cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Processes in the development of mathematics in kindergarten children from Title 1 schools

Abstract This study examined how well nonverbal IQ (or fluid intelligence), vocabulary, phonological awareness (PA), rapid autonomized naming (RAN), and phonological short-term memory (STM) predicted mathematics outcomes. The 208 participating kindergartners were administered tests of fluid intelligence, vocabulary, PA, RAN, STM, and numeracy in the fall of kindergarten, whereas tests of numeracy and applied problems were administered in the spring of kindergarten. Fall numeracy scores accounted for substantial variation in spring outcomes (R2 values = .49 and .32 for numeracy and applied problems, respectively), which underscores the importance of preschool math instruction and screening for mathematics learning difficulties on entry into kindergarten. Fluid intelligence and PA significantly predicted unique variation in spring numeracy scores (ΔR2 = .05) after controlling for autoregressive effects and classroom nesting. Fluid intelligence, PA, and STM significantly predicted unique variation in spring applied problems scores (ΔR2 = .14) after controlling for autoregressive effects and classroom nesting. Although the contributions of fluid intelligence, PA, and STM toward math outcomes were reliable and arguably important, they were small.
Progress on characterization and optimization of leaky-mode modulators for holographic video

We give a summary of the progress we have made in the fabrication of guided wave devices for use in holographic video displays. This progress includes identifying anisotropic leaky-mode modulators as a platform for holographic display, the development of a characterization apparatus to extract key parameters from leaky-mode devices, and the identification of optimized waveguide parameters for frequency-controlled color display.
Windowed multipole for cross section Doppler broadening

This paper presents an in-depth analysis on the accuracy and performance of the windowed multipole Doppler broadening method. The basic theory behind cross section data is described, along with the basic multipole formalism followed by the approximations leading to windowed multipole method and the algorithm used to efficiently evaluate Doppler broadened cross sections. The method is tested by simulating the BEAVRS benchmark with a windowed multipole library composed of 70 nuclides. Accuracy of the method is demonstrated on a single assembly case where total neutron production rates and U 238 capture rates compare within 0.1% to ACE format files at the same temperature. With regards to performance, clock cycle counts and cache misses were measured for single temperature ACE table lookup and for windowed multipole. The windowed multipole method was found to require 39.6% more clock cycles to evaluate, translating to a 7.9% performance loss overall. However, the algorithm has significantly better last-level cache performance, with 3 fewer misses per evaluation, or a 65% reduction in last-level misses. This is due to the small memory footprint of the windowed multipole method and better memory access pattern of the algorithm.
Measuring the effect of money: test, estimation and identification

This paper provides a new approach of measuring the effects of money in both the longrun and the short-run horizons. The key identifying assumptions used to identify and measure the effect of money are long-run neutrality and long-run homogeneity. The first chapter shows that both long-run propositions imply certain linear restrictions to be imposed on the cointegrating space. By testing the validness of such linear restrictions, both long-run propositions are tested. Compared with the previous long-run tests, the cointegration test in this paper does not depend heavily on the auxiliary assumptions, including identification restrictions and the correct selection of macroeconomic variables to be included in the empirical work. The second chapter shows that the linear restrictions imposed by the long-run propositions can be used to identify the monetary shocks when the long-run proposition is overidentifying. In such a case, it is proved that the monetary shocks can be identified with the following three identifying assumptions: (1) a monetary shock is long-run neutral and homogeneous; (2) monetary shocks are not correlated with other structural shocks; and (3) the long-run effect of money is linearly independent from the long-run effects of other structural shocks. ∗ Email: mtlin@bu.edu. This paper is the first two chapters of my dissertation in Boston University. I am indebted to Robert G. King, Pierre Perron and Simon Gilchrist for their advice throughout the writing of this paper, to John Chao for his assistance in PIC programming, and to Christopher Otrok for his data provision. I also wish to thank Zhongjun Qu and Ferhan Salman for helpful comments and discussion. The usual disclaimer applies.
Coherent keyphrase extraction via web mining

Keyphrases are useful for a variety of purposes, including summarizing, indexing, labeling, categorizing, clustering, highlighting, browsing, and searching. The task of automatic keyphrase extraction is to select keyphrases from within the text of a given document. Automatic keyphrase extraction makes it feasible to generate keyphrases for the huge number of documents that do not have manually assigned keyphrases. A limitation of previous keyphrase extraction algorithms is that the selected keyphrases are occasionally incoherent. That is, the majority of the output keyphrases may fit together well, but there may be a minority that appear to be outliers, with no clear semantic relation to the majority or to each other. This paper presents enhancements to the Kea keyphrase extraction algorithm that are designed to increase the coherence of the extracted keyphrases. The approach is to use the degree of statistical association among candidate keyphrases as evidence that they may be semantically related. The statistical association is measured using web mining. Experiments demonstrate that the enhancements improve the quality of the extracted keyphrases. Furthermore, the enhancements are not domain-specific: the algorithm generalizes well when it is trained on one domain (computer science documents) and tested on another (physics documents).
Precise concurrent zero knowledge

Precise zero knowledge introduced by Micali and Pass (STOC'06) guarantees that the view of any verifier V can be simulated in time closely related to the actual (as opposed to worst-case) time spent by V in the generated view. We provide the first constructions of precise concurrent zero-knowledge protocols. Our constructions have essentially optimal precision; consequently this improves also upon the previously tightest non-precise concurrent zero-knowledge protocols by Kilian and Petrank (STOC'01) and Prabhakaran, Rosen and Sahai (FOCS'02) whose simulators have a quadratic worst-case overhead. Additionally, we achieve a statistically-precise concurrent zero-knowledge property-which requires simulation of unbounded verifiers participating in an unbounded number of concurrent executions; as such we obtain the first (even non-precise) concurrent zero-knowledge protocols which handle verifiers participating in a super-polynomial number of concurrent executions.
Preserving TCP connections across host address changes

The predominance of short-lived connections in today's Internet has created the perception that it is perfectly acceptable to change a host's IP address with little regard about established connections. Indeed, the increased mobility offered by laptops with wireless network interfaces, and the aggressive use of short DHCP leases are leading the way towards an environment where IP addresses are transient and last for short time periods. However, there is still a place for long-lived connections (typically lasting hours or even days) for remote login sessions, over the network backups, etc. There is, therefore, a real need for a system that allows such connections to survive changes in the IP addresses of the hosts at either end of the connection. In this paper we present a kernel-based mechanism that recognizes address changes and recovers from them. Furthermore, we discuss the security implications of such a scheme, and show that our system provides an effective defense against both eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks.
Biblical Atonement and Modern Criminal Law

The organization of a Section on Law and Religion in 1976 by the Association of American Law Schools (after Watergate) was followed in 1977 by the incorporation of the Council on Religion and Law. My participation in both led to the study of theology and especially to the question, what, if anything, can a legal scholar, particularly one specialized in penal law and the philosophy of law, contribute to the literature on the interrelations of law and religion? In the English-speaking world not many legal scholars have written on this subject, and none, to my knowledge, on the interrelationship of religion and modern criminal law. I here confine my discussion to the Bible and, more particularly, to some of the writing on atonement by Christian theologians.The central focus of Christianity is on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the relevant theme, originating in the Old Testament and frequently addressed in the New Testament, is that of atonement. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament accept and emphasize the vicarious significance of the sacrifice—the lamb in the Old Testament, Jesus in the New Testament. The one sacrificed takes on itself or himself the sins of Israel or the sins of all mankind. Likewise, the sacrifice frees all Israel or all mankind from sin, and the consequence is reconciliation with God.
Adaptive communication in multi-robot systems using directionality of signal strength

We consider the problem of satisfying communication demands in a multi-agent system where several robots cooperate on a task and a fixed subset of the agents act as mobile routers. Our goal is to position the team of robotic routers to provide communication coverage to the remaining client robots. We allow for dynamic environments and variable client demands, thus necessitating an adaptive solution. We present an innovative method that calculates a mapping between a robot's current position and the signal strength that it receives along each spatial direction, for its wireless links to every other robot. We show that this information can be used to design a simple positional controller that retains a quadratic structure, while adapting to wireless signals in real-world environments. Notably, our approach does not necessitate stochastic sampling along directions that are counter-productive to the overall coordination goal, nor does it require exact client positions, or a known map of the environment.
Interactive input devices

Input devices connected to a computer system allow the user to enter data or interact with running programs, and are used for activities ranging from editing computer programs to playing videogames (q.v.). Input devices can be separated into five classes: keyboards, locators, picks, valuators, and buttons. The classification is determined by the distinct functions performed. In many cases, these divisions are blurred because a device of one class can simulate the functions of another. This simulation allows a workstation (q.v.) to have full functionality without having to use a large number of different input devices.
The Parbelos, a Parabolic Analog of the Arbelos

The arbelos is a classical geometric shape bounded by three mutually tangent semicircles with collinear diameters. We introduce a parabolic analog, the parbelos. After a review of the parabola, we ...
Adaptively secure threshold cryptography: introducing concurrency, removing erasures

We put forward two new measures of security for threshold schemes secure in the adaptive adversary model: security under concurrent composition; and security without the assumption of reliable erasure. Using novel constructions and analytical tools, in both these settings, we exhibit efficient secure threshold protocols for a variety of cryptographic applications. In particular, based on the recent scheme by Cramer-Shoup, we construct adaptively secure threshold cryptosystems secure against adaptive chosen ciphertext attack under the DDH intractability assumption. Our techniques are also applicable to other cryptosystems and signature schemes, like RSA, DSS, and ElGamal. Our techniques include the first efficient implementation, for a wide but special class of protocols, of secure channels in erasure-free adaptive model. Of independent interest, we present the notion of a committed proof.
Flow Analysis, Linearity, and PTIME

Flow analysis is a ubiquitous and much-studied component of compiler technology--and its variations abound. Amongst the most well known is Shivers' 0CFA; however, the best known algorithm for 0CFA requires time cubic in the size of the analyzed program and is unlikely to be improved. Consequently, several analyses have been designed to approximate 0CFA by trading precision for faster computation. Henglein's simple closure analysis, for example, forfeits the notion of directionality in flows and enjoys an "almost linear" time algorithm. But in making trade-offs between precision and complexity, what has been given up and what has been gained? Where do these analyses differ and where do they coincide? We identify a core language--the linear i¾?-calculus--where 0CFA, simple closure analysis, and many other known approximations or restrictions to 0CFA are rendered identical. Moreover, for this core language, analysis corresponds with (instrumented) evaluation. Because analysis faithfully captures evaluation, and because the linear i¾?-calculus is complete for ptime , we derive ptime -completeness results for all of these analyses.
Personal history of rosacea and risk of incident cancer among women in the US

Rosacea is an inflammatory skin disease. We examined the association between personal history of rosacea and risk of incident cancers. A total of 75 088 whites were included from the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991–2011). Information on clinician-diagnosed rosacea and diagnosis year was collected in 2005. All cancers other than basal cell carcinoma (BCC) were confirmed. During 1 447 205 person-years, we identified 5194 cases with internal malignancies and 5788 with skin cancers. We did not observe significant associations between personal history of rosacea and internal malignancies, except for thyroid cancer (hazard ratio (HR)=1.59, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.07–2.36). Among skin cancers, personal history of rosacea was associated with an elevated risk of BCC (HR=1.50, 95% CI=1.35–1.67). We suggest possible associations between personal history of rosacea and an increased risk of thyroid cancer and BCC. Further studies are warranted to replicate our findings and to explore the underlying mechanisms.
Optimized first-order methods for smooth convex minimization

We introduce new optimized first-order methods for smooth unconstrained convex minimization. Drori and Teboulle (Math Program 145(1---2):451---482, 2014. doi:10.1007/s10107-013-0653-0) recently described a numerical method for computing the N-iteration optimal step coefficients in a class of first-order algorithms that includes gradient methods, heavy-ball methods (Polyak in USSR Comput Math Math Phys 4(5):1---17, 1964. doi:10.1016/0041-5553(64)90137-5), and Nesterov's fast gradient methods (Nesterov in Sov Math Dokl 27(2):372---376, 1983; Math Program 103(1):127---152, 2005. doi:10.1007/s10107-004-0552-5). However, the numerical method in Drori and Teboulle (2014) is computationally expensive for large N, and the corresponding numerically optimized first-order algorithm in Drori and Teboulle (2014) requires impractical memory and computation for large-scale optimization problems. In this paper, we propose optimized first-order algorithms that achieve a convergence bound that is two times smaller than for Nesterov's fast gradient methods; our bound is found analytically and refines the numerical bound in Drori and Teboulle (2014). Furthermore, the proposed optimized first-order methods have efficient forms that are remarkably similar to Nesterov's fast gradient methods.
Cooperative acquisition of Africana: Past performance and future directions☆

Abstract This article gives a review of previous cooperative acquisition efforts by African Studies librarians followed by a detailed report of a survey of major U.S. African collections. This survey reports on the scope of collections; methods of collecting; amount and sources of funds and current cooperative involvements or plans. Finally, suggestions are made for specific projects that can be relatively quickly implemented.
FINITE SAMPLE PROPERTIES OF NONSTATIONARY BINARY RESPONSE MODELS: A MONTE CARLO AND RESPONSE SURFACE ANALYSIS

This paper investigates the finite sample distributions of maximum likelihood estimators for nonstationary probit models. We find that, analogous to standard OLS models, commonly used tests statistics almost always reject the null hypothesis of no relationship between xt and a latent yt, even when they are, in fact, generated by independent random walks. However, if cointegrating relationships are present in the model, parameter distributions are better behaved and standard z and Wald test statistics are consistent.
C1 CHEMISTRY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ULTRA-CLEAN LIQUID TRANSPORTATION FUELS AND HYDROGEN

The Consortium for Fossil Fuel Science (CFFS) is a research consortium with participants from the University of Kentucky, University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University, University of Utah, and Auburn University. The CFFS is conducting a research program to develop C1 chemistry technology for the production of clean transportation fuel from resources such as coal and natural gas, which are more plentiful domestically than petroleum. The processes under development will convert feedstocks containing one carbon atom per molecular unit into ultra clean liquid transportation fuels (gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel) and hydrogen, which many believe will be the transportation fuel of the future. Feedstocks include synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen produced by coal gasification, coalbed methane, light products produced by Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis, methanol, and natural gas.
Reducing social context cues: electronic mail in organizational communication

This paper examines electronic mail in organizational communication. Based on ideas about how social context cues within a communication setting affect information exchange, it argues that electronic mail does not simply speed up the exchange of information but leads to the exchange of new information as well. In a field study in a Fortune 500 company, we used questionnaire data and actual messages to examine electronic mail communication at all levels of the organization. Based on hypotheses from research on social communication, we explored effects of electronic communication related to self-absorption, status equalization, and uninhibited behavior. Consistent with experimental studies, we found that decreasing social context cues has substantial deregulating effects on communication. And we found that much of the information conveyed through electronic mail was information that would not have been conveyed through another medium. (ELECTRONIC MAIL; INFORMATION EXCHANGE; SOCIAL CONTEXT)
Namibia's social safety net : issues and options for reform

This report describes Namibia's social safety net and issues and options for reform. In Namibia, the extended family is a big shock absorber: informal sharing arrangements between and within households are Namibia's unique sources of strength. Grandparents contribute enormously to the continuation of this safety net by letting the entire family share their social pension in times of need, and by looking after their grandchildren while parents are away or are AIDS-infected. Yet, these informal safety nets are not robust during periods of drought, and are strained in normal times due to the high levels of unemployment and the growing burden of children of AIDS-infected parents. Of all the formal safety net programs, the social pension program and the disability grant touch the lives of the poor more than other programs. Namibia is one of the few countries in Africa to administer a social pension program for every individual after attaining the age of 60. The three main grants for needy children also suffer from regional asymmetry and are heavily urban-biased. The pro-urban and middle class bias appear highest for in-kind programs, viz., school feeding programs and shelter/housing programs. Up gradation of squatter settlements and single-room apartments, and provision water and sanitation facilities are a priority; public resources need to be reallocated to those programs of direct relevance to the rural poor. The country has many other transfer programs including subsidization of welfare homes and remission of rent for apartments with overdue rents. The impact of these programs on poverty appears at best dubious. Elimination of these programs will release the administrative resources needed to implement social pensions and disability grants more effectively. The resource savings may contribute to overall fiscal sustainability of programs. The principal conclusion of this study is while the informal safety net is unable to cope with the increasing demands, the formal programs are too many and poorly administer.
When Should Time be Continuous? Volatility Modeling and Estimation of High-Frequency Data

The paper studies the problem of volatility modeling and estimation of high-frequency data undercontinuous record asymptotics. The approach decomposes the observed data into pricediffusion and stationary components. The diffusion component may be identified as the"true" value of the underlying asset. The stationary component, termed as thehigh-frequency "noise" (HFN), accommodates pertinent market microstructure features.A simple condition, characterizing the HFN component on which conventional volatilityestimators on the basis of noisy observations will be consistent for diffusion volatility, is derived, and is applied to Reuters FXFX data. It is shown that conventional volatility estimators lead to substantial spurious volatility in high-frequency returns. The failure of conventional estimators in providing consistent estimates is due to the higher irregularities of the HFN sample path, which is induced, at least in part, by trader heterogeneity. In addition, the optimal sampling frequency is acquired which justifies theappropriateness of the use of the 10- to 15-minute sampling intervals - the benchmark noisefilter used in many recent empirical studies dealing with high-frequency foreign exchangedata.
A Somewhat Gentle Introduction to Differential Graded Commutative Algebra

Differential graded (DG) commutative algebra provides powerful techniques for proving theorems about modules over commutative rings. These notes are a somewhat colloquial introduction to these techniques. In order to provide some motivation for commutative algebraists who are wondering about the benefits of learning and using these techniques, we present them in the context of a recent result of Nasseh and Sather-Wagstaff. These notes were used for the course “Differential Graded Commutative Algebra” that was part of the Workshop on Connections Between Algebra and Geometry at the University of Regina, May 29–June 1, 2012.
Galactic Dynamics and Gravitational Plasmas

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on galactic dynamics and gravitational plasmas. A normal galaxy is primarily a collisionless, gravitationally bound stellar system, although there are other constituents, such as interstellar gas, cosmic ray particles, and magnetic field. The study of the stellar system may be made on the basis of Liouville's partial differential equation for the distribution function of point masses (the stars) in phase space and of Poisson's equation for gravitational potential. This combined system of equations is the counterpart of the system of Vlasov and Maxwell equations in electromagnetic plasmas. Hence, the term “gravitational plasma” is appropriate for the description of stellar systems. In addition to the problem of spiral structure, there are many other dynamic issues that belong to the domain of galactic dynamics. For instance, the structure of the ellipticals, with their mysterious three-dimensional structure, provides an example of the richness of phenomena in collisionless stellar systems and may teach something about the structure of the invisible halos. The chapter provides details on density wave theory of spiral structure. It comments on some dynamic mechanisms, such as wave propagation, and wave behavior at turning points and resonances. The chapter also discusses theory of discrete spiral modes.
Applications of craig interpolation to model checking

A Craig interpolant [1] for a mutually inconsistent pair of formulas (A,B) is a formula that is (1) implied by A, (2) inconsistent with B, and (3) expressed over the common variables of A and B. It is known that a Craig interpolant can be efficiently derived from a refutation of A ∧ B, for certain theories and proof systems. For example, interpolants can be derived from resolution proofs in propositional logic, and for systems of linear inequalities over the reals [6,4]. These methods have been recently extended to combine linear inequalities with uninterpreted function symbols, and to deal with integer models [5]. One key aspect of these procedures is that the yield quantifier-free interpolants when the premises A and B are quantifier-free.
Energy-based structure prediction for d(Al70Co20Ni10)

We use energy minimization principles to predict the structure of a decagonal quasicrystal–d(AlCoNi)–in the cobalt-rich phase. Monte Carlo methods are then used to explore configurations while relaxation and molecular dynamics are used to obtain a more realistic structure once a low-energy configuration has been found. We find five-fold symmetric decagons 12.8 A in diameter as the characteristic formation of this composition, along with smaller pseudo-five-fold symmetric clusters filling the spaces between the decagons. We use our method to make comparisons with a recent experimental approximant structure model from Sugiyama et al. (K. Sugiyama, S. Nishimura and K. Hiraga, J. Alloy Comp. 342 65 (2002)).
Computing Solar Absolute Fluxes

Computed color indices and spectral shapes for individual stars are routinely compared with observations for essentially all spectral types, but absolute fluxes are rarely tested. We can confront observed irradiances with the predictions from model atmospheres for a few stars with accurate angular diameter measurements, notably the Sun. Previous calculations have been hampered by inconsistencies and the use of outdated atomic data and abundances. I provide here a progress report on our current efforts to compute absolute fluxes for solar model photospheres. Uncertainties in the solar composition constitute a significant source of error in computing solar radiative fluxes.
The Falling Factorial Basis and Its Statistical Applications

We study a novel spline-like basis, which we name the falling factorial basis, bearing many similarities to the classic truncated power basis. The advantage of the falling factorial basis is that it enables rapid, linear-time computations in basis matrix multiplication and basis matrix inversion. The falling factorial functions are not actually splines, but are close enough to splines that they provably retain some of the favorable properties of the latter functions. We examine their application in two problems: trend filtering over arbitrary input points, and a higher-order variant of the two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.
The Role of Market Size in the Formation of Jurisdictions

Administrative and political reorganization is being actively debated even in the mature, stable economies of Western Europe. This paper investigates the possibility that such a reorganization is tied to the integration of economic markets. The paper describes a model where heterogeneous individuals form coalitions for the provision of a public good and shows that the number and composition of these jurisdictions depend on the overall size of the market. The range of economic activities engaged in by jurisdiction members increases when the size of the market increases, and so does the range of their preferences over the public good. The result is a change in the endogenous borders of the jurisdictions, and a reorganization of all coalitions. The optimal number of jurisdictions is unique and increases with market size. In the absence of compensating transfers, however, the decentralized equilibrium need not be optimal and is not unique, although there is no restriction on individuals' ability to coordinate the formation of coalitions. It remains true that a large enough increase in market size will trigger an increase in the number of jurisdictions.
Acyclic Subgraphs of Planar Digraphs

An acyclic set in a digraph is a set of vertices that induces an acyclic subgraph. In 2011, Harutyunyan conjectured that every planar digraph on $n$ vertices without directed 2-cycles possesses an acyclic set of size at least $3n/5$. We prove this conjecture for digraphs where every directed cycle has length at least 8. More generally, if $g$ is the length of the shortest directed cycle, we show that there exists an acyclic set of size at least $(1 - 3/g)n$.
Stability estimates in inverse scattering

An algorithm is given for calculating the solution to the 3D inverse scattering problem with noisy discrete fixed energy data. The error estimates for the calculated solution are derived. The methods developed are of general nature and can be used in many applications: in nondestructive evaluation and remote sensing, in geophysical exploration, medical diagnostics and technology.
Political Violence and Economic Growth

This paper analyzes the economic growth impact of organized political violence. First, the authors articulate the theoretical underpinnings of the growth impact of political violence in a popular model of growth under uncertainty. The authors show that, under plausible assumptions regarding attitudes toward risk, the overall effects of organized political violence are likely to be much higher than its direct capital destruction impact. Second, using a quantitative model of violence that distinguishes between three levels of political violence (riots, coups, and civil war), the authors use predicted probabilities of aggregate violence and its three manifestations to identify their growth effects in an encompassing growth model. Panel regressions suggest that organized political violence, especially civil war, significantly lowers long-term economic growth. Moreover, unlike most previous studies, the authors also find ethnic fractionalization to have a negative and direct effect on growth, though its effect is substantially ameliorated by the institutions specific to a non-factional partial democracy. Third, the results show that Sub-Saharan Africa has been disproportionately impacted by civil war, which explains a substantial share of its economic decline, including the widening income gap relative to East Asia. Civil wars have also been costly for Sub-Saharan Africa. For the case of Sudan, a typical large African country experiencing a long-duration conflict, the cost of war amounts to $46 billion (in 2000 fixed prices), which is roughly double the country's current stock of external debt. Fourth, the authors suggest that to break free from its conflict-underdevelopment trap, Africa needs to better manage its ethnic diversity. The way to do this would be to develop inclusive, non-factional democracy. A democratic but factional polity would not work, and would be only marginally better than an authoritarian regime.
Non-Markovian dynamics in a dense potassium vapor

Using transient four-wave mixing, we have observed the relaxation dynamics of a dense potassium vapor whose dephasing time is large compared to the collision duration, revealing a clear transition from non-Markovian to Markovian dynamics.
Are Macroeconomic Variables Useful for Forecasting the Distribution of U.S. Inflation

Abstract Much of the inflation forecasting literature examines the ability of macroeconomic indicators to predict the mean inflation accurately. For the period after 1984, the existing empirical evidence largely suggests that the likelihood of predicting inflation accurately using macroeconomic indicators is no better than a random walk model. We expand the scope of inflation predictability by exploring whether macroeconomic indicators are useful in predicting the distribution of inflation. We consider six commonly-used macro indicators and core/non-core versions of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) deflator as measures of inflation. Based on monthly data and for the forecast period after 1984, we find that some of the macro indicators, such as the unemployment rate, housing starts and the term spread, provide significant out-of-sample predictability for the distribution of core inflation. An analysis of the quantiles of the predictive distribution reveals interesting patterns which would otherwise be ignored by existing inflation forecasting approaches that rely only on forecasting the mean. We also illustrate the importance of inflation distribution forecasting in evaluating some events which are of policy interest by focusing on predicting the likelihood of deflation.
Wideband code division multiple access

We present an overview of some of the key characteristics of a wideband code division multiple access (CDMA) system. Among the topics that are discussed are the effect of spread bandwidth on performance, the use of multicarrier CDMA, and the use of multicode CDMA.
Experience with radiation protection for a silicon vertex detector at a hadronic collider

The Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) incorporates a Silicon Vertex Detector (SVX) in the study of proton antiproton collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We describe here our experience with SVX radiation protection issues during the commissioning and subsequent operation of the Collider. We outline the catalog of typical accelerator loss mechanisms, the radiation dose associated with each, and our eventual protection strategy in each case. We map the total radiation dose received by the SVX in space as well as in time. We also discuss measured radiation damage to the SVX, and its correlation with the independently measured radiation dose. >
Explaining business cycles: A multiple-shock approach

Abstract Aiyagari (1992) and Prescott (1986, 1991) claim that a large fraction of the variance of United States quarterly detrended real GNP is attributable to an unobservable shock to total factor productivity. This paper argues that the importance of a productivity shock in explaining the variance of output is fundamentally indeterminate. Any model that is in accord with the several time series that make up United States macroeconomic data must feature multiple shocks that are correlated at all leads and lags. Sorting out the separate effects of these various shocks on a single variable such as real GNP is impossible. We illustrate this argument using a multiple-shock version of the King-Plosser-Rebelo (1988) benchmark real business cycle model.
Metallicity and far-infrared luminosity of high-redshift quasars

We present the results of an exploratory study of broad-line region (BLR) metallicity in 34 2.2 ≤ z ≤ 4.6 quasars with far-infrared (FIR) luminosities (L FIR ) from 10 13.4 to ≤10 12.1 L⊙. Quasar samples sorted by L FIR might represent an evolutionary sequence if the star formation rates (SFRs) in quasar hosts generally diminish across quasar lifetimes. We use rest-frame ultraviolet spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to construct three composite spectra sorted by L FI R, corresponding to average SFRs of 4980, 2130 and ≤ 340 M⊙ yr -1 after correcting for a nominal quasar FIR contribution. The measured N V λ1240/C IV λ 1550and Si IV λ 1397 +O IV] λ 1402/C IV λ 1550 emission line ratios indicate supersolar BLR metallicities in all three composites, with no evidence for a trend with the star formation rate. The formal derived metallicities, Z ∼ 5-9Z⊙, are similar to those derived for the BLRs of other quasars at similar redshifts and luminosities. These results suggest that the ongoing star formation in the host is not responsible for the metal enrichment of the BLR gas. Instead, the BLR gas must have been enriched before the visible quasar phase. These results for high quasar metallicities, regardless of L FIR , are consistent with evolution scenarios wherein visibly bright quasars appear after the main episode(s) of star formation and metal enrichment in the host galaxies. Finally, young quasars, those more closely associated with a recent merger or a blowout of gas and dust, may exhibit tracers of these events, such as redder continuum slopes and higher incidence of narrow absorption lines. With the caveat of small sample sizes, we find no relation between L FIR and the reddening or the incidence of absorption lines.
Boundary‐Value Problems

This article strictly concentrates on the use of the finite-difference method (FDM) in the numerical analysis of boundary value problems associated with primarily static and to some extent quasistatic electromagnetic (EM) fields. Although all examples presented herein deal with EM-related engineering applications, some numerical aspects of FDM are also covered. The emphasis will be placed on the applications of FDM to three-dimensional boundary value problems involving objects with arbitrary geometric shapes that are composed of complex dielectric materials. Keywords: electromagnetic field; finite-difference method; boundary value; electrostatics; volumetric analysis
Multinomial processing models in visual cognitive effort diagnostics

The pupillary response has been used to measure mental workload because of its sensitivity to stimuli and high resolution. The goal of this study was to diagnose the cognitive effort involved with a task that was presented visually. A multinomial processing tree (MPT) was used as an analytical tool in order to disentangle and predict separate cognitive processes, with the resulting output being a change in pupil diameter. This model was fitted to previous test data related to the pupillary response when presented a mental multiplication task. An MPT model describes observed response frequencies from a set of response categories. The parameter values of an MPT model are the probabilities of moving from latent state to the next. An EM algorithm was used to estimate the parameter values based on the response frequency of each category. This results in a parsimonious, causal model that facilitates in the understanding the pupillary response to cognitive load. This model eventually could be instrumental in bridging the gap between human vision and computer vision.
Efficiency and Information Transmission in Bilateral Trading

Abstract We study pairwise trading mechanisms in the presence of one-sided or two-sided private information and two-sided limited commitment, whereby either trader can walk away from a proposed trade when he learns the trading price. We show that when one trader's information is relevant for the other trader's value of the asset, optimal trading arrangements may necessarily conceal the traders' information. While limited commitment itself may not be costly, it shapes how prices transmit information.
THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF AN OBJECTIVE METHOD FOR QUANTIFYING HYPERACTIVITY IN CHILDREN

It has been estimated that about 10 percent of all boys aged six to twelve years are hyperactive. Often, hyperactivity is associated with learning disabilities. Despite the apparent magnitude of this problem, no valid objective and reliable measures are available to quantify hyperactivity in children. This study discusses how objective measures, using sinus arrhythmia and force platform scores were developed and validated on 30 boys (15 hyperactive and 15 non-hyperactive) aged seven to twelve years. The results indicate that, when the above objective measures were used, 77 percent of all subjects were classified into their correct groups. Language: en
Rainbow matchings and Hamilton cycles in random graphs

Let HPn,m,k be drawn uniformly from all m-edge, k-uniform, k-partite hypergraphs where each part of the partition is a disjoint copy of [n]. We let HPn,m,k(κ) be an edge colored version, where we color each edge randomly from one of κ colors. We show that if κ=n and m=Knlogn where K is sufficiently large then w.h.p. there is a rainbow colored perfect matching. I.e. a perfect matching in which every edge has a different color. We also show that if n is even and m=Knlogn where K is sufficiently large then w.h.p. there is a rainbow colored Hamilton cycle in Gn,m(n). Here Gn,m(n) denotes a random edge coloring of Gn,m with n colors. When n is odd, our proof requires m=ω(nlogn) for there to be a rainbow Hamilton cycle. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 48, 503–523, 2016
On the Stability of Supply Chains

This paper examines the stability of decentralized, multistage supply chains under arbitrary demand conditions. It looks for intrinsic properties of the inventory replenishment policies that hold for all customer demand processes and for policies with desirable properties.It is found that the overall conditions experienced by suppliers several stages removed from the final customer, e.g., the variances of the orders they receive and the inventories they keep, depend on the policy much more than on the demand process. A policy-specific but demand-independent upper bound for the order variance amplification factor of any decentralized policy is shown to exist, and its formula is presented. The bound is always tight for the suppliers at the end of a long chain so that a policy exhibits the "bullwhip effect" if and only if its bound is greater than 1.A simple necessary condition for bullwhip avoidance is also identified in terms of a policy's "gain." Gain is the marginal change in average inventory induced by a policy when there is a small but sustained change in the demand rate. It is shown thatall policies with positive gain produce the bullwhip effect if they do not use future order commitments. Because manufacturers can reduce costs by operating with positive gain, this explains the prevalence of the bullwhip effect.A family of commitment-based policies that can dynamically maintain any desired inventory level for any demand rate (e.g., achieve positive gain) without the bullwhip effect is also presented. The family includes just-in-time strategies as a special case. Simulation results are used as an illustration.
Androgen Regulation of JM-27 is Associated With the Diseased Prostate

Despite intense research efforts, the etiology of prostatic hyperplasia associated with both benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer remains poorly understood. Our previous studies using array technology identified JM-27 as a transcript that is dramatically up-regulated in the prostates of patients with symptomatic BPH and in normal, adjacent prostatic regions of patients with prostate cancer. In the present study, using an extended sample set, we show a correlation between the messenger RNA and protein expression of JM-27. To investigate the possible functions of this gene, its expression in the rat prostate was examined by immunoblot analysis using a polyclonal antibody specific to human JM-27. This antibody reacts with 2 rat polypeptides of 17 kd and 27 kd in size. Whereas the 27-kd form of the JM-27 protein found in human prostate is selectively expressed in the dorsolateral lobes of the rat prostate, the 17-kd form is expressed only in the ventral lobe. Expression of both forms of this protein appears to be androgen-regulated. There is a time-dependent decrease in expression of the protein products in the ventral and dorsolateral lobes of the rat prostate after castration. Administration of exogenous testosterone in castrated animals maintains protein expression in both lobes. Androgens are believed to play a central role in prostate growth and development, and therefore, it is tempting to speculate that JM-27, an androgen-regulated gene, may be involved in prostatic growth regulation. Further studies are underway to evaluate such a function for JM-27 in prostatic diseases.
Reaction layer formation at the graphite/copper-chromium alloy interface

Sessile drop tests were used to obtain information about copper chromium alloys that suitably wet graphite. Characterization of graphite/copper-chromium alloy interfaces subjected to elevated temperatures were conducted using scanning electron micrography, energy dispersive spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analyses. These analyses indicate that during sessile drop tests conducted at 1130 C for one hour, copper alloys containing greater than 0.98 percent chromium form continuous reaction layers of approximately 10 micron thickness. The reaction layers adhere to the graphite surface. The copper wets the reaction layer to form a contact angle of 60 degrees or less. X-ray diffraction results indicate that the reaction layer is chromium carbide. The kinetics of reaction layer formation were modelled in terms of bulk diffusion mechanisms. Reaction layer thickness is controlled initially by the diffusion of Cr out of Cu alloy and later by the diffusion of C through chromium carbide.
Matrix-isolation study of the infrared spectra of alkali MPO3, MNO3 and MPO2 molecules

Abstract Alkali MPO3, MNO3 and MPO2 molecules have been studied by means of IR matrix-isolation spectroscopy. For these molecules, C2v bidentate structures are proposed. The splitting of the E′ stretching vibration of the XO3− anion, as a consequence of the cation coordination, is discussed.
Laser Beam Welding With Simultaneous Gaussian Laser Preheating

An analytical solution of the dual laser beam welding process is presented. It is based on a Gaussian distributed leading heat source for preheating, followed by a line source for the actual welding process. The effect of beam distribution parameters as well as interbeam spacing and relative power intensities on the resulting temperature distribution and cooling rate are presented. For a preheating Gaussian source of power 1550 W, the depth of region above 500 o C is 2.25 mm, and that above 250 o C is 3.5 mm. The cooling rate at the weld centerline without preheating for a temperature of 650 o C, inputpower 1800 W, and welding velocity 20 mm/s is found to be 1004 o C/s
Variation in Distortion with Magnification

The distortion introduced in the image by a lens for a given axial inclination of the chief ray is a linear function of the magnification. Specifically, if D0 represents the distortion with parallel light incident on one side of the lens (zero magnification) and D∞ the distortion with parallel light incident on the other, then the distortion Dm at any magnification m is given by: Dm=D0−mD∞. This equation has been experimentally verified for examples of three types of symmetrical lenses.
An Experimental Investigation of the Interactions among Intentions, Reciprocity, and Control

ABSTRACT: Prior academic research finds that formal controls can cause employees to engage in dysfunctional behaviors (e.g., decreased effort, fraud, or theft). This study investigates one specific aspect of formal control that contributes to employees' negative reactions—employees' beliefs about management's intentions signaled by the control. I use two interactive experiments to examine the effects on employee effort and firm profit of: (1) employees' beliefs regarding management's intentions when implementing control (i.e., perceived intentionality), and (2) employees' preferences for reciprocity. Consistent with prior literature, I find that formal control can cause employees to exert low effort, resulting in reduced firm profit. However, I find that the adverse consequences only occur when management clearly imposes the control and, therefore, employees interpret it as a signal of distrust. Further, employees respond negatively to controls that are unambiguously imposed by managers, even when manager...