cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Large area neutron detector based on /sup 6/Li ionization chamber with integrated body-moderator of high density polyethylene

We describe the development of a large area neutron detector based on a pulse-mode ionization chamber lined with /sup 6/Li foil in a low-cost housing of HDPE (high density polyethylene) that serves as the moderator. The use of inexpensive materials, technology for mass production and simple construction, which integrates the basic components of the sensor together, results in a substantial cost reduction. For a given sensor size, detection efficiency, or counting time, the proposed detector is expected to provide an order-of magnitude cost reduction compared to current neutron detection technology. This paper describes the detection concept including the optimization of the design using neutron transport calculations. It also gives experimental results on some prototype units using neutron and gamma sources. The properties affecting long term counting stability are discussed. An approach to reduce the effect of outgassing from the HDPE body is suggested.
Monte Carlo Calculations Of Low Background Detector Response

An implementation of the Electron Gamma Shower 4 code (EGS4)[ I] has been developed to allow convenient simulation of typical gamma ray measurement systems. Coincidence gamma rays, beta spectra, and angular correlations have been added to adequately simulate a complete nuclear decay and provide corrections to experimentally determined detector efficiencies. This code has been used to strip certain low-background spectra for the purpose of extremely low-level assay. Monte Carlo calculations of this sort can be extremely successful since low background detectors are usually free of significant contributions from poorly localized radiation sources, such as cosmic muons, secondary cosmic neutrons, and radioactive construction or shielding materials. Validation of this code has been obtained from a series of comparisons between measurements and blind calculations. The singles counting efficiency of a particular counting experiment was reproduced within the accuracy of the known dimensions of the detector components. This allowed the complete simulation of a nuclear decay, including two coincident gamma rays with a non-isotropic angular correlation. In addition, text-book efficiency curves have been reproduced for several sizes of sodium iodide detectors. Examples of the use and several spectral results will be presented.
From regularization to radial, tensor and additive splines

We had previously shown that regularization principles lead to approximation schemes which are equivalent to networks with one layer of hidden units, called regularization networks. We summarize some recent results (Girosi, Jones and Poggio, 1993) that show that regularization networks encompass a much broader range of approximation schemes, including many of the popular general additive models and some of the neural networks. In particular, additive splines as well as some tensor product splines can be obtained from appropriate classes of smoothness functionals. Furthermore the same extension that extends radial basis functions to hyper basis functions leads from additive models to ridge approximation models, containing as special cases Breiman's hinge functions and some forms of projection pursuit regression. We propose to use the term generalized regularization networks for this broad class of approximation schemes that follow from an extension of regularization.
Shifting College Majors in Response to Advanced Placement Exam Scores

Do signals of high aptitude shape the course of collegiate study? We apply a regression discontinuity design to understand how college major choice is impacted by receiving a higher Advanced Placement (AP) integer score, despite similar exam performance, compared to students who received a lower integer score. Attaining higher scores increases the probability that a student majors in that exam subject by approximately 5 percent (0.64 percentage points), with some individual exams demonstrating increases as high as 30 percent. A substantial portion of the overall effect is driven by behavioral responses to the positive signal of receiving a higher score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Design of injection nozzle in direct metal deposition (DMD) manufacturing of thin-walled structures based on 3D models

The direct metal deposition (DMD) process is one of the metal-based additive manufacturing techniques available today. In this study, an injection nozzle design methodology is proposed based on the finite element modeling of substrate temperature and powder distribution. The design methodology is applied to the deposition of Ti-6Al-4V powder in building thin-walled structures, which is also applicable to solid parts. The objective is to explore and find the designs of injection nozzle shape that maximize the powder usage and minimize laser energy needs, later defined as powder catchment and laser energy efficiencies. The laser heating of substrate model and the particle-laden gas flow model are utilized. First, a proper set of process parameters is chosen to model the melt pool shape on the substrate that can build a thin-walled structure of certain width. Then, the powder distribution is explored by testing various injection nozzle shape parameters based on the solutions of a particle-laden injection turbulent flow. A neural network is built in order to explore the variations of objective functions due to the design variables. The first output of the neural network predicts the particle concentration in flight. The second output evaluates the powder catchment efficiency. The process efficiency is defined as the product of the two outputs. After validating the neural network, multiple sets of injection nozzle geometric parameters are provided to map their process efficiencies. With the methodology proposed, the injection nozzle can be designed to maximize the process efficiency.
A risk-neutral equilibrium leading to uncertain volatility pricing

We study the formation of derivative prices in an equilibrium between risk-neutral agents with heterogeneous beliefs about the dynamics of the underlying. Under the condition that short-selling is limited, we prove the existence of a unique equilibrium price and show that it incorporates the speculative value of possibly reselling the derivative. This value typically leads to a bubble; that is, the price exceeds the autonomous valuation of any given agent. Mathematically, the equilibrium price operator is of the same nonlinear form that is obtained in single-agent settings with worst-case aversion against model uncertainty. Thus, our equilibrium leads to a novel interpretation of this price.
The Psychology of Confessions

Despite the potency of confession evidence in criminal law, recent DNA exonerations indicate that false confessions are a contributing factor in numerous wrongful convictions. After distinguishing between voluntary, compliant, and internalized false confessions, this article reviews research implicating a sequence of three processes responsible for false confessions and the adverse consequences of these confessions. First, police often target innocent people for interrogation because of erroneous judgments of truth and deception made during preinterrogation interviews. Second, innocent people are sometimes induced to confess as a function of certain police interrogation tactics, dispositional suspect vulnerabilities, and naive mental state that accompanies innocence. Third, people cannot readily distinguish between true and false confessions and often fail to discount those confessions they perceive to be coerced. At present, researchers are seeking ways to improve the accuracy of confession evidence and ...
Optimal Transmission Line Switching Under Geomagnetic Disturbances

In recent years, there have been increasing concerns about how geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) impact electrical power systems. Geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) can saturate transformers, induce hot spot heating, and increase reactive power losses. These effects can potentially cause catastrophic damage to transformers and severely impact the ability of a power system to deliver power. To address this problem, we develop a model of GIC impacts to power systems that includes 1) GIC thermal capacity of transformers as a function of normal alternating current (AC), and 2) reactive power losses as a function of GIC. We use this model to derive an optimization problem that protects power systems from GIC impacts through line switching, generator redispatch, and load shedding. We employ state-of-the-art convex relaxations of AC power flow equations to lower bound the objective. We demonstrate the approach on a modified RTS96 system and the UIUC 150-bus system and show that line switching is an effective means to mitigate GIC impacts. We also provide a sensitivity analysis of optimal switching decisions with respect to GMD direction.
Stellar winds and mass-loss rates from Be stars.

An analysis for the effects of stellar winds concerning Copernicus scans of Si III and Si IV resonance lines in the spectra of 22 early B stars, of which 19 have Be characteristics, yields line asymmetries in all but one of the stars to which theoretical profiles were fitted. The resulting wind parameters were used to calculate mass-loss rates. Most of the silicon in the winds of the cooler stars is in the form of Si III and Si IV, leading to a mass loss rate value ranging from 10 to the -11th to 3 x 10 to the -9th solar masses/year. Equatorial gravity darkening is seen in the relative velocity widths of ultraviolet and visible photospheric lines. The measured photospheric Si III and Si IV resonance-line equivalent widths do not agree with those predicted by current stellar atmosphere calculations. Be star mass loss rates are probably insufficient to affect either their own evolution or that of the galaxy, since their winds do not significantly contribute to the enrichment of the interstellar medium.
Sample complexity of the boolean multireference alignment problem

The Boolean multireference alignment problem consists in recovering a Boolean signal from multiple shifted and noisy observations. In this paper we obtain an expression for the error exponent of the maximum A posteriori decoder. This expression is used to characterize the number of measurements needed for signal recovery in the low SNR regime, in terms of higher order autocorrelations of the signal. The characterization is explicit for various signal dimensions, such as prime and even dimensions.
Calcium-Aluminum-rich Inclusions in Chondritic Meteorites

Calcium–aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) are sub-mm- to cm-sized clasts in chondritic meteorites. They are composed almost entirely of CaO-Al 2 O 3 -MgO-SiO 2 -TiO 2 , and they contain the same minerals predicted by thermodynamic calculations to condense out of a gas of solar composition during cooling from very high temperatures. These features, together with ages of 4.567 Ga, suggest that CAIs are the oldest and most primitive solid objects formed at the time our solar system was born. CAIs possess endemic nuclear anomalies of nucleosynthetic origin, enrichment in 16 O relative to other solar system materials, and also radiogenic anomalies from the in situ decay of short-lived nuclides such as 26 Al and 10 Be that existed when the CAIs (and solar system) formed. CAIs are complex objects whose petrologic and isotopic properties give clues to the events – and chronology of those events – that occurred during the first 1–2 million years of the solar system's existence. Reading that ancient record has been greatly enabled by recent and continuing advances in analytical laboratory instrumentation, and thus interest in CAIs remains very high.
Overcoming limits to near-field radiative heat transfer in uniform planar media through multilayer optimization

Radiative heat transfer between uniform plates is bounded by the narrow range and limited contribution of surface waves. Using a combination of analytical calculations and numerical gradient-based optimization, we show that such a limitation can be overcome in complicated multilayer geometries, allowing the scattering and coupling rates of slab resonances to be altered over a broad range of evanescent wavevectors. We conclude that while the radiative flux between two inhomogeneous slabs can only be weakly enhanced, the flux between a dipolar particle and an inhomogeneous slab—proportional to the local density of states—can be orders of magnitude larger, albeit at the expense of increased frequency selectivity. A brief discussion of hyperbolic metamaterials shows that they provide far less enhancement than optimized inhomogeneous slabs.
Repeatability of choroidal thickness measurements on Enhanced Depth Imaging OCT using different posterior boundaries

Abstract To assess the reliability of manual choroidal thickness measurements by comparing different posterior boundary definitions of the choroidal-scleral junction on enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). Reliability analysis METHODS: Two graders marked the choroidal-scleral junction with segmentation software using different posterior boundaries: 1) the outer border of the choroidal vessel lumen, 2) the outer border of the choroid stroma, and 3) the inner border of the sclera, to measure the vascular choroidal thickness (VCT), stromal choroidal thickness (SCT), and total choroidal thickness (TCT), respectively. Measurements were taken at 0.5 mm intervals from 1.5 mm nasal to 1.5 mm temporal to the fovea, and averaged continuously across the central 3 mm of the macula. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of reliability (CR) were compared to assess intergrader and intragrader reliability. Choroidal thickness measurements varied significantly with different posterior boundaries (P =
Balancing Data, Time, and Expectations: The Complex Decision-­Making Environment of Enrollment Management

As a growing entity within higher education organizational structures, enrollment managers (EMs) are primarily tasked with projecting, recruiting, and retaining the student population of their campuses. Enrollment managers are expected by institutional presidents as well as through industry standards to make data-driven planning decisions to reach their goals. However, despite the availability of data, some enrollment managers revealed a different reality from traditional, rational decision-making models. This study explored the factors that contributed to or influenced the decision-making process of six enrollment managers working in either two- or four-year public colleges and universities located in the Midwestern United States. Interviews, including a word association exercise, documents and artifacts of tools utilized to make enrollment management ecisions, and observational field notes were gathered and analyzed in this qualitative study grounded in constructionism. Using the theories of Bounded Rationality and the Garbage Can model as lenses, EMs in this study seemed to reflect a highly stressful, competitive, and complex environment where rational decision-making gave way to satisficing, or “good-enough” decisions as expectations to meet enrollment goals governed their motives. Decisions also appeared to be closely associated to the Garbage Can Model due to the ambiguity of goal setting and the mixture of participants, problems, and solutions where temporal proximity appeared to be more of a factor in terms of what received attention first. With multiple interruptions into an EM's daily schedule, the ability for the enrollment manager to maintain consistent efforts on desired projects and plans was severely hindered. Enrollment managers in this study shared through multiple examples that they did not feel they had enough time to accomplish their tasks as thoroughly as they preferred and often addressed their problems without full consideration of all possible options, much less the optimal one.
Information Bounds and Efficient Estimation in a Class of Censored Transformation Models

Transformation models provide a popular tool for regression analysis of censored failure time data. The most common approach towards parameter estimation in these models is based on nonparametric profile likelihood method. Several authors proposed also ad hoc M-estimators of the Euclidean component of the model. These estimators are usually simpler to implement and many of them have good practical performance. In this paper we consider the form of the information bound for estimation of the Euclidean parameter of the model and propose a modification of the inefficient M-estimators to one-step maximum likelihood estimates.
Magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling through E region turbulence: 1. Energy budget

[1] During periods of intense geomagnetic activity, strong electric fields and currents penetrate from the magnetosphere into the high-latitude ionosphere, where they dissipate energy, form electrojets, and excite plasma instabilities in the E region ionosphere. These instabilities give rise to plasma turbulence which induces nonlinear currents and strong anomalous electron heating (AEH) as observed by radars. These two effects can increase the global ionospheric conductances. This paper analyzes the energy budget in the electrojet. Employing first principles, this paper proves for the general case an earlier conjecture that the source of energy for plasma turbulence and anomalous heating equals the work by external field on the nonlinear current. Using a two-fluid model of an arbitrarily magnetized plasma and the quasi-linear approximation, this paper describes the energy conversion process, calculates the partial sources of anomalous heating, and reconciles the apparent contradiction between the inherently 2-D nonlinear current and the 3-D nature of AEH.
Nonequilibrium superconductivity in Y1−xPrxBa2Cu3O7 thin films

Abstract We have measured the picosecond conductivity dynamics in Y1−xPrxBa2Cu3O7 thin films from 0.3– 2.0 THz . Our experimental technique measures the complex conductivity σre(ω)+iσim(ω) permitting the simultaneous observation of superconducting pair and quasiparticle dynamics. We emphasize aspects of the conductivity dynamics which extend our previous results (Phys. Rev. B 63 (2001) 140502(R)). In particular, the recovery of σre is faster than σim, and the recovery of σim decreases with increasing frequency. This suggests another carrier relaxation pathway, in addition to superconducting pair recovery, following optical excitation.
Impact of Age and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 on DNA Damage Responses in UV-Irradiated Human Skin

The growing incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) necessitates a thorough understanding of its primary risk factors, which include exposure to ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths of sunlight and age. Whereas UV radiation (UVR) has long been known to generate photoproducts in genomic DNA that promote genetic mutations that drive skin carcinogenesis, the mechanism by which age contributes to disease pathogenesis is less understood and has not been sufficiently studied. In this review, we highlight studies that have considered age as a variable in examining DNA damage responses in UV-irradiated skin and then discuss emerging evidence that the reduced production of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) by senescent fibroblasts in the dermis of geriatric skin creates an environment that negatively impacts how epidermal keratinocytes respond to UVR-induced DNA damage. In particular, recent data suggest that two principle components of the cellular response to DNA damage, including nucleotide excision repair and DNA damage checkpoint signaling, are both partially defective in keratinocytes with inactive IGF-1 receptors. Overcoming these tumor-promoting conditions in aged skin may therefore provide a way to lower aging-associated skin cancer risk, and thus we will consider how dermal wounding and related clinical interventions may work to rejuvenate the skin, re-activate IGF-1 signaling, and prevent the initiation of NMSC.
From Vigilance to Busyness: A Neo-Weberian Approach to Clock Time

For many social scientists, clock time is seen as either a mechanism of economic power relations that reinforces social domination or a resource that facilitates individual market-oriented action. ...
Performance Contingencies in CEO Equity Awards and Debt Contracting

ABSTRACT We find that firms that grant performance-contingent (p-c) equity awards with accounting-based vesting conditions to their CEOs have lower cost of debt and less restrictive loan terms. The...
Multiperiod Martingale Transport

Abstract Consider a multiperiod optimal transport problem where distributions μ 0 , … , μ n are prescribed and a transport corresponds to a scalar martingale X with marginals X t ∼ μ t . We introduce particular couplings called left-monotone transports; they are characterized equivalently by a no-crossing property of their support, as simultaneous optimizers for a class of bivariate transport cost functions with a Spence–Mirrlees property, and by an order-theoretic minimality property. Left-monotone transports are unique if μ 0 is atomless, but not in general. In the one-period case n = 1 , these transports reduce to the Left-Curtain coupling of Beiglbock and Juillet. In the multiperiod case, the bivariate marginals for dates ( 0 , t ) are of Left-Curtain type, if and only if μ 0 , … , μ n have a specific order property. The general analysis of the transport problem also gives rise to a strong duality result and a description of its polar sets. Finally, we study a variant where the intermediate marginals μ 1 , … , μ n − 1 are not prescribed.
Papillary Ductal Plugging is a Mechanism for Early Stone Retention in Brushite Stone Disease

Purpose: Mechanisms of early stone retention in the kidney are under studied and poorly understood. To date attachment via Randall's plaque is the only widely accepted theory in this regard, which is best described in idiopathic calcium oxalate stone formers. Brushite stone formers are known to have distinct papillary morphology relative to calcium oxalate stone formers. As such we sought to determine whether stone attachment mechanisms in such patients may be similarly unique.Materials and Methods: Patients undergoing percutaneous and or ureteroscopic procedures for stone removal consented to endoscopic renal papillary examination and individual stone collection. Each removed stone was processed using micro computerized tomography to assess the 3-dimensional microstructure and the minerals contained, and search for common structural features indicative of novel mechanisms of early growth and attachment to renal tissue.Results: A total of 25 intact brushite stones were removed from 8 patients and analyzed...
Invariance of Initiation Mass and Predictability of Cell Size in Escherichia coli

It is generally assumed that the allocation and synthesis of total cellular resources in microorganisms are uniquely determined by the growth conditions. Adaptation to a new physiological state leads to a change in cell size via reallocation of cellular resources. However, it has not been understood how cell size is coordinated with biosynthesis and robustly adapts to physiological states. We show that cell size in Escherichia coli can be predicted for any steady-state condition by projecting all biosynthesis into three measurable variables representing replication initiation, replication-division cycle, and the global biosynthesis rate. These variables can be decoupled by selectively controlling their respective core biosynthesis using CRISPR interference and antibiotics, verifying our predictions that different physiological states can result in the same cell size. We performed extensive growth inhibition experiments, and we discovered that cell size at replication initiation per origin, namely the initiation mass or unit cell, is remarkably invariant under perturbations targeting transcription, translation, ribosome content, replication kinetics, fatty acid and cell wall synthesis, cell division, and cell shape. Based on this invariance and balanced resource allocation, we explain why the total cell size is the sum of all unit cells. These results provide an overarching framework with quantitative predictive power over cell size in bacteria.
Spectral norm of random matrices

In this paper, we present a new upper bound for the spectral norm of symmetric random matrices with independent (but not necessarily identical) entries. Our results improve an earlier result of Furedi and Komlos.
von Hippel-Lindau Disease

von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease (OMIM 193300) is a hereditary cancer syndrome characterized by the development of central nervous system (CNS) and retinal hemangioblastomas, renal cell carcinomas (RCCs), pheochromocytomas, and other lesions (1). The first description of retinal angiomata affecting two siblings can be traced to Treacher Collins (1894) (2). The German opthalmologist, Eugene von Hippel, described two unrelated kindreds with retinal angiomata in 1904 (3). The familial nature of this disease was fully appreciated by neurophysiologist John Fulton in 1920 (4). The Swedish opthalmologist, Arvin Lindau, observed the connection between retinal lesions and larger angiomatous lesions of the CNS in 1927 (5). The term “Lindau disease” was coined by Melmon and Rosen in 1964, in a comprehensive review of the literature (6).
Exterior cloaking with active sources in two dimensional acoustics

We cloak a region from a known incident wave by surrounding the region with three or more devices that cancel out the field in the cloaked region without significantly radiating waves. Since very little waves reach scatterers within the cloaked region, the scattered field is small and the scatterers are for all practical purposes undetectable. The devices are multipolar point sources that can be determined from Green's formula and an addition theorem for Hankel functions. The cloaking devices are exterior to the cloaked region.
Personalizing professionalism: The professional identity experiences of LIS graduates in non-library roles

This grounded theory project asked: “How do Library and Information Science (LIS) graduates in non-library roles experience professional identity?” This is an important question for current LIS pra...
Numerical evidence for higher order Stark-type conjectures

We give a systematic method of providing numerical evidence for higher order Stark-type conjectures such as (in chronological order) Stark's conjecture over $\mathbb{Q}$, Rubin's conjecture, Popescu's conjecture, and a conjecture due to Burns that constitutes a generalization of Brumer's classical conjecture on annihilation of class groups. Our approach is general and could be used for any abelian extension of number fields, independent of the signature and type of places (finite or infinite) that split completely in the extension. We then employ our techniques in the situation where $K$ is a totally real, abelian, ramified cubic extension of a real quadratic field. We numerically verify the conjectures listed above for all fields $K$ of this type with absolute discriminant less than $10^{12}$, for a total of $19197$ examples. The places that split completely in these extensions are always taken to be the two real archimedean places of $k$ and we are in a situation where all the $S$-truncated $L$-functions have order of vanishing at least two.
Survey of Existing Computer-aided Design in Control Systems Packages in the United States of America

Abstract A survey on the use of packages for computer-aided design in control systems in the United States of America was taken, and this paper presents the results of that survey. Summaries of the nine most frequently used packages are given. Altogether, forty-five packages were reported in the survey. The applications of packages, e.g. design, simulation, or identification, are given. Results on the use of design methods are presented. The two most popular are classical and the linear quadratic regulator. The paper also contains results on the types of computers most often used for CADCS. The clear winner was the IBM-PC and IBM-PC compatibles.
Task-Specific Information

We present task-specific information as a metric to evaluate imaging system performance for a given task. Target detection in presence of clutter is used as a task to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed metric.
Impact of compressibility and a guide field on Fermi acceleration during magnetic island coalescence

Previous work has shown that Fermi acceleration can be an effective heating mechanism during magnetic island coalescence, where electrons may undergo repeated reflections as the magnetic field lines contract. This energization has the potential to account for the power-law distributions of particle energy inferred from observations of solar flares. Here, we develop a generalized framework for the analysis of Fermi acceleration that can incorporate the effects of compressibility and non-uniformity along field lines, which have commonly been neglected in previous treatments of the problem. Applying this framework to the simplified case of the uniform flux tube allows us to find both the power-law scaling of the distribution function and the rate at which the power-law behavior develops. We find that a guide magnetic field of order unity effectively suppresses the development of power-law distributions.
Effect of 514.5-nm Argon Ion Laser Radiation on Hematoporphyrin Derivative-Treated Bladder Tumor Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

The therapeutic effect of hematoporphyrin derivative (HpD) plus 514.5-nm argon ion laser radiation was compared to HpD plus 630-nm argon ion laser-pumped dye laser radiation in experimental urinary bladder transitional cell carcinoma models. Cultured human bladder cancer cells (EJ) containing HpD were 2.8-fold more sensitive to 514.5-nm radiation than to 630-nm radiation as measured by clonogenic capacity. The relative effectiveness of 514.5-nm versus 630-nm light was approximately proportional to the spectral absorbance for cell-bound HpD at these wavelengths. HpD-sensitized photoirradiation was studied in solid tumors produced by a) the subcutaneous inoculation of cells from murine bladder tumors induced by N-[4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazoyl]formamide (CAS: 24554-26-5) into female C3H mice (MBT-2 tumor) and b) the intravesical instillation of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (CAS: 684-93-5) into the urinary bladders of female Wistar rats. The tumors were exposed to 144 J/cm2 laser light 24-48 hours following ip injection of 20 mg HpD/kg body weight. By 24-48 hours, animals that received HpD and light of either wavelength had partially or completely necrosed tumors. Control groups showed no necrotic changes. Regression of MBT-2 tumors was also investigated. Seven of 14 and 6 of 12 animals had nonpalpable tumors 1 week after treatment with 514.5-nm and 630-nm light, respectively. Tumors in control groups demonstrated no regression. Spectral transmittance from 630 nm to 514.5 nm decreased by about 4% for 130- to 160-micron-thick sections of canine urothelium and bladder submucosa-muscularis. The results of this study indicate that HpD plus 514.5-nm laser radiation may be an effective treatment for small or superficial malignant lesions of the urinary bladder.
Factitious Vesicocutaneous Fistula: An Enigma in Diagnosis and Treatment

A case report of a patient with a recurrent factitial vesicocutaneous and a tensor fasciae latae musculocutaneous flap were employed in reconstruction. Difficulty in diagnosis and treatment of this patient with factitial disease is emphasized. Excessive hospitalization and cost reflect these difficulties. A life-threatening disease was modified by planned reconstruction coordinated with antidepressant medication and psychotherapy. Treatment centered on avoiding insight and maintaining denial ASA defense mechanism. The transference of self-mutilation in the suprapubic region to the donor thigh was most important in this patient's survival.
Repair of fractured, or thin tissue microarray paraffin blocks

Tissue microarrays (TMAs) are a valuable resource that have been used for molecular profiling and biomarker development. The high throughput and cost savings make TMAs well suited for the rapid screening of large patient populations and for use in multitissue studies. Construction and casting is time consuming and the most important step in the use of a TMA. Occasionally, improper casting of a TMA leads to failure of the block. Similarly, repeated sectioning can cause the block to become too thin to collect additional sections. Considering the increased use of TMA and their occasional failure, we developed a method to repair fractured blocks or blocks worn thin from repeated sectioning. (The J Histotechnol 28:245, 2005)Submitted August 25, 2005; accepted with revisions September 28, 2005
Compelled Disclosures of Health Records: Updated Estimates:

In both the popular media and scholarly literature, breaches of health privacy, confidentiality, and security are often associated with unlawful or unethical actions that result in disclosures of health information to individuals or entities with no right to access them. Although it is important to address wrongful access, disclosure, and use of health information, the focus on wrongful acts frequently overlooks the significant threat to health privacy posed by lawful disclosure of health information to individuals and entities with the economic or other leverage to require individuals to sign authorizations for the disclosure of their health information. We have termed this common practice "compelled disclosures" or "compelled authorizations." It includes instances in which individuals are required to sign an authorization as well as the times in which individuals are required to obtain and submit directly their own health records.
Making the Wait Worthwhile: Experiments on the Effect of Queueing on Consumption

This paper investigates the relationship between waiting time and subsequent purchase decisions. The prior literature assumes that purchase decisions are independent from the waiting time. By contr...
Scaling Theory for Finite-Size Effects in the Critical Region*

Critical phenomena in films of finite thickness are considered. A detailed scaling theory, with allowance for distinct exponents λ and θ = 1/ v for the critical-point shift and rounding, respectively, is confirmed by exact calculations on d -dimensional ferromagnetic spherical models and ideal Bose fluids with various boundary conditions. Ising-model results and existing data on real helium films are consistent with the theory.
Vehicle-pedestrian dynamic interaction through tractography of relative movements and articulated pedestrian pose estimation

To design robust Pre-Collision Systems (PCS) we must develop new techniques that will allow a better understanding of the vehicle-pedestrian dynamic relationship, and which can predict pedestrian future movements. This paper focuses on the potential-conflict situations where a collision may happen if no avoidance action is taken from driver or pedestrian. We have used 1000 15-second videos to find vehicle-pedestrian relative dynamic trajectories and pose of pedestrians. Adaptive structural local appearance model and particle filter methods have been implemented to track the pedestrians. We have obtained accurate tractography results for over 82% of the videos. For pose estimation, we have used flexible mixture model for capturing cooccurrence between pedestrian body segments. Based on existing single-frame human pose estimation model, we have implemented Kalman filtering with other new techniques to make stable stickfigure videos of the pedestrian dynamic motion. These tractography and pose estimation data were used as features to train a neural network for classifying 'potential conflict' and 'no potential conflict' situations. The training of the network achieved 91.2% true label accuracy, and 8.8% false level accuracy. Finally, the trained network was used to assess the probability of collision over time for the 15 seconds videos which generates a spike when there is a 'potential conflict' situation. The paper enables new analysis on potential-conflict pedestrian cases with 2D tractography data and stick-figure pose representation of pedestrians, which provides significant insight on the vehiclepedestrian dynamics that are critical for safe autonomous driving and transportation safety innovations.
Weekend racer: cheating and self-governance in road racing

This paper studies how reputation enforces socially cooperative behavior in road racing in the New Orleans metro area. We find that reputation mechanisms have a much stronger effect for frequent road racers than for members of the New Orleans Track Club. We find that club membership cuts cheating in half while a runner who has finished at least one-third of the 2013 running season does not cheat. Thus, self-governance eliminates corruption when there is a reputational mechanism in place. Since data on informal running clubs are unavailable, our analysis underestimates the effect of club membership on socially cooperative behavior in road racing.
The Politics of Financial Booms and Crises Evidence From Latin America

The persistence of policy switches—whereby presidents renege on campaign promises shortly after winning elections—30 years after Latin America’s redemocratization defies established notions of democratic representation, and poses a puzzle to analysts and voters alike. In this article, I advance current explanations for switches, by arguing they can only be understood in the context of currency booms and crises, typical of Latin American economies after their reintegration into world finance in the 1970s. To test my propositions empirically, I examine elections held in the region between 1978 and 2006 and find evidence consistent with the claim that switches are more likely to occur in periods of dollar scarcity, when the need to attract financial capital to the economy pushes leftist presidents into adopting policies opposed to the programs they announced during campaign.
A curvature flow in the plane with a nonlocal term

We study the geometric flow of a planar curve driven by its curvature and the normal derivative of its capacity potential. Under a convexity condition that is natural to our problem, we establish long term existence and large time asymptotics of this flow.
A novel Z-directed embedded component for the reduction of voltage ripple on the power distribution network for PCBs

A new capacitor package and PCB embedding technique is introduced to significantly reduce the system power distribution network impedance at the pads of surface mounted integrated circuits. The capacitor is multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) that is a right cylindrical shape with via channels in the outer wall along the axis of the part. The capacitor called a Z-Directed component (ZDC) is then pressed into a hole in the PCB. The connections to the component are then made by the copper plating process similar to via hole construction. This new configuration dramatically improves the PDN performance of PCBs with fewer components than the conventional solution with SMD decoupling capacitors.
The Impact of Mergers on Quality Provision: Evidence from the Airline Industry

We examine how mergers affect quality provision by analyzing five U.S. airline mergers, focusing on on-time performance (OTP). We find that airline mergers have minimal negative impacts on OTP, and likely result in long-run improvements due to efficiencies. Importantly, we show that this finding is not driven by post-merger changes in price that could affect OTP. Consequently, at least in the case of airlines, policymakers should not, as a rule, fear the negative quality effects of mergers.
Model predictions of deformation, embolization and permeability of partially obstructive blood clots under variable shear flow

Thromboembolism, one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, is characterized by formation of obstructive intravascular clots (thrombi) and their mechanical breakage (embolization). A novel two-dimensional multi-phase computational model is introduced that describes active interactions between the main components of the clot, including platelets and fibrin, to study the impact of various physiologically relevant blood shear flow conditions on deformation and embolization of a partially obstructive clot with variable permeability. Simulations provide new insights into mechanisms underlying clot stability and embolization that cannot be studied experimentally at this time. In particular, model simulations, calibrated using experimental intravital imaging of an established arteriolar clot, show that flow-induced changes in size, shape and internal structure of the clot are largely determined by two shear-dependent mechanisms: reversible attachment of platelets to the exterior of the clot and removal of large clot pieces. Model simulations predict that blood clots with higher permeability are more prone to embolization with enhanced disintegration under increasing shear rate. In contrast, less permeable clots are more resistant to rupture due to shear rate-dependent clot stiffening originating from enhanced platelet adhesion and aggregation. These results can be used in future to predict risk of thromboembolism based on the data about composition, permeability and deformability of a clot under specific local haemodynamic conditions.
A dedicated paracentesis clinic decreases healthcare utilization for serial paracenteses in decompensated cirrhosis.

The purpose of the study is to describe the effect of a dedicated paracentesis clinic on healthcare utilization by patients with decompensated cirrhosis and refractory ascites. This Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective study identified cirrhotic patients receiving paracenteses over a 6-month period before and after creating the paracentesis clinic. Patients were followed for 12 months to collect outcome data including characteristics of subsequent hospitalizations and paracenteses. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between the paracentesis clinic and outcomes. There were 183 patients and 1364 paracenteses performed during the study time period. Age, gender, cirrhosis etiology, MELD, Child–Pugh, and Charlson comorbidity index were comparable between the two groups. Rates of mortality, transplant, and hospitalization were also similar during 1 year follow-up. After establishment of the paracentesis clinic, median paracenteses per patient increased from 2 (IQR 1–7) to 4 (IQR 2–11) (P = 0.01); albumin replacement after paracenteses ≥ 5 L improved from 76.3% to 91.7% (P < 0.001); and the fraction of outpatient paracenteses performed in the emergency department decreased from 13.4% to 3.8% (P < 0.001). Major complications remained negligible at 0.81% across both time periods. While fewer patients were admitted for ascites after the paracentesis clinic (39.6% vs. 20.8%, P = 0.009), more patients had acute kidney injury (AKI) during follow-up (47.2% vs. 65.9%, P = 0.02), with a trend towards more AKI admissions (22.6% vs. 35.4%, P = 0.09). A dedicated paracentesis clinic can improve access and wait times, while also reducing admissions for ascites and paracenteses performed in the emergency department.
JOINT MEAN AND COVARIANCE MODELING OF MULTIPLE HEALTH OUTCOME MEASURES.

Health exams determine a patient’s health status by comparing the patient’s measurement with a population reference range, a 95% interval derived from a homogeneous reference population. Similarly, most of the established relation among health problems are assumed to hold for the entire population. We use data from the 2009–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) on four major health problems in the U.S. and apply a joint mean and covariance model to study how the reference ranges and associations of those health outcomes could vary among subpopulations. We discuss guidelines for model selection and evaluation, using standard criteria such as AIC in conjunction with posterior predictive checks. The results from the proposed model can help identify subpopulations in which more data need to be collected to refine the reference range and to study the specific associations among those health problems.
A o(d) · polylog n monotonicity tester for boolean functions over the hypergrid [n]d

We study monotonicity testing of Boolean functions over the hypergrid [n]d and design a non-adaptive tester with 1-sided error whose query complexity is O(d5/6) · poly(log n, 1/e). Previous to our work, the best known testers had query complexity linear in d but independent of n. We improve upon these testers as long as n = 2do(1). To obtain our results, we work with what we call the augmented hypergrid, which adds extra edges to the hypergrid. Our main technical contribution is a Margulis-style isoperimetric result for the augmented hypergrid, and our tester, like previous testers for the hypercube domain, performs directed random walks on this structure.
Experimental Evaluation of Large Scale WiFi Multicast Rate Control

WiFi multicast to very large groups has gained attention as a solution for multimedia delivery in crowded areas. Yet, the most recently proposed schemes do not provide performance guarantees and none have been tested at scale. To address the issue of providing high multicast throughput with performance guarantees, we present the design and experimental evaluation of the multicast dynamic rate adaptation ( MuDRA ) algorithm. MuDRA balances fast adaptation to channel conditions and stability, which is essential for multimedia applications. MuDRA relies on feedback from some nodes collected via a light-weight protocol and dynamically adjusts the RA response time. Our experimental evaluation of MuDRA on the ORBIT testbed with over 150 nodes shows that MuDRA outperforms other schemes and supports high throughput multicast flows to hundreds of receivers while meeting quality requirements. MuDRA can support multiple high-quality video streams, where 90% of the nodes report excellent or very good video quality.
Milieu-Initiated Inversion of the Aqueous Polyproline II/β Propensity in the Alanine Tripeptide: Aggregation Origin of the Onset of Amyloid Formation

Extending our earlier analogous study of the alanine dipeptide (ADP), we have now analyzed the effect of the external environment on the polyproline II (P) and β relative energies, the P/β propensity, of the alanine tripeptide (ATP). Ab initio calculations of ATP(H2O)19 and ATP(H2O)19(HCl) exhibit the same propensity inversion as in ADP: in the pure water case the PP conformation is favored while the addition of the HCl molecule results in the ββ conformation being of lower energy. A comparison, following an intermediate insertion and departure of an HCl molecule, shows that the energy of a hydrogen-bonded (H2O)19βATP::βATP(H2O)19 structure is lower than that of the sum of two separate PP systems, i.e., that the aggregated state of the peptide is favored. This arises from the basic physical response to their total environmental influences. Questions about quantitative results from molecular dynamics simulations, obviously needed to analyze longer chains and other side chains, are addressed via rigid water...