cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Integrated assessment of environment and health: America's children and the environment

There is a need for systematic approaches to assessment of environmental factors most relevant to health, health outcomes most influenced by the environment, and relationships between them, as well as for approaches to representing results of such assessments in policy deliberations. As a step in the development of such methods, we used findings and data from environmental protection and public health sectors to develop a set of measures representing topics relevant to children's environmental health. We used a definition of the environment that emphasized contaminants and a process that involved both analytic and deliberative elements. The steps in this process were to: a) develop a conceptual framework to depict relationships between environment and health with relevant types of data and information, b) select topic areas of significance for children, c) identify best available data sources and devise measures, d) assess possible surrogate data sources and measures when needed, e) design and implement metrics for computation of measures; f) select graphical representations of measures, g) identify related measures, and h) identify data gaps. Representatives of policy and stakeholder audiences participated in this process.
Automatic assessment and reduction of noise using edge pattern analysis in non-linear image enhancement

Noise is the primary visibility limit in the process of non-linear image enhancement, and is no longer a statistically stable additive noise in the post-enhancement image. Therefore novel approaches are needed to both assess and reduce spatially variable noise at this stage in overall image processing. Here we will examine the use of edge pattern analysis both for automatic assessment of spatially variable noise and as a foundation for new noise reduction methods.
Observation of coherent oxide precipitates in polycrystalline MgB2

Here we describe the results of an atomic resolution study of oxygen incorporation into bulk MgB2. We find that ∼20–100 nm sized precipitates are formed by ordered substitution of oxygen atoms onto boron lattice sites, while the basic bulk MgB2 crystal structure and orientation is preserved. The periodicity of the oxygen ordering is dictated by the oxygen concentration in the precipitates and primarily occurs in the (010) plane. The presence of these precipitates correlates well with an improved critical current density and superconducting transition behavior, implying that they act as pinning centers.
Round-Table Group Optimization for Sequencing Problems

In this paper, a round-table group optimization RTGO algorithm is presented. RTGO is a simple meta-heuristic framework using the insights of research on group creativity. In a cooperative group, the agents work in iterative sessions to search innovative ideas in a common problem landscape. Each agent has one base idea stored in its individual memory, and one social idea fed by a round-table group support mechanism in each session. The idea combination and improvement processes are respectively realized by using a recombination search XS strategy and a local search LS strategy, to build on the base and social ideas. RTGO is then implemented for solving two difficult sequencing problems, i.e., the flowshop scheduling problem and the quadratic assignment problem. The domain-specific LS strategies are adopted from existing algorithms, whereas a general XS class, called socially biased combination SBX, is realized in a modular form. The performance of RTGO is then evaluated on commonly-used benchmark datasets. Good performance on different problems can be achieved by RTGO using appropriate SBX operators. Furthermore, RTGO is able to outperform some existing methods, including methods using the same LS strategies.
Portfolio Diversification, Leverage, and Financial Contagion

The Mexican peso crisis that began in late 1994 was an adverse shock not just to Mexico, but also to several Latin American countries and to other countries around the world. Likewise, the financial consequences of the collapse of the Thai baht in 1997 and the unilateral debt restructuring by Russia in 1998 were far-reaching and created turbulence in even the largest and most developed capital markets in the world. These recent episodes of market turbulence have generated interest in why and how local financial events can affect market dynamics and cause turbulence in other countries’ financial markets. Several models of financial contagion have been developed that can explain why investors might sell many risky assets when an adverse shock affects just one asset. These models associate financial contagion with market imperfections — most often asymmetric information.
Perceptual learning without perception

The brain is able to adapt rapidly and continually to the surrounding environment, becoming increasingly sensitive to important and frequently encountered stimuli1,2,3,4. It is often claimed that this adaptive learning is highly task-specific, that is, we become more sensitive to the critical signals in the tasks we attend to5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15. Here, we show a new type of perceptual learning, which occurs without attention, without awareness and without any task relevance. Subjects were repeatedly presented with a background motion signal so weak that its direction was not visible; the invisible motion was an irrelevant background to the central task that engaged the subject's attention. Despite being below the threshold of visibility and being irrelevant to the central task, the repetitive exposure improved performance specifically for the direction of the exposed motion when tested in a subsequent suprathreshold test. These results suggest that a frequently presented feature sensitizes the visual system merely owing to its frequency, not its relevance or salience.
Solutions of the Einstein Constraint Equations with Apparent Horizon Boundaries

We construct asymptotically Euclidean solutions of the vacuum Einstein constraint equations with an apparent horizon boundary condition. Specifically, we give sufficient conditions for the constant mean curvature conformal method to generate such solutions. The method of proof is based on the barrier method used by Isenberg for compact manifolds without boundary, suitably extended to accommodate semilinear boundary conditions and low regularity metrics. As a consequence of our results for manifolds with boundary, we also obtain improvements to the theory of the constraint equations on asymptotically Euclidean manifolds without boundary.
Star Formation in the Bok Globule CB54

We present mid-infrared (10.4, 11.7, and 18.3 μm) imaging intended to locate and characterize the suspected protostellar components within the Bok globule CB54. We detect and confirm the protostellar status for the near-infrared source CB54YC1-II. The mid-infrared luminosity for CB54YC1-II was found to be L_(midir) ≈ 8 L_⊙, and we estimate a central source mass of M_* ≈ 0.8 M_⊙ (for a mass accretion rate of M = 10^(-6) M yr^(-1)). CB54 harbors another near-infrared source (CB54YC1-I), which was not detected by our observations. The nondetection is consistent with CB54YC1-I being a highly extinguished embedded young A or B star or a background G or F giant. An alternative explanation for CB54YC1-I is that the source is an embedded protostar viewed at an extremely high inclination angle, and the near-infrared detections are not of the central protostar, but of light scattered by the accretion disk into our line of sight. In addition, we have discovered three new mid-infrared sources, which are spatially coincident with the previously known dense core in CB54. The source temperatures (~100 K) and association of the mid-infrared sources with the dense core suggests that these mid-infrared objects may be embedded class 0 protostars.
Unsteady swimming of small organisms

Small planktonic organisms ubiquitously display unsteady or impulsive motion to attack a prey or escape a predator in natural environments. Despite this, the role of unsteady forces such as history and added mass forces on the low-Reynolds-number propulsion of small organisms, e.g. Paramecium, is poorly understood. In this paper, we derive the fundamental equation of motion for an organism swimming by means of the surface distortion in a non-uniform background flow field at a low-Reynolds-number regime. We show that the history and added mass forces are important as the product of Reynolds number and Strouhal number increases above unity. Our results for an unsteady squirmer show that unsteady inertial effects can lead to a non-zero mean velocity for the cases with zero streaming parameters, which have zero mean velocity in the absence of inertia.
Fuel Droplet Evaporation in a Supercritical Environment

This paper reports a numerical investigation of the transcritical droplet vaporization phenomena. The simulation is based on the time-dependent conservation equations for liquid and gas phases, pressure-dependent variable thermophysical properties, and a detailed treatment of liquid-vapor phase equilibrium at the droplet surface. The numerical solution of the two-phase equations employs an arbitrary Eulerian-Lagrangian, explicitimplicit method with a dynamically adaptive mesh. Three different equations of state (EOS), namely the Redlich-Kwong (RK), the Peng-Robinson (PR), and Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) EOS, are employed to represent phase equilibrium at the droplet surface. In addition, two different methods are used to determine the liquid density. Results indicate that the predictions of RK-EOS are significantly different from those obtained by using the RK-EOS and SRK-EOS. For the phase-equilibrium of n-heptane-nitrogen system, the RK-EOS predicts higher liquid-phase solubility of nitrogen, higher fuel vapor concentration, lower critical-mixing-state temperature, and lower enthalpy of vaporization. As a consequence, it significantly overpredicts droplet vaporization rates, and underpredicts droplet lifetimes compared to those predicted by PR and SRK-EOS. In contrast, predictions using the PR-EOS and SRK-EOS show excellent agreement with each other and with experimental data over a wide range of conditions. A detailed investigation of the transcritical droplet vaporization phenomena indicates that at low to moderate ambient temperatures, the droplet lifetime first increases and then decreases as the ambient pressure is increased. At high ambient temperatures, however, the droplet lifetime decreases monotonically with pressure. This behavior is in accord with the reported experimental data.
Bulk majorons at colliders

Abstract Lepton number violation may arise via the spontaneous breakdown of a global symmetry. In extra dimensions, spontaneous lepton number violation in the bulk implies the existence of a Goldstone boson, the majoron J (0) , as well as an accompanying tower of Kaluza–Klein (KK) excitations, J ( n ) . Even if the zero-mode majoron is very weakly interacting, so that detection in low-energy processes is difficult, the sum over the tower of KK modes may partially compensate in processes of relevance at high-energy colliders. Here we consider the inclusive differential and total cross sections for e − e − → W − W − J , where J represents a sum over KK modes. We show that allowed parameter choices exist for which this process may be accessible to a TeV-scale electron collider.
The moduli space of curves is rigid

We prove that the moduli stack ℳ¯g,n of stable curves of genus g with n marked points is rigid, that is, has no infinitesimal deformations. This confirms the first case of a principle proposed by Kapranov. It can also be viewed as a version of Mostow rigidity for the mapping class group.
What Is the Role of Multiple Secondary Incidents in Traffic Operations

Traffic incidents are a major source of travel uncertainty, imposing substantial costs on the transportation system. Sometimes, an incident can result in one or more secondary incidents, which can be particularly problematic. To identify roadways where multiple secondary incidents are more likely to occur and analyze primary and secondary incidents, an innovative analysis method based on a detailed incident data set from Hampton Roads, Virginia was developed. Incidents occurring on major freeways are categorized on a three-point ordinal scale as (1) an independent incident, i.e., an incident not associated with any secondary incidents; (2) one primary-secondary pair; and (3) one primary with two or more secondary incidents in the same or opposite directions. This scale captures event adversity from a traffic management perspective, with the last category capturing multiple secondary events. To quantify associations with key factors that include incident characteristics, roadway geometry and traffic flow, ordinal regression models are estimated. The results indicate that longer duration crashes, shorter segments, and heavy traffic are associated with higher propensity for secondary incidents. Furthermore, multiple-vehicle involvement and lane blockage are associated with multiple secondary incidents. The findings provide engineers and planners with valuable information on targeting service patrols in areas that are more prone to multiple secondary incidents. Overall, this research contributes by characterizing and analyzing complex events involving secondary incidents using rigorous statistical methods.
The D234 action for light quarks

We investigate a new light fermion action (the “D234” action), which is accurate up to O ( a 3 ) and tadpole-improved O ( a α 3 ) errors. Using D234 with Symanzik- and tadpole-improved glue we find evidence that continuum results for the quenched hadron spectrum (pion, rho and nucleon) can be obtained on coarse lattices.
Stepwise refinement of heap-manipulating code in Chalice

Stepwise refinement is a well-studied technique for developing a program from an abstract description to a concrete implementation. This paper describes a system with automated tool support for refinement, powered by a state-of-the-art verification engine that uses an SMT solver. Unlike previous refinement systems, users of the presented system interact only via declarations in the programming language. Another aspect of the system is that it accounts for dynamically allocated objects in the heap, so that data representations in an abstract program can be refined into ones that use more objects. Finally, the system uses a language with familiar imperative features, including sequential composition, loops, and recursive calls, offers a syntax with skeletons for describing program changes between refinements, and provides a mechanism for supplying witnesses when refining non-deterministic programs.
Engine Exhaust Emission Levels

iDiitsch, H. U., "Photochemistry of Atmospheric Ozone," Advances in Geophysics, Vol. 15, 1971, pp. 219-322. Grams, G. and G. Fiocco, "Stratospheric Aerosol Layer During 1964 and 1965," Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 72 1967, pp. 3523-3542. Johnston, H. S., "An Overview of Stratospheric Chemistry," CIAP, Vol. 1,1973, The Nature Stratosphere (in preparation). London, J., "The Distribution of Total Ozone in the Northern Hemisphere," Beitrdge zur Physik der Atmosphdre, Vol. 36, 1963, pp.254-263. Lovill, J. E., "Characteristics of the General Circulation of the Atmosphere and the Global Distribution of Total Ozone as Determined by the Nimbus III Satellite Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer," Atmospheric Science Paper No. 180, 1972, Colorado State University, pp. 1-72. Mastenbrook, H. J., "The Variability of Water Vapor in the Stratosphere," Journal of Atmospheric Science, Vol. 28, 1971, pp. 1495-1501. Reiter, E. R., "Atmospheric Transport Processes; Part 1: Energy Transfers and Transformations," TID-24868, 1969, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, Division of Technical Information, Springfield, Va., AEC Critical Review Series, pp. 1-253. Reiter, E. R., "Atmospheric Transport Processes; Part 2: Chemical Tracers," TID-25314, 1971, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, Division of Technical Information, Springfield, Va., AEC Critical Review Series, pp. 1-382. Reiter, E. R., "Atmospheric Transport Processes; Part 3: Hydrodynamic Tracers," TID-25731, 1971, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, Office of Information Services, Springfield, Va., AEC Critical Review Series, pp. 1-212. Reiter, E. R. and J. E. Lovill, "The Longitudinal Movement of Stratospheric Ozone Waves as Determined by Satellite," Archiv fur Meteorologie, Geophysik und Bioklimatologie, Series A, 1974, (inprint). Sticksel, P. R., "The Annual Variation of Total Ozone in the Southern Hemisphere," Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 98, 1970, pp.787-788. Viebrock, H. J..and E. L. Flowers, "Comments on the Recent Decrease in Solar Radiation at the South -Pole," Tellus, Vol. 20, 1968, pp. 400-411. Wallace, J. M. and R. E. Newell, "Eddy Fluxes and the Biennial Stratospheric Oscillation. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 92, 1966, pp. 481-489.
Branched polymer models and the mechanism of multilayer film buildup

Abstract The “in and out diffusion” hypothesis does not provide a conclusive explanation of the buildup displayed by some polyelectrolyte multilayer film systems. Here, we report initial tests of an alternative hypothesis, on which the completion of each adsorption cycle results in an increase in the number of polymer binding sites on the film surface. Polycationic dendrimeric peptides, which can potentially bind several oppositely-charged peptides each, have been designed, synthesized and utilized in comparative film buildup experiments. Material deposited, internal film structure and film surface morphology have been studied by ultraviolet spectroscopy (UVS), circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD), quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Polycations tended to contribute more to film buildup than did polyanions on quartz but not on gold. Increasing the number of branches in the dendrimeric peptides from 4 to 8 reproducibly resulted in an increase in the film growth rate on quartz but not on gold. Peptide backbones tended to adopt a β-strand conformation on incorporation into a film. Thicker films had a greater surface roughness than thin films. The data are consistent with film buildup models in which the average number of polymer binding sites will increase with each successive adsorption cycle in the range where exponential growth is displayed.
Smoking and survival among Kentucky women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer: 1995–2005

Objectives To determine whether smokers with cervical cancer were more likely to die from cervical cancer compared with non smokers after adjusting for confounding factors.
An Improved Method for Measuring the Magnetic Inhomogeneity Shift in Hydrogen Masers

The reported method makes it possible to conduct all maser frequency measurements under conditions of low magnetic field intensity for which the hydrogen maser is most stable. Aspects concerning the origin of the magnetic inhomogeneity shift are examined and the available approaches for measuring this shift are considered, taking into account certain drawbacks of currently used methods. An approach free of these drawbacks can be based on the measurement of changes in a parameter representing the difference between the number of atoms in the involved states.
Synthesis, resolution and absolute stereochemical assignment of C1-oxygenated allylsilanes and C3-oxygenated vinylsilanes

Abstract (R)-O-acetyl mandelic acid has been utilized for the development of a procedure for resolution and absolute stereochemical assignment of C1-oxygenated E-crotylsilanes 1a-c. The procedure is enhanced further by an efficient boron trifluoride etherate catalyzed allylic transposition which generates E-vinylsilanes. Subsequent resolution and hydrolysis produced the vinylsilanes 6a, b and d in optically active form. The published method of Trost and cowoarkers has allowed for the assignment of absolute stereochemistry.
Impacts of socioeconomic characteristics of a region on the availability of resources for public education

This study examines the impacts of socioeconomic characteristics of a region on the availability of resources for public elementary and secondary education. An empirical analysis of data for 269 Indiana school districts is conducted. The analysis reveals that family income levels of residents in the region is a primary factor influencing the level of teachers' salaries. Property values are primarily related to pupil/teacher ratios. Communities in regions where a high proportion of the residents have graduated from colleges tend to have schools in which a high proportion of the teachers hold Masters, rather than Bachelor's degrees. Experienced teachers tend to be found in regions where a large proportion of the population is over 65. Elasticities of demand for school resources are calculated. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to recent court cases dealing with the constitutionality of funding public schools with a local property tax.
Monetary Policy by Committee: Why and How

Abstract Monetary policy committees can reach decisions either individualistically (i.e., through voting) or collegially. Committees are neither inherently more nor less transparent than individuals. Most of the advantages of group (over individual) decision-making point to the superiority of genuinely collegial or individualistic committees. One potential disadvantage of an individualistic committee, however, is that it may confuse outside observers by speaking with too many voices. The best ways of communicating with markets and the general public differ between individual central bank governors acting alone and policy committees, and across different types of committees. When it comes to transparency, one size does not fit all.
Novel Techniques for Study of the Nucleosome Core Particle Ionic Atmosphere and Its Role in Electrostatically-Driven DNA Packing

The nucleosome core particle (NCP) is the primary mechanism for DNA compaction. While the wrapping of the DNA around the histone core is thought to be at least partially sequence dependent, the packing of the nucleosome core is believed to be almost entirely electrostatic in nature. Using novel techniques to probe the ionic atmosphere, we hope to elucidate details of this compaction and provide a quantitative description of the positive and negative ions that surround the nucleosome. Results of these experiments will be presented. This work should have implications for nucleosome compaction, chromatin remodeling, and more generally electrostatics of highly charged biomolecules.
CSMA/CCA: a modified CSMA/CA protocol mitigating the fairness problem for IEEE 802.11 DCF

Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) has been adopted by the IEEE 802.11 standards for wireless local area networks (WLANs). Using a distributed coordination function (DCF), the CSMA/CA protocol reduces collisions and improves the overall throughput. To mitigate fairness issues arising with CSMA/CA, we develop a modified version that we term CSMA with copying collision avoidance (CSMA/CCA). A station in CSMA/CCA contends for the shared wireless medium by employing a binary exponential backoff similar to CSMA/CA. Different from CSMA/CA, CSMA/CCA copies the contention window (CW) size piggybacked in the MAC header of an overheard data frame within its basic service set (BSS) and updates its backoff counter according to the new CW size. Simulations carried out in several WLAN configurations illustrate that CSMA/CCA improves fairness relative to CSMA/CA and offers considerable advantages for deployment in the 802.11-standard-based WLANs.
The influence of crosswind tidal currents on Langmuir circulation in a shallow ocean

[1] Langmuir circulation (LC) is a turbulent process driven by wind and surface waves that plays a key role in transferring momentum, heat, and mass in the oceanic surface layer. On the coastal shelves the largest-scale LC span the whole water column and thus couple the surface and bottom boundary layers and enhance turbulent mixing. Observations and large eddy simulations (LES) of a shallow coastal ocean demonstrate that these relatively large scale Langmuir cells are strongly influenced by crosswind tidal currents. Two mechanisms by which crosswind tidal shear may distort and disrupt Langmuir cells are proposed. The first mechanism involves cell shearing due to differential advection across the whole cell. For the second mechanism, middepth vertical LC currents advect sheared mean crosswind current, leading to the attraction of upwelling and downwelling regions, so that LC cells are unsustainable when both regions overlap. Scaling arguments indicate that LC cells are more susceptible to crosswind shear distortion for smaller LC surface velocity convergence and greater cell aspect ratio (vertical to horizontal LC scale), which is consistent with the results obtained from the observations and LES. These results imply that scaling of LC characteristics in a coastal ocean differs from that in the open ocean, which has important practical implications for parameterizing enhanced mixing due to LC.
Asymmetric Hydrosilylation of Aryl Ketones Catalyzed by Copper Hydride Complexed by Nonracemic Biphenyl Bis-phosphine Ligands

When complexed by selected ligands in either the BIPHEP or the SEGPHOS series, CuH is an extremely reactive catalyst capable of effecting asymmetric hydrosilylations of aromatic ketones at temperatures between −50 and −78 °C. Inexpensive silanes serve as stoichiometric sources of hydride. Substrate-to-ligand ratios exceeding 100,000:1 have been documented. The level of induction is usually in the >90% ee category. The nature of the reagent has been investigated using spectroscopic and chemical means, although its composition remains unclear.
Aerodynamics of Asymmetric Sabot Discard

Abstract : Experimental results are presented which examine the pressure distributions upon projectiles during the portion of the launch cycle which involves strong aerodynamic interference between the flight body and sabot components. Particular attention is given to the simulation of asymmetric sabot discard geometries since these configurations result in transverse loadings upon the projectile. The pressure distribution in a given section of the projectile surface is shown to be strongly influenced only by the flow field associated with the sabot component facing that section. The basic features of the flow are similar in both the symmetric and asymmetric cases. The experiment is compared with existing analytical models and recommendations for improvements are made.
Use of natural basement ventilation to control radon in single family dwellings

Abstract Natural basement ventilation has always been recommended as a means of reducing radon levels in houses. However, its efficacy has never been documented. In these experiments, natural ventilation has for the first time been studied systematically in two research houses during both the summer cooling season and the winter heating season. Ventilation rates, environmental and house operating parameters, as well as radon levels, have been monitored. It can be definitively concluded from radon entry rate calculations that natural ventilation can reduce radon levels two ways. The first is by simple dilution. The second is by reducing basement depressurization and thus the amount of radon-contaminated soil gas drawn into the structure. Therefore, basement ventilation can be an effective mitigation strategy under some circumstances. It might be especially useful in houses with low radon concentrations (of the order of 370 Bq m −1) or those with low levels and which cannot be mitigated cost-effectively with conventional technology.
A Chandra Spectroscopic Survey of Persistent Black Hole Candidates

We present results from observations of persistent black hole candidates with the High-Energy Transmission Gratings on board the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The sources include LMC X-1, LMC X-3, GRS 1758-258, and Cyg X-1. Along with the published results on 1E 1740.7-2942, we have completed a high-resolution spectroscopic survey of such systems. The observed X-ray spectra of LMC X-1 and LMC X-3 show no prominent discrete features, while absorption edges (Mg K and Si K) are detected in the spectrum of GRS 1758-258. The edges are likely to be of interstellar origin. In most cases, the X-ray continuum can be described well by models that are often adopted in low-resolution studies of black hole candidates: a multitemperature disk spectrum plus a Comptonization component. However, the relative contribution of the two components varies greatly among different sources. For instance, only the disk component is present for LMC X-1 and GRS 1758-258, while the Comptonized component is required for other sources. We discuss general issues related to obtaining disk parameters from modeling X-ray continuum.
Synthesis of (S)- and (R)-enantiomers of p-(4-hydroxybenzoyl)phenylalanine, useful photoaffinity labeling probes for peptide–protein binding sites

Abstract A high yield, multigram synthesis of both enantiomers of p-(4-hydroxybenzoyl)phenylalanine, cross-linking probes for peptide–protein binding interactions, is reported. The synthesis was accomplished using Schollkopf chiral auxiliary reagents.
On Superluminal Particles and the Extended Relativity Theories

Superluminal particles are studied within the framework of the Extended Relativity theory in Clifford spaces (C-spaces). In the simplest scenario, it is found that it is the contribution of the Clifford scalar component π of the poly-vector-valued momentum which is responsible for the superluminal behavior in ordinary spacetime due to the fact that the effective mass \(\mathcal{M} = \sqrt{ M^{2} - \pi^{2} }\) is imaginary (tachyonic). However, from the point of view of C-space, there is no superluminal (tachyonic) behavior because the true physical mass still obeys M2>0. Therefore, there are no violations of the Clifford-extended Lorentz invariance and the extended Relativity principle in C-spaces. It is also explained why the charged muons (leptons) are subluminal while its chargeless neutrinos may admit superluminal propagation. A Born’s Reciprocal Relativity theory in Phase Spaces leads to modified dispersion relations involving both coordinates and momenta, and whose truncations furnish Lorentz-violating dispersion relations which appear in Finsler Geometry, rainbow-metrics models and Double (deformed) Special Relativity. These models also admit superluminal particles. A numerical analysis based on the recent OPERA experimental findings on alleged superluminal muon neutrinos is made. For the average muon neutrino energy of 17 GeV, we find a value for the magnitude \(|\mathcal{M } | = 119.7\mbox{~MeV}\) that, coincidentally, is close to the mass of the muon mμ=105.7 MeV.
Localized harmonic motion imaging: theory, simulations and experiments.

Several techniques have been developed in an effort to estimate mechanical properties of tissues. These techniques typically estimate static or harmonic motion resulting from an externally or internally applied mechanical stimulus. In this paper, we discuss the advantages of utilizing a new technique that performs radiofrequency (RF) signal tracking to estimate the localized oscillatory motion resulting from the harmonic radiation force produced by two focused ultrasound (US) transducer elements with overlapping beams oscillating at distinct frequencies. Finite-element and Monte-Carlo simulations were performed to characterize the range of oscillatory displacements produced by a harmonic radiation force. In the experimental verification, three transducers were used: two single-element focused transducers and one lead zirconate-titanate (PZT) composite 16-element probe. Four agar gels were utilized to determine the effect of stiffness on the motion amplitude. Estimates of the displacement relative to the initial position (i.e., at the onset of the application of the radiation force) were obtained during the application of the radiation force that oscillated at frequencies ranging between 200 Hz and 800 Hz. In the simulations, the estimated oscillatory displacement spanned from −800 to 600 μm and the frequencies of excitation could easily be estimated from the temporal variation of the displacement. In addition, a frequency upshift (on the order of tens of Hz) was estimated with stiffness increase. Furthermore, an exponential decrease of the displacement amplitude with stiffness was observed at all frequencies investigated. An M-mode version to depict both the spatial and temporal variations of the locally induced displacement was used. In experiments with gels of different stiffness, the resulting amplitude of the harmonic displacement estimated oscillated at the same frequencies and ranged from −300 to 250 μm. An exponential decrease of the displacement amplitude with the gel stiffness was also observed. In tissue experiments, the results showed that the method is feasible in tissues and that focused US surgery (FUS) ablation can be detected. These preliminary results demonstrate the feasibility of imaging localized harmonic motion as induced by an oscillatory US radiation force. Due to the highly localized and harmonic nature of the estimated response, this technique may be proven to be highly suitable for simple and accurate estimation of the elastic modulus variation in tissues due to disease. (E-mail: elisak@bwh.harvard.edu)
INTERGLACIAL MAN FROM EHRINGSDORF NEAR WEIMAR

THE attention of prehistoric archeologists has long been turned toward the region of Weimar, Germany, because of important discoveries made at Taubach and Ehringsdorf, both in the Ilm valley. Known since 1871, the station of Taubach (back of the village of that name) was systematically explored between 1876 and 188o. The deposits at Taubach and Ehringsdorf are alike. Their basis is a layer of sand and gravel dating from the third or Riss glacial epoch (Obermaier). Above this is lower travertine with remains of the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros near the bottom, and those of Elephas antiquus and Rhinoceros merckii, both witnesses of a warm climate, near the top. Next above at Ehringsdorf comes the so-called "Pariser" (corruption from Pori-ser) deposit, a kind of loess. Higher still is a deposit of upper travertine with remains of the stag and woolly rhinoceros; curiously enough the Rhinoceros merckii also occurs at this level.
HAWK: An Unmanned Mini-Helicopter-Based Aerial Wireless Kit for Localization

This paper presents a fully functional and highly portable mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system, HAWK, for conducting aerial localization. HAWK is a programmable mini helicopter Draganflyer X6 armed with a wireless sniffer Nokia N900. We developed custom PI-Control laws to implement a robust waypoint algorithm for the mini helicopter to fly a planned route. A Moore space filling curve is designed as a flight route for HAWK to survey a specific area. A set of theorems were derived to calculate the minimum Moore curve level for sensing all targets in the area with minimum flight distance. With such a flight strategy, we can confine the location of a target of interest to a small hot area. We can recursively apply the Moore curve-based flight route to the hot area for a fine-grained localization of a target of interest. We have conducted extensive experiments to validate the feasibility of HAWK and our theory. A demo of HAWK in autonomous fly is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju86xnHbEq0.
Parity doubling among the baryons

Abstract We study the evidence for and possible origins of parity doubling among the baryons. First we explore the experimental evidence, finding a significant signal for parity doubling in the non-strange baryons, but little evidence among strange baryons. Next we discuss potential explanations for this phenomenon. Possibilities include suppression of the violation of the flavor singlet axial symmetry ( U ( 1 ) A ) of QCD, which is broken by the triangle anomaly and by quark masses. A conventional Wigner–Weyl realization of the SU ( 2 ) L × SU ( 2 ) R chiral symmetry would also result in parity doubling. However this requires the suppression of families of chirally invariant operators by some other dynamical mechanism. In this scenario the parity doubled states should decouple from pions. We discuss other explanations including connections to chiral invariant short distance physics motivated by large N c arguments as suggested by Shifman and others, and intrinsic deformation of relatively rigid highly excited hadrons, leading to parity doubling on the leading Regge trajectory. Finally we review the spectroscopic consequences of chiral symmetry using a formalism introduced by Weinberg, and use it to describe two baryons of opposite parity.
How Hot is the Wind from TW Hydrae

It has recently been suggested that the winds from classical T Tauri stars in general, and the wind from TW Hya in particular, reaches temperatures of 300,000 K while maintaining a mass-loss rate of ~10^(-11) M⊙ yr^(-1) or larger. If confirmed, this would place strong new requirements on wind launching and heating models. We therefore reexamine spectra from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope and spectra from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer satellite in an effort to better constrain the maximum temperature in the wind of TW Hya. We find clear evidence for a wind in the C II doublet at 1037 A and in the C II multiplet at 1335 A. We find no wind absorption in the C IV λ1550 doublet observed at the same time as the C II λ1335 line or in observations of O VI observed simultaneously with the C II λ1037 line. The presence or absence of C III wind absorption is ambiguous. The clear lack of a wind in the C IV line argues that the wind from TW Hya does not reach the 100,000 K characteristic formation temperature of this line. We therefore argue that the available evidence suggests that the wind from TW Hya, and perhaps all classical T Tauri stars, reaches a maximum temperature in the range of 10,000 - 30,000 K.
Probabilistic enhancement of classical robustness margins: a class of nonsymmetric distributions

In this note, we address the problem of risk assessment when the robustness margin is exceeded, without a priori knowledge of the distribution of the uncertainty. The only assumption is that the distribution belongs to a given class. In contrast to previous work, this class contains both symmetric and nonsymmetric distributions. We prove that the assessment of risk can be done using only a subset of the admissible distributions. Also, if the set of uncertainties that verify the specifications is convex, it is proven that risk assessment can be done using only a finite subset of the class. Finally, a way of estimating risk is provided for the nonconvex case.
Unifying stabilization and termination in message-passing systems

The paper dispels the myth that it is impossible for a message-passing program to be both terminating and stabilizing. We consider a rather general notion of termination: a terminating program eventually stops its execution after the environment ceases lo provide input. We identify termination-symmetry to be a necessary condition for a problem to admit a sollution with such properties. Our results do confirm that a number of well-known problems (e.g., consensus, leader election) do not allow a terminating and stabilizing solution. On the flip side, they show that other problems such as mutual exclusion and reliable-transmission allow such solutions. We present a message-passing solution to the mutual exclusion problem that is both stabilizing and terminating. We also desctibe an approach of adding termination to a stabilizing program. To illustrate this approach, we add termination to a stabilizing solution for the reliable transmission problem.
A new soft-switched PFC boost rectifier with integrated flyback converter for stand-by power

This paper presents a magnetic integration approach that reduces the number of magnetic components in a power supply by integrating magnetic components in two conversion stages. Specifically, in the proposed approach, a single transformer is used to implement the continuous-conduction-mode boost power-factor-corrected (PFC) converter and the dc/dc flyback converter. The integrated boost and flyback converters offer soft switching of all semiconductor switches including a controlled di/dt turn-off rate of the boost rectifier. The performance of the proposed approach was evaluated on a 150-kHz, 450-W, universal-line range boost PFC converter with 12-V/2.2-A integrated stand-by flyback converter.
Distinguishing 1,2-cyclopentanediol isomers via gas-phase reactions with trimethyl-group 14 cations

Abstract Reactions with trimethyl-group 14 (CH3)3X+ ions (X = C, Si, Gen, Sn) are used to distinguish between cis- and trans-1,2-cyclopentanediol isomers in a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. At a kinetic energy of 1.2 eV (center of mass), there are substantial differences in the decomposition behavior of the [M + (CH3)3X]+ adducts, particularly for trimethylsilyl and trimethylgermyl ions. The cis-1,2-cyclopentanediol isomer favors decomposition of [M + (CH3)3X]+ to produce a hydrated trimethyl-group 14 ion [(CH3)3XOH2]+. For the trans-diol, formation of [(CH3)3XOH2]+ apparently is an endothermic process requiring additional energy input. At the ion kinetic energy employed, trans-1,2-cyclopentanediol exhibits greater adduct ion stabilities. The trimethylgermyl reactant was found to be more sensitive and stereochemically selective than the other group 14 cations. The t-butyl ion in contrast provided the least effective stereochemical probe.
Giving voice to young children

SUMMARY This article summarises the major findings of the report of the Carnegie Task Force on Meeting the Needs of Young Children, Starting Points: Meeting the needs of our Youngest Children (1994). Major advancements in knowledge about infant and toddler development have met with a decline in public resources and in parental time available to these youngest children in the United States. In this context, the Task Force makes recommendations in the areas promoting responsible parenthood, guaranteeing quality child care, and ensuring good health and protection. Quality child care includes the guarantee of paid family leave, the allocation of major new funds into child care to ensure quality and affordability, and improving child care training and compensation.
Halohydrin analogues of cryptophycin 1: Synthesis and biological activity

Abstract The chloro-, bromo-, and iodo-derivatives 2–4 of the antimitotic drug cryptophycin 1 were synthesized by opening the epoxide ring. The biological activities of the compounds were tested in an in vitro microtubule assembly and a cell proliferation assay. The chloro-derivative 2 showed lower activity in the tubulin assay compared to 3 and 4 , but they all showed similar inhibition in the proliferation assay.
Enantio- and diastereoselective synthesis of (E)-1,5-syn-diols: application to the synthesis of the C(23)-C(40) fragment of tetrafibricin.

A highly stereoselective synthesis of (E)-1,5-syn-diols 6 is described. The kinetically controlled hydroboration of allenyltrifluoroborate 8 with Soderquist borane 2 provides the (Z)-allylic trifluoroborate 9, which undergoes sequential allylboration with two different aldehydes to provide (E)-1,5-syn-diols 6 in 72−98% yields with >95% ee and >20:1 dr. Application of this method to the synthesis of the tetrafibricin C(23)−C(40) fragment 19 is described.
Classification of MEC With the ALLTEM At Camp Stanley, Texas

The ALLTEM is a multi-axis electromagnetic induction system designed for unexploded ordnance (UXO) applications. It uses a continuous triangle-wave excitation and provides good late-time signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) especially for ferrous targets. Multi-axis transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) systems such as ALLTEM provide a richer data set from which to invert for the target parameters required to distinguish between clutter and UXO. Inversions of field data acquired between 2006 and 2010 over the Army’s UXO Standardized Test sites at the Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in Arizona and at the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) in Maryland have produced reasonable and generally repeatable results for many UXO items buried at different orientations and depths. In February-March 2011 ALLTEM data was acquired at two locations on the Camp Stanley Storage Activity (CSSA) just north of San Antonio, Texas. Camp Stanley is used to store munitions as well as test, fire, and overhaul munitions components. Site B-20 is an open burn/open detonation (OBOD) area and Site B-27 consists of narrow trenches blasted into limestone containing buried range and munitions debris and possibly MEC. The processing, analysis, and classification techniques developed at the controlled environments of YPG and APG have been applied to these two “live” sites at Camp Stanley. ALLTEM data analysis includes both classical numerical inversion of data from each anomaly and clustering of the raw data by means of a self-organizing map (SOM) via generalized neural network algorithms. Final classification consists of an integration of both the numerical and SOM results.
Gravitational radiation and the ultimate speed in Rosen's bimetric theory of gravity

Abstract In Rosen's “bimetric” theory of gravity the (local) speed of gravitational radiation υ g is determined by the combined effects of cosmological boundary values and nearby concentrations of matter. It is possible for υ g to be less than the speed of light. I show here that emission of gravitational radiation prevents particles of nonzero rest mass from exceeding the speed of gravitational radiation. Observations of relativistic particles place limits on υ g and the cosmological boundary values today, and observations of synchrotron radiation from compact radio sources place limits on the cosmological boundary values in the past.
On the direct sum conjecture

Abstract We prove the direct sum conjecture for various sets of systems of bilinear forms. Our results depend on a priori knowledge of the complexity of at least one of the direct summands and its underlying algebraic structure. We also briefly survey some previous results concerning the complexity and structure of minimal algorithms for various direct sum systems.
Catalytic, enantioselective bifunctional inverse electron demand hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of ketene enolates and o-benzoquinone diimides.

In this Communication, we report a system in which an achiral Lewis acid (activating the diene) works in concert with a chiral nucleophile (dienophile) to effect the first highly enantio- and regioselective catalytic inverse electron demand Diels−Alder [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction to form biologically active quinoxalinones from ketene enolates and o-benzoquinone diimides in good to excellent yields with >99% ee.
The importance of hindered rotations and other anharmonic effects in the thermal dissociation of small unsaturated molecules: Application to HCN

A standard low-pressure limit RRKM rate constant is shown to significantly underestimate measured thermal dissociation rates for C2H2 and HCN if the correct value of the bond dissociation energy is used. An explanation for this discrepancy is sought by examining anharmonic effects, especially those involving large angle bends that lead to isomerization. For HCN, an approximate, adiabatic quantum mechanical calculation of the complete spectrum of all bound states up to the dissociation energy is performed. The spectrum is dominated at the dissociation energy by a partially hindered 2D rotation, even though the isomerization barrier on the potential energy surface exceeds 40 kcal/mole. This occurs in part because adiabatic influences from the two stretching frequencies reduce the effective isomerization barrier and increase the effective mass of the rotation. The anharmonic effects from this hindered rotation and its coupling with the anharmonic H stretch modify the rate constant so as to largely remove the discrepancy with experiment. It is argued that the same effects are present in the dissociation of other small unsaturated molecules such as C2H2.