cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Studio sessions: Engineering epistemology, design pedagogy, and rhetoric

A new curriculum integrates writing instruction within a sequence of engineering design courses taught in a multidisciplinary studio format. Most closely associated with the disciplines of industrial design and architecture, design studios immerse students in an authentic problem-solving environment. In engineering education, on the other hand, varying specializations and skills within the engineering profession are divided into numerous special purpose courses, and students are not always fully supported in the necessary process of integrative learning. In particular, the domains of design and analysis are separated more often than they are blended. The rhetorical components of these activities are likewise relegated to a secondary status rather than an intrinsic part of engineering thinking. Based in interdisciplinary inquiry and practice, the engineering design studios are intended to combat students' tendency to dismiss or subordinate the skills, methods, and bodies of knowledge outside of their own major discipline or specialty.
Trauma Early Mortality Prediction Tool (TEMPT) for assessing 28-day mortality

Background Prior mortality prediction models have incorporated severity of anatomic injury quantified by Abbreviated Injury Severity Score (AIS). Using a prospective cohort, a new score independent of AIS was developed using clinical and laboratory markers present on emergency department presentation to predict 28-day mortality. Methods All patients (n=1427) enrolled in an ongoing prospective cohort study were included. Demographic, laboratory, and clinical data were recorded on admission. True random number generator technique divided the cohort into derivation (n=707) and validation groups (n=720). Using Youden indices, threshold values were selected for each potential predictor in the derivation cohort. Logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors. Significant variables were equally weighted to create a new mortality prediction score, the Trauma Early Mortality Prediction Tool (TEMPT) score. Area under the curve (AUC) was tested in the validation group. Pairwise comparison of Trauma Injury Severity Score (TRISS), Revised Trauma Score, Glasgow Coma Scale, and Injury Severity Score were tested against the TEMPT score. Results There was no difference between baseline characteristics between derivation and validation groups. In multiple logistic regression, a model with presence of traumatic brain injury, increased age, elevated systolic blood pressure, decreased base excess, prolonged partial thromboplastin time, increased international normalized ratio (INR), and decreased temperature accurately predicted mortality at 28 days (AUC 0.93, 95% CI 0.90 to 0.96, P Discussion TEMPT is a simple AIS-independent mortality prediction tool applicable very early following injury. TEMPT provides an AIS-independent score that could be used for early identification of those at risk of doing poorly following even minor injury. Level of evidence Level II.
Analysis of dense cellular networks with stretched exponential path loss

Distance-based attenuation is a critical aspect of wireless communications. As opposed to the ubiquitous power-law path loss model, this paper proposes a stretched exponential path loss model that is suitable for short-range communication. In this model, the signal power attenuates over a distance r as e−αrβ, where α, β are tunable parameters. We integrate this path loss model into a downlink cellular network with base stations modeled by a Poisson point process, and derive expressions for the coverage probability and area spectral efficiency. Although the most general result for coverage probability has a double integral, several special cases are given where the coverage probability has a compact or even closed form. We show that coverage probability collapses to zero for high base station densities. We next prove that the area spectral efficiency is non-decreasing with the base station density and converges to a constant for high densities.
TARGET CELL RECOGNITION BY NATURAL KILLER AND NATURAL CYTOTOXIC CELLS

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the target cell recognition by natural killer (NK) and natural cytotoxic cells. Natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity (NCMC) is the function of at least two distinct effector cell populations, NK, and natural cytotoxic cells. Studies from a number of laboratories have resulted in significant characterization of the effector populations; however, little is known regarding the nature and specificity of their respective target cell recognition structures. Cross cold target inhibition studies have been valuable in comparing a number of tumor cell lines for the presence or absence of such antigens. The inhibition of NK and NC cell activities by monosaccharides has led us to suggest that lectin-like receptors may be involved in the effector–target interaction. On the other hand, the isolation of a resistant variant of the NK susceptible L-5178 lymphoma has resulted in the association of the neutral glycolipid asialo-GM2 with NK-susceptibility. Antigens encoded by the major histocompatibility complex are involved in cell–cell interactions leading to the generation and function of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. The studies show that variant tumors with differences in susceptibility to NCMC represent possible models for the definition of NCMC target antigens.
Efficient Subspace Methods-Based Algorithms for Performing Sensitivity, Uncertainty, and Adaptive Simulation of Large-Scale Computational Models

This paper introduces the concepts and derives the mathematical theory of efficient subspace methods (ESMs) applied to the simulation of large-scale complex models, of which nuclear reactor simulat...
Gaugino Condensation and Geometry of the Perfect Square

Gaugino condensation plays a crucial role in the formation of dS vacua. However, the theory of this effect is still incomplete. In 4d the perfect square nature of gaugino couplings follows from the square of auxiliaries in the supergravity action. We explain here why the supersymmetric non-Abelian Dp-brane action, which is the basis for the theory of 10d gaugino condensation, must have a 4-gaugino coupling. This term in the Einstein-Yang-Mills 10d supergravity is a part of the perfect square, mixing a 3-form with gaugino bilinear. The perfect square term follows from the superspace geometry, being a square of the superspace torsion. The supercovariant equation of motion for gaugino on the non-Abelian Dp-brane also involves a supertorsion in agreement with the perfect square term in the action.
A rodent model using skeletal anchorage and low forces for orthodontic tooth movement.

Introduction Nonhuman animal models have been used extensively to study orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). However, rodent models have disadvantages, including a reported reduction in bone volume during OTM. The purpose of this study was to determine the viability of a skeletal anchorage and the effect of low force (∼3 cN) on interradicular bone volume during OTM. Methods Ninety Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 5 time points. A miniscrew and a nickel titanium coil spring placed a load of 3 cN (experimental) or 0 cN (sham) on the maxillary first molar in a split-mouth design. Displacement of the first molar and bone volume/total volume (BV/TV) in the interradicular region were quantified. Results The success rate of the miniscrew was 98.9% (89 out of 90). Linear and angular tooth movement increased steadily (mean 0.1 mm/wk, 0.48 mm at 40 days). BV/TV was significantly reduced between the tooth movement and non–tooth movement sides in the 3 cN group: by 13%, 23%, 15%, 23%, and 16% at 3, 7, 14, 28, and 40 days, respectively. Conclusions Our model resulted in efficient OTM without skeletal anchorage failure. BV/TV reduction was lower than in previous reports. This novel validated model is likely to be the basis for future studies.
Multifunctional infrared metasurfaces for polarization analysis

The emergence of metasurface technology and its accompanying design principles are enabling the development of optical components with multiple functionalities, e.g., polarization discrimination and focusing. In this report, we highlight our experimental results associated with the characterization of a reflective mid-wave infrared (mid-IR) metasurface designed for both imaging and polarization-specific beam splitting in the 4.2 through 4.8 m region of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. A large area metasurface (1 cm diameter), fabricated using nano-lithography, was observed to exhibit a high degree of discrimination between transverse electric (TE) and magnetic (TM) polarized light with near diffraction limited focusing.
Screening for Pancreatic Cancer

A 71-year-old woman comes to your office for a regularly scheduled visit. She has type 2 diabetes mellitus and a 50-pack-year smoking history, and had non-ulcer dyspepsia two years ago. Her body mass index is 32 kg per m2, and her blood pressure is normal.
Pediatric Subperiosteal Abscess Secondary to Acute Sinusitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS The surgical versus medical management of subperiosteal abscess can be controversial. The purpose of this study was to summarize current literature and provide pooled analyses to help direct management decisions. STUDY DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS Patients <18 years old with subperiosteal abscess secondary to acute sinusitis were reviewed, and a meta-analysis was conducted. Studies including five or more patients written in English were the primary search focus. RESULTS Thirty-eight studies met inclusion criteria for the systematic review, and seven studies contained sufficient data for the meta-analysis. A total of 1,167 patients between the ages of 10 days and 18 years were included. Eleven sign/symptom categories were identified, with restricted ocular motility (n = 289, 45.9%), proptosis (n = 277, 44%), and fever (n = 223, 35.4%) being most frequent. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen isolated from cultures. Patients with abscess volume greater than the threshold specified in each individual study were over three times more likely to require surgical intervention compared to those with smaller abscess volume (pooled risk ratio [RR] = 3.61, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.40-5.44). Proptosis and gaze restriction also significantly predicted surgical intervention (pooled RR = 1.65: 95% CI: 1.29-2.12 for proptosis/pooled RR = 1.90; 95% CI: 1.20-3.00 for gaze restriction). CONCLUSIONS Approximately half of patients with a subperiosteal abscess undergo surgical drainage. Abscess volume appears to be the most significant predictive risk factor. Detailed data from future studies regarding radiologic and ophthalmologic parameters are needed to provide more definitive values predictive of which patients are likely to fail medical therapy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 2a Laryngoscope, 2020.
State Created Fetal Harm

Half a century of abortion litigation might suggest that state governments have a longstanding commitment to protecting fetal life. And yet, over the last several decades, state governments and local law enforcement are increasingly taking steps that actively undermine fetal health. Through the passage of state fetal endangerment laws and the prosecution of pregnant women under stretched interpretations of existing criminal law, states are actively creating conditions that result in poorer fetal health outcomes — including an increase in fetal and infant death. This Article seeks to make three important contributions to the scholarly literature regarding the undesirability of fetal endangerment laws. First, it shows — for the first time through empirical evidence — that fetal endangerment laws fail to accomplish the state’s stated goal of protecting and promoting fetal and infant health. Second, it shows that these laws actually have a statistically significant negative impact on fetal and infant health. In particular, we examine the impact of Tennessee’s 2014 fetal endangerment law — a law which explicitly criminalized prenatal drug use — by analyzing comprehensive datasets on births, fetal deaths, and infant deaths. We find consistent evidence that this law undermined the ability of mothers to access prenatal care, worsened birth outcomes, and increased both fetal and infant death rates. For example, in 2015 alone, this law resulted in 20 more fetal deaths and 60 more infant deaths. Finally, based on this empirical evidence, this Article argues the Constitution prohibits states from either passing additional fetal endangerment laws or continuing to enforce current ones because such state action fails to survive even rational basis review.
Cooperative response of magnetism and superconductivity in the magnetic superconductor RbEuF e 4 A s 4

A friendly coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism is quite an unusual physical phenomenon. However, the authors find that in the new high-T${}_{c}$ magnetic superconductor RbEuFe${}_{4}$As${}_{4}$ the magnetic and superconducting subsystems show a remarkable cooperative response. In the external magnetic field, the magnetic Eu sublattice acts as an internal pump of the magnetic flux, while the superconducting component works as a valve controlling the flux entry through the pinning of flux-carrying Abrikosov vortices and establishes the self-organized critical state.
Money Talks: Finance, War, and Great Power Politics in the Nineteenth Century

Finance is often considered a constraining or compelling force in war. This article examines an alternative role of finance in war, asserting that investors can inform states about adversarial intentions and resolve under certain conditions. This signaling mechanism can reduce information asymmetry between states and decrease the probability of conflict. In the context of these theoretical expectations, I examine the case of Austria and the Rothschild Bank in the nineteenth century. I find that instead of being a constraining force on Austrian foreign policy, the Rothschilds helped inform Austria and other European powers during interstate crises. The information provided by the Rothschilds helped Europe avert war in several cases during the nineteenth century.
Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation (NIPPV) in Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure

Acute respiratory failure can present as acute-on-chronic respiratory failure in patients with preexisting pulmonary or cardiac disease or de novo respiratory failure secondary to acute disease states. Hypercapnic respiratory failure is associated with significant mortality and morbidity, including the need for ICU admission, endotracheal intubation, and increased length of hospitalization; the need for endotracheal intubation is also associated with morbidity and mortality. The use of NIPPV successfully to avoid endotracheal intubation has demonstrated a mortality benefit in certain patient populations. In particular, COPD patients presenting with hypercapnic acute respiratory failure and patients being weaned from mechanical ventilators after endotracheal extubation experience beneficial outcomes with NIPPV. For conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, and cardiogenic pulmonary edema, moderate strength evidence exists for use of NIPPV in certain clinical situations. In conditions such as neuromuscular diseases and chest wall disorders, asthma, hypercapnic pneumonia, and bronchiectasis, weaker and varying levels of evidence exist for NIPPV use. Although no guidelines exist for optimal NIPPV settings, assist control with gradual increase of IPAP with a goal of slowing respiratory rate is recommended. A larger amount of strong trials is necessary before establishing specific guidelines for NIPPV use in hypercapnic respiratory failure.
Thermal and spectroscopic analysis of nitrated compounds and their break-down products using gas chromatography/vacuum UV spectroscopy (GC/VUV).

Abstract Gas chromatography/vacuum UV spectroscopy (GC/VUV) was utilized to study various explosives and pharmaceuticals in the nitrate ester and nitramine structural classes. In addition to generating specific VUV spectra for each compound, VUV was used to indicate the onset of thermal decomposition based upon the appearance of break-down products such as nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, water, and molecular oxygen. The effect of temperature on decomposition could be fit to a logistical function where the fraction of intact compound remaining decreased as the transfer line/flow cell temperature was increased from 200 °C to 300 °C. Utilizing this relationship, the decomposition temperatures for the nitrate ester and nitramine compounds were determined to range between 244 °C and 277 °C. It was also discovered that the decomposition temperature was dependent on the GC carrier gas flow rate and, therefore, the residence time of the compounds in the transfer line/flow cell. For example, the measured decomposition temperature of nitroglycerine ranged from 222 °C to 253 °C across four flow rates. Tracking the appearance/disappearance of decomposition products across this temperature range indicated that NO, CO, and H2CO are final decomposition products while O2 and H2O are intermediate products. The decomposition temperatures for all explosives were highly correlated to similar decomposition measurements taken by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) (r = 0.91) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) (r = 0.90–0.98). In addition, the decomposition temperatures for all explosives were negatively correlated to the heat of explosion at constant volume (r = −0.68) and strongly positively correlated to the oxygen balance (r = 0.92).
Criticality of In-House Preparation of Viral Transport Medium in Times of Shortage During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective With the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been supply challenges necessitating that laboratories must prepare their own viral transport medium (VTM), which provides stability for clinical specimens for diagnostic viral testing. Methods Within a veteran affairs medical center clinical laboratory, VTM was prepared with a Hanks Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) 500 mL bottle with phenol red, sterile heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS), gentamicin sulfate (50 mg/mL), and amphotericin B (250 μg/mL). An antimicrobial mixture was made of 50 mL each of amphotericin B and gentamicin sulfate. Ten mL of FBS and 2 mL of the antimicrobial mixture were mixed into the HBSS bottle, from which 3 mL aliquots were made. Sterility and efficacy check were assessed. These preparations were conducted at our VAMC's clinical laboratory to assure adequate VTM supply during the COVID-19 shortage. Results The VTM was successfully prepared in-house, supporting uninterrupted testing for the facility and other affiliated medical facilities/centers and community living centers. Conclusion This quality assurance/improvement report represents the first published manuscript on feasible VTM preparation exclusively within a clinical microbiology laboratory during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Psychological Skills Training: A Qualitative Study of Singapore Coaches: 探討星加坡教練之心理技能訓練

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English; abstract also in Chinese.This is a qualitative study of the concerns that Singapore secondary school coaches have with psychological skills training (PST). Two hundred and three coaches were asked to complete the Stages of Concern Questionnaire. The coaches were categorized into four coaching levels. The survey data demonstrated high levels of informational and personal concerns of the lower level coaches and high consequence concerns for the club level and national youth coaches. A group of four coaches, one from each level of coaching agreed to be interviewed in connection with the study. The interview questions were based on an analysis of the survey data. Results of the study revealed three dominant lines of discourse which went beyond the use of PST in schools and which appeared to be systemic concerns about teaching physical education and coaching in public schools. These included issues were closely aligned to existing concepts prevalent in the professional socialisation literature including marginality, isolation and wash-out. It was considered that these concerns would have a negative effect on the likelihood of coaches introducing PST in local schools.本文嘗試探討星加坡中學體育敎練的心理技能訓練，203位敎練接受訪問，結果發現專業的社會化過程可能會影嚮敎練人員的心理技能訓練。
Neisseria gonorrhoeae: An Unexpected Cause of Polyarthritis and Meningitis:

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a gram-negative coccus, is a major cause of morbidity among sexually active individuals. Hematogenous spread of N gonorrhoeae from the initial site of infection is thought to occur in only 0.5% to 3% of infected patients. Disseminated gonococcal infections can rarely lead to serious sequelae, such as endocarditis or meningitis. In this article, we present a case that demonstrates a rare finding of disseminated gonococcal infection leading to N gonorrhoeae meningitis, complicated by hydrocephalus. The patient in this case initially presented with intermittent polyarthralgias for two years and later developed a rash. Cultures from blood and joint aspirate were negative. Urine nucleic acid amplification test for N gonorrhoeae was also negative. He was initially started on steroids for what was believed at first to be an autoimmune polyarthritis. The patient later developed acute encephalopathy. Head imaging revealed hydrocephalus. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis was consistent with bacterial meningitis. Blood, joint, and mucosal membrane studies failed to isolate the causative organism, but his cerebrospinal fluid grew N gonorrhoeae. He was treated with high-dose intravenous ceftriaxone for two weeks with rapid improvement in his mental status and resolution of his joint pains and rash.
Licensure: Exploring the Value of this Gateway to the Teacher Workforce

Abstract Empirical research bears out the conventional wisdom that teacher quality is the key schooling resource influencing student achievement, so it is not surprising that policy makers attempt to influence it by regulating admission into the teacher labor market through licensure systems. Most of these systems require teachers to graduate from an approved teacher training institution and pass one or more tests, the notion being that these preservice requirements ensure a basic level of teacher competence. A criticism, however, is that these requirements dissuade talented individuals from attempting to become teachers, thereby lowering the quality of teachers in the workforce. It is shocking how little we actually know about key aspects of the teacher licensure–teacher quality equation. The great majority of the empirical literature on licensure speaks to one crucial link in the teacher licensure–teacher quality equation: the correlation between licensure requirements and student achievement. In general this literature suggests only weak links between specific licensure requirements and student achievement. Far less evidence exists on the impact of licensure on the pool of potential teachers, or who school district hiring officials would employ in the face of fewer requirements, or the absence of requirements altogether.
Review of the Ultraviolet Flux Calibration

The practical difficulties in performing laboratory calibrations of instruments at ultraviolet wavelengths are considerably greater than at visible wavelengths, and the concommitant uncertainties are greater as well. In recent years theoretical models of white dwarf atmospheres have been adopted as UV flux standards, with impressive results. In this review, I will discuss the methodology of laboratory flux calibrations in the UV, the internal consistency and potential shortcomings of calibrations based on white dwarf model atmospheres, recent laboratory results, and future prospects.
Implementing remote procedure calls

Remote procedure calls (RPC) are a useful paradigm for providing communication across a network between programs written in a high level language. This paper describes a package, written as part of the Cedar project, providing a remote procedure call facility. The paper describes the options that face a designer of such a package, and the decisions we made. We describe the overall structure of our RPC mechanism, our facilities for binding RPC clients, the transport level communication protocol, and some performance measurements. We include descriptions of some optimisations we used to achieve high performance and to minimize the load on server machines that have many clients.Our primary aim in building an RPC package was to make the building of distributed systems easier. Previous protocols were sufficiently hard to use that only members of a select group of communication experts were willing to undertake the construction of distributed systems. We hoped to overcome this by providing a communication paradigm as close as possible to the familiar facilities of our high level languages. To achieve this aim, we concentrated on making remote calls efficient, and on making the semantics of remote calls as close as possible to those of local calls.
Compensation for Victims of Terrorism

When the Victims' Compensation Fund was established following the events of 9/11, it set off a series of debates on the logic of compensation for victims of terrorist acts. Why do we generally compensate for injuries, and how do injuries and deaths caused by acts of terrorism differ from those caused by more ordinary means? What criteria should we consider when determining compensation: the financial need or deprivation or the survivors? the negligence of a public or private entity? Professor Marshall Shapo delves into these and other questions as he teases out the lines of the debate to present a framework for future lawmakers faced with shaping compensation programs for terrorist victims.
Clustering, Hamming Embedding, Generalized LSH and the Max Norm

We study the convex relaxation of clustering and hamming embedding, focusing on the asymmetric case (co-clustering and asymmetric hamming embedding), understanding their relationship to LSH as studied by Charikar (2002) and to the max-norm ball, and the differences between their symmetric and asymmetric versions.
Taking the Oceanfront Lot

Oceanfront landowners and states share a property boundary that runs between the wet and dry parts of the shore. This legal coastline is different from an ordinary land boundary. First, on sandy beaches, the line is constantly in flux, and it cannot be marked except momentarily. Without the help of a surveyor and a court, neither the landowner nor a citizen walking down the beach has the ability to know exactly where the line lies. This uncertainty means that, as a practical matter, ownership of some part of the beach is effectively shared. Second, the common law establishes that the owner of each oceanfront lot holds easement-like interests in adjacent stateowned land; and, the state holds similar interests in the oceanfront lot. For these two reasons, the legal relationship between the oceanfront owner and the state is more interdependent than first might seem. It is much more than the usual neighbor relationship. Disputes over oceanfront property are often framed as cases of wrongful taking under the Fifth Amendment’s Just Compensation Clause. The Supreme Court has historically applied its standard takings test for determining whether or not a state is liable for the impact of its rules on a landowner’s rights. This Article is the first to examine the question of whether use of this standard test is optimal, or even logical, in cases between states and the owners of oceanfront land. Given the fact that climate change impacts such as sea-level rise are likely to increase rates of conflict along the legal coastline, the potential benefits of a test that takes into account the special relationship between these parties are significant. Support for an alternative test can be found in two sets of common law property rules, the upland rights and public trust doctrines, as well as in a mechanism that nineteenth-century courts used to resolve similar disputes. * Solomon Blatt Professor of Law and Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law, University of South Carolina School of Law. I am grateful for conversations with, or comments provided by, Eric Biber, Derek Black, Thomas P. Crocker, Lee Fennell, Pat Hubbard, Colin Miller, Dave Owen, Gregg Polsky, Nathan Richardson, J.B. Ruhl, Joseph Seiner, Ned Snow, and Buzz Thompson. 2 JOURNAL [VOL. ___: ___ ABSTRACT 1 1
DDSS: a low-overhead distributed data sharing substrate for cluster-based data-centers over modern interconnects

Information-sharing is a key aspect of distributed applications such as database servers and web servers. Information-sharing also assists services such as caching, reconfiguration, etc. In the past, information-sharing has been implemented using ad-hoc messaging protocols which often incur high overheads and are not very scalable. This paper presents a new design for a scalable and a low-overhead Distributed Data Sharing Substrate (DDSS). DDSS is designed to support efficient data management and coherence models by leveraging the features of modern interconnects. It is implemented over the OpenFabrics interface and portable across multiple interconnects including iWARP-capable networks in LAN/WAN environments. Experimental evaluations with networks like InfiniBand and iWARP-capable Ammasso through data-center services show an order of magnitude performance improvement and the load resilient nature of the substrate. Application-level evaluations with Distributed STORM achieves close to 19% performance improvement over traditional implementation, while evaluations with check-pointing application suggest that DDSS is highly scalable.
Pride and prejudice: employment discrimination against openly gay men in the United States.

This article presents the first large-scale audit study of discrimination against openly gay men in the United States. Pairs of fictitious resumes were sent in response to 1,769 job postings in seven states. One resume in each pair was randomly assigned experience in a gay campus organization, and the other resume was assigned a control organization. Two main findings have emerged. First, in some but not all states, there was significant discrimination against the fictitious applicants who appeared to be gay. This geographic variation in the level of discrimination appears to reflect regional differences in attitudes and antidiscrimination laws. Second, employers who emphasized the importance of stereotypically male heterosexual traits were particularly likely to discriminate against openly gay men. Beyond these particular findings, this study advances the audit literature more generally by covering multiple regions and by highlighting how audit techniques may be used to identify stereotypes that affect e...
The role of statistical models in biometric authentication

The current paper demonstrates the role of statistical models in authentication tasks – both in system development and in performance evaluation. We first introduce a model-based face authentication system based on the Fourier domain phase using Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) which yields verification error rates as low as 0.3% on a face database of 65 individuals with extreme illumination variations. We then present a statistical framework for predicting authentication error rates for future populations in a rigorous way. This is in contrast to most evaluation protocols used today that are based on observational studies and valid only for the databases at hand. Applications establish that our model-based approach has better predictive performance than an existing state-of-the-art authentication technique.
Vickrey-Clarke-Groves mechanisms in continuum economies: Characterization and existence☆

Abstract The equivalence in the finite agent model between the families of efficient dominant strategy and Vickrey-Clarke-Groves mechanisms is extended to continuum economies. The concept of an individual's marginal product is used to link the two families of mechanisms when agents are non-atomic. Unlike the finite agent model, feasible and efficient dominant strategy mechanisms exist in the continuum, but these mechanisms do not guarantee individual rationality. For individual rationality to hold, the environment must also satisfy full-appropriation : each individual receives a payoff exactly equal to his/her marginal product. Full-appropriation is shown to be equivalent to the condition that each individual fully internalizes any external effects he/she creates. Environments and examples are given that exhibit or fail to exhibit full-appropriation.
QuikSCAT wind retrievals for tropical cyclones

The use of QuikSCAT data for wind retrievls of tropical cyclones is described. The evidence of QuikSCAT /spl sigma//sub 0/ dependence on wind direction for >30 m/s wind speeds is presented. The QuikSCAT /spl sigma//sub 0/s show a peak-to-peak wind direction modulation of /spl sim/1 dB at 35 m/s wind speed, and the amplitude of modulation decreases with increasing wind speed. A correction of the QSCAT1 model function for above 23 m/s wind speed is proposed. We explored two microwave radiative transfer models to correct the effects of rain for wind retrievals. Both radiative transfer models have been used to retrieve the ocean wind vectors from the collocated QuikSCAT and SSM/I rain rate data for several tropical cyclones. The resulting wind speed estimates of these tropical cyclones show improved agreement with the wind fields derived from the best track analysis for up to about 15 mm/h SSM/I rain rate. A comparative analysis of maximum wind speed estimates suggests that other rain parameters likely have to be considered for further improvements.
Astrometric solar-system anomalies

There are at least four unexplained anomalies connected with astrometric data. Perhaps the most disturbing is the fact that when a spacecraft on a flyby trajectory approaches the Earth within 2000 km or less, it often experiences a change in total orbital energy per unit mass. Next, a secular change in the astronomical unit AU is definitely a concern. It is reportedly increasing by about 15 cm yr−1. The other two anomalies are perhaps less disturbing because of known sources of nongravitational acceleration. The first is an apparent slowing of the two Pioneer spacecraft as they exit the solar system in opposite directions. Some astronomers and physicists, including us, are convinced this effect is of concern, but many others are convinced it is produced by a nearly identical thermal emission from both spacecraft, in a direction away from the Sun, thereby producing acceleration toward the Sun. The fourth anomaly is a measured increase in the eccentricity of the Moon's orbit. Here again, an increase is expected from tidal friction in both the Earth and Moon. However, there is a reported unexplained increase that is significant at the three-sigma level. It is prudent to suspect that all four anomalies have mundane explanations, or that one or more anomalies are a result of systematic error. Yet they might eventually be explained by new physics. For example, a slightly modified theory of gravitation is not ruled out, perhaps analogous to Einstein's 1916 explanation for the excess precession of Mercury's perihelion.
Patents as options: path-dependency and patent value

Despite the growing importance of licence revenue to cash-strapped universities and research institutions, there has been no formal attempt to develop pricing models for patent licences. We recognise that patents are options on the stream of future revenues, and apply option-valuation techniques to determine licence prices. We find that accounting for path-dependency in licence revenue streams generates prices that more nearly approximate observed patent prices. While non-path-dependent prices yield conventional sensitivities to volatility, mean-reversion and returns-growth, path-dependent prices show highly non-linear comparative statics. These results are important both for patent licensees and for licensors seeking to maximise licence revenue.
New scaling relation for information transfer in biological networks

We quantify characteristics of the informational architecture of two representative biological networks: the Boolean network model for the cell-cycle regulatory network of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (Davidich et al. 2008 PLoS ONE 3, e1672 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001672)) and that of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Li et al. 2004 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 101, 4781-4786 (doi:10.1073/pnas.0305937101)). We compare our results for these biological networks with the same analysis performed on ensembles of two different types of random networks: Erdos-Renyi and scale-free. We show that both biological networks share features in common that are not shared by either random network ensemble. In particular, the biological networks in our study process more information than the random networks on average. Both biological networks also exhibit a scaling relation in information transferred between nodes that distinguishes them from random, where the biological networks stand out as distinct even when compared with random networks that share important topological properties, such as degree distribution, with the biological network. We show that the most biologically distinct regime of this scaling relation is associated with a subset of control nodes that regulate the dynamics and function of each respective biological network. Information processing in biological networks is therefore interpreted as an emergent property of topology (causal structure) and dynamics (function). Our results demonstrate quantitatively how the informational architecture of biologically evolved networks can distinguish them from other classes of network architecture that do not share the same informational properties.
Labour, Liberalism, and the Democratic Party: A Vexed Alliance

This essay argues that the American trade union movement constitutes a social democratic bloc within the U.S. body politic, episodically successful in broadening the welfare state, expanding citizenship rights, and defending the standard of living of working class Americans, including those unlikely to be found on the union membership roll. But such political influence, which has also helped make organized labour a backbone of Democratic Party electoral mobilization, has rarely been of usefulness when the unions sought to enhance their own institutional vibrancy, their own capacity to organize new members. When demands of this sort are put forward, Republican presidents and politicians denounce them outright, while most Democrats, including virtually every postwar president from that party, see such legislation as but the product of an unpopular interest group and thus safely devalued and ignored. American unions have almost always failed to win legislation advancing their institutional strength and political legitimacy. To understand why, this essay explores the three distinct regimes which have governed trade union “bargaining,” with employers, with the Democrats, and with the state, during the era since the New Deal. They are the era of the New Deal itself (1933-1947) during which a corporatist politicialization of all wage, price and production issues achieved some purchase; the years of classic industrial pluralism and collective bargaining (1947-1980), in which industrial relations was reprivatized to a large extent; and finally, our current moment (1980s forward) in which the labour movement exists and holds the possibility of growth largely in government and the service sector. A highly politicized form of tripartite bargaining, between companies, unions, and government (mainly state and local), has provided the chief avenue for raising the social wage and building nodes of trade union influence in key government-dependent sectors of the economy. With the arrival of the Obama era, this third system is becoming the only game in town, although this appears to be falling far short of labourite expectations.
Endogenous Group Formation Via Unproductive Costs

Sacrifice is widely believed to enhance cooperation in churches, communes, gangs, clans, military units, and many other groups. We find that sacrifice can also work in the lab, apart from special ideologies, identities, or interactions. Our subjects play a modified VCM game-one in which they can voluntarily join groups that provide reduced rates of return on private investment. This leads to both endogenous sorting (because free-riders tend to reject the reduced-rate option) and substitution (because reduced private productivity favours increased club involvement). Seemingly unproductive costs thus serve to screen out free-riders, attract conditional cooperators, boost club production, and increase member welfare. The sacrifice mechanism is simple and particularly useful where monitoring difficulties impede punishment, exclusion, fees, and other more standard solutions.
Mitigating Distributed Denial of Service Attacks Using a Proportional-Integral-Derivative Controller

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks exploit the availability of servers and routers, resulting in the severe loss of their connectivity. We present a distributed, automated response model that utilizes a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller to aid in handling traffic flow management. PID control law has been used in electrical and chemical engineering applications since 1934 and has proven extremely useful in stabilizing relatively unpredictable flows. This model is designed to prevent incoming traffic from exceeding a given threshold, while allowing as much incoming, legitimate traffic as possible. In addition, this model focuses on requiring less demanding modifications to external routers and networks than other published distributed response models that impact the effect of DDoS attacks.
Key-Private Proxy Re-encryption

Proxy re-encryption (PRE) allows a proxy to convert a ciphertext encrypted under one key into an encryption of the same message under another key. The main idea is to place as little trust and reveal as little information to the proxy as necessary to allow it to perform its translations. At the very least, the proxy should not be able to learn the keys of the participants or the content of the messages it re-encrypts. However, in all prior PRE schemes, it is easy for the proxy to determine between which participants a re-encryption key can transform ciphertexts. This can be a problem in practice. For example, in a secure distributed file system, content owners may want to use the proxy to help re-encrypt sensitive information without revealing to the proxy the identity of the recipients. In this work, we propose key-private (or anonymous) re-encryption keys as an additional useful property of PRE schemes. We formulate a definition of what it means for a PRE scheme to be secure and key-private. Surprisingly, we show that this property is not captured by prior definitions or achieved by prior schemes, including even the secure obfuscation of PRE by Hohenberger et al. (TCC 2007). Finally, we propose the first key-private PRE construction and prove its CPA-security under a simple extension of Decisional Bilinear Diffie Hellman assumption and its key-privacy under the Decision Linear assumption in the standard model.
Conditional Choice Probabilities and the Estimation of Dynamic Models

This paper develops a new method for estimating the structural parameters of (discrete choice) dynamic programming problems. The method reduces the computational burden of estimating such models. We show the valuation functions characterizing the expected future utility associated with the choices often can be represented as an easily computed function of the state variables, structural parameters, and the probabilities of choosing alternative actions for states which are feasible in the future. Under certain conditions, nonparametric estimators of these probabilities can be formed from sample information on the relative frequencies of observed choices using observations with the same (or similar) state variables. Substituting the estimators for the true conditional choice probabilities in formulating optimal decision rules, we establish the consistency and asymptotic normality of the resulting structural parameter estimators. To illustrate our new method, we estimate a dynamic model of parental contraceptive choice and fertility using data from the National Fertility Survey.
High Performance Computing Trends, Supercomputers, Clusters and Grids

In this talk we will look at how High Performance computing has changed over the last 10-year and look toward the future in terms of trends. In addition, we advocate the ’Computational Grids’ to support ’large-scale’ applications. These must provide transparent access to the complex mix of resources – computational, networking, and storage – that can be provided through aggregation of resources.
Bootstrapping in Vector Autoregressions: An Application to the Pork Sector*

Standard bootstrap method is used to generate confidence intervals (CIs) of impulse response functions of VAR and SVAR models in the pork sector. In the VAR model, the bootstrap method does not produce significant different results from Monte Carlo simulations. In the SVAR analysis, on the other hand, the bootstrap CIs are significantly different from Monte Carlo CIs after a six period forecast intervals. This suggests that the choice of method used to measure reliability of IRFs is not trivial. Furthermore, bootstrap CIs in SVAR model seem to be more stable than MC CIs, which tend to be wider in the longer horizons.
Gifted Education Programs and Procedures

Society has great interest in the phenomenon of giftedness as well as great need to develop the talents of its members. However, because of a lack of a federal mandate, meeting the educational, social, and emotional needs of gifted children is left to the whims of local school districts. As a result, these children are often ignored because of a fundamental belief that they can succeed on their own. As a field, gifted education is increasingly informed by a growing body of research focused on understanding and explicating the trajectories of talent development within specific domains. This research indicates that talent involves both general and specific abilities that vary by domain, specialized instruction from teachers, coaches and mentors, within in-school and outside-of-school programs, and support from others to help individuals acquire and maintain engagement and motivation and cope with the costs of high levels of achievement. Issues that define the field currently include the relative roles of ability, creativity, psychosocial and environmental influences, motivation and personality characteristics in high achievement; whether there is a unique pedagogy for gifted children; the identification and servicing of typically underrepresented groups including low-income and minority gifted children; and the need for varying supports as gifted children grow into gifted young adults and talent development needs change. Keywords: gifted; talented; creativity; high ability; identification
Scattering from Spatially Localized Chaotic and Disordered Systems

A version of scattering theory that was developed many years ago to treat nuclear scattering processes, has provided a powerful tool to study universality in scattering processes involving open quantum systems with underlying classically chaotic dynamics. Recently, it has been used to make random matrix theory predictions concerning the statistical properties of scattering resonances in mesoscopic electron waveguides and electromagnetic waveguides. We provide a simple derivation of this scattering theory and we compare its predictions to those obtained from an exactly solvable scattering model; and we use it to study the scattering of a particle wave from a random potential. This method may prove useful in distinguishing the effects of chaos from the effects of disorder in real scattering processes.
Effects of the Financial Crisis and Great Recession on American Households

Presents evidence from high-frequency data collections dedicated to tracking the effects of the financial crisis and great recession on American households.