cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Advance Booking Programs for Managing Supply, Demand, and Price Risks

While advance booking programs have been shown to be effective for firms to manage uncertain demand, the e¤ectiveness of such programs is unclear when supply, demand, and price risks are present in a supply chain. Motivated by an advance booking program for managing these three types of risks in a flu vaccine supply chain, we present a two-stage Stackelberg game model to examine the dynamic interactions between a manufacturer and a retailer over two stages. In each stage, both firms enter a Stackelberg game: the manufacturer sets his wholesale price and the retailer determines her order quantity. However, when making the decisions in the second stage, both firms take into account the decisions chosen in the first stage as well as the information about supply and demand revealed after the first stage. Our analysis shows that the advance booking program is always beneficial to the manufacturer but not to the retailer especially when a supply shortage is likely to occur. Interestingly, we find that supply uncertainty and demand uncertainty affect the firms' profits in an opposite manner under the advance booking program: the firms' expected profits tend to decrease in supply uncertainty, but they tend to increase in demand uncertainty.
Co-Creation: Toward a Taxonomy and an Integrated Research Perspective

Enabled by the Internet-Web compound, co-creation of value by consumers has emerged as a major force in the marketplace. In sponsored co-creation, which takes place at the behest of producers, the activities of consumers drive or support the producers' business models. Autonomous co-creation is a wide range of consumer activities that amount to consumer-side production of value. Thus, individuals and communities have become a significant, and growing, productive force in e-commerce. To recognize co-creation, so broadly understood, as a fundamental area of e-commerce research, it is necessary to attain an integrated research perspective on this greatly varied, yet cohering, domain. The enabling information technology needs to be developed to suit the context. Toward these ends, the paper analyzes the intellectual space underlying co-creation research and proposes an inclusive taxonomy of Web-based co-creation, informed both by the extant multidisciplinary research and by results obtained in the natural laboratory of the Web. The essential directions of co-creation research are outlined, and some promising avenues of future work discussed. The taxonomic framework and the research perspective lay a foundation for the future development of co-creation theory and practice. The certainty of turbulent developments in e-commerce means that the taxonomic framework will require ongoing revision and expansion, as will any future framework.
Girls Teaching Girls: Free-Choice Collaborative Learning Through Social Computing

This extended abstract is a brief overview of a dissertation project involving collaborative learning through debugging tasks and the participatory design of instructional activities in computing for This extended abstract is a brief overview of a dissertation project involving collaborative learning through debugging tasks and the participatory design of instructional activities in computing for young girls.young girls.
Trophic divergence despite morphological convergence in a continental radiation of snakes

Ecological and phenotypic convergence is a potential outcome of adaptive radiation in response to ecological opportunity. However, a number of factors may limit convergence during evolutionary radiations, including interregional differences in biogeographic history and clade-specific constraints on form and function. Here, we demonstrate that a single clade of terrestrial snakes from Australia—the oxyuranine elapids—exhibits widespread morphological convergence with a phylogenetically diverse and distantly related assemblage of snakes from North America. Australian elapids have evolved nearly the full spectrum of phenotypic modalities that occurs among North American snakes. Much of the convergence appears to involve the recurrent evolution of stereotyped morphologies associated with foraging mode, locomotion and habitat use. By contrast, analysis of snake diets indicates striking divergence in feeding ecology between these faunas, partially reflecting regional differences in ecological allometry between Australia and North America. Widespread phenotypic convergence with the North American snake fauna coupled with divergence in feeding ecology are clear examples of how independent continental radiations may converge along some ecological axes yet differ profoundly along others.
Catch-at-age assessment in the face of time-varying selectivity

Linton, B. C., and Bence, J. R. 2011. Catch-at-age assessment in the face of time-varying selectivity. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: .Age-based fishery selectivity represents the relative vulnerability of specific ages of fish to a fishery, whereby age classes that are highly selected tend to be overrepresented in the catch compared with their relative abundance in the population. Statistical catch-at-age analysis (SCAA) results can be sensitive to misspecification of selectivity, which can occur when changes in selectivity over time are not accounted for properly in the assessment model. Four approaches for modelling time-varying selectivity were evaluated within SCAA using Monte Carlo simulations: double-logistic functions with one, two, and all four of the function parameters varying over time, and age-specific selectivity parameters that all varied over time. None of these estimation approaches outperformed the others always. In addition, methods of model selection were compared to identify good estimation models, i.e. those accurately matching the true fish population. The degree of retrospectivity, the best selection method, was based on a retrospective analysis of errors in model estimates as the data time-series for estimation is sequentially shortened. This selection method performed about as well as knowing the correct selectivity model and led to substantial benefits over misspecifying the selectivity model.
Genetics of Clostridium difficile toxins

Up until the time it was implicated as the cause of pseudomembranous colitis (PMC), C. difficile was an almost unknown species of bacteria. The organism was first isolated from healthy newborn infants in 1935 by Hall and O’Toole, who named it Bacillus difficilis after the apparent difficulty they encountered in its isolation (Hall and O’Toole 1935). The organism produced a toxic culture filtrate which was lethal to animals upon injection. Perhaps due to the fact that the organism did not appear to cause disease, few studies followed its initial discovery. Over 40 years later, in 1977, C. difficile was implicated as the cause of a lethal colitis that resulted from treatment with antibiotics. The discovery resulted from the finding that antisera to C. sordellii neutralized toxic activity found in fecal filtrates from patients with antibiotic-associated colitis. Curiously, however, C. sordellu could not be isolated from the patients. C. difficile, on the other hand, had been isolated previously from many patients, but had been ignored since it was “nonpathogenic”. Further investigation showed that toxic activity in culture filtrates from C. difficile was neutralized by C. sordellii antisera. Thus the fortuitous cross-neutralizing activity of C. sordellii antisera led to the discovery of C.difficile as the cause of antibiotic-associated colitis.
Are Professional Basketball Fans Racists

This paper explores Kahn and Scherer's results in search of a better understanding of this complex issue. We accept their result of a 20 percent salary differential. In an expanded sample of NBA season, however, we find no evidence of customer discrimination by NBA fans. To the contrary, if anything, there is a preference for more black players and more black playing time in our results. We employ the same empirical model as Kahn and Scherer, but add two more seasons' worth of attendance data. We also model playing time for NBA players as a function of performance and race. Definitively, black players are allotted more minutes than comparable white players. In light of these results, we are left with the following: a) a large salary differential between black and white players, b) little basis for a claim of customer discrimination, and c) more playing time for black players, all else equal. This pattern of results, in our view, is not driven by racial discrimination but by price discrimination. NBA owners and executives are engaging in price discrimination across classes of players who have different elasticities of supply. For whatever reason (including past racial discrimination), black players have a higher elasticity of supply with respect to providing professional basketball services than do comparable white players. The salary differential identified by Kahn and Scherer is most likely a result of this condition.
Immunomonitoring in glioma immunotherapy: current status and future perspectives

Given the continued poor clinical outcomes and refractory nature of glioblastoma multiforme to traditional interventions, immunotherapy is gaining traction due to its potential for specific tumor-targeting and long-term antitumor protective surveillance. Currently, development of glioma immunotherapy relies on overall survival as an endpoint in clinical trials. However, the identification of surrogate immunologic biomarkers can accelerate the development of successful immunotherapeutic strategies. Immunomonitoring techniques possess the potential to elucidate immunological mechanisms of antitumor responses, monitor disease progression, evaluate therapeutic effect, identify candidates for immunotherapy, and serve as prognostic markers of clinical outcome. Current immunomonitoring assays assess delayed-type hypersensitivity, T cell proliferation, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte function, cytokine secretion profiles, antibody titers, and lymphocyte phenotypes. Yet, no single immunomonitoring technique can reliably predict outcomes, relegating immunological markers to exploratory endpoints. In response, the most recent immunomonitoring assays are incorporating emerging technologies and novel analysis techniques to approach the goal of identifying a competent immunological biomarker which predicts therapy responsiveness and clinical outcome. This review addresses the current status of immunomonitoring in glioma vaccine clinical trials with emphasis on correlations with clinical response.
Medical Trends and Issues in Learning Disabilities

The logotype of the Mayo institution depicts three shields representing clinical service, research, and education. An approach to current trends and issues in medicine related to educational underachievement (referred to in the United States as “specific learning disabilities”) can be organized into these same three categories of service, research, and education. These concerns are appropriate not only in medicine but also in the fields related to the diverse behaviors underlying unexpected school failure. Physicians have made and will continue to make important contributions to the recognition of academic underachievement and particularly to clarification of the relationship of underachievement to biologic determinants. The views that follow are in part influenced by my experiences and those of my colleagues at the Mayo Clinic involved in the Learning Disabilities Assessment Program.
Challenging Collective Religious/Social Beliefs About Sex, Marriage, and Family

Some religious thinkers and organizations commonly back up their conclusions about sexual morality with myths that are not supported by history or by the majority of Americans. The word myth, as used here, is defined by Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary as “an unproved collective belief that is accepted uncritically and is used to justify a social institution,” such as a sexual value system. Using an established philosophical distinction between sexual values derived from a fixed worldview (cosmology or Weltanschauung) and from a process worldview, the history of sexuality in the Judaic and Christian traditions, and current sociological data, the author challenges the validity of five myths associated with what is commonly proclaimed as “traditional American religious values.” These beliefs focus on the moral unacceptability of premarital sexual relationships; divorce and remarriage; alternatives to sexually exclusive marriage; abortion, Mifepristone (RU 486), and embryonic stem-cell research; ...
Experience with sequential stochastic design improvement methods

Publisher Summary Safety problems involve a high degree of uncertainty and variability, such as velocity of impact, mass of vehicle, angle of impact, dummy position, restraint system, and mass/stiffness of barrier. As a result, deterministic optimization methods may be insufficient for developing robust products. Sequential stochastic design improvement methods use sampling methods, such as Monte Carlo and Latin Hypercube, to select the best design and then iterate the process until a satisfactory design is found. This chapter presents a paper that evaluates the implementation in commercially available ST-ORM, marketed by EASi Engineering, for safety applications. The objective of the paper is to benchmark ST-ORM's Stochastic Design Improvement capabilities. Two typical safety application problems are used—side impact and inflatable knee bolster (1KB). The side impact model is chosen because of its large model size and the 1KB is chosen because of its highly nonlinear behavior. This paper provides the solution of these two problems using conventional optimization methods.
Sharpe, Kevin Rebranding Rule: The Restoration and Revolution Monarchy, 1660–1714

Kevin Sharpe's death, of cancer, in 2011, was a significant loss for the study of early modern England. His works, such as The Personal Rule of Charles I (Yale University Press, 1992), have greatly...
Biology of Physcus Sp. (Eulophidae, Aphelininae) from Burma

The female of Physcus sp. from Burma is a solitary primary endoparasite and is apparently host specific on Aonidiella aurantii (Mask.). The male develops as a solitary secondary parasite of A. aurantii through prepupae and young pupae of other endoparasites and its own species on which it develops as an ectoparasite. The sex ratio in the laboratory is 1 male to 10 females. Multiple oviposition in a single host. may be requisite for reproduction. Continuous culture of Physcus sp. was achieved by a rotation system which assured the presence of suitable hosts for development of male parasites. Field evaluation is in progress.
Caring for William

A medical student working in a homeless shelter for mentally ill men finds himself thinking of William, a shelter resident, as one of his patients. But that's the last thing William wants to be, and the current health care system seems a long way from meeting his needs.
Promise, peril, and perspective: Addressing concerns about reproducibility in social–personality psychology

Abstract Current discussion about the evidentiary value of published research in social–personality psychology includes elements ranging in their premise. Some deride current practices as fundamentally flawed and call for extensive, perhaps even revolutionary, changes. Others are more circumspect, seeing the discipline as essentially healthy while acknowledging the need for evolution in several particulars about how research is conducted and reported. The articles in this special issue of JESP offer a variety of useful suggestions and recommendations in this latter regard. Our commentary provides an overarching perspective on these articles, suggesting a framework for considering their proposals in a way that stresses the promise of our science rather than its limitations.
The Household Sector in the Simple Model

The simple national income model developed in Chapters 3–5 contains two centralized decision-making units participating in four markets. The household sector, discussed in the present chapter, purchases commodities and equity shares from the nonfinancial business sector. The business sector presented in Chapter 4, buys labor services from the households. Currency, the only type of money in this simple framework, is exchanged in all three of the commodity, equity, and labor markets. Consequently these three markets taken together simultaneously constitute a market for currency. Chapter 5 combines the household and business sectors into a simple model of national income determination with the prices of labor, commodities, and equity, set by the business sector.
An HSV-2 Trivalent Vaccine Is Immunogenic in Rhesus Macaques and Highly Efficacious in Guinea Pigs.

A genital herpes vaccine is urgently needed to prevent pain and suffering, reduce the incidence of neonatal herpes, and decrease the risk of HIV acquisition and transmission that accompanies genital infection. We evaluated a trivalent HSV-2 subunit antigen vaccine administered with CpG and alum in rhesus macaques and guinea pigs. The vaccine contains glycoproteins C, D and E (gC2, gD2, gE2) to block virus entry by gD2 and immune evasion by gC2 and gE2. In rhesus macaques, the trivalent vaccine induced plasma and mucosa neutralizing antibodies, antibodies that block gC2 and gE2 immune evasion activities, and stimulated CD4 T cell responses. After intravaginal challenge, a self-limited vaginal infection of brief duration was detected by histopathology and immunohistochemistry in naive, but not in trivalent immunized macaques. Vaccine efficacy was evaluated in female guinea pigs. Animals were mock immunized, or immunized with gD2, the trivalent vaccine or the trivalent vaccine followed by a booster dose of gD2 (trivalent + gD2). The trivalent and trivalent + gD2 groups were 97% and 99% efficacious, respectively in preventing genital lesions and both outperformed gD2 alone. As a marker of transmission risk, vaginal swabs were evaluated daily for HSV-2 DNA and replication competent virus between five and seven weeks after challenge. HSV-2 DNA shedding was reduced in all groups compared with mock. Shedding of replication competent virus occurred on fewer days in the trivalent than gD2 immunized animals while the trivalent + gD2 group had no shedding of replication competent virus. Overall, the trivalent group had genital lesions on < 1% days and shedding of replication competent virus on 0.2% days. The vaccine has outstanding potential for prevention of genital herpes in humans.
Differential expression of genes and differentially perturbed pathways associated with very high evening fatigue in oncology patients receiving chemotherapy.

Fatigue is the most common symptom associated with cancer and its treatment. Investigation of molecular mechanisms associated with fatigue in oncology patients may identify new therapeutic targets. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the relationships between gene expression and perturbations in biological pathways and evening fatigue severity in oncology patients who received chemotherapy (CTX). The Lee Fatigue Scale (LFS) and latent class analysis were used to identify evening fatigue phenotypes. We measured 47,214 ribonucleic acid transcripts from whole blood collected prior to a cycle of CTX. Perturbations in biological pathways associated with differential gene expression were identified from public data sets (i.e., Kyoto Encyclopedia Gene and Genomes, BioCarta). Patients were classified into Moderate (n = 65, mean LFS score 3.1) or Very High (n = 195, mean LFS score 6.4) evening fatigue groups. Compared to patients with Moderate fatigue, patients with Very High fatigue exhibited differential expression of 29 genes. A number of the perturbed pathways identified validated prior mechanistic hypotheses for fatigue, including alterations in immune function, inflammation, neurotransmission, energy metabolism, and circadian rhythms. Based on our findings, energy metabolism was further divided into alterations in carbohydrate metabolism and skeletal muscle energy. Alterations in renal function-related pathways were identified as a potential new mechanism. This study identified differential gene expression and perturbed biological pathways that provide new insights into the multiple and likely inter-related mechanisms associated with evening fatigue in oncology patients.
Statistical Strength Measurements of Steel as Applied to Computational Statistically Compensated Fracture and Fragmentation Calculations

The fracture and fragmentation of materials subjected to high strain rate loading is a relevant topic for explosively driven metals, high velocity impacts and other high stress-rate and strain-rate loading events. Metals possess a microstructure whose details create variations in material properties such as strength. The same material microstructure also produces complex damage mechanisms which may lead to macroscopic failure. Ultimately these variations influence the formation of fragments at the macroscopic level. The spatial scale of the microstructure is on the order of micrometers and is not readily accessible to current computational tools and resources for system level calculations. Rather than explicitly model the microstructure, one can attempt to simulate the effects of material non-homogeneity through the use of a statistical description of mechanical properties, of strength, failure or other relevant state descriptions of the model’s dependent variables. For the current analysis, a statistical variation was applied to the yield stress. This variation was based upon multiple Rockwell hardness tests which measure strength on the order of 1 mm. This is a length scale which is consistent with the calculation spatial discretization. Fully coupled Euler-Lagrange calculations were performed of a fluid filled steel cylinder impacted by an aluminum spherical projectile. A Weibull distribution of yield stress was applied to the steel cylinder to simulate the heterogeneous nature of the steel. Calculation results were compared to test data to assess the validity of this technical approach as a predictive capability for fracture and fragmentation.
Definitions and General Properties

The abstract notion of metric space and complete metric space; properties of compact sets and contracting maps; definition of self-similar fractals (homogeneous and inhomogeneous). Hausdorff measure and Hausdorff dimension; examples: Cantor set, I-fractal, and Sierpinski gasket.
Atypical carcinoid (moderately differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma) of the uvula.

Carcinoid (neuroendocrine) tumors of the head and neck rarely occur outside the larynx and, until now, none has been reported in the oral cavity. We describe what we believe is the first reported c...
A multi-dimensional analysis of writing flexibility in an automated writing evaluation system

The assessment of writing proficiency generally includes analyses of the specific linguistic and rhetorical features contained in the singular essays produced by students. However, researchers have recently proposed that an individual's ability to flexibly adapt the linguistic properties of their writing might more closely capture writing skill. However, the features of the task, learner, and educational context that influence this flexibility remain largely unknown. The current study extends this research by examining relations between linguistic flexibility, reading comprehension ability, and feedback in the context of an automated writing evaluation system. Students (n = 131) wrote and revised six essays in an automated writing evaluation system and were provided both summative and formative feedback on their writing. Additionally, half of the students had access to a spelling and grammar checker that provided lower-level feedback during the writing period. The results provide evidence for the fact that developing writers demonstrate linguistic flexibility across the essays that they produce. However, analyses also indicate that lower-level feedback (i.e., spelling and grammar feedback) have little to no impact on the properties of students' essays nor on their variability across prompts or drafts. Overall, the current study provides important insights into the role of flexibility in writing skill and develops a strong foundation on which to conduct future research and educational interventions.
Water Temperature Control and Areal Oxygen Consumption Rates at a New Reservoir, and the Effects on the Release Waters

The potential environmental effects of dams on the Rogue River have long been a specific concern to people of the Rogue Valley, Oregon (U.S.A.), and a general concern to the residents of the entire State of Oregon. Following serious flooding in the mid-1950’s, efforts were begun to build large, multiple-purpose reservoirs (Cassidy & Johnson 1982). When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built two dams in the Rogue River Basin, an innovation in water release methods using selective withdrawal systems was utilized by the Corps’ Portland District to reduce the harmful effects of the dams on the receiving streams. Selective withdrawal systems allow the removal of water from one of a number of different levels in a reservoir, or from a combination of levels, to utilize the best quality water in the reservoir for discharge downstream.
The T5 Base Modulator Hypothesis: A Dynamic Model of T5 Neuron Function in Toads

Prey-catching behavior in toads exhibits flexibility. Toads can be conditioned to regard objects which normally elicit escape behavior as prey. The range of acceptable sizes for prey varies with motivation. In spring, prey recognition is “exchanged” for female recognition introducing mating behavior. To account for this behavioral flexibility within a single dynamic model, T5 neuron function is modeled as a T5 base modulator consisting of two components. The first, called the T5 base, consists of a T5 unit and all of the influences upon it except for thalamic pretectal (TP) inhibition which constitutes the second component. The T5 base modulator is a TP modulated tectal structure in which the T5 base provides a basis for T5 neuron function while TP inhibition modulates that basis to achieve the desired characteristics (subclasses T5.1, T5.2, or T5.3) for an individual T5 neuron at a given time. A T5 neuron thus has the potential, e.g., to be either a prey or mate feature analyzer. In the absence of TP modulation, the T5 base is optimized for recognizing objects that are among the least prey-like objects that T5 neurons analyze. Three mechanisms for achieving this are explored. The T5 base modulator hypothesis does not argue against the division of T5 neurons into subclasses, but instead suggests that these subclasses can be regarded as (more or less) stable states of a modulated system capable of adaptability and changeability.
Teaching technology for community

Technology for Community is an undergraduate computer science course taught at the University of Colorado under the auspices of the Institute for Women and Technology's Virtual Development Center. In the course, students use computers to do community service. More specifically, they work with local community service agencies, building computational solutions to problems confronting those agencies. Student projects are developed following the method of task-centered design and are evaluated by the students and the users according to three formal methods. In this chapter, we describe in detail the content of the course and review the design and evaluation methods we use.
Impact of anxiety on the post-discharge outcomes of patients discharged from the hospital after an acute coronary syndrome

Abstract Background Symptoms of anxiety are highly prevalent among survivors of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but do not necessarily indicate an anxiety disorder. The extent to which symptoms of anxiety or a diagnosis of this condition impacts hospital readmission and post-discharge mortality among patients with an ACS remains unclear. Methods We used data from 1909 patients discharged from six hospitals in Massachusetts and Georgia after an ACS. Moderate/severe symptoms of anxiety were defined based on responses to a Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire during the patient's index hospitalization. The diagnosis of an anxiety disorder was based on review of hospital medical records. Multivariable adjusted Poisson regression and Cox proportional-hazards models were used to estimate the risk of 30-day hospital readmissions and 2-year total mortality. Results The mean age of the study population was 61 years, two thirds were men, and 78% were non-Hispanic whites. In this population, 10.4% had a documented diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, 18.8% had moderate/severe symptoms of anxiety, and 70.8% had neither a diagnosis nor symptoms of anxiety. Neither a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder nor symptoms of anxiety were associated with 30-day all-cause or cardiovascular-related rehospitalizations. Patients with an anxiety disorder (multivariable adjusted HR = 1.95, 95%CI = 1.11–3.42) were at greatest risk for dying during the 2-year follow-up period. Conclusions We identified patients with an anxiety disorder as being at greater risk for dying after hospital discharge for an ACS. Interventions may be more appropriately targeted to those with a history of, rather than acute symptoms of, anxiety.
Towards Interface-Driven COTS Binary Hardening

Hardening COTS binary software products (e.g., via control-flow integrity and/or software fault isolation defenses) is particularly difficult in contexts where the surrounding software environment includes closed-source, unmodifiable, and possibly obfuscated binary components, such as system libraries, OS kernels, and virtualization layers. It is demonstrated that many code hardening algorithms, when applied only to the user-level software products in such environments, leave open critical vulnerabilities that arise from mismatches between the application-agnostic security policies enforced by the system modules versus the application-specific policies enforced at the application layer. To overcome this problem, a modular approach is proposed for hardening application-level software in such environments without the need to harden all other software in the environment with exactly the same protection strategy or policies. The approach embeds application-level protections within objects shared by interoperating modules. Modules that obey their interface specifications therefore receive an appropriate granularity of protection automatically when they invoke shared object methods. Experiences developing and refining this approach for Microsoft Windows environments are reported and discussed.
Surgical boot camp for fourth-year medical students: Impact on objective skills and subjective confidence.

Abstract Background Within surgical education, there has been a recent emphasis on preparing medical students for the rigors of residency in an effort to improve confidence and technical preparedness throughout postgraduate training. The aim of this study is to test the impact of a boot camp course using the American College of Surgeons–based curriculum and objective, observer-based rating tools on both subjective confidence and objective skills of fourth-year medical students. Materials and Methods Informed consent was obtained on the first day of the boot camp. Before any teaching, students performed 5 tasks (patient handoff, suturing, knot tying, central line placement, and chest tube placement), which were scored using objective rating tools provided by the American College of Surgeons. Students also completed 2 confidence measures. After 2 weeks of dedicated teaching and review, students were scored on the 5 same tasks and repeated the confidence measures. Results Fourth-year medical students (N = 12) who had matched into surgical subspecialties were invited to participate in a 2-week surgical boot camp. All students beginning the study completed the study. The average age was 26.7 years; 25% of students were female. Subspecialties represented included general surgery (n = 5), orthopedics (n = 3), integrated plastics (n = 2), urology (n = 1), and neurosurgery (n = 1). Scores on objective skills improved significantly in all 5 tasks measured. Confidence improved significantly on individual task items, while overall self-efficacy remained unchanged. Conclusions Implementation of a 2-week, multimodal surgical boot camp improved student performance on objectively rated surgical skills and increased student confidence.
Multiscale Non-stationary Stochastic Bandits.

Classic contextual bandit algorithms for linear models, such as LinUCB, assume that the reward distribution for an arm is modeled by a stationary linear regression. When the linear regression model is non-stationary over time, the regret of LinUCB can scale linearly with time. In this paper, we propose a novel multiscale changepoint detection method for the non-stationary linear bandit problems, called Multiscale-LinUCB, which actively adapts to the changing environment. We also provide theoretical analysis of regret bound for Multiscale-LinUCB algorithm. Experimental results show that our proposed Multiscale-LinUCB algorithm outperforms other state-of-the-art algorithms in non-stationary contextual environments.
Financial statement presentation of discontinued operations: Determinants and consequences

ABSTRACT US GAAP requires firms to separately report income from discontinued operations within the income statement. Current financial reporting guidance, however, allows managers to either aggregate or disaggregate operating income (or loss) and gain (or loss) from discontinued operations on the face of the income statement. Using this unique setting, we hand-collect data on the presentation of discontinued operations (i.e., aggregated versus disaggregated presentation) to understand factors that affect the discretionary presentation choices in financial statements. We show that managers' disaggregation preference in reporting discontinued operations reflect properties of prospect theory and mental accounting theory. We fail to find empirical evidence that investors' valuation of discontinued operations is different for aggregated and disaggregated presentations. These results should help managers, regulators, and investors understand the implications of discontinued operations' presentation choices in financial reporting.
Mitochondrial response and resilience to anthropogenic chemicals during embryonic development.

Abstract Mitochondria are integral to maintaining cellular homeostasis. Optimum mitochondrial function is critical during embryonic development, as they play a key role in early signaling cascades and epigenetic programming, in addition to sustaining an adequate energy production. Mitochondria are sensitive targets of environmental toxins, potentially even at levels considered safe under current regulatory limits. Most mitochondrial analyses have focused only on chemical exposure effects in vitro or in isolated mitochondria. However, comparatively little is known about mitochondrial effects of chemical exposure during vertebrate embryogenesis, especially during the recovery phase following a chemical insult. Here, we used the zebrafish (Danio rerio), in a 96-well plate system, to examine mitochondrial effects of 24 chemicals including pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and agrochemicals. We used oxygen consumption rate (OCR) during embryogenesis as a proxy for mitochondrial function. Embryonic OCR (eOCR) was measured in clean egg water immediately following 24 h of chemical exposure and subsequently for an additional 8 h. Each chemical, dependent upon the concentration, resulted in a unique eOCR response profile. While some eOCR effects were persistent or recoverable over time, some effects were only detected several hours after being removed from the exposure. Non-monotonic dose response effects as well as mitochondrial hormesis were also detected following exposure to some chemicals. Collectively, our study shows that mitochondrial response to chemicals are highly dynamic and warrant careful consideration when determining mitochondrial toxicity of a given chemical.
Reporting Bias in Coverage of Iran Protests by Global News Agencies

This study examines reporting on protests in Iran between late December 2017 and early January 2018 by global news agencies located in the United States (Associated Press [AP]), United Kingdom (Reu...
Purinergic receptors in airway hydration

Airway epithelial purinergic receptors control key components of the mucociliary clearance (MCC), the dominant component of pulmonary host defense. In healthy airways, the periciliary liquid (PCL) is optimally hydrated, thus acting as an efficient lubricant layer over which the mucus layer moves by ciliary force. When the hydration of the airway surface decreases, the mucus becomes hyperconcentrated, the PCL collapses, and the "thickened" mucus layer adheres to cell surfaces, causing plaque/plug formation. Mucus accumulation is a major contributing factor to the progression of chronic obstructive lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic bronchitis (CB). Mucus hydration is regulated by finely tuned mechanisms of luminal Cl- secretion and Na+ absorption with concomitant osmotically driven water flow. These activities are regulated by airway surface liquid (ASL) concentrations of adenosine and ATP, acting on airway epithelial A2B and P2Y2 receptors, respectively. The goal of this article is to provide an overview of our understanding of the role of purinergic receptors in the regulation of airway epithelial ion/fluid transport and the mechanisms of nucleotide release and metabolic activities that contribute to airway surface hydration in healthy and chronically obstructed airways.
In situ high-energy X-ray study of deformation mechanisms in additively manufactured 316L stainless steel

Abstract A key structural material planned to be used in the core of the Transformational Challenge Reactor is the additively manufactured 316L stainless steel (AM 316L SS). While the deformation of conventionally-manufactured 316 SS have been extensively studied, the deformation mechanism of AM 316L SS is less known. Here the room-temperature tensile behavior of AM 316L SS was studied in situ using high-energy X-ray diffraction and X-ray tomography. Diffraction yielded the lattice strains and the dislocation densities of the AM 316L SS, which were compared to those of a conventionally processed 316H SS. It was found that while the conventional 316H SS had three distinct deformation stages, namely stage II athermal hardening, stage III dynamic recovery, and stage IV, the AM 316L experienced only the stages III and IV after an initial transitional period. The plastic instability stresses (PIS), i.e. the true ultimate tensile strength, were nearly the same in both materials. The AM 316L had very low dislocation barrier strength throughout the plastic deformation, which, in combination with the invariant PIS, explained its high dislocation storage capability and the attractive combination of strength and ductility. Tomography revealed morphological changes of the built-in pores in the AM 316L during deformation and fracture, and it was concluded that large pores close to the surface might have significant roles in the necking stage.
An Impedance-Transforming N-Path Filter Offering Passive Voltage Gain

The four main passive circuit elements include the resistor, capacitor, inductor, and transformer. Inductors and transformers have been notoriously challenging to integrate in silicon, and they occupy a significant chip area. The limited metallization and conductive substrate result in a poor quality factor $(Q)$ and limited self-resonance frequency. The tuning of inductor-based resonators is further challenged by the limited tuning range and Q of switched-capacitors/inductors. Recent LPTV N-path structures have demonstrated new functionalities that address some of these challenges, such as equivalent second-order LC bandpass filtering, lowpass filtering, notch filtering, and non-magnetic nonreciprocity [1–5]. Transformers face additional challenges of limited coupling coefficients, especially when a large turns ratio is desired [6], but they are critical to impedance transformation and matching networks. This paper describes an impedance-transforming N-path filter offering passive voltage gain, which realizes transformer-based coupled-resonator functionality that (i) features the traditional N-path benefits of high Q, high linearity, and LO-defined tuning, (ii) enables ideal coupling $(k=1)$ regardless of the step-up ratio, (iii) can be cascaded with no transfer-function non-ideality to achieve even higher step-up voltage gain with high out-of-band (OOB) rejection, (iv) emulates transformer behavior over a wide range of frequencies despite being single-ended (SE), and (v) has ultra-low clock-power consumption. The concepts are validated through two $\sim 0.1 -$to-1GHz 65nm CMOS prototypes that achieve step-up ratios $(n)$ of 4 and 8 with k of 1, voltage gains of 15dB and 17dB at 500MHz with 27dB and 33dB OOB rejection, and buffer-de-embedded NFs of 3.4dB and 4.1dB at 500MHz, respectively. OP$_{1dB}$ is 2dBm, and the power consumption is 1.7 to 3.6mW over 0.1 to 1GHz for both prototypes.
The Review of Physical Store Factors That Influence Impulsive Buying Behavior

The purpose of this paper is to study the factors that may influence impulsive buying behavior. A good store environment will encourage customers to patronize the store and this can be achieved through effective marketing activities, well-trained salespeople, and promotional activities high in emotional influence value. As a result, customers are more likely to purchase unplanned products due to the attritional value from the marketing activities.
Evaluation of Low-k Integration Integrity Using Shear Testing on Sub-30 Micron Micro-Cu Pillars

Mechanical integrity of low-k dielectric films remains a quality and reliability challenge for devices using advanced silicon nodes. In wafer fabs, while great efforts are made in controlling and monitoring individual processing steps, the overall mechanical quality of a particular device is not often effectively monitored. Defects such as interfacial delamination may only manifest themselves during system assembly processes or in-field operation, bringing significant disruption and impact onto production and product quality. As silicon sizes and package sizes continue to grow, chip-packaging interaction becomes more significant, and the risk of low-k related failures increases as a result. Particularly for 3D and 2.5D devices, the complexity of chip stacking makes it important to have a quantitative assessment of dielectric quality for both yield and ongoing reliability management purposes. The adoption of micro-Cu pillars on 2.5D and 3D devices provides an opportunity for direct measurement of integration quality. If shear testing can be performed on individual micro-Cu pillars, responses from such testing can be analyzed and quantified as a direct measurement of integration quality. Furthermore, such testing can be performed on a specific device of interest and on specific locations on a die, which makes it possible to use this technique as a product quality control method. In this paper we will report results from shear testing on sub-30 micron micro-Cu pillars. Data from multiple wafers, dies, and bump locations will be reported. Responses such as load-distance curves and maximum fracture load are analyzed. In addition, multi-level finite element models are developed to simulate the shear test. Locations of stress concentration will be identified and compared with fracture interfaces from the shear test. Responses to changes in properties of the dielectric layers will also be investigated, which provides insight into the variations in shear strength observed in real-life shar testing.
On the Motion of the a/2 Screw Dislocation in α-Iron

The atomic configuration of a microkink along a a/2 screw dislocation in α-iron is described. The core in the kink is 2 to 3 Burgers vectors wide and 4 to 5 Burgers vectors long. The energy of the kink is 0.08 eV and the atomic positions in the core are not very sensitive to the size of the model and to the choice of interatomic force law. It is shown that infinitely long straight dislocations move only under Peierls stresses considerably larger than expected experimentally. Kinked dislocations on the other hand move under more reasonable stresses.
Cardiorespiratory Adaptations to Training at Specified Intensities

Abstract Sixteen college men were randomly divided into three training groups and one control group in a study of selected cardiorespiratory adaptations to six weeks of training exercises eliciting either 120, 150, or 180 heart rates. Training consisted of walking on the motor driven treadmill for 10 min. a day, 3 days per week. Highly significant differences were found in the analysis of pre-post Balke treadmill test scores. The Astrand-Ryhming nomogram prediction of aerobic capacity also showed highly significant changes due to training. Analysis of group differences revealed that the 180 training group's improvement was significantly different from all other groups in both tests. The 150 group was found to be significantly different from the 120 and control groups in the Balke test analysis. No changes were noted in resting pulse rate nor in the pulse rate—oxygen consumption relationship. However, there were small positive differences in the grade required to elicit the training heart rates. The study ...
Screening of wide area search reconnaissance imagery

Collection rates for current tactical reconnaissance sensors can be in the 30 Mp/s range, which will increase as resolution improves and array sizes increase. A major problem in reconnaissance is to reduce the huge amount of imagery input from high rate sensors to a manageable number of images for exploitation. A discussion of tradeoffs is provided for wide area search visualization in reconnaissance ground systems, focusing on sensor collection, image processing and screening, the designation of selected image target areas (SITA) for exploitation, and screening use in dynamic sensor retasking.
Novel separations based on affinity interactions

Novel purification processes have been developed, based on the affinity interaction between complementary molecules, to circumvent the difficulties associated with affinity chromatography. Depending upon the procedure used for isolating the ligand-ligate complex, the process can be termed affinity ultrafiltration, affinity partitioning or affinity precipitation. This review describes the developments, potentials, and applications of such purification procedures. Emphasis is also placed on the type and choice of affinity ligands as well as some common procedures by which ligands can be covalently immobilized to water-soluble or insoluble matrices. Finally, the problems and challenges encountered by such novel purification procedures are presented and discussed.
Glycosaminoglycans of skin and urine in pseudoxanthoma elasticum: Evidence for chondroitin 6-sulfate alteration☆

Abstract Abnormally elevated hyaluronic acid and dermatan sulfate were isolated from lesional skin of a patient with severe pseudoxanthoma elasticum. These glycosaminoglycans (estimated as uronic acid) surpassed the normal controls by 33.6 and 4.8 magnitudes, respectively. Urine chondroitin 6-sulfate of the same patient moved faster by electrophoresis on cellulose acetate than its counterpart isolated from urine of another four patients or from the normal controls. Hyaluronic acid and chondroitin 6-sulfate exceeded their counterparts in normal urine by 2- to 10- and 4-to 18-folds, respectively. These increments correlated with the pseudoxanthoma elasticum severity in three of the five patients studied. The data showed: the first conclusive evidence that dermatan sulfate increased in lesional skin of a patient, with severe pseudoxanthoma elasticum, who also had considerably augmented HA, alteration of the same patient's urine chondroitin 6-sulfate, and diversified urine glycosaminoglycans in pseudoxanthoma elasticum.