cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Synthesis, structure, and characterization of a cubic thallium cluster phase of the Bergman type, Na13(Cd-0.70Tl-0.30)27.

Samples of Na13(Cd1-xTlx)27 crystallize with a cubic Bergman-type Im3 structure (formerly called the R-phase) (Z = 4, a ≃ 15.92 A) and exhibit a small phase width, 0.24 < x < 0.33. The crystal structure exhibits a Cd/Tl (=M) network of concentric empty M12 and Cd12 icosahedra and M60 buckyball clusters, with the sodium cations in the annuli between clusters. The compound is unusually electron deficient with respect to electron counting rules applied to most Bergman phases with less electropositive cations, and because of the sodium component it is probably better described as an electron-poor Zintl phase. The new compound is metallic according to both EHTB band calculations for the anion and the measured resistivities and magnetic susceptibilities. Site preferences observed for Na, Cd, and Tl among the seven crystallographic sites are consistent with their relative Mulliken electron populations.
Mars: A water-rich planet?

Abstract Mars had outgassed at least 0.5 to 1 km of water, 10 to 20 bar of CO2, and 0.1 to 0.3 bar of N2. The volatiles that have been retained are mostly in the cratered uplands. Terrain softening, fretted channels, debris flows, and closed depressions indicate that at least the upper 2 km of the cratered uplands at high latitudes (>30°) contain ice in amounts that exceed the porosity, estimated to be 10–20%. Theoretical studies, and lack of these features in the cratered uplands at low latitudes, suggest that the upper 1 km of the uplands at low latitudes is ice poor. However, valley networks indicate that water was present near the surface early in the planet's history, although in amounts smaller than at high latitudes. The entire upper 1 km, planetwide is estimated to have contained 75–125 m of water at the end of heavy bombardment. The largest sink for water is the megaregolith below 1 km. Episodic eruption of water from the deep megaregolith cut many of the large outflow channels. From the volume of water needed to cut the circum-Chryse channels, and assuming uniform planetwide distribution of water, the deep megaregolith is estimated to have contained at least 350 m of water at the end of heavy bombardment, thereby giving a total minimum inventory of 424–475 m planetwide. Most of the water lost from the low-latitude uplands by diffusion and in cutting the valley networks is now believed to be in the polar layered terrains. Most of the water involved in cutting the outflow channels is in the low-lying northern plains where a variety of features that have been attributed to ground ice is present. A large fraction of the planet's surface has been overplated with water-poor volcanics, of which we have samples in the SNC meteorites. The younger volcanics have reacted extensively with the old volatile-rich basement. Some of the CO2 and N2 outgassed was lost during heavy bombardment by impact erosion of the atmosphere and other processes. The remaining was fixed carbonates and folded deep into the megaregolith during heavy bombardment.
Network Characteristics and the Value of Collaborative User-Generated Content

User-generated content is increasingly created through the collaborative efforts of multiple individuals. In this paper, we argue that the value of collaborative user-generated content is a function both of the direct efforts of its contributors and of its embeddedness in the content--contributor network that creates it. An analysis of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine reveals a curvilinear relationship between the number of distinct contributors to user-generated content and viewership. A two-mode social network analysis demonstrates that the embeddedness of the content in the content--contributor network is positively related to viewership. Specifically, locally central content---characterized by greater intensity of work by contributors to multiple content sources---is associated with increased viewership. Globally central content---characterized by shorter paths to the other collaborative content in the overall network---also generates greater viewership. However, within these overall effects, there is considerable heterogeneity in how network characteristics relate to viewership. In addition, network effects are stronger for newer collaborative user-generated content. These findings have implications for fostering collaborative user-generated content.
Wake Measurements and Loss Evaluation in a Controlled Diffusion Compressor Cascade

The results of two component laser-Doppler velocimeter (LDV) surveys made in the near wake (to one fifth chord) of a controlled diffusion (CD) compressor blade in a large-scale cascade wind tunnel are reported. The measurements were made at three positive incidence angles from near design to angles thought to approach stall. Comparisons were made with calibrated pressure probe and hot-wire wake measurements and good agreement was found. The flow was found to be fully attached at the trailing edge at all incidence angles and the wake profiles were found to be highly skewed. Despite the precision obtained in the wake velocity profiles, the blade loss could not be evaluated accurately without measurements of the pressure field. The blade trailing edge surface pressures and velocity profiles were found to be consistent with downstream pressure probe measurements of loss, allowing conclusions to be drawn concerning the design of the trailing edge.
Internal rotation of subdwarf B stars: Limiting cases and asteroseismological consequences

Observations of the rotation rates of horizontal branch (HB) stars show puzzling systematics. In particular, cooler HB stars often show rapid rotation (with velocities in excess of 10 km s-1), while hotter HB stars (those with Teff in excess of 11,000 K) typically show much smaller rotation velocities of 8 km s-1 or less. Simple models of angular momentum evolution of stars from the main sequence through the red giant branch fail to explain these effects. Assuming solid body rotation throughout produces models that rotate much too slowly. On the other hand, assuming local conservation of angular momentum, but with solid body rotation in the convective regions, produces HB models that also rotate too slowly at all Teff but preserve a rapidly rotating core. In these cases, the observed angular velocities of HB stars require that some of the angular momentum stored in the core reaches the surface. Models that assume constant specific angular momentum in the surface convection zone have faster rotation in the envelope; while the predictions of these models match the observed rotation rates of the cooler HB stars, hot HB stars rotate more slowly than the models. Thus, while there is not yet a coherent explanation of the trends of rotation on the HB, evolutionary models in all cases preserve a rapidly rotating core. To test the idea that HB stars contain such a core, one can appeal to detailed computations of trace element abundances and rotational mixing. However, a more direct probe is available to test these limiting cases of angular momentum evolution. Some of the hottest horizontal branch stars are members of the pulsating sdB class. They frequently show rich pulsation spectra characteristic of nonradially pulsating stars. Thus, their pulsations probe the internal rotation of these stars and should show the effects of rapid rotation in their cores. Using models of sdB stars that include angular momentum evolution, we explore this possibility and show that some of the sdB pulsators may indeed have rapidly rotating cores.
Confinement models at finite temperature and density

In-medium chiral symmetry breaking in confining potential models of QCD is examined. Past attempts to analyze these models have been hampered by infrared divergences that appear at nonzero temperature. We argue that previous attempts to circumvent this problem are not satisfactory and demonstrate a simple resolution. We also show that the expectation that confining models do not exhibit a chiral phase transition is incorrect. The effect of summing ring diagrams is investigated, and we present the first determination of the temperature-density phase diagram for three model systems. We find that observables and the phase structure of the confinement models depend strongly on whether vacuum polarization is accounted for. Finally, it appears that standard confinement models cannot adequately describe both hadron phenomenology and in-medium properties of QCD.
Data Acquisition and Processing on Electron Beam Fusion Accelerators

This report is a review of the hardware and software components of the custom data acquisition facility developed for the Sandia electron beam fusion research program. The facility contains a Modcomp II minicomputer system, Tektronix transient digitizers, conventional oscilloscopes, and an image digitizer. Commercial equipment is utilized as much as possible. Special interfaces were designed for the transient and image digitizers. Careful cable shielding techniques are used to overcome the severe noise environments. The Modcomp multi-task operating system allows two simultaneous users. Special applications programs have been developed for data acquisition and reduction. The facility is currently operational, and a duplicate of this system will be built to support the next generation accelerator EBFA (Electron Beam Fusion Accelerator).
Coal to electricity - Integrated gasification combined cycle

Abstract An advanced energy conversion system—the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC)—has been identified as an efficient and economical means of converting coal to electricity for utility application. Several demonstration projects on a near-commercial scale are approaching the construction stage. A coal conversion facility has been constructed to simulate the operational features of an IGCC. This process evaluation facility (PEF-scale) performs a dual function: (1) acquiring and processing data on the performance of the individual components—coal gasifier, gas clean up, and turbine simulator—that comprise the IGCC concept and (2) simulating the total system in an operational control mode that permits evaluation of system response to imposed load variations characteristic of utility operation. The results to date indicate that an efficient, economical IGCC can be designed so that the gasification/gas clean up plant and the power generation system operate compatibly to meet utility requirements in an environmentally acceptable manner.
Mechanics of isolated horizons

A set of boundary conditions defining an undistorted, non-rotating isolated horizon are specified in general relativity. A spacetime representing a black hole which is itself in equilibrium but whose exterior contains radiation admits such a horizon. However, the definition is applicable in a more general context, such as cosmological horizons. Physically motivated, (quasi-)local definitions of the mass and surface gravity of an isolated horizon are introduced and their properties analysed. Although their definitions do not refer to infinity, these quantities assume their standard values in the static black-hole solutions. Finally, using these definitions, the zeroth and first laws of black-hole mechanics are established for isolated horizons.
FATAL ACCIDENT INVOLVEMENT RATES BY DRIVER AGE FOR LARGE TRUCKS

Survey data on large trucks involved in fatal accidents and on the travel of large trucks provide estimates of fatal accident involvement rates by driver age. The analysis is focused on the implications of lowering the minimum age for drivers of commercial trucks operating interstate from 21 to 19 years. Fatal accident involvement rates for drivers of large trucks are found to increase with decreasing driver age. The younger drivers are over-involved until about age 27. Drivers under the age of 21 are over-involved by a factor of 6 in comparison to the overall rate for all drivers. Other factors known to have significant influences on the probability of involvement in a fatal accident were examined to determine their association with the over-involvement of younger drivers. The general pattern of over-involvement for younger drivers pervades virtually every combination of factors examined. Thus, it is concluded that the basic trend with driver age shown in the aggregate data is primarily associated with age and is not associated with the other factors examined. The results of this analysis substantiate an elevated risk of fatal accident involvement for younger drivers of large trucks.
Effective kaon mass in baryonic matter and kaon condensation

Abstract The effective kaon mass m K ∗ in dense baryonic matter is calculated based on PCAC, current algebra and the Weinberg smoothness hypothesis. The off-shell behavior of the KN scattering amplitudes is treated consistently with PCAC, and the effects of the subthreshold KN resonances are also included. The m K ∗ is foundd to depend crucially on the KN sigma term, ΣKN. Since the current estimates of ΣKN are very uncertain, we discuss various scenarios treating ΣKN as an input parameter; for certain values of ΣKN a collective mode of a hyperon-particle-nucleon-hole state appears at high densities, possibly leading to kaon condensation.
Productivity shocks and real business cycles

Abstract Productivity shocks play a central role in real business cycles as an exogenous impulse to macroeconomic activity. However, measured Solow-Prescott residuals do not behave as an exogenous impulse. Rather, econometric evidence provided in this paper indicates that (1) money, interest rates, and government spending Granger-cause these impulses, and (2) a substantial component of the variance of these impulses (between one quarter and one half) is attributable to variations in aggregate demand. These results are robust to a number of econometric issues, including measurement errors, specification of the production function, and certain forms of omitted real variables.
Technology: Education and Training Needs of Older Adults

The impact of the global aging of the population on social, economic, political, and health care institutions is unequaled. Parallel to this, evolving developments in technology promise opportunities for sales and product development to support positive aging. Older adults are excited to utilize technologies that they perceive as practical. However, age, education, technical knowledge, and technological anxiety affect interest in new technologies, creating a technology divide. Providing more accessible and relevant technologies for today's older adults may make the technology more universally accessible. This article reports the results of a survey on technology and education among a sample of 77 adults between the ages of 52 and 92 who attended a week-long lifelong-learning event at Indiana University. Familiarity with technology, age, education, and gender were found to be correlated with familiarity with new technologies as well as operating and shopping for new electronic devices.
A fast solver for Poisson problems on infinite regular lattices

The Fast Multipole Method (FMM) provides a highly efficient computational tool for solving constant coefficient partial differential equations (e.g. the Poisson equation) on infinite domains. The solution to such an equation is given as the convolution between a fundamental solution and the given data function, and the FMM is used to rapidly evaluate the sum resulting upon discretization of the integral. This paper describes an analogous procedure for rapidly solving elliptic difference equations on infinite lattices. In particular, a fast summation technique for a discrete equivalent of the continuum fundamental solution is constructed. The asymptotic complexity of the proposed method is O(N"s"o"u"r"c"e), where N"s"o"u"r"c"e is the number of points subject to body loads. This is in contrast to FFT based methods which solve a lattice Poisson problem at a cost O(N"@WlogN"@W) independent of N"s"o"u"r"c"e, where @W is an artificial rectangular box containing the loaded points and N"@W is the number of lattice points in @W.
New routes to nitrogen heterocycles through intramolecular amidocarbonylation of alkenamides catalyzed by rhodium complexes

Abstract Intramolecular amidocarbonylation of 3-butenamide catalyzed by a rhodium complex with excess PPh 3 gives 3,4-dihydro-2-pyridone selectively, whereas the same reaction using P(OPh) 3 affords a unique heterodimer in excellent yield. The reaction of 4-pentenamide gives 4-methyl-3,4-dihydro-2-pyridone exclusively regardless of the structure of rhodium catalysts.
Computer virus prevention and containment on mainframes

A computer virus can be vicious and insidious form of code. It has the ability to replicate itself, to attach itself to other code, to spread through a computer system or network, and often to initiate a harmful series of instructions when a ''trigger'' point is reached. Viruses can have a major impact on productivity because of the steadily increasing dependence of industrial, business, and government functions on the availability and integrity of data processing systems. Although mainframe computers have been the target of virus attacks less often than microcomputers up until now, there is no room for complacency when the stakes are so high. The novelty, the technical nature, and the tendency to romanticize this phenomenon, have resulted in a ''black box'' syndrome (''l don't know what's going on in there.'') and a feeling of overwhelming impotence in the business community. The risk of viruses can be reduced. One approach is to examine the constituent parts from which a virus is composed, and to design a comprehensive defense which reckons with each of these parts. The protection chain will only be as strong as its weakest link. The author of this paper suggests a classification scheme which is useful in understanding the components of a virus and useful methods for maintaining the integrity of a computer system. This paper outlines basic prevention, detection, and correction techniques which are available today to reduce the threat of damage caused by viruses. These include software ''vaccines'' or filters; encryption; access control software (e.g. RACF, ACF2, and Top Secret); ''test-to-production'' control procedures; back-up and recovery procedures; personnel selection and review controls; and physical access control. The concepts presented in this paper conform to the ''Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria'' developed by the United States Computer Security Center and use examples from major published virus incidents to illustrate the price of control weaknesses. The paper concludes that no working computer system is impregnable but that much can be done by industry to make most computer systems less inviting to attacks from viruses.
Synthesis of perfluoroalkylether triazine elastomers

A method of perfluoroalkylether triazine elastomer synthesis is described. To form an elastomer, the resultant polymer is heated in a closed oven at slightly reduced pressures for 1-day periods at 100, 130 and 150 C. A high-molecular-weight perfluoroalkylether triazine elastomer is produced that exhibits thermal and oxidative stability. This material is potentially useful in applications such as high-temperature seals, 'O' rings, and wire enamels.
The Short Rotation Period of Nereid

We determine the period, p = 11.52 ± 0.14 hr, and a light-curve peak-to-peak amplitude, a = 0.029 ± 0.003 mag, of the Neptunian irregular satellite Nereid. If the light-curve variation is due to albedo variations across the surface, rather than solely to the shape of Nereid variations, the rotation period would be a factor of 2 shorter. In either case, such a rotation period and light-curve amplitude, together with Nereid's orbital period, p = 360.14 days, imply that Nereid is almost certainly in a regular rotation state, rather than the chaotic rotation state suggested in work of Schaefer & Schaefer and of Dobrovolskis. Assuming that Nereid is perfectly spherical, the albedo variation is 3% across the observed surface. Assuming a uniform geometric albedo, the observed cross-sectional area varies by 3%. We caution that the light curve found in this Letter only sets limits on the combination of albedo and physical irregularity and that we cannot determine the orientation of Nereid's spin axis from our data.
Light Bottom Squark Phenomenology

Abstract Agreement of theoretical calculations with the observed production rate of bottom quarks at hadron colliders is improved by the introduction of a contribution from pair-production of light gluinos, of mass 12 to 16 GeV, having two-body decays into bottom quarks and light bottom squarks with mass ≅2 to 5.5 GeV. Predictions are made for hadronic and radiative decays of the Upsilon states. In the limit of large tan β, the dominant decay mode of the light scalar Higgs boson is into a pair of light bottom squarks that materialize as jets of hadrons.
The Strategic Role of Supermarket Buyer Intermediaries in New Product Selection: Implications for Systemwide Efficiency

Based on logistic regression models that describe the accept/reject decisions of supermarket buyers for new products and market performance of accepted products, the implications for systemwide efficiency of decision making by channel intermediaries are analyzed. The statistical models perform very well. The results point to areas where systemwide performance may be enhanced regarding the allocation of new product development resources. For example, the system may be potentially more efficient if manufacturers reallocate the promotional allowances directed to the retail trade. Better prediction by retail buyers of ultimate product preference by their consumers is likely to increase both firm and system efficiency.
Templates for the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Angular Power Spectrum

We present templates for the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) angular power spectrum based on four models for the nonlinear gas distribution. The frequency-dependent SZ temperature fluctuations, with thermal (TSZ) and kinetic (KSZ) contributions, are calculated by tracing through a dark matter simulation, processed to include gas in dark matter halos and in the filamentary intergalactic medium. Different halo gas models are compared to study how star formation, energetic feedback, and nonthermal pressure support influence the angular power spectrum. The standard model has been calibrated to reproduce the stellar and gas fractions and X-ray scaling relations measured from low-redshift clusters and groups. The other models illustrate the current theoretical and empirical uncertainties relating to properties of the intracluster medium. Relative to the standard model, their angular power spectra differ by approximately ±50% (TSZ), ±20% (KSZ), and ±40% (SZ at 148 GHz) for l = 3000, σ8 = 0.8, and homogeneous reionization at z = 10. The angular power spectrum decreases in amplitude as gas mass and binding energy are removed through star formation, and as gas is pushed out to larger radii by energetic feedback. With nonthermal pressure support, less pressure is required to maintain hydrostatic equilibrium, thus reducing the thermal contribution to the SZ power. We also calculate the SZ templates as a function of σ8 and quantify this dependence. Assuming Cl ∝ (σ8/0.8)α, the effective scaling index ranges from 7 αTSZ 9, 4.5 αKSZ 5.5, and 6.5 αSZ (148 GHz) 8 at l = 3000 for 0.6 < σ8 < 1. The template spectra are publicly available and can be used when fitting for the SZ contribution to the cosmic microwave background on arcminute scales.
Modeling of Turbine Blade Tip Contact

A mathematical model is developed to evaluate a number of physical effects in turbomachine blade tip contact on the basis of a broad brush approach to provide insights without undue complexity. The analysis is restricted to the case of a shoe encountering a moving blade row and pressing against it with a fixed time-average force. Relative displacement components in the contact region are identified and determined. Two key equations are derived, where it is shown that wear rate plays a strong role in determining the traversal speed of the contact patch. The formula for estimating the size of the contact patch shows that the higher the traversal speed is, the wider is the contact patch.
MSAM1-94: Repeated Measurement of Medium-Scale Anisotropy in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

The second flight of the Medium-Scale Anisotropy Measurement (MSAM1-94) observed the same field as the first flight (MSAM1-92) to confirm our earlier measurement of cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) anisotropy. This instrument chops a 30' beam in a three-position pattern with a throw of ±40' and simultaneously measures single- and double-differenced sky signals. We observe in four spectral channels centered at 5.6, 9.0, 16.5, and 22.5 cm-1, providing sensitivity to the peak of the CMBR and to thermal emission from interstellar dust. The dust component correlates well with the IRAS 100 μm map. The CMBR observations in our double-difference channel correlate well with the earlier observations, but the single-difference channel shows some discrepancies. We obtain a detection of fluctuations in the MSAM1-94 data set that match CMBR in our spectral bands of ΔT/T = 1.9−0.7+1.3 × 10−5 (90% confidence interval, including calibration uncertainty) for total rms Gaussian fluctuations with correlation angle 03, using the double-difference demodulation.
Sectoral shocks and movement costs: Effects on employment and welfare

Abstract In this paper we provide a general equilibrium model of a two-sector economy which accounts for low employment due to the incomplete responses of workers to sectoral shocks. This model is used to reconcile the seemingly contradictory results of macro and micro evidence; namely that sectoral shocks explain fluctuations of employment even though we do not observe cyclical movements of labor across sectors. We further find that increasing the frequency of sectoral shocks, holding the magnitude of the shocks fixed, decreases total employment. This allows us to account for the phenomena that the unemployment rate itself has been higher since 1970, a period characterized by an increased frequency of sectoral shocks. We also study the theoretical implications of two opposite policies: one which subsidizes mobility and the other which eliminates the partial insurance provided in the model. The former increases employment and welfare while the latter increases employment but reduces welfare.
No News Is Good News: The Relationship Between Media Attention and Strike Duration

Media attention has been overlooked as a potential determinant of strike duration. This study analyzed the impact of media attention on strike duration using a sample of the 90 largest U.S. strikes that occurred from 1980 to 1991. Results indicated that a strong positive relationship exists between prestrike media attention and strike duration, even while controlling for strike size, organizational fame, the occurrence of a federal intervention, the involvement of a famous union, history of conflict, and broad industry categories. A possible social psychological explanation—bargaining parties behave rigidly in response to increases in public attention—is discussed.
A combinatorial model for crystals of Kac-Moody algebras

We present a simple combinatorial model for the characters of the irreducible integrable highest weight modules for complex symmetrizable Kac-Moody algebras. This model can be viewed as a discrete counterpart to the Littelmann path model. We describe crystal graphs and give a Littlewood-Richardson rule for decomposing tensor products of irreducible representations. The new model is based on the notion of a A-chain, which is a chain of positive roots defined by certain interlacing conditions.
Intramolecular radical cyclization of phenolic nitronates: Facile synthesis of annelated tropone and tropolone derivatives

Abstract Treatment of the phenolic nitroalkanes 1 in dilute base with K3Fe(CN)6 results in the formation of spirocyclic nitro dienones 3 which undergo facile rearrangement to annelated tropone or tropolone derivatives.
Stealthy traffic analysis of low-latency anonymous communication using throughput fingerprinting

Anonymity systems such as Tor aim to enable users to communicate in a manner that is untraceable by adversaries that control a small number of machines. To provide efficient service to users, these anonymity systems make full use of forwarding capacity when sending traffic between intermediate relays. In this paper, we show that doing this leaks information about the set of Tor relays in a circuit (path). We present attacks that, with high confidence and based solely on throughput information, can (a) reduce the attacker's uncertainty about the bottleneck relay of any Tor circuit whose throughput can be observed, (b) exactly identify the guard relay(s) of a Tor user when circuit throughput can be observed over multiple connections, and (c) identify whether two concurrent TCP connections belong to the same Tor user, breaking unlinkability. Our attacks are stealthy, and cannot be readily detected by a user or by Tor relays. We validate our attacks using experiments over the live Tor network. We find that the attacker can substantially reduce the entropy of a bottleneck relay distribution of a Tor circuit whose throughput can be observed-the entropy gets reduced by a factor of 2 in the median case. Such information leaks from a single Tor circuit can be combined over multiple connections to exactly identify a user's guard relay(s). Finally, we are also able to link two connections from the same initiator with a crossover error rate of less than 1.5% in under 5 minutes. Our attacks are also more accurate and require fewer resources than previous attacks on Tor.
A new class of HIV-1 integrase inhibitors: the 3,3,3', 3'-tetramethyl-1,1'-spirobi(indan)-5,5',6,6'-tetrol family.

Integration is a required step in HIV replication, but as yet no inhibitors of the integration step have been developed for clinical use. Many inhibitors have been identified that are active against purified viral-encoded integrase protein; of these, many contain a catechol moiety. Though this substructure contributes potency in inhibitors, it is associated with toxicity and so the utility of catechol-containing inhibitors has been questioned. We have synthesized and tested a systematic series of derivatives of a catechol-containing inhibitor (1) with the goal of identifying catechol isosteres that support inhibition. We find that different patterns of substitution on the aromatic ring suffice for inhibition when Mn2+ is used as a cofactor. Importantly, the efficiency is different when Mg2+, the more likely in vivo cofactor, is used. These data emphasize the importance of assays with Mg2+ and offer new catechol isosteres for use in integrase inhibitors.
Human Rights-Based Approaches to Development: Justice and Legal Fiction in Africa

Human rights-based approaches (HRBAs) to development have led to the expansion of laws protecting women's rights. Nevertheless, most women still do not have access to justice. This article explores family law reform in Africa and argues that establishing “African ownership” of law contributes to the effectiveness and legitimacy of such laws. It argues for a mixed strategy that combines local and international tools to lead to more effective protection of women's rights. Regional alliances that led to the adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter for Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa served to legitimize this Protocol over other international treaties. It also examines how paralegals are a bridge between local and international norms and, as such, they are an important mechanism for more effective HRBAs to development.
An Automated Protocol for Performance Benchmarking a Widefield Fluorescence Microscope

Widefield fluorescence microscopy is a highly used tool for visually assessing biological samples and for quantifying cell responses. Despite its widespread use, few published methods exist for evaluating and benchmarking the analytical performance of a microscope. Easy-to-use benchmarking methods would facilitate the use of fluorescence imaging as a quantitative analytical tool in research applications. We describe and evaluate an automated method to characterize a fluorescence imaging system's performance by benchmarking the detection threshold, saturation and linear dynamic range to a reference material. The benchmarking procedure is demonstrated using two different materials as the reference material, uranyl-ion-doped glass and Schott 475 GG filter glass. Both are suitable candidate reference materials that are homogeneously fluorescent and highly photostable, and the Schott 475 GG filter glass is currently commercially available. In addition to benchmarking the analytical performance, we also demonstrate that the reference materials provide for accurate day to day intensity calibration. A script written in MicroManager, an open-source microscopy control software, has been developed to automate the procedure and return the benchmarked parameters. The MicroManager script is now publicly available. Ideally, this work will lead to common operating procedures that will help to assure that fluorescence microscopy results are meaningful, traceable, and comparable from day to day and between laboratories.
Temperature Effects on Fuel Thermal Stability

This paper reports on the thermal stability characteristics of four kerosine-type fuels which are examined using a heated-tube apparatus that allows independent control of fuel pressure, fuel temperature, tube-wall temperature, and fuel flow rate. It is a closed loop system, and fuel flows through the heated tube for periods ranging from 6 to 22 h. The deposition rates of carbon on the tube walls are measured by weighing the tube before and after each test. The results obtained show that tube-wall and fuel temperatures both have a marked influence on deposition rates, the impact of fuel temperature being stronger than that of wall temperature. It is also found that deposition rates increase continuously with increases in tube-wall temperature. This finding contradicts the results of previous studies, which had led to the conclusion that deposition rates increase with increase in wall temperature up to a certain value, beyond which any further increase in wall temperature causes the deposition rate to decline.
Network Tomography Based on Additive Metrics

Network tomography studies the inference of network structure and dynamics based on indirect measurements when direct measurements are unavailable or difficult to collect. In this paper, we design and analyze routing tree topology and link performance inference algorithms for communication networks using tools from phylogenetic inference in evolutionary biology. We develop polynomial-time distance-based inference algorithms and derive sufficient conditions for the correctness of the algorithms. We show that the algorithms are consistent and robust. In particular, the algorithms achieve the optimal l∞-radius 1/2 for binary trees and 1/4 for general trees when a threshold neighbor selection criterion is used.
Encouraging posttreatment self-help group involvement to reduce demand for continuing care services: two-year clinical and utilization outcomes.

Background: Accumulating evidence indicates that addiction and psychiatric treatment programs that actively promote self-help group involvement can reduce their patients' health care costs in the first year after treatment, but such initially impressive effects may wane over time. This paper examines whether the positive clinical outcomes and reduced health care costs evident 1 year after treatment among substance-dependent patients who were strongly encouraged to attend 12-step self-help groups were sustained at 2-year follow-up. Methods: A 2-year quasi-experimental analysis of matched samples of male substance-dependent patients who were treated in either 12-step–based (n=887 patients) or cognitive-behavioral (CB, n=887 patients) treatment programs. The 12-step–based programs placed substantially more emphasis on 12-step concepts, had more staff members “in recovery,” had a more spiritually oriented treatment environment, and promoted self-help group involvement much more extensively than did the CB programs. The 2-year follow-up assessed patients' substance use, psychiatric functioning, self-help group affiliation, and mental health care utilization and costs. Results: As had been the case in the 1-year follow-up of this sample, the only difference in clinical outcomes was a substantially higher abstinence rate among patients treated in 12-step (49.5%) versus CB (37.0%) programs. Twelve-step treatment patients had 50 to 100% higher scores on indices of 12-step self-help group involvement than did patients from CB programs. In contrast, patients from CB programs relied significantly more on outpatient and inpatient mental health services, leading to 30% lower costs in the 12-step treatment programs. This was smaller than the difference in cost identified at 1 year, but still significant ($2,440 per patient, p=0.01). Conclusions: Promoting self-help group involvement appears to improve posttreatment outcomes while reducing the costs of continuing care. Even cost offsets that somewhat diminish over the long term can yield substantial savings. Actively promoting self-help group involvement may therefore be a useful clinical practice for helping addicted patients recover in a time of constrained fiscal resources.
Calculation of Unsteady Transonic Flow over an Airfoil

An implicit finite-difference solver for either the Euler equations or the "thin-layer" Navier-Stokes equations was used to calculate a transonic flow over the NACA 64A010 airfoil pitching about its one-quarter chord. An unsteady automatic grid-generation procedure that will improve significantly the computational efficiency of various unsteady flow problems is described. The calculated results for both inviscid and viscous flows at Mach number 0.8 over the airfoil oscillating with reduced frequency referenced to one-half chord, 0.2, are compared with experimental data measured in the Ames 11 x 11 ft Transonic Wind Tunnel. Nonlinear, unsteady effects of the flow on the surface pressure variations, shock-wave excursions, and overall airloads are examined. Good agreements between the results of computations and experiments were obtained. In the shock-wave region, however, the results of the viscous-flow computations showed closer agreement with the experimental data.
Synthesis of β-Sulfoximinopropionic Acids

Abstract 2-Benzyl-3-(methylsulfoximino)propionic acid has been prepared from 2-benzyl-3-(methylthio)propionamide by cyclization to a isothiazolinone hydrochloride with N-chlorosuccinimide, followed by peracid oxidation and acidic hydrolysis.
Coherent states and coordinate-free quantization

The usual quantization procedures interpret canonical transformations in an active way linking them with unitary transformations, while the quantization procedure offered by coherent states completely separates classical canonical transformations and unitary operator transformations. By exploiting this property, along with a physically motivated shadow metric, it is seen how to realize the quantization process in as coordinate-free a form as holds in classical mechanics.
The orbital decay of embedded binary stars

Young binaries within dense molecular clouds are subject to dynamical friction from ambient gas. Consequently, their orbits decay, with both the separation and period decreasing in time. A simple analytic expression is derived for this braking torque. The derivation utilizes the fact that each binary acts as a quadrupolar source of acoustic waves. The acoustic disturbance has the morphology of a two-armed spiral and carries off angular momentum. From the expression for the braking torque, the binary orbital evolution is also determined analytically. This type of merger may help in explaining the origin of high-mass stars. If infrared dark clouds, with peak densities up to 10 7 cm -3 , contain low-mass binaries, those with separations less than 100 au merge within about 10 5 years. During the last few thousand years of the process, the rate of mechanical energy deposition in the gas exceeds the stars' radiative luminosity. Successive mergers may lead to the massive star formation believed to occur in these clouds.
Structural chemistry and magnetic properties of Nd18Li8Fe5O39 and Nd18Li8Co4O39: the interplay of cation and spin ordering.

Abstract Polycrystalline samples of Nd(18)Li(8)Fe(5)O(39) and Nd(18)Li(8)Co(4)O(39) have been synthesized using a solid-state method and studied by a combination of neutron diffraction, direct and alternating current magnetometry, and, in the case of Nd(18)Li(8)Fe(5)O(39), Mossbauer spectroscopy. Both compounds adopt a cubic structure (space group Pm3n, a(0) approximately 11.9 A) based on intersecting 111 chains made up of alternating octahedral and trigonal-prismatic coordination sites. The Fe(4+) cations in Nd(18)Li(8)Fe(5)O(39) are found on only the smaller of the two distinct octahedral sites in the structure; Fe(3+) and Li(+) are disordered over the larger octahedral site and the trigonal-prismatic site. The Nd(3+) cations occupy sites between the chains. The smaller octahedral site is fully occupied by cobalt in Nd(18)Li(8)Co(4)O(39), with 25% of the larger octahedral sites being vacant; Li(+) is only found on the prismatic sites. Nd(18)Li(8)Fe(5)O(39) shows spin-glass-like behavior with a spin-freezing temperature of 5.75 K, whereas Nd(18)Li(8)Co(4)O(39) appears to order antiferromagnetically at 2.3 K. In both cases, the magnetic coupling involves the Nd(3+) sublattice.
Spectroscopic temperature determination of degenerate Fermi gases

We suggest a simple method for measuring the temperature of ultracold gases made of fermions. We show that by using a two-photon Raman probe, it is possible to obtain line shapes which reveal properties of the degenerate sample, notably its temperature T. The proposed method could be used with identical fermions in different hyperfine states interacting via s-wave scattering or identical fermions in the same hyperfine state via p-wave scattering. We illustrate the applicability of the method in realistic conditions for {sup 6}Li prepared in two different hyperfine states. We find that temperatures down to 0.05T{sub F} can be determined by this in situ method.
Expanding the versatility of Schwartz' reagent: Hydrozirconation of vinylic and acetylenic acyl silanes

Abstract By virtue of a triisopropylsilyl acyl silane contained within a substrate undergoing hydrozirconation, chemospecificity can be realized favoring addition across the alkene or alkyne, rather than competitive 1,2-addition of hydride to the carbonyl portion of the molecule.
Aeromechanical stability analysis and control of smart composite rotor blades

The use of segmented constrained layer damping treatment and closed loop control is investigated for improved rotor aeromechanical stability. The rotor blade load-carrying member is modeled using a composite box beam with arbitrary wall thickness. The ACLs are bonded to the upper and lower surfaces of the box beam to provide active and passive damping in the aeromechanical stability analysis. A finite element model based on a hybrid displacement theory is used to accurately capture the transverse shear effects in the composite primary structure, the viscoelastic and the piezoelectric layers within the ACL. The Pitt-Peters dynamic inflow model is used in the air resonance analysis under hover conditions. Rigid body pitch and roll degrees of freedom and fundamental flap and lead-lag modes are considered in this analysis. A transformation matrix is introduced to transform the time-variant system to a time-invariant system. A LQG controller is designed for the transformed system based on the available measure...
A Dominant Complement Fixation Pathway for Pneumococcal Polysaccharides Initiated by SIGN-R1 Interacting with C1q

The intricate system of serum complement proteins provides resistance to infection. A pivotal step in the complement pathway is the assembly of a C3 convertase, which digests the C3 complement component to form microbial binding C3 fragments recognized by leukocytes. The spleen and C3 provide resistance against blood-borne S. pneumoniae infection. To better understand the mechanisms involved, we studied SIGN-R1, a lectin that captures microbial polysaccharides in spleen. Surprisingly, conditional SIGN-R1 knockout mice developed deficits in C3 catabolism when given S. pneumoniae or its capsular polysaccharide intravenously. There were marked reductions in proteolysis of serum C3, deposition of C3 on organisms within SIGN-R1(+) spleen macrophages, and formation of C3 ligands. We found that SIGN-R1 directly bound the complement C1 subcomponent, C1q, and assembled a C3 convertase, but without the traditional requirement for either antibody or factor B. The transmembrane lectin SIGN-R1 therefore contributes to innate resistance by an unusual C3 activation pathway.
Problem size, parallel architecture, and optimal speedup

The communication and synchronization overhead inherent in parallel processing can lead to situations where adding processors to the solution method actually increases execution time. Problem type, problem size, and architecture type all affect the optimal number of processors to employ. The numerical solution of an elliptic partial differential equation is examined in order to study the relationship between problem size and architecture. The equation's domain is discretized into n sup 2 grid points which are divided into partitions and mapped onto the individual processor memories. The relationships between grid size, stencil type, partitioning strategy, processor execution time, and communication network type are analytically quantified. In so doing, the optimal number of processors was determined to assign to the solution, and identified (1) the smallest grid size which fully benefits from using all available processors, (2) the leverage on performance given by increasing processor speed or communication network speed, and (3) the suitability of various architectures for large numerical problems.
Graph homology and graph configuration spaces

If R is a commutative ring, M a compact R-oriented manifold and G a finite graph without loops or multiple edges, we consider the graph configuration space MG and a Bendersky–Gitler type spectral sequence converging to the homology H*(MG, R). We show that its E1 term is given by the graph cohomology complex CA(G) of the graded commutative algebra A = H*(M, R) and its higher differentials are obtained from the Massey products of A, as conjectured by Bendersky and Gitler for the case of a complete graph G. Similar results apply to the spectral sequence constructed from an arbitrary finite graph G and a graded commutative DG algebra \({\mathcal{A}}\).
Synthesis of alkoxy-substituted allenyl- and propargylstannane reagents from carbene complexes

Abstract Hydrostannation of chromium alkynyl carbene complexes with tributyltin hydride provides a facile, sterically controlled synthesis of alkoxy-substituted allenyl- and propargylstannanes. The synthetic scope and mechanistic implications are reported.