cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Run II luminosity progress

The Fermilab tevatron collider run II program continues at the energy and luminosity frontier of high energy particle physics. To the collider experiments CDF and DO, over 3 fb-1 of integrated luminosity has been delivered to each. Upgrades and improvements in the Antiproton Source of the production and collection of antiprotons have led to increased number of particles stored in the recycler. Electron cooling and associated improvements have help make a brighter antiproton beam at collisions. Tevatron improvements to handle the increased number of particles and the beam lifetimes have resulted in an increase in luminosity.
Small Mass Expansion of Functional Determinants on the Generalized Cone

In this paper we compute the small mass expansion for the functional determinant of a scalar Laplacian defined on the bounded, generalized cone. In the framework of zeta function regularization, we obtain an expression for the functional determinant valid in any dimension for both Dirichlet and Robin boundary conditions in terms of the spectral zeta function of the base manifold. Moreover, as a particular case, we specify the base to be a d-dimensional sphere and present explicit results for d = 2, 3, 4, 5.
Classification based on a permanental process with cyclic approximation

We introduce a doubly stochastic marked point process model for supervised classification problems. Regardless of the number of classes or the dimension of the feature space, the model requires only 2‐3 parameters for the covariance function. The classification criterion involves a permanental ratio for which an approximation using a polynomial-time cyclic expansion is proposed. The approximation is effective even if the feature region occupie d by one class is a patchwork interlaced with regions occupied by other classes. An application to DNA microarray analysis indicates that the cyclic approximation is effective even for high-dimensional data. It can employ feature variables in an efficient way to reduce the prediction error signi ficantly. This is critical when the true classification relies on non-reducible high-dimensional f eatures.
Creative Collaborations from Afar: The Benefits of Independent Authors

The number of times that an article is cited has served as an indicator of both its creativity and impact. In this study, we investigated the relation- ship between citations and 2 very simple vari- ables—the number of authors and the number of sepa- rate locations. Previous research, on balance, would support the notion that an increased number of collab- orators would increase the quality of the product, at least to some asymptote. Research on the effect of sepa- rate locations is more sparse. Most work favors collab- orations at the same locale, given a sharing of perspec- tive and benefits in terms of coordination and motivation. However, research from the minority influ- ence literature documents the stimulating effects of in- dependent and differing views, leading to the conclu- sion that independent locations would be an asset. Results from an analysis of 6 journals and 5,113 arti- cles over a 10-year period show the benefit of both the number of authors and the number of independent lo- cations. Journals also differed in their citation aver- age, Psychological Review being cited significantly more often than any of the other 5 journals.
Statistical Timing Based Optimization using Gate Sizing

The increased dominance of intra-die process variations has motivated the field of Statistical Static Timing Analysis (SSTA) and has raised the need for SSTA-based circuit optimization. In this paper, we propose a new sensitivity based, statistical gate sizing method. Since brute-force computation of the change in circuit delay distribution to gate size change is computationally expensive, we propose an efficient and exact pruning algorithm. The pruning algorithm is based on a novel theory of perturbation bounds which are shown to decrease as they propagate through the circuit. This allows pruning of gate sensitivities without complete propagation of their perturbations. We apply our proposed optimization algorithm to ISCAS benchmark circuits and demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. Our results show an improvement of up to 10.5% in the 99-percentile circuit delay for the same circuit area, using the proposed statistical optimizer and a run time improvement of up to 56x compared to the brute-force approach.
FS_SFS: A novel feature selection method for support vector machines

In many pattern recognition applications, high-dimensional feature vectors impose a high computational cost as well as the risk of ''overfitting''. Feature Selection addresses the dimensionality reduction problem by determining a subset of available features which is most essential for classification. This paper presents a novel feature selection method named filtered and supported sequential forward search (FS_SFS) in the context of support vector machines (SVM). In comparison with conventional wrapper methods that employ the SFS strategy, FS_SFS has two important properties to reduce the time of computation. First, it dynamically maintains a subset of samples for the training of SVM. Because not all the available samples participate in the training process, the computational cost to obtain a single SVM classifier is decreased. Secondly, a new criterion, which takes into consideration both the discriminant ability of individual features and the correlation between them, is proposed to effectively filter out nonessential features. As a result, the total number of training is significantly reduced and the overfitting problem is alleviated. The proposed approach is tested on both synthetic and real data to demonstrate its effectiveness and efficiency. .
Developing Wave Packets in the North Pacific Storm Track

Developing wave packets in the western North Pacific storm track are diagnosed observationally. An abrupt upstream edge to baroclinic wave activity over the western North Pacific facilitates comparisons between the observational results and previous theoretical predictions on the spatiotemporal evolution of an impulse disturbance. Results show that surface cyclogenesis events are preceded by a sharply peaked wave packet that originates poleward of the Himalaya Plateau and develops rapidly across the North Pacific to North America. Composite wave-packet structure is broadly consistent with linear theory for idealized models such as Eady’s. The longitude‐height structure of the mature packet reveals deep growing waves with horizontal wavelengths of approximately 4000 km near the packet peak. Downstream from the peak, amplitude decays exponentially, and wavelength decreases approximately linearly to about 2500‐3000 km at the leading edge. Meridional potential vorticity gradients are concentrated near the tropopause. In contrast to linear theory, the packets show an abrupt upstream edge and no evidence of upstream development. As the packet travels through the along-stream variations of the Pacific jet stream, the packet-peak and leading-edge group velocity vary. These accelerations change the packet length and suggest that the Pacific jet may act to focus the packets. A sample of North Atlantic storm track events reveals similar results and suggests that the Atlantic storm track is often seeded by wave packets that originate over the western North Pacific Ocean. In contrast, Atlantic packets refract equatorward and become trapped on the subtropical jet to the south of Himalaya Plateau, suggesting perhaps less potential for seeding disturbances in the Pacific storm track.
Selection Into Mental Health Court: Distinguishing Among Eligible Defendants

How defendants are selected into mental health courts (MHC) is central to issues of fairness, efficacy, and successful program replication. Only recently has empirical research started to examine MHC selection, revealing a multi-stage process with multiple decision makers and multiple variables. In this study, we use classification and regression tree analysis (CART) to examine the variables suggested in recent research to predict selection into MHC. The analysis includes legal and diagnostic variables, treatment history, measures of treatability, motivation to change, violence risk, and symptom severity. We find that the MHC is more likely to accept defendants who did not have warrants issued for their arrest, who had diagnoses other than depression, and who did not report using illegal drugs around the time of their admission. Symptom severity and motivation to treatment also predict MHC admission, with their effects contingent on defendants’ statuses on other variables.
A facile and convenient synthesis of functionalized ortho-nitrophenylboronic acids

Abstract A variety of ortho -nitrophenylboronic acids bearing functional groups such as cyano, nitro, halo, α-bromomethyl, and ester were prepared in good yields via I–Mg exchange followed by quenching with trimethyl borate. All reagents employed in this procedure are commercially available and were used without further purification, and the procedure can be executed in about an hour.
3-Hitting set on bounded degree hypergraphs: Upper and lower bounds on the kernel size

We study upper and lower bounds on the vertex-kernel size for the 3-HITTING SET problem on hypergraphs of degree at most 3, denoted 3-3-HS. We first show that, unless P = NP, 3-3-HS on 3-uniform hypergraphs does not have a vertex-kernel of size at most 35k/19 > 1.8421k. We then give a 4k - k0.2692 vertex-kernel for 3-3-hs that is computable in time O(k2). We do not assume that the hypergraph is 3-uniform for the vertex-kernel upper bound results. This result improves the upper bound of 4k on the vertex-kernel size for 3-3-HS, implied by the results of Wahlstrom.
Understanding the Soft Budget Constraint

The article deals with the phenomenon of the soft budget constraint (SBC). Though originally it was formulated to illuminate economic behavior in socialist economies, this concept is increasingly acknowledged to be pertinent well beyond their realm. The authors have two main objectives: conceptual clarification and survey of formal theoretical literature on SBC. In the first part of the article the accent is made on analyzing the essence of the SBC syndrome, means of its softening and corresponding expectations of organizations. Formal models of SBC in socialist and transition economies are also analyzed.
Synthesis of benzimidazole based analogues of sphingosine-1-phosphate: discovery of potent, subtype-selective S1P4 receptor agonists

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a biologically active lysophospholipid with the capacity to induce a broad range of cellular responses via its interaction with the S1P family of G-protein coupled receptors. A member of this receptor family, S1P(4), is highly and almost exclusively expressed in the lymphoid system and has been implicated in regulation of cell shape and motility. This report describes the synthesis of several potent benzimidazole based S1P(4) receptor selective agonists. For instance, compound 9b displayed an EC(50)=36 nM at the S1P(4) receptor using a [gamma-(35)S]GTP binding assay as compared to an EC(50)=37 nM for the endogenous ligand. We also report the effects of altering stereochemistry at the C2 position, methylation at the C1 and C2 position, and activity differences between the alcohol and phosphate head groups of the analogues.
Spherically Punctured Biorthogonal Codes

Consider a binary Reed-Muller code RM(r,m) defined on the hypercube \BB F2m and let all code positions be restricted to the m-tuples of a given Hamming weight b. In this paper, we specify this single-layer construction obtained from the biorthogonal codes RM(1,m) and the Hadamard codes H(m). Both punctured codes inherit some recursive properties of the original RM codes; however, they cannot be formed by the recursive Plotkin construction. We first observe that any code vector in these codes has Hamming weight defined by the weight w of its information block. More specifically, this weight depends on the absolute values of the Krawtchouk polynomials Kbm(w). We then study the properties of the Krawtchouk polynomials and show that the minimum code weight of a single-layer code RM(1,m,b) is achieved at the minimum input weight w = 1 for any . We further refine our codes by limiting the possible weights w of the input information blocks. As a result, some of the designed code sequences meet or closely approach the Griesmer bound. Finally, we consider more general punctured codes whose positions form several spherical layers.
Market Timing and Investment Selection: Evidence from Real Estate Investors

In this paper, we explore fund managers’ abilities to generate abnormal profits in the real estate market, a market characterized by relative inefficiency compared to the publicly-traded equities market. We adapt the Daniel, Grinblatt, Titman and Wermers (1997) measures of ‘Characteristic Timing’ and ‘Characteristic Selectivity’ to measure public and private real estate investors’ ability to successfully time their portfolio weightings and select properties that outperform average properties of similar type. Using data on publicly traded REITS as well as property transactions data for private entities, we find that the vast majority of both public and private portfolio managers exhibit little market timing ability. Portfolio managers exhibit substantial variation in their ability to successfully select investments, with nearly half exhibiting positive selectivity, with a substantial fraction of the distribution doing so significantly. Both timing and especially selectivity performance exhibits significant persistence in the center of the performance distributions, but not at the top. Due to the nature of the performance distributions of the two measures, this finding leads to possible portfolio allocation strategies to capture selectivity only, since little persistence is found among mangers that realize positive timing. Managerial ability to time markets has a positive concave relationship with portfolio size and a negative relationship with portfolio turnover. Ability to select investment classes has a positive relationship with portfolio turnover, but individual skill seems very important for asset selection.
Genome-wide association study of serum iron phenotypes in premenopausal women of European descent

A genome-wide association study was performed on 1130 premenopausal women to detect common variants associated with three serum iron-related phenotypes. Total iron binding capacity was strongly associated (p=10(-14)) with variants in and near the TF gene (transferrin), the serum iron transporting protein, and with variants in HFE (p=4×10(-7)), which encodes the human hemochromatosis gene. Association was also detected between percent iron saturation (p=10(-8)) and variants in the chromosome 6 region containing both HFE and SLC17A2, which encodes a phosphate transport protein. No significant associations were detected with serum iron, but variants in HFE were suggestive (p=10(-6)). Our results corroborate prior studies in older subjects and demonstrate that the association of these genetic variants with iron phenotypes can be detected in premenopausal women.
Catalytic Asymmetric Ketene [2 + 2] and [4 + 2] Cycloadditions

Ketenes are among the few synthetic building blocks that undergo facile thermal [2 + 2] and [4 + 2] cycloadditions, yielding cyclobutanes, β-lactones, β-lactams, dioxins, quinoxalines, thiazinones, pyranones, and other useful carbo- and heterocycles. In addition to substrate structure, the presence of Lewis acids and bases can have a decisive effect on product outcome by diverting ketene reactivity to different cycloaddition manifolds. This comprehensive review focuses on catalyzed enantioselective ketene [2 + 2] and [4 + 2] cycloadditions in which the asymmetric induction is derived solely from the catalyst complex. Accordingly, diastereoselective cycloadditions are described only when they are relevant to a catalytic asymmetric reaction variant. Molecular orbital interactions are correlated to the electronic structure of ketenes and used to explain ketene reaction pathways. Cinchona alkaloids play an important role in Lewis base catalyzed asymmetric carbonyl and imine cycloadditions, whereas Al(III)-, Fe(II)-, Ti(IV)-, and Cu(II)-complexes are mainly responsible for Lewis acid catalyzed asymmetric transformations. Carbene catalysts are also significant for both ketene–carbonyl and ketene–imine cycloadditions. The subject cycloaddition protocol is also compared with other methods, including Mannich- and aldol-based approaches to β-lactams and β-lactones, nitrone–alkyne and hetero Diels–Alder reactions, and the catalytic asymmetric allylation–lactonization. Keywords: cycloadditions; ketenes; β-lactams; β-lactones
Revenue Risk Mitigation Options for Toll Roads

The major risk associated with the provision of toll facilities results from uncertain future demand/revenue generated from the facilities. In this paper, I examine various options for mitigating toll revenue risk and provide a set of recommendations as to how revenue risk mitigation should be pursued. In addition to conducting more careful traffic revenue studies and risk analyses, policy makers can provide more flexible tolling schedules, adopt advanced toll collection technology, and limit the non-compete clause included in many toll road deals with private operators.
Communicating the sum of sources over a network

We consider a network (that is capable of network coding) with a set of sources and terminals, where each terminal is interested in recovering the sum of the sources. Considering directed acyclic graphs with unit capacity edges and independent, unit-entropy sources, we show the rate region when (a) there are two sources and n terminals, and (b) n sources and two terminals. In these cases as long as there exists at least one path from each source to each terminal we demonstrate that there exists a valid assignment of coding vectors to the edges such that the terminals can recover the sum of the sources.
On the Diameter of Lattice Polytopes

In this paper we show that the diameter of a d-dimensional lattice polytope in $$[0,k]^n$$[0,k]n is at most $${\lfloor }{\left( k-\frac{1}{2}\right) d}{\rfloor }$$?k-12d?. This result implies that the diameter of a d-dimensional half-integral polytope is at most $${\lfloor }{\frac{3}{2} d}{\rfloor }$$?32d?. We also show that for half-integral polytopes the latter bound is tight for any d.
What Are We Really Good At? Product Strategy with Uncertain Capabilities

Firms often learn about their own capabilities through their products’ successes and failures. This paper explores the interaction between learning about capabilities and product strategy in a formal model. We consider a firm that can launch a sequence of products, where each product’s success probability depends on the fit between the firm’s capabilities and the product. A successful new product always causes the firm to become more optimistic about the capability most relevant for that product; however, it can also cause the firm to become less optimistic about some of its other capabilities, including capabilities the new product does not use. The firm’s optimal forward-looking product strategy accounts for short-run expected profits as well as for the information value of learning for future decisions. We find that a product sharing few or even no capabilities with potential future products can have a greater information value than a product that shares more capabilities with future products and that ...
Negotiated Trade Restrictions with Private Political Pressure

We consider a home government with political pressure to restrict trade. The foreign country is compensated with a portion of the tariff revenues or quota rents, but cannot directly observe the political pressure abroad. In this setting, the two countries negotiate over the volume of trade and transfer of rents, depending on the level of political pressure. We determine globally optimal, incentive-compatible trade policies, in which the home government has no incentive to overstate (or understate) the pressure for protection.
Quantum Algorithms for a Set of Group Theoretic Problems

We introduce two decision problems, STABILIZERD and TRANSLATING COSETD, and give quantum reductions from them to the problem ORBIT SUPERPOSITION, as well as quantum reductions to them from two group theoretic problems GROUP INTERSECTION and DOUBLE COSET MEMBERSHIP. Based on these reductions, efficient quantum algorithms are obtained for GROUP INTERSECTION and DOUBLE COSET MEMBERSHIP in the setting of black-box groups. Specifically, for solvable groups, this gives efficient quantum algorithms for GROUP INTERSECTION if one of the underlying solvable groups has a smoothly solvable commutator subgroup, and for DOUBLE COSET MEMBERSHIP if one of the underlying solvable groups is smoothly solvable. We also show that GROUP INTERSECTION and DOUBLE COSET MEMBERSHIP are in the complexity class SZK.
Optimal Exhaustible Resource Depletion with Endogenous Technical Change

The prospect of imminent exhaustion of some natural resources, especially those employed in energy generation, has prompted calls for conservation through reduction or even cessation of economic growth. A natural framework for analysing such proposals is a hybrid offspring of Ramsey's optimal growth model [8] and Hotelling's model of exhaustible resources [4]. Specifically, Anderson [1], Solow [10] and Stiglitz [11], among others, have recently studied optimal growth models modified to incorporate production requirements for an essential exhaustible resource. It has been shown that while resource irreplenishability limits growth in per capita consumption, this limitation may be offset by technical progress along with increasing capital accumulation and substitution. Reliance upon technical progress, in particular, to offset the constraining irreplenishability of a vital natural resource is based on its role as a major source of past economic growth. Along with the discovery of the past importance of technical progress has come awareness that it proceeds neither smoothly nor without effort. It is affected by the resources devoted to it. Unpredictability in technical progress results from our partial ignorance of the principles underlying natural and social phenomena. The randomness can be reduced at a cost, but it cannot be eliminated. These features of technical advance have typically not been incorporated in most of modern growth theory, wherein progress is regarded as proceeding steadily, costlessly and exogenously. In contrast, a few papers have considered more abrupt and significant changes in technology used. Smith [9] assumes that two alternate technologies are available from the outset, one requiring an exhaustible resource at low initial cost and the other employing an inexhaustible factor at high initial cost. He shows that maximum output will be achieved by using only the exhaustible resource technology at the beginning but gradually supplementing and then replacing it with the high-cost alternative. Dasgupta and Heal [2] considered the possibility that a new technology will eventually appear that does not employ limited natural resources. The technical advance could be costlessly achieved but the date of its availability was both random and exogenous. In a subsequent paper, Dasgupta, Heal and Majumdar [3] extended this model by making development of the new technology endogenous. Their model is very similar to and consistent with the one independently developed by us and described below. Our view is that technical advance is in large part neither costless nor exogenous [6]. The rate and direction of technical progress are influenced in the long run by the economic resources allotted to it, guided by the quest for profits and government policy. In this paper we follow the framework used by Dasgupta and Heal [2] while making technical advance endogenous. We omit steady technical progress that reduces unit factor requirements in favour of emphasizing a drastic technical change that relaxes the limitation imposed by
Precursor routes to quaternary intermetallics: Synthesis, crystal structure, and physical properties of clathrate-II Cs8Na16Al24Si112

Abstract A new quaternary clathrate–II composition, Cs8Na16Al24Si112, was synthesized by kinetically controlled thermal decomposition (KCTD) employing both NaSi and NaAlSi as the precursors and CsCl as a reactive flux. The crystal structure and composition of Cs8Na16Al24Si112 were investigated using both Rietveld refinement and elemental analysis, and the temperature dependent transport properties were investigated. Our results indicate that KCTD with multiple precursors is an effective method for the synthesis of multinary inorganic phases that are not easily accessible by traditional solid-state synthesis or crystal growth techniques.
Fiber Fabry-Perot tunable filter for high-speed optical packet switching

Tunable optical filters are important building blocks for all-optical systems and networks. Fast optical tuning in several microseconds is necessary to perform high-speed optical packet switching. Multi-gigabit/sec packet-switching will provide flexibility and higher network throughput when large numbers of users communicate simultaneously. One approach to achieve fast wavelength tuning is to use high- speed piezoelectrically driven fiber Fabry-Perot tunable filters (FFP-TFs). The requirement for tuning in microseconds raises a whole new set of challenges, such as ringing, thermostability and mechanical inertia control. It was shown that correlation between the mechanical resonance and optical response of the filter is important for the filter's speed and for mounting hardware and control circuitry optimization. These features together with the FFP-TF's high capacitance (approximately 0.25 - 0.5 microfarad) are being folded into building a special controller to substantially improve the shape of the driving signal and the response of the filter. The resultant controller enables tuning the high-speed FFP-TF three- orders-of-magnitude faster than that possible with standard commercial FFP-TFs. The fastest switching time achieved is 2.5 microseconds. As the result, a new packet-switched media access control protocol is being designed to minimize the searching time. The filter scans only once through the entire optical region and then tunes to all the required channels one after another in a few microseconds. It can help update Rainbow-2 Broadcast-and-Select High-Speed Wavelength Division Multiplexing All-Optical network that currently has a circuit-switched protocol using standard FFP-TFs.
Do picture labels give better idea to customers? A comparison of picture labels to traditional text describe labels in choice experiments

Choice experiments (CE) and choice-based conjoint analysis are widely used to estimate consumer WTP and tradeoff between foods attributes. Traditional CE normally consists of several choice sets that asks respondents to choose an alternative from several alternatives that are bundles of product attributes. All the attributes which are described in verbal. Increased use of internet surveys further promote the popularity of CE and also make it easier to design or imitate products or scenarios with multimedia such as picture or videos to motivate consumers provide answers that are more accurate. We compared two version of surveys that presented the CEs with different forms (verbal vs picture). The significance of attributes are similar of two versions of CE. In general, the WTPs from picture CE are lower than those from text CE.
Energy-Efficient Cell Activation, User Association, and Spectrum Allocation in Heterogeneous Networks

Next generation (5G) cellular networks are expected to be supported by an extensive infrastructure with many-fold increase in the number of cells per unit area compared to today. The total energy consumption of base transceiver stations (BTSs) is an important issue for both economic and environmental reasons. In this paper, an optimization-based framework is proposed for energy-efficient global radio resource management in heterogeneous wireless networks. Specifically, with stochastic arrivals of known rates intended for users, the smallest set of BTSs is activated with jointly optimized user association and spectrum allocation to stabilize the network. The average delay is subsequently minimized. The scheme can be carried out periodically on a relatively slow timescale to adapt to aggregate traffic variations and average channel conditions. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme significantly reduces energy consumption and increases quality of service compared to existing schemes.
Offline effects of online connecting: the impact of broadband diffusion on teen fertility decisions

Broadband (high-speed) internet access expanded rapidly from 1999 to 2007 and is associated with higher economic growth and labor market activity. In this paper, we examine whether the rollout also affected the social connections that teens make. Specifically, we look at the relationship between increased broadband access and teen fertility. We hypothesize that increasing access to high-speed internet can influence fertility decisions by changing the size of the market as well as increasing the information available to participants in the market. We seek to understand both the overall effect of broadband internet on teen fertility and the mechanisms underlying this effect. Our results suggest that increased broadband access explains at least 7 % of the decline in the teen birth rate between 1999 and 2007. Although we focus on social markets, this work contributes more broadly to an understanding of how new technology interacts with existing markets.
Geologic model and fluid flow simulation of Woodbine aquifer CO2 sequestration

Abstract Most simulation studies have focused on small-scale CO 2 injection in deep saline aquifers. Recently, a significant amount of simulation studies on large-scale CO 2 storage have been conducted. This study investigates what an actual CO 2 storage project might entail using field data for the Woodbine aquifer in East Texas. A geological model of the Woodbine aquifer was created based on existing structural, petrophysical, and aquifer data found in the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) website. A key feature in the model is the Mexia-Talco fault system that serves as a likely boundary between the saline aquifer region suitable for CO 2 storage and an updip fresh water region. Three CO 2 injection scenarios were considered: CO 2 bulk injection and two aquifer management strategies (AMS). The AMS were CO 2 injection with brine extraction; and CO 2 injection with brine extraction, and concentrated brine reinjection (from desalination). Simulation results indicate that aquifer pressurization limits bulk injection of the CO 2 from surrounding power plants to 20 years, but the AMS would store CO 2 injected at the same rate for up to 240 years. The simulation also enabled investigation of fluid migration across the Mexia-Talco fault system by using a fault transmissibility multiplier to adjust fault transmissibilities. For bulk CO 2 injection small leakage through or around the fault system permits a volume of brine equal to the injected CO 2 volume eventually to leak into the fresh water aquifer. For the two AMS, fresh water is drawn into the saline aquifer during brine extraction, and brine and/or CO 2 ultimately will migrate into the fresh water aquifer. The rate of fluid migration across the fault system depends on its transmissibility, and CO 2 would leak into the fresh water aquifer after 905 and 1080 years for cases with fault transmissibility multiplier of 0.1 and 1, respectively. Because fault displacements are typically more than 200 m (700 ft), and because there is a sharp contrast in salinity across the Mexia-Talco fault system, the likelihood of nonzero fault transmissibility may be low and may remain low provided that neither increased nor decreased pressure across the fault system from CO 2 and concentrated brine injection or brine production alter the fault transmissibility over time.
Synthesis of o-Aminophenols via a Formal Insertion Reaction of Arynes into Hydroxyindolinones

A novel approach toward the synthesis of sterically hindered o-aminophenols has been achieved by a formal aryne insertion into hydroxyindolinones. This transformation offers a rapid and efficient entry to diverse o-aminophenol scaffolds under mild transition-metal-free conditions. The reaction involves the addition of hydroxyindolinones to arynes followed by a chemo- and regioselective [1,3]-rearrangement. Furthermore, the reactions of N-hydroxyindoles and arynes were found to provide the C3-aryl indole products via an alternative [3,3]-rearrangement pathway.
Hazards to nuclear plants from off-site release of toxic vapors

A method for the assessment of risk involved in shipping toxic compounds past nuclear power plants uses a postulated chain of events, starting with a traffic accident causing instantaneous release of the compound as vapor, and leading to incapacitation of control operators in the nuclear plant, described by deterministic and statistical models as appropriate to the respective event. Statistical treatment of relevant atmospheric conditions is a major improvement over more conservative assumptions commonly made in current analyses of this problem. Consequently, one obtains a substantial reduction in the estimated risk expressed in usual terms of the annual probability of an unacceptable event, in spite of the fact that no credit is taken for protective measures other than potential control room isolation. (auth)
Spatial heterodyne scanning laser confocal holographic microscopy

The article, “Spatial heterodyne scanning laser confocal holographic microscopy” Appl. Opt. 54, 10096–10105 (2015), by Changgeng Liu, has been withdrawn at the request of the author.
Control of Robotic Mobility-On-Demand Systems: a Queueing-Theoretical Perspective

In this paper we present and analyze a queueing-theoretical model for autonomous mobility-on-demand (MOD) systems where robotic, self-driving vehicles transport customers within an urban environment and rebalance themselves to ensure acceptable quality of service throughout the entire network. We cast an autonomous MOD system within a closed Jackson network model with passenger loss. It is shown that an optimal rebalancing algorithm minimizing the number of (autonomously) rebalancing vehicles and keeping vehicles availabilities balanced throughout the network can be found by solving a linear program. The theoretical insights are used to design a robust, real-time rebalancing algorithm, which is applied to a case study of New York City. The case study shows that the current taxi demand in Manhattan can be met with about 8,000 robotic vehicles (roughly 60% of the size of the current taxi fleet). Finally, we extend our queueing-theoretical setup to include congestion effects, and we study the impact of autonomously rebalancing vehicles on overall congestion. Collectively, this paper provides a rigorous approach to the problem of system-wide coordination of autonomously driving vehicles, and provides one of the first characterizations of the sustainability benefits of robotic transportation networks.
Unemployment and mortality : evidence from the great recession

Did unemployment in the Great Recession hurt people's health? The broad answer is no: job losses have statistically insignificant impacts on mortality. The exogenous sources of job losses in a U.S. county is the tradable job losses driven by external demand collapses during the Great Recession. The insignificant relationship holds for males and females, for all age groups, and for almost all categories of mortality. Three important exceptions are Alzheimer's, poisoning, and homicide.
Robustness of shared prosperity estimates : how different methodological choices matter

This paper is the first to systematically test the robustness of shared prosperity estimates to different methodological choices using a sample of countries from all regions in the world. The tests that are conducted include grouped versus microdata, nominal welfare aggregate versus adjustment for spatial price variation, and different treatment of income with negative and zero values. The empirical results reveal an only minimal impact of the proposed tests on shared prosperity estimates. Nevertheless, there are important caveats. First, spatial adjustment can change the ranking of households, affecting the distribution of the population in the bottom 40 percent. Second, the negligible impact of spatial deflation holds only if price adjustments are carried out consistently over time. Finally, the treatment of negative and zero income numbers can potentially lead to substantial differences in shared prosperity, depending on the magnitude of negative income and the share of households with negative and zero numbers across years.
A Theory of the Thermodynamic Behavior of Nonelectrolyte Solutions. II. Application to the System Rubber-Benzene

Abstract : The thermodynamic theory of nonelectrolyte solutions proposed by Maron was applied to the experimental data of Gee and Treloar on solutions of rubber in benzene at 25C. The theory was found to be capable of representing these thermodynamic data very satisfactorily on the basis of a constant interaction parameter, mu, and on the basis of the dependence of the heat of mixing on the derivative of mu with respect to temperature rather than mu itself. Further, by assuming the heat of mixing to be temperature independent, an expression was set up for mu as a function of the volume fraction and the temperature. This equation reproduces the partial molal free energy values measured at 100C with an accuracy of better than 4%, and shows that at temperatures above and below 25C mu is concentration- as well as temperature-dependent. (Author)
Identification of an Interstitial Carbon — Interstitial oxygen Complex in Silicon

The Si-G15 EPR spectrum and the 0.79eV “C-line” luminescence spectra in silicon are shown to arise from an interstitial carbon — interstitial oxygen complex. The g-tensor and 13C hyperfine interaction tensor indicate the structure in the vicinity of the carbon atom while stress alignment studies reveal the configuration near the oxygen atom. The pairing of the two impurities leads to a lattice relaxation which serves to stabilize the complex against dissociation.
The HESI exit exam: progression benchmark and remediation guide.

Evidence exists indicating that remediation positively affects NCLEX success of students with known academic deficits. However, specific benchmarks that identify students who are at risk of NCLEX failure and in need of remediation have not been identified. Following publication of research findings that established the reliability and validity of the HESI Exit Exam (E2) as an accurate measure of students' NCLEX preparedness, nurse educators increasingly chose to administer the E2 to their senior students. This study investigated using the E2 as a benchmark for progression and as a guide for remediation.
Catalytic Functionalization of Unactivated sp3 C–H Bonds via exo-Directing Groups: Synthesis of Chemically Differentiated 1,2-Diols

We describe a Pd-catalyzed site-selective functionalization of unactivated aliphatic C–H bonds, providing chemically differentiated 1,2-diols from monoalcohol derivatives. The oxime was employed as both a directing group (DG) and an alcohol surrogate for this transformation. As demonstrated in a range of substrates, the C–H bonds β to the oxime group are selectively oxidized. Besides activation of the methyl groups, methylene groups (CH2) in cyclic substrates and methine groups (CH) at bridge-head positions can also be functionalized. In addition, an intriguing oxidative skeleton rearrangement was observed using the menthol-derived substrate. The use of exo-directing groups in C–H activation, as illustrated in this work, would potentially open doors for the discovery of new transformations and new cleavable DGs.
Microcrystalline Silicon by Dc Magnetron Sputtering: Growth Mechanisms

We have used real-time, in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and infrared reflectance (IR) to study microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) formation in reactive magnetron sputtering (RMS). (μc-Si growth occurs at high hydrogen partial pressures and moderate substrate temperatures. We use IR studies and SE studies of film growth on rough surfaces, respectively, to show that these conditions lead to high hydrogen coverage of the film surface and high effective surface diffusivity. The interface region is amorphous and its thickness decreases with deposition rate. For a fixed growth flux, we observe a 30% decrease in the deposition rate of μc-Si relative to the amorphous interface region. This could be due to increased etching or decreased sticking coefficients during microcrystalline growth.
“Nok”: A Phytosterol-Based Amphiphile Enabling Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Couplings in Water at Room Temperature

The third-generation designer amphiphile/surfactant, “Nok” (i.e., SPGS-550-M; β-sitosterol methoxypolyethyleneglycol succinate), soon to be commercially available from Aldrich, can be prepared in two steps using an abundant plant feedstock and β-sitosterol, together with succinic anhydride and PEG-550-M. Upon dissolution in water, it forms nanomicelles that serve as nanoreactors, which can be characterized by both cryo-TEM and dynamic light scattering analyses. Several transition-metal-catalyzed reactions have been run under micellar conditions to evaluate this surfactant relative to results obtained in nanoparticles composed of TPGS-750-M (i.e., a second-generation surfactant). It is shown that Nok usually affords yields that are, in general, as good or better than those typically obtained with TPGS-750-M, and yet is far less costly.
Impact of the Flameholder Heat Conductivity on Combustion Instability Characteristics

In this paper, we investigate the impact of heat transfer between the flame and the flame-holder on the dynamic stability characteristics in a 50-kW backward facing step combustor. We conducted tests where we use a backward step block made of two different materials: ceramic and stainless steel whose thermal conductivities are 1.06 and 12 W/m/K, respectively. A set of experiments was conducted using a propane/air mixture at Re = 6500 for the inlet temperature of 300–500 K at atmospheric pressure. We measure the dynamic pressure and flame chemiluminescence to examine distinct stability characteristics using each flame-holder material over a range of operating conditions. We find that for tests with a flame-holder made of ceramic, the onset of instability is significantly delayed in time and, for certain operating conditions, disappears altogether. Stated differently, for certain operating conditions, the combustor can be stabilized by reducing the thermal conductivity of the flame-holder. As the thermal conductivity of the flame-holder increases, the combustor becomes increasingly unstable over a range of operating conditions. These results imply that the dynamic stability characteristics depend strongly on the heat transfer between the flame and the combustor wall near the flame anchoring region.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
A Method for the Selective Hydrogenation of Alkenyl Halides to Alkyl Halides

A general method for the selective hydrogenation of alkenyl halides to alkyl halides is described. Fluoro, chloro, bromo, iodo, and gem-dihaloalkenes are viable substrates for the transformation. The selectivity of the hydrogenation is consistent with reduction by a hydrogen atom transfer pathway.
Aspheric Surface Testing Techniques

This paper reviews techniques for testing aspheric optical components. Specific approaches include: profilometry, interferometry (null and non-null configurations) and geometric ray tests. Although surface profilometry and geometric ray tests are covered, interferometry is the main thrust. This paper is an updated of a paper originally published in 1990.
Structure-based design of agrochemicals.

Covering: up to the presentThis review covers recent advances in the structure-based design of agrochemicals. The three main sectors of agrochemistry, i.e. herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides are covered. The literature in this field to the present date is reviewed and 88 references are cited.
Synthesis of bicyclic imidazoles via [2 + 3] cycloaddition between nitriles and regioselectively generated α-imino gold carbene intermediates.

The cyclic α-imino gold carbene intermediate B is most likely generated in situ via regioselective nitrene transfer from an azido group to a tethered terminal alkyne in the presence of a gold catalyst and at ambient temperature. This highly electrophilic intermediate can react with a weakly nucleophilic nitrile, which is used as the reaction solvent, to deliver a bicyclic imidazole rapidly in an overall bimolecular [2 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition and in mostly serviceable yield. The competing intramolecular Huisgen reaction, although likely also catalyzed by gold, is minimized by using AuCl3 as the catalyst.
Alkoxyboration: ring-closing addition of B-O σ bonds across alkynes.

For nearly 70 years, the addition of boron–X σ bonds to carbon–carbon multiple bonds has been employed in the preparation of organoboron reagents. However, the significantly higher strength of boron–oxygen bonds has thus far precluded their activation for addition, preventing a direct route to access a potentially valuable class of oxygen-containing organoboron reagents for divergent synthesis. We herein report the realization of an alkoxyboration reaction, the addition of boron–oxygen σ bonds to alkynes. Functionalized O-heterocyclic boronic acid derivatives are produced using this transformation, which is mild and exhibits broad functional group compatibility. Our results demonstrate activation of this boron–O σ bond using a gold catalysis strategy that is fundamentally different from that used previously for other boron addition reactions.
Assembly of Spirooxindole Derivatives via Organocatalytic Iminium-Enamine Cascade Reactions

The assembly of complex spirocyclopentaneoxindoles via a novel organocatalytic iminium-enamine cascade process is reported. Reactions between 3-substituted oxindoles and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes catalyzed by second generation prolinol ethers provided the desired products in high yield with excellent levels of enantioselectivity in a single step.
Deals or No Deals: Contract Design for Online Advertising

Billions of dollars worth of display advertising are sold via contracts and deals. This paper presents a formal study of preferred deals, a new generation of contracts for selling online advertisement, that generalize the traditional reservation contracts; these contracts are suitable for advertisers with advanced targeting capabilities. We propose a constant-factor approximation algorithm for maximizing the revenue that can be obtained from these deals. We show, both theoretically and via data analysis, that deals, with appropriately chosen minimum-purchase guarantees, can yield significantly higher revenue than auctions. We evaluate our algorithm using data from Google's ad exchange platform. Our algorithm obtains about 90% of the optimal revenue where the second-price auction, even with personalized reserve, obtains at most 52% of the benchmark.