cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Can electronic tax invoicing improve tax compliance ? a case study of the Republic of Korea's electronic tax invoicing for value-added tax

This paper reviews the Republic of Korea's experience with electronic tax invoices for its value-added tax regime from the perspectives of tax policy makers and administrators. The paper evaluates Korea's implementation of electronic tax invoicing and analyzes its effect on tax compliance through enhanced transparency of business transactions and taxpayer services. First implemented in 2011, mandatory electronic tax invoicing has been credited with lowering tax compliance costs and raising the transparency of business transactions. Effective policy design and implementation have contributed to the country's success with electronic tax invoicing. Measured in transaction value, the electronic tax invoice adoption rate reached 99.8 percent in the first year and rose to 99.9 percent by 2013, compared with 15 percent before electronic tax invoicing became mandatory. According to a survey of taxpayers and tax practitioners in Korea that was conducted as part of this research study, 69.4 percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that mandatory electronic tax invoicing has contributed to curbing value-added tax evasion by raising transaction transparency, and 72.9 percent agreed or strongly agreed that it has improved taxpayer service by facilitating the convenience of tax filing or automating the issuance of invoices. The review of Korea's experiences gives credence to the contention that well-planned and well-executed compulsory electronic tax invoices can materially enhance tax compliance through significant institutional and perceptual changes in tax administration.
Environmental Federalism with Regards to Accidental Pollution

Environmental policy, focusing on the control of pollution and on over-exploitation, easily overlooks the extensive range of interconnections between economic activities and natural systems. In this timely book, a number of specialists examine how crucial aspects of complex environmental problems and policy can be dealt with in decentralized governmental systems.
Local Reaction Probability Effects in Non-Classical Kinetics: Batch and Steady State

The reaction A+A→0 is simulated in 1-D and 2-D square lattices with various local reaction probabilities, P. The effective reaction order, X, and the nearest neighbor distance distribution (NNDD), are evaluated in all these reactions. For batch reactions, sharp increases in X with increasing P occur at early times. Classical reaction limited kinetics is obtained at early times only when P→0. At long times, all reactions are in the non-classical, diffusion limited regime, regardless of P. For steady state reactions, our results demonstrate a similar behavior of X with P. The NNDD at steady state in 1-D media at P=1.0, i.e. diffusion limited reaction, follows the previously reported skewed exponential shape. This is no longer true for P>1. Finally, at P→0, as expected, an exponential (Poissonian) distribution is obtained for both reaction conditions.
Asymmetric Synthesis of α-Branched Amines via Rh(III)-Catalyzed C–H Bond Functionalization

The first asymmetric intermolecular addition of non-acidic C–H bonds to imines is reported. The use of the activating N-perfluorobutanesulfinyl imine substituent is essential for achieving sufficient reactivity and provides outstanding diastereoselectivity (>98:2 dr). Straightforward removal of the sulfinyl group with HCl yields the highly enantiomerically enriched amine hydrochlorides.
Development of an 1100C Crushable Nose Surrogate Vehicle for Low-Speed Impact Testing of Breakaway Hardware

In the development of breakaway roadside safety hardware, surrogate vehicles offer an efficient, cost-effective means of testing new breakaway design concepts and evaluating system performance in accordance with applicable standards. For the purposes of conducting low-speed impact testing, a crushable nose impactor, when combined with a gravity pendulum, can constitute a suitable surrogate alternative to a production vehicle. This paper describes the development of a crushable nose impactor that can serve as a surrogate version of the 1100C passenger car described in AASHTO’s Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware. The design of the new crushable nose was based on published force–deformation data collected from crash testing of a Kia Rio production passenger car. The new crushable nose differs from other designs in that it is intended specifically for use in low-speed impact testing of breakaway hardware; the nose uses tapered (i.e., trapezoidal) aluminum honeycomb cartridges, which permits improved approxi...
A comprehensive simulation model of kerogen pyrolysis for the in-situ upgrading of oil shales

Author(s): Lee, K; Moridis, GJ; Ehlig-Economides, CA | Abstract: Oil shale, which is composed of abundant organic matter called kerogen, is a vast energy source. Pyrolysis of kerogen in oil shales releases recoverable hydrocarbons. Here, we describe the pyrolysis of kerogen with an in-situ upgrading process, which is applicable to the majority of oil shales. The pyrolysis is represented by six kinetic reactions resulting in 10 components and four phases. Expanding the Texas AaM Flow and Transport Simulator (FTSim), which is a variant of the TOUGH +simulator (Moridis 2014), we develop a fully functional capability that describes kerogen pyrolysis and accompanying system changes. The simulator describes the coupled process of mass transport and heat flow through porous and fractured media and includes physical and chemical phenomena of reservoir systems. The simulator involves a total of 15 thermophysical states and all transitions between them and computes a simultaneous solution of 11 mass- and energy-balance equations per element. The simulator solves the equations in a fully implicit manner by solving Jacobian matrix equations with the Newton-Raphson iteration method. To conduct a realistic simulation, we account for geological structure of oil-shale reservoirs and physical properties of bulk-oil shale rocks by considering phases and components in the pores. In addition, we involve interaction between fluids and porous media, diverse equations of state (EOSs) for computation of fluid properties, and numerical modeling of fractured media. We intensively reproduce the field-production data of Shell Insitu Conversion Process (ICP) implemented in the Green River formation by conducting sensitivity analyses for the diverse reservoir parameters, such as initial effective porosity of the matrix, oil-shale grade, and the spacing of the natural-fracture network. We analyze the effect of each reservoir parameter on the hydrocarbon productivity and product selectivity. The simulator provides a powerful tool to quantitatively evaluate production behavior and dynamic-system changes during in-situ upgrading of oil shales and subsequent fluid production by thoroughly describing a reservoir model, phases and components, phase behavior, phase properties, and evolution of porosity and permeability.
Copper-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Aryl and Heteroaryl Ketones

High throughput screening enabled the development of a Cu-based catalyst system for the asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral aryl and heteroaryl ketones that operates at H2 pressures as low as 5 bar. A ligand combination of (R,S)-N-Me-3,5-xylyl-BoPhoz and tris(3,5-xylyl)phosphine provided benzylic alcohols in good yields and enantioselectivities. The electronic and steric characteristics of the ancillary triarylphosphine were important in determining both reactivity and selectivity.
Tensile Strength of Polyurethane and other Elastomeric Block Copolymers

Abstract The discussion in this paper has been focused on the strength of Polyurethane elastomers, data on other materials being presented for comparison and to illustrate factors that affect strength. Although the literature on Polyurethane elastomers is voluminous, only in recent years has it been widely recognized that plastic domains exist in most polyurethane formulations of technological importance. Evidence for domain formation and aspects of domain morphology are discussed in recent reviews. The morphology of domains in segmented polyurethane elastomers is more complex than of those in triblock elastomers and has not been studied extensively, although progress is being made, indicated by the discussions in recent publications and references cited therein. In view of the complexities of fracture and the limited information on the morphology and time-dependent mechanical properties of polyurethane elastomers, only general relations between strength and chemical structure have thus far been establish...
Single-Molecule Orientation Measurements with a Quadrated Pupil

We present a means of measuring the dipole orientation of a fluorescent, rotationally fixed single molecule (SM), using a specially designed phase mask, termed a “quadrated pupil,” conjugate to the back focal plane of a conventional widefield microscope. In comparison to image-fitting techniques that infer orientation by matching simulations to defocused or excessively magnified images, the quadrated pupil approach is more robust to minor modeling discrepancies and optical aberrations. Precision on the order of 1°–5° is achieved in proof-of-concept experiments for both azimuthal (φ) and polar (θ) angles. Since the phase mask is implemented on a liquid-crystal spatial light modulator (SLM) that may be deactivated without any mechanical perturbation of the sample or imaging system, the technique may be readily integrated into conventional imaging studies.
Enantioselective CuH-Catalyzed Hydroallylation of Vinylarenes

The enantioselective, intermolecular hydroallylation of vinylarenes employing allylic phosphate electrophiles has been achieved through a copper hydride catalyzed process. The protocol described herein can be applied to a diverse set of vinylarene substrates and allows for the installation of the parent allyl group as well as a range of 2-substituted allylic fragments.
The syntax of external and internal possessor variation in German inalienable possession

Given the use of certain inherently directional verbs, German possession constructions with a PP-embedded body part as possessum come in three variants: (i) with external possessor (EP) (‘bit me (DAT/ACC) in the hand’), (ii) with internal possessor (IP) (‘bit in my hand’), and (iii) with doubly-marked possession (DMP) (‘bit me (DAT/ACC) in my hand’). Choice of DAT(ive) versus ACC(usative) case in variants (i) and (ii) adds a fourth and fifth option. Building on Lee-Schoenfeld 2012, Deal 2013, and Lee-Schoenfeld & Diewald 2014, this contribution posits (a) possessor raising from Spec DP of the possessum to an applicative “affectee” vP, triggered by lack of case in Spec DP, for DAT EPs, (b) a base-generation possessor-as-direct-object analysis of ACC EPs, (c) GEN(itive) as last resort when there is no available case-licensor in the verbal argument domain for IPs, and (d) a combined base-generation-in-Spec-affectee-vP and GEN-as-last-resort analysis for DMPs. The DAT EP construction is correctly predicted to be the default in German because the possessor of the affected body part is expected to be mentioned as an independent participant in the situation (someone to sympathize with), and possessor raising allows for the most economical derivation of combined possession and affectedness.
Mobeacon: An iBeacon-Assisted Smartphone-Based Real Time Activity Recognition Framework

Human activity recognition using multi-modal sensing technologies to automatically collect and classify daily activities has become an active field of research. Given the proliferation of smart and wearable devices and their greater acceptance in human lives, the need for developing real time lightweight activity recognition algorithms become a viable and urgent avenue. Although variants of online and offline lightweight activity recognition algorithms have been developed, realizing them on real time to recognize people's activities is still a challenging research problem due to the computational complexity of building, training, learning and storing activity models in resource constrained smart and wearable devices. To navigate the above challenges, we build Mobeacon: a mobile phone and iBeacon sensor-based smart home activity recognition system. We investigated the viability of extending Bagging Ensemble Learning (BEL) and Packaged Naive Bayes (PNB) classification algorithms for high-level activity recognition on smartphone. We incorporated the semantic knowledge of the testing environment and used that with the built-in adaptive learning models on smartphone to ease the ground truth data annotation. We demonstrated that Mobeacon outperforms existing lightweight activity recognition techniques in terms of accuracy (max. 94%) in a low resource setting and proves itself substantially efficient to reside on smartphones for recognizing ADLs in real time.
Vibratory stimulus reduces in vitro biofilm formation on tracheoesophageal voice prostheses.

Objectives/Hypothesis Demonstrate that biofilm formation will be reduced on tracheoesophageal prostheses when vibratory stimulus is applied, compared to controls receiving no vibratory stimulus, in a dynamic in vitro model of biofilm accumulation simulating the interface across the tracheoesophageal puncture site. Study Design Prospective, randomized, controlled, crossover in university laboratory. Methods Ex vivo tracheoesophageal prostheses were obtained from university-affiliated speech language pathologists at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis. Prostheses demonstrating physical integrity and an absence of gross biofilm accumulation were utilized. Sixteen prostheses were cleansed and sterilized prior to random placement by length in two modified Robbins devices arranged in parallel. Each device was seeded with a polymicrobial oral flora on day 1 and received basal artificial salivary flow continuously with three growth medium meals daily. One device was randomly selected for vibratory stimulus, and 2 minutes of vibration was applied to each prosthesis before and after meals for 5 days. The prostheses were explanted and sonicated, and the biofilm cultured for enumeration. This process was repeated after study arm crossover. Results Tracheoesophageal prostheses in the dynamic model receiving vibratory stimulus demonstrated reduced gross biofilm accumulation and a significant biofilm colony forming unit per milliliter reduction of 5.56-fold compared to nonvibratory controls (P < 0.001). Significant reductions were observed within length subgroups. Conclusion Application of vibratory stimulus around meal times significantly reduces biofilm accumulation on tracheoesophageal prostheses in a dynamic in vitro model. Further research using this vibratory stimulus method in vivo will be required to determine if reduced biofilm accumulation correlates with longer device lifespan. Level of Evidence N/A. Laryngoscope, 2016
WHY HIPS FAIL IN 2012: PATIENT, SURGEON OR DEVICE?

Most early failures of THA are related to patient factors and technical “surgeon” factors. Most late failures of THA are related to patient factors and device factors. Occasionally unexpected device-specific failure modes cause specific early failure patterns. The most common reasons for early THA failure are infection and instability. Infection risk is strongly influenced by patient factors. Instability early after THA is usually a technical problem, but at times also is patient related. Important late failure modes of THA include loosening, wear and osteolysis, and periprosthetic fracture. Loosening and wear are at least in part device related. Late periprosthetic fracture is almost mainly patient related. Taken together these data suggest the following: Most strongly related to patient factors: Early and late infection, periprosthetic fracture and wear and osteolysis. Most strongly related to surgeon factors: Early infection, instability, and loosening. Most strongly related to device factors: Wear, loosening, and unique mechanical implant failure modes.
A general constrained shortest path approach for virtual path embedding

Network virtualization has become a fundamental technology to deliver services for emerging data-intensive applications in fields such as bioinformatics and retail analytics hosted at multi-data center scale. To create and maintain a successful virtual network service, the problem of generating a constrained path manifests both in the management plane with a physical path creation —chains of virtual network functions or virtual link embedding — and in the data plane with on-demand path adaptation — traffic steering with Service Level Objective (SLO) guarantees. In this paper, we define the virtual path embedding problem to subsume the virtual link embedding and the constrained traffic steering problems, and propose a new scheme to solve it optimally. Specifically, we introduce a novel algorithm viz., ‘Neighborhood Method’ (NM) which provides an on-demand path with SLO guarantees while reducing expensive over provisioning. We show that by solving the Virtual Path Embedding problem in a set of diverse topology scenarios we gain up to 20% in network utilization, and up to 150% in energy efficiency, compared to the existing path embedding solutions.
Augmentation of response to nab-paclitaxel by inhibition of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling in preclinical pancreatic cancer models

// Niranjan Awasthi 1,5 , Emily Scire 2 , Sheena Monahan 1 , Meghan Grojean 3 , Eric Zhang 1 , Margaret A. Schwarz 4,5 and Roderich E. Schwarz 1,6 1 Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, South Bend, IN, USA 2 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA 3 Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA 4 Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, South Bend, IN, USA 5 Harper Cancer Research Institute, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA 6 Indiana University Health Goshen Center for Cancer Care, Goshen, IN, USA Correspondence to: Niranjan Awasthi, email: // Keywords : pancreatic cancer, nab-paclitaxel, IGF-1R, BMS-754807, combination therapy Received : December 16, 2015 Accepted : April 16, 2016 Published : April 26, 2016 Abstract Nab-paclitaxel has recently shown greater efficacy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Insulin like growth factor (IGF) signaling proteins are frequently overexpressed in PDAC and correlate with aggressive tumor phenotype and poor prognosis. We evaluated the improvement in nab-paclitaxel response by addition of BMS-754807, a small molecule inhibitor of IGF-1R/IR signaling, in preclinical PDAC models. In subcutaneous xenografts using AsPC-1 cells, average net tumor growth in different therapy groups was 248.3 mm 3 in controls, 42.4 mm 3 after nab-paclitaxel ( p = 0.002), 93.3 mm 3 after BMS-754807 ( p = 0.01) and 1.9 mm 3 after nab-paclitaxel plus BMS-754807 ( p = 0.0002). In subcutaneous xenografts using Panc-1 cells, average net tumor growth in different therapy groups was: 294.3 mm 3 in controls, 23.1 mm 3 after nab-paclitaxel ( p = 0.002), 118.2 mm 3 after BMS-754807 ( p = 0.02) and -87.4 mm 3 (tumor regression) after nab-paclitaxel plus BMS-754807 ( p = 0.0001). In peritoneal dissemination model using AsPC-1 cells, median animal survival was increased compared to controls (21 days) after therapy with nab-paclitaxel (40 days, a 90% increase, p = 0.002), BMS-754807 (27 days, a 29% increase, p = 0.01) and nab-paclitaxel plus BMS-754807 (47 days, a 124% increase, p = 0.005), respectively. Decrease in proliferation and increase in apoptosis by nab-paclitaxel and BMS-754807 therapy correlated with their in vivo antitumor activity. In vitro analysis revealed that the addition of IC 25 dose of BMS-754807 decreased the nab-paclitaxel IC 50 of PDAC cell lines. BMS-754807 therapy decreased phospho-IGF-1R/IR and phospho-AKT expression, and increased cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP-1. These results support the potential of BMS-754807 in combination with nab-paclitaxel as an effective targeting option for pancreatic cancer therapy.
Paragonimus kellicotti: A Lung Infection in Our Own Backyard

Paragonimiasis is an infection caused by the lung fluke of the genus Paragonimus. Within the United States, paragonimiasis has been commonly diagnosed in Southeast Asian immigrants infected with the Asian lung fluke Paragonimus westermani. Infections from the North American lung fluke, Paragonimus kellicotti, have been rare, although more infections have been seen in people in the Midwestern United States. A 29-year-old male with a history of pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma presented with hemoptysis. A CT scan showed a mass in the left upper lung lobe. A biopsy showed eosinophils and parasite eggs, some with a recognizable operculum. Further investigation revealed that he takes canoe trips on rivers within Missouri and would eat crayfish caught from these rivers. A blood sample was confirmed positive for Paragonimiasis serologically at the Center for Disease Control. Paragonimus kellicotti is found in rivers within the Mississippi basin. Infection occurs by consuming uncooked or undercooked crawfish. Microscopic identification of parasite eggs has been the gold standard. Serologic tests have been developed to aid in the diagnosis. Patients typically present with fever and hemoptysis. Common CT findings include pleural effusion, a mass, and lymphadenopathy. Awareness of P. kellicotti is important to guide appropriate diagnostic testing and ensuring proper treatment.
Chiral Plasma Pharmacokinetics and Urinary Excretion of Bupropion and Metabolites in Healthy Volunteers

Bupropion, widely used as an antidepressant and smoking cessation aid, undergoes complex metabolism to yield numerous metabolites with unique disposition, effect, and drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in humans. The stereoselective plasma and urinary pharmacokinetics of bupropion and its metabolites were evaluated to understand their potential contributions to bupropion effects. Healthy human volunteers (n = 15) were administered a single oral dose of racemic bupropion (100 mg), which was followed by collection of plasma and urine samples and determination of bupropion and metabolite concentrations using novel liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assays. Time-dependent, elimination rate-limited, stereoselective pharmacokinetics were observed for all bupropion metabolites. Area under the plasma concentration-time curve from zero to infinity ratios were on average approximately 65, 6, 6, and 4 and Cmax ratios were approximately 35, 6, 3, and 0.5 for (2R,3R)-/(2S,3S)-hydroxybupropion, R-/S-bupropion, (1S,2R)-/(1R,2S)-erythrohydrobupropion, and (1R,2R)-/(1S,2S)-threohydrobupropion, respectively. The R-/S-bupropion and (1R,2R)-/(1S,2S)-threohydrobupropion ratios are likely indicative of higher presystemic metabolism of S- versus R-bupropion by carbonyl reductases. Interestingly, the apparent renal clearance of (2S,3S)-hydroxybupropion was almost 10-fold higher than that of (2R,3R)-hydroxybupropion. The prediction of steady-state pharmacokinetics demonstrated differential stereospecific accumulation [partial area under the plasma concentration-time curve after the final simulated bupropion dose (300-312 hours) from 185 to 37,447 nM⋅h] and elimination [terminal half-life of approximately 7-46 hours] of bupropion metabolites, which may explain observed stereoselective differences in bupropion effect and DDI risk with CYP2D6 at steady state. Further elucidation of bupropion and metabolite disposition suggests that bupropion is not a reliable in vivo marker of CYP2B6 activity. In summary, to our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive report to provide novel insight into mechanisms underlying bupropion disposition by detailing the stereoselective pharmacokinetics of individual bupropion metabolites, which will enhance clinical understanding of bupropion's effects and DDIs with CYP2D6.
Total replacement of the elbow joint.

SUMMARY Biomechanical factors that are important in reconstructive procedures of the hip have been presented. The significance of the lever arm system in reducing hip joint forces has been emphasized as well as restoration of leg length and normal physiological muscular tension.
Membrane Disordering by Eicosapentaenoic Acid in B Lymphomas Is Reduced by Elongation to Docosapentaenoic Acid as Revealed with Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Model Membranes.

Background Plasma membrane organization is a mechanistic target of n-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids. Previous studies show that eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) differentially disrupt plasma membrane molecular order to enhance the frequency and function of B lymphocytes. However, it is not known whether EPA and DHA affect the plasma membrane organization of B lymphomas differently to influence their function. Objective We tested whether EPA and DHA had different effects on membrane order in B lymphomas and liposomes and studied their effects on B-lymphoma growth. Methods B lymphomas were treated with 25 μmol EPA, DHA, or serum albumin control/L for 24 h. Membrane order was measured with fluorescence polarization, and cellular fatty acids (FAs) were analyzed with GC. Growth was quantified with a viability assay. (2)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies were conducted on deuterated phospholipid bilayers. Results Treating Raji, Ramos, and RPMI lymphomas for 24 h with 25 μmol EPA or DHA/L lowered plasma membrane order by 10-40% relative to the control. There were no differences between EPA and DHA on membrane order for the 3 cell lines. FA analyses revealed complex changes in response to EPA or DHA treatment and a large fraction of EPA was converted to docosapentaenoic acid (DPA; 22:5n-3). NMR studies, which were used to understand why EPA and DHA had similiar membrane effects, showed that phospholipids containing DPA, similar to DHA, were more ordered than those containing EPA. Finally, treating B lymphomas with 25 μmol EPA or DHA/L did not increase the frequency of B lymphomas compared with controls. Conclusions The results establish that 25 μmol EPA and DHA/L equally disrupt membrane order and do not promote B lymphoma growth. The data open a new area of investigation, which is how EPA's conversion to DPA substantially moderates its influence on membrane properties.
Measurement-induced decoherence and information in double-slit interference

The double slit experiment provides a classic example of both interference and the effect of observation in quantum physics. When particles are sent individually through a pair of slits, a wave-like interference pattern develops, but no such interference is found when one observes which “path” the particles take. We present a model of interference, dephasing, and measurement-induced decoherence in a one-dimensional version of the double-slit experiment. Using this model, we demonstrate how the loss of interference in the system is correlated with the information gain by the measuring apparatus/observer. In doing so, we give a modern account of measurement in this paradigmatic example of quantum physics that is accessible to students taking quantum mechanics at the graduate or senior undergraduate levels.
Experience in production of 68Ga-DOTA-NOC for clinical use under an Expanded Access IND

Abstract [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-NOC was produced under an Expanded Access IND for 174 clinical PET/CT studies to evaluate patients with neuroendocrine tumors. Production employed either the TiO2-based Eckert & Ziegler (EZAG) 68Ge/68Ga-generator (with fractionated elution), or the SiO2-based ITG 68Ge/68Ga-generator. In both cases, [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-NOC was reliably produced, without pre-synthesis purification of the 68Ga generator eluate, using readily-implemented manual synthesis procedures. [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-NOC radiochemical purity averaged 99.2±0.4%. Administered 68Ga dose averaged 181±22 MBq, and administered peptide mass averaged 43.2±5.2 µg (n=47) and 23.9±5.7 µg (n=127), respectively, using the EZAG and ITG generators. At dose expiration, 68Ge breakthrough in the final product averaged 2.7×10−7% and 5.4×10−5% using the EZAG and ITG generators, respectively.
Diffusion, Perfusion, and Histopathologic Characteristics of Desmoplastic Infantile Ganglioglioma

We present a case series of a rare tumor, the desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma (DIG) with MRI diffusion and perfusion imaging quantification as well as histopathologic characterization. Four cases with pathologically-proven DIG had diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and two of the four had dynamic susceptibility contrast imaging. All four tumors demonstrate DWI findings compatible with low-grade pediatric tumors. For the two cases with perfusion imaging, a higher relative cerebral blood volume was associated with higher proliferation index on histopathology for one of the cases. Our results are discussed in conjunction with a literature review.
Performance guarantees for cluster-based internet services

As web-based transactions become an essential element of everyday corporate and commerce activities, it becomes increasingly important that the performance of web-based services be predictable and guaranteed even in the presence of wildly fluctuating input loads. In this paper, we propose a general implementation framework to provide quality of service (QoS) guarantee for cluster-based Internet services, such as E-commerce or directory service. We describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a web request distribution system called Gage, which can provide every subscriber with distinct guarantee on the number of generic web requests that are serviced per second regardless of the total input loads at run time. Gage is one of the first systems that can support QoS guarantee involving multiple system resources, i.e., CPU, disk, and network. The frontend request distribution server of Gage distributes incoming requests among a cluster of back-end web server nodes so as to maintain per-subscriber QoS guarantee and load balance among the back-end servers. Each back-end web server node includes a Gage module, which performs distributed TCP splicing and detailed resource usage accounting. Performance evaluation of the fully operational Gage prototype demonstrates that the proposed architecture can indeed provide the guaranteed request throughput for different classes of web accesses, even in the presence of excessive input loads. The additional performance overhead associated with QoS support in Gage is merely 3.06%.
Tissue safety analysis and duty cycle planning for galvanic coupled intra-body communication

Galvanic coupling is the enabler of closed-loop communication between implanted sensors and embedded actuating devices (such as drug injectors) by providing energy-efficient and reliable non-RF transmission through links formed within tissue. For safe deployment, it is critical to verify that the amount of heat generated within tissues during signal propagation stays within permissible bound. In this paper, we analyze the thermal distribution within tissues, for galvanic coupling-based communication for varying transmission power levels, number of collocated transmitters, and blood perfusion conditions using finite element based numerical simulation and skin-phantom based experiments. Our results confirm that tissue heating remains well below safe limit of 1 °C. Using the temperature dissipation profile, we derive the suitable transmission duty cycles, separation distances and number of concurrent sources that may co-exist without raising the tissue temperature. The proposed strategies provide upto four fold increase in bandwidth efficiency through concurrent transmissions, ensuring sufficient bandwidth for implant communications.
External corporate governance and financial fraud: cognitive evaluation theory insights on agency theory prescriptions

Research summary: Agency theory suggests that external governance mechanisms (e.g., activist owners, the market for corporate control, securities analysts) can deter managers from acting opportunistically. Using cognitive evaluation theory, we argue that powerful expectations imposed by external governance can impinge on top managers' feelings of autonomy and crowd out their intrinsic motivation, potentially leading to financial fraud. Our findings indicate that external pressure from activist owners, the market for corporate control, and securities analysts increases managers' likelihood of financial fraud. Our study considers external governance from a top manager's perspective and questions one of agency theory's foundational tenets: that external pressure imposed on managers reduces the potential for moral hazard. Managerial summary: Many of us are familiar with stories about top managers “cooking the books” in one way or another. As a result, companies and regulatory bodies often implement strict controls to try to prevent financial fraud. However, cognitive evaluation theory describes how those external controls could actually have the opposite of their intended effect because they rob managers of their intrinsic motivation for behaving appropriately. We find this to be the case. When top managers face more stringent external control mechanisms, in the form of activist shareholders, the threat of a takeover, or zealous securities analysts, they are actually more likely to engage in financial misbehavior. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Explosions throughout the universe

High energy transients make up a diverse and exotic class of objects, from terrestrial lightning to γ-ray bursts at cosmological distances. In this review, we provide a detailed look at some of the more exciting transients observed over the last few years by Swift and other high energy missions.
Spiraling Complexity: A Test of the Snowball Effect in a Computational Model of RNA Folding.

Genetic incompatibilities can emerge as a byproduct of genetic divergence. According to Dobzhansky and Muller, an allele that fixes in one population may be incompatible with an allele at a different locus in another population when the two alleles are brought together in hybrids. Orr showed that the number of Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities (DMIs) should accumulate faster than linearly— i.e. , snowball—as two lineages diverge. Several studies have attempted to test the snowball effect using data from natural populations. One limitation of these studies is that they have focused on predictions of the Orr model, but not on its underlying assumptions. Here, we use a computational model of RNA folding to test both predictions and assumptions of the Orr model. Two populations are allowed to evolve in allopatry on a holey fitness landscape. We find that the number of inviable introgressions (an indicator for the number of DMIs) snowballs, but does so more slowly than expected. We show that this pattern is explained, in part, by the fact that DMIs can disappear after they have arisen, contrary to the assumptions of the Orr model. This occurs because DMIs become progressively more complex ( i.e. , involve alleles at more loci) as a result of later substitutions. We also find that most DMIs involve >2 loci, i.e. , they are complex. Reproductive isolation does not snowball because DMIs do not act independently of each other. We conclude that the RNA model supports the central prediction of the Orr model that the number of DMIs snowballs, but challenges other predictions, as well as some of its underlying assumptions.
A three-sided orogen: A new tectonic model for Ancestral Rocky Mountain uplift and basin development

The tectonic origin of the Pennsylvanian–Permian Ancestral Rocky Mountain system is debated. Most models invoke stress from collision along the Ouachita-Marathon belt as the primary driver for Ancestral Rocky Mountain (ARM) (western USA) tectonism, but no existing model has convincingly explained the timing, northeast-southwest contractional kinematics, and amagmatic nature of this system. We propose that stress generated by transpressional deformation along the southwestern (Sonora) margin of Laurentia combined with that from collision along the Ouachita-Marathon and Nevada margins drove uplift and basin development of the ARM. This model explains ARM timing, uplift kinematics, and lack of magmatism, and is supported by a new generation of late Paleozoic global plate reconstructions.
Infective Endocarditis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare, life-threatening disease with a mortality rate of 25% and significant debilitating morbidities. Although much has been reported on contemporary IE in high-income countries, conclusions on the state of IE in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are based on studies conducted before the year 2000. Furthermore, unique challenges in the diagnosis and management of IE persist in LMICs. This article reviews IE studies conducted in LMICs documenting clinical experiences from the year 2000 to 2016. Presented are the causes of IE, management of patients with IE, and prevailing challenges in diagnosis and treatment of IE in LMICs.
Zebrafish as a Vertebrate Model System to Evaluate Effects of Environmental Toxicants on Cardiac Development and Function

Environmental pollution is a serious problem of the modern world that possesses a major threat to public health. Exposure to environmental pollutants during embryonic development is particularly risky. Although many pollutants have been verified as potential toxicants, there are new chemicals in the environment that need assessment. Heart development is an extremely sensitive process, which can be affected by environmentally toxic molecule exposure during embryonic development. Congenital heart defects are the most common life-threatening global health problems, and the etiology is mostly unknown. The zebrafish has emerged as an invaluable model to examine substance toxicity on vertebrate development, particularly on cardiac development. The zebrafish offers numerous advantages for toxicology research not found in other model systems. Many laboratories have used the zebrafish to study the effects of widespread chemicals in the environment on heart development, including pesticides, nanoparticles, and various organic pollutants. Here, we review the uses of the zebrafish in examining effects of exposure to external molecules during embryonic development in causing cardiac defects, including chemicals ubiquitous in the environment and illicit drugs. Known or potential mechanisms of toxicity and how zebrafish research can be used to provide mechanistic understanding of cardiac defects are discussed.
START: System Testability Analysis and Research Tool

START, a software package for automatic test sequencing and testability analysis of complex, hierarchically described modular systems, is described, and its use in modeling systems is examined. START uses algorithms based on information theory, heuristic search, and graph theory to solve various faces of the test sequencing and testability analysis problems. A system is modeled in the failure space as a hierarchical directed graph with nodes denoting modules and testpoints and with AND nodes denoting redundancy. Interconnections among the nodes denote their immediate functional dependencies. START supports hierarchical testing in accordance with the maintenance strategy; a failure source may be isolated to a component or a module at any level. Other practical features include options to integrate diagnosis with repair (after partial diagnosis) in order to optimize test time, test cost, or test and repair cost. An interactive menu-mouse graphical interface serves as a high-level front end to these algorithms and enables the user to graphically enter and modify hierarchical functional models of systems. START presents the gist of the outputs of the testability analysis algorithms as a concise testability report consisting of important figures of merit. >
External influence on exchange rates: An empirical investigation of US pressure and the Chinese RMB

Trade imbalances have often led to accusations of ‘currency manipulation’ and efforts to remedy the purported effects of exchange rate misalignment. This paper investigates the impact of US pressur...
Effect of Helicopter Blade Dynamics on Blade Aerodynamic and Structural Loads

The effect of rotor blade dynamics on aerodynamic and structural loads is examined for a conventional, main- rotor helicopter using both a comprehensive rotorcraft analysis (CAMRAD) and night test data. The impact of blade dynamics on blade section lift-coefficient time histories is studied by comparing predictions from both a rigid blade analysis and an elastic blade analysis with helicopter flight test data. The elastic blade analysis better predicts high-frequency behavior of section lift. In addition, components of the blade angle of attack, such as elastic blade twist, blade nap rate, blade slope velocity, and inflow, are examined as a function of blade mode. Elastic blade motion affects the blade angle of attack by a few tenths of a degree, and up to the sixth rotor harmonic. A similar study of the influence of blade dynamics on bending and torsion moments was also conducted. The modal analysis of the predicted blade structural loads suggested that five elastic bending deg of freedom (four flap and one lag) and three elastic torsion deg of freedom contributed to calculations of the blade structural loads. However, when structural bending load predictions from several elastic blade analyses were compared with flight test data, an elastic blade model consisting of only three elastic bending modes (first and second flap, and first lag), and two elastic torsion modes was found to be sufficient for maximum correlation.
Formation of massive rocky exomoons by giant impact

The formation of satellites is thought to be a natural by-product of planet formation in our Solar System, and thus, moons of extrasolar planets (exomoons) may be abundant in extrasolar planetary systems, as well. Exomoons have yet to be discovered. However, moons larger than 0.1 Earth masses can be detected and characterized using current transit techniques. Here, we show that collisions between rocky planets with masses between a quarter to ten Earth masses can create impact-generated debris disks that could accrete into moons. Collisions between like-sized objects, at oblique impact angles, and velocities near escape speed create disks massive enough to form satellites that are dynamically stable against planetary tides. Impacts of this type onto a superearth between 2 to 7 Earth masses can launch into orbit enough mass to create a satellite large enough to be detected in Kepler transit data. Impact velocity is a crucial controlling factor on disk mass, which has been overlooked in all prior studies of moon formation via planetary collision.
List-Decoding Barnes---Wall Lattices

The question of list-decoding error-correcting codes over finite fields (under the Hamming metric) has been widely studied in recent years. Motivated by the similar discrete linear structure of linear codes and point lattices in $${\mathbb{R}^{N}}$$RN, and their many shared applications across complexity theory, cryptography, and coding theory, we initiate the study of list decoding for lattices. Namely: for a lattice $${\mathcal{L}\subseteq \mathbb{R}^N}$$L⊆RN, given a target vector $${r \in \mathbb{R}^N}$$rźRN and a distance parameter d, output the set of all lattice points $${w \in \mathcal{L}}$$wźL that are within distance d of r. In this work, we focus on combinatorial and algorithmic questions related to list decoding for the well-studied family of Barnes---Wall lattices. Our main contributions are twofold: 1.We give tight combinatorial bounds on the worst-case list size, showing it to be polynomial in the lattice dimension for any error radius bounded away from the lattice's minimum distance (in the Euclidean norm).2. We use our combinatorial bounds to generalize the unique-decoding algorithm of Micciancio and Nicolosi (IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory 2008) to work beyond the unique-decoding radius and still run in polynomial time up to the list-decoding radius. Just like the Micciancio---Nicolosi algorithm, our algorithm is highly parallelizable, and with sufficiently many processors, it can run in parallel time only poly-logarithmic in the lattice dimension.
A Bayesian Adaptive Ensemble Kalman Filter for Sequential State and Parameter Estimation

AbstractThis paper proposes new methodology for sequential state and parameter estimation within the ensemble Kalman filter. The method is fully Bayesian and propagates the joint posterior distribution of states and parameters over time. To implement the method, the authors consider three representations of the marginal posterior distribution of the parameters: a grid-based approach, a Gaussian approximation, and a sequential importance sampling (SIR) approach with kernel resampling. In contrast to existing online parameter estimation algorithms, the new method explicitly accounts for parameter uncertainty and provides a formal way to combine information about the parameters from data at different time periods. The method is illustrated and compared to existing approaches using simulated and real data.
Impact of Violent Crime on Risk Aversion: Evidence from the Mexican Drug War

Whereas attitudes toward risk play an important role in many decisions over the life course, factors that affect those attitudes are not fully understood. Using longitudinal survey data collected i...
Resilience: A Criterion for Learning in the Presence of Arbitrary Outliers

We introduce a criterion, resilience, which allows properties of a dataset (such as its mean or best low rank approximation) to be robustly computed, even in the presence of a large fraction of arbitrary additional data. Resilience is a weaker condition than most other properties considered so far in the literature, and yet enables robust estimation in a broader variety of settings. We provide new information-theoretic results on robust distribution learning, robust estimation of stochastic block models, and robust mean estimation under bounded kth moments. We also provide new algorithmic results on robust distribution learning, as well as robust mean estimation in p-norms. Among our proof techniques is a method for pruning a high-dimensional distribution with bounded 1st moments to a stable "core" with bounded 2nd moments, which may be of independent interest.
X-Ray Spectro-Polarimetry with Photoelectric Polarimeters

We derive a generalization of forward fitting for X-ray spectroscopy to include linear polarization of X-ray sources, appropriate for the anticipated next generation of space-based photoelectric polarimeters. We show that the inclusion of polarization sensitivity requires joint fitting to three observed spectra, one for each of the Stokes parameters, I(E), U(E), and Q(E). The equations for Stokes' I(E) (the total intensity spectrum) are identical to the familiar case with no polarization sensitivity, and for which the model-predicted spectrum is obtained by a convolution of the source spectrum, F(E'), with the familiar energy response function, (E') R(E', E), where (E') and R(E', E) are the effective area and energy redistribution matrix, respectively. In addition to the energy spectrum, the two new relations for U(E) and Q(E) include the source polarization fraction and position angle versus energy, a(E'), and , respectively, and the model-predicted spectra for these relations are obtained by a convolution with the "modulated" energy response function, μ(E') (E')R(E, E'), where μ(E') is the energy-dependent modulation fraction that quantifies a polarimeter's angular response to 100% polarized radiation. We present results of simulations with response parameters appropriate for the proposed PRAXyS Small Explorer observatory to illustrate the procedures and methods, and we discuss some aspects of photoelectric polarimeters with relevance to understanding their calibration and operation.