cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Body composition and lung function in cystic fibrosis and their association with adiposity and normal-weight obesity.

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between lung function and body composition in cystic fibrosis (CF) and examine the presence of normal-weight obesity (NWO), a high body fat percentage with a normal body mass index (BMI), in this population. Methods In a pilot, cross-sectional study, 32 subjects with CF and a reference group of 20 adults without CF underwent body composition analysis with air displacement plethysmography. NWO was defined as a BMI 30% (for women) or >23% (for men). Lung function in subjects with CF was determined by the percentage of predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1% predicted). Results Despite lower BMI and fat-free mass index (P < 0.01), fat mass index and percent body fat did not differ between subjects with CF and the reference group. Among subjects with CF, FEV1% predicted was positively associated with fat-free mass index (β = 6.31 ± 2.93, P = 0.04) and inversely associated with fat mass index (β = −6.44 ± 2.93, P = 0.04), after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI. Ten subjects with CF (31%) had NWO, which corresponded with lower fat-free mass index and FEV1% predicted compared with overweight subjects (P = 0.006 and 0.004, respectively). Conclusions Excess adiposity, particularly in the form of NWO, was inversely associated with lung function in CF. Larger prospective studies should be undertaken to confirm these findings and determine the long-term metabolic and clinical consequences of excess adiposity in CF. As the lifespan of individuals with CF increases, nutrition screening protocols, which primarily rely on BMI, may require reassessment.
Land-Use and Growth Management—A Comment for Professionals

To grow or not to grow is covered. A major debate occurring in many communities today is the rate and type of growth that is being or should be experienced. The type of political and technical leadership in the different communities has been determined to be the major cause of the different type of growth or the lack of growth in the local communities. Different methods and techniques for better orientating public officials to the different techniques used in determining what type of growth would be beneficial to their respective city. Certain areas of the law are examined dealing with land use, housing, community development, and landlord-tenant relations.
Design for user empowerment

Approaches to to the design of technology for people with disabilities are surveyed. These include universal design, user centered design, participatory design, ability based design, and finally, design for user empowerment. A key feature of the latter is access to advanced education for disabled scientists and engineers to create the next generation of technology that will benefit them and others like them. AccessComputing, an alliance of more than thirty partners with the common goal of increasing the participation of people with disabilities in computing fields, is discussed.
Optical Flashes from Internal Pairs Formed in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

We develop a numerical formalism for calculating the distribution with energy of the (internal) pairs formed in a relativistic source from unscattered MeV–TeV photons. For gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, this formalism is more suitable if the relativistic reverse shock that energizes the ejecta is the source of the GeV photons. The number of pairs formed is set by the source GeV output (calculated from the Fermi-LAT fluence), the unknown source Lorentz factor, and the unmeasured peak energy of the LAT spectral component. We show synchrotron and inverse-Compton light curves expected from pairs formed in the shocked medium and identify some criteria for testing a pair origin of GRB optical counterparts. Pairs formed in bright LAT afterglows with a Lorentz factor in the few hundreds may produce bright optical counterparts () lasting for up to one hundred seconds. The number of internal pairs formed from unscattered seed photons decreases very strongly with the source Lorentz factor, thus bright GRB optical counterparts cannot arise from internal pairs if the afterglow Lorentz factor is above several hundreds.
Encoding of polycyclic Si-containing molecules for determining species uniqueness in automated mechanism generation.

Automated mechanism generation is an attractive way to understand the fundamental kinetics of complex reaction systems such as silicon hydride clustering chemistry. It relies on being able to tell molecules apart as they are generated. The graph theoretic foundation allows molecules to be identified using unique notations created from their connectivity. To apply this technique to silicon hydride clustering chemistry, a molecule canonicalization and encoding algorithm was developed to handle complex polycyclic, nonplanar species. The algorithm combines the concepts of extended connectivity and the idea of breaking ties to encode highly symmetric molecules. The connected components in the molecules are encoded separately and reassembled using a depth-first search method to obtain the correct string codes. A revised cycle-finding algorithm was also developed to properly select the cycles used for ring corrections when thermodynamic properties were calculated using group additivity. In this algorithm, the mo...
Subcutaneous nerve activity and mechanisms of sudden death in a rat model of chronic kidney disease

Background The mechanisms of sudden death in chronic kidney disease (CKD) remain unclear. Objective The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that subcutaneous nerve activity (SCNA) can be used to estimate sympathetic tone in ambulatory rats and that abrupt reduction of SCNA precedes the spontaneous arrhythmic death of Cy/+ rats. Methods Radiotransmitters were implanted in ambulatory normal (N = 6) and Cy/+ (CKD; N=6) rats to record electrocardiogram and SCNA. Two additional rats were studied before and after chemical sympathectomy with 6-hydroxydopamine. Results In normal rats, the baseline heart rate (HR) and SCNA were 351 ± 29 bpm and 5.12 ± 2.97 mV·s, respectively. SCNA abruptly increased HR by 4.31% (95% confidence interval 4.15%–4.47%). In comparison, the CKD rats had reduced baseline HR (336 ± 21 bpm, P P P P P Conclusion SCNA can be used to estimate sympathetic tone in ambulatory rats. CKD is associated with reduced HR response to SCNA and conduction system diseases. Abrupt reduction of sympathetic tone precedes AV block, ventricular arrhythmia, and sudden death of CKD rats.
Bulk from bi-locals in Thermo field CFT

We study the Large N dynamics of the O(N) field theory in the Thermo field dynamics approach. The question of recovering the high temperature phase and the corresponding O(N) gauging is clarified. Through the associated bi-local representation we discuss the emergent bulk space-time and construction of (Higher spin) fields. We note the presence of ‘evanescent’ modes in this construction and also the mixing of spins at finite temperature.
Improved Targeting of Social Programs: An Application to a State Job Coaching Program for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

In a climate of flat or shrinking budgets, can programs reallocate existing resources to improve efficiency? We illustrate the potential for gains from redirecting resources using data from a state job coaching program that is designed to increase employment among adults with intellectual disabilities (IDs). We model selection into the program and employment outcomes for participants and non-participants allowing for potentially heterogeneous response among observationally equivalent individuals. In our simulations, we find that state ID population employment can be increased from 10.7 percent to an upper bound of 16.7 percent by a program administrator who can allocate the job coaches to those with the most to gain. This is a 56 percent increase in the overall employment rate. While we assume that program administrators know more about individual program participants than we do, we can consider an administrator who has only the information available to the econometrician. In this case, targeting gains based only on observable characteristics would lead to 11.8 percent employment, which is an 11 percent increase in the overall employment rate. Surprisingly, a simple rule that only requires administrators to predict employment success when treated (based on observables) will achieve almost the same results.
Cities and Countries

If one ranks cities by population, the rank of a city is inversely related to its size, a well-documented phenomenon known as Zipfâs Law. Further, the growth rate of a cityâs population is uncorrelated with its size, another well-known characteristic known as Gibratâs Law. In this paper, I show that both characteristics are true of countries as well as cities; the size distributions of cities and countries are similar. But theories that explain the size distribution of cities do not obviously apply in explaining the size distribution of countries. The similarity of city- and country-size distributions is an interesting riddle.
Serial correlation in National Football League play calling and its effects on outcomes

Abstract We investigate the strategic behavior of highly informed agents playing zero-sum games under highly incentivized conditions. We examine data from 3455 National Football League (NFL) games from the 2000 season through the 2012 season, and categorize each play as “rush” or a “pass.” We find that the pass-rush mix exhibits negative serial correlation: play types alternate more frequently than an independent stochastic process. This is a seemingly exploitable strategy, and we find that this serial correlation, according to two distinct measures, negatively affects play efficacy. Our analysis suggests that teams could profit from more clustered play selections, which switch play type less frequently. Our results are consistent with teams excessively switching play types in an effort to be perceived as unpredictable.
The theory of variational hybrid quantum-classical algorithms

Many quantum algorithms have daunting resource requirements when compared to what is available today. To address this discrepancy, a quantum-classical hybrid optimization scheme known as 'the quantum variational eigensolver' was developed (Peruzzo et al 2014 Nat. Commun. 5 4213) with the philosophy that even minimal quantum resources could be made useful when used in conjunction with classical routines. In this work we extend the general theory of this algorithm and suggest algorithmic improvements for practical implementations. Specifically, we develop a variational adiabatic ansatz and explore unitary coupled cluster where we establish a connection from second order unitary coupled cluster to universal gate sets through a relaxation of exponential operator splitting. We introduce the concept of quantum variational error suppression that allows some errors to be suppressed naturally in this algorithm on a pre-threshold quantum device. Additionally, we analyze truncation and correlated sampling in Hamiltonian averaging as ways to reduce the cost of this procedure. Finally, we show how the use of modern derivative free optimization techniques can offer dramatic computational savings of up to three orders of magnitude over previously used optimization techniques.
The Magnitude of Menu Costs: A Structural Estimation

The leading theories on monetary policy non-neutrality require some degree of price rigidity, which is often introduced by assuming fixed costs of price adjustment, also known as menu costs. Empirical evidence on the existence of such menu costs is scarce. Using weekly data on prices, costs and units sold by a supermarket chain, I estimate a discrete-choice dynamic model of a multi-product firm facing menu costs with a moment inequalities approach. This empirical methodology allows me to estimate two types of fixed costs of price adjustment: costs that are independent of the number of items that change prices and costs that are incurred at each itemâ€™s price change. I find that both types of menu costs exist and are substantial. The total cost from changing prices is estimated to be bounded between 0.22% and 0.59% of revenues and between 11.05% and 29.32% of net margins, depending on the specification. The first type of fixed cost accounts for up to 85% of this expense, pointing to substantial economies of scope in price setting.
Parameter estimation in moving boundary problems

Abstract We describe an approximation scheme which can be used to estimate unknown parameters in moving boundary problems. The model equations we consider are fairly general nonlinear diffusion/reaction equations of one spatial variable. Here we give conditions on the parameter sets and model equations under which we can prove that the estimates obtained using the approximations will converge to best-fit parameters for the original model equations. We conclude with a numerical example.
Friction and pressure-dependence of force chain communities in granular materials

Granular materials transmit stress via a network of force chains. Despite the importance of these chains in characterizing the stress state and dynamics of the system, there is no common framework for quantifying their properties. Recently, attention has turned to the tools of network science as a promising route to such a description. In this paper, we apply a common network-science technique, community detection, to the force network of numerically-generated packings of spheres over a range of interparticle friction coefficients and confining pressures. In order to extract chain-like features, we use a modularity maximization with a recently-developed geographical null model (Bassett et al. in Soft Matter 11:2731–2744, 2015), and optimize the technique to detect sparse structures by minimizing the normalized convex hull ratio of the detected communities. We characterize the force chain communities by their size (number of particles), network force (interparticle forces), and normalized convex hull ratio (sparseness). We find that the first two are highly correlated and are therefore largely redundant. For both pressure P and interparticle friction $$\mu $$ , we observe two distinct transitions in behavior. One, for $$\mu \lesssim 0.1$$ the packings exhibit more distinguishability to pressure than at higher $$\mu $$ . Two, we identify a transition pressure $$P^*$$ at which the frictional dependence switches behaviors. Below $$P^*$$ there are more large/strong communities at low $$\mu $$ , while above $$P^*$$ there are more large/strong communities at high $$\mu $$ . We explain these phenomena by comparison to the spatial distribution of communities along the vertical axis of the system. These results provide new tools for considering the mesoscale structure of a granular system and pave the way for reduced descriptions based on the force chain structure.
Non-standard interactions in propagation at the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

We study the sensitivity of current and future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments to the effects of dimension six operators affecting neutrino propagation through Earth, commonly referred to as Non-Standard Interactions (NSI). All relevant parameters entering the oscillation probabilities (standard and non-standard) are considered at once, in order to take into account possible cancellations and degeneracies between them. We find that the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment will significantly improve over current constraints for most NSI parameters. Most notably, it will be able to rule out the so-called LMA-dark solution, still compatible with current oscillation data, and will be sensitive to off-diagonal NSI parameters at the level of e ∼ $$ \mathcal{O} $$ (0.05 − 0.5). We also identify two degeneracies among standard and non-standard parameters, which could be partially resolved by combining T2HK and DUNE data.
Sobolev embedding of a sphere containing an arbitrary Cantor set in the image

We construct a large class of pathological n-dimensional topological spheres in \(\mathbb R^{n+1}\) by showing that for any Cantor set \(C\,{\subset }\,\mathbb R^{n+1}\) there is a topological embedding \(f\,{:}\,\mathbb S^n\,{\rightarrow }\,\mathbb R^{n+1}\) of the Sobolev class \(W^{1,n}\) whose image contains the Cantor set C.
Additional results from the beta-delayed proton decays of {sup 27}P and {sup 31}Cl

\ensuremath{\beta}-delayed proton decays of the nuclides $^{27}\mathrm{P}$ and $^{31}\mathrm{Cl}$ were measured using the helium-jet recoil collection technique and low-energy particle identification detector telescopes. In $^{27}\mathrm{P}$, two new proton groups at 466\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3 keV and 612\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2 keV, with intensities of 9\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2% and 97\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3% relative to the main (100%) group at 731\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2 keV, were discovered. Additionally, during the $^{27}\mathrm{P}$ experiments, a new proton transition was identified following the \ensuremath{\beta} decay of $^{28}\mathrm{P}$. This group, at a proton energy of 1452\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4 keV, had a 2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1% intensity relative to the 100% group at 679\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1 keV. A total $^{27}\mathrm{P}$ \ensuremath{\beta}-delayed proton branch of 0.07% was estimated. The experimental Gamow-Teller \ensuremath{\beta}-decay strengths of the observed transitions from $^{27}\mathrm{P}$ were compared to results from shell model calculations. A search for new proton transitions in $^{31}\mathrm{Cl}$, the next member of this A=4n+3, ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{z}}$=-3/2 series, was unsuccessful. However, several proton peaks that had been previously assigned to $^{31}\mathrm{Cl}$ decay were shown to be from the decay of $^{25}\mathrm{Si}$. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
A Data-Driven Voter Guide for U.S. Elections: Adapting Quantitative Measures of the Preferences and Priorities of Political Elites to Help Voters Learn About Candidates

Internet-based voter advice applications have experienced tremendous growth across Europe in recent years but have yet to be widely adopted in the United States. By comparison, the candidate-centered U.S. electoral system, which routinely requires voters to consider dozens of candidates across a dizzying array of local, state, and federal offices each time they cast a ballot, introduces challenges of scale to the systematic provision of information. Only recently have methodological advances combined with the rapid growth in publicly available data on candidates and their supporters to bring a comprehensive data-driven voter guide within reach. This paper introduces a set of newly developed software tools for collecting, disambiguating, and merging large amounts of data on candidates and other political elites. It then demonstrates how statistical methods developed by political scientists to measure the preferences and expressed priorities of politicians can be adapted to help voters learn about candidates.
Relations for four nucleons in a single j shell

In previous works we considered the number of pairs of particles with angular momentum ${J}_{12}$ for systems with total angular momentum zero. Here we extend the the work to states of any total angular momentum. We find simplified relations satisfied for a system of four nucleons with isospins zero and two.
SourcererCC and SourcererCC-I: tools to detect clones in batch mode and during software development

Given the availability of large source-code repositories, there has been a large number of applications for large-scale clone detection. Unfortunately, despite a decade of active research, there is a marked lack in clone detectors that scale to big software systems or large repositories, specifically for detecting near-miss (Type 3) clones where significant editing activities may take place in the cloned code. This paper demonstrates: (i) SourcererCC, a token-based clone detector that targets the first three clone types, and exploits an index to achieve scalability to large inter-project repositories using a standard workstation. It uses an optimized inverted-index to quickly query the potential clones of a given code block. Filtering heuristics based on token ordering are used to significantly reduce the size of the index, the number of code-block comparisons needed to detect the clones, as well as the number of required token-comparisons needed to judge a potential clone; and (ii) SourcererCC-I, an Eclipse plug-in, that uses SourcererCC's core engine to identify and navigate clones (both inter and intra project) in real-time during software development. In our experiments, comparing SourcererCC with the state-of-the-art tools 1, we found that it is the only clone detection tool to successfully scale to 250 MLOC on a standard workstation with 12 GB RAM and efficiently detect the first three types of clones (precision 86% and recall 86-100%). Link to the demo: https://youtu.be/17F_9Qp-ks4
Accuracy of Injury Severity Ratings on Police Crash Reports

Injury severity as assessed by law enforcement officers on crash reports, particularly incapacitating injuries (severity = A on the KABCO scale, on which K denotes a fatal injury, A an incapacitating injury, B a nonincapacitating injury, C a possible injury, and O a property-damage-only crash, is used for estimating crash costs and, in turn, for allocating safety funds. The Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) database reports injury severity assessment from both law enforcement officers using the KABCO scale and medical practitioners using the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS). The objective of this study was to analyze the accuracy of the injury severity ratings on Wisconsin crash reports by comparing crash data in the CODES database between 2008 and 2012. Results indicated that 66.6% of KABCO A crashes had only minor or moderate injury severities (MAIS 1 or 2); that is, two-thirds of crash victims’ injury severities were overestimated. In addition, underestimation of injury severities occ...
Mechanism Design for Subadditive Agents via an Ex Ante Relaxation

We consider the problem of maximizing revenue for a monopolist offering multiple items to multiple heterogeneous buyers. We develop a simple mechanism that obtains a constant factor approximation under the assumption that the buyers' values are additive subject to a matroid feasibility constraint and independent across items. Importantly, different buyers in our setting can have different constraints on the sets of items they desire. Our mechanism is a sequential variant of two-part tariffs. Prior to our work, simple approximation mechanisms for such multi-buyer problems were known only for the special cases of all unit-demand or all additive value buyers. Our work expands upon and unifies long lines of work on unit-demand settings and additive settings. We employ the ex ante relaxation approach developed by Alaei [2011] for reducing a multiple-buyer mechanism design problem with an ex post supply constraint into single-buyer problems with ex ante supply constraints. Solving the single-agent problems requires us to significantly extend a decomposition technique developed in the context of additive values Li and Yao [2013] and its extension to subadditive values by [2015].
On the classification of Stanley sequences

An integer sequence is said to be 3-free if no three elements form an arithmetic progression. A Stanley sequence{an} is a 3-free sequence constructed by the greedy algorithm. Namely, given initial terms a0an1 is chosen to be the smallest such that the 3-free condition is not violated. Odlyzko and Stanley conjectured that Stanley sequences divide into two classes based on asymptotic growth: Type 1 sequences satisfy an=(nlog23) and appear well-structured, while Type 2 sequences satisfy an=(n2/logn) and appear disorderly. In this paper, we define the notion of regularity, which is based on local structure and implies Type 1 asymptotic growth. We conjecture that the reverse implication holds. We construct many classes of regular Stanley sequences, which include all known Type 1 sequences as special cases. We show how two regular sequences may be combined into another regular sequence, and how parts of a Stanley sequence may be translated while preserving regularity. Finally, we demonstrate the surprising fact that certain Stanley sequences possess proper subsets that are also Stanley sequences.
An Empirical Study of Online Packet Scheduling Algorithms

This work studies online scheduling algorithms for buffer management, develops new algorithms, and analyzes their performances. Packets arrive at a release time r, with a non-negative weight w and an integer deadline d. At each time step, at most one packet is scheduled. The modified greedy MG algorithm is 1.618-competitive for the objective of maximizing the sum of weights of packets sent, assuming agreeable deadlines. We analyze the empirical behavior of MG in a situation with arbitrary deadlines and demonstrate that it is at a disadvantage when frequently preferring maximum weight packets over early deadline ones. We develop the MLP algorithm, which remedies this problem whilst mimicking the behavior of the offline algorithm. Our comparative analysis shows that, although the competitive ratio of MLP is not as good as that of MG, it performs better in practice. We validate this by simulating the behavior of both algorithms under a spectrum of parameter settings. Finally, we propose the design of three additional algorithms, which may help in improving performance in practice.
Effect of Overweight Trucks on Bridge Deck Deterioration Based on Weigh-in-Motion Data

Highway agencies are responsible for the optimal expenditure of taxpayer dollars allocated to highway infrastructure. Truck size and weight are regulated by federal legislation, and every state highway agency has its own legal load limits. In addition, state agencies issue permits for trucks with gross vehicle weights that are above legal load limits. However, the effect of overweight trucks on the service life of bridge structures, especially concrete decks, is not explicitly quantified. Detailed research on deterioration models for bridge decks was conducted. Condition ratings of bridge decks in New Jersey from the National Bridge Inventory were used to derive the deterioration of decks over time, and the expected service lives of decks on different highways were obtained. Weigh-in-motion data from stations in New Jersey were used to extract two data sets: “all trucks” and “legal trucks.” The “all trucks” data set was used to develop a deck deterioration model as a function of equivalent wheel load that...
Massive hyperplasia of testicular adrenal rests in a patient with Nelson's syndrome.

The case of a 23-year-old man with Nelson’s syndrome is presented. He had undergone bilateral adrenalectomy at age 15 years for Cushing’s syndrome. Postoperatively, his cushingoid features resolved; however, 13 months later, he became hyperpigmented and showed radiographic evidence of sellar enlargement and midline expansion of the sellar floor. In 1972, he received radiation therapy to the pituitary gland. He underwent transsphenoidal hypophysectomy in 1974 and 1975 for recurrent pituitary adenoma, and recurrent Cushing’s syndrome developed concomitantly with bilateral firm testicular masses in 1978. External scanning with NP-59 localized steroid production to the testes, and bilateral orchiectomy was performed. Immunohistochemical studies of the pituitary tumor confirmed the presence of adrenocorticotropic hormone, and morphologic and ultrastructural examinations of the testes supported the adrenal nature of the testicular tumors.
Dynamic Online Computerized Neuropsychological Testing System

Traditional cognitive testing for detecting cognitive impairment (CI) can be inaccessible, expensive, and time consuming. This dissertation aims to develop an automated online computerized neuropsychological testing system for rapidly tracking an individual's cognitive performance throughout the user's daily or weekly schedule in an unobtrusive way. By utilizing embedded microsensors within tablet devices, the proposed context-aware system will capture ambient and behavioral data pertinent to the real-world contexts and times of testing to compliment psychometric results, by providing insight into the contextual factors relevant to the user's testing efficacy and performance.
Mucopurulent Cervicitis — The Ignored Counterpart in Women of Urethritis in Men

Abstract Among 100 randomly selected nonmenstruating women attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases, we assessed objective criteria for the clinical diagnosis of mucopurulent cervicitis. Visualization of yellow mucopurulent endocervical secretions on a white swab and the presence of 10 or more polymorphonuclear leukocytes per microscopical field (at a magnification of 1000) in satisfactory gram-stained endocervical smears were independently correlated with cervical Chlamydia trachomatis infection. Neither finding correlated with gonorrhea or genital herpes, although herpes caused characteristic cervical ulcerations. C. trachomatis was isolated from the cervix of 20 of 40 women with mucopurulent cervicitis but of only 2 of 60 without it. The overall prevalence of mucopurulent cervicitis among women attending the clinic (40 per cent) exceeded that of nongonococcal urethritis among men in the same clinic, and the prevalence of C. trachomatis infection was higher in mucopurulent cervicitis than in...
An Economic Evaluation of the Moneyball Hypothesis

In his 2003 book Moneyball, financial reporter Michael Lewis made a striking claim: the valuation of skills in the market for baseball players was grossly inefficient. The discrepancy was so large that when the Oakland Athletics hired an unlikely management group consisting of Billy Beane, a former player with mediocre talent, and two quantitative analysts, the team was able to exploit this inefficiency and outproduce most of the competition, while operating on a shoestring budget. The publication of Moneyball triggered a firestorm of criticism from baseball insiders (Lewis, 2004), and it raised the eyebrows of many economists as well. Basic price theory implies a tight correspondence between pay and productivity when markets are competitive and rich in information, as would seem to be the case in baseball. The market for baseball players receives daily attention from the print and broadcast media, along with periodic in-depth analysis from lifelong baseball experts and academic economists. Indeed, a case can be made that more is known about pay and quantified performance in this market than in any other labor market in the American economy. In this paper, we test the central portion of Lewis’s (2003) argument with elementary econometric tools and confirm his claims. In particular, we find that hitters’ salaries during this period did not accurately reflect the contribution of various batting skills to winning games. This inefficiency was sufficiently large that knowledge of its existence, and the ability to exploit it, enabled the Oakland Athletics to gain a substantial advantage over their competition. Further, we find
Comparison of pharmacological and antimicrobial properties of cefadroxil and cephalexin

Pharmacological and antimicrobial properties of cefadroxil, a new cephalosporin antibiotic, were compared with cephalexin. Absorption and excretion were studied in 20 healthy men. Peak concentrations of the drugs in serum were similar after ingestion of single 500 mg tablets. The concentration of cefadroxil in serum was more sustained than that of cephalexin. Levels of cefadroxil in serum after a dose of 1000 mg were approximately twice those after a 500 mg dose through 6 h. Each drug administered in a dose of 500 mg every 6 h for 24 h resulted in concentrations in serum that were similar to a single dose without accumulation. Ninety-three percent of the cefadroxil and 85% of the cephalexin were excreted in urine after ingestions of single 500 mg tablets. The urine concentration of cefadroxil was more sustained than cephalexin. Minimal inhibitory and minimal bactericidal concentrations for clinical isolates were comparable with each drug. Cefadroxil compares favorably with cephalexin in this study. Sustained levels of cefadroxil in serum and urine suggest that this drug may be given at less frequent intervals than cephalexin.
Clinical laboratory evaluation of a bacteriuria detection device for urine screening

The BAC-T-SCREEN (BTS) (Marion Laboratories, Inc., Kansas City, MO) is a 2 1/2-minute urine screen designed to detect culture-negative specimens. A total of 1,609 urine specimens were tested by the BTS, and results were compared with quantitative culture methods. One hundred and forty-eight (9.2%) specimens were not screened successfully by the BTS because they contained interfering pigments or clogged the test filters. A total of 1,461 specimens were tested successfully. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for specimens containing greater than or equal to 10(5) CFU/mL were 98.0, 72.2, 57.3, and 99.0%, respectively. These values for specimens containing greater than or equal to 10(4) CFU/mL were 93.2, 77.2, 69.2, and 95.5%, respectively.
HEAD AND NECK PAIN IN PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH ACUTE AORTIC DISSECTION

Head and neck pain is an atypical presentation of acute aortic dissection. Classic teaching states that this symptom is associated with proximal dissections, but this has not been extensively studied. Patients enrolled in the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD) from January
What is a planet

A planet is an end product of disk accretion around a primary star or substar. I quantify this definition by the degree to which a body dominates the other masses that share its orbital zone. Theoretical and observational measures of dynamical dominance reveal gaps of 4‐5 orders of magnitude separating the eight planets of our solar system from the populations of asteroidsand comets. The proposed definition dispenses withupper and lower mass limits for a planet. It reflects the tendency of disk evolution in a mature system to produce a small number of relatively large bodies (planets) in nonintersecting or resonant orbits, which prevents collisions between them.
An Ugi Reaction Incorporating a Redox-Neutral Amine C–H Functionalization Step

Pyrrolidine and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) undergo redox-neutral α-amidation with concurrent N-alkylation upon reaction with aromatic aldehydes and isocyanides. Reactions are promoted by acetic acid and represent a new variant of the Ugi reaction.
Gender Diversity in Senior Positions and Firm Performance: Evidence from Europe

This paper examines the link between gender diversity in senior corporate positions and financial performance of 2 million companies in Europe. We document a positive association between corporate return on assets and the share of women in senior positions and establish two potential channels through which gender diversity may affect firm performance. The positive correlation is more pronounced in, first, sectors where women form a larger share of the labor force (such as the services sector) and, second, where complementarities in skills and critical thinking are in high demand (such as high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors).
Cannabis (Cannabis sativa or C. indica) agriculture and the environment: A systematic, spatially-explicit survey and potential impacts

Cannabis agriculture is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States that is changing rapidly with policy liberalization. Anecdotal observations fuel speculation about associated environmental impacts, and there is an urgent need for systematic empirical research. An example from Humboldt County California, a principal cannabis-producing region, involved digitizing 4428 grow sites in 60 watersheds with Google Earth imagery. Grows were clustered, suggesting disproportionate impacts in ecologically important locales. Sixty-eight percent of grows were >500 m from developed roads, suggesting risk of landscape fragmentation. Twenty-two percent were on steep slopes, suggesting risk of erosion, sedimentation, and landslides. Five percent were <100 m from threatened fish habitat, and the estimated 297 954 plants would consume an estimated 700 000 m3 of water, suggesting risk of stream impacts. The extent and magnitude of cannabis agriculture documented in our study demands that it be regulated and researched on par with conventional agriculture.
Mars nightside electrons over strong crustal fields

We investigated 7 years worth of data from the electron reflectometer and magnetometer aboard Mars Global Surveyor to quantify the deposition of photoelectron and solar wind electron populations on the nightside of Mars, over the strong crustal field region located in the southern hemisphere. Just under 600,000 observations, each including energy and pitch angle distributions, were examined. For solar zenith angles (SZA) less than 110°, photoelectrons have the highest occurrence rate; beyond that, plasma voids occur most often. In addition, for SZA >110°, energy deposition of electrons mainly occurs on vertical field lines with median pitch angle averaged energy flux values on the order of 107–108 eV cm−2 s−1. The fraction of downward flux that is deposited at a given location was typically low (16% or smaller), implying that the majority of precipitated electrons are magnetically reflected or scattered back out. The average energy of the deposited electrons is found to be 20–30 eV, comparable to typical energies of photoelectrons and unaccelerated solar wind electrons. Median electron flux values, from near-vertical magnetic field lines past solar zenith angle of 110°, calculated in this study produced a total electron content of 4.2 × 1014 m−2 and a corresponding peak density of 4.2 × 103 cm−3.
Management of Intracranial Meningiomas Using Keyhole Techniques

Background: Keyhole craniotomies are increasingly being used for lesions of the skull base. Here we review our recent experience with these approaches for resection of intracranial meningiomas. Methods: Clinical and operative data were gathered on all patients treated with keyhole approaches by the senior author from January 2012 to June 2013. Thirty-one meningiomas were resected in 27 patients, including 9 supratentorial, 5 anterior fossa, 7 middle fossa, 6 posterior fossa, and 4 complex skull base tumors. Twenty-nine tumors were WHO Grade I, and 2 were Grade II. Results: The mean operative time was 8 hours, 22 minutes (range, 2:55-16:14) for skull-base tumors, and 4 hours, 27 minutes (range, 1:45-7:13) for supratentorial tumors. Simpson Resection grades were as follows: Grade I = 8, II = 8, III = 1, IV = 15, V = 0. The median postoperative hospital stay was 4 days (range, 1-20 days). In the 9 patients presenting with some degree of visual loss, 7 saw improvement or complete resolution. In the 6 patients presenting with cranial nerve palsies, 4 experienced improvement or resolution of the deficit postoperatively. Four patients experienced new neurologic deficits, all of which were improved or resolved at the time of the last follow-up. Technical aspects and surgical nuances of these approaches for management of intracranial meningiomas are discussed. Conclusions: With careful preoperative evaluation, keyhole approaches can be utilized singly or in combination to manage meningiomas in a wide variety of locations with satisfactory results.
Nucleotide Binding Preference of the Monofunctional Platinum Anticancer Agent Phenanthriplatin

The monofunctional platinum anticancer agent phenanthriplatin generates covalent adducts with the purine bases guanine and adenine. Preferential nucleotide binding was investigated by using a polymerase stop assay and linear DNA amplification with a 163-base pair DNA double helix. Similarly to cisplatin, phenanthriplatin forms the majority of adducts at guanosine residues, but significant differences in both the number and position of platination sites emerge when comparing results for the two complexes. Notably, the monofunctional complex generates a greater number of polymerase-halting lesions at adenosine residues than does cisplatin. Studies with 9-methyladenine reveal that, under abiological conditions, phenanthriplatin binds to the N(1) or N(7) position of 9-methyladenine in approximately equimolar amounts. By contrast, comparable reactions with 9-methylguanine afforded only the N(7) -bound species. Both of the 9-methyladenine linkage isomers (N(1) and N(7) ) exist as two diastereomeric species, arising from hindered rotation of the aromatic ligands about their respective platinum-nitrogen bonds. Eyring analysis of rate constants extracted from variable-temperature NMR spectroscopic data revealed that the activation energies for ligand rotation in the N(1) -bound platinum complex and the N(7) -linkage isomers are comparable. Finally, a kinetic analysis indicated that phenanthriplatin reacts more rapidly, by a factor of eight, with 9-methylguanine than with 9-methyladenine, suggesting that the distribution of lesions formed on double-stranded DNA is kinetically controlled. In addition, implications for the potent anticancer activity of phenanthriplatin are discussed herein.
Emerging economic viability of grid defection in a northern climate using solar hybrid systems

High demand for photovoltaic (PV), battery, and small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) technologies are driving a virtuous cycle of technological improvements and cost reductions in off-grid electric systems that increasingly compete with the grid market. Using a case study in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, this paper quantifies the economic viability of off-grid PV+battery+CHP adoption and evaluates potential implications for grid-based utility models. The analysis shows that already some households could save money by switching to a solar hybrid off-grid system in comparison to the effective electric rates they are currently paying. Across the region by 2020, 92% of seasonal households and ~75% of year-round households are projected to meet electricity demands with lower costs. Furthermore, ~65% of all Upper Peninsula single-family owner-occupied households will both meet grid parity and be able to afford the systems by 2020. The results imply that economic circumstances could spur a positive feedback loop whereby grid electricity prices continue to rise and increasing numbers of customers choose alternatives (sometimes referred to as a “utility death spiral”), particularly in areas with relatively high electric utility rates. Utility companies and policy makers must take the potential for grid defection seriously when evaluating energy supply strategies.
Intensive management of type II diabetes.

This anomaly is protean in its presentations and often hard to diagnose. A case report focuses on embryologic as well as diagnostic and therapeutic aspects.
Marker Selection by Akaike Information Criterion and Bayesian Information Criterion

We carried out a discriminant analysis with identity by descent (IBD) at each marker as inputs, and the sib pair type (affected-affected versus affected-unaffected) as the output. Using simple logistic regression for this discriminant analysis, we illustrate the importance of comparing models with different number of parameters. Such model comparisons are best carried out using either the Akaike information criterion (AIC) or the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). When AIC (or BIC) stepwise variable selection was applied to the German Asthma data set, a group of markers were selected which provide the best fit to the data (assuming an additive effect). Interestingly, these 25-26 markers were not identical to those with the highest (in magnitude) single-locus lod scores.
Categorical Exclusions from Capital Punishment: How Many Wrongs Make a Right?

The two categorical exclusions of age and mental capacity will impact not only those offenders who are excluded from the death penalty, but also those offenders who remain subject to this punishment. The Supreme Court’s decisions in Roper v. Simmons and Atkins v. Virginia raise the issue that a capital-punishment-limiting decision possesses wrongs of its own. Both decisions limit the death penalty — Roper excludes from this punishment offenders who committed their crimes before they were eighteen years old and Atkins excludes offenders who are mentally retarded. But in both cases, the Supreme Court overstated the uniformity and universality of traits associated with diminished culpability among juvenile and mentally retarded offenders. Contrary to that impression, not all offenders who are excluded from the death penalty under Atkins and Roper are necessarily less culpable than are offenders who remain subject to this punishment. Categorical exclusions such as age and culpability might solve the problem of improperly sentenced mentally retarded or juvenile offenders, but they raise other problems. The Roper Court failed to consider those problems, and the Atkins Court could not possibly have considered those problems because accepting the Court's reasoning requires denying that these problems even exist. Although the many wrongs of capital punishment provide strong motivation for believing that the Atkins and Roper decisions are right, the rightness of these decisions becomes far from certain when the consequences for non-excluded offenders are considered. Capital punishment after Atkins and Roper might appear to be more just, but this appearance is misleading.
Tunable Resonant Enhancement in Nonlinear Optical-Frequency Mixing

The ability to introduce additional tunable resonances in the nonlinear optical susceptibility of a medium by the injection of an additional radiation field is an attractive possibility from the standpoint of efficient tunable frequency-mixing processes in the VUV. The possibility of such processes was suggested to us by the observations in atomic mercury, where an enhancement of several orders of magnitude in the third-harmonic generation efficiency was reported when the input frequency was four-photon resonant with the 6S → 6D transition.1
Enhanced solar evaporation of water from porous media, through capillary mediated forces and surface treatment

The relative influence of the capillary, Marangoni, and hydrophobic forces in mediating the evaporation of water from carbon foam based porous media, in response to incident solar radiation, are investigated. It is indicated that inducing hydrophilic interactions on the surface, through nitric acid treatment of the foams, has a similar effect to reduced pore diameter and the ensuing capillary forces. The efficiency of water evaporation may be parameterized through the Capillary number (Ca), with a lower Ca being preferred. The proposed study is of much relevance to efficient solar energy utilization.
Marxist Political Economy without Hegel: Contrasting Marx and Luxemburg with Plekhanov and Lenin

No one contests the early influence of Hegel on Marx. Yet some act as if Hegel was to be always important for Marx. Furthermore, certain popular renderings even use a simplistic caricature of Hegel such as the thesis-antithesis-synthesis formulary and, taking that to belong to Marx as well, attack Marx through caricature. Meanwhile, the question is infrequently posed whether Hegel’s influence persisted for Marx, and if Marx himself, as his work deepened, defended the necessity of Hegel’s philosophy for his political economy. We shall demonstrate, with considerable evidence from Marx himself, the declining need for Hegelian philosophy in Marx’s evolving understanding of political economy.