cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Law and Ethics of Restrictions on an Employee's Post‐Employment Mobility

**Assistant Professor of Corporate Citizenship, Kogod School of Business, American University. We would like to gratefully acknowledge the research support provided by the Ross and Kogod Schools of Business and the research assistance of Evelyn Liristis, as well as the helpful insights and thoughtful suggestions of Timothy L. Fort, David W. Hess, and Eliot P. Bates. We also wish to thank several anonymous reviewers and the editors of the American Business Law Journal for a series of useful comments and suggestions. Any remaining errors or omissions remain our responsibility. An earlier version of this article was selected as a 2011 Distinguished Proceedings Paper and as a finalist for the 2011 Holmes-Cardozo Award for outstanding scholarship by the Academy of Legal Studies in Business.
Ion motion in a polarized current sheet

We consider the effects of a polarization electric field on transient ion motion in a thin current sheet. Using adiabatic invariants, we analytically describe a variety of ion trajectories in current sheet configurations which include a local minimum or maximum of the scalar potential in the central region. Ions in the current sheet can either be trapped or ejected more efficiently than in an unpolarized current sheet, depending on the sign and magnitude of the polarization electric field. We derive an expression for the relative phase space volume filled by transient particles as a function of the electric field amplitude. This expression allows us to estimate the dependence of transient particle and current densities on the electric field. We discuss the applicability of these results for current sheets observed in planetary magnetospheres.
An Extension of Generalized Linear Models to Finite Mixture Outcome Distributions

Finite mixture distributions arise in sampling a heterogeneous population. Data drawn from such a population will exhibit extra variability relative to any single subpopulation. Statistical models ...
Nearly Optimal Solutions for the Chow Parameters Problem and Low-Weight Approximation of Halfspaces

The Chow parameters of a Boolean function f:l−1, 1rn → l−1, 1r are its np1 degree-0 and degree-1 Fourier coefficients. It has been known since 1961 lChow 1961; Tannenbaum 1961r that the (exact values of the) Chow parameters of any linear threshold function f uniquely specify f within the space of all Boolean functions, but until recently lO'Donnell and Servedio 2011r nothing was known about efficient algorithms for reconstructingf (exactly or approximately) from exact or approximate values of its Chow parameters. We refer to this reconstruction problem as the Chow Parameters Problem.Our main result is a new algorithm for the Chow Parameters Problem which, given (sufficiently accurate approximations to) the Chow parameters of any linear threshold function f, runs in time O(n2) ⋅ (1/e)O(log2(1/e)) and with high probability outputs a representation of an LTF f′ that is e-close to f in Hamming distance. The only previous algorithm lO'Donnell and Servedio 2011r had running time poly(n) ⋅ 22O(1/e2).As a byproduct of our approach, we show that for any linear threshold function f over l-1, 1rn, there is a linear threshold function f′ which is e-close to f and has all weights that are integers of magnitude at most √n ⋅ (1/e)O(log2(1/e)). This significantly improves the previous best result of Diakonikolas and Servedio l2009r which gave a poly(n) ⋅ 2O(1/e2/3) weight bound, and is close to the known lower bound of maxl√n, (1/e)Ω(log log (1/e))r lGoldberg 2006; Servedio 2007r. Our techniques also yield improved algorithms for related problems in learning theory.In addition to being significantly stronger than previous work, our results are obtained using conceptually simpler proofs. The two main ingredients underlying our results are (1) a new structural result showing that for f any linear threshold function and g any bounded function, if the Chow parameters of f are close to the Chow parameters of g then f is close to g; (2) a new boosting-like algorithm that given approximations to the Chow parameters of a linear threshold function outputs a bounded function whose Chow parameters are close to those of f.
Fourth-order diffusion Monte Carlo algorithms for solving quantum many-body problems

By decomposing the important sampled imaginary time Schr\"odinger evolution operator to fourth order with positive coefficients, we derived a number of distinct fourth-order diffusion Monte Carlo algorithms. These sophisticated algorithms require higher derivatives of the drift velocity and local energy and are more complicated to program. However, they allowed very large time steps to be used, converged faster with lesser correlations, and virtually eliminated the step size error. We demonstrated the effectiveness of these quartic algorithms by solving for the ground-state energy and radial density distribution of bulk liquid helium.
On the relationships between commuting mode choice and public health

Abstract This paper studies the associations that may exist between commuting mode choice and public health. For this purpose, we used Community Health Survey data collected in New York City in 2010. Obesity, blood pressure, and diabetes are used as indicators of respondents’ physical health, and Non-Specific Psychological Distress as an indicator of respondents’ mental health. After rigorous statistical analyses, a binary probit model was fitted for each physical and mental health indicator to quantify the associations between different commuting modes and physical/mental health. Results show that walking, as expected, is associated with a lower probability of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and mental disorders (all statistically significant) when compared to using private transportation. Using subway is related to a lower probability of obesity and diabetes while using the city bus was linked with a higher probability of obesity (all statistically significant) compared to using personal vehicles. Finally, in comparison with using personal vehicles, working at home is associated with a higher probability of having mental disorders (statistically significant).
Grand canonical electronic density-functional theory: Algorithms and applications to electrochemistry

First-principles calculations combining density-functional theory and continuum solvation models enable realistic theoretical modeling and design of electrochemical systems. When a reaction proceeds in such systems, the number of electrons in the portion of the system treated quantum mechanically changes continuously, with a balancing charge appearing in the continuum electrolyte. A grand-canonical ensemble of electrons at a chemical potential set by the electrode potential is therefore the ideal description of such systems that directly mimics the experimental condition. We present two distinct algorithms: a self-consistent field method and a direct variational free energy minimization method using auxiliary Hamiltonians (GC-AuxH), to solve the Kohn-Sham equations of electronic density-functional theory directly in the grand canonical ensemble at fixed potential. Both methods substantially improve performance compared to a sequence of conventional fixed-number calculations targeting the desired potential, with the GC-AuxH method additionally exhibiting reliable and smooth exponential convergence of the grand free energy. Finally, we apply grand-canonical density-functional theory to the under-potential deposition of copper on platinum from chloride-containing electrolytes and show that chloride desorption, not partial copper monolayer formation, is responsible for the second voltammetric peak.
Direct and Spillover Effects of Middle School Vaccination Requirements

We study the direct and spillover effects of state requirements that middle school youths obtain a tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) booster prior to middle school entry. These mandates significantly increased Tdap vaccine take-up and reduced pertussis (whooping cough) incidence by about 32 percent. We also document cross-vaccine spillovers: the mandates significantly increased adolescent vaccination rates for meningococcal disease and human papillomavirus (HPV)—which is responsible for 98 percent of cervical cancers—by 8–34 percent, with particularly large effects for children from low SES households. We find important roles for both parents and providers in generating these spillovers.
Interfacial Polymerization on Dynamic Complex Colloids: Creating Stabilized Janus Droplets.

Complex emulsions, including Janus droplets, are becoming increasingly important in pharmaceuticals and medical diagnostics, the fabrication of microcapsules for drug delivery, chemical sensing, E-paper display technologies, and optics. Because fluid Janus droplets are often sensitive to external perturbation, such as unexpected changes in the concentration of the surfactants or surface-active biomolecules in the environment, stabilizing their morphology is critical for many real-world applications. To endow Janus droplets with resistance to external chemical perturbations, we demonstrate a general and robust method of creating polymeric hemispherical shells via interfacial free-radical polymerization on the Janus droplets. The polymeric hemispherical shells were characterized by optical and fluorescence microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. By comparing phase diagrams of a regular Janus droplet and a Janus droplet with the hemispherical shell, we show that the ...
A PROCESS FOR RECOVERING IODINE-129

A process was developed on a laboratory scale for recovering, in 90 to 95% yield, I/sup 129/ from Berl saddles impregnated with AgNO/sub 3/. The iodide ion is displaced from silver iodide by sulfide ion in alkaline solution, and I/ sup 129/ is distilled from the 1M NaOH-0.01M Na/sub 2/S solution after oxidation with hydrogen peroxide. (auth)
Inflation in String Theory

In this chapter we describe the recent progress achieved in the construction of inflationary models in the context of string theory with flux compactification and moduli stabilization. We also discuss a possibility to test string theory through cosmological observations.
Using speech technology for quantifying behavioral characteristics in peer-led team learning sessions

Abstract Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) is a learning methodology where a peer-leader co-ordinate a small-group of students to collaboratively solve technical problems. PLTL have been adopted for various science, engineering, technology and maths courses in several US universities. This paper proposed and evaluated a speech system for behavioral analysis of PLTL groups. It could help in identifying the best practices for PLTL. The CRSS-PLTL corpus was used for evaluation of developed algorithms. In this paper, we developed a robust speech activity detection (SAD) by fusing the outputs of a DNN-based pitch extractor and an unsupervised SAD based on voicing measures. Robust speaker diarization system consisted of bottleneck features (from stacked autoencoder) and informed HMM-based joint segmentation and clustering system. Behavioral characteristics such as participation, dominance, emphasis, curiosity and engagement were extracted by acoustic analyses of speech segments belonging to all students. We proposed a novel method for detecting question inflection and performed equal error rate analysis on PLTL corpus. In addition, a robust approach for detecting emphasized speech regions was also proposed. Further, we performed exploratory data analysis for understanding the distortion present in CRSS-PLTL corpus as it was collected in naturalistic scenario. The ground-truth Likert scale ratings were used for capturing the team dynamics in terms of student’s responses to a variety of evaluation questions. Results suggested the applicability of proposed system for behavioral analysis of small-group conversations such as PLTL, work-place meetings etc..
Geographic spillover of dominant firms’ shocks

Abstract This paper shows that productivity shocks to the 100 largest U.S. firms (by revenue) contain systematic information. Specifically, shocks to the top-100 firms predict future shocks to geographically close firms. Intra-sector trade links are an important economic channel for spillover effects. However, these spillovers are not restricted to firms’ trade links only. Knowledge externalities and state income tax payments of the top-100 firms are other economic channels through which shocks propagate. Market participants do not fully incorporate the information contained in shocks to the top-100 firms. Consequently, a portfolio analysis that exploits the slow diffusion of information generates an annual risk-adjusted return of 5.4%. Overall, the results show how productivity shocks to the few largest firms in the U.S. spillover to other firms and potentially aggregate to affect the national economy.
Compensation for Expropriations in a World of Investment Treaties: Beyond the Lawful/Unlawful Distinction

For much of the last century, global actors have sparred over the international legal rules governing the compensation a state should pay a foreign investor when it expropriates the latter's property. The competing claims have had many dimensions, including the content of customary international law and the line between bona fide regulations and expropriations. In the modern age of international investment agreements (IIAs), a debate continues over another key issue: When a state expropriates a foreign investment in violation of an IIA, where should a tribunal look for the standard of compensation—to the amount the treaty requires the state to pay when it expropriates, or to an external standard for violations of international law generally? Each is alluring to a tribunal for its legal visibility—one spelled out in the very text under examination, and one stemming from a venerable international court case. But they may point to significantly different results for the investor and the host state. And investor-state tribunals remain wildly inconsistent, even incoherent, in their choice and use of those standards. It remains a significant source of disagreement in contemporary investor-state arbitration.
Least gradient problems with Neumann boundary condition

Abstract We study existence of minimizers of the least gradient problem inf v ∈ B V g ⁡ ∫ Ω φ ( x , D v ) , where B V g = { v ∈ B V ( Ω ) : ∫ ∂ Ω g v = 1 } , φ ( x , p ) : Ω × R n → R is a convex, continuous, and homogeneous function of degree 1 with respect to the p variable, and g satisfies the compatibility condition ∫ ∂ Ω g d S = 0 . We prove that for every 0 ≢ g ∈ L ∞ ( ∂ Ω ) there are infinitely many minimizers in B V ( Ω ) . Moreover there exists a divergence free vector field T ∈ ( L ∞ ( Ω ) ) n that determines the structure of level sets of all minimizers, i.e. T determines D u | D u | , | D u | -a.e. in Ω, for every minimizer u . We also prove some existence results for general 1-Laplacian type equations with Neumann boundary condition. A numerical algorithm is presented that simultaneously finds T and a minimizer of the above least gradient problem. Applications of the results in conductivity imaging are discussed.
Efficient ex post implementable auctions and English auctions for bidders with non-quasilinear preferences

Abstract We study efficient auction design for a single indivisible object when bidders have interdependent values and non-quasilinear preferences. Instead of quasilinearity, we assume only that bidders have positive wealth effects. Our setting nests cases where bidders are ex ante asymmetric, face financial constraints, are risk averse, and/or face ensuing risk. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of an ex post implementable and (ex post Pareto) efficient mechanism. These conditions differ between the standard case where the auctioneer is a seller and when the auctioneer is a buyer (a procurement auction). When the auctioneer is a seller, there is an efficient ex post implementable mechanism if there is an efficient ex post implementable mechanism in a corresponding quasilinear setting. This result extends established results on efficient ex post equilibria of English auctions with quasilinearity to our non-quasilinear setting. Yet, in the procurement setting there is no mechanism that has an efficient ex post equilibrium if the level of interdependence between bidders is sufficiently strong. This result holds even if bidder costs satisfy standard single crossing conditions that are sufficient for efficient ex post implementation in the quasilinear setting.
Learning Graphical Models From the Glauber Dynamics

In this paper, we consider the problem of learning undirected graphical models from data generated according to the Glauber dynamics (also known as the Gibbs sampler). The Glauber dynamics is a Markov chain that sequentially updates individual nodes (variables) in a graphical model and it is frequently used to sample from the stationary distribution (to which it converges given sufficient time). Additionally, the Glauber dynamics is a natural dynamical model in a variety of settings. This paper deviates from the standard formulation of graphical model learning in the literature, where one assumes access to independent identically distributed samples from the distribution. Much of the research on graphical model learning has been directed toward finding algorithms with low computational cost. As the main result of this paper, we establish that the problem of reconstructing binary pairwise graphical models is computationally tractable when we observe the Glauber dynamics. Specifically, we show that a binary pairwise graphical model on $p$ nodes with maximum degree $d$ can be learned in time $f(d)p^{2}\log p$ , for a function $f(d)$ defined explicitly in this paper, using nearly the information-theoretic minimum number of samples.
Diagnosis and management of the venous malformations of Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome.

Abstract Objective A dearth of information exists in the literature regarding current practice in the management of Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS), a rare condition. We review and describe the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of KTS. Methods Relevant data were synthesized from a Medline review using a combination of the keyterms “Klippel” and “Trenaunay.” The majority of hits described singular case reports and were subsequently excluded. The remaining papers were then reviewed and included on the basis of the quality of evidence and the authors' discretion. Conclusions KTS is characterized by a clinical triad of extremity varicosities, cutaneous vascular malformations, and hypertrophy of soft tissues and long bones. The diagnosis is clinically supplemented with magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. Although this syndrome is associated with significant comorbidities, such as pain, edema, ulcerations, and pruritus, it is rarely the cause of death. The backbone of treatment is nonoperative in nature but should be supplemented with minimally invasive, endovascular, and rarely open surgical procedures for refractory cases.
Trustworthiness of Command and Control Systems

Abstract The effectiveness and safety of large scale technological systems of all kinds is more and more dependent on their command and control. The effectiveness of command and control, in turn, is closely related to perceived trust in them, by operators, managers, and society as a whole. This paper examines concepts of trust, both rational and irrational, and both as cause and effect, and suggests some possibilities for quantitative modeling.
Computer Optimization of Hemodialysis

Abstract Clinical attempts to perform rapid hemodialysis have produced a characteristic malaise in certain patients, termed a “disequilibrium syndrome”. It is hypothesized that this syndrome is the result of large intracellular to extracellular concentration gradients set up by the rapid clearance of wastes, particularly urea, from the blood. In an attempt to optimize hemodialysis (minimize time and cost) and minimize patient discomfort, a study of the dynamics of the patient-artificial kidney system with respect to urea levels was made. The patient was modelled as a two compartment system and the pertinent mass balance equations simulated on a digital computer. The match between best-fit simulated and actual data served to prove the usefulness of the model. Patient discomfort was found to be related to the intercompartmental urea gradient, thus a control scheme was developed to maintain this level with clinical bounds, yet provide a clinically safe dialysis. On the basis of the individual patient's model and various clinical restrictions, a computer schedule for blood flow rate s during dialysis was generated and used. Clinical results were satisfactory and the disequilibrium syndrome was avoided.
Lack of Clinical Relevance in Routine Final Subcultures of Radiometrically Negative BACTEC Blood Culture Vials

During a 38-month period, 10,106 blood specimens were received in the laboratory for culture. These were inoculated into 26,424 vials and processed using the BACTEC radiometric detection system. Of these vials, 1,914 were eventually found to be microbiologically positive. Isolates from 836 vials were judged to be contaminants. In the remaining 1,078 vials, growth was first detected visually or radiometrically in 1,062 and by final subculture in 16. Growth from these sixteen bottles represented 12 clinically significant bacteremic episodes in as many patients. In nine of these episodes, other culture vials from the same patient were positive radiometrically. Therefore, 358 of 361 (99.2%) bacteremic episodes were detected without the benefit of routine final subcultures. The three patients whose bacteremia was missed were diagnosed clinically and placed on appropriate therapy prior to the detection of the bacteremias by final subculture. (
Radiation Associated Hyperthyroidism in Patients With Gynecological Malignancies

To determine the effect of abdominal and/or pelvic irradiation for gynecological malignancies on the later development of hyperthyroidism, 1,884 medical records of the patients diagnoses as carcinomas of cervix and corpus uteri, and of ovary were reviewed. Among 1,269 patients with radiation therapy, 5 patients developed hyperthyroidism after irradiation to the abdomen and/or pelvis. This is a statistically significant increase when compared with an epidemiological study. Radiation dose to the thyroid was estimated to be 30 to 200 rads. Two other patients who were irradiated to the nose or supraclavicular region in addition to the abdomen also developed hyperthyroidism. However, none of 581 patients without radiation therapy became hyperthyroid. The results indicate that radiation therapy for treatment of gynecological malignancy gives a significant radiation exposure with an increase in the incidence of subsequent hyperthyroidism.
Exogenic forcing and autogenic processes on continental divide location and mobility

The position and mobility of drainage divides is an expression of exogenic landscape forcing and autogenic channel network processes integrated across a range of scales. At the large scale, represented by major rivers and continental drainage divides, the organization of drainage patterns and divide migration reflects the long-wavelength gradients of the topography, which are exogenically influenced by tectonics, isostasy, and/or dynamic topography. This analysis utilizes long-wavelength topography synthesized by a low-pass filter, which provides a novel framework for predicting the direction of divide movement as well as an estimate of the ultimate divide location that is complementary to recent studies that have focused on the χ channel metric. The Gibraltar Arc active plate boundary and Appalachian stable plate interior, two tectonically diverse settings with ongoing drainage system reorganization, are chosen to explore the length scales of exogenic forcings that influence continental drainage divide location and migration. The major watersheds draining both the active- and decay-phase orogens studied here are organized by topographic gradients that are expressed in long-wavelength low-pass filtered topography (λ ≥ 100 km). In contrast, the river network and divide location is insensitive to topographic gradients measured over filtered wavelengths <100 km that are set by local crustal structures and rock type. The lag time between exogenic forcing and geomorphic response and feedbacks cause divide migration to be unsteady, and occur through pulses of drainage capture and drainage network reorganization that are recorded in sedimentological, geomorphic, or denudation data.
Contain-ed: An NFV Micro-Service System for Containing e2e Latency

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) has enabled operators to dynamically place and allocate resources for network services to match workload requirements. However, unbounded end-to-end (e2e) latency of Service Function Chains (SFCs) resulting from distributed Virtualized Network Function (VNF) deployments can severely degrade performance. In particular, SFC instantiations with inter-data center links can incur high e2e latencies and Service Level Agreement (SLA) violations. These latencies can trigger timeouts and protocol errors with latency-sensitive operations.Traditional solutions to reduce e2e latency involve physical deployment of service elements in close proximity. These solutions are, however, no longer viable in the NFV era. In this paper, we present our solution that bounds the e2e latency in SFCs and inter-VNF control message exchanges by creating micro-service aggregates based on the affinity between VNFs. Our system, Contain-ed, dynamically creates and manages affinity aggregates using light-weight virtualization technologies like containers, allowing them to be placed in close proximity and hence bounding the e2e latency. We have applied Contain-ed to the Clearwater IP Multimedia System and built a proof-of-concept. Our results demonstrate that, by utilizing application and protocol specific knowledge, affinity aggregates can effectively bound SFC delays and significantly reduce protocol errors and service disruptions.
Use of direct oral anticoagulants in patients on immunomodulatory agents

Immunomodulatory agents (IMiDs) are used to treat multiple hematologic malignancies. Their use is also associated with increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been increasingly utilized but due to their relative novelty, their role in malignancy has only been recently investigated. The objective of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of DOACs in patients receiving IMiDs. This was a retrospective study of patients at our institution treated with an IMiD and concomitant warfarin or DOAC between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2015. Information on demographic and clinical characteristics was collected. Separate encounters were collected for each specific combination of IMiD and anticoagulant. Bleeding and thrombotic events were recorded. There were four bleeding events in the DOAC group; all were non-major. There were six bleeding events in the warfarin group, two of which were major (gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)) and four of which were non-major. Of the two major bleeds in this group, neither event occurred with concomitant antiplatelet therapy. There was one thrombotic event in the DOAC group, which was a myocardial infarction, suspected to be related to carfilzomib. There were no thrombotic events in the warfarin group. This was a retrospective, single-institution study assessing the safety and efficacy of DOACs as compared to warfarin in patients on IMiDs. DOACs may represent an attractive alternative to warfarin for VTE prophylaxis in patients on IMiDs but prospective studies in this population are warranted.
Elimination of the male reproductive tract in the female embryo is promoted by COUP-TFII in mice

The sexual differentiation paradigm contends that the female pattern of the reproductive system is established by default because the male reproductive tracts (Wolffian ducts) in the female degenerate owing to a lack of androgen. Here, we discovered that female mouse embryos lacking Coup-tfII (chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor II) in the Wolffian duct mesenchyme became intersex—possessing both female and male reproductive tracts. Retention of Wolffian ducts was not caused by ectopic androgen production or action. Instead, enhanced phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling in Wolffian duct epithelium was responsible for the retention of male structures in an androgen-independent manner. We thus suggest that elimination of Wolffian ducts in female embryos is actively promoted by COUP-TFII, which suppresses a mesenchyme-epithelium cross-talk responsible for Wolffian duct maintenance.
Exploring the influence of homogeneous versus heterogeneous grouping on students’ text-based discussions and comprehension

Abstract Small-group, text-based discussions are a prominent and effective instructional practice, but the literature on the effects of different group composition methods (i.e., homogeneous vs. heterogeneous ability grouping) has been inconclusive with few direct comparisons of the two grouping methods. A yearlong classroom-based intervention was conducted to examine the ways in which group composition influenced students’ discourse and comprehension. Fourth- and fifth-grade students (N = 62) were randomly assigned to either a homogeneous or heterogeneous ability small-group discussion. All students engaged in Quality Talk, a theoretically- and empirically-supported intervention using small-group discussion to promote high-level comprehension. Multilevel modeling revealed that, on average, students displayed positive, statistically and practically significant gains in both basic and high-level comprehension performance over the course of Quality Talk. Further, our findings indicated heterogeneous ability grouping was more beneficial than homogeneous ability grouping for high-level comprehension, on average, with low-ability students struggling more in homogeneous grouping. With respect to student discourse, additional quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed group composition differences in terms of the frequency, duration, and quality of student questions and responses, as well as the types of discourse low-ability students enacted in homogeneous groups. This study expands upon the extant literature and informs future research and practice on group composition methods.
An integrated system for perception-driven autonomy with modular robots

The theoretical ability of modular robots to reconfigure in response to complex tasks in a priori unknown environments has frequently been cited as an advantage and remains a major motivator for work in the field. We present a modular robot system capable of autonomously completing high-level tasks by reactively reconfiguring to meet the needs of a perceived, a priori unknown environment. The system integrates perception, high-level planning, and modular hardware and is validated in three hardware demonstrations. Given a high-level task specification, a modular robot autonomously explores an unknown environment, decides when and how to reconfigure, and manipulates objects to complete its task. The system architecture balances distributed mechanical elements with centralized perception, planning, and control. By providing an example of how a modular robot system can be designed to leverage reactive reconfigurability in unknown environments, we have begun to lay the groundwork for modular self-reconfigurable robots to address tasks in the real world.
Economic and policy drivers of agricultural water desalination in California’s central valley

Abstract Water desalination is a proposed solution for mitigating the effects of drought, soil salinization, and the ecological impacts of agricultural drainage. In this study, we assess the public and private costs and benefits of distributed desalination in the Central Valley (CV) of California. We employ environmental and economic modeling to estimate the value of reducing the salinity of irrigation water; the value of augmenting water supply under present and future climate scenarios; and the human health, environmental, and climate change damages associated with generating power to desalinate water. We find that water desalination is only likely to be profitable in 4% of the CV during periods of severe drought, and that current costs would need to decrease by 70–90% for adoption to occur on the median acre. Fossil-fuel powered desalination technologies also generate air emissions that impose significant public costs in the form of human health and climate change damages, although these damages vary greatly depending on technology. The ecosystem service benefits of reduced agricultural drainage would need to be valued between $800 and $1200 per acre-foot, or nearly the full capital and operational costs of water desalination, for the net benefits of water desalination to be positive from a societal perspective.
Conditional Cash Transfers, Resources, and Political Participation in Latin America

Do conditional cash transfers (CCTs) lead to increased participation in multiple political activities in Latin America? If CCTs contribute to broad political participation, how do CCTs increase participation in a wide variety of political activities? I argue that CCTs boost political participation through resource effects, and that both the cash transfers and the conditionalities play an important role in shaping political activity among beneficiaries. Using an original data set from Mexico and existing survey data from nine Latin American countries, I analyze the relationship between CCTs and political participation and examine the hypothesized pathway. The results support my argument. Resumen ?Promueven las transferencias condicionadas de efectivo (CCTs, por sus siglas en ingles) un incremento en la participacion en multiples actividades politicas en America Latina? Si las CCTs contribuyen a una vasta participacion politica, ?de que forma estas CCTs incrementan la participacion en amplia variedad de actividades politicas? Mi argumento central es que las CCTs impulsan la participacion politica a razon de efectos recursos, y que las transferencias de efectivo y sus condiciones juegan un papel importante en la formacion de la actividad politica entre los beneficiarios. Usando un conjunto de datos originales de Mexico e informacion de una encuesta existente de nueve paises Latinoamericanos, yo analizo la relacion entre las CCTs y la participacion politica y examino el camino de la hipotesis. Los resultados apoyan mi argumento.
Programming by examples: applications, algorithms, and ambiguity resolution

99% of computer users do not know programming and hence struggle with repetitive tasks. Programming by Examples (PBE) can revolutionize this landscape by enabling users to synthesize intended programs from example based specifications. A key technical challenge in PBE is to search for programs that are consistent with the examples provided by the user. Our efficient search methodology is based on two key ideas: (i) Restriction of the search space to an appropriate domain-specific language (ii) A divide-and-conquer based search paradigm that inductively reduces the problem of synthesizing a program with a certain top-level operator to simpler synthesis problems over its sub-programs by leveraging the operator's inverse semantics. Another challenge in PBE is to resolve the ambiguity in the example based specification. Our ambiguity resolution methodology leverages two complementary approaches: (a) machine learning based ranking techniques that can pick an intended program from among those that satisfy the specification, and (b) active-learning based user interaction models. I will illustrate these various concepts using Flash Fill, FlashExtract, and FlashRelate---PBE technologies for data manipulation domains. These technologies, which have been released inside various Microsoft products, are useful for data scientists who spend 80% of their time wrangling with data. The Microsoft PROSE SDK allows easy construction of such technologies.
MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE | Semiannual Oscillation

The dominant feature of the large-scale circulation near the equatorial stratopause is a strong semiannual oscillation in the prevailing winds. The stratopause zonal winds oscillate from strong easterlies around the time of the solstices to westerlies around the equinoxes. A similar oscillation, but exactly out of phase, is observed near the mesopause. The zonal wind oscillation is accompanied by similar semiannual variations in temperature and in the mean vertical motion.
Force Diverting Helmet Liner Achieved Through a Lattice of Multi-Material Compliant Mechanisms

This work introduces the design of a lattice array of multi-material compliant mechanisms (LCM) that diverts the impact radial force into tangential forces through the action of elastic hinges and connecting springs. When used as the helmet liner, the LCM liner design has the potential to reduce the risk of head injury through improved impact energy attenuation. The compliant mechanism array in the liner is optimized using a multi-material topology optimization algorithm. The performance of the LCM liner design is compared with the one obtained by expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam, which is traditionally used in sport helmets. An impact test is carried out using explicit, dynamic, nonlinear finite element analysis. The parameters under consideration include the internal energy, the peak linear force, as well as von Mises stress and effective plastic strain distributions. Although there is a small increase in stress and strain values, the simulations show that the maximum internal of the LCM liner design is four times the one of the foam design while the peak linear force is reduced to about half. While the use of the LCM liner design is intended for sports helmets, this design may find application in other energy absorbing structures such as crashworthy vehicle components, blast mitigating structures, and protective gear.Copyright © 2017 by ASME
The genesis of team rivalry in the New World: sparks to fan animosity in Major League Soccer

While rivalry debates rage among soccer fans and the media, scholars have focussed much of their research on clashes between specific clubs that share a considerable history of competition. Yet, historical conflict is just one of several elements that contribute to enduring sports rivalries, and several soccer teams – particularly in America and Canada – have limited history but salient rivals. This study compares the intensity of rivalries within Major League Soccer through a league-wide fan survey that also measures the importance of eleven antecedents to rivalry and how these elements are associated with fans’ negative reactions to rivals. While geography and frequency of play are the two most important rivalry antecedents according to fans, elements of bias such as cultural difference and unfairness are more closely associated with fans’ schadenfreude and relationship discrimination against rivals. Quotes from fans aligned with the most intense rivalries in MLS illustrate these findings.
Secret key distribution leveraging color shift over visible light channel

Given the widely adoption of screen and camera in many electronic devices, the visible light communication (VLC) over screen-to-camera channel emerges as a novel short range communication technique in recent years. Active research explores various ways to convey messages over screen-camera channel, such as barcode and unobtrusive optical pattern. However, with the prevalence of LED screens of wide viewing angles and mobile devices equipped with high standard cameras, the threat of information leakage over screen-to-camera channel becomes in-negligible. Few studies have discussed how to ensure the security of data transmission over screen-to-camera channel. In this paper, we propose a secret key distribution system leveraging the unique color shift property over visible light channel. To facilitate such design, we develop a practical secret key matching based method to map the secret key into gridded optical patterns on screen, which can only be correctly recognized by the legitimate user through an accessible region and allow regular data stream transmission through valid grids. The proposed system is prototyped with off-the-shelf devices and validated under various experimental scenarios. The results show that our system can achieve high bit-decoding accuracy for the legitimate users while maintaining comparable data throughput as regular unobtrusive VLC systems with very low recovery accuracy of the encrypted data for the attackers.
A great schism approaching? Towards a micro and macro public administration

As an emerging field, behavioral public administration (BPA) has spurred important new research, documenting human biases and heuristics in public sector contexts. In doing so, it has embraced Herbert Simon's call to draw from psychology to understand administrative behavior. To fulfill its potential, BPA should also pursue another goal of Simon: a normative aspiration toward design science, using its powerful analytical techniques to solve, and not just document, real administrative problems. Another challenge for BPA is understanding where it fits in the constellation of public administration research. One critique of BPA is that a focus on micro-level behavior leads to a neglect of big questions that were once central to public administration. But this tension may also signal the possibility of a productive division of labor, with a micro and macro public administration that addresses distinct questions, but which are connected by common research concepts
Cardiac and inflammatory biomarkers in perinatally HIV-infected and HIV-exposed uninfected children.

OBJECTIVES To compare distributions of serum cardiac and inflammatory biomarkers between perinatally HIV-infected (PHIV) and perinatally HIV-exposed uninfected (PHEU) children, to evaluate their associations with echocardiographic measures, and among PHIV youth, with antiretroviral therapy (ART) and HIV disease severity measures. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis of temporally paired serum samples for biomarkers and echocardiograms in a prospective multicenter cohort study of PHIV and PHEU youth. METHODS Serum samples were analyzed among 402 youth in the PHACS Adolescent Master Protocol (AMP) for high-sensitivity cardiac troponin-T (hs-cTnT, a cardiomyocyte injury marker), N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP, a myocardial stress marker), and inflammatory markers [high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-18, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and soluble TNF receptor II (sTNF-RII)]. Echocardiograms were centrally measured and parameters converted to z cores to account for differences in age and body size. RESULTS Compared with PHEU (N = 156), PHIV youth (N = 246) more often had detectable hs-cTnT and higher levels of sTNF-RII and IL-18. Higher inflammatory biomarkers were generally associated with higher left ventricular (LV) wall stress and lower LV function and LV mass in the two groups. Among PHIV youth, the biomarkers were more strongly associated with current rather than historical immunologic and virologic status. CONCLUSION PHEU and PHIV have modest, significant differences in serum levels of specific inflammatory and active myocardial injury biomarkers. Higher biomarker levels were associated with lower LV mass and shifts in LV structure. Further study is warranted on the longitudinal role of cardiac and inflammatory biomarkers for targeting interventions among PHIV and PHEU youth.
Slacktivists or Activists?: Identity Work in the Virtual Disability March

Protests are important social forms of activism, but can be inaccessible to people with disabilities. Online activism, like the 2017 Disability March, has provided alternative venues for involvement in accessible protesting and social movements. In this study, we use identity theory as a lens to understand why and how disabled activists engaged in an online movement, and its impact on their self-concepts. We interviewed 18 disabled activists about their experiences with online protesting during the Disability March. Respondents' identities (as both disabled individuals and as activists) led them to organize or join the March, evolved alongside the group's actions, and were reprioritized or strained as a result of their involvement. Our findings describe the values and limitations of this activism to our respondents, highlight the tensions they perceived about their activist identities, and present opportunities to support further accessibility and identity changes by integrating technology into their activist experiences.
Detecting Differential Transcription Factor Activity from ATAC-Seq Data

Transcription factors are managers of the cellular factory, and key components to many diseases. Many non-coding single nucleotide polymorphisms affect transcription factors, either by directly altering the protein or its functional activity at individual binding sites. Here we first briefly summarize high-throughput approaches to studying transcription factor activity. We then demonstrate, using published chromatin accessibility data (specifically ATAC-seq), that the genome-wide profile of TF recognition motifs relative to regions of open chromatin can determine the key transcription factor altered by a perturbation. Our method of determining which TFs are altered by a perturbation is simple, is quick to implement, and can be used when biological samples are limited. In the future, we envision that this method could be applied to determine which TFs show altered activity in response to a wide variety of drugs and diseases.
Heat and Learning

We demonstrate that heat inhibits learning and that school air conditioning may mitigate this effect. Student fixed effects models using 10 million students who retook the PSATs show that hotter school days in the years before the test was taken reduce scores, with extreme heat being particularly damaging. Weekend and summer temperatures have little impact, suggesting heat directly disrupts learning time. New nationwide, school-level measures of air conditioning penetration suggest patterns consistent with such infrastructure largely offsetting heat's effects. Without air conditioning, a 1°F hotter school year reduces that year's learning by 1 percent. Hot school days disproportionately impact minority students, accounting for roughly 5 percent of the racial achievement gap.
Lay judgements of the probable cause standard

Much legal discourse has focused on the probable cause standard and the constitutionality of law enforcement searches. Existing case law stipulates that probable cause requires less than 50% certainty in a suspect’s involvement in a crime, and that it should be applied consistently regardless of the crime at hand or type of search in question. Because courts have previously declared probable cause to be a ‘lay’ judgement, this experiment investigated whether lay perceptions of the probable cause standard align with the legal guidelines surrounding it.We assigned 406 respondents to read various scenarios varying by crime (assault, narcotics or robbery) and intrusiveness of search (person, car or home), and judge whether a police officer would be justified in conducting a search. Case law suggests that search decisions should not generally depend on the nature of the crime at hand, but may depend on the invasiveness of the search being conducted. Results suggested that respondents generally made their search decisions in line with these principles, but that they implicitly assumed probable cause to require ‘more’ certainty in a suspect’s crime involvement than case law would prescribe. We discuss the implications of these findings for the perceived fairness of police procedures and its impact on police–community relations.
Pharmacological manipulation of the olfactory bulb modulates beta oscillations: testing model predictions

Olfactory bulb local field potential beta oscillations appear to be gated by GABAergic granule cell excitability. Reducing excitability with scopolamine reduces beta induced by strong odors but inc...