cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Weakly supervised learning of part-based spatial models for visual object recognition

In this paper we investigate a new method of learning part-based models for visual object recognition, from training data that only provides information about class membership (and not object location or configuration). This method learns both a model of local part appearance and a model of the spatial relations between those parts. In contrast, other work using such a weakly supervised learning paradigm has not considered the problem of simultaneously learning appearance and spatial models. Some of these methods use a “bag” model where only part appearance is considered whereas other methods learn spatial models but only given the output of a particular feature detector. Previous techniques for learning both part appearance and spatial relations have instead used a highly supervised learning process that provides substantial information about object part location. We show that our weakly supervised technique produces better results than these previous highly supervised methods. Moreover, we investigate the degree to which both richer spatial models and richer appearance models are helpful in improving recognition performance. Our results show that while both spatial and appearance information can be useful, the effect on performance depends substantially on the particular object class and on the difficulty of the test dataset.
Polarization of High-Energy Protons in Elastic Scattering on Helium and Carbon

Author(s): Chamberlain, Owen; Segre, Emilio; Tripp, Robert; Wiegand, Clyde; Ypsilantis, Thomas
Sandpiles and Dominos

We consider the subgroup of the abelian sandpile group of the grid graph consisting of configurations of sand that are symmetric with respect to central vertical and horizontal axes. We show that the size of this group is (i) the number of domino tilings of a corresponding weighted rectangular checkerboard; (ii) a product of special values of Chebyshev polynomials; and (iii) a double-product whose factors are sums of squares of values of trigonometric functions. We provide a new derivation of the formula due to Kasteleyn and to Temperley and Fisher for counting the number of domino tilings of a $2m \times 2n$ rectangular checkerboard and a new way of counting the number of domino tilings of a $2m \times 2n$ checkerboard on a Mobius strip.
ISOCAM OBSERVATIONS OF NGC 6946 : MID-IR STRUCTURE

The nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946 was observed with ISO-CAM in the mid-infrared, achieving 7inch resolution and sub-MJy sr(sup -1) sensitivity. Images taken with CAM filters LW2 (7(micro)m) and LW3 (15(micro)m) are analyzed to determine the morphology of this galaxy and understand beter the emission mechanisms.
International Seigniorage Payments

What are the "liquidity services" provided by i?½over-pricedi?½ assets? How do international seigniorage payments affect the choice of monetary policies? Does a country gain when other hold its i?½over-pricedi?½ assets? These questions are analyzed here in a model in which demand uncertainty (taste shocks) and sequential trade are key. It is shown that a country with a relatively stable demand may issue "over priced" debt and get seigniorage payments from countries with unstable demand. But this does not necessarily improve welfare in the stable demand country.
Transcriptional regulatory circuits: predicting numbers from alphabets

Transcriptional regulatory circuits govern how cis and trans factors transform signals into messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels. With advances in quantitative and high-throughput technologies that allow measurement of gene expression state in different conditions, data that can be used to build and test models of transcriptional regulation is being generated at a rapid pace. Here, we review experimental and computational methods used to derive detailed quantitative circuit models on a small scale and cruder, genome-wide models on a large scale. We discuss the potential of combining small- and large-scale approaches to understand the working and wiring of transcriptional regulatory circuits.
Pursuing efficiency while maintaining outreach : bank privatization in Tanzania

Abstract Profitability improvements after the privatization of a large state-owned bank might come at the expense of reduced access to financial services for some groups, especially the rural poor. The privatization of Tanzania's National Bank of Commerce provides a unique episode for studying this issue. The bank was split into the “new” National Bank of Commerce, a commercial bank that assumed most of the original bank's assets and liabilities, and the National Microfinance Bank, which assumed most of the branch network and the mandate to foster access to financial services. The new National Bank of Commerce's profitability and portfolio quality improved although credit growth was slow, in line with the privatization experiences in other developing countries. Finding a buyer for the National Microfinance Bank proved very difficult, although after years under contract management by private banking consultants, Rabobank of the Netherlands emerged as a purchaser. Profitability has since improved and lending has slowly grown, while the share of non-performing loans remains low.
Provision of a Safety Net for U.S. Agriculture

Provides insight into three current agricultural risk management policy issues: (1) What are the benefits to farmers of utilizing agricultural insurance products? (2) How do commodity loan rates complement or not the benefits of insurance coverage? (3) What are the incentives for producers to include insurance products in their risk management strategies?
The Instructor’s Guide to Real Induction

We introduce real induction, a proof technique analogous to Mathematical Induction but applicable to statements indexed by an interval on the real line. We apply these principles to give streamline...
Chiral Ketone and Iminium Catalysts for Olefin Epoxidation

Organo-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation has received much attention in the past 30 years and significant progress has been made for various types of olefins. This review will cover the advancement made in the field of chiral ketone and chiral iminium salt-catalyzed epoxidations.
Regional integration and industrial growth among developing countries - the case of three ASEAN members

Has the revival of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the early 1990s affected the industrial growth of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines? The author uses two mechanisms to capture this potential impact: scale effects, and intermediate imports variety. She performs the analysis on twenty two industries (at the three-digit level of the International Standard Industrial Classification) over the period 1971-95. The results show significant heterogeneity in industry-level returns to scale. Moreover, the three ASEAN members have very small, mostly negative cross-industry scale effects. As a result, they may not achieve large, or across-the-board gains from their regional arrangement through scale effects. The author finds unexpected results with respect to the role of intermediate imports variety in industrial growth. She finds no support for the hypothesis that non-regional (rest of the world) suppliers, and goods variety have a positive effect on ASEAN industries through the channel of imported intermediate inputs. The regional variety measure, however, seems to have a positive effect on the output growth of a handful of industries. This result seems due to the fact that these countries have long had a strong intra-regional, and intra-industry trade, whose history predates, and outweighs the ASEAN revival.
Electricity market price dynamics: Markov process analysis

Market dynamics have been studied with emphasis on price stability. Dynamic market pricing in a purely competitive environment for a given trading period is determined by the interaction of the supplier and buyer with information available to each. The scheduling of generation is determined according to a generation company's (GENCOs) perception of the expected future conditions. Future conditions include equipment availability and competitor play. These decisions, which attempt to maximize profits, and the resulting interactions represents a major source of electric market dynamics. Profits in any period depend on level of efficiency as well as on the levels of efficiency of other competing GENCOs. Incorrect, untimely, and improperly analyzed information often lead to suboptimal solutions for the profit maximizing player, This paper analyzes market price dynamics by using Markov process (MP) modeling. An example application is presented as would be conducted by information seeking players to maximize profit. Key issues with applying Markov chains to different market conditions are identified. The key economic pricing signals, representing different forces, are examined as a basis of influencing these key decisions by each player
Circuit design criteria for stable lateral inhibition neural networks

The authors report a design approach that guarantees that lateral inhibition neural networks will be stable, even though the values of designed elements in the resistive grid may be imprecise and the location and values of parasitic elements may be unknown. The method is based on a rigorous, somewhat novel mathematical analysis using Tellegen's theorem and the idea of Popov multipliers from control theory. It is thoroughly practical because the criteria are local in the sense that no overall analysis of the interconnected system is required, empirical in the sense that they involve only measurable frequency response data on the individual cells, and robust in the sense that unmodeled parasitic resistances and capacitances in the interconnect network cannot affect the analysis. >
Decentralization and the provision of public services : framework and implementation

This paper discusses decentralization (administrative, fiscal and political) of government in public service provision. It aims to facilitate understanding among practitioners, policy makers, and scholars about what decentralization entails in practice compared to theory. A review of the empirical literature and experience of decentralization is presented. The paper highlights issues that policy makers in developing and transitional countries should be aware of when reforming government, considering their unique political and economic environment. The author argues that decentralization produces efficiency gains stemming from inter-jurisdictional competition, enhanced checks and balances over the government through voting at the subnational level, and informational advantages due to proximity to citizens. By contrast, arguments against decentralization include the risk of an increased level of corruption, coordination problems stemming from multiple layers of government, low capacity of subnational government, and unproductive inter-jurisdictional competition. Decentralization itself does not render increased government effectiveness in public service provision. Instead, the effectiveness of government largely depends on the quality of human capital and institutions.
Probabilistic interpretations for MYCIN's certainty factors

We propose a redefinition of the quantities called certainty factors used by MYCIN to manage uncertainty. This definition is based on the desiderata of certainty factors given in the original work. It is emphasized that this definition reflects the not ion that certainty factors represent changes in belief about hypotheses given evidence as opposed to absolute beliefs. It is shown that this redefinition accommodates an infinite number of probabilistic interpretations. In constructing the interpretations, insight is provided into the assumptions made when propagating certainty factors through an inference net. For example, it is shown that all evidence which bears directly on a hypothesis must be conditionally independent on the hypothesis and its negation. Also, this analysis demonstrates that certainty factors must be elicited from experts in a precise fashion and a straightforward method for doing so is presented. Improvements in the methods currently used to propagate certainty factors through an inference net will also be suggested.
Polyploidy, plants, and electrophoresis.

In the last fifteen years the ability to characterize levels of genetic variation in animals using electrophoresis has produced a revolution of knowledge and interest. Similar studies in plants have lagged behind. A review of animal studies (1) lists 129 species (ten systems criterion), while a parallel review of plant studies (2) lists only 61 species, few of them investigated in comparable detail. The reasons for this disparity are partly technical and partly concern the different approach that plant biologists have utilized in their electrophoretic research. This paper attempts to document some of the present technical limitations and conceptual opportunities offered to plant biologists by electrophoresis.
The determinants of public education expenditures : evidence from the states, 1950-1990

We examine a panel data set for the US states over the period 1950-1990 and use it to assess the effects of growth in personal income and number of students on expenditure on public primary and secondary education. Our analysis suggests that the share of personal income devoted to education is roughly constant, implying that per student education expenditures grow at roughly the same rate as personal income per student. We also find evidence that additional factors accounted for an increase in education expenditures over the period 1950-1970.
Synthesis, structure and electronic structure of a new polymorph of CaGe2

Abstract Reported are the flux synthesis, the crystal structure determination, the properties and the band structure calculations of a new polymorph of CaGe2, which crystallizes with the hexagonal space group P63mc (no. 186) with cell parameters of a=3.9966(9) and c=10.211(4) A (Z=2; Pearson's code hP6). The structure can be viewed as puckered layers of three-bonded germanium atoms, ∞ 2 [ Ge 2 ] 2 - , which are stacked along the direction of the c-axis in an ABAB-fashion. The germanium polyanionic layers are separated by the Ca cations. As such, this structure is closely related to the structure of the other CaGe2 polymorph, which crystallizes with the rhombohedral CaSi2 type in the R3¯m space group (No. 166), where the ∞ 2 [ Ge 2 ] 2 - layers are arranged in an AA′BB′CC′-fashion, and are also interspaced by Ca2+ cations. LMTO calculations suggest that in spite of the formal closed-shell configuration for all atoms and the apparent adherence to the Zintl rules for electron counting, i.e., Ca2+[3b-Ge1−]2), the phase will be a poor metal due to a small Ca-3d–Ge-4p band overlap. Magnetic susceptibility measurements as a function of the temperature indicate that the new CaGe2 polymorph exhibits weak, temperature independent, Pauli-paramagnetism.
IRAS known asteroid prediction and association

Techniques and procedures employed to obtain data concerning the known asteroids from IRAS observations are discussed. The IRAS observations covered 95 percent of the sky with at least four scans of the telescope field of view. A search was first carried out for geometrical intersections of the trajectories of a given asteroid and the telescope boresight, following which a matched sighting was sought for each such intersection among the actual IRAS point source detections. By using ground based measurements of visual magnitudes, IRAS observations of IR brightness, and a thermal model, albedos and diameters have been computed for 1,822 known asteroids, increasing the amount of this kind of information by about an order of magnitude.
Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets

Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets is a unique handbook for astronomers interested in observing meteor storms and outbursts. Spectacular displays of 'shooting stars' are created when the Earth's orbit crosses a meteoroid stream, as each meteoroid causes a bright light when it enters our atmosphere at high speed. Jenniskens, an active meteor storm chaser, explains how meteoroid streams originate from the decay of meteoroids, comets and asteroids, and how they cause meteor showers on Earth. He includes the findings of recent space missions to comets and asteroids, the risk of meteor impacts on Earth, and how meteor showers may have seeded the Earth with ingredients that made life possible. All known meteor showers are identified, accompanied by fascinating details on the most important showers and their parent comets. The book predicts when exceptional meteor showers will occur over the next fifty years, making it a valuable resource for both amateur and professional astronomers.
Eigenspectrum Noise Subtraction Methods in Lattice QCD

Department of Physics, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798-7316,USAE-mail:walter_wilcox@baylor.eduWe propose a new noise subtraction method, which we call "eigenspectrum subtraction", whichuses low eigenmode information to suppress statistical noise at low quark mass. This is usefulfor lattice calculations involving disconnected loops or all-to-all propagators. It has signiﬁcantadvantages over perturbative subtraction methods. We compare unsubtracted, eigenspectrum andperturbative error bar results for the scalar operator on a small Wilson QCD matrix.The XXVII International Symposium on Lattice Field TheoryJuly 26-31, 2009Peking University, Beijing, China
Cycle life test and failure model of nickel-hydrogen cells

Six ampere hour individual pressure vessel nickel hydrogen cells were charge/discharge cycled to failure. Failure as used here is defined to occur when the end of discharge voltage degraded to 0.9 volts. They were cycled under a low earth orbit cycle regime to a deep depth of discharge (80 percent of rated ampere hour capacity). Both cell designs were fabricated by the same manufacturer and represent current state of the art. A failure model was advanced which suggests both cell designs have inadequate volume tolerance characteristics. The limited existing data base at a deep depth of discharge (DOD) was expanded. Two cells of each design were cycled. One COMSAT cell failed at cycle 1712 and the other failed at cycle 1875. For the Air Force/Hughes cells, one cell failed at cycle 2250 and the other failed at cycle 2638. All cells, of both designs, failed due to low end of discharge voltage (0.9 volts). No cell failed due to electrical shorts. After cell failure, three different reconditioning tests (deep discharge, physical reorientation, and open circuit voltage stand) were conducted on all cells of each design. A fourth reconditioning test (electrolyte addition) was conducted on one cell of each design. In addition post cycle cell teardown and failure analysis were performed on the one cell of each design which did not have electrolyte added after failure.
Nonlinear acoustic wave propagation in atmosphere

In this paper a model problem is considered that simulates an atmospheric acoustic wave propagation situation that is nonlinear. The model is derived from the basic Euler equations for the atmospheric flow and from the regular perturbations for the acoustic part. The nonlinear effects are studied by obtaining two successive linear problems in which the second one involves the solution of the first problem. Well-posedness of these problems is discussed and approximations of the radiation boundary conditions that can be used in numerical simulations are presented.
Asimovian adaptive agents

The goal of this research is to develop agents that are adaptive and predictable and timely. At first blush, these three requirements seem contradictory. For example, adaptation risks introducing undesirable side effects, thereby making agents' behavior less predictable. Furthermore, although formal verification can assist in ensuring behavioral predictability, it is known to be time-consuming. Our solution to the challenge of satisfying all three requirements is the following. Agents have finite-state automaton plans, which are adapted online via evolutionary learning (perturbation) operators. To ensure that critical behavioral constraints are always satisfied, agents' plans are first formally verified. They are then reverified after every adaptation. If reverification concludes that constraints are violated, the plans are repaired. The main objective of this paper is to improve the efficiency of reverification after learning, so that agents have a sufficiently rapid response time. We present two solutions: positive results that certain learning operators are a priori guaranteed to preserve useful classes of behavioral assurance constraints (which implies that no reverification is needed for these operators), and efficient incremental reverification algorithms for those learning operators that have negative a priori results.
An Eulerian-Lagrangian approach for incompressible fluids: Local theory

We study a formulation of the incompressible Euler equations in terms of the inverse Lagrangian map. In this formulation the equations become a first order advective nonlinear system of partial differential equations.
Tools for simulating features of composite order bilinear groups in the prime order setting

In this paper, we explore a general methodology for converting composite order pairing-based cryptosystems into the prime order setting. We employ the dual pairing vector space approach initiated by Okamoto and Takashima and formulate versatile tools in this framework that can be used to translate composite order schemes for which the prior techniques of Freeman were insufficient. Our techniques are typically applicable for composite order schemes relying on the canceling property and proven secure from variants of the subgroup decision assumption, and will result in prime order schemes that are proven secure from the decisional linear assumption. As an instructive example, we obtain a translation of the Lewko-Waters composite order IBE scheme. This provides a close analog of the Boneh-Boyen IBE scheme that is proven fully secure from the decisional linear assumption. In the full version of this paper, we also provide a translation of the Lewko-Waters unbounded HIBE scheme.
Driven synchronization in random networks of oscillators

Synchronization is a universal phenomenon found in many non-equilibrium systems. Much recent interest in this area has overlapped with the study of complex networks, where a major focus is determining how a system's connectivity patterns affect the types of behavior that it can produce. Thus far, modeling efforts have focused on the tendency of networks of oscillators to mutually synchronize themselves, with less emphasis on the effects of external driving. In this work, we discuss the interplay between mutual and driven synchronization in networks of phase oscillators of the Kuramoto type, and explore how the structure and emergence of such states depend on the underlying network topology for simple random networks with a given degree distribution. We find a variety of interesting dynamical behaviors, including bifurcations and bistability patterns that are qualitatively different for heterogeneous and homogeneous networks, and which are separated by a Takens-Bogdanov-Cusp singularity in the parameter region where the coupling strength between oscillators is weak. Our analysis is connected to the underlying dynamics of oscillator clusters for important states and transitions.
On the incentive to deviate in core selecting combinatorial auctions

Recent spectrum auctions in the United Kingdom, and some proposals for future auctions of spectrum in the United States, are based on preliminary price discovery rounds, followed by calculation of final prices for the winning buyers. For example, the prices could be the projection of Vikrey prices onto the core of reported prices. The use of Vikrey prices should lead to more straightforward bidding, but the projection reverses some of the incentive for bidders to report truthfully. Still, we conjecture that the price paid by a winning buyer increases no faster than the bid, as in a first price auction. It would be rather disturbing if the conjecture is false. The conjecture is established for a buyer interacting with disjoint groups of other buyers in a star network setting. It is also shown that for any core-selecting payment rule and any integer w greater than or equal to two, there is a market setting with w winning buyers such that the price paid by some winning buyer increases at least (1-1/w) times as fast as the price bid.
Leveraging land to enable urban transformation : lessons from global experience

Around the world, in both developed and developing countries, policy makers use a variety of tools to manage and accommodate urban growth and redevelopment. Government officials have three main concerns in terms of land policy: (i) accommodating urban expansion, (ii) providing infrastructure, and (iii) managing density. Together, the planning for infrastructure and urban expansion, land use, and density policies combine to shape the spatial structure of cities. This paper reviews global experience on using land based instruments to accommodate urban development and financing infrastructure. The review suggests that urban transformation is most efficient when land markets are fluid, particularly when they are grounded in strong institutions that (i) assign and protect property rights, (ii) enable independent valuation and public dissemination of land values across uses, and (iii) enable the judicial system to handle disputes that may arise in the process.
Assessment of Real Estate Brokerage Service Quality with a Practicing Professional's Instrument

This study explores factors that affect service quality for a large residential real estate brokerage firm in a diverse midwestern city. It examines the extent to which overall service quality influences homebuyers to recommend the brokerage firm and to use the firm for future transactions. A Linear Structural Relations model is fit to data using the firm's service quality instrument. Results indicate statistically significant relationships between both agent characteristics and the tangible aspects of the firm and three measures of overall service quality. Implications for the real estate industry are discussed and suggestions for improvement and future research are provided.
Non- and Semiparametric Models and Inference for Reliability Systems†

Precise and reliable knowledge of the performance of deployed systems in the engineering, biomedical, public health, military, economic, and business areas enables an informed assessment of the risk of failure and/or the quality of systems. In the study of the risk and the quality of such systems, a conceptual model is that of reliability systems. This article discusses non and semiparametric modeling and inference of reliability systems. In the first section, a review of some basic notions of reliability systems is presented. The next two sections provide nonparametric models when there are no covariates impacting the performance of the system, and the methods of estimating the survivor function for the system life based on possibly right-censored data. An illustrative example is given for a randomly generated dataset. The next section then discusses semiparametric models, which incorporates covariates, with primary focus on the Cox's proportional hazards model. Inference procedures for these semiparametric models are discussed. Finally, mention is made of dynamic models which are those that incorporate the changes occurring dynamically in a system, as time progresses. Keywords: coherent system; dynamic models; reliability function estimation; risk assessment
Liouville Property for Solutions of the Linearized Degenerate Thin Film Equation of Fourth Order in a Halfspace

We consider a boundary value problem in a half-space for a linear parabolic equation of fourth order with a degeneration on the boundary of the half-space. The equation under consideration is substantially a linearized thin film equation. We prove that, if the right hand side of the equation and the boundary condition are polynomials in the tangential variables and time, the same property has any solution of a power growth. It is shown also that the specified property does not apply to the normal variable. As an application, we present a theorem of uniqueness for the problem in the class of functions of power growth.
Intra-farm wind speed variability observed by nacelle anemometers in a large inland wind farm

Abstract Using 11-month, 15-min averaged measurements by nacelle anemometers at 274 wind turbines, we studied the spatial and temporal variability of wind speed in a wind farm over an area of about 20 km by 20 km located in mountainous terrain. The intra-farm variability is compared between winter and summer: during summer the dominant time scale of wind speed fluctuation is the diurnal cycle of 24 h. During winter, however, the dominant scale is 48 h. The spatial variability of wind speed on scales ≤O(10 km) is closely associated with the temporal variability on scales ≤O(10 h). Over a time span ≤ 3 h rapid drop-offs in wind speed occur more often than rapid increases, and the rapid drop-offs are more frequent during summer than winter. The intra-farm spatial variability of wind speed has a diurnal cycle with that reaches its maximum in the nighttime and its minimum around midday. For accurate wind power modeling, it may be of importance to consider the intra-farm variability of wind speed distribution. We found that when energy production exceeds 200 MW, its estimation based on the averaged wind speed is significantly larger than when based on the speeds at individual turbines.
Tame filling invariants for groups

A new pair of asymptotic invariants for finitely presented groups, called intrinsic and extrinsic tame filling functions, is introduced. These filling functions are quasi-isometry invariants that strengthen the notions of intrinsic and extrinsic diameter functions for finitely presented groups. We show that the existence of a (finite-valued) tame filling functions implies that the group is tame combable. Bounds on both intrinsic and extrinsic tame filling functions are discussed for stackable groups, including groups with a finite complete rewriting system, Thompson's group F, and almost convex groups.
A theoretical analysis of carbon isotope evolution of decomposing plant litters and soil organic matter

[1] Systematic variations in the carbon isotopes of soil organic matter (SOM) have been observed in a variety of ecosystems. Such variations may provide important insights into physical and biological processes that mediate carbon storage, nutrient availability, and trace gas emissions. To study carbon cycles using carbon isotopes, it is important to link carbon isotope systematics with carbon dynamics models, so that carbon isotope variations can be interpreted in the context of rates and fluxes of carbon transport in ecosystems. This paper presents a theoretical analysis, in which carbon isotopic evolution of decaying organic matter is modeled for a system in which the rate of litter or soil organic matter decomposition is controlled by substrate quality and microbial growth rate. The model examines two mechanisms controlling the isotopic evolution of carbon in a system with a one-time input: kinetic isotopic fractionation by soil microbes and differential decomposition. The model produces several important characteristics of a SOM decomposing system: (1) for a system with a single population of organic matter, the carbon-13/carbon-12 ratio in SOM increases with increasing carbon loss as a result of kinetic isotope fractionation of respiration; (2) for a given isotopic fractionation factor, the isotopic enrichment relative to the original organic material increases with the decomposition rate; and (3) for a system containing multiple organic matter components having different qualities and isotopic compositions (e.g., cellulose and lignin), the temporal evolution of the SOM isotope ratio reflects the competing dominance of isotopic fractionation and preferential reservation of one or more organic components.
Who Benefits from Increased Access to Public Services at the Local Level? A Marginal Benefit Incidence Analysis for Education and Basic Infrastructure

Do poor people benefit more or less than the nonpoor from an expansion in access to public services? And do those benefits depend on the existing level of access? Answering these questions is essential to strategies for empowering (or “investing in”) poor people, but the lack of panel data or repeated crosssectional data in poor countries has often made it impossible. This paper proposes a methodology for answering these questions using data from only a single cross-section survey. We argue that the methodology may be useful for monitoring the allocation of public expenditures in a context of decentralization, and we demonstrate this by applying it to local-level data from Bolivia and Paraguay. The results indicate that the marginal benefit incidence is higher (or at least not systematically lower) for the poor than for the nonpoor in education, but this is not the case for many basic infrastructure services. More generally, the poor seem to gain access only once the nonpoor already have high levels of access. This suggests that pro-poor policies must be implemented if the poor are to reap the benefits of gains in access faster.
Constrained signaling in auction design

We consider the problem of an auctioneer who faces the task of selling a good (drawn from a known distribution) to a set of buyers, when the auctioneer does not have the capacity to describe to the buyers the exact identity of the good that he is selling. Instead, he must come up with a constrained signalling scheme: a (non injective) mapping from goods to signals, that satisfies the constraints of his setting. For example, the auctioneer may be able to communicate only a bounded length message for each good, or he might be legally constrained in how he can advertise the item being sold. Each candidate signaling scheme induces an incomplete-information game among the buyers, and the goal of the auctioneer is to choose the signaling scheme and accompanying auction format that optimizes welfare. In this paper, we use techniques from submodular function maximization and no-regret learning to give algorithms for computing constrained signaling schemes for a variety of constrained signaling problems.
Reflectometers, Time‐Domain

Time-domain reflectometry (TDR ) is one of the most useful methods of analyzing signal integrity in transmission media. This includes conventional “hardwired” devices such as cables, microstrip transmission lines, and other transmission paths found in radiofrequency, microwave, and high-speed digital circuits and systems. This article describes the basic concepts of the TDR technique as well as associated with a related technique: time-domain transmission (TDT ). Through the course of this article, conventional TDR signal measurements related to various transmission-line loads are demonstrated and discussed. In addition, a differential TDR system is presented. Finally, TDR /TDT test results illustrating reflections due to parasitic effects, as well as normalization techniques in modern TDR systems, are described. Keywords: characteristic impedance; signal integrity; reflection; time-domain reflectometry; transmission lines
Continuity, change, and priorities: The quality and use of regulatory analysis across US administrations

This paper compares the quality and use of regulatory analysis accompanying economically significant regulations proposed by US executive branch agencies in 2008, 2009, and 2010. We find that the quality of regulatory analysis is generally low, but varies widely. Budget regulations, which define how the federal government will spend money or collect revenues, have much lower-quality analysis than other regulations. The Bush administration's “midnight” regulations finalized between Election Day and Inauguration Day, along with other regulations left for the Obama administration to finalize, tended to have lower-quality analysis. Most differences between the Bush and Obama administrations depend on agencies' policy preferences. More conservative agencies tended to produce better analysis in the Obama administration, and more liberal agencies tended to do so in the Bush administration. This suggests that agencies more central to an administration's policy priorities do not have to produce as good an analysis to get their regulations promulgated.
A randomized clinical trial of alprazolam versus progressive muscle relaxation in cancer patients with anxiety and depressive symptoms.

A randomized nonblinded study was performed in three cancer centers to test over a 10-day period the efficacy of (1) a triazolobenzodiazepine, alprazolam, 0.5 mg three times a day and (2) use of a behavioral technique in which patients were trained in progressive muscle relaxation at an initial session with a behavioral psychologist and then asked to listen at home to an audiotape of the session three times a day. Of 147 cancer patients who met entry levels of distress and completed the study, uncontrolled for site or disease stage, 70 were randomized to drug, 77 to relaxation. Four measures of anxiety and depression were used: Covi, Raskin, Affects Balance, and Symptoms Checklist-90 (SCL-90). Results showed that both treatment arms resulted in significant (P less than .001) decrease in observer and patient-reported anxious and depressed mood symptoms. Although both treatment arms were effective, patients receiving the drug showed a slightly more rapid decrease in anxiety and greater reduction of depressi...
The application of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Template on urine cytology

Background To evaluate the utility of the Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) template in detection of high-grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC). Methods A computerized search of our laboratory information system was performed for all urine cytology cases from 2009 to 2011 processed by the SurePath™. We included only cases with correlating surgical pathology within 6 months after the urinary samples were obtained. The original cytologic diagnoses were reclassified according to the JHH template, and these cytolog ic diagnoses were then correlated with the follow-up surgical pathology diagnoses. Results A total of 273 urine samples with histopathologic follow-up were identified. The reclassified cytologic diagnoses included negative for urothelial atypia or malignancy (NUAM) 110; atypical urothelial cells of undetermined significance (AUC-US) 83; atypical urothelial cells, cannot exclude high-grade urothelial carcinoma (AUC-H) 49; HGUC 29; and low-grade urothelial carcinoma (LGUC) 2. More than one-half of patients (58%) who had biopsy-confirmed high-grade urothelial lesions had a preceding cytologic diagnosis of AUC-H or HGUC. AUC-H and HGUC are associated with high-grade urothelial lesions in 80% and 90% of the cases and show statistical significance when compared with AUC-US or NUAM (P < 0.05). Conclusion The JHH template is useful and effective in identifying patients with high-grade urothelial lesions who need to undergo cystoscopy. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2015;43:593–597. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Estimation and selection via absolute penalized convex minimization and its multistage adaptive applications

The l1-penalized method, or the Lasso, has emerged as an important tool for the analysis of large data sets. Many important results have been obtained for the Lasso in linear regression which have led to a deeper understanding of high-dimensional statistical problems. In this article, we consider a class of weighted l1-penalized estimators for convex loss functions of a general form, including the generalized linear models. We study the estimation, prediction, selection and sparsity properties of the weighted l1-penalized estimator in sparse, high-dimensional settings where the number of predictors p can be much larger than the sample size n. Adaptive Lasso is considered as a special case. A multistage method is developed to approximate concave regularized estimation by applying an adaptive Lasso recursively. We provide prediction and estimation oracle inequalities for single- and multi-stage estimators, a general selection consistency theorem, and an upper bound for the dimension of the Lasso estimator. Important models including the linear regression, logistic regression and log-linear models are used throughout to illustrate the applications of the general results.
On the correlations of directions in the Euclidean plane

Let R (v) (x,y),Q denote the repartition of the v-level correlation measure of the finite set of directions P (x,y) P, where P (x,y) is the fixed point (x,y) ∈ [0,1) 2 and P is an integer lattice point in the square [-Q, Q] 2 . We show that the average of the pair correlation repartition R (2) (x,y),Q over (x, y) in a fixed disc D 0 converges as Q → oo. More precisely we prove, for every A ∈ R + and 0 < δ < 1/10, the estimate formula math. We also prove that for each individual point (x,y) ∈ [0,1) 2 , the 6-level correlation R (6) (x,y),Q (λ) diverges at any point A ∈ R 5 + as Q → ∞, and we give an explicit lower bound for the rate of divergence.
Regioselective Synthesis of Polyheterohalogenated Naphthalenes via the Benzannulation of Haloalkynes

Independent control of halide substitution at six of the seven naphthalene positions of 2-arylnaphthalenes is achieved through the regioselective benzannulation of chloro-, bromo-, and iodoalkynes. The modularity of this approach is demonstrated through the preparation of 44 polyheterohalogenated naphthalene products, most of which are difficult to access through known naphthalene syntheses. The outstanding regioselectivity of the reaction is both predictable and proven unambiguously by single-crystal X-ray diffraction for many examples. This synthetic method enables the rapid preparation of complex aromatic systems poised for further derivatization using established cross-coupling methods. The power and versatility of this approach makes substituted naphthalenes highly attractive building blocks for new organic materials and diversity-oriented synthesis.
Survival of planets around shrinking stellar binaries

The discovery of transiting circumbinary planets by the Kepler mission suggests that planets can form efficiently around binary stars. None of the stellar binaries currently known to host planets has a period shorter than 7 d, despite the large number of eclipsing binaries found in the Kepler target list with periods shorter than a few days. These compact binaries are believed to have evolved from wider orbits into their current configurations via the so-called Lidov–Kozai migration mechanism, in which gravitational perturbations from a distant tertiary companion induce large-amplitude eccentricity oscillations in the binary, followed by orbital decay and circularization due to tidal dissipation in the stars. Here we explore the orbital evolution of planets around binaries undergoing orbital decay by this mechanism. We show that planets may survive and become misaligned from their host binary, or may develop erratic behavior in eccentricity, resulting in their consumption by the stars or ejection from the system as the binary decays. Our results suggest that circumbinary planets around compact binaries could still exist, and we offer predictions as to what their orbital configurations should be like.
Two‐Way Factorial: Distribution‐Free Methods

Nonparametric and resampling approaches for the two-way factorial design include permutation tests, bootstrap tests, the rank transform, aligned ranks tests, tests on trimmed means, and a rank-based ANOVA method that allows heteroscedastic variances, one known as the BDM method, or combinations of these such as bootstrap tests on trimmed means. Research shows the BDM method, parametric tests on trimmed means, and bootstrap tests on trimmed means to be the most promising methods in terms of α-control and power. Keywords: nonparametric; resampling; permutation; bootstrap; ranks; trimmed means
Competition between spontaneous scattering and stimulated scattering in an injection-seeded Raman amplifier.

The amplification of a visible laser-diode beam in a gain-guided, multipass Raman amplifier is studied as a function of laser-diode and pump-laser powers. At a relatively high laser-diode power (178 nW) the amplified output grows as a simple exponential from very low gains to amplifier saturation. At a relatively low laser-diode power (2.3 nW) the behavior is more complicated, since the seeded growth and the growth from spontaneous scattering are comparable in power. The experiments, which also include an experiment with no injected laser-diode light, are modeled by a nonorthogonal-mode theory that accounts for the three-dimensional nature of the amplification process. The theory and data are found to be in close agreement in all experimental regimes studied, except at low gains with low input seed power. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Mass Wasting and Ground Collapse in Terrains of Volatile-Rich Deposits as a Solar System-Wide Geological Process: The Pre-Galileo View

The polar terrains of Mars are covered in many places with irregular pits and retreating scarps, as are some of the surfaces of the outer-planet satellites. These features are interpreted by us as diagnostic of exogenic degradation due to the loss of a volatile rock-forming matrix or cement. In this study we propose that sublimation degradation is a plausible Solar Systemwide geological process. Candidate examples have been identified on Mars, Io, and Triton, and possibly Europa and Ganymede. We envision this process as having two end-member expressions (pits and scarps), for which we hypothesize two end-member mechanisms (massive localized lenses and areally extensive basal layers). In this study we focus on the role this process may play on the surfaces of the galilean satellites. Our principle modeling results are that for these satellites, H2S, CO2, and NH3 are the only viable candidate volatiles for sublimation degradation of landforms, in light of galilean satellite cosmochemistry. For Io's polar regions only H2S, and then only from slopes that face the Sun and have thin lags, is volatile enough to cause the observed sublimation-induced erosion at those latitudes. SO2 is not a viable candidate as an agent of erosion, especially for these polar landforms. In the case of Europa, only CO2 and H2S are viable candidates (given surface age constraints). Both species could be efficient eroders in nonpolar regions. H2S could generate erosion within the polar regions if the deposition and erosion conditions were essentially identical as those we invoked for Io's polar regions. For Ganymede (and Callisto) NH3 might be an agent of erosion in equatorial terrains of great age. The sublimation of CO2 and H2S is much more robust than NH3. The much slower rate of sublimation degradation from NH3 might be detectable by Galileo and used as a compositional indicator.
Phase-transfer-catalyzed asymmetric acylimidazole alkylation.

2-Acylimidazoles are alkylated under phase-transfer conditions with cinchonidinium catalysts at −40 °C with allyl and benzyl electrophiles in high yield with excellent enantioselectivity (79 to >99% ee). The acylimidazole substrates are made in three steps from bromoacetic acid via the N-acylmorpholine adduct. The catalyst is made in high purity allowing for S-product formation (6−20 h) under mild conditions, consistent with an ion-pair mechanism. The products are readily converted to useful ester products using methyltriflate and sodium methoxide, via a dimethylacylimidazolium intermediate without racemization. The process is efficient, direct, and amenable to other electrophiles and transformations that proceed through an enolate intermediate.