cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Policy distortions, size of government, and growth

This paper analyzes the structural relationship between policies that distort resource allocation and long-term growth. It briefly reviews the Solow model in which steady-state growth depends only on exogenous technological change, but finds it unsatisfactory as a model of long-term growth. The author proposes an increasing-returns model in the spirit of the new literature on economic growth. With increasing returns, endogenous economic variables - and thus policy - will affect the steady-state rate of growth. This model gives output as a linear function of total capital, but a decreasing function of each of two types of capital. The distortion is defined as a policy intervention that increases the cost of using one of the types of capita. The results suggest that simple linear relationships between distortions and growth, or between size of government and growth, are untenable. Easterly's model shows that reducing the distortions does not have an equal effect on growth in all circumstances. The effect depends on how flexible the economy is, how large the share of the factor being penalized in production is, and how high the distortions are initially. Small changes in either very low or very high levels of initial distortions have a minimal effect on growth.
E-Stability vis-a-vis Determinacy Results for a Broad Class of Linear Rational Expectations Models

Abstract It is argued that learnability/E-stability is a necessary condition for a RE solution to be plausible. A class of linear models considered by Evans, G.W. and Honkapohja, S. [2001. Learning and Expectations in Macroeconomics, Princeton University Press.] is shown to include all models of the form used by King, R.G. and Watson, M.W. [1998. The solution of singular linear difference systems under rational expectations. International Economic Review 39, 1015–1026] and Klein, P. [2000. Using the generalized Schur form to solve a multivariate linear rational expectations model. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 24, 1405–1423], which permits any number of lags, leads, and lags of leads. For this broad class it is shown that, if current-period information is available in the learning process, determinacy is a sufficient condition for E-stability. It is not a necessary condition, however; there exist cases with more than one stable solution in which the solution based on the decreasing-modulus ordering of the system's eigenvalues is E-stable. If in such a case the other stable solutions are not E-stable, then the condition of indeterminacy may not be crucial for practical issues.
Design of Reliability Tests

Reliability is the probability that a product can perform its required functions for a specified function period without failure under certain environments and stress levels. Reliability information is very important to manufacturers. It enables them to produce better products for their costumers. Reliability tests are necessary in designing and manufacturing a product to guarantee its reliability and quality. This article introduces the basic ideas of how to design reliability tests, their objectives, test types, and test procedures. Keywords: reliability tests; MTBF ; developmental testing; manufacturing testing; failure rate determination
Tight lower bound for linear sketches of moments

The problem of estimating frequency moments of a data stream has attracted a lot of attention since the onset of streaming algorithms [AMS99]. While the space complexity for approximately computing the pth moment, for p∈(0,2] has been settled [KNW10], for p>2 the exact complexity remains open. For p>2 the current best algorithm uses O(n1−2/plogn) words of space [AKO11,BO10], whereas the lower bound is of Ω(n1−2/p) [BJKS04]. In this paper, we show a tight lower bound of Ω(n1−2/plogn) words for the class of algorithms based on linear sketches, which store only a sketch Ax of input vector x and some (possibly randomized) matrix A. We note that all known algorithms for this problem are linear sketches.
Monetary Convergence and Risk Premiums in the EU Accession Countries

This study examines the impact of various monetary policy regimes on the ability to lower inflation and exchange rate risk premiums in the EU accession countries as they undergo monetary convergence to the eurozone. It proposes a monetary policy framework of flexible targeting of relative inflation risk premium that is believed to be credible and useful for managing these two categories of risk. A model of inflation and exchange rate risk premiums within the context of inflation targeting is developed. Recent trends in these risk premiums in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland are tested by employing the threshold ARCH (TARCH) model.
The Chandra Deep Field North Survey. V. 1 Ms Source Catalogs

An extremely deep X-ray survey (≈1 Ms) of the Hubble Deep Field North (HDF-N) and its environs (≈450 arcmin2) has been performed with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on board the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. This is one of the two deepest X-ray surveys ever performed; for point sources near the aim point, it reaches 0.5–2.0 and 2–8 keV flux limits of ≈3 × 10-17 and ≈2 × 10-16 ergs cm-2 s-1, respectively. Here we provide source catalogs, along with details of the observations, data reduction, and technical analysis. Observing conditions, such as background, were excellent for almost all of the exposure. We have detected 370 distinct point sources: 360 in the 0.5–8.0 keV band, 325 in the 0.5–2.0 keV band, 265 in the 2–8 keV band, and 145 in the 4–8 keV band. Two new Chandra sources in the HDF-N itself are reported and discussed. Source positions are accurate to within 06–17 (at ≈90% confidence), depending mainly on the off-axis angle. We also detect two highly significant extended X-ray sources and several other likely extended X-ray sources. We present basic number count results for sources located near the center of the field. Source densities of 7100 deg-2 (at 4.2 × 10-17 ergs cm-2 s-1) and 4200 deg-2 (at 3.8 × 10-16 ergs cm-2 s-1) are observed in the soft and hard bands, respectively.
Water: Its Changing Role in U.S. Agriculture

The interrelationship between food security of the United States and a diminishing water resource balances on the condition of that water resource, the quantity of other substitute resources, and the level of future technology. The answer to whether food supplies in the United States can be threatened by a given resource such as water cannot be answered solely by examining the resource in question. Rather the interactions of all resources used in the production of agricultural commodities must be analyzed.
Venn diagram construction of internet chatroom conversations

Venn Diagrams are used to depict relationships between subsets of a set of items. In this paper we will discuss the methods we use to render these Diagrams on a plane. Algorithms to both place members of subsets and render the curves of the Diagram will be presented. We close with discussion of results and application to chatroom conversation analysis.
Optimal nonlinear controllers for feedback linearizable systems

Presents a new class of controllers for dynamic feedback linearizable systems which achieve asymptotic tracking of given state reference trajectories. These controllers are characterized by a formula whose design parameters directly describe the trade-off between control effort and tracking error. For natural choices of these design parameters, this formula generates controllers which do not blindly cancel nonlinearities but rather counteract them only when they degrade the performance of the system. Furthermore, these controllers are optimal with respect to sensible performance criteria and therefore possess desirable robustness properties.
NEOS server 4.0 administrative guide.

The NEOS Server 4.0 provides a general Internet-based client/server as a link between users and software applications. The administrative guide covers the fundamental principals behind the operation of the NEOS Server, installation and trouble-shooting of the Server software, and implementation details of potential interest to a NEOS Server administrator. The guide also discusses making new software applications available through the Server, including areas of concern to remote solver administrators such as maintaining security, providing usage instructions, and enforcing reasonable restrictions on jobs. The administrative guide is intended both as an introduction to the NEOS Server and as a reference for use when running the Server.
Economic underdevelopment: The case of a missing market for human capital

Abstract This paper demonstrates that the coexistence of developed and underdeveloped countries can be a stationary equilibrium in a world economy with free trade in consumption goods and physical capital. An underdeveloped country is characterized by a high ratio of unskilled workers in the labor force, a small stock of physical capital, a low gross national product, a high rate of return on human capital and a corresponding large wage differential between skilled and unskilled workers. The critical assumptions are that future labor earnings cannot serve as collateral on a loan and indivisibilities in education.
Canadian/U.S. Exchange Rates and Nonresident Investors: Their Influence on Residential Property Values

Factors external to a home's characteristics may influence the sales price. This analysis focuses on Bellingham, Washington, because of several influences including the Canadian economy and nonresidents. First estimated is a constant-quality Bellingham housing price index, which is used as the dependent variable in a reduced-form model of market price to estimate the impact of the exchange rate. The analysis (1984-94) suggests that a 10% rise in the exchange rate leads to a 7.7% rise in Bellingham home prices. Additionally, in 1990, non-county buyers paid 4% to 6% more than county residents and non-county sellers received 6% to 8% less.
On the superconformal index of Argyres–Douglas theories

We conjecture a closed-form expression for the Schur limit of the superconformal index of two infinite series of Argyres-Douglas (AD) superconformal field theories (SCFTs): the (A1,A2n−3) and the (A1,D2n) theories. While these SCFTs can be realized at special points on the Coulomb branch of certain N = 2 gauge theories, their superconformal R symmetries are emergent, and hence their indices cannot be evaluated by localization. Instead, we construct the (A1,A2n−3) and (A1,D2n) indices by using a relation to two-dimensional qdeformed Yang-Mills theory and data from the class S construction. Our results generalize the indices derived from the torus partition functions of the two-dimensional chiral algebras associated with the (A1,A3) and (A1,D4) SCFTs. As checks of our conjectures, we study the consistency of our results with an S-duality recently discussed by us in collaboration with Giacomelli and Papageorgakis, we reproduce known Higgs branch relations, we check consistency with a series of renormalization group flows, and we verify that the small S 1 limits of our indices reproduce expected Cardy-like behavior. We will discuss the S 1
Privacy in Genetic Studies

The evolution of the concept of privacy has included protections of property, personal space, personal activities, personal autonomy, and personal information. These ideas expanded over the twentieth century to include the individual's interests in medical treatment and participation in biomedical research. In response to the human genome project, strong moral and legal principles are now in place for protecting the confidentiality of genetic information and the rights of individuals whose genotypes are elucidated in medical practice and in genetics research. Keywords: privacy; informed consent; Institutional Review Boards; confidentiality; newborn screening
Orbit and attitude state recoveries from Landmark data

The navigation of earth-referenced satellites with imaging data rather than, or in addition to, conventional radio tracking and attitude sensor telemetry is gaining increased popularity. Driving forces include a trend towards spacecraft autonomy, a need for timely and highly accurate gridding information, and a growing awareness of the presence of high quality navigation information contained in such data. This paper describes the techniques used and the results obtained in an experiment to determine the orbit and attitude state of the geosynchronous SMS-1 spacecraft from Landmark observations extracted from earth images generated by the on-board Visible and Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer (VISSR).
Bit-wise arithmetic coding for data compression

Consider the problem of compressing a uniformly quantized IID source. A traditional approach is to assign variable length codewords to the quantizer output symbols or groups of symbols (e.g., Huffman coding). We propose an alternative solution: assign a fixed length binary codeword to each output symbol in such a way that a zero is more likely than a one in every codeword bit position. This redundancy is then exploited using a block-adaptive binary arithmetic encoder to compress the data. This technique is simple, has low overhead, and can be used as a progressive transmission system.
The impact of privatization on the performance of the infrastructure sector : the case of electricity distribution in Latin American countries

The authors analyze the impact of privatization on the performance of 116 electric utilities in 10 Latin American countries. The analysis makes a number of contributions to the literature on changes in infrastructure ownership. First, this is the first systemic analysis of the impact of privatization on the distribution of the electricity sector. Second, it constructs an unbalanced panel data set of key indicators for each country. Third, it includes a broader-than in past studies-range of indicators, such as output, employment, productivity, efficiency, quality, coverage, and prices, offering a fuller picture of the effects of privatization on consumers. Fourth, this research covers a longer period of time, and evaluates three stages-before, transition, and after-allowing for the identification of the short- and long-run effects of privatization, as opposed to previous analyses' short time series data that do not identify long-run outcomes. Finally, the counterfactual is considered through the analysis in trends. The authors apply two different methodologies. The first methodology uses means and medians from each period and tests the significance of the changes between periods. The second methodology consists of an econometric model that captures firm fixed effects, firm-specific time trends, and heteroscedasticity corrections. When needed, the authors used firm-specific time trends to better understand the outcomes. The results suggest that changes in ownership generate significant improvements in labor productivity, efficiency, and product and service quality, and that most of those changes occur in the transition period. Improvements in the post transition period-beyond two years after the change in ownership-are much more modest.
An alternative approach to disturbances in boundary layers

By modelling the boundary layer on a flat plate as a piece-wise linear velocity profile it is possible to analyze disturbances in the flow in a systematic manner. The approach is that of an initial-value, boundary-value problem but, unlike classical normal modes employed in stability theory, the solutions here can be obtained in closed form and they are non separable. A specific example is treated where the vertical component of the perturbation velocity is prescribed as a localized pulse initially. The amplitude is then depicted as a function of time and the coordinates of the plane of the flat plate at a fixed vertical location. The role of three-dimensionality and the initial transient period of development — heretofore unknown — are both shown to be of significant importance in the dynamics. An argument is given to strongly suggest that the origin of large-scale oscillations known to be prevelant in turbulent shear flows may well be explained using these bases.
Temporal and modal logic

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses temporal and modal logic. The chapter describes a multiaxis classification of systems of temporal logic. The chapter describes the framework of linear temporal logic. In both its propositional and first-order forms, linear temporal logic has been widely employed in the specification and verification of programs. The chapter describes the competing framework of branching temporal logic, which has seen wide use. It also explains how temporal logic structures can be used to model concurrent programs using non-determinism and fairness. The chapter also discusses other modal and temporal logics in computer science. The chapter describes the formal syntax and semantics of Propositional Linear Temporal Logic (PLTL). The chapter also describes the formal syntax and semantics for two representative systems of propositional branching-time temporal logics.
Near field pressure fluctuations of a circular jet

Coherent structures in shear layers govern many dynamic aspects of flow, entrainment of mass, transfer of momentum and noise generation [1, 2, 3]. These structures develop from instability waves and undergo a merging process. Vortex merging reduces the time scale and increases the length scale of the shear layer. At the same time, pressure fluctuations are induced by the unsteady motion in the flow. These pressure perturbations can exert high level dynamic loading on nearby structures, [4, 5, 6] and radiate to far field as nose. Adjacent to the boundary of the jet, the pressure levels drop first exponentially and then algebraically. The extent of the exponential decay region was found to be scaled with the local instability wavelength [7, 8].
OPTIMIZATION OF STEADY-STATE BEAM-DRIVEN TOKAMAK REACTORS.

Recent developments in neutral beam technology prompt us to reconsider the prospects for steady-state tokamak reactors. A mathematical reactor model is developed that includes the physics of beam-driven currents and reactor power balance, as well as reactor and beam system costs. This model is used to find the plasma temperatures that minimize the reactor cost per unit of net electrical output. The optimum plasma temperatures are nearly independent of ..beta.. and are roughly twice as high as the optimum temperatures for ignited reactors. If beams of neutral deuterium atoms with near-optimum energies of 1 to 2 MeV are used to drive the current in a reactor the size of the International Tokamak Reactor, then the optimum temperatures are typically T /SUB e/ approx. = 12 to 15 keV and T /SUB i/ approx. = 17 to 21 keV for a wide range of model parameters. Net electrical output rises rapidly with increasing deuterium beam energy for E /SUB b/ less than or equal to 400 keV, but rises only slowly above E /SUB b/ about 1 MeV. We estimate that beam-driven steady-state reactors could be economically competitive with pulsed-ignition reactors if cyclic-loading problems limit the toroidal magnetic field strength ofmore » pulsed reactors to less than or equal to 85% of that allowed in steady-state reactors.« less
Fokker-Planck and Chapman-Kolmogorov equations for Ito processes with finite memory

The usual derivation of the Fokker-Planck partial differential eqn. (pde) assumes the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation for a Markov process [1, 2]. Starting instead with an Ito stochastic differential equation (sde), we argue that finitely many states of memory are allowed in Kolmogorov’s two pdes, K1 (the backward time pde) and K2 (the Fokker-Planck pde), and show that a Chapman-Kolmogorov eqn. follows as well. We adapt Friedman’s derivation [3] to emphasize that finite memory is not excluded. We then give an example of a Gaussian transition density with 1-state memory satisfying both K1, K2, and the Chapman-Kolmogorov eqns. We begin the paper by explaining the meaning of backward time diffusion, and end by using our interpretation to produce a very short proof that the Green function for the Black-Scholes pde describes a Martingale in the risk neutral discounted stock price.
Quantum Scattering and Classical Solutions

The behavior of quantum scattering amplitudes at large center of mass energies, E ∼ E* = m/g 2, is an open question currently under investigation. Here, m is a mass scale characterizing the particle excitations of the theory, and g is a small coupling constant controlling the nonlinear interactions. It has been speculated that multiparticle scattering from initial states with only a small number of particles could be unsup-pressed at these energies. A second related issue is whether anomalous processes, such as baryon number violation in electroweak theory where E* ≃ O (M ω /αω) ∼ 10 TeV, are unsuppressed at energies of the same order1.
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Server Overload Control: Design and Evaluation

A Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server may be overloaded by emergency-induced call volume, "American Idol" style flash crowd effects or denial of service attacks. The SIP server overload problem is interesting especially because the costs of serving or rejecting a SIP session can be similar. For this reason, the built-in SIP overload control mechanism based on generating rejection messages cannot prevent the server from entering congestion collapse under heavy load. The SIP overload problem calls for a pushback control solution in which the potentially overloaded receiving server may notify its upstream sending servers to have them send only the amount of load within the receiving server's processing capacity. The pushback framework can be achieved by either a rate-based feedback or a window-based feedback. The centerpiece of the feedback mechanism is the algorithm used to generate load regulation information. We propose three new window-based feedback algorithms and evaluate them together with two existing rate-based feedback algorithms. We compare the different algorithms in terms of the number of tuning parameters and performance under both steady and variable load. Furthermore, we identify two categories of fairness requirements for SIP overload control, namely, user-centric and provider-centric fairness. With the introduction of a new double-feed SIP overload control architecture, we show how the algorithms can meet those fairness criteria.
Which Doctor? Combining Vignettes and Item Response to Measure Doctor Quality

The authors develop a method in which vignettes-a battery of questions for hypothetical cases-are evaluated with item response theory to create a metric for doctor quality. The method allows a simultaneous estimation of quality and validation of the test instrument that can be used for further refinements. The authors apply the method to a sample of medical practitioners in Delhi, India. The method gives plausible results, rationalizes different perceptions of quality in the public and private sectors, and pinpoints several serious problems with health care delivery in urban India. The findings confirm, for instance, that the quality of private providers located in poorer areas of the city is significantly lower than those in richer neighborhoods. Surprisingly, similar results hold for providers in the public sector, with important implications for inequities in the availability of health care.
Inference for multiplicative models

The paper introduces a generalization for known probabilistic models such as log-linear and graphical models, called here multiplicative models. These models, that express probabilities via product of parameters are shown to capture multiple forms of contextual independence between variables, including decision graphs and noisy-OR functions. An inference algorithm for multiplicative models is provided and its correctness is proved. The complexity analysis of the inference algorithm uses a more refined parameter than the tree-width of the underlying graph, and shows the computational cost does not exceed that of the variable elimination algorithm in graphical models. The paper ends with examples where using the new models and algorithm is computationally beneficial.
Insights from China for the United States: Shadow Banking, Economic Development, and Financial Systems

The growth of China’s shadow banking industry has been a recent source of serious concern for the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. US shadow banking practices contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. The proliferation of these practices in China potentially threatens not only China but also economies that are intimately tied to China through trade, investment, and financial relationships such as the United States’ economy. An investigation of Chinese shadow banking, in the context of China’s post-1978 debt financing experience, reveals that China poses a challenge to the established theory that strong, formal financial systems are required for economic growth. Contrary to expectation, China’s outstanding economic growth in the last thirty-five years took place without a strong formal financial system that was easily accessible to private entrepreneurs. This article examines the remarkable story of how China, constrained by political and historical legacies, relied upon informal financing structures to fund Chinese private entrepreneurs who contributed significantly to China’s stellar economic growth. China’s story affirms the work of scholars who have emphasized the importance of sociopolitical structures and who have theorized that law does not necessarily precede economic development but is engaged in a complex relationship with other normative structures. An examination of the sociopolitical underpinnings of China’s informal finance sector also reveals how shadow banking has grown to concerning levels in China and the challenges ahead that China faces as it attempts to use policy and legislative responses. Interestingly, this examination also reveals commonalities between China and the United States and suggests that there is the potential for mutual enlightenment despite the vastly different political systems and histories of these two countries. Thus, China’s shadow banking story advances our understanding on two fronts: (a) China’s example challenges current theoretical understandings of law, finance and economic development and requires us to broaden our inquiry to include political history and informal societal structures and (b) a sociopolitically informed understanding of China also allows us to draw comparisons to the United States to isolate commonalities and differences that may inform future legislative responses and mutual understanding between both countries.
“Be Careless With That!” Availability of Product Upgrades Increases Cavalier Behavior Toward Possessions

AbstractConsumers are often faced with the opportunity to purchase a new, enhanced product, such as a new phone, even though the product they currently own is still fully functional. The authors propose that consumers act more recklessly with their current products when in the presence of appealing, though not yet attained, product upgrades (not just mere replacements). Carelessness and neglect toward currently owned products stem from a desire to justify the attainment of upgrades without appearing wasteful. A series of studies with actual owners of a wide range of different goods (durable, consumable, functional, and hedonic products) and evidence from a real-word data set of lost Apple iPhones demonstrate how the availability of product upgrades increases cavalier behavior toward possessions. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that product neglect in the presence of attractive upgrades can occur without deliberate intentions. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.
On the contact geometry of nodal sets

In the 3-dimensional Riemannian geometry, contact structures equipped with an adapted Riemannian metric are divergence-free, nondegenerate eigenforms of the Laplace-Beltrami operator. We trace out a 2-d analogue of this fact: there is a close relationship between the topology of the contact structure on a convex surface in the 3manifold (the dividing curves) and the nodal curves of Laplacian eigenfunctions on that surface. Motivated by this relationship, we consider a topological version of Payne’s conjecture for the free membrane problem. We construct counterexamples to Payne’s conjecture for closed Riemannian surfaces. In light of the correspondence between the nodal lines and dividing curves, we interpret Payne’s conjecture in terms of the tight versus overtwisted dichotomy for contact structures.
Semantically Guided First-Order Theorem Proving using Hyper-Linking

An automated theorem prover accepts a set of axioms and a theorem, expressed in a formal logic, and then proves that the theorem logically follows from the axioms. Two basic aspects of a logic are syntax and semantics. Syntax refers to the form of the statements and semantics refers to their meanings. Most current theorem provers conduct proof searching based on syntax only and semantics is rarely used. In this dissertation we propose a new and complete theorem proving method, called semantic hyper-linking, which makes a substantial use of semantics in an instance-based theorem prover for first-order logic. Semantics is used to generate instances by a combination of unification and enumeration of the Herbrand base. In this method, the proof searching is essentially a process of exhaustively searching for a model of the input problem. Semantic hyper-linking performs especially well on non-Horn problems whose proofs contain small instances of the input clauses. We also describe several refinements including (1) various model finding strategies to improve model searching without using expensive semantic checks or expanding the search space, (2) the rough resolution method to cooperate with semantic hyper-linking and solve the part of the proof which contains large instances, and (3) the well-known UR resolution to solve the Horn part of the proof. We have implemented semantic hyper-linking with its refinements, and applied it to over a hundred problems in various domains. Our results show that semantic hyper-linking is indeed a promising technique. Several hard theorems, which many other theorem provers find difficult, have been proved by semantic hyper-linking using no other guidance than the given semantics.
The impact of the Internet on global industry: New evidence of Internet measurement

Abstract This paper presents a new way to measure the diffusion of the Internet, using a panel of 10 countries. Different from the previous literature, we use city-level daily databases, downloaded from Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA), to construct weekly data across countries. The determinants of Internet cross-traffic traveling are studied using several attributes which offer new opportunities to define network construction and information technology. With the Swiss KOF Globalization Index, this data can be used to reevaluate financial services and business marketing, political interaction and social emergence, and globalization. The major findings are that a significant and positive relationship exists between Internet distance and the different globalization indexes: economic and financial globalization, political globalization, and social globalization. The Internet flows ahead of globalization. The dynamic panel causality analysis demonstrates further empirically the causality of the Internet diffusion on the different indexes of globalization.
Financial literacy around the world : an overview of the evidence with practical suggestions for the way forward

Financial literacy programs are fast becoming a key ingredient in financial policy reform worldwide. Yet, what is financial literacy exactly and what do we know of its effectiveness? This paper collects insights from the literature thus far and summarizes global evidence on financial literacy, its correlates, and existing and upcoming causal investigations. The authors conclude with a synthesis of policy advice and practical suggestions for the way forward in this fast growing area of research.
Confluent Orthogonal Drawings of Syntax Diagrams

We provide a pipeline for generating syntax diagrams also called railroad diagrams from context free grammars. Syntax diagrams are a graphical representation of a context free language, which we formalize abstractly as a set of mutually recursive nondeterministic finite automata and draw by combining elements from the confluent drawing, layered drawing, and smooth orthogonal drawing styles. Within our pipeline we introduce several heuristics that modify the grammar but preserve the language, improving the aesthetics of the final drawing.
Economic partnership agreements and the export competitiveness of Africa

Trade can be a key driver of growth for African countries, as it has been for those countries, particularly in East Asia, that have experienced high and sustained rates of growth. Economic partnership agreements with the European Union could be instrumental in a competitiveness framework, but to do so they would have to be designed carefully in a way that supports integration into the global economy and is consistent with national development strategies. Interim agreements have focused on reciprocal tariff removal and less restrictive rules of origin. To be fully effective, economic partnership agreements will have to address constraints to regional integration, including both tariff and non-tariff barriers; improve trade facilitation; and define appropriate most favored nation services liberalization. At the same time, African countries will need to reduce external tariff peak barriers on a most favored nation basis to ensure that when preferences for the European Union are implemented after transitional periods, they do not lead to substantial losses from trade diversion. This entails an ambitious agenda of policy reform that must be backed up by development assistance in the form of "aid for trade."
Superhumps, magnetic fields and the mass ratio in AM Canum Venaticorum

We show that the observed K velocities and periodicities of AM CVn can be reconciled given a mass ratio q ≈ 0.22 and a secondary star with a modest magnetic field of surface strength B ∼ 1 T. We see that the new mass ratio implies that the secondary is most likely semidegenerate. The effect of the field on the accretion disc structure is examined. The theory of precessing discs and resonant orbits is generalized to encompass higher order resonances than 3 : 2 and shown to retain consistency with the new mass ratio.
Absorption and photoluminescence investigations of excitonic transitions in compressively strained InGaAs/InGaAlAs multiple quantum wells

The authors present the results of investigations in which excitonic transitions in compressively strained InGaAs multiple quantum wells (QWs) on InP are studied by absorption and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Specifically, quantitative exciton parameters such as transition energies, exciton binding energies and radii are estimated from absorption measurements. A comparison is made between strained and lattice-matched QWs. From PL measurements, luminescence characteristics are qualitatively analyzed as a function of well thickness and temperature. >
Minimal Actuator Placement With Bounds on Control Effort

We address the problem of minimal actuator placement in a linear system subject to an average control energy bound. First, following the recent work of Olshevsky, we prove that this is NP-hard. Then, we provide an efficient algorithm which, for a given range of problem parameters, approximates up to a multiplicative factor of $O(\log n)$ , with $n$ being the network size, any optimal actuator set that meets the same energy criteria; this is the best approximation factor one can achieve in polynomial time in the worst case. Moreover, the algorithm uses a perturbed version of the involved control energy metric, which we prove to be supermodular. Next, we focus on the related problem of cardinality-constrained actuator placement for minimum control effort, where the optimal actuator set is selected so that an average input energy metric is minimized. While this is also an NP-hard problem, we use our proposed algorithm to efficiently approximate its solutions as well. Finally, we run our algorithms over large random networks to illustrate their efficiency.
Calibration of Tethered Particle Motion Experiments

The Tethered Particle Motion (TPM) method has been used to observe and characterize a variety of protein-DNA interactions including DNA loping and transcription. TPM experiments exploit the Brownian motion of a DNA-tethered bead to probe biologically relevant conformational changes of the tether. In these experiments, a change in the extent of the bead’s random motion is used as a reporter of the underlying macromolecular dynamics and is often deemed sufficient for TPM analysis. However, a complete understanding of how the motion depends on the physical properties of the tethered particle complex would permit more quantitative and accurate evaluation of TPM data. For instance, such understanding can help extract details about a looped complex geometry (or multiple coexisting geometries) from TPM data. To better characterize the measurement capabilities of TPM experiments involving DNA tethers, we have carried out a detailed calibration of TPM magnitude as a function of DNA length and particle size. We also explore how experimental parameters such as acquisition time and exposure time affect the apparent motion of the tethered particle. We vary the DNA length from 200 bp to 2.6 kbp and consider particle diameters of 200, 490 and 970 nm. We also present a systematic comparison between measured particle excursions and theoretical expectations, which helps clarify both the experiments and models of DNA conformation.
Price Caps in Multi-Price Markets

AbstractMany consumer markets feature a multidimensional price. A policy maker—a legislator, a regulator, or a court—concerned about the level of one price dimension may decide to cap this price. How will such a price cap affect other price dimensions? Will the overall effect be good or bad for consumers? For social welfare? Price caps can be beneficial when sellers set prices in response to consumers’ misperception. The scope for welfare-enhancing regulation depends on the type (and direction) of the underlying misperception and on market structure.
Trade Diversion under Selective Preferential Market Access

Through its diverse trade preference schemes, the European Union provides different groups of developing countries with different degrees of market access. This paper is the first to demonstrate empirically that such staggered market access induces sizable trade diversion to the detriment of relatively less preferred beneficiary countries. In particular, preferences granted to African, Caribbean and Pacific economies are shown to impair the export performance of seven developing countries whose products only qualify for basic preferences under the Generalized System of Preferences. Exports to the European Union decline by about 30 percent if the African, Caribbean and Pacific tariff falls by 10 percentage points. In terms of forgone trade volume, losses for these relatively disadvantaged countries amount on average to 9 percent of their total trade with the European Union, depending on the country and its main exports. These intra-developing country distortions are driven by highly substitutable, often labor-intensive commodities.
Do subnational business taxes reduce a region's competitiveness?: A computational general equilibrium analysis

Purpose – This paper's purpose is to investigate the claim that capital taxes imposed by a subnational government reduce the economic competitiveness of the geographic area in which these taxes are imposed.Design/methodology/approach – A two‐region, four‐good, three‐factor computational general equilibrium model of the USA is constructed. Simulations are performed to represent US state governments replacing wage taxes with capital taxes.Findings – Household utilities rose when wage taxes were replaced by capital taxes, contradicting the conventional wisdom that capital taxes are harmful to a region's residents.Research limitations/implications – As with all computational economic models, there are simplifications in this paper's model that abstract from reality and may limit the applicability of model results to the real world.Practical implications – Subnational governments need not shy away from capital taxes when funding government programs.Originality/value – This paper contributes to the investigatio...
Volume holographic telescope

Summary form only given. We describe a volume holographic telescope with depth discrimination capability. We also describe a method to correct the adverse inverse square dependence of the resolution on NA by use of multiple sensors.
The dynamics of strongly correlated gluons at high energies

†We describe some of the recent progress in our understanding of the dynamics of strongly correlated gluons at high parton densities. Computations in the Color Glass Condensate effective field theory provide a good description of inclusive and semi-inclusive final states in DIS, p+p and p+A collisions at small x. In nucleus-nucleus collisions, they provide an ab initio description of entropy generation, decoherence, isotropization and the onset of hydrodynamic flow. The successful description of a wide range of phenomena from RHIC to LHC is outlined and possibilities for more stringent tests noted.
Localised anti-branes in flux backgrounds

Solutions corresponding to finite temperature (anti)-D3 and M2 branes localised in flux backgrounds are constructed in a linear approximation. The flux backgrounds considered are toy models for the IR of the Klebanov-Strassler solution and its M-theory analogue, the Cvetic-Gibbons-Lu-Pope solution. Smooth solutions exist for either sign charge, in stark contrast with the previously considered case of smeared black branes. That the singularities of the anti-branes in the zero temperature extremal limit can be shielded behind a finite temperature horizon indicates that the singularities are physical and resolvable by string theory. As the charge of the branes grows large and negative, the flux at the horizon increases without bound and diverges in the extremal limit, which suggests a resolution via brane polarisation a la Polchinski-Strassler. It therefore appears that the anti-brane singularities do not indicate a problem with the SUSY-breaking metastable states corresponding to expanded anti-brane configurations in these backgrounds, nor with the use of these states in constructing the de Sitter landscape.
Molecular aspects of rubberlike elasticity

Molecular theories of rubberlike elasticity are surveyed, starting with the earliest attempts carried out in the 1930's and ending with work still very much in progress. The models are variously based on phenomenological arguments, affiinely-deforming networks, phantom networks, constrained junctions, constrained chains, slip-links, molecular tubes, van der Waals concepts, or rotational isomeric chains. Most of the theories are analytical, but some involve computer simulations based on Monte Carlo methods
The Incidence of Deep Venous Thrombosis After Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

We retrospectively reviewed the records of 2050 arthroscopic knee surgeries performed at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital from January 1993 to December 1994. The number of clinically detected deep venous thromboses, with confirmation by duplex ultrasonography, was determined. Prospectively, preoperative and postoperative duplex ultrasonographic images were completed on 239 patients divided into 2 groups: those undergoing nonligament, intraarticular arthroscopic surgery (N = 131) and those undergoing arthroscopically assisted ligament surgery and extraarticular or osteotomy surgery (N = 108). For the retrospective study, the incidence of deep venous thrombosis was 0.24%. Prospectively, seven total deep venous thromboses were identified (rate, 2.9%), with five being identified within 8 days of surgery in asymptomatic patients (rate, 2.1%). There were no statistically significant associations or correlations between the development of deep venous thrombosis and patient personal data or surgical variables, respectively. The difference in the rate of deep venous thrombosis between the two prospective groups was not statistically significant; however, patients who had more invasive surgery tended to be at higher risk for developing deep venous thrombosis. A cost-benefit analysis did not support the routine use of duplex ultrasonography to detect deep venous thrombosis in patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
Shape Bifurcation of a Spherical Dielectric Elastomer Balloon Under the Actions of Internal Pressure and Electric Voltage

Under the actions of internal pressure and electric voltage, a spherical dielectric elastomer balloon usually keeps a sphere during its deformation, which has also been assumed in many previous studies. In this article, using linear perturbation analysis, we demonstrate that a spherical dielectric elastomer balloon may bifurcate to a nonspherical shape under certain electromechanical loading conditions. We also show that with a nonspherical shape, the dielectric elastomer balloon may have highly inhomogeneous electric field and stress/stretch distributions, which can lead to the failure of the system. In addition, we conduct stability analysis of the dielectric elastomer balloon in different equilibrium configurations by evaluating its second variation of free energy under arbitrary perturbations. Our analyses indicate that under pressure-control and voltage-control modes, nonspherical deformation of the dielectric elastomer balloon is energetically unstable. However, under charge-control or ideal gas mass-control mode, nonspherical deformation of the balloon is energetically stable.
It's Who you Know: Factors Driving Recovery from Japan's 11 March 2011 Disaster

The 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake affected dozens of coastal communities along the shore of Japan's Tohoku region. Following the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdowns, utilities, businesses and schools in some towns have bounced back to pre-disaster capacity while other municipalities have lagged behind. The question of which factors accelerate the recovery of business, infrastructure and population after the disaster remains unanswered. This article uses a new dataset of roughly 40 disaster-affected cities, towns and villages in the area to identify the factors connected with recovery. More than tsunami damage, spending on disaster mitigation, population density, economic conditions or financial capability, the most powerful predictor of recovery for a given area is the number of powerful politicians representing the area in the national government. These findings bring with them important policy implications for residents, NGOs and government decision-makers.
Singularity structure in mean curvature flow of mean-convex sets

In this note we announce results on the mean curvature flow of mean convex sets in 3-dimensions. Loosely speaking, our results justify the naive picture of mean curvature flow where the only singularities are neck pinches, and components which collapse to asymptotically round spheres. In this note we announce results on the mean curvature flow of mean convex sets; all the statements below have natural generalizations to the setting of Riemannian 3-manifolds, but for the sake of simplicity we will primarily discuss subsets of R 3 here. Loosely speaking, our results justify the naive picture of mean curvature flow where the only singularities are neck pinches, and components which collapse to asymptot- ically round spheres. Recall that a one-parameter family of smooth hypersurfaces {Mt} ⊂ R n+1 flows by mean curvature if