cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tight-Binding Linear Muffin-Tin Orbital Implementation of the Difference Equation Green's Function Approach for 2D-Periodic Systems

The central ideas and the advantages of the difference equation Greens's function approach for layered systems with 2D-periodicity are presented. The tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital and other practical aspects of the implementation are discussed. Preliminary test results are presented.
Proper Orthogonal Decomposition of HUSIR’s Temperature and Velocity Fields

Thermal distortion is a critical design consideration for the Haystack Ultrawide-band Satellite Imaging Radar (HUSIR) with respect to its performance at W-band. This design consideration is needed due to the thermal distortion effects on the surface accuracy of a parabolic reflector. For example, a tight surface tolerance of ∼100 microns root-mean-squared is required to obtain 85 percent antenna performance efficiency for the 37 meter (120 foot) diameter reflector. An understanding of the temperature and velocity fields aids compensation of these losses. Computational fluid dynamics models (CFD) are too computationally expensive to implement in a control algorithm. Therefore, this work applies proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) to simulated CFD data and creates a reduced order model of the fluid system that characterizes the dominant features of both the temperature and velocity fields. A case study of the HUSIR’s convective flow inside a dome is illustrated.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Compensated Live Kidney Donations

Concerns with coercion and irrational decision-making underlie many of the arguments against compensated organ donation. Nonetheless, healthy adults are allowed, and even encouraged, to donate a kidney, without compensation, to patients in dire need of a functional organ. How does the introduction of a reasonably regulated system of donor compensation influence the decision-making of kidney donors and recipients? We address this question first under the assumption that the current conditions of kidney shortage are unchanged. We then extend the discussion by examining compensation in a regime in which the shortage of kidneys for transplants is greatly reduced or eliminated.We argue that most of the issues that confront a compensated system of live kidney donation also are present in the current system, and they have prompted measures to safeguard the interests of patients. The addition of compensation does hold the potential to magnify some problems, especially for donors, such as present bias leading to imprudent decisions. Among the methods to deal with these problems are to rely primarily on in-kind compensation and to backload any monetary rewards. The pressing shortage of kidneys presents donors and recipients with perplexing dilemmas. A system of compensation that relieves the shortage would lighten these dilemmas, to the benefit of patients, their families, and medical personnel.
Assimilation of MSG and GOES data in the NCEP GDAS

Infrared(IR) observations from Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager(SEVIRI) on board Meteosat Second Generation(MSG)-2 satellite are assimilated into NCEP(National Centers for Environmental Prediction) global data assimilation system(GDAS).The assimilation of current Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite(GOES) Imager data was also reinvestigated.The Community Radiative Transfer Model(CRTM) was used as observation operator for the simulation of SEVIRI radiance observations.The CRTM was enhanced with several critical components for IR radiance simulation,such as a dynamically-updated land surface emissivity data,as well as fast and accurate gaseous absorption modules.The Global Space-Based Inter-Calibration System(GSICS) calibration corrections were applied to improve the simulation of SEVIRI and GOES Imager radiances.Preliminary results show that inclusions of the SEVIRI radiances at water vapor channels(6.25 and 7.35 μm) and CO2channel(13.40 μm) in Global Forecast System(GFS) produced significant positive impacts on the six-day forecasts.Assimilation of other five SEVIRI IR window channels in GFS reduces the positive impact.By applying GSICS calibration algorithm to correct SEVIRI and GOES-12 Imager observations biases,the impacts on GFS forecast were improved.Further studies are being carried out to improve the effective assimilation of SEVIRI IR window channels radiances.
Equations of State for Ablator Materials in Inertial Confinement Fusion Simulations

We discuss the development of the tabular equation of state (EOS) models for ablator materials in current use at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in simulations of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments at the National Ignition Facility. We illustrate the methods with a review of current models for ablator materials and discuss some of the challenges in performing hydrocode simulations with high-fidelity multiphase models. We stress the importance of experimental data, as well as the utility of ab initio electronic structure calculations, in regions where data is not currently available. We illustrate why Hugoniot data alone is not sufficient to constrain the EOS models. These cases illustrate the importance of experimental EOS data in multi-megabar regimes, and the vital role they play in the development and validation of EOS models for ICF simulations.
Fostering Creativity Using Robotics among Students in Stem Fields to Reverse the Creativity Crisis

Creativity is required for innovation in STEM fields. The success of South Korea on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) (Center on International Educational Benchmarking, 2012), contrasted with that nation’s lack of success in measures of innovation including few patents per capita and no Nobel Prizes in the sciences, suggests that exceptional test scores are insufficient to produce exceptional innovating.
RevealFlow: A Process Control Visualization Framework

In this paper we describe current and historic permutations of control room technology and describe a new set of design principles for digitally displaying process control parameters. The design principles focus on helping operators effectively monitor changes during process control. The change detection approach is called RevealFlow and is illustrated in the context of the Computerized Operator Support System currently being developed for nuclear power plant control rooms.
Die neue Valenztheorie; die chemische Bindung

Am Schlus des letzten Kapitels verfolgten wir die Entstehung der Annahme, das Elektronen zwei Atomen gleichzeitig angehoren. Diese Annahme wird uns erlauben, die zwei Haupttheorien der chemischen Bindung miteinander in Einklang zu bringen, die fruher so unvereinbar schienen. Bei der Entwicklung dieser Theorie mussen wir uns mit den neuen und etwas revolutionaren Ideen uber Valenz beschaftigen, die ich 1916 in meiner Arbeit „Atom und Molekul“ [57] aussprach.
Self-consistent modeling of bipolar tunnel heterostructures with quantum mechanical current

A model for resonant tunneling between electrons and holes across the homojunction of a BITFET (bipolar tunneling field effect transistor) structure is presented. A transfer-Hamiltonian method is used to calculate the tunneling current between electrons and both heavy and light holes, and is incorporated into a self-consistent Poisson-Schrodinger solver. Results for two material systems, AlGaAs-GaAs and AlInAs-GaInAs, show multiple abrupt NDRs (negative differential resistances) under forward bias. Under reverse bias, the model suggests the possibility of achieving smooth NDRs as a result of the deformation of the confining potential. >
Real time texture classification using field programmable gate arrays

In this paper we present a novel hardware/software approach to implement a highly accurate texture classification algorithm. We propose the use of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to efficiently compute multiple convolutions in parallel that is required by the spectral histogram representation we employ. The combination of custom hardware and software allows us to have a classifier that is able to achieve results of over 99% accuracy at a rate of roughly 6000 image classifications per second on a challenging real texture dataset.
The Global Republic: America's Inadvertent Rise to World Power. By Frank Ninkovich. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2014. Pp. 368. $30.00.)

This new book stands out as a must read for anyone interested in the ongoing debates about the history of American foreign policy. A highly respected historian who has written a wide array of thoug...
Economic impacts on the united states of siting decisions for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

This paper presents the results of a study that examines and compares the probable short-term economic impacts of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) on the United States (U.S.) if (1) ITER were to be sited in the U.S., or (2) ITER were to be sited in one of the other countries that, along with the U.S., is currently participating in the ITER program. Life-cycle costs associated with ITER construction, operation, and decommissioning are analyzed to assess their economic impact. A number of possible U.S. host and U.S. non-host technology and cost-sharing arrangements with the other ITER Parties are examined, although cost-sharing arrangements and the process by which the Parties will select a host country and an ITER site remain open issues. Both national and local/regional economic impacts, as measured by gross domestic product, regional output, employment, net exports, and income, are considered. These impacts represent a portion of the complex, interrelated set of economic considerations that characterize U.S. host and U.S. non-host participation in ITER. A number of other potentially important economic and noneconomic considerations are discussed qualitatively.
Graduate Students’ Experiences and Attitudes Toward Using E-Books for College-Level Courses

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences and attitudes of graduate students toward the use of e-books for college-level courses. Seven students who pursued graduate studies at a midsize university in the Western United States volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews. A theoretical lens comprised of three supporting learning theories (social constructivism, information processing, and self-efficacy theories ) related to the constructivist learning approach was utilized to analyze the results and provide insight about students’ learning experiences with e-books. Students’ responses were categorized in four main areas: (a) they valued using e-books for social interactions and anytime/anywhere sharing and learning, (b) they indicated that e-books offer better information processing opportunities, (c) they expressed feelings of high self-efficacy and convenience, and (d) they indicated reasons of their negative perceptions and provided recommendations that could improve e-books to better support learning. Six out of seven students indicated their preference of using e-books over printed books. However, four out of these six students shifted their preference to printed books when asked if they preferred reading e-books for learning activities that required them to fully comprehend the information. Furthermore, this study provided discussion, limitations, and recommendations for future research.
Sequence-Specific Regulation of Endocytic Lifetimes Modulates Arrestin-Mediated Signaling at the µ Opioid Receptor

Functional selectivity at the µ opioid receptor (µR), a prototypical G-protein–coupled receptor that is a physiologically relevant target for endogenous opioid neurotransmitters and analgesics, has been a major focus for drug discovery in the recent past. Functional selectivity is a cumulative effect of the magnitudes of individual signaling pathways, e.g., the Gαi-mediated and the arrestin-mediated pathways for µR. The present work tested the hypothesis that lifetimes of agonist-induced receptor-arrestin clusters at the cell surface control the magnitude of arrestin signaling, and therefore functional selectivity, at µR. We show that endomorphin-2 (EM2), an arrestin-biased ligand for µR, lengthens surface lifetimes of receptor-arrestin clusters significantly compared with morphine. The lengthening of lifetimes required two specific leucines on the C-terminal tail of µR. Mutation of these leucines to alanines decreased the magnitude of arrestin-mediated signaling by EM2 without affecting G-protein signaling, suggesting that lengthened endocytic lifetimes were required for arrestin-biased signaling by EM2. Lengthening surface lifetimes by pharmacologically slowing endocytosis was sufficient to increase arrestin-mediated signaling by both EM2 and the clinically relevant agonist morphine. Our findings show that distinct ligands can leverage specific sequence elements on µR to regulate receptor endocytic lifetimes and the magnitude of arrestin-mediated signaling, and implicate these sequences as important determinants of functional selectivity in the opioid system.
Preoperative risk stratification of critically ill patients

Abstract Study objective Risk assessment historically emphasized cardiac morbidity and mortality in elective, outpatient, non-cardiac surgery. However, critically ill patients increasingly present for therapeutic interventions. Our study investigated the relationship of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class, revised cardiac risk index (RCRI), and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score with survival to discharge in critically ill patients with respiratory failure. Design Retrospective cohort analysis over a 21-month period. Setting Five adult intensive care units (ICUs) at a single tertiary medical center. Patients Three hundred fifty ICU patients in respiratory failure, who underwent 501 procedures with general anesthesia. Measurements Demographic, clinical, and surgical variables were collected from the pre-anesthesia evaluation forms and preoperative ICU charts. The primary outcome was survival to discharge. Main results Ninety-six patients (27%) did not survive to discharge. There were significant differences between survivors and non-survivors for ASA (3.7 vs. 3.9, p =0.001), RCRI (1.6 vs. 2.0, p =0.003), and SOFA score (8.1 vs. 11.2, p Conclusions This single center retrospective study quantified a high perioperative risk for critically ill patients with advanced airways: one in four did not survive to discharge. Preoperative ASA score, RCRI, and SOFA score only partially delineated survivors and non-survivors. Given the existing limitations, future research may identify assessment tools more relevant to discriminating survival outcomes for critically ill patients in the perioperative environment.
Systems Thinking Applied to U.S. Federal Fisheries Management: Law and Policy Considerations

The goal of this article is to provide the reader with a kind of historical case study on how fisheries law and policy evolution has brought management of the resource to a more ‘systems-centered’ approach. In addition to this historical rendition, another goal of this article is to identify some areas of potential growth, specifically the development of legal instruments that are more adapted to systems principles.
Hanson-Antczak-Type Generalized V-Invexity I

In this chapter, based on [1], numerous sets of global parametric sufficient efficiency conditions under various Hanson-Antczak-type generalized \((\alpha ,\beta ,\gamma ,\xi ,\eta ,\rho ,\theta )\)-V-invexity assumptions for a semi-infinite multiobjective fractional programming problem are presented.
Atypical PT anatomy in children with autism spectrum disorder with expressive language deficits

Deficits in communication are a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, structural language abilities are highly variable, ranging from minimally verbal to superior linguistic skills. Differences in the anatomy of cortical language regions, including anterior and posterior areas, have been found in ASD. It remains unclear, however, if anatomical differences distinguish individuals with impaired expressive language from those without such deficits. In addition, anatomical differences have not been explored in children with extremely low expressive language. This study included 34 boys with ASD, 7–11 years old, including an expressive language impaired group (n = 17) and an average-high language group (n = 17). The language impaired group was subdivided into a low (n = 9) and extremely low (n = 8) language subgroup for exploratory analyses to determine whether children with ASD with extremely low expressive language abilities exhibit distinct anatomy. Gray matter volume of the pars triangularis, pars opercularis, and planum temporale (PT) were measured on MRIs. PT volume was smaller in the ASD group with expressive language impairment relative to those without language deficits. The right PT volume was also positively correlated with language scores. The exploratory analyses revealed differences in the left PT, with smaller volume in the extremely low language subgroup, relative to the average and moderately low language groups. Results suggest that smaller PT volumes in both hemispheres are associated with severe language impairments in ASD. The PT may therefore, be a biomarker of language outcome in young children with ASD, with more studies of PT anatomy necessary.
Writing styles in different scientific disciplines: a data science approach

We quantified several different elements that reflect writing styles of scientific papers in four related disciplines: physics, astrophysics, mathematics, and computer science. Text descriptors such as the use of punctuation characters, the use of upper case letters, use of quotations, and other descriptors that are not based on the words used in the papers were extracted from each document. Based on these features alone an automatic classifier was able to identify the discipline of the paper with accuracy much higher than mere chance, showing that different disciplines can be differentiated by their writing styles, and without using their content directly as reflected by common words used in the papers. The study showed statistically significant differences between the different disciplines such as use of acronyms, sentence length, word length, and more. Our findings also show changes in writing styles in specific disciplines over time. For instance, mathematicians and computer scientists began to use less acronyms starting from 2006, and there is a dramatic decrease of the average of punctuation characters in mathematics papers. These observations suggest that even in closely related disciplines there are differences in the scientific communication expressed through writing styles, demonstrating the existence of a “signature” writing style developed in each discipline. These findings should also be taken into account when a multidisciplinary group of collaborators assign writing duties on a joint scientific manuscript.
Fixation oriented object segmentation using mobile eye tracker

Eye tracking technology allows researchers to monitor position of the eye and infer one’s gaze direction, which is used to understand the nature of human attention within psychology, cognitive science, marketing and artificial intelligence. Commercially available head-mounted eye trackers allow researchers to track pupil movements (saccades and fixations) using infrared camera and capture the field of vision by a front-facing scene camera. The wearable eye tracker opened a new way to research in unconstrained environment settings; however, the recorded scene video typically has non-uniform illumination, low quality image frames, and moving scene objects. One of the most important tasks for analyzing the recorded scene video data is finding the boundary between different objects in a single frame. This paper presents a multi-level fixation-oriented object segmentation method (MFoOS) to solve the above challenges in segmenting the scene objects in video data collected by the eye tracker in order to support cognition research. MFoOS shows its advancement in position-invariance, illumination, noise tolerance and is task-driven. The proposed method is tested using real-world case studies designed by our team of psychologists focused on understanding visual attention in human problem solving. The extensive computer simulation demonstrates the method’s accuracy and robustness for fixation-oriented object segmentation. Moreover, a deep-learning image semantic segmentation combining MFoOS results as label data was explored to demonstrate the possibility of on-line deployment of eye tracker fixation-oriented object segmentation.
Possible Predictive Factors for In-hospital Cardiac Arrest in Patients with Cancer: A Retrospective Single Center Study.

Background: Despite cancer being the second most common cause of death in the United States, more people are living longer after the diagnosis of cancer than before. Healthcare workers will be treating an increasing number of patients with cancer. Various studies have identified predictors of cardiac arrest in the general population, however, none have been done to identify such factors in cancer patients who form a more vulnerable group with lower survival rate following cardiac arrest. Methods: We retrospectively analysed charts of all patients with active cancer who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) and underwent cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from January 2015 to December 2017 at our hospital (n=44, group A). We compared this group to 44 consecutive patients with active cancer admitted to the oncology unit who did not experience cardiac arrest (n=44, group B). We excluded patients in remission. Results: Both the groups were comparable in terms of age (69 ± 14 vs 68 ± 15, p=0.776) and gender distribution (50% vs 56% males, p=0.521). Prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) (25% vs 11%, p=0.097), hypertension (68% vs 66%, p=0.821), hyperlipidaemia (34% in both groups, p=1.000), tobacco abuse (18% vs 27%, p=0.308), and diabetes mellitus (34% vs 23%, p=0.237) was not significantly different between the two groups. Group with cardiac arrest had significantly higher alanine aminotransferase (100 U/L ± 150 vs 47 U/L ± 87, p=0.043), alkaline phosphatase (288 U/L ± 512 vs 118 U/L ± 80, p=0.032), creatinine (1.8 mg/dl ± 1.74 vs 1.1 mg/dl ± 0.76, p=0.023), international normalised ratio (INR) (2.1 ± 1.5 vs 1.2 ± 0.5, p=0.005), and lower estimated -glomerular filtration rate (43 mL/min/1.73m2 ± 17 vs 51 mL/min/1.73m2 ± 15, p=0.022) on admission. Group A also had significantly higher incidence of sepsis during the hospital course as compared to group B (30% vs 2%, p<0.001). In group A, 11.4% survived to discharge as compared to 95.5% in group B. Significantly higher number of patients in group B were taking chemotherapy (77.27% vs 34.09%, p=0.000046) and radiation therapy (65.9% vs 22.72%, p=0.000046) as compared to group A. Conclusion: Cancer patients who experienced IHCA had worse renal and hepatic function; they were frequently diagnosed with sepsis and had similar cardiovascular risk factors as compared to cancer patients who did not experience cardiac arrest. Furthermore, a higher number of patients with active cancer who did not experience cardiac arrest were on chemotherapy, immunotherapy or radiation therapy.
What’s in a Name? Framing Struggles of a Mathematics Education Reform Community

Concerns over the quality and diversity of the future workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the United States have led to repeated calls to reform undergraduate education. This paper focuses on the efforts of one mathematics education reform movement in higher education to frame itself and its inquiry-based learning (IBL) teaching methods. Since its inception, members of this IBL movement struggled to negotiate their historical connection to the legacy of the late mathematician R. L. Moore and their need to modernize to recruit new mathematics instructors. A strong initial connection to Moore and his now-troubling racial and sexist views led to intense disputes over the framing, or branding, of the movement that at first inhibited its growth, but over time led to an understanding of IBL that embraces a broader range of methods and people.
Recovery of Watermarks from Distorted Images

Many techniques for watermarking of digital images have appeared in numerous publications. Most of these techniques are sensitive to cropping and/or affine distortions (e.g., rotation and scaling). In this paper we describe a method for the recovery of original size and appearance of images based on the concept of identification marks (“fingerprints”); the method does not require the use of the “original” image, but only a small number of salient image points. We show that, using our method, it is possible to recover original appearances of distorted images. The restored image can be used to recover embedded watermarks.
A dependence of J/ psi and psi ' production at 800 GeV/c.

The yield of {ital J}/{psi} and {psi}{prime} vector-meson states has been measured for 800-GeV protons incident on deuterium, carbon, calcium, iron, and tungsten targets. A depletion of the yield per nucleon from heavy nuclei is observed for both {ital J}/{psi} and {psi}{prime} production. This depletion exhibits a strong dependence on {ital x}{sub {ital F}} and {ital p}{sub {ital t}}. Within experimental errors the depletion is the same for the {ital J}/{psi} and the {psi}{prime}.
Physician attitudes and the use of office-based activities for tobacco control.

Objectives: This study explored family physicians’ attitudes about smoking cessation counseling—its importance, their confidence in their ability to counsel, outcome expectations of counseling, perception of their influence on patient behavior, types of counseling skills used, and the extent to which officebased activities are used to support their counseling. Methods: A cross-sectional design using qualitative and quantitative analyses was used. Data, including information from participant observation of the environment, medical chart reviews, and in-depth interviews, were collected from 89 physicians, drawn randomly from a list of family physicians in Nebraska. Results: All physicians felt that counseling was important, and most were confident with their ability to provide cessation counseling. Only one third of physicians had positive expectations regarding the outcome of this counseling or of their influence on patient behavior in general. The counseling skills most likely to be used were giving advice to quit, prescriptions for pharmaceutical aids, and discussing barriers and resources. Office-based strategies to support physician counseling were seldom used. Conclusions: Physician attitudes and tobaccocontrol activities present a complex picture of low expectations, little office support, and limited counseling skills combined with a strong belief in the professional responsibility to counsel. Motivation to increase skills or implement supportive systems could be expected to be low.
Heterogeneity across brain regions and neurotransmitter interactions with nicotinic effects on memory function.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors have been shown in many studies to be critically involved in memory function. The precise roles these receptors play depend on the receptor subtype, their anatomic localization, their interactions with other parts of the neural systems underlying cognition and the particular domain of cognitive function. Nicotinic agonists can significantly improve learning, memory, and attention. Nicotinic receptors in the hippocampus are innervated by cholinergic projections from the medial septum and diagonal band. Local infusions of either α7 or α4β2 nicotinic antagonists into either the dorsal or ventral hippocampus produce amnestic effects in rats navigating about a radial arm maze. There is cholinergic innervation of nicotinic receptors in other components of the limbic system as well. In the basolateral amygdala and the anterior thalamus, similar amnestic effects of nicotinic α7 and α4β2 antagonists are seen. Interestingly, there are no additive amnestic effects observed in these limbic areas when α7 and α4β2 receptor antagonists are combined. The particular expression patterns of α7 and α4β2 nicotinic receptors in these limbic and cortical areas may explain this nonadditivity, but further research is needed to determine the specific cause of this phenomenon. Nicotinic receptor mechanisms in the limbic system play an important role in cognitive impairment for a variety of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. Alzheimer’s disease results in a dramatic decrease in hippocampal nicotinic receptor density, affecting α4β2 receptor expression most prominently. In schizophrenia, there are anomalies in α7 nicotinic receptor expression, which seem to be crucial for the cognitive impairment of the disorder. Chronic nicotine exposure, such as seen with tobacco use, results in an increase in nicotinic receptor density in the limbic system. This effect appears to be related to the desensitization of nicotinic receptors seen after agonist application. Open questions remain concerning the role of desensitization versus activation of nicotinic receptors in cognitive improvement.
The Genetic Code

The next problem is the connection between information and function: How does DNA direct protein synthesis? The basic idea is straightforward and was indicated in Fig.2.2: The information is written in the DNA linearly; it is read and transferred to the assembler. Proteins are involved in reading, selecting, and assembling. The question thus arises: What came first, nucleic acid or protein information or function? The solution to this chicken-and-egg problem is not yet fully known.
Lessons From Implementing the 1990 CAA Amendments

Lessons learned from implementing the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 by the General Counsel of EPA during passage and first year of implementation. Elliott argues that first main lessons to be learned from EPA's successful implementation of the 1990 Amendments were: 1. Establish and communicate clear priorities; 2. Develop a specific plan, with clear responsibilities and deadlines; 3. Early collaboration and cost-effective implementation; 4. Let others take the credit and win over the opposition; 5. Learn the lessons of history and keep it simple, stupid. The main mistake that the author describes is being so focused on meeting statutory deadlines that matters that were important from a policy perspective (such as opt-in rules for trading) fell through the cracks if they had no mandatory deadline.
Biologic heterogeneity of KRAS-mutated lung adenocarcinomas (K-ADC).

8532Background: No effective targeted therapies are currently available for K-ADC. Although the association of PD-L1 expression with KRAS mutations in ADC has been reported suggesting that PD-1/PD-...
The “Pliability” of Criminological Analyses: Assessing Bias in Regression Estimates Using Monte Carlo Simulations

When biased coefficient and standard error estimates are published, they can result in inaccurate findings which might motivate ineffective—or harmful—policy choices and reduce the legitimacy of social scientific research. In this paper, we demonstrate how Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) can be used to evaluate potential bias in estimates. We define estimation bias and provide an overview of MCS, which involves three steps. First, data are generated according to model parameters and assumptions. Second, the data are analyzed and estimates are saved. Third, these two steps are repeated 2500 times to yield a distribution of estimates to compare with the original estimates. In our first example of using MCS to evaluate potential bias, we use data from a previous project to estimate an OLS regression model and then assess the consistency of estimates. In our second example, we evaluate published regression model estimates. In the third example, we employ experimental methodology with MCS to show how a correlation estimate would vary if there was a moderating effect of a third variable. Standard error estimates in the first example exhibited severe bias due to violated assumptions. The second example showed model estimates were largely unbiased. The third example showed that the strength of a moderating effect is positively related to correlation estimate bias. Although MCS have been increasingly used by criminologists, they could be used by a broader body of researchers, instructors, and policymakers to assess and ensure the reliability of reported findings.
“The Study of Local Experience”: Reassessing the Role of the Central Committee Secretariat during the nep

This article examines one of the standardized procedures implemented by Stalin and his supporters during the New Economic Policy to professionalize policy processes in central party agencies. Stalin and his supporters in the Secretariat and Organization Bureau relied on informational studies generated by officials in the Organization-Assignment Department of the Central Committee Secretariat (Orgraspred) to assess both the results of major political campaigns and the quality of local party administration. This article draws attention to this practice by examining two case studies. The first was a 1924 investigation into the poor health of party activists and officials sponsored by the Orgraspred, which appeared to confirm opposition claims about the separation of the party leadership from the working class. The second recounts the findings reported by three of Stalin’s allies in the Organization Bureau – Molotov, Andrei Andreev, and Nikolai Antipov – following extended personal tours of Tambov, Tula, Kursk, Ukraine, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East in support of the “Face to the Countryside” campaign. A careful review of the standard procedures these case studies exemplify suggests that common beliefs about the apolitical nature of the Stalin faction that formed during the years of factional struggle require revision.
Extensions of Network Reliability Analysis

Network reliability studies properties of networks subjected to random failures of their components. It has been widely adopted to modeling and analyzing real-world problems across different domains, such as circuit design, genomics, databases, information propagation, network security, and many others. Two practical situations that usually arise from such problems are (i) the correlation between component failures and (ii) the uncertainty in failure probabilities. Previous work captured correlations by modeling component reliability using general Boolean expression of Bernoulli random variables. This paper extends such a model to address the second problem, where we investigate the use of Beta distributions to capture the variance of uncertainty. We call this new formalism the Beta uncertain graph. We study the reliability polynomials of Beta uncertain graphs as multivariate polynomials of Beta random variables and demonstrate the use of the model on two realistic examples. We also observe that the reliability distribution of a monotone Beta uncertain graph can be approximated by a Beta distribution, usually with high accuracy. Numerical results from Monte Carlo simulation of an approximation scheme and from two case studies strongly support this observation.
Characterization of ordering in Fe-6.5%Si alloy using X-ray, TEM, and magnetic TGA methods

Abstract Fe-6.5wt%Si steel surpasses the current extensively used Fe-3.2wt%Si steel in lower iron loss, higher permeability, and near zero magnetostriction. As a cost effective soft magnetic material, Fe-6.5wt%Si may find applications in motors, transformers, and electronic components. However, the brittleness of the alloy poses processing challenges. The brittleness in Fe-6.5wt%Si is attributed to the formation of ordered phases. Evaluation of the amount of ordered phases is important for the research and development of Fe-6.5wt%Si. This paper aims to find effective ways to evaluate the ordering degree through a comparison of various characterization techniques. In order to tune the ordering degree, various speeds were used to prepare Fe-6.5wt%Si samples via melt spinning. The varying wheel speed changes the cooling rate, which was confirmed by thermal imaging. In addition to the widely used TEM and normal theta-2theta X-ray diffraction methods, two quantitative methods were adopted for this Fe-6.5wt%Si system to study the ordering degree. One method is based on rotating crystal XRD technique, and the other is magnetic thermal analysis technique. These two methods effectively quantified the varying degree of ordering presented in the samples and were deemed more suitable than the TEM, normal theta-2theta XRD methods for Fe-Si due to their ease of sample preparation and short turn-around time.
The physiology of Venezillo arizonicus: water balance and the cuticular water barrier.

Abstract This study investigated the water balance physiology of Venezillo arizonicus, a land isopod endemic to the Southwest Desert Ecoregion of North America. Evaporative water losses were measured in two ways: gravimetric in dry air, and by perfusing animals with dry air in a respirometry chamber and monitoring downstream relative humidity (RH). The respective mean loss flux estimates were 0.140 and 0.177 μg h−1 cm−2 Pa−1, lower than other N. American Oniscidea described to date (≥0.491 μg h−1 cm−2 Pa−1). Humidity monitoring revealed intermittent sharp peaks in RH, attributed to the release of maxillary urine. Whole-animal flux increased as a function of temperature, with a critical temperature (Tc) between 38 and 42 °C identifiable by a clear Arrhenius break point. Hexane-rinsed whole animals yielded straight-chain, saturated hydrocarbons (C21–C33). The surface density of extracted alkanes (0.64 µg cm−2) was somewhat higher than previously determined values for mesic species, although modest compared to insects and arachnids. Dehydrated animals exposed to high RH (>88%) demonstrated active water vapor absorption (WVA) like other Crinocheta, with an extrapolated uptake threshold of approximately 85% RH (Aw = 0.85), the lowest value reported for Oniscidea. The maximum uptake flux increased linearly as a function of ambient RH. Mass-specific uptake in 100% RH was 49% d−1, similar to values determined previously for Armadillidium vulgare and Porcellio scaber. The low WVA threshold of V. arizonicus, and the species’ low permeability, are consistent with its known range in the arid desert southwest and the desiccation stress of its typical aeolian sand and seasonal wash habitats.
Heat sensitization of hepatitis A virus and Tulane virus using grape seed extract, gingerol and curcumin

Abstract Human noroviruses (HNoV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) are predominantly linked to foodborne outbreaks worldwide. As cell-culture systems to propagate HNoV in laboratories are not easily available, Tulane virus (TV) is used as a cultivable HNoV surrogate to determine inactivation. Heat-sensitization of HAV and TV by “generally recognized as safe’’ (GRAS) substances can potentially reduce their time-temperature inactivation parameters during processing to ensure food safety. Curcumin, gingerol (from ginger), and grape seed extract (GSE) reportedly have anti-inflammatory, immune-modulating and antiviral properties. The objective of this study was to determine and compare the D-values and z-values of HAV and TV at 52–68 °C with or without curcumin (0.015 mg/ml), gingerol (0.1 mg/ml), or GSE (1 mg/ml) in 2-ml glass vials. HAV at ~7 log PFU/ml and TV at ~6 log PFU/ml were diluted in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and added to two sets of six 2-mL sterile glass vials. One set served as the control and the second set had the three extracts individually added for thermal treatments in a circulating water bath for 0–10 min. The D-values for TV in PBS ranged from 4.55 ± 0.28 to 1.08 ± 0.16 min, and for HAV in PBS ranged from to 9.21 ± 0.24 to 0.67 ± 0.19 min at 52–68 °C. Decreased D-values (52–58 °C) for TV with curcumin ranging from 4.32 ± 0.25 to 0.62 ± 0.17 min, gingerol from 4.09 ± 0.18 to 0.72 ± 0.09 min and GSE from 3.82 ± 0.18 to 0.80 ± 0.07 min, with similar trends for HAV were observed. The linear model showed significant differences (p
Becoming Critical: In-service Teachers’ Perspectives on Multicultural Education

Many in-service teachers take a passive position regarding multicultural issues such as race, class, ethnicity, socio-economic, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. This passive position impacts classroom dynamics and has social justice consequences. The present qualitative study focuses on 12 in-service teachers’ perspectives on multicultural issues. It describes the transformation of their perspectives and practices as they take a semester-long course on diversity. Data sources include the participating teachers’ written reflections on assigned readings, classroom discussions and activities, paper presentations, instructor’s field notes, and the teachers’ final implementation papers. The findings of the study suggest that classroom activities and discussions provided teachers with opportunities to critically reflect on who they are and make changes in their perspectives and practices. Also, the study discusses the vital role of classroom social norms established by the instructor and the participating teachers as a form of praxis. This step is crucial for creating caring communities relative to cross-cultural interaction and individual transformation, which in turn has social justice implications in terms of rethinking teaching and learning as well as school reform. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.2.8
Using eye-tracking to parse object recognition: Priming activates primarily a parts-based but also a late-emerging features-based representation

Biederman and Cooper (Cognitive Psychology, 23, 393-419, 1991), using parts-deleted and features-deleted stimuli, presented evidence that object priming occurs at the level of the objects’ parts, but not features. A control condition confirmed that some priming was accrued by the (non-visual) object concept that the stimulus represented, but all visual-level priming appeared to be at the more global level of the parts of objects, rather than the local level of the individual features (edges, vertices). This outcome has long been viewed as an important piece of supporting evidence for the existence of structural descriptions (e.g., Biederman, Psychological Review, 94, 115, 1987). The original report used a naming response task, and concluded that stimuli presenting half of the parts of an object primed only those parts, whereas half-features-deleted stimuli primed both themselves and the “complementary” half, containing the features deleted from the first image, equally. The current study adapts an eye-tracking approach to enable examination of the time course of priming across an exposure to both the primed image and unprimed competitors. Parts-deleted images primed themselves quickly and exclusively, replicating the finding of Biederman and Cooper (1991). Features-deleted images showed a deviation across time, however; initially a features-deleted prime attracted looking to itself and to its complement equally, but later on, looking to the target deviated upward, demonstrating an ability to distinguish between the two versions. The outcome of the present tests provide support for the primacy of a structural parts description, while also demonstrating the existence of multiple types of representations, both global and local.
High Directivity Reference RF Source and its Radiated Emission Model for Site Correlation

This article presents a configurable high directivity radio frequency reference noise source and its radiated emission (RE) simulation model. This noise source is a representative of actual programmable logic controller (PLC) and input output (IO) products with a high-speed gigabit backplane. It is designed to produce a reference noise signature from 30 MHz to 6 GHz with RE levels close to the class A electromagnetic radiation disturbance limits of CISPR 11 and CISPR 22. An RE model f this noise source was established to investigate the design factors. Multiple emissions’ scans were performed in two separate semianechoic chambers located in different facilities in order to test the repeatability of this noise source. The measurement results indicated that the noise source has very good repeatability and that it can serve as a reference noise source. The results were also used to evaluate the maturity of the simulation technology as well as to quantify the difference between chambers.
Stock Index Prediction with Multi-task Learning and Word Polarity Over Time.

Sentiment-based stock prediction systems aim to explore sentiment or event signals from online corpora and attempt to relate the signals to stock price variations. Both the feature-based and neural-networks-based approaches have delivered promising results. However, the frequently minor fluctuations of the stock prices restrict learning the sentiment of text from price patterns, and learning market sentiment from text can be biased if the text is irrelevant to the underlying market. In addition, when using discrete word features, the polarity of a certain term can change over time according to different events. To address these issues, we propose a two-stage system that consists of a sentiment extractor to extract the opinion on the market trend and a summarizer that predicts the direction of the index movement of following week given the opinions of the news over the current week. We adopt BERT with multitask learning which additionally predicts the worthiness of the news and propose a metric called Polarity-Over-Time to extract the word polarity among different event periods. A Weekly-Monday prediction framework and a new dataset, the 10-year Reuters financial news dataset, are also proposed.
Fertility counseling information adequacy as a moderator of regret among adolescent and young adult breast cancer survivors.

Current literature disagrees on whether fertility counseling decreases or increases decision regret among young breast cancer survivors. This study investigates whether fertility counseling provided to pre-menopausal breast cancer patients regarding infertility due to treatment is associated with decision regret post-treatment, and how that relationship is moderated by information adequacy. Breast cancer patients aged 18–35 listed in the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry as diagnosed between 2007 and 2012 were surveyed. Basic descriptive analyses were conducted, and linear regression models were estimated. Receipt of fertility counseling was not directly associated with decision regret. However, as fertility information adequacy increased, decision regret significantly decreased among women who received fertility counseling after finishing treatment or before and after finishing treatment. On average, a woman who receives fertility counseling before and after treatment with an information adequacy score of 1.5 had a regret score of 2.68. In contrast, a woman who received fertility counseling before and after treatment who had a fertility information adequacy score of 5 had a regret score of only 1.26 on average. Information adequacy is a significant moderator in the relationship between fertility counseling and decision regret. This suggests a possible explanation for disagreement in the literature regarding the benefits of fertility counseling and highlights the need for an increased focus on the adequacy of the information provided. Fertility counseling should be pursued for young adult breast cancer patients and survivors, provided that their satisfaction with the information received is monitored and remains high.
Squatting at Bethlehem: A Response to Stoesz’s Human Service Cartels:

Stoesz’s essay is largely an institutional critique of social work—attentive to the field’s choices as though they were autonomous of the society. The analysis is broadened to acknowledge the syste...