cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Surface Oxidation on the Onset of Nucleate Boiling in a Materials Test Reactor Coolant Channel

The onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) serves as the thermal-hydraulic operating limit for many research and test reactors. However, boiling incipience under forced convection has not been well-characterized in narrow channel geometries or for oxidized surface conditions. This study presents experimental data for the ONB in vertical upflow of deionized (DI) water in a simulated materials test reactor (MTR) coolant channel. The channel gap thickness and aspect ratio were 1.96 mm and 29:1, respectively. Boiling surface conditions were carefully controlled and characterized, with both heavily oxidized and native oxide surfaces tested. Measurements were performed for mass fluxes ranging from 750 to 3000 kg/m2s and for subcoolings ranging from 10 to 45°C. ONB was identified using a combination of high-speed visual observation, surface temperature measurements, and channel pressure drop measurements. Surface temperature measurements were found to be most reliable in identifying the ONB. For the nominal (native oxide) surface, results indicate that the correlation of Bergles and Rohsenow, when paired with the appropriate single-phase heat transfer correlation, adequately predicts the ONB heat flux. Furthermore, incipience on the oxidized surface occurred at a higher heat flux and superheat than on the plain surface.
The Effect of Price and Non-Price Conservation Programs on Residential Water Demand

The study examines effectiveness of price- and non-price residential water demand management programs. Household-level water use data for Alachua County, Florida, were analyzed using three methods: IV, 2SLS, and 3SLS. Residential water demand is examined separately for households with combined water meters, as well as separate indoor and outdoor irrigation water meters. Preliminary results show that the price-base program (i.e., inclining block rate pricing) and non-price programs (i.e., residential irrigation restrictions with an enforcement component) have a significant effect on monthly household water use.
On the sizes and lifetimes of cold pools

Author(s): Romps, DM; Jeevanjee, N | Abstract: Cold pools of air, which are formed by evaporating precipitation, play a critical role in the triggering of new precipitation. Despite their recognized importance, little effort has been devoted to building simple models of their dynamics. Here, analytical equations are derived for the radius, height, and buoyancy of a cylindrical cold pool as a function of time, and a scale analysis reveals that entrainment is a dominant influence. These governing equations yield simple expressions for the maximum sizes and lifetimes of cold pools. The terminal radius of a cold pool is relatively insensitive to its initial conditions, with a typical maximum radius of about 14 times the initial radius, give or take a factor of 2. The terminal time of a cold pool, on the other hand, can vary over orders of magnitude depending on its initial potential and kinetic energies. These predictions are validated against large-eddy simulations.
The Diffusion of Process Innovation: The Case of Drip Irrigation in California

This article uses drip irrigation to illustrate the evolution of process innovations during their diffusion—undergoing several waves of improvements and coevolution with other production practices in order to move across applications and locations over time. First we integrate multiple data sources to trace the rich history of drip in California. We find that drip’s evolution has been consistent with 1) the threshold model, which emphasizes the tendency to first adopt a technology at locations where it is most valuable and 2) the real option value model, which suggests that crisis situations trigger major transitions. We highlight the role of the private and public sector in adapting process innovations to local needs and show the necessity of historical analysis and perspective in assessing a technology’s impacts. Second, we empirically investigate the productivity impacts of drip irrigation in California, focusing on changes in crop yields and farm income. We estimate a yield effect of drip ranging from 16-48%, depending on the crop and location, and an increase in farm income between 2.6-7.4% annually. On whole, we show that the diffusion of drip was gradual, Cooperative Extension was essential, and the gains for California agriculture were substantial.
Deformability-based cell selection with downstream immunofluorescence analysis

Mechanical properties of single cells have been shown to relate to cell phenotype and malignancy. However, until recently, it has been difficult to directly correlate each cell's biophysical characteristics to its molecular traits. Here, we present a cell sorting technique for use with a suspended microchannel resonator (SMR), which can measure biophysical characteristics of a single cell based on the sensor's record of its buoyant mass as well as its precise position while it traverses through a constricted microfluidic channel. The measurement provides information regarding the amount of time a cell takes to pass through a constriction (passage time), as related to the cell's deformability and surface friction, as well as the particular manner in which it passes through. In the method presented here, cells of interest are determined based on passage time, and are collected off-chip for downstream immunofluorescence imaging. The biophysical single-cell SMR measurement can then be correlated to the molecular expression of the collected cell. This proof-of-principle is demonstrated by sorting and collecting tumor cells from cell line-spiked blood samples as well as a metastatic prostate cancer patient blood sample, identifying them by their surface protein expression and relating them to distinct SMR signal trajectories.
Intrinsic Robustness of the Price of Anarchy

The price of anarchy, defined as the ratio of the worst-case objective function value of a Nash equilibrium of a game and that of an optimal outcome, quantifies the inefficiency of selfish behavior. Remarkably good bounds on this measure are known for a wide range of application domains. However, such bounds are meaningful only if a game's participants successfully reach a Nash equilibrium. This drawback motivates inefficiency bounds that apply more generally to weaker notions of equilibria, such as mixed Nash equilibria and correlated equilibria, and to sequences of outcomes generated by natural experimentation strategies, such as successive best responses and simultaneous regret-minimization.We establish a general and fundamental connection between the price of anarchy and its seemingly more general relatives. First, we identify a “canonical sufficient condition” for an upper bound on the price of anarchy of pure Nash equilibria, which we call a smoothness argument. Second, we prove an “extension theorem”: every bound on the price of anarchy that is derived via a smoothness argument extends automatically, with no quantitative degradation in the bound, to mixed Nash equilibria, correlated equilibria, and the average objective function value of every outcome sequence generated by no-regret learners. Smoothness arguments also have automatic implications for the inefficiency of approximate equilibria, for bicriteria bounds, and, under additional assumptions, for polynomial-length best-response sequences. Third, we prove that in congestion games, smoothness arguments are “complete” in a proof-theoretic sense: despite their automatic generality, they are guaranteed to produce optimal worst-case upper bounds on the price of anarchy.
Addressing high severity faults in web application testing

Extreme resource constraints in web application development environments often lead to minimal formal testing. This lack of testing compounds the problem of low consumer retention. In this paper, we analyze an existing study of the consumer-perceived severities of 400 realworld web application faults. We provide concrete guidelines to increase the perceived return-on-investment of testing. We show that even coarse-grained, automated test cases can detect high severity faults. Developers can also mitigate consumer perceptions of fault severity by presenting faults using specific idioms that minimize disruptions to application interaction. Finally, we examine the trade offs between various user-session-based test suite reduction approaches for web applications and the severity of uncovered faults. Overall, we show that even modest testing approaches are able to provide significant predicted gains in consumer satisfaction by focusing on flagging and preventing high severity faults.
Efficient access to sp3-rich tricyclic amine scaffolds through Diels–Alder reactions of azide-containing silyloxydienes

Abstract The preparation of sp 3 -rich scaffolds to obtain more natural product–like libraries for incorporation into screening decks is challenging. Here, we describe the use of a Diels–Alder reaction between an enone and an azide-containing silyloxydiene to gain efficient access to complex tricyclic amine scaffolds. Derivatization of these scaffolds provided a library of 80 amines, amides, sulfonamides, quinolines and indolenines, all in >20 mg quantities and >90% purities. These library compounds displayed properties more similar to alkaloid natural products than to drugs and commercial drug-like libraries, as shown by a high proportion of sp 3 carbon centers.
Checkpointing to minimize completion time for inter-dependent parallel processes on volunteer grids

Volunteer computing is being used successfully for large scale scientific computations. This research is in the context of Volpex, a programming framework that supports communicating parallel processes in a volunteer environment. Redundancy and checkpointing are combined to ensure consistent forward progress with Volpex in this unique execution environment characterized by heterogeneous failure prone nodes and interdependent replicated processes. An important parameter for optimizing performance with Volpex is the frequency of checkpointing. The paper presents a mathematical model to minimize the completion time for inter-dependent parallel processes running in a volunteer environment by finding a suitable checkpoint interval. Validation is performed with a sample real world application running on a pool of distributed volunteer nodes. The results indicate that the performance with our predicted checkpoint interval is fairly close to the best performance obtained empirically by varying the checkpoint interval.
netCSI: A Generic Fault Diagnosis Algorithm for Large-Scale Failures in Computer Networks

We present a framework and a set of algorithms for determining faults in networks when large scale outages occur. The design principles of our algorithm, netCSI, are motivated by the fact that failures are geographically clustered in such cases. We address the challenge of determining faults with incomplete symptom information due to a limited number of reporting nodes. netCSI consists of two parts: a hypotheses generation algorithm, and a ranking algorithm. When constructing the hypothesis list of potential causes, we make novel use of positive and negative symptoms to improve the precision of the results. In addition, we propose pruning and thresholding along with a dynamic threshold value selector , to reduce the complexity of our algorithm. The ranking algorithm is based on conditional failure probability models that account for the geographic correlation of the network objects in clustered failures. We evaluate the performance of netCSI for networks with both random and realistic topologies. We compare the performance of netCSI with an existing fault diagnosis algorithm, MAX-COVERAGE, and demonstrate an average gain of 128 percent in accuracy for realistic topologies.
Palladium-catalyzed allylic C-H fluorination.

The first catalytic allylic C–H fluorination reaction using a nucleophilic fluoride source is reported. Under the influence of a Pd/Cr cocatalyst system, simple olefin substrates undergo fluorination with Et3N·3HF in good yields with high branched:linear regioselectivity. The mild conditions and broad scope make this reaction a powerful alternative to established methods for the preparation of allylic fluorides from prefunctionalized substrates.
Pediatric Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders: Advances in imaging and computational modeling.

We understand now that sleep of sufficient length and quality is required for good health. This is particularly true for infants and children, who have the added physiologic task of growth and development, as compared to their adult counterparts. Sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs) are common in childhood and if unrecognized and not treated can result in significant morbidity. For example, children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can exhibit behavioral, mood, and learning difficulties. If left untreated, alterations in the function of the autonomic nervous system and a chronic inflammatory state result, contributing to the risk of heart disease, stroke, glucose intolerance, and hypertension in adulthood.
Porous organic polymers in catalysis: Opportunities and challenges

Porous organic polymers (POPs), a class of highly cross-linked, amorphous polymers possessing micropores, have recently emerged as a versatile platform for the deployment of catalysts. These materials can be divided into three major classes: POPs that incorporate rigid well-defined homogeneous catalysts as building blocks, POPs that can be modified post-synthesis, and POPs that encapsulate metal particles. This perspective article summarizes the recent developments in POP-based catalysis and outlines the potential of POPs as platforms of heterogeneous catalysts along with some of the challenges.
Polar Coding for the Broadcast Channel With Confidential Messages: A Random Binning Analogy

We develop a low-complexity polar coding scheme for the discrete memoryless broadcast channel with confidential messages under strong secrecy and randomness constraints. Our scheme extends previous work by using an optimal rate of uniform randomness in the stochastic encoder, and avoiding assumptions regarding the symmetry or degraded nature of the channels. The price paid for these extensions is that the encoder and the decoders are required to share a secret seed of negligible size and to increase the block length through chaining. We also highlight a close conceptual connection between the proposed polar coding scheme and a random binning proof of the secrecy capacity region.
Palladium-Catalyzed Alkenylation and Alkynylation of ortho-C(sp2)–H Bonds of Benzylamine Picolinamides

An efficient functionalization of ortho-C(sp2)–H bonds of picolinamide (PA)-protected benzylamine substrates with a range of vinyl iodides as well as acetylenic bromide is reported. ortho-Phenyl benzoic acid (oPBA) acts as an effective promoter in this reaction system. This method provides a practical strategy to access highly functionalized benzylamine compounds for organic synthesis.
Surface-mediated protein disaggregation.

Preventing protein aggregation is of both biological and industrial importance. Interprotein interactions between the hydrophobic residues of the protein are known to be the major driving force for protein aggregation. In this article, we show how surface chemistry and curvature can be tuned to mitigate these interprotein interactions. Our results calculated in the framework of the Hydrophobic–Polar (HP) lattice model show that interprotein interactions can be drastically reduced by increasing the surface hydrophobicity to a critical value corresponding to the adsorption transition of the protein. At this value of surface hydrophobicity, proteins lose interprotein contacts to gain surface contacts, and thus the surface helps to reduce the interprotein interactions. Furthermore, we show that the adsorption of the proteins inside hydrophobic pores of optimal sizes are most efficient at both reducing interprotein contacts and simultaneously retaining most of the native contacts probably as a result of confin...
Diastereoselective intramolecular Friedel-Crafts cyclizations of substituted methyl 2-(1H-indole-1-carbonyl)acrylates: efficient access to functionalized 1H-pyrrolo[1,2-a]indoles.

A general, catalytic method for the diastereoselective synthesis of functionalized 1H-pyrrolo[1,2-a]indoles via an intramolecular Friedel–Crafts alkylation of N-acyl indoles is reported. Products were obtained in excellent yields (up to 98%) with high diastereoselectivities (up to >25:1 dr).
What Is Governance

This commentary points to the poor state of empirical measures of the quality of states, that is, executive branches and their bureaucracies. Much of the problem is conceptual, as there is very little agreement on what constitutes high-quality government. The commentary suggests four approaches: (1) procedural measures, such as the Weberian criteria of bureaucratic modernity; (2) capacity measures, which include both resources and degree of professionalization; (3) output measures; and (4) measures of bureaucratic autonomy. It rejects output measures and suggests a two-dimensional framework of using capacity and autonomy as a measure of executive branch quality. This framework explains the conundrum of why low-income countries are advised to reduce bureaucratic autonomy while high-income ones seek to increase it.
Mobile phones, rent-to-own payments & water filters: Evidence from Kenya

Experiments with a sales offer that combines a free trial and rent-to-own payments for durable filters to increase purchases in Kenya.
The efficacy of early amniotomy in nulliparous labor induction: A randomized controlled trial

Objective The purpose of this study was to assess whether early amniotomy reduces the duration of labor or increases the proportion of subjects who are delivered within 24 hours in nulliparous patients who undergo labor induction. Study Design We performed a randomized controlled trial that compared early amniotomy to standard management in nulliparous labor inductions. Inclusion criteria were nulliparity, singleton, term gestation, and a need for labor induction. Subjects were assigned randomly to early amniotomy (artificial rupture of membranes, ≤4 cm) or to standard treatment. There were 2 primary outcomes: (1) time from induction initiation to delivery and (2) the proportion of women who delivered within 24 hours. Results Early amniotomy shortens the time to delivery by >2 hours (19.0 vs 21.3 hours) and increases the proportion of induced nulliparous women who deliver within 24 hours (68% vs 56%). These improvements in labor outcomes did not come at the expense of increased complications. Conclusion Early amniotomy is a safe and efficacious adjunct in nulliparous labor inductions.
Mansilla: un civilizado entre los bárbaros

L'A. commente Una excursion a los indios ranqueles (1870), temoignage du colonel Mansilla des 18 jours qu'il a passes parmi les indiens de la zone frontaliere Cordoba-San Luis-Mendoza, dans le cadre d'une mission visant a preparer l'expansion des frontieres de l'Argentine par incorporation des territoires indiens. Dans le cadre de sa description des coutumes et du mode de vie des indiens, on peut voir jouer la dialectique Barbare(l'autre)/civilise(Mansilla) et, plus profondement, une maniere pour Mansilla de mettre a l'epreuve son propre etre social, une nouvelle prise de conscience de soi par la confrontation a l'autre.
Real-Time Facial Segmentation and Performance Capture from RGB Input

We introduce the concept of unconstrained real-time 3D facial performance capture through explicit semantic segmentation in the RGB input. To ensure robustness, cutting edge supervised learning approaches rely on large training datasets of face images captured in the wild. While impressive tracking quality has been demonstrated for faces that are largely visible, any occlusion due to hair, accessories, or hand-to-face gestures would result in significant visual artifacts and loss of tracking accuracy. The modeling of occlusions has been mostly avoided due to its immense space of appearance variability. To address this curse of high dimensionality, we perform tracking in unconstrained images assuming non-face regions can be fully masked out. Along with recent breakthroughs in deep learning, we demonstrate that pixel-level facial segmentation is possible in real-time by repurposing convolutional neural networks designed originally for general semantic segmentation. We develop an efficient architecture based on a two-stream deconvolution network with complementary characteristics, and introduce carefully designed training samples and data augmentation strategies for improved segmentation accuracy and robustness. We adopt a state-of-the-art regression-based facial tracking framework with segmented face images as training, and demonstrate accurate and uninterrupted facial performance capture in the presence of extreme occlusion and even side views. Furthermore, the resulting segmentation can be directly used to composite partial 3D face models on the input images and enable seamless facial manipulation tasks, such as virtual make-up or face replacement.
Capturing Phase Evolution during Solvothermal Synthesis of Metastable Cu4O3

The metastability of Cu4O3 has long hindered the synthetic preparation of bulk samples with substantial crystallinity. The lack of suitable samples has thwarted the detailed understanding of the magnetic properties of Cu4O3 and the ability to tune its properties. While Cu4O3 was recently shown to form in solvothermal reactions, the results are unpredictable, and the crystals are small. We developed a new, more uniform synthesis technique using sealed fused silica tubes. Interrogation of the solid and liquid phases resulting from this reaction has shed more light on the kinetic evolution of copper-containing phases and the microstructural correlation between different precipitation products. We find that direct conversion of the intermediate phase Cu2(NO3)(OH)3 to Cu4O3 is a likely consequence of dimethylformamide (DMF) triggered in situ reduction. The optimal reduction environment should be more straightforward to attain given the improved reliability of our method, and it remains under investigation. We ...
Plane Plastic Deformation of Soils

Consistent theory of plane plastic deformation of soil is formulated by assuming soil as ideal material that has constant cohesion and frictional angle; mathematical expression referred to as "compression characteristic" is developed; then system of differential equations describing plasticity of material is devised; consistency of system of equations is shown by theory of characteristic lines.
Complicating Decisions: The Work Ethic Heuristic and the Construction of Effortful Decisions

The notion that effort and hard work yield desired outcomes is ingrained in many cultures and affects our thinking and behavior. However, could valuing effort complicate our lives? In the present article, the authors demonstrate that individuals with a stronger tendency to link effort with positive outcomes end up complicating what should be easy decisions. People distort their preferences and the information they search and recall in a manner that intensifies the choice conflict and decisional effort they experience before finalizing their choice. Six experiments identify the effort-outcome link as the underlying mechanism for such conflict-increasing behavior. Individuals with a stronger tendency to link effort with positive outcomes (e.g., individuals who subscribe to a Protestant Work Ethic) are shown to complicate decisions by: (a) distorting evaluations of alternatives (Study 1); (b) distorting information recalled about the alternatives (Studies 2a and 2b); and (3) distorting interpretations of information about the alternatives (Study 3). Further, individuals conduct a superfluous search for information and spend more time than needed on what should have been an easy decision (Studies 4a and 4b). (PsycINFO Database Record
Simulation of Thermographic Responses of Delaminations in Composites with Quadrupole Method

The application of the quadrupole method for simulating thermal responses of delaminations in carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites materials is presented. The method solves for the flux at the interface containing the delamination. From the interface flux, the temperature at the surface is calculated. While the results presented are for single sided measurements, with ash heating, expansion of the technique to arbitrary temporal flux heating or through transmission measurements is simple. The quadrupole method is shown to have two distinct advantages relative to finite element or finite difference techniques. First, it is straight forward to incorporate arbitrary shaped delaminations into the simulation. Second, the quadrupole method enables calculation of the thermal response at only the times of interest. This, combined with a significant reduction in the number of degrees of freedom for the same simulation quality, results in a reduction of the computation time by at least an order of magnitude. Therefore, it is a more viable technique for model based inversion of thermographic data. Results for simulations of delaminations in composites are presented and compared to measurements and finite element method results.
Neuroendocrine changes in affectively ill children and adolescents.

Based on the published studies in the English language, the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) appears to be the best studied neuroendocrine test in depressed children and adolescents. Current data indicate that depressed adults, adolescents, and children seem to have similar abnormalities on the DST. Further research is necessary to study more fully the role of growth hormone, TSH response to TRH, and melatonin in depressed children as well as adults.
Pathology Informatics Essentials for Residents: A Flexible Informatics Curriculum Linked to Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestones

Context.—Recognition of the importance of informatics to the practice of pathology has surged. Training residents in pathology informatics has been a daunting task for most residency programs in the United States because faculty often lacks experience and training resources. Nevertheless, developing resident competence in informatics is essential for the future of pathology as a specialty. Objective.—To develop and deliver a pathology informatics curriculum and instructional framework that guides pathology residency programs in training residents in critical pathology informatics knowledge and skills, and meets Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Informatics Milestones. Design.—The College of American Pathologists, Association of Pathology Chairs, and Association for Pathology Informatics formed a partnership and expert work group to identify critical pathology informatics training outcomes and to create a highly adaptable curriculum and instructional approach, supported by a multiyear ch...
The flux qubit revisited to enhance coherence and reproducibility.

The scalable application of quantum information science will stand on reproducible and controllable high-coherence quantum bits (qubits). Here, we revisit the design and fabrication of the superconducting flux qubit, achieving a planar device with broad-frequency tunability, strong anharmonicity, high reproducibility and relaxation times in excess of 40 μs at its flux-insensitive point. Qubit relaxation times T1 across 22 qubits are consistently matched with a single model involving resonator loss, ohmic charge noise and 1/f-flux noise, a noise source previously considered primarily in the context of dephasing. We furthermore demonstrate that qubit dephasing at the flux-insensitive point is dominated by residual thermal-photons in the readout resonator. The resulting photon shot noise is mitigated using a dynamical decoupling protocol, resulting in T2≈85 μs, approximately the 2T1 limit. In addition to realizing an improved flux qubit, our results uniquely identify photon shot noise as limiting T2 in contemporary qubits based on transverse qubit–resonator interaction. Scalable quantum information processing requires controllable high-coherence qubits. Here, the authors present superconducting flux qubits with broad frequency tunability, strong anharmonicity and high reproducibility, identifying photon shot noise as the main source of dephasing for further improvements.
Teaching about Global Complexity: Experiential Conflict Resolution Pedagogy in Higher Education Classrooms

This article examines the utility of experiential learning activities (ELAs) for teaching about global complexity and conflict resolution in higher education classrooms. It focuses on two key concepts: the nexus between global and local and the precarity experienced within global processes. Research on two ELAs, a multisession simulation and a single-session image analysis, each designed for use in conflict resolution courses, produced extensive data on student learning. The analysis presented demonstrates that for many students, the ELAs resulted in greater engagement with course materials, more nuanced understandings of global complexity, and increased ability to link theory to practice.
On the Power of Hierarchical Identity-Based Encryption

We prove that there is no fully black-box construction of collision-resistant hash functions CRH from hierarchical identity-based encryption HIBE with arbitrary polynomial number of identity levels. To the best of our knowledge this is the first limitation proved for HIBE. As a corollary, we obtain a series of separations that are not directly about HIBE or CRH but are interesting on their own right. Namely, we show that primitives such as IBE and CCA-secure public-key encryption cannot be used in a black-box way to construct fully homomorphic encryption or any primitive that implies CRH in a black-box way. Our proof relies on the reconstruction paradigm of Gennaro and Trevisan FOCS 2000 and Haitner eti¾?al. FOCS 2007 and extends their techniques for one-way and trapdoor permutations to the setting of HIBE. A main technical challenge in the proof of our separation stems from the adaptivity of the HIBE adversary who is allowed to obtain keys for different identities before she selects the attacked identity. Our main technical contribution is to develop compression/reconstruction techniques that can be achieved relative to such adaptive attackers.
Selective Formation of ortho-Aminobenzylamines by the Copper-Catalyzed Amination of Benzylamine Boronate Esters

The copper-catalyzed coupling between benzylamino boronate esters and aryl amines has been investigated. Formation of ortho-aminobenzylamines was achieved under oxidative conditions in the presence of copper(II) acetate. The major side product of the transformation is the homocoupling of the aryl boronate ester. The formation of the desired diamines was found to be improved in the absence of base, increasing selectivity over the homocoupled product. Both electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents are tolerated on both the boronate ester substrate and the aniline coupling partner under the reaction conditions. The presence of the adjacent benzylamine moiety appears to enhance the reactivity of the boronate ester and influence the resulting product distribution, likely by affecting the competing rates of transmetalation in the catalytic cycles.
Supervised Transformer Network for Efficient Face Detection

Large pose variations remain to be a challenge that confronts real-word face detection. We propose a new cascaded Convolutional Neural Network, dubbed the name Supervised Transformer Network, to address this challenge. The first stage is a multi-task Region Proposal Network (RPN), which simultaneously predicts candidate face regions along with associated facial landmarks. The candidate regions are then warped by mapping the detected facial landmarks to their canonical positions to better normalize the face patterns. The second stage, which is a RCNN, then verifies if the warped candidate regions are valid faces or not. We conduct end-to-end learning of the cascaded network, including optimizing the canonical positions of the facial landmarks. This supervised learning of the transformations automatically selects the best scale to differentiate face/non-face patterns. By combining feature maps from both stages of the network, we achieve state-of-the-art detection accuracies on several public benchmarks. For real-time performance, we run the cascaded network only on regions of interests produced from a boosting cascade face detector. Our detector runs at 30 FPS on a single CPU core for a VGA-resolution image.
Target Tracking System Using Multiple Cameras and Bayesian Estimation

In recent years, the increase in amount of camera networks available has led to the rise up of new techniques and applications of signal processing. In this work, an implementation of image sensor network, cameras, for mobile target tracking is shown. More specifically, it is performed an application of particle filter in a distributed way, based on leader agents for state estimation. Finally, simulations are presented, as well as a real experiment made with a camera network to track a mobile platform.
Carbon balance effects of U.S. biofuel production and use

The use of liquid biofuels has expanded over the past decade in response to policies such as the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that promote their use for transportation. One rationale is the belief that biofuels are inherently carbon neutral, meaning that only production-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions need to be tallied when comparing them to fossil fuels. This assumption is embedded in the lifecycle analysis (LCA) modeling used to justify and administer such policies. LCA studies have often found that crop-based biofuels such as corn ethanol and biodiesel offer at least modest net GHG reductions relative to petroleum fuels. Data over the period of RFS expansion enable empirical assessment of net CO2 emission effects. This analysis evaluates the direct carbon exchanges (both emissions and uptake) between the atmosphere and the U.S. vehicle-fuel system (motor vehicles and the physical supply chain for motor fuels) over 2005–2013. While U.S. biofuel use rose from 0.37 to 1.34 EJ/yr over this period, additional carbon uptake on cropland was enough to offset only 37 % of the biofuel-related biogenic CO2 emissions. This result falsifies the assumption of a full offset made by LCA and other GHG accounting methods that assume biofuel carbon neutrality. Once estimates from the literature for process emissions and displacement effects including land-use change are considered, the conclusion is that U.S. biofuel use to date is associated with a net increase rather than a net decrease in CO2 emissions.
Spatial patterning of P granules by RNA-induced phase separation of the intrinsically-disordered protein MEG-3

Animal cells contain many smaller compartments known as organelles that perform particular roles. For example, a compartment called the nucleus stores most of the cell’s genetic information. The nucleus and many other organelles form inside layers of membrane that physically separate them from the rest of the cell. However, some organelles, such as the germ granule, do not have a membrane. It is thought that these organelles may form in the same way that oil droplets tend to come together when mixed with water. However, oil droplets form in water spontaneously and do not fall apart, so it is not clear how cells could control the assembly and destruction of such organelles. The germ granules inside the cells of a worm called C. elegans are destroyed and reassembled in cycles. Smith et al. investigated how the worm cells control these cycles. The experiments show that a protein called MEG-3 is required to allow the components of granules to transition from behaving like individual molecules dissolved in water (similar to being dissolved in cell fluid) to assembling into droplets. When MEG-3 is mixed with molecules of ribonucleic acid (RNA) it can bind very tightly to the RNA and then separate out from the rest of the fluid to form distinct droplets. Smith et al. also show that another protein called MEX-5 can destroy these droplets by attaching itself to RNA in place of MEG-3, which causes MEG-3 to dissolve back into the rest of the fluid. The physical properties of the MEG-3 droplets are still not known and so the next step following on from this work will be to find out whether germ granules behave like liquids, gels or hard solids.
TOPICAL TRANEXAMIC ACID USE IN KNEE PERIPROSTHETIC JOINT INFECTION IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE

Introduction Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been shown to decrease hemoglobin loss and reduce the need for transfusions in primary hip and knee arthroplasty. Recently, authors have proven similar results in revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). No previous paper has focused on the safety and efficacy of TXA for revision TKA for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). The purpose of our study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of topical TXA in revision TKA for PJI. Methods We performed a retrospective review of all patients who underwent two-stage revision total knee arthroplasty for infection at our institution between September 25, 2007 and July 12, 2013. We evaluated hemoglobin loss, need for transfusion, one-year reinfection rate, length of stay (LOS), complications and one-year mortality with and without the use of TXA in all patients who underwent Stage-1 removal of hardware with antibiotic spacer placement and/or revision (Stage-2) for PJI of the knee. All data sets were analyzed using a two-sample t-test. Results During the study period, 45 patients underwent 49 Stage-1 procedures (20 knees with TXA, 29 without) and 44 patients underwent 47 Stage-2 revisions (28 with TXA, 19 without). Tranexamic acid use significantly decreased the hemoglobin loss in the Stage 1 group (19.8% vs 30.05%, p=0.0004) and the Stage-2 group (24.5% vs 32.01%, p=0.01). Furthermore, in both groups, the use of TXA was associated with a significant reduction in transfusion rates (Stage-1 25% vs 51.7%, p=0.04; Stage-2 25% vs 52.6%, p=0.05). There was a non-statistical decreased LOS of over a day in both groups (Stage-1 5.15 vs 6.72 days, p=0.055; Stage-2 5.21 vs 6.84 days, p=0.09). Finally, in both groups, there was no statistical difference in one-year re-infection rate (p=0.98) or one-year mortality (0 vs 0). There was a single upper extremity DVT around a PICC line, occurring in a patient who underwent a Stage 1 procedure augmented with topical TXA. There were no PEs. Conclusion Topical tranexamic acid is both safe and effective for use in both stages of revision TKA for PJI. Despite the small number of patients, we show a significant reduction in the hemoglobin loss and transfusion requirement in both stages of TKA revision for PJI. Although it did not reach significance with our number of patients, we feel an average LOS over a day shorter in each group is a strong potential for cost savings. Previous studies have shown TXA to aggravate staphylococcal infection in mice, however, we show that topical TXA does not seem to have a negative effect on the treatment of PJI in our patients and does not increase the one-year re-infection or mortality rate.
ACETABULAR CUP PLACEMENT: THE ELUSIVE HOME RUN OF THA

The acetabular component is the most troublesome implant. There is more written about acetabular placement than any other anatomical site. The problems are: Maintenance of center of rotation (COR); Coverage of the cup with correct inclination and anteversion; Maintenance of inclination below 50 degrees; Anteversion must be mated to the femur (combined anteversion). COR is critical for balance of the correct offset and leg length. The inferior-medial metal edge of the cup should lie over the TAL or just proximal to it. No cortical bone of teardrop is palpable. Coverage: Inclination of the normal bony acetabulum has a mean of 55 degrees (range to 70 degrees) so the posterior-superior edge of the cup may be uncovered in many hips to keep inclination below 50 degrees. 45 degrees is critical for wear and anteinclination. Anteversion of the cup is not independent of the femur (Brown/Callaghan, Hip Society Award paper). Femur anteversion must be known to precisely position the cup. Cup coverage is important here too. The posterior and anterior edges cannot be proud (may need to ream more medial).
Ranking Accounting Journals by Topical Area and Methodology

ABSTRACT This paper presents rankings of accounting journals disaggregated by topical area (AIS, audit, financial, managerial, tax, and other) and methodology (analytical, archival, experimental, a...
iASK: A Distributed Q&A System Incorporating Social Community and Global Collective Intelligence

Traditional web-based Question and Answer (Q&A) websites cannot easily solve non-factual questions to match askers’ preference. Recent research efforts begin to study social-based Q&A systems that rely on an asker's social friends to provide answers. However, this method cannot find answerers for a question not belonging to the asker's interests. To solve this problem, we propose a distributed Q&A system incorporating both social community intelligence and global collective intelligence, named as iASK. iASK improves the response latency and answer quality in both the social domain and global domain. It uses a neural network based friend ranking method to identify answerer candidates by considering social closeness and Q&A activities. To efficiently identify answerers in the global user base, iASK builds a virtual server tree that embeds the hierarchical structure of interests, and also maps users to the tree based on user interests. To accurately locate the cooperative experts, iASK has a fine-grained reputation system to evaluate user reputation based on their cooperativeness and expertise, and uses a reputation based reward strategy to encourage users to be cooperative. To further improve the performance of iASK, we propose a weak tie assisted social based potential answerer location algorithm and an interest coefficient based uncategorized question forwarding algorithm. To further improve the response quality and cooperativeness, we propose a reputation based reward strategy that motivates users to answer questions from unknown users. Experimental results from large-scale trace-driven simulation and real-world daily usages of the iASK prototype show the superior performance of iASK. It achieves high answer quality with 24 percent higher accuracy, short response latency with 53 percent less delay and effective cooperative incentives with 16 percent more answers compared to other social-based Q&A systems. The results also show the effectiveness of the enhancement algorithms in improving the performance of iASK.
Novel Nuclear Factor-KappaB Targeting Peptide Suppresses β-Amyloid Induced Inflammatory and Apoptotic Responses in Neuronal Cells.

In the central nervous system (CNS), activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κβ) is associated with both neuronal survival and increased vulnerability to apoptosis. The mechanisms underlying these dichotomous effects are attributed to the composition of NF-κΒ dimers. In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), β-amyloid (Aβ) and other aggregates upregulate activation of p65:p50 dimers in CNS cells and enhance transactivation of pathological mediators that cause neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Hence selective targeting of activated p65 is an attractive therapeutic strategy for AD. Here we report the design, structural and functional characterization of peptide analogs of a p65 interacting protein, the glucocorticoid induced leucine zipper (GILZ). By virtue of binding the transactivation domain of p65 exposed after release from the inhibitory IκΒ proteins in activated cells, the GILZ analogs can act as highly selective inhibitors of activated p65 with minimal potential for off-target effects.
INTRA-OPERATIVE DIGITAL RADIOGRAPHY: ASSURING COMPONENT PLACEMENT

The inability to consistently position components is associated with the major complications of hip replacement including instability, wear, liner breakage, limb length discrepancy, and limited function. This was a major catalyst for the demise of hard-on-hard bearings. The greatest challenge is accurate, reproducible positioning of acetabular component which is obtained in a surprisingly low percentage of cases. Other major issues include consistently obtaining proper limb length, offset, component sizing, and complete seating without fracture of either the acetabulum or the femur. There are two approaches to this issue; to either use virtual reality which applies technology that provides surrogates to direct visualization of components. The major issues with computer assisted techniques include questions of accuracy and increased time and cost. The other approach is to utilise intraoperative imaging which has been the gold standard traditionally, however, previously it has been a challenge to utilise intraoperative imaging without adding substantial time and cost. Historically intraoperative imaging has not been adopted because it disrupts work flow, the quality of images has been inadequate, and it has added too much additional time to allow for a series of repeat radiographs to be obtained. Modifications of existing portable imaging that utilise direct radiography (DR plate technology) allow for intraoperative images that display within seconds. Imbedded software allows measurement of all parameters of interest. Three or 4 systems are currently in use, and this is not virtual reality but it is the gold standard. Advantages include higher quality images, faster service speed, minimal impact on OR work flow, eventual reduction in operating costs, elimination of processing of chemicals and film room/storage room, and most importantly the elimination of outliers and return to the operating room due to unexpected findings on recovery room radiographs. Intraoperative imaging has been utilised at a number of centers in recent years and has led to numerous intraoperative changes to optimise component implantation in a surprisingly high percentage of cases. Advances in technology have made intraoperative digital imaging a practical feasible strategy to avoid outliers that increase complications and compromise results. The rapidly evolving technology makes this a very attractive option for optimising total hip component placement. In addition it is an excellent teaching tool that is rapidly embraced by residents and fellows and is an extremely effective in eliminating outliers.
Who Governs Socially-Oriented Voluntary Sustainability Standards? Not the Producers of Certified Products

Summary Voluntary Sustainability Standards-Setting Organizations (VSSSOs) create standards to improve the social and/or environmental impacts of globalized production networks. VSSSOs are often assumed to have multi-stakeholder governance structures that include the producers of certified products (e.g., farmers, artisans, and workers). This article argues that including producers in governance is desirable. However, analysis of 33 VSSSOs’ constitutions shows two-thirds do not even imply intention to include producers. At most, 25% ensure producers have votes/seats and 18% give producers veto power. The discussion examines what is lost when VSSSOs do not bring traditionally marginalized voices to global economic governance.