cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Flavor Preferences Conditioned by Intragastric Nutrient Infusions in Rats fed Chow or a Cafeteria Diet

Abstract Numerous studies demonstrate that chow-fed rats learn to prefer flavors that are associated with the postingestive effects of nutrients. The rats» limited dietary experience (i.e. only lab chow) may have facilitated preference learning because of the novelty of the training stimuli. This possibility was investigated by comparing nutrient conditioning in rats fed chow or a varied “cafeteria” diet. Rats in Experiment 1 were trained during alternate sessions (30 min/day) to drink two different flavors paired with concurrent intragastric infusions of 16% Polycose or water. Both diet groups displayed similarly strong preferences (89%) for and increased acceptance of the Polycose-paired flavor. A more demanding learning task was used in Experiment 2: new flavors were paired with delayed (15 min) infusions of Polycose or water. The chow and cafeteria groups both showed reduced, but comparable (78%, 77%) preferences for the Polycose-paired flavor. In Experiment 3, new flavors were paired with concurrent infusions of 7·1% corn oil or water. Again, the cafeteria and chow groups developed similar preferences for the nutrient-paired flavor (85%, 78%). Also, both groups preferred the Polycose-paired flavor of Experiment 1 to the oil-paired flavor of Experiment 3 (76%, 78%). These results indicate that dietary variety does not interfere with nutrient-conditioned flavor preference learning in rats.
Are all management earnings forecasts created equal? expectations management versus communication

Recent studies associate management earnings forecasts (MEFs) with expectations management. These studies, however, neither provide evidence on the extent and scope of expectations management through MEFs nor consider alternative incentives for issuing MEFs. Consequently, existing evidence does not help regulators assess whether MEFs effectively facilitate communication with investors. We investigate to what extent managers exploit their earnings forecasts as a tool of expectations management or as a communication device. By examining relations among MEFs, analysts’ forecasts, and actual earnings, we classify MEFs into three incentive categories: (1) expectations management, (2) communication, and (3) other incentives. We find that a significant proportion (approximately 45%) of MEFs is issued to convey accurate earnings information to the market (that is, communication incentive). We also find that the fraction of MEFs for the expectations-management incentive increases post-Regulation Fair Disclosure. The evidence from examination of the various managerial motives for each incentive category supports our classification. Additional analysis using alternative classifications based on bad/good news and pessimistic/optimistic forecasts reveals that our proposed classification of MEFs works better in defining expectations management than these other classifications. This implies that more caution is warranted in defining expectations management when investigating the association between managerial motives and incentives for issuing MEFs.
Qubit Entanglement Breaking Channels

This paper continues the study of stochastic maps, or channels, for which (I⊗Φ)(Γ) is always separable in the case of qubits. We give a detailed description of entanglement-breaking qubit channels, and show that such maps are precisely the convex hull of those known as classical-quantum channels. We also review the complete positivity conditions in a canonical parameterization and show how they lead to entanglement-breaking conditions.
The poverty implications of climate-induced crop yield changes by 2030

Abstract Accumulating evidence suggests that agricultural production could be greatly affected by climate change, but there remains little quantitative understanding of how these agricultural impacts would affect economic livelihoods in poor countries. Here we consider three scenarios of agricultural impacts of climate change by 2030 (impacts resulting in low, medium, or high productivity) and evaluate the resulting changes in global commodity prices, national economic welfare, and the incidence of poverty in a set of 15 developing countries. Although the small price changes under the medium scenario are consistent with previous findings, we find the potential for much larger food price changes than reported in recent studies which have largely focused on the most likely outcomes. In our low-productivity scenario, prices for major staples rise 10–60% by 2030. The poverty impacts of these price changes depend as much on where impoverished households earn their income as on the agricultural impacts themselves, with poverty rates in some non-agricultural household groups rising by 20–50% in parts of Africa and Asia under these price changes, and falling by significant amounts for agriculture-specialized households elsewhere in Asia and Latin America. The potential for such large distributional effects within and across countries emphasizes the importance of looking beyond central case climate shocks and beyond a simple focus on yields – or highly aggregated poverty impacts.
Synthesis of β-Lactones: A Highly Active and Selective Catalyst for Epoxide Carbonylation

A new highly active and selective catalyst for the synthesis of β-lactones from CO and epoxides is reported. The catalyst, [(N,N‘-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene) phenylenediamino)Al(THF)2][Co(CO)4] ([(salph)Al(THF)2][Co(CO)4]) is easily prepared from the corresponding (salph)AlCl and NaCo(CO)4. At 50 °C and 880 psi of CO, the catalyst (1 mol %) carbonylates epoxides such as propylene oxide, 1-butene oxide, epichlorohydrin, and isobutylene oxide to the lactones β-butyrolactone, β-valerolactone, γ-chloro-β-butyrolactone, and β-methyl-β-butyrolactone in high yield. (R)-Propylene oxide was carbonylated to (R)-β-butyrolactone with retention of stereochemistry.
Structural compliance, misfit strain, and stripe nanostructures in cuprate superconductors

Structural compliance is the ability of a crystal structure to accommodate variations in local atomic bond lengths without incurring large strain energies. We show that the structural compliance of cuprates is relatively small, so that the short, highly doped, Cu-O-Cu bonds in stripes are subject to a tensile misfit strain. We develop a model to describe the effect of misfit strain on charge ordering in the copper-oxygen planes of oxide materials and illustrate some of the low-energy stripe nanostructures that can result.
Direct observation of small cluster mobility and ripening

Abstract New direct evidence is reported for the simultaneous occurrence of Ostwald ripening and short distance cluster mobility during annealing of discontinuous metal films on clean amorphous substrates. The annealing characteristics of very thin particulate deposits of silver on amorphized clean surfaces of single-crystalline thin graphite substrates have been studied by in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) under controlled environmental conditions (residual gas pressure of 10 -9 torr) in the temperature range from 25° to 450°C. It was possible to monitor all stages of the experiments ( i.e. sputter cleaning of the substrate surface, metal deposition and annealing) by TEM observation of the same specimen area. Various techniques ( e.g. pseudo-stereographic presentation of micrographs in different annealing stages, the observation of the annealing behavior at cast shadow edges, and measurements with an electronic image analyzing system) were employed to aid the visual perception and the analysis of changes in deposit structure recorded during annealing. Slow Ostwald ripening was found to occur over the entire temperature range but the overriding surface transport mechanism was short distance cluster mobility. This was concluded from in situ observations of individual particles during annealing and from measurements of cluster size distributions, cluster number densities, area coverages and mean cluster diameters.
Towards 3-query locally decodable codes of subexponential length

A q-query Locally Decodable Code (LDC) encodes an n-bit message x as an N-bit codeword C(x), such that one can probabilistically recover any bit xi of the message by querying only q bits of the codeword C(x), even after some constant fraction of codeword bits has been corrupted.We give new constructions of three query LDCs of vastly shorter length than that of previous constructions. Specifically, given any Mersenne prime p = 2t − 1, we design three query LDCs of length N = exp(O(n1/t)), for every n. Based on the largest known Mersenne prime, this translates to a length of less than exp(O(n10 − 7)) compared to exp(O(n1/2)) in the previous constructions. It has often been conjectured that there are infinitely many Mersenne primes. Under this conjecture, our constructions yield three query locally decodable codes of length N = exp(nO(1/log log n)) for infinitely many n.We also obtain analogous improvements for Private Information Retrieval (PIR) schemes. We give 3-server PIR schemes with communication complexity of O(n10 − 7) to access an n-bit database, compared to the previous best scheme with complexity O(n1/5.25). Assuming again that there are infinitely many Mersenne primes, we get 3-server PIR schemes of communication complexity nO(1/log logn)) for infinitely many n.Previous families of LDCs and PIR schemes were based on the properties of low-degree multivariate polynomials over finite fields. Our constructions are completely different and are obtained by constructing a large number of vectors in a small dimensional vector space whose inner products are restricted to lie in an algebraically nice set.
ROS production as a common mechanism of ENaC regulation by EGF, insulin, and IGF-1

The epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) is a key transporter participating in the fine tuning of Na+ reabsorption in the nephron. ENaC activity is acutely upregulated by epidermal growth factor (EGF), in...
A Numerical Study of Confined Turbulent Jets

A numerical investigation is reported of turbulent incompressible jets confined in two ducts, one cylindrical and the other conical with a 5 degree divergence. In each case, three Craya-Curtet numbers are considered which correspond, respectively, to flow situations with no moderate and strong recirculation. Turbulence closure is achieved by using the k-epsilon model and a recently proposed realizable Reynolds stress algebraic equation model that relates the Reynolds stresses explicitly to the quadratic terms of the mean velocity gradients and ensures the positiveness of each component of the turbulent kinetic energy. Calculations are carried out with a finite-volume procedure using boundary-fitted curvilinear coordinates. A second-order accurate, bounded convection scheme and sufficiently fine grids are used to prevent the solutions from being contaminated by numerical diffusion. The calculated results are compared extensively with the available experimental data. It is shown that the numerical methods presented are capable of capturing the essential flow features observed in the experiments and that the realizable Reynolds stress algebraic equation model performs much better than the k-epsilon model for this class of flows of great practical importance.
Nonuniform viscosity in the solar nebula and large masses of Jupiter and Saturn

I report a novel theory that nonuniform viscous frictional force in the solar nebula accounts for the largest mass of Jupiter and Saturn and their largest amount of H and He among the planets, two outstanding facts that are unsolved puzzles in our understanding of origin of the Solar System. It is shown that the nebula model of uniform viscosity does not match the present planet masses. By studying current known viscosity mechanisms, I show that viscosity is more efficient in the inner region inside Mercury and the outer region outside Jupiter-Saturn than the intermediate region. The more efficient viscosity drives faster radial inflow of material during the nebula evolution. Because the inflow in the outer region is faster than the intermediate region, the material tends to accumulate in Jupiter-Saturn region which is between the outer and intermediate region. It is demonstrated that the gas trapping time of Jovian planets is longer than the inflow time in the outer region. Therefore the gas already flows to Jupiter-Saturn region before Uranus and Neptune can capture significant gas. But the inflow in the Jupiter-Saturn region is so slow that they can capture large amount of gas before the gas can flow further inward. Hence they have larger masses with larger H and He content than Uranus and Neptune. I also extend the discussion to the masses of the terrestrial planets, especially low mass of Mercury. The advantages of this theory are discussed.
Knowledge acquisition modeling in tourism

Abstract Knowledge acquisition to improve decision making is important in leisure redevelopment efforts. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used in business applications where the researchers seek to incorporate the expertise of decision makers into the decision model. The process bridges the gap between researchers and planners and improves the quality of the decisions. This paper discusses the value of this methodology in knowledge acquisition for tourism planning and presents a successful tourism application. Two groups (local citizens and state parks officials) participated in the search for alternatives and the redevelopment planning. The conclusion evaluates the situation and the methodology.
Magnetoelectric device demonstrating nanoscale magnetic domain control

We report electric field control of nanoscale magnetic domain pattern transformation processes due to the converse magnetoelectric effect in a magnetoelectric device. The magnetoelectric device is a Ni-microdot/PZT-film bi-layer heterostructure. Due to the converse magnetoelectric effect, nanoscale magnetic domain (i.e. dot-domain/pseudo-single-domain/ short-stripe-domain/vortex-core) in the central region of a Ni microdot is controlled under an electric field (1.6 MV/m). The electric field induced domain-pattern transformation process (i.e. deformation and rotation of the nanoscale domain in the central region of the Ni microdot) is observed with the magnetic force microscopy. Upon removal of the electric field, the deformed/rotated nanoscale magnetic domain-pattern/vortex-core returns to its original state, i.e. reversible domain-pattern-transformation/vortex-core-motion.
Recomputation of vertical crustal motions near Palmdale, California, 1959–1975

Abstract By analysis of leveling data, a large area in southern California was identified as having uplifted between 1960 and 1974; the pattern and magnitude of the apparent movement were first discussed by Castle et al. (1976). The uplift zone included 12, 000 km 2 with the maximum vertical movement of 25 cm centered near Palmdale. Castle (1978) later increased the estimate of uplift at Palmdale to 35 cm. The pattern of uplift was constructed by reviewing profiles of repeated levelings. After field experiments confirmed that the southern California leveling data were contaminated by refraction errors, Holdahl (1981) developed a temperature stratification model to enable retroapplication of Kukkamaki's refraction correction to the affected data. Vertical motion in the Palmdale region has now been reassessed with corrected leveling data. The corrected observations also benefitted from improved rod calibrations, and were adjusted simultaneously using geopotential units to derive heights and motion parameters. The new results show 7.5 ± 4.0 cm of apparent upward movement at Palmdale. The great concern associated with Palmdale, if based on motion calculated from leveling data, does not seem warranted. Castle's original result was strongly influenced by a single level route to Palmdale. Refraction error accumulates rapidly on this route because of the long gentle slope, and the location of sightings over railroad ballast where vertical temperature gradients are unusually large. Perhaps more important than the existence of the Palmdale Bulge is the question of whether large aseismic vertical motions of entire regions can actually occur in a short time span. The Palmdale Uplift is often referred to as a good example of this type of motion. The rigorous analysis of refraction-corrected leveling data described in this paper supports the approximate computations of Strange (1981) which indicated that was thought to be uplift at Palmdale was only the appearance of uplift created by different refraction error accumulations in successive surveys. The primary cause of this difference was reduced sight lengths starting in 1964.
NASA capabilities roadmap: advanced telescopes and observatories

The NASA Advanced Telescopes and Observatories (ATO) Capability Roadmap addresses technologies necessary for NASA to enable future space telescopes and observatories collecting all electromagnetic bands, ranging from x-rays to millimeter waves, and including gravity-waves. It has derived capability priorities from current and developing Space Missions Directorate (SMD) strategic roadmaps and, where appropriate, has ensured their consistency with other NASA Strategic and Capability Roadmaps. Technology topics include optics; wavefront sensing and control and interferometry; distributed and advanced spacecraft systems; cryogenic and thermal control systems; large precision structure for observatories; and the infrastructure essential to future space telescopes and observatories.
A Scenario for a Secure Transportation System Based on Fuel From Biomass

This article presents a scenario to meet the future fuel needs of the U.S. ground transportation system that does not require hydrogen, can use existing technology, and eventually transition to ethanol from biomass. This scenario is based on a combination of the reduction of liquid fuel use by means of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and generation of ethanol from biomass. The article also demonstrates the reduction in CO 2 generation with this technology and the urgency of initiating a strategy for reducing gasoline consumption as soon as possible.
Ring-fused aminals: catalyst and solvent-free microwave-assisted α-amination of nitrogen heterocycles

A high-yield synthesis of ring-fused aminals via microwave (MW)-assisted α-amination of nitrogen heterocycles at 130 °C under solvent- and catalyst-free conditions is described.
Proper Motion of the Compact, Nonthermal Radio Source in the Galactic Center, Sagittarius A*

Proper motions and radial velocities of luminous infrared stars in the Galactic center have provided strong evidence for a dark mass of 2.5 × 106 M☉ in the central 0.05 pc of the Galaxy. The leading hypothesis for this mass is a black hole. High angular resolution measurements at radio wavelengths find a compact radio source, Sagittarius (Sgr) A*, that is either the faint glow from a small amount of material accreting onto the hole with low radiative efficiency or a miniature active galactic nucleus (AGN) core-jet system. This paper provides a full report on the first program that has measured the apparent proper motion of Sgr A* with respect to background extragalactic reference frame. Our current result is The observations were obtained with the NRAO Very Large Array at 4.9 GHz over 16 yr. The proper motion of Sgr A* provides an estimate of its mass based on equipartition of kinetic energy between the hole and the surrounding stars. The measured motion is largest in galactic longitude. This component of the motion is consistent with the secular parallax that results from the rotation of the solar system about the center, which is a global measure of the difference between Oort's constants (A-B), with no additional peculiar motion of Sgr A*. The current uncertainty in Oort's galactic rotation constants limits the use of this component of the proper motion for a mass inference. In latitude, we find a small, and weakly significant, peculiar motion of Sgr A*, -19 ± 7 km s-1 after correction for the motion of the solar system with respect to the local standard of rest. We consider sources of peculiar motion of Sgr A* ranging from unstable radio wave propagation through intervening turbulent plasma to the effects of asymmetric masses in the center. These fail to account for a significant peculiar motion. One can appeal to an m = 1 dynamical instability that numerical simulations have revealed. However, the measurement of a latitude peculiar proper motion of comparable magnitude and error but with opposite sign in the companion paper by Reid leads us to conclude at the present time that our errors may be underestimated and that the actual peculiar motion might therefore be closer to zero. Improvement of these measurements with further observations and resolving the differences between independent experiments will provide the accuracies of a few km s-1 in both coordinates that will provide both a black hole mass estimate and a definitive determination of Oort's galactic rotation constants on a global Galactic scale.
Survival after ovarian cancer induced intestinal obstruction

Abstract Over a 9-year period, July 1, 1971, to June 30, 1980, 60 women with ovarian cancer underwent exploratory laparotomy for intestinal obstruction secondary to ovarian carcinoma. Surgery consisted of enterocolon bypass (23), ileostomy (9), small intestinal resection (3), colostomy (14), and exploratory laparotomy only in 11 women. In these 11 cases corrective surgery could not be carried out because of extensive tumor. The median survival for the 60 women was only 2.5 months ( cis -dichlorodiammine platinum should lead to improved survival for patients with ovarian cancer induced intestinal obstruction as compared to the poor survival documented for the past decade.
AN LQG APPROACH TO SYSTEMS WITH SATURATING ACTUATORS AND ANTI-WINDUP IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract This paper extends the LQG design methodology to systems with saturating actuators and shows that resulting linear controllers do not require an anti-windup implementation.
Aortic thrombosis after umbilical artery catheterization in neonates: prevalence of complications on long-term follow-up.

We previously reported the early natural history of aortic thrombosis occurring after umbilical artery catheterization in 21 neonates. Ten of those neonates were reevaluated at 36-42 months of age for evidence of hypertension, renal abnormalities, and leg-growth disturbances. They were compared with an age-matched control group of seven infants. Blood pressures were greater than the 95th percentile in three infants and between the 50th and the 95th percentile in six of the 10 infants. Height was less than the fifth percentile for age in four infants with aortic thrombosis. One child had a 1.0-cm discrepancy in leg-length measurements, and seven of nine patients exhibited a 0.5-2.0 cm discrepancy between legs in either thigh or calf circumference. Sonography showed no evidence of residual clot in the aorta or renal vessels. Doppler flow was normal in all cases. Despite resolution of neonatal aortic thrombosis, complications resulting in renovascular hypertension (three of 10 patients) and leg-growth abnorm...
Still Humble and Hopeful: Two More Recommendations on Welcoming First-Generation Poor and Working-Class Students to College.

Following up on his 2007 About Campus article, Kenneth Oldfield shares six more lessons he wishes he had known as a working-class, first-generation college student and argues that higher education should pay more attention to first-generation and class status among students, faculty, and staff.
Simultaneous Line Center and Linewidth Measurement Using Dual Frequency Modulation

A method is proposed to simultaneously measure the center frequency of a spectral feature and the frequency linewidth of the feature. The method relies on dual frequency modulation of a carrier frequency that probes the spectral feature, and phase sensitive detection of the transmitted signal at the two modulation frequencies.
The imbibing idiot bias: Consuming alcohol can be hazardous to your (perceived) intelligence

Abstract Alcohol consumption and cognitive impairment frequently co-occur. We propose that the relationship is so familiar that exposure to alcohol cues primes expectations of cognitive impairment. Across five studies, we find that in the absence of any evidence of reduced cognitive performance, people who hold an alcoholic beverage are perceived to be less intelligent than those who do not, a mistake we term the imbibing idiot bias . In fact, merely priming observers with alcohol cues causes them to judge targets who hold no beverage at all as less intelligent. The bias is not driven by a belief that less intelligent people are more likely to consume alcohol. We find that the bias may be costly in professional settings. Job candidates who ordered wine during an interview held over dinner were viewed as less intelligent and less hireable than candidates who ordered soda. However, prospective candidates believe that ordering wine rather than soda will help them appear more intelligent.
Bank runs, information and contagion in the panic of 1893

Abstract Contagious bank runs, which spread to both solvent and insolvent banks, should not occur if bank-specific information is provided regularly to the banking public. By mitigating the information asymmetry between banks and depositors, information should restrict runs to insolvent banks. However, official bank statements collected from quarterly reports to local newspapers in Kansas demonstrate that runs did become contagious in the 1893 panic even in an information-rich banking system. Important differences between national and non-national banks were also found, which suggests the maturity of the regulatory system may have played an important role in the panic.
Liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease.

This Review outlines the nomenclature of addiction to alcohol and details how patients who drink to excess should be assessed for liver transplantation. Michael Lucey also explores the controversies about predicting future drinking behaviour and offering liver transplantation to patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis. Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the major cause of life-threatening liver disease in Western countries. Abstinence from alcohol is the foundation of all treatment programmes for patients with ALD. Liver transplantation is a valuable option for patients with life-threatening ALD. Although the role of liver transplantation in the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis that is unresponsive to medical therapy is controversial, the latest prospective studies support this approach. No single measure gives a reliable estimate of the risk of drinking relapses before or after liver transplantation, but careful evaluation by an addiction specialist with a particular interest in transplant medicine is the best available approach. Survival, both on the waiting list and after the operation, is better in patients with ALD than in patients with HCV infection. Alcohol relapse may lead to liver damage and increased mortality, albeit usually after many years of renewed drinking. After liver transplantation, patients with ALD have increased rates of mortality and morbidity that are attributable to cardiovascular disease and new-onset cancers of the aerodigestive tract. The latter are probably linked to the high prevalence of smoking in this population. Cessation of smoking is thus an important goal in the care of patients with ALD after they have undergone liver transplantation.
Phosphine-Promoted [3 + 3] Annulations of Aziridines With Allenoates: Facile Entry Into Highly Functionalized Tetrahydropyridines

The phosphine-mediated [3 + 3] annulations of aziridines and allenes are experimentally simple reactions, run under very mild conditions, for the preparation of highly functionalized tetrahydropyridines in yields of up to 98% and trans/cis ratios of up to 97:3. In addition to steps that are typical of nucleophilic phosphine-catalyzed reactions of allenoates, the mechanism of this new reaction features apparent nucleophilic aromatic substitution and concomitant desulfonylation, processes hitherto unknown during phosphine-promoted cycloaddition reactions. Notably, these reactions are the first reported examples of aziridines as reaction partners in nucleophilic phosphine-catalyzed transformations.
QSAR of HIV inhibitors

Abstract Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) have been derived for two sets of HIV inhibitors: 1-[2-hydroxyethoxyl)methyl]-6-(X-phenylthio)thymines and thiothymines and dideoxypurine ribofuranosides. It is found that the hydrophobic and especially steric properties of substituents determine relative potencies of the derivatives.
Does assessment of pretest probability of disease improve the utility of echocardiography in suspected endocarditis in children

Abstract Objective To compare the yield rate (YR) of echocardiography when evaluating children with suspected infectious endocarditis (IE) in both the actual clinical setting and in the hypothetic setting where strict clinical criteria are applied. Study design Medical records of 101 children undergoing echocardiography for suspected IE were reviewed. Echocardiograms with positive findings were identified and the actual diagnostic YR was calculated. With the use of clinical criteria proposed by von Reyn (VR), the probability of IE was retrospectively classified as (1) rejected, (2) possible, or (3) probable. Theoretic YR of echocardiography was calculated for each classification. Results The actual YR of echocardiography was 12% (12/101). The YR of echocardiography by VR class was 0% in rejected, 20% in possible, and 80% in probable cases (χ 2 = 55.1, P Conclusions The YR of echocardiography was significant when clinical probability of IE was intermediate-to-high, and low, with marginal clinical utility, when clinical probability was low. Strict pretest assessment of disease probability may lead to more effective utilization of echocardiography in this population. (J Pediatr 2003;142:263-7)
D-optimal designs for parameter estimation for indirect pharmacodynamic response models

This report generates efficient experimental designs (dose, sampling times) for parameter estimation for four basic physiologic indirect pharmacodynamic response (IDR) models. The principles underlying IDR models and their response patterns have been well described. Each IDR model explicitly contains four parameters, k (in) (production), k (out) (loss), I (max)/S (max) (capacity) and IC (50)/SC (50) (sensitivity). The pharmacokinetics of an IV dose of drug described by a monoexponential function of time with two parameters, V and k (el), is assumed. The random errors in the response variable are assumed to be additive, independent, and normal with zero mean and variance proportional to some power of the mean response. Optimal design theory was used extensively to assess the role of both dose and sampling times. Our designs were generated in Mathematica (ADAPT 5 typically produces identical results). G-optimality was used to verify that the generated designs were indeed D-optimal. Such designs are efficient and robust when good prior knowledge of the estimated parameters is available. The efficiency of unconstrained D-optimal designs (4 dose, sampling time pairs) does not improve much when the drug doses are allowed to differ, compared with constrained single dose designs (4 sampling times) with one maximal feasible dose. Also, explored were efficiencies of alternative study designs and results from parameter misspecification. This analysis substantiates the importance of larger doses yielding greater certainty in parameter estimation in pharmacodynamics.
Phenotypic Characterization of Complement Factor H R1210C Rare Genetic Variant in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Importance The complement factor H R1210C rare variant confers the strongest genetic risk for age-related macular degeneration and earlier age at onset; however, its associated phenotype has not been well characterized. Objective To describe specific fundus features of a white population with the R1210C rare variant. Design, Setting, and Participants Fundus features specific for diagnosis and disease staging were retrospectively characterized by systematic review of all available fundus images for each patient, including color photography, fluorescein angiography, fundus autofluorescence, and optical coherence tomography, at a tertiary ophthalmologic referral center. For this retrospective observational study conducted from 2012 to 2014, enrolled patients with the variant and their family members without the variant were identified from the Age-Related Macular Degeneration Study for a family-based study arm. For patients with the variant but without a family member enrolled in the study, age-matched comparison individuals without the variant were selected randomly from the database. Main Outcomes and Measures The presence of drusen in the macula (macular drusen score) and estimated number (total macular drusen score) were assessed. The presence of drusen in the extramacular regions (extramacular drusen score), pigmentary abnormalities, and disease staging were also evaluated. Binary logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between rare variant status and ocular phenotypes. Results Images from a total of 143 patients (283 eyes), including 62 patients with the rare variant, were analyzed. Drusen score covariates were associated with the R1210C rare variant. A larger proportion of patients carrying the variant had the highest level of macular and total macular drusen scores compared with those without the variant (57.9% vs 16.7% and 52.9% vs 14.2%, respectively; P for trend P P Conclusions and Relevance The typical phenotype of the complement factor H R1210C rare variant is associated with extensive drusen accumulation in the macula and throughout the fundus, as well as with a high risk for having advanced disease. Better characterization of genetic profiles in age-related macular degeneration may be important for screening and future therapeutic strategies for this vision-threatening condition.
Costly offers and the equilibration properties of the multiple unit double auction under conditions of unpredictable shifts of demand and supply

The paper reports on the behavior of markets in which a cost is imposed in the form of a tax on bids and asks (but not contracts) that are tendered in the market. The markets were nonstationary in the sense that market demand and market supply shifted unpredictably in each period. The results are as follows: (1) A market equilibration process is observed across the periods of nonstationary markets. (2) The price discovery process in the costly offer condition was ‘incomplete’ relative to the free offer case. (3) Price equilibration with the offer cost was slower and efficiencies were reduced.
Interface electronic properties of organic molecular semiconductors

The electronic structure and chemical properties of organic/organic and organic/metal interfaces involving molecular semiconductors are investigated via photoemission spectroscopy. The alignment of electronic levels, electron and hole injection barriers, and interface dipoles are measured for each interface. Chemical reactions and interdiffusion dominate metal-on-organic contacts, whereas organic-on-metal and organic/organic interfaces are more abrupt. The rule of vacuum level alignment, expected to hold for organic molecular interfaces, breaks down for all metal/organic and several organic/organic interfaces, showing that electronic gap states and other interface effects cannot be neglected at these interfaces.
Knowledge-based organ identification from CT images

Abstract This paper describes a new knowledge-based procedure for identifying and extracting organs from normal CT imagery. Our procedure differs from previous attempts in its use of a wide variety of knowledge about both the anatomy and the image processing operations. The system features the use of constraint-based dynamic thresholding, negative-shape constraints to rapidly rule out infeasible segmentations, and progressive landmarking that takes advantage of the different degrees of certainty of successful identification of each organ. The results of a series of tests on training data of 100 images from five patients plus additional test data of 75 images from three more patients indicate that the knowledge-based approach is promising.
The Unofficial Economy and the Business Cycle: A Test for Theories

The shadow economy is an extensive phenomenon worldwide. It poses several questions, the consequences of fluctuations in economic activity being among the major ones. Based on official data, this paper establishes a set of cyclical properties of macroeconomic aggregates and studies how these vary across countries with the size of the unofficial sector. Through comparisons with the existing literature on business cycles in economies featuring underground activities, the obtained ‘stylized facts’ are used to test the relevance of theoretical predictions on the influence of the shadow economy. Using this procedure allows us to confirm that the evidence is not entirely of the sort suggested in business cycle models. In particular, some important macro aggregates and cyclical properties have been neglected in the analysis altogether, while others have been paid too much attention for no apparent empirical reason. Some possible avenues for future research can be drawn from this exercise.
Converting gem-dimethyl groups into cyclopropanes via Pd-catalyzed sequential C-H activation and radical cyclization.

A novel route to the synthesis of cyclopropane derivatives is described. 1,1-Dimethyls in 2-(1,1-dimethylalkyl)dimethyloxazolines are first converted into 1,3-diiodide derivatives via Pd-catalyzed sequential C−H activation and then radically cyclized to provide 2-(1-alkylcylclopropyl)dimethyloxazolines. The use of EtOAc as a solvent is crucial for the diiodination of the functionalized substrates.
The Future of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays

Abstract Contrary to earlier expectations, several cosmic ray events with energies above 10 20 eV have been reported by a number of ultra-high energy cosmic ray observatories. According to the AGASA experiment, the flux of such events is well above the predicted Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff due to the pion production of extragalactic cosmic ray protons off the cosmic microwave background. In addition to the relatively high flux of events, the isotropic distribution of arrival directions and an indication of small scale clustering strongly challenge all models proposed to resolve this puzzle. We discuss how the GZK cutoff is modified by the local distribution of galaxies and how astrophysical proton sources with soft injection spectra are ruled out by AGASA data. Sources with hard injection spectrum are barely allowed by the observed spectrum. If the most recent claims by AGASA that the highest energy events are due to clustered nuclei are confirmed, the most plausible explanation are astrophysical sources with very hard spectra such as extragalactic unipolar inductors. In addition, extragalactic magnetic fields need to be well below the current nano-Gauss upper limits. Alternatively, if the primaries are not nuclei, the need for new physics explanations is paramount. We present an overview of the theoretical proposals along with their most general signatures to be tested by upcoming experiments.
Cross-coupling reactions of potassium alkyltrifluoroborates with aryl and 1-alkenyl trifluoromethanesulfonates.

The palladium-catalyzed coupling reaction of potassium alkyltrifluoroborates with aryl- or alkenyltriflates proceeds to afford the corresponding arenes or alkenes in high yield. The borates are all solids, stable in air, and thus can be stored on the shelf indefinitely. The cross coupling can be effected using PdCl2(dppf)·CH2Cl2 as the catalyst in THF−H2O in the presence of Cs2CO3. A variety of functional groups can be tolerated within the borate and/or the triflate coupling partner.
A high pressure infrared spectroscopic study of PbCO3-cerussite: constraints on the structure of the post-aragonite phase

We have measured the infrared spectrum of aragonite-structured PbCO3-cerussite to 41 GPa at 300 K in the diamond anvil cell. We observed a phase transition from an orthorhombic to a trigonal structure beginning at ~15 GPa, manifested by a splitting of the ν2-out-of-plane bending vibration and a broadening and dramatic decrease in amplitude of the ν1-symmetric stretching vibration of the carbonate group. While the locations of the ν1-symmetric stretching and ν4-in-plane bending bands are similar between the low- and high-pressure phases, their mode shifts and peak shapes change markedly near the transition. In particular, the ν1 symmetric stretch has an essentially zero pressure shift in the high pressure phase, and its dramatically enhanced peak width indicates that it may be symmetry forbidden. The decreased mode shifts of the carbonate vibrations after the phase transition suggest that the carbonate group is less compressible in the new structure. The spectral changes observed are consistent with a small, trigonal unit cell, with space group $${P\bar{3}{1c}}$$ and two formula units, instead of a previously proposed orthorhombic cell with sixteen formula units. This structure is identical to that of the high-pressure phase of BaCO3, and likely CaCO3 as well. Our results thus indicate that the post-aragonite, high-pressure phase of divalent-cation carbonates may be a comparatively high-symmetry trigonal structure.
Bayesian semiparametric hierarchical empirical likelihood spatial models

Abstract We introduce a general hierarchical Bayesian framework that incorporates a flexible nonparametric data model specification through the use of empirical likelihood methodology, which we term semiparametric hierarchical empirical likelihood (SHEL) models. Although general dependence structures can be readily accommodated, we focus on spatial modeling, a relatively underdeveloped area in the empirical likelihood literature. Importantly, the models we develop naturally accommodate spatial association on irregular lattices and irregularly spaced point-referenced data. We illustrate our proposed framework by means of a simulation study and through three real data examples. First, we develop a spatial Fay–Herriot model in the SHEL framework and apply it to the problem of small area estimation in the American Community Survey. Next, we illustrate the SHEL model in the context of areal data (on an irregular lattice) through the North Carolina sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) dataset. Finally, we analyze a point-referenced dataset from the North American Breeding Bird Survey that considers dove counts for the state of Missouri. In all cases, we demonstrate superior performance of our model, in terms of mean squared prediction error, over standard parametric analyses.
Even compositions of entire functions and related matters

We examine when the composition of two entire functions f and g is even, and extend some of our results to cyclic compositions in general. We prove some theorems for the cases when f or g is a polynomial. Two of the key theorems we use are a well-known result of Borel, and a theorem of Baker and Gross concerning when f(p(z))=f(q(z)).
Bargaining and Strikes

Strikes are generally regarded as an important economic phenomenon, and yet good theoretical explanations of them are hard to come by. The difficulty is to understand why rational parties should resort to a wasteful mechanism as a way of distributing the gains from trade. Why could not both parties be made better off by moving to the final distribution of surplus immediately (or if it is uncertain to its certainty equivalent) and sharing the benefits from increased production?
Bias arising from missing data in predictive models

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of three common approaches to handling missing data on the results of a predictive model. Study Design and Setting Monte Carlo simulation study using simulated data was used. A baseline logistic regression using complete data was performed to predict hospital admission, based on the white blood cell count (WBC) (dichotomized as normal or high), presence of fever, or procedures performed (PROC). A series of simulations was then performed in which WBC data were deleted for varying proportions (15–85%) of patients under various patterns of missingness. Three analytic approaches were used: analysis restricted to cases with complete data, missing data assumed to be normal (MAN), and use of imputed values. Results In the baseline analysis, all three predictors were all significantly associated with admission. Using either the MAN approach or imputation, the odds ratio (OR) for WBC was substantially over- or underestimated depending on the missingness pattern, and there was considerable bias toward the null in the OR estimates for fever. In the CC analyses, OR for WBC was consistently biased toward the null, OR for PROC was biased away from the null, and the OR for fever was biased toward or away from the null. Estimates for overall model discrimination were substantially biased using all analytic approaches. Conclusions All three methods of handling large amounts of missing data can lead to biased estimates of the OR and of model performance in predictive models. Predictor variables that are measured inconsistently can affect the validity of such models.
Structural reliability optimization using an efficient safety index calculation procedure

The objective of this paper is to conduct reliability-based structural optimization in a multidisciplinary environment. An efficient reliability analysis is developed by expanding the limit functions in terms of intermediate design variables. The design constraints are approximated using multivariate splines in searching for the optimum. The reduction in computational cost realized in safety index calculation and optimization are demonstrated through several structural problems. This paper presents safety index computation, analytical sensitivity analysis of reliability constraints and optimization using truss, frame and plate examples.
Delay-Constrained Caching in Cognitive Radio Networks

In cognitive radio networks, unlicensed users can use under-utilized licensed spectrum to achieve substantial performance improvement. To avoid interference with licensed users, unlicensed users must vacate the spectrum when it is accessed by licensed (primary) users. Since it takes some time for unlicensed users to switch to other available channels, the ongoing data transmissions may have to be interrupted and the transmission delay can be significantly increased. This makes it hard for cognitive radio networks to meet the delay constraints of many applications. In this paper, we develop caching techniques to address this problem. We formulate the cache placement problem in cognitive radio networks as an optimization problem, where the goal is to minimize the total cost, subject to some delay constraint, i.e., the data access delay can be statistically bounded. To solve this problem, we propose a cost-based approach to minimize the caching cost, and design a delay-based approach to satisfy the delay constraint. Then, we combine them and propose a distributed hybrid approach to minimize the caching cost subject to the delay constraint. Simulation results show that our approaches outperform existing caching solutions in terms of total cost and delay constraint, and the hybrid approach performs the best among the approaches satisfying the delay constraint.
Landscape versus Swampland for Higher Derivative Gravity

We survey recent studies of Gauss-Bonnet gravity and its dual conformal field theories, including their relation to the violation of the Kovtun-Starinets-Son viscosity bound. Via holography, we can also study properties such as microcausality and unitarity of boundary field theory duals. Such studies in turn supply constraints on bulk gravitational theories, consigning some of them to the swampland.