cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gravitational lens time delays: A statistical assessment of lens model dependences and implications for the global hubble constant

Time delays between lensed multiple images have been known to provide an interesting probe of the Hubble constant, but such an application is often limited by degeneracies with the shape of lens potentials. We propose a new statistical approach to examine the dependence of time delays on the complexity of lens potentials, such as higher order perturbations, nonisothermality, and substructures. Specifically, we introduce a dimensionless reduced time delay and explore its behavior analytically and numerically as a function of the image configuration, which is characterized by the asymmetry and opening angle of the image pair. In particular, we derive a realistic conditional probability distribution for a given image configuration from Monte Carlo simulations. We find that the probability distribution is sensitive to the image configuration such that more symmetric and/or smaller opening-angle image pairs are more easily affected by perturbations on the primary lens potential. On average time delays of double lenses are less scattered than those of quadruple lenses. Furthermore, the realistic conditional distribution allows a new statistical method to constrain the Hubble constant from observed time delays. We find that 16 published time delay quasars constrain H0 to be 70 ± 6 km s-1 Mpc-1, where the value and its error are estimated using jackknife resampling. Systematic errors coming from the heterogeneous nature of the quasar sample and the uncertainty of the input distribution of lens potentials can be larger than the statistical error. After including rough estimates of important systematic errors, we find H0 = 68 ± 6(stat.) ± 8(syst.) km s-1 Mpc-1. The reasonable agreement of the value of the Hubble constant with other estimates indicates the usefulness of our new approach as a cosmological and astrophysical probe, particularly in the era of large-scale synoptic surveys.
Vision guided robots for automated assembly

A vision guided robot system consisting of a stereo-pair of CCD array cameras mounted on the end-effector of a six-axis revolute robot arm is presented. The accuracy of the vision system, the robot, and the manufacturing requirements is considered from a systems point of view. The development of automated calibration methodologies for local and global work volumes of the robot/vision system is discussed. The accuracy of local calibration which is on the order of 1.5 mm is sufficient for many automotive assembly applications. The assembly strategy is described, and multiple-component assembly and robotic fastening with the vision guided robot is reported. >
Agricultural research and policy for better health and nutrition in developing countries: a food systems approach

This article is about the two-way causal relationships between the global food system and health and nutrition. It argues that the global food system begins and ends with health and that the prioritization and implementation of agricultural research and policy should consider health and nutrition effects. An integrated health and food policy approach is likely to be more effective in achieving both health and economic development goals that the current practice of separate sectorial policies. The article identifies a large number of health and nutrition factors affecting and affected by the food system and suggests research and policies to enhance positive effects and reduce negative ones.
Strengthening Labor Standards Enforcement through Partnerships with Workers’ Organizations

Structures of employment in low-wage industries, a diminished wage and hour inspectorate, and an unworkable immigration regime have combined to create an environment where violations of basic workplace laws are everyday occurrences. This article identifies four “logics” of detection and enforcement, arguing that there is a mismatch between the enforcement strategies of most federal and state labor inspectorates and the industries in which noncompliance continues to be a problem. In response, the authors propose augmenting labor inspectorates by giving public interest groups like unions and worker centers a formal, ongoing role in enforcement in low-wage sectors. In three case studies, the authors present evidence of an emergent system—one that harkens back to a logic proposed by the drafters of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) but never implemented—of empowering those closest to the action to work in partnership with government.
Synthesis of side chain truncated apicularen A

Abstract The potent cytostatic agent apicularen A belongs to a growing class of macrocyclic salicylates with unique biological properties. Herein, we present a short enantioselective synthesis of side chain truncated apicularen A.
Error-prone polymerase activity causes multinucleotide mutations in humans

About 2% of human genetic polymorphisms have been hypothesized to arise via multinucleotide mutations (MNMs), complex events that generate SNPs at multiple sites in a single generation. MNMs have the potential to accelerate the pace at which single genes evolve and to confound studies of demography and selection that assume all SNPs arise independently. In this paper, we examine clustered mutations that are segregating in a set of 1092 human genomes, demonstrating that the signature of MNM becomes enriched as large numbers of individuals are sampled. We estimate the percentage of linked SNP pairs that were generated by simultaneous mutation as a function of the distance between affected sites and show that MNMs exhibit a high percentage of transversions relative to transitions, findings that are reproducible in data from multiple sequencing platforms and cannot be attributed to sequencing error. Among tandem mutations that occur simultaneously at adjacent sites, we find an especially skewed distribution of ancestral and derived alleles, with GC → AA, GA → TT, and their reverse complements making up 27% of the total. These mutations have been previously shown to dominate the spectrum of the error-prone polymerase Pol ζ, suggesting that low-fidelity DNA replication by Pol ζ is at least partly responsible for the MNMs that are segregating in the human population. We develop statistical estimates of MNM prevalence that can be used to correct phylogenetic and population genetic inferences for the presence of complex mutations.
PRODUCTION OF HEAVY QUARKONIUM IN HIGH-ENERGY COLLIDERS

▪ Abstract Recent data from the Tevatron collider have revealed that the production rate of prompt charmonium at large transverse momentum is orders of magnitude larger than the best theories of a few years ago had predicted. These surprising results can be understood by taking into account two recent developments that have dramatically revised the theoretical description of heavy-quarkonium production. The first is the realization that fragmentation must dominate at large transverse momentum, which implies that most charmonium in this kinematic region is produced by the hadronization of individual high-pT partons. The second is the development of a factorization formalism for quarkonium production based on nonrelativistic QCD that allows the formation of charmonium from color-octet pairs to be treated systematically. This review summarizes these theoretical developments and their implications for quarkonium production in high-energy colliders.
p-Summing operators on injective tensor products of spaces

Let X, Y and Z be Banach spaces, and let Πp (Y, Z) (1 ≦ p 1, several examples are given with X = C[0, 1] to show that T# can be p-summing without T being p-summing. Indeed, there is an operator T on whose associated operator T# is 2-summing, but for all N ∈ N, there exists an N-dimensional subspace U of such that T restricted to U is equivalent to the identity operator on . Finally, we show that there is a compact Hausdorff space K and a bounded linear operator for which T#: C(K) → Π1 (l1, l2) is not 2-summing.
Sequential Adoption of Site-Specific Technologies and its Implications for Nitrogen Productivity: A Double Selectivity Model

This paper analyzes the sequential decision to adopt two site-specific technologies, soil testing and variable rate technology, and the impact of adoption on nitrogen productivity. The results indicate that while farm location was a key variable influencing adoption of soil testing, farm size, human capital, and innovativeness of farmers had a significant impact on adoption of variable rate technology in four Midwestern states. A double selectivity model applied to correct for sample selection bias shows that adoption leads to significant gains in nitrogen productivity for farms with below average soil quality but statistically insignificant gains for farms with above average soil quality. Copyright 2001, Oxford University Press.
Comparison of institutional arrangements for river basin management in eight basins

This study represents an effort toward understanding conditions that affect successful or unsuccessful efforts to devolve water resource management to the river basin level and secure active stakeholder involvement. A theoretical framework is used to identify potentially important variables related to the likelihood of success. Using a comparative case-study approach, the study examined river basins where organizations have been developed at the basin scale and where organizations perform management functions such as planning, allocation, and pricing of water supplies, flood prevention and response, and water quality monitoring and improvement. This paper compares the alternative approaches to basin governance and management adopted in the following river basins: the Alto-Tiete and Jaguaribe River Basins, Brazil; the Brantas River Basin, East Java, Indonesia; the Fraser River Basin, British Columbia, Canada; the Guadalquivir Basin, Spain; the Murray-Darling River Basin, Australia; the Tarcoles River Basin, Costa Rica; and the Warta River Basin, Poland. The analysis focuses on how management has been organized and pursued in each case in light of its specific geographical, historical, and organizational contexts and the evolution of institutional arrangements. The cases are also compared and assessed for their observed degrees of success in achieving improved stakeholder participation and integrated water resources management.
No flares from gamma-ray burst afterglow blast waves encountering sudden circumburst density change

Afterglows of gamma-ray bursts are observed to produce light curves with the flux following power-law evolution in time. However, recent observations reveal bright flares at times on the order of minutes to days. One proposed explanation for these flares is the interaction of a relativistic blast wave with a circumburst density transition. In this paper, we model this type of interaction computationally in one and two dimensions, using a relativistic hydrodynamics code with adaptive mesh refinement called RAM, and analytically in one dimension. We simulate a blast wave traveling in a stellar wind environment that encounters a sudden change in density, followed by a homogeneous medium, and compute the observed radiation using a synchrotron model. We show that flares are not observable for an encounter with a sudden density increase, such as a wind termination shock, nor for an encounter with a sudden density decrease. Furthermore, by extending our analysis to two dimensions, we are able to resolve the spreading, collimation, and edge effects of the blast wave as it encounters the change in circumburst medium. In all cases considered in this paper, we find that a flare will not be observed for any of the density changes studied.
Parameter and state estimation in power electronic circuits

Techniques for reconstructing or estimating unmeasured circuit variables and parameters in power electronic circuits are investigated. In numerous applications in power electronic systems, measurements of circuit variables are required for closed-loop control purposes or for diagnostic purposes, but are expensive or impossible to obtain directly. The method for state estimation relies on observer theory and is based on an intrinsic Lyapunov function, termed the energy in the increment. For cases where circuit parameters are not completely known, an adaptive estimation algorithm is developed for estimating the unknown circuit parameters along with the unmeasured circuit variables. The exponential stability of the combined parameter and state estimation scheme is established using averaging and singular perturbation analysis. Averaging analysis is used in off-line calculations to determine the feasibility of estimating certain parameters and to determine a basis from which to choose parameter update gains. Examples with an up-down converter illustrate the results. A hardware implementation of the state estimation scheme is also documented along with a description of a hardware implementation for parameter estimation. >
Online submodular welfare maximization: greedy is optimal

We prove that no online algorithm (even randomized, against an oblivious adversary) is better than 1/2-competitive for welfare maximization with coverage valuations, unless NP = RP. Since the Greedy algorithm is known to be 1/2-competitive for monotone submodular valuations, of which coverage is a special case, this proves that Greedy provides the optimal competitive ratio. On the other hand, we prove that Greedy in a stochastic setting with i.i.d. items and valuations satisfying diminishing returns is (1−1/e)-competitive, which is optimal even for coverage valuations, unless NP = RP. For online budget-additive allocation, we prove that no algorithm can be 0.612-competitive with respect to a natural LP which has been used previously for this problem.
Public Regulation and Private Lawsuits in the American Separation of Powers System

This article investigates causes of the legislative choice to mobilize private litigants to enforce statutes. It specifies the statutory mechanism, grounded in economic incentives, that Congress uses to do so, and presents a theoretical framework for understanding how certain characteristics of separation of powers structures, particularly conflict between Congress and the president over control of the bureaucracy, drive legislative production of this mechanism. Using new and original historical data, the article presents the first empirical model of the legislative choice to mobilize private litigants, covering the years 1887 to 2004. The findings provide robust support for the proposition that interbranch conflict between Congress and the president is a powerful cause of congressional enactment of incentives to mobilize private litigants. Higher risk of electoral losses by the majority party, Democratic control of Congress, and demand by issue-oriented interest groups are also significant predictors of congressional enactment of such incentives.
Minimization of the worst case peak-to-peak gain via dynamic programming: state feedback case

Considers the problem of designing a controller that minimizes the worst case peak-to-peak gain of a closed-loop system. In particular, we concentrate on the case where the controller has access to the state of a linear plant and it possibly knows the maximal disturbance input amplitude. We apply the principle of optimality and derive a dynamic programming formulation of the optimization problem. Under mild assumptions, we show that, at each step of the dynamic program, the cost to go has the form of a gauge function and can be recursively determined through simple transformations. We study both the finite horizon and the infinite horizon case under different information structures. The proposed approach allows us to encompass and improve earlier results based on viability theory. In particular, we present a computational scheme alternative to the standard bisection algorithm, or gamma iteration, that allows us to compute the exact value of the worst case peak-to-peak gain for any finite horizon. We show that the sequence of finite horizon optimal costs converges, as the length of the horizon goes to infinity, to the infinite horizon optimal cost. The sequence of such optimal costs converges from below to the optimal performance for the infinite horizon problem. We also show the existence of an optimal state feedback strategy that is globally exponentially stabilizing and derive suboptimal globally exponentially stabilizing strategies from the solutions of finite horizon problems.
Submicrosecond Core Memories Using Multiple Coincidence

Memories using toroidal ferrite cores with cycle timies less than a microsecond are described; the selection ratio is increased by the use of biasing and the multiple coincidence principles of Minnick and Ashenhurst.1 It is shown that this mode of operation leads to important changes in the structure of the store; in particular, the classical core switch does not fulfll the new requirements. The ``two-core switch'' is then briefly described; it permits an elegant and economic solution of the problems arising at high selection ratios. Details of the design and operation of memories embodying these ideas are given; it is shown, for example, that standard core memory matrices can be used very efficiently at a selection ratio of 3:1 to achieve a cycle time of 2 microseconds. Further illustrations are given from a model of a 100×100 store operated at 4:1 and 7:1 selection ratios, and it is shown that a store of 10,000 8-bit characters with a cycle time of 0.25 microsecond is feasible.
Adequacy and economy analysis of distribution systems integrated with Electric Energy Storage and Renewable Energy Resources

Summary form only given. The integration of Renewable Energy Resources (RER) into an existing distribution system is an important topic in dealing with energy challenge the world is facing. With rapid development of Electric Energy Storage (EES) technologies, there is a growing interest in integrating both EES and RER into power systems to improve their reliability and economy. In this paper, the adequacy and economy of distribution systems integrated with both EES and RER are assessed. A novel Model Predictive Control (MPC)-based operation strategy is presented to minimize distribution system energy purchasing cost by coordinating multiple power supplies from EES, RER and external grid. An islanding operation is implemented to improve the distribution system reliability and reduce customer interruption cost. A reliability and economy assessment framework based on sequential Monte Carlo method integrated with the MPC-based operation and islanding operation is proposed. Case studies are conducted to demonstrate the reliability and economy improvement by implementing the proposed operation strategies together with integration of EES and RER, and also investigate how EES capacity, power limit, and wind turbine generation capacity affect system reliability and economy.
Measuring online social bubbles

Social media have become a prevalent channel to access information, spread ideas, and influence opinions. However, it has been suggested that social and algorithmic filtering may cause exposure to less diverse points of view. Here we quantitatively measure this kind of social bias at the collective level by mining a massive datasets of web clicks. Our analysis shows that collectively, people access information from a significantly narrower spectrum of sources through social media and email, compared to a search baseline. The significance of this finding for individual exposure is revealed by investigating the relationship between the diversity of information sources experienced by users at both the collective and individual levels in two datasets where individual users can be analyzed—Twitter posts and search logs. There is a strong correlation between collective and individual diversity, supporting the notion that when we use social media we find ourselves inside “social bubbles.” Our results could lead to a deeper understanding of how technology biases our exposure to new information.
Towards a new paradigm in monetary economics

Towards a New Paradigm for Monetary Economics presents a pioneer treatment of critical topics in monetary economics. Unlike the prevailing monetary theory, this book focuses not on the role of money in facilitating transactions, but on the role of credit in facilitating economic activities more broadly. The 'new paradigm' emphasizes the demand and supply of loanable funds, which in turn requires the understanding of the imperfections of information and the role of banks. One enlightening view is that credit is quite different from other commodities in the sense that the former is based on information and default risk. The book consists of two parts. The first part develops a basic model of credit based on banks' portfolio choices. The second part is dedicated to the policy implications, among which are the liberalization of financial markets, the East Asian Crisis, the 1991 US recession and the subsequent recovery.
Hierarchical regular small-world networks

Two new networks are introduced that resemble small-world properties. These networks are recursively constructed but retain a fixed, regular degree. They possess a unique one-dimensional lattice backbone overlaid by a hierarchical sequence of long-distance links, mixing real-space and small-world features. Both networks, one 3-regular and the other 4-regular, lead to distinct behaviors, as revealed by renormalization group studies. The 3-regular network is planar, has a diameter growing as with system size N, and leads to super-diffusion with an exact, anomalous exponent dw = 1.306..., but possesses only a trivial fixed point Tc = 0 for the Ising ferromagnet. In turn, the 4-regular network is non-planar, has a diameter growing as , exhibits 'ballistic' diffusion (dw = 1), and a non-trivial ferromagnetic transition, Tc > 0. It suggests that the 3-regular network is still quite 'geometric', while the 4-regular network qualifies as a true small world with mean-field properties. As an engineering application we discuss synchronization of processors on these networks.
Length measurement in accelerated systems

We investigate the limitations of length measurements by accelerated observers in Minkowski spacetime brought about via the hypothesis of locality, namely, the assumption that an accelerated observer at each instant is equivalent to an otherwise identical momentarily comoving inertial observer. We find that consistency can be achieved only in a rather limited neighborhood around the observer with linear dimensions that are negligibly small compared to the characteristic acceleration length of the observer.
Attraction-repulsion expectation maximization algorithm for image processing and sensor field networks

ABSTRACT An attraction-repulsion expectation-maximization (AREM) algorithm for density estimation is proposed in thispaper. We introduce a Gibbs distribution function for attraction and inverse Gibbs distribution for repulsionas an augmented penalty function in order to determine equilibrium between over-smoothing and over-tting.The logarithm of the likelihood function augmented the Gibbs density mixture is solved under expectation-maximization (EM) method. We demonstrate the application of the proposed attraction-repulsion expectation-maximization algorithm to image reconstruction and sensor eld estimation problem using computer simulation.We show that the proposed algorithm improves the performance considerably. 1. INTRODUCTION Image processing based on a probability density function (pdf) has been intensively researched. In applicationsuch as image reconstruction from random samples, an image can be represented by a density function andreconstructed by the estimation of the density function. Finite mixture model
Evolution of Tail-Call Optimization in a Population of Self-Hosting Compilers

We demonstrate the evolution of a more complex and more efficient self-replicating computer program from a less complex and less efficient ancestor. Both programs, which employ a novel method of self-replication based on compiling their own source code, are significantly more complex than programs which reproduce by copying themselves, and which have only exhibited evolution of degenerate methods of selfreplication.
The Hazards of Debt: Rollover Freezes, Incentives, and Bailouts

We investigate the trade-o! between incentive provision an di ne"ient rollover freezes for a firm financed with short-term debt. First, debt maturity that is too short-term is ine"cient, even with incentive provision. Th eo ptimal maturity is an interior solution that avoids excessive rollover risk whil ep roviding su"ient incentives for the manager to avoid risk-shifting when the firm is in good health. Second, allowing the manager to risk-shift during a freeze actually increase sc reditor conf idence. Debt policy should not prevent the manager from holding what may appear to be otherwise low-mean strategies that have option value during a freeze. Third, a limited but not perfectly reliable form of emergency financing during a freeze - a “bailout” - may improve the terms of the trade-o! and increase total ex-ante va lue by instilling confidence in the creditor markets. Our conclusions highlight the endogenous interaction between risk from the asset and liability sides of the balance sheet.
Saturation of elliptic flow and the transport opacity of the gluon plasma at RHIC

Abstract Differential elliptic flow and particle spectra are calculated taking into account the finite transport opacity of the gluon plasma produced in Au+Au at E cm ∼130 A GeV at RHIC. Covariant numerical solutions of the ultrarelativistic Boltzmann equation are obtained using the MPC parton cascade technique. For typical pQCD (∼3 mb) elastic cross sections, extreme initial gluon densities, d N g / d η∼15 000 , are required to reproduce the elliptic flow saturation pattern reported by STAR. However, we show that the solutions depend mainly on the transport opacity, χ=∫ d z σ t ρ g , and thus the data can also be reproduced with d N g /d η ∼1000, but with extreme elastic parton cross sections, ∼45 mb. We demonstrate that the spectra and elliptic flow are dominated by numerical artifacts unless parton subdivisions ∼100–1000 are applied to retain Lorentz covariance for RHIC initial conditions.
Macroscopically Separated Gaps in Dimer Coverings of Aztec Rectangles

In this paper we determine the interaction of diagonal defect clusters in regions of an Aztec rectangle that scale to arbitrary points on its symmetry axis (in earlier work we treated the case when this point was the center of the scaled Aztec rectangle). We use the resulting formulas to determine the asymptotics of the correlation of defects that are macroscopically separated from one another and feel the influence of the boundary. In several of the treated situations this seems not to be accomplishable by previous methods. Our applications include the case of two long neutral strings, which turn out to interact by an analog of the Casimir force, two families of neutral doublets that turn out to interact completely independently of one another, a neutral doublet and a very long neutral string, a general collection of macroscopically separated monomer and separation defects, and the case of long strings consisting of consecutive monomers.
Synthesis of substituted 3-trifluoromethylbenzo[b]thiophenes

Abstract A straightforward method for the synthesis of 5/6-substituted 3-trifluoromethylbenzo[b]thiophenes and their precursor o-fluorinated trifluoro acetophenones is reported.
Stereoselective Synthesis of Trisubstituted Vinyl Bromides by Addition of Alkynes to Oxocarbenium Ions.

We have developed an efficient method for the synthesis of trisubstituted (E)-vinyl bromides by a Friedel–Crafts-type addition of alkynes to oxocarbenium ions formed in situ from acetals. The success of this reaction relies on the identification of magnesium bromide etherate as both a Lewis-acid promoter and a source of bromide. This reaction employs simple inexpensive starting materials and proceeds under mild conditions to allow the preparation of a range of vinyl bromide products in high yields and high E/Z selectivities. Furthermore, the vinyl bromides also contain an allylic ether functional group. Both the vinyl bromide and allylic ether groups are effective handles for the elaboration of these useful synthetic intermediates.
Desktop Video Conferencing

As a relatively new delivery medium, desktop video conferencing (DVC) promises to bring traditional face-to-face teaching to computer screens. Although ample literature covers incorporating technology into classrooms, little documents the experiences and perceptions of participants in DVC courses and DVC's effects on teaching and learning. A recent ethnographic study that examined incidental learning in five DVC courses offered at an American university found that incidental learning often overshadowed the planned curriculum and found a high level of participant frustration. The study's results reaffirmed the importance of incidental learning in a DVC course and of developing an environment that reduces faculty and student frustrations.
OpenMC: A state-of-the-art Monte Carlo code for research and development

Abstract This paper gives an overview of OpenMC, an open source Monte Carlo particle transport code recently developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. OpenMC uses continuous-energy cross sections and a constructive solid geometry representation, enabling high-fidelity modeling of nuclear reactors and other systems. Modern, portable input/output file formats are used in OpenMC: XML for input, and HDF5 for output. High performance parallel algorithms in OpenMC have demonstrated near-linear scaling to over 100,000 processors on modern supercomputers. Other topics discussed in this paper include plotting, CMFD acceleration, variance reduction, eigenvalue calculations, and software development processes.
The Shack Interferometer

This paper describes an unequal-path interferometer that requires only one precision component and that can be constructed as a compact and inexpensive instrument. Principles of operation are outlined, and requirements for optical components and alignment are investigated. An actual instrument and considerations for its design are described.
On-line Bandwidth and Buffer Allocation for ATM

We propose a novel on-line algorithm for shared Bandwidth and Buffer Allocation (BABA) in ATM networks. The objective of the BABA algorithm is to guarantee users’ Quality of Service (QoS), while saving as much bandwidth and buffer space as possible to meet the needs of other potential network users. This algorithm proceeds incrementally on each link of a path, when a new user arrives to the network — or when a user terminates a connection. The algorithm uses gradient descent of a cost function which describes the “closest” available allocation for a given loss probability bound. BABA only requires simple algebraic operations, making it practical for fast on-line control. Numerical and simulation results show that BABA compares very favorably with currently proposed resource allocation policies.
Patients with Diabetes and Significant Epicardial Coronary Artery Disease Have Increased Systolic Left Ventricular Apical Rotation and Rotation Rate at Rest

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether resting myocardial deformation and rotation may be altered in diabetic patients with significant epicardial coronary artery disease (CAD) with normal left ventricular ejection fraction. Design A prospective observational study. Setting Diagnosis of epicardial CAD in patients with diabetes. Patients and Methods Eighty-four patients with diabetes suspected of epicardial CAD scheduled for cardiac catheterization had a resting echocardiogram performed prior to their procedure. Echocardiographic measurements were compared between patients with and without significant epicardial CAD as determined by cardiac catheterization. Main Outcome Measures Measurement of longitudinal strain, strain rate, apical rotation, and rotation rate, using speckle tracking echocardiography. Results Eighty-four patients were studied, 39 (46.4%) of whom had significant epicardial CAD. Global peak systolic apical rotation was significantly increased (14.9 ± 5.1 vs. 11.0 ± 4.8 degrees, P < 0.001) in patients with epicardial CAD along with faster peak systolic apical rotation rate (90.4 ± 29 vs. 68.1 ± 22.2 degrees/sec, P < 0.001). These findings were further confirmed through multivariate logistic regression analysis (global peak systolic apical rotation OR = 1.17, P = 0.004 and peak systolic apical rotation rate OR = 1.05, P < 0.001). Conclusions Patients with diabetes with significant epicardial CAD and normal LVEF exhibit an increase in peak systolic apical counterclockwise rotation and rotation rate detected by echocardiography, suggesting that significant epicardial CAD and its associated myocardial effects in patients with diabetes may be detected noninvasively at rest.
Green's conjecture and testing linear invariant properties

A system of l linear equations in p unknowns M x = b is said to have the removal property if every set S ⊆ {1, . . . , n} which contains o(np-l) solutions of M x = b can be turned into a set S′ containing no solution of M x = b, by the removal of o(n) elements. Green [GAFA 2005] proved that a single homogenous linear equation always has the removal property, and conjectured that every set of homogenous linear equations has the removal property. In this paper we confirm Green's conjecture by showing that every set of linear equations (even non-homogenous) has the removal property. We also discuss some applications of our result in theoretical computer science, and in particular, use it to resolve a conjecture of Bhattacharyya, Chen, Sudan and Xie [4] related to algorithms for testing properties of boolean functions.
Evaluation of Magnetic Materials for Very High Frequency Power Applications

This paper investigates the loss characteristics of RF magnetic materials for power conversion applications in the 10 to 100 MHz range. A measurement method is proposed that provides a direct measurement of an inductor quality factor QL as a function of inductor current at RF frequencies, and enables indirect calculation of core loss as a function of flux density. Possible sources of error in measurement and calculation are evaluated and addressed. The proposed method is used to identify loss characteristics of several commercial RF magnetic-core materials. The loss characteristics of these materials, which have not previously been available, are illustrated and compared in tables and figures. The use of the method and data is demonstrated in the design of a magnetic-core inductor, which is applied in a 30-MHz inverter. The results of this paper are thus useful for the design of magnetic components for very high frequency applications.
Gene-by-Diet Interactions Affect Serum 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Levels in Male BXD Recombinant Inbred Mice

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25[OH]2D) regulates calcium (Ca), phosphate, and bone metabolism. Serum 1,25(OH)2D levels are reduced by low vitamin D status and high fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) levels and increased by low Ca intake and high PTH levels. Natural genetic variation controls serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels, but it is unclear how it controls serum 1,25(OH)2D or the response of serum 1,25(OH)2D levels to dietary Ca restriction (RCR). Male mice from 11 inbred lines and from 51 BXD recombinant inbred lines were fed diets with either 0.5% (basal) or 0.25% Ca from 4 to 12 weeks of age (n = 8 per line per diet). Significant variation among the lines was found in basal serum 1,25(OH)2D and in the RCR as well as basal serum 25(OH)D and FGF23 levels. 1,25(OH)2D was not correlated to 25(OH)D but was negatively correlated to FGF23 (r = -0.5). Narrow sense heritability of 1,25(OH)2D was 0.67 on the 0.5% Ca diet, 0.66 on the 0.25% Ca diet, and 0.59 for the RCR, indicating a strong genetic control of serum 1,25(OH)2D. Genetic mapping revealed many loci controlling 1,25(OH)2D (seven loci) and the RCR (three loci) as well as 25(OH)D (four loci) and FGF23 (two loci); a locus on chromosome 18 controlled both 1,25(OH)2D and FGF23. Candidate genes underlying loci include the following: Ets1 (1,25[OH]2D), Elac1 (FGF23 and 1,25[OH]2D), Tbc1d15 (RCR), Plekha8 and Lyplal1 (25[OH]D), and Trim35 (FGF23). This report is the first to reveal that serum 1,25(OH)2D levels are controlled by multiple genetic factors and that some of these genetic loci interact with the dietary environment.
EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL DENSITY AND BUOYANCY ON GROWTH AND GRAVITROPIC RESPONSES IN MAIZE ROOTS

The ability of roots to perceive and respond to gravity has been investigated by botanists for many years (Moore & Evans, 1986). Charles and Francis Darwin (1881) were the first scientists to extensively examine the gravitropic response of primary roots. They observed that the removal of the root cap eliminated the gravitropic response of primary roots. This observation was confirmed by many researchers since the Darwins. The widely accepted theory for the perception of gravity by plant roots is based on the sedimentation of statoliths. This theory currently states that sedimentation of amyloplasts in columella cells of the root cap, which is accompanied by calcium redistribution on the lower side of the root cap, initiates the gravitropic response. However, there are many graviresponding plants which do not have statoliths. In these plants, the plasma membrane or other cell organelles may act as statoliths (Wayne et al, 1990; Staves et al, 1997 a, b, c; Staves, 1997). Edwart (1903) observed the polarity of the rotational cytoplasmic streaming in Characean cells during the gravitropic response. The influence of gravity on cytoplasmic streaming was confirmed by Hayashi (1957). The hydrostatic gravisensing model has been proposed by Wayne et al. This hypothesis suggests that plants sense the gravitational vector via a pressure differential exerted on the cell membrane. This pressure differential results from the action of gravity on the entire contents of the cell instead of specific organelles within the cell. Thus, the entire cell instead of organelles within a cell would function as statoliths. This study investigates the effects of solutions of various densities which alters the environmental buoyancy of cells on growth and graviresponse of primary roots of maize.
Location-Independent Access in Mobile Systems

In this paper, we report on the design of a protocol for transparent, location-independent access in mobile systems. The protocol, termed by us Mobile Client/Server Protocol (MCSP) is an implementation of a communication layer on a mobile host and a stationary machine within the wireline network, and provides middleware functionality. The MCSP supports communication services through the client/server paradigm to transaction-oriented applications distributed between the mobile and a set of service and information brokers. To support the mobile and the wireless environment, a surrogate process is created within the fixed network to perform operations on behalf of the mobile within the fixed network. The MCSP then loosely couples the communicating entities, thus reducing the overhead associated with handoffs and disconnects, so characteristic of the mobile environment. Of particular interest is the application of the MCSP to location-based services, for example, the Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems [1].
Completely N1-selective palladium-catalyzed arylation of unsymmetric imidazoles: application to the synthesis of nilotinib.

The completely N1-selective Pd-catalyzed arylation of unsymmetric imidazoles with aryl halides and triflates is described. This study showed that imidazoles have a strong inhibitory effect on the in situ formation of the catalytically active Pd(0)–ligand complex. The efficacy of the N-arylation reaction was improved drastically by the use of a preactivated solution of Pd2(dba)3 and L1. From these findings, it is clear that while imidazoles can prevent binding of L1 to Pd, once the ligand is bound to the metal, these heterocycles do not displace it. The utility of the present catalytic system was demonstrated by the regioselective synthesis of the clinically important tyrosine kinase inhibitor nilotinib.
Nowcasting in Real Time Using Popularity Priors

This paper proposes a Bayesian nowcasting approach that utilizes information coming both from large real-time data sets and from priors constructed using internet search popularity measures. Exploiting rich information sets has been shown to deliver significant gains in nowcasting contexts, whereas popularity priors can lead to better nowcasts in the face of model and data uncertainty in real time, challenges which can be particularly relevant during turning points. It is shown, for a period centered on the latest recession in the United States, that this approach has the potential to deliver particularly good real-time nowcasts of GDP growth.
Unanimity games and Pareto optimality

A central question in group decision theory is the existence of a simple mechanism that necessarily leads to Pareto optimal outcomes despite noncooperative behavior of the participants. It is shown that the multistage unanimity game is such a mechanism if we assume that the non-cooperative players end at an equilibria which is symmetric and persistent.
Emotion classification: How does an automated system compare to Naive human coders?

The fact that emotions play a vital role in social interactions, along with the demand for novel human-computer interaction applications, have led to the development of a number of automatic emotion classification systems. However, it is still debatable whether the performance of such systems can compare with human coders. To address this issue, in this study, we present a comprehensive comparison in a speech-based emotion classification task between 138 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers (Turkers) and a state-of-the-art automatic computer system. The comparison includes classifying speech utterances into six emotions (happy, neutral, sad, anger, disgust and fear), into three arousal classes (active, passive, and neutral), and into three valence classes (positive, negative, and neutral). The results show that the computer system outperforms the naive Turkers in almost all cases. Furthermore, the computer system can increase the classification accuracy by rejecting to classify utterances for which it is not confident, while the Turkers do not show a significantly higher classification accuracy on their confident utterances versus unconfi-dent ones.
Charitable Organization Oversight: Rules v. Standards

Congress has traditionally utilized standards as a means of communicating charitable tax law in the Code. In the past fifteen years, however, Congress has increasingly turned to rules to stop fraud and abuse in the charitable sector. I review the rules versus standards debate to evaluate this trend. Are Congressional rules the best method for regulating the charitable sector? While the complex changing nature of charitable purpose would suggest standards are better, the inadequacy of IRS enforcement and the large number of unsophisticated charitable organizations both augur strongly in favor of rules. Congress, however, is not the ideal institution to implement rules for charitable purpose. The IRS is the better institution generally to institute rules there because of its informational advantage over Congress. Additionally, the IRS can implement rules in a more flexible rule format than can Congress. Still, Congress as a rulemaker makes sense in a few scenarios: (1) where it implements transparent procedural requirements; (2) where it regulates discrete behavior of charitable organization acts; and, (3) where it intends to remove a set of organizations from charitable status through simple rules.
Hierarchical Self‐Assembly for Nanomedicine

Function at all scales: Hierarchical assemblies of nanoparticles provide routes to multifunctional materials, in which structures at different scales impart different functions. Plasmonic vesicles formed by nanoparticle "strings" are useful both as contrast agents for photoacoustic imaging and as light-activated drug-delivery vehicles.
Ferroelectric-Based Catalysis: Switchable Surface Chemistry

The maximum efficiency of a fixed catalytic surface occurs when the adsorbate–surface interaction strength is optimal as per the Sabatier principle: strong enough to drive the reactions forward but weak enough to permit the products’ desorption. Such a compromise can fundamentally limit catalytic activity. One solution is to create a surface with switchable activity between strong binding (rapid dissociation) and weak binding (easy desorption). On the basis of first-principles theory, we describe a class of catalysts comprising an epitaxial monolayer of a transition metal oxide on an oxide ferroelectric substrate in which reversing the ferroelectric polarization state switches the surface activity between these two limits. As an example, a CrO2 monolayer on ferroelectric PbTiO3 permits direct NOx decomposition and CO oxidation while circumventing oxygen and sulfur poisoning. Our computed binding energy trends are explained by a generalization of the canonical d-band model for transition metals to metal ox...
The pion: an enigma within the Standard Model

Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is the strongly interacting part of the Standard Model. It is supposed to describe all of nuclear physics; and yet, almost fifty years after the discovery of gluons and quarks, we are only just beginning to understand how QCD builds the basic bricks for nuclei: neutrons and protons, and the pions that bind them together. QCD is characterised by two emergent phenomena: confinement and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking (DCSB). They have far-reaching consequences, expressed with great force in the character of the pion; and pion properties, in turn, suggest that confinement and DCSB are intimately connected. Indeed, since the pion is both a Nambu- Goldstone boson and a quark-antiquark bound-state, it holds a unique position in Nature and, consequently, developing an understanding of its properties is critical to revealing some very basic features of the Standard Model. We describe experimental progress toward meeting this challenge that has been made using electromagnetic probes, highlighting both dramatic improvements in the precision of charged-pion form factor data that have been achieved in the past decade and new results on the neutral-pion transition form factor, both of which challenge existing notions of pion structure. We also provide a theoretical context for these empirical advances, which begins with an explanation of how DCSB works to guarantee that the pion is unnaturally light; but also, nevertheless, ensures that the pion is the best object to study in order to reveal the mechanisms that generate nearly all the mass of hadrons. In canvassing advances in these areas, our discussion unifies many aspects of pion structure and interactions, connecting the charged-pion elastic form factor, the neutral-pion transition form factor and the pion's leading-twist parton distribution amplitude. It also sketches novel ways in which experimental and theoretical studies of the charged-kaon electromagnetic form factor can provide significant contributions. Importantly, it appears that recent predictions for the large-Q 2 behaviour of the charged- pion form factor can be tested by experiments planned at the upgraded 12GeV Jefferson Laboratory. Those experiments will extend precise charged-pion form factor data up to momentum transfers that it now appears may be large enough to serve in validating factorisation theorems in QCD. If so, they may expose the transition between the nonperturbative and perturbative domains and thereby reach a goal that has driven hadro-particle physics for around thirty-five years.
Almost-rigidity and the extinction time of positively curved Ricci flows

We prove that Ricci flows with almost maximal extinction time must be nearly round, provided that they have positive isotropic curvature when crossed with \(\mathbb {R}^{2}\). As an application, we show that positively curved metrics on \(S^{3}\) and \(RP^{3}\) with almost maximal width must be nearly round.