cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RoboCupJunior: a vehicle for enhancing technical literacy.

This paper outlines the key components of technical literacy, explaining their relationship to classic computer science and artificial intelligence curriculum. We then describe an international educational initiative called RoboCupJunior and outline related work examining the (human) learning aspects of educational team robotics. Through examples, we show how the RoboCupJunior paradigm has been used successfully as a hands-on tool for teaching computer science and AI courses, and finally bridge the gap from these classic topics to “technical literacy”, exploring the use of RoboCupJunior as a vehicle for promoting comfort with and understanding of technology.
Natural orifice specimen extraction in colorectal surgery: patient selection and perspectives

Over the past 30 years, colorectal surgery has evolved to include minimally invasive surgical techniques. Minimally invasive surgery is associated with reduced postoperative pain, reduced wound complications, earlier return of bowel function, and possibly shorter length of hospital stay. These benefits have been attributed to a reduction in operative trauma compared to open surgery. The need to extract the specimen in colorectal operations through a "mini-laparotomy" can negate many of the advantages of minimally invasive surgery. Natural orifice specimen extraction (NOSE) is the opening of a hollow viscus that already communicates with the outside world, such as the vagina or distal gastrointestinal tract, in order to remove a specimen. The premise of this technique is to reduce the trauma required to remove the specimen with the expectation that this may improve outcomes. Reduction in postoperative analgesic use, quicker return of bowel function, and shorter length of hospital stay have been observed in colorectal operations with NOSE compared to conventional specimen extraction. While the feasibility of NOSE has been demonstrated in colorectal surgery, failures of this technique have also been described. Selection of patients who can successfully undergo NOSE needs further investigation. This review aims to guide surgeons in appropriately selecting patients for NOSE in colorectal surgery. Patient and specimen characteristics are reviewed in order to define patient populations in which NOSE is likely to be successful. Randomized trials comparing NOSE to conventional specimen extraction in colorectal surgery tend to enroll patients with favorable characteristics (body mass index 30 and those with significant comorbidities, requires further study.
Isaiah’s Suffering Servant: Before and After Christianity:

The so-called “Suffering Servant” of Isaiah 52:15–53:12 takes on new meaning in each of his settings, from the exilic or early post-exilic community of Deutero-Isaiah, to the repurposing of this fi...
Going Easy and Going After: Building Inspections and the Selective Allocation of Code Violations:

Sociologists have demonstrated how public and private actors reproduce economic and racial inequality, by protecting the values of lucrative real estate, enforcing the tastes of elite and middle–cl...
Re-evaluating the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio: Machine learning-based variable selection for predicting survival at twelve months in late-stage cancer patients receiving immunotherapy.

e18201Background: Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) is prognostic for cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). We showed the change in NLR early during treatment to be a ...
Productivity of multilateral wells

Abstract A multilateral well is defined as a well with multiple branches in the lower borehole, targeting oil and gas reserves in the same or in different strata. These branches are called “laterals.” This chapter presents practical methods for predicting the productivities of multilateral oil and gas wells. The productivity prediction of root wells requires computer programs because the pressures in the laterals can be significantly different and wellbore hydraulics plays an important role.
Bringing Creation to a Museum Near You

Barone explores the relationship between young-Earth creationism and museums, focusing on creationist engagement with natural history museums. Arguing that young-Earth creationism is a social movement primarily focused on cultural reproduction, she examines the use of mobile apps and video-sharing technologies as methods for undermining secular scientific authority in museums. Creationist YouTube tours have become a popular method of subverting the authority of the secular museum for millions of visitors at home, while mobile apps work alongside other web-based written guides to facilitate the reinterpretation of museum displays. As mediators, these tools for young-Earth creationists become invisible tour guides, negotiating the way information reaches the visitor and, as a result, the way mainstream science is accepted or rejected.
Utilizing a Peer Patient Advocate to Develop Sickle Cell Transition Educational Materials

Background: Peer patient advocates, also called peer advocates or peer supporters have the same chronic illness as the patients that they aid to manage their health care (MacLellan, 2017). Our team developed an interactive group educational program that aimed to prepare and guide adolescents and emerging adults (AEAs) with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) as they transition from pediatric to adult care and included a peer patient advocate as a co-facilitator of the program. Here we describe a peer advocate led process to develop an educational booklet equipped with visual aids, tables, and pertinent definitions. To our knowledge, this is a novel use of a peer patient advocate as it has not been seen in the literature before. Methods: The first iteration of the booklet was developed by the peer patient advocate based on topics discovered as important to AEAs and parents through qualitative interviews. The intent of the booklet was to be a guide and resource to four AEA's ages 16-21 as they completed the group healthcare meetings The peer advocate drew on personal experiences with SCD to make the educational booklet as relevant as possible while integrating health information from the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health, 2015), American Society of Hematology (American Society of Hematology, n.d.), and Got Transition (Got Transition, n.d.). The second iteration of the program and booklet facilitated by the peer patient advocate integrated lessons learned from the pilot and was used by twelve patients ranging in age from 14-21. Each AEA was called 1-7 days prior to the next group meeting to evaluate the educational material and share their experiences. These structured interviews took between 5-10 minutes to complete was audio-recorded and transcribed into a text file that could be used for feedback analysis. Results: The AEAs overall described the booklet as useful, easy to understand, and beneficial to their learning. It was described as a resources that they found useful to go to for quick information and they enjoyed that it was related to the information presented within the group. The project overall demonstrated that using peer patient advocates as guides to the healthcare team can be very instrumental in developing patient educational materials and programs. Although peer patient advocates are not experts in developing educational material, this project demonstrates that peer patient advocates can develop excellent patient educational materials that are usable and relatable to adolescent patients with sickle cell disease. Conclusions: Having a peer patient advocate as part of the team that creates the education material can increase pertinent, usable, and relatable information for AEAs with sickle cell disease. The team felt the peer advocate's contributions were vital to the booklet content. Including a peer patient advocate to develop patient education development for other chronic diseases may be valuable for AEAs with other chronic health conditions. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
When Worldviews Collide—Strategic Advocacy V. A Mediator's Ethical Obligations

The provocative headline “Judge Orders Preservation of Mediation Notes In Gender Bias Suit Against Proskauer” sparks the topic of this Ethical Compass discussion. What should be done when a lawyer’s litigation strategy collides with a mediator’s ethical standards of practice? There is growing concern by dispute professionals, including this author, that this collision is diluting the benefits of mediation and re-shaping mediation into quasi-adjudicative dispute resolution procedure. Others hear this as a clarion call from litigators to the mediation community to realize that mediation ideals are just that, and will not deflate litigation advocacy strategies. These polarized perspectives present an opportunity for dispute resolution professionals to pause and rethink what the dispute resolution professional might do to realistically align litigator’s interests with mediator ethics. This is a particularly timely discussion as the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Ethics Committee and Committee on Mediation Guidance consider revisions to the 2005 Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators. I will continue this discussion is three additional parts. Part One discusses the specific colliding of ethical issues raised by the Jane Doe v. Proskauer LL.P case. Part Two highlights the broader value conflicts that this case also raises. In this part, I illustrate how the different perspectives held by litigators and mediators regarding mediation increase the likelihood that a litigator’s litigation strategy will collide with a mediator’s ethics. Then, in Part Three recommendations are suggested about how to begin to address this inevitable collision.
Tsunami Squares simulation of megathrust-generated waves: Application to the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami

Abstract Large subduction zone earthquakes often cause tsunamis, but observational data for hazard analysis is limited. Synthetic catalogs of seismically-generated tsunami scenarios can be created by pairing earthquake and wave simulations. Tsunami Squares is one such wave simulator, explicitly tracking water mass and momentum, allowing simulation of dry land and the inundation process. We demonstrate a C++ port of Tsunami Squares paired with the Virtual Quake simulator by replicating the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Comparisons of coastal run-up and wave heights with observations finds good agreement, with future improvements coming from tsunami source time dependence.
Control of Charge Carriers and Band Structure in 2D Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide via Covalent Functionalization.

The fine-tuning of electro-optic properties is critical for high-performing technologies. This is now obtainable with advanced nanostructures, particularly two-dimensional (2D) monolayer materials ...
SARS-CoV-2 contributes to altering the post-transcriptional regulatory networks across human tissues by sponging RNA binding proteins and micro-RNAs

The outbreak of a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 responsible for COVID-19 pandemic has caused worldwide public health emergency. Due to the constantly evolving nature of the coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 mediated alteration on post-transcriptional gene regulation across human tissues remains elusive. In this study, we systematically dissected the crosstalk and dysregulation of human post-transcriptional regulatory networks governed by RNA binding proteins (RBPs) and micro-RNAs (miRs), due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We uncovered that 13 out of 29 SARS-CoV-2 encoded proteins directly interact with 51 human RBPs of which majority of them were abundantly expressed in gonadal tissues and immune cells. We further performed functional analysis of differentially expressed genes in mock treated versus SARS-CoV-2 infected lung cells that revealed an enrichment for immune response, cytokine mediated signaling, and metabolism associated genes. This study also characterized the alternative splicing events in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells compared to control demonstrating that skipped exons and mutually exclusive exons were the most abundant events that potentially contributed to differential outcomes in response to viral infection. Motif enrichment analysis on the RNA genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 clearly revealed an enrichment for RBPs such as SRSFs, PCBPs, ELAVs and HNRNPs illustrating the sponging of RBPs by SARS-CoV-2 genome. Similar analysis to study the interactions of miRs with SARS-CoV-2 revealed the potential for several miRs to be sponged, suggesting that these interactions may contribute to altered pos-transcriptional regulation across human tissues. Given the need to understand the interactions of SARS-CoV-2 with key pos-transcriptional regulators in the human genome, this study provides a systematic analysis to dissect the role of dysregulated post-transcriptional regulatory networks controlled by RBPs and miRs, across tissues types during SARS-CoV2 infection.
The acuity of pediatric neuroscience nursing using the Inpatient Complexity Assessment and Monitoring to Ensure Optimal Outcomes (CAMEO©) tool

Purpose The neuroscience nurse must possess advanced knowledge and skills to care for a wide range of unique congenital and acquired neurological diagnoses. For each of these clinical scenarios, the measurement of complexity and acuity of patient care is key to informing staffing models and patient assignments. The Inpatient Complexity Assessment and Monitoring to Ensure Optimal Outcomes (CAMEO© ) acuity tool measures patient acuity in terms of nursing cognitive workload complexity. We describe the implementation and evaluation of the Inpatient CAMEO© in a pediatric neuroscience unit in a large free-standing children's hospital in the northeast United States. Design and methods Using a quality improvement approach, the Inpatient CAMEO© was implemented and evaluated over a 12-month period by a neuroscience clinical lead and unit-based ambassadors. Monthly data reports evaluating unit-level completion and the level of acuity (I-V) were generated for unit leadership. Data were further stratified by type of admission to the neuroscience unit. Five categories of patients included neurology medical, epilepsy, neurosurgical, neurooncology, and other, which is defined as nonneurology patients, admitted to unit. Results The monthly proportion of Inpatient CAMEO© s Classified as III-V ranged from 62.3% to 83.3% with a median of 78.2%. The type of neuroscience admissions varied in level of acuity. Patients identified as neurology (68.7%) and epilepsy (67.5%) had the lowest acuity, patients identified as neurosurgery (82.8%) and other (80.2%) had moderate acuity, and neurooncology (94.5%) had the highest acuity. Practice implications Using the Inpatient CAMEO© , the acuity of neuroscience pediatric care was demonstrated to be increased and variable across disease categories. Neurooncology patients were identified as having the highest acuity as compared to other pediatric neuroscience admissions.
AMPA Receptors Exist in Tunable Mobile and Immobile Synaptic Fractions In Vivo.

AMPA receptor (AMPAR) mobility within synapses has been extensively studied in vitro. However, whether similar mobility properties apply to AMPARs in vivo has yet to be determined. Here, we use two-photon-fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) to study AMPAR mobility within individual dendritic spines in live animals using an overexpression vector. We demonstrate the existence of mobile and immobile fractions of AMPARs across multiple cortical regions and layers. Additionally, we found that AMPAR mobility can be altered in vivo in response to administration of corticosterone, a condition that mimics exposure to stress. Significance Statement Our work provides novel insight to receptor mobility within intact brains of live mice using live two-photon microscopy through cranial windows. In vivo assessment of protein mobility within mammalian neuronal synapses have thus far been limited. Here, within this system, we are able to confirm that there are both mobile and immobile AMPA receptor (AMPAR) fractions in vivo and that these fractions are similar across different cortical regions and layers. Additionally, we reveal that the proportion of mobile to immobile receptor fraction may be altered by administration of corticosterone, a condition that mimics stress response, suggesting AMPAR mobility is acutely modulated in vivo.
Glaciers and ice caps through the Holocene: A pan–Arctic synthesis of lake–based reconstructions

Abstract. The recent retreat of nearly all glaciers and ice caps (GICs) located in Arctic regions is one of the most clear and visible signs of ongoing climate change. This paper synthesizes published records of Holocene GIC fluctuations from lake archives, placing their recent retreat into a longer–term context. Our compilation includes sixty–six lake–based GIC records (plus one non–lake–based record from the Russian Arctic) from seven Arctic regions: Alaska; the archipelagos of the eastern Canadian Arctic; GICs peripheral to the Greenland Ice Sheet; Iceland; the Scandinavian peninsula; Svalbard; and the Russian high Arctic. For each region, and for the full Arctic, we summarize evidence for when GICs were smaller than today or absent altogether, indicating warmer than present summers, and evidence for when GICs regrew in lake catchments, indicating summer cooling. Consistent with orbitally driven high boreal summer insolation in the early Holocene, the pan–Arctic compilation suggests that the majority (50 % or more) of studied GICs were smaller than present or absent by ~10 ka. The regional compilations suggest even earlier GIC loss, and thus warmth, in the Russian Arctic and in Svalbard. We find the highest percentage (>90 %) of Arctic GICs smaller than present or absent in the middle Holocene ~7–6 ka, probably reflecting more spatially ubiquitous and consistent summer warmth during this period than in the early Holocene. Following this interval of widespread warmth, our compilation shows that GICs across the Arctic began to regrow, and summers began to cool by ~6 ka. Together, the pan–Arctic records also suggest two periods of enhanced GIC growth in the mid–to–late Holocene, from ~4.5–3 ka and after ~2 ka. The regional records show substantial variability in the timing of GIC regrowth within and between regions, suggesting that the Arctic did not cool synchronously despite the smooth and hemispherically symmetric decline in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. In agreement with other studies, this implies a combined response to glacier–specific characteristics such as topography, and to other climatic forcings and feedback mechanisms, perhaps driving periods of increased regional cooling. Today, the direction of orbital forcing continues to favor GIC expansion, however, the rapid retreat of nearly all Arctic GICs underscores the current dominance of anthropogenic forcing on GIC mass balance. Our review finds that in the first half of the Holocene, most of the Arctic’s small GICs became significantly reduced or melted away completely in response to summer temperatures that, on average, were only moderately warmer than today. In comparison, future projections of temperature change in the Arctic far exceed estimated early Holocene values in most locations, portending the eventual loss of most of the Arctic’s small GICs.
The Whole Solution Space Based Pin Pattern Optimization in BGA Technology

I/O pin counts have been able to increase significantly thanks to ball grid array (BGA) packages. The pogo-pin socket and elastomeric socket are developed to test BGA devices for quick device screening, device characterization and final production test. The cross talk issue introduced by using production test socket is inevitable due to the high density of speed I/Os. To mitigate the cross talk problem, this paper discusses the methodology to quickly generate pin patterns in a full solution space aiming to select the optimal pin patterns which will produce acceptable SI/PI performance in the chip design phase.
Improvements to Formvar Tent Fabrication Using the Meniscus Coater

AbstractThe centering of an ignition target capsule strongly depends on high-quality “tents” with closely matched mechanical properties. The relevant properties are tent stiffness and relaxation behavior. Tent stiffness is matched by choosing tents of equal thickness. Here, we describe recent advances in tent fabrication that have increased the quality and production rate of tents. The most significant improvement comes from the use of a meniscus coater to produce Formvar tents of high uniformity and with good control of tent thickness and good yield. Other improvements include a switch to silicon wafers as deposition substrate and standardized tent holders. The improvements have resulted in a sixfold increase of the production rate while increasing the yield by a factor of 2, despite tighter quality control.
A DATA-DRIVEN DESIGN FOR DERIVING USABILITY METRICS

The complexity of Enterprise Information Systems can be overwhelming to users, yet they are an often overlooked domain for usability research. To better understand the ways in which users interact with these systems, we have designed an infrastructure for input logging that is built upon a data model relating system components, user inputs, and tasks. This infrastructure is aware of user representations, task representations, and the history of user interactions. The interface components themselves log user inputs, so that timing data and action events are automatically aligned and are linked to specific tasks. The knowledge gained about user interactions at varying levels of granularity, ranging from keystroke analysis to higher-level task performance, is a valuable resource for both assessing and enhancing system usability.
On Fair Exchange, Fair Coins and Fair Sampling

We study various classical secure computation problems in the context of fairness, and relate them with each other. We also systematically study fair sampling problems (i.e., inputless functionalities) and discover three levels of complexity for them.
METHOD FOR THE PROBABILISTIC FAILURE ANALYSIS OF A MAN-MACHINE SYSTEM

Summary Probabilistic failure analyses of complex installations are usually made for a plant in a steady state. The current techniques are however too limited for non-steady state situations (e.g. in case of start-up of a plant). This paper will present a possible technique for evaluating the safety of a man-machine system that is brought to another state for which procedural actions have to be performed. It consists of combining a method for the identification of the systems states that may occur due to human errors in following the procedure incorrectly and a systems analysis of these system states. An example related to a man-machine system for locking out electrical power for maintenance is presented.
A Novel Pediatric Vision Screener Employing Wave-Plate-Enhanced, Retinal-Birefringence-Scanning-Based Strabismus Detection and Double-Pass Focus Detection

We developed a novel Pediatric Vision Screener (PVS) that uses wave-plate-enhanced retinal birefringence scanning for strabismus detection, essentially independent of an eye& rsquo;s corneal birefringence, and double-pass focus detection using a bull& rsquo;s eye photodetector.
The Constitution as Suicide Pact

Michael Paulsen has written a wonderful, creative article. In his characteristically engaging manner, he argues that we ought to employ a "meta-rule of construction" and consistently construe the Constitution to avoid "constitutional implosion." Where such "saving" constructions are impossible, however, the law of self-preservation must take precedence. Priority must "be given to the preservation of the nation whose Constitution it is, for the sake of preserving constitutional government over the long haul, even at the expense of specific constitutional provisions."'Professor Paulsen does not thereby countenance constitutional "violations," at least in his own mind. To engage in regime and constitutional preservation, even at the expense of particular constitutional provisions, is to act consistent with the Constitution rather than contrary to it. According to Professor Paulsen, the Constitution contains a general self-preservation exemption (the rule of necessity) to its seemingly iron-clad prohibitions and rights. Who favors constitutional suicide? More accurately, who favors a constitution that lacks an emergency provision authorizing the President to suspend some or all of its parts? Let me be the first to fall on my sword. Though I count myself as one of the many admirers of Professor Paulsen's work, I do not believe that he has made his case, at least not yet. I question whether the Constitution contains a "metarule of construction" which requires that the "Constitution should be construed, where possible, to avoid constitutionally self-destructive re-suits." Moreover, I doubt that the Constitution grants the President a latent and more powerful authority to sacrifice constitutional provisions in order to preserve and defend the Constitution and nation as a whole. In my view, though the Constitution creates a powerful chief executive, it does not empower the President to suspend the Constitution in order to save it.
Rationing Environmental Law in a Time of Climate Change

Addressing climate change demands a fundamental change in United States energy policy and a major infrastructure for a renewable energy future. Yet the boom in natural gas development and expanding demand for energy in developing nations argue poorly for reductions in fossil fuel use. This Article documents how the federal government has resorted to some measure of environmental exceptionalism by rationing environmental law to expedite renewable energy development in the context of the seismic shifts in U.S. energy policy. Despite the many arguments in opposition to rationing environmental law, this Article concludes that the realities of climate change and the lack of progress despite other minor administrative efforts support rationing as a measured response necessary to human survival.
Anionic Transition Metal Hydrides

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a review of the anionic transition-metal hydrides. A large portion of homogeneous catalytic processes of import to the reduction of unsaturated organics, the reduction and homologation of oxycarbon compounds, and the use of carbon monoxide as a reducing agent have as catalysts, catalyst precursors, or mechanistically required intermediates, anionic transition-metal hydride complexes. Encapsulated in a cryptand ligand, the interaction of [K(crypt.222)]+ with an equatorial CO oxygen of μ-HCr2(CO)10– is predictably less perturbing of the anion. Asymmetric hydride bridges are observed for inherently asymmetric dimmers, such as μ-H[Mo(CO)5] [Mo(CO)4PPh3]– in which the Mo–H distance to the more electron-rich Mo center, Mo(CO)4PPh3, is considerably longer than that to the more electron-poor Mo(CO)5. The X-ray diffraction study revealed a distorted octahedral disposition of ligands about Ru. The crystal structure of the nonsolvated lithium salt of H5W(PMe3)3– disclosed a tetrameric cluster with alternating distances (2.77 and 2.93 A) between Li and W, suggesting the presence of μ–H ligands, which could not be located by X-ray crystallographic methods. Infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies are the primary tools for analyzing the solution structures of transition-metal hydrides. The metal–hydrogen stretch should also be useful for the analysis of the electronic character of a particular anion; however, this vibrational frequency is rarely available because of the fact that it is usually a weak and broad absorption or is obscured by other absorptions, such as v(CO) bands.
Competition Policy Convergence: Where Next?

As the 20th Century dawned, there were radical divergences in the policies individual nations pursued toward restraints of competition by cartels and monopolies. Since World War II there has been considerable convergence; many nations have adopted explicit pro-competition policies. This paper traces the reasons for the divergence and then convergence and asks what important steps remain to be taken, especially where the concerns of international trade policy and competition policy intersect. A proposed augmentation of the World Trade Organization's functions to deal with competition policy issues is examined.
SKIT: a computer-assisted sketch instruction tool

In a visual world, the ability to sketch is an important asset for communicating complex ideas. However, sketching is a frustrating task for many people, and most never progress beyond a rudimentary skill level. In this paper we present SKIT, a computer-assisted sketch instruction tool. SKIT attempts to teach beginning students one of the important skills of sketching, the ability to perceive effectively. It is based on traditional art instruction techniques, which break the complex task of drawing into smaller tasks. These sub-tasks are combined into a final drawing, which can be then rendered using several different NPR styles. We also present preliminary results from people who have used SKIT.
The Agent Intellect as "form for us" and Averroes's: critique of al-Fârâbî

This article explicates Averroes's understanding of human knowledge and abstraction in these three commentaries on Aristotle's De Anima . While Averroes's views on the nature of the human material intellect changes through the three commentaries until he reaches his famous view of the unity of the material intellect as one for all human beings, his view of the agent intellect as 'form for us' is sustained throughout these works. In his Long Commentary on the De Anima he reveals his dependence on al-Farabi for this notion and provides a detailed critique of the Farabian notion that the agent intellect is 'form for us' only as agent cause, not as our true formal cause. Although Averroes argues that the agent intellect must somehow be intrinsic to us as our form since humans per se rational and undertake acts of knowing by will, his view is shown to rest on an equivocal use of the notion of formal cause. The agent intellect cannot be properly our intrinsic formal principle while remaining ontologically separate.
A neural network based lossless digital image watermarking in the spatial domain

A lossless digital image watermarking algorithm based on neural network is proposed. The algorithm uses the neural network technique and the exclusive-or (XOR) operation to model the relationships among some randomly selected pixels with their neighborhoods, and to extract the features of the cover image instead of embedding watermark into it. It does not degrade the visual quality of the cover image, i.e., lossless watermarking. The algorithm may be used for automatic piracy detection as well as copyright demonstration by cooperating with a copyright authentication center.
RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE RISK FORMAT IN ELICITING WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR BEEF IRRADIATION

The relationship between the valuation of reduced risk through irradiation and framing of risk information was determined using absolute and relative risk formats. A double-bounded CV survey was used to measure willingness-to-pay (WTP) for irradiated beef among 740 U.S. households. Results show that the WTP was sensitive to the risk formats.
The Implicit Incentive Effects of Horizontal Monitoring and Team Member Dependence on Individual Performance

This study examines the implicit incentive effects of horizontal monitoring and team member dependence for individuals working in teams but facing explicit incentives based solely on measures of individual performance. We combine proprietary performance data with survey data for 133 internal auditors. We show that the social influences of relatively high levels of both horizontal monitoring and team member dependence provide implicit incentives that motivate individual performance, making the provision of team rewards unnecessary to ensure individual and team productivity. We conclude that horizontal monitoring and team member dependence are complementary control mechanisms whose effectiveness helps explain the observed practice of organizing work into teams without explicit team-based rewards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Data and Applications Security: Past, Present and the Future

This paper first describes the developments in data and applications security with a special emphasis on database security. It also discusses current work including security for data warehouses and e-commerce systems. Then it discuses some of the directions for data and applications security which includes secure semantic web, secure dependable information management, and secure sensor information management. Directions for privacy research are also given.
The new flavor of Higgsed gauge mediation

Recent LHC bounds on squark masses combined with naturalness and flavor considerations motivate non-trivial sfermion mass spectra in the supersymmetric Standard Model. These can arise if supersymmetry breaking is communicated to the visible sector via new extended gauge symmetries. Such extended symmetries must be spontaneously broken, or confined, complicating the calculation of soft masses. We develop a new formalism for calculating perturbative gauge-mediated two-loop soft masses for gauge groups with arbitrary patterns of spontaneous symmetry breaking, simplifying the framework of “Higgsed gauge mediation.” The resulting expressions can be applied to Abelian and non-Abelian gauge groups, opening new avenues for supersymmetric model building. We present a number of examples using our method, ranging from grand unified threshold corrections in standard gauge mediation to soft masses in gauge extensions of the Higgs sector that can raise the Higgs mass through non-decoupling D-terms. We also outline a new mediation mechanism called “flavor mediation”, where supersymmetry breaking is communicated via a gauged subgroup of Standard Model flavor symmetries. Flavor mediation can automatically generate suppressed masses for third-generation squarks and implies a nearly exact U(2) symmetry in the first two generations, yielding a “natural SUSY” spectrum without imposing ad hoc global symmetries or giving preferential treatment to particular generations.
Generalized Key-Evolving Signature Schemes or How to Foil an Armed Adversary

Key exposures, known or inconspicuous, are a real security threat. Recovery mechanisms from such exposures are required. For digital signatures such a recovery should ideally – and when possible – include invalidation of the signatures issued with the compromised keys. We present new signature schemes with such recovery capabilities.
Information-theoretic bounds for mobile Ad-hoc networks routing protocols

In this paper, we define the routing overhead as the amount of information needed to describe the changes in a network topology. We derive a universal lower bound on the routing overhead in a mobile ad-hoc network. We also consider a prediction-based routing protocol that attempts to minimize the routing overhead by predicting the changes in the network topology from the previous mobility pattern of the nodes. We apply our approach to a mobile ad-hoc network that employs a dynamic clustering algorithm, and derive the optimal cluster size that minimizes the routing overhead, with and without mobility prediction. We believe that this work is a fundamental and essential step towards the rigorous modeling, design and performance comparisons of protocols for ad-hoc wireless networks by providing a universal reference performance curve against which the overhead of different routing protocols can be compared.
Health Financing Revisited: A Practitioner's Guide

This overview of health financing tools, policies and trends--with a particular focus on challenges facing developing countries--provides the basis for effective policy-making. Analyzing the current global environment, the book discusses health financing goals in the context of both the underlying health, demographic, social, economic, political and demographic analytics as well as the institutional realities faced by developing countries, and assesses policy options in the context of global evidence, the international aid architecture, cross-sectoral interactions, and countries' macroeconomic frameworks and overall development plans.
Using Expectations Data to Study Subjective Income Expectations

Abstract We have collected data on the one-year-ahead income expectations of members of American households in our survey of economic expectations (SEE), a module of a national continuous telephone survey conducted at the University of Wisconsin. The income-expectations questions take this form: “What do you think is the percent chance (or what are the chances out of 100) that your total household income, before taxes, will be less than Y over the next 12 months?” We use the responses to a sequence of such questions posed for different income thresholds Y to estimate each respondent's subjective probability distribution for next year's household income. We use the estimates to study the cross-sectional variation in income expectations one year into the future. We find that the estimated subjective interquartile range (IQR) of future income tends to rise with the estimated subjective median, but more slowly than proportionately. There is substantial variation in the estimated subjective IQR among responden...
Fractional Electrons in Liquid Helium

We argue that electrons in liquid helium bubbles are not fractional, they are in a superposed state.
From Sulfide Flash Smelting to a Novel Flash Ironmaking Technology

A novel flash ironmaking technology is under development at the University of Utah under the support of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The history of the development from the conception of the idea to the current status will be discussed. The flash ironmaking process produces iron directly from fine iron ore concentrates without requiring cokemaking and pelletization/sintering, which will enable the technology to significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions compared with blast furnace ironmaking. Unlike other gas-based ironmaking processes, this technology will not suffer from the problems of solid sticking and fusion. Current work is focused on the method of supplying the energy required to maintain the necessary temperature, as an intermediate step to determine the scalability for larger, industrial-scale pilot trials.
Geometric Properties of the Double-Point Divisor

Let $X^n \subset P^N$ be a nonsingular, nondegenerate projective variety of dimension $n$ and codimension $N-n \ge 2$. Let $|C_X|$ be the linear system determined by the double-point divisor obtained by generically projecting $X$ to a hypersurface in $P^{n+1}$. We classify those varieties for which $C_X$ is not ample, or equivalently, does not separate points of $X$. We call such varieties Roth varieties and prove that they exist for all dimensions $n \ge 2$ and give a description of their properties. For example, in many cases Roth varieties are Castelnuovo varieties. Positivity results for the double-point divisor are analogous to positivity results for the ramification divisor which are studied in adjunction theory.
Chapter 7 – Parameter Estimation

Publisher Summary This chapter illustrates how to use data to estimate parameters of interest and studies two types of estimators. The first of these estimates the quantity of interest with a single number, whereas the second provides an estimate in the form of an interval of values. These estimators also tell the level of confidence that can be had on their validity. The maximum likelihood method is used for determining estimators of unknown parameters. It illustrates how to obtain an interval estimate of the unknown mean of a normal distribution whose variance is specified. It presents an interval estimate of the mean of a normal distribution whose variance is unknown. An interval estimate of the mean of a Bernoulli random variable and the mean of an exponential random variable is also presented in the chapter, along with the general problem of obtaining point estimates of unknown parameters and it is shown how to evaluate an estimator by considering its mean square error. The bias of an estimator and its relationship to the mean square error is also explored. The chapter also shows how to compute the Bayes estimator.
Testing for Placebo Effects Using Data from Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trials

This paper proposes a test for the existence of placebo effects, as described by the so-called expectancy theory. This theory, which is the dominant medical theory of how placebo effects operate, posits that health outcomes rise in individuals' beliefs about the probability that they are getting a beneficial treatment and their beliefs about the efficacy of that treatment. Blinded, randomized, controlled trials provide near-perfect environments in which to test this theory because they offer objective, controlled manipulations of subjects' beliefs about treatment. If the expectancy theory is correct, outcomes in trials offering a higher probability of receiving an experimental treatment should be superior to outcomes in trials offering a lower probability of receiving that treatment, conditional on treatment assignment. The paper applies this test to data from over 200 trials of anti-ulcer medications and finds robust evidence of placebo effects in trials of H2-blockers (e.g., Zantac, Tagamet and Pepcid) and of proton-pump inhibitors (e.g., Prilosec, Nexium, and Prevacid). Indeed, trials of H2-blockers manifest placebo effects that are 50 percent as large as the physiological effects of these medications. Because placebo effects are not confined to clinical trials, this result suggests that the standard difference-in-means estimator of treatment effects may seriously underestimate the efficacy of anti-ulcer medications
Confounder Summary Score

Consider an observational study of the effect of an “exposure” variable X on an outcome variable Y in which multiple confounders must be controlled. Simultaneous stratification on all observed confounder combinations may lead to many uninformative strata (i.e. strata in which there is either no variation in the exposure or no variation in the outcome). The usual method of coping with this problem is to estimate exposure effects from coefficients in a regression model for the dependence of the outcome on the exposure and confounders. Confounder summary scores are alternatives that use fitted models to define strata. Keywords: confounding; stratification; covariate adjustment; propensity score
ADVANCED BIOFUELS SYSTEM CONFIGURATION IN THE U.S.: COST AND PERFORMANCE TRADEOFFS

Prospects for the cellulosic biofuel industry are unclear. The EPA has repeatedly lowered production requirements under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2) to reflect the limited investment in cellulosic biorefineries. The elimination of the VEETC tax credit and of the import tax for Brazilian ethanol at the end of 2011 leave the domestic biofuel industry, particularly advanced biofuels not yet as established as corn ethanol, more exposed to competitive pressures from international commodity markets. The R&D focus seems to be shifting from cellulosic ethanol to drop-in biofuels, which would eliminate the need for infrastructure investments in the downstream segment of the supply chain. However, the challenges associated with handling biomass and configuring a network of biorefineries and biofuel transportation routes remain, regardless of biofuel type. The BioTrans model offers a tool for long-term planning that takes into account strategic interactions among regions and between oil and biofuels while also examining system flexibility and robustness to supply/demand shocks.
My Favorite Ten Complexity Theorems of the Past Decade

We review the past ten years in computational complexity theory by focusing on ten theorems that the author enjoyed the most. We use each of the theorems as a springboard to discuss work done in various areas of complexity theory.
Acoustic target tracking using tiny wireless sensor devices

With the advancement of MEMS technologies, wireless networks consist of tiny sensor devices hold the promise of revolutionizing sensing in a wide range of application domains because of their flexibility, low cost and ease of deployment. However, the constrained computation power, battery power, storage capacity and communication bandwidth of the tiny devices pose challenging problems in the design and deployment of such systems. Target localization using acoustic signal with tiny wireless devices is a particularly difficult task due to the amount of signal processing and computation involved. In this paper, we provide an in-depth study of designing such wireless sensor networks for real-world acoustic tracking applications. We layout a cluster-based architecture to address the limitations of the tiny sensing devices. To achieve effective utilization of the scarce wireless bandwidth, a quality-driven paradigm to suppress redundant information and resolve contention is proposed. One instance of the quality-driven approach is implemented in the acoustic tracking system, where the quality of the tracking reports can be quantified numerically. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed architecture and protocols using a sensor network testbed based on UCBerkeley mica motes. Considering the performance limitations of tiny sensor devices, the achieved acoustic target tracking accuracy is extraordinarily good. Our experimental study also shows that the acoustic target tracking quality can be indeed measured and used to assist resource allocation decisions. This application-driven design and implementation exercises also serve to identify important areas of further work in in-network processing and communications.
Efficient planning of informative paths for multiple robots

In many sensing applications, including environmental monitoring, measurement systems must cover a large space with only limited sensing resources. One approach to achieve required sensing coverage is to use robots to convey sensors within this space. Planning the motion of these robots - coordinating their paths in order to maximize the amount of information collected while placing bounds on their resources (e.g., path length or energy capacity) - is aNP-hard problem. In this paper, we present an efficient path planning algorithm that coordinates multiple robots, each having a resource constraint, to maximize the "informativeness" of their visited locations. In particular, we use a Gaussian Process to model the underlying phenomenon, and use the mutual information between the visited locations and remainder of the space to characterize the amount of information collected. We provide strong theoretical approximation guarantees for our algorithm by exploiting the submodularity property of mutual information. In addition, we improve the efficiency of our approach by extending the algorithm using branch and bound and a region-based decomposition of the space. We provide an extensive empirical analysis of our algorithm, comparing with existing heuristics on datasets from several real world sensing applications.