Before-Commit Client State Management Services for AJAX Applications

Heavily script-based browser applications change the manner in which users interact with Web browsers. Instead of downloading a succession of HTML pages, users download a single application and use that application for a long period of time. The application is not a set of HTML pages, but rather a single page that can possible modify its own presentation based on data exchanged with a server. In such an environment, it is necessary to provide some means for the client to manage its own state. We describe the initial results of our work in providing client-side state management services for these script-based applications. We focus on browser-based services that can help the user before any data is committed on the server. Our services include state checkpointing, property binding, operation logging, operational replay, ATOM/RSS data updates, and application-controlled persistence

Magnetic states and optical properties of single-layer carbon-doped hexagonal boron nitride

We show that carbon-doped hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has extraordinary properties with many possible applications. We demonstrate that the substitution-induced impurity states, associated with carbon atoms, and their interactions dictate the electronic structure and properties of C-doped h-BN. Furthermore, we show that stacking of localized impurity states in small C clusters embedded in h-BN forms a set of discrete energy levels in the wide gap of h-BN. The electronic structures of these C clusters have a plethora of applications in optics, magneto-optics, and opto-electronics

U.S. Tax Treatment of Australian Superannuation

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates than more than 100,000 Australian citizens are living and working in the U.S. Those Australian nationals almost certainly have some sort of Superannuation Fund, which is a state-mandated occupational pension scheme in Australia. The problem is that nearly every accounting firm in the U.S. is treating Australian Superannuation as a taxable foreign grantor trust. This presents a serious issue since the funds within Superannuation Funds are completely inaccessible until retirement, disability, or death. For an Australian national living in the U.S., this would result in immediate U.S. taxation on all gains within the fund. Because of the lack of liquidity, an Australian national will be taxed on gains they did not truly experience. The problem is that there are differing views as to what Australian superannuation actually is. Is it a private pension? Is it a foreign grantor trust? Or is it a novel form of privatized social security? The correct answer could mean the difference between a client being burdened with U.S. tax on unrealized gains and a client being able to lawfully exclude gain and even future distributions from the superannuation fund from their U.S. tax return

High-Energy Emission from the Composite Supernova Remnant MSH 15-56

MSH 15-56 (G326.3-1.8) is a composite supernova remnant (SNR) that consists of an SNR shell and a displaced pulsar wind nebula (PWN) in the radio. We present XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray observations of the remnant that reveal a compact source at the tip of the radio PWN and complex structures that provide evidence for mixing of the supernova (SN) ejecta with PWN material following a reverse shock interaction. The X-ray spectra are well fitted by a non-thermal power-law model whose photon index steepens with distance from the presumed pulsar, and a thermal component with an average temperature of 0.55 keV. The enhanced abundances of silicon and sulfur in some regions, and the similar temperature and ionization timescale, suggest that much of the X-ray emission can be attributed to SN ejecta that have either been heated by the reverse shock or swept up by the PWN. We find one region with a lower temperature of 0.3 keV that appears to be in ionization equilibrium. Assuming the Sedov model, we derive a number of SNR properties, including an age of 16,500 yr. Modeling of the gamma-ray emission detected by Fermi shows that the emission may originate from the reverse shock-crushed PWN.Comment: 11 pages, 3 tables, 8 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

A selective spatial discrimination deficit following fornicotomy in the rat.

The fornix is the major afferent and efferent pathway of the hippocampus. However, it is not the only pathway. The hippocampus receives afferents from (11, IZ, Z9) and sends efferents to (10) the entorhinal cortex. Thus the hippocampus has two anatomically distinct afferent and efferent systems. There is accumulating evidence that these two anatomical systems subserve different functions. Animals sustaining lesions in the entorhinal cortex are deficient in the acquisition of a passive avoidance response (5, 36) while fornix lesioned animals are not deficient (3, 6, 35, 36). Animals with lesions of the fornix acquire a two-way active avoidance response faster than control animals (19, 35, 36) while animals with entorhinal lesions do not differ from control animals (36). Finally, animals are deficient at the acquisition of one-way active avoidance following fornix lesions (3, 19) but not following entorhinal lesions (34). Thus these two systems appear to be not only anatomically distinct but also functionally distinct

Micellar Media and Catalysis of the Diels-Alder Reaction

This thesis is divided into eight chapters. Initially the Diels-Alder reaction is described from its mechanism using Frontier Molecular Orbital theory to rate enhancements of the reaction using Lewis acid catalysis, together with the use of chiral auxiliaries and the selectivity rules for the Diels-Alder reaction. Finally some solvent effects on the Diels-Alder reaction are reviewed. Surfactant and micelle solutions are then discussed, describing their physical properties and known effects of micellar solutions on selected organic reactions, as well as the study of micellar systems using light scattering and surface tension experiments. The first section of the results and discussion describes the study of Diels-Alder reactions of the acrylates and cyclopentadiene using solvents of varying polarity, highlighting the different yields and selectivities observed together with a rationalisation of the results. Rate acceleration was observed with the Diels-Alder reaction when performed in aqueous media, more so in the presence of surfactants at their critical micelle concentration (cmc). The rate acceleration was accompanied with higher endo/exo ratio when compared to organically mediated Diels-Alder reactions. Hydroquinone derivatives were shown to acts as dienophiles, participating in the Diels-Alder reactions in an aqueous media but not in organic solvents. The synthesis of surfactants derived from amino acids, together with measurements of some physical properties is given, including the determination of their cmc using methyl orange dye and surface tension experiments. Brief calculations are given to determine their aggregation number and micelle size of the phenylalanine-derived (86) (aggregation number: 23; micelle size: 43.6 Å2) and leucine-derived (89) surfactants (aggregation number: 19; micelle size: 54.6 Å2). Finally, the use of chiral surfactant in water as a reaction medium for the Diels-Alder reaction is described, including analysis of results, enantioselectivity observed, and determination of the direction of selectivity. The phenylalanine-derived (86) surfactant gave an enantiomeric excess (e.e.) of 16-18% in the exo isomer (74b), whilst the leucine-derived (89) surfactant gave a 15% e. e. with the endo isomer (74a) in the Diels-Alder reaction between nonyl acrylate and cyclopentadiene. A conclusion, summarising the key results to date and future work is outlined. A detailed description of the experimental procedures and summary of spectroscopic data are given in the experimental chapter. This includes a brief description of the physical chemistry studies on the synthetic chiral surfactants and the results obtained