cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Does Food Safety Information Impact U.S. Meat Demand

A theoretical model of consumer response to publicized food safety information on meat demand is developed with an empirical application to U.S. meat consumption. Evidence is found for the existence of pre-committed levels of consumption, seasonal factors, time trends, and contemporaneous own- and cross-commodity food safety concerns. The average demand response to food safety concerns is small, especially in comparison to price effects, and to previous estimates of health related issues. This small average effect masks periods of significantly larger responses corresponding with prominent food safety events, but these larger impacts are short-lived with no apparent food safety lagged effects on Food safety concerns in the United States have dramatically increased in the past decade with regard to incidences of contaminated meat products. Concerns have arisen because contaminated meat products can result in serious risk to the well being and health of consumers. Contamination comes from a myriad of sources, including but not limited to, outbreaks of Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Salmonella (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Food safety problems are not isolated to the United States as other unsafe contaminates in meats have emerged across the world, including highly publicized outbreaks of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Europe. The potential impacts of publicized food safety events on consumer’s demand for meat products in the United States include own-effects on the demand for the contaminated meat involved as well as cross-effects impacting the demand for other meats. The objective of this article is to investigate whether publicized food safety concerns surrounding beef, pork, and poultry (chicken and turkey) have impacted meat consumption. Food safety indices are constructed separately for beef, pork, and poultry
ANALYSIS OF QUANTUM FUNCTIONS

Quantum functions are functions that are defined in terms of quantum mechanical computation. Besides quantum computable functions, we study quantum probability functions, which compute the acceptance probability of quantum computation. We also investigate quantum gap functions, which compute the gap between acceptance and rejection probabilities of quantum computation.
Near Optimal Energy Control and Approximate Capacity of Energy Harvesting Communication

We consider an energy-harvesting communication system where a transmitter powered by an exogenous energy arrival process and equipped with a finite battery of size B max communicates over a discrete-time AWGN channel. We first concentrate on a simple Bernoulli energy arrival process where at each time step, either an energy packet of size E is harvested with probability p, or no energy is harvested at all, independent of the other time steps. We provide a near optimal energy control policy and a simple approximation to the information-theoretic capacity of this channel. Our approximations for both problems are universal in all the system parameters involved (p, E and B max ), i.e., we bound the approximation gaps by a constant independent of the parameter values. Our results suggest that a battery size B max ≥ E is (approximately) sufficient to extract the infinite battery capacity of this channel. We then extend our results to general i.i.d. energy arrival processes. Our approximate capacity characterizations provide important insights for the optimal design of energy harvesting communication systems in the regime where both the battery size and the average energy arrival rate are large.
A Riemann-Hilbert approach to the Akhiezer polynomials.

In this paper, we study those polynomials, orthogonal with respect to a particular weight, over the union of disjoint intervals, first introduced by N. I. Akhiezer, via a reformulation as a matrix factorization or Riemann–Hilbert problem. This approach complements the method proposed in a previous paper, which involves the construction of a certain meromorphic function on a hyperelliptic Riemann surface. The method described here is based on the general Riemann–Hilbert scheme of the theory of integrable systems and will enable us to derive, in a very straightforward way, the relevant system of Fuchsian differential equations for the polynomials and the associated system of the Schlesinger deformation equations for certain quantities involving the corresponding recurrence coefficients. Both of these equations were obtained earlier by A. Magnus. In our approach, however, we are able to go beyond Magnus9 results by actually solving the equations in terms of the Riemanni Θ -functions. We also show that the related Hankel determinant can be interpreted as the relevant τ -function.
Collapse of turbulent wakes in stably stratified media

Abstract : A simple turbulent energy model and a calculation procedure are proposed, which are able to reproduce the main features of the collapse of turbulent wakes behind towed or self propelled bodies in stratified environments. The predictions of the model are shown to be in good agreement with the detailed experimental data of Lin and Pao, as well as with the flow visualization experiments of other workers. (Author)
Formal Dyotropic Rearrangements in Organometallic Transformations

A thorough understanding of the mechanistic steps that occur in organometallic processes is crucial to the development of new, increasingly sophisticated transformations. This microreview discusses an unusual class of organometallic reactions that occur through formal Type I dyotropic rearrangements, defined as processes involving the interchange of two groups along a stationary scaffold by breaking and reforming two σ bonds in which at least one σ bond is a M–X bond. Examples are subdivided into two categories – stoichiometric and catalytic – and further classified by the number of atoms across which the migrating groups interchange positions. The metal can either serve as the migrating group or function as part of the stationary scaffold. Furthermore, these rearrangements can proceed through a wide variety of different mechanisms that include oxidative insertion/reductive elimination, radical processes, or pathways in which the metal does not change oxidation state.
Ergographic Studies in Muscular Soreness

(1902). Ergographic Studies in Muscular Soreness. American Physical Education Review: Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 1-17.
CRD: fast co-clustering on large datasets utilizing sampling-based matrix decomposition

The problem of simultaneously clustering columns and rows (co-clustering) arises in important applications, such as text data mining, microarray analysis, and recommendation system analysis. Compared with the classical clustering algorithms, co-clustering algorithms have been shown to be more effective in discovering hidden clustering structures in the data matrix. The complexity of previous co-clustering algorithms is usually O(m X n), where m and n are the numbers of rows and columns in the data matrix respectively. This limits their applicability to data matrices involving a large number of columns and rows. Moreover, some huge datasets can not be entirely held in main memory during co-clustering which violates the assumption made by the previous algorithms. In this paper, we propose a general framework for fast co-clustering large datasets, CRD. By utilizing recently developed sampling-based matrix decomposition methods, CRD achieves an execution time linear in m and n. Also, CRD does not require the whole data matrix be in the main memory. We conducted extensive experiments on both real and synthetic data. Compared with previous co-clustering algorithms, CRD achieves competitive accuracy but with much less computational cost.
Electron beam induced current characterization of dark line defects in failed and degraded high power quantum well laser diodes

We investigate the dependence of electron beam induced current (EBIC) contrast from dark-line defects (DLDs) on temperature and voltage bias in failed and degraded high power quantum well laser diodes (HPLDs). Voltage bias induced contrast variations in EBIC allowed us to make the first observation of what may be the DLD initiation point in a degraded, but not failed, HPLD. Wavelet analysis of temperature and voltage dependent EBIC contrast reveals three distinct regions with different defect properties within the DLD. These results can be correlated to destructive physical analysis and other defect characterization techniques, such as cathodoluminescence and deep-level transient spectroscopy, to provide insight into defect types and failure mechanisms in these devices.
Facile formations of ketals of α, α-dihaloacetophenones

Abstract Ketals of α,α-dihaloacetophenones are prepared in high yields from phenylethyne and N-halosuccinimide with catalytic quantities of p-toluenesulfonic acid.
Phosphatase of Regenerating Liver 3 (PRL3) Provokes a Tyrosine Phosphoproteome to Drive Prometastatic Signal Transduction

Phosphatase of regenerating liver 3 (PRL3) is suspected to be a causative factor toward cellular metastasis when in excess. To date, the molecular basis for PRL3 function remains an enigma, making efforts at distilling a concerted mechanism for PRL3-mediated metastatic dissemination very difficult. We previously discovered that PRL3 expressing cells exhibit a pronounced increase in protein tyrosine phosphorylation. Here we take an unbiased mass spectrometry-based approach toward identifying the phosphoproteins exhibiting enhanced levels of tyrosine phosphorylation with a goal to define the "PRL3-mediated signaling network." Phosphoproteomic data support intracellular activation of an extensive signaling network normally governed by extracellular ligand-activated transmembrane growth factor, cytokine, and integrin receptors in the PRL3 cells. Additionally, data implicate the Src tyrosine kinase as the major intracellular kinase responsible for "hijacking" this network and provide strong evidence that aberrant Src activation is a major consequence of PRL3 overexpression. Importantly, the data support a PDGF(α/β)-, Eph (A2/B3/B4)-, and Integrin (β1/β5)-receptor array as being the predominant network coordinator in the PRL3 cells, corroborating a PRL3-induced mesenchymal-state. Within this network, we find that tyrosine phosphorylation is increased on a multitude of signaling effectors responsible for Rho-family GTPase, PI3K-Akt, STAT, and ERK activation, linking observations made by the field as a whole under Src as a primary signal transducer. Our phosphoproteomic data paint the most comprehensive picture to date of how PRL3 drives prometastatic molecular events through Src activation.
An approach to co-channel talker interference suppression using a sinusoidal model for speech

The technique fits a sinusoidal model to additive vocal speech segments so that the least-mean-squared error between the model and the summed waveforms is obtained. Enhancement is achieved by synthesizing a waveform from the sine waves attributed to the desired speaker. Least-squares estimation is applied to obtain sine-wave amplitudes and phases of both talkers, based on either a priori sine-wave frequencies or a priori fundamental frequency contours. When the frequencies of the two waveforms are closely spaced, the performance is significantly improved by exploring the time evolution of the sinusoidal parameters across multiple analysis frames. The least-squared-error approach is also extended, under restricted conditions, to estimate fundamental frequency contours of both speakers from the summed waveforms. The results obtained, although limited in their scope, provide evidence that the sinusoidal analysis/synthesis model with effective parameter estimation techniques offers a promising approach to the problem of cochannel talker-interference suppression over a range of conditions. >
Mechanisms for charge trapping in single semiconductor nanocrystals probed by fluorescence blinking

Semiconductor nanocrystal optical and charge transport properties are largely influenced by the trapping of charge carriers on the nanocrystal surface. Charge trapping increases the non-radiative exciton decay pathways, thus decreasing the fluorescence quantum yield, and it also impedes efficient charge transfer at the nanocrystal interface. On a single nanocrystal basis, charge trapping causes interruptions in the otherwise continuous fluorescence known as fluorescence intermittency or blinking. In this tutorial review we examine the relationship between charge trapping and fluorescence blinking. The fluorescence microscopy techniques and statistical analysis methods used to measure single nanocrystal blinking are introduced. The development of numerous blinking mechanisms is reviewed, as is the physical nature of charge trapping sites. An overview of blinking experiments used to probe specific mechanisms for charge carrier trapping is presented. Finally, a summary and outlook are offered. Although the detailed mechanism is not fully understood, blinking experiments are found to provide direct evidence for several charge trapping mechanisms and report on changes to the nature and distribution of charge trapping sites.
The Sun's journey through the local interstellar medium: the paleoLISM and paleoheliosphere

Over the recent past, the galactic environment of the Sun has differed substantially from today. Sometime within the past 130 000 years, and possibly as recent as 56 000 years ago, the Sun entered the tenuous tepid par- tially ionized interstellar material now flowing past the Sun. Prior to that, the Sun was in the low density interior of the Lo- cal Bubble. As the Sun entered the local ISM flow, we passed briefly through an interface region of some type. The low column densities of the cloud now surrounding the solar sys- tem indicate that heliosphere boundary conditions will vary from opacity considerations alone as the Sun moves through the cloud. These variations in the interstellar material sur- rounding the Sun affected the paleoheliosphere.
Spectral Methods for Learning Multivariate Latent Tree Structure

This work considers the problem of learning the structure of multivariate linear tree models, which include a variety of directed tree graphical models with continuous, discrete, and mixed latent variables such as linear-Gaussian models, hidden Markov models, Gaussian mixture models, and Markov evolutionary trees. The setting is one where we only have samples from certain observed variables in the tree, and our goal is to estimate the tree structure (i.e., the graph of how the underlying hidden variables are connected to each other and to the observed variables). We propose the Spectral Recursive Grouping algorithm, an efficient and simple bottom-up procedure for recovering the tree structure from independent samples of the observed variables. Our finite sample size bounds for exact recovery of the tree structure reveal certain natural dependencies on underlying statistical and structural properties of the underlying joint distribution. Furthermore, our sample complexity guarantees have no explicit dependence on the dimensionality of the observed variables, making the algorithm applicable to many high-dimensional settings. At the heart of our algorithm is a spectral quartet test for determining the relative topology of a quartet of variables from second-order statistics.
Incorporating individual and collective ethics into phase I cancer trial designs.

A general framework is proposed for Bayesian model based designs of Phase I cancer trials, in which a general criterion for coherence of a design is also developed. This framework can incorporate both “individual” and “collective” ethics into the design of the trial. We propose a new design that minimizes a risk function composed of two terms, with one representing the individual risk of the current dose and the other representing the collective risk. The performance of this design, which is measured in terms of the accuracy of the estimated target dose at the end of the trial, the toxicity and overdose rates, and certain loss functions reflecting the individual and collective ethics, is studied and compared with existing Bayesian model based designs and is shown to have better performance than existing designs.
Worker Adaptation and Employer Accommodation following the Onset of a Health Impairment

The responses of workers and their employers to the onset of work-limiting health impairments were investigated using data from the new Health and Retirement Study. The results indicate that many workers who suffer from health limitations are directly accommodated by their employers, and that those those who do not receive direct accommodation frequently adapt to their limitations by altering their job demands or by changing jobs. These findings point to the potential for adjustments on both sides of the market: by employers, in the form of job accommodation, and by employees, in the form of job change.
Risk Sharing in Poultry Contracts

Previous literature has found that 84% of risk in poultry grow-out farms is transferred to the integrator. One of the main reasons behind this is the absence of a market price variable in determining compensation. We do not find this to be the case with more recent contracts, which include a market price clause. We also use VaR methodology to look at the risk inherent in the new contracts.
Conformational Control in Metallofoldamers: Design, Synthesis and Structural Properties

Metallofoldamers are sequence-specific oligomers, which are designed to fold into three-dimensional architectures upon metal coordination. Their folding can involve additional noncovalent interactions and results in new chiral secondary structures, enhanced stabilization of existing secondary structures, or unique materials for specific applications. This microreview highlights recent advances in the field.(© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)
The virtual lab

The Internet and the Web have transformed society, spawning new industries, altering social and cultural practices, and challenging long-accepted notions of individual privacy, intellectual property, and national security. In this talk, I argue that social science is also being transformed. In particular, I describe how crowd sourcing sites like Amazon's Mechanical Turk are increasingly being used by researchers to create "virtual labs" in which they can conduct behavioral experiments on a scale and speed that would have been hard to imagine just a decade ago. To illustrate the point, I describe some recent experiments that showcase the advantages of virtual over traditional physical labs, as well as some of the limitations. I then discuss how this relatively new experimental capability may unfold in the near future, along with some implications for social and behavioral science.
Wall-Crossing in Coupled 2d-4d Systems

We introduce a new wall-crossing formula which combines and generalizes the Cecotti-Vafa and Kontsevich-Soibelman formulas for supersymmetric 2d and 4d systems respectively. This 2d-4d wall-crossing formula governs the wall-crossing of BPS states in an N = 2 supersymmetric 4d gauge theory coupled to a supersymmetric surface defect. When the theory and defect are compactied on a circle, we get a 3d theory with a su- persymmetric line operator, corresponding to a hyperholomorphic connection on a vector bundle over a hyperkahler space. The 2d-4d wall-crossing formula can be interpreted as a smoothness condition for this hyperholomorphic connection. We explain how the 2d-4d BPS spectrum can be determined for 4d theories of classS, that is, for those theories ob- tained by compactifying the six-dimensional (0; 2) theory with a partial topological twist on a punctured Riemann surface C. For such theories there are canonical surface defects. We illustrate with several examples in the case of A1 theories of classS. Finally, we indi- cate how our results can be used to produce solutions to the A1 Hitchin equations on the Riemann surface C.
A study of cost-optimized operation of a grid-parallel PEM fuel cell power plant

A cost-based approach is developed to study the economics of operation of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power plants (FCPP). This paper includes the operational cost, thermal recovery, power trade with the local grid, and hydrogen production. The cost-based approach is used to determine the optimal operational strategy that yields a minimum operating cost. The optimal operational strategy is achieved through the estimation of the hourly generated power, the amount of thermal power recovered from the FCPP to satisfy the thermal load, the amount of power trade with the local grid, and the amount of hydrogen that can be generated from the FCPP. An evolutionary programming-based technique is used to determine the optimal operational strategy. The strategy is tested using electrical and thermal load profiles. Results are encouraging and indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approach
Reflections On Black Intellectual Power

It is a great pleasure to be able to address such a prestigious assembly devoted to the state of the Black economy. Although this is only the second meeting, I am confident that these annual sessions will continue to grow in importance and significance. Most of your discussions are devoted to assessing the domestic and foreign dimensions of the Black economy an exercise which is far better done by many of you here who deal with these issues daily and whose empirical economic base is far more extensive than mine. Were I still involved in my former role of probing the problems of foreign development, perhaps I might have tried to build a comparative economic model likening the economy of the inner city to that of a developing nation a nation whose terms of trade with the larger white economy continue to deteriorate. But while such an approach is highly tempting, I shall share with you the
Robust distance measures for face-recognition supporting revocable biometric tokens

This paper explores a form of robust distance measures for biometrics and presents experiments showing that, when applied per "class" they can dramatically improve the accuracy of face recognition. We "robustify'' many distance measures included in the CSU face-recognition toolkit, and apply them to PCA, LDA and EBGM. The resulting performance puts each of these algorithms, for the FERET datasets tested, on par with commercial face recognition results. Unlike passwords, biometric signatures cannot be changed or revoked. This paper shows how the robust distance measures introduce can be used for secure robust revocable biometrics. The technique produces what we call Biotopes/spl trade/, which provide public-key cryptographic security, supports matching in encoded form, cannot be linked across different databases and are revocable. Biotopes support a robust distance measure computed on the encoded form that is proven not to decrease, and that may potentially increase, accurately. The approach is demonstrated, to improve performance beyond the already impressive gains from the robust distance measure.
Toroidal and Klein bottle boundary slopes

Abstract Let M be a compact, connected, orientable, irreducible 3-manifold and T 0 an incompressible torus boundary component of M such that the pair ( M , T 0 ) is not cabled. By a result of C. Gordon, if ( S , ∂ S ) , ( T , ∂ T ) ⊂ ( M , T 0 ) are incompressible punctured tori with boundary slopes at distance Δ = Δ ( ∂ S , ∂ T ) , then Δ ⩽ 8 , and the cases where Δ = 6 , 7 , 8 are very few and classified. We give a simplified proof of this result (or rather, of its reduction process), using an improved estimate for the maximum possible number of mutually parallel negative edges in the graphs of intersection of S and T. We also extend Gordon's result by allowing either S or T to be an essential Klein bottle.
The decay of highly excited open strings

The decay rates of leading edge Regge trajectory states are calculated for very high level number in open bosonic string theories, ignoring tachyon final states. The optical theorem simplifies the analysis while enabling identification of the different mass level decay channels. The main result is that (in four dimensions) the greatest single channel is the emission of a single photon and a state of the next mass level down. A simple asymptotic formula for arbitrarily high level number is given for this process. Also calculated is the total decay rate exactly up to N=100. It shows little variation over this range but appears to decrease for larger N. The formalism is checked in examples and the decay rate of the first excited level calculated for open superstring theories. The calculation may also have implications for high spin meson resonances.
Synthesis of the tricyclic core structure of vindoline

An efficient synthesis of the core tricyclic structure (18) of vindoline has been achieved using the strategy, which features an intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the azido dienone (12) to give aziridine (13) with complete region- and stereocontrol.
Observations regarding scatter fraction and NEC measurements for small animal PET

The goal of this study was to evaluate the magnitude and origin of scattered radiation in a small-animal PET scanner and to assess the impact of these findings on noise equivalent count rate (NECR) measurements, a metric often used to optimize scanner acquisition parameters and to compare one scanner with another. The scatter fraction (SF) was measured for line sources in air and line sources placed within a mouse-sized phantom (25 mm /spl phi//spl times/70 mm) and a rat-sized phantom (60 mm /spl phi//spl times/150 mm) on the microPET II small-animal PET scanner. Measurements were performed for lower energy thresholds ranging from 150-450 keV and a fixed upper energy threshold of 750 keV. Four different methods were compared for estimating the SF. Significant scatter fractions were measured with just the line source in the field of view, with the spatial distribution of these events consistent with scatter from the gantry and room environment. For mouse imaging, this component dominates over object scatter, and the measured SF is strongly method dependent. The environmental SF rapidly increases as the lower energy threshold decreases and can be more than 30% for an open energy window of 150-750 keV. The object SF originating from the mouse phantom is about 3-4% and does not change significantly as the lower energy threshold increases. The object SF for the rat phantom ranges from 10 to 35% for different energy windows and increases as the lower energy threshold decreases. Because the measured SF is highly dependent on the method, and there is as yet no agreed upon standard for animal PET, care must be exercised when comparing NECR for small objects between different scanners. Differences may be methodological rather than reflecting any relevant difference in the performance of the scanner. Furthermore, these results have implications for scatter correction methods when the majority of the detected scatter does not arise from the object itself.
Marker-augmented robot-environment interaction

There has been an increasing interest in developing computational theories of autonomous robots. However, the previous work has focused on intelligent modifications to internal computational structure of a robot, ignoring modifications to external environments. Our work is the first to formalize the modification of an environment by an introduction of markers that replace the internal state. Replacing internal state by addition of markers increases communication through the world. Use of markers has been shown to improve the effectiveness of robots at American Association of Artificial Intelligence robot competitions and RoboCup competitions. We report on the semantics of markers using their logical description and the internal state they replace. We introduce several properties of markers and marker sets like redundancy, mutual exclusivity and efficiency. We show how the stimuli of behaviours can be modified when markers are introduced to replace internal state. We also report on a semi-automatic algorithm that allows robots to place markers in their world. We show how the algorithm can be extended for obtaining a higher replacement of internal state and for handling an autonomous removal of markers. We provide several guidelines for effectively introducing markers in a robot's world.
Total synthesis of puerarin, an isoflavone C-glycoside☆

Abstract We completed the first total synthesis of puerarin ( 1 ), an isoflavone C -glycoside. The key intermediate, β- d -glucopyranosyl-2,6-dimethoxybenzene ( 9 ), was obtained by coupling of a lithiated aromatic reagent ( 3 ) with pyranolactone ( 2 ) in 56% yield. Condensation of ( 16 ) with p -methoxybenzaldehyde gave the chalcone ( 17 ). The protected chalcone ( 18 ) was cyclized to ( 19 ) in the presence of Tl(NO 3 ) 3 . Demethylation of ( 19 ) was accomplished by refluxing with TMSI in CH 3 CN to give puerarin ( 1 ).
k-POD: A Method for k-Means Clustering of Missing Data

The k-means algorithm is often used in clustering applications but its usage requires a complete data matrix. Missing data, however, are common in many applications. Mainstream approaches to clustering missing data reduce the missing data problem to a complete data formulation through either deletion or imputation but these solutions may incur significant costs. Our k-POD method presents a simple extension of k-means clustering for missing data that works even when the missingness mechanism is unknown, when external information is unavailable, and when there is significant missingness in the data.[Received November 2014. Revised August 2015.]
Wide of the mark: : Evidence on the underlying causes of overprecision in judgment

Abstract Overprecision is the most robust and least understood form of overconfidence. In an attempt to elucidate the underlying causes of overprecision in judgment, the present paper offers a new approach – examining people’s beliefs about the likelihood of chance events drawn from known probability distributions. This approach allows us to test the assumption that low hit rates inside subjective confidence intervals arise because those confidence intervals are drawn too narrowly. In fact, subjective probability distributions are systematically too wide, or insufficiently precise. This result raises profound questions for the study of overconfidence.
Toward a more business friendly tax regime : key challenges in South Asia

This paper discusses competitiveness-related issues surrounding the design and administration of corporate and value added/sales taxes in four South Asian countries -- Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The paper is based largely on analysis of tax legislation; in addition, data from the World Bank's enterprise surveys, the Doing Business report, as well as industry studies are used for evidence on tax compliance costs for business. The review of tax regulations in the region shows several commonalities: (1) widespread use of tax incentives to support selected industries, types of firms, and industrial locations; (2) many exemptions from value-added taxes as well as the practice of levying multiple indirect taxes on the same base; and (3) high costs of tax compliance for businesses. The paper discusses the consequences of tax policies for the competitiveness of South Asian producers, describes the main problems in tax administration, and outlines key directions for reforms.
Knowledge of Future Job Loss and Implications for Unemployment Insurance

This paper studies the implications of individuals' knowledge of future job loss for the existence of an unemployment insurance (UI) market. Learning about job loss leads to consumption decreases and spousal labor supply increases. This suggests existing willingness to pay estimates for UI understate its value. But it yields new estimation methodologies that account for and exploit responses to learning about future job loss. Although the new willingness to pay estimates exceed previous estimates, I estimate much larger frictions imposed by private information. This suggests privately traded UI policies would be too adversely selected to be profitable, at any price.
Is Storage Rational When the Price is Expected to Decline? An Initial Study Using Data from U.S. Futures and Options Markets

The expected net return to storage is conventionally calculated as the expected change in price over the storage period minus the cost of storage. However, this value is almost always negative, thus raising the question why would anyone store. Numerous explanations have been proposed, but none is widely accepted. This study initiates a new line of investigation based upon the identification of the different options embedded in the holding of stocks. Specifically, the traditional calculation of the net return to storage is shown to be equivalent to the value of a put option minus the value of a call option. Both options mature at the end of the storage period and have a strike price equal to the initial storage period price plus the cost of storage. This conceptual derivation is confirmed using data from the U.S. corn and soybean options traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Substrate Distortion and the Catalytic Reaction Mechanism of 5-Carboxyvanillate Decarboxylase

5-Carboxyvanillate decarboxylase (LigW) catalyzes the conversion of 5-carboxyvanillate to vanillate in the biochemical pathway for the degradation of lignin. This enzyme was shown to require Mn2+ for catalytic activity and the kinetic constants for the decarboxylation of 5-carboxyvanillate by the enzymes from Sphingomonas paucimobilis SYK-6 (kcat = 2.2 s–1 and kcat/Km = 4.0 × 104 M–1 s–1) and Novosphingobium aromaticivorans (kcat = 27 s–1 and kcat/Km = 1.1 × 105 M–1 s–1) were determined. The three-dimensional structures of both enzymes were determined in the presence and absence of ligands bound in the active site. The structure of LigW from N. aromaticivorans, bound with the substrate analogue, 5-nitrovanillate (Kd = 5.0 nM), was determined to a resolution of 1.07 A. The structure of this complex shows a remarkable enzyme-induced distortion of the nitro-substituent out of the plane of the phenyl ring by approximately 23°. A chemical reaction mechanism for the decarboxylation of 5-carboxyvanillate by LigW...
Heat Management in Thermoelectric Power Generators

Thermoelectric power generators are used to convert heat into electricity. Like any other heat engine, the performance of a thermoelectric generator increases as the temperature difference on the sides increases. It is generally assumed that as more heat is forced through the thermoelectric legs, their performance increases. Therefore, insulations are typically used to minimize the heat losses and to confine the heat transport through the thermoelectric legs. In this paper we show that to some extend it is beneficial to purposely open heat loss channels in order to establish a larger temperature gradient and therefore to increase the overall efficiency and achieve larger electric power output. We define a modified Biot number (Bi) as an indicator of requirements for sidewall insulation. We show cooling from sidewalls increases the efficiency for Bi values less than one, and decreases the efficiency for Bi values larger than one.
Quantifying the Growth in Services: the Role of Skills, Scale, and Female Labor Supply

This paper quanties the role that increases in the demand for skill intensive goods and services, the ecient scale of production of services, and female labor supply have in explaining the growth of services. We extend the model in Buera and Kaboski (2012a,b) to a two-person household model, incorporating a joint household decision on home and market production into the model, and allow for skill and sectoral biased technology progress. The calibrated analysis shows that the channels emphasized in the theory are quantitatively important. The rising scale of services, the rising demand for skill-intensive output stemming from rising incomes, skill-biased technical change, and rising female labor supply all play important quantitative roles and together account for the majority of the growth of services. The extended model provides a direct link between female labor supply and the growth of service economy, which is shown to be important in the data.
Extremal H-colorings of trees and 2-connected graphs

Abstract For graphs G and H, an H-coloring of G is an adjacency preserving map from the vertices of G to the vertices of H. H-colorings generalize such notions as independent sets and proper colorings in graphs. There has been much recent research on the extremal question of finding the graph(s) among a fixed family that maximize or minimize the number of H-colorings. In this paper, we prove several results in this area. First, we find a class of graphs H with the property that for each H ∈ H , the n-vertex tree that minimizes the number of H-colorings is the path P n . We then present a new proof of a theorem of Sidorenko, valid for large n, that for every H the star K 1 , n − 1 is the n-vertex tree that maximizes the number of H-colorings. Our proof uses a stability technique which we also use to show that for any non-regular H (and certain regular H) the complete bipartite graph K 2 , n − 2 maximizes the number of H-colorings of n-vertex 2-connected graphs. Finally, we show that the cycle C n has the most proper q-colorings among all n-vertex 2-connected graphs.
For What It's Worth: Historical Financial Bubbles and the Boundaries of Economic Rationality.

AbstractThis essay is a historical and epistemological exploration of a traditionally crazy economic event: the financial bubble. Venturing into two different moments in the history of economic thinking, it investigates financial bubbles as epistemic frontiers, where rationality has reached its limits. The first half forays into late twentieth-century economics. Since 1980, an interpretive battle over the ir/rationality of bubbles has made those peculiar events, long beyond the pale of the rational, contested terrain on which the limits of rationality have been fought out. The essay’s second half turns to one historical crisis, the South Sea Bubble. For contemporaries in 1720, the bubble was a different kind of epistemic frontier. As they tried to reckon what South Sea Company stock was worth, investors were confronted not with clearly rational or irrational choices but with a decidedly unruly collection of similarly plausible calculations. The story of 1720 suggests that studying historical confusion mig...
On the Optimality of Napoleon Triangles

An elementary geometric construction, known as Napoleon's theorem, produces an equilateral triangle, obtained from equilateral triangles erected on the sides of any initial triangle: The centers of the three equilateral triangles erected on the sides of the arbitrarily given original triangle, all outward or all inward, are the vertices of the new equilateral triangle. In this note, we observe that two Napoleon iterations yield triangles with useful optimality properties. Two inner transformations result in a (degenerate) triangle, whose vertices coincide at the original centroid. Two outer transformations yield an equilateral triangle, whose vertices are closest to the original in the sense of minimizing the sum of the three squared distances.
PROFIT SHARING IN SMALL BUSINESS: AN ANALYSIS OF RISK AND INCENTIVE EFFECTS

ABSTRACT Two basic reasons for adopting a profit-sharing system are to provide workers with incentives for greater productivity, and to share the risk of business with workers. This paper contends that, on both grounds, profit sharing is more useful to small, as compared with large, businesses. The theoretical analysis also calls for a sharing design in which labour's share of profit will be higher in a smaller business.
Audit regulation in an international setting: Testing the impact of religion, culture, market factors, and legal code on national regulatory efforts

Assuring the quality of international auditing is important in the current, globalized business/economic environment. High-quality international auditing efforts promote greater confidence in financial statements, and therefore promote greater movement of capital. Ensuring high-quality auditing efforts is the task of auditing regulation efforts, among others. Several potential determinants of the strength of these efforts were postulated in Kleinman et al (2014). The postulated determinants of interest include national culture, religion, legal code origin, and financial market liquidity. The authors, however, did not test the relationship of the postulated determinants to auditing enforcement efforts. This study undertakes the task of investigating such relationship empirically, using the Brown et al (2014) measures of auditing enforcement efforts. We find that comparative religious affiliation, religion’s importance, culture, legal code, and the financial variable of market liquidity were determinants of auditing enforcement efforts. The implications of these findings are presented.
Time-Dependent Reliability Analysis of Vibratory Systems With Random Parameters

The field of random vibrations of large-scale systems with millions of degrees of freedom is of significant importance in many engineering disciplines. In this paper, we propose a method to calculate the time-dependent reliability of linear vibratory systems with random parameters excited by non-stationary Gaussian processes. The approach combines principles of random vibrations, the total probability theorem and recent advances in time-dependent reliability using an integral equation involving the up-crossing and joint up-crossing rates. A space-filling design, such as optimal symmetric Latin hypercube sampling, is first used to sample the input parameter space. For each design point, the corresponding conditional time-dependent probability of failure is calculated efficiently using random vibrations principles to obtain the statistics of the output process and an efficient numerical estimation of the up-crossing and joint up-crossing rates. A time-dependent metamodel is then created between the input parameters and the output conditional probabilities allowing us to estimate the conditional probabilities for any set of input parameters. The total probability theorem is finally applied to calculate the time-dependent probability of failure. The proposed method is demonstrated using a vibratory beam example.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Community Organizing and Direct Activism

The practice and paradigms of community organizing may unconsciously incorporate subordination of women, sexual identities, religious beliefs, and more. Community organizing must recognize and reform how these values may shape organizing for a future free of colonial paradigms. This is a preface to new theories of anti subordination practice in community organizing and activism.
Quasinormal modes of dilaton-de Sitter black holes: scalar perturbations

Dilaton black hole solutions in low energy string theory (well known as GMGHS black holes) have analogue black holes with a cosmological constant derived by Gao and Zhang. Here, we study quasi normal modes of this dilaton-de Sitter black hole under neutral scalar field perturbations. We have employed the sixth order WKB analysis to compute the quasi normal mode frequencies. A detailed study is done for the quasi normal mode frequencies by varying the parameters in the theory such as the mass, cosmological constant, dilaton charge and the spherical harmonic index. For the massive scalar field we observed that the usual quasi resonance modes that exists for asymptotically flat black holes do not exist for this particular black hole. We have approximated the scalar field potential of the near-extreme dilaton de Sitter black hole with the Poschl-Teller potential and have presented exact quasi normal frequencies.
Willingness to Pay and Willingness to Accept Shale Drilling: A Survey of Ohio Residents

We utilize a newly developed stated preference survey to determine preferences for shale drilling and its associated externalities. Examining both willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept (WTA) measures, this research presents evidence of the implications of recent shale gas drilling expansion in northeastern Ohio, and provides guidance for future work on the impacts of shale gas drilling activities on nearby residents.
Incentivizing Exploration with Heterogeneous Value of Money

Recently, Frazier et al.i¾?proposed a natural model for crowdsourced exploration of different a priori unknown options: a principal is interested in the long-term welfare of a population of agents who arrive one by one in a multi-armed bandit setting. However, each agent is myopic, so in order to incentivize him to explore options with better long-term prospects, the principal must offer the agent money. Frazier eti¾?al. showed that a simple class of policies called time-expanded are optimal in the worst case, and characterized their budget-reward tradeoff. The previous work assumed that all agents are equally and uniformly susceptible to financial incentives. In reality, agents may have different utility for money. We therefore extend the model of Frazier et al.i¾?to allow agents that have heterogeneous and non-linear utilities for money. The principal is informed of the agent's tradeoff via a signal that could be more or less informative. Our main result is to show that a convex program can be used to derive a signal-dependent time-expanded policy which achieves the best possible Lagrangian reward in the worst case. The worst-case guarantee is matched by so-called "Diamonds in the Rough" instances; the proof that the guarantees match is based on showing that two different convex programs have the same optimal solution for these specific instances.
A Review of Research on Rural Themes in Francophone West Africa

(1969). A Review of Research on Rural Themes in Francophone West Africa. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des etudes africaines: Vol. 3, Rural Africa, pp. 268-271.
Optical Flow Switching

Present-day networks are challenged by dramatic increases in data rate demand of emerging applications. A new network architecture, incorporating “optical flow switching”, will enable significant rate growth, power-efficiency and cost-effective scalability of next-generation networks.
Precision mass measurements in solution reveal properties of single cells and bioparticles

Precise characterization of biological materials ranging from single cells (∼1–20 microns) to extracellular vesicles (20–200 nm) is of fundamental interest because of their biological and translational value. Here we discuss the value of precision mass measurements in solution for informing various physical and biological parameters, such as mass accumulation rate, longitudinal cell growth or cell density. We introduce how the limits of the single-particle mass measurements can be pushed down to nano-scale dimensions enabling the resolution of extracellular vesicles and viruses in solution. We believe with future advancements on the precision and throughput of this approach, the capability of analyzing biologically relevant particles in solution will have broad biological and translational impact.
How Do Delay Announcements Shape Customer Behavior? An Empirical Study

In this paper, we explore the impact of delay announcements using an empirical approach by analyzing the data from a medium-sized call center. We first explore the question of whether delay announcements impact customers’ behavior using a nonparametric approach. The answer to this question appears to be ambiguous. We thus turn to investigate the fundamental mechanism by which delay announcements impact customer behavior, by constructing a dynamic structural model. In contrast to the implicit assumption made in the literature that announcements do not directly impact customers’ waiting costs, our key insights show that delay announcements not only impact customers’ beliefs about the system but also directly impact customers’ waiting costs. In particular, customers’ per-unit waiting cost decreases with the offered waiting times associated with the announcements. The results of our counterfactual analysis show that it may not be necessary to provide announcements with very fine granularity. This paper was ac...