cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Do corporations have minds of their own

AbstractCorporations have often been taken to be the paradigm of an organization whose agency is autonomous from that of the successive waves of people who occupy the pattern of roles that define its structure, which licenses saying that the corporation has attitudes, interests, goals, and beliefs which are not those of the role occupants. In this essay, I sketch a deflationary account of agency-discourse about corporations. I identify institutional roles with a special type of status function, a status role, in which the collectively accepted function is expressed in part through its occupier’s intentional expression of her agency in that role (where the occupier is part of the group whose collective acceptance underwrites her having the relevant function in social transactions). I identify institutions as systems of status roles and show how this is compatible with seeing the agency of institutions generally, even over time periods in which there is complete change in role occupiers, as a matter of the ...
Detrending time-aggregated data

Abstract This paper examines the combined influences of detrending and time aggregation on the measurement of business cycles. The results indicate that time aggregation and detrending do indeed interact in a non-trivial manner. In particular, detrending filters that pass through substantial high-frequency variation tend to distort the basic shape of disaggregate spectra and cospectra when applied to time-aggregated data and can even give the illusion of business-cycle variation in aggregate data when none is present in the basic data.
Cataract surgery practices in the United States Veterans Health Administration.

Purpose To describe current cataract surgery practices within the United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Setting Veterans Health Administration hospitals in the U.S. Design Retrospective data analysis. Methods An initial e-mail containing a link to an anonymous 32-question survey of cataract surgery practices was sent to participants in May 2016. Two reminder e-mails were sent to nonresponders 1 week and 2 weeks after the initial survey was sent; the remaining nonresponders were called twice over a 2-week period. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results The response rate was 75% (67/89). Cataract surgeons routinely ordered preoperative testing in 29 (45%) of 65 sections and preoperative consultations in 26 (39%) of 66 sections. In 22 (33%) of 66 sections, cataract surgeons administered intracameral antibiotics. In 61 (92%) of 66 sections, cataract surgeons used toric intraocular lenses (IOLs). In 20 (30%) of 66 sections, cataract surgeons used multifocal IOLs. Cataract surgeons in 6 (9%) of 66 sections performed femtosecond laser–assisted cataract surgery. In 6 (9%) of 66 sections, cataract surgeons performed immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery. Forty-nine (74%) ophthalmology chiefs reported a high level of satisfaction with Veterans Affairs ophthalmology. Conclusions The survey results indicate that in cataract surgery in the VHA, routine preoperative testing is commonly performed and emerging practices, such as femtosecond laser–assisted cataract surgery and immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery, have limited roles. The results of this survey could benchmark future trends in U.S. cataract surgery practices, especially in teaching hospital settings.
MMSE-based linear parallel interference cancellation in long-code CDMA

Parallel interference cancellation (PIC) is a promising detection technique for multiuser code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems. It has previously been shown that weighted multistage PIC can be seen as a realisation of the steepest descent method for minimising the mean squared error (MSE). Following this interpretation, a unique set of weights, based on the eigenvalues of the correlation matrix, leads to the minimum achievable MSE for a short-code CDMA system. In this paper, we develop a method for finding a set of fixed weights, minimising the ensemble average of the MSE over all code-sets. Exact expressions of the ensemble averaged moments of the eigenvalues are derived. Simulation results show that a few stages can be sufficient for near-MMSE performance.
Predicting the future of disruptive technologies: The method of alternative histories

Abstract With digital technologies shaping competition in many industries, predicting the future of potentially disruptive technologies becomes an essential task of business leaders concerned with the survival and success of their organizations. Looking into the future of disruptive technologies requires a philosophical stance and a practical method that accommodates the inherent uncertainty and nonlinearity of the path of disruptive innovations. Unfortunately, much of the current thinking in relation to adoption and diffusion of innovations is rather linear and deterministic. This article proposes a set of philosophical principles, together with a practical brainstorming method, for glimpsing into the future of disruptive technologies. The method of alternative histories is based on the traditional brainstorming techniques and the philosophical ideas of Imre Lakatos, Roy Bhaskar, Bruno Latour, and Nassim Taleb.
Prediction of Turbulent Temperature Fluctuations in Hot Jets

Large-eddy simulations were used to investigate turbulent temperature fluctuations and turbulent heat flux in hot jets. A high-resolution finite difference Navier–Stokes solver was used to compute ...
Stepping Stones: A Leadership Development Program to Inspire and Promote Reflection Among Women Faculty and Staff

Women frequently benefit from focused faculty development opportunities not because they need to be “fixed,” but rather it is a means to demonstrate that success, even in chilly environments, is possible. The Stepping Stones program uses a unique design to provide participants with inspiration, time for reflection, and strategies for how to navigate one's career, through hearing about the journeys of successful women. In this article, we describe the program and evaluation results. Post-event and longitudinal follow-up surveys indicate that the program and its unique narrative format help to debunk the superwoman myth and leave participants with a sense of optimism about their future careers.
Near-optimal algorithms for maximum constraint satisfaction problems

In this article, we present two approximation algorithms for the maximum constraint satisfaction problem with k variables in each constraint (MAX k-CSP).Given a (1 − e) satisfiable 2CSP our first algorithm finds an assignment of variables satisfying a 1 − O(√e) fraction of all constraints. The best previously known result, due to Zwick, was 1 − O(e1/3).The second algorithm finds a ck/2k approximation for the MAX k-CSP problem (where c > 0.44 is an absolute constant). This result improves the previously best known algorithm by Hast, which had an approximation guarantee of Ω(k/(2k log k)).Both results are optimal assuming the unique games conjecture and are based on rounding natural semidefinite programming relaxations. We also believe that our algorithms and their analysis are simpler than those previously known.
Trigger warning: the causal impact of gun ownership on suicide

ABSTRACTWith a growing debate over tighter firearm regulations, we consider an important social consequence of increased firearm access: increased firearm suicides. Using data from the federal crim...
Hydrogenated Soybean Oil (HSO) as a Vehicle for the Chronic and Controlled Administration of Testosterone in the Orchidectomized Rat

The use of a novel vehicle, hydrogenated soybean oil (HSO) for the chronic and controlled release of testosterone (T) in the orchidectomized rat is described. At 60 degrees C, HSO is a liquid in which T is readily soluble. When cooled at approximately 43 degrees C, HSO can be injected into experimental animals without the need of special equipment. At body temperature, the oil forms a solid depot from which T is released over prolonged periods of time. Our studies indicate that a single injection of 5 mg T in HSO in the orchidectomized rat, maintains sex accessory gland weights (AGW) above castrate levels, decreases serum concentrations of LH and maintains serum concentrations of T within the intact range for 10 days after injection. In contrast, these parameters of functional androgenicity are maintained for only three days when T is administered at the same dosage in a conventional oil vehicle. A dose of 15 mg T in HSO maintained serum T concentrations and AGW within intact range for 55 days after injection, but was unable to maintain LH suppression in these castrated animals beyond 14 days after injection.
Integrating region growing and edge detection

A method that combines region growing and edge detection for image segmentation is presented. The authors start with a split-and merge algorithm wherein the parameters have been set up so that an over-segmented image results. Region boundaries are then eliminated or modified on the basis of criteria that integrate contrast with boundary smoothness, variation of the image gradient along the boundary, and a criterion that penalizes for the presence of artifacts reflecting the data structure used during segmentation (quadtree in this case). The algorithms were implemented in the C language on a Sun 3/160 workstation running under the Unix operating system. Simple tool images and aerial photographs were used to test the algorithms. The impression of human observers is that the method is very successful on the tool images and less so on the aerial photograph images. It is thought that the success in the tool images is because the objects shown occupy areas of many pixels, making it is easy to select parameters to separate signal information from noise. >
Human Sperm Penetration Assay as an Indicator of Sperm Function in Human In Vitro Fertilization

Performance of spermatozoa in a hamster oocyte/human sperm penetration assay (SPA) was correlated with the results of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Forty-two patients underwent 50 IVF cycles. SPA scores were obtained before IVF cycles (screening SPA, n = 30) and, where practical, on the semen sample used for IVF (IVF SPA, n = 26). Screening SPA score did not correlate to IVF result, fertilization and cleavage rates were similar between normal (n = 17) and low (n = 13) SPA groups, pregnancy rates were 35 and 46%, respectively. In addition, SPA score at the time of IVF did not correlate with IVF result. Pregnancy rates were 33% for the normal group (n = 16) and 30% for the low SPA group (n = 10). Overall, the low SPA group (n = 16) exhibited a 78% fertilization rate and a 38% pregnancy rate, which was not different from the normal SPA group: 76 and 29%, respectively. The results of this study indicate that SPA score is a poor indicator of sperm function in IVF.
The Impact of Preoperative Skin Disinfection on Preventing Intraoperative Wound Contamination

Abstract The efficacy of total body showering and incision site scrub with disinfectant agents was evaluated in a randomized, prospective study of 575 patients undergoing selected surgical procedures. Patients who showered twice with 4% chlorhexidine gluconate had lower mean colony counts of skin bacteria at the surgical incision site in the operating room prior to the final scrub than patients who showered twice with povidone-iodine solution or medicated bar soap. Patients in the chlorhexidine group had no growth on 43% of the incision site skin cultures compared with 16% in the povidone-iodine group and 6% in the soap and water group. Patients who showered and who were scrubbed with chlorhexidine also had lower rates of intraoperative wound contamination. Bacteria were recovered from the wounds of 4% of patients using this regimen compared with 9% for patients who used povidone-iodine and 15% for patients who showered with medicated soap and water and were scrubbed with povidone-iodine. We noted no difference in surgery-specific infection rates among patients in the three treatment groups; however, our sample sizes were too small to evaluate this outcome parameter adequately. These data suggest that preoperative showering and scrubbing with chlorhexidine is an effective regimen to reduce extrinsic intraoperative contamination of the surgical wound from skin bacteria. The efficacy of this regimen to prevent postoperative wound infection needs to be evaluated in a well-designed, carefully controlled prospective trial with adequate numbers of patients to achieve statistically valid conclusions.
The In Vitro Interaction of RA-233 and Several Interferons on Human Cell Lines

The antiproliferative effects of six different human interferons were examined in two human cell lines: HM7 (human melanoma cell line) and MDA-MB-231 (human breast carcinoma cell line). A dose-response curve was developed for each interferon in which the maximum dose applied gave at least 30% growth inhibition of control values after 96-128 hours of continuous exposure. An amount of RA-233 which caused 25% growth inhibition (0.05 mg for both HM7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines) was added to the cultures with various doses of each interferon. The inhibitory effects of RA-233 and each interferon were additive at low concentrations. In no case was a synergistic effect observed. Unlike with human fibroblast interferon, we could not show a synergistic inhibitory effect between RA 233 and any of the six different interferons on these two human epithelial tumor cell lines.
Phase Mask-Based Multimodal Superresolution Microscopy

We demonstrate a multimodal superresolution microscopy technique based on a phase masked excitation beam in combination with spatially filtered detection. The theoretical foundation for calculating the focus from a non-paraxial beam with an arbitrary azimuthally symmetric phase mask is presented for linear and two-photon excitation processes as well as the theoretical resolution limitations. Experimentally this technique is demonstrated using two-photon luminescence from 80 nm gold particle as well as two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging of fluorescent polystyrene beads. Finally to illustrate the versatility of this technique we acquire two-photon fluorescence lifetime, two-photon luminescence, and second harmonic images of a mixture of fluorescent molecules and 80 nm gold particles with <120 nm resolution ( λ /7). Since this approach exclusively relies on engineering the excitation and collection volumes, it is suitable for a wide range of scanning-based microscopies.
Multiphase topology optimization of lattice injection molds

Abstract This work presents a topology optimization approach for lattice structures subjected to thermal and mechanical loads. The focus of this work is the design of injection molds. The proposed approach seeks to minimize the injection mold mass while satisfying constraints on mechanical and thermal performance. The optimal injection molds are characterized by a quasi-periodic distribution of lattice unit cells of variable relative density. The resulting lattice structures are suitable for additive manufacturing. The proposed structural optimization approach uses thermal and mechanical finite element analyses at two length scales: mesoscale and macroscale. At the mesoscale, lattice unit cells are utilized to obtain homogenized thermal and mechanical properties as a function of the lattice relative density. At the macroscale, the lattice unit cells are optimally distributed using the homogenized properties. The proposed design approach is demonstrated through 2D and 3D examples including the optimal design of an injection mold. The optimized injection mold is prototyped using additive manufacturing. The numerical model of the optimized mold shows that, with respect to a traditional solid mold design, a mass reduction of over 30% can be achieved with a small increase in nodal displacement (under 5 microns) and no difference in nodal temperature.
Mouse color and wavelength-specific luminance contrast sensitivity are non-uniform across visual space

Color is a key part of our visual experience. Humans can distinguish between colors thanks to light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye called cones. Our eyes contain three types of cones, most simply named red, green and blue. When light enters the eye, it activates each cone type to a different degree. The combined activity of the three types of cone determines which color we see. However, in about 8% of men, one of the cone types is missing or faulty. This leads to color blindness, usually in the form of an inability to distinguish between reds and greens. Most other mammals can also see colors. This includes mice, which are used increasingly to study the mechanisms underlying vision. But it was not clear if mice also use color to guide their behavior. Mice have only two types of cones, some of which respond to green light and others to ultraviolet light. To complicate matters, the two types of cones are distributed unevenly across the back of the mouse eye. This suggests that mice may see colors differently in different parts of a visual scene. Denman et al. trained mice to lick a spout whenever they noticed a change in the color or brightness of a dot appearing at various locations on a screen. The results revealed that mice could detect changes in both color and brightness. But the mice's ability to do so depends on where the change occurs. In the upper part of the visual field, corresponding to the area above the horizon, mice could distinguish between different colors. In the lower part of the visual field, below the horizon, they could not. By contrast, mice were able to detect changes in brightness at many different locations. This information will make it easier to design and interpret experiments that use mice to try to understand how the brain generates vision. This should help scientists develop new treatments for disorders that affect vision, and possibly for many forms of cognitive impairment too.
Superficial Spreading Type of Carcinoma of the Stomach

Carcinoma of the stomach starts in the epithelial mucus-producing cells of the mucous membrane and grows outward from one or more focal points in all directions, i. e., into the lumen, along the gastric wall parallel to the lumen and toward the serosa. However, different tumors vary in the speed with which they grow in these various directions, and this accounts for the morphologic characteristics of the different gross types of gastric carcinoma. For instance, there is the fungating tumor, which grows chiefly into the lumen; there is the linitis plastica type, the growth of which runs parallel to the lumen in all of the gastric coats, and there are the ulcerated cancer and the cancer developing at the margin of a preexisting peptic ulcer, the growth of which is usually directed chiefly toward the serosa. In a little more than half of the resected stomachs, growth apparently occurred at
Expectational v. Instrumental Reasoning: What Statistics Contributes to Practical Reasoning

Utility theories—both Expected Utility (EU) and non-Expected Utility (non-EU) theories—offer numericalized representations of classical principles meant for the regulation of choice under conditions of risk—a type of formal representation that reduces the representation of risk to a single number. I shall refer to these as risk-numericalizing theories of decision . I shall argue that risk--numericalizing theories (referring both to the representations and to the underlying axioms that render numericalization possible) are not satisfactory answers to the question: “How do I take the (best) means to my ends?” In other words, they are inadequate or incomplete as instrumental theories. They are inadequate because they are poor answers to the question of what it is for an option to be instrumental towards an end. To say it another way, they do not offer a sufficiently rich account of what it is for something to be a means (an instrument) toward an end.
Transit and Real Estate Rents

Although the literature is mixed on the association between transit proximity and real estate values, it is scant in relation to transit proximity and real estate rents. With CoStar asking-rent data for real estate within 1-mi corridors of several light rail transit (LRT), bus rapid transit (BRT), streetcar transit (SCT), and commuter rail transit (CRT) systems, the association between transit corridor proximity and rents at 0.5 mi and between 0.5 and 1 mi of transit corridor centerlines is estimated. For the most part, SCT has the most robust outcomes. This result is notable because economic outcomes to SCT systems may be the least understood given their recent emergence. LRT systems also have significant, positive associations between rents and corridor location. In contrast, results for BRT are mixed, with no statistically significant association with office rent, a negative association with the retail first 0.5-mi distance band, but positive effects for rental apartments. Across all development types,...
Development Problems of the Primary Mirror for Large Space Telescopes

Space astronomy, above the obscuring effects of the atmosphere, promises a quantum jump in knowledge of the universe comparable to the original invention of the telescope. The scientific community has recommended eventual orbiting of a 120 inch telescope to exploit the potential. The pacing problem is undoubtedly the primary mirror itself, which must hold microinch tolerances across the 10 foot diameter during manufacture, launch and operation.
Accruals, Managerial Operating Decisions, and Firm Growth: Implications for Tests of Earnings Management

ABSTRACT One of the most crucial yet controversial issues in executive performance evaluation is disentangling which managerial decisions reflect firms' economic position versus opportunistic earni...
On computing distributions of products of non-negative independent random variables

Abstract We introduce a new functional representation of probability density functions (PDFs) of non-negative random variables via a product of a monomial factor and linear combinations of decaying exponentials with complex exponents. This approximate representation of PDFs is obtained for any finite, user-selected accuracy. Using a fast algorithm involving Hankel matrices, we develop a general numerical method for computing the PDF of the sums, products, or quotients of any number of non-negative independent random variables yielding the result in the same type of functional representation. We present several examples to demonstrate the accuracy of the approach.
Subchorionic Hematoma: Correlation of Grading Techniques With First-Trimester Pregnancy Outcome

OBJECTIVES To evaluate and compare grading systems of subchorionic hematoma (SCH) on first-trimester ultrasound examinations with live embryos to assess which best correlates with early pregnancy outcome and to assess the effect of gestational age at the time of diagnosis on outcome. METHODS First-trimester live singleton pregnancies between 6 and 11 weeks' gestational age with SCH were identified by an institutional database search. First-trimester outcome was categorized as "live" or "demise" based on ultrasound or medical record documentation. Hematomas were categorized in 4 ways: (1) subjective (small, moderate, or large); (2) subjective size based on fraction comparison with gestational sac size; (3) subjective grading based on the estimated percentage of the gestational sac surrounded by hematoma; and (4) 3 orthogonal measurements of the hematoma. RESULTS A total of 434 sonograms met study inclusion criteria. The overall rate of first-trimester pregnancy failure was 12.0%. The rate of demise was significantly higher for hematomas diagnosed at or before 7 weeks (19.6%) than for those after 8 weeks (3.6%; P < .001). The size of the hematoma estimated as a fraction of gestational sac size significantly correlated with first-trimester pregnancy loss (P < .001). There was no statistical significance between first-trimester outcome and the other 2 subjective grading methods. Volume-based measurements provided spurious results because of the irregular shape of most hematomas. CONCLUSIONS Subjective hematoma size based on the fraction of gestational sac size correlates best with first-trimester pregnancy outcome. The earlier in pregnancy an SCH is detected, the higher the rate of subsequent pregnancy failure.
A Systematic Assessment of Google Search Queries and Readability of Online Gynecologic Oncology Patient Education Materials

The Internet is a major source of health information for gynecologic cancer patients. In this study, we systematically explore common Google search terms related to gynecologic cancer and calculate readability of top resulting websites. We used Google AdWords Keyword Planner to generate a list of commonly searched keywords related to gynecologic oncology, which were sorted into five groups (cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, vulvar cancer, vaginal cancer) using five patient education websites from sgo.org . Each keyword was Google searched to create a list of top websites. The Python programming language (version 3.5.1) was used to describe frequencies of keywords, top-level domains (TLDs), domains, and readability of top websites using four validated formulae. Of the estimated 1,846,950 monthly searches resulting in 62,227 websites, the most common was cancer.org . The most common TLD was *.com. Most websites were above the eighth-grade reading level recommended by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Institute of Health (NIH). The SMOG Index was the most reliable formula. The mean grade level readability for all sites using SMOG was 9.4 ± 2.3, with 23.9% of sites falling at or below the eighth-grade reading level. The first ten results for each Google keyword were easiest to read with results beyond the first page of Google being consistently more difficult. Keywords related to gynecologic malignancies are Google-searched frequently. Most websites are difficult to read without a high school education. This knowledge may help gynecologic oncology providers adequately meet the needs of their patients.
Rebalancing shared mobility-on-demand systems: A reinforcement learning approach

Shared mobility-on-demand systems have very promising prospects in making urban transportation efficient and affordable. However, due to operational challenges among others, many mobility applications still remain niche products. This paper addresses rebalancing needs that are critical for effective fleet management in order to offset the inevitable imbalance of vehicle supply and travel demand. Specifically, we propose a reinforcement learning approach which adopts a deep Q network and adaptively moves idle vehicles to regain balance. This innovative model-free approach takes a very different perspective from the state-of-the-art network-based methods and is able to cope with large-scale shared systems in real time with partial or full data availability. We apply this approach to an agent-based simulator and test it on a London case study. Results show that, the proposed method outperforms the local anticipatory method by reducing the fleet size by 14% while inducing little extra vehicle distance traveled. The performance is close to the optimal solution yet the computational speed is 2.5 times faster. Collectively, the paper concludes that the proposed rebalancing approach is effective under various demand scenarios and will benefit both travelers and operators if implemented in shared mobility-on-demand systems.
Continuous Online Self-Monitoring Introspection Circuitry for Timing Repair by Incremental Partial-Reconfiguration (COSMIC TRIP)

We show that continuously monitoring on-chip delays at the LUT-to-LUT link level during operation allows a field-programmable gate array to detect and self-adapt to aging and environmental timing effects. Using a lightweight (
East Meets West Meets Mideast: Further Explorations Of Collectivistic and Individualistic Work Groups

The extent of people's cultural beliefs of individualism or collectivism has been used to predict the effectiveness of many management practices. A key aspect of those characteristics is the relati...
Judicial Politics and Sentencing Decisions

This paper investigates whether judge political affiliation contributes to racial and gender disparities in sentencing using data on over 500,000 federal defendants linked to sentencing judge. Exploiting random case assignment, we find that Republican-appointed judges sentence black defendants to 3.0 more months than similar non-blacks and female defendants to 2.0 fewer months than similar males compared to Democratic-appointed judges, 65 percent of the baseline racial sentence gap and 17 percent of the baseline gender sentence gap, respectively. These differences cannot be explained by other judge characteristics and grow substantially larger when judges are granted more discretion.
A harmonic solution for two-dimensional adjoint QCD

Two-dimensional QCD with adjoint fermions has many attractive features, yet its single-particle content remains largely unknown. To lay the foundation for a crucially improved approximation of the theory's spectrum, we developed a method to find the basis of eigenstates using the symmetry structure of the asymptotic theory where pair production is disallowed. This method produces complete sets of multidimensional harmonic functions for the massless and the massive theory. Previously only part of such a basis was known. The method presented here should be applicable to other theories and has the promise of factoring out the long-range Coulomb-type part of interactions. The role of pair production and implications for the bosonized theory in the case of adjoint ${\mathrm{QCD}}_{2}$ are discussed.
Extreme nuclear branching in healthy epidermal cells of the Xenopus tail fin.

ABSTRACT Changes in nuclear morphology contribute to the regulation of complex cell properties, including differentiation and tissue elasticity. Perturbations of nuclear morphology are associated with pathologies that include progeria, cancer and muscular dystrophy. The mechanisms governing nuclear shape changes in healthy cells remain poorly understood, partially because there are few models of nuclear shape variation in healthy cells. Here, we introduce nuclear branching in epidermal fin cells of Xenopus tropicalis as a model for extreme variation of nuclear morphology in a diverse population of healthy cells. We found that nuclear branching arises within these cells and becomes more elaborate during embryonic development. These cells contain broadly distributed marks of transcriptionally active chromatin and heterochromatin, and have active cell cycles. We found that nuclear branches are disrupted by loss of filamentous actin and depend on epidermal expression of the nuclear lamina protein Lamin B1. Inhibition of nuclear branching disrupts fin morphology, suggesting that nuclear branching may be involved in fin development. This study introduces the nuclei of the Xenopus fin as a powerful new model for extreme nuclear morphology in healthy cells to complement studies of nuclear shape variation in pathological contexts. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Defensive Medicine: Evidence from Military Immunity

We estimate the extent of defensive medicine by physicians, embracing the no-liability counterfactual made possible by the structure of liability rules in the Military Heath System. Active-duty patients seeking treatment from military facilities cannot sue for harms resulting from negligent care, while protections are provided to dependents treated at military facilities and to all patients-active-duty or not-that receive care from civilian facilities. Drawing on this variation and exploiting exogenous shocks to care location choices stemming from base-hospital closures, we find suggestive evidence that liability immunity reduces inpatient spending by 5% with no measurable negative effect on patient outcomes.
Exploring an intelligent tutoring system as a conversation-based assessment tool for reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is often assessed by having students read passages and administering a test that assesses their understanding of the text. Shorter assessments may fail to give a full picture of comprehension ability while more thorough ones can be time consuming and costly. This study used data from a conversational intelligent tutoring system (AutoTutor) to assess reading comprehension ability in 52 low-literacy adults who interacted with the system. We analyzed participants’ accuracy and time spent answering questions in conversations in lessons that targeted four theoretical components of comprehension: Word, Textbase, Situation Model, and Rhetorical Structure. Accuracy and answer response time were analyzed to track adults’ proficiency for comprehension components, and we analyzed whether the four components predicted reading grade level. We discuss the results with respect to the advantages that a conversational intelligent tutoring system assessment may provide over traditional assessment tools and the linking of theory to practice in adult literacy.
Learning Optimal Fair Policies

Systematic discriminatory biases present in our society influence the way data is collected and stored, the way variables are defined, and the way scientific findings are put into practice as policy. Automated decision procedures and learning algorithms applied to such data may serve to perpetuate existing injustice or unfairness in our society. In this paper, we consider how to make optimal but fair decisions, which "break the cycle of injustice" by correcting for the unfair dependence of both decisions and outcomes on sensitive features (e.g., variables that correspond to gender, race, disability, or other protected attributes). We use methods from causal inference and constrained optimization to learn optimal policies in a way that addresses multiple potential biases which afflict data analysis in sensitive contexts, extending the approach of Nabi & Shpitser (2018). Our proposal comes equipped with the theoretical guarantee that the chosen fair policy will induce a joint distribution for new instances that satisfies given fairness constraints. We illustrate our approach with both synthetic data and real criminal justice data.
Leveraging the effects of chloroquine on resistant malaria parasites for combination therapies

Malaria is a major global health problem, with the Plasmodium falciparum protozoan parasite causing the most severe form of the disease. Prevalence of drug-resistant P. falciparum highlights the need to understand the biology of resistance and to identify novel combination therapies that are effective against resistant parasites. Resistance has compromised the therapeutic use of many antimalarial drugs, including chloroquine, and limited our ability to treat malaria across the world. Fortunately, chloroquine resistance comes at a fitness cost to the parasite; this can be leveraged in developing combination therapies or to reinstate use of chloroquine. To understand biological changes induced by chloroquine treatment, we compared transcriptomics data from chloroquine-resistant parasites in the presence or absence of the drug. Using both linear models and a genome-scale metabolic network reconstruction of the parasite to interpret the expression data, we identified targetable pathways in resistant parasites. This study identified an increased importance of lipid synthesis, glutathione production/cycling, isoprenoids biosynthesis, and folate metabolism in response to chloroquine. We identified potential drug targets for chloroquine combination therapies. Significantly, our analysis predicts that the combination of chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine or fosmidomycin may be more effective against chloroquine-resistant parasites than either drug alone; further studies will explore the use of these drugs as chloroquine resistance blockers. Additional metabolic weaknesses were found in glutathione generation and lipid synthesis during chloroquine treatment. These processes could be targeted with novel inhibitors to reduce parasite growth and reduce the burden of malaria infections. Thus, we identified metabolic weaknesses of chloroquine-resistant parasites and propose targeted chloroquine combination therapies.
Changing International Law for a Changing Climate

After more than two decades of inadequate international efforts to address climate change resulting from rising greenhouse gas emissions, the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement shifted gears. That agreement advances a “bottom-up” model of global cooperation that requires action commitments from all national governments and acknowledges the important role that cities, states, provinces, and businesses must play in delivering deep decarbonization. Given the limited control that presidents and prime ministers have over many of the policies and choices that determine their countries’ carbon footprints, the Paris Agreement missed an opportunity to formally recognize the climate change action commitments of mayors, governors, and premiers. These subnational officials often have authorities complementary to national governments, particularly in federal systems (including the United States, China, Canada, and Australia). They therefore possess significant independent capacities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through their economic development strategies, building codes, zoning rules and practices, public transportation investments, and other policies. Likewise, the world community missed an opportunity to formally recognize the commitments of companies to successful implementation of the Paris Agreement and thereby to highlight the wide range of decisions that business leaders make that significantly affect greenhouse gas emissions.
Recovery of shifted MOS parameters induced by focused ion beam exposure

The effects of focused ion beam (FIB) exposure on MOS transistors within a circuit were examined. It was found that FIB exposure does not cause parameter shifts as long as the gate is connected to the drain of other MOS transistors. However, the threshold voltage (V/sub t/) does shift during isolating the gate using a FIB. Further FIB exposure on MOS transistors with a floating gate is shown to cause larger shifts. Thermal annealing was studied to recover shifted V/sub t/. We demonstrated that a 400/spl deg/C-450/spl deg/C anneal could recover shifted V/sub t/ almost completely. Ninety percent recovery can be reached by annealing at 400/spl deg/C-450/spl deg/C for 1-2 hours, and V/sub t/ shifts can be reduced to about 10 mV.
Impact of age on receipt of curative treatment for cervical cancer: an analysis of patterns of care and survival in a large, national cohort

Abstract Purpose Disparities in the receipt of standard of care based on age have been identified for several types of cancer including cervical cancer. The purpose of this study is to analyze patterns of care and survival for older patients receiving definitive treatment in a large, national cohort. Materials and methods The National Cancer Database was queried for patients with FIGO/AJCC IB2-IVA cervical cancer diagnosed from 2004 to 2014 who underwent definitive radiation or concurrent chemoradiation. Standard of care was defined as concurrent chemotherapy with external beam radiation and brachytherapy to a total dose ≥70 Gy. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with the receipt of standard of care. Multivariable Cox regression was used to determine covariables associated with differences in overall survival. Results 24,126 patients met inclusion criteria including 4052 women 61–70 years old, 2471 women 71–80 years old, and 1325 women over 80 years old. A smaller percentage of patients over age 60 received standard of care compared to younger aged patients. On multivariable analysis, older patients were less likely to be treated with standard of care. On multivariable Cox regression, ages 71–80 (HR 1.25, 95% CI-1.16-1.36, p 80 (HR 1.90, 95% CI 1.73–2.07, P Conclusions Age was found to be an independent predictor for the receipt of standard of care treatment for cervical cancer.
QUANTIFYING THE DIGESTIVE FINGERPRINTS OF PREDATORS ON THE BONES OF THEIR PREY USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

Paleoecological reconstruction relies on accurately determining the taphonomic origin of fossil deposits. Predation is a common mechanism by which skeletal remains become concentrated over time, leading to the formation of modern and fossil prey death assemblages. Skeletal element representation and breakage patterns within such death assemblages can be used to infer the identity of the responsible predator. However, assemblage-level metrics cannot be used to infer if a single fossil specimen is predator-derived. Microscopic digestive etching on individual bones can also indicate past predation events because acidic gastric fluids create distinctive micrometer-scale fissures in cortical bone. Here we establish a quantitative approach to predator identification from small mammal prey remains using microscopic digestive damage patterns. To do this, we collected mandibles from rodents digested by 13 predator species from local wildlife rehabilitation centers, and imaged them using an FEI Quanta 200 SEM. Results indicate that bones exposed to gastric fluids show clear digestive fissures, and that owl-digested specimens can be readily distinguished from specimens that were digested by diurnal raptors and mammalian carnivores. Specifically, owl-digested specimens are characterized by a high density of small and short digestive fissures. Within the owls, digestive fissure patterns appear to scale with owl body size. Finally, we used linear discriminant analysis to build a classification scheme from our modern data and applied it to Holocene mouse fossils from Two Ledges Chamber, Nevada. We found that the fossil specimens display the digestive fingerprints of owls. Quantification of microscopic digestive fissures thus offers a promising new approach for elucidating the taphonomic history of individual fossil specimens.
Using Internet-based Collaboration Technologies for Innovation: Crowdsourcing vs. Expertsourcing

Internet-based collaboration technologies provide organizations new and valuable tools to engage online communities in innovation. We argue that effectively leveraging internet-based collaboration ...
It all happened so slow!: the impact of action speed on assessments of intentionality

From YouTube to the courtroom, people have an increasing number of opportunities to view the actions of others on film. We uncover a novel factor that influences the assessment of an actor’s videotaped behavior: the speed at which the recorded behavior is observed. Using videos of physical contact in various sporting events, we demonstrate that participants who view events in slow motion (compared to regular speed) believe that actions are more intentional and that the actors who committed them deserve more punishment for harmful outcomes. We further explore two processes that potentially generate this effect. Finally, we discuss the implications of this asymmetry for legal practitioners.
Tuplemax Loss for Language Identification

In many scenarios of a language identification task, the user will specify a small set of languages which he/she can speak instead of a large set of all possible languages. We want to model such prior knowledge into the way we train our neural networks, by replacing the commonly used softmax loss function with a novel loss function named tuplemax loss. As a matter of fact, a typical language identification system launched in North America has about 95% users who could speak no more than two languages. Using the tuplemax loss, our system achieved a 2.33% error rate, which is a relative 39.4% improvement over the 3.85% error rate of standard softmax loss method.
Comments on DNS Robustness

The Domain Name System (DNS) maps human-friendly names into the network addresses necessary for network communication. Therefore, the robustness of the DNS is crucial to the general operation of the Internet. As such, the DNS protocol and architecture were designed to facilitate structural robustness within system. For instance, a domain can depend on authoritative nameservers in several topologically disparate datacenters to aid robustness. However, the actual operation of the system need not utilize these robustness tools. In this paper we provide an initial analysis of the structural robustness of the DNS ecosystem over the last nine years.
Patient and provider characteristics associated with communication about opioids: An observational study

Abstract Objective Our objective is to examine the relationship of patient and provider characteristics and communication with chronic non-cancer pain and opioid management in primary care. Method We conducted an observational study using audio-recorded primary care appointments (up to 3/patient) and self-reported assessments of primary care providers (PCPs) and patients. We coded visit transcripts for 1) opioid and pain management talk and 2) mental health and opioid safety talk. Results Eight PCPs and 30 patients had complete data for 78 clinic visits. PCPs and patients engaged in more opioid and pain management talk when patients reported greater pain catastrophizing and PCPs reported higher psychosocial orientation. PCPs and patients engaged in talk about mental health and opioid safety when patients reported greater anxiety, higher working alliance with their PCP, and when PCPs reported higher burnout. PCPs’ negative attitudes about opioids were associated with fewer discussions about mental health and opioid safety. Conclusions Our results should facilitate design of interventions that improve communication and, ultimately, pain outcomes for patients. Practice Implications Clinicians can use our results to increase patient engagement in discussions about opioid use and pain management or mental health and safety discussions.
Steroid Therapy in Endocrine Disorders

Mine is perhaps the easiest of the subjects on today's program with which to deal. Administration of adrenal steroids to patients with endocrine disorders is almost invariably "replacement" therapy; and, if one adopts a simple philosophy that nature is almost always right, the problem becomes one of imitating nature as closely as one can. In other words, the effort is to provide the organism with the same quantity of steroid hormones which the adrenals could have and would have delivered had their mechanisms been intact. I shall develop my thesis along these lines and later perhaps point out some situations in which this philosophy may perhaps be inadequate or less than optimal. There is excellent reason for believing that under normal conditions the adrenal glands secrete into the circulation approximately 25 mg. of hydrocortisone each 24 hours, and of aldosterone, the equivalent in desoxycorticosterone acetate of 1 to 2 mg.
Policy Uncertainty and the Demand for Money in Australia: an Asymmetry Analysis

Previous research has considered the impacts of both monetary and output uncertainty on the demand for money in Australia using a linear model and found that while output volatility has significantly positive effects, money supply volatility does not. Furthermore, the predictive power of the linear model was very low. In this paper, we use a nonlinear model and a new measure of uncertainty known as policy uncertainty and show that this new measure has significantly long‐run asymmetric effects on the demand for money in Australia. Due to the nonlinear adjustment of policy uncertainty measure, the new nonlinear model has a very high predictive power. The adjusted R2 moves from 0.30 in the linear model to 0.80 in the nonlinear model.