cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
HeartBEAT: Heart beat estimation through adaptive tracking

In this paper, we propose an algorithm denoted as HeartBEAT that tracks heart rate from wrist-type photo-plethysmography (PPG) signals and simultaneously recorded three-axis acceleration data. HeartBEAT contains three major parts: spectrum estimation of PPG signals and acceleration data, elimination of motion artifacts in PPG signals using recursive least Square (RLS) adaptive filters, and auxiliary heuristics. We tested HeartBEAT on the 22 datasets provided in the 2015 IEEE Signal Processing Cup. The first ten datasets were recorded from subjects performing forearm and upper-arm exercises, jumping, or pushing-up. The last twelve datasets were recorded from subjects running on tread mills. The experimental results were compared to the ground truth heart rate, which comes from simultaneously recorded electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. Compared to state-of-the-art algorithms, HeartBEAT not only produces comparable Pearson's correlation and mean absolute error, but also higher Spearman's ρ and Kendall's τ.
On the universal family of Hilbert schemes of points on a surface

Abstract For a smooth quasi-projective surface X and an integer n ≥ 3 , we show that the universal family Z n over the Hilbert scheme Hilb n ( X ) of n points has non- Q -Gorenstein, rational singularities, and that the Samuel multiplicity μ at a closed point on Z n can be computed in terms of the dimension of the socle. We also show that μ ≤ n .
Creative natives in the digital age : how digital technology has revolutionized creative work

Digital technologies have permeated modern life, and their impact on creative work has been revolutionary. This revolution, as widely noted, has disrupted the making, distribution, and consumption of creative output. On the downside, key concerns include Internet-induced piracy and inequality. Yet digital technologies also accelerate opportunities. So, how can these opportunities be reaped to promote creative work for development? Suggestions here include closing the digital gender gap, promoting appropriate intellectual property rights, and providing digital literacy. More needs to be done to understand the benefits and limitations of digital technologies on creative work for human development.
On the Mechanism of Copper(I)-Catalyzed Azide–Alkyne Cycloaddition

The copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction regiospecifically produces 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazole molecules. This heterocycle formation chemistry has high tolerance to reaction conditions and substrate structures. Therefore, it has been practiced not only within, but also far beyond the area of heterocyclic chemistry. Herein, the mechanistic understanding of CuAAC is summarized, with a particular emphasis on the significance of copper/azide interactions. Our analysis concludes that the formation of the azide/copper(I) acetylide complex in the early stage of the reaction dictates the reaction rate. The subsequent triazole ring-formation step is fast and consequently possibly kinetically invisible. Therefore, structures of substrates and copper catalysts, as well as other reaction variables that are conducive to the formation of the copper/alkyne/azide ternary complex predisposed for cycloaddition would result in highly efficient CuAAC reactions. Specifically, terminal alkynes with relatively low pKa values and an inclination to engage in π-backbonding with copper(I), azides with ancillary copper-binding ligands (aka chelating azides), and copper catalysts that resist aggregation, balance redox activity with Lewis acidity, and allow for dinuclear cooperative catalysis are favored in CuAAC reactions. Brief discussions on the mechanistic aspects of internal alkyne-involved CuAAC reactions are also included, based on the relatively limited data that are available at this point.
HiperTM: High performance, fault-tolerant transactional memory

Abstract We present HiperTM, a high performance active replication protocol for fault-tolerant distributed transactional memory. The active replication processing paradigm allows transactions to execute locally, costing them only a single network communication step during transaction execution. Shared objects are replicated across all sites, avoiding remote object accesses. Replica consistency is ensured by a) OS-Paxos, an optimistic atomic broadcast layer that total-orders transactional requests, and b) SCC, a local speculative multi-version concurrency control protocol that enforces a commit order equivalent to transactions' delivery order. SCC executes write transactions serially without incurring any synchronization overhead, and runs read-only transactions in parallel (to write transactions) with non-blocking execution and abort-freedom. Our implementation reveals that HiperTM guarantees 0% of out-of-order optimistic deliveries and performance up to 3.5× better than atomic broadcast-based competitor (PaxosSTM) using the standard configuration of TPC-C benchmark.
Kinetic Profiling of Catalytic Organic Reactions as a Mechanistic Tool

The use of modern kinetic tools to obtain virtually continuous reaction progress data over the course of a catalytic reaction opens up a vista that provides mechanistic insights into both simple and complex catalytic networks. Reaction profiles offer a rate/concentration scan that tells the story of a batch reaction time course in a qualitative “fingerprinting” manner as well as in quantitative detail. Reaction progress experiments may be mathematically designed to elucidate catalytic rate laws from only a fraction of the number of experiments required in classical kinetic measurements. The information gained from kinetic profiles provides clues to direct further mechanistic analysis by other approaches. Examples from a variety of catalytic reactions spanning two decades of the author’s work help to delineate nuances on a central mechanistic theme.
Causal analysis of ordinal treatments and binary outcomes under truncation by death

It is common that in multi-arm randomized trials, the outcome of interest is "truncated by death," meaning that it is only observed or well-defined conditioning on an intermediate outcome. In this case, in addition to pairwise contrasts, the joint inference for all treatment arms is also of interest. Under a monotonicity assumption we present methods for both pairwise and joint causal analyses of ordinal treatments and binary outcomes in presence of truncation by death. We illustrate via examples the appropriateness of our assumptions in different scientific contexts.
Local selectivity of orders in central simple algebras

Let B be a central simple algebra of degree n over a number field K, and L ⊂ B be a strictly maximal subfield. We say that the ring of integers &#x1d4aa;L is selective if there exists an isomorphism class of maximal orders in B no element of which contains &#x1d4aa;L. In the present work, we consider a local variant of the selectivity problem and applications. We first prove a theorem characterizing which maximal orders in a local central simple algebra contain the global ring of integers &#x1d4aa;L by leveraging the theory of affine buildings for SLr(D) where D is a local central division algebra. Then as an application, we use the local result and a local–global principle to show how to compute a set of representatives of the isomorphism classes of maximal orders in B, and distinguish those which are guaranteed to contain &#x1d4aa;L. Having such a set of representatives allows both algebraic and geometric applications. As an algebraic application, we recover a global selectivity result, and give examples which clarify the interesting role of partial ramification in the algebra.
Mass Customization: Reuse of Digital Slicing for Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, enables production of complex customized shapes without requiring specialized tooling and fixture, and mass customization can then be realized with larger adoption. The slicing procedure is one of the fundamental tasks for 3D printing, and the slicing resolution has to be very high for fine fabrication, especially in the recent developed Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) process. The slicing procedure is then becoming the bottleneck in the pre-fabrication process, which could take hours for one model. This becomes even more significant in mass customization, where hundreds or thousands of models have to be fabricated. We observe that the customized products are generally in a same homogeneous class of shape with small variation. Our study finds that the slicing information of one model can be reused for other models in the same homogeneous group under a properly defined parameterization. Experimental results show that the reuse of slicing information have a maximum of 50 times speedup, and its utilization is dropped from more than 90% to less than 50% in the pre-fabrication process.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
Stiffness exponents for lattice spin glasses in dimensions d = 3,..., 6

The stiffness exponents in the glass phase for lattice spin glasses in dimensions $d = 3,\ldots,6$ are determined. To this end, we consider bond-diluted lattices near the T = 0 glass transition point p *. This transition for discrete bond distributions occurs just above the bond percolation point p c in each dimension. Numerics suggests that both points, p c and p *, seem to share the same 1/d-expansion, at least for several leading orders, each starting with 1/(2d). Hence, these lattice graphs have average connectivities of $\alpha = 2dp\gtrsim1$ near p * and exact graph-reduction methods become very effective in eliminating recursively all spins of connectivity $\leq3$ , allowing the treatment of lattices of lengths up to L = 30 and with up to 105-106 spins. Using finite-size scaling, data for the defect energy width $\sigma(\Delta E)$ over a range of p > p * in each dimension can be combined to reach scaling regimes of about one decade in the scaling variable $L(p-p^*)^{\nu^*}$ . Accordingly, unprecedented accuracy is obtained for the stiffness exponents compared to undiluted lattices (p = 1), where scaling is far more limited. Surprisingly, scaling corrections typically are more benign for diluted lattices. We find in $d = 3,\ldots,6$ for the stiffness exponents y 3 = 0.24(1), y 4 = 0.61(2), y 5 = 0.88(5), and y 6 = 1.1(1).
Inverse privacy

Seeking a market-based solution to the problem of a person's unjustified inaccessibility to their private information.
Diagnostic Reasoning Assessment Toolkit: Guided Reflection and Standardized Cases for At-Risk Final-Year Medical Students

Introduction A failing diagnostic reasoning performance may represent student deficiency in a number of potential areas. However, many standard clinical skills assessments do not offer detailed assessments of diagnostic reasoning ability. This toolkit was designed to identify specific learner deficiencies with respect to diagnostic reasoning by focusing on individual student remedial work and by standardizing faculty evaluation. Methods Educational objectives were derived from institutional patient care competency learning objectives at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Review of existing clinical skills remediation literature yielded a design that combined two learning methods: guided reflection and standardized patient cases. Results Over the 2014-2015 academic year, 12 final-year medical students used this resource to help develop an individual remedial learning plan prior to retaking a failed standardized assessment. Students were generally satisfied with the combined guided reflection and standardized case learning methods. Discussion Unique final-year medical student scheduling pressures, combined with a reporting time line for both institutional high-stakes OSCE remediation exams and the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills exam, incentivized failing students to schedule a retest on a short time line, often leaving little time for critical preparation. This resource offered an opportunity to efficiently spend limited preparation time to individualize exam preparation using a variety of faculty facilitators. The simplistic design was readily deployable to multiple faculty remediation mentors. Our institution can now provide a standardized diagnostic reasoning remedial evaluation using numerous clinical faculty based at any of our nine campuses.
Taxes in an e-commerce generation

Rapid growth in e-commerce has altered the ability of jurisdictions to enforce commodity taxes on a destination basis. This results in different effective tax rates depending on the way in which goods and services are purchased and the characteristics of both the products and the sellers. We discuss the arguments for the destination principle as the appropriate place-of-taxation rule for consumption taxation of cross-border trade. We analyze various recent reforms to the value-added tax in the European Union in response to e-commerce. We then examine various policy options in the USA—maintaining the status quo, changing nexus rules, states adopting information reporting, and national reforms that require firms to remit taxes regardless of physical presence—and relate them to the recent European reforms. We conclude based on our analysis and the recent European Union experience that reforms at the national level appear to be the important next step to enforcing commodity taxes at destination in the USA.
An experimental distributed framework for distributed Simultaneous Localization and Mapping

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) is widely used in applications such as rescue, navigation, semantic mapping, augmented reality and home entertainment applications. Most of these applications would do better if multiple devices are used in a distributed setting. The distributed SLAM research would benefit if there is a framework where the complexities of network communication is already handled. In this paper we introduce such framework utilizing open source Robot Operating System (ROS) and VirtualBox virtualization software. Furthermore, we describe a way to measure communication statistics of the distributed SLAM system.
Safety of Direct Oral Anticoagulants: Insights from Postmarketing Studies

Abstract Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been marketed in the United States since 2010. While numerous large-scale prospective phase 3 outcomes studies have documented the effectiveness of DOACs for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, the primary safety concern with all of these drugs—as it is with the more established oral anticoagulant warfarin—is the risk of major bleeding. Postmarketing surveillance studies (PMSS) provide the opportunity to evaluate the safety of these recently approved drugs across a spectrum of patients that may be broader than those included in randomized controlled trials. This review will summarize the safety findings of numerous recently performed, large-scale PMSS evaluations, and consider the currently available evidence regarding the risks for bleeding in patients treated with DOACs, in order to give providers and patients additional evidence regarding the safety of DOACs.
The Efficiency of Race-Neutral Alternatives to Race-Based Affirmative Action: Evidence from Chicago's Exam Schools

Several public K-12 and university systems have recently shifted from race-based affirmative action plans to race-neutral alternatives. This paper explores the degree to which race-neutral alternatives are effective substitutes for racial quotas using data from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), where a race-neutral, place-based affirmative action system is used for admissions at highly competitive exam high schools. We develop a theoretical framework that motivates quantifying the efficiency cost of race-neutral policies by the extent admissions decisions are distorted more than needed to achieve a given level of diversity. According to our metric, CPS's race-neutral system is 24% and 20% efficient as a tool for increasing minority representation at the top two exam schools, i.e. about three-fourths of the reduction in composite scores could have been avoided by explicitly considering race. Even though CPS's system is based on socioeconomic disadvantage, it is actually less effective than racial quotas at increasing the number of low-income students. We examine several alternative race-neutral policies and find some to be more efficient than the CPS policy. What is feasible varies with the school's surrounding neighborhood characteristics and the targeted level of minority representation. However, no race-neutral policy restores minority representation to prior levels without substantial inefficiency, implying significant efficiency costs from prohibitions on affirmative action policies that explicitly consider race.
A Call for Openness in Research Reporting: How to Turn Covert Practices Into Helpful Tools

Research articles often give inaccurate information about how researchers developed hypotheses, analyzed data, and drew conclusions. Published articles sometimes report only some hypotheses that re...
SmartBuilds: An Energy and Power Simulation Framework for Buildings and Districts

We introduce a district level multiple buildings energy and power simulation framework. At the building level, the proposed simulation framework, SmartBuilds, leverages EnergyPlus as the core simulation engine for building energy assessment, thereby benefiting from the capabilities of a widely accepted and used state-of-the-art modeling tool. Building models may include batteries for energy storage and renewable energy generators: PV arrays and wind turbines. At the district level, one of the main goals is to provide a versatile platform for the simulation and optimization of the interaction between the electric grid and buildings as well as of the interaction between buildings. Because buildings can participate in intelligent social-like activities through which energy tokens/budgets can be exchanged, the tools provide collective optimization opportunities beyond the usual techniques applied at building level. This paper introduces SmartBuilds’ architecture and demonstrates its usefulness in scenarios where multiple buildings are simulated concurrently to assess and seek operating schedules for battery energy storage systems that minimize the overall energy consumption at the district level.
Linkages between clinical practices and community organizations for prevention: a literature review and environmental scan.

Context A literature review and environmental scan were conducted to develop a framework for interventions that utilize linkages between clinical practices and community organizations for the delivery of preventive services, and to identify and characterize these efforts. Evidence acquistion A search was made of four major health services and social science electronic databases and an Internet search was conducted to identify examples of linkage interventions in the areas of tobacco cessation, obesity, nutrition, and physical activity. Evidence synthesis In all, 49 interventions were identified, of which 18 examples described their evaluation methods or reported any intervention outcomes. Few conducted evaluations that were rigorous enough to capture changes in intermediate or long-term health outcomes. Outcomes in these evaluations were primarily patient-focused and did not include organizational or linkage characteristics. Conclusions An attractive option to increase the delivery of preventive services is to link primary care practices to community organizations; evidence is not yet conclusive, however, that such linkage interventions are effective. Findings provide recommendations to researchers and organizations that fund research, and call for a framework and metrics to study linkage interventions.
Connecting Program Synthesis and Reachability: Automatic Program Repair Using Test-Input Generation

We prove that certain formulations of program synthesis and reachability are equivalent. Specifically, our constructive proof shows the reductions between the template-based synthesis problem, which generates a program in a pre-specified form, and the reachability problem, which decides the reachability of a program location. This establishes a link between the two research fields and allows for the transfer of techniques and results between them.
Perspective Transformer Nets: Learning Single-View 3D Object Reconstruction without 3D Supervision

Understanding the 3D world is a fundamental problem in computer vision. However, learning a good representation of 3D objects is still an open problem due to the high dimensionality of the data and many factors of variation involved. In this work, we investigate the task of single-view 3D object reconstruction from a learning agent's perspective. We formulate the learning process as an interaction between 3D and 2D representations and propose an encoder-decoder network with a novel projection loss defined by the projective transformation. More importantly, the projection loss enables the unsupervised learning using 2D observation without explicit 3D supervision. We demonstrate the ability of the model in generating 3D volume from a single 2D image with three sets of experiments: (1) learning from single-class objects; (2) learning from multi-class objects and (3) testing on novel object classes. Results show superior performance and better generalization ability for 3D object reconstruction when the projection loss is involved.
Self-interacting Dark Matter Without Direct Detection Constraints

Abstract We explore the self-interacting dark matter scenario in a simple dark sector model where the dark matter interacts through a dark photon. Splitting a Dirac fermion dark matter into two levels using a small Majorana mass can evade strong direct detection constraints on the kinetic mixing between the dark and normal photons, thus allowing the dark sector to be more visible at high intensity and/or high energy experiments. It is pointed out that such a mass splitting has a strong impact on the dark matter self-interaction strength. We derive the new parameter space of a pseudo-Dirac self-interacting dark matter. Interestingly, with increasing mass splitting, a weak scale dark matter mass window survives that could be probed by the LHC and future colliders.
Large-Area Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detector With Double-Stage Avalanche Structure

We propose a novel design of superconducting nanowire avalanche photodetectors (SNAPs), which combines the advantages of multistage avalanche SNAPs to lower the avalanche current $I_{AV}$ and that of series-SNAPs to reduce the reset time. As proof of principle, we fabricated 800 devices with large detection area (15 μm × 15 μm) and five different designs on a single silicon chip for comparison, which include standard SNSPDs, series-3-SNAPs, and our modified series-SNAPs with double-stage avalanche structure 2*2-SNAPs, 2*3-SNAPs, and 3*3-SNAPs. The former three types of the detectors demonstrate fully saturated device detection efficiencies of ∼20% while the latter two types are latching at larger bias currents. In addition, the $I_{AV}$ of 2*2-SNAPs is only 64% of the switching current $I_{SW}$ that is lower than series-3-SNAPs (74%) and well below that of 4-SNAPs (84%) reported elsewhere. We also measure that the exponential decay times of the detectors are proportional to $1/ n^{2}$ due to the lack of external choke inductors. In particular, the decay time of 3*3-SNAPs is only 0.89 ns compared to the standard SNSPDs’ 63.2 ns, showing the potential to attain GHz counting rates.
Photoredox activation of carbon dioxide for amino acid synthesis in continuous flow

Although carbon dioxide (CO2) is highly abundant, its low reactivity has limited its use in chemical synthesis. In particular, methods for carbon-carbon bond formation generally rely on two-electron mechanisms for CO2 activation and require highly activated reaction partners. Alternatively, radical pathways accessed via photoredox catalysis could provide new reactivity under milder conditions. Here we demonstrate the direct coupling of CO2 and amines via the single-electron reduction of CO2 for the photoredox-catalysed continuous flow synthesis of α-amino acids. By leveraging the advantages of utilizing gases and photochemistry in flow, a commercially available organic photoredox catalyst effects the selective α-carboxylation of amines that bear various functional groups and heterocycles. The preliminary mechanistic studies support CO2 activation and carbon-carbon bond formation via single-electron pathways, and we expect that this strategy will inspire new perspectives on using this feedstock chemical in organic synthesis.
Modeling Route Choice of Utilitarian Bikeshare Users with GPS Data

To understand a bicyclist’s route choice is difficult, given the many factors that influence the attractiveness of different routes. The advent of low-cost GPS devices has made route choice analysis more precise. Bikeshare, with instrumented bikes, allows for better assessment of revealed route preference of a large subpopulation of cyclists. This study used GPS data obtained from 9,101 trips made by 1,866 users of Grid Bikeshare, Phoenix, Arizona. This unique bikeshare system relied on Social Bicycles’ onboard telematics, which allowed nonstation origins and destinations, and operated on a grid street network. The system enabled unique route choice analysis. The trips studied included only direct utilitarian trips. Circuitous trips that could have included multiple destinations or could have been recreational trips were removed. The analysis focused on facility use assessment and route choice behavior. The results were compared between two categories of bikeshare users: registered users and casual users....
On the DLW conjectures

Abstract In 2007, Dmytrenko, Lazebnik and Williford posed two related conjectures about polynomials over finite fields. Conjecture 1 is a claim about the uniqueness of certain monomial graphs. Conjecture 2 , which implies Conjecture 1 , deals with certain permutation polynomials of finite fields. Two natural strengthenings of Conjecture 2 , referred to as Conjecture A , Conjecture B in the present paper, were also insinuated. In a recent development, Conjecture 2 and hence Conjecture 1 have been confirmed. The present paper gives a proof of Conjecture A .
Accounting for changing returns to experience

Returns to experience for U.S. workers have changed over the post-war period. This paper argues that a simple model goes a long way towards replicating these changes. The model features three well-known ingredients: (i) an aggregate production function with constant skill-biased technical change; (ii) cohort qualities that vary with average years of schooling; and crucially (iii) time-invariant age-efficiency profiles. The model quantitatively accounts for changes in longitudinal and cross-sectional returns to experience, as well as the differential evolution of the college wage premium for young and old workers.
Interactions of Ceramic, Metallic and Polymeric Filters with Gaseous Contaminants

Outgassing characteristics of ceramic, metallic, and polymeric filters for H2O, O2, CO2, and CH4 were explored using APIMS. The outgassing data have been normalized with respect to the parameters that varied from one filter to the other. Hydrocarbon outgassing is also explored both at room temperature from freshly installed filters and at elevated temperatures. Polymeric filters appeared to be more transparent but did show hydrocarbon outgassing when heated to 50°C.
Clinical response to dorsal duct drainage via the minor papilla in refractory obstructing chronic calcific pancreatitis.

Background and study aims Complete stone removal from the main pancreatic duct might not be achieved in all patients with obstructive chronic calcific pancreatitis. We report our results for endoscopic dorsal pancreatic duct (DPD) bypass of obstructing stones in the ventral pancreatic duct (VPD). Patients and methods 16 patients with obstructive chronic calcific pancreatitis were treated with a DPD bypass. Clinical success was defined as significant pain relief and no hospital admissions for pain management during the ongoing treatment period. Results Among 16 patients meeting entry criteria, 10 (62.5 %) had a history of unsuccessful endoscopic therapy, and 8 had failed extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL). Clinical success was achieved in 12 patients (75 %). Among these responders, 10 patients (83.3 %) had markedly improved or complete pain relief after the first stent placement, which persisted throughout the follow-up period; 11 patients (91.7 %) were able to discontinue their daily analgesics. Conclusions In selected patients with obstructive chronic calcific pancreatitis, the DPD bypass may be considered as a rescue endoscopic therapy, potentially obviating the need for surgery when standard endoscopic methods and ESWL fail.
Converse Sturm-Hurwitz-Kellogg theorem and related results

We prove that if Vn is a Chebyshev system on the circle and f is a continuous real-valued function with at least n + 1 sign changes then there exists an orientation preserving diffeomorphism of S1 that takes f to a function L2-orthogonal to V. We also prove that if f is a function on the real projective line with at least four sign changes then there exists an orientation preserving diffeomorphism of \({\mathbb{RP}}^1\) that takes f to the Schwarzian derivative of a function on \({\mathbb{RP}}^1\). We show that the space of piecewise constant functions on an interval with values ± 1 and at most n + 1 intervals of constant sign is homeomorphic to n-dimensional sphere.
RADIOLOGIC EVALUATION OF PATIENTS REVISED FOR STIFFNESS AFTER TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY

Introduction Stiffness after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been reported to occur due to component malpositioning and/or oversizing, improper femoral component (FC) flexion and tibial component (TC) slope, tight extension gap, inaccurate joint line placement, deficient posterior osteophyte resection, heterotopic ossification (HO), poor patellofemoral joint reconstruction, poor posterior condylar offset restoration, and/or posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) under-resection or retraction. However, the importance of these potential factors for stiffness are not well documented in the medical literature. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate specific radiographic parameters in patients who had stiffness after primary TKA. Material and Methods An IRB-approved retrospective chart review was performed to identify patients that were revised due to stiffness after TKA. We defined stiffness as 15o or more of flexion contraction, less than 75o of flexion or a range of motion (ROM) of 90o with the chief complaint of limited ROM and pain. Patients with history of previous revisions and/or ORIF, infection, or isolated polyethylene exchange were excluded. Patients with a minimum of 1 year radiographic follow-up were included. Radiographic measurements were performed as described by the Knee Society TKA Roentgenographic Evaluation System (KSRES). Two blinded observers performed all measurements. Descriptive data is reported as mean (range). Inter-observer correlations were reported using Intraclass correlations coefficient (ICC). Results A total of 44 patients met the inclusion criteria. Of those, 13 (30%) were male and 31 (70%) were female. Mean BMI was 33.9 kg/m2 (19.5–58). ICCs ranged from good to excellent (>0.8) for all measurements performed. Coronal FC and TC alignments were 95.29o (82.4o–100.6o) and 89.16o (84.4o–94.2o) respectively. HO ranged from 0 to 3 (0:43%, 1:36%, 2:11%, 3:10%). FC-Flexion and TC-slope were 10.17 (3.5–19.8) and 86.7 (61.2–99.2) respectively. Insall-Salvati ratio was 1.01 (0.58–2.04). Posterior condylar offset (CO) ratio was 0.51 (0.34–1.11). Anterior CO ratio was 0.2 (0–0.34). Anterior femoral cortex notching ranged from 0 to 3 (0:39%, 1:43%, 2:14%, 3:4%). Femoral posterior osteophytes were observed in 32% of patients. A gap between the anterior flange and the femoral cortex was observed in 45% of patients. The patella was resurfaced in 93% of patients with a mean patellar tilt and patellar displacement of 5.34o (−8.9o to 5.34o) and 9.88% (−5 to 41%) respectively. Conclusion To our knowledge this is the first study reporting specific radiographic data on postoperative stiffness following primary TKA. From the observed radiographic measurements, the increased mean femoral component flexion, the high amount of postoperative HO and posterior osteophytes, and the anterior cortical and component gap suggest possible risk factors influencing the occurrence of postoperative stiffness. Future focus will include a matched control population of patients in order to establish statistical significance of all observed values.
Inefficient liquidity provision

We prove that in competitive market economies with no insurance for idiosyncratic risks, agents will always overinvest in illiquid long-term assets and underinvest in short-term liquid assets. We take as our setting the seminal model of Diamond and Dybvig (J Polit Econ 91(3):401–419, 1983), who first posed the question in a tractable model. We reach such a simple conclusion under mild conditions because we stick to the basic competitive market framework, avoiding the banks and intermediaries that Diamond and Dybvig (1983) and others introduced.
Autonomous vehicles: Developing a public health research agenda to frame the future of transportation policy

Abstract Recent advancements in autonomous vehicle technology have led to projections that fully autonomous vehicles could define the transportation network within the coming years. In preparation for this disruptive innovation in transportation technology, transportation scholars have started to assess the potential impacts of autonomous vehicles, and transportation policymakers have started to formulate policy recommendations and regulatory guidance concerning their deployment. However, there has been little analysis of the public health implications arising from the widespread adoption of fully autonomous vehicles. We examine these prospective public health impacts—both benefits and harms to individual and population health—and analyze how they can be considered in the development of transportation policy. In this manuscript, we discuss the evolving relationship between technological innovations in transportation and public health, conceptualize automated transportation as a disruptive technology necessitating a public policy response, and define a research agenda to examine the public health implications of autonomous vehicle policy, as seen through existing evidence on road casualties, environmental health, aging populations, non-communicable disease, land use, and labor markets. We conclude that such a public health research agenda would provide a basis to frame autonomous vehicle policies that best support the public's health, realize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to ensure healthy lives and create sustainable cities, and provide a basis for public health participation in transportation policy reforms.
Provider-specific quality measurement for ERCP using natural language processing

Background and Aims Natural language processing (NLP) is an information retrieval technique that has been shown to accurately identify quality measures for colonoscopy. There are no systematic methods by which to track adherence to quality measures for ERCP, the highest risk endoscopic procedure widely used in practice. Our aim was to demonstrate the feasibility of using NLP to measure adherence to ERCP quality indicators across individual providers. Methods ERCPs performed by 6 providers at a single institution from 2006 to 2014 were identified. Quality measures were defined using society guidelines and from expert opinion, and then extracted using a combination of NLP and data mining (eg, ICD9-CM codes). Validation for each quality measure was performed by manual record review. Quality measures were grouped into preprocedure (5), intraprocedure (6), and postprocedure (2). NLP was evaluated using measures of precision and accuracy. Results A total of 23,674 ERCPs were analyzed (average patient age, 52.9 ± 17.8 years, 14,113 were women [59.6%]). Among 13 quality measures, precision of NLP ranged from 84% to 100% with intraprocedure measures having lower precision (84% for precut sphincterotomy). Accuracy of NLP ranged from 90% to 100% with intraprocedure measures having lower accuracy (90% for pancreatic stent placement). Conclusions NLP in conjunction with data mining facilitates individualized tracking of ERCP providers for quality metrics without the need for manual medical record review. Incorporation of these tools across multiple centers may permit tracking of ERCP quality measures through national registries.
Methodology to Assess Potential Glint and Glare Hazards From Concentrating Solar Power Plants: Analytical Models and Experimental Validation

With a growing number of concentrating solar power systems being designed and developed, the potential impact of glint and glare from concentrating solar collectors and receivers is receiving increased attention as a potential hazard or as a distraction for motorists, pilots, and pedestrians. This paper provides analytical methods to evaluate the irradiance originating from specularly and diffusely reflecting sources as a function of distance and characteristics of the source. Sample problems are provided for both specular and diffuse sources, and validation of the models is performed via testing. In addition, a summary of safety metrics is compiled from the literature to evaluate the potential hazards of calculated irradiances from glint and glare for short-term exposures. Previous safety metrics have focused on prevention of permanent eye damage (e.g., retinal burn). New metrics used in this paper account for temporary after-image, which can occur at irradiance values several orders of magnitude lower than the irradiance values required for irreversible eye damage.
Transmission bottleneck size estimation from pathogen deep-sequencing data, with an application to human influenza A virus

The bottleneck governing infectious disease transmission describes the size of the pathogen population transferred from the donor to the recipient host. Accurate quantification of the bottleneck size is particularly important for rapidly evolving pathogens such as influenza virus, as narrow bottlenecks reduce the amount of transferred viral genetic diversity and, thus, may decrease the rate of viral adaptation. Previous studies have estimated bottleneck sizes governing viral transmission by using statistical analyses of variants identified in pathogen sequencing data. These analyses, however, did not account for variant calling thresholds and stochastic viral replication dynamics within recipient hosts. Because these factors can skew bottleneck size estimates, we introduce a new method for inferring bottleneck sizes that accounts for these factors. Through the use of a simulated data set, we first show that our method, based on beta-binomial sampling, accurately recovers transmission bottleneck sizes, whereas other methods fail to do so. We then apply our method to a data set of influenza A virus (IAV) infections for which viral deep-sequencing data from transmission pairs are available. We find that the IAV transmission bottleneck size estimates in this study are highly variable across transmission pairs, while the mean bottleneck size of 196 virions is consistent with a previous estimate for this data set. Furthermore, regression analysis shows a positive association between estimated bottleneck size and donor infection severity, as measured by temperature. These results support findings from experimental transmission studies showing that bottleneck sizes across transmission events can be variable and influenced in part by epidemiological factors.IMPORTANCE The transmission bottleneck size describes the size of the pathogen population transferred from the donor to the recipient host and may affect the rate of pathogen adaptation within host populations. Recent advances in sequencing technology have enabled bottleneck size estimation from pathogen genetic data, although there is not yet a consistency in the statistical methods used. Here, we introduce a new approach to infer the bottleneck size that accounts for variant identification protocols and noise during pathogen replication. We show that failing to account for these factors leads to an underestimation of bottleneck sizes. We apply this method to an existing data set of human influenza virus infections, showing that transmission is governed by a loose, but highly variable, transmission bottleneck whose size is positively associated with the severity of infection of the donor. Beyond advancing our understanding of influenza virus transmission, we hope that this work will provide a standardized statistical approach for bottleneck size estimation for viral pathogens.
ARE MEDIAL PIVOT KINEMATICS WITH SENSOR-GUIDED TECHNOLOGY CORRELATED WITH OUTCOMES AFTER TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY?

INTRODUCTION The purpose of TKA is to restore normal kinematics and functioning to diseased knees. The purpose of this study was to determine whether intraoperative kinematic data are correlated with minimum one-year outcomes following primary TKA. METHODS We reviewed data on 185 consecutive primary TKAs in which sensor-embedded tibial trials were used to evaluate kinematic patterns following traditional ligament balancing. Procedures were performed by two board-certified arthroplasty surgeons. The same implant design and surgical approach was used for all knees. Contact locations on the medial and lateral condyles were recorded for each patient at 0°, 45° and 90° of flexion, and full flexion. Vector equations were created by contact locations on the medial and lateral sides and the vector intersections determined the center of rotation between each measurement position. Center of rotation was calculated as the average of vector intersections at 0 to 45°, 45 to 90°, and 90° to full flexion. If the average center of rotation was between 16 and 1000 mm of the contact location on the medial side it was considered a medial pivot knee. Knees were also classified as medial (16 to 200 mm on medial side), lateral (16 to 200 mm on lateral side), translating (> 200 mm medially or laterally), and other ( RESULTS Thirty-three TKAs were excluded to eliminate potential bias due to sensor device malfunction, atypical hardware, unresurfaced patella, surgery at a non-study hospital, or early postoperative infection, revision due to aseptic loosening, ipsilateral hip disease, and subsequent neurologic disease or death unrelated to the index TKA, resulting in a final sample size of 152 knees. Twelve (7.9%) patients were lost to follow-up, and two were excluded due to outlier values for average center of rotation. Seventy-five percent of the final sample was female. Mean age and BMI were 63.6 years 33.9, respectively. Average center of rotation ranged from −1017 to 1562 mm with negative signifying the lateral side. Medial pivot knees comprised 40% (55) of the total sample. Sex, age, height, surgeon, implant side, and implant type were unrelated to pivot classification. Patient weight (100.2 vs. 90.9 kg; p = 0.012) and BMI (35.5 vs. 32.8; p = 0.044) were greater in medial pivot knees. Controlling for BMI, KSSO, KSSF, KSSS, EQ5D, UCLA, and pain scores at latest follow-up did not differ in medial and non-medial pivot knees ( p ≥ 0.151). The amount of improvement in outcomes from preoperative baseline also did not differ in medial and non-medial pivot knees ( p ≥ 0.161). Outcomes did not vary among knees with translating medial, lateral, and other pivots ( p ≥ 0.065). DISCUSSION Our results suggest that a medial pivot kinematic pattern may not be a substantial governor of clinical success.
Out-of-time-ordered correlators in many-body localized systems

In many-body localized systems, propagation of information forms a light cone that grows logarithmically with time. However, local changes in energy or other conserved quantities typically spread only within a finite distance. Is it possible to detect the logarithmic light cone generated by a local perturbation from the response of a local operator at a later time? We numerically calculate various correlators in the random-field Heisenberg chain. While the equilibrium retarded correlator A(t = 0)B(t > 0) is not sensitive to the unbounded information propagation, the out-of-time-ordered correlator A(t = 0)B(t > 0)A(t = 0)B(t > 0) can detect the logarithmic light cone. We relate out-of-time-ordered correlators to the Lieb-Robinson bound in many-body localized systems, and show how to detect the logarithmic light cone with retarded correlators in specially designed states. Furthermore, we study the temperature dependence of the logarithmic light cone using out-of-time-ordered correlators.
Monopoly Rents and Foreign Direct Investment in Fixed Assets

In the past two decades, much of foreign direct investment in the primary sector has flowed to unconventional, politically risky destinations. This presents a puzzle for theories that emphasize the ex post immobility of --- and hence high potential expropriation risk for --- fixed asset investment. Existing theories overlook one critical aspect of fixed assets: large capital requirements and high sunk costs act as entry barriers, resulting in market concentration and strong firm incentive for monopoly rent extraction. Personalist dictatorships, we posit, provide an attractive institutional environment for fixed asset investors because the lack of institutional constraints and leaders' families' control of key economic sectors facilitate rent-seeking activities. We find that personalist dictatorships have significantly more foreign investment in the primary sector, and fixed-asset intensive industries in general, than other regimes. This study highlights the importance of accounting for heterogeneity among investors and political regimes to understand the politics of FDI.
Housing Constraints and Spatial Misallocation

We quantify the amount of spatial misallocation of labor across US cities and its aggregate costs. Misallocation arises because high productivity cities like New York and the San Francisco Bay Area have adopted stringent restrictions to new housing supply, effectively limiting the number of workers who have access to such high productivity. Using a spatial equilibrium model and data from 220 metropolitan areas we find that these constraints lowered aggregate US growth by more than 50% from 1964 to 2009.
Speed Limit of Thin-Epitaxy MTL/I 2 L

The various speed limiting influences in conventional MTL devices are investigated. Even with thin epitaxy, charge storage in the npn part remains the main speed detractor. Hence, the npn part should be improved firstly, e.g. using polysilicon techniques.
Pulsed Dye Laser for Treatment of Ureteral Calculi

SUMMARY The pulsed dye laser is safe and effective. The commercially available machine appears smoother to operate and far less cumbersome than its prototype. When access to the stone is through small (8.5-Fr) rigid ureteroscopes, the laser outperforms ultrasound and electrohydraulic lithotrites. With larger ureterosocopes, the laser has no particular advantage over ultrasound. When small, flexible steerable ureteroscopes are available, the laser will come into its own.
Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma: Comparison of MR Imaging With CT and I-131 MIBG Scintigraphy

To ascertain the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging characteristics of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas and to compare MR with computed tomography (CT) and iodine-131 metaiodobenzylguanidine (I-131 MIBG), 19 patients (18 with pheochromocytomas, one with a paraganglioma) were studied. The 18 patients with pheochromocytomas had had positive findings with I-131 MIBG scintigraphy. Abdominal pheochromocytomas were generally hypointense compared with normal liver on T1-weighted MR images and extremely hyperintense on T2-weighted MR images. MR imaging was preferable to CT in the evaluation of primary pheochromocytomas due to superior tissue characterization, particularly in the patient with hypertension and borderline catecholamine levels. For patients with recurrent or metastatic disease, the data suggest that I-131 MIBG scintigraphy is the examination of choice.