cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A perceptual motor intervention improves play behavior in children with moderate to severe cerebral palsy

For children with moderate or severe cerebral palsy (CP), a foundational early goal is independent sitting. Sitting offers additional opportunities for object exploration, play and social engagement. The achievement of sitting coincides with important milestones in other developmental areas, such as social engagement with others, understanding of spatial relationships, and the use of both hands to explore objects. These milestones are essential skills necessary for play behavior. However, little is known about how sitting and play behavior might be affected by a physical therapy intervention in children with moderate or severe CP. Therefore, our overall purpose in this study was to determine if sitting skill could be advanced in children with moderate to severe CP using a perceptual motor intervention, and if play skills would change significantly as sitting advanced. Thirty children between the ages of 18 months and 6 years who were able to hold prop sitting for at least 10 seconds were recruited for this study. Outcome measures were the sitting subsection of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), and the Play Assessment of Children with Motor Impairment (PACMI) play assessment scale, which is a modified version of the Play in Early Childhood Evaluation System (PIECES). Significant improvements in GMFM sitting scores (p<0.001) and marginally significant improvement in play assessment scores (p=0.067) were found from pre- to post-intervention. Sitting change explained a significant portion of the variance in play change for children over the age of 3 years, who were more severely affected by CP. The results of this study indicate that advances in sitting skill may be a factor in supporting improvements in functional play, along with age and severity of physical impairment.
A new learning method for inference accuracy, core occupation, and performance co-optimization on TrueNorth chip

IBM TrueNorth chip uses digital spikes to perform neuromorphic computing and achieves ultrahigh execution parallelism and power efficiency. However, in TrueNorth chip, low quantization resolution of the synaptic weights and spikes significantly limits the inference (e.g., classification) accuracy of the deployed neural network model. Existing workaround, i.e., averaging the results over multiple copies instantiated in spatial and temporal domains, rapidly exhausts the hardware resources and slows down the computation. In this work, we propose a novel learning method on TrueNorth platform that constrains the random variance of each computation copy and reduces the number of needed copies. Compared to the existing learning method, our method can achieve up to 68.8% reduction of the required neuro-synaptic cores or 6.5× speedup, with even slightly improved inference accuracy.
High-throughput cis-regulatory element discovery in the vector mosquito Aedes aegypti.

Despite substantial progress in mosquito genomic and genetic research, few cis-regulatory elements (CREs), DNA sequences that control gene expression, have been identified in mosquitoes or other non-model insects. Formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements paired with DNA sequencing, FAIRE-seq, is emerging as a powerful new high-throughput tool for global CRE discovery. FAIRE results in the preferential recovery of open chromatin DNA fragments that are not bound by nucleosomes, an evolutionarily conserved indicator of regulatory activity, which are then sequenced. Despite the power of the approach, FAIRE-seq has not yet been applied to the study of non-model insects. In this investigation, we utilized FAIRE-seq to profile open chromatin and identify likely regulatory elements throughout the genome of the human disease vector mosquito Aedes aegypti. We then assessed genetic variation in the regulatory elements of dengue virus susceptible (Moyo-S) and refractory (Moyo-R) mosquito strains. Analysis of sequence data obtained through next generation sequencing of FAIRE DNA isolated from A. aegypti embryos revealed >121,000 FAIRE peaks (FPs), many of which clustered in the 1 kb 5’ upstream flanking regions of genes known to be expressed at this stage. As expected, known transcription factor consensus binding sites were enriched in the FPs, and of these FoxA1, Hunchback, Gfi, Klf4, MYB/ph3 and Sox9 are most predominant. All of the elements tested in vivo were confirmed to drive gene expression in transgenic Drosophila reporter assays. Of the >13,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) recently identified in dengue virus-susceptible and refractory mosquito strains, 3365 were found to map to FPs. FAIRE-seq analysis of open chromatin in A. aegypti permitted genome-wide discovery of CREs. The results of this investigation indicate that FAIRE-seq is a powerful tool for identification of regulatory DNA in the genomes of non-model organisms, including human disease vector mosquitoes.
China's slowdown and rebalancing: potential growth and poverty impacts on Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper explores the economic impacts of two related tracks of China's expected transformation—economic slowdown and rebalancing away from investment toward consumption—and estimates the spillovers for the rest of the world, with a special focus on Sub-Saharan African countries. The paper finds that an average annual slowdown of gross domestic product in China of 1 percent over 2016–30 is expected to result in a decline of gross domestic product in Sub-Saharan Africa by 1.1 percent and globally by 0.6 percent relative to the past trends scenario by 2030. However, if China's transformation also entails substantial rebalancing, the negative income effects of the economic slowdown could be offset by the positive changes brought along by rebalancing through higher overall imports by China and positive terms of trade effects for its trading partners. If global supply responds positively to the shifts in relative prices and the new sources of consumer demand from China, a substantial rebalancing in China could have an overall favorable impact on the global economy. Economic growth could turn positive and higher on average, by 6 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa and 5.5 percent globally, as compared with the past trends scenario. Finally, rebalancing reduces the prevalence of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa compared with the isolated negative effects of China's slowdown, which slightly increase the incidence of poverty. Overall, China's slowdown and rebalancing combined are estimated to increase gross domestic product in Sub-Saharan Africa by 4.7 percent by 2030 and reduce poverty, but the extent of this varies by country.
Type-based amortized resource analysis with integers and arrays *

Proving bounds on the resource consumption of a program by statically analyzing its source code is an important and well-studied problem. Automatic approaches for numeric programs with side effects usually apply abstract interpretation–based invariant generation to derive bounds on loops and recursion depths of function calls.
Biology of retroviruses. Detection, molecular biology, and treatment of retroviral infection.

SUMMARY Although human retrovirology can trace its roots to the early part of this century, it has been within the last decade that the field has seen its greatest advances, including the description of the first human retroviruses, HTLV-I, and the subsequent discovery of HTLV-II and the AIDS retroviruses, HIV-1 and HIV-2. The growth this field has undergone in recent years would not have been possible had it not been for key advances in the fields of cell biology, immunology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the description of HIV as the etiologic agent of AIDS. In the relatively short time since the disease was initially described, the agent responsible has been isolated, much of its complex biology has been defined, and a drug that helps combat it has been licensed for use. The rapidity with which these events have transpired is largely unprecedented. There remain many unanswered questions regarding HIV and AIDS, and there still is no effective vaccine or cure. Significant questions regarding the immune response to HIV and the HIV response to immune or chemotherapeutic challenge, the establishment and maintenance of HIV latency, and the all-important mechanisms of HIV cytopathicity remain unanswered. It is clear that HIV offers no easy answers, and that significant work remains to be done before death from AIDS can be halted.
Palladium catalyzed C-H functionalization of O-arylcarbamates: selective ortho-bromination using NBS.

A series of cyclometalated palladium complexes derived from O-phenylcarbamates has been synthesized by the reaction of the respective carbamates with Pd(OAc)2 in the presence of acids, CF3CO2H, CF3SO3H, and p-TsOH. The palladacycles were observed to coordinate amines and electron rich anilines but not sulfonamides or carboxamides. Analysis of the tBu-NH2 adduct of the palladacycle 2b (2b·tBu-NH2) by NMR spectroscopy (NOE) revealed a cis-coordination of the amine. However, the amine adducts failed to undergo ortho-amination (C–N bond formation) under varied reaction conditions. Notably, the palladacycle 1d was found to react efficiently with N-iodosuccinimide (NIS) to yield the ortho-iodinated carbamate, 1e. More significantly, this reaction can be extended to a palladium-catalyzed ortho C–H bromination of aryl-O-carbamates even at 5 mol % loading of Pd(OAc)2 using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS).
Laser laparoscopic management of large endometriomas

Forty-seven patients underwent laser laparoscopic management of endometriomas from 3 to 12 cm in diameter. Eighteen patients had infertility, 15 had pelvic pain, and 14 had both. The types of laser used were the carbon dioxide, argon, and potassium-titanyl-phosphate. There were no surgical complications. Twelve of 32 patients with infertility achieved pregnancy after the initial procedure. Subsequently, 2 patients conceived after a second-look procedure. Twenty-three of 30 patients with pelvic pain reported improvement or resolution. We confirm the efficacy of operative laparoscopy using lasers in the management of large ovarian endometriomas.
Ternary alloying additions and multilayering as strategies to enhance the galvanic protection ability of Al-Zn coatings electrodeposited from ionic liquid solution

Abstract In recent years, there have been a large number of studies showing that compositionally modulated or multilayer coatings have significantly higher corrosion resistance than monolithic equivalents, in a diverse set of environments. While electrodeposition is an attractive processing method for multilayer coatings, electrodeposition of the aluminum-zinc coatings that would be natural candidates for galvanic corrosion coatings presents several unique challenges. In particular, co-deposition of aluminum and zinc involves a large electrochemical gap between the two elements, low solid solubility, and strong tendency for formation of zinc dendrites. Here we examine the effects of Mn and Zr additions during the electrodeposition of aluminum-zinc from AlCl3/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride solution. Aluminum-zinc electrodeposits, with and without addition of Mn or Zr, are prepared and characterized to determine the range of compositions and microstructures that can be produced. The addition of Zr, but not Mn, results in decreased grain size, surface roughness, and compositional homogeneity, as well as the emergence of a nanocrystalline or amorphous phase at low deposition rates. The Al-Zn-Zr electrodeposits also exhibit improved corrosion resistance, as measured by cyclic voltammetry and immersion testing in 50 mM NaCl solution, with additional improvement for multilayered coatings which use the nanocrystalline deposit as a base layer.
Preservation of Photographs

AbstractPhotogrophs ore susceptible to degradation (rom many sources. Attock on the imoge or bose can occur (rom residual processing chemicals. industrial atmospheric pollutants, contaminants (rom storage area construction materials or (rom the materials used (or mounting and containing the pictures. Degradation (rom poor processing can be detected with simple chemical tests. Until more becomes known about the many products normally associated with the preservation o( photographs, one should avoid using in the storage area fresh point, raw woods and volatile substances, and near or on the photographs avoid adhesives, plastics and poor quality papers. Regardless o( the preservation technique used it is help(ul to remember that the storage li(e of photographs can be extended by slowing down chemical activity. This can be achieved by care(ul control a( storage temperature and relative humidity (60 references).
System technology challenges facing the PC industry

Personal computers continue to achieve performance levels that exceed those exhibited by mainframes and minicomputers only a few years ago. As in the case of mainframes, these performance gains are coupled with significant increases in power dissipation, electromagnetic emissions, and tighter requirements for power delivery and high speed signaling. In contrast with big computers, however, PCs have very tight cost constraints and high volume manufacturability expectations. These requirements call for commoditized packaging approaches which render conventional solutions either unaffordable or inadequate. Therefore, the accelerating performance trends for microprocessors, chipsets, graphics, memory and other subsystems present a challenge to develop multidisciplinary packaging solutions in which universities could and should play a key role.
Perfect single-sided radiation and absorption without mirrors

Highly directional radiation from photonic structures is important for many applications, including high-power photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers, grating couplers, and light detection and ranging devices. However, previous dielectric, few-layer designs only achieved moderate asymmetry ratios, and a fundamental understanding of bounds on asymmetric radiation from arbitrary structures is still lacking. Here, we show that breaking the 180° rotational symmetry of the structure is crucial for achieving highly asymmetric radiation. We develop a general temporal coupled-mode theory formalism to derive bounds on the asymmetric decay rates to the top and bottom of a photonic crystal slab for a resonance with arbitrary in-plane wavevector. Guided by this formalism, we show that infinite asymmetry is still achievable even without the need for back-reflection mirrors, and we provide numerical examples of designs that achieve asymmetry ratios exceeding 104. The emission direction can also be rapidly switched from top to bottom by tuning the wavevector or frequency. Furthermore, we show that with the addition of weak material absorption loss, such structures can be used to achieve perfect absorption with single-sided illumination, even for single-pass material absorption rates less than 0.5% and without back-reflection mirrors. Our work provides new design principles for achieving highly directional radiation and perfect absorption in photonics.
Carbon Prices and Fuel Switching: A Quasi-experiment in Electricity Markets

Within the Pennsylvania–New Jersey–Maryland electricity market, Delaware and Maryland participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) but other states do not, providing a quasi-experimental setting to study the RGGI program. Using a difference-in-difference framework, we find that, overall the RGGI program led to 6.22 million short tons of CO2 reduction per year in Delaware and Maryland, or about 19.10% of the average total potential annual emissions in these two states from 2009 to 2013. Counterintuitively however, the reduction is mainly achieved through reduction of coal inputs and emission leakage instead of fuel switching from coal to natural gas or from fossil fuel (coal and natural gas) to non-fossil fuel.
Direct Gap Semiconductors Pb2BiS2I3, Sn2BiS2I3, and Sn2BiSI5

New quaternary thioiodides Pb2BiS2I3, Sn2BiS2I3, and Sn2BiSI5 have been synthesized by isothermal heating as well as chemical vapor transport. Pb2BiS2I3 and Sn2BiS2I3 crystallize in the space group, Cmcm, with unit cell parameters a = 4.3214 (9), b = 14.258 (3), and c = 16.488 (3) A; a = 4.2890 (6), b = 14.121(2), and c = 16.414 (3) A, respectively. Sn2BiSI5 adopts a unique crystal structure that crystallizes in C2/m with cell parameters a = 14.175 (3), b = 4.3985 (9), c = 21.625 (4) A, and β = 98.90(3)°. The crystal structures of Pb2BiS2I3 and Sn2BiS2I3 are strongly anisotropic and can be described as three-dimensional networks that are composed of parallel infinite ribbons of [M4S2I4] (M = Pb, Sn, Bi) running along the crystallographic c-axis. The crystal structure of Sn2BiSI5 is a homologue of the M2BiS2I3 (M = Pb, Sn) which has two successive ribbons of [M4S2I4] separated by two interstitial (Sn1–xBixI6) octahedral units. These compounds were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, differential...
An Exploratory Examination of Management Accounting Service and Information Quality

ABSTRACT: We develop and test a scale to measure perceptions of management accounting service information and quality. We use a theoretical framework adapted from Gronroos's (1978, 1983, 1984, 1990) service quality model that relates functional, technical, and image dimensions of service to perceived overall service quality. We develop constructs related to functional, technical, and image quality using questions derived from the accounting literature regarding the desirable characteristics of accountants and their information provision services. We test our predictions using survey data from 116 experienced business professionals. Results indicate that management accounting service quality can be mapped into functional, technical, and image dimensions. Furthermore, technical quality is more important to users than functional quality, and image quality partially mediates the technical and functional quality dimensions in forming user perceptions of overall service quality.
The People in Your Neighborhood: Social Interactions and Mutual Fund Portfolios

We find that socially connected fund managers have more similar holdings and trades. The overlap of funds whose managers reside in the same neighborhood is considerably higher than that of funds whose managers live in the same city but in different neighborhoods. These effects are larger when managers share a similar ethnic background, and are not explained by preferences. Valuable information is transmitted through these peer networks: a long-short strategy composed of stocks purchased minus sold by neighboring managers delivers positive risk-adjusted returns. Unlike prior empirical work, our tests disentangle the effects of social interactions from community effects.
Two-stage bulk electron heating in the diffusion region of anti-parallel symmetric reconnection

Electron bulk energization in the diffusion region during anti-parallel symmetric reconnection entails two stages. First, the inflowing electrons are adiabatically trapped and energized by an ambipolar parallel electric field. Next, the electrons gain energy from the reconnection electric field as they undergo meandering motion. These collisionless mechanisms have been described previously, and they lead to highly structured electron velocity distributions. Nevertheless, a simplified control-volume analysis gives estimates for how the net effective heating scales with the upstream plasma conditions in agreement with fully kinetic simulations and spacecraft observations.
Mental representation and the discovery of new strategies

Research summary: Managers' mental representations affect the perceived payoffs and alternatives that managers consider. Thus, mental representations affect how managers search for profitable strategies as well as the quality of strategies they discover. To study how mental representation and search interact, we formally model the dual search over possible representations and over policy choices of a strategy 'landscape.' We analyze when it is preferable to emphasize searching for the best policies rather than the best mental representation, and vice versa. We show that, in the long run, a balance between the two search modes not only results in better expected performance, but also reduces the variation in performance. Additionally, the article describes conditions under which increased accuracy of mental representations can actually worsen firm performance. Managerial summary: Managers' mental representations affect the perceived payoffs and alternatives that managers consider. Thus, mental representations affect the quality of strategies managers can discover. We analyze a computer simulation of how managers use mental representations to search for strategies. This sheds light on how managers should deal with the trade-off between searching for policies and searching for representations; that is, whether managers should think creatively about how to represent a strategy problem or whether they should just stick to the current problem understanding, and try to find ways to improve performance as suggested by the current representation. We provide insight regarding the balance between the two search modes and describe conditions under which increasingly accurate mental representations can worsen firm performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ON ESCAPING A GALAXY CLUSTER IN AN ACCELERATING UNIVERSE

We derive the escape velocity profile for an Einasto density field in an accelerating universe and demonstrate its physical viability by comparing theoretical expectations to both light-cone data generated from N-body simulations and archival data on 20 galaxy clusters. We demonstrate that the projection function ($g(\beta )$) is deemed physically viable only for the theoretical expectation that includes a cosmology-dependent term. Using simulations, we show that the inferred velocity anisotropy is more than 6{\sigma} away from the expected value for the theoretical profile that ignores the acceleration of the universe. In the archival data, we constrain the average velocity anisotropy parameter of a sample of 20 clusters to be $\beta ={0.248}_{-0.360}^{+0.164}$ at the 68% confidence level. Lastly, we briefly discuss how our analytic model may be used as a novel cosmological probe based on galaxy clusters.
Keynote speaker 4: The Internet of Things: Connected reality

The Internet of Things (IoT) will create a huge network of billions of smart ‘Things/Objects’ communicating each other. In the IoT, smart things/objects are expected to become active participants in business, information and social processes. The IoT will be able to interact and communicate by exchanging data and information sensed about the environment and by reacting autonomously to the real/physical events with or without direct human intervention. The IoT has the purpose of providing an information technology (IT) infrastructure facilitating the exchanges of things in a secure and reliable manner. This keynote will discuss the anatomy of the IoT environment and its use within the home, business and our everyday lives.
Fast on-line kernel density estimation for active object localization

A major goal of computer vision is to enable computers to interpret visual situations — abstract concepts (e.g., “a person walking a dog,” “a crowd waiting for a bus,” “a picnic”) whose image instantiations are linked more by their common spatial and semantic structure than by low-level visual similarity. In this paper, we propose a novel method for prior learning and active object localization for this kind of knowledge-driven search in static images. In our system, prior situation knowledge is captured by a set of flexible, kernel-based density estimations — a situation model — that represent the expected spatial structure of the given situation. These estimations are updated by information gained as the system searches for relevant objects, allowing the system to use context as it is discovered to narrow the search. More specifically, at any given time in a run on a test image, our system uses image features plus contextual information it has discovered to identify a small subset of training images — an importance cluster — that is deemed most similar to the given test image, given the context. This subset is used to generate an updated situation model in an on-line fashion, using an efficient multipole expansion technique. As a proof of concept, we apply our algorithm to a highly varied and challenging dataset consisting of instances of a “dogwalking” situation. Our results support the hypothesis that dynamically-rendered, context-based probabilistic models can support efficient object localization in visual situations. Moreover, our approach is general enough to be applied to diverse machine learning paradigms requiring interpretable, probabilistic representations generated from partially observed data.
Lifelong Perceptual Programming By Example

We introduce and develop solutions for the problem of Lifelong Perceptual Programming By Example (LPPBE). The problem is to induce a series of programs that require understanding perceptual data like images or text. LPPBE systems learn from weak supervision (input-output examples) and incrementally construct a shared library of components that grows and improves as more tasks are solved. Methodologically, we extend differentiable interpreters to operate on perceptual data and to share components across tasks. Empirically we show that this leads to a lifelong learning system that transfers knowledge to new tasks more effectively than baselines, and the performance on earlier tasks continues to improve even as the system learns on new, different tasks.
Aeromedical Battlefield Evacuation Under Endogenous Uncertainty in Casualty Delivery Times

We propose a new medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) model with endogenous uncertainty in the casualty delivery times. The goal is to provide timely evacuation and medical treatment to injured soldiers. T...
Impacts of Land-Use/Land-Cover Change on Afternoon Precipitation over North America

AbstractThis study investigates the impacts of historical land-cover change on summer afternoon precipitation over North America using the Community Earth System Model. Using land–atmosphere coupling metrics, this study examines the sensitivity of afternoon atmospheric conditions to morning land surface states and fluxes that are altered by land-cover changes before and since 1850. The deforestation in the eastern United States prior to 1850 leads to increased latent but decreased sensible heat flux during the morning and a reduction in afternoon precipitation over the southern regions of the U.S. East Coast. The agricultural expansion over the Great Plains since preindustrial times shows similar effects on surface fluxes but results in a significant widespread increase in precipitation over the crop area. The coupling metrics exhibit a strong positive soil moisture–precipitation relationship over the Great Plains. Impacts of land-cover change on precipitation manifest through changes in rainfall frequenc...
A MAD-Bayes Algorithm for State-Space Inference and Clustering with Application to Querying Large Collections of ChIP-Seq Data Sets

Abstract Current analytic approaches for querying large collections of chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) data from multiple cell types rely on individual analysis of each data set (i.e., peak calling) independently. This approach discards the fact that functional elements are frequently shared among related cell types and leads to overestimation of the extent of divergence between different ChIP-seq samples. Methods geared toward multisample investigations have limited applicability in settings that aim to integrate 100s to 1000s of ChIP-seq data sets for query loci (e.g., thousands of genomic loci with a specific binding site). Recently, Zuo et al. developed a hierarchical framework for state-space matrix inference and clustering, named MBASIC, to enable joint analysis of user-specified loci across multiple ChIP-seq data sets. Although this versatile framework estimates both the underlying state-space (e.g., bound vs. unbound) and also groups loci with similar patterns toget...
Measuring Self-Reported Wrongful Convictions Among Prisoners

Estimate the frequency of self-reported factual innocence in non-capital cases within a state population of prisoners. We conducted a survey of a population sample of state prisoners who were asked to anonymously report their involvement in the crimes for which they were most recently convicted. To assess the validity of verifiable responses, prisoner self-report data were compared to aggregate conviction and demographic information derived from administrative records. To assess the validity of unverifiable responses, we developed a non-parametric test to estimate the probability of false innocence claims. We estimate that wrongful convictions occur in 6% of criminal convictions leading to imprisonment in an intake population of state prisoners. This estimate masks a considerable degree of conviction-specific variability ranging from a low of 2% in DUI convictions to a high of 40% in rape convictions. Implausible or false innocence claims are estimated to occur in 2% of cases. The present investigation demonstrates that survey methods can provide bounded estimates of factual innocence claims within a discrete and known population. The resulting estimates, the first to formally separate claims of legal and factual innocence and to incorporate a formal measure of response plausibility, suggest that prisoners themselves are very often willing to self-report the correctness of their convictions. At the same time, a considerable minority indicate that procedural weaknesses with the administration of justice occurred in their cases. And, a distinct minority, with considerable offense variation, maintain that they are completely innocent of the charges against them.
LTL satisfiability checking

We report here on an experimental investigation of LTL satisfiability checking via a reduction to model checking. By using large LTL formulas, we offer challenging model-checking benchmarks to both explicit and symbolic model checkers. For symbolic model checking, we use CadenceSMV, NuSMV, and SAL-SMC. For explicit model checking, we use SPIN as the search engine, and we test essentially all publicly available LTL translation tools. Our experiments result in two major findings. First, most LTL translation tools are research prototypes and cannot be considered industrial quality tools. Second, when it comes to LTL satisfiability checking, the symbolic approach is clearly superior to the explicit approach.
Subcritical Destabilization of African Easterly Waves by Saharan Mineral Dust

AbstractA theoretical framework is presented that exposes the radiative–dynamical relationships that govern the subcritical destabilization of African easterly waves (AEWs) by Saharan mineral dust (SMD) aerosols. The framework is built on coupled equations for quasigeostrophic potential vorticity (PV), temperature, and SMD mixing ratio. A perturbation analysis yields, for a subcritical, but otherwise arbitrary, zonal-mean background state, analytical expressions for the growth rate and frequency of the AEWs. The expressions are functions of the domain-averaged wave activity, which is generated by the direct radiative effects of the SMD. The wave activity is primarily modulated by the Doppler-shifted phase speed and the background gradients in PV and SMD.Using an idealized version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model coupled to an interactive dust model, a linear analysis shows that, for a subcritical African easterly jet (AEJ) and a background SMD distribution that are consistent with obser...
Even with rehydration, preservation in ethanol influences the mechanical properties of bone and how bone responds to experimental manipulation ☆

Typically, bones are harvested at the time of animal euthanasia and stored until mechanical testing. However, storage methods are not standardized, and differential effects on mechanical properties are possible between methods. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects that two common preservation methods (freezing wrapped in saline-soaked gauze and refrigerating ethanol fixed samples) have on bone mechanical properties in the context of an in vitro ribosylation treatment designed to modify mechanical integrity. It was hypothesized that there would be an interactive effect between ribose treatment and preservation method. Tibiae from twenty five 11week old female C57BL/6 mice were separated into 2 preservation groups. Micro-CT scans of contralateral pairs assessed differences in geometry prior to storage. After 7weeks of storage, bones in each pair of tibiae were soaked in a solution containing either 0M or 0.6M ribose for 1week prior to 4 point bending tests. There were no differences in any cortical geometric parameters between contralateral tibiae. There was a significant main effect of ethanol fixation on displacement to yield (-16.3%), stiffness (+24.5%), strain to yield (-13.9%), and elastic modulus (+18.5%) relative to frozen specimens. There was a significant main effect of ribose treatment for yield force (+13.9%), ultimate force (+9.2%), work to yield (+22.2%), yield stress (+14.1%), and resilience (+21.9%) relative to control-soaked bones. Postyield displacement, total displacement, postyield work, total work, total strain, and toughness were analyzed separately within each preservation method due to significant interactions. For samples stored frozen, all six properties were lower in the ribose-soaked group (49%-68%) while no significant effects of ribose were observed in ethanol fixed bones. Storage in ethanol likely caused changes to the collagen matrix which prevented or masked the embrittling effects of ribosylation that were seen in samples stored frozen wrapped in saline-soaked gauze. These data illustrate the clear importance of maintaining hydration if the eventual goal is to use bones for mechanical assessments and further show that storage in ethanol can alter potential to detect effects of experimental manipulation (in this case ribosylation).
COMMON STRUCTURES OF ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES AND THEIR RISKS

In recent years, one area of growing concern in corporate governance is the accounting and transfer of risk using special purpose entities (or trusts). Such entities are used widely in issuing asset-backed securities. This paper provides an overview of the asset-backed securities market, and discusses the common structures used in this market to transform the risks associated with the underlying collateral into risks associated with the issued securities. Understanding these structures is essential to understanding the allocation and transfer of risk among the different parties in an asset-backed transaction – the originator, the special-purpose entity, investors, and related parties such as insurance guarantors. Understanding these structures is also essential in proposing potential solutions to regulatory and accounting concerns about the transfer of risks in asset-backed securities.
Unsupervised latent behavior manifold learning from acoustic features: Audio2behavior

Behavioral annotation using signal processing and machine learning is highly dependent on training data and manual annotations of behavioral labels. Previous studies have shown that speech information encodes significant behavioral information and be used in a variety of automated behavior recognition tasks. However, extracting behavior information from speech is still a difficult task due to the sparseness of training data coupled with the complex, high-dimensionality of speech, and the complex and multiple information streams it encodes. In this work we exploit the slow varying properties of human behavior. We hypothesize that nearby segments of speech share the same behavioral context and hence share a similar underlying representation in a latent space. Specifically, we propose a Deep Neural Network (DNN) model to connect behavioral context and derive the behavioral manifold in an unsupervised manner. We evaluate the proposed manifold in the couples therapy domain and also provide examples from publicly available data (e.g. stand-up comedy). We further investigate training within the couples' therapy domain and from movie data. The results are extremely encouraging and promise improved behavioral quantification in an unsupervised manner and warrants further investigation in a range of applications.
Why do bank-dependent firms bear interest-rate risk?

Abstract I document that floating-rate loans from banks, particularly important for bank-dependent firms, drive most variation in firms’ exposure to interest rates. I argue that banks prefer to supply floating-rate loans, due to their finite ability to transform short-duration deposit liabilities into long duration assets. Three key findings support this argument: banks with more floating-rate liabilities make more floating-rate loans, hold more floating-rate securities, and quote lower prices for floating-rate loans. Intermediary funding structures therefore help determine what types of contracts non-financial firms use. Banks transmit rising policy rates to firms by contractually raising interest rates on existing loans, not just by reducing the supply of new loans.
AFLUX: The LUX materials search API for the AFLOW data repositories

Abstract Automated computational materials science frameworks rapidly generate large quantities of materials data for accelerated materials design. In order to take advantage of these large databases, users should have the ability to efficiently search and extract the desired data. Therefore, we have extended the data-oriented AFLOW-repository A pplication- P rogram- I nterface (API) (Comput. Mater. Sci. 93 , 178 (2014)) to enable programmatic access to search queries. A U niform R esource I dentifier (URI)-based search API is proposed for the construction of complex queries for remote creation and retrieval of customized data sets. It is expected that the new language, AFLUX, from “ A utomatic F low of LUX (light)”, will enable remote search operations on the AFLOW set of computational materials science data repositories. In addition, AFLUX facilitates the verification and validation of the data in the AFLOW repositories.
Large deformations of the Tracy-Widom distribution I. Non-oscillatory asymptotics

We analyze the left-tail asymptotics of deformed Tracy–Widom distribution functions describing the fluctuations of the largest eigenvalue in invariant random matrix ensembles after removing each soft edge eigenvalue independently with probability $${1-\gamma\in[0,1]}$$ . As $${\gamma}$$ varies, a transition from Tracy–Widom statistics ( $${\gamma=1}$$ ) to classical Weibull statistics ( $${\gamma=0}$$ ) was observed in the physics literature by Bohigas et al. (Phys Rev E 79:031117, 2009). We provide a description of this transition by rigorously computing the leading-order left-tail asymptotics of the thinned GOE, GUE, and GSE Tracy–Widom distributions. In this paper, we obtain the asymptotic behavior in the non-oscillatory region with $${\gamma\in[0,1)}$$ fixed (for the GOE, GUE, and GSE distributions) and $${\gamma\uparrow 1}$$ at a controlled rate (for the GUE distribution). This is the first step in an ongoing program to completely describe the transition between Tracy–Widom and Weibull statistics. As a corollary to our results, we obtain a new total-integral formula involving the Ablowitz–Segur solution to the second Painleve equation.
Evaluating singleplayer and multiplayer in human computation games

Human computation games (HCGs) can provide novel solutions to intractable computational problems, help enable scientific breakthroughs, and provide datasets for artificial intelligence. However, our knowledge about how to design and deploy HCGs that appeal to players and solve problems effectively is incomplete. We present an investigatory HCG based on Super Mario Bros. We used this game in a human subjects study to investigate how different social conditions---singleplayer and multiplayer---and scoring mechanics---collaborative and competitive---affect players' subjective experiences, accuracy at the task, and the completion rate. In doing so, we demonstrate a novel design approach for HCGs, and discuss the benefits and tradeoffs of these mechanics in HCG design.
Psychiatric Co-Morbidities in Pregnant Women with Opioid Use Disorders: Prevalence, Impact, and Implications for Treatment.

Purpose of Review This review seeks to investigate three questions: What is the prevalence of comorbid psychiatric diagnoses among pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD)? How do comorbid psychiatric illnesses impact pregnant women with OUD? And how do comorbid psychiatric illnesses affect the ability of pregnant women with OUD to adhere to and complete OUD treatment?
Highlights from BNL-RHIC 2011-2013

Highlights from Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and experiments at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) are presented for the years 2011–2013. This review is a combination of lectures which discussed the latest results each year at a three year celebration of the 50th anniversary of the International School of Subnuclear Physics in Erice, Sicily, Italy. Since the first collisions in the year 2000, RHIC has provided nucleus–nucleus and polarized proton–proton collisions over a range of nucleon–nucleon center-of-mass energies from 7.7 GeV to 510 GeV with nuclei from deuterium to uranium, most often gold. The objective was the discovery of the Quark Gluon Plasma, which was achieved, and the measurement of its properties, which were much different than expected, namely a "perfect fluid" of quarks and gluons with their color charges exposed rather than a gas. Topics including quenching of light and heavy quarks at large transverse momentum, thermal photons, search for a QCD critical point as well as measurements of collective flow, two-particle correlations and J/Ψ suppression are presented. During this period, results from the first and subsequent heavy ion measurements at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN became available. These confirmed and extended the RHIC discoveries and have led to ideas for new and improved measurements.
UTILISATION OF A REPLESS MODEL IN PRIMARY JOINT ARTHROPLASTY

Introduction Hip and knee device sales representatives (reps) can provide intra-operative guidance through their knowledge of the products, especially in complicated cases such as revision hip and knee arthroplasty. However, for an experienced arthroplasty surgeon in the majority of straightforward primary cases, the rep's presence may not be required for clinical decision-makings. With recent challenges in cost savings and bundle payments, hospitals and surgeons have focused on reducing the implant costs, among others, with a “repless” model. The aim of this study was to describe the process of utilizing this model, assess its efficacy, and analyze the cost savings in primary hip arthroplasty. Methods During the month of January 2016, 20 cases of primary, straightforward total hip arthroplasties were performed with the repless model by 2 experienced arthroplasty trained surgeons. All patients were followed prospectively for minimum 3 months. Prior to initiating the repless model, we focused on process management of the operating room with staff training and re-engineering of the trays to obtain a setup that included one hospital tray and one device company tray for each operation. The responsibilities of the rep were divided into 2 categories for better management: 1. Familiarity of the instruments, implant, and techniques; trays set up and assurance of availability of the implants. These responsibilities were covered by a trained OR technician and the surgeon 2. Final verification of the accurate implants prior to opening the packaging. This was done by a trained OR nurse and the surgeon Results We did not have any intra-operative complications. We also did not encounted any issued with the trays or errors in opening of the implants. There were no re-admissions, fracture, dislocation, or infection. The mean length of stay was 2.2 ± 0.5 days (range 1–3 days) with 68% home discharges. The cost of the implant was reduced from $4,800 to $1,895 with $2,905 cost saving per case and total savings of $58,100. The projected savings only for uncomplicated primary total hip arthroplasty (minimum 120 cases/year between 2 surgeons) is $384,600. Further cost saving from the process management changes were seen in central sterile processing time. Prior to the one tray system, the hospital had 3 in-house trays and there were 4 device company trays. We also noticed an approximate 27% improvement in turnover time. Conclusion Repless model has significant cost saving potential. Preparation for the transition, proper patient selection, standardization of the trays and implants, and distribution of the responsibilities between OR nurses, technicians and the surgeon are essential.
A weighted exact test for mutually exclusive mutations in cancer

Motivation The somatic mutations in the pathways that drive cancer development tend to be mutually exclusive across tumors, providing a signal for distinguishing driver mutations from a larger number of random passenger mutations. This mutual exclusivity signal can be confounded by high and highly variable mutation rates across a cohort of samples. Current statistical tests for exclusivity that incorporate both per-gene and per-sample mutational frequencies are computationally expensive and have limited precision. Results We formulate a weighted exact test for assessing the significance of mutual exclusivity in an arbitrary number of mutational events. Our test conditions on the number of samples with a mutation as well as per-event, per-sample mutation probabilities. We provide a recursive formula to compute P-values for the weighted test exactly as well as a highly accurate and efficient saddlepoint approximation of the test. We use our test to approximate a commonly used permutation test for exclusivity that conditions on per-event, per-sample mutation frequencies. However, our test is more efficient and it recovers more significant results than the permutation test. We use our Weighted Exclusivity Test (WExT) software to analyze hundreds of colorectal and endometrial samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas, which are two cancer types that often have extremely high mutation rates. On both cancer types, the weighted test identifies sets of mutually exclusive mutations in cancer genes with fewer false positives than earlier approaches. Availability and implementation See http://compbio.cs.brown.edu/projects/wext for software. Contact braphael@cs.brown.edu Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Effect of ionizing radiation on the proliferation of human embryonic stem cells.

We studied the effect of ionizing radiation (IR) on continuous growth of seven hESC lines. Cells were exposed to 0, 0.2, or 1 Gy of X-rays, and the growth rates of cell populations were assessed by measuring areas of the same individual colonies versus time. The population doubling times (DT) of sham-irradiated cells varied from 18.9 to 28.7 hours for different cell lines. All cell lines showed similar reaction to IR, i.e. cell populations dropped within 24–48 hours post IR; after that they recovered and grew with the same rate as the sham-irradiated cells. The relative cell survival (RCS), i.e. the ratio of normalized cell population in the irradiated samples to that of the sham-irradiated ones varied from 0.6 to 0.8 after 0.2 Gy, and from 0.1 to 0.2 after 1 Gy IR for different cell lines. We found that the RCS values of hESC lines correlated directly with their DT, i.e. the faster cells grow the more radiosensitive they are. We also found that DT and RCS values of individual colonies varied significantly within all hESC lines. We believe that the method developed herein can be useful for assessing other cytotoxic insults on cultures of hESC.