cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Eigenvalues of sums of pseudo-Hermitian matrices

We study analogues of classical inequalities for the eigenvalues of sums of Hermitian matrices for the cone of admissible elements in the pseudo-Hermitian case. In particular, we obtain analogues of the Lidskii-Wielandt inequalities.
Torsion algebraic cycles and complex cobordism

Atiyah and Hirzebruch gave the first counterexamples to the Hodge conjecture with integral coefficients [3]. That conjecture predicted that every integral cohomology class of Hodge type (p, p) on a smooth projective variety should be the class of an algebraic cycle, but Atiyah and Hirzebruch found additional topological properties which must be satisfied by the integral cohomology class of an algebraic cycle. Here we provide a more systematic explanation for their results by showing that the classical cycle map, from algebraic cycles modulo algebraic equivalence to integral cohomology, factors naturally through a topologically defined ring which is richer than integral cohomology. The new ring is based on complex cobordism, a well-developed topological theory which has been used only rarely in algebraic geometry since Hirzebruch used it to prove the Riemann-Roch theorem [17]. This factorization of the classical cycle map implies the topological restrictions on algebraic cycles found by Atiyah and Hirzebruch. It goes beyond their work by giving a topological method to show that the classical cycle map can be noninjective, as well as nonsurjective. The kernel of the classical cycle map is called the Griffiths group, and the topological proof here that the Griffiths group can be nonzero is the first proof of this fact which does not use Hodge theory. (The proof here gives nonzero torsion elements in the Griffiths group, whereas Griffiths's Hodge-theoretic proof gives nontorsion elements [13].) This topological argument also gives examples of algebraic cycles in the kernel of various related cycle maps where few or no examples were known before, thus answering some questions posed by Colliot-Thelene and Schoen ([8], p. 14; [37], p. 13). Colliot-Thelene asked, in particular, whether the map CH2(X)/n -* H4(X, Z/n) is injective for all smooth complex projective varieties X. Here CH'X is the group of codimension i algebraic cycles modulo rational equivalence. The first examples where Colliot-Thelene's map is not injective were found by Kollar and van Geemen (see [4], p. 135); very recently, Bloch and Esnault found examples defined over number fields [7]. (Over nonalgebraically closed fields k there are other examples of smooth projective varieties Xk with CH2 (Xk)/n -* Hg4t(Xk, Z/n) not injective, due to Colliot-Thelene and Sansuc as reinterpreted by Salberger (see [9] and [8], Remark 7.6.1), and Parimala and Suresh [31]. These elements of CH2 (Xk)/n are not shown to remain nonzero in CH2(Xc)/n, however.) Here our topological method
Refined Bounds on the Number of Connected Components of Sign Conditions on a Variety

Let ${\textnormal {R}}$ be a real closed field, $\mathcal{P},\mathcal{Q} \subset {\textnormal {R}}[X_{1},\ldots,X_{k}]$ finite subsets of polynomials, with the degrees of the polynomials in $\mathcal{P}$ (resp., $\mathcal{Q}$ ) bounded by d (resp., d 0). Let $V \subset {\textnormal {R}}^{k}$ be the real algebraic variety defined by the polynomials in $\mathcal{Q}$ and suppose that the real dimension of V is bounded by k′. We prove that the number of semi-algebraically connected components of the realizations of all realizable sign conditions of the family $\mathcal{P}$ on V is bounded by $$\sum_{j=0}^{k'}4^j{s +1\choose j}F_{d,d_0,k,k'}(j),$$ where $s = \operatorname {card}\mathcal{P}$, and $$F_{d,d_0,k,k'}(j)=\binom{k+1}{k-k'+j+1} (2d_0)^{k-k'}d^j \max\{2d_0,d \}^{k'-j}+2(k-j+1).$$ In case 2d 0≤d, the above bound can be written simply as $$\sum_{j = 0}^{k'} {s+1 \choose j}d^{k'} d_0^{k-k'} O(1)^{k}= (sd)^{k'} d_0^{k-k'} O(1)^k$$ (in this form the bound was suggested by Matousek 2011). Our result improves in certain cases (when d 0≪d) the best known bound of $$\sum_{1 \leq j \leq k'}\binom{s}{j} 4^{j} d(2d-1)^{k-1}$$ on the same number proved in Basu et al. (Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 133(4):965–974, 2005) in the case d=d 0. The distinction between the bound d 0 on the degrees of the polynomials defining the variety V and the bound d on the degrees of the polynomials in $\mathcal{P}$ that appears in the new bound is motivated by several applications in discrete geometry (Guth and Katz in arXiv:1011.4105v1[math.CO], 2011; Kaplan et al. in arXiv:1107.1077v1[math.CO], 2011; Solymosi and Tao in arXiv:1103.2926v2[math.CO], 2011; Zahl in arXiv:1104.4987v3[math.CO], 2011).
Non-BBN Constraints on the Key Cosmological Parameters

Since the baryon-to-photon ratio η 10 is in some doubt at present, we ignore the constraints on η 10 from big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and fit the three key cosmological parameters (h, ΩM, η 10) to four other observational constraints: Hubble parameter (h o), age of the universe (t o), cluster gas (baryon) fraction (f o ≡ f G h 3/2), and effective shape parameter (Γ0). We consider open and flat CDM models and flat ∧CDM models, testing goodness of fit and drawing confidence regions by the Δχ2 method. CDM models with Ωm = 1 (SCDM models) are accepted only because we allow a large error on h o, permitting h < 0.5. Open CDM models are accepted only for ΩM ≳0.4. ∧CDM models give similar results. In all of these models, large η l0(≳ 6) is favored strongly over small η 10(≲2), supporting reports of low deuterium abundances on some QSO lines of sight, and suggesting that observational determinations of primordial 4He may be contaminated by systematic errors. Only if we drop the crucial Γ0. constraint are much lower values of ΩM and η 10 permitted.
EFT for DFT

These lectures give an overview of the ongoing application of effective field theory (EFT) and renormalization group (RG) concepts and methods to density functional theory (DFT), with special emphasis on the nuclear many-body problem. Many of the topics covered are still in their infancy, so rather than a complete review these lectures aim to provide an introduction to the developing literature.
Computer simulation of molecular response at a shock front

Molecular dynamics simulations of the response of small molecules at a shock front are presented. The simulations are performed in the reference frame of the shock and the results provide a unique insight into the sequence of states through which the material transforms during shock loading. The calculated up‐pumping time (time for the translational and vibrational kinetic energy to equilibrate) for small molecules is quite fast, a few picoseconds for butane and about 10 ps for nitromethane. This is somewhat faster than the 100 ps suggested by recent experiment.
Effect of Bottom Boundary on VIV for Energy Harnessing at 8×103<Re<1.5×105

The concept of extracting energy from ocean/river currents using vortex induced vibration was introduced at the OMAE2006 Conference. The vortex induced vibration aquatic clean energy (VIVACE) converter, implementing this concept, was designed and model tested; VIV amplitudes of two diameters were achieved for Reynolds numbers around 10 5 even for currents as slow as 1.6 kn. To harness energy using VIV, high damping was added. VIV amplitude of 1.3 diameters was maintained while extracting energy at a rate of P VIVACE = 0.22 × 0.5 × pU 3 DL at 1.6 kn. Strong dependence of VIV on Reynolds number was proven for the first time due to the range of Reynolds numbers achieved at the Low-Turbulence Free Surface Water (LTFSW) Channel of the University of Michigan. In this paper, proximity of VIVACE cylinders in VIV to a bottom boundary is studied in consideration of its impact on VIV, potential loss of harnessable energy, and effect on soft sediments. VIV tests are performed in the LTFSW Channel spanning the following ranges of parameters: Re ∈ [8 × 10 3 ― 1.5 × 10 5 ], m * ∈[1.0―3.14], U∈[0.35―1.15 m/s], L/D ∈[6―36], closest distanee to bottom boundary (G/D)∈[4―0.1], and m * ξ ∈ [0.14―0.26]. Test results show strong impact for gap to diameter ratio of G/D <3 on VIV, amplitude of VIV, range of synchronization, onset of synchronization, frequency of oscillation, hysteresis at the onset of synchronization, and hysteresis at the end of synchronization.
MULTIVARIATE LIMIT THEOREMS IN THE CONTEXT OF LONG‐RANGE DEPENDENCE

We study the limit law of a vector made up of normalized sums of functions of long-range dependent stationary Gaussian series. Depending on the memory parameter of the Gaussian series and on the Hermite ranks of the functions, the resulting limit law may be (a) a multi-variate Gaussian process involving dependent Brownian motion marginals, (b) a multi-variate process involving dependent Hermite processes as marginals or (c) a combination. We treat cases (a) and (b) in general and case (c) when the Hermite components involve ranks 1 and 2. We include a conjecture about case (c) when the Hermite ranks are arbitrary, although the conjecture can be resolved in some special cases.
Optical knots and contact geometry I. From Arnol’d inequality to Ranada’s dyons

Recently there had been a great deal of activity associated with various schemes of designing both analytic and experimental methods describing knotted structures in electrodynamics and in hydrodynamics. The majority of works in electrodynamics were inspired by the influential paper by Ranada (Lett Math Phys 18:97–106, 1989) and its subsequent refinements. In this work and in its companion we analyze Ranada’s results using methods of contact geometry and topology. Not only our analysis allows us to reproduce his major results but in addition, it provides opportunities for considerably extending the catalog of the known/obtained knot types. In addition, it allows to reinterpret both the electric and magnetic charges purely geometrically thus opening the possibility of treatment of masses and charges in Yang–Mills and gravitational fields purely geometrically.
Evolution with Drifting Targets.

We consider the question of the stability of evolutionary algorithms to gradual changes, or drift, in the target concept. We define an algorithm to be resistant to drift if, for some inverse polynomial drift rate in the target function, it converges to accuracy 1 − ǫ with polynomial resources, and then stays within that accuracy indefinitely, except with probability ǫ at any one time. We show that every evolution algorithm, in the sense of Valiant [20], can be converted using the Correlational Query technique of Feldman [9], into such a drift resistant algorithm. For certain evolutionary algorithms, such as for Boolean conjunctions, we give bounds on the rates of drift that they can resist. We develop some new evolution algorithms that are resistant to significant drift. In particular, we give an algorithm for evolving linear separators over the spherically symmetric distribution that is resistant to a drift rate of O(ǫ/n), and another algorithm over the more general product normal distributions that resists a smaller drift rate. The above translation result can be also interpreted as one on the robustness of the notion of evolvability itself under changes of definition. As a second result in that direction we show that every evolution algorithm can be converted to a quasi-monotonic one that can evolve from any starting point without the performance ever dipping significantly below that of the starting point. This permits the somewhat unnatural feature of arbitrary performance degradations to be removed from several known robustness translations.
CDMS II Inspired Neutralino Dark Matter in Flipped SU(5)

We investigate neutralino dark matter in supersymmetric flipped SU(5), focusing on candidates with masses of order 30–150 GeV and spin-independent cross-sections that are consistent with the most recent CDMS II results. We assume gravity mediated supersymmetry breaking and restrict the magnitude of the soft supersymmetry breaking mass parameters to 1 TeV or less. With non-universal soft gaugino and Higgs masses, and taking flipped SU(5) into account, we identify allowed regions of the parameter space and highlight some benchmark solutions including Higgs and sparticle spectroscopy.
Did growth become less pro-poor in the 1990s ?

The author analyzes the stability of the empirical relationship between growth and changes in inequality over time. He concludes that while during the 1970s and 1980s the growth process was not accompanied by increases in inequality, during the 1990s a positive and significant correlation appears in the data. For this decade, he estimates that a 1 percent growth rate would be associated with an increase in the gini coefficient of between .3 to .5 percent. This positive correlation is hidden when one estimates the model without allowing for changes in the relationship over the different decades. The finding is robust to a number of departures from the basic specification including: (1) the use of alternative specifications to isolate decadal shifts; (2) the use of robust estimation techniques that address the potential influence of outliers; (3) restricting the sample to a balanced panel for the 1980s and 1990s to control for changes in the composition of the sample related to the unbalanced nature of the panel; and (4) considering the possibility of fixed effects in the data. The author also explores the impact of this structural change in the rate of poverty reduction and concludes that it is far from negligible.
A High Prevalence of Hypomagnesemia and Hypermagnesemia in Hospitalized Patients

The prevalence of hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia among hospitalized patients was studied by determining magnesium levels in 621 serum samples randomly selected from those submitted to the clinical chemistry laboratory for a biochemical test panel. The reference range for serum magnesium was established in this study as 1.2 to 1.9 mEq/L from measurements of serum magnesium on 341 healthy volunteers. Hypomagnesemia (less than 1.2 mEq/L) was present in 68 patients or 11.0%, and hypermagnesemia (greater than 1.9 mEq/L) occurred in 58 patients or 9.3%. The degree of association between hypomagnesemia and hypocalcemia was assessed by measuring serum magnesium on a separate group of 61 patients with hypocalcemia (corrected calcium less than 8.6 mg/dL). Hypomagnesemia was present in 23.3% of patients hypocalcemic in the absence of renal failure; this proportion was higher significantly than the 11.0% who were hypomagnesemic in the hospitalized patient group (P less than 0.025).
A scalable, out-of-band diagnostics architecture for international space station systems support

The computational infrastructure of the International Space Station (ISS) is a dynamic system that supports multiple vehicle subsystems such as Caution and Warning, Electrical Power Systems and Command and Data Handling (C&DH), as well as scientific payloads of varying size and complexity. The dynamic nature of the ISS configuration coupled with the increased demand for payload support places a significant burden on the inherently resource constrained computational infrastructure of the ISS. Onboard system diagnostics applications are hosted on computers that are elements of the avionics network while ground-based diagnostic applications receive only a subset of available telemetry, down-linked via S-band communications. In this paper we propose a scalable, out-of-band diagnostics architecture for ISS systems support that uses a read-only connection for C&DH data acquisition, which provides a lower cost of deployment and maintenance (versus a higher criticality readwrite connection). The diagnostics processing burden is off-loaded from the avionics network to elements of the on-board LAN that have a lower overall cost of operation and increased computational capacity. A superset of diagnostic data, richer in content than the configured telemetry, is made available to Advanced Diagnostic System (ADS) clients running on wireless handheld devices, affording the crew greater mobility for troubleshooting and providing improved insight into vehicle state. The superset of diagnostic data is made available to the ground in near real-time via an out-of band downlink, providing a high level of fidelity between vehicle state and test, training and operational facilities on the ground.
The United States since 1980

1. Turning away: the United States breaks ranks 2. Setting the scene: the United States in 1980 3. The Reagan revolution I - running to the right 4. The Reagan revolution becomes institutionalized 5. The Republican tidal wave and the Clinton Boom 6. The Bush Administration and the war on terrorism 7. The United States in 2005: the impact of the last quarter century.
Finding a balance between growth and vulnerability trade-offs : lessons from emerging Europe and the CIS

This paper examines the growth patterns of emerging Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries prior to the global financial crisis. The aim is to draw lessons on what policies can best position these countries going forward to enjoy growth without a buildup in macro and financial vulnerability. Cluster analysis is used to classify these countries across the growth and vulnerability dimensions; namely, a classification into low or high growth outcomes, each of which may occur with low or high vulnerability features. The vulnerability indicators used are multifaceted, covering both the domestic and the external dimensions that have been identified in previous studies as being good indicators of likelihood of crisis -- itself understood as multidimensional. Based on multinomial logit regressions, the initial conditions and the economic policies that might affect the probabilities of being in each of the four possible cluster combinations are examined. Many (if not most) of the countries in the sample experienced very large capital inflows relative to their gross domestic product prior to the crisis, which can complicate macroeconomic management and lead to a buildup of vulnerability. These large inflows were partly due to the high liquidity in global markets and, at least for some countries in the country sample, the particular attractiveness ofnew Europe and emerging countries in the regionin the eyes of foreign investors. Nonetheless, the analysis finds strong evidence that the macroeconomic and structural policies that over time influence the structure of the economy, can play a significant role in explaining (and, going forward, in influencing) the different growth and vulnerability patterns experienced by the countries covered in this paper.
A Formula for K-Theory Truncation Schubert Calculus

Author(s): Knutson, A; Yong, Alexander T | Abstract: Define a truncation rt (p) of a polynomial p in { x1,x2,x3,…} as the polynomial with all but the first t variables set to zero. In certain good cases, the truncation of a Schubert or Grothendieck polynomial may again be a Schubert or Grothendieck polynomial. We use this phenomenon to give subtraction-free formulas for certain Schubert structure constants in K ( Flags ( C^n)), in particular generalizing those studied by Kogan (2001) in which only cohomology was treated, and those studied by Buch (2002) on the Grassmannian case. The terms in the answer are computed using “marching” operations on permutation diagrams.
Refractor importance sampling

In this paper we introduce Refractor Importance Sampling (RIS), an improvement to reduce error variance in Bayesian network importance sampling propagation under evidential reasoning. We prove the existence of a collection of importance functions that are close to the optimal importance function under evidential reasoning. Based on this theoretic result we derive the RIS algorithm. RIS approaches the optimal importance function by applying localized arc changes to minimize the divergence between the evidence-adjusted importance function and the optimal importance function. The validity and performance of RIS is empirically tested with a large set of synthetic Bayesian networks and two real-world networks.
THE STATE CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM AND JOB MOBILITY: IDENTIFYING JOB LOCK AMONG WORKING PARENTS IN NEAR-POOR HOUSEHOLDS

To assess whether near-poor parents' job mobility is reduced due to the non-portability of employer-provided health insurance—an effect termed job lock—the authors examine data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation for 1996 and 2001, years bracketing the introduction of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Among the working fathers whose children met the SCHIP eligibility criteria, those whose wives did not have their own employer-provided insurance were 5–6% more likely to separate from their current employer in the year of the later survey than in the year of the earlier survey, whereas those whose wives were insured exhibited no comparable change in mobility. These results confirm the presence of job lock: for men whose wives were uninsured, but not for those whose wives were insured, the authors argue, the SCHIP program presented a new opportunity to switch jobs without losing health insurance.
Small is beautiful, at least in high-income democracies: the distribution of policy-making responsibility, electoral accountability, and incentives for rent extraction

Why is there significant variation in rent extraction among high-income democracies? A large number of political economy investigations into this research question have found that a long period of democratic rule and high per capita income are associated with less rent extraction among public policy-makers. However, attempts to explain the residual, yet significant, variation in rent extraction among countries that possess both these characteristics have been significantly more circumspect and disputed. This paper explores how the distribution of policy-making responsibilities between electorally accountable decision-makers and their electorally unaccountable public policy-making counterparts determines the optimal level of rents extracted in any given high-income democracy context. Specifically, the paper formally models how: (1) variation in the ratio of electorally accountable decision-makers to electorally unaccountable decision-makers, by altering (2) voters' evaluation of incumbent competency, changes (3) the incentives that policy-makers, wishing to remain in office, have to minimize their short-term level of rent extraction in order to signal their competency and hopefully retain office. Given these "career concerns," the theoretical model predicts that an increase or decrease in the ratio will be associated with more or less rent extraction. This hypothesis is then tested empirically. Establishing that the ratio does robustly predict variation in rent extraction is a significant finding, as it can enable analysts to predict how changes in policy-making contexts may affect the incentives for good governance in this sub-set of countries.
Can agricultural households farm their way out of poverty

This paper examines the determinants of agricultural productivity and its link to poverty using nationally representative data from the Nigeria General Household Survey Panel, 2010/11. The findings indicate an elasticity of poverty reduction with respect to agricultural productivity of between 0.25 to 0.3 percent, implying that a 10 percent increase in agricultural productivity will decrease the likelihood of being poor by between 2.5 and 3 percent. To increase agricultural productivity, land, labor, fertilizer, agricultural advice, and diversification within agriculture are the most important factors. As commonly found in the literature, the results indicate the inverse-land size productivity relationship. More specifically, a 10 percent increase in harvested land size will decrease productivity by 6.6 percent, all else being equal. In a simulation exercise where land quality is assumed to be constant across small and large holdings, the results show that if farms in the top land quintile had half the median yield per hectare of farms in the lowest quintile, production of the top quintile would be 10 times higher. The higher overall values of harvests from larger land sizes are more likely because of cultivation of larger expanses of land, rather than from efficient production. It should be noted that having larger land sizes in itself is not positively correlated with a lower likelihood of being poor. This is not to say that having larger land sizes is not important for farming, but rather it indicates that increasing efficiency is the more important need that could lead to poverty reduction for agricultural households.
A Simple Supermodular Mechanism that Implements Lindahl Allocations

This paper introduces a new incentive compatible mechanism which for general preference environments implements Lindahl allocations as Nash equilibria. The mechanism does not increase in structural complexity as consumers are added to the economy, the minimum dimension of data needed to compute payoffs is smaller than other mechanisms with comparable properties; and for quasi-linear environments, the mechanism induces a supermodular game for appropriate choices of the mechanism parameters. Thus, this new Lindahl mechanism provides a connection between the desirable welfare properties of Lindahl allocations and the desirable theoretical/ convergence properties of supermodular games.
Structure and parameter learning for causal independence and causal interaction models

We begin by discussing causal independence models and generalize these models to causal interaction models. Causal interaction models are models that have independent mechanisms where mechanisms can have several causes. In addition to introducing several particular types of causal interaction models, we show how we can apply the Bayesian approach to learning causal interaction models obtaining approximate posterior distributions for the models and obtain MAP and ML estimates for the parameters. We illustrate the approach with a simulation study of learning model posteriors.
Millimeter-wave monolithic integrated circuits

The progress, trends, and technical issues associated with monolithic millimeter-wave research are summarized. Background information intended to set forth a description of the opportunities which spur this effort and a summary of some of the important technical challenges are presented. A discussion is then provided of recent performance for semiconductor device types and circuit media which serve as building blocks for this technology. Salient monolithic programs which benchmark the status of current effort are noted. The work concludes with a summary of technical issues and future directions. >
Accounting for gender production from a growth accounting framework in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper draws on an expanded growth accounting framework to estimate the relative contribution of women to growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Empirical results show a consistently positive contribution of women to growth in gross domestic product in the region, both during economic downturns and growth spurts. This is despite the absence of any valuation of home-produced goods and informal sector production, which accounts for the bulk of womens production, in national product and income accounts. Women's positive contribution is largely attributed to their increased rates of labor force participation in wage employment and the reduction in the gender gap in education in recent years.
Graphene-Catalyzed Direct Friedel-Crafts Alkylation Reactions: Mechanism, Selectivity, and Synthetic Utility.

Transition-metal-catalyzed alkylation reactions of arenes have become a central transformation in organic synthesis. Herein, we report the first general strategy for alkylation of arenes with styrenes and alcohols catalyzed by carbon-based materials, exploiting the unique property of graphenes to produce valuable diarylalkane products in high yields and excellent regioselectivity. The protocol is characterized by a wide substrate scope and excellent functional group tolerance. Notably, this process constitutes the first general application of graphenes to promote direct C–C bond formation utilizing polar functional groups anchored on the GO surface, thus opening the door for an array of functional group alkylations using benign and readily available graphene materials. Mechanistic studies suggest that the reaction proceeds via a tandem catalysis mechanism in which both of the coupling partners are activated by interaction with the GO surface.
Export led growth, pro-poor or not? Evidence from Madagascar's textile and apparel industry

Madagascar's textile and apparel industry has been among the fastest growing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Fueled by low labor costs, a fairly productive labor force, and preferential access to industrial countries, Madagascar's exports of textile and apparel products grew from about US$45 million in 1990 to almost half a billion in 2001. The impact of this export surge has been large in terms of employment and wages, but less so in terms of poverty reduction. To address the concern of whether the poor benefit and to what extent, the author follows a new approach to identify the beneficiaries of globalization and to quantify the benefits at the household level, so as to understand which segments of the population benefit most and which, if any, are marginalized. The analysis focuses on the labor market channel which has been recognized as the main transmission between economic growth and poverty. The methodology uses household level data and combines the wage premium literature with matching methods. The results point to a strong variation in the distribution of the benefits from export growth with skilled workers and urban areas benefiting most. From a poverty perspective, export-led growth in the textile and apparel sector has only a small effect on overall poverty. This study points to two reasons for this. First, a large majority of the poor are unable to enjoy the new employment opportunities, given their lack of skills sought by the expanding textile and apparel export industry. Second, most of the poor reside in rural areas where the employment effect is small. The results indicate that the effects of an increase in exports of textiles for poverty reduction are felt only in urban areas, mostly through job creation. Some of the urban poor are good candidates for finding employment in the expanding sector. But the urban poor are likely to find employment only in unskilled jobs. Given that unskilled wages are kept low by a large reserve labor sector, the gains are limited, and the overall impact on poverty is small. More generally, the results of this study suggest that two factors are required if export-led economic growth is to significantly reduce poverty. First, growth and job creation must not be restricted to a few geographic areas but need to reach areas where the majority of the poor live. Second, poor people must be assisted in obtaining the skills sought by expanding industries.
Polynomials with dense zero sets and discrete models of the Kakeya conjecture and the Furstenberg set problem

We prove the discrete analogue of Kakeya conjecture over $$\mathbb {R}^n$$ . This result suggests that a (hypothetically) low-dimensional Kakeya set cannot be constructed directly from discrete configurations. We also prove a generalization which completely solves the discrete analogue of the Furstenberg set problem in all dimensions. The main tool of the proof is a theorem of Wongkew (Pac J Math 159:177–184, 2003), which states that a low-degree polynomial cannot have its zero set being too dense inside the unit cube, coupled with Dvir-type polynomial arguments (Dvir in J Am Math Soc 22(4):1093–1097, 2009). From the viewpoint of the proofs, we also state a conjecture that is stronger than and almost equivalent to the (lower) Minkowski version of the Kakeya conjecture and prove some results toward it. We also present our own version of the proof of the theorem in Wongkew (Pac J Math 159:177–184, 2003). Our proof shows that this theorem follows from a combination of properties of zero sets of polynomials and a general proposition about hypersurfaces which might be of independent interest. Finally, we discuss how to generalize Bourgain’s conjecture to high dimensions, along the way providing a counterexample to the most naive generalization.
The Effects of Visual and Textual Annotations on Spanish Listening Comprehension, Vocabulary Acquisition and Cognitive Load

Online learning is becoming more and more pervasive in higher education institutions. According to the Sloan-C report (All & Seaman, 2006) more than 3.5 million students are enrolled in online courses in the United States. That number represents a 9.7 % increase over the previous year, which far exceeds the 1.5 % growth rate for higher education enrollments as a whole over the same time period. The Sloan-C report also indicates that 69 % of institutions in the United States expect student demand for online education to grow and 83 % plan to increase their online course offerings (All & Seaman, 2006).
Evolution of a Neutron Star from Its Birth to Old Age

The main stages in the evolution of a neutron star, from its birth as a proto-neutron star, to its old age as a cold, catalyzed configuration, are described. A proto-neutron star is formed in the aftermath of a successful supernova explosion and its evolution is dominated by neutrino diffusion. Its neutrino signal is a valuable diagnostic of its internal structure and composition. During its transformation from a hot, leptonrich to a cold, catalyzed remnant, the possibility exists that it can collapse into a black hole, which abruptly terminates neutrino emissions. The essential microphysics, reviewed herein, that controls its evolution are the equation of state of dense matter and its associated neutrino opacities. Several simulations of the proto-neutron star evolution, involving different assumptions about the composition of dense matter, are described. After its evolution into a nearly isothermal neutron star a hundred or so years after its birth, it may be observable through its thermal emission in X-rays during its life in the next million years. Its surface temperature will depend upon the rapidity of neutrino emission processes in its core, which depends on the composition of dense matter and whether or not its constituents exhibit superfluidity and superconductivity. Observations of thermal emission offer the best hope of a determination of the radius of a neutron star. The implications for the underlying dense matter equation of state of an accurate radius determination are explored.
Flogger: A File-Centric Logger for Monitoring File Access and Transfers within Cloud Computing Environments

Trust is one of the main obstacles to widespread Cloud adoption. In order to increase trust in Cloud computing, we need to increase transparency and accountability of data in the Cloud for both enterprises and end-users. However, current system tools are unable to log file accesses and transfers effectively within a Cloud environment. In this paper, we present Flogger, a novel file-centric logger suitable for both private and public Cloud environments. Flogger records file-centric access and transfer information from within the kernel spaces of both virtual machines (VMs) and physical machines (PMs) in the Cloud, thus giving full transparency of the entire data landscape in the Cloud. With Flogger, services can be built above it to provide Cloud providers, end-users and regulators with the relevant provenance, e.g. a tool for an end-user to track whether his/ her file was 'touched' by an unauthorized user. We present the initial developments of Flogger, and interesting results from our experiments. We also present compelling future work that will shape the beginnings of a new logging paradigm: distributed VM/ PM file-centric logging.
Dark energy and the fate of the Universe

It is often assumed that in the course of the evolution of the Universe, the dark energy either vanishes or becomes a positive constant. However, recently it was shown that in many models based on supergravity, the dark energy eventually becomes negative and the Universe collapses within a time comparable to the present age of the Universe. We will show that this conclusion is not limited to the models based on supergravity: in many models describing the present stage of acceleration of the Universe the dark energy eventually becomes negative, which triggers the collapse of the Universe within the time t = 1010 –1011 years. Theories of this type have certain distinguishing features that can be tested by cosmological observations.
Online efficient predictive safety analysis of multithreaded programs

We present an automated and configurable technique for runtime safety analysis of multithreaded programs that is able to predict safety violations from successful executions. Based on a formal specification of safety properties provided by a user, our technique enables us to automatically instrument a given program and create an observer so that the program emits relevant state update events to the observer and the observer checks these updates against the safety specification. The events are stamped with dynamic vector clocks, enabling the observer to infer a causal partial order on the state updates. All event traces that are consistent with this partial order, including the actual execution trace, are then analyzed online and in parallel. A warning is issued whenever one of these potential traces violates the specification. Our technique is scalable and can provide better coverage than conventional testing, but its coverage need not be exhaustive. In fact, one can trade off scalability and comprehensiveness: a window in the state space may be specified allowing the observer to infer some of the more likely runs; if the size of the window is 1, then only the actual execution trace is analyzed, as is the case in conventional testing; if the size of the window is ∞, then all the execution traces consistent with the actual execution trace are analyzed.
β Decay and the origins of biological chirality: theoretical results

A dynamical mechanism is found whereby a dissymmetric molecule and its mirror image are ionized at different rates by longitudinally polarized electrons such as produced by nuclear β decay. An enhancement is predicted for molecules containing heavy atoms. Order-of-magnitude estimates indicate that the asymmetric effect of this mechanism may be detectable by current experiments on positronium formation.
Highly Efficient Ruthenium Catalysts for the Formation of Tetrasubstituted Olefins via Ring-Closing Metathesis

A series of ruthenium-based metathesis catalysts with N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands have been prepared in which the N-aryl groups have been changed from mesityl to mono-ortho-substituted phenyl (e.g., tolyl). These new catalysts offer an exceptional increase in activity for the formation of tetrasubstituted olefins via ring-closing metathesis (RCM), while maintaining high levels of activity in ring-closing metathesis (RCM) reactions that generate di- and trisubstituted olefins.
Are financial development and corruption control substitutes in promoting growth

Abstract While financial development and corruption control have been studied extensively, their interaction has not. We develop a simple model in which low corruption and financial development both facilitate the undertaking of productive projects, but act as substitutes in doing so. The substitutability arises because corruption raises the need for liquidity and thus makes financial improvements more potent; conversely, financial underdevelopment makes corruption more onerous and thus raises the gains from reducing it. We test this substitutability by predicting growth, of countries and industries, using measures of financial development, lack of corruption, and a key interaction term. Both approaches point to positive effects from improving either factor, as well as to a substitutability between them. The growth gain associated with moving from the 25th to the 75th percentile in one factor is 0.63–1.68 percentage points higher if the second factor is at the 25th percentile rather than the 75th. The results show robustness to different measures of corruption and financial development and do not appear to be driven by outliers, omitted variables, or other theories of growth and convergence.
Efficient Computation of LALR(1) Look-Ahead Sets

Two relations that capture the essential structure of the problem of computing LALR(1) look-ahead sets are defined, and an efficient algorithm is presented to compute the sets in time linear in the size of the relations. In particular, for a PASCAL grammar, the algorithm performs fewer than 15 percent of the set unions performed by the popular compiler-compiler YACC. When a grammar is not LALR(1), the relations, represented explicitly, provide for printing useroriented error messages that specifically indicate how the look-ahead problem arose. In addition, certain loops in the digraphs induced by these relations indicate that the grammar is not LR(k) for any k. Finally, an oft-discovered and used but incorrect look-ahead set algorithm is similarly based on two other relations defined for the fwst time here. The formal presentation of this algorithm should help prevent its rediscovery.
Property grammars and table machines

A method is given for generalizing context free grammars to include infinite terminal sets. The new grammar has many of the properties of context free grammars (e.g. membership is decidable and recognition by a suitably generalized nondeterministic pushdown device is always possible). Yet, treating each identifier as a separate terminal symbol, the grammar has enough power to describe all of the syntactic and semantic constraints of the declaration structure for variables and labels in ALGOL-60.
Changes in Insurance Coverage: 1994-2000 and Beyond

The number of uninsured Americans fell in 2000 for the second consecutive year. The reduction has been attributed to the continued expansion of employer-sponsored insurance. However, the increase in employer coverage among adults was offset by declines of other types of coverage. For children, increases in public coverage plus the growth in employer-sponsored insurance led to the reduction in the number of uninsured children. Over the longer period (1992-2000), one of great economic growth, the uninsurance rate was essentially the same at the end as at the beginning. The rate of employer-sponsored insurance increased sharply, so that more people had employer coverage. However, these increases were offset by reductions in other forms of coverage, particularly Medicaid and state-sponsored insurance and private nongroup coverage, so the overall rate of uninsurance did not change. (Health Affairs Web Exclusive 2002 April: 162-171)
Copper T IUD use and ectopic pregnancy rates in the United States

Over a four-year exposure period, the rate of ectopic pregnancy for women using a Copper T IUD was less than 1 per 1000 years of use. The cumulative 4-year probability of having an ectopic pregnancy while using the Copper T was 4 per 1000 women. These results are based on a study of 35,496 women with 38,064 years of use. Data on ectopic pregnancies in the United States provide a basis with which IUD experience may be compared. The National Hospital Discharge Survey shows a doubling in the number of ectopic pregnancies and in the incidence rates between 1965 and 1976. The relative risk of ectopic pregnancy among IUD users as compared with sexually active women not using the pill or sterilization may have been above 1 in 1965. In 1976, the relative risk is estimated to have been below 1. Compared with all woman-years of exposure, including women using contraceptive sterilization and the pill, the relative risk of extopic pregnancy to IUD users in 1976 was about 1. The IUD could not have been a major factor contributing to the recent doubling in the rate of ectopic pregnancy in the U.S.
Initial Conditions to Cosmological N-Body Simulations, or, How to Run an Ensemble of Simulations

The conventional method of generating initial conditions for cosmological N-body simulations introduces a significant error in the real-space statistical properties of the particles. More specifically, the finite box size leads to a significant underestimate of σ8, the correlation function, and nonlinear effects. I implement a method of generating initial conditions for N-body simulations that accurately models the real-space statistical properties, such as the mass variance in spheres and the correlation function. The method requires running ensembles of simulations because the power in the DC mode is no longer assumed to be zero. For moderately sized boxes, I demonstrate that the new method corrects the underestimate in the mass variance in spheres and the shape of the correlation function. I also argue that subtracting Poisson noise from the power spectrum is a dangerous practice. Code to generate initial conditions to second order in Lagrangian perturbation theory with the new method is available from the author.
Orbital integrals are motivic

This article shows that under general conditions, p-adic orbital integrals of definable functions are represented as the trace of a Frobenius operator on a virtual motive. This gives an explicit example of the philosophy of Denef and Loeser, which predicts that all naturally occurring p-adic integrals are motivic.
Mobile Robot Sonar Backscatter Algorithm for Automatically Distinguishing Walls, Fences, and Hedges

We present an algorithm to distinguish several types of brick walls, picket fences, and hedges based on the analysis of backscattered sonar echoes. The echo data are acquired by a mobile robot with...
Significance of radioactivity in geophysics ‐ Thermal history of the Earth

It appears that the effects on the Earth's thermal history of the exponential decay of the sources of atomic (radioactive) heat within the Earth are such that the upper crust of the Earth was heating in its early history and that subsequent cooling has been more nearly linear than has been supposed. In the deeper parts of the crust and below, the thermal history has been complex with simultaneous heating at one depth and cooling at another depth. Temperatures in the past beneath a Pacific-type ocean have not varied in the same manner. Recent determinations of the radioactivity of ultrabasic rocks and iron meteorites are such that a monomineralic olivine mantle and an iron core will have remained essentially at the initial temperatures. The Earth, now presumably differentiated, may have had an earlier existence as an undifferentiated body formed by the coalescence of particles. Its rebirth as a molten, differentiated, and later frozen body is possible if the total radioactive content of the Earth was previously distributed uniformly and if its dust-cloud origin dates back about seven billion years. A parental planet from which might have come the asteroids and meteorites may have disrupted because of stresses accumulated by internal heating.
Capacity Building as an Instrument of Institutional Reform: Improving the Quality of Higher Education through Academic Audits in the UK, New Zealand, Sweden, and Hong Kong

Abstract As countries convert from state to market‐centered public policies, there is increasing interest in new forms of public accountability. Capacity building initiatives that reform institutional frameworks are useful policy instruments during this period of transition. What are the impacts and implementation problems characteristic of this approach? This article reviews the experience with “Academic Audit,” a capacity building accountability instrument for universities adopted in the UK, Sweden, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. Academic audits altered the incentives for cooperative behavior among faculty members to improve student learning. Identified implementation problems included: training for the new process, the uncertainty of capacity building benefits, and the central role of information.