cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Biosolids/Sewage Sludge - The Interface between Analytical Chemistry and Regulation

Modern sanitary practices result in large volumes of human waste, as well as domestic and industrial sewage, being collected and treated at common collection points, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In recognition of the growing use of sewage sludge as fertilizers and soil amendments, and the scarcity of current data regarding the chemical constituents in sewage sludge, the US National Research Council (NRC) in 2002 produced a report on sewage sludge. Among the NRC’s recommendations was the need for investigating the occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in sewage sludge. PPCPs are a diverse array of non-regulated contaminants that had not been studied in previous sewage sludge surveys but which are likely to be present. The focus of this paper will be to review the current analytical methodologies available for investigating whether pharmaceuticals are present in WWTP-produced sewage sludge, to summarize current regulatory practices regarding sewage sludge, and to report on the presence of pharmaceuticals in sewage sludge.
Why were changes in the federal funds rate smaller in the 1990s

We identify two major changes in the dynamics of the federal funds rate in the 1990s. We model the desired rate in a two-regime setting, one when the Fed makes no change and the other when the Fed is moving the desired rate to a new level. We find that the 1990s saw a longer duration in the no-change regime as well as smaller changes in the other regime. The smaller changes were neither due to a less aggressive Fed nor due to lower volatility of the fundamentals. In fact, the Fed responded more aggressively to changes in fundamentals in the 1990s. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Enantioselective synthesis of the C11–C17 segment of soraphen A1α via organoiron methodology

The C11–C17 segment of the antifungal agent soraphen A1α was prepared from glyceraldehyde acetonide in nine steps. The C12 stereocenter is derived from glyceraldehyde, while the C17 stereocenter as introduced by 1,6-asymmetric control via the coordinated Fe(CO)3.
Complex analytic Néron models for arbitrary families of intermediate Jacobians

Given a family of intermediate Jacobians (for a polarizable variation of integral Hodge structure of odd weight) on a Zariski-open subset of a complex manifold, we construct an analytic space that naturally extends the family. Its two main properties are: (a) the horizontal and holomorphic sections are precisely the admissible normal functions without singularities; (b) the graph of any admissible normal function has an analytic closure inside our space. As a consequence, we obtain a new proof for the zero locus conjecture of M. Green and P. Griffiths. The construction uses filtered $\mathcal {D}$ -modules and M. Saito’s theory of mixed Hodge modules; it is functorial, and does not require normal crossing or unipotent monodromy assumptions.
Do International Treaties Promote Development? The Convention on the Rights of the Child and Basic Immunization

Little evidence is available on whether changing global rules so as to promote human rights can enhance development outcomes. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was almost universally ratified by the mid-1990s, but it is unclear whether treaty ratification was associated with better or wider protection of childrens rights. This paper uses an instrumental variable approach to investigate whether treaty ratification was associated with stronger effort at the country level on child survival, and particularly with higher rates of immunization coverage. The paper finds that ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was correlated with a subsequent increase in immunization rates, but only in upper middle and high-income countries. Treaties can promote development outcomes, but require institutional support to do so.
Iodopyridines from bromo- and chloropyridines

Abstract Bromo- and chloropyridines may be converted to the corresponding iodopyridines by treatment with sodium iodide and acetyl chloride in acetonitrile.
The Future Evolution of High-Performance Microprocessors

The evolution of high-performance microprocessors has reached several significant inflection points. First, the marginal utility of additional single-core complexity is now rapidly diminishing due to a number of factors. The increase in instructions per cycle from increases in sizes and numbers of functional units has plateaued. Meanwhile the increasing sizes of functional units and cores are having a significant negative impact on pipeline depths and the scalability of processor clock cycle times. Second, the power of high performance microprocessors has increased rapidly over the last two decades, even as device switching energies have been significantly reduced by supply voltage scaling. However future voltage scaling will be limited by minimum practical threshold voltages. Current high-performance microprocessors are already near limits of acceptable power dissipation. Thus scaling microprocessor performance while maintaining or even reducing overall power dissipation will prove especially challenging. This keynote talk will discuss these issues and propose likely scenarios for the future evolution of high-performance microprocessors.
Reflections on the Efficient Market Hypothesis: 30 Years Later

In recent years financial economists have increasingly questioned the efficient market hypothesis. But surely if market prices were often irrational and if market returns were as predictable as some critics have claimed, then professionally managed investment funds should easily be able to outdistance a passive index fund. This paper shows that professional investment managers, both in The U.S. and abroad, do not outperform their index benchmarks and provides evidence that by and large market prices do seem to reflect all available information.
Economics: A Moral Inquiry with Religious Origins

Its secure foundation as an empirically based discipline notwithstanding, economics from its inception has also been a moral science. Adam Smith’s academic appointment was as professor of moral philosophy, and not only his earlier Theory of Moral Sentiments but the Wealth of Nations, too, reflects it. Both books are replete with analyses of individuals’ motivations and psychological states, and the ways in which what we now call “economic” activity, carried out in inherently social settings, enables them to lead satisfying lives or not. Even the division of labor, which Smith hailed (from the very first sentence of the Wealth of Nations) as the key to enhanced productivity, is subject to explicitly moral reservations—because it erodes individuals’ capacities for “conceiving any generous, noble or tender sentiment” and for judging either “the ordinary duties of private life”or “the great and extensive interests” of the nation. The greatest concern throughout is to foster the well being of what Smith calls “the great body of the people.” Material living standards matter for themselves, but, more importantly, they are essential for both individual happiness and public advancement: “No society can surely be flourishing and happy of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.” 1 As if in validation of Smith’s concerns about the division of labor, the moral aspect of our discipline is often ignored, and sometimes even deliberately set aside, in today’s ever narrower and more specialized forms of economic analysis; but it was there from the outset, and it is widely recognized nonetheless. By contrast, what is not generally understood—indeed, what contradicts most current-day interpretations of the origins of economics as an independent intellectual discipline—is the influence on the work of Smith and other early “economists” stemming from thinking about matters not just moral but religious in the traditional sense.
Bundle: A Group-Based Programming Abstraction for Cyber-Physical Systems

This paper describes a novel group-based programming abstraction called a “Bundle” for cyber-physical systems (CPS). Similar to other programming abstractions, a Bundle creates logical collections of sensing devices. However, previous abstractions were focused on wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and did not address key aspects of CPS. Bundles elevate the programming domain from a single WSN to complex systems of systems by allowing the programming of applications involving multiple CPSs that are controlled by different administrative domains and support mobility both within and across CPSs. Bundles can seamlessly group not only sensors, but also actuators which constitute an important part of CPS. They enable programming in a multiuser environment with fine grained access right control and conflict resolution mechanism. Bundles support heterogeneous devices, such as motes, PDAs, laptops, and actuators according to the applications' requirements. They allow different applications to simultaneously use the same sensors and actuators. Bundles facilitate feedback control mechanisms by dynamic membership update and requirements reconfiguration based on feedback from the current members. The Bundle abstraction is implemented in Java which ensures ease and conciseness of programming. We present the design and implementation details of Bundles as well as a performance evaluation using 32 applications written with Bundles. This set includes across-network applications that have sophisticated sensing and actuation logic, mobile nodes that are heterogeneous, and feedback control mechanisms. Each of these applications is programmed in less than 60 lines of code.
Electron g factor engineering in III-V semiconductors for quantum communications

An entanglement-preserving photodetector converts photon polarisation to electron spin. Up and down spin must respond equally to oppositely polarised photons, creating a requirement for degenerate spin energies. g/sub e//spl sime/0, for electrons. The authors present a plot of g/sub e/ factor against lattice constant, analogous to bandgap against lattice constant, that can be used for g factor engineering of III-V alloys and quantum wells.
A fresh look at natural tropolonoids

Tropones and tropolones have been of increasing interest in the past few years; approximately 200 such materials occur in nature. This article reviews the distribution of these materials, the biosynthetic pathways for their production and their biological activities. There are 154 references.
Valuing Beach Quality with Hedonic Property Models

This paper explores the influence of beach quality on coastal property values. We hypothesize that beach and dune width provide local public goods in the form of recreation potential and storm/erosion protection, but services are limited by distance from the shoreline. Our findings support this hypothesis, as extending the influence of beach quality beyond 300 m from the shore generally results in statistically insignificant parameter estimates. For houses within this proximity bound, beach and dune widths increase property value. We argue that interpretation of marginal willingness to pay for beach quality depends upon individual understanding of coastal processes and expectations of management intervention.
Affleck-Dine baryogenesis and inflation in supergravity with strongly stabilized moduli

Constructing models of inflation and/or baryogenesis in the context of = 1 supergravity is known to be difficult as the finite energy density during inflation typically generates large (order the Hubble scale) mass terms. This is the well-known η problem in inflation. The same effect gives masses along low energy flat directions of the scalar potential thus potentially preventing Affleck-Dine baryogenesis to occur. It has been shown that adding a chiral multiplet S coupled to the inflaton (with a shift symmetry) can serve to stabilize the inflationary potential and allows one to derive simple inflationary potentials without an η problem. Here, we show that by coupling the same stabilizing field S to the flat direction, may naturally lead to a negative mass-squared contribution to the flat direction thus generating the necessarily large vacuum expectation value needed to realize Affleck-Dine baryogenesis. We trace the evolution of the inflaton, stabilizer, and flat direction field, as well as a Polonyi-like modulus responsible for soft supersymmetry breaking.
Cosmological Studies with Radio Galaxies and Supernovae

Physical sizes of extended radio galaxies can be employed as a cosmological "standard ruler," using a previously developed method. Eleven new radio galaxies are added to our previous sample of 19 sources, forming a sample of 30 objects with redshifts between 0 and 1.8. This sample of radio galaxies are used to obtain the best-fit cosmological parameters in a quintessence model in a spatially flat universe, a cosmological constant model that allows for nonzero space curvature, and a rolling scalar field model in a spatially flat universe. Results obtained with radio galaxies are compared with those obtained with different supernova samples, and with combined radio galaxy and supernova samples. Results obtained with different samples are consistent, suggesting that neither method is seriously affected by systematic errors. Best-fit radio galaxy and supernovae model parameters determined in the different cosmological models are nearly identical, and are used to determine dimensionless coordinate distances to supernovae and radio galaxies, and distance moduli to the radio galaxies. The distance moduli to the radio galaxies can be combined with supernovae samples to increase the number of sources, particularly high-redshift sources, in the samples. The constraints obtained here with the combined radio galaxy plus supernovae dataset in the rolling scalar field model are quite strong. The best-fit parameter values suggest that Ωm is less than about 0.35, and the model parameter α is close to zero; that is, a cosmological constant provides a good description of the data. We also obtain new constraints on the physics of engines that power the large-scale radio emission. The equation that describes the predicted size of each radio source is controlled by one model parameter, β, which parameterizes the extraction of energy from the black hole. Joint fits of radio galaxy and supernova samples indicate a best-fit value of β that is very close to a special value for which the relationship between the braking magnetic field strength and the properties of the spinning black hole is greatly simplified, and the braking magnetic field strength depends only upon the spin angular momentum per unit mass and the gravitational radius of the black hole. The best-fit value of β of 1.5 indicates that the beam power Lj and the initial spin energy of the black hole E are related by Lj ∝ E^2, and that the relationship that might naively be expected for an Eddington limited system, Lj ∝ E, is quite clearly ruled out for the jets in these systems.
Linearized and single-pass belief propagation

How can we tell when accounts are fake or real in a social network? And how can we tell which accounts belong to liberal, conservative or centrist users? Often, we can answer such questions and label nodes in a network based on the labels of their neighbors and appropriate assumptions of homophily ("birds of a feather flock together") or heterophily ("opposites attract"). One of the most widely used methods for this kind of inference is Belief Propagation (BP) which iteratively propagates the information from a few nodes with explicit labels throughout a network until convergence. A well-known problem with BP, however, is that there are no known exact guarantees of convergence in graphs with loops.This paper introduces Linearized Belief Propagation (LinBP), a linearization of BP that allows a closed-form solution via intuitive matrix equations and, thus, comes with exact convergence guarantees. It handles homophily, heterophily, and more general cases that arise in multi-class settings. Plus, it allows a compact implementation in SQL. The paper also introduces Single-pass Belief Propagation (SBP), a localized (or "myopic") version of LinBP that propagates information across every edge at most once and for which the final class assignments depend only on the nearest labeled neighbors. In addition, SBP allows fast incremental updates in dynamic networks. Our runtime experiments show that LinBP and SBP are orders of magnitude faster than standard BP, while leading to almost identical node labels.
The Neutron Star Zoo

Neutron stars are a very diverse population, both in their observational and their physical properties. They prefer to radiate most of their energy at X-ray and gamma-ray wavelengths. But whether their emission is powered by rotation, accretion, heat, magnetic fields or nuclear reactions, they are all different species of the same animal whose magnetic field evolution and interior composition remain a mystery. This article will broadly review the properties of inhabitants of the neutron star zoo, with emphasis on their high-energy emission.
Categorical resolution of singularities

Abstract Building on the concept of a smooth DG algebra we define the notion of a smooth derived category. We then propose the definition of a categorical resolution of singularities. Our main example is the derived category D ( X ) of quasi-coherent sheaves on a scheme X. We prove that D ( X ) has a canonical categorical resolution if the base field is perfect and X is a separated scheme of finite type with a dualizing complex.
Concentration for multidimensional diffusions and their boundary local times

We prove that probability laws of certain multidimensional semimartingales which includes time-inhomogenous diffusions, under suitable assumptions, satisfy quadratic transportation cost inequality under the uniform metric. From this we derive concentration properties of Lipschitz functions of process paths that depend on the entire history. In particular, we estimate concentration of boundary local time of reflected Brownian motions on a polyhedral domain. We work out explicit applications of consequences of measure concentration for the case of Brownian motion with rank-based drifts.
Adjustable and Fixed Rate Mortgage Termination, Option Values and Local Market Conditions: An Empirical Analysis

This paper analyzes the probabilities of prepayment or default for Fixed Rate Mortgages (FRMs) and Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs). Using data from the period 1985–1992, the analysis indicates that the likelihood of prepayment of thirty year FRMs was determined primarily by house price appreciation and personal income growth and the likelihood of prepayment of fifteen year FRMs was determined primarily by interest rate changes. ARMs were prepaid less frequently than FRMs, were less likely to be prepaid when interest rates declined and defaulted more often than FRMs. The analysis provides evidence that ARM holders are less mobile than FRM holders.
Effective macroscopic response of a composite with small deviations from periodicity: application to colloidal crystals

Using the spectral approach, we analyze the effective properties of a composite which deviates slightly from periodicity. We find that, when the inclusions are randomly displaced from their equilibrium positions, the sharp resonances seen in the periodic case are broadened, and an additional branch cut appears. We use these results to analyze the effective dielectric constant of a colloidal crystal.
Effect of age on cardiac norepinephrine release in the female rat

We previously demonstrated an age-related decline in K+- induced norepinephrine (NE) release from cardiac synaptosomes prepared from 6- and 24- month- old male F344 rats. The purpose of the present study was to determine if the age- related decrease in NE release seen in male F344 rats is also present in female F344 rats. K+- induced NE release was assessed in cardiac synaptosomes prepared from 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24- month- old male and female F344 rats. NE release was significantly greater in young male rats, compared to old male rats. However, no age- related decrease in NE release was observed in the female rats. In contrast to previous observations in male rats, raising extracellular [Mg2+], an inorganic Ca2+ channel blocker, reduced NE release to the same extent in all female ages. Omega- conotoxin, an organic Ca2+ channel blocker, also decreased NE release to the same extent in all female ages. These studies suggest that in contrast to aging male rats, cardiac adrenergic nerve terminals of aging female rats maintain their capacity to release NE. (Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 7: 210–217, 1995)
J -self-adjointness of a class of Dirac-type operators

In this note, we prove that the maximally defined operator associated with the Dirac-type differential expression M(Q)=iddxIm−Q−Q∗−ddxIm, where Q represents a symmetric m×m matrix (i.e., Q(x)⊤=Q(x) a.e.) with entries in L1loc(R), is J-self-adjoint, where J is the antilinear conjugation defined by J=σ1C, σ1=0ImIm0 and C(a1,…,am,b1,…,bm)⊤=(a1,…,am,b1,…,bm)⊤. The differential expression M(Q) is of significance as it appears in the Lax formulation of the non-abelian (matrix-valued) focusing nonlinear Schrodinger hierarchy of evolution equations.
Voting with your pocketbook - a stochastic model of consumer boycotts

This paper presents a model of consumer boycotts where the discrete choices of concerned consumers are represented as stochastic processes. Boycotts are interpreted as a form of voting where consumers are trying to shape the behavior of firms. We solve for the limiting distribution of the process and analyze its properties. We then discuss how the model relates to standard game-theoretic approaches to the same phenomenon and show that our model selects one of the many solutions of the corresponding game-theoretic treatment. The type of solution selected depends on the costs and benefits of boycotts to consumers. Specifically, boycotts will occur if and only if they are efficient for consumers.
e to the A, in a New Way, Some More to Say

Expressionsaregiven forthe exponentialofaHermitian matrix,A.ReplacingAby iA these are explicitformulas for the Fourier transformof e iA .Theyextendto anysize Athe previous results for the 2 2; 3 3, and 4 4 cases.The expressions are elegant and should prove useful. Mathematics Subject Classi¢cations (2000): 42B99, 47A60, 30G35.
The periodic Floer homology of a Dehn twist.

The periodic Floer homology of a surface symplectomorphism, defined by the first author and M. Thaddeus, is the homology of a chain complex which is generated by certain unions of periodic orbits, and whose differential counts certain embedded pseudoholomorphic curves in R cross the mapping torus. It is conjectured to recover the Seiberg-Witten Floer homology of the mapping torus for most spin-c structures, and is related to a variant of contact homology. In this paper we compute the periodic Floer homology of some Dehn twists. AMS Classification 57R58; 53D40, 57R50
Palladium‐Catalyzed C ? H Activation of N‐Allyl Imines: Regioselective Allylic Alkylations to Deliver Substituted Aza‐1,3‐Dienes

A new mode of activation of an imine via a rare aza-substituted π-allyl complex is described. Palladium-catalyzed C(sp(3))-H activation of the N-allyl imine and the subsequent nucleophilic attack by the α-alkyl cyanoester produced the 1-aza-1,3-diene as the sole regioisomer. In contrast, nucleophilic attack by the α-aryl cyanoester exclusively delivered the 2-aza-1,3-diene, which was employed in an inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction for heterobiaryl synthesis.
Cu(I)-catalyzed allylic amination of olefins

Abstract The copper(I) complex [Cu(CH3CN)4]PF6 catalyzes the allylic amination of alkenes by aryl hydroxylamine in fair to moderate yields. Unsymmetrical alkenes react with high regioselectivity with N-functionalization occuring at the less substituted vinylic carbon. Trapping experiments indicate that free PhNO is not an intermediate in these reactions.
High-resolution ice nucleation spectra of sea-ice bacteria: implications for cloud formation and life in frozen environments

Abstract. Even though studies of Arctic ice forming particles suggest that a bacterial or viral source derived from open leads could be important for ice formation in Arctic clouds (Bigg and Leck, 2001), the ice nucleation potential of most polar marine psychrophiles or viruses has not been examined under conditions more closely resembling those in the atmosphere. In this paper, we examined the ice nucleation activity (INA) of several representative Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice bacterial isolates and a polar Colwellia phage virus. High-resolution ice nucleation spectra were obtained for droplets containing bacterial cells or virus particles using a free-fall freezing tube technique. The fraction of frozen droplets at a particular droplet temperature was determined by measuring the depolarized light scattering intensity from solution droplets in free-fall. Our experiments revealed that all sea-ice isolates and the virus nucleated ice at temperatures very close to the homogeneous nucleation temperature for the nucleation medium – which for artificial seawater was –42.2±0.3°C. Our results suggest that immersion freezing of these marine psychro-active bacteria and viruses would not be important for heterogeneous ice nucleation processes in polar clouds or to the formation of sea ice. These results also suggested that avoidance of ice formation in close proximity to cell surfaces might be one of the cold-adaptation and survival strategies for sea-ice bacteria. The fact that INA occurs at such low temperature could constitute one factor that explains the persistence of metabolic activities at temperatures far below the freezing point of seawater.
Gene Regulatory Network Inference from Perturbed Time-Series Expression Data via Ordered Dynamical Expansion of Non-Steady State Actors

The reconstruction of gene regulatory networks from gene expression data has been the subject of intense research activity. A variety of models and methods have been developed to address different aspects of this important problem. However, these techniques are narrowly focused on particular biological and experimental platforms, and require experimental data that are typically unavailable and difficult to ascertain. The more recent availability of higher-throughput sequencing platforms, combined with more precise modes of genetic perturbation, presents an opportunity to formulate more robust and comprehensive approaches to gene network inference. Here, we propose a step-wise framework for identifying gene-gene regulatory interactions that expand from a known point of genetic or chemical perturbation using time series gene expression data. This novel approach sequentially identifies non-steady state genes post-perturbation and incorporates them into a growing series of low-complexity optimization problems. The governing ordinary differential equations of this model are rooted in the biophysics of stochastic molecular events that underlie gene regulation, delineating roles for both protein and RNA-mediated gene regulation. We show the successful application of our core algorithms for network inference using simulated and real datasets.
Heavy Flavor Physics at ATLAS and CMS

Abstract Recent results on heavy flavor physics using data from the ATLAS and CMS detectors are presented. The searches for new physics signatures in CP violation of B s 0 B s 0 ¯ mixing and in B 0 → K ⁎ 0 μ + μ − decays are discussed. The bottomonium and open-b production results obtained from pp collisions at LHC are shown. The results are based on data samples containing μ + μ − pairs collected with the ATLAS or CMS detectors by their corresponding muon trigger systems.
PERSONALITY AND SITUATIONAL DETERMINANTS OF JUDGMENTAL CONFIDENCE AND EXTREMITY.

The present investigation examines the effects of manifest anxiety, prior success-failure experience, and task set, on judgmental confidence and extremity. In a sample of 141 male college students, a significant triple interaction was obtained for both confidence and extremity, indicating that success-failure and task sets have a differential impact upon these judgmental variables for subjects low and high in manifest anxiety. The findings provided evidence for the operation of two processes in judgmental behaviour, conceptualized as desire-for-certainty and cognitive risk taking. Our conclusions emphasized the multiple determination of judgmental phenomena by personality and situational influences.
On the effect of substrate thickness and permittivity on printed circuit dipole properties

The effect of substrate thickness and relative permittivity on the radiation properties of printed circuit dipoles (PCD's) is investigated. A trade-off between substrate thickness and resonant input resistance, bandwidth, and radiation efficiency is presented for a polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) glass random fiber substrate. It is found that for a fixed substrate thickness h , the resonant length and directivity decrease with increasing relative dielectric constant \epsilon_{r} . The E - and H -plane normalized power pattern is also examined as a function of \epsilon_{r} and h . It is shown that even for thin substrates, multiple-beam radiation can result for certain values of \epsilon_{r} by the excitation of surface waves. Multiple-beam patterns can also be obtained with increasing h for a given \epsilon_{r} . In fact as h increases it is determined that the resonant length, bandwidth, and resonant resistance approach the apparent value of a PCD on a dielectric halfspace.
Semi-global stabilization of partially linear composite systems via feedback of the state of the linear part

Abstract We consider the problem of semi-global stabilization of a class of partially linear composite systems. We show, by explicit construction of the control laws, that a cascade of linear stabilizable and nonlinear asymptotically stable subsystems is semi-globally stabilizable by a dynamic feedback of the state of the linear subsystem if (a) the linear subsystem is right invertible and has all its invariant zeros in the closed left half s- plane , and (b) the only linear variables entering the nonlinear subsystem are the output of the linear subsystem. Our work generalizes previous results by C.I. Byrnes and A. Isidori (1991), H.J. Sussmann and P.V. Kokotovic (1991), and A.R. Teel (1992).
Samarium(II) Iodide-Mediated Intramolecular Conjugate Additions of α,β-Unsaturated Lactones

Samarium(II) iodide, in the presence of catalytic amounts of nickel(II) iodide, has been used to promote intramolecular conjugate additions of alkyl halides onto α,β-unsaturated lactones. This process has been shown to be applicable to a number of α,β-unsaturated lactones, including tetrasubstituted olefins, and has been demonstrated to be quite general for the formation of saturated bicyclic and tricyclic lactones. The method presented herein provides a mild, efficient process to form structurally complex lactones from simple precursors.
The lens-coating agent and the electroretinogram.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.5% methylcellulose coating agents on the ERG in normals. Methods: A total of 15 healthy volunteers underwent photopic ERG recordings in three experimental protocols comparing 0.5, 1.0 and 2.5% methylcellulose solutions. The conductivity of the solutions was measured. Results: The difference between 0.5 and 1.0% solutions showed significant changes (p<0.05) in ERG amplitudes. The 0.5% solution produced approximately 15% higher ERG amplitudes than the 1.0% solution. Comparison between 1.0 and 2.5% solutions did not show significant changes in ERG amplitudes. The conductivity was essentially the same for 0.5 and 1.0% solutions, but conductivity of the 2.5% solution was roughly half of that of the other two solutions. Conclusions: Although the 0.5% solution did yield significantly higher ERG values than the 1.0% and 2.5% solutions, the exact mechanism by which this occurs is not known. The source of these differences could arise from a combination of factors such as conductivity, viscosity, or other unknown components of the solutions. ERG laboratories should be consistent in the use of coating agents, and be aware that any change in solution might alter normative values by a modest percentage.
Macroprudential Policy under High Capital Mobility: Policy Implications from an Academic Perspective

Abstract The paper explicates the issues raised for macroprudential regulation in a global economy with high capital mobility. The study surveys the recent literature and aims to translate the academic rationale for such policies, in which market imperfections lead to external effects that require policy interventions. The new economics of capital controls is addressed, in which capital flow management measures may be introduced to reduce financial market distortions or to help stabilize exchange rate movements in the face of other market distortions. The empirical literature on the effectiveness of such policies is surveyed.
Speculation in Commodity Futures Markets, Inventories and the Price of Crude Oil

This paper examines the role of inventories in refiners' gasoline production and develops a structural model of the relationship between crude oil prices and inventories. Using data on inventories and prices of oil futures, I show that convenience yields decrease at a diminishing rate as inventories increase, consistent with the theory of storage. In addition to exhibiting seasonal and procyclical behaviors, I show that the historical convenience yield averages about 18 percent of the oil price from March 1989 to November 2014. Although some have argued that a breakdown of the relationship between crude oil inventories and prices following increased financial investors' participation after 2004 was evidence of a speculative effect, I find that the proposed price-inventory relationship is stable over time. The empirical evidence indicates that crude oil prices remained tied to oil-market fundamentals such as inventories, suggesting that the contribution of financial investors' activities was weak.
Optimizing time-frequency distributions for automatic classification

An entirely new set of criteria for the design of kernels (generating functions) for time-frequency representations (TFRs) is presented. These criteria aim only to produce kernels (and thus, TFRs) which will enable more accurate classification. We refer to these kernels, which are optimized to discriminate among several classes of signals, as signal class dependent kernels, or simply class dependent kernels. The genesis of the class dependent kernel is to be found in the area of operator theory, which we use to establish a direct link between a discrete-time, discrete-frequency TFR and its corresponding discrete signal. We see that many similarities, but also some important differences, exist between the results of the continuous-time operator approach and our discrete one. The differences between the continuous representations and discrete ones may not be the simple sampling relationship which has often been assumed. From this work, we obtain a very concise, matrix-based expression for a discrete- time/discrete-frequency TFR which is simply the product of the kernel with another matrix. This simple expression opens up the possibility to optimize the kernel in a number of ways. We focus, of course, on optimizations most suitable for classification, and ultimately wind up with the class dependent kernel. When applied to simulated sonar transient signals, we find that our approach does a good job of discriminating within very similar classes of transients and is especially sensitive to differences in time variation across classes.
Simple Models to Understand and Teach Business Cycle Macroeconomics for Emerging Market and Developing Economies

The canonical neoclassical model is insufficient to understand business cycle fluctuations in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). I reformulate the models proposed by Aguiar and Gopinath (2007) and Neumeyer and Perri (2005) in simple settings that can be used to do back-of-the-envelope analysis and teach business cycle macroeconomics for EMDEs at the undergraduate level. The simplified models are employed for qualitatively explaining facts such as the countercyclicality of the trade balance and the real interest rate, and the higher volatility of output, consumption, and real wages compared with those observed in advanced countries. Simple extensions can be used to understand other empirical facts such as large capital outflows and output drops, small government spending he cyclical behavior of prices, and the negative association between currency depreciations and output.
Working together to combat tobacco use.

It iswell-established that tobacco use is associatedwith awide range of negative health consequences, and these effects occur at a higher incidence among individuals with co-occurring mental illness. Compared to those in the general population, this vulnerable population smokes more, dies younger, and suffers disproportionately higher rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2014). The Clinical Practice Guideline for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence sets forth a series of recommendations for populations of smokers, including those with co-occurring mental illness, and establishes the fact that counseling from a healthcare provider can approximately double patients' odds of quitting (Fiore et al., 2008). Despite being at an elevated risk for relapse, convincing evidence exists to support the effectiveness of intensive treatment for individuals with co-occurring mental illness that combines cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy. In one longitudinal study, patients hospitalized on an acute psychiatric unit who received motivational cessation treatment and nicotine replacement therapy were more likely to quit successfully and less likely to be rehospitalized than were patients in the usual care group (Prochaska, Hall, Delucchi, & Hall, 2014). In a separate study, 14 (14.4%) of 137 veterans who participated in a tobacco cessation group as part of a broader substance abuse treatment program were abstinent at the 1-month follow-up (Vest et al., 2014). Patients who receive cessation assistance frommultiple types of providers are more likely to quit successfully (Fiore et al., 2008), and healthcare delivered by a multi-disciplinary team can enhance quality,
Updating State and Local Highway Cost Allocation and Revenue Attribution: A Case Study for Indiana

This study investigated the responsibility for the cost of upkeep of the highway infrastructure and the contribution of revenue from highway users on that upkeep. The costs consisted of actual expenditures on the construction, preservation, maintenance, and operation of the infrastructure at both the state and the local levels. The revenues from the federal, state, and local levels were assessed and considered. The types of assets included were pavement, bridge, safety, and mobility assets. The highway users were represented by the 13 FHWA vehicle classes, and the study was based on data on the expenditures made and the revenues collected from 2009 to 2012. The study framework duly recognized the dichotomy between attributable and common costs: for allocation of the attributable costs to the vehicle classes, equivalent single-axle loads, AASHTO load equivalency factors, and passenger car equivalents were used, and for allocation of common costs, the number of vehicle miles traveled adjusted for vehicle wi...
Brain nitric oxide changes after controlled cortical impact injury in rats.

Nitric oxide (NO) and the NO end products, nitrate and nitrite, were measured at the impact site after a 5-m/s, 3-mm deformation controlled cortical impact injury in rats. Immediately after the imp...
Restoration of Sp4 in forebrain GABAergic neurons rescues hypersensitivity to ketamine in Sp4 hypomorphic mice

Author(s): Higa, Kerin K; Ji, Baohu; Buell, Mahalah R; Risbrough, Victoria B; Powell, Susan B; Young, Jared W; Geyer, Mark A; Zhou, Xianjin | Abstract: BackgroundKetamine produces schizophrenia-like behavioral phenotypes in healthy people. Prolonged ketamine effects and exacerbation of symptoms after the administration of ketamine have been observed in patients with schizophrenia. More recently, ketamine has been used as a potent antidepressant to treat patients with major depression. The genes and neurons that regulate behavioral responses to ketamine, however, remain poorly understood. Sp4 is a transcription factor for which gene expression is restricted to neuronal cells in the brain. Our previous studies demonstrated that Sp4 hypomorphic mice display several behavioral phenotypes relevant to psychiatric disorders, consistent with human SP4 gene associations with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. Among those behavioral phenotypes, hypersensitivity to ketamine-induced hyperlocomotion has been observed in Sp4 hypomorphic mice.MethodsIn the present study, we used the Cre-LoxP system to restore Sp4 gene expression, specifically in either forebrain excitatory or GABAergic inhibitory neurons in Sp4 hypomorphic mice. Mouse behavioral phenotypes related to psychiatric disorders were examined in these distinct rescue mice.ResultsRestoration of Sp4 in forebrain excitatory neurons did not rescue deficient sensorimotor gating nor ketamine-induced hyperlocomotion. Restoration of Sp4 in forebrain GABAergic neurons, however, rescued ketamine-induced hyperlocomotion, but did not rescue deficient sensorimotor gating.ConclusionsOur studies suggest that the Sp4 gene in forebrain GABAergic neurons regulates ketamine-induced hyperlocomotion.
Optimizing the capital rationing decision with uncertain returns

ABSTRACTIn this article, we develop a new optimization model for capital rationing with uncertain project returns. Our model maximizes the probability of meeting a predefined target return by selecting a feasible set of projects subject to budget constraints in multiple time periods. We employ a mixed-integer nonlinear algorithm recently developed in the optimization field to solve the resulting nonconvex optimization problem to optimality. Our model and solution methods are tested and validated through a comprehensive computational experiment. Several managerial insights are obtained about the impact of available budget and target return on the optimal solutions. Notably, we have found that increasing target return may not necessarily result in an increase in optimal total expected return of the selected projects. Our model and solution method offer a unified and computationally tractable approach to precisely quantify the tradeoff between project returned and risk.
Hard sphere packings within cylinders

Arrangements of identical hard spheres confined to a cylinder with hard walls have been used to model experimental systems, such as fullerenes in nanotubes and colloidal wire assembly. Finding the densest configurations, called close packings, of hard spheres of diameter σ in a cylinder of diameter D is a purely geometric problem that grows increasingly complex as D/σ increases, and little is thus known about the regime for D > 2.873σ. In this work, we extend the identification of close packings up to D = 4.00σ by adapting Torquato-Jiao's adaptive-shrinking-cell formulation and sequential-linear-programming (SLP) technique. We identify 17 new structures, almost all of them chiral. Beyond D ≈ 2.85σ, most of the structures consist of an outer shell and an inner core that compete for being close packed. In some cases, the shell adopts its own maximum density configuration, and the stacking of core spheres within it is quasiperiodic. In other cases, an interplay between the two components is observed, which may result in simple periodic structures. In yet other cases, the very distinction between the core and shell vanishes, resulting in more exotic packing geometries, including some that are three-dimensional extensions of structures obtained from packing hard disks in a circle.
Climate and Developmental Plasticity: Interannual Variability in Grapevine Leaf Morphology

The shapes of leaves are dynamic, changing over evolutionary time between species, within a single plant producing different shaped leaves at successive nodes, during the development of a single leaf as it allometrically expands, and in response to the environment. Notably, strong correlations between the dissection and size of leaves with temperature and precipitation exist in both the paleorecord and extant populations. Yet, a morphometric model integrating evolutionary, developmental, and environmental effects on leaf shape is lacking. Here, we continue a morphometric analysis of >5,500 leaves representing 270 grapevines of multiple Vitis species between two growing seasons. Leaves are paired one-to-one and vine-to-vine accounting for developmental context, between growing seasons. Linear discriminant analysis reveals shape features that specifically define growing season, regardless of species or developmental context. The shape feature, a more pronounced distal sinus, is associated with the colder, drier growing season, consistent with patterns observed in the paleorecord. We discuss the implications of such plasticity in a long-lived woody perennial, such as grapevine (Vitis spp.), with respect to the evolution and functionality of plant morphology and changes in climate.
The Fast Bilateral Solver

We present the bilateral solver, a novel algorithm for edge-aware smoothing that combines the flexibility and speed of simple filtering approaches with the accuracy of domain-specific optimization algorithms. Our technique is capable of matching or improving upon state-of-the-art results on several different computer vision tasks (stereo, depth superresolution, colorization, and semantic segmentation) while being 10–1000\(\times \) faster than baseline techniques with comparable accuracy, and producing lower-error output than techniques with comparable runtimes. The bilateral solver is fast, robust, straightforward to generalize to new domains, and simple to integrate into deep learning pipelines.
UFF Belt Characterization

Research was conducted on the belts used in OptiPro’s UltraForm Finishing (UFF) system to better understand the fundamental mechanics of wear and material removal rates during belt polishing.
Enantioselective Decarboxylative Arylation of α-Amino Acids via the Merger of Photoredox and Nickel Catalysis

An asymmetric decarboxylative Csp3–Csp2 cross-coupling has been achieved via the synergistic merger of photoredox and nickel catalysis. This mild, operationally simple protocol transforms a wide variety of naturally abundant α-amino acids and readily available aryl halides into valuable chiral benzylic amines in high enantiomeric excess, thereby producing motifs found in pharmacologically active agents.