Digital Commons Network^™

Negligence, Strict Liability, And Responsibility For Climate Change, David A. Weisbach

Articles

No abstract provided.

Hedging Effectiveness Under Conditions Of Asymmetry, Jim Hanly, John Cotter

Articles

We examine whether hedging effectiveness is affected by asymmetry in the return distribution by applying tail specific metrics, for example, Value at Risk, to compare the hedging effectiveness of short and long hedgers. Comparisons are applied to a number of hedging strategies including OLS, and both symmetric and asymmetric GARCH models. We apply our analysis to a dataset consisting of S&P500 index cash and futures containing symmetric and asymmetric return distributions chosen ex-post. Our findings show that asymmetry reduces out-of-sample hedging performance and that significant differences occur in hedging performance between short and long hedgers.

The Earned Income Tax Credit, Low-Income Workers, And The Legal Aid Community, Adam S. Chilton, Jonathan P. Schneller, Joshua L. Boehm

Articles

The Earned Income Tax Credit ("EITC") is the largest US. welfare program, with twenty-four million low-income Americans receiving $60 billion of disbursals in 2009. Through the EITC, working Americans with little or no tax liability can receive up to nearly $6, 000 in refundable tax credits each year. Over the past two decades, policymakers have increasingly favored the EITC over direct-transfer welfare programs, citing its lower administrative expense (as recipients "self-certify" by filing taxes) and incentives for recipients to work. Despite its political appeal, the EITC suffers deep structural flaws. Largely because EITC claimants have little guidance in navigating the …

The Myth Of The Magic Circle: Rejecting A Single Governance Model, Trey Hickman, Kristin Hickman

Articles

No abstract provided.

Structure-Reactivity Studies Of Simple 4-Hydroxyprolinamide Organocatalysts In The Asymmetric Michael Addition Reaction Of Aldehydes To Nitroolefins, Fintan Kelleher, John Watts, Lien Luu, Vickie Mckee, Ed Carey

Articles

A series of simple 4-hydroxyprolinamides was synthesised and they were found to act as organocatalysts for the asymmetric conjugate addition of aldehydes to nitroolefins in excellent yields (98%), with complete diastereoselectivity (99:1, syn:anti) and enantioselectivity (98% e.e. for syn). Furthermore, the use of low catalyst loadings (5 mol%) and a low aldehyde molar excess (1.5 equivalents) were achieved.

Leaving The Big Deal: Consequences And Next Steps, Jonathan Nabe, David C. Fowler

Articles

Many libraries are facing difficult fiscal climates with serials inflation, budget cutbacks, and reductions in allocations requiring difficult collection management decisions. Libraries may find their flexibility to plan and react unduly restricted due to being contracted to one or more Big Deals, in which they are obligated to buy large, inflexible title lists from big publishers for a set price. This presentation discusses the experience of Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the University of Oregon in leaving Big Deals, provides data on impacts on interlibrary loans, community response, and collection budgets, details the steps required before and after the decision, …

Functionalized Ruthenatricarbadecaborane Via Selective Cage Iodination And Sonogashira Coupling Reactions, Ariane Perez-Gavilan, Larry Sneddon, Patrick J. Carroll

Articles

Selective iodination of the cyclopentadienylruthenium tricarbadecaboranyl complexes 1-(η5-C5H5)–2-Ph–closo-1,2,3,4-RuC3B7H9 (1) and 1-(η5-C5(CH3)5)–2-Ph–closo-1,2,3,4-RuC3B7H8 (2) to form their mono-iodo derivatives, 1-(η5-C5H5)–2-Ph–6-I–closo-1,2,3,4-RuC3B7H9 (3) and 1-(η5-C5(CH3)5)–2-Ph–6-I–closo-1,2,3,4-RuC3B7H8(4), was achieved in 90% yields by their reactions with ICl in CH2Cl2 solutions. Also isolated in trace amounts from the reaction with 2 was the di-iodo 1-(η5-C5(CH3)5)–2-Ph–6,11-I2–closo-1,2,3,4-RuC3B7H7, (5) complex. The sonication-promoted Sonogashira coupling reaction of 3 with terminal acetylenes catalyzed by Pd(dppf)Cl2/CuI yielded the functionalized ruthenatricarbadecaboranyl complexes 1-(η5-C5H5)–2-Ph–6-(Ph-C≡C)–closo-1,2,3,4-RuC3B7H8 (6), 1-(η5-C5H5)–2-Ph–6-[CH3CH2C(O)OCH2-C≡C]–closo-1,2,3,4-RuC3B7H8 (7), …

On Maximal Relatively Divisible Submodules, Brendan Goldsmith, Paolo Zanardo

Articles

In recent work Goebel and Goldsmith investigated the spectrum of maximal pure subgroups of certain Abelian groups. Here the situation relating to maximal pure submodules of a torsion-free module over an integral domain R is investigated. Connections to the level of coherency are established along with a detailed investigation of the situation where all maximal pure submodules are isomorphic to a product of copies of the ring R.

Influence Of Fluctuations Of The Geometrical Parameters On The Photonic Band Gaps In One-Dimensional Photonic Crystals, Vladimir A. Tolmachev, Anna .. Baldycheva, Kevin Berwick, Tatiana Perova

Articles

The influence of random fluctuations in the layer thicknesses in high contrast, one-dimensional Photonic Crystals (PCs) on the transmission spectra and Photonic Band Gaps (PBGs) is investigated. The change in the PBGs depends on the magnitude of the fluctuations and increases with an increase in the order of the PBG. Introducing thickness non-uniformity into the PC of up to 0.004 times the value of lattice constant for different types of fluctuation distributions has a negligible effect on either the position or the shape of the 1st and nearest PBGs. The approach suggested here allows the determination of the tolerances required …

A Front Tracking Model Of The Maxus-8 Microgravity Solidification Experiment On A Ti-45.5at.% Al-8at.%Nb Alloy, Robin Mooney, Shaun Mcfadden, Marek Rebow, David J. Browne

Articles

On 26th March 2010 the MAXUS-8 sounding rocket was launched from the Esrange Space Center in Sweden. As part of the Intermetallic Materials Processing in Relation to Earth and Space Solidification (IMPRESS) project, a solidification experiment was conducted on a Ti-45.5at.%Al-8at.%Nb intermetallic alloy in a module on this rocket. The experiment was designed to investigate columnar and equiaxed microstructures in the alloy. A furnace model of the MAXUS 8 experiment with a Front Tracking Model of solidification has been developed to determine the macrostructure and thermal history of the samples in the experiment. This paper gives details of results of …

The Driving Forces Of Change In Energy-Related Co2 Emissions In Ireland: A Multi-Sectoral Decomposition From 1990 To 2007, Tadhg O'Mahony, Peng Zhou, John Sweeney

Articles

Ireland recorded significant growth in energy-related carbon emissions from 1990 to 2007 as the country underwent rapid economic development. Using the LMDI decomposition analysis method, this paper aims to identify and analyse the driving forces of CO2 emissions in eleven final energy consuming sectors. This multi-sectoral analysis is based on four economic sectors, the residential sector and gives a detailed representation of transport in keeping with UNFCCC recommendations. Scale, structure and intensity effects are explored and substantial heterogeneity in sectoral performance is observed. Scale growth in economic and transport activity was considerable. Some improvements in energy intensity were recorded in …

Quantitative Reagent-Free Detection Of Fibrinogen Levels In Human Blood Plasma Using Raman Spectroscopy, Kelvin Poon, Fiona Lyng, Peter Knief, Orla L. Howe, Aidan Meade, James Curtin, Hugh Byrne, Joseph Vaughan

Articles

Fibrinogen assays are commonly used as part of clinical screening tests to investigate haemorrhagic states, for detection of disseminated intravascular coagulation and as a predictor of a variety of cardiovascular events. The Clauss assay, which measures thrombin clotting time, is the most commonly used method for measuring fibrinogen levels. Nevertheless, inconsistencies are present in inter-manufacturer reagent sources, calibration standards and methodologies. Automated coagulation analysers, which measure changes in optical density during the prothrombin time (PT-Fg), have found use in many hospitals. However, the PT-Fg method is found to give falsely elevated values due to varying choices of calibrants, reagents and …

The Generalised Zakharov-Shabat System And The Gauge Group Action, Georgi Grahovski

Articles

The generalized Zakharov-Shabat systems with complex-valued non-regular Cartan elements and the systems studied by Caudrey, Beals and Coifman (CBC systems) and their gauge equivalent are studied. This study includes: the properties of fundamental analytical solutions (FAS) for the gauge-equivalent to CBC systems and the minimal set of scattering data; the description of the class of nonlinear evolutionary equations, solvable by the inverse scattering method, and the recursion operator, related to such systems; the hierarchies of Hamiltonian structures. The results are illustrated on the example of the multi-component nonlinear Schrodinger (MNLS) equations and the corresponding gauge-equivalent multi-component Heisenberg ferromagnetic (MHF) type …

Wisdom Of The Ages Or Dead-Hand Control? Patentable Subject Matter For Diagnostic Methods After In Re Bilski, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

In 1980, the Supreme Court gave a reassuring signal to the then-nascent biotechnology industry about the availability of patent protection for the fruits of its research when it upheld the patentability of a genetically modified living organism in Diamond v. Chakrabarty. Twenty-five years later, the Court seemed poised to reexamine the limits of patentable subject matter for advances in the life sciences when it granted certiorari in Laboratory Corporation v. Metabolite. But the Federal Circuit had not addressed the patentable subject matter issue in Laboratory Corporation, and the Court ultimately dismissed the certiorari p etition as improvidently granted. Five years …

The Biodiversity Of Thermoduric Bacteria Isolated From Whey, Joseph Meade, Seamus Fanning, Kevinia Mcgill, Ciara Walsh

Articles

Thermoduric gram-positive bacteria are indigenous in milk, cheese, whey and other dairy products. They are capable of surviving heat processes and can result in quality defects and a shortened product shelf life. In Ireland, premium products such as whey protein concentrate (WPC) are often adversely affected by these microorganisms, particularly during the winter months.A high bacterial count in the WPC can result in the product being sold at a lower grade, with an overall loss of revenue for the manufacturer. This study recovered thermoduric bacterial isolates (n = 140) from an Irish WPC process during the months of November–February.Using molecular …

Henry Friendly: The Judge, The Man, The Book, Mary I. Coombs

Articles

No abstract provided.

Integrable Models For Shallow Water With Energy Dependent Spectral Problems, Rossen Ivanov, Tony Lyons

Articles

We study the inverse problem for the so-called operators with energy depending potentials. In particular, we study spectral operators with quadratic dependence on the spectral parameter. The corresponding hierarchy of integrable equations includes the Kaup–Boussinesq equation. We formulate the inverse problem as a Riemann–Hilbert problem with a Z₂ reduction group. The soliton solutions are explicitly obtained.

Effect Of Motion On The Adc Quantification Accuracy Of Whole-Body Dwibs, A. Stone, Jacinta Browne, Brian Lennon, James Meaney, Andrew Fagan

Articles

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Diffusion-weighted whole-body imaging with background body signal subtraction was introduced as a qualitative approach to detecting metastases in the body. A liver-mimicking phantom with embedded tumours that could be moved to replicate respiratory motion was developed to assess its ability to accurately quantify ADC values.

RESULTS:

Mean tumour ADC values were unaltered by the motion; however, a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the spread of ADC values was measured, even for relatively large tumours.

CONCLUSIONS:

These findings may be of significance in cancer therapy monitoring where subtle changes in ADC histograms may reveal changes in tumour heterogeneity.

New Non-Toxic Holographic Photopolymer Material, Dervil Cody, Izabela Naydenova, Emilia Mihaylova

Articles

There is an increasing need for environmentally friendly holographic recording materials which can be produced in bulk with little risk to the health of workers in manufacturing. This is why the development of non-toxic photopolymer materials is crucial, and has attracted attention in recent years. Composition and preliminary characterization of a new non-toxic photopolymer material are presented. It operates well at a range of spatial frequencies, and achieves diffraction efficiencies and refractive index modulation comparable to the known acrylamide-based photopolymers.

The Moral Dimension Of Employment Dispute Resolution, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

Dispute resolution may be viewed from the perspective of economics or negotiation or contract law or game theory or even military strategy. In this Article, I should like to consider employment dispute resolution in particular from the perspective of morality. I do not necessarily mean "morality" in any religious sense. By "morality" here I mean a concern about the inherent dignity and worth of every human being and the way each one should be treated by society. Some persons who best exemplify that attitude would style themselves secular humanists. Nonetheless, over the centuries religions across the globe have played a …

The Cape Town Convention's International Registry: Decoding The Secrets Of Success In Global Electronic Commerce, Jane K. Winn

Articles

The International Registry, established pursuant to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, is a new global electronic commerce system for recording and establishing the relative priority of interests in aircraft equipment. Other examples of global electronic commerce systems include the airline computer reservation system, the SWIFT financial network, and payment card networks.

The International Registry may be the most successful global electronic commerce system ever built in terms of the speed with which it was implemented, its adoption rate, and the dearth of controversy surrounding its operation. The real "driver" of its success is demand for …

Comparison Of Micro- And Nanoscale Fe+3-Containing (Hematite) Particles For Their Toxicological Properties In Human Lung Cells In Vitro, Kunal Bhattacharya, Eik Hoffmann, Roel Schins, Jens Boertz, Eva-Maria Prantl, Gerrit Alink, Hugh Byrne, Thomas Kuhlbusch, Qamar Rahman, Hartmut Wiggers, Christof Schulz, Elke Dopp

Articles

The specific properties of nanoscale particles, large surface-to-mass ratio and highly reactive surfaces, have increased their commercial application in many fields. However, the same properties are also important for the interaction and bio-accumulation of the non-/biodegradable nanoscale particles in a biological system and are a cause for concern. Hematite (α-Fe2O3), being a mineral form of Fe(III) oxide, is one of the most used iron oxides besides magnetite. The aim of our study was the characterization and comparison of biophysical reactivity and toxicological effects of α-Fe2O3 nano- (d < 100 nm) and microscale (d < 5 μm) particles in human lung cells. Our study demonstrates that the surface reactivity of nanoscale α-Fe2O3 differs to that of microscale particles with respect to the state of agglomeration, radical formation potential, and cellular toxicity. The presence of proteins in culture medium and agglomeration were found to affect the catalytic properties of the hematite nano- and microscale particles. Both the nano- and microscale α-Fe2O3 particles were actively taken up by human lung cells in vitro, although, they were not found in the nuclei and mitochondria. …

Taxing Facebook Code: Debugging The Tax Code And Software, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine

Articles

This article sets out to analyze both intellectual property laws and tax systems as applied to computer software. It analyzes software within intellectual property's established doctrinal framework, a difficult task due to the fact that software can encompass some combination of the traits of copyrights, trade dress, patents, and trade secrets. It then examines both the federal and state tax systems governing software. It shows that fitting software within current tax schemes presents unique challenges, as software contains both tangible and intangible elements, is subject to varying intellectual property protections, and can be delivered through various media. The article argues …

Evaluating The Benefits Of Octree-Based Indexing For Lidar Data, Abu Saleh Mohammad Mosa, Bianca Schoen-Phelan, Michela Bertolotto, Debra Laefer

Articles

Very large true three-dimensional (3D) point datasets, as opposed to the previously common 2.5D data sets, are progressively more common nowadays, such as from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR). Increasingly, attempts are made to exploit these 3D point data sets beyond mere visualization. However, current Spatial Information Systems provide only limited 3D support. Even commercial systems advertising in-built, 3D data types provide only minimal functionality. Particularly, there is no effective means of indexing large 3D point datasets, which is crucial for efficient analysis and engineering usage. Also many datasets are information rich (e.g. contain color or some other associated semantic …

On Projection-Invariant Subgroups Of Abelian P-Groups, Brendan Goldsmith

Articles

A subgroup P of an Abelian p-group G is said to be projection-invariant in G if Pf is contained in P for all idempotent endomorphisms f. Clearly fully invariant subgroups are projection invariant, but the converse is not true in general. Hausen and Megibben have shown that in many familiar situations these two concepts coincide. In a different direction, the authors have previously introduced the notions of socle-regular and strongly socle-regular groups by focussing on the socles of fully invariant and characteristic subgroups of p-groups. In the present work the authors examine the socles of projection-invariant subgroups of Abelian p-groups.

The Generalised Zakharov-Shabat System And The Gauge Group Action, Georgi Grahovski

Articles

The generalized Zakharov–Shabat systems with complex-valued non-regular Cartan elements and the systems studied by Caudrey, Beals and Coifman (CBC systems) and their gauge equivalent are studied. This study includes: the properties of fundamental analytical solutions (FAS) for the gauge-equivalent to CBC systems and the minimal set of scattering data; the description of the class of nonlinear evolutionary equations, solvable by the inverse scattering method, and the recursion operator, related to such systems; the hierarchies of Hamiltonian structures. The results are illustrated on the example of the multi-component nonlinear Schr¨odinger (MNLS) equations and the corresponding gauge-equivalent multi-component Heisenberg ferromagnetic (MHF) type …

Computation Of The Stochastic Volatility And Levy Index Using The Kolmogorov-Feller Equation With Applications To Carbon Price Data Analysis, Jonathan Blackledge, Marc Lamphiere, Afshin Panahi

Articles

We derive new algorithms for computing time variations in the Stochastic Volatility and the L´evy index using a standard financial price model and a Green’s function solution to the Kolmogorov-Feller equation. A principal condition upon which the algorithms are based is the Phase Only Condition which allows the Power Spectral Density Function of a financial time series (specifically the log price differences) to be taken to be a constant. The paper is composed of four component parts: (i) the Stochastic Volatility is derived and studied numerically; (ii) the Kolmogorov-Feller equation is studied and solved to provide a model for the …

Stochastic Volatility Analysis Using The Generalised Kolmogorov-Feller Equation, Jonathan Blackledge, Marc Lamphiere, Kieran Murphy, Shaun Overton, Afshin Panahi

Articles

We consider an approach to analysing the Stochastic Volatility of a financial time series using the Generalised Kolmogorov-Feller Equation (GKFE). After reviewing the computation of the Stochastic Volatility using a phase only condition, a Green’s function solution to the GKFE equation is derived which depends upon the ‘memory function’ used to construct the GKFE. Using the Mittag-Leffler memory function, we derive an expression for the Impulse Response Function associated with a short time window of data which is then used to derive an algorithm for computing a new index using a standard moving window process. It is shown that application …

Simulation And Analysis Of Stochastic Signals Using The Kolmogorov-Feller Equation, Jonathan Blackledge, Marc Lamphiere, Kieran Murphy, Shaun Overton, Afshin Panahi

Articles

We consider a Green's function solution to the Classical Kolmogorov- Feller Equation which requires an iterative approach for which a sufficient convergence condition is derived. The solution obtained is applied to the simulation of signals whose spectral properties are determined by a Characteristic Function of the form j k j��q; q > 0 where k is the spatial frequency and q is the 'Fourier Dimension'. Using example macroeconomic financial time series (FTSE Close-of-Day and the Dow Jones Industrial Average), correlations are observed to exist between q and long term trends in the series using a standard moving window process. This result …

Analysis Of Wind Velocity Signals For Estimating The Wave Power Density Of Ireland's Coastal Resource, Jonathan Blackledge, Eugene Dermot Coyle Professor, Derek Kearney, Ronan Mcguirk

Articles

The aim of this paper is to report on a possible correlation between the Lévy index for the wind velocity and the mean Energy Density of sea surface waves in the same location. The result is based on data obtained from six buoys located around the coast of Ireland and maintained by the Marine Institute of Ireland. These buoys provide signals on the wind velocity, wave height and wave period as well as other data on an hourly interval. Using this data, we consider the relationship between a stochastic model for the time variations in wave height that, in turn, …