cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
OperomeDB: A Database of Condition-Specific Transcription Units in Prokaryotic Genomes

Background. In prokaryotic organisms, a substantial fraction of adjacent genes are organized into operons—codirectionally organized genes in prokaryotic genomes with the presence of a common promoter and terminator. Although several available operon databases provide information with varying levels of reliability, very few resources provide experimentally supported results. Therefore, we believe that the biological community could benefit from having a new operon prediction database with operons predicted using next-generation RNA-seq datasets. Description. We present operomeDB, a database which provides an ensemble of all the predicted operons for bacterial genomes using available RNA-sequencing datasets across a wide range of experimental conditions. Although several studies have recently confirmed that prokaryotic operon structure is dynamic with significant alterations across environmental and experimental conditions, there are no comprehensive databases for studying such variations across prokaryotic transcriptomes. Currently our database contains nine bacterial organisms and 168 transcriptomes for which we predicted operons. User interface is simple and easy to use, in terms of visualization, downloading, and querying of data. In addition, because of its ability to load custom datasets, users can also compare their datasets with publicly available transcriptomic data of an organism. Conclusion. OperomeDB as a database should not only aid experimental groups working on transcriptome analysis of specific organisms but also enable studies related to computational and comparative operomics.
Why are farms so small

Abstract Despite increases in average size, farms remain much smaller than industrial enterprises. This paper examines the experiences of five extremely large-scale, “industrialized” agricultural operations undertaken in developing countries since WWII. These projects have a poor performance record, one which is shared by other forms of very large-scale agricultural production. The failure of large-scale agriculture in the developing world is attributed to a failure to allow relative factor prices to guide efficient and effective investment. Diseconomies of scale in production also suggest that there are limits to farm-size growth worldwide.
Response of North American Great Basin Lakes to Dansgaard–Oeschger oscillations

Abstract We correlate oscillations in the hydrologic and/or cryologic balances of four Great Basin surface-water systems with Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) events 2–12. This correlation is relatively strong at the location of the magnetic signature used to link the lake records, but becomes less well constrained with distance/time from the signature. Comparison of proxy glacial and hydrologic records from Owens and Pyramid lakes indicates that Sierran glacial advances occurred during times of relative dryness. If our hypothesized correlation between the lake-based records and the GISP2 δ18O record is correct, it suggests that North Atlantic D–O stades were associated with relatively cold and dry conditions and that interstades were associated with relatively warm and wet conditions throughout the Great Basin between 50,500 and 27,000 GISP2 yr B.P. The Great Basin lacustrine climate records reinforce the hypothesis that D–O events affected the climate throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere during marine isotope stages 2 and 3. However, the absolute phasing between lake-size and ice-core δ18O records remains difficult to determine.
FastPlace: efficient analytical placement using cell shifting, iterative local refinement,and a hybrid net model

In this paper, we present FastPlace-a fast, iterative, flat placement algorithm for large-scale standard cell designs. FastPlace is based on the quadratic placement approach. The quadratic approach formulates the wirelength minimization problem as a convex quadratic program that can be solved efficiently by some analytical techniques. However it suffers from some drawbacks. First, the resulting placement has a lot of overlap among cells. Second, the resulting total wirelength may be long as the quadratic wirelength objective is only an indirect measure of the linear wirelength. Third, existing net models tend to create a lot of nonzero entries in the connectivity matrix that slows down the quadratic program solver. To handle the above problems we propose: 1) an efficient cell shifting technique to remove cell overlap from the quadratic program solution and also accelerate the convergence of the solver. This technique produces a global placement with even cell distribution in a very short time; 2) an iterative local refinement technique to reduce the wirelength according to the half-perimeter measure; and 3) a hybrid net model that is a combination of the traditional clique and star models. This net model greatly reduces the number of nonzero entries in the connectivity matrix and results in a significant speedup of the solver. Experimental results show that FastPlace is on average 13.4/spl times/,102/spl times/, and 19.9/spl times/ faster than state-of-the art academic placers Capo, Dragon, and Gordian-Domino, respectively, on a set of IBM benchmarks.
Dimension independent similarity computation

We present a suite of algorithms for Dimension Independent Similarity Computation (DISCO) to compute all pairwise similarities between very high-dimensional sparse vectors. All of our results are provably independent of dimension, meaning that apart from the initial cost of trivially reading in the data, all subsequent operations are independent of the dimension; thus the dimension can be very large. We study Cosine, Dice, Overlap, and the Jaccard similarity measures. For Jaccard similarity we include an improved version of MinHash. Our results are geared toward the MapReduce framework. We empirically validate our theorems with large scale experiments using data from the social networking site Twitter. At time of writing, our algorithms are live in production at twitter.com.
Clinical utility of postoperative hemoglobin level testing following total laparoscopic hysterectomy

Objective To determine the clinical utility of hemoglobin level testing in guiding postoperative care following total laparoscopic hysterectomies performed for benign indications. Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Results A total of 629 women underwent total laparoscopic hysterectomies during the 24 month study period. Only 16 (2.5%) developed symptoms and/or signs suggestive of hemodynamic compromise. When compared to asymptomatic patients, symptomatic patients had a larger decrease in postoperative hemoglobin level (2.66 vs 1.80g/dL, P = .007) and were more likely to undergo blood transfusion, pelvic imaging or reoperation ( P P P > .05). Using the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's annual laparoscopic hysterectomy rate and insurance companies' reimbursement for blood hemoglobin testing, we estimated the national annual cost for hemoglobin testing following total laparoscopic hysterectomy to be $2,804,662. Conclusion Hemoglobin level testing has little clinical benefit following elective total laparoscopic hysterectomy and should be reserved for patients who develop signs or symptoms suggestive of acute anemia. Heath care cost savings can be substantial if this test is no longer routinely requested following total laparoscopic hysterectomies.
The coevolution of automata in the repeated Prisoner's Dilemma

Abstract A model of learning and adaptation is used to analyze the coevolution of strategies in the repeated Prisoner's Dilemma game under both perfect and imperfect reporting. Metaplayers submit finite automata strategies and update their choices through an explicit evolutionary process modeled by a genetic algorithm. Using this framework, adaptive strategic choice and the emergence of cooperation are studied through ‘computational experiments’. The results of the analyses indicate that information conditions lead to significant differences among the evolving strategies. Furthermore, they suggest that the general methodology may have much wider applicability to the analysis of adaptation in economic and social systems.
Consistent Minimal Displacement of Branching Random Walks

Let $\mathbb{T}$ denote a rooted $b$-ary tree and let $\{S_v\}_{v\in \mathbb{T}}$ denote a branching random walk indexed by the vertices of the tree, where the increments are i.i.d. and possess a logarithmic moment generating function $\Lambda(\cdot)$. Let $m_n$ denote the minimum of the variables $S_v$ over all vertices at the $n$th generation, denoted by $\mathbb{D}_n$. Under mild conditions, $m_n/n$ converges almost surely to a constant, which for convenience may be taken to be $0$. With $\bar S_v=\max\{S_w: w$ is on the geodesic connecting the root to $v \}$, define $L_n=\min_{v\in \mathbb{D}_n} \bar S_v$. We prove that $L_n/n^{1/3}$ converges almost surely to an explicit constant $l_0$. This answers a question of Hu and Shi.
Transmittance quantities probability distributions of waves through disordered systems

Waves propagate through disordered systems in a variety of regimes. There is a threshold of disorder beyond which waves become localized and transport becomes restricted. The intensity I of the wave transmitted through a system has a dependence on the length L of the sample that is characteristic of the regime. For example, I decays as L −1 in the diffusive regime. It is of current interest to characterize the transport regime of a wave, from statistical studies of the transmittance quantities through it. Studies suggest that the probability distribution of the intensity could be used to characterize the localized regime. There is an ongoing debate on what deviations from the classical Rayleigh distribution are to be expected. In this numerical work, we use scalar waves to obtain the intensity, transmission, and conductance of waves through a disordered system. We calculate the intensity, by setting an incoming plane wave towards the sample from a fixed direction. The outgoing intensity is then calculated at one point in space. This process is repeated for a collection of samples belonging to the same ensemble that characterizes the disorder, and we construct the probability distribution of the intensity. In the case of transmission, we evaluate the field arriving to a series of points distributed in the far field, and repeat the same statistical analysis. For the conductance, we calculate the field at the same series of points for incoming waves in different directions. We analyze the distribution of the transmittance quantities and their change with the degree of disorder.
The Introduction of Voter Registration and Its Effect on Turnout

Studies of voter turnout across states find that those with more facilitative registration laws have higher turnout rates. Eliminating registration barriers altogether is estimated to raise voter participation rates by up to 10%. This article presents panel estimates of the effects of introducing registration that exploits changes in registration laws and turnout within states. New York and Ohio imposed registration requirements on all of their counties in 1965 and 1977, respectively. We find that the introduction of registration to counties that did not previously require registration decreased participation over the long term by three to five percentage points. Though significant, this is lower than estimates of the effects of registration from cross-sectional studies and suggests that expectations about the effects of registration reforms on turnout may be overstated.
Concurrent sexual partnerships do not explain the HIV epidemics in Africa: a systematic review of the evidence

The notion that concurrent sexual partnerships are especially common in sub-Saharan Africa and explain the region's high HIV prevalence is accepted by many as conventional wisdom. In this paper, we evaluate the quantitative and qualitative evidence offered by the principal proponents of the concurrency hypothesis and analyze the mathematical model they use to establish the plausibility of the hypothesis.
End grafted polymer nanoparticles in a polymeric matrix: Effect of coverage and curvature†

It has recently been proposed that the miscibility of nanoparticles with a polymer matrix can be controlled by grafting polymer chains to the nanoparticle surface. We examine this hypothesis using molecular dynamics simulations on a single nanoparticle of radius R (4σ ≤ R ≤ 16σ, where σ is the diameter of a polymer monomer) grafted with chains of length 500 in a polymer melt of chains of length 1000. The grafting density Σ is varied between 0.04–0.32 chains/σ2. To facilitate equilibration a Monte Carlo double-bridging algorithm is applied - new bonds are formed across a pair of chains, creating two new chains each substantially different from the original. For the long brush chains studied here, the structure of the brush assumes its large particle limit even for R as small as 8σ, which is consistent with recent experimental findings and the small chain lattice simulations of Klos and Pakula. We study autophobic dewetting of the melt from the brush as a function of increasing Σ. Even these long brush and matrix chains of lengths 6 and 12 Ne, respectively, (the entanglement length is Ne ∼ 85) give somewhat ambiguous results for the interfacial width, showing that studies of two or more nanoparticles are necessary to properly understand these miscibility issues. Entanglement between the brush and melt chains is identified using path analysis. We find that the number of entanglements between the brush and melt chains scale simply with the product of the local monomer densities of brush and melt chains.
On the Method to Infer an Atmosphere on a Tidally Locked Super Earth Exoplanet and Upper Limits to GJ 876d

We develop a method to infer or rule out the presence of an atmosphere on a tidally locked hot super Earth. The question of atmosphere retention is a fundamental one, especially for planets orbiting M stars due to the star's long-duration active phase and corresponding potential for stellar-induced planetary atmospheric escape and erosion. Tidally locked planets with no atmosphere are expected to show a Lambertian-like thermal phase curve, causing the combined light of the planet-star system to vary with planet orbital phase. We report Spitzer 8 μm IRAC observations of GJ 876 taken over 32 continuous hours and reaching a relative photometric precision of 3.9 × 10–4 per point for 25.6 s time sampling. This translates to a 3σ limit of 5.13 × 10–5 on a planet thermal phase curve amplitude. Despite the almost photon-noise-limited data, we are unable to conclusively infer the presence of an atmosphere or rule one out on the non-transiting short-period super Earth GJ 876d. The limiting factor in our observations was the miniscule, monotonic photometric variation of the slightly active host M star, because the partial sine wave due to the planet has a component in common with the stellar linear trend. The proposed method is nevertheless very promising for transiting hot super Earths with the James Webb Space Telescope and is critical for establishing observational constraints for atmospheric escape.
Performance-driven routing with multiple sources

Existing routing problems for delay minimization consider the connection of a single source node to a number of sink nodes, with the objective of minimizing the delay from the source to all sinks, or a set of critical sinks. In this paper, we study the problem of routing nets with multiple sources, such as those found in signal busses. This new model assumes that each node in a net may be a source, a sink, or both. The objective is to optimize the routing topology to minimize the total weighted delay between all node pairs (of a subset of critical node pairs). We present a heuristic algorithm for the multiple-source performance driven routing tree problem based on efficient construction of minimum diameter minimum-cost Steiner trees. Experimental results on random nets with submicrometer CMOS IC and MCM technologies show an average of 12.6% and 21% reduction in the maximum interconnect delay, when compared with conventional minimum Steiner tree based topologies. Experimental results on multisource nets extracted from an Intel processor show as much as a 16.1% reduction in the maximum interconnect delay, when compared with conventional minimum Steiner tree based topologies.
Electromyographic Analysis and Phase Definition of the Overhead Football Throw

BackgroundThe phases of the football throw need definition so that muscle activation patterns during the overhead football throw can be fully described.HypothesisElectromyographic analysis of shoulder musculature can better define muscle activation patterns during the football throw.Study DesignDescriptive anatomic study.MethodsVideos of 20 elite-level quarterbacks were reviewed to define phases of the overhead football throw; 14 recreational male athletes underwent electromyography and motion analysis testing.ResultsFour sequential phases of the football throw were consistently observed. Early cocking (49% ± 11% of throw) was initiated at rear foot plant and continued to maximal shoulder abduction and internal rotation. Late cocking (20% ± 6%) started at maximal shoulder abduction and internal rotation and ended with maximal shoulder external rotation. The acceleration phase (15% ± 4%) began with maximal shoulder external rotation and ended with ball release. Follow-through (16% ± 5%) was defined as the ...
Avoidance of partitions of a three-element set

Klazar defined and studied a notion of pattern avoidance for set partitions, which is an analogue of pattern avoidance for permutations. Sagan considered partitions which avoid a single partition of three elements. We enumerate partitions which avoid any family of partitions of a 3-element set as was done by Simion and Schmidt for permutations. We also consider even and odd set partitions. We provide enumerative results for set partitions restricted by generalized partition patterns, which are an analogue of the generalized permutation patterns of Babson and Steingrimsson. Finally, in the spirit of work done by Babson and Steingrimsson, we will show how these generalized partition patterns can be used to describe set partition statistics.
Radio Frequency Ablation Registration, Segmentation, and Fusion Tool

The radio frequency ablation segmentation tool (RFAST) is a software application developed using the National Institutes of Health's medical image processing analysis and visualization (MIPAV) API for the specific purpose of assisting physicians in the planning of radio frequency ablation (RFA) procedures. The RFAST application sequentially leads the physician through the steps necessary to register, fuse, segment, visualize, and plan the RFA treatment. Three-dimensional volume visualization of the CT dataset with segmented three dimensional (3-D) surface models enables the physician to interactively position the ablation probe to simulate burns and to semimanually simulate sphere packing in an attempt to optimize probe placement. This paper describes software systems contained in RFAST to address the needs of clinicians in planning, evaluating, and simulating RFA treatments of malignant hepatic tissue
Eliminating crosstalk in thin-film transistor/liquid-crystal displays

Liquid-crystal displays addressed by thin-film transistors are subject to crosstalk associated with parasitic capacitances. An addressing technique that provides compensation for crosstalk, eliminating its visible effects, is described. Each row-addressing time interval is subdivided into two intervals, one of which is used for normal data transfer into the row. During the other subinterval, all gates are inactive, and a compensation voltage that is complementary to the data voltage for the row being addressed is applied to each column. This technique does, however, require a factor-of-two increase in bandwidth or switching speeds. >
Optimization of ISBD embedded SiGe layers to prevent delamination process for MOSFET applications

Abstract An interaction between in situ boron doped SiGe layers deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition and NH 3 plasma treatments was studied in this work. It is shown that NH 3 plasma strips introduce H atoms into SiGe layer which further leads to unwanted blistering and exfoliation of the SiGe layer. The SiGe layers with varied boron profiles were examined in this work in order to understand influence of B doping on H accumulation. It is shown that B peak at SiGe/Si interface can be modulated by the temperature and pressure changes between the layers’ deposition. It was found that less H atoms diffuse into ISBD SiGe layer with higher B peak at Si cap/main SiGe layer. The SiGe layer with removed B peak at buffer/main SiGe layer interface and increased B peak at Si cap was proven to be delamination free and robust for HN 3 plasma strips.
Dynamics of polysilicon parallel-plate electrostatic actuators

Abstract The response of a polysilicon parallel-plate electrostatic actuator to a.c. signals at different bias voltages has been measured with a laser interferometer. Using microhinges, large plates (with areas from 100 μm2 to ≃ 0.1 mm2) with long thin support beams (such as 600 μm × 3 μm × 1.5 μm) are rotated off the surface of the substrate to form a parallel-plate capacitor. Fabricated structures having 100 μm gaps can be closed electrostatically with voltages as low as 50 V. This new actuator is estimated to output a force of up to 50 μN. With the exception of the resonant Q-value, the experimental results are in good agreement with simulations based on a simple nonlinear model for the actuator.
C-metalated nitriles: electrophile-dependent alkylations and acylations.

Sequential carbonyl addition−conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to 3-oxocyclohex-1-ene-1-carbonitrile generates C-magnesiated nitriles whose alkylation stereoselectivities intimately depend on the nature of the electrophile. The alkylation of these C-magnesiated nitriles with alkyl halides, sulfonates, and unstrained ketones occurs with the retention of the CMg configuration, whereas aldehyde and acyl cyanide acylations proceed with inversion of the stereochemistry. Mechanistic probes indicate that the stereoselectivity is controlled by stereoelectronic effects for most electrophiles, except allylic, benzylic, and cyclopropyl halides where single-electron-transfer processes intervene. Screening numerous alkylations of C-magnesiated nitriles with a diverse range of electrophiles reveals the reaction scope and delineates the fundamental stereoelectronic effects responsible for the highly unusual electrophile-dependent alkylations.
Hydroxylamine catalyzed Nazarov cyclizations of divinyl ketones

Abstract The first examples of iminium catalyzed Nazarov cyclizations of divinyl ketones are presented. Experiments describing hydroxylamine catalysis of the cyclization of eight α-alkoxy divinyl ketones (60–79% yield) and one unactivated divinyl ketone (38% yield) are reported. Phenyl substitution at the β-position of the divinyl ketone inhibits cyclization, whereas β-alkyl substituted α-alkoxy divinyl ketones readily cyclize.
Industrial Inspection and Reverse Engineering

We propose a new design for inspection and reverse engineering environments. We have designed and experimented with such an environment for capturing sense data of mechanical parts in an intelligent way. We construct a sensing ? CAD interface for the automatic reconstruction of parts from visual data. We discuss the use of the dynamic recursive context for finite state machines (DRFSM) as a new discrete event dynamic system (DEDS) tool for controlling inspection and exploration. We also implement a graphical interface for designing DRFSM DEDS controllers.
A geometric preferential attachment model of networks II

A detailed understanding of expansion in complex networks can greatly aid in the design and analysis of algorithms for a variety of important network tasks, including routing messages, ranking nodes, and compressing graphs. This has motivated several recent investigations of expansion properties in real-world graphs and also in random models of real-world graphs, like the preferential attachment graph. The results point to a gap between real-world observations and theoretical models. Some real-world graphs are expanders and others are not, but a graph generated by the preferential attachment model is an expander whp. We study a random graph Gn that combines certain aspects of geometric random graphs and preferential attachment graphs. This model yields a graph with power-law degree distribution where the expansion property depends on a tunable parameter of the model. The vertices of Gn are n sequentially generated points x1, x2, ..., xn chosen uniformly at random from the unit sphere in R3. After generating xt, we randomly connect it to m points from those points in x1, x2, ..., xt-1....
Tandem Processes of Metallo Carbenoids for the Synthesis of Azapolycycles

Mesoionic compounds have proven to be valuable intermediates in organic chemistry from both physical and synthetic perspectives. These substances contain a masked 1,3-dipole within their framework and are therefore willing participants in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. Our interest in the chemistry of mesoionic dipoles stems from studies in our laboratory dealing with the rhodium(II)-catalyzed reactions of α-diazo carbonyl compounds in the presence of various heteroatoms. The isomunchnone class of mesoionics is easily generated from the Rh(II)-catalyzed reaction of α-diazo imides and readily undergoes cycloaddition with both electron-rich and electron-deficient dipolarophiles. This article compiles our findings in the general area of cascade reactions of isomunchnones together with relevant work from other laboratories.
INFLATION DIFFERENTIALS IN THE GCC: DOES THE OIL CYCLE MATTER?

This paper uses a pairwise approach to investigate the main factors that have been driving inflation differentials in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region for the past two decades. The results suggest that inflation differentials in the GCC are largely influenced by the oil cycle, mainly through the credit and fiscal channels. This implies that in order for the proposed monetary union to be successful, closer coordination of fiscal policies will be critical. The results also indicate that after controlling for cyclical factors, convergence increased even during the recent oil boom.
A classification approach to word prediction

The eventual goal of a language model is to curately predict the value of a missing word given its context. We present an approach to word prediction that is based on learning a representation for each word as a function of words and linguistics predicates in its context. This approach raises a few new questions that we address. First, in order to learn good word representations it is necessary to use an expressive representation of the context. We present a way that uses external knowledge to generate expressive context representations, along with a learning method capable of handling the large number of features generated this way that can, potentially, contribute to each prediction. Second, since the number of words "competing" for each prediction is large, there is a need to "focus the attention" on a smaller subset of these. We exhibit the contribution of a "focus of attention" mechanism to the performance of the word predictor. Finally, we describe a large scale experimental study in which the approach presented is shown to yield significant improvements in word prediction tasks.
Developing Teacher Expertise for Economists through a Workshop Experience

Teaching Innovations in Economics presents findings from the Teaching Innovations Program (TIP) funded by the National Science Foundation. The six-year project engaged economics professors in the use of interactive teaching in undergraduate economics courses. Each chapter offers an insightful explanation of an innovative teaching strategy and provides a description and examples of its effective use in undergraduate economics courses. The book’s conclusion assesses the results from an evaluation of the program that reports detailed findings on how TIP fundamentals have contributed to faculty development and successful outcomes.
Extraction of Signal from Noise: Impedance Cytometry Using Multi-electrode Sensing

We demonstrate a novel multielectrode sensing method for extracting signal from noise in a microfluidic impedance cytometer through introducing redundancy in our measurements and coding the signal. We use a pair of coplanar interdigitated electrodes (IDEs), where we can sense the change in impedance between any two neighboring fingers of the IDE pair. In the context of impedance cytometry, the passage of beads or cells over each two neighboring fingers partially occludes the current measured between the IDE pair. Therefore, as each particle enters and leaves the electrode area, we measure a train of pulses. By applying the equivalent matched filter we can exploit this train of pulses to proportionally increase the signal-to-noise ratio in our measurements.
Two Model System of the α1A-Adrenoceptor Docked with Selected Ligands

In this study, we have developed a two model system to mimic the active and inactive states of a G-protein coupled receptor specifically the α1A adrenergic receptor. We have docked two agonists, epinephrine (phenylamine type) and oxymetazoline (imidazoline type), as well as two antagonists, prazosin and 5-methylurapidil, into two α1A receptor models, active and inactive. The best docking complexes for both agonists had hydrophilic interactions with D106, while neither antagonist did. Prazosin and oxymetazoline had hydrophobic interactions with F308 and F312. We predict from our study that the active state is stabilized by the interaction of F193 with I114, L197, V278, F281, and V282. The active state is further stabilized by the interaction of F312 with L75, V79, and L80. We also predict that the inactive state of the receptor is stabilized by the interaction of F312 with W102, F288, and M292.
Murine coronavirus 5'-end genomic RNA sequence reveals mechanism of leader-primed transcription.

Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) contains a single-strand, positive-sense RNA genome which is transcribed in infected cells, first, into a full-length negative-strand RNA (Brayton et al., 1982; Lai et al., 1982) and then into a positive-sense genomic RNA and six species of subgenomic mRNA. The mRNAs consist of a 3′ co-terminal nested-set structure (Lai et al., 1981), and also contain an identical leader sequence of approximately 72 nucleotides at the 5′ ends (Lai et al., 1984; Spaan et al., 1983). Ultraviolet transcriptional mapping studies (Jacobs et al., 1981) and the fact that no nuclear function is required for replication (Brayton et al., 1981; Wilhelmsen et al., 1981) suggest that the joining of the leader sequences to coronavirus mRNAs does not utilize conventional eukaryotic splicing mechanisms.
Growth Mode of CeO2 on Si Surface

The interface structure and electrical properties of CeO2/Si (111) grown by laser ablation in ultra high vacuum was investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy .Auger electron spectroscopy and capacitance-voltage measurement. The deposited film was single crystalline CeO2 as indicated by RHEED and x-ray diffraction observations. However, during the deposition, a reaction between CeO2 and Si occurred at the interface. This reaction resulted in the formation of an oxygen deficient amorphous CeOX layer and a S1O2 layer. Post annealing in oxygen atmosphere caused the disappearance of the amorphous CeOX and the regrowth of crystalline CeO2. The SiO2 thickness was also increased by annealing. The modified structure of CeO2/SiO2/Si showed a higher break down valtage, compared with the as-deposited sample. From these results, a combination of CeO2 and SiO2 can have a great potential for SOI structure.
Boomtowns and the Nimbleness of the Housing Market: The Impact of Shale Oil and Gas Drilling on Local Housing Markets

Recent drilling innovations allowing access to unconventional resources like tight oil and shale gas have spurred a number of drilling booms around the United States. One side effect is rising housing prices caused by migrating oil and gas industry workers who create a positive housing demand shock. Initial research has examined the effect of these shale drilling booms on rental prices and home valuations, but thus far the effect of the price signal on housing supply has not been investigated. Using two-way fixed effects estimators I analyze the effect of shale drilling operations on population, home and hotel construction in the Marcellus, Bakken and Fayetteville Shale regions, finding that a housing boom accompanies the drilling boom. The size of the impact tends to increase as the considered region becomes more rural and remote.
Entry Times Distribution for Mixing Systems

We consider the return times dynamics to Bowen balls for continuous maps on metric spaces which have invariant probability measures with certain mixing properties. These mixing properties are satisfied for instance by systems that allow Young tower constructions. We show that the higher order return times to Bowen balls are in the limit Poisson distributed. We also provide a general result for the asymptotic behavior of the recurrence time for Bowen balls for ergodic systems and those with specification.
Using Radiological Data to Estimate Ischemic Stroke Severity.

Background Risk-adjusted poststroke mortality has been proposed for use as a measure of stroke care quality. Although valid measures of stroke severity (e.g., the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS]) are not typically available in administrative datasets, radiology reports are often available within electronic health records. We sought to examine whether admission head computed tomography data could be used to estimate stroke severity. Materials and Methods Using chart review data from a cohort of acute ischemic stroke patients (1998-2003), we developed a radiographic measure ([BIS]) of stroke severity in a two-third development set and assessed in a one-third validation set. The retrospective NIHSS was dichotomized as mild/moderate ( Results Among 1348 stroke patients, 86.5% had abnormal findings on initial head computed tomography. The c -statistic for the BIS for modeling severe stroke (development, .581; validation, .579) and in-hospital mortality (development, .623; validation, .678) were generated. Conclusions Although the c -statistics were only moderate, the BIS provided significant risk stratification information with a 2-variable score. Until administrative data routinely includes a valid measure of stroke severity, radiographic data may provide information for use in risk adjustment.
Distributed quantum computing: a distributed Shor algorithm

We present a distributed implementation of Shor's quantum factoring algorithm on a distributed quantum network model. This model provides a means for small capacity quantum computers to work together in such a way as to simulate a large capacity quantum computer. In this paper, entanglement is used as a resource for implementing non-local operations between two or more quantum computers. These non-local operations are used to implement a distributed factoring circuit with polynomially many gates. This distributed version of Shor's algorithm requires an additional overhead of O((log N)^2) communication complexity, where N denotes the integer to be factored.
Equivalent trace sets for arithmetic Fuchsian groups

We show that the modular group has an infinite family of finite index subgroups, each of which has the same trace set as the modular group itself. Various congruence subgroups of the modular group, and the Bianchi groups, are also shown to have this property.
Mineral dissolution and precipitation during CO2 injection at the Frio-I Brine Pilot: Geochemical modeling and uncertainty analysis

Abstract During the Frio-I Brine Pilot CO2 injection experiment in 2004, distinct geochemical changes in response to the injection of 1600 tons of CO2 were recorded in brine samples collected from the monitoring well. Previous geochemical modeling studies have considered dissolution of calcite and iron oxyhydroxides, or release of adsorbed iron, as the most likely sources of the increased ion concentrations. In this modeling study we explore possible alternative sources of the increasing calcium and iron, based on the data from the detailed petrographic characterization of the Upper Frio Formation “C”. Particularly, we evaluate whether dissolution of pyrite and oligoclase (anorthite component) can account for the observed geochemical changes. Due to kinetic limitations, dissolution of pyrite and anorthite cannot account for the increased iron and calcium concentrations on the time scale of the field test (10 days). However, dissolution of these minerals is contributing to carbonate and clay mineral precipitation on the longer time scales (1000 years). We estimated that during the field test dissolution of calcite and iron oxide resulted in ∼0.02 wt.% loss of the reservoir rock mass. The reactive transport models were constructed for 25 and 59 °C temperature and using Pitzer and B-dot activity correction methods. These models predict carbonate minerals, dolomite and ankerite, as well as clay minerals kaolinite, nontronite and montmorillonite, will precipitate in the Frio Formation “C” sandstone as the system progresses toward chemical equilibrium during a 1000-year period. Cumulative uncertainties associated with using different thermodynamic databases, activity correction models (Pitzer vs. B-dot), and extrapolating to reservoir temperature, are manifested in the difference in the predicted mineral phases. However, these models are consistent with regards to the total volume of mineral precipitation and porosity values which are predicted to within 0.002%.
The Impact of Human Resource Management on Corporate Social Performance Strengths and Concerns

Although high-performance human resource practices do not directly affect corporate social performance (CSP) strengths, they do positively affect CSP strengths in companies that are highly innovati...
Labor supply and productivity responses to non-salary benefits: Do they work? If so, at what level do they work best?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of a particular low marginal-cost employee benefit on employees’ intended retention and performance. By utilizing a unique data set constructed by surveying full-time faculty and staff members at a public university in the USA, the authors study the impact of this employee benefit on faculty and staff performance and retention. Design/methodology/approach – The authors focus on the impact of reduction in dependent college tuition at various levels on employees’ intentions to work harder and stay at their current job by using both OLS and ordered probit models. The authors also simulate the direct opportunity cost (reduction in revenue) in dollars and as a percent of total budgeted revenue to facilitate administrative decision making. Findings – The results provide evidence that for institutions where employee retention and productivity are a priority, maximizing or offering dependent college tuition waiver may be a relatively low-cost benefit to...
Preimages Under the Stack-Sorting Algorithm

We use a method for determining the number of preimages of any permutation under the stack-sorting map in order to obtain recursive upper bounds for the numbers $$W_t(n)$$Wt(n) and $$W_t(n,k)$$Wt(n,k) of t-stack sortable permutations of length n and t-stack sortable permutations of length n with exactly k descents. From these bounds, we are able to significantly improve the best known upper bounds for the growth rate of $$W_t(n)$$Wt(n) when $$t=3$$t=3 and when $$t=4$$t=4.
Approximating sparse covering integer programs online

A covering integer program (CIP) is a mathematical program of the form min{c⊤ x ∣ Ax ≥ 1, 0 ≤ x ≤ u, x ∈ ℤn}, where all entries in A, c, u are nonnegative. In the online setting, the constraints (i.e., the rows of the constraint matrix A) arrive over time, and the algorithm can only increase the coordinates of x to maintain feasibility. As an intermediate step, we consider solving the covering linear program (CLP) online, where the integrality constraints are dropped. Our main results are (a) an O(log k)-competitive online algorithm for solving the CLP, and (b) an O(log k · log l)-competitive randomized online algorithm for solving the CIP. Here k ≤ n and l ≤ m respectively denote the maximum number of nonzero entries in any row and column of the constraint matrix A. Our algorithm is based on the online primal-dual paradigm, where a novel ingredient is to allow dual variables to increase and decrease throughout the course of the algorithm. It is known that this result is the best possible for polynomial-t...
Closed space infection following removal of lumbar intervertebral disc.

My experience and that of my associates indicate that an infection of an intervertebral-disc space after surgery is uncommon, but the complication is more frequent than previously suspected. The typical infection of an intervertebral-disc space occurs more often when the septic process is confined to the space than when an obvious wound infection is present. The clinical picture and findings on roentgenogram follow a rather typical course. The treatment outlined consists in external fixation, antibiotics, and surgical intervention in occasional patients. The use of appropriate antibiotics is strongly recommended despite the fact that less than one-half of the patients have a positive culture. After adequate treatment a reasonably successful recovery and return to a normal life can be expected. Patients in whom a spontaneous osseous fusion occurred had the best results.
Load Shifting in the Smart Grid: To Participate or Not?

Demand-side management (DSM) has emerged as an important smart grid feature that allows utility companies to maintain desirable grid loads. However, the success of DSM is contingent on active customer participation. Indeed, most existing DSM studies are based on game-theoretic models that assume customers will act rationally and will voluntarily participate in DSM. In contrast, in this paper, the impact of customers’ subjective behavior on each other’s DSM decisions is explicitly accounted for. In particular, a noncooperative game is formulated between grid customers in which each customer can decide on whether to participate in DSM or not. In this game, customers seek to minimize a cost function that reflects their total payment for electricity. Unlike classical game-theoretic DSM studies, which assume that customers are rational in their decision-making, a novel approach is proposed based on the framework of prospect theory (PT) to explicitly incorporate the impact of customer behavior on DSM decisions. To solve the proposed game under both conventional game theory and PT, a new algorithm based on fictitious play is proposed using which the game will reach an ${\epsilon }$ -mixed Nash equilibrium. Simulation results are provided to assess the impact of customer behavior on DSM. In particular, the overall participation level and grid load can depend significantly on the rationality level of the players and their risk aversion tendencies.
Prefrontal-hippocampal theta coherence, sharp wave ripples, and bursts of cortical unit activity underlie choices and encoding in the radial arm maze

The radial arm maze (RAM) is a foraging task that is often used to assess executive function guided decision-making [1-3]. Optimal foraging strategies on this task require the integration of executive and memory systems, which include retrospective and prospective codes. To explore the neural basis of decision-making during RAM performance, the current study acquired multielectrode single-unit and local field potential (LFP) recordings simultaneously in hippocampus (HC) and anterior cingulate (ACC). Initially, rats were presented with four of the eight total maze arms open at once ("training phase"), and the rest of the arms were opened up after the subjects collected the rewards and a one-minute delay was completed ("test phase"). Any arm re-entries were counted as errors, and only trials with one test phase error or less were used in the analysis. ACC unit firing was elevated at choice points and reduced at reward points. Moreover, both ACC and the HC showed elevated theta power shortly prior to the reward point and sharp wave ripples shortly after reward acquisition on correct choices only, which is consistent with findings in other choice tasks [4,5]. These observations held during test phase (Figure ​(Figure1,1, right panels) and were disrupted during the training phase in ACC, but not the HC (Figure ​(Figure1,1, left panels). It has been suggested that HC sharp wave ripples contain episodes of replay of visited locations and theta of locations ahead of the animal [4,5] - information necessary for decision-making using both prospective and retrospective codes. Theta and ripples are present in the HC during both training and test phases, consistent with lesion evidence that hippocampus is necessary for both prospective and retrospective strategies [1]. In ACC, theta and ripples are only present during test phase and not during training phase, which is in line the evidence showing that prefrontal cortex is only necessary for prospective coding [1]. These task phase-dependent observations may help explain how HC and ACC networks integrate information related to prospective and retrospective codes. Figure 1 Average hippocampal and prefrontal theta and SWR power centered on reward acquisition. During test choices (B, D), PFC (D) activity resembles that in HC (B). On the other hand, during training (A, C), HC (A) shows the pattern of activity associated with ...
Feeling Closer to the Future Self and Doing Better: Temporal Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Academic Performance.

This research examined the function of future self-continuity and its potential downstream consequences for academic performance through relations with other temporal psychological factors and self-control. We also addressed the influence of cultural factors by testing whether these relations differed by college generation status. Undergraduate students enrolled at a large public university participated in two studies (Study 1: N = 119, Mage = 20.55, 56.4% women; Study 2: N = 403, Mage = 19.83, 58.3% women) in which they completed measures of temporal psychological factors and psychological resources. In Study 2, we also obtained academic records to link responses to academic performance. Future self-continuity predicted subsequent academic performance and was related positively to future focus, negatively to present focus, and positively to self-control. Additionally, the relation between future focus and self-control was stronger for continuing-generation college students than first-generation college students. Future self-continuity plays a pivotal role in academic contexts. Findings suggest that it may have positive downstream consequences on academic achievement by directing attention away from the present and toward the future, which promotes self-control. Further, the strategy of focusing on the future may be effective in promoting self-control only for certain cultural groups.
Women’s Representation in the Highest Court: A Comparative Analysis of the Appointment of Female Justices

The presence of women justices in the highest constitutional courts varies significantly across countries, yet there is little existing research that engages this substantial cross-national variation. Using an original data set of women’s representation in the constitutional courts in fifty democracies combined with qualitative case studies, we assess the effect of the selection mechanism on this variation and find that the existence of a “sheltered” versus “exposed” selection mechanism is a critical determinant of women’s presence. That is, when the selectors are sheltered from electoral accountability, they are less likely to select women as judges because they do not benefit from credit claiming. When the selectors are exposed and can claim credit, however, the unique traits and visibility of the highest court generate an incentive to appoint women.