cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Saliency Detection on Light Field

Existing saliency detection approaches use images as inputs and are sensitive to foreground/background similarities, complex background textures, and occlusions. We explore the problem of using light fields as input for saliency detection. Our technique is enabled by the availability of commercial plenoptic cameras that capture the light field of a scene in a single shot. We show that the unique refocusing capability of light fields provides useful focusness, depths, and objectness cues. We further develop a new saliency detection algorithm tailored for light fields. To validate our approach, we acquire a light field database of a range of indoor and outdoor scenes and generate the ground truth saliency map. Experiments show that our saliency detection scheme can robustly handle challenging scenarios such as similar foreground and background, cluttered background, complex occlusions, etc., and achieve high accuracy and robustness.
Recognizing and Selling Good Ideas: Network Articulation and the Making of an Offshore Innovation Hub

Organizations have been offshoring work to companies in other countries for a long time. But in the past decade, the practice of offshoring has been changing in two important ways. First, an increa...
No "Shared Governance" Without Attention to Law, Broadly Conceived.

Despite advances in policy, programmatic, and research responses to global health, faster and more sophisticated means of communicating about and responding to disease outbreaks, and increases in f...
Types of oral translation in the Australian context

This paper discusses oral translation work carried out in Australia. It argues that the physical presence of the translator is a significant factor both for the act of translation and for the development of typologies of translation. In his highly readable and extremely thought-provoking book Grammatical Man Jeremy Campbell titles one of his chapters “The Struggle against Randomness” (Campbell, 1982:75). I believe that this is an apt definition of our particular concerns with the development of text typologies. I consider it a struggle because in my view we are still grappling with the randomness of phenomena; we are still in a high entropy state. The aim of this paper is to attempt to make a small contribution to the typology debate by outlining some observations of certain data which form part of the random world of texts; these data are different in at least two ways: one, they are derived from the Australian context and two, they refer to “oral translations” which, while being specific to the Australian context are firmly ensconced in the universe of oral translations. I intend to briefly describe the Australian context and then outline the characteristics of that context which sets it apart from others. I shall then discuss a theoretical framework for the observations which will be subsequently described and finally, I shall venture a possible avenue for further investigation.
High-power diode-pumped solid state lasers

Although operational for over twenty years, diode pumped solid state lasers have, for most of their existence, been limited to individual diodes pumping a tiny volume of active medium in an end pumped configuration. More recent years have witnessed the appearance of diode bars, packing around 100 diodes in a 1 cm bar which have enabled end and side pumped small solid state lasers at the few watt level of output. This paper describes the subsequent development of how proper cooling and stacking of bars enables the fabrication of multi kW average power diode pump arrays with irradiances of 1 kW/cm peak and 250 W/cm 2 average pump power. Since typical conversion efficiencies from the diode light to the pumped laser output light are of order 30% or more, kW average power diode pumped solid state lasers now are possible.
Hired to be Fired: The Publicity Value of Managers

Sports teams frequently fire and hire managers when they experience losing. However, determining managerial responsibility for player performance is difficult to measure. This study examines how major-league baseball players perform under different managers and estimates that managers have little effect on performance. The study further investigates whether or not replacing managers serves as a signal to fans that the team is improving, which boosts attendance. The results indicate that new managers were associated with increased attendance in the 2000s; however, such effects were not present in the 1980s and 1990s. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sensor Planning for a Symbiotic UAV and UGV System for Precision Agriculture

We study two new informative path planning problems that are motivated by the use of aerial and ground robots in precision agriculture. The first problem, termed sampling traveling salesperson problem with neighborhoods ( Sampling TSPN), is motivated by scenarios in which unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are used to obtain time-consuming soil measurements. The input in SamplingTSPN is a set of possibly overlapping disks. The objective is to choose a sampling location in each disk and a tour to visit the set of sampling locations so as to minimize the sum of the travel and measurement times. The second problem concerns obtaining the maximum number of aerial measurements using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with limited energy. We study the scenario in which the two types of robots form a symbiotic system—the UAV lands on the UGV, and the UGV transports the UAV between deployment locations. This paper makes the following contributions. First, we present an $\operatornamewithlimits{\mathcal {O}}(\frac{r_{\max }}{r_{\min }})$ approximation algorithm for SamplingTSPN , where $r_{\min }$ and $r_{\max }$ are the minimum and maximum radii of input disks. Second, we show how to model the UAV planning problem using a metric graph and formulate an orienteering instance to which a known approximation algorithm can be applied. Third, we apply the two algorithms to the problem of obtaining ground and aerial measurements in order to accurately estimate a nitrogen map of a plot. Along with theoretical results, we present results from simulations conducted using real soil data and preliminary field experiments with the UAV.
The long-run relationship between precious metal prices and the business cycle

Abstract This study examines the long-run relationships between major precious metal prices over the last forty years. Using a vector error correction model, we find that weekly futures log prices of gold and silver, and gold and platinum appear to be cointegrated. The results show that the cointegrating relationships between precious metal prices are not stable over time with significant shifts in the price relations around business cycle peaks and during recessions. Our results indicate that the long-run relationships between precious metal prices are strongly influenced by economic conditions. These findings should contribute to the growing literature on linkages between macroeconomic fundamentals and the exact nature of the price relationships across different precious metals.
Discovering Event Structure in Continuous Narrative Perception and Memory

Summary During realistic, continuous perception, humans automatically segment experiences into discrete events. Using a novel model of cortical event dynamics, we investigate how cortical structures generate event representations during narrative perception and how these events are stored to and retrieved from memory. Our data-driven approach allows us to detect event boundaries as shifts between stable patterns of brain activity without relying on stimulus annotations and reveals a nested hierarchy from short events in sensory regions to long events in high-order areas (including angular gyrus and posterior medial cortex), which represent abstract, multimodal situation models. High-order event boundaries are coupled to increases in hippocampal activity, which predict pattern reinstatement during later free recall. These areas also show evidence of anticipatory reinstatement as subjects listen to a familiar narrative. Based on these results, we propose that brain activity is naturally structured into nested events, which form the basis of long-term memory representations.
Drosophila poised enhancers are generated during tissue patterning with the help of repression

Histone modifications are frequently used as markers for enhancer states, but how to interpret enhancer states in the context of embryonic development is not clear. The poised enhancer signature, involving H3K4me1 and low levels of H3K27ac, has been reported to mark inactive enhancers that are poised for future activation. However, future activation is not always observed, and alternative reasons for the widespread occurrence of this enhancer signature have not been investigated. By analyzing enhancers during dorsal-ventral (DV) axis formation in the Drosophila embryo, we find that the poised enhancer signature is specifically generated during patterning in the tissue where the enhancers are not induced, including at enhancers that are known to be repressed by a transcriptional repressor. These results suggest that, rather than serving exclusively as an intermediate step before future activation, the poised enhancer state may be a mark for spatial regulation during tissue patterning. We discuss the possibility that the poised enhancer state is more generally the result of repression by transcriptional repressors.
Polarization gating of high harmonic generation in the water window

High harmonic spectrum from 50–350 eV is achieved via polarization gating technique using an OPCPA laser at 1.7 μm. The driving laser's carrier-envelope phase influence on the high harmonic generation yield indicates that isolated attosecond pulses are generated.
High harmonics from solids probe Angstrom scale structure

We report generation of XUV harmonics in magnesium oxide crystals subjected to strong laser fields ∼1V/A. By using crystal orientation and laser ellipticity dependence we show that solid-state harmonics probe local electronic structure of crystal.
Disaster Policies and Governance: Promoting Community Resilience

This brief editorial introduction highlights the importance of policies and effective governance for disaster resilience including communities, individuals, institutions, and organizations through the execution of deliberate choice and collective action. Effective facilitation of development and implementation of disaster policies can lead to more resilient communities in the aftermath of disasters. The success of design, development, and execution of disaster resilience policies require engagement of the “whole community”.
Reinterpreting the Right to an Open Future: From Autonomy to Authenticity

This paper reinterprets a child’s right to an open future as justified by authenticity rather than autonomy. It argues that authenticity can be recognized as valuable by people whose conceptions of the good do not value autonomy. As a running example, the paper considers ultra-Orthodox Jews who lead separatist lives and who deny their sons secular education beyond an elementary school level. If their adult sons want to have careers and participate in life outside the religious enclave, they cannot easily do so. The parents see no reason to protect their child’s autonomy (which they do not value) or to prepare their child for a life that conflicts with their values. This paper provides one response to their concerns. Following a political-liberal project of seeking overlapping consensus, it tries to base demands that children be prepared for varied futures on values that reasonable religious people can embrace.
Location, Identification, and Representability of Monotone Operators in Locally Convex Spaces

In this paper we study, in the relaxed context of locally convex spaces, intrinsic properties of monotone operators needed for the sum conjecture for maximal monotone operators to hold under classical interiority-type domain constraints.
Unified power system analyses and models using equivalent circuit formulation

In this paper we propose and demonstrate the potential for unifying models and algorithms for the steady state and transient simulation of single-phase and three-phase power systems. At present, disparate algorithms and models are used for the different analyses, which can lead to inconsistencies - such as the transient analysis as time approaches infinity not matching the steady state analysis of the same conditions. Using our equivalent circuit formulation of the power system, we propose a methodology for forming physics-based models that can facilitate transient, balanced power flow, and three-phase power flow in one simulation environment. The approach is demonstrated on a three-phase induction motor. Existing industry tools are used to validate the model and simulation results for the different analyses.
Kepler transit depths contaminated by a phantom star

We present ground-based observations from the Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) of three transits of Kepler-445c---a supposed super-Earth exoplanet with properties resembling GJ 1214b---and demonstrate that the transit depth is approximately 50 percent shallower than the depth previously inferred from Kepler Spacecraft data. The resulting decrease in planetary radius significantly alters the interpretation of the exoplanet's bulk composition. Despite the faintness of the M4 dwarf host star, our ground-based photometry clearly recovers each transit and achieves repeatable 1-sigma precision of approximately 0.2 percent (2 millimags). The transit parameters estimated from the DCT data are discrepant with those inferred from the Kepler data to at least 17-sigma confidence. This inconsistency is due to a subtle miscalculation of the stellar crowding metric during the Kepler pre-search data conditioning (PDC). The crowding metric, or CROWDSAP, is contaminated by a non-existent "phantom star" originating in the USNO-B1 catalog and inherited by the Kepler Input Catalog (KIC). Phantom stars in the KIC are likely rare, but they have the potential to affect statistical studies of Kepler targets that use the PDC transit depths for a large number of exoplanets where individual follow-up observation of each is not possible. The miscalculation of Kepler-445c's transit depth emphasizes the importance of stellar crowding in the Kepler data, and provides a cautionary tale for the analysis of data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which will have even larger pixels than Kepler.
Thermal design methodology for high-heat-flux single-phase and two-phase micro-channel heat sinks

This paper explores several issues important to the thermal design of single-phase and two-phase micro-channel heat sinks. The first part of the paper concerns single-phase heat transfer in rectangular micro-channels. Experimental results are compared with predictions based on both numerical as well as fin analysis models. While the best agreement between predictions and experimental results was achieved with numerical simulation, a few of the fin models are found to provide fairly accurate predictions. The second part of the paper focuses on predicting the incipient boiling heat flux. A comprehensive model based on bubble departure and superheat criteria is developed and validated with experimental data. The incipience model is capable of predicting the location, shape and size of bubbles departing in rectangular micro-channels. In the third part of the study, an analytical model is developed to predict pressure drop across a two-phase micro-channel heat sink. This model provides a detailed assessment of pressure drop concerns with two-phase micro-channels, including compressibility, flashing and choking. Overall, the present study provides important guidelines concerning practical implementation of micro-channel heat sinks in high-heat-flux electronic cooling applications.
Slope algorithm to map algal blooms in inland waters for Landsat 8/Operational Land Imager images.

Monitoring algal blooms using traditional methods is expensive and labor intensive. The use of satellite technology can attenuate such limitations. A common problem associated with the application of such technology is the need to eliminate the effects of atmosphere, which can be, at least, a time-consuming task. Thus, a remote sensed algal bloom monitoring system needs a simple algorithm which is nonsensitive to atmospheric correction and that could be applied to small aquatic systems. A slope algorithm (SAred−NIR) was developed to detect and map the extension of algal blooms using the Landsat 8/Operational Land Imager. SAred−NIR was shown to have advantages over other commonly used indices to monitor algal blooms, such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index, and floating algae index. SAred−NIR was shown to be less sensitive to different atmospheric corrections, less sensitive to thin clouds, and less susceptible to confusion when classifying water and moderate bloom conditions. Based on ground truth data from Eagle Creek Reservoir, Indiana, SAred−NIR showed an accuracy of 88.46% while NDVI only showed a 46.15% accuracy. Finally, based on qualitative and quantitative results, SAred−NIR can be used as a tool to improve the governance of small size water resources.
Do metacommunity mass effects predict changes in species incidence and abundance

Metacommunity matrices contain data on species incidence or abundance across sites, compactly portraying community composition and how it varies over sites. We constructed models based on an initial metacommunity matrix of either species incidence or abundance to test whether such data suffice to predict subsequent changes in incidence or abundance at each site. The models reflect both species and site mass effects in using products of the row and column totals to predict the incidence or abundance of each species expected at each site. We tested these models against empirical data on vascular plant incidence and abundance collected from two sets of forested sites in both the 1950s and 2000s. Predictions from these models parallel observed changes in species incidence and abundance in these distinctly different metacommunities and differ greatly from null model predictions. The abundance model shows greater power than the incidence model reflecting its higher information content. Predictions were more accurate for the more diverse forests of southern Wisconsin that are changing quickly in response to succession and fragmentation. Simulations show that these results are robust but sensitive to sampling intensity. Because these models require no data on site conditions or species' characteristics, they provide a useful baseline to assess more complex models based on species' functional traits, local site conditions, or landscape context. They may also prove useful to conservation biologists seeking to predict local population declines and extinction risks. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Adherence to Surveillance Guidelines in Nondysplastic Barrett's Esophagus.

Introduction:Surveillance patterns in Barrett’s esophagus (BE) are not well characterized. Guidelines published between 2002 and 2008 recommended surveillance esophagogastroduodenoscopy (sEGD) at 3-year intervals for nondysplastic BE (NDBE). We assessed guideline adherence in incident NDBE in a Vete
Endoscopic Evidence That Randall's Plaque is Associated with Surface Erosion of the Renal Papilla.

Abstract Objective: This study was conducted to assess the reliability and precision of an endoscopic grading scale to identify renal papillary abnormalities across a spectrum of equipment, locations, graders, and patients. Materials and Methods: Intra- and interobserver reliability of the papillary grading system was assessed using weighted kappa scoring among 4 graders reviewing a single renal papilla from 50 separate patients on 2 occasions. Grading was then applied to a cohort of patients undergoing endoscopic stone removal procedures at two centers. Patient factors were compared with papillary scores on the level of the papilla, kidney, and patient. Results: Graders achieved substantial (kappa >0.6) intra- and inter-rater reliability in scored domains of ductal plugging, surface pitting, and loss of contour. Agreement for Randall's Plaque (RP) was moderate. Papillary scoring was then performed for 76 patients (89 kidneys, 533 papillae). A significant association was discovered between pitting and RP ...
Edgeworth Price Cycles, Cost-Based Pricing, and Sticky Pricing in Retail Gasoline Markets

Abstract This paper examines dynamic pricing behavior in Canadian retail gasoline markets. I find three distinct pricing patterns: cost-based pricing, sticky pricing, and sharp asymmetric retail price cycles that resemble the Edgeworth cycles of Maskin and Tirole (1988). I use a Markov-switching regression to estimate the prevalence of the regimes and the structural characteristics of the cycles themselves. I find cycles are more prevalent when there are more small firms and are accelerated and amplified with very many small firms. In markets with few small firms, sticky pricing dominates. The findings are consistent with the theory of Edgeworth cycles.
Weight Recursions for Any Rotation Symmetric Boolean Functions

Let $f_{n}(x_{1}, x_{2}, \ldots, x_{n})$ denote the algebraic normal form (polynomial form) of a rotation symmetric Boolean function of degree $d$ in $n \geq d$ variables and let $wt(f_{n})$ denote the Hamming weight of this function. Let $(1, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{d})_{n}$ denote the function $f_{n}$ of degree $d$ in $n$ variables generated by the monomial $x_{1}x_{a_{2}} \ldots x_{a_{d}}$ . Such a function $f_{n}$ is called monomial rotation symmetric (MRS). It was proved in a 2012 paper that for any MRS $f_{n}$ with $d=3$ , the sequence of weights $\{w_{k} = wt(f_{k}):\,\,k = 3, 4, \ldots \}$ satisfies a homogeneous linear recursion with integer coefficients. In this paper, it is proved that such recursions exist for any rotation symmetric function $f_{n}$ ; such a function is generated by some sum of $t$ monomials of various degrees. A Mathematica program is available on arxiv.org which explicitly computes the homogeneous linear recursion for the weights, given any rotation symmetric $f_{n}$ . The reader who is only interested in finding some recursions can use the program and not be concerned with the details of the rather complicated proofs in this paper.
Computing triangle and open-wedge heavy-hitters in large networks

We formalize notions of triangle and open-wedge heavy-hitters in large networks. Intuitively, a node of a network G is a triangle heavy-hitter if it participates in relatively many triangles of G (analogously for open wedges). These notions have applications in social network analysis. We consider the triangle and open-wedge heavy-hitter problems: the computational problems of maintaining a set of nodes of a network that participate in many triangles and open wedges. We give sampling-based algorithms for these problems when the input network G comes as an edge stream. We prove theoretical guarantees on the quality of solutions, time and space complexity of these algorithms. This is the first work that studies the triangle and open-wedge heavy hitters problem on massive streaming networks. We evaluate the performance of our proposed algorithms by running on several real-world data sets. These experiments indicate that our algorithms efficiently detect heavy hitters while keeping both the false-positive and the false-negative errors very low.
Effects of a Multimedia Professional Development Package on Inclusive Science Teachers’ Vocabulary Instruction:

Vocabulary knowledge is vital for students’ success in school and beyond. However, students with disabilities and others who consistently score below their peers on various measures of vocabulary k...
The “north pole problem” and random orthogonal matrices

Abstract This paper is motivated by the following observation. Take a 3×3 random (Haar distributed) orthogonal matrix Γ , and use it to “rotate” the north pole, x 0 say, on the unit sphere in R 3 . This then gives a point u = Γ x 0 that is uniformly distributed on the unit sphere. Now use the same orthogonal matrix to transform u , giving v = Γ u = Γ 2 x 0 . Simulations reported in Marzetta et al. [Marzetta, T.L., Hassibi, B., Hochwald, B.M., 2002. Structured unitary space-time autocoding constellations. IEEE Transactions on Information Theory 48 (4) 942–950] suggest that v is more likely to be in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere, and, moreover, that w = Γ 3 x 0 has higher probability of being closer to the poles ± x 0 than the uniformly distributed point u . In this paper we prove these results, in the general setting of dimension p ≥ 3 , by deriving the exact distributions of the relevant components of u and v . The essential questions answered are the following. Let x be any fixed point on the unit sphere in R p , where p ≥ 3 . What are the distributions of U 2 = x ′ Γ 2 x and U 3 = x ′ Γ 3 x ? It is clear by orthogonal invariance that these distributions do not depend on x , so that we can, without loss of generality, take x to be x 0 = ( 1 , 0 , … , 0 ) ′ ∈ R p . Call this the “north pole”. Then x 0 ′ Γ k x 0 is the first component of the vector Γ k x 0 . We derive stochastic representations for the exact distributions of U 2 and U 3 in terms of random variables with known distributions.
Ideals defining Gorenstein rings are (almost) never products

This note proves that if S is an unramified regular local ring and I, J proper ideals of height at least two, then S/IJ is never Gorenstein.
enzo+moray: radiation hydrodynamics adaptive mesh refinement simulations with adaptive ray tracing

We describe a photon-conserving radiative transfer algorithm, using a spatially-adaptive ray-tracing scheme, and its parallel implementation into the adaptive mesh refinement cosmological hydrodynamics code ENZO. By coupling the solver with the energy equation and non-equilibrium chemistry network, our radiation hydrodynamics framework can be utilized to study a broad range of astrophysical problems, such as stellar and black hole feedback. Inaccuracies can arise from large time-steps and poor sampling; therefore, we devised an adaptive time-stepping scheme and a fast approximation of the optically-thin radiation field with multiple sources. We test the method with several radiative transfer and radiation hydrodynamics tests that are given in Iliev et al. We further test our method with more dynamical situations, for example, the propagation of an ionization front through a Rayleigh―Taylor instability, time-varying luminosities and collimated radiation. The test suite also includes an expanding H II region in a magnetized medium, utilizing the newly implemented magnetohydrodynamics module in ENZO. This method linearly scales with the number of point sources and number of grid cells. Our implementation is scalable to 512 processors on distributed memory machines and can include the radiation pressure and secondary ionizations from X-ray radiation. It is included in the newest public release of ENZO.
Singularities of the Prym theta divisor

For the Jacobian of a curve, the Riemann singularity theorem gives a geometric interpretation of the singularities of the theta divisor in terms of special linear series on the curve. This paper proves an analogous theorem for Prym varieties. Applications of this theorem to cubic threefolds and Prym varieties of dimension five are also considered.
Playing with matches: An assessment of accuracy in linked historical data

ABSTRACTThis article evaluates linkage quality achieved by various record linkage techniques used in historical demography. The author creates benchmark, or truth, data by linking the 2005 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Social Security Administration's numeric identification system by social security number. By comparing simulated linkages to the benchmark data, she examines the value added (in terms of number and quality of links) from incorporating text-string comparators, adjusting age, and using a probabilistic matching algorithm. She finds that text-string comparators and probabilistic approaches are useful for increasing the linkage rate, but use of text-string comparators may decrease accuracy in some cases. Overall, probabilistic matching offers the best balance between linkage rates and accuracy.
POLYETHYLENE BEARING SURFACE WEAR IN REVERSE TOTAL SHOULDER ARTHROPLASTY

Utilization of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) has steadily increased since its 2003 introduction in the American market. Although RTSA was originally indicated for elderly, low demand patients, it is now being increasingly used to treat rotator cuff arthropathy, humeral fractures, neoplasms and failed total and hemi shoulder arthroplasty. There is, therefore, a growing interest in bearing surface wear of RTSA polyethylene humeral liners. In the current study, we examined humeral liners retrieved as part of an IRB approved study to determine the amount of bearing surface wear. We hypothesized that wear of the bearing surface by intentional contact with the glenosphere (mode I) would be minor compared to that produced by scapular notching and impingement of the humeral liner (mode II). Twenty-three retrieved humeral liners were retrieved at revision surgery after an average of 1.5 years implantation time. The average age at implantation was 68 years (range 50–85). Shoulders were revised for loosening (7), instability (6), infection (6), pain (2), and other/unknown reasons (2). The liners were scanned using microCT at a resolution of 50 µm and then registered against unworn surfaces to estimate the bearing surface wear depth. The depth of surface penetration due to impingement of the liner with surrounding structures was measured and the location of the deepest penetration was noted. Mode I wear of the bearing surface was detectable for five of the retrieved liners. The penetration depth was 100 µm or less for four of the liners and approximately 250 microns for the fifth liner. It was noted that the liners with discernable mode I wear were those with longer implantation times (average 2.4 years). Material loss and abrasion of the rim due to mode II wear was noted with measurable penetration in 18 of the liners. Mode II wear penetrated to the bearing surface in 11 liners. It was generally noted that volumetric material loss was dominated by mode II wear (Figure 1). In this study of short to medium term retrieved RTSA humeral liners, mode I wear of the bearing surface was a minor source of material loss. Mode II wear due to scapular notching or impingement of the rim was the dominant source of volumetric wear. This is in agreement with a previous study that we have performed on a smaller cohort of seven liners. It is noteworthy that we were able to detect measurable mode I wear for liners with moderate implantation times. The quantity of bearing surface wear that will be seen in long term retrievals remains unknown at this time.
Federal reserve private information and the stock market

Abstract We study the response of stock prices to monetary policy, distinguishing effects of exogenous shocks from “Delphic” shocks that reveal the Federal Reserve’s macroeconomic forecasts. To decompose monetary policy surprises into these separate components we construct a measure of Federal Reserve private information that exploits differences in central bank and market forecasts. Contractionary policy shocks of either type lower stock prices with exogenous shocks having a larger negative effect. There is some suggestive evidence of an asymmetry; when FOMC meetings are unscheduled or when the fed funds rate reverses direction, stock prices rise in response to a contractionary Delphic shock.
U.S. worldwide taxation and domestic mergers and acquisitions

Abstract This study shows that domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) were inhibited by the U.S.’s worldwide tax policy on foreign-earned income. Double Irish structures, a complex web of subsidiaries that reduce foreign tax rates and therefore increase potential repatriation tax rates, are associated with lower levels of domestic M&A by U.S. firms. These results do not reflect a continuation of prior trends or declines in worldwide acquisitiveness and are robust to several econometric approaches. We suggest that the Double Irish variable mitigates a confounding effect in an alternative tax variable that clouds inferences in tests of repatriation taxes and domestic M&A.
CEO Inside Debt Incentives and Corporate Tax Sheltering

This paper examines the relation between CEO inside debt holdings (pension benefits and deferred compensation) and corporate tax sheltering. Because inside debt holdings are generally unsecured and unfunded liabilities of the firm, CEOs are exposed to risk similar to that faced by outside creditors. As such, theory (Jensen and Meckling [1976]) suggests that inside debt holdings negatively impact CEO risk-appetite. To the extent that corporate tax shelters are likely to result in high cash flow volatility in the future, we expect that inside debt holdings will curb CEOs from engaging in tax shelter transactions. Consistent with the prediction, we document a negative association between CEO inside debt holdings and tax sheltering. Additional analyses suggest that the effect of inside debt on tax sheltering is more (less) pronounced in the presence of high default risk and liquidity threats (cash-out options in pension packages). Overall, our results highlight the importance of investigating the implication of CEO debt-like compensation for corporate tax policies.
Urinary stone risk and cola consumption

Objective To evaluate the effect of cola consumption on urinary stone risk factors in a controlled metabolic environment with a prospective cross-over study. Methods Thirteen participants (10 normal and 3 calcium oxalate stone-formers) underwent 2 6-day phases on a controlled metabolic diet. During phase 1, subjects ingested 1 liter of cola daily, followed by a 3-week washout period. During phase 2, subjects ingested 1 liter of deionized water daily. Twenty-four–hour urine collections and serum metabolic panels were obtained for stone risk factors at the end of each phase. Urine and serum results of the cola phase were compared with those of the water phase. Result Normal subjects and stone-formers were combined for analysis after determining no significant difference between the 2 groups. No significant differences were found among cola and water treatment groups for normal subjects, stone-formers, or the pooled group. Conclusion Cola exerts no detectable change in urinary risk factors associated with calcium oxalate stone formation. Cola consumption may not increase stone risk and may be an acceptable alternative source of daily fluid for patients unwilling to increase water consumption.
Overlapping Batches for the Assessment of Solution Quality in Stochastic Programs

Overlapping Batch Means (OBM) has long been used in simulation as a method of reusing data to generate variance estimators with asymptotically lower variance. In this article, we apply the OBM method to stochastic programming by formulating a variant of the multiple replications procedure used for assessing solution quality. We give conditions under which the resulting optimality gap point estimators are strongly consistent, the optimality gap interval estimators are asymptotically valid, and the OBM variance estimators for optimality gap have asymptotically lower variances relative to their nonoverlapping counterparts [Meketon and Schmeiser 1984; Welch 1987]. We investigate computational efficiency, a combined measure of variance and computation time, providing guidelines on the degree of overlap. Numerical experiments on several test problems are presented, examining the small-sample behavior and the empirical computational efficiency of the overlapping batches method in this context.
Both MisR (CpxR) and MisS (CpxA) Are Required for Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infection in a Murine Model of Lower Genital Tract Infection

During infection, Neisseria gonorrhoeae senses and responds to stress; such responses may be modulated by MisRS (NGO0177 and NGO0176), a two-component system that is a homolog of CpxRA. In Escherichia coli, CpxRA senses and responds to envelope stress; CpxA is a sensor kinase/phosphatase for CpxR, a response regulator. When a cpxA mutant is grown in medium containing glucose, CpxR is phosphorylated by acetyl phosphate but cannot be dephosphorylated, resulting in constitutive activation. Kandler and coworkers (J. L. Kandler, C. L. Holley, J. L. Reimche, V. Dhulipala, J. T. Balthazar, A. Muszynski, R. W. Carlson, and W. M. Shafer, Antimicrob Agents Chemother 60:4690-4700, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.00823-16) showed that MisR (CpxR) is required for the maintenance of membrane integrity and resistance to antimicrobial peptides, suggesting a role in gonococcal survival in vivo Here, we evaluated the contributions of MisR and MisS (CpxA) to gonococcal infection in a murine model of cervicovaginal colonization and identified MisR-regulated genes using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). The deletion of misR or misS severely reduced the capacity of N. gonorrhoeae to colonize mice or maintain infection over a 7-day period and reduced microbial fitness after exposure to heat shock. Compared to the wild type (WT), the inactivation of misR identified 157 differentially regulated genes, most of which encoded putative envelope proteins. The inactivation of misS identified 17 differentially regulated genes compared to the WT and 139 differentially regulated genes compared to the misR mutant, 111 of which overlapped those differentially expressed in the comparison of the WT versus the misR mutant. These data indicate that an intact MisRS system is required for gonococcal infection of mice. Provided the MisR is constitutively phosphorylated in the misS mutant, the data suggest that controlled but not constitutive activation is required for gonococcal infection in mice.
The Clinical Spectrum of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome: Implications for Comprehensive Patient Care

Abstract The clinical spectrum of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is broad and presents unique challenges to the health care system. Among the challenges are the unusual presentations...
Primary Hyperparathyroidism. Changing Clinical Spectrum, Prevalence of Hypertension and Discriminant Analysis of Laboratory Tests

The clinical spectrum of 100 consecutive cases of surgically proved primary hyperparathyroidism treated from 1974 through 1978 was analyzed. Their laboratory test results were compared with 64 cases of other form of hypercalcemia using multivariate discriminant analysis. The clinical spectrum has dramatically shifted during the past three decades from renal calculi and bone disease to the asymptomatic patient discovered by routine serum chemical analysis. Hypertension was twice as common among hyperparathyroid patients as in the general population but failed to improve in 92% after parathyroidectomy. The most useful discriminant laboratory test in descending order of value were the serum chloride, serum calcium, hematocrit, serum phosphorus, and parathormone. Multivariate discriminant analysis of the serum calcium, phosphorus, chloride, and Hct provided a 98% degree of accuracy in separating hyperparathyroidism from other forms of hypercalcemia.
Garnet growth after overstepping

Abstract Overstepping of metamorphic reactions is required to provide the driving force necessary for porphyroblast nucleation and growth. Forward models of garnet nucleation and growth are presented assuming an affinity for nucleation that corresponds to several tens of degrees or several kilobars of overstepping. The composition of garnet that nucleates and grows is assumed to be that which provides the largest decrease in free energy. With these assumptions, the zoning predicted for a garnet grown under isothermal, isobaric conditions is revealed to be sufficiently similar to the zoning predicted for garnet grown under continuous near-equilibrium conditions that distinction based on the shape of zoning profiles alone does not appear to be possible. Furthermore, the growth of an initial garnet crystal following nucleation after overstepping depletes the affinity for subsequent nucleation by sequestration of Mn into the existing garnet crystal. Progressive nucleation, therefore, requires additional energy input, most likely through changes in pressure and temperature, to replenish the affinity. The predicted zoning in garnets nucleated following substantial growth of the first nucleated garnet does not match the typical bell-shaped profile of Rayleigh fraction but rather displays distinctly diagnostic zoning depending on the assumed rate limiting step for growth. Diffusion controlled growth results in relatively broader and flattened profiles whereas interface controlled growth results in later garnets having a peaked core Mn profile. This latter profile would relax by diffusion in relatively short times (less than 1 Ma) and would thus not likely to be preserved, but appears to have been observed in garnet zone samples from central Vermont. Calculations for this sample also indicate that garnet ceased growing when chlorite was exhausted, at which point considerable affinity remained indicating that equilibrium was not achieved. Tectonic interpretations based on P–T paths calculated assuming near-equilibrium nucleation and growth of garnet are thus likely to require reevaluation in light of the magnitude of overstepping needed for nucleation and the possibility that equilibrium was not attained at the metamorphic peak.
Treatment of Infections in Patients With the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Abstract The microorganisms that regularly infect patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have become well recognized. Most take advantage of defects in T-lymphocyte function, b...
Strategies for monitoring multiuse trail networks: Implications for practice

Many municipalities, park districts, and nonprofit organizations have begun monitoring nonmotorized traffic on multiuse trails as the need for information about the use of facilities has grown and relatively low-cost sensors for automated monitoring have become available. As they have gained experience, they have begun to move from site-specific monitoring on individual trails to a more comprehensive monitoring of trail networks. This case study review compares strategies developed by 10 organizations for monitoring traffic on multiuse trails, including local, multicounty, statewide, and multistate trail networks. The focus is on approaches to the design of monitoring networks, particularly the rationales or objectives for monitoring and the selection of monitoring sites. It is shown that jurisdictions are following principles of monitoring established by FHWA and that the design of monitoring networks is evolving to meet new challenges, including monitoring large-scale networks. Relevant outcomes and imp...
Causes of Increased Renal Echogenicity in Pediatric Patients

Review of 2,700 abdominal ultrasonic examinations revealed 56 patients whose kidneys showed increased echogenicity. Echogenic kidneys were associated with medical renal disease in 94% of cases (30% glomerular, 48% tubulointerstitial, 16% end-stage) and with no detectable renal disease in 6% (three patients). Patterns of increased echogenicity and renal size were evaluated. Specific patterns occurred in end-stage renal disease and polycystic kidney disease. Other medical renal diseases had overlapping ultrasonographic features. Some generalizations could be made although increased echogenicity was often nonspecific.
AN INTENSE SOURCE OF ANTIPROTONS FOR ANTIMATTER RESEARCH AT FNAL

There is considerable interest in low energy antiprotons for atomic, nuclear, and particle physics. The LEAR facility at CERN is currently the only source of antiprotons with low enough energy to be stored and accumulated in a Penning trap. With only minimal hardware modifications, the Fermilab Linac and Booster synchrotron can be used to decelerate an initial ensemble of 1011 antiprotons with an efficiency of approximately 0.5%. Subsequent improvements will be able to increase this efficiency to near 100% transmission of 1012 antiprotons. These transfers could take place as often as two or three times a day with only a marginal decrease in Tevatron Collider luminosity.
Verification of Hybrid Systems using Abstractions

Abstract A hybrid system models both discrete event and continuous dynamics. We present a modeling formalism and a verification methodology for hybrid systems. The verification methodology is based on abstracting the continuous dynamics in the hybrid system by simpler continuous dynamics. We present two methods for doing this: in the first method, a differential inclusion is replaced with a simpler differential inclusion; in the second method, we look at the timing information that is relevant to the verification problem, and construct an abstraction of the hybrid system with a timed automaton. We illustrate our methodology by applying it to the train-gate-controller example.
How Hard Should We Push the Poor to Save for Retirement

More than half of US states are working to establish programs that would automatically enroll workers who are not offered a retirement plan by their employer in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). These programs are designed to address a perceived shortfall of retirement saving, particularly among low-wage workers who are less likely to be offered an employer-sponsored plan. But the designers of state-run auto-IRA plans fail to consider three questions: Do the poor need to save more for retirement? Will state-run auto-IRA plans increase net household savings? And, after accounting for interactions with means-tested government transfer programs, will state-run auto-IRA plans make the poor better off? The answer to all three questions may well be “no.” First, tax data indicate that most low-income retirees have incomes adequate to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living. Second, employees who are automatically enrolled in retirement plans may accrue additional debts that offset their own contributions. Third, income and asset tests for federal and state transfer programs could reduce benefits to low-earners in substantially greater amounts than they could save in auto-IRA accounts. In light of these issues, policymakers should reconsider the design of state-run auto-IRA programs. One potential improvement is to exempt truly low-earning workers, such as those with earnings below $12,000, from automatic enrollment in these plans while leaving open the option to voluntary participate.
On the Validity of an Analytical Solution for Characterizing Backscattering From Tree Trunks for FOPEN Sensing at $P$ -Band

A comprehensive set of simulations is performed to analyze the accuracy of an analytical solution for characterizing the backscattering responses of circular cylindrical tree trunks located above a dielectric ground. The formulation of interest here is from the volumetric current integration method, combined with a ray-based approach for the treatment of ground effects. Through comparisons with a reference solution provided by a full-wave solver, the region of validity of the closed-form approximate solution as a function of trunk length, trunk radius, incidence angle, and polarization is derived. Trunks with and without tapering along their lengths are considered. It is noted that, in general, the error behavior of the vv solution exhibits more complexity than that of the hh solution, due to the Brewster angle effects of the trunk and the ground; consequently, the hh solution is valid over a wider range of length and radius values. The backscattering signatures of the trunks are also examined in the imaging domain. It is found that the analytical solution can correctly predict the single ground-bounce returns but may not consistently capture other less prominent effects, such as scattering from the top of the trunk and higher order interactions.