cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Turning wave migration by horizontal extrapolation

Conventional migration based on depth stepping extrapolation fails to migrate turning wave energy because of its inability to propagate energy with dips beyond 90°. A viable strategy for imaging turning waves is to use horizontal, rather than depth, extrapolation. This can be implemented by a 90° rotation of the extrapolator so that the data are extrapolated horizontally rather than vertically. In this geometry, the energy associated with turned rays consistently moves in the same direction as the extrapolation, and so only one pass is necessary to image turned reflections. The viability of this strategy is demonstrated with both synthetic and field poststack data that include turned reflections from salt flanks. Depth extrapolation images the near‐horizontal structure and horizontal extrapolation images the near‐vertical structure, and combining them gives a full image containing all dips.
Feature Selection for Value Function Approximation Using Bayesian Model Selection

Feature selection in reinforcement learning (RL), i.e. choosing basis functions such that useful approximations of the unkown value function can be obtained, is one of the main challenges in scaling RL to real-world applications. Here we consider the Gaussian process based framework GPTD for approximate policy evaluation, and propose feature selection through marginal likelihood optimization of the associated hyperparameters. Our approach has two appealing benefits: (1) given just sample transitions, we can solve the policy evaluation problem fully automatically (without looking at the learning task, and, in theory, independent of the dimensionality of the state space), and (2) model selection allows us to consider more sophisticated kernels, which in turn enable us to identify relevant subspaces and eliminate irrelevant state variables such that we can achieve substantial computational savings and improved prediction performance.
The effect of the timing and direction of capital gain tax changes on investment in risky assets

ABSTRACT : This study examines the effect of timing (gradual versus immediate) and direction (tax increase or decrease) of a tax change on taxpayer behavior. Specifically, we focus on capital gain tax changes and preferences for investment in riskier assets. We run an experiment with 117 participants who allocate investment dollars between two funds of differing risk. Drawing on mental accounting and hedonic editing (Thaler 1985; Thaler and Johnson 1990), we posit that a tax decrease (a “gain”) implemented gradually over several years will result in a greater increase in risky investment once the decrease is fully implemented than when the tax change is implemented all at once. In contrast, once a tax increase (a “loss”) is fully implemented, a smaller decrease in risky investment will result when the change occurs all at once rather than gradually. Our findings support these expectations, suggesting that the manner of implementing a tax law change may impact decisions. Data Availability: Contact the authors.
On Asymptotic Stabilizability of Linear Systems With Delayed Input

This paper examines the asymptotic stabilizability of linear systems with delayed input. By explicit construction of stabilizing feedback laws, it is shown that a stabilizable and detectable linear system with an arbitrarily large delay in the input can be asymptotically stabilized by either linear state or output feedback as long as the open-loop system is not exponentially unstable (i.e., all the open-loop poles are on the closed left-half plane). A simple example shows that such results would not be true if the open-loop system is exponentially unstable. It is further shown that such systems, when subject to actuator saturation, are semiglobally asymptotically stabilizable by linear state or output feedback.
A Portable Algorithm for Mapping Bitext Correspondence

The first step in most empirical work in multilingual NLP is to construct maps of the correspondence between texts and their translations (bitext maps). The Smooth Injective Map Recognizer (SIMR) algorithm presented here is a generic pattern recognition algorithm that is particularly well-suited to mapping bitext correspondence. SIMR is faster and significantly more accurate than other algorithms in the literature. The algorithm is robust enough to use on noisy texts, such as those resulting from OCR input, and on translations that are not very literal. SIMR encapsulates its language-specific heuristics, so that it can be ported to any language pair with a minimal effort.
Accelerating Economic Inequality and the Moral Responsibilities of Corporate-Employed Technologists

Corporate-employed technologists have a special moral responsibility to themselves and to others to help oppose the dynamics of accelerating inequality in the US and globally. They have distinctive capabilities in this respect and they are in a special position to do so. There exists a moral-responsibility-to-self in this context, involving meta-coherence and integrity. Responsibility-to-others can be enacted by attempting to inject scientific and ethical habits-of-thought into the global distributed governance process, but also by standing in opposition to corporate-level strategies and practices that make inequality worse.
From Artificial Atoms to Nanocrystal Molecules: Preparation and Properties of More Complex Nanostructures

Quantum dots, which have found widespread use in fields such as biomedicine, photovoltaics, and electronics, are often called artificial atoms due to their size-dependent physical properties. Here this analogy is extended to consider artificial nanocrystal molecules, formed from well-defined groupings of plasmonically or electronically coupled single nanocrystals. Just as a hydrogen molecule has properties distinct from two uncoupled hydrogen atoms, a key feature of nanocrystal molecules is that they exhibit properties altered from those of the component nanoparticles due to coupling. The nature of the coupling between nanocrystal atoms and its response to vibrations and deformations of the nanocrystal molecule bonds are of particular interest. We discuss synthetic approaches, predicted and observed physical properties, and prospects and challenges toward this new class of materials.
Human capital, schooling and health.

Abstract A consensus has been forged in the last decade that recent periods of sustained growth in total factor productivity and reduced poverty are closely associated with improvements in a population’s child nutrition, adult health, and schooling, particularly in low-income countries. Estimates of the productive returns from these three forms of human capital investment are nonetheless qualified by a number of limitations in our data and analytical methods. This paper reviews the problems that occupy researchers in this field and summarizes accumulating evidence of empirical regularities. Social experiments must be designed to assess how randomized policy interventions motivate families and individuals to invest in human capital, and then measure the changed wage opportunities of those who have been induced to make these investments. Statistical estimation of wage functions that seek to represent the relationship between wage rates and a variety of human capital stocks may yield biased estimates of private rates of return from these investments for a variety of reasons. The paper summarizes several of these problems and illustrates how data and statistical methods can be used to deal with some of them. The measures of labor productivity and the proxies specified for schooling and adult health are first discussed, and then the functional relationships between human capital and wages are described. Three types of estimation problem are discussed: (1) bias due to omitted variables, such as ability or frailty; (2) bias due to the measurement of an aggregation of multiple sources of human capital, e.g. genetic and socially reproducible variation, which may contribute to different gains in worker productivity; and (3) errors in measurement of the human capital stocks. Empirical examples and illustrative estimates are surveyed.
Race, Immigration, and the Identity-to-Politics Link

Little controversy remains about how the United States has changed demographically since the mid-1960s. Far more controversial is whether this change is bringing about a new politics of race. This article argues that a key to settling this debate is a clearer specification of the identity-to-politics link—the nexus from a population defined by shared racial and ethnic labels to a collective group politics based on those definitions. The article articulates some potential pitfalls in how this nexus is commonly specified in empirical research. It then proposes that researchers should be mindful of five processes that are typically lumped together in linking shared demographic categories to common political destinies: definition, identification, consciousness, venue selection, and choice. The article concludes with a discussion of the potential utility and limitations of unpacking these five processes in our analysis of the identity-to-politics link.
Conceptual Design of Compliant Mechanisms for Flapping Wings with Topology Optimization

This work discusses the integration of two previously disparate research areas: topology optimization of compliant mechanisms and flapping wing vehicles. The efficient actuation of the latter is considerably challenging, with competing weight, energy, and authority requirements; intuitive design strategies are not typically available for the aeroelastic physics that define the flapping system. We discuss the incorporation of these physics into a gradient-based topological optimization scheme, to design thrust-optimal compliant flapping mechanisms. This is done with a nonlinear dynamical finite element model incorporating both the mechanism and the wing structure, coupling elastic, inertial, aerodynamic, and actuator forces. Several optimal mechanism topologies are presented, along with a detailed discussion of the relevant flapping physics driving the design process.
“Interpose Your Friendly Hand”: Political Supports for the Exercise of Judicial Review by the United States Supreme Court

The exercise of constitutional review by an independent and active judiciary is commonly regarded as against the interest of current government officials, who presumably prefer to exercise power without interference. In this article, I advance an “overcoming obstructions” account of why judicial review might be supported by existing power holders. When current elected officials are obstructed from fully implementing their own policy agenda, they may favor the active exercise of constitutional review by a sympathetic judiciary to overcome those obstructions and disrupt the status quo. This provides an explanation for why current officeholders might tolerate an activist judiciary. This dynamic is illustrated with case studies from American constitutional history addressing obstructions associated with federalism, entrenched interests, and fragmented and cross-pressured political coalitions.
Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Carbon Supported Pt and Pd in Alkaline Solutions

Carbon-supported Pt and Pd (20 wt % metal) were employed as oxygen reduction catalysts in 0.1 M NaOH solutions. Results from X-ray diffraction analysis show that the metals are in the form of Pt face-centered cubic (fee) and Pd (fee) crystal only. The metal particles were observed to distribute uniformly on carbon supports, and the average particle size of the Pd and the Pt was 3.1 and 2.3 nm, respectively, from the transmission electron microscopy image analysis. The Pd/C catalyst showed high activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) both at room and elevated temperatures (up to 60°C) compared with the Pt/C. The activation energies for the ORR on the Pd/C are slightly lower than that on the Pt/C (39 vs 48 kJ mol -1 at the overpotential of 0.3 V). The four-electron path is dominant on both the Pt/C and the Pd/C. The H 2 O 2 yields on both catalysts are analyzed in detail. As a cathode fuel cell catalyst, the Pd/C catalyst is less sensitive to alcohol contamination as compared to Pt/C. The challenges for using Pd/C as an ORR catalyst in alkaline solutions are also discussed in this paper.
On the expected value of the minimum assignment

The minimum k-assignment of an m × n matrix X is the minimum sum of k entries of X, no two of which belong to the same row or column. Coppersmith and Sorkin conjectured that if X is generated by choosing each entry independently from the exponential distribution with mean 1, then the expected value of its minimum k-assignment is given by an explicit formula, which has been proven only in a few cases. In this paper we describe our efforts to prove the Coppersmith-Sorkin conjecture by considering the more general situation where the entries xij of X are chosen independently from different distributions. In particular, we require that xij be chosen from the exponential distribution with mean 1/ricj. We conjecture an explicit formula for the expected value of the minimum k-assignment of such X and give evidence for this formula.
Genetic Information in Agricultural Productivity and Product Development

Two prominent features of recent changes in agriculture have been the advent of precision breeding techniques and an increase in the level of information netputs in production. This article identifies ways in which these features may complement in expanding the variety of processed products, level of productivity, and rate of change in productivity. Using a martingale concept of information, we identify conditions under which information increases the incentives to invest and engage in product differentiation activities. A theory on how genetic uniformity can enhance the rate of learning through process experimentation, and so the rate of technical change, is developed.
Manager Race and the Race of New Hires

Using personnel data from a large U.S. retail firm, we examine whether the race or ethnicity of the hiring manager affects the racial composition of new hires. We exploit manager turnover to estimate models with store fixed effects and store‐specific trends. First, we find that all nonblack managers—that is, whites, Hispanics, and Asians—hire more whites and fewer blacks than do black managers. This is especially true in the South. Second, in locations with large Hispanic populations, Hispanic managers hire more Hispanics and fewer whites than do white managers. We also examine possible explanations for these differential hiring patterns.
Evaluation of time delay requirements for closed-loop stability using classical and modern methods

Classical and modern methods are used for computing the maximum allowable time delay a closed-loop system can tolerate before destabilizing. Maximum allowable time delays are computed using both methods for three control systems previously designed for a simple process. The three control systems are proportional plus integral (PI), linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG), and linear quadratic Gaussian with loop transfer recovery (LQG/LTR). The allowable time delays computed using the modern technique yields conservative values in comparison with exact values computed using the classical method. Even though the LQG/LTR control system yields good performance and stability robustness, the closed-loop system is easily destabilized by small process time delay. The PI and LQG control systems can tolerate a significant amount of delay in the process control systems. Thus it appears that the design of a control system robust with regard to parameter variations, disturbance rejection, noise, and model uncertainty will not inherently be closed-loop stable when there is significant process delay. >
Searching for Transient Pulses with the ETA Radio Telescope

Array-based, direct-sampling radio telescopes have computational and communication requirements unsuited to conventional computer and cluster architectures. Synchronization must be strictly maintained across a large number of parallel data streams, from A/D conversion, through operations such as beamforming, to dataset recording. FPGAs supporting multigigabit serial I/O are ideally suited to this application. We describe a recently-constructed radio telescope called ETA having all-sky observing capability for detecting low frequency pulses from transient events such as gamma ray bursts and primordial black hole explosions. Signals from 24 dipole antennas are processed by a tiered arrangement of 28 commercial FPGA boards and 4 PCs with FPGA-based data acquisition cards, connected with custom I/O adapter boards supporting InfiniBand and LVDS physical links. ETA is designed for unattended operation, allowing configuration and recording to be controlled remotely.
Determinants of Agricultural Economic Faculty Salaries: A Quarter of a Century Later

This research studies factors that influence the salary level of university agricultural economists. Comparisons to previous work suggest that the impact of a single publication on salary has declined over the past twenty-five years; however, the return to relative publications is the same. The impact of years of experience has increased. Analysis of a different model specification suggests that the number of publications, advisees, and grants obtained positively impact salaries, while undergraduate course load has a negative impact. Results show that mobility and marketability significantly increase salary. Analysis suggests that there is a significant negative impact associated with an extension appointment and a significant positive impact associated with employment at a Ph.D.-granting university. Finally, the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test indicates that most universities' average salaries follow the market.
Nonefficacy of routine removal of CSF during neurodiagnostic procedures

The charts of 750 patients were reviewed to determine the value of routinely removing cerebrospinal fluid at the time of myelography and cisternography for chemical and cytologic examination. In most patients cerebrospinal fluid findings were normal. In the few abnormal studies, the findings were often uninformative, superfluous, or insufficient for appropriate diagnosis. In no instance did routine analysis of cerebrospinal fluid uncover occult disease. Routine removal of cerebrospinal fluid for analysis in radiologic spinal taps seems to be inappropriate, and removal should be dictated by the clinical context in which the procedure is performed.
Huntington'S disease: Treatment with muscimol, A GABA‐mimetic drug

Muscimol, a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) analogue that exerts potent and specific agonist effects on GABA receptors, was administered orally to 10 patients with Huntington's disease. In this double-blind study, muscimol treatment did not result in improvement in these patients' motor or cognitive functions. However, muscimol administration did ameliorate chorea in the most severely hyperkinetic patient, and it was associated with the appearance of dystonic features, electroencephalographic changes, and behavioral alterations in some patients. These latter observations support a functional relationship between GABA-ergic activity and the genesis of both systonia and EEG abnormalities in humans. The therapeutic failure of muscimol indicates that the GABA disturbances in Huntington's disease does not alone account for the clinical features of this disorder.
Social Comparisons and Deception Across Workplace Hierarchies: Field and Experimental Evidence

We examine how unfavorable social comparisons differentially spur employees of varying hierarchical levels to engage in deception. Drawing on literatures in social psychology and workplace self-esteem, we theorize that negative comparisons cause senior employees to seek to improve reported relative performance measures via deception. In a first study, we use deceptive self-downloads on the Social Science Research Network, the leading working paper repository in the social sciences, to show that employees higher in a hierarchy are more likely to engage in deception, particularly when the employee has enjoyed a high level of past success. In a second study, we confirm this finding in two scenario-based experiments. Our results suggest that longer-tenured and more successful employees face a greater loss of self-esteem from negative social comparisons, and they are more likely engage in deception in response to reported performance that is lower than that of peers.
Bourgeois Virtue and the History of P and S

Since the triumph of a business culture a century and half ago the businessman has been scorned, and so the phrase “bourgeois virtue” sounds like an oxymoron. Economists since Bentham have believed that anyway virtue is beside the point: what matters for explanation is Prudence. But this is false in many circumstances, even strictly economic circumstances. An economic history that insists on Prudence Alone is misspecified, and will produce biased coefficients. And it will not face candidly the central task of economic history, an apology for or a criticism of a bourgeois society.
Solvents for sustainable chemical processes

The properties and some key applications of solvents such as (1) supercritical fluids (SCFs), (2) gas-expanded liquids (GXLs) and organic-aqueous tunable solvents (OATS), (3) water at elevated temperature (WET), and (4) switchable solvents like reversible ionic liquids (RevILs) are discussed in this review. Each system offers a unique set of properties to enable alternative strategies for varied applications. These applications range from chemical transformations, product separation, catalyst recycling, nanomaterial processing, and CO2 capture. For each application, however, the common thrust is to enable greener and sustainable solutions for chemical processes.
Embedding Cycles in Finite Planes

We define and study embeddings of cycles in finite affine and projective planes. We show that for all $k$, $3\le k\le q^2$, a $k$-cycle can be embedded in any affine plane of order $q$. We also prove a similar result for finite projective planes: for all $k$, $3\le k\le q^2+q+1$, a $k$-cycle can be embedded in any projective plane of order $q$.
Sliding Mode Disturbance Observer-Based Control for a Reusable Launch Vehicle

The nation's goals to replace the aging Space Shuttle fleet and pursue exploration of our solar system and beyond will require more robust, less costly launch vehicles and spacecraft. This paper presents a novel Sliding Mode Control approach, Sliding Mode Control driven by Sliding Mode Disturbance Observers with Gain Adaptation, for the reusable launch vehicle (RLV) flight control system design as a way to improve robustness to many phenomena such as modeling uncertainties and disturbances, while retaining continuity of control without using high control gains. Due to the robustness to external disturbances (including wind gusts), mission guidance trajectories and modeling uncertainties, the proposed flight control system design also can reduce cost by requiring less time in design cycle and preflight analyses. This design is applied to Terminal Area Energy Management and Approach/Landing (TAL), a flight regime that has had little research effort in recent years. The multiple-loop, multiple time-scale design features low order disturbance observers that rely only on knowledge of the bounds of the disturbance. A gain adaptation algorithm is included in the disturbance observer design that provides the least gain needed for existence of the sliding mode. High fidelity 6 DOF computer simulations of the X-33 technology demonstration sub-orbital launch vehicle for nominal and severe wind-gust tests demonstrate improved performance over a more conventional, classical control system design.
Semi-algebraic geometry of common lines

Cryo-electron microscopy is a technique in structural biology for determining the 3D structure of macromolecules. A key step in this process is detecting common lines of intersection between unknown embedded image planes. We wish to characterize such common lines in terms of the unembedded geometric data detected in experiments. We use techniques from spherical geometry, real algebraic geometry, and linear algebra. We show that common lines are the solutions to a system of polynomial equalities and inequalities, i.e., they form a semi-algebraic set. These polynomials are low degree, and we explicitly derive them in this paper. The polynomials we derive provide the desired intrinsic characterization of common lines. We discuss possible applications of these polynomials to reconstruction algorithms that are robust to the high levels of noise present in cryo-electron images.
A dialogue on death penalty dignity

The concept of 'dignity' has always played an important role in the opinions written by members of the US Supreme Court in capital punishment cases. However, the justices have failed to agree about either the type or nature of dignity involved. This article identifies and analyzes the three main categories of dignity that have appeared in the justices' death penalty opinions. Justice Brennan's concurrence in Furman v. Georgia (1972) is used to explore the abolitionist argument that capital punishment cannot constitutionally coexist with respect for innate human dignity. By contrast, Justice Kennedy's majority opinion in Roper v. Simmons (2005) argues that human dignity is not threatened by a heavily regulated death penalty. Finally, Chief Justice Roberts's opinion in Baze v. Rees (2008) focuses our attention on an institutionalized formulation of dignity that emphasizes respect for the dignity of the State that employs the death penalty. The Supreme Court's dialogue on death penalty dignity is ongoing. Consequently, this article's analysis will aid us when we seek to understand future opinions in which the justices debate the role that the concept of 'dignity' can and should play 'when the State kills'.
Chromo-Rayleigh interactions of dark matter

For a wide range of models, dark matter can interact with QCD gluons via chromo-Rayleigh interactions. We point out that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), as a gluon machine, provides a superb probe of such interactions. In this paper, we introduce simplified models to UV-complete two effective dark matter chromo-Rayleigh interactions and identify the corresponding collider signatures, including four jets or a pair of di-jet resonances plus missing transverse energy. After performing collider studies for both the 8 TeV and 14 TeV LHC, we find that the LHC can be more sensitive to dark matter chromo-Rayleigh interactions than direct detection experiments and thus provides the best opportunity for future discovery of this class of models.
13C-nuclear magnetic resonance-spectral studies of the interactions of metal ions with carbohydrates: use of relaxation probes.

Publisher Summary This chapter elaborates the technique of 13 C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy that has been used to study the binding of the metal ions to various carbohydrate residues and glycopeptides and it discusses the ways to extract information on the specific binding sites of the carbohydrate residues to define further how and why metal ions interact with certain residues in biological systems. It had been shown that as few as three neutral oxygen atoms suffice to define a binding site for metal ions if oxygen atoms are in the correct steric arrangement. It might be interesting to compare the tendencies in bonding because the metal ions typically used to study binding to carbohydrates are from the first-row transition-metals and from the lanthanides. Because of their large numbers of unpaired electrons, Gd 3+ and Mn 2+ have been considered as relaxation agents to be used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Inositols provide a good starting point for studying the binding of metal ions such as Gd 3+ and Mn 2+ to carbohydrates because each is unique, they are structurally related to carbohydrates, and they do not contain other functional groups (carboxyl, amino) that may also interact with the metal ions.
Pharmacology of Migraine

Some thirty years ago, methysergide was introduced as the first drug capable of preventing migraine attacks and proved to be remarkably effective [1,2]. Because many peripheral actions of serotonin were found to be antagonized by methysergide, attention was focused on circulating serotonin as a potentially important substance in the generation of headaches. However, over the years, interest in the humoral actions of serotonin waned because of a lack of supportive evidence. Today, there is an explosion of renewed interest in serotonin and headache, this time in its neurotransmitter role in the central nervous system (CNS) [3]. This progress report will focus on the lines of evidence that have led to perturbed serotonergic neurotransmission as a putative mechanism of migraine. It appears likely that the mode of action of the antimigraine drugs is stabilization of such perturbation by enhancing serotonergic neurotransmission [4].
International network for integrated social science

Computer-related developments across the social sciences are converging on an entirely new type of infrastructure that integrates across methodologies, disciplines, and nations. This article examines the potential outlined by a number of conference reports, special grant competitions, and recent research awards supported by the National Science Foundation. Together, these sources describe an Internet-based network of collaboratories combining survey, experimental, and geographic methodologies to serve research and education in all of the social sciences.
Angiogenic gene signature in human pancreatic cancer correlates with TGF-beta and inflammatory transcriptomes

// Kelly E. Craven 1, * , Jesse Gore 2, 3, * , Julie L. Wilson 2 , Murray Korc 1, 2, 3 1 Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA 2 Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA 3 The Pancreatic Cancer Signature Center at Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Jesse Gore, e-mail: ajgore@iu.edu Keywords: pancreatic cancer, TCGA, angiogenesis, TGF-β, inflammation Received: October 13, 2015 Accepted: November 08, 2015 Published: November 18, 2015 ABSTRACT Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) are hypovascular, but overexpress pro-angiogenic factors and exhibit regions of microvasculature. Using RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we previously reported that ~12% of PDACs have an angiogenesis gene signature with increased expression of multiple pro-angiogenic genes. By analyzing the recently expanded TCGA dataset, we now report that this signature is present in ~35% of PDACs but that it is mostly distinct from an angiogenesis signature present in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs). These PDACs exhibit a transcriptome that reflects active TGF-β signaling, and up-regulation of several pro-inflammatory genes, and many members of JAK signaling pathways. Moreover, expression of SMAD4 and HDAC9 correlates with endothelial cell abundance in PDAC tissues. Concomitantly targeting the TGF-β type I receptor (TβRI) kinase with SB505124 and JAK1-2 with ruxolitinib suppresses JAK1 phosphorylation and blocks proliferative cross-talk between human pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs) and human endothelial cells (ECs), and these anti-proliferative effects were mimicked by JAK1 silencing in ECs. By contrast, either inhibitor alone does not suppress their enhanced proliferation in 3D co-cultures. These findings suggest that targeting both TGF-β and JAK1 signaling could be explored therapeutically in the 35% of PDAC patients whose cancers exhibit an angiogenesis gene signature.
The social life of small graphical chat spaces

This paper provides a unique quantitative analysis of the social dynamics of three chat rooms in the Microsoft V-Chat graphical chat system. Survey and behavioral data were used to study user experience and activity. 150 V-Chat participants completed a web-based survey, and data logs were collected from three V-Chat rooms over the course of 119 days. This data illustrates the usage patterns of graphical chat systems, and highlights the ways physical proxemics are translated into social interactions in online environments. V-Chat participants actively used gestures, avatars, and movement as part of their social interactions. Analyses of clustering patterns and movement data show that avatars were used to provide nonverbal cues similar to those found in face-to-face interactions. However, use of some graphical features, in particular gestures, declined as users became more experienced with the system. These findings have implications for the design and study of online interactive environments.
Time Synchronization of Automation Controllers for Power Applications

This paper investigates various forms of industrial time synchronization and applies these methods to programmable automation controllers (PACs) for power system applications. PACs have been used in the industry for many control applications, and advancements in synchronization technology have allowed PACs to be used in high-speed control and data acquisition systems. This paper looks at using the PAC as a time-synchronized sequence-of-events recorder for substation automation. It is shown that a PAC can be time synchronized to multiple time references and provide accuracies accepted by the power industry.
Exact coherent states and connections to turbulent dynamics in minimal channel flow

Several new families of nonlinear three-dimensional travelling wave solutions to the Navier–Stokes equation, also known as exact coherent states, are computed for Newtonian plane Poiseuille flow. The symmetries and streak/vortex structures are reported and their possible connections to critical layer dynamics are examined. While some of the solutions clearly display fluctuations that are localized around the critical layer (the surface on which the streamwise velocity matches the wave speed of the solution), for others this connection is not as clear. Dynamical trajectories along unstable directions of the solutions are computed. Over certain ranges of Reynolds number, two solution families are shown to lie on the basin boundary between laminar and turbulent flow. Direct comparison of nonlinear travelling wave solutions to turbulent flow in the same channel is presented. The state-space dynamics of the turbulent flow is organized around one of the newly identified travelling wave families, and in particular the lower-branch solutions of this family are closely approached during transient excursions away from the dominant behaviour. These observations provide a firm dynamical-systems foundation for prior observations that minimal channel turbulence displays time intervals of ‘active’ turbulence punctuated by brief periods of ‘hibernation’ (see, e.g., Xi & Graham, Phys. Rev. Lett. , vol. 104, 2010, 218301). The hibernating intervals are approaches to lower-branch nonlinear travelling waves. Representing these solutions on a Prandtl–von Karman plot illustrates how their bulk flow properties are related to those of Newtonian turbulence as well as the universal asymptotic state called maximum drag reduction (MDR) found in viscoelastic turbulent flow. In particular, the lower- and upper-branch solutions of the family around which the minimal channel dynamics is organized appear to approach the MDR asymptote and the classical Newtonian result respectively, in terms of both bulk velocity and mean velocity profile.
Biological determinants of pregnancy weight gain in a Filipino population

Patterns of pregnancy weight gain and predictors of first trimester and total weight gain were investigated in a sample of 1367 women from Cebu, Philippines, with pregnancy intervals of < 2 y. The mean total weight gain based on actual measurements of prepregnant weight was 8.4 kg. Controlling for gestational week when weight was measured, multivariate-regression models predicted higher first trimester weight gain with higher parity, lower prepregnant body mass index (BMI), and longer nonpregnant intervals. Higher total weight gain was associated with longer nonpregnant intervals, lower prepregnant BMI, taller maternal stature, and relatively high dietary energy intakes. Lactation into the third trimester of pregnancy and maternal age over 35 y had significant negative effects on total weight gain. Given the importance of maternal weight gain in predicting birth outcome, this study provides information on modifiable risk factors that should be considered when developing maternal-infant health policy and programs.
Treating chemical diversity in QSAR analysis: modeling diverse HIV-1 integrase inhibitors using 4D fingerprints.

A set of 213 compounds across 12 structurally diverse classes of HIV-1 integrase inhibitors was used to develop and evaluate a combined clustering and QSAR modeling methodology to construct significant, reliable, and robust models for structurally diverse data sets. The trial-descriptor pool for both clustering- and QSAR-model building consisted of 4D fingerprints and classic QSAR descriptors. Clustering was carried out using a combination of the partitioning around medoids method and divisive hierarchical clustering. QSAR models were constructed for members of each cluster by linear-regression fitting and model optimization using the genetic function approximation. The 12 structurally diverse classes of integrase inhbitors were partitioned into five clusters from which corresponding QSAR models, overwhelmingly composed of 4D fingerprint descriptors, were constructed. Analysis of the five QSAR models suggests that three models correspond to structurally diverse inhibitors that likely bind at a common site...
Research value mapping and evaluation: theory and application

As this volume demonstrates, a wide variety of methodologies exist to evaluate particularly the objectives and outcomes of research and development programs. These include surveys, statistical and econometric estimations, patent analyses, bibliometrics, scientometrics, network analyses, case studies, and historical tracings. Contributors divide these and other methods and applications into four categories – economic, non-economic, hybrid and data-driven – in order to discuss the many factors that affect the utility of each technique and how that impacts the technological, economic and societal forecasts of the programs in question.
On Continued Gravitational Contraction

When all thermonuclear sources of energy are exhausted a sufficiently heavy star will collapse. Unless fission due to rotation, the radiation of mass, or the blowing off of mass by radiation, reduce the star's mass to the order of that of the sun, this contraction will continue indefinitely. In the present paper we study the solutions of the gravitational field equations which describe this process. In I, general and qualitative arguments are given on the behavior of the metrical tensor as the contraction progresses: the radius of the star approaches asymptotically its gravitational radius; light from the surface of the star is progressively reddened, and can escape over a progressively narrower range of angles. In II, an analytic solution of the field equations confirming these general arguments is obtained for the case that the pressure within the star can be neglected. The total time of collapse for an observer comoving with the stellar matter is finite, and for this idealized case and typical stellar masses, of the order of a day; an external observer sees the star asymptotically shrinking to its gravitational radius.
The Rate and Molecular Spectrum of Spontaneous Mutations in the GC-Rich Multichromosome Genome of Burkholderia cenocepacia

Spontaneous mutations are ultimately essential for evolutionary change and are also the root cause of many diseases. However, until recently, both biological and technical barriers have prevented detailed analyses of mutation profiles, constraining our understanding of the mutation process to a few model organisms and leaving major gaps in our understanding of the role of genome content and structure on mutation. Here, we present a genome-wide view of the molecular mutation spectrum in Burkholderia cenocepacia, a clinically relevant pathogen with high %GC content and multiple chromosomes. We find that B. cenocepacia has low genome-wide mutation rates with insertion–deletion mutations biased toward deletions, consistent with the idea that deletion pressure reduces prokaryotic genome sizes. Unlike prior studies of other organisms, mutations in B. cenocepacia are not AT biased, which suggests that at least some genomes with high %GC content experience unusual base-substitution mutation pressure. Importantly, we also observe variation in both the rates and spectra of mutations among chromosomes and elevated G:C > T:A transversions in late-replicating regions. Thus, although some patterns of mutation appear to be highly conserved across cellular life, others vary between species and even between chromosomes of the same species, potentially influencing the evolution of nucleotide composition and genome architecture.
Massive neutral gauge boson production as a probe of nuclear modifications of parton distributions at the LHC

We analyze the role of nuclear modifications of parton distributions, notably, the nuclear shadowing and antishadowing corrections, in the production of lepton pairs from decays of neutral Z and γ∗ gauge bosons in proton-lead and lead-lead collisions at the LHC. Using the Collins-Soper-Sterman resummation formalism that we extended to the case of nuclear parton distributions, we observed a direct correlation between the predicted behavior of the transverse momentum and rapidity distributions of the produced vector bosons and the pattern of quark and gluon nuclear modifications. This makes the production of Z/γ∗ in pA and AA collisions at the LHC a useful tool for constraining nuclear PDFs in the small-x shadowing and moderate-x antishadowing regions.
Efficient sorting in a dynamic adverse-selection model

We discuss a class of markets for durable goods where efficiency (or approximate efficiency) is obtained despite the presence of information asymmetries. In the model, the number of times a good has changed hands (the vintage of the good) is an accurate signal of its quality, each consumer self-selects into obtaining the vintage that the social planner would have assigned to her, and consumers' equilibrium trading behaviour in secondary markets is not subject to adverse selection. We show that producers have the incentive to choose contracts that lead to the efficient allocation, and to supply the efficient output. We also provide a contrast between leasing contracts, resale contracts, and different kinds of rental contracts. Resale contracts do not lead to the efficient allocation. A specific kind of rental contract provides the appropriate incentives to consumers. Copyright 2005, Wiley-Blackwell.
Using contingent choice surveys to inform national park management

Contingent choice surveys can provide national park managers rich information to help inform management decisions, but they have almost never been used in this context. The surveys can be integrated easily into multiple stages of the existing National Park Service planning process and can foster interdisciplinarity. They yield estimates of monetary and nonmonetary benefits created by park resources, including benefits derived from both recreation and preservation. Many alternative management scenarios can be explored efficiently. Recent innovations in the design and statistical analysis of contingent choice surveys have increased their accuracy and flexibility. This paper describes why contingent choice surveys are useful for park management and how they can fit into current management policies. It then describes contingent choice surveys and the econometric techniques used to analyze them, presenting two examples as illustrations.
Design Principles for Underground Salt Cavities

Design principles for construction of salt cavities as containers for high level radioactive waste; studies on reduction of cavity volume, development of plastic zone, and stress redistribution around cavity as functions of cavity depth, strength of salt, and physicochemical effects of waste; structural equilibrium equations for designing cavity.
Did Distortionary Sales Taxation Contribute to the Growth of the Service Sector

Since the 1950s, the sales tax has become much more widely used as a source of state government revenue and the average sales tax rate has greatly increased. During this period, the service sector ...
Dwelling in Space through Knowledge of Place: Building on Epistemological Understandings of the Seventeenth-Century British Atlantic

This paper explores colonial English epistemologies of weather and climate through an analysis of the dwelling spaces of the 17th-century Chesapeake region. Using Ingold’s notion of the “weather-world,” I consider early modern perceptions of air, temperature, and the body in order to address the various ways in which colonial landscapes were defined and shaped. Employing an analytical method known as buildings information modeling (BIM), I investigate the implications of 17th-century pit-house construction in an attempt to understand the ways in which individuals engage with an environment, constructing and dwelling through a particular way of knowing the world. This analysis ultimately demonstrates how archaeological evidence speaks to the material ways in which people manipulate their experience of place, not only to experience their surroundings, but to shape them to fit the epistemological context that creates a knowledge of place.
Counterfactual Decomposition of Pro-Poorness Using Influence Functions

AbstractPoverty reduction has emerged as a fundamental social objective of development, and has become a metric commonly used to assess the performance of public policy. This paper adapts the methodology of Firpo, Fortin and Lemieux (2009) [2009. “Unconditional Quantile Regressions.” Econometrica 77 (3): 953–973] to the measurement of the pro-poorness of income growth. The method allows the analyst to identify covariates that affect poverty reduction. The methodology is policy-relevant because policy-makers can better target these covariates than the average level of income, or the level of inequality. We demonstrate this by application to Bangladesh 2000–2010.
Dynamic Relationships and Price Discovery of Western Alfalfa Markets

Alfalfa hay exports have substantially increased since 2007 with 99% being shipped from western ports (Putnam et al., 2013), and likely more than 95% of it originating from seven western states (Putnam et al., 2015). This paper determines the dynamic price relationships among alfalfa markets in those western states. Of particular interest is to identify the price discovery process between the spatially separated alfalfa hay markets of Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Alfalfa hay is the nation’s fourth largest crop in terms of total acreage (USDA NASS, 2013). In each of these seven western states, alfalfa is among the top three most important crops in terms of acreage. For many years, the dairy industry in these states has been the dominant market for alfalfa hay. The dairy industry continues to be a major market with alfalfa being the largest feed component for them (more than 50%), and these western states produce approximately 41% of all US production of milk in 2012 (U.S. Dairy statistics). However, the recent surge in alfalfa hay exports is resulting in a new major market for alfalfa hay and may be changing the price discovery process in these markets. The objective of this study is to examine and elucidate the center of price discovery for alfalfa among the seven mentioned western states, by identifying the causal and dynamic price relationships. The concentration and scale of dairies varies considerably by state, and obviously there are spatial differences relating to distance to the ports. Understanding the evolving nature of alfalfa hay prices in these spatially separated markets should have important risk management and policy implications.