cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Dioxane Template for Highly Selective Epoxy Alcohol Cyclizations

Ladder polyether natural products are a class of natural products denoted by their high functional group density and large number of well-defined stereocenters. They comprise the toxic component of harmful algal blooms (HABs), having significant negative economic and environmental ramifications. However, their mode of action, namely blocking various cellular ion channels, also denotes their promise as potential anticancer agents. Understanding their potential mode of biosynthesis will not only help with developing ways to limit the damage of HABs, but would also facilitate the synthesis of a range of analogues with interesting biological activity. 1,3-Dioxan-5-ol substrates display remarkable ‘enhanced template effects’ in water-promoted epoxide cyclization processes en route to the synthesis of these ladder polyether natural products. In many cases they provide near complete endo to exo selectivity in the cyclization of epoxy alcohols, thereby strongly favouring the formation of tetrahydropyran (THP) over tetrahydrofuran (THF) rings. The effects of various Bronsted and Lewis acidic and basic conditions are explored to demonstrate the superior selectivity of the template over the previously reported THP-based epoxy alcohols. In addition, the consideration of other synthetic routes are also considered with the goal of gaining rapid access to a plethora of potential starting materials applicable towards the synthesis of ladder polyethers. Finally, cascade sequences with polyepoxides are investigated, further demonstrating the versatility of this new reaction template.
Do Market Pressures Induce Economic Efficiency: The Case of Slovenian Manufacturing, 1994-2001

The Slovenian transition represents a slow, but steady liberalization of constraints on competition. Using a unique longitudinal data set on all manufacturing firms in Slovenia over the period 1994-2001, the authors analyze how firm efficiency changed, in response to changing competitive pressures, holding constant firm attributes. Results show that the period was one of atypically rapid growth of total factor productivity (TFP), relative to levels in OECD countries, and that the rise in firm efficiency occurs across almost all industries and firm types - large or small, state or private, and domestic or foreign-owned. Changes in firm ownership type, have no impact on firm efficiency. Rather, competitive pressures that sort out inefficient firms of all types, and retain the most efficient, coupled with the entry of new private firms that are at least as efficient as surviving firms, prove to be the major source of TFP gains. Market competition from new entrants, foreign-owned firms, and international trade, also raise firm efficiency in the industry. Results strongly confirm that market competition fosters efficiency.
Statistical Modeling of Pipeline Delay and Design of Pipeline under Process Variation to Enhance Yield in sub-100nm Technologies

Operating frequency of a pipelined circuit is determined by the delay of the slowest pipeline stage. However, under statistical delay variation in sub-100nm technology regime, the slowest stage is not readily identifiable and the estimation of the pipeline yield with respect to a target delay is a challenging problem. We have proposed analytical models to estimate yield for a pipelined design based on delay distributions of individual pipe stages. Using the proposed models, we have shown that change in logic depth and imbalance between the stage delays can improve the yield of a pipeline. A statistical methodology has been developed to optimally design a pipeline circuit for enhancing yield. Optimization results show that, proper imbalance among the stage delays in a pipeline improves design yield by 9% for the same area and performance (and area reduction by about 8.4% under a yield constraint) over a balanced design.
Combining weak-lensing tomography and spectroscopic redshift surveys

Redshift space distortion (RSD) is a powerful way of measuring the growth of structure and testing General Relativity, but it is limited by cosmic variance and the degeneracy between galaxy bias b and the growth rate factor f. The cross-correlation of lensing shear with the galaxy density field can in principle measure b in a manner free from cosmic variance limits, breaking the f-b degeneracy and allowing inference of the matter power spectrum from the galaxy survey. We analyze the growth constraints from a realistic tomographic weak lensing photo-z survey combined with a spectroscopic galaxy redshift survey over the same sky area. For sky coverage fsky = 0.5, analysis of the transverse modes measures b to 2-3% accuracy per Δz = 0.1 bin at z –2 are measured in the lensing survey and all halos with M > Mmin = 1013h–1M⊙ have spectra. For the gravitational growth parameter parameter γ (f = Ωγm), combining the lensing information with RSD analysis of non-transverse modes yields accuracy σ(γ) ≈ 0.01. Adding lensing information to the RSD survey improves \sigma(\gamma) by an amount equivalent to a 3x (10x) increase in RSD survey area when the spectroscopic survey extends more » down to halo mass 1013.5 (1014) h–1 M⊙. We also find that the σ(γ) of overlapping surveys is equivalent to that of surveys 1.5-2 times larger if they are separated on the sky. This gain is greatest when the spectroscopic mass threshold is 1013 -1014 h–1 M⊙, similar to LRG surveys. The gain of overlapping surveys is reduced for very deep or very shallow spectroscopic surveys, but any practical surveys are more powerful when overlapped than when separated. As a result, the gain of overlapped surveys is larger in the case when the primordial power spectrum normalization is uncertain by > 0.5%. « less
Effects of race, sex, and victims' reasons for victim‐offender dialogue

This study focuses on victim-offender dialogue files archived by Ohio's Office of Victim Services (OVS). The OVS director was interested in knowing why only one in four initiated dialogue files complete actual face-to-face dialogue. Victim offender dialogue programs based on restorative justice theory have been shown to increase victim and offender satisfaction, decrease offender recidivism, and increase the rate of restitution. An archived data analysis on a sample (N = 212) of OVS completed and will-not-proceed files revealed offender race did not have a significant effect on dialogue completion rate. However, victim sex was found to have a significant effect on dialogue completion. Included are descriptive analyses of victims' stated motivations for seeking dialogue. Victims who state specific motivations for participation in dialogue were no more likely to complete dialogue than those who did not. Results lead to several suggestions regarding other uses of restorative dialogue in the contexts of severe crime and felonies.
Multi-target linear-quadratic control problem and second-order cone programming

It's shown that a multi-target linear-quadratic control problem can be reduced to the classical tracking problem where the target is a convex combination of the original ones. Finding coefficients in this convex combination is reduced to solving a second-order cone programming problem which can be easily solved using modern interior point algorithms.
Understanding Students' Practical Epistemologies and Their Influence on Learning Through Inquiry

It has long been a goal of science education in the United States that students leave school with a robust understanding of the nature of science. Decades of research show that this does not happen. Inquiry-based instruction is advocated as a means for developing such understanding, although there is scant direct evidence that it does. There is a gap between what is known about students inquiry practices and their epistemological beliefs about science. Studies of students ideas about epistemological aspects of formal science are unlikely to shed any light on how they perceive their own inquiry efforts. Conversely, inquiry-based instruction that does not account for the epistemological beliefs that guide students inquiry stands very little chance of helping students to understand professional science. This paper reviews largely independent lines of research into students beliefs about the nature of science and their practices of inquiry to argue that students inquiry is guided by practical epistemologies that are in need of study. An approach to studying practical epistemologies is proposed that has the potential to produce a better psychological theory of epistemological development, as well as to realize goals of a science education that develops scientifically informed citizens. (http://www.cs.uml.edu/ecg/projects/cricketscience/pdf/sandoval-epistemologies-inquiry-learning.pdf)
The isothiocyanato moiety: an ideal protecting group for the stereoselective synthesis of sialic acid glycosides and subsequent diversification.

The preparation of a crystalline, peracetyl adamantanyl thiosialoside donor protected by an isothiocyanate group is described. On activation at -78 C in the presence of typical carbohydrate acceptors this donor gives high yields of the corresponding sialosides with exquisite α-selectivity. The high selectivity extends to the 4-O-benzyl-protected 3-OH acceptors that are typically less reactive and selective than galactose 3,4-diols. Treatment of the α-sialosides with tris(trimethylsilyl)silane or allyltris(trimethylsilyl)silane sialosides replaces the C5-N5 bond by a C-H or a C-C bond. Reaction of the isothiocyanate-protected sialosides with thioacids achieves conversion into amides. Reaction of the isothiocyanate with an amine gives a thiourea, which can be converted to a guanidine. The very high α-selectivities observed with the new donor and the rich chemistry of the isothiocyante function considerably extend the scope for optimization at the sialoside 5-position.
Cross-communication between acetylcholine and VIP in controlling catecholamine secretion by affecting cAMP, inositol triphosphate, protein kinase C, and calcium in rat adrenal medulla

The purpose of the present study was to determine the molecular mechanism of stimulatory actions of ACh and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) by determining the role of various second messengers in the neurohumoral secretion. Toward such a goal, we measured cAMP, cGMP, protein kinase (PKC) activity, 3H-inositol triphosphate (3H-IP3), and 45Ca uptake in the adrenal medulla subjected to various treatments. Stimulation of splanchnic nerve endings increased 45Ca uptake, cAMP content, 3H-IP3, and PKC activity in the adrenal medulla. If muscarinic receptors of chromaffin cells were selectively activated by perfusion with muscarine, 3H-IP3 content and PKC activity were enhanced. Nicotine, on the other hand, increased only 45Ca uptake without affecting any other second messenger. Perfusion with VIP increased PKC activity and cAMP and 3H-IP3 content. None of the procedures affected cGMP content. Interplay among various second messengers was further investigated by studying interactions of nicotinic, muscarinic, and VIP- ergic receptors in modulation of catecholamine (CA) secretion and by using agents known to activate specific second messengers (e.g., forskolin, phorbol esters). Our results show that muscarine, VIP, and phorbol ester facilitated nicotine-evoked secretion by increasing PKC activity, and it was associated with an additional increase in 45Ca accumulation. On the other hand, secretion evoked by nicotine as well as muscarine was facilitated by forskolin without additional increase in 45Ca accumulation. A novel feature of the study is that ACh and VIP activate three types of receptors on chromaffin cells to stimulate and mutually facilitate the secretion of CA by generating various second messengers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Facile oxidative cleavage of benzylidene acetals using molecular oxygen catalyzed by N-hydroxyphthalimide/Co(OAc)2

Abstract Benzylidene acetals derived from 1,2- and 1,3-diols undergo facile oxidative cleavage to give hydroxy benzoate esters with molecular oxygen in the presence of catalytic amount of N -hydroxyphthalimide/Co(OAc) 2 .
A model of political competition with activists applied to the elections of 1989 and 1995 in Argentina

The mean voter theorem suggests that all parties should rationally converge to the electoral center. Typically this leads to an outcome which is unattractive to the rich. This paper develops a general stochastic model of elections in which the electoral response is affected by the valence (or quality) of the candidates. Contributions made by policy-motivated activists can influence vale nce, leading to the failure of the mean voter theorem. The model is then applied to the presidential elections in 1989 and 1995 in Argentina, to suggest why Carlos Menem, who won in 1989 with a populist platform, was able to win in 1995 with quite different policies that favored the upper middle class. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Accounting for Real Exchange Rate Changes in East Asia

Abstract This study measures the proportion of real exchange rate movements that can be accounted for by movements in the relative price of non-traded goods using the framework employed by Engel [1999. Accounting for U.S. real exchange rate changes. Journal of Political Economy 107, 507–538]. Among the 21 bilateral Asian-Pacific real exchange rates considered here, that proportion is found to be trivially small for all possible horizons that the data allow – from one month up to 25 years. This pattern appears unaffected by the cross-sectional variation in either income level, or the degree of openness present among these Pacific-Rim economies. The only qualifications occur when considering fixed (or semi-fixed) exchange rate regimes.
A recurrent neural network for solving the shortest path problem

The shortest path problem is the classical combinatorial optimization problem arising in numerous planning and designing contexts. In this paper, a recurrent neural network for solving the shortest path problem is presented. The recurrent neural network is able to generate optimal solutions to the shortest path problem. The performance of the recurrent neural network is demonstrated by means of three illustrative examples. The recurrent neural network is shown to be capable of generating the shortest path and suitable for electronic implementation.
DENORMALIZATION AND CROSS REFERENCING IN THEORETICAL LEXICOGRAPHY

A computational vehicle for lexicography was designed to keep to the constraints of meaning-text theory: sets of lexical correlates, limits on the form of definitions, and argument relations similar to lexical-functional grammar.Relational data bases look like a natural framework for this. But linguists operate with a non-normalized view. Mappings between semantic actants and grammatical relations do not fit actant fields uniquely. Lexical correlates and examples are polyvalent, hence denormalized.Cross referencing routines help the lexicographer work toward a closure state in which every term of a definition traces back to zero level terms defined extralinguistically or circularly. Dummy entries produced from defining terms ensure no trace is overlooked. Values of lexical correlates lead to other word senses. Cross references for glosses produce an indexed unilingual dictionary, the start of a fully bilingual one.To assist field work a small structured editor for a systematically denormalized data base was implemented in PTP under RT-11; Mumps would now be easier to implement on small machines. It allowed fields to be repeated and nonatomic strings included, and produced cross reference entries. It served for a monograph on a language of Mexico and for student projects from Africa and Asia.1
The Discovery of Y Dwarfs using Data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)

We present the discovery of seven ultracool brown dwarfs identified with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Near-infrared spectroscopy reveals deep absorption bands of H_(2)O and CH_4 that indicate all seven of the brown dwarfs have spectral types later than UGPS J072227.51–054031.2, the latest-type T dwarf currently known. The spectrum of WISEP J182831.08+265037.8 is distinct in that the heights of the J- and H-band peaks are approximately equal in units of f λ, so we identify it as the archetypal member of the Y spectral class. The spectra of at least two of the other brown dwarfs exhibit absorption on the blue wing of the H-band peak that we tentatively ascribe to NH3. These spectral morphological changes provide a clear transition between the T dwarfs and the Y dwarfs. In order to produce a smooth near-infrared spectral sequence across the T/Y dwarf transition, we have reclassified UGPS 0722–05 as the T9 spectral standard and tentatively assign WISEP J173835.52+273258.9 as the Y0 spectral standard. In total, six of the seven new brown dwarfs are classified as Y dwarfs: four are classified as Y0, one is classified as Y0 (pec?), and WISEP J1828+2650 is classified as >Y0. We have also compared the spectra to the model atmospheres of Marley and Saumon and infer that the brown dwarfs have effective temperatures ranging from 300 K to 500 K, making them the coldest spectroscopically confirmed brown dwarfs known to date.
Adaptive homogeneity-directed demosaicing algorithm

A cost-effective digital camera uses a single-image sensor, applying alternating patterns of red, green, and blue color filters to each pixel location. A way to reconstruct a full three-color representation of color images by estimating the missing pixel components in each color plane is called a demosaicing algorithm. This paper presents three inherent problems often associated with demosaicing algorithms that incorporate two-dimensional (2-D) directional interpolation: misguidance color artifacts, interpolation color artifacts, and aliasing. The level of misguidance color artifacts present in two images can be compared using metric neighborhood modeling. The proposed demosaicing algorithm estimates missing pixels by interpolating in the direction with fewer color artifacts. The aliasing problem is addressed by applying filterbank techniques to 2-D directional interpolation. The interpolation artifacts are reduced using a nonlinear iterative procedure. Experimental results using digital images confirm the effectiveness of this approach.
SINGS: The SIRTF Nearby Galaxies Survey

The SIRTF Nearby Galaxy Survey is a comprehensive infrared imaging and spectroscopic survey of 75 nearby galaxies. Its primary goal is to characterize the infrared emission of galaxies and their principal infrared-emitting components, across a broad range of galaxy properties and star formation environments. SINGS will provide new insights into the physical processes connecting star formation to the interstellar medium properties of galaxies and provide a vital foundation for understanding infrared observations of the distant universe and ultraluminous and active galaxies. The galaxy sample and observing strategy have been designed to maximize the scientific and archival value of the data set for the SIRTF user community at large. The SIRTF images and spectra will be supplemented by a comprehensive multiwavelength library of ancillary and complementary observations, including radio continuum, H i, CO, submillimeter, BVRIJHK ,H a ,P aa, ultraviolet, and X-ray data. This paper describes the main astrophysical issues to be addressed by SINGS, the galaxy sample and the observing strategy, and the SIRTF and other ancillary data products.
Market Penetration Costs and the New Consumers Margin in International Trade

This paper develops a novel theory of marketing costs within a trade model with product differentiation and heterogeneity in firm productivities. A firm enters a market if it is profitable to incur the marginal cost to reach a single consumer. It then faces an increasing marginal penetration cost to access additional consumers. The model, therefore, can reconcile the observed positive relationship between entry and market size with the existence of many small exporters in each exporting market. Comparative statics of trade liberalization predict a large increase in trade for goods with positive but low volumes of previous trade.
THE WELFARE EFFECTS OF RESTRICTED HOSPITAL CHOICE IN THE US MEDICAL CARE MARKET

SUMMARY Managed care health insurers in the USA restrict their enrollees’ choice of hospitals to within specific networks. This paper considers the implications of these restrictions. A three-step econometric model is used to predict consumer preferences over health plans conditional on the hospitals they offer. The results indicate that consumers place a positive and significant weight on their expected utility from the hospital network when choosing plans. A welfare analysis, assuming fixed prices, implies that restricting consumers’ choice of hospitals leads to a loss to society of approximately $1 billion per year across the 43 US markets considered. This figure may be outweighed by the price reductions generated by the restriction. Copyright  2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Eccentricity Evolution for Planets in Gaseous Disks

At least several percent of solar-type stars possess giant planets. Surprisingly, most move on orbits of substantial eccentricity. We investigate the hypothesis that interactions between a giant planet and the disk from which it forms promote eccentricity growth. These interactions are concentrated at discrete Lindblad and corotation resonances. Interactions at principal Lindblad resonances cause the planet's orbit to migrate and open a gap in the disk if the planet is sufficiently massive. Those at first-order Lindblad and corotation resonances change the planet's orbital eccentricity. Eccentricity is excited by interactions at external Lindblad resonances that are located on the opposite side of corotation from the planet, and damped by co-orbital Lindblad resonances that overlap the planet's orbit. If the planet clears a gap in the disk, the rate of eccentricity damping by co-orbital Lindblad resonances is reduced. Density gradients associated with the gap activate eccentricity damping by corotation resonances at a rate that initially marginally exceeds that of eccentricity excitation by external Lindblad resonances. But the corotation torque may be reduced as the result of the trapping of fluid in libration around potential maxima. This nonlinear saturation can tip the balance in favor of eccentricity excitation. A minimal initial eccentricity of the order of 1% is required to overcome viscous diffusion, which acts to unsaturate corotation resonances by reestablishing the large-scale density gradient. Thus, eccentricity growth is a finite-amplitude instability. Formally, the apsidal resonance, which is a special kind of co-orbital Lindblad resonance that exists in pressure-dominated disks, appears to damp eccentricity faster than external Lindblad resonances can excite it. However, the wavelength of the apsidal wave in a pressure-dominated disk is so long that it does not propagate. A self-gravity-dominated disk does not have an apsidal resonance. Nevertheless, apsidal waves are excited at gap edges. Although these propagate, their long wavelengths suggest that they are likely to be reflected at disk edges to form standing waves. Viscous damping of standing waves results in eccentricity damping, but at level far below that which traveling waves would produce. Although the level of eccentricity damping due to apsidal waves is reduced to a modest level in both pressure- and self-gravity-dominated disks, whether it drops well below that of Lindblad resonances depends sensitively on the disk's thickness and planet's mass. However, our analysis shows that with reasonable parameters, planet-disk interactions can promote eccentricity growth.
Understanding Incentives: Mechanism Design Becomes Algorithm Design

We provide a computationally efficient black-box reduction from mechanism design to algorithm design in very general settings. Specifically, we give an approximation-preserving reduction from truthfully maximizing any objective under arbitrary feasibility constraints with arbitrary bidder types to (not necessarily truthfully) maximizing the same objective plus virtual welfare (under the same feasibility constraints). Our reduction is based on a fundamentally new approach: we describe a mechanism's behavior indirectly only in terms of the expected value it awards bidders for certain behavior, and never directly access the allocation rule at all. Applying our new approach to revenue, we exhibit settings where our reduction holds both ways. That is, we also provide an approximation-sensitive reduction from (non-truthfully) maximizing virtual welfare to (truthfully) maximizing revenue, and therefore the two problems are computationally equivalent. With this equivalence in hand, we show that both problems are NP-hard to approximate within any polynomial factor, even for a single monotone sub modular bidder. We further demonstrate the applicability of our reduction by providing a truthful mechanism maximizing fractional max-min fairness.
Rational secret sharing and multiparty computation: extended abstract

We consider the problems of secret sharing and multiparty computation, assuming that agents prefer to get the secret (resp., function value) to not getting it, and secondarily, prefer that as few as possible of the other agents get it. We show that, under these assumptions, neither secret sharing nor multiparty function computation is possible using a mechanism that has a fixed running time. However, we show that both are possible using randomized mechanisms with constant expected running time.
A simple auction mechanism for locating noxious facilities

In this note, we analyze a simple auction mechanism for locating noxious facilities such as hazardous waste dumps, prisons, and trash disposal plants. Specifically, we first delineate the details of our auction mechanism. Next, we solve for the symmetric equilibrium of this auction. Finally, we argue that the auction under study is an efficient allocation mechanism.
Five Problems in Quantum Gravity

We present five open problems in quantum gravity which one might reasonably hope to solve in the next decade. Hints appearing in the literature are summarized for each one.
Photodisintegration of the deuteron in the medium energy range

Abstract The photodisintegration of the deuteron is calculated for γ-ray energies in the laboratory from 9.23 MeV to 152.4 MeV. Special attention is given to the range Eγ = = 9.23 MeV to Eγ = 77.3 MeV corresponding to nucleon-nucleon scattering in the laboratory from 14 MeV to 150 MeV. As nucleon-nucleon interaction we use the SM1 potential and for the deuteron we use the Gartenhaus deuteron with 6.7% D state. Calculated is the total cross section, angular distribution for unpolarized as well as polarized γ-rays and the polarization of outgoing nucleons for unpolarized γ-rays. Where possible a comparison with the experiments is made. It is shown that the photodisintegration can impose conditions on the phase shift sets that will allow us to rule out several of the proposed phase shift sets at 150 MeV nucleon-nucleon scattering.
QUANTUM CALCULATION OF INELASTIC CO COLLISIONS WITH H. I. ROTATIONAL QUENCHING OF LOW-LYING ROTATIONAL LEVELS

New quantum scattering calculations for rotational deexcitation transitions of CO induced by H collisions using two CO-H potential energy surfaces (PESs) from Shepler et al. are reported. State-to-state rate coefficients are computed for temperatures ranging from 1 to 3000 K for CO(v = 0, j) deexcitation from j = 1 to 5 to all lower j' levels, with j being the rotational quantum number. Different resonance structures in the cross sections are attributed to the differences in the anisotropy and the long-range van der Waals well depths of the two PESs. These differences affect rate coefficients at low temperatures and give an indication of the uncertainty of the results. Significant discrepancies are found between the current rate coefficients and previous results computed using earlier potentials, while the current results satisfy expected propensity rules. Astrophysical applications to modeling far infrared and submillimeter observations are briefly discussed.
A synoptic characterization of the dust transport and associated thermal anomalies in the Mediterranean basin

In this work the possibility to characterize the daily dust transport and associated thermal anomalies in the Mediterranean through circulation type classification (CTC) methods is explored. The dust loads are estimated through two different sources: the aerosol optical depth (AOD) simulated by the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model in the period 2000–2007 and AOD remote sensed by the NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) in the period 2001–2010. The dust transport from the Sahara is identified linking the AOD anomalies to the thermal anomalies into the Mediterranean, studying the covariance modes of AOD and air temperature at 850 hPa from the NASA Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) dataset. The time series of the expansion coefficients associated to the first two modes, explaining around 90% of the total covariance, allow to describe the dust transport and thermal anomalies in the eastern, western and central Mediterranean sub-basins. The circulation types are classified using the MERRA geopotential height at 700 hPa in the period 1979–2010. Two classification methods are tested, based on T-mode and S-mode principal component analysis (PCA), with 6, 10 and 14 classes. The performance of the CTC methods in the characterization of the dust and thermal anomalies is evaluated and the best method is selected. Results show that a T-mode PCA method with 14 classes allows the characterization of dust transport and thermal anomalies in the eastern and western Mediterranean, while the variability in the central Mediterranean is well characterized by a S-mode PCA method with 10 classes.Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society
The Remote Activation of Chemical Bonds via Metal Coordination

The activation of chemical bonds to cleav- age by mild metal nucleophiles can be achieved by precoordination of a transition metal fragment to a site remote from the bond in question. The following bonds have been activated in this manner by 6 - coordination to an internal arene ring: C Ci n biphenylene, CS in benzothiophene and dibenzo- thiophene, CSe in benzoselenophene, CO in ben- zofuran, and NH in indole.
p-Benzyne derivatives that have exceptionally small singlet-triplet gaps and even a triplet ground state.

In an effort to find a p-benzyne (1,4-didehydrobenzene) derivative with a triplet ground state, we have investigated tetrasubstitution by −F, −NH2, −CH3, and −NO2 groups. These were predicted to reduce the singlet−triplet gap, but none led to a triplet ground state because of unexpected destabilization of one of the radical orbitals. This effect is likely the result of rehybridization of the substituted C atom, which has been observed for substituted benzene and perturbs the side σ and σ* orbital energies of the phenyl ring. The role of substituent rotation on the energy difference between the two nominally singly occupied orbitals (S and A) was then investigated. The energy of the A radical orbital was found to be much more sensitive to perturbations within the σ C−C framework than the S MO. Consequently, we believe that rehybridization of the ring carbons destabilizes the A radical orbital and can lead to large singlet−triplet splittings. To test this hypothesis, calculations on a p-benzyne with 2,6 sub...
Observers for stabilization of systems with matched uncertainty

In this article, we study the design of observer-based robust linear feedback controllers. The uncertainty, which can enterA, and either theB orC matrices, is assumed to satisfy certain matching conditions. Lyapunov techniques are used to establish sufficient conditions for stability, given an uncertainty bound. In particular, sufficient conditions are obtained that, if met, result in stabilizing controllers regardless of the size of the uncertainty entering the system matrix, as long as the standard constraints on the uncertainty entering the input or output matrices are met. As with the case of more general forms of uncertainty, the resulting observers often have high gains. To study performance, the problem of disturbance rejection is considered. Sufficient conditions are presented for obtaining control laws that stabilize the closed loop system, regardless of the size of the uncertainty entering the system matrix, while simultaneously guaranteeing arbitrarily small infinity norm for the transfer function from the plant disturbances to the outputs.
Convenient synthesis of functionalized terphenyls

A convenient synthetic methodology amenable for rapid synthesis of differentially functionalized terphenyls is described. Orthogonality requirements for the incorporation of phenoxy acetic acid and carboxamide function have been satisfied by utilization of hydroxyethoxy group as a precursor of the acid. Highly efficient and universal procedures have been developed for acid and amide formation.
Relativistic Cyclotron Radiation Detection of Tritium Decay Electrons as a New Technique for Measuring the Neutrino Mass

The shape of the beta-decay energy distribution is sensitive to the mass of the electron neutrino. Attempts to measure the endpoint shape of tritium decay have so far seen no distortion from the zero-mass form, thus placing an upper limit of m{sub {nu}}{sub {beta}}<2.3 eV. Here, we show that a new type of electron energy spectroscopy could improve future measurements of this spectrum and therefore of the neutrino mass. We propose to detect the coherent cyclotron radiation emitted by an energetic electron in a magnetic field. For mildly relativistic electrons, like those in tritium decay, the relativistic shift of the cyclotron frequency allows us to extract the electron energy from the emitted radiation. We present calculations for the energy resolution, noise limits, high-rate measurement capability, and systematic errors expected in such an experiment.
Learning Hurdles for Sleeping Experts

We study the online decision problem in which the set of available actions varies over time, also called the sleeping experts problem. We consider the setting in which the performance comparison is made with respect to the best ordering of actions in hindsight. In this article, both the payoff function and the availability of actions are adversarial. Kleinberg et al. [2010] gave a computationally efficient no-regret algorithm in the setting in which payoffs are stochastic. Kanade et al. [2009] gave an efficient no-regret algorithm in the setting in which action availability is stochastic. However, the question of whether there exists a computationally efficient no-regret algorithm in the adversarial setting was posed as an open problem by Kleinberg et al. [2010]. We show that such an algorithm would imply an algorithm for PAC learning DNF, a long-standing important open problem. We also consider the setting in which the number of available actions is restricted and study its relation to agnostic-learning monotone disjunctions over examples with bounded Hamming weight.
Comparative Labour Law

In 2006, Matthias Reimann and Reinhard Zimmermann edited the OXFORD HANDBOOK OF COMPARATIVE LAW, a comprehensive work of 42 chapters treating the development of comparative law, approaches to comparative law, and subject areas of comparative law. One of the latter, by this author, treated comparative labor law. A decade later the work has been revised and updated. This chapter discusses the taxonomy of the subject, the role of comparativism in national law, and the role of comparativism in the contemporary debate on the future of labor law. It dwells briefly on the future of comparative labor law itself.
Domestic law and human rights treaty commitments: The Convention against Torture

ABSTRACTHow human rights treaties will be incorporated and applied domestically must affect how eager states will be to ratify those treaties. This article focuses on two characteristics of domestic legal systems that shape the relationship between international law and domestic law: whether treaties are directly incorporated into domestic law and whether treaties can override ordinary statute. The analysis probes two arguments as to why domestic legal institutions influence ratification decisions, one emphasizing the potential costs associated with ratification and the other emphasizing congruence between domestic values and treaty norms. Survival analysis of ratification of the Convention against Torture reveals that both judicial independence and making treaties equal or superior to statute increase the likelihood of ratification, which is consistent with the norm-congruence thesis. The results suggest new avenues for investigating the relationships between human rights treaties and domestic legal inst...
Upper bound on the products of particle interactions in cellular automata

Abstract Particle-like objects are observed to propagate and interact in many spatially extended dynamical systems. For one of the simplest classes of such systems, one-dimensional cellular automata, we establish a rigorous upper bound on the number of distinct products that these interactions can generate. The upper bound is controlled by the structural complexity of the interacting particles — a quantity which is defined here and which measures the amount of spatio-temporal information that a particle stores. Along the way we establish a number of properties of domains and particles that follow from the computational mechanics analysis of cellular automata; thereby elucidating why that approach is of general utility. The upper bound is tested against several relatively complex domain-particle cellular automata and found to be tight.
Divergent Total Syntheses of Rhodomyrtosones A and B

Herein, we report total syntheses of the tetramethyldihydroxanthene natural product rhodomyrtosone B and the related bis-furan β-triketone natural product rhodomyrtosone A. Nickel-(II)-catalyzed 1,4-conjugate addition of an α-alkylidene-β-dicarbonyl substrate was developed to access the congener rhodomyrtosone B, and oxygenation of the same monoalkylidene derivative followed by cyclization was employed to obtain the bis-furan natural product rhodomyrtosone A.
INVESTMENT FEES, NET RETURNS, AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN 401(K) PLANS

Using a proprietary database of predominantly small to mid-size 401(k) plans administered by nearly 400 unique third-party plan administrators (TPAs), we examine the potential effects of a conflict of interest that arises from the TPA's incentive to recommend its funds for the investment menu. We find that investment fees are highest and net returns are lowest for plans administered by asset management advisory firms, commercial banks, and insurance companies. The higher fees and lower returns are related to the existence of TPA proprietary funds in these plans' menus and to proxies for agency conflicts capturing proprietary trading and revenue sharing.
Reconcilable differences

Exact query reformulation using views in positive relational languages is well understood, and has a variety of applications in query optimization and data sharing. Generalizations to larger fragments of the relational algebra (RA) --- specifically, support for the difference operator --- would increase the options available for query reformulation, and also apply to view adaptation (updating a materialized view in response to a modified view definition) and view maintenance. Unfortunately, most questions about queries become undecidable in the presence of difference/negation. We present a novel way of managing this difficulty via an excursion through a non-standard semantics, Z-relations, where tuples are annotated with positive or negative integers.We show that under Z-semantics RA queries have a normal form as a single difference of positive queries and this leads to the decidability of equivalence. In most real-world settings with difference, it is possible to convert the queries to this normal form. We give a sound and complete algorithm that explores all reformulations of an RA query (under Z-semantics) using a set of RA views, finitely bounding the search space with a simple and natural cost model. We investigate related complexity questions, and we also extend our results to queries with built-in predicates.Z-relations are interesting in their own right because they capture updates and data uniformly. However, our algorithm turns out to be sound and complete also for bag semantics, albeit necessarily only for a subclass of RA. This subclass turns out to be quite large and covers generously the applications of interest to us. We also show a subclass of RA where reformulation and evaluation under Z-semantics can be combined with duplicate elimination to obtain the answer under set semantics.
Harmony: A Hand Wash Monitoring and Reminder System using Smart Watches

Hand hygiene compliance is extremely important in hospitals, clinics and food businesses. Caregivers' compliance with hand hygiene is one of the most effective tools in preventing healthcare associated infections (HAIs) in hospitals and clinics. In food businesses, hand hygiene compliance is essential to prevent food contamination, and thus food borne illness. Washing hands properly is the cornerstone of hand hygiene. However, the hand wash compliance rate by the workers (care givers, waiters, chefs, food processors and so on) is not up to the mark. Monitoring hand wash compliance along with a reminder system increases the compliance rate significantly. Quality of a hand wash is also important which can be achieved by washing hands in accordance with standard guidelines. In this paper, we present Harmony, a hand wash monitoring and reminder system that monitors hand wash events and their quality, provides real time feedback, reminds the person of interest when he/she is required to wash hands, and stores related data in a server for further use. Worker worn smart watches are the key components of Harmony that can differentiate hand wash gestures from other gestures with an average accuracy of about 88%. Harmony is robust, scalable, and easy to install, and it overcomes most of the problems of existing related systems.
$$C^{1,\alpha }$$ estimates for the fully nonlinear Signorini problem

We study the regularity of solutions to the fully nonlinear thin obstacle problem. We establish local \(C^{1,\alpha }\) estimates on each side of the smooth obstacle, for some small \(\alpha > 0\). Our results extend those of Milakis–Silvestre [9] in two ways: first, we do not assume solutions nor operators to be symmetric, and second, our estimates are local, in the sense that do not rely on the boundary data. As a consequence, we prove \(C^{1,\alpha }\) regularity even when the problem is posed in general Lipschitz domains.
Accessing Elaborated 2,1-Borazaronaphthalene Cores Using Photoredox/Nickel Dual-Catalytic Functionalization.

A highly effective method for derivatizing 2,1-borazaronaphthalene cores using ammonium alkylbis(catecholato)silicates via photoredox/nickel dual catalysis is reported. By forging Csp3–Csp2 bonds via this approach, alkyl fragments with various functional groups can be introduced to the azaborine core, affording previously inaccessible heterocyclic isosteres in good to excellent yields. The base-free, room-temperature conditions outlined allow sensitive functional group tolerance, even permitting the cross-coupling of unprotected primary and secondary amines.
Does Earnings Quality Affect Information Asymmetry? Evidence from Trading Costs*

Information asymmetry in financial markets relates to the idea that one party to a transaction has better information than the other. Since financial reporting involves the transmission of valuerelevant enterprise information, we investigate whether the quality of reported earnings can contribute to differentially informed financial market participants. Higher information asymmetry is costly as it increases the adverse selection risk for market participants and lowers liquidity. For a large sample of NYSE and NASDAQ firms, we show that (i) poor earnings quality is significantly and incrementally associated with higher information asymmetry, (ii) earnings quality disproportionately affects information asymmetry for firms with poor information environments, (iii) both innate and discretionary components of earnings quality increase information asymmetry, and (iv) poor earnings quality exacerbates the information asymmetry around earnings announcements. Our results suggest that the standard setters’ efforts to develop accounting standards that improve earnings quality should contribute to a better information environment for market participants and increase stock liquidity. JEL Classification: G12; G14; M41
Axioms of Cooperative Decision Making

Foreword Amartya Sen Acknowledgements Introduction Overview Part I. Welfarism: 1. Egalitarianism versus utilitarianism 2. Social welfare orderings 3. Axiomatic bargaining 4. Cost-sharing schemes and the core 5. Values of cooperative games Part III. Public decision mechanisms: 6. Equal versus proportional sharing 7. Regulated monopoly 8. Strategyproof mechanisms 9. Majority voting and scoring methods 10. Strategyproofness and core stability 11. Aggregation of preferences Bibliography Indexes.
Solution-Based Synthesis and Characterization of Lithium-Ion Conducting Phosphate Ceramics for Lithium Metal Batteries

High conductivity solid electrolytes are promising solutions for extremely high energy density battery systems including Li/air and Li/sulfur. Lithium aluminum titanium phosphate (LATP) ceramics have among the highest reported ionic conductivities and are promising candidates as solid electrolytes. Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 powders were synthesized for the first time via a solution-based method at synthesis temperatures as low as 650 °C. The ceramic powders are characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, solid state magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effect of Li and Al local structure and the presence of amorphous and crystalline impurities on electrolyte morphology and sinterability have been studied in detail.
Titanium-Catalyzed Stereoselective Synthesis of Spirooxindole Oxazolines

A regio- and stereoselective cyclization between isatins and 5-methoxyoxazoles has been developed using catalytic titanium(IV) chloride (10 or 20 mol %) to afford spiro[3,3'-oxindoleoxazolines] in excellent yield (up to 99%) and diastereoselectivity (dr >99:1). Substitution at the 4-position of the oxazole controls nucleophilic attack to provide either the 2-oxazoline or 3-oxazoline spirocycle with excellent (>99:1) regiocontrol.
Recycling ZnTe, CdTe, and Other Compound Semiconductors by Ambipolar Electrolysis

The electrochemical behavior of ZnTe and CdTe compound semiconductors dissolved in molten ZnCl2 and equimolar CdCl2–KCl, respectively, was examined. In these melts dissolved Te is present as the divalent telluride anion, Te2–, which was found able to be converted to elemental metal by electrochemical oxidation at the anode. ZnTe–ZnCl2 melts were studied at 500 °C by standard electrochemical techniques. On the basis of these results, electrolysis was performed, resulting in the simultaneous extraction of phase-pure liquid Zn at the cathode and phase-pure liquid Te at the anode. This new process, involving the simultaneous deposition of liquid metals at electrodes of opposite polarity, is termed herein as ambipolar electrolysis. A melt consisting of CdTe dissolved in equimolar CdCl2–KCl was processed by ambipolar electrolysis, resulting in the production of liquid Cd at the cathode and liquid Te at the anode. Ambipolar electrolysis could enable new approaches to recycling compound semiconductors and semicon...