cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Simulation of traveling-wave output structures for high power rf tubes

Travelling wave output structures can in principle provide higher efficiency and lower surface gradients than a single output cavity. We discuss simulations of TW structures designed for X-band klystrons to be used in the SLAC NLC. The PIC code CONDOR calculated an efficiency of over 50 percent for one such circuit. When the circuit was built in the SLAC XC7 klystron, the match was so poor that it had to be modified. When tested, the tube produced less than half the efficiency calculated. We subsequently found significant differences between the field distribution calculated by CONDOR versus that from the 3-D code MAFIA. We have now developed a procedure which gives much better agreement between the 2-D and 3-D models. We use a /spl pi2 disk-loaded structure, with the waveguide coupling to an output cavity through an iris, rather than directly to the drift tube as in the XC7. The disk radii are tapered to produce an approximately constant gradient. The output coupling is adjusted to match to a uniform structure replicating the cell before the waveguide. The simulations predict 75 MW, 49 percent efficiency, with peak surface fields of 73 MV/m from a 440 kV, 350 amp beam at 11.424 GHz. >
Enantioselective synthesis of α-aminosilanes by copper-catalyzed hydroamination of vinylsilanes

The synthesis of α-aminosilanes by a highly enantio- and regioselective copper-catalyzed hydroamination of vinylsilanes is reported. The system employs Cu-DTBM-SEGPHOS as the catalyst, diethoxymethylsilane as the stoichiometric reductant, and O-benzoylhydroxylamines as the electrophilic nitrogen source. This hydroamination reaction is compatible with differentially substituted vinylsilanes, thus providing access to amino acid mimics and other valuable chiral organosilicon compounds.
Examining the Role of Neuregulin-1 in Synaptogenesis Using Microfluidics

Determining the molecular mechanisms behind synaptogenesis (synapse formation and maintenance) is of great importance for understanding higher brain function as well as disease states such as Alzheimer's and muscular dystrophy. Neuregulin-1 (NRG-1), a nerve derived protein, was isolated based on its ability to stimulate new acetylcholine receptor (AChR) formation on muscle. This molecule has been hypothesized to enforce the high density of AChRs on the post-synaptic membrane in neuromuscular synapses, however, its role in vivo has been difficult to study due to the early death of NRG and ErbB mutants. Therefore, we have developed a microfluidic system, mimicking a synapse by focally delivering nerve derived proteins to a cell chamber containing myotubes, to study synaptogenesis. Also, the device's focal delivery capacity coupled with patterning of the culture chamber surface allows us to ask questions with spatial variables. As a platform for our AChR kinetics studies, we have examined complex, aneural AChR clusters found on muscle and first reported by Kummer et al. in 2004. These features are good models of in vivo post-synaptic areas, because they have similar topologies, protein expression and developmental patterns. After staining with fluorescent bungarotoxin, we have found that neuregulin decreases the half-life of receptors in pretzels by 21.4%. We have also confirmed that NRG-1 increases receptor insertion into pretzels. Afterwards, we examined the extent NRG-1 activation travels in the long, multi-nucleated muscle cell using mRNA in situ hybridization.
Application of the unifying approach to multiple target tracking

An algorithm for solving multiple maneuvering target tracking problems using a global modeling approach is presented. A simulation structure for three-dimensional tracking situations is given. Once radar measurement data are received, the a posteriori probability which is referred to as a weighting factor is calculated using an adaptive filter for each hypothesis. Computer simulation results indicate that the multiple maneuvering targets can be tracked successfully. >
Dual Clearance Squeeze Film Damper for High Load Conditions

Squeeze film dampers are widely used to control vibrations in aircraft turbine engines and other rotating machinery. However, if shaft unbalance rises appreciably above the design value (e.g., due to a turbine blade loss), a conventional squeeze film becomes overloaded, and is no longer effective in controlling vibration amplitudes and bearing forces. A damper concept characterized by two oil films is described. Under normal conditions, only one low-clearance film is active, allowing precise location of the shaft centerline. Under high unbalance conditions, both films are active, controlling shaft vibration in a near-optimum manner, and allowing continued operation until a safe shutdown can be made.
An algorithmic characterization of multi-dimensional mechanisms

We show that every feasible, Bayesian, multi-item multi-bidder mechanism for independent, additive bidders can be implemented as a mechanism that: (a) allocates every item independently of the other items; (b) for the allocation of each item it uses a strict ordering of all bidders' types; and allocates the item using a distribution over hierarchical mechanisms that iron this ordering into a non-strict ordering, and give the item uniformly at random to the bidders whose reported types dominate all other reported types according to the non-strict ordering. Combined with cyclic-monotonicity our results provide a characterization of feasible, Bayesian Incentive Compatible mechanisms in this setting. Our characterization is enabled by a new, constructive proof of Border's theorem [Border 1991], and a new generalization of this theorem to independent (but not necessarily identically distributed) bidders, improving upon the results of [Border 2007, Che-Kim-Mierendorf 2011]. For a single item and independent bidders, we show that every feasible reduced form auction can be implemented as a distribution over hierarchical mechanisms that are consistent with the same strict ordering of all bidders' types, which every mechanism in the support of the distribution irons to a non-strict ordering. We also give a polynomial-time algorithm for determining feasibility of a reduced form auction, or providing a separation hyperplane from the set of feasible reduced forms. To complete the picture, we provide polynomial-time algorithms to find and exactly sample from a distribution over hierarchical mechanisms consistent with a given feasible reduced form. All these results generalize to multi-item reduced form auctions for independent, additive bidders. Finally, for multiple items, additive bidders with hard demand constraints, and arbitrary value correlation across items or bidders, we give a proper generalization of Border's Theorem, and characterize feasible reduced form auctions as multi-commodity flows in related multi-commodity flow instances. We also show that our generalization holds for a broader class of feasibility constraints, including the intersection of any two matroids. As a corollary of our results we compute revenue-optimal, Bayesian Incentive Compatible (BIC) mechanisms in multi-item multi-bidder settings, when each bidder has arbitrarily correlated values over the items and additive valuations over bundles of items, and the bidders are independent. Our mechanisms run in time polynomial in the total number of bidder types (and {not} type profiles). This running time is polynomial in the number of bidders, but potentially exponential in the number of items. We improve the running time to polynomial in both the number of items and the number of bidders by using recent structural results on optimal BIC auctions in item-symmetric settings [Daskalakis-Weinberg 2011].
Simulations of hot bubbles in the ICM

We review the general properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) in clusters that host a cooling flow, and in particular the effects on the ICM of the injection of hot plasma by a powerful active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is observed that, in some cases, the hot plasma produces cavities in the ICM that finally detach and rise, perhaps buoyantly. The gas dynamics induced by the rising bubbles can help in explaining the absence of a cooled gas component in clusters with a cooling flow. This scenario is explored using numerical simulations.
Validation of image segmentation by estimating rater bias and variance.

The accuracy and precision of segmentations of medical images has been difficult to quantify in the absence of a ‘ground truth’ or reference standard segmentation for clinical data. Although physical or digital phantoms can help by providing a reference standard, they do not allow the reproduction of the full range of imaging and anatomical characteristics observed in clinical data. An alternative assessment approach is to compare with segmentations generated by domain experts. Segmentations may be generated by raters who are trained experts or by automated image analysis algorithms. Typically, these segmentations differ due to intra-rater and inter-rater variability. The most appropriate way to compare such segmentations has been unclear. We present here a new algorithm to enable the estimation of performance characteristics, and a true labelling, from observations of segmentations of imaging data where segmentation labels may be ordered or continuous measures. This approach may be used with, among others, surface, distance transform or level-set representations of segmentations, and can be used to assess whether or not a rater consistently overestimates or underestimates the position of a boundary.
Statistical Active Learning Algorithms

We describe a framework for designing efficient active learning algorithms that are tolerant to random classification noise and differentially-private. The framework is based on active learning algorithms that are statistical in the sense that they rely on estimates of expectations of functions of filtered random examples. It builds on the powerful statistical query framework of Kearns [30]. We show that any efficient active statistical learning algorithm can be automatically converted to an efficient active learning algorithm which is tolerant to random classification noise as well as other forms of "uncorrelated" noise. We show that commonly studied concept classes including thresholds, rectangles, and linear separators can be efficiently actively learned in our framework. These results combined with our generic conversion lead to the first computationally-efficient algorithms for actively learning some of these concept classes in the presence of random classification noise that provide exponential improvement in the dependence on the error ∈ over their passive counterparts. In addition, we show that our algorithms can be automatically converted to efficient active differentially-private algorithms. This leads to the first differentially-private active learning algorithms with exponential label savings over the passive case.
Context Similarity and the Validity of Benefits Transfer: Is the Common Wisdom Correct?

Choice experiments are designed to account for variations in environmental resources and site characteristics, as well as potential implications of these variations for willingness to pay. This may render choice experiment results highly suitable for benefits transfer. It is unclear, however, whether the flexibility of choice experiments renders the similarity of study and transfer sites less critical for transfer validity. Drawing from identical choice experiments conducted in different Rhode Island communities, this model assesses the extent to which error in function-based benefits transfer is related to the similarity of communities across a variety of observable dimensions. Results suggest that site similarity, at least across some dimensions, influences the validity of choice experiment benefits transfers. However, the use of some measures of similarity as indicators of transfer error may provide misleading results.
Microscopic Dynamics in a Strongly Interacting Bose-Einstein Condensate

An initially stable ${}^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) was subjected to a carefully controlled magnetic field pulse near a Feshbach resonance. This pulse probed the strongly interacting regime for the BEC, with the diluteness parameter $({\mathrm{na}}^{3})$ ranging from 0.01 to 0.5. Condensate number loss resulted from the pulse, and for triangular pulses shorter than 1 ms, decreasing the pulse length actually increased the loss, until very short time scales ( $\ensuremath{\sim}10\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$) were reached. The observed time dependence is very different from that expected in traditional inelastic loss processes, suggesting the presence of new microscopic BEC physics.
An overall and detailed kinetic study of the pyrolysis of propane

Overall and detailed kinetic descriptions of the pyrolysis of C3H8 have been proposed as a result of a turbulent flow reactor investigation in the temperature range of 1110–1235 K and at atmospheric pressure. The overall reaction was described by a first-order rate expression with an activation energy of 58.65 kcal/mol and a preexponential factor of 3.2 × 1012 sec−1. This expression agrees with previously reported rate data. In addition, a kinetic mechanism involving 13 chemical species and 32 elementary reactions has been postulated to describe the kinetics. Experimental data from the present flow reactor experiments and from static vessel and shock tube experiments reported in the literature were used to verify the mechanism. Agreement over the temperature range of 800–1400 K and over the pressure range of 0.1–8.5 atm was obtained by adjusting three rate constants. Previously reported values for these rate constants appear to require reexamination. The reactions in question are the following: The sum of the rate constants for reactions (2a) and (2b) and the rate constant for reaction (23) are best represented by and which differ with the expressions in the literature.
Is it possible to restore function with two percent surviving neural tissue

How much surviving normal neural tissue is required for functional reorganization after a lesion? Clinical and experimental studies suggest that at little as two percent remaining tissue may be sufficient, at least in some cases, for functional reorganization. Recent sensory substitution studies with persons who have been diagnosed with total vestibular loss (e.g., due to an ototoxic reaction to an antibiotic) suggest that the persisting function after removal of the substitution system may be related to the survival of a small amount of vestibular tissue.
Facile and scalable synthesis of Ti5Si3 nanoparticles in molten salts for metal-matrix nanocomposites

We report a novel synthesis of Ti5Si3 nanoparticles (NPs) via the magnesio-reduction of TiO2 NPs and SiO2 in eutectic LiCl–KCl molten salts at 700 °C. The Ti5Si3 particle size (∼25 nm) is confined to the nanoscale due to the partial dissolution of Mg and silica in the molten salts and a subsequent heterogeneous reduction on the surface of the TiO2 NPs.
Sapa: a multi-objective metric temporal planner

Sapa is a domain-independent heuristic forward chaining planner that can handle durative actions, metric resource constraints, and deadline goals. It is designed to be capable of handling the multi-objective nature of metric temporal planning. Our technical contributions include (i) planning-graph based methods for deriving heuristics that are sensitive to both cost and makespan (ii) techniques for adjusting the heuristic estimates to take action interactions and metric resource limitations into account and (iii) a linear time greedy post-processing technique to improve execution flexibility of the solution plans. An implementation of Sapa using many of the techniques presented in this paper was one of the best domain independent planners for domains with metric and temporal constraints in the third International Planning Competition, held at AIPS-02. We describe the technical details of extracting the heuristics and present an empirical evaluation of the current implementation of Sapa.
Ultraluminous X-ray source 1E 0953.8+6918 (M81 X-9): an intermediate-mass black hole candidate and its environs

We present a ROSAT and ASCA study of the Einstein source X-9 and its relation to a shock-heated shell-like optical nebula in a tidal arm of the M81 group of interacting galaxies. Our ASCA observation of the source shows a flat and featureless X-ray spectrum well described by a multicolour disc blackbody model. The source most likely represents an optically thick accretion disc around an intermediate-mass black hole (M∼102 M⊙) in its high/soft state, similar to other variable ultraluminous X-ray sources observed in nearby disc galaxies. Using constraints derived from both the innermost stable orbit around a black hole and the Eddington luminosity, we find that the black hole is fast-rotating and that its mass is between ∼80 M⊙–1.5×102 M⊙. The inferred bolometric luminosity of the accretion disc is ∼(1.1×1040 erg s−1)/(cos i). Furthermore, we find that the optical nebula is very energetic and may contain large amounts of hot gas, accounting for a soft X-ray component as indicated by archival ROSAT PSPC data. The nebula is apparently associated with X-9; the latter may be powering the former and/or they could be formed in the same event (e.g. a hypernova). Such a connection, if confirmed, could have strong implications for understanding both the birth of intermediate-mass black holes and the formation of energetic interstellar structures.
STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION OF PRE-MAIN-SEQUENCE CIRCUMSTELLAR DISKS

We present new subarcsecond (~0".7) Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) observations of the 1.3 mm continuum emission from circumstellar disks around 11 low- and intermediate-mass pre-main-sequence stars. High-resolution observations for three additional sources were obtained from the literature. In all cases the disk emission is spatially resolved. We adopt a self-consistent accretion disk model based on the similarity solution for the disk surface density and constrain the dust radial density distribution on spatial scales of about 40 AU. Disk surface densities appear to be correlated with the stellar ages where the characteristic disk radius increases from ~20 AU to ~100 AU over about 5 Myr. This disk expansion is accompanied by a decrease in the mass accretion rate, suggesting that our sample disks form an evolutionary sequence. Interpreting our results in terms of the temporal evolution of a viscous α-disk, we estimate (1) that at the beginning of the disk evolution about 60% of the circumstellar material was located inside radii of 25-40 AU, (2) that disks formed with masses from 0.05 to 0.4 M⊙ , and (3) that the viscous timescale at the disk initial radius is about 0.1-0.3 Myr. Viscous disk models tightly link the surface density Σ(R) with the radial profile of the disk viscosity ν(R) ∝ R^γ. We find values of γ ranging from –0.8 to 0.8, suggesting that the viscosity dependence on the orbital radius can be very different in the observed disks. Adopting the α parameterization for the viscosity, we argue that α must decrease with the orbital radius and that it may vary between 0.5 and 10^(–4). From the inferred disk initial radii we derive specific angular momenta, j, for parent cores of (0.8 – 4) × 10^(–4) km s^(–1) pc. Comparison with the values of j in dense cores suggests that about 10% of core angular momentum and 30% of the core mass are conserved in the formation of the star/disk system. We demonstrate that the similarity solution for the surface density for γ < 0 can explain the properties of some "transitional disks" without requiring discontinuities in the disk surface density. In the case of LkCa 15, a smooth distribution of material from few stellar radii to about 240 AU can produce both the observed spectral energy distribution and the spatially resolved continuum emission at millimeter wavelengths. Finally we show that among the observed sample, TW Hya is the only object that has a disk radius comparable with the early solar nebula.
Twofold unsymmetrical C-H functionalization of PyrDipSi-substituted arenes: a general method for the synthesis of substituted meta-halophenols.

Two-fold unsymmetrical functionalization of arenes, which includes sequential halogenation/oxygenation reactions, has been developed. This transformation allows for a general and efficient synthesis of substituted meta-halophenols from simple aryl iodides. Importantly, the PyrDipSi (2-diisopropylsilylpyrimidine) group can be easily removed or efficiently converted into valuable functionalities.
Energy Efficiency of Fixed-Rate Wireless Transmissions under Queueing Constraints and Channel Uncertainty

Energy efficiency of fixed-rate transmissions is studied in the presence of queueing constraints and channel uncertainty. It is assumed that neither the transmitter nor the receiver has channel side information prior to transmission. The channel coefficients are estimated at the receiver via minimum mean-square-error (MMSE) estimation with the aid of training symbols. It is further assumed that the system operates under statistical queueing constraints in the form of limitations on buffer violation probabilities. The optimal fraction of power allocated to training is identified. Spectral efficiency-bit energy tradeoff is analyzed in the low-power and wideband regimes by employing the effective capacity formulation. In particular, it is shown that the bit energy increases without bound in the low-power regime as the average power vanishes. On the other hand, it is proven that if sparse multipath fading with bounded number of independent resolvable paths is experienced, the bit energy diminishes to its minimum value in the wideband regime as the available bandwidth increases. For this case, expressions for the minimum bit energy and wideband slope are derived. Overall, energy costs of channel uncertainty and queueing constraints are identified.
Confidence sets for nonparametric wavelet regression

We construct nonparametric confidence sets for regression functions using wavelets that are uniform over Besov balls. We consider both thresholding and modulation estimators for the wavelet coefficients. The confidence set is obtained by showing that a pivot process, constructed from the loss function, converges uniformly to a mean zero Gaussian process. Inverting this pivot yields a confidence set for the wavelet coefficients, and from this we obtain confidence sets on functionals of the regression curve.
Histone Deacetylase 5 Limits Cocaine Reward through cAMP-Induced Nuclear Import

Chromatin remodeling by histone deacetylases (HDACs) is a key mechanism regulating behavioral adaptations to cocaine use. We report here that cocaine and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling induce the transient nuclear accumulation of HDAC5 in rodent striatum. We show that cAMP-stimulated nuclear import of HDAC5 requires a signaling mechanism that involves transient, protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A)-dependent dephosphorylation of a Cdk5 site (S279) found within the HDAC5 nuclear localization sequence. Dephosphorylation of HDAC5 increases its nuclear accumulation, by accelerating its nuclear import rate and reducing its nuclear export rate. Importantly, we show that dephosphorylation of HDAC5 S279 in the nucleus accumbens suppresses the development, but not expression, of cocaine reward behavior in vivo. Together, our findings reveal a molecular mechanism by which cocaine regulates HDAC5 function to antagonize the rewarding impact of cocaine, likely by putting a brake on drug-stimulated gene expression that supports drug-induced behavioral changes.
Phase relationships and stability of α'-SiAlON

Phase diagrams on the α′-SiAlON plane have been investigated for ytterbium-, yttrium-, and neodymium-containing systems at different temperatures. Phase relationships between α′-SiAlON, β′-SiAlON, AlN polytypoids, and liquid/grain-boundary phases have been determined. The stability region of the α′-SiAlON phase increases as the temperature increases and the ionic size of the rare-earth cation decreases. Meanwhile, the solubility of aluminum and oxygen in β′-SiAlON varies with the solubility of aluminum and oxygen in α′-SiAlON, which causes migration of all the phase lines on the α′-plane toward the nitrogen-rich side at lower temperatures and with larger modifying cations. These systematic variations of the phase relationships fully explain the occurrence of α′→β′ reverse transformations that are sometimes observed in this system.
Explosive disruption of polytropes: a one‐dimensional hydrodynamic calculation

We study explosions of stellar models using a one-dimensional Lagrangian hydrodynamics code. We calculate how much mass is liberated as a function of the energy of explosion for a variety of pre-explosion polytropic structures and for equations of state with a range of radiation-to-gas pressure ratios. The results show that simple assumptions about the amount of mass lost in an explosion can be quite inaccurate, and that even one-dimensional stellar models exhibit a rich phenomenology. The mass loss fraction rises from about 50 to 100 per cent as a function of the explosion energy in an approximately discontinuous manner. Combining our results with those of other, more realistic models, we suggest that Nova Scorpii (J1655 - 40) may have experienced significant mass fallback because the explosion energy was less than the critical value. We infer that the original progenitor was less than twice the mass of today's remnant.
Convergent Synthesis of Complex Diketopiperazines Derived from Pipecolic Acid Scaffolds and Parallel Screening against GPCR Targets

A convergent approach to highly functionalized diketopiperazines (DKPs) using enantioenriched pipecolic acids is described. Scandium triflate-catalyzed [4 + 2] aza-annulation was employed to produce stereochemically well-defined building blocks. A resin “catch and release” strategy was devised to convert annulation products to pipecolic acid monomers. Complex diketopiperazines were efficiently assembled utilizing one-pot cyclodimerization of pipecolic acids. Massively parallel screening of the complex DKPs against a panel of molecular targets identified novel ligands for a number of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).
What has a decade of Daubert wrought

There have been changes within the judicial system that may be attributable to opinions on the admissibility of expert testimony that began with the Supreme Court's 1993 decision in Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. After surveying Daubert and subsequent related Supreme Court opinions, I examine a number of questions. Do the factors courts apply post-Daubert in ruling on the admissibility of expert testimony make scientific sense? Has Daubert had an impact on the willingness of scientists to become expert witnesses? What do we know about Daubert's impact on improving science in the court room? What has been Daubert's effect on access to the courts? Does Daubert further public policy objectives of protecting the public against harm?
Social protection and disaster risk management in the Philippines : the case of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)

This paper evaluates how the Philippines utilize social protection systems and programs to help households better manage disaster risk. Exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters and the effects of climate change are particularly high in the Philippines. At the same time, the Philippines has developed one of the most advanced social protection systems in the East Asia Pacific region. The Department of Social Welfare and Development is prominently integrated into the national disaster risk management framework of the Philippines, taking the lead coordinating role in disaster response activities. Consequently, social protection programs are on the frontlines of disaster response in the Philippines. This paper focuses specifically on the devastating impact of Typhoon Yolanda, which struck the country in November 2013, as a case study against which the Philippines’ social protection response can be assessed.
A mathematical model of the structure and evolution of small‐scale discrete auroral arcs

A three dimensional fluid model which includes the dispersive effect of electron inertia is used to study the nonlinear macroscopic plasma dynamics of small scale discrete auroral arcs within the auroral acceleration zone and ionosphere. The motion of the Alfven wave source relative to the magnetospheric and ionospheric plasma forms an oblique Alfven wave which is reflected from the topside ionosphere by the negative density gradient. The superposition of the incident and reflected wave can be described by a steady state analytical solution of the model equations with the appropriate boundary conditions. This two dimensional discrete auroral arc equilibrium provides a simple explanation of auroral acceleration associated with the parallel electric field. Three dimensional fully nonlinear numerical simulations indicate that the equilibrium arc configuration evolves three dimensionally through collisionless tearing and reconnection of the current layer. The interaction of the perturbed flow and the transverse magnetic field produces complex transverse structure that may be the origin of the folds and curls observed to be associated with small scale discrete arcs.
Relative Intensity Noise Study in the Injection-Locked Integrated Electroabsorption Modulator-Lasers

Abstract We present a comprehensive analytical theoretical model for the relative intensity noise (RIN) spectrum of integrated semiconductor quantum-well (QW) lasers under injection-locking. We use a novel setup by employing an integrated electroabsorption modulator-laser (EML) to measure the RIN of the injection-locked distributed feedback (DFB) laser, where the modulator section is used as a photodetector. The EML has an anti-reflection coating on the laser side, so that an injection light from an external master laser can be coupled effectively into the laser section. This scheme simplifies the setup and reduces the alignment loss between discrete optical components. Experimental data indicates that the injection-locking technique can reduce the RIN noise floor and increase the relaxation frequency of the laser. We also compare the RIN spectra of the free-running laser with the injection-locked laser and show an increase of the relaxation frequency from 3.7 GHz (free-running) to 11.3 GHz (injection-locked). By fitting the experimental data using our model, we show very good agreement between our data and theory. Our model considers the optical confinement factor of photons and carriers for quantum-well structure lasers. We also improve the injection-locking RIN model by including the gain saturation from the master laser noise.
Virtual water trade and development in Africa

Abstract. A debate has long existed on the relationships between human population, natural resources, and development. Recent research has expanded this debate to include the impacts of trade; specifically, virtual water trade, or the water footprint of traded commodities. We conduct an empirical analysis of the relationships between virtual water trade, population, and development in Africa. We find that increases in virtual water imports do not lead to increases in population growth nor do they diminish human welfare. We establish a new index of virtual water trade openness and show that levels of undernourishment tend to fall with increased values of virtual water trade openness. Countries with small dam storage capacity obtain a higher fraction of their agricultural water requirements from external sources, which may indicate implicit "infrastructure sharing" across nations. Globally, increased crop exports tend to correlate with increased crop water use efficiency, though this relationship does not hold for Africa. However, internal African trade is much more efficient in terms of embodied water resources than any other region in the world. Thus, internal African trade patterns may be compensating for poor internal production systems.
An analytical solution for a class of oscillators, and its application to filter tuning

We present a completely analytical solution to a filter-comparator oscillator system, and verify it by macromodel simulations and experiment. We discuss the applications of this kind of oscillator in a vector-locked loop system for continuous time filter tuning. We also apply our solution to the operation of a resonant switched mode inverter.
Loose Hamilton Cycles in Random Uniform Hypergraphs

In the random hypergraph $H=H_{n,p;3}$ each possible triple appears independently with probability $p$. A loose Hamilton cycle can be described as a sequence of edges $\{x_i,y_i,x_{i+1}\}$ for $i=1,2,\ldots,n/2$ where $x_1,x_2,\ldots,x_{n/2},y_1,y_2,\ldots,y_{n/2}$ are all distinct. We prove that there exists an absolute constant $K>0$ such that if $p\geq {K\log n\over n^2}$ then $$\lim_{\textstyle{n\to \infty\atop 4|n}}\Pr(H_{n,p;3}\ contains\ a\ loose\ Hamilton\ cycle)=1.$$
Sacred Barriers to Conflict Resolution

Resolution of quarrels arising from conflicting sacred values, as in the Middle East, may require concessions that acknowledge the opposition's core concerns.
Weakly-supervised Discovery of Visual Pattern Configurations

The prominence of weakly labeled data gives rise to a growing demand for object detection methods that can cope with minimal supervision. We propose an approach that automatically identifies discriminative configurations of visual patterns that are characteristic of a given object class. We formulate the problem as a constrained submodular optimization problem and demonstrate the benefits of the discovered configurations in remedying mislocalizations and finding informative positive and negative training examples. Together, these lead to state-of-the-art weakly-supervised detection results on the challenging PASCAL VOC dataset.
Resource Efficient Gadgets for Compiling Adiabatic Quantum Optimization Problems

A resource efficient method by which the ground-state of an arbitrary k-local, optimization Hamiltonian can be encoded as the ground-state of a -local, optimization Hamiltonian is developed. This result is important because adiabatic quantum algorithms are often most easily formulated using many-body interactions but experimentally available interactions are generally 2-body. In this context, the efficiency of a reduction gadget is measured by the number of ancilla qubits required as well as the amount of control precision needed to implement the resulting Hamiltonian. First, methods of applying these gadgets to obtain 2-local Hamiltonians using the least possible number of ancilla qubits are optimized. Next, a novel reduction gadget which minimizes control precision and a heuristic which uses this gadget to compile 3-local problems with a significant reduction in control precision are shown. Finally, numerics are presented which indicate a substantial decrease in the resources required to implement randomly generated, 3-body optimization Hamiltonians when compared to other methods in the literature.
Efficient and scalable barrier over Quadrics and Myrinet with a new NIC-based collective message passing protocol

Summary form only given. Modern interconnects often have programmable processors in the network interface that can be utilized to offload communication processing from host CPU. We explore different schemes to support collective operations at the network interface and propose a new collective protocol. With barrier as an initial case study, we have demontrated that much of the communication processing can be greatly simplified with this collective protocol. Accordingly, we have designed and implemented efficient and scalable NIC-based barrier operations over two high performance interconnects, Quadrics and Myrinet. Our evaluation shows that, over a Quadrics cluster of 8 nodes with ELan3 network, the NIC-based barrier operation achieves a barrier latency of only 5.60/spl mu/s. This result is a 2.48 factor of improvement over the Elanlib tree-based barrier operation. Over a Myrinet cluster of 8 nodes with LANai-XP NIC cards, a barrier latency of 14.20/spl mu/s over 8 nodes is achieved. This is a 2.64 factor of improvement over the host-based barrier algorithm. Furthermore, an analytical model developed for the proposed scheme indicates that a NIC-based barrier operation on a 1024-node cluster can be performed with only 22.13/spl mu/s latency over Quadrics and with 38.94/spl mu/s latency over Myrinet. These results indicate the potential for developing high performance communication subsystems for next generation clusters.
Service quality kaizen blitz: the road to improving customer satisfaction

Purpose of the paper : The purpose of this paper was to demonstrate that university faculty may rapidly deploy valuable ideas derived from academic research to assist in business improvement. Methodology : Participatory action research. Findings : This project determined that, at the retail level, ISO registered companies do not support the customer satisfaction measures required by the ISO quality standard. The researchers also found that developing a process map would yield a mechanism for capturing the voice of the customer within a few weeks using kaizen blitz. Research limitations : The research was limited to one retail unit of a large national U.S.A. firm. Research and managerial implications : The implications for replicating this research are almost limitless in a country as large as the U.S.A. Company success, economic vitality, and job growth are highly dependent on knowledge of customer requirements such as those revealed by this action research. Originality/value of the paper : The value of this paper is one of scope: academics may assist businesses of any size.
Efficient synthesis of isoflavone analogues via a Suzuki coupling reaction

Analogues of 3-aryl-8-isobutyl-5,6,7-trihydroxy-2-methyl-4H-chromen-4-one were synthesized with high yields via the Suzuki coupling reaction of 3-iodo-8-isobutyl-5,6,7-trimethoxy-2-methyl-4H-chromen-4-one with different aryl boronic acids.
Use and abuse of the model waveform accuracy standards

Accuracy standards have been developed to ensure that the waveforms used for gravitational-wave data analysis are good enough to serve their intended purposes. These standards place constraints on certain norms of the frequency-domain representations of the waveform errors. Examples are given here of possible misinterpretations and misapplications of these standards, whose effect could be to vitiate the quality control they were intended to enforce. Suggestions are given for ways to avoid these problems.
Recognizing and then Using Disciplinary Patterns of the Undergraduate Experience: Getting Past Institutional Standards

The assertion that there are a limited set of generalizable good educational practices (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) with a common model of preferred active student engagement in learning (Kuh, 2001) is appealing to those responsible for simply stated institutional outcomes and to the faculty who teach in fields that espouse the same practices and outcomes (Braxton, 1998). After all, if they are wrong and educational experience and good educational practices differ in important, substantive, and replicable ways by area of academic major, then assessment, accountability, administration, and admissions become more complicated and less amenable to central "oversight" and uniform standards. This paper reports that there are indeed important differences in student experience and engagement by academic discipline, that disciplinary patterns of student experience cluster, and that academic performance by students in these clusters is differentially predicted by standard admissions measures and student engagement factors. Recognizing the differences and identifying the predictors will lead to better admission practices.
The Effect of Random Steering Vector Errors in the Applebaum Adaptive Array

The effect of random errors in the steering vector of an Applebaum adaptive array is examined. Each component of the steering vector is assumed to have a random error component uncorrelated between elements. The array output signal-to-interferenceplus-noise ratio (SINR) is computed as a function of the error variance. It is shown that the array output SINR becomes more sensitive to steering vector errors as more elements are added to the array and as the received desired signal power becomes larger. The variance of the steering vector error that may be tolerated depends on the required desired signal dynamic range. The larger the dynamic range that must be accommodated, the smaller the error variance must be.
Separate neural representations for physical pain and social rejection

Current theories suggest that physical pain and social rejection share common neural mechanisms, largely by virtue of overlapping functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activity. Here we challenge this notion by identifying distinct multivariate fMRI patterns unique to pain and rejection. Sixty participants experience painful heat and warmth and view photos of ex-partners and friends on separate trials. FMRI pattern classifiers discriminate pain and rejection from their respective control conditions in out-of-sample individuals with 92% and 80% accuracy. The rejection classifier performs at chance on pain, and vice versa. Pain- and rejection-related representations are uncorrelated within regions thought to encode pain affect (for example, dorsal anterior cingulate) and show distinct functional connectivity with other regions in a separate resting-state data set (N = 91). These findings demonstrate that separate representations underlie pain and rejection despite common fMRI activity at the gross anatomical level. Rather than co-opting pain circuitry, rejection involves distinct affective representations in humans.
DISCOVERY OF TWIN WOLF-RAYET STARS POWERING DOUBLE RING NEBULAE

We have spectroscopically discovered a pair of twin, nitrogen-type, hydrogen-rich, Wolf-Rayet stars (WN8–9h) that are both surrounded by circular, mid-infrared-bright nebulae detected with the Spitzer Space Telescope and MIPS instrument. The emission is probably dominated by a thermal continuum from cool dust, but also may contain contributions from atomic line emission. There is no counterpart at shorter Spitzer/IRAC wavelengths, indicating a lack of emission from warm dust. The two nebulae are probably wind-swept stellar ejecta released by the central stars during a prior evolutionary phase. The nebulae partially overlap on the sky and we speculate on the possibility that they are in the early stage of a collision. Two other evolved massive stars have also been identified within the area subtended by the nebulae, including a carbon-type Wolf-Rayet star (WC8) and an O7–8 III–I star, the latter of which appears to be embedded in one of the larger WN8–9h nebulae. The derived distances to these stars imply that they are coeval members of an association lying 4.9 ± 1.2 kpc from Earth, near the intersection of the Galaxy’s Long Bar and the Scutum-Centaurus spiral arm. This new association represents an unprecedented display of complex interactions between multiple stellar winds, outflows, and the radiation fields of evolved massive stars.
Games played through agents

We introduce a game of complete information with multiple principals and multiple common agents. Each agent makes a decision that can affect the payoffs of all principals. Each principal offers monetary transfers to each agent conditional on the action taken by the agent. We characterize pure-strategy equilibria and we provide conditions-in terms of game balancedness-for the existence of an equilibrium with an efficient outcome. Games played through agents display a type of strategic inefficiency that is absent when either there is a unique principal or there is a unique agent.
The Distributional Effects of Oil Price Changes on Household Income: Evidence from Mali

Many net oil-importing developing countries, particularly African economies, have faced economic difficulties with high oil price increases. As a case study, this paper assesses the distributional effects of a rise in various petroleum product prices in Mali using a standard computable general equilibrium model. The results suggest that rising diesel prices primarily affect richer households, while the poorest ones tend to suffer more from higher kerosene and gasoline prices. Overall, the impact of fuel prices on household budgets shows a U-shaped relationship with expenditure per capita. Regardless of the oil product considered, high-income households benefit disproportionately from oil price subsidies. This suggests that petroleum price subsidies are ineffective in protecting the income of poor households compared with a targeted subsidy.
Citizenship and Punishment: The Salience of National Membership in U.S. Criminal Courts

When compared to research on the association between immigration and crime, far less attention has been given to the relationship between immigration, citizenship, and criminal punishment. As such, several fundamental questions about how noncitizens are sanctioned and whether citizenship is a marker of stratification in U.S. courts remain unanswered. Are citizens treated differently than noncitizens—both legal and undocumented—in U.S. federal criminal courts? Is the well-documented Hispanic-white sentencing disparity confounded by citizenship status? Has the association between citizenship and sentencing remained stable over time? And are punishment disparities contingent on the demographic context of the court? Analysis of several years of data from U.S. federal courts indicates that citizenship status is a salient predictor of sentencing outcomes—more powerful than race or ethnicity. Other notable findings include the following: accounting for citizenship substantially attenuates disparities between whites and Hispanics; the citizenship effect on sentencing has grown stronger over time; and the effect is most pronounced in districts with growing noncitizen populations. These findings suggest that as international migration increases, citizenship may be an emerging and powerful axis of sociolegal inequality.
the Future of the Past: Historiographical Disputes and Competing Memories in Germany and Israel

During the last two decades, a surge of historical revisionism has commanded considerable attention in both academia and the public sphere, as historians have linked their understandings of the past to salient problems and identity crises of the present. Increasingly, the histories of nations have been problematized and have become the object of commemorative battles. Historiographical disputes thus reveal no less about contemporary political sensibilities than they do about a nation's history. This article situates the proliferation of historical revisionism within the context of ongoing negotiations regarding the meaning of the nation at the end of the twentieth century. Through a comparison of recent historians' disputes in Germany and Israel, I explore the relationship between revisionism and collective memory, and the ways in which both are reflective of and contribute to the reformation of national identification. While national identities are usually predicated on continuities with the past, new German and Israeli identities are being defined in opposition to the founding myths of their nation-states. Both are continuously reassessing their pasts, negotiating the balance between a commitment to universal (democratic) values and the persistence of particularistic (ethnic) traditions. To be sure, national pasts have been contested before, but until recently the primacy of the nation itself was not significantly challenged. I suggest understanding the ongoing phenomenon of national demystification in the context of changing state–society relations. States no longer enjoy the same hegemonic power over the means of collective commemoration. In contrast to the state-supportive role of historians during the formative phase of nationalism, collective memory has become an increasingly contested terrain. In both countries, revisionists from the left and right self-consciously struggle to provide historical narratives of their nation's past to suit their present political views of the future.