Central banks of developing nations should issue digital currency

Blockchain technology and smart contracts have made certainty in monetary policy a legitimate possibility, argue Max Raskin and David Yermac

Matt Siber: Idol Structures

https://via.library.depaul.edu/museum-publications/1015/thumbnail.jp

Reality / TV / celebrity

This research addresses the construction of personae on reality television series. Given Richard Dyer's formulation of stardom as a balance of ordinary and extraordinary qualities, this paper seeks to understand how a reality television participant, lacking any traditional performance talent, could be articulated as extraordinary. Kenneth Burke's concept of "mystery" as a desirability attached to objects atop a social hierarchy is used to help explicate the qualities of extraordinariness in reality TV stardom. Comparative formal analyses of three reality "star texts" delineate the differences between two women who attain limited fame and one who achieves wider stardom. It is concluded that two qualities are necessary to transcending the usual limits of reality television fame: the articulation of social power (closely tied to class); and the appearance of freedom and agency, even when under the constant surveillance of producers and camera operators

Chiral Principal Series Categories

This thesis begins a study of principal series categories in geometric representation theory using the Beilinson-Drinfeld theory of chiral algebras. We study Whittaker objects in the unramified principal series category. This provides an alternative approach to the Arkhipov-Bezrukavnikov theory of Iwahori-Whittaker sheaves that exploits the geometry of the Feigin-Frenkel semi-infinite flag manifold.Mathematic

RESOLUTION Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors

Resolved, That Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following article of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate: ARTICLE I: INCITEMENT OF INSURRECTION Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States

Neurosurgical management of non-spastic movement disorders

BACKGROUND: Non-spastic movement disorders in children are common, although true epidemiologic data is difficult to ascertain. Children are more likely than adults to have hyperkinetic movement disorders defined as tics, dystonia, chorea/athetosis, or tremor. These conditions manifest from acquired or heredodegenerative etiologies and often severely limit function despite medical and surgical management paradigms. Neurosurgical management for these conditions is highlighted. METHODS: We performed a focused review of the literature by searching PubMed on 16 May 2023 using key terms related to our review. No temporal filter was applied, but only English articles were considered. We searched for the terms (( Pallidotomy [Mesh]) OR Rhizotomy [Mesh]) OR Deep Brain Stimulation [Mesh], dystonia, children, adolescent, pediatric, globus pallidus, in combination. All articles were reviewed for inclusion in the final reference list. RESULTS: Our search terms returned 37 articles from 2004 to 2023. Articles covering deep brain stimulation were the most common (n = 34) followed by pallidotomy (n = 3); there were no articles on rhizotomy. DISCUSSION: Non-spastic movement disorders are common in children and difficult to treat. Most of these patients are referred to neurosurgery for the management of dystonia, with modern neurosurgical management including pallidotomy, rhizotomy, and deep brain stimulation. Historically, pallidotomy has been effective and may still be preferred in subpopulations presenting either in status dystonicus or with high risk for hardware complications. Superiority of DBS over pallidotomy for secondary dystonia has not been determined. Rhizotomy is an underutilized surgical tool and more study characterizing efficacy and risk profile is indicated

High-frequency performance of Schottky source/drain silicon pMOS devices

A radio-frequency performance of 85-nm gate-length p-type Schottky barrier (SB) with PtSi source/drain materials is investigated. The impact of silicidation annealing temperature on the high-frequency behavior of SB MOSFETs is analyzed using an extrinsic small-signal equivalent circuit. It is demonstrated that the current drive and the gate transconductance strongly depend on the silicidation anneal temperature, whereas the unity-gain cutoff frequency of the measured devices remains nearly unchanged

Examining correlates of treatment satisfaction for injectable insulin in type 2 diabetes: lessons learned from a clinical trial comparing biphasic and basal analogues

BACKGROUND: Successfully managing diabetes is a complex process that includes addressing issues of drug efficacy, safety and treatment satisfaction. Additionally, the combined impact of patient/disease characteristics and treatment outcomes on treatment satisfaction is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of age, weight, gender, co-morbid conditions, diabetes history, treatment burden, efficacy (HbA(1c)) and side effects (weight gain, hypoglycemic events) on patients' appraisal of treatment satisfaction using linear regression models. METHODS: Data from a multi-center, randomized clinical trial comparing the efficacy/safety of biphasic insulin aspart 70/30 (BIAsp 70/30) vs. glargine (Glar) among insulin naïve type 2 patients were analyzed. Subjects were between ages 18–75, with baseline HbA(1c )> 8% and BMI ≤ 40 kg/m(2 )(N = 233). Treatment satisfaction was assessed by the Insulin Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (ITSQ). RESULTS: When factors were examined independently, multiple significant relationships (age, co-morbidity, hypoglycemic events, and weight gain) with overall and/or domains of treatment satisfaction were found. However, when all significant relationships were examined together, only neuropathy, treatment efficacy, and number of hypoglycemic events maintained their previous significance. CONCLUSION: By examining predictors independently, significant relationships were identified. However, not all findings remained significant when examined in combination with each other. Thus, to more accurately characterize the impact of factors on treatment satisfaction, a more comprehensive approach may be necessary. By improving patient treatment satisfaction, the efficacy of treatments, as well as critical treatment outcomes such as compliance and cost of care should be improved