cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
More extreme equitable colorings of decompositions of Kv and Kv−F

Abstract An H -decomposition of a graph G is a partition P of E ( G ) into blocks, each element of which induces a copy of H . An ( s , p ) -equitable block-coloring of the H -decomposition is a coloring of the blocks in P with exactly s colors such that each vertex u is incident with blocks colored with exactly p colors, the blocks containing u being shared out as evenly as possible among the p color classes. Early results in the literature consider the existence of ( s , p ) -equitable block-colorings of K 3 - and C 4 -decompositions of G ∈ { K v , K v − F } , focusing on finding the value of χ p ′ ( v ) , the smallest s for which such a coloring exists. More recently the structure of such colorings has been considered, defining the color vector V ( E ) = ( c 1 ( E ) , c 2 ( E ) , … , c s ( E ) ) of an ( s , p ) -equitable block-coloring E of G , arranged in non-decreasing order, where c i ( E ) is the number of vertices in G incident with a block of color i . The most interesting cases are where χ p ′ ( v ) > p , finding the range of c 1 ( E ) and of c s ( E ) among all ( s , p ) -equitable block-colorings E of G being the main aim. The largest c 1 can be and the smallest c s can be for C 4 -decompositions of K v − F have been previously found. In this paper the value of the remaining two parameters of most interest are found; namely the smallest c 1 can be and the largest c s can be. The extreme colorings found in the main results follow from another problem addressed in this paper: finding extreme ( s , p ) -equitable edge-colorings of K v . An important facet of the paper is that the powerful proof technique of graph amalgamations is used for the first time to obtain ( s , p ) -equitable block-colorings.
Technique for Preparing Ultrathin and Nanothin Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty Tissue.

Purpose To describe and report outcomes of our single-pass microkeratome technique for preparation of ultrathin (UT, ≤100 μm) and nanothin (NT, ≤50 μm) Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) grafts. Methods To prepare NT-DSAEK grafts, a pachymetry nomogram specific to each technician and individual microkeratome head was developed based on accumulated precut and postcut pachymetry data from previous DSAEK grafts. Mean graft thickness as well as precut and postcut endothelial cell counts (ECCs) of NT-DSAEK, UT-DSAEK, and Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) grafts between July 2015 and July 2017 were calculated and compared statistically. Endothelial cell loss was evaluated using calcein AM stains and ImageJ analysis. Postcut graft thickness and rates of perforation/tissue loss for NT-DSAEK grafts between May and July 2017 were calculated to determine overall graft preparation success rates. Results Mean postcut graft thickness for all grafts within the NT range was 41.0 ± 6.4 μm (range 26-50 μm). Mean ECC did not differ between NT-DSAEK, UT-DSAEK, and DMEK grafts (P = 0.759 and 0.633, respectively). The overall tissue loss rate from attempted NT-DSAEK was 4.8%. Excluding cases of perforation, the chance of achieving NT thickness was 60% and within the traditional UT range was 100%. Conclusions We propose the term "NT-DSAEK" for grafts ≤50 μm. The described nomogram allows for standardized creation of NT grafts with a low tissue loss rate. This technique is safe and does not result in significant ECC loss compared with UT-DSAEK and DMEK grafts. Further studies are necessary to corroborate the postsurgical results of NT grafts.
On stress intensities induced by direct resistance heating

The temperature field and mode I stress intensity caused by resistance heating are calculated for a model problem. The results indicate that, for a constant far-field electric current, the stress intensity is proportional to the crack length to the power 5/2. Consequently, the effect of localized heating becomes especially important as the crack length increases and may, if ignored, cause significant errors during the more severe thermal fatigue tests that utilize direct resistance heating.
The Paradigm Clash in Psycholinguistics: Revolution or Pendula Swings?

The pre-1950 history of the relationship between linguists and psychologists concerned with language can be characterized as having been either nil or contentious—witness the exchanges between linguist Paul and psychologist Wundt around the turn of the century (cf. Blumenthal, 1970). Like all sweeping generalizations, this one has its exceptions, of course: the first edition of Leonard Bloomfield’s famous Language in 1933 was explicitly within a behavioristic framework (see the preface), although there was little detailed use of psychological notions; on the other side, German psychologist Karl Buhler’s Sprachtheorie (1934) described linguistic phenomena, about which he was exceptionally well-informed, from a psychological point of view. Nevertheless, relations were remote and scholarly rather than intimate.
Hemolytic anemia accelerated by Babesia spp. infection in splenectomized patient.

A 50-year-old patient presented with severe fatigue, fevers, unexplained weight loss, and night sweats of two-week duration. Within two days, an episode of intravascular hemolysis was noted. Relevant medical history supported a possible diagnosis of Babesia spp. Molecular testing revealed Babesia DNA although the peripheral blood smear did not demonstrate any classic parasite forms. Treatment for Babesia was begun and the patient improved. ABBREVIATIONS ALP - alkaline phosphatase, AST - aspartate aminotransferase, CLL - chronic lymphocytic leukemia, HCT – hematocrit, HGB – hemoglobin, LD - lactate dehydrogenase, NRBC - nucleated red blood cell, PCR - polymerase chain reaction, PLT – platelet, PRBCs -packed red blood cells, RBC - red blood cell, RDW -red blood cell distribution width, WBC - white blood cell, Retic, - reticulocyte, Spp. – Species, Tot Bili - total bilirubin, Dir Bili - direct bilirubin
Contributions of Transportation Network Modeling to the Development of a Real-Time Route Guidance System

The choices facing most urban travelers concerning frequently — made trips, such as the daily journeys to and from work, pertain to the route of travel and the time of departure. Some of these travelers may also consider the choice of mode, if indeed a choice is available to them. The basis for these choices largely consists of the traveler’s experience with the performance of specific travel choice combinations selected during past excursions. Even this experience, however, is gained sequentially as a series of related events; real opportunities to compare the performance (e.g. travel time, cost, comfort, etc.) of alternative choices of routes and departure times are rarely available. Since travel conditions vary markedly from hour to hour, as well as day to day, this sequential experience provides only a rough guide to the traveler, and offers little opportunity for ex post comparison with discarded choice alternatives.
CDS in Disk-Intersection Graphs

Consider a finite set V of nodes in the plane and a radius function \(r : V \rightarrow {\rm IR}^{+}\). The disk-intersection graph (DIG) of V with the radius function r, denoted by \({G}_{r}\left (V \right )\), is the undirected graph on V in which u and v are adjacent if and only if the disk centered at u of radius \(r\left (u\right )\) and the disk centered at v of radius \(r\left (v\right )\) intersect, or equivalently, $$\left \Vert uv\right \Vert \leq r\left (u\right ) + r\left (v\right ).$$ If \(r\left (v\right ) = 1/2\) for all v ∈ V, then \({G}_{r}\left (V \right )\) is exactly the unit disk graph (UDG) of V.
Travel-induced learning: a validation of the sustainability insight scale

With 2017 as the UN’s International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development and the role of tourism in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring that tourism be designed and managed for su...
Manipulating Fano coupling in the opto-thermoelectric trap

We experimentally demonstrate the on-demand assembly of all-dielectric Fano metamolecules in the onto-thermoelectric tran with both reconfigurability and tunability. © 2019 The Author(s)
A Targeted Mass Spectrometric Assay for Reliable Sensitive Hepcidin Quantification

Hepcidin, a cysteine-rich peptide hormone, secreted mainly by the liver, plays a central role in iron metabolism regulation. Emerging evidence suggests that disordered iron metabolism is a risk factor for various types of diseases including cancers. However, it remains challenging to apply current mass spectrometry (MS)-based hepcidin assays for precise quantification due to the low fragmentation efficiency of intact hepcidin as well as synthesis difficulties for the intact hepcidin standard. To address these issues we recently developed a reliable sensitive targeted MS assay for hepcidin quantification from clinical samples that uses fully alkylated rather than intact hepcidin as the internal standard. Limits of detection and quantification were determined to be <0.5 ng/mL and 1 ng/mL, respectively. Application of the alkylated hepcidin assay to 70 clinical plasma samples (42 non-cancerous and 28 ovarian cancer patient samples) enabled reliable detection of endogenous hepcidin from the plasma samples, as well as conditioned culture media. The hepcidin concentrations ranged from 0.0 to 95.6 ng/mL across non-cancerous and cancer plasma specimens. Interestingly, cancer patients were found to have significantly higher hepcidin concentrations compared to non-cancerous patients (mean: 20.6 ng/ml for cancer; 5.94 ng/ml for non-cancerous) (p value < 0.001). Our results represent the first application of the alkylated hepcidin assay to clinical samples and demonstrate that the developed assay has better sensitivity and quantification accuracy than current MS-based hepcidin assays without the challenges in synthesis of intact hepcidin standard and accurately determining its absolute amount.
Pembrolizumab in men with heavily treated metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

Background Pembrolizumab is approved for patients with metastatic, microsatellite instability (MSI)-high or mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) solid tumors. However, very few men with prostate cancer were included in these initial studies. Methods We performed a single institution retrospective review of men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who were treated with pembrolizumab. The primary objective was to describe the clinical efficacy of pembrolizumab associated with patient and genomic characteristics. Results We identified 48 men who received ≥1 cycle of pembrolizumab for mCRPC. Of these, 94% (45/48) had ≥3 prior lines of therapy for mCRPC. Somatic tumor sequencing was available in 18/48 men (38%). We found that 17% (8/48) had a ≥50% confirmed PSA decline with pembrolizumab, and 8% (4/48) had a ≥90% PSA decline with durations of response ranging from 3.1 to 16.3 months. Two of these four men had mutations in LRP1b, one of whom also had MSH2 loss and was MSI-H and TMB-high. Despite prior progression on enzalutamide, 48% (23/48) of men were treated with concurrent enzalutamide. The median PSA progression-free-survival was 1.8 months (range 0.4-13.7 months), with 31% of patients remaining on pembrolizumab therapy and 54% of men remain alive with a median follow-up of 7.1 months. Conclusions In a heavily pretreated population of men with mCRPC, pembrolizumab was associated with a ≥50% PSA decline in 17% (8/48) of men, including a dramatic ≥90% PSA response in 8% (4/48), two of whom harbored pathogenic LRP1b mutations suggesting that LRP1b mutations may enrich for PD-1 inhibitor responsiveness in prostate cancer.
Astrocyte-Neuron Interactions in the Striatum: Insights on Identity, Form, and Function.

The physiological functions of astrocytes within neural circuits remain incompletely understood. There has been progress in this regard from recent work on striatal astrocytes, where detailed studies are emerging. In this review, findings on striatal astrocyte identity, form, and function, are summarized with a focus on how astrocytes regulate striatal neurons, circuits, and behavior. Specific features of striatal astrocytes are highlighted to illustrate how they may be specialized to regulate medium spiny neurons (MSNs) by responding to, and altering, excitation and inhibition. Further experiments should reveal additional mechanisms for astrocyte–neuron interactions in the striatum and potentially reveal insights into the functions of astrocytes in neural circuits more generally.
Tracking U.S. Pertussis Incidence: Correlation of Public Health Surveillance and Google Search Data Varies by State.

The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document a raw proxy for counts of pertussis cases in the U.S., and the Project Tycho (PT) database provides an improved source of these weekly data. These data are limited because of reporting delays, variation in state-level surveillance practices, and changes over time in diagnosis methods. We aim to assess whether Google Trends (GT) search data track pertussis incidence relative to PT data and if sociodemographic characteristics explain some variation in the accuracy of state-level models. GT and PT data were used to construct auto-correlation corrected linear models for pertussis incidence in 2004–2011 for the entire U.S. and each individual state. The national model resulted in a moderate correlation (adjusted R2 = 0.2369, p < 0.05), and state models tracked PT data for some but not all states. Sociodemographic variables explained approximately 30% of the variation in performance of individual state-level models. The significant correlation between GT models and public health data suggests that GT is a potentially useful pertussis surveillance tool. However, the variable accuracy of this tool by state suggests GT surveillance cannot be applied in a uniform manner across geographic sub-regions.
Machine Learning-Based Context Aware Sequential Initial Access in 5G mmWave Systems

The wide bandwidth available at the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies is expected to offer high data rates in the fifth generation (5G) of cellular mobile communication systems. The technology implements directional transmission to overcome increased free- space path loss at high frequencies. The dependence on directionality imposes challenges to establish new control layer protocols because the algorithms implemented in conventional omnidirectional long term evolution (LTE) systems are not suitable for these networks. The mmWave base station (BS) and user equipment (UE) need to be properly aligned for directional communication constituting long-lasting initial access (IA) phase. Recently, several research works have been done to devise smart initial access procedures for mmWave systems. Some of these schemes periodically sweep across the cell area to establish the connection while others resort to making use of the available contextual information regarding BS and UE profiles and propagation environment to establish the link. This paper proposes a smart machine learning-based context-aware sequential algorithm for IA in 5G mmWave systems and analyzes its performance in comparison to the conventional exhaustive and iterative search algorithms. The algorithm is shown to provide a comparatively low probability of misdetection and a smaller discovery delay.
Improving Social Support for a Veteran With PTSD Using a Manualized Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often negatively impacts social functioning, which can lead to increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Although current evidence-based and exposure-specific ...
Invasive grasses in South Texas rangelands: historical perspectives and future directions

South Texas is home to a high diversity of species due to its location at the confluence of subtropical, desert, and coastal ecoregions. Historical overgrazing of South Texas rangelands transformed the savanna and prairie to a landscape dominated by woody plants and shrubs interspersed with low seral grass species and bare ground. During the first half of the 20th century, exotic grass species, coupled with the application of industrial agricultural practices appeared to be the future of forage production in South Texas and elsewhere. Several of these exotic species, namely King Ranch bluestem [Bothriochloa ischaemum (L.) Keng], Kleberg bluestem [Dichanthium annulatum (Forssk.) Stapf], Angelton bluestem [Dichanthium aristatum (Poir.) C.E. Hubbard], buffelgrass [Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link], guineagrass [Urochloa maxima (Jacq.) R. Webster], Lehmann lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees), and Bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.], have escaped pasture cultivation. Additionally, the native grass tanglehead [Heteropogon contortus (L.) P. Beauv. ex Roem. & Schult.] has begun displaying invasive behaviors. The monoculture growth habit of these species simplifies vegetation structure, reduces biodiversity, and decreases habitat for many species of wildlife. These grasses also alter natural fire regimes and nutrient cycling. This landscape-level transformation of vegetation composition and structure requires monitoring to quantify and assess the spatial and temporal distributions of invasive species as a basis to inform management practices. Current advances in remote sensing technologies, such as very high spatial resolution coupled with daily satellite imagery and unmanned aerial vehicles, are providing tools for invasive vegetation monitoring. We provide a synthesis of the natural history of these grasses, including their introductions, an overview of remote sensing applications in South Texas, and recommendations for future management practices.
Risk of progressive exercise testing and management

Objective To investigate risk signals appeared in subjects performing progressive maximal exercise testing and measures to be taken. Methods Progressive symptom-limited exercise testing was performed in 198 patients. Oxygen uptake(VO2 ) and carbon dioxide output (VCO2) were measured breath-by breath. Arterial oxygen saturation, ECG and blood pressure were monitored during the testing. Arterial blood samples were drawn both at rest and maximal exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD). Results 155 subjects reached their maximal exercise, 43 were terminated exercising because of risk signals which included desaturation (14 cases), higher or lower systolic blood pressure( 3 cases), arrhythmia ( 16 cases), and ischaemic ST-segment changes ( 10 cases). In patients with COPD,there was a little decrease in PaO2 from (91.58±9.46) mm Hg at rest to (88. 92±13.66) mm Hg at exercise,but the PaCO2 increased significantly from (40. 64±4.26) mm Hg at rest to (43.05±3.16) mm Hg at peak exercise. Conclusions Exercise testing is safe for most patients only if we monitor throughout the test,terminate the test when abnormal signs appear. Key words: Exercise testing ; Risk
Regulating Mitochondrial pH with Light and Implications for Chemoresistance

Chemoresistance is one of the major challenges for cancer treatment, more recently ascribed to defective mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), significantly diminishing chemotherapeutic agent-induced apoptosis. A boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) chromophore-based triarylsulfonium photoacid generator (BD-PAG) was used to target mitochondria with the aim to regulate mitochondrial pH and further depolarize the mitochondrial membrane. Cell viability assays demonstrated the relative biocompatibility of BD-PAG in the dark while live cell imaging suggested high accumulation in mitochondria. Specific assays indicated that BD-PAG is capable of regulating mitochondrial pH with significant effects on mitochondrial membrane depolarization. Therapeutic tests using chlorambucil in combination with BD-PAG revealed a new strategy in chemoresistance suppression.
Watching High-Cycle Fatigue with Automated Scanning Electron Microscope Experiments

Fatigue is a multistep process where cyclic loading causes damage within materials that eventually leads to crack formation and propagation. In nanocrystalline metals, a dominant damage mechanism is the abnormal growth of grains up to 100 times their original size. Previous in situ synchrotron experiments have revealed that this grain growth process precedes crack formation and takes up a majority of the fatigue lifetime. The growth of nanocrystalline grains leads to the formation of protrusions on the surface of a material, which can be resolved in scanning electron microscopy. Based on this concept, an automated in situ scanning electron microscope tension–tension fatigue test method has been developed to observe the evolution of crack formation and propagation in materials. In this study, this method was applied to understand the high-cycle fatigue behavior in nanocrystalline Ni- and Pt-based alloys. Fatigue tests between 105 and 107 cycles were performed, and in combination with postmortem characterization through grain orientation mapping and transmission electron microscopy, we identified differences in resistance to damage and crack propagation in the various alloys, and observed varying damage levels prior to crack formation, strongly dependent on the number of cycles to failure.
Oblivious Set-maxima for Intersection of Convex Polygons.

In this paper we revisit the well known set-maxima problem in the oblivious setting. Let $X=\{x_1,\ldots, x_n\}$ be a set of $n$ elements with an underlying total order. Let $\mathcal{S}=\{S_1,\ldots,S_m\}$ be a collection of $m$ distinct subsets of $X$. The set-maxima problem asks to determine the maxima of all the sets in the collection. In the comparison tree model we are interested in determining the number of comparisons necessary and sufficient to solve the problem. We present an oblivious algorithm based on the lattice structure of the input set system. Our algorithm is simple and yet for many set systems gives a non-trivial improvement over known deterministic algorithms. We apply our algorithm to a special $\cal S$ which is determined by an intersection structure of convex polygons and show that $O(n)$ comparisons suffice.
Cooperative Control of Two Manipulators

Abstract The problem of controlling two manipulators in a cooperative manner is investigated. The basic task is to move an object from one place to another by grasping it at two different points using two manipulators. A position control method for two cooperating manipulators is proposed. The Cartesian trajectories of each manipulator are determined from the planned path of (he object, and then the cooresponding joint trajectories of the two manipulators are derived. The movement of each manipulator is controlled in small increments. An experiment was performed to demonstrate the proposed method
Beyond Scarcity: Poverty as a Contraindication for Organ Transplantation

The organ transplantation system is viewed as one of our most equitable health care services, but poor patients are effectively excluded by policy that denies Medicaid coverage of post-transplant immunosuppressant medication. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Exercise echocardiography or exercise SPECT imaging? A meta-analysis of diagnostic test performance.

Kirsten E. Fleischmann, MD, MPH; Maria G. M. Hunink, MD, PhD;Karen M. Kuntz, ScD; Pamela S. Douglas, MDContext.— Cardiac imaging has advanced rapidly, providing clinicians with sev-eralchoicesforevaluatingpatientswithsuspectedcoronaryarterydisease,butfewstudies compare modalities directly.Objectives.— To review the contemporary literature and to compare the diag-nostic performance of exercise echocardiography (ECHO) and exercise single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging in the diagnosis ofcoronary artery disease.Data Sources.— Studies published between January 1990 and October 1997identiﬁedfromMEDLINEsearch;bibliographiesofreviewsandoriginalarticles;andsuggestions from experts in each area.Study Selection.— Articles were included if they discussed exercise ECHOand/or exercise SPECT imaging with thallous chloride TI 201 (thallium) or techne-tium Tc 99m sestamibi for detection and/or evaluation of coronary artery disease,if data on coronary angiography were presented as the reference test, and if theabsolute numbers of true-positive, false-negative, true-negative, and false-positiveobservations were available or derivable from the data presented. Studiesperformed exclusively in patients after myocardial infarction, after percutaneoustransluminal coronary angioplasty, after coronary artery bypass grafting, or with re-cent unstable coronary syndromes were excluded.Data Extraction.— Clinical variables, technical factors, and test performancewere independently extracted by 2 reviewers on a standardized spreadsheet. Dis-crepancies were resolved by consensus.Results.— Forty-four articles met inclusion criteria. In pooled data weighted bythe sample size of each study, exercise ECHO had a sensitivity of 85% (95% con-ﬁdence interval [CI], 83%-87%) with a speciﬁcity of 77% (95% CI, 74%-80%). Ex-ercise SPECT yielded a similar sensitivity of 87% (95% CI, 86%-88%) but a lowerspeciﬁcity of 64% (95% CI, 60%-68%). In a summary receiver operating charac-teristic model comparing exercise ECHO performance to exercise SPECT, exer-cise ECHO was associated with signiﬁcantly better discriminatory power (param-eter estimate, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.71-1.65), when adjusted for age, publication year,andasettingincludingknowncoronaryarterydiseaseforSPECTstudies.Inmodelscomparing the discriminatory abilities of exercise ECHO and exercise SPECT vsexercise testing without imaging, both ECHO and SPECT performed signiﬁcantlybetter than exercise testing. The incremental improvement in performancewas greater for ECHO (3.43; 95% CI, 2.74-4.11) than for SPECT (1.49; 95% CI,0.91-2.08).Conclusions.— Exercise ECHO and exercise SPECT have similar sensitivitiesfor the detection of coronary artery disease, but exercise ECHO has better speci-ﬁcityand,therefore,higheroveralldiscriminatorycapabilitiesasusedincontempo-rary practice.
Crime, Teenage Abortion, and Unwantedness

This article disaggregates Donohue and Levitt's (DL's) national panel-data models to the state level and shows that high concentrations of teenage abortions in a handful of states drive all of DL's results in their 2001, 2004, and 2008 articles on crime and abortion. These findings agree with previous research showing teenage motherhood is a major maternal crime factor, whereas unwanted pregnancy is an insignificant factor. Teenage abortions accounted for more than 30% of U.S. abortions in the 1970s, but only 16% to 18% since 2001, which suggests DL's panel-data models of crime/arrests and abortion were outdated when published. The results point to a broad range of future research involving teenage behavior. A specific means is proposed to reconcile DL with previous articles finding no relationship between crime and abortion.
The Long Run Effects of U.S. Airline Mergers

We introduce a new method for studying the medium and long run dynamic effects of mergers. Our method builds on the two-step estimator of Bajari, Benkard, and Levin (2007). Policy functions are estimated on historical pre-merger data, and then future industry outcomes are simulated both with and without the proposed merger. Using data for 2003-2007, we apply our model to some recently proposed airline mergers. In our airline entry model, an airline’s entry/exit decisions are made jointly across routes, and depend on features of its own route network as well as the networks of the other airlines. The model allows for city-specific profitability shocks that affect all routes out of a given city, as well as route-specific shocks. We find that the model fits the data extremely well. See paper for preliminary conclusions. Note: This is not a paper. It is the incomplete outline of a paper. Citations are very incomplete. Please do not quote findings. ∗This draft is a very rough first effort – not even really a paper yet. We thank Darin Lee and Severin Borenstein for several useful discussions. Correspondence: lanierb@stanford.edu; acreed@stanford.edu; lazarev john@gsb.stanford.edu
Welcome to Anytown, U.S.A. - Home of Beautiful Scenery (and a Convicted Sex Offender): Sex Offender Registration and Notification Laws in E.B. v. Verniero

One of the most vexing aspects of sexual predation is the high recidivism rate, especially among sex offenders who target and victimize children. In response to recent tragedies highlighting the recidivistic tendencies of sex offenders who target children, all fifty states have enacted laws requiring persons convicted of certain designated crimes, all of which involve sexual assault, to register with local law enforcement authorities upon release from incarceration. Similarly, in May of 1996, partially due to the immense publicity that state sex offender registration laws received, Congress passed and President Clinton signed a federal sex offender registration law
Interventions to Improve Adolescent Vaccination What May Work and What Still Needs to Be Tested

Since the development of the "adolescent platform" of vaccination in 1997, hundreds of studies have been conducted, identifying barriers to and facilitators of adolescent vaccination. More recent research has focused on developing and evaluating interventions to increase uptake of adolescent vaccines. This review describes a selection of recent intervention studies for increasing adolescent vaccination, divided into three categories: those with promising results that may warrant more widespread implementation, those with mixed results requiring more research, and those with proven effectiveness in other domains that have not yet been tested with regard to adolescent vaccination.
Explicit Galois representations of automorphisms on holomorphic differentials in characteristic p

We determine the representation of the Galois group for the cyclotomic function fields in characteristic p 0 induced by the natural action on the space of holomorphic differentials via construction of an explicit canonical basis of differentials. This includes those cases which present wild ramification and finite automorphism groups with non-cyclic p-part, which have remained elusive. We also obtain information on the gap sequences of ramified primes and extend these results to rank one Drinfel'd modules.
Interactions of refractories and reactor materials with sodium

As part of a program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to investigate the compatibility of high-temperature sodium with materials being considered for core retention systems in liquid-metal fast breeder reactors, various commercial refractories and samples of reactor control materials were exposed to static sodium at 850/sup 0/C for 5 h. The refractories tested were samples of magnesia, alumina, zirconia, mixed ceramic oxides, and graphite; the reactor control materials were boron carbide and tantalum. Samples of graphite, zirconia, and the refractories with high alumina or magnesia contents, but with low silica and chromic oxide contents, were found to be compatible with high-temperature sodium. Sample compatibility with sodium decreased with an increase in the silica content of the sample. Samples with large silica content failed completely. These results are in good agreement with results of other experiments, performed at ANL and at the Westinghouse Advanced Reactors Division, in which these materials were exposed to boiling sodium.
Nonlinear aspects of shock response in isolated accelerometers

Numerous investigations have studied the potential for chaotic vibrations of nonlinear systems. It has been shown for many simple nonlinear systems, that when they are excited severely enough, or with the appropriate parametric combinations, that they will execute chaotic vibrations. The present investigation considers the potential for the occurrence of chaos in a practical nonlinear system -- the isolated accelerometer. A simple, first order model is proposed for the isolated accelerometer, and it is shown that chaos can occur in the isolated accelerometer. A preliminary investigation into the bearing that this chaos potential has on the measurement of shock response is summarized. 7 refs.
Automobile Prices, Gasoline Prices, and Consumer Demand for Fuel Economy

The relationship between gasoline prices and the demand for vehicle fuel e‐ciency is important for environmental policy but poorly understood in the academic literature. We provide empirical evidence that automobile manufacturers set vehicle prices as if consumers respond to gasoline prices. We derive a reduced-form regression equation from theoretical micro-foundations and estimate the equation with nearly 300,000 vehicle-week-region observations over the period 2003-2006. We flnd that vehicle prices generally decline in the gasoline price. The decline is larger for ine‐cient vehicles, and the prices of particularly e‐cient vehicles actually rise. Structural estimation that ignores these efiects underestimates consumer preferences for fuel e‐ciency.
The Dynamic Impact of Macroeconomic Aggregates on Housing Prices and Stock of Houses: A National and Regional Analysis

This article analyzes the dynamic effects of four key macroeconomic variables on the housing prices and the stock of houses sold on the national and regional levels using a nonstructural estimation technique. The impulse response functions derived from the VAR suggest that macroeconomic variables produce cycles in housing prices and houses sold. The housing market was found to be very sensitive to shocks in the employment growth and mortgage rate at both the national and regional levels. In particular, regional housing prices reflect regional employment growth, as well as national mortgage rates. The study also reveals that the economic variables have a different impact on the dynamic behavior of housing prices and the number of houses sold in different regions at different time periods and that these economic aggregates alone cannot explain the fluctuations in real estate values and construction levels that occurred in some regions.
Memory Efficient Pair-Wise Genome Alignment Algorithm – A Small-Scale Application with Grid Potential

Grid middleware infrastructure is a distributed environment suitable for many, typically large-scale, applications. An improved genome sequence alignment algorithm is presented that significantly reduces sequence matching computation time. Yet, very long sequences can still present computation challenges. A small-scale application is implemented on a shared memory system, on a cluster, and the grid-enabled cluster. Experimental results show comparable performance of the grid-enabled version, with scalability for large sequences. The grid offers application management, enables dynamic specification of parameters, and enables a choice of distributed computation nodes.
Introducing EVG: an emotion evoking game

A dungeon role playing game intended to induce emotions such as boredom, surprise, joy, anger and disappointment is introduced. From the preliminary study, facial expressions indicating boredom and anger were observed. Individual differences were found on appraisal and facial expression of surprise, joy and disappointment.
Integrating Model Checking and Theorem Proving for Relational Reasoning

We present Prioni, a tool that integrates model checking and theorem proving for relational reasoning. Prioni takes as input formulas written in Alloy, a declarative language based on relations. Prioni uses the Alloy Analyzer to check the validity of Alloy formulas for a given scope that bounds the universe of discourse. The Alloy Analyzer can refute a formula if a counterexample exists within the given scope, but cannot prove that the formula holds for all scopes. For proofs, Prioni uses Athena, a denotational proof language. Prioni translates Alloy formulas into Athena proof obligations and uses the Athena tool for proof discovery and checking.
Estrogenic tolerance in pregnant women.

Abstract Thirty-five pregnant women receiving daily doses of estrogens in amounts varying from 789.47 mg. to 24,050 mg. were observed for any unusual signs or symptoms. In no case was abortion caused by the administration of stilbestrol, nor could it be associated with the withdrawal of the synthetic hormone.
Design of a Freeway-Capable Narrow Lane Vehicle

This study focuses on the design of a narrow (44 inches maximum width) vehicle capable of moving two occupants safely at freeway speeds with an emphasis on comfort, efficiency and performance. The design addresses consumer acceptance problems of past narrow vehicles such as too small , too ugly , too unstable , too wet , too slow , too complicated , and too expensive . A full CAD model was developed to show the external vehicle shape, occupant seating and ergonomics, and the packaging of driveline components. Simulations were run using S/MPLFV and Advisor 2002 to predict vehicle performance and range. The size and mass characteristics of the driveline components used in the simulations were based on commercially-available EV products and selected for the special requirements of a relatively lightweight (450400 kg) vehicle. Dynamic stability and safety of the vehicle are of prime importance and were considered in all phases of the design. The narrow lane commute/'vehicle is designed to permit two cars to travel abreast on a standard lane, or single file on a shoulder or auxiliary lane of highway. The vehicle modeled incorporates electric drive and is designed to have a >100 mile range using lithium-ion batteries. This study shows that narrow lane vehicles using current technology power train components are a viable option to increase vehicle throughput on existing roadways and reduce transportation energy consumption.
Maids and School Teachers: Low Skill Migration and High Skill Labor Supply

Over the 40 years the pattern of migration has changed significantly with an increase in the share of female migrants, and especially low skill female migrants. These low skilled women migrants often work in the domestic service sector, a close substitute for household work. This paper analyzes how low skill rural-urban migration in Brazil from 1986 to 2000 lead to an increase in the labor supply of high skill women living in urban areas. In our model we show how large inflows of low skill women migrants decrease the relative price of domestic services. The largest beneficiaries of this trend are high skill women, who respond to the decrease in the cost of domestic services by joining the labor force and working more hours. We use Census data from Brazil from 1991 and 2000 to test this hypothesis. Using weather shocks in rural areas, and historical patterns of migrations, we are able to build an exogenous migration shock by skill to cities. Using this as an instrument for the price of domestic services and local wages we find that a 10% decrease in the wage of domestic workers increases the labor participation of high skill women by 3%.
High Discounts and High Unemployment

Unemployment is high when financial discounts are high. In recessions, the stock market falls and all types of investment fall, including employers' investment in job creation. The discount rate implicit in the stock market rises, and discounts for other claims on business income also rise. A higher discount implies a lower present value of the benefit of a new hire to an employer. According to the leading view of unemployment--the Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides model--when the incentive for job creation falls, the labor market slackens and unemployment rises. Thus high discount rates imply high unemployment.
Examples of Production Relations Based on Microdata

The view has been expressed by many that a meaningful capital theory can and should be developed without ever defining an aggregate capital index. A fine prototype of this approach is Malinvaud’s now classical paper of 1953. The same banner has been unfurled, though not with full identity of views, in Cambridge, England and in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Measuring Equity in Health Care Financing : Reflections on (and Alternatives to) the World Health Organization's Fairness of Financing Index

In its latest World Health Report, The World Health Organization (WHO) argues that a key dimension of a health system's performance is the fairness of its financing system. The report discusses how policymakers can improve this aspect of performance, proposes an index of fairness, discusses how it should be put into operation, and presents a league table of countries, ranked by fairness with which their health services are financed. The author shows that the WHO index cannot discriminate between health financing systems that are regressive, and those that are progressive - and cannot discriminate between horizontal inequity, and progressiveness, or regressiveness. The index cannot tell policymakers whether it deviates from 1 (complete fairness) because households with similar incomes spend different amounts on health care (horizontal inequity), or because households with different incomes spend different proportions of their income on health care (vertical inequity, given the WHO's interpretation of the ability-to-pay principle) - although the two have different policy implications. With the WHO's index, progressiveness, and regressiveness are both treated as unfair. This makes no sense, because policymakers who may be strongly averse to regressive payments (which worsen income distribution) may in the name of fairness be quite receptive to progressive payments (requiring that the better-off, who may be willing to spend proportionately more on health care, are required to pay proportionately more). The author compares the WHO index with an alternative, and more illuminating approach developed in the income redistribution literature in the early 1990s, and used in the late 1990s, to study the fairness of various OECD health care financing systems. He illustrates the differences between the approaches with an empirical comparison, using data on out-of-pocket payments for health services in Vietnam for 1993 and 1998. This analysis is of some interest in its own right, given the large share of health spending from out-of-pocket payments in Vietnam, and the changes in fees, and drug prices over the 1990s.
Using genetic algorithms to find person-specific gabor feature detectors for face indexing and recognition

In this paper, we propose a novel methodology for face recognition, using person-specific Gabor wavelet representations of the human face. For each person in a face database a genetic algorithm selects a set of Gabor features (each feature consisting of a particular Gabor wavelet and a corresponding (x, y) face location) that extract facial features that are unique to that person. This set of Gabor features can then be applied to any normalized face image, to determine the presence or absence of those characteristic facial features. Because a unique set of Gabor features is used for each person in the database, this method effectively employs multiple feature spaces to recognize faces, unlike other face recognition algorithms in which all of the face images are mapped into a single feature space. Face recognition is then accomplished by a sequence of face verification steps, in which the query face image is mapped into the feature space of each person in the database, and compared to the cluster of points in that space that represents that person. The space in which the query face image most closely matches the cluster is used to identify the query face image. To evaluate the performance of this method, it is compared to the most widely used subspace method for face recognition: Principle Component Analysis (PCA). For the set of 30 people used in this experiment, the face recognition rate of the proposed method is shown to be substantially higher than PCA.
Optimal Sovereign Lending

This paper studies the optimal lending contract between an international lender and a sovereign country. A benevolent government finances uncertain expenditures - which are privately observed by the country - using external debt and optimally choosing domestic debt and taxes as in a standard Ramsey environment. Without imposing any restriction on the structure of the loan, we determine the optimal lending contract offered by the lender when the domestic fiscal policy is observed and when the fiscal policy is not observed by the lender. In the first case, we show under which conditions the optimal loan contract is contingent not only on the realization of government expenditures, but also on the sovereign fiscal policy. Whenever the loan is not policy-contingent, the optimal contract prescribes default in equilibrium as a way to improve the insurance against expenditure shocks. Finally we show how the optimal loan contract influences equilibrium taxes and prices in a welfare increasing manner. In particular, the external loan can be used as instrument to reduce the distortions induced by the Ramsey government on the domestic economy.
Mandatory Arbitration: Alternative Dispute Resolution or Coercive Dispute Suppression

To demonstrate the continuing development of the law governing the enforcement of mandatory arbitration policies, the author details a recent case in which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission challenged and successfully enjoined enforcement of a mandatory arbitration policy. The arbitration policy was vulnerable to attack because its provisions so clearly favored the employer and because pre-existing employees were forced to choose between keeping their jobs or prospectively agreeing to arbitrate nearly all disputes under the terms of the employer's arbitration policy.
Are Banks and Stock Markets Complements or Substitutes

We examine the determinants of stock market and bank liquidity in an economy in a SUR framework in which stock market turnover and available bank credit denoting access to long and short term capital respectively are interdependent and the errors are correlated. The SUR results suggest that available bank credit and stock market turnover are inversely related to each other, confirming their substitutability in terms of external financing needed by corporations. Other significant common factors for stock market turnover and available bank credit include stock market growth, legal origin, and whether the stock market is developed or emerging, an indicator of path dependence. These common determinants of stock market and bank liquidity are generally stable over time.
A Continuous Refinement Strategy for the Multilevel Computation of Vertex Separators

The Vertex Separator Problem (VSP) on a graph is the problem of finding the smallest collection of vertices whose removal separates the graph into two disjoint subsets of roughly equal size. Recently, Hager and Hungerford [1] developed a continuous bilinear programming formulation of the VSP. In this paper, we reinforce the bilinear programming approach with a multilevel scheme for learning the structure of the graph.
The continuing quest for abstraction

The history of Object-Oriented Programming can be interpreted as a continuing quest to capture the notion of abstraction – to create computational artifacts that represent the essential nature of a situation, and to ignore irrelevant details. Objects are defined by their essential behavior, not by their physical representation as data. The basic Object-Oriented paradigm of organizing programs as active objects and message passing has now been accepted by the mainstream, for which ECOOP can be justifiably proud. Future developments in the field will focus on capturing computational ideas that can't be expressed well simply by functional abstraction. Programming will evolve from textual programming languages to using natural language, graphics, demonstrated actions, and other techniques.