cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Disclosure Regimes and Corporate Decisions around Initial Public Ofierings

This paper analyzes the impact of different disclosure regimes on corporate decision-making during initial public offering. Specifically, it examines how disclosure rules affect firms' incentives to acquire forward-looking information, their disclosure practices and investment strategies. The disclosure regimes examined are Non-Disclosure, Voluntary, and Mandatory Disclosure Regimes. The analysis yields a number of insights. It shows that a Non-Disclosure Regime for management forecasts, as what's found in the US, can impair firms' ability to reduce information asymmetry through disclosure. By depriving firms of the opportunity to convey private information to investors, such a policy results in undervaluation of firms with profitable prospects and overvaluation of firms with poor growth potentials. Misvaluation also alters the conditions under which firms make their investment decisions. In particular, investors' overvaluation can give firms incentives to invest in negative NPV projects. Furthermore, a non-disclosure rule reduces equity-issuing firms' incentives to acquire valuable productive information. However, the other two disclosure regimes also have their own distortions. Both overinvestment and underinvestment can occur under the Voluntary Disclosure Regime. In addition, with the discretion to disclose, firms tend to excessively acquire information so that they can strategically use it in the later offerings. The Mandatory Disclosure Regime has the highest price efficiency, but it also imposes burden on firms to produce information to meet the disclosure requirement. Finally, a welfare analysis shows that each of the three disclosure regimes can emerge as the socially optimal regime under some conditions.
A Theorem on Differential Operators

(1976). A Theorem on Differential Operators. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 83, No. 5, pp. 351-354.
Laboratory Safety: Minimizing the Toxic Effects of Formaldehyde

In a survey of pathology residents in New York, most of the 69 respondents reported adverse reactions to formaldehyde exposure, mostly eye and throat irritation, less often cough and wheezing, and sometimes dizziness and drowsiness. A review of the world literature disclosed similar adverse reactions, mainly irritation of the skin, eyes, and upper respiratory tract and more serious, albeit rare, noxious effects on the gastrointestinal and lower respiratory tracts. The causative association of long-term formaldehyde exposure with cancer in humans is controversial and unproven. Specific actions reduce exposure and minimize the effects of exposure to formaldehyde when it occurs.
The MULTICOM Protein Tertiary Structure Prediction System

With the expansion of genomics and proteomics data aided by the rapid progress of next-generation sequencing technologies, computational prediction of protein three-dimensional structure is an essential part of modern structural genomics initiatives. Prediction of protein structure through understanding of the theories behind protein sequence-structure relationship, however, remains one of the most challenging problems in contemporary life sciences. Here, we describe MULTICOM, a multi-level combination technique, intended to predict moderate- to high-resolution structure of a protein through a novel approach of combining multiple sources of complementary information derived from the experimentally solved protein structures in the Protein Data Bank. The MULTICOM web server is freely available at http://sysbio.rnet.missouri.edu/multicom_toolbox/.
Judicial Review in an Objective Legal System

How should courts interpret the law? While all agree that courts must be objective, people differ sharply over what this demands in practice: fidelity to the text? To the will of the people? To certain moral ideals? In Judicial Review in an Objective Legal System, Tara Smith breaks through the false dichotomies inherent in dominant theories - various forms of originalism, living constitutionalism, and minimalism - to present a new approach to judicial review. She contends that we cannot assess judicial review in isolation from the larger enterprise of which it is a part. By providing careful clarification of both the function of the legal system as well as of objectivity itself, she produces a compelling, firmly grounded account of genuinely objective judicial review. Smith's innovative approach marks a welcome advance for anyone interested in legal objectivity and individual rights.
Chemotherapy to Treat Heart Failure: Appropriate for Light-Chain Amyloidosis?∗

One of the most devastating diagnoses a cardiologist may give a patient is that their heart failure (HF) is due to light-chain (AL) amyloidosis, because their median survival is <1 year. The report from Sperry et al. [(1)][1] in this issue of the Journal marks the beginning of a change in that
Prospects for Chiral Discrimination in Reversed Micelles

Chiral discrimination in the aggregation properties of optically active surfactants and their use in reaction catalysis are briefly reviewed. Suggestions for enhancing the observed stereoselectivities 1n reversed micellar systems are presented.
Response of sea fans to infection with Aspergillus sp. (Fungi)

Mass mortalities of sea fans (Gorgonia spp.) off the South and Central American coasts were reported in the 1980s. In some cases, populations never recovered. Widespread tissue mortality in G. ventalina and G. flabellum throughout the Caribbean was reported in 1997. Although colony mortality was apparently lower in the more recent epizootic, the geographic distribution of the disease appeared much greater. Tissue samples of affected colonies were found to be infected with a fungus (Aspergillus sp.) with was shown to be able to cause the disease in healthy sea fans. We describe observations on the early infection process and subsequent development of the disease. Based on these observations, we report the response of Gorgina spp. to infection by Aspergillus.
Media–Politics Relations

Media–politics relations or interactions have long been the subject of considerable discussion and debate among scholars and practitioners. Theoretical perspectives on media–politics interactions from the mid-20th century to the early 21st century are critically assessed before turning to a discussion of the present. A new era of media–politics interactions has emerged due to the growth of new communications technologies and the Internet. Challenges and opportunities for media–politics interactions and related scholarship in the future are discussed in conclusion. Keywords: global media; political communication; political media content
Engaging Karen refugee students in science learning through a cross-cultural learning community

ABSTRACTThis research explored how Karen (first-generation refugees from Burma) elementary students engaged with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) practice of constructing scientific explanations based on evidence within the context of a cross-cultural learning community. In this action research, the researcher and a Karen parent served as co-teachers for fourth- and fifth-grade Karen and non-Karen students in a science and culture after-school programme in a public elementary school in the rural southeastern United States. Photovoice provided a critical platform for students to create their own cultural discourses for the learning community. The theoretical framework of critical pedagogy of place provided a way for the learning community to decolonise and re-inhabit the learning spaces with knowledge they co-constructed. Narrative analysis of video transcripts of the after-school programme, ethnographic interviews, and focus group discussions from Photovoice revealed a pattern of emerging agen...
On the secure degrees-of-freedom of partially connected networks with no CSIT

In this work, we focus on the partially connected interference network with confidential messages, and study the secure degrees of freedom with no channel state information at the transmitters (CSIT). Prior works on fully connected interference networks with full CSIT have shown that the secure degrees of freedom scales linearly with the number of users. With no CSIT, however, the secure degrees of freedom of fully connected networks collapses to zero. In this work, we show that partial connectivity, a widely prevalent property of wireless networks, can be leveraged to provide secrecy even with no CSIT. We present a systematic approach to first understand the feasibility of secure communication in a partially connected network and develop achievable schemes for a class of regular partially connected networks. Finally, we also provide novel information theoretic outer bounds on the secure degrees of freedom for this class of regular partially connected networks, and approximately characterize the secure degrees of freedom.
Intracellular localization of diacylglycerols and sphingolipids influences insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial function in human skeletal muscle.

BACKGROUND. Accumulation of diacylglycerol (DAG) and sphingolipids is thought to promote skeletal muscle insulin resistance by altering cellular signaling specific to their location. However,the subcellular localization of bioactive lipids in human skeletal muscle is largely unknown. METHODS. We evaluated subcellular localization of skeletal muscle DAGs and sphingolipids in lean individuals (n = 15), endurance-trained athletes (n = 16), and obese men and women with (n = 12) and without type 2 diabetes (n = 15). Muscle biopsies were fractionated into sarcolemmal, cytosolic, mitochondrial/ER, and nuclear compartments. Lipids were measured using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, and insulin sensitivity was measured using hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. RESULTS. Sarcolemmal 1,2-DAGs were not significantly related to insulin sensitivity. Sarcolemmal ceramides were inversely related to insulin sensitivity, with a significant relationship found for the C18:0 species. Sarcolemmal sphingomyelins were also inversely related to insulin sensitivity, with the strongest relationships found for the C18:1, C18:0, and C18:2 species. In the mitochondrial/ER and nuclear fractions, 1,2-DAGs were positively related to, while ceramides were inversely related to, insulin sensitivity. Cytosolic lipids as well as 1,3-DAG, dihydroceramides, and glucosylceramides in any compartment were not related to insulin sensitivity. All sphingolipids but only specific DAGs administered to isolated mitochondria decreased mitochondrial state 3 respiration. CONCLUSION. These data reveal previously unknown differences in subcellular localization of skeletal muscle DAGs and sphingolipids that relate to whole-body insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial function in humans. These data suggest that whole-cell concentrations of lipids obscure meaningful differences in compartmentalization and suggest that subcellular localization of lipids should be considered when developing therapeutic interventions to treat insulin resistance. FUNDING. National Institutes of Health General Clinical Research Center (RR-00036), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (R01DK089170), NIDDK (T32 DK07658), and Colorado Nutrition Obesity Research Center (P30DK048520).
Acidification of Endocytic Vesicles and Lysosomes

Living cells have developed extraordinarily sophisticated mechanisms for regulation of pH within the cytoplasm and inside organelles. The most widely studied example of this regulation is the proton pumping involved in formation of ATP by mitochondria (Mitchell, 1976). Other examples include the extrusion of H+ across the plasma membrane and the acidification of intracellular organelles such as lysosomes, endocytic vesicles, and secretory granules. The regulation of intracellular pH has been reviewed in detail by Roos and Boron (1981).
Finding the Sonic Sweet Spot: Implementing a Noise Management Program in a Library Learning Commons

Noise in academic libraries has been a consistent concern of library staff and library users. This concern has intensified as libraries have emphasized their role in supporting student learning, in...
Severe Myopericarditis in Diabetic Ketoacidosis-All Troponin are Not Myocardial Infarction.

Uncontrolled diabetes and acute coronary syndrome share a complex dynamic that results in significant ambiguity when interpreting biomarker elevations in this setting. This is concerning because myocardial infarction has been shown to be the most common cause of death in the first 24 hours of admission for uncontrolled diabetes. Literature shows that elevation in cardiac biomarkers in patients with uncontrolled diabetes could be from viral myopericarditis, although a clear clinical significance is still lacking.1 It is, however, clear that elevation in cardiac biomarkers portends a poor long-term prognosis in patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. We present a rare case of myopericarditis in a middle-aged patient with uncontrolled diabetes. The patient had elevated troponin I level reaching a peak of 7.3 ng/mL with associated ST elevations on electrocardiography. Coronary angiogram was subsequently done revealing clean coronaries. To our knowledge, this is the first description of myopericarditis in uncontrolled diabetes without a known cause.
Maternal characteristics of young dams representing Bos taurus and Bos indicus x Bos taurus breed types.

Reproductive traits and preweaning growth of progeny from young Hereford, Red Poll, Hereford X Red Poll, Red Poll X Hereford, Angus X Hereford, Angus X Charolais, Brahman X Hereford and Brahman X Angus dams were evaluated. First-calf heifers were mated with Red Angus bulls; Santa Gertrudis sires were used for each cow's second and third breeding season. Herefords, Red Polls and Hereford-Red Poll crosses were below average in percentage of calves weaned, whereas Angus-sired and Brahman-sired dams exceeded the overall mean. Angus X Charolais (P less than .10), Brahman X Hereford (P less than .01) and Brahman X Angus (P less than .10) dams weaned a higher percentage of calves than straightbred Herefords. None of these breed types differed from young Angus X Hereford females in reproductive performance. Angus X Charolais calves ranked highest in 180-d calf weight, exceeding progeny from both Hereford (P less than .01) and Angus X Hereford (P less than .10) dams. Brahman X Hereford dams weaned heavier (P less than .05) calves than Herefords, but their progeny did not differ at weaning from those reared by Angus X Herefords. Calves from Brahman X Angus dams weighed 12.7 kg less (P less than .01) than Angus X Hereford progeny. Analysis of the Hereford-Red Poll diallel showed evidence of (P less than .10) maternal heterosis in 180-d calf weight.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Expression of Two Murine Gene Families in Transformed Cells and Embryogenesis

Mouse clones IAP81 and mR2 have been shown to contain different repetitive DNA elements. These clones were used to investigate the expression of their respective repetitive DNA families in myelomas, embryonal carcinoma cells (EC) and, in one case, pre-implantation embryos. IAP genes which code for intracisternal A-type viral particles are highly transcribed in myeloma and, to a lesser extent, in EC cells. While IAP transcripts of three sizes (7.2 kb, 5.3 kb and 3.8 kb) were found in myelomas, only two of the IAP RNA species (7.2 kb and 5.3 kb) were detected in EC cells. Very little IAP RNA could be detected in EC cells following differentiation. Abundant IAP RNA was visualized in 1, 2 and 4–8 cell stage embryos by in situ hybridization. The amount of IAP RNA decreases drastically in embryos at the morula stage. In similar studies using the mR2 clone, a 1.4 kb transcript was detected in myeloma and EC cells. This transcript is not detected in differentiated EC cells or liver and brain of adult mice.
Development of a Conceptual Design Model for Aircraft Electric Propulsion with Efficient Gradients

Research on electric aircraft propulsion has greatly expanded in the last decade, revealing new insights on the unique features of the electric aircraft design problem, and identifying shortcomings in existing analysis techniques and tools. In this paper, we survey currently-available analysis codes for aircraft with electric propulsion. We introduce a new conceptual design and optimization toolkit-OpenConcept-built for aircraft incorporating electric propulsion. Open Concept consists of three parts: a library of simple, conceptual-level models of common electric propulsion components; a set of analysis routines necessary for aircraft sizing and optimization; and several example aircraft models. All of Open Concept's codes have been analytically differentiated, enabling the use of OpenMDAO 2's efficient Newton solver, as well as gradient-based optimization methods. Open Concept supports parametric cost modeling and waste heat management at the component level, enabling realistic thermal and economic constraints in optimization studies. We present a case study involving the electrification of existing turboprop airplanes. We model the Daher TBM 850 and Beechcraft King Air C90GT in Open Concept, and validate the sizing, weights, fuel burn, and takeoff field length analyses. We then define a series hybrid electric propulsion architecture for the King Air, and perform a retrofit study. Finally, we perform multidisciplinary design optimization to minimize both fuel burn and trip cost for varying design ranges and assumed battery specific energy levels. We ran more than 750 multidisciplinary optimization cases with full mission analysis. Each optimization runs in approximately 2 minutes on a typical notebook PC. We demonstrate that Open Concept is a flexible and efficient way of performing conceptual-level analysis of aircraft with unconventional propulsion architectures.
High cost-related medication non-adherence among diabetic cancer patients.

e18022Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of cancer. DM cancer patients are particularly susceptible to cost-related medication non-adherenc...
Colon Surgery Risk With Corticosteroids Versus Immunomodulators or Biologics in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients With Clostridium difficile Infection.

Background Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an independent risk factor for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), and CDI often precipitates IBD exacerbation. Because CDI cannot be distinguished clinically from an IBD exacerbation, management is difficult. We aimed to assess factors associated with adverse outcomes in IBD with CDI, including the role of escalating or de-escalating IBD therapy and CDI treatment. Methods Records for patients with IBD and CDI from 2008 to 2013 were abstracted for variables including IBD severity before CDI diagnosis, CDI management, subsequent IBD exacerbation, CDI recurrence, and colon surgery. Colon surgery was defined as resection of any colonic segment within 1 year after CDI diagnosis. Results We included 137 IBD patients (median age, 46 years; 55% women): 70 with ulcerative colitis (51%), 63 with Crohn's disease (46%), and 4 with indeterminate colitis (3%). Overall, 70% of CDIs were mild-moderate, 14% were severe, and 15% were severe-complicated. Clostridium difficile infection treatment choice did not vary by infection severity (P = 0.27). Corticosteroid escalation (odds ratio [OR], 5.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.03-17.44) was a positive predictor of colon surgery within 1 year after CDI; older age (OR, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.01-0.44) was a negative predictor. Modifying the corticosteroid regimen did not affect CDI recurrence or risk of future IBD exacerbation. Adverse outcomes did not differ with CDI antibiotic regimens or biologic or immunomodulator regimen modification. Conclusions Corticosteroid escalation for IBD during CDI was associated with higher risk of colon surgery. Type of CDI treatment did not influence IBD outcomes. Prospective studies are needed to further elucidate optimal management in this high-risk population.
Substance Use Treatment Patient and Provider Perspectives on Accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: Barriers, Facilitators, and the Need for Integration of Care.

AbstractBackground: Women with substance use disorders have high rates of adverse sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes, including unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and...
A Modified Self-Knowledge Model of Thought Insertion

Thought insertion is a condition characterized by the impression that one's thoughts are not one’s own and have been inserted by others. Some have explained the condition as resulting, in part, from impaired or defective self-knowledge, or knowledge of one’s mental states. I argue that such models do not shed light on the most puzzling feature of thought insertion: the patient’s experience that an introspected thought does not feel like her own. After examining ways in which existing versions of the model might address this worry, I propose a significant modification. I argue that the experience of disownership consists in a rational indifference that one feels towards one’s inserted thought. I further contend that the experience is generated by an underlying absence of an expectation of rational authority towards the inserted thought, such that the patient does not expect her thought to reflect, or be shaped by, her own rational considerations. I defend my proposal using empirical studies from cognitive and social psychology which suggest that we ordinarily have and experience an expectation of rational authority towards a certain subset of our thoughts, and direct analysis of patient reports, which strongly suggest that it is this expectation and the corresponding experience that thought insertion patients lack.
Si-based materials for lithium-ion batteries II. Surface-modified Si/C/polyethylene glycol powder

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to analyze Si/C/polyethylene glycol powder obtained from Paraclete Energy, Inc. The spectra were obtained using incident monochromatic Al Kα radiation at 1486.6 eV (0.834 01 nm). An initial survey spectrum together with O 1s, C 1s, and Si 2p are presented. A final survey spectrum was collected to ascertain the amount of beam-induced damage, which appears to be minimal. The spectra indicate the principal core level photoelectron and Auger electron signals, with only minor calcium and nitrogen signal, and show the expected silicon-carbon species related to the surface modification process in addition to oxidized carbon and silicon due to atmospheric exposure.
The Natural History of Severe Calcific Mitral Stenosis

Abstract Background Prevalence of calcific mitral stenosis (MS) increases with age; however, its natural history and relation to cardiac symptoms or comorbidities are not well defined. Objectives This study assessed the prevalence of symptoms, comorbidities, and determinants of all-cause mortality in patients with severe calcific MS. Methods The authors retrospectively investigated adults with isolated severe calcific MS and mitral valve area ≤1.5 cm2 from July 2003 to December 2017. Inactivity was defined as requirement for assistance with activities of daily living. Results Of 491 patients with isolated severe MS, calcific MS was present in 200 (41%; age 78 ± 11 years, 18% men, 32% with atrial fibrillation). Charlson Comorbidity Index was 5.1 ± 1.7 and 14 (7%) were inactive. Mitral valve area and transmitral gradient (TMG) were 1.26 ± 0.19 cm2 and 8.1 ± 3.8 mm Hg, respectively. Symptoms were present at baseline in 120 (60%); 20 (10%) developed symptoms during follow-up of 2.8 ± 3.0 years. Kaplan-Meier survival at 1 year was 72% without intervention. Inactivity (hazard ratio [HR]: 6.59; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.54 to 12.3; p 5 (HR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.04 to 2.26; p Conclusion Patients with isolated severe calcific MS had a high burden of comorbidities, resulting in high mortality without intervention. Symptoms were reported in 60%, but not associated with mortality. TMG ≥8 mm Hg and right ventricular systolic pressure ≥50 mm Hg were independently associated with mortality.
The edaphic control of plant diversity

Author(s): Hulshof, CM; Spasojevic, MJ | Abstract: Background: The central thesis of plant ecology is that climate determines the global distribution of vegetation. Within a vegetation type, however, finer-scale environmental features, such as the physical and chemical properties of soil (edaphic variation), control patterns of plant diversity and distributions. Aims: Here, we review the literature to provide a mechanistic framework for the edaphic control of plant diversity. First, we review three examples where soils have known, prevalent effects on plant diversity: during soil formation, on unusual soils and in regions with high edaphic heterogeneity. Second, we synthesize how edaphic factors mediate the relative importance of the four key processes of community assembly (speciation, ecological drift, dispersal and niche selection). Third, we review the potential effects of climate change in edaphically heterogeneous regions. Finally, we outline key knowledge gaps for understanding the edaphic control of plant diversity. In our review, we emphasize floras of unusual edaphic areas (i.e., serpentine, limestone, granite), because these areas contribute disproportionately to the biodiversity hotspots of the world. Taxa: Terrestrial plants. Location: Global. Conclusion: Edaphic variation is a key driver of biodiversity patterns and influences the relative importance of speciation, dispersal, ecological drift, niche selection and interactions among these processes. Research is still needed to gain a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which edaphic variation influences these community assembly processes, and unusual soils provide excellent natural systems for such tests. Furthermore, the incorporation of edaphic variation into climate change research will help to increase the predictive power of species distribution models, identify potential climate refugia and identify species with adaptations that buffer them from climate change.
Solvatochromism and excited-state characteristics of fluorenone-1-carboxylic acid

Abstract The solvatochromism of the fluorenone derivative 9-fluorenone-1-carboxylic acid (9F1C) was examined in binary cyclohexane-tetrahydrofuran mixtures, along with a theoretical investigation of possible excited state decay pathways. This fluorenone derivative differs from many previously investigated derivatives in that it possesses an electron withdrawing substituent and possibly undergoes intramolecular hydrogen bonding and proton transfer. A conventional Lippert-Mataga analysis was applied to the measured steady-state absorption and emission spectra to estimate the dipole moment difference between ground and emitting excited states. The estimated difference of ~2.8 D was found to be slightly larger than the average value of previously estimated differences for unsubstituted fluorenone (~2.4 D). The 9F1C derivative also differed from unsubstituted fluorenone in that fluorescence emission decreased, rather than increased, with increasing solvent polarity. Interpreting the possible cause of this difference prompted time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations of the relative energies of non-hydrogen bonded and intra-molecular hydrogen bonded excited states. These calculations suggested that an explanation for the decrease in emission for non-hydrogen bonded species could be enhancement of an intersystem-crossing (ISC) pathway. However, these same calculations suggested this explanation could not account for possible decreased emission from intra-molecular hydrogen-bonded species.
Chevalley–Warning at the boundary

Abstract The Chevalley–Warning Theorem is a result on the solution set of a system of polynomial equations f 1 , … , f r in n variables over a finite field F q in the low degree case d ≔ ∑ j = 1 r deg ( f j ) n . In this note we reformulate that result in terms of fibers of the associated polynomial map and, following Heath-Brown, show that something weaker continues to hold when d = n . This result invites a search for homogeneous degree n polynomials in n variables over F q for which the associated polynomial function F q n → F q is not surjective, and we exhibit several families of such polynomials.
A Convenient Synthesis of Thiol, Trithiocarbonate and Disulfide

Synthesis of unsymmetrical trithiocarbonate sulfonate salt, along with disulfide, thiol and symmetrical trithiocarbonate from 3-mercapto-1-propane-sulfonicacid, sodium salt with, without of phase transfer catalyst and under various reaction conditions are described. The obtained compounds having divergent usefulness in RAFT polymerization, sulfonyl preparation and having capable of binding in a multidentate fashion to soft transition metal ions.
Biological control of water hyacinth, Pontederia crassipes (C. Mart.) Solms (Pontederiaceae), in California: release and re-distribution of biological control agents 1987–2006

Water hyacinth, Pontederia crassipes (C. Mart.) Solms (Pontederiaceae), is a serious aquatic weed in lakes, ponds, and waterways in California and around the world. Three insects, the weevils Neochetina eichhorniae Warner, 1970, Neochetina bruchi Hustache, 1926 (Coleoptera: Brachyceridae), and a leaf moth Niphograpta albiguttalis (Warren, 1889) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) were released at four sites in 1982–1987 for the biological control of water hyacinth in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Here we report on statewide efforts to distribute the biological control agents outside the Delta and subsequent surveys to determine insect establishment. From 1987–2006, the three insects were redistributed to seven locations in five counties (Fresno, Los Angeles, Merced, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz) in California. Surveys in 2018–2020 found both Neochetina weevils at two locations in Merced County and one location in Sacramento County. No weevils were found at release locations in the upper San Joaquin River and associated waterways in western Fresno County or at the release location in Santa Cruz County. Plants at the release locations in Los Angeles County and eastern Fresno County had been eradicated and not sampled in this survey. These recoveries expand the known locations of Neochetina weevils in central California. The hyacinth moth, N. albiguttalis, was not recovered.
Marijuana Use and Stress Cardiomyopathy in the Young

Background Increased accessibility, recreational use, and regional legalization of marijuana (cannabis) have been paralleled by widespread recognition of its serious cardiovascular complications (acute myocardial infarction, stroke, sudden death) particularly in the young. We aimed to examine trends in hospital admissions and outcomes of adults with stress cardiomyopathy (SC) in temporal relation to marijuana use. Methods and results A search of the 2003-2011 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIIS) database identified 33,343 admissions for SC of which 210 (0.06%) were temporally related to marijuana use. Demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of marijuana users (MU) and non-marijuana users (NMU) with SC were compared. MU were younger (44±14 vs. 66±13 years), more often male (36% vs. 8%), and had lower prevalence of hypertension (38% vs. 62%), diabetes (2.4% vs. 17.6%), and hyperlipidemia (16% vs. 52%) while more often suffered from depression (33% vs. 15%), psychosis (12% vs. 4%), anxiety disorder (28% vs. 16%), alcohol use disorder (13% vs. 3%), tobacco use (73% vs. 29%), and polysubstance abuse (11% vs. 0.3%) [all p 48 years) was a strong predictor of any major adverse cardiac event (OR=7.8; 95% CI=2.88-21.13; p<0.0001). Conclusions Marijuana use is linked to SC in younger individuals and is associated with significant morbidity despite being younger in age and having a more favorable cardiac risk factor profile in affected individuals.
Flame retardancy of EPDM/Kevlar fibre composites with zinc borate, magnesium hydroxide and ammonium polyphosphate

The present work studies the influence of zinc borate (ZB), magnesium hydroxide (MH) and ammonium polyphosphate (APP) as flame retardants on the curing, mechanical, thermal and flammability performances of Kevlar fibre (KF)-reinforced ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber composites. The flame retardant EPDM/KF composites were prepared with variable ratio of ZB, MH and APP. Thereafter, physicomechanical and thermal properties of the fire retardant EPDM/KF composites were analysed with density analysis, tensile testing, TGA analysis, SEM and cone calorimeter tests. The TGA analysis and cone calorimeter tests showed the enhancement in the flame retardant properties of the EPDM/KF composites with the addition of combined fillers with respect to the virgin counterparts. The synergistic effect of ZB and APP containing flame retardant-incorporated composites exhibited a prominence in the thermal stability and fire retardancy. Heat release rate (HRR) and total heat release rate (THR) of the ZB and APP combined fire retardant-incorporated composites were lower than the virgin EPDM.
The Proposed Hague Convention on Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments: Trans-Atlantic Lawmaking for Transnational Litigation

In June 1993, a small working group of the Hague Conference on Private International Law concluded that it would be desirable to negotiate a convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters. The suggestion was quickly taken up by the Hague Conference and the scope of the future treaty was extended to the question of personal jurisdiction in international civil and commercial matters. With this extended scope, a considerable number of countries, including the United States, showed great interest in the negotiations of the proposed Convention. At the beginning of the new millennium, however, negotiations began to stall. As of today, the scope of the proposed treaty has been radically scaled back to the enforcement of forum selection clauses and the recognition and enforcement of judgments based on such clauses. There are a number of reasons for the - at best temporary - setback of the larger jurisdiction and judgments project. One of the larger issues has been a clash between the legal cultures of the United States and that of continental Europe. In this book I argue that negotiators from the United States on the one hand and from continental Europe on the other arrived at The Hague with very different jurisprudential assumptions. I attempt to trace these assumptions both regarding the treatment of transnational litigation in general and with respect to personal jurisdiction in particular. I argue that, because of these differences in outlook, negotiating a treaty in this area requires time and significant cross-systemic education before lunging into narrow issues of personal jurisdiction and recognition of judgments can prove beneficial. I also add a case study to demonstrate that, absent such cross-systemic education, both the lack of a treaty and the presence of a treaty that is not based on such education can lead to unexpected and unsatisfactory results for all states involved. Thus, on a more general level, this book intends to contribute to our understanding of the process of making and applying law for transnational litigation involving the United States on the one hand and continental Europe on the other.
Levels of Genital Tract Defensins and Cytokines Differ between HIV-Uninfected US and African Women.

Problem To explore the impact of race and geographic region on biomarkers of HIV risk and vaginal health, differences in soluble immune mediators were measured in US versus African and US white versus US black women at enrollment into a phase 2 microbicide trial. Methods Levels of soluble mucosal immune mediators and inhibitory activity against E. coli, which may serve as biomarkers of risk for HIV and other genital tract infections, were quantified in cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) collected from HIV-uninfected women in the United States (n = 73) and Africa (n = 73). Differences between groups were analyzed with multivariable logistic regression models for dichotomous variables and linear regression models for continuous variables. Results Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor, lactoferrin, human beta defensins, interleukin (IL)-8, and interferon-gamma-induced protein-10 were significantly higher in US compared to African women in multivariable analysis, but only IL-1β was significantly different between US white and black women. E. coli inhibitory activity did not differ among groups in adjusted analyses. Conclusion Differences in soluble mucosal immunity between US and African women may play an important role in women's risk for HIV and other genital tract infections and response to prevention strategies including vaginal microbicides and should be considered in future studies.
Avoiding Double Taxation: The Case of Commercial Banks

Recently, there has been a marked increase in the number of banks choosing to operate as Subchapter-S Corporations. The apparent motivation is tax savings as Subchapter-S firms do not pay federal income taxes on income at the firm level, but transfer income to stockholders where it is taxed as individual income at personal tax rates. Given the apparent advantages of Sub-S status, there must be mitigating reasons for not choosing this organizational form. We empirically investigate factors affecting the choice of Subchapter-S status and key performance differences between Sub-S banks and those taxed as C-corporations. Empirical findings indicate that Sub-S banks are significantly smaller, pay higher dividends, have lower taxable income before Sub-S formation, higher profitability, lower capital and loan loss reserves, rely more on core deposits, and have higher agricultural but lower commercial and total loans. Sub-S banks are more likely to be rural and less likely to be de novo, or have publicly-traded stock.
A Dynamically Adaptive Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian Method for Hydrodynamics

A new method that combines staggered grid Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) techniques with structured local adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) has been developed for solution of the Euler equations. The novel components of the combined ALE-AMR method hinge upon the integration of traditional AMR techniques with both staggered grid Lagrangian operators as well as elliptic relaxation operators on moving, deforming mesh hierarchies. Numerical examples demonstrate the utility of the method in performing detailed three-dimensional shock-driven instability calculations.
Prognosis with preoperative pulmonary function and lung volume assessment in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

OBJECTIVES To determine whether fatal pulmonary hypoplasia, as assessed by functional residual capacity (FRC), can be distinguished from other reversible causes of respiratory failure in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). METHODS In the present study, 25 term neonates having CDH without other anomalies (mean birth weight +/- SD, 3.25 +/- 0.50 kg) were enrolled prospectively into a protocol evaluating pulmonary function. Lung compliance (CL) and FRC were measured before diaphragmatic repair and compared with the highest oxygenation index (OI) and lowest PaCO2, also obtained preoperatively. Pulmonary function assessment was repeated after diaphragm repair on postoperative days 3 and 7. CL was determined by esophageal manometry and pneumotachography, and FRC was determined by helium dilution. RESULTS Fifteen infants (60%) survived to hospital discharge. Eighteen (72%) required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for support, and of these, 8 (44%) survived. PaCO2 was similar preoperatively in infants grouped as survivors without ECMO, survivors with ECMO, and nonsurvivors. In nonsurvivors (all of whom received ECMO), the preoperative OI was significantly higher (51 +/- 21), CL was less (0.11 +/- 0.04 mL/cm of water per kg), and FRC was smaller (4.5 +/- 1.0 mL/kg) than in the survivors who required ECMO (26 +/- 18, 0.18 +/- 0.08 mL/cm of water per kg, and 12 +/- 5 mL/kg, respectively), as well as in the survivors without ECMO, (6 +/- 2, 0.32 +/- 0.16 mL/cm of water per kg, and 15.8 +/- 4 mL/kg, respectively). The group surviving with ECMO had a higher OI than the infants surviving without ECMO. All nonsurviving infants had FRCs of less than 9.0 mL/kg preoperatively. In contrast, only 2 of the 15 survivors had preoperative FRCs less than 9 mL/kg. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that preoperative assessment of FRC may predict fatal pulmonary hypoplasia in most infants with CDH.
Re-Appraising the Appraisers: Expanding Liability to Buyers and Borrowers in the Story of the 2008 Financing Industry Crisis

On the surface, suing in negligence seems the most promising avenue for recovery against appraisers, because liability depends on an examination of defendant's conduct alone and does not require an examination or defendant's mental state to show intent or agreement. But historically insuperable hurdles have operated to prevent recovery under this seemingly simple cause of action. One hurdle is lack of privity. The appraiser's legal relationship is with the hiring party -- the lender -- to assess the risks of the loan transaction and not with the purchaser, who may rely on the appraisal in making the decision to purchase. Because of the lack of privity with the buyer-borrowers, the appraisers had no duty and hence no liability to them, even when the property appraisal was critical in the loan transaction. Moreover, even if the facts showed that the appraiser was somehow negligent and that injury to the buyer-borrower was foreseeable, appraisers have asserted the economic loss rule, which operates to preclude recovery in a tort action for purely economic losses, unaccompanied by physical injury or property damage.These defenses might have seemed reasonable or appropriate in a time when there were isolated errors in appraisal reports, but in the world described by the Crisis Commission, fraught with sharp practices and dishonesty, a new regime seems in order. In the last few years, some courts, perceiving the disconnect between the formal rules governing the conduct of appraisers and the ends sought to be achieved by those rules, are making rulings aimed at some harmony and coherence for a sensible imposition of liability for appraisers' wrongful conduct. The limitations of the negligence claim and the need for a new regime are discussed in further detail below.
Biochemical Manifestations of Oxygen Toxicity in the Newborn Lamb

The purpose of this project was to study the role of lipid peroxidation in oxygen-induced lung injury in the newborn lamb. It was our hypothesis that injury to the microvascular bed of the lung by oxygen would coincide with a burst of peroxidative activity and would be accompanied by an increased rate of excretion of ethane and pentane in expired gas. We measured vascular pressures, the rate of lung lymph flow and concentrations of ethane and pentane in exhaled gas in 10 newborn lambs that breathed greater than 95% oxygen continuously. Our marker for oxygen-induced lung injury was an increase in the permeability of the microvascular bed of the lung to protein (an increase in the rate of lung lymph flow accompanied by an increase in the protein concentration in lymph). Although all 10 lambs demonstrated an abrupt increase in microvascular permeability to protein within 48 to 96 h of exposure to greater than 95% oxygen, the rates of ethane and pentane excretion remained unchanged throughout the entire experimental period. Lung tissue concentrations of glutathione decreased by 40% in the oxygen-exposed lambs and the concentrations of glutathione disulfide increased 85% relative to air-breathing controls. Activities of glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase were lower in the lungs of the oxygen-exposed lambs than in controls, whereas the activities of glutathione peroxidase and catalase were not changed. We conclude that, in the lamb, changes in the rates of excretion of ethane and pentane do not correlate with the timing of injury to the microvascular bed of the lung.
Associative history, not familiarity, determines strength of taste-aversion conditioning in thiamine-deficient rats

Two groups of rats (the recovery groups) were fed on a synthetic thiamine-deficient diet, and another group (the supplemented group) was fed on the same diet but received supplemental thiamine in their water so as not to become deficient. Following a 6-day recovery period during which all rats were given a novel-flavored thiamine-enriched diet, one recovery group and the supplemented group received injections of lithium chloride, and the remaining recovery group received injections of saline. Although all groups consumed similar amounts of the chocolate-enriched diet during the recovery period (i.e., all groups were approximately equally familiar with the enriched diet), only the supplemented/poisoned rats showed a marked taste aversion. These results confirm the existence of a “familiar-positive” class of foods and suggest that the context in which a rat is made familiar with dietary choice may overshadow the role of familarity per se as the determining factor in the development of food aversions and preferences.
A recursive method for calculating binary integration detection probabilities

The calculation of the probability of detection for a binary integration when the probability of a threshold crossing changes from sample to sample is presented. The significance of the algorithm is that it uses a simple recursion relation which provides a computationally efficient means of performing the calculation. >
P-365: Visceral perivascular adipose tissue regulates arterial tone of small mesenteric arteries

Increased visceral adipose tissue in obesity is associated with adverse cardiovascular events and hypertension. Visceral adipose tissue surrounds mesenteric arteries and may produce vasoactive substances that influence vascular contraction. We tested the hypothesis that perivascular adipose tissue modulates contraction of small, resistance-sized mesenteric artery ring preparations. We studied mesenteric rings surrounded by periadventitial adipose tissue from adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. The contractile response to serotonin, phenylephrine, and endothelin I was markedly reduced in intact vessels compared to vessels without periadventitial fat. The contractile response to U46619 or depolarizing high K containing solutions (60 mM) was similar in vessels with and without periadventitial fat. The K channel opener cromakalim induced relaxation of vessels precontracted by serotonin but not by U46619 or high K containing solutions (60 mM), suggesting that K channels are involved. The intracellular membrane potential of smooth muscle cells was more hyperpolarized in intact vessels than in vessels without periadventitial fat. Both the anti-contractile effect and membrane hyperpolarization of periadventitial fat were abolished by inhibition of delayedrectifier K channels with 4-aminopyridine (2 mM). Blocking other K channels with glibenclamide (3 mM), apamin (1 M), TEA (1 mM), TPeA (10 M) did not restore the vascular response in intact vessels. Longitudinal removal of 50% of perivascular tissue reduced the anticontractile effect to serotonin by almost 50% while removal of the endothelium did not affect the anti-contractile effect. Using Vivaspin filters, we separated and isolated the visceral adventitia-derived relaxing factor. We suggest that visceral perivascular adipose tissue controls mesenteric arterial tone locally. It induces vasorelaxation by activating delayed-rectifier K channels in vascular smooth muscle cells.