SciBench: Evaluating College-Level Scientific Problem-Solving Abilities of Large Language Models

Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated notable progress on many mathematical benchmarks. However, most of these benchmarks only feature problems grounded in junior and senior high school subjects, contain only multiple-choice questions, and are confined to a limited scope of elementary arithmetic operations. To address these issues, this paper introduces an expansive benchmark suite SciBench that aims to systematically examine the reasoning capabilities required for complex scientific problem solving. SciBench contains two carefully curated datasets: an open set featuring a range of collegiate-level scientific problems drawn from mathematics, chemistry, and physics textbooks, and a closed set comprising problems from undergraduate-level exams in computer science and mathematics. Based on the two datasets, we conduct an in-depth benchmark study of two representative LLMs with various prompting strategies. The results reveal that current LLMs fall short of delivering satisfactory performance, with an overall score of merely 35.80%. Furthermore, through a detailed user study, we categorize the errors made by LLMs into ten problem-solving abilities. Our analysis indicates that no single prompting strategy significantly outperforms others and some strategies that demonstrate improvements in certain problem-solving skills result in declines in other skills. We envision that SciBench will catalyze further developments in the reasoning abilities of LLMs, thereby ultimately contributing to scientific research and discovery.Comment: Work in progress, 18 page

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Solving min-max multi-depot vehicle routing problem, 2007. URL http://www.stanford.edu/ ∼ yyye/mdvrp-oct-23.pdf. Under review

The Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing Problem (MDVRP) is a generalization of the Single-Depot Vehicle Routing Problem (SDVRP) in which vehicle(s) start from multiple depots and return to their depots of origin at the end of their assigned tours. The traditional objective in MDVRP is to minimize the sum of all tour lengths, and existing literature handles this problem with a variety of assumptions and constraints. In this paper, we explore the notion of minimizing the maximal length of a tour in MDVRP (“min-max MDVRP”). We present two heuristics in the paper. The first heuristic is a linear programming-based approach with global improvement. The second one, the region partition heuristic, is proved to be asymptotically optimal and is potentially useful for general network applications. A comparison of the computational implementations for different heuristics is presented. Key words: vehicle routing problem; region partition; heuristic.

Wide excision and microvascular reconstruction for maxillomandibular ameloblastomas: local control, functional, and esthetic outcomes

Introduction: Ameloblastomas are benign but aggressive odontogenic tumors with have a high propensity for bony destruction. They require to be excised completely to avoid local recurrence, and these resections involve significant functional and esthetic disturbances. With the advent of microvascular reconstruction, they can be excised, and defects are reconstructed with preservation of form and function. This paper presents our experience with wide excision and microvascular reconstruction for maxillomandibular ameloblastomas, and to describe the planning, resection, microvascular reconstruction, and rehabilitation of these patients. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of records for patients treated with wide excision and microvascular reconstruction for maxillomandibular ameloblastomas at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences Kochi between 2003 and 2015 was performed. Clinical and pathological features were described, and a literature review was performed. Results: A total of 48 patients were identified with equal sex distribution and mean age at presentation of 35 (range 16–71) years. Half of these patients had primary lesions, and the remaining half had the recurrent disease (range 1–4 previous surgeries). Forty patients (83%) had mandibular lesions and the remaining had the maxillary disease. All patients had wide excision with a gross bony margin of 1 cm and reconstruction with microvascular flaps (fibula free flap = 41, distal circumflex iliac artery flap = 3 and scapular free flap = 2, anterolateral thigh flap = 1 and radial forearm free flap = 1). Mean tumor size was 4.73 (2–14) cm. At a median follow-up of 21 months, all patients were free of recurrence. Successful dental rehabilitation was achieved in 40 patients (83%). Conclusion: This approach leads to results in excellent local control, functional, and esthetic outcomes. Although managing these patients is challenging, multidisciplinary expertise and planning are crucial for successful management

Significant Reduction in Bone Density as Measured by Hounsfield Units in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis or Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis

Background: Multisegmental pathologic autofusion occurs in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). It may lead to reduced vertebral bone density due to stress shielding. Methods: This study aimed to determine the effects of autofusion on bone density by measuring Hounsfield units (HU) in the mobile and immobile spinal segments of patients with AS and DISH treated at a tertiary care center. The mean HU was calculated for five distinct regions—cranial adjacent mobile segment, cranial fused segment, mid-construct fused segment, caudal fused segment, and caudal adjacent mobile segment. Means for each region were compared using paired-sample t-tests. Multivariable regression was used to determine independent predictors of mid-fused segment HUs. Results: One hundred patients were included (mean age 76 ± 11 years, 74% male). The mean HU for the mid-construct fused segment (100, 95% CI [86, 113]) was significantly lower than both cranial and caudal fused segments (174 and 108, respectively; both p p p = 0.009). Conclusions: HUs were significantly reduced in the middle of long-segment autofusion, which was consistent with stress shielding. Such shielding may contribute to the diminution of vertebral bone integrity in AS/DISH patients and potentially increased fracture risk