cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of regulatory targets for the bacterial Nus factor complex

Nus factors are broadly conserved across bacterial species, and are often essential for viability. A complex of five Nus factors (NusB, NusE, NusA, NusG and SuhB) is considered to be a dedicated regulator of ribosomal RNA folding, and has been shown to prevent Rho-dependent transcription termination. Here, we identify an additional cellular function for the Nus factor complex in Escherichia coli: repression of the Nus factor-encoding gene, suhB. This repression occurs primarily by translation inhibition, followed by Rho-dependent transcription termination. Thus, the Nus factor complex can prevent or promote Rho activity depending on the gene context. Conservation of putative NusB/E binding sites upstream of Nus factor genes suggests that Nus factor autoregulation occurs in many bacterial species. Additionally, many putative NusB/E binding sites are also found upstream of other genes in diverse species, and we demonstrate Nus factor regulation of one such gene in Citrobacter koseri. We conclude that Nus factors have an evolutionarily widespread regulatory function beyond ribosomal RNA, and that they are often autoregulatory.
Coupling Story to Visualization: Using Textual Analysis as a Bridge Between Data and Interpretation

Online writers and journalism media are increasingly combining visualization (and other multimedia content) with narrative text to create narrative visualizations. Often, however, the two elements are presented independently of one another. We propose an approach to automatically integrate text and visualization elements. We begin with a writer»s narrative that presumably can be supported with visual data evidence. We leverage natural language processing, quantitative narrative analysis, and information visualization to (1) automatically extract narrative components (who, what, when, where) from data-rich stories, and (2) integrate the supporting data evidence with the text to develop a narrative visualization. We also employ bidirectional interaction from text to visualization and visualization to text to support reader exploration in both directions. We demonstrate the approach with a case study in the data-rich field of sports journalism.
Erosion of lithospheric mantle beneath the East African Rift system: geochemical evidence from the Kivu volcanic province

Abstract This study presents new major and trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic results for a suite of Miocene–Recent mafic lavas from the Kivu volcanic province in the western branch of the East African Rift. These lavas exhibit a very wide range in chemical and isotopic characteristics, due to a lithospheric mantle source region that is heterogeneous on a small scale, probably 87 Sr / 86 Sr , (La/Sm)n, Ba/Nb, and Zr/Hf than the majority of Kivu (Bukavu) samples. The range of 87 Sr / 86 Sr at Tshibinda (0.70511–0.70514) overlaps some compositions found in the neighboring Virunga province, while Bukavu group lavas include the lowest 87 Sr / 86 Sr (0.70314) and highest eNd (+7.6) yet measured in western rift lavas. The Tshibinda compositions trend towards a convergence for Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic values among western rift lavas. Among Kivu lavas, variations in 143 Nd / 144 Nd correlate with those for certain incompatible trace element ratios (e.g., Th/Nb, Zr/Hf, La/Nb, Ba/Rb), with Tshibinda samples defining one compositional extreme. There are covariations of isotopic and trace element ratios in mafic lavas of the East African Rift system that vary systematically with geographic location. The lavas represent a magmatic sampling of variations in the underlying continental lithospheric mantle, and it appears that a common lithospheric mantle (CLM) source is present beneath much of the East African Rift system. This source contains minor amphibole and phlogopite, probably due to widespread metasomatic events between 500 and 1000 Ma. Lava suites which do not show a strong component of the CLM source, and for which the chemical constraints also suggest the shallowest magma formation depths, are the Bukavu group lavas from Kivu and basanites from Huri Hills, Kenya. The inferred extent of lithospheric erosion therefore appears to be significant only beneath these two areas, which is generally consistent with lithospheric thickness variations estimated from gravity and seismic studies.
Novel materials for next generation photonic devices

We show that graphene can provide electro-optic properties to traditionally passive optical materials and enable efficient integrated active nanophotonic devices. We show devices with GHz absorption modulation based on ring resonators. We also report the first experimental demonstration of a graphene electro-refractive modulator with V π L of 0.14 Vcm, and minimal absorption modulation based on graphene capacitor integrated on Si 3 N 4 with embedded high-K and high breakdown dielectric.
Advanced Dual-Pull Mechanism for Deployable Spacecraft Booms

In this paper, a mechanism is developed to control deployment of a rollable carbon-fiber boom. The dual-pull mechanism keeps the coiled boom tightly wound at all times with a cowound tape. A novel ...
Tamm-Horsfall protein/uromodulin deficiency elicits tubular compensatory responses leading to hypertension and hyperuricemia.

Expression of Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP or uromodulin) is highly restricted to the kidney thick ascending limb (TAL) of loop of Henle. Despite the unique location and recent association of THP gen...
Women and Support for Terrorism in Pakistan

While there have been many scholarly inquiries about the sources of support for terrorism among Muslim publics, to date, scholars have generally not asked whether or not gender predicts support for...
Keynote lecture 3: biomimetic human modeling, simulation and control

For use in the entertainment industry, computer graphics/animation has made significant strides over the past two decades through advances in physics-based simulation and control. In this context, one of the most difficult open challenges going forward is the biomimetic simulation and control of the human body. This talk will present our progress toward a comprehensive simulator that confronts the combined challenge of biomechanically modeling and neuromuscularly controlling more or less all of the relevant articular bones and muscles in the body, as well as simulating the physics-based deformations of the soft tissues. A significant component of our model is the neck-headface complex, which addresses the important role that the neck plays in synthesizing the head movements that are essential to so many aspects of human behavior. Our anatomically consistent biomechanical model confronts us with many challenging motor control problems, even for the relatively simple task of balancing the mass of the head in gravity atop the cervical spine. I will present a neuromuscular control model that emulates the relevant biological motor control mechanisms. Employing machine learning techniques, the neural networks within our controllers may be trained offline to efficiently generate the pose and stiffness control signals needed to synthesize a variety of autonomous human movements. The talk will be richly illustrated with images and videos.
Drug Trade and Statistical Discrepancies in the U.S. Balance of Payments

This paper tests the hypothesis that residual values in balance of payment accounting are a random variable. Previous research in this area has been satisfied with an explanation that these residual values are just statistical discrepancies and are random in nature. This paper reveals a structural problem with the way balance of payment accounting has been set up and data are collected. The research proves that there is a positive bias about these values. Moreover, the research shows that there is a positive relationship between the size of the illicit drug market and the statistical discrepancies in the U.S. balance of payments.
A global synthesis of animal phenological responses to climate change

Shifts in phenology are already resulting in disruptions to the timing of migration and breeding, and asynchronies between interacting species1–5. Recent syntheses have concluded that trophic level 1 , latitude 6 and how phenological responses are measured 7 are key to determining the strength of phenological responses to climate change. However, researchers still lack a comprehensive framework that can predict responses to climate change globally and across diverse taxa. Here, we synthesize hundreds of published time series of animal phenology from across the planet to show that temperature primarily drives phenological responses at mid-latitudes, with precipitation becoming important at lower latitudes, probably reflecting factors that drive seasonality in each region. Phylogeny and body size are associated with the strength of phenological shifts, suggesting emerging asynchronies between interacting species that differ in body size, such as hosts and parasites and predators and prey. Finally, although there are many compelling biological explanations for spring phenological delays, some examples of delays are associated with short annual records that are prone to sampling error. Our findings arm biologists with predictions concerning which climatic variables and organismal traits drive phenological shifts. A synthesis of animal phenology shows that temperature primarily drives mid-latitude responses, with precipitation important at lower latitudes. Phylogeny and body size are associated with the strength of phenological shifts.
Modeling binaural detection of a Gaussian noise target in the presence of a lead/lag masker

Recently, we presented the results of a binaural masked detection experiment in which a noise target was temporally embedded within a lead/lag noise masker pair [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 141, 3639]. The results show that the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) between the masker and its reflection changed the detection threshold significantly. For low ISIs of 2-ms, the average masked detection was -11 dB, but for a greater ISI of 20 ms, the threshold was much higher (-2 dB). In the experiment, masked detection thresholds did not depend on whether the masker lead was on the same side as the target (with the lag on the contralateral side) or the other way round. Different model approaches are presented to simulate the psychophysical results, including a precedence effect (PE) model that was extended using a cepstrum-based method to determine the localization cues for the direct sound of the masker. The PE model is used in conjunction with an EC model and a binaural/monaural detector using optimal frequency-weighting f...
Multitrack Power Factor Correction Architecture

Single-phase universal-input ac–dc converters are needed in a wide range of applications. This paper presents a novel power factor correction (PFC) architecture that can achieve high-power density and high efficiency for grid-interface power electronics. The multitrack PFC architecture reduces the internal device voltage stress of the power converter subsystems, allowing PFC circuits to maintain zero-voltage-switching at high frequency (1 MHz–4 MHz) across universal input voltage range (85 $\rm V_{\text{ac}}$ –265 $\rm V_{\text{ac}}$ ). The high performance of the power converter is enabled by delivering power in multiple stacked voltage domains and reconfiguring the power processing paths depending on the input voltage. This multitrack concept can be used together with many other design techniques for PFC systems to create mutual advantages in many function blocks. A prototype 150 W, universal ac input, 12 $\rm V_{\text{dc}}$ output, isolated multitrack PFC system with a power density of 50 W/in $^3$ , and a peak end-to-end efficiency of 92% has been built and tested to verify the effectiveness of the multitrack PFC architecture.
Treatment of Endoscopy Associated Cerebral Gas Embolism

Gas emboli are a rare complication in endoscopic procedures that can have dire outcomes. Due to the inescapability of the factors that may cause them, one must be vigilant when performing an endoscopic procedure for the possibility of gas emboli, especially in someone with advanced pathology, in long procedures requiring interventions and much insufflation, and when using air insufflation instead of carbon dioxide. While there are few adjunctive treatments, the definitive therapy for gas embolisms is prompt hyperbaric oxygen.
Global regularity and fast small-scale formation for Euler patch equation in a smooth domain

It is well known that the Euler vortex patch in R2 will remain regular if it is regular enough initially. In bounded domains, the regularity theory for patch solutions is less complete. In this art...
Citizen Representation in City Government-Driven Crowdsourcing

This article examines the citizen representativeness of crowdsourcing achieved through 311 systems—the non-emergency and quality of life service request reporting systems used by local governments. Based on surveys of San Francisco residents conducted in 2011, 2013, and 2015, our findings suggest that no systematic biases exist in participation rates across a range of socio-economic indicators. In addition, the findings provide evidence that participation may be responding positively to the city’s responsiveness, thus creating a self-reinforcing process that benefits an increasingly diverse and representative body of users. This inquiry builds on earlier studies of Boston and San Francisco that show that 311 systems did not bias response to traditionally disadvantaged groups (lower socioeconomic status or racial/ethnic minorities) at the demand level nor from high-volume users.
The Interpretation and Effect of Permissive Forum Selection Clauses Under U.S. Law

A forum selection clause is a form of contractual waiver. By this device, a contract party waives its rights to raise jurisdictional or venue objections if a lawsuit is initiated against it in the chosen court. The use of such a clause in a particular case may therefore raise a set of questions under contract law. Is the waiver valid? Was it procured by fraud, duress, or other unconscionable means? What is its scope? And so on. Unlike most contractual waivers, though, a forum selection clause affects not only the private rights and obligations of the parties, but something of more public concern: the jurisdiction of a court to resolve a dispute. The enforcement of such a clause therefore raises an additional set of questions under procedural law. For instance, if the parties designate a court in a forum that is otherwise unconnected to the dispute, must (or should) that court hear a case initiated there? If one of the parties initiates litigation in a non-designated forum that is connected to the dispute, must (or should) that court decline to hear the case? This report, prepared for the International Academy of Comparative Law in connection with its XXth International Congress, analyzes the approach to these questions in the United States. The bottom line is straightforward: almost always, in consumer as well as commercial contracts, forum selection clauses will be enforced. Navigating the array of substantive, procedural, and conflicts rules whose interplay yields that result, though, is far less straightforward. That is the task of this report. Following a short background, it surveys current state law on their use, in consumer as well as commercial contracts. The report then discusses the interpretation and enforcement of forum selection clauses in both state and federal courts. It analyzes their effect on jurisdiction as well as on doctrines involving venue, such as removal and forum non conveniens. The report also covers choice of law problems, particularly as they arise in the course of litigation in federal courts.
Iron Deficiency Reduces Synapse Formation in the Drosophila Clock Circuit

Iron serves as a critical cofactor for proteins involved in a host of biological processes. In most animals, dietary iron is absorbed in enterocytes and then disseminated for use in other tissues in the body. The brain is particularly dependent on iron. Altered iron status correlates with disorders ranging from cognitive dysfunction to disruptions in circadian activity. The exact role iron plays in producing these neurological defects, however, remains unclear. Invertebrates provide an attractive model to study the effects of iron on neuronal development since many of the genes involved in iron metabolism are conserved, and the organisms are amenable to genetic and cytological techniques. We have examined synapse growth specifically under conditions of iron deficiency in the Drosophila circadian clock circuit. We show that projections of the small ventrolateral clock neurons to the protocerebrum of the adult Drosophila brain are significantly reduced upon chelation of iron from the diet. This growth defect persists even when iron is restored to the diet. Genetic neuronal knockdown of ferritin 1 or ferritin 2, critical components of iron storage and transport, does not affect synapse growth in these cells. Together, these data indicate that dietary iron is necessary for central brain synapse formation in the fly and further validate the use of this model to study the function of iron homeostasis on brain development.
"Changing of the Guards": David Wexler, Therapeutic jurisprudence, and the transformation of legal scholarship.

This article – a tribute to Professor David Wexler – explores how and why the idea of therapeutic jurisprudence first came to him, traces its early development, and contextualizes it in the changes in modern mental disability law in the 1980s. It then sketches out the core principles of this school of legal thought, and considers its expansion beyond mental disability law, both substantively (as it was applied to other areas of the law, some related to mental disability law, and some totally different), procedurally (considerations of how therapeutic jurisprudence methodologies could restructure all of the legal system, including the role of courts, legislatures, administrative agencies and lawyers), and professionally (as others beyond lawyers began to embrace it). Finally, it speculates as to the future, using as its fulcrum the just-created International Society of Therapeutic Jurisprudence.
Automatic Traceability Maintenance via Machine Learning Classification

Previous studies have shown that software traceability, the ability to link together related artifacts from different sources within a project (e.g., source code, use cases, documentation, etc.), improves project outcomes by assisting developers and other stakeholders with common tasks such as impact analysis, concept location, etc. Establishing traceability links in a software system is an important and costly task, but only half the struggle. As the project undergoes maintenance and evolution, new artifacts are added and existing ones are changed, resulting in outdated traceability information. Therefore, specific steps need to be taken to make sure that traceability links are maintained in tandem with the rest of the project. In this paper we address this problem and propose a novel approach called TRAIL for maintaining traceability information in a system. The novelty of TRAIL stands in the fact that it leverages previously captured knowledge about project traceability to train a machine learning classifier which can then be used to derive new traceability links and update existing ones. We evaluated TRAIL on 11 commonly used traceability datasets from six software systems and compared it to seven popular Information Retrieval (IR) techniques including the most common approaches used in previous work. The results indicate that TRAIL outperforms all IR approaches in terms of precision, recall, and F-score.
Changes in the aerosol direct radiative forcing from 2001 to 2015: observational constraints and regional mechanisms

Abstract. We present estimates of changes in the direct aerosol effects (DRE) and its anthropogenic component (DRF) from 2001 to 2015 using the GFDL chemistry–climate model AM3 driven by CMIP6 historical emissions. AM3 is evaluated against observed changes in the clear-sky shortwave direct aerosol effect ( DRE sw clr ) derived from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) over polluted regions. From 2001 to 2015, observations suggest that DRE clr sw increases (i.e., less radiation is scattered to space by aerosols) over western Europe (0.7–1 W m −2 decade −1 ) and the eastern US (0.9–1.4 W m −2 decade −1 ), decreases over India ( −1 to −1.6 W m −2 decade −1 ), and does not change significantly over eastern China. AM3 captures these observed regional changes in DRE clr sw well in the US and western Europe, where they are dominated by the decline of sulfate aerosols, but not in Asia, where the model overestimates the decrease of DRE clr sw . Over India, the model bias can be partly attributed to a decrease of the dust optical depth, which is not captured by our model and offsets some of the increase of anthropogenic aerosols. Over China, we find that the decline of SO2 emissions after 2007 is not represented in the CMIP6 emission inventory. Accounting for this decline, using the Modular Emission Inventory for China, and for the heterogeneous oxidation of SO2 significantly reduces the model bias. For both India and China, our simulations indicate that nitrate and black carbon contribute more to changes in DRE clr sw than in the US and Europe. Indeed, our model suggests that black carbon ( +0.12 W m −2 ) dominates the relatively weak change in DRF from 2001 to 2015 ( +0.03 W m −2 ). Over this period, the changes in the forcing from nitrate and sulfate are both small and of the same magnitude ( −0.03 W m −2 each). This is in sharp contrast to the forcing from 1850 to 2001 in which forcings by sulfate and black carbon largely cancel each other out, with minor contributions from nitrate. The differences between these time periods can be well understood from changes in emissions alone for black carbon but not for nitrate and sulfate; this reflects non-linear changes in the photochemical production of nitrate and sulfate associated with changes in both the magnitude and spatial distribution of anthropogenic emissions.
How Do Mortgage Subsidies Affect Home Ownership? Evidence from the Mid-century GI Bills

Abstract The largest twentieth-century increase in US home ownership occurred between 1940 and 1960, associated largely with declining age at first ownership. I shed light on the contribution of coincident government mortgage market interventions by examining home loan benefits granted under the World War II and Korean War GI Bills. Veterans' benefits increased home ownership rates primarily by shifting purchase earlier in life, explaining 7.4 percent of the overall 1940–1960 increase, and 25 percent of the increase for affected cohorts. A rough extrapolation suggests that broader changes in mortgage terms can explain 40 percent of the 1940–1960 increase. (JEL G21, N22, N92, R21, R31)
Open Information Enterprise Transactions: Business Intelligence and Wash and Spoof Transactions in Blockchain and Social Commerce

This paper investigates what are referred to as ‘open information transactions’. Such transactions are in contrast to traditional transactions, where typically two parties to a transaction are the only ones with information about the transaction. For example, in a sale, the seller and the purchaser typically are the only ones with information about the transaction. However, some emerging technologies, such as blockchain accounting, supply chain social media, and hashtag commerce are making information about the transactions potentially openly available to others. This paper investigates some of the implications and strategies that include the use of that open information. For example, open information in accounting and supply chain transactions provides the potential for both business intelligence analysis of the information and possibly misleading and illusory transactions, analogous to those that have garnered the recent attention of the Justice Department in cryptocurrencies. Finally, this paper suggests that blockchain transaction processing will provide reliable information in those settings where there is a “single truth” feed of information flow for the phenomena of interest, no ability to do off‐blockchain transactions (or a large penalty cost) and limitation to a single identity for each enterprise on the blockchain.
Retooling American Foodralism

Food policy action on the state and local levels is necessary and important for at least two reasons. First, the complexity and breadth of our nation’s food system requires layered policy and regulation; the system’s functioning needs both national uniformity and local distinctions. Second, there are crucial gaps in national regulation that provide rich opportunities for state and local action. These gaps, in areas such as the regulation of antibiotics in animal feed and the oversight of food additives, are not priorities of the federal agencies that oversee food. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made nutrition policy a priority for 2018, the current administration’s explicitly articulated anti-regulatory agenda makes it unlikely that these previously underprioritized areas will be addressed. State and local food policy action allows regional difference, but also has the potential to spark national change. For example, at least eight localities have enacted controversial sugary drink taxes as a means of addressing the obesity crisis, a strategy that has not been embraced nationally, while initiatives such as New York City’s trans fat ban and menu labeling regulations have been adopted as national policy. Subnational action, however, can also cause friction; state and local laws may interfere with federal authority and national regulatory uniformity, or with the methods by which other states or localities wish to regulate food. In this Essay, we provide a brief overview of the food regulatory system in the United States and then describe several areas where states currently have the opportunity to take action to fill federal gaps. We conclude by arguing for an approach that involves a retooling of American foodralism to embrace a complementary regulatory relationship between the federal and state governments that respects the need for uniformity, but properly allows states and localities to more actively participate and regulate in the interests of their citizens for the benefit of the public health, safety, and welfare. In this “dynamic federalism,” the states can experiment and function as the laboratories of democracy. This is not only in keeping with our country’s historic notions of federalism, but is practically necessary given current gaps in federal oversight.
Which domains have two-sided supporting unit spheres at every boundary point?

Abstract We prove the quantitative equivalence of two important geometrical conditions, pertaining to the regularity of a domain Ω ⊂ R N . These are: (i) the uniform two-sided supporting sphere condition, and (ii) the Lipschitz continuity of the outward unit normal vector. In particular, the answer to the question posed in our title is: “Those domains whose unit normal is well defined and has Lipschitz constant one.” We also offer an extension to infinitely dimensional spaces L p , p ∈ ( 1 , ∞ ) .
Polymorph control in batch seeded crystallizers. A case study with paracetamol

Controlling crystal polymorphism is crucial in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. In this work, we combine experimental characterization (including online imaging, infrared and Raman spectroscopy) with population balance modeling to investigate polymorph formation in batch seeded crystallizers considering paracetamol as a model system. We show that seeding the crystallizer with the target polymorph (here form II) does not necessarily lead to the intended polymorphic outcome. It is found that a decrease in temperature and in the stirring speed both allow improving the yield–purity trade-off thanks to a decrease in the nucleation rate of form I. The temperature leading to the most productive process is shown to be strongly dependent on the target polymorphic purity, namely the optimal temperature decreases with increasing purity specifications.
The algebra of two scales estimation, and the S-TSRV: High frequency estimation that is robust to sampling times

Abstract In this paper, we derive a new algebraic property of two scales estimation in high frequency data, under which the effect of sampling times is canceled to high order. This is a particular robustness property of the two scales construction. In general, irregular, asynchronous, or endogenous times can cause problems in estimators based on equidistant observation of (trade or quote) times. The new algebraic property can be combined with pre-averaging, giving rise to the smoothed two-scales realized volatility (S-TSRV). We derive a finite sample solution to controlling edge effects and for handling irregular and endogenous observation times and asynchronously observed multivariate data. In connection with this development, we use the algebraic approach to define a version of the S-TSRV which has particularly small edge effect in microstructure noise. The main result of the paper is a representation of the statistical error of the estimator in terms of simple components. As an application of this representation, the paper develops a central limit theory for multivariate volatility estimators. The approach can also handle leads and lags in the signal process.
Spatial and Temporal Analysis of the Stomach and Small-Intestinal Microbiota in Fasted Healthy Humans.

ABSTRACT Although the microbiota in the proximal gastrointestinal (GI) tract have been implicated in health and disease, much about these microbes remains understudied compared to those in the distal GI tract. This study characterized the microbiota across multiple proximal GI sites over time in healthy individuals. As part of a study of the pharmacokinetics of oral mesalamine administration, healthy, fasted volunteers (n = 8; 10 observation periods total) were orally intubated with a four-lumen catheter with multiple aspiration ports. Samples were taken from stomach, duodenal, and multiple jejunal sites, sampling hourly (≤7 h) to measure mesalamine (administered at t = 0), pH, and 16S rRNA gene-based composition. We observed a predominance of Firmicutes across proximal GI sites, with significant variation compared to stool. The microbiota was more similar within individuals over time than between subjects, with the fecal microbiota being unique from that of the small intestine. The stomach and duodenal microbiota displayed highest intraindividual variability compared to jejunal sites, which were more stable across time. We observed significant correlations in the duodenal microbial composition with changes in pH; linear mixed models identified positive correlations with multiple Streptococcus operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and negative correlations with multiple Prevotella and Pasteurellaceae OTUs. Few OTUs correlated with mesalamine concentration. The stomach and duodenal microbiota exhibited greater compositional dynamics than the jejunum. Short-term fluctuations in the duodenal microbiota were correlated with pH. Given the unique characteristics and dynamics of the proximal GI tract microbiota, it is important to consider these local environments in health and disease states. IMPORTANCE The gut microbiota are linked to a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease. Despite this importance, microbiota dynamics in the upper gastrointestinal tract are understudied. Our article seeks to understand what factors impact microbiota dynamics in the healthy human upper gut. We found that the upper gastrointestinal tract contains consistently prevalent bacterial OTUs that dominate the overall community. Microbiota variability is highest in the stomach and duodenum and correlates with pH.
An examination of the first-time homebuyer tax credit

Abstract A major policy response to the 2008 housing crisis was the First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit, worth up to $8,000. To estimate the tax credit effects on homeownership, I construct a quarterly first-time homebuyer time-series using American Housing Survey data and utilize a difference-in-difference framework using variation across income levels among first-time homebuyers. I estimate the tax credit induced 399,846 first-time homebuyers and calculate an economic cost of $27,010 per induced homeowner. Estimating state- and MSA-level effects using variation across homebuyer status, I find a strong correlation between local effect size and average home values, with a doubling in average home values implying a drop in effect size by 18.8 percentage points.
The doctor's digital double: how warmth, competence, and animation promote adherence intention.

Background Each year, patient nonadherence to treatment advice costs the US healthcare system more than $300 billion and results in 250,000 deaths. Developing virtual consultations to promote adherence could improve public health while cutting healthcare costs and usage. However, inconsistencies in the realism of computer-animated humans may cause them to appear eerie, a phenomenon termed the uncanny valley. Eeriness could reduce a virtual doctor's credibility and patients' adherence. Methods In a 2 × 2 × 2 between-groups posttest-only experiment, 738 participants played the role of a patient in a hypothetical virtual consultation with a doctor. The consultation varied in the doctor's Character (good or poor bedside manner), Outcome (received a fellowship or sued for malpractice), and Depiction (a recorded video of a real human actor or of his 3D computer-animated double). Character, Outcome, and Depiction were designed to manipulate the doctor's level of warmth, competence, and realism, respectively. Results Warmth and competence increased adherence intention and consultation enjoyment, but realism did not. On the contrary, the computer-animated doctor increased adherence intention and consultation enjoyment significantly more than the doctor portrayed by a human actor. We propose that enjoyment of the animated consultation caused the doctor to appear warmer and more real, compensating for his realism inconsistency. Expressed as a path model, this explanation fit the data. Discussion The acceptance and effectiveness of the animation should encourage the development of virtual consultations, which have advantages over creating content with human actors including ease of scenario revision, internationalization, localization, personalization, and web distribution.
An Historical Analysis of the SEAndroid Policy Evolution

Android adopted SELinux's mandatory access control (MAC) mechanisms in 2013. Since then, billions of Android devices have benefited from mandatory access control security policies. These policies are expressed in a variety of rules, maintained by Google and extended by Android OEMs. Over the years, the rules have grown to be quite complex, making it challenging to properly understand or configure these policies. In this paper, we perform a measurement study on the SEAndroid repository to understand the evolution of these policies. We propose a new metric to measure the complexity of the policy by expanding policy rules, with their abstraction features such as macros and groups, into primitive "boxes", which we then use to show that the complexity of the SEAndroid policies has been growing exponentially over time. By analyzing the Git commits, snapshot by snapshot, we are also able to analyze the "age" of policy rules, the trend of changes, and the contributor composition. We also look at hallmark events in Android's history, such as the "Stagefright" vulnerability in Android's media facilities, pointing out how these events led to changes in the MAC policies. The growing complexity of Android's mandatory policies suggests that we will eventually hit the limits of our ability to understand these policies, requiring new tools and techniques.
Varieties of capitalism, increasing income inequality and the sustainability of long-run growth

We model US household debt accumulation during the neoliberal boom (1990–2007) as a response to emulation effects and the decline of the social wage, which has ‘privatised’ an increasing share of the costs of providing for services such as health and education. The debt dynamics of the US economy are then studied under alternative assumptions about the configuration of distributional variables, which is shown to differ across varieties of capitalism that have ‘neoliberalised’ to different degrees. A key result is that distributional change alone will not make contemporary US capitalism financially sustainable due, in part, to the paradoxical nature of inequality as a spur to household borrowing, and hence a source of both demand-formation and financial fragility. Achieving sustainability requires, instead, more wide-ranging reform.
Management of anastomotic leaks following esophagectomy: when to intervene?

Background: Esophagectomy is the mainstay treatment for early stage and locoregionally advanced esophageal cancer. Anastomotic leaks following esophagectomy are associated with numerous detrimental sequelae. The management of anastomotic leaks has evolved over time. The present study is a single-institution experience of esophageal leak management over an 11-year period, in order to identify when these can be managed nonoperatively. Methods: All patients undergoing esophagectomy with gastric reconstruction at our institution between 2004 and 2014 were identified. Preoperative patient characteristics and perioperative factors were reviewed. Failure of initial leak treatment was defined as need for escalation of therapy. Length of stay (LOS) and postoperative mortality were the primary outcomes. Follow-up was obtained through institutional medical records and the Social Security Death Index. Results: Sixty-one of 692 (8.8%) patients developed an anastomotic leak. Forty-six patients (75.4%) first underwent observation, which was successful in 35 patients. Predictors of successful observation included higher preoperative albumin (P=0.02), leak diagnosed by esophagram (P=0.004), and contained leaks (P=0.01). Successful observation was associated with shorter LOS (P=0.001). Predictors of mortality included lower preoperative serum albumin (P=0.01) and induction therapy (P=0.03). Thirty and 90-day mortality among patients who developed an anastomotic leak were 9.8% and 16.7%, respectively. Conclusions: Over half of anastomotic leaks were managed successfully with observation alone and did not require additional interventions. We have identified factors that may predict successful therapy with observation in these patients. Further research is warranted to determine more timely interventions for patients likely to fail conservative management.
National Injunctions and Preclusion

Critics of national injunctions are lining up. Attorney General Jeff Sessions labeled these injunctions “absurd” and “simply unsustainable.” Justice Clarence Thomas called them “legally and historically dubious,” while Justice Neil Gorsuch mockingly referred to them as “cosmic injunctions.” Scholars in leading law reviews have called for their demise. Critics argue that national injunctions encourage forum shopping, unfairly burden the federal government, and depart from the history of equity. They also claim that national injunctions contradict the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Mendoza to exempt the federal government from offensive nonmutual issue preclusion—a doctrine that permits nonparties to benefit from a prior finding against a party from an earlier case. Critics are right to identify the connection between national injunctions and nonmutual preclusion. Both of these doctrines describe when judgments can benefit nonparties. But critics are wrong to see Mendoza as an argument against national injunctions. For one thing, the rise of nonmutual preclusion that prompted Mendoza undercuts crucial arguments against national injunctions by offering an alternative explanation for the absence of analogous injunctions in the history of equity. For another, Mendoza was not preordained; instead, it was a highly policy-driven decision. And Mendoza’s policy arguments were dubious when it was decided and even more dubious today. Scrutinizing these arguments should make us less comfortable in extending Mendoza to a new context—as the Supreme Court may be poised to do. Indeed, this Article goes one step further. The Supreme Court or Congress should take advantage of the attention on nonparty relief to reconsider, and overrule, Mendoza. Federal-government litigants do not deserve special treatment with respect to preclusion in every case, and the existing rules of preclusion adequately protect the interests purportedly at stake in Mendoza. Moreover, rejecting Mendoza has feedback effects for the national-injunctions debate. Overruling Mendoza would not only reduce the need for national injunctions (because preclusion could do some of the work) but also provide a framework for limiting national injunctions without eliminating them completely. This is especially important given recent decisions that make relying on class actions a tenuous response. More generally, overruling Mendoza would create a system that is fairer to governmental and nongovernmental litigants alike while reaffirming each branch’s role in the making of national policy.
Knowledge and Persuasion in Economics

Part I. Exordium: 1. A positivist youth 2. Kicking the dead horse Part II. Narration: 3. Economics in the human conversation 4. The rhetoric of economics Part III. Division: 5. The Science word in economics 6. Three ways of reading economics to criticize itself 7. Popper and Lakatos: thin ways of reading economics 8. Thick readings: ethics, economics, sociology and rhetoric Part IV. Proof: 9. The rise of a scientistic style 10. The rhetoric of mathematical formalism: existence theorems 11. General equilibrium and the rhetorical history of formalism 12. Blackboard Marxism 13. Formalists as poets and politicians Part V. Refutation: 14. The very idea of epistemology 15. The tu quoque argument and the claims of rationalism 16. Armchair philosophy of economics: Rosenberg and Hausman 17. Philosophy of science without epistemology: the Popperians 18. The Rosenberg: reactionary modernism 19. Methodologists of economics, big-M and small 20. Getting 'rhetoric': Mark Blaug and the Eleatic Stranger 21. Coats/McPherson/Friedman: anti-meta-post-modernism 22. Splenetic rationalism, Austrian style 23. The economists of ideology: Heilbroner, Rossetti, and Mirowski 24. Rhetoric as morally radical Part VI. Peroration: 25. The economy as a conversation 26. The consequences of rhetoric.
SNRA: A Spintronic Neuromorphic Reconfigurable Array for In-Circuit Training and Evaluation of Deep Belief Networks

In this paper, a spintronic neuromorphic reconfigurable Array (SNRA)is developed to fuse together power-efficient probabilistic and in-field programmable deterministic computing during both training and evaluation phases of restricted Boltzmann machines (RBMs). First, probabilistic spin logic devices are used to develop an RBM realization which is adapted to construct deep belief networks (DBNs)having one to three hidden layers of size 10 to 800 neurons each. Second, we design a hardware implementation for the contrastive divergence (CD)algorithm using a four-state finite state machine capable of unsupervised training in N+3 clocks where N denotes the number of neurons in each RBM. The functionality of our proposed CD hardware implementation is validated using ModelSim simulations. We synthesize the developed Verilog HDL implementation of our proposed test/train control circuitry for various DBN topologies where the maximal RBM dimensions yield resource utilization ranging from 51 to 2,421 lookup tables (LUTs). Next, we leverage spin Hall effect (SHE)-magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ)based non-volatile LUTs circuits as an alternative for static random access memory (SRAM)-based LUTs storing the deterministic logic configuration to form a reconfigurable fabric. Finally, we compare the performance of our proposed SNRA with SRAM-based configurable fabrics focusing on the area and power consumption induced by the LUTs used to implement both CD and evaluation modes. The results obtained indicate more than 80% reduction in combined dynamic and static power dissipation, while achieving at least 50% reduction in device count.
Ephemeroptera of Canada

Thus far, 335 currently valid species in 82 genera and 21 families of mayflies (Ephemeroptera) have been documented from Canada, remarkably representing a little more than half of the combined species richness of Canada, Mexico and the USA. The current known species richness for Canada represents an increase of 11.3% as compared to that reported in 1979. Species richness is greatest in the families Heptageniidae (83), Baetidae (76) and Ephemerellidae (45). A total of 328 DNA Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) are available for Canadian mayfly species. The greatest net gains anticipated for future species tallies are for Baetidae (25), Heptageniidae (10) and Leptophlebiidae (10). A total of 66 more species overall is anticipated for Canada, with greatest gains potentially coming from lentic habitats across Canada and from far eastern and far western areas in general. However, even metropolitan areas should not be overlooked for the potential of discovery.
Binomial Distribution: Estimating and Testing Parameters†

We consider categorical variables with only two possible values. Such data are referred to as binary data, Bernoulli variables, dichotomous data, and sometimes as 0/1 data. In contrast with continuous data, which are generally summarized with sums and averages, binary data are generally summarized with counts and proportions. The binomial distribution is generally used to model the proportion of binary trials that result in a given outcome. When testing a binomial population to determine if the success probability appears to be a given specified value, the binomial test is used. Keywords: binary trials; Bernoulli variables; P value interval
Implications of Transitional Care Interventions on Hospital Readmissions in Patients With Destination Therapy Left Ventricular Assist Devices.

Background The rising number of patients with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) require care management to successfully transition home after implantation. These patients and their families need to manage their heart failure, and the complexities of an LVAD and the associated lifestyle modifications. Translating knowledge of transitional care interventions in patients with chronic diseases to those with an LVAD may provide valuable insight. To help inform the furthering of care transitions in the LVAD patient population, an integrative review was conducted. Aim The aim of this review was to explore the transitions of care interventions of care in patients and its potential for application in the destination therapy LVAD. Methods This integrative review was guided by the Whittemore and Knafl's methodology. Results A total of 12 articles from 264 retrieved articles met inclusion criteria and were included in the literature review. Discussion This review identified that evidence-based transitional care interventions have been shown to decrease avoidable rehospitalization, the associated costs, and improve quality of life when compared to usual care. Implications for practice A common feature of transitional care interventions is the inclusion of nurse leadership. Nurses should be prepared to participate in transitional care interventions to optimally improve outcomes for patients with heart failure and potentially those with an LVAD. Additionally, to make transitional care interventions more effective they should be implemented with moderate intensity or greater. Conclusion This review provided information supporting the trialing of transitional care interventions in patients with an LVAD and suggests pilot research to optimize interventions for this population.