cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sample size calculations for micro‐randomized trials in mHealth

The use and development of mobile interventions are experiencing rapid growth. In "just-in-time" mobile interventions, treatments are provided via a mobile device, and they are intended to help an individual make healthy decisions 'in the moment,' and thus have a proximal, near future impact. Currently, the development of mobile interventions is proceeding at a much faster pace than that of associated data science methods. A first step toward developing data-based methods is to provide an experimental design for testing the proximal effects of these just-in-time treatments. In this paper, we propose a 'micro-randomized' trial design for this purpose. In a micro-randomized trial, treatments are sequentially randomized throughout the conduct of the study, with the result that each participant may be randomized at the 100s or 1000s of occasions at which a treatment might be provided. Further, we develop a test statistic for assessing the proximal effect of a treatment as well as an associated sample size calculator. We conduct simulation evaluations of the sample size calculator in various settings. Rules of thumb that might be used in designing a micro-randomized trial are discussed. This work is motivated by our collaboration on the HeartSteps mobile application designed to increase physical activity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Imbalances in Mobilization and Activation of Pro-Inflammatory and Vascular Reparative Bone Marrow-Derived Cells in Diabetic Retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy is a sight-threatening complication of diabetes, affecting 65% of patients after 10 years of the disease. Diabetic metabolic insult leads to chronic low-grade inflammation, retinal endothelial cell loss and inadequate vascular repair. This is partly due to bone marrow (BM) pathology leading to increased activity of BM-derived pro-inflammatory monocytes and impaired function of BM-derived reparative circulating angiogenic cells (CACs). We propose that diabetes has a significant long-term effect on the nature and proportion of BM-derived cells that circulate in the blood, localize to the retina and home back to their BM niche. Using a streptozotocin mouse model of diabetic retinopathy with GFP BM-transplantation, we have demonstrated that BM-derived circulating pro-inflammatory monocytes are increased in diabetes while reparative CACs are trapped in the BM and spleen, with impaired release into circulation. Diabetes also alters activation of splenocytes and BM-derived dendritic cells in response to LPS stimulation. A majority of the BM-derived GFP cells that migrate to the retina express microglial markers, while others express endothelial, pericyte and Muller cell markers. Diabetes significantly increases infiltration of BM-derived microglia in an activated state, while reducing infiltration of BM-derived endothelial progenitor cells in the retina. Further, control CACs injected into the vitreous are very efficient at migrating back to their BM niche, whereas diabetic CACs have lost this ability, indicating that the in vivo homing efficiency of diabetic CACs is dramatically decreased. Moreover, diabetes causes a significant reduction in expression of specific integrins regulating CAC migration. Collectively, these findings indicate that BM pathology in diabetes could play a role in both increased pro-inflammatory state and inadequate vascular repair contributing to diabetic retinopathy.
Exploring magnetized liner inertial fusion with a semi-analytic model

In this paper, we explore magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) [S. A. Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)] using a semi-analytic model [R. D. McBride and S. A. Slutz, Phys. Plasmas 22, 052708 (2015)]. Specifically, we present simulation results from this model that: (a) illustrate the parameter space, energetics, and overall system efficiencies of MagLIF; (b) demonstrate the dependence of radiative loss rates on the radial fraction of the fuel that is preheated; (c) explore some of the recent experimental results of the MagLIF program at Sandia National Laboratories [M. R. Gomez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 155003 (2014)]; (d) highlight the experimental challenges presently facing the MagLIF program; and (e) demonstrate how increases to the preheat energy, fuel density, axial magnetic field, and drive current could affect future MagLIF performance.
Thioetherification via Photoredox/Nickel Dual Catalysis.

Hypervalent alkylsilicates represent new and readily accessible precursors for the generation of alkyl radicals under photoredox conditions. Alkyl radicals generated from such silicates serve as effective hydrogen atom abstractors from thiols, furnishing thiyl radicals. The reactive sulfur species generated in this manner can be funneled into a nickel-mediated cross-coupling cycle employing aromatic bromides to furnish thioethers. The serendipitous discovery of this reaction and its utilization for the thioetherification of various aryl and heteroaryl bromides with a diverse array of thiols is described. The S–H selective H atom abstraction event enables a wide range of functional groups, including those bearing protic moieties, to be tolerated.
Evolution of Deformation-Induced Surface Morphologies Generated in Fe-Based Sheet

The complex strain states that exist within a real metal stamping are likely to generate different surface morphologies when compared to the same level of plastic strain produced via single pass deformation. This study quantifies the surface morphology that develops when an as-received traditional plain carbon steel sheet is deformed under two different single-pass, in-plane stretching operations. Roughness measurements performed in the as-received condition with a high resolution scanning laser confocal microscope revealed that an initial surface roughness did not appear to influence the deformation generated with biaxial strain. However, the initial surface roughness could have affected the deformation generated with uniaxial strain. The roughness data were fitted to a probability density function (PDF) and resulted in a near-ideal Gaussian distribution of the surface profile heights. This analysis revealed that the shape of the PDF curve changes monotonically with surface roughness and plastic strain and that the accuracy of the rms roughness (Rq) parameter strongly depends on the quality of the Gaussian fit.
Synthesis of Enantioenriched Indolines by a Conjugate Addition/Asymmetric Protonation/Aza-Prins Cascade Reaction

A conjugate addition/asymmetric protonation/aza-Prins cascade reaction has been developed for the enantioselective synthesis of fused polycyclic indolines. A catalyst system generated from ZrCl4 and 3,3'-dibromo-BINOL enables the synthesis of a range of polycyclic indolines in good yields and with high enantioselectivity. A key finding is the use of TMSCl and 2,6-dibromophenol as a stoichiometric source of HCl to facilitate catalyst turnover. This transformation is the first in which a ZrCl4 ⋅BINOL complex serves as a chiral Lewis-acid-assisted Bronsted acid.
The ADI minimax problem for complex spectra

Abstract The ADI minimax problem has been solved for a range of complex spectral domains. This analysis was motivated by new application to solution of Sylvester's equation. The commutation property required for application to the Dirichlet problem is not restrictive in this new application. However, complex spectra to which conventional ADI theory does not apply are often encountered. Theory of elliptic functions plays a prominent role in the analysis. Optimum parameters are derived only for a class of “elliptic-function domains” which are not apt to occur in practice. However, this theory is then applied to obtain nearly-optimum parameters for realistic spectral regions. Nonsymmetric systems create other problems. Convergence of ADI iteration is retarded by deficient eigenvector spaces. A Lanczos-type generation of a basis for deficient spaces is described. This basis is used to develop a low-order system which may be solved by a direct method to correct the result of the ADI iteration.
TOURNIQUETLESS TKA: LET IT BLEED

The major benefit of TKA with tourniquet is operating in a bloodless field. A possible secondary benefit is a better cement bone interface for fixation. The disadvantages of tourniquet use for TKA include multiple risk factors both local and systemic: Nerve damage; Altered hemodynamics with limb exsanguinations (15–20% increase in circulatory volume) and reactive hyperemia with tourniquet release (10% increase in limb size increasing soft tissue tension and secondary pain); Delay in recovery of muscle function; Increased risk of DVT with direct trauma to vessel walls and increased levels of thrombin-antithrombin complexes; A 5.3× greater risk for large venous emboli propagation and transesophageal echogenic particles; Vascular injury with higher risk in atherosclerotic, calcified arteries; Increase in wound healing disturbances. Our initial experience with TKA without tourniquet was in high risk patients with previous DVT or PE, multiple scarring, or compromised cardiovascular status. We have used this method on all patients for the last eight years. The protocol includes regional anesthesia, incision and approach made with 90-degree knee flexion, meticulous hemostasis, jet lavage and filtered carbon dioxide delivered to dry and prepare bone beds for cementation, application of topical tranexamic acid and routine closure. We have encountered no differences in blood loss or transfusion rates, less post-operative pain, faster straight leg raise and knee flexion gains, and fewer wound healing disturbances. We recommend TKA sans tourniquet. Let it bleed!
Prophylactic Antibiotics for Surgery

This article discusses the determination of surgical patients to be given antibiotic prophylaxis. In addition, current concepts regarding selection of antibiotic prophylaxis necessary for a variety of surgical procedures are reviewed.
No More Weekend Effect

Before 1975, the mean weekend rate of return on the equal-weight (value-weight) stock market portfolio is significant -18bp (-19bp). After 1975, it is insignificant -5bp (-1bp). This break date is determined by a structural break test with unknown break date. The weekend effect is no longer an anomaly.
WHICH TIBIAL TRAY DESIGN ACHIEVES MAXIMUM COVERAGE AND IDEAL ROTATION: ANATOMIC, SYMMETRIC, OR ASYMMETRIC? AN MRI-BASED STUDY

Introduction The goal of tibial tray placement in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is to maximize tibial surface coverage while maintaining proper rotation. Maximizing tibial surface coverage without component overhang reduces the risk of tibial subsidence. Proper tibial rotation avoids excess risk of patellar maltracking, knee instability, inappropriate tibial loading, and ligament imbalance. Different tibial tray designs offer varying potential in optimizing the relationship between tibial surface coverage and rotation. Patient specific instrumentation (PSI) generates customized guides from an MRI- or CT-based preoperative plan for use in TKA. The purpose of the present study was to utilize MRI information, obtained as part of the PSI planning process, to determine, for anatomic, symmetric, and asymmetric tibial tray designs, (1) which tibial tray design achieves maximum coverage, (2) the impact of maximizing coverage on rotation, and (3) the impact of establishing neutral rotation on coverage. Methods In this prospective comparative study, MR images for 100 consecutive patients were uploaded into Materialise™ PSI software that was used to evaluate characteristics of tibial component placement. Tibial component rotation and surface coverage was analyzed using the preoperative planning software. Anatomic (Persona™), symmetric (NexGen™), and asymmetric (Natural-Knee II™) designs from a single manufacturer (Zimmer™) were evaluated to assess the relationship of tibial coverage and tibial rotation. Tibial surface coverage, defined as the proportion of tibial surface area covered by a given implant, was measured using Adobe Photoshop™ software (Figure 1). Rotation was calculated with respect to the tibial AP axis, which was defined as the line connecting the medial third of the tibial tuberosity and the PCL insertion. Results When tibial surface coverage was maximized, the anatomic tray compared to the symmetric/asymmetric trays showed significantly higher surface coverage (82.1% vs 80.4/80.1%; p Discussion We found that the anatomic tibial tray resulted in significantly higher tibial coverage with significantly less deviation from the AP axis compared to the symmetric and asymmetric trays. When rotation was constrained to the AP axis, the anatomic tray resulted in significantly higher tibial coverage than the symmetric and asymmetric trays. Tibial rotation is recognized as an important factor in the success of a total knee replacement. Maximizing coverage with the least compromise in rotation is the goal for tibial tray design. In this study, the anatomic tibia seemed to optimize the relationship between tibial surface coverage and rotation. This study additionally illustrates the way by which advanced preoperative planning tools (ie. MRI/computer reconstructions) allow us to obtain valuable information with regard to implant design.
Taxation, information, and withholding : evidence from Costa Rica

This paper studies tax withholding on business sales, a widely used compliance mechanism which is ignored by public finance theory. A withholding scheme, whereby the payer in a transaction collects tax from the payee, is introduced in a standard evasion model with third-party reporting. If the taxpayer can fully reclaim the tax withheld, withholding is irrelevant to her evasion decision. However, in the presence of costly reclaim, low salience of enforcement or extensive margin compliance gaps, withholding can raise tax payment. To show this empirically, the study exploits a ten-year panel of income tax and sales tax records from 400,000 firms in Costa Rica, and over 20 million third-party information and withholding reports. First, an anatomy of compliance shows that firms are relatively compliant with third-party information on the extensive, intensive and payment margin. An event study then shows that coverage by third-party reporting leads to a 20-50 percent increase in reported taxable income. Finally, a difference-in-difference and regression discontinuity estimation of a withholding rate increase isolates the impact of withholding. A doubling of the withholding rate leads to a 33 percent increase in sales tax payment among treated firms and an 8 percent increase in aggregate sales tax revenue. The mechanisms are reduced misreporting and incomplete reclaim of the tax withheld. The large compliance impact of withholding rationalizes its widespread use in low compliance contexts.
Optimized Prediction of Extreme Treatment Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death among female cancers. Front-line therapy for ovarian cancer is platinum-based chemotherapy. However, the response of patients is highly nonuniform. The TCGA database of serous ovarian carcinomas shows that ~10% of patients respond poorly to platinum-based chemotherapy, with tumors relapsing in seven months or less. Another 10% or so enjoy disease-free survival of three years or more. The objective of the present research is to identify a small number of highly predictive biomarkers that can distinguish between the two extreme responders and then extrapolate to all patients. This is achieved using the lone star algorithm that is specifically developed for biological applications. Using this algorithm, we are able to identify biomarker panels of 25 genes (of 12,000 genes) that can be used to classify patients into one of the three groups: super responders, medium responders, and nonresponders. We are also able to determine a discriminant function that can divide the entire patient population into two classes, such that one group has a clear survival advantage over the other. These biomarkers are developed using the TCGA Agilent platform data and cross-validated on the TCGA Affymetrix platform data, as well as entirely independent data from Tothill et al. The P-values on the training data are extremely small, sometimes below machine zero, while the P-values on cross-validation are well below the widely accepted threshold of 0.05.
Redistribution of primary silyl- and germylphosphines; synthesis of trisilyl- and trigermylphosphines

Abstract Redistribution reactions of SiH3PH2, Si2H5PH2, SiH3PH2/Si2H5PH2, and GeH3PH2 promoted by BX3(X=F, Cl, Br), B2H6, and B5H9 as routes to the trisilyl- and trigermylphosphines (SiH3)3P, (Si2H5)3P, (SiH3)2PSi2H5, and (GeH3)3P have been examined. Reaction of the silyl- or germylphosphine borane complex (e.g. SiH3PH2·BF3) with the uncomplexed silyl- or germylphosphine (e.g. SiH3PH2) appears essential to the redistribution process. Trisilylphosphines and (GeH3)3P are best obtained in RPH2(R=SiH3, Si2H5)‒BF3 and GeH3PH2‒B5H9 reaction systems, respectively.
Molecular Graphics Art Show

Understanding, however, rarely springs from mere categorization. The burgeoning field of molecular visualization is a perfect case in point. Placing all molecular images in the realm of art causes the scientific community to dismiss them as "pretty pictures"-unscientific and thus unworthy of attention and funding. Categorizing them as science, however, often causes the art community to dismiss them as "technical illustrations"-lacking in artistic motive and thought and thus carrying little artistic merit.
Selective oxidative homo- and cross-coupling of phenols with aerobic catalysts.

Simple catalysts that use atom-economical oxygen as the terminal oxidant to accomplish selective ortho–ortho, ortho–para, or para–para homo-couplings of phenols are described. In addition, chromium salen catalysts have been discovered as uniquely effective in the cross-coupling of different phenols with high chemo- and regioselectivity.
Rise of Temperature on Fast Stretching of Butyl Rubber

The rise of temperature on fast stretching of natural and synthetic rubber stocks was investigated recently by Dart, Anthony, and Guth (D.A.G.). Since then the experimental technique was considerably improved and the taking of data greatly simplified thereby. By D.A.G. emphasis was placed to record temperature rises of up to 15°C for extensions up to 700 percent by a fast galvanometer of moderate sensitivity. In the present work this high heat was investigated. In addition, however, a less fast but more sensitive galvanometer was employed to record changes of temperature as small as 0.001°C for 0–80 percent extension. In accordance with early work by Joule on natural gum (1859) it was found that also Butyl gum stocks show an initial cooling effect. This passes at a thermoelastic inversion point into a heating effect. In agreement with the recent theory by James and Guth the thermoelastic inversion point was found to depend solely upon the thermal expansion coefficient of the unstretched stock. The coefficient of thermal expansion was measured for Butyl stocks in the present work. Butyl tread stocks also show the thermoelastic inversion point. The work of D.A.G. showed that the rise in temperature on extension is a slowly rising function of the extension with a steep upward turn and almost linear continuation after the onset of crystallization. The samples were kept extended for a minute and then the cooling arising on retraction also measured. The negative of the cooling on retraction plotted against extension fall, according to the second law of thermodynamics as it should under the extension curve, but crosses it at the onset of crystallization. For Butyl gum stocks this crossing takes place at rather high (600 percent or more) extensions in agreement with x‐ray work. More similarity was found between Butyl and Hevea tread stocks than between the corresponding gum stocks. Loading shifts the onset of crystallization to a range of smaller extensions. In addition to measuring the change of temperature on extension and retraction, the residual rise in temperature after an extension and immediate fast cycle retraction was also observed. This quantity is a measure of internal friction in Butyl rubber and is closely connected with rebound and free vibration tests. Summarizing, the method described has a twofold application for development work: 1. Changes of the temperature on extension and delayed retraction indicate in a simple manner the onset and progress of crystallization. 2. Changes of the temperature in a fast cycle give an estimate for internal friction. Both these applications will facilitate attempts to improve present synthetics.
Conformational Preferences of DNA in Reduced Dielectric Environments

The effect of reduced dielectric environments on the conformational sampling of DNA was examined through molecular dynamics simulations. Different dielectric environments were used to model one aspect of cellular environments. Implicit solvent based on the Generalized Born methodology was used to reflect different dielectric environments in the simulations. The simulation results show a tendency of DNA structures to favor noncanonical A-like conformations rather than canonical A- and B-forms as a result of the reduced dielectric environments. The results suggest that the reduced dielectric response in cellular environments may be sufficient to enhance the sampling of A-like DNA structures compared to dilute solvent conditions.
Single-Molecule Enzymatic Conformational Dynamics: Spilling Out the Product Molecules

Product releasing is an essential step of an enzymatic reaction, and a mechanistic understanding primarily depends on the active-site conformational changes and molecular interactions that are involved in this step of the enzymatic reaction. Here we report our work on the enzymatic product releasing dynamics and mechanism of an enzyme, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), using combined single-molecule time-resolved fluorescence intensity, anisotropy, and lifetime measurements. Our results have shown a wide distribution of the multiple conformational states involved in active-site interacting with the product molecules during the product releasing. We have identified that there is a significant pathway in which the product molecules are spilled out from the enzymatic active site, driven by a squeezing effect from a tight active-site conformational state, although the conventional pathway of releasing a product molecule from an open active-site conformational state is still a primary pathway. Our study provides n...
Shear Properties of Promising Adhesives for Bonded Joints in Composite Material Structures

The results of an experimental program are given which provide quantitative and reproducible shear property data for many of the present and promising adhesives for use in bonded joints in composite material structures. The experiments employ a composite material test specimen in which the adhesive material is in a film configuration, typical of bonded joints, rather than measuring bulk adhesive properties. Because both the flexural and in-plane stiffnesses of the glass-epoxy adherends of the test piece are extremely large (> 106) compared to a parameter proportional to the shear and extensional modulus of the adhesive film, the adhesive film is virtually in a state of constant shear stress with negligible normal stresses. The details of the shear test piece have been published previously. The adhesives tested were those recommended by the major adhesive manufacturers, those selected by NASA Langley in the civil aviation program, and those utilized in the USAF PABST program. The data reported includes the ultimate shear stress, initial shear modulus, and elongation to failure, both mean values and standard deviations, for specimens made by the adhesive manufacturer and the University of Delaware.
Technological advancements for the detection of and protection against biological and chemical warfare agents

There is a growing need for technological advancements to combat agents of chemical and biological warfare, particularly in the context of the deliberate use of a chemical and/or biological warfare agent by a terrorist organization. In this tutorial review, we describe methods that have been developed both for the specific detection of biological and chemical warfare agents in a field setting, as well as potential therapeutic approaches for treating exposure to these toxic species. In particular, nerve agents are described as a typical chemical warfare agent, and the two potent biothreat agents, anthrax and botulinum neurotoxin, are used as illustrative examples of potent weapons for which countermeasures are urgently needed.
Soluble Polymers as Tools in Catalysis

Examples where soluble polymers have been used in homogeneous catalysis were first noted 50 years ago, but this role for soluble polymers remained relatively unexplored until the 1990s. Since then, the use of new polymers, new developments in polymer synthesis, new separation strategies, and the imaginative ways soluble polymers’ structure and physical properties can be used to influence a covalent or ligated catalyst have led to increasing interest in soluble polymers as tools in catalysis.
Domestic political competition and pro-cyclical import protection

Governments, especially in developing countries, routinely practice binding overhang (i.e. setting applied tariffs below binding WTO commitments) and frequently move applied tariffs for given products up and down over the business cycle. Moreover, applied tariffs are pro-cyclical in developing countries. We explain this phenomenon using a dynamic theory of lobbying between domestic interest groups. Applied tariffs are pro-cyclical when high-tariff interests (e.g. import-competing industries) capture the government: these groups concede lower tariffs to low-tariff interest groups (e.g. exporting firms or firms using imported intermediate inputs) during recessions because recessions lower the opportunity cost of lobbying and thereby generate a stronger lobbying threat.
Percutaneous cordotomy for pain.

Percutaneous cordotomy is a technically safe and simple method of performing spinothalamic tractotomy. It is ideally suited to the patient with normal lung function who has unilateral pain due to cancer. With some modifications and reservations, it may be recommended for patients with bilateral pain or with pain due to nonmalignant disease and for those with some pulmonary impairment.
Tropical cyclones, derelict traps, and the future of the Florida Keys commercial spiny lobster fishery

Abstract Derelict commercial spiny lobster ( Panulirus argus ) traps may move hundreds of meters during high wind events, resulting in tissue abrasion, breakage, and often complete removal of critical habitat elements such as seagrass, sponge, and coral. Ghost traps continue to confine lobsters, often resulting in mortality. The legacy of trap debris in the Florida Keys (USA) combined with possible increased inputs of trap debris resulting from tropical cyclone intensification presents an immediate challenge for this fishery where social, economic, and ecological vulnerabilities to disturbance are intrinsically linked. Here, predictions of percent monthly trap loss in relation to maximum wind speed (km/h) under three scenarios of tropical cyclone intensification were evaluated across four levels of fishing effort (number of traps used). Across all tropical cyclone scenarios, Historical fishing effort (986,000 traps) produced the greatest number of lost traps, followed in decreasing order by Existing (479,000), Target (400,000), and Maximum Economic Yield ( MEY; 180,000) efforts. Under a Business-as-Usual scenario of intensification, converting from Existing fishing effort to MEY reduced trap loss by over 62%. The scenarios suggest that were Existing fishing effort to be maintained in the coming decades, tropical cyclone-related trap loss could exceed 11 million over 60 years depending upon the rate of storm intensification. Existing programs for derelict trap removal cannot currently keep pace with accumulation; consequently, the proximal source of trap debris is increasing in the environment. The net increase in derelict traps and debris generated from their degradation will only be exacerbated under potential tropical cyclone intensification. This study underscores the need for using scenarios for future exploration of these issues, particularly incorporation of fisher responses to changes in climatic, economic, and management drivers (i.e., storms, market demand, gear reduction) that may affect trap deployment patterns.
Regioselective Lithium-Iodine Exchange-Initiated Cleavage of 2-Iodomethyl-1,3-dioxanes: A Complex-Induced Proximity Effect

Lithium-iodine exchange-initiated fragmentation of a series of 4-substituted 2-iodomethyl-1,3-dioxanes proceeds rapidly and regioselectively to afford enol ether alcohols by preferential cleavage of the less congested C(2)-O(1) bond. The results demonstrate that a complex-induced proximity effect (CIPE) is likely responsible for the selectivity of the cleavage.
Fast Compatibility Testing for Phylogenies with Nested Taxa

Semi-labeled trees are phylogenies whose internal nodes may be labeled by higher-order taxa. Thus, a leaf labeled Mus musculus could nest within a subtree whose root node is labeled Rodentia, which itself could nest within a subtree whose root is labeled Mammalia. Suppose we are given collection \(\mathcal {P}\) of semi-labeled trees over various subsets of a set of taxa. The ancestral compatibility problem asks whether there is a semi-labeled tree \(\mathcal {T}\) that respects the clusterings and the ancestor/descendant relationships implied by the trees in \(\mathcal {P}\). We give a \(\tilde{O}(M_\mathcal {P})\) algorithm for the ancestral compatibility problem, where \(M_\mathcal {P}\) is the total number of nodes and edges in the trees in \(\mathcal {P}\). Unlike the best previous algorithm, the running time of our method does not depend on the degrees of the nodes in the input trees.
On linking heterogeneous dataset collections

Link discovery is the problem of linking entities between two or more datasets, based on some (possibly unknown) specification. A blocking scheme is a one-to-many mapping from entities to blocks. Blocking methods avoid O(n2) comparisons by clustering entities into blocks, and limiting the evaluation of link specifications to entity pairs within blocks. Current link-discovery blocking methods explicitly assume that two RDF datasets are provided as input, and need to be linked. In this paper, we assume instead that two heterogeneous dataset collections, comprising arbitrary numbers of RDF and tabular datasets, are provided as input. We show that data model heterogeneity can be addressed by representing RDF datasets as property tables. We also propose an unsupervised technique called dataset mapping that maps datasets from one collection to the other, and is shown to be compatible with existing clustering methods. Dataset mapping is empirically evaluated on three real-world test collections ranging over government and constitutional domains, and shown to improve two established baselines.
Raising the Level of Nursing Involvement in the National Precision Medicine Initiative: An Example.

PURPOSE The Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) goal of ushering in a new and more effective era of health care that benefits all Americans requires two critical and interdependent components: a cohort assembly of 1 million or more Americans who reflect the diversity of the United States of America and an interdisciplinary workforce that includes nursing. The purpose of this article is to provide an example of nursing involvement in PM, specifically as related to gathering biospecimens (saliva) from vulnerable, understudied adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders and their family members. SOURCE(S) First, we provide a brief description of important concepts related to PM as well as current roles of nurses in PM. Then, we share lessons learned from our feasibility study aimed at increasing the diversity of our statewide cohort assembly that has provided biospecimens for the Indiana Biobank. CONCLUSION Nurses can definitely contribute to biobanks in support of the PMI. This article is a call to action for nurses to take their rightful place in PM.
Combinatorial approach to identify electronically cloaked hollow nanoparticles

The possibility of designing core-shell nanoparticles that are ``invisible'' to the conduction electrons has been demonstrated recently. A total scattering cross section smaller than 0.01% of the physical cross section was demonstrated by artificially adjusting the parameters of the barrier and the well in a core-shell geometry. In this paper, we aim to extend the developed concept and find realistic material combinations that satisfy the cloaking criteria. We report designs of hollow nanoparticles that could be used to realize the cloaking concept in III--V semiconductor host matrices. Such particles could be used in advanced materials design to enhance and tune the electrical and the thermoelectric properties of a given host matrix. This paper may also contribute to defect engineering by coating defect sites with a proper cloaking layer.
Two-point particle tracking microrheology of nematic complex fluids

Many biological and technological complex fluids exhibit tight microstructural alignment that confers them nematic mechanical properties. Among these we count liquid crystals and biopolymer networks, which are often available in microscopic amounts. However, current microrheological methods cannot measure the directional viscoelastic coefficients that appear in the constitutive relation of nematic complex fluids. This article presents directional two-point particle-tracking microrheology (D2PTM) – a novel microrheology technique to determine these coefficients. We establish the theoretical foundation for D2PTM by analyzing the motion of a probing microscopic particle embedded in a nematic complex fluid, and the mutual hydrodynamic interactions between pairs of distant particles. From this analysis, we generalize the formulation of two-point particle tracking microrheology for nematic complex fluids, and demonstrate that the new formulation provides sufficient information to fully characterize the anisotropic viscoelastic coefficients of such materials. We test D2PTM by simulating the Brownian motion of particles in nematic viscoelastic fluids with prescribed directional frequency-dependent shear moduli, showing that D2PTM accurately recovers the prescribed shear moduli. Furthermore, we experimentally validate D2PTM by applying it to a lyotropic nematic liquid crystal, and demonstrate that this new microrheology method provides results in agreement with dynamic light scattering measurements. Lastly, we illustrate the experimental application of the new technique to characterize nematic F-actin solutions. These experiments constitute the first microrheological measurement of the directional viscoelastic coefficients of an anisotropic soft material.
Prospects of Genomic Prediction in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection: Historical Data Creates Robust Models for Enhancing Selection of Accessions

The identification and mobilization of useful genetic variation from germplasm banks for use in breeding programs is critical for future genetic gain and protection against crop pests. Plummeting costs of next-generation sequencing and genotyping is revolutionizing the way in which researchers and breeders interface with plant germplasm collections. An example of this is the high density genotyping of the entire USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection. We assessed the usefulness of 50K single nucleotide polymorphism data collected on 18,480 domesticated soybean (Glycine max) accessions and vast historical phenotypic data for developing genomic prediction models for protein, oil, and yield. Resulting genomic prediction models explained an appreciable amount of the variation in accession performance in independent validation trials, with correlations between predicted and observed reaching up to 0.92 for oil and protein and 0.79 for yield. The optimization of training set design was explored using a series of cross-validation schemes. It was found that the target population and environment need to be well represented in the training set. Second, genomic prediction training sets appear to be robust to the presence of data from diverse geographical locations and genetic clusters. This finding, however, depends on the influence of shattering and lodging, and may be specific to soybean with its presence of maturity groups. The distribution of 7608 nonphenotyped accessions was examined through the application of genomic prediction models. The distribution of predictions of phenotyped accessions was representative of the distribution of predictions for nonphenotyped accessions, with no nonphenotyped accessions being predicted to fall far outside the range of predictions of phenotyped accessions.
The Double-Edged Effect of Contracts on Alliance Performance

Despite substantial scholarly interest in the role of contracts in alliances, few studies have analyzed the mechanisms and conditions relevant to their influence on alliance performance. In this paper, we build on the information-processing view of the firm to study contracts as framing devices. We suggest that the effects of contracts depend on the types of provisions included and differentiate between the consequences of control and coordination provisions. Specifically, control provisions will increase the level of conflict between alliance partners, whereas coordination provisions will decrease such conflict. Conflict, in turn, reduces alliance performance, suggesting a mediated relationship between alliance contracts and performance. We also contribute to a better understanding of contextual influences on the consequences of contracts and investigate the interactions of each contractual function with both internal and external uncertainties. Key informant survey data on 171 alliances largely support ...
Legal preemption and the prevention of chronic conditions

State and local legal innovations to address chronic conditions are an ongoing source of public health improvements. For decades, some of the most ingenious law and policy ideas to address the underlying causes of chronic conditions and their contributing factors have emerged from state or local public sector grassroots initiatives in diverse areas, including tobacco use, safe housing and transportation, and environmental hazards. These reforms, however, are susceptible to invalidation through the legal doctrine of preemption. Embedded throughout our constitutional system, preemption refers to how state or local laws may be averted, displaced, or negated by conflicting laws at a higher level of government. Preemption can be complex in concept and application, leading to considerable confusion among public health leaders seeking to generate meaningful policy proposals. The objective of this article is to unravel the legal concept of preemption, explain its use as a tool to both thwart or further public health interventions, and offer practical guidance for how to legally navigate around it to address factors underlying chronic conditions.
High-Throughput Computational Screening of Perovskites for Thermochemical Water Splitting Applications

The use of hydrogen as fuel is a promising avenue to aid in the reduction of greenhouse effect gases released in the atmosphere. In this work, we present a high-throughput density functional theory (HT-DFT) study of 5,329 cubic and distorted perovskite ABO3 compounds to screen for thermodynamically favorable two-step thermochemical water splitting (TWS) materials. From a data set of more than 11,000 calculations, we screened materials based on the following: (a) thermodynamic stability and (b) oxygen vacancy formation energy that allow favorable TWS. From our screening strategy, we identify 139 materials as potential new candidates for TWS application. Several of these compounds, such as CeCoO3 and BiVO3, have not been experimentally explored yet for TWS and present promising avenues for further research. We show that taking into consideration all phases present in the A–B–O ternary phase, as opposed to only calculating the formation energy of a compound, is crucial to assess correctly the stability of a ...
Financial (Dis-)information : evidence from a multi-country audit study

An audit study was conducted in Ghana, Mexico and Peru to understand the quality of financial information and products offered to low-income customers. Trained auditors visited multiple financial institutions, seeking credit and savings products. Consistent with Gabaix and Laibson (2006), staff only provides information about the cost when asked, disclosing less than a third of the total cost voluntarily. In fact, the cost disclosed voluntarily is uncorrelated with the expensiveness of the product. In addition, clients are rarely offered the cheapest product, most likely because staff is incentivized to offer more expensive and thus more profitable products to the institution. This suggests that clients are not provided enough information to be able to compare among products, and that disclosure and transparency policies may be ineffective because they undermine the commercial interest of financial institutions.
Network Oblivious Transfer

Motivated by the goal of improving the concrete efficiency of secure multiparty computation MPC, we study the possibility of implementing an infrastructure for MPC. We propose an infrastructure based on oblivious transfer OT, which would consist of OT channels between some pairs of parties in the network. We devise information-theoretically secure protocols that allow additional pairs of parties to establish secure OT correlations using the help of other parties in the network in the presence of a dishonest majority. Our main technical contribution is an upper bound that matches a lower bound of Harnik, Ishai, and Kushilevitz Crypto 2007, who studied the number of OT channels necessary and sufficient for MPC. In particular, we characterize which n-party OT graphs G allow t-secure computation of OT correlations between all pairs of parties, showing that this is possible if and only if the complement of G does not contain the complete bipartite graph $$K_{n-t,n-t}$$ as a subgraph.
Resource Management for Running HPC Applications in Container Clouds

Innovations in operating-system-level virtualization technologies such as resource control groups, isolated namespaces, and layered file systems have driven a new breed of virtualization solutions called containers. Applications running in containers depend on the host operating system (OS) for resource allocation, throttling, and prioritization. However, the OS is designed to provide only best-effort/fair-share resource allocation. Lack of resource management, as in virtual machine managers, constrains the use of containers and container-based clusters to a subset of workloads other than traditional high-performance computing (HPC) workflows. In this paper, we describe problems with the fair-share resource management of CPUs, network bandwidth, and I/O bandwidth on HPC workloads and present mechanisms to allocate, throttle, and prioritize each of these three critical resources in containerized HPC environments. These mechanisms enable container-based HPC clusters to host applications with different resource requirements and enforce effective resource use so that a large collection of HPC applications can benefit from the flexibility, portability, and agile characteristics of containers.
Chinese Difference and Deservingness The Paper Lives of Young Migrants

Each year, approximately 1,500 youth migrate alone and clandestinely from China to the United States. If apprehended and placed in removal proceedings, these individuals and their legal advocates often prioritize specific narratives of family and age to qualify for legal relief. Such narratives are not new, of course. Shaped and arguably demanded by the law and broader ideologies of race, childhood, and citizenship, in many ways these accounts reflect both the intent and the constraints of an earlier subset of migrants, the Chinese “paper sons” who purchased family stories and identity papers to circumvent the Chinese Exclusion Act. Yet, as this article demonstrates, a meaningful divergence exists—one chiefly dependent on contemporary migrants’ status as “children.” For Chinese youth designated Unaccompanied Alien Children, establishing the vulnerability worthy of protection largely relies on a complex tale of cultural obligation and coercive, exploitative parents. As a result, instead of selecting one fa...
Re-Initiation of Dabigatran and Direct Factor Xa Antagonists After a Major Bleed

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are a relatively recent addition to the oral anticoagulant armamentarium, and provide an alternative to the use of vitamin K antagonists such as warfarin. Regardless of the type of agent used, bleeding is the major complication of anticoagulant therapy. The decision to restart oral anticoagulation following a major hemorrhage in a previously anticoagulated patient is supported largely by retrospective studies rather than randomized clinical trials (mostly with vitamin K antagonists), and remains an issue of individualized clinical assessment: the patient's risk of thromboembolism must be balanced with the risk of recurrent major bleeding. This review provides guidance for clinicians regarding if and when a patient should be re-initiated on DOAC therapy following a major hemorrhage, based on the existing evidence.
EAFR: An Energy-Efficient Adaptive File Replication System in Data-Intensive Clusters

In data intensive clusters, a large amount of files are stored, processed and transferred simultaneously. To increase the data availability, some file systems create and store three replicas for each file in randomly selected servers across different racks. However, they neglect the file heterogeneity and server heterogeneity, which can be leveraged to further enhance data availability and file system efficiency. As files have heterogeneous popularities, a rigid number of three replicas may not provide immediate response to an excessive number of read requests to hot files, and waste resources (including energy) for replicas of cold files that have few read requests. Also, servers are heterogeneous in network bandwidth, hardware configuration and capacity (i.e., the maximal number of service requests that can be supported simultaneously), it is crucial to select replica servers to ensure low replication delay and request response delay. In this paper, we propose an Energy-Efficient Adaptive File Replication System (EAFR), which incorporates three components. It is adaptive to time-varying file popularities to achieve a good tradeoff between data availability and efficiency. Higher popularity of a file leads to more replicas and vice versa. Also, to achieve energy efficiency, servers are classified into hot servers and cold servers with different energy consumption, and cold files are stored in cold servers. EAFR then selects a server with sufficient capacity (including network bandwidth and capacity) to hold a replica. To further improve the performance of EAFR, we propose a dynamic transmission rate adjustment strategy to prevent potential incast congestion when replicating a file to a server, a network-aware data node selection strategy to reduce file read latency, and a load-aware replica maintenance strategy to quickly create file replicas under replica node failures. Experimental results on a real-world cluster show the effectiveness of EAFR and proposed strategies in reducing file read latency, replication time, and power consumption in large clusters.