cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On selfish routing in internet-like environments

A recent trend in routing research is to avoid inefficiencies in network-level routing by allowing hosts to either choose routes themselves (e.g., source routing) or use overlay routing networks (e.g., Detour or RON). Such approaches result in selfish routing, because routing decisions are no longer based on system-wide criteria but are instead designed to optimize host-based or overlay-based metrics. A series of theoretical results showing that selfish routing can result in suboptimal system behavior have cast doubts on this approach. In this paper, we use a game-theoretic approach to investigate the performance of selfish routing in Internet-like environments based on realistic topologies and traffic demands in our simulations. We show that in contrast to theoretical worst cases, selfish routing achieves close to optimal average latency in such environments. However, such performance benefits come at the expense of significantly increased congestion on certain links. Moreover, the adaptive nature of selfish overlays can significantly reduce the effectiveness of traffic engineering by making network traffic less predictable.
Stability evaluation and track life of the PDAF for tracking in clutter

The authors present an effective approach of a hybrid nature to the nonsimulation performance evaluation of the probabilistic data association filtering (PDAF) method for tracking in clutter. In this approach, a continuous-valued covariance, which is a function of a discrete-valued random variable (the number of validated measurements), is used to characterize the tracking errors in an average sense. This covariance can be calculated offline recursively from a modified Riccati equation, which can be obtained by replacing the measurement-dependent terms in the original stochastic equation with their conditional expectations. This approach has the merit that it yields a quantification of the transients of tracking divergence as well as substantially better accuracy than previous work. Such an approach is particularly suitable for stability evaluation of tracking filters. In addition, a quantitative study of the track-life problem is made in which the number of validated measurements plays a central role. >
Unemployment insurance with moral hazard in a dynamic economy

Abstract We study a dynamic model with positive gross flows between employment and unemployment. There is moral hazard associated with search effort and job-retention effort. A quantitative comparison of the unemployment insurance system currently in place in the United States with an optimal system shows that the optimal system reduces the steady state unemployment rate by 3.40 percentage points and increases output by 3.64%. The optimal system involves a large subsidy for a transition from unemployment to employment and a large penalty for a transition from employment to unemployment.
Adverse Impact Is Unlikely to Be Eliminated as Long as Cognitively Loaded Constructs Are Assessed

Lindsey, King, Dunleavy, McCausland, and Jones (2013) suggested several strategies to alleviate subgroup differences that are likely to reduce disparate impact (adverse impact) in the selection context and ultimately enhance diversity in the workforce without sacrificing performance. The first adverse impact-reducing strategy they suggested is ‘‘simply to use predictors that have smaller subgroup differences than those created by cognitive ability tests’’ and ‘‘to include measures of cognitive ability along with other job-related metrics (in the selection test battery)’’ (p. 400). To reap the benefit of this strategy, we ‘‘always’’ need to include measures of cognitive ability in the selection test battery, otherwise validity will decrease substantially; meta-analytic evidence indicates that no other predictor construct can match up to cognitive ability in terms of validity (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). Thus, their initial suggestion (i.e., simply to use predictors that have smaller subgroup differences than those created by cognitive ability tests) can be misleading. Then, the most important remaining question is what additional predictor construct should be used as a supplementary (certainly, not alternative) predictor. Lindsey et al. suggested we should consider ‘‘other selection
Randomized Methods for Linear Constraints: Convergence Rates and Conditioning

We study randomized variants of two classical algorithms: coordinate descent for systems of linear equations and iterated projections for systems of linear inequalities. Expanding on a recent randomized iterated projection algorithm of Strohmer and Vershynin (Strohmer, T., R. Vershynin. 2009. A randomized Kaczmarz algorithm with exponential convergence. J. Fourier Anal. Appl. 15 262–278) for systems of linear equations, we show that, under appropriate probability distributions, the linear rates of convergence (in expectation) can be bounded in terms of natural linear-algebraic condition numbers for the problems. We relate these condition measures to distances to ill-posedness and discuss generalizations to convex systems under metric regularity assumptions.
The dark side of personality at work

Although there has been increasing interest in dark personality traits in the organizational sciences, these char acteristics remain relatively understudied and somewhat misunderstood. The present manuscript aims to clar ify some of the issues surrounding dark personality traits by discussing the history of dark personality traits, how they relate to normal personality traits, their relative importance as determinants of organizational out comes, and measurement issues surrounding the assessment of these characteristics. We will then discuss po tential future directions for research investigating the causes and consequences of these traits as well as provid ing guidance on the implementation of dark personality assessment in the workplace for selection and training.
Work capacity of freelance markets: Fundamental limits and decentralized schemes

Crowdsourcing of jobs to online freelance markets is rapidly gaining popularity. Most crowdsourcing platforms are uncontrolled and offer freedom to customers and freelancers to choose each other. This works well for unskilled jobs (e.g., image classification) with no specific quality requirement since freelancers are functionally identical. For skilled jobs (e.g., software development) with specific requirements, however, this does not ensure the maximum number of job requests is satisfied. In this work we determine the capacity of freelance markets, in terms of maximum satisfied job requests, and propose centralized schemes that achieve capacity. To ensure decentralized operation and freedom of choice for customers and freelancers, we propose simple schemes compatible with the operation of current crowd-sourcing platforms that approximately achieve capacity. Further, for settings where job requests exceed capacity, we propose an optimal and fair scheme for declining jobs without wait.
Symbolic language translation

Although interest in the problems and development of techniques for machine translation of languages has been growing in the United States, no organized program comparable to that of the Russians has been developed. In that country, teams of specialists have been working in this area for several years. Announcement of a "breakthrough" in the field comparable to that of Sputnik in space travel is not to be unexpected from them.
Boosting the basic counting on distributed streams

We revisit the classic basic counting problem in the distributed streaming model that was studied by Gibbons and Tirthapura (GT). In the solution for maintaining an (e,δ)-estimate, as what GT's method does, we make the following new contributions: (1) For a bit stream of size n, where each bit has a probability at least γ to be 1, we exponentially reduced the average total processing time from GT's Θ(n log(1/δ)) to O((1/(γe2))(log2n)log(1/δ)), thus providing the first sublinear-time streaming algorithm for this problem. (2) In addition to an overall much faster processing speed, our method provides a new tradeoff that a lower accuracy demand (a larger value for e) promises a faster processing speed, whereas GT's processing speed is Θ(n log(1/δ)) in any case and for any e. (3) The worst-case total time cost of our method matches GT's Θ(n log(1/δ)), which is necessary but rarely occurs in our method. (4) The space usage overhead in our method is a lower order term compared with GT's space usage and occurs only O(log n) times during the stream processing and is too negligible to be detected by the OS in practice. We further validate these solid theoretical results with experiments on both real-world and synthetic data, showing that our method is faster than GT's by a factor of several to several hundreds depending on the stream size and accuracy demands, without any detectable space usage overhead. Our method is based on a faster sampling technique that we design for boosting GT's method and we believe this technique can be of other independent interest.
Autonomous and adaptive voltage control using multiple distributed energy resources

This paper proposes a plug-and-play control method to coordinate multiple distributed energy resources (DER or DE) to regulate voltages in future distribution systems with a high DE penetration. Theoretical analysis shows that there exists a corresponding formulation of the dynamic control parameters with multiple DEs to give the desired responses. Therefore, the proposed control method has a solid theoretical basis. The method is based on dynamically and adaptively adjusting DE control parameters to ensure that actual voltage responses follow the desired outputs. Also, it is based on local and the other DEs' voltages without the need of the full system data and extensive studies to tune the control parameters. Hence, the method is autonomous and adaptive for variable operational situations, and has the plug-and-play feature with a high tolerance to unavailable or inaccurate system data. Thus, it is suitable for broad utility application. Simulation results from various conditions, such as asynchronous start of multiple DEs, disappearance of the original disturbance in the middle of the control process, and operation in looped distribution systems, confirm the performance, validity, and flexibility of the proposed control method. The possible impact of communication latency on the performance of the proposed method is also discussed.
Chemotherapeutic Resistance: Surviving Stressful Situations

Chemotherapeutic regimens involve the systemic administration of genotoxic compounds that induce cancer cell death via well-established DNA damage response signaling networks. Less understood is how the treatment of other cell types within the tumor microenvironment impacts therapeutic response. Here we discuss recent work that shows that tumor-adjacent cells can respond to genotoxic stress by engaging a paracrine secretory program. While this secretory response serves to protect progenitor cells and promote tissue regeneration in conditions of cellular stress, it can also be coopted by tumor cells to survive front-line chemotherapy. Thus, local pro-survival signaling may present a fundamental barrier to tumor clearance by genotoxic agents, suggesting that effective treatments need to target both cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.
Brane-World Motion in Compact Dimensions

The topology of extra dimensions can break global Lorentz invariance, singling out a globally preferred frame even in flat spacetime. Through experiments that probe global topology, an observer can determine her state of motion with respect to the preferred frame. This scenario is realized if we live on a brane universe moving through a flat space with compact extra dimensions. We identify three experimental effects due to the motion of our universe that one could potentially detect using gravitational probes. One of these relates to the peculiar properties of the twin paradox in multiply-connected spacetimes. Another relies on the fact that the Kaluza–Klein modes of any bulk field are sensitive to boundary conditions. A third concerns the modification to the Newtonian potential on a moving brane. Remarkably, we find that even small extra dimensions are detectable by brane observers if the brane is moving sufficiently fast.Communicated by P R L V Moniz
Reversible covalent chemistry of CO2

Reversible reaction of CO2 with fluorescently active amines in polar aprotic solvent rapidly results in carbamic acids, which significantly enhances the solution fluorescence.
Radius and magnetic field from synchrotron self-absorbed radio and inverse-Compton X-ray observations of supernovae

Simple expressions for the radius and magnetic field of a system emitting synchrotron self-absorbed radio and inverse-Compton X-rays are derived from first principles which involve observable quantities only. These expressions are useful for analysing observations of supernova blast waves interacting with dense circumstellar material at early times.
Intermolecular coupling of alkenes to heterocycles via C-H bond activation.

The intermolecular coupling of unactivated alkenes to a range of heterocycles using a Rh(I) catalyst was investigated. A variety of functional groups were incorporated into the alkene, including esters, nitriles, acetals, and phthalimide. Furthermore, the heterocycle tolerated substitution with both electron-rich and electron-deficient groups. The intermolecular coupling became possible after it was discovered that weak acids dramatically increase the rate of both the inter- and intramolecular reactions. An extensive optimization of additives was performed, and HCl·PCy3 (Cy = cyclohexyl) and HCl·P-t-Bu2Et were in general found to be the best additives for the reaction.
Soil Attributes in a Sierra Nevada Riparian Meadow as Influenced by Grazing

Data on the effects of livestock grazing on soil nutrient availability are virtually nonexistent for meadow systems. We measured the effect of livestock grazing on soil, emphasizing soil-solution chemistry, in a Sierra Nevada riparian meadow. Treatments were livestock exclusion (begun in 1989) and grazing to leave 1 000 kg � ha � 1 of vegetation. Ceramic tension lysimeters were placed in the treatments (2 replicates) by landscape position (stream edge, midfloodplain, and forest edge), and by depth (approximately 0.1, 0.6, and 1.2 m below the soil surface). Lysimeter water was extracted twice monthly in April, May, and June of 1990 through 1993, and cations and anions were quantified. In addition, KCl-extractable NO3 � and NH4 þ ; bicarbonate-extractable ortho-P; available Mn, Cu, Fe, and Zn; and root-length density (RLD) were quantified in soils by treatment, landscape position, and soil depth in July 1991 and September 1993. RLD was not affected by grazing. Significant (P � 0.05) treatment effects were largely limited to the forest edge. The grazed treatment had greater lysimeter-extractable Na þ , Ca þ2 ,M g þ2 , and NO3 � ; higher pH; and less K þ and NH4 þ than the excluded treatment. Compared with corresponding excluded treatments, bicarbonate-extractable P was significantly greater on the grazed forest edge, and available Mn was significantly greater at the grazed stream-edge position in 1991. Extractable NO3 � was significantly higher in the 0‐25 cm depth increment of the grazed treatment, and available Zn was significantly greater on the grazed midfloodplain position in 1993. Grazing did not result in more anoxic soil conditions than the excluded treatment. Grazing effects were most pronounced at the forest edge, possibly as a result of spatial transfer of nutrients via cow urine and feces. Management goals to sustain highelevation meadows should emphasize maintenance of high RLD to sequester soil nutrients.
Synthesis of a novel nitroimidazole-spermidine derivative as a tumor-targeted hypoxia-selective cytotoxin.

Abstract A four-step synthesis of ( R,S )- N 4 -[3-(2-nitro-1-imidazolyl)-2-hydroxypropyl]-spermidine trihydrochloride ( 4 ) is described and the utilization of the polyamine active transport system for the uptake of this compound in cells is demonstrated. Thus, V79 cells pretreated with an inhibitor of spermidine biosynthesis, α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), are ca. 2-fold more sensitive to 4 under hypoxic conditions, compared to untreated cells. Similarly, radiosensitization of hypoxic V79 cells by 4 is improved in DFMO-pretreated cells.
The Concept of Death and Deceased Organ Donation

An individual who has sustained either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brainstem is dead. A person is not dead unless his brain is dead. The time-honored criteria of stoppage of the heartbeat in circulation are indicative of death only when they persist long enough for the brain to die. Brain death does not require every brain cell to be nonviable but the criteria require an irreversible loss of neurologic function of a patient interminably supported by a mechanical respirator. For death to be diagnosed by an irreversible cessation of circulation and respiration an absence of circulation should be observed for at least two but no more than five minutes. Irreversibility is determined by a "permanent" loss of function meaning that the function will not be restored 1) because it will neither return spontaneously, nor 2) will it return as a result of medical intervention because physicians have decided not to attempt resuscitation.
Chiral phosphoramide-catalyzed enantioselective addition of allylic trichlorosilanes to aldehydes. Preparative studies with bidentate phosphorus-based amides.

On the basis of the mechanistic insight that more than one Lewis basic moiety (phosphoramide) is involved in the rate- and stereochemistry-determining step of enantioselective allylation, bidentate chiral phosphoramides were developed. Different chiral phosphoramide moieties were connected by tethers of methylene chains of varying length. The rate and enantioselectivity of allylation with allyltrichlorosilane promoted by the bidentate phosphoramides was found to be highly dependent on the tether length. A new phosphoramide based on a 2,2‘-bispyrrolidine skeleton has been designed and afforded good yield, efficient turnover, and high enantioselectivity in allylation reactions. The synthesis of enantiopure 2,2‘-bispyrrolidine was easily accomplished on large scale by photodimerization of pyrrolidine followed by resolution with l(or d)-tartaric acid. The scope of the allylation reaction was examined with variously substituted allylic trichlorosilanes and unsaturated aldehydes. This method has been applied to...
Examples of interesting non-metal compounds derived from elemental fluorine

Elemental fluorine is essential for the preparation of many fluorine-containing compounds. A few examples from the author's past research are presented to illustrate this in tribute to the Centenary of the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Henri Moissan.
Are we approaching the fundamental limits of wireless network densification

The single most important factor enabling the data rate increases in wireless networks over the past few decades has been densification, namely adding more base stations and access points and thus getting more spatial reuse of the spectrum. This trend is set to continue into 5G and beyond. However, at some point further densification will no longer be able to provide exponentially increasing data rates. Like the end of Moore’s Law, this will have extensive implications for the entire technology landscape, which depends ever more heavily on wireless connectivity. When and why will this happen? How might we delay this from occurring for as long as possible? These are the questions explored in this article.
Riesz Transforms Outside a Convex Obstacle

The goal of this paper is to develop some basic harmonic analysis tools for the Dirichlet Laplacian in the exterior domain associated to a smooth convex obstacle in dimensions $d\geq 3$. Specifically, we will discuss analogues of the Mikhlin Multiplier Theorem, Littlewood-Paley Theory, and Hardy inequalities, culminating in a proof that homogeneous Sobolev norms defined with respect to the Dirichlet and whole-space Laplacians are equivalent for the sharp ranges of integrability exponent $p$ and regularity $s$. Counterexamples are included to show that these results are indeed sharp. In particular, we precisely settle the question of boundedness of Riesz transforms on $L^p$, including the endpoint. The utility of such results in the study of nonlinear PDE is that they allow us to deduce important results, such as the fractional product and chain rules for the Dirichlet Laplacian, directly from the classical Euclidean setting. As an application, we discuss the local well-posedness and stability problems for energy-critical NLS. All the results of this paper play an essential role in the authors' proof of large-data global well-posedness and scattering for the energy-critical NLS in three dimensional exterior domains; see arXiv:1208:4904.
Cryptographic Reverse Firewalls

Recent revelations by Edward Snowden [3, 20, 27] show that a user’s own hardware and software can be used against her in various ways (e.g., to leak her private information). And, a series of recent announcements has shown that widespread implementations of cryptographic software often contain serious bugs that cripple security (e.g., [12, 13, 14, 22]). This motivates us to consider the following (seemingly absurd) question: How can we guarantee a user’s security when she may be using a malfunctioning or arbitrarily compromised machine? To that end, we introduce the notion of a cryptographic reverse firewall (RF). Such a machine sits between the user’s computer and the outside world, potentially modifying the messages that she sends and receives as she engages in a cryptographic protocol.
Iridium-Catalyzed, Hydrosilyl-Directed Borylation of Unactivated Alkyl C-H Bonds.

We report the iridium-catalyzed borylation of primary and secondary alkyl C–H bonds directed by a Si–H group to form alkylboronate esters site selectively. The reactions occur with high selectivity at primary C–H bonds γ to the hydrosilyl group to form primary alkyl bisboronate esters. In the absence of such primary C–H bonds, the borylation occurs selectively at a secondary C–H bond γ to the hydrosilyl group, and these reactions of secondary C–H bonds occur with high diastereoselectivity. The hydrosilyl-containing alkyl boronate esters formed by this method undergo transformations selectively at the carbon–boron or carbon–silicon bonds of these products under distinct conditions to give the products of amination, oxidation, and arylation.
Multiple sclerosis genetics

A broad scientific consensus has emerged linking multiple sclerosis (MS) risk to multiple independent and interacting DNA variants that are relatively frequent in the population and act in concert with environmental exposures. The multifactorial, polygenic model of heritability provided the rationale and impetus to pursue genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which have been highly successful in uncovering genetic variants influencing susceptibility. Over 200 loci have been firmly associated with MS susceptibility. The main association signal genome-wide maps to the major histocompatibility complex ( MHC) gene cluster in chromosome 6p21. This association has been observed across all populations studied. However, a significant proportion of MS heritability remains unexplained. Decoding the genetics of MS represents a long-standing and important research goal in this disease, as the demonstration of even modest functional genomic effects on risk or the course of MS is likely to reveal fundamental disease mechanisms and possibly yield new therapeutic opportunities.
Environmental Efficiency Among Corn Ethanol Plants

Economic viability of the US corn ethanol industry depends on prices, technical and economic efficiency of plants and the extent of policy support. Public policy support is tied to the environmental efficiency of plants measured as their impact on emissions of greenhouse gases. This study evaluates the environmental efficiency of seven recently constructed ethanol plants in the North Central region of the US, using nonparametric data envelopment analysis (DEA). The minimum feasible level of GHG emissions per unit of ethanol is calculated for each plant and this level is decomposed into its technical and allocative sources. Results show that, on average, plants in our sample may be able to reduce GHG emissions by a maximum of 6% or by 2.94 Gg per quarter. Input and output allocations that maximize returns over operating costs (ROOC) are also found based on observed prices. The environmentally efficient allocation, the ROOC-maximizing allocation, and the observed allocation for each plant are combined to calculate economic (shadow) cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These shadow costs gauge the extent to which there is a trade off or a complementarity between environmental and economic targets. Results reveal that, at current activity levels, plants may have room for simultaneous improvement of environmental efficiency and economic profitability.
Price Advertising and the Deterioration of Product Quality

Arguments in favour of self-enforced bans on advertising by professionals often rely on the stylized fact that advertising can communicate information about price but not about quality. This being the case, it is argued that allowing professionals to advertise runs the risk that firms will compete vigorously over price at the expense of the quality of their product. This paper shows that even if price can communicate no information directly about quality, it can do so indirectly because price will be a signal of quality. Because of this, allowing advertising is shown to improve consumer welfare.
Salem Numbers and Enriques Surfaces

It is known that the dynamical degree of an automorphism g of an algebraic surface S is lower semi-continuous when (S, g) varies in an algebraic family. In this article, we report on computer exper...
Palladium-Catalyzed Benzylic Arylation of Pyridylmethyl Silyl Ethers: One-Pot Synthesis of Aryl(pyridyl)methanols

An efficient palladium-catalyzed direct arylation of pyridylmethyl silyl ethers with aryl bromides is described. A Pd(OAc)2/NIXANTPHOS-based catalyst provides aryl(pyridyl)methyl alcohol derivatives in good to excellent yields (33 examples, 57–100% yield). This protocol is compatible with different silyl ether protecting groups, affording either the protected or the free alcohols in an effective one-pot process. The scalability of the reaction is demonstrated.
Stereospecific Pd-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions of Secondary Alkylboron Nucleophiles and Aryl Chlorides

We report the development of a Pd-catalyzed process for the stereospecific cross-coupling of unactivated secondary alkylboron nucleophiles and aryl chlorides. This process tolerates the use of secondary alkylboronic acids and secondary alkyltrifluoroborates and occurs without significant isomerization of the alkyl nucelophile. Optically active secondary alkyltrifluoroborate reagents undergo cross-coupling reactions with stereospecific inversion of configuration using this method.
Palladium(0)-Catalyzed Alkynylation of C(sp3)–H Bonds

The alkynylation of β-C(sp3)–H bonds in aliphatic amides with alkynyl halides has been enabled using Pd(0)/N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and Pd(0)/phosphine (PR3) catalysts. This is the first example of utilizing [AlkynylPd(II)Ln] complexes to activate C(sp3)–H bonds.
Near-Optimal Deterministic Steiner Tree Maintenance in Sensor Networks

We consider the group-communication maintenance problem between a set of k mobile agents that are tracked by a static sensor network. We develop a scalable deterministic distributed algorithm for maintaining a Steiner tree of the agents so that group communication between them can be provided with the minimum total cost possible. The main idea is that our algorithm maintains a virtual tree of mobile agents that can be immediately converted to an actual Steiner tree at all times. Our algorithm achieves the Steiner tree with total length at most O(log k) times the length of the optimal Steiner tree in the constant-doubling graph model. The total communication cost (the number of messages) to maintain the Steiner tree is only O(min{log n, log D}) times the optimal communication cost, where n and D, respectively, are the number of nodes and the diameter of the constant-doubling network. We also develop improved algorithms for the mobile k-center, sparse-aggregation, and distributed-matching problems. Experimental evaluation results show the benefits of our algorithms compared to previous algorithms. These four problems are NP-hard and, to the best of our knowledge, our algorithms are the first near-optimal deterministic algorithms for maintaining approximate solutions to these important network problems with low maintenance costs in a distributed setting.
Why control diabetes

The concept that appropriate therapy for diabetes should achieve levels of fasting and postprandial blood, serum, or plasma glucose values as close to those of the nondiabetic as possible may be philosophically correct, but in practice is most difficult to obtain.
Modulation of a small two-domain lipid vesicle by linactants.

Linactants, molecules that preferentially localize at the boundary of lipid membrane domains, are attracting considerable attention in recent years due to the recognition that they might regulate lipid-phase separation and thereby modulate membrane morphology. Recent studies have also shown that clustering of some line active agents enhances their ability to modulate membrane curvature. However, the molecular origin of this phenomenon, and the degree to which it impacts biological membranes, remains poorly understood. In this work, we have investigated how linactants induce shape change in multidomain small unilamallar vesicles (SUVs) using extensive dissipative particle dynamics simulations. The linactant was modeled as a two-tailed hybrid lipid with the two tails differing in preference for different lipid domains. We found that addition of a small amount of linactants (∼1%) to a two-domain vesicle leads to substantial reduction in the line tension and neck curvature at the domain boundary. Using cross-...
Learning Models for Actions and Person-Object Interactions with Transfer to Question Answering

This paper proposes deep convolutional network models that utilize local and global context to make human activity label predictions in still images, achieving state-of-the-art performance on two recent datasets with hundreds of labels each. We use multiple instance learning to handle the lack of supervision on the level of individual person instances, and weighted loss to handle unbalanced training data. Further, we show how specialized features trained on these datasets can be used to improve accuracy on the Visual Question Answering (VQA) task, in the form of multiple choice fill-in-the-blank questions (Visual Madlibs). Specifically, we tackle two types of questions on person activity and person-object relationship and show improvements over generic features trained on the ImageNet classification task
Vested Interests, Venue Shopping, and Policy Stability: The Long Road to Improving Air Quality in Oregon's Willamette Valley

A lot of scholarly attention has focused on why groups choose to pursue their policy goals in one venue over another. This manuscript adds to the literature by testing a new theory of venue shopping, the Adaptive Venue Shopping Framework. This manuscript finds empirical support that groups choose venues by strategically assessing the institutional context which involves three primary elements: the group's mix of resources, their opponent's resource strengths, and the degree of venue accessibility, which is a combination of opponents' degree of control over a venue and a venue's image amiability or receptivity. In addition to confirming these findings, this case study links the literature on venue shopping with recent scholarship about “vested interests” by demonstrating how a powerful agricultural group came to dominate in a legislative venue, how it protected its policy victories from reversal, and how it kept policy making from shifting into alternative venues, thus leading to long-term policy stability. Furthermore, it demonstrates how newly emerged groups can achieve policy success against stronger opponents by threatening to seek their policy goals in alternative institutions.
Locally causal and deterministic interpretations of quantum mechanics: parallel lives and cosmic inflation

Several locally deterministic interpretations of quantum mechanics are presented and reviewed. The fundamental differences between these interpretations are made transparent by explicitly showing what information is carried locally by each physical system in an idealized experimental test of Bell’s theorem. This also shows how each of these models can be locally causal and deterministic. First, a model is presented which avoids Bell’s arguments through the assumption that space-time inflated from an initial singularity, which encapsulates the entire past light cone of every event in the universe. From this assumption, it is shown how quantum mechanics can produce locally consistent reality by choosing one of many possible futures at the time of the singularity. Secondly, we review and expand the Parallel Lives interpretation of Brassard and Raymond-Robichaud, which maintains local causality and determinism by abandoning the strictest notion of realism. Finally, the two ideas are combined, resulting in a Parallel Lives model in which lives branch apart earlier, under the assumption of a single unified interaction history. The physical content of weak values within each model is discussed, along with related philosophical issues concerning free will.
Reticulate evolution is favored in influenza niche switching

Reticulate evolution is thought to accelerate the process of evolution beyond simple genetic drift and selection, helping to rapidly generate novel hybrids with combinations of adaptive traits. However, the long-standing dogma that reticulate evolutionary processes are likewise advantageous for switching ecological niches, as in microbial pathogen host switch events, has not been explicitly tested. We use data from the influenza genome sequencing project and a phylogenetic heuristic approach to show that reassortment, a reticulate evolutionary mechanism, predominates over mutational drift in transmission between different host species. Moreover, as host evolutionary distance increases, reassortment is increasingly favored. We conclude that the greater the quantitative difference between ecological niches, the greater the importance of reticulate evolutionary processes in overcoming niche barriers.
Cobalt-Catalyzed N-Alkylation of Amines with Alcohols.

A well-defined nonprecious metal cobalt(II) catalyst based on a pincer PNP ligand has been employed for the efficient N-alkylation of both aromatic and aliphatic amines with alcohols. A subtle change of reaction conditions (simply adding 4 A molecular sieves) was observed to readily switch the resulting products (amines vs imines) with high chemoselectivity. A range of alcohols and amines including both aromatic and aliphatic substrates were efficiently converted to secondary amines in good-to-excellent yields when 2 mol % cobalt catalyst was used. Additional experiments indicate that a hydrogen-borrowing mechanism is responsible for the tandem acceptorless dehydrogenation/condensation/hydrogenation process.
On the Cyclic Variations in Newton's Constant

Periodic oscillations in Newton's constant G are contemporaneous with length of day data obtained from the International Earth Rotation and Reference System. Preliminary research has determined that the oscillatory period of G is ≈ 5.9 years (5.899 ± 0.062 years), which is close to one−half the principle period of solar activity. It will be shown mathematically that the variations in G are concomitant with gravitomagnetically induced torsion on the Earth's spin during the ≈ 5.9 year period. The gravitomagnetic acceleration at the Earth's equator is in good agreement with experimental measurements and falsifiable predictions are given to test the torsion hypothesis. 1
Diels–Alder Construction of Regiodifferentiated meta-Amino Phenols and Derivatives

Synthetic access to regiodifferentiated meta-amino phenols is described. The strategy relies upon distinct deprotonation conditions to afford regioisomeric thermodynamic and kinetic dienes that undergo a tandem Diels–Alder and retro-Diels–Alder sequence with assorted acetylenic dienophiles to afford a range of aromatic products.
Automatic Regulator for Supplemental Oxygen Therapy

Living tissues require a sufficient supply of oxygen for survival. An insufficient supply of oxygen may result from impairments of the respiration or oxygen transport systems, such as lung disease, heart disease, and anemia. Supplemental oxygen therapy increases the oxygen content in the lungs and blood oxygen saturation. The control of the oxygen flow is typically adjusted manually. This manual adjustment increases the risk for a mismatch between the oxygen flow rate and oxygen consumption that may change with physiological activity. An insufficient supply of oxygen increases the risk for cell damage and hypoxia. An excessive supply of oxygen risks oxygen toxicity and rapid depletion of the oxygen supply. This paper develops and tests the regulation of gas flow intake based on input of patient oxygen blood saturation. During testing of the prototype, gas pressure was regulated based on input oxygen blood saturation values, indicating control of gas flow. Further development and testing would be required for closed loop control of the system. Such a system would contribute toward improving the match of oxygen flow to physiological demands, and contribute to improving the health of many patients.
Recurrence and survival rates of inflammatory bowel disease-associated colorectal cancer following postoperative chemotherapy: a comparative study

Background and aim Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Studies have shown tumorigenetic and histomorphological differences between IBD-associated CRC and non-IBD CRC, suggesting differences in tumor behavior and response to treatment. We aimed to compare tumor recurrence and survival rates following postoperative chemotherapy in CRC patients with and without IBD. Methods Search of the Cleveland Clinic's CRC database revealed 65 patients who had IBD-associated CRC and received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy between 1994 and 2010. Twenty-one patients were excluded due to incomplete clinical data. Propensity score-matching based on age, surgery intent, CRC site, tumor grade, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage and T stage was used to match IBD and non-IBD patients (1:4). Competing risk and Cox regression models were used to analyze differences in disease-free survival and overall survival, respectively. Results Forty-four patients with IBD-associated CRC were matched to 176 patients with non-IBD CRC. Among IBD patients, 29 (66%) had ulcerative colitis, 14 (32%) had Crohn's disease, and one (2%) had indeterminate colitis. Mean IBD diagnosis age was 28.1 ± 14.5 years, and mean IBD duration at time of CRC treatment was 21.5 ± 12.6 years. Ten (23%) IBD patients had tumor recurrence compared with 34 (19%) non-IBD patients (P = .074). There was no significant difference in disease-free survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.35-1.05; P = 0.074) or overall survival (HR = 0.87; 95% CI: 0.54-1.4; P = 0.58) between IBD and non-IBD patients. Conclusion Patients with IBD-associated CRC have comparable rates of tumor recurrence and survival following postoperative chemotherapy as CRC patients without IBD. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings and guide therapeutic decisions.
Macro, Money and Finance: A Continuous Time Approach

Abstract This chapter puts forward a manual for how to setup and solve a continuous time model that allows to analyze endogenous (1) level and risk dynamics. The latter includes (2) tail risk and crisis probability as well as (3) the Volatility Paradox. Concepts such as (4) illiquidity and liquidity mismatch, (5) endogenous leverage, (6) the Paradox of Prudence, (7) undercapitalized sectors (8) time-varying risk premia, and (9) the external funding premium are part of the analysis. Financial frictions also give rise to an endogenous (10) value of money.
“Land Grab” or Development Opportunity? The Effect of Transnational Farmland Investments on the Ghanaian Economy

Financial support from the Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy and Thesis Research Travel Grants, University of Minnesota, is acknowledged.
Semantics-to-Syntax Analyses of Algorithms

Alan Turing pioneered semantics-to-syntax analysis of algorithms. It is a kind of analysis where you start with a large semantically defined species of algorithms, and you finish up with a syntactic artifact, typically a computation model, that characterizes the species. The task of analyzing a large species of algorithms seems daunting if not impossible. As in quicksand, one needs a rescue point, a fulcrum. In computation analysis, a fulcrum is a particular viewpoint on computation that clarifies and simplifies things to the point that analysis become possible. We review from that point of view Turing’s analysis of human-executable computation, Kolmogorov’s analysis of sequential bit-level computation, Gandy’s analysis of a species of machine computation, and our own analysis of sequential computation.
Acute knee injuries in athletes.

The initial evaluation and management of acute knee injuries are reviewed and current orthopedic concepts related to the treatment of these injuries are presented, with an emphasis on the reaching of an exact diagnosis so that a rational treatment plan can be undertaken.
Teach health, not disease.

(1941). Teach Health, Not Disease. The Journal of Health and Physical Education: Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 296-298.
Expression of carcinoembryonic antigen in ulcerative colitis, tubular adenomas and hyperplastic polyps: Correlations with the degree of dysplasia

Sections of tubular adenomas (n = 40), ulcertive colitis (n = 97) and hyperplastic polyps (n = 31) were examined by immunoperoxidase staining to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in order to assess its potential diagnostic value in predicting malignant potential of these lesions. We compared the degree of epithelial abnormality in these mucosal specimens with the extent of immunoperoxidase staining for CEA. We found that CEA staining correlated with the degree of epithelial alteration in tubular adenoma and ulcerative colitis groups. Scattered weakly positive staining was found in eight of 31 hyperplastic polyps. High tissue expression of CEA, when combined with histologic dysplasia, may prove to be an additional factor in the evaluation of malignant potential in ulcerative colitis specimens and adenomas.
Visual feedback to improve the accessibility of head-mounted displays for persons with balance impairments

The objective of this research is to improve the accessibility of Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) for users with balance impairments while they are in immersive Virtual Environments (VEs). Previous research has shown that most users experience some imbalance in a fully immersive VE. However, this imbalance is significantly worse in users with balance deficits. Thus, this research aims to determine an effective visual feedback technique to improve balance of persons while using VEs to improve the accessibility of HMDs. In order to do that, we conducted a study with seven users without impairment and seven users with balance impairments due to Multiple Sclerosis (MS). We investigated how a static reference frame (SRF) (e.g., a cross-hair always rendered in the same position on the user's display screen) impacts the participants' balances in VR. Results indicate that a SRF significantly improves balance in VR for users with MS. Based on these results, we propose guidelines for designing more accessible VEs for persons with balance impairments.
Interim Results On A Prospective Cohort Study To Evaluate The Changes In Peri-Prosthetic Bone Mineral Density Following Total Hip Replacement

Purpose of study: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the changes in peri-prosthetic bone mineral density following cemented and cementless total hip arthroplasty over a follow up period of 1 year. Description of methods: Ethics approval was sought and granted by the South African Medical Association Research Ethics Committee (SAMAREC). Patient consent for participation was obtained. Recruitment of the cohort took place over 2 years. Patients received an uncemented (Synergy) or cemented (Spectron) prosthesis as clinically appropriate. Functional status according to the University of California Los Angeles activity scale (UCLA scale) and bone mineral density as measured by Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) was assessed pre-operatively and at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months post-operatively. An independent Contract Research Organisation was used to monitor the site. Summary of results: As at August 2010, 59 unique patients had undergone 59 hip replacements, and 7 patients (8.5%) were still due their 12 month evaluation. The mean UCLA scored showed a marked and steady improvement post-operatively, with most of the gain demonstrated by 3 months. When evaluating all patients, the mean pre-operative values for Gruen Zones 2, 4, and Net were significantly lower than the mean 12 month values. When evaluating patients who received the uncemented prosthesis (n=40), the mean pre-operative values for Gruen Zones 2 and Net were significantly lower than the mean 12 month values, and the mean pre-operative values for Gruen Zones 1 and 3 were significantly higher than the mean 12 month values. When evaluating patients who received the cemented prosthesis (n=19), the median pre-operative values for Gruen Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and Net were significantly lower than the median 12 month values. Conclusion: At 1 year post surgery overall bone density showed a significant increase in both the cemented and uncemented cohort.
Industry contagion effects of internal control material weakness disclosures

Abstract This study examines whether there is an industry contagion effect for negative market reactions to internal control material weakness (ICMW) disclosures. From a sample of companies experiencing market share price declines to disclosures of ICMW over the years 2005–2014, results indicate that peer industry companies also experience market share price declines. We also find that the decline in share prices is related to accounting quality in that peer industry companies with higher accrual, relative to cash flow, components of earnings have larger negative market reaction compared to companies with lower accrual components of earnings. Our study contributes to the literature streams examining accounting information transfer and internal control quality. Data availability: Data are publicly available from sources identified in the paper.