On the number of unlabeled vertices in edge-friendly labelings of graphs

Let $G$ be a graph with vertex set $V(G)$ and edge set $E(G)$, and $f$ be a 0-1 labeling of $E(G)$ so that the absolute difference in the number of edges labeled 1 and 0 is no more than one. Call such a labeling $f$ \emph{edge-friendly}. We say an edge-friendly labeling induces a \emph{partial vertex labeling} if vertices which are incident to more edges labeled 1 than 0, are labeled 1, and vertices which are incident to more edges labeled 0 than 1, are labeled 0. Vertices that are incident to an equal number of edges of both labels we call \emph{unlabeled}. Call a procedure on a labeled graph a \emph{label switching algorithm} if it consists of pairwise switches of labels. Given an edge-friendly labeling of $K_n$, we show a label switching algorithm producing an edge-friendly relabeling of $K_n$ such that all the vertices are labeled. We call such a labeling \textit{opinionated}.Comment: 7 pages, accepted to Discrete Mathematics, special issue dedicated to Combinatorics 201

Maine\u27s State Policy For Solar Farms on Agricultural Land.

A change is coming to the Northeast, and Maine is not prepared to handle it. Across the Northeast, agricultural land is being converted to solar farms, with no policy in place to handle it. Opening Maine up to numerous problems with, permitting, regulations, taxes, best management practices, size of these farms, and lack of infrastructure to name a few. All of which need to be addressed, while dealing with the general instability of policies surrounding green energy and green technology like solar panels. This change is coming quickly, and although we need this policy soon, it cannot be rushed, or we risk negative externalities. To begin, we will look at solidifying the ever-changing policies in Maine around green technologies. Next, look at if this is best handled on the state or local level. Before lastly looking at how taxes and best management practices should be implemented for these farms. With this, the general information of this topic will be laid out, and allow for a more open dialogue between citizens, entrepreneurs, farmers, and policymakers

Management of a Chronically Ill Population: An Operations Approach to Liver Cancer Screening.

We study how to perform medical surveillance of a population living with a chronic disease from an operations perspective. Our approach to the screening problem is the first to combine aspects of patient specific risk factors, heterogenous disease progression, as well limited screening resources shared by the population. Using clinical data from liver cancer as a motivating example, we (1) provide a new characterization of individualized risk for liver cancer through a nested case-control match study, then (2) demonstrate the utility of that individual biological information in screening decisions through the design and testing of reinforcement learning techniques, and then (3) model the problem as a family of restless bandits to gain structural insights into the problem, as well as derive an optimal policy to screen patients. Ultimately, we provide novel methods of screening a chronically ill population which are superior to current practice by adopting principles from a broad spectrum of operations methods.PhDIndustrial and Operations EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133270/1/elliotdl_1.pd

Temperature Effects on Development of Three Cereal Aphid Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae)

Temperature is an important climatological variable that influences the biology and ecology of insects. Poor climatic adaptation can limit the effectiveness of parasitic insects in biological control. Two exotic parasites (Syrian Diaeretiella rapae (M\u27Intosh) and Argentinean Aphidius colemani Viereck) imported for biological control of the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), and one native parasite (Diaeretiella rapae) were reared in growth chambers in three fluctuating temperature regimes with average daily temperatures of 12, 18, and 24°C. Estimates of temperature thresholds for immature development were 3.3, 3.5, and 2.8°C, for Oklahoman D. rapae, Syrian D. rapae, and A. colemani, respectively. Estimates of thermal require- ments for development from egg to adult were 297, 278, and 301 degree-days for the three parasitoids. Dry weights of adults reared in different fluctuating temperature regimes did not differ significantly among sexes, but adults from regimes with low average temperatures of 12 and 18°C had significantly greater weights than those reared in a regime with an average temperature of 24°C. Results suggest that developmental response to temperature will not limit the effectiveness of the exotic parasites in biological control

Muslims as "Hui" in Late Imperial and Republican China: A Historical Reconsideration of Social Differentiation and Identity Construction

As a minority in China, Muslims have had to deal with a twofold problem: maintaining the boundary of their group and integrating into larger society. The various responses to this problem in different contexts and under different circumstances are evident in various group identity configurations. Based on Stausberg, it is proposed that the ways the identities are constructed refer to the dynamics of various types of social differentiation. The author argues that there were divergent identity configurations among Muslim elites regarding their identity sign Huihui in late imperial and post-imperial China, with the former constructed in the direction of religiosity and the latter in the direction of secularity. In the concluding remark, the author suggests a theoretical account of his empirical observation by drawing on elements of Luhmann’s theory of social differentiation

The forgotten fifth: examining the early education trajectories of teenagers who fall below the expected standards in GCSE English language and maths examinations at age 16

Successive Governments have failed to address an issue that continues to plague the British education system: many teenagers leave secondary school without the ‘expected standard’ of a grade 4 pass in GCSE English language and maths. We use the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) to assess the antecedents and academic trajectories of the 1 in 5 (18%) of teenagers in England who did not achieve these two thresholds, despite benefitting from many education reforms. We find that identification of falling below expected standards in pre-school assessment of ‘school readiness’ (age 3) and in teacher assessment of literacy and number skills at school entrance (age 5) are both highly predictive of failure to attain a grade 4 or higher in GCSE English language and maths at age 16, even after controlling for family background and individual characteristics. One in 4 children below expected levels at age 5 fail to achieve a grade 4 pass or above in their English language and maths GCSE at age 16 compared with 1 in 10 children above expected levels at age 5. Half of pupils who fail at age 16 were judged to be behind at age 5. We conclude that future attempts to improve standards in English and maths will likely only succeed if high quality support is provided during the pre-school years, support is provided to improve the home learning environment, and teachers are able to identify, diagnose and respond appropriately to children falling behind at early education stages

Rising school absences: the post pandemic education divide

Over 28% of primary pupils and 40% of FSM secondary pupils who qualified for free school meals were persistently absent during the 2021/22 autumn term. Lee Elliot Major and Andy Eyles write that while some of the contributing factors are known, the evidence on how to reduce persistent absenteeism is weak

Effects of therapeutic hypothermia on white matter injury from murine neonatal hypoxia-ischemia.

BackgroundTherapeutic hypothermia (TH) is the standard of care for neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, but it is not fully protective in the clinical setting. Hypoxia-ischemia (HI) may cause white matter injury (WMI), leading to neurological and cognitive dysfunction.MethodsP9 mice were subjected to HI as previously described. Pups underwent 3.5 h of systemic hypothermia or normothermia. Cresyl violet and Perl's iron staining for histopathological scoring of brain sections was completed blindly on all brains. Immunocytochemical (ICC) staining for myelin basic protein (MBP), microglia (Iba1), and astrocytes (glia fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)) was performed on adjacent sections. Volumetric measurements of MBP coverage were used for quantitative analysis of white matter.ResultsTH provided neuroprotection by injury scoring for the entire group (n=44; P<0.0002). ICC analysis of a subset of brains showed that the lateral caudate was protected from WMI (P<0.05). Analysis revealed decreased GFAP and Iba1 staining in hippocampal regions, mostly CA2/CA3. GFAP and Iba1 directly correlated with injury scores of normothermic brains.ConclusionTH reduced injury, and qualitative data suggest that hippocampus and lateral caudate are protected from HI. Mildly injured brains may better show the benefits of TH. Overall, these data indicate regional differences in WMI susceptibility and inflammation in a P9 murine HI model