cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reducing health disparities by removing cost, access, and knowledge barriers.

Background While the rate of unintended pregnancy has declined in the United States in recent years, unintended pregnancy among teens in the United States is the highest among industrialized nations, and disproportionately affects minority teens. Objective Our objective of this secondary analysis was to estimate the risk of unintended pregnancy for both Black and White teens age 15-19 years when barriers to access, cost, and knowledge are removed. Our hypothesis was that the Black-White disparities would be reduced when access, education, and cost barriers are removed. Study Design We performed an analysis of the Contraceptive CHOICE Project database. CHOICE is a longitudinal cohort study of 9256 sexually active girls and women ages 14-45 years in the St Louis, MO, region from 2007 through 2013. Two measures of disparities were used to analyze teenage pregnancy rates and pregnancy risk from 2008 through 2013 among teens ages 15-19 years. These rates were then compared to the rates of pregnancy among all sexually active teens in the United States during the years 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. We estimated an absolute measure (rate difference) and a relative measure (rate ratio) to examine Black-White disparities in the rates of unintended pregnancy. Results While national rates of unintended pregnancy are decreasing, racial disparities in these rates persist. The Black-White rate difference dropped from 158.5 per 1000 in 2008 to 120.1 per 1000 in 2011; however, the relative ratio disparity decreased only from 2.6-2.5, suggesting that Black sexually active teens in the United States have 2.5 times the rate of unintended pregnancy as White teenagers. In the CHOICE Project, there was a decreasing trend in racial disparities in unintended pregnancy rates among sexually active teens (age 15-19 years): 2008 through 2009 (rate difference, 18.2; rate ratio, 3.7), 2010 through 2011 (rate difference, 4.3; rate ratio, 1.2), and 2012 through 2013 (rate difference, –1.5; rate ratio, 1.0). Conclusion When barriers to cost, access, and knowledge were removed, such as in the Contraceptive CHOICE Project, Black-White disparities in unintended pregnancy rates among sexually active teens were reduced on both absolute and relative scales. The rate of unintended pregnancy was almost equal between Black and White teens compared to large Black-White disparities on the national level.
Avionics cost of ownership

The cost of ownership of avionics includes not only the development and acquisition cost, but also the yearly operating and support (O and S) (maintenance) cost of hardware, software, and support equipment. This paper presents an avionics cost of ownership methodology developed for USAF, its data sources, and business metrics computed for USAF decision makers as we move toward operating avionics as a business. The business model is used to determine which existing avionics are candidates for replacement with new technology and to prioritize the replacements. These avionics are often used on multiple aircraft types which necessitates analysis of the causes of the high cost of ownership on each type. Databases are used to document the processing functions, data flow, and constraints of the item being analyzed. These constraints include physical, environmental, electrical, and data interfaces. Databases containing alternatives are evaluated against standard mission scenarios for aircraft utilizing these high cost avionics to determine their impact on performance, O and S costs, and mission effectiveness. The results of the foregoing analyses steps are then used in life cycle cost analyses which consider different retrofit scenarios for each alternative for each aircraft type against the avionics being analyzed for replacement. The alternatives are prioritized and a risk analysis performed considering technical, schedule, and cost growth risks. The avionics cost of ownership methodology described in this paper processes data from USAF maintenance organizations. This has revealed the very large expenditures being made to support highly unreliable avionics. These methods can be applied to all military and commercial aircraft systems to determine not only the cost of ownership of existing systems, but also the cost of ownership of new systems when they are retrofit.
FAMILIES AS SHOCKS

In this paper we show the quantitative importance of the process that determines changes in family composition to determine the main macroeconomic magnitudes. We do so by modelling family type as a stochastic process that affects households in a way similar to shocks to earnings. Agents respond to these process by optimally choosing savings. We show that the size of savings differs dramatically depending on the details of the stochastic process. The model is quantitative: its fundamental parameters are estimated using U.S. data.
Prediction with a short memory

We consider the problem of predicting the next observation given a sequence of past observations, and consider the extent to which accurate prediction requires complex algorithms that explicitly leverage long-range dependencies. Perhaps surprisingly, our positive results show that for a broad class of sequences, there is an algorithm that predicts well on average, and bases its predictions only on the most recent few observation together with a set of simple summary statistics of the past observations. Specifically, we show that for any distribution over observations, if the mutual information between past observations and future observations is upper bounded by I, then a simple Markov model over the most recent I/є observations obtains expected KL error є—and hence l1 error √є—with respect to the optimal predictor that has access to the entire past and knows the data generating distribution. For a Hidden Markov Model with n hidden states, I is bounded by logn, a quantity that does not depend on the mixing time, and we show that the trivial prediction algorithm based on the empirical frequencies of length O(logn/є) windows of observations achieves this error, provided the length of the sequence is dΩ(logn/є), where d is the size of the observation alphabet. We also establish that this result cannot be improved upon, even for the class of HMMs, in the following two senses: First, for HMMs with n hidden states, a window length of logn/є is information-theoretically necessary to achieve expected KL error є, or l1 error √є. Second, the dΘ(logn/є) samples required to accurately estimate the Markov model when observations are drawn from an alphabet of size d is necessary for any computationally tractable learning/prediction algorithm, assuming the hardness of strongly refuting a certain class of CSPs.
A Mixed-Layer Clay Mineral Associated with an Evaporite

ABSTRACT Clay partings in the ore beds in a New Mexico evaporite section include a range of mixed-layer clay mineral sequences of the corrensite type. Specimens range from nearly regular alternations to sequences which depart from regularity to moderate degrees. The ore bodies consist of halite, polyhalite, sylvite, magnesite, dolomite, carnallite, and iron oxides. Observed x-ray diffraction effects from representative specimens are compared with synthesized effects for montmorillonite- or vermiculite-chlorite layer sequences. It is concluded that the segregation of the abundant Mg interlayer content into specific, regularly spaced interlayers represents the equilibrium relationship between a montmorillonite-chlorite or vermiculite-chlorite mixed assemblage and a mildly acid, Mg2+-, Na+-, and K+-rich environment.
Second-harmonic imaging in random media

We consider the problem of optical imaging of small nonlinear scatterers in random media. We propose an extension of coherent interferometric imaging (CINT) that applies to scatterers that emit second-harmonic light. We compare this method to a nonlinear version of migration imaging and find that the images obtained by CINT are more robust to statistical fluctuations. This finding is supported by a resolution analysis that is carried out in the setting of geometrical optics in random media. It is also consistent with numerical simulations for which the assumptions of the geometrical optics model do not hold.
Interplay of Surface Deformation and Shock-Induced Separation in Shock/Boundary-Layer Interactions

Shock wave/boundary-layer interactions represent an extreme loading condition in the structural design of high-speed flight vehicles. However, the complexity of this problem has primarily restricte...
Onset and withdrawal of the large-scale South Asian monsoon: A dynamical definition using change point detection

We introduce an objective definition for onset and withdrawal of the South Asian summer monsoon (SASM), based on the large-scale atmospheric moisture budget. The change point (CHP) index allows precise characterization of the different stages and timescales of the large-scale SASM and is highly correlated with the local operational index, the monsoon onset over Kerala. The CHP-based onset and withdrawal dates, which capture the expected seasonal transitions in rainfall and winds, correspond with regime changes in the SASM moisture budget between negative and positive net precipitation. Climatological composites reveal that the seasonal transitions in SASM sector mean precipitation and circulation closely resemble those of the zonal mean Hadley circulation. The CHP index at grid points within the SASM domain yields a robust definition of local onset and withdrawal dates, which are well correlated with the large-scale index on interannual timescales, providing insight into the regional variability of the SASM.
Cases Relating to Chapter 6 – Presumptions, Inferences, and Stipulations

Publisher Summary This chapter presents several case studies related to presumptions, inferences, and stipulations. These case studies include the case of State versus Jackson, State versus Purcell, and Bozeman versus State. The first case discusses if it is an error to instruct the jury that it may infer the defendant acted with intent to commit a crime within the building from the fact that the defendant may have attempted entrance into the building. The second case is related to the presumption of innocence. The third case focuses on the inference that is drawn from possession of recently stolen property.
The Theory and Practice of Property in Premodern South Asia: Disparities and Convergences

This article reviews the main scholastic norms relevant to property and land rights in ancient and medieval India, and then surveys a range of inscriptions that illustrate the contours of land law in practice. The evidence suggests that India developed a sophisticated concept of landed property from earliest history, with conceptual tools and legal instruments to define the rights of owners vis-a-vis rulers, rival claimants, and holders of subordinate interests (such as tenants, cultivators, mortgagees, etc.). It further shows that although earlier inscriptions deployed those tools and instruments in a narrow range of transfers between rulers and Brahmins or other religious groups, subsequent periods provide evidence of an increasingly wider application, including gifts by non-elite donors, ordinary contractual land transfers, and resolution of property disputes. In some cases, the implication seems to be that the legal framework was more widespread in practice but generated durable records (in metal or stone) only for elite actors; in many cases, it seems likely that elite legal resources became more widely available over time. This survey also notes how documents bring to the fore aspects of property law—the role of councils and arbitrators in administering the law (rather than the king or his officers), or the use of documents to carve out special rights—that are less prominent in scholastic treatments such as Dharmaśāstra.
Delay estimation using SVD-based causal fourier continuations for high speed interconnects

We propose a new method for time delay extraction in the frequency domain. It is based on the spectrally accurate method for causality characterization that employs singular value decomposition (SVD) based Fourier continuations, which was recently developed by the authors. The time delay estimation approach is constructed by incorporating a linearly varying phase factor. Several analytic and simulated examples are used to demonstrate performance of the proposed technique.
Cosmic ray energy spectrum from measurements of air showers

This review focuses on high-energy cosmic rays in the PeV energy range and above. Of particular interest is the knee of the spectrum around 3 PeV and the transition from cosmic rays of Galactic origin to particles from extra-galactic sources. Our goal is to establish a baseline spectrum from 1014 to 1020 eV by combining the results of many measurements at different energies. In combination with measurements of the nuclear composition of the primaries, the shape of the energy spectrum places constraints on the number and spectra of sources that may contribute to the observed spectrum.
Exploiting spatial degrees of freedom for high data rate ultrasound communication with implantable devices

We propose and demonstrate an ultrasonic communication link using spatial degrees of freedom to increase data rates for deeply implantable medical devices. Low attenuation and millimeter wavelengths make ultrasound an ideal communication medium for miniaturized low-power implants. While a small spectral bandwidth has drastically limited achievable data rates in conventional ultrasonic implants, a large spatial bandwidth can be exploited by using multiple transducers in a multiple-input/multiple-output system to provide spatial multiplexing gain without additional power, larger bandwidth, or complicated packaging. We experimentally verify the communication link in mineral oil with a transmitter and a receiver 5 cm apart, each housing two custom-designed mm-sized piezoelectric transducers operating at the same frequency. Two streams of data modulated with quadrature phase-shift keying at 125 kbps are simultaneously transmitted and received on both channels, effectively doubling the data rate to 250 kbps wit...
Reconstructing Trees from Subtree Weights

The tree-metric theorem provides a necessary and sufficient condition for a dissimilarity matrix to be a tree metric, and has served as the foundation for numerous distance-based reconstruction methods in phylogenetics. Our main result is an extension of the tree-metric theorem to more general dissimilarity maps. In particular, we show that a tree with n leaves is reconstructible from the weights of the m-leaf subtrees provided that n ≥ 2m - 1.
The Influence of Ethnicity on Thermosensitivity During Cold Water Immersion

PURPOSE This investigation evaluated the influence of ethnicity, Caucasian (CAU) vs. African American (AA), on thermosensitivity and metabolic heat production (HP) during cold water immersion (20 degrees C) in 15 CAU (22.7 +/- 2.7 yr) vs. 7 AA (21.7 +/- 2.7 yr) males. METHODS Following a 20-min baseline period (BASE), subjects were immersed in 20 degrees C water until esophageal temperature (Tes) reached 36.5 degrees C or for a maximum pre-occlusion (Pre-OCC) time of 40 min. Arm and thigh cuffs were then inflated to 180 and 220 mm Hg, respectively, for 10 min (OCC). Following release of the inflated cuffs (Post-OCC), the slope of the relationship between the decrease in Tes and the increase in HP was used to define thermosensitivity (beta). RESULTS ANOVA revealed no significant difference in thermosensitivity between CAU and AA (CAU = 3.56 +/- 1.54 vs. AA = 2.43 +/- 1.58 W.kg(-1). degrees C(-1)). No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found for Tsk (CAU = 24.2 +/- 1.1 vs. AA = 25.1 +/- 1.1 degrees C) or HP (p > 0.05; CAU = 2.5 +/- 0.8 vs. AA = 36.5 +/- 1.8 W.kg(-1)). However, a significant (p < 0.05) main effect for ethnicity for Tes was observed (CAU = 36.7 +/- 1.8 vs. AA = 36.5 +/- 1.8 degrees C). CONCLUSION These data suggest, despite a differential response in Tes between AA and CAU groups, the beta of HP during cold water immersion is similar between CAU and AA. Therefore, these data demonstrate that when faced with a cold challenge, there is a similar response in HP between CAU and AA that is accompanied by a differential response in Tes.
Vibronic exciton theory of singlet fission. I. Linear absorption and the anatomy of the correlated triplet pair state

Recent time-resolved spectroscopic experiments have indicated that vibronic coupling plays a vital role in facilitating the process of singlet fission. In this work, which forms the first article of a series, we set out to unravel the mechanisms underlying singlet fission through a vibronic exciton theory. We formulate a model in which both electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom are treated microscopically and non-perturbatively. Using pentacene as a prototypical material for singlet fission, we subject our theory to comparison with measurements on polarization-resolved absorption of single crystals, and employ our model to characterize the excited states underlying the absorption band. Special attention is given to the convergence of photophysical observables with respect to the basis size employed, through which we determine the optimal basis for more expensive calculations to be presented in subsequent work. We furthermore evaluate the energetic separation between the optically prepared singlet ...
MOBILE PUMP DVT PROPHYLAXIS: JUST SAY NO TO DRUGS

Venous thromboembolic events (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), remain one of the most common complications following total joint arthroplasty. Reported rates of symptomatic VTE following THA and TKA range from 0.83% to 15% and 2% to 10%, respectively. Thus, VTE prophylaxis should be routinely administered following total joint arthroplasty. However, while orthopaedic surgeons have considerable flexibility regarding their VTE prophylaxis regimen, it remains unclear which is optimal. Patients at low risk of VTE may receive excessive anticoagulation and unnecessarily risk further perioperative morbidity (wound complications, bleeding) following total joint arthroplasty. With an evolving health care landscape, emphasis on complications and readmissions, and shorter inpatient hospitalizations, it is imperative that a VTE prophylaxis regimen is simple, effective, easy to monitor, and has high patient compliance. Mobile pneumatic compression devices (MCDs) have been used with greater frequency following total joint arthroplasty, with multiple reports demonstrating their effectiveness in VTE prevention with or without the addition of aspirin for chemical prophylaxis. The use of MCDs allows the avoidance of more aggressive anticoagulation in the majority of patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty, decreases the incidence of wound complications, and achieves a low overall incidence of symptomatic VTE. Future investigations are necessary to determine the necessity and impact of the addition of aspirin to the use of MCDs for VTE prophylaxis.
WEAR OF UNICOMPARTMENTAL KNEE REPLACEMENTS: STANDARD AND REVERSED MATERIAL COUPLES

Unicompartmental knee replacements (unis) offer an early option for the treatment of osteoarthritis. However there is no standard method for measuring the wear of unis in the laboratory. Most knee simulators are designed for TKA, for which there is an ISO standard. This study is about a wear method for unis, applied to a novel unicompartmental knee replacement (design by PSW). It has a metal-backed UHMWPE femoral component to articulate against a monoblock metallic tibial component. The advantage is reduced resection of strong bone from the proximal tibia for more durable fixation. The femoral component resurfaces the distal end of the femur to a flexion arc of only 42°, the area of cartilage loss in early OA (Fig. 1). We compared this novel bearing couple to the same design but with the usual arrangement of femoral metal and tibial plastic. Our hypothesis was that the wear of the reversed materials would be comparable to conventional and within the range of TKR bearings. The test was conducted on a 4-station Instron-Stanmore force-controlled knee simulator. Both specimen groups (n=4 each) were highly crosslinked UHWMPE stabilized with vitamin E. On each of the four stations, one uni system was mounted on the medial side and one on the lateral, as if a standard TKR was being tested. The ISO-14243-1 walking cycle force-control waveforms were applied for 5 million cycles (Mc) at 1Hz, but with the maximum flexion during the swing phase (usually 58°) curtailed to 35° to maintain the contact within the arc of the femoral component. In-vivo this implant would be inlaid into the distal medial femoral condyle and the articulating surface immediately transitions into native cartilage. In our test set-up there was no secondary surface as such. The reduced flexion occurred during the swing phase where compressive load was low and the effect on the wear would be negligible. Wear was measured gravimetrically at many intervals and corrected by the weight gain of extra two active soak controls per group. After 5 Mc, the average rates of gravimetric weight loss from the UHMWPE femoral and tibial bearings were 4.73±0.266 mg/Mc and 3.07±0.388 mg/Mc, respectively (statistically significantly different, p=0.0007) (Fig. 2). No significant difference was found in wear between medial and lateral placement for specimens of the same type, although the medial side generally wore more. Although the plastic femorals of the reverse design wore more than the plastic tibials, the wear was still low at <5 mg/Mc. The range for typical TKRs using ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, tested under the same conditions in our laboratory has been 2.85–24.1 mg/Mc. In summary, we adapted the ISO standard TKA wear test for the evaluation of unis, and in this case, a uni with reversed materials. Based on the wear results, this type of ‘early intervention’ design could therefore be a viable option, offering simplicity with less modular parts as well as load sharing with the native articular cartilage.
Integrated high speed intelligent utility tie unit for disbursed/renewable generation facilities

Following the steps of the gas industry, the traditional paradigm of the vertically integrated electrical utility structure has begun to change. In the United States, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued several rules and Notices of Proposed Rulemaking to set the road map for the utility deregulation. The crisis in California has drawn great attention and sparked intense discussion within the utility industry. One general conclusion is to rejuvenate the idea of integrated resource planning and promote the distributed generation via traditional or renewable generation facilities for the deregulated utility systems. Fuel cell and photovoltaic are the most promising renewable generation technologies for the residential and small commercial users. It is desirable for these facilities to be interconnected with the utility grid to perform peak shaving, demand reduction, and to serve as emergency and standby power supply. However, the mismatch between the utility tie protection and the equipment protection makes it impossible for the fuel cell and/or photovoltaic to serve as emergency and standby power supply when the utility supply is lost due to nearby external faults. To overcome this issue, this paper discusses the development of an integrated high-speed intelligent utility tie monitoring, control, and protection system to replace the traditional tie breakers for those residential and small commercial facilities with disbursed/renewable generation facilities.
INITIAL STABILITY IN HIGHLY POROUS METAL ACETABULAR CUPS: A BIOMECHANICAL STUDY

Introduction Successful cementless acetabular designs require sufficient initial stability between implant and bone (with interfacial motions <150 μm) and close opposition between the porous coating and the reamed bony surface of the acetabulum to obtaining bone ingrowth and secondary stability. While prior generations of cementless components showed good clinical results for long term fixation, modern designs continue to trend toward increased porosity and improved frictional characteristics to further enhance cup stability. Objectives We intend to experimentally assess the differences in initial stability between a hemispherical acetabular component with a highly porous trabecular tantalum fixation surface (Continuum® Acetabular System, Zimmer Inc, Warsaw, IN)(Fig 1) and a hemispherical component with the new highly porous Trabecular Titanium® surface (Delta TT, Lima Corporate, Italy)(Fig 2) manufactured by electron beam melting. Material and methods A total of 16 cups were used, 8 for each type. Each cup was used 4 times. Cups were implanted in polyurethane foam blocks with 1mm interference fit and subsequently edge loaded to failure. Two different foam block densities (0.24 g/cm3 and 0.32g/cm3) were used to model low- and high-density bone stock. Each cup was seated into a block under displacement control using a servohydraulic test machine (MTS Bionix 858, Eden Praire, MN) to engage the locking mechanism until axial forces reach 8 to 10 kN. During insertion, force and displacement were recorded to determine the implantation force for each component. After seating, initial acetabular component fixation was assessed using an edge loading test. Descriptive statistics are presented as means and standard deviations for continuous variables. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to assess the effect of Cup on the outcomes: (1) Insertion force, (2) Insertion energy, (3) Ultimate load, (4) Yield load, and (5) Ultimate Energy. Pairwise comparisons were done using Mann-Whitney U test for significant outcomes and multiple comparisons were adjusted using Bonferroni correction. All analyses were performed with SAS version 9.3 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC, USA); a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Delta TT cup required the same seating force (p=0.014) and 18% higher insertion energy (p=0.002) for fully seating compared to Continuum cup, however this difference is not clinically relevant. Delta TT cup exibithed more stability, as exibithed by significantly higher (35%) energy to ultimate load (p=0.014). No statistical differences were found in Ultimate load and Yield load among the 2 cups. Cups in higher density foam required higher force and energy to be seated. In edge load testing higher densities blocks generated higher force and energy accross all cup designs. Conclusions The result of this study indicate increased interface stability in Trabecular Titanium cup compared to Porous tantalum cup with a low incresing in the energy required for fully seating.
Splinter: practical private queries on public data

Many online services let users query public datasets such as maps, flight prices, or restaurant reviews. Unfortunately, the queries to these services reveal highly sensitive information that can compromise users' privacy. This paper presents Splinter, a system that protects users' queries on public data and scales to realistic applications. A user splits her query into multiple parts and sends each part to a different provider that holds a copy of the data. As long as any one of the providers is honest and does not collude with the others, the providers cannot determine the query. Splinter uses and extends a new cryptographic primitive called Function Secret Sharing (FSS) that makes it up to an order of magnitude more efficient than prior systems based on Private Information Retrieval and garbled circuits. We develop protocols extending FSS to new types of queries, such as MAX and TOPK queries. We also provide an optimized implementation of FSS using AES-NI instructions and multicores. Splinter achieves end-to-end latencies below 1.6 seconds for realistic workloads including a Yelp clone, flight search, and map routing.
The relative performance of ensemble methods with deep convolutional neural networks for image classification

Artificial neural networks have been successfully applied to a variety of machine learning tasks, including image recognition, semantic segmentation, and machine translation. However, few studies f...
Determining the Equivalence of Algebraic Expressions by Hash Coding

In algebraic manipulation one often wants to know if two expressions are equivalent under the algebraic and trigonometric identities. One way to check this is to substitute a random value for each variable in the expressions and then see if both expressions evaluate to the same result. Round-off and overflow errors can be avoided if the evaluation is done modulo a large prime number. Of course, there is still a small probability of a random match. If arithmetic expressions in exponents are evaluated, using the same prime number then identities such as xl/2 × xl/2 = x will not necessarily hold. However, by proper choice of the prime number and the use of special case checks these identities as well as many trigonometric identities can often be preserved.
Enhanced Li capacity at high lithiation potentials in graphene oxide

Abstract We have studied lithiation of graphene oxide (GO) as a function of oxygen coverage using first principles calculations. Our results show that the lithiation potentials and capacities in GO can be tuned by controlling the oxygen coverage. We find a range of coverages where the lithiation potentials are above the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formation threshold, but with capacities comparable to, or larger than graphite. In highly oxidized and mildly reduced sheets, lithiation occurs through formation of Li–O bonds, whereas at low coverages, typical of reduced-GO (rGO) (O:C ∼ 12.5%), both Li–O bonds and LiC6 configurations are observed. The covalent Li–O bond is much stronger than the bonds in the LiC6 ring and the lithiation potentials for epoxides at high and medium coverages are generally large (>1 eV). For these configurations, as for Li4Ti5O12 anodes, there is no formation of SEI, but with the additional advantage of higher lithium storage capacity. In rGO, the presence of residual oxygen atoms allows formation of covalent Li–O bonds leading to storage capacities and lithiation potentials higher than that of graphite. Finally, our calculations show high lithiation potentials for the edges of graphene nanoribbons, which impede the formation of SEI and lead to large reversible capacity.
Plurigraph Coloring and Scheduling Problems

We define a new type of vertex coloring which generalizes vertex coloring in graphs, hypergraphs, and simplicial complexes. This coloring also generalizes oriented coloring, acyclic coloring, and star coloring. There is an associated symmetric function in noncommuting variables for which we give a deletion-contraction formula. In the case of graphs this symmetric function in noncommuting variables agrees with the chromatic symmetric function in noncommuting variables of Gebhard and Sagan. Our vertex coloring is a special case of the scheduling problems defined by Breuer and Klivans. We show how the deletion-contraction law can be applied to scheduling problems. Also, we show that the chromatic symmetric function determines the degree sequence of uniform hypertrees, but there exists pairs of 3 -uniform hypertrees which are not isomorphic yet have the same chromatic symmetric function.
Vibrationally assisted below-threshold ionization

We perform time-resolved UV pump (4.77 eV) and VUV probe (7.94 eV) measurements of internal conversion of 1,3-cyclohexadiene (CHD). Our measurements reveal a substantial ionization of the ``hot'' ground state following internal conversion despite the fact that our probe photon energy is below the ionization potential (8.21 eV). With the aid of electronic structure calculations, we interpret our results in terms of vibrationally assisted below-threshold ionization, where vibrational energy is converted to electronic energy. The effect relies on both having vibrational modes which allow for this vibrational-electronic coupling and exciting these modes during the internal conversion. We contrast our measurements in CHD with another similar molecule, cis,cis-1,3-cyclooctadiene (cis,cis-COD), for which we do not see the effect.
Process Control Instruction at Miami University Linking Classroom, Computers and Laboratories

Abstract The problems of teaching introductory modern-day process control at the undergraduate level are discussed. The need for understanding the student's perspective and learning modes is explored. A method for actively involving the student's senses by incorporating theory, computer simulation and laboratory experiences is proposed. An example of how a typical simple system chosen for analysis can be related to real-world performance by including the effects of non-ideal components and process upsets is outlined. An illustration of the use of a microcomputer simulator for such a system is presented.
The Formation of Short-Run and Long-Run Exchange Rate Expectations

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the formation of short-run and long-run exchange rate expectations. It describes the construction and analysis of a dynamic model of exchange rate determination that allows for errors in predictions of both short and long-run exchange rates. The model is used to investigate the consequences of a non-neutral disturbance such as an exogenous shift in world interest rates. It is seen that the two-stage expectational hypothesis has the implication that both the instantaneous and dynamic behavior of the exchange rate is dramatically different from that which would emerge from a straightforward application of the Dornbusch model. An essential ingredient of this model, however, is the unstated assumption that the equilibrium exchange rate is correctly and instantaneously known to domestic speculators. It should be evident that the correct computation of the long-run exchange rate and price levels is considerably more complex in the face of such disturbances than with a pure monetary disturbance, and requires knowledge of the structural parameters δ, λ, and σ in addition to precise information as to the working of the model.
Molecular dynamics-based strength estimates of beta solenoid proteins.

The use of beta solenoid proteins as functionalizable, nanoscale, self-assembling molecular building blocks may have many applications, including templating the growth of wires or higher-dimensional structures. By understanding their mechanical strengths, we can efficiently design the proteins for specific functions. We present a study of the mechanical properties of seven beta solenoid proteins using GROMACS molecular dynamics software to produce force/torque-displacement data, implement umbrella sampling of bending/twisting trajectories, produce Potentials of Mean Force (PMFs), extract effective spring constants, and calculate rigidities for two bending and two twisting directions for each protein. We examine the differences between computing the strength values from force/torque-displacement data alone and PMF data, and show how higher precision estimates can be obtained from the former. In addition to the analysis of the methods, we report estimates for the bend/twist persistence lengths for each protein, which range from 0.5–3.4 μm. We note that beta solenoid proteins with internal disulfide bridges do not enjoy enhanced bending or twisting strength, and that the strongest correlate with bend/twist rigidity is the number of hydrogen bonds per turn. In addition, we compute estimates of the Young's modulus (Y) for each protein, which range from Y = 3.5 to 7.2 GPa.
CARPS: Computer Assisted Regional Planning System

Summary This paper analyzes general requirements of a “computer application system for planning support” in such an area as regional development, and then describes an experimental interactive system called CARPS (Computer Assisted Regional Planning System) from the viewpoint of its functional features and role in planning. CARPS is designed to help planners to apply integrated and flexible operations on various types of data, simulatlon models, and related works. Its main features are: (1) use of a recent data base technology concept, (2) integrated operation through a data base, (3) several new model operation techniques (e.g., simulation of linked models and interactive value assignment), and (4) functional extensibility for applying CARPS to various planning areas.
Diagnostic Imaging of Human Neuroblastoma With Radiolabeled Antibody

In a previous study, the authors showed that iodine-131 labeled monoclonal antibody (Mab 3F8) could be used to image human neuroblastoma xenografts in mice with excellent tumor-to-tissue ratios. In this study they report their experience with six patients scanned with radiolabeled 3F8. There was strong accumulation of the labeled antibody in viable tumor, but no significant uptake was noted in normal brain, liver, spleen, or adrenal glands. Tumor-to-nontumor activity ratios varied but were approximately 10:1-20:1. This ratio yields good contrast for visualization. Time-activity curves show that radioactivity levels in normal tissue have a half-time of about 40 hours, whereas tumor tissues show a half-time of about 60 hours. Significant gastric secretion of free iodine demonstrated that the Mab was being deiodinated. Calculated radiation doses indicate that tumors receive at least ten times the dose to other tissues. The results indicate that Mab 3F8 has clinical potential for both imaging and therapy of human neuroblastomas.
Hardware Attacks and Security Education.

This paper aims to develop and evaluate information assurance and security learning materials on hardware/firmware attacks for undergraduate education. Topics include firmware worms, application programming interface, and operating systems. Computing devices are equipped with firmware that performs basic hardware testing and loads operating systems. According to hardware rooted security guidelines, the following fundamental security primitives are required: roots of trust, an application programming interface (API) to the platform, and a policy enforcement engine. We believe it is important to verify these primitives' integrity with hands-on experiments to educate next generation computer experts. The learning material has been implemented and evaluated in an undergraduate Computer Architecture course using Intel's Chipsec to validate PC BIOS in terms of known vulnerabilities.
Nuclear Medicine and Complementary Modalities in Renal Trauma

The diagnosis of renal trauma for many years was achieved through history, clinical findings, the performance of a survey film of the abdomen, urinalysis, excretory urography, aortography, and selective renal artery arteriography. The development of the scintillation camera and the availability of 99m Tc, as well as 99m Tc labeled pharmaceuticals, approximately fifteen years ago has widened this diagnostic horizon. Exquisite new imaging modalities have become available recently. As a result of constantly improving technology, these techniques—including computed tomography, sonography, with real time enhancement, and digital video subtraction angiography—are utilized more and more frequently. The full impact of these newest wonders is not yet realized. Cost-effectiveness, radiation exposure, accumulative drug side-effects, availability of facilities and personnel and professional and technical training have become major considerations.
Correction of Congenital Hydronephrosis in Utero III. Early Mid-Trimester Ureteral Obstruction Produces Renal Dysplasia

Is the renal dysplasia (RD) commonly seen in babies with urinary tract obstruction a developmental consequence of the obstruction or is it an associated embryologic malformation? We produced complete unilateral ureteral obstruction in six 58-to 66-day old lamb fetuses by clipping a silastic ring on the ureter. Three fetuses survived to term. All obstructed kidneys were not only grossly hydronephrotic but dysplastic by histologic criteria; ie, parenchymal disorganization, primitive epithelial structures, and marked fibrosis. The contralateral unobstructed control kidneys were normal. The changes were similar to those seen in the human neonate with obstruction and RD, suggesting that in this model RD was caused by obstruction to the flow of urine early in fetal development.
Cure of Membranous Nephropathy after Resection of Carcinoma

• Clinical cure was effected in two patients with biopsyproved membranous nephropathy associated with neoplasms. One had a complete histologic remission as well. The incidence of malignancy in an unselected group of patients with membranous nephropathy in our institution was 9%. Careful workup in all patients over age 40 years with membranous nephropathy should be done to exclude tumor. ( Arch Intern Med 1985;145:2061-2063)
What is the true catheterization rate after intravesical onabotulinumtoxinA injection

A known side effect of intravesical onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox®) injection for overactive bladder (OAB) is urinary retention requiring clean intermittent catheterization (CIC), the fear of which deters patients from choosing this therapy. In clinical practice, patients with an elevated postvoid residual (PVR) are often managed by observation only, providing they do not have subjective complaints or contraindications. We sought to determine the true rate of urinary retention requiring CIC in clinical practice. A retrospective review was performed over a 3-year period of patients who received 100 units of intravesical onabotulinumtoxinA for the treatment of OAB. Patients were seen 2 weeks after the procedure to measure PVR. CIC was initiated in patients with a PVR ≥350 ml and in those with subjective voiding difficulty or acute retention. A total of 187 injections were performed on 99 female patients. CIC was required following three injections (1.6%): for acute retention in two patients and subjective voiding difficulty in one patient with a PVR of 353 ml. Following 12 injections, the patient had a PVR of ≥350 ml, and following 29 injections, the patient had a PVR of >200 but <350 ml without symptoms. CIC was not initiated in these 41 patients. None of these patients experienced subsequent retention, and all showed resolution of their elevated PVR within 8 weeks. In our series of 187 intravesical injections for OAB, the rate of postprocedure urinary retention requiring catheterization was only 1.6%. This low rate can be attributed to less rigorous criteria for CIC initiation than those applied in previous studies. While important to counsel patients on the risk of retention, patients can be reassured that the actual rate of CIC is low.
Payday-loan bans: evidence of indirect effects on supply

In November 2008, Ohio enacted the Short-Term Loan Law which imposed a 28% APR on payday loans, effectively banning the industry. Using licensing records from 2006 to 2010, I examine if there are changes in the supply side of the pawnbroker, precious-metals, small-loan, and second-mortgage lending industries during periods when the ban is effective. Seemingly unrelated regression results show the ban increases the average county-level operating small-loan, second-mortgage, and pawnbroker licensees per million by 156, 43, and 97%, respectively.
CSI: A Hybrid Deep Model for Fake News Detection

The topic of fake news has drawn attention both from the public and the academic communities. Such misinformation has the potential of affecting public opinion, providing an opportunity for malicious parties to manipulate the outcomes of public events such as elections. Because such high stakes are at play, automatically detecting fake news is an important, yet challenging problem that is not yet well understood. Nevertheless, there are three generally agreed upon characteristics of fake news: the text of an article, the user response it receives, and the source users promoting it. Existing work has largely focused on tailoring solutions to one particular characteristic which has limited their success and generality. In this work, we propose a model that combines all three characteristics for a more accurate and automated prediction. Specifically, we incorporate the behavior of both parties, users and articles, and the group behavior of users who propagate fake news. Motivated by the three characteristics, we propose a model called CSI which is composed of three modules: Capture, Score, and Integrate. The first module is based on the response and text; it uses a Recurrent Neural Network to capture the temporal pattern of user activity on a given article. The second module learns the source characteristic based on the behavior of users, and the two are integrated with the third module to classify an article as fake or not. Experimental analysis on real-world data demonstrates that CSI achieves higher accuracy than existing models, and extracts meaningful latent representations of both users and articles.
Isolated heart model demonstrates evidence of contractile and diastolic dysfunction in right ventricles from rats with sugen/hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension.

Abstract Although extensively used for the study of left ventricular function, limited experience exists with the isolated heart model in the evaluation of right ventricular (RV) function. In particular, no published experience exists with this tool in sugen/hypoxia‐induced pulmonary hypertension (SuHx‐PH), a frequently used model of severe and progressive PH. We sought to characterize markers of RV contractile and diastolic function in SuHx‐PH and to establish their relationship with markers of maladaptive RV remodeling. Hearts were excised from anesthetized Sprague Dawley rats with or without SuHx‐PH and perfused via the aorta using a Langendorff preparation. We explored the Frank–Starling relationship of RV function (RV developed pressure, d P /d t max , and d P /d t min ; all normalized to RV mass) by increasing RV end‐diastolic pressure (RVEDP) from 0 to 40 mmHg. Functional studies were complemented by quantification of RV pro‐apoptotic signaling (bcl2/bax), procontractile signaling (apelin), and stress response signaling (p38MAPK activation). Pearson9s correlation analysis was performed for functional and biochemical parameters. SuHx‐RVs exhibited severe RV dysfunction with marked hypertrophy and decreased echocardiographic cardiac output. For any given RVEDP, SuHx‐RVs demonstrated less developed pressure and lower d P /d t max , as well as less pronounced d P /d t min , suggestive of decreased contractile and diastolic function. SuHx‐RVs exhibited decreased bcl2/bax ratios, apelin expression, and p38MAPK activation. Bcl2/bax and apelin RNA abundance correlated positively with RV developed pressure and d P /d t max and negatively with d P /d t min . p38MAPK activation correlated positively with RV developed pressure. We conclude that SuHx‐RVs exhibit severe contractile and diastolic dysfunction. Increased pro‐apoptotic signaling and attenuated procontractile and stress response signaling may contribute to these functional alterations.