cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Self-perception of disability and prospects for employment among U.S. veterans.

Background Barriers to employment in the civilian labor force are increasingly difficult problems for returning veterans with disabilities. Reduced self-perception of disability status because of predominant military norms can be particularly harmful to reintegration efforts. Objective We analyze rates of self-identified and externally determined disability status among U.S. veterans. Evidence of a lower self-report rate would confirm the hypothesis that armed forces culture might hold back truly deserving veterans from seeking the benefits owed, including specialized employment training programs. Methods We use data from the Current Population Survey Veterans Supplement over the sample period 1995-2010 on disability status and associated demographic characteristics to present descriptive measures and limited statistical inference. Results Over the entire sample period, federal agencies considered 29% of the survey respondents to have a service-connected disability versus a 9% self-identification rate. The rate of more severe service-connected disabilities has risen steadily, while less drastic disability rates have fallen. Non-white respondents and those with lower education levels were less likely to self-identify. Conclusions Large disparities in internal and external disability status identification raise questions about targeting soldiers re-entering the labor force. Employment policy should focus on overcoming negative cultural stereotypes and encouraging self-identification.
A Finite Baryon Density Algorithm

I will review the progress toward a finite baryon density algorithm in the canonical ensemble approach which entails particle number projection from the fermion determinant. These include an efficient Pade-Z2 stochastic estimator of the Tr log of the fermion matrix and a Noisy Monte Carlo update to accommodate unbiased estimate of the probability. Finally, I will propose a Hybrid Noisy Monte Carlo algorithm to reduce the large fluctuation in the estimated Tr log due to the gauge field which should improve the acceptance rate. Other application such as treating u and d as two separate flavors is discussed.
Critical Heegaard surfaces

In this paper we introduce critical surfaces, which are described via a 1-complex whose definition is reminiscent of the curve complex. Our main result is that if the minimal genus common stabilization of a pair of strongly irreducible Heegaard splittings of a 3-manifold is not critical, then the manifold contains an incompressible surface. Conversely, we also show that if a non-Haken 3-manifold admits at most one Heegaard splitting of each genus, then it does not contain a critical Heegaard surface. In the final section we discuss how this work leads to a natural metric on the space of strongly irreducible Heegaard splittings, as well as many new and interesting open questions.
Development Strategies : Integrating Governance and Growth

A frontier challenge for development strategy is to move beyond prescribing optimal economic policies, and instead -- taking a broad view of the interactions between economic, political and social constraints and dynamics -- to identify entry points capable of breaking a low-growth logjam, and initiating a virtuous spiral of cumulative change. The paper lays out four distinctive sequences via which the different dimensions might interact and evolve over time, and provides country-specific illustrations of each. Each sequence is defined by the principal focus of its initial step: 1) State capacity building provides a platform for accelerated growth via improved public sector performance and enhanced credibility for investors; strengthened political institutions and civil society come onto the agenda only over the longer term; 2) Transformational governance has as its entry point the reshaping of a country's political institutions. Accelerated growth could follow, insofar as institutional changes enhance accountability, and reduce the potential for arbitrary discretionary action -- and thereby shift expectations in a positive direction; 3) For 'just enough governance', the initial focus is on growth itself, with the aim of addressing specific capacity and institutional constraints as and when they become binding -- not seeking to anticipate and address in advance all possible institutional constraints; 4) Bottom-up development engages civil society as an entry point for seeking stronger state capacity, lower corruption, better public services, improvements in political institutions more broadly -- and a subsequent unlocking of constraints on growth. The sequences should not be viewed as a technocratic toolkit from which a putative reformer is free to choose. Recognizing that choice is constrained by history, the paper concludes by suggesting an approach for exploring what might the scope for identifying practical ways forward in specific country settings.
Learning tractable probabilistic models for fault localization

In recent years, several probabilistic techniques have been applied to various debugging problems. However, most existing probabilistic debugging systems use relatively simple statistical models, and fail to generalize across multiple programs. In this work, we propose Tractable Fault Localization Models (TFLMs) that can be learned from data, and probabilistically infer the location of the bug. While most previous statistical debugging methods generalize over many executions of a single program, TFLMs are trained on a corpus of previously seen buggy programs, and learn to identify recurring patterns of bugs. Widely-used fault localization techniques such as TARANTULA evaluate the suspiciousness of each line in isolation; in contrast, a TFLM defines a joint probability distribution over buggy indicator variables for each line. Joint distributions with rich dependency structure are often computationally intractable; TFLMs avoid this by exploiting recent developments in tractable probabilistic models (specifically, Relational SPNs). Further, TFLMs can incorporate additional sources of information, including coverage-based features such as TARANTULA. We evaluate the fault localization performance of TFLMs that include TARANTULA scores as features in the probabilistic model. Our study shows that the learned TFLMs isolate bugs more effectively than previous statistical methods or using TARANTULA directly.
Local factors valued in normal domains

We give an exposition of Deligne’s theory of local ϵ0-factors over fields and discrete valuation rings under the assumption that the theory over the complex numbers is known. We then employ standard techniques from algebraic geometry to deduce the theory of local ϵ0-factors over arbitrary normal integral schemes.
Three architectures for continuous action

Three classifier system architectures are introduced that permit the systems to have continuous (non-discrete) actions. One is based on interpolation, the second on an actor-critic paradigm, and the third on treating the action as a continuous variable homogeneous with the input. While the last architecture appears most interesting and promising, all three offer potential directions toward continuous action, a goal that classifier systems have hardly addressed.
Optical Aberrations and Objective Choice in Multicolor Confocal Microscopy

Refinements in design have simplified confocal microscopy to the extent that it has become a standard research tool in cell biology. However, as confocal microscopes have become more powerful, they have also become more demanding of their optical components. In fact, optical aberrations that cause subtle defects in image quality in wide-field microscopy can have devastating effects in confocal microscopy. Unfortunately, the exacting optical requirements of confocal microscopy are often hidden by the optical system that guarantees a sharp image, even when the microscope is performing poorly. Optics manufacturers provide a wide range of microscope objectives, each designed for specific applications. This report demonstrates how the trade-offs involved in objective design can affect confocal microscopy.
Fundamental frequency by rule for a text-to-speech system

An algorithm for the generation of fundamental frequency (Fo) in a speech synthesis-by-rule system is described. Input consists of syntactic information (parts-of-speech, and a syntactic structure tree) and lexical information (number of syllables, location of lexical stress, and simple phonemic information). The output Fo values are used to synthesize the voiced portions of the generated speech. The algorithm utilizes research findings of the relationship of Fo to such linguistic factors as stress, syntactic phrases, and sentence type. Word types and syntactic boundaries affect the degree and direction of Fo movements, respectively, and questions have high Fo.
Technology Choices and Pricing Policies in Public and Private Wireless Networks

This paper studies the provision of a wireless network by a monopolistic provider who may be either benevolent (seeking to maximize social welfare, namely the sum utility of all the users) or selfish (seeking to maximize provider profit). The paper addresses the following questions: Under what circumstances is it feasible for a provider, either benevolent or selfish, to operate a network in such a way as to cover costs? How is the optimal behavior of a benevolent provider different from the optimal behavior of a selfish provider? And, most importantly, how does the medium access control (MAC) technology influence the answers to these questions? To address these questions, we build a general model, and provide analysis and simulations for simplified but typical scenarios; the focus in these scenarios is on the contrast between the outcomes obtained under carrier-sensing multiple access (CSMA) and outcomes obtained under time-division multiple access (TDMA). Simulation results demonstrate that differences in MAC technology can have a significant effect on social welfare, on provider profit, and even on the (financial) feasibility of a wireless network.
Foreign Bank Participation and Crises in Developing Countries

This paper describes the recent trends in foreign bank ownership in developing countries, summarizes the existing evidence on the causes and implications of foreign bank presence, and reexamines the link between banking crises and foreign bank participation. Using data on the share of banking sector assets held by foreign banks in over 100 developing countries during 1995-2002, the results show that countries that experienced a banking crisis tended to have higher levels of foreign bank participation than those that did not. Furthermore, panel regressions indicate that foreign participation increased as a result of crises rather than prior to them. However, post-crisis increases in foreign participation did not coincide with increased credit to the private sector, perhaps because in many cases foreign banks acquired distressed banks.
The Politics of the Restoration of Ex-Felon Voting Rights: The Case of Iowa

We investigate how the restoration of voting rights aects the political participation of ex-felons. Our primary analysis uses unique administrative data from Iowa, which changed how ex-felons restore their voting rights in both 2005 and 2011. Prior to 2005, ex-felons had to apply to the governor to restore their voting rights. We show that ex-felon turnout increased after Iowa began to automatically restore these rights. Consistent with misinformation being a significant barrier to ex-felons’ political participation, ex-felons were more likely to vote if they were informed about this policy change. The application requirement was re-instated for exfelons discharged since 2011 and we show that this reduced their 2012 presidential election turnout. We conclude by comparing the actual turnout rate of recently discharged ex-felons in Iowa, Maine, and Rhode Island to the turnout rate that Uggen and Manza’s (2002) method predicts. This
Optimal observation network design for parameter structure identification in groundwater modeling

[1] Designing a pumping observation experiment for parameter identification in groundwater modeling is a very challenging problem because the parameter structure, such as the hydraulic conductivity of a heterogeneous aquifer, is usually unknown. Generally, to identify a more complex parameter structure requires more observation data. Traditional experimental design methods have two disadvantages: First, the sufficiency of information provided by a design is not considered in the design stage. Second, the decision variables often are dependent on the unknown parameter because of the nonlinearity of the model. As a result, a sequential design observation process should be used, but this often is impractical in groundwater modeling. This paper presents a new methodology for experimental design that can find a minimum cost design to provide sufficient information for identifying both the parameter structure and parameter values. Sequential Gaussian simulation is used to generate different realizations for the unknown parameter. For each possible realization the number of observation wells is increased gradually during the design process until the information provided by the design is sufficient. The selection criterion for locating a new observation well is the maximization of the information content for parameter identification. The overall sufficiency of a design is assessed by Monte Carlo simulation. The proposed methodology is explained in detail by a numerical example.
CO2 and ambient air in metal–oxygen batteries: steps towards reality

Metal–air batteries, especially lithium and sodium air technologies, have attracted significant research attention in the past decade. The high theoretical specific energy (3500 Wh kg−1 for Li–O2 and 1600 Wh kg−1 for Na–O2) and moderate equilibrium potential (2.96 V for Li–O2 and 2.3 V for Na–O2) make these chemistries attractive energy storage platforms for transportation, autonomous aircraft, and emergent robotics technologies. The term metal–air battery, however, hardly describes the cell design under most active investigation by researchers; in most studies, O2 is used in place of air as the active material in the battery cathode. This change, designed to eliminate the formation of electrochemically stable metal hydroxide and metal carbonate discharge products when CO2 and moisture present in ambient air react with metal ions in the cathode, introduces significant new complications for practical metal–air battery design and operation that largely defeat the competitive advantages of this storage technology. Recent work has shown that when a mixture of O2 and CO2 is used as the active material in the cathode, it is possible to recharge a metal–O2/CO2 cell provided steps are taken to prevent electrolyte decomposition during recharge. In this highlight, we critically review the literature on metal–O2/CO2 cells, focusing on how the presence of CO2 in the active cathode material changes electrochemistry at the cathode and rechargeability of the cells. We also assess the progress and future prospects for metal–air battery technologies involving ambient air as the cathode gas.
The barriers of Facebook's terms of service agreement: hardships placed on fiduciaries access to digital assets

The Stored Communications Act SCA, as it stands now, creates an issue for fiduciaries accessing digital assets from cloud-based servers of deceased clients. The simple request of a decedent's Facebook information implicates several historical legal issues of privacy, ownership of content, and fiduciary rights, which all seem to muddy the already murky water created by the SCA. While much of this tangled area of the law is due to a failure to evolve the laws regulating an advancing market, some blame can be placed on service providers. Facebook and other service providers should update their terms of service ToS to put fiduciaries out of harm's way of criminal penalties, allow Facebook to voluntarily distribute materials to fiduciaries and give notice to account holders. The ToS agreements entered into are at the focus of this issue and are the easiest and fastest way to achieve clarity.
Tighter low-rank approximation via sampling the leveraged element

In this work, we propose a new randomized algorithm for computing a low-rank approximation to a given matrix. Taking an approach different from existing literature, our method first involves a specific biased sampling, with an element being chosen based on the leverage scores of its row and column, and then involves weighted alternating minimization over the factored form of the intended low-rank matrix, to minimize error only on these samples. Our method can leverage input sparsity, yet produce approximations in spectral (as opposed to the weaker Frobenius) norm; this combines the best aspects of otherwise disparate current results, but with a dependence on the condition number κ = σ1/σr. In particular we require O(nnz(M)+nκ2r5/e2) computations to generate a rank-r approximation to M in spectral norm. In contrast, the best existing method requires O(nnz(M)+nr2/e4) time to compute an approximation in Frobenius norm. Besides the tightness in spectral norm, we have a better dependence on the error e. Our method is naturally and highly parallelizable.Our new approach enables two extensions that are interesting on their own. The first is a new method to directly compute a low-rank approximation (in efficient factored form) to the product of two given matrices; it computes a small random set of entries of the product, and then executes weighted alternating minimization (as before) on these. The sampling strategy is different because now we cannot access leverage scores of the product matrix (but instead have to work with input matrices). The second extension is an improved algorithm with smaller communication complexity for the distributed PCA setting (where each server has small set of rows of the matrix, and want to compute low rank approximation with small amount of communication with other servers).
Approximation-Aware Dependency Parsing by Belief Propagation

We show how to train the fast dependency parser of Smith and Eisner (2008) for improved accuracy. This parser can consider higher-order interactions among edges while retaining O(n^3) runtime. It outputs the parse with maximum expected recallâ€”but for speed, this expectation is taken under a posterior distribution that is constructed only approximately, using loopy belief propagation through structured factors. We show how to adjust the model parameters to compensate for the errors introduced by this approximation, by following the gradient of the actual loss on training data. We find this gradient by backpropagation. That is, we treat the entire parser (approximations and all) as a differentiable circuit, as others have done for loopy CRFs (Domke, 2010; Stoyanov et al., 2011; Domke, 2011; Stoyanov and Eisner, 2012). The resulting parser obtains higher accuracy with fewer iterations of belief propagation than one trained by conditional log-likelihood.
A 200-second quasi-periodicity after the tidal disruption of a star by a dormant black hole.

Supermassive black holes are known to exist at the center of most galaxies with sufficient stellar mass, In the local Universe, it is possible to infer their properties from the surrounding stars or gas. However, at high redshifts we require active, continuous accretion to infer the presence of the SMBHs, often coming in the form of long term accretion in active galactic nuclei. SMBHs can also capture and tidally disrupt stars orbiting nearby, resulting in bright flares from otherwise quiescent black holes. Here, we report on a approx.200-s X-ray quasi-periodicity around a previously dormant SMBH located in the center of a galaxy at redshift z = 0.3534. This result may open the possibility of probing general relativity beyond our local Universe.
Education and armed conflict: the Kashmir insurgency in the nineties

The experience of the Kashmir insurgency is used, to assess the impact of this armed conflict on educational outcomes of girls and boys who were of school age during the 90's. Girls and boys who went to primary and secondary schools in urban areas of Kashmir during 1990 and 1996 are affected the most by the insurgency. I compare their outcomes to women and men who finished their schooling before 1990 and girls and boys living in less affected regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Girls in urban Kashmir have up to 3.5 years less schooling compared to girls less affected by the violence. Boys and girls more affected by violence are less likely to complete their primary schooling, as well as enroll less in primary schooling, compared to boys and girls less-affected by the insurgency. Secondary education is not affected negatively by the insurgency. The results remain qualitatively robust once accounting for migration, different age cohorts, a different identification of Kashmiri and continuous measurements of violence. The first phase of the insurgency has a negative impact on education, especially for girls in primary schools. Literacy and employment programs should be designed to target these women.
Swimming ability in three Costa Rican dry forest rodents

We investigated the swimming abilities of three Costa Rican dry forest rodents (Coues' rice rat. Oryzomys couesi, hispid cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus, and spiny pocket mouse, Liomys salvini) associated with a large marsh, Laguna Palo Verde, using 90 s swim trials in a plastic container. Swimming ability was evaluated by observing the use of limbs and tail in the water, inclination to the surface, and diving and floating behavior. Rice rats could float, swim and dive, suggesting that they can exploit surface and underwater resources. Cotton rats swam at the water's surface, but were less skilled swimmers than rice rats. Spiny pocket mice tired quickly and had difficulty staying at the water's surface. Results suggest that differential swimming ability is related to the distribution of the three sympatric species within the marsh and adjacent forest habitats.
A prospective randomized trial of adjuvant brachytherapy in the management of low-grade soft tissue sarcomas of the extremity and superficial trunk.

PURPOSEThis study was designed to evaluate the impact of adjuvant brachytherapy (BRT) on local and systemic recurrence rates in patients with low-grade sarcoma.PATIENTS AND METHODSForty-five patients with histologic low-grade, completely resected soft tissue sarcomas of the extremity or superficial trunk were entered onto this trial. Following resection of all gross disease, patients were randomized to the BRT arm (n = 22) or to the no-BRT arm (n = 23). On the fifth or sixth postoperative day, catheters were loaded with iridium 192 to deliver a dose of 45 Gy to the tumor bed over 4 to 6 days.RESULTSThe two groups were evenly distributed with respect to the distribution of presentation status (primary v recurrent), tumor site (trunk v extremity, proximal v distal extremity), tumor size ( or = 5 cm), tumor depth (superficial v deep), and microscopic tumor margins (positive v negative). The predominant histopathologic diagnosis in each group was liposarcoma (BRT, 13 of 22 [59%]; no BRT, 14 of 23 [6...
Glucose Transport in a Model of the Rat Proximal Tubule Epithelium

Abstract A mathematical model of the rat proximal tubule epithelium has been extended to include terms for glucose-sodium cotransport, as well as the passive permeability properties of urea. Except for a metabolically driven Na + -K + exchanger at the cell basolateral membrane, all membrane transport is represented by the relations of linear nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Use of this formalism permits the explicit calculation of the intracellular depolarization immediately following the luminal application of glucose, and shows the magnitude of this potential deflection proportional to the glucose chemical-potential change. The steady-state glucose transport by this model epithelium, like experimental data, is fitted remarkably well by a three-parameter pump-leak model of transport. In view of the nonsaturability of the cotransporter of the model epithelium, the goodness of fit to the three-parameter model is surprising and underscores the uncertainty in extracting individual membrane properties from whole epithelial data. Experiments are simulated in which hypertonic glucose placed in the bath induces cell swelling and K + uptake; a hypertonic impermeant induces cell shrinkage and K + loss. Although this parallels the observations in vivo, the large K + shifts predicted by the model suggest the absence of important volume-regulatory mechanisms from the model scheme.
Translation invariance of two-dimensional Gibbsian systems of particles with internal degrees of freedom

Abstract One of the main objectives of equilibrium state statistical physics is to analyze which symmetries of an interacting particle system in equilibrium are broken or conserved. Here we present a general result on the conservation of translational symmetry for two-dimensional Gibbsian particle systems. The result applies to particles with internal degrees of freedom and fairly arbitrary interaction, including the interesting cases of discontinuous, singular, and hard core interaction. In particular we thus show the conservation of translational symmetry for the continuum Widom–Rowlinson model and a class of continuum Potts type models.
Mechanisms of anode power deposition in a low pressure free burning arc

Anode power deposition is a dominant power loss mechanism for arcjets and magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters. In this study, a free burning arc experiment was operated at pressures and current densities similar to those in arcjets and MPD thrusters in an attempt to identify the physics controlling this loss mechanism. Use of a free burning arc allowed for the isolation of independent variables controlling anode power deposition and provided a convenient and flexible way to cover a broad range of currents, anode surface pressures, and applied magnetic field strengths and orientations using an argon gas. Test results showed that anode power deposition decreased with increasing anode surface pressure up to 6.7 Pa and then became insensitive to pressure. Anode power increased with increasing arc current, while the electron number density near the anode surface increased linearly. Anode power also increased with increasing applied magnetic field strength due to an increasing anode fall voltage. Applied magnetic field orientation had an effect only at high currents and low anode surface pressures, where anode power decreased when applied-field lines intercepted the anode surface. The results demonstrated that anode power deposition was dominated by the kinetic energy of the current-carrying electrons acquired over the anode fall region. Furthermore, the results showed that anode power deposition can be reduced by operating at increased anode pressures, reduced arc currents, anode current densities, and applied magnetic field strengths, and with magnetic field lines intercepting the anode.
[(CH3)5C5]2Th(CH3)2 surface chemistry and catalysis. Direct NMR spectroscopic observation of surface alkylation and ethylene insertion/polymerization on MgCl2

It is well-established that adsorption on inorganic surfaces can dramatically alter the reactivity of organometallic molecules; however, the structural chemistry of the resulting adsorbates is frequently ill-defined. From CPMAS NMR studies of Cp'/sub 2/Th(CH/sub 3/)/sub 2/ (Cp' = eta/sup 5/-(CH/sub 3/)/sub 5/C/sub 5/) on dehydroxylated ..gamma..-alumina (DA), they inferred the transfer of methyl groups to DA surface Lewis acid sites and the formation of less saturated Cp'/sub 2/Th(CH/sub 3/)/sup +/ species with cationic character. Although model studies in solution support much of this chemical/spectroscopic hypothesis, the small percentage ( less than or equal to 4%) of Cp'/sub 2/Th(CH/sub 3/)/sub 2//DA sites highly active for olefin hydrogenation and polymerization renders the connection with catalysis necessarily indirect. Complementary studies with high surface area MgCl/sub 2/, the preferred support for third generation Ziegler-Natta catalysis, are reported which provide the first evidence for the catalytic importance of methylmethide transfer on MgCl/sub 2/ and the first direct spectroscopic observation of the ethylene insertion/polymerization process on a supported catalyst.
Asymptotics for discrete weighted minimal Riesz energy problems on rectifiable sets

Given a closed d-rectifiable set A embedded in Euclidean space, we investigate minimal weighted Riesz energy points on A; that is, N points constrained to A and interacting via the weighted power law potential V = w(x,y)|x-y| -s ,where s > 0 is a fixed parameter and w is an admissible weight. (In the unweighted case (w ≡ 1) such points for N fixed tend to the solution of the best-packing problem on A as the parameter s →∞.) Our main results concern the asymptotic behavior as N → ∞ of the minimal energies as well as the corresponding equilibrium configurations. Given a distribution ρ(x) with respect to d-dimensional Hausdorff measure on A, our results provide a method for generating N-point configurations on A that are "well-separated" and have asymptotic distribution p(x) as N → ∞.
A −CH2CH:C+NR2 synthon: Novel preparations of 1,3-disubstituted allylamines and of 1,2-diaryl pyrroles

Abstract 1-(3-Morpholinoprop-2-enyl)benzotriazole ( 1 ) is a useful synthon of the type [ − CH 2 CHC + NR 2 ] as demonstrated by the preparation of allylamines 4 . It can also provide a [ +− CHCHCH + ] fragment for the synthesis of 1,2-diarylpyrroles 6 .
Violence and Visibility

La violence des hommes a ceci de particulier que meme si on la tait, surtout si on la tait, elle se propage aux generations suivantes. What is particular about the violence of men is that if silenc...
Preparation of opium alkaloids by palladium catalyzed bis-cyclizations. Formal total synthesis of morphine

Abstract Palladium catalyzed cyclization of hydroisoquinoline diene 10 to afford the pentacyclic opiate 11 is the central step in a new synthesis of opium alkaloids.
Extending the metal interface generality of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: Underpotential deposited layers of mercury, thallium, and lead on gold electrodes

Abstract Surface-enhanced Raman (SER) spectra are reported for several adsorbates at underpotential deposited (upd) layers of mercury, thallium, and lead on an electrochemically roughened gold electrode. For upd mercury monolayers, SER bands were obtained for the surface-halide stretching mode, ν M-X , of adsorbed chloride and bromide that are of comparable intensities to those observed on the unmodified gold substrate. The ν M-X peak frequencies are downshifted by 15–24 cm −1 on the former relative to the latter surface, consistent with a smaller extent of halide bond covalency on mercury. These spectral changes induced by upd formation could be reversed by anodic stripping of the mercury monolayer. Comparable results were also obtained by prior formation of the upd monolayer in a separate solution followed by electrode transfer rather than by deposition in the solution of interest. Satisfactory SER spectra at upd mercury are reported additionally for thiocyanate and pyridine, as are similar experiments for upd thallium and lead layers on gold. Of the above adsorbates, only pyridine yielded easily measurable SER spectra for these layers, having 2–3 fold smaller signal intensities than on unmodified gold. The SERS intensity decreases upon thallium, and lead upd formation exhibited both irreversible and reversible components. Differential capacitance-potential plots for upd mercury indicate some similarities to liquid mercury interfaces. The results indicate that overlayers on gold provide a means of extending SERS to metals that in themselves do not exhibit suitable Raman scattering enhancements.
Assessing braze quality in the actively cooled Tore Supra phase III outboard pump limiter

Abstract The quality of brazing of pyrolytic graphite armor brazed to copper tubes in Tore Supra's phase III outboard pump limiter was assessed through pre-service qualification testing of individual copper-tile assemblies. The evaluation used non-destructive hot-water transient heating tests performed in the high temperature, high pressure flow loop at Sandia's Plasma Materials Test Facility. The surface temperatures of tiles were monitored with an IR camera as water at 120 °C at about 2.07 MPa (300 lbf in −2 ) passed through a tube assembly initially at 30 °C. For tiles with braze voids or cracks, the surface temperatures lagged behind those of adjacent well-bonded tiles. Temperature lags were correlated with flaw sizes observed during repairs based upon detailed two-dimensional heat transfer analyses. “Bad” tiles, i.e. temperature lags of 10–20 °C depending upon a tile's size, were easy to detect and, when removed, revealed braze voids of roughly 50% of the joint area. 11 of the 14 tubes were rebrazed after bad tiles were detected and removed. Three tubes were rebrazed twice.
On the complexity of the pancake problem

We study the computational complexity of finding a line that bisects simultaneously two sets in the two-dimensional plane, called the pancake problem, using the oracle Turing machine model of Ko. We also study the basic problem of bisecting a set at a given direction. Our main results are: (1) The complexity of bisecting a nice (thick) polynomial-time approximable set at a given direction can be characterized by the counting class #P. (2) The complexity of bisecting simultaneously two linearly separable nice (thick) polynomial-time approximable sets can be characterized by the counting class #P. (3) For either of these two problems, without the thickness condition and the linear separability condition (for the two-set case), it is arbitrarily hard to compute the bisector, even if it is unique.
Decision Making Under Dempster–Shafer Uncertainties

We are concerned here with the problem of selecting an optimal alternative in situations in which there exists some uncertainty in our knowledge of the state of the world. We show how the Dempster–Shafer belief structure provides a unifying framework for representing various types of uncertainties. We also show how the OWA aggregation operators provide a unifying framework for decision making under ignorance. In particular we see how these operators provide a formulation of a type epistemic probabilities associated with our degree of optimism.
Rapid training of GIL neural networks

Applying generalized inverse learning to a feedforward neural network has been shown to be an effective tool in pattern recognition. The difficult computational step is finding the pseudo-inverse of a matrix. In this paper, we develop an efficient method using differential equations to calculate the pseudo-inverse.
Radiation-Hydrodynamic Simulations of Collapse and Fragmentation in Massive Protostellar Cores

We simulate the early stages of the evolution of turbulent, virialized, high-mass protostellar cores, with primary attention to how cores fragment and whether they form a small or large number of protostars. Our simulations use the Orion adaptive mesh refinement code to follow the collapse from ~0.1 pc scales to ~10 AU scales, for durations that cover the main fragmentation phase, using three-dimensional gravito-radiation hydrodynamics. We find that for a wide range of initial conditions radiation feedback from accreting protostars inhibits the formation of fragments, so that the vast majority of the collapsed mass accretes onto one or a few objects. Most of the fragmentation that does occur takes place in massive, self-shielding disks. These are driven to gravitational instability by rapid accretion, producing rapid mass and angular momentum transport that allows most of the gas to accrete onto the central star rather than forming fragments. In contrast, a control run using the same initial conditions but an isothermal equation of state produces much more fragmentation, both in and out of the disk. We conclude that massive cores with observed properties are not likely to fragment into many stars, so that, at least at high masses, the core mass function probably determines the stellar initial mass function. Our results also demonstrate that simulations of massive star-forming regions that do not include radiative transfer, and instead rely on a barotropic equation of state or optically thin heating and cooling curves, are likely to produce misleading results.
Arylmethanesulfonates are convenient latent phenols in the nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction

Abstract The methanesulfonyl protecting group for a phenol is conveniently unmasked under the conditions of the S N Ar reaction with an activated aryl halide, producing diarylether products directly. The method is advantageous when the preparation of a phenol substrate requires O -protection, since the selection of the robust methanesulfonate as a latent phenol obviates a deprotection step prior to the S N Ar reaction.
An Improved Synthesis of Bicyclo[3.3.3]undecane

Abstract A shorter and significantly higher-yield procedure for the preparation of bicyclo[3.3.3]undecane (manxane) is reported.
Longitudinal growth and growth-plate activity in the lower extremity.

Teleroentgenograms of the lower extremity in 244 children (123 boys and 121 girls) were made at six-month intervals from age seven until skeletal maturity. Lengths were measured to determine the growth remaining in the femur and tibia. The subjects were healthy, well-nourished, middle class American
Erratum: On iterated torus knots and transversal knots

In [3] the author’s Theorems 1.1 and 1.2, combined, implied that iterated torus knots are transversally simple. This result is in error and this erratum pinpoints the error. In [4] a more subtle result is proven resulting in giving a geometric realization of the Honda‐Etnyre transverse (2,3)‐cable of the (2,3)‐torus knot example (appendix joint with H Matsuda). 57M27, 57N16; 57R17, 37F20 In [3] the author’s Theorems 1.1 and 1.2, combined, implied that iterated torus knots are transversally simple. The previous best result in this direction had been the proof, due to John Etnyre, that positive torus knots are transversally simple. After the publication of [3], Etnyre and Honda argued in [2], using very different techniques from those in [3], that among the infinitely many Legendrian knots whose topological knot type is that of the .3;2/‐cable on the .3;2/‐torus knot, there must be one whose transversal pushoff cannot be transversally simple. This lead to a review of the proof in [3] and the discovery of an error.
Conduction bands in classical periodic potentials

The energy of a quantum particle cannot be determined exactly unless there is an infinite amount of time to perform the measurement. This paper considers the possibility that ΔE, the uncertainty in the energy, may be complex. To understand the effect of a particle having a complex energy, the behaviour of a classical particle in a one-dimensional periodic potential V(x) = −cos(x) is studied. On the basis of detailed numerical simulations it is shown that if the energy of such a particle is allowed to be complex, the classical motion of the particle can exhibit two qualitatively different behaviours: (i) The particle may hop from classically allowed site to nearest-neighbour classically allowed site in the potential, behaving as if it were a quantum particle in an energy gap and undergoing repeated tunnelling processes or (ii) the particle may behave as a quantum particle in a conduction band and drift at a constant average velocity through the potential as if it were undergoing resonant tunnelling. The classical conduction bands for this potential are determined numerically with high precision.
Adaptive Learning in Financial Markets

We investigate adaptive or evolutionary learning in a repeated version of the Grossman and Stiglitz (1980) model. We demonstrate that any process that is a monotonic selection dynamic will converge to the rational expectations asset demands if the proportion of informed traders is fixed. We also show that these learning processes have a unique asymptotically stable fixed point at the Grossman‐Stiglitz (GS) equilibrium. The robustness of learning to noisy experimentation is studied using Binmore and Samuelson’s (1999) deterministic drift approximation. Conditions on economic and learning process parameters for adaptive learning to lead to the GS rational expectations equilibrium are presented. An important role of financial markets is to aggregate and transmit information. Radner (1979) and others [see Jordan and Radner (1982)] address the information processing role by characterizing rational expectations equilibria where individuals use the information contained in the market clearing price. These models, however, do not address how individuals acquire sufficient knowledge about economic structure, parameters, others’ objectives, and others’ beliefs to make appropriate inferences from a marketclearing price. In addition, rational expectation models typically assume an extremely high degree of individual rationality. It is important, therefore, to explore the robustness of rational expectations models to assumptions about knowledge and rationality. In this article we explore how individuals can discover and use an endogenous relationship through adaptive or evolutionary learning. We relax knowledge and rationality assumptions by modelling behavior as resulting from a process of imitation and experimentation rather than explicit optimization. We investigate a repeated economy version of the Grossman and Stiglitz (1980) model. The Grossman‐Stiglitz (GS) model provides a good framework for considering adaptive learning since it is the standard model of endogenous information acquisition and is the basis for several other learning models like those of Bray (1982) and Bray and Kreps (1987). In the GS model, traders in a one-period economy can choose to acquire a costly signal
Foliations on Hypersurfaces in Holomorphic Symplectic Manifolds

Let Y be a hypersurface in a 2n-dimensional holomorphic symplectic manifold X. The restriction �|Y of the holomorphic symplectic form induces a rank one foliation on Y . We investigate situations where this foliation has compact leaves; in such cases we obtain a space of leaves Y/F which has dimension 2n 2 and admits a holomorphic symplectic form.
Funding mechanisms and program management at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: confronting new challenges and exploring new opportunities

Over the past 8 years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget appropriation has lost purchasing power, with erosion of the benefits of the doubling of the budget less than a decade ago. For the first time in 40 years, the NIH appropriation in fiscal year 2011 was 1% less than in the previous year. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has been closely managing its funds to protect its core functions: support and conduct of research, and training of biomedical research scientists. Rigorous evaluations of funding mechanisms, management of clinical studies, set-aside programs and funding guidelines are designed to help the Institute, in consultation with its advisory council, to minimize the long-term impact of extreme resource limitations on the advance and conduct of science. This report describes some recent actions taken by the NHLBI to maximize support for investigator-initiated research, maintain a balanced portfolio, and provide as much support as possible for established and early-stage investigators.
Large deviations for a class of nonhomogeneous Markov chains

Large deviation results are given for a class of perturbed nonhomogeneous Markov chains on finite state space which formally includes some stochastic optimization algorithms. Specifically, let {Pn} be a sequence of transition matrices on a finite state space which converge to a limit transition matrix P. Let {Xn} be the associated nonhomogeneous Markov chain where Pn controls movement from time n−1 to n. The main statements are a large deviation principle and bounds for additive functionals of the nonhomogeneous process under some regularity conditions. In particular, when P is reducible, three regimes that depend on the decay of certain “connection” Pn probabilities are identified. Roughly, if the decay is too slow, too fast or in an intermediate range, the large deviation behavior is trivial, the same as the time-homogeneous chain run with P or nontrivial and involving the decay rates. Examples of anomalous behaviors are also given when the approach Pn→P is irregular. Results in the intermediate regime apply to geometrically fast running optimizations, and to some issues in glassy physics.
Photoinduced conformational changes to porphyrin-bound albumin reduces albumin binding to Osteonectin

Low intensity laser irradiation of photoactive ligands bound non-covalently to proteins can generate a structural change in the proteins, which is detectable spectroscopically. This light induced protein modification could help to study the structure/function relationship in proteins or to prompt non-native protein properties. That is, only if we can determine if and how protein function is effected. Much work has shown small light-induced secondary and tertiary structural changes to albumin have occurred when the protein is bound to a porphyrin such as protoporphyrin IX or meso-tetra(4- sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TSPP) and irradiated. This Affinity-Depletion study aims to explore the conformational change of TSPP-bound albumin after visible-light irradiation by testing its ability to bind the biologically relevant albumin receptor, osteonectin. Osteonectin has been covalently attached to magnetic beads, forming an affinity column, but after ten trials (of varied protocol) no substantial albumin-to-osteonectin binding could be achieved.
A SYNTHESIS METHOD OF ELECTROSTATIC GUN DESIGN

Method of electrostatic ion gun design with central trajectory beam requirements, and an extension of this method to thick beams
The politics of a socialist harmonious society in the aftermath of China's neoliberal development

In the aftermath of China's ICT-driven and mass-mediated neoliberal development, the need to reduce China's economic vulnerability to transnational market volatility and to pacify class tensions by improving social justice and redistributing social resources has become urgent. The “socialist harmonious society” concept marks a more sophisticated and socially-oriented mode of governance. By examining two state projects under the auspices of constructing a socialist harmonious society, i.e., the state-endorsed surge of charity activities and the state-subsidized increase of vocational education targeting exclusively rural migrants, this paper argues that these emerging sites of governance, often responding to and defined by China's ICT-driven and mass-mediated neoliberal development, mark the neoliberal restructuring of state activities, and that what distinguishes this new mode of governance is the neoliberal notion of redistribution, which is central to the quasi-inclusive social institutions discussed in...