Search

Baryon number conservation is not guaranteed by any fundamental symmetry within the standard model, and therefore has been a subject of experimental and theoretical scrutiny for decades. So far, no evidence for baryon number violation has been observed. Large underground detectors have long been used for both neutrino detection and searches for baryon number violating processes. The next generation of large neutrino detectors will seek to improve upon the limits set by past and current experiments and will cover a range of lifetimes predicted by several Grand Unified Theories. In this White Paper, we summarize theoretical motivations and experimental aspects of searches for baryon number violation in neutrino experiments.

Are voters as polarized as political leaders when it comes to their preferences about how to cast their ballots in November 2020 and their policy positions on how elections should be run in light of the COVID-19 outbreak? Prior research has shown little party divide on voting by mail, with nearly equal percentages of voters in both parties choosing to vote this way where it is an option. Has a divide opened up this year in how voters aligned with the Democratic and Republican parties prefer to cast a ballot? We address these questions by presenting the findings of an online survey of a nationally diverse sample of 5,612 eligible voters, fielded from April 8-10, with an embedded experiment providing treated respondents with scientific projections about the COVID-19 outbreak. We find an eight-percentage point difference between Democrats and Republicans in their preference for voting by mail in the control group, but this party divide doubles in the treatment group. We also find that exposure to scientific projections about the outbreak increases support for vote-by-mail legislation and confidence in vote-by-mail election integrity for both Democrats and Republicans.

As the Editor-in-Chief of World Journal of Gastroenterology, every week prior to a new issues online publication, I perform a careful review of all encompassed articles, including the title, clinical and/or research importance, originality, novelty, and ratings by the peer reviewers. Based on this review, I select the papers of choice and suggest pertinent changes (e.g., in the title) to the Company Editors responsible for publication. This process, while time-consuming, is very important for assuring the quality of publications and highlighting important articles that Readers may revisit.

Maternal mortality rates within the United States have reached an all-time high.  Annually, nearly seven hundred women die from pregnancy-related complications, a number of which were highly preventable.  When taking a closer look at these statistics, these deaths disproportionately affect Native American and African American women, making them two to three times more likely to suffer from poorer pregnancy outcomes.  This paper examines the variety of factors that contribute to such a disproportionate maternal mortality rate, including geographic differences, racial and economic inequalities, and the accessibility of healthcare.  Despite attempts to fix these issues, systemic and intrinsic issues persist, and individuals continue to suffer.  This paper highlights the need to address maternal mortality disparities that affect marginalized groups, improved accessibility to healthcare for all, and overall policy reform in order to solve this issue indefinitely.

This paper considers my relationship as a co-learner (i.e., evaluator) with the Indigenous Early Learning Collaborative (IELC). I draw on my history of relations and conversations with IELC partners and explore what it means to be a co-learner along a number of dimensions (e.g., roles, responsibilities, reciprocity). Throughout the paper, I discuss the use of metaphor and story as forms of knowing that can support co-learning and Community-Based Inquiry in consequential ways. I conclude by reflecting on what it means to listen for and hear goodness as a co-learner.

Nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithms are important components of artificial intelligence, and are increasingly used across disciplines to tackle various types of challenging optimization problems. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of such algorithms for solving a variety of challenging optimization problems in statistics using a nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm called competitive swarm optimizer with mutated agents (CSO-MA). This algorithm was proposed by one of the authors and its superior performance relative to many of its competitors had been demonstrated in earlier work and again in this paper. The main goal of this paper is to show a typical nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithmi, like CSO-MA, is efficient for tackling many different types of optimization problems in statistics. Our applications are new and include finding maximum likelihood estimates of parameters in a single cell generalized trend model to study pseudotime in bioinformatics, estimating parameters in the commonly used Rasch model in education research, finding M-estimates for a Cox regression in a Markov renewal model, performing matrix completion tasks to impute missing data for a two compartment model, and selecting variables optimally in an ecology problem in China. To further demonstrate the flexibility of metaheuristics, we also find an optimal design for a car refueling experiment in the auto industry using a logistic model with multiple interacting factors. In addition, we show that metaheuristics can sometimes outperform optimization algorithms commonly used in statistics.

This paper discusses the Palestinian rural notables’ class, comprised of rural sheikhs, village or clan headmen with similar life trajectories in late Ottoman and British Mandate Palestine. The paper uses the Palestinian Hannun family of Tulkarm to demonstrate how these notables exploited changing legal, administrative and political conditions, and global economic realities, to attain socio-economic and political ascendency in the Palestinian countryside and its emergent towns. The article analyses their actions in structuralist terms of clans, households, marriage alliances and networks of patronage, and historically contextualises their rational decision-making process about selling land to Jews and cooperation with the British authorities.

The channel vocoder has become a useful tool to understand the impact of specific forms of auditory degradation-particularly the spectral and temporal degradation that reflect cochlear-implant processing. Vocoders have many parameters that allow researchers to answer questions about cochlear-implant processing in ways that overcome some logistical complications of controlling for factors in individual cochlear implant users. However, there is such a large variety in the implementation of vocoders that the term vocoder is not specific enough to describe the signal processing used in these experiments. Misunderstanding vocoder parameters can result in experimental confounds or unexpected stimulus distortions. This paper highlights the signal processing parameters that should be specified when describing vocoder construction. The paper also provides guidance on how to determine vocoder parameters within perception experiments, given the experimenters goals and research questions, to avoid common signal processing mistakes. Throughout, we will assume that experimenters are interested in vocoders with the specific goal of better understanding cochlear implants.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is interested in combining community solar with weatherization programs for manufactured homes. To collect program strategies, EGLE made a request for technical assistance from the US Department of Energy’s National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP).Lawrence Berkeley National Lab developed this study in response. It briefly reviews issues relevant to the question, attempts to lay out a methodology for more in-depth analysis, and provides some recommendations for program design and implementation. While the research is specific to Michigan, the recommendations and methodologies could serve as an example for other states and regions.The paper first provides an overview of manufactured home communities in Michigan, with a discussion of demographics and energy issues they face. It then discusses weatherization opportunities for manufactured homes, opportunities for community solar, and opportunities for combining the two.The methodology proposed is intended to help EGLE:-Identify priority locations,-Set eligibility criteria for communities and households, and-Make the most of federal and other funding sourcesThe paper concludes with recommendations for a program that combines community solar with efficient electrification of manufactured homes to reduce the burden of the largest source of energy expenditure in Michigan, winter heating bills. Specifically, it envisions community solar subscriptions for occupants of manufactured homes that have been converted to high-efficiency cold weather heat pumps. The combination can be managed to alleviate seasonal variations in both solar and heating bills, such as through an annualized “budget billing” program.

This paper explores the centrality of passports and identification documents (or their lack thereof) in peoples’ everyday lives and life chances, particularly in the contexts of forced displacement and protracted conflict. While the production of largely internationally unrecognized passports reasserts the logics of the globally dominant modern nation-state order, it also lays bare the problematic, fragile, and performative qualities of that system. I argue that the bureaucratic processes of document production for wartime migrants reveal the racializing effects of codified legal and ethnic classifications. As such, the production of passports and legal identification documents plays a formative role in the ethno-racial exclusions embedded in statecraft projects. This paper invites readers to consider how passports and identification documents affect multiple aspects of life, including access to work opportunities, mobility, and housing—and how people creatively traverse the confinments of these documents and their bureaucratic categories.

Predictive high-fidelity modeling of wind turbines with computational fluid dynamics, wherein turbine geometry is resolved in an atmospheric boundary layer, is important to understanding complex flow accounting for design strategies and operational phenomena such as blade erosion, pitch-control, stall/vortex-induced vibrations, and aftermarket add-ons. The biggest challenge with high-fidelity modeling is the realization of numerical algorithms that can capture the relevant physics in detail through effective use of high-performance computing. For modern supercomputers, that means relying on GPUs for acceleration. In this paper, we present ExaWind, a GPU-enabled open-source incompressible-flow hybrid-computational fluid dynamics framework, comprising the near-body unstructured grid solver Nalu-Wind, and the off-body block-structured-grid solver AMR-Wind, which are coupled using the Topology Independent Overset Grid Assembler. Turbine simulations employ either a pure Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes turbulence model or hybrid turbulence modeling wherein Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes is used for near-body flow and large eddy simulation is used for off-body flow. Being two-way coupled through overset grids, the two solvers enable simulation of flows across a huge range of length scales, for example, 10 orders of magnitude going from O(μm) boundary layers along the blades to O(10 km) across a wind farm. In this paper, we describe the numerical algorithms for geometry-resolved turbine simulations in atmospheric boundary layers using ExaWind. We present verification studies using canonical flow problems. Validation studies are presented using megawatt-scale turbines established in literature. Additionally presented are demonstration simulations of a small wind farm under atmospheric inflow with different stability states.

Correction to: Transport in Porous Media (2024) 151:55–84https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-023-02033-0. There are three numbers in Table 2 of the original paper that were incorrect. Specfically, the value of the density of hydrogen (H2) for the DB model and the values of density and viscosity of H2 for the TOUGH2 model listed in Table 2 of the original paper were incorrect. (Table presented.) Properties of the H2-water upconing system for comparison against the DB model. Property DB model Used for TOUGH2 Gas cap thickness, total reservoir thickness, and radial extent (outer radius) of the reservoir Infinite, infinite, infinite 50 m, 100 m (with open boundary at bottom), 100 m (open boundary condition) Porosity (ϕ) 0.10 0.10 Permeability (kH) 1.0 × 10−12 m2 1.0 × 10−12 m2 Permeability (kV) 1.0 × 10−12 m2 1.0 × 10−12 m2 Relative permeability (krel) Not applicable Linear with Slr = 0.99 Distance from well to H2-water interface (d) 10 m 10 m Extraction rate of rate of H2 (Qm) − 5.5 kg s−1 − 5.5 kg s−1 Density of water 996 kg m−3 996 kg m−3 Density of H2 7.32 kg m−3 7.87 kg m−3 Viscosity of water 6.54 × 10−4 Pa s 5.11 × 10−4 Pa s Viscosity of H2 9.31 × 10−6 Pa s 9.53 × 10−6 Pa s A corrected Table 2 is shown below. The erroneous values in Table 2 were not used in any of the modeling and simulation. Accurate values for density and viscosity in the modeling and simulation come from CoolProp for the DB model and from EOS7CH for the TOUGH2 simulations.

Abstract: Radiative transfer (RT) models are critical in the interpretation of exoplanetary spectra, in simulating exoplanet climates, and when designing the specifications of future flagship observatories. However, most models differ in methodologies and input data, which can lead to significantly different spectra. In this paper, we present the experimental protocol of the Modeling Atmospheric Lines By the Exoplanet Community (MALBEC) project. MALBEC is an exoplanet model intercomparison project that belongs to the Climates Using Interactive Suites of Intercomparisons Nested for Exoplanet Studies framework, which aims to provide the exoplanet community with a large and diverse set of comparison and validation of models. The proposed protocol tests include a large set of initial participating RT models, a broad range of atmospheres (from hot Jupiters to temperate terrestrials), and several observation geometries, which would allow us to quantify and compare the differences between different RT models used by the exoplanetary community. Two types of tests are proposed: transit spectroscopy and direct imaging modeling, with results from the proposed tests to be published in dedicated follow-up papers. To encourage the community to join this comparison effort and as an example, we present simulation results for one specific transit case (GJ-1214 b), in which we find notable differences in how the various codes handle the discretization of the atmospheres (e.g., sub-layering), the treatment of molecular opacities (e.g., correlated-k, line-by-line) and the default spectroscopic repositories generally used by each model (e.g., HITRAN, HITEMP, ExoMol).

We present motivation and practical steps necessary to find parameter estimates of joint models of behavior and neural electrophysiological data. This tutorial is written for researchers wishing to build joint models of human behavior and scalp and intracranial electroencephalographic (EEG) or magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data, and more specifically those researchers who seek to understand human cognition. Although these techniques could easily be applied to animal models, the focus of this tutorial is on human participants. Joint modeling of M/EEG and behavior requires some knowledge of existing computational and cognitive theories, M/EEG artifact correction, M/EEG analysis techniques, cognitive modeling, and programming for statistical modeling implementation. This paper seeks to give an introduction to these techniques as they apply to estimating parameters from neurocognitive models of M/EEG and human behavior, and to evaluate model results and compare models. Due to our research and knowledge on the subject matter, our examples in this paper will focus on testing specific hypotheses in human decision-making theory. However, most of the motivation and discussion of this paper applies across many modeling procedures and applications. We provide Python (and linked R) code examples in the tutorial and appendix. Readers are encouraged to try the exercises at the end of the document.

The StayWell at Home intervention, a 60-day text-messaging program based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles, was developed to help adults cope with the adverse effects of the global pandemic. Participants in StayWell at Home were found to show reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms after participation. However, it remains unclear whether the intervention improved mood and which intervention components were most effective at improving user mood during the pandemic. Thus, utilizing a micro-randomized trial (MRT) design, we examined two intervention components to inform the mechanisms of action that improve mood: 1) text messages delivering CBT-informed coping strategies (i.e., behavioral activation, other coping skills, or social support); 2) time at which messages were sent. Data from two independent trials of StayWell are included in this paper. The first trial included 303 adults aged 18 or older, and the second included 266 adults aged 18 or older. Participants were recruited via online platforms (e.g., Facebook ads) and partnerships with community-based agencies aiming to reach diverse populations, including low-income individuals and people of color. The results of this paper indicate that participating in the program improved and sustained self-reported mood ratings among participants. We did not find significant differences between the type of message delivered and mood ratings. On the other hand, the results from Phase 1 indicated that delivering any type of message in the 3 pm-6 pm time window improved mood significantly over sending a message in the 9 am-12 pm time window. The StayWell at Home program increases in mood ratings appeared more pronounced during the first two to three weeks of the intervention and were maintained for the remainder of the study period. The current paper provides evidence that low-burden text-message interventions may effectively address behavioral health concerns among diverse communities.

IntroductionThe analysis of surgical research using bibliometric measures has become increasingly prevalent. Absolute citation counts (CC) or indices are commonly used markers of research quality but may not adequately capture the most impactful research. A novel scoring system, the disruptive score (DS) has been found to identity academic work that either changes paradigms (disruptive (DIS) work) or entrenches ideas (developmental (DEV) work). We sought to analyze the most DIS and DEV versus most cited research in civilian trauma.MethodsThe top papers by DS and by CC from trauma and surgery journals were identified via a professional literature search. The identified publications were then linked to the National Institutes of Health iCite tool to quantify total CC and related metrics. The top 100 DIS and DEV publications by DS were analyzed based on the area of focus, citation, and perceived clinical impact, and compared with the top 100 papers by CC.Results32 293 articles published between 1954 and 2014 were identified. The most common publication location of selected articles was published in Journal of Trauma (31%). Retrospective reviews (73%) were common in DIS (73%) and top CC (67%) papers, while DEV papers were frequently case reports (49%). Only 1 publication was identified in the top 100 DIS and top 100 CC lists. There was no significant correlation between CC and DS among the top 100 DIS papers (r=0.02; p=0.85), and only a weak correlation between CC and DS score (r=0.21; p

Abstract: This paper presents the electron and photon energy calibration obtained with the ATLAS detector using 140 fb-1 of LHC proton-proton collision data recorded at √(s) = 13 TeV between 2015 and 2018. Methods for the measurement of electron and photon energies are outlined, along with the current knowledge of the passive material in front of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter. The energy calibration steps are discussed in detail, with emphasis on the improvements introduced in this paper. The absolute energy scale is set using a large sample of Z-boson decays into electron-positron pairs, and its residual dependence on the electron energy is used for the first time to further constrain systematic uncertainties. The achieved calibration uncertainties are typically 0.05% for electrons from resonant Z-boson decays, 0.4% at E T ∼ 10 GeV, and 0.3% at E T ∼ 1 TeV; for photons at E T ∼ 60 GeV, they are 0.2% on average. This is more than twice as precise as the previous calibration. The new energy calibration is validated using J/ψ → ee and radiative Z-boson decays.

The integration of biology and spacefaring has led to the development of three interrelated fields: Astrobiology, Bioastronautics, and Space Bioprocess Engineering. Astrobiology is concerned with the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe, while Bioastronautics focuses on the effects of spaceflight on biological systems, including human physiology and psychology. Space Bioprocess Engineering, on the other hand, deals with the design, deployment, and management of biotechnology for human exploration. This paper highlights the unique contributions of each field and outlines opportunities for biologists to engage in these exciting avenues of research. By providing a clear overview of the major fields of biology and spacefaring, this paper serves as a valuable resource for scientists and researchers interested in exploring the integration of these disciplines.

This paper identifies and evaluates issues in traditional resource adequacy (RA) assessment practices, and how adjusting these practices may affect and depend on existing institutional arrangements for planning and procurement. The paper proposes a technical-institutional roadmap that would allow regulators in vertically-integrated jurisdictions and system planners and operators in restructured jurisdictions to revise RA practices across a range of components.First, we compile a critical review of current RA assessment practices based on (1) interviews with RA practitioners and (2) a review of recent technical literature. We find that (i) RA may need to expand beyond capacity adequacy to ensure energy adequacy – relevant for energy-limited resources such as storage – and potentially some form of ancillary service adequacy (e.g. enough ramping-up and ramping-down capability in the system); (ii) chronological hourly simulations for all hours in the year are the current best practice; (iii) metrics and models used do not reflect economic criteria in system operation and loss of load; and (iv) there is a need to improve representation of weather dependencies and weather data.Second, we review planning and RA reports for several private and public entities that plan generation and/or transmission infrastructure in the continental U.S. to look for existing practices involving resilience assessments. We find no systematic treatment of the costs of extreme weather and other hazards, the benefits of resilience, and resilience metrics in planning analyses and no systematic treatment of resilience metrics, methods, and outcomes for resource adequacy purposes.Third, we create a technical framework for probabilistic RA assessment and use it to study how key choices about how to model power system operations affect the values that are obtained for RA metrics. We find that (i) non-economic dispatch schemes that ignore economic objectives can lead to accurate RA assessments when coordinated with detailed operational strategies; (ii) multi-year data is critical to capture a wide variety of system conditions; (iii) not incorporating transmission limits into RA assessment could lead to substantial underestimation of traditional “expected value” RA metrics; and (iv) new RA metrics that capture event-specific shortfall characteristics should be used as supplements to traditional metrics.Finally, we examine RA assessments and use this information to propose a guide of evolving industry standards for resource adequacy assessments in resource planning and transmission planning. We report minimum, best, and frontier practices for temporal resolution of assessments, metrics and targets, weather data, load forecasting, characterization of variable renewable resources, characterization of transmission and market transactions, RA modeling and integration with planning processes, and capacity accreditation.

The University of Texas at Austin’s Policy Research Project (PRP), a nine-month (two semesters) capstone, is a keystone of the core curriculum at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. In PRPs, small groups of students, under the mentorship of a faculty director, take on real-world problems that require special knowledge and skill sets. PRPs expose students to challenges in formulating and executing research, and in communicating academic research and related complex data to broader stakeholder communities and decision makers. The PRP structure is an innovative and effective approach for integrating research within the teaching and training of graduate students who are preparing themselves to address important real-world problems at the intersection of society, economics, technology, and policy.The project summaries below describe seven papers developed during September 2017 – May 2018 as part of a PRP on “Diffusion of Innovations: Interplay of Social, Economic, Technological, and Policy Drivers in the Solar Industry.” Twenty graduate students, drawn from the LBJ School’s Masters in Public Affairs and Masters in Global Policy Studies programs and the Jackson School Geoscience’s Energy and Earth Resources program, participated in this PRP. Dr. Varun Rai, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the LBJ School, directed the PRP, with support from his research team including: Dr. Ariane Beck, Dr. Ashok Sekar, D. Cale Reeves, and Erik Funkhouser. Clients for the project included the U.S. Department of Energy (Casey Canfield), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Ben Hoen, Galen Barbose Joachim Seel, Naïm Darghouth, Ryan Wiser), and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Benjamin Sigrin, Eric O’Shaughnessy).The seven projects separately addressed one of the following topics: (1) low- and middle-income PV adoption, (2) modeling economic and information intervention design, (3) evaluation of DOE’s Solar in Your Community Challenge, (4) property value impacts near large-scale solar facilities, (5) solar market maturity and evolution of business models, (6) social media data for predicting PV adoption, and (7) individual-level variation in adoption of innovations. Many of the papers relied on data collected and curated by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, including data embedded within the annual Tracking the Sun and Utility-Scale Solar reports. Each of the seven teams in the PRP prepared a research paper. The PRP culminated with a full-day conference at UT Austin in May 2018 to present findings from the seven projects in this PRP to a broad audience of about 75 experts from academia, national labs, industry, and government from across the country.

Advocates for high-performing, energy efficient buildings understand the hurdles to proving the business case to spur development and investment decisions among commercial real estate owners and investors. Although there is significant evidence that green buildings exhibit increased financial performance via decreased operating expenses and non-energy benefits such as workplace comfort and employee productivity, green building practitioners still face an uphill battle when asked to prove the profits, most frequently pointing to rent premium as an indicator to attract investment. This paper documents a recently conducted literature review commissioned by the US Department of Energy (DOE) of 39 peer-reviewed and published academic papers pertaining to green or energy-related building attributes and financial performance. The review (first published here) indicated that 27 papers found a positive correlation between green building certifications and rents. If this is the case, then why are green building development and energy efficiency retrofits not the norm for the industry? This paper first synthesizes the recent literature review to illustrate that the existing body of empirical evidence supports green building investment. Next, it describes a workshop of leading academics in real estate sustainability and finance who met in late 2017 to discuss gaps in green building research and assess data challenges in their fields. Insights synthesized the workshop were used to drive new DOE led research that can provide value and understanding to investors and builders of high performing buildings. Finally, the paper offers insights into why the market is not properly pricing building efficiency, with factors ranging from improper mitigation of risks associated with energy and lack of transparency and responsibility felt by building end users, and what further steps are needed to transform green building investment practices in the commercial real estate industry.

Energy efficiency upgrades to buildings to date through avenues such as utility incentive programs have been largely limited to component-based products (e.g., lamps, RTUs). While some utilities do provide ‘custom’ incentive programs with whole building and system level technical assistance, these programs require deeper levels of analysis, resulting in higher program costs. This results in custom programs being restricted to utilities with greater resources, and are typically applied mainly to large or energy-intensive facilities, leaving much of the market without cost effective access and incentives for these solutions. In addition, with increasingly stringent energy codes, cost effective component-based solutions that achieve significant savings are dwindling.Integrated building systems (e.g., integrated façade, HVAC and/or lighting solutions) can deliver higher savings (Regnier et al. 2017) that translate into large sector-wide savings if deployed at the scale of these programs. However, systems application poses a number of challenges – energy savings assessments are inherently more complex and are not easily suited to the deemed measure model, and implementation of systems can be more disruptive. This paper presents the outcomes of a project to develop validated utility incentive program packages for three specific integrated building systems, in collaboration with ComEd, a consortium of California Public Owned Utilities (CA POUs) (Northern California Power Agency(NCPA) and the Southern California Public Power Authority(SCPPA)), and Xcel Energy (CO, MN). Previous work described the potential for energy savings of these systems at the individual and market level, early test findings for the task-ambient lighting system, and described the work products to develop utility incentive programs (Regnier et al. 2016). This paper presents validated end use energy savings of all three systems showing energy savings of ~20% for automated shading combined with daylight dimming (does not include light fixture retrofit savings); 30-46% for task-ambient lighting systems combined with plug load occupancy controls, depending on technology package and office building size (no daylight dimming impacts); and ~94% in the south-façade daylit zone for workstation specific lighting systems with daylight dimming (including lighting retrofit and task tuning). Using a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reference building model (DOE 2018), this translates to whole building savings of 2-5% (large-medium commercial), 12-23% (large-small commercial), and 13-15% (medium-large commercial) for these systems respectively. Early findings from the utilities in deploying these systems through their incentive programs indicate that deployment methods such as direct install programs might be best suited for these integrated systems. Further, early findings from a scoping study across custom utility programs and federal retrofit programs indicate that component level retrofits are still prevalent even in these programs, pointing towards an opportunity for deeper energy savings deployment. High performance retrofit case studies demonstrate that deeper energy savings is possible through integrated approaches. Market stakeholder interviews indicate however that there is generally a low level of awareness of the potential for energy savings of these three integrated systems.

Approximately 20% of primary energy consumed in the U.S. is attributed to HVAC use. Ideally, HVAC operation would be driven by actual building occupancy, but lack of reliable occupancy information often results in the use of conservative static schedules. This disparity is even more pronounced in a college campus, where the function of each space differs by building (classrooms, offices, libraries) and the class schedules change frequently -- every semester, day of week, and hour. While several research papers propose the use of counts of the Wi-Fi connections (e.g., phones, computers) as a proxy for occupancy, few real-world implementationsexist. This paper describes the development and deployment of an open-sourceWi-Fi-to-Occupancy software library in 65 buildings of a college campus, and the plannedintegration with the building energy management and control system at the building scale. Overa year of Wi-Fi data was gathered into distinct academic periods, including fall and springsemester, academic breaks, and summer sessions. Patterns such as students moving between classrooms, closing laptops before exams, etc., can be visualized from the data. Approximating occupancy from Wi-Fi data presents challenges which we address in this project -- for example, identifying static devices, or estimating the ratio of devices per person. Utilizing real-time occupancy data to inform optimal HVAC schedules and ventilation rates creates the potential to identify and reduce energy waste. Other potential applications include forecasting occupancy, and using Wi-Fi data to predict peak demands. Finally, the paper discusses how to easily scale these tools to other buildings.

Most existing buildings have sub-optimal heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controls, resulting in wasted energy and occupant discomfort. Retro-commissioning (RCx) addresses many of these issues, but it is a lengthy and highly customized process. Limited capabilities of existing building automation system hardware restricts the scope of most RCx projects. Incentive programs consider building automation system (BAS) hardware retrofits to be high-capital investments and do not allow them in typical RCx programs.This paper describes work that the authors are leading to facilitate technical and market innovation in the BAS industry to unlock large savings in existing commercial buildings through deep retrofits of BAS hardware and software. California and New York research projects are demonstrating BAS retrofits leveraging the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE) new Guideline 36 high performance sequences of operation to achieve greater than 20 percent whole building energy savings, while saving costs and reducing risk through streamlined processes and standardization across BAS manufacturer product lines and across implementation practices.This paper describes market barriers that impede achieving deep savings from BAS retrofits in custom incentive and traditional RCx programs and presents a new maximum potential BAS retrofit model that addresses these barriers. The new model leverages the authors’ efforts in market enablement through open standards, BAS industry partnerships, and tools for cost-effective scaling that includes tools for project screening, savings calculations, and measurement and verification (M&V). This approach is widely applicable and will be ready for at-scale implementation within two years.

Abstract : We find a general formula for the two-loop renormalization counterterms of a scalar quantum field theory with interactions containing up to two derivatives, extending ’t Hooft’s one-loop result. The method can also be used for theories with higher derivative interactions, as long as the terms in the Lagrangian have at most one derivative acting on each field. We show that diagrams with factorizable topologies do not contribute to the renormalization group equations. The results in this paper will be combined with the geometric method in a subsequent paper to obtain the counterterms and renormalization group equations for the scalar sector of effective field theories (EFT) to two-loop order.

BACKGROUND: Women in Africa are experiencing a rising burden of endometrial cancer. Research and investment to improve treatment and outcomes are critically needed. We systematically reviewed and characterized endometrial cancer-related research within a clinically relevant context to help organize and assess existing endometrial cancer research in Africa. METHODS: According to PRISMA guidelines, we searched online databases for published endometrial cancer articles from African countries from January 1, 2011, to July 20, 2021. Based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria, independent reviewers documented the study design, country/region, human development index, focus of research, type of interventions performed, and histologic and molecular type to illustrate the breadth of research coverage in each region. RESULTS: A total of 18 research articles were included. With an average Human Development Index (HDI) in Africa of 0.536, the average HDI of the represented countries in this study was 0.709. The majority (88.9%) of prospective endometrial cancer research articles in Africa were from North Africa, with Egypt encompassing 83.3% of the papers. Most of these studies focused on endometrial cancer diagnosis. Research on the treatment of endometrial cancer is still emerging (33% of papers). Of all included articles, only 11.1% represented Sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority population of black Africans reside. CONCLUSIONS: Endometrial cancer research in Africa is extremely limited, with the majority being concentrated in African countries with higher HDIs. As the incidence of endometrial cancer rises in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a pressing need for more prospective clinical research to tackle the growing disease burden and improve outcomes.

The EGS Collab project performed well-monitored rock stimulation and flow tests at the 10-m scale in an underground research laboratory to inform challenges in implementing enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technology. This project, supported by the US Department of Energy, gathered data and observations from the field tests and compared these to simulation results to understand processes and to build confidence in numerical modeling of the processes. The project consisted of 3 Experiments, each comprising test and testbed design, many individual tests, numerical simulation, and analysis. The Experiments were performed in two deep underground testbeds at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota. Field experiments are now complete, significant data sets have been collected and analyzed, and some analysis continues. Experiments using underground test facilities have many advantages in that they allow:•Three-dimensional characterization of the stimulated volume by complementary geophysical methods surrounding the experiment•Using techniques that are currently not applicable under geothermal condition to provide processes insight •Comprehensive tracer testing and detailed characterization of complex fluid movements•Understanding the geometry of the stimulated network at the meso-scale and its implications for effective fracture surface area, rock block size, and heat exchange.Underground testing has its own set of complications, however, which affect the ability to perform tests as desired and affect the experiment results. Included here are the inability to flow at desired injection rates due to stress gradients caused by drift cooling, and the need to strongly limit induced seismicity because the distance to people and equipment.Experiment 1 examined hydraulic fracturing at a depth of 1.5 km in a well-characterized phyllite. Eight subhorizontal boreholes were used in this Experiment. Geophysical monitoring instrumentation was deployed in six boreholes to monitor stimulation events and flow tests. The other two boreholes were used to perform and carefully measure water injection and production. More than a dozen stimulations and nearly one year of flow tests in the testbed were performed. Detailed observations of processes occurring during stimulation and dynamic flow tests were collected and analyzed. Flow tests using ambient-temperature and chilled water were performed with intermittent tracer tests to examine system behavior. We achieved adaptive control of the tests using close monitoring of rapidly disseminated data and near-real-time simulation. Numerical simulation was critical in answering key experimental design questions, forecasting fracture behavior, and analyzing results. We were successful in performing many simulations in near-real-time in conjunction with the field experiments, with more detailed simulations performed later. Experiment 2 was intended to examine hydraulic shearing of natural fractures at a depth of 1.25 km in amphibolite. The stresses, rock type, and fracture conditions are different than in Experiment 1. The testbed consists of 9 boreholes, in addition to 2 exploratory characterization boreholes. Four boreholes drilled as two fans of 2 monitoring holes contained grouted-in monitoring sensors. The remaining five open boreholes drilled in a five-spot pattern were adaptively used for injection, production, and monitoring. Approximately five fracture set orientations were encountered in the testbed along with a low-stress rhyolite sill at 35 m below the access drift in exploratory well TV4100. The testbed was designed to optimize the potential for shear stimulation while also avoiding the low-stress rhyolite. Experiment 2 focused on stimulating a fracture in the most likely orientation to shear, however shear stimulation did not occur probably due to cementation from natural secondary mineralization. Other fracture sets encountered were also cemented and had orientations less likely to shear.Experiment 3 consisted of several stimulations in the same testbed as Experiment 2 allowing different stimulation approaches including ramped-rate injection, rapid injection, and oscillating-pressure injection. Ultimately these methods created hydraulic fractures, one of which was used for a medium-duration cold water injection test. The major findings of the EGS Collab Project include: 1.Significant shear stimulation did not occur during our stimulation attempts. Shear stimulation may occur but under a limited set of conditions not encountered.2.Our stimulations resulted in hydraulic fractures that required hydraulic propping. Pumping at pressures exceeding the minimum principal stress may not be feasible in an enhanced geothermal system.3.The systems we generated were complex hydraulic fracture/natural fracture systems, and these systems changed over time in response to applied pressures and flowrates and to unknown stimuli.4.The project attempted alternative stimulation methods, which did not provide significant flow improvement. 5.Thermal breakthrough was not achieved as designed, most likely because flow to production boreholes was not adequate. 6.The combination of geophysical tools used provided excellent understanding of many important processes. 7.Microearthquakes (MEQs) didn’t necessarily identify flow paths.8.Engineering tools bounding expected seismicity are needed.This report provides a summary of tests and analyses performed for EGS Collab Experiment 2 (Shear Stimulation in Testbed 2) and Experiment 3 (Alternative Stimulation methods). Much of the EGS Collab work has been published in journals and conference papers, presented in conferences, included in written reports, and submitted in data sets to the Geothermal Data Repository (GDR). The entirety of these written works is included as an appendix to this report, and this report serves as a summary and framework pointing to these published papers, presentations, and reports.

A mid-century net zero target creates a challenge for reducing the emissions of emissions-intensive, trade-exposed sectors with high cost mitigation options. These sectors include aluminium, cement, chemicals, iron and steel, lime, pulp and paper and petroleum refining. Available studies agree that decarbonization of these sectors is possible by mid-century if more ambitious policies are implemented soon. Existing carbon pricing policies have had limited impact on the emissions of these sectors because their marginal abatement costs almost always exceed the tax rate or allowance price. But emissions trading systems with free allowance allocations to emissions-intensive, trade-exposed sectors have minimized the adverse economic impacts and associated leakage. Internationally coordinated policies are unlikely, so implementing more ambitious policies creates a risk of leakage. This paper presents policy packages a country can implement to accelerate emission reduction by these sectors with minimal risk of leakage. To comply with international trade law the policy packages differ for producers whose goods compete with imports in the domestic market and producers whose goods are exported. Carbon pricing is a critical component of each package due its ability to minimize the risk of adverse economic impacts on domestic industry, support innovation and generate revenue. The revenue can be used to assist groups adversely impacted by the domestic price and production changes due to carbon pricing and to build public support for the policies.

The use of the p-value in quantitative research, particularly its threshold of P < 0.05 for determining statistical significance, has long been a cornerstone of statistical analysis in research. However, this standard has been increasingly scrutinized for its potential to mislead findings, especially when the practical significance, the number of comparisons, or the suitability of statistical tests are not properly considered. In response to controversy around use of p-values, the American Statistical Association published a statement in 2016 that challenged the research community to abandon the term statistically significant. This stance has been echoed by leading scientific journals to urge a significant reduction or complete elimination in the reliance on p-values when reporting results. To provide guidance to researchers in health professions education, this paper provides a succinct overview of the ongoing debate regarding the use of p-values and the definition of p-values. It reflects on the controversy by highlighting the common pitfalls associated with p-value interpretation and usage, such as misinterpretation, overemphasis, and false dichotomization between significant and non-significant results. This paper also outlines specific recommendations for the effective use of p-values in statistical reporting including the importance of reporting effect sizes, confidence intervals, the null hypothesis, and conducting sensitivity analyses for appropriate interpretation. These considerations aim to guide researchers toward a more nuanced and informative use of p-values.

This paper examines Monkey Hill, a hamadryas baboon enclosure built in the 1920s at the London Zoo. Georges Bataille’s experience staring across at the baboons during a visit in 1927 inspired writings in which the upper parts of the primate body—the mouth, the face, the pineal gland—represented humanity, and the lower parts—the ano-genital or perineal regions—symbolized a base and contemptible animality associated with the baboons. This human-animal binary is reflected in the architecture of Monkey Hill. Its large, waterless moat divided the baboons from the zoo’s human visitors, operating as a management device to maintain distance between humans and other animals. Despite efforts to distance humanity, encounters like Bataille’s reveal the fragility of the human-animal divide. The paper thus explores notions of civilization and animality and how this dichotomy is constructed and maintained.

The legal community has been instrumental in guaranteeing fundamental rights of self-determination for some disabled people. However, lawyers are often complicit in ableist practices—in fact, our ethical rules sometimes require it. Rule 1.14 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (“Model Rules”) provides that lawyers may supplement their own judgment for a disabled client’s when they think it is in their client’s interest. In Britney Spears’s case, her former attorney repeatedly undermined her attempts to end her conservatorship, likely based on his mistaken belief that doing so would not be in the singer’s best interest. Indeed, her attorney did not even inform her that ending her conservatorship was an option.This paper considers the ethical obligations of attorneys when interacting with disabled clients, arguing that the Model Rules should be altered to reflect the idea of “support-based” legal capacity embedded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and becoming popularized within the disability community. Support-based models prioritize the expressed preferences of disabled people.Section II contextualizes this discussion within broader conversations about capacity and human rights law. Section III compares the Model Rules with the standards set out by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Section IV discusses the practical implications of these differences through two hypotheticals. This paper concludes by proposing a new Model Rule 1.14 to bring the Model Rules in line with international human rights law and the needs of the disability community.

Attosecond four-wave mixing spectroscopy is a relatively new technique for studying ultrafast dynamics of highly excited states with exquisite temporal precision and spectral resolution. The attosecond four-wave mixing technique, as described in this paper, uses non-collinear beam geometries of one attosecond pulse together with two optical pulses to obtain background-free, spatially isolated emission signals in the extreme ultraviolet range that directly resolve coherent dynamics in the time domain. This method is advantageous by avoiding the strong spectral modulations that often complicate the interpretation of collinear attosecond transient absorption studies while also enabling greater control over the spatial and temporal characteristics of each light-matter interaction used to probe the ultrafast processes. This paper describes a broad range of attosecond four-wave mixing experiments performed in gas phase atoms and molecules, and a recent extension into solids.

The question of authorship and legal ownership in AI-generated creative materials has become a contentious issue on an international level. This paper investigates the complexity of attribution of legal copyrights within the framework of the U.S. Copyright Law system and explores potential solutions to this evolving dilemma. The U.S. Copyright Law, rooted in the protection of inventors' exclusive rights, extends to both authors and owners, intending to safeguard intellectual property in the judicial field. AI-generated works, however, present a unique issue as they blur the lines of authorship in presented works. The U.S. Copyright Office, while expressing interest in addressing these issues, currently rejects applications attributing AI as the primary creator due to historical legal precedents, marking uncertainty with both creators and the general public about the future of commercialized AI-generated works. This paper highlights the intricate legal and philosophical questions surrounding AI and copyright law, emphasizing the need to carefully consider the roles and responsibilities of both AI and its users in the creative process. As AI technology continues to evolve, these debates will shape the future of copyright law's application to AI-generated works. The current application of AI in the creative process does fit within the U.S. Copyright Law, but with further evolution, the scope of human involvement could be reduced.

Abstract: Contact between languages has become increasingly recognized as a major source of historical change, as linguistic properties are introduced from one language into another. Yet contact does not necessarily lead to such changes. In fact, arguably most of the properties that contrast between two languages in contact at a given place and time do not change. This paper argues that historical and contact linguistics should now look more systematically at different kinds of bilingualism rather than contact per se and should incorporate recent sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic findings from this literature, since these can help us understand both when change occurs and when it does not. In this context we build on the general model of bilingualism, CASP (short for “complex adaptive system principles”), proposed by Filipović and Hawkins and explore its predictions for whether and when changes will occur in one or the other language of a bilingual. In the event that the relevant speech community comprises monolinguals in addition to bilinguals, these changes may then spread to the wider community when social and demographic circumstances favor this. The paper gives illustrative data supporting CASP’s predictions for change in both language usage and grammar among bilinguals.

First, this paper will describe what forever chemicals are and the damage these compounds inflict. This paper will then explore what a CERCLA NRD assessment is: a tool to protect the public from chemicals like PFAS. The goals of NRD assessments can be tied back to the Public Trust: a sovereign holding natural resources in public trust for the citizenry. After briefly discussing pending federal regulatory action, which would list PFOA and PFOS as hazardous and thus pull them under CERCLA’s jurisdiction, this paper will propose two potential solutions to the problems trustees face when asserting NRD claims. To illustrate these problems and their proposed solutions, this paper uses the Florida marine environment and one of the oldest and most treasured natural resources in the animal kingdom, the alligator, as a muse.The first solution the paper proses is that Congress amend CERCLA to exempt public or municipal wastewater treatment facilities and waste management facilities from litigation related to NRD assessments. Additionally, this paper proposes that Congress amend CERCLA to broaden the potentially responsible parties to include manufacturers of PFAS chemicals, as they so often fall outside CERCLA’s four statutorily responsible parties. Finally, this paper will show the NRD process will bolster the science around PFAS, proving causation and not just correlation, so that all potentially responsible parties can be held responsible.

INTRODUCTION: Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, and its impact on human health is a growing concern. The intricate interplay of various factors makes it challenging to accurately predict and understand the implications of climate change on human well-being. Conventional methodologies have limitations in comprehensively addressing the complexity and nonlinearity inherent in the relationships between climate change and health outcomes. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this paper is to develop a robust theoretical framework that can effectively analyze and interpret the intricate web of variables influencing the human health impacts of climate change. By doing so, we aim to overcome the limitations of conventional approaches and provide a more nuanced understanding of the complex relationships involved. Furthermore, we seek to explore practical applications of this theoretical framework to enhance our ability to predict, mitigate, and adapt to the diverse health challenges posed by a changing climate. METHODS: Addressing the challenges outlined in the objectives, this study introduces the Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) framework, acknowledging its significance in capturing the nuanced dynamics of health effects linked to climate change. The research utilizes a blend of field observations, expert interviews, key informant interviews, and an extensive literature review to shape the development of the CAS framework. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The proposed CAS framework categorizes findings into six key sub-systems: ecological services, extreme weather, infectious diseases, food security, disaster risk management, and clinical public health. The study employs agent-based modeling, using causal loop diagrams (CLDs) tailored for each CAS sub-system. A set of identified variables is incorporated into predictive modeling to enhance the understanding of health outcomes within the CAS framework. Through a combination of theoretical development and practical application, this paper aspires to contribute valuable insights to the interdisciplinary field of climate change and health. Integrating agent-based modeling and CLDs enhances the predictive capabilities required for effective health outcome analysis in the context of climate change. CONCLUSION: This paper serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and public health professionals by employing a CAS framework to understand and assess the complex network of health impacts associated with climate change. It offers insights into effective strategies for safeguarding human health amidst current and future climate challenges.

The paper explores the potential for international human rights law to further articulation of indigenous rights to environment. The paper does so by using the case of sea peoples struggling against marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia as an illustration clarifying how provisions in international human rights instruments can advance indigenous interests against environmental harms. The term “sea peoples” references the Bajau, Moken, and Orang Laut peoples, whose communities span multiple countries in the Association of Southeast Asian States (ASEAN) and whose cultures are tied closely to the marine environment. The paper applies international human rights instruments to identify legal rights covering substantive, procedural, and legal personality issues relevant to the concerns of sea peoples contending with marine plastic pollution. In doing so, the analysis demonstrates an international human rights law approach to the delineation of indigenous rights to environment.

This paper analyzes the politics and early outcomes of the 2023 68th legislative session that set budgetary and other policy for the 2025 biennium. Montana, whose political complexation was purple 2004-2020 moved unambiguously red in the elections of November 2020. This trend continued in the 2022 elections in which the GOP gained a legislative supermajority, with significant state fiscal implications for the most recent state budget. The first half of the paper focuses on spending and tax bills. The second half focuses on what attracted the most attention in Montana’s media and citizenry- the culture wars. Budgetary decisions often interacted with culture war issues and the paper makes note of this. The battle continues in the courts after a major climate change case challenged the state’s way of doing business.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (FLFO) was established to protect the rare abundance and diversity of fossil resources preserved in the Florissant Formation. The majority of fossils are plants and insects preserved in laminated shale, which is prone to conservation issues. These issues result from the inherent thinness of individual laminae (≥0.1 mm) and high clay content, and, during collection, sharp fluctuations in relative humidity (RH) and moisture content. The purpose of this paper is to describe historical and current stabilization methods, and report on two current research efforts at separate institutions to mediate these issues using controlled drying techniques and selection of appropriate adhesives and consolidants following best practices in fossil preparation. Response of shale units to humidity is being investigated at the Western Archeological and Conservation Center facility in Tucson, Arizona, along with the viability of consolidation with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). This method controls humidity and moisture during drying procedures in order to prevent cracking, flaking, and delamination of the shale matrix for both untreated and treated samples. Results indicate that consolidation with TEOS can prevent damage from occurring during the drying process if the samples are maintained in a hydrated state while the TEOS forms a sol-gel. Without treatment, a slow and moderate drying cycle longer than 14 days without acute drops in (RH) is necessary to prevent damage. To test appropriate adhesives and consolidants that assist in preventing and repairing damage to fossil specimens, analysis is being performed at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The properties of two ethyl-cyanoacrylates, a medical-grade butyl-octyl cyanoacrylate, and Butvars B-98 and B-76 in 95% ethanol were compared against each other after treated paper shalesamples were stressed under accelerated aging conditions in a weatherometer and analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Results indicate that the paper shale samples treated with a consolidant using the two Butvar resins remain the most stable over time under extreme conditions. Updated methods of drying shale after extraction and using appropriate adhesives and consolidants will ensure conservation of the paleontological specimens at FLFO for ongoing research and public understanding into the future.

In our paper, we encompass the topic of socioeconomic disparities intrinsic to drug pricing and look at ways to ensure that every individual in the United States can access antibiotics equally and equitably. In the United States, a multitude of individuals find themselves struggling with high, out-of-pocket costs for necessary antibiotics or medications.  These issues are generally caused by factors surrounding monopolistic drug markets, high costs for development, and the severity of disease that an individual is facing. We explore these challenges from a plethora of perspectives, such as; the role of specialty pharmacies, limited distribution networks, and the usage of psychotropic medications among youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). High prices and restricted access of certain antibiotics for conditions like Hepatitis C highlight the systemic and intrinsic issues within the pharmaceutical industry and how it affects individuals who suffer from this disease or diseases similar to it. On a similar topic to that, ongoing shortages of ADHD medications continue to show the consistent and heavy impact of supply constraints amongst the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. We discuss potential solutions, including but not limited to, accelerating the approval of basic drugs, implementing ceiling prices to prevent high costs, and better integrating health-system specialty pharmacies. By concentrating on the need for policy reforms within the United States and collaboration amongst the various stakeholders that remain involved with drug pricing disparities, this study aims to offer a varied approach in reducing drug pricing disparities and making necessary medications accessible to every individual in the United States, regardless of socioeconomic or health status.

This paper explores obstacles to recruiting and retaining teachers of color and Indigenous teachers (TOCIT) in California’s schools. The researchers used a mix of qualitative and quantitative data collected over the course of one year from system leaders in teacher preparation, pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and former teachers to better understand current policies and practices that may be contributing to teacher burnout, turnover and early retirement.