Red Grooms: The Forgotten Existentialist Ruckus Manhattan and the Influence of Sartrian Existentialism

This thesis focuses on the influence of the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre on the American artist Red Grooms. An analysis of Grooms\u27s sculpto-pictorama Ruckus Manhattan as an installation demonstrates the influences of Sartrian existential concepts and acts as an arena in which viewers can discover these existential ethos in a culturally specific setting. Red Grooms\u27s background as an American artist working in New York in the mid-twentieth centuryand his interest in French art and philosophy document further the influence of existentialism on Grooms. A thorough discussion of tableaux from Ruckus Manhattan, which visually represent Sartiran existential concepts, reveals Grooms to be an artist who is much more sophisticated than the comic artist described in the current scholarship

Strategic Idealizations of Science to Oppose Environmenal Regulation: A Case Study of Five TMDL Controversies

Proponents of environmental regulation have catalogued various strategies used by takeholders to delay or weaken regulatory efforts, including (1) manufacturing or magnifying uncertainty; (2) demanding “sound science” (and thereby imposing unreasonable standards of evidence); and (3) data quality initiatives that permit deconstruction of credible studies by highlighting inevitable assumptions, funding sources, and areas for further research. Such strategies can be termed “idealizations” of science insofar as they rely on an unrealistic image of good science as somehow capable of avoiding tentative conclusions, institutional interests, consensual assumptions, and the need for further research. The question remains, however, when does an argument based on scientific uncertainty reflect a valid concern, and when is such an argument merely strategic? This Article is based on a study that was structured to identify whether and how arguments and challenges based on idealizations of science were used in the initial (pre-litigation) stages of several Philadelphia-area water quality controversies. The purpose of this Article is to describe the results of our study, including our sense that idealized arguments, at least in the early stages of TMDL disputes, are not very effective

Strategic Idealizations of Science to Oppose Environmenal Regulation: A Case Study of Five TMDL Controversies

Proponents of environmental regulation have catalogued various strategies used by takeholders to delay or weaken regulatory efforts, including (1) manufacturing or magnifying uncertainty; (2) demanding “sound science” (and thereby imposing unreasonable standards of evidence); and (3) data quality initiatives that permit deconstruction of credible studies by highlighting inevitable assumptions, funding sources, and areas for further research. Such strategies can be termed “idealizations” of science insofar as they rely on an unrealistic image of good science as somehow capable of avoiding tentative conclusions, institutional interests, consensual assumptions, and the need for further research. The question remains, however, when does an argument based on scientific uncertainty reflect a valid concern, and when is such an argument merely strategic? This Article is based on a study that was structured to identify whether and how arguments and challenges based on idealizations of science were used in the initial (pre-litigation) stages of several Philadelphia-area water quality controversies. The purpose of this Article is to describe the results of our study, including our sense that idealized arguments, at least in the early stages of TMDL disputes, are not very effective

Strategic Idealizations of Science to Oppose Environmental Regulation: A Case Study of Five TMDL Controversies

This is the published version

Predictors of Comorbid Eating Disorders and Association with Other Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders in Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania (TTM) and eating disorders (ED) share many phenomenological similarities, including ritualized compulsive behaviors. Given this, and that comorbid EDs may represent additional functional burden to hair pullers, we sought to identify factors that predict diagnosis of an ED in a TTM population. Subjects included 555 adult females (age range 18–65) with DSM-IV-TR TTM or chronic hair pullers recruited from multiple sites. 7.2% (N = 40) of our TTM subjects met criteria for an ED in their lifetime. In univariable regression analysis, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) worst-ever compulsion and total scores, certain obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, anxiety disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and substance disorder all met the pre-specified criteria for inclusion in the multivariable analysis. In the final multivariable model, diagnosis of OCD (OR: 5.68, 95% CI: 2.2–15.0) and diagnosis of an additional body-focused repetitive behavior disorder (BFRB) (OR: 2.69, 95% CI: 1.1–6.8) were both associated with increased risk of ED in TTM. Overall, our results provide further support of the relatedness between ED and TTM. This finding highlights the importance of assessing for comorbid OCD and additional BFRBs in those with TTM. Future research is needed to identify additional predictors of comorbid disorders and to better understand the complex relationships between BFRBs, OCD and EDs

Game-theoretic analysis of pay-as-bid mechanisms

Enterprises are facing a challenging dilemma. In order to be able to accommodate peak loads on their IT systems, they must maintain large computing clusters, which lie idle most of the time. At the same time, IT departments are under constant pressure to cut down on hard- and software expenses. Grid technology offers a promising way out of this dilemma by allowing the dynamic sharing both within enterprises as well as across organizational boundaries. This sharing approach, however, requires proper economic incentives. This paper is concerned with the determination of dynamic market-based prices. Due to their simplicity, so-called pay-as-bid mechanisms have become popular. This paper is novel as we provide an in-depth analysis of two such pay-as-bid mechanisms – Proportional Share and a discriminatory pay-as-bid mechanism – for the case of three users, thus extending previous work by Sanghavi and Hajek (2004) and Stößer et al. (2008). This analysis is important as we show that the nice results for two users cannot be retained once three or more users are present. Even worse, we show that these results can even be reversed if we move to games with more than two players

RAS mutation status predicts survival and patterns of recurrence in patients undergoing hepatectomy for colorectal liver metastases.

ObjectiveTo determine the impact of RAS mutation status on survival and patterns of recurrence in patients undergoing curative resection of colorectal liver metastases (CLM) after preoperative modern chemotherapy.BackgroundRAS mutation has been reported to be associated with aggressive tumor biology. However, the effect of RAS mutation on survival and patterns of recurrence after resection of CLM remains unclear.MethodsSomatic mutations were analyzed using mass spectroscopy in 193 patients who underwent single-regimen modern chemotherapy before resection of CLM. The relationship between RAS mutation status and survival outcomes was investigated.ResultsDetected somatic mutations included RAS (KRAS/NRAS) in 34 (18%), PIK3CA in 13 (7%), and BRAF in 2 (1%) patients. At a median follow-up of 33 months, 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were 81% in patients with wild-type versus 52.2% in patients with mutant RAS (P = 0.002); 3-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were 33.5% with wild-type versus 13.5% with mutant RAS (P = 0.001). Liver and lung recurrences were observed in 89 and 83 patients, respectively. Patients with RAS mutation had a lower 3-year lung RFS rate (34.6% vs 59.3%, P < 0.001) but not a lower 3-year liver RFS rate (43.8% vs 50.2%, P = 0.181). In multivariate analyses, RAS mutation predicted worse OS [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.3, P = 0.002), overall RFS (HR = 1.9, P = 0.005), and lung RFS (HR = 2.0, P = 0.01), but not liver RFS (P = 0.181).ConclusionsRAS mutation predicts early lung recurrence and worse survival after curative resection of CLM. This information may be used to individualize systemic and local tumor-directed therapies and follow-up strategies