cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Wheat yield functions for analysis of land-use change in China

CERES-Wheat, a dynamic process crop growth model, is specified and validated for eight sites in the major wheat-growing regions of China. Crop model results are then used to test the Mitscherlich-Baule and the quadratic functional forms for yield response to nitrogen fertilizer, irrigation water, temperature, and precipitation. The resulting functions are designed to be used in a linked biophysical-economic model of land-use and land-cover change in China. While both functions predict yield responses adequately, the Mitscherlich-Baule function is preferable to the quadratic function because its parameters are biologically and physically realistic. Variables explaining a significant proportion of simulated yield variance are nitrogen, irrigation water, and precipitation; temperature was a less significant component of yield variation within the range of observed year-to-year variability at the study sites. Crop model simulations with a generic soil with median characteristics of the eight sites compared to simulations with site-specific soils showed that agricultural soils in China have similar and, in general, low-to-moderate water-holding capacities and organic matter contents. The validated crop model is useful for simulating the range of conditions under which wheat is grown in China, and provides the means to estimate production functions when experimental field data are not available.
An axiomatic framework for belief updates

In the 1940's, a physicist named Cox provided the first formal justification for the axioms of probability based on the subjective or Bayesian interpretation. He showed that if a measure of belief satisfies several fundamental properties, then the measure must be some monotonic transformation of a probability. In this paper, measures of change in belief or belief updates are examined. In the spirit of Cox, properties for a measure of change in belief are enumerated. It is shown that if a measure satisfies these properties, it must satisfy other restrictive conditions. For example, it is shown that belief updates in a probabilistic context must be equal to some monotonic transformation of a likelihood ratio. It is hoped that this formal explication of the belief update paradigm will facilitate critical discussion and useful extensions of the approach.
Survival in the Wild: Robust Group Key Agreement in Wide-Area Networks

Group key agreement (GKA) allows a set of players to establish a shared secret and thus bootstrap secure group communication. GKA is very useful in many types of peer group scenarios and applications. Since all GKA protocols involve multiple rounds, robustness to player failures is important and desirable. A robust group key agreement (RGKA) protocol runs to completion even if some players fail during protocol execution. Previous work yielded constant-round RGKA protocols suitable for the LAN setting, assuming players are homogeneous, failure probability is uniform and player failures are independent. However, in a more general wide-area network (WAN) environment, heterogeneous hardware/software and communication facilities can cause wide variations in failure probability among players. Moreover, congestion and communication equipment failures can result in correlated failures among subsets of GKA players. In this paper, we construct the first RGKA protocol that supports players with different failure probabilities, spread across any LAN/WAN combination, while also allowing for correlated failures among subgroups of players. The proposed protocol is efficient (2 rounds) and provably secure. We evaluate its robustness and performance both analytically and via simulations.
Multichannel and Multimodality Person Identification

Person's identity is a very important high level information for video analysis and retrieval. Along the growth of multimedia data, the recording is not only multimodality and also multichannel(microphone array, camera array). In this paper, we describe a multimodal person identification system of UIUC team for CLEAR 2007 evaluation. The audio only system is based on a new proposed model --- Chain of Gaussian Mixtures. The visual only system is a face recognition module based on nearest neighbor classifier at appearance space. Final system fuses 7 channel microphone recordings and 4 camera recordings at decision level. The experimental results indicate the effectiviness of speaker modeling methods and the fusion scheme.
Treatment of hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia with high-dose cyclophosphamide

Objective Demonstrate that high-dose cyclophosphamide (CY) is effective therapy for hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia (HAA). Background HAA is a sequence of seronegative hepatitis followed by aplastic anemia. Optimal treatment is matched-sibling allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The combination of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) and cyclosporine (CSA) has also been studied, but there are scarce data regarding treatment of HAA. Procedure Five patients (median age 14 years; range 6–17 years) with HAA and without an HLA-matched sibling were treated with high-dose CY (50 mg/kg/day IV × 4 days) followed by granulocyte-colony stimulation factor (G-CSF). Results After at least 1 year of follow-up, four of five patients are in remission without further immune suppression beyond high-dose CY. Of the 4 responders, median time to absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >500 µl−1 was 51 days (range 44–369). Median time to transfusion independence for erythrocytes and platelets was 109 (range 57–679) and 160 (range 48–679) days, respectively. The fifth patient did not respond and proceeded to an unrelated donor transplant. One patient met criteria for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in addition to HAA. In this case, high-dose CY successfully induced remission of both diseases. Conclusions High-dose CY induces durable remissions in HAA and may be an effective treatment for AIH. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2007;49:947–951. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
On the informativeness of the DNA promoter sequences domain theory

The DNA promoter sequences domain theory and database have become popular for testing systems that integrate empirical and analytical learning. This note reports a simple change and reinterpretation of the domain theory in terms of M-of-N concepts, involving no learning, that results in an accuracy of 93.4% on the 106 items of the database. Moreover, an exhaustive search of the space of M-of-N domain theory interpretations indicates that the expected accuracy of a randomly chosen interpretation is 76.5%, and that a maximum accuracy of 97.2% is achieved in 12 cases. This demonstrates the informativeness of the domain theory, without the complications of understanding the interactions between various learning algorithms and the theory. In addition, our results help characterize the difficulty of learning using the DNA promoters theory.
Lessons learned from industrial assessments of metal casting facilities

This article presents recommendations for saving energy that are based on ten industrial energy assessments performed at metal casting facilities and foundries. The facilities assessed produce castings of aluminum, copper, bronze, iron and steel. They utilize a variety of molding processes and require large amounts of energy. The energy sources used for melting were electricity, natural gas, and coke. Support activities involved the use of natural gas and electricity. Recommendations that are of interest to all foundries and metal casting companies are discussed. In particular, analysis is presented for improvements in: ○ Process melting energy ○ Operating combustion blowers, pumps, and exhaust fans ○ Opportunities for combining heat and power Process melting energy accounts for the majority of energy costs in all foundries, and can be significantly reduced by decreasing heat losses. The major heat losses observed were due to: i) high temperature exhaust gases, ii) cooling water losses for electric induction coils, and iii) lack of proper furnace insulation. Methods of reducing each of these losses are discussed. The energy usage by air exhaust fans, pumps, and combustion air blowers offers additional opportunities for savings. Improvement in these systems through the use of two-speed or variable speed drives is discussed. Finally, the simultaneous need for heat and electricity at most of these sites provides an opportunity for combined heat and power (CHP) systems. The potential applicability of a CHP system is explored to meet the needs of these metal casting facilities and foundries.
Hospital Governance and Incentive Design : The Case of Corporatized Public Hospitals in Lebanon

There are three potential levels of government activity in the health sector: regulation, finance, and direct provision of services, with the government owning and managing hospitals and primary care clinics. Eid focuses on service provision. In recent years corporatization has been introduced as an institutional design for public hospitals-as a means of improving efficiency and reducing transfers in a publicly owned, decentralized health system. Eid treats decentralization as a reallocation of decision rights to lower levels of the public sector. She shows how such a strategy creates new needs for monitoring and control of decentralized units. To improve the understanding of the role of governance and incentives in corporatized hospitals, Eid explores the design of corporate boards of public hospitals, the institutional linchpin of such systems. She shows how principal-agent theory, particularly the multitasking and common agency approaches, can provide a useful analytical lens in understanding hospital board design in the case of Lebanon. She also shows the implications of corporatization for health policy and management.
Legal Advising on Corporate Structure in the New Era of Environmental Liability

The new era of environmental liability significantly alters corporate lawyers’ role and responsibilities in advising on corporate structure. Whereas corporate lawyers two decades ago could not have anticipated the sweeping, retroactive changes brought about by CERCLA, state legislation, and developments in the common law, today's lawyers are capable of anticipating further retroactive expansions of environmental liability through both common law developments and statutory changes. The expansion of environmental liability requires corporate lawyers to take an active role in devising strategies to prevent and reduce environmental risks. A corporate lawyer can no longer rely principally upon traditional risk-insulating doctrines to find a safe harbor from environmental risks; such harbors no longer exist. Rather, the corporate lawyer must be sensitive to a much broader range of factors, including the potential for structural and technological means for reducing risks, the direction as well as the state of applicable legal doctrines, and the effects of different risk management approaches on the client’s customer base, workers’ demands, sources of capital, and community relations. Therefore, both professional and social responsibilities require corporate lawyers to look beyond traditional risk-shielding strategies in order to more effectively serve the interests of their clients and communities.
Localized iris image quality using 2-d wavelets

The performance of an iris recognition system can be undermined by poor quality images and result in high false reject rates (FRR) and failure to enroll (FTE) rates. In this paper, a wavelet-based quality measure for iris images is proposed. The merit of the this approach lies in its ability to deliver good spatial adaptivity and determine local quality measures for different regions of an iris image. Our experiments demonstrate that the proposed quality index can reliably predict the matching performance of an iris recognition system. By incorporating local quality measures in the matching algorithm, we also observe a relative matching performance improvement of about 20% and 10% at the equal error rate (EER), respectively, on the CASIA and WVU iris databases.
The Smallest Multistationary Mass-Preserving Chemical Reaction Network

Biochemical models that exhibit bistability are of interest to biologists and mathematicians alike. Chemical reaction network theory can provide sufficient conditions for the existence of bistability, and on the other hand can rule out the possibility of multiple steady states. Understanding small networks is important because the existence of multiple steady states in a subnetwork of a biochemical model can sometimes be lifted to establish multistationarity in the larger network. This paper establishes the smallest reversible, mass-preserving network that admits bistability and determines the semi-algebraic set of parameters for which more than one steady state exists.
The standardization of law and its effect on developing economies

A widely used tool in law and development programmes is the supply of well-designed laws from the outside. This method of law development has now been embraced by international organizations as a way to improve the legal framework for global markets. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has endorsed attempts by various organizations to develop legal standards with special emphasis on corporate and financial institution laws. The common idea behind these attempts is that the supplied laws once incorporated into domestic legal systems will improve the existing legal framework, and thus further economic development. This paper takes issue with this concept of law development. It argues that for developing effective legal systems, the contents of the supplied laws is of only secondary importance to the process of law development and the compatibility of the new laws with pre-existing conditions, including existing legislation and legal institutions. Three factors account for this: (i) only a few rules are freestanding, i.e. can be fully understood and enforced without reference to other legal terms and concepts; (ii) law is a cognitive institution, and the application and enforcement of rules is determined by the perception of new rules by users and enforcers in the receiving country; and (iii) effective law enforcement is a function of the extent of voluntary compliance and available resources in a given country. A closer analysis of the rules whose standardization is currently proposed for building an international financial architecture shows that the implementation of these standards and their effectuation will require more efforts by the law receiving countries than underwriting them, if the goals of standardizing the law are to be achieved. The paper discusses the implications for countries wishing to attract foreign investments by adopting the new standards, and makes some proposals for creating more effective legal systems in the area
Distribution Free Inference, an Overview†

Distribution-free or nonparametric techniques provide a basis for statistical inference where parametric assumptions cannot be justified. In particular, such techniques are essential where the scale of measurement is not interval or, if interval, observations are not likely to follow a Normal law. Standard and more recent distribution-free techniques are surveyed here. Keywords: bootstrap; exact tests; log linear models; logistic regression; Monte Carlo significance tests; nonparametric statistics; permutation tests; randomization tests; rank-based inference
Positivity of quasi-local mass II

A spacetime is a four-manifold with a pseudo-metric of signature (+,+,-+-,?). A hypersurface or a 2-surface in a spacetime is spacelike if the induced metric is pos itive definite. A quasi-local energy-momentum vector is a vector in R3'1 associated to a spacelike 2-surface which depends on its first and second fundamental forms and the connection to its normal bundle in the spacetime. The time component of the four-vector is called quasi-local energy (mass). Similar to [10, 8], we require the quasi-local energy-momentum vector to satisfy the following properties. (1) It should be zero for the flat spacetime. (2) The quasi-local mass should be equivalent to the standard definition if the spacetime is spherically symmetric and the quasi-local mass is evaluated on the spheres [7]. (We say that two masses mi and m2 are equivalent if there is a universal constant c > 0 such that c~lm\ /Area(E)/167r. (6) The quasi-local energy-momentum vector should be nonspacelike and the quasi-local mass should be nonnegative.
List Price Information in Residential Appraisal and Underwriting

This article examines the usefulness of listing prices as leading indicators of house values and as predictors of the direction of housing markets. With Multiple Listing Service data from a large m...
The near-infrared polarization and color of comet P/Halley

The linear polarization and color of comet P/Halley in broadband filters J(1.25 μm), H(1.65 μm), and K(2.2 μm) were measured at phase angles 9°4 ≤ β ≤ 65°3. Comet Halley exhibited a red color characteristic of comet dust at these wavelengths with no clear variation with β. The JHK polarizations reach 25% at the largest phase angles with a reversal at β = 20° and negative polarizations of a few per cent at smaller β. The polarization increases with wavelength at the larger phase angles. Mie theory calculations of the polarization from a grain size distribution based on measurements by the Giotto spacecraft indicate that no single component fits the data; a two-component model is needed. The two components that give the best fit correspond loosely to a “dirty” silicate and a moderately absorbing material. The model gives fair agreement with both the polarization and color of the Halley dust. The average albedo of the grains in the model is 0.02. Calculated phase functions show no increase toward backscattering angles; a model incorporating rough particles may be needed.
Editorial: To Our Readers

We present this latest issue of African Philosophy with mixed feelings. Yes, we are happy to be putting out another number of the journal; but our enthusiasm is tempered by the realization that the regularity of its publication is nowhere near what it should be if we are to realize the lofty ambitions that we have for it. After all, a journal is only as good as the kinds of contributors it is able to attract. And, truth be told, our spasmodic publication record has, we have no doubt, alienated not a few prospective contributors. Additionally, many contributors were compelled to pull their manuscripts and put them elsewhere. To all concerned we would like to offer our sincerest apologies. We hope that what happens from here on will not only persuade those who have been alienated to take another look at us, but will also make them willing to trust us with their work again. While we have been in hiatus, nothing has happened to make us think that the journal and the vision that gave it birth either are dead or have become irrelevant in the current situation. Quite the contrary, the censure that we have received from critics, as well as the continuing inquiries from prospective contributors and, not the least, the steadfastness of the authors that we have included in this volume, are all indicative of the continuing belief of many in our subdiscipline in the necessity and relevance of the journal. For that, we are very grateful.
An Empirical Evaluation of a Randomized Algorithm for Probabilistic Inference

Abstract In recent years, researchers in decision analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) have used Bayesian belief networks to build models of expert opinion. Using standard methods drawn from the theory of computational complexity, workers in the field have shown that the problem of probabilistic inference in belief networks is difficult and almost certainly intractable. KNET, a software environment for constructing knowledge-based systems within the axiomatic framework of decision theory, contains a randomized approximation scheme for probabilistic inference. The algorithm can, in many circumstances, perform efficient approximate inference in large and richly interconnected models of medical diagnosis. Unlike previously described stochastic algorithms for probabilistic inference, the randomized approximation scheme computes a priori bounds on running time by analyzing the structure and contents of the belief network.
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF BT CORN

A common perception is that the value of Bt corn arises from two components-Bt corn increases expected profit and reduces profit variability. This perception encourages farmers and the policy makers to add a risk benefit to estimates of the value of Bt corn to account for the variability reduction. However, a conceptual model generates a useful decomposition of the value of Bt corn and a condition determining the impact of Bt corn on profit variability. An empirical model finds that Bt corn increases profit variability and thus decreases the value of Bt corn by 10-25% depending on risk preferences.
Stock Price Expectations and Stock Trading

Analyzes the relationships between actual stock market price changes and the subjective probability of price changes, and between the subjective probability of price changes and the likelihood of engaging in stock trading.
Synthetic Ditopic Receptors

A small, but emerging field of topical interest in supramolecularchemistry is ion-pair recognition, in which a host simultaneously binds both cationicand anionic guests. Details of these receptors, which combine, for example, crownethers and calixarenes for cation complexation, with Lewis acid centers, pyrroles, amidesor urea groups for anion recognition, will be discussed. The predicate of this approach,successfully achieved in certain instances, is that the binding of one guest ion caninduce electrostatic and conformational changes in the host, thereby enhancing thecomplexation of the counter ion.
Propagation, switching and lasers in special EDFA's

Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) have already made a large impact on fiber transmission systems, and they are also beginning to penetrate nonlinear optical applications. We show that EDFAs tailored with particular properties can have novel nonlinear applications in ultrafast, short pulse transmission, switching and lasers. In long distance fiber-optic transmission, low-doped, distributed EDFAs may counteract deleterious effects such as soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) and Gordon-Haus jitter due to amplified spontaneous emission. Interaction between orthogonally polarized solitons in a rapidly amplifying birefringent EDFA can lead to large frequency shifts that can be used for switching or logic gates. Finally, highly doped, polarization-maintaining EDFAs have been used to generate sub-picosecond pulses from passively modelocked, stable, self-starting lasers. We focus on the required properties for the EDFAs and their features that enable these unique applications. >
Trends in developing country trade 1980-2010

The period covered in this study, 1980–1999, witnessed a rapid expansion of world trade and a slightly more rapid expansion of developing-country trade. The share of developing-country trade in total world merchandise trade (exports plus imports) was somewhat higher at the end of the period than at the beginning — 28.8 per cent as opposed to 27.4 per cent (Tables 2.1 and 2.2). A similar picture emerged in trade in services. While the data on services are much less complete than for merchandise trade, there is little doubt about the overall trends: trade in services grew even faster than merchandise trade; and there was a rise in the share of developing-country exports.
Secure model management operations for the web

The interoperability among different data formats over the Internet has drawn increasing interest recently due to more and more heterogeneous data models are used in different Web services. In order to ease the manipulation of data models for heterogeneous data, generic model management has been intensively researched and also implemented in a prototype since its first introduction. Access control specifications attached to each individual data model require significant amount of efforts to manually specify. Based on a general security model for access control specifications on heterogeneous data models and its visual representation, we present secure model management operators for managing access control specifications.The secure model management operators disccussed in the paper include a secure match operator and a secure merge operator. We introduce a novel graphical schema matching algorithm and extend the algorithm to make a secure match operator. The paper also discusses secure merge principles for the integration of data models.
Role and Fate of Ozone in the Atmosphere

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses several unique characteristics of the stratosphere and presents examples explaining the way in which the mechanistic details of a single reaction can dramatically affect the predictions of the stratospheric change in the next century. The chapter discusses the measurements that need to be taken to test the mechanisms central to the theories of global ozone depletion. The chapter also reviews recent developments in the field of atmospheric free radical observations to explore how effectively these experiments have tested the atmospheric structure. The chapter presents the latest predictions of global ozone depletion resulting from the release of fluorocarbon. Recent and important changes have been reported in this aspect of the problem. The chapter discusses the photochemical structure of the stratosphere by focusing on the free radicals that control the rate of transformation among different classes of reactants within the atmosphere. Separation of reactants and products into the three categories—source, radicals, reservoir—is done both to abstract the pattern of change in the reaction network and to distinguish the different time constants associated with each category.
Silicon sheet surface studies

Results of the program are presented on developing an understanding of the basic mechanisms of abrasion and wear of silicon and on the nondestructive measurement of residual stresses in sheet silicon. Experiments were conducted at various temperatures and in the presence of various fluids. In abrasive wear, it was shown that dislocations, microtwins, and cracks are generated beneath the contact surface. Residual stresses in ribbon by the edge defined film growth process were measured by use of a shadow moire interferometry technique.
Distribución, mortalidad y asociación con plantas, de nidos de Paraponera clavata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) en la isla de Barro Colorado, Panamá

Se estudiola distribucion, mortalidad, reclutarruento y asociacion con plantas, de 308 nidos de la hOnIUga neotropical Paraponera clavata en una parcela de cincuenta hectareas de bosque viejo en la isla de Barro Colorado entre septiembre de 1993 y febrero de 1995. Los nidos estaban distribuidos uniformemente a traves de toda la parcela; y se asociaban de manera significativa con el· tipo de habitat, existian mas nidos de los esperados en las planicies altas y en la seccion de bosque mas joven de la parcela. La densidad promedio era de 6.2 nidos por hectarea. Los nidos con un mayor numero de vecinos entre O y 20 m de distancia, tenian una mayor probiibilidad de morir, si se comparaban con aquellos que se encontraban separados por distancias mayores. La mortalidad era entre 13.36 y 69.64% dependiendo del intervalo de censo, y el reclutamiento fue del 22.63 y 31.72%. Los nidos se encontraron en las bases de 84 especies de plantas, en 34 familias con cuatro categorias de forma de vida: 76 especies eran arboles, 5 especies eran arbustos, 2 especies eran palmas y l era liana. Ocho especies de plantas se asociaban positivamente con los nidos de la honIUga. Plantas medianas entre 8 y 63.9 cm de DAP eran las mas utilizadas. Arboles y arbustos pequenos presentan muy poca asociacion con los nidos. La hOnIUga no se asocia con arboles que tienen nectarios extratlorales. El 53% de los nidos tenian a Phrynus gervaisii (Amblypygi: Phrynidae) habitando en el interior. Estos nidos presentaron menores tasas de mortalidad en comparacion con el resto.
Mixing Patterns and Community Structure in Networks

Common experience suggests that many networks might possess community structure – division of vertices into groups, with a higher density of edges within groups than between them. Here we describe a new computer algorithm that detects structure of this kind. We apply the algorithm to a number of real-world networks and show that they do indeed possess non-trivial community structure. We suggest a possible explanation for this structure in the mechanism of assortative mixing, which is the preferential association of network vertices with others that are like them in some way. We show by simulation that this mechanism can indeed account for community structure. We also look in detail at one particular example of assortative mixing, namely mixing by vertex degree, in which vertices with similar degree prefer to be connected to one another. We propose a measure for mixing of this type which we apply to a variety of networks, and also discuss the implications for network structure and the formation of a giant component in assortatively mixed networks.
New asymptotic and preasymptotic results on rainfall maxima from multifractal theory

[1] Contrary to common belief, Fisher-Tippett's extreme value (EV) theory does not typically apply to annual rainfall maxima. Similarly, Pickands' extreme excess (EE) theory does not typically apply to rainfall excesses above thresholds on the order of the annual maximum. This is true not just for long-averaging durations d but also for short d and in the high-resolution limit as d → 0. We reach these conclusions by applying large-deviation theory to multiplicative rainfall models with scale-invariant structure. We derive several asymptotic results. One is that, as d → 0, the annual maximum rainfall intensity in d, Iyr,d, has generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution with a shape parameter k that is significantly higher than that predicted by EV theory and is always in the EV2 range. The value of k depends not on the upper tail of the marginal distribution but on regions closer to the body. Under the same conditions, the excesses above levels close to the annual maximum have generalized Pareto distribution with parameter k that is always higher than that predicted by Pickands' EE theory. For finite d, the distribution of Iyr,d is not GEV, but in accordance with empirical evidence is well approximated by a GEV distribution with shape parameter k that increases as d decreases. We propose a way to estimate k under preasymptotic conditions from the scaling properties of rainfall and suggest a near-universal k(d) relationship. The new estimator promises to be more accurate and robust than conventional estimators. These developments represent a significant conceptual change in the way rainfall extremes are viewed and evaluated.
Making Molecules at MicroKelvin

The production of molecules with translational kinetic energies small compared to kT at 1 mK (“ultracold”) has only just been observed in 1998. Here proposals and experiments based on photoassociation (free —> bound absorption) of ultracold atoms [1] (recently reviewed in references [2,3, 4]) which produce translationally ultracold molecules will be briefly surveyed. The use of ultracold photoassociation (Sect. 2) to form ultracold molecules (Sect. 3) is a major long term goal at the University of Connecticut. Such ultracold molecules could be used for molecule trapping, for the molecular analog of atom optics, for study of highly quantum-mechanical, resonancedominated ultracold collisions, for fundamental nucleation studies, for formation of molecular Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and for production of molecule lasers (i.e. coherent beams of state-selected molecules). A separate and much more extensive review of ultracold molecule formation has recently appeared [5].
Connections between relative entropy of entanglement and geometric measure of entanglement

As two of the most important entanglement measures--the entanglement of formation and the entanglement of distillation--have so for been limited to bipartite settings, the study of other entanglement measures for multipartite systems appears necessary. Here, connections between two other entanglement measures--the relative entropy of entanglement and the geometric measure of entanglement--are investigated. It is found that for arbitrary pure states the latter gives rise to a lower bound on the former. For certain pure states, some bipartite and some multipartite, this lower bound is saturated, and thus their relative entropy of entanglement can be found analytically in terms ot their known geometric measure of entanglement. For certain mixed states, upper bounds on the relative entropy of entanglement are also established. Numerical evidence strongly suggests that these upper bounds are tight, i.e., they are actually the relative entropy of entanglement.
Long-run growth in Ghana : determinants and prospects

Ghana's economic growth picked up in the early 2000s and has been exceptionally strong over the past few years, with price booms of its main commodity exports, gold and cocoa, and the initiation of commercial oil production in 2011. This paper examines recent econometric evidence on Ghana's long-term growth and evaluates its sustainability. The empirical evidence surveyed finds that Ghana's main growth drivers were investment, oil, and mineral rents, while government consumption acted as a growth retardant. Based on various scenarios for its determinants, per capita GDP growth rates are predicted to be between 3.5 and 4.5 percent for 2014-34. Nevertheless, the predictions are subject to considerable uncertainty associated with the expected trends and volatility of the drivers of growth, particularly to sustaining investment levels and external factors such as commodity prices and international capital flows. A growth decomposition exercise shows that Ghana's past growth was led by capital accumulation, which will be difficult to sustain given the high current account deficits and the volatility of capital flows. Hence, a switch toward a productivity-based growth strategy, instead of the investment-led growth strategy of the past, is the only viable alternative to sustain the recent high growth rates. For that, Ghana needs focus on policies that enhance government effectiveness and public spending efficiency. To mitigate the risk of falling into the so-called growth traps like many other countries, Ghana must resolve its macroeconomic imbalances and resume the institutional reform to enhance the quality of institutions and make growth more inclusive.
The Dimeric [V2O4F6]4– Vanadium Oxide‐Fluoride Anion in Na2(M(H2O)2)(V2O4F6) (M = Co2+, Ni2+, and Cu2+)

Three new vanadium oxide-fluoride phases, Na2(M(H2O)2)(V2O4F6 )( M =C o 2+ ,N i 2+ , and Cu 2+ ), were prepared by hydrothermal techniques in hydrofluoric acid. The compounds con- tain the dioxo vanadium fluoride dimeric anion: (V2O4F6) 4- .T he harder (Na + ) and softer (M = Co 2+ ,N i 2+ , and Cu 2+ ) cations coordinate to the harder fluoride and softer oxide anions, respectively. In contrast
Calcium and mitosis.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the structure and composition of the mitotic apparatus in relation to Ca regulation and describes the existence, timing, and location of endogenous Ca transients. The evidence for the role of Ca gathered from the experimental modulation of the extracellular and intracellular environments is also presented in the chapter. Microtubules (MTs) are a major component of the mitotic apparatus; they attach to the chromosomes and participate in the motile events that ensure their equipartition to daughter cells. Spindle MTs are considered Ca-sensitive structures. In addition, the mitotic apparatus contains an extensive array of Ca-related factors—that is, there are elements that are Ca regulated, there are proteins that can respond to Ca signals, and there are Ca stores and associated pumps to control an ion. Absolutely crucial to a possible connection between Ca and mitosis is the presence of factors—notably proteins—that are able to recognize the ion and respond to changes in its concentration. Calmodulin emerges as the most prominent candidate because it potentiates the depolymerization of MTs by Ca and is known to be localized in the mitotic apparatus.
Secure Deployment of Components

The secure deployment of components is widely recognized as a crucial problem in component-based software engineering. While major effort is concentrated on preventing malicious components from penetrating secure systems, other security violations may also cause significant problems. We uncover a technique that creates a major breach of security by allowing rogue components to interfere with component-based applications by impersonating various generic components. This interference leads to stealing business value of competitive products and causes problems without violating legal agreements. We also present our solution to this problem, called Secure COmponent Deployment Protocol (S-CODEP), and prove its soundness using the authentication logic of Burrows, Abadi, and Needham (BAN authentication logic).
Heuristic-based scheduling to maximize throughput of data-intensive grid applications

Job scheduling in data grids must consider not only computation loads at each grid node but also the distributions of data required by each job. Furthermore, recent trends in grid applications emphasize high throughput more than high performance. In this paper, we propose a centralized scheduling scheme, which uses a scheduling heuristic called Maximum Residual Resource (MRR) that targets high throughput for data grid applications. We have analyzed the performance potentials of MRR, and have developed a simulator to evaluate it with typical grid configurations. Our results show that MRR brings significant performance improvements over existing online and batch heuristics like MCT, Min–min and Max-min.
Mechanistic insights for the development of Li-O2 battery materials: addressing Li2O2 conductivity limitations and electrolyte and cathode instabilities.

The Li–air battery has received significant attention over the past decade given its high theoretical specific energy compared to competing energy storage technologies. Yet, numerous scientific challenges remain unsolved in the pursuit of attaining a battery with modest Coulombic efficiency and high capacity. In this Feature Article, we provide our current perspective on challenges facing the development of nonaqueous Li–O2 battery cathodes. We initially present a review on our understanding of electrochemical processes occurring at the nonaqueous Li–O2 cathode. Electrolyte and cathode instabilities and Li2O2 conductivity limitations are then discussed, and suggestions for future materials research development to alleviate these issues are provided.
Making up people -- the effect of identity on preferences and performance in a modernizing society

It is typically assumed that being hard-working or clever is a trait of the person, in the sense that it is always there, in a fixed manner. However, in an experiment with almost 600 boys in India, cues to one's place in the traditional caste order turn out to influence the expression of these traits. The experiment assigned students to different treatments with respect to the salience of caste and had them solve mazes under incentives. It turned out that making caste salient can reduce output by about 25 percent, which is equivalent to twice the effect on output of being one year younger. The channels through which this occurs differ by caste status. For the upper castes, the decline in performance under piece rates can only be explained by a shift in preferences regarding the provision of effort. When the ascriptive caste order is cued, upper-caste individuals may think, "I don' t need to excel." In contrast, for the lower castes, which were traditionally "untouchables," publicly revealing caste identity impairs the ability to learn and may lead individuals to think, "I can' t (or don' t dare to) excel." This paper provides a measure of the impact that ascriptive, hierarchized identities can have on preferences and performance after a society -- in its public pronouncements and legislation -- has adopted norms of equality in a formal sense. The findings are important because they suggest that when contexts cue identities founded on the superseded rules of a hierarchical institution, the effects on human capital formation and development can be first-order. Contexts that make traditional identities salient are an underemphasized source of impediments to institutional change.
Equilibrium with Product Differentiation

tive consumer formulations is used to examine the properties of single- and multiple-price equilibria. Conditions under which decreases in the intensity of consumer preferences reduce price are given. It is shown that, with certain types of demand curves, entry can eliminate price-cost markups even given product differentiation. If competition is localized, it is demonstrated that entry does not affect the markup. Finally, the effect of spurious product differentiation on price is examined.
Provision of water to the poor in Africa : experience with water standposts and the informal water sector

Standpipes that dispense water from utilities are the most common alternatives to piped water connections for poor customers in the cities of Sub-Saharan Africa. Fifty-five percent of the unconnected urban population relies on standpipes as their first water source. Other informal water providers include household resellers and a variety of water tankers and vendors, which are the first water source of 1 percent and 3 percent of the urban population, respectively. In the cities studied, the percentage of unconnected households ranges from 12 percent to 86 percent of the population. The percentage of unconnected people covered by standpipes is substantially higher for countries with higher rates of household connection, while the percentage of unconnected people covered by water tankers or water vendors is higher for countries with lower rates of household connection. Water prices in the informal market are much higher than for households with private connections or yard taps. Although standpipes are heavily subsidized by utilities, the prices charged by standpipe operators are closely related to the informal water reseller price. Standpipe management models also affect the informal price of water. For example, the shift from utilities management to delegated management models without complementary regulation or consumer information has often led to declines in service levels and increased prices. Standpipes are not the only or even the most efficient solution in peri-urban areas. Programs that promote private household connections and arrangements that improve pricing and services in the household resale market should also be considered by policy makers.
Detecting unresolved moving sources in a diffuse background

We present a statistical technique which can be used to detect the presence and properties of moving sources contributing to a diuse background. The method is a generalization of the 2-point correlation function to include temporal as well as spatial information. We develop a formalism which allows for a derivation of the spacetime 2-point function in terms of the properties of the contributing sources. We test this technique in simulated sky maps, and demonstrate its robustness in identifying the presence of moving and stationary sources. Applications of this formalism to the diuse gamma-ray background include searches for solar system bodies, fast moving primordial black holes, and dense cores of dark matter proto-halos in the solar neighborhood. Other applications include detecting the contribution of energetic neutrinos originating in the solar system, as well as probing compact objects in long timeline lensing experiments. Subject headings: methods: statistical | surveys | dark matter | solar system: general | gravitational lensing
Who pays for public employee health costs

We analyze the incidence of public-employee health benefits. Because these benefits are negotiated through the political process, relevant labor market institutions deviate significantly from the competitive, private-sector benchmark. Empirically, we find that roughly 15 percent of the cost of recent benefit growth was passed onto school district employees through reductions in wages and salaries. Strong teachers' unions were associated with relatively strong linkages between benefit growth and growth in total compensation. Our analysis is consistent with the view that the costs of public workers' benefits are difficult to monitor, contributing to benefit oriented, and often under-funded, compensation schemes.
Big data, bigger dilemmas: A critical review

The recent interest in Big Data has generated a broad range of new academic, corporate, and policy practices along with an evolving debate among its proponents, detractors, and skeptics. While the practices draw on a common set of tools, techniques, and technologies, most contributions to the debate come either from a particular disciplinary perspective or with a focus on a domain-specific issue. A close examination of these contributions reveals a set of common problematics that arise in various guises and in different places. It also demonstrates the need for a critical synthesis of the conceptual and practical dilemmas surrounding Big Data. The purpose of this article is to provide such a synthesis by drawing on relevant writings in the sciences, humanities, policy, and trade literature. In bringing these diverse literatures together, we aim to shed light on the common underlying issues that concern and affect all of these areas. By contextualizing the phenomenon of Big Data within larger socioeconomic developments, we also seek to provide a broader understanding of its drivers, barriers, and challenges. This approach allows us to identify attributes of Big Data that require more attention-autonomy, opacity, generativity, disparity, and futurity-leading to questions and ideas for moving beyond dilemmas.
Extravesical tumor relapse in patients with superficial bladder tumors.

PURPOSETo define the incidence of extravesical urothelial tumors among patients with high-risk superficial bladder tumors.PATIENTS AND METHODSThree hundred seven patients with multiple recurrent papillary and in situ carcinomas of the bladder were treated with transurethral resection and intravesical bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) therapy and monitored for a median of 12 years (range, 10 to 18). Extravesical tumors were detected during investigation of a positive urine cytology after no tumor was found in the bladder.RESULTSAmong 307 patients, 78 (25%) developed tumors in the upper urinary tract (UTT). Of 251 men, 61 (24%) had tumors detected in the prostatic urethra or ducts (T4p). The median times to detection of an UTT or prostatic epithelial tumor were 56 months and 11 months, respectively, and 32% of the UTT and 44% of the T4p relapses were lethal.CONCLUSIONPatients with high-risk superficial bladder tumors who are treated successfully by a bladder-sparing strategy are at increased risk for tumor rel...