cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Self-Administered Health Questionnaire for the Preoperative Risk Stratification of Patients Undergoing Cataract Surgery

Abstract Purpose To determine if a self-administered health status questionnaire completed by candidates for cataract surgery is beneficial for identifying medical comorbidities and patients at risk for adverse intraoperative and postoperative medical events. Design Prospective cohort study. Methods Data were obtained from a large, randomized clinical trial of 19,250 cataract surgeries performed between June 1, 1995, and June 30, 1997. Preoperative data were obtained from a standardized, self-administered patient health questionnaire and a history and physical form completed by the patient’s physician. A record of adverse medical events on the day of surgery and through the first 7 postoperative days was recorded. Results Responses to 21 questions on the questionnaire were highly specific for 12 comorbid conditions identified by the physician history and physical, ranging from 100% specificity for arrhythmia to 91.3% specificity for coronary artery disease. Comorbid conditions identified by the questionnaire were associated with similar relative risks of adverse events as those identified by the physician history and physical. Patients who had no comorbidities identified by the questionnaire had adverse medical event rates indistinguishable from patients with no comorbid conditions identified by the health provider history and physical. Conclusions The self-administered questionnaire showed a high degree of specificity for 12 common comorbid conditions in cataract patients. A questionnaire such as this may be useful in preoperative risk stratification.
Reducing the parallel solution time of sparse circuit matrices using reordered Gaussian elimination and relaxation

The authors examine two approaches for reducing parallel sparse matrix solution time: the first based on pivot ordering algorithms for Gaussian elimination, and the second based on relaxation algorithms. A pivot ordering algorithm is presented which increases the parallelism of Gaussian elimination compared to the commonly used Markowitz method. The minimum number of parallel steps for the solution of a tridiagonal matrix is derived, and it is shown that this optimum is nearly achieved by the ordering heuristics which attempt to maximize parallelism. Also presented is an optimality result about Gauss-Jacobi over Gauss-Seidel relaxation on parallel processors. >
Typestates for Objects

Today’s mainstream object-oriented compilers and tools do not support declaring and statically checking simple pre- and postconditions on methods and invariants on object representations. The main technical problem preventing static verification is reasoning about the sharing relationships among objects as well as where object invariants should hold. We have developed a programming model of typestates for objects with a sound modular checking algorithm. The programming model handles typical aspects of object-oriented programs such as down-casting, virtual dispatch, direct calls, and subclassing. The model also permits subclasses to extend the interpretation of typestates and to introduce additional typestates. We handle aliasing by adapting our previous work on practical linear types developed in the context of the Vault system. We have implemented these ideas in a tool called Fugue for specifying and checking typestates on Microsoft .NET-based programs.
Recent Structural Changes in the Banking Industry, Their Causes and Effects: A Literature Survey

In this review, I thoroughly analyze the structural changes that have characterized the banking industry since 1980. I (a) describe the most important structural changes in the banking industry, (b) discuss and assess the possible explanations of such changes based on the empirical literature, (c) examine recent empirical studies addressing the possible effects of the structural changes on the main financial market participants and on overall economic activity, and (d) provide suggestions for future research regarding the causes and effects of the changes in banking structure, based on the perceived gaps in the existing body of empirical knowledge. Whenever possible, I address issues related to agricultural credit. Lmportant changes have occurred in the U.S. financial sector over the last couple ecades. Such changes have included sweeping deregulation at state and federal levels, wide use of new financial instruments, the advent of institutional investors, globalization of financial markets, increased use of securitization, and extraordinary advances in the use of new communication and information technologies. The U.S. banking industry has also undergone important structural changes. Given the key role banking plays in the financial sector, in the economy in general, and in the agricultural sector in particular, it seems of great relevance to have a deeper knowledge of the structural changes that have occurred in banking in recent years. Such knowledge may help to uncover the causes underlying such trends and assess their likely economic effects. Although the ultimate goals for this study include providing a better understanding of the situation and outlook of agricultural credit, it is not possible to reach these goals by restricting attention to agricultural banking only for these reasons:
Statistical storm time examination of MLT‐dependent plasmapause location derived from IMAGE EUV

The location of the outer edge of the plasmasphere (the plasmapause) as a function of geomagnetic storm time is identified and investigated statistically in regard to the solar wind driver. Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) data are used to create an automated method that locates and extracts the plasmapause. The plasmapause extraction technique searches a set range of possible plasmasphere densities for a maximum gradient. The magnetic local time (MLT)-dependent plasmapause results are compared to manual extraction results. The plasmapause results from 39 intense storms are examined along a normalized epoch storm timeline to determine the average plasmapause L shell as a function of MLT and storm time. The average extracted plasmapause L shell follows the expected storm time plasmapause behavior. The results show that during the main phase, the plasmapause moves earthward and a plasmaspheric drainage plume forms near dusk and across the dayside during strong convection. During the recovery phase, the plume rejoins the corotationally driven plasma while the average plasmapause location moves farther from the Earth. The results are also examined in terms of the solar wind driver. We find evidence that shows that the different categories of solar wind drivers result in different plasmaspheric configurations. During magnetic cloud-driven events the plasmaspheric drainage plume appears at the start of the main phase. During sheath-driven events the plume forms later but typically extends further in MLT.
N = 1 SQCD and the Transverse Field Ising Model

We study the dimensions of non-chiral operators in the Veneziano limit of $ \mathcal{N} = 1 $ supersymmetric QCD in the conformal window. We show that when acting on gauge-invariant operators built out of scalars, the 1-loop dilatation operator is equivalent to the spin chain Hamiltonian of the 1D Ising model in a transverse magnetic field, which is a nontrivial integrable system that is exactly solvable at finite length. Solutions with periodic boundary conditions give the anomalous dimensions of flavor-singlet operators and solutions with fixed boundary conditions give the anomalous dimensions of operators whose ends contain open flavor indices.
Measurement of Transuranic Solid Wastes at the 10 nCi/g Activity Level

Two nondestructive assay systems, the MEGAS and the Pancake Counter, for the measurement of transuranic contaminated solid wastes at 10-nCi/g activity levels, have been developed. These are NaI-based detection systems to be used specifically for low-density solid transuranic wastes. They are of value in effective implementation of new federal regulations pertaining to transuranic waste management in that they supplement the usual administrative decision making in waste handling. (auth)
Regional economic integration and geographic concentration of multinational firms

Abstract A number of theoretical studies have predicted that preferential trade agreements (PTAs) raise outside multinationals’ incentive to invest in the participating countries, especially in those that are integrated with larger markets and have lower production costs. The hypothesis has, however, not been tested empirically. This paper addresses the issue by estimating the impact of PTAs on countries’ ability to attract multinationals. The evidence is broadly consistent with expectations. The formation of PTAs leads to an increase in FDI by outside multinationals, but the effect varies sharply with the size of integrated markets and countries’ comparative advantage. Countries integrated with larger markets experience a greater increase in total and export-platform FDI. Those with a higher labor endowment also attract more FDI especially in labor-intensive industries, but at the expense of their labor-scarce PTA partners.
Clinicopathologic Correlations in Giant Cell Arteritis A Retrospective Study of 107 Cases

Objective To correlate the pathologic findings of temporal artery biopsies in patients clinically defined as positive, presumed, or negative for giant cell arteritis (GCA). Design Retrospective case series. Participants and Controls Patients evaluated for GCA. Methods Temporal artery biopsies examined between 1989 and 2007 were studied. Clinical information and residual tissue for immunohistochemical staining was identified in 107 patients. Clinical information was used to make a diagnosis of "positive," "presumed," or "negative" GCA. The biopsies were reviewed in a masked fashion and classified as "positive," "indeterminate," or "negative" based on published, classic pathologic diagnosis (CPD) criteria. All biopsies were immunostained for CD3 and CD68 and graded as "negative," "mildly" (+), "moderately" (++), or "markedly" (+++) positive. Clinical and pathologic results were correlated and a modified pathologic diagnosis classification (MPD) scheme was developed. The modified scheme was compared in a masked fashion with the final clinical diagnosis and positive and negative predictive values (PVs) were calculated. Main Outcome Measures Pathologic diagnosis and final clinical diagnosis. Results Using the MPD classification, there were 25%, 16%, and 61% positive, indeterminate, and negative biopsies, respectively. There was excellent correlation between the modified pathologic criteria and final clinical diagnosis (correlation coefficient 0.997; P Conclusions We recommend using the modified histologic classification of temporal artery biopsies. There are indeterminate cases that cannot be further defined using current pathologic classification criteria. A second biopsy has very limited value. Immunostaining for CD68 may be helpful in indeterminate cases, although the diagnosis in these cases is based on clinical judgment. Financial Disclosure(s) The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
Large margin multiclass gaussian classification with differential privacy

As increasing amounts of sensitive personal information is aggregated into data repositories, it has become important to develop mechanisms for processing the data without revealing information about individual data instances. The differential privacy model provides a framework for the development and theoretical analysis of such mechanisms. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for learning a discriminatively trained multiclass Gaussian classifier that satisfies differential privacy using a large margin loss function with a perturbed regularization term. We present a theoretical upper bound on the excess risk of the classifier introduced by the perturbation.
Performance Advantage of Combined Classifiers in Multi-category Cases: An Analysis

One problem in the field of machine learning is that the performance on the training and validation sets lack robustness when applied in real-life situations. Recent advances in ensemble methods have demonstrated that robust behavior can be improved by combining a large number of weak classifiers. The key insight of this paper is that the performance enhancement due to combining multiple classifiers is considerably greater in multi-category situations than in binary classifications, as long as their errors are conditionally independent. This paper provides some experimental and theoretical analysis of the performance using majority vote, paying special attention to the effect of several parameters that include the number of combined classifiers, weakness of the combined classifiers and the number of classes. These insights can provide guidance for the analysis and design of multi-classifier systems.
Extremal Reversible Measures for the Exclusion Process

The invariant measures $${\mathcal{I}}$$ for the exclusion process have long been studied and a complete description is known in many cases. This paper gives characterizations of $${\mathcal{I}}$$ for exclusion processes on $${\mathbb{Z}}$$ with certain reversible transition kernels. Some examples for which $${\mathcal{I}}$$ is given include all finite range kernels that are asymptotically equal to p(x,x+1)=p(x,x−1)=1/2. One tool used in the proofs gives a necessary and sufficient condition for reversible measures to be extremal in the set of invariant measures, which is an interesting result in its own right. One reason that this extremality is interesting is that it provides information concerning the domains of attraction for reversible measures.
An axiomatic approach to Quantum Gauge Field Theory

In the present article we display a new constructive quantum field theory approach to quantum gauge field theory, utilizing the recent progress in the integration theory on the moduli space of generalized connections modulo gauge transformations. That is, we propose a new set of Osterwalder Schrader like axioms for the characteristic functional of a measure on the space of generalized connections modulo gauge transformations rather than for the associated Schwinger distributions. We show non-triviality of our axioms by demonstrating that they are satisfied for twodimensional Yang-Mills theory on the plane and the cylinder. As a side result we derive a closed and analytical expression for the vacuum expectation value of an arbitrary product of Wilson-loop functionals from which we derive the quantum theory along the Glimm and Jaffe algorithm which agrees exactly with the one as obtained by canonical methods.
Numerical Simulations of MHD Turbulence in Accretion Disks

We review numerical simulations of MHD turbulence. The last decade has witnessed fundamental advances both in the technical capabilities of direct numerical simulation, and in our understanding of key physical processes. Magnetic fields tap directly into the free energy sources in a sufficiently ionized gas. The result is that adverse angular velocity and adverse temperature gradients, not the classical angular momentum and entropy gradients, destabilize laminar and stratified flow. This has profound consequences for astrophysical accretion flows, and has opened the door to a new era of numerical simulation experiments.
Deep Democracy : A Political and Social Economy Approach

The main purpose of this paper is to offer a somewhat novel theory of deep democracy from a political and social economy perspective. The theory of deep democracy presented here makes a distinction between formal aspects of democracy and the deeper structural aspects. In order for democracy to be deep, democratic practices have to become institutionalized in such a way that they become part of normal life in a democratic society. In this sense, ontologically, deep democracy overlaps with Barber's (1984) idea of "strong" democracy. There are, however, epistemological differences as well as differences of emphasis, particularly in the economic sphere. Cluster conditions for deep democracy include both cultural-political and socio-economic conditions.
Tractable inference for complex stochastic processes

The monitoring and control of any dynamic system depends crucially on the ability to reason about its current status and its future trajectory. In the case of a stochastic system, these tasks typically involve the use of a belief state--a probability distribution over the state of the process at a given point in time. Unfortunately, the state spaces of complex processes are very large, making an explicit representation of a belief state intractable. Even in dynamic Bayesian networks (DBNs), where the process itself can be represented compactly, the representation of the belief state is intractable. We investigate the idea of maintaining a compact approximation to the true belief state, and analyze the conditions under which the errors due to the approximations taken over the lifetime of the process do not accumulate to make our answers completely irrelevant. We show that the error in a belief state contracts exponentially as the process evolves. Thus, even with multiple approximations, the error in our process remains bounded indefinitely. We show how the additional structure of a DBN can be used to design our approximation scheme, improving its performance significantly. We demonstrate the applicability of our ideas in the context of a monitoring task, showing that orders of magnitude faster inference can be achieved with only a small degradation in accuracy.
Efficient Financial Crises

We analyze the optimal capital structure and investment strategy of banks and other financial institutions. We develop conditions under which banks optimally choose a fragile capital structure that is subject to runs. We show that when bank depositors have limited ability to commit to long-term lending arrangements, they strictly prefer to lend to banks using short-term debt rather than with long-term debt or equity. We argue that when there are multiple banks, the same limited commitment of depositors leads them to prefer a financial system in which banks pursue correlated, risky investments as opposed to one in which banks pursue independent, less risky investments. The optimal financial system features occasional crises in which all banks are subject to ex-post inefficient liquidations, and in this sense, financial crises are efficient.
Seasonal Fluctuations and International Trade

This paper argues that seasonal fluctuations in international trade are large and have non- trivial effects on a country's resource allocation, production, and welfare. Using U.S. quarterly data, we find fluctuations of as much as 43% and 15% for apparel imports and exports respectively, and 7% and 12% for aggregate imports and exports respectively. In addition, we observe that seasonal fluctuations of aggregate exports have decreased substantially over time. We formulate a general equilibrium model to examine the link between changes in the size of seasonal fluctuations and the levels and variances of employment, output, and consumption. One result is that if price fluctuations increase under free trade, the traded good sector shrinks and the non-traded good sector expands. Increased trade volume can decrease fluctuations in domestic production of either good. This is verified in the data of U.S. apparel trade and production: we find that doubling of
Term Limits: Causes and Consequences

This paper consults multiple literatures to specify andevaluate the economic rationales for term limitation,particularly on Congress. I first consider theories that aroseto explain, among related issues, why individual states mightunilaterally self-impose term limits on their own delegationsto Congress. Next I consider two main lines of argument foruniversal limits, both of which begin with the empiricalphenomenon of high and rising congressional tenure. First,supporters of term limits argue that higher tenure biaseslegislatures toward inefficiency big government (highspending). Second, higher tenure creates inefficient (anti-competitive) conditions in the legislative election market.Term limitation would remedy these inefficiencies by virtue ofdecreasing average tenure. These claims are then evaluated inlight of the evidence amassed in the literature. Based on theliterature reviewed, this paper finds that, while term limitswill reduce average tenure, there is no evidence to suggestthat term limits will affect the underlying causes of theseinefficiencies. Further research on a more general reform,which would strike deeper at these underlying causes, isimplied.
Inequality of opportunity and economic development

Just as equality of opportunity becomes an increasingly prominent concept in normative economics, the authors argue that it is also a relevant concept for positive models of the links between distribution and aggregate efficiency. Persuasive microeconomic evidence suggests that inequalities in wealth, power, and status have efficiency costs. These variables capture different aspects of people's opportunity sets, for which observed income may be a poor proxy. One implication is that the cross-country literature on income inequality and growth may have been barking up the wrong tree, and that alternative measures of the relevant distributions are needed. The authors review some of the detailed microeconomic evidence, and then suggest three research areas where further work is needed.
Will the crisis affect the economic recovery in eastern European countries ? evidence from firm level data

Two sources of growth are firm learning and innovation. Using a unique panel data for 1,686 firms in six countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Turkey), this paper applies panel data estimators and Juhn-Murphy Pierce decomposition in order to identify the effects of the global economic crisis on sales growth of innovative and young enterprises in Eastern European countries. The results show that innovative and young firms were significantly more affected by the crisis than non innovative and older enterprises. The authors interpret these results as an indication that the achievement of pre-crisis growth rates in those countries may be difficult.
Grain Futures Markets: What Have They Learned?

Taken together, studies that examine how well commodity futures markets perform find that risk premiums are common—and so unbiasedness is not—and markets are not uniformly efficient across commodities or forecast horizons. This large body of research sheds important light on whether and to what extent commodity-futures markets forecast optimally future spot prices and, so, enable commercials to manage price risk by effectively parsing out much of it to speculators, a process that improves the total welfare of an economy with competitive but otherwise-incomplete markets. Nevertheless, that speculators can, in effect, improve welfare in this way has done little to quell popular hostilities toward futures markets. Such hostilities—and, in particular, those directed at speculators—in North America date to the inception of these markets in the nineteenth century, and have contributed to the unflattering depiction of the early futures exchange as an inchoate and poorly managed institution that initially served only the (illegitimate) aspirations of gamblers, an original-sin creation narrative that surely compromises the legitimacy of modern futures markets. Unfortunately, economists’ understanding of early commodity-futures markets is particularly fragmented—the extant literature focuses almost exclusively on the post-World War II era—and, as such, claims regarding the performance of early futures markets remain largely unsubstantiated in any quantitatively measurable sense. In this paper, I test and compare the efficiency properties of wheat, corn, and oats futures prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBT) from 1880 to 1890 and from 1997 to 2007. I demonstrate that, on balance, these nascent nineteenth-century grain-futures markets were, like their contemporary counterparts in this case, mostly efficient. As such, these results support the claims of early proponents of futures markets who argued that the development of the futures exchange was shaped primarily by commercial interests who sought to mitigate price risk.
Making education in China equitable and efficient

As China consolidates its rapid economic gains and continues its drive toward a market-oriented environment, the country's international competitiveness will depend greatly on the quality of its human resources. China has made impressive gains in human resource development in the past two decades, and continuing to do so will help reduce poverty in two ways: indirectly, by increasing the productivity and efficiency of its labor force, and directly, by fostering the earning capacity of the poor. Eventually, improving human resources will spur economic growth and enhance welfare. Progress in human resource development has steadily slowed in recent years, however, because of two broad problems. First, the distribution of education services continues to discriminate against the poor, largely because they have not benefited from recent gains in economic growth and are being choked off from access to services. Second, some mechanisms and arrangements for delivering services have created targeting inefficiencies. The author argues that the government's priorities should be to improve the equity, efficiency, and quality of social services, as well as their financing.
Portable design rules for bulk CMOS

It is pointed out that for the past several years, one school of IC designers has used a simplified set of nMOS geometric design rules (GDR) which is 'portable', in that it can be used by many different nMOS manufacturers. The present investigation is concerned with a preliminary set of design rules for bulk CMOS which has been verified for simple test structures. The GDR are defined in terms of Caltech Intermediate Form (CIF), which is a geometry-description language that defines simple geometrical objects in layers. The layers are abstractions of physical mask layers. The design rules do not presume the existence of any particular design methodology. Attention is given to p-well and n-well CMOS processes, bulk CMOS and CMOS-SOS, CMOS geometric rules, and a description of the advantages of CMOS technology.
Prospects of Higgs Physics at the LHC

The search for the Higgs boson is a major physics goal of the future Large Hadron Collider. The discovery potential is described as a function of the Higgs mass. It is shown that a Standard Model Higgs boson can be discovered within the first year of data taking. The status of MSSM Higgs searches is also discussed.
Galaxy collisions - dawn of a new era

The study of colliding galaxies has progressed rapidly in the last few years, driven by observations with powerful new ground- and space-based instruments. These instruments have been used for detailed studies of specific nearby systems, statistical studies of large samples of relatively nearby systems, and increasingly large samples of high redshift systems. Following a brief summary of the historical context, this review attempts to integrate these studies to address the following key issues. What role do collisions play in galaxy evolution, and how can recently discovered processes like downsizing resolve some apparently contradictory results of high redshift studies? What is the role of environment in galaxy collisions? How is star formation and nuclear activity orchestrated by the large scale dynamics, before and during merger? Are novel modes of star formation involved? What are we to make of the association of ultraluminous X-ray sources with colliding galaxies? To what degree do mergers and feedback trigger long-term secular effects? How far can we push the archaeology of individual systems to determine the nature of precursor systems and the precise effect of the interaction? Tentative answers to many of these questions have been suggested, and the prospects for answering most of them in the next few decades are good.
Transition Metal Complexes Stabilized by Bulky Terphenyl Ligands: Application to Metal–Metal Bonded Compounds

A wide variety of monodentate, sterically encumbering ligands have been used to stabilize low coordination numbers in both main group and transition element compounds [1]. In recent years, the very crowded m-terphenyls have emerged as a particularly effective class of bulky ligand for the stabilization of numerous main group element compounds with unusual bonding and electron configurations [2, 3]. These include, for example, the first compounds with formal triple bonds between group 13 [4, 5] and group 14 metals [6, 7], as well as a stable crystalline heavier main group radical species [8]. In contrast, transition metal terphenyl derivatives have received less attention and most of the work has been performed within the last 5 years. This account focuses on these recently discovered transition metal species.
Gamma ray lines from solar flares

We have treated in detail the theory of gamma-ray line production in solar flares. The strongest line, both predicted theoretically and detected observationally at 2.2 MeV, is due to neutron capture by protons in the photosphere. The neutrons are produced in nuclear reactions of flare accelerated particles which also produce positrons and prompt nuclear gamma rays. From the comparison of the observed and calculated intensities of the lines at 4.4 or 6.1 MeV to that of the 2.2 MeV line it is possible to deduce the spectrum of accelerated nuclei in the flare region; and from the absolute intensities of these lines it is possible to obtain the total number of accelerated nuclei at the Sun. The study of the 2.2 MeV line also gives information on the amount of He3 in the photosphere. The study of the line at 0.51 MeV resulting from positron annihilation complements the data obtained from the other lines; in addition it gives information on the temperature and density in the annihilation region and on the anisotropy of the accelerated electron beam which produces continuum gamma rays at energies greater than about 1 MeV.
Pulsating Type IV solar radio bursts

Several models for pulsating type IV radio bursts are presented based on the assumption that the pulsations are the result of fluctuations in the synchrotron emission due to small variations in the magnetic field of the source. It is shown that a source that is optically thick at low frequencies due to synchrotron self-absorption exhibits pulsations that occur in two bands situated on either side of the spectral peak. The pulsations in the two bands are 180° out of phase and the band of pulsations at the higher frequencies is the more intense. In contrast, a synchrotron source that is optically thin at all frequencies and whose low frequency emission is suppressed due to the Razin effect develops only a single band of pulsations around the frequency of maximum emission. However, the flux density associated with the later model would be too small to explain the more intense pulsations that have been observed unless the source area is considerably larger than presently seems reasonable.
Gibbs sampling with low-power spiking digital neurons

Restricted Boltzmann Machines and Deep Belief Networks have been successfully used in a wide variety of applications including image classification and speech recognition. Inference and learning in these algorithms uses a Markov Chain Monte Carlo procedure called Gibbs sampling. A sigmoidal function forms the kernel of this sampler which can be realized from the firing statistics of noisy integrate-and-fire neurons on a neuromorphic VLSI substrate. This paper demonstrates such an implementation on an array of digital spiking neurons with stochastic leak and threshold properties for inference tasks and presents some key performance metrics for such a hardware-based sampler in both the generative and discriminative contexts.
On quantum GL(n)

Abstract The quantum GL ( n ) of Faddeev, Reshetikhin, and Takhtajan, and that of Dipper and Donkin are realized geometrically by using double partial flag varieties. As a consequence, the difference of these two Hopf algebras is caused by a twist of a cocycle in the multiplication.
Detection of El Nino and Decade Time Scale Variations of Sea Surface Temperature from Banded Coral Records: Implications for the Carbon Dioxide Cycle

Author(s): Druffel, ERM | Abstract: Stable oxygen isotope ratios from annually banded corals are correlated with historical records of sea surface temperature in the central and eastern tropical Pacific ocean. El Nino events between 1929 and 1976 are detected using this method, but there are discrepancies between the records of El Ninos from corals and those determined using historical hydrographic and meteorologic data. The average annual description of delta 18O during El Nino events is greater at the Galapagos Island sites (0.45per mille) than at the Fanning and Canton Island sites in the mid-Pacific (0.20-0.30per mille and less than 0.2per mille, respectively). Of prime importance is evidence of decade time scale variability of sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific. In particular, annually averaged SST appears to have been 0.5o-1oC higher in the eastern tropical Pacific during the 1930's than during subsequent years. A significant net flux of CO2 from the surface ocean to the atmosphere is envisioned during these periods of higher SST.-Author
Peritoneovenous shunt in the management of ascites and the hepatorenal syndrome

Abstract In summary, the peritoneovenous shunt as a means of relieving ascites offers a great deal to appropriately selected patients. It has some serious complications however, and should not be used indiscriminately. The frequency and severity of the risks are formidable, mandating that the procedure be reserved for those patients whose major medical problems will be addressed by relief of ascites and in whom more conservative forms of therapy have been ineffective after an adequate trial. In contrast to its role in the management of ascites, the peritoneovenous shunt cannot at this time be viewed as established therapy for the patient with the hepatorenal syndrome.
Exploring residual gauge symmetry breaking

Simulations of pure-gauge SU(2) lattice gauge theory are performed in the minimal Coulomb gauge. This leaves a residual or remnant gauge symmetry still active which is global in three directions but still local in one. Using averaged fourth-di mension pointing links as a spin-like order parameter, the remnant symmetry appears to undergo spontaneous symmetry breaking at around β = 2.6. Both the Binder cumulant and the magnetization itself exhibit crossings in this region using lattices up to 20 4 , and a susceptibility peak is also observed. Finite size sca ling indicates a weak first-order transition. The symmetry break ing is also observed to take place in the fundamental-adjoint plane, and is coincident with the strong first-order transition that exists there at large βadjoint. This provides confirmation that this phase transition is a s ymmetry-breaking transition. A well-known theorem concerning the instantaneous Coulomb potential has previously proven that a transition where such a Coulomb-gauge remnant symmetry breaks is necessarily deconfining.
Optimal Bayesian estimation in random covariate design with a rescaled Gaussian process prior

In Bayesian nonparametric models, Gaussian processes provide a popular prior choice for regression function estimation. Existing literature on the theoretical investigation of the resulting posterior distribution almost exclusively assume a fixed design for covariates. The only random design result we are aware of (van der Vaart and van Zanten, 2011) assumes the assigned Gaussian process to be supported on the smoothness class specified by the true function with probability one. This is a fairly restrictive assumption as it essentially rules out the Gaussian process prior with a squared exponential kernel when modeling rougher functions. In this article, we show that an appropriate rescaling of the above Gaussian process leads to a rate-optimal posterior distribution even when the covariates are independently realized from a known density on a compact set. The proofs are based on deriving sharp concentration inequalities for frequentist kernel estimators; the results might be of independent interest.
Event-Object Reasoning with Curated Knowledge Bases: Deriving Missing Information

The broader goal of our research is to formulate answers to why and how questions with respect to knowledge bases, such as AURA. One issue we face when reasoning with many available knowledge bases is that at times needed information is missing. Examples of this include partially missing information about next sub-event, first sub-event, last sub-event, result of an event, input to an event, destination of an event, and raw material involved in an event. In many cases one can recover part of the missing knowledge through reasoning. In this paper we give a formal definition about how such missing information can be recovered and then give an ASP implementation of it. We then discuss the implication of this with respect to answering why and how questions.
Is horizontal convection really “non-turbulent?”

[1] Within the geophysical community Horizontal Convection (HC) has been considered irrelevant or nearly so in driving large scale overturning flows, based primarily on an inference based on a century old experiment by Sandstrom (1908), and on a theoretical argument that would prevent HC to sustain a true turbulent flow, the latter deemed necessary to achieve mixing. We revisit Paparella and Young's (2002) argument with the aid of DNS of HC at Rayleigh number up to 1010. We argue that the criterion used by these authors is overly restrictive. On the contrary, geometrical statistics show that HC possesses the characteristic of turbulent flows. The surprising result is that HC can transport very large quantities of heat and sustain large amounts of diapycnal mixing with a surprisingly small amount of dissipation. Values of diapycnal mixing and dissipation in the ocean are shown to be consistent with a HC driven ocean provided the effect of wind-forcing are included.
Testing identifiability of causal effects

This paper concerns the probabilistic evaluation of the effects of actions in the presence of unmeasured variables. We show that the identification of causal effect between a singleton variable X and a set of variables Y can be accomplished systematically, in time polynomial in the number of variables in the graph. When the causal effect is identifiable, a closed-form expression can be obtained for the probability that the action will achieve a specified goal, or a set of goals.
The Complexity of Forecast Testing

Consider a weather forecaster predicting a probability of rain for the next day. We consider tests that, given a finite sequence of forecast predictions and outcomes, will either pass or fail the forecaster. Sandroni showed that any test which passes a forecaster who knows the distribution of nature can also be probabilistically passed by a forecaster with no knowledge of future events. We look at the computational complexity of such forecasters and exhibit a linear-time test and distribution of nature such that any forecaster without knowledge of the future who can fool the test must be able to solve computationally difficult problems. Thus, unlike Sandroni's work, a computationally efficient forecaster cannot always fool this test independently of nature.
A semi-custom dual channel peak hold circuit for spaceborne instrumentation

A monolithic dual-channel peak hold circuit is developed using a semi-custom application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The circuit is designed specifically for spaceborne instrumentation that requires low-power operation and low-mass packaging. Each independent circuit holds positive pulses and consists of a differential transconductance amplifier followed by a one-way current amplifier. Input gate and output hold functions are enabled by standard transistor-transistor-logic (TTL) or CMOS logic levels. To accommodate a range of applications, quiescent power is adjustable for performance-power tradeoff or can be disabled for single-channel use. Fabricated with dielectrically isolated vertical geometry NPN and PNP transitors, the circuit is inherently radiation-hard and immune to transient upset. >
Masculinizing tumor of the ovary of the adrenal type.

Abstract There are a number of features in this case that seem noteworthy, viz., although the patient gave a history of menopause at 37 years with rather severe symptoms, the ovaries were both enlarged to two or three times normal size and lacked the typical atrophic wrinkled and pitted appearance of the senile ovary, and were smooth and cellular-looking. The uterus was enlarged and engorged in appearance, not at all the small atrophic fibrous senile uterus of a woman ten years post menopause. This patient showed the characteristic tendency toward hypertension fairly frequent in the reported cases. The blood sugar was normal. Polycythemia was present. General appearance of the tumor suggests definite adrenal cortical cells with well-marked cell boundaries. In spite of functional behavior of the tumor in terms of 17-ketosteroids and bioassay in international units, its demonstrable output of androgens is extremely low in comparison with other reported cases, suggesting either that androgens in large amounts are not necessary to produce masculinization, or that our means of measuring them quantitatively are as yet not sufficiently refined as to be entirely reliable. There were definite masculine stigmas of approximately two years' duration, with masculine type of baldness and recession of hair at temporal regions, rugged deeply lined facies with marked hypertrichosis of chest, abdomen, and legs, definite marked hypertrophy of the clitoris and masculine type pubic hair distribution. Complete recession of signs of masculinization and resumption of feminine habitus followed ablation of the tumor.
ON WEIGHT MODULES OF ALGEBRAS OF TWISTED DIFFERENTIAL OPERATORS ON THE PROJECTIVE SPACE

We classify blocks of categories of weight and generalized weight modules of algebras of twisted differential operators on ℙ n . Necessary and sufficient conditions for these blocks to be tame and proofs that some of the blocks are Koszul are provided. We also establish equivalences of categories between these blocks and categories of bounded and generalized bounded weight -modules in the cases of nonintegral and singular central character.
A Note on Universality of the Distribution of the Largest Eigenvalues in Certain Sample Covariance Matrices

Recently Johansson and Johnstone proved that the distribution of the (properly rescaled) largest principal component of the complex (real) Wishart matrix X*X(XtX) converges to the Tracy–Widom law as n,p (the dimensions of X) tend to ∞ in some ratio n/p→γ>0. We extend these results in two directions. First of all, we prove that the joint distribution of the first, second, third, etc. eigenvalues of a Wishart matrix converges (after a proper rescaling) to the Tracy–Widom distribution. Second of all, we explain how the combinatorial machinery developed for Wigner random matrices in refs. 27, 38, and 39 allows to extend the results by Johansson and Johnstone to the case of X with non-Gaussian entries, provided n−p=O(p1/3). We also prove that λmax≤(n1/2+p1/2)2+O(p1/2 log(p)) (a.e.) for general γ>0.
A general framework for complete positivity

Complete positivity of quantum dynamics is often viewed as a litmus test for physicality; yet, it is well known that correlated initial states need not give rise to completely positive evolutions. This observation spurred numerous investigations over the past two decades attempting to identify necessary and sufficient conditions for complete positivity. Here, we describe a complete and consistent mathematical framework for the discussion and analysis of complete positivity for correlated initial states of open quantum systems. This formalism is built upon a few simple axioms and is sufficiently general to contain all prior methodologies going back to Pechakas (Phys Rev Lett 73:1060---1062, 1994). The key observation is that initial system-bath states with the same reduced state on the system must evolve under all admissible unitary operators to system-bath states with the same reduced state on the system, in order to ensure that the induced dynamical maps on the system are well defined. Once this consistency condition is imposed, related concepts such as the assignment map and the dynamical maps are uniquely defined. In general, the dynamical maps may not be applied to arbitrary system states, but only to those in an appropriately defined physical domain. We show that the constrained nature of the problem gives rise to not one but three inequivalent types of complete positivity. Using this framework, we elucidate the limitations of recent attempts to provide conditions for complete positivity using quantum discord and the quantum data processing inequality. In particular, we correct the claim made by two of us (Shabani and Lidar in Phys Rev Lett 102:100402---100404, 2009) that vanishing discord is necessary for complete positivity, and explain that it is valid only for a particular class of initial states. The problem remains open, and may require fresh perspectives and new mathematical tools. The formalism presented herein may be one step in that direction.
A variable current bypass shunt for electromagnets

An IGBT (insulated-gate bipolar transistor) is used to control the current in bypass circuits that vary the relative strength of magnets connected in series. Each circuit consists of a water-cooled assembly rated for continuous operation at 70 V and 0-50 A DC, with 1-kV insulation between control/monitoring elements and magnets. The circuit operates as a 10-kHz PWM (pulsewidth-modulated) switcher that includes filters and transient protection. Four switcher assemblies were built and installed in the SLC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Linear Collider) main arc magnet system and have performed as predicted. >
Audit Fee Reductions from Internal Audit‐Provided Assistance: The Incremental Impact of Internal Audit Characteristics*

We question whether audit committee oversight, resource commitments, and the sourcing of internal audit functions have value implications for external audit reliance on internal audit assistance. When evaluating the quality of internal audit, professional standards guide external auditors to consider the oversight of, and resource commitment to, the internal audit function. Alternatively, to promote higher quality, some organizations outsource internal audit services to independent outside auditors. However, oversight roles, resource commitments, and outsourcing strategies are not costless alternatives for strengthening internal audit functions. Despite the findings of prior research that internal audit quality and consequent external audit reliance on internal audit assistance are functions of these dimensions, little is known about the separable influence of these characteristics on the value of assistance provided. We introduce new measures of internal audit assistance, oversight influence, resource commitments, and their distinct impact on external audit fee reductions resulting from reliance on internal audit assistance. Our results are consistent with external auditors using internal auditors for higher value tasks (not just more tasks) when the audit committee oversight and/or resource commitments to internal audit functions increase. Although we find economic advantages for outsourced internal audit assistance, these advantages are mitigated by increases in audit committee oversight and resource commitments to in-house internal audit functions. Moreover, our results suggest that, to enhance the organizational status of internal audit, organizations should not only consider the official placement of the internal audit function, but also informal influences from the organization’s oversight functions, including the executive suite and the audit committee.