cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Common agency with informed principals: Menus and signals

In this paper I consider games in which multiple informed principals simultaneously compete to in‡uence the decisions of a common agent. I focus on the problem of characterizing the equilibrium outcomes of such games. I …rst show that, to solve this problem, one can invoke neither Myerson’s Inscrutability Principle, which holds in agency games with one informed principal, nor the Extended Taxation Principle, which holds in commonagency games with uninformed principals. I then provide two characterizations of the equilibrium outcomes: one for games in which the principals delegate the …nal decisions to the agent, and one for games in which they participate with the agent in making such decisions.
Existence of complete conformal metrics of negative Ricci curvature on manifolds with boundary

We show that on a compact Riemannian manifold with boundary there exists \({u \in C^{\infty}(M)}\) such that, u|∂M ≡ 0 and u solves the σk-Ricci problem. In the case k = n the metric has negative Ricci curvature. Furthermore, we show the existence of a complete conformally related metric on the interior solving the σk-Ricci problem. By adopting results of (Mazzeo and Pacard, Pacific J. Math. 212(1), 169–185 (2003)), we show an interesting relationship between the complete metrics we construct and the existence of Poincare–Einstein metrics. Finally we give a brief discussion of the corresponding questions in the case of positive curvature.
Performance of quadrupole and sextupole magnets for the Advanced Photon Source storage ring

From the magnetic measurement data of several production quadrupole and sextupole magnets for the storage ring of the Advanced Photon Source, the excitation efficiencies and systematic and random multipole coefficients of the magnets are summarized. The designs of the magnets, which are constrained due to the geometry of the vacuum chamber, have rotation symmetries of 180/spl deg/ and 120/spl deg/. The production data meet the allowed tolerances of a few parts in 10/sup -4/ for the storage ring. >
Financial Crash, Commodity Prices, and Global Imbalances

In this paper we argue that the persistent global imbalances, the subprime crisis, and the volatile oil and asset prices that followed it, are tightly interconnected. They all stem from a global environment where sound and liquid financial assets are in scarce supply. Our story goes as follows: Global asset scarcity led to large capital flows toward the U.S. and to the creation of asset bubbles that eventually crashed. The crash in the real estate market was particularly complex from the point of view of asset shortages since it compromised the whole financial sector, and by so doing, closed many of the alternative saving vehicles. Thus, in its first phase, the crisis exacerbated the shortage of assets in the world economy, which triggered a partial recreation of the bubble in commodities and oil markets in particular. The latter led to an increase in petrodollars seeking financial assets in the U.S. Thus, rather than the typical destabilizing role played by capital outflows during financial crises, petrodollar flows became a source of stability for the U.S. The second phase of the crisis is more conventional and began to emerge toward the end of the summer of 2008. It became apparent then that the financial crisis would permeate the real economy and sharply slow down global growth. This slowdown worked to reverse the tight commodity market conditions required for a bubble to develop, ultimately destroying the commodity bubble.
Silicon tethered ring-closing metathesis reactions for self- and cross-coupling of alkenols

Abstract The title process can be used to couple allylic, homoallylic, and bishomoallylic alkenols. Cyclic silaketals with ring sizes from 7–11 members can all be formed. This constitutes a general and versatile strategy for approximately doubling the molecular complexity of readily available alkenol precursors.
Families of Quintic Calabi–Yau 3–Folds with Discrete Symmetries

At special loci in their moduli spaces, Calabi–Yau manifolds are endowed with discrete symmetries. Over the years, such spaces have been intensely studied and have found a variety of important applications. As string compactifications they are phenomenologically favored, and considerably simplify many important calculations. Mathematically, they provided the framework for the first construction of mirror manifolds, and the resulting rational curve counts. Thus, it is of significant interest to investigate such manifolds further. In this paper, we consider several unexplored loci within familiar families of Calabi–Yau hypersurfaces that have large but unexpected discrete symmetry groups. By deriving, correcting, and generalizing a technique similar to that of Candelas, de la Ossa and Rodriguez–Villegas, we find a calculationally tractable means of finding the Picard–Fuchs equations satisfied by the periods of all 3–forms in these families. To provide a modest point of comparison, we then briefly investigate the relation between the size of the symmetry group along these loci and the number of nonzero Yukawa couplings. We include an introductory exposition of the mathematics involved, intended to be accessible to physicists, in order to make the discussion self–contained.
On Two Generator Satellite Knots

Techniques are introduced which determine the geometric structure of nonsimple two-generator 3-manifolds from purely algebraic data. As an application, the satellite knots in the 3-sphere with a two-generator presentation in which at least one generator is represented by a meridian for the knot are classified.
Beginner's guide to neural networks

The application of neural networks to the solution of everyday manufacturing problems is discussed. A brief history is followed by a section devoted to keywords, phrases, and definitions. The basic building blocks with illustrations are included. A matrix of major neural network paradigms with intended use and suggested applications is presented. Recommended readings and software programs with problem types are included. Attention is focused on the potential and limitations of neural networks. >
Predictive non-equilibrium social science

Non-Equilibrium Social Science (NESS) emphasizes dynamical phenomena, for instance the way political movements emerge or competing organizations interact. This paper argues that predictive analysis is an essential element of NESS, occupying a central role in its scientific inquiry and representing a key activity of practitioners in domains such as economics, public policy, and national security. We begin by clarifying the distinction between models which are useful for prediction and the much more common explanatory models studied in the social sciences. We then investigate a challenging real-world predictive analysis case study, and find evidence that the poor performance of standard prediction methods does not indicate an absence of human predictability but instead reflects (1.) incorrect assumptions concerning the predictive utility of explanatory models, (2.) misunderstanding regarding which features of social dynamics actually possess predictive power, and (3.) practical difficulties exploiting predictive representations.
A perspective on emerging automotive safety applications, derived from lessons learned through participation in the DARPA Grand Challenges

This paper reports on various aspects of the Intelligent Vehicle Systems (IVS) team's involvement in the recent 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, wherein our platform, the autonomous “XAV-250,'' competed as one of the 11 finalists qualifying for the event. We provide a candid discussion of the hardware and software design process that led to our team's entry, along with lessons learned at this event and derived from participation in the two previous Grand Challenges. In addition, we give an overview of our vision-, radar-, and LIDAR-based perceptual sensing suite, its fusion with a military-grade inertial navigation package, and the map-based control and planning architectures used leading up to and during the event. The underlying theme of this article is to elucidate how the development of future automotive safety systems can potentially be accelerated by tackling the technological challenges of autonomous ground vehicle robotics. Of interest, we will discuss how a production manufacturing mindset imposes a unique set of constraints upon approaching the problem and how this worked for and against us, given the very compressed timeline of the contests. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Regularity for solutions of non local parabolic equations

We study the regularity of solutions of parabolic fully nonlinear nonlocal equations. We prove C α regularity in space and time and, under different assumptions on the kernels, C 1,α in space for translation invariant equations. The proofs rely on a weak parabolic ABP and the classic ideas of Tso (Commun. Partial Diff. Equ. 10(5):543–553, 1985) and Wang (Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 45(1), 27–76, 1992). Our results remain uniform as σ → 2 allowing us to recover most of the regularity results found in Tso (Commun. Partial Diff. Equ. 10(5):543–553, 1985).
NEUTRINO OSCILLATIONS, ENTANGLEMENT AND COHERENCE: A QUANTUM FIELD THEORY STUDY IN REAL TIME

The dynamics of neutrino mixing and oscillations are studied directly in finite real time in a model that effectively describes charged current weak interactions. Finite time corrections to the S-matrix result for the appearance and disappearance probabilities are obtained. It is observed that these effects may be of the same order of the S-matrix result in long-baseline appearance experiments. We argue that fundamentally, the S-matrix is ill-suited to describe long-baseline events due to the fact that the neutrino is produced in an entangled state with the charged lepton, which can be disentangled by the measurement of the charged lepton near the production site. The appearance and disappearance far-detection process is described from the time evolution of this disentangled "collapsed" state, allowing us to establish the conditions under which factorization of detection rates emerges in long-baseline experiments. We also study the time evolution of the reduced density matrix and show explicitly how oscillations are manifest in the off-diagonal terms, i.e. coherences, as a result of a finite time analysis. Lastly, we study a model for the "GSI anomaly" by obtaining the time evolution of the population of parent and daughter particles directly in real time. We confirm that the decay rate of parent and growth rate of daughters do not feature oscillatory behavior from interference of mass eigenstates.
Intermediate Performance of Rateless Codes

Fountain codes are designed so that all input symbols can be recovered from a slightly larger number of coded symbols, with high probability using an iterative decoder. In this paper we investigate the number of input symbols that can be recovered by the same decoder, but when the number of coded symbols available is less than the total number of input symbols. Of course recovery of all inputs is not possible, and the fraction that can be recovered will depend on the output degree distribution of the code. In this paper we (a) outer bound the fraction of inputs that can be recovered for any output degree distribution of the code, and (b) design degree distributions which meet/perform close to this bound. Our results are of interest for real-time systems using rateless codes, and for Raptor-type two-stage designs.
Fractal heterogeneities in sonic logs and low-frequency scattering attenuation

Cycles in sedimentary strata exist at different scales and can be described by fractal statistics. We use von Karman’s autocorrelation function to model heterogeneities in sonic logs from a clastic reservoir and propose a nonlinear parameter estimation. Our method is validated using synthetic signals. When applied to real sonic logs, it extracts the fractal properties of high spatial frequencies and one dominant cycle between 2.5 and 7 m . Results demonstrate non-Gaussian and antipersistent statistics of sedimentary layers. We have derived an analytical formula for the scattering attenuation of scalar waves by 3D isotropic fractal heterogeneities using the mean field theory. Penetration of waves exhibits a high-frequency cutoff sensitive to heterogeneity size. Therefore, shear waves can be attenuated more than compressional waves because of their shorter wavelength.
State space reduction of rewrite theories using invisible transitions

State space explosion is the hardest challenge to the effective application of model checking methods. We present a new technique for achieving drastic state space reductions that can be applied to a very wide range of concurrent systems, namely any system specified as a rewrite theory. Given a rewrite theory $\mathcal{R}=(\Sigma,E,R)$ whose equational part (Σ,E) specifies some state predicates P, we identify a subset S⊆R of rewrite rules that are P-invisible, so that rewriting with S does not change the truth value of the predicates P. We then use S to construct a reduced rewrite theory $\mathcal{R}/S$ in which all states reachable by S-transitions become identified. We show that if $\mathcal{R}/S$ satisfies reasonable executability assumptions, then it is in fact stuttering bisimilar to $\mathcal{R}$ and therefore both satisfy the same ${\it CTL}^{\rm \ast}_{\rm -{\it X}}$ formulas. We can then use the typically much smaller $\mathcal{R}/S$ to verify such formulas. We show through several case studies that the reductions achievable this way can be huge in practice. Furthermore, we also present a generalization of our construction that instead uses a stuttering simulation and can be applied to an even broader class of systems.
Design and assurance strategy for the NRL Pump

The NRL Pump forwards messages from a low level system to a high level system and monitors the timing of acknowledgments from the high level system to minimize leaks. It is the keystone to a proposed architecture that uses specialized high assurance devices to separate data at different security levels. We describe the software design and assurance argument strategy for this device, the Network NRL Pump, which can be used in any multilevel secure distributed architecture. We have completed the system requirements and logical design of a prototype pump and are working on its physical design.
Flat panel planar optic display

A prototype 10 inch flat panel Planar Optic display, (POD), screen has been constructed and tested. This display screen is comprised of hundreds of planar optic glass sheets bonded together with a cladding layer between each sheet where each glass sheet represents a vertical line of resolution. The display is 9 inches wide by 5 inches high and approximately 1 inch thick. A 3 milliwatt HeNe laser is used as the illumination source and a vector scanning technique is employed.
Multiple sulfur isotope signatures of sulfite and thiosulfate reduction by the model dissimilatory sulfate-reducer, Desulfovibrio alaskensis str. G20

Dissimilatory sulfate reduction serves as a key metabolic carbon remineralization process in anoxic marine environments. Sulfate reducing microorganisms can impart a wide range in mass-dependent sulfur isotopic fractionation. As such, the presence and relative activity of these organisms is identifiable from geological materials. By extension, sulfur isotope records are used to infer the redox balance of marine sedimentary environments, and the oxidation state of Earth's oceans and atmosphere. However, recent work suggests that our understanding of microbial sulfate reduction (MSRs) may be missing complexity associated with the presence and role of key chemical intermediates in the reductive process. This study provides a test of proposed metabolic models of sulfate reduction by growing an axenic culture of the well-studied MSRs, Desulfovibrio alaskensis strain G20, under electron donor limited conditions on the terminal electron acceptors sulfate, sulfite or thiosulfate, and tracking the multiple S isotopic consequences of each condition set. The dissimilatory reduction of thiosulfate and sulfite produce unique minor isotope effects, as compared to the reduction of sulfate. Further, these experiments reveal a complex biochemistry associated with sulfite reduction. That is, under high sulfite concentrations, sulfur is shuttled to an intermediate pool of thiosulfate. Site-specific isotope fractionation (within thiosulfate) is very large (34e ~ 30‰) while terminal product sulfide carries only a small fractionation from the initial sulfite (34e < 10‰): a signature similar in magnitude to sulfate and thiosulfate reduction. Together these findings show that microbial sulfate reduction (MSR) is highly sensitive to the concentration of environmentally important sulfur-cycle intermediates (sulfite and thiosulfate), especially when thiosulfate and the large site-specific isotope effects are involved.
Optimal sampling strategies for multiscale stochastic processes

In this paper, we determine which non-random sampling of fixe d size gives the best linear predictor of the sum of a finite spatial p opulation. We employ different multiscale superpopulation models and use the minimum mean-squared error as our optimality criterion. In a multiscale superpopulation tree models, the leaves represent the units of the pop ulation, interior nodes represent partial sums of the population, and the root node represents the total sum of the population. We prove that the optimal sampling pattern varies dramatically with the correlation structure of the t ree nodes. While uniform sampling is optimal for trees with “positive correlation progressio n”, it provides the worst possible sampling with “negative correlation progression.” As an analysis tool, we introduce and study a class of independent innovations trees that are of interest in their own right. We derive a fast water -filling algorithm to determine the optimal sampling of the leaves to estimate the root of an independent innovations tree.
Critical Compilation of Wavelengths and Energy Levels for Atoms and Atomic Ions

Current projects to critically compile wavelengths and energy levels for atoms and atomic ions at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are summarized.
Computational Study of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

A hybrid Navier-Stokes potential flow methodology for modeling three-dimensional unsteady viscous flow over horizontal axis wind turbine configurations is presented. In this approach, the costly viscous flow equations are solved only in a small viscous flow region surrounding the rotor. The rest of the flow field is modeled using a potential flow methodology. The tip vortices are modeled using a free wake approach, which allows the vortices to deform and interact with each other. Sample results are presented for two rotor configurations tested by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Comparisons with experimental data, full Navier-Stokes simulations and blade element momentum theory are given to establish the efficiency and accuracy of the present scheme.
Designing for topical delivery: Prodrugs can make the difference

It has been shown for homologous series of prodrugs that those members who were the more water soluble ones gave the greatest enhancement in topical delivery of the parent drug and not the more lipophilic ones. However, until recently models for topical delivery and equations to predict topical delivery focused only on lipid solubility (S(LIPID)) or partition coefficient (K(OCT:AQ)) and molecular volume (or molecular weight, MW) as parameters. Now several equations (transformed Potts-Guy or Series/Parallel) have been developed which include aqueous solubility (SAQ) as a parameter for predicting flux through skin. Experimental fluxes, solubilities, and MW from seven series of prodrugs have been fit to the transformed Potts-Guy equation to give coefficients for log solubility in isopropyl myristate (log SIPM) and log solubility in water (log SAQ) (0.53 and 0.47, respectively) which show, for parent drugs delivered by prodrugs from IPM in vitro through hairless mouse skin, that water solubility is almost as important as lipid solubility. When the transformed Potts-Guy equation was fit to data for the delivery of NSAID from mineral oil (MO) in vivo through human skin, the coefficients were 0.72 log SMO and 0.28 log SAQ. When the transformed Potts-Guy equation was fit to data for the delivery of their parent drugs by three series of prodrugs from water in vitro through hairless mouse skin the coefficients were 0.66 log S(IPM) and 0.34 log SAQ. Numerous recent examples are also given where more water-soluble members of homologous series of prodrugs give higher flux values from water vehicles in vitro through human skin than the more lipid soluble ones.
Validation Ice Crystal Icing Engine Test in the Propulsion Systems Laboratory at NASA Glenn Research Center

The Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) is an existing altitude simulation jet engine test facility located at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, OH. It was modified in 2012 with the integration of an ice crystal cloud generation system. This paper documents the inaugural ice crystal cloud test in PSL--the first ever full scale, high altitude ice crystal cloud turbofan engine test to be conducted in a ground based facility. The test article was a Lycoming ALF502-R5 high bypass turbofan engine, serial number LF01. The objectives of the test were to validate the PSL ice crystal cloud calibration and engine testing methodologies by demonstrating the capability to calibrate and duplicate known flight test events that occurred on the same LF01 engine and to generate engine data to support fundamental and computational research to investigate and better understand the physics of ice crystal icing in a turbofan engine environment while duplicating known revenue service events and conducting test points while varying facility and engine parameters. During PSL calibration testing it was discovered than heated probes installed through tunnel sidewalls experienced ice buildup aft of their location due to ice crystals impinging upon them, melting and running back. Filtered city water was used in the cloud generation nozzle system to provide ice crystal nucleation sites. This resulted in mineralization forming on flow path hardware that led to a chronic degradation of performance during the month long test. Lacking internal flow path cameras, the response of thermocouples along the flow path was interpreted as ice building up. Using this interpretation, a strong correlation between total water content (TWC) and a weaker correlation between median volumetric diameter (MVD) of the ice crystal cloud and the rate of ice buildup along the instrumented flow path was identified. For this test article the engine anti-ice system was required to be turned on before ice crystal icing would occur. The ice crystal icing event, an uncommanded reduction in thrust, was able to be turned on and off by manipulating cloud TWC. A flight test point where no ice crystal icing event occurred was also duplicated in PSL. Physics based computational tools were successfully used to predict tunnel settings to induce ice buildup along the low pressure compression system flow path for several test points at incrementally lower altitudes, demonstrating that development of ice crystal icing scaling laws is potentially feasible. Analysis of PSL test data showed that uncommanded reduction in thrust occurs during ice crystal cloud on operation prior to fan speed reduction. This supports previous findings that the reduction of thrust for this test article is due to ice buildup leading to a restricted airflow from either physical or aerodynamic blockage in the engine core flow path.
A Method of Over Bounding Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) Heavy Tail Error Distributions

The purpose of this paper is to describe a statistical method for modelling and accounting for the heavy tail fault-free error distributions that have been encountered in the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS), the FAA's version of a ground-based augmentation system (GBAS) for GPS. The method uses the Normal Inverse Gaussian (NIG) family of distributions to describe a heaviest tail distribution, and to select a suitable NIG family member as a model distribution based upon a statistical observability criterion applied to the FAA's LAAS prototype error data. Since the independent sample size of the data is limited to several thousand and the tail probability of interest is of the order of 10−9, there is a chance of mismodelling. A position domain monitor (PDM) is shown to provide significant mitigation of mismodelling, even for the heaviest tail that could be encountered, if it can meet certain stringent accuracy and threshold requirements. Aside from its application to GBAS, this paper should be of general interest because it describes a different approach to navigation error modelling and introduces the application of the NIG distribution to navigation error analysis.
Assessing Game Theory, Role Playing, and Unaided Judgment

Abstract Green’s study [Int. J. Forecasting (forthcoming)] on the accuracy of forecasting methods for conflicts does well against traditional scientific criteria. Moreover, it is useful, as it examines actual problems by comparing forecasting methods as they would be used in practice. Some biases exist in the design of the study and they favor game theory. As a result, the accuracy gain of game theory over unaided judgment may be illusory, and the advantage of role playing over game theory is likely to be greater than the 44% error reduction found by Green. The improved accuracy of role playing over game theory was consistent across situations. For those cases that simulated interactions among people with conflicting roles, game theory was no better than chance (28% correct), whereas role-playing was correct in 61% of the predictions.
Resistive contrast imaging applied to multilevel interconnection failure analysis

Resistive contrast imaging (RCI) is a new failure analysis technique that uses a scanning electron microscope to generate a relative resistance map of an integrated circuit. The RCI map can be used to localize abrupt changes in resistance and verify continuity. Results using RCI on several two-level interconnection devices are described. The images demonstrate how RCI can be used to differentiate between levels and to localize metal shorts and opens. Methods for improving image quality and level differentiation as well as future development work are discussed. >
Looking Behind Community College Budgets for Future Policy Considerations

This study reviews the historical trend of college revenues and expenditures from a national perspective using primarily data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) as reported by the Delta Project for the years 1999-2009. Looking at trends related to state and local appropriations, college costs and prices, output, and productivity, it argues that various policy issues flow from these trends. The recommendations that follow are not precise prescriptions for legislative action, but rather suggestions for the direction of public and institutional policy that invite further reflection and research.
Design and implementation of a web mining system for organizing search engine results

We present the design and implementation of a web mining system that creates a hierarchical clustering of web documents retrieved by commercial web search engines. The cluster hierarchy is produced by a novel method called the Cluster Hierarchy Construction Algorithm (CHCA) and it can be used to explore the topics of interest related to the search query and their relationships. We discuss important design issues for our system, including stemming and dimensionality reduction, as well as some implementation details. We show examples of system results, compare them with results from similar systems, and analyze the responses to a survey of the system's users. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 20: 607–625, 2005.
Transaction Costs and Organic Marketing: Evidence from U.S. Organic Produce Farmers

We develop a conceptual framework that integrates quality of output and transaction costs in the choice of marketing channels. We estimate a reduced-form Tobit model and a semi-reduced logit model using a farm-level cross-sectional dataset to measure the effects of transaction costs in farming ability to make sales to indirect markets (retailers and wholesalers). We find strong empirical evidence that existing organic retail and wholesale markets impose considerable barriers to entry on individual organic farmers. The effects of transaction costs are asymmetric between farmers, those who transitioned from conventional farming and those who did not. Those who did are overall favored, and those who did not are constrained by more types of transaction costs and are constrained more severely than those who did. We argue that an effective policy should target the least favored farmers by encouraging or mandating distributors and retailers have a more transparent and objective process in selecting organic suppliers, such that all farmers would have an equal opportunity to be successful in selling to indirect markets.
Refined Algebraic Quantization: Systems with a single constraint

Author(s): Marolf, Donald | Abstract: This paper explores in some detail a recent proposal (the Rieffel induction/refined algebraic quantization scheme) for the quantization of constrained gauge systems. Below, the focus is on systems with a single constraint and, in this context, on the uniqueness of the construction. While in general the results depend heavily on the choices made for certain auxiliary structures, an additional physical argument leads to a unique result for typical cases. We also discuss the `superselection laws' that result from this scheme and how their existence also depends on the choice of auxiliary structures. Again, when these structures are chosen in a physically motivated way, the resulting superselection laws are physically reasonable.
Cu(I)-mediated deoxygenation of N-oxides to amines ☆

Abstract A mild and highly efficient deoxygenation of variety of N-oxides using an inexpensive CuX, or a CuX–Zn or CuX–Al couple is described.
Duolingo: learn a language for free while helping to translate the web

I want to translate the Web into every major language: every webpage, every video, and, yes, even Justin Bieber's tweets. With its content split up into hundreds of languages -- and with over 50% of it in English -- most of the Web is inaccessible to most people in the world. This problem is pressing, now more than ever, with millions of people from China, Russia, Latin America and other quickly developing regions entering the Web. In this talk, I introduce my new project, called Duolingo, which aims at breaking this language barrier, and thus making the Web truly "world wide."We have all seen how systems such as Google Translate are improving every day at translating the gist of things written in other languages. Unfortunately, they are not yet accurate enough for my purpose: Even when what they spit out is intelligible, it's so badly written that I can't read more than a few lines before getting a headache.With Duolingo, our goal is to encourage people, like you and me, to translate the Web into their native languages.
The second academic revolution and the rise of entrepreneurial science

Entrepreneurial scientists and entrepreneurial universities are reshaping the academic landscape by transforming knowledge into intellectual property. Faculty members and graduate students are learning to assess the commercial as well as the intellectual potential of their research. During the past two decades, a broad range of universities, well beyond those with traditional ties to industry, have undertaken to mine their research resources for profit. As their interest in making money from their research resources grows, universities compete in a new arena.
Performance of debt free firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to find out whether investors tend to reward firms that resist the urge to borrow and operated with debt free balance sheet and penalize firms that have high levels of debt.Design/methodology/approach – The performance of portfolios of debt free firms are compared to comparable portfolios of leveraged firms. Debt free firms are matched with conventional firms of the same size from the same sector. Two tests of differences in the performance are conducted for a long period and for a short period.Findings – The results of the study indicate that investments in portfolios of debt free firms tend to generate higher returns than investments in their peers of portfolios of leveraged firms over long and short periods. The results have clear implications on investment decisions and investment performance. Investors tend to reward firms that resist the urge to borrow heavily and operate with debt free balance sheet and penalize firms that have high level of debt.Originality/v...
OVERTURE: An Object-Oriented Framework for High Performance Scientific Computing

The Overture Framework is an object-oriented environment for solving PDEs on serial and parallel architectures. It is a collection of C++ libraries that enables the use of finite difference and finite volume methods at a level that hides the details of the associated data structures, as well as the details of the parallel implementation. It is based on the A++/P++ array class library and is designed for solving problems on a structured grid or a collection of structured grids. In particular, it can use curvilinear grids, adaptive mesh refinement and the composite overlapping grid methods to represent problems with complex moving geometry. This paper introduces Overture, its motivation, and specifically the aspects of the design central to portability and high performance. In particular we focus on the mechanisms within Overture that permit a hierarchy of abstractions and those mechanisms which permit their efficiency on advanced serial and parallel architectures. We expect that these same mechanisms will become increasingly important within other object-oriented frameworks in the future.
Discrete-Time Model of an Adaptive Optics System

The standard adaptive optics system can be viewed as a sampled-data feedback system with a continuous-time disturbance (the incident wavefront from the observed object) and discrete-time measurement noise. A common performance measure for adaptive optics systems is the time-average of the pupil variance of the residual wavefront. This performance can be related to that of a discrete-time system obtained by lifting the incident and residual wavefronts. This paper derives the corresponding discrete-time model and the computation of the adaptive optics system residual variance based on that model. The predicted variance of a single mode of an adaptive optics system is shown, as expected, to be the same as that obtained via simulation. The discrete-time prediction is also shown to be superior to a continuous-time approximation of the adaptive optics system.
Predicting solvation energies for kinetic modeling

Ab initio and empirical methods for predicting solvation energies are reviewed, focusing on the challenge of predicting the solvation energies of reactive low-concentration species (and transition states) needed for kinetic models. Several rather different approaches are being pursued with success, but none of the purely a priori methods have yet achieved the accuracy needed to quantitatively predict solution-phase kinetics. Empirical methods are quite accurate at predicting the variation of a molecule’s solvation energy with changes in solvent. Some a priori approaches based on these empirical methods are discussed. Several effects which are poorly-predicted by existing a priori methods and need further work are highlighted.
Decentralized multihypothesis sequential detection

This article is concerned with decentralized sequential testing of multiple hypotheses. In a sensor network system with limited local memory, raw observations are observed at the local sensors, and quantized into binary sensor messages that are sent to a fusion center, which makes a final decision. It is assumed that the raw sensor observations are distributed according to a set of M ≥ 2 specified distributions, and the fusion center has to utilize quantized sensor messages to decide which one is the true distribution. Asymptotically Bayes tests are offered for decentralized multihypothesis sequential detection by combining three existing methodologies together: tandem quantizers, unambiguous likelihood quantizers, and randomized quantizers.
Betting on Secession: Quantifying Political Events Surrounding Slavery and the Civil War

Lincoln’s election produced Southern secession, war, and abolition. Using a new dataset on slave sales, we examine connections between news and slave prices for the period 1856–1861. By August 1861, slave prices had declined by roughly one-third from their 1860 peak. That decline was similar for all age and sex cohorts and thus did not reflect expected emancipation without compensation. The decision to secede reflected beliefs that the North would not invade and that emancipation without compensation was unlikely. Both were encouraged by Lincoln’s conciliatory tone before the attack on Fort Sumter, and subsequently dashed by Lincoln’s willingness to wage all-out war. (JEL D72, D74, D83, G14, H77, N31, N41)
Common Envelope Evolution

The short period binary system are thought to result from a prior phase of common envelope evolution. Although some observational evidence favors this hypothesis, theoretical calculations have not yet been able to demonstrate convincingly that it is correct. Recently, improvements in the theory have resulted by extension of the numerical simulations to two space dimensions. These calculations now indicate that ejection of much of the common envelope is probable, but that the eventual formation of a short period binary is still uncertain.
An intra/intermolecular suzuki sequence to benzopyridyloxepines containing geometrically pure exocyclic tetrasubstituted alkenes.

A route to enable the preparation of 5-benzylidenyl-benzopyridyloxepine analogues was developed to continue our research in the field of nuclear hormone receptor modulators. The key steps are1) a syn-stereoselective diboration of a tethered aryl alkyne; 2) an intramolecular Suzuki cross-coupling reaction, which forms in a stereo- and regiocontrolled fashion, the 5-exoalkylidenyl 7-membered ring imbedded within the core of the scaffold and; 3) an intermolecular Suzuki to furnish the final tetra-substituted olefinic benzopyridyloxepines.
Altruistic punishment and the origin of cooperation

How did human cooperation evolve? Recent evidence shows that many people are willing to engage in altruistic punishment, voluntarily paying a cost to punish noncooperators. Although this behavior helps to explain how cooperation can persist, it creates an important puzzle. If altruistic punishment provides benefits to nonpunishers and is costly to punishers, then how could it evolve? Drawing on recent insights from voluntary public goods games, I present a simple evolutionary model in which altruistic punishers can enter and will always come to dominate a population of contributors, defectors, and nonparticipants. The model suggests that the cycle of strategies in voluntary public goods games does not persist in the presence of punishment strategies. It also suggests that punishment can only enforce payoff-improving strategies, contrary to a widely cited “folk theorem” result that suggests that punishment can allow the evolution of any strategy.
High energy charged particle optics computer programs

Abstract The computer programs TRANSPORT and TURTLE are described, with special emphasis on recent developments. TRANSPORT is a general matrix evaluation and fitting program. First and second order transfer matrix elements, including those contributing to time-of-flight differences can be evaluated. Matrix elements of both orders can be fit, separately or simultaneously. Floor coordinates of the beam line may be calculated and included in any fits. Tables of results of misalignments, including effects of bilinear terms can be produced. Fringe fields and pole face rotation angles of bending magnets m be included and also adjusted automatically during the fitting process to produce rectangular magnets. A great variety of output options is available. TURTLE is a Monte Carlo program used to simulate beam line performance. It includes second order terms and aperture constraints. Replacable subroutines allow an unlimited variety of input beam distributions, scattering algorithms, variables which can be histogrammed, and aperture shapes. Histograms of beam loss can also be produced. Rectangular zero-gradient bending magnets with proper circular trajectories, sagitta offsets, pole face rotation angles, and aperture constraints can be included. The effect of multipole components of quadrupoles up to 40 pole can be evaluated.
Stereoselectivity of Methyl Aryldiazoacetate Cyclopropanations of 1,1-Diarylethylene. Asymmetric Synthesis of a Cyclopropyl Analogue of Tamoxifen

[formula: see text] Dirhodium tetrakis(S-(N-dodecylbenzenesulfonyl)prolinate) (Rh2(S-DOSP)4)-catalyzed decomposition of methyl phenyldiazoacetate in the presence of 1,1-diarylethylenes results in intermolecular cyclopropanation with high enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee) and moderate diastereoselectivity (up to 80% de). The reaction was applied to the asymmetric synthesis of a cyclopropyl analogue of tamoxifen.
A unified formal description of arithmetic and set theoretical data types

We provide a "shared axiomatization" of natural numbers and hereditarily finite sets built around a polymorphic abstraction of bijective base-2 arithmetics.The "axiomatization" is described as a progressive refinement of Haskell type classes with examples of instances converging to an efficient implementation in terms of arbitrary length integers and bit operations. As an instance, we derive algorithms to perform arithmetic operations efficiently directly with hereditarily finite sets.The self-contained source code of the paper is available at http:// logic.cse.unt.edu/tarau/research/2010/unified.hs
Thermal Management of On-Chip Caches Through Power Density Minimization

Various architectural power reduction techniques have been proposed for on-chip caches in the last decade. In this paper, we first show that these power reduction techniques can be suboptimal when thermal effects are considered. Then, we propose a thermal-aware cache power-down technique that minimizes the power density of the active parts by turning off alternating rows of memory cells instead of entire banks. The decrease in the power density lowers the temperature, which then exponentially reduces the leakage. Thus, leakage power of the active parts is reduced in addition to the power eliminated from the parts that are turned off. Simulations based on SPEC2000, NetBench, and MediaBench applications in a 70-nm technology show that the proposed thermal-aware architecture can reduce the total energy consumption by 53% compared to a conventional cache, and 14% compared to a cache architecture with thermal-unaware power reduction scheme. Second, we show a block permutation scheme that can be used during the design of the caches to maximize the distance between blocks with consecutive addresses. Because of spatial locality, blocks with consecutive addresses are likely to be accessed within a short time interval. By maximizing the distance between such blocks, we minimize the power density of the hot spots in the cache, and hence reduce the peak temperature. This, in return, results in an average leakage power reduction of 8.7% compared to a conventional cache without affecting the dynamic power and the latency. Overall, both of our architectures add no extra run-time penalty compared to the thermal-unaware power reduction schemes, yet they result in a significant reduction in the total energy consumption of a cache
Constrained coverage for mobile sensor networks

We consider the problem of self-deployment of a mobile sensor network. We are interested in a deployment strategy that maximizes the area coverage of the network with the constraint that each of the nodes has at least K neighbors, where K is a user-specified parameter. We propose an algorithm based on artificial potential fields which is distributed, scalable and does not require a prior map of the environment. Simulations establish that the resulting networks have the required degree with a high probability, are well connected and achieve good coverage. We present analytical results for the coverage achievable by uniform random and symmetrically tiled network configurations and use these to evaluate the performance of our algorithm.
Minimax-optimal rates for sparse additive models over kernel classes via convex programming

Sparse additive models are families of d-variate functions with the additive decomposition f* = Σj∈S fj*, where S is an unknown subset of cardinality s < d. In this paper, we consider the case where each univariate component function fj* lies in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS), and analyze a method for estimating the unknown function f* based on kernels combined with l1-type convex regularization. Working within a high-dimensional framework that allows both the dimension d and sparsity s to increase with n, we derive convergence rates in the L2(P) and L2(Pn) norms over the class Fd,s,H of sparse additive models with each univariate function fj* in the unit ball of a univariate RKHS with bounded kernel function. We complement our upper bounds by deriving minimax lower bounds on the L2(P) error, thereby showing the optimality of our method. Thus, we obtain optimal minimax rates for many interesting classes of sparse additive models, including polynomials, splines, and Sobolev classes. We also show that if, in contrast to our univariate conditions, the d-variate function class is assumed to be globally bounded, then much faster estimation rates are possible for any sparsity s = Ω(√n), showing that global boundedness is a significant restriction in the high-dimensional setting.
Planning for Modular and Hybrid Fixtures

Fixturing encompasses the design and assembly of fixtures to locate and hold a workpiece during a manufacturing operation such as machining or assembly. We have implemented an automated design algorithm for a fixturing toolkit called the fixture vise; the fixture vise involves two fixture plates mounted on jaws of a vise and modular fixturing elements (pegs or flatted pegs). Generally, a fixture vise can handle appropriately sized prismatic workpieces in many different ways. The design algorithm runs in O(A) time, where A is the number of configurations achieving simultaneous contact between the modeled object and four fixture elements; since simultaneous contact is a necessary but not sufficient precondition for force closure, A provides an upper bound on the number of force closure fixture configurations.
The Use of Nitrogen Dioxide to Improve the Superconducting Properties of YBa2Cu3O7

On peut ameliorer substantiellement l'homogeneite elementaire de poudres de YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 en les chauffant a 950°C dans une atmosphere contenant NO 2 , puis en procedant a un recuit dans O 2 au-dessus de 750°C et en refroidissant lentement jusqu'a temperature ambiante. L'amelioration de l'homogeneite entraine une augmentation du signal d'exclusion de flux pour la poudre traitee par NO 2 , comme le montrent les mesures realisees en courant alternatif.