cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ownership changes and access to external financing

This paper examines access to external financing in the privatization context and provides new evidence on the effects of financing constraints on performance and investment. Ownership reforms increase firms’ reliance on external financing. Empirically, performance and investment changes around ownership reforms are increasing in country-level measures of access to credit. The presence of a severe prior public financing constraint contributes to stronger investment growth after privatization. Privatized enterprises do not outperform publicly owned industries, all else given. Our analyses rely on new international sector- and firm-level data and correct for potential endogeneity of ownership changes.
Crossing boundaries : gender, caste and schooling in rural Pakistan

Can communal heterogeneity explain persistent educational inequities in developing countries? The paper uses a novel data-set from rural Pakistan that explicitly recognizes the geographic structure of villages and the social makeup of constituent hamlets to show that demand for schooling is sensitive to the allocation of schools across ethnically fragmented communities. The analysis focuses on two types of social barriers: stigma based on caste affiliation and female seclusion that is more rigidly enforced outside a girl's own hamlet. Results indicate a substantial decrease in primary school enrollment rates for girls who have to cross hamlet boundaries to attend, irrespective of school distance, an effect not present for boys. However, low-caste children, both boys and girls, are deterred from enrolling when the most convenient school is in a hamlet dominated by high-caste households. In particular, low-caste girls, the most educationally disadvantaged group, benefit from improved school access only when the school is also caste-concordant. A policy experiment indicates that providing schools in low-caste dominant hamlets would increase overall enrollment by almost twice as much as a policy of placing a school in every unserved hamlet, and would do so at one-sixth of the cost.
Science in the French revolution

Following the French Revolution, scientists were pressed into the service of the Republic on a scale theretofore unequaled. Yet the learned academies were abolished by the Republic. There was enthusiasm about natural history, but the more abstract, theoretical, particularly mathematical, aspects of natural science were seen as incompatible with the ideology of the Revolution. The complex mixture of adulation and hostility on the part of the Republic towards science is here examined.
Understanding the efficiency of social tagging systems using information theory

Given the rise in popularity of social tagging systems, it seems only natural to ask how efficient is the organically evolved tagging vocabulary in describing underlying document objects? Does this distributed process really provide a way to circumnavigate the traditional "vocabulary problem" with ontology? We analyze a social tagging site, namely del.icio.us, with information theory in order to evaluate the efficiency of this social tagging site for encoding navigation paths to information sources. We show that information theory provides a natural and interesting way to understand this efficiency - or the descriptive, encoding power of tags. Our results indicate the efficiency of tags appears to be waning. We discuss the implications of our findings and provide insight into how our methods can be used to design more usable social tagging software.
Distance Preserving Graph Simplification

Large graphs are difficult to represent, visualize, and understand. In this paper, we introduce âgate graphâ - a new approach to perform graph simplification. A gate graph provides a simplified topological view of the original graph. Specifically, we construct a gate graph from a large graph so that for any ânon-localâ vertex pair (distance greater than some threshold) in the original graph, their shortest-path distance can be recovered by consecutive âlocalâ walks through the gate vertices in the gate graph. We perform a theoretical investigation on the gate-vertex set discovery problem. We characterize its computational complexity and reveal the upper bound of minimum gate vertex set using VC-dimension theory. We propose an efficient mining algorithm to discover a gate-vertex set with guaranteed logarithmic bound. The detailed experimental results using both real and synthetic graphs demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach.
Agents come to bits: Towards a constructive comprehensive taxonomy of economic entities

Abstract Mirowski [Mirowski, P., 2007. Markets come to bits: evolution, computation, and markomata in economic science. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 63, 209–242] argues for a constructive approach to economic modeling centered on markets as evolving computational entities. This essay counters that a broader constructive approach to economic modeling can and should be taken. The recent advent of powerful computer technologies supporting agent-based modeling (ABM) renders feasible the computational study of economies modeled as evolving systems of interacting agents. In ABM, an “agent” refers broadly to bundled data and behavioral methods representing an entity constituting part of a computationally constructed world. Examples of possible agent referents include individuals, social groupings, institutions (e.g., markets), biological entities such as crops, and physical entities such as transportation networks and weather. Consequently, ABM provides tremendous opportunities for economists and other social scientists to tailor the breadth and depth of the entities represented in their models to the application at hand. A simple ABM of a two-sector decentralized market economy is used for concrete illustration.
Noise characteristics of interacting transitions in longitudinal thin film media

Spatial distribution and correlation of transition noise for closely recorded interacting transitions were characterized based on time domain noise measurements and analysis. Corresponding magnetization fluctuation of the transition profiles were obtained by a deconvolution method. It is found that at small bit intervals, correlated amplitude fluctuation of a dipulse, resulting from magnetization fluctuation of the regions in between the dibit transitions, represents the main noise characteristics of the interacting transitions. The study shows that in terms of noise properties, a tribit essentially behaves as two dibit transition pairs sharing the center transition and the amplitude variation is the main manifestation of the medium noise. >
Total Syntheses of CP‐225,917 and CP‐263,114: Creation of a Matrix Structure By Sequential Aldol Condensation and Intramolecular Heck Ring Closure

Important progress towards the total syntheses of the title compounds, potent inhibitors of squalene synthase and farnesyl transferase, has been accomplished by the construction of the highly functionalized compound 1.
Nondeterministic space is closed under complementation

It is shown that nondeterministic space s(n) is closed under complementation for s(n) greater than or equal to log n. It immediately follows that the context-sensitive languages are closed under complementation. The proof is an offshoot of work in first-order expressibility. >
A Drifting-Games Analysis for Online Learning and Applications to Boosting

We provide a general mechanism to design online learning algorithms based on a minimax analysis within a drifting-games framework. Different online learning settings (Hedge, multi-armed bandit problems and online convex optimization) are studied by converting into various kinds of drifting games. The original minimax analysis for drifting games is then used and generalized by applying a series of relaxations, starting from choosing a convex surrogate of the 0-1 loss function. With different choices of surrogates, we not only recover existing algorithms, but also propose new algorithms that are totally parameter-free and enjoy other useful properties. Moreover, our drifting-games framework naturally allows us to study high probability bounds without resorting to any concentration results, and also a generalized notion of regret that measures how good the algorithm is compared to all but the top small fraction of candidates. Finally, we translate our new Hedge algorithm into a new adaptive boosting algorithm that is computationally faster as shown in experiments, since it ignores a large number of examples on each round.
Extending the innovation ecosystem

What Is Innovation? It?s not always about inventing something entirely new. Innovation occurs at the intersection of invention and insight. It?s about the application of invention - the fusion of new developments and new approaches to solve problems. (Sam Palmisano, Delivered at the Council on Competitiveness Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., October 30, 2003). In the 21st Century, we are approaching fundamental limits of technology that will drive new paradigms for software and systems. Software complexity is driving a rethinking of software development. There are external forces including government and societal, that are significantly influencing the technology agenda. In addition, the changing business environment demands new approaches to use of IT - transformation must be fueled by innovation. Can we manage innovation? Can we create a culture of innovation? Can we work with customers and partners to drive innovation? Various innovation approaches are being deployed to enhance IBM?s innovation ecosystem. Lessons learned and future innovation drivers will be presented.
Conceptual Design of a Communications Relay Satellite for a Lunar Sample Return Mission

In 2003, NASA solicited proposals for a robotic exploration of the lunar surface. Submissions were requested for a lunar sample return mission from the South Pole-Aitken Basin. The basin is of interest because it is thought to contain some of the oldest accessible rocks on the lunar surface. A mission is under study that will land a spacecraft in the basin, collect a sample of rock fragments, and return the sample to Earth. Because the Aitken Basin is on the far side of the Moon, the lander will require a communications relay satellite (CRS) to maintain contact with the Earth during its surface operation. Design of the CRS's orbit is therefore critical. This paper describes a mission design which includes potential transfer and mission orbits, required changes in velocity, orbital parameters, and mission dates. Several different low lunar polar orbits are examined to compare their availability to the lander versus the distance over which they must communicate. In addition, polar orbits are compared to a halo orbit about the Earth-Moon L2 point, which would permit continuous communication at a cost of increased fuel requirements and longer transmission distances. This thesis also examines some general parameters of the spacecraft systems for the mission under study. Mission requirements for the lander dictate the eventual choice of mission orbit. This mission could be the first step in a period of renewed lunar exploration and eventual human landings.
The Income and Tax Share of Very High-Income Households, 1960-1995

This paper presents new information on the fraction of adjusted gross income, and of wages and salaries, that is reported by taxpayers in the top one half of one percent of the income distribution. This corresponds to roughly five hundred thousand households in the late 1990s. This paper relies on data from the Treasury's Individual Income Tax Model for the period 1960-1995. The definition of adjusted gross income is standardized, so that changes in the tax law do not affect the measured concentration of AGI. The results suggest that the share of AGI reported by the highest income households increased significantly between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s, with most of the increase taking place in the years immediately following the Tax Reform Act of 1986. While we find some evidence of transitory changes in the concentration of income around major tax changes, which may be the result of income retiming by high income taxpayers, re-timing does not seem to explain most of the changes since 1986.
Simple heuristics and legal evidence

‘Simple heuristics’ are a family of ‘fast and frugal’ inference procedures that are claimed to be used by ordinary thinkers and to be as accurate as more complex strategies. One such procedure is ‘Take The Best’, which renders a judgment by using only the cue that is thought to have the highest cue-validity. What will happen in a legal setting if jurors use Take The Best but their cue-validity estimates are inaccurate? How should the legal system deal with the threat of inaccurate cues? Four types of remedies are considered and their effectiveness is weighed.
Evaluation of spacecraft product assurance requirements and flight performance history

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has undertaken a task to relate long-duration space flight hardware performance to specific product assurance requirements established during the hardware development process. The approach that JPL is using to correlate in-flight and ground test hardware failures to critical product assurance practices implemented on a given flight project is described. The first step in this effort has been to collect, and convert into a convenient format, in-flight problem, failure, and anomaly data. A characterization of a subset of this anomaly database, focusing on anomaly causes, time dependence, and subsystem affected is presented. Preliminary results from an analysis of the data set are presented. >
Experimental study of forces between quasi-two-dimensional emulsion droplets near jamming

We experimentally study the jamming of quasi-two-dimensional emulsions. Our experiments consist of oil-in-water emulsion droplets confined between two parallel plates. From the droplet outlines, we can determine the forces between every droplet over a wide range of area fractions ϕ. We study three bidisperse samples that jam at area fractions ϕc ≈ 0.86. Our data show that for ϕ > ϕc, the contact numbers and pressure have power-law dependence on ϕ − ϕc in agreement with the critical scaling found in numerical simulations. Furthermore, we see a link between the interparticle force law and the exponent for the pressure scaling, supporting prior computational observations. We also observe linear-like force chains (chains of large inter-droplet forces) that extend over 10 particle lengths, and examine the origin of their linearity. We find that the relative orientation of large force segments are random and that the tendency for force chains to be linear is not due to correlations in the direction of neighboring large forces, but instead occurs because the directions are biased towards being linear to balance the forces on each droplet.
Pricing of Electricity Swing Options

Electricity is one of the most important commodities for both consumers and producers, and it is subject to sharp variations in supply and demand, sometimes within a single day. But it is also one of the most difficult commodities on which to trade derivatives, because electricity is virtually unstorable. This has given rise to contracts such as the “swing option,” which sets minimum and maximum values for both the amount of power to be purchased in each period and also the cumulative amount of electricity purchased over the life of the contract. A swing option thus entails complex timing options with regard to fulfillment of the required minimum cumulative quantity purchased, and price-related options that let the holder buy more when the market price is above the option9s strike price, all constrained by the limits on maximum instantaneous and cumulative consumption. In this article, Keppo describes the decision process and presents a swing option valuation model based on simple electricity forwards and options. The use of the approach is illustrated with a couple of examples based on Nord Pool electricity prices.
Why Does the Yield Curve Predict Output and Inflation

The slope of the yield curve has been shown empirically to be a significant predictor of inflation and real economic activity but there is no standard theory as to why the relationship exists. This article constructs an analytical rational expectations model to investigate the reasons for the empirical results. The model suggests that the relationships are not structural but are instead influenced by the monetary policy regime. However, the yield curve should have predictive power for output and inflation in most circumstances. Various implications of the theoretical model are tested and confirmed empirically.
Solid-state diffusion bonding of carbon-carbon composites with borides and carbides

Solid-state diffusion bonding of carbon–carbon (C─C) composites by using boride and carbide interlayers has been investigated. The interlayer materials used in this study were single-phase borides (TiB2 or ZrB2), eutectic mixtures of borides and carbides (ZrB2+ ZrC or TiB2+ B4C), and mixtures of TiB2+ SiC + B4C produced in situ by chemical reactions between B4C, Ti, and Si or between TiC, Si, and B. The double-notch shear strengths of the joints produced by solid-state reaction sintering of B4C + Ti + Si interlayers were much higher than those of joints produced with other interlayers. The maximum strength was achieved for C─C specimens bonded at 2000°C with a 2:1:1 mole ratio of Ti, Si, and B4C powders. The reaction products identified in the interlayers, after joining, were TiB2, SiC, and TiC. The joint shear strength increased with the test temperature, from 8.99 MPa at room temperature to an average value of 14.51 MPa at 2000°C.
K6Pb8Cd: A Zintl Phase with Oligomers of Pb4 Tetrahedra Interconnected by Cd Atoms

Unprecedented (Pb4 )Cd(Pb4 )Cd(Pb4 )Cd(Pb4 ) tetramers (see picture) are present in the structure of the title compound, in which they coexist with isolated Pb4 tetrahedra. Since Cs6 Ge8 Zn has the same stoichiometry as K6 Pb8 Cd but contains exclusively (Ge4 )2 Zn dimers, this can be viewed as a disproportionation reaction of the type (a).
A CMB polarization primer

Abstract We present a pedagogical and phenomenological introduction to the study of cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization to build intuition about the prospects and challenges facing its detection. Thomson scattering of temperature anisotropies on the last scattering surface generates a linear polarization pattern on the sky that can be simply read off from their quadrupole moments. These in turn correspond directly to the fundamental scalar (compressional), vector (vortical), and tensor (gravitational wave) modes of cosmological perturbations. We explain the origin and phenomenology of the geometric distinction between these patterns in terms of the so-called electric and magnetic parity modes, as well as their correlation with the temperature pattern. By its isolation of the last scattering surface and the various perturbation modes, the polarization provides unique information for the phenomenological reconstruction of the cosmological model. Finally we comment on the comparison of theory with experimental data and prospects for the future detection of CMB polarization.
Direct photochemical trifluoromethylation of histidine-containing peptides

Abstract Photochemical trifluoromethylation of the imidazole ring of histidine in the tripeptide Glp-His-Pro-NH 2 (TRH) has been achieved to furnish a mixture of the isomers, 2- and 4(5)-CF3-Im-TRH, which have been separated by reverse-phase HPLC and characterized.
Prototyping Versus Specifying: A Multiproject Experiment

In this experiment, seven software teams developed versions of the same small-size (2000-4000 source instruction) application software product. Four teams used the Specifying approach. Three teams used the Prototyping approach. The main results of the experiment were the following. 1) Prototyping yielded products with roughly equivalent performance, but with about 40 percent less code and 45 percent less effort. 2) The prototyped products rated somewhat lower on functionality and robustness, but higher on ease of use and ease of learning. 3) Specifying produced more coherent designs and software that was easier to integrate. The paper presents the experimental data supporting these and a number of additional conclusions.
Simulation of soft X-ray emission lines from the missing baryons

We study the soft X-ray emission (0.1-1 keV) from the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) in a hydrodynamic simulation of a cold dark matter universe. Our main goal is to investigate how such emission can be explored with a combination of imaging and spectroscopy and to motivate future X-ray missions. We first present high-resolution images of the X-ray emission in several energy bands in which emission from different ion species dominates. We pick three different areas to study the high-resolution spectra of X-rays from the WHIM: (1) a galaxy group, (2) a filament, and (3) an underluminous region. By taking into account the background X-ray emission from AGNs and foreground emission from the Galaxy, we compute composite X-ray spectra of the selected regions. We briefly investigate angular clustering of the soft X-ray emission, finding a strong signal. Most interestingly, the combination of high spectral resolution and angular information allows us to map the emission from the WHIM in three dimensions. We cross-correlate the positions of galaxies in the simulation with this redshift map of emission and detect the presence of six different ion species (Ne IX, Fe XVII, O VII, O VIII, N VII, and C VI) in the large-scale structure traced by the galaxies. Finally, we show how such emission can be detected and studied with future X-ray satellites, with particular attention to a proposed mission, the Missing Baryon Explorer (MBE). We present simulated observations of the WHIM gas with MBE.
Selective hydrogenation of polynitroaromatic derivatives with noble metal catalysts in the presence of catalytic amounts of iron

Abstract Hydrogen over PtO 2 , 5%Pd(c), PdCl 2 , or 5%Rh(Al 2 O 3 ), in the presence of catalytic amounts of iron and under mild reaction conditions, resulted in the selective reduction of a variety of polynitroaromatic compounds in high yields.
Risk and Marketing Behavior: Pricing Fed Cattle on a Grid

A seven-year comparative study of grid pricing versus average pricing of slaughter cattle was conducted to evaluate carcass quality market signals. The primary objectives of the study are to determine: (1) if market signals sent through the grid pricing system indicate an improvement in the grid incentive mechanism over time, (2) how changes in the grid premium and discount structure associated with carcass quality affect the market risk premium, and (3) if changes in price risk (variance) affect producer marketing decisions. An Exponential-Autoregressive-Conditional-Heteroskedasticity-in-Mean (EARCH-in-Mean) modeling procedure was adopted. Empirical results suggest that the grid premium and discount structure is slowly adjusting carcass quality market signals to encourage marketing on a grid and discourage marketing by the pen. The inclusion of the conditional variance in the empirical model indicates that variance associated with the carcass quality risk premium adds financial risk associated with the adoption of grid pricing.
Identification of Causal Effects Using Instrumental Variables

Abstract We outline a framework for causal inference in settings where assignment to a binary treatment is ignorable, but compliance with the assignment is not perfect so that the receipt of treatment is nonignorable. To address the problems associated with comparing subjects by the ignorable assignment—an “intention-to-treat analysis”—we make use of instrumental variables, which have long been used by economists in the context of regression models with constant treatment effects. We show that the instrumental variables (IV) estimand can be embedded within the Rubin Causal Model (RCM) and that under some simple and easily interpretable assumptions, the IV estimand is the average causal effect for a subgroup of units, the compliers. Without these assumptions, the IV estimand is simply the ratio of intention-to-treat causal estimands with no interpretation as an average causal effect. The advantages of embedding the IV approach in the RCM are that it clarifies the nature of critical assumptions needed for a...
Energetic particle observations at the subsolar magnetopause

The pitch-angle distributions (PAD) of energetic particles are examined as the ISEE-1 satellite crosses the Earth's magnetopause near the subsolar point. The investigation focuses on the possible existence of a particular type of distribution that would be associated with a source of energetic particles in the high-latitude magnetosphere. PADs, demonstrating broad, persistent field-aligned fluxes filling a single hemisphere (upper/northern or lower/southern), were observed just sunward of the magnetopause current layer for an extended period of many minutes. These distributions are a direct prediction of a possible source of energetic particles located in the high altitude dayside cusp and we present five examples in detail of the three-dimensional particle distributions to demonstrate their existence. From these results, other possible causes of such PADs are examined.
The Sub-Optimality of the Friedman Rule and the Optimum Quantity of Money

According to the logic of the Friedman rule, the opportunity cost of holding money faced by private agents should equal the social cost of creating additional fiat money. Thus nominal rates of interest should be zero. This logic has been shown to be correct in a number of contexts, with and without various distortions. In practice, however, economies that have confronted very low nominal rates of interest over extended periods have been viewed as performing very poorly rather than as performing very well. Examples include the U.S. during the Great Depression, or Japan during the last decade. Indeed economies experiencing low nominal interest rates have often suffered severe and long-lasting recessions. This observation suggests that the logic of the Friedman rule needs to be reassessed. We consider the possibility that low nominal rates of interest imply that fiat money is a good asset. As a result, agents are induced to hold an excessive amount of savings in the form of money, and a suboptimal amount of savings in other, more productive forms. Hence low nominal interest rates can lead to low rates of investment and, in an endogenous growth model, to low rates of real growth. This is a cost of following the Friedman rule. Benefits of following the Friedman rule include the possibility that banks will provide considerable liquidity, reducing the cost of transactions that require cash. With this trade-off, we describe conditions under which the Friedman rule is and is not optimal. Finally, our model predicts that excessively high rates of inflation, and nominal rates of interest, are detrimental to growth. This implication of the model, which is consistent with observation, in turn implies that there is a nominal rate of interest that maximizes an economy's real growth rate. We characterize this interest rate, and we describe when it is and is not optimal to drive the nominal rate of interest to its growth maximizing level.
A fast shaping low power amplifier-comparator integrated circuit for silicon strip detectors

We have designed and tested a 64 channel amplifier-comparator integrated circuit on the Maxim SHPi bipolar process. The low power design, 840 /spl mu/W/channel, is intended for use as a frontend with high clock rate silicon strip detector systems. Peaking time at the comparator input is 20 ns, for good double pulse resolution, and noise is near optimum for the technology used. We have used the chip successfully in a proton beam test at KEK in Japan with a 40 MHz data clock. >
The Effect of Orientation Angle Compensation on Coherency Matrix and Polarimetric Target Decompositions

The polarization orientation angle (OA) of the scattering media affects the polarimetric radar signatures. This paper investigates the effects of orientation compensation on the coherency matrix and the scattering-model-based decompositions by Freeman-Durden and Yamaguchi et al. The Cloude and Pottier decomposition is excluded, because entropy, anisotropy, and alpha angle are roll invariant. We will show that, after orientation compensation, the volume scattering power is consistently decreased, while the double-bounce power has increased. The surface scattering power is relatively unchanged, and the helicity power is roll invariant. All of these characteristics can be explained by the compensation effect on the nine elements of the coherency matrix. In particular, after compensation, the real part of the (HH - VV) · HV* correlation reduces to zero, the intensity of cross-pol |HV| always reduces, and |HH - VV| always increases. This analysis also reveals that the common perception that OA compensation would make a reflection asymmetrical medium completely reflection symmetric is incorrect and that, contrary to the general perception, the four-component decomposition does not use the complete information of the coherency matrix. Only six quantities are included - one more than the Freeman-Durden decomposition, which explicitly assumes reflection symmetry.
Honeywell MEMS inertial technology & product status

Honeywell has been engaged in the silicon micromachining technology since the late 1960's. MEMS-based pressure sensing systems are a significant element of Honeywell's Aerospace business. With the acquisition of the Draper Laboratory MEMS gyro and accelerometer, technology in 1999, Honeywell has reaffirmed its commitment to this game-changing technology. This paper describes the progress of Honeywell's MEMS inertial product development. The performance of IMU and INS/GPS products will be presented along with development and performance roadmaps.
LINEAR AND SECOND-ORDER EVOLUTION OF COSMIC BARYON PERTURBATIONS BELOW 10 6 SOLAR MASSES

Studies of the growth of cosmic perturbations are typically focused on galactic scales and above. In this paper we investigate the evolution of perturbations in baryons, photons, and dark matter for masses below 106 M☉ (or wavenumbers above 100 Mpc-1). Fluctuations on these scales are of interest and importance because they grow to become the earliest collapsed objects and provide the first light sources in the so-called dark ages. We investigate both the linear evolution and the second-order nonlinear effects arising from the coupling of large-scale velocity fields to small-scale perturbations in the baryon density and the electron ionization fraction. We find that this second-order nonlinear coupling dominates the growth of perturbations with masses 103 M☉ immediately after recombination, enhancing the baryon fluctuation amplitudes by a factor of ~5, but the nonlinear effect does not persist at late times.
EFFICIENCY OF ESTIMATION WHEN THERE IS ONLY ONE COMMON FACTOR

Explicit formulae are derived for the asymptotic sampling variances and covariances of the maximum-likelihood estimators for factor-analysis parameters in the special case where there is just one common factor. The effect of the number of variables on these variances and covariances is indicated. A formula is given showing to what extent the usual covariance between two of a set of variables can be estimated more efficiently when there is known to be just one common factor.
Eco-Premium or Eco-Penalty? Eco-Labels and Quality in the Organic Wine Market

Eco-labels emphasize information disclosure as a tool to induce environmentally friendly behaviors by both firms and consumers. The goal of eco-labels is to reduce information asymmetry between producers and consumers over the environmental attributes of a product or service. However, by focusing on this information asymmetry, rather than how the label meets consumer needs, eco-labels may send irrelevant, confusing or even detrimental messages to consumers. In this paper, we investigate how the environmental signal of eco-labels interacts with product characteristics such as brand, quality and price. In a discrete choice experiment the authors examine consumer response to two similar eco-labels for wine, one associated with a quality reduction and the other not. Our results show that respondents preferred both eco-labeled wines over otherwise identical conventional counterparts, when the price was lower and the wine was from a lower quality region. However they preferred conventional more expensive wine from a high quality region. This indicates that respondents obtain some warm glow value from eco-labeled wine, but also possibly interpret it as a signal of lower quality. This relationship held across both types of eco-labels, meaning that consumers did not understand the difference between them. Our research contributes to the literature on information disclosure policies by highlighting important elements for effective eco-labels. These include consumer awareness and understanding of the eco-label, and consumer willingness to pay for an eco-labeled product. Our research emphasizes the need to create eco-labels that communicate clearly both the environmental attributes and the private benefits associated with them.
Composite Singular Value Decomposition Analysis of Moisture Variations Associated with the Madden-Julian Oscillation

Abstract The role of moisture variations in the initiation of Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) variability is examined. Composite singular value decomposition (CSVD) analyses at various time lags are carried out to discern the complex space–time relationships between convection, low-level specific humidity and divergence, and surface evaporation. The utilized data are low-level moisture and winds and surface evaporation from the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) from NOAA satellite observations for the period 1981–2000. These data are filtered at each point using a 150-point Lanczos filter capturing well the 20–100-day periodicities. The two dominant CSVDs describe an eastward-propagating quasi-wavenumber-1 system in all of the analyzed variables. The dominant low-level divergence, moisture, and latent heat flux variations lead those of OLR by approximately 10 days. The low-level convergence and positive moisture anomalies develop near and to the east of the ensuing convective pert...
Improving Aircraft Sequencing and Separation at a Small Aircraft Transportation System Airport

Ever-increasing traffic levels at the nation’s major airports have led to traffic congestion and flight delays. Capacity must be increased by building more airports at a great cost or by expanding services to some of the 4,500 airports not currently served by scheduled air carriers. A system must be developed to handle the increased traffic at these non-controlled airports, especially when instrument meteorological conditions prevail. Much work has been performed under the NASA Small Aircraft Transportation System program to determine the feasibility of aircraft operation under instrument flight rules in an air-traffic control free environment. This paper presents research, performed as an extension of the SATS program, into self-separation of general aviation aircraft in a self-controlled airport environment. The research focused on two specific areas: (1) improving automatic sequencing of aircraft of different speeds to make the airspace more efficient, saving time, fuel, and money, and (2) assisting the pilot with approach timing decisions to assure safe aircraft spacing while proceeding in an efficient manner. The primary evaluation method was a real-time distributed simulation with test cases performed by multiple pilots flying simultaneously in the simulation environment. Simulations and test scenarios were performed in the Engineering Flight Simulator, a modular, real-time, nonlinear, six degreeof-freedom fixed base simulator, at Texas A&M University. The pilots flew various general aviation aircraft with differing approach speeds under instrument meteorological conditions. Approach speeds ranged from 80 kts. to 140kts. to encompass the majority of aircraft from small trainers up to light jets that will use the potential SATS airports. New spacing rules were implemented to reduce holding times, and Total Holding Time was used as a metric to validate these new rules. Simulations were performed both with and without automated sequencing to validate the new spacing rules and compare the effects of automated sequencing. A human factors analysis was performed to determine the benefits of shifting some spacing functions from the pilot to the onboard systems, and reductions in pilot workload and improvements in pilot performance were measured to assess the safety improvements due to the increased automation. Based on the results presented in the paper, it was concluded that by changing the sequencing procedure to assign airspace entries once the aircraft are closer to the airport, potential bottlenecks can be avoided and holding times reduced. Furthermore, as a result of the increased avionics functionality and a change in approach spacing guidelines, safety is improved, and holding times are reduced. With these two improvements combined, significant holding time reductions are achieved resulting in fuel and cost savings and further make the self-controlled airport a safe and viable transportation alternative.
Extension of a Virtual Refrigerant Charge Sensor

The primary goal of the work described in this paper was to evaluate and extend a virtual refrigerant charge sensor (VRC) for determining refrigerant charge for equipment having variable-speed compressors and fans. Based on the evaluations, the original VRC sensor (termed model I) was found to work well in estimating the refrigerant charge level for systems with a variable-speed compressor. However, for extreme test conditions such as low compressor speed, the model I needed to be improved. To overcome the limitations, the model was modified to include a term involving the inlet quality to the evaporator (termed model II). The model II gave better performance for systems with a variable-speed compressor. When the superheat of the compressor was zero, neither model II could accurately predict charge level. Therefore, a third approach (Model III) was developed that includes the discharge superheat of the compressor.
Practical Syntheses of (S)‐4‐Hydroxytetrahydrofuran‐2‐one, (S)‐3‐Hydroxytetrahydrofuran and Their (R)‐Enantiomers

Optically active 4-hydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-one (3) has been synthesized in good yield from optically active ethyl 4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate (2) by refluxing with dilute hydrochloric acid. In a similar manner, optically active 3-hydroxytetrahydrofuran (5) was prepared from optically active 4-chloro-1,3-butanediol (4), which was derived from 2 by NaBH4 reduction. These new cyclizations proceed without racemization.
Does unemployment hysteresis falsify the natural rate hypothesis? a meta-regression analysis

Abstract. A quantitative survey of 24 studies containing 99 national estimates of unemployment persistence reinstates unemployment hysteresis as a viable falsifying hypothesis to the natural rate hypothesis. Empirical evidence to the contrary may be attributed to small-sample, misspecification and publication biases. Larger estimates of unemployment persistence are produced by models that use more information (t = 9.03; P < 0.0001) and are better specified. A theme of bias and misspecification among studies that are more supportive of natural rate hypothesis emerges in several independent ways. The nonstationarity of the unemployment rate is confirmed both by the observed rate of convergence of persistence estimates across the empirical literature and by the point towards which they converge. The natural rate hypothesis may be regarded as ‘falsified’ should we choose to do so.
Navier-Stokes Predictions for the F-18 Wing and Fuselage at Large Incidence

Navier-Stokes solutions have been obtained using the Chimera overset grid scheme for flow over the wing, fuselage, and wing leading-edge extension (LEX) of the F-18 aircraft at high incidence. Solutions are also presented for flow over the fuselage forebody at high angles of attack. The solutions are for turbulent flows at high-Reynolds-number flight-test conditions, and are compared with available qualitative and quantitative experimental data. Comparisons of predicted surface flow patterns, off-surface flow visualizations, and surface- pressure distributions are in good agreement with flight-test data. The ability of the numerical method to predict the bursting of the LEX vortex as it encounters the adverse pressure gradient field of the wing is demonstrated. HIGH angle-of-attack technology program is currently underway Vvithin NASA. The objectives of the program include the development of flight-valida ted design methods that accurately predict the aerodynamics and flight dynamics of aircraft maneuvering in the high-angle-of-attack regime. Toward meeting these objectives, the program integrates ground-based experimental and computational investigations with flight-test investigations conducted on an F-18 at the NASA Ames-D den Flight Research Facility. The flight tests include surface 1 off-surface flow visualizations, as well as quantitative m irements of the flow surrounding the air- craft at large i ence. This database provides a unique op- portunity for C '•-).) code validation at actual high-alpha flight conditions. This paper presents results of Navier-Stokes com- putations of the flow about the wing, fuselage, and wing lead- ing-edge extension (LEX) of the F-18 at conditions matching those of the flight tests. Previous numerical predictions for the isolated F-18 fuselage forebody were reported in Refs. 1-3. Numerical prediction of the flow over aircraft flying at large angles of attack is a difficult aerodynamic problem. High- angle-of-attack flows contain large regions of three-dimen- sional separated flow, where the boundary layers leave the surface of the body along surfaces of separation, and roll up on the leeward side of the body to form strong, concentrated vortical flows. Separated flows historically have been treated by a wide variety of computational methods, ranging from simple potential flow methods to time-marching Navier-Stokes techniques. However, the close coupling that exists between the strength and location of the leeward vortical flow and the location of the viscous layer separation lines has precluded
A set of Youla's equivalent constraints on broadband matching

A set of coefficient constraints on the realizability of an optimum lossless equalizer between a non-Foster positive-real load impedance and a resistive generator is given. The equivalency between this set and Youla's coefficient constraints is proved. When the prescribed load impedance is positive real, these constraints are also equivalent to Chan and Kuh's. >
One versus two intracavitary brachytherapy applications in early-stage cervical cancer patients undergoing definitive radiation therapy.

Abstract Purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of early stage cervical cancer patients undergoing definitive radiation therapy (RT) with one versus two low-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy (ICB) applications. Methods and materials. Between 1983 and 1993, 140 stage IB–IIA patients underwent whole-pelvis RT (WPRT) and ICB. Prior to 1988, 56 patients (40%) received two ICB applications. After 1988, our policy was modified and subsequently 84 (60%) patients underwent one application. Patient, tumor, and treatment characteristics, outcome, and complications of the two groups were compared. Results. The groups were balanced in terms of race, hemoglobin level, histology, grade, treatment duration, chemotherapy, and follow-up. The single-application group, however, had more stage IB disease, had small (≤4 cm) tumors, and received higher WPRT and lower point A doses. Overall, the two groups had similar 5-year local control ( P = 0.83) and disease-free ( P = 0.23) and cause-specific ( P = 0.29) survival rates. Moreover, no differences were seen when analyzed by tumor size or stage. On multivariate analysis, the number of applications was not correlated with recurrence ( P = 0.59, hazard rate=1.1, 95% confidence interval=0.6–2.2). Chronic complications were similar in the two groups. Conclusion. Our nonselected comparison of one versus two ICB applications in early-stage cervical cancer patients reveals comparable outcomes and complication rates for the two approaches. These results support the use of a single application in early-stage patients undergoing definitive RT.
Managing Trade-in Programs Based on Product Characteristics and Customer Heterogeneity in Business-to-Business Markets

Trade-in programs are offered extensively in business-to-business (B2B) markets. The success of such programs depends on well-designed and executed trade-in policies as well as accurate prediction of return flow to support operational decisions. Motivated by a real problem facing a high-tech company, this paper develops methods to segment customers and forecast product returns based on return merchandise authorization information. Noisy, yet proven to be valuable, returned quantity signals are adjusted by taking product characteristics and customer heterogeneity into account, and the resulting forecast outperforms two benchmark strategies that represent the high-tech company's current practice and a widely adopted method in the literature, respectively. In addition, our methods can serve as tools for companies to uncover the root causes of return merchandise authorization discrepancy, monitor and analyze customer behavior, design segment-specific trade-in policies, and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of trade-in programs on a continuous basis.
Reachable set of bilinear control systems with time varying drift

In this article, we give a complete characterization of the reachable set at all times for a class of bilinear control systems with time varying drift and unbounded control amplitude. These results are of fundamental interest in geometric control theory and have important applications to control of coupled spins in solid state NMR spectroscopy.
Facile synthesis of carbon-decorated single-crystalline Fe3O4 nanowires and their application as high performance anode in lithium ion batteries.

A facile microwave-hydrothermal approach has been used to synthesize single-crystalline Fe3O4nanowires within 15 min at 150 °C. The Fe3O4nanowires, after decorating with carbon, exhibit excellent cyclability and rate performance when employed as an anode in lithium ion batteries.
Optimal Task Design: To Integrate or Separate Planning and Implementation?

Integrating planning and implementation, by having one agent perform both tasks, may be effective in encouraging planning activity whose outcome is not observable. Emphasizing its information-generating role, we find that planning activity is best encouraged by partially integrating the tasks. This is because the value of information is nonmonotonic in the degree of task integration. Therefore, the threat of using a second agent to implement the project may relax the moral hazard constraint associated with the planning task. The project size is distorted to increase the value of information, and there can be overinvestment relative to the first best.