cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nickel, Manganese, Cobalt, and Iron-Catalyzed Deprotonative Arene Dimerization

A number of first-row transition metal salts catalyze deprotonative dimerization of acidic arenes. Under the atmosphere of oxygen, nickel, manganese, cobalt, and iron chlorides have been shown to dimerize five- and six-membered ring heterocycles as well as electron-poor arenes. Both tetramethylpiperidide and dicyclohexylamide bases can be employed; however, the former afford slightly higher yields.
The differential effects of full-time and part-time work status on breastfeeding

Abstract Objectives Return to work is associated with diminished breastfeeding. Although more mothers breastfeed after returning to work compared to a decade ago, research has not documented the variations in breastfeeding initiation and duration based on full-time and part-time (less than 35 h/week) work status. In this study, we clarify these differences. Methods Longitudinal data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, collected between 2005 and 2007, for over 1400 mothers are used. In analyzing initiation, mother's work status was categorized by the expected number of hours she planned to work postpartum. In the duration model, work status was categorized based on the actual number of hours worked upon mother's return to employment after controlling for baby's age when she returned to work. Covariates in logistic and censored regressions included demographics, maternity leave, parity, past breastfeeding experience, hospital experience, and social support. Results Compared with expecting not to work, expecting to work Conclusion Part-time work and increased amount of leave taken promote breastfeeding initiation and duration.
An intensity-expansion method to treat non-stationary time series: an application to the distance between prime numbers

Abstract We study the fractal properties of the distances between consecutive primes. The distance sequence is found to be well described by a non-stationary exponential probability distribution. We propose an intensity-expansion method to treat this non-stationarity and we find that the statistics underlying the distance between consecutive primes is Gaussian and that, by transforming the distance sequence into a stationary one, the range of Gaussian randomness of the sequence increases.
Multidimensional flash codes

Flash memory is a non-volatile computer memory comprised of blocks of cells, wherein each cell can take on q different levels corresponding to the number of electrons it contains. Increasing the cell level is easy; however, reducing a cell level forces all the other cells in the same block to be erased. This erasing operation is undesirable and therefore has to be used as infrequently as possible. We consider the problem of designing codes for this purpose, where k bits are stored using a block of n cells with q levels each. The goal is to maximize the number of bit writes before an erase operation is required. We present an efficient construction of codes that can store an arbitrary number of bits. Our construction can be viewed as an extension to multiple dimensions of the earlier work of Jiang and Bruck, where single-dimensional codes that can store only 2 bits were proposed.
Efficient search‐space pruning for integrated fusion and tiling transformations

Compile-time optimizations involve a number of transformations such as loop permutation, fusion, tiling, array contraction etc. The selection of the appropriate transformation to minimize the execution time is a challenging task. We address this problem in the context of tensor contraction expressions involving arrays too large to fit in main memory. Domain-specific features of the computation are exploited to develop an integrated framework that facilitates the exploration of the entire search space of optimizations. In this paper, we discuss the exploration of the space of loop fusion and tiling transformations in order to minimize the disk I/O cost. These two transformations are integrated and pruning strategies are presented that significantly reduce the number of loop structures to be evaluated for subsequent transformations. The evaluation of the framework using representative contraction expressions from quantum chemistry shows a dramatic reduction in the size of the search space using the strategies presented. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The learnability of quantum states

Traditional quantum state tomography requires a number of measurements that grows exponentially with the number of qubits n . But using ideas from computational learning theory, we show that one can do exponentially better in a statistical setting. In particular, to predict the outcomes of most measurements drawn from an arbitrary probability distribution, one needs only a number of sample measurements that grows linearly with n . This theorem has the conceptual implication that quantum states, despite being exponentially long vectors, are nevertheless ‘reasonable’ in a learning theory sense. The theorem also has two applications to quantum computing: first, a new simulation of quantum one-way communication protocols and second, the use of trusted classical advice to verify untrusted quantum advice.
Designing Markets for Daily Deals

Daily deals platforms such as Amazon Local, Google Offers, GroupOn, and LivingSocial have provided a new channel for merchants to directly market to consumers. In order to maximize consumer acquisition and retention, these platforms would like to offer deals that give good value to users. Currently, selecting such deals is done manually; however, the large number of submarkets and localities necessitates an automatic approach to selecting good deals and determining merchant payments. We approach this challenge as a market design problem. We postulate that merchants already have a good idea of the attractiveness of their deal to consumers as well as the amount they are willing to pay to offer their deal. The goal is to design an auction that maximizes a combination of the revenue of the auctioneer platform, welfare of the bidders merchants, and the positive externality on a third party the consumer, despite the asymmetry of information about this consumer benefit. We design auctions that truthfully elicit this information from the merchants and maximize the social welfare objective, and we characterize the consumer welfare functions for which this objective is truthfully implementable. We generalize this characterization to a very broad mechanism-design setting and give examples of other applications.
Computing quantum discord is NP-complete

We study the computational complexity of quantum discord (a measure of quantum correlation beyond entanglement), and prove that computing quantum discord is NP-complete. Therefore, quantum discord is computationally intractable: the running time of any algorithm for computing quantum discord is believed to grow exponentially with the dimension of the Hilbert space so that computing quantum discord in a quantum system of moderate size is not possible in practice. As by-products, some entanglement measures (namely entanglement cost, entanglement of formation, relative entropy of entanglement, squashed entanglement, classical squashed entanglement, conditional entanglement of mutual information, and broadcast regularization of mutual information) and constrained Holevo capacity are NP-hard/NP-complete to compute. These complexity-theoretic results are directly applicable in common randomness distillation, quantum state merging, entanglement distillation, superdense coding, and quantum teleportation; they may offer significant insights into quantum information processing. Moreover, we prove the NP-completeness of two typical problems: linear optimization over classical states and detecting classical states in a convex set, providing evidence that working with classical states is generically computationally intractable.
Theoretical and experimental analysis of a randomized algorithm for Sparse Fourier transform analysis

We analyze a sublinear RA@?SFA (randomized algorithm for Sparse Fourier analysis) that finds a near-optimal B-term Sparse representation R for a given discrete signal S of length N, in time and space poly(B,log(N)), following the approach given in [A.C. Gilbert, S. Guha, P. Indyk, S. Muthukrishnan, M. Strauss, Near-Optimal Sparse Fourier Representations via Sampling, STOC, 2002]. Its time cost poly(log(N)) should be compared with the superlinear @W(NlogN) time requirement of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). A straightforward implementation of the RA@?SFA, as presented in the theoretical paper [A.C. Gilbert, S. Guha, P. Indyk, S. Muthukrishnan, M. Strauss, Near-Optimal Sparse Fourier Representations via Sampling, STOC, 2002], turns out to be very slow in practice. Our main result is a greatly improved and practical RA@?SFA. We introduce several new ideas and techniques that speed up the algorithm. Both rigorous and heuristic arguments for parameter choices are presented. Our RA@?SFA constructs, with probability at least 1-@d, a near-optimal B-term representation R in time poly(B)log(N)log(1/@d)/@e^2log(M) such that @?S-R@?"2^2=<(1+@e)@?S-R"o"p"t@?"2^2. Furthermore, this RA@?SFA implementation already beats the FFTW for not unreasonably large N. We extend the algorithm to higher dimensional cases both theoretically and numerically. The crossover point lies at N~70,000 in one dimension, and at N~900 for data on a NxN grid in two dimensions for small B signals where there is noise.
Competitive Pooling: Rothschild-Stiglitz Reconsidered

We build a model of competitive pooling, which incorporates adverse selection and signaling into general equilibrium. Pools are characterized by their quantity limits on contributions. Households signal their reliability by choosing which pool to join. In equilibrium, pools with lower quantity limits sell for a higher price, even though each household's deliveries are the same at all pools. The Rothschild-Stiglitz model of insurance is included as a special case. We show that by recasting their hybrid oligopolistic-competitive story in our perfectly competitive framework, their separating equilibrium always exists (even when they say it does not) and is unique.
The Psychosocial Characteristics and Needs of Patients Presenting with Orofacial Injury

Individuals with orofacial injury presenting to urban trauma centers in the United States tend to be disproportionately socioeconomically disadvantaged, young, adult, ethnic minority men. Most injuries are assaultive in origin, suggesting poor impulse control and maladaptive social behaviors. Compared with matched control populations, patients with orofacial injuries are more likely to report higher levels of substance use behaviors and to manifest greater levels of hostility, anxiety, and depression. Although they have significantly greater current and lifetime need for mental health service and social service, actual use of social services is low. The underlying psychosocial characteristics of many patients with orofacial injury, along with unmet service needs, render them vulnerable for posttrauma psychological sequelae and may compromise functional outcomes and recovery.
Digital communications using self-phased arrays

A new technique for full duplex digital communications using adaptive phase conjugation is presented in this paper. The technique is based on mixing the RF signal to an IF where it can be easily processed, and filtering the phase of the IF signal to separate the geometry phase and message phase. The retrodirective array automatically tracks communicating platforms and transmits a directive return signal without the use of phase shifters. A 6-GHz microstrip retrodirective antenna array was built, together with the signal IF processing needed for full duplex operation. The measured RCS values of a linear six-element array are in good agreement with theory and result in a 0- to -5-dB RCS for angles up to /spl plusmn/60/spl deg/. The measured RCS values of a circular array are much flatter and are 0 to -5 dB up to /spl plusmn/80/spl deg/. Two-way digital communications at a baud rate of 78 kb/s was also demonstrated with BER<10/sup -6/ for signal-to-noise ratios around 10 dB. The application areas are in high-performance digital mobile telecommunications for commercial and military applications.
Nambu at work

Yoichiro Nambu, whose life and seminal contributions to physics we celebrate here, went in 1952 to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Shortly after his arrival there, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Institute’s director, put Yoichiro and the other new arrivals on notice that though Albert Einstein was a professor at the Institute, and therefore had an office there, nobody was to disturb the great man without first receiving special permission personally from Oppie. Most people would spend a year or two in the same building with Einstein and then spend a whole lifetime regretting not meeting him. Yoichiro decided that he wouldmeet Einstein, nomatter what Oppie said. He knewBruria Kaufmann, Einstein’s assistant at that time, and with her help got to visit the great physicist. Einstein was very friendly and visibly happy that finally one of the young people had bothered to visit him. Einstein asked Yoichiro what was going on in particle physics, and was rather skeptical about separate nucleon and meson fields for which he saw no deeper reason. It is well known that Einstein never learned to drive. Yoichiro offered him a ride, ran to his car to open the door, and from the driver’s seat snapped the picture of Einstein in Fig. 1, its composition worthy of a major photographer. I brought this episode up at the very start because there is a certain resemblance between the way the major works of Einstein and Nambu were conceived. In the construction of a relativistic theory of gravitation, Einstein used as a guide Mach’s principle [1]. Actually, this principle was not really embedded in general relativity, the end product of Einstein’s work. Though many people [2] have tried since, to this day Mach’s principle is not incorporated in the theory, which can be understood without any reference to this beautiful though somewhat vague and philosophical principle. When constructing with Moo-Young Han [3] the color gauge theory of strong interactions, Yoichiro, as he told me, was also guided by a philosophical principle, the quasi-Hegelian so-called “three stages” principle of Mitsuo Taketani (see, e.g., Ref. [4]). The physics of mesons and baryons was for strong interactions the first phenomenological stage, somewhat like the nineteenth-century
Impact of Local Interconnects on Timing and Power in a High Performance Microprocessor

In nanometer technologies, local interconnects are believed to cause a major impact on timing and power in VLSI circuits. To assess the impact of the interconnects on timing and power in a real high performance microprocessor design in a quantitative manner, this article presents results from an extensive study carried out on RTL-to-layout synthesized blocks in a 45-nm technology core. The study shows that the interconnects in these blocks account for 30% of the cycle time, on an average, on the worst internal timing paths and contribute nearly one-third to the power dissipation. This points to severity of impact due to the interconnects in today's high performance designs.
Phosphinite- and phosphite-based Type I palladacycles as highly active catalysts for addition reactions of arylboronic acids with aldehydes, α,β-unsaturated ketones, α-ketoesters, and aldimines.

Phosphinite- and phosphite-based type I palladacycle-catalyzed additions of arylboronic acids with aldehydes, α,β-unsaturated ketones, α-ketoesters, and aldimines are described. Our study showed that readily available phosphinite- and phosphite-based type I palladacycles could possess higher catalytic activity than phosphine-based palladacycles and were highly active, practical catalysts. Our study may pave the road for development of optically active phosphinite- and phosphite-based palladacycles for asymmetric catalysis.
Synthetic studies toward aryl-(4-aryl-4H-[1,2,4]triazole-3-yl)-amine from 1,3-diarylthiourea as urea mimetics.

A thiophile-promoted synthesis of disubstituted 4H-[1,2,4]triazole-3-yl-amines as urea mimetics from the corresponding 1,3-disubstituted thioureas has been studied, and the scope and limitations of this reaction are presented. The reaction proceeds through the formation of a carbodiimide, followed by a sequential addition−dehydration with acyl hydrazides. 1,3-Branched dialkylthioureas result in the formation of the corresponding ureas. The electronic and steric effects of the substitution on the phenyl rings of the 1,3-diarylthioureas play an important role in the formation of the intermediary carbodiimde and the direction of the subsequent ring closure of the N-acyl hydrazide adduct.
A Plan Recognition Model for Clarification Subdialogues

One of the promising approaches to analyzing task-oriented dialogues has involved modeling the plans of the speakers in the task domain. In general, these models work well as long as the topic follows the task structure closely, but they have difficulty in accounting for clarification subdialogues and topic change. We have developed a model based on a hierarchy of plans and metaplans that accounts for the clarification subdialogues while maintaining the advantages of the plan-based approach.
Recursive decomposition for nonconvex optimization

Continuous optimization is an important problem in many areas of AI, including vision, robotics, probabilistic inference, and machine learning. Unfortunately, most real-world optimization problems are nonconvex, causing standard convex techniques to find only local optima, even with extensions like random restarts and simulated annealing. We observe that, in many cases, the local modes of the objective function have combinatorial structure, and thus ideas from combinatorial optimization can be brought to bear. Based on this, we propose a problem-decomposition approach to nonconvex optimization. Similarly to DPLL-style SAT solvers and recursive conditioning in probabilistic inference, our algorithm, RDIS, recursively sets variables so as to simplify and decompose the objective function into approximately independent subfunctions, until the remaining functions are simple enough to be optimized by standard techniques like gradient descent. The variables to set are chosen by graph partitioning, ensuring decomposition whenever possible. We show analytically that RDIS can solve a broad class of nonconvex optimization problems exponentially faster than gradient descent with random restarts. Experimentally, RDIS outperforms standard techniques on problems like structure from motion and protein folding.
The role of animal source foods in improving nutritional health in urban informal settlements: identification of knowledge gaps and implementation barriers

Childhood undernutrition is a health crisis in the rapidly expanding informal settlements of low-income countries worldwide. Nearly half of Kenyan children in the Kibera settlement, in Nairobi, were reported to be stunted, indicating low height-for-age. Stunted children are at greater risk for poor cognitive and physical health outcomes in the long-term, problems that tend to be perpetuated in subsequent generations. Animal-source foods (ASF) supply a calorically dense source of microand macronutrients, and supplementation with ASF has been shown to improve linear growth and cognition. Correspondingly, increasing consumption of ASF by pregnant women and children has been proposed as a means to disrupt the intergenerational cycle of undernutrition caused by food insecurity. Household surveys indicate that consumption of ASF is low in urban slums, despite the availability of these foods in local markets. Here we review the studies addressing the role of ASF in the diets of the urban poor and identify knowledge gaps relevant to improving nutrition by increasing consumption of ASF. Based predominantly on studies in Kibera and greater Nairobi, these gaps include determining the minimal amount and frequency of dietary ASF to prevent stunting, defining how consumer preferences, markets, and income interact to impede or promote ASF consumption, and understanding the interaction between diet and both clinical and sub-clinical enteric disease on growth outcomes.
A review of immediacy and implications for provider–patient relationships to support medication management

Objectives This review is intended to 1) describe the construct of immediacy by analyzing how immediacy is used in social relational research and 2) discuss how immediacy behaviors can be incorporated into patient–provider interventions aimed at supporting patients’ medication management.
Off-label drug promotion and the ephemeral line between marketing and education

Fueled by massive settlements and concerns about pharmaceutical company influence over medical practice, the fight over off-label promotion has become a rancorous one with little middle ground. For some, off-label restrictions are both bad law and bad medicine, violating the First Amendment while denying physicians access to crucial information. For others, the battle pits the very soul of the FDA against the excesses of a profit-driven marketplace. Far from ameliorating concerns over manufacturer influence, the New Model proposed by Bennett et al. would exacerbate them. The Model would limit FDA authority to core communications proposing immediate commercial transactions, giving manufacturers unfettered discretion over scientific exchanges and nearly free rein over truthful quasi-commercial communications. Most problematically, the New Model relies on the longstanding assumption that truly educational and scientific activities can be distinguished from simple product promotion - a dichotomy that exists not only in federal law and professional association codes, but also underlies the jurisdiction of the federal agencies overseeing the pharmaceutical sector. Experience invites skepticism that these activities can be cleanly separated, suggesting that the New Model may simply perpetuate abusive behaviors without offering concomitant benefits to physicians or patients.
ASME Section III Treatment of Stress Distribution in Cylindrical Vessels With Symmetric Thin-Walled Discontinuity

In equipment design, the designer often attempts to minimize cost and maximize performance while meeting the design specification requirements. In the Power Industry, for example, a significant portion of the design requirements are user defined and the rest are dictated by Codes and Standards. In most applications such as tanks, valves, and pumps, the designers are familiar with the technical issues and are able to meet them. In some cases, however, balancing the two requirements (i.e., the user defined requirements and the ASME Codes and Standards) is complex. An example of this challenge can be found in the design and analysis of a pressurized cylindrical vessel that allows the user to impose a “weak-link” section that under certain operating scenarios can cause the vessel to rupture or fail. In such a case, the designers have to address the discontinuity that is imposed on the structure while still meeting the ASME required stress criteria for structural integrity. The term “weak-link” is used herein to identify the subcomponent or subsystem which is most likely to fail under a postulated operating condition. The loading condition can be either internal or external. In internal loading, the loading is generally an overpressure excursion. In the external case, the load can be seismically induced or an applied actuator load for operation. This paper presents a case study of internally induced loading condition in an ASME Section III cylindrical pressurized vessel where the cylinder is required to fail or rupture only when it is impacted by an actuating load. In this case, the ASME Section III requirements for pressure integrity are combined with the failure mechanism of a symmetrical discontinuity in the design and analysis to ensure that the operational intent of the valve is met. The challenge for this design is two fold; (a) ensure that the device maintains structural integrity without any leakage during normal operation, and (b) guarantee vessel rupture and relieve pressure predictably. This paper presents the ASME treatment of such a design using finite element analysis (FEA).
REVISION AFTER MODULAR NECK FX: IS STEM REMOVAL NECESSARY?

The author9s experience is with a specific type of femoral stem and modular neck both fabricated from Ti alloy. Fracture of this Ti-Ti modular neck is associated with heavy weight, heavy activity, long modular necks and corrosion at the junction of the neck to the stem. Instruments have been designed that can remove the distal fragment of the fractured modular neck in most cases. After the neck is removed, the clinician is faced with the decision to remove the stem or to place another modular neck. At present MicroPort (formerly Wright Medical Technology) the company whose modular neck forms the data for this presentation, suggests that the female part of the taper (that is the part at the top of the stem) should not be reused if a modular neck (fractured or intact) has been removed. Thus the recommendation from the company is that the stem be removed. This recommendation is true across all modular neck – femoral stem combinations particularly for those that have been recalled by the manufacturer. There is no question that the female taper is changed by having had the modular neck implanted. In most cases of fracture there is severe corrosion at the junction of the neck to stem. Thus, reuse of the taper could have problems and it is understandable that the company does not sanction its reuse. On the other hand, removal of a well-fixed ingrown stem is not without morbidity. In several cases, with patient informed consent, I have left the stem and implanted a new modular neck (either CoCr or Ti alloy) in the damaged taper. We are following these patients closely and it is too soon to make recommendations as to the wisdom of this practice. My strong recommendation is to remove the stem and place a new one.
Economics and Genocide: Choices and Consequences

Professional economists rarely write on questions of genocide. This surprises because a workhorse tool of the economics discipline concerns the analysis of behavior that takes place under constraints. All parties in genocide—perpetrators, victims, and third parties—face cost and resource constraints subject to which they seek to achieve their objectives, be it killing, surviving, or intervening. This essay characterizes and illustrates economic thinking about objectives, costs, and resources for each of the three groups. There is potentially much that economics can contribute to genocide studies and, vice versa, much that genocide scholars may learn from welcoming an economic perspective.
Cauchy-like and Pellet-like results for polynomials

Abstract We obtain several Cauchy-like and Pellet-like results for the zeros of a general complex polynomial by considering similarity transformations of the squared companion matrix and by treating the zeros of a scalar polynomial as the eigenvalues of a matrix polynomial.
Second-Order Asymptotic Optimality in Multisensor Sequential Change Detection

A generalized multisensor sequential change detection problem is considered, in which a number of (possibly correlated) sensors monitor an environment in real time, the joint distribution of their observations is determined by a global parameter vector, and at some unknown time there is a change in an unknown subset of components of this parameter vector. The goal is to detect the change as soon as possible, while controlling the rate of false alarms. We establish the second-order asymptotic optimality (with respect to Lorden’s criterion) of various generalizations of the CUSUM rule; that is, we show that their additional expected worst case detection delay (relative to the one that could be achieved if the affected subset was known) remains bounded as the rate of false alarm goes to 0, for any possible subset of affected components. This general framework incorporates the traditional multisensor setup in which only an unknown subset of sensors is affected by the change. The latter problem has a special structure which we exploit in order to obtain feasible representations of the proposed schemes. We present the results of a simulation study where we compare the proposed schemes with scalable detection rules that are only first-order asymptotically optimal. Finally, in the special case that the change affects exactly one sensor, we consider the scheme that runs in parallel the local CUSUM rules and study the problem of specifying the local thresholds.
Urban Streetscape Design and Crash Severity

Streetscape design is increasingly acknowledged as a tool for improving traffic safety and livability in urban settings. While traditional highway safety engineering promotes removing obstacles from and widening roadside clear zones to reduce collision potential, a contrasting framework proposes that smaller, more enclosed streetscapes may encourage slower, less risky driving and therefore improve both livability and safety. Such a strategy may have particular relevance along urban arterials, where large clear zones may be impractical because of complex adjacent land uses and where the promotion of livable spaces is an increasing focus. This study examined streetscape design and traffic safety in urban settings by assessing relationships between crash severity and streetscape design variables in New York City. A method based on a geographic information system was used for the precise capture of streetscape design measurements at the locations of more than 240,000 crashes. Logistic regression models indica...
Synthesis of a Luminescent Azaphosphole

A carbazole-based azaphosphole (compound 3) has been prepared by acid-catalyzed dehydrocyclization of 1-phosphino-9H-carbazole (2) with benzoyl chloride. Unlike other benzazaphospholes having σ2,λ3-multiply bonded phosphorus atoms, compound 3 displays significant fluorescence in solution, as does primary phosphine 2. Compound 3, as well as the materials on route to its synthesis, were characterized by multinuclear NMR, UV/Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The optical data of 2 and 3 are consistent with results of DFT and TDDFT [6-311G+(d,p) CAMB3LYP] calculations. The computed structure of compound 3′ (R = Ph) is also consistent with the experimental X-ray structural determination, which reveals a planar heterocyclic system and slight rotation of the p-tolyl group out of plane with respect to the heterocyclic core.
N = 4 superconformal bootstrap of the K3 CFT

We study two-dimensional (4, 4) superconformal field theories of central charge c = 6, corresponding to nonlinear sigma models on K3 surfaces, using the superconformal bootstrap. This is made possible through a surprising relation between the BPS N = 4 superconformal blocks with c = 6 and bosonic Virasoro conformal blocks with c = 28, and an exact result on the moduli dependence of a certain integrated BPS 4-point function. Nontrivial bounds on the non-BPS spectrum in the K3 CFT are obtained as functions of the CFT moduli, that interpolate between the free orbifold points and singular CFT points. We observe directly from the CFT perspective the signature of a continuous spectrum above a gap at the singular moduli, and find numerically an upper bound on this gap that is saturated by the A_1 N = 4 cigar CFT. We also derive an analytic upper bound on the first nonzero eigenvalue of the scalar Laplacian on K3 in the large volume regime, that depends on the K3 moduli data. As two byproducts, we find an exact equivalence between a class of BPS NN = 2 superconformal blocks and Virasoro conformal blocks in two dimensions, and an upper bound on the four-point functions of operators of sufficiently low scaling dimension in three and four dimensional CFTs.
Novel Insert Design for Thick Single Lap Bolted Composite Joints

Mechanical fastening is popular choice in joining composites because of the ability to transfer high loads and the ease of assembly and disassembly. However, drilling operations expose the fibers to environmental factors, and the high contact stresses between the bolt and the hole lead to localized delaminations, decreasing the joint strength. A new insert design, proposed here, seals the joint and increases the contact area between the bolt and the hole. This design is also low-cost and compatible with current machining techniques. With the novel design, a phase changing liquid is injected into the empty region between the bolt and the hole. The liquid is then allowed to cure. The tests the performed are on non-reinforced joints and joints reinforced with both machined isotropic inserts and the novel design. Initial tests in the elastic range are analyzed by using Digital Image Correlation. The joints are also tested to Ultimate failure to determine any trends. Form these tests and other preliminary considerations, it can be concluded that the novel design has tremendous potential for applications involving thick composite joints.
A composite likelihood framework for analyzing singular DSGE models

Abstract This paper builds on the composite likelihood concept of Lindsay (1988) to develop a framework for parameter identification, estimation, inference, and forecasting in dynamic stochastic ge...
Slick packets

Source-controlled routing has been proposed as a way to improve flexibility of future network architectures, as well as simplifying the data plane. However, if a packet specifies its path, this precludes fast local re-routing within the network. We propose SlickPackets, a novel solution that allows packets to slip around failures by specifying alternate paths in their headers, in the form of compactly-encoded directed acyclic graphs. We show that this can be accomplished with reasonably small packet headers for real network topologies, and results in responsiveness to failures that is competitive with past approaches that require much more state within the network. Our approach thus enables fast failure response while preserving the benefits of source-controlled routing.
On the Number of Alternating Paths in Bipartite Complete Graphs

Let $$C \subseteq [r]^m$$C⊆[r]m be a code such that any two words of C have Hamming distance at least t. It is not difficult to see that determining a code C with the maximum number of words is equivalent to finding the largest n such that there is an r-edge-coloring of $$K_{m, n}$$Km,n with the property that any pair of vertices in the class of size n has at least t alternating paths (with adjacent edges having different colors) of length 2. In this paper we consider a more general problem from a slightly different direction. We are interested in finding maximum t such that there is an r-edge-coloring of $$K_{m,n}$$Km,n such that any pair of vertices in class of size n is connected by t internally disjoint and alternating paths of length 2k. We also study a related problem in which we drop the assumption that paths are internally disjoint. Finally, we introduce a new concept, which we call alternating connectivity. Our proofs make use of random colorings combined with some integer programs.
INDIGENOUS STRUGGLES AND THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE

Since the mid-Seventies there has been a massive increase in the activities of indigenous minorities in the world. Their struggles have become global news, and they have entered numerous global organizations so that they have become an international presence. This, I shall argue, does not mean that they have been globalized and that they are just like everyone else in today's globalizing world. They have been part of many a national scene for many decades. They have been marginalized in their own territories, boxed, packaged and oppressed, sometimes even unto death. But this has changed in many parts of the world, because the indigenous is now part of a larger inversion of Western cosmology in which the traditional other, a modern category, is no longer the starting point of a long and positive evolu-tion of civilization, but a voice of Wisdom, a way of life in tune with nature,a culture in harmony, a gemeinschaft, that we have all but lost. Evolution has become devolution, the fall of civilized man. But there is a social reality to this change as well since the voices of the Other are the voices of real people struggling for control over their conditions of existence. This struggle is not about culture as such, but about social identity of a particular kind, indigenous identity, which is constituted around cultural and experiential continuities that are only poorly mirrored in Western categories, not least in anthropological categories. Fourth world struggles have been partially, and in some cases very successful, but they do not operate in a simple structure where the only larger context is the national state. They are also part of a dynamic global system, one that is multiplex and contains a number of related processes.
Combinatorial Analysis of a Subtraction Game on Graphs

We define a two-player combinatorial game in which players take alternate turns; each turn consists of deleting a vertex of a graph, together with all the edges containing such vertex. If any vertex became isolated by a player’s move then it would also be deleted. A player wins the game when the other player has no moves available. We study this game under various viewpoints: by finding specific strategies for certain families of graphs, through using properties of a graph’s automorphism group, by writing a program to look at Sprague-Grundy numbers, and by studying the game when played on random graphs. When analyzing Grim played on paths, using the Sprague-Grundy function, we find a connection to a standing open question about Octal games.
Mast Cells Regulate Epidermal Barrier Function and the Development of Allergic Skin Inflammation

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by infiltration of eosinophils, T helper cells, and mast cells. The role of mast cells in atopic dermatitis is not completely understood. To define the effects of mast cells on skin biology, we observed that mast cells regulate the homeostatic expression of epidermal differentiation complex and other skin genes. Decreased epidermal differentiation complex gene expression in mice that genetically lack mast cells ( Kit W–sh/W–sh mice) is associated with increased uptake of protein antigens painted on the skin by dendritic cells (DCs) compared with similarly treated wild-type mice, suggesting a protective role for mast cells in exposure to nominal environmental allergens. To test this further, we crossed Kit W–sh/W–sh mice with signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (i.e., Stat6) VT transgenic mice that develop spontaneous atopic dermatitis-like disease that is dependent on T helper cell 2 cytokines and is associated with high serum concentrations of IgE. We observed that Stat6VT × Kit W–sh/W–sh mice developed more frequent and more severe allergic skin inflammation than Stat6VT transgenic mice that had mast cells. Together, these studies suggest that mast cells regulate epidermal barrier function and have a potential protective role in the development of atopic dermatitis-like disease.
Effect of Precursor Salt on FeP Nanoparticle Formation

The formation of single phase FeP nanocrystals has been achieved by the reaction of Fe(III) salts (iron(III)acetylacetonate (Fe(acac) 3 ) and iron(III)chloride (FeCl 3 )) with tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphine in trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO)/trioctylphosphine (TOP) at elevated temperatures. The sizes of nanoparticles formed differ markedly depending on the initial iron salt used. Use of Fe(acac) 3 always resulted in comparatively bigger particle formation (∼5 nm) while FeCl 3 forms much smaller particles (∼1 nm) as confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
Minimally invasive foraminotomy through tubular retractors via a contralateral approach in patients with unilateral radiculopathy.

BACKGROUND Radiculopathy caused by foraminal nerve root compression is a common pathology in the lumbar spine. Surgical decompression via a conventional open foraminotomy is the treatment of choice when surgery is indicated. Minimally invasive tubular foraminotomy through a contralateral approach is a potentially effective surgical alternative. OBJECTIVE The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the efficacy and benefits of this approach for treatment of radiculopathy. METHODS Patients with unilaterally dominant lower extremity radiculopathy, who underwent minimally invasive lumbar foraminotomy through tubular retractors via a contralateral approach between 2010 and 2012, were included. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for back and leg pain were evaluated preoperatively, postoperatively, and at the latest follow-up. Functional outcome was evaluated by using the MacNab criteria. RESULTS For the total 32 patients, postoperatively there was significant improvement in the ODI (P = .006), VAS back pain (P < .001), and VAS leg pain on the pathology and the approach side (P = .004, P = .021, respectively). At follow-up of 12.3 ± 1.7 months, there was also significant improvement in the ODI (P < .001), VAS back pain (P = .001), and VAS leg pain on the pathology and the approach side (P < .001, P = .001, respectively). The functional outcome was excellent and good in 95.2%. One patient required fusion (3.1%). CONCLUSION A minimally invasive, facet-sparing contralateral approach is an effective technique for treatment of radiculopathy due to foraminal compression. It also allows for decompression of lumbar spinal stenosis and bilateral lateral recess decompression without the need for fusion.
Chemical kinetics and mechanisms of complex systems: A perspective on recent theoretical advances

This Perspective presents a personal overview of the current status of the theory of chemical kinetics and mechanisms for complex processes. We attempt to assess the status of the field for reactions in the gas phase, at gas-solid interfaces, in liquid solutions, in enzymes, and for protein folding. Some unifying concepts such as potential energy surfaces, free energy, master equations, and reaction coordinates occur in more than one area. We hope this Perspective will be useful for highlighting recent advances and for identifying important areas for future research.
Ion exchange synthesis of III-V nanocrystals.

III–V nanocrystals displaying high crystallinity and low size dispersity are difficult to access by direct synthesis from molecular precursors. Here, we demonstrate that cation exchange of cadmium pnictide nanocrystals with group 13 ions yields monodisperse, crystalline III–V nanocrystals, including GaAs, InAs, GaP, and InP. This report highlights the versatility of cation exchange for accessing nanocrystals with covalent lattices.
The Role of Rare Earths in Narrow Energy Gap Semiconductors

Narrow energy band gap semiconductors are potentially useful for various devices, including infrared detectors and diode lasers. Rare earth elements have been introduced into lead chalcogenide semiconductors using the molecular beam epitaxy growth process. Europium and ytterbium increase the energy band gap, and nearly lattice-matched heterojunctions have been grown. In some cases, valence changes in the rare earth element cause doping of the alloy. Some initial investigations of the addition of europium to indium antimonide will also be reported, including the variation of lattice parameter and optical transmission with composition and a negative magnetoresistance effect.
Interference Mitigation Using Asynchronous Transmission and Sampling Diversity

In this paper, we show that by investigating inherent time delays between different users in a multiuser scenario, we are able to cancel interference more ef&#64257;ciently. Time asynchrony provides another tool to cancel interference which results in preserving other resources like frequency, time and code. Therefore, we can save the invaluable resource of frequency band and also increase spectral ef&#64257;ciency. A sampling method is presented which results in independent noise samples and obviates the need for the complex process of noise whitening. By taking advantage of this sampling method and its unique structure, we implement maximum-likelihood sequence detection which outperforms synchronous maximum-likelihood detection. We also present successive interference cancellation with hard decision passing, which gives rise to a novel forward-backward belief propagation method. Next, the performance of zero forcing detection is analyzed. Simulation results are also presented to verify our analysis.
Accuracy of Long-Range Actuarial Projections of Health Care Costs

The Office of the Actuary, mandated to provide projections of future medical spending for use by the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs, publishes forecasts that have been widely used by private firms and government budget officials as a baseline for expected long-run premium trends and to estimate liabilities for retiree health benefits. Although these projections have been made publicly available since 1986, they have not yet been subject to systematic evaluation by an external reviewer. This article develops a method for assessment of both short- and long-run accuracy and applies it to the 17 sets of projections made public over the last 25 years. The more recent set of projections (1998–2010) incorporating lagged macroeconomic effects appear to be more accurate than the older (1986–1995) projections that relied more heavily on demographic cost of illness trends. The average annualized error of the forecasts is approximately 0.5–1% per year, whether assessed over a span of one, two, or 10 years. Proje...
Minimal models for topological Weyl semimetals

Topological Weyl semimetals (TWS) can be classified as type I TWS, in which the density of states vanishes at the Weyl nodes, and type II TWS, in which an electron pocket and a hole pocket meet at a singular point of momentum space, allowing for distinct topological properties. We consider various minimal lattice models for type II TWS. The simplest time-reversal-breaking band structure, with a pair of Weyl nodes sharing a single electron pocket and a single hole pocket (hydrogen model), exhibits relics of surface Fermi arc states only away from the Fermi energy, with no topological protection. Topologically protected Fermi arcs can be restored by an additional term (hydrogen model) that produces a bulk structure where the electron and hole pockets of each Weyl point are disjoint. In time-reversal-symmetric but inversion-breaking models, we identify nontopological surface track states that arise out of the topological Fermi arc states at the transition from type I to type II and persist in the type II TWS. The distinctions among these minimal models can aid in distinguishing between generic and model-dependent behavior in studies of superconductivity, magnetism, and quantum oscillations of type II Weyl semimetals.