cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Jet quenching in thin plasmas

Abstract We investigate the energy loss of quarks and gluons produced in hard processes resulting from final state rescatterings in a finite quark-gluon plasma. The angular distribution of the soft gluon bremsstrahlung induced by n s = 1 rescatterings in the plasma is computed in the Gyulassy-Wang model. Special focus is on how the interference between the initial hard radiation amplitude, the multiple induced Gunion-Bertsch radiation amplitudes, and gluon rescattering amplitudes modifies the classical parton cascade results.
Alcoholism and related traits: a summary of Group 13 contributions

Ten groups set out to study the genetics of alcoholism, using various measures of alcohol dependence such as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria, and related endophenotypes such as the electrophysiological evaluation of event-related potentials. The groups used both genome-wide microsatellite and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping data in families selected from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. The majority of investigators studied alcohol-related phenotypes and chose linkage rather than association analysis. The analysis of SNP data presented several challenges, including marker linkage disequilibrium issues and computational limitations. Many groups pursued novel techniques, both in dealing with the SNP data and the definition of phenotypes. While there was a limited amount of concordance among linkage findings, it was very instructive to see so many new strategies at work. Generally the SNP genotype data seemed to yield more information for multipoint linkage analysis than the microsatellite data, a finding that will benefit the genetic analysis of complex disease in the future. A novel linkage peak was detected using the SNP markers.
A distributed-parameter model of the myelinated nerve fiber.

This paper presents a new model for the characterization of electrical activity in the nodal, paranodal and internodal regions of isolated amphibian and mammalian myelinated nerve fibers. It differs from previous models in the following ways: (1) in its ability to incorporate detailed anatomical and electrophysiological data; (2) in its approach to the myelinated nerve fiber as a multi-axial cable; and (3) in the numerical algorithm used to obtain distributed model equation solutions for potential and current. The morphometric properties are taken from detailed electron microscopic anatomical studies ( Berthold & Rydmark, 1983a, Experientia 39, 964–976). The internodal axolemma is characterized as an excitable membrane and model-generated nodal and internodal membrane action potentials are presented. A system of describing equations for the equivalent network model is derived, based on the application of Kirchoff's Current Law, which take the form of multiple cross-coupled parabolic partial differential equations. An implicit numerical integration method is developed and the numerical solution implemented on a parallel processor. Non-uniform spatial step sizes are used, enabling detailed representation of the nodal region while minimizing the number of total segments necessary to represent the overall fiber. Conduction velocities of 20·2 m sec−1 at 20°C for a 15 μm diameter amphibian fiber and 57·6 m sec−1 at 37°C for a 17·5 μm diameter mammalian fiber are achieved, which agrees qualitatively with published experimental data at similar temperatures ( Huxley & Stampfli, 1949 , J. Physiol., Lond. 108, 315–339; Rasminsky, 1973 , Arch, Neurol. 28, 287–292). The simulation results demonstrate the ability of this model to produce detailed representations of the transaxonal, transmyelin and transfiber potentials and currents, as well as the longitudinal extra-axonal, periaxonal and intra-axonal currents. Also indicated is the potential contribution of the paranodal axolemma to nodal activity as well as the presence of significant longitudinal currents in the periaxonal space adjacent to the node of Ranvier.
Novel mechanism for discrete scale invariance in sandpile models

Numerical simulations and a mean-field analysis of a sandpile model of earthquake aftershocks in 1d, 2d and 3d Euclidean lattices determine that the average stress decays in a punctuated fashion after a main shock, with events occurring at characteristic times increasing as a geometrical series with a well-defined multiplicative factor which is a function of the stress corrosion exponent, the stress drop ratio and the degree of dissipation. These results are independent of the discrete nature of the lattice and stem from the interplay between the threshold dynamics and the power law stress relaxation. This novel mechanism of log-periodicity does not rely on a pre-existing discrete structural hierarchy of faults but is dynamical and reflects the existence of an approximately fixed stress drop together with the scale-free stress corrosion power law acting during inter-seismic phases.
Standard Model Parameters and the Cosmological Constant

Simple functional relations among standard model couplings, including gravitational, are conjectured. Possible implications for cosmology and future theory are discussed.
On the Recoverability of Preferences and Beliefs

We examine the extent to which an investor's tastes and beliefs can be jointly recovered from knowledge of his/her consumption choice. More precisely, we assume that the investor's preferences admit an expected utility representation, but with subjective (unknown) probabilities, and investigate what joint restrictions can be placed on utility functions and beliefs. If the investor draws utility from intertemporal consumption, we show that the set of utility functions and beliefs that are consistent with a given consumption choice can be characterized by a martingale condition. In the Markovian case, this characterization can be restated in terms of a Riccati differential equation that must be satisfied by the investor's relative risk aversion function. To each solution of this differential equation is associated a unique utility function and a unique set of beliefs supporting the given consumption choice. Moreover, we show that the differential equation has at most one solution in the class of utility functions displaying infinite absolute risk aversion at the origin. Thus, preferences (and associated beliefs) can be uniquely recovered within this class. Article published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Financial Studies in its journal, The Review of Financial Studies.
Surface Acoustic Wave Ring Filter

A surface acoustic wave low loss filter device having input and output transducers located along opposed sides of a rectangular propagation path with frequency selective reflective gratings at each of the four corners of the rectangle. Two traveling surface waves traverse the device along opposed paths encountering frequency filtering at the gratings. The two waves arrive at the output transducer additively in phase eliminating the bidirectionality loss normally associated with surface acoustic wave devices. At frequencies for which the gratings are reflective there can be nearly lossless transmission from input to output. At all other frequencies, transmission between input and output transducers is negligible. The device has high sidelobe rejection, adjustable passband skirt slopes, and an adjustable bandwidth.
Higher string topology on general spaces

In this paper, I give a generalized analogue of the string topology results of Chas and Sullivan, and of Cohen and Jones. For a finite simplicial complex $X$ and $k \geq 1$, I construct a spectrum $Maps(S^k, X)^{S(X)}$, which is obtained by taking a generalization of the Spivak bundle on $X$ (which however is not a stable sphere bundle unless $X$ is a Poincare space), pulling back to $Maps(S^k, X)$ and quotienting out the section at infinity. I show that the corresponding chain complex is naturally homotopy equivalent to an algebra over the $(k + 1)$-dimensional unframed little disk operad $\mathcal{C}_{k + 1}$. I also prove a conjecture of Kontsevich, which states that the Quillen cohomology of a based $\mathcal{C}_k$-algebra (in the category of chain complexes) is equivalent to a shift of its Hochschild cohomology, as well as prove that the operad $C_{\ast}\mathcal{C}_k$ is Koszul-dual to itself up to a shift in the derived category. This gives one a natural notion of (derived) Koszul dual $C_{\ast}\mathcal{C}_k$-algebras. I show that the cochain complex of $X$ and the chain complex of $\Omega^k X$ are Koszul dual to each other as $C_{\ast}\mathcal{C}_k$-algebras, and that the chain complex of $Maps(S^k, X)^{S(X)}$ is naturally equivalent to their (equivalent) Hochschild cohomology in the category of $C_{\ast}\mathcal{C}_k$-algebras.
Total Synthesis of Stipiamide and Designed Polyenes as New Agents for the Reversal of Multidrug Resistance

The synthesis of (−)-stipiamide (1) is reported together with the designed enynes 2 (6,7-dehydrostipiamide) and 3 that are now shown to reverse the multidrug resistance (MDR) of human breast cancer cells (MCF-7adrR). Stipiamide was assembled using a Stille coupling with (E)-vinyl iodide 17 and (Z)-stannyl amide 16 in 78% yield. (E)-Vinyl iodide 17 was made using a Takai reaction and a selective dihydroxylation of the terminal olefin of nonconjugated diene 7 using the Sharpless AD-mix reagent. The precursor to 16, (E,Z)-stannyl diene ester 13, was assembled with high selectivity in a single operation using a tandem syn-addition of tributyltin cuprate to acetylene followed by conjugate addition to ethyl propiolate. Structural variants 2 and 3 were assembled using palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira couplings with vinyl iodides 17 and 35 and acetylenes 22 and 26 in high yield at near 1:1 stoichiometry. Compound 2 was found to be far less toxic than stipiamide and performed much better as an MDR reversal agent. C...
Strongly coupled plasma physics and high energy-density matter

High energy–density matter—matter with pressures in excess of a megabar—covers a wide range of parameter space. Many laboratory experiments span a large portion of this parameter space as they evolve from a liquid or solid phase through the strongly coupled plasma phase to a hot plasma phase. This tutorial will introduce the basic physics of the intermediate, strongly coupled plasma phase from a very general point of view, including a discussion of experiments, such as laser-cooled ions, dusty plasmas, and white dwarfs. Basic definitions and results will be given for simple strongly coupled plasmas in the context of concepts familiar from weakly coupled plasma physics, to the extent possible. Definitions relevant to high energy–density physics are then introduced before focusing on dense plasmas, which form the overlap between the strongly coupled and high energy–density regions.
Countably Additive Subjective Probabilities

Thle suibjective probabilities implied by Savage's (1954, 1972) Postulates are finitely but not coulitably additive. The failure of countable additivity leads to two knowin classes of dominance paradoxes, money puimps anid indifferenice between an act and onie that pointwise dominiates it. There is a common resolution to these classes of paradoxes and to any othiers that might arise from failures of countably additivity. It consists of reinterpreting finiitely additive probabilities as the "traces" of counitably additive probabilities on larger state spaces. The niew and larger state spaces preserve the essential decision-thieoretic struictures of the original spaces.
An assessment of genetical methods in the control of scrapie

Abstract Scrapie is caused by a virus-like agent which is transmitted to sheep by both maternal and horizontal routes of infection. The disease can be controlled by selective culling of bloodline relatives of scrapie cases. However, this depends on accurate breeding records which are often not available. Two major studies, with Cheviot and with Herdwick sheep, have shown that ‘susceptibility’ to experimental infection with one source of agent is controlled mainly by a single gene and that the dominant allele confers ‘susceptibility’. There is evidence that scrapie agent may still replicate in some ‘resistant’ sheep, but only after a long delay. For this reason, ‘resistance’ is best regarded in terms of an extended incubation period. Also, ‘resistance’ to one strain of agent does not mean ‘resistance’ to all strains. A ‘resistant’ flock of Swaledale sheep is being developed by experimentally infecting all animals and breeding from the survivors. There have been extensive outbreaks of natural scrapie in the ‘susceptible’ flocks of Cheviot and Herdwick sheep. Investigations of these outbreaks might be able to show whether or not sheep selected for ‘resistance’ could be used to limit the spread of infection in flocks with a serious scrapie problem.
Parameter estimation of the generalized extreme value distribution for structural health monitoring

Abstract Structural health monitoring (SHM) can be defined as a statistical pattern recognition problem which necessitates establishing a decision boundary for damage identification. In general, data points associated with damage manifest themselves near the tail of a baseline data distribution, which is obtained from a healthy state of a structure. Because damage diagnosis is concerned with outliers potentially associated with damage, improper modeling of the tail distribution may impair the performance of SHM by misclassifying a condition state of the structure. This paper attempts to address the issue of establishing a decision boundary based on extreme value statistics (EVS) so that the extreme values associated with the tail distribution can be properly modeled. The generalized extreme value distribution (GEV) is adopted to model the extreme values. A theoretical framework and a parameter estimation technique are developed to automatically estimate model parameters of the GEV. The validity of the proposed method is demonstrated through numerically simulated data, previously published real sample data sets, and experimental data obtained from the damage detection study in a composite plate.
Random Beamforming with Heterogeneous Users and Selective Feedback: Individual Sum Rate and Individual Scaling Laws

This paper investigates three open problems in random beamforming based communication systems: the scheduling policy with heterogeneous users, the closed form sum rate, and the randomness of multiuser diversity with selective feedback. By employing the cumulative distribution function based scheduling policy, we guarantee fairness among users as well as obtain multiuser diversity gain in the heterogeneous scenario. Under this scheduling framework, the individual sum rate, namely the average rate for a given user multiplied by the number of users, is of interest and analyzed under different feedback schemes. Firstly, under the full feedback scheme, we derive the closed form individual sum rate by employing a decomposition of the probability density function of the selected user's signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio. This technique is employed to further obtain a closed form rate approximation with selective feedback in the spatial dimension. The analysis is also extended to random beamforming in a wideband OFDMA system with additional selective feedback in the spectral dimension wherein only the best beams for the best-L resource blocks are fed back. We utilize extreme value theory to examine the randomness of multiuser diversity incurred by selective feedback. Finally, by leveraging the tail equivalence method, the multiplicative effect of selective feedback and random observations is observed to establish the individual rate scaling.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome

The evolution of the present approach to the newborn with hypoplastic left heart is outlined. Preoperatively, maintenance of ductal patency with prostaglandin E1 and balancing of systemic and pulmonary blood flow are essential. Operative details of the first-stage palliation and the definitive second-stage procedure are described. The more recent adoption of an intermediate-stage hemi-Fontan procedure is also described. Since January 1989, 151 patients have been treated using this three-stage approach, with 109 early survivors. Seventy-eight have undergone the hemi-Fontan operation with nine deaths (5 of whom came to this stage early nonelectively because of shunt failure or ventricular dysfunction). Twenty-seven of the 78 patients undergoing hemi-Fontan operation have subsequently undergone definitive Fontan procedures with no deaths.
Disclination Asymmetry in Deformable Hexatic Membranes and the Kosterlitz-Thouless Transitions

A disclination in a hexatic membrane favors the development of Gaussian curvature localized near its core. The resulting global structure of the membrane has mean curvature, which is disfavored by curvature energy. Thus a membrane with an isolated disclination undergoes a buckling transition from a flat to a buckled state as the ratio k/K A of the bending rigidity k to the hexatic rigidity K A is decreased. In this paper we calculate the buckling transition and the energy of both a positive and a negative disclination. A negative disclination has a larger energy and a smaller critical value of k/K A at buckling than does a positive disclination. We use our results to obtain a crude estimate of the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature in a membrane. This estimate is higher than the transition temperature recently obtained by the authors in a renormalization calculation.
A Model for structure formation seeded by gravitationally produced matter

This model assumes the baryons, radiation, three families of massless neutrinos, and cold dark matter were mutually thermalized before the baryon number was fixed, primeval curvature fluctuations were subdominant, and homogeneity was broken by scale-invariant fluctuations in a new dark matter component that behaves like a relativistic ideal fluid. The fluid behavior could follow if this new component were a single scalar field that interacts only with gravity and with itself by a pure quartic potential. The initial energy distribution could follow if this component were gravitationally produced by inflation. The power spectra of the present distributions of mass and radiation in this model are not inconsistent with the measurements but are sufficiently different from the adiabatic cold dark matter model to allow a sharp test in the near future.
Full-wave analysis of radiation effect of microstrip transmission lines

A full-wave analysis of radiation effects produced by discontinuities in microstrip and buried microstrip transmission lines is presented. Beginning with the dyadic Green's function for a dielectric slab, with an embedded source, an integral equation is formulated. This equation is then solved by the method of moments to obtain the current distributions along the transmission line, in particular, near the discontinuities. Employing these results, the near- and far-zone fields, as well as radiation patterns are computed. The results from our method showed good agreement with those of previous publications in complex reflection and transmission coefficients, and equivalent capacitance values. It is found that under resonance conditions the radiation efficiency of a simple structure can exceed 41%, which may cause a potential problem in electromagnetic compatibility. Our analytic result also shows that the maximum radiation occurs when the source is located at the height of $$\lambda _0 /4\sqrt {\varepsilon _r } $$ from the bottom ground plane, which should be prevented.
Opportunity costs incurred by the RTC in cleaning up S&L insolvencies

Abstract This paper draws attention to an important but neglected component of the costs of the thrift cleanup as reported by the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). The RTC resolved 747 thrift institutions over the period 1989–1995 at an estimated cost of $90.1 billion. Since the RTC 's loss exposure indirectly represented a taxpayer-funded equity position in troubled thrifts, the associated opportunity costs constitute significant costs that are in addition to the reported resolution costs. Recognition of this important category of costs raises the taxpayer burden from the official estimate of $90.1 billion to a cost of between $112 and $146 billion. Budgetary recognition of these implicit expenses would have had to affect the operations of the RTC and Congressional decisions to fund RTC activities.
Fixed point action and topological charge for SU(2) gauge theory

Abstract We present a theoretically consistent definition of the topological charge operator based on renormalization group arguments. Results of the measurement of the topological susceptibility at zero and finite temperature for SU(2) gauge theory are presented.
A Diastereoselective Synthesis of 2,4-Disubstituted Piperidines: Scaffolds for Drug Discovery

A method for the diastereoselective synthesis of 2,4-disubstituted piperidines has been developed which enables the complete control of reaction selectivity merely by changing the order of the reaction sequence. These targets provide convenient platforms for drug discovery which contain easily modified points of diversity.
Rapid Sequencing of Individual DNA Molecules in Graphene Nanogaps

I propose a technique for reading the base sequence of a single DNA molecule using a graphene nanogap to read the DNA’s transverse conductance. Because graphene is a single atom thick, single-base resolution of the conductance is readily obtained. The nonlinear current−voltage characteristic is used to determine the base type independent of nanogap-width variations that cause the current to change by 5 orders of magnitude. The expected sequencing error rate is 0% up to a nanogap width of 1.6 nm.
Attentional blinks as errors in temporal binding

In the attentional blink [Raymond, J. E., Shapiro, K. L., & Arnell, K. M. (1992). Temporary suppression of visual processing in an RSVP task: An attentional blink? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 18(3), 849-860.], the second of two targets in a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) stream is difficult to detect and identify when it is presented soon but not immediately after the first target. We varied the Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA) of the items in the stream and the color of the targets (red from gray or vice versa), and looked at the responses to the second target. Exact responses to the second target (zero positional error) showed a typical attentional blink profile, with a drop in performance for an interval of 200-500 ms after the first target. Approximate responses (positional error no greater than 3 frames) showed no such drop in performance, although results were still dependent on color (better for red) and increased with increasing SOA. These findings are consistent with a two-stage model of visual working memory, where encoding of the first target disrupts attention to (and temporal binding of) the second target. We suggest that this disruption occurs within a certain time (approximately 0.5 s) after the first target, during which period salient distractors are as likely as the second target to enter working memory.
Procedural Choices in Regulatory Science

Abstract Policymakers have long assumed that scientific inputs to regulatory decisions (facts) should be insulated as far as possible from political and policy considerations (values). Some have even recommended a complete institutional separation between scientific and political decisionmaking on the model of the science court. Drawing on research in the social studies of science, this paper suggests that such separatist models fail to address important differences between regulatory science and research science. Regulatory science, which provides the basis for policy, routinely operates with different goals and priorities and under different institutional and temporal constraints from science done in academic settings and without implications for policy. Four brief case studies are presented to underscore the need for negotiations between science and policy in making regulatory decisions. The paper concludes that adversarial or trial-type approaches are generally less effective than processes that promote negotiation among competing interpretations of regulatory science. This finding, in turn, has implications that should be factored into the institutional and procedural design of scientific advice in the regulatory process.
The past, present and future of web information retrieval

Web search engines have emerged as one of the central applications on the Internet. In fact, search has become one of the most important activities that people engage in on the the Internet. Even beyond becoming the number one source of information, a growing number of businesses are depending on web search engines for customer acquisition.The first generation of web search engines used text-only retrieval techniques. Google revolutionized the field by deploying the PageRank technology - an eigenvector-based analysis of the hyperlink structure - to analyze the web in order to produce relevant results. Moving forward, our goal is to achieve a better understanding of a page with a view towards producing even more relevant results.An exciting new form of search for the future is query-free search: While a user performs her daily tasks, searches are automatically performed to supply her with information that is relevant to her activity. We present one type of query-free search, namely query-free news search: While a user watches TV news the system finds in real-time web pages that are relevant to the news stories.
Extremal Surface Barriers

We present a generic condition for Lorentzian manifolds to have a barrier that limits the reach of boundary-anchored extremal surfaces of arbitrary dimension. We show that any surface with nonpositive extrinsic curvature is a barrier, in the sense that extremal surfaces cannot be continuously deformed past it. Furthermore, the outermost barrier surface has nonnegative extrinsic curvature. Under certain conditions, we show that the existence of trapped surfaces implies a barrier, and conversely. In the context of AdS/CFT, these barriers imply that it is impossible to reconstruct the entire bulk using extremal surfaces. We comment on the implications for the firewall controversy.
Mixed Higgsino dark matter from a reduced SU(3) gaugino mass: Consequences for dark matter and collider searches

In gravity-mediated SUSY breaking models with non-universal gaugino masses, lowering the SU(3) gaugino mass |M3| leads to a reduction in the squark and gluino masses. Lower third generation squark masses, in turn, diminish the effect of a large top quark Yukawa coupling in the running of the higgs mass parameter mHu2, leading to a reduction in the magnitude of the superpotential μ parameter (relative to M1 and M2). A low |μ| parameter gives rise to mixed higgsino dark matter (MHDM), which can efficiently annihilate in the early universe to give a dark matter relic density in accord with WMAP measurements. We explore the phenomenology of the low |M3| scenario, and find for the case of MHDM increased rates for direct and indirect detection of neutralino dark matter relative to the mSUGRA model. The sparticle mass spectrum is characterized by relatively light gluinos, frequently with mtilde g << mtilde q. If scalar masses are large, then gluinos can be very light, with tilde g→tilde zig loop decays dominating the gluino branching fraction. Top squarks can be much lighter than sbottom and first/second generation squarks. The presence of low mass higgsino-like charginos and neutralinos is expected at the CERN LHC. The small mtilde z2-mtilde z1 mass gap should give rise to a visible opposite-sign/same flavor dilepton mass edge. At a TeV scale linear e+e- collider, the region of MHDM will mean that the entire spectrum of charginos and neutralinos are amongst the lightest sparticles, and are most likely to be produced at observable rates, allowing for a complete reconstruction of the gaugino-higgsino sector.
Architecture and applications for an All-FPGA parallel computer

The Reconfigurable Computing Cluster (RCC) project has been investigating unconventional architectures for high end computing using a cluster of FPGA devices connected by a high-speed, custom network. Most applications use the FPGAs to realize an embedded System-on-a-Chip (SoC) design augmented with application-specific accelerators to form a message-passing parallel computer. Other applications take a single accelerator core and tessellate the core across all of the devices, treating them like a large virtual FPGA. The experimental hardware has also been used for basic computer research by emulating novel architectures. This article discusses the genesis of the over-arching project, summarizes results of individual investigations that have been completed, and how this approach may prove useful in the investigation of future Exascale systems.
The tandem intermolecular hydroalkoxylation/claisen rearrangement

The Au(I)-catalyzed intermolecular hydroalkoxylation of alkynes with allylic alcohols to provide allyl vinyl ethers that subsequently undergo Claisen rearrangement is reported. This new cascade reaction strategy facilitates the direct formation of γ,δ-unsaturated ketones from simple starting materials in a single step.
A new bound on the number of special fibers in a pencil of curves

In a paper by J. V. Pereira and the author it was proved that any pencil of plane curves of degree d > 1 with irreducible generic fiber can have at most five completely reducible fibers although no examples with five such fibers had ever been found. Recently Janis Stipins has proved that if a pencil has a base of d 2 points, then it cannot have five completely reducible fibers. In this paper we generalize Stipins' result to arbitrary pencils. We also include into consideration more general special fibers that are the unions of lines and non-reduced curves. These fibers are important for characteristic varieties of hyperplane complements.
Two examples of surfaces with normal crossing singularities

This note gives two examples of surfaces with normal crossing singularities. In the first example the canonical ring is not finitely generated. In the second, the canonical line bundle is not ample but its pull back to the normalization is ample. The latter answers in the negative a problem left unresolved in III.2.6.2 of Elements de geometrie algebrique, 1961, and raised again by Viehweg.
Two‐step estimation of functional linear models with applications to longitudinal data

Functional linear models are useful in longitudinal data analysis. They include many classical and recently proposed statistical models for longitudinal data and other functional data. Recently, smoothing spline and kernel methods have been proposed for estimating their coefficient functions nonparametrically but these methods are either intensive in computation or inefficient in performance. To overcome these drawbacks, in this paper, a simple and powerful two-step alternative is proposed. In particular, the implementation of the proposed approach via local polynomial smoothing is discussed. Methods for estimating standard deviations of estimated coefficient functions are also proposed. Some asymptotic results for the local polynomial estimators are established. Two longitudinal data sets, one of which involves time-dependent covariates, are used to demonstrate the approach proposed. Simulation studies show that our two-step approach improves the kernel method proposed by Hoover and co-workers in several aspects such as accuracy, computational time and visual appeal of the estimators.
Geology of the Devonian black shales of the Appalachian Basin

Abstract Black shales of Devonian age in the Appalachian Basin are a unique rock sequence. The high content of organic matter, which imparts the characteristic lithology, has for years attracted considerable interest in the shales as a possible source of energy. The recent energy shortage prompted the U.S. Department of Energy through the Eastern Gas Shales Project of the Morgantown Energy Technology Center to underwrite a research program to determine the geologic, geochemical, and structural characteristics of the Devonian black shales in order to enhance the recovery of gas from the shales. Geologic studies by Federal and State agencies and academic institutions produced a regional stratigraphic network that correlates the 15 ft black shale sequence in Tennessee with 3000 ft of interbedded black and gray shales in central New York. These studies correlate the classic Devonian black shale sequence in New York with the Ohio Shale of Ohio and Kentucky and the Chattanooga Shale of Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. Biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic markers in conjunction with gamma-ray logs facilitated long-range correlations within the Appalachian Basin. Basinwide correlations, including the subsurface rocks, provided a basis for determining the areal distribution and thickness of the important black shale units. The organic carbon content of the dark shales generally increases from east to west across the basin and is sufficient to qualify as a hydrocarbon source rock. Significant structural features that involve the black shale and their hydrocarbon potential are the Rome trough, Kentucky River and Irvine-Paint Creek fault zone, and regional decollements and ramp zones.
An Absolute Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Temperature at 10.7 GHz

A balloon-borne experiment has measured the absolute temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) at 10.7 GHz to be TCMBR = 2.730 ± 0.014 K. The error is the quadratic sum of several systematic errors, with a statistical error of less than 0.1 mK. The instrument is made up of a cooled corrugated horn antenna coupled to a total power radiometer. A cryogenic mechanical waveguide switch alternately connects the radiometer to the horn and to an internal reference load. The small measured temperature difference (20 mK) between the sky signal and the reference load in conjunction with the use of a cold front end keeps systematic instrumental corrections small. Atmospheric and window emission are minimized by flying the instrument at 24 km altitude. A large outer ground screen and smaller inner screen shield the instrument from stray radiation from the ground and the balloon. In-flight tests constrain the magnitude of ground radiation contamination, and low-level interference is monitored through observations in several narrow-frequency bands.
`Mode-locking' and international business cycle transmission

Abstract We investigate international business cycle synchronization. Business cycles in many countries have a tendency to synchronize with one another in what appears to be a world business cycle, yet researchers find that trade and capital linkages are not strong enough for one country to `drive' business cycles in another country. How is this world business cycle formed? This study suggests that the world business cycle results from a `mode-locking' phenomenon, a nonlinear process by which weak coupling between oscillating systems tends to synchronize oscillations in the systems. Simulations and econometric analyses are performed to attempt to verify this hypothesis.
Binary Disruption by Massive Black Holes in Globular Clusters

A massive (~102-104 M☉) black hole at the center of a globular cluster will tidally disrupt binaries that pass sufficiently close. Such an encounter results in the capture of one binary component by the black hole and ejection of the other star. A 103 M☉ black hole disrupts one binary every 1-10 Myr; captured stars orbit with initial periods of days to decades. Although 100 stars are captured in only 1 Gyr, the number with periods of <10 yr at any one time is probably less than 10, regulated by stellar interactions and tidal disruption by the black hole. Binary disruption and stellar capture should be critically examined with detailed numerical simulations, in order to corroborate the analytic results given here and to weigh possible observational consequences.
Stochastic Loop Equations

Stochastic quantization is applied to derivation of the equations for the Wilson loops and generating functionals of the Wilson loops in the N = ∞ limit. These equations are treated both in the coordinate and momentum representations. In the first case the connection of the suggested approach with the problem of random closed contours and supersymmetric quantum mechanics is established, and the equation for the Quenched Master Field Wilson loop is derived. The regularized version of one of the obtained equations is presented and applied to derivation of the equation for the bilocal field correlator. The momentum loop dynamics is also investigated.
Electronic and mechanical properties of planar and tubular boron structures

We report the results of first-principles calculations showing that boron can form a wide variety of metastable planar and tubular forms with unusual electronic and mechanical properties. The preferred planar structure is a buckled triangular lattice that breaks the threefold ground state degeneracy of the flat triangular plane. When the plane is rolled into a tube, the ground state degeneracy leads to a strong chirality dependence of the binding energy and elastic response, an unusual property that is not found in carbon nanotubes. The achiral $(n,0)$ tubes derive their structure from the flat triangular plane. The achiral $(n,n)$ boron nanotubes arise from the buckled plane, and have large cohesive energies and different structures as a result. $(n,n)$ boron nanotubes have an internal relaxation mechanism that results in a very low Poisson ratio. The strong variation in elastic properties of boron nanotubes makes them the mechanical analogue of carbon nanotubes, and may make them ideal candidates for applications in composite materials and nanoelectromechanical systems.
Transannulation of 1-Sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles with Heterocumulenes

Readily available 1-mesyl-1,2,3-triazoles are efficiently converted into a variety of imidazolones and thiazoles by Rh(II)-catalyzed denitrogenative reactions with isocyanates and isothiocyanates, respectively. The proposed triazole–diazoimine equilibrium results in the formation of highly reactive azavinyl metal-carbenes, which react with heterocumulenes causing an apparent swap of 1,2,3-triazole core for another heterocycle.
Evaporative cooling of flare plasma

We investigate a one-dimensional loop model for the evaporative cooling of the coronal flare plasma. The important assumptions are that conductive losses dominate radiative cooling and that the evaporative velocities are small compared with the sound speed. We calculate the profile and evolution of the temperature and verify the accuracy of our assumptions for plasma parameters typical of flare regions. The model is in agreement with soft X-ray observations on the evolution of flare temperatures and emission measures. The effect of evaporation is to greatly reduce the conductive heat flux into the chromosphere and to enhance the EUV emission from the coronal flare plasma.
PerfXplain: debugging MapReduce job performance

While users today have access to many tools that assist in performing large scale data analysis tasks, understanding the performance characteristics of their parallel computations, such as MapReduce jobs, remains difficult. We present PerfXplain, a system that enables users to ask questions about the relative performances (i.e., runtimes) of pairs of MapReduce jobs. PerfXplain provides a new query language for articulating performance queries and an algorithm for generating explanations from a log of past MapReduce job executions. We formally define the notion of an explanation together with three metrics, relevance, precision, and generality, that measure explanation quality. We present the explanation-generation algorithm based on techniques related to decision-tree building. We evaluate the approach on a log of past executions on Amazon EC2, and show that our approach can generate quality explanations, outperforming two naive explanation-generation methods.
Solar power/desalination, pv*ed system

Abstract Photovoltaic/Electrodialysis, PV*ED, power/desalination system is studied in which the seawater feed is heated in the PV-cells. By varying feed concentration and temperature of the PV*ED system, it is shown in this paper that one could control the ratio of power to water production within a large range so that various demands for power and water could be met.
Tools and methods for group data modeling: a key enabler of enterprise modeling

The need for tools and meeting methods to provide effective support during data model development meetings has been an elusive goal. Researchers at the University of Arizona have developed collaborative tools and methods to support groups during these meetings. This paper discusses meeting methods to support such meetings. A process is described that orchestrates the work in a way that gives non-analyst participants an ordered set of tasks that they can complete. Use of this approach with a group data modeling tool provides a means for larger groups to effectively participate during data model development and review. Users can see and contribute model content in parallel. The approach manages complexity, supports comprehension, and fosters agreement among participants.
A case study in collaborative governance: Health care law reform in Georgia

This case study illustrates how collaborative governance through consensus building can work well to achieve law reform, with shared responsibilities among elected officials, private and professional stakeholders, and ordinary citizens. The author discusses the participants involved and the process adopted in Georgia to reform the state's law on advance directives for health care. She identifies some of the best practices that contributed to the success of this law-reform effort, and offers some lessons learned for future work in collaborative governance.
Nonlinear Drift And Stochastic Volatility: An Empirical Investigation Of Short‐Term Interest Rate Models

In this article I provide new evidence on the role of nonlinear drift and stochastic volatility in interest rate modeling. I compare various model specifications for the short-term interest rate using the data from five countries. I find that modeling the stochastic volatility in the short rate is far more important than specifying the shape of the drift function. The empirical support for nonlinear drift is weak with or without the stochastic volatility factor. Although a linear drift stochastic volatility model fits the international data well, I find that the level effect differs across countries.
High-Efficiency Free-Electron Laser Results

Results obtained with a tapered-wiggler free-electron laser demonstrate the concepts proposed by Morton for enhanced efficiency. They show deceleration of electrons by as much as 7%, and extraction of more than 3% of the total electron-beam energy as laser energy when the laser is operated as an amplifier. The experiment is presently being reconfigured to examine its performance as a laser oscillator.
Heat storage capability of a rolling cylinder using Glauber's salt

SYNOPSIS Glauber's salt has been melt-refreeze cycled to store heat at 90.3°F in a laboratory sized rolling cylinder surrounded by a calorimeter. The quantitative results show: 1. Complete phase change. 2. Theoretical latent heat release. 3. Repeatable performance over 150 cycles. 4. High heat release rates. 5. High internal heat transfer rates. 6. High heat exchanger surface temperatures. 7. Acceptability of commercial source salts. 8. Uniform freezing. Based on these measurements the rolling cylinder continues to be a prospective high performance thermal storage device. No technical barriers to further development were discovered.
Improving the top quark forward-backward asymmetry measurement at the LHC

At the LHC, top quark pairs are dominantly produced from gluons, making it difficult to measure the top quark forward-backward asymmetry. To improve the asymmetry measurement, we study variables that can distinguish between top quarks produced from quarks and those from gluons: the invariant mass of the top pair, the rapidity of the top-antitop system in the lab frame, the rapidity of the top quark in the top-antitop rest frame, the top quark polarization and the top-antitop spin correlation. We combine all the variables in a likelihood discriminant method to separate quark-initiated events from gluon-initiated events. We apply our method on models including G-prime's and W-prime's motivated by the recent observation of a large top quark forward-backward asymmetry at the Tevatron. We have found that the significance of the asymmetry measurement can be improved by 10% to 30%. At the same time, the central values of the asymmetry increase by 40% to 100%. We have also analytically derived the best spin quantization axes for studying top quark polarization as well as spin-correlation for the new physics models.
Do Schooling Years Improve the Earning Capacity of Lower Income Groups

The paper analyses the relationship between the popular Barro and Lee (2001) ‘average years of schooling’ with income inequality, wage inequality, and income deciles and income percentiles for the sample of developed and developing countries. The results suggest that countries where students complete higher numbers of years of schooling on average also perform better on relative incomes meaning that increase in average income comes from improvements in the earning capacity of the lower income groups or unskilled labour. The paper also finds that an educated population means that there is redistribution of income from the rich to the poor creating thriving middle class.
Structural weight estimation for multidisciplinary optimization of a high-speed civil transport

A variable-complexity-modeling design strategy with combined aerodynamic and structural optimization procedures is presented for the high-speed civil transport (HSCT). A finite element model-based structural optimization procedure with flexible loads is implemented to evaluate the wing-bending material weight. Static aeroelastic effects on wing-bending material weight, evaluated through the comparison of rigid and flexible wing models, are found to be small in the HSCT design. The results of structural optimization are compared with two quasiempirical weight equations. Good correlation is obtained between the structural optimization and one of the weight equations. Based on this comparison, an interlacing procedure is developed to combine both the simple weight equations and the structural optimization in the HSCT design optimization, at modest computational cost.
R-diagonal dilation semigroups

This paper addresses extensions of the complex Ornstein–Uhlenbeck semigroup to operator algebras in free probability theory. If a1, . . . , ak are *-free \({\fancyscript{R}}\) -diagonal operators in a II1 factor, then \({D_t(a_{i_1}\cdots a_{i_n}) = e^{-nt} a_{i_1}\cdots a_{i_n}}\) defines a dilation semigroup on the non-self-adjoint operator algebra generated by a1, . . . , ak. We show that Dt extends (in two different ways) to a semigroup of completely positive maps on the von Neumann algebra generated by a1, . . . , ak. Moreover, we show that Dt satisfies an optimal ultracontractive property: \({\|D_t\colon L^2\to L^\infty\| \sim t^{-1}}\) for small t > 0.