cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Can Brands Circumvent Marketing Regulations? Exploiting Umbrella Branding in Financial Markets

Hedge funds benefited from their umbrella brand mutual fund affiliate’s advertising and exploited this effect to circumvent a marketing ban.
The Mortality Cost Metric for the Costs of War

Estimates of the costs of war include the financial costs and the lives that are lost. Using estimates of the value of a statistical life and the value of a statistical injury, the health losses can be converted to a common monetary metric and added to the budgetary costs. Counting the monetary value of the direct war-related fatalities and injuries plays a relatively greater role for the Vietnam War than for the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. This article proposes an alternative war cost metric that also recognizes the lives that are also lost because economic resources are diverted to war efforts. All costs are converted to mortality costs using a measure of the mortality opportunity cost to the public of war-related expenditures. Recognition of these indirect mortality effects approximately triples the number of fatalities attributable to the post-9/11 wars. The relative role of these indirect mortality losses is less for the Vietnam War because of that war’s higher rate of fatalities compared to financial costs.
Titanium-mediated alkylative cyclizations of 1,3-diene-tethered esters.

An alkylative titanium-mediated cyclization reaction of 1,3-diene-tethered carboxylic esters has been developed by employing an in situ generated titanacyclopropane intermediate to afford trans-2-alkenyl cyclohexanols.
Chiral softballs: synthesis and molecular recognition properties.

Studies on the different congeners of the softball were undertaken to explore structural variants for enantioselective encapsulation. Two different spacer elements in the monomeric subunit render the dimeric softball chiral although the monomer itself is achiral. The dimers represent capsules with dissymmetric cavities with volumes ranging from 190 to 390 A3. The cavities are distorted spheres, and asymmetric guests, such as naturally occurring terpenes, generally prefer one enantiomer of the capsule to its mirror image. The selectivities are moderate (up to 4:1). The complexation studies show that the host capsules are flexible enough to arrange themselves comfortably around a guest but still maintain enough rigidity to be influenced by the occupancy of a chiral guest. The enantiomeric capsules can interconvert (racemize) by dissociation and recombination of their subunits.
New Developments in the Photonic Applications of Conjugated Polymers

I. Semiconducting Polymers as Materials for “Plastic” Photonics Devices Solid-state photonic devices are a class of devices in which the quantum of light, the photon, plays a role. Because the interband optical transition (absorption and/or emission) is involved in photonic phenomena and because photon energies from near-infrared to near-ultraviolet are of interest, the relevant materials are semiconductors with band gaps in the range from 1 to 3 eV. Typical inorganic semiconductors used for photonic devices are Si, Ge, and Group III-V and Group II-VI alloys.1 Conjugated polymers are a novel class of semiconductors that combine the optical and electronic properties of semiconductors with the processing advantages and mechanical properties of polymers. Important examples of polymers within this class include poly(p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV), poly(p-phenylene) (PPP), and polyfluorene (PF) derivatives whose molecular structures are shown in Figure 1. The relative simplicity with which high photoluminescence (PL) efficiency polymers of different colors can be achieved is in stark contrast to inorganic semiconductors, where, for example, bright blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) were not available until recently because of the difficulties in growing InGaN films.2 Most of the photonic phenomena known in conventional inorganic semiconductors have been observed in these semiconducting polymers. The dream of using such materials in high-performance “plastic” photonic devices is rapidly becoming reality: high-performance photonic devices fabricated from conjugated polymers have been demonstrated, including diodes,3 light-emitting diodes,4 photodiodes,5 field-effect transistors,6 polymer grid triodes,7 light-emitting electrochemical cells,8 and optocouplers,9 i.e., all the categories that characterize the field of photonic devices. These polymer-based devices have reached performance levels comparable to or even better than those of their inorganic counterparts. For a recent review of progress in plastic photonic devices fabricated with semiconducting polymers, see ref 10.
Hydrothermal Synthesis and Characterization of Sodium Manganese Oxo-Phosphate Na2Mn2O(PO4)2·H2O

Sodium manganese oxo-phosphate Na2Mn2O(PO4)2·H2O (MPOS-3) has been prepared in single-crystal and polycrystalline forms by hydrothermal methods. The crystal structure was determined from a 15 × 15 × 80 μm crystal with synchrotron radiation. In the structure, zigzag edge-sharing MnO6 octahedral chains are connected by PO4 tetrahedra to form two-dimensional planes. A second PO43- group sticks out of the planes by sharing three apexes with three MnO6 octahedra of a zigzag chain. The fourth apex of this PO43- groups interacts strongly with sodium ions that are located between the two-dimensional planes. The sodium ions are exchangeable. Ion exchanging half of the Na+ with Ca2+ expands the surface area from 17 to 45 m2/g. MPOS-3 loses water at about 220 °C. The dehydrated form is stable up to 550 °C, above which O2 is liberated. The FTIR spectrum shows two distinct −OH stretching vibration bands, one at 3627 cm-1 and another at 3437 cm-1. MPOS-3 also demonstrates catalytic activity in oxidation of 2-propanol b...
Photochemical Deposition of ZnS from the Gas Phase and Simultaneous Luminescence Detection of Photofragments from a Single-Source Precursor, Zn(S2COCHMe2)2

ZnS thin films are made by laser driven chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from a single-source precursor, Zn(S{sub 2}COCHMe{sub 2}){sub 2} under vacuum conditions. Photofragments in the gas phase are identified simultaneously by luminescence spectroscopy. The laser selectively activates the initial decomposition of the precursor and drives its conversion to the desired materials under mild conditions. These photolytically produced films are compared to films made by thermal deposition from the same precursor. The deposits from both techniques, characterized by X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, are pure stoichiometric ZnS in the hexagonal phase. Surface morphology differs in shape and granule size. During the laser-driven CVD process, gas-phase photochemical intermediates are identified by luminescence spectroscopy. The luminescent photoproducts are Zn and S{sub 2}, the two elemental components of the final material. Photofragmentation mechanisms leading to ZnS, the luminescent species Zn and S{sub 2}, and the gaseous organic byproducts are discussed. Further characterization of photofragmentation pathways is provided by the trapping of the photoreaction products and by mass spectroscopy. 34 refs., 6 figs.
Sequential 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions in the synthesis of bis-isoxazolo substituted piperidinones

A strategy for the efficient synthesis of novel bis-isoxazolo substituted piperidinones has been developed. The protocol consists of the Michael addition of an unsaturated alkoxide to β-nitrostyrene followed by an intramolecular nitrile oxide cycloaddition (INOC) or an intramolecular silyl nitronate olefin cycloaddition (ISOC) to give III. Grignard addition to this isoxazoline intermediate followed by DCC coupling of the resulting isoxazolidine with nitroacetic acid gave II, and a second intramolecular cycloaddition via 1,3-dipoles result in the formation of the targeted novel tetracycles (I). A solid-supported scavenger was employed to increase the efficiency and yield of the Michael addition step.
A Chemo- and Diastereoselective Ring Closing Metathesis Macrocyclization Approach to the Total Syntheses of Aigialomycin C and D

Abstract In this chapter, we discuss our approach to the syntheses of aigialomycin C and D via a ring-closing metathesis (RCM) approach. While we did not succeed in reaching the final desired targets, the syntheses of epi -aigialomycin D and deoxy -aigialomycin C are described via a remote stereocontrolled RCM macrocyclization. The key reaction involved a highly chemo- and diastereoselective RCM protocol for the formation of the macrocyclic core. In addition, we observed that a remote stereocenter influenced the RCM reaction with respect to macrocyclization.
Preparation and properties of metallic, superhard rhenium diboride crystals.

Single crystals of ReB2 have been prepared from an aluminum flux under inert gas flow. The crystals are typically 1−3 mm in diameter and 500 μm thick, growing along the [002] direction with a distinct hexagonal morphology. Vickers microhardness and nanoindentation testing indicate that the (002) plane possesses the highest hardness with measured values of 40.5 and 36.4 GPa, respectively. The elastic anisotropy was examined and the indentation moduli of the basal plane and an (hk0) plane of unknown indices are 675 and 510 GPa, respectively. Four-probe electrical resistivity measurements demonstrate that ReB2 is the hardest material known to exhibit metallic behavior. Thermogravimetric analysis indicates that the crystals are stable in air up to 1000 °C due to the formation of a protective boron oxide coating.
Highly regioselective synthesis of gem-difluoroallenes through magnesium organocuprate SN2' substitution.

The reaction of gem-difluoropropargyl electrophiles with Grignard reagents is complicated by the inherent difficulty of executing nucleophilic substitutions on a CF2 group, and the facile formation of carbenoid intermediates arising from α-elimination of fluoride. In the presence of an excess amount of a copper salt, a Grignard reagent reacts with gem-difluoropropargyl bromide via an SN2‘ mechanism to produce gem-difluoroallene in high yield. If desired, the resulting difluoroallene can undergo a second nucleophilic attack on the CF2 terminus to yield a trisubstituted monofluoroallene through an addition−elimination mechanism.
Engineering Polymer‐Enhanced Bimetallic Cooperative Interactions in the Hydrolytic Kinetic Resolution of Epoxides

Through systematic variations of the length of oligo(ethylene glycol)-based linkers and the catalyst density of poly(styrene)-supported cobalt-salen catalysts, we have elucidated an optimal catalyst flexibility and density of polymeric Co-salen catalysts for the hydrolytic kinetic resolution (HKR) of racemic terminal epoxides that follows a bimetallic cooperative pathway. The optimized polymeric catalyst brings the two cooperative Co-salen units to a favorable proximity efficiently and hence displays significantly improved catalytic performance in the HKR compared with its monomeric small molecule analogue. Complex Co(5b), representing the most active poly(styrene)-supported HKR catalyst known so far, can effect the resolution of a variety of epoxides to reach ≥98 % ee in 6–24 h with a low cobalt loading of 0.01–0.1 mol %.
A new route to alumoxane gel: A versatile precursor to γ-alumina and alumina-based ceramic oxides

We present a new route for the preparation of gamma-alumina and YAG nanoparticles. Metal salts of ethylhexanoic acids provide good solubility in hydrocarbon solvents and allow efficient ultrasonication. The sonication product is an alumioxane gel, which can reversibly collapse and reform, depending on the solvent used. The dried gel nanoparticles are calcined at temperatures significantly lower than those used in conventional syntheses, resulting in gamma-alumina nanoparticles. This is due to the complete mixing of elements at the atomic level and the small size of the formed nanoparticles.
Synthesis of new chiral pyrylium salts and their phosphinine and pyridine derivatives

Despite their versatility, chiral pyryliums are almost unknown in the literature. Reported here is the synthesis of several new chiral pyrylium salts and the corresponding pyridines and phosphinines. This work more than doubles the number of reported chiral pyryliums, and also represents the first racemizable/epimerizable pyryliums. The derived phosphinines and pyridines represent rare α-chiral ligands for transition metals.
Novel, base-promoted reaction of N-alkoxycarbonyl-O-(halosubstituted 4-nitrophenyl)hydroxylamines

Abstract This paper describes base-promoted reactions of N-alkoxycarbonyl-O-(nitrophenyl)hydroxylamines which contain a halogen attached to the aromatic ring. The reaction is promoted under mild conditions (NaHCO3 or K2CO3) and provides the N-alkoxycarbonyl-N-hydroxyaniline. In a crossover experiment, some scrambling was observed which suggests that the reaction is inter- and intramolecular in nature. N-Boc-(2,6-di-Cl-4-NO2-phenyl)hydroxylamine was also found to N-Boc aminate Bn2NH to form the protected hydrazine in modest yield.
Alkyl and aryl isothiocyanates as masked primary amines

Abstract Primary and secondary (but not tertiary) alkyl as well as aryl isothiocyanates react rapidly with 4-methyl1-1,2benzenedithiol ( 1 ) in methanol at room temperature, releasing the corresponding amines in good yields. This mild and simple procedure for unmasking amines proceeds chemospecifically with isothiocyanates even in the presence of such normally electrophyllic and reactive functionalities as carbolyxate ester and N-alkylphalimide.
[Mn2(AsS4)4]8- and [Cd2(AsS4)2(AsS5)2]8-: discrete clusters with high negative charge from alkali metal polythioarsenate fluxes.

The reaction of Mn and Cd in alkali metal polythioarsenate fluxes afforded four new compounds featuring molecular anions. K8[Mn2(AsS4)4] (I) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2/n with a = 9.1818(8) A, b = 8.5867(8) A, c = 20.3802(19) A, and β = 95.095(2)°. Rb8[Mn2(AsS4)4] (II) and Cs8[Mn2(AsS4)4] (III) both crystallize in the triclinic space group P1 with a = 9.079(3) A, b = 9.197(3) A, c = 11.219(4) A, α = 105.958(7)°, β = 103.950(5)°, and γ = 92.612(6)° for II and a = 9.420(5) A, b = 9.559(5) A, c = 11.496(7) A, α = 105.606(14)°, β = 102.999(12)°, and γ = 92.423(14)° for III. The discrete dimeric [Mn2(AsS4)4]8- clusters in these compounds are composed of two octahedral Mn2+ ions bridged by two [AsS4]3- units and chelated each by a [AsS4]3- unit. Rb8[Cd2(AsS4)2(AsS5)2] (IV) crystallizes in P1 with a = 9.122(2) A, b = 9.285(2) A, c = 12.400(3) A, α = 111.700(6)°, β = 108.744°, and γ = 90.163(5)°. Owing to the greater size of Cd compared to Mn, the Cd centers in this compound are bridged by [As...
Synthesis of Mono N-Substituted Guanylthioureas

Abstract A convenient method for the synthesis of mono N-substituted guanylthioureas in reasonable yields from readily available starting materials has been developed. In contrast to the previously published method, the use of highly noxious hydrogen sulfide is avoided. The method allows the rapid preparation of guanylthioureas since the synthesis of each requires only a single step from a common intermediate, the S-methylated derivative of dithiobiuret.
Towards Lakosian Multilingual Software Design Principles

Large software systems often comprise programs written in different programming languages. In the case when cross-language interoperability is accomplished with a Foreign Function Interface (FFI), for example pybind11, Boost.Python, Emscripten, PyV8, or JNI, among many others, common software engineering tools, such as call-graph analysis, are obstructed by the opacity of the FFI. This complicates debugging and fosters potential inefficiency and security problems. One contributing issue is that there is little rigorous software design advice for multilingual software. In this paper, we present our progress towards a more rigorous design approach to multilingual software. The approach is based on the existing approach to the design of large-scale C++ systems developed by Lakos. The FFI is an aspect of physical rather than logical architecture. The Lakosian approach is one of the few design methodologies to address physical design rather than just logical design. Using the MLSA toolkit developed in prior work for analysis of multilingual software, we focus in on one FFI – the pybind11 FFI. An extension to the Lakosian C++ design rules is proposed to address multilingual software that uses pybind11. Using a sample of 50 public GitHub repositories that use pybind11, we measure how many repositories would currently satisfy these rules. We conclude with a proposed generalization of the pybind11-based rules for any multilingual software using an FFI interface.
Very high density EEG elucidates spatiotemporal aspects of early visual processing

Standard human EEG systems based on spatial Nyquist estimates suggest that 20–30 mm electrode spacing suffices to capture neural signals on the scalp, but recent studies posit that increasing sensor density can provide higher resolution neural information. Here, we compared “super-Nyquist” density EEG (“SND”) with Nyquist density (“ND”) arrays for assessing the spatiotemporal aspects of early visual processing. EEG was measured from 128 electrodes arranged over occipitotemporal brain regions (14 mm spacing) while participants viewed flickering checkerboard stimuli. Analyses compared SND with ND-equivalent subsets of the same electrodes. Frequency-tagged stimuli were classified more accurately with SND than ND arrays in both the time and the frequency domains. Representational similarity analysis revealed that a computational model of V1 correlated more highly with the SND than the ND array. Overall, SND EEG captured more neural information from visual cortex, arguing for increased development of this approach in basic and translational neuroscience.
A simple conversion of amines into monosubstituted ureas in organic and aqueous solvents

Abstract A versatile and highly efficient synthesis of monosubstituted ureas is described. The reaction of an amine with 4-nitrophenyl-N-benzylcarbamate, followed by hydrogenolysis, provides the corresponding urea in high yield and purity. This carbamate can also be employed for the derivatization of water-soluble polyamines (e.g. aminoglycoside antibiotics), while other reagents (e.g. benzylisocyanate) fail to give the desired products in any significant yield.
Synthesis of the Pro-Gly dipeptide alkene isostere using olefin cross-metathesis

An approach to the synthesis of dipeptide olefin isosteres using intermolecular olefin cross-metathesis is presented. In particular, a synthesis of the Pro-Gly isostere (1) is reported. Conversion of N-BOC-proline into the corresponding vinyl-substituted carbamate provides the N-terminal cross-metathesis partner (2). Methyl 3-butenoate (3) is employed as the C-terminal component. Treatment of the two partners in an optimized molar ratio affords the cross product 1 (83% yield). Three other examples are demonstrated to evaluate the potential of the approach.
Synthesis of octalactin lactone and side chain

Abstract Two key intermediates of (+)-octalactin A, a potent new cytotoxic natural product, have been synthesized in a direct, and efficient manner. Lactone 1 was made using a substrate controlled lactonization reaction using the carbodiimide EDCI and two crotylborane additions were used to access the precursor hydroxyacid. The importance of proper substitution in the hydroxyacid tether is noted for successful medium-ring lactonization. Synthesis of the side chain vinyl iodide 2 employed an asymmetric allenylboronate addition.
Na4Mn0.5P0.5O5: Synthesis of a Novel Mixed-Metal Manganese(VII)/Phosphorus(V) Oxide via Hydroxide Flux

Vibrant blue crystals of Na4Mn0.5P0.5O5 were synthesized via a sodium hydroxide flux. The X-ray structural analysis showed that this sodium manganese(VII) phosphorous oxide crystallizes in an orthorhombic lattice with a = 8.967(3) A, b = 7.291(3) A, c = 8.090(3) A: Pnma (No. 62); Z = 4. The manganese and phosphorus cations equally share one crystallographic site and are tetrahedrally coordinated. The (Mn,P)O4 tetrahedra are held together by sodium cations via Na−O bonds forming an ionic solid, [Na4O]2+[(Mn0.5P0.5)O4]2-. The synthesis, structure, thermal property and infrared spectroscopy of the title compound are presented in this paper.
Synthesis and Structure of a Helical Diindenophenanthrene with Four Congested Phenyl Substituents as a Molecular Spiral Staircase

Treatment of 9 with potassium tert-butoxide produced 10 having a helical twist in a single operation. The X-ray structure of 10 shows that the four phenyl substituents are essentially parallel to one another but are virtually perpendicular to the helical axis of the diindenophenanthrene ring system. Viewing from the direction perpendicular to the helical axis, the structure of 10 resembles that of a segment of a spiral staircase having four parallel steps.
Isopropylation of Acenaphthene

Abstract Friedel-Crafts alkylation of acenaphthene with 2-bromopropane and aluminum chloride yields mono-, di-, or triisopropylacenaphthenes, depending on the ratio of the reactants. Substituent orientations are discerned by oxidation, which has given 3-isopropyl-, 2,6-diisopropyl-, 3,6-diisopropyl-, and 2,4,6-triisopropyl-1,8-naphthalic anhydrides.
Synthesis of Biologically Active Glycopeptides

Protein glycosylation is an important post-translational event; however, the role carbohydrates play in glycoprotein structure and function is poorly understood, mainly due to the difficulty associated with the synthesis of this class of molecules. This review describes the types and functions of glycopeptides found in nature and the synthesis of biologically active glycopeptides, including vaccines, antibiotics, ligands of receptors involved in signaling, and various structural motifs found in glycoproteins. The synthetic strategies described in this review cover both chemical and enzymatic methods. In addition, structural studies of synthetic glycopeptides and their mimetics, and chemoenzymatic synthesis of complex glycoproteins with well-defined carbohydrate structure for the study of the effect of glycosylation on protein structure and function are also discussed.
Structure and Bioactivity of Erebusinone, a Pigment from the Antarctic Sponge Isodictya erinacea

Abstract We have investigated the Antarctic sponge Isodictya erinacea as part of our ongoing study of Antarctic chemical ecology. I. erinacea was found to produce a tryptophan catabolite as its yellow pigment. The pigment, erebusinone, causes significantly reduced molting and proportionally increased mortality at ecologically relevant concentrations when fed to sympatric predatory amphipods. This appears to be the first example of molt inhibition as a mechanism of chemical defense.
New and Efficient Synthesis of Azabicyclo[4.4.0]alkane Amino Acids by Rh-Catalyzed Cyclohydrocarbonylation

[reaction: see text] Highly efficient syntheses of azabicyclo[4.4.0]alkane amino acids were achieved by Rh-catalyzed cyclohydrocarbonylation of dipeptides bearing a terminal olefin moiety and a heteroatom nucleophile.
The Preparation of 1,2,3-Trisubstituted Guanidines

An operationally straightforward and efficient benzotriazole-based method for the guanylation of diverse amines by use of the new reagent classes (bis-benzotriazol-1-yl-methylene)amines 13a–13f and benzotriazole-1-carboxamidines 17a–17i is described. The preparation is described for a variety of both acyclic and cyclic 1,2,3-trisubstituted guanidines in high yields.
Compositional Questions Do Not Necessitate Multi-hop Reasoning.

Multi-hop reading comprehension (RC) questions are challenging because they require reading and reasoning over multiple paragraphs. We argue that it can be difficult to construct large multi-hop RC datasets. For example, even highly compositional questions can be answered with a single hop if they target specific entity types, or the facts needed to answer them are redundant. Our analysis is centered on HotpotQA, where we show that single-hop reasoning can solve much more of the dataset than previously thought. We introduce a single-hop BERT-based RC model that achieves 67 F1—comparable to state-of-the-art multi-hop models. We also design an evaluation setting where humans are not shown all of the necessary paragraphs for the intended multi-hop reasoning but can still answer over 80% of questions. Together with detailed error analysis, these results suggest there should be an increasing focus on the role of evidence in multi-hop reasoning and possibly even a shift towards information retrieval style evaluations with large and diverse evidence collections.
The unexpected chemistry of a bis(phospholyl)acetylene

The reaction of lithium 3,4-dimethyl-phospholide with tetrachloroethylene gives the corresponding 1,2-bis(phospholyl)acetylene that has been characterized by X-ray crystal structure analysis of its bis(pentacarbonylmolybdenum) complex. The reaction with sulfur leads to the corresponding disulfide that spontaneously undergoes a self-condensation via a Diels--Alder cycloaddition between the CC triple bond and the phosphole dienic system giving, after aromatization by loss of the phosphorus bridge, the corresponding 1,2-bis(phospholyl)benzene. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 19:537–541, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/hc.20457
Synthesis of regioisomeric 2,5-bis-substituted-aza-benzothiopyranoindazoles

The synthesis of 6-chloro-9-nitro-benzothiopyranopyridin-5-ones 2a, 2b and 2c has been accomplished. Chemotype 2d could not be prepared since attempts to cyclize 3-(2-nitro-5-chlorophenoxy)pyridine-2-carboxylic acid (1d) led to the decarboxylation product 3-(2-nitro-5-chlorothiophenoxy) pyridine (40). Analogues 2a, 2b or 2c on treatment with the respectively substituted hydrazine led to the 2-(substituted)-5-nitro 7, 8- or 9-aza substituted chemotypes 3a-7a, 8b, and 9c-13c. The reduction of the nitro groups of these substrates was effected by treatment with hydrogen gas (palladium catalyst) or by stannous chloride to yield the 5-amino chemotypes 15a-18a, 20b and 21c-24c, respectively. The conversion of these derivatives to the 2,5-bis (alkylamino)-7-, 8- and 9-aza benzothiopyranoindazoles listed in Table 3 was accomplished by direct alkylations, acylations, followed by reduction of the amido group with Red-Al or lithium aluminum hydride, or by reductive alkylations in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride. The removal of the protective BOC-group was effected by treatment of the appropriate substrates with anhydrous hydrogen chloride to afford the respective hydrochloride salts listed in Table 4.
Bilingual Phonological Awareness: Construct Validation in Grade 1 Spanish-Speaking English Learners.

This study investigated the dimensionality of bilingual phonological awareness (PA) in English and Spanish by replicating a kindergarten model in Grade 1, and presents alternatives to modeling clustered data. English and Spanish tasks were analyzed from previously collected samples totaling 1,586 first grade Spanish-speaking English learners. Four distinct approaches to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models were examined: (a) uncentered student-level data, (b) student-level data centered at the classroom means, (c) classroom-level data, and (d) multilevel CFA. Results indicated that while the multilevel CFA provided the most comprehensive view of the data, the multi-level student-level estimates were not appreciably different from estimates based on student-level data centered at the classroom means, and multi-level classroom-level estimates were comparable to estimates based on the analysis of classroom means. Importantly, English and Spanish PA were statistically separable at the student-level, but minimally distinct (r = .86) and slightly less correlated than what has been reported for kindergarten (r = .93). At the classroom level, the correlation was moderate (r = .51), and substantially reduced compared to kindergarten (r = .83). The distinction at the classroom-level between kindergarten and Grade 1 implies that instruction differentiates the abilities across languages at the classroom-level, but less so at the student-level.
A Non-amyloid Prion Particle that Activates a Heritable Gene Expression Program

Summary Spatiotemporal gene regulation is often driven by RNA-binding proteins that harbor long intrinsically disordered regions in addition to folded RNA-binding domains. We report that the disordered region of the evolutionarily ancient developmental regulator Vts1/Smaug drives self-assembly into gel-like condensates. These proteinaceous particles are not composed of amyloid, yet they are infectious, allowing them to act as a protein-based epigenetic element: a prion [SMAUG+]. In contrast to many amyloid prions, condensation of Vts1 enhances its function in mRNA decay, and its self-assembly properties are conserved over large evolutionary distances. Yeast cells harboring [SMAUG+] downregulate a coherent network of mRNAs and exhibit improved growth under nutrient limitation. Vts1 condensates formed from purified protein can transform naive cells to acquire [SMAUG+]. Our data establish that non-amyloid self-assembly of RNA-binding proteins can drive a form of epigenetics beyond the chromosome, instilling adaptive gene expression programs that are heritable over long biological timescales.
Financial statement change and equity risk

While financial statement analysis is a rich tool, there is no widely used holistic measure of the amount of change in corporate financial statements. Statistical decomposition analysis has been employed as an index of the amount of change, but has fallen into disuse because it does not allow negative accounting numbers. As a remedy, this paper suggests three distance measures adapted from cluster analysis that avoid this critical data limitation. We successfully apply these proposed distance measures to explain the total and systematic risk of stock returns (in the CAPM and Fama–French model), corporate bond ratings, and corporate distress.
Pathway-Level Information ExtractoR (PLIER) for gene expression data

A major challenge in gene expression analysis is to accurately infer relevant biological insights, such as variation in cell-type proportion or pathway activity, from global gene expression studies. We present pathway-level information extractor (PLIER) ( https://github.com/wgmao/PLIER and http://gobie.csb.pitt.edu/PLIER ), a broadly applicable solution for this problem that outperforms available cell proportion inference algorithms and can automatically identify specific pathways that regulate gene expression. Our method improves interstudy replicability and reveals biological insights when applied to trans-eQTL (expression quantitative trait loci) identification. Pathway-level information extractor (PLIER) uses prior knowledge of pathways to extract biologically interpretable latent variables from large gene expression datasets.
Measurement of CO2 diffusion coefficient in the oil-saturated porous media

Abstract Molecular diffusion is an important EOR mechanism in naturally fractured reservoirs. However, the laboratory-measured diffusion coefficient in the fractured porous media is still limited; and grid sensitivity analysis is missing in the literature when the single-porosity system is applied to history match the pressure decline curve. We aimed to fill the gaps using Radial Constant Volume Diffusion (RCVD) method experimentally to investigate diffusion coefficients at different pressures in hydrocarbon saturated porous media. A special in-house cell is designed to hold the core sample in the center with the annulus around simulating the fracture. The core is initially saturated with oil while the annulus is filled with CO2 at the same pressure. During the measurements, the system pressure declines as gas diffuses into the oil phase until it reaches chemical equilibrium. The pressure decline curve is history matched to determine the diffusion coefficient. The initial pressure is 597 psi, and the diffusion coefficient is determined in numerical models accordingly. Molecular diffusion coefficients are estimated at different experiment periods to reveal the pressure-dependency. A workflow is proposed to obtain effective diffusion coefficients in dual-porosity models that could be extended to multi-component systems. Besides, flow characteristics in the RCVD system are characterized and capillary pressure effect is investigated in this study.
Learning Compressed Transforms with Low Displacement Rank

The low displacement rank (LDR) framework for structured matrices represents a matrix through two displacement operators and a low-rank residual. Existing use of LDR matrices in deep learning has applied fixed displacement operators encoding forms of shift invariance akin to convolutions. We introduce a rich class of LDR matrices with more general displacement operators, and explicitly learn over both the operators and the low-rank component. This class generalizes several previous constructions while preserving compression and efficient computation. We prove bounds on the VC dimension of multi-layer neural networks with structured weight matrices and show empirically that our compact parameterization can reduce the sample complexity of learning. When replacing weight layers in fully-connected, convolutional, and recurrent neural networks for image classification and language modeling tasks, our new classes exceed the accuracy of existing compression approaches, and on some tasks even outperform general unstructured layers while using more than 20x fewer parameters.
On Flow Polytopes, Order Polytopes, and Certain Faces of the Alternating Sign Matrix Polytope

We study an alternating sign matrix analogue of the Chan–Robbins–Yuen polytope, which we call the ASM-CRY polytope. We show that this polytope has Catalan many vertices and its volume is equal to the number of standard Young tableaus of staircase shape; we also determine its Ehrhart polynomial. We achieve the previous by proving that the members of a family of faces of the alternating sign matrix polytope which includes ASM-CRY are both order and flow polytopes. Inspired by the above results, we relate three established triangulations of order and flow polytopes, namely Stanley’s triangulation of order polytopes, the Postnikov–Stanley triangulation of flow polytopes and the Danilov–Karzanov–Koshevoy triangulation of flow polytopes. We show that when a graph G is a planar graph, in which case the flow polytope $${{\mathcal {F}}}_G$$ is also an order polytope, Stanley’s triangulation of this order polytope is one of the Danilov–Karzanov–Koshevoy triangulations of $${{\mathcal {F}}}_G$$ . Moreover, for a general graph G we show that the set of Danilov–Karzanov–Koshevoy triangulations of $${{\mathcal {F}}}_G$$ equals the set of framed Postnikov–Stanley triangulations of $${{\mathcal {F}}}_G$$ . We also describe explicit bijections between the combinatorial objects labeling the simplices in the above triangulations.
Fast Nearest-Neighbor Classification Using RNN in Domains with Large Number of Classes

In scenarios involving text classification where the number of classes is large (in multiples of 10000 s) and training samples for each class are few and often verbose, nearest neighbor methods are effective but very slow in computing a similarity score with training samples of every class. On the other hand, machine learning models are fast at runtime but training them adequately is not feasible using few available training samples per class. In this paper, we propose a hybrid approach that cascades (1) a fast but less-accurate recurrent neural network (RNN) model and (2) a slow but more-accurate nearest-neighbor model using bag of syntactic features.
Perturbation Resilient Clustering for k-Center and Related Problems via LP Relaxations.

We consider clustering in the perturbation resilience model that has been studied since the work of Bilu and Linial [ICS, 2010] and Awasthi, Blum and Sheffet [Inf. Proc. Lett., 2012]. A clustering instance $I$ is said to be $\alpha$-perturbation resilient if the optimal solution does not change when the pairwise distances are modified by a factor of $\alpha$ and the perturbed distances satisfy the metric property --- this is the metric perturbation resilience property introduced in Angelidakis et. al. [STOC, 2010] and a weaker requirement than prior models. We make two high-level contributions. 1) We show that the natural LP relaxation of $k$-center and asymmetric $k$-center is integral for $2$-perturbation resilient instances. We belive that demonstrating the goodness of standard LP relaxations complements existing results that are based on combinatorial algorithms designed for the perturbation model. 2) We define a simple new model of perturbation resilience for clustering with \emph{outliers}. Using this model we show that the unified MST and dynamic programming based algorithm proposed by Angelidakis et. al. [STOC, 2010] exactly solves the clustering with outliers problem for several common center based objectives (like $k$-center, $k$-means, $k$-median) when the instances is $2$-perturbation resilient. We further show that a natural LP relxation is integral for $2$-perturbation resilient instances of \kcenter with outliers.
A High Order Conservative Semi-Lagrangian Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Two-Dimensional Transport Simulations

In this paper, we develop a class of high order conservative semi-Lagrangian (SL) discontinuous Galerkin methods for solving multi-dimensional linear transport equations. The methods rely on a characteristic Galerkin weak formulation, leading to $$L^2$$ stable discretizations for linear problems. Unlike many existing SL methods, the high order accuracy and mass conservation of the proposed methods are realized in a non-splitting manner. Thus, the detrimental splitting error, which is known to significantly contaminate long term transport simulations, will be not incurred. One key ingredient in the scheme formulation, borrowed from CSLAM (Lauritzen et al. in J Comput Phys 229(5):1401–1424, 2010), is the use of Green’s theorem which allows us to convert volume integrals into a set of line integrals. The resulting line integrals are much easier to approximate with high order accuracy, hence facilitating the implementation. Another novel ingredient is the construction of quadratic curves in approximating sides of upstream cell, leading to quadratic-curved quadrilateral upstream cells. Formal third order accuracy is obtained by such a construction. The desired positivity-preserving property is further attained by incorporating a high order bound-preserving filter. To assess the performance of the proposed methods, we test and compare the numerical schemes with a variety of configurations for solving several benchmark transport problems with both smooth and nonsmooth solutions. The efficiency and efficacy are numerically verified.
Verification of Markov Decision Processes with Risk-Sensitive Measures

We develop a method for computing policies in Markov decision processes with risk-sensitive measures subject to temporal logic constraints. Specifically, we use a particular risk-sensitive measure from cumulative prospect theory, which has been previously adopted in psychology and economics. The nonlinear transformation of the probabilities and utility functions yields a nonlinear programming problem, which makes computation of optimal policies typically challenging. We show that this nonlinear weighting function can be accurately approximated by the difference of two convex functions. This observation enables efficient policy computation using convex-concave programming. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach on several scenarios.
Symbolic dynamics and chaos in plane Couette flow

According to a recent theory \cite{Li14}, when the Reynolds number is large, fully developed turbulence is caused by short term unpredictability (rough dependence upon initial data); when the Reynolds number is moderate, often transient turbulence is caused by chaos (long term unpredictability). This article aims at studying chaos in plane Couette flow at moderate Reynolds number. Based upon the work of L. van Veen and G. Kawahara \cite{VK11} on a transversal homoclinic orbit asymptotic to a limit cycle in plane Couette flow, we explore symbolic dynamics and chaos near the homoclinic orbit. Mathematical analysis shows that there is a collection of orbits in the neighborhood of the homoclinic orbit, which is in one-to-one correspondence with the collection of binary sequences. The Bernoulli shift on the binary sequences corresponds to a chaotic dynamics of a properly defined return map.
Neural Network Quine

Self-replication is a key aspect of biological life that has been largely overlooked in Artificial Intelligence systems. Here we describe how to build and train self-replicating neural networks. Th...
Deconvolutional Latent-Variable Model for Text Sequence Matching.

A latent-variable model is introduced for text matching, inferring sentence representations by jointly optimizing generative and discriminative objectives. To alleviate typical optimization challenges in latent-variable models for text, we employ deconvolutional networks as the sequence decoder (generator), providing learned latent codes with more semantic information and better generalization. Our model, trained in an unsupervised manner, yields stronger empirical predictive performance than a decoder based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), with less parameters and considerably faster training. Further, we apply it to text sequence-matching problems. The proposed model significantly outperforms several strong sentence-encoding baselines, especially in the semi-supervised setting.
4D crop monitoring: Spatio-temporal reconstruction for agriculture

Autonomous crop monitoring at high spatial and temporal resolution is a critical problem in precision agriculture. While Structure from Motion and Multi-View Stereo algorithms can finely reconstruct the 3D structure of a field with low-cost image sensors, these algorithms fail to capture the dynamic nature of continuously growing crops. In this paper we propose a 4D reconstruction approach to crop monitoring, which employs a spatio-temporal model of dynamic scenes that is useful for precision agriculture applications. Additionally, we provide a robust data association algorithm to address the problem of large appearance changes due to scenes being viewed from different angles at different points in time, which is critical to achieving 4D reconstruction. Finally, we collected a high-quality dataset with ground-truth statistics to evaluate the performance of our method. We demonstrate that our 4D reconstruction approach provides models that are qualitatively correct with respect to visual appearance and quantitatively accurate when measured against the ground truth geometric properties of the monitored crops.
Regularity and the behavior of eigenvalues for minimizers of a constrained Q -tensor energy for liquid crystals

We investigate minimizers defined on a bounded domain in \(\mathbb {R}^2\) for the Maier–Saupe Q-tensor energy used to characterize nematic liquid crystal configurations. The energy density is singular, as in Ball and Majumdar’s modification of the Landau-de Gennes Q-tensor model, so as to constrain the competing states to have eigenvalues in the closure of a physically realistic range. We prove that minimizers are regular and in several model problems we are able to use this regularity to prove that minimizers have eigenvalues strictly within the physical range.
Length Complexity of Tensor Products

In this article we introduce techniques to gauge the torsion of the tensor product A ⊗ R B of two finitely generated modules over a Noetherian ring R. The outlook is very different from the study of the rigidity of Tor carried out in the work of Auslander [1] and other authors. Here the emphasis in on the search for bounds for the torsion part of A ⊗ R B in terms of global invariants of A and of B in special classes of modules: vector bundles and modules of dimension at most three.
Final-state effect on x-ray photoelectron spectrum of nominally d 1 and n -doped d 0 transition-metal oxides

We investigate the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of nominally ${d}^{1}$ and $n$-doped ${d}^{0}$ transition-metal oxides including ${\mathrm{NbO}}_{2},\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{SrVO}}_{3}$, and ${\mathrm{LaTiO}}_{3}$ (nominally ${d}^{1}$), as well as $n$-doped ${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$ (nominally ${d}^{0}$). In the case of single phase ${d}^{1}$ oxides, we find that the XPS spectra (specifically photoelectrons from Nb $3d$, V $2p$, Ti $2p$ core levels) all display at least two, and sometimes three distinct components, which can be consistently identified as ${d}^{0},\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{d}^{1}$, and ${d}^{2}$ oxidation states (with decreasing order in binding energy). Electron doping increases the ${d}^{2}$ component but decreases the ${d}^{0}$ component, whereas hole doping reverses this trend; a single ${d}^{1}$ peak is never observed, and the ${d}^{0}$ peak is always present even in phase-pure samples. In the case of $n$-doped ${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$, the ${d}^{1}$ component appears as a weak shoulder with respect to the main ${d}^{0}$ peak. We argue that these multiple peaks should be understood as being due to the final-state effect and are intrinsic to the materials. Their presence does not necessarily imply the existence of spatially localized ions of different oxidation states nor of separate phases. A simple model is provided to illustrate this interpretation, and several experiments are discussed accordingly. The key parameter to determine the relative importance between the initial-state and final-state effects is also pointed out.
The cross number of minimal zero-sum sequences in finite abelian groups

Abstract We study the maximal cross number K ( G ) of a minimal zero-sum sequence and the maximal cross number k ( G ) of a zero-sum free sequence over a finite abelian group G, defined by Krause and Zahlten. In the first part of this paper, we extend a previous result by X. He to prove that the value of k ( G ) conjectured by Krause and Zahlten holds for G ⨁ C p a ⨁ C p b when it holds for G, provided that p and the exponent of G are related in a specific sense. In the second part, we describe a new method for proving that the conjectured value of K ( G ) holds for abelian groups of the form H p ⨁ C q m (where H p is any finite abelian p-group) and C p ⨁ C q ⨁ C r for any distinct primes p , q , r . We also give a structural result on the minimal zero-sum sequences that achieve this value.
Motivic classes of moduli of Higgs bundles and moduli of bundles with connections

Let X be a smooth projective curve over a field of characteristic zero. We calculate the motivic class of the moduli stack of semistable Higgs bundles on X. We also calculate the motivic class of the moduli stack of vector bundles with connections by showing that it is equal to the class of the stack of semistable Higgs bundles of the same rank and degree zero. We follow the strategy of Mozgovoy and Schiffmann for counting Higgs bundles over finite fields. The main new ingredient is a motivic version of a theorem of Harder about Eisenstein series claiming that all vector bundles have approximately the same motivic class of Borel reductions as the degree of Borel reduction tends to $-\infty$.