Every year, Americans elect hundreds of thousands of candidates to local public office, typically in low-attention, nonpartisan races. How do voters evaluate candidates in these sorts of elections? Previous research suggests that, absent party cues, voters rely on a set of heuristic shortcuts – including the candidate’s name, profession, and interest group endorsements – to decide whom to support. In this paper, we suggest that community embeddedness – a candidate’s roots and ties to the community – is particularly salient in these local contests. We present evidence from a conjoint survey experiment on a nationally representative sample of American voters. We estimate the marginal effect on vote share of candidate attributes such as gender, race, age, profession, interest group endorsements, and signals of community embeddedness – specifically homeownership and residency duration. We find that voters, regardless of political party, have strong preferences for community embeddedness. Strikingly, the magnitude of the residency duration effect rivals that of prior political experience.

Medical ethics education is crucial for medical students and trainees, helping to shape attitudes, beliefs, values, and professional identities. Exploration of ethical dilemmas and approaches to resolving them provides a broader understanding of the social and cultural contexts in which medicine is practiced, as well as the ethical implications of medical decisions, fostering critical thinking and self-reflection skills imperative to providing patient-centered care. However, exposure to medical ethics topics and their clinical applications can be limited by curricular constraints and the availability of institutional resources and expertise. Podcasts, among other Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAMed) resources, are a novel educational tool that offers particular advantages for self-directed learning, a process by which learners engage in asynchronous educational opportunities outside of traditional academic or clinical settings. Podcasts can be readily distributed to wide audiences and played at any time, reducing barriers to access and offering a level of flexibility that is not possible with traditional forms of education and is well-suited to busy schedules. Podcasts can also use real voices and storytelling to make the content memorable and eminently human. This paper describes the development, production process, and impact of Core IM’s “At the Bedside,” a podcast focusing on issues in medical ethics and the medical humanities, intending to supplement standard bioethics curricula in an accessible, relevant, and engaging way. The authors advocate for broad incorporation of podcasts into medical ethics education.

All MDO-polytypes (i.e. regular polytypes) of trioctahedral, dioctahedral and monoctahedral 1:1 phyllosilicates are derived from their OD-character using the results of our preceding paper. The terms ‘simple polytype’, ‘standard polytype’ and ‘regular polytype’ turn out to be synonyms of the term ‘MDO-polytype’ which has the advantage of being exactly defined. The method used to obtain the MDO-polytypes is also applicable to more complicated cases.

The idealized symmetry of kaolinite-type minerals (1:1 phyllosilicates) is analysed in detail. They can be considered as OD-structures consisting of three kinds of OD-layers. Each of them, taken separately, possesses higher symmetry than their combination. This explains the well-known tendency of kaolinite-type minerals to form a wide variety of ordered and disordered polytypes as well as twins. The possible stacking sequences result from the different kinds of pairs of kaolinite layers which are derived for dioctahedral, trioctahedral as well as ‘monoctahedral’ kaolinite-type minerals, the latter being defined as those in which the three octahedral positions are occupied by three different cations or two different cations and a void. The analysis makes use of a simple symbolism and a simplified pictorial representation.

A brief summary of the most important terms and definitions of the theory of OD-structures is given in an Appendix.

From the symmetry point of view, micas may be classified as follows: those with all three octahedrally coordinated sites occupied by the same cation (homo-octahedral micas), those with only two of these sites occupied by the same cation (meso-octahedral micas), and those with the three sites occupied by different cations or by two different cations and a void, in an ordered manner (hetero-octahedral micas). For any of these three classes, mica polytypes, idealized in accordance with the generalized Pauling model, can be interpreted as OD structures consisting of octahedral OD layering and tetrahedral OD layering in which an interlayer cation plane is sandwiched between tetrahedral sheets. A mica layer built up by an octahedral sheet and two halves of tetrahedral sheets on either side consists of two OD packets linked by a two-fold rotation.

The orientation of any OD packet may be given by a number from 0 to 5 (related to a hexagonal coordinate system). A dot behind or before these numbers is used to denote the position of the octahedral layer (number + dot = orientational character). The displacement of a packet against its predecessor is characterized by a vector from the origin of a packet pn (or qn-1) to the origin of the adjacent packet pn+1 (or p2n). These displacements may also be symbolized by numbers from 0 to 5 (displacement characters); a zero displacement is symbolized by *. Any mica polytype (ordered or disordered) can thus be described by a two-line symbol. The orientational characters are located on the first line, and the displacement characters on the second. Any symbol, therefore denotes unequivocally the stacking layers in a polytype. The space-group symmetry of ordered polytypes follows directly from the symbol.

This study addresses the phenomenon of misinformation about misinformation, or politicians “crying wolf” over fake news. Strategic and false claims that stories are fake news or deepfakes may benefit politicians by helping them maintain support after a scandal. We posit that this benefit, known as the “liar’s dividend,” may be achieved through two politician strategies: by invoking informational uncertainty or by encouraging oppositional rallying of core supporters. We administer five survey experiments to over 15,000 American adults detailing hypothetical politician responses to stories describing real politician scandals. We find that claims of misinformation representing both strategies raise politician support across partisan subgroups. These strategies are effective against text-based reports of scandals, but are largely ineffective against video evidence and do not reduce general trust in media. Finally, these false claims produce greater dividends for politicians than alternative responses to scandal, such as remaining silent or apologizing.

This is the second paper in a two-part series describing subject and family perspectives from the CENTURY-S (CENtral Thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation for the Treatment of Traumatic Brain InjURY-Safety) first-in-human invasive neurological device trial to achieve cognitive restoration in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI). To participate, subjects were independently assessed to formally establish decision-making capacity to provide voluntary informed consent. Here, we report on post-operative interviews conducted after a successful trial of thalamic stimulation. All five msTBI subjects met a pre-selected primary endpoint of at least a 10% improvement in completion time on Trail-Making-Test Part B, a marker of executive function. We describe narrative responses of subjects and family members, refracted against that success. Interviews following surgery and the stimulation trial revealed the challenge of adaptation to improvements in cognitive function and emotional regulation as well as altered (and restored) relationships and family dynamics. These improvements exposed barriers to social reintegration made relevant by recoveries once thought inconceivable. The study’s success sparked concerns about post-trial access to implanted devices, financing of device maintenance, battery replacement, and on-going care. Most subjects and families identified the need for supportive counseling to adapt to the new trajectory of their lives.

Does providing information about police shootings influence policing reform preferences? We conducted an online survey experiment in 2021 among approximately 2,600 residents of 10 large US cities. It incorporated original data we collected on police shootings of civilians. After respondents estimated the number of police shootings in their cities in 2020, we randomized subjects into three treatment groups and a control group. Treatments included some form of factual information about the police shootings in respondents’ cities (e.g., the actual total number). Afterward, respondents were asked their opinions about five policing reform proposals. Police shooting statistics did not move policing reform preferences. Support for policing reforms is primarily associated with partisanship and ideology, coupled with race. Our findings illuminate key sources of policing reform preferences among the public and reveal potential limits of information-driven, numeric-based initiatives to influence policing in the US.

This paper examines the impact of trade-related technology diffusion from G7 countries to Latin America and East Asia on total factor productivity controlling for education, governance, and distance. We build on the trade and distance-focused strands of the technology diffusion literature and find that (i) total factor productivity (TFP) increases with education, trade, and governance (ETG) and declines with distance to the G7 countries; (ii) increasing Latin America's ETG to East Asia's level would double TFP, accounting for about 75% of the TFP gap between the two country groups; and (iii) South America's greater remoteness relative to Mexico's from the US and Canada significantly reduces its TFP and similarly for Singapore's greater remoteness from Japan relative to Hong Kong.

Evidence suggests that well-funded, professional legislatures more effectively provide constituents with their preferred policies and may improve social welfare. Yet, legislative resources across state legislatures have stagnated or dwindled at least in part due to public antagonism toward increasing representatives’ salaries. We argue that one reason voters oppose legislative resources, like salary and staff, is that they are unaware of the potential benefits. Employing a pre-registered survey experiment with a pre–post design, we find that subjects respond positively to potential social welfare benefits of professionalization, increasing support for greater resources. We also find that individuals identifying with the legislative majority party respond positively to potential responsiveness benefits and that out-partisans do not respond negatively to potential responsiveness costs. In a separate survey of political elites, we find similar patterns. These results suggest that a key barrier to increasing legislative professionalism – anticipated public backlash – may not be insurmountable. The findings also highlight a challenge of institutional choice: beliefs that representatives are unresponsive or ineffective lead to governing institutions that may ensure these outcomes.

This is the first article in a two-part series describing subject and family perspectives from the central thalamic deep brain stimulation for the treatment of traumatic brain injury using the Medtronic PC + S first-in-human invasive neurological device trial to achieve cognitive restoration in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, with subjects who were deemed capable of providing voluntary informed consent. In this article, we report on interviews conducted prior to surgery wherein we asked participants about their experiences recovering from brain injury and their perspectives on study enrollment and participation. We asked how risks and benefits were weighed, what their expectations and fears were, and how decisions were reached about trial participation. We found that informed consent and enrollment decisions are fraught. Subjects and families were often split, with subjects more focused on putative benefits and families concerned about incremental risk. Both subjects and families viewed brain injury as disruptive to personal identity and relationships. As decisions were made about study enrollment, families struggled with recognizing the re-emergent agency of subjects and ceding decision-making authority to subjects who had previously been dependent upon them for protection and guidance. Subjects and family members reported a hope for the relief of cognitive disabilities, improved quality of life, normalization of interpersonal interactions, and a return to work or school as reasons for study participation, along with altruism and a desire to advance science. Despite these aspirations, both subjects and families appreciated the risks of the intervention and did not suffer from a therapeutic misconception. A second essay to be published in the next issue of Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics—Clinical Neuroethics will describe interviews conducted after surgery, the effects of cognitive restoration for subjects, families, and challenges presented to the social structures they will call upon to support them through recovery. This subsequent article will be available online prior to its formal publication in October 2023.

Background: Proteogenomics, the integration of proteomics and RNASeq expands the discovery landscape for candidate expressed gene networks to obtain novel insights into host response in post-infectious hydrocephalus (PIH). We examined the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of infants with PIH, and case controlled against age-matched infants with non-postinfectious hydrocephalus (NPIH) to probe the molecular mechanisms of PIH, leveraging molecular identification of bacterial and viral pathogens. Methods: Ventricular CSF samples of 100 infants ≤ 3 months of age with PIH (n=64) and NPIH (n=36) were analyzed with proteomics and RNASeq. 16S rRNA/DNA sequencing and virome capture identified Paenibacillus spp. and cytomegalovirus as dominant pathogenetic bacteria implicated in our PIH cohort. Proteogenomics assessed differential expression, gene set enrichment and activated gene pathways. Results: Of 616 proteins and 11,114 genes, there was enrichment for the immune system, cell-cell junction signaling and response to oxidative stress. Proteogenomics yielded 33 functionally and genetically associated gene sets related to neutrophil activation, platelet activation, and cytokines (interleukins and interferon) signaling. Conclusions: We identified PIH patients with severe disease at time of hydrocephalus surgery, to have differential expression of proteins/genes involved in neuroinflammation, ependymal barrier integrity and reaction to oxidative stress. Further studies are needed to examine those proteins/genes as biomarkers for PIH.

Background: Proteogenomics, the integration of proteomics and RNASeq expands the discovery landscape for candidate expressed gene networks to obtain novel insights into host response in post-infectious hydrocephalus (PIH). We examined the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of infants with PIH, and case controlled against age-matched infants with non-postinfectious hydrocephalus (NPIH) to probe the molecular mechanisms of PIH, leveraging molecular identification of bacterial and viral pathogens. Methods: Ventricular CSF samples of 100 infants ≤ 3 months of age with PIH (n=64) and NPIH (n=36) were analyzed with proteomics and RNASeq. 16S rRNA/DNA sequencing and virome capture identified Paenibacillus spp. and cytomegalovirus as dominant pathogenetic bacteria implicated in our PIH cohort. Proteogenomics assessed differential expression, gene set enrichment and activated gene pathways. Results: Of 616 proteins and 11,114 genes, there was enrichment for the immune system, cell-cell junction signaling and response to oxidative stress. Proteogenomics yielded 33 functionally and genetically associated gene sets related to neutrophil activation, platelet activation, and cytokines (interleukins and interferon) signaling. Conclusions: We identified PIH patients with severe disease at time of hydrocephalus surgery, to have differential expression of proteins/genes involved in neuroinflammation, ependymal barrier integrity and reaction to oxidative stress. Further studies are needed to examine those proteins/genes as biomarkers for PIH.