Evaluating the financial performance of bank branches

We evaluate the financial performance of most of the branch offices of a large European savings bank for a recent accounting period. We employ a complementary pair of nonparametric techniques to evaluate their financial performance, in terms of their ability to conserve on the expenses they incur in building their customer bases and providing customer services. We find variation in the ability of branch offices to perform this task, and agreement on the identity of the laggard branches. We then employ parametric techniques to determine that the list of indicators on which their financial performance is evaluated can be reduced without statistically significant loss of information to bank management. Both findings suggest ways in which the bank can increase the profitability of its branch network. A previous version of this paper was presented at CORE, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, where we received many helpful comments from the audience. We are grateful to three referees for their helpful comments as well.     

Electrical and pyrometric measurements of the decay of the anodetemperature after interruption of high-current vacuum arcs andcomparison with computations

Vacuum arcs of up to 20-kA peak current were investigated. The surface temperature of the anode area melted during the anode spot mode was determined by pyrometry and the evaluation of thermionic currents. The measurements confirm the computations of heating and cooling of the anode, taking into account heat conduction melting/solidification, and evaporation. Pyrometrically obtained temperatures agree well with theory. This gives confidence in the heat conduction model and also shows that the boiling temperature was reached during arcing. Another method evaluates currents of a milliampere value after arcs of several kiloamperes and postarc currents of amperes. Experimental observation (e.g., loading of the shield surrounding the contacts) and theoretical analysis of the interfering effects support the idea that the currents measured are due to thermionic emission     

Comparison of localization and delocalization indices obtained with Hartree-Fock and conventional correlated methods: effect of Coulomb correlation

Atomic populations and localization [lambda(A)] and delocalization [delta(A,B)] indices (LIs and DIs) are calculated for a large set of molecules at the Hartree-Fock (HF), MP2, MP4(SDQ), CISD, and QCISD levels with the 6-311++G(2d,2p) basis set. The HF method and the conventional correlation methods [MP2, MP4(SDQ), CISD, and QCISD] yield distinct sets of LIs and DIs. Yet, within the four conventional correlation methods the differences in atomic populations and LIs and DIs are small. Relative to HF, the conventional correlation methods [MP2, MP4(SDQ), CISD, QCISD] yield virtually the same LIs and DIs for molecules with large charge separations while LIs and DIs that differ significantly from the HF values--the LIs are increased and DIs decreased--are obtained for bonds with no or small charge separations. Such is the case in the archetypal homopolar molecules HC(triple bond)CH, H2C=CH2, CH3-CH3, and "protonated cyclopropane" C(3)H(7) (+), in which case the bonding may be atypical. Relative to HF, the typical effect of the conventional correlation methods is to decrease the DI between atoms.     

Pressure broadening study at low temperature: application to methane

We studied the R(0) line profile in the CH4 v4 band from room temperature to 188 K with N2 as a perturber, to 100 K with O2 as perturber, and from room temperature to 15 K using He as a perturber. The N2 and O2 measurements were performed over a total pressure range of 15-110 mbar, and for the He measurements the maximum sample pressure at 15 K was 1.10 mbar. Broadening parameters were determined, taking into account the confinement narrowing (Dicke effect), and narrowing parameters, deduced from the soft or hard collision model, are compared with the dynamic friction coefficient calculated values. We also obtained preliminary values for the temperature dependence of the N2, O2 and He line broadening parameters for this transition.     

Chirospecific Syntheses of Conformationally Constrained 7-Azabicycloheptane Amino Acids by Transannular Alkylation

A new method is reported for the chirospecific preparation of optically pure 1-carboxy-7-azabicycloheptane amino acids for the generation of peptidomimetics as conformational probes. The method allows for the multigram preparation of these amino acid analogues through use of a thiolactam sulfide contraction and a transannular alkylation sequence as the key C-C bond-forming steps, starting from L-glutamic acid. The route provides access to two common intermediates, 7-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-1-carboxy-7-azabicyclo[2.2.1]-3-heptane and (1S,4R)-7-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-1-carboxy-7-azabicyclo[2.2.1]-3-heptanone tert-butyl ester, for elaboration to symmetrical and chiral amino acid homologues, respectively. Decarboxylation of the C-1 carboxy unit of the latter intermediate also demonstrated the applicability of the method for a short, chirospecific preparation of a (+)-epibatidine intermediate, (1S,4R)-7-(tert-butyloxycarbonyl)-1-carboxy-7-azabicyclo[2.2.1]-3-heptanone.     

Ion-selective electrodes for basic drugs

Coated-wire ion-selective electrodes based on dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid (DNNS) are prepared for methadone, methylamphetamine, cocaine and protriptyline in protonated form. In each set, nearly-Nernstian responses are obtained while detection limits range from 10^-5.5M for cocaine and methylamphetamine electrodes, to 10^-6.0M for methadone, and 10^-6.5 M for protriptyline electrodes. Selectivity is found to decrease in the order methadone, protriptyline, cocaine and methylamphetamine; these results are consistent with systematic selectivity studies reported earlier for electrodes in this family.