cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adaptable edge quality metric

A new quality metric for evaluating edges detected by digital image processing algorithms is presented. The metric is a weighted sum of measures of edge continuity, smoothness, thinness, localization, detection, nd noisiness. Through a training process, we can design weights that optimize the metric for different users and applications. We have used the metric to compare the results of ten edge detectors when applied to edges degraded by varying degrees of blur and varying degrees and types of noise. As expected, the more optimum Laplacian-of-Gaussians (LoG) filter and Haralick's second derivative method outperform the simpler gradient detectors. At high SNR, Haralick's method is the best choice, although it exhibits a sudden drop in performance at lower SNRs. The LoG filter's performance degrades almost linearly with SNR and maintains a reasonably high level at lower SNRs. The same relative performances are observed as blur is varied. For most of the detectors tested, performance drops with increasing noise correlation. Noise correlated in the same direction as the edge is the most destructive of the noise types tested.
The Luminous Starburst Ring in NGC 7771: Sequential Star Formation?

Only two of the 20 highly luminous starburst galaxies analyzed by Smith et al. exhibit circumnuclear rings of star formation. These galaxies provide a link between ~1011 L☉ luminosity class systems and classical, less-luminous ringed systems. In this paper, we report the discovery of a near-infrared counterpart to the 1.6 kpc diameter nuclear ring of radio emission in NGC 7771 (UGC 12815). The ring contains ≈10 radio-bright clumps and ≈10 near-infrared-bright clumps. A displacement between the peaks of the radio and the near-infrared emission indicates the presence of multiple generations of star formation. The estimated thermal emission from each radio source is equivalent to that of ~35,000 O6 stars. Each near-infrared-bright knot contains ~5000 red supergiants, on average. In the case that the radio-bright knots are 4 Myr old and the near-infrared-bright knots are ≈10 Myr old, each knot is characterized by a stellar mass of 107 M☉, and the implied time-averaged star formation rate is ~40 M☉ yr-1. Several similarities are found between the properties of this system and other ringed and nonringed starbursts. Morphological differences between NGC 7771 and the starburst + Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 7469 (UGC 12332) suggest that NGC 7771 may not be old enough to fuel an active galactic nucleus (AGN), or may not be capable of fueling an AGN. Alternatively, the differences may be unrelated to the presence or absence of an AGN and may simply reflect the possibility that star formation in rings is episodic.
School Desegregation and Urban Change: Evidence from City Boundaries †

I examine changes in the city-suburban housing price gap in metropolitan areas with and without court-ordered desegregation plans over the 1970s, narrowing my comparison to housing units on opposite sides of district boundaries. Desegregation of public schools in central cities reduced the demand for urban residence, leading urban housing prices and rents to decline by 6 percent relative to neighboring suburbs. Aversion to integration was due both to changes in peer composition and to student reassignment to nonneighborhood schools. The associated reduction in the urban tax base imposed a fiscal externality on remaining urban residents.
Suppression of speckles at high adaptive correction using speckle symmetry

Focal-plane speckles set important sensitivity limits on ground- or space-based imagers and coronagraphs that may be used to search for faint companions, perhaps ultimately including exoplanets, around stars. As speckles vary with atmospheric fluctuations or with drifting beamtrain aberrations, they contribute speckle noise proportional to their full amplitude. Schemes to suppress speckles are thus of great interest. At high adaptive correction, speckles organize into species, represented by algebraic terms in the expansion of the phase exponential, that have distinct spatial symmetry, even or odd, under spatial inversion. Filtering speckle patterns by symmetry may eliminate a disproportionate fraction of the speckle noise while blocking (only) half of the image signal from the off-axis companion being sought. The fraction of speckle power and hence of speckle noise in each term will vary with degree of correction, and so also will the net symmetry in the speckle pattern. Systematic numerical investigations are presented of the net symmetry of noise variance as a function of adaptive correction, i.e., Strehl ratio S, and deformable mirror actuator density D/a, where a is the deformable mirror actuator spacing referred to the pupil of diameter D, which controls the characteristic transverse spatial frequency of the wavefront. The degree of speckle symmetry is found to be substantial even at current relatively modest ground-based corrections (S=0.6, D/a=16 in the near-infrared). With parameters representative of "extreme" adaptive optics of the near future (S=0.99, D/a=100), the antisymmetric noise variance fraction is 0.99967 averaged over two Airy rings in the inner halo, so simple image processing (symmetry filtering) can improve the net speckle-noise-limited companion-detection SNR by a factor of about 28. Analogous processing can enhance SNR in coronagraphic searches, where speckle patterns before processing are predominantly symmetric.
Seniority, External Labor Markets, and Faculty Pay

Abstract We estimate the returns to seniority (the wage-tenure profile) for university faculty, and the degree to which these returns respond to entry-level salaries (or opportunity wages)—a relationship unexplored in work to date. Using data on faculty at a Big Ten university (ours), we estimate elasticities of senior-faculty salaries with respect to entry-level salaries, and find that these elasticities decline with seniority. The evidence provides an explanation of faculty salary compression and suggests the importance of controlling for entry-level salaries in obtaining estimates of the returns to seniority.
Development of a Two-Step E-Beam Lithography Process For Submicron Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Device Fabrication

A two-step fabrication process was developed which has produced previously unobtainable high frequency surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. In addition, the design-to-test cycle time has been shortened significantly to allow an effective interactive design procedure. The SAW structure places some of the most stringent precision requirements on current electron-beam lithography, since finger placement errors are directly related to phase errors in the electrical performance of bandpass or pulse compression filters. A form of double precision is implemented in the interface software to enable successful patterning of the monotonic variation in line width from less than 0.4 pm to more than 0.9 pm required for a 1 to 2 GHz pulse compressor. Compensation for proximity effects due to the electron beam profile was also implemented. Alignment accuracy within a field is controlled to within ±250 A and field placement is accomplished via a laser interferometer controlled stage. Several alternative processes, including direct slice writing, reverse liftoff, and x-ray lithography are compared. Once the E-beam master is generated, large area contact replication is achieved using a modified conformable mask printer. This process has extended the range of SAW device performance beyond 2 GHz in a fundamental mode which, represents a significant advancement in microfabrication. Three-day turnaround from design to packaged devices was demonstrated using this technique.
New polymer systems: chain extension by dianhydrides

Three anhydrides provide effective chain extension of hydroxy-terminated polyalkylene oxides and polybutadienes. Novel feature of these anhydride reactants is that they are difunctional as anhydrides, but they are tetrafunctional if conditions are selected that lead to total esterification or reaction of all carboxyl groups.
Universality and Leading Corrections in Few-Body Systems

A large two-body scattering length leads to universal behavior in few-body systems. In particular, the three-body system displays interesting features such as exact discrete scale invariance in the bound state spectrum in the limit of infinite scattering length. Here, I will discuss how an effective field theory (EFT) can be used to study these features and how the finite range of the underlying interaction impacts the bound state spectrum at first order in the EFT expansion.
The Effects of Fee Pressure and Client Risk on Audit Seniors' Time Budget Decisions

In the current competitive and litigious audit environment, auditors must appropriately balance cost control and effectiveness when planning audits. This study experimentally examines the joint effects of fee pressure and client risk on audit seniors' planning judgments and decisions. Consistent with predictions, seniors' budgeted audit hours and inherent risk assessments suggest that seniors are less responsive to increased risk in the presence of fee pressure. Fewer budgeted audit hours in the presence of fee pressure may improve short‐term profitability but may not be in accordance with professional standards and the firm's interest if audit effectiveness is compromised. Further analyses suggest that, in the presence of increased client risk, seniors planned fewer audit procedures when fee pressure was present than when it was absent, with decreases most likely for less reliable audit procedures and low‐risk audit areas. Finally, in the presence of increased client risk, seniors expected to work more h...
Thrombospondin and transforming growth factor-beta 1 increase expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells

Background. Thrombospondin is a high molecular weight adhesive glycoprotein that has been shown to function in mechanisms of tumor progression. The authors' previous studies have shown that thrombospondin promotes human lung carcinoma invasion by up-regulation of the plasminogen activator system through a mechanism involving the activation of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1). In this study, a similar throm-bospondin-mediated mechanism operative in breast carcinoma cells is described. Methods. The effect of thrombospondin and TGF-beta 1 on the capacity of a line of breast carcinoma cells to activate plasminogen was measured as well as the physiologic consequences of these activities on cell adhesion and proliferation. Plasminogen activation was assessed by measuring the plasmin activity and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels in cell-conditioned media and the cell-associated urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) levels. Results. Treatment of MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cells with either thrombospondin or TGF-beta 1 caused increased secretion of PAI-1 with a concomitant decrease in plasmin activity, whereas cell-associated uPA expression was increased with respect to controls. Thrombospondin (40 μMg/ml) or TGF-beta 1 (5 ng/ml) stimulated the cells to secrete 5.5- and 6.7-fold more PAI-1 than controls, respectively, and caused decreased plasmin activity in the cell culture medium. Conversely, either thrombospondin (40 μg/ml) or TGF-beta 1 (5 ng/ml) caused the cells to express 4.55- and 5.38-fold more uPA than controls, respectively. Thrombospondin and TGF-beta 1 induced a more flattened and spread appearance in the cells with no effect on proliferation. These effects could be reversed with antibodies to either thrombospondin or TGF-beta 1 and were not due to contamination of thrombospondin with active TGF-beta 1. Conclusions. Thrombospondin and TGF-beta 1 function similarly to increase cell-associated uPA and cell-secreted PAI-1. These data suggest that thrombospondin may not only function as an adhesive molecule, but through a mechanism involving the activation of TGF-beta 1, may modulate cell surface protease expression. In addition, these observations suggest that thrombospondin and TGF-beta 1 could promote metastasis by increasing uPA-mediated cell invasion, whereas through the action of PAI-1, also protect blood-born tumor emboli from destruction by host fibrinolytic enzymes. Cancer 1995;76:998–1005.
Carotid ultrasound identifies high risk subclinical atherosclerosis in adults with low framingham risk scores.

Background Worldwide, cardiovascular (CV) disease remains the most common cause of morbidity and mortality. Although effective in predicting CV risk in select populations, the Framingham risk score (FRS) fails to identify many young individuals who experience premature CV events. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of high-risk carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) or plaque, a marker of atherosclerosis and predictor of CV events, in young asymptomatic individuals with low and intermediate FRS ( Methods Individuals aged ≤ 65 years not taking statins and without diabetes mellitus or histories of coronary artery disease underwent CIMT and plaque examination for primary prevention. Clinical variables including lipid values, family history of premature coronary artery disease, and FRS and subsequent pharmacotherapy recommendations were retrospectively collected for statistical analysis. Results Of 441 subjects (mean age, 49.7 ± 7.9 years), 184 (42%; 95% confidence interval, 37.3%-46.5%) had high-risk carotid ultrasound findings (CIMT ≥ 75th percentile adjusted for age, gender, and race or presence of plaque). Of those with the lowest FRS of ≤5% (n = 336) (mean age, 48.0 ± 7.6 years; mean FRS, 2.5 ± 1.5%), 127 (38%; 95% confidence interval, 32.6%-43.0%) had high-risk carotid ultrasound findings. For individuals with FRS ≤ 5% and high-risk carotid ultrasound findings (n = 127; mean age, 47.3 ± 8.1 years; mean FRS, 2.5 ± 1.5%), lipid-lowering therapy was recommended by their treating physicians in 77 (61%). Conclusions Thirty-eight percent of asymptomatic young to middle-aged individuals with FRS ≤ 5% have abnormal carotid ultrasound findings associated with increased risk for CV events. Pharmacologic therapy for CV prevention was recommended in the majority of these individuals. The lack of radiation exposure, relatively low cost, and ability to detect early-stage atherosclerosis suggest that carotid ultrasound for CIMT and plaque detection should continue to be explored as a primary tool for CV risk stratification in young to middle-aged adults with low FRS.
Electrorheology Improves Transportation of Crude Oil

A system to simulate crude oil flow in pipeline is established in the authors’ lab. The system measures the crude oil flow rate with and without the electric field treatment. With this system, it is demonstrated that the crude oil flow rate is increased by about 20% after an electric field of 12,000 V/cm is applied in the direction parallel to the flow direction. The electric energy for this electric field treatment is very small and oil temperature is almost unchanged. The electrorheology-induced thinning effect will have significant application in crude oil pipeline transportation.
Performance of a Biologically Inspired Heat Exchanger with Hierarchical Bifurcating Flow Passages

The performance of a heat exchanger with tree-like flow passages has been examined. The hierarchical bifurcating flow passages in the heat exchanger mimic those seen in the vascular systems of plants and animals. Overall system performance was examined computationally. The results, cast in terms of commonly defined dimensionless parameters, show that system performance can be characterized in a manner similar to traditional compact heat exchanger designs. Previous use of hierarchical bifurcating flow passages for heat exchanger applications has typically been limited to microscale flow networks. The mesoscale flow network examined in this paper resulted in pressure and wall temperature distributions similar to previously studied microscale networks. The mesoscale flow network resulted in a total pressure drop two orders of magnitude smaller and a bulk fluid temperature increase an order of magnitude larger than the microscale flow network under the conditions studied.
Iridium-Catalyzed Reduction of Secondary Amides to Secondary Amines and Imines by Diethylsilane

Catalytic reduction of secondary amides to imines and secondary amines has been achieved using readily available iridium catalysts such as [Ir(COE)2Cl]2 with diethylsilane as reductant. The stepwise reduction to secondary amine proceeds through an imine intermediate that can be isolated when only 2 equiv of silane is used. This system requires low catalyst loading and shows high efficiency (up to 1000 turnovers at room temperature with 99% conversion have been attained) and an appreciable level of functional group tolerance.
Lithium in the Young Cluster NGC 2264

We use moderate-resolution, moderate signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopy to derive Li abundances for six F and G stars in the young (few Myr) cluster NGC 2264. These are combined with consistently determined abundances of five NGC 2264 G and K stars having published Li data. The mean non-LTE abundance, calculated with photometric temperatures, is log N(Li) = 3.27 ± 0.05. This is essentially identical to the meteoritic value, providing no evidence of Galactic Li enrichment over the past 4.6 Gyr—at least to the extent that the meteoritic value represents a typical "cosmic" value at that time. The scatter of 0.16 dex is well within the expected uncertainties and does not indicate any unexpected differential Li depletion. Our mean Li abundance is 0.2–0.3 dex larger than that in the hotter stars of IC 2602 (30 Myr) and the Pleiades (100 Myr), which have consistently determined abundances. This might indicate prior modest differential enrichment, very recent Galactic Li enrichment that is not a global process, or the increasing effect of Li depletion at the young ages of these clusters; such depletion cannot be satisfactorily understood in terms of extant standard or rotational stellar models. Li is not overabundant in the cluster short-period binary W134, a result consistent with the predictions of tidal theory and rotational stellar models. The flatness of Li with Teff (mass) persists to 4000 K (~0.5 M⊙), a morphology in agreement with both standard and rotational stellar models having ages 4 Myr. We note that some spectral type–based Teff scales lead to Li abundances in all of the five cooler cluster stars that are 0.3–0.8 dex larger than abundances in the six hotter stars. Interestingly, such behavior also is inferred for the near-initial Li-Teff (mass) morphology of IC 2602 and the Pleiades when model depletion factors are mapped onto their observed current abundances. No physical origin of such an abundance pattern, which might suggest an initial cluster Li abundance over a factor of 2 larger than meteoritic, is identified. Rather, we believe that it is caused by lingering deficiencies in the model depletion predictions and errant spectral type–based relative Teff values; comparison of independent spectral classifications and the effects of their differences on the derived Li abundances provide direct support for the latter. This underscores the need for accurate relative spectroscopic Teff values derived for a larger number of cluster stars from higher quality data. Finally, radial velocities are derived for our NGC 2264 stars. Our heliocentric estimate of 24 km s-1 is in fine agreement with recent determinations from early-type cluster stars, but shows ample scatter. Some candidate pre–main-sequence spectroscopic binaries are noted, including a multiple-lined star not included in the Li study.
Improving convergence rate of distributed consensus through asymmetric weights

We propose a weight design method to increase the convergence rate of distributed consensus. Prior works have focused on symmetric weight design due to computational tractability. We show that with proper choice of asymmetric weights, the convergence rate can be improved significantly over even the symmetric optimal design. In particular, we prove that the convergence rate in a lattice graph can be made independent of the size of the graph with asymmetric weights. A Sturm-Liouville operator is used to approximate the graph Laplacian of more general graphs. Based on this continuum approximation, we propose a weight design method. Numerical computations show that the resulting convergence rate with asymmetric weight design is improved considerably over that with symmetric optimal weights and Metropolis-Hastings weights.
A Relationship Between Time-Reversal Imaging and Maximum-Likelihood Scattering Estimation

Time-reversal methods have attracted increasing interest recently. The so-called computational time-reversal approach creates an image of the illuminated scene by computing the back-propagated field and is useful for detecting and estimating targets in the scene. In Shi and Nehorai [ldquoMaximum Likelihood Estimation of Point Scatterers for Computational Time-Reversal Imaging,rdquo Communications in Information and Systems, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 227-256, 2005], we estimated point scatterers by maximum-likelihood estimate (MLE) using the Born-approximated physical model, as well as the Foldy-Lax model. In this correspondence, we further find an explicit relationship between energy-based basic time-reversal imaging and the MLE approach: the time-reversal imaging function differs by only a scaling factor from the likelihood imaging function using the estimated scattering potential when a single-scatterer model is employed. Furthermore, this scaling factor is a function of the imaging position only. We show that, as a result, time-reversal imaging has a near-far problem that tends to produce a weaker image for areas further away from the imaging arrays, whereas the MLE-based image is more balanced. Experimental results confirm this conclusion.
Thermal Detection of Embedded Tumors using Infrared Imaging

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Thermography, also known as thermal or infrared imaging, is a procedure to determine if an abnormality is present in the breast tissue temperature distribution. This abnormality in temperature distribution might indicate the presence of an embedded tumor. Although thermography is currently used to indicate the presence of an abnormality, there are no standard procedures to interpret these and determine the location of an embedded tumor. This research is a first step towards this direction. It explores the relationship between the characteristics (location and power) of an embedded heat source and the resulting temperature distribution on the surface. Experiments were conducted using a resistance heater that was embedded in agar in order to simulate the heat produced by a tumor in the biological tissue. The resulting temperature distribution on the surface was imaged using an infrared camera. In order to estimate the location and heat generation rate of the source from these temperature distributions, a genetic algorithm was used as the estimation method. The genetic algorithm utilizes a finite difference scheme for the direct solution of the Pennes bioheat equation. It was determined that a genetic algorithm based approach is well suited for the estimation problem since both the depth and the heat generation rate of the heat source were accurately predicted.
Further expansion of the trans-Diels–Alder paradigm: reductive alkylation of α-cyanoketones

Abstract Reductive alkylation of Diels–Alder-derived ring junction α-cyanoketones provides a route to trans-fused bicyclic systems.
Productivity of Selectively Perforated Horizontal Wells

A general 3D analytical inflow-performance-ratio (IPR) model was used to investigate selective-perforating effects on horizontal-well performance. The investigation showed that the ratio of total perforated length to the drilled-well length was the most dominant parameter controlling the long-term performance of the selectively perforated horizontal wells. The other important parameters were the degree of formation and perforating damage.
The Solubility of Indium in Liquid Gallium Supercooled to 12 K

The method of perturbed angular correlation (PAC) was used to determine lattice locations of 111In impurity probe atoms present in extreme dilution in the intermetallic compound FeGa3. In slightly Ga-poor samples, probes were found to strongly prefer one of two inequivalent Ga-sites. In slightly Ga-rich samples at room temperature, 293 K, the PAC spectrum exhibited an unperturbed quadrupole interaction signal that is consistent with indium probes dissolved in small liquid pools of the excess Ga. A myriad of such pools are probably located along grain boundaries in the sample. Cooling from 293 K down to 12 K, the site fraction of indium in liquid decreased, being offset by the increase in a signal attributed to indium solutes in precipitates with other impurities at the sides of the Ga pools. However, these changes were completely reversible upon heating, and no crystallization of the liquid gallium pools was observed down to 12 K. This is attributed to the extraordinarily small volumes for the pools, which, while not measured directly, are orders of magnitude smaller than cubic microns. The measured temperature dependence of the site fraction of indium in the liquid was used to extend the metastable solubility curve for indium in liquid gallium down to a temperature of 150 K, much lower than the eutectic temperature of Ga-In at 288.5 K.
Asymmetric synthesis of unusual amino acids: Synthesis of the optically pure isomers of indole-protected β-methyltryptophan suitable for peptide synthesis.

Abstract The four isomers of N-indole-(2-mesitylenesulfonyl)-β-methyltryptophan have been synthesized in high optical purity using in part, asymmetric conjugate 1, 4-additions followed by chiral imide enolate azidation and reduction.
Assessing the use of Tensor Closure Methods with Orientation Distribution Reconstruction Functions

Orientation tensors are widely used to describe fiber orientations in mold filling simulations of short-fiber-reinforced composite systems. In these flow calculations, a closure is employed that approximates the fourth-order orientation tensor as a function of the second-order orientation tensor. Sixth-order closures have also been proposed. This paper assesses the effect of using closure approximations in fiber orientation predictions by reconstructing the fiber orientation distribution function from successively higher order orientation tensors in a Fourier series representation. This approach recognizes that the orientation tensors are related to the series expansion coefficients of the distribution function. An error metric is introduced and applied that makes it possible to compare closures of varying order. Errors associated with several fourth-order closures and a sixth-order closure are investigated and compared with the truncation error that results from a reconstruction of the exact second-, fou...
Domino-type millimeter-wave systems

A new concept is described which facilitates assembling millimeter-wave components without connectors and flanges to form a system. The new approach based on a modified H-guide enables one to interconnect components embedded in foam dielectric by simply placing them in a row close to each other like domino pieces. A description of the concept, of the modified H-guide, of fields and waves at a junction of components, a discussion of component design and a comparative technology assessment are presented.
Hodge Integrals and Degenerate Contributions

Hodge integral techniques are used to compute the degree 1 degenerate contributions of curves of arbitrary genus in the Gromov–Witten theory of 3-folds. In the Calabi–Yau case, the contributions are compared to related M-theoretic calculations. In the Fano case, the contributions suggest new integrality conditions.
Astrometric discovery of GJ 164B

We discovered a low-mass companion to the M dwarf GJ 164 with the CCD-based imaging system of the Stellar Planet Survey astrometric program. The existence of GJ 164B was confirmed with Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS imaging observations. A high-dispersion spectral observation in V sets a lower limit of Deltam > 2.2 mag between the two components of the system. Based on our parallax value of 82 +/- 8 mas, we derive the following orbital parameters: P = 2.04 +/- 0.03 yr, a = 103 +/- 0.03, and M-total 0.265 +/- 0.020 M-circle dot. The component masses are M-A = 0.170 +/- 0.015 M-circle dot and M-B = 0.095 +/- 0/015 M-circle dot. Based on its mass, colors, and spectral properties, GJ 164B has spectral type M6-M8 V.
Attitude Filtering on SO(3)

A new method is presented for the simultaneous estimation of the attitude of a spacecraft and an N-vector of bias parameters. This method uses a probability distribution function defined on the Cartesian product of SO(3), the group of rotation matrices, and the Euclidean space {xc391-1} The Fokker-Planck equation propagates the probability distribution function between measurements, and Bayes’ formula incorporates measurement update information. This approach avoids all the issues of singular attitude representations or singular covariance matrices encountered in extended Kalman filters. In addition, the filter has a consistent initialization for a completely unknown initial attitude, owing to the fact that SO(3) is a compact space.
A Possible Dearth of Hot Gas in Galaxy Groups at Intermediate Redshift

We examine the X-ray luminosity of galaxy groups in the CNOC2 survey at redshifts 0.1 < z < 0.6. Previous work examining the gravitational lensing signal of the CNOC2 groups has shown that they are likely to be genuine, gravitationally bound objects. Of the 21 groups in the field of view of the EPIC pn camera on XMM-Newton, not one was visible in over 100 ks of observation, even though three of them have velocity dispersions high enough that they would easily be visible if their luminosities scaled with their velocity dispersions in the same way as nearby groups' luminosities scale. We consider the possibility that this is due to the reported velocity dispersions being erroneously high and conclude that this is unlikely. We therefore find tentative evidence that groups at intermediate redshift are underluminous relative to their local cousins.
Delirium, a Symptom of UTI in the Elderly: Fact or Fable? A Systematic Review

Background In geriatrics, delirium is widely viewed as a consequence of and, therefore, a reason to initiate workup for urinary tract infection (UTI). There is a possibility that this association is overestimated. To determine the evidence behind this clinical practice, we undertook a systematic review of the literature linking delirium with UTI. Methods A MEDLINE search was conducted from 1966 through 2012 using the MESH terms “urinary tract infection” and “delirium”, limited to humans, age 65 and older. The search identified 111 studies. Of these, five met our inclusion criteria of being primary studies that addressed the association of UTI and delirium. The studies were four cross-sectional observational studies and one case series. No randomized control trials were identified. All studies were published between 1988 and 2011. Four collected data retrospectively and one prospectively, with study sizes ranging from 14 to 1,285. The methodological strength of the studies was evaluated using six standards adapted from a previous systematic review. Results Only two of the five studies adequately matched or statistically adjusted for differences in comparison groups. None of the studies evaluated subjects with equal intensity for the presence of delirium and UTI, nor did they have objective criteria for either diagnosis. In subjects with delirium, UTI rates ranged from 25.9% to 32% compared to 13% in those without delirium. In subjects with UTI, delirium rates ranged from 30% to 35%, compared to 7.7% to 8% in those without UTI. Conclusions Few studies have examined the association between UTI and delirium. Though the studies examined conclude that there is an association between UTI and delirium, all of them had significant methodological flaws that likely led to biased results. Therefore, it is difficult to ascertain the degree to which urinary tract infections cause delirium. More research is needed to better define the role of UTI in delirium etiology.
On effective I/sub DDQ/ testing of low-voltage CMOS circuits using leakage control techniques

The use of low-threshold devices in low-voltage CMOS circuits leads to an exponential increase in the intrinsic leakage current. This threatens the effectiveness of I/sub DDQ/ testing for such low-voltage circuits because it is difficult to differentiate a defect-free circuit from defective circuits. Recently, several leakage control techniques have been proposed to reduce intrinsic leakage current, which may benefit I/sub DDQ/ testing. In this paper, we investigate the possibilities of applying different leakage control techniques to improve the fault coverage of I/sub DDQ/ testing. Results on a large number of benchmarks indicate that dual-threshold and vector control techniques can be very effective in improving fault coverage for I/sub DDQ/ testing for some circuits.
Reduced effective lagrangians

Effective Lagrangians, including those that are spontaneously broken, contain redundant terms. It is shown that the classical equations of motion may be used to simplify the effective Lagrangian, even when quantum loops are to be considered.
High-Pressure Synthesis, Crystal Structure Determination, and a Ca Substitution Study of the Metallic Rhodium Oxide NaRh2O4

The sodium rhodate NaRh2O4 was synthesized for the first time and characterized by neutron and X-ray diffraction studies and measurements of magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, electrical resis...
UV initiated addition of iododifluoromethyl ketones to electron-deficient olefins

Abstract Under UV irradiation, iododifluoromethyl ketones reacted with electron-deficient olefins in the absence of solvent to give high yields of the 1:1 adducts, providing a useful method for the synthesis of α,α-difluoro-γ-iodo-γ-(electron-withdrawing-group) substituted ketones.
Mid-infrared designer metals

We demonstrate the utility of epitaxially-grown, highly-doped semiconductors as plasmonic designer metals, with plasma wavelengths across a broad range of the mid-infrared. Micro-particles fabricated from these materials are shown to support localized surface plasmon modes.
Variable Stars in the Unusual, Metal-rich, Globular Cluster NGC 6441

We have undertaken a search for variable stars in the metal-rich globular cluster NGC 6441 using time-series BV photometry. The total number of variables found near NGC 6441 has been increased to approx. 104, with 48 new variables being found in this survey. A significant number of the variables are RR Lyrae stars (approx. 46), most of which are probable cluster members. As was noted by Layden et al. (1999), the periods of the fundamental mode RR Lyrae are unusually long compared to field stars of similar metallicity. The existence of these long period RRab stars is consistent with Sweigart & Catelan's (1998) prediction that the horizontal branch of NGC 6441 is unusually bright. This result implies that the metallicity-luminosity relationship for RR Lyrae stars is not universal. We discuss the difficulty in determining the Oosterhoff classification of NGC 6441 due to the unusual nature of its RR Lyrae. A number of ab-type RR Lyrae are found to be both brighter and redder than the other probable RRab found along the horizontal branch, which may be a result of blending with stars of redder color. A smaller than usual gap is found between the shortest period fundamental mode and the longest period first-overtone mode RR Lyrae. We determine the reddening of the cluster to be E(B - V) = 0.51 +/- 0.02 mag, with substantial differential reddening across the face of the cluster. The mean V magnitude of the RR Lyrae is found to be 17.51 +/- 0.02 resulting in a distance of 10.4 to 11.9 kpc, for a range of assumed values of for RR Lyrae stars. The possibility that stars in NGC 6441 may span a range in [Fe/H] is also discussed.
LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS OF RESONANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO FE XXIV LINE EMISSION

Using an electron beam ion trap, we have measured the relative cross sections for Fe XXIV line emission at electron energies between 0.7 and 3.0 keV. Good agreements with distorted wave and R-matrix calculations are found at energies above 1.5 keV. At lower energies, the contributions of resonant excitation are observed and agree with R-matrix calculations. Below the excitation thresholds, the intensities of dielectronic recombination satellites for capture into n ≥ 5 levels are measured.
Acquisition of Spoken and Signed English by Profoundly Deaf Children

A sample of 327 profoundly deaf children from oral/aural (OA) and total communication (TC) programs across the country was tested on the Grammatical Analysis of Elicited Language--Simple Sentence Level (GAEL-S), which measures production of selected English language structures. Results were analyzed separately for four different response modes: the oral productions of OA children, the oral productions of TC children, the manual productions of TC children, and the combined productions of TC children. Percentage correct scores for the oral productions of TC children were substantially below scores for their manual productions and below the scores of OA children in all grammatical categories sampled on the GAEL-S. The percentage correct scores of OA children were significantly higher than the manual and combined production scores of TC children in more than 50% of the grammatical categories. The manual scores of TC children significantly exceeded the scores of OA children in less than 20% of the categories. The gap between oral and manual production of the children in total communication programs indicates that spoken English did not develop simultaneously with manually coded English and that these children educated in programs using manually coded English did not develop competence with early developing English syntax at a rate faster than those not using signs.
Inflation, Self Insurance and the Friedman Rule in Economies with Uninsurable Idiosyncratic Risks

The paper studies asset prices and capital accumulation in a monetary economy with non-diversifiable idiosyncratic risks. A government issued unbacked currency is introduced into agent's preferences in a dynamic GEI (General Equilibrium with Incomplete market) model with CARA preferences and normal disturbances. Closed form expressions for equilibrium allocations and prices are derived. The paper identifies two new channels through which money growth affects self insurance, interest rate and capital accumulation. The paper also shows that the resulting non-linearities in the relationships between the rate of inflation, the steady state capital stock and the interest rate, may even cause an optimal rate of inflation not to exist. Further, the Friedman rule is shown to be suboptimal for some economies.
Reverse chromatic aberration and its numerical optimization in a metamaterial lens

In planar metamaterial lenses, the focal point moves with the frequency. Here it is shown numerically that this movement can be controlled by properly engineering the dimensions of the metamaterial-based phase shifters that constitute the lens. In particular, such lenses can be designed to exhibit unusual chromatic aberration with the focal length increasing, rather than decreasing, with the frequency. It is proposed that such an artificial “reverse” chromatic aberration may optimize the transverse resolution of millimeter wave diagnostics of plasmas and be useful in compensating for the natural “ordinary” chromatic aberration of other components in an optical system. More generally, optimized chromatic aberration will allow for simultaneous focusing of several objects located at different distances and emitting or reflecting at different frequencies.
Logarithmic Intertwining Operators and Vertex Operators

This is the first in a series of papers where we study logarithmic intertwining operators for various vertex subalgebras of Heisenberg and lattice vertex algebras. In this paper we examine logarithmic intertwining operators associated with rank one Heisenberg vertex operator algebra M(1)a, of central charge 1 − 12a2. We classify these operators in terms of depth and provide explicit constructions in all cases. Our intertwining operators resemble puncture operators appearing in quantum Liouville field theory. Furthermore, for a = 0 we focus on the vertex operator subalgebra L(1, 0) of M(1)0 and obtain logarithmic intertwining operators among indecomposable Virasoro algebra modules. In particular, we construct explicitly a family of hidden logarithmic intertwining operators, i.e., those that operate among two ordinary and one genuine logarithmic L(1, 0)-module.
Mirror symmetry for the Kazama-Suzuki models

We study the N=2 coset models in their formulation as supersymmetric gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten models. A model based on the coset G/H is invariant under a symmetry group isomorphic to Zk+Q where k is the level of the model and Q is dual Coxeter number of G. Using a duality-like relationship, we show that the Zm orbifold of the vectorially gauged model and the Zm orbifold of the axially gauged model are each others mirror partners when mm = rmk + Q.
Forming Young Bulges within Existing Disks: Statistical Evidence for External Drivers

Contrary to traditional models of galaxy formation, recent observations suggest that some bulges form within preexisting disk galaxies. Such late-epoch bulge formation within disks seems to be linked to disk gas inflow and central star formation, caused by either internal secular processes or galaxy mergers and interactions. We identify a population of galaxies likely to be experiencing active bulge growth within disks, using the criterion that the color within the half-light radius is bluer than the outer disk color. Such blue-centered galaxies make up more than 10% of star-forming disk galaxies within the Nearby Field Galaxy Survey, a broad survey designed to represent the natural diversity of the low-z galaxy population over a wide range of luminosities and environments. Blue-centered galaxies correlate at 99% confidence with morphological peculiarities suggestive of minor mergers and interactions. From this and other evidence, we argue that external drivers rather than internal secular processes probably account for the majority of blue-centered galaxies. We go on to discuss quantitative plausibility arguments indicating that blue-centered evolutionary phases may represent an important mode of bulge growth for most disk galaxies, leading to significant changes in bulge-to-disk ratio without destroying disks. If this view is correct, bulge growth within disks may be a natural consequence of the repeated galaxy mergers and interactions inherent in hierarchical galaxy formation.
The Inner Core of an n-Person Game

Sufficient conditions for a general n-person game to have a nonempty inner core are established. They relate to the balancedness condition and characterize a class of NTU games that is larger than the class of compactly generated and balanced with slack games. The inner core of a game coincides with the inner core of its cover. Moreover, it shrinks under convex utility transformations of the game. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Number: C71.
Vlasov–Maxwell–Boltzmann Diffusive Limit

Inspired by the work (Bastea et al. in J Stat Phys 1011087–1136, 2000) for binary fluids, we study the diffusive expansion for solutions around Maxwellian equilibrium and in a periodic box to the Vlasov–Maxwell–Boltzmann system, the most fundamental model for an ensemble of charged particles. Such an expansion yields a set of dissipative new macroscopic PDEs, the incompressible Vlasov–Navier–Stokes–Fourier system and its higher order corrections for describing a charged fluid, where the self-consistent electromagnetic field is present. The uniform estimate on the remainders is established via a unified nonlinear energy method and it guarantees the global in time validity of such an expansion up to any order.
RELATIONAL DATABASES IN ASSESSMENT: AN APPLICATION TO ONLINE SCORING

The Web has made it possible for interested participants to assemble themselves into virtual educational communities. In this article we discuss the design of an online scoring system that might be used in computer-based educational contexts. The focus is on the design of the software that supports high psychometric and fairness standards. We first describe the system from the point of view of different participants and then discuss the design of the underlying database, which is at the heart of the system. We close with conclusions regarding the advantages of sound database design and online grading.
Three-dimensional instability of viscoelastic elliptic vortices

An analysis of the three-dimensional instability of two-dimensional viscoelastic elliptical flows is presented, extending the inviscid analysis of Bayly (1986) to include both viscous and elastic effects. The problem is governed by three parameters: E , a geometric parameter related to the ellipticity; Re , a wavenumber-based Reynolds number; and De , the Deborah number based on the period of the base flow. New modes and mechanisms of instability are discovered. The flow is generally susceptible to instabilities in the form of propagating plane waves with a rotating wavevector, the tip of which traces an ellipse of the same eccentricity as the flow, but with the major and minor axes interchanged. Whereas a necessary condition for purely inertial instability is that the wavevector has a non-vanishing component along the vortex axis, the viscoelastic modes of instability are most prominent when their wavevectors do vanish along this axis. Our analytical and numerical results delineate the region of parameter space of ( E , Re De ) for which the new instability exists. A simple model oscillator equation of the Mathieu type is developed and shown to embody the essential qualitative and quantitative features of the secular viscoelastic instability. The cause of the instability is a buckling of the ‘compressed’ polymers as they are perturbed transversely during a particular phase of the passage of the rotating plane wave.
Gales suffice for constructive dimension

Supergales, generalizations of supermartingales, have been used by Lutz (2002) to define the constructive dimensions of individual binary sequences. Here it is shown that gales, the corresponding generalizations of martingales, can be equivalently used to define constructive dimension.
Piezoelectric response of a ferroelectric memory array

The information stored in a two-dimensional ferroelectric memory array can be read out nondestructiveiy by sensing the piezoelectric response of the individual bits. This piezoelectric response is studied experimentally for an individual bit that is electrically isolated from, but elastically coupled to, the rest of the array. Results show the presence of travelling acoustic waves that produce transient word-to-word piezoelectric coupling as well as static coupling between adjacent words due to the strain component parallel to the word electrodes. The electrical noise resulting from these interactions produces both a time shift (∼2 μsee) and an amplitude change (∼15%) in the readout signal from a bit in a complete array. Variations in readout signal with temperature and input amplitude are. also presented.
Synthesis of pyrrolo[1,3]diazepines by a dipolar cycloaddition—retro-Mannich domino reaction

Microwave irradiation facilitated the synthesis of 4-arylthio-3-oxazolin-5-ones from ethyl cyanoformate, thiophenol, and cyclic ketones. Subsequent decarboxylation and in situ [3+2] cycloaddition provided novel 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-pyrrolo[1,2-c][1,3]diazepine scaffolds after a spontaneous retro-Mannich domino reaction.