cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Field-Based Tests of Geochemical Modeling Codes: New Zealand Hydrothermal Systems

Hydrothermal systems in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, North Island, New Zealand are being used as field-based modeling exercises for the EQ3/6 geochemical modeling code package. Comparisons of the observed state and evolution of the hydrothermal systems with predictions of fluid-solid equilibria made using geochemical modeling codes will determine how the codes can be used to predict the chemical and mineralogical response of the environment to nuclear waste emplacement. Field-based exercises allow us to test the models on time scales unattainable in the laboratory. Preliminary predictions of mineral assemblages in equilibrium with fluids sampled from wells in the Wairakei and Kawerau geothermal field suggest that affinity-temperature diagrams must be used in conjunction with EQ6 to minimize the effect of uncertainties in thermodynamic and kinetic data on code predictions.
Inverse Design of Single- and Multi-Rotor Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Blades using Computational Fluid Dynamics

A method for inverse design of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) is presented in this paper. The direct solver for aerodynamic analysis solves the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations, where the effect of the turbine rotor is modeled as momentum sources using the actuator disk model (ADM); this approach is referred to as RANS/ADM. The inverse problem is posed as follows: for a given selection of airfoils, the objective is to find the blade geometry (described as blade twist and chord distributions) which realizes the desired turbine aerodynamic performance at the design point; the desired performance is prescribed as angle of attack ($\alpha$) and axial induction factor ($a$) distributions along the blade. An iterative approach is used. An initial estimate of blade geometry is used with the direct solver (RANS/ADM) to obtain $\alpha$ and $a$. The differences between the calculated and desired values of $\alpha$ and $a$ are computed and a new estimate for the blade geometry (chord and twist) is obtained via nonlinear least squares regression using the Trust-Region-Reflective (TRF) method. This procedure is continued until the difference between the calculated and the desired values is within acceptable tolerance. The method is demonstrated for conventional, single-rotor HAWTs and then extended to multi-rotor, specifically dual-rotor wind turbines. The TRF method is also compared with the multi-dimensional Newton iteration method and found to provide better convergence when constraints are imposed in blade design, although faster convergence is obtained with the Newton method for unconstrained optimization.
Indivisibility of class numbers of imaginary quadratic fields

We quantify a recent theorem of Wiles on class numbers of imaginary quadratic fields by proving an estimate for the number of negative fundamental discriminants down to $$-X$$ whose class numbers are indivisible by a given prime $$\ell $$ and whose imaginary quadratic fields satisfy any given set of local conditions. This estimate matches the best results in the direction of the Cohen–Lenstra heuristics for the number of imaginary quadratic fields with class number indivisible by a given prime. This general result is applied to study rank 0 twists of certain elliptic curves.
Sanctions, Real and Imaginary: Experiences with Russia in the Ukraine Crisis

This article identifies untapped potential for creative combinations within the sanctions arsenal, but also substantial long-term risks threatening to undermine the very global financial and trading infrastructure that renders Western sanctioning power effective in the first place. It introduces multi-party sanctions against Russia and the Russian response thereto, analysing how sanctions were aided by three unusual prongs: the damage potential of a SWIFT blockade, the devastating effect of the post-2014 oil price drop, and the consideration of using debt sanctions. It then examines defensive measures taken by Russia and others that aim at undermining the effectiveness of future Western sanctions.
Is Myelomeningocele a Disappearing Disease

The incidence of major congenital anomalies of the central nervous system was determined in a study of more than 233,000 births in Brooklyn, New York hospitals during the years 1968 to 1979. Anencephaly, myelomeningocele, and hydrocephalus occurred at frequencies of 47.1, 42.4, and 49.3 cases per 100,000 total births, respectively. During the 12 years of the study, the incidence of myelomeningocele decreased at a linear rate of approximately 4.6 cases per 100,000 births per year. A review of comparable reports on births in the northeastern region of the United States shows that a relatively consistent linear decline in myelomeningocele incidence has been proceeding at this rate for the past 50 years. It is concluded that minor local fluctuations and variability in data collection have obscured the steady decrease in occurrence. No significant declines were seen in the incidence rates of anencephaly or hydrocephalus, nor were uniform secular trends for these anomalies evident from previous reports. Epidemiologic differences between myelomeningocele and anencephaly are noted and their common etiology is questioned.
Urinary Tract Infections: Recent Developments

Urinary tract infections represent one of the most common types of infectious diseases encountered in the practice of medicine today. Intensive investigation of these infections has been carried out during the past three decades in an attempt to define more accurately the epidemiology, pathogenesis (bacterial virulence vs. host defense), natural history, treatment, and prevention of these diseases. Although much progress has been made as a result of the concentrated efforts of investigators from a wide variety of disciplines, from basic science to clinical investigation, a number of important questions about specific areas in the broader scope of the problem encompassed by all types of urinary tract infections remain unanswered. In an attempt to focus on past progress as well as future research needs, a panel on genitourinary infections was assembled a few years ago to provide an overview, at that time, of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of urinary tract infections [1-5]. The panel emphasized our current knowledge of natural host defenses that function during normal physiological conditions in an attempt to prevent the development of urinary tract infections and also emphasized those intrinsic risk factors that alter our normal host defenses [2]. Specifically, intrinsic risk factors were identified as follows: (7) urinary obstruction, stasis, and reflux; (2) pregnancy and old age; (5) sexual intercourse in female
Glomerular Prostaglandins, Angiotensin II, and Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

Abstract The glomerulus can, in part, regulate its own flow and filtration characteristics, both of which are determinants of the glomerular filtration rate. This occurs in part as the result of interactions between vasoconstrictors, e.g., angiotensin II (All), and the vasodilatory prostaglandins E 2 or I 2 . It is well accepted that these prostaglandins modulate the constrictor effects of All on systemic and renal vasculature. Experimental data accumulated from micropuncture studies, analyses of isolated glomeruli in vitro, and glomerular mesangial cell cultures also support the hypothesis that All-stimulated production of vasodilatory prostaglandins attenuates All-induced constriction at the glomerular level as well. These studies help to explain the deleterious actions of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on glomerular filtration in clinical conditions associated with a decreased effective blood volume and, therefore, activation of All and other neurohormonal constrictors. These results have also furthered our understanding of the role of prostaglandins in maintaining renal function in human and experimental renal diseases that may be associated with enhanced hormonal constrictor activity.
Parent and teacher SNAP-IV ratings of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms: Psychometric properties and normative ratings from a school district sample

To examine Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham-IV (SNAP-IV) psychometric properties, parent (N = 1,613) and teacher (N = 1,205) data were collected from a random elementary school student sample in a longitudinal attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) detection study. SNAP-IV reliability was acceptable. Factor structure indicated two ADHD factors and an oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) factor. Parent and teacher scores varied by gender and poverty status (d = .49-.56) but not age; only teacher scores varied by race (d = .25-.55). Screening and diagnostic utility was evaluated with likelihood ratios (LRs) and posttest probabilities. Parent SNAP-IV scores above 1.2 increased probability of concern (LR > 10) and above 1.8, of ADHD diagnosis (LR > 3). Teacher hyperactivity/impulsivity scores above 1.2 and inattention scores above 1.8 increased probabilities of concern only (LR = 4.2 and >5, respectively). Higher teacher scores for African American children and race differences in measurement models require future study.
The Evaluation of Human Lymph Nodes, Using Plastic Sections and Enzyme Histochemistry

The histopathologic evaluation of the human lymph node is frequently difficult. Although immunologic markers have been used recently in such evaluations, enzyme histochemical markers have been used only sporadically since their introduction in the 1930s. One reason that they have been neglected is that they have required the use of frozen sections. This article describes the use of a plastic embedding technic with enzyme histochemistry in a series of more than 300 reactive human lymph nodes. Enzyme histochemical reactions were preserved very well and could be localized extremely well with this technic, which allowed the identification of histologic features not readily apparent by other means. The technic may be valuable in evaluating both reactive and neoplastic lymph nodes.
Prevalence of Low Vitamin D in Patients with Breast Cancer in a Predominantly Hispanic Population at the American-Mexican Border

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Low level of vitamin D (VD) has been linked with a higher risk of cancers. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of low VD in patients with breast cancer in a predominantly Mexican Hispanic/Latino patient population, a fast growing and relatively understudied population. Materials/Methods: We sought to evaluate the serum VD levels in breast cancer patients diagnosed at the Texas Tech University Breast Cancer Center in El Paso, TX, between May 2013 and May2014 via a retrospective chart review of the Electronic Medical Records. Results: We identified a total of 83 consecutive breast cancer patients with available VD levels. Mean age 57 yr, 94% were Hispanics. VD was insufficient (<30 ng/ml) in 86% of patients (95% CI: 0.76–0.92) and it was deficient (<20 ng/ml) in 39% (95% CI: 0.28–0.50). Conclusion: VD deficiency is widely prevalent in Hispanic/Latino patients with breast cancer. This is quite alarming in view of possible increased risk of cancer with low VD and potential...
The “Right to Remain Here” as an Evolving Component of Global Refugee Protection: Current Initiatives and Critical Questions

This article considers the relationship between two human rights discourses (and two specific legal regimes): refugee and asylum protection and the evolving body of international law that regulates...
How Much Does “Backing Aloft” Actually Impact a Supercell?

AbstractAmong forecasters and storm chasers, there is a common perception that hodographs with counterclockwise curvature or kinking in the midlevels (sometimes called backing aloft or veer–back–veer profiles) are unfavorable for long-lived supercells and tornadoes. This study reviews and then evaluates several possible explanations for the purported negative effect of backing aloft. As a controlled hypothesis test, simulated supercells are initiated within a range of idealized wind profiles, many of which include representative counterclockwise kinks or bends in their hodographs. In these experiments, the short-term, direct impacts of backing aloft upon supercell maintenance are generally small. Backing aloft does modify the component of vertical accelerations linked to updraft–shear interactions, but these changes generally occur well above the level of free convection (LFC), and they are generally offset by substantial upward accelerations attributable to other processes (e.g., within-storm rotation an...
Evolving treatment of necrotizing pancreatitis.

Abstract Background Over the past decade, the treatment of necrotizing pancreatitis (NP) has incorporated greater use of minimally invasive techniques, including percutaneous drainage and endoscopic debridement. No study has yet compared outcomes of patients treated with all available techniques. We sought to evaluate the evolution of NP treatment at our high volume pancreas center. We hypothesized that minimally invasive techniques (medical only, percutaneous, and endoscopic) were used more frequently in later years. Methods Treatment strategy of NP patients at a single academic medical center between 2005 and 2014 was reviewed. Definitive management of pancreatic necrosis was categorized as: 1) medical treatment only; 2) surgical only; 3) percutaneous (interventional radiology – IR) only; 4) endoscopic only; and 5) combination (Surgery ± IR ± Endoscopy). Results 526 NP patients included biliary (45%), alcoholic (17%), and idiopathic (20%) etiology. Select patients were managed exclusively by medical, IR, or endoscopic treatment; use of these therapies remained relatively consistent over time. A combination of therapies was used in about 30% of patients. Over time, the percentage of NP patients managed without operation increased from 28% to 41%. 247 (47%) of patients had operation as the only NP treatment; an additional 143 (27%) required surgery as part of a multidisciplinary management. Conclusion Select NP patients may be managed exclusively by medical, IR, or endoscopic treatment. Combination treatment is necessary in many NP patients, and surgical treatment continues to play an important role in the definitive therapy of necrotizing pancreatitis patients.
Development and Usability Testing of a Computer-Tailored Decision Support Tool for Lung Cancer Screening: Study Protocol.

Background: Awareness of lung cancer screening remains low in the screening-eligible population, and when patients visit their clinician never having heard of lung cancer screening, engaging in shared decision making to arrive at an informed decision can be a challenge. Therefore, methods to effectively support both patients and clinicians to engage in these important discussions are essential. To facilitate shared decision making about lung cancer screening, effective methods to prepare patients to have these important discussions with their clinician are needed. Objective: Our objective is to develop a computer-tailored decision support tool that meets the certification criteria of the International Patient Decision Aid Standards instrument version 4.0 that will support shared decision making in lung cancer screening decisions. Methods: Using a 3-phase process, we will develop and test a prototype of a computer-tailored decision support tool in a sample of lung cancer screening-eligible individuals. In phase I, we assembled a community advisory board comprising 10 screening-eligible individuals to develop the prototype. In phase II, we recruited a sample of 13 screening-eligible individuals to test the prototype for usability, acceptability, and satisfaction. In phase III, we are conducting a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 60 screening-eligible participants who have never been screened for lung cancer. Outcomes tested include lung cancer and screening knowledge, lung cancer screening health beliefs (perceived risk, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy), perception of being prepared to engage in a patient-clinician discussion about lung cancer screening, occurrence of a patient-clinician discussion about lung cancer screening, and stage of adoption for lung cancer screening. Results: Phases I and II are complete. Phase III is underway. As of July 15, 2017, 60 participants have been enrolled into the study, and have completed the baseline survey, intervention, and first follow-up survey. We expect to have results by December 31, 2017 and to have data analysis completed by March 1, 2018. Conclusions: Results from usability testing indicate that the computer-tailored decision support tool is easy to use, is helpful, and provides a satisfactory experience for the user. At the conclusion of phase III (pilot RCT), we will have preliminary effect sizes to inform a future fully powered RCT on changes in (1) knowledge about lung cancer and screening, (2) perceived risk of lung cancer, (3) perceived benefits of lung cancer screening, (4) perceived barriers to lung cancer screening, (5) self-efficacy for lung cancer screening, and (6) perceptions of being adequately prepared to engage in a discussion with their clinician about lung cancer screening.
Latent indices in assortative matching models

A large class of two‐sided matching models that include both transferable and non‐transferable utility result in positive assortative matching along a latent index. Data from matching markets, however, may not exhibit perfect assortativity due to the presence of unobserved characteristics. This paper studies the identification and estimation of such models. We show that the distribution of the latent index is not identified when data from one‐to‐one matches are observed. Remarkably, the model is nonparametrically identified using data in a single large market when each agent on one side has at least two matched partners. The additional empirical content in many‐to‐one matches is demonstrated using simulations and stylized examples. We then derive asymptotic properties of a minimum distance estimator as the size of the market increases, allowing estimation using dependent data from a single large matching market. The nature of the dependence requires modification of existing empirical process techniques to obtain a limit theorem. Matching identification estimation C51 C78
Study of Förster Resonance Energy Transfer to Lipid Domain Markers Ascertains Partitioning of Semisynthetic Lipidated N-Ras in Lipid Raft Nanodomains.

Cellular membranes are heterogeneous planar lipid bilayers displaying lateral phase separation with the nanometer-scale liquid-ordered phase (also known as “lipid rafts”) surrounded by the liquid-disordered phase. Many membrane-associated proteins were found to permanently integrate into the lipid rafts, which is critical for their biological function. Isoforms H and N of Ras GTPase possess a unique ability to switch their lipid domain preference depending on the type of bound guanine nucleotide (GDP or GTP). This behavior, however, has never been demonstrated in vitro in model bilayers with recombinant proteins and therefore has been attributed to the action of binding of Ras to other proteins at the membrane surface. In this paper, we report the observation of the nucleotide-dependent switch of lipid domain preferences of the semisynthetic lipidated N-Ras in lipid raft vesicles in the absence of additional proteins. To detect segregation of Ras molecules in raft and disordered lipid domains, we measured...
Crushing hope: Short term responses to tragedy vary by hopefulness.

Abstract This paper explores the consequences of hopefulness when the environment changes. Much literature has documented the importance of a positive outlook in pursuing investments in health and education that pay off in the future. A question that has received less attention is whether a positive outlook creates resilience in the face of setbacks or whether a positive outlook may be a disadvantage in extreme circumstances, especially when there is a large mismatch between expectations and reality. This paper uses the coincidental interview schedule of the Add Health data (N = 15,024) around the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 to examine interactions with this environmental shock and previously elicited measures of hopefulness. The results suggest that increases in depressive symptoms following the attack are concentrated among those young adults who initially expressed the most hopefulness in the future as teenagers.
A six-year repeated evaluation of computerized clinical decision support system user acceptability

Abstract Objective Long-term acceptability among computerized clinical decision support system (CDSS) users in pediatrics is unknown. We examine user acceptance patterns over six years of our continuous computerized CDSS integration and updates. Materials and methods Users of Child Health Improvement through Computer Automation (CHICA), a CDSS integrated into clinical workflows and used in several urban pediatric community clinics, completed annual surveys including 11 questions covering user acceptability. We compared responses across years within a single healthcare system and between two healthcare systems. We used logistic regression to assess the odds of a favorable response to each question by survey year, clinic role, part-time status, and frequency of CHICA use. Results Data came from 380 completed surveys between 2011 and 2016. Responses were significantly more favorable for all but one measure by 2016 (OR range 2.90–12.17, all p Conclusion We present a long-term, repeated follow-up of user acceptability of a CDSS. Favorable opinions of the CDSS were more likely in frequent users, physicians and advanced practitioners, and full-time workers. CHICA acceptability increased as it matured and users become more familiar with it. System quality improvement, user support, and patience are important in achieving wide-ranging, sustainable acceptance of CDSS.
Endogenous Comparative Advantage

We develop a model of trade between identical countries. Workers endogenously acquire skills that are imperfectly observed by firms, who therefore use aggregate country investment as the prior when evaluating workers. This creates an informational externality interacting with general equilibrium effects on each country’s skill premium. Asymmetric equilibria with comparative advantages exist even when there is a unique equilibrium under autarky. Symmetric, no-trade equilibria may be unstable under free trade. Welfare effects are ambiguous: trade may be Pareto improving even if it leads to an equilibrium with rich and poor countries, with no special advantage to country size.
Damage detection and isolation via autocorrelation: a step toward passive sensing

Passive sensing technique may eliminate the need of expending power from actuators and thus provide a means of developing a compact and simple structural health monitoring system. More importantly, it may provide a solution for monitoring the aircraft subjected to environmental loading from air flow during operation. In this paper, a non-contact auto-correlation based technique is exploited as a feasibility study for passive sensing application to detect damage and isolate the damage location. Its theoretical basis bears some resemblance to reconstructing Green’s function from diffusive wavefield through cross-correlation. Localized high pressure air from air compressor are randomly and continuously applied on the one side surface of the aluminum panels through the air blow gun. A laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) was used to scan a 90 mm × 90 mm area to create a 6 × 6 2D-array signals from the opposite side of the panels. The scanned signals were auto-correlated to reconstruct a “selfimpulse response” (or Green’s function). The premise for stably reconstructing the accurate Green’s function requires long sensing times. For a 609.6 mm × 609.6 mm flat aluminum panel, the sensing times roughly at least four seconds is sufficient to establish converged Green’s function through correlation. For the integral stiffened aluminum panel, the geometrical features of the panel expedite the formation of the diffusive wavefield and thus shorten the sensing times. The damage is simulated by gluing a magnet onto the panels. Reconstructed Green’s functions (RGFs) are used for damage detection and damage isolation based on an imaging condition with mean square deviation of the RGFs from the pristine and the damaged structure and the results are shown in color maps. The auto-correlation based technique is shown to consistently detect the simulated damage, image and isolate the damage in the structure subjected to high pressure air excitation. This technique may be transformed into passive sensing applied on the aircraft during operation.
A meta-analytic review of self-reported, clinician-rated, and performance-based motivation measures in schizophrenia: Are we measuring the same "stuff"?

Abstract An array of self-reported, clinician-rated, and performance-based measures has been used to assess motivation in schizophrenia; however, the convergent validity evidence for these motivation assessment methods is mixed. The current study is a series of meta-analyses that summarize the relationships between methods of motivation measurement in 45 studies of people with schizophrenia. The overall mean effect size between self-reported and clinician-rated motivation measures (r = 0.27, k = 33) was significant, positive, and approaching medium in magnitude, and the overall effect size between performance-based and clinician-rated motivation measures (r = 0.21, k = 11) was positive, significant, and small in magnitude. The overall mean effect size between self-reported and performance-based motivation measures was negligible and non-significant (r = −0.001, k = 2), but this meta-analysis was underpowered. Findings suggest modest convergent validity between clinician-rated and both self-reported and performance-based motivation measures, but additional work is needed to clarify the convergent validity between self-reported and performance-based measures. Further, there is likely more variability than similarity in the underlying construct that is being assessed across the three methods, particularly between the performance-based and other motivation measurement types. These motivation assessment methods should not be used interchangeably, and measures should be more precisely described as the specific motivational construct or domain they are capturing.
Electromagnetic waves and electron anisotropies downstream of supercritical interplanetary shocks

[1] We present waveform observations of electromagnetic lower hybrid and whistler waves with fci ≪ f 1.01. Thus, the whistler mode waves appear to be driven by a heat flux instability and cause perpendicular heating of the halo electrons. The lower hybrid waves show a much weaker correlation between δB and normalized heat flux magnitude and are often observed near magnetic field gradients. A third type of event shows fluctuations consistent with a mixture of both lower hybrid and whistler mode waves. These results suggest that whistler waves may indeed be regulating the electron heat flux and the halo temperature anisotropy, which is important for theories and simulations of electron distribution evolution from the Sun to the Earth.
Optimal Advertisement Spending in a Duopoly with Incomplete Information

This article presents the relationship between a firm’s advertisement spending and sales in a duopoly when information about the competitors’ advertisement spending is unavailable. The competitive interaction between the firms has been modeled as imperfect information Cournot and Stackelberg games and the conditions for subgame perfect Bayesian Nash equilibrium are presented. The results suggest that when the firms are similar in size and advertisement effectiveness, both firms are better off sharing their advertising plans with each other. On the other hand, when one of the firms is a market leader, the follower may profit from the leader’s advertisement spending and so is better off keeping the leader guessing. A practical approach to estimate the optimum advertisement budget based on the expected values of the competitors’ historic advertising spending is presented as well.
Using technology for health and wellbeing

How can we create technologies to help us reflect on and change our behavior, improving our health and overall wellbeing? In this talk, I will briefly describe the last several years of work our research team has been doing in this area. We have developed wearable technology to help families manage tense situations with their children, mobile phone-based applications for handling stress and depression, as well as logging tools that can help you stay focused or recommend good times to take a break at work. The goal in all of this research is to develop tools that adapt to the user so that they can maximize their productivity and improve their health.
Measuring Aggregate Price Indexes with Taste Shocks: Theory and Evidence for CES Preferences

We develop an approach to measuring the cost of living for CES preferences that treats demand shocks as taste shocks that are equivalent to price shocks. In the presence of relative taste shocks, the Sato-Vartia price index is upward biased because an increase in the relative consumer taste for a variety lowers its taste-adjusted price and raises its expenditure share. By failing to allow for this association, the Sato-Vartia index underweights drops in taste-adjusted prices and overweights increases in taste-adjusted prices, leading to what we call a “taste-shock bias.” We show that this bias generalizes to other invertible demand systems.
Assessing the potential of multi-seasonal high resolution Pléiades satellite imagery for mapping urban tree species.

Abstract This study evaluated the potential of five seasonal high resolution Pleiades satellite images for improving urban tree species classification in the City of Tampa, FL, USA. We assessed and compared the capabilities of individual and combined Pleiades images acquired during different seasons for classifying the urban tree species to understand the seasonal effect on tree species mapping accuracy. The seven species and groups included sand live oak (Quercus geminata), laurel oak (Q. laurifolia), live oak (Q. virginiana), pine (species group), palm (species group), camphor (Cinnamomum camphora), and magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora). A multi-level classification system was adopted to classify image objects of the tree species and groups. Species classification performance was compared between the five individual seasonal Pleiades images, between two combined dry-wet season images, and between the optimal single season and combined dry-wet season image data. Shade image objects were spectrally normalized to similar sunlit image objects. The tree species fraction features were extracted from the seasonal images using the Mixture Tuned Matching Filtering approach and used as additional features to a set of spectral and spatial/textural features. Random Forest, Support Vector Machine and Linear Discriminant Analysis classifiers were used to classify the seven tree species and groups with image objects features. The experimental results indicate significantly improved tree species mapping accuracies using late spring season (April) image compared to all other seasonal images (p
On the filtered symplectic homology of prequantization bundles

We study Reeb dynamics on prequantization circle bundles and the filtered (equivariant) symplectic homology of prequantization line bundles, aka negative line bundles, with symplectically aspherica...
Prediction Accuracy of the Dynamic Structure-Function Model for Glaucoma Progression Using Contrast Sensitivity Perimetry and Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether combining a structural measure with contrast sensitivity perimetry (CSP), which has lower test-retest variability than static automated perimetry (SAP), reduces prediction error with 2 models of glaucoma progression. Methods In this retrospective analysis, eyes with 5 visits with rim area (RA), SAP, and CSP measures were selected from 2 datasets. Twenty-six eyes with open-angle glaucoma were included in the analyses. For CSP and SAP, mean sensitivity (MS) was obtained by converting the sensitivity values at each location from decibel (SAP) or log units (CSP) to linear units, and then averaging all values. MS and RA values were expressed as percent of mean normal based on independent normative data. Data from the first 3 and 4 visits were used to calculate errors in prediction for the fourth and fifth visits, respectively. Prediction errors were obtained for simple linear regression and the dynamic structure-function (DSF) model. Results With linear regression, the median prediction errors ranged from 6% to 17% when SAP MS and RA were used and from 9% to 17% when CSP MS and RA were used. With the DSF model, the median prediction errors ranged from 6% to 11% when SAP MS and RA were used and from 7% to 16% when CSP MS and RA were used. Conclusions The DSF model had consistently lower prediction errors than simple linear regression. The lower test-retest variability of CSP in glaucomatous defects did not, however, result in lower prediction error.
Variance and Reliability in Special Educator Observation Rubrics

This study describes the development and initial psychometric evaluation of the Recognizing Effective Special Education Teachers (RESET) observation instrument. The study uses generalizability theo...
Heavy-Traffic Analysis of QoE Optimality for On-Demand Video Streams Over Fading Channels

This paper proposes online scheduling policies to optimize quality of experience (QoE) for video-on-demand applications in wireless networks. We consider wireless systems, where an access point transmits video content to clients over fading channels. The QoE of each flow is measured by its duration of video playback interruption. We are specifically interested in systems operating in the heavy-traffic regime. We first consider a special case of ON–OFF channels plus constant-bit-rate videos and establish a scheduling policy that achieves every point in the capacity region under heavy-traffic conditions. This policy is then extended for more general fading channels and variable-bit-rate videos, and we prove that it remains optimal under some mild conditions. We then formulate a network utility maximization problem based on the QoE of each flow. We demonstrate that our policies achieve the optimal overall utility when their parameters are chosen properly. Finally, we compare our policies against three popular policies. Simulation and experimental results validate that the proposed policies indeed outperform existing policies.
Restricted Localization of Photosynthetic Intracytoplasmic Membranes (ICMs) in Multiple Genera of Purple Nonsulfur Bacteria.

ABSTRACT In bacteria and eukaryotes alike, proper cellular physiology relies on robust subcellular organization. For the phototrophic purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB), this organization entails the use of a light-harvesting, membrane-bound compartment known as the intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM). Here we show that ICMs are spatially and temporally localized in diverse patterns among PNSB. We visualized ICMs in live cells of 14 PNSB species across nine genera by exploiting the natural autofluorescence of the photosynthetic pigment bacteriochlorophyll (BChl). We then quantitatively characterized ICM localization using automated computational analysis of BChl fluorescence patterns within single cells across the population. We revealed that while many PNSB elaborate ICMs along the entirety of the cell, species across as least two genera restrict ICMs to discrete, nonrandom sites near cell poles in a manner coordinated with cell growth and division. Phylogenetic and phenotypic comparisons established that ICM localization and ICM architecture are not strictly interdependent and that neither trait fully correlates with the evolutionary relatedness of the species. The natural diversity of ICM localization revealed herein has implications for both the evolution of phototrophic organisms and their light-harvesting compartments and the mechanisms underpinning spatial organization of bacterial compartments. IMPORTANCE Many bacteria organize their cellular space by constructing subcellular compartments that are arranged in specific, physiologically relevant patterns. The purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB) utilize a membrane-bound compartment known as the intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM) to harvest light for photosynthesis. It was previously unknown whether ICM localization within cells is systematic or irregular and if ICM localization is conserved among PNSB. Here we surveyed ICM localization in diverse PNSB and show that ICMs are spatially organized in species-specific patterns. Most strikingly, several PNSB resolutely restrict ICMs to regions near the cell poles, leaving much of the cell devoid of light-harvesting machinery. Our results demonstrate that bacteria of a common lifestyle utilize unequal portions of their intracellular space to harvest light, despite light harvesting being a process that is intuitively influenced by surface area. Our findings therefore raise fundamental questions about ICM biology and evolution.
Lessons from Natural Language Inference in the Clinical Domain

State of the art models using deep neural networks have become very good in learning an accurate mapping from inputs to outputs. However, they still lack generalization capabilities in conditions that differ from the ones encountered during training. This is even more challenging in specialized, and knowledge intensive domains, where training data is limited. To address this gap, we introduce MedNLI - a dataset annotated by doctors, performing a natural language inference task (NLI), grounded in the medical history of patients. We present strategies to: 1) leverage transfer learning using datasets from the open domain, (e.g. SNLI) and 2) incorporate domain knowledge from external data and lexical sources (e.g. medical terminologies). Our results demonstrate performance gains using both strategies.
Influence estimation and opinion-tracking over online social networks

This paper presents a restricted maximum likelihood-based algorithm to estimate who influences whose opinions and to what degree when agents share their opinions over large online social networks such as Twitter. The proposed algorithm uses multi-core processing and distributed computing to provide a scalable solution as the optimization problems are large in scale; a network with 10,000 agents and average connectivity of 100 requires estimates of about 1 million parameters. A computational study is then used to show that the estimates are efficient and robust when the full rank conditions for the covariance matrix are met. The results also highlight the importance of the quantity of the information being shared over the social network for the inference of the influence structure.
Optical TEMPEST

Research on optical TEMPEST has moved forward since 2002 when the first pair of papers on the subject emerged independently and from widely separated locations in the world within a week of each other. Since that time, vulnerabilities have evolved along with systems, and several new threat vectors have consequently appeared. Although the supply chain ecosystem of Ethernet has reduced the vulnerability of billions of devices through use of standardised PHY solutions, other recent trends including the Internet of Things (IoT) in both industrial settings and the general population, High Frequency Trading (HFT) in the financial sector, the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and inexpensive drones have made it relevant again for consideration in the design of new products for privacy. One of the general principles of security is that vulnerabilities, once fixed, sometimes do not stay that way.
Biomineral Structure and Strength of Barnacle Exoskeletons

The process of building organic-inorganic compound structures through biomineralization is extremely impressive and potentially very useful. During biomineral formation, organisms restructure simple, naturally occurring minerals in conjunction with their own organically produced minerals to create new structures, the functions of which often include protection or storage, among others. While there is extensive knowledge about materials properties and structure of the raw minerals themselves, insight into how specific biomineral structures and compounds contribute to an object’s mechanical properties is lacking. In this study, the exoskeletons of several barnacles from the genus Balanus were examined thoroughly, both for their physical structure (how they’re put together) and for their mechanical properties (tensile strength, hardness, and elasticity). Barnacles were chosen because of their abundance in salt-water environments; their early appearance in the fossil record; and their impact on the early studies of evolution. Scanning electron microscopy produced close-up, detailed images of the inner shell structure to determine what type of structure barnacles build during exoskeleton formation. In addition, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy was used to map the elemental components of the shells. Nanoindentation tested the mechanical properties of these mapped structures to determine how certain characteristics of the exoskeleton contribute to its hardness, strength, and elasticity.
Modeling anthropogenic noise impacts on animals in natural areas

Abstract Noise is a globally pervasive pollutant that can be detrimental to a range of animal species, with cascading effects on ecosystem functioning. As a result, concern about the impacts and expanding footprint of anthropogenic noise is increasing along with interest in approaches for how to mitigate its negative effects. A variety of modeling tools have been developed to quantify the spatial distribution and intensity of noise across landscapes, but these tools are under-utilized in landscape planning and noise mitigation. Here, we apply the Sound Mapping Tools toolbox to evaluate mitigation approaches to reduce the anthropogenic noise footprint of gas development, summer all-terrain vehicle recreation, and winter snowmobile use. Sound Mapping Tools uses models of the physics of noise propagation to convert measured source levels to landscape predictions of relevant sound levels. We found that relatively minor changes to the location of noise-producing activities could dramatically reduce the extent and intensity of noise in focal areas, indicating that site planning can be a cost-effective approach to noise mitigation. In addition, our snowmobile results, which focus on a specific frequency band important to the focal species, are consistent with previous research demonstrating that source noise level reductions are an effective means to reduce noise footprints. We recommend the use of quantitative, spatially-explicit maps of expected noise levels that include alternative options for noise source placement. These maps can be used to guide management decisions, allow for species-specific insights, and to reduce noise impacts on animals and ecosystems.
The relationship between financial planner use and holding a retirement saving goal: A propensity score matching analysis

It has been well established in the literature that financial advice leads to informed decision‐making and improved financial outcomes. However, there is limited evidence regarding the link between financial planner use and attitudes toward retirement saving. As financial planners provide comprehensive advice for the long‐term benefits of clients, their clients may become more aware of retirement saving as an important goal. We used data from the 2010 and 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances to examine the association between financial planner use and setting a retirement saving goal. We found that households who consulted a financial planner were more likely to report retirement as the motive for saving, even after we employed a propensity score matching technique to account for systematic differences between those who used and did not use financial planners. Our findings suggest that financial planners do help individuals achieve their long‐term financial objectives by highlighting the importance of retirement planning. The use of other types of financial professionals was not positively associated with the likelihood of setting retirement as an important saving goal in our main model. Full Text Available Here: https://doi.org/10.1002/cfp2.1008
Automatic Latent Fingerprint Segmentation

We present a simple but effective method for automatic latent fingerprint segmentation, called SegFinNet. SegFinNet takes a latent image as an input and outputs a binary mask highlighting the friction ridge pattern. Our algorithm combines fully convolutional neural network and detection-based approaches to process the entire input latent image in one shot instead of using latent patches. Experimental results on three different latent databases (i.e. NIST SD27, WVU, and an operational forensic database) show that SegFinNet outperforms both human markup for latents and the state-of-the-art latent segmentation algorithms. We further show that this improved cropping boosts the hit rate of a latent fingerprint matcher
Privacy-Preserving Outsourcing of Large-Scale Nonlinear Programming to the Cloud

The increasing massive data generated by various sources has given birth to big data analytics. Solving large-scale nonlinear programming problems (NLPs) is one important big data analytics task that has applications in many domains such as transport and logistics. However, NLPs are usually too computationally expensive for resource-constrained users. Fortunately, cloud computing provides an alternative and economical service for resource-constrained users to outsource their computation tasks to the cloud. However, one major concern with outsourcing NLPs is the leakage of user’s private information contained in NLP formulations and results. Although much work has been done on privacy-preserving outsourcing of computation tasks, little attention has been paid to NLPs. In this paper, we for the first time investigate secure outsourcing of general large-scale NLPs with nonlinear constraints. A secure and efficient transformation scheme at the user side is proposed to protect user’s private information; at the cloud side, generalized reduced gradient method is applied to effectively solve the transformed large-scale NLPs. The proposed protocol is implemented on a cloud computing testbed. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that significant time can be saved for users and the proposed mechanism has the potential for practical use.
Anomalies and News

Using a sample of 97 stock return anomalies, we find that anomaly returns are 50% higher on corporate news days and six times higher on earnings announcement days. These results could be explained by dynamic risk, mispricing due to biased expectations, or data mining. We develop and conduct several unique tests to differentiate between these three explanations. Our results are most consistent with the idea that anomaly returns are driven by biased expectations, which are at least partly corrected upon news arrival.
REDISTRIBUTION AND FISCAL UNCERTAINTY SHOCKS

This article studies the impact of fiscal uncertainty shocks. In micro data, noncapital holders reduce consumption persistently in response to an increase in fiscal uncertainty whereas capital holders do not. Motivated by this evidence, I introduce limited capital market participation and show that it magnifies the fall in economic activity due to a fiscal uncertainty shock and induces macroeconomic comovement. This is because the limited participation model captures individual uncertainty about redistribution. When agents are ambiguity averse, this uncertainty about redistribution has first‐order effects. As a result, the model successfully matches the empirical responses of macro and household variables.