cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A race to the bottom? Employment protection and foreign direct investment ☆

A common critique of globalization is that it leads to a race to the bottom. Specifically, it is assumed that multinationals invest in countries with lower regulatory standards and that countries competitively undercut each other's standards in order to attract foreign capital. This paper tests this hypothesis and finds robust empirical support for both predictions. First, a reduction in employment protection rules leads to an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI). Furthermore, changes in employment protection legislation have a larger impact on the relatively mobile types of FDI. Second, there is evidence that countries are competitively undercutting each other's labor market standards.
Scalable redundancy for sensors-to-sink communication

In this paper, we present a new technique that uses deterministic binary network coding in a distributed manner to enhance the resiliency of sensor-to-base information flow against packet loss. First, we show how to use network coding to tolerate a single packet loss by combining the data units from k sensor nodes to produce k+1 combinations such that any k of them are solvable. After that, we extend the solution to tolerate multiple losses. Moreover, we study the coding efficiency issue and introduce the idea of relative indexing to reduce the coding coefficients overhead. To tolerate node or link failures, we introduce a simple routing protocol that can find maximally disjoint paths from the k sensor nodes to the base station (BS). We study the relationship between the probability of successful recovery of all data units at the BS, and the number of sources protected together taking into consideration their hop distance from the BS. From this study, we can decide on the appropriate number of sources to be protected together, so that the probability of successful recovery is higher than a certain threshold. Finally, we show through a simulation study that our approach is highly scalable and performs better as the network size increases.
An unusual dianion equivalent from acylsilanes for the synthesis of substituted β-keto esters

The reaction of lithiated diazo esters with acylsilanes generates a remarkable intermediate en route to highly substituted β-keto esters.
Adaptive techniques for clustered N-body cosmological simulations

ChaNGa is an N-body cosmology simulation application implemented using Charm++. In this paper, we present the parallel design of ChaNGa and address many challenges arising due to the high dynamic ranges of clustered datasets. We propose optimizations based on adaptive techniques. We evaluate the performance of ChaNGa on highly clustered datasets: a $z \sim0$ snapshot of a 2 billion particle realization of a 25 Mpc volume, and a 52 million particle multi-resolution realization of a dwarf galaxy. For the 25 Mpc volume, we show strong scaling on up to 128K cores of Blue Waters. We also demonstrate scaling up to 128K cores of a multi-stepping run of the 2 billion particle simulation. While the scaling of the multi-stepping run is not as good as single stepping, the throughput at 128K cores is greater by a factor of 2. We also demonstrate strong scaling on up to 512K cores of Blue Waters for two large, uniform datasets with 12 and 24 billion particles.
Surface Temperature Measurement of Semi-Transparent Ceramics by Long-Wavelength Pyrometry

A procedure using a long-wavelength pyrometer is developed for the measurement of surface temperatures on materials that are semitransparent at shorter wavelengths, and specific application is made to a dense zirconia ceramic (Mg-PSZ) undergoing laser-assisted machining (LAM). The pyrometer operates in a waveband between 11 and 14 μm, and a detailed description of measurement uncertainties is provided. The largest uncertainties relate to knowledge of the surface emissivity and the large temperature gradients generated by the LAM process. Repeatability of the measurements is demonstrated, and a parametric study of three LAM parameters reveals expected trends.
Generating functions for real character degree sums of finite general linear and unitary groups

We compute generating functions for the sum of the real-valued character degrees of the finite general linear and unitary groups, through symmetric function computations. For the finite general linear group, we get a new combinatorial proof that every real-valued character has Frobenius---Schur indicator 1, and we obtain some q-series identities. For the finite unitary group, we expand the generating function in terms of values of Hall---Littlewood functions, and we obtain combinatorial expressions for the character degree sums of real-valued characters with Frobenius---Schur indicator 1 or ?1.
Sensitivity integrals and transformation techniques: a new perspective

We provide alternative proofs for the classical Bode and Poisson-type sensitivity integrals and their extensions for both continuous-time and discrete-time systems. Our derivation uses the well-known properties of Laplace and Z transformations. This derivation helps establish a connection between Bode and Poisson-type sensitivity integrals and Laplace and Z transforms, hence providing an alternative perspective in interpreting these fundamental integral results.
Distributed Streams Algorithms for Sliding Windows

Massive data sets often arise as physically distributed, parallel data streams, and it is important to estimate various aggregates and statistics on the union of these streams. This paper presents algorithms for estimating aggregate functions over a “sliding window” of the N most recent data items in one or more streams. Our results include: 1. For a single stream,we present the first e-approximation scheme for the number of 1’s in a sliding window that is optimal in both worst case time and space. We also present the first e-approximation scheme for the sum of integers in [0..R] in a sliding window that is optimal in both worst case time and space (assuming R is at most polynomial in N). Both algorithms are deterministic and use only logarithmic memory words. 2. In contrast, we show that any deterministic algorithm that estimates, to within a small constant relative error, the number of 1’s (or the sum of integers) in a sliding window on the union of distributed streams requires Ω(N) space. 3. We present the first (randomized) (e, δ)-approximation scheme for the number of 1’s in a sliding window on the union of distributed streams that uses only logarithmic memory words. We also present the first (e, δ)-approximation scheme for the number of distinct values in a sliding window on distributed streams that uses only logarithmic memory words. Our results are obtained using a novel family of synopsis data structures called waves.
Communication and bargaining in the spatial model

This paper studies collective choice by participants possessing private information in policymaking institutions that involve cheap-talk communication and bargaining. The main result establishes a connection between the extent to which problems of this type posses fully-revealing equilibria that select policies in the full information majority rule core (when it is well-defined) and the extent to which a fictitious sender-receiver game possesses a fully revealing equilibria. This result allows us to extend Banks and Duggan’s (Am polit Sci Rev 94(1) 73–88, 2000) core equivalence results to the case of noisy policymaking environments with private information and communication when some combination of non exclusivity and preference alignment conditions are satisfied.
Recent progress in cathode materials research for advanced lithium ion batteries

Abstract New and improved materials for energy storage are urgently required to make more efficient use of our finite supply of fossil fuels, and to enable the effective use of renewable energy sources. Lithium ion batteries (LIB) are a key resource for mobile energy, and one of the most promising solutions for environment-friendly transportation such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Among the three key components (cathode, anode and electrolyte) of LIB, cathode material is usually the most expensive one with highest weight in the battery, which justifies the intense research focus on this electrode. In this review, we present an overview of the breakthroughs in the past decade in developing high energy high power cathode materials for lithium ion batteries. Materials from six structural groups (layered oxides, spinel oxides, olivine compounds, silicate compounds, tavorite compounds, and borate compounds) are covered. We focus on their electrochemical performances and the related fundamental crystal structures, solid-state physics and chemistry are covered. The effect of modifications on both chemistry and morphology are discussed as well.
Improved full spectrum cloudy scene simulation

This paper will discuss recent improvements made to the MCScene code, a high fidelity model for full optical spectrum (UV through LWIR) hyperspectral image (HSI) simulation. MCScene provides an accurate, robust, and efficient means to generate HSI scenes for algorithm validation. MCScene utilizes a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo approach for modeling 3D atmospheric radiative transfer (RT) including full treatment of molecular absorption and Rayleigh scattering, aerosol absorption and scattering, and multiple scattering and adjacency effects, as well as scattering from spatially inhomogeneous surfaces, including surface BRDF effects. The model includes treatment of land and ocean surfaces, 3D terrain, 3D surface objects, and effects of finite clouds with surface shadowing. This paper will provide an overview of how RT elements are incorporated into the Monte Carlo engine. Several new examples of the capabilities of MCScene to simulate 3-dimensional cloud fields will also be discussed, and sample calculations will be presented.
ON THE INCLINATION AND HABITABILITY OF THE HD 10180 SYSTEM

There are numerous multi-planet systems that have now been detected via a variety of techniques. These systems exhibit a range of both planetary properties and orbital configurations. For those systems without detected planetary transits, a significant unknown factor is the orbital inclination. This produces an uncertainty in the mass of the planets and their related properties, such as atmospheric scale height. Here we investigate the HD 10180 system, which was discovered using the radial velocity technique. We provide a new orbital solution for the system which allows for eccentric orbits for all planets. We show how the inclination of the system affects the mass/radius properties of the planets and how the detection of phase signatures may resolve the inclination ambiguity. We finally evaluate the Habitable Zone properties of the system and show that the g planet spends 100% of an eccentric orbit within the Habitable Zone.
Quenched SU (3) hadron spectroscopy using improved fermionic and gauge actions

We present results of quenched SU(3) hadron spectroscopy using O ( a ) improved Wilson fermions. The configurations were generated using an O ( a 2 ) improved 6-link SU(3) pure gauge action at β's corresponding to lattice spacings of 0.43, 0.25, 0.20, 0.18, and 0.15 fm. We find evidence that fermionic scaling violations are consistent with O ( a 2 ) errors.
Electric fields and double layers in plasmas.

Various mechanisms for driving double layers in plasmas are briefly described, including applied potential drops, currents, contact potentials, and plasma expansions. Some dynamical features of the double layers are discussed. These features, as seen in simulations, laboratory experiments, and theory, indicate that double layers and the currents through them undergo slow oscillations which are determined by the ion transit time across an effective length of the system in which double layers form. It is shown that a localized potential dip forms at the low potential end of a double layer, which interrupts the electron current through it according to the Langmuir criterion, whenever the ion flux into the double is disrupted. The generation of electric fields perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field by contact potentials is also discussed. Two different situations were considered; in one, a low-density hot plasma is sandwiched between high-density cold plasmas, while in the other a high-density current sheet permeates a low-density background plasma. Perpendicular electric fields develop near the contact surfaces. In the case of the current sheet, the creation of parallel electric fields and the formation of double layers are also discussed when the current sheet thickness is varied. Finally, the generation of electric fields and double layers in an expanding plasma is discussed.
New Directions in Social Disorganization Theory

Social disorganization theory focuses on the relationship between neighborhood structure, social control, and crime. Recent theoretical and empirical work on the relationship between community characteristics and crime has led to important refinements of social disorganization theory, yet there remain some substantive and methodological deficiencies in this body of work. This article addresses these problems and charts some promising new directions in social disorganization theory.
DJ-MC: A Reinforcement-Learning Agent for Music Playlist Recommendation

In recent years, there has been growing focus on the study of automated recommender systems. Music recommendation systems serve as a prominent domain for such works, both from an academic and a commercial perspective. A fundamental aspect of music perception is that music is experienced in temporal context and in sequence. In this work we present DJ-MC, a novel reinforcement-learning framework for music recommendation that does not recommend songs individually but rather song sequences, or playlists, based on a model of preferences for both songs and song transitions. The model is learned online and is uniquely adapted for each listener. To reduce exploration time, DJ-MC exploits user feedback to initialize a model, which it subsequently updates by reinforcement. We evaluate our framework with human participants using both real song and playlist data. Our results indicate that DJ-MC's ability to recommend sequences of songs provides a significant improvement over more straightforward approaches, which do not take transitions into account.
Learning Gaussian Graphical Models with Observed or Latent FVSs

Gaussian Graphical Models (GGMs) or Gauss Markov random fields are widely used in many applications, and the trade-off between the modeling capacity and the efficiency of learning and inference has been an important research problem. In this paper, we study the family of GGMs with small feedback vertex sets (FVSs), where an FVS is a set of nodes whose removal breaks all the cycles. Exact inference such as computing the marginal distributions and the partition function has complexity O(k2n) using message-passing algorithms, where k is the size of the FVS, and n is the total number of nodes. We propose efficient structure learning algorithms for two cases: 1) All nodes are observed, which is useful in modeling social or flight networks where the FVS nodes often correspond to a small number of highly influential nodes, or hubs, while the rest of the networks is modeled by a tree. Regardless of the maximum degree, without knowing the full graph structure, we can exactly compute the maximum likelihood estimate with complexity O(kn2 + n2 log n) if the FVS is known or in polynomial time if the FVS is unknown but has bounded size. 2) The FVS nodes are latent variables, where structure learning is equivalent to decomposing an inverse covariance matrix (exactly or approximately) into the sum of a tree-structured matrix and a low-rank matrix. By incorporating efficient inference into the learning steps, we can obtain a learning algorithm using alternating low-rank corrections with complexity O(kn2 + n2 log n) per iteration. We perform experiments using both synthetic data as well as real data of flight delays to demonstrate the modeling capacity with FVSs of various sizes.
Radiative Transfer in a Plane Stratified Dielectric

A model is developed for calculating radiative transfer in a stratified dielectric. This model is used to show that the reflectivity of a stratified dielectric is primarily determined by gradients in the real part of the refractive index over distances on the order of 1/10 wavelength in the medium. The effective temperature of the medium is determined by the thermodynamic temperature profile over distances of the order ?T where Im (n) dx = ?/4?
Second-Order Directional Seas and Associated Wave Forces

Most available methods for wave force computation incorporate either the nonlinearities of the ocean surface for a single fundamental component or the random and/or directional characteristics using the superposition of linear wave components. An exception is the intuitive "hybrid" method 1 which combines elements of linear and nonlinear waves. The present paper describes and applies a method, which is correct to second order in wave height, for calculating waves and wave forces on an offshore structure due to a directional wave spectrum. Starting with a prescribed linear spectrum of directional waves, a set of random phases is generated and the second-order spectrum computered with phases defined by all contributing pairs of first-order components. With one realization of the spectrum thus complete up to the second order, the wave profile and water particle kinematics can be simulated in the time domain. The wave forces are also computed in the time domain taking full account of their nonlinear and directional properties. The resulting wave forces at any level vary in direction and magnitude. The total wave forces summed over all piling of a structure are less than those for a unidirectional train of waves with the same one-dimensional spectrum. Several examples are presented to illustrate reductions in maximum wave forces due to the directional distribution of the waves. It is found that for a single piling the maximum force decreases by a factor ranging from 1.0 to 0.61 as the directional spread increases from unidirectional to omnidirectional. For a four-pile group on a square array of 300 ft. spacing, the corresponding decrease in the factor is from 1.0 to 0.51 for a Bretschneider spectrum with a peak period of approximately 12 seconds. The results of this complete model are compared with the more intuitive and approximate hybrid method and are found to agree quite well. Force spectra are presented and discussed for the inline and transverse directions.
Certificates of Confidentiality: Protecting Human Subject Research Data in Law and Practice

Researchers often require and collect sensitive information about individuals to answer important scientific questions that impact individual health and well-being and the public health. Researchers recognize they have a duty to maintain the confidentiality of the data they collect and typically make promises, which are documented in the consent form. The legal interests of others, however, can threaten researchers' promises of confidentiality, if they seek access to the data through subpoena. Certificates of Confidentiality (Certificates), authorized by federal statute, are an important tool for protecting individually identifiable sensitive research data from compelled disclosure. However, questions persist in the research community about the strength of Certificate protections, and the evidence on which to judge the strength is scant. In this article, we address those questions through a careful examination of the legislation and regulations concerning Certificates and the reported and unreported cases we have identified through our legal research and interviews with legal counsel about their experiences with Certificates. We also analyze other statutes that protect research data to compare them to the Certificate's protections, and we review other legal strategies available for protecting research data. Based on our analysis, we conclude with recommendations for how to strengthen protection of sensitive research data.
Design and synthesis of de novo cytotoxic alkaloids through mimicking taxoid skeleton.

Abstract Based on a common pharmacophore model and the hypothesis that the baccatin core of taxoids is a scaffold securing the proper orientation of the side chains, a bicyclic alkaloid scaffold was designed as a baccatin surrogate. Using this scaffold, two novel macrocyclic and open-chain ‘taxoid-mimicking’ compounds were synthesized. Two of these ‘taxoid-mimics’, 2 and 3 , were found to possess cytotoxicity with micromolar level IC 50 values against human breast cancer cell lines.
Restatements: Do They Affect Auditor Reputation for Quality?

SYNOPSIS: We examine whether an auditor's involvement with a financial statement restatement has a negative effect on their reputation as evidenced by both clients' and the market's assessments of ...
Optimal partitioning of a multicore server processor

Optimal partitioning of a multicore server processor in a cloud computing environment, i.e., optimal system (virtual server) configuration for some given types of applications is considered in this paper. Such optimization is important for dynamic resource provision and on-demand server customization in a cloud computing environment for certain specific types of applications, such that the overall system performance is optimized without exceeding certain energy consumption budget. A multicore server processor is treated as a group of queueing systems with multiple servers, i.e., M/M/m queueing systems. The system performance measures are the average task response time and the average power consumption. Two core speed and power consumption models are considered, namely, the idle-speed model and the constant-speed model. Three problems are formulated and solved, namely, optimal multicore server processor partitioning, optimal multicore server processor partitioning with power constraint, and optimal power allocation. All these problems are well-defined optimization problems. It is shown that although these problems are sophisticated, they can be solved by numerical algorithms. Numerical data are demonstrated for each problem.
Incremental Financing Decisions and Time‐Series Variation in Personal Taxes on Equity Income

This study investigates whether changes in personal tax rates on dividends and capital gains affect firms' incremental financing decisions. The evidence in this study suggests that following the 1997 and 2003 Tax Acts, which decreased tax rates on equity income, firms are less likely to issue debt relative to equity, consistent with the hypothesis that decreases in tax rates on equity income decrease the tax benefits of debt. Further, the magnitude of this effect varies predictably with dividend yield, a proxy for the proportion of equity income taxed at capital gain tax rates versus dividend tax rates. The magnitude of this effect is also decreasing in institutional ownership, a proxy for the probability that the marginal investor is tax exempt. This paper contributes to the literature that examines the effect of taxes on corporate financing decisions.
The Legendre Structure of the Parisi Formula

We show that the Parisi formula of the mixed p-spin model is a concave function of the squared inverse temperature. This allows us to derive a new expression for the Parisi formula that involves the inverse temperature and the Parisi measure as Legendre conjugate variables.
An evaluation of bipartitioning techniques

Logic partitioning is an important issue in VLSI CAD, and has been an area of active research for at least the last 25 years. Numerous approaches have been developed and many different techniques have been combined for a wide range of applications. In this paper, we examine many of the existing techniques for logic bipartitioning and present a methodology for determining the best mix of approaches The result is a novel bipartitioning algorithm that includes both new and preexisting techniques. Our algorithm produces results that are at least 16% better than the state of the art while also being efficient in run time.
Collaborative Modeling and Decision-Making for Complex Energy Systems

This volume provides the fundamentals of involving stakeholders in collaborative modeling of energy systems, including the technical subsystem as well as its economic, social, environmental and political subsystems. It presents a Stakeholder-Assisted Modeling and Policy Design (SAM-PD) framework that can be applied by energy system developers, managers and decision-makers to involve a wide range of stakeholders in group model-building on a larger scale.By illustrating the capabilities of the SAM-PD framework, the book introduces an actual case study of the Cape Wind Offshore Wind Energy project. This case study details the process by which the author brought together a large number of stakeholders to jointly model the Cape Wind energy system and its broader implications for the regional energy picture and the regional economy and environment. It also offers the most recent in-depth analysis of the Cape Wind project.
Efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling for hierarchical hidden Markov models

Traditional Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling of hidden Markov models (HMMs) involves latent states underlying an imperfect observation process, and generates posterior samples for top-level parameters concurrently with nuisance latent variables. When potentially many HMMs are embedded within a hierarchical model, this can result in prohibitively long MCMC runtimes. We study combinations of existing methods, which are shown to vastly improve computational efficiency for these hierarchical models while maintaining the modeling flexibility provided by embedded HMMs. The methods include discrete filtering of the HMM likelihood to remove latent states, reduced data representations, and a novel procedure for dynamic block sampling of posterior dimensions. The first two methods have been used in isolation in existing application-specific software, but are not generally available for incorporation in arbitrary model structures. Using the NIMBLE package for R, we develop and test combined computational approaches using three examples from ecological capture–recapture, although our methods are generally applicable to any embedded discrete HMMs. These combinations provide several orders of magnitude improvement in MCMC sampling efficiency, defined as the rate of generating effectively independent posterior samples. In addition to being computationally significant for this class of hierarchical models, this result underscores the potential for vast improvements to MCMC sampling efficiency which can result from combinations of known algorithms.
‘Where were your clothes?’ Eliciting descriptions of clothing placement from children alleging sexual abuse in criminal trials and forensic interviews

Purpose This study examined how children alleging sexual abuse are asked about clothing placement during abusive episodes, both in criminal trials and forensic interviews. The placement of clothing is of great importance, because it facilitates distinguishing abusive touch from non-abusive touch, as well as the severity of abuse when the touching is in fact sexual. If clothing has not been removed, then sexual abuse appears less likely and certain types of sexual contact are physically impossible (or at least highly improbable). Methods We examined how trial attorneys (n = 142) and forensic interviewers in investigative interviews (n = 155) questioned 5- to 12-year-olds about the location of clothing during alleged sexual abuse. To do so, we identified all question–answer pairs that included references to clothing placement, and coded for the clothing item mentioned, whether the interviewer elicited information about clothing placement or the child spontaneously provided such information, question type, and response type. Results Discussions about clothing placement were commonplace in both settings, particularly in court. Fewer than one in five question–answer pairs about clothing placement were spontaneous mentions by children; the questioner elicited most discussions. When interviewers asked wh- questions rather than yes/no and forced-choice questions, children provided more elaboration, more detailed clothing information, and were over six times more likely to describe clothing placement in a fashion that could not be captured by a single preposition (e.g., neither on nor off). Conclusions The findings suggest that descriptions of clothing placement are subject to serious misinterpretation when closed-ended questions are asked.
Semiconductor Lasers for Telecommunications

Semiconductor lasers have witnessed a remarkable evolution from multimode pulse sources to tunable precision waveform generators for coherent communications. This talk will recount major milestones in this progression with an eye towards the future. Article not available.
Generating Polynomials and Symmetric Tensor Decompositions

This paper studies symmetric tensor decompositions. For symmetric tensors, there exist linear relations of recursive patterns among their entries. Such a relation can be represented by a polynomial, which is called a generating polynomial. The homogenization of a generating polynomial belongs to the apolar ideal of the tensor. A symmetric tensor decomposition can be determined by a set of generating polynomials, which can be represented by a matrix. We call it a generating matrix. Generally, a symmetric tensor decomposition can be determined by a generating matrix satisfying certain conditions. We characterize the sets of such generating matrices and investigate their properties (e.g., the existence, dimensions, nondefectiveness). Using these properties, we propose methods for computing symmetric tensor decompositions. Extensive examples are shown to demonstrate the efficiency of proposed methods.
Group Regularized Estimation Under Structural Hierarchy

AbstractVariable selection for models including interactions between explanatory variables often needs to obey certain hierarchical constraints. Weak or strong structural hierarchy requires that the existence of an interaction term implies at least one or both associated main effects to be present in the model. Lately this problem has attracted a lot of attention, but existing computational algorithms converge slow even with a moderate number of predictors. Moreover, in contrast to the rich literature on ordinary variable selection, there is a lack of statistical theory to show reasonably low error rates of hierarchical variable selection. This work investigates a new class of estimators that make use of multiple group penalties to capture structural parsimony. We show that the proposed estimators enjoy sharp rate oracle inequalities, and give the minimax lower bounds in strong and weak hierarchical variable selection. A general-purpose algorithm is developed with guaranteed convergence and global optimal...
Evaluating the performance of selection scans to detect selective sweeps in domestic dogs

Selective breeding of dogs has resulted in repeated artificial selection on breed-specific morphological phenotypes. A number of quantitative trait loci associated with these phenotypes have been identified in genetic mapping studies. We analysed the population genomic signatures observed around the causal mutations for 12 of these loci in 25 dog breeds, for which we genotyped 25 individuals in each breed. By measuring the population frequencies of the causal mutations in each breed, we identified those breeds in which specific mutations most likely experienced positive selection. These instances were then used as positive controls for assessing the performance of popular statistics to detect selection from population genomic data. We found that artificial selection during dog domestication has left characteristic signatures in the haplotype and nucleotide polymorphism patterns around selected loci that can be detected in the genotype data from a single population sample. However, the sensitivity and accuracy at which such signatures were detected varied widely between loci, the particular statistic used and the choice of analysis parameters. We observed examples of both hard and soft selective sweeps and detected strong selective events that removed genetic diversity almost entirely over regions >10 Mbp. Our study demonstrates the power and limitations of selection scans in populations with high levels of linkage disequilibrium due to severe founder effects and recent population bottlenecks.
Fast, robust, continuous monocular egomotion computation

We propose robust methods for estimating camera egomotion in noisy, real-world monocular image sequences in the general case of unknown observer rotation and translation with two views and a small baseline. This is a difficult problem because of the nonconvex cost function of the perspective camera motion equation and because of non-Gaussian noise arising from noisy optical flow estimates and scene non-rigidity. To address this problem, we introduce the expected residual likelihood method (ERL), which estimates confidence weights for noisy optical flow data using likelihood distributions of the residuals of the flow field under a range of counterfactual model parameters. We show that ERL is effective at identifying outliers and recovering appropriate confidence weights in many settings. We compare ERL to a novel formulation of the perspective camera motion equation using a lifted kernel, a recently proposed optimization framework for joint parameter and confidence weight estimation with good empirical properties. We incorporate these strategies into a motion estimation pipeline that avoids falling into local minima. We find that ERL outperforms the lifted kernel method and baseline monocular egomotion estimation strategies on the challenging KITTI dataset, while adding almost no runtime cost over baseline egomotion methods.
Voice channel

We introduce and offer a partial solution to the voice-channel problem. We are motivated by the problems in speech processing and recognition. The usual channel-capacity problem involves choosing appropriate signals to communicate over a fixed channel. In contrast, the voice-channel problem involves choosing appropriate channels or filters to modulate a random input signal from a known distribution. We want to characterize the set of distinguishable filters that maximize the information transmitted. The solution to this problem has tie-ins with achievable rates on Gaussian fading channels.
Dietary Fiber: Physiological Effects

The term ‘dietary fiber’ was first used by Trowell to describe the “remnants of plant cell walls resistant to hydrolysis (digestion) by the alimentary enzymes of man.” Several decades of research have subsequently confirmed that such dietary components exert important physiological effects and do much to maintain gastrointestinal and metabolic health. The most recent CODEX definition of dietary fiber states that “Dietary fibre means carbohydrate polymers with 10 or more monomeric units, which are not hydrolysed by the endogenous enzymes in the small intestine of humans.” This definition, which has been widely adopted internationally, includes resistant starch molecules, as well as cell wall polysaccharides, and thus includes a large and complex mixture of macromolecules that share few properties other than their resistance to digestion by the endogenous enzymes of the human alimentary tract. Thus, a single analytic value for the fiber content of a food is a poor guide to its physiological effects. The presence of dietary fiber in the gut lumen can alter physiological processes throughout the gut, and these effects depend upon physical and chemical properties of polysaccharides during digestion, their susceptibility to degradation by bacterial enzymes in the colon, and the downstream effects due to changes induced in the human intestinal microbiota. This article will review the main physiological mechanisms of action of resistant polysaccharides in the alimentary tract, together with their implications for human health.
Friction from Reflectance: Deep Reflectance Codes for Predicting Physical Surface Properties from One-Shot In-Field Reflectance

Images are the standard input for vision algorithms, but one-shot in-field reflectance measurements are creating new opportunities for recognition and scene understanding. In this work, we address the question of what reflectance can reveal about materials in an efficient manner. We go beyond the question of recognition and labeling and ask the question: What intrinsic physical properties of the surface can be estimated using reflectance? We introduce a framework that enables prediction of actual friction values for surfaces using one-shot reflectance measurements. This work is a first of its kind vision-based friction estimation. We develop a novel representation for reflectance disks that capture partial BRDF measurements instantaneously. Our method of deep reflectance codes combines CNN features and fisher vector pooling with optimal binary embedding to create codes that have sufficient discriminatory power and have important properties of illumination and spatial invariance. The experimental results demonstrate that reflectance can play a new role in deciphering the underlying physical properties of real-world scenes.
Nuclear power: Status report and future prospects

Abstract This article reviews the current status and future prospects of commercial nuclear electric power, with emphasis on issues of safety, physical security, proliferation, and economics. Discussions of these issues are presented separately for the current operating fleet, for new reactor designs similar in size to the current fleet, and for prospective new reactors of substantially smaller size. This article also discusses the issue of expansion of commercial nuclear power into new countries. The article concludes with recommendations, related both to technical issues and policy considerations. The major implications for policy are that although the level of safety and security achieved in today's operating reactor fleet worldwide is considered broadly acceptable, some advanced designs now under development potentially offer demonstrably safer performance, and may offer improved financial performance also. Management and safety culture are vital attributes for achieving adequate safety and security, as are a strong political culture that includes an absence of corruption, an independent regulatory authority, and a separation of nuclear operation from day-to-day politics. In some countries that are now considering a nuclear-power program for the first time, careful attention to these attributes will be essential for success.
A U.S.-based analysis of the ability of the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship to explain changes in extreme rainfall with changing temperature

Numerous papers have shown links between >99th percentile hourly precipitation and daily temperature (Pextreme versus T), often explained using the Clausius-Clapeyron (CC) relationship. The CC relationship predicts an approximately 7% increase in precipitation intensity per degree celsius. However, recent analyses indicate that the Pextreme versus T rate can be larger than the CC prediction. In this work, we analyze the Pextreme versus T rate with an automated method across the contiguous U.S. using station data aggregated on a 161 km grid. To evaluate controls on Pextreme versus T, we isolate convective storms to evaluate whether greater than CC rates are due to the transition between storm types or are a feature of convective storms at high T. We repeat the analysis using dew point to assess whether T control on extreme P is indeed a matter of moisture availability. When evaluated using both T and dew point, the northeastern U.S. is most likely to exhibit a greater than predicted Pextreme versus T rate (57% of the region when using T). At 56% of these points, the > CC rates appeared to occur entirely because of a transition between frontal and convective storms. At 30% of these sites, a greater than CC relationship appeared to occur entirely because of greater than CC scaling in convective intensity. At 11% of sites neither was found to be significant, and at 3% both were found to contribute significantly. This analysis suggests that > CC scaling is not prevalent everywhere in the contiguous U.S., and in regions where it does occur, it can be due to multiple causes.
Synthesis of bridged polycyclic ring systems via carbene cascades terminating in C-H bond insertion.

A carbene cascade reaction that constructs functionalized bridged bicyclic systems from alkynyl diazoesters is presented. The cascade proceeds through diazo decomposition, carbene/alkyne metathesis, and C–H bond insertion. The diazoesters are easily synthesized from cyclic ketones. Substrate ring size and substitution patterns control the connectivity and diastereomeric preference found in the products.
Apparatus for the Direct Determination of the Dynamic Bulk Modulus

An apparatus has been developed for the direct measurement of the real and imaginary parts of the dynamic bulk modulus of solid and liquid materials over the frequency range of 50 to 10 000 cps. Piezoelectric crystals serving as driver and detector, together with the sample and a confining liquid, are contained in a cavity small compared with the wavelength of sound at these frequencies. Static pressure is superposed to eliminate the effect of small air bubbles. The complex compliances of the sample, confining liquid, and the cavity, are additive in this region, where the compliance is pure dilatation. The dynamic compliances of several natural rubber‐sulfur mixtures were obtained in a preliminary evaluation of the behavior of the apparatus.
Consistent /SO(6) reduction of type IIB supergravity on S 5

Abstract Type IIB supergravity can be consistently truncated to the metric and the self-dual 5-form. We obtain the complete non-linear Kaluza–Klein S 5 reduction ansatz for this theory, giving rise to gravity coupled to the fifteen Yang–Mills gauge fields of SO(6) and the twenty scalars of the coset SL(6, R )/SO(6) . This provides a consistent embedding of this subsector of N=8 , D=5 gauged supergravity in type IIB in D=10 . We demonstrate that the self-duality of the 5-form plays a crucial role in the consistency of the reduction. We also discuss certain necessary conditions for a theory of gravity and an antisymmetric tensor in an arbitrary dimension D to admit a consistent sphere reduction, keeping all the massless fields. We find that it is only possible for D=11 , with a 4-form field, and D=10 , with a 5-form. Furthermore, in D=11 the full bosonic structure of eleven-dimensional supergravity is required, while in D=10 the 5-form must be self-dual. It is remarkable that just from the consistency requirement alone one would discover D=11 and type IIB supergravities, and that D=11 is an upper bound on the dimension.
Low hole polaron migration barrier in lithium peroxide

We present computational evidence of polaronic hole trapping and migration in lithium peroxide (Li${}_{2}$O${}_{2}$), a material of interest in lithium-air batteries. We find that the hole forms in the ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{*}$ antibonding molecular orbitals of the peroxide (O${}_{2}^{2\ensuremath{-}}$) anion, and that this trapped hole induces significant local lattice distortion, forming a polaron. Our study finds migration barriers for the free polaron to be between 68 and 152 meV, depending on the hopping direction. This low barrier suggests that this material might not be as insulating as previously assumed, provided that the formation of carriers can be achieved. One transport limitation may arise from lithium vacancies, which we find to strongly bind to the polaron. This result, in combination with previous experimental results, suggests that electronic conductivity in this material is likely to be determined by vacancy diffusion.
Molecular Entanglement Theory of Flow Behavior in Amorphous Polymers

An approximate molecular theory of steady flow in amorphous polymers has been developed by considering the properties of a deforming entanglement network. The dynamics of entanglement formation between pairs of molecules and its influence on the density of entanglements during steady deformation were examined. From a simple model for these processes, apparent viscosity was calculated as a function of the shear rate. An approximate calculation of the normal‐stress differences was also made. The viscosity was found to be dependent on the rate of deformation, and at sufficiently high shear rates it approached proportionality with (shear rate)−¾. The onset of non‐Newtonian behavior occurs in the same region of shear rates as that predicted by the coil‐distortion theory of steady flow. However, unlike the predictions of the latter theory, dynamic‐viscosity frequency curves and apparent‐viscosity shear‐rate curves should not necessarily superimpose, because the dispersion mechanisms are fundamentally different in the two cases. Comparison with experimental results reported in the literature showed generally satisfactory agreement in both the shape of the viscosity master curves and in the order of magnitude of the normal‐stress differences.
HIV prevention randomized clinical trials: quantitative and analytical insights on the failure to measure efficacy

Background & Objectives: Despite the solid foundation on epidemiological evidence and basic science research, nearly 90% of the randomized controlled trials (RCT) designed to measure the efficacy of interventions on HIV incidence failed to measure a statistically significant efficacy against HIV incidence. Here, we propose the use of computer simulations to control trials as a useful tool to overcome the difficulty of effect size estimation and outcome interpretation derived from HIV intervention RCTs. Methods: We simulated the Partners in Prevention HSV/HIV transmission study recently conducted to test the efficacy of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) suppressive therapy by acyclovir in reducing HIV transmission. We also simulated different variations of this trial, and the Rakai male circumcision trial. We developed individual-based Monte-Carlo models parameterized by the data of these RCTs and simulated the RCTs 1000 times. To measure the efficacy of the intervention, we conducted a log-rank survival analysis for each RCT realization and estimated the statistical power as the fraction of realizations that rejected the null hypothesis. Results: Our analyses indicated that the partners in prevention RCT had only 14% likelihood to observe a statistically significant efficacy for the intervention. In contrast, a different and more potent regimen for HSV-2 suppression had 87% chance of observing a statistically significant efficacy. For the Rakai male circumcision trial simulation, 94% of the RCT realizations showed statistically significant efficacy for the intervention. Conclusions: The simulations indicate that several unexpected odds have colluded to undermine the statistical power of the partners in prevention study, and therefore it would be premature to discredit the concept of acyclovir therapy for HIV prevention based on the outcome of the partners in prevention trial. Our study highlights how in silico simulations of RCTs can provide powerful tools for optimizing the design of RCTs and predicting their outcome. Observational and biological evidence summarized in computer simulations could help us on the estimation of effect size ranges and a better understanding of the system, which might provide a powerful tool to enhance the success of any HIV intervention RCT.