cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Taxation without representation ? experimental evidence from Ghana and Uganda on citizen action toward taxes, oil, and aid

Seminal arguments in political economy hold that citizens will more readily demand accountability from governments for taxes than for non-tax revenue from oil or aid. Two identical experiments on large, representative subject pools in Ghana and Uganda probe the effects of different revenue types on citizens' actions to monitor government spending. Roughly half of all subjects willingly sign petitions and donate money to scrutinize all three sources. However, neither Ghanaians nor Ugandans are more likely to take action for tax revenues than for oil or aid. The results also suggest no differences among taxes, oil, and aid in citizens' perceptions of transparency, misappropriation risk, or public goods provision. The results are robust to several alternative specifications and subgroup partitions, including the better educated, wealthier, and taxpaying population, suggesting a need for rethinking the axiom that taxation strengthens citizens' demands for accountability in developing countries.
Fog and live fuel moisture in coastal California shrublands

Across most Mediterranean-type climate regions, seasonal drought desiccates plants, facilitating ignition and the spread of wildfires. Along the California coast, summertime fog has the potential to ameliorate drought conditions and thus reduce plant flammability during a critical time of elevated fire risk. This study investigated the uptake of dry season fog and how it affects live fuel moisture in six dominant shrub species from chaparral and sage scrub plant associations. Fog water uptake was evaluated using stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen at several field sites in Santa Barbara County, California. Clear evidence of fog water uptake was identified only in Baccharis pilularis, from the sage scrub association. To determine the effects of fog on live fuel moisture, meteorological variables and indices including fog deposition were combined into principal components and the scores regressed against the live fuel moisture loss rate during the summer drought. Fog deposition slowed rates of live fuel moisture loss for all three sage scrub species tested, but it did not affect the chaparral species. Fog is a more regular occurrence in the sage scrub association and thus it is likely that fog ameliorates drought for species that experience consistent fog during the summer months. In coastal California, summer fog can be essential to plant water relations and reduce live fuel moisture loss rates during the summer drought. Understanding these effects is important in the context of changing climate in southern California and Mediterranean-type climate regions around the world.
THE STIFF KNEE: AETIOLOGY AND TREATMENT OPTIONS

Stiffness after TKR is a frustrating complication that has many possible causes. Though the definition of stiffness has changed over the years, most would agree that flexion > 75 degrees and a 15-degree lack of extension constitutes stiffness. This presentation will focus upon the potential causes of a stiff TKR, intra-operative tips, the post-operative evaluation and management, and the results of revision for a stiff TKR. The management of this potentially unsatisfying situation begins pre-operatively with guidance of the patient9s expectations; it is well-known that pre-operative stiffness is strongly correlated with post-operative lack of motion. At the time of surgery, osteophytes must be removed and the components properly sised and aligned and rotated. Soft-tissue balancing must be attained in both the flexion/extension and varus/valgus planes. One must avoid overstuffing the tibio-femoral and/or patello-femoral compartments with an inadequate bone resection. Despite these surgical measures and adequate pain control and rehabilitation, certain patients will continue to frustrate our best efforts. These patients likely have a biological predisposition for formation of scar tissue. Other potential causes for the stiff TKR include complex regional pain syndrome or joint infection. Close followup of a patient9s progress is crucial for the success in return of ROM. Should motion plateau early in the recovery phase, the patient should be evaluated for manipulation under anesthesia. At our institution, most manipulations are performed within 3 months post-operative under an epidural anesthetic; patients will stay overnight for continuous epidural pain relief and immediate aggressive PT. The results of re-operations for a stiff TKR are variable due to the multiple etiologies. A clear cause of stiffness such as component malposition, malrotation or overstuffing of the joint has a greater chance of regaining motion than arthrofibrosis without a clear cause. Although surgical treatment with open arthrolysis, isolated component or complete revision can be used to improve TKR motion, results have been variable and additional procedures are often necessary.
Setting Boundaries with Memory: Generation of Topological Boundary States in Floquet-Induced Synthetic Crystals.

When a d-dimensional quantum system is subjected to a periodic drive, it may be treated as a (d+1)-dimensional system, where the extra dimension is a synthetic one. This approach, however, affords only a limited level of control of the effective potential along the synthetic direction. In this work, we introduce a new mean for controlling the Floquet synthetic dimension. We show that arbitrary potentials, as well as edges in the synthetic dimension, could be introduced using a memory component in the system’s dynamics. We demonstrate this principle by exploring topological edge states propagating normal to synthetic dimensions. Such systems may act as an optical isolator which allows the transmission of light in a directional way. Also, we suggest an experimental realization of the memory effect in spins coupled to nanofabricated Weyl semimetal surface states.
“Common Man” Meets Local Women: Global Visions and the Foundations of National Fertility Regulation in Chile

In the 1960s Chilean women and men had, for the first time, the opportunity to watch educational films like Family Planning/Planificacion Familiar , a Walt Disney production made available in English and Spanish for use in various parts of Latin America. The film introduced its viewers to a cartoon husband, claiming to represent “Common Man,” and to Donald Duck, the narrator, who led the audience from one theme to the next. After describing the dangers of overpopulation and underdevelopment, the Duck concluded that family planning, which would lead to small families and to population decline, was the only way to avoid poverty. When “Common Man’s” cartoon wife popped up intermittently, she had doubts, though she was too shy and embarrassed to speak. The wife only managed to voice her doubts about accepting family planning by whispering into her husband’s ear while he articulated her questions to the audience. The narrative concluded with an interpretation meant to comfort the concerned woman: family planning is not only socially acceptable, but indeed indispensable to the healthy future of a woman’s family, her community, and humankind as a whole.
240 years of The Wealth of Nations

Abstract: Why should we read a book printed 240 years ago? The book is old. Our circumstances and institutions are different. Its examples are dated. Its policies are irrelevant today. Its economic theories are full of mistakes. Even its political ideology is ambiguous. So, why bother reading this old book?
Can behavioral economists improve economic rationality

Behavioral economists recognize that we are all subject to the cognitive biases they have observed and studied in laboratory experiments. Yet the leading behavioral economists exhibit far more interest in applying those biases to market decisions than to political decision-, and see irrational decisions making as another example of market failure which justifies correction by some form of government action. We treat this as a justification for comparing the distortions of cognitive biases on market decisions with the distortions of those biases on political decisions. We also make a distinction between the rationality of individual decisions and the collective rationality of those decisions, and question Thaler’s argument that people fail to learn much from the mistakes they make in markets. We conclude that behavioral economists would do more to increase economic rationality by making the case for eliminating government policies that are clearly economically irrational and destructive. Eliminating such policies would not necessarily increase the individual rationality of political or market decisions, but it would increase the collective rationality of both.
Chapter 22 – Finite Element Analysis Using ANSYS∗

This chapter is devoted to the finite element solution of problems using the commercial software ANSYS. This software is based on Windows and Linux platforms and is US-based and was developed and marketed by ANSYS, Inc. It is a full CAE software package. The terminology needed for using the software, the finite element discretization process, system of units, and the stages involved (preprocessing, solution, and postprocessing) are explained. Two examples are presented to demonstrate the use of the software—the analysis of an eleven-bar planar truss subjected to nodal loads and the heat transfer (temperature distribution) in a steel rod link pin-connected between two solid structures that are maintained at different temperatures.
The Political Boundaries of Ethnic Divisions

Policymakers in diverse countries face the persistent challenge of managing ethnic divisions. We argue that redrawing subnational political boundaries can fundamentally reshape these divisions. We use a natural policy experiment in Indonesia to show that changes in the political relevance of ethnic divisions have significant effects on conflict in the short- to medium-run. While redistricting along group lines can increase social stability, these gains are undone and even reversed in newly polarized units. Electoral democracy further amplifies these effects given the large returns to initial control of newly created local governments in settings with ethnic favoritism. Overall, our findings show that the ethnic divisions underlying widely-used diversity measures are neither fixed nor exogenous and instead depend on the political boundaries within which groups are organized. These results illustrate the promise and pitfalls of redistricting policy in diverse countries where it is not feasible for each group to have its own administrative unit.
Cross-country differences in monetary policy execution and money market rates’ volatility

Abstract Volatility patterns in overnight interest rates display differences across industrial countries that existing models—designed to replicate the features of individual countries’ markets—cannot account for. This paper presents an equilibrium model of the overnight interbank market that matches cross-country differences in patterns in interest volatility by incorporating differences in how central banks manage liquidity in response to shocks. Our model is consistent with central banks’ practice of rationing access to marginal facilities when the objective of stabilizing short-term interest rates conflicts with another high-frequency objective, such as an exchange rate target.
Overview and meta-analysis of global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) impact evaluations

This paper presents an overview and meta-analysis of the effects of water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions around the world. It is based on 136 impact evaluations (randomized and quasi-experimental studies) that explore the effects of water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions on health and non-health outcomes, ranging from behavior change -- such as the adoption of water treatment -- to school attendance rates, to a reduction in diarrhea. The selected impact evaluations were divided into five groups, and meta-regressions with fixed effects (at the regional level) and random effects were performed, controlling for each study's characteristics (implementing organization, sample sizes, type of publication, number of publication views, and so forth). All results are reported as changes in odds ratios, with respect to the standard deviation of reported effects. Water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions were found to increase the likelihood of behavior changes and the adoption of new hygiene practices by 17 percent. The smallest effects were observed from water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions aimed at reducing the rates of child mortality and non-diarrheal disease. Water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions implemented in schools showed statistically significant results in reducing school absenteeism and dropouts. Similarly, the results showed a statistically significant aggregate likelihood of increased access to safe water and improved water quality, as well as increased water treatment options -- a difference of one-fifth with respect to the standard deviation of the average effect size reported. Finally, the results showed that water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions reduced the likelihood of the incidence of diarrheal and enteric disease by 13 percent, which is consistent with findings in other meta-analyses of the same subject.
Entrainment of Circadian Rhythms Depends on Firing Rates and Neuropeptide Release of VIP SCN Neurons

Summary The mammalian suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) functions as a master circadian pacemaker, integrating environmental input to align physiological and behavioral rhythms to local time cues. Approximately 10% of SCN neurons express vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP); however, it is unknown how firing activity of VIP neurons releases VIP to entrain circadian rhythms. To identify physiologically relevant firing patterns, we optically tagged VIP neurons and characterized spontaneous firing over 3 days. VIP neurons had circadian rhythms in firing rate and exhibited two classes of instantaneous firing activity. We next tested whether physiologically relevant firing affected circadian rhythms through VIP release. We found that VIP neuron stimulation with high, but not low, frequencies shifted gene expression rhythms in vitro through VIP signaling. In vivo, high-frequency VIP neuron activation rapidly entrained circadian locomotor rhythms. Thus, increases in VIP neuronal firing frequency release VIP and entrain molecular and behavioral circadian rhythms. Video Abstract Download : Download video (53MB)
Study of Cu2O particle morphology on microwave field enhancement

Abstract The dielectric enhancement and modulation of a cuprous oxide (Cu2O) microwave-active catalyst material is investigated from an experimental and computational point of view. Experimental synthesis of two particle morphologies that included a cube and spike were carried out using an EDTA hydrothermal synthesis method. The permittivity for the spiked particles at low volume fraction in a paraffin composite exhibited a 20% increase when compared to the cube-shaped particles at the same volume fraction. Using a finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation, the improvement in permittivity was attributed to the enhanced electric field near the tip of the spike particles and the neighboring interaction at higher volume fractions. The increased electric field at the tips of the particles induces a change in polarizability (dipole density) within the matrix material, which increases the effective dielectric properties of the composite. Furthermore, it was determined that an electrically conductive particle within a high permittivity matrix material is advantageous for generating high localized electric fields that can be utilized for microwave-assisted catalytic reactions.
Agile Autonomous Driving using End-to-End Deep Imitation Learning

We present an end-to-end imitation learning system for agile, off-road autonomous driving using only low-cost sensors. By imitating a model predictive controller equipped with advanced sensors, we train a deep neural network control policy to map raw, high-dimensional observations to continuous steering and throttle commands. Compared with recent approaches to similar tasks, our method requires neither state estimation nor on-the-fly planning to navigate the vehicle. Our approach relies on, and experimentally validates, recent imitation learning theory. Empirically, we show that policies trained with online imitation learning overcome well-known challenges related to covariate shift and generalize better than policies trained with batch imitation learning. Built on these insights, our autonomous driving system demonstrates successful high-speed off-road driving, matching the state-of-the-art performance.
Depressive Symptoms Among Police Officers: Associations with Personality and Psychosocial Factors.

Protective psychosocial factors may reduce the risk of stress-related illnesses in policing. We assessed the association between protective factors and depressive symptoms among 242 police officers. Participants were from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) Study (2004–2014). Coping, hardiness, personality traits, and social support were assessed at baseline. Depressive symptoms were measured at baseline and follow-up using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. The relationship between protective factors and the rate of change in depressive symptoms was assessed using linear regression. Logistic regression evaluated associations between protective factors and new-onset depression. Of participants free of depression at baseline, 23 (10.7%) developed probable depression during the follow-up. Odds of new-onset depression increased with increasing neuroticism (adjusted odds ratio [ORADJ] = 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11–1.35) and passive coping (ORADJ = 2.07, 95% CI, 1.06–4.03). Increasing agreeableness (ORADJ = 0.87, 95% CI, 0.78–0.96) and conscientiousness (ORADJ = 0.90, 95% CI, 0.84–0.98) were associated with decreased odds of new-onset depression. New-onset depression was not significantly associated with other coping subscales, hardiness, or social support. There were no significant associations between protective factors and change in depressive symptom scores. This study suggests certain personality characteristics and passive coping may be associated with increased odds of new-onset depression in police officers.
The Role of Next-Generation Sequencing in Precision Medicine: A Review of Outcomes in Oncology

Precision medicine seeks to use genomic data to help provide the right treatment to the right patient at the right time. Next-generation sequencing technology allows for the rapid and accurate sequencing of many genes at once. This technology is becoming more common in oncology, though the clinical benefit of incorporating it into precision medicine strategies remains under significant debate. In this manuscript, we discuss the early findings of the impact of next-generation sequencing on cancer patient outcomes. We investigate why not all patients with genomic variants linked to a specific therapy receive that therapy and describe current barriers. Finally, we explore the current state of health insurance coverage for individual genome sequencing and targeted therapies for cancer. Based on our analysis, we recommend increased transparency around the determination of “actionable mutations” and a heightened focus on investigating the variations in health insurance coverage across patients receiving sequencing-matched therapies.
Hyperscaling Internet Graph Analysis with D4M on the MIT SuperCloud

Detecting anomalous behavior in network traffic is a major challenge due to the volume and velocity of network traffic. For example, a 10 Gigabit Ethernet connection can generate over 50 MB/s of packet headers. For global network providers, this challenge can be amplified by many orders of magnitude. Development of novel computer network traffic analytics requires: high level programming environments, massive amount of packet capture (PCAP) data, and diverse data products for “at scale” algorithm pipeline development. D4M (Dynamic Distributed Dimensional Data Model) combines the power of sparse linear algebra, associative arrays, parallel processing, and distributed databases (such as SciDB and Apache Accumulo) to provide a scalable data and computation system that addresses the big data problems associated with network analytics development. Combining D4M with the MIT SuperCloud manycore processors and parallel storage system enables network analysts to interactively process massive amounts of data in minutes. To demonstrate these capabilities, we have implemented a representative analytics pipeline in D4M and benchmarked it on 96 hours of Gigabit PCAP data with MIT SuperCloud. The entire pipeline from uncompressing the raw files to database ingest was implemented in 135 lines of D4M code and achieved speedups of over 20,000.
Discovery of Novel Conotoxin Candidates Using Machine Learning

Cone snails (genus Conus) are venomous marine snails that inject prey with a lethal cocktail of conotoxins, small, secreted, and cysteine-rich peptides. Given the diversity and often high affinity for their molecular targets, consisting of ion channels, receptors or transporters, many conotoxins have become invaluable pharmacological probes, drug leads, and therapeutics. Transcriptome sequencing of Conus venom glands followed by de novo assembly and homology-based toxin identification and annotation is currently the state-of-the-art for discovery of new conotoxins. However, homology-based search techniques, by definition, can only detect novel toxins that are homologous to previously reported conotoxins. To overcome these obstacles for discovery, we have created ConusPipe, a machine learning tool that utilizes prominent chemical characters of conotoxins to predict whether a certain transcript in a Conus transcriptome, which has no otherwise detectable homologs in current reference databases, is a putative conotoxin. By using ConusPipe on RNASeq data of 10 species, we report 5148 new putative conotoxin transcripts that have no homologues in current reference databases. 896 of these were identified by at least three out of four models used. These data significantly expand current publicly available conotoxin datasets and our approach provides a new computational avenue for the discovery of novel toxin families.
Skinmorph: texture-tunable on-skin interface through thin, programmable gel

SkinMorph is an on-skin interface which can selectively transition between soft and rigid states to serve as a texture-tunable wearable skin output. This texture change is made possible through the material design of smart hydrophillic gels. These gels are soft in resting state, yet when activate by heat (>36°C), they generate a micro-level structural change which results in observable stiffening. These gels are encapsulated in thin silicone patterned with resistive wires through a sew-and-transfer fabrication approach. We demonstrate application examples using the texture-tunable skin overlay as wearable, interactive protection for scenarios including: a carpal tunnel splint for rehabilitation, a protective layer for joints when engaging in high impact activities, and foot pads when wearing uncomfortable shoes. Our evaluation shows that the gel is 10 times stiffer when activated, and that users find the device skin-conformable.
Revealed Stochastic Preference: A one-paragraph proof and generalization

Abstract McFadden and Richter (1991) and later McFadden (2005) show that the Axiom of Revealed Stochastic Preference characterizes rationalizability of choice probabilities through random utility models on finite universal choice spaces. This note proves the result in one short, elementary paragraph and extends it to set valued choice. The latter requires a different axiom than is reported in McFadden (2005).
Comparing adenoma and polyp miss rates for total underwater colonoscopy versus standard CO2: a randomized controlled trial using a tandem colonoscopy approach

Background and Aims Although water exchange may improve adenoma detection compared with CO2, it is unclear whether water is a better medium to fill the lumen during withdrawal and visualize the mucosa. Total underwater colonoscopy (TUC) involves the use of water exchange with the air valve off during insertion followed by the inspection of the mucosa under water. Our goal was to compare miss rates for TUC with standard CO2 for polyps and adenomas using a tandem colonoscopy design. Methods We randomized participants to undergo tandem colonoscopies using TUC or CO2 first. In TUC, water exchange was performed during insertion, and withdrawal was performed under water. For the CO2 colonoscopy, both insertion and withdrawal were performed with CO2. The main outcomes were miss rates for polyps and adenomas for the first examination calculated as the number of additional polyps/adenomas detected during the second examination divided by the total number of polyps/adenomas detected for both examinations. Inspection times were calculated by subtracting the time for polypectomy, and care was taken to keep the times equal for both examinations. Results A total of 121 participants were randomized with 61 having CO2 first. The overall miss rate for polyps was higher for the TUC-first group (81/237; 34%) compared with the CO2-first cohort (57/264; 22%) (P = .002). In addition, the overall miss rate for all adenomas was higher for the TUC-first group (52/146; 36%) compared with the CO2 group (37/159; 23%) (P = .025). However, 1 of the 3 endoscopists had higher polyp/adenoma miss rates for CO2, but these were not statistically significant differences. The insertion time was longer for TUC than for CO2. After adjusting for times, participant characteristics, and bowel preparation, the miss rate for polyps was higher for TUC than for CO2. Conclusions We found that TUC had an overall higher polyp and adenoma miss rate than colonoscopy performed with CO2, and TUC took longer to perform. However, TUC may benefit some endoscopists, an issue that requires further study. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT03231917 .)
Investigation of onboard fuel separation for passenger vehicles

Abstract Improving the efficiency of the internal combustion engine will continue to play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transport sector. One promising technology that offers improved engine efficiency is the Octane-on-Demand (OoD) concept. This engine-fuel system makes use of two fuels with different octane quality to match the specific anti-knock requirements of the engine under different driving conditions. Previous research has mainly focused on enabling the OoD concept using a two-tank system, whereby the consumer must refuel the vehicle with two different fuels. In this work, a volatility-based flash distillation system is instead utilized to separate a market gasoline (RON 91) into lower-octane and higher-octane fuel streams. Single cylinder engine tests are performed to develop fuel consumption maps for both the separated and unseparated fuels. These maps are then used to evaluate the fuel economy and GHG emissions of a light-duty vehicle across different driving conditions. The fuel separation system is shown to offer improvements in both fuel economy and GHG emissions when compared to the equivalent vehicle utilizing the unseparated market gasoline. This suggests that onboard fuel separation could be an enabling technology for improving the efficiency of future passenger vehicles.
Several phased siRNA annotation methods can frequently misidentify 24 nucleotide siRNA-dominated PHAS loci.

Small RNAs regulate key physiological functions in land plants. Small RNAs can be divided into two categories: microRNAs (miRNAs) and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs); siRNAs are further subdivided into transposon/repetitive region-localized heterochromatic siRNAs and phased siRNAs (phasiRNAs). PhasiRNAs are produced from the miRNA-mediated cleavage of a Pol II RNA transcript; the miRNA cleavage site provides a defined starting point from which phasiRNAs are produced in a distinctly phased pattern. 21-22 nucleotide (nt)-dominated phasiRNA-producing loci (PHAS) are well represented in all land plants to date. In contrast, 24 nt-dominated PHAS loci are known to be encoded only in monocots and are generally restricted to male reproductive tissues. Currently, only one miRNA (miR2275) is known to trigger the production of these 24 nt-dominated PHAS loci. In this study, we use stringent methodologies in order to examine whether or not 24 nt-dominated PHAS loci also exist in Arabidopsis thaliana. We find that highly expressed heterochromatic siRNAs were consistently misidentified as 24 nt-dominated PHAS loci using multiple PHAS-detecting algorithms. We also find that MIR2275 is not found in A. thaliana, and it seems to have been lost in the last common ancestor of Brassicales. Altogether, our research highlights the potential issues with widely used PHAS-detecting algorithms which may lead to false positives when trying to annotate new PHAS, especially 24 nt-dominated loci.
Evaluating Soil Moisture Feedback on Convective Triggering: Roles of Convective and Land-Model Parameterizations

Author(s): Williams, IN | Abstract: Feedbacks between soil moisture and convective precipitation are not well represented in current Earth system models, and can affect projections of drought and heavy-precipitation extremes. To explore the atmospheric and land-surface influences on the initiation (triggering) of daytime deep convection, single-column model experiments were performed using the NCAR Community Earth System Model (CESM1.2), over the U.S. Southern Great Plains. The results indicate that the positive and negative feedback mechanisms found in earlier studies (using simplified boundary-layer models) are robust to large-scale forcing and interactions between boundary-layer turbulence, cloud dynamics, and radiation. However, systematic responses of convective triggering to soil moisture emerged only after switching from a convective available potential energy-based to a convective inhibition energy-based convective parameterization. This suggests that the choice of convective mass-flux closure largely determines the sensitivity of parameterized convective clouds to land-surface state. Errors in land-model parameterizations of evapotranspiration also affect the probability of deep convection, with vegetation (transpiration) playing an important role in linking soil moisture to surface energy partitioning and clouds. Parameterizations that permit the triggering feedback mechanism better predict the statistics of daytime shallow and deep convection, with respect to observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site in the Southern Great Plains. The results illustrate how errors in the representation of evapotranspiration in land-surface models can propagate through the chain of coupled land-atmosphere processes to affect convective clouds.
SpoIVA-SipL complex formation is essential for Clostridioides difficile spore assembly

Spores are the major infectious particle of the Gram-positive nosocomial pathogen Clostridioides difficile (formerly Clostridium difficile), but the molecular details of how this organism forms these metabolically dormant cells remain poorly characterized. The composition of the spore coat in C. difficile differs markedly from that defined in the well-studied organism Bacillus subtilis, with only 25% of the ∼70 spore coat proteins being conserved between the two organisms and with only 2 of 9 coat assembly (morphogenetic) proteins defined in B. subtilis having homologs in C. difficile We previously identified SipL as a clostridium-specific coat protein essential for functional spore formation. Heterologous expression analyses in Escherichia coli revealed that SipL directly interacts with C. difficile SpoIVA, a coat-morphogenetic protein conserved in all spore-forming organisms, through SipL's C-terminal LysM domain. In this study, we show that SpoIVA-SipL binding is essential for C. difficile spore formation and identify specific residues within the LysM domain that stabilize this interaction. Fluorescence microscopy analyses indicate that binding of SipL's LysM domain to SpoIVA is required for SipL to localize to the forespore while SpoIVA requires SipL to promote encasement of SpoIVA around the forespore. Since we also show that clostridial LysM domains are functionally interchangeable at least in C. difficile, the basic mechanism for SipL-dependent assembly of clostridial spore coats may be conserved.IMPORTANCE The metabolically dormant spore form of the major nosocomial pathogen Clostridioides difficile is its major infectious particle. However, the mechanisms controlling the formation of this resistant cell type are not well understood, particularly with respect to its outermost layer, the spore coat. We previously identified two spore-morphogenetic proteins in C. difficile: SpoIVA, which is conserved in all spore-forming organisms, and SipL, which is conserved only in the clostridia. Both SpoIVA and SipL are essential for heat-resistant spore formation and directly interact through SipL's C-terminal LysM domain. In this study, we demonstrate that the LysM domain is critical for SipL and SpoIVA function, likely by helping recruit SipL to the forespore during spore morphogenesis. We further identified residues within the LysM domain that are important for binding SpoIVA and, thus, functional spore formation. These findings provide important insight into the molecular mechanisms controlling the assembly of infectious C. difficile spores.
Nonuniform bribery

We study the concept of bribery in the situation where voters are willing to change their votes as we ask them, but where their prices depend on the nature of the change we request. Our model is an extension of the one of Faliszewski et al. [9], where each voter has a single price for any change we may ask for. We show polynomial-time algorithms for our version of bribery for a broad range of voting protocols, including plurality, veto, approval, and utility-based voting. In addition we prove NP-completeness for a couple of our nonuniform bribery problems for weighted voters, and give approximation algorithms for two NP-complete bribery problems defined in [9].
Bringing compassion into information systems research: A research agenda and call to action:

In this article, we assert that compassion-driven approaches are the sustainable way for information and communication technologies to contribute to economic value. We urge future information syste...
From DNF compression to sunflower theorems via regularity

The sunflower conjecture is one of the most well-known open problems in combinatorics. It has several applications in theoretical computer science, one of which is DNF compression, due to Gopalan, Meka and Reingold (Computational Complexity, 2013). In this paper, we show that improved bounds for DNF compression imply improved bounds for the sunflower conjecture, which is the reverse direction of the DNF compression result. The main approach is based on regularity of set systems and a structure-vs-pseudorandomness approach to the sunflower conjecture.
Classification of Regions of Nonperfusion on Ultra-widefield Fluorescein Angiography in Patients with Diabetic Macular Edema

Purpose To classify retinal nonperfusion regions (NPRs) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) and assess the relationship with severity of DME. Design Prospective, observational case series. Methods Forty eyes of 29 patients with treatment-naive center-involved macular edema secondary to diabetes mellitus were included (The DAVE study, NCT01552408 ) in this analysis. Ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (UWF FA) images were transmitted to the Doheny Image Reading Center, where they were corrected using stereographic projection to adjust for peripheral distortion. Two independent, certified graders manually evaluated the NPR and classified the nonperfusion as being associated with leakage or without leakage. The size of these 2 subtypes of NPR were computed in mm2 and assessed across the entire retina and within 3 concentric retinal zones. The relationship between subtype of NPR and the severity of DME was assessed. Results In 40 eyes with treatment-naive DME, visual acuity was significantly correlated with central macular thickness (CMT) and macular volume (MV). The NPR with leakage was positively correlated with CMT (R = 0.408, P = .009) and MV (R = 0.399, P = .011), whereas the NPR without leakage was negatively correlated with CMT (R = −0.468, P = .002) and MV (R = −0.473, P = .002). The NPR with leakage in the posterior region was significantly greater compared to the mid-periphery and the far periphery (P Conclusion In patients with DME, the severity of DME appears to be positively correlated with NPR with leakage but negatively correlated with NPR without leakage. These findings may have implications for the pathophysiology of DME and the design of protocols for targeted laser in these eyes.
A Thermodynamic Approach to Ohmic Contact Formation to p-GaN

A new ohmic contact scheme for gallium nitride is presented. The use of Nitride-forming metal Over Gallide-forming metal, “NOG”, can modify the thermodynamic activity of N and Ga near the interface. This in turn can modify the near-surface point defect concentrations, particularly the vacancies of Ga and N. The principle of this contact scheme was shown to be consistent with results from Ni/Au, Ni/Zn-Au, Ta/Ti, and Ni/Mg/Ni/Si contacts. In the present study, the “NOG” scheme was used to design Ni/Ti/Au and Ni/Al/Au metallization, and addition of Ti and Al nitride-forming metals to the Ni gallide-forming metal led to lower but still high contact resistance. Ti was shown to be better than Al as the nitride-forming metal based on the decrease of resistance in as deposited contacts. Compared to Ni/Au, four times more current was measured in Ni/Ti/Au contacts to p-GaN after anneal at 300°C for 5min. However the addition of the Ti nitride-forming metal led to lower stability at 500°C.
Engineered Orthogonal Quorum Sensing Systems for Synthetic Gene Regulation in Escherichia coli.

Gene regulators that are controlled by membrane-permeable compounds called homoserine lactones (HSLs) have become popular tools for building synthetic gene networks that coordinate behaviors across populations of engineered bacteria. Synthetic HSL-signaling systems are derived from natural DNA and protein elements from microbial quorum signaling pathways. Crosstalk, where a single HSL can activate multiple regulators, can lead to faults in networks composed of parallel signaling pathways. Here, we report an investigation of quorum sensing components to identify synthetic pathways that exhibit little to no crosstalk in liquid and solid cultures. In previous work, we characterized the response of a single regulator (LuxR) to ten distinct HSL-synthase enzymes. Our current study determined the responses of five different regulators (LuxR, LasR, TraR, BjaR, and AubR) to the same set of synthases. We identified two sets of orthogonal synthase-regulator pairs (BjaI/BjaR + EsaI/TraR and LasI/LasR + EsaI/TraR) that show little to no crosstalk when they are expressed in Escherichia coli BL21. These results expand the toolbox of characterized components for engineering microbial communities.
Electrochemical Erasing Using a Polymer Lithography Editor for the Fabrication of Photoactive Devices

Electrochemical erasing of conductive coatings at microscale for the fabrication of functional devices on flexible and hard surfaces is demonstrated. The nanoporous pyramidal-shaped nano- and microscale polyacrylamide hydrogel PLE probes allowed delivery of electrochemical etchants to the surface, providing on-demand maskless patterning at microscale. Highly efficient erasing (silver and copper metals erasing efficiency ≈ 100%), areal erasing rate ≈ 80 μm2/s, and pressure dependent spatial erasing feature dimensions between 3 μm to many tens of microns on metal surfaces allowed for the fabrication of microelectrodes of various geometries. Overall, PLE-based microscale erasing allowed for rapid and accessible fabrication of organic electron–hole carrier pair-based microphotodetector, as well as the assembly of LED on flexible and rigid ITO substrates.
An economic model of strategic entrepreneurship

How do new entrants create and capture value in established industries? Starting from the foundations of neoclassical economics we model entrepreneurial entry and competition as occurring simultaneously in production technology space and product attribute space. Our model’s central feature is to dis-aggregate entrepreneurial rents into four components: arbitrage, innovation, organization, and uncertainty-bearing. This permits us to model the nature of value creation from a common analytical platform, and to measure value capture as a set of distinct rent streams available to multiple stakeholders over time.
Transitional Care Outcomes in Veterans Receiving Post‐Acute Care in a Skilled Nursing Facility

Background As the veteran population ages, more veterans are receiving post-acute care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). However, the outcomes of these transitions across Veterans Affairs (VA) and non-VA settings are unclear. Objective To measure adverse outcomes in veterans transitioning from hospital to SNF in VA and non-VA hospitals and SNFs. Design Retrospective observational study using the 2012 to 2014 Residential History File, which concatenates VA, Medicare, and Medicaid data into longitudinal episodes of care for veterans. Setting VA and non-VA hospitals and SNFs in four categories: non-VA SNFs, VA-contracted SNFs, VA Community Living Centers (CLCs), and State Veterans Homes. Participants Veterans, aged 65 years or older, who were acutely hospitalized and discharged to an SNF; one transition was randomly selected per patient. Measurements Adverse "transitional care" outcomes were a composite of hospital readmission, emergency department visit, or mortality within 7 days of hospital discharge. Results More than four in five veteran transitions (81.7%) occurred entirely outside the VA system. The overall 7-day outcome rate was 10.7% in the 388 339 veterans included. Adverse outcomes were lowest in VA hospital-CLC transitions (7.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.1%-7.8%) and highest in non-VA hospital to VA-contracted nursing home transitions (17.5%; 95% CI = 16.0%-18.9%) in unadjusted analysis. In multivariate analyses adjusted for patient and hospital characteristics, VA hospitals had lower adverse outcome rates than non-VA hospitals (odds ratio [OR] = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.74-0.86). In comparison to VA hospital-VA CLC transitions, non-VA hospital to VA-contracted nursing homes (OR = 2.51; 95% CI = 2.09-3.02) and non-VA hospital to CLC (OR = 2.25; 95% CI = 1.81-2.79) had the highest overall adverse outcome rates. Conclusion Most veteran hospital-SNF transitions occur outside the VA, although adverse transitional care outcomes are lowest inside the VA. These findings raise important questions about the VA's role as a provider and payer of post-acute care in SNFs. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:1820-1826, 2019.
Fermi-LAT constraints on diffuse Dark Matter annihilation from the Galactic Halo

Our Galaxy resides in the center of a vast "Halo" of Dark Matter (DM). This concentration produces, in many viable particle physics models, an indirect Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) annihilation signal that peaks in the Fermi-LAT’s energy range. Our knowledge of the diffuse background is essential to placing reasonable limits on the DM mass and cross-section. We incorporate a systematic variation of the GALPROP galactic diffuse background model, constrained by current cosmic-ray measurements, into a profile likelihood analysis and present preliminary upper limits on the DM annihilation cross-section using the Fermi-LAT data.
Getting Gig Workers to Do More by Doing Good: Field Experimental Evidence From Online Platform Labor Marketplaces:

This article describes randomized field experiments implemented on two online labor market platforms examining the effect of employer charitable giving on a source of human capital that is becoming...
Centros , California’s “Women on Boards” Statute and the Scope of Regulatory Competition

In its 1999 Centros decision, the European Court of Justice affirmed that the EU right of establishment protects a corporation’s right to select a state of incorporation. Specifically, Centros rejected the argument that, under the real seat doctrine, the country in which the corporation’s head office is located may deny recognition or apply domestic corporate law to a corporation that is validly formed in another EU state. At the time, commentators broadly viewed Centros as opening the door to greater regulatory competition in Europe. Twenty years later, we examine Centros through the lens of SB 826—the California statute mandating a minimum number of women on boards. SB 826, like Centros, raises questions about the extent to which a forum state, as opposed to the state of incorporation, can impose its laws on corporations that operate within its borders. In the US, these questions are typically addressed by application of the internal affairs doctrine which provides that the law of the state of incorporation applies to the corporation’s internal affairs. Both SB 826 and Centros thus highlight the critical importance of the scope of the internal affairs doctrine. In this article, we stress the importance of the shareholder primacy norm to understanding the scope of US corporate law, which results in corporate law focusing primarily on matters of shareholder economic interest. We argue that the internal affairs doctrine should be understood within the context of the shareholder primacy norm and therefore directed to rules oriented to enhancing firm economic value. Considered in this context, SB 826 is distinctive in that it focuses on broader societal interests than traditional corporate law. In the same vein, EU corporate law has traditionally had a broader stakeholder orientation. We posit that the limited impact of the Centros decision, an impact which differed significantly from its predicted revolutionary effect, can be attributed to the greater focus of EU corporate law on social ordering and a more limited adherence to the shareholder primacy norm. Ironically, California’s adoption of SB 826 may portend a movement of the US towards Centros-style governance.
Piwi/PRG-1 Argonaute and TGF-β Mediate Transgenerational Learned Pathogenic Avoidance.

Summary The ability to inherit learned information from parents could be evolutionarily beneficial, enabling progeny to better survive dangerous conditions. We discovered that, after C. elegans have learned to avoid the pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA14), they pass this learned behavior on to their progeny, through either the male or female germline, persisting through the fourth generation. Expression of the TGF-β ligand DAF-7 in the ASI sensory neurons correlates with and is required for this transgenerational avoidance behavior. Additionally, the Piwi Argonaute homolog PRG-1 and its downstream molecular components are required for transgenerational inheritance of both avoidance behavior and ASI daf-7 expression. Animals whose parents have learned to avoid PA14 display a PA14 avoidance-based survival advantage that is also prg-1 dependent, suggesting an adaptive response. Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of pathogenic learning may optimize progeny decisions to increase survival in fluctuating environmental conditions.
Cytosine analogues from substituted acetonitriles via Thorpe condensation.

A Thorpe condensation is the key bond construction in a rapid and efficient synthesis of substituted cytosine derivatives from readily available starting materials.