cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patterns of Sexual Risk Behaviors and Psychiatric Disorders in a Community Sample of Young Adults

This cross-sectional study documents significant associations between patterns of sexual risk behaviors and psychiatric diagnoses in a multiethnic community sample of young adults (N = 1803) in South Florida. Self-report data regarding sexual behavior and psychiatric symptoms were collected in structured interviews in a follow-up of an earlier school-based study. Cluster analysis was used to group participants with regard to levels of sexual risk behaviors during the past year. Chi-square analysis and ANOVA identified significant associations between cluster membership and (a) lifetime and (b) past year diagnoses for affective disorders, conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, alcohol abuse/dependence, marijuana abuse/dependence, and other drug abuse/dependence. In addition, higher levels of sexual risk behaviors were associated with higher levels of cumulative lifetime psychiatric disorders. Implications for selected prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the treatment of psychiatric disorders in young adulthood are discussed.
Space perception and its disturbances after brain injury in man : (For Wolfgang Köhler on his 75th birthday, January 21, 1962)

Abstract Three forms of altered space perception are described — seen, respectively, after occipital, frontal, and parietal brain wounds in man: (1) Acute occipital lesions produce distortions in visuospatial coordinates, i.e., defects in the direct mapping of contours in the visual field. These distortions recede with time but reappear in some cases, transiently, in the form of visual fits. (2) Frontal lesions, acute or chronic, produce subtle changes in visuopostural interaction, so that targets are mislocalized under conditions of unusual body posture. (3) Acute parietal lesions, finally, can produce quite general difficulties in orientation with regard to the subject's own body and the space surrounding him; in later stages, there still is some trouble with route-finding by means of maps, as if there were a lasting impairment in the utilizing of schematic spatial representations.
Elements of Probability Theory

The simplest situation in which probability can be considered involves a random experiment with a finite number of outcomes. Let Ω = {ω1, ω2, ⋯ ω N } denote the set of all outcomes of the experiment. In this case a probability p i can be assigned to each outcome ωi. The only restrictions that we place on these probabilities are: p i ≥ 0 and \(\sum\limits_{{i = 1}}^{N} {{{p}_{i}}}\) Every subset A of Ω in this case also has a well-defined probability which is equal to the sum of the probabilities of the outcomes contained in A.
Older Adults, "Malignant" Left Ventricular Hypertrophy, and Associated Cardiac-Specific Biomarker Phenotypes to Identify the Differential Risk of New-Onset Reduced Versus Preserved Ejection Fraction Heart Failure: CHS (Cardiovascular Health Study).

Abstract Objectives This study hypothesized that biomarkers of subclinical myocardial injury (high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T [hs-cTnT]) and hemodynamic stress (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide [NT-proBNP]) would differentiate heart failure (HF) risk among older adults with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Background The natural history of LVH, an important risk factor for HF, is heterogeneous. Methods NT-proBNP and hs-cTnT were measured at baseline and after 2 to 3 years in older adults without prior HF or myocardial infarction in the CHS (Cardiovascular Health Study). LVH and left ventricular ejection fraction were determined by echocardiography. HF events were adjudicated over a median of 13.1 years and classified as preserved or reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction or heart failure with reduced ejection fraction [HFrEF]). Adjusted risk of HF by LVH and biomarker tertiles, and by LVH and longitudinal increase in each biomarker was estimated using Cox regression. Results Prevalence of LVH was 12.5% among 2,347 participants with complete measures. Adjusted risk of HF (N = 643 events) was approximately 3.8-fold higher among participants with LVH and in the highest biomarker tertile, compared with those with low biomarker levels without LVH (NT-proBNP, hazard ratio [HR]: 3.78; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.78 to 5.15 and hs-cTnT, HR: 3.86; 95% CI: 2.84 to 5.26). The adjusted risk of HFrEF was 7.8 times higher among those with the highest tertile of hs-cTnT and LVH (HR: 7.83; 95% CI: 4.43 to 13.83). Those with LVH and longitudinal increases in hs-cTnT or NT-proBNP were approximately 3-fold more likely to develop HF, primarily HFrEF, compared with those without LVH and with stable biomarkers. Conclusions The combination of LVH with greater hs-cTnT or NT-proBNP levels, and their longitudinal increase, identifies older adults at highest risk for symptomatic HF, especially HFrEF. These biomarkers may characterize sub-phenotypes in the transition from LVH to HF and suggest modifiable targets for prevention.
Decoding hindlimb kinematics from primate motor cortex using long short-term memory recurrent neural networks

Recent machine learning techniques have become a powerful tool in a variety of tasks, including neural decoding. Deep neural networks, particularly recurrent models, leverage the temporal evolution of neural ensemble activity to decode complex movement and sensory signals. Using single-unit recordings from microelectrode arrays implanted in the leg area of primary motor cortex in non-human primates, we decode the positions and angles of hindlimb joints during a locomotion task using a long short-term memory (LSTM) network. The LSTM decoder improved decoding over traditional filtering methods, such as Wiener and Kalman filters. However, dramatic improvements over other machine learning (e.g. XGBoost) and latent state-space methods were not observed.
Physical Activity Programming Advertised on Websites of U.S. Islamic Centers: A Content Analysis.

Previous research has found churches to be effective at delivering physical activity (PA) programs to their congregants. Mosques, however, have not been extensively studied. Therefore, we quantified U.S. Islamic centers’ advertisement of PA programming and examined their programming characteristics. We conducted a content analysis of the websites of 773 eligible Islamic centers of which 206 centers in 32 states advertised PA programming. We categorized PA by program type: camping, fitness classes, sports, youth programs, and irregular offerings. We calculated descriptive statistics by program type for specific activity, frequency/duration/volume, participant/instructor sex, and instructor religion. Youth group (44%) and sports (23%) programs were most and least frequently advertised, respectively. Most centers (66%) that posted information on PA programming advertised only one program type. Men and Muslims taught most activities. Most activities—except for fitness classes—were advertised to a male audience. Islamic centers should offer and advertise additional PA programming—especially for women—and better utilize their websites for promoting such programming. Individual Islamic centers and Islamic- and non-religion based public health agencies can utilize our findings to fashion future PA offerings.
The Use of Electrocardiography in the Emergency Department

Abstract Electrocardiograms can be useful in the emergency department setting when dealing with patients presenting with cardiac symptoms and signs. These include chest pain, syncope, palpitations, cyanosis, heart failure symptoms, and ingestions. Although the electrocardiogram may be helpful in identifying an underlying diagnosis, it may be normal in many cases and should be used as an adjunct diagnostic tool, not to be relied upon solely. Important diagnoses that can be made by electrocardiogram alone include supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, conduction system abnormalities such as heart block, and some channelopathies, such as long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome. Caution must be taken in that, often, these diagnoses cannot be excluded even in the presence of a normal electrocardiogram (differing sensitivity for different diseases) and, often, incidental findings may occur in the absence of heart disease (nonspecific findings). Therefore, it is important to synthesize all data prior to coming to any conclusions.
Isolation and Purification of Monofunctional Methoxyphenols from Loblolly Pine Biocrude

Methoxyphenols (MPs) are valuable chemicals in liquid intermediates from pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. The use of a single technique to recover a high-purity bioproduct of MPs from pyrolysis liquid is challenging. The purpose of this study is to combine distillation and chromatography techniques in sequence to recover exclusively eugenols and guaiacols as monofunctional MPs in biocrude produced from the pyrolysis of loblolly pine with a nonzeolite alumina catalyst. A biocrude containing 11.0 wt % of the targeted monofunctional MPs was first distilled in two stages to recover an MP-rich fraction with 49.3 wt % concentration of MPs at a recovery efficiency of 86.9%. A chromatography separation using silica gel adsorbent was then used to purify the MP-enriched distillate. A final MP bioproduct with average purity of 87.3–93.1 wt % was achieved. The average efficiency of the chromatography separation step varied between 73.9 and 82.5% depending on the silica particle size used.
Genetic Predispositions, Management Strategies, and Clinical Outcomes in Adults with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) after Reduced-Intensity Conditioning (RIC) Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Introduction HLH has historically been considered a pediatric disease. There are limited prospective data for adults with HLH, particularly on management during and outcomes after allogeneic HSCT. Following the CTN1204 study of HSCT in pediatric HLH, this retrospective analysis sets a benchmark for adult-onset HLH. Subjects We identified 20 patients, median 45yo (21-72), who underwent RIC HSCT for HLH since 2010. 5 (25%) had a malignancy, 3 (15%) a rheumatologic diagnosis, and 3 (15%) a viral precipitant. Of 17 patients tested, 65% had ≥1 variant in HLH-associated or immunologically-relevant genes. (Table) Initial therapy was largely etoposide/dexamethasone (n=16) or malignancy-directed chemotherapy (n=5), with multiple agents, including alemtuzumab, as salvage/bridging therapy. (Figure 1) 17 patients received alemtuzumab as “pre-conditioning” for HSCT, intentionally stopped median 25 days (19-32) prior to cell infusion. Conditioning was fludarabine/busulfan (n=17) in 7 related and 11 unrelated HSCTs or fludarabine/cyclophosphamide/TBI in 2 haploidentical HSCTs. 50% received PBSCs. HSCT occurred median 8 mos after HLH diagnosis (3-13). Results All patients engrafted neutrophils (median 15.5 days) and platelets (median 19.5 days). Donor leukocyte and T-cell chimerisms were variable (30day 43-100%, 5-100%; 1 yr 67-100%, 40-100%). 2 patients received CD34-selected infusions for cytopenias with full donor chimerism; 2 had DLIs for T-cell chimerism ≤20% to augment sustained remission. There was no correlation between alemtuzumab timing and chimerism. With follow-up of 22 months (3-61), 6mo Grade II-IV acute GvHD was 17%, and 12mo cGvHD was 35%. 2 patients relapsed with DLBCL at 3-4 mos; 1 with concurrent HLH. There were no isolated HLH relapses. Before HSCT, patients experienced 7 viral, 8 bacterial, and 5 fungal infections, plus 3 surgeries. In the year following HSCT, 3 patients had CMV, 1 adenoviral, 1 fungal, and 7 bacterial infections. 3 patients required steroids for hyperinflammatory pulmonary syndromes. 18mo OS was 83% (95% CI, 56-94) which compares favorably with 80% OS on CTN1204 and 57-60% on prior CIBMTR query of HSCT in adults with histiocytic diseases. (Figure 2) (Nikiforow. Tandem Mtg 2014). Conclusions Variants in genes associated with familial HLH and other syndromes of immune dysregulation (e.g., Chediak Higashi, Familial Mediterranean Fever) reflect a significant and under-appreciated predisposition to adult-onset HLH. Infectious complications and need for 2nd cell therapies occur, but overall, RIC HSCT preceded by alemtuzumab therapy is a highly feasible approach in adults.
The (Not so) Quiet Life of Commercial Bankers

A literature begun by Rotemberg (1984) and revived in a series of articles in recent years contends that common ownership offers residual claimants a means of solving the oligopoly defection problem and ensuring adherence to collusive agreements. The two industries to have been directly targeted by this literature are airlines and commercial banking. Focusing on the case of banking, this paper challenges a key pillar of that literature: the “quiet life” hypothesis, which claims that common ownership leads to the selection of executives who are less likely to exert high effort to maximize profits. An empirical tests is conducted to evaluate stock market responses to executive hiring announcements in order to discern whether executives hired in the six largest commercial banks are viewed by markets as significantly less motivated than their predecessors.
William James and the Varieties of Religious and Drinking Experience: The Case of Pablo Ávila

Based on William James’s idea that the most instructive documents humains are found “along the beaten highway,” this paper revisits the life of Pablo Avila (the author’s father-in-law) using Donald Capps’s relocation of Erik Erikson’s life stages. The essay connects Pablo Avila’s religious and drinking experience to Bill W., the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and through him, to William James, particularly to James’s references to alcohol in The Varieties and his response to different forms of anti-alcohol activism. The paper argues that studying individual experience can engender human creativity and offer insights for more effective pastoral caregiving.
Weight-Related Teasing of Adolescents Who Are Primarily Obese: Roles of Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance and Physical Activity Self-Efficacy

Adolescents who are obese are at risk for being teased about their appearance with the concomitant negative psychological sequelae. Identifying modifiable variables associated with teasing could inform pediatric weight-management interventions. Characterizing society's role in the victimization of these at-risk individuals could guide anti-bullying programs for schools and broader public health efforts. This study aims to examine novel societal and cognitive factors associated with weight-related teasing frequency. Participants were adolescents (N = 334) being evaluated for a hospital-affiliated weight-management program. The outcome was perceived weight-related teasing frequency. Predictors were sociocultural awareness and internalization of appearance-related attitudes, physical activity self-efficacy, and psychological functioning. Multivariate regressions controlled for demographics and body mass index (BMI) z-scores with separate regressions testing interactions of BMI z-scores with all predictors. In adjusted analyses, higher physical activity self-efficacy and fewer depressive symptoms related to lower teasing frequency. Interactions indicated that less awareness/internalization of sociocultural attitudes towards appearance, more positive body image, and higher self-esteem related to lower teasing frequency regardless of BMI. Targeted interventions and public health campaigns should be developed and tested for adolescents that improve body image with promotion of diverse views about attractiveness, bolster confidence in overcoming physical activity barriers, and identify and treat mood symptoms.
1,1-Bis(dimethylamino)-2,2-difluoroethene, a diverse building block for the preparation of difluoroalkyl molecules. Acylation and condensation reactions

Abstract 1,1-Bis(dimethylamino)-2,2-difluoroethene has been shown to be a diverse and highly effective building block for the preparation of a variety of fluorinated compounds. Reported here are preliminary results of its use for acylation reactions with acyl chlorides to form 2,2-difluoroketoacetamides as well as for its direct condensation with various acidic α-hydrogen carbon compounds to form a variety of functionalized difluoromethyl enamines.
Are Sin Stocks Paying the Price for Their Accounting Sins

A recent study by Hong and Kazperczyk (2005) finds that sin stocks - publicly-traded stocks in the gaming, tobacco, and alcohol industries are neglected by the stock market despite generating abnormal stock returns. We examine a rational explanation for their findings. Are the excess returns and investor neglect of sin stocks attributable to higher levels of information risk arising from poor financial reporting quality? Contrary to expectations, we find that sin firms exhibit better financial reporting quality along three dimensions: earnings and accrual persistence, predictability of earnings for future cash flows, and timely loss recognition. Our results are more consistent with a supply-side argument, whereby sin firms have high financial reporting quality to attract a wider investment and analyst base. Despite superior returns and financial reporting quality, investors are willing to bear a financial cost in order to comply with societal norms and reflect non financial tastes in their portfolio by neglecting sin stocks.
The Vaccine Uptake Continuum: Applying Social Science Theory to Shift Vaccine Hesitancy

Vaccines are the optimal public health strategy to prevent disease, but the growing anti-vaccine movement has focused renewed attention on the need to persuade people to increase vaccine uptake. This commentary draws on social and behavioral science theory and proposes a vaccine uptake continuum comprised of five factors: (1) awareness of the health threat; (2) availability of the vaccine; (3) accessibility of the vaccine; (4) affordability of the vaccine; and (5) acceptability of the vaccine to effectively approach this rising challenge.
Resilience of groundwater systems in the presence of Bisphenol A under uncertainty.

Abstract Assessing the health risks associated with emerging contaminants in groundwater systems is a complex issue that has been receiving increased attention in indirect potable reuse applications. Among several emerging contaminants, our study focuses on developing a numerical model that aims to compute the transport characteristics of Bisphenol A (BPA) in a 3D spatially heterogeneous aquifer under uncertainty. Traditional approaches that characterize the health risk of BPA to humans rely on the monotonic dose-response (MDR) relationship with a regulatory dose limit. Recent public health studies indicate that BPA can cause endocrine-related health effects in specific low dose ranges, which requires the consideration of the non-monotonic dose-response (NMDR) model. This work investigates the impact of different BPA DR models (i.e., monotonic vs. non-monotonic) on the resilience of the aquifer against BPA contamination in the presence of hydrogeological heterogeneity. For the resilience estimation, a systematic stochastic methodology linking risk characterization to aquifer resilience is established. Our results show the importance of the interplay between the DR models and aquifer heterogeneity on controlling the uncertainty of the resilience loss RL (d) at a specified environmentally sensitive target. In the increased level of aquifer heterogeneity, the uncertainty bounds are higher for RL estimated through the NMDR model as opposed to the MDR model. Moreover, RL is controlled by η (–), the ratio of the volumetric flow rate at the source zone to the average flow rate at the background aquifer. In a risk management perspective, the consideration of the NMDR model needs to be emphasized due to its impact on the uncertainty of RL. A critical case is when the land use of a contamination site indicates a large number of the vulnerable population to endocrine-related health effects. In this case, η as an indicator of aquifer resilience can reduce the uncertainty of RL.
Abstract 1482: PIM1 promotes angiogenesis via phosphorylation and stabilization of HIF-1α

An essential process for the growth and dissemination of solid tumors is angiogenesis, or the formation of new blood vessels. Overexpression of Proviral Integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus (PIM)-1, a serine-threonine kinase, has been implicated as a driver of aggressive prostate and colon cancer. PIM1 is known to promote tumor growth and survival, and we recently uncovered a role for PIM1 in promoting resistance to anti-angiogenic agents. Here, we identify a novel signaling pathway that directly links PIM to tumor angiogenesis. Immunohistochemical staining of prostate cancer tissue revealed a significant positive correlation between PIM1 and CD31 expression, a marker of endothelial cells. Using prostate cancer as a model, in vitro models of endothelial tube formation and DCE-MRI confirmed that PIM1 overexpression increases tumor angiogenesis. Gene expression analysis of PIM1 overexpressing cells showed that PIM kinases regulates the expression levels of many hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) target genes in normoxic conditions. In vitro, in vivo and kinase assays discovered a novel phosphorylation site within the oxygen-dependent degradation domain (ODDD) of HIF-1α that is a direct target of PIM1. Biochemical analysis demonstrates that phosphorylation of this site increases HIF-1α stability by decreasing PHD binding, hydroxylation, and subsequent proteasomal degradation of HIF-1α. Two CRISPR-generated cell lines with point mutations that mimic phosphorylation of this site were used in xenograft models of colon cancer to confirm the significance of this site to the identified PIM-HIF signaling and tumor angiogenesis. Importantly, we show that the anti-angiogenic and cytotoxic effects of PIM inhibitors are largely dependent on their ability to downregulate HIF-1α signaling. In summary, we uncovered a novel role for PIM1 in promoting tumor angiogenesis and identified a novel phosphorylation site that controls the stability of HIF-1α in normoxic and hypoxic conditions.This research yields important insight into the role of PIM signaling in solid tumors and provides preclinical evidence that to improve the translation of PIM kinase inhibitors in solid tumors. Citation Format: Andrea L. Casillas, Shailender S. Chauhan, Rachel K. Toth, Corbin C. Jensen, Noel A. Warfel. PIM1 promotes angiogenesis via phosphorylation and stabilization of HIF-1α [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 1482.
Nonreciprocal Fabry-Perot effect and performance enhancement in a magneto-optical InSb-based Faraday terahertz isolator.

The Faraday effect due to the cyclotron resonance of conduction electrons in semiconductor InSb allows for nonreciprocity of transmitted light in our Faraday THz isolator operating in the presence of a small magnetic field. We select InSb as an efficient medium for our isolator due to its high electron mobility, low electron effective mass, and narrow band gap. Experimental measurements of the isolator performance indicate a maximum achieved isolation power of 18.8 dB with an insertion loss of −12.6 dB. Our optical analysis of the device points to a remarkable nonreciprocal Fabry-Perot effect in the magneto-optical InSb layer as the origin of the multi-fold isolation enhancement. This nonreciprocity occurs as the Fabry-Perot reflections in the forward direction add constructively and enhance the transmittance at certain frequencies, while the Fabry-Perot reflections in the backward direction add destructively and suppress the transmittance at the same frequencies.
Medical Student Attitudes toward USMLE Step 1 and Health Systems Science – A Multi-Institutional Survey

Phenomenon: Because of its importance in residency selection, the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 occupies a critical position in medical education, stimulating national debate about appropriate score use, equitable selection criteria, and the goals of undergraduate medical education. Yet, student perspectives on these issues and their implications for engagement with health systems science-related curricular content are relatively underexplored. Approach: We conducted an online survey of medical students at 19 American allopathic medical schools from March-July, 2019. Survey items were designed to elicit student opinions on the Step 1 examination and the impact of the examination on their engagement with new, non-test curricular content related to health systems science. Findings: A total of 2856 students participated in the survey, representing 23.5% of those invited. While 87% of students agreed that doing well on the Step 1 exam was their top priority, 56% disagreed that studying for Step 1 had a positive impact on engagement in the medical school curriculum. Eighty-two percent of students disagreed that Step 1 scores should be the top item residency programs use to offer interviews. When asked whether Step 1 results should be reported pass/fail with no numeric score, 55% of students agreed, while 33% disagreed. The majority of medical students agreed that health systems science topics were important but disagreed that studying for Step 1 helped learn this content. Students reported being more motivated to study a topic if it was on the exam, part of a course grade, prioritized by residency program directors, or if it would make them a better physician in the future. Insights: These results confirm the primacy of the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 exam in preclinical medical education and demonstrate the need to balance the objectives of medical licensure and residency selection with the goals of the broader medical profession. The survey responses suggest several potential solutions to increase student engagement in health systems science curricula which may be especially important after Step 1 examination results are reported as pass/fail.
Understanding and Profiting from Intellectual Property in International Business: New Beginnings

This last chapter provides an action framework for understanding and profiting from IP for practitioners and analysts. First, it reviews the fundamental understanding of IP, including basic knowledge about IP and the function of IPS. Second, several countries’ IP environments are assessed to help practitioners and analysts establish a critical understanding about which countries could be selected as an international base where IP can be profitably commercialized. Third, the chapter focuses on managerial matters so practitioners and analysts can equip themselves with knowledge about IP assets. Finally, the section on strategizing IP actions allows practitioners and analysts to assess which internationalizing strategies are most appropriate for profiting from IP, in particular, which licensing strategy represents the best option, and what strategies to adopt to deal with piracy issues.
Does democracy require value-neutral science? Analyzing the legitimacy of scientific information in the political sphere.

Abstract Philosophers now commonly reject the value free ideal for science by arguing that non-epistemic values, including personal or social values, are permissible within the core of scientific research. However, little attention has been paid to the normative political consequences of this position. This paper explores these consequences and shows how political theory is fruitful for proceeding in a world without value-neutral science. I draw attention to an oft-overlooked argument employed by proponents of the value free ideal I dub the “political legitimacy argument.” This argument claims that the value-free ideal follows directly from the foundational principles of liberal democracy. If so, then the use of value-laden scientific information within democratic decision making would be illegitimate on purely political grounds. Despite highlighting this unaddressed and important argument, I show how it can be rejected. By appealing to deliberative democratic theory, I demonstrate scientific information can be value-laden and politically legitimate. The deliberative democratic account I develop is well suited for capturing the intuitions of many opponents of the value free ideal and points to a new set of questions for those interested in values in science.
Stochastic Learning Rate Optimization in the Stochastic Approximation and Online Learning Settings.

In this work, multiplicative stochasticity is applied to the learning rate of stochastic optimization algorithms, giving rise to stochastic learning-rate schemes. In-expectation theoretical convergence results of Stochastic Gradient Descent equipped with this novel stochastic learning rate scheme under the stochastic setting, as well as convergence results under the online optimization settings are provided. Empirical results consider the case of an adaptively uniformly distributed multiplicative stochasticity and include not only Stochastic Gradient Descent, but also other popular algorithms equipped with a stochastic learning rate. They demonstrate noticeable optimization performance gains, with respect to their deterministic-learning-rate versions.
Possible Effects of a Hidden Valley on Supersymmetric Phenomenology

A hidden valley sector may havea profound impact on the classic phenomenology of supersymmetry. This occurs if the LSP lies in the valley sector. In addition to reducing the standard missing energy signals and possibly providing displaced vertices (phenomena familiar from gauge-mediated and R-parity-violating models) it may lead to a variable multiplicity of new neutral particles, whose decays produce soft jets and/or leptons, and perhaps additional displaced vertices. Combined, these issues might obscure supersymmetric particle production from search strategies used on current Tevatron data and planned for the LHC. The same concerns arise more generally for any model that has a symmetry (such as T-parity or KK-parity) realized nontrivially in both the standard-model and the hidden-valley sectors. Possible strategies for experimental detection are discussed, and the potential importance of the LHCb detector is noted.
Is 'Internal Consistency' Dead?: Reflections on an Evolving Commerce Clause Restraint on State Taxation

Under the internal consistency doctrine articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court under the dormant Commerce Clause, a state tax must be structured so that if every state were to impose an identical tax, interstate commerce would fare no worse than intrastate commerce. Although a relatively recent addition to the Court's Commerce Clause jurisprudence, the doctrine has played a significant role as the basis for the judicial invalidation of a wide array of state and local taxes. In American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. Michigan Public Service Commission, 545 U.S. 429 (2005), however, the Court sustained an admittedly internally inconsistent $100 per truck tax over Commerce Clause objections. The case marked a retrenchment - and arguably an abandonment - of the internal consistency doctrine as a constraint on state taxation. This article explores the implications of this decision for internal consistency analysis against the background of the doctrine's evolution over the past two decades. While observing that the decision has reconfigured internal consistency doctrine and requires a rethinking of its more expansive applications, the article concludes that the doctrine remains a significant structural restraint on state and local taxation, and it identifies the types of taxing regimes that remain vulnerable to internal consistency attack.
The economic competitiveness and emissions of battery electric vehicles in China

Abstract Electric vehicles (EVs) have high energy efficiency and low pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). This study examines the economic competitiveness of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the Chinese market. BEVs are compared with ICEVs using benefit-cost analyses from the perspectives of consumers, society and GHG emissions. A life-cycle cost model is developed to evaluate the lifetime cost of a vehicle. The results show that, with central government subsidies, the BEV life-cycle private cost (LCPC) is about 1.4 times higher than comparable ICEVs. Central government subsidies on BEVs will not be cost effective and efficient unless the annual external cost reduction from using BEV reaches $2500 for a compact vehicle or $3600 for a multi-purpose vehicle. That total cost level would imply a carbon cost of more than $2100 per ton. The current life-cycle external cost reductions from using BEV are around $2000–$2300, which are smaller than government subsidies or LCPC differences between BEV and ICEV. Further projections show that BEVs likely will not be economically competitive in the Chinese market before 2031.
Consistent 'Deeming': A Cohesive Construction of 28 U.S.C. Section 1332 in Cases Involving International Corporations and Permanent-Resident Aliens

Two categories of alienage-jurisdiction cases have proven troublesome: cases involving permanent-resident aliens and cases involving international corporations. Jurisdiction in these categories depends upon the construction of 28 U.S.C. s 1332's deeming provisions. The permanent-resident deeming provision and the corporate deeming provision operate uncontroversially to remove certain cases from federal jurisdiction, but controversy exists as to what extent they create jurisdiction that did not exist before the amendments that added the deeming provisions. The results and analytical approaches in these categories have varied, and the resulting confusion is unsatisfactory. The cases in this area are plagued by a structural flaw: while framing their analyses in terms of clear or unambiguous text, the courts have actually imposed no construction at all, instead jumping extratextually to the what-would-Congress-have-wanted question. Further, the courts faced with cases in each category have decided the cases without reference to the other category. My solution is a modest one but provides the consistency needed in a jurisdictional inquiry. I give the words shall be deemed a consistent construction in the two deeming provisions and resolve the missing-word problem that lurks in the background. Under my solution, the words shall be deemed perform a simple function in the deeming provisions: they confer State citizenship on certain litigants. But they do not strip a party of preexisting alien status. When construed this way and combined with the s 1332(a) jurisdiction-granting subcategories, the deeming provisions create no jurisdiction that did not exist before the deeming provisions. My solution provides several benefits. First, it provides the consistency and coherence needed in a jurisdictional inquiry. Second, it is textually faithful and gives effect to the similar language used in the deeming provisions and differing language used elsewhere in s 1332. And third, it avoids the constitutional problems that arise under alternative construction. To be sure, one might conjure up scenarios where, in the view of the conjurer, exercising jurisdiction would better serve the purposes of alienage jurisdiction. But those scenarios are rare, and desirability of results cannot distort the task: giving effect to the statute. Among permissible solutions, mine yields the best results. It simply is not an acceptable method of statutory interpretation to determine that, when no construction yields the construer's desired result in every case, the statute need be given no construction except what Congress should have intended in each case.
Cysteinyl Leukotrienes Induce P-Selectin Expression in Human Endothelial Cells via a Non-CysLT1 Receptor-Mediated Mechanism

Cysteinyl leukotrienes are bioactive lipid mediators known to possess potent proinflammatory actions. Included in these are effects on vascular endothelium to promote surface expression of the adhesion molecule P-selectin. In the present study we were interested in investigating the receptor mechanism(s) involved in cysteinyl leukotriene-induced endothelial P-selectin expression. As such we examined the effect of several potent and selective cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonists on this response. Incubation of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with the cysteinyl leukotrienes leukotriene C4 (LTC4) or leukotriene D4 (LTD4) induced surface expression of P-selectin which was concentration dependent and rapid in onset. Expression of endothelial P-selectin induced by either LTC4 or LTD4 was not blocked however by pretreatment of HUVEC with the selective cysteinyl leukotriene-1 (CysLT1) receptor antagonists SKF 104353, pranlukast or zafirlukast before agonist exposure. In contrast, SKF 104353 effectively antagonized the LTC4-induced contractions in isolated human bronchial smooth muscle preparations, shifting the agonist dose-response curve to the right by some 3 log-fold in this tissue. The present results suggest that cysteinyl leukotrienes induce surface expression of endothelial P-selectin via a mechanism independent of the CysLT1 receptor.
Bone Graft Techniques

Results of treatment in a series of 60 patients undergoing mandibular reconstruction by a variety of methods are reported. Delayed reconstruction was performed, using a titanium mesh tray with cancellous bone fragments and block bone grafts removed from the iliac crest, rib, and mandible in 34 patients, with an overall success rate of 91%. Immediate reconstruction was performed with a wire mesh prosthesis containing particulate bone and composite flaps in 26 patients, with an overall success rate of 46%. Oral contamination of the graft at the time of surgery appeared to be the factor limiting the success of immediate mandibular reconstruction. Block grafts of bone were extremely reliable in reconstituting the continuity of the mandible when inserted through an extraoral approach as a delayed repair. Mandibular reconstruction was successfully accomplished even following high-dose radiotherapy.
Hitting the jackpot (or not): an attempt to extract value in Philadelphia’s casino controversy:

Beginning in the late 1980s, casinos became a favoured neoliberal economic development strategy for cash-strapped states and municipalities. During the same time period, the political power and pro...
Perceptual grouping by local group-tree research

Perceptual grouping, or perceptual organization, is the process of grouping local image features, such as line segments and regions, into groups (`perceptual chunks') that are likely to have come from the same object. Such an operation is essential to reliable and robust object recognition since the local features are often fragmented and cannot be matched directly to object models. In this paper, a novel approach to the problem of perceptual grouping is described. In this approach, perceptual grouping is accomplished in two steps. First, connections between local features are established or rejected according to which such connections would lead to good global groupings. This is done by performing a tree search of all the possible global groups associated with each potential connection. Second, perceptual groups are generated by propagating local connections and by local competition. The efficacy of this approach is demonstrated on the grouping of line segments in synthetic and real-world images.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Molecular dynamics simulation of O2 diffusion in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and end-linked PDMS networks

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to compute diffusion coefficients for O2 molecules in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and end-linked PDMS networks. The PDMS chains and penetrants are modelled using a hybrid interatomic potential which treats the Si and O atoms along the chain backbone explicitly while coarse-graining the methyl side groups and penetrants. In PDMS models with different molecular weights, diffusivity of the O2 penetrants is found to modestly decrease with an increase in chain length. To match typical experimental conditions, the end-linked PDMS networks are constructed with a PDMS to crosslinking (CL) molecule mass ratio of 5:1 or 10:1, demanding that the number of CL molecules exceeds the number of PDMS chains in each model. Despite end-linking, the presence of non-bonded CL molecules promotes increased O2 diffusivity in comparison with uncrosslinked PDMS. Temperature dependence is captured using the Williams–Landel–Ferry equation.
Small-Angle Scattering of Light by Ocean Water

Small-angle (≲10−3 rad) scattering of light by ocean water is quantitatively analyzed. The two mechanisms that give rise to such scatterings are suspended biological particles having an index of refraction close to that of water and refractive effects due to large-scale (compared to the laser beam diameter) index of refraction variations. Results of recent experiments performed at the Stanford Research Institute are compared with the present analysis, and reasonable agreement is obtained. Also, the modulation transfer function (MTF) for the scattering mechanisms is derived. It is found that for values of the transverse distances ρ less than the size of the large-scale index of refraction fluctuations but larger than the size of the suspended biological particles, the MTF due to the two mechanisms has a different functional dependence on transverse distance. Thus, an experimental determination of the dependence of the MTF on ρ will be useful in determining if a dominant scattering mechanism is at play. Also, we conclude that for long propagation paths (≳10 m), suspended particles can degrade the transverse coherence properties of the laser beam much more than do large-scale refractive index variations.
Multiple equilibria in the Aghion–Howitt model

Abstract We show that the simple Aghion–Howitt model exhibits oscillatory indeterminacy in the process of creative destruction as firms undertaking new research do not internalize their effect on existing firms. A simple calibration shows that indeterminacy occurs for quite plausible parametrizations of the share of the intermediate good.
Dimensions of quality management systems in self-improving communities

A growing number of online communities build, contribute and share collections of information. While consumers are delighted with the prospect of access to large collections of resources via the World Wide Web, they are increasingly concerned about how they can select the highest quality resources. In response to this issue, online communities are seeking to evaluate and maintain the quality of their resources and create sustainable processes of improvement.
Characterization and cure of dielectric and conducting polymer thick films

Polymer thick films are screenable polymer pastes which vary from electrically non-conducting to electrically conducting. These materials typically contain significant amounts of high boiling solvents, and cure therefore involves removal of solvent in addition to crosslinking of the polymer matrix. In this study thermogravimetric analysis and dynamic mechanical analysis were utilized to characterize the residual solvent and glass transition behavior, respectively, with cure of the polymer thick films. Thickness was maintained constant at approximately 25μ and 100μ by using stainless steel mesh substrates. Results showed that IR curing, although able to heat more rapidly, did not accelerate the cure beyond that expected from time at temperature. Time-temperature superposition kinetics were employed to measure activation energy of cure, generate master cure curves, and to quantify IR cure time-temperature profiles. Cure models describing Tg and residual cure as a function of time, temperature, and film thickness were developed.
Moderate Versus Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest for Elective Aortic Transverse Hemiarch Reconstruction

Background Deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) with retrograde cerebral perfusion (DHCA group) has traditionally been the cerebral protection strategy during transverse hemiarch aortic reconstruction. Recently, we have adopted moderate hypothermic (≥25°C) circulatory arrest (MHCA) with antegrade cerebral perfusion (MHCA group). We compared the outcomes for these two circulatory arrest management strategies. Methods From 2008 to 2012, in a concurrent series of 376 patients (DHCA, 301; MHCA, 75) undergoing transverse hemiarch for aortic aneurysm disease, incidences of concomitant root replacement (44% vs 47%, p = 0.8), and aortic valve replacement (29% vs 21%, p = 0.3) were similar, although atherosclerotic aneurysm pathology was present in patients in the MHCA group (71% vs 33%, p Results MHCA group patients were older (66 ± 11 vs 60 ± 14 years; p p p p Conclusions MHCA with antegrade cerebral perfusion yields excellent and equivalent outcomes to DHCA for elective aortic hemiarch reconstruction. MHCA significantly improves intraoperative times and, importantly, reduces transfusion requirements compared with DHCA with a retrograde cerebral perfusion strategy.
Induction of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein gene expression in cultured rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells by interleukin 1 beta.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-binding protein (LBP) binds with high affinity to LPS, and the LBP-LPS complex enhances cellular inflammatory responses to LPS. Although it is present in normal serum, LBP is also induced as part of the acute phase response. Synthesis of LBP is though to be limited to the liver, but we have recently reported significant extrahepatic (including pulmonary) LBP mRNA expression in in vivo rat models of sepsis and inflammation. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that a cellular source of pulmonary LBP in the rat may be vascular smooth muscle, by exposing cultured rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (RPASMC) to cytokines and LPS. Treatment of RPASMC for 4 and 24 h with a combination of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta), interferon gamma, and LPS resulted in significant LBP mRNA expression. Of this mixture, IL-1 beta alone was sufficient to induce LBP mRNA expression in both a time- and dose-dependent manner. The effects of IL-beta on LBP mRNA e...
Glacial–interglacial climatically forced δ 13 C variations in sedimentary organic matter

SEDIMENTARY organic geochemical properties have long been used to characterize sedimentary organic matter sources1–8, but the characterizations are often not unique. There are at least four plausible mechanisms to account for the large (∼3–6%.) glacial-to-interglacial climatic variations in the sedimentary organic-carbon isotopic composition (δ 13Corg) in the northern Gulf of Mexico. They are: temperature-dependent C isotopic fractionation by phytoplankton, mixing of C3-photosynthetic terrigenous and marine organic matter, mixing of C3- and C4-photosynthetic organic matter and diagenetic alteration of the originally sedimented material. In a 208.7-m Deep Sea Drilling Project hydraulic-piston core (DSDP 619) from the Pigmy Basin in the northern Gulf of Mexico, we find that paired analyses of δ 13Corg and N/C are consistent with the hypothesis that the sedimentary organic carbon in the Pigmy Basin is a glacial-interglacial climati-cally determined mixture of C3-photosynthetic terrigenous and marine organic matter9, confirming the model of Sackett5.
Migration and fertility: behavioral change on the American frontier.

This study focuses on the relationship between fertility and migration in families settling the Utah Territory. Genealogical data are used to identify the timing of migration (i.e., after, during, or before childbearing) and country of originfor migrants; and to analyze both fer tility levels for different types of migrants and the changes in fertility behavior associated with these levels. The highest fertility levels are among adults who migrated during their reproductive ages. Those who migrated young, before childbearing began, have lower fertility and are similar to natives of the frontier. Adult immigrants and emigrants of the Utah Territory use multiple strategies offamily formation.