cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
QUANTIFYING THE EFFECTS OF JOB MATCHING THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS

The recent literature explains the theoretical implications of the matching of workers to jobs through social networks. These insights are obtained for extremely simplified economies or rely on unrealistically simple social networks. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a sense for the quantitative importance of effects generated by real life social networks. In this paper, I augment a labor market matching model to allow for information transmission through social networks. I illustrate the effects of social networks and I use simulations to quantify the predictions of the model for complex and realistic social networks. Information transmission through social contacts reduces the steady state unemployment rate from a hypothetical 6.5% to 5%. Social referrals can explain 1/5th of the observed duration dependence of unemployment. They cannot explain much of the variation in wages of otherwise homogeneous workers and do not substantially influence aggregate outcomes over the business cycle.
Impacts of China's Accession to the World Trade Organization

This article presents estimates of the impact of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). China is estimated to be the biggest beneficiary (US$31 billion a year from trade reforms in preparation for accession and additional gains of $10 billion a year from reforms after accession), followed by its major trading partners that also undertake liberalization, including the economies in North America, Western Europe, and Taiwan (China). Accession will boost manufacturing sectors in China, especially textiles and apparel, which will benefit directly from the removal of export quotas. Developing economies competing with China in third markets may suffer small losses. Accession will have important distributional consequences for China, with the wages of skilled and unskilled nonfarm workers rising in real terms and relative to those of farm workers. Possible policy changes, including reductions in barriers to labor mobility and improvements in rural education, could more than offset these negative impacts and facilitate the development of China's economy.
A reconfigurable VLSI architecture for a database processor

This work brings together the processing potential offered by regularly structured VLSI processing units and the architecture of a database processor---the Relational Associative Processor (RAP). The main motivations are to integrate a RAP cell processor on a few VLSI chips and improve performance by employing procedures exploiting these VLSI chips and the system level reconfigurability of processing resources. The resulting VLSI database processor consists of parallel processing cells that can be reconfigured into a large processor to execute the hard operations of projection and semijoin efficiently. It is shown that such a configuration can provide 2 to 3 orders of magnitude of performance improvement over previous implementations of the RAP system in the execution of such operations.
Exploring the Locus of Profitable Pollution Reduction

In this paper, we explore the locus of profitable pollution reduction. We propose that managers underestimate the full value of some means of pollution reduction and so under exploit these means. Based on evidence from previous studies, we argue that waste prevention often provides unexpected innovation offsets, and that onsite waste treatment often provides unexpected cost. We use statistical methods to test the direction and significance of the relationship between the various means of pollution reduction and profitability. We find strong evidence that waste prevention leads to financial gain, but we find no evidence that firms profit from reducing pollution by other means. Indeed, we find evidence that the bene fits of waste prevention alone are responsible for the observed association between lower emissions and profitability.
Strong Visible Photoluminescence in Silicon Nitride Thin Films Deposited at High Rates

Amorphous silicon nitrogen alloy (a-Si:Nx) thin films have been deposited using a novel hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique. In this method, a hot tungsten filament is used to decompose ammonia to obtain highly reactive nitrogen precursor species which further react with disilane to form silicon nitride thin films. This allows for very high deposition rates ranging from 600 A/min to 2500 A/min at low substrate temperatures. These films deposited at high rates show strong photoluminescence (PL) at room temperature in the visible region when excited with the 457 nm line of Ar + ion laser. Intrinsic defects introduced into the amorphous silicon nitride matrix due to the rapid deposition rates seem to give rise to the visible PL. The PL intensity is at least 8-10 times stronger than silicon nitride films deposited by conventional plasma enhanced CVD. PL peak position of this broad luminescence was varied in the visible region by changing the film stoichiometry (Si/N ratio). The PL peak energy also scales predictably with the refractive index and optical band gap of the films. These samples showed reversible PL fatigue and also have band edge tail states characteristic of amorphous materials.
Triple-Push Operation for Combined Oscillation/Divison Functionality in Millimeter-Wave Frequency Synthesizers

This paper proposes the use of N-push operation for combining the functions of the VCO and divider in the mm-wave frequency range. If employed in a PLL, the combined VCO/divider (C-VCO/D) would potentially provide wider tuning range than traditional mm-wave PLLs employing injection locked frequency dividers, thus exploiting the full range available in the 60 GHz band (57 GHz-64 GHz). The behavior of triple push oscillators based on injection locking theory is analyzed to study their various oscillation modes, their stability and the effect of mismatch on the oscillator performance. Design guidelines are provided for boosting the third harmonic power at a given power budget. Using 130 nm IBM CMOS technology, multiple versions of the triple push oscillator are implemented and characterized. A 55 GHz-65 GHz tuning range is obtained using a 206 pH tank inductance and requires Icore = 20 mA, and Ibuffer = 15 mA from a 1.4 V supply. For a tank inductance of 140 pH, a 63.2 GHz-72.4 GHz tuning range is obtained using Icore = 17 mA, and Ibuffer = 18 mA with a phase noise of -91 dBc/Hz at 10 MHz from the 63.2 GHz carrier and -95 dBc/Hz at 10 MHz from the 72.4 GHz carrier.
Do Consumers Respond to Marginal or Average Price? Evidence from Nonlinear Electricity Pricing

Nonlinear pricing and taxation complicate economic decisions by creating multiple marginal prices for the same good. This paper provides a framework to uncover consumers’ perceived price of nonlinear price schedules. I exploit price variation at spatial discontinuities in electricity service areas, where households in the same city experience substantially different nonlinear pricing. Using household-level panel data from administrative records, I find strong evidence that consumers respond to average price rather than marginal or expected marginal price. This suboptimizing behavior makes nonlinear pricing unsuccessful in achieving its policy goal of energy conservation and critically changes the welfare implications of nonlinear pricing. (JEL D12, L11, L94, L98, Q41)
The U-tube: A New Paradigm for Borehole Fluid Sampling

Fluid samples from deep boreholes can provide insights into subsurface physical, chemical, and biological conditions. Recovery of intact, minimally altered aliquots of subsurface fluids is required for analysis of aqueous chemistry, isotopic composition, and dissolved gases, and for microbial community characterization. Unfortunately, for many reasons, collecting geofluids poses a number of challenges, from formation contamination by drilling to maintaining integrity during recovery from depths. Not only are there substantial engineering issues in retrieval of a representative sample, but there is often the practical reality that fluid sampling is just one of many activities planned for deep boreholes. The U-tube geochemical sampling system presents a new paradigm for deep borehole fluid sampling. Because the system is small, its ability to integrate with other measurement systems and technologies opens up numerous possibilities for multifunctional integrated wellbore completions. To date, the U-tube has been successfully deployed at four different field sites, each with a different deployment modality, at depths from 260 m to 2 km. While the U-tube has proven to be highly versatile, these installations have resulted in data that provide additional insights for improving future U-tube deployments.
Amplifying circuit lower bounds against polynomial time, with applications

We give a self-reduction for the Circuit Evaluation problem (CircEval) and prove the following consequences.
The Moderating Role of Competition in the Relationship between Nonfinancial Measures and Future Financial Performance

The use of nonfinancial measures in management control systems of firms has generated considerable interest among practitioners as well as researchers. The principal rationale presented to justify the use of nonfinancial measures for performance evaluation has been that nonfinancial measures are leading indicators of financial performance (Kaplan and Norton 1992; Ittner and Larcker 1998b). Most studies that have examined the relationship between nonfinancial measures and financial performance have shown mixed results (Ittner and Larcker 1998a; Banker, Potter, and Srinivasan 2000; Amir and Lev 1996). The mixed results suggest that these relationships may be contextual (Kaplan and Norton 1992; Ittner and Larcker 1998b), which makes it important to understand the factors that moderate these relationships before using them in managerial decision making and incorporating them in management control systems. Lambert (1998) argues that customer purchasing behavior is affected by characteristics of the economic environment such as the level of competition. In this study we extend this argument to show that unless we recognize the competitive environment of business units we cannot understand the true relation between nonfinancial measures and financial performance. Emphasizing nonfinancial measures may make sense in locations with high levels of competition. However, the same may not be true where competition is limited and fewer choices exist for customers to shop and employees to work. This is because the lack of competition may result in higher switching costs for customers and employees who may need to travel a greater distance to transact with a new supplier or employer.1 We assess whether, and under what competitive conditions, the reporting of nonfinancial measures such as employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction is
Allocation of shelf space: A case study of refrigerated juice products in grocery stores

The results of this study show how shelf space can be allocated between products in a profit maximizing framework. Cross sectional data were analyzed to determine whether orange juice might have less than optimal shelf space. Estimates of product demands indicate that cross-facings-per-store effects were insignificant; and, hence, only own-facings-per-store effects were used in the analysis. Results indicate that orange juice's actual share of department facings of 51% is less than its optimal share of department facings that range from 80 to 61.6% based on alternative markup assumptions. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Experimental and numerical nonequilibrium flow studies

Experimental and numerical studies of the nonequilibrium shock layer around cones in hypersonic pure oxygen flows are reported. Experimental conditions are such that rotational, vibrational, and dissociation relaxation occur simultaneously. Attention is given to the effect of coupled relaxation on the flow properties in the shock layer. The phenomenological models of Hammerling et al., and Treanor and Marrone predict the flowfield qualitatively correct. However, quantitative differences in shock geometry and density distribution are appreciable. Better quantitative agreement with experiment is reached if in these models a temperature dependent efficiency of C>2 and O in the relaxation processes is assumed.
Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of Carbon‐Coated Nanoparticles

Abstract In the present work, microstructure and superparamagnetic properties of two types of carbon‐coated magnetic Ni and Fe nanoparticles [Ni(C) and Fe(C)] are reviewed. High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), electron diffraction (SAED), and x‐ray diffraction (XRD) analyses have been used to reveal the distinct structural morphologies of Ni and Fe nanoparticles. Moreover, novel carbon‐coated Ni nanoparticle assemblies offer us great opportunities for studying the mechanism of superparamagnetism in particle assemblies. Magnetization measurements [M(T) and M(H) curves] for assemblies of Ni nanoparticles indicate that modified superparamagnetic properties at T > T B, have been found in the assemblies of Ni(C) particles. The blocking temperature, T B, is determined to be near 115K under a certain applied field. Above T B, the magnetization M(H, T) can be described by the classical Langevin function L using the relation, M/M s (T = 0) = coth (μH/kT) − kT/μH. It is suggested that these ass...
Gain saturation in Nd:doped laser materials

Saturation of gain in Nd:doped silicate, phosphate, and fluorophosphate glasses, and in doped crystals of YAG and YLF was observed during amplification of 1064 and 1053 nm pulses with durations of 1.0, 9.0, and 50 ns. Saturation fluences were computed from measured external parameters by means of the Frantz-Nodvik model for a homogeneous amplifier. The resulting values of saturation fluence increase with increasing output fluence and were only slightly greater at 50 ns than at 1 ns, suggesting that the lower level lifetime is less than 1 ns.
Physics of thermal QCD

Abstract We give a review of modern theoretical understanding of the physics of QCD at finite temperature. Three temperature regions are studied in detail. When the temperature is low, the system presents a rarefied pion gas. Its thermodynamic and kinetic properties are adequately described by chiral perturbation theory. When the temperature is increased, other than pion degrees of freedom are excited, the interaction between the particles in the heat bath becomes strong, and the chiral theory is not applicable anymore. At some point T = Tc a phase transition is believed to occur. The physics of the transitional region is discussed in details. The dynamics and the very existence of this phase transition strongly depends on the nature of the gauge group, the number of light quark flavors, and on the value of quark masses. If the quarks are very heavy, the order parameter associated with the phase transition is the correlator of Polyakov loops 〈P ∗ ( x )P(0)〉 T related to the static potential between heavy colored sources. When the quark masses are small, the proper order parameter is the quark condensate 〈qq〉T and the phase transition is associated with the restoration of the chiral symmetry. Its dynamics is best understood in the framework of the instanton liquid model. Theoretical estimates and some numerical lattice measurements indicate that the phase transition probably does not occur for the experimentally observed values of quark masses. We have instead a very sharp crossover, “almost” a second-order phase transition. At high temperatures T > μhadr the system is adequately described in terms of quark and gluon degrees of freedom and presents the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Static and kinetic properties of QGP are discussed. A particular attention is payed to the problem of physical observability, i.e. the physical meaningfulness of various characteristics of QGP discussed in the literature.
Going Public without Governance: Managerial Reputation Effects

This paper addresses the agency problem between controlling shareholders and minority shareholders. This problem is common among public firms in many countries where the legal system does not effectively protect minority shareholders against oppression by controlling shareholders. We show that even without any explicit corporate governance mechanisms protecting minority shareholders, controlling shareholders can implicitly commit not to expropriate them. Stock prices of such companies are significantly higher and firms are more likely go public because of this reputation effect. Moreover, insiders divest shares gradually over time, at a rate that is negatively related to the degree of moral hazard. RECENT EMPIRICAL RESEARCH INDICATES THAT in many countries the relevant corporate finance issue is not the traditional agency problem between management and shareholders, but rather the agency problem between the controlling shareholders and the minority shareholders. This problem may arise in some countries for two reasons: ~1! the corporate governance structure of public companies insulates large shareholders—that is, those with a majority of the votes and often with an involvement in the firm’s management—from takeover threats or monitoring; 1 and ~2! the legal system does not protect minority shareholders because of either poor laws or poor enforcement of laws. 2 Despite the lack of protection for minority shareholders, the average ratio of stock market capitalization held by minorities to gross national product is greater than 40 percent in a sample of 49 countries. 3 This raises the question of why people are willing to be minority shareholders when they know
Dynamic and static characterization of compact crack arrest tests of navy and nuclear steels

Abstract Recent experimental and computational work by Link and associates has demonstrated that relatively small (W = 150 mm) single edge notched tension specimens (SE(T)) can be used to obtain crack arrest data high in the ductile-to-brittle transition of ferritic structural steel using dynamic computational techniques if a thermal gradient is utilized to aid in the crack arrest. Testing has been reported on two important navy structural steels that clearly defines the relative capability of the two materials to arrest rapidly growing cracks. The HY100 material demonstrated the expected large difference between the initiation and crack arrest toughnesses which has made it impossible in the past to measure crack arrest toughness for this material using the standard ASTM procedure (E1221). The HSLA-100 steel, however demonstrated a much higher crack arrest toughness and a correspondingly smaller drop in toughness below the initiation toughness. This small difference between initiation toughness and arrest toughness suggested that the E1221 procedure, using wedge loaded, compact crack arrest (CCA) specimens would be applicable to this material. Two important issues could then be investigated using this material. First, having completed the expensive and relatively complex testing of the SE(T) specimens using tensile loading and a thermal gradient, a second, quite different geometry could be tested using the E1221 procedure, allowing an important comparison between the crack arrest measurements made using these two distinct geometries. Historically, obtaining crack arrest results using one test configuration has been so difficult, that there have been very few reports of results for the same material using two different test geometries. Transferability of the laboratory results to structural applications has thus been a matter of conjecture. Furthermore, if the E1221 CCA specimens were strain gaged to obtain crack velocity data, and analyzed using the dynamic computational procedure used by Link on the SE(T) specimens, it would be possible to compare the results the E1221 static analysis with the results of the dynamic computation procedure to determine the degree of conservatism present in the E1221 standard procedure. The results of this work have shown that the crack arrest toughness results obtained on these two specimen geometries are similar and hence insensitive to the test geometry and the difference resulting from the application of the complex dynamic computational procedure or the E1221 static analyses is small.
Phonon Bottleneck in Graphene-Based Josephson Junctions at Millikelvin Temperatures

We examine the nature of the transitions between the normal and superconducting branches in superconductor-graphene-superconductor Josephson junctions. We attribute the hysteresis between the switching (superconducting to normal) and retrapping (normal to superconducting) transitions to electron overheating. In particular, we demonstrate that the retrapping current corresponds to the critical current at an elevated temperature, where the heating is caused by the retrapping current itself. The superconducting gap in the leads suppresses the hot electron outflow, allowing us to further study electron thermalization by phonons at low temperatures ($T\ensuremath{\lesssim}1\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{K}$). The relationship between the applied power and the electron temperature was found to be $P\ensuremath{\propto}{T}^{3}$, which we argue is consistent with cooling due to electron-phonon interactions.
Stability of Legionella urinary antigens over time

Twenty-two urine samples positive for Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 antigen by EQUATE radioimmunoassay (RIA) (Binax, Portland, ME, USA) were stored at various temperatures and the RIA repeated at 1, 7, 30, 90, and 120 days to evaluate stability of the urinary antigens. The mean ratios of patient/negative control remained stable. Although there was a 10% decrease in the mean ratios after 1 month, changes were not significant. However, individual samples with ratios close to 3 may fall to <3.
A class of parallel tiled linear algebra algorithms for multicore architectures

As multicore systems continue to gain ground in the high performance computing world, linear algebra algorithms have to be reformulated or new algorithms have to be developed in order to take advantage of the architectural features on these new processors. Fine grain parallelism becomes a major requirement and introduces the necessity of loose synchronization in the parallel execution of an operation. This paper presents algorithms for the Cholesky, LU and QR factorization where the operations can be represented as a sequence of small tasks that operate on square blocks of data. These tasks can be dynamically scheduled for execution based on the dependencies among them and on the availability of computational resources. This may result in out of order execution of tasks which will completely hide the presence of intrinsically sequential tasks in the factorization. Performance comparisons are presented with LAPACK algorithms where parallelism can only be exploited at the level of the BLAS operations and vendor implementations.
Minimizing flow time nonclairvoyantly

We consider the problem of scheduling a collection of dynamically arriving jobs with unknown execution times so as to minimize the average flow time. This is the classic CPU scheduling problem faced by time-sharing operating systems where preemption is allowed. It is easy to see that every algorithm that doesn't unnecessarily idle the processor is at worst n-competitive, where n is the number of jobs. Yet there was no known nonclairvoyant algorithm, deterministic or randomized, with a competitive ratio provably O(n1−e). In this article, we give a randomized nonclairvoyant algorithm, RMLF, that has competitive ratio O(log n log log n) against an oblivious adversary. RMLF is a slight variation of the multilevel feedback (MLF) algorithm used by the UNIX operating system, further justifying the adoption of this algorithm. It is known that every randomized nonclairvoyant algorithm is Ω(log n)-competitive, and that every deterministic nonclairvoyant algorithm is Ω(n1/3)-competitive.
A fast hardware tracker for the ATLAS trigger system

As the LHC luminosity is ramped up to the design level of 1034 cm−2s−1 and beyond, the high rates, multiplicities, and energies of particles seen by the detectors will pose a unique challenge. Only a tiny fraction of the produced collisions can be stored on tape and immense real-time data reduction is needed. An effective trigger system must maintain high trigger efficiencies for the physics we are most interested in, and at the same time suppress the enormous QCD backgrounds. This requires massive computing power to minimize the online execution time of complex algorithms. A multi-level trigger is an effective solution for an otherwise impossible problem. The Fast Tracker (FTK) is a proposed upgrade to the ATLAS trigger system that will operate at full Level-1 output rates and provide high quality tracks reconstructed over the entire detector by the start of processing in Level-2. FTK solves the combinatorial challenge inherent to tracking by exploiting the massive parallelism of Associative Memory (AM) that can compare inner detector hits to millions of pre-calculated patterns simultaneously. The tracking problem within matched patterns is further simplified by using pre-computed linearized fitting constants and leveraging fast DSP's in modern commercial FPGA's. Overall, FTK is able to compute the helix parameters for all tracks in an event and apply quality cuts in approximately one millisecond. By employing a pipelined architecture, FTK is able to continuously operate at Level-1 rates without deadtime. The system design is defined and studied using ATLAS full simulation. Reconstruction quality is evaluated for single muon events with zero pileup, as well as WH events at the LHC design luminosity. FTK results are compared with the tracking capability of an offline algorithm.
Dynamic Modeling of Hydrokinetic Energy Extraction

The world is facing an imminent energy crisis. In order to sustain our energy supply, it is necessary to advance renewable technologies. Despite this urgency, however, it is paramount to consider the larger environmental effects associated with using renewable resources. Hydropower, in the past, has been seen as a viable resource to examine, given that its basics of mechanical to electrical energy conversion seem to have little effect on the environment. Discrete analysis of dams and in-stream diversion set-ups, although, has shown otherwise. Modifications to river flows and changes in temperature (from increased and decreased flows) cause adverse effects to fish and other marine life because of changes in their adaptive habitat. Recent research has focused on kinetic energy extraction in river flows, which may prove to be more sustainable, as this type of extraction does not involve a large reservoir or large flow modification. The field of hydrokinetic energy extraction is immature; little is known about the devices' performance in the river environment and their risk of impingement, fouling, and suspension of sediments. The governing principles of hydrokinetic energy extraction are presented, along with a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the system. Power extraction methods are compared and CFD model validation is presented. It is clear that more research is required in hydrokinetic energy extraction with an emphasis toward lower environmental and ecological impacts.
Performance of DS-CDMA with imperfect power control operating over a low earth orbiting satellite link

The analysis of both the performance and capacity of direct sequence CDMA in terrestrial cellular systems has been addressed in the technical literature. It has been suggested that CDMA be used as a multiple access method for satellite systems as well, in particular for multispot beam low Earth orbit satellites (LEOS). One is tempted to argue that since CDMA works well on terrestrial links, it will nominally work as well on satellite links. However, because there are fundamental differences in the characteristics of the two channels, such as larger time delays from the mobile to the base station and smaller multipath delay spreads on the satellite channels, the performance of CDMA on satellite links cannot always be accurately predicted from its performance on terrestrial channels. In the paper, the authors analytically derive the performance of a CDMA system which operates over a low Earth orbiting satellite channel. They incorporate such effects as imperfect power control and dual-order diversity to obtain the average probability of error of a single user. >
Private Earnings Guidance and Its Implications for Disclosure Regulation

This study investigates three related questions: (1) Why did some firms provide private earnings guidance to analysts before Regulation Fair Disclosure? (2) How did the exogenous shock of Regulation Fair Disclosure affect these firms' disclosure policies? (3) What are the economic consequences of this disclosure regulation? To address these questions, I develop a new measure of private earnings guidance. Consistent with theory, I find that firms were more likely to provide private earnings guidance if they had higher proprietary information costs, and if their earnings were more predictive of other firms' earnings. Policymakers enacted Regulation Fair Disclosure to stop private earnings guidance, but they also intended for managers to replace private earnings guidance with public earnings guidance, thereby improving the information environment. However, I find that roughly half of the firms that I classify as relying more on private earnings guidance replace private earnings guidance with non‐disclosure i...
Simplicial edge representation of protein structures and alpha contact potential with confidence measure.

Protein representation and potential function are two important ingredients for studying protein folding, equilibrium thermodynamics, and sequence design. We introduce a novel geometric representation of protein contact interactions using the edge simplices from the alpha shape of the protein structure. This representation can eliminate implausible neighbors that are not in physical contact, and can avoid spurious contact between two residues when a third residue is between them. We developed statistical alpha contact potential using an odds-ratio model. A studentized bootstrap method was then introduced to assess the 95% confidence intervals for each of the 210 propensity parameters. We found, with confidence, that there is significant long-range propensity (>30 residues apart) for hydrophobic interactions. We tested alpha contact potential for native structure discrimination using several sets of decoy structures, and found that it often performs comparably with atom-based potentials requiring many more parameters. We also show that accurate geometric representation is important, and that alpha contact potential has better performance than potential defined by cutoff distance between geometric centers of side chains. Hierarchical clustering of alpha contact potentials reveals natural grouping of residues. To explore the relationship between shape and physicochemical representations, we tested the minimum alphabet size necessary for native structure discrimination. We found that there is no significant difference in performance of discrimination when alphabet size varies from 7 to 20, if geometry is represented accurately by alpha simplicial edges. This result suggests that the geometry of packing plays an important role, but the specific residue types are often interchangeable. Proteins 2003;53:000–000. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Wet paper codes with improved embedding efficiency

Wet paper codes were previously proposed as a tool for construction of steganographic schemes with arbitrary (nonshared) selection channels. In this paper, we propose a new approach to wet paper codes using random linear codes of small codimension that at the same time improves the embedding efficiency (number of random message bits embedded per embedding change). Practical algorithms are given and their performance is evaluated experimentally and compared to theoretically achievable bounds. An approximate formula for the embedding efficiency of the proposed scheme is derived. The proposed coding method can be modularly combined with most steganographic schemes to improve their security.
Where the Grass Is Greener: Voluntary Turnover and Wage Premiums

Standard economic and compensation theories suggest that voluntary turnover should decline when a firm pays wages that are higher than those of its competitors. Turnover behavior in the State of California's Civil Service, however, does not support this prediction. Using a fixed-effects estimator to control for job-specific characteristics, I find that the wages California pays relative to those of its competitors has little or no effect on turnover. In addition, estimates of the elasticity of turnover with respect to alternative wages indicate that higher wage rates do not pay for themselves through lower turnover costs. Instead, the absolute wage level and wage growth have large effects. In other words, it appears that workers are less likely to quit jobs that pay high wages and have larger wage increases no matter how their wages compare with those paid by other employers.
A van der Pol–Duffing Oscillator Model of Hydrodynamic Forces on Canonical Structures

Numerical simulations of the flow past elliptic cylinders with different eccentricities have been performed using a parallel incompressible computational fluid-dynamics (CFD) solver. The pressure is integrated over the surface to compute the lift and drag forces on the cylinders. The numerical results of different cases are then used to develop reduced-order models for the lift and drag coefficients. The lift coefficient is modeled with a generalized van der Pol-Duffing oscillator and the drag coefficient is expressed in terms of the lift coefficient. The parameters in the oscillator model are computed for each elliptic cylinder. The results of the model match the CFD results not only in the time domain but also in the spectral domain.
On Delay-Independent Diagonal Stability of Max-Min Congestion Control

Network feedback in a congestion-control system is subject to delay, which can significantly affect stability and performance of the entire system. While most existing stability conditions explicitly depend on delay Di of individual flow i, a recent study shows that the combination of a symmetric Jacobian A and condition p(A) < 1 guarantees local stability of the system regardless of Di . However, the requirement of symmetry is very conservative and no further results have been obtained beyond this point. In this technical note, we proceed in this direction and gain a better understanding of conditions under which congestion-control systems can achieve delay-independent stability. Towards this end, we first prove that if Jacobian matrix A satisfies ||A|| < 1 for any monotonic induced matrix norm ||.||, the system is locally stable under arbitrary diagonal delay Di. We then derive a more generic result and prove that delay-independent stability is guaranteed as long as A is Schur diagonally stable , which is also observed to be a necessary condition in simulations. Utilizing these results, we identify several classes of well-known matrices that are stable under diagonal delays if rho(A) < 1 and prove stability of MKC with arbitrary parameters alphai and betai.
Affective Quality and Cognitive Absorption: Extending Technology Acceptance Research

Agarwal and Karahanna (2000) suggested that holistic user experiences with IT contribute to users evaluation of and reaction to using the technology. They proposed and empirically tested a construct named cognitive absorption that has preceding effects on important user technology acceptance constructs. We propose that an important antecedent of cognitive absorption is perceived affective quality (PAQ) of the target IT. Such perception is a users impression on the IT itself prior to any other cognitive appraisal and evaluation on the consequences or potential interactions with the IT. Rooted in psychological work on affect and cognition, we develop a theoretical model that depicts the causal relationships among PAQ, cognitive absorption, cognitive beliefs, and IT use intention. A field study was conducted to validate this model. Our results indicate that PAQ is a strong antecedent to cognitive absorption, explaining 39% variances in it, and has direct impacts on cognitive beliefs.
An Introduction to n-Categories

An n-category is some sort of algebraic structure consisting of objects, morphisms between objects, 2-morphisms between morphisms, and so on up to n-morphisms, together with various ways of composing them. We survey various concepts of n-category, with an emphasis on ‘weak’ n-categories, in which all rules governing the composition of j-morphisms hold only up to equivalence. (An n-morphism is an equivalence if it is invertible, while a j-morphism for j < n is an equivalence if it is invertible up to a (j + 1)-morphism that is an equivalence.) We discuss applications of weak n-categories to various subjects including homotopy theory and topological quantum field theory, and review the definition of weak n-categories recently proposed by Dolan and the author.
Storytelling and its transformative impact in the Philippines

Storytelling is an effective tool in transforming the negative energy of trauma into something constructive, especially in settings where oral tradition remains strong. The entire process of storytelling, as this article suggests, can bring the whole community to a consciousness of history with a strong appreciation of their individual and societal resilience. The experience of telling stories enables a community to plan and implement the course of action that people want to undertake, and further affirms their being active participants in social healing and community building.
The Effect of Superstar Software on Hardware Sales in System Markets

Abstract Systems are composed of complementary products (e.g., video game systems are composed of the video game console and video games). Prior literature on indirect network effects has argued that in system markets, sales of the primary product (often referred to as “hardware”) largely depend on the availability of complementary products (often referred to as “software”). Mathematical and empirical analyses have almost exclusively operationalized software availability as software quantity. However, though not substantiated with empirical evidence, case illustrations show that certain high-quality, “superstar” software titles (e.g., Super Mario 64) may have disproportionately large effects on hardware unit sales (e.g., Nintendo N64 console sales). In the context of the U.S. home video game console market, the authors show that the introduction of a superstar increases video game console sales by an average of 14% (167,000 units) over a period of five months. One in every five buyers of a superstar softw...
Organic Approaches to Endohedral Metallofullerenes: Cracking Open or Zipping Up Carbon Shells?

We have been investigating the synthesis of endohedral metallofullerenes since we successfully opened an orifice on the framework of C60 in the form of a cobalt complex having the metal sitting on top of the opening. A second approach aims at the synthesis of spherically-shaped acetylenic macrocycles, which are expected to rearrange to endohedral metal complexes of fullerenes in a controlled process analogous to the gas-phase coalescence of mono- and polycyclic polyynes during fullerene formation by the graphite evaporation method. Since the potential benefits from obtaining endohedral metal complexes of C60 are enormous, both approaches are being actively pursued in our group.
The Globular Cluster M54 and the Star Formation History of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy

We present a deep color-magnitude diagram in the VI passbands of the globular cluster M54, a member of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. The data extend below the cluster's main-sequence turnoff, allowing us to estimate the cluster's age. We find that M54 is 0.5-1.5 Gyr older than the Galactic globulars M68 and M5. In absolute terms, its age is comparable to the published age estimates of the other member clusters Arp 2 and Terzan 8 but is significantly greater than that of the member cluster Terzan 7. An age estimate of the Sagittarius field population relative to M54 suggests that M54 is 3 Gyr older than the field. We discuss briefly the star formation history of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy.
Inhibition of Murine Bladder Tumorigenesis by Soy Isoflavones Via Alterations in the Cell Cycle, Apoptosis and Angiogenesis

Soy isoflavones exhibit a number of biological effects, suggesting that they may have a role in cancer prevention. Our objectives are to determine whether components of soy products or purified soy isoflavones can inhibit the progression of bladder cancer. We compared the in vitro effects of pure soy isoflavones and soy phytochemical concentrate on growth curves, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis in murine and human bladder cancer cell lines. Pure soy isoflavones (genistein, genistin, daidzein, and biochanin A) and soy phytochemical concentrate exhibit dose-dependent growth inhibition of murine (MB49 and MBT-2) and human (HT-1376, UM-UC-3, RT-4, J82, and TCCSUP) bladder cancer cell lines, although the degree of inhibition varies among lines. Soy isoflavones induce a G2-M cell cycle arrest in all human and murine lines evaluated by flow cytometry. In addition, some bladder cancer lines show DNA fragmentation consistent with apoptosis. We next evaluated the ability of genistein, soy phytochemical concentrate, and soy protein isolate, respectively, to inhibit the growth of transplantable murine bladder cancer in vivo. C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to treatment groups (n = 12/group): (a) AIN-76A diet; (b) AIN-76A diet plus genistein, i.p., 50 mg/kg body weight/day; (c) AIN-76 diet with soy phytochemical concentrate at 0.2% of the diet; (d) AIN-76 diet with soy phytochemical concentrate at 1.0% of the diet; and (e) AIN-76A diet with soy protein isolate, 20% by weight. Mice were inoculated s.c. with 5 x 10(4) syngeneic MB49 bladder carcinoma cells, and tumor growth was quantitated. Neither genistein nor soy products reduced body weight gain. Tumor volumes from mice treated with genistein, dietary soy phytochemical concentrate at 1%, or dietary soy protein isolate were reduced by 40% (P < 0.007), 48% (P < 0.001), or 37% (P < 0.01), respectively, compared with controls. We characterized the effects of treatment on several biomarkers in tumor tissue: proliferation index by proliferating cell nuclear antigen staining, apoptotic index by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling staining, and angiogenesis by microvessel quantitation. Soy products reduced angiogenesis, increased apoptosis, and slightly reduced proliferation while showing no histopathological effects on the normal bladder mucosa. Our data suggest that soy isoflavones can inhibit bladder tumor growth through a combination of direct effects on tumor cells and indirect effects on the tumor neovasculature. Soy products warrant further investigation in bladder cancer prevention and treatment programs or as antiangiogenic agents.
New Results for Two Optically Faint Low-Mass X-Ray Binary Systems

We present optical photometry of the low-mass X-ray binary systems GX 349+2 (X1702-363) and Ser X-1 (X1837+049). Extensive VRI photometry of the faint optical counterpart (V = 18.4) to GX 349+2 reveals a period of 22.5 ± 0.1 hr and a half-amplitude of 0.2 mag. This result confirms and extends our previously reported 22 hr period (Wachter & Margon). No color change is detected over the orbit, although the limits are modest. We also report the discovery of two new variable stars in the field of GX 349+2, including a probable W Ursae Majoris system. Ser X-1 is one of the most intense persistent X-ray burst sources known. It is also one of only three burst systems for which simultaneous optical and X-ray bursts have been observed. The faint blue optical counterpart MM Ser (B ~ 19.2) has long been known to have a companion 21 distant. Our images indicate that MM Ser is itself a further superposition of two stars separated by only 1''. At the very least, the ratio of inferred burst to quiescent optical flux is affected by the discovery of this additional component. In the worst case, the wrong object may have previously been assumed to be the optical counterpart.
Adaptive Spatial Intercell Interference Cancellation in Multicell Wireless Networks

Downlink spatial intercell interference cancellation (ICIC) is considered for mitigating other-cell interference using multiple transmit antennas. A principle question we explore is whether it is better to do ICIC or simply standard single-cell beamforming. We explore this question analytically and show that beamforming is preferred for all users when the edge SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) is low ( 10 dB), for example in an urban setting. At medium SNR, a proposed adaptive strategy, where multiple base stations jointly select transmission strategies based on the user location, outperforms both while requiring a lower feedback rate than the pure ICIC approach. The employed metric is sum rate, which is normally a dubious metric for cellular systems, but surprisingly we show that even with this reward function the adaptive strategy also improves fairness. When the channel information is provided by limited feedback, the impact of the induced quantization error is also investigated. The analysis provides insights on the feedback design, and it is shown that ICIC with well-designed feedback strategies still provides significant throughput gain.
The Effect of Electoral Competitiveness on Incumbent Behavior

What is the marginal effect of competitiveness on the power of electoral incentives? Addressing this question empirically is difficult because challenges to incumbents are endogenous to their behavior in office. To overcome this obstacle, we exploit a unique feature of Kansas courts: 14 districts employ partisan elections to select judges, while 17 employ noncompetitive retention elections. In the latter, therefore, challengers are ruled out. We find judges in partisan systems sentence more severely than those in retention systems. Additional tests attribute this to the incentive effects of potential competition, rather than the selection of more punitive judges in partisan districts.
Right place, right time: serendipity and informal job matching

Chance is a prominent feature in the processes by which people become aware of job openings, yet current theories—which emphasize the instrumental job search activities of workers—do not provide a framework for understanding the unsolicited receipt of job leads. The concept of serendipity is discussed as a way to understand the role that chance plays in informal job finding. Interviews with 42 workers in an engineering firm reveal that job information often comes from unlikely sources in unexpected situations. Moreover, nationally representative survey data are used to assess the non-random experience of serendipity, finding that personal, contextual and relational characteristics structure the unsolicited receipt of job leads. The results from this mixed methods approach help to supplement the current theories of job matching and offer a promising research agenda for future investigations of the conditions under which serendipitous job finding is likely to occur.
Microwave losses of polycrystalline ferrites at off-resonance field

The spin wave manifold (spin wave eigenfrequencies) for the grain-surface-layer is obtained from the procession equation, based on the assumption, that in the grain-surface-layer of the polycrystalline ferrite there exists an induced uniaxial anisotropy field H/sub u/ which is caused by the impurities depositing nearby the grain boundary and by the stresses due to lattice mismatching. The top and the bottom of the manifold at various applied magnetic fields are illustrated in comparing with the manifold for the inner grain area. It is concluded that the off-resonance effective linewidth /spl Delta/H/sub eff/ arises from the losses of the spin wave resonance excited on the grain-surface-layers and it is proportional to the volume fraction of grain-surface-layers and sensitive to the grain size and the porosity strongly.