cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hispanism and the historiography of colonial Latin America: North American trends

espanolEl hispanismo o la fascinacion por todo lo “espanol” tienen una larga tradicion en los Estados Unidos. El fenomeno ha tenido tanto manifestaciones populares como academicas, y por lo tanto debe tratarse de una manera amplia cuando se tiene en cuenta la historiografia de la America Latina colonial producida por academicos anglofonos, tanto dentro como fuera de los EE. UU. Los apologistas, criticos y todos los demas han tenido que lidiar con el legado hispano en las Americas, tanto en lo cultural como en lo religioso, economico, ambiental y de otro tipo. Este ensayo rastrea las principales preocupaciones o preguntas “hispanas” que generaron subcampos academicos y escuelas durante el ultimo cuarto de siglo mas o menos entre los anglofonos que investigan sobre America Latina colonial. La pregunta sigue siendo: ?En que medida el hispanismo o la preocupacion por los multiples legados coloniales de Espana han impulsado estas tendencias historiograficas? ?Se ha desvanecido el hispanismo o simplemente ha tomado nuevas formas? EnglishHispanism or the fascination with all things “Spanish” has a long history in the United States. The phenomenon has had both popular and scholarly manifestations, and thus must be treated broadly when reckoning with the historiography of colonial Latin America produced by Anglophone scholars, both inside and outside the U.S. Apologists, critics, and everyone in between have had to grapple with the Hispanic legacy in the Americas: cultural, religious, economic, environmental, and otherwise. This essay traces the main “Hispanic” concerns or questions that spawned scholarly subfields and schools over the last quarter-century or so among Anglophones working on colonial Latin America. The question remains: to what degree was Hispanism or a concern with Spain’s multiple colonial legacies a driver of these historiographical trends? Has Hispanism faded from view or has it simply taken on new guises?
An LSTM Framework for Software-Defined Measurement

Providing fine-grained traffic measurement is crucial for many network management and optimization tasks such as traffic engineering, anomaly detection, load balancing, power management, and traffic matrix estimation. Software-defined networks can potentially enable fine-grained measurement by providing statistics for each forwarding rule. However, the TCAMs that are used for rule matching and statistics generation have limited size due to their high cost and power consumption. This allows only a fraction of the flows to be monitored. In this article, we present DeepFlow, a framework for scalable software-defined measurement that relies on an efficient mechanism that a) adaptively detects the most active source and destination IP prefixes, b) collects fine-grained measurements for the most active prefixes and coarse grained for the less active ones, and c) uses historical measurements in order to train a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model that can be used to provide short-term predictions whenever exact flow counters cannot be placed at a switch due to its limited resources. Thus the number of fine-grained flows measured can increase significantly without the need to use other flow sampling solutions that suffer from low accuracy. An extensive experimental evaluation study using real network traces shows that DeepFlow outperforms the baselines in terms of the total number of flows measured.
Recurrent Cardiogenic Syncope From Extrinsic Organ Anomaly.

Case Presentation A 40-year-old woman presented with recurrent syncope. She reported multiple (>20) episodes of non-prodromal loss of consciousness, periodically provoked by physical exertion. One episode resulted in a nasal fracture due to the abrupt nature of her syncope. The characterization of each episode was inconsistent with a neurogenic seizure. Other causes of syncope (vasovagal, situational, carotid hypersensitivity, and orthostasis) were also deemed unlikely. On physical examination, a low-pitched, brief adventitious sound was appreciated after each S2 sound in the right lower sternal border. The remainder of the physical examination was unremarkable. Initial workup, including complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, cardiac enzymes, and ECG yielded normal results. The chest radiograph did not show any gross cardiac or pulmonary parenchymal pathologic condition ( Fig 1 ). Telemetry did not demonstrate any malignant arrhythmias, and video-guided EEG did not document any seizure activity.
Machine Learning Applications in Heart Failure Disease Management: Hype or Hope?

Machine learning (ML) approaches have emerged as powerful tools in medicine. This review focuses on the use ML to assess risk of events in patients with heart failure (HF). It provides an overview of the ML process, challenges in developing risk scores, and strategies to mitigate problems. Risk scores developed using standard statistical methods have limited accuracy, particularly when they are applied to populations other than the one in which they were developed. Computerized ML algorithms which identify correlations between descriptive variables in complex, non-linear, multi-dimensional systems provide an alternative approach to predicting risk of events. The MARKER-HF mortality risk score was developed using data from the electronic health record of HF patients followed at a large academic medical center. The risk score, which uses eight commonly available variables, proved to be highly accurate in predicting mortality across the spectrum of risk. It retained accuracy in independent populations and was superior to other risk scores. Machine learning approaches can be used to develop risk scores that are superior to ones based on standard statistical methods. Careful attention to detail in curating data, selecting covariates, and trouble-shooting the process is required to optimize results.
What is your shopping travel style? Heterogeneity in US households’ online shopping and travel

Abstract Although online shopping has been shown to interact with travel behavior in several ways, most studies to date focused on individual-level behavior in non-representative, geographically limited samples, making it difficult to derive clear profiles of shoppers. Using the 2017 US National Household Travel Survey, which included information on online shopping frequency, we estimated a latent class model to identify different shopper types (classes) that exhibited distinct travel and online shopping behavior. We found four classes: time-pressured shoppers, dual-channel shoppers, traditional shoppers, and infrequent shoppers and travelers, that differed in terms of sociodemographic characteristics and stages of life. Our results suggest that this heterogeneity may extend to the effects of online shopping on shopping travel, for instance, with substitution effects being dominant for one class whereas complementarity effects may be dominant for another. These findings can inform the design of tailored policies to mitigate the sustainability impacts of online shopping while also addressing the various classes’ needs. Further research is needed to untangle the complex relationships between online shopping and travel behavior, especially considering this heterogeneity and the modification effect.
The accordiatron: a MIDI controller for interactive music

The Accordiatron is a new MIDI controller for real-time performance based on the paradigm of a conventional squeeze box or concertina. It translates the gestures of a performer to the standard communication protocol of MIDI, allowing for flexible mappings of performance data to sonic parameters. When used in conjunction with a realtime signal processing environment, the Accordiatron becomes an expressive, versatile musical instrument. A combination of sensory outputs providing both discrete and continuous data gives the subtle expressiveness and control necessary for interactive music.
GPU-Based Parallel Integration of Large Numbers of Independent ODE Systems

The task of integrating a large number of independent ODE systems arises in various scientific and engineering areas. For nonstiff systems, common explicit integration algorithms can be used on GPUs, where individual GPU threads concurrently integrate independent ODEs with different initial conditions or parameters. One example is the fifth-order adaptive Runge–Kutta–Cash–Karp (RKCK) algorithm. In the case of stiff ODEs, standard explicit algorithms require impractically small time-step sizes for stability reasons, and implicit algorithms are therefore commonly used instead to allow larger time steps and reduce the computational expense. However, typical high-order implicit algorithms based on backwards differentiation formulae (e.g., VODE, LSODE) involve complex logical flow that causes severe thread divergence when implemented on GPUs, limiting the performance. Therefore, alternate algorithms are needed. A GPU-based Runge–Kutta–Chebyshev (RKC) algorithm can handle moderate levels of stiffness and performs significantly faster than not only an equivalent CPU version but also a CPU-based implicit algorithm (VODE) based on results shown in the literature. In this chapter, we present the mathematical background, implementation details, and source code for the RKCK and RKC algorithms for use integrating large numbers of independent systems of ODEs on GPUs. In addition, brief performance comparisons are shown for each algorithm, demonstrating the potential benefit of moving to GPU-based ODE integrators.
An improved integer local search for complex scheduling problems

We consider complex scheduling problems that can be captured as optimization under hard and soft constraints. The objective of such an optimization problem is to satisfy as many hard constraints as possible and meanwhile to minimize a penalty function determined by the unsatisfied soft constraints. We present an efficient local search algorithm for these problems which improves upon Wsat(oip), a Walksat-based local search algorithm for overconstrained problems represented in integer programs. We introduce three techniques to the Wsat(oip) algorithm to extend its capability and improve its performance: backbone guided biased moves to drive the search to the regions in search space where high-quality and optimal solutions reside; sampling-based aspiration search to reduce search cost and make anytime solutions available over the course of the search; and dynamic parameter tuning to dynamically adjust the key parameters of the algorithm to make it robust and flexible for various applications. Our experimental results on large-scale crew scheduling, basketball tournament scheduling and progressive party scheduling show that the new improved algorithm can find better solutions with less computation than Wsat(oip).
Progress in the Characterization of Catalysts

Abstract Catalysis is a surface phenomenon, making surface composition and structure a vitally important materials issue. The enormous progress made by analytical spectroscopies and microscopies in the last 20 years has had an impact that would be hard to overestimate. The situation can be viewed in four categories: things we can see routinely, things we will likely be able to see routinely upon completion of developments now underway, things we can see if promising science translates into reliable technology, and things where the way is not now clear. Taken together, these things lead to an agenda for research in characterization science as it relates to catalysis.
Research in nanosciences : Great opportunity for catalysis science

Catalysts represent the oldest commercial application of nanotechnology. It is suggested that the focus of catalysis research in the 21st century should be on achieving 100% selectivity for the desired product (clean manufacturing). The molecular ingredients of selectivity are not well understood. The electronic and atomic structures of nanoclusters should be investigated as a function of their size. Because of the facile restructuring of metal clusters under reaction conditions they have to be characterized in situ. New synthetic methods need to be developed to produce catalyst particles with the same size, structure and location on the support.
Multi-Mode Above-Knee Prosthesis Controller

Abstract In an effort to improve the mobility of above-knee (A/K) amputees, an active multi-mode control scheme has been developed and implemented on a laboratory restricted man-interactive prosthesis simulator system. The active multi-mode scheme includes separate control algorithms for each of three locomotion modes (level walking, stair climbing, and ramp climbing) and an automatic intent recognizer. The prosthesis is controlled to duplicate the kinematics of a normal knee in each locomotion mode. The intent recognizer identifies which locomotion mode the amputee intends to perform via a finite state approach and automatically selects the appropriate control algorithm. The scheme was tested by two young active amputees in locomotion trails. Both amputees could perform the active locomotion modes and transitions between locomotion modes without any major difficulties. Results were promising. The active level walking approach appears to be possible in a self contained prosthesis. Active stair climbing and active ramp climbing require more energy and power but allow step-over-step stair climbing and ramp climbing without nearly as much circumduction and vaulting as required with a conventional prosthesis. Transitions between locomotion modes were smooth and easy to perform. Active multi-mode control appears to be a promising method to expand the functions of A/K prostheses.
Acoustic similarity and dichotic listening

Abstract Experiments in dichotic listening have suggested the conjectures that the right ear advantage (REA) has an auditory origin in competition or interference between acoustically similar stimuli and that the feature sharing effect (FSE) has its origin in the assignment of features of phonetically similar stimuli. An experiment was constructed to test these conjectures presenting stimuli from a male and a female voice dichotically. These stimuli were phonetically similar in that a female’s /ba/ is the same as a male’s /ba/, but acoustically dissimilar. The results showed no effect on the REA for acoustic similarity, and a clear effect of acoustic dissimilarity on the FSE.
NCTM's Standards for School Mathematics, K-12.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is in the process of generating a set of Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (Standards) (Commission on Standards of the NCTM 1987). NCTM has committed considerable resources to this project, anticipating that the Standards will have a pervasive effect on mathematics education during the next five to ten years. The expectation is that the Standards will influence curriculum writing at the state and local levels and that the resulting curricular changes will influence the content of textbooks adopted by states and school districts. Furthermore, the newly written curricula, together with the new Standards for the evaluation
Alcohol Prices and Mortality Due to Liver Cirrhosis: Robust-Regression Results for the European Union, 2000-2010

This study estimates a reduced-form regression model for mortality rates due to alcoholic liver diseases, with alcohol prices and income as explanatory variables. Panel data cover the years 2000-20...
"Slicing" the Hopf link

A link in the 3‐sphere is called (smoothly) slice if its components bound disjoint smoothly embedded disks in the 4‐ball. More generally, given a 4‐manifold M with a distinguished circle in its boundary, a link in the 3‐sphere is called M‐slice if its components bound in the 4‐ball disjoint embedded copies of M . A 4‐manifold M is constructed such that the Borromean rings are not M‐slice but the Hopf link is. This contrasts the classical link-slice setting where the Hopf link may be thought of as “the most nonslice” link. Further examples and an obstruction for a family of decompositions of the 4‐ball are discussed in the context of the A-B slice problem. 57N13; 57M25, 57M27
Molecular dynamics simulation of high strain-rate void nucleation and growth in copper

Isotropic tension is simulated in nanoscale polycrystalline copper with 10nm grain size using molecular dynamics. The nanocrystalline copper is fabricated on the computer by growing randomly oriented grains from seed sites in the simulation cell. Volume strain rates of 108−1010 are considered for systems ranging from 105−106 atoms using an EAM potential for copper. The spacing between voids for room temperature single crystal simulations is found to scale approximately as l∼0.005Cs/γ, where Cs is the sound speed and γ is the strain rate. Below strain rates of about 109, only one void is observed to nucleate and in the polycrystalline simulation cell.
Hardware implementation of random neural networks with reinforcement learning

In this paper, we present a hardware implementation of a random neural network (RNN) model. The RNN, introduced by Gelenbe, is a spiked neural network model that possesses several mathematical properties such as the existence and uniqueness of the solution, and convergence of the learning algorithm. In particular, we discuss the implementation details for an RNN which uses a reinforcement learning algorithm. We also illustrate an example where this circuit implementation is used as a building block in a recently proposed novel network routing protocol called cognitive packet networks (CPN). CPN does not employ a routing table instead it relies on the RNN with a reinforcement algorithm to route probing packets.
Modeling Probability Forecasts via Information Diversity

ABSTRACTRandomness in scientific estimation is generally assumed to arise from unmeasured or uncontrolled factors. However, when combining subjective probability estimates, heterogeneity stemming from people’s cognitive or information diversity is often more important than measurement noise. This article presents a novel framework that uses partially overlapping information sources. A specific model is proposed within that framework and applied to the task of aggregating the probabilities given by a group of forecasters who predict whether an event will occur or not. Our model describes the distribution of information across forecasters in terms of easily interpretable parameters and shows how the optimal amount of extremizing of the average probability forecast (shifting it closer to its nearest extreme) varies as a function of the forecasters’ information overlap. Our model thus gives a more principled understanding of the historically ad hoc practice of extremizing average forecasts. Supplementary mate...
Key Regression: Enabling Efficient Key Distribution for Secure Distributed Storage

The Plutus file system introduced the notion of key rotation as a means to derive a sequence of temporally-related keys from the most recent key. In this paper we show that, despite natural intuition to the contrary, key rotation schemes cannot generically be used to key other cryptographic objects; in fact, keying an encryption scheme with the output of a key rotation scheme can yield a composite system that is insecure. To address these shortcomings, we introduce a new cryptographic object called a key regression scheme, and we propose three constructions that are provably secure under standard cryptographic assumptions. We implement key regression in a secure file system and empirically show that key regression can significantly reduce the bandwidth requirements of a content publisher under realistic workloads using lazy revocation. Our experiments also serve as the first empirical evaluation of either a key rotation or key regression scheme.
Alternative Land Use Policies: Real Options with Costly Reversibility

This paper adopts a real options framework to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of four types of subsidies that aim to encourage a socially desirable land use under return uncertainties and costly reversibility of land use change. We first present a land conversion model to show how the subsidies that are expected net present value (ENPV) equivalent can change a representative farmer’s optimal land conversion rules differently for converting land into an alternative use as well as converting out of it. This is because these subsidies affect the land conversion costs, land return level and uncertainty differently. Then in the context of encouraging energy crop production, we compare the probabilities of inducing the representative farmer to convert land from a current crop to an energy crop across four subsidies for the same, fixed 30-year expected government budget. Results of Monte Carlo simulations show that the insurance subsidy results in the highest probability of land being converted to the energy crop, followed by the constant subsidy. Although the cost-sharing subsidy and the variable subsidy encourage land conversion to the energy crop, they also reduce the incentive to retain land in it. Over time, these two subsidies have little effect on the probability of land converting into energy crops compared to the no-subsidy baseline. Combining the establishment cost-sharing subsidy with other annual subsidies has no added effect over single subsidies in inducing land conversion to the energy crop.
To Arbitrate or To Litigate: That Is the Question

The benefits of interjurisdictional competition, particularly with a customary law option, are discussed. Arbitration can be a mechanism for choosing among systems of substantive law if effective sanctions back arbitration. Powerful groups capture wealth by manipulating monopolized law, however, and arbitrators' decisions must correspond with expectations about how they will be viewed under review if a coercive monopoly provides sanctions, so conditions necessary for establishing alternative sanctions are explored. Finally, historical efforts to eliminate or absorb customary commercial law are discussed in light of the analysis of interjurisdictional competition, and the potential for encouraging such competition in emerging markets is considered.
What's different about social media networks? a framework and research agenda

In recent years, we have witnessed the rapid proliferation and widespread adoption of a new class of information technologies, commonly known as social media. Researchers often rely on social network analysis (SNA) when attempting to understand these technologies, often without considering how the novel capabilities of social media platforms might affect the underlying theories of SNA, which were developed primarily through studies of offline social networks. This article outlines several key differences between traditional offline social networks and online social media networks by juxtaposing an established typology of social network research with a well-regarded definition of social media platforms that articulates four key features. The results show that at four major points of intersection, social media has considerable theoretical implications for SNA. In exploring these points of intersection, this study outlines a series of theoretically distinct research questions for SNA in social media contexts. These points of intersection offer considerable opportunities for researchers to investigate the theoretical implications introduced by social media and lay the groundwork for a robust social media agenda potentially spanning multiple disciplines.
Embodied agents in language learning for children with language challenges

Given the value of face-to-face interaction in communication and learning, our persistent goal has been to develop, evaluate, and apply animated agents to produce realistic and accurate speech. We have implemented these agents as computer-assisted speech and language tutors for hard of hearing and autistic children, and other children with language challenges. Our language-training program utilizes conversational agents, who guide students through a variety of exercises designed to teach vocabulary and grammar, to improve speech articulation, and to develop linguistic and phonological awareness. We report a new experiment showing its effectiveness for school children learning English as a new language. Some of the advantages of this pedagogy and technology include the popularity and effectiveness of computers and embodied conversational agents, the perpetual availability of the program, and individualized instruction. Animated tutors offer a promising approach to language learning, human-machine interaction, and education
Pseudoperitonitis: Due to external traumatism

Abstract 1. 1. The type of case with which this paper deals is one which demands the minutest and most painstaking personal care of the surgeon himself. 2. 2. The decision whether to operate or not to operate must be made in a matter of a few hours. 3. 3. Keeping in mind the possibility of distant traumatism as a factor in the causation of symptoms resembling those due to actual peritoneal inflammation, it but remains for the surgeon to stay with his patient and to carry out meticulously all the essential clinical investigations, which will show actual peritoneal injury. 4. 4. Use of block anesthesia during this time is suggested as an aid in the diagnosis.
Tin Effects in the Hydroboration of Hindered Olefins

Abstract Intermolecular hydroboration of tetrasubstituted olefins is enhanced by allylic tin substituents. Intramolecular hydroboration using hindered allylic tin substrates is found to be inefficient presumably due to the steric bulk of the trialkylstannane group.
Nonparametric Regression in the Presence of Correlated Errors

Most automated bandwidth selection methods for nonparametric regression break down in the presence of correlated errors. This problem has been previously studied in the context of kernel regression and the fixed, equidistant design. This article generalizes these results by addressing the problem for local linear regression and allowing for a random design. In this setting, we show that when the errors are correlated, the asymptotically optimal bandwidth for local linear regression depends on the integrated covariance function. A nonparametric plug-in bandwidth estimator that takes this effect into account is proposed. The resulting bandwidth estimator shares many of the same properties in the presence of autocorrelation as traditional plug-in estimators possess when the errors are independent. The extension to the spatial setting is discussed and a simple plug-in bandwidth selection without asymptotic optimality properties is proposed in this case. Two examples are used to demonstrate the proposed bandwidth selection algorithm.
Using twins and scaling to construct cospectral graphs for the normalized Laplacian

The spectrum of the normalized Laplacian matrix cannot determine the number of edges in a graph, however finding constructions of cospectral graphs with differing number of edges has been elusive. In this paper we use basic properties of twins and scaling to show how to construct such graphs. We also give examples of families of graphs which are cospectral with a subgraph for the normalized Laplacian matrix.
A Bayesian Look at New Open Economy Macroeconomics

This paper develops a small-scale two-country model following the new open economy macroeconomics paradigm. Under autarky, the model specializes to the familiar three-equation New Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model. We discuss two challenges to successful estimation of DSGE models: potential model misspecification and identification problems. We argue that prior distributions and Bayesian estimation techniques are useful to cope with these challenges. We apply these techniques to the two-country model and fit it to data from the United States and the Euro area. We compare parameter estimates from closed and open economy specifications, study the sensitivity of parameter estimates to the choice of prior distribution, examine the propagation of monetary policy shocks, and assess the model's ability to explain exchange-rate movements.
Have soda sales tax effects changed over time? Scanner data comparison analyses

The scientific evidence on the effect of sugar consumption on obesity has propelled policy makers in several states across the U.S. to propose the imposition of a tax on soft drinks. In this paper, we look at the effect of two tax events: a 5.5% sales tax on soft drinks imposed by the state of Maine in 1991, and a 5% sales tax on soft drinks levied in Ohio in 2003. We investigate this question by using sales data collected by scanner devices in Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut, as well as Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania. These samples comprise stores that account for more than 80% of all grocery sales nationwide and include brand-level sales data for the periods of study. We employ a difference-in-difference matching estimator (DIDM) that, in our setting, permits the comparison among treatment and control groups based on brand identity. Results suggest that sales tax had a statistically insignificant impact on the overall consumption of soft drinks. This finding is robust to several alternative specifications, and over time.
Pudendal block with hyaluronidase.

Abstract The ideal agent to employ routinely in order to obtain analgesia and/or anesthesia in obstetrics has yet to be found. 7 Requirements for the perfect analgesic drug or method are as follows: 1.1. It must be quick in action, constant, and not complicated in administration. 2.2. It must not interfere with the progress of labor. 3.3. It must be nontoxic, to both the mother and fetus, and there should be a wide margin between the toxic and therapeutic doses. 4.4. It nust produce an amnesic as well as analgesic effect. 5.5. It should produce complete relaxation without destroying the patient's ability to cooperate. 6.6. It should not lead to postpartum bleeding, excitement, or other complications. A variation of a method of regional anesthesia is presented. The effectiveness of this procedure over regular pudendal block will become obvious even in the hands of a novice. Above all, it facilitates relief of pain of perineal stretching, which can only be otherwise obtained with the more formidable types of anesthesia. We have seen no untoward reaction or contraindications toward its use. We speculated about the 0.5 c.c. (1:1,000) of epinephrine added to our miture having a vasopressor effect on our hypertensive patients. We have seen no appreciable rise in blood pressure. There were no local or systemic reactions to the use of the drug. No effort was made to skin test the patient prior to delivery. All episiorrhapies healed by primary intention and there were no local infections or ecchymoses of the perineum. The technique of pudendal block is greatly simplified. The operator does not have to inject the nerve per se, but infiltration in the vicinity of the nerve will accomplish an effective block. It is impressive to see interns, new to the obstetrical service, secure successful nerve blocks during their first attempts at pudendal block. After use of some basic analgesia during the first stage in combination with this regional block for delivery, the child breathes spontaneously and immediately, and the mother has no nausea or vomiting following delivery.
Abstract models for systems identification

In this paper we try to give some contributions, in order to solve the problem of system identification (or minimal realization), for various classes of systems. In order to give some more insight into this problem, we shall define some abstract versions of the minimal realization process. The models we discuss are used for the study of subsets (or subcategories) in which there exists the minimal realization and it is unique. In section 1 we recall the minimal realization problem and some of its properties. Section 2 develops the first model, which is based on equivalence relations. The sets which support minimal realization are in connection with the systems of ropresentants of an equivalence relation. This model coresponds to the external behaviour point of view. In section 3 we give a model based on ordering relations. This versioncorresponds to the qualificative “minimal". 6oth models in sections 2 and 3 include systems identification. This is not however, the only example ; one can find other, as the "integer part" function and the '’congruence modulo n".The most powerful model seems to be the categorical one5 which is introduced in section 4. The admissible subcategories are those one for which the inclusion functor aumits an adjoint. Some conclusions and further developments of the subject are discussed in the last section.
Transient luminosity along negative stepped leaders in lightning

This study presents observations of abandoned stepped leader branches that briefly reconnect to the main stepped leader trunk or another active branch during the negative stepped leader advance in natural cloud-to-ground lightning strokes. The transient luminous features described are herein termed sparks. High-speed video data, with 20 µs image interval, show these sparks are common, bright, and fast. They typically reach maximum visible extent of a few hundred meters or less and peak intensity of one to three times that of their parent leader within 40 µs. Most sparks connect to a parent leader within their first 20 µs and are visible for less than 120 µs. Generally, there are several milliseconds (average 3.3 ms) before the spark during which its branch is visibly abandoned, i.e., apparently neither propagating nor connected to the active stepped leader system. There is a tendency for sparks to occur late in the stepped leader advance, averaging 900 µs before the return stroke for 90 sparks in 14 strokes. Sparks occur at altitudes at least as high as the visible stepped leader top (about 3000 m in these data), but they have not been observed below 500 m altitude. Parent leaders typically get brighter below the connection point after the spark, and in some cases, their speed of advance increases. Nearby time-correlated electric field change data show a distinct spark signature characterized by a relatively large bipolar pulse, followed by a slower decrease over 40–100 µs, ending with another relatively large pulse.
Trade Liberalisation and Poverty in Bangladesh: A General Equilibrium Approach

This paper uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to investigate the impact on poverty of trade liberalisation in Bangladesh. The simulation results show that the complete removal of tariffs favours export oriented sectors in the economy. With trade liberalisation, rural and urban areas experience an overall reduction in poverty in the short run. However, a marginal increase in the poverty gap and poverty severity for urban areas is projected, implying that the poor become poorer in urban areas. Moreover, poverty incidences vary among various socio-economic groups. In the short run, poverty incidence increases for rural landless and urban illiterate and low-educated household groups. In contrast, the long run results highlight that trade liberalisation reduces absolute poverty for all groups both in rural and urban areas.
Neuroprotection and its molecular mechanism following spinal cord injury

Acute spinal cord injury initiates a complex cascade of molecular events termed ‘secondary injury’, which leads to progressive degeneration ranging from early neuronal apoptosis at the lesion site to delayed degeneration of intact white matter tracts, and, ultimately, expansion of the initial injury. These secondary injury processes include, but are not limited to, inflammation, free radical-induced cell death, glutamate excitotoxicity, phospholipase A2 activation, and induction of extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways, which are important targets in developing neuroprotective strategies for treatment of spinal cord injury. Recently, a number of studies have shown promising results on neuroprotection and recovery of function in rodent models of spinal cord injury using treatments that target secondary injury processes including inflammation, phospholipase A2 activation, and manipulation of the PTEN-Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. The present review outlines our ongoing research on the molecular mechanisms of neuroprotection in experimental spinal cord injury and briefly summarizes our earlier findings on the therapeutic potential of pharmacological treatments in spinal cord injury.
Inductive decidability using implicit induction

Decision procedures are widely used in automated reasoning tools in order to reason about data structures. In applications, many conjectures fall outside the theory handled by a decision procedure. Often, reasoning about user-defined functions on those data structures is needed. For this, inductive reasoning has to be employed. In this work, classes of function definitions and conjectures are identified for which inductive validity can be automatically decided using implicit induction methods and decision procedures for an underlying theory. The class of equational conjectures considered in this paper significantly extends the results of Kapur & Subramaniam (CADE, 2000) [15], which were obtained using explicit induction schemes. Firstly, nonlinear conjectures can be decided automatically. Secondly, function definitions can use other defined functions in their definitions, thus allowing mutually recursive functions and decidable conjectures about them. Thirdly, conjectures can have general terms from the decidable theory on inductive positions. These contributions are crucial for successfully integrating inductive reasoning into decision procedures, thus enabling their use in push-button mode in applications including verification and program analysis.
Design and evaluation of a collective IO model for loosely coupled petascale programming

Loosely coupled programming is a powerful paradigm for rapidly creating higher-level applications from scientific programs on petascale systems, typically using scripting languages. This paradigm is a form of many-task computing (MTC) which focuses on the passing of data between programs as ordinary files rather than messages. While it has the significant benefits of decoupling producer and consumer and allowing existing application programs to be executed in parallel with no recoding, its typical implementation using shared file systems places a high performance burden on the overall system and on the user who will analyze and consume the downstream data. Previous efforts have achieved great speedups with loosely coupled programs, but have done so with careful manual tuning of all shared file system access. In this work, we evaluate a prototype collective IO model for file-based MTC. The model enables efficient and easy distribution of input data files to computing nodes and gathering of output results from them. It eliminates the need for such manual tuning and makes the programming of large-scale clusters using a loosely coupled model easier. Our approach, inspired by in-memory approaches to collective operations for parallel programming, builds on fast local file systems to provide high-speed local file caches for parallel scripts, uses a broadcast approach to handle distribution of common input data, and uses efficient scatter/gather and caching techniques for input and output. We describe the design of the prototype model, its implementation on the Blue Gene/P supercomputer, and present preliminary measurements of its performance on synthetic benchmarks and on a large-scale molecular dynamics application.
Atomic Astrophysics and Spectroscopy

1. Introduction 2. Atomic structure 3. Atomic processes 4. Radiative transitions 5. Electron-ion collisions 6. Photoionization 7. Electron-ion recombination 8. Multi-wavelength emission lines 9. Absorption lines and radiative transfer 10. Stellar properties and spectra 11. Stellar opacity and radiative forces 12. Gaseous nebulae and HII regions 13. Active galactic nuclei and quasars 14. Cosmology Appendices References Index.
Eugenic Sterilization: The Final Solution for America

In the 1920's and 1930's, eugenic theory enjoyed popularity in educated America society. Charles Fremont Dight, a physician from Minnesota, led a movement in that state to pass laws and spread education concerning eugenics. He believed the government, church, and educational system insufficiently fought crime and degeneracy; thus, eugenic sterilization laws were the only way to permanently solve society's problems. However, though he dismissed each of these three institutions as inadequate, Dight still used each one to communicate or implement eugenic theory. Dight sought to create a utopian society, free of crime and problems of any kind, accomplished only through sterilizing individuals he and others deemed "unfit."
Single-Photon Depth Imaging Using a Union-of-Subspaces Model

Light detection and ranging systems reconstruct scene depth from time-of-flight measurements. For low light-level depth imaging applications, such as remote sensing and robot vision, these systems use single-photon detectors that resolve individual photon arrivals. Even so, they must detect a large number of photons to mitigate Poisson shot noise and reject anomalous photon detections from background light. We introduce a novel framework for accurate depth imaging using a small number of detected photons in the presence of an unknown amount of background light that may vary spatially. It employs a Poisson observation model for the photon detections plus a union-of-subspaces constraint on the discrete-time flux from the scene at any single pixel. Together, they enable a greedy signal-pursuit algorithm to rapidly and simultaneously converge on accurate estimates of scene depth and background flux, without any assumptions on spatial correlations of the depth or background flux. Using experimental single-photon data, we demonstrate that our proposed framework recovers depth features with 1.7 cm absolute error, using 15 photons per image pixel and an illumination pulse with 6.7-cm scaled root-mean-square length. We also show that our framework outperforms the conventional pixelwise log-matched filtering, which is a computationally-efficient approximation to the maximum-likelihood solution, by a factor of 6.1 in absolute depth error.
A Controlled Skip Parser

Real-world natural language sentences are often long and complex, and contain unexpected grammatical constructions. They even include noise and ungrammaticality. This paper describes the Controlled Skip Parser, a program that parses such real-world sentences by skipping some of the words in the sentence. The new feature of this parser is that it controls its behavior by finding out which words to skip, without using domain-specific knowledge. The parser is a priority-based chart parser. By assigning appropriate priority levels to the constituents in the chart, the parser's behavior is controlled. Statistical information is used for assigning priority levels. The statistical information (n-grams) can be thought of as a generalized approximation of the grammar learned from past successful experiences. The control mechanism gives a great speed-up and reduction in memory usage. Experiments on real newspaper articles are shown, and our experience with this parser in a machine translation system is described.
The State(s) of Replica Symmetry Breaking: Mean Field Theories vs. Short-Ranged Spin Glasses

We prove the impossibility of recent attempts to decouple the Replica Symmetry Breaking (RSB) picture for finite-dimensional spin glasses from the existence of many thermodynamic (i.e., infinite-volume) pure states while preserving another signature RSB feature—space filling relative domain walls between different finite-volume states. Thus revisions of the notion of pure states cannot shield the RSB picture from the internal contradictions that rule out its physical correctness in finite dimensions at low temperature in large finite volume.
Highly Reduced Metal Carbonyl Anions: Synthesis, Characterization, and Chemical Properties

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses highly reduced metal–carbonyl anions. In the unusually effective reducing medium of sodium-hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA), [Mn(CO) 5 ] – underwent facile reduction to form a golden yellow to yellow brown solution. It is often important to use solutions rather than slurries of trianion salts to minimize the formation of side products during the reactions of these materials with electrophiles. Infrared spectra of Na 3 [M(CO) 4 ] as solutions in HMPA or as mineral oil mulls of the solid are quite similar in terms of peak positions. Protonation reactions of [M(CO) 4 ] 3– and most of the known reactions of Na 3 [Re(CO) 4 ] are examined. Perhaps the most persuasive chemical evidence for the existence of the monohydrides of manganese and rhenium is their high-yield conversion to corresponding dihydrides, which can be isolated as relatively stable crystalline solids. The tricesium salt was obtained as an orange–brown powder and the corresponding trirubidium compound was isolated as a golden to red–brown shiny microcrystalline substance. The materials are especially prone to violent decomposition when they are even gently scraped off of a fritted glass disk with a metal spatula. One very important and obvious limitation of this reductive labilization method is that the ligand to be expelled should not be susceptible to reduction either in a coordinated or free state.
When Should Policymakers Make Announcements

If a policymaker learns today that there will be a regime change in the future that affects everyone, at what time between now and then should he/she announce it to the public? This paper presents a dynamic model where agents that have a limited amount of attention to allocate between learning about the new regime and everything else. They trade off the benefit of being better informed and making better decisions when the new regime arrives against the cost of paying less attention to current events and making worse decisions now. By choosing when to make the announcement, the policymaker can affect this decision. The policymaker also takes into account that later announcements are more precise, and that agents may inefficiently put too much weight on public signals due to strategic complementarities. I solve for the optimal timing of announcements and the conditions under which it is optimal to keep mum in spite of public interest. As a by-product, I characterize the life-cycle of attention following an announcement, before and after the regime changes.
A fully anisotropic mechanism for formation of trapped surfaces in vacuum

We present a new, fully anisotropic, criterion for formation of trapped surfaces in vacuum. More precisely we provide local conditions on null data, concentrated in a neighborhood of a short null geodesic segment (possibly flat in all other directions) whose future development contains a trapped surface. This extends considerably the previous result of Christodoulou (Monographs in Mathematics. European Mathematical Society, Switzerland, 2009) which required instead a uniform condition along all null geodesic generators. To obtain our result we combine Christodoulou’s mechanism for the formation of a trapped surface with a new deformation process which takes place along incoming null hypersurfaces.