cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MODERN FEMORAL ROTATION/SIZER GUIDES, DO THEY LEAD US ASTRAY?

Introduction Positioning of a femoral sizing guide has been cited as being a critical intraoperative step during measured-resection based TKA as it determines femoral component rotation. Consequently, modern femoral sizing guides permit surgeons to ‘dial in’ external rotation when placing the guide. Although this feature facilitates guide placement, its effect on posterior femoral condylar resection and flexion gap stability is unknown. This study examines the effect of rotation on posterior femoral condylar resection among different posterior-referencing TKA designs. Methods Left-sided posterior-referencing femoral sizing guides and cutting blocks from nine posterior-referencing femoral sizing guides belonging to six TKA manufacturers were collected. Each guide underwent high-resolution photography at a setting of zero, three and greater than three degrees of external rotation. The axis of rotation for each guide was then identified and its location from the posterior condylar axis was recorded (figure). Cutting blocks from each system were then photographed and the amount of posterior condylar resection from the medial and lateral condyles was calculated for each setting of external rotation (figure). The posterior resection was then compared to the standard distal resections for each system. Results Two sizing guides had axes of rotation that were eccentrically located and in proximity to the posterior condylar axis, six were centrally based and one was slightly eccentric. Axis of rotation location had substantial effects on posterior condylar resection. Guides with centrally-based axes tended to resect more medial posterior condyle and less lateral condyle as rotation increased. Guides with eccentric axes tended to resect either less lateral or more medial condyle only. Discussion This study is the first to investigate femoral rotation and posterior condylar resection, and the first to compare different sizing guide designs. Our results indicate that guides with centrally-based axes of rotation increase medial condylar resection as external rotation increases. This increased resection may unintentionally create a larger flexion gap in the case of a valgus knee.
Seven embryos in search of legitimacy.

The cryopreservation of embryos creates problems of legitimacy, custody, restitution, and transfer in situations not carefully regulated. A consent document is essential to protect a candidate couple's reproductive freedom
Direct Access to β‐Fluorinated Aldehydes by Nitrite‐Modified Wacker Oxidation

An aldehyde-selective Wacker-type oxidation of allylic fluorides proceeds with a nitrite catalyst. The method represents a direct route to prepare β-fluorinated aldehydes. Allylic fluorides bearing a variety of functional groups are transformed in high yield and very high regioselectivity. Additionally, the unpurified aldehyde products serve as versatile intermediates, thus enabling access to a diverse array of fluorinated building blocks. Preliminary mechanistic investigations suggest that inductive effects have a strong influence on the rate and regioselectivity of the oxidation.
Anxiolytic Treatment Impairs Helping Behavior in Rats

Despite decades of research with humans, the biological mechanisms that motivate an individual to help others remain poorly understood. In order to investigate the roots of pro-sociality in mammals, we established the helping behavior test, a paradigm in which rats are faced with a conspecific trapped in a restrainer that can only be opened from the outside. Over the course of repeated test sessions, rats exposed to a trapped cagemate learn to open the door to the restrainer, thereby helping the trapped rat to escape (Ben-Ami Bartal et al., 2011). The discovery of this natural behavior provides a unique opportunity to probe the motivation of rodent helping behavior, leading to a deeper understanding of biological influences on human pro-sociality. To determine if an affective response motivates door-opening, rats received midazolam, a benzodiazepine anxiolytic, and were tested in the helping behavior test. Midazolam-treated rats showed less helping behavior than saline-treated rats or rats receiving no injection. Yet, midazolam-treated rats opened a restrainer containing chocolate, highlighting the socially specific effects of the anxiolytic. To determine if midazolam interferes with helping through a sympatholytic effect, the peripherally restricted beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist nadolol was administered; nadolol did not interfere with helping. The corticosterone response of rats exposed to a trapped cagemate was measured and compared to the rats’ subsequent helping behavior. Rats with the greatest corticosterone responses showed the least helping behavior and those with the smallest responses showed the most consistent helping at the shortest latency. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the interaction between stress and pro-social behavior. Finally, we observed that door-opening appeared to be reinforcing. A novel analytical tool was designed to interrogate the pattern of door-opening for signs that a rat’s behavior on one session influenced his behavior on the next session. Results suggest that helping a trapped rat has a greater motivational value than does chocolate. In sum, this series of experiments clearly demonstrates the fundamental role of affect in motivating pro-social behavior in rodents and the need for a helper to resonate with the affect of a victim.
Organotrifluoroborates: Another Branch of the Mighty Oak

Over the past two decades, organotrifluoroborates have evolved from being chemical curiosities to important reagents for the elaboration of organic molecules. Aside from their often-unique reactivity patterns, favorable features of these reagents include their ease of preparation/isolation, reliable crystallinity, enhanced stability, and monomeric structure. Currently >600 structurally diverse reagents of this class are commercially available, and >850 such compounds have been reported from the author’s laboratory. The organotrifluoroborates can be utilized as shelf-stable precursors to a variety of end products through simple functional group transformations and have also been employed as partners in cross-coupling reactions between aromatic, alkenyl, alkynyl, and alkyl substrates in library or individual formats. Within the realm of cross-coupling reactions, organotrifluoroborates provide a practical entry to substructural entities not readily accessed using other organometallic reagents, and most recen...
Integrative analysis of transcriptomic and metabolomic data via sparse canonical correlation analysis with incorporation of biological information

Integrative analysis of high dimensional omics data is becoming increasingly popular. At the same time, incorporating known functional relationships among variables in analysis of omics data has been shown to help elucidate underlying mechanisms for complex diseases. In this article, our goal is to assess association between transcriptomic and metabolomic data from a Predictive Health Institute (PHI) study that includes healthy adults at a high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Adopting a strategy that is both data-driven and knowledge-based, we develop statistical methods for sparse canonical correlation analysis (CCA) with incorporation of known biological information. Our proposed methods use prior network structural information among genes and among metabolites to guide selection of relevant genes and metabolites in sparse CCA, providing insight on the molecular underpinning of cardiovascular disease. Our simulations demonstrate that the structured sparse CCA methods outperform several existing sparse CCA methods in selecting relevant genes and metabolites when structural information is informative and are robust to mis-specified structural information. Our analysis of the PHI study reveals that a number of gene and metabolic pathways including some known to be associated with cardiovascular diseases are enriched in the set of genes and metabolites selected by our proposed approach.
Project Swathmap: Military Sonars in Service to Science

Project swathmap (one of four deep-water, long-range sidescan sonars in operation today) is the low-cost peacetime application of a U.S. Navy antisubmarine warfare system utilized on routine ocean-wide combat vessel transists. While resolution is not sufficient to observe bathymetric structures in detail, the system is particularly adept at locating them and determining continuity. Routine observations include terraces, trench-crossings, fracture zones, abyssal hills, craters, seamounts (many of them new) often topped by craters, and abyssal hills (superb clues to plate tectonic motion).
Selective hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene during the conversion of methane in a catalytic dc plasma reactor

Plasma reactors have been found to be an effective technique for the activation of methane, the major component of natural gas, at low temperatures. The electric discharges produce energetic electrons that excite and decompose the feed gas molecules. Therefore, reactions are accomplished with relatively low power requirements. The catalyst, NaOH treated X and Y zeolite, enhances the production of electrons and the formation of methane radicals. Methane and hydrogen with oxygen as an additive are used as the feed mixture. Acetylene is the major product with hydrogen and carbon monoxide as by-products. However, the addition of metals to the catalyst can hydrogenate the acetylene to ethylene and ethane.
Sulforaphane Bioavailability and Chemopreventive Activity in Women Scheduled for Breast Biopsy

Epidemiological studies suggest a protective effect of cruciferous vegetables on breast cancer. Sulforaphane (SFN), an active food component derived from crucifers, has been shown to be effective i...
A topological approach for protein classification

Protein function and dynamics are closely related to its sequence and structure. However prediction of protein function and dynamics from its sequence and structure is still a fundamental challenge in molecular biology. Protein classification, which is typically done through measuring the similarity be- tween proteins based on protein sequence or physical information, serves as a crucial step toward the understanding of protein function and dynamics. Persistent homology is a new branch of algebraic topology that has found its success in the topological data analysis in a variety of disciplines, including molecular biology. The present work explores the potential of using persistent homology as an indepen- dent tool for protein classification. To this end, we propose a molecular topological fingerprint based support vector machine (MTF-SVM) classifier. Specifically, we construct machine learning feature vectors solely from protein topological fingerprints, which are topological invariants generated during the filtration process. To validate the present MTF-SVM approach, we consider four types of problems. First, we study protein-drug binding by using the M2 channel protein of influenza A virus. We achieve 96% accuracy in discriminating drug bound and unbound M2 channels. Additionally, we examine the use of MTF-SVM for the classification of hemoglobin molecules in their relaxed and taut forms and obtain about 80% accuracy. The identification of all alpha, all beta, and alpha-beta protein domains is carried out in our next study using 900 proteins. We have found a 85% success in this identifica- tion. Finally, we apply the present technique to 55 classification tasks of protein superfamilies over 1357 samples. An average accuracy of 82% is attained. The present study establishes computational topology as an independent and effective alternative for protein classification.
Generalized Normal Product Adjacency in Digital Topology

We study properties of Cartesian products of digital images for which adjacencies based on the normal product adjacency are used. We show that the use of such adjacencies lets us obtain many "product properties" for which the analogous statement is either unknown or invalid if, instead, we were to use c_u-adjacencies.
Tension-Dependent Free Energies of Nucleosome Unwrapping

Nucleosomes form the basic unit of compaction within eukaryotic genomes, and their locations represent an important, yet poorly understood, mechanism of genetic regulation. Quantifying the strength of interactions within the nucleosome is a central problem in biophysics and is critical to understanding how nucleosome positions influence gene expression. By comparing to single-molecule experiments, we demonstrate that a coarse-grained molecular model of the nucleosome can reproduce key aspects of nucleosome unwrapping. Using detailed simulations of DNA and histone proteins, we calculate the tension-dependent free energy surface corresponding to the unwrapping process. The model reproduces quantitatively the forces required to unwrap the nucleosome and reveals the role played by electrostatic interactions during this process. We then demonstrate that histone modifications and DNA sequence can have significant effects on the energies of nucleosome formation. Most notably, we show that histone tails contribut...
Diversity in the Economics Profession: A New Attack on an Old Problem

Abstract The economics profession includes disproportionately few women and members of historically underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups, relative both to the overall population and t...
Comparison of biomarker expression between proximal and distal colorectal adenomas: The Tennessee-Indiana Adenoma Recurrence Study.

It is unclear if proximal and distal traditional adenomas present with differences in molecular events which contribute to cancer heterogeneity by tumor anatomical subsite. Participants from a colonoscopy-based study (n = 380) were divided into subgroups based on the location of their most advanced adenoma: proximal, distal, or “equivalent both sides.” Eight biomarkers in the most advanced adenomas were evaluated by immunohistochemistry (Ki-67, COX-2, TGFβRII, EGFR, β-catenin, cyclin D1, c-Myc) or TUNEL (apoptosis). After an adjustment for pathological features, there were no significant differences between proximal and distal adenomas for any biomarker. Conversely, expression levels did vary by other features, such as their size, villous component, and synchronousness. Large adenomas had higher expression levels of Ki-67(P < 0.001), TGFβRII (P < 0.0001), c-Myc (P < 0.001), and cyclin D1 (P < 0.001) in comparison to small adenomas, and tubulovillous/villous adenomas also were more likely to have similar higher expression levels in comparison to tubular adenomas. Adenoma location is not a major determinant of the expression of these biomarkers outside of other pathological features. This study suggests similarly important roles of Wnt/β-catenin and TGF-β pathways in carcinogenesis in both the proximal and distal colorectum. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Looking for a Signal in the Noise: Revisiting Obesity and the Microbiome

ABSTRACT Two recent studies have reanalyzed previously published data and found that when data sets were analyzed independently, there was limited support for the widely accepted hypothesis that changes in the microbiome are associated with obesity. This hypothesis was reconsidered by increasing the number of data sets and pooling the results across the individual data sets. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines were used to identify 10 studies for an updated and more synthetic analysis. Alpha diversity metrics and the relative risk of obesity based on those metrics were used to identify a limited number of significant associations with obesity; however, when the results of the studies were pooled by using a random-effect model, significant associations were observed among Shannon diversity, the number of observed operational taxonomic units, Shannon evenness, and obesity status. They were not observed for the ratio of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes or their individual relative abundances. Although these tests yielded small P values, the difference between the Shannon diversity indices of nonobese and obese individuals was 2.07%. A power analysis demonstrated that only one of the studies had sufficient power to detect a 5% difference in diversity. When random forest machine learning models were trained on one data set and then tested by using the other nine data sets, the median accuracy varied between 33.01 and 64.77% (median, 56.68%). Although there was support for a relationship between the microbial communities found in human feces and obesity status, this association was relatively weak and its detection is confounded by large interpersonal variation and insufficient sample sizes. IMPORTANCE As interest in the human microbiome grows, there is an increasing number of studies that can be used to test numerous hypotheses across human populations. The hypothesis that variation in the gut microbiota can explain or be used to predict obesity status has received considerable attention and is frequently mentioned as an example of the role of the microbiome in human health. Here we assessed this hypothesis by using 10 independent studies and found that although there is an association, it is smaller than can be detected by most microbiome studies. Furthermore, we directly tested the ability to predict obesity status on the basis of the composition of an individual’s microbiome and found that the median classification accuracy is between 33.01 and 64.77%. This type of analysis can be used to design future studies and expanded to explore other hypotheses.
Lysosomal acid lipase in mesenchymal stem cell stimulation of tumor growth and metastasis.

// Ting Zhao 1 , Cong Yan 1, 2 , Hong Du 1, 2 1 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA 2 IU Simon Cancer Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA Correspondence to: Hong Du, email: hongdu@iupui.edu Cong Yan, email: coyan@iupui.edu Keywords: mesenchymal stem cell, lysosomal acid lipase, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, tumor growth and metastasis Received: February 24, 2016 Accepted: July 27, 2016 Published: August 12, 2016 ABSTRACT Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an important participant in the tumor microenvironment, in which they promote tumor growth and progression. Here we report for the first time that depletion of lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) in MSCs impairs their abilities to stimulate tumor growth and metastasis both in allogeneic and syngeneic mouse models. Reduced cell viability was observed in LAL-deficient ( lal −/− ) MSCs, which was a result of both increased apoptosis and decreased proliferation due to cell cycle arrest. The synthesis and secretion of cytokines and chemokines that are known to mediate MSCs’ tumor-stimulating and immunosuppressive effects, i.e., IL-6, MCP-1 and IL-10, were down-regulated in lal −/− MSCs. When tumor cells were treated with the conditioned medium from lal −/− MSCs, decreased proliferation was observed, accompanied by reduced activation of oncogenic intracellular signaling molecules in tumor cells. Co-injection of lal −/− MSCs and B16 melanoma cells into wild type mice not only induced CD8 + cytotoxic T cells, but also decreased accumulation of tumor-promoting Ly6G + CD11b + myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), which may synergistically contribute to the impairment of tumor progression. Furthermore, lal −/− MSCs showed impaired differentiation towards tumor-associated fibroblasts. In addition, MDSCs facilitated MSC proliferation, which was mediated by MDSC-secreted cytokines and chemokines. Our results indicate that LAL plays a critical role in regulating MSCs’ ability to stimulate tumor growth and metastasis, which provides a mechanistic basis for targeting LAL in MSCs to reduce the risk of cancer metastasis.
Sounding out the Big Bang

Our view of the universe is about to change forever. Since science began, all our knowledge of what lies above, below and around us has come from long-familiar forms of energy: light, produced by distant astro-physical objects; and matter, in the form of particles such as cosmic rays. But we are now in a position to study the universe using an entirely different form of energy that until now has never been directly detected - gravitational waves.
Linear dark field control: simulation for implementation and testing on the UA wavefront control testbed

This paper presents the early-stage simulation results of linear dark field control (LDFC) as a new approach to maintaining a stable dark hole within a stellar post-coronagraphic PSF. In practice, conventional speckle nulling is used to create a dark hole in the PSF, and LDFC is then employed to maintain the dark field by using information from the bright speckle field. The concept exploits the linear response of the bright speckle intensity to wavefront variations in the pupil, and therefore has many advantages over conventional speckle nulling as a method for stabilizing the dark hole. In theory, LDFC is faster, more sensitive, and more robust than using conventional speckle nulling techniques, like electric field conjugation, to maintain the dark hole. In this paper, LDFC theory, linear bright speckle characterization, and first results in simulation are presented as an initial step toward the deployment of LDFC on the UA Wavefront Control testbed in the coming year.
Performance of HT9 clad metallic fuel at high temperature

Abstract Irradiation testing and post-irradiation examination of HT9 clad U-10Zr metallic fuel has been carried out in the EBR-II reactor. Peak cladding temperatures in the range of 630 to 660°C were obtained in order to study high temperature breach behavior of metallic fuel. Of the 15 experimental fuel elements tested to 10 at% burnup, two breached by stress rupture. Breach behavior was found to be totally benign for reactor operations. Significant fuel/cladding chemical interactions involving lanthanide-series fission products and carbide depletion were observed in the hottest cladding region.
Volume mode excitation in submerged bubbles: Towards reducing breakdown voltage for plasma generation in liquids

Plasma ignition of submerged gas bubbles reduces the breakdown voltage required to introduce plasma into a liquid. It is possible to further reduce the breakdown voltage of bubbles in liquid water. Local enhancement of the electric field through bubble shape mode activation combined with volume modulation for decreased internal pressure and neutral density is a potential pathway for minimizing breakdown voltage. Although electrohydraulic control of bubble shape has been investigated[1], for the purpose of reducing breakdown voltage, the quantitative benefits of accessing bubble volume modes remain unexplored. Submerged bubble volume modulation may be achieved by sonically or electrohydraulically driving a time-varying sinusoidal field at the Minnaert resonance frequency.
INSTABILITY AFTER TKA: WOBBLE & BUCKLE

A total knee replacement (TKR) with instability is one in which the supporting soft tissues have failed or are unable to function due to component size and/or position. Instability following TKR can lead to the need for surgery in 10–22% of revision cases. Patients may complain of symptoms of giving way, difficulty climbing stairs, and the sensation that their knee may buckle under stress. Physical findings may include soft-tissue tenderness in the peripatellar and pes anserine regions, recurrent joint effusions, and joint laxity. The cause of instability after TKR should be determined pre-operatively so the problem may be corrected at the time of revision. Instability after TKR may be due to component loosening, ligament rupture/incompetence, component malposition, mismatched flexion/extension gaps, or failure to correct ligament imbalance at the time of the index procedure. A common scenario after a cruciate-retaining TKR is that of PCL rupture, thus leading to instability in flexion and excessive posterior translation of the tibia. Other scenarios leading to TKR instability are pre-operative valgus alignment with MCL stretching, resulting in the post-operative recurrence of medial instability; or excessive resection of the posterior femoral condyles from undersizing of the femoral component, leading to laxity in flexion. The treatment of instability after TKR generally requires component revision and balancing of the flexion and extension gaps. Isolated ligament reconstruction is not successful in the setting of a prosthetic joint due to the lack of inherent joint stability. At the time of revision, the surgeon must carefully assess the flexion gap; often posterior femoral augments must be used to upsize the femoral component and tighten the flexion space relative to the extension space; for this reason, isolated polyethylene exchange is not successful for flexion instability. For instability in the varus/valgus plane, rebalancing the knee by performing ligament releases and using a more stabilizing polyethylene insert may by sufficient. The results of revision TKR for instability has been successful in the majority of cases, decreasing the symptoms of giving way and difficulty stairclimbing. A careful assessment of the varus/valgus stability of the prosthetic knee and the flexion/extension spaces at the time of revision TKR, along with the use of augments and more stabilised articulations, is mandatory in order to achieve good results.
Entrepreneurship and Antitrust Enforcement

Antitrust enforcement can promote entrepreneurship by creating an economic environment that is more suitable to market entry by start-up firms that challenge existing business models. Several reforms for improving antitrust enforcement would be desirable. First, antitrust enforcement can be procedurally mainstreamed. Second, merger review can be more aggressive. Third, rules about FRAND licensing can be clarified and implemented more predictably. This article analyzes these proposals and makes other recommendation for improving antitrust scrutiny of markets.
DFT simulations of inter-graphene-layer coupling with rotationally misaligned hBN tunnel barriers in graphene/hBN/graphene tunnel FETs

Van der Waal's heterostructures allow for novel devices such as two-dimensional-to-two-dimensional tunnel devices, exemplified by interlayer tunnel FETs. These devices employ channel/tunnel-barrier/channel geometries. However, during layer-by-layer exfoliation of these multi-layer materials, rotational misalignment is the norm and may substantially affect device characteristics. In this work, by using density functional theory methods, we consider a reduction in tunneling due to weakened coupling across the rotationally misaligned interface between the channel layers and the tunnel barrier. As a prototypical system, we simulate the effects of rotational misalignment of the tunnel barrier layer between aligned channel layers in a graphene/hBN/graphene system. We find that the rotational misalignment between the channel layers and the tunnel barrier in this van der Waal's heterostructure can significantly reduce coupling between the channels by reducing, specifically, coupling across the interface between the channels and the tunnel barrier. This weakened coupling in graphene/hBN/graphene with hBN misalignment may be relevant to all such van der Waal's heterostructures.
Dirty Paper Coding vs. Linear Precoding for MIMO Broadcast Channels

We study the MIMO broadcast channel and compare the achievable throughput for the optimal strategy of dirty paper coding to that achieved with sub-optimal and lower complexity linear precoding (e.g., zero-forcing and block diagonalization) transmission. Both strategies utilize all available spatial dimensions and therefore have the same multiplexing gain, but an absolute difference in terms of throughput does exist. The sum rate difference between the two strategies is analytically computed at asymptotically high SNR, and it is seen that this asymptotic statistic provides an accurate characterization at even moderate SNR levels. Weighted sum rate maximization is also considered, and a similar quantification of the throughput difference between the two strategies is computed. In the process, it is shown that allocating user powers in direct proportion to user weights asymptotically maximizes weighted sum rate.
Does The Samaritan's Dilemma Matter? Evidence From U.S. Agriculture

The Samaritan's dilemma posits a downside to charity: recipients may rely on free aid instead of their own efforts. Anecdotally, the expectation of free assistance is thought to be important for decisions about insurance and risky behavior in numerous settings, but reliable empirical evidence is scarce. We estimate whether the Samaritan's dilemma exists in U.S. agriculture, where both private crop insurance and frequent federal disaster assistance are present. We find that bailout expectations are qualitatively and quantitatively important for the insurance decision. Furthermore, aid expectations reduce both expenditure on farm inputs and subsequent crop revenue. (JEL D72, H84, Q18)
Folded Plate Analysis by Minimum Energy Principle

Principle of minimum total potential energy is applied to analysis of folded plate structures; method of analysis is developed in detail for case of folded plates simply supported at ends and subjected to longitudinally symmetrical loadings; strain-energy expressions are developed both for stress resultants ordinarily considered (longitudinal direct stresses and transverse slab moments) and also for other remaining stress resultants; example presented.
Comparison of IEC and IEEE/NEMA standards for rotating electrical machines

This paper explores some of the significant points from the IEC 34 series of standards on electrical rotating machines. The focus is on large AC induction motors. The IEC standards are then compared with relevant NEMA and IEEE standards. This paper provides both manufacturers and users who are familiar with equipment built under North American standards with a method of determining whether equipment will also be compatible with IEC standards.
Institutional Prerequisites for Economic Growth: Europe After World War II

Abstract European economic growth in the quarter of a century that ended in 1973 outstripped growth in any period of comparable length before or since. The elements of Europe's growth miracle - wage moderation, high investment and rapid export growth - were delivered by a taylor-made set of domestic and international arrangements - on the domestic side the social market economy, on the external side international agreements and institutions including the European Payments Union and the European Coal and Steel Community - that solved problems of commitment and cooperation that would have otherwise hindered the resumption of growth.
Increasing the fracture toughness of silicon by ion implantation

Previous studies have shown that moderate doses of radiation can lead to increased fracture toughness in ceramics. An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the effects of ion implantation on fracture toughness in silicon. Specimens implanted with Ne showed increased fracture toughness, over the entire range of implantations tested. Using ions of various energies to better distribute implantation damage further increased the fracture toughness even though the region of amorphous damage was slightly decreased. The implantation damage accumulated in a predictable manner so that fracture toughness could be optimized.
How should taxes be designed to encourage entrepreneurship

Abstract This paper examines how tax policy should be designed to best encourage entrepreneurial activity in start-up firms. We begin by describing several presumed market failures affecting entrepreneurial firms that would lead to an under-provision of entrepreneurial activity: 1) information spillovers from innovations in entrepreneurial firms to other firms, 2) positive externalities to consumers from innovative new products sold by these firms, and 3) lemons problems in the market for both debt and equity issued by these firms. We then analyze the degree to which various tax policy measures can alleviate these failures. A key complication we focus on is the inability of the government to observe which, and the degree to which, any given start-up firm is entrepreneurial. This forces policy to target behavioral differences between entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial start-ups. We presume that start-up firms, to the degree they are entrepreneurial, face upfront costs in developing and marketing a new technology, and in the process face substantial risk. Our analysis then suggests the use of refundable tax savings from business losses in start-ups together with a compensating surtax on the profits of start-ups (needed in the case of lemons problems) to help alleviate the various market failures faced by entrepreneurial start-ups.
Dimension Spectra of Lines

This paper investigates the algorithmic dimension spectra of lines in the Euclidean plane. Given any line L with slope a and vertical intercept b, the dimension spectrum \({{\mathrm{sp}}}(L)\) is the set of all effective Hausdorff dimensions of individual points on L. We draw on Kolmogorov complexity and geometrical arguments to show that if the effective Hausdorff dimension \(\dim (a, b)\) is equal to the effective packing dimension \({{\mathrm{Dim}}}(a, b)\), then \({{\mathrm{sp}}}(L)\) contains a unit interval. We also show that, if the dimension \(\dim (a, b)\) is at least one, then \({{\mathrm{sp}}}(L)\) is infinite. Together with previous work, this implies that the dimension spectrum of any line is infinite.
On the self contained modelling of DB/DC systems

This paper discusses the modelling of DB/DC systems operating in a demand paging environment. As an extension of an earlier definition of Denning a class of systems is defined, those operating with "working set integrity", for which one can obtain system response parameters solely from the resource requirements of the input processes when running in isolation. No external information such as a miss ratio curve from another systems environment is required. The interdependence between the resource requirements of processes when running in a systems environment and the system performance parameters is faced directly and expressed as a set of simultaneous equations. The emphasis is on the effect of the sharing of a common set of pages among the active set of processes. Both unrestricted shared usage and usage with locking are treated.
Approaches for Calculating Solvation Free Energies and Enthalpies Demonstrated with an Update of the FreeSolv Database

Solvation free energies can now be calculated precisely from molecular simulations, providing a valuable test of the energy functions underlying these simulations. Here we briefly review “alchemical” approaches for calculating the solvation free energies of small, neutral organic molecules from molecular simulations and illustrate these approaches by applying them to calculate aqueous solvation free energies (hydration free energies). These approaches use a nonphysical pathway to compute free energy differences from a simulation or set of simulations and appear to be a particularly robust and general-purpose approach for this task. We also present an update (version 0.5) to our FreeSolv database of experimental and calculated hydration free energies of neutral compounds and provide input files in formats for several simulation packages. This revision to FreeSolv provides calculated values generated with a single protocol and software version rather than the heterogeneous protocols used in the prior versio...
Selloffs, bailouts, and feedback: Can asset markets inform policy?

Abstract We introduce a new market microstructure model to study a setting in which an authority (e.g. a firm manager or government policymaker) learns about the likelihood of a bad state by observing activity in the asset market, before deciding whether to undertake a costly intervention to improve the state. Intervention erodes the value of an investor's private information by weakening the link between the initial state and the asset payoff. Informed investors are reluctant to make large, informative trades in the bad state, undermining the market's informativeness and the welfare gains generated by the possibility of a corrective intervention. Fundamentally, the authority faces a tradeoff between eliciting information from the asset market and using the information so obtained. The authority can generate a Pareto improvement if she commits to intervene less often when the market suggests that intervention is most beneficial and more often when the market suggests that intervention is unwarranted. She thus may benefit from imperfections in the intervention process or from delegating the decision to intervene to a biased agent.
RE-ADMISSIONS AND COMPLICATIONS FOR PATIENTS REQUIRING A BLOOD TRANSFUSION AFTER PRIMARY TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY

Background Conflicting results about the impact of blood transfusions on outcomes after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have been reported. We hypothesized that transfusions would be associated with greater readmission and complication rates after primary TKA. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of the 100% 2008 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review database, and identified primary THA patients by ICD9 codes and excluded fractures/ER admissions to select for elective cases. Patients who received a perioperative blood transfusion (6,951 patients) were compared to a control group who did not receive transfusion (332,762 patients). Descriptive statistics of age, sex, race, diagnosis for surgery, Elixhauser comorbidities, mortality (inpatient, 30, 60, and 90 days and 2 years), readmissions (30, 60, and 90 days), complications (medical and surgical at 30 and 90 days), and revision at 2 years were assessed for both groups. Continuous variables were compared with Student's T-test and categorical variables with chi-square test. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to assess the association of transfusion with readmissions, complications, and revisions. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.01. Results Patients who received a transfusion were older (mean 74.4 vs. 72.6, p<0.0001), more likely to be male (75% vs. 66%, p<0.0001), and had a higher Elixhauser comorbidity count (2.0 vs. 1.85, p<0.0001). Transfused patients had significantly greater readmission rates at 30-days (8.2% vs 5.7%, p<0.0001), 60-days (11.7% vs 8.2%, p<0.0001), and 90-days (14.4% vs 10.4%, p<0.0001). Their overall complication rates at 30 days (2.1% vs 1.4%, p<0.0001) and 90 days (3.2% vs 2.1%, p<0.0001) were greater mainly due to greater surgical complications at 30 days (1.4% vs 0.9%, p<0.0001) and 90 days (2.1% vs 1.3%, p<0.0001). Patients who received a transfusion had significantly higher mortality rates at 2-years (2.2% vs. 1.4%, p<0.0001). Two years after discharge, transfused patients had no difference in revision rates (2.4% vs 2.4%, p=0.8805). Multivariate regression found that transfusion was the third most important factor for surgical complications at 30-days (OR: 1.6, 95% CI: 1.3 to 2.0) and an independent risk factor for readmissions at 60-days (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.3 to 1.5). At 2-years, transfusion was independently associated with mortality (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.2 to 1.7), but not revision (OR: 1.1, 95% CI: 0.9 to 1.3). Conclusion Primary TKA patients who were transfused had an independently higher risk for surgical complications and readmissions at 30 and 90 days, and mortality within 2 years. Transfusion, however, did not impact revision rates. A restrictive transfusion threshold should be considered for patients undergoing TKA.
Daily fluctuation in chronic fatigue syndrome severity and symptoms

The present study characterized 46 chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients' experiences of CFS and compared these patients with 11 healthy control participants. Chronic fatigue syndrome patients reported more symptoms of CFS, distress, and functional impairment than the controls. These heightened symptoms remained relatively stable over time within the patient group. However, within individual patients, there were daily fluctuations in symptom reporting, indicating that some days were better than others. Additionally, there was a close association between CFS symptoms and reports of perceived stress and negative affect in the patient group. These results demonstrate the usefulness of the Daily Record Form for assessing symptom severity in CFS patients.
Baxter's Homunculus: Virtual Reality Spaces for Teleoperation in Manufacturing

We demonstrate a low-cost telerobotic system that leverages commercial virtual reality (VR) technology and integrates it with existing robotics control infrastructure. The system runs on a commercial gaming engine using off-the-shelf VR hardware and can be deployed on multiple network architectures. The system is based on the homunculus model of mind wherein we embed the user in a VR control room. The control room allows for multiple sensor displays, and dynamic mapping between the user and robot. This dynamic mapping allows for selective engagement between the user and the robot. We compared our system with state-of-the-art automation algorithms and standard VR-based telepresence systems by performing a user study. The study showed that new users were faster and more accurate than the automation or a direct telepresence system. We also demonstrate that our system can be used for pick and place, assembly, and manufacturing tasks.
Compact Embedded Minimal Surfaces of Positive Genus Without Area Bounds

Let M3 be a three-manifold (possibly with boundary). We will show that, for any positive integer γ, there exists an open nonempty set of metrics on M (in the C2-topology on the space of metrics on M) for each of which there are compact embedded stable minimal surfaces of genus γ with arbitrarily large area. This extends a result of Colding and Minicozzi, who proved the case γ=1.
Compressed sensing using generative models

The goal of compressed sensing is to estimate a vector from an underdetermined system of noisy linear measurements, by making use of prior knowledge on the structure of vectors in the relevant domain. For almost all results in this literature, the structure is represented by sparsity in a well-chosen basis. We show how to achieve guarantees similar to standard compressed sensing but without employing sparsity at all. Instead, we suppose that vectors lie near the range of a generative model G : ℝk → ℝn. Our main theorem is that, if G is L-Lipschitz, then roughly O(k log L) random Gaussian measurements suffice for an l2/l2 recovery guarantee. We demonstrate our results using generative models from published variational autoencoder and generative adversarial networks. Our method can use 5-10x fewer measurements than Lasso for the same accuracy.
Computational analysis of end-of-injection transients and combustion recession:

Mixing and combustion of engine combustion network Spray A after end of injection are modeled using highly resolved multidimensional numerical simulations to explore the physics underlying recent e...
The challenges of natural algorithms

This talk will sketch an algorithmic approach to the dynamics of living systems. Our working models consist of entropy-producing dissipative dynamic networks driven by a supply of free energy. They can be found in opinion dynamics, synchronization systems, and in many evolutionary contexts. The main challenge posed by these "natural algorithms" is the dearth of analytical tools currently at our disposal. The focus of our work has been on building a new theory of endogenously-driven dynamic networks rich enough to allow for the renormalization of large-scale systems. The main novelty of our approach to dynamical systems is to make algorithms the centerpiece of the analysis.
Wearable health monitoring using capacitive voltage-mode Human Body Communication

Rapid miniaturization and cost reduction of computing, along with the availability of wearable and implantable physiological sensors have led to the growth of human Body Area Network (BAN) formed by a network of such sensors and computing devices. One promising application of such a network is wearable health monitoring where the collected data from the sensors would be transmitted and analyzed to assess the health of a person. Typically, the devices in a BAN are connected through wireless (WBAN), which suffers from energy inefficiency due to the high-energy consumption of wireless transmission. Human Body Communication (HBC) uses the relatively low loss human body as the communication medium to connect these devices, promising order(s) of magnitude better energy-efficiency and built-in security compared to WBAN. In this paper, we demonstrate a health monitoring device and system built using Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) sensors and components, that can collect data from physiological sensors and transmit it through a) intra-body HBC to another device (hub) worn on the body or b) upload health data through HBC-based human-machine interaction to an HBC capable machine. The system design constraints and signal transfer characteristics for the implemented HBC-based wearable health monitoring system are measured and analyzed, showing reliable connectivity with >8× power savings compared to Bluetooth low-energy (BTLE).
Two-Sided Exit Problems in the Ordered Risk Model

The insurance risk model in the presence of two horizontal absorbing barriers is considered. The lower barrier is the usual ruin barrier while the upper one corresponds to the dividend barrier. The distribution of two first-exit times of the risk process from the strip between the two horizontal lines is under study. The claim arrival process is governed by an Order Statistic Point Process (OSPP) which enables the derivation of formulas in terms of the joint distribution of the order statistics of a sample of uniform random variables.
Pituitary carcinoma: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center experience.

2068Background: Pituitary carcinoma (PC) is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine tumor diagnosed once a pituitary adenoma (PA) becomes metastatic. Although no standard treatment currently exists, surgery, radiation (XRT) and/or chemotherapy are most commonly used. Recently, treatment with temozolomide (TMZ) has shown promising results, although the lack of prospective trials limits accurate outcome assessment. Methods: We describe a single-center multidisciplinary team experience in managing PC patients over a 13-year period (Oct, 2003 to Jan, 2017). Results: A total of 17 patients (9 males) were seen. Median age at diagnosis of PC was 44 years (range 16-82 years) and the median time from PA to PC conversion was 6 years (range 1-29 years). Median follow-up time: 28 months (range 8-158 months) with 7 reported deaths. The majority of PC was hormone-secreting (HS) subtype (n = 12): ACTH (n = 5), PRL (n = 4), FSH/LH (n = 2), GH (n = 1). After PC diagnosis, all pituitary tumors were locally invasive, all under...