The Gaussian core model in high dimensions

We prove lower bounds for energy in the Gaussian core model, in which point particles interact via a Gaussian potential. Under the potential function $t \mapsto e^{-\alpha t^2}$ with $0 < \alpha < 4\pi/e$, we show that no point configuration in $\mathbf{R}^n$ of density $\rho$ can have energy less than $(\rho+o(1))(\pi/\alpha)^{n/2}$ as $n \to \infty$ with $\alpha$ and $\rho$ fixed. This lower bound asymptotically matches the upper bound of $\rho (\pi/\alpha)^{n/2}$ obtained as the expectation in the Siegel mean value theorem, and it is attained by random lattices. The proof is based on the linear programming bound, and it uses an interpolation construction analogous to those used for the Beurling-Selberg extremal problem in analytic number theory. In the other direction, we prove that the upper bound of $\rho (\pi/\alpha)^{n/2}$ is no longer asymptotically sharp when $\alpha > \pi e$. As a consequence of our results, we obtain bounds in $\mathbf{R}^n$ for the minimal energy under inverse power laws $t \mapsto 1/t^{n+s}$ with $s>0$, and these bounds are sharp to within a constant factor as $n \to \infty$ with $s$ fixed.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figur

Decomposing the Growth in Residential Land in the United States

This paper decomposes the growth in land occupied by residences in the United States to give the relative contributions of changing demographics versus increases in the land area used by individual households. Between 1976 and 1992 the amount of residential land in the United States grew 47.5% while population only grew 17.8%. At first glance, this suggests an important role for per-household increases. However, the calculations in this paper show that only 24.3% of the growth in residential land area can be attributed to State level changes in land per household. 37.5% is due to overall population growth, 5.9% to the shift of population towards States with larger houses, 22.7% to an increase in the number of households over this period, and the remaining 9.5% to interactions between these changes. There are large differences across states and metropolitan areas in the relative importance of these components.land use, population growth

Foreign Policy Views and U.S. Standing in the World

What do Americans think about the US role in world affairs and why do they think the way they do? Americans typically do not think about foreign policy most of the time, and, as a consequence, know relatively little about it (Almond 1950, Lippmann 1955, Converse 1964, Erskine 1963, Edwards 1983, Sobel 1993, Holsti 2004, Canes-Wrone 2006, Page and Bouton 2006, Berinsky 2007). While foreign policy issues can become salient when major international events (like 9/11 and the Iraq War) arise or when political candidates focus on foreign policy (Aldrich, Sullivan and Borgida 1989), ceteris paribus, Americans know and care more about domestic politics (Delli-Carpini and Keeter 1996, Holsti 1994, Canes-Wrone 2006, Converse 1964). Consequently, typical Americans are broadly aware of foreign policy, and have some available attitudes about it (Page and Bouton 2006, Aldrich et al. 1989). However, except in the face of political priming by elites or exogenous shocks, such attitudes may not be broadly accessible when making political decisions, like voting.

Early modern to postmodern library expansion in the West: how have libraries and their catalogues developed to accommodate, organise and perpetuate the printed word?

This paper examines how the library building accommodates books and how the library catalogue allows the management and use of those books; all in the context of the great increase in book numbers after the establishment of printing with moveable type in Europe from about the year 1500. The following subjects are studied in particular: furniture for storing books, how this is laid out and how it develops; the practical and intellectual concerns behind the development of the library catalogue; the design of library buildings, particularly internally, to house, provide, and preserve increasing numbers of books; the intellectual changes brought to the catalogue by physical developments, such as paper slips, cards, and computerisation; the era of the remote library warehouse, accessed only indirectly. Examples are sought throughout Western Europe and North America, with particular attention paid to two of the UK’s legal-deposit libraries, the Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford, and the British Library. It is found that these institutions anticipate a reduction in the number of printed books and other matter that they must ingest but are unable to reliably predict when this will occur and have subsequently planned for a short- and medium-term of continuing growth

Endovascular branch fenestration and/or stenting may be a viable treatment option for lower limb malperfusion due to acute type B aortic dissection

A clinical decision report appraising Norton EL, Williams DM, Kim KM, et al. Management of acute type B aortic dissection with malperfusion via endovascular fenestration/stenting [published online September 30, 2019]. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2019.09.06

Neoliberalism's Children. India's Economy, Wageless Life, and Organized Crime in The Moor's Last Sigh

As a comment on India post-Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie’s 1995 novel The Moor’s Last Sigh offers a broad-based critique of modern India within the context of economic policy shifts in India following independence from British rule in 1947.  The gradual implementation of neoliberal economic policies in the 1980s and 1990s accompanied India’s emergence as a major player in the global capitalist economy but also led to drastic increases in income inequality, unemployment, and the proliferation of a vast informal sector of exploitable human capital. Rushdie's novel identifies India's entrepreneurial and capitalist classes, specifically in Mumbai/Bombay, as complicit in the exacerbation of class disparity which has led, in many cases, to increased Hindu-Muslim cultural tensions and the growing ubiquity of government corruption and organized crime. The novel offers additional insight into the exploitative logic of Hindu nationalist politics through its parodic depiction of the Shiv Sena party, which owes much of its political clout to the maintenance of a patriarchal, mafia-esque relationship with urban slum-dwellers. The Moor's Last Sigh delineates new and complex forms of oppression and exploitation in postcolonial India that often occur simultaneously along class and cultural lines

A Congregational & Legal Study in the Practice of Hospitality at Faith Community Center, Lacey, Washington

Henry, Matthew R. “A Congregational and Legal Study in the Practice of Faith Community Center.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2017. 171 pages. Churches that practice hospitality by operating community centers must remain faithful in their confession and abide by anti-discrimination laws. This project provides the necessary theological and legal guidance for community center ministry in morally diverse settings. Surveys conducted before and after a congregational presentation at Faith Lutheran Church, Lacey, WA, reveal opinions of both limits and freedoms as to what activities and groups may be permitted or disallowed. As an expression of love for all people (Matt. 5:43-48), facility use policy should reflect clear values of faith and—wherever possible—permit facility use by those who hold different moral viewpoints

Induction Immunosuppression With Thymoglobulin May Improve Graft Outcomes Without Increasing A Risk For Infection In Patients Undergoing Liver Transplantation Alone

*Purpose: Immunosuppression protocol for liver transplant (LT) varies between institutions and roles of induction immunosuppression in LT remain controversial. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes of primary LT patients based on the induction immunosuppression regimens, including thymoglobulin (rATG), basiliximab, and steroids. *Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical charts of 166 patients who underwent LT alone from 2017 through 2018 at a single institution. Patients were divided into three groups based on the type of induction immunosuppression utilized, and the outcomes were compared across groups. Survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariable Cox regression was performed to identify potential predictors of post-LT graft loss. Incidence of rejection was analyzed using Gray test by considering rejection episode and graft loss as competing risk events. *Results: During the study period, 56, 58, and 52 patients received rATG, basiliximab, and steroids only for induction immunosuppression. Tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and steroids were used for maintenance immunosuppression in all three groups. The age of the rATG group was significantly lower than the other two groups (P\u3c0.001). The incidence rate of bacteremia (P=0.312), Clostridium difficile (P=0.779), Cytomegalovirus (P=0.903), Epstein-barr Virus (P=0.332), and fungemia (P=0.349) were similar across the three groups. Graft survival rate was significantly better in the rATG group compared to basiliximab (P=0.025) and solumedrol (P=0.003) (Figure a) After adjusting the risk by the patient’s age and MELD score utilizing a multivariate Cox regression analysis, rATG showed significantly lower risk of graft loss compared to the steroids group (hazard ratio 6.66, P=0.037), whereas risk was similar between the rATG and basiliximab groups (hazard ratio 3.99, P=0.111). Gray’s test showed no significant difference between the cumulative incidence rates of biopsy proven rejections between three groups (Figure b) *Conclusions: Patients undergoing LT alone with rATG for induction immunosuppression may have improved liver graft survival compared to patients who received basiliximab or steroids only. The risk of infection and incidence rates of biopsy proven rejection does not seem to be affected by induction immunosuppression regimens. Further studies are necessary to determine this relationship