cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Risk-based Supervision of Pension Funds: A Review of International Experience and Preliminary Assessment of the First Outcomes

This paper provides a review of the design and experience of risk-based pension fund supervision in several countries that have been leaders in the development of these methods. The utilization of risk-based methods originates primarily in the supervision of banks. In recent years it has increasingly been extended to other types of financial intermediaries including pension funds and insurers. The trend toward risk-based supervision of pensions is closely associated with movement toward the integration of pension supervision with that of banking and other financial services into a single national authority. Although similar in concept to the techniques developed in banking, the application to pension funds has required modifications, particularly for defined contribution funds that transfer investment risk to fund members. The countries examined provide a range of experiences that illustrate both the diversity of pension systems and approaches to risk-based supervision, but also a commonality of the focus on sound risk management and effective supervisory outcomes. The paper provides a description of pension supervision in Australia, Denmark, Mexico and the Netherlands, and an initial evaluation of the results achieved in relation to the underlying objectives.
WETTING, SPREADING AND REACTIONS AT LIQUID/SOLID INTERFACES

A surface represents the discontinuity of the bulk structure; the resulting distortion and change in coordination number of the atoms at the surface causes a higher free energy over a corresponding plane and number of atoms in the bulk. This excess free energy is defined as surface energy or the solid/vapor interfacial energy, γsv. The same analysis applies to an interface between condensed phases, e. g. a solid and liquid, which would then be referred to as solid/liquid interfacial energy,γs1.
Precedent-Setting NGO Campaign Saves the World Bank's Inspection Panel

This article, after describing the stakes in the ongoing debate about the operating procedures of the World Bank's Inspection Panel (Panel), explains the causes of this controversy. Thereafter it discusses the evolution of the pro­posal of the Working Group of the Bank's Board of Directors to correct the problems in the Panel's operating procedures. It suggests that, if the Board has the political will to adopt it, the final proposal of the Working Group has the potential to cre­ate a Panel procedure that is effective, independent, and impartial. The reason for this possibility is that the Bank, in an innovative rule-making procedure, allowed interested parties to submit com­ments on the proposal to the Bank, and the Board held an unprecedented meeting with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss the proposal of the Working Group.
Data Transport Control in Wireless Sensor Networks

Dynamics of wireless communication, resource constraints, and application diversity pose significant challenges to data transport control in wireless sensor networks. In this chapter, we examine the issue of data transport control in the context of two typical communication patterns in wireless sensor networks: convergecast and broadcast. We study the similarity and differences of data transport control in convergecast and broadcast; we discuss existing convergecast and broadcast protocols, and we present open issues for data transport control in wireless sensor networks.
Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States

This study uses nationally representative data on the marketing of local foods to assess the relative scale of local food marketing channels. This research documents that sales through intermediated marketing channels, such as farmers’ sales to local grocers and restaurants, account for a large portion of all local food sales. Small and medium-sized farms dominate local foods sales marketed exclusively through direct-to-consumer channels (foods sold at roadside stands or farmers’ markets, for example) while large farms dominate local food sales marketed exclusively through intermediated channels. Farmers marketing food locally are most prominent in the Northeast and the West Coast regions and areas close to densely populated urban markets. Climate and topography favoring the production of fruits and vegetables, proximity to and neighboring farm participation in farmers’ markets, and good transportation and information access are found to be associated with higher levels of direct-to-consumer sales.
Protoneutron Star Winds

Neutrino-driven winds are thought to accompany the Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling phase of nascent protoneutron stars in the first seconds after a core-collapse supernova. These outflows are a likely candidate as the astrophysical site for rapid neutron-capture nucleosynthesis (the r-process). In this chapter we review the physics of protoneutron star winds and assess their potential as a site for the production of the heavy r-process nuclides. We show that spherical transonic protoneutron star winds do not produce robust r-process nucleosynthesis for ‘canonical’ neutron stars with gravitational masses of 1.4 M⊙ and coordinate radii of 10 km.
The quantum theory of fields

In this third volume of The Quantum Theory of Fields, available for the first time in paperback, Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg continues his masterly exposition of quantum field theory. This volume presents a self-contained, up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to supersymmetry, a highly active area of theoretical physics. The text introduces and explains a broad range of topics, including supersymmetric algebras, supersymmetric field theories, extended supersymmetry, supergraphs, non-perturbative results, theories of supersymmetry in higher dimensions, and supergravity. A thorough review is given of the phenomenological implications of supersymmetry, including theories of both gauge and gravitationally-mediated supersymmetry breaking. Also provided is an introduction to mathematical techniques, based on holomorphy and duality, that have proved so fruitful in recent developments. This book contains much material not found in other books on supersymmetry, including previously unpublished results. Exercises are included.
Sound speed variations near the photosphere due to entropy perturbations in 3d numerical experiments

Results on how the temperature distribution near the solar photosphere is altered by perturbing the entropy of rising fluid in the convection zone several megameters below the surface, are presented. Effects on the emergent intensity and implications for helioseismic observations are described.
Integrability and the demand for monetary assets: an alternative approach to an old problem

This note provides necessary and su¢cient conditions for some speci…c multidimensional consumer’s surplus welfare measures to be well posed (path independent). We motivate the problem by investigating partial-equilibrium measures of the welfare costs of in‡ation. The results can also be used for checking path independence of alternative de…nitions of Divisia indexes of monetary services. Consumer theory classically approaches the integrability problem by considering compensated demands, homothetic preferences or quasi-linear utility functions. Here, instead, we consider demands of monetary assets generated from a shopping-time perspective. Paralleling the above mentioned procedure, of …nding special classes of utility functions that satisfy the integrability conditions, we try to infer what particular properties of the transacting technology could assure path independence of multidimensional welfare measures. We show that the integrability conditions are satis…ed if and only if the transacting technology is blockwise weakly separable. We use two examples to clarify the point.
Magnetic Phases in Dense Quark Matter

In this paper I discuss the magnetic phases of the three‐flavor color superconductor. These phases can take place at different field strengths in a highly dense quark system. Given that the best natural candidates for the realization of color superconductivity are the extremely dense cores of neutron stars, which typically have very large magnetic fields, the magnetic phases here discussed could have implications for the physics of these compact objects.
Writing Programs as Distributed Networks: A Materialist Approach to University-Community Digital Media Literacy.

This article addresses how community-university digital media literacy projects are redefining literacy, literate practices, and institutions. Using Actor-Network Theory (ANT), which emphasizes the organizing process itself, I analyze the shifting definitions of literacy within one particular university-community collaboration. My analysis demonstrates the importance of creating writer and producer identities for all project participants and developing networks of responsibility and sustainability through the distribution of expertise among university and community institutions. In order to sustain such collaborations and university-community networks, literacy workers and writing programs must challenge static forms of participation and expertise, as well as monolithic notions of literacy, and become more responsive to concrete literacy needs within our communities.
Tunneling splittings in Mn12-acetate single crystals

A Landau-Zener multi-crossing method has been used to investigate the tunnel splittings in high-quality Mn12-acetate single crystals in the pure quantum relaxation regime and for fields applied parallel to the magnetic easy axis. With this method several individual tunneling resonances have been studied over a broad range of time scales. The relaxation is found to be non-exponential and a distribution of tunnel splittings is inferred from the data. The distributions suggest that the inhomogeneity in the tunneling rates is due to disorder that produces a non-zero mean value of the average transverse anisotropy, such as in a solvent disorder model. Further, the effect of intermolecular dipolar interaction on the magnetic relaxation has been studied.
A Scalable Asynchronous Distributed Algorithm for Topic Modeling

Learning meaningful topic models with massive document collections which contain millions of documents and billions of tokens is challenging because of two reasons. First, one needs to deal with a large number of topics (typically on the order of thousands). Second, one needs a scalable and efficient way of distributing the computation across multiple machines. In this paper, we present a novel algorithm F+Nomad LDA which simultaneously tackles both these problems. In order to handle large number of topics we use an appropriately modified Fenwick tree. This data structure allows us to sample from a multinomial distribution over T items in O(log T) time. Moreover, when topic counts change the data structure can be updated in O(log T) time. In order to distribute the computation across multiple processors, we present a novel asynchronous framework inspired by the Nomad algorithm of Yun et al, 2014. We show that F+Nomad LDA significantly outperforms recent state-of-the-art topic modeling approaches on massive problems which involve millions of documents, billions of words, and thousands of topics.
Hilbert schemes, polygraphs and the Macdonald positivity conjecture

We study the isospectral Hilbert scheme X_n, defined as the reduced fiber product of C^2n with the Hilbert scheme H_n of points in the plane, over the symmetric power S^n C^2. We prove that X_n is normal, Cohen-Macaulay, and Gorenstein, and hence flat over H_n. We derive two important consequences. (1) We prove the strong form of the "n! conjecture" of Garsia and the author, giving a representation-theoretic interpretation of the Kostka-Macdonald coefficients K_{lambda,mu}(q,t). This establishes the Macdonald positivity conjecture, that K_{lambda,mu}(q,t) is always a polynomial with non-negative integer coefficients. (2) We show that the Hilbert scheme H_n is isomorphic to the Hilbert scheme of orbits C^2n//S_n, in such a way that X_n is identified with the universal family over C^2n//S_n.
Dynamics of Cosmological phase transitions: What can we learn from condensed matter physics?

A brief outline is given of the description of phase transition kinetics in condensed matter systems with a continuous symmetry, emphasising the roles of dissipation, coarse-graining and scaling. The possible relevance of these ideas to the early universe is explored in the contexts of the GUT string transition and the electroweak transition.
Small molecules that promote regenerative repair for pancreatic and cardiovascular health

Regenerative medicine for repair of organ injury is an emerging area of research. The use of embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent cells in combination with endogenously expressed growth factors has provided methods to generate differentiated cells for cell-based therapy and for screening purposes. As cell-based therapies continue to be investigated in the clinical setting, small molecules for in situ tissue repair are being reported. In this review, we focus on the reports applicable to the field of cardiovascular and metabolic disease by discussing small molecules that target β-cells, cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells.
Periodic orbit analysis of a system with continuous symmetry—A tutorial

Dynamical systems with translational or rotational symmetry arise frequently in studies of spatially extended physical systems, such as Navier-Stokes flows on periodic domains. In these cases, it is natural to express the state of the fluid in terms of a Fourier series truncated to a finite number of modes. Here, we study a 4-dimensional model with chaotic dynamics and SO(2) symmetry similar to those that appear in fluid dynamics problems. A crucial step in the analysis of such a system is symmetry reduction. We use the model to illustrate different symmetry-reduction techniques. The system's relative equilibria are conveniently determined by rewriting the dynamics in terms of a symmetry-invariant polynomial basis. However, for the analysis of its chaotic dynamics, the “method of slices,” which is applicable to very high-dimensional problems, is preferable. We show that a Poincare section taken on the "slice" can be used to further reduce this flow to what is for all practical purposes a unimodal map. This enables us to systematically determine all relative periodic orbits and their symbolic dynamics up to any desired period. We then present cycle averaging formulas adequate for systems with continuous symmetry and use them to compute dynamical averages using relative periodic orbits. The convergence of such computations is discussed.
Perception of Personality and Naturalness through Dialogues by Native Speakers of American English and Arabic

Linguistic markers of personality traits have been studied extensively, but few cross-cultural studies exist. In this paper, we evaluate how native speakers of American English and Arabic perceive personality traits and naturalness of English utterances that vary along the dimensions of verbosity, hedging, lexical and syntactic alignment, and formality. The utterances are the turns within dialogue fragments that are presented as text transcripts to the workers of Amazon's Mechanical Turk. The results of the study suggest that all four dimensions can be used as linguistic markers of all personality traits by both language communities. A further comparative analysis shows cross-cultural differences for some combinations of measures of personality traits and naturalness, the dimensions of linguistic variability and dialogue acts.
Conflict and surprise: heuristics for model revision

Any probabilistic model of a problem is based on assumptions which, if violated, invalidate the model. Users of probability based decision aids need to be alerted when cases arise. that are not covered by the aid's model. Diagnosis of model failure is also necessary to control dynamic model construction and revision. This paper presents a set of decision theoretically motivated heuristics for diagnosing situations in which a model is likely to provide an inadequate representation of the process being modeled.
Effects of the Great Recession on the U.S. Agricultural Labor Market

Author(s): Fan, Maoyong; Pena, Anita Alves; Perloff, Jeffrey M. | Abstract: Recessions typically lead to excess supply in non agricultural labor markets. However, a major recession, like the Great Recession, has different effects in the seasonal agriculture labor market. During such recession, hourly earnings of workers, the probability that workers receive bonuses, and employed workers’ weekly hours rise. These results are consistent with a large reduction in immigrant labor supply during a major recession. Direct and indirect evidence on immigration supports this conclusion
Labor regulations and industrial relations in Indonesia

Since the mid -1980s, Indonesia has rapidly deregulated. Employment opportunities, income generation capacity, and the opportunity to negotiate better working conditions have expanded. Many Indonesians are concerned that workers have not shared in economic development benefits and think that a minimum wage increase would bring bottom wages up and reduce wage differentials. Additionally, international agencies have criticized Indonesia for labor standard violations. In response, the Indonesian government has increased workers' statuary rights and removed collective bargaining obstacles. Real minimum wages doubled between 1988 and 1995. Regulation enforcement toughened. Manufacturing employment expansion has broaden statutory rights coverage, requiring enforcement. The government should close the gap between statutory rights and voluntary agreed-on working conditions. It must correct legal standards and reduce labor dispute intervention. Current labor regulations inhibit constructive discourse between workers and employers on: dismissal, dispute resolution mechanisms, and social security contributions. Appropriate legislative action in job safety and child labor is needed. Inviting public intervention rather than allowing strikes and lockouts to operate isolates negotiation from market conditions. While labor regulation should facilitate voluntary employer and worker agreements, it often discourages job creation. Keeping Indonesia's economy competitive requires an industrial relations system relying on voluntary wage and working condition negotiations. The tasks workers perform and the employers for whom they perform them must be subject to change. This process is a normal feature of healthy labor markets.
Effective theories of universal theories

It is well-known but sometimes overlooked that constraints on the oblique parameters (most notably S and T parameters) are generally speaking only applicable to a special class of new physics scenarios known as universal theories. In the effective field theory (EFT) framework, the oblique parameters should not be associated with Wilson coefficients in a particular operator basis, unless restrictions have been imposed on the EFT so that it describes universal theories. We work out these restrictions, and present a detailed EFT analysis of universal theories. We find that at the dimension-6 level, universal theories are completely characterized by 16 parameters. They are conveniently chosen to be: 5 oblique parameters that agree with the commonly-adopted ones, 4 anomalous triple-gauge couplings, 3 rescaling factors for the h 3, hf f , hV V vertices, 3 parameters for hV V vertices absent in the Standard Model, and 1 four-fermion coupling of order y 2 . All these parameters are defined in an unambiguous and basis-independent way, allowing for consistent constraints on the universal theories parameter space from precision electroweak and Higgs data.
The Strategic Interdependence of a Shared Water Aquifer: A General Equilibrium Analysis

In a region with shared water aquifers, the use of water by one country becomes an externality to another. A policy to subsidize water is shown to lead to both countries being made worse off but is likely to be supported by special interests having water rights, and those in sectors such as agriculture that uses water relatively intensively. The unilateral water tax will reduce own country’s GNP and rise GNP in the other country. Only when both countries impose a tax cooperatively will GNP rise in both countries.
Alternative Metrics for Comparing Domestic Climate Change Mitigation Efforts and the Emerging International Climate Policy Architecture

The availability of practical mechansims for comparing domestic efforts aimed at mitigating global climate change are important for the stability, equity, and efficiency of international climate agreements. We examine a variety of metrics that could be used to compare countries’ climate change mitigation efforts and illustrate their potential application to large developed and developing countries. Because there is no single comprehensive, measurable metric that could be applied to all countries, we suggest using a set of indicators to characterize and compare mitigation effort, akin to using a set of economic statistics to indicate the health of the macroeconomy. Given the iterative pledge and review approach that is emerging in the current climate change negotiations, participation, commitment, and compliance could be enhanced if this set of indicators is able to show that all parties are doing their “fair share,” both prospectively and retrospectively. The latter, in particular, highlights the need for a wellfunctioning policy surveillance regime. JEL Codes: Q54, Q58, F55
The Growing Accountability Agenda: Progress or Mixed Blessing?

In the past decade, however, accountability has become a major concern in most parts of the world. Governments, parliaments, and society at large are increasingly asking universities to justify the use of public resources and account more thoroughly for their teaching and research results. The universal push for increased accountability has made the role of university leaders much more demanding. The successful evolution of higher education institutions will hinge on finding an appropriate balance between credible accountability practices and favorable autonomy conditions.
Taxes and caps as climate policy instruments with domestic and imported fuels

This paper develops a global model of climate policy, focusing on the choice between tax and cap-and-trade solutions. The analysis assumes that the world can be split into two regions, with two fuels that both lead to carbon emissions. Region A consumes all fuels, and is responsible for defining and implementing climate policy. Region B produces all of fuel 1 (oil), while fuel 2 (interpreted as coal, natural gas, or renewables) is both produced and consumed in region A. The paper studies three model variants. All involve full policy coordination in each country block, but no coordination across blocks; and all involve an optimal producer tax on fuel 1 by region B. In model 1, region A sets two fuel consumption taxes, one for each fuel. The optimal region A tax on fuel 1 then exceeds the Pigou level as defined by the region; the tax set on fuel 2 is Pigouvian. The presence of a second fuel in region A reduces region Bs optimal tax on fuel 1. In model 2, region A sets a common carbon tax, which is lower (higher) for fuel 1 (2) than in model 1. In model 3, region A sets a carbon emissions cap. This enhances region Bs strategic position via the trade-off between fuels 1 and 2 in region A, following from the cap. In realistic cases, this leaves region A strategically weaker under a cap policy than under a tax policy, more so the less carbon-intensive the local fuel (2) is. In conclusion, a fuel-consuming and importing region that determines a climate policy will typically prefer to set a carbon tax, instead of setting a carbon emissions cap. The main reason is that a tax is more efficient than a cap at extracting rent from fuel (oil) exporters.
Efficient approximation for triangulation of minimum treewidth

We present four novel approximation algorithms for finding triangulation of minimum treewidth. Two of the algorithms improve on the running times of algorithms by Robertson and Seymour, and Becker and Geiger that approximate the optimum by factors of 4 and 32/3, respectively. A third algorithm is faster than those but gives an approximation factor of 41/2. The last algorithm is yet faster, producing factor-O(lgk) approximations in polynomial time. Finding triangulations of minimum treewidth for graphs is central to many problems in computer science. Realworld problems in artificial intelligence, VLSI design and databases are efficiently solvable if we have an efficient approximation algorithm for them. We report on experimental results confirming the effectiveness of our algorithms for large graphs associated with real-world problems.
Relationship between interpregnancy interval and cervical length in high-risk women

AbstractObjective: Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between the interpregnancy interval (IPI) and next-pregnancy mid-trimester cervical length (CL) in women at high risk for recurrent spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB).Methods: Retrospective review identified high-risk women, defined as a prior SPTB <36 weeks, who began scheduled serial transvaginal sonographic CL screening at 16–18 weeks gestation between December 2008 and November 2010. All CL assessment ended by 226/7 weeks, and weekly 17-α hydroxyprogesterone caproate, 250 mg IM, was recommended to all patients. Details of the prior and current pregnancy were collected, and regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between IPI and CL shortening.Results: One hundred and eight women with singleton gestations and a qualifying SPTB underwent CL screening. The mean (SD) birth gestational age (GA) of the last pregnancy was 25 (10) weeks, the median IPI was 613 (range 49–6038) days, and the mean (SD) delivery GA in the current preg...
Financial Integration and Consumption Smoothing

We test if financial integration improves household consumption smoothing using microeconomic data. We find that the process of financial market integration and liberalisation brought about by the introduction of the euro has not affected the sensitivity of consumption with respect to income shocks in Italy. This article also makes a significant contribution from a methodological point of view, because our procedure does not require that consumption and income are available in the same panel data set. It can therefore be applied in all countries in which repeated cross-sectional consumption data can be combined with panel data on income.
Weak and electromagnetic interactions of hyperons: A chiral approach

A range of issues in the field of weak and electromagnetic interactions of hyperons is presented from the perspective of (broken) chiral symmetry, together with an assessment of where important challenges remain.
Extensor Mechanism Complications Following Total Knee Arthroplasty

The patellofemoral joint is an important source of pain and complications following total knee arthroplasty. In a recent series of revisions of total knee arthroplasties, almost 12% of the reoperations were done because of a problem related to the extensor mechanism1. The prevalence of complications related to the extensor mechanism has generally decreased over the past twenty years but remains around 4%2-7. Anterior knee pain, patellar instability, fracture, rupture of the extensor mechanism, and a variety of miscellaneous problems affecting the patella can adversely affect the results of a total knee arthroplasty. Patient selection is an important variable influencing complications related to the extensor mechanism (Table I)8-18. A lateral retinacular release is frequently required at the time of a total knee arthroplasty for a patient with patellofemoral arthritis. The rate of lateral retinacular release has ranged from 29% to 68%8-10. Hypoplasia of the trochlear groove combined with shortening of the extensor mechanism is common in patients with a chronically dislocated patella, and it increases the potential for postoperative patellar instability15. A patient with a large preoperative valgus deformity may have hypoplasia of the lateral femoral condyle, which makes rotational positioning of the femoral implant difficult. A patient with a previous proximal tibial valgus osteotomy may have patella infera, which makes exposure difficult and can contribute to avulsion of the patellar tendon. Patella infera can result in impingement between the patella and the tibial component, leading to pain or patellar instability. When a patient has posttraumatic arthritis and malunion, there can be complex problems with regard to implant positioning and balancing of the soft tissues, including the extensor mechanism16-18. Finally, a patient with severe osteoporosis is at risk for patellar …
Itraconazole responsive tinea capitis in an HIV-infected child.

: Tinea capitis has not been reported to be a prevalent or serious affliction in pediatric patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We report tinea capitis due to Microsporum canis in a boy Infected with HIV. After falling conventional therapy, he was treated successfully with a four-week course of itraconazole. His immunologic status improved during therapy. The possible relationship of this response to the ultimate resolution of disease is discussed.
STUDIES ON PROTECTION OF OXINDOLES

Abstract Protection of amide nitrogen of oxindole and methyloxindole using Boc and Z-groups has been described. Sodium carbonate was found to be an effective base for these protections.
Regioselective ring metalation in [2,4]-bisoxazoles

Abstract The efficient, highly regioselective metalation of a 2,4-disubstituted bisoxazole system is described. The resulting lithio-oxazole is a competent nucleophile in subsequent alkylations.
On the Poincare noninvariance of a recent alternative to the Dirac equation.

Explicit construction of the infinitesimal generators of the Poincare group, demonstrating that the algebra of commutators closes only for the case of zero mass. Hence, the so-called Stigma equation proposed by Biedenharn et al. (1971) as an alternative to the Dirac equation (1928) for spin one-half, finite mass particles is not Poincare invariant except when the leptonic mass is zero.
Associativity of the Commutator Operation in Groups

The study of associativity of the commutator operation in groups goes back to the work of F. W. Levi in 1942. In the 1960’s Richard J. Thompson created a group F whose elements are representatives of the generalized associative law for an arbitrary binary operation. In 2006, Geoghegan and Guzm´an proved that a group G is solvable if and only if the commutator operation in G eventually satisfies ALL instances of the associative law, and also showed that many nonsolvable groups do not satisfy any instance of the generalized associative law. We will address the question: Is there a non-solvable group which satisfies SOME instance of the generalized associative law? For finite groups, we prove that the answer is no. AMS Classification 2000: Primary: 20D05 ; Secondary: 20F16, 20N02, 20F38.
Nonparametric Estimation of State-Price Densities Implicit in Interest Rate Cap Prices

Based on a multivariate extension of the constrained locally polynomial estimator of Ait-Sahalia and Duarte (2003), we provide one of the first nonparametric estimates of probability densities of LIBOR rates under forward martingale measures and state-price densities (SPDs) implicit in interest rate cap prices. The forward densities and SPDs depend significantly on the slope and volatility of LIBOR rates, and mortgage markets activities have strong impacts on the shape of the forward densities. The SPDs exhibit a pronounced U-shape as a function of future LIBOR rates, suggesting that the state prices are high at both extremely low and high interest rates, which tend to be associated with recessions and periods of high inflation, respectively. Our results provide nonparametric evidence of unspanned stochastic volatility and suggest that the unspanned factors could be partly driven by activities in the mortgage markets. The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org., Oxford University Press.
Effects of Rotationally Induced Mixing in Compact Binary Systems with Low-mass Secondaries and in Single Solar-type Stars

Many population synthesis and stellar evolution studies have addressed the evolution of close binary systems in which the primary is a compact remnant and the secondary is filling its Roche lobe, thus triggering mass transfer. Although tidal locking is expected in such systems, most studies have neglected the rotationally induced mixing that may occur. Here we study the possible effects of mixing in mass-losing stars for a range of secondary star masses and metallicities. We find that tidal locking can induce rotational mixing prior to contact and thus affect the evolution of the secondary star if the effects of the Spruit-Tayler dynamo are included both for angular momentum and chemical transport. Once contact is made, the effect of mass transfer tends to be more rapid than the evolutionary timescale, so the effects of mixing are no longer directly important, but the mass-transfer strips matter to inner layers that may have been affected by the mixing. These effects are enhanced for secondaries of 1-1.2 M ☉ and for lower metallicities. We discuss the possible implications for the paucity of carbon in the secondaries of the cataclysmic variable SS Cyg and the black hole candidate XTE J1118+480 and for the progenitor evolution of Type Ia supernovae. We also address the issue of the origin of blue straggler stars in globular and open clusters. We find that for models that include rotation consistent with that observed for some blue straggler stars, evolution is chemically homogeneous. This leads to tracks in the H-R diagram that are brighter and bluer than the non-rotating main-sequence turn-off point. Rotational mixing could thus be one of the factors that contribute to the formation of blue stragglers.
Empire, Public Goods, and the Roosevelt Corollary

In 1904 the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine proclaimed that the United States would intervene in the affairs of unstable Central American and Caribbean countries that did not pay their debts. We find that the average sovereign debt price for countries under the U.S. “sphere of influence” rose by 74 percent in response to the pronouncement and actions to make it credible. We use this policy change to show that the United States subsequently acted as a regional hegemon and provided the global public goods of increased financial stability and peace. Reduced conflict spurred export growth and better fiscal management, but debt settlements were driven primarily by gunboat diplomacy.
Possible Selves, Body Schemas, and Sādhana: Using Cognitive Science and Neuroscience in the Study of Medieval Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyā Hindu Tantric Texts

In recent decades, historians of religions have turned to, and developed, entirely new methodologies for the study of religion and human consciousness. Foremost among these are a collection of approaches often termed the “cognitive science of religion” (CSR), typically drawing on cognitive science, neuroscience, linguistics, and contemporary metaphor theory. Although we are still “early” in this enterprise, I hope to show how a meaningful dialogue between religious studies and contemporary neuroscience and cognitive science can help us to better understand some intriguing mystical texts and practices from a tradition of medieval South Asian Hinduism. Known collectively as the Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyās, these followers of transgressive and antinomian Tantric Yoga provide excellent examples for exploring the nature of religion, ritual, consciousness, embodiment, identity, gender, emotions and sexuality. This paper will show how the study of these rich materials from 17th through 18th century Bengal in northeastern South Asia can be enhanced using insights from the philosopher, Shaun Gallagher, and the neurologist, Patrick McNamara.
Cryogenic techniques for large superconducting magnets in space

A large superconducting magnet is proposed for use in a particle astrophysics experiment, ASTROMAG, which is to be mounted on the United States Space Station. This experiment will have a two-coil superconducting magnet with coils which are 1.3 to 1.7 meters in diameter. The two-coil magnet will have zero net magnetic dipole moment. The field 15 meters from the magnet will approach earth's field in low earth orbit. The issue of high Tc superconductor will be discussed in the paper. The reasons for using conventional niobium-titanium superconductor cooled with superfluid helium will be presented. Since the purpose of the magnet is to do particle astrophysics, the superconducting coils must be located close to the charged particle detectors. The trade off between the particle physics possible and the cryogenic insulation around the coils is discussed. As a result, the ASTROMAG magnet coils will be operated outside of the superfluid helium storage tank. The fountain effect pumping system which will be used to cool the coil is described in the report. Two methods for extending the operating life of the superfluid helium dewar are discussed. These include: operation with a third shield cooled to 90 K with a sterling cycle cryocooler, and a hybrid cryogenic system where there are three hydrogen-cooled shields and cryostat support heat intercept points.
Glancing angle x-ray studies of oxide films

High brightness synchrotron radiation incident at glancing angles has been used to study inhibiting species present in low concentrations in oxide films on aluminum. Glancing incident angle fluorescence measurements give surface-sensitive information on the valence state of elements from the shape of the x-ray absorption edge. Angle-resolved measurements show the depth distribution of the species present. 15 refs., 4 figs.
Ownership Concentration and Corporate Performance in the Czech Republic

Abstract The relationship between ownership structure and corporate performance has been the subject of intense research in both transition and market economies. The Czech Republic's mass-privatization program provides an unique opportunity to investigate this relationship. It changed the ownership of firms in a short period of time, and firm characteristics had only a limited influence on the resulting ownership structure. For a cross section of 706 Czech firms over the period 1992 through 1997, we find that the more concentrated the ownership, the higher the firm profitability and labor productivity. These findings are weakly robust to the inclusion of control variables for the type of ownership, or to a correction for the endogeneity of ownership concentration. J. Comp. Econom., September 1999, 27(3), pp. 498–513. World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433.
Microwave-Solvothermal Synthesis of Nanostructured Li2MSiO4/C (M = Mn and Fe) Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Nanostructured Li2FeSiO4 and Li2MnSiO4 cathodes have been synthesized by a facile microwave-solvothermal synthesis. To improve crystallinity and enhance electronic conductivity, the resulting samples have been mixed with sucrose and heated at 650 °C for 6 h in argon atmosphere. The Li2MSiO4/C nanocomposites, thus, obtained have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical measurements, and differential scanning calorimetry. The Li2FeSiO4/C sample exhibits good rate capability and stable cycle life, with discharge capacities of 148 mAh/g at room temperature and 204 mAh/g at 55 °C. Although Li2MnSiO4/C shows higher discharge capacities of 210 mAh/g at room temperature and 250 mAh/g at 55 °C, it suffers from poor rate capability and drastic capacity fade. The disparity in the electrochemical performance and redox behavior between Li2FeSiO4/C and Li2MnSiO4/C can be attributed to the differences in the structural st...
Thermal Modeling of Solar Central Receiver Cavities

Results are presented from a numerical model of the steady-state energy transfer in molten-salt-in-tube solar cavity receivers that includes convective energy transfer at a local (spatially resolved) level. Molten salt energy absorption and gray radiative transfer between all cavity surfaces are also included. This model is applied to the Molten Salt Subsystem Component Test Experiment (MSS/CTE) cavity receiver. Results for this receiver indicate the global (entire cavity) receiver thermal efficiency is invariant within a few percent to most parameters investigated, although front surface temperatures of the nonabsorbing walls vary considerably, and are particularly sensitive to the type of convective submodel used. Absorption efficiencies indicate the effects of the cavity enclosure environment. For all conditions investigated, tube inner wall temperatures remain under 855 K, ensuring that the salt remains chemically stable.
β8 integrin regulates neurogenesis and neurovascular homeostasis in the adult brain

Central nervous system (CNS) neurovascular units are multicellular complexes consisting of neural cells, blood vessels and a milieu of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. ECM-mediated adhesion and signaling events within neurovascular units probably contribute to proper CNS development and physiology; however, the molecular mechanisms that control these events remain largely undetermined. Previous studies from our group and others showed that ablation of the ECM receptor, αvβ8 integrin, in neural progenitor cells (NPCs) of the embryonic mouse brain results in severe developmental neurovascular pathologies and premature death. Here, we have investigated the functions for this integrin in the adult brain by studying mice harboring a homozygous-null β8 gene mutation generated on an outbred background that permits survival for several months. We show that adult β8–/– mice display widespread defects in neurovascular unit homeostasis, including increased numbers of intracerebral blood vessels with pronounced perivascular astrogliosis. Furthermore, in neurogenic regions of the adult brain, where NPCs cluster around blood vessels in neurovascular niches, β8 integrin is essential for normal control of NPC proliferation and survival. Analysis of NPCs cultured ex vivo reveals that the growth and survival defects correlate, in part, with diminished integrin-mediated activation of latent transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1), which is an ECM protein ligand for αvβ8 integrin. Collectively, these data identify essential functions for β8 integrin in regulating neurovascular unit physiology in the post-natal mouse brain.
An adaptive finite element technique for plate structures

A finite element technique is described which produces a sequence of improved solutions for static analysis of plate bending problems. Adaptive mesh refinement is used to improve an initially uniform mesh which was generated from boundary geometry only. Emphasis is placed upon producing high-quality results using only a single refinement. The method is applied to both bending and stretching problems for which solutions were available from the literature.
Crystal growth, structure and magnetic properties of the double perovskites Ln2MgIrO6 (Ln=Pr, Nd, Sm-Gd)

Abstract Single crystals of double-perovskite type lanthanide magnesium iridium oxides, Ln 2 MgIrO 6 ( Ln =Pr, Nd, Sm–Gd) have been grown in a molten potassium hydroxide flux. The compounds crystallize in a distorted 1:1 rock salt lattice, space group P 2 1 / n , consisting of corner shared M O 6 ( M =Mg 2+ and Ir 4+ ) octahedra, where the rare earth cations occupy the eight-fold coordination sites formed by the corner shared octahedra. Pr 2 MgIrO 6 , Nd 2 MgIrO 6 , Sm 2 MgIrO 6 , and Eu 2 MgIrO 6 order antiferromagnetically around 10–15 K.
Synergistic binding of transcription factors to cell-specific enhancers programs motor neuron identity

Efficient transcriptional programming promises to open new frontiers in regenerative medicine. However, mechanisms by which programming factors transform cell fate are unknown, preventing more rational selection of factors to generate desirable cell types. Three transcription factors, Ngn2, Isl1 and Lhx3, were sufficient to program rapidly and efficiently spinal motor neuron identity when expressed in differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells. Replacement of Lhx3 by Phox2a led to specification of cranial, rather than spinal, motor neurons. Chromatin immunoprecipitation–sequencing analysis of Isl1, Lhx3 and Phox2a binding sites revealed that the two cell fates were programmed by the recruitment of Isl1-Lhx3 and Isl1-Phox2a complexes to distinct genomic locations characterized by a unique grammar of homeodomain binding motifs. Our findings suggest that synergistic interactions among transcription factors determine the specificity of their recruitment to cell type–specific binding sites and illustrate how a single transcription factor can be repurposed to program different cell types.
Formal specification and verification of a coordination protocol for an automated air traffic control system

Safe separation between aircraft is the primary consideration in air traffic control. To achieve the required level of assurance for this safety-critical application, the Automated Airspace Concept (AAC) proposes three levels of conflict detection and resolution. Recently, a high-level operational concept was proposed to define the cooperation between components in the AAC. However, the proposed coordination protocol has not been formally studied. We use formal verification techniques to ensure there are no potentially catastrophic design flaws remaining in the AAC design before the next stage of production.We formalize the high-level operational concept, which was previously described only in natural language, in both NuSMV and CadenceSMV, and perform model validation by checking against temporal logic specifications in LTL and CTL that we derive from the system description. We write LTL specifications describing safe system operations and use model checking for system verification. We employ specification debugging to ensure correctness of both sets of formal specifications and model abstraction to reduce model checking time and enable fast, design-time checking. We analyze two counterexamples revealing unexpected emergent behaviors in the operational concept that triggered design changes by system engineers to meet safety standards. Our experience report illuminates the application of formal methods in real safety-critical system development by detailing a complete end-to-end design-time verification process including all models and specifications. Formalize the high-level operational concept and perform model validation.Write formal specifications and use model checking for system verification.Employ LTL specification debugging to ensure correctness of formal specifications.Analyze two counterexamples revealing unexpected emergent behaviors that triggered design changes by system engineers to meet safety standards.Illuminate the application of formal methods in real safety-critical system development.
Role of Photon Statistics of Light Source in Ghost Imaging

The theory of ghost imaging is examined by considering the photon statistics of the light source explicitly. It is shown that ghost images can be obtained by any light source that is non-Poissonian.
Synthesis of bioactive 1-alkyl-1H-naphtho[2,3-d][1,2,3]triazole-4,9-diones and N-aryl-2-aminomethylene-1,3-indanediones using water as the solvent

Abstract Through a [2+3] cycloaddition reaction, a new environmentally friendly method was developed to enable the synthesis of bioactive 1-alkyl-1H-naphtho[2,3-d][1,2,3]triazole-4,9-diones and N-aryl-2-aminomethylene-1,3-indanediones using water as the solvent with good yields and minimum requirement of purification. This new green synthetic protocol is simple and suitable for scale-up synthesis.
Efficient 4 + 1 Syntheses of Highly Functionalized Cyclopentenes

Abstract Condensation of sulfone-activated methylene compounds with cis-1,4-dichloro-2-butene yields cyclopentenes. Elaboration of these cyclopentene products into highly functionalized intermediates is described.