cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recovery of Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities from Drought in Georgia Piedmont Headwater Streams

Abstract Abstract.—Drought is an important disturbance in stream ecosystems. From 1998–2002 Georgia suffered a major drought, causing many headwater streams to experience reduced flows or to dry completely. Six headwater streams in the Georgia Piedmont were selected and paired based on similarities in substrate structure (sand, bedrock or gravel substrate). Each pair consisted of a stream that dried completely during the drought and one that retained at least some surface water. Riffles were sampled with a core sampler, runs and pools were sampled with a Hess sampler and wood was sampled by randomly collecting pieces of at least 1 cm diameter. Samples were collected within 15 d of reflooding, then after 45, 75, 165, 255, 345 and 435 d. Cluster analyses were used to assess the relative effects of drought history (dried or residual water), stream condition and temporal change. In terms of drought recovery, all streams followed the same pattern of recovery, with a rapid recolonization period following the on...
Returns to integrated pest management research and outreach for soybean aphid

Soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, is a major invasive pest that has caused substantial yield loss and increased insecticide use in the United States since its discovery in 2000. Using the economic surplus approach, we estimate the economic benefits of U.S. research and outreach for integrated pest management (IPM) of soybean aphid. We calculate ex ante net benefits from adoption of an IPM economic threshold (ET). The ET triggers insecticide application only if the value of predicted yield damage from pest scouting is expected to exceed the cost of pest control. Our research finds that gradual adoption of an ET for soybean aphid management will generate a projected economic net benefit of $1.3 billion, for an internal rate of return of 124%, over the 15 yr since soybean aphid IPM research began in 2003. Lower and upper bound sensitivity analysis brackets the estimated net benefit to U.S. consumers and soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., growers in the range of $0.6 to $2.6 billion in 2005 dollars. If a 10% rate of return is attributed to IPM applied research and outreach on soybean aphid, that would leave nearly $800 million to compensate prior activities that contribute to the development and adoption of IPM.
Connection and disconnection of research and practice in the education of professional psychologists.

Education for the practice of psychology has evolved through a preprofessional phase, a scientist-professional phase, and a professional phase, in which each successive pattern of education complements but does not replace the prior pattern. Each phase of development is grounded in its own assumptions about relations between research and practice. The concepts of practice as applied science, reciprocity of science and profession, and practice as disciplined inquiry are considered. The concept of practice as disciplined inquiry is appropriate to the education of professional psychologists. Complementarity of basic research, applied research, and professional service requires appreciation of fundamental differences as well as similarities in the structure of research and practice. Among all the misunderstandings that contaminate rational discussion about the education of professional psychologists, none is more fundamental nor more difficult to dislodge than the idea that the direct education of professionals entails a rejection of research. No one I respect has ever suggested that. I never have. My central claim is that scientific research and professional service are different in important ways, and that different forms of education are required to prepare people for careers of research, in the one case, or careers of professional service, in the other case. Combinations are possible, but rarely fit the dispositions of students or the demands of employment following graduate education. Because I have been writing and speaking on this topic for more than 25 years and still'hear otherwise sane and literate people ask me why I am opposed to science, I hold no illusion that my remarks will put the confusion to its final rest. All I intend in the following statement is to approach the issue of relations between research and practice from a somewhat different direction than I have taken before and hope that my comments will be constructive. First I will offer a brief review of the history of education for the practice of psychology, within which three clear phases can be marked. Then I will examine assumptions about relations between the science and the profession that have predominated in each phase, and conclude with the recommendation that basic scientists, applied researchers, and professional psychologists pursue their distinct but related missions in complementary and cooperative ways.
No-regret learning in Bayesian games

Recent price-of-anarchy analyses of games of complete information suggest that coarse correlated equilibria, which characterize outcomes resulting from no-regret learning dynamics, have near-optimal welfare. This work provides two main technical results that lift this conclusion to games of incomplete information, a.k.a., Bayesian games. First, near-optimal welfare in Bayesian games follows directly from the smoothness-based proof of near-optimal welfare in the same game when the private information is public. Second, no-regret learning dynamics converge to Bayesian coarse correlated equilibrium in these incomplete information games. These results are enabled by interpretation of a Bayesian game as a stochastic game of complete information.
Image Registration Using Material Information

In studying the performance of any matching technique for image registration it is important to select an appropriate reference image. In this paper a set of a priori probabilities of detection based on explicit information about the materials which surround the edges is used in a strategy for reference selection. This set of a priori probabilities of detection is obtained by finding the frequency of occurrence of material edges. The correlation results for three edges, each belonging to a different material class, are presented. The results of two criteria for optimum reference selection, namely the Neyman-Pearson and the ideal observer, are used to show that the best choice appears to be a compromise. This minimizes the total probability of error while giving a higher probability of correct acquisition for a fixed probability of false alarm.
On the convergence of stochastic gradient MCMC algorithms with high-order integrators

Recent advances in Bayesian learning with large-scale data have witnessed emergence of stochastic gradient MCMC algorithms (SG-MCMC), such as stochastic gradient Langevin dynamics (SGLD), stochastic gradient Hamiltonian MCMC (SGHMC), and the stochastic gradient thermostat. While finite-time convergence properties of the SGLD with a 1st-order Euler integrator have recently been studied, corresponding theory for general SG-MCMCs has not been explored. In this paper we consider general SG-MCMCs with high-order integrators, and develop theory to analyze finite-time convergence properties and their asymptotic invariant measures. Our theoretical results show faster convergence rates and more accurate invariant measures for SG-MCMCs with higher-order integrators. For example, with the proposed efficient 2nd-order symmetric splitting integrator, the mean square error (MSE) of the posterior average for the SGHMC achieves an optimal convergence rate of L-4/5 at L iterations, compared to L-2/3 for the SGHMC and SGLD with 1st-order Euler integrators. Furthermore, convergence results of decreasing-step-size SG-MCMCs are also developed, with the same convergence rates as their fixed-step-size counterparts for a specific decreasing sequence. Experiments on both synthetic and real datasets verify our theory, and show advantages of the proposed method in two large-scale real applications.
The Schmidt Reaction

The classical form of the Schmidt reaction involves the reaction of a carbon-centered electrophile with hydrazoic acid with loss of nitrogen, usually with a rearrangement that forms a new carbon-nitrogen bond. Although the conversion of a ketone into an amide is the most commonly used variation, mechanistically related versions utilize an aldehyde, acid, or a carbocation generated from an alkene or alcohol as the electrophilic component. In recent years, the definition of the Schmidt reaction has been modified to include analogous reactions in which the hydrazoic acid is replaced by an alkyl azide, promoted by Lewis acids. The use of an alkyl azide uniquely permits the formulation of intramolecular Schmidt reactions of the azide with a carbonyl or carbocationic electrophile. Keywords: alkyl azide; amide synthesis; hydrazoic acid; lactam synthesis; rearrangement; ring expansion; Schmidt reaction
Classification of access network types: Ethernet, wireless LAN, ADSL, cable modem or dialup?

Ethernet, wireless LAN, ADSL, cable modem, and dialup are common access networks that have dramatically different characteristics. Fast and accurate classification of access networks can benefit a wide range of applications. In this paper, we propose a simple and efficient end-to-end scheme to classify access networks into three categories: Ethernet, wireless LAN and low-bandwidth connection. Our scheme is based on the intrinsic characteristics of the various access networks, and utilizes the median and entropy of packet-pair inter-arrival times. Extensive experiments show that our scheme obtains accurate classification results in a very short time (95% accuracy in 2s, with 10 packet pairs).
Endogenous network production functions with selectivity

Abstract We consider a production function that transforms inputs into outputs through peer effect networks. The distinguishing features of this model are that the network is formal and observable through worker scheduling, and selection into the network is done by a manager. We discuss identification and suggest several estimation techniques. We tackle endogeneity arising from selection into groups and exposure to common group factors by employing a polychotomous Heckman-type selection correction. We illustrate our method using data from the Syracuse University Men’s Basketball team, where at any time the coach selects a lineup and players interact strategically to win games.
Signals of a 2 TeV $W'$ boson and a heavier $Z'$ boson

We construct an SU(2) L × SU(2) R × U(1) B−L model with a Higgs sector that consists of a bidoublet and a doublet, and with a right-handed neutrino sector that includes one Dirac fermion and one Majorana fermion. This model explains the Run 1 CMS and ATLAS excess events in the e + e − jj, jj, Wh 0 and WZ channels in terms of a W′ boson of mass near 1.9 TeV and of coupling g R in the 0.4–0.5 range, with the lower half preferred by limits on $$ t\overline{b} $$ resonances and Run 2 results. The production cross section of this W′ boson at the 13 TeV LHC is in the 700–900 fb range, allowing sensitivity in more than 17 final states. We determine that the Z ′ boson has a mass in the 3.4–4.5 TeV range and several decay channels that can be probed in Run 2 of the LHC, including cascade decays via heavy Higgs bosons.
The treatment of allergic rhinitis with immunotherapy: a review of 1,000 cases.

We conducted a 10-year retrospective chart review of 1,000 immunotherapy-treated patients to evaluate the efficacy and safety of serial dilution quantitative intradermal testing in the management of allergic rhinitis. Three months after the initiation of immunotherapy, these patients had been assessed to ascertain whether or not they had experienced any overall improvement in their initial symptoms. Also included in this evaluation were determinations of each patient's use of medications as well as the incidence of adverse reactions to treatment and recurrent sinus infections. Wefound that 860 patients ts had achieved complete relief of their symptoms and required no other treatment; the remaining 140 patients experienced a partial improvement and continued to use pharmacotherapy to control breakthrough symptoms. During skin testing, only one patient experienced a systemic reaction, which responded to subcutaneous epinephrine. There were no deaths, We conclude that serial dilution quantitative intradermal testing is safe and that quantification of skin reactivity in evaluating and treating allergic rhinitis with immunotherapy is completely effective in the vast majority of patients.
Idiosyncratic risk, insurance, and aggregate consumption dynamics: a likelihood perspective

This paper shows how the empirical implications of incomplete markets models can be assessed using the same full-information methods that are commonly used for representative agent models. It then asks what features of the microeconomic insurance arrangement are important for understanding the dynamics of aggregate consumption as it relates to aggregate labor income and employment conditions. A model with a low level of insurance against unemployment risk and an intermediate level of insurance against individual skill shocks provides the best fit of the aggregate data. A model that matches the strong consumption responses to fiscal stimulus payments does not improve the overall fit to the aggregate data.
What drives merger decision making behavior? Don't seek, don't find, and don't change your mind

Despite the constant and frequent merger activity across various industries in the U.S. and throughout the world, limited evidence of the success of corporate mergers has been documented. The vast body of academic research demonstrates that most mergers add no value or reduce shareholder value for the acquiring firm. Given the failure of so many mergers, the question of why mergers continue to occur in large numbers remains. Overconfidence and optimism have come to the forefront as the most common behavioral explanations for the continued prevalence of ill-advised mergers. This paper investigates a different type of behavioral bias that also may influence merger and acquisition decisions—confirmation bias. Using a unique experimental data set, we provide evidence in support of the existence of confirmation bias in merger decision making behavior, particularly with respect to the behavior of actual corporate executives.
A QoS-based power allocation for cellular users with different modulations

In this paper, we propose a novel optimal power allocation method that features a power limit function and is able to ensure more users reach the desired Quality-of-Service (QoS). In our model we use sigmoidal-like utility functions to represent the probability of successful reception of packets at user equipment (UE)s. Given that each UE has a different channel quality and different location from base station (BS), it has different CQI and modulation. For each CQI zone, we evaluate the power threshold which is required to achieve the minimum QoS for each UE and show that the higher CQI the lower power threshold is. We present a resource allocation algorithm that gives limited resources to UEs who have already reached their pre-specified minimum QoS, and provides more possible resources to UEs who can not reach it. We also compare this algorithm with the optimal power allocation algorithm in [1] to show the enhancement.
CERAMIC ON CERAMIC THA IN PATIENTS <60: A NEW STANDARD – OPPOSES

A standard is defined as something established by authority, custom, or general consent. Clearly that does not exist for ceramic on ceramic total hip replacement. A better question is: Is there any indication for a ceramic on ceramic total hip. The answer to that question should when possible be based on clinical outcome data including the value added (or not) with this more expansive technology. Ceramic on ceramic has been popularised based on its low wear. Is this clinically relevant? Probably not, based on currently available data. Both metal on highly crosslinked polyethylene and ceramic on highly crosslinked polyethylene have very low clinically documented wear rates with excellent outcomes in multiple studies. In addition, ceramic on ceramic bearings are more sensitive to implant position. Whereas polyethylene may tolerated edge loading and impingement, ceramic bearings are less likely to do so. Dislocation remains one of if not the top reason for early revision. Even with newer ceramics, there are still less options to fine tune hip stability with ceramic on ceramic bearing surfaces. When looking at the overall, risk of revision, Bozic et al concluded that hard bearings provided no benefit in terms of risk reduction of revision. Considering their higher cost, they questioned the use of these products especially in the 65 and older age group. Looking at the Australian Registry, the cumulative percent revision for ceramic-ceramic THA was 5.7% at 11 years compared to 5.1% for metal on crosslinked poly. The hazard ratio (adjusted for age and gender) was 1.09 in favor of ceramic on poly and the difference was highly significant (p=0.012). When one take into account the increased cost of ceramic on ceramic bearings, it is hard to make a case for ceramic on ceramic bearings. Any use of ceramic on ceramic bearings would have to be based on the hypothesis that in the long run in young active patients they may provide an advantage. This is a hypothesis with no data to support it currently.
Contingent liabilities risk management : a credit risk analysis framework for sovereign guarantees and on-lending—country experiences from Colombia, Indonesia, Sweden, and Turkey

Sovereign credit guarantees and government on-lending can catalyze private sector investment and fulfill specific policy objectives. However, contingent liabilities stemming from guarantees and contingent assets stemming from on-lending expose governments to risk. Prudent risk management, including risk analysis and measurement, can help identify and mitigate these risks. This paper proposes a four-step structure for analyzing and measuring credit risk: (i) defining key characteristics to determine the choice of a risk analysis approach; (ii) analyzing risk drivers; (iii) quantifying risks; and (iv) applying risk analyses and quantification to the design of risk management tools. This structure is based on an assessment of approaches discussed in academia and applied in practice. The paper demonstrates how the four steps of credit risk management are applied in Colombia, Sweden, and Turkey. It also discusses how the proposed framework is applied in Indonesia as it develops a credit risk management framework for sovereign guarantees. Country experiences show that although sovereign risk managers can draw on insights from credit risk management in the private sector, academic literature, and practices in other countries, approaches to risk management need to be highly context-specific. Key differentiating factors include characteristics of the guarantee and on-lending portfolio, the sovereign’s specific risk exposure, the availability of market information and data, and resources and capacity in the public sector. Developing a sound risk analysis and measurement framework requires significant investments in resources, capacity building, and time. Governments should view this process as iterative and long-term.
Finding the edge of salt via a dual‐velocity flood

Imaging an overturned salt edge with turning waves often requires large apertures, long recording times and a sediment velocity profile that appropriately increases with depth and that is unobstructed by other salt bodies within the aperture of interest, conditions that may not always be available in practice. In some situations, data that may not meet all of the turning-wave-image criteria can be used to find the salt face via a dual-velocity-model flood technique similar to a vertical-seismic-profile (VSP) proximity survey. In this case, the reflectors that truncate against salt are imaged at their truncation point in the correct position, helping to define the salt face.
TESS: an R package for efficiently simulating phylogenetic trees and performing Bayesian inference of lineage diversification rates.

UNLABELLED Many fundamental questions in evolutionary biology entail estimating rates of lineage diversification (speciation-extinction) that are modeled using birth-death branching processes. We leverage recent advances in branching-process theory to develop a flexible Bayesian framework for specifying diversification models-where rates are constant, vary continuously, or change episodically through time-and implement numerical methods to estimate parameters of these models from molecular phylogenies, even when species sampling is incomplete. We enable both statistical inference and efficient simulation under these models. We also provide robust methods for comparing the relative and absolute fit of competing branching-process models to a given tree, thereby providing rigorous tests of biological hypotheses regarding patterns and processes of lineage diversification. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The source code for TESS is freely available at http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/TESS/ CONTACT: Sebastian.Hoehna@gmail.com.
Investigating the Effect of Advanced Automatic Transmissions on Fuel Consumption Using Vehicle Testing and Modeling

In preparation for the midterm evaluation (MTE) of the 2022-2025 Light-Duty Greenhouse Gas (LD GHG) emissions standards, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is refining and revalidating their Advanced Light-Duty Powertrain and Hybrid Analysis (ALPHA) tool using newly acquired data from model year 2013-2015 engines and vehicles. ALPHA is a physics-based, forwardlooking, full vehicle computer simulation capable of analyzing various vehicle types with different powertrain technologies, showing realistic vehicle behavior, and auditing of all internal ener gy flows in the model. As part of the validation of ALPHA, the EPA obtained model year 2014 Dodge Chargers equipped with 3.6 liter V6 engines and either a NAG1 five-speed automatic transmission or an 845RE eight-speed automatic transmission. Vehicles were tested on a chassis dynamometer; test results showed eight-speed vehicles averaging 6.5% reduction in unadjusted combined city-highway fuel consumption compared to five-speed vehicles. In addition, an 845RE eight-speed transmission was obtained and tested in a standalone transmission test rig. The measured transmission parameters were used in ALPHA to simulate the behavior and fuel consumption of the eight-speed Dodge Charger. A companion model for the five-speed Charger was also constructed; the resulting simulated fuel consumption for both vehicles closely matched the test results. This paper uses the validated ALPHA model to predict the effectiveness improvement of real-world transmissions over a baseline circa 2008 four-speed transmission, and to predict further improvements possible from future eight-speed transmissions. To that end, transmission models for a four-speed automatic transmission and future eight-speed automatic transmissions were constructed, and ALPHA was used to predict the fuel consumption differences of a Dodge Charger equipped with these transmissions. A fuel consumption reduction of over 12% was predicted when comparing a future eight-speed transmission to a baseline four-speed. Predicted fuel consumption reduction was over 16% when the engines were resized to maintain a constant acceleration performance.
Numerical Inversion of a Broken Ray Transform Arising in Single Scattering Optical Tomography

The article presents an efficient image reconstruction algorithm for single scattering optical tomography (SSOT) in circular geometry of data acquisition. This novel medical imaging modality uses photons of light that scatter once in the body to recover its interior features. The mathematical model of SSOT is based on the broken ray (or V-line Radon) transform (BRT), which puts into correspondence to an image function its integrals along V-shaped piecewise linear trajectories. The process of image reconstruction in SSOT requires inversion of that transform. We implement numerical inversion of a broken ray transform in a disc with partial radial data. Our method is based on a relation between the Fourier coefficients of the image function and those of its BRT recently discovered by Ambartsoumian and Moon. The numerical algorithm requires solution of ill-conditioned matrix problems, which is accomplished using a half-rank truncated singular value decomposition method. Several numerical computations validating the inversion formula are presented, which demonstrate the accuracy, speed, and robustness of our method in the case of both noise-free and noisy data.
A BOUND ON EMBEDDING DIMENSIONS OF GEOMETRIC GENERIC FIBERS

The author finds a limit on the singularities that arise in geometric generic fibers of morphisms between smooth varieties of positive characteristic by studying changes in embedding dimension under inseparable field extensions. This result is then used in the context of the minimal model program to rule out the existence of smooth varieties fibered by certain nonnormal del Pezzo surfaces over bases of small dimension.
Estimation and testing for multiple regulation of multivariate mixed outcomes

Considerable interest has recently been focused on studying multiple phenotypes simultaneously in both epidemiological and genomic studies, either to capture the multidimensionality of complex disorders or to understand shared etiology of related disorders. We seek to identify multiple regulators or predictors that are associated with multiple outcomes when these outcomes may be measured on very different scales or composed of a mixture of continuous, binary, and not-fully observed elements. We first propose an estimation technique to put all effects on similar scales, and we induce sparsity on the estimated effects. We provide standard asymptotic results for this estimator and show that resampling can be used to quantify uncertainty in finite samples. We finally provide a multiple testing procedure which can be geared specifically to the types of multiple regulators of interest, and we establish that, under standard regularity conditions, the familywise error rate will approach 0 as sample size diverges. Simulation results indicate that our approach can improve over unregularized methods both in reducing bias in estimation and improving power for testing.
Immigrants, Trust and Social Traps

The paper estimates a social interactions model to study the impact of culture on US immigrants' decisions. The paper contributes to the literature as follows. It first estimates a social interactions model of peer effects that models both group formation and the formation of social interactions. In addition, because it is an observational learning model, policy suggestions may be drawn to favor integration of immigrants. Finally, it provides a new empirical strategy to study the impact of both inherited and contemporaneous culture on individual decisions. Findings vary by group of immigrants and by type of social interactions, and they are robust to both additional checks and sensitivity analysis.
A differential approach to undefined behavior detection

This article studies undefined behavior arising in systems programming languages such as C/Cpp. Undefined behavior bugs lead to unpredictable and subtle systems behavior, and their effects can be further amplified by compiler optimizations. Undefined behavior bugs are present in many systems, including the Linux kernel and the Postgres database. The consequences range from incorrect functionality to missing security checks. This article proposes a formal and practical approach that finds undefined behavior bugs by finding “unstable code” in terms of optimizations that leverage undefined behavior. Using this approach, we introduce a new static checker called Stack that precisely identifies undefined behavior bugs. Applying Stack to widely used systems has uncovered 161 new bugs that have been confirmed and fixed by developers.
Randomized Algorithms

For many applications, a randomized algorithm is either the simplest or the fastest algorithm available, and sometimes both. This book introduces the basic concepts in the design and analysis of randomized algorithms. The first part of the text presents basic tools such as probability theory and probabilistic analysis that are frequently used in algorithmic applications. Algorithmic examples are also given to illustrate the use of each tool in a concrete setting. In the second part of the book, each chapter focuses on an important area to which randomized algorithms can be applied, providing a comprehensive and representative selection of the algorithms that might be used in each of these areas. Although written primarily as a text for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, this book should also prove invaluable as a reference for professionals and researchers.
Spur, helical, and spiral bevel transmission life modeling

Abstract : A computer program, TLIFE, which estimates the life, dynamic capacity, and reliability of aircraft transmissions, is presented. The program enables comparisons of transmission service life at the design stage for optimization. A variety of transmissions may be analyzed including: spur, helical, and spiral bevel reductions as well as series combinations of these reductions. The basic spur and helical reductions include: single mesh, compound, and parallel path plus reverted star and planetary gear trains. A variety of straddle and overhung bearing configurations on the gear shafts are possible as is the use of a ring gear for the output. The spiral bevel reductions include single and dual input drives with arbitrary shaft angles. The program is written in FORTRAN 77 and has been executed both in the personal computer DOS environment and on UNIX workstations. The analysis may be performed in either the SI metric or the English inch system of units. The reliability and life analysis is based on the two-parameter Weibull distribution lives of the component gears and bearings. The program output file describes the overall transmission and each constituent transmission, its components, and their locations, capacities, and loads. Primary output is the dynamic capacity and 90-percent reliability and mean lives of the unit transmissions and the overall system which can be used to estimate service overhaul frequency requirements. Two examples are presented to illustrate the information available for single element and series transmissions.
Copper-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidation of N-Substituted Hydroxylamines: Efficient and Practical Access to Nitroso Compounds

A general and efficient aerobic oxidation of N-substituted hydroxylamines is described. The mild reaction conditions employed provide a catalytic and sustainable alternative to stoichiometric oxidation methods to gain access to a range of nitroso compounds, such as acylnitroso, nitrosoformate, nitrosoformamide, iminonitroso, arylnitroso, and P-nitrosophosphine oxide derivatives in excellent yield.
Tetracyclosqualene and Its Bearing on the Structure of Cyclized Rubber

Abstract Recently we reported that cyclized rubber consists of six-membered rings fused into predominantly bicyclic structures which are connected by methylene groups and/or uncyclized isoprene units. Each of the fused ring structures is presumed to contain a single tetra-, tri- or di-substituted double bond, the relative amounts of which are in the order, tetra- > tri- > di-substituted. The predominantly bicyclic structure was not rigorously established, but it was considered reasonable on the basis of a comparison of the nmr spectra of cyclized cis-polyisoprene and cyclized cis-poly (2-methyl-d3-1,3-butadiene-1,1-d2). However, although a predominantly monocyclic structure was clearly excluded, it was not possible to rule out a structure in which the average number of rings per fused segment (“cyclicity”) exceeds two and may even be as high as three. In an effort to determine this cyclicity more accurately, we now compare the nmr and ir spectra of cyclized cis- and trans-polyisoprenes with the correspond...
Densities of Amorphous Polymers at High Pressures

Abstract Experimentally determined densities and compressibilities of amorphous polymers are frequently available; but, because of experimental difficulties, few experimental results have been reported at high pressures. Such densities, however, are sometimes required for rational design of extrusion and similar processes. We report here a simple method for estimating densities and compressibilities at high pressures from experimental compressibilities at low pressure. Our method is based on a relation for liquids suggested by Wada and developed by Chueh and Prausnitz. The purpose of this note is to suggest a method for estimating polymer densities at high pressure wherever experimental data are insufficient for obtaining parameters needed in an equation of state, as, for example, the Tait equation.
Social Media Impact on the Recruitment and Selection Process in the Information Technology Industry

The origin of this work stems from the fact that there is a demand to see how information technology organizations are maximizing the potential role of social media in recruitment and selection. This study revealed certain convincing insights into the usage of social media in the recruitment process. A sample of 125 human resource professionals participated in the study, and using principal component analysis, this analysed the impact factors in three broad areas, namely pre recruitment screening, recruitment activities and social media benefits perceived in recruitment and selection. The study resulted in the emergence of eight distinct latent factors, namely the social media involvement, experience and expertise, achievements and endorsements, candidate quality, profile match, efficacy and reachability, target setting and branding. How the organizations make use of social media is not yet explored and this study aims at collecting the industry practices and the factors influencing the adoption of social media.
Determination of the Equation of State of Polyisobutylene

Abstract The density, thermal expansion coefficient, and thermal pressure coefficient for polyisobutylene of mol wt 40,000 have been accurately determined from 0 to 150°. Results are compared with the reduced equation of state employed in the theory of solutions. The characteristic parameters v*, T*, and p* required for the treatment of polyisobutylene solutions are obtained from the experimental results.
Social and Task Interdependencies in the Street-Level Implementation of Innovation

Organizations often adopt, though do not always successfully implement, innovations that require widespread frontline participation to realize their full benefits. To better understand the mechanisms that support or inhibit the implementation of such innovations, we apply constructs from organizational learning theory to the case of implementing innovation in schools, and operationalize those constructs in a computational, agent-based model. Model analysis reveals how the misalignment between an organization’s social network and the task structure of its target innovation can impede frontline implementation, even when the individuals inside the organization have the skill and willingness to implement the innovation’s constituent activities. We find that individual-level improvement before the decision to adopt the innovation can exacerbate this problem by reducing the utilization of tasks needed to support future implementation. We also translate our insights into specific propositions about how the work required by the target innovation and an organization’s social network relate to the level of frontline implementation in organizations.
Ru complexes bearing bidentate carbenes: from innocent curiosity to uniquely effective catalysts for olefin metathesis

The discovery and development of a new class of Ru-based catalysts for olefin metathesis is described. These catalysts, particularly those that do not bear a phosphine ligand, have been demonstrated to promote unique levels of reactivity in a variety of olefin metathesis reactions. The design and development of supported and chiral optically pure variants of this class of Ru catalysts for use in enantioselective metathesis are discussed as well. All catalysts are air stable, reusable, and can be employed with unpurified solvents.
Executive Functioning and Speech-Language Skills Following Long-Term Use of Cochlear Implants

Neurocognitive processes such as executive functioning (EF) may influence the development of speech-language skills in deaf children after cochlear implantation in ways that differ from normal-hearing, typically developing children. Conversely, spoken language abilities and experiences may also exert reciprocal effects on the development of EF. The purpose of this study was to identify EF domains that are related to speech-language skills in cochlear implant (CI) users, compared to normal-hearing peers. Sixty-four prelingually deaf, early-implanted, long-term users of CIs and 74 normal-hearing peers equivalent in age and nonverbal intelligence completed measures of speech-language skills and three domains of EF: working memory, fluency-speed, and inhibition-concentration. Verbal working memory and fluency-speed were more strongly associated with speech-language outcomes in the CI users than in the normal-hearing peers. Spatial working memory and inhibition-concentration correlated positively with language skills in normal-hearing peers but not in CI users. The core domains of EF that are associated with spoken language development are different in long-term CI users compared to normal-hearing peers, suggesting important dissociations in neurocognitive development.
Cu-Catalyzed Stereoselective γ-Alkylation of Enones

A general regio- and stereoselective γ-C–C bond formation is achieved using α-halocarbonyl compounds and dienol ethers via Cu(II) catalysis. This method constitutes a novel approach to the challenging 1,6-dioxygenation motif. A range of γ-substituted enones, including many bearing all-carbon quaternary centers, are available through a simple protocol under mild reaction conditions with superb functional group compatibility. Excellent stereoinduction is observed providing controlled access to challenging stereochemical arrays.
Relativistic Modeling Capabilities in PERSEUS Extended-MHD Simulation Code for HED Plasmas

A relativistic version of the PERSEUS extended magnetohydrodynamic simulation code for high-energy-density (HED) plasmas is developed and validated. Nonrelativistic PERSEUS solves the two-fluid equations, formulated in terms of a generalized Ohm’s law, so as to model about nine orders of magnitude in density variation using a local semi-implicit method. Relativistic PERSEUS preserves this structure and, therefore, retains these advantageous properties, enabling it to model a broader range of relativistic HED phenomena than the existing particle and fluid codes. The relativistic code is validated against a published particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation of the penetration of a laser into a supercritical hydrogen plasma with applications to fast ignition. PERSEUS recovers the penetration ahead of the laser of magnetized relativistic jets. As in the PIC simulation, multiple jets form and subsequently coalesce into larger centralized jets. The relativistic code also recovers expected nonrelativistic results for a problem in which the smallest electron length and time scales are under-resolved, and which is, therefore, inaccessible to PIC codes and conventional (explicit) fluid codes. The code can now be applied to relativistic phenomena with under-resolved electron dynamical scales, e.g., $X$ -pinches and electrode surface plasmas.
The Ethics of App-Assisted Family Mediation

This article explores ethical issues that mediators should consider when selecting and using digital programs (software/apps) as part of the mediation process. In particular, mediators should address ethical concerns related to duty of care, informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, boundaries, neutrality and fairness, and cross-border mediation.
The Resurgent Second Amendment

This review essay explores the extent to which Adam Winkler and Robert H. Churchill address the resurgence of the Second Amendment debate in their respective books, Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America, and To Shake Their Guns in the Tyrant's Face: Libertarian Political Violence and the Origins of the Militia Movement in light of the Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. Cottrol approves of Winkler's Gunfight as an excellent review of the background and view of the oral argument presented to the Supreme Court in Heller, but critiques it as falling short of an in-depth explanation of the intellectual history of the Second Amendment. Cottrol includes a favorable critique of Churchill's To Shake their Guns as a more thorough look at the intellectual history and development of the militia movement in the 1990s.
Effects of SMS 201-995, a somatostatin analogue, on the exocrine pancreatic secretion and gut hormone release in dogs

The effect of SMS 201-995, an analogue of somatostatin, on pancreatic exocrine secretion was investigated in both interdigestive and digestive states in dogs. In four dogs with gastric and Thomas duodenal cannulas, the pancreatic juice was collected by direct cannulation of the main pancreatic duct. SMS 201-995 was infused intravenously at doses of 0, 15, 30, 60, and 120 ng/kg/hr for 2 to 3 hours in the following experimental conditions: (1) interdigestive pancreatic secretion, (2) pancreatic secretion stimulated by the intravenous infusion of both secretin, 0.06 CU/kg/hr, and cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK8), 0.03 microgram/kg/hr, and (3) pancreatic secretion after ingestion of a test meal. Pancreatic juice was analyzed for volume and outputs of bicarbonate and protein. Plasma levels of motilin, pancreatic polypeptide (PP), CCK, and secretin were determined by radioimmunoassay. SMS 201-995 inhibited significantly the pancreatic secretion and release of hormones, including secretin, CCK, PP, and motilin, in all three experimental conditions. The inhibitory action of SMS 201-995 on pancreatic secretion and hormone releases was dose dependent.
Enhanced Pumped Hydro Storage Utilization Using Policy Functions

While there are growing interests in using pumped hydro storage to facilitate the integration of renewable resources, the flexibility of storage is not being fully utilized by existing energy and market management systems. Today, one common approach to operate pumped hydro storage is to determine schedules for a future time horizon based on a look-ahead operational planning stage, with limited adjustment in real-time. However, as renewable penetration levels increase, such approaches do not fully utilize the flexibility of pumped hydro storage. In this paper, a policy function approach is proposed to enhance the utilization of pumped hydro storage in real-time operations. The performance of the approach is evaluated and compared with other benchmark approaches using the IEEE RTS 24-bus system. The result shows that the policy function approach is effective in utilizing the flexibility of pumped hydro storage and has minimal added computational complexity to the existing dispatch process.
The Role of Deleterious Substitutions in Crop Genomes

Populations continually incur new mutations with fitness effects ranging from lethal to adaptive. While the distribution of fitness effects of new mutations is not directly observable, many mutations likely either have no effect on organismal fitness or are deleterious. Historically, it has been hypothesized that a population may carry many mildly deleterious variants as segregating variation, which reduces the mean absolute fitness of the population. Recent advances in sequencing technology and sequence conservation-based metrics for inferring the functional effect of a variant permit examination of the persistence of deleterious variants in populations. The issue of segregating deleterious variation is particularly important for crop improvement, because the demographic history of domestication and breeding allows deleterious variants to persist and reach moderate frequency, potentially reducing crop productivity. In this study, we use exome resequencing of 15 barley accessions and genome resequencing of 8 soybean accessions to investigate the prevalence of deleterious single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the protein-coding regions of the genomes of two crops. We conclude that individual cultivars carry hundreds of deleterious SNPs on average, and that nonsense variants make up a minority of deleterious SNPs. Our approach identifies known phenotype-altering variants as deleterious more frequently than the genome-wide average, suggesting that putatively deleterious variants are likely to affect phenotypic variation. We also report the implementation of a SNP annotation tool BAD_Mutations that makes use of a likelihood ratio test based on alignment of all currently publicly available Angiosperm genomes.
Corporate Misbehavior and Collective Values

In recent years there have been many scandals in which highly paid corporate executives have apparently acted in morally unacceptable ways. Why is this? Is it a matter of a few "bad apples" or is there some other, or some additional, explanation? In order to answer such questions, one needs to know what the possibilities are: what, generally, goes on in the life of a corporation and its members? What factors might influence the behavior of a given executive or other member of the corporation? It is plausible to suggest that collective value ...
Propensity score prediction for electronic healthcare databases using Super Learner and High-dimensional Propensity Score Methods

The optimal learner for prediction modeling varies depending on the underlying data-generating distribution. Super Learner (SL) is a generic ensemble learning algorithm that uses cross-validation to select among a "library" of candidate prediction models. While SL has been widely studied in a number of settings, it has not been thoroughly evaluated in large electronic healthcare databases that are common in pharmacoepidemiology and comparative effectiveness research. In this study, we applied and evaluated the performance of SL in its ability to predict the propensity score (PS), the conditional probability of treatment assignment given baseline covariates, using three electronic healthcare databases. We considered a library of algorithms that consisted of both nonparametric and parametric models. We also proposed a novel strategy for prediction modeling that combines SL with the high-dimensional propensity score (hdPS) variable selection algorithm. Predictive performance was assessed using three metrics: the negative log-likelihood, area under the curve (AUC), and time complexity. Results showed that the best individual algorithm, in terms of predictive performance, varied across datasets. The SL was able to adapt to the given dataset and optimize predictive performance relative to any individual learner. Combining the SL with the hdPS was the most consistent prediction method and may be promising for PS estimation and prediction modeling in electronic healthcare databases.