cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fault-Tolerant Permanent Magnet Motor Drive Topologies for Automotive X-By-Wire Systems

Future automobiles will be equipped with x-by-wire systems to improve reliability, safety, and performance. The fault-tolerant capability of these systems is crucial due to their safety critical nature. Three fault-tolerant inverter topologies for permanent magnet brushless direct current motor drives suitable for automotive x-by-wire systems are analyzed. A figure of merit taking into account both cost and postfault performance is developed for these drives. Simulation results of the two most promising topologies for various inverter faults are presented. The drive topology with the highest postfault performance and cost effectiveness is built and evaluated experimentally.
A general method for synthesis of trifluoroacetyltrialkyl(aryl)silanes and the sakurai reaction of fluorinated acylsilanes with allyl silanes

Abstract Trifluoroacetyltrialkyl(aryl)silanes, synthetic equivalents of trifluoroacetaldehyde, were prepared in good to moderate yields by reaction of 1,1-difluoro-2-trialkyl(aryl)silyl-2-trimethylsilyloxyethenes with Selectfluor ® . Sakurai reaction of fluorinated acylsilanes formed either the α-silylated ketones by means of Brook- and retro-Brook isomerization or, in the absence of Brook isomerization, homoallylic alcohols.
Last‐Chance Earnings Management: Using the Tax Expense to Meet Analysts' Forecasts*

We assert that the tax expense is a powerful context in which to study earnings management, because it is one of the last accounts closed prior to earnings announcements. Although many pre-tax accruals must be posted in the year-end general ledger, managers estimate and negotiate tax expense with their auditors immediately prior to earnings announcements. We hypothesize that changes from third- to fourth-quarter effective tax rates (ETRs) are negatively related to whether and how much a firm’s earnings absent tax expense management miss analysts’ consensus forecast, a proxy for target earnings. We measure earnings absent tax expense management as actual pre-tax earnings adjusted for the annual ETR reported at the third quarter. We provide robust evidence that firms lower their projected ETRs when they miss the consensus forecast, which is consistent with firms decreasing their tax expense if non-tax sources of earnings management are insufficient to achieve targets. We also find that firms that exceed earnings targets increase their ETR, but this effect is less significant. By studying the tax expense in total, rather than narrow components of deferred tax expense, our results provide general evidence that reported taxes are used to manage earnings.
NLP (natural language processing) for NLP (natural language programming)

Natural Language Processing holds great promise for making computer interfaces that are easier to use for people, since people will (hopefully) be able to talk to the computer in their own language, rather than learn a specialized language of computer commands. For programming, however, the necessity of a formal programming language for communicating with a computer has always been taken for granted. We would like to challenge this assumption. We believe that modern Natural Language Processing techniques can make possible the use of natural language to (at least partially) express programming ideas, thus drastically increasing the accessibility of programming to non-expert users. To demonstrate the feasibility of Natural Language Programming, this paper tackles what are perceived to be some of the hardest cases: steps and loops. We look at a corpus of English descriptions used as programming assignments, and develop some techniques for mapping linguistic constructs onto program structures, which we refer to as programmatic semantics.
Coset bounds for algebraic geometric codes

We develop new coset bounds for algebraic geometric codes. The bounds have a natural interpretation as an adversary threshold for algebraic geometric secret sharing schemes and lead to improved bounds for the minimum distance of an AG code. Our bounds improve both floor bounds and order bounds and provide for the first time a connection between the two types of bounds.
Photometry of SN 2002ic and implications for the progenitor mass-loss history

We present new premaximum and late-time optical photometry of the Type Ia/IIn supernova 2002ic. These observations are combined with the published V-band magnitudes of Hamuy and coauthors and the VLT spectrophotometry of Wang and coauthors to construct the most extensive light curve to date of this unusual supernova. The observed flux at late time is significantly higher relative to the flux at maximum than that of any other observed Type Ia supernova and continues to fade very slowly a year after the explosion. Our analysis of the light curve suggests that a non‐Type Ia supernova component becomes prominent � 20 days after explosion. Modeling of the non‐Type Ia supernova component as heating from the shock interaction of the supernova ejecta with preexisting circumstellar material suggests the presence of a � 1:7 ;10 15 cm gap or trough between the progenitor system and the surrounding circumstellar material. This gap could be due to significantly lower mass loss � 15(vw=10 km s � 1 ) � 1 yr prior to explosion or evacuation of the circumstellar material by a low-density fast wind. The latter is consistent with observed properties of protoplanetary nebulae and with models of white dwarf + asymptotic giant branch star progenitor systems with the asymptotic giant branch star in the protoplanetary nebula phase. Subject heading gs: stars: winds, outflows — supernovae: general — supernovae: individual (SN 2002ic)
Velocity measurements in jets with application to noise source modeling

This paper describes an experimental investigation of the statistical properties of turbulent velocity fluctuations in an axisymmetric jet. The focus is on those properties that are relevant to the prediction of noise. Measurements are performed using two single hot-wire anemometers as well as a two-component anemometer. Two-point cross correlations of the axial velocity fluctuations and of the fluctuations in the square of the axial velocity fluctuations are presented. Several reference locations in the jet are used including points on the jet lip and centerline. The scales of the turbulence and the convection velocity are determined, both in an overall sense as well as a function of frequency. The relationship between the second and fourth order correlations is developed and compared with the experimental data. The implications of the use of dimensional as well as non-dimensional correlations are considered. Finally, a comparison is made between the length scales deduced from the flow measurements and a RANS CFD calculation.
A Tale of Two Time Zones: The Impact of Substitutes on Cross-Listed Stock Liquidity

This article examines how the market quality of European cross-listed stocks is affected by the partial-day availability of close substitutes, i.e., shares of the same companies that are traded in their home markets but are not fully fungible with the cross-listed shares. Our findings suggest that narrower spreads and more competitive liquidity provision during overlapping trading hours reflect a significant impact from the availability of more substitutes in addition to the enhanced information environment and liquidity externalities when home markets are open. Our results also provide a richer picture of specialists’ intraday activities and offer new evidence of market integration.
Signatures of incipient jamming in collisional hopper flows

Many disordered systems experience a transition from a fluid-like state to a solid-like state following a sudden arrest in dynamics called jamming. In contrast to jamming in spatially homogeneous systems, jamming in hoppers occurs under extremely inhomogeneous conditions as the gravity-driven flow of grains enclosed by rigid walls converges towards a small opening. In this work, we study velocity fluctuations in a collisional flow near jamming using event-driven simulations. The average flow in a hopper geometry is known to have strong gradients, especially near the walls and the orifice. We find, in addition, a spatially heterogeneous distribution of fluctuations, most striking in the velocity autocorrelation relaxation times. At high flow rates, the flow at the center has lower kinetic temperatures and longer autocorrelation times than at the boundary. Remarkably, however, this trend reverses itself as the flow rate slows, with fluctuations relaxing more slowly at the boundaries though the kinetic temperatures remain high in that region. The slowing down of the dynamics is accompanied by increasing non-Gaussianity in the velocity distributions, which also have large spatial variations.
Constraining Higher Derivative Supergravity with Scattering Amplitudes

We study supersymmetry constraints on higher derivative deformations of type IIB supergravity by consideration of superamplitudes. Thus, combining constraints of on-shell supervertices and basic results from string perturbation theory, we give a simple argument for the non-renormalization theorem of Green and Sethi, and some of its generalizations.
NO2 Storage and Reduction in Barium Oxide Supported on Magnesium Oxide Studied by in Situ Raman Spectroscopy

The mechanism for NO2 storage in barium oxide supported on magnesium oxide (BaO/MgO) was investigated. In situ Raman spectroscopy and XRD were used to follow temporal changes in the composition of the storage material that occurred during the storage process, i.e., during the reaction of 14 mol % BaO with NO2 and NO2/O2, and the reduction of the stored NO2 with CO. Above 200 °C, the interaction of BaO with NO2 leads to both the formation of nitrate and nitrite ions, which, up to 400 °C, occurs via an intermediate barium−nitro species. At lower loadings (7 mol %), a destabilization of the barium−nitro species but an enhanced rate for nitrate formation is observed. Similarly, the presence of oxygen enhances the rate for nitrate formation, but suppresses the formation of nitro species. CO reduces the stored NO2 only above 500 °C and leads to the formation of thermally stable carbonates. In the presence of NO2, however, they are displaced during the formation of nitrates at 400 °C.
New Phenomena in SU(3) Supersymmetric Gauge Theory

We show that four-dimensional N = 2 supersymmetric SU(N) gauge theory for N > 2 necessarily contains vacua with mutually non-local massless dyons, using only analyticity of the effective action and the weak coupling limit of the moduli space of vacua. A specific example is the ℤ3 point in the exact solution for SU(3), and we study its effective Lagrangian. We propose that the low-energy theory at this point is an N = 2 superconformal U(1) gauge theory containing both electrically and magnetically charged massless hypermultiplets.
Impact of Terrorism on Investment Decisions of Farmers: Evidence from the Punjab Insurgency

This article provides evidence for a particular channel through which sustained terrorism in rural areas may affect growth in developing countries. Using micro-level data from agricultural surveys during the period of insurgency in Punjab (India), I find significant negative effects of terrorism on the level of investment in long-term agricultural technology, but effects are small and insignificant for short-term investment. The presence of a major terrorist incident in a district in a year reduces long-term fixed investment by around 17 percent after controlling for district fixed-effects, time trends, district trends, and other farm-level controls. These negative effects are greater for richer farmers and those living in bordering districts. This results in a farmer losing close to 4 percent of his income annually because of the insurgency.
Synthesis of Phosphonate Analogues of the Antiviral Cyclopropane Nucleoside A-5021

A series of phosphonate analogues of the antiviral cyclopropane nucleoside A-5021 were synthesized from (1S*, 7R*)-3,5-dioxa-4,4-diphenylbicyclo[5. 1.0]octane-l-methanol by a 10-step process. In contrast to the potent antiherpetic activity of A-5021, they were all devoid of antiviral activity.
Use of a novel vasoactive-ventilation-renal score to predict outcomes after paediatric cardiac surgery

OBJECTIVES: Prior studies have established peak postoperative lactate and the vasoactive-inotrope score (VIS) as modest predictors of outcome following paediatric cardiac surgery. We developed a novel vasoactive-ventilation-renal (VVR) score and aimed to determine if this index, which incorporates postoperative respiratory, cardiovascular and renal function, would more consistently predict outcome in this patient population. METHODS: We performed an Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective analysis of 222 infants at our institution less than 365 days old who underwent surgery for congenital heart disease at our centre from January 2009 to April 2013. The VVR score was calculated as follows: vasoactive-inotrope score + ventilation index + (change in serum creatinine from baseline × 10). For all patients, peak lactate and admission, peak, and 48 h VIS and VVR were recorded. RESULTS: For all outcome measures, areas under the curve for 48-h VVR were greater than its corresponding admission and peak values, VIS alone at all three time points and peak lactate. On multivariate regression, 48-h VVR was strongly associated with prolonged intubation [odds ratio (OR): 39.13, P<0.0001], significantly more so than 48-h VIS (odds ratio: 6.18, P<0.0001) and peak lactate (odds ratio: 2.52, P= 0.017). The 48-h VVR was also more significantly associated with prolonged use of vasoactive infusions, chest tube drainage and ICU and hospital stay when compared with VIS alone and peak lactate. CONCLUSIONS: The novel 48-h VVR was a robust predictor of outcome following paediatric cardiac surgery and outperformed the VIS and peak postoperative lactate.
Adaptive autocentering control for an active magnetic bearing supporting a rotor with unknown mass imbalance

This paper presents a new approach, called adaptive autocentering, that compensates for transmitted force due to imbalance in an active magnetic bearing system. Under the proposed control law, a rigid rotor achieves rotation about the mass center and principal axis of inertia. The basic principle of this approach is to perform on-line identification of the physical characteristics of rotor imbalance and to use the identification results to tune a stabilizing controller. This approach differs from the usual strategy of adaptive feedforward compensation, which models the effect of imbalance as an external disturbance or measurement noise, and then cancels this effect by generating a synchronous reference signal. Unlike adaptive feedforward compensation, adaptive autocentering control is frequency independent and works under varying rotor speed. Performance of the control algorithm is demonstrated in simulation examples for the case of rigid rotors with static or dynamic imbalance.
High Efficiency Resonant DC/DC Converter Utilizing a Resistance Compression Network

This paper presents a new topology for a high-efficiency dc/dc resonant power converter that utilizes a resistance compression network (RCN) to provide simultaneous zero-voltage switching and near-zero-current switching across a wide range of input voltage, output voltage, and power levels. The RCN maintains desired current waveforms over a wide range of voltage operating conditions. The use of ON/OFF control in conjunction with narrowband frequency control enables high efficiency to be maintained across a wide range of power levels. The converter implementation provides galvanic isolation and enables large (greater than 1:10) voltage conversion ratios, making the system suitable for large step-up conversion in applications such as distributed photovoltaic converters. Experimental results from a 200-W prototype operating at 500 kHz show that over 95% efficiency is maintained across an input voltage range of 25-40 V with an output voltage of 400 V. It is also shown that the converter operates very efficiently over a wide output voltage range of 250-400 V, and a wide output power range of 20-200 W. These experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design.
Lens Spaces, Isospectral on Forms but not on Functions

This paper means to correct an error by the authors for the composite $q$ case in the paper "Lens Spaces, Isospectral on Forms but not on Functions", published in LMS J. Comput. Math.} 9 (2006), 270-286. All calculations and examples presented in \cite{GM} for prime $q$ remain valid, and we include detailed calculations below justifying this. Our original mistake was to conclude that Formula (3.11) \cite[p. 399]{Ikeda} remained true for all $q$ when in fact it is only valid if $q$ is prime. This means formulas (3) and (4) in \cite{GM} must be reworked to account for complications when $q$ is composite.
Computing differential invariants of hybrid systems as fixedpoints

We introduce a fixedpoint algorithm for verifying safety properties of hybrid systems with differential equations whose right-hand sides are polynomials in the state variables. In order to verify nontrivial systems without solving their differential equations and without numerical errors, we use a continuous generalization of induction, for which our algorithm computes the required differential invariants. As a means for combining local differential invariants into global system invariants in a sound way, our fixedpoint algorithm works with a compositional verification logic for hybrid systems. With this compositional approach we exploit locality in system designs. To improve the verification power, we further introduce a saturation procedure that refines the system dynamics successively with differential invariants until safety becomes provable. By complementing our symbolic verification algorithm with a robust version of numerical falsification, we obtain a fast and sound verification procedure. We verify roundabout maneuvers in air traffic management and collision avoidance in train control and car control.
On a Diophantine Equation That Generates All Integral Apollonian Gaskets

A remarkably simple Diophantine quadratic equation is known to generate all, Apollonian integral gaskets (disk packings). A new derivation of this formula is presented here based on inversive geometry. Also, occurrence of Pythagorean triples in such gaskets is discussed.
Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012.

Importance More than one-third of adults and 17% of youth in the United States are obese, although the prevalence remained stable between 2003-2004 and 2009-2010. Objective To provide the most recent national estimates of childhood obesity, analyze trends in childhood obesity between 2003 and 2012, and provide detailed obesity trend analyses among adults. Design, Setting, and Participants Weight and height or recumbent length were measured in 9120 participants in the 2011-2012 nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Main Outcomes and Measures In infants and toddlers from birth to 2 years, high weight for recumbent length was defined as weight for length at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts. In children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years, obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific CDC BMI-for-age growth charts. In adults, obesity was defined as a BMI greater than or equal to 30. Analyses of trends in high weight for recumbent length or obesity prevalence were conducted overall and separately by age across 5 periods (2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2009-2010, and 2011-2012). Results In 2011-2012, 8.1% (95% CI, 5.8%-11.1%) of infants and toddlers had high weight for recumbent length, and 16.9% (95% CI, 14.9%-19.2%) of 2- to 19-year-olds and 34.9% (95% CI, 32.0%-37.9%) of adults (age-adjusted) aged 20 years or older were obese. Overall, there was no significant change from 2003-2004 through 2011-2012 in high weight for recumbent length among infants and toddlers, obesity in 2- to 19-year-olds, or obesity in adults. Tests for an interaction between survey period and age found an interaction in children ( P = .03) and women ( P = .02). There was a significant decrease in obesity among 2- to 5-year-old children (from 13.9% to 8.4%; P = .03) and a significant increase in obesity among women aged 60 years and older (from 31.5% to 38.1%; P = .006). Conclusions and Relevance Overall, there have been no significant changes in obesity prevalence in youth or adults between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012. Obesity prevalence remains high and thus it is important to continue surveillance.
Phase Noise and Jitter in CMOS Ring Oscillators

A simple, physically based analysis illustrate the noise processes in CMOS inverter-based and differential ring oscillators. A time-domain jitter calculation method is used to analyze the effects of white noise, while random VCO modulation most straightforwardly accounts for flicker (1/f) noise. Analysis shows that in differential ring oscillators, white noise in the differential pairs dominates the jitter and phase noise, whereas the phase noise due to flicker noise arises mainly from the tail current control circuit. This is validated by simulation and measurement. Straightforward expressions for period jitter and phase noise enable manual design of a ring oscillator to specifications, and guide the choice between ring and LC oscillator
Investigation of charge sharing among electrode strips for a CdZnTe detector

Abstract We have investigated charge sharing among the anode strips of a CdZnTe (CZT) detector using a 30 μm collimated gamma-ray beam. We compared the laboratory measurements with the predictions from our modeling of the charge transport within the detector. The results indicate that charge sharing is a function of the interaction depth and the energy of the incoming photon. Also, depending on depth, a fraction of the electrons might drift to the inter-anode region causing incomplete charge collection. Here, we show that photoelectron range and diffusion of the charge cloud are the principal causes of charge sharing and obtain limits on the size of the electron cloud as a function of position in the detector.
A Defense of a Particularist Research Program

What makes some acts morally right and others morally wrong? Traditionally, philosophers have thought that in order to answer this question we must find and formulate exceptionless moral principles—principles that capture all and only morally right actions. Utilitarianism and Kantianism are paradigmatic examples of such attempts. In recent years, however, there has been a growing interest in a novel approach—Particularism—although its precise content is still a matter of controversy. In this paper I develop and motivate a new formulation of particularism as a research program and I show that my formulation is not vulnerable to the most common objections to particularism. Moreover, I argue that the particularist research program shows enough promise to warrant further exploration.
Update on Childhood Urinary Tract Infections and Reflux

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common and potentially serious source of morbidity in infants and children. In the absence of identifiable structural and/or functional abnormality of the urinary tract that would predispose to UTI, such as vesicoureteric reflux (VUR), significant and permanent injury to the renal parenchyma (pyelonephritic scarring) from UTI is uncommon. However, those patients with such predisposing conditions are at risk for adverse long-term outcomes of pyelonephritic scarring such as hypertension and/or impairment of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Although the acute symptomatology usually responds promptly to proper antibiotic therapy, the treating physician must be concerned with a number of intermediate and long-term health outcomes. Specifically, is bacteriuria associated with renal parenchymal inflammation? If so, will it heal with restoration of normal architecture (and function), or will there be replacement of formerly healthy renal tissue with fibrosis? How can future UTIs, each with their attendant risk of pyelonephritic scarring, be prevented? What combination of initial diagnostic tests and follow-up management are best suited for which patients to minimize such adverse outcomes? The approach to the diagnostic evaluation for structural and functional disturbances in the urinary tract that would predispose to UTI has evolved to answer these questions. This review will focus on the recent advances in the detection and management of uropathology associated with UTI, particularly that of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR).
Productivity, taxes, and hours worked in Spain: 1970–2015

In the early 1970s, hours worked per working-age person in Spain were higher than in the United States. Starting in 1975, however, hours worked in Spain fell by 40%. We find that 80% of the decline in hours worked can be accounted for by the evolution of taxes in an otherwise standard neoclassical growth model. Although taxes play a crucial role, we cannot argue that taxes drive all of the movements in hours worked. In particular, the model underpredicts the large decrease in hours in 1975–1986 and the large increase in hours in 1994–2007. The lack of productivity growth in Spain during 1994–2015 has little impact on the model’s prediction for hours worked.
Analyzing Nonblocking Switching Networks using Linear Programming (Duality)

The main task in analyzing a switching network design (including circuit-, multirate-, and photonic-switching) is to determine the minimum number of some switching components so that the design is non-blocking in some sense (e.g., strict- or wide-sense). We show that, in many cases, this task can be accomplished with a simple two-step strategy: (1) formulate a linear program whose optimum value is a bound for the minimum number we are seeking, and (2) specify a solution to the dual program, whose objective value by weak duality immediately yields a sufficient condition for the design to be non-blocking. We illustrate this technique through a variety of examples, ranging from circuit to multirate to photonic switching, from unicast to $f$- cast and multicast, and from strict- to wide-sense non-blocking. The switching architectures in the examples are of Clos-type and Banyan- type, which are the two most popular architectural choices for designing non- blocking switching networks. To prove the result in the multirate Clos network case, we formulate a new problem called {\sc dynamic weighted edge coloring} which generalizes the {\sc dynamic bin packing} problem. We then design an algorithm with competitive ratio $5.6355$ for the problem. The algorithm is analyzed using the linear programming technique. We also show that no algorithm can have competitive ratio better than $4-O(\log n/n)$ for this problem. New lower- and upper-bounds for multirate wide-sense non-blocking Clos networks follow, improving upon a couple of $10$-year-old bounds on the same problem.
Isotropic MIMO interference channels without CSIT: The loss of degrees of freedom

This paper studies two-user MIMO interference channel with isotropic fading. We assume that users are equipped with arbitrary number of antennas and the channel state information (CSI) is available at receivers only. An outer bound is obtained for the degree of freedom region, which suggests the loss of degrees of freedom due to the lack of CSI at transmitters under many circumstances.
Environmental Policy Making in a Second-Best Setting

This paper uses analytically tractable and numerically solved general equilibrium models to examine the significance of pre-existing distortions in factor markets for revenueneutral environmental tax reforms and for various policies involving pollution quotas and permits. Results indicate that pre-existing factor taxes generally raise the costs of these environmental policies. This reflects a tax-interaction effect: the lowering of real factor returns resulting from the higher output prices occasioned by environmental taxes and other regulations. The revenue-recycling effect ‐ stemming from the use of environmental tax revenues to finance cuts in pre-existing factor taxes ‐ helps reduce policy costs, but under plausible assumptions does not eliminate the costs of such policies: the double dividend does not materialize. Even if it does not produce a double dividend, the revenue-recycling effect is important for reducing policy costs. Policies that fail to exploit the revenue-recycling effect suffer significant disadvantages in terms of efficiency. Like environmental taxes, freely allocated (or grandfathered) pollution quotas or permits, for example, produce a costly tax-interaction effect, yet such quotas or permits do not enjoy the offsetting revenue-recycling effect. Auctioning the permits or quotas makes possible the revenue-recycling effect and allows given pollutionabatement targets to be achieved at lower cost. The failure to exploit the revenuerecycling effect can alter the sign of overall efficiency impact. Indeed, if marginal environmental benefits from pollution reductions are below a certain threshold value, then any level of pollution abatement through freely allocated quotas or permits is efficiency-reducing. The tax-interaction effect is relevant to government regulation outside the environmental area. To the extent that regulations on international trade or agricultural production raise output prices and thereby reduce real factor returns, these regulations exacerbate the factor-market distortions from pre-existing taxes and thus involve higher social costs than would be indicated by partial equilibrium analyses. * The author gratefully acknowledges the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant SBR9613458) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Grant R825313-01) for financial support.
School-Based Learning for Individual Diversity in Education: The SLIDE Project.

Whole-School Professional Development (PD) days held regularly in schools are designed to promote and up-skill school staff on relevant areas of educational policy and practice. An aim of PD days is to empower participants with new knowledges and skills, and to confirm that current practices and interpretations of education policy and procedure are correct. In determining the nature of the professional development content, school executives make decisions based on their perceived needs of the staffing group, available speakers, current departmental policy and practice requirements. Deciding the topics for the professional development day for school staff has tended to adopt a ‘one size fits all’ general approach that is rationalised as being broad in nature and of benefit to all. In adopting such an approach to a diverse teaching cohort, one may question just how valuable and meaningful this training day is in meeting the individual needs of all participating teachers. This paper reports on the benefits a more individualised approach to a whole-school PD training day had for one government primary school in Australia. Foundational to the detailed design of the PD days, the ‘School-based Learning for Individual Diversity in Education’ (SLIDE) project proceeded by identifying the individual needs of each staff member in the school community through an interview prior to the delivery of the two-day training. Embedded in an action research model, the SLIDE project reported evidence of improved teacher self-confidence, improved communication between all levels, and a boost to the level of whole-school staff cohesion and morale.
Observations of Pulsar Spectra

The observed width of spectral features in CP 0328, CP 0834, and CP 1919 are approxmately proportional to the fourth power of frequency, thus supporting the hypothesis that the slow spectral variations of these pulsars are due to interstellar scintillation. The spectral features in CP 0834, CP 1133, and CP 1919 are observed to drift systematically at rates compatible with a simple interstellar scintillation model. Pulsar velocities of ~ 100 km sec−1 are inferred from these spectral drift rates.
Stigler's approach to recovering the distribution of first significant digits in natural data sets

Abstract Benford’s Law can be seen as one of the many first significant digit (FSD) distributions in a family of monotonically decreasing distributions. We examine the interrelationship between Benford and other monotonically decreasing distributions such as those arising from Stigler, Zipf, and the power laws. We examine the theoretical basis of the Stigler distribution and extend his reasoning by incorporating FSD first-moment information into information-theoretic methods. We present information-theoretic methods as a way to describe, connect, and unify these related distributions and thereby extend the reach of Benford’s Law and FSD research more generally.
Bank Regulation in the United States

There have been major changes in the banking system structure and several new banking laws over time that have had major impact on banks in the USA. In response to the 1980s and early 1990s crisis, and the more recent mortgage market meltdown that began in the summer of 2007, the banking industry and regulations governing banks changed profoundly and rapidly with even more changes likely to take place. It is therefore important to delineate the nature of these changes, particularly in comparison to the pre-crisis character of the US banking system and regulatory environment. In particular, this article discusses the regulatory changes that have emerged in response to the decline in the role of banks in firms’ external financing, and the rise in noninterest-generating activities; the blurring of distinctions between banks and other depository institutions, and between banking companies and other financial intermediaries; the growing complexity of banking organizations, both in a corporate hierarchy sense, and with respect to the range of activities in which they can engage; the more intense globalization of banking; and the subprime mortgage market meltdown that triggered a credit crunch and liquidity freeze that led to the worst recession in the USA since the Great Depression. (JEL codes: G21, G28 and G01)
Generic Representation Theory of the Heisenberg Group

In this article we extend a result for representations of the additive group Ga given in [4] to the Heisenberg group H1. Namely, if p is greater than 2d, then all d-dimensional characteristic p representations for H1 can be factored into commuting products of representations, with each factor arising from a representation of the Lie algebra of H1, and conversely any commuting collection of Lie algebra representations gives rise to a representation of H1 in this fashion. In this sense, for a fixed dimension and large enough p, all representations for H1 look generically like representations for direct powers of it over a field of characteristic zero. The following originally appeared as Chapter 13 of the author's dissertation [1].
Control of linear systems with saturating actuators

This paper deals with the design of linear systems with saturating actuators where the actuator limitations have to be incorporated a priori into control design. The authors take a semiglobal approach to solve some of the central control problems for such systems. These problems include stabilization, input-additive disturbance rejection, and robust stabilization in the presence of matched nonlinear uncertainties. The authors develop further the semiglobal design technology which was initiated in their earlier work (Lin and Saberi, 1995) and utilize it to deal with these control problems.
Sleep Deprivation and False Memories

Many studies have investigated factors that affect susceptibility to false memories. However, few have investigated the role of sleep deprivation in the formation of false memories, despite overwhelming evidence that sleep deprivation impairs cognitive function. We examined the relationship between self-reported sleep duration and false memories and the effect of 24 hr of total sleep deprivation on susceptibility to false memories. We found that under certain conditions, sleep deprivation can increase the risk of developing false memories. Specifically, sleep deprivation increased false memories in a misinformation task when participants were sleep deprived during event encoding, but did not have a significant effect when the deprivation occurred after event encoding. These experiments are the first to investigate the effect of sleep deprivation on susceptibility to false memories, which can have dire consequences.
Measuring the dynamic efficiency costs of regulators' preferences: Municipal water utilities in the Arid West

Evidence suggests that municipal water utility administrators in the western US price water significantly below its marginal cost and, in so doing, inefficiently exploit aquifer stocks and induce social surplus losses. This paper empirically identifies the objective function of those managers, measures the deadweight losses resulting from their price-discounting decisions, and recovers the efficient water pricing policy function from counterfactual experiments. In doing so, the estimation uses a "continuous-butconstrained-control" version of a nested fixed-point algorithm in order to measure the important intertemporal consequences of groundwater pricing decisions.
The determinants of faculty patenting behavior: Demographics or opportunities? ☆

We examine the individual, contextual, and institutional determinants of faculty patenting behavior in a panel dataset of 3862 academic life scientists. Using discrete time hazard rate models and fixed effects logistic models, we find that patenting events are preceded by a flurry of publications, even holding constant time-invariant scientific talent and the latent patentability of a scientist’s research. Whereas previous research emphasized that academic patenters are more accomplished on average than their non-patenting counterparts, our findings suggest that patenting behavior is also a function of scientific opportunities. This result has important implications for the public policy debate surrounding academic patenting.
MacDowell-Mansouri gravity and Cartan geometry

The geometric content of the MacDowell–Mansouri formulation of general relativity is best understood in terms of Cartan geometry. In particular, Cartan geometry gives clear geometric meaning to the MacDowell–Mansouri trick of combining the Levi-Civita connection and coframe field, or soldering form, into a single physical field. The Cartan perspective allows us to view physical spacetime as tangentially approximated by an arbitrary homogeneous 'model spacetime', including not only the flat Minkowski model, as is implicitly used in standard general relativity, but also de Sitter, anti-de Sitter or other models. A 'Cartan connection' gives a prescription for parallel transport from one 'tangent model spacetime' to another, along any path, giving a natural interpretation of the MacDowell–Mansouri connection as 'rolling' the model spacetime along physical spacetime. I explain Cartan geometry, and 'Cartan gauge theory', in which the gauge field is replaced by a Cartan connection. In particular, I discuss MacDowell–Mansouri gravity, as well as its more recent reformulation in terms of BF theory, in the context of Cartan connections.
Directed search and optimal production

Abstract I consider a model of directed search where strategic sellers advertise general trading mechanisms. A mechanism determines the number of buyers that will get served and the side payments, as a function of ex-post realized demand. Buyers observe these advertisements and visit one seller without being able to coordinate their visiting strategies. Despite the oligopolistic nature of the model, all symmetric equilibria are constrained-efficient. In small markets, multiple equilibria exist that are not payoff equivalent. This indeterminacy vanishes as the market grows large. I provide closed form solutions for equilibrium prices, profits, and the matching function under any parameter values.
Geometric rationality of equal-rank Satake compactifications

Satake has constructed compactifications of symmetric spaces D=G/K which (under a condition called geometric rationality by Casselman) yield compactifications of the corresponding locally symmetric spaces. The different compactifications depend on the choice of a representation of G. One example is the Baily-Borel-Satake compactification of a Hermitian locally symmetric space; Baily and Borel proved this is always geometrically rational. Satake compactifications for which all the real boundary components are equal-rank symmetric spaces are a natural generalization of the Baily-Borel-Satake compactification. Recent work (see math.RT/0112250, math.RT/0112251) indicates that this is the natural setting for many results about cohomology of compactifications of locally symmetric spaces. In this paper we prove any Satake compactification for which all the real boundary components are equal-rank symmetric spaces is geometrically rational aside from certain rational rank 1 or 2 exceptions; we completely analyze geometric rationality for these exceptional cases. The proof uses Casselman's criterion for geometric rationality. We also prove that a Satake compactification is geometrically rational if the representation is defined over the rational numbers.
Some bipartite states do not arise from channels

It is well known that the action of a quantum channel on a state can be represented, using an auxiliary space, as the partial trace of an associated bipartite state. Recently, it was observed that for the bipartite state associated with the optimal average input of the channel, the entanglement of formation is simply the entropy of the reduced density matrix minus the Holevo capacity. It is natural to ask if every bipartite state can be associated with some channel in this way. We show that the answer is negative.
Introduction to the Special Issue on the Emergence and Impact of User-Generated Content

The growth of the “social” Web has resulted in the enormous growth of what is referred to as user-generated content, or UGC. UGC takes the form of product reviews, descriptions of product usage, “homemade advertising,” blogs, and other consumer-initiated contributions. Following a research competition cosponsored by the Marketing Science Institute and the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative (now known as the Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative), a call for papers for a special issue of Marketing Science resulted in 69 submissions. Of these, eight papers were accepted, covering a range of issues such as how and why people make UGC contributions, the impact of UGC contributions, and new methods for analyzing UGC data.
Ecosystemic Epistemology: Critical Implications for the Aesthetics and Pragmatics of Family Therapy

This paper proposes that family therapy be responsive to both aesthetic and pragmatic considerations. Ecosystemic epistemology, a framework of ideas based on cybernetics, ecology, and systems theory, is suggested as a way of encompassing these different perspectives. Several critical ideas, often ignored by an overemphasis on pragmatics, involve: (a) the function of language in the relation between epistemology and clinical practice; (b) healthy and pathological family ecologies; (c) art and technique in therapy; and (d) the issue of manipulation.
AGENCY RESEARCH IN MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING: A SECOND LOOK.

This paper surveys the recent agency literature, emphasizing its managerial accounting implications. The paper first describes and compares three branches of the agency literature. Attention is paid to the assumptions, focus, contributions and criticisms of each branch. Empirical tests of implications of the agency model are reviewed. Recent theoretical agency papers with managerial accounting implications are then discussed. The last section of the paper discusses possible directions in future research which may increase the insights which the agency paradigm can bring to managerial accounting research.
Competition or Collusion? Negotiating Discounts Off Posted Prices

Abstract Opportunities for buyers to negotiate discounts can blunt competition in the initial posting of prices. It is always an equilibrium for identical suppliers to post price at the common marginal cost. If few buyers have opportunities to bargain, this equilibrium is unique. If many buyers have bargaining opportunities, however, a second equilibrium emerges in which suppliers post the monopoly price and then negotiate discounts individually with buyers. In this equilibrium, discounted prices are above marginal cost and profits increase with concentration. Advance price announcements may help suppliers coordinate onto their preferred equilibrium of posting the monopoly price.
A numerical simulation of the East Asian Seas in March 2002: Effect of vertical grid choice

The sensitivity of vertical grid choice in the hybrid Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) is discussed for the Yellow Sea, East Asian Sea, Japan/East Sea domain. In particular, the logarithmically stretched hybrid vertical profile used oper- ationally at the Naval Research Laboratory is compared to six variations. The variations include a full z-level run, a full sigma coordinate run, and other hybrid constructs that modify the hybrid's transitions depth or the structure of the oper- ational grid. The results are compared to each other and some limited observations in the framework of setting up a rapidly relocatable ocean model. The comparisons show that the operational vertical grid structure is a good first guess design for a rapidly relocatable ocean model.
Attitudes of applicants for surgical residency toward work hour limitations.

Abstract Background There is an ongoing debate regarding the merits of resident work-hour limitations. We postulated that this issue would be a factor in the decision-making process of applicants to surgical residency. Methods Candidates for surgical residency at a university-based program completed an anonymous survey during their visit. Data was analyzed by analysis of variance and the chi-square test. Results Most candidates viewed work-hour limitations as being favorable to their future training. Nevertheless, work-hour limitations ultimately were not a critical factor in the decision-making process compared with issues such as quality of training and program reputation. Candidates ranked “reading in surgery” the most likely way they would spend the leisure time afforded by work-hour limitations. Conclusions Most applicants for surgical residency consider work hour-limitations as being favorable to their training and view the extra free time as an opportunity for furthering their education. However, other issues take precedence when choosing a residency.
Recombination between bacterial plasmids leading to the formation of plasmid multimers

We report here the formation of plasmid multimers in E. coli. Multimers are covalently closed, circular molecules composed of tandem repeats of the monomer plasmid. Multimer formation occurs at high frequency in rec+, recB-C-, and recF- hosts. Multimer formation is not detected in recA- hosts and occurs at reduced frequency in recB-C-F- hosts. We conclude that multimer formation is mediated by a single reciprocal recombination event occurring at homologous regions on the two plasmids.