cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Estimation Method of a Constitutive-law for the Rod Model of DNA using Discrete-Structure Simulations

The continuum-rod model has emerged as an efficient tool to describe the long-length-scale structural-deformations of DNA which are critical to understanding the nature of many biological processes such as gene expression. However, a significant challenge in continuum-mechanics-based modeling of DNA is to estimate its constitutive law, which follows from its interatomic bond-stiffness. Experiments and all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have suggested that the constitutive law is nonlinear and non-homogeneous (sequence-dependent) along the length of DNA. In this paper, we present an estimation method and a validation study using discrete-structure simulations. We consider a simple cantilever-rod with an artificially constructed, discrete lattice-structure which gives rise to a constitutive law. Large deformations are then simulated. An effective constitutive-law is estimated from these deformations using inverse methods. Finally, we test the estimated law by employing it in the continuum rod-model and comparing the simulation results with those of discrete-structure simulations under a different cantilever loading-conditions.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Bounded stability in networked systems with parameter mismatch and adaptive decentralized estimation

Here, we study the ultimately bounded stability of network of mismatched systems using Lyapunov direct method. The upper bound on the error of oscillators from the center of the neighborhood is derived. Then the performance of an adaptive compensation via decentralized control is analyzed. Finally, the analytical results for a network of globally connected Lorenz oscillators are verified.
Space-Efficient Latent Contracts.

Standard higher-order contract monitoring breaks tail recursion and leads to space leaks that can change a program’s asymptotic complexity; space-efficiency restores tail recursion and bounds the amount of space used by contracts. Space-efficient contract monitoring for contracts enforcing simple type disciplines (a/k/a gradual typing) is well studied. Prior work establishes a space-efficient semantics for manifest contracts without dependency [10]; we adapt that work to a latent calculus with dependency. We guarantee space efficiency when no dependency is used; we cannot generally guarantee space efficiency when dependency is used, but instead offer a framework for making such programs space efficient on a case-by-case basis.
ON THE VOLUME CONJECTURE FOR CLASSICAL SPIN NETWORKS

We prove an upper bound for the evaluation of all classical SU2 spin networks conjectured by Garoufalidis and van der Veen. This implies one half of the analogue of the volume conjecture which they proposed for classical spin networks. We are also able to obtain the other half, namely, an exact determination of the spectral radius, for the special class of generalized drum graphs. Our proof uses a version of Feynman diagram calculus which we developed as a tool for the interpretation of the symbolic method of classical invariant theory, in a manner which is rigorous yet true to the spirit of the classical literature.
Bounds for the logarithm of the Euler gamma function and its derivatives

Abstract We consider differences between log ⁡ Γ ( x ) and truncations of certain classical asymptotic expansions in inverse powers of x − λ whose coefficients are expressed in terms of Bernoulli polynomials B n ( λ ) , and we obtain conditions under which these differences are strictly completely monotonic. In the symmetric cases λ = 0 and λ = 1 / 2 , we recover results of Sonin, Norlund and Alzer. Also we show how to derive these asymptotic expansions using the functional equation of the logarithmic derivative of the Euler gamma function, the representation of 1 / x as a difference F ( x + 1 ) − F ( x ) , and a backward induction.
Restricted Stirling and Lah number matrices and their inverses

Given $R \subseteq \mathbb{N}$ let ${n \brace k}_R$, ${n \brack k}_R$, and $L(n,k)_R$ be the number of ways of partitioning the set $[n]$ into $k$ non-empty subsets, cycles and lists, respectively, with each block having cardinality in $R$. We refer to these as the $R$-restricted Stirling numbers of the second and first kind and the $R$-restricted Lah numbers, respectively. Note that the classical Stirling numbers of the second kind and first kind, and Lah numbers are ${n \brace k} = {n \brace k}_{\mathbb{N}}$, ${n \brack k} = {n \brack k}_{\mathbb{N}} $ and $L(n,k) = L(n,k)_{\mathbb{N}}$, respectively. The matrices $[{n \brace k}]_{n,k \geq 1}$, $[{n \brack k}]_{n,k \geq 1}$ and $[L(n,k)]_{n,k \geq 1}$ have inverses $[(-1)^{n-k}{n \brack k}]_{n,k \geq 1}$, $[(-1)^{n-k} {n \brace k}]_{n,k \geq 1}$ and $[(-1)^{n-k} L(n,k)]_{n,k \geq 1}$ respectively. The inverse matrices $[{n \brace k}_R]^{-1}_{n,k \geq 1}$, $[{n \brack k}_R]^{-1}_{n,k \geq 1}$ and $[L(n,k)_R]^{-1}_{n,k \geq 1}$ exist if and only if $1 \in R$. We express each entry of each of these matrices as the difference between the cardinalities of two explicitly defined families of labeled forests. In particular the entries of $[{n \brace k}_{[r]}]^{-1}_{n,k \geq 1}$ have combinatorial interpretations, affirmatively answering a question of Choi, Long, Ng and Smith from 2006. If $1,2 \in R$ and if for all $n \in R$ with $n$ odd and $n \geq 3$, we have $n \pm 1 \in R$, we additionally show that each entry of $[{n \brace k}_R]^{-1}_{n,k \geq 1}$, $[{n \brack k}_R]^{-1}_{n,k \geq 1}$ and $[L(n,k)_R]^{-1}_{n,k \geq 1}$ is up to an explicit sign the cardinality of a single explicitly defined family of labeled forests. Our results also provide combinatorial interpretations of the $k$th Whitney numbers of the first and second kinds of $\Pi_n^{1,d}$, the poset of partitions of $[n]$ that have each part size congruent to $1$ mod $d$.
Variance analysis of randomized consensus in switching directed networks

In this paper, we study the asymptotic properties of distributed consensus algorithms over switching directed random networks. More specifically, we focus on consensus algorithms over independent and identically distributed, directed Erdős-Renyi random graphs, where each agent can communicate with any other agent with some exogenously specified probability p. While it is well-known that consensus algorithms over Erdős-Renyi random networks result in an asymptotic agreement over the network, an analytical characterization of the distribution of the asymptotic consensus value remains an open question. In this paper, we provide closed-form expressions for the mean and variance of the asymptotic random consensus value, in terms of the size of the network and the probability of communication p. We also provide numerical simulations that illustrate our results.
On the Adjacency Spectra of Hypertrees

We show that $\lambda$ is an eigenvalue of a $k$-uniform hypertree $(k \geq 3)$ if and only if it is a root of a particular matching polynomial for a connected induced subtree. We then use this to provide a spectral characterization for power hypertrees. Notably, the situation is quite different from that of ordinary trees, i.e., $2$-uniform trees. We conclude by presenting an example (an $11$ vertex, $3$-uniform non-power hypertree) illustrating these phenomena.
THE PONTRJAGIN–HOPF INVARIANTS FOR SOBOLEV MAPS

Subtle issues arise when extending homotopy invariants to spaces of functions having little regularity, e.g., Sobolev spaces containing discontinuous functions. Sometimes it is not possible to extend the invariant at all, and sometimes, even when the formulas defining the invariants make sense, they may not have expected properties (e.g., there are maps having non-integral degree). In this paper, we define a complete set of homotopy invariants for maps from three-manifolds to the two-sphere and show that these invariants extend to finite Faddeev energy maps and maps in suitable Sobolev spaces. For smooth maps, our description is proved to be equivalent to Pontrjagin's original homotopy classification from the 1930's. We further show that for the finite energy maps the invariants take on exactly the same values as for smooth maps. We include applications to the Faddeev model. The techniques that we use would also apply to many more problems and/or other functionals. We have tried to make the paper accessible to analysts, geometers and mathematical physicists.
Amorphous intergranular films as toughening structural features

Abstract The ability of amorphous intergranular films to mitigate damage formation at grain boundaries is studied with molecular dynamics simulations. We find that such films can alter both crack nucleation and crack growth rates by efficiently absorbing dislocations, with thicker films being more effective sinks. Local plastic strain brought by incoming dislocations is diffused into a triangular region within the amorphous film and is accommodated by a flow of boundary atoms which resembles a vortex shape; this vortex grows inside of the amorphous intergranular film as more dislocations are absorbed until it reaches the opposite amorphous–crystalline interface, after which cracks can finally be nucleated. Even after nucleation, these cracks grow more sluggishly in an amorphous intergranular film than they do along a clean grain boundary, since the driving force for crack growth is lower in the amorphous film. The results presented here suggest that amorphous intergranular films can act as toughening features within a microstructure, and thus are promising for designing nanostructured materials with better ductility and fracture toughness.
Availability and Reliability of Wireless Links in 5G Systems: A Space-Time Approach

Wireless links are characterized by fluctuating quality, leading to variable packet error rates which are orders of magnitude higher than the ones of wired links. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to investigate the limitations of using 5G wireless links for internet of things (IoT) applications. 5G wireless links in IoT need to assure determinism of process flows via real-time communication anytime and anywhere, which is an utmost requirement for multiple verticals like automotive, industrial automation and aerospace. Based on a space-time approach, in this work, we provide novel definitions of wireless link availability and reliability, assuming a number of access points (APs) and end points (EPs) deployed over a fixed area. Our objective is to analyze the availability of a service in both domains. In the space domain, we characterize spatially available areas consisting of all locations that meet a performance requirement with confidence. In the time domain, we propose a channel allocation scheme accounting for the spatial availability of a cell. With the aim to reveal the incurred space-time performance trade-offs, numerical results are presented, also highlighting the effect of different system parameters on the achievable link availability and reliability.
Privacy in Feedback: The Differentially Private LQG

Information communicated within cyber-physical systems (CPSs) is often used in determining the physical states of such systems, and malicious adversaries may intercept these communications in order to infer future states of a CPS or its components. Accordingly, there arises a need to protect the state values of a system. Recently, the notion of differential privacy has been used to protect state trajectories in dynamical systems, and it is this notion of privacy that we use here to protect the state trajectories of CPSs. We incorporate a cloud computer to coordinate the agents comprising the CPSs of interest, and the cloud offers the ability to remotely coordinate many agents, rapidly perform computations, and broadcast the results, making it a natural fit for systems with many interacting agents or components. Striving for broad applicability, we solve infinite-horizon linear-quadratic-regulator (LQR) problems, and each agent protects its own state trajectory by adding noise to its states before they are sent to the cloud. The cloud then uses these state values to generate optimal inputs for the agents. As a result, private data are fed into feedback loops at each iteration, and each noisy term affects every future state of every agent. In this paper, we show that the differentially private LQR problem can be related to the well-studied linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) problem, and we provide bounds on how agents' privacy requirements affect the cloud's ability to generate optimal feedback control values for the agents. These results are illustrated in numerical simulations.
Learning efficient correlated equilibria

The majority of distributed learning literature focuses on convergence to Nash equilibria. Correlated equilibria, on the other hand, can often characterize more efficient collective behavior than even the best Nash equilibrium. However, there are no existing distributed learning algorithms that converge to specific correlated equilibria. In this paper, we provide one such algorithm which guarantees that the agents' collective joint strategy will constitute an efficient correlated equilibrium with high probability. The key to attaining efficient correlated behavior through distributed learning involves incorporating a common random signal into the learning environment.
Optimal Vehicle Dimensioning for Multi-Class Autonomous Electric Mobility On-Demand Systems

Autonomous electric mobility on demand (AEMoD) has recently emerged as a cyber-physical system aiming to bring automation, electrification, and on- demand services for the future private transportation market. The expected massive demand on such services and its resulting insufficient charging time/resources prohibit the use of centralized management and full vehicle charging. A fog-based multi-class solution for these challenges was recently suggested, by enabling per-zone management and partial charging for different classes of AEMoD vehicles. This paper focuses on finding the optimal vehicle dimensioning for each zone of these systems in order to guarantee a bounded response time of its vehicles. Using a queuing model representing the multi-class charging and dispatching processes, we first derive the stability conditions and the number of system classes to guarantee the response time bound. Decisions on the proportions of each class vehicles to partially/fully charge, or directly serve customers are then optimized so as to minimize the vehicles in-flow to any given zone. Excess waiting times of customers in rare critical events, such as limited charging resources and/or limited vehicles availabilities, are also investigated. Results show the merits of our proposed model compared to other schemes and in usual and critical scenarios.
Hypertoric geometry and Gromov-Witten theory

Abstract We study Gromov–Witten theory of hypertoric Deligne–Mumford stacks from two points of view. From the viewpoint of representation theory, we calculate the operator of small quantum product by a divisor, following Braverman, Maulik and Okounkov (2011) and McBreen and Shenfeld (2013). From the viewpoint of Lawrence toric geometry, we compare the Gromov–Witten invariants of a hypertoric Deligne–Mumford stack with those of its associated Lawrence toric Deligne–Mumford stack.
Vanishing of Littlewood–Richardson polynomials is in P

J. De Loera & T. McAllister and K. D. Mulmuley & H. Narayanan & M. Sohoni independently proved that determining the vanishing of Littlewood–Richardson coefficients has strongly polynomial time computational complexity. Viewing these as Schubert calculus numbers, we prove the generalization to the Littlewood–Richardson polynomials that control equivariant cohomology of Grassmannians. We construct a polytope using the edge-labeled tableau rule of H. Thomas, A. Yong. Our proof then combines a saturation theorem of D. Anderson, E. Richmond, A. Yong, a reading order independence property, and E. Tardos’ algorithm for combinatorial linear programming.
A Generalized Neyman-Pearson Criterion for Optimal Domain Adaptation

In the problem of domain adaptation for binary classification, the learner is presented with labeled examples from a source domain, and must correctly classify unlabeled examples from a target domain, which may differ from the source. Previous work on this problem has assumed that the performance measure of interest is the expected value of some loss function. We introduce a new Neyman-Pearson-like criterion and argue that, for this optimality criterion, stronger domain adaptation results are possible than what has previously been established. In particular, we study a class of domain adaptation problems that generalizes both the covariate shift assumption and a model for feature-dependent label noise, and establish optimal classification on the target domain despite not having access to labelled data from this domain.
Reasoning about uncertainty in metric spaces

We set up a model for reasoning about metric spaces with belief theoretic measures. The uncertainty in these spaces stems from both probability and metric structures. To represent both aspect of uncertainty, we choose an expected distance function as a measure of uncertainty. A formal logical system is constructed for the reasoning about expected distance. Soundness and completeness are shown for this logic. For reasoning on product metric spaces with uncertainty, a new metric is defined and shown to have good properties.
Cleaning Noisy and Heterogeneous Metadata for Record Linking across Scholarly Big Datasets

Automatically extracted metadata from scholarly documents in PDF formats is usually noisy and heterogeneous, often containing incomplete fields and erroneous values. One common way of cleaning metadata is to use a bibliographic reference dataset. The challenge is to match records between corpora with high precision. The existing solution which is based on information retrieval and string similarity on titles works well only if the titles are cleaned. We introduce a system designed to match scholarly document entities with noisy metadata against a reference dataset. The blocking function uses the classic BM25 algorithm to find the matching candidates from the reference data that has been indexed by ElasticSearch. The core components use supervised methods which combine features extracted from all available metadata fields. The system also leverages available citation information to match entities. The combination of metadata and citation achieves high accuracy that significantly outperforms the baseline method on the same test dataset. We apply this system to match the database of CiteSeerX against Web of Science, PubMed, and DBLP. This method will be deployed in the CiteSeerX system to clean metadata and link records to other scholarly big datasets.
The structure of a highly-conserved picocyanobacterial protein reveals a Tudor domain with an RNA-binding function.

Cyanobacteria of the Prochlorococcus and marine Synechococcus genera are the most abundant photosynthetic microbes in the ocean. Intriguingly, the genomes of these bacteria are strongly divergent even within each genus, both in gene content and at the amino acid level of the encoded proteins. One striking exception to this is a 62-amino-acid protein, termed Prochlorococcus/Synechococcus hyper-conserved protein (PSHCP). PSHCP is not only found in all sequenced Prochlorococcus and marine Synechococcus genomes, but it is also nearly 100% identical in its amino acid sequence across all sampled genomes. Such universal distribution and sequence conservation suggest an essential cellular role of PSHCP in these bacteria. However, its function is unknown. Here, we used NMR spectroscopy to determine its structure, finding that 53 of the 62 amino acids in PSHCP form a Tudor domain, whereas the remainder of the protein is disordered. NMR titration experiments revealed that PSHCP has only a weak affinity for DNA, but an 18.5-fold higher affinity for tRNA, hinting at an involvement of PSHCP in translation. Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments further revealed that PSHCP also binds single-stranded, double-stranded, and hairpin RNAs. These results provide the first insight into the structure and function of PSHCP, suggesting that PSHCP appears to be an RNA-binding protein that can recognize a broad array of RNA molecules.
Modeling of chirping toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes in NSTX

Modulation of mode amplitude and frequency of TAE modes, observed experimentally and referred to as chirping, is investigated using a guiding center code and a δf formalism. Chirping is observed as the development in time of Fourier sidebands that move above and below the nominal mode frequency. Subsequent doubling of the sidebands is also sometimes observed. Equilibria with conventional positive magnetic shear are used, as well as NSTX reversed shear cases. The onset of chirping can be triggered by a sudden increase in mode damping, as can occur by the mode contacting the continuum.
What Is Our Purpose Here? Network Relationships and Goal Congruence in a Goal-Directed Network

“Whole” goal-directed networks are inherently full of conflict and tensions, but a certain level of agreement about network-level goals is important for goal-directed service delivery networks. Thi...
Diet-based assortative mating through sexual imprinting.

Speciation is facilitated by "magic traits," where divergent natural selection on such traits also results in assortative mating. In animal populations, diet has the potential to act as a magic trait if populations diverge in consumed food that incidentally affects mating and therefore sexual isolation. While diet-based assortative mating has been observed in the laboratory and in natural populations, the mechanisms causing positive diet-based assortment remain largely unknown. Here, we experimentally created divergent diets in a sexually imprinting species of mouse, Peromyscus gossypinus (the cotton mouse), to test the hypothesis that sexual imprinting on diet could be a mechanism that generates rapid and significant sexual isolation. We provided breeding pairs with novel garlic- or orange-flavored water and assessed whether their offspring, exposed to these flavors in utero and in the nest before weaning, later preferred mates that consumed the same flavored water as their parents. While males showed no preference, females preferred males of their parental diet, which is predicted to yield moderate sexual isolation. Thus, our experiment demonstrates the potential for sexual imprinting on dietary cues learned in utero and/or postnatally to facilitate reproductive isolation and potentially speciation. Open research badges This article has earned an Open Data Badge for making publicly available the digitally-shareable data necessary to reproduce the reported results. The data is available at https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n1qq6v3.
The Dual Gromov-Hausdorff Propinquity

Motivated by the quest for an analogue of the Gromov-Hausdorff distance in noncommutative geometry which is well-behaved with respect to C*-algebraic structures, we propose a complete metric on the class of Leibniz quantum compact metric spaces, named the dual Gromov-Hausdorff propinquity. This metric resolves several important issues raised by recent research in noncommutative metric geometry: it makes *-isomorphism a necessary condition for distance zero, it is well-adapted to Leibniz seminorms, and — very importantly — is complete, unlike the quantum propinquity which we introduced earlier. Thus our new metric provides a natural tool for noncommutative metric geometry, designed to allow for the generalizations of techniques from metric geometry to C*-algebra theory. Resume: Motives par la quete d’une metrique analogue a la distance de Gromov-Hausdorff pour la geometrie noncommutative et adaptee aux C*-algebres, nous proposons une distance complete sur la classe des espaces metriques compacts quantiques de Leibniz. Cette nouvelle distance, que nous appelons la proximite duale de Gromov-Hausdorff, resout plusieurs problemes importants que la recherche courante en geometrie metrique noncommutative a reveles. En particulier, il est necessaire pour les C*-algebres d’etre isomorphes pour avoir distance zero, et tous les espaces quantiques compacts impliques dans le calcul de la proximite duale sont de type Leibniz. En outre, notre distance est complete. Notre proximite duale de Gromov-Hausdorff est donc un nouvel outil naturel pour le developpement de la geometrie metrique noncommutative.
Credit information sharing and the shift in bank lending towards households

The disproportionate increase of bank lending to households relative to businesses is a central trend in the financial sector of many countries. In this paper, we provide evidence that credit information sharing has strongly contributed to this trend. Specifically, using a sample of 25 European countries, we show that credit information sharing is associated with a significant tilt in private bank lending towards household debt. That result is robust to various estimation techniques and control variable sets, as well as to instrumental variable estimations.
Quantum Phase Transitions in Models of Magnetic Impurities

Zero temperature phase transitions not only occur in the bulk of quantum systems, but also at boundaries or impurities. We review recent work on quantum phase transitions in impurity models that are generalizations of the standard Kondo model describing the interaction of a localized magnetic moment with a metallic fermionic host. Whereas in the standard case the moment is screened for any antiferromagnetic Kondo coupling as T → 0, the common feature of all systems considered here is that Kondo screening is suppressed due to the competition with other processes. This competition can generate unstable fixed points associated with phase transitions, where the impurity properties undergo qualitative changes. In particular, we discuss the coupling to both nontrivial fermionic and bosonic baths as well as two-impurity models, and make connections to recent experiments.
From computational science to internetics: integration of science with computer science

We describe how our world dominated by science and scientists has been changed and will be revolutionized by technologies moving with Internet time. Computers have always been well-used tools but in the beginning only the science counted and little credit or significance was attached to any computing activities associated with scientific research. Some 20 years ago, this started to change and the area of computational science gathered support with the NSF Supercomputer centers playing a critical role. However this vision has stalled over the last 5 years with information technology increasing in importance. The Holy Grail of computational science - scalable parallel computing - is still important but is just one supporting component of the Internet revolution. We discuss the emergence of the field of Internetics - bridging computer science and all application areas whether simulation or information based. Internetics is an exciting field, which seems complete and rich enough to be a lasting interdisciplinary area. Physics and other core science and engineering disciplines used to attract the very best minds but now their popularity is declining. We describe curricula initiatives that can re-invigorate these fields. This curricula turmoil must be addressed by our education infrastructure whose professorial staff find it hard to develop courses to satisfy student and employer interests in times of such rapid change. Distance education is very relevant as it can be used to disseminate expertise to students and teachers in these new areas. All of this has implications for our educational institutions, which could be quite profound.
Limitless Regression Discontinuity

Conventionally, regression discontinuity analysis contrasts a univariate regression’s limits as its independent variable, R, approaches a cut point, c, from either side. Alternative methods target ...
The chromatic number of random Borsuk graphs

We study a model of random graph where vertices are $n$ i.i.d. uniform random points on the unit sphere $S^d$ in $\mathbb{R}^{d+1}$, and a pair of vertices is connected if the Euclidean distance between them is at least $2- \epsilon$. We are interested in the chromatic number of this graph as $n$ tends to infinity. It is not too hard to see that if $\epsilon > 0$ is small and fixed, then the chromatic number is $d+2$ with high probability. We show that this holds even if $\epsilon \to 0$ slowly enough. We quantify the rate at which $\epsilon$ can tend to zero and still have the same chromatic number. The proof depends on combining topological methods (namely the Lyusternik--Schnirelman--Borsuk theorem) with geometric probability arguments. The rate we obtain is best possible, up to a constant factor --- if $\epsilon \to 0$ faster than this, we show that the graph is $(d+1)$-colorable with high probability.
Investigations and Improvement of Robustness of Reduced-Order Models of Reacting Flow

The impact of chemical reactions on the robustness and accuracy of projection-based reduced-order models (ROMs) of fluid flows is investigated. Both Galerkin and least squares Petrov–Galerkin ROMs ...
Boolean product polynomials, Schur positivity, and Chern plethysm

Let $1\leq k \leq n$ and let $X_n = (x_1, \dots, x_n)$ be a list of $n$ variables. The {\em Boolean product polynomial} $B_{n,k}(X_n)$ is the product of the linear forms $\sum_{i \in S} x_i$ where $S$ ranges over all $k$-element subsets of $\{1, 2, \dots, n\}$. We prove that Boolean product polynomials are Schur positive. We do this via a new method of proving Schur positivity using vector bundles and a symmetric function operation we call {\em Chern plethysm}. This gives a geometric method for producing a vast array of Schur positive polynomials whose Schur positivity lacks (at present) a combinatorial or representation theoretic proof. We relate the polynomials $B_{n,k}(X_n)$ for certain $k$ to other combinatorial objects including derangements, positroids, alternating sign matrices, and reverse flagged fillings of a partition shape. We also relate $B_{n,n-1}(X_n)$ to a bigraded action of the symmetric group $\mathfrak{S}_n$ on a divergence free quotient of superspace.
Tumors of the conjunctiva and cornea

Tumors of the conjunctiva and cornea comprise a large and varied spectrum of conditions. These tumors are grouped into two major categories of congenital and acquired lesions. The acquired lesions are further subdivided based on origin of the mass into surface epithelial, melanocytic, vascular, fibrous, neural, histiocytic, myxoid, myogenic, lipomatous, lymphoid, leukemic, metastatic and secondary tumors. Melanocytic lesions include nevus, racial melanosis, primary acquired melanosis, melanoma, and other ocular surface conditions like ocular melanocytosis and secondary pigmentary deposition. The most frequent nonmelanocytic neoplastic lesions include squamous cell carcinoma and lymphoma, both of which have typical features appreciated on clinical examination. The caruncle displays a slightly different array of tumors compared to those elsewhere on the conjunctiva, as nevus and papilloma are most common, but oncocytoma and sebaceous gland hyperplasia, adenoma, and carcinoma can be found. In this report, we provide clinical description and illustration of the many conjunctival and corneal tumors and we discuss tumor management.
The Loci of Behavioral Evolution: Evidence That Fas2 and tilB Underlie Differences in Pupation Site Choice Behavior between Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans.

The behaviors of closely related species can be remarkably different, and these differences have important ecological and evolutionary consequences. Although the recent boom in genotype-phenotype studies has led to a greater understanding of the genetic architecture and evolution of a variety of traits, studies identifying the genetic basis of behaviors are, comparatively, still lacking. This is likely because they are complex and environmentally sensitive phenotypes, making them difficult to measure reliably for association studies. The Drosophila species complex holds promise for addressing these challenges, as the behaviors of closely related species can be readily assayed in a common environment. Here, we investigate the genetic basis of an evolved behavioral difference, pupation site choice, between Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans. In this study, we demonstrate a significant contribution of the X chromosome to the difference in pupation site choice behavior between these species. Using a panel of X-chromosome deficiencies, we screened the majority of the X chromosome for causal loci and identified two regions associated with this X-effect. We then collect gene disruption and RNAi data supporting a single gene that affects pupation behavior within each region: Fas2 and tilB. Finally, we show that differences in tilB expression correlate with the differences in pupation site choice behavior between species. This evidence associating two genes with differences in a complex, environmentally sensitive behavior represents the first step toward a functional and evolutionary understanding of this behavioral divergence.
Special Issue Editors’ Essay:

Background:Impact evaluations draw their data from two sources, namely, surveys conducted for the evaluation or administrative data collected for other purposes. Both types of data have been used t...
From R&D to Innovation and Economic Growth: An Empirical-Based Analysis from Top Five Most Innovative Countries of the World

This study aims to explore the relationship between research and development, innovation and economic growth of most innovative countries of the world, where innovation and economic growth are dependent variables and R&D, skills, technological innovation and economic structure are the independent variables. The data analysis is conducted using GMM dynamic panel estimations for finding the relationships among variable of the study for the period of 1990–2016 of the top five most innovative countries of the world. The findings of this study show that larger spending in research and developments, more skilled labour, the efficient economic structure of a country having more employment in industry and services sectors, a rapid increase in the technological innovation are the key factors that boost the innovation and economic growth of these countries. The existence of the strength of the relationship is however contingent country-specific socio-economic characteristics, which affect overall capacity of the country to transform research and development investments into innovation and ultimately into the economic growth of a country. The findings of this study are helpful for other countries which are on the way of innovation. The factors identified by this study are very helpful for governments, researchers and policymakers to pay attention to it for the purpose of creating a country innovative and eventually boosting the economic growth of a country.
A Closer Look at Deep Policy Gradients

We study how the behavior of deep policy gradient algorithms reflects the conceptual framework motivating their development. To this end, we propose a fine-grained analysis of state-of-the-art methods based on key elements of this framework: gradient estimation, value prediction, and optimization landscapes. Our results show that the behavior of deep policy gradient algorithms often deviates from what their motivating framework would predict: surrogate rewards do not match the true reward landscape, learned value estimators fail to fit the true value function, and gradient estimates poorly correlate with the "true" gradient. The mismatch between predicted and empirical behavior we uncover highlights our poor understanding of current methods, and indicates the need to move beyond current benchmark-centric evaluation methods.
External Dacryocystorhinostomy: A Comparison Of Ultrasonic Bone Aspiration To High-Speed Drilling.

Purpose Piezosurgical tools utilize high-frequency ultrasonic oscillations to selectively cut mineralized bone and minimize damage to soft tissue and mucosa. The purpose of this study was to directly compare outcomes in external dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) using a piezoelectric ultrasonic bone aspirator (UBA) versus a high-speed electric drill with a diamond burr. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted on 145 consecutive patients who underwent external DCR by a single oculoplastic surgeon between 2012 and 2017. Collected data included baseline patient characteristics, presenting symptoms, operative details and complications, and postoperative symptoms. Results One hundred and seventy-three primary external DCRs performed on 145 patients were included in this study. In total, 61.3% of cases were performed with the UBA and 38.7% with the high-speed drill. Most patients were white (92.4%) and female (67.6%), with a mean age of 57.6 years (range 1-93). Surgical success was achieved in 94.3% of patients in the UBA group and 94.0% in the drill group, with no significant differences between the two arms (p=0.36). Patients who experienced persistent nasolacrimal duct obstruction after surgery underwent endoscopic revision. Operative time was shortened for cases utilizing the UBA (38.9 mins) instead of the high-speed drill (44.7 mins; p=0.01). No significant intraoperative complications occurred in either group. Conclusion The UBA offers comparable outcomes and complication rates to more conventional surgical tools for external DCR. Excellent outcomes, ease of adoption, and potential surgical time savings make the UBA an appealing option for both novice and experienced surgeons.
The Expansion of the Universe is Faster than Expected

The present rate of the expansion of our Universe, the Hubble constant, can be predicted from the cosmological model using measurements of the early Universe, or more directly measured from the late Universe. But as these measurements improved, a surprising disagreement between the two appeared. In 2019, a number of independent measurements of the late Universe using different methods and data provided consistent results, making the discrepancy with the early Universe predictions increasingly hard to ignore. The Hubble constant can be estimated from measurements of both the early and late Universe, but the two estimates disagree. In 2019 a number of independent measurements using different methods made this discrepancy harder to ignore.
Exotic decays of strangelets

The stability of strange matter depends on the implicit assumption that baryon number is conserved. We examine the relevant effective operators which allow strangelets to decay by violating the conservation of baryon number. From the experimental lower limit of 1025 years on the stability of nuclei, we find a lower limit of the order 106 years on the stability of strangelets against such exotic decays.
“This Gig Is Not for Women”: Gender Stereotyping in Online Hiring:

This study examines gender segregation in the context of the so-called gig economy. In particular, it explores the role that stereotypes about male and female occupations play in sorting men and wo...
Random models of idempotent linear Maltsev conditions. I. Idemprimality

We extend a well-known theorem of Murskiǐ to the probability space of finite models of a system $${\mathcal {M}} $$ of identities of a strong idempotent linear Maltsev condition. We characterize the models of $${\mathcal {M}} $$ in a way that can be easily turned into an algorithm for producing random finite models of $${\mathcal {M}} $$, and we prove that under mild restrictions on $${\mathcal {M}} $$, a random finite model of $${\mathcal {M}} $$ is almost surely idemprimal. This implies that even if such an $${\mathcal {M}} $$ is distinguishable from another idempotent linear Maltsev condition by a finite model $$\mathbf {A}$$ of $${\mathcal {M}} $$, a random search for a finite model $$\mathbf {A}$$ of $${\mathcal {M}} $$ with this property will almost surely fail.
Testing Bayesian Networks

This work initiates a systematic investigation of testing high-dimensional structured distributions by focusing on testing Bayesian networks – the prototypical family of directed graphical models. A Bayesian network is defined by a directed acyclic graph, where we associate a random variable with each node. The value at any particular node is conditionally independent of all the other non-descendant nodes once its parents are fixed. Specifically, we study the properties of identity testing and closeness testing of Bayesian networks. Our main contribution is the first non-trivial efficient testing algorithms for these problems and corresponding information-theoretic lower bounds. For a wide range of parameter settings, our testing algorithms have sample complexity sublinear in the dimension and are sample-optimal, up to constant factors.
Measuring localization confidence for quantifying accuracy and heterogeneity in single-molecule super-resolution microscopy

We present a computational method, termed Wasserstein-induced flux (WIF), to robustly quantify the accuracy of individual localizations within a single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) dataset without ground- truth knowledge of the sample. WIF relies on the observation that accurate localizations are stable with respect to an arbitrary computational perturbation. Inspired by optimal transport theory, we measure the stability of individual localizations and develop an efficient optimization algorithm to compute WIF. We demonstrate the advantage of WIF in accurately quantifying imaging artifacts in high-density reconstruction of a tubulin network. WIF represents an advance in quantifying systematic errors with unknown and complex distributions, which could improve a variety of downstream quantitative analyses that rely upon accurate and precise imaging. Furthermore, thanks to its formulation as layers of simple analytical operations, WIF can be used as a loss function for optimizing various computational imaging models and algorithms even without training data.
VALIDATION OF A POSTOPERATIVE DELIRIUM PREDICTION MODEL

Introduction A prediction model utilizing the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program risk calculator for serious complications (NSQIP-SC) and measures of cognitive function has been demonstrated to predict postoperative delirium incidence and severity in patients after non-cardiac surgery. The next step is to test this model's generalizability by validating in different patient populations and evaluating the robustness of the model with and without parameters of cognition. We hypothesized that the prediction model would still function in predicting postoperative delirium in patients undergoing major thoracic surgery. Methods A secondary data analysis of a randomized clinical trial involving 135 individuals who underwent major thoracic surgery from October 2013 to June 2015 was done. Delirium incidence and severity were tracked postoperatively through the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU) and the Delirium Rating Scale-R-98 (DRS), respectively. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) was used to assess preoperative cognition. Linear regressions and specificity/sensitivity calculations were performed to evaluate the model. Results One hundred and thirty-two patients with a mean age of 59±13?years, 33/132 CAM-ICU+, and a mean DRS peak of 3.12±3.43 were analyzed. Linear regression of NSQIP-SC scores moderately predicted delirium severity (P Conclusions NSQIP-SC was a predictor variable for delirium incidence and severity. Addition of a cognitive measure did not have any appreciable effect on the prediction model. Further expanding the scope of the model can grant clinicians a tool to identify patients at risk for developing postoperative delirium. This research was funded by: This project was funded, in part, with support from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute funded, in part by UL1TR002529 from the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not neces
New embeddings between the Higman-Thompson groups

We give a direct proof that all Higman-Thompson groups of the form Gk,1 (for k≥2) are embedded in one another, which is a recent result of N. Matte Bon. This extends the embeddings given by Higman ...
TnFLX: a Third-Generation mariner-Based Transposon System for Bacillus subtilis

Random transposon mutagenesis is a powerful and unbiased genetic approach to answer fundamental biological questions. Here, we introduce an improved mariner-based transposon system with enhanced stability during propagation and versatile applications in mutagenesis. We used a low-copy-number plasmid as a transposon delivery vehicle, which affords a lower frequency of unintended recombination during vector construction and propagation in Escherichia coli We generated a variety of transposons allowing for gene disruption or artificial overexpression, each in combination with one of four different antibiotic resistance markers. In addition, we provide transposons that will report gene/protein expression due to transcriptional or translational coupling. We believe that the TnFLX system will help enhance the flexibility of future transposon modification and application in Bacillus and other organisms.IMPORTANCE The stability of transposase-encoding vectors during cloning and propagation is crucial for the reliable application of transposons. Here, we increased the stability of the mariner delivery vehicle in E. coli Moreover, the TnFLX transposon system will improve the application of forward genetic methods with an increased number of antibiotic resistance markers and the ability to generate unbiased green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusions to report on protein translation and subcellular localization.
Collaborating on the Federal Level: Moving Beyond Mandated Consultation in the Section 106 Process

Collaboration and consultation are terms involving working with stakeholders; consultation implies a formulaic, reactionary product, while collaboration suggests a voluntary, shared method and a mutual goal. Within this decolonial approach to conducting archaeology, little discussion surrounds what this looks like within the public sector in the USA. Since consultation as mandate is based in a colonial process and has definitive bureaucratic boundaries, the question arises can public sector archaeologies take a postcolonial approach to required consultation? If so, how? This paper looks at areas of constraint and potential spaces for moving beyond the mandate of consultation within a federal agency.
A normal form augmentation approach to adaptive control of space robot systems

In this paper, we model a free-floating space robot system as anextended robot which is composed of a pseudo-arm representing the base motion resulting from six hyperthetic passive joints, and a real robot arm. The model allows us to categorize the space robot as an under-actuated system, and reveal fundamental properties of the system. Through input-output linearization of the model, we demonstrate a non-trivial internal dynamics, and propose an adaptive control scheme based on a normal form augmentation approach. This approach overcomes two fundamental difficulties in adaptive control design of space robot systems, i.e., nonlinear parameterization of the dynamic equation, and uncertainty of kinematic mapping from Cartesian space to joint space.