cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thiol-click chemistries for responsive neural interfaces.

Neural interfaces provide an electrical connection between computers and the nervous system: current penetrating devices are orders-of-magnitude stiffer than surrounding tissue. In this work, recent efforts in softening electronics and utilize thiol-ene and thiol-epoxy “click” reactions are built upon to incorporate fluid-sensitive hydrogen bonding into smart substrates for high electrode density neural interfaces. The modulus of these substrates drops more than two orders of magnitude in response to physiological conditions, despite fluid uptake of less than 6%, and can be tuned by the covalent crosslink density and degree of hydrogen bonding in the polymer network. Intracortical and intrafascicular electrode arrays are fabricated and characterized with impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry.
Synthesizable high level hardware descriptions

Modern hardware description languages support code generation constructs like generate/endgenerate in Verilog. These constructs are used to describe regular or parameterized hardware designs and, when used effectively, can make hardware descriptions shorter, more understandable, and more reusable. In practice, however, designers avoid these abstractions, because it is difficult to understand and predict the properties of the generated code. Is the generated code even type safe? Is it synthesizable? What physical resources (e.g. combinatorial gates and flip-flops) does it require? It is often impossible to answer these questions without first generating the fully-expanded code. In the Verilog and VHDL communities, this generation process is referred to as elaboration. This paper proposes a disciplined approach to elaboration in Verilog. By viewing Verilog as a statically typed two-level language, we are able to reflect the distinction between values that are known at elaboration time and values that are part of the circuit computation. This distinction is crucial for determining whether generative constructs, such as iteration and module parameters, are used in a synthesizable manner. This allows us to develop a static type system that guarantees synthesizability. The type system achieves safety by performing additional checking on generative constructs and array indices. To illustrate this approach, we develop a core calculus for Verilog that we call Featherweight Verilog (FV) and an associated static type system. We formally define a preprocessing step analogous to the elaboration phase of Verilog, and the kinds of errors that can occur during this phase. Finally, we show that a well-typed design cannot cause preprocessing errors, and that the result of its elaboration is always a synthesizable circuit.
De Gaulle, Moravcsik, and Europe

The responses to Andrew Moravcsik's article discuss the main substantive and methodological points raised in it. Although most of the respondents agree that Moravcsik has properly highlighted the importance of commercial concerns for de Gaulle's policy on European integration, they question the validity of his sharp separation between de Gaulle's political and economic goals for France. Several commentators argue that political and commercial concerns (including agricultural concerns) were closely intertwined in de Gaulle's vision of French grandeur. John Keeler brings up another crucial question: Was French agriculture really an obstacle to France's position in Europe? He argues that de Gaulle successfully supported and modernized French agriculture because he was convinced that this would contribute to France's geopolitical position in Europe and the Western world. In two longer commentaries, Jeffrey Vanke and Marc Trachtenberg raise questions about Moravcsik's methodology and use of sources. Both agree...
Thermal analysis of a refined APT power coupler and thermal shield and the effect on the cryoplant

The present APT cryomodule shield cooling circuit employs helium gas up to 18 bars in order to operate at 4.6 K inlet temperatures without flow instabilities. The high pressure adds complexity to the cryoplant and cryogen distribution system. The low supply temperature, needed because a series flow circuit is used, increases the cryoplant refrigeration power. This paper describes a lower pressure cooling circuit operating at a high enough supply temperature that flow instabilities do not occur. The shield flow circuit is changed from series to parallel; and modifications are made to the designs of the power coupler outer conductor, thermal intercepts, thermal shield, and end beam tubes. This redesign results in a small decrease in cryoplant compressor power.
StallTalk: graffiti, toilets, and anonymous location based micro blogging

The ways in which we leave graffiti have not changed much in thousands of years. Humans have felt the need to anonymously leave messages to one another for centuries. In this paper, we introduce StallTalk (www.stalltalk.info), an anonymous location-based micro blogging website that uses QR codes posted in bathroom stalls. StallTalk allows users to leave digital graffiti on bathroom walls without actually causing permanent damage. Users scan the QR codes, which are unique to each stall, and write short messages to each other. We deployed StallTalk in over 500 locations and have had almost 9,000 unique visitors to our website.
Some experimental results on model-based control schemes

An overview is presented to research on the analysis, synthesis, real-time implementation and performance evaluation of model-based manipulator control schemes. The schemes synthesize strategies that include a dynamical model of the manipulator in the feedback loop. Depending on the way that the dynamical model is incorporated, it is possible to create different types of control laws. For example, the computed-torque method utilizes the model is the feedback loop in order to both decouple and linearize the system. Independent joint controllers are then designed to achieve accurate trajectory tracking and to reject unknown external disturbances. The feedforward control scheme is another model-based control method and utilizes the dynamics model in the feedforward path. The idea is that the feedforward torques/forces provide gross signals and independent joint controllers provide the correcting control signals to reject disturbances that are unknown. >
Soil and microbial respiration in a loblolly pine plantation in response to seven years of irrigation and fertilization

Abstract Because soil CO 2 efflux or soil respiration ( R S ) is the major component of forest carbon fluxes, the effects of forest management on R S and microbial biomass carbon (C), microbial respiration ( R H ), microbial activity and fine root biomass were studied over two years in a loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) plantation located near Aiken, SC. Stands were six-years-old at the beginning of the study and were subjected to irrigation (no irrigation versus irrigation) and fertilization (no fertilization versus fertilization) treatments since planting. Soil respiration ranged from 2 to 6 μmol m −2 s −1 and was strongly and linearly related to soil temperature. Soil moisture and C inputs to the soil (coarse woody debris and litter mass) which may influence R H were significantly but only weakly related to R S . No interaction effects between irrigation and fertilization were observed for R S and microbial variables. Irrigation increased R S , fine root mass and microbial biomass C. In contrast, fertilization increased R H , microbial biomass C and microbial activity but reduced fine root biomass and had no influence on R S . Predicted annual soil C efflux ranged from 8.8 to 10.7 Mg C ha −1 year −1 and was lower than net primary productivity (NPP) in all stands except the non-fertilized treatment. The influence of forest management on R S was small or insignificant relative to biomass accumulation suggesting that NPP controls the transition between a carbon source and sink in rapidly growing pine systems.
Incorporating historical investment performance in projecting life insurance cash values

Abstract The projection of current investment experience in life insurance sales illustrations during the historically high interest rate environment of the 1980s in the U.S. has led to consumer dissatisfaction and lawsuits against life insurers and agents. As interest rates fell after 1985, insurers were unable to credit returns near the maximums illustrated earlier. New regulations still allow projections at essentially the latest current investment returns, along with showing guaranteed and intermediate values. The question raised in this article is: Can history help the financial planner determine a range of credible investment return assumptions for projecting cash values? Conclusions are based on the results of basing projections on historical investment experience.
Nonviolent Revolutions: Civil Resistance in the Late 20th Century . By Sharon Erickson Nepstad

Nonviolent Revolutions: Civil Resistance in the Late 20th Century . By Sharon Erickson Nepstad. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. 200p. $99.00 cloth, $24.95 paper. We live in nonviolent revolutionary times. From Egypt to Moscow, New York to Manama, 2011 saw millions of peaceful protestors take to the streets to demand change. Under what conditions do civilian-based struggles achieve their goals without resort to violence?
COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION AND ACHIEVEMENT IN A PERFORMANCE‐ORIENTED BASIC COMMUNICATION COURSE

The study of communication apprehension (CA) impact in the instructional environment is extended through examination of all three CA levels relative to various performance situations in a basic communication course. Results indicate significant differences in achievement indices between all three CA groups on final course grade and the first two of four performance assignments. Moderate and high CA groups were not significantly different from each other on the third and fourth performance tasks. Low and high CA groups were significantly different in all performance areas. No differences were indicated between CA groups on the final examination. Results are discussed relative to the naturalistic nature of the study.
Fast-ferrite tuner operation on a 352-MHz single-cell rf cavity at the Advanced Photon Source

A 352-MHz fast-ferrite tuner, manufactured by Advanced Ferrite Technology, was tested on a single-cell rf cavity at the Advanced Photon Source. Low-power rf testing was performed on the tuner-cavity combination to evaluate tuning range, bandwidth, stability, and compatibility with existing Advanced Photon Source low-level rf hardware. The test system comprises a single-cell copper rf cavity, a bipolar DC bias supply for the ferrite tuner, a water flow and temperature metering and interlock system, and a low-level rf cavity tuning loop consisting of an rf phase detector and a PID amplifier. Test data will be presented.
The Effect of Incorporating Diphenyl-p-Phenylenediamine (DPPD) into a Ration Containing Various Levels of Vitamin A from Fish Oils

Abstract IT HAS been known for many years that vitamin A is unstable in the presence of oxidized fats (Fridericia, 1924). Experiments of Lease et al. (1938), in which vitamin A and oxidized oils were mixed after they were in the stomach of a rat, demonstrated that destruction of vitamin A could take place in the body as well as in the feed. Quackenbush et al. (1942), in reviewing the literature on the effect of tocopherol on carotene stability, concluded from this early work that tocopherol functioned in the gastro-intestinal tract by virtue of its antioxidant activities in its apparent protection of carotene. Hickman et al. (1944) extended the work on the sparing action of natural tocopherol concentrates on vitamin A and showed that natural mixed tocopherols enhanced the growth-promoting power of vitamin A alcohol, vitamin A acetate, and U.S.P. reference oil. Miles et al. (1949) found that, in the bio-assay …
Social Support: Theoretical Advances, Recent Findings and Pressing Issues

The topic of social support has received increased attention over the last several years. At this point in time, with the benefit of much preliminary research, it is possible to move forward considering, and frequently correcting, limitations of the past and delineating the issues which are in most need of attention in the future. With this in mind, the purpose of this chapter is threefold: To outline the convoy model of social support which has benefited from previous theoretical approaches to social support but represents a life span extension of the concept. Second, to present a unique national study of the suppports of older adults which has recently been conducted and which represents the source of much of the data reported in the present chapter. And, finally, to delineate several issues and provide relevant information under a general rubric which can best be summarized as present knowledge/pressing issues. By this is implied some of the intriguing, interesting, puzzling, and/or contradictory findings in the literature. Where possible, relevant data from our national study will be provided which address these issues.
Extra-pair paternity in first and second broods of eastern Song Sparrows

Abstract We determined if extra-pair paternity existed in an eastern population of Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia melodia), and compared the frequency of extra-pair paternity in first and second broods. Over both broods, a total of 10.5% young were of extra-pair origin, but this frequency is considered conservative as it was based on only three loci. Forty percent of females had extra-pair young in at least one of their two broods. One of five females changed from genetic monogamy to genetic promiscuity between broods, despite remaining paired with the same male. Studies of double-brooded species are ideal for examining factors other than mate quality that might influence rates of extra-pair paternity.
Dual, differential isotope labeling shows the preferential movement of labile plant constituents into mineral-bonded soil organic matter.

The formation and stabilization of soil organic matter (SOM) are major concerns in the context of global change for carbon sequestration and soil health. It is presently believed that lignin is not selectively preserved in soil and that chemically labile compounds bonding to minerals comprise a large fraction of the SOM. Labile plant inputs have been suggested to be the main precursor of the mineral-bonded SOM. Litter decomposition and SOM formation are expected to have temperature sensitivity varying with the lability of plant inputs. We tested this framework using dual (13) C and (15) N differentially labeled plant material to distinguish the metabolic and structural components within a single plant material. Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) seedlings were grown in an enriched (13) C and (15) N environment and then prior to harvest, removed from the enriched environment and allowed to incorporate natural abundance (13) C-CO2 and (15) N fertilizer into the metabolic plant components. This enabled us to achieve a greater than one atom % difference in (13) C between the metabolic and structural components within the plant litter. This differentially labeled litter was incubated in soil at 15 and 35 °C, for 386 days with CO2 measured throughout the incubation. After 14, 28, 147, and 386 days of incubation, the soil was subsequently fractionated. There was no difference in temperature sensitivity of the metabolic and structural components with regard to how much was respired or in the amount of litter biomass stabilized. Only the metabolic litter component was found in the sand, silt, or clay fraction while the structural component was exclusively found in the light fraction. These results support the stabilization framework that labile plant components are the main precursor of mineral-associated organic matter.
Transportation Delay and the Microbiological Quality of Clinical Specimens

An in-use study was done to determine the effect of transportation delay on the microflora of clinical specimens collected for microbiological analysis in a 1,000-bed university hospital. Portions of wound, respiratory, and urine specimens were planted for bacterial isolation on the wards immediately after collection. The remainder of each specimen was kept at room temperature with or without holding medium until it was picked up by messengers and taken to the bacteriology laboratory. The results of immediate planting on the ward were compared with those obtained by planting in the laboratory. Alterations in microflora were observed in all three types of specimens after averages of 2 to 4 hours of delay in planting.
Stability of polyribosomes isolated from rat liver after phenobarbital administration.

The effect of daily injections of phenobarbital (75 mg/kg) on the degradation of rat liver polyribosome suspensions during storage in vitro at 0-4° was examined. Sucrose gradient analysis of polysomes isolated from animals treated for 3-5 days with 0.9% NaCl revealed that after 24-48 hr of storage at 0-4° a disaggregation of large polysome species occurred, together with an increase of 50-85% in the number of monomer and dimer species. In contrast, polyribosomes derived from rats treated with phenobarbital for 3-5 days were shown to be almost completely resistant to degradation under the same conditions.
The effects of topical diclofenac, topical flurbiprofen, and humidity on corneal sensitivity in normal dogs

Purpose To determine the immediate and chronic effects of topical 0.1% diclofenac and 0.03% flurbiprofen on corneal sensitivity in normal canine eyes. Animals studied Eighteen normal, nonbrachycephalic dogs. Methods A prospective, randomized, masked, crossover study was performed. To determine the immediate effects associated with treatment, the study drug was instilled into the eye every 5 min for five doses, and corneal sensitivity of treated and untreated eyes was obtained prior to treatment and every 15 min post-treatment for 60 min. To determine the chronic effects, the study drug was instilled every 12 h for 30 days, and corneal sensitivity of treated and untreated eyes was obtained prior to treatment on days 0 and 30. A washout period of at least 30 days occurred between drug crossover. Ambient temperature and humidity were measured throughout the study. Results After multiple instillations, there was no difference in corneal sensitivity between eyes over time for diclofenac (P = 0.67) or flurbiprofen (P = 0.54), with a median sensitivity of 25 mm (1.8 g/mm2). After chronic dosing, there was no difference in corneal sensitivity between eyes over time for diclofenac (P = 0.82) or flurbiprofen (P = 0.56), with a median sensitivity of 35 mm (1.0 g/mm2). Decreasing ambient humidity was associated with an increase in sensitivity measurements (P = 0.0001). Conclusions Neither diclofenac nor flurbiprofen had an effect on corneal sensitivity after multiple-drops or twice-daily dosing for 30 days. Ambient humidity may have an effect on corneal sensitivity measurements, with a longer filament length eliciting a blink response at lower humidity.
Applied Use of Safety Event Occurrence Control Charts of Harm and Non-Harm Events: A Case Study:

Most hospitals use occurrence reporting systems that facilitate identifying serious events that lead to root cause investigations. Thus, the events catalyze improvement efforts to mitigate patient harm. A serious limitation is that only a few of the occurrences are investigated. A challenge is leveraging the data to generate knowledge. The goal is to present a methodology to supplement these incident assessment efforts. The framework affords an enhanced understanding of patient safety through the use of control charts to monitor non-harm and harm incidents simultaneously. This approach can identify harm and non-harm reporting rates and also can facilitate monitoring occurrence trends. This method also can expedite identifying changes in workflow, processes, or safety culture. Although unable to identify root causes, this approach can identify changes in near real time. This approach also supports evaluating safety or policy interventions that may not be observable in annual safety climate surveys.
Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines: An Emerging Approach to Cancer Treatment

In the late 1990s, monoclonal antibodies and targeted molecular inhibitors revolutionized treatment options for patients with cancer. Since their development, outcomes for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Her-2+ breast cancer, among others, have significantly improved. While these anticancer agents continue to evolve, therapeutic cancer vaccines could be the next major therapeutic advance for cancer patients. Immunotherapy is already an accepted treatment for some cancers. BCG is a standard treatment for localized bladder cancer, while interferon alpha and interleukin-2 (IL-2) are used to treat melanoma and renal cell cancer. These nonspecific types of immunotherapy induce a broad immunologic response that may have an antitumor effect in a minority of patients. However, therapeutic cancer vaccines that can induce a specific, targeted antitumor immune response are currently in clinical development. Therapeutic cancer vaccines in metastatic prostate cancer have demonstrated overall survival advantages relative to placebo in multiple phase II and III trials, and there are compelling data for the clinical benefit of therapeutic cancer vaccines in other cancer types. Additional strategies are being investigated that employ combinations of vaccines and standard therapeutics, including hormonal therapy, radiation, and chemotherapy, in an effort to optimize the effects of vaccines.
The World Economic Environment

The United States, like all other countries, lives in a world environment of international trade, with imports and exports, investments, grants and migrations that cross national boundaries. There is also a world environment of international political and military relations, with diplomacy, treaties, trade agreements, war industries, threats and occasionally wars.
Frequentist and Bayesian Lasso Techniques for Parameter Selection in Nonlinearly Parameterized Models

Abstract: In this paper, we discuss the use of frequentist and Bayesian lasso (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) techniques for parameter selection in nonlinearly parameterized models employed for control design. This is necessary to isolate the subset of identifiable or influential parameters, which can be uniquely calibrated from experimental data. We survey the performance of existing algorithms and present a new Bayesian lasso implementation based on the Delayed Rejection Adaptive Metropolis (DRAM) algorithm.
A Bayesian model for estimating multi-state disease progression

A growing number of individuals who are considered at high risk of cancer are now routinely undergoing population screening. However, noted harms such as radiation exposure, overdiagnosis, and overtreatment underscore the need for better temporal models that predict who should be screened and at what frequency. The mean sojourn time (MST), an average duration period when a tumor can be detected by imaging but with no observable clinical symptoms, is a critical variable for formulating screening policy. Estimation of MST has been long studied using continuous Markov model (CMM) with Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). However, a lot of traditional methods assume no observation error of the imaging data, which is unlikely and can bias the estimation of the MST. In addition, the MLE may not be stably estimated when data is sparse. Addressing these shortcomings, we present a probabilistic modeling approach for periodic cancer screening data. We first model the cancer state transition using a three state CMM model, while simultaneously considering observation error. We then jointly estimate the MST and observation error within a Bayesian framework. We also consider the inclusion of covariates to estimate individualized rates of disease progression. Our approach is demonstrated on participants who underwent chest x-ray screening in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) and validated using posterior predictive p-values and Pearson's chi-square test. Our model demonstrates more accurate and sensible estimates of MST in comparison to MLE.
Mini-apps for high performance data analysis

Scaling-up scientific data analysis and machine learning algorithms for data-driven discovery is a grand challenge that we face today. Despite the growing need for analysis from science domains that are generating ‘Big Data’ from instruments and simulations, building high-performance analytical workflows of data-intensive algorithms have been daunting because: (i) the ‘Big Data’ hardware and software architecture landscape is constantly evolving, (ii) newer architectures impose new programming models, and (iii) data-parallel kernels of analysis algorithms and their performance facets on different architectures are poorly understood. To address these problems, we have: (i) identified scalable data-parallel kernels of popular data analysis algorithms, (ii) implemented ‘Mini-Apps’ of those kernels using different programming models (e.g. Map Reduce, MPI, etc.), (iii) benchmarked and validated the performance of the kernels in diverse architectures. In this paper, we discuss two of those Mini-Apps and show the execution of principal component analysis built as a workflow of the Mini-Apps. We show that Mini-Apps enable scientists to (i) write domain-specific data analysis code that scales on most HPC hardware and (ii) and offers the ability (most times with over a 10x speed-up) to analyze data sizes 100 times the size of what off-the-shelf desktop/workstations of today can handle.
Herbert Gutman’s The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925: A Cliometric Reconsideration

Gutman’s study of the black family is one of those books which serve as a constant inspiration to academics. In those dreary moments when we wrestle with a particularly subtle point or phrase, a fleeting question occurs to most of us. How many people will really appreciate the depth of our thinking or the way in which the prose really captures the essence of the phenomenon being explained? But when such pernicious thoughts disturb our concentration, the example of Gutman’s work can banish them, for this book has had more reviewers than some technical pieces have had serious readers. Indeed the November 1978 SSHA session indicates that it still continues. Not only has Gutman’s book been seriously read and pondered, but there are a substantial number of pages in print to indicate that all the subtleties have been duly appreciated.
Case 2: An 11-year-old girl with aggressive behaviour and intellectual impairment.

An 11-year-old Caucasian girl was referred for evaluation of aggressive behaviour that had worsened over the past two years. She experienced frequent outbursts of anger and would scream or bite when she became upset. She was cognitively delayed and could not independently perform activities of daily living such as bathing and eating. Attempts at toilet training were unsuccessful. She exhibited repetitive mannerisms such as hand flapping, eye blinking, repeated hand washing and running in circles. Socialization skills were restricted and eye contact was poor. Family history was significant for four brothers with developmental delay, a maternal aunt with premature menopause, and history of gait instability and tremors in her maternal grandfather since 40 years of age. There was no history of consanguinity. No complications were reported during pregnancy or birth. Her motor milestones were normal. Although she exhibited language delay, she could engage in a conversation with diminished vocabulary. On physical examination, vital signs were normal. Subtle facial dysmorphism was present (Figure 1). Her head was normocephalic, and cardiac and pulmonary examinations were unremarkable. The patient was noted to be intellectually impaired, hyperactive, had poor eye contact and displayed repetitive behaviour. The remainder of the neurological examination (cranial nerves, motor, sensory and reflexes) was normal. Figure 1) Patient’s photograph demonstrating subtle dysmorphic features including a long face, thin upper lip and long philtrum
Supervised/Unsupervised Classification of Land cover using Remote Sensed Data

Remotely sensed images may be used to predict a wide range of properties at the surface of the Earth including both categorical and continuous properties. Batticaloa District which encompasses different land cover categories including water, barren land, agriculture and forest. This study achieves maximum likelihood supervised classification, Iso clustering unsupervised classification to an Sentinal 2 Data image, and compares the results of these three methods in Batticaloa District. Secondary data was utilized to this study and supervised classification and unsupervised classification methods were engaged in this study. The results of all classifications revealed that agriculture classes were the largest land cover classes in this area. The extent of water bodies was happened approximately equal in all classification process in this selected area. Barren land cover classes a major difference in all classification and forest area show major deviation in supervised and unsupervised classification. The water body’s classes of resulting supervised classified image are generally acceptable even some water bodies came within the barren land categories. So, training sample polygon should be selected homogenous area in this process because of highly depending the accuracy of supervised classification by sample creator.
The Madden-Julian Oscillation: A Tool for Regional Seasonal Precipitation Outlooks?

The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is an important intraseasonal climate signal which circles the global tropics, but also impacts extratropical weather regimes. Few studies have investigated whether the MJO is a source of regional seasonal climate predictability. The present objective is to determine the extent to which the season and phase (geographic location) of MJO contribute to the frequency of global rainfall anomalies in ensuing seasons. Indices of June-July-August and December-January-February MJO activity for each phase and the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) were correlated to three-month averages of rainfall up to a six-month lead time. Field significance was calculated and patterns of the relationships were described. In general, MJO shows some skill in regional seasonal precipitation prediction, but to a lesser extent than ENSO. However, the presence of MJO in the western Indian Ocean and near the date line did reveal a persistent and significant relationship with regional seasonal rainfall, especially over Northern Hemisphere land areas.
Growth of tree diameter and stem taper as affected by reduced leaf area on selected branch whorls

Leaf area on branches is linked to the stem through hydraulic and physiological functions. We investigated whether this relationship extends to growth responses by examining coordinated growth betw...
Evaluation of collagenase gold plus BP protease in isolating islets from human pancreata.

Selection of enzymes for optimal pancreas digestion is essential for successful human islet isolations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and outcome of using Collagenase Gold plus...
Getting What We Pay For: How Do Risk‐Based Payments to Medicare Advantage Plans Compare with Alternative Measures of Beneficiary Health Risk?

OBJECTIVE To estimate the relative health risk of Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries compared to those in Traditional Medicare (TM). DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING Medicare claims and enrollment records for the sample of beneficiaries enrolled in Part D between 2008 and 2015. STUDY DESIGN We assigned therapeutic classes to Medicare beneficiaries based on their prescription drug utilization. We then regressed nondrug health spending for TM beneficiaries in 2015 on demographic and therapeutic class identifiers for 2014 and used coefficients from this regression to predict relative risk of both MA and TM beneficiaries. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Based on prescription drug utilization data, beneficiaries enrolled in MA in 2015 had 6.9 percent lower health risk than beneficiaries in TM, but differences based on coded diagnoses suggested MA beneficiaries were 6.2 percent higher risk. The relative health risk based on drug usage of MA beneficiaries compared to those in TM increased by 3.4 p.p. from 2008 to 2015, while the relative risk using diagnoses increased 9.8 p.p. CONCLUSIONS Our results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting MA receives favorable, or, at worst, neutral selection. If MA beneficiaries are no healthier and no sicker than similar beneficiaries in TM, then payments to MA plans exceed what is warranted based on their health status.
Complexity and Simplicity in Law: A Review Essay (Cass R. Sunstein, Simpler 2013))

This essay discusses Cass Sunstein’s book, Simpler, in order to advance our understanding of the concepts of complex and simple law. Many writers identify complexity with uncertainty and high cost. This essay argues that complexity bears no fixed relationship to costs or benefits. It also shows that complexity’s relationship to uncertainty is so ambiguous that it is profitable to treat complexity and uncertainty as separate concepts. It develops useful separate concepts of legal and compliance complexity that will aid efforts to simplify law, like the one Sunstein claims to have embarked upon. It also argues that complexity is a hallmark of moderation, since it often arises from compromises reconciling competing interests and values. These basic points constitute important advances in the theory of complexity, which implicitly suggests something like this, but has not cleanly distinguished complex rules from costly or uncertain rules and not explicitly identified complexity with moderation. Sunstein’s book, while quite valuable in many ways, does not greatly advance discussion of how to simplify law, because he assumes that whatever happens to coincide with his political philosophy must be simpler. He is not alone in assuming a happy coincidence between his values and the simplification ideal, but this essay shows that there is little overlap between Sunstein’s endorsement of nudges and cost-benefit analysis and serious efforts to simplify the law. The theory I have articulated above leads to a keener appreciation of the need to accept some tradeoffs between simplicity and other values if we truly wish to make law “simpler.” The essay closes with some thoughts about addressing these difficult tradeoffs.
FACING OBJECTS: AN INVESTIGATION OF NON-HUMAN PERSONHOOD IN CLASSIC MAYA CONTEXTS

Research on Classic Maya personhood confirms that personhood was extended to non-human entities; however, questions about its operation and impact remain. What is the nature of the linkage between human beings and object persons, and how does personhood pass between them? What is the impact on an object of becoming personed? I approach these questions through depictions in Classic Maya iconography of faces shown on non-human objects, indicating potential to act in person-like ways. Close examination of “faced” objects reveals that Classic Maya personhood represents a substance that does not require humans as a source, and acts, instead, as an untethered resource accessed by entities able to act in social, relational ways. Furthermore, object personhood represents a state of identity in which essences of persons and objects co-exist, opening possibilities for complicating categories of being in the ancient Maya world.
Anomalous cluster detection in spatiotemporal meteorological fields

Finding anomalous regions in spatiotemporal climate data is an important problem with a need for greater accuracy. The collective and contextual nature of anomalies (e.g., heat waves) coupled with ...
The effects of Clean Water Act enforcement on environmental employment

Abstract This study explores the effects of environmental enforcement on the amount of environmental labor employed by facilities regulated under the U.S. Clean Water Act. The study uses panel data from a unique survey of chemical manufacturing facilities operating between 1999 and 2001. Specifically, the analysis examines the influence of monitoring inspections and enforcement actions, e.g., fines, on the number of employees allocated to environmental management. Empirical results show that environmental enforcement negatively affects the amount of environmental labor allocated by the sampled facilities. Specifically, increases in federal inspections, informal enforcement actions, and monetary fines each lower environmental employment. Extended model results provide evidence that these negative effects stem from the crowding out of facility managers’ intrinsic motivations.
Outcomes of nonmetastatic micropapillary variant upper tract urothelial carcinoma

Abstract Purpose Micropapillary variant upper tract urothelial cancer (MP-UTUC) is a rare malignancy with little known regarding its clinical course and/or optimal treatment. In this case series, we describe patient characteristics, surgical treatment, oncologic outcomes, and response to perioperative chemotherapy. Materials and Methods We conducted a review to identify patients with MP-UTUC treated at our center between January 1994 and October 2017. Clinicopathologic data was obtained. Descriptive statistics, Kaplan-Meier analysis, Cox proportional hazards, and nearest neighbor matching were used to examine the cohort. Results Eighteen, (4.3%) of 416 patients were found to have MP-UTUC at our institution over a 23-year period. The majority of patients had ≥pT3 disease at the time of extirpative surgery (13/18, 72%) and one was identified as MP-UTUC prior to surgery. Seven patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and six patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. Median overall, cancer specific, and recurrence free survival were 3.29, 3.29, and 1.69 years, respectively for MP-UTUC. There was no survival difference between conventional UTUC and MP-UTUC when matched for age, stage, grade, lymphovascular invasion, and margins (HR 1.18, P = 0.567). No MP-UTUC patients receiving neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy had apparent pathologic down staging, and of those receiving adjuvant chemotherapy two-thirds died of disease within 2 years. Conclusions MP-UTUC is a rare, and in most cases aggressive malignancy that commonly presents as locally advanced disease. In this case series, MP-UTUC does not appear to respond to perioperative chemotherapy as neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy did not result in apparent pathologic down staging and the majority of those receiving adjuvant chemotherapy died from MP-UTUC.
Better Government, Better Science: The Promise of and Challenges Facing the Evidence-Informed Policy Movement

Collaborations between the academy and governments promise to improve the lives of people, the operations of government, and our understanding of human behavior and public policy. This review shows...
Institutional Racist Melancholia: A Structural Understanding of Grief and Power in Schooling.

In this article, Sabina Vaught undertakes the theoretical and analytical project of conceptually integrating Whiteness as property, a key structural framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT), and melancholia, a framework originally emerging from psychoanalysis. Specifically, Vaught engages Whiteness as property as an analytic tool to examine data from a larger ethnographic study of juvenile prison and schooling. She suggests that the psychoanalytic framework of melancholia enriches and complicates this analysis and proposes a theoretical move toward understanding structural affective processes in the scholarly effort to map schooling, race, and power. Throughout, Vaught illustrates the significance and utility of such an approach through multifaceted data-driven analyses.
The association between school policies, practices, and public perception of trans youth in the U.S.

In this time, when social climate is particularly divisive with decreasing support for trans people in the U.S., we explore the general population's attitudes regarding protections for trans childr...
Try Talk on Medium-sized Enterprise IT Operation and Maintenance Management

With the development of Internet and computer technology,enterprise business systems become more complicated.People has grown rapidly not only in quantity,but the demand for network applications more diverse,network operation and maintenance and management is particularly important.How to inprove efficient operation and maintenance and management of the network is a difficult problem.This article describes the enterprise IT operation and maintenance management and the establishment of the necessity of IT operations management platform to effectively realize the unified management of IT information systems.
A Survey of LOINC Code Selection Practices Among Participants of the College of American Pathologists Coagulation (CGL) and Cardiac Markers (CRT) Proficiency Testing Programs.

Context.— Biomedical terminologies such as Logical Observation Identifiers, Names, and Codes (LOINC) were developed to enable interoperability of health care data between disparate health informati...
The move: program development from in-person to online

A graduate level program in supply chain management that transitioned from a face-to-face instructional format to a fully online program is examined in detail using case study methodology. A framework is presented to demonstrate the program elements to be analysed and addressed when strategically aligning courses to enhance student learning in online teaching. Pedagogical factors to be considered when transferring an educational program to an online degree are discussed with emphasis on generally overlooked factors. Additionally, stakeholder assessment and buy-in demonstrates how course topics and essential design elements, as well as program layout, can be informed and enhance by influential stakeholders of the program. Applied detailed examples are given to support utilisation of the framework. This case study adds to the literature by providing a comprehensive guide and useful templates to online program development and design.
Plasma membrane V-ATPase controls oncogenic RAS-induced macropinocytosis

Oncogenic activation of RAS is associated with the acquisition of a unique set of metabolic dependencies that contribute to tumour cell fitness. Cells that express oncogenic RAS are able to internalize and degrade extracellular protein via a fluid-phase uptake mechanism termed macropinocytosis1. There is increasing recognition of the role of this RAS-dependent process in the generation of free amino acids that can be used to support tumour cell growth under nutrient-limiting conditions2. However, little is known about the molecular steps that mediate the induction of macropinocytosis by oncogenic RAS. Here we identify vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) as an essential regulator of RAS-induced macropinocytosis. Oncogenic RAS promotes the translocation of V-ATPase from intracellular membranes to the plasma membrane via a pathway that requires the activation of protein kinase A by a bicarbonate-dependent soluble adenylate cyclase. Accumulation of V-ATPase at the plasma membrane is necessary for the cholesterol-dependent plasma-membrane association of RAC1, a prerequisite for the stimulation of membrane ruffling and macropinocytosis. These observations establish a link between V-ATPase trafficking and nutrient supply by macropinocytosis that could be exploited to curtail the metabolic adaptation capacity of RAS-mutant tumour cells.
"The birthday of a new world is at hand": New scholarship on the Age of Revolutions

The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution, by Julius S. Scott. London: Verso, 2018 [1986]. Tides of Revolution: Information, Insurgencies, and the Crisis of Colonial Rule in Venezuela, by Cristiana Soriano. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2018. Patriots, Royalists, and Terrorists in the West Indies: The French Revolution in Martinique and Guadeloupe, by William S. Cormack. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2019. Mexico City, 1808: Power, Sovereignty, and Silver in an Age of War and Revolution, by John Tutino. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2018.
The Impact of the ER Unfolded Protein Response on Cancer Initiation and Progression: Therapeutic Implications

Cellular stress induced by the accumulation of misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) activates an elaborate signalling network termed the unfolded protein response (UPR). This adaptive response is mediated by the transmembrane signal transducers IRE1, PERK, and ATF6 to decide cell fate of recovery or death. In malignant cells, UPR signalling may be required to maintain ER homeostasis and survival in the tumor microenvironment characterized by oxidative stress, hypoxia, lactic acidosis and compromised protein folding. Here we provide an overview of the ER response to cellular stress and how the sustained activation of this network enables malignant cells to develop tumorigenic, metastatic and drug-resistant capacities to thrive under adverse conditions. Understanding the complexity of ER stress responses and how to target the UPR in disease will have significant potential for novel future therapeutics.
Propuesta metodológica para analizar la carta del restaurante en base a la matriz Arthur D. Little

Menu engineering is a set of key tools to evaluate the restaurant menu. For a long time it was thought that the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix was the only tool to enable to do this evaluation; butthere are other instruments that help analyze the permanence or removal of dishes in the menu. So far, in addition to the BCG Matrix, we can use the following tools: Cost engineering (Omnes principles), profitability index per dish (PID), popularity index, Pavesic Matrix, Miller Matrix, and the multi-criteria analysis. In this article, we propose to use the Arthur D. Little (ADL) Matrix as it complements the analysis of the restaurant menus by observing two complementary concepts: the amounts sold and the product shelf life (contribution margin). In order for the ADL matrix to contribute to menu engineering, we propose to re-structure this matrix with the explanation and results obtained so as to have better tools at the time of deciding the distribution, selection, permanence or removal of dishes in the menu.
(Post-)Wachstum in der Tagesschau? Eine Untersuchung der Berichterstattung der Nachrichtensendung Tagesschau über Wirtschaftswachstum vor dem Hintergrund der (Post-)Wachstumsdebatte

Wahrend die internationale Staatengemeinschaft ein okologisch, okonomisch und sozial nachhaltiges Wirtschaftswachstum anstrebt, um den multiplen Krisenerscheinungen unserer Zeit zu begegnen, werden seit einigen Jahren vermehrt Stimmen laut, die nur eine Abkehr vom Wachstumsdogma als zielfuhrend erachten. Vor dem Hintergrund ebendieser Wachstumsdebatten nimmt die folgende Arbeit die medialen Darstellungsweisen von Wirtschaftswachstum in den Blick. Verschiedene Beitrage der Nachrichtensendung Tagesschau wurden unter Ruckgriff auf das rekonstruktionslogische Verfahren der Grounded Theory untersucht, um herauszufinden, ob und falls ja, inwiefern sich die Berichterstattung uber Wirtschaftswachstum im Laufe der letzten 25 Jahre verandert hat. Hierbei zeigte sich, dass die Tagesschau damals wie heute weitestgehend unkritisch uber Wachstum berichtet und dieses nach wie vor als anzustrebendes politisches Handlungsziel darstellt.