cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Patellofemoral osteoarthritis : characterizing knee alignment and morphology
Creators: name: Macri, Erin Michelle
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2018

description: Patellofemoral osteoarthritis (OA) is an under-recognized medical condition that may progress to generalized knee OA. It is highly prevalent and is associated with knee pain and disability. Patellofemoral alignment, tibiofemoral alignment or trochlear morphology may influence the prevalence, onset or worsening of patellofemoral OA. Therefore, my main objective in this dissertation was to use magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to quantify the relationships between knee alignment or morphology and prevalent patellofemoral OA. This dissertation is comprised of four studies. First, I systematically reviewed the associations among knee alignment or morphology with patellofemoral OA presence, severity, onset or worsening. Lateral patellar tilt, lateral displacement, patellar height, frontal plane knee alignment, and a shallow sulcus were all associated with OA prevalence and severity. Second, I examined the relationship between key alignment and morphology measures and early patellofemoral OA, one year following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Lateral displacement and a shallow sulcus were associated with early patellofemoral OA. Third, I evaluated alignment and morphology in the Framingham community cohort, a population-based cohort. I established reference values in knees without patellofemoral OA or pain. I then evaluated dose-response patterns of the full sample. The odds of prevalent patellofemoral OA rose monotonically with greater lateral patellar displacement and a shallower sulcus. Odds rose for patellar tilt in both directions, i.e. increased medial or lateral tilt. Fourth, using an upright, open-bore MR scanner, I developed reproducible methods to evaluate three dimensional knee alignment in standing. I then examined differences in alignment from supine to standing positions, and differences in alignment in supine and standing in individuals with patellofemoral OA and matched controls. Key measures of malalignment were greater in standing then supine. In knees with patellofemoral OA, the patella was more laterally tilted, laterally displaced, and proximally displaced compared to controls, and the tibia was more externally rotated. Taken together, these studies suggest that knee alignment and trochlear morphology may influence the risk of patellofemoral OA.
LHC and lepton flavour violation phenomenology of a left-right extension of the MSSM
Creators: name: Esteves, J. N.
name: Hirsch, M.
name: Porod, W.
name: Romao, J. C.
name: Staub, F.
name: Vicente, A.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study the phenomenology of a supersymmetric left-right model, assuming minimal supergravity boundary conditions. Both left-right and (B-L) symmetries are broken at an energy scale close to, but significantly below the GUT scale. Neutrino data is explained via a seesaw mechanism. We calculate the RGEs for superpotential and soft parameters complete at 2-loop order. At low energies lepton flavour violation (LFV) and small, but potentially measurable mass splittings in the charged scalar lepton sector appear, due to the RGE running. Different from the supersymmetric 'pure seesaw' models, both, LFV and slepton mass splittings, occur not only in the left- but also in the right slepton sector. Especially, ratios of LFV slepton decays, such as Br(${\tildeτ}_R \to μχ^0_1$)/Br(${\tildeτ}_L \to μχ^0_1$) are sensitive to the ratio of (B-L) and left-right symmetry breaking scales. Also the model predicts a polarization asymmetry of the outgoing positrons in the decay $μ^+ \to e^+ γ$, A ~ [0,1], which differs from the pure seesaw 'prediction' A=1$. Observation of any of these signals allows to distinguish this model from any of the three standard, pure (mSugra) seesaw setups.
description: 43 pages, 17 figures
Voice and Instrument at the Origins of Music
Creators: name: De Souza, Jonathan
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2014
Subjects: Human evolution
Singing
Music--Origin
Music

description: During the summer of 2008, archaeologists uncovered some remnants of musical prehistory in the caves of Hohle Fels, Germany. There, among burnt animal bones and flint–knapping debris, they found fragments of three flutes (Conard, Malina, and Münzel 2009). One was remarkably complete. This delicate instrument, discovered in twelve pieces, had been fashioned from a vulture’s wing bone. It was thirty–four centimeters long (roughly the length of a piccolo), with several finger holes and a notched mouthpiece (like the Japanese shakuhachi and other end–blown flutes; see Figure 1). The other flutes at the site were less complete but represented more complex manufacturing. They were made from pieces of mammoth tusk that had been split, hollowed out, and then rejoined. Yet headlines about the Hohle Fels flutes focused on neither their present condition nor their refined construction. Instead journalists and scholars emphasized the artifacts’ age. These flutes were more than thirty–five thousand years old—the earliest musical instruments then known.1 Incidentally, one of the earliest examples of figurative art, an ivory sculpture called the “Venus of Hohle Fels,” was found less than a meter away from the bone flute (Conard 2009). Together these artifacts give compelling evidence for musical and artistic practices in the Upper Paleolithic Era. Writing and the wheel, by contrast, would not appear until almost thirty thousand years later, during the early Bronze Age (that is, around the fourth millennium BCE).
Tricellular junction regulation, signaling and scaffolding
Creators: name: Sharifkhodaei, Zohreh
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2017

description: The focus of this thesis is to understand the regulatory mechanisms of that control permeability barriers in epithelia. A key role of epithelia is to maintain permeability barriers between tissues. Epithelial junctions are formed to establish a functional barrier between the cells and to ensure cell-cell adhesion. In Drosophila, the tricellular junction (TCJ) generates a barrier at the contact site of three adjacent epithelial cells. Gliotactin is localized exclusively at the corner of three epithelial cells and loss of Gliotactin from the TCJ disrupts the barrier function. Conversely, overexpression of Gliotactin triggers the spread of Gliotactin away from the TCJ leading to apoptosis, delamination, overproliferation and cell migration. Therefore, the expression level of Gliotactin needs to be tightly regulated. Gliotactin protein levels are controlled by tyrosine phosphorylation and subsequent protein endocytosis and degradation. Here we found that Gliotactin expression is also tightly regulated at the mRNA level through microRNA-184. miR-184 targets the Gliotactin 3’UTR and other septate junction mRNAs including NrxIV and Mcr. Gliotactin overexpression triggers BMP signaling through inhibition of Dad, an inhibitory SMAD, and activation of the Tkv type-I receptor and Mad. Elevated level of phosphorylated MAD leads to induction of miR-184 expression. Regulation of Gliotactin at the TCJ is mediated through a Gliotactin-BMP-miR184 feedback loop. We identified a new complex at the TCJ, which regulates junction assembly and function. The scaffolding proteins Scribbled (Scrib) and Discs Large (Dlg) are in close proximity with two TCJ components, Gliotactin and Bark beetle (Bark). The presence of the Scrib PDZ1-2 and the Dlg GUK domains are required for proper formation of the TCJ complex. Loss of Bark or Gliotactin from the TCJ leads to basolateral spread of Scrib and Dlg, while Scrib or Dlg knockdown disrupts the integrity of the complex and promotes the loss of Bark or Gliotactin from the TCJ. Our proposed model suggests that Scrib and Dlg recruit Bark to the TCJ, which in turn leads to Gliotactin recruitment to the TCJ. Overall, we propose that tricellular junction is regulated through two distinct mechanisms, signaling and scaffolding.
Effects of interface spin-orbit coupling on tunneling between normal metal and chiral p-wave superconductor
Creators: name: Wu, S.
name: Samokhin, K. V.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study the tunneling conductance of a clean normal metal/chiral p-wave superconductor junction using the extended Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk formalism. It is shown that the spin-orbit coupling of the Rashba type that is present near the interface causes the subgap conductance peaks associated with the Andreev surface bound states to shift to a nonzero bias. We also investigate the effect of the Fermi wavevector mismatch between the normal metal and the superconductor.
description: 6 pages, 4 figures
Transition Probability (Fidelity) and Its Relatives
Creators: name: Uhlmann, Armin
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Transition Probability (fidelity) for pairs of density operators can be defined as "functor" in the hierarchy of "all" quantum systems and also within any quantum system. The introduction of "amplitudes" for density operators allows for a more intuitive treatment of these quantities, also pointing to a natural parallel transport. The latter is governed by a remarkable gauge theory with strong relations to the Riemann-Bures metric.
description: Talk at the 2009 Vaexoe Quantum Theory Conference. 11 pages
Memos to the SEC on the Proposed Rule on Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers: 2
Creators: name: Sachs, Jeffrey D.
name: Toledano, Perrine
name: Maennling, Nicolas Wolfram
name: Bugala, Paul
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Natural resources--Taxation--Law and legislation
subject: Sustainable development
subject: Investments--Government policy
subject: Mineral industries--Taxation--Law and legislation
subject: Contracts
subject: Law
subject: FOS: Law
subject: Sustainability
subject: Natural resources—Management

description: CCSI strongly supports the transparency of contracts and tax flows. CCSI shares the belief of many stakeholders that transparency is essential to leverage extractive industries for sustainable development and is in the mutual interest of all stakeholders. However, some industry players continue to voice the concern that increased transparency would be harmful for their business. Therefore, CCSI is working to also establish the business case for transparency.

In one such case, some industry players have been lobbying against the regulations developed by the Security and Exchange Commission to implement the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; section 1504 of that act requires all US listed companies to report detailed payments to governments on a project-by-project basis in all countries of operation. To support the SEC’s mandate in implementing the regulations, and to respond to some of the concerns of industry, CCSI identified the publicly listed extractive industry companies that disclose tax payments on a country-by-country basis and showed the correlation of this reporting practice with both higher financial performance and fewer reported incidences of human and environmental rights violations in the communities where they operate. In December 2011, these results were submitted to the US Securities & Exchange Commission to inform the regulatory deliberations of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

As implementation regulations of Section 1504 were still pending as of October 2015, CCSI consulted with the Publish What You Pay Network and a number of investors and submitted a second letter to the US Securities Exchange Commission. Recognizing the SEC’s mandate to protect investors, this letter provides 7 reasons why it is of utmost importance to maintain company-specific, project-level payment disclosure when issuing the new rules of Section 1504 in order to create improved efficiency in the capital markets.
Cardinal characteristics and countable Borel equivalence relations
Creators: name: Coskey, Samuel
name: Schneider, Scott
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Logic (math.LO)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 03E15, 03E17

description: Boykin and Jackson recently introduced a property of countable Borel equivalence relations called Borel boundedness, which they showed is closely related to the union problem for hyperfinite equivalence relations. In this paper, we introduce a family of properties of countable Borel equivalence relations which correspond to combinatorial cardinal characteristics of the continuum in the same way that Borel boundedness corresponds to the bounding number $\mathfrak b$. We analyze some of the basic behavior of these properties, showing for instance that the property corresponding to the splitting number $\mathfrak s$ coincides with smoothness. We then settle many of the implication relationships between the properties; these relationships turn out to be closely related to (but not the same as) the Borel Tukey ordering on cardinal characteristics.
An Analysis of the State of Electron Security in the Wild
Creators: name: Altpeter, Benjamin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: it security
application security
web security
electron

description: Electron is an open source framework for building cross-platform desktop applications using regular web technologies like JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Electron apps are getting more and more popular, with thousands of applications already built using the framework. This new paradigm also requires new security considerations and a widened threat model: Web applications are strictly isolated from the operating system, running in the browser’s sandbox and without access to system primitives. Electron apps, however, can be given full access to the Node.js APIs, breaking open this isolation. Thus, many of the well-known attack vectors of the web still apply to Electron applications, but they may be a lot more severe given full access to the system. This thesis will first explore known attacks for Electron apps, comparing their impact there to web apps in the browser. Then, it will present an analysis of 1,204 open and closed source Electron applications for various security indicators to give an insight into the state of Electron security in the wild. The results show that while the situation is improving with more developers becoming aware of the necessary security considerations and secure defaults starting to be introduced, most apps don’t take advantage of Electron’s security features and use of dangerous functions is common.
Implementation Challenges of Central Bank Digital Currencies - A Blueprint for the Digital Dollar
Creators: name: Gupta, Arnav
Publisher: name: University of Chicago
Year: 2022

description: As the world begins to shift towards technological efficiency, monetary policy is falling behind the curve of digitization; cash continues to decline as a percentage of transactions, is used to propel the underground economy, exacerbates financial inequity, and has huge policy costs. One proposed solution is Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), a digital token of a country's fiat currency that lives and grows on your smartphone, serving as a convenient and alternate form of payment for transactions in the economy. 87 countries are exploring digital currencies and 9 countries have fully launched a CBDC nationally, leaving the US behind other major economies in the move towards technological efficiency. Thus, I consider whether a central bank digital currency is feasible and desirable in the United States, and how we can use theory and practice to inform successful implementation. I consider the key arguments in the debate, including ethical considerations of privacy and equity as well as economic justifications like costs, efficiency, and digital networks. Weighing these arguments alongside a theoretical macroeconomic model, I recommend, with cautious optimism, a 7-fold plan for the implementation of a digital dollar over the next 10 years.
If You Build It, Will They Come? The Competitiveness of US LNG in Overseas Markets
Creators: name: Bordoff, Jason E.
name: Losz, Akos
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2016
Subjects: Oil-shale industry--Economic aspects
Oil-shale industry
Liquefied natural gas industry
Liquefied natural gas--Economic aspects
International trade
International relations

description: The explosion of US shale has brought expectations of great change for US LNG trade, increasing the volume of flexible cargoes available to markets traditionally dominated by long-term contracts between buyers and sellers. However, new supplies from the United States, combined with new production from Australia and elsewhere, have set the LNG market up for a glut that threatens to depress prices. In a new report by the Center on Global Energy Policy, the authors assess the factors influencing the competitiveness of US LNG around the globe, whether capacity will be curtailed in the near to medium term for economic reasons and how competitiveness of US LNG may evolve in the medium term.
Review Mechanisms in Natural Resource Contracts
Creators: name: Mandelbaum, Jacky
name: Swartz, Salli Anne
name: Hauert, John
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Mineral industries--Law and legislation
subject: Sustainable development
subject: Natural resources--Law and legislation
subject: Contracts
subject: Law
subject: FOS: Law
subject: Sustainability
subject: Natural resources—Management

description: Periodic review mechanisms, provisions in contracts that formally require parties to meet at particular intervals to review the terms of the contract or license and consider whether circumstances have changed since the parties’ initial agreement, are a mechanism that may smooth the process of dealing with inevitable changes in circumstances over the long term of extractive industries contracts. This briefing note looks at the use of such mechanisms, through reviewing existing extractive industry agreements, and considers how the requirements have been expressed to-date and their role as a tool to maintain the relationship between the parties. The Brief examines issues that can arise in practice and suggests a new approach to the drafting of these mechanisms.
Memo to Prime Minister Cameron on the Revision of the U.K. National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights
Creators: name: Cordes, Kaitlin Y.
name: Burke, Samuel V. S.
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Land use--Planning
subject: Land use--Government policy
subject: Investments
subject: Land use--Social aspects
subject: Human rights--Environmental aspects
subject: Sustainable development
subject: Law
subject: FOS: Law
subject: Sustainability
subject: Natural resources—Management
subject: Agriculture
subject: Forests and forestry

description: In July 2015, CCSI sent a memo to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to provide input on the 2015 revision of the U.K. National Action Plan on business and human rights, originally published in 2013. The memo applauded the U.K. Government’s early adoption of a National Action Plan consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, noting that responsible and rights-respecting outward investment can support sustainable development in host countries, and that the U.K. Government has an important role to play in promoting responsible business operations. The memo urged the government to highlight the importance of land rights in the revised National Action Plan, and to explore how the plan can address U.K. business conduct related to outward, land-based investments, including in the extractive industries, infrastructure, agriculture, and forestry.
Submission to OPIC on Revisions to its Environmental and Social Policy Statement
Creators: name: Cordes, Kaitlin Y.
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Investments, Foreign--Government policy
subject: Sustainable development
subject: Investments, Foreign
subject: Environmental policy
subject: Social policy
subject: Law
subject: FOS: Law
subject: Sustainability
subject: Natural resources—Management

description: In November 2016, CCSI sent a submission to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) regarding its draft revised Environmental and Social Policy Statement (ESPS). CCSI’s input focused on two discrete issues that CCSI has been working on: (1) contract transparency for natural resource and infrastructure projects, and (2) redress for harms in the context of project abandonment or failure. The submission urged OPIC to add into the ESPS a requirement that Applicants involved in natural resource or infrastructure projects commit to publicly disclosing any investor-state contracts related to the underlying Project. CCSI’s submission also suggested that OPIC incorporate into the Draft ESPS a requirement that Applicants develop appropriate closure plans that would cover harms to Project Affected People and would apply in the case of both anticipated and unanticipated project closure, along with a requirement that Applicants make provisions for financial assurances to guarantee performance of closure plan provisions covering harms to Project Affected People.
Diffusion in ionic liquids: the interplay between molecular structure and dynamics
Creators: name: Sangoro, Joshua
name: Iacob, Ciprian
name: Naumov, S.
name: Valiullin, R.
name: Rexhausen, H.
name: Hunger, Johannes
name: Buchner, Richard
name: Strehmel, V.
name: Kärger, J.
name: Kremer, Friedrich
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: ionic liq diffusion mol structure dynamics
subject: 540 Chemie

description: Diffusion in a series of ionic liqs. is investigated by a combination of Broadband Dielec. Spectroscopy (BDS) and Pulsed Field Gradient NMR (PFG NMR). It is demonstrated that the mean jump lengths increase with the mol. vols. detd. from quantum-chem. calcns. This provides a direct means-via Einstein-Smoluchowski relation-to det. the diffusion coeff. by BDS over more than 8 decades unambiguously and in quant. agreement with PFG NMR measurements. New possibilities in the study of charge transport and dynamic glass transition in ionic liqs. are thus opened.
Enhanced Two-Photon Absorption in a Hollow-Core Photonic Bandgap Fiber
Creators: name: Saha, Kasturi
name: Venkataraman, Vivek
name: Londero, Pablo
name: Gaeta, Alexander L.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Optics (physics.optics)
subject: Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We show that two-photon absorption (TPA) in Rubidium atoms can be greatly enhanced by the use of a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber. We investigate off-resonant, degenerate Doppler-free TPA on the 5S1/2 - 5D5/2 transition and observe 1% absorption of a pump beam with a total power of only 1 mW in the fiber. These results are verified by measuring the amount of emitted blue fluorescence and are consistent with the theoretical predictions which indicate that transit time effects play an important role in determining the two-photon absorption cross-section in a confined geometry.
description: 5 pages, 6 figures
Dynamics of water confined in self-assembled monoglyceride-water-oil phases
Creators: name: Wachter, Wolfgang
name: Trimmel, G.
name: Buchner, Richard
name: Glatter, Otto
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: monoglyceride water oil phase self assembly dynamics
subject: 540 Chemie

description: The dynamics of water confined in various self-assembled liq.-cryst. phases of the system Dimodan U/J-R(+)-limonene-water have been investigated by dielec. relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) over a wide range of frequencies (0.2 ≤ ν/GHz ≤ 50). For all phases, two water-related Debye processes were detected, one slightly slower, the other considerably slower, than bulk water. Besides these bulk-like and slow-water relaxations, a further fraction of water does not appear in the dielec. spectra due to strong interactions with the interface (bound water). Increasing the water content of the inverse hexagonal (HII) phase leads to an increase in both bulk-like and bound water, whereas the amt. of slow water remains const. Furthermore, the bulk-like water relaxation times accelerate until they reach the pure-water value when approaching the satn. line. This finding is supported by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which also confirms the presence of three types of water in liq.-cryst. confinement.
Weak localization with nonlinear bosonic matter waves
Creators: name: Hartmann, Timo
name: Michl, Josef
name: Petitjean, Cyril
name: Wellens, Thomas
name: Urbina, Juan-Diego
name: Richter, Klaus
name: Schlagheck, Peter
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Quantum transport
subject: 530 Physik

description: We investigate the coherent propagation of dilute atomic Bose-Einstein condensates through irregularly shaped billiard geometries that are attached to uniform incoming and outgoing waveguides. Using the mean-field description based on the nonlinear GP equation.
SUBJECT PRONOUN DISTRIBUTION IN CHILD HERITAGE SPEAKERS OF SPANISH: SEMANTIC CONSTRAINTS REGULATING OVERT/NULL PRONOUNS IN FOCUS/TOPIC ENVIRONMENTS
Creators: name: Zanelli, Dafne
Publisher: name: Purdue University Graduate School
Year: 2023
Subjects: Child language acquisition
Linguistic structures (incl. phonology, morphology and syntax)

description: The present study aims to examine the grammar of Spanish heritage children in relation to the syntax-discourse interface by analyzing the distribution of subject pronouns in focus and topic contexts. Focus and topic are related to the information structure of a clause, the former refers to new information of the sentence and the latter indicates old or known information (Lozano-Pozo, 2003). Studies exploring this phenomenon in various combinations of languages and L2 populations have found a clear overextension and overuse of overt subject pronouns in topic contexts in pro-drop languages, where the preferred option is the null pronoun, due to cross-linguistic influence from the L1 (Pérez-Leroux & Glass, 1999; Tsimpli & Sorace, 2006; Belletti et al., 2007; Sorace et al., 2009). Considering the results of previous research, this study examines the extent to which Spanish heritage speakers exhibit knowledge of subject pronoun distribution in focus and topic contexts by comparing them to their monolingual counterparts. Thirteen child heritage speakers of Spanish and twenty-seven monolingual children completed a structured elicitation task which consisted of a story followed by a question asking about an embedded subject (Focus condition) or an embedded direct object (Topic condition). Results revealed no overextension of overt subject pronouns in topic contexts due to cross-linguistic influence from English. However, differences were found in the focus condition. Heritage children diverged from the monolingual group since they produced considerably fewer instances of overt subject pronouns. It is hypothesized that heritage children are opting for the null pronoun option as the default option, which suggests they are prolonging the Null Subject Stage (Hyams, 1986). This finding points to protracted development due to a lack of activation of the language. Further findings are discussed taking into consideration current approaches that examine the effects of language dominance, exposure, and use.
Land Deals and the Law: Grievances, Human Rights, and Investor Protections
Creators: name: Cordes, Kaitlin Y.
name: Johnson, Lise
name: Burke, Samuel V. S.
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Land use--Planning
subject: Land use--Government policy
subject: Investments
subject: Land use--Social aspects
subject: Human rights--Environmental aspects
subject: Sustainable development
subject: Law
subject: FOS: Law
subject: Sustainability

description: Land-based investments can create significant grievances for local individuals or communities, and host governments seeking to address those grievances must navigate a complicated landscape of legal obligations and pragmatic considerations. This briefing note, funded by UK aid from the Department for International Development, focuses on practical solutions for governments confronting grievances that arise from large-scale investments in agricultural or forestry projects. It accompanies a more in depth report on similar issues, entitled Land deal dilemmas: Grievances, human rights, and investor protections.

The briefing note considers such solutions in the context of governments’ legal obligations, particularly those imposed by international investment law, international human rights law, and investor-state contracts. Understanding the implications of this diverse range of legal obligations is particularly important in light of investors’ growing recourse to international investment arbitration, which can expose a government to liability under an international investment treaty for actions that may be in the best interest of a country and its citizens. Analyzing such obligations is a useful first step for a government seeking to protect its citizens against the negative impacts of land-based investments.
Norm convergence of continuous-time polynomial multiple ergodic averages
Creators: name: Austin, Tim
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Dynamical Systems (math.DS)
subject: Functional Analysis (math.FA)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 28D15, 37A15, 37A30, 11L15

description: For a jointly measurable probability-preserving action $τ:\mathbb{R}^D\curvearrowright (X,μ)$ and a tuple of polynomial maps $p_i:\mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R}^D$, $i=1,2,...,k$, the multiple ergodic averages \[ \frac{1}{T}\int_0^T (f_1\circ τ^{p_1(t)})(f_2\circ τ^{p_2(t)})... (f_k\circ τ^{p_k(t)})\,\mathrm{d} t \] converge in $L^2(μ)$ as $T \to \infty$ for any $f_1,f_2,...,f_k \in L^\infty(μ)$. This confirms the continuous-time analog of the conjectured norm convergence of discrete polynomial multiple ergodic averages, which in is its original formulation remains open in most cases. A proof of convergence can be given based on the idea of passing up to a sated extension of $(X,μ,τ)$ in order to find simple characteristic factors, similarly to the recent development of this idea for the study of related discrete-time averages, together with a new inductive scheme on tuples of polynomials. The new induction scheme becomes available upon changing the time variable in the above integral by some fractional power, and provides an alternative to Bergelson's PET induction, which has been the mainstay of positive results in this area in the past.
description: 30 pages; [Mar 2nd 2011] reference added; [May 31st 2011] minor corrections following referee report. Dedicated to the memory of Dan Rudolph
Theory of the ac Spin-Valve Effect
Creators: name: Kochan, Denis
name: Gmitra, Martin
name: Fabian, Jaroslav
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: ac spin-valve effect, magnetoresistance oscillations, spin relaxation time measurement
subject: 530 Physik
subject: 72.25.Ba
subject: 72.25.Rb
subject: 85.75.-d

description: The spin-valve complex magnetoimpedance of symmetric ferromagnet–normal-metal–ferromagnet junctions is investigated within the drift-diffusion (standard) model of spin injection. The ac magnetoresistance—the real part difference of the impedances of the parallel and antiparallel magnetization configurations—exhibits an overall damped oscillatory behavior, as an interplay of the diffusion and spin relaxation times. In wide junctions the ac magnetoresistance oscillates between positive and negative values, reflecting resonant amplification and depletion of the spin accumulation, while the line shape for thin tunnel junctions is predicted to be purely Lorentzian. The ac spin-valve effect could be a technique to extract spin transport and spin relaxation parameters in the absence of a magnetic field and for a fixed sample size.
New Weaknesses: Despite a Major Win, Arbitration Decisions in 2014 Increase the US’s Future Exposure to Litigation and Liability
Creators: name: Johnson, Lise
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Investments, Foreign--Government policy
subject: Sustainable development
subject: Investments, Foreign
subject: Treaties
subject: Law
subject: FOS: Law
subject: Sustainability

description: In 2014, the US continued its overall record of success in defending investment treaty claims. But it did suffer losses on a number of important issues, and those losses will render the US (and its treaty parties) vulnerable to future claims, litigation expense, and liability. The US’s recent losses, which have thus far been largely ignored in commentary on the US’s experiences in investment arbitration, are highlighted in this briefing note.
Dielectric relaxation and ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy of [C6mim]+[Tf2N]-/acetonitrile mixtures
Creators: name: Lohse, P. W.
name: Bartels, N.
name: Stoppa, Alexander
name: Buchner, Richard
name: Lenzer, T.
name: Oum, K.
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: dielec relaxation ultrafast transient absorption ionic liq acetonitrile mixt
subject: 540 Chemie

description: Mixts. of the ionic liq. (IL) [C6mim]+[Tf2N]- and acetonitrile have been investigated by a combination of dielec. relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) and ultrafast transient absorption techniques using the mol. probe 12'-apo-β-carotenoic-12'-acid (12'CA). Steady-state absorption spectra of the 12'CA mol. have also been recorded. The position of the probe's S0 → S2 absorption max. correlates linearly with the polarizability of the mixt., suggesting that the bulk compn. is a good approxn. to the local compn. The lifetime τ1 of the S1/ICT state of 12'CA varies rather smoothly with compn. between the value for pure acetonitrile (42 ps) and neat [C6mim]+[Tf2N]- (94 ps). At low IL contents there appears to be an influence of discrete ion pairs. Employing static dielec. consts. from the DRS expts., one finds that the lifetime of the probe in the IL mixts. is shorter than that in pure org. solvents with the same polarity parameter. This suggests an increased stabilization of the S1/ICT state in IL-contg. mixts., most likely due to IL-specific Coulombic interactions between the cation and the neg. end of the probe's dipole. An ultrafast solvation component is obsd. which is ca. 0.5 ps in pure acetonitrile, and approaches the value for the pure IL (2.0 ps) already around x(IL) = 0.3. This is interpreted in terms of an efficient perturbation of the cooperative solvation response of acetonitrile by the presence of small amts. of IL and possibly also the viscosity increase when adding IL. This view is also supported by the increase of the av. longitudinal relaxation time of acetonitrile upon addn. of small IL amts. extd. from the DRS expts.
Developing courses with HoloRena, a framework for scenario- and game based e-learning environments
Creators: name: Juracz, Laszlo
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Machine Learning (cs.LG)
subject: Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC)
subject: Software Engineering (cs.SE)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: However utilizing rich, interactive solutions can make learning more effective and attractive, scenario- and game-based educational resources on the web are not widely used. Creating these applications is a complex, expensive and challenging process. Development frameworks and authoring tools hardly support reusable components, teamwork and learning management system-independent courseware architecture. In this article we initiate the concept of a low-level, thick-client solution addressing these problems. With some example applications we try to demonstrate, how a framework, based on this concept can be useful for developing scenario- and game-based e-learning environments.
description: 18 pages
Association of ionic liquids in solution: a combined dielectric and conductivity study of [bmim][Cl] in water and in acetonitrile
Creators: name: Bester-Rogac, M.
name: Stoppa, Alexander
name: Hunger, Johannes
name: Hefter, Glenn
name: Buchner, Richard
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: ion pair soln butylmethyimidazolium chloride acetonitrile water dielec spectroscopy elec cond ion pair soln butylmethyimidazolium chloride acetonitrile water
subject: 540 Chemie

description: The ion assocn. in solns. of 1-N-butyl-3-N-methylimidazolium chloride ([bmim][Cl]) in acetonitrile and in water was studied by dielec. spectroscopy for salt concns. c ≤ 1.3 M at 298.15 K and by measurement of molar elec. conductivities, Λ, of dil. solns. (c ≤ 0.006 M) in the temp. range 273.15 .ltorsim. T/K ≤ 313.15. While acetonitrile solns. of [bmim][Cl] exhibit moderate ion pairing, with an assocn. const. of KA0 ≈ 60 M-1 and increasing with temp., [bmim][Cl] is only weakly assocd. in water (KA0 ≈ 6 M-1) and ion pairing decreases with rising temp. Only contact ion pairs were detected in both solvents. Std.-state enthalpy, entropy and heat capacity changes of ion assocn. were derived, as well as the activation enthalpy of charge transport and the limiting cond. of the cation, λ∞ ([bmim]+). These data, in conjunction with effective solvation nos. obtained from the dielec. spectra, suggest that the solvation of [bmim]+ is much weaker in water than in acetonitrile.
Estimating cell type proportions in human cord blood samples from DNAm arrays
Creators: name: Dinh, Louie
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2017

description: Epigenome-wide association studies are used to link patterns in the epigenome to human phenotypes and disease. These studies continue to increase in num- ber, driven by improving technologies and decreasing costs. However, results from population-scale association studies are often difficult to interpret. One major chal- lenge to interpretation is separating biologically relevant epigenetic changes from changes to the underlying cell type composition. This thesis focuses on computa- tional methods for correcting cell type composition in epigenome-wide association studies measuring DNAm in blood. Specifically, we focus on a class of methods, called reference-based methods, that rely on measurements of DNAm from puri- fied constituent cell types. Currently, reference-based correction methods perform poorly on human cord blood. This is unusual because adult blood, a closely related tissue, is a case-study in successful computational correction. Several previous attempts at improving cord blood estimation were only partially successful. We demonstrate how reference-based estimation methods that rely on for cord blood can be improved. First, we validated that existing methods perform poorly on cord blood, especially in minor cell types. Then, we demonstrated how this low per- formance stems from missing cell type references, data normalization and violated assumptions in signature construction. Resolving these issues improved estimates in a validation set with experimentally generated ground truth. Finally, we com- pared our reference-based estimates against reference-free techniques, an alterna- tive class of computational correction methods. Going forward, this thesis provides a template for extending reference-based estimation to other heterogeneous tissues.
The X-ray to [Ne V]3426 flux ratio: discovering heavily obscured AGN in the distant Universe
Creators: name: Gilli, R.
name: Vignali, C.
name: Mignoli, M.
name: Iwasawa, K.
name: Comastri, A.
name: Zamorani, G.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We investigate the possibility of using the ratio between the 2-10 keV flux and the [Ne V]3426 emission line flux (X/NeV) as a diagnostic diagram to discover heavily obscured, possibly Compton-Thick Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) up to z~1.5. First, we calibrate a relation between X/NeV and the cold absorbing column density N_H using a sample of 74 bright, nearby Seyferts with both X-ray and [Ne V] data available in the literature. Similarly to what is found for the X-ray to [O III]5007 flux ratio (X/OIII), we found that the X/NeV ratio decreases towards large column densities. Essentially all local Seyferts with X/NeV values below 15 are found to be Compton-Thick objects. Second, we apply this diagnostic diagram to different samples of distant obscured and unobscured QSOs in the SDSS: blue, unobscured, type-1 QSOs in the redshift range z=[0.1-1.5] show X/NeV values typical of unobscured Seyfert 1s in the local Universe. Conversely, SDSS type-2 QSOs at z~0.5 classified either as Compton-Thick or Compton-Thin on the basis of their X/OIII ratio, would have been mostly classified in the same way based on the X/NeV ratio. We apply the X/NeV diagnostic diagram to 9 SDSS obscured QSOs in the redshift range z=[0.85-1.31], selected by means of their prominent [Ne V]3426 line and observed with Chandra ACIS-S for 10ks each. Based on the X/NeV ratio, complemented by X-ray spectral analysis, 2 objects appear good Compton-Thick QSO candidates, 4 objects appear as Compton-Thin QSOs, while 3 have an ambiguous classification. When excluding from the sample broad lined QSOs with a red continuum and thus considering only genuine narrow-line objects, the efficiency in selecting Compton-Thick QSOs through the [Ne V] line is about 50% (with large errors, though), more similar to what is achieved with [O III] selection. [abridged]
description: 17 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A.
Memo to the Obama Administration on the U.S. National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct
Creators: name: Cordes, Kaitlin Y.
name: Sachs, Lisa E.
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Investments, Foreign--Government policy
subject: Sustainable development
subject: Investments, Foreign
subject: Mineral industries--Finance--Government policy
subject: Agriculture--Finance
subject: Treaties
subject: Law
subject: FOS: Law
subject: Sustainability
subject: Agriculture
subject: Natural resources—Management

description: In January 2015, CCSI sent a memo to President Obama to provide input on the U.S. National Action Plan on responsible business conduct. The memo applauded the U.S. Government’s decision to develop a National Action Plan consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, noting that responsible and rights-respecting outward investment can support sustainable development in host countries, and that the U.S. Government has an important role to play in promoting responsible business operations. The memo urged the government to explore in particular how the National Action Plan can address U.S. business conduct related to extractive industries investments and large-scale agricultural investments abroad.
The influence of polarizability on the dielectric spectrum of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium triflate
Creators: name: Schröder, C.
name: Sonnleitner, Thomas
name: Buchner, Richard
name: Steinhauser, O.
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: polarizability dielec spectrum ionic liq ethyl methylimidazolium triflate
subject: 540 Chemie

description: This work reports for the first time the computational, frequency-dependent dielec. spectrum of the polarizable mol. ionic liq. 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium triflate as well as its exptl. analog. In the frequency range from 500 MHz up to 20 GHz the agreement between the computational and the exptl. spectrum is quant. For higher frequencies up to 10 THz the agreement is still remarkably good. The exptl. asymptotic limit .vepsiln.∞ is 2.3. The difference in the computational value of 1.9 comes solely from the neglect of polarizability of the hydrogen atoms. For reasons of efficiency the simulations are based on the Lagrangian algorithm for the Drude oscillator model which cannot handle polarizable hydrogens. In the computational anal. the complete spectrum of the generalized dielec. const. is splitted into its translational and non-translational components, called dielec. cond. .vtheta.0(ν) and dielec. permittivity .vepsiln.(ν). For 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium triflate both components contribute with equal wt. and overlap in the complete frequency range. The inclusion of polarization forces, however, is quite different for the two components: the collective non-translational dynamics is accelerated and hence the dielec. permittivity is shifted to higher frequencies. The low frequency region of the dielec. cond. is also affected while its high frequency part remains almost unchanged. Inductive effects are not only visible at high frequencies but also contribute in the sub-GHz region. The computational peak found in this region correlates with the exptl. OKE-spectrum. It may be interpreted as the correlation between the induced dipole moment of the cations and the local elec. field exerted by the anionic cage.
Isolated Wolf-Rayet Stars and O Supergiants in the Galactic Center Region Identified via Paschen-alpha Excess
Creators: name: Mauerhan, Jon
name: Cotera, Angela
name: Dong, Hui
name: Morris, Mark
name: Wang, Daniel
name: Stolovy, Susan
name: Lang, Cornelia
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We report the discovery of 19 hot, evolved, massive stars near the Galactic center region (GCR). These objects were selected for spectroscopy owing to their detection as strong sources of Paschen-alpha emission-line excess, following a narrowband imaging survey of the central 0.65 x 0.25 degress (l, b) around Sgr A* with the Hubble Space Telescope. Discoveries include 5 carbon-type (WC) and 6 nitrogen-type (WN) Wolf-Rayet stars, 6 O supergiants, and 2 B supergiants. Two of the O supergiants have X-ray counterparts, the properties of which are broadly consistent with colliding-wind binaries and solitary O stars. The infrared photometry of 17 stars is consistent with the Galactic center distance, but 2 of them are located in the foreground. Several WC stars exhibit a relatively large infrared excesses, which is possibly the signature of thermal emission from hot dust. Most of the stars appear scattered throughout the GCR, with no relation to the three known massive young clusters; several others lie near the Arches and Quintuplet clusters and may have originated within one of these systems. The results of this work bring the total sample of Wolf-Rayet stars in the GCR to 92. All sources of strong P-alpha excess have been identified in the area surveyed with HST, which implies that the sample of WN stars in this region is near completion, and is dominated by late (WNL) types. The current WC sample, although probably not complete, is almost exclusively dominated by late (WCL) types. The observed Wolf-Rayet subtype distribution in the GCR is a reflection of the intrinsic rarity of early subtypes (WNE and WCE) in the inner Galaxy, an effect that is driven by metallicity.
description: Correction to Fig 4,5,6,10, and Tables 3, 5. The spectrum of the previously known WC9 star WR101q had been mistakenly labeled as Star #19 in Fig. 5 of the original manuscript. Star #19 is actually a newly discovered WN5b star, whose spectrum was accidentally not included in the original paper. The correct WN5b spectrum is now included in Fig. 4. An erratum was submitted to ApJ on Aug 15, 2015