Learning About Leadership, Trust and Benevolence from Ethics of the Fathers (Avot)

Leadership has become an important subject in numerous areas ranging from business to education to religion. An organization or country that is going to prosper needs effective leadership. Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot) is the perfect tool for learning about what it takes to restore organizational trust in business leadership. Avot consists of sayings of Jewish sages — many of whom were leaders — who lived from 300 BCE to 200 CE as well as many anonymous sayings. It is essential to any leader who wishes to achieve organizational trust through ability, integrity and benevolence

When I Dream of Old Erin (I\u27m Dreaming of You) / music by Leo Friedman; words by Lee Marvin

Cover: landscape: mountains , river and a bridge; Publisher: Harry Williams Music Co. (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_c/1048/thumbnail.jp

Reductions to the set of random strings:the resource-bounded case

This paper is motivated by a conjecture \cite{cie,adfht} that \BPP can be characterized in terms of polynomial-time nonadaptive reductions to the set of Kolmogorov-random strings. In this paper we show that an approach laid out in \cite{adfht} to settle this conjecture cannot succeed without significant alteration, but that it does bear fruit if we consider time-bounded Kolmogorov complexity instead. We show that if a set $A$ is reducible in polynomial time to the set of time-$t$-bounded Kolmogorov-random strings (for all large enough time bounds $t$), then $A$ is in \Ppoly, and that if in addition such a reduction exists for any universal Turing machine one uses in the definition of Kolmogorov complexity, then $A$ is in \PSPACE

Whole-cortex mapping of common genetic influences on depression and a social deficits dimension

Social processes are associated with depression, particularly understanding and responding to others, deficits in which can manifest as callousness/unemotionality (CU). Thus, CU may reflect some of the genetic risk to depression. Further, this vulnerability likely reflects the neurological substrates of depression, presenting biomarkers to capture genetic vulnerability of depression severity. However, heritability varies within brain regions, so a high-resolution genetic perspective is needed. We developed a toolbox that maps genetic and environmental associations between brain and behavior at high resolution. We used this toolbox to estimate brain areas that are genetically associated with both depressive symptoms and CU in a sample of 258 same-sex twin pairs from the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study (LTS). We then overlapped the two maps to generate coordinates that allow for tests of downstream effects of genes influencing our clusters. Genetic variance influencing cortical thickness in the right dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLFPC) sulci and gyri, ventral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), pre-somatic motor cortex (PreSMA), medial precuneus, left occipital-temporal junction (OTJ), parietal-temporal junction (PTJ), ventral somatosensory cortex (vSMA), and medial and lateral precuneus were genetically associated with both depression and CU. Split-half replication found support for both DLPFC clusters. Meta-analytic term search identified "theory of mind", "inhibit", and "pain" as likely functions. Gene and transcript mapping/enrichment analyses implicated calcium channels. CU reflects genetic vulnerability to depression that likely involves executive and social functioning in a distributed process across the cortex. This approach works to unify neuroimaging, neuroinformatics, and genetics to discover pathways to psychiatric vulnerability.</p

Iris volume change with physiologic mydriasis to identify development of angle closure: the Zhongshan Angle Closure Prevention Trial

AIMS: To assess dynamic change of iris area (Iarea) and volume (VOL) with physiologic pupil dilation for progression of primary angle closure suspects. METHODS: Participants underwent baseline examinations including gonioscopy and anterior segment OCT (AS-OCT) as part of the Zhongshan Angle Closure Prevention Trial. The AS-OCT images were obtained both in the dark and light. Progression was defined as development of primary angle closure or an acute angle closure attack. Static ocular biometrics and dynamic changes were compared between progressors and non-progressors and multivariable logistic regression was developed to assess risk factors for progression. RESULTS: A mean 16.8% decrease in Iarea and a mean 6.26% decrease in VOL occurred with pupil dilation, while 22.96% non-progressors and 40% progressors presented VOL increases with pupil dilation. Iarea in light and dark and VOL in light were significantly smaller in progressors. In a multivariable logistic model, older age (p=0.008), narrower horizontal angle opening distance (AOD) 250 µm from the scleral spur (AOD250, p=0.001), flatter iris curvature (IC, p=0.006) and lower loss of iris volume (ΔVOL, p=0.04) were significantly associated with progression. With receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve for ΔVOL alone was 0.621, while that for the combined index (age, AOD250, IC and ΔVOL) was 0.824. Eyes with elevated intraocular pressure had less VOL loss compared with progressors developing peripheral anterior synechiae alone (p=0.055 for ΔVOL adjusted for pupil enlargement). CONCLUSION: A smaller change in ΔVOL is an additive risk factor to identify eyes more likely to develop angle closure disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN45213099

Reductions to the set of random strings: The resource-bounded case

This paper is motivated by a conjecture that BPP can be characterized in terms of polynomial-time nonadaptive reductions to the set of Kolmogorov-random strings. In this paper we show that an approach laid out in [Allender et al] to settle this conjecture cannot succeed without significant alteration, but that it does bear fruit if we consider time-bounded Kolmogorov complexity instead. We show that if a set A is reducible in polynomial time to the set of time-t-bounded Kolmogorov random strings (for all large enough time bounds t), then A is in P/poly, and that if in addition such a reduction exists for any universal Turing machine one uses in the definition of Kolmogorov complexity, then A is in PSPACE.Comment: Conference version in MFCS 201