cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Plant Response to Microwaves at 2.45 GHz

Abstract The solar power satellites (SPS) concept envisions an array of satellites in Earth orbit where they will collect solar energy and beam it to Earth. One transmission method is to use microwaves at 2.45 GHz. It is uncertain what the long-term effects will be of continuous microwave energy illumination of the biosphere. An experiment was done that exposed alfalfa to continuous microwave energy at 2.45 GHz with intensities of 0.5–1.2 mW/cm2. The hypothesis was that plants exposed to microwaves would be no different from those plants not exposed to microwaves. A tray of growing plants was illuminated with microwaves while control plants were grown behind a microwave-opaque shield. Test plants and the control plants were subjected to the same environment otherwise. The experiment was designed so that the only variable to which the test plants were subjected was microwave exposure. Precise, non-destructive measurements were taken weekly of leaf chlorophyll concentration. After 7 weeks the plants were harvested and fresh weight and dry weight were measured. Gross plant variables such as stem length and internodal distance were measured, and overall plant vigor was assessed. In all measured variables there was no difference between the control and the microwave treatment plants.
A two-dimensional time-dependent model for surface shear and buoyancy-driven flows in domains with large aspect ratio

Abstract A two-dimensional numerical model has been developed for studying flows in enclosures having a large length-to-depth ratio. The model solves the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes and energy equations subject to hydrostatic, Boussinesq, and rigid-lid assumptions. Turbulent momentum and heat diffusion are incorporated using variable eddy coefficients. The flow is driven by surface wind shear and heat transfer. Two cases were run for a rectangular domain, subject to a suddenly imposed surface shear stress while the surface and bottom were mainained at two different but constant temperatures. The difference between the cases was the formulation used for predicting the eddy viscosities and diffusivities. The variations of velocities and temperatures with time were studied. Both velocities and temperatures were found to undergo a sudden rapid change, after an initial period of slow change, before attaining steady state. This has been explained in light of the differences in the convective and diffusive time scales and the nature of coupling between the governing equations.
TURNING THE CORNER: RECENT ADVANCES IN THE SYNTHESIS OF THE WELWITINDOLINONES

(2008). TURNING THE CORNER: RECENT ADVANCES IN THE SYNTHESIS OF THE WELWITINDOLINONES. Organic Preparations and Procedures International: Vol. 40, No. 5, pp. 411-445.
Exact Learning Algorithms, Betting Games, and Circuit Lower Bounds

This article extends and improves the work of Fortnow and Klivans [2009], who showed that if a circuit class C has an efficient learning algorithm in Angluin’s model of exact learning via equivalence and membership queries [Angluin 1988], then we have the lower bound EXPNP not C. We use entirely different techniques involving betting games [Buhrman et al. 2001] to remove the NP oracle and improve the lower bound to EXP not C. This shows that it is even more difficult to design a learning algorithm for C than the results of Fortnow and Klivans [2009] indicated. We also investigate the connection between betting games and natural proofs, and as a corollary the existence of strong pseudorandom generators.Our results also yield further evidence that the class of Boolean circuits has no efficient exact learning algorithm. This is because our separation is strong in that it yields a natural proof [Razborov and Rudich 1997] against the class. From this we conclude that an exact learning algorithm for Boolean circuits would imply that strong pseudorandom generators do not exist, which contradicts widely believed conjectures from cryptography. As a corollary we obtain that if strong pseudorandom generators exist, then there is no exact learning algorithm for Boolean circuits.
When Experts Argue: Explaining the Best and the Worst of Reasoning

Expert reasoning is responsible for some of the most stunning human achievements, but also for some of the most disastrous decisions ever made. The argumentative theory of reasoning has proven very effective at explaining the pattern of reasoning’s successes and failures. In the present article, it is expanded to account for expert reasoning. The argumentative theory predicts that reasoning should display a strong confirmation bias. If argument quality is not sufficiently high in a domain, the confirmation bias will make experts tap into their vast knowledge to defend whatever opinion they hold, with polarization and overconfidence as expected results. By contrast, experts should benefit even more from the power of group discussion to make the best of the confirmation bias—when they genuinely disagree that is, otherwise polarization is again likely to ensue. When experts interact with laymen other mechanisms can take the lead, in particular trust calibration and consistency checking. They can yield poor outcomes if experts do not have a sustained interaction with laymen, or if the laymen have strong opinions when they witness a debate between experts. Seeing reasoning as a mechanism of epistemic vigilance aimed at finding and evaluating arguments helps make better sense of expert reasoning performance, be it in individual ratiocination, in debates with other experts, or in interactions with laymen.
A general probabilistic model of the PCR process

This paper rigorously derives a general probabilistic model for the PCR process; this model includes as a special case the Velikanov-Kapral model where all nucleotide reaction rates are the same. In this model the probability of binding of deoxy-nucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) molecules with template strands is derived from the microscopic chemical kinetics. A recursive solution for the probability distribution of binding of dNTPs is developed for a single cycle and is used to calculate expected yield for a multicycle PCR. The model is able to reproduce important features of the PCR amplification process quantitatively. With a set of favorable reaction conditions, the amplification of the target sequence is fast enough to rapidly outnumber all side products. Furthermore, the final yield of the target sequence in a multicycle PCR run always approaches an asymptotic limit that is less than one. The amplification process itself is highly sensitive to initial concentrations and the reaction rates of addition to the template strand of each type of dNTP in the solution.
Escherichia coli Class Ib Ribonucleotide Reductase Contains a Dimanganese(III)-Tyrosyl Radical Cofactor in Vivo

Escherichia coli class Ib ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) converts nucleoside 5′-diphosphates to deoxynucleoside 5′-diphosphates in iron-limited and oxidative stress conditions. We have recently demonstrated in vitro that this RNR is active with both diferric-tyrosyl radical (FeIII2-Y•) and dimanganese(III)-Y• (MnIII2-Y•) cofactors in the β2 subunit, NrdF [Cotruvo, J. A., Jr., and Stubbe, J. (2010) Biochemistry 49, 1297−1309]. Here we demonstrate, by purification of this protein from its endogenous levels in an E. coli strain deficient in its five known iron uptake pathways and grown under iron-limited conditions, that the MnIII2-Y• cofactor is assembled in vivo. This is the first definitive determination of the active cofactor of a class Ib RNR purified from its native organism without overexpression. From 88 g of cell paste, 150 μg of NrdF was isolated with ∼95% purity, with 0.2 Y•/β2, 0.9 Mn/β2, and a specific activity of 720 nmol min−1 mg−1. Under these conditions, the class Ib RNR is the primary activ...
Radical-mediated annulation reactions. A versatile strategy for the preparation of a series of carbocycles.

A series of novel 6-endo [4 + 2] and 7-endo [5 + 2] radical-mediated annulation reactions are described. These annulation sequences involve an intermolecular radical addition followed by intramolecular trapping with an allyltin moiety incorporated into the radical precursor fragment. This methodology allows for access to functionalized 6- and 7-membered carbocycles as well as bicyclic compounds with good to excellent levels of stereocontrol.
Generation of silanimines by photolysis of hindered azidosilanes

Abstract Trimesitylazidosilane (1) and three new azidodisilanes, Mes2Si(N3)SiPh2-t-Bu (2), Me2Si(N3)SiMes2-t-Bu (3) and i-Pr2Si(N3)SiMes2-t-Bu (4), were prepared and photolyzed at 254 nm. Compound 1 photolyzes in glassy 3-methylpentane (3-MP) at 77 K or in 3-MP solution at −140°C to Mes2SiNMes (5) and a CH insertion product 6. Compounds 2−4 photolyze in 3-MP at low temperatures to give stable solutions of silanimines, R2SiNSiR2R′. Photolysis of 1−4 in the presence of alcohols yields alkoxyaminosilanes.
On the p-adic second main theorem

We study the Second Main Theorem in non-archimedean Nevanlinna theory, giving an improvement to the non-archimedean Second Main Theorems of Ru and An in the case where all the hypersurfaces have degree greater than one and all intersections are transverse. In particular, under a transversality assumption, if f is a nonconstant non-archimedean analytic map to P^n and D_1,..,D_q are hypersurfaces of degree d, we prove the defect relation \sum_{i=1}^q\delta_f(D_i)\leq n-1+1/d, which is sharp for all positive integers n and d.
Molecular Dynamics Study of Pb Overlayer on Cu(100)

Isothermal-isobaric Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation of a submonolayer Pb film in c(2×2) ordered structure adsorbed on a Cu(100) substrate showed retention of order to high T. The Embedded Atom Method (EAM) calculated the energy of atoms of overlayer and substrate. The time-averaged squared modulus of the two dimensional structure factor for the Pb overlayer measured the order of the overlayer. The results are for increasing T only, and require verification by simulated cooling.
Direct measurement of turbulent shear

Abstract A photon correlation method is introduced for measuring components of the shear rate tensor in a turbulent soap film. This new scheme, which is also applicable to three-dimensional flows, is shown to give the same results as laser Doppler velocimetry, but with less statistical noise. The technique yields the mean shear rate s ¯ , its standard deviation σ , and a simple mathematical transform of the probability density function P ( s ) of the shear rate itself.
Congruence obstructions to pseudomodularity of Fricke groups

Abstract A pseudomodular group is a finite coarea non-arithmetic Fuchsian group whose set of cusps is P 1 ( Q ) . Long and Reid constructed finitely many of these by considering Fuchsian groups uniformizing one-cusped tori, i.e., Fricke groups. We show that a zonal (i.e., having a cusp at infinity) Fricke group with rational cusps is pseudomodular if and only if its set of finite cusps is dense in the finite adeles of Q , and that there are infinitely many Fricke groups with rational cusps that are neither pseudomodular nor arithmetic. To cite this article: D. Fithian, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 346 (2008).
THE INFLUENCE OF ROOTSTOCK ON THE MINERAL COMPOSITION OF VALENCIA ORANGE LEAVES.

Rootstocks have been shown (7, 8, 9, 11, 13) to exert an influence on tree growth, disease resistance, and fruit quality factors of various types of citrus. Recent work in California (5, 6) in which the leaves of orange, grapefruit, and lemon trees on a large number of different rootstocks were analyzed for several nutritive elements, strongly suggests that the amounts of these minerals in the scion leaves may be affected by the rootstock used. Since one of the objectives of the nutritional research program at this station is an attempt to associate the mineral composition of citrus leaves with tree performance, fruit quality, and fertilizer utilization, it is desirable to know as much as possible about the effect of rootstock on the mineral content of the leaves. Some information on eleven nutrient elements has been obtained with Valencia orange trees on six different rootstocks, under Florida conditions, and is presented herewith.
Exotic Clouds in the Local Interstellar Medium

The neutral interstellar medium (ISM) inside the Local Bubble (LB) has been known to have properties typical of the warm neutral medium (WNM). However, several recent neutral hydrogen (HI) absorption experiments show evidence for the existence of at least several cold diffuse clouds inside or at the boundary of the LB, with properties highly unusual relative to the traditional cold neutral medium. These cold clouds have a low HI column density, and AU-scale sizes. As the kinematics of cold and warm gas inside the LB are similar, this suggests a possibility of all these different flavors of the local ISM belonging to the same interstellar flow. The co-existence of warm and cold phases inside the LB is exciting as it can be used to probe the thermal pressure inside the LB. In addition to cold clouds, several discrete screens of ionized scattering material are clearly located inside the LB.
Series evaluation of a quartic integral

We present a new single sum series evaluation of Moll’s quartic integral and present two new generalizations.
Equation-Free Particle-Based Computations: Coarse Projective Integration and Coarse Dynamic Renormalization in 2D

Equation-free approaches have been proposed in recent years for the computational study of multiscale phenomena in engineering problems where evolution equations for the coarse-grained, system-level behavior are not explicitly available. In this paper, we study the dynamics of a diffusive particle system in a laminar shear flow, described by a two-dimensional Brownian motion; in particular, we perform coarse projective integration and demonstrate the particle-based computation of coarse self-similar and asymptotically self-similar solutions for this problem. We use marginal and conditional inverse cumulative distribution functions (ICDFs) as the macroscopic observables of the evolving particle distribution.
The oxidation of 2-oxazolines to 1,3-oxazoles

Abstract Oxazolines are readily oxidized to 1,3-oxazoles using NBS/peroxide or light or, more efficiently, by the Kharasch-Sosnovsky Reaction.
Sintering of a Ceramic at Very Low Temperatures

Surface area, linear shrinkage, and compressive strength measurements show that, with the help of neutron irradiation, sintering of high-purity alumina can be initiated at temperatures lower than 150°C; such radiation sintering might be beneficial to many other ceramics.
A finiteness property of torsion points

Let k be a number field, and let G be either the multiplicative group Gm/k or an elliptic curve E/k. Let S be a finite set of places of k containing the archimedean places. We prove that if α ∈ G(k) is nontorsion, then there are only finitely many torsion points ξ ∈ G(k)tors which are S-integral with respect to α. We also formulate conjectural generalizations for dynamical systems and for abelian varieties. 0. Introduction. Let k be a number field, with ring of integers Ok and algebraic closure k. In this paper we prove finiteness theorems for torsion points which are integral with respect to a given nontorsion point, for the multiplicative group Gm/k and for elliptic curves E/k. We then attempt to place these results in a conceptual framework, and conjecture generalizations to dynamical systems and abelian varieties. Let S be a finite set of places of k containing the archimedean places. Given α, β ∈ P(k), let cl(α), cl(β) be their Zariski closures in P/Spec(Ok). By definition, β is S-integral relative to α if cl(β) does not meet cl(α) outside S. Thus, β is S-integral relative to α if and only if for each place v of k not in S, and each pair of k-embeddings σ : k(β) ↪→ kv, τ : k(α) ↪→ kv, we have ‖σ(β), τ(α)‖v = 1 under the spherical metric on P(kv). Equivalently, for all σ, τ , { |σ(β)− τ(α)|v ≥ 1 if |τ(α)|v ≤ 1 , |σ(β)|v ≤ 1 if |τ(α)|v > 1 . Theorem 0.1. Let k be a number field, and let S be a finite set of places of k containing all the archimedean places. Fix α ∈ P(k) with Weil height h(α) > 0; that is, identifying P(k) with k ∪{∞}, α is not 0 or ∞ or a root of unity. Then there are only finitely many roots of unity in k which are S-integral with respect to α. Similarly, let E/k be an elliptic curve, and let E/Spec(Ok) be a model of E. Theorem 0.2. Let k be a number field, and let S be a finite set of places of k containing all the archimedean places. If α ∈ E(k) is nontorsion (has canonical height ĥ(α) > 0), there are only finitely many torsion points ξ ∈ E(k)tors which are S-integral with respect to α. By S-integrality we mean that the Zariski closures of ξ and α in the model E/Spec(Ok) do not meet outside fibres above S. Since any two models are isomorphic outside a finite set of places, it follows from the theorem that the finiteness property is independent of the choice of the set S and the model E . Date: October 22, 2007. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 11G05, 37F10, Secondary 11J86, 11J71, 11G50.
Is there a stepping stone effect in drug use? Separating state dependence from unobserved heterogeneity within and between illicit drugs

Empirically, teenagers who use soft drugs are more likely to use hard drugs in the future. This pattern can be explained by a causal effect (i.e., state dependence between drugs or stepping-stone effects) or by unobserved characteristics that make people more likely to use both soft and hard drugs (i.e., correlated unobserved heterogeneity). I estimate a dynamic discrete choice model of alcohol, marijuana and hard drug use over multiple years, and separately identify the contributions of state dependence (within and between drugs) and unobserved heterogeneity. I find statistically significant “stepping-stone” effects from softer to harder drugs, and conclude that alcohol, marijuana and hard drugs are complements in utility.
Groups Acting on Tensor Products

Abstract Groups preserving a distributive product are encountered often in algebra. Examples include automorphism groups of associative and nonassociative rings, classical groups, and automorphism groups of p -groups. While the great variety of such products precludes any realistic hope of describing the general structure of the groups that preserve them, it is reasonable to expect that insight may be gained from an examination of the universal distributive products: tensor products. We give a detailed description of the groups preserving tensor products over semisimple and semiprimary rings, and present effective algorithms to construct generators for these groups. We also discuss applications of our methods to algorithmic problems for which all currently known methods require an exponential amount of work.
Raman imaging of human macular pigments

We have imaged the spatial distribution of macular carotenoid pigments (MPs) in the human retina, employing Raman spectroscopy. Using excised human eyecups as initial test samples and resonant excitation of the pigment molecules with narrow-bandwidth blue light from a mercury arc lamp, we record Raman images originating from the carbon-carbon double-bond stretch vibrations of the molecules. Preliminary Raman images reveal significant differences in the MPs of different samples in regard to absolute levels as well as spatial variation. This technique holds promise as a method of rapid screening of MPs in large populations at risk for vision loss from age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness.
Quantification of Margins and Mixed Uncertainties Using Evidence Theory and Stochastic Expansions

Abstract The objective of this paper is to implement Dempster–Shafer Theory of Evidence (DSTE) in the presence of mixed (aleatory and multiple sources of epistemic) uncertainty to the reliability and performance assessment of complex engineering systems through the use of quantification of margins and uncertainties (QMU) methodology. This study focuses on quantifying the simulation uncertainties, both in the design condition and the performance boundaries along with the determination of margins. To address the possibility of multiple sources and intervals for epistemic uncertainty characterization, DSTE is used for uncertainty quantification. An approach to incorporate aleatory uncertainty in Dempster–Shafer structures is presented by discretizing the aleatory variable distributions into sets of intervals. In view of excessive computational costs for large scale applications and repetitive simulations needed for DSTE analysis, a stochastic response surface based on point-collocation non-intrusive polynomial chaos (NIPC) has been implemented as the surrogate for the model response. The technique is demonstrated on a model problem with non-linear analytical functions representing the outputs and performance boundaries of two coupled systems. Finally, the QMU approach is demonstrated on a multi-disciplinary analysis of a high speed civil transport (HSCT).
Efficient fair queueing using deficit round-robin

Fair queuing is a technique that allows each flow passing through a network device to have a fair share of network resources. Previous schemes for fair queuing that achieved nearly perfect fairness were expensive to implement; specifically, the work required to process a packet in these schemes was O(log(n)), where n is the number of active flows. This is expensive at high speeds. On the other hand, cheaper approximations of fair queuing reported in the literature exhibit unfair behavior. In this paper, we describe a new approximation of fair queuing, that we call deficit round-robin. Our scheme achieves nearly perfect fairness in terms of throughput, requires only O(1) work to process a packet, and is simple enough to implement in hardware. Deficit round-robin is also applicable to other scheduling problems where servicing cannot be broken up into smaller units (such as load balancing) and to distributed queues.
Marketing of Vice Goods: A Strategic Analysis of the Package Size Decision

Consumers are often unable to resist the temptation of overconsuming certain products such as cookies, crackers, soft drinks, alcohol, etc. To control their consumption, some consumers buy small packages or abstain from purchasing the product altogether. Other consumers, however, still purchase large packages and overconsume. From a strategic perspective, firms have the option of introducing small packages or only offering large packages. We use the literature on hyperbolic discounting to model consumers' self-control problems and examine conditions under which firms will offer small packages to help consumers combat their self-control problem, and how this offering in turn affects prices, profits, consumer, and social welfare. Our results show that introducing small packages can increase firms' profits only when a small fraction of consumers have overconsumption problems or when small packages can bring in new customers. Additionally, we find that competition can sometimes reduce the incentives for firms to introduce small packages. This is particularly true when a large fraction of consumers is attracted to small packages. We also find that firms' profits can sometimes decrease if they produce healthier alternatives of their goods. Our analysis of consumer welfare reveals that small packages enhance consumer and social welfare, even though they sometimes increase the consumption of vice goods.
Stereospecificity in the Pictet-Spengler reaction kinetic vs thermodynamic control

Abstract The Pictet-Spengler reaction of N b -benzyl tryptophan methyl ester 4 with 5 in refluxing benzene yielded a mixture of cis and trans tetrahydro β-carbolines in a ratio of 7a (23)/ 7b (77), whereas the analogous reaction of isopropyl ester 10 with 5 provided increased trans stereoselectivity [cis(13):trans(87)]. The implications in regard to the role of intermediates 1–3 in this condensation are described. Moreover, Pictet-Spengler reaction of 4 or 10 with aldehydes (Ph, Δ) led to kinetic trapping of the cis/trans diastereomers, whereas reaction in TFA/CH 2 Cl 2 (25°C) provided tetrahydro β-carbolines via thermodynamic control and increased trans diastereoselectivity in most cases.
Interstitial laser prostatectomy.

Serial gross and histopathologic examinations of the prostate following interstitial laser prostatectomy in the canine model demonstrated distinct zonal thermal changes around the entire active area of the interstitial thermal therapy (ITT) fiber. A large, well-demarcated area of acute coagulative necrosis immediately surrounded each fiber tract; beyond that were a prominent narrow peripheral zone of marked tissue disruption and an outer zone of hemorrhage. Liquefaction within these coagulative areas was evident within 24 hours, and by 4 days, each lobe of the prostate contained an irregular cavity that became lined by normal-appearing transitional epithelium and that, by 5 weeks, communicated with the prostatic urethra. These postmortem pathologic observations, similar to findings previously reported following transurethral laser prostatectomy, suggest that interstitial laser thermal therapy may provide an additional means for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia in men. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, inc.
Real Estate Prices and Firm Capital Structure

This paper examines the impact of real estate prices on firm capital structure decisions. For a typical U.S. listed company, a one-standard-deviation increase in predicted value of firm pledgeable collateral translates into a 3 percentage points increase in firm leverage ratio. The identification strategy employs a triple interaction of MSA-level land supply elasticity, real estate prices, and a measure of a firm's real estate holdings as an exogenous source of variation in firm collateral values. Firms significantly change their debt structure in response to collateral value appreciation. The results indicate the importance of collateral values in mitigating potential informational imperfections.
Transient diffusivity measurements in catalyst pellets with two zones of differing diffusivities

Transient pulse diffusivity measurements were carried out in a pellet string reactor. The outer skin of the catalyst spheres was partially obstructed by contaminants, and the objective was to determine the diffusivity both in this obstructed skin and also in the unobstructed core. Conservation equations were formulated which describe the transient diffusion process in catalyst pellets with two interconnecting regions of differing diffusivities. The shape of the elution curve from a packed bed with axial dispersion was computed by numerical inversion of the Laplace transformed solutions for a Dirac delta function input. The calculations indicated that if an appropriate residence time is chosen, the elution curve shape should be sensitive to the differing diffusivities of the two zones in the catalyst pellets. The experimental peak shapes were analyzed by the Fourier analysis technique and the diffusivities were extracted by the Constrained Simplex optimization routine. The results showed good resolution of the different diffusivities in the skin and the core of the catalyst pellets.
Testability, the key to economical and operationally effective avionic test software

The economical development of high quality avionic test soft ware is inseparably linked to the test capability of the Automatic Test Equipment (ATE), the methodology employed in the generation of the test programs and the "testability" of the Unit-Under-Test (UUT). This paper explores the interrelation ship of these three elements and the contributions each has made toward the reduction of Test Program Set (TPS) develop ment costs and to the improvements in the operational effective ness of the test programs. Further reductions in the costs of TPS development, as well as improved TPS design quality, can be realized with the institution of UUT "testability" specifications, design guidelines, and the development of a testability "Figure of Merit" for application during avionic UUT design reviews.
Hoarding of International Reserves: Mrs Machlup's Wardrobe and the Joneses

Motivated by the observed international reserve hoarding behavior in the post-1997 crisis period, we explore the Mrs Machlup’s Wardrobe hypothesis and the related keeping up with the Joneses argument. It is conceived that, in addition to psychological reasons, holding a relatively high level of international reserves reduces the vulnerability to speculative attacks and promotes growth. A stylized model is constructed to illustrate this type of hoarding behavior. The relevance of the keeping up with the Joneses effect is examined using a few plausible empirical specifications and data from 10 East Asian economies. Panel-based regression results are suggestive of the presence of the Joneses effect, especially in the post-1997 crisis period.
Hund's rule for monopole harmonics, or why the composite fermion picture works

Abstract The success of the mean field composite Fermion (MFCF) picture in predicting the lowest energy band of angular momentum multiplets in fractional quantum Hall systems cannot be found in a cancellation between the Coulomb and Chern–Simons interactions beyond the mean field, due to their totally different energy scales. We show that the MFCF approximation can be regarded as a kind of semi-empirical Hund's rule for monopole harmonics. The plausibility of the rule is easily established, but rigorous proof relies on comparison with detailed numerical calculations.
Evolution in the structural properties of early-type brightest cluster galaxies at small lookback time and dependence on the environment

At the present time, early-type brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) MaxBCG and C4 catalogues have larger sizes than early-type galaxies of similar luminosity, whether these other objects are in the field or are satellites in clusters. BCG sizes are also stronger functions of luminosity R e α L than are the sizes of the bulk of the population; this remains true if one restricts attention to narrow bins in velocity dispersion. At fixed stellar mass and formation time, objects at lower redshift are larger and have smaller velocity dispersions - i.e. the sizes increase and velocity dispersions decrease with age. In addition, at any given redshift, younger BCGs have slightly larger sizes than older BCGs of the same stellar mass; however, they have similar velocity dispersions. As a result, at redshifts ∼0.25, corresponding to lookback times of order 3 Gyr, BCGs are smaller than their lower redshift counterparts by as much as ∼70 per cent for the brightest BCGs: the sizes evolve as (1 + z) 0.85(Mr+21) . Qualitatively, similar but weaker evolution in the sizes is also seen in the bulk of the early-type population: at M r -22 the evolution is approximately (1 + z) ―0.7 , independent of M r . The velocity dispersion-luminosity correlation also evolves: (1 + z) ―0.2(Mr+21) at M r < ―22 (as for the BCGs) and (1 + z) 0.2 for fainter galaxies. The size- and velocity dispersion-stellar mass correlations yield consistent results, although, in this case, accounting for selection effects is less straightforward. These trends, in particular the fact that the velocity dispersions at fixed stellar mass decrease with age, are most easily understood if early-type BCGs grew from many dry minor mergers rather than a few major mergers. Only in such a scenario can BCGs be the descendents of the super-dense galaxies seen at z ∼ 2; major dry mergers, which increase the size in proportion to the mass, cannot bring these galaxies on to the BCG R e ― M * relation at z ∼ 0. We also compared the ages and sizes of our early-type BCGs with other cluster galaxies (satellites). BCGs are larger than satellites of similar luminosity or stellar mass at the same redshift. Although both satellites and BCGs trace the same weak age-L or age―M * relation, this can be understood by noting that BCGs are typically about 1 Gyr older than the satellites in their group, and they are about 0.5 mag more luminous. Finally, we find that the mean satellite luminosity is approximately independent of BCG luminosity, in agreement with recent predictions based on the luminosity dependence of clustering.
Sensor selection to support practical use of health-monitoring smart environments

The data mining and pervasive sensing technologies found in smart homes offer unprecedented opportunities for providing health monitoring and assistance to individuals experiencing difficulties in living independently at home. In order to monitor the functional health of smart home residents, we need to design technologies that recognize and track activities that people normally perform as part of their daily routines. One question that frequently arises, however, is how many smart home sensors are needed and where should they be placed in order to accurately recognize activities? We employ data mining techniques to look at the problem of sensor selection for activity recognition in smart homes. We analyze the results based on six datasets collected in five distinct smart home environments. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. WIREs Data Mining Knowl Discov 2011 1 339–351 DOI: 10.1002/widm.20
Computation of Turbulent Flows

Substantial advances made over the past decade in the prediction of turbulent flows are discussed. There was extensive work in the development of turbulence models, particularly for use in boundary layer calculations. Basic aspects of several important methods based on partial differential equations for the mean velocity field and turbulence quantities, including the relationship between the methods and suggestions for future development were reviewed. Work on three-dimensional time-dependent large eddy simulations is discussed. The emphasis is on the hydrodynamics of incompressible flows, but sources for consideration of heat transfer and compressibility are mentioned.
Imaging Mobile Zinc in Biology

Trafficking and regulation of mobile zinc pools influence cellular functions and pathological conditions in multiple organs, including brain, pancreas, and prostate. The quest for a dynamic description of zinc distribution and mobilization in live cells fuels the development of increasingly sophisticated probes. Detection systems that respond to zinc binding with changes of their fluorescence emission properties have provided sensitive tools for mobile zinc imaging, and fluorescence microscopy experiments have afforded depictions of zinc distribution within live cells and tissues. Both small-molecule and protein-based fluorescent probes can address complex imaging challenges, such as analyte quantification, site-specific sensor localization, and real-time detection.
A Submillimeter and Radio Survey of Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies: A Glimpse into the Future of Star Formation Studies

We present the first comprehensive search for submillimeter and radio emission from the host galaxies of 20 well-localized gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). With the exception of a single source, all observations were undertaken months to years after the GRB explosions to ensure negligible contamination from the afterglows. We detect the host galaxy of GRB 000418 in both the submillimeter and radio, and the host galaxy of GRB 000210 in only the submillimeter. These observations, in conjunction with the previous detections of the host galaxies of GRB 980703 and GRB 010222, indicate that about 20% of GRB host galaxies are ultraluminous (L > 1012 L☉) and have star formation rates of about 500 M☉ yr-1. As an ensemble, the nondetected hosts have a star formation rate of about 100 M☉ yr-1 (5 σ) based on their radio emission. This, in conjunction with an average luminosity for the entire sample that is approximately 20% fainter than the local starburst galaxy Arp 220, indicates that GRB hosts probe a more representative population of star-forming galaxies than those uncovered in blank submillimeter and radio surveys. The detected and ensemble star formation rates exceed the values determined from various optical estimators by an order of magnitude, indicating significant dust obscuration. In the same vein, the ratio of bolometric dust luminosity to UV luminosity for the hosts detected in the submillimeter and radio bands ranges from about ~30 to 500 and follows the known trend of increasing obscuration with increasing bolometric luminosity. We also show that the GRB host sample as a whole, and the submillimeter- and radio-detected hosts individually, have significantly bluer R-K colors as compared with galaxies selected in the submillimeter and radio in the same redshift range. This possibly indicates that the stellar populations in the GRB hosts are on average younger, supporting the massive stellar progenitor scenario for GRBs, but it is also possible that GRB hosts are on average less dusty. For the nondetected GRB hosts, the difference in R-K color may also be a manifestation of their more representative bolometric luminosities relative to the highly luminous submillimeter- and radio-selected galaxies. Beyond the specific results presented in this paper, the submillimeter and radio observations serve as an observational proof-of-concept in anticipation of the upcoming launch of the Swift GRB mission and SIRTF. These new facilities will possibly bring GRB host galaxies into the forefront of star formation studies.
The Impact of Employment Protection Mandates on Demographic Temporary Employment Patterns: International Microeconomic Evidence

Using 1994-98 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) microdata, this paper investigates the impact of employment protection laws on the incidence of temporary employment by demographic group. More stringent employment protection for regular jobs is predicted to increase the relative incidence of temporary employment for less experienced and less skilled workers. I test this reasoning using IALS data for Canada, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, countries with widely differing levels of mandated employment protection. Across these countries, the strength of such mandates (as measured by the OECD) is positively associated with the relative incidence of temporary employment for young workers, native women, immigrant women and those with low cognitive ability. These effects largely hold up when I adjust for the possible sample selection due to the fact that employment to population ratios differ across countries. Moreover, the effects of protection on the young, women, and immigrants are stronger in countries with higher levels of collective bargaining coverage, suggesting a connection between binding wage floors and the allocative effects of employment protection mandates.
Government ownership and corporate governance: Evidence from the EU.

The ongoing global financial crisis has led to the largest increase in state intervention since the Great Depression. Direct government ownership in publicly-traded corporations has increased dramatically since 2008. How will this increase in public ownership affect the governance of these erstwhile private companies? We examine the impact of government ownership on corporate governance using a sample of firms from the European Union, a region that is relatively familiar with active government participation. Our main finding is that government ownership is associated with lower governance quality. We further show that while government intervention is negatively related to governance quality in civil law countries, it is positively related to governance quality in common law countries. Finally, we find that the preferential voting rights of golden shares are especially damaging to governance quality.
Pressure-strain correlations in curved wall boundary layers

Pressure-strain correlations, which represent some part of production and dissipation of Reynolds stress in turbulent wall-bounded shear layers, have been determined for the cases of boundary layer flow past a convex, a concave and a flat wall, the latter also in the case when it follows a convex wall (relaxing flow). The Large Eddy Interaction Model utilized for prediction also permits determination of the contribution from different parts of the turbulence spectra to the correlations in different parts across the boundary layer. The relation between the anisotropic nature of the correlations and the spectra in the different flow cases provides a means of testing models for the correlations.
"Smart dust": nanostructured devices in a grain of sand.

The term “smart dust” originally referred to miniature wireless semiconductor devices made using fabrication techniques derived from the microelectronics industry. These devices incorporate sensing, computing and communications in a centimetre-sized package. This article discusses the construction of much smaller silicon-based systems, using the tools of nanotechnology. The synthesis of millimetre- to micron-sized functional photonic crystals made from porous silicon is described. It is shown how the various optical, chemical, and mechanical properties can be harnessed to perform sensing, signal processing, communication and motive functions.
A Reformulation of the Economic Theory of Fertility

An economic analysis of the linkages in fertility rates and capital accumulation across generations is developed considering the determination of fertility and capital accumulation in each generation when wage rates and interest rates are parameters to each family and to open economies. The model is based on the assumption that parents are altruistic toward their children. The utility of parents depends on their own consumption and on the utility of each child and the number of children. By relating the utility of children to their own consumption and to the utility of their children a dynastic utility function was obtained that depends on the consumption and number of descendants in all generations. The term "reformulation" was used because of the emphasis on dynastic utility model of altruism toward children and deriving the budget constraint and utility function of a dynastic family the model was applied to the Great Depression and World War II. The 1st-order conditions to maximize utility imply that fertility in any generation depends positively on the real interest rate and the degree of altruism and negatively on the rate of growth in per capita consumption from 1 generation to the next. Consumption of each descendant depends positively on the net cost of rearing a desdendant. Applying the model it is shown that the analysis is consistent with baby busts during the Depression and the war and with a baby boom after the war. The effects on fertility of child mortality subsidies to (or taxes on) children and social security and other transfer payments to adults were considered. The demand for surviving children rises during the transition to low child mortality but demand for survivors return to its prior level once mortality stabilizes at a low level. Fertility falls in response to declines in international real interest rates and increases in an economys rate of technological progress. Extending the analysis to include life-cycle variations in consumption earnings and utility fertility emerges as a function of expenditures on the subsistence and human capital of children but not of expenditures that simply raise the consumption of children. The path of aggregate consumption in demographic steady states does not depend on interest rates time preference or other determinants of life-cycle variations in consumption.
A note on gravitational Brownian motion

Chandrasekhar's theory of stellar encounters predicts a dependence of the Brownian motion of a massive particle on the shape of the velocity distribution of the perturbing stars. One consequence is that the expectation value of the massive object's kinetic energy can be different from that of the perturbers. The effect is shown to be modest, however, and substantially smaller than claimed in a recent study based on a more approximate treatment of the encounter equations.
A hidden spatial-temporal Markov random field model for network-based analysis of time course gene expression data

Microarray time course (MTC) gene expression data are commonly collected to study the dynamic nature of biological processes. One important problem is to identify genes that show different expression profiles over time and pathways that are perturbed during a given biological process. While methods are available to identify the genes with differential expression levels over time, there is a lack of methods that can incorporate the pathway information in identifying the pathways being modified/activated during a biological process. In this paper we develop a hidden spatial-temporal Markov random field (hstMRF)-based method for identifying genes and subnetworks that are related to biological processes, where the dependency of the differential expression patterns of genes on the networks are modeled over time and over the network of pathways. Simulation studies indicated that the method is quite effective in identifying genes and modified subnetworks and has higher sensitivity than the commonly used procedures that do not use the pathway structure or time dependency information, with similar false discovery rates. Application to a microarray gene expression study of systemic inflammation in humans identified a core set of genes on the KEGG pathways that show clear differential expression patterns over time. In addition, the method confirmed that the TOLL-like signaling pathway plays an important role in immune response to endotoxins.
On the concentration of the number of solutions of random satisfiability formulas

Let ZF be the number of solutions of a random k-satisfiability formula F with n variables and clause density α. Assume that the probability that F is unsatisfiable is O1/logn1+i¾? for some i¾?>0. We show that possibly excluding a countable set of "exceptional" α's the number of solutions concentrates, i.e., there exists a non-random function αi¾?i¾?sα such that, for any e>0, we have ZF∈[2ni¾?s-e,2ni¾?s+e] with high probability. In particular, the assumption holds for all α<1, which proves the above concentration claim in the whole satisfiability regime of random 2-SAT. We also extend these results to a broad class of constraint satisfaction problems. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 45, 362-382, 2014
Group Processes in Helping Groups Toward a Developmental Perspective

Ten interaction dimensions of group behavior and three emotional atmosphere cate gories were coded and analyzed on the basis of interactions among old and young par ticipants in experimental "support-discussion" groups. The seven groups of elderly and five groups of young differed significantly with respect to frequencies of boundary, self-disclosure, and support behaviors, with the elderly exceeding the young on the first two and the young exceeding the elderly on the third. In addition, the young showed signs of boredom more frequently. The implications of these results for development and age-linked assumptions about helping group interactions and interventions were explored. The results suggest that this approach is promising in generating knowledge to facilitate age-appropriate group intervention strategies.
A water soluble, recyclable organostannatrane

Abstract Synthesis of a water-soluble recyclable organostannatrane has been accomplished via a straightforward three-step synthesis. The organostannatrane exhibits excellent water-solubility (0.33 M) and can be recovered from aqueous solutions via removal of water in vacuo. The compound can be readily converted by standard transformations into reagents suitable for Stille cross-coupling reactions. The reagent can also be transformed into a reactive, water-soluble organotin hydride.
Spiroacetal Formation through Telescoped Cycloaddition and Carbon–Hydrogen Bond Functionalization: Total Synthesis of Bistramide A

Spiroacetals can be formed through a one-pot sequence of a hetero-Diels–Alder reaction, an oxidative carbon–hydrogen bond cleavage, and an acid treatment. This convergent approach expedites access to a complex molecular subunit which is present in numerous biologically active structures. The utility of the protocol is demonstrated through its application to a brief synthesis of the actin-binding cytotoxin bistramide A.