cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Variable margin losses for classifier design

The problem of controlling the margin of a classifier is studied. A detailed analytical study is presented on how properties of the classification risk, such as its optimal link and minimum risk functions, are related to the shape of the loss, and its margin enforcing properties. It is shown that for a class of risks, denoted canonical risks, asymptotic Bayes consistency is compatible with simple analytical relationships between these functions. These enable a precise characterization of the loss for a popular class of link functions. It is shown that, when the risk is in canonical form and the link is inverse sigmoidal, the margin properties of the loss are determined by a single parameter. Novel families of Bayes consistent loss functions, of variable margin, are derived. These families are then used to design boosting style algorithms with explicit control of the classification margin. The new algorithms generalize well established approaches, such as LogitBoost. Experimental results show that the proposed variable margin losses outperform the fixed margin counterparts used by existing algorithms. Finally, it is shown that best performance can be achieved by cross-validating the margin parameter.
Disordered Gambling: Etiology, Trajectory, and Clinical Considerations

Gambling-related research has advanced rapidly during the past 20 years. As a result of expanding interest in pathological gambling (PG), stakeholders (e.g., clinicians, regulators, and policy makers) have a better understanding of excessive gambling, including its etiology (e.g., neurobiological/neurogenetic, psychological, and sociological factors) and trajectory (e.g., initiation, course, and adaptation to gambling exposure). In this article, we examine these advances in PG-related research and then consider some of the clinical implications of these advances. We consider criteria changes for PG recently proposed by the DSM-V Impulse Control Work Group for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V). We also review how clinicians can more accurately and efficiently diagnose clients seeking help for gambling-related problems by utilizing brief screens. Finally, we consider the importance of future research that can identify behavioral markers for PG. We suggest that ...
Wide bandwidth inverse class F power amplifier with novel balun harmonic matching network

In this paper we present a novel wide bandwidth inverse class F power amplifier utilizing a broadside coupled Marchand balun to achieve optimal matching up to the third harmonic. This technique simultaneously provides improvement to power amplifier efficiency, saturation power, and linearity. A prototype power amplifier (PA) was constructed to verify this concept and its feasibility. The prototype PA uses two Gallium Nitride (GaN) pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (pHEMTs) and a multilayered, low loss substrate. The final power amplifier has a measured compressed output power greater than 40.5 dBm, a power added efficiency (PAE) greater than 55 %, a gain of 10.5 dB, and a fractional bandwidth of 40 % in X band.
Co-distillation of boric acid with water under ambient conditions

Many studies of the co-distillation of boric acid with water have been reported in the literature, one of the most comprehensive being that of Stackelberg et al. (1937), who calculated a partial pressure for boric acid at 109° of 0.62 mm. This is considerably less than had been found by earlier workers, and Stackelberg argued convincingly that the early high values resulted from poor experimental design. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1975.tb01708.x
Mathematics for simulation

The article surveys several mathematical techniques and results that are useful in the context of stochastic simulation. The concepts are introduced through the study of a simple model of ambulance operation to ensure clarity, concreteness and cohesion. The paper is an updated version of S.G. Henderson (2000), in which performance measures were analysed. The author switches the focus to estimating the densities of random variables related to these performance measures. The goal remains the same as in Henderson (2000), namely to demonstrate mathematical tools and techniques that are useful in simulation analysis.
Diabetes impairs hippocampal function through glucocorticoid-mediated effects on new and mature neurons

Many organ systems are adversely affected by diabetes, including the brain, which undergoes changes that may increase the risk of cognitive decline. Although diabetes influences the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the role of this neuroendocrine system in diabetes-induced cognitive dysfunction remains unexplored. Here we demonstrate that, in both insulin-deficient rats and insulin-resistant mice, diabetes impairs hippocampus-dependent memory, perforant path synaptic plasticity and adult neurogenesis, and the adrenal steroid corticosterone contributes to these adverse effects. Rats treated with streptozocin have reduced insulin and show hyperglycemia, increased corticosterone, and impairments in hippocampal neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity and learning. Similar deficits are observed in db/db mice, which are characterized by insulin resistance, elevated corticosterone and obesity. Changes in hippocampal plasticity and function in both models are reversed when normal physiological levels of corticosterone are maintained, suggesting that cognitive impairment in diabetes may result from glucocorticoid-mediated deficits in neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity.
Resistance exercise in individuals with and without cardiovascular disease: Benefits, rationale, safety, and prescription an advisory from the committee on exercise, rehabilitation, and prevention, council on clinical cardiology, American Heart Association

Position paper endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine Although exercise programs have traditionally emphasized dynamic lower-extremity exercise, research increasingly suggests that complementary resistance training, when appropriately prescribed and supervised, has favorable effects on muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular function, metabolism, coronary risk factors, and psychosocial well-being. This advisory reviews the role of resistance training in persons with and without cardiovascular disease, with specific reference to health and fitness benefits, rationale, the complementary role of stretching, relevant physiological considerations, and safety. Participation criteria and prescriptive guidelines are also provided. Although resistance training has long been accepted as a means for developing and maintaining muscular strength, endurance, power, and muscle mass (hypertrophy),1 2 its beneficial relationship to health factors and chronic disease has been recognized only recently.3 4 5 Prior to 1990, resistance training was not a part of the recommended guidelines for exercise training and rehabilitation for either the American Heart Association or the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). In 1990, the ACSM first recognized resistance training as a significant component of a comprehensive fitness program for healthy adults of all ages.6 Both aerobic endurance exercise and resistance training can promote substantial benefits in physical fitness and health-related factors.3 5 Table 1⇓ summarizes these benefits and attempts to weigh them according to the current literature.3 Although both training modalities elicit benefits in most of the variables listed, the estimated weightings (ie, in terms of physiological benefits) are often substantially different. Aerobic endurance training weighs higher in the development of maximum oxygen uptake (Vo2max) and associated cardiopulmonary variables, and it more effectively modifies cardiovascular risk factors associated with the development of coronary artery disease. Resistance training offers greater development of muscular strength, endurance, and mass. It also assists in the …
Tunneling phenomena in three‐dimensional double‐well potentials

The tunneling of a hydrogen atom through the barrier of a three-dimensional double-well potential is considered. From the time-dependent Schrodinger equation, expressions are derived for the ensemble-averaged probability density and for the probability that the hydrogen atom is in the reactant region, in the barrier region, or in the product region. It is found that when thermal vibrations are not taken into account, the ensemble-averaged probability density may oscillate with time about its equilibrium value. When thermal vibrations are included, the oscillations become damped and the probability density approaches equilibrium. The tunneling rate is found to decrease considerably for increasing barrier thickness and barrier height.
Sensitivity of the hypothermic myocardium to calcium.

The susceptibility of the dog heart to ventricular fibrillation (VF) induced by CaCl2 infusions is several fold greater in hypothermia than in normothermia, i.e., both the amount of CaCl2 infused and the terminal plasma levels are found to be less in hypothermia. Dogs rendered hypercalcemic prior to hypothermia induction also succumb to ventricular fibrillation, and at relatively high heart temperatures (22-27 C.), whereas those rendered hypocalcemic by Na-EDTA infusions succumb to asystole at much lower temperatures (14-18 C.). The calcium sensitivity is not pH dependent either at normal or low temperatures.
Chip-package codesign with redistribution layer

The use of redistribution layers to connect I/O circuit to the I/O pad is introduced and the electrical performance of a conceptual design with and without signal redistribution was compared.
Recent Advances in Magnet Sector Mass Spectrometry

The use of double focussing and tandem sector instruments has decreased during the 1990s, owing to the difficulty of interfacing electrospray and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionizations with them. Nevertheless, their high dynamic range, resolving power in the 10,000 range, exact-mass-measurement and high-energy-collisional-activation capabilities continue to recommend their use and improvement. This chapter is a review of analyses for which sectors are well, or even uniquely, qualified and of instrumentation advances that incorporate array detectors and other mass analyzers to give a new generation of hybrid instruments.
Implementation of a Two-Way Interactive Atmospheric and Ecological Model and Its Application to the Central United States

A coupled Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) and ecosystem (CENTURY) modeling system has been developed to study regional-scale two-way interactions between the atmosphere and biosphere. Both atmospheric forcings and ecological parameters are prognostic variables in the linked system. The atmospheric and ecosystem models exchange information on a weekly time step. CENTURY receives as input air temperature, precipitation, radiation, wind speed, and relative humidity simulated by RAMS. From CENTURY-produced outputs, leaf area index, and vegetation transimissivity are computed and returned to RAMS. In this way, vegetation responses to weekly and seasonal atmospheric changes are simulated and fed back to the atmospheric‐ land surface hydrology model. The coupled model was used to simulate the two-way biosphere and atmosphere feedbacks from 1 January to 31 December 1989, focusing on the central United States. Validation was performed for the atmospheric portion of the model by comparing with U.S. summary-of-the-day meteorological station observational datasets, and for the ecological component by comparing with advanced very high-resolution radiometer remote-sensing Normalized Difference Vegetation Index datasets. The results show that seasonal vegetation phenological variation strongly influences regional climate patterns through its control over land surface water and energy exchange. The coupled model captures the key aspects of weekly, seasonal, and annual feedbacks between the atmospheric and ecological systems. In addition, it has demonstrated its usefulness as a research tool for studying complex interactions between the atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere.
Property Rights on the Beach: Amicus Brief on Texas Open Beaches Act in Severance v. Patterson

Amicus curiae brief to the Texas Supreme Court in an important property rights case. This brief states the legal basis for property rights on the Texas beach. The government may not impose a statewide public-access easement over private land without first proving that the public has acquired a property right through dedication, prescription, or customary use. The Court adopted this position in its landmark opinion in Severance v. Patterson, holding that before an easement can "roll," there must first be an easement -- under long-established property law.
'Correspondent's Report from' the USA

The key aspects and features of the American Bar Association's (ABA's) 20/20 Ethics Commission to perform a thorough review of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the US system of lawyer regulation in the context of advances in technology and global legal practice developments are discussed. The difficulties that US lawyers and judges are having in applying the legal ethics rule to social networking webistes are highlighted.
THE LIMITS OF THE ESTADO DOCENTE : EDUCATION AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN PERU, 1876-1940

The power of the elites became the dominant explanation of the extension of the franchise and expansion of the provision of public services. Peru from 1876 to 1940 presents a contrasting case. Although restricting political participation through literacy requirements, Peru saw an increase in literacy and schooling. Nevertheless, the relative power of the national and local elites articulated the national policies resulting in unequal provision of education. Constrained political access of the economic minority, the indigenous population, translated into a widening gap in terms of educational attainment.
Agent-Based Modeling for Simulating the Decentralization of Urban Water Infrastructure Systems

Urban water infrastructure systems, including drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater, should be designed to efficiently use water and energy resources. Current design paradigms typically neglect the interconnection among these systems; water, wastewater, and stormwater are treated at centralized facilities, and water services are distributed within a municipality through pipe networks. Due to water shortages and limited budgets, water utilities may encourage individual households to adopt water reuse, water conservation, and lot-level stormwater treatment technologies, which may produce a decentralized water service system. Transitioning from a centralized to a decentralized approach within urban water infrastructure systems will change demands and affect the performance of the existing infrastructure and the use of energy and water resources. To enable exploration of the impacts of decentralization on the sustainability and resilience of urban water infrastructure systems, a Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) approach is developed here. This modeling framework characterizes the various feedback loops, dynamic interactions, and emergent phenomena that result from the interactions of decentralized and centralized components of the water infrastructure systems. Specifically, rainwater harvesting is explored as a decentralization technology, which reduces stormwater service demands and drinking water demands on the centralized infrastructure systems. An agent-based modeling approach is used to simulate technology adoption of individual consumers in response to water shortages and is coupled with water and energy utilization models. The framework provides insight to the interconnections and interactions between the consumers, water supply and delivery system and the effect of these interactions on water and energy use and sustainability; infrastructure system design; and system resilience, as a system transitions from a centralized to a decentralized layout.
La miseria en Colombia

Durante la mayor parte de la historia del pais, la mayoria de los colombianos han vivido en pobreza absoluta y han estado atestados de violencia e inseguridad. Mi argumento es que el alcance y la persistencia de la pobreza y la violencia en Colombia son una consecuencia de las facetas extractivas de las instituciones politicas. Estas tienen dos dimensiones principales: la baja calidad de la “democracia que en realidad existe” y la naturaleza “de doble cara” del debil e inefectivo Estado colombiano. Proporciono un analisis de la logica politica que mantiene en su lugar los aspectos extractivos de estas instituciones y como estos interactuan como los aspectos incluyentes de las instituciones colombianas. Argumento que las instituciones colombianas lentamente se han tornado menos extractivas con el paso del tiempo, debido a los intentos de las elites por contrarrestar algunas de las contradicciones internas de la coexistencia de las instituciones extractivas e incluyentes. Esto ha resultado en disminuciones ...
Building adaptive self-healing systems within a resource contested environment

Abstract Critical Software systems must recover when they experience degradation, either through external actors or internal system failures. There is currently no accepted generic methodology used by the software engineering community to design self-healing systems. Such systems identify when they require healing resources, and then change their own behavior to acquire and utilize these same resources. This study investigates using a design pattern to build such a system. It uses simulated robot tank combat to represent a challenge faced by an adaptive self-healing system. It also investigates how an adaptive system chooses different behaviors balancing its actions between healing activities, movement activities, and combat activities. The results of this study demonstrate how an adaptive self-healing system utilizes behavior selection within a contested environment where other external actors attempt to deny resources to it. It demonstrates how a multi-system architecture inspired by cognitive science its behavior to maximize its ability to both win matches, and survive. This study investigates system characteristics such as how behaviors are organized and how computer memory is utilized. The performance of the adaptive system is compared with the performance of 840 non-adapting systems that compete within this same environment.
Risk-based Maintenance Management of U.S. Public School Facilities☆

Abstract According to the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) 1999 report, Condition of America's Public School Facilities, approximately one-quarter of the nation's schools, housing 11 million children, require extensive repair. According to the 2013 ASCE American Infrastructure Report Card, major knowledge gaps exist regarding the current state of our school infrastructure. Funding for school facilities has dropped by 50% since the start of the 2007 recession. The ASCE report emphasizes a need for the development of comprehensive preventive maintenance programs. This paper reviews the literature on risk-based maintenance management and compares this approach to condition-based management systems. The paper further describes an ongoing study to develop and validate a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) system for maintenance management risk analysis for public school facilities.
Isolating target return from reflections via Doppler differentiation

It is shown that the direct radar return from a target has a higher Doppler shift when compared to any reflected component of this return from other nearby surfaces, if the angle of the direct return from the target to the velocity vector is smaller than that of the reflected component of the return. This is particularly the case in the common scenario of a target over a water surface which is targeted by an object at a higher elevation moving at a high speed. In this scenario, the spectrum of the return signal is evaluated and is judiciously divided in two frequency bands, the higher of which is caused only by the return from the target and not the reflection. By simply bandpass filtering the signal accordingly, the effect of the reflection is removed and the resolution of the antenna/phased array beam is improved. This approach could be combined with any of the existing methods of target return isolation and improve their performance.
Developmental Outcome of West Syndrome

Medical records of 32 patients with cryptogenic West syndrome were reviewed for factors correlating with developmental outcome in a study at Saitama Children’s Medical Center, and the Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Data from Controlled Metabolic Ward Studies Provide Guidance for the Determination of Status Indicators and Dietary Requirements for Magnesium.

Determination of whether magnesium (Mg) is a nutrient of public health concern has been hindered by questionable Dietary Recommended Intakes (DRIs) and problematic status indicators that make Mg deficiency assessment formidable. Balance data obtained since 1997 indicate that the EAR and RDA for 70-kg healthy individuals are about 175 and 250 mg/day, respectively, and these DRIs decrease or increase based on body weight. These DRIs are less than those established for the USA and Canada. Urinary excretion data from tightly controlled metabolic unit balance studies indicate that urinary Mg excretion is 40 to 80 mg (1.65 to 3.29 mmol)/day when Mg intakes are 250 mg (10.28 mmol)/day. However, changing from low to high urinary excretion with an increase in dietary intake occurs within a few days and vice versa. Thus, urinary Mg as a stand-alone status indicator would be most useful for population studies and not useful for individual status assessment. Tightly controlled metabolic unit depletion/repletion experiments indicate that serum Mg concentrations decrease only after a prolonged depletion if an individual has good Mg reserves. These experiments also found that, although individuals had serum Mg concentrations approaching 0.85 mmol/L (2.06 mg/dL), they had physiological changes that respond to Mg supplementation. Thus, metabolic unit findings suggest that individuals with serum Mg concentrations >0.75 mmol/L (1.82 mg/L), or as high as 0.85 mmol/L (2.06 mg/dL), could have a deficit in Mg such that they respond to Mg supplementation, especially if they have a dietary intake history showing <250 mg (10.28 mmol)/day and a urinary excretion of <80 mg (3.29 mmol)/day.
Acute Viral Enteritis and Exacerbations of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

In order to determine whether or not acute viral gastroenteritis predisposes to exacerbations of inflammatory bowel disease, patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis were observed longitudinally. Assessment of disease activity was correlated with evidence for viral infection by serology and stool antigen testing. Disease exacerbations were rarely associated with rotavirus, Norwalk agent, or adenovirus infection, primarily because these infection rates were very low. However, the few patients having these viral infections often had relapse symptoms.
A Review of Laparoscopic Salpingo-Oophorectomy: Technique and Perioperative Considerations

Hysterectomy is the most frequently performed major gynecologic surgery in women in the United States. This procedure is often accompanied by unilateral or bilateral removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries. Although the overall incidence of bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy has been shown to be in a decreasing trend in recent years, it is possibly 1 of the most common scenarios that the gynecologic surgeon will encounter. As the field of minimally invasive surgery continues to expand, it is expected that most of these surgeries will be performed using a laparoscopic approach. In fact, data support that adnexal surgery is more likely to take place during a laparoscopic hysterectomy when compared with abdominal or vaginal routes. This article reviews the basic surgical principles and relevant anatomic relations that every pelvic surgeon should know and aims to serve as a guide for effectively and proficiently performing a salpingo-oophorectomy at the time of hysterectomy.
Adjunctive Equipment for Ureteral Stone Management

The management of ureteral stones has evolved over the past several decades – where removal of ureteral calculi once required an open procedure, now virtually all calculi can be treated with a minimally invasive approach. This advancement has been fostered by significant technological improvements in both endoscopic visualization and dexterity. Instrumental in this transition has been the development and improvement of adjunctive tools used in ureteral stone management. The vast armamentarium available in endourology today not only requires the urologist to possess endourologic surgical skills, but also expertise and knowledge regarding the available equipment and proper use of each device. This chapter will provide an overview and discuss the practical application of the available ancillary equipment used in the management of ureteral stones.
Modeling the transmission dynamics and control of rabies in China.

Abstract Human rabies was first recorded in ancient China in about 556 BC and is still one of the major public-health problems in China. From 1950 to 2015, 130,494 human rabies cases were reported in Mainland China with an average of 1977 cases per year. It is estimated that 95% of these human rabies cases are due to dog bites. The purpose of this article is to provide a review about the models, results, and simulations that we have obtained recently on studying the transmission of rabies in China. We first construct a basic susceptible, exposed, infectious, and recovered (SEIR) type model for the spread of rabies virus among dogs and from dogs to humans and use the model to simulate the human rabies data in China from 1996 to 2010. Then we modify the basic model by including both domestic and stray dogs and apply the model to simulate the human rabies data from Guangdong Province, China. To study the seasonality of rabies, in Section 4 we further propose a SEIR model with periodic transmission rates and employ the model to simulate the monthly data of human rabies cases reported by the Chinese Ministry of Health from January 2004 to December 2010. To understand the spatial spread of rabies, in Section 5 we add diffusion to the dog population in the basic SEIR model to obtain a reaction–diffusion equation model and determine the minimum wave speed connecting the disease-free equilibrium to the endemic equilibrium. Finally, in order to investigate how the movement of dogs affects the geographically inter-provincial spread of rabies in Mainland China, in Section 6 we propose a multi-patch model to describe the transmission dynamics of rabies between dogs and humans and use the two-patch submodel to investigate the rabies virus clades lineages and to simulate the human rabies data from Guizhou and Guangxi, Hebei and Fujian, and Sichuan and Shaanxi, respectively. Some discussions are provided in Section 7 .
Soft Tissue Balance of the Native Knee Provides Guidance for Balancing a Total Knee Arthroplasty

Soft tissue balance is a measure of the relative tensions in the soft tissue restraints of the knee. The soft tissues should be considered “balanced” when they are appropriately tensioned to stabilize the joint without causing stiffness, limited motion, or pain. The native knee is inherently stable and has adequate mobility to enable individuals to perform a wide range of activities without pain, stiffness, or feelings of instability. Hence, surgeons may avoid some of the common sources of dissatisfaction and indications for revision after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) including instability, stiffness, functional limitations, and residual pain by striving to restore the soft tissue balance of the native knee. Soft tissue balance is most commonly assessed based on the laxities because no clinical methods are currently available to directly measure the tension in individual soft tissue restraints and the laxities can be measured pre-, intra-, and postoperatively. When using the laxities of the native knee to guide soft tissue balancing during TKA, surgeons must remember that the native knee has negligible laxity in extension and on average becomes three times more lax in varus-valgus, internal-external rotation, and distraction at 90° of flexion. The advantage of striving to restore a patient’s native soft tissue balance after TKA is evident in the positive clinical outcomes after kinematically aligned TKA in which the surgeon strives to restore the native soft tissue balance. After kinematically aligned TKA, patients have better pain relief, have higher functional scores, achieve greater flexion, have more normal kinematics, and are three times more likely to report that their knee feels normal than patients after mechanically aligned TKA, in which surgeons do not strive to restore the native soft tissue balance.
The Development and Acceptability of a Mobile Application for Tracking Symptoms of Heart Failure Among Older Adults

Abstract Purpose: Heart failure (HF) is common in older adults. With increases in technology use among older adults, mobile applications may provide a solution for older adults to self-manage symptoms of HF. This article discusses the development and acceptability of a HF symptom-tracking mobile application (HF app). Methodology: The HF app was developed to allow patients to track their symptoms of HF. Thirty (N = 30) older adults completed an acceptability survey after using the mobile app. The survey used Likert items and open-ended feedback questions. Results: Overall, the acceptability feedback from users was positive with participants indicating that the HF app was both easy to use and understand. Participants identified recommendations for improvement including additional symptoms to track and the inclusion of instructions and reminders. Conclusion: HF is common in older adults, and acceptability of mobile apps is of key importance. The HF app is an acceptable tool for older patients with HF to self...
Hybrid system for target tracking in triangulation graphs

We investigate a variation of the art gallery problem in which a team of mobile guards tries to track an unpredictable intruder in a simply-connected polygonal environment. The guards are deployed based on the strategy initially proposed in [1] which restricts them to move along a specific diagonal within the environment. However, the intruder can move freely within the environment. We define critical regions to generate event-triggered strategies for the guards. Additionally, a hybrid automaton is designed to model the problem, and sufficient conditions are presented for ⌊n/4⌋ guards for persistent surveillance.
Draghi's Commitment

Fully updated through end-2015, this case examines the eurozone from the perspective of core and periphery long-term rates. By 2010, the “Great Convergence” in eurozone long-term rates during the late 1990s had given way to the “Great Divergence” in which German long-term yields fell to record lows while Greek yields bounced between 20% and 40%. Periphery bond markets improved sharply in late summer 2012 after Draghi committed to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro. In 2015, some stresses were still evident, particularly in Greece, but in other periphery countries, the thinking was that Draghi's commitment to preserve the eurozone worked. The protagonist had two decisions to make. First, what was the path of core (i.e., German) eurozone long-term interest rates likely to be over the next year? Was the dramatic decline in German long rates over the past few years an aberration that would soon be reversed, or was it part of the “new normal” that would persist for some time? Second, how would periphery long rates evolve relative to core rates? That is—the spread between long rates in the likes of Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain (GIIPS) and those in Germany—how would they evolve over the next year? Which was to be expected: another dramatic divergence in eurozone long rates, as eurozone politicians again disappointed, or a continuation of the impressive reconvergence that began in the second half of 2012? Was Draghi's commitment to preserve the euro enough or would the monetary union be torn apart by forces against which the central bank was powerless?This case is used in Darden's first- and second-year Global Financial Markets elective. It is appropriate for economics courses covering international and macro topics and for courses in international finance. Excerpt UVA-GEM-0113 Rev. Mar. 8, 2018 Draghi's Commitment …the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough. —Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) As Arturo Rodrigo was riding the early morning Metro North train from Manhattan to Greenwich, Connecticut, in February 2018, ECB President Mario Draghi and eurozone debt markets dominated his thoughts. Rodrigo was old enough to remember the dramatic convergence in eurozone long-term rates that occurred in the late 1990s just prior to the advent of the euro. The long rates of Italy and many other eurozone countries decreased sharply, converging to the much lower German rates (Figure 1). This unprecedented decrease in borrowing costs fueled borrowing binges in Athens, Madrid, Dublin, and many other eurozone cities. . . .
Teaching interprofessional teamwork skills to health professional students: A scoping review

An expanding body of literature is examining interprofessional teamwork and its effect in healthcare. To produce capable healthcare professionals prepared to participate in interprofessional roles, teamwork training must begin early in health professional students' training. The focus of this scoping review was to explore interprofessional education (IPE) studies designed to teach and/or assess interprofessional teamwork skills to students from two or more different health professions, to find and describe effective pedagogy and assessment strategies. Using a scoping review methodology, 1,106 abstracts were reviewed by three teams of investigators. Eligibility criteria were inclusion of students in interprofessional teams, an intervention to improve interprofessional teamwork skills and assessment of outcomes related to teamwork. Thirty-three studies met the criteria for inclusion. The literature was varied in terms of study design, teaching methods and assessment measures for interprofessional teamwork. The lack of rigorous, comparable studies in this area makes recommending one teaching method or assessment measure over another difficult. Regardless of teaching method, it appears that most learning activities where interprofessional teams interact result in positive changes in student perceptions and attitudes towards IPE and practice. As health education programs seek to incorporate more interprofessional activities into their respective programs, it is important to review methods and measures that would best fit their individual program. This review highlights the importance of standardising the reporting of methods and outcomes for those who wish to incorporate the studied methods into their curricula.
Letter position encoding in a neural framework

Visual word recognition requires the identification of a word's component letters as well as their position within a word. The position of letters, once thought to be coded to the precise location in a word, is now understood to be more flexible. Indeed, a wealth of experimental evidence supports a view of visual word recognition that is forgiving to local changes in the position of letters. We present a model of letter position encoding, as an extension of the Overlap model, that treats letters as distributions along a normalized retinotopic space. Additionally, letters that do not belong in a target word, or are distant from the expected location, are modeled to inhibit the activation of the target word. This method has not yet been explored in the letter position encoding literature, and can help increase the biological plausibility of these models. We show that model estimates fit well with a database of priming studies used to investigate the effects of letter position manipulations on participants' reaction time and accuracy.
Human capital contribution to economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does health status matter more than education?

Abstract This paper revisits the debate on the possible impact of human capital on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and considers two alternative measures of human capital: health and education. The study employs a dynamic model based on the system generalized method of moments (SGMM) and analysed a balanced panel data covering 35 countries from 1980–2008. The empirical results show that the two measures of human capital have positive effects on economic growth, although the contribution of health is relatively larger than the impact of education. This finding emphasizes the importance of both measures of human capital and aligns with the argument in the literature that neither education nor health is a perfect substitute for the other as a measure of human capital.
A Genetic Mouse Model for Comorbid Alcohol Use Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract The etiological factors in the development of comorbidity between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are complex. Preclinical research in animal models is necessary to understand how genetic and biological mechanisms contribute to the risk for developing comorbid AUD and PTSD. This research is critical for identifying specific and efficacious biological and behavioral treatments for these comorbid disorders. The goals of this chapter are to highlight: (1) epidemiological data on the prevalence of comorbid AUD and PTSD in humans, (2) theories that attempt to explain comorbidity, (3) current animal models of comorbid AUD and PTSD, and (4) findings from our laboratory in a unique genetic mouse model of comorbid AUD and PTSD. We will highlight the translational applicability of findings using this model to speed the identification of novel treatments for humans suffering with comorbid AUD and PTSD.
Manipulating Program Functionality to Eliminate Security Vulnerabilities

Security vulnerabilities can be seen as excess undesirable functionality present in a software system. We present several mechanisms that can either excise or change system functionality in ways that may 1) eliminate security vulnerabilities while 2) enabling the system to continue to deliver acceptable service.
Nutzung der Solarstrahlung

Die Sonne stellt den Zentralkorper unseres Planetensystems dar. Sie besteht zu etwa 75 % aus Wasserstoff, zu 23 % aus Helium und nur zu ca. 2 % aus schwereren Elementen. ihr Alter wird auf etwa 4,57 Milliarden Jahre geschatzt. Tabelle 3.1 enthalt die einige wichtige Daten von Sonne und Erde.
ELECTRON-BEAM-INDUCED LUMINESCENCE IN SiO2

ABSTRACT Luminescence induced by 100-3000V electron beams (cathodoluminescence) has been studied in thermally grown SiO 2 films and bulk silica. In addition to the commonly observed emission lines at 1.9, 2.7, and 4.4 eV, an additional broad emission was observed in the vacuum ultraviolet. This band is centered at 6.6 eV with a width of approximately 2 eV and a high-energy tail which extends to 10 eV. In contrast to the 4.4 and 2.7 eV lines which fatigue and decrease in intensity on cooling to 80 K, the 6.6 eV line appears insensitive to temperature. Studies of the dependence of luminescence on electron-beam penetration depth indicate a region of about 150 A at the film-vacuum interface where the 2.7 and 4.4 eV luminescence is strongly inhibited. This effect may indicate the presence of a “dead layer” with a decreased density of luminescence centers near the film surface. The 6.6 eV line does not appear to have a comparable dead layer.
Rationale and design of the extracranial Carotid artery Aneurysm Registry (CAR).

Background Aneurysms of the extracranial carotid artery (ECAA) are rare. Although most ECAA are identified in asymptomatic patients, serious neurological complications may occur. Current literature on treatment outcome contains mainly case reports and small case series with incomplete data and lack of long-term follow-up. There is clear lack on natural follow-up data, and there is no clear treatment algorithm. An international web-based registry to collect data on patients with ECAA is designed to provide clinical guidance on this scarce pathology. Methods The Carotid Aneurysm Registry (CAR) is open for inclusion of all patients with a fusiform or saccular ECAA. Patients with primary or secondary ECAA can be enrolled in CAR independent of the type of treatment (conservative or invasive). CAR participation does not interfere with the local physician's treatment policy. Follow-up and imaging can also be scheduled according to local clinical practice. The primary endpoint of the CAR in conservative patients is occurrence of symptoms related to the aneurysm at 30 days, one, three, and five years. The primary endpoint in invasively treated patients is freedom from symptoms of the aneurysm at 30 days, one, three, and five years. Results Analyses will relate outcome to etiology, imaging characteristics, ECAA growth patterns, and (if applicable) revascularization technique applied. The aim of the registry is to prospectively collect follow-up data on patients with an ECAA, being either treated conservatively or by invasive aneurysm exclusion strategies. The CAR database will be used to address diagnostic and therapeutic research questions. Conclusions Collecting and analyzing the data gained from the registry could be the first step towards development of treatment guidelines and expert consensus for the management of ECAA.
It's What’s Inside that Counts: Body Composition and Lung Transplantation

Factors such as weight, body composition, and functional status appear to influence lung transplant outcomes. Body mass index (BMI) is incorporated into the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation’s (ISHLT) recipient selection guidelines. Data suggests BMI does not effectively differentiate patients with high body fat percentage or low lean muscle mass, leading to both over and under estimates of candidates’ risks. Recent research has focused on alternate measures and estimates of body composition and their associations with important lung transplant outcomes. Herein, we review the current literature on body composition in lung transplantation, including the variety of measurements used and the concepts of obesity, low muscle mass, and frailty. The concept of body composition is evolving beyond the relationship between weight and height as represented by a calculated body mass index. Radiographic assessments and serum markers allow for a more precise and representative measurement of body composition which takes into consideration fat percentage and muscle mass.
Tying Innovation to Strategy

Many organizations struggle when trying to align innovation efforts with their strategic plans. In fact, often the focus on productivity negatively impacts a company's ability to innovate. This paper discusses this tension and identifies a mechanism for aligning innovation efforts with the strategy of the organization. It will also discuss the challenges of assigning value to innovation activities and provide some straightforward metrics which can be used to quantify the results.
Accuracy of Clustering Prediction of PAM and K-Modes Algorithms

The concept of grouping (or clustering) data points with similar characteristics is of importance when working with the data that frequently appears in everyday life. Data scientists cluster the data that is numerical in nature based on the notion of distance, usually computed using Euclidean measure. However, there are many datasets that often consists of categorical values which require alternative methods for grouping the data. That is why clustering of categorical data employs methods that rely on similarity between the values rather than distance. This work focuses on studying the ability of different clustering algorithms and several definitions of similarity to organize categorical data into groups.
Forms of Slavery in the Italian States

Even as abolitionist debate raged in the Italian states and internationally, cases of slavery persisted in many of Italy’s Mediterranean cities between 1750 and 1850. This chapter identifies the number of slaves in the cities of Naples, Caserta, Rome, Palermo, Livorno and Genoa and considers their living conditions and the religious problems they experienced. The cases selected make it possible to understand life trajectories and living patterns; contemporary sources allow us to observe how slaves were viewed at the time. From a quantitative point of view, slavery in the early nineteenth century can be described as a “residual phenomenon”, but in court and church records, we still find evidence of practices that loudly echo those of previous centuries. Captivity, the role of privateering, the link between slavery and serfdom and, finally, baptism as the way to liberty, are all relevant aspects of this complex process. The chapter also demonstrates why examining the trajectories of slaves is very important, as it allows us to understand not just the flows of people to the South of Europe from North Africa, but from different areas bordering on the Mediterranean and from the Atlantic. For example, in 1825 a slave by the name of Pasquale, born on a Portuguese ship and whose mother was an African slave, was baptised in Naples. This and other cases are used in order to highlight how the two slave trades were closely intertwined.
Building and Interpreting Risk Models from Imbalanced Clinical Data

As more clinical data becomes available for research, it is important to be able to build effective models and understand the predictions made from them. In this paper, we present a case study modeling melanoma risk using structured clinical records. Advanced modeling techniques are required as the data set is large, sparse, and imbalanced. We explore the use of logistic regression, decision tree, and random forest classifiers with various feature selection and random undersampling techniques. For clinical models to be used in practice, both providers and patients should have insight into why a certain prediction is made. Therefore, interpretability must be a key factor when choosing a model for a clinical prediction task, and we explore the level of interpretation given by the models compared to their predictive performance.