cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The isometric self-organizing map for 3D hand pose estimation

We propose an isometric self-organizing map (ISO-SOM) method for nonlinear dimensionality reduction, which integrates a self-organizing map model and an ISOMAP dimension reduction algorithm, organizing the high dimension data in a low dimension lattice structure. We apply the proposed method to the problem of appearance-based 3D hand posture estimation. As a learning stage, we use a realistic 3D hand model to generate data encoding the mapping between the hand pose space and the image feature space. The intrinsic dimension of such nonlinear mapping is learned by ISOSOM, which clusters the data into a lattice map. We perform 3D hand posture estimation on this map, showing that the ISOSOM algorithm performs better than traditional image retrieval algorithms for pose estimation. We also show that a 2.5D feature representation based on depth edges is clearly superior to intensity edge features commonly used in previous methods.
The Effects of Actuation Schemes on the Kinematic Performance of Manipulators

This paper is concerned with the effects of actuation schemes on three measures of kinematic performance which depend upon a manipulator’s Jacobian matrix (namely, the minimum singular value, the manipulability, and the condition number). We begin by presenting a simple framework on how to incorporate actuator location and drive mechanisms in the kinematic model. Then, we redefine the performance measures using the new model. For each measure we derive properties relating its joint space to its actuator space description. Next we demonstrate that the choice of actuation scheme influences the size, shape, and direction of the velocity ellipsoid of the end-effector. Finally, we employ the above concepts in the design of a 2R planar mechanical arm. Its transmission ratios and drive mechanisms are selected in order to obtain good kinematic characteristics. We show that the choice of actuation scheme can be used to improve kinematic performance.
A new method for distributing power usage across a sensor network

We present a method for more uniformly distributing the energy burden across a wireless ground-based sensor network communicating with an overhead unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A subset of sensor nodes, termed a transmit cluster, receives and aggregates data gathered by the entire network, and forms a distributed antenna array, concentrating the radiated transmission into a narrow beam aimed towards the UAV. Because these duties are power-intensive, the role of transmit cluster must be shifted to different nodes as time progresses. We present an algorithm to reassign the transmit cluster, specifying the time that should elapse between reassignments and the number of hops that should be placed between successive transmit clusters in order to achieve three competing goals: first, we wish to better and more broadly spread the energy load across the sensor network while, second, minimizing the energy expended in moving the transmit cluster, all the while, third, reducing to the extent practicable the time to bring the UAV and the sensor network's beam into alignment. Additionally, we present a method for reconfiguring the communication burden between the ground-based sensor network and the UAV. We describe and analyze two alternative strategies to bring the UAV and the sensor network's beam into alignment, while minimizing the energy expended by the sensor network. The performance of the two strategies is compared in terms of probability of beam-UAV alignment as a function of time, and the expected time to alignment. We examine the performance tradeoff between the choice of strategy and parameters of the sensor network that affect power conservation.
Why do people die in earthquakes ? the costs, benefits and institutions of disaster risk reduction in developing countries

Every year, around 60,000 people die worldwide in natural disasters. The majority of the deaths are caused by building collapse in earthquakes, and the great majority occurs in the developing world. This is despite the fact that engineering solutions exist that can almost completely eliminate the risk of such deaths. Why is this? The engineering solutions are both expensive and technically demanding, so that the benefit-cost ratio of such solutions is often unfavorable compared with other interventions designed to save lives in developing countries. Nonetheless, a range of public disaster risk-reduction interventions (including construction activities) are highly cost effective. The fact that such interventions often remain unimplemented or ineffectively executed points to a role for issues of political economy. Building regulations in developing countries appear to have limited impact in many cases, perhaps because of limited capacity and the impact of corruption. Public construction is often of low quality - perhaps for similar reasons. This suggests approaches that emphasize simple and limited disaster risk regulation covering only the most at-risk structures and that (preferably) can be monitored by non-experts. It also suggests a range of transparency and oversight mechanisms for public construction projects.
COPULAS AND TEMPORAL DEPENDENCE

An emerging literature in time series econometrics concerns the modeling of potentially nonlinear temporal dependence in stationary Markov chains using copula functions. We obtain sucient conditions for a geometric rate of mixing in models of this kind. Geometric beta-mixing is established under a rather strong sucient condition that rules out asymmetry and tail dependence in the copula function. Geometric rho-mixing is obtained under a weaker condition that permits both asymmetry and tail dependence. We verify one or both of these conditions for a range of parametric copula functions that are popular in applied work.
An evaluation of research authorship by gender in major academic and professional accounting journals

The role of gender is an important issue in the accounting field, both in practice and in higher education. This study provides a longitudinal analysis of female authorship of articles published in six major accounting journals, three academic journals and three professional journals: The Accounting Review , Contemporary Accounting Research , Journal of Accounting Research , The CPA Journal , the Journal of Accountancy, and Strategic Finance . Articles are classified into 11 different research categories and comparisons of authorship by gender are made across these categories. Results reveal that female academicians are making a significantly greater contribution to accounting research than in the past, both in academic and professional journals, reflecting their increasing representation and acceptance among accounting academics. This study makes a unique contribution by its analysis regarding the factors of gender, research topic area, and practice versus academic journals. The study extends prior gender publication research by examining how female researchers’ performance has changed relative to that of males over time.
Is a shutdown of the thermohaline circulation irreversible

[1] The Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) plays a vital role in explaining past abrupt climate changes and in maintaining the current climate. Its remarkable nonlinear dynamics, first demonstrated by H. M. Stommel, have been supported by various types of climate models. This has led to severe concerns that global warming may shut down the THC irreversibly, with consequent catastrophic climate changes, particularly for Europe. Here we use an uncoupled ocean general circulation model (OGCM) and a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) to investigate the nonlinear response of the THC to freshwater perturbations in the northern North Atlantic. We find that the THC shuts down irreversibly in the uncoupled OGCM simulations but reversibly in the coupled AOGCM simulations. This occurs because of different feedback processes operating in the uncoupled OGCM and AOGCM. The reversal of the THC in the uncoupled OGCM tends to stabilize the “off” mode of the THC by decreasing the mean salinity of the Atlantic, whereas a crucial negative feedback in the AOGCM helps the THC recover. This negative feedback results from complex air-sea interactions, and its operation needs the full participation of the atmosphere. Thus given the more realistic simulation by the AOGCM, the irreversible shutdown of the THC caused by freshwater addition appears to be an artifact of the uncoupled OGCM rather than a likely outcome of global warming.
Multi-document summarization by graph search and matching

We describe a new method for summarizing similarities and differences in a pair of related documents using a graph representation for text. Concepts denoted by words, phrases, and proper names in the document are represented positionally as nodes in the graph along with edges corresponding to semantic relations between items. Given a perspective in terms of which the pair of documents is to be summarized, the algorithm first uses a spreading activation technique to discover, in each document, nodes semantically related to the topic. The activated graphs of each document are then matched to yield a graph corresponding to similarities and differences between the pair, which is rendered in natural language. An evaluation of these techniques has been carried out.
Catalytic asymmetric assembly of stereodefined propionate units: an enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-pironetin.

Double diastereoselection in alkaloid-catalyzed acyl halide−aldehyde cyclocondensation (AAC) reactions provides a strategy for realizing syn- or anti-selective propionate aldol additions from a common reaction manifold. Matched AAC homologation of enantioenriched aldehydes afford cis-disubstituted β-lactones as surrogates for syn aldols; the mismatched AAC reactions provide anti-selective aldols in the form of trans-disubstituted 2-oxetanones. The utility of this reaction technology in synthesis activities is exemplified in a catalytic asymmetric total synthesis of (−)-pironetin.
Facile synthesis of 2-substituted 1,2-dihydro-1-naphthols and 2-substituted 1-naphthols.

The palladium-catalyzed ring opening of dimethoxy oxabenzonorbornadiene with aryl or vinyl halides occurred under very mild conditions to give substituted 1,2-dihydronaphthols that were oxidized with IBX to furnish substituted naphthols in excellent overall yields.
UTILITY OF A SPECIAL SECOND SCALAR DOUBLET

This review deals with the recent resurgence of interest in adding a second scalar doublet (η+, η0) to the Standard Model of particle interactions. In most studies, it is taken for granted that η0 should have a nonzero vacuum expectation value, even if it may be very small. What if there is an exactly conserved symmetry which ensures 〈η0 〉 = 0? The phenomenological ramifications of this idea include dark matter, radiative neutrino mass, leptogenesis, and grand unification.
On the combined effect of DPSK modulation level and block coding on cellular capacity

The author considers how closely the theoretical limiting cellular capacity, given as a function of CIR (carrier-to-interference ratio) by himself (1992), may be achieved by commonly used modulation and coding schemes. The variation in channels/cell with CIR in the face of varying modulation level and block coding length is considered. It is seen that the advantage of quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) over 8PSK is reduced in the presence of coding. It is seen that the ratio of actual capacity to the limiting value is constant over a range of CIR values.
Precise memory leak detection for java software using container profiling

A memory leak in a Java program occurs when object references that are no longer needed are unnecessarily maintained. Such leaks are difficult to detect because static analysis typically cannot precisely identify these redundant references, and existing dynamic leak detection tools track and report fine-grained information about individual objects, producing results that are usually hard to interpret and lack precision.In this article we introduce a novel container-based heap-tracking technique, based on the fact that many memory leaks in Java programs occur due to incorrect uses of containers, leading to containers that keep references to unused data entries. The novelty of the described work is twofold: (1) instead of tracking arbitrary objects and finding leaks by analyzing references to unused objects, the technique tracks only containers and directly identifies the source of the leak, and (2) the technique computes a confidence value for each container based on a combination of its memory consumption and its elements' staleness (time since last retrieval), while previous approaches do not consider such combined metrics. Our experimental results show that the reports generated by the proposed technique can be very precise: for two bugs reported by Sun, a known bug in SPECjbb 2000, and an example bug from IBM developerWorks, the top containers in the reports include the containers that leak memory.
EXACT n-SPINON DYNAMIC STRUCTURE FACTOR OF THE HEISENBERG MODEL

Using the spinon picture we derive an integral representation for the exact n-spinon dynamic structure factor of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg model.
Preparation and Use of a Boron Nitride Precursor as Binder for the Densification of Boron Nitride

A precursor of boron nitride was prepared through the partial condensation of 2,4,6-trichloroborazine and bis-(trimethylsilyl)acetylene. This reaction was conducted at 100°C and is catalyzed by AlCl3. The condensation product pyrolyzed at 800°C, producing trimethylsilyl chloride as a volatile product and a boron nitride rich residue containing 54 wt% of the initial weight. Mixtures of the precursor and commercial boron nitride were made and hot-pressed at 800°C and 27.6 MPa. A maximum density of 1.84 g/cm3 is reached at a loading corresponding to the deposition of 13 wt% residue derived from the precursor. Examination by analytical electron microscopy, including X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy analyses, revealed the location of material derived from the precursor in BN-binder composites through the presence of residual aluminum, silicon, and carbon. Crystallization of boron nitride from the precursor appears to have taken place, as deduced from the morphology of the phases observed and association with residual elements present in the binder.
Monitoring and collusion with 'soft' information

In the standard principal-supervisor-agent model with collusion, Tirole (1986) shows that employing a supervisor is profitable for the principal if the supervisor's signal of the agent's cost of production is 'hard' (i.e., verifiable but hideable). Anecdotal evidence suggests that information is sometimes 'soft' (i.e., unverifiable). We show that, in fact, it is profitable to employ a supervisor when information is 'soft' even though the three parties can collude. Therefore, standard applications of the principal-supervisor-agent model to regulation and auditing have more scope than previously thought. Copyright 1999 by Oxford University Press.
Synthetic Elaboration of N-Substituents in Thioamides

Abstract N -(Benzotriazol-1-ylmethyl)arylthioamides, readily prepared from arylthioamides, formaldehyde and benzotriazole, undergo lithiation followed by reactions with alkyl halides, aldehydes and ketones to introduce the expected N -substituents into the N -methylene group. Subsequent displacements of the benzotriazolyl group by Grignard reagents, alkoxide or thioalkoxide anions provide general access to a wide variety of N -substituted thioamides in good yields.
Computing optical flow with physical models of brightness variation

Although most optical flow techniques presume brightness constancy, it is well-known that this constraint is often violated, producing poor estimates of image motion. This paper describes a generalized formulation of optical flow estimation based on models of brightness variations that are caused by time-dependent physical processes. These include changing surface orientation with respect to a directional illuminant, motion of the illuminant, and physical models of heat transport in infrared images. With these models, we simultaneously estimate the 2D image motion and the relevant physical parameters of the brightness change model. The estimation problem is formulated using total least squares, with confidence bounds on the parameters. Experiments in four domains, with both synthetic and natural inputs, show how this formulation produces superior estimates of the 2D image motion.
Primitive Quantum BCH Codes over Finite Fields

An attractive feature of BCH codes is that one can infer valuable information from their design parameters (length, size of the finite field, and designed distance), such as bounds on the minimum distance and dimension of the code. In this paper, it is shown that one can also deduce from the design parameters whether or not a primitive, narrow-sense BCH contains its Euclidean or Hermitian dual code. This information is invaluable in the construction of quantum BCH codes. A new proof is provided for the dimension of BCH codes with small designed distance, and simple bounds on the minimum distance of such codes and their duals are derived as a consequence. These results allow us to derive the parameters of two families of primitive quantum BCH codes as a function of their design parameters.
Electron beam depolarization in a damping ring

Depolarization of a polarized electron beam injected into a damping ring is analyzed by extending calculations conventionally applied to proton synchrotrons. Synchrotron radiation in an electron ring gives rise to both polarizing and depolarizing effects. In a damping ring, the beam is stored for a time much less than the time for self polarization. Spin flip radiation may therefore be neglected. Synchrotron radiation without spin flips, however, must be considered as the resonance strength depends on the vertical betatron oscillation amplitude which changes as the electron beam is radiation damped. An expression for the beam polarization at extraction is derived which takes into account radiation damping. The results are applied to the electron ring at the Stanford Linear Collider and are compared with numerical matrix formalisms. >
2-oxo-3-butenoate esters as dienophiles and their utility in a novel synthesis of pyrroles

Abstract Trisubstituted pyrroles of type 8 have been prepared in a regiospecific fashion by a two step sequence involving Diels-Alder reaction of 2-oxo-3-butenoate esters 1 with 2-alkoxy-1,3-pentadiene derivatives 13 , followed by ozonolysis and Paal-Knorr cyclization.
Stockpiles of obsolete pesticides and cleanup priorities : a methodology and application for Tunisia

Obsolete pesticides have accumulated in almost every developing country or economy in transition over the past several decades. Public health and environmental authorities are eager to reduce health threats by removing and decontaminating stockpile sites, but there are many sites, cleanup can be costly, and public resources are scarce. Under these conditions, it seems sensible to develop a methodology for prioritizing sites and treating them sequentially, as budgetary resources permit. This paper presents a methodology that develops cleanup priority indices for Tunisia. The approach integrates information on populations at risk, their proximity to stockpiles, and the relative toxic hazards of the stockpiles. The robustness of this approach is tested by varying model parameters widely and testing for stability in the rank-ordering of results.
Using software defined radio (SDR) to demonstrate concepts in communications and signal processing courses

The fundamental course in communications included in most electrical engineering programs introduces the challenging concepts of analog and/or digital modulation techniques, filters and other signal processing systems. Inherently mathematical in nature, communications theory is a completely abstract concept for students. This is particularly true now since most of our students lack practical, hands-on experience with communications systems. Classroom demonstrations illustrating the theoretical concepts as they are introduced can be vital in motivating students and helping their understanding.
Martian subsurface properties and crater formation processes inferred from fresh impact crater geometries

The geometry of simple impact craters reflects the properties of the target materials, and the diverse range of fluidized morphologies observed in Martian ejecta blankets are controlled by the near-surface composition and the climate at the time of impact. Using the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data set, quantitative information about the strength of the upper crust and the dynamics of Martian ejecta blankets may be derived from crater geometry measurements. Here, we present the results from geometrical measurements of fresh craters 3-50 km in rim diameter in selected highland (Lunae and Solis Plana) and lowland (Acidalia, Isidis, and Utopia Planitiae) terrains. We find large, resolved differences between the geometrical properties of the freshest highland and lowland craters. Simple lowland craters are 1.5-2.0 times deeper (≥5σo difference) with >50% larger cavities (≥2σo) compared to highland craters of the same diameter. Rim heights and the volume of material above the preimpact surface are slightly greater in the lowlands over most of the size range studied. The different shapes of simple highland and lowland craters indicate that the upper ~6.5 km of the lowland study regions are significantly stronger than the upper crust of the highland plateaus. Lowland craters collapse to final volumes of 45-70% of their transient cavity volumes, while highland craters preserve only 25-50%. The effective yield strength of the upper crust in the lowland regions falls in the range of competent rock, approximately 9-12 MPa, and the highland plateaus may be weaker by a factor of 2 or more, consistent with heavily fractured Noachian layered deposits. The measured volumes of continuous ejecta blankets and uplifted surface materials exceed the predictions from standard crater scaling relationships and Maxwell's Z model of crater excavation by a factor of 3. The excess volume of fluidized ejecta blankets on Mars cannot be explained by concentration of ejecta through nonballistic emplacement processes and/or bulking. The observations require a modification of the scaling laws and are well fit using a scaling factor of ~1.4 between the transient crater surface diameter to the final crater rim diameter and excavation flow originating from one projectile diameter depth with Z = 2.7. The refined excavation model provides the first observationally constrained set of initial parameters for study of the formation of fluidized ejecta blankets on Mars.
Evaluation of financial liberalization : a general equilibrium model with constrained occupation choice

The objective of this paper is to assess both the aggregate growth effects and the distributional consequences of financial liberalization as observed in Thailand from 1976 to 1996. A general equilibrium occupational choice model with two sectors, one without intermediation, and the other with borrowing and lending, is taken to Thai data. Key parameters of the production technology and the distribution of entrepreneurial talent are estimated by maximizing the likelihood of transition into business given initial wealth as observed in two distinct datasets. Other parameters of the model are calibrated to try to match the two decades of growth as well as observed changes in inequality, labor share, savings, and the number of entrepreneurs. Without an expansion in the size of the intermediated sector, Thailand would have evolved very differently, namely, with a drastically lower growth rate, high residual subsistence sector, non-increasing wages, but lower inequality. The financial liberalization brings welfare gains and losses to different subsets of the population. Primary winners are talented would-be entrepreneurs who lack credit and cannot otherwise go into business (or invest little capital). Mean gains for these winners range from 17 to 34 percent of observed overall average household income. But liberalization also induces greater demand by entrepreneurs for workers resulting in increases in the wage and lower profits of relatively rich entrepreneurs of the same order of magnitude as the observed overall average income of firm owners. Foreign capital has no significant impact on growth or the distribution of observed income.
Phosphorus availability, phytoplankton community dynamics, and taxon-specific phosphorus status in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

The relationships among phytoplankton taxon-specific phosphorus-status, phytoplankton community composition, and nutrient levels were assessed over three seasons in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. During summer and fall, stratified surface waters were depleted of nutrients, and picophytoplankton populations comprised the majority of cells (80% and 88%, respectively). In winter, surface nutrient concentrations were higher and larger phytoplankton were more abundant (63%). Cell-specific alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) derived from enzyme-labeled fluorescence was consistently low (<5%) in the picophytoplankton population throughout the year, whereas larger cells expressed increased APA (up to 68% labeling in some taxa) during the summer and fall but less in the winter. A nutrient addition bioassay during the fall showed that after addition of orthophosphate along with a nitrogen source, APA in larger cells was reduced by half relative to the control, whereas the APA of picophytoplankton groups remained low (<1%) across all treatments. These results indicate that the most abundant phytoplankton in the gulf are not limited by orthophosphate, and only some subpopulations (particularly of larger cells) exhibit orthophosphate limitation throughout the year, and more so in the summer and fall. Our results indicate that orthophosphate availability influences phytoplankton ecology, correlating with shifts in phytoplankton community structure and the nutrient status of individual cells. The role of dissolved organic phosphorus as an important phosphorus source for marine phytoplankton in oligotrophic settings and the need for evaluating nutrient limitation at the taxa and/or single cell level (rather than inferring it from nutrient concentrations and ratios or bulk enzyme activity measurements) are highlighted.
Tumor Metastasis: Molecular Insights and Evolving Paradigms

Metastases represent the end products of a multistep cell-biological process termed the invasion-metastasis cascade, which involves dissemination of cancer cells to anatomically distant organ sites and their subsequent adaptation to foreign tissue microenvironments. Each of these events is driven by the acquisition of genetic and/or epigenetic alterations within tumor cells and the co-option of nonneoplastic stromal cells, which together endow incipient metastatic cells with traits needed to generate macroscopic metastases. Recent advances provide provocative insights into these cell-biological and molecular changes, which have implications regarding the steps of the invasion-metastasis cascade that appear amenable to therapeutic targeting.
Ionization in Reacting Gases.

Ionization associated with the oxidation of ethyl alcohol in contact with electrodes.—Previous work had shown that various gaseous reactions are accompanied by ionization. The oxidation of ethyl alcohol was chosen because of its simplicity. Nitrogen carrying 3 cc of alcohol per minute and also dry oxygen at the rate of 200 cc per minute were sent into a reaction chamber between two concentric cylindrical electrodes. The currents were measured with an electrometer provided with a radioactive shunt. Although potential differences up to 1800 volts (2400 volts per cm) were used, the current was always proportional to the voltage, being evidently far from saturation. The variation with temperature, 150° to 330°C, was exponential, increasing in the case of gold electrodes 20 fold from 200° to 320°C. With Al electrodes the current was only 1/25th as great, and chemical analysis of the products of reaction indicated that the oxidation was also greatly reduced. The results show that the reaction occurs at the electrode surfaces, the rate depending on the material and on the temperature, and that both positive and negative ions are produced. The absence of saturation is probably due to the ions being formed so close to the surface. Copper electrodes gave anomalous results, a negative Cu electrode behaving like Au while a positive Cu electrode behaved like Al. A soft glass electrode behaved like gold, except that the logarithmic increase with temperature was twice as fast for the negative as for the positive electrode.
Charging of Fractal Dust Agglomerates in a Plasma Environment

Summary form only given. In studying the coagulation of micron-sized dust grains (an important process in fields as diverse as planet formation and plasma processing of silicon wafers for computer chips) it has become evident that the charge on the grains plays a crucial role in the structure and evolution of the grains in the dust population. In particular, the manner in which the charge is arranged on the grain due to anisotropic charging currents, charge rearrangement on the surface, or induced charge-dipole interactions is a critical factor in determining the coagulation rate and size evolution of the dust cloud. Here we present preliminary models for the charge on fractal aggregates immersed in a plasma environment.
Neoadjuvant therapy for breast cancer: Assessing treatment progress and managing poor responders

There is no clear consensus regarding the most effective management of poor responders to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Intensifying or changing primary systemic treatment has not been shown to offer any benefit. There is a paucity of trials testing the utility of adjuvant chemotherapy in this setting. Adjuvant hormonal treatment significantly decreases relapse rates in patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, regardless of initial response to chemotherapy. Neoadjuvant hormonal therapy is usually reserved for patients who are not candidates for chemotherapy or surgery. In patients with HER-2-overexpressing tumors who are candidates for chemotherapy, trastuzumab improves outcomes when administered in the preoperative or postoperative setting. This article examines issues related to the assessment of response to preoperative therapy and the clinical use of these assessments. It reviews important clinical evidence related to the utility of further treatment in patients with breast cancer that has responded poorly to neoadjuvant treatment.
The impact of information disclosure on quality of care in HMO markets

Objective To examine the impact of voluntary information disclosure on quality of care in Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) markets in the USA. Setting Commercial HMOs that collected a set of standardized quality meausures, Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS), between 1997 and 2000 in the USA (1062 HMO-years). After collecting the HEDIS data, some HMOs disclosed their HEDIS-quality scores to the public (disclosing HMOs), whereas some HMOs declined to disclose the information (non-disclosing HMOs). Design A secondary data analysis based on 4 years of quality scores of HMOs. The study uses non-disclosing plans as a control group. A treatment-effects model is used to address a potential bias associated with voluntary disclosure decisions by HMOs. Main outcome measure(s) The study focuses on 13 HEDIS clinical indicators. On the basis of these indicators, a plan-level composite score and four domain scores were constructed. The four domains are childhood immunizations, treatments/exams for chronic conditions, screening tests and maternity services. Results Public disclosure leads to an increase of 0.72 composite score units, which corresponds to ∼7% points in original quality scale (0-100%). The degree of quality improvement differed by the type of services. Conclusions Public release of quality information had a significant and positive effect on quality in HMO markets during the earlier years of the voluntary disclosure program; however, the improvement was not universal across all quality measures.
An SZ temperature decrement-X-ray luminosity relation for galaxy clusters

We present the observed relation between ΔTSZ, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature decrement due to the Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) effect, and L, the X-ray luminosity of galaxy clusters. We discuss this relation in terms of the cluster properties, and show that the slope of the observed ΔTSZ–L relation is in agreement with both the L–Te relation based on numerical simulations and X-ray emission observations, and the Mgas–L relation based on observation. The slope of the ΔTSZ–L relation is also consistent with the Mtot–L relation, where Mtot is the cluster total mass based on gravitational lensing observations. This agreement may be taken to imply a constant gas mass fraction within galaxy clusters, however, there are large uncertainties, dominated by observational errors, associated with these relations. Using the ΔTSZ–L relation and the cluster X-ray luminosity function, we evaluate the local cluster contribution to arcmin-scale cosmic microwave background anisotropies. The Compton distortion y-parameter produced by galaxy clusters through the SZ effect is roughly two orders of magnitude lower than the current upper limit based on FIRAS observations.
Covering theory for complexes of groups

We develop an explicit covering theory for complexes of groups, parallel to that developed for graphs of groups by Bass. Given a covering of developable complexes of groups, we construct the induced monomorphism of fundamental groups and isometry of universal covers. We characterize faithful complexes of groups and prove a conjugacy theorem for groups acting freely on polyhedral complexes. We also define an equivalence relation on coverings of complexes of groups, which allows us to construct a bijection between such equivalence classes, and subgroups or overgroups of a fixed lattice G in the automorphism group of a locally finite polyhedral complex X.
Regioselective allylic amination catalyzed by iron salts

Abstract Alkenes react with phenylhydroxylamine in the presence of Fe(II) and Fe(III) salts to produce N-phenyl-N-allyl amines in moderate to good yields. Unsymmetrical substrates react with high regioselectivity giving the products of double bond transposition.
Toward a Constructional Approach to Social Problems: Ethical and Constitutional Issues Raised by Applied Behavior Analysis

[NOTE: This classic paper was originally published in 1974 in Behaviorism, 2, 1-84, by the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. It is reprinted here with permission from the Cambridge Center, to make it more widely available to the contemporary scientific and practice community. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected, and the references reformatted for reasonable consistency with current APA style. Goldiamond clearly intended to use programed rather than programmed, and other similar variations, although the latter is now almost universal. Such usage has not been changed. Ed.]
Cash or Condition? Evidence from a Cash Transfer Experiment

This brief summarizes the results of a gender impact evaluation study, entitled Cash or condition evidence from a cash transfer experiment, conducted from 2008 to the end of 2009 in Malawi. The study observed the impact of conditionality in cash transfer programs with two distinct interventions: unconditional transfers (UCT arm) and transfers conditional on school attendance (CCT arm) targeted at adolescent girls in Malawi on individual level. Dropout rates declined in both treatment arms, however the UCT arm is 43 percent as large as the CCT arm. The fraction of days attended in the CCT arm is significantly higher than the UCT. Cognitive ability, math and English scores significantly improve for the CCT but not for the UCT. Probability of pregnancy and marriage were much lower in the UCT arm. The delays in marriage and fertility in the UCT arm are found entirely among adolescent girls who dropped out of school after the start of the intervention. Improvements in human capital for the recipients of the CCT are achieved at the cost of worse outcomes for people who drop out of school. Funding for the study derived from the Global Development Network, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Africa Project, World Bank Research Support Budget Grant, World Bank Knowledge for Change Trust Fund, World Development Report 2007 Small Grants Fund, Spanish Impact Evaluation Fund, and Gender Action Plan Trust Fund.
Synthesis and characterization of Prussian blue analogues incorporating the edge-bridged octahedral [Zr6BCl12]2+ cluster core.

In attempts to produce a microporous magnet, two approaches were explored for expanding the Prussian blue structure type via incorporation of edge-bridged octahedral [Zr6ZCl12]2+ (Z = B, Be) cluster cores. Dissolution of Rb5Zr6BCl18 and K5Zr6BeCl15 in an acetonitrile solution of Et4N(CN) led to the isolation of (Et4N)5[Zr6BCl12(CN)6] (1) and (Et4N)5[Zr6BeCl12(CN)6]·2MeCN·2THF (2), respectively. The crystal structure of 1·1.5MeCN revealed the expected cyano-terminated cluster complex with a trans-N···N span of 11.73(3) A. Unfortunately, both [Zr6ZCl12(CN)6]5- clusters rapidly lose their cyanide ligands in aqueous solution making them ill-suited for solid-forming reactions with hydrated metal ions. Such outer-ligand exchange, however, allows the use of [Zr6BCl18]4- in the synthesis of expanded Prussian blue-type solids through reactions with [Cr(CN)6]3-. The use of 2.2 M aqueous LiCl to stabilize the cluster during the reaction gave (Et4N)2[Zr6BCl12][Cr(CN)6]Cl·3H2O (3), while the use of 1 M acetic acid yie...
The rhetoric of women's liberation: An oxymoron

(1999). The rhetoric of women's liberation: An oxymoron. Communication Studies: Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 125-137.
Transfer of information technology to the Arab world: a test of cultural influence modeling

The complex societal beliefs and values of the Arab world provide a rich setting to examine the hypothesized influence of culture on information technology transfer (ITT). Two research questions arise in this context: (1) Do cultural beliefs and values affect the transference of information technology in the Arab world? and (2) Does contact with technologically advanced societies impact ITT and systems outcomes? The present study addresses these research questions by conceptualizing and testing a cultural influence model of ITT. In this model, cultural beliefs and values are one major construct while a counterbalancing variable is the external influence of technologically advanced societies. These constructs along with the variable "national IT development "form the conceptual basis for the model. This study is the second part of a program of research investigating ITT. The setting of the study was Arab society, which allowed us to test our "cultural influence" model in, perhaps, one of the more complex cultural and social systems in the world. The program of research took place in several phases. In the early phases, Arab-American businessmen and women as well as Arabs studying in American universities were studied. In the latter phases, the cross-disciplinary research team gathered primary data in the Arab cultures of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and the Sudan. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to explore the phenomenon of ITT. This paper reports quantitative findings from the latter phase. Findings suggest that the model has explanatory power. Arab cultural beliefs were a very strong predictor of resistance to systems and thus ITT; technological culturation was also a factor. These results have implications for future theory-testing and for technology policy-setting by responsible Arab leaders. Additionally, there are implications for transnational firms and managers charged with introducing IT in foreign ports, subsidiaries, offices, and plants.
BF3-mediated additions of organolithiums to ketimines: X-ray crystal structures of BF3-ketimine complexes.

Additions of lithium acetylides and n-BuLi to N-alkyl ketimines mediated by BF3−Et2O in THF afford hindered tert-alkylamines in moderate to good yields. Stereochemical results and crystal structures of three BF3−imine complexes suggest that allylic strain strongly influences conformation and may be an important determinant of reactivity and selectivity.
QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS AT SMALL DISTANCES

The renormalized propagation functions DFC and SFC for photons and electrons, respectively, are investigated for momenta much greater than the mass of the electron. It is found that in this region the individual terms of the perturbation series to all orders in the coupling constant take on very simple asymptotic forms. An attempt to sum the entire series is only partially successful. It is found that the series satisfy certain functional equations by virtue of the renormalizability of the theory. If photon self-energy parts are omitted from the series, so that D_(FC)=D_F, then S_(FC) has the asymptotic form A[p^2m^2]^n[iγ⋅p]^(−1), where A=A(e_1^2) and n=n(e_1^2). When all diagrams are included, less specific results are found. One conclusion is that the shape of the charge distribution surrounding a test charge in the vacuum does not, at small distances, depend on the coupling constant except through a scale factor. The behavior of the propagation functions for large momenta is related to the magnitude of the renormalization constants in the theory. Thus it is shown that the unrenormalized coupling constant e_0^2/4πℏc, which appears in perturbation theory as a power series in the renormalized coupling constant e_1^2/4πℏc with divergent coefficients, may behave in either of two ways: (a) It may really be infinite as perturbation theory indicates; (b) It may be a finite number independent of e_1^2/4πℏc.
Complexity of Manipulative Actions When Voting with Ties

Most of the computational study of election problems has assumed that each voter's preferences are, or should be extended to, a total order. However in practice voters may have preferences with ties. We study the complexity of manipulative actions on elections where voters can have ties, extending the definitions of the election systems when necessary to handle voters with ties. We show that for natural election systems allowing ties can both increase and decrease the complexity of manipulation and bribery, and we state a general result on the effect of voters with ties on the complexity of control.
Exponential Asymptotics for Line Solitons in Two‐Dimensional Periodic Potentials

As a first step toward a fully two-dimensional asymptotic theory for the bifurcation of solitons from infinitesimal continuous waves, an analytical theory is presented for line solitons, whose envelope varies only along one direction, in general two-dimensional periodic potentials. For this two-dimensional problem, it is no longer viable to rely on a certain recurrence relation for going beyond all orders of the usual multiscale perturbation expansion, a key step of the exponential asymptotics procedure previously used for solitons in one-dimensional problems. Instead, we propose a more direct treatment which not only overcomes the recurrence-relation limitation, but also simplifies the exponential asymptotics process. Using this modified technique, we show that line solitons with any rational line slopes bifurcate out from every Bloch-band edge; and for each rational slope, two line-soliton families exist. Furthermore, line solitons can bifurcate from interior points of Bloch bands as well, but such line solitons exist only for a couple of special line angles due to resonance with the Bloch bands. In addition, we show that a countable set of multiline-soliton bound states can be constructed analytically. The analytical predictions are compared with numerical results for both symmetric and asymmetric potentials, and good agreement is obtained.
Conditional gradient type methods for composite nonlinear and stochastic optimization

In this paper, we present a conditional gradient type (CGT) method for solving a class of composite optimization problems where the objective function consists of a (weakly) smooth term and a (strongly) convex regularization term. While including a strongly convex term in the subproblems of the classical conditional gradient method improves its rate of convergence, it does not cost per iteration as much as general proximal type algorithms. More specifically, we present a unified analysis for the CGT method in the sense that it achieves the best known rate of convergence when the weakly smooth term is nonconvex and possesses (nearly) optimal complexity if it turns out to be convex. While implementation of the CGT method requires explicitly estimating problem parameters like the level of smoothness of the first term in the objective function, we also present a few variants of this method which relax such estimation. Unlike general proximal type parameter free methods, these variants of the CGT method do not require any additional effort for computing (sub)gradients of the objective function and/or solving extra subproblems at each iteration. We then generalize these methods under stochastic setting and present a few new complexity results. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such complexity results are presented for solving stochastic weakly smooth nonconvex and (strongly) convex optimization problems.
A Simple Hierarchical Pooling Data Structure for Loop Closure

We propose a data structure obtained by hierarchically pooling Bag-of-Words (BoW) descriptors during a sequence of views that achieves average speedups in large-scale loop closure applications ranging from 2 to 20 times on benchmark datasets. Although simple, the method works as well as sophisticated agglomerative schemes at a fraction of the cost with minimal loss of performance.