cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Trade Costs in U.S. Food Manufacturing Industries

The objective of this study is to measure trade costs incurred by major U.S. regions when trading manufactured food products with other countries. Trade costs in this study’s context refer to all factors limiting exchange of goods and services among countries, e.g. policy, geographic and institutional barriers. Such costs are often measured as frictions in a micro-founded gravity model as in Anderson and van Wincoop (2004) and Jacks et al. (2011). In this study, the gravity framework is extended to identify regional trade costs in the U.S. food manufacturing industry. The new measures of trade costs not only capture the variation over time in trade fictions among countries, but also allow for further examination of their underlying sources: policy, geographic and institutional factors.
Regulation, trade and productivity in Romania : an empirical assessment

Inappropriate regulation can influence productivity performance by affecting incentives to invest and adopt new technologies, as well as by directly curbing competitive pressures. Results of a labor productivity growth model for European countries suggest that improving the regulatory environment -- proxied by the Worldwide Governance Indicators regulatory quality indicator -- and boosting effective exposure to competition through increasing trade integration -- expressed as the ratio of exports plus imports to gross domestic product -- have positive effects on productivity growth. In Romania a 10 percent increase in openness to global trade over 1995-2010 would have boosted productivity growth by 9.7 percent per year. A 10 percent increase in openness to European Union trade, in particular, would have led to an annual increase in productivity of 7 percent. Realizing the benefits from trade integration depends to some extent on regulation. In this regard, the effects of regulation on productivity growth are found to be positive, regardless of the indicator used to measure regulation, and both through direct and indirect channels (by increasing the speed at which a country catches up with productivity leaders). Simulation results also show how countries with different levels of regulatory quality would benefit from a regulatory improvement: had Romania improved its regulatory environment to the same level as Denmark in 2010, its annual productivity growth would have been 14 percent higher over 1995-2010.
VAGINAL BLEEDING IN GONADAL DYSGENESIS

Two cases of ovarian dysgenesis with periodic vaginal bleeding are presented, with evidence which suggests chromosomal mosaicism. In a review of the world literature our cases are the fourteenth and fifteenth described with vaginal bleeding and chromosomal analysis. Our first case also demonstrates the foreshortened metacarpals of pseudo- and pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism. It is the fourth case reported with ovarian dysgenesis and brachymetacarpal dwarfism and the first in which renal tubular sensitivity to parathyroid hormone has been determined. It is suggested that the clinical term, Turner9s syndrome, be replaced by a classification based on chromosomal karyotype.
A New Proof for the Existence of Mutually Unbiased Bases

Abstract. We develop a strong connection between maximally commuting bases of orthogonal unitary matrices and mutually unbiased bases. A necessary condition of the existence of mutually unbiased bases for any finite dimension is obtained. Then a constructive proof of the existence of mutually unbiased bases for dimensions that are powers of primes is presented. It is also proved that in any dimension d the number of mutually unbiased bases is at most d+1 . An explicit representation of mutually unbiased observables in terms of Pauli matrices are provided for d=2 m .
Reaction of a tantalum alkylidene complex with dinuclear metal carbonyls: Formation of C3 ligands

The mechanisms of reactions that deoxygenate carbon monoxide (CO) and convert it into longer chain hydrocarbons are not well understood. A series of reactions between early' and late' transition metal complexes that result in CO coupling reactions in a homogeneous solution are reported. In one example, the Schrock tantalum-methylene complex ([eta][sup 5]-C[sub 5]H[sub 5])[sub 2]Ta(CH[sub 2])(CH[sub 3]) reacts with the dinuclear metal carbonyls Co[sub 2](CO)[sub 8] and Fe[sub 2](CO)[sub 9] in a novel fashion to yield a C[sub 3]H[sub 2]O[sub 2] ligand bridging three metal centers. Reaction of the tantalum-methylene complex with Re[sub 2](CO)[sub 10] leads to an even more substantial change in which extensive rearrangement along with three-carbon coupling occurs. An oxygen atom is removed from one CO group, leading to the novel oxotantalum compound ([eta][sup 5]-C[sub 5]H[sub 5])[sub 2](CH[sub 3])Ta[double bond]O. Simultaneously, the carbon atom from the transformed CO couples with two CH[sub 2] groups initially bound to tantalum and the CH[sub 2] hydrogens are rearranged to produce a CH[sub 3]-CC ligand. Low-temperature nuclear magnetic resonance and isotope tracer experiments have provided preliminary information about the mechanisms of these unusual carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions. 12 refs., 3 figs.
There are many evolutionary pathways to cooperation

Current sociobiological discussions attribute the evolution of cooperation to only two main influences: kinship and reciprocity. As a baseline, the paper analyzes the extent of incidental cooperation achieved in three important 2 × 2 payoff environments (Prisoners' Dilemma, Chicken, and Tender Trap) and the two simplest 'rules of the game' or protocols of play (single-round simultaneous-move and single-round sequential move). Kinship promotes cooperation beyond these base levels by modifying payoffs of selfish versus unselfish behaviors. Reciprocity may also promote cooperation, but its expression requires protocols that widen available strategy sets (in comparison with the basic strategies in the underlying 2 × 2 payoff matrices). Once payoff modifications and/or more elaborate protocols are allowed, many other pathways to cooperation are opened up. Among them are punishment options, complementary strategy mixes, recognition effects, coordination using external clues, and group selection.
A bayesian network approach to ontology mapping

This paper presents our ongoing effort on developing a principled methodology for automatic ontology mapping based on BayesOWL, a probabilistic framework we developed for modeling uncertainty in semantic web. In this approach, the source and target ontologies are first translated into Bayesian networks (BN); the concept mapping between the two ontologies are treated as evidential reasoning between the two translated BNs. Probabilities needed for constructing conditional probability tables (CPT) during translation and for measuring semantic similarity during mapping are learned using text classification techniques where each concept in an ontology is associated with a set of semantically relevant text documents, which are obtained by ontology guided web mining. The basic ideas of this approach are validated by positive results from computer experiments on two small real-world ontologies.
Resonance scattering in impure superconductors

This paper is the generalization of a previous paper dealing with dilute alloys of simple superconductors with transition metal impurities. It has been shown recently that a model due to Anderson for such alloys does not lead to localized magnetic states on the impurities if correlation effects are included, if the boundd-states on the impurities are nondegenerate. Anderson’s model, so generalized, is reasonable for nonmagnetic resonance scattering even in the degenerate case. Then the decrease in the superconducting critical temperature for alloys due to nonmagnetic resonance scattering is sharpest whenkT≫Γ, Eαβ for some values ofαβ. HereEαβ (α=0, ...,N; β=0, 1, ...,N − 1) are the energies of the boundd-levels due to splitting by intra-atomic Coulomb and exchange interactions andΓ is the broadening due to Anderson’ss-d interaction. This result is unphysical sinceΓ≪Ueff, whereUeff is the effective intra-atomic Coulomb interaction. The regionΓ≫kT is physical since it includes the nonmagnetic limitΓ≫Ueff. The decrease inTc in this region due to nonmagnetic resonance scattering is complemented by the anisotropic and valence effects of Kadanoff and Markowitz due to the mean-free-path effect of the impurities. The results are compared with experiment and superconducting tunneling effects in such alloys are also considered.
Ideas, Institutions, and School Curricula: Explaining Variation Between England and France

This study raises the question of why the French secondary school history curricula introduced in the late 2000s prescribed more extensive coverage of plural histories than did secondary school history curricula for English schools introduced in the same time period. Both countries share similar societal diversity. To explain the variation in curricula content, I argue that one needs to supplement a focus on ideas with an institutionalist perspective. England and France have different institutional frameworks for curricula creation, with roots in the nineteenth century, when mass education began. The research shows that these unique national education institutional legacies are significant, and that institutional contexts matter in the diffusion of ideas.
The Marbury Mystery: Why Did William Marbury Sue in the Supreme Court?

In 1801, when William Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to issue a writ of mandamus ordering Secretary of State James Madison to deliver his commission as justice of the peace, he initiated one of the most important cases in the Court's history. But why did Marbury choose the Supreme Court? Was there a lower federal court that could have granted the writ at the time? The short answer is "yes." Rather than making an unsuccessful attempt to invoke the original jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court, I have learned that he could have brought his suit in the then newly-created Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. Did Marbury know of this possibility? Would the Circuit Court have granted the requested writ of mandamus? As this essay will show, the answer to both these questions is "probably yes." That being so, the intriguingindeed, mysterious-questions surrounding Marbury's choice of forum warrant further examination. First, a brief recap of the facts of Marbury v. Madison. 1 In the waning days of the Federalist Administration of President John Adams, the outgoing Federalist Congress enacted the "Act Concerning the District of Columbia," authorizing the president to appoint as many justices of the peace for D.C. as he thought "expedient." Each would serve for five-year terms. President
Self-monitoring of blood glucose.

Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is an essential tool in the management of diabetes. If properly used, SMBG values are employed by the patient to make immediate treatment decisions. The decisions are based on a predetermined action plan that consists of actions designed to achieve blood glucose values within a given target range. Optimal treatment of diabetes is guided by the knowledge of prevailing blood glucose levels. SMBG is an essential component of any intensive therapy program directed toward achieving meticulous glycemic control. SMBG enables therapeutic goals to be clearly defined and permits assessment of glycemic control during ordinary life, thus being complementary to glycated hemoglobin measurements. SMBG determinations are used on an ongoing basis by patients, to aid in the adjustment of the therapeutic regimen. Optimal use of SMBG requires the goals of treatment to be clearly defined and for patients to be taught proper interpretation of the data. Patients need to learn how to use the data to adjust food intake, exercise, or pharmacological therapy to achieve specific glycemic goals. SMBG is the only practical means of detecting asymptomatic hypoglycemia in the outpatient setting. SMBG may also be used to detect temporal glycemic patterns, so that therapy may be modified in an attempt to prevent hypoglycemia. A great advantage of SMBG is its use in intercurrent illness and other emergency situations, in which SMBG allows objective documentation of acute destabilization of diabetic control. Patients may be provided with a home management plan to use during illness. SMBG may be particularly important in children and adolescents who have wide day-to-day variations in activity. Instrumental to the use of SMBG is the choice of blood glucose targets. There should be defined blood glucose targets, individualized for the needs of each patient. Frequency of monitoring depends on the treatment program and varies considerably depending on the clinical situation. Knowledge of preprandial, bedtime, and nocturnal blood glucose concentrations is required to determine the appropriate basal and preprandial insulin doses. The best predictor of compliance with SMBG is the perception of improved control with such monitoring. Record keeping is essential to successful treatment, particularly if one is to consider the impact of previous responses. In response to blood glucose fluctuations, the patient must learn how to take appropriate action, predetermined with the diabetes management team. Keywords: blood glucose; insulin; meticulous control; treatment guidelines; dose adjustment; patterns; SMBG
Dynamic weighting A* search-based MAP algorithm for Bayesian networks

In this paper we propose the Dynamic Weighting A* (DWA*) search algorithm for solving MAP problems in Bayesian networks. By exploiting asymmetries in the distribution of MAP variables, the algorithm is able to greatly reduce the search space and offer excellent performance both in terms of accuracy and efficiency.
Stability of density-based clustering

High density clusters can be characterized by the connected components of a level set L(λ) = {x : p(x) > λ} of the underlying probability density function p generating the data, at some appropriate level λ ≥ 0. The complete hierarchical clustering can be characterized by a cluster tree T = ∪λ L(λ). In this paper, we study the behavior of a density level set estimate L(λ) and cluster tree estimate T based on a kernel density estimator with kernel bandwidth h. We define two notions of instability to measure the variability of L(λ) and T as a function of h, and investigate the theoretical properties of these instability measures.
Evidence for a Solar Companion Star

Periodicity seen in both the mass extinctions and large impact cratering on earth can be explained if one postulates that the sun has a companion star, orbiting in a moderately eccentric orbit with a major axis of 2.8 light-years. No other explanations that have been suggested are compatible with known facts of physics and astronomy. If the companion is a red dwarf star, the most common kind in the galaxy, then no previous astronomical observations would have found it. A search for red objects with large parallax is now underway at Berkeley, and has a good chance of identifying the star in the near future.
Dynamics of Private and Public Real Estate Markets

Using five assets (T-bills, bonds, stocks, and both public and private real estate), this study investigates how cointegration of capital markets affects the dynamics of public and private real estate markets. The results show that the price indices of the five assets are nonstationary and cointegrated. Some implications for the long-term equilibrium relationship for portfolio diversification, price discovery and prediction are discussed. In a Granger causality framework, error-correction augmented VAR models (VECM) and unrestricted VAR models are compared with respect to the conclusion regarding the interaction between public and private real estate returns. VECM is also shown to improve the prediction of private real estate returns relative to an unrestricted VAR model. These results raise questions about previous research studies regarding the dynamics between public and private real estate returns. It is shown that the long-term equilibrium relationship establishes a feedback between the two real estate markets, but the private market seems to informationally lead the public one. Possible explanations are also explored.
First-passage percolation on a width-2 strip and the path cost in a VCG auction

We study both the time constant for first-passage percolation, and the Vickery-Clarke-Groves (VCG) payment for the shortest path, on a width-2 strip with random edge costs. These statistics attempt to describe two seemingly unrelated phenomena, arising in physics and economics respectively: the first-passage percolation time predicts how long it takes for a fluid to spread through a random medium, while the VCG payment for the shortest path is the cost of maximizing social welfare among selfish agents. However, our analyses of the two are quite similar, and require solving (slightly different) recursive distributional equations. Using Harris chains, we can characterize distributions, not just expectations.
Intersectoral Linkages, Diverse Information, and Aggregate Dynamics

Abstract What are the aggregate consequences of information frictions? We address this question in a multi-sector real business cycle model in which firms learn from market-based information. Theoretically, we present two distinct cases in which the aggregate effects of incomplete information completely disappear: either (i) market-based information reveals sector-level optimal actions, or (ii) market-based information reveals aggregate conditions in the economy. When the model is calibrated to United States' sectoral data, both conditions hold almost exactly and incomplete information has a negligible effect on aggregate dynamics.
The blowup along the diagonal of the spectral function of the Laplacian

We formulate a precise conjecture about the universal behavior near the diagonal of the spectral function of the Laplacian of a smooth compact Riemann manifold. We prove this conjecture when the manifold and the metric are real analytic.
Beyond Conventional Quantization

1. Introduction and overview 2. Classical mechanics 3. Hilbert space: the arena of quantum physics 4. Quantum mechanics 5. Scalar quantum field theory 6. Expanding the data base 7. Rotationally symmetric models 8. Continuous and discontinuous perturbations 9. Independent-value models 10. Ultralocal models 11. Summary and outlook.
Watching more than the Discovery channel : export cycles and diversification in development

This paper examines the export performance of 99 countries over 1995-2004 to understand the relative roles of export growth through discovery of new products and growth during post-discovery phases of the export product cycle - acceleration and maturation - in existing markets and expansion into new geographic markets. The authors find that expanding existing products in existing markets (growth at the intensive margin) has greater weight in export growth than diversification into new products and new geographic markets (growth at the extensive margin). Moreover, growth into new geographic markets appears to be more important than discovery of new export products in explaining export growth. Of particular importance is whether an exporting country succeeds in reaching more national markets that are already importing the product it makes. This geographic index of market penetration is a powerful explanatory variable of export performance. This suggests that governments should not focus solely or even primarily on the discovery channel, but also seek to identify and address market failures that are constraining exporters in subsequent phases of the export cycle.
Interrelations of meteorites, asteroids, and comets

Most meteorites come from a small number of parent bodies (6 to 11), with radii mainly between 100 and 300 km. The most likely sources of meteorites are seven asteroid families between 1.9 and 2.8AU, whose eccentricities and inclinations are high enough to permit their collisional debris to cross the orbit of Mars. Comets are too small and too numerous to serve as a source of the major meteorite classes, but they may well be an important source of micrometeorites and carbonaceous chondrites.
Bell’s theorem and the different concepts of locality

Four definitions of the principle of local causes, each of which, when applied to a theory, leads to a different mathematical property of the theoretical predictions, are considered and physical justifications given. The predictions of quantum theory are shown to contradict three of those four concepts of locality. Conclusions are drawn about the physical process and about the interpretations of quantum theory or any other theory that would provide the same predictions. Several inter-pretations are still possible.
Magnetized Accretion Disks and the Origin of Bipolar Flows

The angular momentum liberated in an accretion disk can in principle be transported away by means of a centrifugally driven wind if the disk is threaded by open magnetic field lines. A steady-state model of such a disk, in which the azimuthal shearing and radial advection of the field lines are balanced by ambipolar diffusion, is presented in the context of accretion onto young stellar objects. Preliminary results on the extension of this model to the case where grains are the main charge carriers and to the regime where Ohmic diffusivity dominates are also discussed. It is argued that this mechanism could account for the frequent occurrence of bipolar outflows in young stars and in active galactic nuclei as well as for many of the observational characteristics of these objects
Back surface reflectors for solar cells

Sample solar cells were fabricated to study the effects of various back surface reflectors on the device performance. They are typical 50 micrometers thick, space quality, silicon solar cells except for variations of the back contact configuration. The back surfaces of the sample cells are polished to a mirror like finish, and have either conventional full contacts or grid finger contacts. Measurements and evaluation of various metallic back surface reflectors, as well as cells with total internal reflection, are presented. Results indicate that back surface reflectors formed using a grid finger back contact are more effective reflectors than cells with full back metallization and that Au, Ag, or Cu are better back surface reflector metals than Al.
Solution chemistry of tungsten leaching systems

The dependence of tungsten leaching and solution purification processes on solution composition is treated in terms of aqueous phase diagrams (such as Eh-pH, logMetal-pH, logAnion-pH) generated with the DIAGRAM computer program. The systems considered are W-H2O, Me-W-H2O, Me-W-CO3-H2O, Mo-H2O, Me-Mo-H2O (Me = Ca, Mn, Fe); S-H2O, W-S-H2O, and Mo-S-H2O. These diagrams are examined in the context of selective dissolution of tungsten from scheelite and wolframite.
An Experimental Evaluation of the Hamrock and Dowson Minimum Film Thickness Equation for Fully Flooded EHD Point Contacts

Fifty-seven measurements of the minimum lubricant film separating the elastohydrodynamically lubricated point contact of a steel crowned roller and a flat sapphire disk were made by an optical interferometry technique. The data collected were used to evaluate the Hamrock and Dowson minimum EHD film thickness model over a practical range of contact ellipticity ratio where the major axis of the contact ellipse is aligned both parallel and perpendicular to the direction of motion. A statistical analysis of the measured film thickness data showed that on the average the experimental data averaged 30 percent greater film thickness than the Hamrock and Dowson model predicts.
The case for an abundant population of feeble galaxies at z > 8

We present new observational constraints on the abundance of z>8 Lyman-alpha emitters secured from a deep Keck near-infrared spectroscopic survey utilizing the strong magnification provided by lensing galaxy clusters. The survey has yielded six promising candidate Lyman-alpha emitters which appear to lie between z=8.7 and z=10.2. We describe detailed follow-up exposures made to secure the high-redshift interpretation, as well as further tests that are currently underway with new instrumentation. Based upon our current knowledge of these sources, we discuss their possible contribution to the reionization of neutral hydrogen.
Orbitally Quantized Density-Wave States Perturbed from Equilibrium

We consider the effect that a change in the magnetic induction B has in causing an orbitally quantized field-induced spin- or charge density wave (FISDW or FICDW) state to depart from thermodynamic equilibrium. The competition between elastic forces of the density wave (DW) and pinning leads to the realization of a critical state that is in many ways analogous to that realized within the vortex state of type II superconductors. Such a critical state has been verified experimentally in charge-transfer salts of the composition alpha-(BEDT-TTF)MHg(SCN)4, but should be a generic property of all orbitally quantized DW phases. The metastable state consists of a balance between the DW pinning force and the Lorentz force on extended currents associated with drifting cyclotron orbits, resulting in the establishment of persistent currents throughout the bulk and to the possibly of a three-dimensional `chiral metal' that extends deep into the interior of a crystal.
Scattering of MeV Neutrons from Elemental Iron

Neutron elastic and inelastic scattering cross sections of elemental iron were measured from 1.5 to 4.0 MeV with incident neutron resolutions of less than or equal to50 keV and at incident neutron energy intervals of less than or equal to50 keV. Cross sections for the excitation of observed levels at 0.853, 1.389, 2.097, 2.579, 2.677, 2.974, and 3.152 MeV are determined. The observed elastic and inelastic scattering angular distributions fluctuate strongly with incident energy. The experimental results are averaged over broad energy intervals and are compared with the predictions of spherical optical statistical and coupled-channel models, including consideration of direct inelastic excitations. The importance of a comprehensive data base in such energy-averaged interpretations and in the evaluation of data for technological use is stressed.
The equation of state of supernova matter

We develop a variational theory of hot dense matter which generalizes the zero temperature variational methods to finite temperatures without any orthogonality corrections. This method can be used to calculate the equation of state for matter in supernovae, protoneutron stars and also heavy-ion collisions using only realistic two nucleon and three nucleon forces as inputs. We present some results obtained with this method for symmetric nuclear matter.
Polynomial recurrences and cyclic resultants

Let K be an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero and let f ∈ K[x]. The m-th cyclic resultant of f is r m = Res(f , x m - 1). A generic monic polynomial is determined by its full sequence of cyclic resultants; however, the known techniques proving this result give no effective computational bounds. We prove that a generic monic polynomial of degree d is determined by its first 2 d+1 cyclic resultants and that a generic monic reciprocal polynomial of even degree d is determined by its first 2 3 d/2 of them. In addition, we show that cyclic resultants satisfy a polynomial recurrence of length d+ 1. This result gives evidence supporting the conjecture of Sturmfels and Zworski that d + 1 resultants determine f. In the process, we establish two general results of independent interest: we show that certain Toeplitz determinants are sufficient to determine whether a sequence is linearly recurrent, and we give conditions under which a linearly recurrent sequence satisfies a polynomial recurrence of shorter length.
The New Trial by Ordeal: Rape Kits, Police Practices, and the Unintended Effects of Policy Innovation

One of the most highly touted improvements in the criminal justice response to rape has been the wide-scale adoption of sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs that provide specialized medical care and forensic evidence collection to victims. Though previous studies have emphasized the benefits of SANE programs in improving criminal case outcomes, this study illustrates how the post-rape forensic examination can also discourage reporting, investigation, and prosecution. Interviews with local rape care advocates across the United States show how the increasing emphasis on forensic evidence collected through rape kits may provide an opportunity to reflect and enact persistent law enforcement stereotypes toward sexual assault complainants. Unless police resistance to taking rape seriously is confronted and addressed, even well-intentioned policy reforms such as SANE programs may end up undermining—rather than enhancing—fair and thorough investigation of sexual assault allegations.
Space weather and deep space communications

[1] While Pioneer 11 and Galileo are two deep space missions that experienced radio communication disruptions due to space weather, the success of a mission like Solar Probe, whose goal is to fly by the Sun within a few solar radii of its surface, may depend critically on space weather. It is therefore crucial to thoroughly understand how space weather affects radio communications and to identify ways to predict it. In this study, we explain how enhanced small-scale electron density variations in the solar corona represent adverse space weather to radio communications because they give rise to enhancements in radio propagation phenomena such as spectral broadening and fluctuations in intensity and Doppler of the radio signal known as scintillation. The inability of narrowband radio receivers to track the broadened and rapidly fluctuating radio signal leads to disruption in communication and loss of telemetry. Recent advances have been made in understanding enhanced small-scale density variations and their relationship to the Sun, and we show how this makes it possible to use daily observations of unprecedented solar missions like the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) or Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) to diagnose, monitor, and forecast adverse space weather for deep space communications.
Head pose estimation in seminar room using multi view face detectors

Head pose estimation in low resolution is a challenge problem. Traditional pose estimation algorithms, which assume faces have been well aligned before pose estimation, would face much difficulty in this situation, since face alignment itself does not work well in this low resolution scenario. In this paper, we propose to estimate head pose using view-based multi-view face detectors directly. Naive Bayesian classifier is then applied to fuse the information of head pose from multiple camera views. To model the temporal changing of head pose, Hidden Markov Model is used to obtain the optimal sequence of head pose with greatest likelihood.
Effect of oral contraceptives on serum protein concentrations

Abstract Utilizing the technique of single radial immunodiffusion, the concentrations of 8 serum proteins have been measured in women using various oral contraceptives. A significant decrease in albumin concentration and significant increases in concentrations of IgM, ceruloplasmin, and α 1 -antitrypsin were noted. Similar but more marked changes were noted in the sera of pregnant women at term. Unlike the marked increase in concentration of transferrin observed during pregnancy, no significant alteration in the transferrin level was noted in women using oral contraceptives.
Smoothing a program soundly and robustly

We study the foundations of smooth interpretation, a recently-proposed program approximation scheme that facilitates the use of local numerical search techniques (e.g., gradient descent) in program analysis and synthesis. While the popular techniques for local optimization works well only on relatively smooth functions, functions encoded by real-world programs are infested with discontinuities and local irregular features. Smooth interpretation attenuates such features by taking the convolution of the program with a Gaussian function, effectively replacing discontinuous switches in the program by continuous transitions. In doing so, it extends to programs the notion of Gaussian smoothing, a popular signal-processing technique used to filter noise and discontinuities from signals. Exact Gaussian smoothing of programs is undecidable, so algorithmic implementations of smooth interpretation must necessarily be approximate. In this paper, we characterize the approximations carried out by such algorithms. First, we identify three correctness properties-- soundness, robustness, and β-robustness--that an approximate smooth interpreter should satisfy. In particular, a smooth interpreter is sound if it computes an abstraction of a program's "smoothed" semantics, and robust if it has arbitrary-order derivatives in the input variables at every point in its input space. Second, we describe the design of an approximate smooth interpreter that provably satisfies these properties. The interpreter combines program abstraction using a new domain with symbolic calculation of convolution.
A Comprehensive Exploration of Challenges in Architecture-Based Reliability Estimation

Architecture-based reliability estimation is challenging: modern software is complex with numerous factors affecting a system's reliability. In this article, we address three core challenges for architecture-based estimation of a system's reliability: (1) defining an appropriate failure model based on characteristics of the system being analyzed, (2) dealing with uncertainties of the reliability-related parameters, due to the lack of system implementation, and (3) overcoming the barriers of complexity and scale inherent in modern software. For each challenge, we identify the essential elements of the problem space, outline promising solutions, and illustrate the problems and solutions using a robotics case study. First, we show how a failure model can be derived from the system requirements and architecture. Second, we suggest how information sources available during architectural design can be combined to mitigate model parameter uncertainties. Third, we foresee hierarchical techniques as a promising way of improving the computational tractability of reliability models.
Teaching and Learning Alternatives to a Comparative Advantage Motivation for Trade

Introductory economics courses emphasize opportunity cost, comparative advantage, and specialization to show the benefits of trade. We assert that this emphasis leads to erroneous student mind-set that trade requires specialization based on comparative advantage. We test students who have been exposed to the typical textbook and classroom presentation of specialization and trade with real but paradoxical situations where the same goods are both imported and exported by a country. Students are found to generally understand comparative advantage calculations but wrongfully apply the idea to this multiproduct trade situation for which specialization is not relevant.
Pulsations, Interpulsations, and Sea-Floor Spreading

It is postulated that worldwide transgressions (pulsations) and regressions (interpulsations) through the course of geologic time are related to the elevation and subsidence of oceanic ridge systems and to sea-floor spreading. Two multiple working hypotheses are advanced to explain major transgressions and regressions and the elevation and subsidence of oceanic ridge systems. One hypothesis interrelates the sea-floor spreading hypothesis to the hypothesis of sub-Mohorovicic serpentinization. The second hypothesis relates the sea-floor spreading hypothesis to a hypothesis involving thermal expansion and contraction.
Obedience to Rules with Mild Sanctions: The Roles of Peer Punishment and Voting

Governments sometimes promote rules backed by sanctions too weak to make obedience privately optimal. Factors that may help make such rules effective include the presence of informal sanctions by peers, and implementation through voting. I study the impact of non-deterrent formal sanctions on voluntary contributions to a public good in a laboratory experiment. The effect is studied both in the presence and absence of informal sanctions, under fully exogenous implementation and after both implemented and randomly overridden voting. I find that informal sanctions strengthen the effect of formal ones in most conditions. However, voted implementation has no clear effect on non-deterrent formal sanction in my data, which suggests a reason for caution when studying exogenous implementation by a random vote override procedure.
Wormholes, Emergent Gauge Fields, and the Weak Gravity Conjecture

This paper revisits the question of reconstructing bulk gauge fields as boundary operators in AdS/CFT. In the presence of the wormhole dual to the thermofield double state of two CFTs, the existence of bulk gauge fields is in some tension with the microscopic tensor factorization of the Hilbert space. I explain how this tension can be resolved by splitting the gauge field into charged constituents, and I argue that this leads to a new argument for the “principle of completeness”, which states that the charge lattice of a gauge theory coupled to gravity must be fully populated. I also claim that it leads to a new motivation for (and a clarification of) the “weak gravity conjecture”, which I interpret as a strengthening of this principle. This setup gives a simple example of a situation where describing low-energy bulk physics in CFT language requires knowledge of high-energy bulk physics. This contradicts to some extent the notion of “effective conformal field theory”, but in fact is an expected feature of the resolution of the black hole information problem. An analogous factorization issue exists also for the gravitational field, and I comment on several of its implications for reconstructing black hole interiors and the emergence of spacetime more generally.
The Economics of Internet Markets

The internet has facilitated the creation of new markets characterized by large scale, increased customization, rapid innovation and the collection and use of detailed consumer and market data. I describe these changes and some of the economic theory that has been useful for thinking about online advertising markets, retail and business-to-business e-commerce, internet job matching and financial exchanges, and other internet platforms. I also discuss the empirical evidence on competition and consumer behavior in internet markets and some directions for future research.
Revenue Potential, Tax Space, and Tax Gap : A Comparative Analysis

This paper contributes to the empirical literature on the key determinants of the revenue generating potential in 61 countries. The paper uses a broad set of data and econometric methods to conduct analyses that are of relevance to revenue potential. Earlier studies have not distinguished between the revenue potential based on economic fundamentals of countries and that based on what the legal framework prescribes. This study uses a dual approach to revenue potential to examine the issue. Two sets of variables are used, one related to the intrinsic economic structure and strength of countries that affect revenue potential and the other related to tax policy variables. Accordingly the analysis finds two sets of revenue potentials: one can be termed "revenue potential (economic)," and the other "revenue potential (legal)." The difference between the revenue potential (legal) and the actual revenue collected is commonly understood as the "tax gap." The difference between the revenue potential (economic) and the actual revenue collected can be termed the "tax space," the amount of revenue that a country can afford to collect, given its economic strength, not based on what the parliament has mandated. The results show that legally mandated revenue potentials in countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are often higher than the revenue potential based on what the country's economic fundamentals can afford. The paper also makes use of a tax effort index and finds that although many countries are performing close to the revenue potential (economic), it is more difficult to match up to the revenue potential (legal). The relationship between the revenue potential and the shadow economy, value added tax productivity, and some other determinants are examined to test whether some countries are taxing beyond their means.
Robust multipoint linkage analysis: An extension of the Haseman‐Elston method

The use of multiple markers, rather than a single marker, can increase the likelihood of detecting linkage to a locus underlying a quantitative trait. In this paper, the Haseman-Elston sibpair method is extended to include information from multiple markers. The result is a linear regression of the squared pair trait difference on the jointly estimated proportions of genes shared identical by descent at the two closest flanking marker loci. The results strengthen the theoretical motivation for the interval mapping technique proposed by Fulker and Cardon [1994: Am J Hum Genet 54:1092–1103] and extend the method to include information from multiple markers, account for a trait dominance component, and examine the region just outside that defined by the markers. Simulations show that modest increases in power and substantial decreases in bias of parameter estimates are obtained when identity-by-descent probabilities are jointly estimated. The regression relationship is also developed for other types of relative pairs. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Iron Nanoparticles

Iron, the most ubiquitous of the transition metals and the fourth most plentiful element in the Earth's crust, is the structural backbone of our modern infrastructure. It is therefore ironic that as a nanoparticle, iron has been somewhat neglected in favor of its own oxides, as well as other metals such as cobalt, nickel, gold, and platinum. This is unfortunate, but understandable. Iron's reactivity is important in macroscopic applications (particularly rusting), but is a dominant concern at the nanoscale. Finely divided iron has long been known to be pyrophoric, which is a major reason that iron nanoparticles have not been more fully studied to date. This extreme reactivity has traditionally made iron nanoparticles difficult to study and inconvenient for practical applications. Iron however has a great deal to offer at the nanoscale, including very potent magnetic and catalytic properties. Recent work has begun to take advantage of iron's potential, and work in this field appears to be blossoming.
Fiscal policy in Colombia : tapping its potential for a more equitable society

Colombia has the seventh highest Gini coefficient of income inequality in the world. The Santos Administration is aware of this challenge and has taken important steps to reduce disparities. The Government is also aspiring to join the OECD, which exhibits much lower income disparities, mainly as a result of effective policies of fiscal redistribution. In Colombia, meanwhile, direct taxes, indirect taxes, and monetary transfers hardly dent the high Gini coefficient. To reduce income inequality, Colombian policy makers could consider introducing a more progressive tax-transfer system. This paper ranks alternative inequality-reducing fiscal policy options based on their effectiveness. It argues that there are potentially important redistributive potential gains available from tax reforms if combined with good spending decisions. It presents an illustrative reform package that would be sufficient for Colombia to reach levels of inequality similar to Chile or Costa Rica in a fiscally neutral manner. Nonetheless, further analysis is needed to explore all available policy options and identify those that are best suited for Colombia.
On the Tidally Induced Gravitational Collapse of a Particle Cluster

An important issue in the dynamics of neutron star binaries is whether tidal interaction can cause the individual stars to collapse into black holes during inspiral. To understand this issue better, we study the dynamics of a cluster of collisionless particles orbiting a non-rotating black hole, which is part of a widely separated circular binary. The companion body's electric- and magnetic-type tidal fields distort the black hole and perturb the cluster, eventually causing the cluster to collapse into the hole as the companion spirals in under the influence of gravitational radiation reaction. We find that magnetic-type tidal forces do not significantly influence the evolution of the cluster as a whole. However, individual orbits can be strongly affected by these forces. For example, some orbits are destabilized due to the addition of magnetic-type tidal forces. We find that the most stable orbits are close to the companion's orbital plane and retrograde with respect to the companion's orbit.
Implicit large eddy simulations of anisotropic weakly compressible turbulence with application to core-collapse supernovae

In the implicit large eddy simulation (ILES) paradigm, the dissipative nature of high-resolution shock-capturing schemes is exploited to provide an implicit model of turbulence. The ILES approach has been applied to different contexts, with varying degrees of success. It is the de-facto standard in many astrophysical simulations and in particular in studies of core-collapse supernovae (CCSN). Recent 3D simulations suggest that turbulence might play a crucial role in core-collapse supernova explosions, however the fidelity with which turbulence is simulated in these studies is unclear. Especially considering that the accuracy of ILES for the regime of interest in CCSN, weakly compressible and strongly anisotropic, has not been systematically assessed before. Anisotropy, in particular, could impact the dissipative properties of the flow and enhance the turbulent pressure in the radial direction, favouring the explosion. In this paper we assess the accuracy of ILES using numerical methods most commonly employed in computational astrophysics by means of a number of local simulations of driven, weakly compressible, anisotropic turbulence. Our simulations employ several different methods and span a wide range of resolutions. We report a detailed analysis of the way in which the turbulent cascade is influenced by the numerics. Our results suggest that anisotropy and compressibility in CCSN turbulence have little effect on the turbulent kinetic energy spectrum and a Kolmogorov $k^{-5/3}$ scaling is obtained in the inertial range. We find that, on the one hand, the kinetic energy dissipation rate at large scales is correctly captured even at low resolutions, suggesting that very high “effective Reynolds number” can be achieved at the largest scales of the simulation. On the other hand, the dynamics at intermediate scales appears to be completely dominated by the so-called bottleneck effect, i.e., the pile up of kinetic energy close to the dissipation range due to the partial suppression of the energy cascade by numerical viscosity. An inertial range is not recovered until the point where high resolution ∼5123, which would be difficult to realize in global simulations, is reached. We discuss the consequences for CCSN simulations.
Current Resources for Evidence‐Based Practice, March/April 2015

Applying the Evidence to Practice Aguably, the most important part of evidencebased practice (EBP) is the actual application of research evidence to clinical practice. After reviewing the first three steps of the 5A Model for the practitioner’s use of evidence-based information (Ask, Acquire, Appraise, Apply, and Assess) in previous editions of this column, we now move on to the step of Apply.
Design and synthesis of chromophores and polymers for electro-optic and photorefractive applications

The ability of nonlinear optical materials to transmit, process and store information forms the basis of emerging optoelectronic and photonic technologies. Organic chromophore-containing polymers, in which the refractive index can be controlled by light or an electric field, are expected to play an important role.