cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Industry's role in air quality improvement: Environmental management opportunities for the 21st century

Publisher Summary This chapter examines the way changes in business practices, driven by a better understanding of the way natural environments function, are converging to provide new opportunities for environmental management that goes beyond regulatory compliance to reduce air pollution. Although sound and well-enforced environmental regulations are an essential foundation for improving air quality, command-and-control systems alone are unlikely to achieve the lower levels of pollution that will be necessary to achieve sustainable development in the 21st century. In cooperation with government, businesses in every industry can play crucial roles in achieving higher standards of air quality. while at the same time maintaining acceptable levels of economic growth. The chapter explores three ways in which corporations can contribute to environmentally sustainable development: (1) by adopting proactive environmental management systems that focus on air pollution prevention; (2) by developing new technologies for air pollution control and reduction; and (3) by transferring air pollution control and prevention technologies through international trade and investment. Recent developments in the global economy are pushing firms in every industry to develop new strategies of competition and new processes for managing their environmental impacts.
The impact of price subsidies on child health care use : evaluation of the Indonesian healthcard

Financial barriers to seeking care are frequently cited as one of the main causes of underutilization of child health care services. This paper estimates the impact of Indonesia's healthcard on health care use by children. Evaluation of the healthcard effect is complicated by the fact that card allocation was non-random. The analysis uses propensity score matching to control for systematic differences between treatment and control groups. A second potential source of bias is related to contemporaneous, exogenous influences on health care use unrelated to the healthcard itself. Using panel data collected prior to and after the introduction of the healthcard, a difference-in-differences estimator is constructed to eliminate the effects of exogenous changes over time. The author finds that although health care use declined for all children during the crisis years of 1997-2000, use of public sector outpatient services declined much less for children with healthcards. The protective effect of the healthcard on public sector use was concentrated among children aged 0-5 years. The healthcard had no significant impact on use of private sector services. The results highlight the need to provide adequate protection against the financial burden of health care costs, particularly during economic crises.
Analysis of Thompson Sampling for the Multi-armed Bandit Problem

The multi-armed bandit problem is a popular model for studying exploration/exploitation trade-off in sequential decision problems. Many algorithms are now available for this well-studied problem. One of the earliest algorithms, given by W. R. Thompson, dates back to 1933. This algorithm, referred to as Thompson Sampling, is a natural Bayesian algorithm. The basic idea is to choose an arm to play according to its probability of being the best arm. Thompson Sampling algorithm has experimentally been shown to be close to optimal. In addition, it is efficient to implement and exhibits several desirable properties such as small regret for delayed feedback. However, theoretical understanding of this algorithm was quite limited. In this paper, for the first time, we show that Thompson Sampling algorithm achieves logarithmic expected regret for the stochastic multi-armed bandit problem. More precisely, for the stochastic two-armed bandit problem, the expected regret in timeT isO( lnT + 1 3 ). And, for the stochasticN -armed bandit problem, the expected regret in time T is O( h ( P N 1 2 ) 2 i lnT ). Our bounds are optimal but for the dependence on i and the
The Effect of Media on Charitable Giving and Volunteering: Evidence from the “Give Five” Campaign

Fundraising campaigns advertised via mass media are common. To what extent such campaigns affect charitable behavior is mostly unknown, however. Using giving and volunteering surveys conducted biennially from 1988 to 1996, I investigate the effect of a national fundraising campaign, “Give Five,” on charitable giving and volunteering patterns. The widely advertised Give Five campaign was aimed to encourage people to give 5 percent of their income and volunteer 5 hours a week. After controlling for selection into being informed about the Give Five, I find that people who were informed about the campaign increased their weekly volunteering activity on average by almost half an hour, but their giving behavior was not significantly affected. I discuss the policy implications associated with this result and argue that although the Give Five campaign did not achieve its goal, its impact on volunteering was considerable. © 2012 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
Nominal GDP targeting under learning

Targeting Nominal GDP growth by monetary policymakers is equivalent to a restriction on policymaker preferences for an optimality condition derived under rational expectations. This paper reports the results of simulations of a calibrated model comparing Nominal GDP growth targeting with the optimal policy in an environment where public expectations are formed under learning and the interest rate rule is a function of public expectations. If the policymaker does not have full information about expectations, policy recommendations assuming rational expectations might lead to excess volatility. Nominal GDP growth targeting mitigates these problems in extreme cases, but cannot be recommended as a universal solution.
Detection of multiple chirp signals based on a slice of the instantaneous higher-order moments

A time-frequency (T-F) representation is proposed that is useful in the detection of multicomponent chirp signals. This representation is defined in terms of a slice of instantaneous higher-order moments of the signal, and forces the contribution of the auto terms to appear at fixed positions on the (T-F) plane, while the cross terms appear at positions that vary depending on the particular slice. The choice of the moment slice is not unique as long as it satisfies certain conditions. The consideration of different moment slices yields different T-F representations. The distributions corresponding to different moment slices cause only the parts due to the auto terms to add up, since their positions depend only on the signal parameters. >
Simultaneous regulation of cell size and chromosome replication in bacteria.

Bacteria are able to maintain a narrow distribution of cell sizes by regulating the timing of cell divisions. In rich nutrient conditions, cells divide much faster than their chromosomes replicate. This implies that cells initiate multiple rounds of chromosome replication per cell division by regulating the timing of chromosome replications. Here, we show that both cell size and chromosome replication may be simultaneously regulated by the long-standing initiator accumulation strategy. The strategy proposes that initiators are produced in proportion to the volume increase and is accumulated at each origin of replication, and chromosome replication is initiated when a critical amount per origin has accumulated. We show that this model maps to the incremental model of size control, which was previously shown to reproduce experimentally observed correlations between various events in the cell cycle and explains the exponential dependence of cell size on the growth rate of the cell. Furthermore, we show that this model also leads to the efficient regulation of the timing of initiation and the number of origins consistent with existing experimental results.
Source-Free Electromagnetism's Canonical Fields Reveal the Free-photon Schrödinger Equation

Classical equations of motion that are first-order in time and conserve energy can only be quantized after their variables have been transformed to canonical ones, i.e., variables in which the energy is the system's Hamiltonian. The source-free version of Maxwell's equations is purely dynamical, first-order in time and has well-defined nonnegative conserved field energy but is decidedly noncanonical. That should long ago have made source-free Maxwell equation canonical Hamiltonization a research priority, and afterward, standard textbook fare, but textbooks seem unaware of the issue. The opposite parities of the electric and magnetic fields and consequent curl operations that typify Maxwell's equations are especially at odds with their being canonical fields. Transformation of the magnetic field into the transverse part of the vector potential helps but is not sufficient; further simple nonnegative symmetric integral transforms, which commute with all differential operators, are needed for both fields; such transforms also supplant the curls in the equations of motion. The canonical replacements of the source-free electromagnetic fields remain transverse-vector fields, but are more diffuse than their predecessors, albeit less diffuse than the transverse vector potential. Combined as the real and imaginary parts of a complex field, the canonical fields prove to be the transverse-vector wave function of a time-dependent Schrodinger equation whose Hamiltonian operator is the quantization of the free photon's square-root relativistic energy. Thus proper quantization of the source-free Maxwell equations is identical to second quantization of free photons that have normal square-root energy. There is no physical reason why first and second quantization of any relativistic free particle ought not to proceed in precise parallel, utilizing the square-root Hamiltonian operator. This natural procedure leaves no role for the completely artificial Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations, as accords with their grossly unphysical properties.
Efficient quantum tomography II

We continue our analysis of: (i) "Quantum tomography", i.e., learning a quantum state, i.e., the quantum generalization of learning a discrete probability distribution; (ii) The distribution of Young diagrams output by the RSK algorithm on random words. Regarding (ii), we introduce two powerful new tools: first, a precise upper bound on the expected length of the longest union of k disjoint increasing subsequences in a random length-n word with letter distribution α1 ≥ α2 ≥ … ≥ αd. Our bound has the correct main term and second-order term, and holds for all n, not just in the large-n limit. Second, a new majorization property of the RSK algorithm that allows one to analyze the Young diagram formed by the lower rows λk, λk+1, … of its output. These tools allow us to prove several new theorems concerning the distribution of random Young diagrams in the nonasymptotic regime, giving concrete error bounds that are optimal, or nearly so, in all parameters. As one example, we give a fundamentally new proof of the celebrated fact that the expected length of the longest increasing sequence in a random length-n permutation is bounded by 2√n. This is the k = 1, αi ≡ 1/d, d → ∞ special case of a much more general result we prove: the expected length of the kth Young diagram row produced by an α-random word is αk n ± 2√αkd n. From our new analyses of random Young diagrams we derive several new results in quantum tomography, including: (i) learning the eigenvalues of an unknown state to e-accuracy in Hellinger-squared, chi-squared, or KL distance, using n = O(d2/e) copies; (ii) learning the top-k eigenvalues of an unknown state to e-accuracy in Hellinger-squared or chi-squared distance using n = O(kd/e) copies or in l22 distance using n = O(k/e) copies; (iii) learning the optimal rank-k approximation of an unknown state to e-fidelity (Hellinger-squared distance) using n = O(kd/e) copies. We believe our new techniques will lead to further advances in quantum learning; indeed, they have already subsequently been used for efficient von Neumann entropy estimation.
Electro-hydrodynamic micro-fluidic mixer

Fluid mixing in microchannels is needed for many applications ranging from bio-arrays to micro-reactors, but is typically difficult to achieve. A simple geometry micro-mixer is proposed based on the electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) force present when the fluids to be mixed have different electrical properties and are subjected to an electric field. The electrodes are arranged so that the electric field is perpendicular to the interface between the two fluids, creating a transversal secondary flow. The technique is demonstrated experimentally using the flow of two liquids with identical viscosity and density, but different electrical properties. The volume flow rate and average velocity are 0.26 µl s−1 and 4.2 mm s−1, respectively, corresponding to a Reynolds number Re = 0.0174. The effect of a continuous (DC) electric field and two alternating (AC) – sinusoidal and square – electric fields is explored. At the appropriate parameter values, very good mixing takes place in less than 0.1 s, over a very short distance (within a fraction of the width 250 µm of the electrodes).
Achieving Amicable Settlements and Possible Reconciliations: The Role of Forensic Accountants in Equitable Distributions

This book is focussed on investigating how a proper implementation of forensic accounting tools could serve as a means and channel whereby such techniques as valuations, equitable distribution and evidence could be employed in avoiding unnecessary break ups and emotional breakdowns. How can courts curb contingency costs of matrimonial litigation when a closely held company is involved? – particularly where such closely held companies' profits can be steered towards greater profits if these companies are encouraged to continue to run (as well as alleviate financial problems which may initially have contributed to financial and marital problems). Given recent statistics which indicate a 50:50 success rate in marriages, should courts not have a role in assisting to alleviate and reduce tax burdens which are peculiar to companies run by couples – where it can easily be proven that these were the sources of financial and eventually, marital tensions? What role could forensic accountants also play in providing financial, valuation and business advice to couples experiencing such business difficulties – and who lack the required access to funds or expertise aimed at restoring the viabililty of their businesses. Would such expertise and advice restore their businesses – and eventully their relationships? It is a well known fact that financial problems constitute the source of break-downs in many relationships. Whilst other factors may contribute to failures in relationships and whilst some couples may have finalised their intentions and require very little assistance in getting through such painstaking processes, others may have their decisions influenced by court procedures, counselling sessions and the proper application of equitable distribution procedures – such equitable distribution procedure being considered a preferred technique in resolving marital asset distributions than the community property concept. Further this book highlights factors which need to be taken into consideration – not only in averting unnecessary break-ups, but also in facilitating harmonious and amicable settlements which may eventually pave the way for reconciliation, as well as restoration of broken down relationships. Whilst planning of marital asset distribution should not constitute the focus of any marriage, planning when the need arises may serve not only as a channel whereby a relationship can be restored eventually, but as a temporary means of weathering the storms during the difficult times in the relationship.
Comparison of visualized turbine endwall secondary flows and measured heat transfer patterns

Various flow visualization techniques were used to define the seondary flows near the endwall in a large heat transfer data. A comparison of the visualized flow patterns and the measured Stanton number distribution was made for cases where the inlet Reynolds number and exit Mach number were matched. Flows were visualized by using neutrally buoyant helium-filled soap bubbles, by using smoke from oil soaked cigars, and by a few techniques using permanent marker pen ink dots and synthetic wintergreen oil. Details of the horseshoe vortex and secondary flows can be directly compared with heat transfer distribution. Near the cascade entrance there is an obvious correlation between the two sets of data, but well into the passage the effect of secondary flow is not as obvious. Previously announced in STAR as N83-14435
Green telecom metrics in perspective

A fast and parallel evolution of ways to measure and assess energy efficiency in telecom has resulted in an entangled web of drafts and recommendations originating from government, research, and standards organizations. This paper focuses primarily on so-called “large network equipment” metrics and intends to capture state-of-the-art in this area of green communications. Competing approaches towards efficiency assessment are studied for their applicability and completeness, with special emphasis on topics relevant to future subject studies.
Extension of symmetries on Einstein manifolds with boundary

We investigate the validity of the isometry extension property for (Riemannian) Einstein metrics on compact manifolds M with boundary ∂M. Given a metric γ on ∂M, this is the issue of whether any Killing field X of (∂M, γ) extends to a Killing field of any Einstein metric (M, g) bounding (∂M, γ). Under a mild condition on the fundamental group, this is proved to be the case at least when X preserves the mean curvature of ∂M in (M, g).
Feedback from Galaxy Formation: Escaping Ionizing Radiation from Galaxies at High Redshift

Several observational and theoretical arguments suggest that starburst galaxies may rival quasars as sources of metagalactic ionizing radiation at redshifts z > 3. Reionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at z > 5 may arise, in part, from the first luminous massive stars. To be an important source of radiative feedback from star formation, a substantial fraction (~1%-10%) of the ionizing photons must escape the gas layers of the galaxies. Using models of smoothly distributed gas confined by dark matter (DM) potentials, we estimate the fraction, fesc , of Lyman-continuum flux that escapes the halos of spherical galaxies as a function of their mass and virialization redshift. The gas density profile is found by solving the equation of hydrostatic equilibrium for the baryonic matter in the potential well of a DM halo with the density profile found by Navarro et al. We then perform a parametric study to understand the dependence of fesc on redshift, mass, baryonic fraction, star formation efficiency (SFE), stellar density distribution, and OB association luminosity function. We give useful analytical formulas for fesc(z,MDM). Using the Press-Schechter formalism, we find that stellar reionization at z ~ 7 is probably dominated by small galactic subunits, with MDM 107 M☉ and SFE ~ 10 times that in the Milky Way. This may affect the distribution of heavy elements throughout the intergalactic medium.
On the existence of optimal policies under uncertainty

Publisher Summary Many economic theories presume that a feasible policy set contains an optimal policy. Theorists who have taken care to ensure the existence of solutions commonly have resorted to introducing explicit bounds on a closed policy or action set, thereby rendering it compact. Given a continuous objective function, Weierstrass' Theorem can then be used to prove the existence of an optimal action. Hakansson, for example, bounds the feasible set of his portfolio model by requiring that terminal wealth be non-negative with probability one. But costs may be incurred by bounding the action set. Bounds often are difficult to justify on economic grounds or they are so loose that the question of existence is transformed to the question of whether the bounds are tight or slack at the optimum. An alternative approach to proving the existence of optimal policies is to assign further properties to the preference ranking over actions, as reflected by the objective function. If these properties alone ensure existence, there is no need to incur the costs associated with bounding the action set. This chapter discusses a class of decision problems encompassing several of relevance to economists, including the choice of optimal portfolios and the choice of optimal inputs and outputs by a perfectly competitive firm with constant or decreasing returns to scale facing random prices. Weak and indeed commonly assumed properties of the utility function are shown to ensure the existence of optimal policies.
Mathematical formulation for the propagation of sound through a turbulent jet

The sound propagation through a nonuniform turbulent jet flow field is studied by means of a system of linearized equations governing the acoustic variables. These equations depend on the fluctuating flow-field variables which can be prescribed by experimental results. It is shown that the correlations of the acoustic variables depend throughout the flow field on the space-time correlation of the turbulent velocities and on the mean flow variables and their gradients.
Pre- and post-selection, weak values and contextuality

By analysing the concept of contextuality (Bell?Kochen?Specker) in terms of pre- and post-selection, it is possible to assign definite values to observables in a new and surprising way. Physical reasons are presented for restrictions on these assignments. When measurements are performed which do not disturb the pre- and post-selection (i.e. weak measurements), then novel experimental aspects of contextuality can be demonstrated. We also prove that every PPS-paradox with definite predictions directly implies 'quantum contextuality' which is introduced as the analogue of contextuality at the level of quantum mechanics rather than at the level of hidden variable theories. Finally, we argue that certain results of these measurements (e.g. eccentric weak values outside the eigenvalue spectrum) cannot be explained by a 'classical-like' hidden variable theory.
Self-organization of bouncing oil drops: two-dimensional lattices and spinning clusters.

Multiple oil drops bouncing on the surface of a vertically vibrating bath of the same oil exhibit self-organization behavior in two dimensions [S. Proti\`ere, Y. Couder, E. Fort, and A. Boudaoud, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 17, S3529 (2005)]. We describe further the morphology and dynamic behavior of stable assemblies of large bouncing oil drops, for which we find that both the spacing and the lattice structure itself change with frequency, with variants of both square and hexagonal structures being observed. Large ``rafts'' of drops form soft triangular lattices with faceted boundaries. Small clusters of drops are unstable to coherent, collective spinning under certain driving conditions, manifesting spontaneous rotational symmetry breaking.
CHEMICAL ABUNDANCES FOR 855 GIANTS IN THE GLOBULAR CLUSTER OMEGA CENTAURI (NGC 5139)

We present elemental abundances for 855 red giant branch (RGB) stars in the globular cluster Omega Centauri (ω Cen) from spectra obtained with the Blanco 4 m telescope and Hydra multifiber spectrograph. The sample includes nearly all RGB stars brighter than V = 13.5 and spans ω Cen's full metallicity range. The heavy α elements (Si, Ca, and Ti) are generally enhanced by ~+0.3 dex and exhibit a metallicity-dependent morphology that may be attributed to mass and metallicity-dependent Type II supernova (SN) yields. The heavy α and Fe-peak abundances suggest minimal contributions from Type Ia SNe. The light elements (O, Na, and Al) exhibit >0.5 dex abundance dispersions at all metallicities, and a majority of stars with [Fe/H]> – 1.6 have [O/Fe], [Na/Fe], and [Al/Fe] abundances similar to those in monometallic globular clusters, as well as O-Na, O-Al anticorrelations and the Na-Al correlation in all but the most metal-rich stars. A combination of pollution from intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch stars and in situ mixing may explain the light element abundance patterns. A large fraction (27%) of ω Cen stars are O-poor ([O/Fe] < 0) and are preferentially located within 5'-10' of the cluster center. The O-poor giants are spatially similar, located in the same metallicity range, and are present in nearly equal proportions to blue main-sequence stars. This suggests that the O-poor giants and blue main-sequence stars may share a common origin. [La/Fe] increases sharply at [Fe/H] –1.6, and the [La/Eu] ratios indicate that the increase is due to almost pure s-process production.
Estrogen stimulation of progesterone synthesis by porcine granulosa cells in culture

Abstract Estrogen stimulates synthesis of progesterone by porcine granulosa cells in tissue culture. This enhancement is inhibited by cycloheximide, suggesting that protein synthesis is required for the effect. Estrogen is synergistic with hCG in increasing progesterone synthesis. Sequential treatment with hCG followed by estradiol causes maximal stimulation of progesterone production.
Nervous tissue proteoglycans.

The structure, biosynthesis, localization, and possible functional roles of nervous tissue glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans were last reviewed several years ago70,74. Since that time, there has been an exponential increase in publications on the neurobiology of proteoglycans. This review will therefore focus on reports which have appeared in the period after 1988, and especially on those concerning the properties of individual characterized nervous tissue proteoglycans. Related areas such as the regulation of glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis and the roles of cell surface proteoglycans in adhesion and growth control are covered in other contributions to this special topic issue.
Local Funding of Rural Public Services

R URAL PUBLIC SERVICES are viewed here as the local governmental functions performed in areas of submetropolitan status. Water supply and wastewater treatment, hospitals and health care, libraries and education, public housing, police and fire protection, refuse collection, and road maintenance are included among these services. Local funding sources include primarily real estate taxes, service charges, and debt financing. Use of a local sales tax and a local income tax is authorized in several states. In almost all states, local governments derive small amounts of income from fees for licensing business, making inspections, new construction permits and miscellaneous functions.
On Global Transversality and Chaos in Two-Dimensional Nonlinear Dynamical Systems

In this paper, the global transversality and tangency in two-dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems are discussed, and the exact energy increment function (L-function) for such nonlinear dynamical systems is presented. The Melnikov function is an approximate expression of the exact energy increment. A periodically forced, damped Duffing oscillator with a separatrix is investigated as a sampled problem. The corresponding analytical conditions for the global transversality and tangency to the separatrix are derived. Numerical simulations are carried out for illustrations of the analytical conditions. From analytical and numerical results, the simple zero of the energy increment (or the Melnikov function) may not imply that chaos exists. The conditions for the global transversality and tangency to the separatrix may be independent of the Melnikov function. Therefore, the analytical criteria for chaotic motions in nonlinear dynamical systems need to be further developed. The methodology presented in this paper is applicable to nonlinear dynamical systems without any separatrix.
The growth of thin, epitaxial SnO2 films for gas sensing applications

Abstract Reactive r.f. sputter deposition was used to grow epitaxial tin oxide (SnO2) films on TiO2 and sapphire substrates. Films were fabricated in an ultrahigh vacuum based system using high purity O2 and argon gases. Epitaxial films were obtained at deposition temperatures of 500 °C and growth rates of 4–10 A min−1. The SnO2 films were pure and appeared to be stoichiometric. X-ray and low energy electron diffraction indicated that most of the films were crystalline and in registry with the substrates. Primary orientations observed on the various substrates included: (110) on TiO2(110), (100) on sapphire(0001), and (101) on sapphire(1 1 02). Films grown at 30 °C were not epitaxial. In situ conductance measurements were used to investigate the electrical behavior of the various films. As a demonstration of one potential application of epitaxial SnO2, we measured the response characteristics of a palladium-modified film grown on sapphire under a model sensing cycle of gas treatments. The gas-induced conductance changes were comparable with those observed for a similarly modified SnO2(110) single crystal.
Effects of housing and muricidal behavior on serotonergic receptors and interactions with novel anxiolytic drugs.

Mouse killing by rats represents a predatory behavior that can be modified by drugs from several different therapeutic classes and by environmental conditions. Buspirone and gepirone, non-benzodiazepine anxiolytics that stimulate serotonergic receptors (5HT1a) and inhibit isolation-induced intraspecies aggression, were tested for inhibition of muricidal behavior by isolated rats. Neither buspirone (3.0 mg/kg s.c.) nor gepirone (from 5.0 to 40 mg/kg) inhibited muricide. Additional rats were housed, either aggregated or isolated, and tested for muricidal behavior 9 times over 5 weeks to establish which animals were muricidal: thus, there were 4 groups of rats: muricidal or non-muricidal under either isolated or aggregated housing condition. [3H]-Spiperone was used to determine striatal D2 receptor Bmax and Kd and prefrontal cortex D2 and 5HT2 receptor binding. There were no changes across the four groups. Binding of [3H]-5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) to 5HT1a receptors decreased in septum of both groups of isolated rats and binding to 5HT1b receptors decreased 50% in hippocampus of isolated and aggregated muricidal rats. Binding of [3H]-5HT to either receptor was unchanged in amygdaloid area and hypothalamus across all groups. Thus, stimulating pre- and postsynaptic 5HT1a receptors does not alter muricidal behavior and changes in 5HT1 receptor binding occurs in limited areas. Whether this limited change in hippocampal 5HT1b binding is important for establishing muricidal behavior is unclear; however the direction of the change is consistent with reports that decreased serotonergic activity increases predatory behavior.
First order formalism for quantum gravity

Abstract We develop a first order formalism for the quantization of gravity. We take as canonical variables both the induced metric and the extrinsic curvature of the ( d − 1)-dimensional hyper- surfaces obtained by the foliation of the d -dimensional spacetime. After solving the constraint algebra we use the Dirac formalism to quantize the theory and obtain a new representation for the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, defined in the functional space of the extrinsic curvature. We also show how to obtain several different representations of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation by considering actions differing by a total divergence. In particular, the intrinsic and extrinsic time approaches appear in a natural way, as do equivalent representations obtained by functional Fourier transforms of appropriate variables. We conclude with some remarks about the construction of the Hilbert space within the first order formalism.
An efficient process for the bromolactamization of unsaturated acids

Bromolactamization of the N-Boc derivatives of unsaturated amides using N-bromosuccinimide and lithium t-butoxide in tetrahydrofuran occurs smoothly to give excellent yields of bromo N-Boc α-lactams, which are valuable as synthetic intermediates.
Solubilization of a Guanine Nucleotide-Sensitive Parathyroid Hormone-Receptor Complex from Canine Renal Cortex*

The physiologic actions of PTH on kidney and bone are initiated by hormonal binding to receptors in the plasma membrane of responsive cells. Occupation of receptors by PTH leads to activation of adenylate cyclase and increased cellular levels of cAMP. Cyclic AMP in turn activates a protein kinase(s), which results in specific substrate phosphorylation and ultimately biologic effects. Most, though not all, evidence supports such a mechanism of PTH action (1). Perhaps most compelling in this regard is the functional hypoparathyroidism seen in a subgroup of patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism (type Ia) who have a genetic deficiency in the stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding component (Ns) of adenylate cyclase (2,3).
A study of storage partitioning using a mathematical model of locality

Both fixed and dynamic storage partitioning procedures are examined for use in multiprogramming systems. The storage requirement of programs is modeled as a stationary Gaussian process. Experiments justifying this model are described. By means of this model dynamic storage partitioning is shown to provide substantial increases in storage utilization and operating efficiency over fixed partitioning.
Against dogma: On superluminal propagation in classical electromagnetism

It is deeply entrenched dogma that relativity theory prohibits superluminal propagation. It is also experimentally well-established that under some circumstances, classical electromagnetic fields propagate through a dielectric medium with superluminal group velocities and superluminal phase velocities. But it is usually claimed that these superluminal velocities do not violate the relativistic prohibition. Here I analyze electromagnetic fields in a dielectric medium within a framework for understanding superluminal propagation recently developed by Geroch(1996, 2011) and elaborated by Earman(2014). I will argue that for some parameter values, electromagnetic fields do propagate superluminally in the Geroch-Earman sense.
Electrical Safety in Industrial Plants

Many who handle electrical equipment mistakenly believe their tolerance to electric shock is related to their ability to withstand the pain of the shock. Actually, the lethal incidence is a function of current passage through the heart region, where there are no sensory nerves to detect pain. Additionally, the onset of possibly lethal currents is only marginally higher than those ranked just painful and well within the range of industrial low-voltage power systems. While asphyxiation is the physiological result of the first zone of over-painful shock, the second zone results in heart ventricular fibrillation, or heart disfunction. Not only is the latter nonself-curing on cessation of the current, but it is generally lethal within about 3 minutes. Constant awareness and specific safety instructions to those involved with electrical or electrically driven equipment, together with vigilant policing of the safety aspects of the equipment, are hallmarks in preventing personnel shock.
The Circumbinary Ring of KH 15D

The light curves of the pre-main-sequence star KH 15D from the years 1913-2003 can be understood if the star is a member of an eccentric binary that is encircled by a vertically thin, inclined ring of dusty gas. Eclipses occur whenever the reflex motion of a star carries it behind the circumbinary ring; the eclipses occur with a period equal to the binary orbital period of 48.4 days. Features of the light curve, including the amplitude of central reversals during mid-eclipse, the phase of the eclipse with respect to the binary orbit phase, the level of brightness out of eclipse, the depth of the eclipse, and the eclipse duty cycle, are all modulated on the timescale of nodal regression of the obscuring ring, in accord with the historical data. The ring has a mean radius near 3 AU and a radial width that is likely less than this value. While the inner boundary could be shepherded by the central binary, the outer boundary may require an exterior planet to confine it against viscous spreading. The ring must be vertically warped to maintain a nonzero inclination. Thermal pressure gradients and/or ring self-gravity can readily enforce rigid precession. In coming years, as the node of the ring regresses out of our line of sight toward the binary, the light curve from the system should cycle approximately back through its previous behavior. Near-term observations should seek to detect a mid-infrared excess from this system; we estimate the flux densities from the ring to be 3 mJy at wavelengths of 10-100 μm.
Galactic Bulge Formation as a Maximum Intensity Starburst

Properties of normal galactic star formation, including the density dependence, threshold density, turbulent scaling relations, and clustering properties, are applied to the formation of galactic bulges. One important difference is that the bulge potential well is too deep to have allowed self-regulation or blowout by the pressures from young stars, unlike galactic disks or dwarf galaxies. As a result, bulge formation should have been at the maximum rate, which is such that most of the gas would get converted into stars in only a few dynamical timescales, or ~108 yr. The gas accretion phase can be longer than this, but once the critical density is reached, which depends primarily on the total virial density from dark matter, the formation of stars in the bulge should be extremely rapid. Such three-dimensional star formation should also have formed many clusters, like normal disk star formation today. Some of these clusters may have survived as old globulars, but most were dispersed, although they might still be observable as concentrated streams in phase space.
Converter Design Techniques and Applications

Transistorized direct current voltage converters offer a number of advantages over other types because of their small size, low weight, high efficiency, high reliability, precision accuracy, and wide range of control.
The Economics of Tropical Deforestation

This paper provides a survey of "first wave" economic studies of tropical deforestation and land use. These studies of tropical forest land conversion are generally at the cross-country level. We also conduct a synthesis cross-country analysis of tropical agricultural land expansion. The results show that agricultural development is the main factor determining land expansion, but institutional factors have an important influence. Income effects tend to vary from region to region, and do not always display an "Environmental Kuznets Curve" relationship. Copyright 2001 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd
Utilization of polymerase chain reaction technology in the detection of solid tumors

BACKGROUND Most cancer detection tests currently performed are based on either antibody assays to a marker protein with altered expression in cancer patients or on imaging studies to identify characteristic lesions. Generally, for a positive result, these detection assays require that a tumor have a significant volume of cancer cells. Advances in diagnostic techniques and technology may allow for cancer detection at earlier stages, when the tumor burden is smaller and potentially more curable. The molecular techniques of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) are highly sensitive methods for detecting a small number of cancer cells. Over the past few years, numerous clinical studies have used PCR techniques to detect physical alterations of genes, such as mutations, deletions, translocations and amplification, the presence of oncogenic viruses, and the expression of genes specific to tissue, cancer, and metastasis. The current status of PCR as a method for detecting marker genes in the management of solid tumors is reviewed. METHODS A review of the literature on the clinical utility of PCR and RT-PCR in the detection of solid tumor micrometastasis was conducted. RESULTS Amplification by PCR is a highly sensitive method to determine gene expression. A single cell expressing a tumor marker among 10-100 million lymphocytes can be detected by the PCR assay. This approach has been used to detect tumor cells in approximately 18 different solid tumor types, with melanoma and carcinoma of the breast and prostate the most widely investigated to date. PCR-based assays have been used to detect cancer cells in biopsies of solid tissue, lymph nodes, bone marrow, peripheral blood, and other body fluids. Several studies have reported a high specificity and sensitivity of tumor marker detection and a high correlation between PCR results and the presence of metastatic disease. However, in a few studies, PCR assays have not consistently demonstrated a higher sensitivity and specificity of detection than traditional modalities for many types of cancer. There has been a wide range in sensitivity and specificity among the studies, which may be partly attributed to the lack of uniformity among the PCR protocols used in different studies. CONCLUSIONS PCR can detect tumor marker-expressing cells that are otherwise undetectable by other means in patients with localized or metastatic cancer. Reports from various study groups have lacked uniformity in their protocols, and this has prevented adequate comparison. The clinical utility of this assay as a tool for the prognosis and management of cancer patients remains and area of active investigation. PCR is a powerful tool in the study of the biology of cancer metastasis and will likely serve as a useful adjunct to clinical decision-making in the future. Cancer 1998;82:1419-42. © 1998 American Cancer Society.
M-branes and metastable states

We study a supersymmetry breaking deformation of the M-theory background found in arXiv:hep-th/0012011. The supersymmetric solution is a warped product of $ {\mathbb{R}^{2,1}} $ and the 8-dimensional Stenzel space, which is a higher dimensional generalization of the deformed conifold. At the bottom of the warped throat there is a 4-sphere threaded by $ \tilde{M} $ units of 4-form flux. The dual (2 + 1)-dimensional theory has a discrete spectrum of bound states. We add p anti-M2 branes at a point on the 4-sphere, and show that they blow up into an M5-brane wrapping a 3-sphere at a fixed azimuthal angle on the 4-sphere. This supersymmetry breaking state turns out to be metastable for $ {{p} \left/ {{\tilde{M}}} \right.}\mathop { < }\limits_\sim 0.054 $ . We find a smooth O(3)-symmetric Euclidean bounce solution in the M5-brane world volume theory that describes the decay of the false vacuum. Calculation of the Euclidean action shows that the metastable state is extremely long-lived. We also describe the corresponding metastable states and their decay in the type IIA background obtained by reduction along one of the spatial directions of $ {\mathbb{R}^{2,1}} $ .
Reactivity and Conformational Control Utilizing Liquid Crystalline Solvent Media

Abstract By examining reaction kinetics through the phase transitions of thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystalline media, several cases of marked reactivity control have been discovered. In lyotropic surfactant media, a number of reactions show marked discontinuities in reaction rates through the transitions from rod-like to disc-like phases. In thermotropic media, we have taken advantage of the phenomenon of reentrance to afford a phase sequence with decreasing temperature in which one proceeds from less ordered (nematic) to ordered (smectic) to less ordered again (reentrant nematic). The thermal isomerization of an indigo dye in such a medium indeed shows anti-Arrhenius behavior as a consequence of this phase sequence. We have also found that the atropisomerization of 1,1′-binaphthyl increases in rate through the nematic-smectic and smectic-solid transitions, presumably as a consequence of decreasing the barrier from transition state to product in the more ordered phases. Finally, we have demonstrat...
Some degenerations of Kazhdan–Lusztig ideals and multiplicities of Schubert varieties

Abstract We study Hilbert–Samuel multiplicity for points of Schubert varieties in the complete flag variety, by Grobner degenerations of the Kazhdan–Lusztig ideal. In the covexillary case, we give a manifestly positive combinatorial rule for multiplicity by establishing (with a Grobner basis) a reduced limit whose Stanley–Reisner simplicial complex is homeomorphic to a shellable ball or sphere. We show that multiplicity counts the number of facets of this complex. We also obtain a formula for the Hilbert series of the local ring. In particular, our work gives a multiplicity rule for Grassmannian Schubert varieties, providing alternative statements and proofs to formulae of Lakshmibai and Weyman (1990) [26] , Rosenthal and Zelevinsky (2001) [37] , Krattenthaler (2001) [22] , Kodiyalam and Raghavan (2003) [21] , Kreiman and Lakshmibai (2004) [24] , Ikeda and Naruse (2009) [13] and Woo and Yong (2009) [40] . We suggest extensions of our methodology to the general case.
Completeness of the Coulomb scattering wave functions.

The completeness of the eigenfunctions of a self-adjoint Hamiltonian, which is the basic ingredient of quantum mechanics, plays an important role in nuclear reaction and nuclear-structure theory. Here we present the first formal proof of the completeness of the two-body Coulomb scattering wave functions for a repulsive unscreened Coulomb potential using Newton’s method (R. Newton, J. Math. Phys. 1, 319 (1960)). The proof allows us to claim that the eigenfunctions of the two-body Hamiltonian, with the potential given by the sum of the repulsive Coulomb plus short-range (nuclear) potentials, form a complete set. It also allows one to extend Berggren’s approach for the modification of the complete set of eigenfunctions by including the resonances for charged particles. We also demonstrate that the resonant Gamow functions with Coulomb tail can be regularized using Zel’dovich’s regularization method.
Hydrogen/Plasticity Interactions at an Axial Crack in Pipeline Steel

The technology of large scale hydrogen transmission from central production facilities to refueling stations and stationary power sites is at present undeveloped. Among the problems which confront the implementation of this technology is the deleterious effect of hydrogen on structural material properties, in particular at gas pressure of 15 MPa which is the desirable transmission pressure suggested by economic studies for efficient transport. To investigate the hydrogen embrittlement of pipelines, a hydrogen transport methodology for the calculation of hydrogen accumulation ahead of a crack tip in a pipeline steel is outlined. This work addresses the interaction of hydrogen with an axial crack on the inside surface of the pipe. The approach accounts for stress-driven transient diffusion of hydrogen and trapping at microstructural defects whose density evolves dynamically with deformation. The results address the effect of hydrostatic constraint, stress, and plastic strain on the time it takes for the steady state hydrogen profiles to be established.
An interrupt based organization for management information systems

A programming structure, language constructs, and supervisorry system organization are proposed for the design and coding of large shared data base systems. The bases for this organization are a generalized interrupt structure and the newly introduced concept of ``file tagging'''', which is the process of associating program structures and interrupt generating conditions with items in the data base. An algorithm for resolving conflicts which arise in scheduling the interrupt processing routines is presented. DPL, a programming language and supervisory system in which these concepts are implemented, is used to illustrate the new organization which is proposed for management information systems. Keywords and phrases: management information systems, integrated data processing, supervisors, interrupts, monitoring systems, supervisory systems, interrupt scheduling, parallel processing.