cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ANALYSIS OF BETA-DECAY RATES FOR Ag108, Ba133, Eu152, Eu154, Kr85, Ra226, AND Sr90, MEASURED AT THE PHYSIKALISCH-TECHNISCHE BUNDESANSTALT FROM 1990 TO 1996

We present the results of an analysis of measurements of the beta-decay rates of Ag108, Ba133, Eu152, Eu154, Kr85, Ra226, and Sr90 acquired at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt from 1990 through 1995. Although the decay rates vary over a range of 165 to 1 and the measured detector current varies over a range of 19 to 1, the detrended and normalized count rate measurements exhibit a sinusoidal annual variation with amplitude in the small range 0.068%-0.088% (mean 0.081%, standard deviation 0.0072%, a rejection of the zero-amplitude hypothesis) and phase-of-maximum in the small range 0.062-0.083 (January 23 to January 30). In comparing these results with those of other related experiments that yield different results, it may be significant that this experiment, at a standards laboratory, seems to be unique in using a 4π detector. These results are compatible with a solar influence, and do not appear to be compatible with an experimental or environmental influence. It is possible that Ba133 measurements are also subject to a non-solar (possibly cosmic) influence.
Bidisperse and polydisperse suspension rheology at large solid fraction

At the same solid volume fraction, bidisperse and polydisperse suspensions display lower viscosities and weaker normal stress response, compared to monodisperse suspensions. The reduction of viscosity associated with size distribution can be explained by an increase of the maximum flowable, or jamming, solid fraction ϕm. In this work, concentrated or “dense” suspensions are simulated under strong shearing, where thermal motion and repulsive forces are negligible, but we allow for particle contact with a mild frictional interaction with an interparticle friction coefficient of μ=0.2. Aspects of bidisperse suspension rheology are first revisited to establish that the approach reproduces established trends; the study of bidisperse suspensions at size ratios of large to small particle radii of δ = 2–4 shows that a minimum in the viscosity occurs for ζ slightly above 0.5, where ζ=ϕl/ϕ is the fraction of the total solid volume occupied by the large particles. The simple shear flows of polydisperse suspensions w...
Circumstellar Disks around Binary Stars in Taurus

We have conducted a survey of 17 wide (>100 AU) young binary systems in Taurus with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) at two wavelengths. The observations were designed to measure the masses of circumstellar disks in these systems as an aid to understanding the role of multiplicity in star and planet formation. The ALMA observations had sufficient resolution to localize emission within the binary system. Disk emission was detected around all primaries and 10 secondaries, with disk masses as low as 10^(–4) M_☉. We compare the properties of our sample to the population of known disks in Taurus and find that the disks from this binary sample match the scaling between stellar mass and millimeter flux of F_(mm) ∝ M_*^(1.5-2.0) to within the scatter found in previous studies. We also compare the properties of the primaries to those of the secondaries and find that the secondary/primary stellar and disk mass ratios are not correlated; in three systems, the circumsecondary disk is more massive than the circumprimary disk, counter to some theoretical predictions.
A Detailed Investigation into Near Degenerate Exponential Random Graphs

The exponential family of random graphs has been a topic of continued research interest. Despite the relative simplicity, these models capture a variety of interesting features displayed by large-scale networks and allow us to better understand how phases transition between one another as tuning parameters vary. As the parameters cross certain lines, the model asymptotically transitions from a very sparse graph to a very dense graph, completely skipping all intermediate structures. We delve deeper into this near degenerate tendency and give an explicit characterization of the asymptotic graph structure as a function of the parameters.
Relations in bounded cohomology

We explain some interesting relations in the degree three bounded cohomology of surface groups. Specifically, we show that if two faithful Kleinian surface group representations are quasi-isometric, then their bounded fundamental classes are the same in bounded cohomology. This is novel in the setting that one end is degenerate, while the other end is geometrically finite. We also show that a difference of two singly degenerate classes with bounded geometry is boundedly cohomologous to a doubly degenerate class, which has a nice geometric interpretation. Finally, we explain that the above relations completely describe the linear dependences between the `geometric' bounded classes defined by the volume cocycle with bounded geometry. We obtain a mapping class group invariant Banach sub-space of the reduced degree three bounded cohomology with explicit topological generating set and describe all linear relations.
ON EXOTIC SPHERE FIBRATIONS, TOPOLOGICAL PHASES, AND EDGE STATES IN PHYSICAL SYSTEMS

We suggest that exotic sphere fibrations can be mapped to band topologies in condensed matter systems. These fibrations can correspond to geometric phases of two double bands or state vector bases with second Chern numbers m+n and -n, respectively. They can be related to topological insulators, magnetoelectric effects, and photonic crystals with special edge states. We also consider time-reversal symmetry breaking perturbations of topological insulator, and heterostructures of topological insulators with normal insulators and with superconductors. We consider periodic TI/NI/TI/NI′ heterostructures, and periodic TI/SC/TI/SC′ heterostructures. They also give rise to models of Weyl semimetals which have thermal and electrical transports.
NUMERICAL CALCULATION OF BESSEL FUNCTIONS

A new computational procedure is o®ered to provide simple, accurate and °exible methods for using modern computers to give numerical evaluations of the various Bessel functions. The trapezoidal rule, applied to suitable integral representations, may become the method of choice for evaluation of the many special functions of mathematical physics.
Cosmological Black Hole Spin Evolution by Mergers and Accretion

Using recent results from numerical relativity simulations of black hole mergers, we revisit previous studies of cosmologicalblackholespinevolution.Weshowthatmergersareveryunlikelytoyieldlargespins,unlessalignment of the spins of the merging holes with the orbital angular momentum is very efficient. We analyze the spin evolution in three specific scenarios: (1) spin evolves only through mergers, (2) spin evolves through mergers and prolonged accretion episodes, and (3) spin evolves through mergers and short-lived (chaotic) accretion episodes. We study how different diagnostics can distinguish between these evolutionary scenarios, assessing the discriminating power of gravitational-wave measurements and X-ray spectroscopy. Gravitational radiation can produce three different types of spin measurements, yielding, respectively, the spins of the two black holes in a binary inspiral prior to merger, the spin of the merger remnant (as encoded in the ring-down waves), and the spin of ‘‘single’’ black holes during the extrememass-ratioinspiral(EMRI)of compactobjects.Thelatterspinpopulationisalsoaccessibletoiron-linemeasurements. We compute and compare the spin distributions relevant for these different observations. If iron-line measurements and gravitational-wave observations of EMRIs only yield dimensionless spins j ¼ J/M 2 > 0:9, then prolonged accretion should be responsible for spin-up, and chaotic accretion scenarios would be very unlikely. If only a fraction of the whole population of low-redshift black holes spins rapidly, spin-alignment during binary mergers (rather than prolonged accretion) could be responsible for spin-ups. Subject headingg black hole physics — cosmology: theory — galaxies: evolution — gravitational waves Online material: color figures
Orbit spaces of gradient vector fields

We study orbit spaces of generalized gradient vector fields for Morse functions. Typically, these orbit spaces are non-Hausdorff. Nevertheless, they are quite structured topologically and are amenable to study. We show that these orbit spaces are locally contractible. We also show that the quotient map associated to each such orbit space is a weak homotopy equivalence and has the path lifting property.
Quantum computational supremacy in the sampling of bosonic random walkers on a one-dimensional lattice

We study the sampling complexity of a probability distribution associated with an ensemble ofidentical noninteracting bosons undergoing a quantum random walk on a one-dimensional lattice.With uniform nearest-neighbor hopping we show that one can efficiently sample the distribution fortimes logarithmic in the size of the system, while for longer times there is no known efficient samplingalgorithm. With time-dependent hopping and optimal control, we design the time evolution toapproximate an arbitrary Haar-random unitary map analogous to that designed for photons in alinear optical network. This approach highlights a route to generating quantum complexity byoptimal control only of a single-body unitary matrix. We study this in the context of two potentialexperimental realizations: a spinor optical lattice of ultracold atoms and a quantum gas microscope.
Efficient generation of inductive validity cores for safety properties

Symbolic model checkers can construct proofs of properties over very complex models. However, the results reported by the tool when a proof succeeds do not generally provide much insight to the user. It is often useful for users to have traceability information related to the proof: which portions of the model were necessary to construct it. This traceability information can be used to diagnose a variety of modeling problems such as overconstrained axioms and underconstrained properties, and can also be used to measure completeness of a set of requirements over a model. In this paper, we present a new algorithm to efficiently compute the em inductive validity core (IVC) within a model necessary for inductive proofs of safety properties for sequential systems. The algorithm is based on the UNSAT core support built into current SMT solvers and a novel encoding of the inductive problem to try to generate a minimal inductive validity core. We prove our algorithm is correct, and describe its implementation in the JKind model checker for Lustre models. We then present an experiment in which we benchmark the algorithm in terms of speed, diversity of produced cores, and minimality, with promising results.
Constraining Hot Jupiter Atmospheric Structure and Dynamics through Doppler-shifted Emission Spectra

We present a coupled 3-D atmospheric dynamics and radiative transfer model to predict the disk-integrated thermal emission spectra of transiting exoplanets in edge-on orbits. We calculate spectra at high resolution to examine the extent to which high-resolution emission spectra are influenced by 3-D atmospheric dynamics and planetary rotation, and to determine whether and how we can constrain thermal structures and atmospheric dynamics through high-resolution spectroscopy. This study represents the first time that the line-of-sight geometry and resulting Doppler shifts from winds and rotation have been treated self-consistently in an emission spectrum radiative transfer model, which allow us to assess the impact of the velocity field on thermal emission spectra. We apply our model to predict emission spectra as a function of orbital phase for three hot Jupiters, HD 209458b, WASP-43b and HD 189733b. We find net Doppler shifts in modeled spectra due to a combination of winds and rotation at a level of 1-3 km/s. These Doppler signatures vary in a quasi-sinusoidal pattern over the course of the planets' orbits as the hot spots approach and recede from the observer's viewpoint. We predict that WASP-43b produces the largest Doppler shift due to its fast rotation rate. We find that the net Doppler shift in an exoplanet's disk-integrated thermal emission spectrum results from a complex combination of winds, rotation, and thermal structure. However, we offer a simple method that estimates the magnitude of equatorial wind speeds in hot Jupiters through measurements of net Doppler shifts and lower resolution thermal phase curves.
Computing L-series of hyperelliptic curves

We discuss the computation of coefficients of the L-seriesassociated to a hyperelliptic curve over Q of genus at most 3, using pointcounting, generic group algorithms, and p-adic methods.
OPE convergence in non-relativistic conformal field theories

Motivated by applications to the study of ultracold atomic gases near the unitarity limit, we investigate the structure of the operator product expansion (OPE) in non-relativistic conformal field theories (NRCFTs). The main tool used in our analysis is the representation theory of charged (i.e. non-zero particle number) operators in the NR-CFT, in particular the mapping between operators and states in a non-relativistic “radial quantization” Hilbert space. Our results include: a determination of the OPE coefficients of descendant operators in terms of those of the underlying primary state, a demonstration of convergence of the (imaginary time) OPE in certain kinematic limits, and an estimate of the decay rate of the OPE tail inside matrix elements which, as in relativistic CFTs, depends exponentially on operator dimensions. To illustrate our results we consider several examples, including a strongly interacting field theory of bosons tuned to the unitarity limit, as well as a class of holographic models. Given the similarity with known statements about the OPE in SO(2, d) invariant field theories, our results suggest the existence of a bootstrap approach to constraining NRCFTs, with applications to bound state spectra and interactions. We briefly comment on a possible implementation of this non-relativistic conformal bootstrap program.
Simulations of Ion Acceleration at Non-relativistic Shocks. I. Acceleration Efficiency

We use two-dimensional and three-dimensional hybrid (kinetic ions-fluid electrons) simulations to investigate particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification at non-relativistic astrophysical shocks. We show that diffusive shock acceleration operates for quasi-parallel configurations (i.e., when the background magnetic field is almost aligned with the shock normal) and, for large sonic and Alfvenic Mach numbers, produces universal power-law spectra ∝p –4, where p is the particle momentum. The maximum energy of accelerated ions increases with time, and it is only limited by finite box size and run time. Acceleration is mainly efficient for parallel and quasi-parallel strong shocks, where 10%-20% of the bulk kinetic energy can be converted to energetic particles and becomes ineffective for quasi-perpendicular shocks. Also, the generation of magnetic turbulence correlates with efficient ion acceleration and vanishes for quasi-perpendicular configurations. At very oblique shocks, ions can be accelerated via shock drift acceleration, but they only gain a factor of a few in momentum and their maximum energy does not increase with time. These findings are consistent with the degree of polarization and the morphology of the radio and X-ray synchrotron emission observed, for instance, in the remnant of SN 1006. We also discuss the transition from thermal to non-thermal particles in the ion spectrum (supra-thermal region) and we identify two dynamical signatures peculiar of efficient particle acceleration, namely, the formation of an upstream precursor and the alteration of standard shock jump conditions.
PR-NN: RNN-Based Detection for Coded Partial-Response Channels

In this paper, we investigate the use of recurrent neural network (RNN)-based detection of magnetic recording channels with inter-symbol interference (ISI). We refer to the proposed detection method, which is intended for recording channels with partial-response equalization, as Partial-Response Neural Network (PR-NN). We train bi-directional gated recurrent units (bi-GRUs) to recover the ISI channel inputs from noisy channel output sequences and evaluate the network performance when applied to continuous, streaming data. The computational complexity of PR-NN during the evaluation process is comparable to that of a Viterbi detector. The recording system on which the experiments were conducted uses a rate-2/3, (1,7) runlength-limited (RLL) code with an E2PR4 partial-response channel target. Experimental results with ideal PR signals show that the performance of PR-NN detection approaches that of Viterbi detection in additive white gaussian noise (AWGN). Moreover, the PR-NN detector outperforms Viterbi detection and achieves the performance of Noise-Predictive Maximum Likelihood (NPML) detection in additive colored noise (ACN) at different channel densities. A PR-NN detector trained with both AWGN and ACN maintains the performance observed under separate training. Similarly, when trained with ACN corresponding to two different channel densities, PR-NN maintains its performance at both densities. Experiments confirm that this robustness is consistent over a wide range of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Finally, PR-NN displays robust performance when applied to a more realistic magnetic recording channel with MMSE-equalized Lorentzian signals.
The Pieri Rule for GLn Over Finite Fields

The Pieri rule gives an explicit formula for the decomposition of the tensor product of irreducible representation of the complex general linear group \( GL_{n}( \mathbb {C} )\) with a symmetric power of the standard representation on \( \mathbb {C} ^{n}\). It is an important and long understood special case of the Littlewood-Richardson rule for decomposing general tensor products of representations of \(GL_{n}( \mathbb {C} )\).
Voltage Positioning Using Co-Optimization of Controllable Grid Assets in Radial Networks

With increasing penetration of solar PV, some distribution feeders are experiencing highly variable net-load flows and even reverse flows. To optimize distribution systems under such conditions, the scheduling of mechanical devices, such as OLTCs and capacitor banks, needs to take into account forecasted solar PV and actual grid conditions. However, these legacy switching assets are operated on a daily or hourly timescale, due to the wear and tear associated with mechanical switching, which makes them unsuitable for real-time control. Therefore, there is a natural timescale-separation between these slower mechanical assets and the responsive nature of inverter-based resources. In this paper, we present a network admissible convex formulation for holistically scheduling controllable grid assets to position voltage optimally against solar PV. An optimal hourly schedule is presented that utilizes mechanical resources to position the predicted voltages close to nominal values, while minimizing the use of inverter-based resources (i.e., DERs), making them available for control at a faster time-scale (after the uncertainty reveals itself). A convex, inner approximation of the OPF problem is adapted to a mixed-integer linear program that minimizes voltage deviations from nominal (i.e., maximizes voltage margins). The resulting OPF solution respects all the network constraints and is, hence, robust against modeling simplifications.Simulation based analysis on IEEE distribution feeders validates the approach.
A Joint Design of MIMO-OFDM Dual-Function Radar Communication System Using Generalized Spatial Modulation

A novel dual-function radar communication (DFRC) system is proposed, that achieves high target resolution and high communication rate. It consists of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar, where only a small number of antennas are active in each channel use. The probing waveforms are orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) type. The OFDM carriers are divided into two groups, one that is used by the active antennas in a shared fashion, and another one, where each subcarrier is assigned to an active antenna in an exclusive fashion (private subcarriers). Target estimation is carried out based on the received and transmitted symbols. The system communicates information via the transmitted OFDM data symbols and the pattern of active antennas in a generalized spatial modulation (GSM) fashion. A multi-antenna communication receiver can identify the indices of active antennas via sparse signal recovery methods. The use of shared subcarriers enables high communication rate. The private subcarriers are used to synthesize a virtual array for high angular resolution, and also for improved estimation on the active antenna indices. The OFDM waveforms allow the communication receiver to easily mitigate the effect of frequency selective fading, while the use of a sparse array at the transmitter reduces the hardware cost of the system. The radar performance of the proposed DFRC system is evaluated via simulations, and bit error rate (BER) results for the communication system are provided.
Alignment free identification of clones in B cell receptor repertoires

Following antigenic challenge, activated B cells rapidly expand and undergo somatic hypermutation, yielding groups of clonally related B cells with diversified immunoglobulin receptors. Inference of clonal relationships based on the receptor sequence is an essential step in many adaptive immune receptor repertoire sequencing studies. These relationships are typically identified by a multi-step process that involves: (i) grouping sequences based on shared V and J gene assignments, and junction lengths and (ii) clustering these sequences using a junction-based distance. However, this approach is sensitive to the initial gene assignments, which are error-prone, and fails to identify clonal relatives whose junction length has changed through accumulation of indels. Through defining a translation-invariant feature space in which we cluster the sequences, we develop an alignment free clonal identification method that does not require gene assignments and is not restricted to a fixed junction length. This alignment free approach has higher sensitivity compared to a typical junction-based distance method without loss of specificity and PPV. While the alignment free procedure identifies clones that are broadly consistent with the junction-based distance method, it also identifies clones with characteristics (multiple V or J gene assignments or junction lengths) that are not detectable with the junction-based distance method.
3D Bird Reconstruction: A Dataset, Model, and Shape Recovery from a Single View

Automated capture of animal pose is transforming how we study neuroscience and social behavior. Movements carry important social cues, but current methods are not able to robustly estimate pose and shape of animals, particularly for social animals such as birds, which are often occluded by each other and objects in the environment. To address this problem, we first introduce a model and multi-view optimization approach, which we use to capture the unique shape and pose space displayed by live birds. We then introduce a pipeline and experiments for keypoint, mask, pose, and shape regression that recovers accurate avian postures from single views. Finally, we provide extensive multi-view keypoint and mask annotations collected from a group of 15 social birds housed together in an outdoor aviary. The project website with videos, results, code, mesh model, and the Penn Aviary Dataset can be found at https://marcbadger.github.io/avian-mesh.
StressNet: Detecting Stress in Thermal Videos

Precise measurement of physiological signals is critical for the effective monitoring of human vital signs. Recent developments in computer vision have demonstrated that signals such as pulse rate and respiration rate can be extracted from digital video of humans, increasing the possibility of contact-less monitoring. This paper presents a novel approach to obtaining physiological signals and classifying stress states from thermal video. The proposed network–"StressNet"–features a hybrid emission representation model that models the direct emission and absorption of heat by the skin and underlying blood vessels. This results in an information-rich feature representation of the face, which is used by spatio-temporal network for reconstructing the ISTI ( Initial Systolic Time Interval : a measure of change in cardiac sympathetic activity that is considered to be a quantitative index of stress in humans). The reconstructed ISTI signal is fed into a stress-detection model to detect and classify the individual’s stress state (i.e. stress or no stress). A detailed evaluation demonstrates that Stress-Net achieves estimated the ISTI signal with 95% accuracy and detect stress with average precision of 0.842.
Quasi-cyclic modules and coregular sequences

We develop the theory of coregular sequences and codepth for modules that need not be finitely generated or artinian over a Noetherian ring. We use this theory to give a new version of a theorem of Hellus characterizing set-theoretic complete intersections in terms of local cohomology modules. We also define quasi-cyclic modules as increasing unions of cyclic modules, and show that modules of codepth at least two are quasi-cyclic. We then focus our attention on curves in $${\mathbb {P}}^3$$ and give a number of necessary conditions for a curve to be a set-theoretic complete intersection. Thus an example of a curve for which any of these necessary conditions does not hold would provide a negative answer to the still open problem, whether every connected curve in $${\mathbb {P}}^3$$ is a set-theoretic complete intersection.
High-capacity high-power thermal energy storage using solid-solid martensitic transformations

Abstract A new concept of fabricating thermal energy storage modules using high-conductivity, solid-solid, shape memory alloys is demonstrated here to eliminate the capacity-power tradeoff common in solid-liquid designs. First, three compositions of Nickel titanium were solution heat treated and characterized using differential scanning calorimetry and Xenon Flash to down-select to a promising material (Ni50.28Ti49.36) with a transformation temperature of 78 ˚C, volumetric latent heat of 183 MJm−3, and thermal conductivity in the Austenite and Martensite phases of 12.92 and 12.64 Wm−1K−1, respectively. Next, four parallel-plate thermal energy storage demonstrators were designed, fabricated, and tested in a thermofluidic test setup. These include a baseline sensible heating module (aluminum), a conventional solid-liquid PCM module (aluminum/1-octadecanol), an all-solid-solid PCM module (Ni50.28Ti49.36), and a composite solid-solid/solid-liquid PCM module (Ni50.28Ti49.36/1-octadecanol). We are able to demonstrate a 1.73–3.38 times improvement in volumetric thermal capacity and a 2.03–3.21 times improvement in power density by using NiTi. These experimental results are bolstered by analytical models to explain the observed heat transfer physics, extrapolate to additional use cases, and reveal a 5.86 times improvement in thermal time constant. This work demonstrates the ability to build high-capacity and high-power thermal energy storage modules using multifunctional shape memory alloys and opens the door for leap ahead improvement in transient thermal management.
The quasar mass—luminosity plane — III. Smaller errors on virial mass estimates

We use 62 185 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR5 sample to explore the quasar mass–luminosity plane view of virial mass estimation. Previous work shows deviations of ∼0.4 dex between virial and reverberation masses. The decline in quasar number density for the highest Eddington ratio quasars at each redshift provides an upper bound of between 0.13 and 0.29 dex for virial mass estimate statistical uncertainties. Across different redshift bins, the maximum possible Mg ii mass uncertainties average 0.15 dex, while Hβ uncertainties average 0.21 dex and C iv uncertainties average 0.27 dex. Any physical spread near the high-Eddington-ratio boundary will produce a more restrictive bound. A comparison of the sub-Eddington boundary slope using Hβ and Mg ii masses finds better agreement with uncorrected Mg ii masses than with recently proposed corrections. The best agreement for these bright objects is produced by a multiplicative correction by a factor of 1.19, smaller than the factor of 1.8 previously reported as producing the best agreement for the entire SDSS sample.
Building Research Culture

Business school faculty and administrators in Asia often ask their foreign colleagues: Why won’t your journals publish our research? What kind of research should we conduct in order to have the chance to have it published in international journals? This is no idle talk; these urgent and sincere questions arise in the face of impending promotion and tenure decisions under university or government rules calling for publication in international journals. Such external publications often are an important consideration in these decisions that are widely believed to make or break academic careers.
On the Number of ISI Citations to JETA, JIS, IJAIS, and ISAFM

ABSTRACT: This paper investigates the current number of ISI citations, and change in the number of those citations over the last two years, for four leading accounting information systems (AIS) journals. The results are surprising. A priori, it generally would have been expected that the Journal of Information Systems would have had the most citations in total and over the last two years, since it is by far the oldest, and it is the flagship journal of the American Accounting Association’s (AAA) Information Systems Section. However, two other AIS journals had substantially more total citations and incremental citations over the last two years. Further, even though it is younger, the newest AAA journal, the Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, has what seem to be fewer citations than it should have. Reasons for this apparent “citation disadvantage” for the two AAA AIS journals are investigated.
Encouraging Cooperation in Sharing Supermodular Costs

We study the computational complexity and algorithmic aspects of computing the least core value of supermodular cost cooperative games, and uncover some structural properties of the least core of these games. We provide motivation for studying these games by showing that a particular class of optimization problems has supermodular optimal costs. This class includes a variety of problems in combinatorial optimization, especially in machine scheduling. We show that computing the least core value of supermodular cost cooperative games is NP-hard, and design approximation algorithms based on oracles that approximately determine maximally violated constraints. We apply our results to schedule planning games, or cooperative games where the costs arise from the minimum sum of weighted completion times on a single machine. By improving upon some of the results for general supermodular cost cooperative games, we are able to give an explicit formula for an element of the least core of schedule planning games, and design a fully polynomial time approximation scheme for computing the least core value of these games.
A Curious Omission from Ohio's Rape Statute: Sexual Assault When the Victim Consents to Medical or Dental Drugging

Rape committed on extremely vulnerable victims — those who have been drugged or anesthetized for medical or dental treatment — is unfortunately a fact of modern life. One need only read a newspaper, watch television, or surf the internet to learn of cases in which doctors, dentists, or other health-care professionals used consensual drugging as the means of subduing unsuspecting patients and sexually exploiting them. Ohio is part of the national trend to criminalize various forms of this conduct. In 1989, in a provision that remains almost unique among American jurisdictions, Ohio amended its gross sexual imposition statute to explicitly encompass sexual contact (touching of the erogenous zones) following consensual medical or dental drugging. The history of this amendment discloses that the Ohio General Assembly wanted to close a loophole in the law allowing for a prosecution for gross sexual imposition even if the victim had consented to the administration of an anesthetic. What remains a mystery is why the legislature did not also alter Ohio’s rape statute to prohibit the more serious sexual conduct (sexual intercourse, oral sex, object penetration) following consensual medical or dental drugging. This curious omission means that Ohio’s protection of its populace from sexual exploitation may be less robust than it should be — leaving them without statutory coverage for rape in the context of consensual medical or dental drugging. This article examines three possible explanations for this omission, namely that: (1) the criminal conduct is already covered under other provisions of Ohio’s rape statute, (2) the criminal conduct is covered under the lesser offense of sexual battery, and (3) enacting this provision in the rape statute would punish innocent conduct. I conclude that these explanations cannot reasonably account for this omission. Therefore, I propose an amendment to Ohio’s rape statute that closes this gap by explicitly covering consensual medical or dental drugging, thereby completing a forward-thinking legislative initiative begun a quarter of a century ago.
Endogenous Liquidity and Defaultable Bonds

This paper studies the interaction between default and liquidity for corporate bonds that are traded in an over-the-counter secondary market with search frictions. Bargaining with dealers determines a bond's endogenous liquidity, which depends on both the firm fundamental and the time-to-maturity of the bond. Corporate default decisions interact with the endogenous secondary market liquidity via the rollover channel. A default-liquidity loop arises: Assuming a relative illiquid secondary bond market in default, earlier endogenous default worsens a bond's secondary market liquidity, which amplifies equity holders' rollover losses, which in turn leads to earlier endogenous default. Besides characterizing in closed form the full interdependence between liquidity and default for credit spreads, our calibrated model can jointly match empirically observed credit spreads and liquidity measures of bonds across different rating classes.
Optimal control of an assembly system with demand for the end-product and intermediate components

This article considers the production and admission control decisions for a two-stage manufacturing system where intermediate components are produced to stock in the first stage and an end-product is assembled from these components through a second-stage assembly operation. The firm faces two types of demand. The demand for the end-product is satisfied immediately if there are available products in inventory while the firm has the option to accept the order for later delivery or to reject it when no inventory is available. Demand for intermediate components may be accepted or rejected to keep components available for assembly purposes. The structure of demand admission, component production and product assembly decisions are characterized. The proposed model is extended to take into account multiple customer classes and a more general revenue collecting scheme where only an upfront partial payment is collected if a customer demand is accepted for future delivery with the remaining revenue received upon de...
The behavior of interperiod equity-related performance measures over time

Although the goal of government is to maintain or improve citizens' well-being, govern­mental commitments are subject to fiscal constraints. Given constraints on resources, governments need to "live within their means" (GASB 1987, para. 59). Concepts Statement No. 1 (GASB 1987, para. 61) discusses the notion of interperiod equity (IPE), i.e., whether "current year revenues are sufficient to pay for the services provided that year." From a financial reporting perspective, the Board believes that the appropriate concept is that of "yearly balance" and that services rendered during the current year should be paid for by revenues raised during that year. The public economics literature (e.g., Aguilar et al. 1991; Mattoon and Testa 1991) suggests that the time horizon of public officials is longer than a single fiscal year and that taxes and spending are smoothed over a multi-period time frame. This literature indicates it would be unrealistic for govern­ mental revenues and expenditures to be balanced each and every year. Despite the potentially wide disparity between a one-year and a multi-year budgeting perspective for governments, we are not aware of any extant research on the issue. This paper provides an empirical analysis of three interperiod equity-related performance measures for 40 large cities over a 35-year period in order to examine which budgeting perspective seems, in fact, to exist. We use a partial adjustment model under the hypothesis that cities' performance measures tend to move toward governmental norms in a manner similar to Lev's (1969) findings for businesses. Our empirical results (1) are consistent with a multi-year budgeting horizon, (2) provide bench­ marks for each of the three performance measures against which users of financial statements can compare governmental results, and (3} suggest that the speed of adjustment toward governmental norms (which varies across cities) could be useful to users of financial statements as a measure of a government's capacity to adapt and adjust to changing economic circumstances.
The Only Prescription Is Transparency: The Effect of Charge-Price-Transparency Regulation on Healthcare Prices

We examine the effect of charge-price-transparency regulation (PTR)—a common policy solution intended to curb rising healthcare costs—on hospitals’ prices. We find that, although PTR does not affec...
The fourth pillar of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: harm reduction and the international human right to health.

Benjamin Mason Meier, JD, LLMa Donna Shelley, MD, MPHa The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), while successful in its execution, fails to acknowledge the harm reduction strategies necessary to help those incapable of breaking their dependence on tobacco. Based on the human right to health embodied in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, this article contends that international law supports a harm reduction approach to tobacco control. Analyzing the right to health as an autonomy-enhancing right, countries must prioritize health interventions to promote those treatments most likely to increase autonomy among those least able to control their own health behaviors. Harm reduction can involve the use of novel, purportedly less hazardous tobacco products. By dis sociating nicotine from the ancillary carbon monoxide and myriad carcinogens of smoking, these tobacco harm-reduction products may allow the individual smoker to retain addictive behaviors while limiting their concomitant harms. These less hazardous products, while not offering the preferred benefits of abstaining from tobacco entirely, might nevertheless become a viable strategy for buttressing individual autonomy in controlling health outcomes. Working through the FCTC framework, countries can create the international regula tory and research capacity necessary to assess harm-reduction products and programs. The harms of smoking are truly global in scope. More than 1.1 billion people smoke worldwide, resulting in cardiovascular diseases, various cancers, and obstructive lung diseases.1 Approximately one-quarter of all lifelong smokers will die in middle age (between 35 and 69) as a result of smoking, losing between 20 and 25 years of life. Another quarter of these smokers will die in their latter years as a result of smoking.2,3 Globally, this "quiet pandemic" claims the lives of approximately 5 million persons per year, a figure that will rise to 10 million by 2030, with the burden of death increasingly being felt by developing countries.4 With globalization's dismantling of trade barriers permitting the burgeoning initiation of smoking in unsated developing countries?particularly among the children and adolescents of these countries?tobacco is projected to become the world's leading cause of avoidable death.5
The challenges of quantitative public health law research.

Public health law research (PHLR) has been defined as the scientific study of the relation of law and legal practices to population health. The scientific collection of legal data is a precondition for epidemiological or behavioral research in which law is the independent variable. This commentary discusses some of the challenges that arise out of efforts to reduce legal text into quantifiable data that can be used for statistical analysis. It does so while highlighting the strengths and key conceptual hurdles in a Spengler et. al. article analyzing the extent to which recreational user statutes insulate localities from liability when opening their land up for community activities. This commentary touches upon the importance of careful coding, transparency and study design as well as the intrinsic difficulty in quantifying indeterminate laws.
The Perception and Valuation of the Risks of Climate Change: A Rational and Behavioral Blend

Over 250 respondents – graduate students in law and public policy – assessed the risks of climate change and valued climate-change mitigation policies. Many aspects of their behavior were consistent with rational behavior. For example, respondents successfully estimated distributions of temperature increases in Boston by 2100. The median value of best estimates was 1–3 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, people with higher risk estimates, whether for temperature or related risks (e.g., hurricane intensities) offered more to avoid warming. Median willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid global warming was $0.50/gallon, and 3% of income. And important scope tests (e.g., respondents paid more for bigger accomplishments) were passed. However, significant behavioral propensities also emerged. For example, accessibility of neutral information on global warming boosted risk estimates. Warming projections correlated with estimates for unrelated risks, such as earthquakes and heart attacks. The implied WTP for avoidance was much greater when asked as a percent of income than as a gas tax, a percent thinking bias. Home team betting showed itself; individuals predicting a Bush victory predicted smaller temperature increases. In the climate-change arena, behavioral decision tendencies are like a fun-house mirror: They magnify some estimates and shrink others, but the contours of rational decision rmain recognizable.
COMPENSATION FOR COMMUTES IN THE LAND AND LABOR MARKETS: SOME EVIDENCE FROM THE TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA*

ABSTRACT. Recent research suggests that in nonmonocentric cities compensation for commutes takes the form of both lower housing prices and higher wages. This paper develops a random utility model that predicts the probability of an actor choosing to commute between each residence and job in a metropolitan area conditional on the observed location of housing units and job sites. The model allows commuting time, origin-specific amenities, land prices, destination-specific amenities and wages to influence actors' choices. We estimate the model using maximum likelihood and generalized least squares techniques and data on commuting between each of 38 origin and 15 destination jurisdictions in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The empirical results show that, all else equal, a one percent increase in commuting time reduces the probability that a route (origin-destination combination) will be chosen by almost five percent. Origin-specific amenities are not completely capitalized into land prices and destination-specific amenities are not completely capitalized into wages. Desirable residential amenities include school quality and a low ratio of day to night population. Desirable workplace amenities include a large share of white collar jobs and a high density of employment.
Dynamic R&D Competition

The authors study a simple, two-stage, stochastic patent race involving two firms. They examine the behavior of the participants as they gain the lead or fall behind in the race. The authors find that the leader engages in RD (2) a policy of issuing patents for intermediate research results; and (3) the effects of research joint ventures, whereby the firms coordinate their initial research efforts and share their results. Copyright 1987 by Royal Economic Society.
What accountability pressures do MPs in Africa face and how do they respond? Evidence from Ghana*

A B S T R A C T How African politicians, especially legislators, behave on a daily basis is still largely unknown. This article gives a unique empirical account of the daily accountability pressures and the strategies that Members of Parliament (MPs) in Ghana employ in responding to the demands that they face. While literature on political clientelism focuses on explanatory factors like lack of political credibility, political machines capable of e! ective monitoring, autonomy of brokers, high levels of poverty, and political competiveness, the role of institutions has been overlooked. While the existing literature suggests that political clientelism is an optimal strategy in the context of weak institutions, the present analysis finds that the institution of the o" ce of Member of Parliament in Ghana is strong, but shaped by informal norms in ways that favour the provision of private goods in clientelistic networks. The analysis also points to theoretical lessons on how political clientelism can endogenously undermine the conditions for its own existence.
Emigration and Brain Drain: Evidence from the Caribbean

This paper quantifies the magnitude and nature of migration flows from the Caribbean and estimates their costs and benefits. The Caribbean countries have lost 10-40 percent of their labor force due to emigration to OECD member countries. The migration rates are particularly striking for the highskilled. Many countries have lost more than 70 percent of their labor force with more than 12 years of completed schooling-among the highest emigration rates in the world. The region is also the world's largest recipient of remittances as a percent of GDP. Remittances constituted about 13 percent of the region's GDP in 2002. Simple welfare calculations suggest that the losses due to high-skill migration (ceteris paribus) outweigh the official remittances to the Caribbean region. The results suggest that there is indeed some evidence for brain drain from the Caribbean.