Canonical singularities of orders over surfaces

We classify the possible ramification data and etale local structure of orders over surfaces with canonical singularities.Comment: This contains major revisions, primarily to help introduce the reader to the minimal model program for orders on surface

Arsenic Exposure and School Participation in Cambodia

We exploit the exogenous variations of arsenic contamination across regions in Cambodia and apply two-period difference-in-differences (DID) to examine the impact of arsenic-contaminated groundwater on school participation among children aged 5-17. We find that conditional on the DID assumption, a standard deviation increase in the arsenic reduced the probability of having ever been enrolled for children aged 5-17 by approximately 0.017. The effects for girls are slightly larger than those for boys. Our results are robust to adding parental education, province fixed effects and zone trends. We also show that children of all specific age groups experienced the reduction in their probabilities of having ever been enrolled, while the children, who were between 12 and 17 years old, currently enrolled and active in the labor market, experienced more reduction in school enrollment relative to their peers, who were not active in the labor market

Computation of topside ionograms from N/h/ profiles

Computation of topside ionograms from electron concentration profile

The normal ranges of cardiovascular parameters measured using the ultrasonic cardiac output monitor

The ultrasonic cardiac output monitor (USCOM) is a noninvasive transcutaneous continuous wave Doppler method for assessing hemodynamics. There are no published reference ranges for normal values in adults (aged 18– 60 years) for this device. This study aimed to (1) measure cardiovascular indices using USCOM in healthy adults aged 18–60 years; (2) combine these data with those for healthy children (aged 0–12), adolescents (aged 12–18), and the elderly (aged over 60) from our previously published studies in order to present normal ranges for all ages, and (3) establish normal ranges of USCOM-derived variables according to both weight and age. This was a population- based cross-sectional observational study of healthy Chinese subjects aged 0.5–89 years in Hong Kong. USCOM scans were performed on all subjects, to produce measurements including stroke volume, cardiac output, and systemic vascular resistance. Data from previously published studies (children, adolescents, and the elderly) were included. Normal ranges were defined as lying between the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles. A total of 2218 subjects were studied (mean age = 16.4, range = 0.5–89; 52% male). From previous studies, 1197 children (aged 0–12, 55% male), 590 adolescents (aged 12–18, 49% male), and 77 elderly (aged 60–89, 55% male) were included. New data were collected from 354 adults aged 18–60 (47% male). Normal ranges are presented according to age and weight. We present comprehensive normal ranges for hemodynamic parameters obtained with USCOM in healthy subjects of all ages from infancy to the elderly

TLR ligand-induced podosome disassembly in dendritic cells is ADAM17 dependent

Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling induces a rapid reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in cultured mouse dendritic cells (DC), leading to enhanced antigen endocytosis and a concomitant loss of filamentous actin–rich podosomes. We show that as podosomes are lost, TLR signaling induces prominent focal contacts and a transient reduction in DC migratory capacity in vitro. We further show that podosomes in mouse DC are foci of pronounced gelatinase activity, dependent on the enzyme membrane type I matrix metalloprotease (MT1-MMP), and that DC transiently lose the ability to degrade the extracellular matrix after TLR signaling. Surprisingly, MMP inhibitors block TLR signaling–induced podosome disassembly, although stimulated endocytosis is unaffected, which demonstrates that the two phenomena are not obligatorily coupled. Podosome disassembly caused by TLR signaling occurs normally in DC lacking MT1-MMP, and instead requires the tumor necrosis factor α–converting enzyme ADAM17 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease 17), which demonstrates a novel role for this “sheddase” in regulating an actin-based structure

Low expression of chloride channel accessory 1 predicts a poor prognosis in colorectal cancer

© 2014 The Authors. Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Cancer Society. Funded by Friends of ANCHOR NHS Grampian Endowment Fund. Grant Number: 12/50Peer reviewe

The problem of globalization

There is a general consensus that the contemporary world is best under-stood through the prism of globalization. This view is shared by most social scientists, politicians, journalists, businesses, and indeed broad sectors of the general population. Opinions differ as to whether global-ization is a positive or a negative development, but there is general agreement that whatever is going on is either a symptom or a consequence of globalization. There are many good reasons for this view. The number of passengers on scheduled international flights has risen by a factor of six between 1975 and 2000. The number of international tourist arrivals rose by three and a half times during the same period. Much less happily, the number of internationally displaced refugees rose by around 50 percent in the 20 years before 2000. During the quarter of a century after 1975, the duration of international voice telephone calls rose by around 25 times. We could go on multiplying such striking figures i

dYdX: Liquidity Providers' Incentive Programme Review

Liquidity providers are currently incentivised to provide liquidity through the LP Incentives Programme on dYdX. Based on the various parameters - makerVolume, depths and spreads, they are rewarded accordingly based on their activities. Given the maturity of the BTC and ETH markets, alongside other altcoins which enjoy a consistent amount of liquidity, this paper aims to update the formula to encourage more active and efficient liquidity, improving the overall trading experience. In this research, I begin by providing a basic understanding of spread management, before introducing the methodology with the various metrics and conditions. This includes gathering orderbooks on a minute interval and reconstructing the depths based on historical trades to establish an upper bound. I end off by providing recommendations to update the maxSpread parameter and alternative mechanisms/solutions to improve the existing market structures

Early exclusion of major adverse cardiac events in emergency department chest pain patients: A prospective observational study

Background The current evaluation of patients with chest pain presenting to an emergency department (ED) with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a lengthy process involving serial measurements of troponin. Objective We aimed to validate the diagnostic accuracy of a Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score with single high-sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) for early rule out of 30-day major adverse cardiac events (MACE), and to compare the TIMI score with combinations of heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) and a modified HEART (history, electrocardiogram, age, risk factors, troponin) score. Methods We recruited 602 consecutive adult patients with chest pain and suspected ACS in the ED. Each patient had TIMI and HEART scores, and a point-of-care H-FABP test. Results MACE occurred in 42 (7.0%) patients within 30 days. A low risk for 30-day MACE was identified by a modified TIMI score of 0 in 65 (11%) patients, and by a HEART score ≤ 2 in 96 (16%) patients. No MACE occurred in these groups, giving both scores a sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] 91.6–100%), and specificity of 11.6% (95% CI 9.2–14.5%) and 17.1% (95% CI 14.2–20.5%), respectively. Use of combined TIMI and HEART scores improved the specificity further to 22.0% (95% CI 18.7–25.6%) without lowering sensitivity. Early H-FABP measurement > 7 μg/L had a sensitivity of 41.5% (95% CI 27.8–56.6%) and a specificity of 91.1% (95% CI 88.4–93.2%) for predicting 30-day MACE. Conclusions A modified TIMI score of 0 or a HEART score of ≤ 2, incorporating a single hs-cTnT level, will identify patients with low risk of 30-day MACE for early discharge within 2 h of ED arrival