawal of antibiotics from feed can help us to better understand and anticipate the consequences of a similar action in the United States.
Social Networks as Contract Enforcement: Evidence from a Lab Experiment in the Field

Lack of well-functioning formal institutions leads to reliance on social networks to enforce informal contracts. Social proximity and network centrality may affect cooperation. To assess the extent to which networks substitute for enforcement, we conducted high-stakes games across 34 Indian villages. We randomized subjects' partners and whether contracts were enforced to estimate how partners' relative network position differentially matters across contracting environments. While socially close pairs cooperate even without enforcement, distant pairs do not. Individuals with more central partners behave more cooperatively without enforcement. Capacity for cooperation in the absence of contract enforcement, therefore, depends on the subjects' network position.
Telephone Number Allocation: A Property Rights Approach

This paper analyzes the coordination, competition and resource allocation problems associated with telephone numbers, and it examines the advantages and disadvantages of various allocation mechanisms from a property rights perspective. We suggest to move away from current administrative number allocation procedures to a market-based auction mechanism, at least for the most valuable numbers. It is also argued that number portability is essential not only for reducing consumer switching costs, but also for efficient investment into a number's value, as only number portability enables telephone users to obtain unfettered property rights in their telephone numbers.
Self-efficacy, learning method appropriation and software skills acquisition in learner-controlled CSSTS environments

A computer-simulated software training system CSSTS delivers a specific form of computer-based training in which participants are allowed to select various training features within a simulated software environment. Given the growing use of these systems as end-user training EUT aids, there is a need for greater understanding of how participants use these systems, as well as whether participant-controlled learning environments are truly effective. The present research examines how a particular learner characteristic, software self-efficacy, drives appropriation in a high learner control, CSSTS environment. Contrary to notions in the literature, results from spreadsheet and database software training courses reveal that pre-training specific software self-efficacy constitutes a significant, negative predictor of faithful appropriations of the CSSTS. This research also establishes a positive relationship between faithful appropriation and increases in software self-efficacy SSE. In essence, faithful appropriations lead to greater increases in SSE, which influences software skills performance. In addition, the research validates prior EUT research by extending prior findings to a database training environment. A psychometrically sound measure is put forth to capture database self-efficacy.
Security issues for data warehousing and data mining

This paper describes security issues for data warehousing and data mining. It first provides an overview of data warehousing and security issues for data warehouses. Then a discussion of data mining, security implications of data mining, as well as data mining as a tool to handle security problems are given.
Duality for Topological Modular Forms

It has been observed that certain localizations of the spectrum of topological modular forms are self-dual (Mahowald-Rezk, Gross-Hopkins). We provide an integral explanation of these results that is internal to the geometry of the (compactified) moduli stack of elliptic curves M, yet is only true in the derived setting. When 2 is inverted, a choice of level 2 structure for an elliptic curve provides a geometrically well-behaved cover of M, which allows one to consider Tmf as the homotopy fixed points of Tmf(2), topological modular forms with level 2 structure, under a natural action by GL2(Z/2). As a result of Grothendieck-Serre duality, we obtain that Tmf(2) is self-dual. The vanishing of the associated Tate spectrum then makes Tmf itself Anderson self-dual.
Achieving Constant Round Leakage-Resilient Zero-Knowledge

Recently there has been a huge emphasis on constructing cryptographic protocols that maintain their security guarantees even in the presence of side channel attacks. Such attacks exploit the physical characteristics of a cryptographic device to learn useful information about the internal state of the device. Designing protocols that deliver meaningful security even in the presence of such leakage attacks is a challenging task.
Knowledge versus data

This note defines the terms knowledge and data as complements of each other. Knowledge identifies information about general concepts, data is information about specific instances. The distinction is visible in most systems where general concepts are used to control or abstract object instances. The distinction is essential to select an architecture for large systems, and to deal with update issues. There remains some context dependence, so that knowledge in one model may become data for another model.
Elastic Property Determination of WC Spheres and Estimation of Compressive Loads and Impact Velocities that Initiate their Yielding and Cracking

Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy (RUS) was used to determine the elastic constants E, G, and v of 6.35 mm diameter spheres of high purity WC (Roc500), WC-6%Co, and WC-12%Co. Two of the three elastic constants were independently determined using RUS; consequently, the determination of the third elastic constant proceeded without needing to assume a value for any one of the three. Secondly, 500g Vickers hardness was measured with each of the three compositions, and compressive loads and impact velocities to initiate yielding and cracking in the spheres were estimated from the combination of finite element analysis, the elastic properties measured from the RUS analysis, the measured hardnesses, and assumed tensile strengths for the WC compositions.
Exchange Rate Stability and Financial Stability

Historical evidence reveals no monocausal explanation for banking crises, including one which would emphasize the maintenance of a currency peg. To some extent this follows from the standard textbook wisdom: whether fixed or flexible exchange rates are preferable depends on the source of disturbances. If threats to the stability of the banking system come from the “outside,” there is a case for exchange rate flexibility to discourage the banks from relying excessively on external sources of finance and to enhance the capacity of the domestic authorities to act as lenders of last resort. Conversely, if the main threats to the stability of the banking system emanate from “inside” (e.g., erratic monetary policies at home), there is an argument for attempting to peg the exchange rate in order to discipline domestic policymakers and vent shocks via the external sector. From this point of view, it is no surprise that there is no simple correlation between the exchange rate regime and the prevalence of banking crises.
THE VOLATILE COMPOSITION OF COMETS

Comets may be our best probes of the physical and chemical conditions in the outer regions of the solar nebula during that crucial period when the planets formed. The volatile composition of cometary nuclei, in particular, can be used to decide whether comets are the product of a condensation sequence similar to that invoked to explain the compositions of the planets and asteroids, or if comets are simply agglomerations of inter-stellar grains which have been insignificantly modified by the events that shaped the other bodies in the solar system. Although cometary nuclei are not generally accessible to observation, observations of cometary comae can illuminate at least some of the mysteries of the nuclei provided one has a detailed knowledge of the excitation conditions in the coma and also has access to basic atomic and molecular data on the many species present in comets. This paper examines the status of our knowledge of the volatile composition of cometary nuclei and discusses how these data are obtained.
Distributional Changes in U.S. Dietary Quality 1989-2008

This paper uses stochastic dominance to measure changes in the distribution of overall dietary quality in the U.S. over the period 1989{2008. Diet quality is often used as as a proxy for wellbeing and an outcome variable for a wide variety of interventions. For the population as a whole, we find significant improvements in diets across all levels of dietary quality. Further, we find improvements for both low-income and higher-income individuals alike. We show that the improvements vary between these groups with regards to the timing and distributional location. Further, we find that over half of the improvement for all individuals can be explained by changes in food formulation and changes in demographics.
Designing linear distributed algorithms with memory for fast convergence

SUMMARY Motivated by both distributed computation and decentralized control applications, we studied the distributed linear iterative algorithms with memory. Specifically, we showed that the system of linear equations Gx = b can be solved through a distributed linear iteration for arbitrary invertible G using only a single memory element at each processor. Further, we demonstrated that the memoried distributed algorithm can be designed to achieve much faster convergence than a memoryless distributed algorithm. Two small simulation examples were included to illustrate the results. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Credit constraints and the north-south transmission of crises

Adverse shocks to rich countries often have a large and persistent negative impact on investment and output in developing countries. This paper examines a transmission mechanism that can account for this stylized fact. The mechanism is based on the existence of international financial frictions. Specifically, if a small, developing country has to collateralize its assets to borrow funds to invest, falling asset prices caused by a negative shock in an advanced economy worsen the developing country's collateral value and reduce its ability to borrow and reinvest. Hence, investment in the developing country declines, and international investors repatriate capital to the advanced country. As less capital now can be pledged as collateral, the developing country's credit constraint is further tightened, which leads to another round of decline in investment. This generates a downward spiral that may cause large output losses to the developing country. The mechanism finds empirical support in the 2008-2009 crisis data.
Studies on a canker disease of cypresses in East Africa, caused by Monochaetia unicornis (cooke & ellis) sacc

Monochaetia unicornis occurs naturally in three strains. Strain A is virulent and fast-growing in culture, but produces few acervuli. Strain B is less virulent and slower growing, but produces many acervuli. Strain D is parasitic only on Juniperus procera, grows at a similar rate to B and rarely produces acervuli in culture. It is strongly antagonistic to A and B. Strain C comprises a range of biotypes which have arisen in culture and which are saprophytic and slow-growing. Comparisons between the size and seta-length of conidia from fifty collections showed that seta-length was the only dependable morphological character for separating A and B, the setae being significantly longer in the latter. Strain D conidia were wider and darker in colour than those of A and B. Optimal temperature for growth of strains A and B was 25° C. and for D, 20° C. Growth on various media showed strain A to have the most ‘parasitic’ type of metabolism, with B intermediate, and D having a ‘saprophytic’ type. Mycelial growth of A and B was optimal at 97·5% relative humidity, whilst a saturated atmosphere was more favourable for germination of their conidia. Strain D had a similar growth rate over a wide range of relative humidity but conidia germinated best at 97·5% r.h. Strains A and B grew best on an agar medium to which 10–20% sucrose had been added, whilst D grew best on 40% sucrose. Strains B and D could tolerate higher osmotic pressures in liquid culture than A and conidia of D germinated best at o.p. 4 atm. It is suggested that the distribution of strains B and D is limited by climate, B being able to compete with A only on dry sites. Strains A and B are considered to be biotypes of one species whereas D is a separate species or variety.
Mansfield’s imprimitivity theorem for full crossed products

For any maximal coaction (A, G, S) and any closed normal subgroup N of G, there exists an imprimitivity bimodule Y G G/N (A) between the full crossed product A × δ G × δ| N and A × δ| G/N, together with Inf δ| - δ dec compatible coaction Sy of G. The assignment (A,δ) → (Y G G/N (A), δ Y ) implements a natural equivalence between the crossed-product functors x G x N and x G/N, in the category whose objects are maximal coactions of G and whose morphisms are isomorphism classes of right-Hilbert bimodule coactions of G.
A New Method of Determining the Ejected Mass of Novae

A new method of determining the ejected mass of novae based on simple, reasonable assumptions is presented. This method assumes that the remnant mass on the white dwarf is the same as that from the previous nova outburst. The hydrogen, helium, and metal abundances of the accreted material from the secondary must also be known or assumed. The white dwarf’s mass has a small effect because the amount of hydrogen consumed during the thermonuclear runaway only depends weakly upon this mass. If the composition of the ejecta and the time of the remnant shell burnout are determined from observations, then the ejected and remnant masses can be deduced. At present only a sharp decrease in the X-rays observed by ROSAT has been attributed to this remnant burnout and only for two novae: GQ Mus and V1974 Cyg. The ejected and remnant masses for these two novae are calculated. If other indicators of nova remnant burnout, such as a rapid decrease in high-ionization lines, can be identified, then this method could be applied to additional novae.
The impact of credit information sharing reforms on firm financing

This paper analyzes the impact of introducing credit information-sharing systems on firms' access to finance. The analysis uses multi-year, firm-level surveys for 63 countries covering more than 75,000 firms over the period 2002-13. The results reveal that credit bureau reforms, but not credit registry reforms, have a significant and robust effect on firm financing. After the introduction of a credit bureau, the likelihood that a firm has access to finance increases, interest rates drop, maturity lengthens, and the share of working capital financed by banks increases. The effects of credit bureau reforms are more pronounced the greater the coverage of the credit bureau and the scope and accessibility of the credit information-sharing scheme. Credit bureau reforms also have a greater impact on firms' access to finance in countries where contract enforcement is weaker. Finally, there is some evidence that the effects of credit bureau reform are more pronounced for smaller, less experienced, and more opaque firms.