cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A NEAR-INFRARED SEARCH FOR SILICATES IN JOVIAN TROJAN ASTEROIDS

We obtained near-infrared (NIR; 0.8–2.5 μm) spectra of seven Jovian Trojan asteroids that have been formerly reported to show silicate-like absorption features near 1 μm. Our sample includes the Trojan (1172) Aneas, which is one of the three Trojans known to possess a comet-like 10 μm emission feature, indicative of fine-grained silicates. Our observations show that all seven Trojans appear featureless in high signal-to-noise ratio spectra. The simultaneous absence of the 1 μm band and the presence of the 10 μm emission can be understood if the silicates on (1172) Aneas are iron-poor. In addition, we present NIR observations of five optically gray Trojans, including three objects from the collisionally produced Eurybates family. The five gray Trojans appear featureless in the NIR with no diagnostic absorption features. The NIR spectrum of Eurybates can be best fitted with the spectrum of a CM2 carbonaceous chondrite, which hints that the C-type Eurybates family members may have experienced aqueous alteration.
Mars and Venus

Abstract Recent earth-based measurements and results from the first decade of space exploration have led to a new level of understanding of Mars and Venus, which permits a perspective view of some of the major issues concerning the inner solar system. The following are discussed in this review: the interiors; crustal dynamics; water, carbon dioxide and the early history of an atmosphere; life on the inner planets; comparative meteorology; photochemical processes; and planetary environments.
Spinal segmental somatosensory evoked potentials in lumbosacral radiculopathies

We studied 21 patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy with segmental somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) recorded over both spine and scalp following saphenous, superficial peroneal, and sural nerve stimulation. Spinal SEPs were abnormal in 10 patients. In 3 patients, SEPs detected abnormalities not seen on EMG examination. With 1 exception, all anatomic levels of SEP abnormalities matched that of radiographic, EMG, or clinical abnormalities. SEPs were abnormal in 41% of nerve roots shown to be involved by other techniques. SEPs added to the clinical evaluation in 4 patients, but were less accurate than a combination of EMG and radiography in indicating the extent of nerve root involvement. We conclude that spinal SEPs following segmental sensory stimulation are useful in the evaluation of lumbosacral radiculopathies and complement information provided by the EMG. In contrast, scalp-recorded segmental SEPs rarely provide additional useful clinical information.
Who Uses Inferior Voting Technology

In this article, we report on the incidence of punch-card and other voting equipment by ethnicity, incomes and other variables, combining county-level demographic data from the Census Bureau with county-level data on voting equipment collected by Election Data Services, Inc. Our findings, widely reported in the national print and electronic media in late January and February of 2001, provide remarkably little support for the view that resource constraints cause poorer counties with large minority populations to retain antiquated or inferior voting equipment.
Intramolecular [3+4] allyl cation cycloaddition: Novel route to hydroazulenes

Abstract Intramolecular Hoffmann-Noyori reaction of acyclic trienol 6 permits direct entry to hydoazulenes 7a, b with modest diastereoselectivity. Cycloaddition precursor 6 is readily prepared from 1,5-pentanediol in seven steps.
Potential Field Interactions in a Low-Speed Centrifugal Compressor

A series of experiments is performed to investigate the unsteady aerodynamic response of a centrifugal compressor impeller resulting from its interaction with the potential field of the downstream radial-vaned diffuser. Fundamental unsteady impeller-diffuser aerodynamic interaction data are acquired at two impeller- diffuser radial spacings over a wide range of flow rates. The detailed diffuser vane-generated unsteady aerodynamic forcing function and the resulting impeller-blade unsteady aerodynamic response are measured and analyzed. Very near the diffuser-vane leading-edge plane, multiple harmonics are required to describe the spatially nonuniform static pressure field generated by the diffuser vanes. However, the higher harmonic components associated with this potential flow-generated forcing-function decay very rapidly across the vaneless space, and the impeller blades respond primarily to the first harmonic. The maximum impeller-blade unsteady aerodynamic loading also occurs near the midchord region, and not near the exit where the diffuser vane generated forcing function is largest. Increasing the radial spacing between the impeller and diffuser significantly reduces both the amplitude of the forcing function and resulting impeller-blade unsteady aerodynamic loading.
The Long Term Educational Cost of War: Evidence from Landmine Contamination in Cambodia

Abstract The economic impact of war may be visible in the long run and particularly through its impact on human capital. This paper uses unique district level data on landmine contamination intensity in Cambodia combined with survey data on individuals to evaluate the long-run impact of Cambodia's 30 years of war (1970–1998) on education levels and earnings. These effects are identified using difference-in-differences (DD) and instrumental variables (IV) estimators. In the DD framework I exploit two sources of variation in an individual's exposure to the conflict: age in 1970 and landmine contamination intensity in the district of residence. The IV specification uses the distance to the Thai border as an exogenous source of variation in landmine contamination intensity. The most conservative result indicates that individuals who were too young to have attended school before the start of the war received on average 0.5 less years of education. And, immediately after the war there was no visible effect on e...
Prospects of “topologically unquenched QCD” from a study of the analogous importance sampling method in the massive Schwinger model☆

I give a quick summary of my proposal for simulating an improvement on quenched QCD with dynamical fermions which interact with the gluon configuration only via the topological index of the latter. It amounts to include only the topoligical part of the functional determinant into the measure, thereby absorbing a correction factor into the observable. I discuss the prospects of this concept from a study in the massive N f-flavour Schwinger model, where the correction factor is indeed found to be of order O(1).
M31N-2007-06b: A Nova in the M31 Globular Cluster Bol 111

We report spectroscopic observations of the nova M31N-2007-06b, which was found to be spatially coincident with the M31 globular cluster Bol 111. This nova is the first out of more than 700 discovered in M31 over the past century to be associated with one of the galaxy's globular clusters. A total of three spectra of the nova were obtained 3, 6, and 36 days after discovery. The data reveal broad (FWHM ~ 3000 km s?1) Balmer, N II, and N III emission lines and show that the nova belongs to the He/N spectroscopic class. The He/N class of novae are relatively rare, making up roughly 15% of the novae with measured spectra in M31 and roughly 20%-25% of the Galactic novae for which spectroscopic data are available. The implications of a nova, particularly an He/N nova, occurring in a globular cluster are discussed.
Constraints on Spatial Variations in the Fine-Structure constant from Planck

We use the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy data from Planck to constrain the spatial fluctuations of the fine-structure constant α at a redshift of 1100. We use a quadratic estimator to measure the four-point correlation function of the CMB temperature anisotropies and extract the angular power spectrum fine-structure constant spatial variations projected along the line of sight at the last scattering surface. At tens of degree angular scales and above, we constrain the fractional rms fluctuations of the fine-structure constant to be (δα/α)rms < 3.4 × 10–3 at the 68% confidence level. We find no evidence for a spatially varying α at a redshift of 103.
The Flux Ratio Method for Determining the Dust Attenuation of Starburst Galaxies

The presence of dust in starburst galaxies complicates the study of their stellar populations as the dust's effects are similar to those associated with changes in the galaxies' stellar ages and metallicities. This degeneracy can be overcome for starburst galaxies if UV/optical/near-infrared observations are combined with far-infrared observations. We present the calibration of the flux ratio method for calculating the dust attenuation at a particular wavelength, Att(?), based on the measurement of the F(IR)/F(?) flux ratio. Our calibration is based on spectral energy distributions from the PEGASE stellar evolutionary synthesis model and the effects of dust (absorption and scattering) as calculated from our Monte Carlo radiative transfer model. We tested the attenuations predicted from this method for the Balmer emission lines of a sample of starburst galaxies against those calculated using radio observations and found good agreement. The UV attenuation curves for a handful of starburst galaxies were calculated using the flux ratio method, and they compare favorably with past work. The relationship between Att(?) and F(IR)/F(?) is almost completely independent of the assumed dust properties (grain type, distribution, and clumpiness). For the UV, the relationship is also independent of the assumed stellar properties (age, metallicity, etc.) except for the case of very old burst populations. However, at longer wavelengths the relationship is dependent on the assumed stellar properties.
Bidding clubs in first-price auctions

We introduce a class of mechanisms, called bidding clubs, that allow agents to coordinate their bidding in auctions. Bidding clubs invite a set of agents to join, and each invited agent freely chooses whether to accept the invitation or whether to participate independently in the auction. Clubs first conduct a "pre-auction"; depending on the outcome of the pre-auction some subset of the members of the club bid in the primary auction in a prescribed way. We model this setting as a Bayesian game, including agents' choices of whether or not to accept a bidding club's invitation. We examine the specific case of bidding clubs for first-price auctions, showing the existence of a Bayes-Nash equilibrium where agents choose to participate in bidding clubs when invited and truthfully declare their valuations to the coordinator. Furthermore, we show that the existence of bidding clubs benefits all agents, including those who do not belong to a bidding club.
Chirality-changing phase transitions in 4d string vacua

Abstract We provide evidence that some four-dimensional N = 1 string vacua with different numbers of generations are connected through phase transitions. The transitions involve going through a point in moduli space where there is a non-trivial fixed point governing the low energy field theory. In an M-theory description, the examples involve wrapped fivebranes leaving one of the ends of the world.
Performance analysis of generalized selection combining with threshold test per branch (T-GSC)

We analyze the average bit error rate (BER) and outage probability performance of two types of conditional diversity combining schemes in which each branch signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is tested against a fixed predetermined threshold and applied to the combiner only if its value exceeds this threshold. The two schemes, respectively referred to as absolute threshold generalized selection combining (AT-GSC) and normalized threshold generalized selection combining (NT-GSC), differ from one another only in the manner in which the threshold is chosen. Nevertheless, when operating over a generalized fading channel, the two schemes have a markedly different behavior as reflected in the numerical results presented. The analytical method taken to obtain these results follows the moment generating function approach originally proposed by the authors for analyzing the performance of more conventional diversity combining schemes (see Simon, M.K. and Alouini, M.-S., Proc. IEEE, vol.86, p.1860-77, 1998).
Origin of the X-Ray Quasi-periodic Oscillations and Identification of a Transient Ultraluminous X-Ray Source in M82

The starburst galaxy M82 contains two ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), CXOM82 J095550.2+694047 (=X41.4+60) and CXOM82 J095551.1+694045 (=X42.3+59), which are unresolved by XMM-Newton. We revisited the two XMM-Newton observations of M82 and analyzed the surface brightness profiles using the known Chandra source positions. We show that the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) detected with XMM-Newton originate from X41.4+60, the brightest X-ray source in M82. Correcting for the contributions of the unresolved sources, the QPO at a frequency of 55.8 ± 1.3 mHz on 2001 May 6 had a fractional rms amplitude of 32%, and the QPO at 112.9 ± 1.3 mHz on 2004 April 21 had an amplitude of 21%. The QPO frequency may possibly be correlated with the source flux, similar to the type C QPOs in XTE 1550-564 and GRS 1915+105, but at luminosities 2 orders of magnitude higher. X42.3+59, the second-brightest source in M82, displayed a strikingly high flux of 1.4 × 10-11 ergs-1 cm-2 s-1 in the 2-10 keV band on 2001 May 6. A 7 year light curve of X42.3+59 shows extreme variability over a factor of 1000; the source is not detected in several Chandra observations. This transient behavior suggests accretion from an unstable disk. If the companion star is massive, as might be expected in the young stellar environment, then the compact object would likely be an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH).
Transparent Conducting Oxides in the ZnO-In2O3-SnO2 System

Zinc-indium-tin oxide (ZITO) is a potential replacement for the currently used tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) as a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) for optoelectronic devices. At the present time ITO is the material of choice for the TCO layer, but the increasing cost of indium metal and the advent of new technologies will require alternative TCOs. Over the past 15 years, bulk and thin film studies have been amassed that report the electrical and optical properties of various ZITO compositions. This review will examine the reported data and demonstrate that the bulk subsolidus phase diagram can act as a guide to understanding the numerous and varied results reported for thin films.
Probabilistic communication complexity

Abstract Communication is a bottleneck in many distributed computations. In VLSI, communication constraints dictate lower bounds on the performance of chips. The two-processor information transfer model measures the communication requirements to compute functions. We study the unbounded error probabilistic version of this model. Because of its weak notion of correct output, we believe that this model measures the “intrinsic” communication complexity of functions. We present exact characterizations of the unbounded error communication complexity in terms of arrangements of hyperplanes and approximations of matrices. These characterizations establish the connection with certain classical problems in combinatorial geometry which are concerned with the configurations of points in d-dimensional real space. With the help of these characterizations, we obtain some upper and lower bounds on communication complexity. The upper bounds which we obtained for the functions—equality and verification of Hamming distance—are considerably better than their counterparts in the deterministic, the nondeterministic, and the bounded error probabilistic models. We also exhibit a function which has log n complexity. We present a counting argument to show that most functions have linear complexity. Further, we apply the logarithmic lower bound on communication complexity to obtain an Ω(n log n) bound on the time of 1-tape unbounded error probabilistic Turing machines. We believe that this is the first nontrivial lower bound obtained for such machines.
Inelastic Collisions of Fast Charged Particles with Atoms and Molecules-The Bethe Theory Revisited

Since the appearance of the title paper, a number of new developments have occurred which need to be included in that body of material. We present additional remarks and clarifications which supplement and update numerous aspects of the Bethe theory discussed in the earlier paper. We also bring the bibliography up to date. Plasma stopping power, the ${z}^{3}$ effect, and stopping power for particles at extreme relativistic energies are among the new topics included. We make several comments on Fano's earlier review article, Ann. Rev. Nucl. Sci. 13, 1 (1963).
An Extendable Galaxy Number Count Model

I review galaxy number count models and present ncmod, an extendable and general purpose model for comparing and interpreting the results of field galaxy survey data. I develop techniques and software for converting the results of a survey done in one filter into another filter for direct comparison with other surveys. Comparison of the data from surveys that differ greatly in wavelength coverage or sensitivity is of necessity model dependent, but comparison between similar surveys can be done in a relatively model-independent way. I extrapolate existing number counts into the ultraviolet and thermal infrared. The model is used to predict the results of future space missions, including STIS and NICMOS on Hubble Space Telescope, Infrared Space Observatory, Space Infrared Telescope Facility, and Next Generation Space Telescope.
On the power of quantum fingerprinting

In the simultaneous message model, two parties holding n-bit integers x,y send messages to a third party, the referee, enabling him to compute a boolean function f(x,y). Buhrman et al [3] proved the remarkable result that, when f is the equality function, the referee can solve this problem by comparing short "quantum fingerprints" sent by the two parties, i.e., there exists a quantum protocol using only O(log n) bits. This is in contrast to the well-known classical case for which Ω(n1/2) bits are provably necessary for the same problem even with randomization. In this paper we show that short quantum fingerprints can be used to solve the problem for a much larger class of functions. Let R,pub(f) denote the number of bits needed in the classical case, assuming in addition a common sequence of random bits is known to all parties (the public coin model). We prove that, if R,pub(f)=O(1), then there exists a quantum protocol for f using only O(log n) bits. As an application we show that O(log n) quantum bits suffice for the bounded Hamming distance function, defined by f(x,y)=1 if and only if x and y have a constant Hamming distance d or less.
Venographic surveillance of tunneled venous access devices in adult oncology patients.

Background: Tunneled venous access devices (VADs) are often essential in the care of patients with advanced malignancies, but they carry an uncertain risk of thrombosis. Methods: To determine the incidence of venoocclusion related to silicone VADs in a population of adult oncology patients, we prospectively studied 50 individuals with upper extremity venograms ∼6 weeks after their VADs had been implanted. Twenty-one of these patients were reevaluated with venograms ∼12 weeks after catheterization. In addition, venograms were performed on a separate group of 24 patients who needed catheterization of axillary-subclavian veins that had been catheterized in the past. Results: The 6-week venograms in the prospective study showed partial venous obstruction in 15 patients (30%), whereas three (6%) had developed symptomatic total venoocclusion by this time. The 12-week venograms showed two additional complete occlusions. Venograms of 30 previously catheterized veins showed complete venoocclusion in nine (30%), although only two had a history of thrombosis. Conclusions: Our observations indicate that VADs frequently cause partial venoocclusion within the first 6 weeks of catheterization and that permanent venous damage from VADs is common, even without a history of VAD-related thrombosis.
Relative Flux Calibration of Keck HIRES Echelle Spectra

We describe a method to calibrate the relative flux levels in spectra from the High-Resolution Echelle Spectrograph (HIRES) on the Keck I telescope. Standard data reduction techniques that transfer the instrument response between HIRES integrations leave errors in the flux of 5%-10% because the effective response varies during the night. The flux errors are most severe near the ends of each spectral order, where there can be discontinuous jumps. The source of these errors is uncertain but may include changes in the vignetting connected to the optical alignment. Our flux calibration method uses a calibrated reference spectrum of each target to calibrate individual HIRES integrations. We determine the instrument response independently for each integration, and hence we avoid the need to transfer the instrument response between HIRES integrations. The procedure can be applied to any HIRES spectrum or any other spectrum. While the accuracy of the method depends upon many factors, we have been able to flux-calibrate a HIRES spectrum to 1% over scales of 200 A u that include order joins. We illustrate the method with spectra of QSO 12433047, toward which we have measured the deuterium-to-hydrogen abundance ratio.
Researching Chinese Law Using Legal Periodicals in English and Chinese: A Critical Overview

With a goal to provide a framework for legal scholars and practitioners to effectively utilize Chinese legal journal literature, this bibliographic essay critically examines Chinese legal periodicals in English and the vernacular, followed by a brief survey of the prevailing trends of legal research and legal periodicals publishing in China.
Imperfect nesting and Peierls instability for a two-dimensional tight-binding model

Based on a half-filled two-dimensional tight-binding model with nearest-neighbour and next nearest-neighbour hopping the effect of imperfect Fermi surface nesting on the Peierls instability is studied at zero temperature. Two dimerization patterns corresponding to a phonon vector (π,π) are considered. It is found that the Peierls instability will be suppressed with an increase of next nearest-neighbour hopping which characterizes the nesting deviation. First and second order transitions to a homogeneous state are possible. The competition between the two dimerized states is discussed.
eMediator: A Next Generation Electronic Commerce Server

This paper presents eMediator, an electronic commerce server prototype that demonstrates ways in which algorithmic support and game–theoretic incentive engineering can jointly improve the efficiency of e–commerce. eAuctionHouse, the configurable auction server, includes a variety of generalized combinatorial auctions and exchanges, pricing schemes, bidding languages, mobile agents, and user support for choosing an auction type. We introduce two new logical bidding languages for combinatorial markets: the XOR bidding language and the OR–of–XORs bidding language. Unlike the traditional OR bidding language, these are fully expressive. They therefore enable the use of the Clarke–Groves pricing mechanism for motivating the bidders to bid truthfully. eAuctionHouse also supports supply/demand curve bidding. eCommitter, the leveled commitment contract optimizer, determines the optimal contract price and decommitting penalties for a variety of leveled commitment contracting mechanisms, taking into account that rational agents will decommit strategically in Nash equilibrium. It also determines the optimal decommitting strategies for any given leveled commitment contract. eExchangeHouse, the safe exchange planner, enables unenforced anonymous exchanges by dividing the exchange into chunks and sequencing those chunks to be delivered safely in alternation between the buyer and the seller.
Dynamic Modeling for Control of the Milling Process

In the interest of maximizing the metal removal rate and preventing tool breakage in the milling process, it has been proposed that fixed gain feedback controllers, which manipulate the feed rate to maintain a constant cutting force, be implemented. These process controllers have resulted in substantial improvements in the metal removal rate; however, they may have very poor performance when the process parameters deviate from the design conditions. To address these performance problems, an empirical second order model of the force response for a milling system to feedrate changes is presented along with experimental results which show that the parameters of this model vary significantly with cutting conditions. These variations are shown to have significant effects on the performance of fixed-gain proportional plus integral action and linear model following controllers. This is demonstrated using machining tests as well as through digital simulations.
Keynote lecture 5: control and estimation theory: current trends, new challenges, & directions for the future

Despite the tremendous strides witnessed in the Control and Estimation of lumped parameter systems, whether linear or nonlinear, the issue of stability and performance robustness under simultaneous structured and unstructured uncertainty still remains largely unresolved. When fault tolerance, autonomy and reactivity are added to the requirements, this presents an additional challenge. 'Closed form' solutions are in most cases not possible and computational methods (optimization based, search, etc.) do not provide the necessary guarantees. The challenges become even greater in the case of distributed systems and networks, such as large industrial/manufacturing plants, environmental applications (CO2 sequestration), communications networks, traffic networks (aeronautical, highway), space networks (satellite constellations), biomedical applications( CNS studies) which, by their nature, require control and estimation in a distributed setting. Requirements and specifications can also be widely variable between safety critical and socially/economically significant systems. It becomes increasingly evident that control, communications and computation need to be synergistically combined through a 'universal formalism' and novel paradigms that combine logical operations (symbolic reasoning and decision making) with analytical constructs (mathematical algorithms)and continuous quantities (throughput, subsystem interconnections), in order to handle heterogeneity, asynchronicity, real time functionality, properties that typically characterize distributed systems/networks. We focus on some representative examples to elucidate key issues that arise in modeling, algorithm design, computation, in order to ensure robustness, fault tolerance, autonomy and even reactivity of distributed systems/networks, that point to the need for total synergy of Control, Communications, and Computation/Computer Science- to meet today's and future challenges.
Thermomagnetic analysis of meteorites, 3. C3 and C4 chondrites

Thermomagnetic analysis on all of the C3 and C4 chondrites, conducted under conditions of controlled oxygen fugacity, indicates the presence of a thermally unstable component in at least 5 of the C3 chondrites which upon heating results in magnetite production. This unstable component is most likely troilite (FeS). The presence of the unstable substance may affect the estimation of paleointensities in meteorites which contain it. Our results indicate that Grosnaja, Ornans, Kainsaz, Felix, and Warrenton are likely to be less complicated for paleointensity determinations than the other C3 chondrites. Both C4 chondrites should lead to reliable results.
Interactive important social character identification from large photo collections

In the paper, we describe a mechanism to identify important social characters by analyzing the social structures embedded in photo collections. We first construct a weighted undirected graph from photo collections by examining the co-appearance of individuals in photos, wherein the weights of edges are measures of the social closeness of the involved individuals (vertices in the graph). Then a graph clustering algorithm that maximizes the modularity of the graph partition is applied to detect the embedded social clusters. Once the social clusters are identified, we measure individual's contribution to the formation of a social cluster to quantify the social importance of each character in the cluster. To compensate the discrepancy between the user-perceived important social characters and the algorithmically computed ones, we propose an interactive browsing scheme to enable viewers quickly identify import social characters that conform to their subjectivity. The effectiveness of the proposed mechanism is demonstrated through experiments on consumer photo collections.
Simplifying nickel(0) catalysis: an air-stable nickel precatalyst for the internally selective benzylation of terminal alkenes.

The synthesis and characterization of the air-stable nickel(II) complex trans-(PCy2Ph)2Ni(o-tolyl)Cl is described in conjunction with an investigation of its use for the Mizoroki–Heck-type, room temperature, internally selective coupling of substituted benzyl chlorides with terminal alkenes. This reaction, which employs a terminal alkene as an alkenylmetal equivalent, provides rapid, convergent access to substituted allylbenzene derivatives in high yield and with regioselectivity greater than 95:5 in nearly all cases. The reaction is operationally simple, can be carried out on the benchtop with no purification or degassing of solvents or reagents, and requires no exclusion of air or water during setup. Synthesis of the precatalyst is accomplished through a straightforward procedure that employs inexpensive, commercially available reagents, requires no purification steps, and proceeds in high yield.
Linear-Algebraic List Decoding for Variants of Reed–Solomon Codes

Folded Reed-Solomon (RS) codes are an explicit family of codes that achieve the optimal tradeoff between rate and list error-correction capability: specifically, for any e > 0, Guruswami and Rudra presented an nO(1/ e) time algorithm to list decode appropriate folded RS codes of rate R from a fraction 1-R-e of errors. The algorithm is based on multivariate polynomial interpolation and root-finding over extension fields. It was noted by Vadhan that interpolating a linear polynomial suffices for a statement of the above form. Here, we give a simple linear-algebra-based analysis of this variant that eliminates the need for the computationally expensive root-finding step over extension fields (and indeed any mention of extension fields). The entire list-decoding algorithm is linear-algebraic, solving one linear system for the interpolation step, and another linear system to find a small subspace of candidate solutions. Except for the step of pruning this subspace, the algorithm can be implemented to run in quadratic time. We also consider a closely related family of codes, called (order m) derivative codes and defined over fields of large characteristic, which consist of the evaluations of f as well as its first m-1 formal derivatives at N distinct field elements. We show how our linear-algebraic methods for folded RS codes can be used to show that derivative codes can also achieve the above optimal tradeoff. The theoretical drawback of our analysis for folded RS codes and derivative codes is that both the decoding complexity and proven worst-case list-size bound are nΩ(1/ e). By combining the above idea with a pseudorandom subset of all polynomials as messages, we get a Monte Carlo construction achieving a list-size bound of O(1/ e2) which is quite close to the existential O(1/ e) bound (however, the decoding complexity remains nΩ(1/ e)). Our work highlights that constructing an explicit subspace-evasive subset that has small intersection with low-dimensional subspaces-an interesting problem in pseudorandomness in its own right-could lead to explicit codes with better list-decoding guarantees.
Collective coordinates for D-branes

Abstract We develop a formalism for the scattering off D-branes that includes collective coordinates. This allows a systematic expansion in the string coupling constant for such processes, including a worldsheet calculation for the D-brane's mass.
Synthesis and Akt inhibitory properties of a 1d-3,4-dideoxyphosphatidylinositol ether lipid

1d-3,4-Dideoxyphosphatidylinositol ether lipid 2, a PI analog, was synthesized through a sequence of protection/deprotection protocols and two Barton deoxygenation reactions, starting from l-(−)-quebrachitol. DDPIEL is 18-fold more potent than its monodeoxy counterpart DPIEL in the inhibition of PI3-K.
Comparative Embryonic Cytotoxicity of Antiretroviral Nucleosides

Previous experiments have indicated that zidovudine is cytotoxic to early murine embryos both in vivo and in vitro. Newer nucleoside analogs (ddI, ddC, and d4T) with antiretroviral activity were tested to determine whether they had similar toxicity. Exposure of two-cell embryos to each of these three drugs inhibited blastocyst formation only at concentrations > or = to 100 microM. Sublethal preblastocyst exposure to d4T resulted in failure to develop beyond the blastocyst stage at 10 microM; no effect was seen with ddC or ddI at concentrations up to 100 microM. In each instance, however, cytotoxicity of all three drugs was significantly less than with zidovudine at equivalent concentration. These experiments suggest that newer antiretroviral nucleosides may be safer to use in early pregnancy than zidovudine.
Synthesis of 2-Arylethylamines by the Curtius Rearrangement

2-Arylethylamine derivatives were synthesized using the Curtius reaction and with three different methods of preparing the acyl azide functional group. Carbamates derived from isocyanate were convenient protecting groups for alkylation of amines. Starting from benzaldehyde, amphetamine was prepared in three steps through an oxazolidin-2-one intermediate in 62% overall yield.
On the quantum filtration of the Khovanov–Rozansky cohomology

Abstract We prove the quantum filtration on the Khovanov–Rozansky link cohomology H p with a general degree ( n + 1 ) monic potential polynomial p ( x ) is invariant under Reidemeister moves, and construct a spectral sequence converging to H p that is invariant under Reidemeister moves, whose E 1 term is isomorphic to the Khovanov–Rozansky sl ( n ) -cohomology H n . Then we define a generalization of the Rasmussen invariant, and study some of its properties. We also discuss relations between upper bounds of the self-linking number of transversal links in standard contact S 3 .
Renormalization-group approach to superconductivity: from weak to strong electron–phonon coupling

We present the numerical solution of the renormalization group (RG) equations derived in Tsai, Castro Neto, Shankar, et al. [Phys. Rev. B to appear], for the problem of superconductivity in the presence of both electron–electron and electron–phonon coupling at zero temperature. We study the instability of a Fermi liquid to a superconductor and the RG flow of the couplings in the presence of retardation effects and the crossover from weak to strong coupling. We show that our numerical results provide an ansatz for the analytic solution to the problem in the asymptotic limits of weak and strong coupling.
Revisiting the Armed−Disarmed Concept: The Importance of Anomeric Configuration in the Activation of S-Benzoxazolyl Glycosides

The unexpectedly high reactivity of a (2-benzoxazolyl) per-O-benzoyl-β-d-thioglucoside and related donors in reactions promoted by copper(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate is revealed, by comparison with the unreactive α-anomer, to be the result of neighboring group participation. Revision of the armed−disarmed concept for glycosyl donors is not required.
Topological lattice gravity using self-dual variables

Topological gravity is the reduction of general relativity to flat spacetimes. A lattice model describing topological gravity is developed starting from a Hamiltonian lattice version of theory. The extra symmetries not present in gravity that kill the local degrees of freedom in theory are removed. The remaining symmetries preserve the geometrical character of the lattice. Using self-dual variables, the conditions that guarantee the geometricity of the lattice become reality conditions. The local part of the remaining symmetry generators, that respect the geometricity-reality conditions, has the form of Ashtekar's constraints for GR. Only after constraining the initial data to flat lattices and considering the non-local (plus local) part of the constraints does the algebra of the symmetry generators close. A strategy to extend the model for non-flat connections and quantization are discussed.
Synthetic studies toward the taxane class of natural products

Abstract The tricyclic enone 12, containing the taxane ring system, has been synthesized, using an intramolecular Ni(II)/Cr(II)-mediated coupling of β-iodoenone aldehyde 11 as the key step.
Retro-Claisen benzylation: direct use of benzyl alcohols in Pd-catalyzed couplings with nitriles

A new strategy has been developed for the benzylation of nitriles directly from benzyl alcohols. In this process benzyl alcohols undergo retro-Claisen activation with cyanoacetic esters to generate an active electrophile and a carbanionic nucleophile. In the presence of Pd(0) these intermediates undergo catalytic coupling to generate a new C-C bond, resulting in the formation of phenyl propionitriles.
Multivariate regression estimation: local polynomial fitting for time series

Abstract We consider the estimation of the multivariate regression function m(x1, …, xd) = E[ψ(Yd)|X1 = x1, …, Xd = xd], and its partial derivatives, for stationary random processes Yi, Xi using local higher-order polynomial fitting. Particular cases of ψ yield estimation of the conditional mean, conditional moments and conditional distributions. Joint asymptotic normality is established for estimates of the regression function and its partial derivatives for strongly mixing and ϱ-mixing processes. Expressions for the bias and variance/covariance matrix (of the asymptotically normal distribution) for these estimators are given.
Proteomic Evaluation of Archival Cytologic Material Using SELDI Affinity Mass Spectrometry Potential for Diagnostic Applications

Proteomic studies of cells via surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization spectrometry (SELDI) analysis have enabled rapid, reproducible protein profiling directly from crude samples. We applied this technique to archival cytology material to determine whether distinct, reproducible protein fingerprints could be identified for potential diagnostic purposes in blinded specimens. Rapid Romanowsky–stained cytocentrifuged specimens from fine-needle aspirates of metastatic malignant melanoma (with both known cutaneous primary and unknown primary sites), clear cell sarcoma, and renal cell carcinoma and reactive effusions were examined using the SELDI technology. A unique characteristic fingerprint was identified for each disease entity. Fifteen “blinded” unknown samples then were analyzed. When the protein profile fingerprints were plotted against the known fingerprints for the aforementioned diagnoses, the appropriate match or diagnosis was obtained in 13 (87%) of 15 cases. These preliminary findings suggest a substantial potential for SELDI applications to specific pathologic diagnoses.
The Spiral Staircase: Tonotopic Microstructure and Cochlear Tuning

Although usually assumed to be smooth and continuous, mammalian cochlear frequency-position maps are predicted to manifest a staircase-like structure comprising plateaus of nearly constant characteristic frequency separated by abrupt discontinuities. The height and width of the stair steps are determined by parameters of cochlear frequency tuning and vary with location in the cochlea. The step height is approximately equal to the bandwidth of the auditory filter (critical band), and the step width matches that of the spatial excitation pattern produced by a low-level pure tone. Stepwise tonotopy is an emergent property arising from wave reflection and interference within the cochlea, the same mechanisms responsible for the microstructure of the hearing threshold. Possible relationships between the microstructure of the cochlear map and the tiered tonotopy observed in the inferior colliculus are explored.
Probabilistic Analysis of Geometric Location Problems

We analyze the behavior of the k center and median problems for n points randomly distributed in an arbitrary region A of $R^d $. Under a mild assumption on the region A, we show that for $k\leqq k ( n ) = o ( n/\log n )$, the objective function values of the discrete and continuous versions of these problems are equal to each other almost surely. For the two-dimensional case, both these problems can be solved by placing the centers or medians in an especially simple regular hexagonal pattern (the “honeycomb heuristic” of Papadimitriou). This yields the exact asymptotic values for the k center and median problem, namely, $\alpha ( | A | /k )^{1 / 2} $ and $\beta ( | A | / k)^{1/2} $ where $| A |$ denotes the volume of A, $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are known constants, and the objective of the median problem is given in terms of the average, rather than the usual total, distance. For the three- and four-dimensional case, similar results can be obtained for the center problem to within an accuracy of roughly one ...
Infants of depressed mothers

Literature is reviewed demonstrating the impact of maternal depression on early infant interactions and development. Infants of depressed mothers (a) develop a depressed mood style as early as 3 months; (b) this mood generalizes to interactions with nondepressed women; (c) it persists over the first year if the mother's depression persists; and (d) it affects growth and Bayley developmental scores by the end of the first year. Other data are reviewed on individual differences including maternal depression styles of withdrawal and intrusion, negative behavior matching, and distorted perceptions of behavior. Finally, genetic, intrauterine, and extrauterine environment effects are discussed and interventions are suggested for altering the mother's depressed behavior and distorted perceptions. The review concludes that a developmental psychopathology perspective is needed to better understand the development of early depression.
The Dynamics of the M87 Globular Cluster System

We present the results from a study of the dynamics of the system of globular clusters around M87. After eliminating foreground galactic stars and background galaxies, we end up with a sample of 205 bona fide M87 globular clusters for which we have radial velocities determined from multislit spectra taken with the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph on the Keck Telescope. We find that the mean radial velocity of the M87 globular clusters agrees well with that of M87 itself and that the velocity histogram is well represented by a Gaussian distribution. We find evidence for rotation in the globular cluster system. We find that the observed velocity dispersion of the M87 globular cluster system increases with radius from 270 km s-1 at r = 9 kpc to ≈ 400 km s-1 at r = 40 kpc. The inferred mass-to-light ratio in solar units increases from 5 at r = 9 kpc to ≈ 30 at r = 40 kpc with M(r) ~ r1.7. The long-slit optical spectroscopy near the center of M87 and the recent analysis of the ROSAT X-ray data are in good agreement with this analysis near the nucleus and in the outer parts of M87, respectively.
Transformation pathways of silica under high pressure

Network-forming oxides with rigid polyhedral building blocks often possess significant capacity for densification under pressure owing to their open structures. The high-pressure behaviour of these oxides is key to the mechanical properties of engineering materials and geological processes in the Earth’s interior. Concurrent molecular-dynamics simulations and first-principles calculations reveal that this densification follows a ubiquitous two-stage mechanism. First, a compact high-symmetry anion sublattice forms, as controlled by strong repulsion between the large oxygen anions, and second, cations redistribute onto the newly created interstices. The same mechanism is observed for two different polymorphs of silica, and in the particular case of cristobalite, is corroborated by the experimental finding of a previously unidentified metastable phase. Our simulations not only clarify the nature of this phase, but also identify its occurrence as key evidence in support of this densification mechanism.
Umpolung amide synthesis using substoichiometric N-iodosuccinimide (NIS) and oxygen as a terminal oxidant.

Umpolung Amide Synthesis (UmAS) provides direct access to amides from an α-bromo nitroalkane and an amine. Based on its mechanistic bifurcation after convergent C–N bond formation, depending on the absence or presence of oxygen, UmAS using substoichiometric N-iodosuccinimide (NIS) under aerobic conditions has been developed. In combination with the enantioselective preparation of α-bromo nitroalkane donors, this protocol realizes the goal of enantioselective α-amino amide and peptide synthesis based solely on catalytic methods.
Ultracapacitor technologies and application in hybrid and electric vehicles

This paper focuses on ultracapacitors (electrochemical capacitors) as energy storage in vehicle applications and thus evaluates the present state-of-the-art of ultracapacitor technologies and their suitability for use in electric and hybrid drivelines of various types of vehicles. A key consideration in determining the applicability of ultracapacitors for a particular vehicle application is the proper assessment of the energy storage and power requirements. For hybrid–electric vehicles, the key issues are the useable energy requirement and the maximum pulse power at high efficiency. For a Prius size vehicle, if the useable energy storage is about 125 Wh and needed efficiency is 90–95%, analysis shown in this paper indicate that vehicles can be designed using carbon ultracapacitors (both carbon/carbon and hybrid carbon) that yield high fuel economy improvements for all driving cycles and the cost of the ultracapacitors can be competitive with lithium-ion batteries for high volume production and carbon prices of less than $20 kg−1. The use of carbon/carbon devices in micro-hybrids is particularly attractive for a control strategy (sawtooth) that permits engine operation near its maximum efficiency using only a 6 kW electric motor. Vehicle projects in transit buses and passenger cars have shown that ultracapacitors have functioned as expected and significant fuel economy improvements have been achieved that are higher than would have been possible using batteries because of the higher round-trip efficiencies of the ultracapacitors. Ultracapacitors have particular advantages for use in fuel cell powered vehicles in which it is likely they can be used without interface electronics. Development of hybrid carbon devices is continuing showing energy densities of 12 Wh kg−1 and a high efficiency power density of about 1000 W kg−1. Vehicle simulations using those devices have shown that increased power capability in such devices is needed before full advantage can be taken of their increased energy density compared with carbon/carbon devices in some vehicle applications. Energy storage system considerations indicate that combinations of ultracapacitors and advanced batteries (Wh kg−1>200) are likely to prove advantageous in the future as such batteries are developed. This is likely to be the case in plug-in hybrids with high-power electric motors for which it may be difficult to limit the size and weight of the energy storage unit even using advanced batteries. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
THE SIZE OF ISOPERIMETRIC SURFACES IN 3-MANIFOLDS AND A RIGIDITY RESULT FOR THE UPPER HEMISPHERE

We characterize the standard S 3 as the closed Ricci-positive 3-manifold with scalar curvature at least 6 having isoperimetric surfaces of largest area: 4π. As a corollary we answer in the affirmative an interesting special case of a conjecture of M. Min-Oo's on the scalar curvature rigidity of the upper hemisphere.