cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What can we learn from nastic plant structures? The phytomimetic potentiality of nastic structures

While some researchers see developments on the nanotechnology scale as the major or exclusive biomimetic trend in the 21st century, others insist that the exploration of the biomimetic potentialities of macroscopic systems has hardly been started. On either scale exploration of biological systems and development of engineering materials proceed in parallel and this provides the opportunity to actively search for similar, convergent solutions and designs in both directions. Recent studies of plant motors ranging from rapid calcium-dependent shape changes in plant proteins (forisomes) to the rapid closure of Venus flytraps and the ultra- rapid opening of dogwood flowers attracted the attention of both biologists and engineers. Here we summarize the principal differences of the nanomotors and macromotors that drive plant and animal movements. Then we describe three types of hydration motors that are common in plants: osmotic, colloid, and fibrous. In engineering electroactive polymers (EAPs) have emerged as new actuation materials with large, electrically induced strain and bending capacity. It remains to be seen whether hydrated EAPs with low voltage-actuation have bioconvergent relevance and proximity to biological situations; in particular plant movements. So far we only know that (i) pH-sensitive poly-ionic polymers like pectins are a common occurrence in the primary walls and occasionally some vacuoles of plant cells, (ii), that strong electric field changes also occur in living tissues, and (iii) that some aspects of their action are not understood and remain a matter of further investigation.
Vibrational Spectroscopy of Aluminum Nitride

A complete description of the first-order Raman and Brillouin spectra of single-crystal aluminum nitride is provided. The frequency has been measured and the symmetry identified of each of the Raman-active zone-center optic modes, and the five independent elastic constants have been measured. The widths of the principal Raman modes increase with increasing oxygen content up to a critical value of approximately 1 at. %, after which they are constant. This behavior supports the hypothesis of a change in the nature of the oxygen defect at that concentration.
Howard Zonana and the Transformation of Forensic Psychiatry

In recognition of Howard Zonana's contributions, I take stock of the progress of the field of forensic psychiatry over three decades. As forensic psychiatrists, you are the voice of psychiatry in the law and the interpreter of law to your colleagues in psychiatry. I offer provisional impressions of your collective accomplishments under three themes: expertise, influence, and integrity. First, you have established and nurtured the expertise and authority of forensic psychiatry, which has become increasingly evidence-based and reflects a prudent sense of humility. Second, you have had a significant influence on the design and daily application of mental health law in both criminal and civil spheres. Through the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL) and relevant components of the American Psychological Association, you have been a strong and effective advocate for protecting both the needs and rights of people with mental illness and have had demonstrable influence in the Supreme Court as well as at the grassroots. Finally, you have nurtured and protected the ethical integrity of the profession in the face of ever-increasing challenges, due in no small measure to the habits of ethical reflection that Howard Zonana has modeled and taught over the course of his extraordinary career.
String windings in the early universe

We study string dynamics in the early universe. Our motivation is the proposal of Brandenberger and Vafa that string winding modes may play a key role in decompactifying three spatial dimensions. We model the universe as a homogeneous but anisotropic nine-torus filled with a gas of excited strings. We adopt initial conditions which fix the dilaton and the volume of the torus, but otherwise assume all states are equally likely. We study the evolution of the system both analytically and numerically to determine the late-time behaviour. We find that, although dynamical evolution can indeed lead to three large spatial dimensions, such an outcome is not statistically favoured.
Iron Lewis acid catalyzed reactions of phenyldiazomethane and olefins: Formation of cyclopropanes with very high cis selectivity

Abstract The iron Lewis acid, [(η 5 -C 5 H 5 )Fe(CO) 2 (THF)] + ( 1 ) catalyzes the cyclopropanation reaction of phenyldiazomethane with olefins to provide cis cyclopropanes in high selectivity.
Overview of the current status of solid—liquid interface science☆

Abstract An overview of the current status of S-L interface science is presented, together with some comments about its relevance to solar energy conversion technologies. A discussion of the diffuse layer includes past and current perspectives of the structure of H 2 O in the double layer and its role on potential changes at the metal-liquid interface. The difficulties of considering the potential changes of semiconductor- or insulator-liquid interfaces are related to surface states and dangling bonds. The methods available for investigating the S-L interface are reviewed, i.e. sweep, ellipsometric, radiotracer, AES, XPS and Mossbauer methods. Frumkin's contributions and the potential of zero charge (PZC) are also discussed. The difficulties and prospects of measuring and/or calculating absolute potentials of S-L interfaces from understanding the PZC are then considered. Organic and ionic adsorption isotherms and the factors limiting their contribution to increasing the understanding of the S-L interfaces are reviewed. Future prospects and needs for research on the S-L interface are outlined in the concluding section. Developments in this field are in an early stage, compared with the S-G interface, but the subject material has a more practical bearing on real systems. New theoretical approaches, including modeling of the double layer and diffuse layer using quantum mechanical and Monte Carlo approaches, are clearly needed. A need for elucidating the structure at semiconductor-liquid interfaces and its bearing on photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion is indicated. The need for applying in situ spectroscopic and direct measurements to study the S-L interface is clearly required for extending our present understanding in this field.
Aeroelastic System Development Using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition and Volterra Theory

This research combines Volterra theory and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) into a hybrid methodology for reduced-order modeling of aeroelastic systems. The outcome of the method is a set of linear ordinary difierential equations (ODEs) describing the modal amplitudes associated with both the structural modes and the POD basis functions for the ∞uid. For this research, the structural modes are sine waves of varying frequency, and the Volterra-POD approach is applied to the ∞uid dynamics equations. The structural modes are treated as forcing terms which are impulsed as part of the ∞uid model realization. Using this approach, structural and ∞uid operators are coupled into a single aeroelastic operator. This coupling converts a free boundary ∞uid problem into an initial value problem, while preserving the parameter (or parameters) of interest for sensitivity analysis. The approach is applied to an elastic panel in supersonic cross ∞ow. The hybrid Volterra-POD approach provides a low-order ∞uid model in state-space form. The linear ∞uid model is tightly coupled with a nonlinear panel model using an implicit integration scheme. The resulting aeroelastic model provides correct limit-cycle oscillation prediction over a wide range of panel dynamic pressure values. Time integration of the reduced-order aeroelastic model is four orders of magnitude faster than the high-order solution procedure developed for this research using traditional ∞uid and structural solvers.
Image synthesis using multiscale model

Considers a specific class of textures which are stochastic, possibly periodic, two-dimensional signals displaying fractal-like or self-similar characteristics. Most natural textures belong to this class. We explore the use of autoregressive (AR) processes on trees as a texture model. This theory was originally proposed for multiscale signal analysis. The generalized lattice structures used for parametrization of AR processes on trees makes computer implementation fast and efficient. We have done extensive experiments on texture generation and study the effect of reflection coefficients and model order on the quality of the generated textures. >
Mercury Bismuth Chalcohalides, Hg3Q2Bi2Cl8 (Q = S, Se, Te): Syntheses, Crystal Structures, Band Structures, and Optical Properties

Three quaternary mercury bismuth chalcohalides, Hg3Q2Bi2Cl8 (Q = S, Se, Te), are reported along with their syntheses, crystal structures, electronic band structures, and optical properties. The compounds are structurally similar with a layer comprised of a hole perforated sheet network of [Hg3Q2](2+) (Q = S and Te) that forms by fused cyclohexane, chairlike Hg6Q6 rings. The cationic charge in the network is balanced by edge-sharing monocapped trigonal-prismatic anions of [Bi2Cl8](2-) that form a two-dimensional network located between layers. Compound 1, Hg3S2Bi2Cl8, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C12/m1 with a = 12.9381(9) A, b = 7.3828(6) A, c = 9.2606(6) A, and β = 116.641(5)°. Compound 2, Hg3Te2Bi2Cl8, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C12/c1 with a = 17.483(4) A, b = 7.684(2) A, c = 13.415(3) A, and β = 104.72(3)°. The crystals of the Hg3Se2Bi2Cl8 analogue exhibit complex modulations and structural disorder, which complicated its structural refinement. Compounds 1 and 2 melt incongruently and show band gaps of 3.26 and 2.80 eV, respectively, which are in a good agreement with those from band-structure density functional theory calculations.
Augmented down-up algebras and uniform posets

Motivated by the structure of the uniform posets we introduce the notion of an augmented down-up (or ADU) algebra. We discuss how ADU algebras are related to the down-up algebras defined by Benkart and Roby. For each ADU algebra we give two presentations by generators and relations. We also display a Z -grading and a linear basis. In addition we show that the center is isomorphic to a polynomial algebra in two variables. We display seven families of uniform posets and show that each gives an ADU algebra module in a natural way. The main inspiration for the ADU algebra concept comes from the second author’s thesis concerning a type of uniform poset constructed using a dual polar graph.
Men's Migration and Women's Lives: Views from Rural Armenia and Guatemala*

Objectives. This study seeks to comparatively assess the consequences of men's migration for gender roles and relations in Armenia and Guatemala. Methods. We use 29 in-depth interviews conducted with women in Guatemala and 27 interviews conducted in Armenia, complemented with field observations. Results. Men's migration exerts diverse effects on their wives' lives, and these effects are mediated by the sociocultural milieu in which the women live and by the context in which the men generate incomes. As do other studies, we find that women take on added responsibilities when their partners migrate for work, but unlike most other studies, our data do not show that these new responsibilities significantly transform women's status and relationships. Conclusions. On balance, the division of labor established through the husbands' migration further reinforces gender inequality. Men's role as breadwinners and primary decisionmakers is further strengthened, as is women's subordinate position in the household.
Multiple-sensor integration for rapid and high-precision coordinate metrology

The development of a multiple-sensor coordinate measuring system (CMM) is introduced and its applications to automated part localization and rapid surface digitization are experimentally demonstrated. The developed multiple-sensor CMM is characterized by an integrated use of a high-precision CMM equipped with a motorized touch probe, and a 3D active vision system, advanced computational software, and the associated electronics. The 3D active vision system is capable of digitizing surface coordinates of objects having multiple features; thus intelligent feature recognition algorithms can be applied to extract the global surface information of the object. The obtained information can be subsequently used to automatically guide the touch probe for rapid coordinate data acquisition and to strategically control the coordinate measuring machine for high precision sampling of critical surface area. In this paper, the information automation for the multiple-sensor integrated system is demonstrated in part localization.
A FACILE PREPARATION OF ALKYL AZIDES FROM ALKYL BROMIDES AND SODIUM AZIDE USING 18-CROWN-6 ETHER DOPED CLAY

Abstract A high yield synthesis of alkyl azides is described from readily accessible alkyl bromides and sodium azide using a recyclable phase transfer catalyst, 18-crown-6 ether impregnated clay.
The COBE Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment Search for the Cosmic Infrared Background. III. Separation of Galactic Emission from the Infrared Sky Brightness

The Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB) is hidden behind veils of foreground emission from our own solar system and Galaxy. This paper describes procedures for removing the Galactic IR emission from the 1.25-240 μm COBE DIRBE maps as steps toward the ultimate goal of detecting the CIB. The Galactic emission models are carefully chosen and constructed so that the isotropic CIB is completely retained in the residual sky maps. We start with DIRBE data from which the scattered light and thermal emission of the interplanetary dust (IPD) cloud have already been removed. Locations affected by the emission from bright compact and stellar sources are excluded from the analysis. The unresolved emission of faint stars at near- and mid-IR wavelengths is represented by a model based on Galactic source counts. The 100 μm DIRBE observations are used as the spatial template for the interstellar medium (ISM) emission at high latitudes. Correlation of the 100 μm data with H I column density allows us to isolate the component of the observed emission that is associated with the ISM. Limits are established on the far-IR emissivity of the diffuse ionized medium, which indicate a lower emissivity per H nucleus than in the neutral medium. At 240 μm, we find that adding a second spatial template to the ISM model can greatly improve the accuracy of the model at low latitudes. The crucial product of this analysis is a set of all-sky IR maps from which the Galactic (and IPD) emission has been removed. We discuss systematic uncertainties and potential errors in the foreground subtraction process that may have an impact on studies seeking to detect the CIB in the residual maps.
Competition and Product Quality in the Supermarket Industry

This article analyzes the effect of competition on a supermarket firm's incentive to provide product quality. In the supermarket industry, product availability is an important measure of quality. Using U.S. Consumer Price Index microdata to track inventory shortfalls, I find that stores facing more intense competition have fewer shortfalls. Competition from Walmart—the most significant shock to industry market structure in half a century—decreased shortfalls among large chains by about a third. The risk that customers will switch stores appears to provide competitors with a strong incentive to invest in product quality.
Discomfort Glare Comparison for Various LED Cap Lamps

Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are investigating different lighting technologies with the objective of improving mine safety. This paper presents the results from an ongoing study that compares discomfort glare for different light-emitting diode (LED) cap lamps using the de Boer glare rating scale. The cap lamps tested included two commercially-available LED cap lamps and one NIOSH prototype LED cap lamp tested at three different illumination levels. Prior research indicated that the NIOSH prototype enabled much better visual performance as compared to other LED cap lamps. It uses three LEDs that produce multiple illumination areas in comparison to commercially-available cap lamps that use one LED and projects a narrow spot pattern. Across subjects and cap lamp test conditions, measured illuminances (averaged at both eyes) varied from 0.62 to 3.73 lx, whereas the de Boer glare ratings varied from 4.86 to 7.71. An analysis of variance based on 15 subjects indicated a significant difference in the discomfort glare due to cap lamps (F4, 52 = 18.01, p <; 0.001). Post hoc tests indicate that one of the commercially available cap lamps exhibited lower discomfort scores, with no statistically significant differences detected between the others. Thus, the NIOSH prototype cap lamp does not cause excessive discomfort glare yet enables better visual performance.
ACC/AHA/NASPE 2002 Guideline Update for Implantation of Cardiac Pacemakers and Antiarrhythmia Devices--summary article: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (ACC/AHA/NASPE Committee to Update the 1998 Pacemaker Guidelines).

The current update of the ACC/AHA/NASPE Guidelines for Implantation of Cardiac Pacemakers and Antiarrhythmia Devices includes several significant changes in the recommendations and in the supporting narrative portion. In this summary, we list the updated recommendations along with the respective
Reminiscences of Wit Busza and 41 years of p + A physics

One of the more memorable (and easiest) proposal to deal with when I served on Bob Wilson’s Program Advisory Committee at NAL (Now Fermilab) from 1972-75 was Proposal-178, \A study of the average multiplicity and multiplicity distributions in hadron-nucleus collisions at high energies", with only 4 authors, Wit Busza, Jerry Friedman, Henry Kendall and Larry Rosenson, as presented at the PAC meeting by Wit. What I remember was that he discussed only ONE 5 inch photomultiplier with a Cherenkov radiator in the beam to make this measurement of production of charged particles with angles up to 30 degrees in various nuclei, 40 hours requested. This turned out to be a \seminal" experiment leading to the Wounded Nucleon and other participant models. Subsequent p(d) +A experiments from the AGS to RHIC, as well as alpha-alpha measurements at the CERN-ISR, will be discussed together with the various ‘participants’ that they revealed.
Estimation of Treatment Effects of recombinant Bovine Somatotropin using Matching Samples

The production and profit impacts of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) on select New York dairy farms were estimated using data over the years 1994 through 2004, by comparing matching farms that use and do not use rbST. The use of rbST increases milk production per cow and decreases the cost of production per hundredweight of milk. The cost penalty (cost reduction) is $0.39 per hundredweight for those currently using rbST to stop using rbST, while the average treatment effect is $0.73.
Glucocorticoid receptors and inhibition of bone cell growth in primary culture.

We have previously identified glucocorticoid binding proteins in cytosol of cells dispersed from fetal rat calvaria by collagenase digestion. The present study, employing primary culture of these cells, provides further evidence that these binding proteins represent glucocorticoidreceptors. [3H]Dexamethasone bound to cytoplasmic extracts of cultured cells with an apparent Kdissof 6.8 nM and exhibited∼8500 binding sites/cell. Nuclear translocation of [3H]dexamethasone was demonstrated with ∼50% of bound steroid extractable from the nuclear pellet after incubation at 37 C; little nuclear transfer occurred at 0 C. The specificity of these binding site was characterized by competition studies with other steroids in whole cells, the order of affinities eing: triamcinolone acetonide > dexamethasone > progesterone > cortisol > corticosterone × cortexolone. Non-glucocorticoids except progesterone competed only poorly. Sedimentation analysis of ]3H ]dexamethasone-protein complexes on sucrose gradients revealed a c...
Nuclear fusion of protons with ions of boron

This paper describes a method of extracting energy from the fusion events occurring between the collision of a beam of protons with a beam of ions of Boron 11. The two beams are circulating in separated and intersecting storage rings where they collide head-on in a common long-straight section. Requirements on the luminosity of the low-energy collider are shown. Limitations due to space-charge and intrabeam scattering are described. Very fast electron cooling is needed to compensate these effects. >
Characterization of Tangent Cones of Noncollapsed Limits with Lower Ricci Bounds and Applications

Consider a limit space $${(M_\alpha,g_\alpha,p_\alpha)\stackrel{GH}{\rightarrow} (Y,d_Y,p)}$$ , where the $${M_\alpha^n}$$ have a lower Ricci curvature bound and are volume noncollapsed. The tangent cones of Y at a point $${p\in Y}$$ are known to be metric cones C(X), however they need not be unique. Let $${\overline\Omega_{Y,p}\subseteq\mathcal{M}_{GH}}$$ be the closed subset of compact metric spaces X which arise as cross sections for the tangents cones of Y at p. In this paper we study the properties of $${\overline\Omega_{Y,p}}$$ . In particular, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for an open smooth family $${\Omega\equiv (X,g_s)}$$ of closed manifolds to satisfy $${\overline\Omega =\overline\Omega_{Y,p}}$$ for some limit Y and point $${p\in Y}$$ as above, where $${\overline\Omega}$$ is the closure of Ω in the set of metric spaces equipped with the Gromov–Hausdorff topology. We use this characterization to construct examples which exhibit fundamentally new behaviors. The first application is to construct limit spaces (Y n , d Y , p) with n ≥ 3 such that at p there exists for every 0 ≤ k ≤ n−2 a tangent cone at p of the form , where X n-k-1 is a smooth manifold not isometric to the standard sphere. In particular, this is the first example which shows that a stratification of a limit space Y based on the Euclidean behavior of tangent cones is not possible or even well defined. It is also the first example of a three dimensional limit space with nonunique tangent cones. The second application is to construct a limit space (Y 5 , d Y , p), such that at p the tangent cones are not only not unique, but not homeomorphic. Specifically, some tangent cones are homeomorphic to cones over while others are homeomorphic to cones over .
Obstructive sleep apnoea in obese adolescents and cardiometabolic risk markers.

Background Pediatric studies examining the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and insulin sensitivity/cardiometabolic risk are limited and conflicting.
Quantile Regression for Doubly Censored Data

Double censoring often occurs in registry studies when left censoring is present in addition to right censoring. In this work, we propose a new analysis strategy for such doubly censored data by adopting a quantile regression model. We develop computationally simple estimation and inference procedures by appropriately using the embedded martingale structure. Asymptotic properties, including the uniform consistency and weak convergence, are established for the resulting estimators. Moreover, we propose conditional inference to address the special identifiability issues attached to the double censoring setting. We further show that the proposed method can be readily adapted to handle left truncation. Simulation studies demonstrate good finite-sample performance of the new inferential procedures. The practical utility of our method is illustrated by an analysis of the onset of the most commonly investigated respiratory infection, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in children with cystic fibrosis through the use of the U.S. Cystic Fibrosis Registry.
Time-Varying Climate Sensitivity from Regional Feedbacks

AbstractThe sensitivity of global climate with respect to forcing is generally described in terms of the global climate feedback—the global radiative response per degree of global annual mean surface temperature change. While the global climate feedback is often assumed to be constant, its value—diagnosed from global climate models—shows substantial time variation under transient warming. Here a reformulation of the global climate feedback in terms of its contributions from regional climate feedbacks is proposed, providing a clear physical insight into this behavior. Using (i) a state-of-the-art global climate model and (ii) a low-order energy balance model, it is shown that the global climate feedback is fundamentally linked to the geographic pattern of regional climate feedbacks and the geographic pattern of surface warming at any given time. Time variation of the global climate feedback arises naturally when the pattern of surface warming evolves, actuating feedbacks of different strengths in different...
Investigation of dust wake field oscillations

Wakefield oscillations created by the ion wakefield existing below a dust particle within the plasma sheath generated above a powered lower electrode in a GEC rf reference cell carry information about the plasma sheath, the dust particle charge and the speed of the streaming ions. An experimental method to investigate such wakefield oscillations is discussed.
High order calculation of the multipole content of three dimensional electrostatic geometries

An accurate and simple method is presented for 3-D multipole decomposition of the field of arbitrary electrode geometries. The induced charge on the surface is obtained by inverting the capacity matrix. The multipole moment decomposition of the resulting potential is readily accomplished using differential algebra methodology. The method is applied to the focusing lattice geometry of the MBE-4 accelerator at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Multipole terms of up to the order 5 are computed, and a numerical accuracy of >
Exact null tachyons from renormalization group flows

We construct exact two-dimensional conformal field theories, corresponding to closed string tachyon and metric profiles invariant under shifts in a null coordinate, which can be constructed from any two-dimensional renormalization group flow. These solutions satisfy first order equations of motion in the conjugate null coordinate. The direction along which the tachyon varies is identified precisely with the world sheet scale, and the tachyon equations of motion are the renormalization group flow equations.
Three dimensional bosonization from supersymmetry

Three dimensional bosonization is a conjectured duality between non-super-symmetric Chern-Simons theories coupled to matter fields in the fundamental representation of the gauge group. There is a well-established supersymmetric version of this duality, which involves Chern-Simons theories with $$ \mathcal{N}=2 $$ supersymmetry coupled to fundamental chiral multiplets. Assuming that the supersymmetric duality is valid, we prove that non-supersymmetric bosonization holds for all planar correlators of single-trace operators. The main tool we employ is a double-trace flow from the supersymmetric theory to an IR fixed point, in which the scalars and fermions are effectively decoupled in the planar limit. A generalization of this technique can be used to derive the duality mapping of all renormalizable couplings, in non-supersymmetric theories with both a scalar and a fermion. Our results do not rely on an explicit computation of planar diagrams.
Higher spins in AdS and twistorial holography

In this paper we simplify and extend previous work on three-point functions in Vasiliev’s higher spin gauge theory in AdS4. We work in a gauge in which the space-time dependence of Vasiliev’s master fields is gauged away completely, leaving only the internal twistor-like variables. The correlation functions of boundary operators can be easily computed in this gauge. We find complete agreement of the tree level three point functions of higher spin currents in Vasiliev’s theory with the conjectured dual free O(N) vector theory.
Integrated Pest Management in Tree Fruit Crops

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) was born in the late 1950s out of a crisis in agriculture resulting from an overuse of synthetic pesticides. Core concepts of IPM are grounded in the principles of ecology. IPM is practiced to some degree in all agricultural crops, but synthetic pesticides remain a dominant tactic in managing pests. Perennial crops represent unique challenges and opportunities for IPM and they represent a good model for examining its principles and implementation. This article provides a historical perspective of IPM in Washington apple production and discusses continuing challenges, barriers to implementation, and current efforts to address these issues.
Foreign Direct Investment in Africa: The Role of Natural Resources, Market Size, Government Policy, Institutions and Political Instability

Data from several investor surveys suggest that macroeconomic instability, investment restrictions, corruption and political instability have a negative impact on foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa. However, the relationship between FDI and these country characteristics has not been studied. This paper uses panel data for 22 countries over the period 1984–2000 to examine the impact of natural resources, market size, government policies, political instability and the quality of the host country's institutions on FDI. It also analyses the importance of natural resources and market size vis-a-vis government policy and the host country's institutions in directing FDI flows. The main result is that natural resources and large markets promote FDI. However, lower inflation, good infrastructure, an educated population, openness to FDI, less corruption, political stability and a reliable legal system have a similar effect. A benchmark specification shows that a decline in the corruption from the level of Nigeria to that of South Africa has the same positive effect on FDI as increasing the share of fuels and minerals in total exports by about 35 per cent. These results suggest that countries that are small or lack natural resources can attract FDI by improving their institutions and policy environment.
Price Dynamics in a Vertical Sector: The Case of Butter

We develop a reduced-form model of price transmission in a vertical sector, allowing for refined asymmetric, contemporaneous and lagged, own and cross-price effects under time-varying volatility. The model is used to investigate the wholesale-retail price dynamics in the U.S. butter market. The analysis documents the nature of nonlinear price dynamics in a vertical sector. It finds strong evidence of asymmetric retail price responses, both in the short term and the longer term, but only weak evidence of asymmetric wholesale price responses. Asymmetric retail responses play a major role in generating a skewed distribution of butter prices. The empirical results indicate the presence of imperfect competition at the retail level.
Municipal Support for Social Entrepreneurship

Municipal support for social entrepreneurs isincreasingly seen as an approach for addressing social challenges incommunities. This study examines the activities that municipalities use tosupport the programs and efforts by private individuals in their communities,and how these activities affect local social entrepreneurship. Severalrationales for municipal support of social entrepreneurs are identified. For this study, social entrepreneurs are defined as individuals or privateorganizations that identify and address important social issues in theircommunities. Specifically considered is the initial stages of developing newprograms. The study was based on survey results from 202 senior managers inU.S. cities above 50,000 population in fall 2003 and follow-up, in-depthinterviews in early 2004. Slightly more than half of respondents reported that their cities had highlevels of social entrepreneurship. The level of support varies: only 34.2percent of municipalities actively support private organizations, 44.2 percentprovide some support, and 21.6 provide very little. Frequently mentionedsupport activities include help in applying for grants, bringing entrepreneurstogether to collaborate, providing information about social conditions forgrant applications, and assistance in developing new programs. Someapplications of the study to the field of public administration are offered.(TNM)
The regularity of powers of edge ideals

In this paper, we prove the existence of a special order on the set of minimal monomial generators of powers of edge ideals of arbitrary graphs. Using this order, we find new upper bounds on the regularity of powers of edge ideals of graphs whose complement does not have any induced four cycles.
BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES OF ILLINOIS FARMS: A QUANTILE REGRESSION APPROACH

This study examines the business strategies employed by Illinois farms to maintain equity growth using quantile regression analysis. Using data from the Farm Business Farm Management system, this study finds that the effect of different business strategies on equity growth rates differs between quantiles. Financial management strategies have a positive effect for farms situated in the highest quantile of equity growth, while for farms in the lowest quantile the effect on equity growth is negative. Cost reduction, asset management and revenue enhancement strategies all proved to have important effects on the determination of growth equity rates.
Microtubule Organization and Chromatin Configurations in Hamster Oocytes During Fertilization and Parthenogenetic Activation, and After Insemination With Human Sperm

The cytoskeletal components of hamster oocytes, zygotes, and spontaneously activated parthogenotes were examined after immunocytochemical labeling. Microtubules were found only in the anastral, tangentially arranged second meiotic spindle of unfertilized oocytes. Taxol treatment of unfertilized oocytes greatly augmented astral microtubules in both the metaphase II spindle and the cortex. Disruption of the meiotic spindle microtubules with nocodazole resulted in cortical chromosomal scattering. During hamster sperm incorporation and pronuclear formation, no sperm aster was detected in association with the male DNA. Instead, a large overlapping array of microtubules assembled in the cortex. By mitosis, this interphase array disassembled and an anastral metaphase spindle formed. Microtubule and chromatin configurations were also imaged in hamster oocytes injected with human sperm. Astral microtubules were absent from the sperm centrosome. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the hamster oocyte penetration assay, a test commonly used by in vitro fertilization clinics to demonstrate the fertilizing ability of human sperm. We conclude that since hamsters and humans follow different methods of centrosome inheritance, maternal and paternal, respectively, the hamster may be an inappropriate model for exploring microtubule and centrosomal defects in humans or for assaying postinsemination forms of human male fertility defects.
PROPERTIES OF HADRONS IN THE NUCLEAR MEDIUM

▪ Abstract This review is devoted to discussion of hadron properties in the nuclear medium and their relationship to the partial restoration of chiral symmetry. Special attention is given to the difference between in-medium effects caused by conventional many-body interactions and those caused by change of the chiral condensate. In particular, we discuss medium effects on the Goldstone bosons (pion, kaon, and η), the vector mesons (ρ, ω, and φ), and the nucleon. Also, for each proposed in-medium effect the experimental consequences and results are reviewed.
Dizeez: An Online Game for Human Gene-Disease Annotation

Structured gene annotations are a foundation upon which many bioinformatics and statistical analyses are built. However the structured annotations available in public databases are a sparse representation of biological knowledge as a whole. The rate of biomedical data generation is such that centralized biocuration efforts struggle to keep up. New models for gene annotation need to be explored that expand the pace at which we are able to structure biomedical knowledge. Recently, online games have emerged as an effective way to recruit, engage and organize large numbers of volunteers to help address difficult biological challenges. For example, games have been successfully developed for protein folding (Foldit), multiple sequence alignment (Phylo) and RNA structure design (EteRNA). Here we present Dizeez, a simple online game built with the purpose of structuring knowledge of gene-disease associations. Preliminary results from game play online and at scientific conferences suggest that Dizeez is producing valid gene-disease annotations not yet present in any public database. These early results provide a basic proof of principle that online games can be successfully applied to the challenge of gene annotation. Dizeez is available at http://genegames.org.
A SEARCH FOR GIANT PLANET COMPANIONS TO T TAURI STARS

We present results from an ongoing multiwavelength radial velocity (RV) survey of the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region as part of our effort to identify pre-main-sequence giant planet hosts. These 1-3 Myr old T Tauri stars present significant challenges to traditional RV surveys. The presence of strong magnetic fields gives rise to large, cool star spots. These spots introduce significant RV jitter which can mimic the velocity modulation from a planet-mass companion. To distinguish between spot-induced and planet-induced RV modulation, we conduct observations at ~6700 A and ~2.3 μm and measure the wavelength dependence (if any) in the RV amplitude. CSHELL observations of the known exoplanet host Gl 86 demonstrate our ability to detect not only hot Jupiters in the near-infrared but also secular trends from more distant companions. Observations of nine very young stars reveal a typical reduction in RV amplitude at the longer wavelengths by a factor of ~2-3. While we cannot confirm the presence of planets in this sample, three targets show different periodicities in the two wavelength regions. This suggests different physical mechanisms underlying the optical and the K-band variability.
Free Monotone Transport Without a Trace

We adapt the free monotone transport results of Guionnet and Shlyakhtenko to the type III case. As a direct application, we obtain that the q-deformed Araki–Woods algebras are isomorphic (for sufficiently small \({|q|}\)).
From miso, saké and shoyu to cosmetics: a century of science for kojic acid.

Covering: 1907 to 2006This article reviews the curious history of kojic acid, discovered as a fungal natural product in 1907. It was one of the first secondary metabolites to have its biosynthetic pathway studied by the isotope tracer technique, and, more recently, has been of interest as a skin lightening agent. There are 112 references.
Endogenous entry and self-selection in private value auctions: An experimental study

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of endogenous entry in first-price independent private value auctions. N potential bidders simultaneously decide whether to participate in an auction or receive a known outside option. In the second stage, entrants submit bids after learning their own private values and the number of entrants. An equilibrium model of heterogeneous risk averse bidders implies a self-selection effect, where bidding in the auction is lower with endogenous entry because only less risk averse bidders enter. This effect is confirmed by the experiment. We also observe excessive entry relative to the theoretical model.
Determining the axis of a surface of revolution using tactile sensing

Dextrous robot hands need to be able to determine the pose of objects to reliably grasp and manipulate them. The first contacts with an object can be used to provide an initial estimate of this information if the object is constrained to be of a particular class. The authors consider a simple example of exploiting class constraints: finding the axis of an unknown surface of revolution. Three tactile curvature measurements on a surface of revolution with twice-differentiable sweeping rule function are shown to be sufficient for determining the axis except for certain singular configurations. Position and orientation error uncertainties and experimental results are presented for a cylindrical tactile sensor. >
Graphene as an electronic membrane

We investigate the membrane aspect of graphene and its impact on the electronic properties. We show that rippling generates spatially varying electrochemical potential that is proportional to the square of the local curvature. This is due to the rehybridization effects and the change in the next-neighbor hopping caused by curvature. We estimate the electrochemical- potential variation associated with the rippling observed in recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to be of order 30 meV. Further we show that the charge inhomogeneity in turn stabilizes ripple formation.
Towards ISS disturbance attenuation for randomly switched systems

We are concerned with input-to-state stability (ISS) of randomly switched systems. We provide preliminary results dealing with sufficient conditions for stochastic versions of ISS for randomly switched systems without control inputs, and with the aid of universal formulae we design controllers for ISS-disturbance attenuation when control inputs are present. Two types of switching signals are considered: the first is characterized by a statistically slow-switching condition, and the second by a class of semi-Markov processes.
Skeptical hypotheses and moral skepticism

Moral skeptics maintain that we do not have moral knowledge. Traditionally they haven't argued via skeptical hypotheses like those provided by perceptual skeptics about the external world, such as Descartes' deceiving demon. But some believe this can be done by appealing to hypotheses like moral nihilism. Moreover, some claim that skeptical hypotheses have special force in the moral case. But I argue that skeptics have failed to specify an adequate skeptical scenario, which reveals a general lesson: such arguments are not a promising avenue for moral skeptics to take. They're ultimately weaker when applied to morality compared to perception.
Resummation of heavy jet mass and comparison to LEP data

The heavy jet mass distribution in e + e − collisions is computed to next-to-nextto-next-to leading logarithmic (N3LL) and next-to-next-to leading fixed order accuracy (NNLO). The singular terms predicted from the resummed distribution are confirmed by the fixed order distributions allowing a precise extraction of the unknown soft function coefficients. A number of quantitative and qualitative comparisons of heavy jet mass and the related thrust distribution are made. From fitting to ALEPH data, a value of α s is extracted, α s (m Z) = 0.1220 ± 0.0031, which is larger than, but not in conflict with, the corresponding value for thrust. A weighted average of the two produces α s (m Z ) = 0.1193 ± 0.0027, consistent with the world average. A study of the non-perturbative corrections shows that the flat direction observed for thrust between α s and a simple non-perturbative shape parameter is not lifted in combining with heavy jet mass. The Monte Carlo treatment of hadronization gives qualitatively different results for thrust and heavy jet mass, and we conclude that it cannot be trusted to add power corrections to the event shape distributions at this accuracy. Whether a more sophisticated effective field theory approach to power corrections can reconcile the thrust and heavy jet mass distributions remains an open question.
Network gossip algorithms

Unlike the Telephone network or the Internet, many of the next generation networks are not engineered for the purpose of providing efficient communication between various networked entities. Examples abound: sensor networks, peer-to-peer networks, mobile networks of vehicles and social networks. Indeed, these emerging networks do require algorithms for communication, computation, or merely spreading information. For example, estimation algorithms in sensor networks, broadcasting news through a peer-to-peer network, or viral advertising in a social network. These networks lack infrastructure; they exhibit unpredictable dynamics and they face stringent resource constraints. Therefore, algorithms operating within them need to be extremely simple, distributed, robust against network dynamics, and efficient in resource utilization. Gossip algorithms, as the name suggests, are built upon a gossip or rumor style unreliable, asynchronous information exchange protocol. Due to their immense simplicity and wide applicability, this class of algorithms has emerged as a canonical architectural solution for the next generation networks. This has led to exciting recent progress to understand the applicability as well as limitations of the Gossip algorithms. In this survey, I will discuss some of these recent results on Gossip network algorithms. The algorithmic results described here in a natural way bring together tools and techniques from Markov chain theory, Optimization, Percolation, Random graphs, Spectral graph theory, and Coding.
LOCAL STUDY OF ACCRETION DISKS WITH A STRONG VERTICAL MAGNETIC FIELD: MAGNETOROTATIONAL INSTABILITY AND DISK OUTFLOW

We perform three-dimensional, vertically-stratified, local shearing-box ideal MHD simulations of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) that include a net vertical magnetic flux, which is characterized by midplane plasma β0 (ratio of gas to magnetic pressure). We have considered β0 = 102, 103, and 104, and in the first two cases the most unstable linear MRI modes are well resolved in the simulations. We find that the behavior of the MRI turbulence strongly depends on β0: the radial transport of angular momentum increases with net vertical flux, achieving α ~ 0.08 for β = 104 and α 1.0 for β0 = 100, where α is the height-integrated and mass-weighted Shakura-Sunyaev parameter. A critical value lies at β0 ~ 103: for β0 103, the disk consists of a gas pressure dominated midplane and a magnetically dominated corona. The turbulent strength increases with net flux, and angular momentum transport is dominated by turbulent fluctuations. The magnetic dynamo that leads to cyclic flips of large-scale fields still exists, but becomes more sporadic as net flux increases. For β0 103, the entire disk becomes magnetically dominated. The turbulent strength saturates, and the magnetic dynamo is fully quenched. Stronger large-scale fields are generated with increasing net flux, which dominates angular momentum transport. A strong outflow is launched from the disk by the magnetocentrifugal mechanism, and the mass flux increases linearly with net vertical flux and shows sign of saturation at β0 102. However, the outflow is unlikely to be directly connected to a global wind: for β0 103, the large-scale field has no permanent bending direction due to dynamo activities, while for β0 103, the outflows from the top and bottom sides of the disk bend towards opposite directions, inconsistent with a physical disk wind geometry. Global simulations are needed to address the fate of the outflow.
On Stackelberg mixed strategies

It is sometimes the case that one solution concept in game theory is equivalent to applying another solution concept to a modified version of the game. In such cases, does it make sense to study the former separately (as it applies to the original representation of the game), or should we entirely subordinate it to the latter? The answer probably depends on the particular circumstances, and indeed the literature takes different approaches in different cases. In this article, I consider the specific example of Stackelberg mixed strategies. I argue that, even though a Stackelberg mixed strategy can also be seen as a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium of a corresponding extensive-form game, there remains significant value in studying it separately. The analysis of this special case may have implications for other solution concepts.