cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Children of Twins Design

Because parents provide the environmental context for the family and transmit genetic makeup to their offspring, the genetic and environmental processes responsible for associations between family risk factors and offspring adjustment are confounded. Social scientists typically use statistical controls to account for ‘third’ variables that influence both characteristics, but family studies cannot account for unmeasured genetic or environmental confounds. The Children of Twins (CoT) Design can separate co-occurring genetic and environmental developmental mechanisms because the design utilizes control groups that vary in genetic and environmental risk. As a result, the design can delineate intergenerational associations into (a) environmental processes specifically related to the risk factor, (b) genetic factors that influence the risk factor and offspring characteristic, and (c) common environmental factors that vary between families. The CoT approach offers advantages over traditional family studies that assume genetic factors are not important; rather, the genetically informed design explores the manner in which genetic and environment processes act to influence offspring adjustment. Keywords: behavior genetics; adoption studies; cotwin control; gene-environment correlation; intergenerational transmission; causal processes
Does Microfinance Alleviate the Financing Constraints of Ghanaian Small Businesses

The paper examines the impact of MFIs on microenterprises in Ghana. Employing the financing constraints approach and using 2007 BEEPS data, supported with a Propensity Score Matching method, results indicate that unconstrained microenterprises are less sensitive to internal funds and thus MFIs have alleviated financing constraints to an appreciable level.
Magnetosphere-ionosphere energy interchange in the electron diffuse aurora

[1] The diffuse aurora has recently been shown to be a major contributor of energy flux into the Earth's ionosphere. Therefore, a comprehensive theoretical analysis is required to understand its role in energy redistribution in the coupled ionosphere-magnetosphere system. In previous theoretical descriptions of precipitated magnetospheric electrons (E∼ 1 keV), the major focus has been the ionization and excitation rates of the neutral atmosphere and the energy deposition rate to thermal ionospheric electrons. However, these precipitating electrons will also produce secondary electrons via impact ionization of the neutral atmosphere. This paper presents the solution of the Boltzman-Landau kinetic equation that uniformly describes the entire electron distribution function in the diffuse aurora, including the affiliated production of secondary electrons (E< 600 eV) and their ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling processes. In this article, we discuss for the first time how diffuse electron precipitation into the atmosphere and the associated secondary electron production participate in ionosphere-magnetosphere energy redistribution.
Recent experience with diagnostic and surgical laparoscopy.

Abstract A two year experience with laparoscopy is presented including biopsies and tubal sterilization. No serious complications were encountered. Some relative advantages of the procedure are discussed including early hospital discharge and the relative ease for a person trained in gynecologic surgery to learn to use the procedure to assist in diagnostic problems. Operative procedures with laparoscopy should be left to individuals with a broad experience.
Lubrication Of Nonconformal Contacts

Minimum film thickness results for piezoviscous-rigid regime of lubrication are developed for a compressible Newtonian fluid with Roelands viscosity. The results provide a basis for the analysis and design of a wide range of machine elements operating in the piezoviscous-rigid regime of lubrication. A new numerical method of calculating elastic deformation in contact stresses is developed using a biquadratic polynomial to approximate the pressure distribution on the whole domain analyzed. The deformation of every node is expressed as a linear combination of the nodal pressures whose coefficients can be combined into an influence coefficient matrix. This approach has the advantages of improved numerical accuracy, less computing time and smaller storage size required for influence matrix. The ideal elastohydrodynamic lubrication is extended to real bearing systems in order to gain an understanding of failure mechanisms in machine elements. The improved elastic deformation calculation is successfully incorporated into the EHL numerical scheme. Using this revised numerical technique and the flow factor model developed by Patir and Cheng (1978) the surface roughness effects on the elastohydrodynamic lubrication of point contact is considered. Conditions typical of an EHL contact in the piezoviscous-elastic regime entrained in pure rolling are investigated. Results are compared with the smooth surface solutions. Experiments are conducted to study the transient EHL effects in instrument ball bearings.
SIRTF: The next step

The scientific and technical background and prospects for the space infrared telescope facility (SIRTF) are described. This facility is a superfluid-helium-cooled, 0.85-meter infrared telescope to be placed in orbit in 1993. It is designed to carry out photometry over the wavelength range 2 to 700 micrometers, and diffraction-limited imagery in either broad or narrow spectral bands over the range 1.8 to 200 micrometers. It is proposed that SIRTF measure spectra in the range 2.5 to 200 micrometers with resolving power between 50 and 1000 and that the focal plane contain about 20,000 detector elements, both discrete and in arrays. The SIRTF observatory is designed to be a long-lived facility providing opportunities for general investigations by the entire scientific community. For following up the all-sky survey carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), SIRTF is ideal. It can do a deep survey to flux levels 5000 times fainer than IRAS and can obtain spectra of even the faintest IRAS sources.
Geosynchronous performance of a lithium-titanium disulfide battery

The author reports on an accelerated synchronous orbit life test of a five-cell, Li-TiS/sub 2/ battery. The five-cell battery is comprised of experimental cells of advanced design that were obtained from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). A charge/discharge, state-of-charge control scheme with taper charge current control is used to reduce the deleterious effects of high end-of-charge and low end-of-discharge voltages. The results of this Li-TiS/sub 2/ battery test show a capability that should lead to success in meeting a 10-orbital year goal with near-term cell improvements. >
Equilibrium pure states and nonequilibrium chaos

We consider nonequilibrium systems such as the Edwards–Anderson Ising spin glass at a temperature where, in equilibrium, there are presumed to be (two or many) broken-symmetry pure states. Following a deep quench, we argue that as time t→∞, although the system is usually in some pure state locally, either it never settles permanently on a fixed length scale into a single pure state, or it does, but then the pure state depends on both the initial spin configuration and the realization of the stochastic dynamics. But this latter case can occur only if there exists an uncountable number of pure states (for each coupling realization) with almost every pair having zero overlap. In both cases, almost no initial spin configuration is in the basin of attraction of a single pure state; that is, the configuration space (resulting from a deep quench) is all boundary (except for a set of measure zero). We prove that the former case holds for deeply quenched 2D ferromagnets. Our results raise the possibility that even if more than one pure state exists for an infinite system, time averages do not necessarily disagree with Boltzmann averages.
Motivation of synthesis, with an example on groundwater quality sustainability

[1] Synthesis of ideas and theories from disparate disciplines is necessary for addressing the major problems faced by society. The best motivation for broad, effective synthesis is the "big idea" that is sufficiently important and inspiring to marshal the appropriate collaborative efforts. Groundwater quality sustainability is posed as an example of one such idea that would potentially unify research efforts in both the sciences and social sciences toward a common, pressing objective.
Numerical simulations of fuel droplet flows using a Lagrangian triangular mesh

The incompressible, Lagrangian, triangular grid code, SPLISH, was converted for the study of flows in and around fuel droplets. This involved developing, testing and incorporating algorithms for surface tension and viscosity. The major features of the Lagrangian method and the algorithms are described. Benchmarks of the algorithms are given. Several calculations are presented for kerosene droplets in air. Finally, extensions which make the code compressible and three dimensional are discussed.
The Performance Disclosures of Credit Rating Agencies: Are They Effective Reputational Sanctions?

The SEC has recently added new provisions to the credit rating agency regulation. These provisions require credit rating agencies to disclose publicly their rating actions and performance measurements. The new requirements seek to achieve two goals: (1) deter conflicts of interest in the credit rating industry by invoking the reputational sanction power of performance statistics, and (2) help new entrants to the industry build a track record so they can compete with established agencies. This paper reveals empirical evidence that the current disclosure requirements cannot achieve these goals and makes recommendations on how the regulation should be improved in light of consumer choice research and cognitive science findings on effective communication.
Constructive decision theory

Most models of decisionmaking under uncertainty describe a decision environment with a set of states and a set of outcomes. Objects of choice are acts, functions from states to outcomes. The decision maker (DM) holds a preference relation on the set of all such functions. Representation theorems characterize those preference relations with utility functions on acts that separate (more or less) tastes on outcomes from beliefs on states.
Investigating Travel Time Reliability Measures in Toll Design Problem

Congestion pricing has been regarded as an effective method of reducing networkwide travel cost. Previous work on the toll-design problem focused on the deterministic network, assuming that the network operates deterministically without uncertainty. This essentially precludes investigating the recently proposed travel time reliability indices as a system performance measure to evaluate and prioritize the selection of future investment strategies. In this study, the authors investigate various recently proposed travel time reliability measures in determining the optimal toll strategies to improve travel time reliability in the network. A simulation-based genetic algorithm (SGA) procedure is developed to solve the stochastic bi-level programming problem. The experimental results using a simple test network show that optimal toll determined by the misery index can improve both travel time reliability for network users and total travel time for the network planner.
Boss Competence and Worker Well-being

Nearly all workers have a supervisor or “boss.” Yet little is known about how bosses influence the quality of employees’ lives. This study offers new evidence. First, the authors find that a boss’s technical competence is the single strongest predictor of a worker’s job satisfaction. Second, they demonstrate using longitudinal data, after controlling for fixed-effects, that even if a worker stays in the same job and workplace, a rise in the competence of a supervisor is associated with an improvement in the worker’s well-being. Third, the authors report a variety of robustness checks, including tentative instrumental variable results. These findings, which draw on U.S. and British data, contribute to an emerging literature on the role of “expert leaders” in organizations.
Distributional impact analysis of the energy price reform in Turkey

A pricing reform in Turkey increased the residential electricity tariff by more than 50 percent in 2008. The reform, aimed at encouraging energy efficiency and private investment, sparked considerable policy debate about its potential impact on household welfare. This paper estimates a short-run residential electricity demand function for evaluating the distributional consequences of the tariff reform. The model allows heterogeneity in household price sensitivities and is estimated using a national sample of 18,671 Turkish households. The model also addresses the common problem of missing data in survey research. The study reveals a highly skewed distribution of price elasticities in the population, with rich households three times more responsive in adjusting consumption to price changes than the poor. This is most likely because the poor are close to their minimum electricity consumption levels and have fewer coping options. In addition, the welfare loss of the poorest quintile -- measured by the consumer surplus change as a percentage of income -- is 2.9 times of that of the wealthiest.
Observations of Faint, Hard-Band X-Ray Sources in the Field of CRSS J0030.5+2618 with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope*

We present results from a study of 2–8 keV X-ray sources detected by the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on the Chandra X-Ray Observatory in the field of the z = 0.516 cluster CRSS J0030.5+2618. In our 63.5 arcmin2 search area, we detect 10 sources with 2–8 keV fluxes down to ≈4 × 10-15 ergs cm-2 s-1; our lowest flux sources are ≈10 times fainter than those previously available for study in this band. Our derived source density is about an order of magnitude larger than previous source counts above 2 keV, although this density may be enhanced somewhat because of the presence of the cluster. We detail our methods for source detection and characterization, and we show that the resulting source list and parameters are robust. We have used the Marcario Low-Resolution Spectrograph on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope to obtain optical spectra for several of our sources; by combining these spectra with archival data, we find that the sources appear to be active galaxies, often with narrow permitted lines, red optical continua, or hard X-ray spectra. Four of the X-ray sources are undetected to R = 21.7; if they reside in L* galaxies they must have z > 0.55–0.75 and hard X-ray luminosities of L2–8 4 × 1042 ergs s-1. We detect all but one of our 2–8 keV sources in the 0.2–2 keV band as well. This result extends to significantly lower fluxes the constraints on any large, completely new population of X-ray sources that appears above 2–3 keV.
Auroral particle precipitation characterized by the substorm cycle

[1] Substorms release a large amount of energy, some of which is used to energize the precipitating particles in the polar region. Superposed epoch analysis was performed with 11 years of DMSP SSJ/4/5 data to characterize the substorm cycle of the diffuse, monoenergetic, and broadband/wave precipitating electrons and precipitating ions. Although substorms only increase the ion pressure by 30%, they increase the power of the diffuse, monoenergetic, and wave electron aurora by 310%, 71%, and 170%, respectively. Substorms energize the ion aurora mainly in the 21:00–05:00 magnetic local time (MLT) sector. The dynamics of the diffuse electron aurora are different from those of the other two electron aurorae. The expansion phase duration is approximately 15 min for the monoenergetic and wave electron aurorae, whereas it is 1 h for the diffuse electron aurora. The monoenergetic and wave electron aurorae appear to complete the substorm cycle within a 5 h interval, whereas the diffuse electron aurora takes more than 5 h. The diffuse electron aurora power and energy flux start increasing at 15 min before the substorm onset, whereas those for the monoenergetic and wave electron aurorae start increasing at 1 h and 15 min before the onset. The increase in the monoenergetic electron aurora power and energy flux may result from the increase in the magnetotail stretching and region-1 field-aligned current during the growth phase. The monoenergetic electrons may also be associated with fast flows, which have been previously observed more frequently in the dusk-midnight sector.
Additive Approximation for Near-Perfect Phylogeny Construction

We study the problem of constructing phylogenetic trees for a given set of species. The problem is formulated as that of finding a minimum Steiner tree on n points over the Boolean hypercube of dimension d. It is known that an optimal tree can be found in linear time [1] if the given dataset has a perfect phylogeny, i.e. cost of the optimal phylogeny is exactly d. Moreover, if the data has a near-perfect phylogeny, i.e. the cost of the optimal Steiner tree is d + q, it is known [2] that an exact solution can be found in running time which is polynomial in the number of species and d, yet exponential in q. In this work, we give a polynomial-time algorithm (in both d and q) that finds a phylogenetic tree of cost d + O(q 2). This provides the best guarantees known—namely, a (1 + o(1))-approximation—for the case \(\log(d) \ll q \ll \sqrt{d}\), broadening the range of settings for which near-optimal solutions can be efficiently found. We also discuss the motivation and reasoning for studying such additive approximations.
Volatility of short term capital flows, financial anarchy and private investment in emerging markets

Using micro-level panel data, the paper analyses the impacts of short-term capital flow volatility on new fixed investment spending of publicly traded real sector firms in three major emerging markets that are Argentina, Mexico and Turkey. The empirical results including comprehensive sensitivity tests suggest that increasing volatility of capital inflows has an economically and statistically significant negative effect on new investment spending of private firms. Accordingly, a 10 per cent increase in capital flow volatility reduces fixed investment spending in the range of 1-1.7, 2.3-15.1, and 1 per cent in Argentina, Mexico and Turkey respectively.
Revenue-productive income tax structures and tax reforms in emerging market economies - evidence from Bulgaria

Using a household budget survey for 1992, The author shows the poor revenue performance and distributional impact of Bulgaria's personal income tax system. He explores the implications for revenue and income distribution of two alternative tax systems - a flat tax and a progressive but simpler three-brackets tax system. He demonstrates that simpler tax structures with lower tax rates could achieve at least equal revenue and distributional objectives and are superior in terms of efficiency and equity. (The findings are robust when Bulgaria's significant tax evasion is included). But tax changes since 1992 have, if anything, moved Bulgaria even further from a simple income tax system: the number of rates and brackets increased from 7 to 10, and the levels of exemption remain unchanged. (Complex, higher rates complicate administration and enforcement and provide incentives for tax evasions. And in the alternative systems the author explores, the poor are protected with higher exemptions.) Fortunately, the country's personal income tax structure began to move toward less nominal progressivity after Bulgaria's 1997 tax reform program. The tax rate in the top income bracket was reduced from 52 percent to 40 percent, the number of tax brackets was halved, and the exemption level was increased 20 percent (reducing tax burdens on the poor).
The challenges of poverty and social welfare in the Caribbean

Poverty and related social problems have presented a long-standing challenge to policy makers and development planners throughout the Caribbean. This article is a social primer on anti-poverty strategies and welfare programmes established in Caribbean countries. It presents a comprehensive overview of poverty and attendant problems, discusses the social welfare approach and poverty reduction strategies, and outlines practical proposals for pursuing social development.
The Economic Consequences of Tax Service Provider Sanctions: Evidence from KPMG's Deferred Prosecution Agreement

ABSTRACT: This study investigates the effect of KPMG's Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) on the accounting firm's ability to sell auditor-provided tax services (APTS) and its clients' tax avoidance. We document that following the DPA, clients were more likely to discontinue or reduce purchasing APTS from KPMG relative to the other Big 4 accounting firms. However, we do not find any evidence of a change in tax avoidance among KPMG clients continuing to purchase APTS following the DPA relative to other Big 4 clients. Broadly, our findings highlight how elevated reporting standards and external monitoring impose significant negative economic consequences on the service providers subject to these sanctions. At the same time, it appears clients do not suffer any observable tax costs by continuing to engage a sanctioned tax service provider.
Climatic and biogeochemical effects of a galactic gamma ray burst

[1] It is likely that one or more gamma ray bursts within our galaxy have strongly irradiated the Earth in the last Gy. This produces significant atmospheric ionization and dissociation, resulting in ozone depletion and DNA-damaging ultraviolet solar flux reaching the surface for up to a decade. Here we show the first detailed computation of two other significant effects. Visible opacity of NO2 is sufficient to reduce solar energy at the surface up to a few percent, with the greatest effect at the poles, which may be sufficient to initiate glaciation. Rainout of dilute nitric acid could have been important for a burst nearer than our conservative “nearest burst”. These results support the hypothesis that the characteristics of the Late Ordovician mass extinction are consistent with GRB initiation.
Exposing the Hidden Web: An Analysis of Third-Party HTTP Requests on 1 Million Websites

This article provides a quantitative analysis of privacy-compromising mechanisms on 1 million popular websites. Findings indicate that nearly 9 in 10 websites leak user data to parties of which the user is likely unaware; more than 6 in 10 websites spawn third-party cookies; and more than 8 in 10 websites load Javascript code from external parties onto users’ computers. Sites that leak user data contact an average of nine external domains, indicating that users may be tracked by multiple entities in tandem. By tracing the unintended disclosure of personal browsing histories on the Web, it is revealed that a handful of U.S. companies receive the vast bulk of user data. Finally, roughly 1 in 5 websites are potentially vulnerable to known National Security Agency spying techniques at the time of analysis.
Adjustments and their Consequences—Collapsibility Analysis using Graphical Models

We consider probabilistic and graphical rules for detecting situations in which a dependence of one variable on another is altered by adjusting for a third variable (i.e., noncollapsibility), whether that dependence is causal or purely predictive. We focus on distinguishing situations in which adjustment will reduce, increase, or leave unchanged the degree of bias in an association of two variables when that association is taken to represent a causal effect of one variable on the other. We then consider situations in which adjustment may partially remove or introduce a potential source of bias in estimating causal effects, and some additional special cases useful for casecontrol studies, cohort studies with loss, and trials with noncompliance (nonadherence).
Collaborative multidiscipline/multiscale analysis, modeling, simulation and integration in complex systems: system biology

Analysis, Modeling and Integration of Complex Systems are difficult. Collaboration among dissimilar disciplines is difficult. But, integrated interdisciplinary collaboration is essential in making sense of complex systems. This creates a dilemma with complex systems at the end of one horn and interdisciplinary collaboration at the other. There is another wrinkle, combining the conceptual spaces at the ends of the horns makes each much more difficult. Rather than trying to pass between the horns of this dilemma, we weave a semantic unification space between them. This does more than ironing out the wrinkle; the threads of common image schemas, cognitive metaphors and conceptual interfaces form a mesh between the organizations of each problem, making the combined problem easier that either is separately. This paper presents a naturally valid, both discipline specific and discipline integrating, framework and a new foundationsl semantic mechanism for making multidisciplinary sense of complex systems
A model for the homotopy theory of homotopy theory

We describe a category, the objects of which may be viewed as models for homotopy theories. We show that for such models, “functors between two homotopy theories form a homotopy theory”, or more precisely that the category of such models has a well-behaved internal hom-object.
O espaço como palavra-chave

Neste artigo, David Harvey discute teoricamente “espaco” como uma palavra-chave, associando a visao tripartite espaco absoluto-relativo-relacional com a leitura lefebvreana dos espacos percebido, concebido e vivido (tambem denominados espacos material ou experimentado, conceitualizado e da representacao). Palavras-chave: espaco absoluto; espaco relativo e relacional; espaco material, conceitualizado e vivido.
Extensible Generic Data Management Software

The integrated Rule Oriented Data System (iRODS) provides an excellent use case for exploring sustainable software development. The iRODS data grid software is the product of a 20-year development effort that relied on funding from multiple federal agencies. Each agency needed infrastructure to support multiple scientific disciplines. Each discipline potentially required multiple types of data management (sharing, publication, preservation, and processing). The iRODS software was developed as generic infrastructure that could be tuned to implement the desired data support mechanisms. Active engagement of the user communities was encouraged through open source collaborative development. Based on the successful application of the software across the multiple disciplines, we make three claims about sustainable software development: 1) that the success of the software is dependent on having a highly extensible architecture; 2) that extensible software enables infrastructure re-use across domains; and 3) that consortium based development enables long-term support for software infrastructure.
A finite subdivision rule for the n-dimensional torus

Cannon, Floyd, and Parry have studied subdivisions of the 2-sphere extensively, especially those corresponding to 3-manifolds, in an attempt to prove Cannon’s conjecture. There has been a recent interest in generalizing some of their tools, such as extremal length, to higher dimensions. We define finite subdivision rules of dimension n, and find an n − 1-dimensional finite subdivision rule for the n-dimensional torus, using a well-known simplicial decomposition of the hypercube.
Determining multipole mixing ratios from nuclear orientation experiments

Abstract Statistical methods using weighted nonlinear least squares and noncentral-F distribution theory to obtain multipole mixing ratios and their uncertainties from nuclear orientation measurements are described. Results using these methods are compared with those obtained from methods currently in use.
The atomic physics underlying the spectroscopic analysis of massive stars and supernovae

We have developed a radiative transfer code, cmfgen, which allows us to model the spectra of massive stars and supernovae. Using cmfgen we can derive fundamental parameters such as effective temperatures and surface gravities, derive abundances, and place constraints on stellar wind properties. The last of these is important since all massive stars are losing mass via a stellar wind that is driven from the star by radiation pressure, and this mass loss can substantially influence the spectral appearance and evolution of the star. Recently we have extended cmfgen to allow us to undertake time-dependent radiative transfer calculations of supernovae. Such calculations will be used to place constraints on the supernova progenitor, to place constraints on the supernova explosion and nucleosynthesis, and to derive distances using a physical approach called the “Expanding Photosphere Method”. We describe the assumptions underlying the code and the atomic processes involved. A crucial ingredient in the code is the atomic data. For the modeling we require accurate transition wavelengths, oscillator strengths, photoionization cross-sections, collision strengths, autoionization rates, and charge exchange rates for virtually all species up to, and including, cobalt. Presently, the available atomic data varies substantially in both quantity and quality.
A 700+-mW class D design with direct battery hookup in a 90-nm process

A "battery connect" compatible class D (switching) amplifier which is fully integrated in a 90-nm digital CMOS process is presented. The integration of the amplifier requires no additional masks, processing, or cost. This paper includes a brief description of the circuit techniques that enable direct battery (2.7-5.4 V) connection and allow support >6.7 V/sub P2P/ (700 mW into 8 /spl Omega/) output swing from a 4.2-V supply using devices that operate solely with low gate voltages. The achieved SNR over an audio (20 Hz to 20 kHz) bandwidth >98.5 dB and the total harmonic distortion (THD) is better than 0.03% at 500 mW. Efficiency is greater than 75% above 375 mW. The power supply rejection ratio, which is a crucial parameter in modules connected directly to the battery, is measured at 70 dB at 217 Hz. The area of the switching amplifier is <0.44 mm/sup 2/, where the power devices occupy approximately 20% of the total.
The effects of moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy on fetal growth and morphogenesis

Information on fetal hazards arising from moderate or low levels of maternal alcohol consumption is unavailable in man. In order to study this question an unselected group of pregnant women was interviewed during pregnancy regarding their alcohol intake. At the time of delivery pairs of high-risk and control infants were examined without knowledge of maternal drinking history. Of 163 infants examined, 11 were judged clinically to show signs compatible with a prenatal effect of alcohol on growth and morphogenesis. Nine of these 11 came from the high-risk drinking group. Only two of these infants were classified as having the fetal alcohol syndrome, and each of the mothers was a very heavy drinker. The other seven infants, who showed lesser alterations of growth and morphogenesis suggestive of fetal alcohol syndrome, were born to women who reported drinking an average of one ounce or more of absolute alcohol per day in the month prior to recognition of pregnancy. These results indicate that both moderate and high levels of alcohol intake during early pregnancy may result in alterations of growth and morphogenesis in the fetus.
Post Keynesian versus neoclassical explanations of exchange rate movements: a short look at the long run

In this paper, a series of empirical tests are conducted comparing the explanatory power of the neoclassical approach (in particular, purchasing power parity and the monetary model) with that of a long-run exchange rate model based on Post Keynesian premises (the tests use annual data for the dollar- deutsche mark and the dollar-yen from 1975 through 1998). It is shown that, despite the shift in time horizon and the biasing of the tests in favor of the neoclassical approach, the Post Keynesian approach still shows a much tighter fit to the historical facts.
Synthesis of 10-propargylfolic acid from 2-amino-6-(bromomethyl)-4(1h)-pteridinone

6-(Bromomethyl)-2,4-pteridinediamine hydrobromide (1) is readily converted to 2-amino-6-(bromomethyl)-4(1H)-pteridinone hydrobromide (2) by treatment with 48% hydrobromic acid. Compound 2 is of interest for direct attachment of the (2-amino-3,4-dihydro-4-oxo-6-pteridinyl)methyl group to appropriate side-chain precursors of analogues of folic acid, particularly those bearing functional groups incompatible with conditions required for hydrolytic deamination of the corresponding 2,4-diaminopteridine analogues. An example of the use of 2 in this connection is demonstrated through synthesis of 10-propargylfolic acid.
Synthesis of many different types of organic small molecules using one automated process

Small-molecule synthesis usually relies on procedures that are highly customized for each target. A broadly applicable automated process could greatly increase the accessibility of this class of compounds to enable investigations of their practical potential. Here we report the synthesis of 14 distinct classes of small molecules using the same fully automated process. This was achieved by strategically expanding the scope of a building block–based synthesis platform to include even C sp3 -rich polycyclic natural product frameworks and discovering a catch-and-release chromatographic purification protocol applicable to all of the corresponding intermediates. With thousands of compatible building blocks already commercially available, many small molecules are now accessible with this platform. More broadly, these findings illuminate an actionable roadmap to a more general and automated approach for small-molecule synthesis.
Unexpected results in the chiral limit with staggered fermions

Abstract A cluster algorithm is constructed and applied to study the chiral limit of the strongly coupled lattice Schwinger model involving staggered fermions. The algorithm is based on a novel loop representation of the model. Finite size scaling of the chiral susceptibility based on data from lattices of size up to 64×64 indicates the absence of long range correlations at strong couplings. Assuming that there is no phase transition at a weaker coupling, the results imply that all mesons acquire a mass at non-zero lattice spacings. Although this does not violate any known physics, it is surprising since typically one expects a single pion to remain massless at non-zero lattice spacings in the staggered fermion formulation.
Radio Spectral Index Variations and Physical Conditions in Kepler's Supernova Remnant

A new epoch of VLA measurements of Kepler's supernova remnant (SNR) was obtained to make accurate measurements of the radio spectral index variations and polarization. We have compared these new radio images with Hα, infrared (IR), and X-ray data to better understand the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of Kepler's SNR and to better understand the physical relationships between the various nonthermal and thermal plasmas. Spatial variations in the radio spectral index from -0.85 to -0.6 are observed between 6 and 20 cm. The mean spectral index is -0.71. The mean percent polarization is 3.5% at 20 cm and 6% at 6 cm. There is a strong correspondence between the radial and azimuthal profiles of the radio, X-ray, Hα, and IR emission in different locations around the remnant, although there is no single, global pattern. Spectral tomography shows that the flat- and steep-spectrum radio emissions have distinct structures. The flat-spectrum radio emission is found at either a larger radius than or coincident with the steep-spectrum emission. We interpret these spectral components as tracing forward- and reverse-shocked material, respectively. The flat-spectrum radio emission can alternatively be interpreted as the bow shocked material (reshocked by the forward shock) from the progenitor's motion through the interstellar medium. The Hα and IR images are very similar. Their leading edges are coincident and are either in front of or coincident with the leading edges of the X-ray and radio emission. The X-ray emission matches the Hα and IR emission in places and, in other places, traces the steep-spectrum radio emission. In the north, there is also an anticorrelation in the azimuthal profiles around the remnant of the flat-spectrum radio emission and the thermal X-ray, Hα, and IR emissions. We suggest that this could be due to a relative weakening of the particle acceleration at the forward shock due to Alfven wave damping in regions of high density.
Turbulent Separated and Reattached Flow Over a Curved Surface

Essai en soufflerie. Mesure des distributions et fluctuations de pression de surface. Mesures d'intermittence
Two proteins for the price of one: the design of maximally compressed coding sequences

The emerging field of synthetic biology moves beyond conventional genetic manipulation to construct novel life forms which do not originate in nature. We explore the problem of designing the provably shortest genomic sequence to encode a given set of genes by exploiting alternate reading frames. We present an algorithm for designing the shortest DNA sequence simultaneously encoding two given amino acid sequences. We show that the coding sequence of naturally occurring pairs of overlapping genes approach maximum compression. We also investigate the impact of alternate coding matrices on overlapping sequence design. Finally, we discuss an interesting application for overlapping gene design, namely the interleaving of an antibiotic resistance gene into a target gene inserted into a virus or plasmid for amplification.
REIT Stock Splits and Market Efficiency

An analysis of real estate investment trust (REIT) stock splits is presented. Evaluation of the initial reaction to split REITs supports efficient market pricing where REITs generate statistically significant positive announcement date returns, no statistically significant record date returns, and muted ex-date returns. In the long-term, split REITs do not consistently out perform benchmark portfolios over one-year, two-year, and three-year periods. REITs split subsequent to a substantial run up in stock price and to improve the position of their post split stock price relative to the stock price of the typical REIT.
Pressure groups and redistribution

Abstract The simple pressure group model of political redistribution can predict more with less restrictive assumptions. Instead of ready-made pressure groups composed of individuals who vote their pocketbooks, we posit heterogeneous agents each of whom decides which group to join and how much effort to expend on political activity. Our model then examines ‘social affinity’ conditions that foster pressure group formation. Political sympathies based on social affinity imply testable effects of growth rate and income distribution on progressive transfers, effects that prove substantial in pooled time-series cross-section regressions for 13 OECD countries, 1960–1981.
Extensive preoperative testing is not necessary in morbidly obese patients undergoing gastric bypass.

Morbidly obese patients are considered at high risk for perioperative complications and often undergo extensive testing for preoperative clearance. We analyzed prospectively collected data from 193 patients undergoing weight loss surgery between November 2000 and November 2002. Preoperative chest x-ray examination, pulmonary function tests, noninvasive cardiac testing, and blood work were performed routinely. Preoperative testing identified abnormalities on eight chest x-ray films (4%) and 29 electrocardiograms (15%), none of which required preoperative intervention. Spirometry was abnormal in 41 patients (21%); logistic regression identified preexisting asthma as predictive of obstructive physiology (odds ratio [OR] 3.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2 to 8.9), and body mass index as predictive of restrictive physiology (OR 1.1; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.2). Arterial blood gases identified only one case of severe hypoxemia requiring intervention. Mild hypoxemia was associated with increasing age (OR 14.5; 95% CI 1.8 to 114). Echocardiography demonstrated four abnormalities (2%); previous history of cardiac disease was the only risk factor (OR 14.5; 95% CI 1.8 to 114). Complete blood count did not identify 84% and 50% of the patients with iron (n = 31) and vitamin B12 (n = 12) deficiencies, respectively. Age, body mass index, and history of asthma were associated with abnormal pulmonary function tests and previous cardiac disease with abnormal cardiac testing. These tests are not mandatory as a routine preoperative evaluation and can be used selectively on the basis of medical history.
The crisis of the international capitalist order and its implications for the welfare state.

This article analyzes the current crisis of the international capitalist order and its consequences for the welfare state policies of developed and underdeveloped capitalist countries. Special emphasis is given to the impact of the crisis on state health care policies in those countries. The first part discusses the response of capital and labor to the crisis, with special focus on capital's political and ideological interventions in the areas of production, consumption, and legitimation; and their realization as health care policies. The second part analyzes the major capitalist responses to the crisis—the “market” and the “social contract” strategies—and their consequences for health care policy. The last part critically evaluates the call for a new economic order and its limitations.
Activity in Geminid Parent (3200) Phaethon

The asteroid (3200) Phaethon is widely recognized as the parent of the Geminid meteoroid stream. However, it has never shown evidence for ongoing mass loss or for any form of comet-like activity that would indicate the continued replenishment of the stream. Following an alert by Battams & Watson, we used NASA’s STEREOA spacecraft to image Phaethon near perihelion, in the period UT 2009 June 17‐22, when the heliocentric distance was near 0.14 AU. The resulting photometry shows an unexpected brightening, by a factor of two, starting UT 2009 June 20.2 ± 0.2, which we interpret as an impulsive release of dust particles from Phaethon. If the density is near 2500 kg m " 3 , then the emitted dust particles must have a combined mass of # 2.5 $ 10 8 a1 kg, where a1 is the particle radius in millimeters. Assuming a1 = 1, this is approximately 10 " 4 of the Geminid stream mass and to replenish the stream in steady state within its estimated # 10 3 yr lifetime would require # 10 events like the one observed, per orbit. Alternatively, ongoing mass loss may be unrelated to the event which produced the Phaethon‐Geminid complex. An impact origin of the dust is highly unlikely. Phaethon is too hot for water ice to survive, rendering the possibility that dust is ejected through gas drag from sublimated ice unlikely. Instead, we suggest that Phaethon is essentially a rock comet, in which the small perihelion distance leads both to the production of dust (through thermal fracture and decomposition cracking of hydrated minerals) and to its ejection into interplanetary space (through radiation pressure sweeping and other effects).
A new family of full-bridge ZVS converters

A family of soft-switched, full-bridge (FB) pulse-width-modulated (PWM) converters that feature zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) of all bridge switches over a wide range of input voltage and output load with minimal duty cycle loss and circulating current is described. The ZVS of primary switches is achieved by employing two magnetic components whose volt-second products change in the opposite directions with a change of phase shift between the two bridge legs. One magnetic component is a transformer while the other magnetic component is either a coupled inductor or a single-winding inductor. The transformer is used to provide isolated output(s), whereas the inductor is used to store energy for ZVS.
On the Leray–Hopf extension condition for the steady-state Navier–Stokes problem in multiply-connected bounded domains

Employing the approach of Takeshita (Pacific J Math 157:151–158, 1993), we give an elementary proof of the invalidity of the Leray–Hopf Extension Condition for certain multiply connected bounded domains of \({\mathbb {R}}^{n}\), \(n=2,3\), whenever the flow through the different components of the boundary is non-zero. Our proof is alternative to and, to an extent, more direct than the recent one proposed by Heywood (J Math Fluid Mech 13:449–457, 2011).
Insurance fraud and corruption in the United States

Using cross-sectional data for US states, this article examines the determinants of insurance fraud, focusing especially on the nexus between convictions for corruption and for insurance fraud. Results show that corruption convictions tend to crowd out insurance fraud convictions – i.e., increases in convictions for corruption result in lower fraud convictions. In other findings, more crime fighting and prosecutorial resources increase fraud convictions, while the effects of specific insurance regulations are statistically insignificant. These findings are generally robust to simultaneity between corruption and insurance fraud. Policy implications are discussed.
Constitutive models for cohesive particulate materials

This paper reviews several constitutive models for the load response of bulk solids. Constitutive models based on microscopic concepts and continuum principles are presented. The review demonstrates the need for a generalized constitutive model that can predict the stress-strain behaviour of cohesive powders, since none have yet been found. However, two continuum models have been identified as having sufficient versatility to be chosen as candidate models for application to cohesive food and agricultural powders. One model is an elasto-viscoplastic model based on the critical-state theory, and includes seven material parameters in the constitutive equations. The second model uses the endochronic theory to characterize stress-strain response, and requires 15 parameters in the formulation. Both models can be used for isotropic and anisotropic loading conditions, as well as monotonic and cyclic loading.
Region marginalization in agriculture, seasonality, dedicated capital, and product development with reference to North Europe dairy sector

Agricultural production is becoming more similar to manufacturing in routinization of processes, the extent to which raw materials are processed, capital intensity, and emphasis on throughput. Modern dairying exhibits all of these trends. Some ascribe the changes to demand side factors, while others look to technological innovations. Emphasizing cost seasonality as a reference indicator for nature’s role in agricultural production, this paper develops a simple model that includes both supply and demand sides. We show how cost seasonality can enhance region competitivity when consumers demand storable produce at a low price. But cost seasonality can impede endeavors to meet consumer demand for higher-value produce that require use-dedicated capital. This is because technical change embodied in a use-dedicated investment is biased toward firms that produce non-seasonally. Since agricultural produce is costly to transport, processing is local and high profit regions with comparatively strong seasonal cost advantages produce comparatively low value products. If a region with strong seasonal cost advantages has a non-seasonal cost disadvantage, then an increase in demand for processing can reduce the region’s welfare. We argue that this may have been a factor in determining comparative performances of dairy sectors across maritime Northern Europe over the past 150 years.
On Clifford Space Relativity, Black Hole Entropy, Rainbow Metrics, Generalized Dispersion and Uncertainty Relations

An analysis of some of the applications of Clifford space relativity to the physics behind the modified black hole entropy-area relations, rainbow metrics, generalized dispersion and minimal length stringy uncertainty relations is presented.