cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The case against urban desegregation

■ Although efforts at integration have produced significant gains in some areas, they have worked against the interests of urban Negro poor in housing and education. The authors discuss various approaches to housing and education desegregation that have been ineffective as well as measures that, In effect, have worsened ghetto conditions. The need is stressed for an improvement in ghetto conditions and the development of separatist institutions that can be the bases for developing political power and ethnic identity and advancing the specific interests of the Negro poor in our society. ■
Phase transition in multimode nonlinear parity-time-symmetric waveguide couplers

Parity-time-symmetric (-symmetric) optical waveguide couplers offer new possibilities for fast, ultracompact, configurable, all-optical signal processing. Here, we study nonlinear properties of finite-size multimode -symmetric couplers and predict the nonlinear oscillatory dynamics that can be controlled by three parameters: input light intensity, gain and loss amplitude, and input beam profile. Moreover, we show that this dynamics is driven by a transition triggered by nonlinearity in these structures, and we demonstrate that with the increase of the number of dimers in the system, the transition threshold decreases and converges to the value corresponding to an infinite array. Finally, we present a variety of periodic intensity patterns that can be formed in these couplers depending on the initial excitation.
Still the Great Debate – “Fair Balance” in Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising; Comment on “Trouble Spots in Online Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Promotion: A Content Analysis of FDA Warning Letters”

The above titled paper examined the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) warning letters and notice of violations (NOV) over a 10-year period. Findings from this content analysis reinforced what has been the primary issue for prescription direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) since its beginning, the fair balance of risk and benefit information. As opposed to another analysis in 2026 about this still being an issue, is there anything that can be done to prevent this problem from continuing?
Super-ion inspired colorful hybrid perovskite solar cells

Clean and sustainable energy is one of the greatest challenges of this century. Of the several renewable energy sources that can address this challenge, nothing has greater potential than solar energy. However, to harness the solar power and to ensure its world-wide uptake, efficient, cheap, environmentally benign, and durable solar cells are essential. The unprecedented enhancement in the power conversion efficiency of hybrid perovskite solar cells from 3.9% in 2009 to over 20% today shows their great promise to meet the above challenges, provided issues with their stability and environmental impact can be addressed. Despite considerable research in the past five years, answers to some fundamental questions as well as an atomic level understanding of these materials remain a challenge. Using multi-scale approach and a comprehensive study of over 40 materials, we have identified the key parameters and mechanisms that control the basic properties and the stability of hybrid perovskites. We show that these materials can be viewed as super alkali halide crystals where alkali and halogen ions are respectively replaced by super-alkali and super-halogen species. This opens the path to a new series of hybrid perovskites based on super-ions as building blocks with improved stability and functionality.
Grafted-marrow-rejection mortality contrasted to homologous disease in irradiated mice receiving homologous bone marrow.

ABS>Bone marrow from the BALB/c and CBA inbred strains of mice and the (BALB/c x CBA)F/sub 1/ hybrid strain was injected isologously and in various homologous combinations into CBA and (BALB/c x CBA)F/sub 1/ hybrid mice irradiated with 330 r, 550 r, or 770/r. At the sublethal dose of 330 r, no mortality resulted from any combination of marrow donor and recipient. At the higher doses, two types of mortality were observed in mice receiving bone marrow. Early mortality resulted 5 to 21 days after the ordinarily high sublethal dose of 550 r and delayed mortality resulted 21 to 60 days following good, early protection against the otherwise lethal dose of 770 r. Neither type of mortality occurred after administration of isologous marrow, but both types occurred after administration of marrow from an unrelated homologous strain. When F/sub 1/ marrow was transferred into the parental strain only early mortality was observed. When parental marrow was transferred into the F/sub 1/ hybrid only delayed mortality was observed. From these observations and other considerations it is concluded that the early mortality, resulting from administration of homologous or heterologous marrow into mice irradiated in the high sublethal or midlethal dose range, is themore » result of the recovered ability of the host to reject the temporarily grafted marrow, whereas the delayed mortality, following good, early protection against otherwise lethal doses of irradiation with homologous or heterologous marrow, usually results from an immunologic reaction of the grafted marrow derivatives against the tolerant host. The former type of mortality was designated grafted-marrow-rejection mortality; the latter, homologous disease or heterologous disease. (auth)« less
EVIDENCE FOR A DISTANT GIANT PLANET IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Recent analyses have shown that distant orbits within the scattered disk population of the Kuiper Belt exhibit an unexpected clustering in their respective arguments of perihelion. While several hypotheses have been put forward to explain this alignment, to date, a theoretical model that can successfully account for the observations remains elusive. In this work we show that the orbits of distant Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) cluster not only in argument of perihelion, but also in physical space. We demonstrate that the perihelion positions and orbital planes of the objects are tightly confined and that such a clustering has only a probability of 0.007% to be due to chance, thus requiring a dynamical origin. We find that the observed orbital alignment can be maintained by a distant eccentric planet with mass ≳ 10 m_⊕ whose orbit lies in approximately the same plane as those of the distant KBOs, but whose perihelion is 180° away from the perihelia of the minor bodies. In addition to accounting for the observed orbital alignment, the existence of such a planet naturally explains the presence of high-perihelion Sedna-like objects, as well as the known collection of high semimajor axis objects with inclinations between 60° and 150° whose origin was previously unclear. Continued analysis of both distant and highly inclined outer solar system objects provides the opportunity for testing our hypothesis as well as further constraining the orbital elements and mass of the distant planet.
Modules for Yokonuma-type Hecke algebras

This paper describes the module categories for a family of generic Hecke algebras, called Yokonuma-type Hecke algebras. Yokonuma-type Hecke algebras specialize both to the group algebras of the complex reflection groups G(r,1,n) and to the convolution algebras of (B\(^{\prime }\),B\(^{\prime }\))-double cosets in the group algebras of finite general linear groups, for certain subgroups B\(^{\prime }\) consisting of upper triangular matrices. In particular, complete sets of inequivalent, irreducible modules for semisimple specializations of Yokonuma-type Hecke algebras are constructed.
Single-shot measurement of the complete temporal intensity and phase of supercontinuum

We solve the problem of single-shot complete temporal measurement of continuum using cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating, achieving the necessary large spectral range using a polarization-gating geometry and the necessary large temporal range by significantly tilting the reference pulse. In addition, we simultaneously cancel the previously unavoidable longitudinal geometrical temporal smearing by using a carefully chosen combination of pulse tilt and beam-crossing angle, thus simultaneously achieving the required temporal resolution. The result is that we are able to make a complete measurement of an individual complex continuum pulse generated in photonic-crystal fiber. By enabling measurement of single optical rogue waves, this technique could provide insight and perhaps even lead to the prediction of when mathematically similar, destructive, oceanic rogue waves may occur.
Experimental Analysis of Algorithms for Coflow Scheduling

Modern data centers face new scheduling challenges in optimizing job-level performance objectives, where a significant challenge is the scheduling of highly parallel data flows with a common performance goal e.g., the shuffle operations in MapReduce applications. Chowdhury and Stoica [6] introduced the coflow abstraction to capture these parallel communication patterns, and Chowdhury et al. [8] proposed effective heuristics to schedule coflows efficiently. In our previous paper [18], we considered the strongly NP-hard problem of minimizing the total weighted completion time of coflows with release dates, and developed the first polynomial-time scheduling algorithms with O1-approximation ratios. In this paper, we carry out a comprehensive experimental analysis on a Facebook trace and extensive simulated instances to evaluate the practical performance of several algorithms for coflow scheduling, including our approximation algorithms developed in [18]. Our experiments suggest that simple algorithms provide effective approximations of the optimal, and that the performance of the approximation algorithm of [18] is relatively robust, near optimal, and always among the best compared with the other algorithms, in both the offline and online settings.
Compartmentalization of prostaglandin synthesis within the fish ovary

Numerous studies have shown that the follicle walls surrounding mature vertebrate oocytes are capable of producing primary prostaglandins. However, very few studies have looked at the prostaglandin synthetic potential of other ovarian tissue components. In brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and goldfish (Carassius auratus), mature follicle walls can produce prostaglandins E and F (PGE and PGF, respectively); however, it is apparent that several other tissues within the fish ovary also produce specific primary PGs. Incubation of stroma or connective tissue from brook trout and goldfish ovaries with [14C]-arachidonic acid resulted in a very significant production of PGE2, whereas small immature oocytes of both species produced primarily PGF2 alpha. While the function of the primary prostaglandins produced by tissues external to the mature oocytes is unknown, it is important to recognize that multiple sites for prostaglandin synthesis are present within the fish ovary.
Locally Epistatic Models for Genome-wide Prediction and Association by Importance Sampling

In statistical genetics an important task involves building predictive models for the genotype-phenotype relationships and thus attribute a proportion of the total phenotypic variance to the variation in genotypes. Numerous models have been proposed to incorporate additive genetic effects into models for prediction or association. However, there is a scarcity of models that can adequately account for gene by gene or other forms of genetical interactions. In addition, there is an increased interest in using marker annotations in genome-wide prediction and association. In this paper, we discuss an hybrid modeling methodology which combines the parametric mixed modeling approach and the non-parametric rule ensembles. This approach gives us a flexible class of models that can be used to capture additive, locally epistatic genetic effects, gene x background interactions and allows us to incorporate one or more annotations into the genomic selection or association models. We use benchmark data sets covering a range of organisms and traits in addition to simulated data sets to illustrate the strengths of this approach. The improvement of model accuracies and association results suggest that a part of the "missing heritability" in complex traits can be captured by modeling local epistasis.
Predictive factors for the presence of malignant transformation of pelvic endometriosis

Abstract Objectives To determine predictive factors for the presence of malignant transformation in ovarian endometriotic cysts. Study design This was an IRB approved, case control study analyzing patient data from 2004 to 2013. Pathology database records were searched to identify patients with benign endometrioma and ovarian carcinoma arising in the background of endometriosis. Inclusion criteria required each patient to have a preoperative diagnosis of adnexal mass and no other findings concerning for malignancy. Patient clinical records were queried for preoperative symptoms, serum CA125 levels and radiologic findings. Pathologic data were collected including histology, tumor grade and stage. Results A total of 138 patients met inclusion criteria; 42 women with ovarian cancer arising in the background of endometriosis and 96 women with benign endometrioma. Women diagnosed with ovarian cancer were significantly older than women with endometriosis (53.6 vs. 39.2 years). There was no difference in presence of symptoms between the two groups. Women with malignant tumors were found to have significantly larger cysts (14cm vs. 7.5cm; p p p p =0.02). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that for every 5 years increase in age there was an adjusted OR of 2.17 ( p =0.003). An age of 49 years or greater had an 80.6% sensitivity (95% CI: 62.5–92.5%) and an 82.9% specificity (95% CI: 67.9–92.8%) for malignancy, and solid component on imaging had an adjusted OR of 23.7 ( p p =0.1). Conclusions Significant predictors for malignant transformation of endometriosis include cyst characteristics and age. Women above the age of 49 with multilocular cysts and solid components are at high risk for malignant transformation of endometriosis. Serum CA125 level is not a significant predictor of malignant transformation.
Explorations of conical intersections and their ramifications for chemistry through the Jahn–Teller effect

Much recent progress has been made theoretically and computationally towards understanding the importance of conical intersections for chemical reactions. Nonetheless, experimental characterization of conical intersections has proven extremely difficult with one striking exception: the Jahn–Teller conical intersection. This article overviews the fundamental similarity of a variety of conical intersections and demonstrates how the spectroscopy of Jahn–Teller active molecules can be used to characterize them. Specific results are reviewed for four representative Jahn–Teller active molecules, C5H5, C6H6+, Ag3 and CH3O.
Declining Rate Filtration

Declining rate filtration is one of several flow control alternatives available for gravity filtration plants with four or more filters. Experimental and theoretical studies of declining rate filtration have provided the foundation for rational design procedures. This paper presents design procedures for estimating the filter system head needed for a declining rate filtration plant, and to predict the water level variations that will occur during operation. The paper also discusses the choice between inlet versus outlet rate limitation, the choice of type of rate limitation device, and the impact of operation of a declining rate filtration plant below full design load.
Enantioselective, Nickel-Catalyzed Suzuki Cross-Coupling of Quinolinium Ions

Quinolinium ions are engaged in an asymmetric, Ni-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling to yield 2-aryl- and 2-heteroaryl-1,2-dihydroquinolines. Key to the development of this method is the use of a Ni(II) precatalyst that activates without the need for strong reductants or high temperatures. The Ni–iminium activation mode is demonstrated as an exceptionally mild pathway to generate enantioenriched products from racemic starting materials.
The Economics of Structured Finance

Structured finance entails collateral-backed securitization of portfolios of financial instruments. The instruments used as collateral can range from prosaic products like automobile loans and first mortgages to unusual products like time share loans and delinquent consumer loans. The economic aspects of structuring a transaction in terms of trusts and contracts are discussed in this article. An example using a manufactured housing loan portfolio sold by the RTC demonstrates how to analyze, underwrite, stratify, and value a portfolio of this collateral so that it can be structured for almost immediate resale to institutional investors.
Remodeling of fumagillol: discovery of an oxygen-directed oxidative Mannich reaction

An efficient, two-step construction of highly complex alkaloid-like compounds from the natural product fumagillol is described. This approach, which mimics a biosynthetic cyclase/oxidase sequence, allows for rapid and efficient structure elaboration of the basic fumagillol scaffold with a variety of readily available coupling partners. Mechanistic experiments leading to the discovery of an oxygen-directed oxidative Mannich reaction are also described.
Inside the black box of the corporate staff: Social networks and the implementation of corporate strategy

In multidivisional firms, the corporate staff is central to the implementation of corporate-level strategy, but empirical evidence on its function is limited. We examine one corporate staff through e-mail analysis. We find sharp cross-sectional differences in communication patterns: staff members have networks that are larger, more integrative, and richer in structural holes. However, much of this difference is attributed to sorting processes, rather than being caused by employment in the corporate staff per se. Further, once people receive the ‘corporate imprimatur,’ they retain aspects of it even when they move back to the line organization. These results imply that the literature's emphasis on structure as a means to achieve coordination undervalues a selection process in which individuals with broad networks match to coordination-focused jobs in the corporate staff. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Radical O→C transposition: a metal-free process for conversion of phenols into benzoates and benzamides.

We report a metal-free procedure for transformation of phenols into esters and amides of benzoic acids via a new radical cascade. Diaryl thiocarbonates and thiocarbamates, available in a single high-yielding step from phenols, selectively add silyl radicals at the sulfur atom of the C═S moiety. This addition step, analogous to the first step of the Barton−McCombie reaction, produces a carbon radical which undergoes 1,2 O→C transposition through an O-neophyl rearrangement. The usually unfavorable equilibrium in the reversible rearrangement step is shifted forward via a highly exothermic C−S bond scission in the O-centered radical, which furnishes the final benzoic ester or benzamide product. The metal-free preparation of benzoic acid derivatives from phenols provides a potentially useful alternative to metal-catalyzed carbonylation of aryl triflates.
Reverse micelles as a platform for dynamic nuclear polarization in solution NMR of proteins.

Despite tremendous advances in recent years, solution NMR remains fundamentally restricted due to its inherent insensitivity. Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) potentially offers significant improvements in this respect. The basic DNP strategy is to irradiate the EPR transitions of a stable radical and transfer this nonequilibrium polarization to the hydrogen spins of water, which will in turn transfer polarization to the hydrogens of the macromolecule. Unfortunately, these EPR transitions lie in the microwave range of the electromagnetic spectrum where bulk water absorbs strongly, often resulting in catastrophic heating. Furthermore, the residence times of water on the surface of the protein in bulk solution are generally too short for efficient transfer of polarization. Here we take advantage of the properties of solutions of encapsulated proteins dissolved in low viscosity solvents to implement DNP in liquids. Such samples are largely transparent to the microwave frequencies required and thereby avoid significant heating. Nitroxide radicals are introduced into the reverse micelle system in three ways: attached to the protein, embedded in the reverse micelle shell, and free in the aqueous core. Significant enhancements of the water resonance ranging up to ∼−93 at 0.35 T were observed. We also find that the hydration properties of encapsulated proteins allow for efficient polarization transfer from water to the protein. These and other observations suggest that merging reverse micelle encapsulation technology with DNP offers a route to a significant increase in the sensitivity of solution NMR spectroscopy of proteins and other biomolecules.
Ab initio modeling of zincblende AlN layer in Al-AlN-TiN multilayers

An unusual growth mechanism of metastable zincblende AlN thin film by diffusion of nitrogen atoms into Al lattice is established. Using first-principles density functional theory, we studied the possibility of thermodynamic stability of AlN as a zincblende phase due to epitaxial strains and interface effect, which fails to explain the formation of zincblende AlN. We then compared the formation energetics of rocksalt and zincblende AlN in fcc Al through direct diffusion of nitrogen atoms to Al octahedral and tetrahedral interstitials. The formation of a zincblende AlN thin film is determined to be a kinetically driven process, not a thermodynamically driven process.
Sideband Cooling Micromechanical Motion to the Quantum Ground State

Accessing the full quantum nature of a macroscopic mechanical oscillator first requires elimination of its classical, thermal motion. The flourishing field of cavity optomechanics provides a nearly ideal architecture for both preparation and detection of mechanical motion at the quantum level. We realize a microwave cavity optomechanical system by coupling the motion of an aluminum membrane to the resonance frequency of a superconducting circuit [1]. By exciting the microwave circuit below its resonance frequency, we damp and cool the membrane motion with radiation pressure forces, analogous to laser cooling of the motion of trapped ions. The microwave excitation serves not only to cool, but also to monitor the displacement of the membrane. A nearly shot-noise limited, Josephson parametric amplifier is used to detect the mechanical sidebands of this microwave excitation and quantify the thermal motion as it is cooled with radiation pressure forces to its quantum ground state [2].
Accurate Parallel Floating-Point Accumulation

Using parallel associative reduction, iterative refinement, and conservative early termination detection, we show how to use tree-reduce parallelism to compute correctly rounded floating-point sums in $O(\log N)$ depth. Our parallel solution shows how we can continue to exploit the scaling in transistor count to accelerate floating-point performance even when clock rates remain flat. Empirical evidence suggests our iterative algorithm only requires two tree-reduce passes to converge to the accurate sum in virtually all cases. Furthermore, we develop the hardware implementation of two residue-preserving IEEE-754 double-precision floating-point adders on a Virtex 6 FPGA that run at the same 250 MHz pipeline speed as a standard adder. One adder creates the residue by truncation, requires only 22 percent more area than the standard adder, and allows us to support directed-rounding modes and to lower the cost of round-to-nearest modes. The second adder creates the residue while directly producing a round-to-nearest sum at 48 percent more area than a standard adder.
Hemodynamic Effects of Middle Cerebral Artery Stenosis and Occlusion

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis and occlusion may cause ischemic symptoms through both hemodynamic and embolic mechanisms. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the hemodynamic effects of these lesions. METHODS Ten patients with angiographically confirmed symptomatic occlusion (n = 5) or stenosis (n = 5) of the M1 segment of the MCA were studied by clinical examination, arteriography, and positron emission tomography (PET). Arterial supply to the distal MCA territory was classified from a review of the angiogram as being through the stenosis or from pial collaterals from anterior or posterior cerebral arteries. Regional measurements of cerebral blood flow, cerebral blood volume, cerebral rate of oxygen metabolism, oxygen extraction fraction, and ratio of cerebral blood volume/cerebral blood flow (mean vascular transit time, MTT) were obtained using PET. Hemodynamic status was categorized from PET scans as stage 0, normal hemodynamics; stage 1, autoregulatory vasodilatation (increased MTT); or stage 2, increased oxygen extraction fraction. RESULTS Of five patients with MCA occlusion, three had autoregulatory vasodilatation (stage 1) and two had increased oxygen extraction fraction distal to the lesion (stage 2). The MCA territory was supplied solely by pial collaterals in all five patients. Four of the five patients with focal MCA stenosis had normal hemodynamics (stage 0). One patient had stage 1 hemodynamic status. Blood flow to the MCA territory was through the stenosis in all patients; no pial collaterals were identified. CONCLUSION The frequency of hemodynamic compromise in patients with MCA occlusion is high. Pial collateralization is not a specific sign of increased oxygen extraction fraction in patients with MCA occlusion.
Health Information and Health Literacy: Public Library Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities

ABSTRACTThis study investigated 18 libraries in two public library systems in Oklahoma to find out how they are addressing health literacy and facilitating access to consumer health information; how library staff members view their roles and responsibilities relative to health information and health literacy; what challenges libraries face; and what strategies are being used. Staff members recognized several challenges to providing health information and to developing programs, including staff and patron difficulties with reference interviews, and patron lack of awareness of library resources. Staff members often had only a partial understanding of health literacy, and were unaware of system strategies to address health literacy or provision of health information.
PRE-OPERATIVE DOPPLERS ARE USELESS IN PREVENTION OF DEEP VENOUS THROMBOSIS OR PULMONARY EMBOLISM

Background Post-operative deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and subsequent pulmonary embolism (PE) remain a serious complication after total joint replacement. Although with modern chemical and mechanical prophylaxis and rapid rehabilitation the rate of symptomatic DVT and PE has reduced, isolation of pre-operative DVT, specially in patients with prior history of DVT remains a challenge. The aim of this study was to assess the use of pre-operative dopplers as a tool to detect and identify prior DVT in patients undergoing total joint replacement. Methods Between January 2014 and December 2014, 211 elective primary and revision hip and knee arthroplasty were identified from our prospective institutional database. All cases were performed by two adult reconstruction specialists. All primary total hip arthroplasties (THA) were non-cemented and all primary total knee arthroplasties (TKA) were cemented with similar implant and technique. Prior to July 2014, only patients with prior history of DVT or PE underwent pre-operative dopplers. From July 2014, all cases underwent routine pre-operative doppler screening. All patients with clinical symptoms of calf pain underwent post-operative dopplers. Patients were followed for a minimum of 3 month post-operatively. All emergency room (ER) visits for role out DVT were identified. No patient was lost to follow. Results 115 patients patient underwent pre-operative dopplers. Three patients had a history of prior popliteal DVT, none of which had post-operative DVT or PE. In the remaining 112 patients, none of the pre-operative dopplers were positive for DVT. 34 patients in this group (29%) underwent post-operative dopplers, either during the hospital stay or in the ER within 3 month after index surgery. Only one patient developed symptomatic PE (0.8%) after total knee arthroplasty. 96 patients did not have pre-operative dopplers, 3 of which (3%) had symptomatic DVT and PE during hospital stay, all after total knee arthroplasty. There was no statistical difference for rate of symptomatic DVT/PE between the two groups (p=0.3). There was no correlation between DVT and obesity, age, or revision versus primary cases. Discussion and Conclusions Routine pre-operative dopplers do not significantly lower rate of symptomatic DVT/PE and are not helpful in early detection and prevention in asymptomatic patients prior to routine total joint replacement.
High throughput synthesis of uniform biocompatible polymer beads with high quantum dot loading using microfluidic jet-mode breakup.

Uniform polymer microbeads with highly loaded quantum dots (QDs) are produced using high-throughput coherent jet breakup of a biocompatible poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) prepolymer resin...
Perfusion of the isolated canine stomach

Summary Apparatus and methods suitable for the perfusion of the isolated canine stomach are described. Approximately 35 per cent of the perfused organs will secrete acid and pepsin for periods ranging from 1 to 6 1/2 hours. Edema and mucosal hemorrhages are the main pathologic manifestations of the isolated organ during the perfusion. Current problems and possible solutions are discussed.
Dual-band optical coherence tomography using a single supercontinuum laser source

We developed a simultaneous visible-light (Vis) and near-infrared (NIR) dual-band optical coherence tomography (OCT) system using a single supercontinuum laser source. The goal was to benchmark our newly developed Vis-OCT against the well-developed NIR-OCT. The Vis-OCT subsystem operated at 91 nm full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) bandwidth centered at 566 nm; the NIR-OCT subsystem operated at 93 nm FWHM bandwidth centered at 841 nm. The axial resolutions were 1.8 and 4.4 μm in air for the Vis- and NIR-OCT subsystems, respectively. We compared the respective performances, including anatomical imaging, angiography, absolute retinal blood flow measurements, and spectroscopic analysis for retinal blood oxygen saturation (sO2), between the two subsystems in rodents in vivo. While demonstrating minor discrepancies related to operation wavelengths, both subsystems showed comparable performances in the first three tests. However, we were only able to retrieve sO2 using the Vis-OCT subsystem.
Rediscovering Partisanship as the Long Term Force in the Vote Decision

While partisanship is commonly conceived as the long term force in the voting decision, most models of voter choice include contemporaneous measures of partisanship, as well as issue preferences and retrospective evaluations as explanatory variables. In this paper, I use four multiyear panel studies spanning half a century to examine how well prior partisanship predicts future vote. Prior partisanship is strongly correlated with later vote choice, but that relationship is weaker during periods of party change, for younger voters and those who do not see differences between the parties, and in the face of strong short term forces. Despite evidence of the endogeneity of partisanship, we should also not lose sight of its long-term value as a predictor of vote choice.
Technology strategies for low-carbon economic growth : a general equilibrium assessment

This paper investigates the potential for developing countries to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions without slowing their expected economic growth. A theoretical frame- work is developed that unifies bottom-up marginal abatement cost curves and partial equilibrium techno-economic simulation modeling with computational general equilibrium (CGE) modeling. The framework is then applied to engineering assessments of energy efficiency technology deployments in Armenia and Georgia. The results facilitate incorporation of bottom-up technology detail on energy-efficiency improvements into a CGE simulation of the economy-wide economic costs and mitigation benefits of technology deployment policies. Low-carbon growth trajectories are feasible in both countries, enabling reductions of up to 4 percent of baseline emissions while generating slight increases in GDP (1 percent in Armenia and 0.2 percent in Georgia). The results demonstrate how MAC curves can paint a misleading picture of the true potential for both abatement and economic growth when technological improvements operate within a system of general equilibrium interactions, but also highlight how using their underlying data to identify technology options with high opportunity cost elasticities of productivity improvement can lead to more accurate assessments of the macroeconomic consequences of technology strategies for low-carbon growth.
Reconstructing Historical VOC Concentrations in Drinking Water for Epidemiological Studies at a U.S. Military Base: Summary of Results.

A U.S. government health agency conducted epidemiological studies to evaluate whether exposures to drinking water contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOC) at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, were associated with increased health risks to children and adults. These health studies required knowledge of contaminant concentrations in drinking water—at monthly intervals—delivered to family housing, barracks, and other facilities within the study area. Because concentration data were limited or unavailable during much of the period of contamination (1950s–1985), the historical reconstruction process was used to quantify estimates of monthly mean contaminant-specific concentrations. This paper integrates many efforts, reports, and papers into a synthesis of the overall approach to, and results from, a drinking-water historical reconstruction study. Results show that at the Tarawa Terrace water treatment plant (WTP) reconstructed (simulated) tetrachloroethylene (PCE) concentrations reached a maximum monthly average value of 183 micrograms per liter (μg/L) compared to a one-time maximum measured value of 215 μg/L and exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s current maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 5 μg/L during the period November 1957–February 1987. At the Hadnot Point WTP, reconstructed trichloroethylene (TCE) concentrations reached a maximum monthly average value of 783 μg/L compared to a one-time maximum measured value of 1400 μg/L during the period August 1953–December 1984. The Hadnot Point WTP also provided contaminated drinking water to the Holcomb Boulevard housing area continuously prior to June 1972, when the Holcomb Boulevard WTP came on line (maximum reconstructed TCE concentration of 32 μg/L) and intermittently during the period June 1972–February 1985 (maximum reconstructed TCE concentration of 66 μg/L). Applying the historical reconstruction process to quantify contaminant-specific monthly drinking-water concentrations is advantageous for epidemiological studies when compared to using the classical exposed versus unexposed approach.
Decomposability and time consistency of risk averse multistage programs

Two approaches to time consistency of risk averse multistage stochastic problems were discussed in the recent literature. In one approach certain properties of the corresponding risk measure are postulated which imply its decomposability. The other approach deals directly with conditional optimality of solutions of the considered problem. The aim of this paper is to discuss a relation between these two approaches.
Three-Nucleon Bound States and the Wigner-SU(4) Limit

We examine the extent to which the properties of three-nucleon bound states are well-reproduced in the limit that nuclear forces satisfy Wigner’s SU(4) (spin–isospin) symmetry. To do this we compute the charge radii up to next-to-leading order (NLO) in an effective field theory that is an expansion in powers of R/a, with R the range of the nuclear force and a the nucleon–nucleon (\(N\!N\)) scattering lengths. In the Wigner-SU(4) limit, the triton and helium-3 point charge radii are equal. At NLO in the range expansion both are 1.66 fm. Adding the first-order corrections due to the breaking of Wigner symmetry in the \(N\!N\) scattering lengths gives a \({}^3\mathrm {H}\) point charge radius of 1.58 fm, which is remarkably close to the experimental number, \(1.5978\pm 0.040\) fm (Angeli and Marinova in At Data Nucl Data Tables 99:69–95, 2013). For the \({}^3\mathrm {He}\) point charge radius we find 1.70 fm, about 4% away from the experimental value of \(1.77527\pm 0.0054\) fm (Angeli and Marinova 2013). We also examine the Faddeev components that enter the tri-nucleon wave function and find that an expansion of them in powers of the symmetry-breaking parameter converges rapidly. Wigner’s SU(4) symmetry is thus a useful starting point for understanding tri-nucleon bound-state properties.
Negative stiffness and modulated states in active nematics

We examine the dynamics of an active nematic liquid crystal on a frictional substrate. When frictional damping dominates over viscous dissipation, we eliminate flow in favor of active stresses to obtain a minimal dynamical model for the nematic order parameter, with elastic constants renormalized by activity. The renormalized elastic constants can become negative at large activity, leading to the selection of spatially inhomogeneous patterns via a mechanism analogous to that responsible for modulated phases arising at an equilibrium Lifshitz point. Tuning activity and the degree of nematic order in the passive system, we obtain a linear stability phase diagram that exhibits a nonequilibrium tricritical point where ordered, modulated and disordered phases meet. Numerical solution of the nonlinear equations yields a succession of spatial structures of increasing complexity with increasing activity, including kink walls and active turbulence, as observed in experiments on microtubule bundles confined at an oil–water interface. Our work provides a minimal model for an overdamped active nematic that reproduces all the nonequilibrium structures seen in simulations of the full active nematic hydrodynamics and provides a framework for understanding some of the mechanisms for selection of the nonequilibrium patterns in the language of equilibrium critical phenomena.
Risk Diversification and International Trade

Firms face considerable uncertainty about consumers' demand. In presence of incomplete financial markets, entrepreneurs may not be able to insure against unexpected demand fluctuations. The key insight of my paper is that firms can hedge demand risk through geographical diversification. I first develop a general equilibrium trade model characterized by stochastic demand and risk-averse entrepreneurs, who exploit the imperfect correlation of demand across countries to lower the variance of their total sales. I show that: i) a firm's exporting decision does not obey a hierarchical structure as in standard models with fixed costs, because it depends on the global diversification strategy of the firm, and ii) the intensity of trade flows to a market are affected by its risk-return profile. To quantify the risk diversification benefits of international trade I calibrate the model with the Method of Moments, using Portuguese firm-level data. One of the counterfactual exercises reveals that the welfare gains from trade can be significantly higher than the gains predicted by models neglecting firm level risk. After a trade liberalization, risk-averse firms boost exports to countries offering better diversification benefits. Hence, in these markets competition among firms is stronger, lowering the price level more and raising welfare gains.
Does Manufacturer Advertising Crowd‐in or Crowd‐out Retailer Advertising? An Application of an Endogenous Prize Contest with Asymmetric Players

When a manufacturer advertises, what is the impact on retailer advertising? I analyze a contest model of advertising where total advertising by the manufacturer and by retailers determines market size, and the relative level of advertising by each retailer determines market share. If retailers are symmetric I show that there is a crowding-in effect so increased manufacturer advertising increases retail advertising. But if one retailer is stronger, then marginal increases in manufacturer advertising have a crowding-out effect on retailer advertising, while sufficiently large increases have a crowding-in effect by “jump-starting” competition between retailers for the larger market. Furthermore, asymmetric abilities in such contests can lead the weaker player to effectively drop out of the contest, thereby undermining the ability of increased prizes to increase effort by intensifying competition.
Lasing on the third harmonic

Abstract The Los Alamos free-electron laser has recently lased near 4 μm on the third harmonic of the fundamental frequency of about 12 μm. By a choice of intercavity apertures and cavity length, lasing can be forced to occur on both frequencies simultaneously or on either one alone.
The impact of water access on short‐term migration in rural India

Migration is an important risk‐reduction strategy for households in developing countries. In this paper, we examine the impact of rainfall variability and irrigation availability on short‐term migration decisions in India. Our results show that both rainfall shocks and the availability of irrigation impact the decisions of households to dispatch migrants. For irrigation, we find that migration responds to costs and that deep fossil‐water wells, which provide a constant source of water, eliminate any benefit of short‐term migration. This suggests that regions with access to more secure and stable sources of water are less likely to rely on migration as an income‐smoothing mechanism, at least in the short run. Whether this holds in the long run will depend on the continued stability and availability of irrigation water.
Solvability, Structure, and Analysis for Minimal Parabolic Subgroups

We examine the structure of the Levi component MA in a minimal parabolic subgroup $$P = MAN$$ of a real reductive Lie group G and work out the cases where M is metabelian, equivalently where $$\mathfrak {p}$$ is solvable. When G is a linear group we verify that $$\mathfrak {p}$$ is solvable if and only if M is commutative. In the general case M is abelian modulo the center $$Z_G$$ , we indicate the exact structure of M and P, and we work out the precise Plancherel Theorem and Fourier Inversion Formulae. This lays the groundwork for comparing tempered representations of G with those induced from generic representations of P.
Using inspiration from synaptic plasticity rules to optimize traffic flow in distributed engineered networks

Controlling the flow and routing of data is a fundamental problem in many distributed networks, including transportation systems, integrated circuits, and the Internet. In the brain, synaptic plasticity rules have been discovered that regulate network activity in response to environmental inputs, which enable circuits to be stable yet flexible. Here, we develop a new neuro-inspired model for network flow control that depends only on modifying edge weights in an activity-dependent manner. We show how two fundamental plasticity rules, long-term potentiation and long-term depression, can be cast as a distributed gradient descent algorithm for regulating traffic flow in engineered networks. We then characterize, both by simulation and analytically, how different forms of edge-weight-update rules affect network routing efficiency and robustness. We find a close correspondence between certain classes of synaptic weight update rules derived experimentally in the brain and rules commonly used in engineering, suggesting common principles to both.
Hydraulics of Southwest Pass, Mississippi River

This paper summarizes and generalizes the results of an extensive data collection program at Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River. Various theories of shoaling in highly stratified estuaries are...
Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Reverse Proapoptotic Effects of JAK2 Inhibitor Atiprimod in Cells Carrying the JAK2V617F mutation

Janus kinases (JAK) comprise a small family of cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinases, which play an important role in the initiation of cytokine-triggered signaling events via signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins. The recent reports of an activating somatic mutation in codon 617 of the JAK2 gene ( JAK2 V617F mutation) in patients with myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs), has opened new avenues for the development of targeted therapies for these malignancies and clinical trials with JAK2 inhibitors are underway. We report here the activity of Atiprimod (N,N-diethyl-8-dipropyl-2-azaspiro[4,5]decane-2-propanamine), a novel compound with anti-inflammatory properties, in retrovirus-transduced JAK2 V617F mutant-expressing murine FDCP-EpoR cells, set-2 cells, and blood cells from patients with polycythemia vera (PV). We compared the growth inhibitory effect of Atiprimod against two mouse FDCP cell lines transfected with erythropoietin receptor (Epo-R), and either wild-type JAK2 WT or mutant JAK2 V617F , and human megakaryoblastic leukemia cells with mutated JAK2 V617F (set-2 cells). The growth inhibitory effect was assessed using 3-days MTS assay. Atiprimod was more potent against FDCP cells carrying mutant JAK2 V617F cells (IC50 0.42 μM) and set-2 cells (IC50 0.53 μM) than FDCP wildtype JAK2 WT cells (IC50 0.69 μM). Atiprimod inhibited the phosphorylation of JAK2 and downstream STAT3, STAT5, and AKT proteins in a dose- and time-dependent manner. It induced apoptosis, as evidenced by increase in mitochondrial membrane potential, caspase3 activity, and cleavage of PARP protein. The anti-proliferative effect on expanded PV patient progenitor’s cells was paralleled by a decrease in JAK2 V617F mutant allele frequency in BFU-E or CFU-GM clones in clonogenic assay. However, co-culturing of JAK2 V617F mutant cells with three different bone marrow stromal cell lines (Hs5, ABM-MSC, NK-Tert) either directly (cell on cell) or indirectly (separated by 0.4 μm micropore membranes) for 48 hours resulted in a significant protection of mutant cells from the effect of Atiprimod. Co-culturing of bone marrow stromal cells prevented Atiprimod (0.4 and 0.8 μM) induced apoptosis, and reversed the inhibition of phosphorylation of STAT proteins. Our results suggest that cytokines secreted by stromal cells might play an important role in protecting the hematopoietic cells from a JAK2 inhibitor. Further dissection of the nature of interactions between JAK2 V617F mutant cells and marrow stromal cells may lead to new therapeutic avenues for patients with MPD.
ESTIMATES AND COMPUTATIONS FOR MELTING AND SOLIDIFICATION PROBLEMS

In this paper we focus on melting and solidification processes described by phase-field models and obtain rigorous estimates for such processes. These estimates are derived in Section 2 and guarantee the convergence of solutions to non-constant equilibrium patterns. The most basic results conclude with the inequality (2.31). The estimates in the remainder of Section 2 illustrate what obtains if the initial data is progressively more regular and may be omitted on first reading. We also present some interesting numerical simulations which demonstrate the equilibrium structures and the approach of the system to non-constant equilibrium patterns. The novel feature of these calculations is the linking of the small parameter in the system, {delta}, to the grid spacing, thereby producing solutions with approximate sharp interfaces. Similar ideas have been used by Caginalp and Sokolovsky [1]. A movie of these simulations may be found at http:www.math.cmu.edu/math/people/greenberg.html.