cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inside the black box of business incubation: Study B—scale assessment, model refinement, and incubation outcomes

Due to a lack of valid and reliable scales, few studies have sought to describe and measure the business incubation process. After rigorously developing and pre-testing scales intended to measure the incubation process (Study A), we collected data from 53 incubators operating in the US in order to (a) systematically examine the incubation process, and (b) validate the scales. Accordingly, this study offers (1) new, validated scales for measuring the process of incubating new ventures, (2) empirically-based refinements to a theoretical model of the incubation process, and (3) data on business incubation outcomes that are very useful for incubator planning and benchmarking purposes.
Comparison of birefringent metamaterials and meanderline structure as quarter-wave plates at terahertz frequencies

We compare a single layer metamaterial quarter-wave plate with a meanderline polarizer. They achieve 99.9% and 99.6% circular polarization at 639 GHz, respectively. These results highlight the large degree of birefringence exhibited by metamaterial structures.
Effects of cryoprotectant concentration and cooling rate on vitrification of aqueous solutions

Vitrification of aqueous cryoprotectant mixtures is essential in cryopreservation of proteins and other biological samples. Systematic measurements of critical cryoprotective agent (CPA) concentrations required for vitrification during plunge-cooling from T = 295 K to T = 77 K in liquid nitrogen are reported. Measurements on fourteen common CPAs, including alcohols (glycerol, methanol, 2-propanol), sugars (sucrose, xylitol, dextrose, trehalose), polyethylene glycols (ethylene glycol, PEG 200, PEG 2000, PEG 20000), glycols [dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol (MPD)], and salt (NaCl), were performed for volumes ranging over four orders of magnitude from ∼1 nl to 20 µl, and covering the range of interest in protein crystallography. X-ray diffraction measurements on aqueous glycerol mixtures confirm that the polycrystalline-to-vitreous transition occurs within a span of less than 2% w/v in CPA concentration, and that the form of polycrystalline ice (hexagonal or cubic) depends on CPA concentration and cooling rate. For most of the studied cryoprotectants, the critical concentration decreases strongly with volume in the range from ∼5 µl to ∼0.1 µl, typically by a factor of two. By combining measurements of the critical concentration versus volume with cooling time versus volume, the function of greatest intrinsic physical interest is obtained: the critical CPA concentration versus cooling rate during flash-cooling. These results provide a basis for more rational design of cryoprotective protocols, and should yield insight into the physics of glass formation in aqueous mixtures.
Synthesis of bicarbocyclic dideoxynucleosides as potential antiviral agents

Abstract Two novel classes of bicarbocyclic dideoxynucleosides have been synthesized for antiviral studies. The key intermediates, 9 and 23, synthesized in multiple steps from readily available monocyclic or bicyclic precursors, were coupled with the desired heterocyclic bases to afford, after further elaboration, the corresponding bicarbocyclic dideoxynucleosides. The structure and stereochemistry of the tosylate intermediates and the target bicarbocyclic dideoxynucleosides were confirmed by extensive 1H and 13C NMR studies including COSY, NOESY, DEPT, and selective INEPT experiments.
An Empirical Study on the Long-Run Determinants of Exchange Rate

The behavior of exchange rates has been an important issue in the international finance literature. Although exchange rate is erratic and unpredictable in the short run, its long-run behavior is believed to be guided by economic fundamentals. This paper empirically tests the long-run determinants of the exchange rate by focusing on the Taiwan/US case. After incorporating productivity differential, foreign reserves, and monetary base in the absolute Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) proposition, where the relative price is the only determinant of the exchange rate, the Johansen's maximum likelihood test results indicate these determinants and the exchange rate are indeed cointegrated: thus a long-run relationship can be established.
Prediction of Building Integrated Photovoltaic Cell Temperatures

A barrier to the widespread application of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is the lack of validated predictive performance tools. Architects and building owners need these tools in order to determine if the potential energy savings realized from building integrated photovoltaics justifies the additional capital expenditure. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks to provide high quality experimental data that can be used to develop and validate these predictive performance tools. The temperature of a photovoltaic module affects its electrical output characteristics and efficiency. Traditionally, the temperature of solar cells has been characterized using the nominal operating cell temperature (NOCT), which can be used in conjunction with a calculation procedure to predict the module's temperature for various environmental conditions. The NOCT procedure provides a representative prediction of the cell temperature, specifically for the ubiquitous rack-mounted installation. The procedure estimates the cell temperature based on the ambient temperature and the solar irradiance. It makes the approximation that the overall heat loss coefficient is constant. In other words, the temperature difference between the panel and the environment is linearly related to the heat flux on the panels (solar irradiance). The heat transfer characteristics of a rack-mounted PV module and a BIPV module can be quite different. The manner in which the module is installed within the building envelope influences the cell's operating temperature. Unlike rack-mounted modules, the two sides of the modules may be subjected to significantly different environmental conditions. This paper presents a new technique to compute the operating temperature of cells within building integrated photovoltaic modules using a one-dimensional transient heat transfer model. The resulting predictions are compared to measured BIPV cell temperatures for two single crystalline BIPV panels (one insulated panel and one uninsulated panel). Finally, the results are compared to predictions using the NOCT technique.
JLab: probing hadronic physics with electrons and photons

Precision measurements of the structure of nucleons and nuclei in the regime of strong interaction QCD are now possible with the availability of high current polarized electron beams, polarized targets, and recoil polarimeters, in conjunction with modern spectrometers and detector instrumentation. The physics at JLab will be highlighted using two recent measurements of general interest. The ratio of the proton electric to magnetic form factors indicates the importance of the role of angular momentum in the structure of the nucleon. The existence of 5-quark configurations in the ground state wavefunctions of hadrons is confirmed by a narrow peak attributed to an exotic baryon with strangeness S=+1. These and other examples will be used to illustrate the capabilities and focus of the experimental program at JLab.
Dual-Pathway Kinetics Assessment of Sulfur Poisoning of the Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction at High Surface-Area Platinum/Vulcan Carbon Electrodes

The kinetics of the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) were measured at high surface-area platinum/Vulcan carbon (Pt/VC) films before and after exposure to aqueous solutions of either sodium sulfide (Na 2 S) or mercaptopropionic acid (MPA, HSCH 2 CH 2 COOH) using rotating disk electrode (RDE) voltammetry. At 45―90% blocking of surface Pt atoms by inorganic sulfur, sulfur appears to adsorb as oligomerized sulfur (S n ). Current―potential RDE data for the HOR at Na 2 S-exposed Pt/VC films were fitted to a recently developed dual-pathway kinetics model. At a submonolayer S n coverage of surface Pt atoms, the exchange current densities for the potential-independent Tafel―Volmer pathway, or two-site HOR pathway, decrease by about 10―50-fold compared to electrochemically cleaned Pt/VC films. Exchange current densities for the single-site, potential-dependent Heyrovsky―Volmer pathway decrease by comparable factors at the same levels of sulfur exposure. The potential-range constant γ increases in the presence of adsorbed S n . The exposure of Pt/VC to aqueous solutions of MPA, an organosulfur species, results in similarly diminished HOR exchange current densities at Pt/VC, as observed for Na 2 S exposure, but yields higher values of γ. The model is sufficiently sensitive to delineate the effects of different catalyst poisons on HOR kinetics at carbon-supported nanoscopic Pt.
Chapter 1 – Fundamentals

After introductory definitions and a review of commonly used mathematical operations, the various laws of thermodynamics are introduced in turn. In contrast to conventional treatments, elements of irreversible thermodynamics are applied at the outset, and distinctions are drawn between reversible and irreversible processes. Interrelations between the various thermodynamic functions are developed in a systematic manner and methods for their determination are developed. Considerable emphasis is placed on the proper interpretation of the entropy function. This chapter ends with a discussion of the stability of systems and methods of characterizing their fluctuations.
Human factors aspects of power system voltage contour visualizations

This paper presents experimental results associated with human-factors aspects of utilizing color contours to visualize electric power system bus voltage magnitude information. Participants were divided into three groups: the first group saw only one-line numeric data, the second only one-line contour data, while the third saw both. The purpose of the experiment was to determine how quickly participants could both acknowledge low voltage violations and perform corrective control actions. Results indicated the contour-only visualization resulted in the quickest voltage violation acknowledgments, while the numeric-data-only visualization resulted in the quickest solution times. Testing was done using a modified version of the IEEE 118 bus system.
Design of Radiation Tolerant Materials Via Interface Engineering

A novel interface engineering strategy is proposed to simultaneously achieve superior irradiation tolerance, high strength, and high thermal stability in bulk nanolayered composites of a model face-centered-cubic (Cu)/body-centered-cubic (Nb) system. By synthesizing bulk nanolayered Cu-Nb composites containing interfaces with controlled sink efficiencies, a novel material is designed in which nearly all irradiation-induced defects are annihilated.
Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of heteroaryl boronic acids and vinyl chlorides

A protocol for the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of heteroaryl boronic acids and vinyl chlorides that minimizes protodeboronation is described. A combination of catalytic amounts of Pd(OAc)2 and SPhos in conjunction with CsF in isopropanol effectively affords a variety of coupled products. Surprisingly, a dramatic temperature dependence in product selectivity was observed.
Tying in International Trade: Evidence on Countertrade

This paper provides an empirical analysis of countertrade based on 230 transactions whose details were collected from trading houses and firms involved in countertrade. Section 2 describes the data base and states the stylised facts of countertrade that need to be explained. Section 3 gives a critical review of the most frequent explanations of countertrade and confronts them with the data. In section 4 I examine whether evidence of the theoretical gains from tying trade flows can be found in the data. The potential gains from tying considered in this section are those generated by restoring price flexibility in the presence of some market distortions, and those generated by preventing contractual hazards associated with information asymmetry and ex-post bilateral monopoly. Section 5 discusses the implications of the findings of the paper for trade policy and the GATT. -Author
The Nature of Legal Change on the U.S. Supreme Court: Jurisprudential Regimes Theory and Its Alternatives

Jurisprudential regimes theory (JRT) posits that legal change on the U.S. Supreme Court occurs in a drastic, structural-break-like manner. Methodological debates present conflicting evidence for JRT, which has implications for the important law versus ideology debate. We confront this debate by first elaborating two alternative theoretical perspectives to JRT—evolutionary change and legal stability. Our analytical framework focuses on two key substantive effects of jurisprudential categories on the Court's case outcomes—relative differences between categories over multiple time periods and longitudinal differences across time periods. Importantly, different pieces of empirical evidence can provide support for different dynamic processes. The extent to which “law matters” is not necessarily tied to one particular model of legal change. Empirical analysis of updated and backdated free expression data generates key findings consistent with JRT, legal stability, and evolutionary change. We discuss the implications of the results for understanding legal change and legal influence
Supersymmetry and the nonlocal yangian deformation symmetry

In the quantized two-dimensional non-linear supersymmetric σ-model, the supercurrent supermultiplet, which contains the energy-momentum tensor, is transformed by the nonlocal symmetry of the model into the isospin current supermultiplet. This effect incorporates supersymmetry into the known infinite-dimensional Yangian deformation symmetry of plain σ-models, leads to precisely the same nontrivial extension of the two-dimensional super-Poincare group as found previously for the Poincare group, and thus determines the theory’s mass spectrum. A generalization to all higher-order nonlocal charges is conjectured such that their generating function, the so-called “master charge”, has a definite Lorentz spin which depends on the spectral parameter.
Characteristics of hollow glass microspheres as an insulating material and an opacifier

Thermal conductivity measurements were performed to determine the characteristics of hollow glass microspheres as an insulating material and as an opacifying agent for other insulations. The experiments were carried out with a radial flow heat transfer apparatus especially designed to suppress extraneous heat transfers, both internal and external to the heated section, and to provide uniform temperatures on the bounding surfaces. Three types of microsphere insulations were investigated, differing in bulk density and in the presence or absence of an aluminizing coating. The thermal conductivity of the microsphere insulations was found to be about one and a half times that of stagnant air over a wide temperature range. Additional experiments, involving the use of an opacifier (powdered silicon), demonstrated that radiative transfer has a minor effect on the thermal conductivity of microsphere insulations. This finding was corroborated by the fact that the high-temperature conductivity of the aluminized microspheres was not appreciably different from that of the uncoated microspheres. Another set of experiments was performed in which microsphere insulation was added to opacify silica aerogel, a fine powder insulation that is markedly affected by radiative transfer. The presence of the microspheres brought about reductions in conductivity of almost a factor ofmore » two at an optimum mixture ratio of the constituents. Furthermore, it was found that the conductivity of such a mixture was lower than that of either constituent, thereby illustrating their synergistic interaction.« less
An iterative method for solving Fredholm integral equations of the first kind

The purpose of this paper is to give a convergence analysis of the iterative scheme: u δ n = qu δ n−1 + (1 − q)T −1 a n K* f δ, u δ 0 = 0, where T := K*K, Ta := T + aI, q ∈ (0, 1), an := α0q n, α0 > 0, with finite-dimensional approximations of T and K* for solving stably Fredholm integral equations of the first kind with noisy data.
Comparative Testing of Experts

We show that a simple \reputation-style" test can always identify which of two experts is informed about the true distribution. The test presumes no prior knowledge of the true distribution, achieves any desired degree of precision in some xed nite time, and does not use \counterfactual" predictions. Our analysis capitalizes on a result due to Fudenberg and Levine (1992) on the rate of convergence of supermartingales. We use our setup to shed some light on the apparent paradox that a strategically motivated expert can ignorantly pass any test. We point out that this paradox arises because in the single-expert setting, any mixed strategy for Nature over distributions is reducible to a pure strategy. This eliminates any meaningful sense in which Nature can randomize. Comparative testing reverses the impossibility result because the presence of an expert who knows the realized distribution eliminates the reducibility of Nature’s compound lotteries.
Highly stable, ligand-clustered "patchy" micelle nanocarriers for systemic tumor targeting.

A novel linear-dendritic block copolymer has been synthesized and evaluated for targeted delivery. The use of the dendron as the micellar exterior block in this architecture allows the presentation of a relatively small quantity of ligands in clusters for enhanced targeting, thus maintaining a long circulation time of these “patchy” micelles. The polypeptide linear hydrophobic block drives formation of micelles that carry core-loaded drugs, and their unique design gives them an extremely high level of stability in vivo. We have found that these systems lead to extended time periods of increased accumulation in the tumor (up to 5 days) compared to non-targeted vehicles. We also demonstrate a 4x increase in efficacy of paclitaxel when delivered in the targeted nanoparticle systems, while significantly decreasing in vivo toxicity of the chemotherapy treatment.
Rules and Judicial Review

Judicial review of statutes on constitutional grounds is affected by a cluster of doctrinal practices that are generally accepted, but not very well explained, by the courts and not entirely consistent with each other. Courts usually judge statutes “as applied” rather than as written;See generally Michael C. Dorf, Facial Challenges to State and Federal Statutes, 46 STAN. L. REV. 235 (1994); Marc E. Isserles, Overcoming Overbreadth: Facial Challenges and the Valid Rule Requirement, 48 AM. U. L. REV. 359 (1998). they favor “severance” of valid applications of statutes from invalid or possibly invalid applications when possible;See generally Mark Movsesian, Severability in Statutes and Contracts, 30 GA. L. REV. 41 (1995); John Copeland Nagle, Severability, 72 N.C. L. REV. 203 (1993); Robert Stern, Separability and Separability Clauses in the Supreme Court, 51 HARV. L. REV. 76, 82–106 (1937). and they interpret statutes in ways that avoid constitutional difficulty.See generally Frederick Schauer, Ashwander Revisited, 1995 SUP. CT. REV. 71; Adrian Vermeule, Saving Constructions, 85 GEO. L.J. 1945 (1997). These overlapping practices presumably are intended to preserve legislation, and hence are associated with a modest conception of the role of courts in government. Yet they are not always modest in operation. Several commentators have equated the practices mentioned in the text to judicial revision of statutes. See Dorf, supra note 1, at 292–93 (severance results in a “judicially rewritten law”); Nagle, supra note 2, at 220 (the product of severance is “akin to a new statute”); Schauer, supra note 3, at 80–81 (narrowing construction is a form of “redrafting”).
Unstructured P2P link lifetimes redux

We revisit link lifetimes in random P2P graphs under dynamic node failure and create a unifying stochastic model that generalizes the majority of previous efforts in this direction. We not only allow nonexponential user lifetimes and age-dependent neighbor selection, but also cover both active and passive neighbor-management strategies, model the lifetimes of incoming and outgoing links, derive churn-related message volume of the system, and obtain the distribution of transient in/out degree at each user. We then discuss the impact of design parameters on overhead and resilience of the network.
Light quark spin-flavor symmetry for baryons containing a heavy quark in large N QCD

Abstract The couplings and interactions of baryons containing a heavy quark are related by light quark spin-flavor symmetry in the large N limit. The single pion coupling constant which determines all heavy quark baryon-pion couplings is equal to the pion coupling constant for light quark baryons. Light quark symmetry relations amongst the baryon couplings are violated at order 1 N 2 . Heavy quark spin-flavor symmetry is used in conjunction with large N light quark spin-flavor symmetry to determine the couplings of the degenerate doublets of heavy quark baryons.
A Noisy-Channel Model for Document Compression

We present a document compression system that uses a hierarchical noisy-channel model of text production. Our compression system first automatically derives the syntactic structure of each sentence and the overall discourse structure of the text given as input. The system then uses a statistical hierarchical model of text production in order to drop non-important syntactic and discourse constituents so as to generate coherent, grammatical document compressions of arbitrary length. The system outperforms both a baseline and a sentence-based compression system that operates by simplifying sequentially all sentences in a text. Our results support the claim that discourse knowledge plays an important role in document summarization.
Direct-Detection Optical Communication with Color Coded Pulse Position Modulation Signaling

The performance characteristics of a direct-detection optical communication system, in which a laser transmitter sends short optical pulses of selected nonoverlapping center frequencies, are analyzed. It is shown that this signaling scheme can be used in conjunction with ReedSolomon coding to obtain high data rate, reliable communication under conditions of optimal energy efficiency.
DEMAND FOR AND REGULATION OF CARDIAC SERVICES

Centralization of cardiac services can increase hospital surgery volumes and decrease access for patients. This study estimates the effects of changes in the regulation of cardiac services on treatments, mortality, and utility. Demand for surgery services by heart attack victims who form expectations of the need for and productivity of surgery in their choice of hospital and treatment is estimated. The results indicate that mortality and ex ante utility are insensitive to moderate changes in policy: Changes in surgery volume and travel costs offset one another. Despite similar health outcomes, the competing policies have different implications for taxpayers.
Recovering from the Global Financial Crisis: Achieving Financial Stability in Times of Uncertainty

Why are some global financial crises more difficult to recover from and overcome than others? What steps are necessary in ensuring that financial stability and recovery is facilitated? What kind of environment has the previous financial environment evolved to and what kind of financial products have also contributed to greater vulnerability in the triggering of systemic risks? These are amongst some of the questions which this book attempts to address. In highlighting the role and importance of various actors in post crises reforms and the huge impacts certain factors and products have contributed in exacerbating the magnitude and speed of transmission of financial contagion, it also provides an insight into why global financial crises have become more complicated to address than was previously the case. As well as considering and highlighting why matters related to pro cyclicality and capital measures should not constitute the sole focus of attention of the G20's initiatives, the book is aimed at identifying other important issues such as liquidity risks and requirements which have constituted, to a large extent, the focus of international standard setters and regulators. It also aims to direct regulators, central bank officials and supervisors, academics, business and legal professionals and other relevant interested parties in the field to current and previously ignored issues such as the "cartelisation" of capital markets. The need and concern for increased regulation of bond, equity markets, as well as other complex financial instruments which can be traded in OTC (Over-the-Counter) derivatives markets is evidenced by Basel III's focus. "Cartelisation" and organised activities relating to rate rigging in global capital markets have been evidenced recently by sophisticated EURIBOR and LIBOR rate rigging practices and occurences. The aims and objectives of the book would not be complete by merely identifying and highlighting the general root causes of global financial crises, and current issues to be focussed on. Hence each chapter will also recommend (as well as highlight) measures which should be (and have been) put forward in order to address the issues and factors which contribute to the magnitude and severity of global financial crises.
Holographic embeddings of knowledge graphs

Learning embeddings of entities and relations is an efficient and versatile method to perform machine learning on relational data such as knowledge graphs. In this work, we propose holographic embeddings (HOLE) to learn compositional vector space representations of entire knowledge graphs. The proposed method is related to holographic models of associative memory in that it employs circular correlation to create compositional representations. By using correlation as the compositional operator, HOLE can capture rich interactions but simultaneously remains efficient to compute, easy to train, and scalable to very large datasets. Experimentally, we show that holographic embeddings are able to outperform state-of-the-art methods for link prediction on knowledge graphs and relational learning benchmark datasets.
Phase transition of multivariate polynomial systems

A random multivariate polynomial system with more equations than variables is likely to be unsolvable. On the other hand, if there are more variables than equations, the system has at least one solution with high probability. In this paper we study in detail the phase transition between these two regimes, which occurs when the number of equations equals the number of variables. In particular, the limiting probability for no solution is 1/e at the phase transition, over a prime field. We also study the probability of having exactly s solutions, with s ≥ 1. In particular, the probability of a unique solution is asymptotically 1/e if the number of equations equals the number of variables. The probability decreases very rapidly if the number of equations increases or decreases. Our motivation is that many cryptographic systems can be expressed as large multivariate polynomial systems (usually quadratic) over a finite field. Since decoding is unique, the solution of the system must also be unique. Knowing the probability of having exactly one solution may help us to understand more about these cryptographic systems. For example, whether attacks should be evaluated by trying them against random systems depends very much on the likelihood of a unique solution.
Degree-1 mantle convection and the crustal dichotomy on Mars

The surface of Mars consists of an old, heavily cratered and elevated southern hemisphere and younger, resurfaced and depressed northern hemisphere, a feature often termed the crustal dichotomy. The global crustal structure [Zuber et al., 2000] revealed by topography and gravity data from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, and the possible late formation of the boundary zone between the hemispheres [McGill and Dimitriou, 1990], have been proposed to indicate an endogenic origin for the dichotomy. However, degree-1 mantle convection that is required for any endogenic process to be viable cannot be produced with conventional mantle convection models [Schubert et al., 1990]. We have studied the role of radially stratified viscosity on mantle deformation by using Rayleigh^Taylor instability analyses in a spherical shell geometry. Our analyses reveal that when mantle viscosity is stratified with a weak asthenosphere, deformation at long wavelengths is more efficient than that at short wavelengths. The weaker the asthenosphere, the longer the wavelength at which the deformation is the most efficient. A thicker asthenosphere also favors the deformation at long wavelengths. Both the Rayleigh^Taylor instability analyses and numerical modeling of mantle convection show that degree-1 convection can be produced within the Martian mantle provided that the mantle had a weak asthenosphere (V500 km thick and V10 2 times weaker than the underlying mantle) early in planetary history. The degree-1 convection causes preferential heating of one hemisphere that may explain the primary features associated with the dichotomy in crustal structure. fl 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
The Methodology of Empirical Macroeconomics

1. Some methodological problems in macroeconomics 2. Are there macroeconomic laws? 3. Does macroeconomics need microfoundations? 4. Causality in macroeconomics 5. Pragmatism, realism, and the practice of macroeconomics.
Pressure and motion of dry sand: translation of Hagen’s paper from 1852

In a remarkable paper from 1852, Gotthilf Heinrich Ludwig Hagen measured and explained two fundamental aspects of granular matter: The first effect is the saturation of pressure with depth in a static granular system confined by silo walls – generally known as the Janssen effect. The second part of his paper describes the dynamics observed during the flow out of the container – today often called the Beverloo law – and forms the foundation of the hourglass theory. A translation of the original 1852 paper is presented after a brief introduction.
Integrality gaps of linear and semi-definite programming relaxations for Knapsack

In this paper, we study the integrality gap of the Knapsack linear program in the Sherali-Adams and Lasserre hierarchies. First, we show that an integrality gap of 2 - e persists up to a linear number of rounds of Sherali-Adams, despite the fact that Knapsack admits a fully polynomial time approximation scheme [24, 30]. Second, we show that the Lasserre hierarchy closes the gap quickly. Specifically, after t rounds of Lasserre, the integrality gap decreases to t/(t - 1). This answers the open question in [9]. Also, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first positive result that uses more than a small number of rounds in the Lasserre hierarchy. Our proof uses a decomposition theorem for the Lasserre hierarchy, which may be of independent interest.
Copper-ammonia mediated oxidation of carbonyl compounds

Abstract Copper(II) in aqueous NH4OH, in most cases in conjunction with O2 or K2S2O8 as auxiliary oxidant, induces oxidative cleavage of ketones to nitriles when there is a good carbon electrofuge; for unactivated ketones, the main reaction observed is oxidative coupling of ketimines to give azines. If R′ = poor electrofuge, oxidative coupling to RR′ C=N-N=CRR′ can occur.
Modeling Yeah- and Nay-Saying to Alternatives in Conjoint Experiments

Using a series of hurdle choice models, this study considers both nay-saying and yeah-saying to alternatives offered in a conjoint experiment. These behaviors are characterized by respondents persistently choosing the no-choice alternative or choosing at least one of the non-empty options offered in a survey. Results show that jointly consider nay-saying and yeah-saying in a two-hurdle model drastically improves model fit; welfare implications based on hurdle models are also different from those based on models without hurdle specification.
Trajectory optimization by a direct descent process.

Trajectory optimization by descent process using hybrid computer for direct cost gradient computation
Analysis and experimental evaluation of rate adaptation with transmit buffer information

In hardware, packet loss may happen due to overflow at a finite-depth transmit buffer in addition to the packet corruption in the channel. To reduce such losses and further improve spectral efficiency via rate selection, we exploit either statistical or instantaneous knowledge of transmit buffer occupancy and source packet distribution in IEEE 802.11-based systems, which have highly variable frame durations. We consider a traditional method of rate adaptation based on channel quality information and evaluate the throughput gain in hardware when the buffer occupancy and source packet distribution information are known. Our optimization objective is to maximize the throughput with constant transmit power since most wireless standards (e.g., 802.11, Bluetooth, ZigBee) operate in this manner. We study both cases with and without probe packets during the transmission. By evaluating the effect of diverse buffer sizes with different packet arrival distributions, both our theoretical analysis and our experimental results show that the throughput can be improved as much as 35% when the source packet distribution and buffer status information are exploited.
Malignancy arising in seminal vesicles in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) model.

BACKGROUND Transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) mice, derived by prostate specific expression of SV40 large T antigen using the rat probasin promoter, all develop prostate tumors akin to human prostate cancers. More recently, epithelial–stromal (ES) tumors resembling phyllodes tumors have been described in the seminal vesicles of TRAMP mice. We report malignancy arising in these ES tumors of the seminal vesicles in TRAMP mice. METHODS H&E stained sections from 28-week-old TRAMP mice autopsies were examined. Immunostains (cytokeratin, vimentin, desmin, and MIB-1) and electron microscopy were performed on selected blocks of the genitourinary system and metastatic tumor nodules. RESULTS The seminal vesicles frequently develop tumors containing broad papillae, with bland epithelium and a cellular spindled stroma just beneath the epithelium. The stromal cells have high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio, frequent apoptotic cells and mitoses. In some cases, the stromal cells become large mass lesions that overgrow the prostate. The epithelium can also proliferate and become malignant. The tumors have high proliferation indices by MIB-1. Some metastatic tumors have characteristics similar to the seminal vesicle ES tumor. CONCLUSIONS Metastatic tumors in TRAMP mice show three patterns: (1) A definite adenocarcinoma pattern metastatic from the prostate; (2) poorly differentiated tumor without epithelial differentiation; (3) carcinosarcomatous pattern. The carcinosarcomatous pattern and some of the poorly differentiated tumors likely arise from seminal vesicle ES tumors. Prostate 69: 755–760, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
UPPER LIMIT TO THE DISTANCE TO THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD

We remeasure the "" light echo II times to the near and far side of the ring around SN 1987A using the method of Gould and the new reductions of the original UV spectra by Sonneborn et al. Under the assumption that the ring is circular, we obtain an upper limit to the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud This result is very close to GouldIs original value and contradicts claims that k LMC \ 18.37 ^ 0.04. the new spectra measurements lead to a signi-cant increase in the distance estimate and a substantial increase in the statistical errors. We present new evidence (partly provided by A. P. S. Crotts) that the ring is intrinsically elliptical with axis ratio b/a D 0.95. For an elliptical ring, We k LMC \ 18.44 ^ 0.05. elaborate on GouldIs original argument that the upper limit is robust, i.e., that it is only weakly sensitive to unmodeled aspects of the ring such as its hydrodynamic properties and ionization history. Subject headings: galaxies: distances and redshifts E Magellanic Clouds E supernovae: individual (SN 1987A)
The Size of Countries: Does It Matter?

Borders are a man-made institution, and as such their shape cannot be taken as part of the physical landscape. The size of countries is endogenous to politico-economic forces. This paper discusses recent efforts by economists to study three related questions: What determines the evolution of the size of countries? Does size matter for economic success? Given the trend toward decentralization and of creation of supernational unions such as the EU, is the meaning of national borders evolving? (JEL: H10)
Patagifer lamothein. sp. (Digenea: Echinostomatidae: Nephrostominae) from the white ibis Eudocimus albus (Threskiornithidae) from Texas, USA. Patagifer lamothei n. sp. (Digenea: Echinostomatidae: Nephrostominae) del ibis blanco Eudocimus albus (Threkiornithidae) de Texas, EUA

During a study of the endohelminths of wading birds from the Texas Gulf coast, 12 specimens of an undescribed species of Patagifer Dietz, 1909 (Echinostomatidae: Nephrostominae) were collected from 2 of 8 white ibis, Eudocimus albus (Linnaeus) (Threskiornithidae), from the Galveston and Brazos County areas of Texas, USA. Patagifer lamothei n. sp. can be distinguished from P. bilobus (Rudolphi, 1819), P. brygooi Richard, 1964, P. consimilis Dietz, 1909, and P. fraternus Johnston, 1917, where the testes are close together (contiguous to nearly contiguous), the ovary is close to the anterior testis (a distance that is less than the length of the ovary), and the posttesticular space is less extensive, by having the testes separated from each other by a distance approximately equal to or greater than the length of the ovary, the ovary positioned about the length or longer of the ovary from the anterior testis, and by having a more extensive posttesticular space. In addition, the ovary of the new species is located just ahead of midbody rather than being at midbody, as is seen in P. bilobus, P. fraternus, and P. vioscai Lumsden, 1962, or below midbody, as is the case in P. brygooi and P. consimilis. The new species is most like P. simarai Nigam, 1944 in the similar distance between testes, position of the ovary, and the posttesticular space (30-36% of the body length). The new species differs from P. simarai by having a smaller body size, a smaller oral sucker and pharynx, a smaller acetabulum, ovary, testes, cirrus sac, and smaller spines on the margin of the collar, but larger corner spines, and the ovary of the new species is located immediately anterior to the midbody, while in P. simarai it is located well ahead of the midbody.
Wyner-Ziv coding based on TCQ and LDPC codes

This paper considers trellis coded quantization (TCQ) and low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes for the quadratic Gaussian Wyner-Ziv coding problem. After TCQ of the source X, LDPC codes are used to implement Slepian-Wolf coding of the quantized source Q(X) with side information Y at the decoder. Assuming 256-state TCQ and ideal Slepian-Wolf coding in the sense of achieving the theoretical limit H(Q(X)|Y ), we experimentally show that Slepian-Wolf coded TCQ performs 0.2 dB away from the Wyner-Ziv distortion-rate function DWZ(R) at high rate. This result mirrors that of entropy-constrained TCQ in classic source coding of Gaussian sources. Furthermore, using 8,192-state TCQ and assuming ideal Slepian-Wolf coding, our simulations show that Slepian-Wolf coded TCQ performs only 0.1 dB away from DWZ(R) at high rate. These results establish the practical performance limit of Slepian-Wolf coded TCQ for quadratic Gaussian Wyner-Ziv coding. Practical designs give performance very close to the theoretical limit. For example, with 8,192-state TCQ, irregular LDPC codes for Slepian-Wolf coding and optimal non-linear estimation at the decoder, our performance gap to DWZ(R) is 0.20 dB, 0.22 dB, 0.30 dB, and 0.93 dB at 3.83 bit per sample (b/s), 1.83 b/s, 1.53 b/s, and 1.05 b/s, respectively. When 256-state 4-D trellis-coded vector quantization instead of TCQ is employed, the performance gap to DWZ(R) is 0.51 dB, 0.51 dB, 0.54 dB, and 0.80 dB at 2.04 b/s, 1.38 b/s, 1.0 b/s, and 0.5 b/s, respectively.
A Faster Strongly Polynomial Minimum Cost Flow Algorithm

In this paper, we present a new strongly polynomial time algorithm for the minimum cost flow problem, based on a refinement of the Edmonds-Karp scaling technique. Our algorithm solves the uncapacitated minimum cost flow problem as a sequence of On log n shortest path problems on networks with n nodes and m arcs and runs in On log nm + n log n time. Using a standard transformation, this approach yields an Om log nm + n log n algorithm for the capacitated minimum cost flow problem. This algorithm improves the best previous strongly polynomial time algorithm, due to Z. Galil and E. Tardos, by a factor of n2/m. Our algorithm for the capacitated minimum cost flow problem is even more efficient if the number of arcs with finite upper bounds, say m', is much less than m. In this case, the running time of the algorithm is Om' + n log nm + n log n.
Corrosion control methods in supercritical water oxidation and gasification processes

Use of supercritical water (SCW) as a medium for oxidation reactions, conversion of organic materials to gaseous or liquid products, and for organic and inorganic synthesis processes, has been the subject of extensive research, development, and some commercial activity for over 25 years. A key aspect of the technology concerns the identification of materials, component designs, and operating techniques suitable for handling the moderately high temperatures and pressures and aggressive environments present in many SCW processes. Depending upon the particular application, or upon the particular location within a single process, the SCW process environment may be oxidizing, reducing, acidic, basic, nonionic, or highly ionic. Thus, it is difficult to find any one material or design that can withstand the effects of all feed types under all conditions. Nevertheless, several approaches have been developed to allow successful continuous processing with sufficient corrosion resistance for an acceptable period of time. The present paper reviews the experience to date for methods of corrosion control in the two most prevalent SCW processing applications: supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) and supercritical water gasification (SCWG).
Predicting Preference Flips in Commerce Search

Traditional approaches to ranking in web search follow the paradigm of rank-by-score: a learned function gives each query-URL combination an absolute score and URLs are ranked according to this score. This paradigm ensures that if the score of one URL is better than another then one will always be ranked higher than the other. Scoring contradicts prior work in behavioral economics that preference between items depends not only on the items but also on the presented alternatives. Thus, for the same query, preference between items A and B may depend on the presence or absence of item C. We propose a new model of ranking, the Random Shopper Model, that allows and explains such behavior. In this model, each feature is viewed as a Markov chain over the items to be ranked, and the goal is to find a weighting of the features that best reects their importance. We show that our model can be learned under the empirical risk minimization framework, and give an efficient learning algorithm. Experiments on commerce search logs demonstrate that our algorithm outperforms scoring-based approaches including regression and listwise ranking.
Information fusion with belief functions: A comparison of proportional conflict redistribution PCR5 and PCR6 rules for networked sensors

We compare several belief fusion methods, including the proportional conflict redistribution rules (PCR5 and PCR6) for multiple sources. The PCR fusion of evidence methods have shown improvement over the classical Dempster-Shafer and Bayesian fusion techniques in the presence of conflicting information. The PCR6 rule shows improvement over PCR5 when the number of sources increases. Using Hasse graphical diagrams, we highlight the comparison between the methods. To our knowledge, this is the first such comparison between PCR5 and PCR6 with more than two sources. The results point toward a transition between PCR5 and PCR6 at three sources.
Reading and math achievement profiles and longitudinal growth trajectories of children with an autism spectrum disorder

This study examined the reading and math achievement profiles and longitudinal growth trajectories of a nationally representative sample of children ages 6 through 9 with an autism spectrum disorder. Four distinct achievement profiles were identified: higher-achieving (39%), hyperlexia (9%), hypercalculia (20%) and lower-achieving (32%). Children with hypercalculia and lower-achieving profiles were more likely to be from low socioeconomic families and had lower functional cognitive skills than the higher-achieving profile. All four profiles lost ground in passage comprehension over time. Slower improvement occurred for the higher-achieving group on letter–word identification, the hyperlexia group on conversation abilities and the hypercalculia group on calculation and functional cognitive skills relative to the lower-achieving group.
An attempt to do without dark matter.

: The discrepancy between dynamical mass measures of objects such as galaxies and the observed distribution of luminous matter in the universe is typically explained by invoking an unseen “dark matter” component. Dark matter must necessarily be nonbaryonic. We introduce a simple hypothesis to do away with the necessity for dark matter by introducing an additional nongravitational force coupled to baryon number as a charge. We compare this hypothesis to Milgrom's modified Newtonian dynamics. The model ultimately fails when confronted with observation, but it fails in an interesting way.
A Doubly Axially Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalyst for the Asymmetric Tandem Oxyfluorination of Enamides

The selective construction of carbon–fluorine bonds is of great interest to medicinal chemists because the replacement of a carbon–hydrogen bond with a carbon–fluorine bond continues to be an effective approach to the development of biologically active molecules with improved physical and metabolic profiles and biological activities. To this end, a number of impressive examples of catalytic enantioselective fluorination have been reported over the last decade. Our laboratory has recently introduced a novel strategy for asymmetric fluorination based on phase-transfer catalysis using chiral anionic catalysts based on BINOL-derived phosphates [Eq. (1)]. Motivated by the importance of the
Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness

To make progress on the problem of consciousness, we have to confront it directly. In this paper, I first isolate the truly hard part of the problem, separating it from more tractable parts and giving an account of why it is so difficult to explain. I critique some recent work that uses reductive methods to address consciousness, and argue that such methods inevitably fail to come to grips with the hardest part of the problem. Once this failure is recognized, the door to further progress is opened. In the second half of the paper, I argue that if we move to a new kind of nonreductive explanation, a naturalistic account of consciousness can be given. I put forward my own candidate for such an account: a nonreductive theory based on principles of structural coherence and organizational invariance, and a double-aspect theory of information.