cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Yellow Supergiants in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

The yellow supergiant content of nearby galaxies can provide a critical test of stellar evolution theory, bridging the gap between the hot, massive stars and the cool red supergiants. But, this region of the color-magnitude diagram is dominated by foreground contamination, requiring membership to somehow be determined. Fortunately, the large negative systemic velocity of M31, coupled to its high rotation rate, provides the means for separating the contaminating foreground dwarfs from the bona fide yellow supergiants within M31. We obtained radial velocities of ~2900 individual targets within the correct color-magnitude range corresponding to masses of 12 M ? and higher. A comparison of these velocities to those expected from M31's rotation curve reveals 54 rank-1 (near certain) and 66 rank-2 (probable) yellow supergiant members, indicating a foreground contamination ? 96%. We expect some modest contamination from Milky Way halo giants among the remainder, particularly for the rank-2 candidates, and indeed follow-up spectroscopy of a small sample eliminates four rank 2's while confirming five others. We find excellent agreement between the location of yellow supergiants in the H-R diagram and that predicted by the latest Geneva evolutionary tracks that include rotation. However, the relative number of yellow supergiants seen as a function of mass varies from that predicted by the models by a factor of >10, in the sense that more high-mass yellow supergiants are predicted than those are actually observed. Comparing the total number (16) of >20 M ? yellow supergiants with the estimated number (24,800) of unevolved O stars indicates that the duration of the yellow supergiant phase is ~3000 years. This is consistent with what the 12 M ? and 15 M ? evolutionary tracks predict, but disagrees with the 20,000-80,000 year timescales predicted by the models for higher masses.
Dynamic vs Static ABCG2 Inhibitors to Sensitize Drug Resistant Cancer Cells

Human ABCG2, a member of the ATP-binding cassette transporter superfamily, plays a key role in multidrug resistance and protecting cancer stem cells. ABCG2-knockout had no apparent adverse effect on the development, biochemistry, and life of mice. Thus, ABCG2 is an interesting and promising target for development of chemo-sensitizing agents for better treatment of drug resistant cancers and for eliminating cancer stem cells. Previously, we reported a novel two mode-acting ABCG2 inhibitor, PZ-39, that induces ABCG2 degradation in addition to inhibiting its activity. In this manuscript, we report our recent progresses in identifying two different groups of ABCG2 inhibitors with one inhibiting only ABCG2 function (static) and the other induces ABCG2 degradation in lysosome in addition to inhibiting its function (dynamic). Thus, the inhibitor-induced ABCG2 degradation may be more common than we previously anticipated and further investigation of the dynamic inhibitors that induce ABCG2 degradation may provide a more effective way of sensitizing ABCG2-mediated MDR in cancer chemotherapy.
The Origin of Radium

IN an earlier communication to NATURE (September 26, p. 544) I mentioned some experimental proof which had been obtained of the existence in uranium minerals of a new radio-active element differing from those which have previously been identified. More conclusive evidence of the individuality of this new substance has now been obtained through the examination of the properties of its radiation. The rays which it a emits are much more readily absorbed by aluminium than the a rays from polonium, with which it has been directly compared. Their apparent range in air determined by the scintillation method is less than 3 centimetres, arid a more accurate determination is somewhat difficult, since it has not yet been found possible to obtain the new substance entirely free from thorium. Certain operations are now being carried out with considerable quantities of a uranium mineral containing no thorium which it is hoped will result in the separation of a highly active preparation of the new body free from other radio-active substances. The short range of the particles is, however, sufficiently characteristic to serve as a definite means of identification.
Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Dilute Gas: Measurement of Energy and Ground-State Occupation.

We measure the ground-state occupation and energy of a dilute Bose gas of ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms as a function of temperature. The ground-state fraction shows good agreement with the predictions for an ideal Bose gas in a 3D harmonic potential. The measured transition temperature is $0.94(5){T}_{o}$, where ${T}_{o}$ is the value for a noninteracting gas in the thermodynamic limit. We determine the energy from a model-independent analysis of the velocity distribution, after ballistic expansion, of the atom cloud. We observe a distinct change in slope of the energy-temperature curve near the transition, which indicates a sharp feature in the specific heat.
Soft Intertrack Interference Cancellation for Two-Dimensional Magnetic Recording

We propose a detection strategy for the two-dimensional magnetic recording channel with multiple read heads, in which intertrack interference (ITI) is mitigated by a combination of linear combining and soft interference cancellation. The proposed strategy reduces the detection problem to a series of traditional one-dimensional detection problems, so that the existing iterative detection strategies based on turbo equalization may be leveraged. The performance of the proposed detector is compared with a previously reported detector, in which the ITI is suppressed linearly via a multiple-input equalizer. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed detector outperforms the linear detector regardless of whether or not media noise is dominant, and further that the proposed detector is able to recover data from more tracks than is otherwise possible.
Customs Union or Free Trade Area? The Role of Political Asymmetries

When trade policy is determined endogenously by lobbying, it matters whether countries are arranged into a customs union or a free trade area. This paper compares the two regimes when the member governments are asymmetric in their susceptibilities to lobbying and in their bargaining power within a customs union. In the model, a customs union never leads to lower tariffs for both countries, whereas it can lead to higher tariffs for both.
The String calculation of Wilson loops in two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory

We demonstrate that the large N expansion of Wilson loop expectation values in SO(N) and Sp(N) Yang-Mills theory on orientable and nonorientable surfaces has a natural description as a weighted sum over covers of the given surface. The sum takes the form of the perturbative expansion of an open string theory. The derivation makes contact with the classification of branched covers by Gabai and Kazez. Comparison with the analogous results for the chiral sectors of QCD2 is instructive for both cases.
Modulation of Tissue Factor–Factor VIIa Signaling by Lipid Rafts and Caveolae

Objective— Coagulation factor VIIa (VIIa) binding to its cellular receptor, tissue factor (TF), not only initiates the coagulation cascade but also induces cell signaling by activating G-protein coupled protease-activated receptors. The objective of the present study is to investigate the role of lipid rafts and caveolae in modulating TF-VIIa signaling and coagulant functions. Methods and Results— TF-VIIa coagulant function was measured in factor X activation assay and the signaling function was evaluated in phosphoinositide hydrolysis and IL-8 gene induction. Buoyant density gradient centrifugation and immunofluorescence confocal microscopy were used to determine cellular localization of TF and protease-activated receptor 2. The data show that a substantial fraction of TF and protease-activated receptor 2 resides in lipid rafts/caveolae, and disruption of lipid rafts by cholesterol depletion or modification reduced TF-VIIa–induced cell signaling. Disruption of caveolae with caveolin-1 silencing had no effect on the TF-VIIa coagulant activity but inhibited the TF-VIIa-induced cell signaling. Conclusion— Overall our data show that lipid raft/caveolae play a selective role in modulating the TF-VIIa signaling function without affecting the TF-VIIa coagulant activity.
Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Hollandite and Its Application in Emission Control

Silver hollandite, Ag1.8Mn8O16, has been synthesized by ion exchange of cryptomelane in AgNO3 melt. Compared to the previously described synthesis process, thermal decomposition of AgMnO4 at 970 °C...
Error Diagnosis of Sequential Circuits Using Region-Based Model

Algorithms to locate multiple design errors using region-based model are studied for both combinational and sequential circuits. The model takes locality aspect of errors and is based on a 3-value, non-enumerative analysis technique. Studies show the effectiveness of the region based model for single and multiple stuck faults and gate connection errors. For sequential circuits, we try to locate the time frame at which the error was first excited, by re-simulating as few vectors as possible preceding the erroneous vector in a fully initialized circuit to carry out the diagnosis. Experimental results on benchmark circuits are used to demonstrate rapid and accurate locating of multiple errors.
Crystal chemistry of meteoritic hibonites

The characteristics of cation vacancies and site occupancies of natural hibonites in meteors are discussed. Note is taken of the effect of the specific locations of the hibonites in the matrices on the crystal chemistry, electronic stabilities, and spectral features of the metal ions which replace the Al(3+). Hibonites form beta-alumina hexagonal cells with 26 cation sites. Fe cations are found in octahedral, tetrahedral, and five-fold coordinations. Fe(2+) is found in face-shared Al(3) octahedra, a siting explained in terms of ionic radius and crystal field stabilization energy criteria. Spectral colors are attributed to V(3+) and Ti(3+) field transitions at 400 and 700 nm, respectively, although the 700 nm line may arise from transitions of Ti(3+) to Ti(4+) or Fe(2+) to Fe(3+) during heating. Excesses of Mg-26 can be traced to decay of nebular Al-26.
Slab devolatilization and Os and Pb mobility in the mantle wedge of the Kamchatka arc

Abstract Os-, Nd-, and Pb-isotope measurements were performed on a suite of eleven Kamchatka peridotite mantle xenoliths in volcanics from the southern (Avachinsky) and central (Sheveluch and Kharchinsky) segments of the Kamchatka peninsula. Peridotites with higher Os content (1.3–5.2 ppb) show a narrow 187 Os / 188 Os range between 0.1182 and 0.1272 while the xenoliths with lower Os content ( 187 Os / 188 Os values (0.1287–0.1585). 187 Os / 188 Os and 3 He / 4 He ( R / R a ) values of the xenoliths indicate that the xenoliths are metasomatized by the slab-derived fluids from the subducting altered oceanic crust. The original Os signature of some of the mantle wedge xenoliths seems to be eradicated and imprinted by the slab fluids from the subducting crust. The Nd-isotopic (+ 8.7–+ 9.3) and Pb-isotopic ratios ( 206 Pb / 204 Pb = 18.25–18.76; 207 Pb / 204 Pb = 15.43–15.55; 208 Pb / 204 Pb = 37.68–38.24) of the xenoliths are similar to those of the Pacific MORB. Pb and Ba contents of the xenoliths increase with increasing 187 Os / 188 Os. Thus the mantle-wedge beneath Kamchatka was infiltrated by slab-derived fluids with Os, Pb, and other volatile and fluid-mobile elements.
Singularities and causality violation

A number of important theorems in General Relativity have required a causality assumption; for example, the Geroch topology change theorem, and most of the Hawking-Penrose-Geroch singularity theorems. It is shown in this paper that the causality condition can be replaced by weaker causality conditions, and in some cases removed altogether. In particular, (a) it is shown that if the Einstein equations (and the weak energy condition) hold on the “topology-changing” space-time considered by Geroch, then topology change cannot occur. No causality assumption is needed in the proof. Furthermore, it is shown that if topology change occurs within a finite region, then this change of topology must be accompanied by singularities. (b) It is shown that causality violation cannot prevent the Hawking-Penrose-Geroch singularities unless the causality violation begins “at infinity”—a region which is free of matter and gravitational radiation—and this seems very unlikely.
Subalgebras of C*-algebras III: Multivariable operator theory

A d-contraction is a d-tuple (T1, . . . , Td) of mutually commuting operators acting on a common Hilbert space H such that ‖T1ξ1 + T2ξ2 + · · · + Tdξd‖ ≤ ‖ξ1‖ + ‖ξ2‖ + · · · + ‖ξd‖ for all ξ1, ξ2, . . . , ξd ∈ H. These are the higher dimensional counterparts of contractions. We show that many of the operator-theoretic aspects of function theory in the unit disk generalize to the unit ball Bd in complex d-space, including von Neumann’s inequality and the model theory of contractions. These results depend on properties of the d-shift, a distinguished d-contraction which acts on a new H2 space associated with Bd, and which is the higher dimensional counterpart of the unilateral shift. H 2 and the d-shift are highly unique. Indeed, by exploiting the noncommutative Choquet boundary of the d-shift relative to its generated C∗-algebra we find that there is more uniqueness in dimension d ≥ 2 than there is in dimension one.
The gas phase pyrolysis of phenol

Phenol pyrolysis has been studied in a turbulent flow reactor by analyzing concentration-time profiles of three major decomposition products: carbon monoxide, cyclopentadiene, and benzene. Experimental conditions were P = 1 atm, T = 1064 − 1162 K, and initial phenol concentrations of 500−2016 ppm. The major experimental observations were that the decomposition product profiles were nearly linear as a function of time and that the overall rate of carbon monoxide production was greater than that of cyclopentadiene. The rate difference is explained by a mechanism which includes a radical combination reaction of cyclopentadienyl and phenoxy. With literature and approximate rate coefficient data, the mechanism reproduced the experimental observations very well. The mechanism and data provide estimates of rate coefficients for the phenol decomposition initiation step, abstraction of hydrogen from phenol by cyclopentadienyl, and the phenoxy-cyclopentadienyl combination, all of which have not been available in the literature.
A humanist critique of the archaeology of the human sciences

Foucault's archaeological method is contrasted with that of a humanist history. The contrast highlights strengths and weaknesses found in Foucault's approach. It is argued that he is right to reject a concept of objective knowledge based on pure facts and pure reason; and that he is right to reject the idea of the autonomous individual uninfluenced by the social context; but that he is wrong to extend these rejections to an utter repudiation of respectively our having reasonable knowledge of an external reality and our being creative and rational agents. A recognition of these strengths and weaknesses is used as a basis for the development of an account of the human sciences that is an alternative to that of Foucault's The Order of Things. This alternative history shows his proclamation of the death of Man to be mistaken.
The role of lone pair interactions in the chemistry of the monosaccharides. The mechanisms of the oxidations of monosaccharides by bromine, chromium trioxide in acetic acid, and ozone

Abstract The molecular modeling program STR3DI32.EXE and its molecular mechanics module quantized valence bonds' molecular mechanics (QVBMM) were used to simulate the stereo-electronic effects present in the conformers of 2-hydroxypyran, 2-methoxypyran and the 1,8-dioxadecalins in order to evaluate the relative energies and hence nucleophilicities of their anomeric lone pairs. The derived data were not only completely congruent with the experimental evidence, but also offered refinements to previous rationalizations of these intriguing oxidative reactions of acetals and hemiacetals.
The Copenhagen Interpretation

Scientists of the late 1920s, led by Bohr and Heisenberg, proposed a conception of nature radically different from that of their predecessors. The new conception, which grew out of efforts to comprehend the apparently irrational behavior of nature in the realm of quantum effects, was not simply a new catalog of the elementary spacetime realities and their modes of operation. It was essentially a rejection of the presumption that nature could be understood in terms of elementary spacetime realities. According to the new view, the complete description of nature at the atomic level was given by probability functions that referred not to underlying microscopic space-time realities but rather to the macroscopic objects of sense experience. The theoretical structure did not extend down and anchor itself on fundamental microscopic spacetime realities. Instead it turned back and anchored itself in the concrete sense realities that form the basis of social life.
GRAF: graphic additions to FORTRAN

With the growing widespread use of graphic display devices, higher level graphic display languages which are easy to use are a necessity. Many systems have been developed which are designed around the use of online graphic display terminals. These systems generally have their own language and are designed to run in an environment dedicated to the given system.
Universal abelian covers of quotient-cusps

The quotient-cusp singularities are isolated complex surface singularities that are double-covered by cusp singularities. We show that the universal abelian cover of such a singularity, branched only at the singular point, is a complete intersection cusp singularity of embedding dimension 4. This supports a general conjecture that we make about the universal abelian cover of a ℚ-Gorenstein singularity.
REDOR NMR for drug discovery.

Abstract Rotational-echo double-resonance (REDOR) NMR is a powerful and versatile solid-state NMR measurement that has been recruited to elucidate drug modes of action and to drive the design of new therapeutics. REDOR has been implemented to examine composition, structure, and dynamics in diverse macromolecular and whole-cell systems, including taxol-bound microtubules, enzyme–cofactor–inhibitor ternary complexes, and antibiotic–whole-cell complexes. The REDOR approach involves the integrated design of specific isotopic labeling strategies and the selection of appropriate REDOR experiments. By way of example, this digest illustrates the versatility of the REDOR approach, with an emphasis on the practical considerations of experimental design and data interpretation.
Global well-posedness and scattering for the defocusing quintic NLS in three dimensions

We revisit the proof of global well-posedness and scattering for the defocusing energy-critical NLS in three space dimensions in light of recent developments. This result was obtained previously by Colliander, Keel, Staffilani, Takaoka, and Tao.
Systemic Endopolyploidy in Arabidopsis thaliana

Microfluorometric analysis of the nuclear DNA contents of the somatic tissues of Arabidopsis thaliana has revealed extensive endoreduplication, resulting in tissues that comprise mixtures of polyploid cells. Endoreduplication was found in all tissues except those of the inflorescences and was developmentally regulated according to the age of the tissues and their position within the plant.
Isolated adrenal cortex cells in suspension: stimulation and inhibition of steroidogenesis by analogues of ACTH.

Abstract Suspensions of isolated adrenal cortex cells of the rat secrete corticosterone upon addition of ACTH and related peptides. The cells respond with a high degree of sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility. Estimates of maximum response ( V max ) and of apparent dissociation constant (A 50 ) for a given analogue are derived from complete log concentration response curves. That the active center is located in the region Met 4 .Glu 5 .His 6 .Phe 7 .Arg 8 .Trp 9 .Gly 10 is supported by the observation that ACTH 1–39 , ACTH 1–24 , ACTH 1–16 , ACTH 5–24 and ACTH 4–10 exhibit the same V max ; differences in A 50 's reflect differences in affinity of these analogues for receptor. ACTH 6–24 has a V max equal to 0.4 that of ACTH 1–24 , suggesting that Glu 5 contributes to, but is not essential for receptor excitation. ACTH 11–24 and ACTH 7–23 are competitive antagonists of ACTH 1–24 , they induce no steroidogenesis when added alone but inhibit steroidogenesis when added together with ACTH 1–24 to the adrenal cortex cell suspensions.
Antiendomysial antibody — useful serological indicator of dermatitis herpetiformis

Antiendomysial antibodies (EmA) of the IgA class are directed against reticulin components of the primate smooth muscle and are markers of gluten-sensitive enteropathy. These antibodies occur in essentially all active cases of celiac disease and in about 70% of dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) patients. IgA deposits in the dermal papillae of the skin are the hallmark of DH and are employed routinely in establishing its diagnosis. The incidence of IgA deposits in skin varies depending upon the site and type of biopsy specimen taken. We studied sera and skin biopsy specimens for EmA and for IgA deposits in the skin from 11 DH patients. EmA were detected in the sera of 10 of the 11 cases. Of these 11 patients, 9 were positive for IgA deposits in their skin, as revealed by direct immunofluorescence (IF). The immune deposits were detected in the normal, and not in the lesional skin. DH cases that were initially negative on biopsy and serum positive for EmA were found to be positive when a repeat biopsy of the normal skin was performed. Thus, serological studies in conjunction with direct IF studies of the normal skin are useful in making a diagnosis of DH.
The effects of maternal education versus cognitive test scores on child nutrition in Kenya

This paper estimates dynamic random effects models for intakes by dietary energy, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, and vitamins A, C, D, and E 100 of Kenyan school children (6-9 years) within a multivariate longitudinal framework. The explanatory variables were socioeconomic and background variables, children's body mass index, and maternal education, cognitive test scores and morbidity spells. The model parameters are estimated using the maximum likelihood method controlling for unobserved between-children differences. The main finding is that while maternal education was usually not a significant predictor of dietary intakes, maternal scores on cognitive tests did strongly predict them. Moreover, the paternal cognitive scores and maternal morbidity levels were not significantly associated with the intakes, but an index of socioeconomic status and cash income was a significant predictor. The results indicate the need to consider broader measures of human development and of devising suitable educational programs for women without formal education.
Evaluating Academic Programs: With Applications to U.S. Graduate Decision Science Programs

This paper describes a decision analysis methodology to evaluate academic programs. It avoids the shortcomings of the well-known evaluations of universities and academic programs produced by the public media. In addition to evaluating traditional departments and schools, the methodology is designed to evaluate interdisciplinary programs or fields that typically span many areas of a university, such as operations research, risk analysis, and decision science. We first discuss general principles of using this methodology for the evaluation of disciplinary or interdisciplinary academic programs. Next, we apply this methodology to interdisciplinary graduate decision science programs in United States universities, focusing on both prescriptive decision analysis and descriptive decision research. Finally, we suggest how the methodology might be implemented to evaluate operations research programs.
Dimensions of irreducible modules over W-algebras and Goldie ranks

The main goal of this paper is to compute two related numerical invariants of a primitive ideal in the universal enveloping algebra of a semisimple Lie algebra. The first one, very classical, is the Goldie rank of an ideal. The second one is the dimension of an irreducible module corresponding to this ideal over an appropriate finite W-algebra. We concentrate on the integral central character case. We prove, modulo a conjecture, that in this case the two are equal. Our conjecture asserts that there is a one-dimensional module over the W-algebra with certain additional properties. The conjecture is proved for the classical types. Also, modulo the same conjecture, we compute certain scale factors introduced by Joseph, this allows to compute the Goldie ranks of the algebras of locally finite endomorphisms of simples in the BGG category $$\mathcal {O}$$ . This completes a program of computing Goldie ranks proposed by Joseph in the 80’s (for integral central characters and modulo our conjecture). We also provide an essentially Kazhdan–Lusztig type formula for computing the characters of the irreducibles in the Brundan–Goodwin–Kleshchev category $$\mathcal {O}$$ for a W-algebra again under the assumption that the central character is integral. In particular, this allows to compute the dimensions of the finite dimensional irreducible modules. The formula is based on a certain functor from an appropriate parabolic category $$\mathcal {O}$$ to the W-algebra category $$\mathcal {O}$$ . This functor can be regarded as a generalization of functors previously constructed by Soergel and by Brundan-Kleshchev. We prove a number of properties of this functor including the quotient property and the double centralizer property. We develop several side topics related to our generalized Soergel functor. For example, we discuss its analog for the category of Harish–Chandra modules. We also discuss generalizations to the case of categories $$\mathcal {O}$$ over Dixmier algebras. The most interesting example of this situation comes from the theory of quantum groups: we prove that an algebra that is a mild quotient of Luszitg’s form of a quantum group at a root of unity is a Dixmier algebra. For this we check that the quantum Frobenius epimorphism splits.
Twenty-five years after Quinlan: a review of the jurisprudence of death and dying.

Ever since the 1960s, when medical science became capable of prolonging the dying process beyond bounds that many patients would find acceptable, people have sought “death with dignity,” or “a natural death,” or “a good death.” Once debilitation from a fatal affliction has reached a personally intolerable point, dying patients have sought to control the manner and timing of death via diverse techniques. Some sought the disconnection of life-sustaining medical interventions, such as respirators and dialysis machines. Beyond freedom from unwelcome interventions, some patients intent on avoiding suffering sought access to pain relief medication—even in dosages posing some risk (perhaps even a certainty) of hastening death. Other dying patients sought access to deep sedation, even knowing that they would never emerge from the resultant unconsciousness. Still other patients voluntarily refused to eat or drink or to accept artificial nutrition and hydration.
THE X-FACTOR IN GALAXIES. I. DEPENDENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND SCALE

Characterizing the conversion factor between CO emission and column density of molecular hydrogen, X CO, is crucial in studying the gaseous content of galaxies, its evolution, and relation to star formation. In most cases the conversion factor is assumed to be close to that of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the Milky Way, except possibly for mergers and star-bursting galaxies. However, there are physical grounds to expect that it should also depend on the gas metallicity, surface density, and strength of the interstellar radiation field. The X CO factor may also depend on the scale on which CO emission is averaged due to effects of limited resolution. We study the dependence of X CO on gas properties and averaging scale using a model that is based on a combination of results of sub-parsec scale magnetohydrodynamic simulations and on the gas distribution from self-consistent cosmological simulations of galaxy formation. Our model predicts X CO (2-4) × 1020 K–1 cm–2 km–1 s, consistent with the Galactic value, for interstellar medium conditions typical for the Milky Way. For such conditions the predicted X CO varies by only a factor of two for gas surface densities in the range . However, the model also predicts that more generally on the scale of GMCs, X CO is a strong function of metallicity and depends on the column density and the interstellar UV flux. We show explicitly that neglecting these dependencies in observational estimates can strongly bias the inferred distribution of H2 column densities of molecular clouds to have a narrower and offset range compared to the true distribution. We find that when averaged on ~kiloparsec scales the X-factor depends only weakly on radiation field and column density, but is still a strong function of metallicity. The predicted metallicity dependence can be approximated as X COZ –γ with γ 0.5-0.8.
COMPATIBLE POISSON STRUCTURES OF TODA TYPE DISCRETE HIERARCHY

An algebra isomorphism between algebras of matrices and difference operators is used to investigate the discrete integrable hierarchy. We find local and nonlocal families of R-matrix solutions to the modified Yang–Baxter equation. The three R-theoretic Poisson structures and the Suris quadratic bracket are derived. The resulting family of bi-Poisson structures include a seminal discrete bi-Poisson structure of Kupershmidt at a special value.
Freehand 'figure 4' technique for tibial intramedullary nailing: introduction of technique and review of 87 cases.

Intramedullary nailing of tibial fractures is commonplace, and freehand operative techniques are increasingly popular. The standard freehand method has the knee of the injured leg flexed over a radiolucent bolster. This requires the theatre fluoroscope to swing from antero-posterior to lateral position several times. Furthermore, guide wire placement, reaming and nail insertion are all performed well above most surgeons’ shoulder height. Alternatively the leg is hung over the edge of the table, and the assistant must crouch and hold the leg until the nail is passed beyond the fracture. We describe a freehand figure 4 position technique for tibial nailing which is easier both for the surgeons and the radiographer, and present a series of 87 consecutive cases utilising this method.
Numerical study of multigrid implementations of some iterative image reconstruction algorithms

The numerical behavior of multigrid implementations of the Landweber, generalized Landweber, ART, and MLEM iterative image reconstruction algorithms is investigated. Comparisons between these algorithms, and with their single-grid implementations, are made on two small-scale synthetic PET systems, for phantom objects exhibiting different characteristics, and on one full-scale synthetic system, for a Shepp-Logan phantom. The authors also show analytically the effects of noise and initial condition on the generalized Landweber iteration, and note how to choose the shaping operator to filter out noise in the data, or to enhance features of interest in the reconstructed image. Original contributions include (1) numerical studies of the convergence rates of single-grid and multigrid implementations of the Landweber, generalized Landweber, ART, and MLEM iterations and (2) effects of noise and initial condition on the generalized Landweber iteration, with procedures for filtering out noise or enhancing image features. >
99mTc(CO)3(NTA) and 131I-OIH: Comparable Plasma Clearances in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

The pharmacokinetics of the tricarbonyl core radiopharmaceutical 99mTc(CO)3-nitrilotriacetic acid (99mTc(CO)3(NTA)) in rats and subjects with normal renal function are comparable to those of 131I-o-iodohippuran (131I-OIH), the radiopharmaceutical gold standard for the measurement of effective renal plasma flow. Our objective was to compare the pharmacokinetics of these 2 tracers in subjects with renal failure. Methods:99mTc(CO)3(NTA) was prepared with commercially available NTA and a commercially available labeling kit and isolated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Approximately 74 MBq (2.0 mCi) of 99mTc(CO)3(NTA) were coinjected with approximately 11.1 MBq (300 μCi) of 131I-OIH in 8 subjects with stage 3–4 renal failure; simultaneous images were obtained for 24 min, followed by an anterior image over the gallbladder and abdomen. Plasma clearances were determined from 10 blood samples obtained 3–180 min after injection using the single-injection, 2-compartment model. Plasma protein binding, red cell uptake, and percentage injected dose in the urine at 30 and 180 min were determined. Results: There was no difference in the plasma clearances of 99mTc(CO)3(NTA) and 131I-OIH (177 ± 63 vs. 171 ± 66 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively) (P = 0.41). The plasma protein binding and red cell uptake of 99mTc(CO)3(NTA) were 35% ± 7% and 6% ± 3%, respectively; both values were significantly lower than the plasma protein binding (71% ± 5%) and red cell uptake (16% ± 2%) of 131I-OIH (P
Reengineering money: the Mondex stored value card and beyond

Electronic cash systems, such as Mondex, seek to re-engineer cash payments. While the use of cash imposes numerous invisible costs on the economy, numerous invisible security and consumer acceptance issues prevent its immediate replacement. After analyzing the economics of the proposed Mondex electronic cash system, including suggesting sources of gain for multiple channel members, we conclude that the major challenges in the global implementation of electronic currency will be establishing the proper incentives for channel members, regulatory barriers, and gaining critical mass of consumer and merchant acceptance rather than difficulties with technology or network security.
Interprocedural analysis for privileged code placement and tainted variable detection

In Java 2 and Microsoft .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR), trusted code has often been programmed to perform access-restricted operations not explicitly requested by its untrusted clients. Since an untrusted client will be on the call stack when access control is enforced, an access-restricted operation will not succeed unless the client is authorized. To avoid this, a portion of the trusted code can be made “privileged.” When access control is enforced, privileged code causes the stack traversal to stop at the trusted code frame, and the untrusted code stack frames will not be checked for authorization. For large programs, manually understanding which portions of code should be made privileged is a difficult task. Developers must understand which authorizations will implicitly be extended to client code and make sure that the values of the variables used by the privileged code are not “tainted” by client code. This paper presents an interprocedural analysis for Java bytecode to automatically identify which portions of trusted code should be made privileged, ensure that there are no tainted variables in privileged code, and detect “unnecessary” and “redundant” privileged code. We implemented the algorithm and present the results of our analyses on a set of large programs. While the analysis techniques are in the context of Java code, the basic concepts are also applicable to non-Java systems with a similar authorization model.
Father Nelson Baker and the Blessed Virgin Mary: A Lifetime of Devotion

Monsignor Nelson Baker (1842–1936), an iconic figure in Western New York through his administration of two institutions that served orphaned boys and an infant home for unwed mothers and their children, found his inspiration for ministry through his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. A casual and unscheduled visit to the Church of Our Lady of Victory in Paris, while a member of a pilgrimage to Rome, inaugurated for Baker a lifetime of devotion to Mary under this title. For fifty-four years as superintendent of “The Second Holy City,” in Lackawanna, just south of Buffalo, Baker found his inspiration through Our Lady of Victory. Through his two chief organs, The Annals of Our Lady of Victory and The Victorian , Baker’s ministry in Mary’s name attracted national attention. His crowning achievement, however, was his construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of Victory, chronologically the third church so designated in the United States and today a national shrine. By any standard, Nelson Baker’s (known to history as Father Baker) efforts to minister to those on the margins were significant, but they would not have been possible without the inspiration he received from Mary, Our Lady of Victory.
Reconstructed dynamics and chaotic signal modeling

A nonlinear AR model is derived from the reconstructed dynamics of a signal. The underlying system is assumed to be nonlinear, autonomous, and deterministic. In this formulation, the output error scheme is shown to be more suitable than the equation error scheme in training a network as a nonlinear AR model of the signal. A method to incorporate the information of the dynamical invariants in signal modeling is proposed. >
Automatic Property Checking for Software: Past, Present and Future

Summary form only given. Over the past few years, we have seen several automatic static analysis tools being developed and deployed in industrial-strength software development. I will survey several of these tools ranging from heuristic and scalable analysis tools (such as PREFix, PREFast and Metal), to sound analysis tools based on counter example driven refinement (such as SLAM). Then, I will present two exciting recent developments in counterexample driven refinement: (1) generalizing counterexample driven refinement to work with any abstract interpretation, and (2) combining directed testing with counterexample driven refinement
Incentive problems: A class of stochastic stackelberg closed-loop dynamic games

Three different versions of a stochastic Stackelberg closed-loop dynamic game are presented These three versions correspond to complete state information structure, one-step-delay sharing information structure and control-sharing information structure. The essential difficulty of solving the problem comes from the fact that the information structure is non-nested from the leader's viewpoint. We discuss how to solve these problems.
Decentralized control of service rates in a closed Jackson network

The authors consider a closed Jackson network with M nodes. The service rate at each node is controllable in a decentralized manner, i.e., it will be controlled based on local information extracted from that node only. For each node, there is a holding cost and an operating cost. It is assumed that both costs are time-homogeneous, and that the operating cost is a linear function of the service rate. However, both costs are arbitrary functions of the number of jobs at the node. The objective is to minimize the time-average expected total cost. It is shown that there exists an optimal control characterized by a set of thresholds (one for each node), such that it is optimal for each node to serve at zero rates if the number of jobs there is below or at the threshold, and serve at maximum allowed rates when the number of jobs exceeds the threshold. This structure of the optimal control is identified by using the product-form solution of the Jackson network and the duality theory of linear programming. >
The Chimaera reconfigurable functional unit

By strictly separating reconfigurable logic from the host processor, current custom computing systems suffer from a significant communication bottleneck. In this paper, we describe Chimaera, a system that overcomes the communication bottleneck by integrating reconfigurable logic into the host processor itself. With direct access to the host processor's register file, the system enables the creation of multi-operand instructions and a speculative execution model key to high-performance, general-purpose reconfigurable computing. Chimaera also supports multi-output functions and utilizes partial run-time reconfiguration to reduce reconfiguration time. Combined, the system can provide speedups of a factor of two or more for general-purpose computing, and speedups of 160 or more are possible for hand-mapped applications.
Shaping the context of health: a review of environmental and policy approaches in the prevention of chronic diseases.

■ Abstract Given the growing attention on how environmental and policy interventions can affect chronic disease burden, our objectives are to describe (a) effective and promising interventions to address tobacco use, physical activity, and healthy eating and (b) lessons learned from the literature and practice experience in applying environmental and policy approaches. A total of 17 interventions were reviewed, organized across 3 domains affecting the physical environment/access, economic environment, and communication environment. Many of these interventions are effective. Several lessons are important to consider, such as the need to start with environmental and policy approaches, intervene comprehensively and across multiple levels, make use of economic evaluations, make better use of existing analytic tools, understand the politics and local context, address health disparities, and conduct sound policy research.
Probing Pre-failure Molecular Deformation in Cortical Bone with Fluorescent Dyes

To reduce bone fracture incidence, gaining knowledge on the underlying bone damage mechanisms is essential. Although several mechanisms have been proposed on different length scales, the pre-failure deformation processes of bone are still not completely understood. We previously reported an opaque process zone feature in bone under tensile loading which colocalizes with high-strain regions. Unlike the classical damage which can be stained in the unloaded state, the process zone can be stained only when the sample is loaded. In this study, a wide range of fluorescent dyes with different molecular weights (MW) and charges were used to probe the size and charge properties of the structural features leading to process zone emergence. We found none of these fluorescent dyes tested were able to stain the process zone once the loading was removed. All of the negativelycharged dyes with MW less than 70 kDa stained the process zone, while the positively- or neutrally-charged dyes did not, except for the one with smallest MW tested (380 Da) in group of the positively charged dyes. Therefore, we proposed that certain molecular groups with positive charge in bone were exposed during process zone emergence under loading.
TRANSIENT SPECTROSCOPY WITH A CURRENT-SWITCHED SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE LASER

We describe transient spectroscopic measurements with a current-switched semiconductor diode laser. Following a fast pulse modulation in the injection current of the diode laser, the diode laser frequency is switched by a few hundred MHz and, then, is scanned over 10 GHz range in a short-time evolution (<0.5 µs). Free-induction decay based on the frequency switching and transient absorption spectroscopy of rubidium D1 lines based on the fast frequency-scan are experimentally demonstrated. These fast spectroscopic measurements are accomplished in a single-shot pulse modulation and are, thus, applicable to short-lived samples such as in flowing or combustion systems.
The Returns to Hedge Fund Activism

Hedge fund activism is a new form of investment strategy. Using a large hand-collected dataset from 2001 to 2006, we find that activist hedge funds in the United States propose strategic, operational, and financial remedies and attain success or partial success in two-thirds of the cases. The abnormal stock return upon announcement of activism is approximately 7 percent, with no reversal during the subsequent year. Target firms experience increases in payout and operating performance and higher CEO turnover after activism. We find large positive abnormal return to hedge fund activists, which is higher than the return to other equity-oriented hedge funds.
Jet observables without jet algorithms

We introduce a new class of event shapes to characterize the jet-like struc- ture of an event. Like traditional event shapes, our observables are infrared/collinear safe and involve a sum over all hadrons in an event, but like a jet clustering algorithm, they incorporate a jet radius parameter and a transverse momentum cut. Three of the ubiqui- tous jet-based observables | jet multiplicity, summed scalar transverse momentum, and missing transverse momentum | have event shape counterparts that are closely corre- lated with their jet-based cousins. Due to their \local" computational structure, these jet-like event shapes could potentially be used for trigger-level event selection at the LHC. Intriguingly, the jet multiplicity event shape typically takes on non-integer values, high- lighting the inherent ambiguity in dening jets. By inverting jet multiplicity, we show how to characterize the transverse momentum of the n-th hardest jet without actuallynding the constituents of that jet. Since many physics applications do require knowledge about the jet constituents, we also build a hybrid event shape that incorporates (local) jet clus- tering information. As a straightforward application of our general technique, we derive an event-shape version of jet trimming, allowing event-wide jet grooming without explicit jet identication. Finally, we briey mention possible applications of our method for jet substructure studies.
Effect of Silicon Carbide Whisker and Titanium Carbide Particulate Additions on the Friction and Wear Behavior of Silicon Nitride

A Si3N4/TiC composite was previously demonstrated to exhibit improved wear resistance compared to a monolithic Si3N4 because of the formation of a lubricious oxide film containing Ti and Si at 900°C. Further improvements of the composite have been made in this study through additions of SiC whiskers and improved processing. Four materials—Si3N4, Si3N4/TiC, Si3N4/SiCwh, and Si3N4/TiC/SiCwh— were processed to further optimize the wear resistance of Si3N4 through improvements in strength, hardness, fracture toughness, and the coefficient of friction. Oscillatory pin on flat wear tests showed a decrease in the coefficient of friction from ∼0.7 (Si3N4) to ∼0.4 with the addition of TiC at temperatures reaching 900°C. Wear track profiles illustrated the absence of appreciable wear on the TiC-containing composites at temperatures above 700°C. Microscopic (SEM) and chemical (AES) characterization of the wear tracks is also included to deduce respective wear and lubricating mechanisms.
Evolutionary Efficiency and Happiness

We model happiness as a measurement tool used to rank alternative actions. Evolution favors a happiness function that measures the individual’s success in relative terms. The optimal function is based on a time‐varying reference point—or performance benchmark—that is updated over time in a statistically optimal way in order to match the individual’s potential. Habits and peer comparisons arise as special cases of such an updating process. This updating also results in a volatile level of happiness that continuously reverts to its long‐term mean. Throughout, we draw a parallel with a problem of optimal incentives, which allows us to apply statistical insights from agency theory to the study of happiness.
The use of trans-2,3-divinyl epoxides as precursors to carbonyl ylides

trans-2,3-Divinyl epoxides have been found to be good substrates for the generation of carbonyl ylides in CCl4 and 145 °C. These ylides, to a limited extent, undergo isomerization to cis-2,3-divinyl epoxides, leading to the isolation of 4,5-dihydrooxepins. Of greater potential usefulness is the finding that these ylides can be efficiently trapped in an intermolecular sense by a dipolarophile, leading to dihydrofurans.