Effect of Election Day Vote Centers on Voter Participation

In this article we study the effects of Election Day vote centers on voter turnout. Specifically we examine Texas and Colorado’s experience with alternative arrangements for the number and location of Election Day voting places and its impact on voter turnout in the 2006 and 2008 elections. We test our hypotheses at both the aggregate (i.e., county) and individual levels. We find evidence that vote centers increase voter turnout in presidential and midterm elections, and particularly among infrequent voters in midterms

Cross-correlating Carbon Monoxide Line-intensity Maps with Spectroscopic and Photometric Galaxy Surveys

Line-intensity mapping (LIM or IM) is an emerging field of observational work, with strong potential to fit into a larger effort to probe large-scale structure and small-scale astrophysical phenomena using multiple complementary tracers. Taking full advantage of such complementarity means, in part, undertaking line-intensity surveys with galaxy surveys in mind. We consider the potential for detection of a cross-correlation signal between COMAP and blind surveys based on photometric redshifts (as in COSMOS) or based on spectroscopic data (as with the HETDEX survey of Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters). We find that obtaining $\sigma_z/(1+z)\lesssim0.003$ accuracy in redshifts and $\gtrsim10^{-4}$ sources per Mpc$^3$ with spectroscopic redshift determination should enable a CO-galaxy cross spectrum detection significance at least twice that of the CO auto spectrum. Either a future targeted spectroscopic survey or a blind survey like HETDEX may be able to meet both of these requirements.Comment: 19 pages + appendix (31 pages total), 16 figures, 6 tables; accepted for publication in Ap

Tapinarof Cream 1% Once Daily for the Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis: Case Photography of Clinical Outcomes from Three Phase 3 Trials

Tapinarof cream 1% (VTAMA(®); Dermavant Sciences, Inc.) is a non-steroidal, topical, aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat plaque psoriasis in adults and under investigation for the treatment of psoriasis in children down to 2 years of age, and for atopic dermatitis in adults and children down to 2 years of age. The PSOARING phase 3 clinical trial program evaluated tapinarof cream 1% once daily (QD) in adults with mild to severe plaque psoriasis for up to 52 weeks (NCT03956355, NCT03983980, NCT04053387). Here we present case photography documenting outcomes in the PSOARING trials. Cases illustrate various outcomes across different body areas, including responses meeting the formal FDA-mandated regulatory endpoint of a Physician Global Assessment (PGA) score of 0 (clear) or 1 (almost clear) and a decrease of at least 2 points from baseline at week 12, meaningful clinical improvement not meeting this formal endpoint, patient-reported outcomes, and pre-specified adverse events of special interest (AESIs). Tapinarof cream 1% QD demonstrated rapid and highly statistically significant efficacy, with improvements in disease activity and quality of life. In addition, a high rate (40.9%; n = 312/763) of complete disease clearance (PGA = 0) was achieved, and improvements exceeding National Psoriasis Foundation treatment goals were demonstrated. After first achieving complete disease clearance (PGA = 0), patients treated with tapinarof experienced an approximately 4-month remittive effect off therapy. Incidence and severity of folliculitis and contact dermatitis AESIs were generally mild or moderate, localized to the site of application, and associated with low discontinuation rates. Medical images are of importance in trials of dermatologic therapies to inform clinical decision-making and enhance patient assessment. Tapinarof cream 1% QD is efficacious and well tolerated in patients with mild to severe plaque psoriasis, with clinically relevant improvements seen early in the course of treatment. Clinicaltrials.gov numbers: NCT03956355, NCT03983980, NCT04053387

Cardiovascular disease in a cohort exposed to the 1940-45 Channel Islands occupation

BACKGROUND To clarify the nature of the relationship between food deprivation/undernutrition during pre- and postnatal development and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in later life, this study examined the relationship between birth weight (as a marker of prenatal nutrition) and the incidence of hospital admissions for CVD from 1997–2005 amongst 873 Guernsey islanders (born in 1923–1937), 225 of whom had been exposed to food deprivation as children, adolescents or young adults (i.e. postnatal undernutrition) during the 1940–45 German occupation of the Channel Islands, and 648 of whom had left or been evacuated from the islands before the occupation began. METHODS Three sets of Cox regression models were used to investigate (A) the relationship between birth weight and CVD, (B) the relationship between postnatal exposure to the occupation and CVD and (C) any interaction between birth weight, postnatal exposure to the occupation and CVD. These models also tested for any interactions between birth weight and sex, and postnatal exposure to the occupation and parish of residence at birth (as a marker of parish residence during the occupation and related variation in the severity of food deprivation). RESULTS The first set of models (A) found no relationship between birth weight and CVD even after adjustment for potential confounders (hazard ratio (HR) per kg increase in birth weight: 1.12; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.70 – 1.78), and there was no significant interaction between birth weight and sex (p = 0.60). The second set of models (B) found a significant relationship between postnatal exposure to the occupation and CVD after adjustment for potential confounders (HR for exposed vs. unexposed group: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.54 – 4.13), as well as a significant interaction between postnatal exposure to the occupation and parish of residence at birth (p = 0.01), such that those born in urban parishes (where food deprivation was worst) had a greater HR for CVD than those born in rural parishes. The third model (C) found no interaction between birth weight and exposure to the occupation (p = 0.43). CONCLUSION These findings suggest that the levels of postnatal undernutrition experienced by children, adolescents and young adults exposed to food deprivation during the 1940–45 occupation of the Channel Islands were a more important determinant of CVD in later life than the levels of prenatal undernutrition experienced in utero prior to the occupatio

Eclipses During the 2010 Eruption of the Recurrent Nova U Scorpii

The eruption of the recurrent nova U Scorpii on 28 January 2010 is now the all-time best observed nova event. We report 36,776 magnitudes throughout its 67 day eruption, for an average of one measure every 2.6 minutes. This unique and unprecedented coverage is the first time that a nova has any substantial amount of fast photometry. With this, two new phenomena have been discovered: the fast flares in the early light curve seen from days 9-15 (which have no proposed explanation) and the optical dips seen out of eclipse from days 41-61 (likely caused by raised rims of the accretion disk occulting the bright inner regions of the disk as seen over specific orbital phases). The expanding shell and wind cleared enough from days 12-15 so that the inner binary system became visible, resulting in the sudden onset of eclipses and the turn-on of the supersoft X-ray source. On day 15, a strong asymmetry in the out-of-eclipse light points to the existence of the accretion stream. The normal optical flickering restarts on day 24.5. For days 15-26, eclipse mapping shows that the optical source is spherically symmetric with a radius of 4.1 R_sun. For days 26-41, the optical light is coming from a rim-bright disk of radius 3.4 R_sun. For days 41-67, the optical source is a center-bright disk of radius 2.2 R_sun. Throughout the eruption, the colors remain essentially constant. We present 12 eclipse times during eruption plus five just after the eruption.Comment: ApJ in press. 60 pages, 17 figure

Trial Design and Objectives for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Updated Recommendations From the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Working Group 3

Evolving treatments, disease phenotypes, and biology, together with a changing drug development environment, have created the need to revise castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) clinical trial recommendations to succeed those from prior Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Working Groups

Success with antiretroviral treatment for children in Kigali, Rwanda: Experience with health center/nurse-based care

BACKGROUND: Although a number of studies have shown good results in treating children with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) in hospital settings, there is limited published information on results in pediatric programs that are nurse-centered and based in health centers, in particular on the psychosocial aspects of care. METHODS: Program treatment and outcome data were reported from two government-run health centers that were supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Kigali, Rwanda between October 2003 and June 2007. Interviews were held with health center staff and MSF program records were reviewed to describe the organization of the program. Important aspects included adequate training and supervision of nurses to manage ARV treatment. The program also emphasized family-centered care addressing the psychosocial needs of both caregivers and children to encourage early diagnosis, good adherence and follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 315 children (< 15 years) were started on ARVs, at a median age of 7.2 years (range: 0.7-14.9). Sixty percent were in WHO clinical stage I/II, with a median CD4% of 14%. Eighty-nine percent (n = 281) started a stavudine-containing regimen, mainly using the adult fixed-dose combination. The median follow-up time after ARV initiation was 2 years (interquartile range 1.2-2.6). Eighty-four percent (n = 265) of children were still on treatment in the program. Thirty (9.5%) were transferred out, eight (2.6%) died and 12 (3.8%) were lost to follow-up. An important feature of the study was that viral loads were done at a median time period of 18 months after starting ARVs and were available for 87% of the children. Of the 174 samples, VL was < 400 copies/ml in 82.8% (n = 144). Two children were started on second-line ARVs. Treatment was changed due to toxicity for 26 children (8.3%), mainly related to nevirapine. CONCLUSION: This report suggests that providing ARVs to children in a health center/nurse-based program is both feasible and very effective. Adequate numbers and training of nursing staff and an emphasis on the psychosocial needs of caregivers and children have been key elements for the successful scaling-up of ARVs at this level of the health system

Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments

In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one

Rules for Growth: Promoting Innovation and Growth Through Legal Reform

The United States economy is struggling to recover from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. After several huge doses of conventional macroeconomic stimulus - deficit-spending and monetary stimulus - policymakers are understandably eager to find innovative no-cost ways of sustaining growth both in the short and long runs. In response to this challenge, the Kauffman Foundation convened a number of America’s leading legal scholars and social scientists during the summer of 2010 to present and discuss their ideas for changing legal rules and policies to promote innovation and accelerate U.S. economic growth. This meeting led to the publication of Rules for Growth: Promoting Innovation and Growth Through Legal Reform, a comprehensive and groundbreaking volume of essays prescribing a new set of growth-promoting policies for policymakers, legal scholars, economists, and business men and women. Some of the top Rules include: • Reforming U.S. immigration laws so that more high-skilled immigrants can launch businesses in the United States. • Improving university technology licensing practices so university-generated innovation is more quickly and efficiently commercialized. • Moving away from taxes on income that penalize risk-taking, innovation, and employment while shifting toward a more consumption-based tax system that encourages saving that funds investment. In addition, the research tax credit should be redesigned and made permanent. • Overhauling local zoning rules to facilitate the formation of innovative companies. • Urging judges to take a more expansive view of flexible business contracts that are increasingly used by innovative firms. • Urging antitrust enforcers and courts to define markets more in global terms to reflect contemporary realities, resist antitrust enforcement from countries with less sound antitrust regimes, and prohibit industry trade protection and subsidies. • Reforming the intellectual property system to allow for a post-grant opposition process and address the large patent application backlog by allowing applicants to pay for more rapid patent reviews. • Authorizing corporate entities to form digitally and use software as a means for setting out agreements and bylaws governing corporate activities. The collective essays in the book propose a new way of thinking about the legal system that should be of interest to policymakers and academic scholars alike. Moreover, the ideas presented here, if embodied in law, would augment a sustained increase in U.S. economic growth, improving living standards for U.S. residents and for many in the rest of the world