cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Efficient estimation of multipartite quantum coherence
Creators: name: Ding, Qi-Ming
name: Fang, Xiao-Xu
name: Yuan, Xiao
name: Zhang, Ting
name: Lu, He
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Quantification of coherence lies at the heart of quantum information processing and fundamental physics. Exact evaluation of coherence measures generally needs a full reconstruction of the density matrix, which becomes intractable for large-scale multipartite systems. Here, we propose a systematic theoretical approach to efficiently estimating lower and upper bounds of coherence in multipartite states. Under the stabilizer formalism, the lower bound is determined by the spectrum estimation method with a small number of measurements and the upper bound is determined by a single measurement. We verify our theory with a four-qubit optical quantum system.We experimentally implement various multi-qubit entangled states, including the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state, the cluster state, and the W state, and show how their coherence are efficiently inferred from measuring few observables.
description: 13 pages, 8 figures. Comments are welcome
The experiences of women survivors of childhood sexual abuse who practice Buddhist meditation
Creators: name: Charles, Martine Aline
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2009

description: This exploratory research study examines the experiences of women sexually abused in childhood who now practice Buddhist meditation. Through in-depth interviews eight women shared their experiences. Three overriding categories emerged through thematic analysis: how the participants combined meditation practice and healing from childhood trauma, the struggles they experienced with meditation, and the transformations/changes they experienced with the meditation practice. While the complexity of their experience with meditation renders it too simplistic to qualify as positive or negative, the data did reveal that meditation has been experienced as an important and useful component of their healing from childhood sexual abuse.
Willingness to Pay for Biodiesel in Diesel Engines: A Stochastic Double Bounded Contingent Valuation Survey
Creators: name: Jeanty, Pierre Wilner
name: Haab, Timothy C.
name: Hitzhusen, Frederick J.
name: Jeanty, Pierre Wilner
name: Haab, Timothy C.
name: Hitzhusen, Frederick J.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2007
Subjects: subject: Demand and Price Analysis
subject: Resource /Energy Economics and Policy
subject: Biodiesel
subject: diesel
subject: environmental benefits
subject: contingent valuation
subject: willingness to pay
subject: double bounded model
subject: and statistical and behavioral inconsistencies

description: The double bounded dichotomous choice format has been proven to improve efficiency in contingent valuation models. However, this format has been criticized due to lack of behavioral and statistical consistencies between the first and the second responses. In this study a split sampling methodology was used to determine whether allowing respondents to express uncertainty in the follow-up question would alleviate such inconsistencies. Results indicate that allowing respondents to express uncertainty in the follow-up question was effective at reducing both types of inconsistencies while efficiency gain is maintained.
Chandra Observations of Gas Stripping in the Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4552 in the Virgo Cluster
Creators: name: Machacek, M.
name: Jones, C.
name: Forman, W. R.
name: Nulsen, P. E. J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We use a 54.4 ks Chandra observation to study ram-pressure stripping in NGC4552 (M89), an elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Cluster. Chandra images in the 0.5-2 keV band show a sharp leading edge in the surface brightness 3.1 kpc north of the galaxy center, a cool (kT =0.51^{+0.09}_{-0.06} keV) tail with mean density n_e ~5.4 +/- 1.7 x 10^{-3} cm^{-3} extending ~10 kpc to the south of the galaxy, and two 3-4 kpc horns of emission extending southward away from the leading edge. These are all features characteristic of supersonic ram-pressure stripping of galaxy gas, due to NGC4552's motion through the surrounding Virgo ICM. Fitting the surface brightness profile and spectra across the leading edge, we find the galaxy gas inside the edge is cooler (kT = 0.43^{+0.03}_{-0.02} keV) and denser (n_e ~ 0.010 cm^{-3}) than the surrounding Virgo ICM (kT = 2.2^{+0.7}_{-0.4} keV and n_e = 3.0 +/- 0.3 x 10^{-4} cm^{-3}). The resulting pressure ratio between the free-streaming ICM and cluster gas at the stagnation point is ~7.6^{+3.4}_{-2.0} for galaxy gas metallicities of 0.5^{+0.5}_{-0.3} Zsolar, which suggests that NGC4552 is moving supersonically through the cluster with a velocity v ~ 1680^{+390}_{-220} km/s (Mach 2.2^{+0.5}_{-0.3}) at an angle xi ~ 35 +/- 7 degrees towards us with respect to the plane of the sky.
description: 31 pages, 12 figures, ApJ, in press; paper split into 2 parts, Paper I(sec 1-3) here, added figs and discussion to conform to published version; Paper II (sec. 4) in astro-ph/0604406
DEVELOPING AND ENHANCING INTERNET MARKETING TECHNOLOGIES IN SMALL BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Creators: name: Pirmatov, Oybek
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: In the modern digital economy, internet marketing plays a crucial role in shaping and developing small business operations. The adoption of internet marketing technologies allows small businesses to increase their visibility, reach broader audiences, and enhance customer engagement. This article explores the process of establishing and developing internet marketing technologies in small business activities, examining the benefits, challenges, and strategies for successful implementation.
The Effects of Renewable Portfolio Standards on Renewable Energy Sources
Creators: name: Ohler, Adrienne
name: Ohler, Adrienne
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2007
Subjects: Resource /Energy Economics and Policy

description: Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) programs have experienced increased popularity at the state level with twenty-three states adopting policies. Policy makers implement these programs in the hopes of stimulating renewable energy generation and lessening the state's reliance on nonrenewable sources, by requiring utility companies to provide a specified amount of electricity from renewable sources. I examine the use of renewable energy sources caused by the implementation of these programs, and determine how these renewable source markets interact in an RPS setting. Analysis performed on RPS programs indicates an increase in wind energy generation, suggesting that RPS programs are an effective method to increasing generation and reliance on wind energy. Results do not indicate that the renewable energy sources of wind, solar/photovoltaic, and geothermal, compete with one another to provide the lowest cost energy. This may be due to the infancy of the programs with economies of scale yet to be reached.
Subversion from within? altruism, institutions and technologies for development
Creators: name: Sanya, Tom
name: Isaacs, Fadly
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 330110
subject: Sustainable architecture
classificationCode: 330199
subject: Architecture not elsewhere classified
classificationCode: 330206
subject: Building science, technologies and systems

description: Abstract: This paper reflects upon experiences from an ongoing action research in the participatory design and making of a small public space in an informal settlement in Cape Town (South Africa). The transdisciplinary research project is teamwork between academics, practitioners, and a community-based company which is the implementing agent for a broader informal settlement upgrading programme. The wider programme, which is jointly funded by the City of Cape Town and the German Government, has achieved widely acclaimed success in many respects. The paper juxtaposes preconditions for sustainable development as expressed in UCT’s strategic goals against the operational realities at project level to assess congruency between broader normative objectives and the signals that motivate individuals’ actions. The results point to the need for some fundamental changes if ostensibly altruistic ethos espoused by many institutions is to realistically channel their employees’ choices towards research endeavours for incubation of technologies to sustain present and future human generations.
Participation, Incentives and Social Norms in Partnership Arrangements Among Farms in Sweden
Creators: name: Larsen, Karin
name: Larsen, Karin
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2007
Subjects: Farm Management

description: In this study, farmers´ participation in partnership arrangements involving labour and machinery collaboration is analyzed. Potential gains from partnership arrangements include lower capital costs and increased possibilities for farmers to specialize in different tasks. A potential cost is the incentive to shirk in effort or to overuse or misuse shared inputs (the moral hazard problem). Factors that mitigate the problem of moral hazard in team production have been suggested in the literature and include peer pressure and social norms (Barron and Gjerde, 1997; Kandel and Lazear, 1992) and dynamics (Radner, 1982). In this study, a theoretical framework for analyzing partnerships among farmers developed by Allen and Lueck (1998) is extended to consider presence of social norms. It is illustrated that social norms imply higher exerted effort levels among the partners. When inputs are shared among farmers, it is shown that the incentive to misuse or overuse capital is reduced in the presence of social norms. Predictions from the theoretical models are analyzed using survey data for Swedish farms. Results from the empirical analysis suggest that perceived moral hazard problems are non-existing or very small and that there is a high degree of mutual trust in existing partnerships.
Echoes in the Kerr/CFT correspondence
Creators: name: Dey, Ramit
name: Afshordi, Niayesh
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The Kerr/CFT correspondence is a possible route to gain insight into the quantum theory of gravity in the near-horizon region of a Kerr black hole via a dual holographic conformal field theory (CFT). Predictions of the black hole entropy, scattering cross-section and the quasi normal modes from the dual holographic CFT corroborate this proposed correspondence. More recently, it has been suggested that quantum gravitational effects in the near-horizon region of a black hole may drastically modify the classical general relativistic description, leading to potential observable consequences. In this paper, we study the absorption cross-section and quasi normal modes of a horizonless Kerr-like exotic compact object (ECO) in the dual CFT picture. Our analysis suggests that the near-horizon quantum modifications of the black hole can be understood as finite size and/or finite $N$ effects in the dual CFT. Signature of the near-horizon modification to a black hole geometry manifests itself as delayed echoes in the ringdown (i.e. the postmerger phase) of a binary black hole coalescence. From our dual CFT analysis we show how the length of the circle, on which the dual CFT lives, must be related to the echo time-delay that depends on the position of the near-horizon quantum structure. We further derive the reflectivity of the ECO membrane in terms of the CFT modular parameters, showing that it takes the Boltzmann form.
DETERMINANTS OF FOOD AWAY FROM HOME AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICANS
Creators: name: Pert, Calvert
name: Bhuyan, Sanjib
name: Pert, Calvert
name: Bhuyan, Sanjib
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2007
Subjects: subject: Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety
subject: food demand
subject: FAFH
subject: minorities
subject: health
subject: nutrition

description: The prominence of FAFH on consumers' food expenditure raises some important questions, particularly those related to the health impact of such a trend. This is particularly true among African-Americans because on average African Americans are twice as likely as white Americans to develop Type 2 diabetes, which has been known to have some correlation with one's diet. There is a plethora of studies focusing on FAFH by American consumers. However, there are very few studies that focus exclusively on African-Americans. This study tries to fill that gap.
title: An Investigation of Lean Concrete Mixes as Base Courses for Bituminous Surfaces
title: [Jan. 1951]
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Collier, S. T.
Publisher: name: Kentucky Transportation Center, University of Kentucky
Year: 1951
Subjects: subject: Transportation Engineering

description: Cement concrete bases for pavements with bituminous surfaces are, of course, not new. However, it has been many years since concrete has served this purpose except as a pavement itself ultimately resurfaced after years of service. The outstanding qualities of many roads which developed in this way were obvious without any particular tests, and for many years there apparently was no attempt to evaluate them. Probably structural value was first investigated in tests on airfields in Florida, Ohio and California. Although the original concrete pavements in all cases were heavy in comparison with highway sections, the results of the tests have some bearing on highway considerations. In "beefing up" rigid pavements that had failed under heavy loads and running subsequent tests under moving wheels, the Army Engineers came to the conclusion that "--treatments of as little as 3 inches of asphaltic concrete give astounding structural benefits. Accelerated traffic tests have shown overlays of less rigid material to be so beneficial that original designs utilizing a rigid slab of moderate thickness covered with a flexible type surface can and probably will be in cost competition where conditions are favorable."
Duality and Pomeron effective theory for QCD at high energy and large N_c
Creators: name: Blaizot, J. -P.
name: Iancu, E.
name: Itakura, K.
name: Triantafyllopoulos, D. N.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We propose an effective theory which governs Pomeron dynamics in QCD at high energy, in the leading logarithmic approximation, and in the limit where N_c, the number of colors, is large. In spite of its remarkably simple structure, this effective theory generates precisely the evolution equations for scattering amplitudes that have been recently deduced from a more complete microscopic analysis. It accounts for the BFKL evolution of the Pomerons together with their interactions: dissociation (one Pomeron splitting into two) and recombination (two Pomerons merging into one). It is constructed by exploiting a duality principle relating the evolutions in the target and the projectile, more precisely, splitting and merging processes, or fluctuations in the dilute regime and saturation effects in the dense regime. The simplest Pomeron loop calculated with the effective theory is free of both ultraviolet or infrared singularities.
description: 13 pages, 1 figure
L-infinity structures on mapping cones
Creators: name: Fiorenza, Domenico
name: Manetti, Marco
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Quantum Algebra (math.QA)
subject: Algebraic Geometry (math.AG)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 17B70, 13D10

description: We show that the mapping cone of a morphism of differential graded Lie algebras $χ\colon L\to M$ can be canonically endowed with an $L_\infty$-algebra structure which at the same time lifts the Lie algebra structure on $L$ and the usual differential on the mapping cone. Moreover, this structure is unique up to isomorphisms of $L_\infty$-algebras. The associated deformation functor coincides with the one introduced by the second author in arXiv:math.AG/0507287.
description: 23 pages, uses xy-pic. Some major changes. Abstract modified.
Progress Report on Experimental Jointing Installations for Concrete Pavements
Creators: name: Collier, S. T.
Publisher: name: Kentucky Transportation Center, University of Kentucky
Year: 1951
Subjects: subject: Transportation Engineering

description: Combined in this report are descriptions of the progress of three individual experimental joint installations. Each of these includes a series of two or more experimental joints of special design, installed in concrete pavement in lieu of the conventional types employed in their respective construction projects.  These experimental joints included at one location a prefabricated neoprene seal; and, at two locations, aluminum load transfer devices, All installations were contraction joints only, Periodic inspections of these have been made and will be continued on two of the projects until adequate performance records are established. The condition of concrete about the joints with neoprene seals has reached the stage where there would be little value in additional observations.
Fast Vacuum Fluctuations and the Emergence of Quantum Mechanics
Creators: name: Hooft, Gerard t
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Fast moving classical variables can generate quantum mechanical behavior. We demonstrate how this can happen in a model. The key point is that in classically (ontologically) evolving systems one can still define a conserved quantum energy. For the fast variables, the energy levels are far separated, such that one may assume these variables to stay in their ground state. This forces them to be entangled, so that, consequently, the slow variables are entangled as well. The fast variables could be the vacuum fluctuations caused by unknown super heavy particles. The emerging quantum effects in the light particles are expressed by a Hamiltonian that can have almost any form. The entire system is ontological, and yet allows one to generate interference effects in computer models. This seemed to lead to an unsolvable paradox, which is now resolved: exactly what happens in our models if we run a quantum interference experiment in a classical computer is explained. The restriction that very fast variables stay predominantly in their ground state appears to be due to smearing of the physical states in the time direction, preventing their direct detection. Discussions are added of the emergence of quantum mechanics, and the ontology of an EPR/Bell Gedanken experiment.
description: 27 pages, no figures
Field Trip to Daviess and Henderson Counties for Inspection of Gravel-Bituminous Roads
Creators: name: Williams, Ellis G.
Publisher: name: Kentucky Transportation Center, University of Kentucky
Year: 1952
Subjects: subject: Transportation Engineering

description: This series of inspections started April 28, with inspection of pavements containing gravel located in Daviess County. It was found that most pavements containing this aggregate has been resurfaced last year using a crushed limestone aggregate. There were, however, three hot-mix and one road-mix pavements remaining.
Polyakov loop correlators from D0-brane interactions in bosonic string theory
Creators: name: Billo, M.
name: Caselle, M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: High Energy Physics - Lattice (hep-lat)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In this paper we re-derive the effective Nambu-Goto theory result for the Polyakov loop correlator, starting from the free bosonic string and using a covariant quantization. The boundary conditions are those of an open string attached to two D0-branes at spatial distance R, in a target space with compact euclidean time. The one-loop free energy contains topologically distinct sectors corresponding to multiple covers of the cylinder in target space bordered by the Polyakov loops. The sector that winds once reproduces exactly the Nambu-Goto partition function. In our approach, the world-sheet duality between the open and closed channel is most evident and allows for an explicit interpretation of the free energy in terms of tree level exchange of closed strings between boundary states. Our treatment is fully consistent only in d=26; extension to generic d may be justified for large R, and is supported by Montecarlo data. At shorter scales, consistency and Montecarlo data seem to suggest the necessity of taking into account the Liouville mode of Polyakov's formulation.
description: 17 pages, 4 figures, minor corrections, a few references added, version accepted for publication in JHEP
Designing development programmes for climate change and uncertainty in Pacific Melanesia – the role for knowledge brokers
Creators: name: Butler, James R. A.
name: Meharg, Seona
name: Grigg, Nicky
name: Barbour, Emily J.
name: Barrowman, Hannah
name: Nilsson, Danie
name: Stone-Jovicich, Samantha
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Space Science
subject: Genetics
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Science Policy
subject: Plant Biology

description: With rapid globalization and climate change, development programmes face increasingly complex problems. New approaches to programme design and delivery are required, and knowledge brokers can contribute to this reorientation. To understand how community development initiatives in Melanesia address complexity, and their needs for knowledge brokering, we surveyed designers, managers and implementers in eight programmes from Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Applying the ‘Cynefin’ framework to describe complexity, we mapped programmes’ problem identification and solution design to elucidate their framing of problems. Whilst respondents identified uncertainties and complexities related to climate change, natural disasters and socio-economic conditions, programmes were designed with minimal consideration of these risks. Respondents attributed this to limited capacity and support networks to access and understand future risk information; poor information-sharing due to a lack of trust between partners; and minimal engagement between communities and the government. We highlight competencies that brokers need to enable more effective responses to rapid systems change, including fostering collaborations among partners, generating knowledge co-production, systems thinking, understanding complexity and uncertainty, and the promotion of learning and reflection. By incorporating brokering capacity, programmes in Melanesia could be better designed to account for future uncertainty, and tackle increasingly complex development challenges more effectively.
Deforestation and Shade Coffee in Oaxaca, Mexico: Key Research Findings
Creators: name: Blackman, Allen
name: Albers, Heidi J.
name: Avalos-Sartorio, Beatriz
name: Crooks, Lisa
name: Blackman, Allen
name: Albers, Heidi J.
name: Avalos-Sartorio, Beatriz
name: Crooks, Lisa
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Resource /Energy Economics and Policy
subject: deforestation
subject: agroforestry
subject: shade-grown coffee
subject: Mexico
subject: land cover

description: More than three-quarters of Mexico's coffee is grown on small plots shaded by the existing forest. Because they preserve forest cover, shade coffee farms provide vital ecological services including harboring biodiversity and preventing soil erosion. Unfortunately, tree cover in Mexico's shade coffee areas is increasingly being cleared to make way for subsistence agriculture, a direct result of the unprecedented decline of international coffee prices over the past decade. This paper summarizes the key findings of a three-year study of deforestation in Oaxaca, one of Mexico's prime regions for growing shade coffee. First, we find that deforestation during the 1990s was significant. Second, the loss of tree cover can likely be slowed by promoting coffee-marketing cooperatives and "green" certification, providing coffee price supports, and specifically targeting areas populated by small, indigenous farmers for assistance. Finally, to be effective, such policies must be implemented quickly after price shocks occur.
A Possible Origin of Magnetic Fields in Galaxies and Clusters: Strong Magnetic fields at z~10?
Creators: name: Fujita, Yutaka
name: Kato, Tsunehiko N.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We propose that strong magnetic fields should be generated at shock waves associated with formation of galaxies or clusters of galaxies by the Weibel instability, an instability in collisionless plasmas. The strength of the magnetic fields generated through this mechanism is close to the order of those observed in galaxies or clusters of galaxies at present. If the generated fields do not decay rapidly, this indicates that strong amplification of magnetic fields after formation of galaxies or clusters of galaxies is not required. This mechanism could have worked even at a redshift of ~10, and therefore the generated magnetic fields may have affected the formation of stars in protogalaxies. This model will partially be confirmed by future observations of nearby clusters of galaxies. Mechanisms that preserve the magnetic fields for a long time without considerable decay are discussed.
description: Accepted for publication in MNRAS
Efficient and flexible methods for time since infection models
Creators: name: Peterson, Joseph D.
name: Adhikari, Ronojoy
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE)
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: Epidemic models are useful tools in the fight against infectious diseases, as they allow policy makers to test and compare various strategies to limit disease transmission while mitigating collateral damage on the economy. Epidemic models that are more faithful to the microscopic details of disease transmission can offer more reliable projections, which in turn can lead to more reliable control strategies. For example, many epidemic models describe disease progression via a series of artificial 'stages' or 'compartments' (e.g. exposed, activated, infectious, etc.) but an epidemic model that explicitly tracks time since infection (TSI) can provide a more precise description. At present, epidemic models with 'compartments' are more common than TSI models , largely due to higher computational cost and complexity typically associated with TSI models. Here, however, we show that with the right discretization scheme a TSI model is not much more difficult to solve than a comparment model with three or four 'stages' for the infected class. We also provide a new perspective for adding 'stages' to a TSI model in a way that decouples the disease transmission dynamics from the residence time distributions at each stage. These results are also generalized for age-structured TSI models in an appendix. Finally, as proof-of-principle for the efficiency of the proposed numerical methods, we provide calculations for optimal epidemic control by non-pharmaceutical intervention. Many of the tools described in this report are available through the software package 'pyross'
description: 21 pages, 9 figures
Cocoa vs. food crops: smallholders' seasonal food access and extension support for climate adaptation in Ghana
Creators: name: Picot, Laura E.
name: Hill, Genia
name: Sarpong, Bernice
name: Obeng, Alexander A.
name: Mensah, Felix King
name: Adjei, Kelvin Anim
name: Adjei, Richard Kwadwo
name: Malhi, Yadvinder
name: McDermott, Constance L.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Evolutionary Biology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Ecology
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Marine Biology
subject: Plant Biology

description: The food security implications of the production of cocoa compared to food crops and the phenomenon of the lean season amongst smallholder farmers have been well-researched. Yet, the literature has yet to consider how climate variability affects these dynamics. This study addresses this gap by comparing the contributions of cocoa and food crops to food stability and access during extreme and erratic weather events. It then compares government extension support for households’ climate adaptation of these crops. Our data draw on the case of smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana’s Central Region and comprise a survey of 250 households, 16 focus group discussions, and 81 semi-structured interviews with smallholders, market sellers, and government officials. We find that food crops are essential for households’ food access during the cocoa lean season and when cocoa yields are reduced by climate change-related extreme or erratic weather events. However, food crop yields are themselves negatively affected by climate variability impacts. Furthermore, many farmers lack climate adaptation strategies or support for food crops as government extension services focus instead on export-driven cocoa. We argue that to promote households’ food stability, more smallholder extension support for food crop production and climate adaptation is urgently needed.
Bispectral commuting difference operators for multivariable Askey-Wilson polynomials
Creators: name: Iliev, Plamen
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Classical Analysis and ODEs (math.CA)
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: We construct a commutative algebra A_z, generated by d algebraically independent q-difference operators acting on variables z_1, z_2,..., z_d, which is diagonalized by the multivariable Askey-Wilson polynomials P_n(z) considered by Gasper and Rahman [6]. Iterating Sears' transformation formula, we show that the polynomials P_n(z) possess a certain duality between z and n. Analytic continuation allows us to obtain another commutative algebra A_n, generated by d algebraically independent difference operators acting on the discrete variables n_1, n_2,..., n_d, which is also diagonalized by P_n(z). This leads to a multivariable q-Askey-scheme of bispectral orthogonal polynomials which parallels the theory of symmetric functions.
A near-field scanned microwave probe for spatially localized electrical metrology
Creators: name: Talanov, Vladimir V.
name: Scherz, Andre
name: Moreland, Robert L.
name: Schwartz, Andrew R.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We have developed a near-field scanned microwave probe with a sampling volume of approximately 10 micron in diameter, which is the smallest one achieved in near-field microwave microscopy. This volume is defined to confine close to 100 percent of the probe net sampling reactive energy, thus making the response virtually independent on the sample properties outside of this region. The probe is formed by a 4 GHz balanced stripline resonator with a few-micron tip size. It provides non-contact, non-invasive measurement and is uniquely suited for spatially localized electrical metrology applications, e.g. on semiconductor production wafers.
description: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Appl. Phys. Lett
Ryan, Herbert J. (Hrsg.), Episcopalians and Roman Catholics: Can They Ever Get Together?
Creators: name: Engelhardt, Hanns
Publisher: name: Ökumenische Rundschau
Year: 2025

description: Ökumenische Rundschau, Bd. 22 Nr. 2 (1973): Ökumenische Rundschau, Band 22, Heft 2
Thermal Time Scales in a Color Glass Condensate
Creators: name: Parihar, V.
name: Widom, A.
name: Srivastava, Y. N.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In a model of relativistic heavy ion collisions wherein the unconfined quark-gluon plasma is condensed into glass, we derive the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann cooling law. This law is well known to hold true in condensed matter glasses. The high energy plasma is initially created in a very hot negative temperature state and cools down to the Hagedorn glass temperature at an ever decreasing rate. The cooling rate is largely determined by the QCD string tension derived from hadronic Regge trajectories. The ultimately slow relaxation time is a defining characteristic of a color glass condensate.
description: 5 pages, ReVTeX format, nofigures
A new scenario framework for equitable and climate-compatible futures
Creators: name: Ranjan, Ankita
name: Kanitkar, Tejal
name: Jayaraman, T.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Ecology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Developmental Biology
subject: Science Policy

description: This paper demonstrates a modelling approach and scenario framework for global burden-sharing, that foregrounds questions of climate and energy justice. We classify 134 countries into four development categories based on thirteen indicators. Using the quadratic plateau model, we estimate that an energy threshold of 94 GJ and an income threshold of USD 28,500 are necessary for meeting sustained levels of development in health, education, and infrastructure. We construct baseline scenarios for convergence to these and other threshold values drawn from the literature. Emissions constraints are then imposed in the form of the remaining carbon budget corresponding to the temperature targets of the Paris Agreement to assess the degree of energy-emissions and energy-GDP decoupling required to meet them. Our results show that limiting warming to 1.5°C requires higher effort across all regions, with the global effort remaining similar across scenarios. However, the distribution of the global effort across development categories varies significantly, depending on whether energy and climate equity are considered. The mitigation burden for the highest development category is almost six times higher if climate equity is considered. In contrast, the effort required by the least developed category is doubled if climate equity is compromised.
Toward accurate form factors for $B$-to-light meson decay from lattice QCD
Creators: name: Parrott, W. G.
name: Bouchard, C.
name: Davies, C. T. H.
name: Hatton, D.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Lattice (hep-lat)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present the results of a lattice QCD calculation of the scalar and vector form factors for the unphysical $B_s\toη_s$ decay, over the full physical range of $q^2$. This is a useful testing ground both for lattice QCD and for our wider understanding of the behaviour of form factors. Calculations were performed using the highly improved staggered quark (HISQ) action on $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ gluon ensembles generated by the MILC Collaboration with an improved gluon action and HISQ sea quarks. We use three lattice spacings and a range of heavy quark masses from that of charm to bottom, all in the HISQ formalism. This permits an extrapolation in the heavy quark mass and lattice spacing to the physical point and nonperturbative renormalisation of the vector matrix element on the lattice. We find results in good agreement with previous work using nonrelativistic QCD $b$ quarks and with reduced errors at low $q^2$, supporting the effectiveness of our heavy HISQ technique as a method for calculating form factors involving heavy quarks. A comparison with results for other decays related by SU(3) flavour symmetry shows that the impact of changing the light daughter quark is substantial but changing the spectator quark has very little effect. We also map out form factor shape parameters as a function of heavy quark mass and compare to heavy quark effective theory expectations for mass scaling at low and high recoil. This work represents an important step in the progression from previous work on heavy-to-heavy decays ($b\to c$) to the numerically more challenging heavy-to-light decays.
description: published version; 18 pages, 14 figures
The Cost-Effectiveness of Conservation Payments
Creators: name: Ferraro, Paul J.
name: Simpson, R. David
name: Ferraro, Paul J.
name: Simpson, R. David
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2000
Subjects: subject: Agricultural Finance
subject: biodiversity
subject: conservation
subject: cost-effective
subject: incentives

description: Intact ecosystems provide important global services. Many valuable ecosystems are located in low-income countries in which citizens are not in a position to provide global public goods gratis. To address this problem, international conservation and development donors have been making substantial investments in habitat conservation. Among the more common conservation schemes are interventions aimed at encouraging commercial activities that produce ecosystem services as joint products. We argue that it would be more cost-effective to pay for conservation performance directly. We use a simple yet general model to establish three conclusions. First, the overall cost of conservation is least when direct payments are employed. Second, the donor will generally find direct payments more cost-effective. Third, the preferences of donors and eco-entrepreneurs are opposed: when the donor prefers direct payments, the eco-entrepreneur prefers indirect subsidies. There are a number of reasons why direct incentive programs may be difficult to implement. We argue, however, that any approach to conservation will face similar challenges. Furthermore, we demonstrate with an empirical example that direct payment initiatives can offer spectacular cost-savings relative to less direct approaches. We therefore believe that continued experimentation with direct conservation incentives in the developing world is warranted and will prove successful.
Mid-Infrared Period$-$Luminosity Relations for Miras in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Creators: name: Iwanek, Patryk
name: Soszyński, Igor
name: Kozłowski, Szymon
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present the mid-infrared (mid-IR) period$-$luminosity relations (PLRs) using over 1000 Mira variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), for the four Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and the four Spitzer bands. These PLRs cover a mid-IR wavelength range from $3.4$ $μ$m to $22$ $μ$m and are presented separately for the oxygen-rich (O-rich) and carbon-rich (C-rich) Miras. These relations can be used to measure distances to individual O-rich and/or C-rich Mira stars with the accuracy of $5\%$ and $12\%$, respectively. They are the most accurate Mira PLRs in the mid-IR to date.
description: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. 18 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables. The full machine readable Table 3 will be available in the online journal just after publication
Conservative stochastic Cahn--Hilliard equation with reflection
Creators: name: Debussche, Arnaud
name: Zambotti, Lorenzo
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Probability (math.PR)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 60H15, 60H07, 37L40 (Primary)

description: We consider a stochastic partial differential equation with reflection at 0 and with the constraint of conservation of the space average. The equation is driven by the derivative in space of a space--time white noise and contains a double Laplacian in the drift. Due to the lack of the maximum principle for the double Laplacian, the standard techniques based on the penalization method do not yield existence of a solution. We propose a method based on infinite dimensional integration by parts formulae, obtaining existence and uniqueness of a strong solution for all continuous nonnegative initial conditions and detailed information on the associated invariant measure and Dirichlet form.
description: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009117906000000773 the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org)
Tax Deductions, Consumption Distortions, and the Marginal Excess Burden of Taxation
Creators: name: Parry, Ian W.H.
name: Parry, Ian W.H.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 1999
Subjects: subject: Political Economy
subject: welfare costs
subject: tax system
subject: tax deductions
subject: simulations

description: Certain types of expenditure--e.g. mortgage interest and medical insurance- receive favorable tax treatment and are effectively subsidized relative to other (non-tax-favored) expenditures. Labor taxes (e.g. income taxes) can therefore produce efficiency losses by distorting the allocation of consumption, in addition to distorting the labor market. Using evidence on the responsiveness of taxable income to changes in tax rates, a seminal study by Feldstein (1999) estimates that the marginal excess burden of taxation (MEB) could exceed unity, when the effects of tax deductions are taken into account. This is several times larger than in previous studies of the MEB that focus exclusively on labor market effects. This paper develops a "disaggregated" approach to estimating the MEB that decomposes welfare impacts in the market for labor and tax-favored consumption goods, and uses micro evidence on labor supply elasticities, the demand elasticity for mortgage interest, medical insurance, and so on. Based on Monte Carlo simulations, we find a 68 percent probability that the MEB lies between .31 and .48 for government transfer spending and between .21 and .35 for public goods. These estimates are below Feldstein's, but are still considerably higher (70 percent or more) than when we ignore tax deductions.
Mindful awareness training in online and face-to-face learning environments: A comparative analysis
Creators: name: Tan, (Rae) Yunzi
name: Molinari, Carol A.
name: Freshman, Brenda
Publisher: name: Maryland Shared Open Access Repository
Year: 2015
Subjects: Mindfulness
Meditation
Online learning

description: Today’s fast-paced work environments emphasize the importance of focus,
clarity, creativity, compassion, and courage as critical managerial competencies
(George, 2014). TIME magazine’s 2014 article, The Mindfulness Revolution,
points to the growing need for leaders to possess the ability to understand the
increasing time pressures facing workers in this digital world (Pickert, 2014).
Ways need to be found to help the workforce at all levels to maintain focus
while sorting through multiple sources of information to make creative and
innovative decisions. Health administration programs that develop students’
mindfulness competencies of observation and awareness are providing their
graduates with a competitive edge in terms of managing and leading during
turbulent times, not only by encouraging mindfulness skills, but also by assisting
the student experience with the potential of increased focus and less stress.
This two-fold benefit of mindfulness for healthcare administration students is
a theme throughout this paper. This paper provides a preliminary empirical
examination of whether learners practicing mindful awareness in similar health
management courses in two different programs become more mindful in terms
of observant of present moment experience, and the tendency to respond to
experiences without self-censorship and judgment. One program delivered
the courses online and the other in person. Both used the same mindfulness
activity to help students, with mixed results.
Mixing and diffusion for rough shear flows
Creators: name: Colombo, Maria
name: Zelati, Michele Coti
name: Widmayer, Klaus
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Analysis of PDEs (math.AP)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 35Q35, 37A25, 76F25, 76R50

description: This article addresses mixing and diffusion properties of passive scalars advected by rough ($C^α$) shear flows. We show that in general, one cannot expect a rough shear flow to increase the rate of inviscid mixing to more than that of a smooth shear without critical points. On the other hand, diffusion may be enhanced at a much faster rate. This shows that in the setting of low regularity, the interplay between inviscid mixing properties and enhanced dissipation is more intricate, and in fact contradicts some of the natural heuristics that are valid in the smooth setting.
description: This is the publication version and incorporates the journal style
Exploring the Presence and Impact of Variability in Team Conflict Management on Team Effectiveness
Creators: name: Tan, (Rae) Yunzi
Publisher: name: Maryland Shared Open Access Repository
Year: 2016
Subjects: Conflict management
Groups and Teams
Group diversity

description: This paper investigates the presence of five proposed distinct configural patterns (or profiles) in cooperative and competitive conflict management within teams and their effects on team effectiveness. Data are collected from 79 undergraduate student teams in an online survey. The profiles are first identified using qualitative content coding analyses, then followed by quantitative latent class analyses. Planned comparison tests are then conducted to examine the profiles’ relative impact on team effectiveness. All five proposed team conflict management profiles are found in the content coding analyses but only two of them are uncovered in the latent class analyses. Three new profiles are also revealed in the qualitative content coding analyses. The planned comparison tests indicate that teams with majority cooperative profiles outperform teams with majority competitive profiles; teams with all or majority cooperative profiles also outperform those with all competitive profiles. Study implications, limitations, and future research directions are also discussed.
description: http://jocm.net/v4/no.1/v4n1_Tan.pdf
Cocoa vs. food crops: smallholder’s seasonal food access and extension support for climate adaptation in Ghana
Creators: name: Picot, Laura E.
name: Hill, Genia
name: Sarpong, Bernice
name: Obeng, Alexander A.
name: Mensah, Felix King
name: Adjei, Kelvin Anim
name: Adjei, Richard Kwadwo
name: Malhi, Yadvinder
name: McDermott, Constance L.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Evolutionary Biology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Ecology
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Marine Biology
subject: Plant Biology

description: The food security implications of the production of cocoa compared to food crops and the phenomenon of the lean season amongst smallholder farmers have been well-researched. Yet, the literature has yet to consider how climate variability affects these dynamics. This study addresses this gap by comparing the contributions of cocoa and food crops to food stability and access during extreme and erratic weather events. It then compares government extension support for households’ climate adaptation of these crops. Our data draw on the case of smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana’s Central Region and comprise a survey of 250 households, 16 focus group discussions, and 81 semi-structured interviews with smallholders, market sellers, and government officials. We find that food crops are essential for households’ food access during the cocoa lean season and when cocoa yields are reduced by climate change-related extreme or erratic weather events. However, food crop yields are themselves negatively affected by climate variability impacts. Furthermore, many farmers lack climate adaptation strategies or support for food crops as government extension services focus instead on export-driven cocoa. We argue that to promote households’ food stability, more smallholder extension support for food crop production and climate adaptation is urgently needed.