MASS INACTION: AN ANALYSIS OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION IN MASS ACTIONS IN FEDERAL COURT

MASS INACTION: AN ANALYSIS OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION IN MASS ACTIONS IN FEDERAL COUR

Cosmological Phase Transitions and their Properties in the NMSSM

We study cosmological phase transitions in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) in light of the Higgs discovery. We use an effective field theory approach to calculate the finite temperature effective potential, focusing on regions with significant tree-level contributions to the Higgs mass, a viable neutralino dark matter candidate, 1-2 TeV stops, and with the remaining particle spectrum compatible with current LHC searches and results. The phase transition structure in viable regions of parameter space exhibits a rich phenomenology, potentially giving rise to one- or two-step first-order phase transitions in the singlet and/or $SU(2)$ directions. We compute several parameters pertaining to the bubble wall profile, including the bubble wall width and $\Delta\beta$ (the variation of the ratio in Higgs vacuum expectation values across the wall). These quantities can vary significantly across small regions of parameter space and can be promising for successful electroweak baryogenesis. We estimate the wall velocity microphysically, taking into account the various sources of friction acting on the expanding bubble wall. Ultra-relativistic solutions to the bubble wall equations of motion typically exist when the electroweak phase transition features substantial supercooling. For somewhat weaker transitions, the bubble wall instead tends to be sub-luminal and, in fact, likely sub-sonic, suggesting that successful electroweak baryogenesis may indeed occur in regions of the NMSSM compatible with the Higgs discovery.Comment: 49 pages + 2 appendices, 6 figures. v2: Minor corrections; matches version published in JHE

Factors Associated with Self-Reported HBV Vaccination among HIV-Negative MSM Participating in an Online Sexual Health Survey: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: A substantial proportion of men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States remain unvaccinated against hepatitis B. We sought to understand which factors are associated with vaccination among HIV-negative MSM. Methodology/Principal Findings: Data were from a 2010 web-based survey of adult MSM. We calculated the prevalence of self-reported hepatitis B vaccination among 1,052 HIV-negative or HIV-untested men who knew their hepatitis B vaccination status, and used multivariate logistic regression to determine associated factors. 679 (64.5%) MSM reported being vaccinated. Younger men were more likely to report being vaccinated than older men, and there was a significant interaction between age and history of hepatitis B testing. Men with at least some college education were at least 2.1 times as likely to be vaccinated as men with a high school education or less (95 % CI = 1.4–3.1). Provider recommendation for vaccination (aOR = 4.2, 95 % CI = 2.4–7.4) was also significantly associated with receipt of vaccination. Conclusions/Significance: Providers should assess sexual histories of male patients and offer those patients with male sex partners testing for hepatitis infection and vaccinate susceptible patients. There may be particular opportunities fo

Role of Fiber Orientation in Atrial Arrythmogenesis

Electrical wave-front propagation in the atria is determined largely by local fiber orientation. Recent study suggests that atrial fibrillation (AF) progresses with enhanced anisotropy. In this work, a 3D rabbit atrial anatomical model at 20 × 20 × 20 μm3 resolution with realistic fiber orientation was constructed based on the novel contrast-enhanced micro-CT imaging. The Fenton-Karma cellular activation model was adapted to reproduce rabbit atrial action potential period of 80 ms. Diffusivities were estimated for longitudinal and transverse directions of the fiber orientation respectively. Pacing was conducted in the 3D anisotropic atrial model with a reducing S2 interval to facilitate initiation of atrial arrhythmia. Multiple simulations were conducted with varying values of diffusion anisotropy and stimulus locations to evaluate the role of anisotropy in initiating AF. Under physiological anisotropy conditions, a rapid right atrial activation was followed by the left atrial activation. Excitation waves reached the atrio-ventricular border where they terminated. Upon reduction of conduction heterogeneity, re-entry was initiated by the rapid pacing and the activation of both atrial chambers was almost simultaneous. Myofiber orientation is an effective mechanism for regulating atrial activation. Modification of myoarchitecture is proarrhythmic

Doing the right thing for one's children: deciding whether to take the genetic test for Huntington's disease as a moral dilemma

This is a qualitative examination of candidates’ decision-making in relation to the genetic test for Huntington's disease (HD). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants who were asked about factors influencing their decision whether to take up predictive genetic testing. Transcripts of interviews were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis to elicit emergent themes. A key factor for participants was to do the right thing for their children. Interestingly this factor presents a moral dilemma to participants and can direct them either towards or away from testing. This paper offers a detailed examination of how participants think through this dilemma

Implementing Effective Tiered Interventions in Secondary Schools: Survey of school and support staff

An online survey and a series of interviews were focused on students in Years 7 to 9 who lack the foundational literacy and numeracy skills that are required to engage with a secondary curriculum, in schools where most students have these skills. These students are referred to throughout this report as struggling students. The students in scope are likely to struggle to engage in classes without significant differentiation on the part of classroom teachers, and the skill disparity may be so great that differentiating lessons for them is not feasible. The project sought to address 4 questions: What methods and/or assessments do schools use to identify students in this cohort? What frameworks do schools use to make decisions on how to support these students? What supports are provided? What confidence do school leaders and teachers have in the approaches currently used? This report provides an overview of the survey development, administration, and respondent demographics, and looks at the results of the survey for literacy and for numeracy. Additional detail and context provided by interview responses is included in the appropriate sections that discuss survey responses

DNA target sequence and FNR-dependent gene expression.

FNR proteins are global transcription regulators that respond to fluctuations in environmental oxygen. They recognise a DNA target consisting of an inverted repeat, TTGATN(1)N(2)N(3)N(4)ATCAA (where N(1-4) represents a non-conserved tetrad, NCT). Analysis of 68 known and predicted FNR sites from the Escherichia coli K12 genome revealed a bias toward A or T at positions N(2) and N(3) of the NCT. The effect of the NCT sequence on FNR-dependent transcription in vivo was assessed using a series of class II and class I model promoters with different NCT sequences. Changing the NCT sequence did not affect basal activity but altered anaerobic induction by as much as an order of magnitude. Thus, the NCT sequence is a fundamental component in setting the dynamic range of the FNR switch

Effects of Cardiac Structural Remodelling During Heart Failure on Cardiac Excitation – Insights from a Heterogeneous 3D Model of the Rabbit Atria

Heart failure is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the western world. One of the effects of heart failure is the structural remodelling of cardiac tissue, including tissue dilation and development of fibrosis. It is therefore important to study these changes and their effect on cardiac activity, in order to gain a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms in arrhythmogenesis, which will hopefully enable us to develop better treatments for heart failure. In this study we developed biophysically detailed models of the rabbit atria for normal and heart failure conditions. These models were used to study the effects of structural remodelling of heart failure on cardiac excitation wave conduction. Anatomical reconstructions of the control and heart failure hearts were based on contrast enhanced micro-CT imaging. Fibre orientation was extracted from the control and heart failure datasets. Effects of heart failure geometry on the activation pattern of atrial excitation waves were analyzed. It was found that atrial activation time increased from the control to the heart failure case in both isotropic and anisotropic conditions, which is attributed primarily to the dilation of tissue caused by heart failure

Cooperative AI via Decentralized Commitment Devices

Credible commitment devices have been a popular approach for robust multi-agent coordination. However, existing commitment mechanisms face limitations like privacy, integrity, and susceptibility to mediator or user strategic behavior. It is unclear if the cooperative AI techniques we study are robust to real-world incentives and attack vectors. However, decentralized commitment devices that utilize cryptography have been deployed in the wild, and numerous studies have shown their ability to coordinate algorithmic agents facing adversarial opponents with significant economic incentives, currently in the order of several million to billions of dollars. In this paper, we use examples in the decentralization and, in particular, Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) (arXiv:1904.05234) literature to illustrate the potential security issues in cooperative AI. We call for expanded research into decentralized commitments to advance cooperative AI capabilities for secure coordination in open environments and empirical testing frameworks to evaluate multi-agent coordination ability given real-world commitment constraints.Comment: NeurIPS 2023- Multi-Agent Security Worksho