cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A control approach to high-speed probe-based nanofabrication

In this paper, an inversion-based feedforward control approach to achieve high-speed, large-range probe-based nanofabrication is proposed. Probe-based nanofabrication has attracted great interests recently. However, this technique is still limited by the low-throughput due to the challenges in compensating for the adverse effects such as the nonlinear hysteresis and the vibrational dynamics of piezo actuators in each axis, as well as the dynamics coupling in multi-axis motion during high-speed nanofabrication. The main contribution of this article is the utilization of the recently-developed model-less inversion-based iterative control (MIIC) technique to overcome these challenges in SPM probe-based nanofabrication. By using this advanced control technique, precision position control of the probe can be achieved during high-speed, large-range multiaxes nanofabrication. The proposed approach is demonstrated in experiments by implementing it to fabricate large-size (∼50 µm) pentagram patterns via mechanical-scratching on a gold-coated silicon sample surface at high speed (∼4.5 mm/sec).
Freezeout of Resonances and Nuclear Fragments at RHIC

We quantify the conditions at which “composites”, the resonances and bound states d, He3 are produced at RHIC. Using Hubble-like model for late stages, one can analytically solve the rate equations and also calculate the relevant optical depth factors. We calculate also the modification of ρ masse and width, and predict a radical shape change of σ.
Anisotropy Processing In Vertically Inhomogeneous Media

Existing work on anisotropic traveltime inversion of reflection data has been done for laterally homogeneous subsurface models. These inversions, although providing useful information on anisotropy in the subsurface, either use the weak-anisotropy approximation or require P-wave data to be supplemented by additional information (e.g., the vertical velocity from check shots or well logs).
Aluminum Burn Rate Modifiers Based on Reactive Nanocomposite Powders

Aluminum powders have long been used as additives in propellants, pyrotechnics, and explosives. Aluminum has a high enthalpy of combustion but relatively low burn rate. Addition of reactive nanocomposite powders can increase the burn rate of aluminum and thus the overall reaction rate of the energetic formulation. Replacing only a small fraction of the fuel by a nanocomposite material can enhance the reaction rate with little change to the thermodynamic performance of the formulation. This research showed the feasibility of the above concept using nanocomposite powders prepared by arrested reactive milling (ARM), a scalable “top-down” technique for manufacturing reactive nanomaterials. The nanocomposite materials used in this study were 2B+Ti, and Al-rich thermites: 8Al+3CuO, and 8Al+MoO3. The reactive nanocomposite powders were added to micrometer-sized aluminum powder and the mixture was aerosolized and burned in a constant volume chamber. The combustion atmosphere was varied using oxygen, nitrogen, and methane. The resulting pressure traces were recorded and processed to compare different types and amounts of modifiers. Additives of nanocomposite powders of 8Al+MoO3 and 2B+Ti to micrometer-sized aluminum were found to be effective in increasing both the rate of pressure rise and maximum pressure in the respective constant volume explosion experiments. It was observed that 20 wt.-% of additive resulted in the best combination of the achieved burn rate and pressure.
Photosensitized Tetrahydropyran Transfer

THP ethers were formed cleanly during photolysis of 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran, an alcohol, and catalytic 1,5-dichloro-9,10-anthraquinone with use of visible light. The reaction could be conducted under ambient fluorescent lighting or with sunlight as well as in a Rayonet reactor. The scope and mechanism are discussed.
Quantization noise shaping for information maximizing ADCs

ADCs sit at the interface of the analog and digital worlds and fundamentally determine what information is available in the digital domain for processing. This paper shows that a configurable ADC can be designed for signals with non constant information as a function of frequency such that within a fixed power budget the ADC maximizes the information in the converted signal by frequency shaping the quantization noise. Quantization noise shaping can be realized via loop filter design for a single channel delta sigma ADC and extended to common time and frequency interleaved multi channel structures. Results are presented for example wireline and wireless style channels.
Measurement of the day-night effect in the salt phase of SNO

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) is a heavy-water Cerenkov detector designed to observe neutrinos from the Sun. Solar neutrinos traversing the interior of the earth prior to reaching the detector may experience matter effects that could alter the flavor composition of the neutrino "beam", depending on the values of the underlying parameters that govern neutrino oscillations. Therefore, studying the flavor composition of the solar neutrino signal during the day compared to during the night (when neutrinos must pass through the earth to reach the detector) can potentially yield constraints on the values of fundamental oscillation parameters.
Limitations in the application of anionic oxy-cope sigmatropy to elaboration of the forskolin nucleus

Abstract The functionallzed blcyclo[2.2.2]octenone 6 has been synthesized in four steps fron 2,4,4-trimethyl-2-cyclohexenone. This ketone undergoes 1,2-addition with 6-lithlodlhydropyran to deliver alcohols 16 and 17 In a 1:1.8 ratio. The potassium salt of 17 experiences oxy-Cope rearrangement In refluxing tetrahydrofuran solution containing 18-crown-6 and gives rise under these conditions to the thermodynanlic enolate 19. This intermediate has been Crapped with several electrophiles, the most relevant to elaboration of the forskolln nucleus being phenylselenenyl chloride. A route Co tricyclic ketones 25 and 26 Is thereby opened. In an attempt to expand upon this chemistry, several more highly functionallzed 3,4-dlhydro-2H-pyrans were prepared; some were obtained in enantiomerlcally pure condition since they originated from carbohydrate precursors. The complications associated with metalation of these heterocycles at C-6 are delineated. Since no indication of oxyanionic Cope rearrangement was observed in those adducts ( 41 42 , 46, and 51) which were synthesized, we conclude that steric (and perhaps electronic) influences exert a particularly strong rate-retarding effect on the key [3,3] sigmatropic step.
Azadiene diels‐alder reactions: Scope and applications. Total synthesis of natural and Ent‐fredericamycin A

A review of our studies of the inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reactions of heteroaromatic and acyclic azadienes is presented and the application of a N-sulfonyl-1-aza-1,3-butadiene [4+2] cycloaddition reaction in the total synthesis of natural and ent-fredericamycin A is described in detail.
New type of photoconduction in n-CdS†

Abstract Four strong resonances have been observed in the far-infrared transverse magnetophotoconductivity of n-CdS at 1.2 and 4.2 K. The resonances are observed in the spectral range 10–120cm−1 at fields to 90 kOe. Two of these resonances are inconsistent with previously observed photoconductive mechanisms; a new mechanism which explains the observed resonances is proposed.
Dirac's New Relativistic Wave Equation in Interaction with an Electromagnetic Field

Dirac had discovered a relativistic wave equation for a spinless massive particle with only positive energies. It has a defect: it became inconsistent when electromagnetic interaction was included. In this paper this problem is surmounted simply.
Group Secret Key Generation Algorithms

We consider a pair-wise independent network in which every pair of terminals observes a common pair-wise source that is independent of all the sources accessible to the other pairs. We propose a method for secret key agreement in such a network that is based on well-established point-to- point techniques and repeated application of the one-time pad over a graphical representation of the network. Three specific problems are investigated. (1) Each terminal's observations are correlated only with the observations of a central terminal. All these terminals wish to generate a common secret key. (2) Two designated terminals wish to generate a secret key with the help of other terminals. (3) All terminals wish to generate a common secret key. In each of these cases, we show that our two-step approach can yield an optimal protocol, in terms of the resulting secret key rates. Furthermore, such a protocol is provided for the first two problems, while an efficient protocol is given for the third problem.
Upper-division student understanding of Coulomb's law: Difficulties with continuous charge distributions

Utilizing the integral expression of Coulomb’s Law to determine the electric potential from a continuous charge distribution is a canonical exercise in Electricity and Magnetism (E&M). In this study, we use both think-aloud interviews and responses to traditional exam questions to investigate student difficulties with this topic at the upper-division level. Leveraging a theoretical framework for the use of mathematics in physics, we discuss how students activate, construct, execute and reflect on the integral form of Coulomb’s Law when solving problems with continuous charge distributions. We present evidence that junior-level E&M students have difficulty mapping physical systems onto the mathematical expression for the Coulomb potential. Common challenges include difficulty expressing the difference vector in appropriate coordinates as well as determining expressions for the differential charge element and limits of integration for a specific charge distribution. We discuss possible implications of these findings for future research directions and instructional strategies.
Performance of a local electrode atom probe

The performance of a local electrode atom probe with a crossed delay line detector has been characterized. The local electrode atom probe with its short flight path and high speed (up to 250 kHz) pulse generator has made dramatic, orders of magnitude improvements in the data acquisition rate and the size of the analyzed volume compared to previous types of three-dimensional atom probes. Sustained detection rates of up to 17% ions per field evaporation pulse have been achieved with data collection rates of up to 2 million atoms per minute. Preferential evaporation is substantially reduced due to the smaller proportion of time spent at the standing voltage enabling lower pulse fractions to be routinely used. A procedure for aligning the specimen with the aperture in the local electrode is described. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Vibrational control of a laser illuminated thermochemical system

vibrational control is a nonclassical open-loop control principle which proposes a utilization of zero mean parametric excitation of a dynamical system for achieving control objectives. In the present paper, excitations introduced into the incident power of a laser beam in a laser illuminated thermochemical reaction are shown to be capable of inducing asymptotically stable operating regimes with averages located at initially unstable steady states. This opens a possibility of alleviating measurement and actuator related difficulties associated with conventional methods in a stabilization of laser-driven systems.
Highly irregular quantum constraints

Motivated by a recent paper of Louko and Molgado, we consider a simple system with a single classical constraint R(q) = 0. If ql denotes a generic solution to R(q) = 0, our examples include cases where R'(ql) ≠ 0 (regular constraint) and R'(ql) = 0 (irregular constraint) of varying order as well as the case where R(q) = 0 for an interval, such as a ≤ q ≤ b. Quantization of irregular constraints is normally not considered; however, using the projection operator formalism we provide a satisfactory quantization which reduces to the constrained classical system when → 0. It is noteworthy that irregular constraints change the observable aspects of a theory as compared to strictly regular constraints.
Synthesis of oligonucleotides containing thiazole and thiazole N-oxide nucleobases.

The thiazole C-nucleoside analogue was synthesized by the Hantzsch cyclization method to form the thiazole ring and was then converted to the thiazole N-oxide C-nucleoside analogue by peracid oxidation of the heterocycle nitrogen. Incorporation of the thiazole and thiazole N-oxide phosphoramidites into DNA was successful though significant deoxygenation of the N-oxide occurred during DNA assembly. The mechanism proposed for the reduction of the thiazole N-oxide to thiazole involves the formation of an N-oxide phosphite ester.
Stress reduction through mindfulness meditation. Effects on psychological symptomatology, sense of control, and spiritual experiences.

Background: This study examined the effects of an 8-week stress reduction program based on training in mindfulness meditation. Previous research efforts suggesting this program may
Kinky D strings

Abstract We study two-dimensional SQED viewed as the world-volume theory of a D-string in the presence of D5-branes with non-zero background fields that induce attractive forces between the branes. In various approximations, the low-energy dynamics is given by a hyper-Kahler, or hyper-Kahler with torsion, massive sigma-model. We demonstrate the existence of kink solutions corresponding to the string interpolating between different D5-branes. Bound states of the D-string with fundamental strings are identified with Q-kinks which, in turn, are identified with dyonic instanton strings on the D5-brane world-volume.
Confluent Layered Drawings

We combine the idea of confluent drawings with Sugiyama-style drawings in order to reduce the edge crossings in the resultant drawings. Furthermore, it is easier to understand the structures of graphs from the mixed-style drawings. The basic idea is to cover a layered graph by complete bipartite subgraphs (bicliques), then replace bicliques with tree-like structures. The biclique cover problem is reduced to a special edge-coloring problem and solved by heuristic coloring algorithms. Our method can be extended to obtain multi-depth confluent layered drawings.
RR Lyrae and BL Herculis variables

The RR Lyrae variables are currently believed to have masses between about 0.5 and 0.8 M/sub solar mass/, effective surface temperatures between 6350 and 7500/sup 0/K, radii from about 4.0 to 6.0 R/sub solar mass/ and luminosities between log L/L/sub solar mass/ of 1.5 and 2.0. Since they are found in population II locations, they generally have Y = 0.3 and Z = 10/sup -3/, but there are exceptions for both higher Z like the sun and lower Z like 0.0002. In globular clusters the periods range from 0.25 to 0.45 day for the first overtone pulsators and 0.40 to 0.80 day for those in the fundamental mode, depending on their luminosity. At transition lines, discussed in detail, the switch from fundamental to first overtone, or maybe vice versa, involves a period change factor of about 0.74 to 0.75.
Heat Transfer Characteristics for Inline and Staggered Arrays of Circular Jets with Crossflow of Spent Air

Heat transfer characteristics were measured for two dimensional arrays of jets impinging on a surface parallel to the jet orifice plate. The impinging flow was constrained to exit in a single direction along the channel formed by the jet plate and the heat transfer surface. Both mean Nusselt numbers and streamwise Nusselt number profiles are presented as a function of Reynolds number and geometric parameters. These are the streamwise and transverse hole spacings ranging from 5 to 10 and 4 to 8 jet orifice diameters, respectively; the channel height ranging from 1 to 6 diameters; and the hole pattern which includes both inline and staggered arrays. The results show that significant periodic variations occur in the streamwise Nusselt number profiles, persisting downstream for at least ten rows of jet holes. Channel height can have a significant effect on the chordwise profiles, smoothed across the periodic variations. For the smaller channel heights, Nusselt numbers first decrease and then increase downstream. Where significant differences exist, inline hole patterns provide better heat transfer than staggered ones. These and other effects of the geometric parameters are presented and discussed.
Perturbative and nonperturbative renormalization of anomalous quark triangles

Abstract Anomalous quark triangles with one axial and two vector currents are studied in special kinematics when one of the vector currents carries a soft momentum. According to the Adler–Bardeen theorem the anomalous longitudinal part of the triangle is not renormalized in the chiral limit. We derive a new nonrenormalization theorem for the transversal part of the triangle. This nonrenormalization, in difference with the longitudinal part, holds on only perturbatively. At the nonperturbative level we use the operator product expansion and the pion dominance in the longitudinal part to determine the magnetic susceptibility of the quark condensate, χ =− N c /(4 π 2 F π 2 ).
Incremental topological flipping works for regular triangulations

A set ofn weighted points in general position in źd defines a unique regular triangulation. This paper proves that if the points are added one by one, then flipping in a topological order will succeed in constructing this triangulation. If, in addition, the points are added in a random sequence and the history of the flips is used for locating the next point, then the algorithm takes expected time at mostO(nlogn+n[d/2]). Under the assumption that the points and weights are independently and identically distributed, the expected running time is between proportional to and a factor logn more than the expected size of the regular triangulation. The expectation is over choosing the points and over independent coin-flips performed by the algorithm.
Chiral compactification on a square

We study quantum field theory in six dimensions with two of them compactified on a square. A simple boundary condition is the identification of two pairs of adjacent sides of the square such that the values of a field at two identified points differ by an arbitrary phase. This allows a chiral fermion content for the four-dimensional theory obtained after integrating over the square. We find that nontrivial solutions for the field equations exist only when the phase is a multiple of π/2, so that this compactification turns out to be equivalent to a T2/Z4 orbifold associated with toroidal boundary conditions that are either periodic or anti-periodic. The equality of the lagrangian densities at the identified points in conjunction with six-dimensional Lorentz invariance leads to an exact Z8 × Z2 symmetry, where the Z2 parity ensures the stability of the lightest Kaluza-Klein particle.
Splay trees, Davenport-Schinzel sequences, and the deque conjecture

We introduce a new technique to bound the asymptotic performance of splay trees. The basic idea is to transcribe, in an indirect fashion, the rotations performed by the splay tree as a Davenport-Schinzel sequence, none of whose subsequences are isomorphic to a fixed forbidden subsequence. We direct this technique towards Tarjan's deque conjecture and prove that n deque operations take only O(nα*(n)) time, where α* (n) is the minimum number of applications of the inverse-Ackermann function mapping n to a constant. We are optimistic that this approach could be directed towards other open conjectures on splay trees such as the traversal and split conjectures.
Interaction of the Magnetorotational Instability with Hydrodynamic Turbulence in Accretion Disks

Accretion disks in which angular momentum transport is dominated by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) can also possess additional, purely hydrodynamic, drivers of turbulence. Even when the hydrodynamic processes, on their own, generate negligible levels of transport, they may still affect the evolution of the disk via their influence on the MRI. Here we study the interaction between the MRI and hydrodynamic turbulence using local MRI simulations that include hydrodynamic forcing. As expected, we find that hydrodynamic forcing is generally negligible if it yields a saturated kinetic energy density that is small compared to the value generated by the MRI. For stronger hydrodynamic forcing levels, we find that hydrodynamic turbulence modifies transport, with the effect varying depending on the spatial scale of hydrodynamic driving. Large-scale forcing boosts transport by an amount that is approximately linear in the forcing strength, and leaves the character of the MRI (e.g., the ratio between Maxwell and Reynolds stresses) unchanged, up to the point at which the forced turbulence is an order of magnitude stronger than that generated by the MRI. Low-amplitude small-scale forcing may modestly suppress the MRI. We conclude that the impact of hydrodynamic turbulence on the MRI is generically ignorable in cases, such as convection, where the additional turbulence arises due to the accretion energy liberated by the MRI itself. Hydrodynamic turbulence may affect (and either enhance or suppress) the MRI if it is both strong and driven by independent mechanisms such as self-gravity, supernovae, or solid-gas interactions in multiphase protoplanetary disks.
When Do Nonlinear Filters Achieve Maximal Accuracy

The nonlinear filter for an ergodic signal observed in white noise is said to achieve maximal accuracy if the stationary filtering error vanishes as the signal to noise ratio diverges. We give a general characterization of the maximal accuracy property in terms of various systems theoretic notions. When the signal state space is a finite set explicit necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained, while the linear Gaussian case reduces to a classic result of Kwakernaak and Sivan [IEEE Trans. Automatic Control, AC-17 (1972), pp. 79-86].
On common invariant cones for families of matrices

Abstract The existence and construction of common invariant cones for families of real matrices is considered. The complete results are obtained for 2 × 2 matrices (with no additional restrictions) and for families of simultaneously diagonalizable matrices of any size. Families of matrices with a shared dominant eigenvector are considered under some additional conditions.
Options for enforcing labor standards: Lessons from Bangladesh and Cambodia

This study examines labour standards enforcement and compliance in two Asian economies (Bangladesh and Cambodia) that have amongst the lowest labour costs in the world but are experiencing strong pressures to improve the price competitiveness of their textile and garment exports. Analysis of survey, focus group and inspection data indicate differing trajectories in compliance with basic labour standards. While extremely low wages and poor working conditions have persisted in Bangladesh, compliance has begun to improve in Cambodia following a trade agreement with the United States that linked positive trade incentives with labour standards enforcement. These contrasting experiences suggest that in less developed countries, governments consider trade-linked schemes to achieve improvements in working conditions without hindering export growth or job growth. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Causal State Communication

The problem of state communication over a discrete memoryless channel with discrete memoryless state is studied when the state information is available strictly causally at the encoder. It is shown that block Markov encoding, in which the encoder communicates a description of the state sequence in the previous block by incorporating side information about the state sequence at the decoder, yields the minimum state estimation error. When the same channel is used to send additional independent information at the expense of a higher channel state estimation error, the optimal tradeoff between the rate of the independent information and the state estimation error is characterized via the capacity-distortion function. It is shown that any optimal tradeoff pair can be achieved via rate-splitting. These coding theorems are then extended optimally to the case of causal channel state information at the encoder using the Shannon strategy.
A new supersymmetric compactification of chiral IIB supergravity

Abstract We present a new compactification of chiral, N =2 ten-dimensional supergravity down to five dimensions and show that it corresponds to the N =2 supersymmetric critical point of five-dimensional, N =8 gauged supergravity found in [1] . This solution presented here is of particular significance because it involves non-zero tensor gauge fields and, via the AdS/CFT correspondence, is dual to the non-trivial N =1 supersymmetric fixed point of N =4 Yang-Mills theory.
Diagnosing spin at the LHC via vector boson fusion

We propose a new technique for determining the spin of new massive particles that might be discovered at the Large Hadron Collider. The method relies on pair-production of the new particles in a kinematic regime where the vector boson fusion production of color singlets is enhanced. For this regime, we show that the distribution of the leading jets as a function of their relative azimuthal angle can be used to distinguish spin-0 from spin-½ particles. We illustrate this effect by considering the particular cases of (i) strongly-interacting, stable particles and (ii) supersymmetric particles carrying color charge. We argue that this method should be applicable in a wide range of new physics scenarios.
Color Differences between Clockwise and Counterclockwise Spiral Galaxies

While spiral galaxies observed from Earth clearly seem to spin in different directions, little is yet known about other differences between galaxies that spin clockwise and galaxies that spin counterclockwise. Here we compared the color of 64,399 spiral galaxies that spin clockwise to 63,215 spiral galaxies that spin counterclockwise. The results show that clockwise galaxies tend to be bluer than galaxies that spin counterclockwise. The probability that the color differences can be attributed to chance is ~0.019. g-r, r-i and i-z did not show significant differences between clockwise and counterclockwise galaxies.
The flushing of Ligeia: Composition variations across Titan's seas in a simple hydrological model

We use a simple box model to explore possible differences in the liquid composition of Titan's seas. Major variations in the abundance of involatile ethane, somewhat analogous to salinity in terrestrial waters, arise from the hydrological cycle, which introduces more “fresh” methane rainfall at the highest latitudes in summer. The observed composition of Ligeia Mare, flushed by methane rainfall and exporting its solutes to Kraken via a narrow labyrinth of channels, may have a methane-rich (>~80%) composition, well out of thermodynamic equilibrium with the atmosphere, whereas the basins of Kraken are relatively well mixed and will have an ethane-dominated (~60%) composition. These variations, analogous to Earth's salinity gradient between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, may be detectable with Cassini measurements and are important for future exploration.
Critical noncolorings of the 600-cell proving the Bell–Kochen–Specker theorem

Aravind and Lee-Elkin (1998 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 31 9829–34) gave a proof of the Bell–Kochen–Specker theorem by showing that it is impossible to color the 60 directions from the center of a 600-cell to its vertices in a certain way. This paper refines that result by showing that the 60 directions contain many subsets of 36 and 30 directions that cannot be similarly colored, and so provide more economical demonstrations of the theorem. Further, these subsets are shown to be critical in the sense that deleting even a single direction from any of them causes the proof to fail. The critical sets of size 36 and 30 are shown to belong to orbits of 200 and 240 members, respectively, under the symmetries of the polytope. A comparison is made between these critical sets and other such sets in four dimensions and the significance of these results is discussed.
Reproductive issues in sickle cell disease

As medical advances improve survival, reduce disease-related morbidity, and improve quality of life, reproductive issues will take higher priority in the sickle cell disease (SCD) community. A wide variety of topics are addressed in this chapter, including fertility, gonadal failure, erectile dysfunction, and menstrual issues in SCD. Etiologies of impaired male fertility are multifactorial and include hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction, sperm abnormalities, and complications of medical therapies. Much less is known about the prevalence and etiology of infertility in women with SCD. Other reproductive issues in women included in this review are pain and the menstrual cycle, contraception, and preconception counseling. Finally, long-term therapies for SCD and their impact on fertility are presented. Transfusional iron overload and gonadal failure are addressed, followed by options for fertility preservation after stem cell transplantation. Focus is placed on hydroxyurea therapy given its benefits and increasing use in SCD. The impact of this agent on spermatogenesis, azoospermia, and the developing fetus is discussed.
Efficient Generation of Statistically Good Pseudonoise by Linearly Interconnected Shift Registers

Some new algorithms are presented for efficiently generating pseudorandom noise both in hardware and software. In software, a new word of pseudorandom bits can be generated about every 12 machine cycles, and hardware implementations can generate pseudo Gaussian noise with bandwith of 20 MHz or more. The algorithms generate binary maximal-length linear recursive sequencies of high degree and with many nonzero terms. The ability to efficiently implement high-degree recursions is important because the number of consecutive bits which can be guaranteed to be both linearly and statistically independent is equal to the degree of the recursion. The implementations are by interconnection of several short shift registers in a linear manner in such a way that different widely spaced phase shifts of the same p-n sequence appear in the stages of the several registers. Some specific algorithms have been subjected to extensive statistical evaluation, with no evidence found to distinguish the sequences from purely random binary sequences.
Modeling adaptation as a flow and stock decision with mitigation

An effective policy response to climate change will include, among other things, investments in lowering greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation), as well as short-term temporary (flow) and long-lived capital-intensive (stock) adaptation to climate change. A critical near-term question is how investments in reducing climate damages should be allocated across these elements of a climate policy portfolio, especially in the face of uncertainty in both future climate damages and also the effectiveness of yet-untested adaptation efforts. We build on recent efforts in DICE-based integrated assessment modeling approaches that include two types of adaptation—short-lived flow spending and long-lived depreciable adaptation stock investments—along with mitigation, and we identify and explore the uncertainties that impact the relative proportions of policies within a response portfolio. We demonstrate that the relative ratio of flow adaptation, stock adaptation, and mitigation depend critically on interactions among: 1) the relative effectiveness in the baseline of stock versus flow adaptation, 2) the degree of substitutability between stock and flow adaptation types, and 3) whether there exist physical limits on the amount of damages that can be reduced by flow-type adaptation investments. The results indicate where more empirical research on adaptation could focus to best inform near-term policy decisions, and provide a first step towards considering near-term policies that are flexible in the face of uncertainty.
On the equivalence of incremental and fixpoint semantics for business artifacts with Guard-Stage-Milestone lifecycles

Business artifacts (or simply, artifacts) are used to model conceptual entities that are central to guiding the operations of a business, and whose content changes as they move through those operations. The recently introduced Guard-Stage-Milestone (GSM) meta-model for artifact lifecycles is declarative in nature, and allows concurrent execution of long-running (possibly human-executed) activities. Modularity is incorporated through the use of hierarchical clustering of activities. Milestones are used to track whether key business-relevant operational objectives have been achieved by a business artifact. The GSM operational semantics is based on a variant of Event-Condition-Action (ECA) rules, which are used to control the start and termination of individual and composite activities, and the recording of milestone status. This paper introduces, in an abstract setting, three different and provably equivalent formulations of the GSM operational semantics. The semantics is specified in terms of how a single external event is incorporated into the current ''snapshot'' (i.e., full description) of a running execution of an artifact model. The ''incremental'' formulation corresponds to the sequential application of the ECA-like rules in response to the event; the ''fixpoint'' formulation characterizes the mathematical properties of pairs of snapshots corresponding to the full impact of incorporating the event; and the ''closed-form'' formulation captures the fixpoint one in terms of first-order logic. The paper introduces a formally specified well-formedness condition on GSM models that guarantees the equivalence of the three formulations while permitting commonly arising patterns for using GSM constructs to model business operations.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS POLICY, COMPETITION AND INNOVATION

To what extent and in what form should the intellectual property rights (IPR) of innovators be protected? Should a company with a large technology lead over its rivals receive the same IPR protection as a company with a more limited advantage? The analysis of these questions necessitates a dynamic framework for the study of the interactions between IPR and competition, in particular to understand the impact of such policies on future incentives. In this paper, we develop such a framework. The economy consists of many industries and …rms engaged in cumulative (step-by-step) innovation. IPR policy regulates whether followers in an industry can copy (or license or build upon) the technology of the leader. With full patent protection, followers can catch up to the leader in their industry only by making the same innovation(s) themselves (or by full licensing). We prove the existence of a steadystate equilibrium in a baseline environment and characterize some of its properties. We then
Trumping Tropes with Joke(r)s: The Daily Show “Plays the Race Card”

The race card is at once a trope and a topic that reductively prefigures racial meaning and performance. As a trope, it frames most racial discourse as a cheat or violation and thus prevents deliberation over material realities of race. As a topic, it exists as a resource for diminishing the social and political significance of persistent racial problems. We argue that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (TDS) deploys political humor as a troping device that disrupts the contradictory logics of race card rhetoric and disorders a range of reductive commonplaces and figures of racial discourses. Specifically, we maintain that TDS pushes the boundaries of everyday negotiations of race, performs alternative conventions, and models manners of thinking, speaking, and acting useful for contemporary understandings of race. This essay therefore enhances the contemporary body of scholarship on politics and humor while expanding upon analyses of the rhetoricity of race and race relations.
Embeddings of Schur Functions into Types B/C/D

We consider the problem of embedding the semi-ring of Schur-positive symmetric polynomials into its analogue for the classical types B/C/D. If we preserve highest weights and add the additional Lie-theoretic parity assumption that the weights in images of Schur functions lie in a single translate of the root lattice, there are exactly two solutions. These naturally extend the Kirillov–Reshetikhin decompositions of representations of symplectic and orthogonal quantum affine algebras Uq(g).
On self-organizing sequential search heuristics

This paper examines a class of heuristics for maintaining a sequential list in approximately optimal order with respect to the average time required to search for a specified element, assuming that each element is searched for with a fixed probability independent of previous searches performed. The “move to front” and “transposition” heuristics are shown to be optimal to within a constant factor, and the transposition rule is shown to be the more efficient of the two. Empirical evidence suggests that transposition is in fact optimal for any distribution of search probabilities.
Universal File Processing Program for Field Programmable Integrated Circuits

A computer program is presented that translates logic equations into promburner files (or the reverse) for programmable logic devices of various kinds, namely PROMs FPLAs, FPLSs and PALs. The program achieves flexibility through the use of a database containing detailed information about the devices to be programmed. New devices can thus be accommodated through simple extensions of the database. When writing logic equations, the user can define logic combinations of signals as new logic variables for use in subsequent equations. This procedure yields compact and transparent expressions for logic operations, thus reducing the chances for error. A logic simulation program is also provided so that an independent check of the design can be performed at the software level.
Justification and the Processing of Information

This study explores, within the context of escalating commitment, how ambiguous information affects decision making. By analyzing subjects' looking times and allocation decisions, we examined the process by which individuals abstract and use information to arrive at their decisions. We found that subjects spent more time processing ambiguous information than they did either purely optimistic or purely pessimistic information. This tendency to process ambiguous information longer increased when the decision maker was not exonerated from blame for the failure of an original decision; presented with ambiguous information, nonex-onerated subjects also made smaller allocations than did exonerated subjects. In this study, the predominant effect of felt responsibility on allocations was withdrawal rather than escalation. Our results suggest that the ambiguity of information about the future plays an important role in escalation and that the combination of responsibility and failure may affect allocations only when the prospective information is ambiguous.
All-Angle Negative Refraction for Surface Plasmon Waves Using a Metal-Dielectric-Metal Structure

We show that a metal-dielectric-metal structure can function as a negative refraction lens for surface plasmon waves on a metal surface. The structure is uniform with respect to a plane of incidence and operates at the optical frequency range. Using three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations, we demonstrate the imaging operation of the structure with realistic material parameters including dispersions and losses. Our design should facilitate the demonstration of many novel effects associated with negative refraction on chip at optical wavelength ranges. In addition, this structure provides a new way of controlling the propagation of surface plasmons, which are important for nanoscale manipulation of optical waves.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF SECONDARY MASSES IN POST-COMMON-ENVELOPE BINARIES: A POTENTIAL TEST OF DISRUPTED MAGNETIC BRAKING

The distribution of secondary star masses in present-day post-common-envelope binaries (PCEBs) is calculated using four different models for angular momentum loss (AML) during the post-common-envelope phase: only gravitational radiation (GR), GR plus disrupted magnetic braking (DMB), GR plus reduced MB, and GR plus intermediate MB. For the DMB model, we find that the number of PCEBs decreases abruptly by 38% once MB begins to operate for non-fully convective secondaries. We do not find a similar feature in the distributions calculated using any of the other three AML models in which MB is not disrupted. This percentage decrease in the number of present-day PCEBs predicted using the DMB model is easily large enough that an observed distribution of secondary masses or even spectral types in PCEBs can provide an important test of whether magnetic braking is indeed substantially reduced in secondary stars that are fully convective. We discuss briefly the feasibility of such observations.
Does Fortune Favor Dragons

Abstract Why do seemingly irrational superstitions persist? We analyze the widely held belief among Asians that children born in the Year of the dragon are superior. We use pooled cross section data from the U.S. Current Population Survey to show that Asian immigrants to the United States born in the 1976 year of the dragon are more educated than comparable immigrants from non-dragon years. In contrast, no such educational effect is noticeable for dragon-year children in the general U.S. population. We also provide evidence that Asian mothers of dragon year babies are more educated, richer, and slightly older than Asian mothers of non-dragon year children. This suggests that belief in the greater superiority of dragon-year children is self-fulfilling since the demographic characteristics associated with parents who are more willing and able to adjust their birthing strategies to have dragon children are also correlated with greater investment in their human capital.
On Confidence Intervals from Simulation of Finite Markov Chains

Consider a finite state irreducible Markov reward chain. It is shown that there exist simulation estimates and confidence intervals for the expected first passage times and rewards as well as the expected average reward, with 100% coverage probability. The length of the confidence intervals converges to zero with probability one as the sample size increases; it also satisfies a large deviations property.
Widespread weathered glass on the surface of Mars

Low albedo sediments cover >10(exp 7) sq km in the northern lowlands of Mars, but the composition and origin of these widespread deposits have remained ambiguous despite many previous investigations. Here we use near-infrared spectra acquired by the Mars Express OMEGA (Observatoire pour la Mineralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces, et l'Activite') imaging spectrometer to show that these sediments exhibit spectral characteristics that are consistent with both high abundances of iron-bearing glass and silica-enriched leached rinds on glass. This interpretation is supported by observations of low-albedo soil grains with possible rinds at the Phoenix Mars Lander landing site in the northern lowlands. By comparison with the extensive glass-rich dune fields and sand sheets of Iceland, we propose an explosive volcanic origin for these glass-rich sediments. We also propose that the glassy remnant rinds on the sediments are the result of post-depositional alteration, as these rinds are commonly formed in arid terrestrial volcanic environments during water-limited, moderately acidic leaching. These weathered, glass-rich deposits in the northern lowlands are also colocated with the strongest concentrations of a major global compositional surface type previously identified in mid-infrared spectra, suggesting that they may be representative of global processes. Our results provide potential confirmation of models suggesting that explosive volcanism has been widespread on Mars, and also raise the possibilities that glass-rich volcaniclastics are a major source of eolian sand on Mars and that widespread surficial aqueous alteration has occurred under Amazonian climatic conditions.
THE IMPACT OF ATMOSPHERIC FLUCTUATIONS ON DEGREE-SCALE IMAGING OF THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND

Fluctuations in brightness due to water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere are an important source of noise for ground-based instruments attempting to measure the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background. This paper presents a Kolmogorov model of atmospheric fluctuations, and derives simple expressions to predict the impact of fluctuations on experimental measurements for three instrument configurations: chopped-beam, swept-beam, and interferometer. Data from the South Pole and from the Atacama Desert in Chile, two of the driest places on Earth, are used to characterize the fluctuations at each site. Using an interferometric instrument as an example, the data suggest that the South Pole is the superior site for observations of the cosmic microwave background at degree angular scales.
An on-line multiprocessing interactive computer system for neurophysiological investigations

The principal dependencies of neurophysiologists upon the computer are for data collection and analysis, experimental control, and the development of theoretical models. One possible system providing these functions is one that allows several investigators to on-line time-share a moderate sized digital computer capable of performing input, output, and computational functions in a simple interpretive language that is easy to understand and use in a fast decision experimental environment. A community of neurophysiologists in the UCLA Brain Research Institute share such a computer in its data processing laboratory (DPL) by means of remote console stations in the investigators' laboratories connected to the DPL by a direct cabling system. A larger computer facility, available to a larger community of health scientists, is used for batch processing where problems do not need continuous interaction with the investigator for on-line control or analysis, or do need greater computational capability. The two facilities possess compatible I/O formats, thus making some problems soluable by the combination of both computers, and giving other problems the flexibility of either approach. Essentially the DPL is a multiprocessing system with an emphasis on I/O functions and an interpretive system appropriate for neurophysiological investigation and with some unique solutions to resource allocation and system integrity in its temporal-spatial (core) algorithm. The economic advantage of such a system is not argued, nor is CPU economy necessarily maximized with present use, though from the standpoint of I/O devices which are so important for such research, a central facility may possess some advantages. Reliability and demands of time-critical users must be realistically estimated for neurophysiological users for whom the on-line aspect may be with reference to the integrity of their experiments.
Synthesis of 7-methoxybenzolactam-V8 using a diastereoselective Strecker synthesis

7-Methoxybenzolactam-V8 (4) was synthesized using a diastereoselective Strecker reaction as the key step employing an ortho-substituted phenylacetaldehyde and (R)-phenylglycinol as the chiral auxiliary.
MINIMAL ROOT SENSITIVITY IN LINEAR SYSTEMS

Nominal performance, root (eigenvalue) sensitivity, and stability are important control design considerations. This paper deals only with the first two of these concerns. A lower bound is derived for root sensitivity and necessary and sufficient conditions are given for achieving this minimum. This is the main result of the paper. In addition, an optimal output feedback control problem is discussed which penalizes an index related to root sensitivity. Two hazards are clarified concerning root sensitivity designs. First, we illustrate that root sensitivity has nothing to do with stability. Secondly, we show that normality of the plant matrix is the necessary and sufficient condition for minimal root sensitivity, but that normality measures can be convex even when root sensitivity measures are not. Hence, the optimization problems are quite different.