cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multi-Period Portfolio Optimization Model with Cone Constraints and Discrete Decisions

In this study, we consider multi-period portfolio optimization model that is formulated as a mixed-integer second-order cone programming problems (MISOCPs). The Markowitz (1952) mean/variance framework has been extended by including transaction costs, conditional value-at-risk (CVaR), diversification-by-sector and buy-in thresholds constraints. The model is obtained using a binary scenario tree that is constructed with monthly returns of the stocks from the S&P 500. We solve these models with a MATLAB based Mixed Integer Linear and Nonlinear Optimizer (MILANO). Numerical results show that we can solve small to medium-sized instances successfully, and we provide a substantial improvement in runtimes using warmstarts in outer approximation algorithm.
Development of a rapid, simple, and specific real-time PCR assay for detection of pseudorabies viral DNA in domestic swine herds.

Despite successful eradication of pseudorabies virus (PRV) from the commercial pig industry in the United States in 2004, large populations of feral swine in certain regions act as wildlife reservoirs for the virus. Given the threat of reintroduction of the virus into domestic herds, a rapid, reliable, easily implemented assay is needed for detection of PRV. Although a real-time PCR (rtPCR) assay exists, improvements in rtPCR technology and a greater understanding of the diversity of PRV strains worldwide require an assay that would be easier to implement, more cost effective, and more specific. We developed a single-tube, rapid rtPCR that is capable of detecting 10 copies of PRV glycoprotein B (gB) DNA per 20-µL total volume reaction. The assay did not produce a false-positive in samples known to be negative for the virus. The assay was negative for genetically similar herpesviruses and other porcine viruses. Our assay is a highly specific and sensitive assay that is also highly repeatable and reproducib...
One-time password for biometric systems: disposable feature templates

Biometric access control systems are becoming more commonplace in society. However, these systems are susceptible to replay attacks. During a replay attack, an attacker can capture packets of data that represents an individual's biometric. The attacker can then replay the data and gain unauthorized access into the system. Traditional password based systems have the ability to use a one-time password scheme. This allows for a unique password to authenticate an individual and it is then disposed. Any captured password will not be effective. Traditional biometric systems use a single feature extraction method to represent an individual, making captured data harder to change than a password. There are hashing techniques that can be used to transmute biometric data into a unique form, but techniques like this require some external dongle to work successfully. The proposed technique in this work can uniquely represent individuals with each access attempt. The amount of unique representations will be further increased by a genetic feature selection technique that uses a unique subset of biometric features. The features extracted are from an improved genetic-based extraction technique that performed well on periocular images. The results in this manuscript show that the improved extraction technique coupled with the feature selection technique has an improved identification performance compared with the traditional genetic based extraction approach. The features are also shown to be unique enough to determine a replay attack is occurring, compared with a more traditional feature extraction technique.
The Importance of the Caregiver and Adolescent Relationship for Mental Health Outcomes Among Youth in Foster Care

Youth in foster care have often been exposed to in-home violence and violence exposure is associated with higher mental health concerns. This study used multiple regression mediation analyses with bootstrapping to identify specific current foster caregiver-adolescent relationship factors and their mediating qualities between in-home violence exposure and adolescent internalizing, externalizing, and trauma symptoms. Using a national dataset of adolescents in foster care (n = 175), the results of this study suggested that an adolescent’s perception of feeling emotionally secure in their relationship with their caregiver mediated the relationships between exposure to violence and youth internalizing, externalizing, and trauma symptoms. Additionally, current foster caregiver involvement and structure mediated the associations between exposure to violence and adolescent internalizing and externalizing outcomes, but not trauma symptoms. Further discussion of the results is included. Findings have important implications for mental health interventions aimed towards youth in foster care.
Learning Together Slowly: Bayesian Learning about Political Facts

Although many studies suggest that voters learn about political facts with prejudice toward their preexisting beliefs, none have fully characterized all inputs to Bayes’ Rule, leaving uncertainty about the magnitude of bias. This paper evaluates political learning by first highlighting the importance of careful measures of each input and then presenting a statistical model and experiment that measure the magnitude of departure from Bayesian learning. Subjects learn as cautious Bayesians, updating their beliefs at about 73% of perfect application of Bayes’ Rule. They are also modestly biased. For information consistent with prior beliefs, subject learning is not statistically distinguishable from perfect Bayesian. Inconsistent information, however, corresponds to learning less than perfect. Despite bias, beliefs do not polarize. With small monetary incentives for accuracy, aggregate beliefs converge toward common truth. Cautious Bayesian learning appears to be a reasonable model of how citizens process pol...
When different “codes” meet: Communication styles and conflict in intercultural academic meetings

Abstract This study focuses on conflict situations in bilingual academic meetings to investigate the communication styles used by Chinese and American university faculty. The ethnographic participant observation used as the main method was cross-checked with post-meeting interview data. The findings revealed that, due to the conflicting priorities in meeting protocol and behaviors in Taiwanese and American cultures, tension is experienced by faculty members of both cultures. What it means to have a meeting and how members address various issues does vary from culture to culture. It is suggested that conflict situations be ameliorated by more cross-cultural understanding of meeting codes, especially by those in leadership positions.
Social Security’s Individual Value and Aggregate Burden

Using a simple expected utility function, we derive discount-rate adjustments for uncertain future expenditures (costs) and revenues (benefits). We apply these results to the individual’s valuation of the Social Security contract, to aggregate measures of Social Security’s obligations, and then to the possibility of a Pareto-improving transition to self-funded retirement savings. Individually, the existing Social Security contract has a negative value for all new entrants to the program. When the value of the program is adjusted for risk, it is possible for a “big bang” transition to self-funded retirement savings to be Pareto improving.
Reconstructing the human contribution: reliably integrating human factors in investigations

This paper explores and explains ways to reconstruct reliably human actions and assessments that were part of a failure sequence. It aims to help resist the production of a subjective story from th...
An Exome-wide Association Study for Type 2 Diabetes-Attributed End-Stage Kidney Disease in African Americans.

Introduction Compared with European Americans, African Americans (AAs) are at higher risk for developing end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified >70 genetic variants associated with kidney function and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with and without diabetes. However, these variants explain a small proportion of disease liability. This study examined the contribution of coding genetic variants for risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D)-attributed ESKD and advanced CKD in AAs. Methods Exome sequencing was performed in 456 AA T2D-ESKD cases, and 936 AA nondiabetic, non-nephropathy control individuals at the discovery stage. A mixed logistic regression model was used for association analysis. Nominal associations ( P Results A total of 11 suggestive T2D-ESKD associations ( P −4 ) from 8 loci ( PLEKHN1, NADK, RAD51AP2, RREB1, PEX6, GRM8, PRX, APOL1 ) were apparent in the meta-analysis. Exclusion of APOL1 renal-risk genotype carriers identified 3 additional suggestive loci ( OTUD7B, IFITM3, DLGAP5 ). Rs41302867 in RREB1 displayed consistent association with T2D-ESKD and nondiabetic ESKD (odds ratio: 0.47; P = 1.2 x 10 −6 in 4605 all-cause ESKD and 2969 nondiabetic non-nephropathy control individuals). Conclusion Our findings suggest that coding genetic variants are implicated in predisposition to T2D-ESKD in AAs.
A diversity science approach to climate change

Abstract This chapter reviews psychological research on diversity and its implications for understanding public engagement with climate change. Meaningful and timely action on climate change will require engaging a diverse set of stakeholders, both within and between nations, in order to develop and implement more effective mitigation and adaptation policies; as such, there is an urgent need to better understand factors that drive differential engagement within increasingly diverse, pluralistic societies. In this chapter, we draw from current psychological perspectives on social identity, identity-based motivation, and belonging to explore how race, ethnicity, and class shape public engagement with the issue, and identify key social psychological processes that may contribute to persistent and substantial disparities in the environmental sector. We highlight empirical findings that illustrate the value of this approach, identify major gaps in current understanding, and discuss new avenues for future research on group-level conduits and barriers to climate change engagement.
The unequal distribution of oral health care in the United States

With the vast capability to treat a wide array of maladies, the US health care system stands at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement. Yet, despite the improvement in the oral health status of the population in its entirety, there exist profound and persistent disparities in dental care throughout the US. Although health care disparities is a multifaceted issue with a wide array of implications, population-based public health programs, federal agencies, and educational institutions should be responsible for instituting new methods to alleviate the plight of the people.
Recent Progress in Using the Effective Potential Method

The effective potential method has been developed over the last eight years, starting from an original simple approximation of Feynman’s [1]. A substantially better approximation was introduced by Riccardo Giachetti and Valerio Tognetti [2, 3] and by Feynman and Kleinert [4]. In both original and the improved methods, the partition function is obtained in a classical form but with an effective potential. The application to fairly realistic systems has been made by Tognetti and his co-workers, including Alessandro Cuccoli and Ruggero Vaia [7], and by our group at Rutgers, which has included Shudun Liu, Zizhong Zhu, Dominic Acocella, and Eugene Freidkin. We have shown that the use of this effective potential in a classical Monte Carlo calculation (EPMC) yields thermodynamic properties for the heavier inert-gas solids which agree closely at high temperatures with classical Monte Carlo results, at low temperatures with anharmonic perturbation theory, and succeed in interpolating smoothly between the two [8, 9, 10]. Here we shall first review the general idea of the method, and then we discuss two recent applications which test the applicability of the method further. Finally we shall speculate a little about the future prospects of the method.
Stochastic Control and Uncertainty in Dynamic Economic Systems

Stochastic control is causing a substantial change in the way economists analyze dynamic economic systems. This paper describes the manner in which uncertainty is modeled in stochastic control and discusses the implications of this for the analysis of economic systems. Then several examples of recent applications of stochastic control to economic problems are discussed. The paper closes with an outline of some useful avenues for research.
Upconversion of low-energy photons in semiconductor nanostructures for solar energy harvesting

We explore the status of state-of-the-art upconverter materials in the context of improving solar cell performance. We focus on semiconductor upconversion nanostructures that can harvest two separate bands of the solar spectrum and offer a promising path to rational engineering of improved performance and thus improved overall solar energy harvesting. Photon upconversion is a process in which two low-energy photons are sequentially absorbed and one high-energy photon is emitted. Photon upconversion in both inorganic and organic material platforms has been used to improve solar cell efficiency. Lanthanide-doped salts (inorganic) and triplet-triplet annihilation molecules (organic) have achieved 33% and 60% internal upconversion quantum efficiency, respectively, leading to current density increases of 17 mA/cm2 and 0.86 mA/cm2. However, their performance is limited by their narrow absorption bandwidth (AB) and limited tunability, especially at low photon fluxes. Recently, colloidal semiconductor nanostructures have emerged as a promising material platform for upconversion. The optical absorption in these low-dimensional heterostructures involves both quantum-confined and continuum band states, enabling a much larger AB. Moreover, the techniques of semiconductor heterostructure engineering can be used to optimize performance and to tailor absorption and emission wavelengths. We review the performance and potential impact on solar energy harvesting of upconversion materials, focusing on semiconductor upconverters. We discuss computational models that suggest that semiconductor upconverter nanostructures could have outstanding performance for photovoltaic. We then discuss the current state of the art in semiconductor upconversion morphologies and compositions and provide an outlook on the ways in which nanostructures can be tailored to improve performance for applications.
A directional model of candidate evaluations in the 2016 presidential election

Abstract The 2016 U.S. presidential election provides an interesting setting for testing the directional theory of issue voting. But, when modeled using the standard approach, using the seven-point issue scales in the 2016 ANES, it is not clear whether the directional model provides any additional leverage over the more traditional proximity model. In order to get around this impasse, I examine candidate evaluations rather than issue scales. Doing so enables a direct test of directional theory against proximity theory. The empirical results show that the proximity model does not outperform the directional model. Instead, the latter outperforms the former because the directional model produces not only a succinct graphical representation of the electorate's candidate evaluations but also an explanation for the relative spatial positions of the candidates.
High-Throughput Surface Liquid Absorption and Secretion Assays to Identify F508del CFTR Correctors Using Patient Primary Airway Epithelial Cultures:

High-throughput screening for drug discovery is increasingly utilizing cellular systems of high physiological relevance, such as patient primary cells and organoid cultures. We used 3D-cultured cys...
Chapter 45 – Fetal Tissues

Publisher Summary The use of stem cells derived from fetal tissues has evolved significantly in regenerative medicine applications for many organ systems. Fetal stem cells are investigated for neuroregenerative applications, especially in the case of Parkinson's disease. For lung tissue engineering, pulmonary cell replacement therapeutics is employed for treating respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis, severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Fetal stem cells are utilized in a variety of techniques aimed at regeneration and repair, including cell injection therapy, tissue engineering, and modulation of the inflammatory response to injury. The scarcity of donor livers and the risk of complications associated with liver transplantation have created the need for alternative methods of liver regeneration. Fetal tissues might provide viable alternative methods of hepatic tissue replacement. The transplantation of mature hepatocytes into diseased livers might provide regenerative capacity, but adult hepatocytes are limited by their ability to grow in culture and by concerns of immunogenicity. Fetal liver cells are readily grown in culture and display a more versatile differentiation potential. Human umbilical cord blood (UCB) is regarded as a possible cell source for muscle tissue engineering because of its hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic (mesenchymal) potential. Human UCB stem cells are utilized extensively in the treatment of pediatric patients with hematological malignancies. Fetal pancreatic tissue is a possible cell source for islet replacement therapy in type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Intermittent Flow and Practical Considerations for Continuous Drug Substance Manufacturing

Intermittent flow enables slurry flow out of continuous stirred tank crystallizers without solids plugging or clogging. It enables semi-continuous filtration, washing, and re-dissolving downstream from continuous crystallization. It allows solvent exchange distillation with strip to dryness in rotary evaporators to be a legitimate manufacturing unit operation for small-volume continuous processes. Intermittent flow back pressure regulation and vapor–liquid separation downstream from continuous high-pressure hydrogenation reactors tolerates a small amount of solids precipitate flowing out of the reactors without clogging or plugging, and they promote efficient pressure purge stripping of excess gas reagent. Intermittent flow stirred tank reactors are a practical alternative to plug flow reactors (PFRs) for heterogeneous reactions. Eleven examples of continuous reactions are given that have been run at manufacturing scale in PFRs. Mean residence time ranges from 0.7 to 24 h in the 11 examples; therefore, it is not necessary for a reaction to be extremely fast in order to be a viable candidate for flow chemistry. This chapter gives many general guidelines on how to design and operate a continuous process, avoiding many of the common operational, equipment, analytical, and process chemistry pitfalls. The continuous process checklist serves to help prevent common oversights.
Faculty Roles in Strengthening Inter-institutional Transfer Relationships: An Example from Michigan

This paper highlights how inter-institutional faculty relationships can strengthen student transfer between two-year and four-year programs. This article stresses the value of such efforts and some...
Potential for carbon sequestration in the Hemlock Formation of the Cook Inlet basin, Alaska

Injecting fluids, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), into hydrocarbon reservoirs has great environmental and oil field development benefits. In this study, the fluid injection and storage potential of the Hemlock Formation was assessed in the whole Cook Inlet basin of southcentral Alaska as well as eight individual oil and gas fields (i.e., Swanson River, North Cook Inlet, Granite Point, Trading Bay, Middle Ground Shoal, Redoubt, Ninilchik, and Cosmopolitan fields) in the basin. The Hemlock Formation, similar to most formations in the Cook Inlet basin, is vertically and horizontally heterogeneous, resulting in compartmentalized reservoirs. Based on core data and petrophysical analysis, the Cook Inlet basin has an estimated CO2 storage range of 0.91–16.61 gigatonnes (Gt), with a 50% probability (that the quantity will equal or not exceed the calculated estimate) value of 4.33 Gt. The reservoir quality for the Hemlock Formation is assessed and compared among the major oil and gas fields in the whole basin. The eight oil and gas fields from both upper and lower Cook Inlet basin have been selected to better assess the potential of CO2 storage in the Hemlock Formation. Maps generated for the eight fields show fluid injection sweet spots. Variability among individual fields for fluid storage quantities is caused by changes in porosity, reservoir thickness, and the size of the field.
Pre-transplant bariatric surgery is associated with increased fungal infection after liver transplant.

Aim The impact of pre-transplant (pre-TXP) bariatric surgery (BS) on outcomes after liver transplant (LTX) has not been completely elucidated. Roux-en Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is one of the most common BS procedures. The primary objective of this study was to identify the risk of infection in LTX recipients with pre-TXP RYGB. Methods Adult patients with LTX between 1/1/2001 and 9/30/2018 at our center were screened for pre-TXP RYGB; patients with gastrectomy via sleeve or banding were excluded. Patients with no history of BS pre- or post-transplant were placed in a comparator group, matched 2:1 via incidence density sampling on age epoch. Results There were 16 LTX recipients with pre-TXP RYGB matched to 32 controls. Median time from RYGB to transplant was 11.7 years. Mean weight loss was 66 ± 19 kg. There were significantly more women with pre-TXP RYGB than in the matched control (RYGB:68.8% vs control:25%, P = .009). Demographics were otherwise similar between groups. Pre-TXP RYGB did not significantly increase hospital or ICU length of stay (P = .5, P = .3) but was associated with a significantly increased rate of fungal infection at 1 year (RYGB:33.4% vs control:9.7%, P = .01), and a numerical trend to increased bacterial infection (RYGB:56.2% vs control:32.2%, P = .09). Conclusion Despite the substantial weight loss attributed to BS, patients with pre-TXP RYGB demonstrated increased rates of fungal infection after transplant and trended toward increased bacterial infection. While the anatomical complexity associated with LTX surgery after RYGB did not appear to significantly affect ICU or hospital length of stay, it may have contributed to overall infectious risk, and possibly to impaired survival. Additionally, bypass of the host natural barrier defenses of the stomach could also have contributed to infectious risk. Our findings highlight the complexity of this patient population. Future prospective studies are needed to investigate risk of infection after LTX in the setting of pre-Txp BS. Potential modification in fungal prophylaxis protocols to include pre-TXP RYGB may be warranted.
Operating modes of dual-grating dielectric laser accelerators

In this work, we present a comprehensive theoretical description of the Lorentz force in dual-grating dielectric laser accelerators (DLA). Here we examine the dual-grating DLA under arbitrary illumination conditions, both single-side and dual-side drive. We improve upon previous descriptions of these forces by providing a unified description of all possible operating modes of these devices, and classify the modes into three categories. In particular, we predict the existence of the previously observed ``line modes'' and a novel ``elliptical mode'', provide an experimental demonstration of this new mode, and suggest a possible application for it in improving the resolution of attosecond-scale streak cameras. Finally, we examine several complementary methods of tuning a dual-grating DLA to a desired operating mode---particularly dual-drive phase rotation and translational offset of the grating teeth.
Implantable Subacromial Balloon Spacers in Patients With Massive Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears: A Systematic Review of Clinical, Biomechanical, and Financial Implications

Purpose To determine the clinical, biomechanical, and financial impact of the use of subacromial balloon spacers in the surgical management of massive, irreparable rotator cuff tears (RCTs). Methods All studies assessing the use of implantable subacromial balloon spacers for management of massive, irreparable RCTs were systematically searched. Risk of bias was assessed using Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies criteria. Data extraction and analysis was performed for pain and function scores, shoulder range of motion (ROM), glenohumeral contact pressure and vertical migration of humeral head, and cost. Subjective synthesis was performed with forest plots when outcomes were reported in 3 or more studies. Results In total, 19 studies met inclusion criteria for analysis; 337 patients (mean age 68 years) had 343 subacromial balloon spacer implantations. Throughout a mean follow-up of 33 months, there was significant improvement in the Total Constant Score (preoperative: 22.5-41.8; postoperative: 51.4-72.3), Oxford Shoulder Score (preoperative: 21.3-26; postoperative: 34.39-48.2), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score (preoperative: 24.5-59.1; postoperative: 72.5-85.7), and shoulder ROM parameters. Subacromial balloon spacer placement resisted superior humeral head migration (range of preoperative to postoperative difference: 2.8-6.2 mm) and decreased peak subacromial pressure during shoulder ROM. Conclusions Existing literature of subacromial balloon spacers has a high risk of bias, lack of appropriate control, and low levels of evidence. A qualitative synthesis indicates that subacromial balloon spacer implantation in patients with massive irreparable RCTs is cost-effective and leads to improved function (Total Constant Score and Oxford Shoulder Score) and ROM. In cadaveric studies, subacromial balloon spacers resist superior humeral head migration and reduce subacromial pressure. The theoretical risk of biodegradation of the balloon spacer has not been substantiated in study of up to 5-years follow-up, and the risk of complications from this procedure appears to be minimal. Level of Evidence IV; Systematic review of level III-IV studies.
Modeling of crystallization fouling on a horizontal-tube falling-film evaporator for thermal desalination

Abstract Scale formation within horizontal-tube falling-film evaporators is an important issue for thermal desalination, because of the deterioration of heat transfer performance and added maintenance costs. Predicting the fouling process is crucial for desalination plant design, operation, and maintenance. In this paper, a model is developed to predict the crystallization fouling process during seawater falling-film flow over a horizontal tube bundle. The scaling is estimated based on deposition theory, with couple heat transfer including the in-tube steam condensation, conduction through the tube wall and the scale layer, and falling-film evaporation. The spatial and temporal variations of temperature, heat transfer coefficient, and scale thickness are predicted, and the effects of variations in process parameters of steam, feed seawater, and tube properties on the scale thickness, evaporation rate, and heat transfer coefficient for falling-film evaporation are analyzed. Comparisons to existing experimental data show the scaling layer thickness falls in the general range of reported measurements, with a slight overestimation due to neglecting the delay of scaling onset under real conditions. The scale layer thickness increases dramatically as the in-tube steam pressure is increased or the seawater flow rate is decreased. In general, the scaling layer becomes thicker on the lower tubes in the tube bundle, due to the heat and mass transfer of the falling film. The effect of tube material on scaling appears mainly dependent on thermal conductivity; thus, using polymer rather than a stainless steel tube decreases scaling and evaporation rate 96% and 88%, respectively. This work has potential to guide thermal desalination plant design, material selection, and operating parameter optimization.
Multilayer heuristics based clustering framework (MHCF) for author name disambiguation

Author name ambiguity is a nontrivial problem currently faced by digital libraries and scholarly data search engines affecting their findings related to the authorship data provided by them. Most existing proposed solutions are complex, inflexible, feature dependent, focusing specific scenarios, rely on keyword-based similarities and ineffectively disambiguates authors with less number of citations than others (with more publications) sharing same name. All this requires a flexible name disambiguation framework that is simple, generic, context aware and can effectively disambiguate authors sharing same names but variable number of citations. In this paper we propose a multi-layer heuristics-based clustering framework. Global and structure aware features are used to group publications together using our proposed Research2vec model. Unlike many heuristics based multilayer approaches, our proposed framework uses better discriminating powered features following our proposed feature rank in an incremental fashion to minimize false positives after each merge. Also, our proposed framework unlike other similar approaches uses contextual information to group similar publications as opposed to matching same keywords. We have carefully evaluated our proposed framework using three different datasets against two word embedding based approaches, two heuristics based, two hybrid and one graph-based approach. The results clearly show our framework’s better performance than all i.e., MHCF-G (+ 5% pF1), MHCF-GL (+ 10% pF1), MDC (+ 12% pF1), HHC (+ 32% pF1), SAND-1 (+ 31%), SAND-2 (+ 22%) and GFAD (+ 18%). Our proposed solution is also evaluated on our newly proposed dataset ‘CustAND’ covering more than 11 most discriminating features unavailable in current AND datasets together. The experimental results using CustAND collection show that our framework can achieve an overall pF1 of 93.3% with only three features which further demonstrates its effectiveness.
Gps cappture: a system for gps trajectory collection, processing, and destination prediction

In the United States, smartphone ownership surpassed 69.5 million in February 2011 with a large portion of those users (20%) downloading applications (apps) that enhance the usability of a device by adding additional functionality. A large percentage of apps are written specifically to utilize the geographical position of a mobile device. One of the prime factors in developing location prediction models is the use of historical data to train such a model. With larger sets of training data, prediction algorithms become more accurate; however, the use of historical data can quickly become a downfall if the GPS stream is not collected or processed correctly. Inaccurate or incomplete or even improperly interpreted historical data can lead to the inability to develop accurately performing prediction algorithms. As GPS chipsets become the standard in the ever increasing number of mobile devices, the opportunity for the collection of GPS data increases remarkably. The goal of this study is to build a comprehensive system that addresses the following challenges: (1) collection of GPS data streams in a manner such that the data is highly usable and has a reduction in errors; (2) processing and reduction of the collected data in order to prepare it and make it highly usable for the creation of prediction algorithms; (3) creation of prediction/labeling algorithms at such a level that they are viable for commercial use. This study identifies the key research problems toward building the CaPPture (collection, processing, prediction) system.
Chapter 6 Money, inflation and growth

Publisher Summary Different long-run rates of growth of money supply are eventually reflected in different rates of inflation. Tobin studied this in a simple descriptive model with aggregate saving depending only on current income. It was found that money growth was associated with higher capital stock and output per person in the steady state. Faster inflation led savers to shift their portfolios in favor of real capital. The chapter examines Sidrauski model illustrating the central neutrality result and presents some of its variations in which neutrality with respect to output fails even though the real interest rate is not affected by inflation. It examines the Fisher relation and focuses on deviations from the one infinitely lived family models. The exact function of money and the sensitivity of the long-run inflation–growth relation to different assumptions about the reasons why money is held are also examined.
Fluid flow phenomena in the generation of boron carbide suspensions in magnesium melts

A mathematical representation is developed for the behavior of moderately concentrated magnesium-boron carbide suspensions when subjected to electromagnetic stirring or mechanical agitation. A power-law relationship is employed for the apparent non-Newtonian viscosity of the suspension.
The role of prostaglandins in endotoxemia: comparisons in response in the nonpregnant, maternal, and fetal models. I. Prostaglandins and the pulmonary effect of experimental endotoxemia.

Abstract The present study evaluates the response of the nonpregnant ewe, the pregnant ewe, and the fetal lamb with regard to prostaglandin physiology after E. coli endotoxin administration. Baseline levels are reported and response to a stimulator ( E. coli endotoxin) and an inhibitor (indomethacin) of prostaglandin synthesis is evaluated. The results reveal that the prostaglandin response to stimulation or inhibition relies upon the baseline levels and that acute alterations of prostaglandin ratios may occur with inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis. The fetus reacts differently than the pregnant and nonpregnant animal and appears to be resistant to the effects of endotoxin, which may be secondary to the elevated baseline fetal prostaglandin levels.
Huntington's disease: the past, present, and future search for disease modifiers.

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder that specifically causes neurodegeneration of striatal neurons, resulting in a triad of symptoms that includes emotional, cognitive, and motor disturbances. The HD mutation causes a polyglutamine repeat expansion within the N-terminal of the huntingtin (Htt) protein. This expansion causes aggregate formation within the cytosol and nucleus due to the presence of misfolded mutant Htt, as well as altered interactions with Htt’s multiple binding partners, and changes in post-translational Htt modifications. The present review charts efforts toward a therapy that delays age of onset or slows symptom progression in patients affected by HD, as there is currently no effective treatment. Although silencing Htt expression appears promising as a disease modifying treatment, it should be attempted with caution in light of Htt’s essential roles in neural maintenance and development. Other therapeutic targets include those that boost aggregate dissolution, target excitotoxicity and metabolic issues, and supplement growth factors.
Mathematics and Gender: Some Cross-Cultural Observations

My goal here clearly has not been the presentation of a definitive account or a polished treatise. It was my intention to throw out food for thought, to illustrate some of the curiosities and ironies inherent in women’s position in mathematics historically and across cultures. The interactions of gender and culture are never simple or straightforward. The history of women in mathematics has not been some Whiggish triumphal passage from darkness into light, but neither has it been a chronicle exclusively of discrimination and marginalization. The history and present status of women in mathematics are complicated, and often the picture has elements of contradiction. One conclusion seems obvious, however. The complex and multifaceted interactions of gender and mathematics can be understood only if one takes into account historical and cross-cultural perspectives.
Kenneth Hamilton, After the Golden Age: Romantic Pianism and Modern Performance : Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. xv, 304 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-517826-5. Hardcover, $29.95

“There were giants in the earth in those days,” we are told in the King James Bible (Genesis 6:4), and this phrase has become one of the enduring tropes of the human narrative: heroes of old, sages...
Ovine-associated Staphylococcus aureus protein with immunochemical similarity to toxic shock syndrome toxin 1

A toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1) antibody-binding protein produced by an ovine-associated strain of Staphylococcus aureus was examined. The protein showed total identity to TSST-1 by immunodiffusion analysis. Western blots (immunoblots) of proteins separated by isoelectric focusing revealed that the TSST-1 antibody-binding protein had a pI of 8.6 rather than 7.0, the pI of standard TSST-1.
Threats to the Validity of Locally Developed Multiple-Choice Tests in Medical Education: Construct-Irrelevant Variance and Construct Underrepresentation

Construct-irrelevant variance (CIV) - the erroneous inflation or deflation of test scores due to certain types of uncontrolled or systematic measurement error - and construct underrepresentation (CUR) - the under-sampling of the achievement domain - are discussed as threats to the meaningful interpretation of scores from objective tests developed for local medical education use. Several sources of CIV and CUR are discussed and remedies are suggested. Test score inflation or deflation, due to the systematic measurement error introduced by CIV, may result from poorly crafted test questions, insecure test questions and other types of test irregularities, testwiseness, guessing, and test item bias. Using indefensible passing standards can interact with test scores to produce CIV. Sources of content under representation are associated with tests that are too short to support legitimate inferences to the domain and which are composed of trivial questions written at low-levels of the cognitive domain. ``Teaching to the test'' is another frequent contributor to CUR in examinations used in medical education. Most sources of CIV and CUR can be controlled or eliminated from the tests used at all levels of medical education, given proper training and support of the faculty who create these important examinations.
Antifungal activity of antimicrobial-impregnated devices

The in-vitro and in-vivo efficacy against Candida albicans and Candida krusei of devices impregnated with chlorhexidine and chloroxylenol was examined. The impregnated devices produced large zones of inhibition against both organisms (mean size, 39 mm and 38 mm, respectively). In a rabbit model in which segments of silicone catheters were placed percutaneously, non-impregnated devices were twice as likely as impregnated devices to become colonised with either C. albicans or C. krusei. Impregnated devices also had significantly lower colony counts of C. albicans (58 vs. 1361 CFU; p 0.008) and C. krusei (19 vs. 764 CFU; p 0.008).
Congestion-aware topology controls for wireless multi-hop networks

Topology control in ad-hoc networks is the problem of adjusting the transmission power at network nodes in order to achieve the optimal topology that maximizes network performance. Several related works have shown that the optimal throughput per unit energy performance can be achieved when the network topology is minimally connected. A minimally connected topology is achieved when the transmission power used by nodes is the minimum required to keep the network connected. In this paper, we show that in contrast, for typical ad-hoc networks with a few hundred nodes distributed over a few square-miles area, the optimal topology is a function of the load in the network, and is not always the minimally connected topology. We discuss the reason for the phenomenon through both detailed arguments and simulations. We then present three congestion-aware topology control (CATC) algorithms: CATC-CP (CATC-common power), CATC-IP (CATC-independent power), and CATC-MS (CATC-master/slave). The proposed schemes use purely local state to make topology control decisions, but vary in the degree of coordination between nodes once the decisions are taken. The proposed CATC schemes are shown to achieve better performance than that of static topology control schemes using a constant transmission power.
Nitrogen mineralization in a pine plantation fifteen years after harvesting and site preparation

Intensive site preparation for forest tree planting may result in a mid-rotation decline in soil N availability. Such decline has not been fully documented. This study was conducted in a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantation in the Piedmont of North Carolina to evaluate the effects of nutrient removal during harvest and site preparation on N availability at mid-rotation. Treatments, installed in 1981, consisted of a combination of harvest (stem-only vs. whole-tree) and site preparation (chop and burn vs. shear, pile, and disk), with a split-plot of vegetation control (no herbicide vs. herbicide). In 1995 net N mineralization was examined by monthly in situ soil incubations from May through November (7 mo). Net N mineralization was approximately 3 times lower at mid-rotation than shortly after treatment. A 5°C drop in soil temperature at 10-cm depth helped explain 50% of this decline. At mid-rotation, harvest intensity, but not site preparation intensity, affected N mineralization, with stem-only harvest plots mineralizing 11 kg N ha -1 more than whole-tree harvest plots during the seven months. Chop-burn-no herbicide plots mineralized 34(±3) kg N ha -1 , chop-burn-herbicide: 30(±3) kg N ha -1 , shear-pile-disk-herbicide: 28(±3) kg N ha -1 , and shear-pile-disk-no herbicide: 19(±3) kg N ha -1 in the seven months. Mid-rotation mineralization was positively correlated with soil temperature and negatively correlated with soil P and soil C:N ratio. The effect of harvest on N mineralization was probably exerted through P nutrition, whereas the lack of site preparation effects suggested that large nutrient removals that occurred with shearing and piling did not have lasting and negative effects on N availability in this plantation.
Past and future emergency response information systems

Past and future objectives remain the same in crises, providing relevant communities collaborative knowledge systems to exchange information.
NEED FOR EXPLANATIONS IN GRAPHIC ORGANIZER RESEARCH

ABSTRACT Research relating to graphic organizers was reviewed. The findings suggest that currently there is no systematic approach to analyzing graphic organizer research resulting in a lack of explanations for why graphic organizers work or do not work. The primary difficulty to provide explanations was found to be due to the lack of consistent operational criteria in studies using graphic organizers. Further, instructional implications are tenuous at best due to the lack of explanations of how graphic organizers work or do not work. One method of analysis would be to examine previous graphic organizer studies using a relational grammar. This would allow for identifying the structure and content of text used in graphic organizer studies, the graphic organizer itself, and the measurement or evaluation instrument. This analysis would allow for a comparison of the structure and content of the different organizer studies and allow for an explanation of the cognitive processes that readers evoke in developing...
Low-Noise Power Delivery Network Design Using Power Transmission Line for Mixed-Signal Testing

With the trend toward higher operating frequencies, the simultaneous switching noise (SSN) problem is being aggravated. The required noise tolerance for testing scenarios is more demanding so that it raises the importance of control over SSN in the interface board between a device under test and an automatic test equipment. Low noise is especially important when testing mixed-signal devices, in which noisy digital circuits and noise-sensitive analog circuits share a power delivery network (PDN). To prevent noise coupling between circuits and provide low-noise testing environment, the method of supplying power through transmission lines instead of a voltage plane can be employed. The power transmission line (PTL) not only provides isolation between circuits, but also removes the voltage plane along with its adverse effects such as the cavity resonance and the return path discontinuity. In this paper, the first demonstration of a Constant Current Power Transmission Line (CCPTL)-based single-ended signaling scheme is presented. The measurement results show that the CCPTL-based PDN improves the eye quality at the receiver side as compared to the power-plane-based PDN.
A low-noise 2–4 GHz preamplifier

Abstract A low-noise preamplifier has been developed for use in stochastic beam cooling experiments. The preamplifier consists of a cascade of four GaAs field-effect transistors, and is made with lumped components.
Reduced System Algorithms for Markov Chains

A reduced system is a smaller system derived in the process of analyzing a larger system. In solving for steady state probabilities of a Markov chain, generally the solution can be found by first solving a reduced system of equations which is obtained by appropriately partitioning the transition probability or rate matrix. Following Lal Lal, R. 1981. A unified study of algorithms for steady state probabilities in Makov chains. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Operations Research and Engineering Management, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275., a Markov chain can be categorized as standard or nonstandard depending on the location of an invertible submatrix necessary for an efficient solution in a transition probability or rate matrix. In this paper, algorithms for the determination of steady state probabilities are developed by using i a backward recursion which is efficient for standard systems and ii a forward recursion which is efficient for nonstandard systems. It is also shown that the backward recursion can be used for finding the first passage time distribution and its mean and variance.
Incidental Aquaculture in California's Rice Paddies: Red Swamp Crawfish

Introduction of the red swamp crawfish, Procambarus clarkii, into California and its diffusion throughout northern California's rice paddies created the conditions for an incidental aquaculture eco...
Expertise and Power in Professional Organizations

A study of architects in private firms examines the influence of various factors on individuals' decision power. Although formal position is the most important factor (as might be expected) other factors affect power also, and they do so differentially within each of three positions. Whereas general knowledge of the professional core increases managers' power, it is knowledge of peripheral areas, such as fields in engineering, that increases the power of salaried professionals (designers and staff architects). This indicates that the source of power of "lower participants" in the professional firm rests largely on their ability to control areas that are highly ambiguous or uncertain for most architects. Using several dimensions of expertness, the results show quite consistently that general, rather than specialized, knowledge promotes the power of individual professionals, and this is true for managers as well as for the two categories of staff.