cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of fairness and heterogeneity on delays in large-scale centralized content delivery systems

We consider multiclass queueing systems where the per class service rates depend on the network state, fairness criterion, and is constrained to be in a symmetric polymatroid capacity region. We develop new comparison results leading to explicit bounds on the mean service time under various fairness criteria and possibly heterogeneous loads. We then study large-scale systems with a growing number of service classes n (for example, files), $$m = \left\lceil {bn} \right\rceil $$m=bn heterogenous servers with total service rate $$\xi m$$?m, and polymatroid capacity resulting from a random bipartite graph $${\mathcal {G}}^{(n)}$$G(n) modeling service availability (for example, placement of files across servers). This models, for example, content delivery systems supporting pooling of server resources, i.e., parallel servicing of a download request from multiple servers. For an appropriate asymptotic regime, we show that the system's capacity region is uniformly close to a symmetric polymatroid--heterogeneity in servers' capacity and file placement disappears. Combining our comparison results and the asymptotic `symmetry' in large systems, we show that large randomly configured systems with a logarithmic number of file copies are robust to substantial load and server heterogeneities for a class of fairness criteria. If each class can be served by $$c_n=\omega (\log n)$$cn=?(logn) servers, the load per class does not exceed $$\theta _n=o\left( \min (\frac{n}{\log n}, c_n)\right) $$?n=omin(nlogn,cn), mean service requirement of a job is $$\nu $$?, and average server utilization is bounded by $$\gamma 1$$?>1, the conditional expectation of delay of a typical job with respect to the $$\sigma $$?-algebra generated by $${\mathcal {G}}^{(n)}$$G(n) satisfies the following: $$\begin{aligned} \lim _{n\rightarrow \infty } P\left( E[D^{(n)}|{\mathcal {G}}^{(n)}] \le \delta \frac{ \nu }{ \xi c_n} \frac{1}{\gamma }\log \left( \frac{1}{1-\gamma }\right) \right) = 1. \end{aligned}$$limn??PE[D(n)|G(n)]≤???cn1?log11-?=1.
In which neighborhoods are older adult populations expanding?: Sociodemographic and built environment characteristics across neighborhood trajectory classes of older adult populations in four U.S. cities over 30 Years.

Objective: We sought to examine characteristics of neighborhoods with changing older adult populations. Method: We used 30 years (1980-2011) of data from four U.S. cities (n = 392 neighborhoods; Bi...
ADAM17 is a tumor promoter and therapeutic target in Western diet-associated colon cancer

Purpose: Epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) are required for tumor promotion by Western diet. The metalloprotease, ADAM17 activates EGFR by releasing pro-EGFR ligands. ADAM17 is regulated by G-protein–coupled receptors, including CXCR4. Here we investigated CXCR4–ADAM17 crosstalk and examined the role of ADAM17 in tumorigenesis. Experimental Design: We used CXCR4 inhibitor, AMD3100 and ADAM17 inhibitor, BMS566394 to assess CXCR4–ADAM17 crosstalk in colon cancer cells. We compared the expression of CXCR4 ligand, CXCL2, and ADAM17 in mice fed Western diet versus standard diet. Separately, mice were treated with marimastat, a broad-spectrum ADAM17 inhibitor, or AMD3100 to assess EGFR activation by ADAM17 and CXCR4. Using Apc-mutant Min mice, we investigated the effects of ADAM17/10 inhibitor INCB3619 on tumorigenesis. To assess the effects of colonocyte ADAM17, mice with ADAM17 conditional deletion were treated with azoxymethane (AOM). ADAM17 expression was also compared in colonocytes from primary human colon cancers and adjacent mucosa. Results: CXCL12 treatment activated colon cancer cell EGFR signals, and CXCR4 or ADAM17 blockade reduced this activation. In vivo, Western diet increased CXCL12 in stromal cells and TGFα in colonocytes. Marimastat or AMD3100 caused >50% reduction in EGFR signals (P 2.5-fold in human malignant colonocytes. Conclusions: ADAM17 is a Western diet–inducible enzyme activated by CXCL12–CXCR4 signaling, suggesting the pathway: Western diet→CXCL12→CXCR4→ADAM17→TGFα→EGFR. ADAM17 might serve as a druggable target in chemoprevention strategies. Clin Cancer Res; 23(2); 549–61. ©2016 AACR.
Spontaneous physical activity and sleep promotion for obesity prevention

T prevalence of obesity continues to increase despite modifying behavior can reduce the risk for obesity. Behavioral modification to adopt a lifestyle with lower caloric intake, higher exercise levels and adequate sleep is difficult in an obesigenic environment that promotes highly palatable foods, use of labor-saving devices and extended work hours. Alternative behavioral modalities are needed in the arsenal of obesity treatment options. Spontaneous physical activity (SPA) or all physical activity aside from formal exercise is highly variable across individuals and is higher among individuals with lower body weight. Sub-optimal sleep time is prevalent among individuals. Likewise, reduced sleep time or sleep quality increases risk for obesity. Promoting higher levels of SPA and improving sleep may curb weight gain. However, identifying the relative contribution of SPA and sleep on total energy expenditure to overall energy balance and understanding neural factors modulating SPA and sleep is required first. Work in a rodent model of obesity resistance demonstrates that high SPA levels confer lower adiposity and this parallels sleep quality. Thus high SPA levels may confer protection against the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation. The neuromodulatory lateral hypothalamic neuropeptide orexin may underlie this heightened SPA and sleep quality and therefore may provide an avenue for pharmacologic obesity therapeutics.
Scene Labeling Using Sparse Precision Matrix

Scene labeling task is to segment the image into meaningful regions and categorize them into classes of objects which comprised the image. Commonly used methods typically find the local features for each segment and label them using classifiers. Afterwards, labeling is smoothed in order to make sure that neighboring regions receive similar labels. However, these methods ignore expressive connections between labels and non-local dependencies among regions. In this paper, we propose to use a sparse estimation of precision matrix (also called concentration matrix), which is the inverse of covariance matrix of data obtained by graphical lasso to find interaction between labels and regions. To do this, we formulate the problem as an energy minimization over a graph, whose structure is captured by applying sparse constraint on the elements of the precision matrix. This graph encodes (or represents) only significant interactions and avoids a fully connected graph, which is typically used to reflect the long distance associations. We use local and global information to achieve better labeling. We assess our approach on three datasets and obtained promising results.
Intraoperative Consultation for Renal Lesions

Intraoperative consultation rarely is requested for lesions in the kidney. Of 324 renal lesions submitted for gross or frozen section intraoperative consultation, 199 specimens were submitted for gross consultation only; no diagnostic pitfalls were noted. The clinical implications and diagnostic pitfalls in 125 specimens submitted for frozen section were the focus of our study. Frozen section intraoperative consultation was requested to evaluate surgical margins in partial nephrectomy specimens, solid renal mass in an unusual clinical or radiologic setting, synchronous renal and extrarenal masses, cystic renal lesion, ureteral surgical margins for transitional cell carcinoma, multiple renal masses, solid mass in a diffusely cystic kidney, and renal injury. Among the 125 cases, the diagnoses were deferred in 17 (6 renal cell carcinomas with granular cytoplasm, 7 cystic lesions, 3 metastatic tumors, 1 leiomyoma). The frozen section diagnoses were incorrect owing to limited sampling in 5 and misinterpretation in 4 (melanoma vs angiomyolipoma, lymphoma vs angiomyolipoma, benign cyst vs cystic renal cell carcinoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma vs pheochromocytoma). Awareness of distinctive indications for frozen section intraoperative consultation and diagnostic pitfalls should improve diagnostic accuracy and facilitate proper management of these lesions.
Fast algorithms for jammer placement to partition a wireless network

We consider the problem of finding fast techniques to solve jammer placement problems, where the goal is to partition a wireless network and the communication and jamming effects can be modeled using graphs. We have previously developed optimal jammer placement techniques based on solving a binary linear program, but the complexity of the optimal solution is an exponential function of the number of nodes in the network. Several computationally efficient techniques are known for finding edge separators of networks, including spectral cuts and multilevel cuts. However, the jammer placement problem is more similar to finding a vertex separator and is complicated by the fact that a jammer can block communications to all of the neighbors of the jammer in a jamming graph. In this paper, we develop computationally efficient, but suboptimal, techniques for jammer placement that first find an edge cut using spectral or multilevel graph cuts and then find the minimum number of jammers required to block communication across all of the edges in the edge cut. The results show that the proposed techniques are orders of magnitude faster than even heuristic approaches to solving the optimum jammer placement problem, while offering different tradeoffs between the number of jammers required and the maximum order of the residual subnetworks. For networks of over 400 nodes, the solution based on multi-level graph partitioning uses fewer jammers, leaves smaller clusters, and requires lower computational complexity than the heuristic optimization of the optimal jammer placement problem.
Analysis of High-Energy Tailing in TlBr Detectors

Thallium bromide (TlBr) is an attractive material for room-temperature semiconductor radiation detection due to its high atomic number and density. Performance of better than 1% full-width at half maximum at 662 keV has been measured on $\sim 5 \times 5 \times 5$ mm3 pixelated TlBr detectors. Though most TlBr detectors show expected performance, a few detectors have high-energy tails on their photopeaks which are caused by nonflat tails on anode waveforms. The properties of these anode tails are studied and the generation of extra electrons by the movement of holes is proposed to explain the observations. The detector is operated in reverse bias (with holes drifting toward the pixelated electrode) to help confirm these observations and a mechanism for correcting preamplifier decay from long collection time digital waveforms is developed and used in the analysis.
Eliciting Users' Demand for Interface Features

How valuable are certain interface features to their users? How can users' demand for features be quantified? To address these questions, users' demand curve for the sorting feature was elicited in a controlled experiment, using personal finance as the user context. Users made ten rounds of investment allocation across up to 77 possible funds, thus encountering choice overload, typical of many online environments. Users were rewarded for positive investment returns. To overcome choice overload, users could sort the alternatives based on product attributes (fees, category, fund name, past performance). To elicit their demand for sorting, the experimental design enabled users to forgo 0%-9% of their reward in return for activating the sorting feature. The elicited downward sloping demand curve suggests a curvilinear relationship between sorting use and cost. More broadly, the study offers a way to quantify user demand of UI features, and a basis for comparison between features.
ORGANISING A COMMUNITY COALITION TO ADDRESS CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN YOUR COMMUNITY: LESSONS LEARNED FROM OMAHA, NEBRASKA

Objective The prevalence of childhood obesity in the USA is growing at an alarming rate. Healthcare professionals, community leaders and concerned citizens are struggling to find ways to help address the problem. Methods In order to slow or perhaps reverse the trend, a coalition of community leaders was built to implement strategies to improve the health of Omaha children. Results In 2006, a coalition of community leaders met to strategise and implement ways to address the obesity epidemic in Omaha. An innovative community dialogue known as a decision accelerator identified key issues and solutions. Six areas of focus, or planks, were identified and specific strategies and implementation timelines were articulated. A healthcare subcommittee has also been formed to make recommendations to local providers for the implementation of childhood obesity prevention into their practices. Conclusion Following the decision accelerator, monthly meetings of the executive committee began. The executive committee’s role is to oversee the development of a permanent organisational structure, serve as a place for the integration of activities in the planks, ensure culturally appropriate approaches and outcomes and determine how to support the attainment of the vision. This presentation will summarise the executive committee’s plans and discuss the proposed strategic plan of action.
Morphological and Ecological Characters in Sympatric Populations of Macaca in the Dawna Range

Within the order Primates many instances of sympatry of congeneric species have been recorded. Most efforts to analyze these occurrences have been influenced by the principles of competitive exclusion (cf. Hardin 1960) or eharacter divergence/character displacement (Darwin 1958, pp 111–125, Brown and Wilson 1956) and, as a consequence, have concentrated on detailing differential utilization of environmental resources by the sympatric populations and/or morphological differences between them. With few exceptions (cf. Sussman 1979), the evolutionary events, although speculative, that may have led to such sympatry or overlap in ranges, are given minimal or no consideration.
Endoscopic therapy for gastroesophageal reflux disease:: what have we learned and what needs to be done?

GERD is a common, morbid, and expensive-to-treat disease. Clinicians have a clearly defined "therapeutic bar" for the efficacy of GERD therapy established from extensive study of current pharmacologic and surgical therapies. Endoscopic therapies for GERD are promising technologies that probably will find clinical application in subsets of patients with GERD. Integration of these new endoscopic GERD therapies into routine clinical practice requires more information from carefully performed and analyzed trials. Issues that still need to be addressed include the efficacy of these devices compared with placebo, efficacy compared with other endoscopic techniques, and efficacy versus current therapies. Addressing these issues requires the performance of well-designed, blinded studies using sham techniques and measuring clinically relevant outcomes using validated instruments. Once efficacy has been established, durability of response needs to be clearly determined. Intensive postmarketing surveillance, device registries, and long-term clinical follow-up studies will be able to document durability. The effect of retreatment for relapses or suboptimal initial treatment response should also be determined. Safety can best be established with extensive postmarketing surveillance and device registries. The impact of formal training programs on decreasing the learning curve and improving outcomes, including safety, should also be studied. Finally, the cost-effectiveness of these devices has to be determined either by economic models or clinical trials measuring actual costs. Despite these seemingly large hurdles, one, if not more, of these technologies should meet these criteria and soon be used as an effective, durable, safe, and cost-effective treatment option for patients with GERD.
Analyzing failure recovery to improve planner design

Plans fail for many reasons. During planner development, failure can often be traced to actions of the planner itself. Failure recovery analysis is a procedure for analyzing execution traces of failure recovery to discover how the planner's actions may be causing failures. The four step procedure involves statistically analyzing execution data for dependencies between actions and failures, mapping those dependencies to plan structures, explaining how the structures might produce the observed dependencies, and recommending modifications. The procedure is demonstrated by applying it to explain how a particular recovery action may lead to a particular failure in the Phoenix planner. The planner is modified based on the recommendations of the analysis, and the modifications are shown to improve the planner's performance by removing a source of failure and so reducing the overall incidence of failure.
The Citizenship Shibboleth: Is the American Dream Everyone Else's Nightmare?

The American Dream is a trope with global reach.1 Although the "city upon a hill"2 may have lost some of its luster in recent years,3 the idea that America is a country where citizens can rise above "the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position"4 largely continues to resonate.5 Professor Ayelet Shachar's6 provocative new book, however, suggests otherwise. In The Birthright Lottery, Shachar condemns birthright citizenship laws as a feudal anachronism analogous to an inherited-property regime. For her, birthright citizenship in a prosperous nation confers a morally arbitrary windfall that determines life opportunities (pp. 4-7). Shachar further argues that in a world of material inequalities, the winners of the "birthright lottery" live large at the losers' expense (pp. 10-11, 22, 70, 98), often with deadly results (pp. 12, 105). Shachar's arguments, if embraced, profoundly undermine both the feasibility and the desirability of the American Dream.7 If birthright
Conversion of Sleeve Gastrectomy to Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass.

A subset of patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG) require eventual conversion to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) due to complications from SG or to enhance weight loss. The aim of this study is to characterize the indications for conversion and perioperative outcomes in a large cohort of these patients at a single institution. Patients who underwent revisional surgery to convert SG to RYGB at our institution from January 2008 through January 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Eighty-nine patients with previous SG underwent conversion to RYGB as part of a planned two-stage approach to gastric bypass (n = 36), for weight recidivism (n = 11), or for complications related to SG (n = 42). Complications from SG that warranted conversion included refractory GERD (40.5%), sleeve stenosis (31.0%), gastrocutaneous (16.7%), or gastropleural (7.1%) fistula, and gastric torsion (4.1%). The mean (SD) age was 47.2 years (11.4 years) and median BMI at the time of revision was 43.2 kg/m2. A laparoscopic approach was successfully completed in 76 patients (85.4%), with an additional of four completed robotically (4.5%). The median length of stay was 3 days. Twenty-eight patients (31.5%) had complications which included surgical site infection (20.2%), re-operation (6.7%), anastomotic stricture (3.4%), and one pulmonary embolism. There were no mortalities with a median follow-up of 15 months. Conversion of SG to RYGB is safe and technically feasible when performed for complications of SG or to enhance weight loss. This operation can be successfully performed laparoscopically with a low rate of conversion and reasonable complication profile.
IRTKS (BAIAP2L1) Elongates Epithelial Microvilli Using EPS8-Dependent and Independent Mechanisms

Transporting epithelial cells like those that line the gut build large arrays of actin-supported protrusions called microvilli, which extend from the apical surface into luminal spaces to increase functional surface area. Although critical for maintaining physiological homeostasis, mechanisms controlling the formation of microvilli remain poorly understood. Here, we report that the inverse-bin-amphiphysin-Rvs (I-BAR)-domain-containing protein insulin receptor tyrosine kinase substrate (IRTKS) (also known as BAIAP2L1) promotes the growth of epithelial microvilli. Super-resolution microscopy and live imaging of differentiating epithelial cells revealed that IRTKS localizes to the distal tips of actively growing microvilli via a mechanism that requires its N-terminal I-BAR domain. At microvillar tips, IRTKS promotes elongation through a mechanism involving its C-terminal actin-binding WH2 domain. IRTKS can also drive microvillar elongation using its SH3 domain to recruit the bundling protein EPS8 to microvillar tips. These results provide new insight on mechanisms that control microvillar growth during the differentiation of transporting epithelial cells and help explain why IRTKS is targeted by enteric pathogens that disrupt microvillar structure during infection of the intestinal epithelium.
Promoter Haplotypes of the ABCB1 Gene Encoding the P-Glycoprotein Differentially Affect Its Promoter Activity by Altering Transcription Factor Binding

Promoter single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the ABCB1 gene, encoding the placental efflux transporter P-glycoprotein, can alter its expression and affect fetal exposure to therapeutics and e...
Rheology, crystal structure, and nanomechanical properties in large-scale additive manufacturing of polyphenylene sulfide/carbon fiber composites

Abstract Extrusion based high-throughput Additive Manufacturing (AM) provides a rapid and versatile approach for producing complex structures by using a variety of polymer materials. An underexplored aspect of this technique is concerned with the formation of interfaces between successively deposited layers. This is particularly important for large-scale additive manufacturing of semi-crystalline polymers because of the highly non-isothermal conditions involved, which influence both nucleation and crystal growth. The objective of this work is to investigate the microstructure and the corresponding viscoelastic properties of carbon fiber (CF) reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resulting from extrusion-based high-throughput AM process. Questions on development of morphology focus on polymer crystal structure and carbon fiber orientation in the vicinity of the interface between successive layers. This study attempts to establish a fundamental understanding of the role of the AM has in transferring a set of intrinsic material properties to the macroscopic properties of the final AM structure.
Phylogenetic relationships of the family Tarumaniidae (Characiformes) based on nuclear and mitochondrial data

ABSTRACT Characiformes is an order of freshwater fishes that includes many commercially important and emblematic species from South America and Africa, such as the popular piranhas, hatchetfishes, African tiger fishes and tetras. The order is split into two suborders with a total of 24 families, 282 genera and ca. 2,100 species. Here, we present an expanded phylogeny of characiform fishes, including data for 520 species and three genes (12S, 16S and RAG1), and the recently described family Tarumaniidae, which has not been examined by previous molecular analysis. Although our genetic coverage is limited to three gene fragments, the tree inferred based on maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference supports the monophyly of all characiform families and is largely congruent with results from recent studies that sampled less taxa but more genes. Also in agreement with a morphological hypothesis, our results strongly support the sister-group relationships between the family Tarumaniidae and Erythrinidae. Based on our results and that of the other molecular analyses, we propose a revised circumscription of the superfamily Erythrinoidea to include the families Tarumaniidae and Erythrinidae only.
Enhancement of dopant solubility in compound semiconductors during crystal growth

Abstract Doping of semiconductors is a process of intentionally incorporating impurity into the materials to adjust and optimize the electrical properties during the processing of semiconductors. The doping level has certain upper limit, which is usually corresponding to the solubility of the dopant in the host material under processing conditions. Sometimes, the maximum solubility level is still not high enough to provide the desired opto-electronic properties and a higher doping level is needed. Hence, enhancing the dopant level is one of the critical issues in the semiconductor industry, especially for those advanced devices made from compound semiconductors, including binary, ternary, as well as multi-component compounds. In this report, we designed a processing method, by simply varying a processing parameter during melt growth, to increase the doping level in the compound semiconductors well above the maximum values obtained under otherwise regular processing procedures and demonstrated it in the melt growth of Cl-doped PbTe.
Comparative Psychology of Children Who Experience Intra-familial Versus Extra-familial Victimization

This study is based on secondary analysis from a sample of individuals attending colleges in the United States. It is an examination of links between childhood victimization and subsequent depression. An assessment of the effect on depression of intra- and extra-familial victimization was made to identify the means by which each affects depression. It was hypothesized that victimization affects subsequent depression through its damaging impact on the development of social resources and personal resources, including family support, peer support, self-esteem, and mastery. It was hypothesized that the importance of each mediator in explaining the link between victimization and depression differs by the type of victimization experienced. To test these hypotheses, a series of hierarchical regression analyses were performed. Findings indicate that victimization by non-family is related to depression independent of victimization by family, but victimization by family is not related to depression independent of victimization by non-family. The resource variables demonstrated disparate mediating influences; each produced a different sized reduction in the strength of relationship between extra-familial victimization and depression.
Examining institutional work that perpetuates abuse in sport organizations.

Abstract In this research, the author sought to understand how organizational practices that harbor and, ultimately, perpetuate abuse become legitimized. The authors drew from the tenets of institutional work to understand how institutional structures were created and legitimized to allow abuse to perpetuate within sport organizations. In examining the sexual abuse scandals of Penn State University, Baylor University, and Michigan State University, the authors found that university administrators and stakeholders obscured reporting and investigative processes, enacted internal discipline structures that were uncompliant from formal regulations, valorized the perpetrators and university leadership, silenced victims, and engaged in collusion. The authors theorized these actions as legitimacy work designed to legitimize the universities’ management of abuse. In effect, these actions contributed to the harboring and perpetuation of abuse. The implications for the study and management of abuse in sport are discussed.
Adversarial Grasp Objects

Learning-based approaches to robust robot grasp planning can grasp a wide variety of objects, but may be prone to failure on some objects. Inspired by recent results in computer vision, we define a class of “adversarial grasp objects that are physically similar to a given object but significantly less ”graspable” in terms of a specified robot grasping policy. We present three algorithms for synthesizing adversarial grasp objects under the grasp reliability measure of Dex-Net 1.0 for parallel-jaw grippers: 1) two analytic algorithms that perturb vertices on antipodal faces (one that uses random perturbations and one that uses systematic perturbations), and 2) a deep-learning-based approach using a variation of the Cross-Entropy Method (CEM) augmented with a generative adversarial network (GAN) to synthesize classes of adversarial grasp objects represented by discrete Signed Distance Functions. The random perturbation algorithm reduces graspability by 32%, 12%, and 32% for intersected cylinders, intersected prisms, and ShapeNet bottles, respectively, while maintaining shape similarity using geometric constraints. The systematic perturbation algorithm reduces graspability by 32%, 11%, and 21%; and the GAN reduces graspability by 22%, 36%, and 17%, on the same objects. We use the algorithms to generate and 3D print adversarial grasp objects. Simulation and physical experiments confirm that all algorithms are effective at reducing graspability.
Predicting Paclitaxel Disposition in Humans With Whole-Body Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling

Paclitaxel is a commonly used drug in the treatment of multiple solid tumors, including cancers of the breast, lung, and ovaries. Despite the established exposure-pharmacodynamic relationships for paclitaxel, treatment is associated with wide interindividual pharmacokinetic variability that leads to unpredictability of the agent's clinical activity and toxicity. We hypothesized that physiologically-based modeling approaches could be employed to predict the human pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel following administration of the approved Cremophor-based formulation (Taxol). The model was developed from tissue distribution studies performed in mice and applied to plasma concentration-time data obtained in adult cancer patients receiving Taxol at the approved dose and schedule (175 mg/m2 by a 3-hour intravenous infusion), taking into account interspecies differences in physiological parameters. The final model adequately captured the observed concentrations in patients and allowed prediction of paclitaxel distribution profiles in multiple target organs and can be applied to further refine the chemotherapeutic treatment with a clinically important agent.
Dedicated short range communications used as fail-safe in autonomous navigation

In this paper, we have analyzed scenarios for leader-follower vehicle convoys that have the potential to be unsafe, hazardous, or even fatal in order to provide insight on dangerous driving conditions for autonomous vehicle platoons. These scenarios were created in a simulation software called Prescan, and are made to reflect the behavior of the vehicle dynamics and sensor characteristics of a real-world vehicle convoy that is currently being tested at the American Center for Mobility (ACM) and sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command - Ground Vehicle Systems Center (U.S. Army CC-DEVCOM) and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The follower vehicle in this study is tested under multiple scenarios, equipped with a Dedicated Short Range vehicle-to-vehicle communication system (DSRC), a radar-based adaptive cruise control system (ACC) and a precision global positioning system (GPS).
Females as the Gatekeepers to Seasonal Breeding: What We Can Learn by Studying Reproductive Mechanisms in Both Sexes

Seasonal reproduction is a widespread adaptation in vertebrates, such that individuals time their reproductive efforts to match peak resource abundance. Individuals rely on environmental cues to regulate hormonal mechanisms governing timing of breeding. Historically, studies on physiological mechanisms of seasonal reproduction, specifically in birds, have disproportionately focused on males compared to females. For this review, I conducted a literature search of the last decade of avian research and found a persistent sex bias in the field of physiological mechanisms of seasonal reproduction. Using work conducted with the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) as a case study, I present a possible solution to combat the sex bias: natural comparisons of populations that differ in reproductive timing to investigate mechanisms of reproduction in both sexes. Populations of dark-eyed juncos that differ in migratory behavior (i.e., migrant and resident) exhibit overlapping ranges during winter and early spring; residents begin breeding in early spring prior to the departure of migrants. This system, and others like it, provides an opportunity to compare mechanisms of reproduction in populations that differ in reproductive timing despite experiencing the same environmental conditions in early spring. In juncos, migrant and resident females and males exhibit similar patterns of hypothalamic regulation of reproduction in early spring, but sex differences in gonadal sensitivity between the populations could be an important distinction that partially explains sex differences in reproductive development. Comparing mechanisms of reproduction in free-living populations and in captivity can reveal important mechanisms that determine the onset of reproductive development, as well as potential sex differences in these mechanisms. Understanding the mechanisms of reproductive phenology has important implications for understanding how species will survive and reproduce in a changing climate.
An open-source tool to visualize potential cone collisions while planning SRS cases

Purpose To create an open-source visualization program that allows one to find potential cone collisions while planning intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery cases. Methods Measurements of physical components in the treatment room (gantry, cone, table, localization stereotactic radiation surgery frame, etc.) were incorporated into a script in MATLAB (MathWorks, Natick, MA) that produces three-dimensional visualizations of the components. A localization frame, used during simulation, fully contains the patient. This frame was used to represent a safety zone for collisions. Simple geometric objects are used to approximate the simulated components. The couch is represented as boxes, the gantry head and cone are represented by cylinders, and the patient safety zone can be represented by either a box or ellipsoid. These objects are translated and rotated based upon the beam geometry and the treatment isocenter to mimic treatment. A simple graphical user interface (GUI) was made in MATLAB (compatible with GNU Octave) to allow users to pass the treatment isocenter location, the initial and terminal gantry angles, the couch angle, and the number of angular points to visualize between the initial and terminal gantry angle. Results The GUI provides a fast and simple way to discover collisions in the treatment room before the treatment plan is completed. Twenty patient arcs were used as an end-to-end validation of the system. Seventeen of these appeared the same in the software as in the room. Three of the arcs appeared closer in the software than in the room. This is due to the treatment couch having rounded corners, whereas the software visualizes sharp corners. Conclusions This simple GUI can be used to find the best orientation of beams for each patient. By finding collisions before a plan is being simulated in the treatment room, a user can save time due to replanning of cases.
Real-time biosensors for continuous measurements of specific biomolecules in vivo

In this presentation, we will present a general biosensor technology capable of continuously tracking a wide range of molecules in living subjects. Our real-time biosensor requires no exogenous reagents and can be readily reconfigured to measure different target molecules by exchanging molecular probes in a modular manner. Next, we will present the first real-time, closed loop feedback control of drug concentration in live animals using the real-time biosensor and discuss potential applications of our technology. Finally, we will discuss methods for generating synthetic molecular switches that are at the heart of the biosensor.
A parallel iterative linear solver for solving irregular grid semiconductor device matrices

Presents the use of parallel processors for the solution of drift-diffusion semiconductor device equations using an irregular grid discretization. Preconditioning, partitioning and communication scheduling algorithms are developed to implement an efficient and robust iterative linear solver with preconditioning. The parallel program is executed on a 64-node CM-5 and is compared with PILS (a solver for ill-conditioned systems) running on a single processor. We observe an efficiency increase in obtaining parallel speed-ups as the problem size increases. We obtain 60% efficiency for CGS (a fast Lanczos-type solver for nonsymmetric linear systems) with no preconditioning for large problems. Using CGS with processor ILU preconditioning and magnitude threshold-fill-in preconditioning for the CM-5, and CGS with ILU for PILS, we attain 50% efficiency for the solution of large matrices.
The Redistributive Politics of Monetary Policy

Monetary policy and institutions are far from exempt from political influences. In this paper, we analyze monetary institutions not as being run by either benevolent technocrats or a wealth maximizing Leviathan but as being the outcome of competition between interest groups trying to capture wealth transfers. We argue that while interest groups gaining from specific monetary policies and institutions can easily identify themselves, losers often cannot. As a result, losers have a harder time fighting back and both the organization of money production and monetary policy are shaped by political competition between rent-seekers. We use our framework to analyze modern developments in monetary policies and institutions, namely 1) the Fed's reaction to the 2007 financial crisis, 2) the Fed's reaction to the COVID crisis, 3) the establishment and development of the Euro.
Growing a Culture of Sustainability: Urban Agriculture Experiences and Undergraduate Student Attachments and Behaviors

Concerns about global climate change and the industrial food system are propelling college and university administrators, faculty, staff, and students alike to take interest and action in sustainability and alternatives to the modern food system. While campus farms and gardens have in recent years become centers of sustainability efforts and environmental education in the United States, limited research exists on the effects of these experiences on students’ environmentally responsible behaviors. Using a phenomenological approach, this study examined the experiences of 23 undergraduate students enrolled in campus farm internships at Yale University Farm and the University of Montana Program in Ecological Agriculture and Society (PEAS) Farm during the summer of 2013 to determine if students experienced changes in knowledge, internal locus of control, and pro-environmental and social behaviors necessary to justify a commitment of resources by colleges. Data collected through interviews, photo-elicitation, and observations reveals campus agriculture projects create opportunities for learning that deepen attachment to place and offer substitutes to anthropocentric behaviors. Participating students reported increases in pro-environmental behaviors and behavioral intentions including: buying and eating habits; continued participation and study at the campus agriculture projects; awareness of plants, animals, weather, and farms; involvement in food access and security; and increased interest in gardening and farming as hobbies or careers.
Comparison of Medication Adherence Assessment Tools to Identify Glaucoma Medication Nonadherence

Purpose To assess the accuracy of 5 subjective self-assessment tools (3 adherence measures and 2 psychometric scales) and pharmacy refill data in predicting objective electronically monitored nonadherence. Design Prospective cohort study. Participants Glaucoma patients (> 40 years old, >1 medication with poor self-reported adherence) were recruited from University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center for a study assessing the impact of a personalized glaucoma coaching program on medication adherence. Methods Participants completed an initial assessment including 5 self-assessment tools and a 3-month period of electronic monitoring of glaucoma medication adherence (AdhereTech); pharmacy refill data were obtained. Electronically monitored adherence was calculated monthly as the percentage of doses taken on time. The median of these adherence rates was designated as baseline adherence. Patients with adherence of ≤80% by electronic monitoring were considered nonadherent. Self-assessment tools were scored, and pharmacy refill data were summarized as the proportion of days covered. Correlation between measures of adherence was estimated with Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. Receiver operating characteristic curves, including estimation of area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were used to compare measures of adherence with respect to predicting electronically monitored nonadherence. Main Outcome Measures Accuracy of self-reported and pharmacy refill data adherence measures in predicting electronically monitored nonadherence. Results Ninety-five patients completed 3 months of electronic monitoring with a median monthly adherence of 74 (± 21%); 53 patients (56%) were nonadherent. Pharmacy refill data were not correlated significantly with electronically monitored medication adherence (r = 0.12; P = 0.2). Of all the measures, a single-item adherence question (“Over the past month, what percentage of your drops do you think you took correctly?”) showed the largest correlation with median electronically monitored adherence (r = 0.47; P Conclusions The single-item question was the most accurate in predicting electronically monitored nonadherence among participants with poor self-reported adherence. In clinical practice, where alternatives are too resource intensive, this free single-item screening question can help to identify glaucoma patients at risk of poor medication adherence with reasonable accuracy.
Race/Ethnicity and Climate Change Reporting: Perceptions and Interests of News Personnel's Interest to Cover Climate Change based on Race

In light of the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities, there is merit in seeking to understand any differences in climate change beliefs and reporting behaviors for...
Effect of a late afternoon/early evening bout of aerobic exercise on postprandial lipid and lipoprotein particle responses to a high-sugar meal breakfast the following day in postmenopausal women: a randomized cross-over study

High-sugar consumption is related to dyslipidemia. How acute exercise affects postprandial lipid and lipoprotein particle responses to a high-sugar meal (HSM) in postmenopausal women is unclear. We...
Efficiency Measures for Multiplant Firms with Limited Data

Measures of technical efficiency typically require data on outputs and inputs measured in physical units. However, in many applications such data may be difficult or costly to obtain. Examples of this problem include: (a) Firms which only report financial data, i.e., outputs and inputs measured in money units. (b) Multiproduct firms which only report total revenue for an extensive product line. (c) Firms which only report total cost.
Multi-robot auctions for allocation of tasks with temporal constraints

We propose an auction algorithm to allocate tasks that have temporal constraints to cooperative robots. Temporal constraints are expressed as time windows, within which a task must be executed. There are no restrictions on the time windows, which are allowed to overlap. Robots model their temporal constraints using a simple temporal network, enabling them to maintain consistent schedules. When bidding on a task, a robot takes into account its own current commitments and an optimization objective, which is to minimize the time of completion of the last task alone or in combination with minimizing the distance traveled. The algorithm works both when all the tasks are known upfront and when tasks arrive dynamically. We show the performance of the algorithm in simulation with different numbers of tasks and robots, and compare it with a baseline greedy algorithm and a state-of-the-art auction algorithm. Our algorithm is computationally frugal and consistently allocates more tasks than the competing algorithms.
Teaching Time Preference and Human Impatience: The Billionaire Game

The Billionaire Game involves students in discussing time preference, or what Fisher (1930) calls human impatience. The game can facilitate the introduction of the material on present value and discounting or discussions on such issues as investment in human capital and the intertemporal consumption-saving decision. Thus, the game can facilitate discussions in a number of economics courses.
Combination of delipidized high density lipoprotein with lipids.

A method has been developed for combining lipids in vitro with delipidized high density lipoprotein (apo-HDL) by mixing a concentrated petroleum ether solution of lipids with an aqueous solution of apo-HDL. When a mixture of plasma lipids was used, combination of phospholipids and cholesterol was observed in amounts comparable with those present in native HDL; triglycerides and cholesterol esters combined, but in much smaller amounts. Free fatty acids combined with apo-HDL and with albumin, but other lipids did not combine with albumin or with other proteins tested. Washing the recombined apo-HDL with petroleum ether did not remove lipids. The mobility of HDL on paper electrophoresis was decreased by removal of all lipids, and this change was reversed by recombination. Practically all the lipids present in the aqueous phase traveled with the protein. The ultracentrifugal sedimentation pattern of HDL was changed by delipidization to give an additional peak with a higher sedimentation coefficient, suggesting aggregation; recombination with lipids reversed this change to give a pattern similar to that of native HDL. Combination with phospholipids alone, either as a petroleum ether solution or as a micellar solution, produced the same change in ultracentrifugal pattern of apo-HDL as did combination with plasma lipid mixture. Cholesterol alone combined with apo-HDL in much smaller amounts than when phospholipids were also present, suggesting that combination of phospholipids with apo-HDL is the primary step in the formation of HDL.