The Length of the Longest Increasing Subsequence of a Random Mallows Permutation

The Mallows measure on the symmetric group $S_n$ is the probability measure such that each permutation has probability proportional to $q$ raised to the power of the number of inversions, where $q$ is a positive parameter and the number of inversions of $\pi$ is equal to the number of pairs $i<j$ such that $\pi_i > \pi_j$. We prove a weak law of large numbers for the length of the longest increasing subsequence for Mallows distributed random permutations, in the limit that $n$ tends to infinity and $q$ tends to 1 in such a way that $n(1-q)$ has a limit in $\R$

The Fight Is On : Song

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/1416/thumbnail.jp

Soil Infiltration and Wetland Microcosm Treatment of Liquid Swine Manure

Management systems are needed to minimize water quality concerns associated with liquid swine manure from large swine production facilities. Experiments were conducted to investigate the removal of ammonium–N, nitrate–N, and total phosphorus from liquid swine manure through the use of a soil infiltration and wetland system. Experimental treatments applied directly to the soil infiltration areas included a full–rate application of liquid swine manure, a mixture of 3/4 manure and 1/4 water, and a control application of water only. For three months during both summers of 1998 and 1999, nutrient concentrations were determined in the infiltration area influent, the infiltration area effluent, and the wetland effluent on a weekly basis. Approximately 93% of the ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3–N and NH4–N) from the applied swine manure was removed by the soil infiltration areas with a corresponding 99% increase in the nitrate nitrogen (NO3–N) concentrations were found. The wetland systems removed 94% of the remaining NH3–N and NH4–N and 95% of the NO3–N. The total P levels were decreased in the soil infiltration areas and wetlands by 89 and 84%, respectively

Development of a single-session, transdiagnostic preventive intervention for young adults at risk for emotional disorders

Cognitive-behavioral prevention programs have demonstrated efficacy in reducing subclinical symptoms of anxiety and depression, and there is some evidence to suggest that they can lower the risk of future disorder onset. However, existing interventions tend to be relatively lengthy and target specific disorders or problem areas, both of which limit their potential for widespread dissemination. To address these limitations, we aimed to develop a single-session, transdiagnostic preventive intervention based on the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders for young adults at risk for developing anxiety and/or depressive disorders within a college setting. Results from this proof-of-concept study indicated that the intervention was viewed as highly satisfactory and acceptable. The intervention also was successful at delivering adaptive emotion management skills in its 2-hr workshop format. Future studies evaluating the efficacy of this novel transdiagnostic, emotion-focused prevention program are warranted.Accepted manuscrip

Choosing an appropriate bacterial typing technique for epidemiologic studies

A wide variety of bacterial typing systems are currently in use that vary greatly with respect to the effort required, cost, reliability and ability to discriminate between bacterial strains. No one technique is optimal for all forms of investigation. We discuss the desired level of discrimination and need for a biologic basis for grouping strains of apparently different types when using bacterial typing techniques for different epidemiologic applications: 1) confirming epidemiologic linkage in outbreak investigations, 2) generating hypotheses about epidemiologic relationships between bacterial strains in the absence of epidemiologic information, and 3) describing the distributions of bacterial types and identifying determinants of those distributions. Inferences made from molecular epidemiologic studies of bacteria depend upon both the typing technique selected and the study design used; thus, choice of typing technique is pivotal for increasing our understanding of the pathogenesis and transmission, and eventual disease prevention

Our Sammies Song

[Verse 1] Where service flags are hanging, They tell a tale of spirit true, Of Uncle Sammie’s fighters Three thousand miles across the ocean blue; Of mothers proudly waiting To welcome to their arms once more Their own brave gallant Sammies, After the war. Marching on with Gen’ral John they proudly go, Ever fearlessly to meet the foe In the cause of right that they all know; Gallantly they march to No Man’s Land To take their stand, this mighty band, Bringing freedom to the souls long oppress’d They go from Freedom’s Land. [Chorus] Ring again the bell of Liberty throughout the land in proclamation, for ev’ry nation; Wrest a world united from a tyrant’s bloody hand, As you push onward, gallant Sammy Boy. Where Old Glory leads you fight your fight for Uncle Sam, The world’s behind you just to remind you That father’s, mother’s, sister’s , brother’s hundred million pray’rs are ever with you all, Sammy Boys

Extraordinary optical transmission with coaxial apertures

Recently it has been predicted that “cylindrical” surface plasmons (CSP’s) on cylindrical interfaces of coaxial ring apertures produce a different form of extraordinary optical transmission that extends to ever increasing wavelengths as the dielectric ring narrows. This letter presents experimental confirmation of this CSP assisted extraordinary transmission. Nanoarrays of submicron coaxial apertures are fabricated in a thin silverfilm on a glass substrate and far-field transmission spectra are measured. The experimental spectrum is in close agreement with predictions from finite-difference time-domain simulations and CSP dispersion theory. The role of cylindrical surface plasmons in producing extraordinary transmission is thus confirmed.This work was partially supported by the Office of Naval Research. Computations were carried out under the Department of Defense High Performance Computation Modernization Project. The support of the Australian Research Council through its Centers of Excellence, Federation Fellow and Discovery programs is gratefully acknowledged

The unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders compared with diagnosis-specific protocols for anxiety disorders a randomized clinical trial

IMPORTANCE: Transdiagnostic interventions have been developed to address barriers to the dissemination of evidence-based psychological treatments, but only a few preliminary studies have compared these approaches with existing evidence-based psychological treatments. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) is at least as efficacious as single-disorder protocols (SDPs) in the treatment of anxiety disorders. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: From June 23, 2011, to March 5, 2015, a total of 223 patients at an outpatient treatment center with a principal diagnosis of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or social anxiety disorder were randomly assigned by principal diagnosis to the UP, an SDP, or a waitlist control condition. Patients received up to 16 sessions of the UP or an SDP for 16 to 21 weeks. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, after treatment, and at 6-month follow-up. Analysis in this equivalence trial was based on intention to treat. INTERVENTIONS: The UP or SDPs. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Blinded evaluations of principal diagnosis clinical severity rating were used to evaluate an a priori hypothesis of equivalence between the UP and SDPs. RESULTS: Among the 223 patients (124 women and 99 men; mean [SD] age, 31.1 [11.0] years), 88 were randomized to receive the UP, 91 to receive an SDP, and 44 to the waitlist control condition. Patients were more likely to complete treatment with the UP than with SDPs (odds ratio, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.44-6.74). Both the UP (Cohen d, −0.93; 95% CI, −1.29 to −0.57) and SDPs (Cohen d, −1.08; 95% CI, −1.43 to −0.73) were superior to the waitlist control condition at acute outcome. Reductions in clinical severity rating from baseline to the end of treatment (β, 0.25; 95% CI, −0.26 to 0.75) and from baseline to the 6-month follow-up (β, 0.16; 95% CI, −0.39 to 0.70) indicated statistical equivalence between the UP and SDPs. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The UP produces symptom reduction equivalent to criterion standard evidence-based psychological treatments for anxiety disorders with less attrition. Thus, it may be possible to use 1 protocol instead of multiple SDPs to more efficiently treat the most commonly occurring anxiety and depressive disorders.This study was funded by grant R01 MH090053 from the National Institute of Mental Health. (R01 MH090053 - National Institute of Mental Health)First author draf

Perceptions of Rural Superintendents on Factors Influencing Employment Decisions

School districts struggle to attract and maintain a sufficient supply of highly capable superintendents. High-needs within rural districts, in particular, often are not able to attract and retain effective leaders. The issue of short superintendent tenure has drawn speculation and concern that revolving leadership may have negative consequences for schools and student achievement. A variety of factors contribute to superintendent turnover including: school board relations, job satisfaction, school district characteristics, and the personal characteristics of superintendents (Grissom & Anderson, 2012; Kamrath & Brunner, 2014; Wood, Finch & Mirecki, 2013). This study provides insight into perceptions of rural superintendents (n=10) and why they stay or leave their roles in rural Idaho school districts. As we look for ways to build capacity for leadership and social change in rural settings, it is important to understand factors influencing the stability of leadership from the superintendent role. Findings suggest that school boards remain the most influential factor